Forever Living in a Whatever World
Philippians 1:27-28; 2:12-16; 3:20-21; 4:11-13
Dr. Roger W. Thomas, Preaching Minister
First Christian Church, Vandalia, MO
Introduction: Whatever! That’s one of those little “young people’s” words that exists for one purpose and one purpose only—to drive older folk crazy. Sometimes whatever is just filler. It doesn’t mean anything. It’s just punctuation. Other times it voices indifference. “Do want a sausage or anchovy pizza?” Whatever. Translation—either one is alright with me. I don’t really care. But sometimes whatever drips with sarcasm. “Would you please turn your music down or pull your pants up?” Whatever! Translation—who do you think you are?
Some world watchers insist that such innocent terms are not nearly as innocent as might expect. Big meaning sometimes hides behind little words like whatever. They note that many in this whatever generation have grown up with everything that money can buy and little that it can’t. Record numbers have been raised by TV, single moms and broken marriages. They have been over entertained and under cared for. Their world has shown them that you can’t depend on anything. Everything changes. Values have disappeared. Truth doesn’t exist. Everyone eventually abandons you. No one really cares. To survive they have developed hardened hearts and cynical spirits. To every situation, they have learned to respond with a shrug of the shoulders and a whatever.
Whatever is the safe response! Whatever makes no commitments. Whatever keeps its options open. Whatever pretends that it doesn’t care. If you don’t care, then you can’t get hurt. At least that’s the promise. Whatever keeps life at arms length. Whatever builds a defensive wall against people who will only get close and then hurt you. If the psychologists and sociologists are right, there is a lot more to whatever than just an empty word.
If you sometimes feel like you wish you could just crawl safely behind the walls of your castle, pull up the draw bridge behind you, and just say to your world whatever, then you need to listen to Philippians. Philippians insists that Christians need not be cynics who expect the worst so we won’t be disappointed. Philippians calls for a joy-filled life in a trouble-filled world, a peace-filled life in storm-tossed world, a light giving life in a darkened world.
Over and over again, Philippians looks at the hard time of life in the face and says whatever. But this whatever is different. This whatever comes from faith not indifference. It doesn’t say “who cares.” It shouts, “I care.” How can anyone maintain a forever life in a whatever world? By remembering that this isn’t all there is! We know where we came from. We know where we are headed. We know who we belong to. We know who holds tomorrow. Because of that we can take whatever comes. We can handle whatever life throws our way not because we are tough, or because our shell is hard, or because nothing matters to us. We can handle whatever because of the One who lives in us, through us, and for us.
Let’s step back and look at the background of this little book. When you think Philippians, think prison. That’s where Paul was when he wrote this letter. That’s where he ended up when he first planted the church in that ancient town. Acts 16 tells the story. When entering a new town, Paul, a recognized rabbi, always looked for the synagogue. Philippi didn’t have enough Jews to support a full synagogue. Philippi was actually a very important Roman colony with a strong Roman military presence. The colony had been planted on the Greek frontier as an outpost of Roman power and ideas. Most Jews had left the area. Paul didn’t find a synagogue, but he did learn of a small group of women who met for prayer near the river. The ring leader seemed to be Lydia, a wealthy business woman. He told them of Jesus. The church was born.
As often happened, Paul hadn’t been in town long when he ended up in jail overnight. From their cells, Paul and Silas prayed and praised God. God answered their prayers. In the middle of the night, the earth shook. The jail doors opened. They were free. In a panic, the jailer was about to commit suicide lest he be held responsible for his prisoners getting away. Paul stopped him, insisted they weren’t escaping, told him about Jesus, and before the night was over baptized his entire family. The young church at Philippi added a new family. The next day the city officials ordered Paul and Silas to leave town. They left behind a small church of devoted followers.
The Philippian church never forgot what Paul had done for them. Their numbers were small, but their heart was big. Paul was speaking of these believers when he told the Corinthians, “And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. 2Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. 3For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” (2 Cor 8:1-5).
The Philippians also supported Paul financially when few other churches did. Note Philippians 4:15-16, “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; 16for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.”
Several years had passed since those early days. Now Paul was in prison again. This time it was serious. He had been arrested in Jerusalem for inciting a riot. He dodged an assassination attempt and then appealed his case to the Emperor, his right as a Roman citizen. His captors shipped him to Rome. Word of Paul’s predicament had reached Philippi. The church sent a messenger, Epaphroditus, with a letter of encouragement and support. The Philippian messenger had fallen sick and nearly died while helping Paul. Once he recovered, Paul thought it best he go home. Paul sends with him a letter of appreciation. Epaphroditus had also told Paul about what was happening in the beloved church at Philippi. It wasn’t good.
