Sermon: Fatherly Advice...
Scripture: Philippians - Various
Good morning...
Today, our Scripture is from Philippians. This book in the Bible doesn’t seem to get as much attention as Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. But it holds for us some very valuable teachings from Paul, as he was writing this letter to the church at Philippi. This Christian church at Philippi became one of Paul’s closest and dearest Christian communities.
So, as I was preparing the sermon for this morning, I became interested in the times and the city of Philippi, as it does have quite a history. So, I thought I would share a little of what I read.
The city of Philippi sits close to the Aegean Sea in the southern region of Macedonia. At one time it was known for the gold mining that was in the area. After 400 BC, Phillip II of Macedon seized the mines, fortified the city and named it for himself. Phillipi, along with the rest of Macedonia, soon came under Roman rule in the pursuing decades.
Because of the wealth that came from this city and the advantages of its location, Philippi became a very important metropolis and eventually the leading city in that district of Macedonia.
After the ministry of our Lord, Jesus Christ and then after the conversion of Saul, who then became the Apostle Paul, we see through Paul’s letters, written to these small emerging communities of faith the struggles that each of these churches were dealing with...the obstacles of keeping true to the teachings of Jesus...and the problems of becoming a body of believer’s and staying faithful to those teachings.
From its birth, the church in Philippi had two strikes against it. Its first recorded converts were an Asiatic Jewish merchant, named Lydia, a Greek slave girl employed as a sideshow fortune-teller, and a gruff Roman jailer. Yet more than a decade after the beginning of this church, Paul, when writing to them could hardly find words warm enough to express his pride and affection.
Three dedicated believers, who after hearing the Truth, and accepting the Truth, became separated out from the surrounding community...a community that was worldly...a community that was pagan and filled with the same evil characteristics that we can still see today in our world. These three born-again believers stayed true to all that Paul taught them about the Way of our Lord and then reached out to bring others to believe, too.
You see, some of the churches of Jesus Christ of that time had fallen far short of the ideals that Paul had entrusted to them...so far short that they seemed to have forgotten what the Church of Jesus Christ was supposed to look like and act like. Problems existed from the very beginning. Paul’s letters to Galatia, Corinth and Colosse seem to flame with indignation over the defects of these churches.
Occasionally, however, a church came along that worked, and against all odds. The church at Philippi was one of these rare congregations. They had endeared themselves to Paul and Paul in Philippians 1: 3 said, “I thank my God every time I remember you.” Paul loved this church because they did not fail him or his expectations for Christ’s church.
Paul even turned down money gifts from other churches, out of fear that his enemies might twist the facts and accuse him of being a crook. But Paul trusted the Philippians. At least four separate times they sacrificed to meet his needs. And they also sent Epaphroditus on an arduous journey to care for Paul when he was in prison. This disciple journeyed from Philippi to where Paul was imprisoned in Rome...that would be a journey of some 700 miles. That would be like traveling from this church to St Louis, MO. In those times it would take several weeks to complete a trip like this. The church at Philippi was a Loving and Caring Community of Faith! When others failed, these friends didn’t.
And so, as we read the book of Philippians, we see the warm appreciation that Paul extends to them and we understand his love for this one church that really understood what it meant to be part of the Body of Christ in this world.
Nevertheless, Paul couldn’t resist in this letter, the opportunity to give some fatherly advice...sort of a fireside-chat, if you would. And this is where I believe today we can again learn from the Word of God.
It continually amazes me every time I sit and read the Bible, how much it speaks to these, our modern times...how in the deep riches of what was written thousands of years ago, that it still pertains to our lives this very day.
And so, as I read Paul’s little fireside-chat to his dear friends, I realize that he is not only speaking to that small community of faith in Philippi in 61 AD...but he is also talking to me and he is also talking to you...all of us that are professed believers...he is giving us some fatherly advice that we should take to heart.
So, let’s talk about these concerns that Paul had for this faithful little church in Philippi...let’s talk about what Paul wants to say to us, today. On the front of your bulletin, we read this morning, four very important parts of this letter...four aspects that Paul wanted to emphasize to the Philippians, so that they would not stray from the true teaching of Jesus. These four important points still speak to us and our church today just as they did in 61 AD.
