“The Fear Factor” –Philippians 4:6-7

Every day of the world my dogs insist on going for a walk. I have 2 dogs; a 35 pound blue heeler named Sara who is perfect in every way and a 60 pound mix cow dog / man killer named Bo. And every day they are patient but insistent that we go for a walk. And every single day the first thing they both do is run across the street to the neighbors’house to see if their dogs are out.

The neighbors have two dogs as well. They have a little dachshund / terrier mix named Peanut and then they have what looks like a dog but just smaller. It’s a Chihuahua named Butter. Get it? Peanut and Butter? Yea. Anyway, Butter looks like you took a picture of a dog and then shrunk it. They have a chain link fence but when they got Butter they had to put chicken wire at the bottom because Butter could crawl through the chain link. He’s that small.

And when they are out, which is most days, Butter is the first to run to the fence to start barking and when he does all four go into a conniption fit of barking and running up and down the fence line and carrying on. When poor little Butter barks it sounds like a dog barking a long way off. He’s just not big enough to make much noise but it’s not for his lack of trying.

He gets his nose right up to the fence and goes bark for bark with big Bo who is probably literally 30 times his size. And both are barking like if they could just get to the other then they would just mop up the place with them. They are ferocious, vicious killers, both of them. It’s something to see.

Well, just the other day, I let the dogs out to go for a walk just like always and they ran across the street, where to everyone’s surprise, Butter was in the front yard (no fence) with his owner just standing there. Bo and Sara of course ran right up to him with Bo especially ready to finally settle the score once and for all. And what do you think happened? Did Butter whip Bo? Or did Bo whip Butter like Land o’Lakes? Get it? Whipped Land o’Lakes Butter? Nevermind.

Well, actually neither happened because as soon as Butter saw Bo he ran behind his owner and started crying until his owner picked him up. And when he was safe in his daddy’s arms he just quietly growled a little bit which sounded more like a cat purring, but anyway, he was safe. And when Bo and Sara and I were well out of their yard, I faintly heard Butter give a little bark, warning Bo never to come back.

The Bible, both Old and New Testaments, are full of passages of scripture telling us not to be afraid. Do not be afraid. God is with us. God will protect us. Don’t worry. Be strong and courageous. Don’t be scared. God didn’t give us a spirit of fear. You know the ones. And we comfort and encourage each other with those verses often, as we should. And here in church, we bark real loud about how with Christ we can do all things and we rightfully paraphrase the 3 Hebrew boys saying, “I know He can and I know He will but even if He doesn’t, still I will praise Him!”

I love to see the confident smiles that come on your faces when somebody says that and you should say that and you should be confident. The problem is, with every one of us, when we get outside of these walls and the big dog of debt, illness, addiction, family issues, job issues and problems of all kinds stares us in the face and is about to swallow us. Then we get all “Buttery”. Right? Oh, you don’t have to admit it out loud. But deep down, every one of us gets scared sometimes. I know you’re Bo on the outside but we all have a little Butter inside us.

Do you know what the #1 goal of the Bible is? The #1 goal of the Bible; the main thing that God wants you to learn and to become is that He wants you to be like Jesus. That’s it. The Old and the New Testament ultimately teach us how to be more like Jesus; how to make our lives look like the life of Jesus. And the reason that the Bible talks so much about fear and anxiety and worry is because that keeps us from becoming more like Jesus. Jesus had some great concerns. He had real problems. Do you realize that? He was all man and all God but that all man had to deal with some seriously scary issues.

None greater than just before he was arrested, tried and crucified. He was praying in the garden when Judas led a mob of soldiers and officials to Jesus. It says in John that He went out to them. Notice He didn’t hide from them. And when they got close, Jesus asked them who they were looking for. John 18:5-6 says, “⁵ “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) ⁶ When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.

Jesus spoke with such divine confidence, boldness and power that His very words made them fall backward. And do you know that you, too, can have that kind of confidence? We as believers have the very Spirit of God living inside of us. It’s why Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:7, “For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power.”