The church at Philippi wasn’t plagued with false teachers or flagrantly immoral conduct like some of the other churches, but they were discouraged. If somebody like Paul could end up in jail, what was to become of them? When he hurt, they hurt. Discouragement can easily lead to dissensions. Disagreements, no matter how petty, only deepened the discouragement. To a worried and disheartened church, Paul says, “whatever.” Not the whatever of the cynic who doesn’t care, but the whatever of a believer who knows that God is bigger than anything life can through his way.
That’s the message of the book-forever living in a whatever world. The book contains four short chapters, only one hundred four verses. For Paul…
Forever living in a whatever world means knowing God doesn’t quit what he starts. “I always pray with joy 5because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, 6being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (1:4-6). God didn’t quit on those early Christians. He won’t quit on us now—whatever comes our way.
Forever living means knowing that God uses hard times for good purposes. “Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.” (1:12). Paul’s imprisonment, he insisted, had really led to some positive outcomes. He had always wanted to go to Rome. Caesar gave him a free trip. His jailers thought he was the one being held prisoner. Actually, his guards were his captive audience. They had to listen to him everyday. Paul’s friends were motivated by his boldness to his jailers. His rival preachers worked harder because they thought they could out shine him while he was in jail. Either way the Gospel went forward. Isn’t God good! “But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.”
Forever living means knowing that live or die the Christian has nothing to lose. “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22If I am to go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. Yet what shall I choose? I do not know! 23I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far … (1:21-23).
Forever living in a whatever world means standing tall for Christ regardless of the circumstances around us. Listen to Paul’s appeal. “Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel 28without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God” (27-28). Christian courage and unity in the midst of adversity is a powerful witness.
Forever living is Christ-like living. This world is not our home. We’ve nothing worth keeping that this world can take away from us. We can afford to be selfless, generous, and considerate of others. “If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus” (Phil 2:1-5). The attitude of Christ is different than a cynical “whatever.” We keep the faith whatever happens not because we don’t care, but because we have something truly worth caring about. “Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe 16as you hold out the word of life” (2:14-16).
Those who live with forever in mind don’t dwell on their past, but on their future in Christ. “But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you. 16Only let us live up to what we have already attained” (3:8-16).
Many around us won’t understand this. “Their mind is on earthly things. 20But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body” (3:19-21). The word “citizenship” was a term the Philippians would have used to describe their status as a Roman colony. They may have lived in Greece, but they were Romans. A Roman colonist was never to forget that. His roots, his loyalties, and his way of life was determined by where he was from not where he was. We are citizens of heaven. Our loyalties and our way of life are determined by where we are headed not where we are!
Forever living empowers to handle anything life can send our way, not because we are anything special, but because our Lord is altogether special. He rebuilds us from the inside out. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. ... I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”
This is the promise that holds us together whatever happens. “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.”
Conclusion: Several years a friend of mine worked for a farm chemical company. He operated one of those big wheeled applicators that spread pesticides on the fields of corn and beans. Most of you have seen them in the fields around here. This one day Danny finished at one field and needed to travel several miles to the next field. Long-distance transports were done on a large flat-bed truck. They filled the applicator, loaded it on the truck, and headed for the next field.
Everything went according to plan until Danny was backing the rig off the trailer at the new site. Something went wrong. A ramp slipped, the truck moved—whatever happened, the big wheels of the applicator went off the ramps, fell to the ground, and tipped over, rolling down the embankment along side the road. The huge contraption landed upside down at the bottom of the ditch along side the road.
Danny was telling me about this a few days later. He obviously had not been hurt. He explained that he managed to jump free just as the rig was beginning to roll over. I asked him what happened to the rig. I could imagine the contraption made of steel tubing, fiber glass tanks, assorted hoses and nozzles would end up in a crumpled mess at the bottom of the ditch. Danny acknowledged that rig was a little worse for wear. The metal cage around the engine was beat up pretty bad. The exhaust pipe broke off. It several other dents and scrapes.
I asked about the tanks. I could see them crumpled up like a paper cup. Then Danny explained that the tanks were fine. They didn’t break open. They weren’t even dented. I was surprised. Then Danny added, “They survived because they were full. Empty they would have been crushed. What was inside made them strong enough to withstand what happened outside.”
Did you hear that—what was inside made them strong enough to withstand what happened outside! That’s a parable of life. In this world you will take some tumbles. Things won’t always go right. You can get banged up. What’s on the inside will help you handle whatever happens on the outside.
That’s the secret of forever living in a whatever world!
***Dr. Roger W. Thomas is the preaching minister at First Christian Church, 205 W. Park St., Vandalia, MO 63382 and an adjunct professor of Bible and Preaching at Central Christian College of the Bible, 911 E. Urbandale, Moberly, MO. He is a graduate of Lincoln Christian College (BA) and Lincoln Christian Seminary (MA, MDiv), and Northern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin).