Ø Self Humbling (2: 3)
One of the real dangers facing the Philippian church was that of disunity. There were so many ideologies pulling them away from the teaching of Jesus. Just one major factor to consider was what was happening to Christians in the Roman world at this time. Nero was in power and to be a professed Christian might mean becoming a lighted torch for the games or even becoming one of the contestants against hungry lions.
Another danger which threatened was the fact that when people are really in earnest and their beliefs really matter to them, that they are apt to be too unforgiving of their fellow believers in the way they perceive their salvation. The greater the enthusiasm, the greater the danger that they may disagree. It is against this danger that Paul wishes to safeguard his friends. So, Paul points out three great causes of disunity...
1. First he speaks of selfish ambition. There is always the danger that people might work not to advance the Kingdom, but to advance themselves.
2. Second, there is the desire for personal prestige. To be admired and respected, to have a one’s opinion sought after, so as to be flattered. For many, this is a desirable thing.
3. And thirdly, there is the concentration of self. Concentration on self inevitably means elimination of others; and the object of life becomes not to help others up, but to push them down.
William Barclay tell of a man named Principal Cairns, who was very well know in the educational world. He would never enter a room first. He would always step back and say, “No, here, you go and I’ll follow.”
On one occasion, as he came up to climb the steps to go to one of the seats on the platform, the public noticed who he was and immediately burst into applause. Shocked, he turned and looked and stepped back and had the man behind him go ahead. And he applauded the man who had walked up behind him, thinking the applause was for him. That isn’t phony humility; that’s true humility. It never dawned on him that the public would applaud for him.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves”
Ø Pressing Towards the Goal (3: 13-14)
Paul’s second piece of advice to the Philippians was to always ‘press towards the goal’. You see, Paul considered himself to be the last Apostle, for he was commissioned by Jesus himself on the road to Damascus. At that moment he was given a commission that changed him from being a ‘murderer of Christians’ to a ‘soul saver’ and one who would spend the rest of his life spreading the Word of God to anyone and everyone who would listen to him.
This Apostleship cost him dearly. He lost the respect of his family, the respect of his Jewish friends. He was beaten, stoned, ridiculed, run out of town, chained, imprisoned and finally executed for what he believed so dearly.
And so, in his letter to his beloved friends in Philippi, he said, ‘press on toward the goal’. Press on in your understanding of God’s Way and God’s Will. Press on in finding the narrow road that leads to Heaven.
There’s the story of a man who had just returned from a tour of duty in the Vietnam War. He served both as an infantryman in a mortar platoon and then as a chaplain. He said things were harder as a chaplain than they ever were in the mortar platoon, because he was constantly on the front line. He just breathed the vapors of death continually with the men who came to see him as a Chaplain. He was asked how long he had been over there. He said, “Three-hundred sixty-six days.” He probably could have told the hours and the minutes, too, if asked. He said, ‘At the end, I longed for home like no one can imagine.”
As Christians, do we long for home...do we press toward the finish line...do we constantly hold in our mind’s eye, the glory of coming home to Our Father...to a place that has been prepared for us...to the eternal love that is waiting for us.
At the moment Paul wrote to the Philippians, he was chained to a soldier and awaiting his death in a cell in the city of Rome. And even in this circumstance, Paul continued to encourage his Christian friends...
“I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me...”
Paul encouraged his friends to do two things...one, to grasp the purpose for which Christ has grasped you and second, to forget the things past and to reach out for the things that are in front of you...in other words, press on with Godly Purpose.
Ø Lack of Anxiety (4: 6)
Paul continues with the advice, saying,
“Do not be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with great thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
It’s interesting that Paul would say this to his Christian friends. Because, you see, Paul had everything to fear...even his own oncoming death penalty. I think Paul knew that becoming anxious leads a Christian down the wrong road.
As I was reading, I found a few quotations regarding Anxiety that I thought might focus our thinking a little...
“Anxiety and Fear are sort of Siamese twins. “Anxiety is a thin stream of fear, trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.” (Arthur Somers Roch)
The National Anxiety Center of Maplewood, New Jersey, gives a list of the top ten anxieties for the nineties: 1. AIDS, 2. drug abuse, 3. nuclear waste, 4. the ozone layer, 5. famine, 6. homelessness, 7. the deficit, 8. air pollution, 9. water pollution, and 10. garbage.