Paul knew of what he spoke too. Did anybody ever have more to be worried about or afraid of? He was often by himself, often in prison, always had people watching him, rarely had the comforts of home or family and yet he wrote constantly about being content, confident, peaceful and joyful. Don’t you wish you had that? Don’t you wish that could be said of you? What’s the secret to that kind of life? What’s a guy gotta do to be content, confident, peaceful and joyful?

Well, thankfully, Paul doesn’t keep it a secret. He tells us plainly in the book of Philippians, among other places. The fourth chapter of Philippians is such a powerhouse. I’m thinking about just camping out there and preaching just from that 4^th chapter for about the next 2 years. There are so many good verses in there; so many of you have as your favorite verse something from Philippians 4. So, let’s look at just 2 verses, verses 6 and 7 to see what Paul’s secret is to living without fear in a fearful world.

If you use the Bible in the pew back in front of you, turn to page??? Or follow along as I read Philippians 4:6-7.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Wow, that’s good stuff! Have you ever gone to talk with somebody about some problem or fear in your life and after explaining it all to them, they just say, “Don’t worry. It’s going to be ok.”? OH! OK! Now I’m better. You want to say, “Really? That’s all you got? Don’t worry. It’s gonna be ok? Why is it going to be ok?” But Paul actually explains how we can keep from worrying EVEN WHEN IT IS NOT GOING TO BE OK. Because basically, it is going to be ok even when it’s not ok. Make sense? No? Let’s look closer.

The secret, as we are going to see, is prayer; but not just any kind of prayer and when we pray in the right way then the result is: it’s gonna be ok. Paul says in verse 6 not to be anxious for anything. Some of your translations may say “Be careful for nothing”meaning to not be full of care. That word translated anxious or careful actually means to be distracted by something or to be pulled in two directions. I also read that it comes from the word meaning to be strangled. Isn’t that interesting? If you have ever been worried about something, you might understand that.

Worry and fear and anxiety most definitely have some physical consequences to them like headaches, ulcers, high blood pressure, depression or being mean to your favorite pastor and we don’t want any of that, right? The great commentator, Warren Wiersbe, says, “From the spiritual point of view, worry is wrong thinking in your head and wrong feelings in your heart about your circumstances and there is no greater thief of joy than worry or fear.”

But I know what you’re thinking out there. It’s just too hard in this day and age. The world is just too scary. There is so much going on just in our country, not to mention the world that you can’t help but be afraid sometimes. We have the very real threat of the ebola virus now. ISIS is growing stronger and bolder in the Middle East. The Pope is out there saying that maybe God caused the Big Bang. Homosexual mayors are threatening pastors with jail if they don’t stop speaking truth. You have lost your job, your pension and your mind and on top of all that we have 2 more years of Obama! The world has gone crazy! How do you keep from being scared?

Paul says we are to pray right. When the entire world is wrong, pray right. Paul uses three different words to describe praying right. “Prayer, petition and thanksgiving.” Now, if Paul had been a really good preacher he would have made all three words start with the same letter but since he didn’t, I won’t try to. At least he went with the standard 3 point sermon here and I appreciate that. “Prayer, petition and thanksgiving.”

John Bunyon said, “You can do more than pray, after you have prayed, but you cannot do more than pray until you have prayed.” Repeat. I would add that you can’t worry or be afraid if you pray as Paul admonishes us to do here. But what is the difference in prayer, petition and thanksgiving? Let me give you an example.

You need something from your boss, your spouse or your parent. So you go to that person knowing that they are a great person and you love and appreciate them and they love and appreciate you. You get along real well. But you need something that that other person can provide. So you walk into the room where they are and say, “I need $500 by Friday.” Then you walk out of the room. How do you think that is going to go over?

Even though you say it nicely and you make it plain what your need is, if that is all you say then you are probably going to continue to have a problem. But what if you come into the room and you tell that person how much you appreciate all that they have done for you and how much they mean to you and that you realize you are where you are because of them? Do you think that may help solve your problem a little easier?

And maybe if you thanked that person for considering the request and also for all the other things they have done in your life, do you think they might have a more favorable response? Why would God, your Father, not want to hear the same thing? Now, that’s not a perfect illustration especially if you think God can be buttered up and sweet-talked into doing something He might not otherwise do.

