Philippians 4:10-13

Well, good morning and welcome to Life’s Restaurant. My name is Todd and I’ll be your server today. I hope you have enjoyed the appetizers of praise and worship this morning. Now, let me tell you about our main courses. I have to warn you that here at Life’s Restaurant you don’t always get what you order. I’m sorry about that but there is nothing you can do because you have to eat here.

But you can order whatever you want and the Chef will take it into consideration. I will say that a favorite around here is our delicious plate of Happiness Soufflé. Almost everybody orders that when they come here but I’ll be honest with you, it rarely satisfies. It’s a very small plate and if that’s what you want, you will rarely get enough.

Another favorite around here is a big ol’ Money Sandwich. You could say this is the opposite of a Po’ Boy. If that is what you want, you have to order it just right and work real hard and maybe you will get it, maybe not. The problem with this order is that when you order the Money Sandwich, you miss out on a lot of other good things. And even a double order is not very satisfying.

We have a special right now that I would like to tell you about. We have a Health Casserole that is very popular. It comes with a side of gym membership and spandex. It’s pretty hard to chew and the Chef may take it away from you with no warning so there’s that.

Other popular dishes we serve here at Life’s Restaurant are Glory Supreme which comes with a side of vanity. There is also the Sex, Drugs and Rock N Roll Soup which tastes great going down but I have to warn you, it will tear you up inside.

There is one other item that most folks don’t even know is on the menu. It’s not ordered very often because most people don’t think it sounds very appetizing. It doesn’t have a fancy name and it is not served on a fancy plate. And honestly, I have seen way too many people sample it and not like it. But if you continue eating it, it will be the most satisfying and fulfilling thing you have ever had. It is simply called Jesus.

When you order Jesus as your main course here at Life’s Restaurant, you will certainly get it. You are welcome to go back for more as often as you like as it is the only thing on the menu that is all you can eat. A little goes a long way but more is better and actually comes with every good thing this restaurant has to offer as sides. But the really good thing about ordering Jesus is that you will be content with whatever else the Chef brings you because Jesus goes well with everything.

Today, as you sit here feasting at Life’s Restaurant, are you content? Would you like to be? You can but if you order contentment, you rarely get it. You only get contentment through Jesus. When you give your life completely and fully to Him, you will find yourself able to be content no matter what else Life’s Restaurant serves up.

How do I know this? I know it because the Apostle Paul did it and tells us how in the book of Philippians. We have come to the end of our study of this beautiful little book and Paul concludes it with a summary of what happens when you put everything else he has talked about for four chapters into play in your life.

When you have joy in the Lord, unity in the church; when you press on to work out your salvation and when you are not worried but thinking about right things, focusing on getting to know Jesus more and more through prayer, scripture and church attendance then you can be content in this life through the power of Jesus. That is a summary of Philippians and what you get when your life is focused on Jesus. Let’s read it in Philippians 4:10-13.

I rejoiced greatly in the LORD that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I 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. 13I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Contentment is a fascinating thing. The more you chase after it, the less you have. The more stuff you get that you think will make you content, the more stuff you need. Some of the most contented people I have ever met have the least amount of stuff. It doesn’t make sense to this world and it only leads to frustration.

I found out in studying this week that there is a whole business model around contented cows. Morris suggested I look it up when I told him what I was preaching on today so I “researched” it. I Googled it and found that it started with Borden Dairy Company’s advertisements of Elsie the contented cow back in the 1940’s. The idea was that Borden kept their cows so contented that their milk output reflected their happy life.

That branched off into a business model that suggests if you keep your employees happy and comfortable and secure then they will be more productive as well. So, it works out well for everybody. There’s only one problem. As I just said, lasting contentment is not found in stuff. You can be content for a while…if things are good…if you have everything you need and want…but it never lasts.

Paul says here that he has learned to be content no matter the circumstance. Now how do you learn anything? Well, you can learn by reading about it in a book. You can learn by watching somebody else go through it or you can learn by experience. Anybody want to guess how Paul learned to be content? He learned by experience. He went through it. He went through the highest highs and the lowest lows.

I don’t know if you caught it but I started off by comparing God to a Chef in Life’s Restaurant serving us up whatever He wanted. Now, I want us to think about God as a Father. If God is a Father, and scripture calls Him that several times, then let’s think about how He treats His special child, the Apostle Paul.

Paul was extremely passionate when his name was Saul in persecuting the Christians. In Acts 9 it says that Paul was breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. His passionate hate was the breath in his lungs. It stirred him up and kept him going and I believe that is one reason why God chose to change him over to the right team and chose him to be one of the most influential Christians that has ever lived. Paul was a passionate man and for the rest of his life, Paul was passionate about seeing others come to know Jesus.

Before his conversion, Paul had been trained by the best and smartest people. He came from a long line of religious people. He had done all the right things and been to all the right places and could say all the right things. He had made good choices in his life and thought he was making a good choice by rooting out what he thought was blasphemy in this new “cult” called the Way or what we now call Christianity.

But then God changed his life. And you would think that God would see that he now has an all-star on his team. You would think that God would handle him with kid gloves and make everything go his way and protect him from anything that might hurt him or even discourage him.

But you know Paul’s story. He tells us in 2 Corinthians 11 that he was a servant of Christ. Then he goes on to say, “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. 28Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

I’m exhausted and in pain just from reading it! I can tell you after the first beating or two, I would have said, “I’m gonna go make some tents or something over here real quietly. Leave all that missionary stuff to somebody else.”

But I say all of that to show you two things. Number one – it’s not out of the realm of possibility for you to have to go through that kind of thing as well even as a Christian. Number two – you can still be content. You can still have everything you need. Even if your loving Heavenly Father allows you to go through the worst things in this world you can be content.

The Greek word Paul uses here for “content” is “autarkes” (aw-tar-kace) and it literally means to be self-sufficient, adequate and needing no assistance. Paul was glad to get whatever it was that the church in Philippi sent him but he was mainly glad because of what it meant for them. He didn’t need anything else to be content. He had contentment. He had joy and peace and God’s wisdom. He had all the promises of God but he was glad they sent it because of what it meant for them.

You may have noticed I rarely say much at all about tithing. I don’t because so many other preachers talk about it all the time and it has given preachers a bad name. The Bible talks a lot about giving but I’m afraid if I bring it up, somebody is going to say, “There he goes again, Ethyl, talking about money. That’s all he ever talks about.” I don’t want to give you that excuse. And it’s a shame because giving of your time, talent and treasure is how you get rewards in Heaven. That’s what Paul was talking about here.

