I have had to learn a number of lessons in my lifetime. Some have been good lessons about humanity and myself, and some have been surprisingly hard lessons to learn about others, and about myself. Some lessons you only have to learn once, like to take a rain poncho when you are backpacking, otherwise you will be miserable. Other lessons I seem to have to learn over and over.
The second hardest lesson I ever had to learn was that my parents were usually right about whatever we were talking about. I mean, who would have thought that mom and dad knew all that stuff about growing up as a teenager, about how the world worked. Who knew mom and dad were that smart? They certainly didn’t act like it, at least most of the time. They didn’t listen to cool music, it was either classical or 60’s protest music, but somehow they knew what was really important. They knew when to give responsibilities and when to take away privileges. Ends up they are actually pretty smart folks. That was a hard lesson to learn, after all those years of assuming they knew next to nothing about life, about growing up and so forth. Bit of a shock after all those years. That was the second hardest lesson I had to learn.
The hardest lesson I have ever had to learn was that I am not in control of my life. And it is a lesson I have to learn over and over, it seems like each day I have to learn again that my life is not my own, but rather, I am a servant of the Master. God wants to be the center of my life, not on the periphery, not as an afterthought, not a hobby or something I do each Sunday and only on Sunday, but God wants to be the center of my life. And He wants to be the center of yours. Being the center means that decisions are His to make, and my life, our lives, are His to command. God is a gentle commander, but make no mistake, He is in charge nonetheless. Niceness has nothing to do with power. God uses His authority nicely, but He doesn’t have to.
Paul has learned the same sorts of lessons. In the last part of his letter to the Philippians, he talks about the final lesson he is learning so that the Philippians will not worry about him. Phil 4 10-end.
I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
14 Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
20 To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Let’s pray.
As the apostle Paul winds up his letter to the Church at Philippi, the church he planted himself, and knows so intimately, he wants to leave them with good thoughts. He begins the end of the letter by saying thank you to the Philippians for sending him supplies for his time in prison. In ancient Rome, the prisoner was confined by the state, but not necessarily provided for by the state. The regular provisions a prisoner needed to live had to be given to the prisoner from outside sources. One of the ways the Philippian church had ministered to Paul was by sending food and money for food while he was incarcerated. In the midst of saying thank you to the Philippians, Paul manages to teach profoundly, I think we’ll find. You can see why the Philippians gave Paul such joy; they shared his mission of converting people to follow Christ, they remembered and followed his teachings, and they honored and supported him by sending money and food for his time in prison. This wasn’t a church he had to fight with, to chastise and shame into right behavior, but a church that was functioning well, which gave Paul great hope and joy that his efforts in planting a church in Philippi were not wasted.
Paul wants to let the Philippians, his friends, know that he is okay, and not to worry about him. To do that, he lets them in on one last lesson he has learned while being a servant, a slave of Jesus Christ.
Paul has lived an interesting life: born into the best Jewish tribe, he received the best Jewish teaching as a Pharisee, and was zealous for the Law, so much so that he persecuted the early church. After Jesus had ascended to Heaven, and the early church was growing under the leadership of the other Apostles, Paul was there trying to kill this new religion which believed a mere man was also God. Paul tried to catch and imprison many early believers. And then Jesus came to Paul and changed his life forever. Once Jesus came to Paul, and Paul knew all that was being claimed by these Christians about Jesus was actually true, his life became all about Jesus. Paul traveled all over the known world planting churches in places like Corinth, Ephesus and Philippi. He suffered very much as he taught and traveled. On more than 1 occasion he probably should have died, but God protected him. Paul endured deadly snake bites, shipwrecks, scorn and derisive laughter, beatings and jail all for the sake of Christ.
At the end of his life, sitting in prison in Rome, awaiting his time to plead his case before Caesar, Paul has some time to reflect on what he has learned as a servant of Christ, time to reflect on the trials he has endured. And he wants to pass a little of that hard won knowledge onto his friends in Philippi who are also radical servants and followers of Jesus.
I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
The secret Paul has learned is to put God, to put Jesus at the very center of his life. That is why Paul can be content in times of suffering, because He knows that God is in control of his life. Paul has experienced good times and he has gone through hard times. Throughout all the times, Paul has focused on God, he has placed God at the center of his life. Because God is at the center, Paul is content in whatever happens. If good things happen, that is great. If bad things happen, that is okay. Come what may, God was the focus of Paul’s life. That is the secret Paul is talking about. The secret in being content in all things is knowing, being absolutely sure, that God is in control of our lives. We serve a God who loves us very much. Knowing that deep in our souls helps us get through the tough times. We don’t serve a God who is far away, who crushes our spirit with His, but rather a God who is close, and loves us very much, there fore we can safely put God at the center of our lives, knowing we can trust our lives to His care.