When Paul talks about prayer here, he is talking about the general kind of prayer that is involved in worship and adoration. When we find ourselves worrying or fearful our first response should be like Job’s. When Job got word that everything he had was gone, it says the first thing he did was fall down and worship. He worshipped because Job knew who God was and Job knew who Job was and when you have that understanding; when you know who you are and who God is then worship is appropriate and natural.

It is easy to tell God how great He is when you have experienced His grace and mercy and love and forgiveness.  If you are going to pray with adoration and worship then you have to adore Him and you can’t really adore Him until you have been through difficult times, leaned on Him, felt His grace and mercy and gotten through it.  I will say again that I don’t understand how people get through those difficult times without a relationship with God through His son Jesus.

 

The more and better you know Him; the longer you serve Him and submit to Him the more you see that relationship as valuable in your life.  Have you told God just how valuable He is to you?  Do you think that might be something you need to say and He wants to hear?  That is the kind of praying Paul is talking about here.

He also says that we are to “petition” God.  “Supplication” may be the word your version uses.  For most of you, you might think this would be the easiest because it basically just means to tell God what you need.  Be specific.  But it also means to do so with intensity.  Matthew 6:7 says, “And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.”  Intensity does not mean repetition or just babbling.

Now, I know as well as anybody that there are times when all you can say to God is “help!”  You don’t know how to pray.  You don’t know what words to use.  Your grief, confusion, pain and fear keep you from being able to be real eloquent sometimes and that is when, as Romans 8:26 says, that the Spirit intercedes for us and that is as it should be.  But God wants us to tell Him how we are feeling.  He wants you to be brutally honest with yourself and with Him.  If you are mad, sad, afraid or confused just tell Him.  Because honesty and intensity go hand in hand.

It’s how Jesus prayed in the garden, sweating drops of blood, being honest with the Father saying, “I don’t want to do this!” but ending with, “but not my will be done but yours.”  It was like Epaphras, who Paul said wrestled in prayer.  Like Jacob wrestling with God and saying, “I’m not going to let you go until I get an answer.”

I’ve told you before that I certainly don’t understand how prayer really works.  I know it does.  I just don’t understand all there is to know about it and that’s ok.  I do know, though, that sometimes the answer to that prayer is, “Keep praying.”  And that’s ok, too because the more and deeper the prayer the more and deeper your relationship becomes and the more you adore and worship Him and the more and deeper you start to become like Jesus and THAT is what God wants.

You know what?  Maybe that is the answer to your prayer right there.  In fact, that may be the answer to your prayer AND the reason that you are having to endure those difficult times that never seem to end…because God wants you, all of you and only you and is more concerned about you being like Him in those difficult times than in actually solving all your problems.

“But that’s not fair!”  Who said anything about fair?  In fact, I think God wants to hear you tell Him that your situation is not fair.  I do.  In your supplication, tell Him that your problems aren’t fair.  It’s not right.  You don’t deserve it.  You wish it wasn’t like this…BUT…BUT…not my will but yours be done!  That is praying like Jesus prayed and that is when you start to become more like Him and that is what Paul is talking about here.

Then you end your prayer with a time of thanksgiving.  “Prayer, petition or supplication and then thanksgiving.”  Scottish minister Alexander Whyte was known for his uplifting prayers in the pulpit. He always found something for which to be grateful. One Sunday morning the weather was so gloomy that one church member thought to himself, "Certainly the preacher won't think of anything for which to thank the Lord on a wretched day like this." Much to his surprise, however, Whyte began by praying, "We thank Thee, O God, that it is not always like this." Daily Bread, August 26, 1989.

Thank you, Lord, for what we have.  Thank you, Lord, for what we don’t have.  Thank you, Lord, for taking care of us and even though I don’t know how You are going to do it, thank you for answering our prayers.  There is always something for which to be thankful even if it is just the fact that God is working in you to make you more like Jesus.  Thank you Lord!

Now, do you know what happens when you pray right?  Do you know what happens when you pray with adoration, petition and thanksgiving and you do it about everything that you are worried about or scared of?  Paul says that the peace of God will guard you.  As believers, Romans 5:1 tells us that we always have peace WITH God but Paul says the peace OF God; that same peace that Jesus had and Paul had and so many others in the Bible had can be ours and not only will we have it but it will “guard our hearts and minds.”