We talked about it a little last Thursday night. Matthew 6 tells us not to store up treasures in this life because they will wear out or get stolen or ruined but instead use our time, talent and earthly treasure to store up treasure in Heaven. Money and stuff comes and goes. You should give your money and stuff to the church so we can do good things that God allows us to do with it but don’t think the church needs it. This church is autarkes. We don’t need a thing. God protects and provides like crazy but you need to give so that God sees your faith and will reward you. And that reward MIGHT be here but it will definitely be in Heaven for all eternity.

Like almost everything in God’s congress or how God works, it is countercultural. Giving to God will actually make you more content with what you do have. And I’ll tell you the truth, if you think I’m just saying that to get you to give then try this: give whatever God tells you to give to the church in Bridgeport or Decatur or Runaway Bay. Seriously. I want you to be rewarded for eternity just like Paul wanted for the Philippian church that was giving to him.

Have you ever seen an uprooted tree? When a storm uproots a tree, take a look at the massive root ball. The bigger the tree, the more massive the roots. The most important part of the tree, the part that is most vital to life is the part that can’t be seen. It’s basically the same with a Christian’s life. The most important and vital part is the part that can only be seen by God. When you give from the heart, whether it is giving your time, your talent or money, God sees. Don’t let anybody else know. That’s not their business. It’s between you and God and God sees the heart and rewards you for it. When you let other people know what you are doing or giving, Jesus said you have your reward right then and there. (Matt. 6:1-2)

But Paul’s main point here is really his main point in the whole book of Philippians. Do you want contentment? Get close to God. Do you want joy? Get close to God. Do you want peace? Get close to God. Matthew 6:33 backs it up when it says to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Paul says, I can do all things through Him who gives me strength and so many people think that means I can do all things through a verse taken out of context. Does that mean that Christ will give me strength to do anything I want? Nope. Keep it in context. Paul is talking about going through difficult times. He is chained to a guard. He is in prison. He has lost his freedom, his rights, his livelihood, his friends. He has no home. Food is questionable. Clothing is sparse. And Paul says, “I’m okay. I’m fine. Don’t need a thing.”

Now, guys, when Paul says he is fine, he means it. He’s fine. He’s content. This is not like how your wife says she is fine the day after y’all have a big argument. You know what I’m talking about. You think everything is over and done. You have gotten on with your life but your wife keeps giving you that look. You know the look. And when you ask her what’s wrong, she says, “Nothing! I’m fine.”

So, what do you say? “Whoo, good. I thought something was wrong. But if everything is fine, I guess I’ll go fishing.” If you have been married for more than 30 minutes, you know that’s the wrong answer. Her “fine” does not mean fine. She is not content and you are about to find out.

But Paul knew the secret to having true contentment. That’s what he called it in verse 12. It’s a secret. It’s a secret but he wants everybody to know that the secret is knowing Jesus Christ and knowing Him better and more intimately. It’s the whole theme of Philippians and it is the secret to this life and the next. I will say it again. Knowing Jesus more and better is the secret to having a rewarding, full and abundant life here and in the next life. It makes everything better in this life and the next. It was Paul’s one goal in life and everything else stemmed from knowing Jesus.

Leaning on his fence one day, a devout Quaker was watching a new neighbor move in next door. After all kinds of modern appliances, electronic gadgets, plush furniture, and costly wall hangings had been carried in, the onlooker called over, "If you find you're lacking anything, neighbor, let me know and I'll show you how to live without it." (SermonIllustrations.com)

I’ve heard it before that it takes for people to hear something at least three times before they start to remember it. Well, Paul has told us over and over and over in this book to have joy or rejoice in the Lord. He says here that he is content through Him who gives Paul strength. All of this; the joy, the peace, the contentment, the grace, mercy, blessing, everything is found IN Jesus, through Jesus, by Jesus and for Jesus. It is to our good and His glory and when you live your life with that mindset, you have everything you need.

Do you know Him today? I’m not asking if you go to church. I don’t care what class your mama taught or that your grandad was a preacher. Do you have a personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus? You can but you have to decide in this life. Once you die, it will be too late and we are not guaranteed another breath. Ask Him today to forgive you of all your many sins and if you ask sincerely, He will. Repent of those sins – turn away from that lifestyle and that attitude. Surrender everything you have and everything you are to Him today and make Him Lord of your life right now as we pray.

 

 

 

 

Philippians 4:8-9

I have said before that we are all weird. Is anybody really normal? What is normal? Who decides? Anyway, I found out just recently that not only are we all weird but we are also all crazy. It’s true. I was watching a show the other night by sleep scientist Matthew Walker who said that every night when we dream, we go through a nightly insanity. When we dream we see things that aren’t there. We talk to people who aren’t there. We do things that are impossible. We even taste, smell and feel things that are not real. We literally go crazy for a few hours every night. When you relax your mind completely and allow it to go and do what it wants, it will do crazy things.

How many of you have ever woke up and thought, “I just had the craziest dream”? We all have done it and we do it every night. We just don’t always remember it. I had a great dream the other night and I remember it because in my dream I just knew I had this great idea. It was so good, I couldn’t believe nobody had thought of it before.  I was going to do some fund-raising (for what, I don’t know) by getting celebrities to get their hair cut with a weedeater. They would see who could get it done the fastest and we would raise money…for something. Great idea, right? What could go wrong? No. It’s crazy! But in my dream, it was brilliant. I woke up so confused and disappointed.

But knowing that we all go crazy every night helped me to understand the importance of controlling our minds and our thoughts. Just as you would not want to be driving down the highway and take your hands off the wheel and close your eyes, you also have to control your thoughts. If you were driving and did that, your car is never going to take you to a good place. If you are not in control of your car and you go speeding down the road, the car is not going to pull safely into the McDonalds drive thru. It might go through the front door but it won’t be good. It’s the same with our minds. Left uncontrolled, our minds will take us to some crazy dark places where there is no peace and no joy much less a lovely McRib sandwich.

The Apostle Paul knew how dangerous our minds can be and knew that every temptation always starts in the mind. We have been going through the joy book of the Bible, the book of Philippians and we have read over and over that we are to have joy. Last week he told us not to worry and gave us the recipe, the formula for not worrying. There is a method that we have to go through when we are tempted to worry and we have to go through that process because worry is a sin and sin puts a barrier between us and God. So, not only does worry steal our joy and peace but there is no lasting peace and joy apart from God. Paul told us last week to replace worry with worship. We should pray about everything and start our prayers, specifically the prayers about our concerns, with worship and praise and thanksgiving. And Paul said that God’s peace will guard our hearts.