Some people may think there is in this attitude a fatalism, a resigned attitude toward whatever happens in life. That is quite wrong. It is rather an active trust in God, that God is still caring for us despite the outward circumstances and appearances. Dietrich Bonhoffer was a theologian before and during WW2. He wrote some books I would commend to you, like “The Cost of Discipleship”. In any situation, he was involved in an attempt to assassinate Hitler, which failed. He was caught, and thrown in jail. He wrote many letters from prison, and in one he says something very similar to St Paul. “I believe God will give us all the power we need to resist in times of distress. But he never gives it in advance lest we should rely upon ourselves and not on him alone.”
As Christians, our internal integrity, our inner sense of being who we are is unaffected by external circumstances. My friend Moses works at a church with many wealthy people. He told me many of the wealthy people lost all their wealth at one time or another. These people know what it is like to have nothing, no money to pay for their apartment, and they know what it is like to have a lot of money. But through it all, Christ has been their Savior, the head of their lives. There is an even-keel ness, if that is a word, to being a Christian. Who we are is no longer tied to how we are doing financially. Our security in this world is not tied to stock portfolios, or saved money or land we own or anything but God alone. Who we are is a Christ-follower. There are people who are the same folks they are whether they have nothing or if they happen to become a lottery winner. You’ve all heard about those people who go nuts when they win the lottery. I have to tell you I heard something extremely interesting; many lottery winners eventually end up bankrupt. All the money changes their personality, changes everything about them.
You see, they haven’t learned that money, that abundance or lean times are temporary. These are transitory states through which we travel on the journey of life. What is permanent is God’s control, the love of Jesus in our lives. When we have God to hold onto as our rock, as what defines us and keeps us knowing who we are, then whatever happens to us is of less consequence. (Show picture)
The odd things is that the lesson of placing God in charge of our lives, relearning that lesson is important in times of plenty and in times of want. Both situations tempt us to trust ourselves, our strength. In truth, we need Christ’s strength during both times of plenty and struggle. In times of plenty we struggle with the temptation of pride, I did all of this and earned all of this myself. In lean times we struggle with the temptation of despair, with the feeling that God has forgotten about us and that somehow we have earned God’s wrath. Neither temptation is where God would have us dwell mentally. Placing God at the head of our lives everyday makes certain that we don’t fall into either temptation. We aren’t full of pride, and we aren’t full of despair either. Rather, whether rich or poor, in plenty or want, we are full of God, His love, His strength and security.
This is why Paul can affirm in verse 13, one of my favorite verses in Scripture, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. All things are possible if we have Christ leading us through this life. We are not trapped by material possessions or the lack thereof. We are freed from the shackles of worry. If we know God is leading and guiding us through each day, then everything is possible because the Guide will make a way for us through the impossible to the possible. God does not give out impossible tasks, He gives out tasks that are possible with His help. What a joy to live on the edge of the possible with God. It is a wonderful place to be, and yet it is so hard to explain to those outside of the faith.
Paul continues in verse 14.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. 15 Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; 16 for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. 17 Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. 18 I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
Part of being confident in God is being confident in God’s people. Paul had been supported by the church at Philippi during his time there at Philippi, and then later as he continued to plant other churches and accomplish the mission God had laid out for him. The generosity of the church at Philippi allowed Paul to continue to do the tasks God had laid out for him. So often it seems like God uses people to provide the funds mysteriously. There is a certain mystery about the way God blesses generosity, about the way the money seems to last longer.
It is amazing to watch our feeble efforts on God’s behalf blossom. This happens when we give of ourselves, and allow God to work through us. When we are generous with our money, with our time, with ourselves, God blesses that sacrifice. Our sacrifices are not unnoticed by God. He knows how much we give to His kingdom, whether it is like the Widow’s 2 cents, or whatever it is we bring. God uses whatever we bring to Him; and logically, the more we bring, the more He uses.
Here in Philippians is a thank you for the support Paul has received, both physical support and prayer support. Both are vital. The church shares the troubles of its members and it shares the joys as well. This is because the church is full of people who have learned the lesson Paul is talking about; putting God first in everything changes lives and hearts. Putting God first changes our actions, fundamentally who we are is changed. Because of that change we are able to be used by God. Even though that is true, it is still appropriate to say thank you to the people who have helped us, to the people who have loved us when we needed it.
The church has a symbol for putting Christ first, for taking Him into our lives and allowing Him to make us over into His image. Today we celebrate again communion, that Jesus is a part of our lives. But more than that, we have accepted the position of servant, we have placed our lives in His hands, our futures in His hands. What we place in Jesus’ loving hands is our whole selves, our attitudes, our hopes and joys, our actions, our words, our relationships, our financial well being, everything we put into God’s hands. This communion is about who we are, and whose we are. The lesson of putting God first has to be learned day after day. I wish it were a 1 time lesson, but, at least to me, it is an every day lesson I have to learn. God’ desire for my life is more important than my paltry hopes and dreams, more important than anything else.
So take communion today. Take communion, and let it symbolize your ongoing commitment to learning the lesson of putting God first, everyday, in our lives. May God be glorified in our actions here today. No matter what, God is in charge.