That word “guard” is a military term that Paul would have been very familiar with because he was always being guarded by at least one soldier, usually more.  And just like that soldier was not going to let anything in that cell or out of that cell, God’s peace will guard your heart and the way you feel and also your mind or the way that you think.  That peace is going to guard you and not let worry or fear come in or let any peace go out.

It’s the same peace that Daniel had in the lion’s den that allowed him to sleep that night surrounded by hungry lions while the king was in his palace wide awake.  (Daniel 6) That peace is what allowed Peter to sleep in jail so soundly that the angel that came to rescue him had to kick him to wake him up. (Acts 6)  And that same peace can be yours if you pray right with worshipful adoration, petitions and thanksgiving.

My dear sweet family, a relationship with Jesus is not going to solve all of your problems.  You may even have more.  There is going to come a time when that big mean dog is going to bite you.  I hear people say sometimes that God will never give you more than you can handle but that’s not true.  He often gives you more than you can handle.  He just wants to see how you handle it.  Are you going to try to figure out a way out of it by dwelling on it or are you going to give it to Him in prayer and become more like Him?  It’s your free will…but it’s His peace.

I want to end by telling you the one thing that we should fear.  The Bible tells us plainly.  Unlike what President Roosevelt said that “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.”  The only thing we have to fear is God Himself.  Proverbs 1 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.  Even as believers we are to have a healthy respect for God Almighty.  That should be reflected in everything we pray.

For unbelievers, though, you should be worried.  You should be scared.  God will not be mocked nor will He be ignored.  He gives us free will but making wrong choices always comes with consequences.  Don’t wait any longer.  Don’t forfeit the peace that is beyond our understanding.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  It’s not just a memorable Bible verse.  It’s truth but you have to accept it.  Do it today.

“The Purpose Driven Church” – Evangelism – Acts 20:22-24

As we live and grow older it is common and normal to think about death and dying. Some folks don’t ever want to think about such things but I think we should think about it. I believe it’s healthy to contemplate how we should die as well as how we should live and the impact our lives have on others as we do both.

 

There was an elderly man at home, upstairs, dying in bed. He smelled the aroma of his favorite chocolate chip cookies baking. He wanted one last cookie before he died. He stumbled down the stairs and crawled into the kitchen where his wife was busy baking cookies. With his last remaining strength he crawled to the table and was just barely able to lift his withered arm to the cookie sheet. As he grasped a warm, moist chocolate chip cookie, his favorite kind, his wife suddenly whacked his hand with a spatula.
“Stop that! Those are for the funeral."

 

Leaving this world may not be a particularly nice thought for you. But if you had a choice, how would you want to leave this world? You would probably want your family with you, to love you, and comfort you as best they could. It sure would be nice to leave with a chocolate chip cookie on your breath if you ask me. I don’t want to go with broccoli being the last thing I ate, know what I mean?

 

Most people, though, try to save all of their lives just so they can enjoy their retirement and not have to worry about how and where they are going to spend their last years. There are some beautiful retirement apartments in downtown Ft. Worth where, if you will just give them a million dollars, they will do everything for you. You never have to worry about mowing the grass or cleaning house or even cooking. It’s all included in that one easy payment of a million bucks.

 

The questions are how do you want to live and how do you want to die? Can you imagine the manager of those apartments approaching the apostle Paul with that opportunity? Paul listens to the guy’s spiel and cocks his head to one side and says, “You mean to tell me that all I will be responsible for is getting myself dressed and figuring out what TV show to watch? What kind of life is that and what kind of death is that?”

 

See, Paul knew that there was more to this life than being comfortable. He knew that with great responsibility comes great reward. He knew that from whom much was given, much was required. He knew that how you die is a reflection of how you lived and he devoted himself to living and dying as much like Jesus as possible.

 

Too often I find myself inadvertently thinking of Paul as a superman. When you think of all that he went through and yet all that he did, it’s hard to believe that he was human just like us. But Paul had sin, fears, doubts and defeats just like we do and maybe more. Yet he made the decision to live out God’s purpose for his life in spite of those things. I have heard that the definition of courage is being scared but saddling up anyway.