That is a wonderful privilege we have to be able to take every concern to Almighty God and respectfully ask Him to take care of it in a way that is to our benefit and to His glory. But Paul doesn’t stop there. He gives us more help to be able to control our minds because every sin starts in our minds. Let’s turn to Philippians 4 and read verses 8-9. By the way Paul writes this letter you would surely think he was laying around a huge palace, sitting by the pool drinking sweet tea and listening to smooth jazz on the radio. He mentions joy or rejoicing sixteen times in four chapters so surely he is living high on the hog right now, right?

Actually, he is writing this from a jail cell in Rome, arrested for preaching the Good News of Jesus because he wanted everybody to have the joy and peace that Jesus brings to this life but also the security of knowing that they would spend eternity in Heaven when they die. And for that, he was imprisoned and would ultimately die. But he had joy and he knew how to think. Let’s read it in Philippians 4:8-9.

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. 9Whatever 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 don’t know much about how computers work but I understand that they will only put out what you put into them. If you fill your computer with junk, you will get junk out. It’s the same with our minds. Proverbs 23:7 (KJV) says, “For as a man thinks, so he is.” Jesus said in Mark 7 that all evil comes from within us. So, Paul tells us to think on these things. That word “think” means to evaluate, consider thoughtfully, or to calculate. It is talking about a habitual discipline of the mind. It is part of the working out of our salvation that Paul talked about in chapter 2. It is going to require work on our part. God provides everything we need to do the work. But we have to do the work.

I know you don’t want to worry anymore. I know you are tired of it. I know you hate missing out on the blessings God has for you, not to mention the sleep you are missing laying awake at night worrying. And I wish I had an easy, “Make a wish and blow out the candles” method to help you but it is going to require some effort. And we are commanded to make that effort! Paul is giving us a command that comes from God when he said not to worry.

But in this passage, Paul gives us a cheat sheet on how to keep from worrying. In fact, it helps with every other sin as well because all sin starts in the mind. So, we have to discipline our mind to think on things other than those triggers that cause us to sin. I’m calling it a cheat sheet and so I have this verse printed out for everybody so you can make notes on it. Use it as a cheat sheet when you feel tempted to worry or gossip or lie or rob a bank or whatever it is that tempts you.

*If you are reading this message in jail or somewhere else, I recommend writing verse 8 out on a separate piece of paper and then making notes on that paper. * Or cut this part out… 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. Philippians 4:8

He says to think on these things instead of those triggers and he starts with what is true. Think on what is true. Now, I have given you this verse printed out for a reason. We have done this before a few years ago and some of you still have yours in your Bible. I did that so that you can write down something that is true right now while you are thinking about it and thinking clearly. Because in the heat of the battle, when Satan is whispering to you to go do that thing you like to do or say this thing or go over there and look at that or be that way and you know you shouldn’t but you are tempted to, it’s hard to think of anything else, much less sit down and thoughtfully consider what is true and what is lovely, etc.

So, right now, write down something that is true. But how do we know what is true? Well, the Bible is our guide for all things truth and do you know what scripture says is true? Scripture. Psalm 31, Isaiah 65 and Ephesians 4 all call God the God of truth and the God of truth inspired scripture so all scripture is truth.

Jesus prayed to the Father, “Your word is truth” in John 17. David said in Psalm 19, “The judgements of the Lord are true.” Psalm 119 adds, “All your commandments are truth.” The Bible is true and thinking about it leads to reading it and memorizing it and that leads away from temptation just like Jesus told us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer. So, tell me something in scripture that is true. Now, write that or something else true in the blank there.

Next, Paul tells us to think on things that are noble or honorable. It has to do with heavenly things not things that are temporary or earthly. I love to think about Heaven and what we are going to do there, eat there, and see there. I love to think about the music, the people, the golden streets, all of it. What about Heaven are you looking forward to? Write that in the blank.

Paul tells us to think about whatever is right. The world says whatever you feel is right but we know that feelings can often lead us astray. The word Paul uses means “righteous” and in perfect harmony with God’s standards. What is something that is righteous or right? The 10 Commandments. Jesus dying for our sins on the cross. Write that down.

Next, we have “pure.” There are not many things in this world that are pure besides Jesus but I’ll tell you what the guys in jail talk about a lot when we talk about things that are pure. Do you have young kids or babies, grandbabies? When you are tempted to sin, think about your grandchild finding out about you doing what you are tempted to do. How tempting is it now? Write their name in the blank or the name of somebody else even the name of Jesus.

Think on what is lovely. What is lovely? It could be translated as sweet, gracious, generous or patient. What does the Bible say is lovely? Psalm 133:1 says, “How good and pleasant it is when God's people live together in unity!” Maybe you want to write Christ Fellowship in that blank and think about your sin being shown on the screen here at church. That’s a unity-killer right there.

What is something that is admirable or of good repute? It means to be highly regarded. Proverbs 31:10 says a good wife is worth more than rubies. Maybe think about how your wife or husband will feel if they found out about your sin. Write their name in there.

Paul concludes with, “if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things.” Think about your reputation if nothing else. Numbers 32:23 says to be sure your sins will find you out. How are you going to feel when that happens and everybody and their mother and your mother and your dog finds out what you did or said or where you went or what you thought or worried about?

The drunk husband snuck up the stairs quietly. He looked in the bathroom mirror and bandaged the bumps and bruises he'd received in a fight earlier that night. He then proceeded to climb into bed, smiling at the thought that he'd pulled one over on his wife. When morning came, he opened his eyes and there stood his wife. "You were drunk last night weren't you!" "No, honey." "Well, if you weren't, then who put all the band-aids on the bathroom mirror?"

Paul gives us this cheat sheet so we don’t have to find out how that feels or worse. But I want to continue on to the next verse where Paul says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-put it into practice.” That’s Paul’s way of saying the Nike slogan. Just do it! Turn your thoughts into right practice. When you take the whole book of Philippians together, it tells you how to live in such a way that you will not worry but have joy. You will live a full and abundant life as Jesus said we could have in John 10:10. But you have to do more than just think right thoughts. Again, Paul tells us to work out our salvation which we know does not mean that we have to work FOR our salvation. It means that we are provided everything we need to do what God has put us here to do.

God has provided our minds to be able to figure things out. He has provided the energy and the ability and the opportunity. Now, you have to do it. And when you don’t know what to do, Paul tells us to get closer to the Lord. We do that through prayer, Bible study and being with like-minded church family.

When we pray, we go to God in worship and praise to start and then tell Him our needs. We don’t have to worry about anything because He loves us and is in control. And when we do start to worry, we go through the process of taking everything to Him with thanksgiving and then we think on these other things that we have learned today. It all adds up to a full and abundant life but we have to do our part. We are responsible for doing our part and the biggest part of our part is just getting closer to God. When we do that, everything is better in this life and the next.