You see there’s plenty to be anxious about. The early Christians had fears and anxious thoughts, too. You see, the Romans were persecuting and killing Christians.
Every week I receive an email magazine called ‘Voice of the Martyrs’. This is an organization based in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. This organizations mission is to keep track of and to report on Christian persecution in the world today.
And every week, I read about attacks on people who struggle to remain faithful to their Christian beliefs...people in China, people in Sudan, people in the country of Euritrea in Western Africa. All these people have reason to be anxious.
And yet, Paul tell us...Do not be anxious...and do you know why he says this? Because we as Christians have...
1. A Loving God...a Creator who wants to have a relationship with his Creation.
2. A God who is approachable...to whom we can take our supplications to through prayer. We have a God who knows the power of sincere prayer.
3. We have a God who is all-powerful and to whom we can give our thanks and our praise and who in return will give us peace of mind.
Anne Lindbergh, in her book, Gift from the Sea, said, “I would like to achieve a state of inner spiritual grace from which I could function and give as I was meant to in the eye of God.”
If we can humble ourselves enough to learn and if we continue to press toward becoming a mature Christian in our understanding of God Will and Way and we try to grasp that inner spiritual grace that Christ has offered us, I believe we would have the ability to all things.
Ø Ability to Do All Things (4: 13)
‘The ability to do all things’...this was the last bit of fatherly advice that Paul gave to his friends at Philippi. Through the strength of the Trinity, we have the ability to succeed...we have the ability to humble ourselves...we have the ability to seek our goal...we have the ability to rid ourselves of anxieties.
Then there’s the story of Wendy Stoker. At age 19, she was a freshman at the University of Florida. She was a young athlete. She place third, just 2.5 points from first place, in the Iowa girls’ state diving championship. She worked two hours a day for four years to get there. Now she was at the University of Florida and she was working twice as hard and had earned the number two position on the varsity diving squad. She’s aiming for the national finals. Wendy carries a full academic load, finds time for bowling, and is an accomplished water skier. Bet perhaps the most remarkable thing about Wendy Stoker is her typing. She bangs out 45 words a minute on her typewriter...with her toes! Oh, I didn’t mention the fact that Wendy was born without arms.
This is just one story...Think of Helen Keller, and others who have found the ability to do all things.
As Christians, we start as babes and we begin to grow with the help of the Holy Spirit who reveals all things to us. We find our strength in the example that Christ portrayed for us. We find our goal in God’s Will for us.
What more can we ask in our Christian walk...we have the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit all on our side. They are there for us and they continue to be there, now and for evermore.
Paul, sitting in a prison cell, chained to a roman soldier, awaiting his execution...
And he tells us to be humble...to continue to press forward with our faith?...not to be anxious about anything and he tells us we have the ability to do anything? How amazing is this? How wonderful is this? To know that now matter what may come our way...conflict, struggles, persecution and even death...that we should glory in the fact that we have a God who is all-powerful...who is loving...who cares for us and who is on both sides of the grave...and who is in control our every moment.
So, here we are, at the end of our little fireside chat with our close friend, Paul. We’ve read his letter and heard his ‘fatherly advice’. So, what are we to do with what we’ve learned?
I’m sure that if Paul were to give one more bit of ‘fatherly advice’, he might say,
“Now, go into all the world and spread the gospel, just as Jesus told us to do.”
But, wait...sometimes people find that hard to do. What can we say to them?
Just one last story...
There was a young salesman who was disappointed about losing a big sale, and as he talked with his sales manager he lamented, “I guess it just proves you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink.”
The manager replied, “Son, let me give you a little fatherly advice: your job is not to make him drink...your job is to make him thirsty.”
So it is with us, our lives and our churches...We should be so filled with Christ that it creates a thirst for the Gospel in others.
By the way we live our lives, by the joy that fills our hearts, and with the knowledge that we know the Truth...let us go out this week and make someone Thirsty for the ‘Living Water’
Peace be with you this week, my beloved. Amen.