 

I want us to look at a time when Paul was courageous in a beautiful passage in the New Testament book of Acts. Acts is just after the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and just before Romans. If you use the Bible in the back of the pew in front of you it is probably on page 788. Acts 20:22-24. The setting for this is later in Paul’s life after he had been a missionary for a long time and had started lots of churches all over Europe, Asia and the Middle East. You might think he would be planning for retirement or at least slowing down and figuring out how he would spend his last years as comfortable as possible.

 

But instead he calls a bunch of his friends together and gives them a goodbye speech. These are people from the church he started in Ephesus; people that loved him and didn’t want to see him go; people that gladly would have given him a place to stay and a salary to live out his life with them there. But Paul knew that wasn’t God’s will or His purpose for Paul’s life. So, let’s read what Paul tells them in Acts 20:22-24.

 

“And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. ²³ I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. ²⁴ However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.”

 

Brian Amerman, do you trust me? Can you conceive of a scenario in which I would knowingly hurt you or do anything negative to you or do anything that was not in your best interest? (I sure hope he says no.) Hold out your hands. (Tie his hands with wire ties and lead him to the front.)

 

When Paul says in verse 22 that he is “compelled by the Spirit”, the word “compelled” actually means to be bound either physically or legally or some other way. It has the idea of being bound in marriage or bound by contract or even chains. Some of you identify with the marriage and chains thought more than others. J What Paul was saying is that he really had no choice.

 

Oh, he had a choice but if he wanted to fulfill his purpose in life and continue to have that abundant life that Jesus had promised; and if he wanted to continue to have the joy and peace that comes from having a close relationship with God through His Son Jesus, then he had no choice but to go to Jerusalem. He was compelled to go like a bride is compelled to go with her husband.

 

Paul is being compelled to go to Jerusalem to do basically 2 things and those 2 things are also what we are compelled to do as well. He was compelled to go and he was compelled to bring. Jesus said in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might GO and bear fruit—fruit that will last.” If we are going to live a full and abundant life; if we are going to have peace and joy; if we are going to have a relationship with Jesus; and if we are going to live a purpose driven life then we too will go.

 

And of course right now you are all thinking that I am talking about going on a mission trip…and you wouldn’t be wrong. In fact, I am talking about going on a mission trip; maybe even a trip to India in early 2016 or a trip to Nicaragua in 2015 or a trip to Haiti. A closer option would be Michigan next year or to some of the prisons with the biker church or even to the county jail in Decatur.

 

That kind of thinking is all through the New Testament. The Great Commission in Matthew 28 says go and make disciples of all nations. Acts 1:8 says, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Mark 16:15 says, “He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Leaving your country, state or city was a common command for followers of Jesus 2000 years ago and it hasn’t changed.

 

But there is also the command to go to our neighbors. In Matthew 10:7 Jesus sends the disciples out to the local towns and villages and even the houses around them and tells them, “As you go, proclaim this message.” We will get to “What message?” here in a minute but the first thing you have to do is go. And the good thing about this is that you are already going. You are!

 

Where are you going? You are going to work, to school, to the grocery store, library, car wash, wherever. The secret is to go intentionally. I’m not saying that you otherwise go on accident. I’m saying that wherever you go, go with the intention of sharing Jesus with the people you have contact with. John the Baptist, Jesus, the disciples, Paul and so many others went about their daily lives not living to work or living to play but living as if everyone they met needed to hear the life-changing story of God’s grace…because they did need to hear it.

 

D.L. Moody! If we all knew the life story of the old evangelist D.L. Moody who lived in the 1800’s we would probably all rush out of here right now to go witness to somebody just at the mention of his name. Moody made it a practice to talk to at least one person every day about Jesus. He was going to witness to some lost person every day of his life. He saw a man on the street one time, stopped to talk to him and said, “Excuse me sir, do you mind if I ask if you are a Christian?” The man said, “That’s none of your business!” Moody said, “I’m sorry to offend you but it actually is my business.” To that the other man replied, “Oh, you must be D.L. Moody!”