Paul knew what he was talking about but remember, he is writing to a church of Jesus followers. He was writing to true Christians and if you are a true believer like that church was, you too can have what Paul is talking about. But it doesn’t work at all if you are not a believer. Unless you have given your life to God and accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for your sins, you will always struggle with worry and a bunch of other sins because unbelievers are slaves to sin. That’s just what they do.

So, today, if you have never asked God for forgiveness, do that right now. Allow Him to come into your life and change you and make you more and more like Him until you die. Do that right now as we pray.

 

 

Philippians 4:6-7

How many of you men are married? Now, even in the best marriages, there are sometimes differences of opinion. Sometimes those differences become serious debates or even vigorous discussions. Every now and then they may become a passionate exchange or even a hearty argument. Hopefully, it is rare that those become contentious quarrels. But, men, when those quarrels happen, have you ever tried to just simply say, “Honey, calm down!”? Have you ever tried to just end the ridiculous argument where you know you are right and she is wrong by saying, “Hey, you need to calm down!”? If you have and you are now out of the hospital, I would like to congratulate you for the effort. And I bet you never try that again, right? Because never in the history of calm down has a woman ever calmed down because her husband told her to calm down. It just doesn’t work that way. Now, guys, don’t say “amen” to that because, I’m not sure why but there is a real possibility that could lead to one of those “passionate exchanges” when you get home. Just look at her right now like you don’t know what I’m talking about. That’s good.

Well, just like saying “Calm down” doesn’t work when somebody is upset, saying, “Don’t worry” also doesn’t work when somebody feels like they have something to worry about. Worry is a feeling that just comes naturally. You don’t have to learn it in school. Your parents never had to sit you down and explain how to worry. There is no Master Class on how to be the best worrier you can be. If there were, some of you could teach that class, couldn’t you? I looked up the definition of worry and anxiety this week and found something interesting. I was trying to find out the difference between worry, anxiety and care. We know that God is not worried about anything but He does care about us so what’s the difference? And I didn’t find any really good answers. The basic definition of anxiety is if something makes you worry, that’s anxiety. The basic definition of worry is if something makes you anxious, then that’s worry. Well, thanks a lot.

But you know when you are worrying, or at least you do if you will stop and consider it. You know when you wake up at three in the morning and some thought keeps rolling around in your head. You are overly concerned about your health, your finances, your kids, your country and you should be concerned about all of those things but not overly so. And you know when you reach that tipping point and you know that it keeps you awake at night and it is bad for your mental and physical health and we are reminded in Philippians 4 that worrying is a sin. It displeases God when we worry. But some of you also need to be reminded of 1 Corinthians 10:13 that says, “No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

When it comes to worry, God has provided a way out of that temptation and that way is found specifically in Philippians 4:6-7. Let’s turn there now if you haven’t already. Remember, Paul is writing to his Christian friends in the church of Philippi. He loved these people and had special affection for them and Paul knew that they had reasons to worry. It was a hard time to be a Christian back in those days. Not only did they have reasons to worry about their health, finances and family but they were being persecuted for being followers of Jesus. But Paul, writing from a jail cell, had overflowing joy and wanted his friends to have that joy as well and he knew that when they showed joy instead of worry in the midst of their struggles that non-believers would see them and say, “Hey, I want what they have.”

If you can’t model joy and peace in the difficulties of this life, then what success will you have trying to witness to somebody and convince them that following Jesus is the way to live? You’ll have more success telling your wife to calm down because it just doesn’t work. So, let’s look at Philippians 4:6-7 as we continue through one of my favorite chapters in all of scripture. This is part two of learning how not to worry. We couldn’t get it all in last week and I will warn you / encourage you that there will also be a part three. But let’s read Philippians 4:6-7 now. It says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When we counsel someone to calm down or don’t worry, it almost always sounds like a cop out, right? So it is with “You should pray about it.” I was talking to a friend just last week and she was having some really worrisome issues going on and I said, “I hate for this to sound like a pastor but you really just need to pray about it.” And that is Paul’s solution to the worry problem as well. Just pray about it. But there is more to it then just, “Hey God, I’m worried about such and such. Fix it for me please.” With any difficult problem, there is a specific solution. There are steps to take. So, let’s look at the steps we need to take to solve the problem of worrying. Paul starts by saying to take every situation to God. Every situation. Big, small, medium, difficult, easy, doesn’t matter. We ought to already be having a running conversation with God. It ought to be second nature for a mature Christian to purposely think about adding God to the thought process of whatever situation we are in. And while I have said before that there is no wrong way to pray, there is a right way.

As believers, we have full and complete access to the throne room of God and there are times in an emergency that we just kick in the door and sprint to His throne and crawl up in His lap and beg for help. Nothing wrong with that when your car is sliding off the road into the canyon. But Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer that there is a method to going to God in prayer. Remember how it starts? In Matthew 6:9-10 Jesus says, “This, then, is how you should pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”  The way to start our serious, mindful prayers is with worship and adoration. That’s what Jesus is saying and the word Paul here is using in Philippians 4 is the word for basic prayer and basic prayer should always start with worship.

I heard the story of a church in Colorado in the 1980’s that was growing and growing and they kept adding rooms and out-buildings but they quickly ran out of room because they were at the base of a mountain. They felt God telling them to make more room but they didn’t know how and so they had a prayer meeting about it. The pastor stood up and started praying by just praising God. He just opened his heart and thanked God for His power and sovereignty and His creativity. He thanked Him for His grace and mercy and forgiveness and the man just truly worshiped God in prayer. Towards the end of the prayer, he added, almost as a second thought, how they needed more room and he asked God to provide. Supposedly this is a true story but I don’t remember if it was the next day or the next week but very soon after that, a construction company called the preacher and said they needed a massive amount of dirt for a construction project they had coming up and they were wondering how much the church would charge them to move a big part of that mountain out of the way. See, God is still in the mountain-moving business. We have all the power of the risen Lord in the power of prayer but the best way to pray is always to begin with worship. Jesus said it and we say we believe it but how often do we start that way? It’s so easy to just run in and vomit all our cares and wants and needs to God and then turn around and walk out. Then we wonder why God doesn’t answer our prayers like we asked. The first step in right praying is showing our adoration of Him.

The second step is petition or supplication. This has the meaning of being earnest and heartfelt but also to be specific. I like the way the Phillips Modern English version interprets it. “Whenever you pray, tell God every detail of your needs in thankful prayer.” I wonder if God ever gets tired of hearing, “Lord, please bless me. And please bless my friend Bobby and bless Karen and…” Bless how? With what? What are you really asking for? Tell God in detail what is worrying you.

I have also found some secrets about telling God my concerns in detail. First, it helps to be somewhere where you can say it out loud. When you say what is bothering you out loud, it often tends to bring it into focus for you and you realize it is probably nothing to worry about to begin with.  For me, it also helps to come in here when I am praying about something that is bothering me. I don’t know how many times I have started praying and before I can get a sentence out good, I see these little rocks in their little cups on the pulpit. For those of you that don’t know, these little pebbles are taken from the church parking lot in Runaway Bay when God provided a way for us to move over here debt-free. It’s a wonderfully long story that most of you have heard so I won’t go all through it again but it is a great reminder for me that God always provides. So, when I come over here and start complaining to God about not knowing what to do and how there’s no way this or that could ever happen and blah, blah, blah…God says, “Really? Because I remember doing a much bigger thing in the life of this church – TWICE – and all you had to do was turn it over to me. Maybe do that again?”

Again, Jesus is our model for this. In Hebrews 5:7 it says, “During the days of Jesus' life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears and was heard because of His worshipful submission. Praying like that is just saying, “God, here are my difficulties. I give them to You and I will do whatever you want me to do including doing nothing.” We start with worship. We pray with fervency and detail in faith that God is in control and He loves us. The next thing Paul tells us to do instead of worrying is to include thanksgiving in our prayers. Tell me right now what you are thankful for. What has God done in your life that you would give Him thanks? I’m thankful for family. Some family is by blood and some by the decision to be part of this church and I am thankful for my family. God has blessed me with a wonderful church family and a job that I love and a place to live that is wonderful and I am very grateful. Thank you, Lord!

Let me tell you what happens when you take your worries to God in fervent prayer with petition and thanksgiving. I’ll tell you by telling you a story. There once was a young man named Daniel. Ol’ Danny was a good boy. He had lived a hard life but as he got older, he made wise decisions and proved himself to be an honest and hard-working man. And his boss really like him and was going to promote him but his co-workers didn’t want him being their boss and so they framed him. Danny’s boss had made a rule that anybody that prayed to any god or man besides him would be thrown into the lion’s den. So, what does ol’ Danny do? He goes home and Daniel 6:10 says that Danny prayed (same word Paul uses in Phil. 4) and gave thanks to God. As soon as he did they hauled him into the boss’s office and the boss had to sentence him to the lion’s den. But, do you know what happened? The boss was sick at what he had done and he couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t eat. He was miserably worried. And as soon as it was first light, the boss ran down to the lion’s den and called into it. Daniel 6:20 says, “When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, "Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions?" And Danny said, “Huh? What? I’m sound asleep down here. Can you come back in a few minutes? Me and the cats are snuggled up and I don’t want to move.”

Okay, that’s my version of what happened but it’s pretty close. It’s like Daniel had been reading Philippians or something, right? (Even though Daniel lived about 500 years before Paul.) Daniel knew that going to God in worshipful prayer with thanksgiving brings peace. Amazing peace. Peace that you won’t believe and can’t even understand. That’s what Paul says in Philippians 4:7.  The peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. That word “guard” is “phroureo” (phroo-ray’-o) in the original Greek and it means to stand guard like a sentinel. It is a military term used to describe a garrison of men watching and guarding a protected place. When you became a Christian, you went from being an enemy of God to being a friend of God and you were given the right to have peace WITH God. But when you take your worries to God in worshipful, detailed prayer with thanksgiving, you now have the peace OF God and He is not going to let anything worrisome into your mind. He is guarding your mind with His own peace; a peace that I can’t explain and you can’t explain.

We don’t deserve it. God doesn’t have to give it. The world can’t even imagine it. But God gives that kind of peace because He loves you. As a child of the one true King, there are so many wonderful benefits. We can have peace and joy in the midst of great difficulty. He gives us wisdom if we but ask. Not to mention the incredible benefit of spending eternity with Him as a co-heir with Jesus to all the wonderful things God has planned for us in Heaven.

But all of that is ONLY for true believers. It is only for those who have asked God to forgive them of their many sins, repented – turned away – from those sins and that lifestyle and trusted God with every aspect of their lives and allowed God to change their lives. If that describes you then what in the world are you worried about? If that doesn’t describe you, then you have every reason to be worried. In fact, you ought to be scared to death. This life is hard enough without the peace and joy that God gives but the next life will be impossibly horrible as you spend eternity in a real place called Hell, separated from God and everybody else. I love you too much to sugar-coat it. Repent today of your sins and allow God access to every part of you. Do that right now as we pray.

 

Philippians 4:4-7

What is it about Heaven that you are looking forward to specifically? Are you looking forward to seeing Jesus? You gotta say yes to that, sitting here in church, right? But I think we all really are. Can you imagine getting to spend time with Jesus one on one? Can you imagine getting to take long walks in the countryside with Jesus explaining things to you? Can you imagine getting to hear Him explain all the “whys” you have?

“Lord, why did this have to happen? Why did I have to lose this person or this job or this thing I loved?” And then Jesus will explain all the things you couldn’t see or know that affected your life and it will all make sense and be okay.

I can’t wait to see Mama and my grandparents and King David and Paul and Peter and all those other people too. I can’t wait to have perfect joy and peace; no more tears, no more death, no more sorrow. I can’t wait to eat heavenly Mexican food and not get fat! There is a lot that I look forward to about Heaven.

But until I get to Heaven, I want this life to be the best that it can for me and everybody else. We can all agree on that. Where the disagreements come is how to do that. The world says to go for the gusto. Live your best life now. You deserve it. He with the most toys wins. You only live once.

They look at Christianity as a hindrance to living well. “Why would I want to go to church? That’s my only day off. I gotta have some me time. Plus, they just want my money. No thanks!” But what they don’t understand is that Christianity is the true way to peace, joy and happiness in this life PLUS there is all of eternity to think about and the only way to have any peace, joy and happiness in eternity is through knowing Jesus.

The book of Philippians is all about how to have joy. We have talked about that over and over as we have gone through this book and we have seen that Paul says that the only way to have any kind of true, lasting joy is through knowing Jesus and being obedient to Him. And we learned the past couple of weeks that the better you know Jesus, the more joy you will have. So, this book is really telling us the secret to making this life the best that it can be for us and everyone around us and I have enjoyed just eating this book up.

But now…now we come to the fourth chapter of Philippians and speaking of eating it up, this chapter reminds me of eating a really great meal. Have you ever eaten at one of those Brazilian steak houses? Some friends invited me to Texas de Brazil years ago. I’m sure it’s crazy expensive because it is all you can eat and it is incredible!