 

I love that story! Moody was just going, just doing what he was supposed to be doing and minding his own business but his real business…was fulfilling his purpose for his life. His real business, and ours, is intentionally going about our business telling others…what? What was it that Moody was telling them? It was the same thing that Paul was telling them and it leads to the other aspect of evangelism. We are called to go but we are also called to bring.

 

Look back at our passage in Acts 20. Paul says he is compelled by the Spirit to go and then the last phrase tells us something very important. He says he is going to complete the task of testifying to God’s grace. Notice that the task is not to bring people to church. He is not bringing judgment. He is not bringing doctrine or some deep theology. He is bringing the people his own testimony of God’s grace.

 

Now there are several different styles of witnessing or evangelism. They can all work. It really just depends on what you are most comfortable with. There is the confrontational style like John the Baptist, Peter or Steven. “Repent and be baptized!” Short and not-so-sweet.

 

There is the intellectual style like Paul could do and did in Acts 17where he debated the philosophers. You really have to know your stuff to do that.

 

You could be relationalabout it. In Mark 5 Jesus told the demon-possessed man He had just healed to go home and tell his family what had happened. That style is great but just make sure you don’t JUST live it out. At some point you have to speak it.

 

Invitational? (John 4) The Samaritan woman at the well begged the people of the city to come and hear Jesus for themselves.

 

Serving? (Acts 9) Dorcas impacted her city by doing deeds of kindness which we saw last week is actually part of our purpose as people and as a church.

 

But my favorite way of evangelizing is testimonial. In John 9 Jesus heals a blind man and the Pharisees grill him about who healed him. He said he didn’t know anything about Jesus except this one thing. “I was blind but now I see.” And that is what Paul is encouraging us to do with his words in Acts 20. We may not be able to quote a lot of scripture or explain predestination or know what all of the symbolic sevens in Revelation stand for but we can tell about God’s grace in our lives. And nobody can dispute that.

 

What that means in my life is that I accepted Jesus into my life to be my Lord and Savior when I was seven years old. I didn’t understand everything about it and still don’t. I lived serving the Lord that way for a long time but, as some do, I drifted away in my late teens. While I was away from the Lord I suffered the consequences of disobedience and lost my joy and my peace. But as 1 John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And while my life today is far from perfect (I mean I still have to put up with Trey on Sunday nights!) God has blessed me so generously to be here doing what He has called me to do that it makes me want to tell everybody about God’s grace.

 

And when I give that testimony to people they can’t argue about that. What are they going to say, “You don’t have joy and peace”? No because that is my testimony. They don’t have to know my church history or my family history. In fact, those are really just distractions. The only time Paul ever mentions his history is to say that he considered all that to be rubbish compared to knowing Jesus.

 

Let me give you some practical advice on how to bring this up in conversation. I would love to say I thought of this but, once again, Paul said it in 1 Corinthians 9: “To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. ²¹ To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. ²² To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. ²³ I do all this for the sake of the gospel that I may share in its blessings.”

 

In other words, Paul found something in common with everybody. He found some commonality that would bring him closer to the other person which would allow for him to tell that person of what God had done in his life. If you try I know you can find something in common with almost everybody you come in contact with. And all it takes is one little thing.

 

Oh, you like chocolate? I love chocolate too. God is so good to allow us little things like chocolate to brighten our day and show us He loves us. Aren’t the changing colors of fall beautiful? Oh, yes, isn’t God creative the way He made the world with so many colors? See. It doesn’t have to be a big thing.

 

And maybe the other person just changes the subject but it just might allow for you to talk more about God’s grace and then into your testimony and then to how Romans says we are all sinners and that the wages of sin is death but John 3:16 says that God loves everybody and gave His own Son so we could live forever with Him. Boom. Gospel. You are a raging evangelist. You’re living out your purpose as a follower of Jesus.

 

Evangelism is just going and bringing. Go…to the grocery store or work or the Bridgeport football game or Nicaragua. Bring…the good news of God’s grace! You can do that. Oh, sure, people are going to reject you and make fun of you and ignore you. But that’s God’s thing to work on with them. You just do what you are supposed to do and you will have joy and peace in this life plus the rewards in Heaven reserved for those who live out their purpose.