Now, the first three chapters of Philippians is sort of like the salad bar at Texas de Brazil. Their salad bar is amazing. Not just salad but meats and cheese and fish and soups and seafood. It’s easy to get filled up on the salad bar. But that’s a rookie mistake. Same with Philippians. Don’t stop with chapter three because chapter four is like the main course. It is the filet mignon, the leg of lamb and pork ribs and barbecued steak, the parmesan-crusted pork loin. Good grief, my mouth is watering. We are all going to have a hard time not thinking about lunch now. Sorry.

But my point is, if you want a great meal, eat at some place like that. If you want a good life, in this life AND the next, eat at Philippians chapter 4. Let’s quit drooling and go there now and we will taste and see that the Lord is good! (Psalm 34)

Now, what you have to remember is that Paul is writing this letter to his Christian friends in Philippi from a jail cell. Some of y’all have been in jail. Some of you may be reading this message sitting in jail. How is or was your attitude while you’re in the pokey? It is hard to have a good attitude while there, isn’t it? Well, Paul didn’t have TV or pillow or warm clothes or even three meals a day and he can’t quit talking about joy. Let’s see what the secret is.

Philippians 4:4-7 says, “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 every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul says twice to rejoice. Have “calm delight” in the Lord. That’s my favorite definition of joy – calm delight. Have joy or rejoice; have calm delight in the Lord. Now, if Todd was telling you to have calm delight always in this life, you might be nice and nod and smile while inside you are thinking, “Ain’t gonna happen, fat boy.” Right? But it’s not Todd telling you this. In fact, it’s not originally from Paul. This is God speaking through Paul giving that church in Philippi and this church in Lake Bridgeport a command. Rejoice in the Lord.

God is not saying, “Hey, it would be really cool if, you know, maybe if circumstances were good and you felt like it maybe you could fake a good feeling every now and then.” No. This is a command of God telling you how to live and it is the best way to live for you and everyone around you.

But I hear ya. “You don’t know how bad my circumstances…” STOP! Who said anything about circumstances? John MacArthur says, “Joy is not a feeling. It is the deep-down confidence that God is in control of everything for the believer’s good and His own glory, and thus all is well no matter what the circumstances.” (Philippians, pg. 273) Repeat.

Our joy is not found in circumstances because circumstances change. People will hurt you. They will disappoint you. Jobs will be lost. Health will decline. Fish will be uncatchable and old pontoon boats will sink. Don’t expect people or things to bring you joy. They can bring happiness but that’s different.

There is nothing wrong with being happy, of course. In fact, Jesus tells us several times in the Beatitudes how to be happy. But your joy should be permanent. And again, I hear ya. Todd, I want to be joyful. I want to rejoice always but sometimes, it’s just hard. I get it. I do. But here is where you have to make a trip back to the salad bar of chapter three and see why Paul made such a fuss about knowing Jesus and knowing Him better and knowing Him more intimately even to the point of suffering and death.

Because the more you know Jesus, the more joy you have. The more you know Him and the closer you are to Him, the easier it is to be still and know He is God. The easier it is to not worry about your circumstances and allow Him to work in you and through you for your good and His glory. So, without repeating too much of the last two messages, get to know Jesus better by spending time with Him in prayer, Bible study and with others who want the same thing.

Let’s keep going because in the next verse, Paul says two things that seem like they are from out in left field and we wonder what in the world he is talking about. Look at verse 5 again. He says to rejoice and then re-rejoice in verse 4. Keep on doing it. Then he says, “5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The LORD is near.” And I believe those two sentences go together hand in hand.

Now, somebody tell me what your translation has for that word the NIV translates gentleness. It may say moderation, considerate and unselfish, forbearance, magnanimity (!), reasonableness, gentle spirit or tolerance and they are all wrong. I say they are wrong because our English just can’t translate this word exactly right. It is a combination of all of that and more. After reading six or eight different commentaries and the concordance, the best way I can describe it in today’s language is to just chill. Chill out.

It means to know what is right but when somebody does something wrong, you don’t hammer them for it. I’m not talking about doctrine. We have no chill when it comes to what we believe about Jesus and how to get to Heaven or any “spinal” issue. But for the “rib” issues, just chill, baby.

When I was in high school, I remember taking a test in some class and the instructions were to finish the test and then walk up to the teacher’s desk, staple the sheets together and hand it to her. No problem. I finished my test, walked to her desk and I see the stapler is sitting on this plastic two-tiered stackable paper holder on her desk. So, I put the papers in the stapler and pressed down and completely crushed her paper holder. Broke it into twenty pieces. And I still remember the look she gave me like, “Really?” But she just smiled and said, “That’s okay. Don’t worry about it.”

It was a stupid mistake. I should have known better but I didn’t mean her any harm and so she didn’t get mad. What good would it have done to get mad? And 35 years later, I still remember her gentleness, her tolerance and reasonableness. I don’t remember her name but I remember that because it is so rare in this world. We are all just dying to be able to get mad at somebody for something when it never helps and never makes us feel any better and can do lasting damage. Let your gentleness be evident to all.

Then the next sentence goes hand in hand with that one because when you realize that the Lord is near, your gentleness will be more evident. Now, when Paul says the Lord is near, it could be that the Lord is near in time or in space. Either one works. The Lord is near in time in that He is coming back soon to get us at the rapture or at our deaths to usher us into Heaven and He is near in space in a way that He is always with us in a real way.

If you are a little kid and you know there are bullies down the street, life is scary. But if your big brother who is home on leave from the Marine Corp walks you to school, are you worried? You aren’t worried about what anybody is going to do to you because you know your big brother will protect you. But you also aren’t going to do anything that displeases your brother either. You aren’t going to act the fool and have him get onto you.

It’s the same way with knowing that the Lord is near. You know that all things work together for the good of those that know Him (Rom. 8:28) and so you have joy but you also don’t want to displease Him and suffer His wrath. So, all is well. Now act like it.

This moves us right along to verse 6 which is a verse that needs to be tattooed onto the back of some of your eyelids. Be anxious for nothing. The King James says to be careful for nothing and that’s not how we use the word “careful” anymore but it means to have a distracting care about something and again God is saying through Paul, “Don’t! Stop it!” It’s a command and to do what God commands us not to do is a sin and some of you need to repent right now.

Now, at this point I could read to you all the statistics about how stressed we all are these days and all the things that might bring worry and anxiety in this world. All I would have to do is read a few news headlines and we would all need to repent probably.

Or I could read to you what the internet says we should do to combat stress and worry in our lives and they aren’t necessarily wrong to recommend exercise and breathing and getting away from it all and all that stuff. But what it boils down to is anxiety stems from having a low view of God. When I say that, I know some of you are offended. You think you have a high and lofty view of God but you were just made a worrier. It’s how you were created. It’s what you do. You think I just don’t know what all is going on in your life.

Well, you’re right. I don’t know what is going in your life but God didn’t say to be anxious for nothing unless I created you a worrier. He didn’t say not to worry about anything except, you know, the really bad stuff. And if you think God created you to be a worrier that is basically the definition of having too low a view of Him. God is not going to create you to violate His commandments so stop saying that. Repent and let God handle it.

Jesus said in Matthew 6, “So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

Do you know what He is saying when He says to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness? Jesus is saying to get to know Him better. Seek Him. Pursue Him. Run after the things of Jesus with all your strength. Paul said in the last chapter that is what he did. He pressed on. He strained forward trying to know Jesus better and better forgetting about what was behind only trying to know Jesus more intimately whether his circumstances were good or bad.

My favorite verses in all of scripture are Isaiah 43:18-19 where God says, Todd, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”

The more you know Jesus, the more you will want to know Him and the more you will forget about what happened in the past and you will only be anxious in a good way, waiting to see what God is going to do next, not worried about anything. Why should you? If God is with you and in control and He loves you then what in the world is there to be worried about?

Okay, hey, have you ever watched a TV series that had a cliffhanger at the end of each episode? Then you couldn’t wait to see how it played out the next week, right? That’s part of the beauty of preaching through Philippians. It is so rich and so practical and helpful. I don’t want to skip through the next few verses in a hurry and I know after talking about food earlier, that’s all some of you are thinking about anyway.

Let me close with this. I was talking to a friend the other day who told me that he had started paying somebody to worry for him. I said, “Really? How does that work?” He said he tells the guy everything going on in his life and the guy does all the worrying. I said, “How much does that cost? I may want to hire him.” He said, “Well, I promised to give him a million dollars a year.” I said, “A million bucks? You don’t have a million bucks!” He said, “That’s his worry.”

In all seriousness, you have two choices in this life. You can be a slave to sin and live this life like you think is best and worry about every little thing and big thing. You might have some fleeting joy and a little happiness but it will disappear as soon as trouble comes. You will need to be really smart, really good, really wise and in the end you will die and spend eternity in Hell separated from God and everybody else. That’s what the Bible says.

Or you can be a slave to God and spend your days allowing Him to work in you and through you and revealing Himself to you more and more. You have nothing to worry about because He is near. He loves you and He is in control. And that brings great and lasting peace and joy. All you have to do is have faith that what He says is true; that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and no man comes to the Father except through Him.

Admit that you are a sinner. Sin is anything that displeases God. You have sin in your life and the only way to get to Heaven is to ask God to forgive you of those sins and 1 John 1:9 says He is faithful and just to forgive you and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. That starts a lifetime – an eternity, in fact – of knowing Him better and better and relying on Him more and more. That is yours by His grace. He wants to give you that grace. All you have to do is accept it. Do that right now as we pray.

 

 

 

 

 

Philippians 3:12-14

The year is 1985. The setting is a Castleberry High School track meet. A young Todd Blair is relaxing and laughing with some friends sitting on the grass next to the little concrete circle that we used for the shotput and discus competition. I was never a runner. I didn’t want to run. I wasn’t built to run even forty pounds ago like I weighed then. I enjoyed throwing the shotput and discus even though I wasn’t very good at that either. But that part of the track meet was over and I thought I was done for the day. The next race was what we called the 440. One lap around the track. I think it’s called the 400 meters now but whatever. It was one lap. They announced the race and then announced that there were only five people signed up for the race and there were spots for six people so if somebody else wanted to race, they could. There would be five ribbons handed out at the end. Again, I was never a runner. I wasn’t built for it nor was I dressed for it. I’m in my white, high-top, lace-up canvas Chuck Taylor tennis shoes and over-the-calf multi-color striped socks but nobody else volunteered to run so I thought, why not? I jumped up and ran to the starting blocks.

On your mark, get set, bang! I take off running. About the first turn, I notice that I am in first place. I am winning this race and I feel good. This is great! I am the wind. I am one with the track. I’m getting it! Whew! I’m also starting to get a little winded about the second corner and as I start to feel my lungs, I get passed by some kid. No problem. Second place is still very respectable and I’m still running hard. About half-way through, the second guy passes me. Obviously, these guys are world-class athletes so it’s no shame to come in third to these guys. Wow! My lungs are really starting to burn now. And, uh-oh. Third guy passes me at the third turn. At least I have fourth place. Not bad. But now my legs are getting heavy and my heart is pounding and as we pull into the home stretch the fourth guy passes but I am determined not to come in last. That is not going to be how this story ends! I am running as fast as I can, giving it all I have and now I can hear the last guy behind me. He’s getting closer as the finish line is getting closer. I can hear him breathing as we get closer and closer. Now I can feel his arm glance off mine. He is right beside me at the finish line. As we cross the line I stick my chest out with every ounce of energy I have and he sticks his chest out…just a little bit farther.

Last place. All for nothing. I’m exhausted, embarrassed and I’m done. I got no ribbon. I got no extra points with the coach or extra credit for my grade. How do you think I reacted after this? Do you think I was now more motivated than ever to run faster and get better? Do you think I was motivated to win medals and get glory and become a track star? Of course not. I was done running. What was the point, right?

And that is exactly how some of you feel right now about running the Christian race. That’s how you feel about knowing Jesus better and becoming more like Him. You have your ticket to Heaven. There was a point in your life when you asked God to forgive you of your many sins and to come into your life and change you and you admit that you can’t do it on your own and it is only through Jesus that we can get to Heaven. You did that. You got baptized. You go to church sometimes now. You even give a little moolah when the plate is passed but there’s no sense getting carried away with it, right?

The Apostle Paul would call you a fool; unwise and disobedient and he said the wrath of God will come on you. (Ephesians 5:6) Some of you wonder why your prayers never seem to get answered like you ask and you wonder why you always seem to be fighting some horrible battle. Maybe it’s because you have made bad decisions. Maybe it’s because you are being disobedient by not giving yourself fully to the Lord. Let’s turn to Philippians 3:12-14 and see what Paul says about knowing Jesus better and becoming more like Him.

I believe Paul must have been a sports fan. He uses sports illustrations a lot to help us understand what he is saying. He says we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood in Ephesians 6. He talked about boxing his body in 1 Corinthians 9:26. And he mentions running a lot in several different places and mentions the crowns the winners would get and how they would take the weights off their feet and so on. And it is the running analogy that we see here in this passage. Paul subtly works this running picture into our passage this morning. Let’s read it.

Philippians 3:12-14 says, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, 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.”

Paul was arguably the best, most powerful, most influential Christian to ever live. If anybody had reached their spiritual goals, surely it was Paul but here he denies that flat out. He says in verse 12 that he has not obtained his goal. The obvious question is, if you are just reading this passage, what goal was he pursuing? He told us that in the previous passage that we talked about last time. His goal, as he wrote in verses 8-11, was to know Jesus better. Paul is a Christian writing to Christians. He is not talking about how to get to Heaven. He is already going there. He is talking about the goal of his life now is to just know Jesus better and more intimately. But he’s not there yet. He knows Jesus well but he wants to know Him better.

Some of you are thinking you know Jesus pretty well. You know He was born in Bethlehem, raised a carpenter’s son, started His ministry at about age thirty, did that for three years and died on a cross because He made the Pharisees mad. There you go. Next project. But there is a big difference in knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus. There is a difference in praying to God and hearing from God. There is a difference between spending some time with Him and abiding in Him. Paul wanted to know the feeling John had when John had his head on the chest of Jesus as they finished their meal in John 13. Paul wanted to know what Jesus wanted, what He thought, what He did and even how He suffered. He wanted nothing more than to hear His voice and do what was expected of him.

In fact, not only was it Paul’s goal but he pursued that goal relentlessly. Look at the word “press” or “press on” in verses 12 and 14. I found this fascinating. Paul uses the word twice in this passage but it’s also the same word he uses in verse 6. Look at verse 6. Get your Bible back out and look at verse 6. Paul said he used to persecute the church. It’s the same word. To persecute here means to press on. It means to relentlessly pursue; to go after; to chase. Isn’t that interesting? Okay, it is to me. 😊

He says he is pursuing the intimate knowledge of Jesus but he isn’t there yet. Then he starts with the running analogy. He says, “But one thing I do:” Stop right there for a second. When you watch a good runner, what are they watching? They are looking straight ahead. Are they looking at their watch? Are they waving to their mama? Are they checking emails? Blowing kisses to the pretty girl in row 3? No. They are doing one thing; looking at one thing; concentrating on one thing. All their focus and energy is going toward winning the race.

In Luke 10, Jesus tells Martha who had been complaining about Mary not helping her, “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.” The blind man healed by Jesus in John 9 said, “One thing I do know: I was blind, and now I see." David said in Psalm 27:4, “One thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.

That’s what Paul wanted and that’s what we should want. But I hear ya. Sounds like a lotta work and I got stuff to do. I’m all about that Jesus but I have to go to work. I have kids. I have responsibilities. Paul is writing from jail. What else did he have to do? Straining toward the goal of knowing Jesus better sounds hard. Right? Well, let me tell you something. Life is hard. Life is hard for everybody but it’s harder if you are a Christian who is disobedient. It’s hard to be holy. But it’s hard not being holy. It’s hard to give your whole life to God. It’s hard not giving it all to Him. It is hard to go to church. It’s hard not to. What I mean is, there are consequences of disobedience. You remember BOOCOD? Benefits of obedience and consequences of disobedience? We all want the BOO but we don’t want the COD. But there is definitely COD.

So, would you rather live a hard life striving to know Jesus better or live a hard life barely knowing Him? Would you rather have peace and joy in the difficulty or have the difficulty without peace and joy? Would you prefer blessings in Heaven difficult or no blessings in Heaven difficult? It’s your choice. Paul has found that everything in this life and the next is better the better he knows Jesus.

So, at this point you should have one last question. We have seen what Paul’s goal was: knowing Jesus better. We have seen why we should do that as well. Now, let me ask you a question. How? How do we do that? How do we pursue, strain, press on toward the knowledge of Jesus? What does that look like? What can we do specifically to know Jesus better? There are basically three ways. I wish I had some flashy answer that involved exotic locations and lightning bolts but the ways to get to know Jesus better all involve just spending time with Him in prayer, scripture and church. “Oh, the preacher thinks we ought to go to church more! There’s a shocker!”

Well, let’s think about it for a second. Let’s go back to my opening story and let’s pretend that I want to run that race again. You really have to pretend because that’s the last thing I want to do but just use your imagination with me. If I wanted to run that 440-yard race and win it, what should I do? I better start training, right? I better start by getting some running shoes. I’m not going to do very good in these boots. So, running shoes would be a good start. Then maybe some of those shorty shorts all the runners wear. Maybe I’ll wait on those. Anyway, maybe I would subscribe to Runner’s World Magazine. Start hanging out with other runners like myself. Maybe get a stopwatch to time myself. I guess that’s about it, huh? I’ll be winning that race in no time. Oh, yea. I guess I better start running. Now, I could run on the street but the roads around here have a lot of holes plus there’s a lot of traffic and also, I don’t know how far 440 yards is. If I am serious about winning that race, I have to go to the track, don’t I? The track is built for that. It is made for nothing else but for people to run around it.

That’s sort of like if I want to really get to know Jesus more and better and more intimately, I’m sorry but the best place to do that is the church because everything we do around here is done to facilitate your getting to know the Lord. Even when the church is not in this building; when we are in the jail or ministering to the RV park or passing out flyers or anything else we do as a church, the main purpose of that is to help us all get to know Jesus better.

You can and should strive to know Him better on your own. You should, as part of your pressing on toward the goal, have a good quality quiet time every day. You should pray and sing and worship every day on your own but if you are like Paul and truly want to know Him and want to be obedient to Him and you want that peace and joy in this life plus blessings in the next life, you will spend every second you can at church.

Now, I have said many times and will say again that church is not the be all end all. Church attendance does not get you to Heaven. But that’s not what we are talking about. We are talking about how to know Jesus better. Paul says we should strive, press on, pursue relentlessly that goal. It is going to take a real effort and if you are serious about it, act like it. I know you have to work. You have kids. You have stuff to do and responsibilities but everything we do, every day we wake up ought to start, end and include some kind of worship. If you are really striving towards that goal, you will listen to Christian music and even sermons on the radio as you go about your day and evening.

Your conversations ought to reflect your desire to know Jesus better. Do you talk about Him? Do you think about Him? Do your hobbies include Him? Do you have that running conversation with Him as you go about your day? I realize some people can’t make it to church. Some people may read this message from a jail cell and have little or no opportunity to get to church. You are going to have to strive even more, pressing on toward that goal at every opportunity, concentrating more and more on Him and His ways and His desires and being obedient right where you are.

But none of this is even possible if you don’t have that relationship to begin with. You can’t know Him better if you have never truly met Him and given your life to Him. The thing about Jesus is when you realize who He is, you have to make a decision. You have to decide to give Him all of you forever more or none at all. There is no in between. Half-hearted Christianity is not Christianity. But when you truly understand who He is and you understand what He has done for you, you will want to make Him Lord of all you have and are. Ask Him today to forgive you of your sins. Ask Him to come into your life and change you. As Him to have control and you just have to be obedient. Do that right now as we pray.