But you can’t live out your purpose; you can’t have lasting peace; you can’t have eternal life in Heaven with Jesus when you die if you don’t accept Him to be Lord and Savior while you live. You have no testimony to share with others and you will never be content or live that full and abundant life Jesus promises without doing that. And I would love to tell you more about what that means right now if you would just come ask.

 

You don’t have to be good enough. You don’t have to clean up your life before you do. Again, that’s God’s thing to work on with you. You don’t even have to understand everything. I sure didn’t. Just understand that you are a sinner in need of forgiveness. Jesus came and died on the cross to pay the price for that sin so you could be forgiven. All you have to do is accept it. Accept the free gift of God’s amazing grace.

 

“The Purpose Driven Church” – Ministry – Philippians 2:1-11

How many Elvis Presley fans do we have here today? It’s ok. I would have to raise my hand as well. I like a lot of his songs. I have said before here that I think credit should be given where it is due and I believe that the 3 greatest musical performers of modern history are Garth Brooks, Michael Jackson and Elvis Presley. You have every right to disagree but as far as musical talent goes, those guys are tops. I admit to having a little Garth on my mp3; and I have some Elvis on there. No Michael, but I still respect his ability to perform.

But Elvis has always fascinated me. Called the King of Rock n Roll, he had 40 top 10 hits and is the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. He sold more than 250 million records and starred in 33 films. Whether that is your style of music or not you have to give him credit for being able to perform. Some people might even say that was his God-given purpose for being here. But Elvis himself would disagree with you.

I read a quote about Elvis from his wife Priscilla Presley after his death and when I read it I knew it was appropriate for the sermon series we are going through. She said, “Elvis never came to terms with who he was meant to be or what his purpose in life was. He thought he was here for a reason –maybe to preach, or to save, or to serve & care for people. That agonizing desire was always in him, and he knew he wasn’t fulfilling it.” (Quoted by Rick Warren)

“He thought he was here for a reason and he knew he wasn’t fulfilling it.” Tragic words. He had everything a man could possibly want. He had zillions of dollars, millions of fans, people all over who would do anything for him and yet he was unfulfilled. He was not living out his purpose. Isn’t that amazing? What’s the difference in his situation and Robin Williams, though? Or any number of other wealthy, high-profile, well-loved celebrities who have ended their own lives or cut them short by drinking or drugs?

Satan wants you dead. And if God won’t allow him to kill you he would love to get you involved in anything that is not your purpose in life because he knows that sooner or later it will kill you. He knows that your search for meaning through drugs, alcohol, fame, stuff, power, entertainment or even religion if done outside of biblical truth…will kill you. Proverbs says there is a way that seems right to a man but in the end leads to death.

God, though, has a plan for your life and a purpose for your life and when you follow that plan and purpose it leads to great contentment. In Philippians 4:11 Paul says, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” Paul knew what his purpose was and he lived it out. Was he comfortable? Probably not very often. Was he happy? Probably sometimes but not always. Was he joyful? Always. Was he wealthy? Nope. Famous? Infamous, maybe, while he lived.

In John 10:10 Jesus said He came to give us an abundant life. Paul is the poster boy for an abundant life, right? He had some stories to tell! He was never bored. He was never boring. You talk about the most interesting man in the world. Paul had that title! He had that title because he lived his purpose. Do you want everything that the world and Satan has to give and in the end it leads to an unfulfilling life and then eternal agonizing death or do you want an abundant life with joy and peace here and with eternal life in Heaven with Jesus; a life filled with God’s rewards there and here?

Ephesians 2:10 says we were “created in Christ Jesus to do good works.” That is one of the purposes of our lives. Do you remember any of the others we have looked at so far in this series as we go through the book “The Purpose Driven Life”? Worship, fellowship and discipleship are the others. Today we look at the purpose of our lives that is serving or of ministry. We were created to do good works.

Now, how many good works do we have to do before we get our ticket to Heaven? How long do we have to do nice things? How much worship, fellowship or discipleship do we have to do before God looks down and says, “Well done, my good and faithful servant. Enter into my rest.”? Dumb questions, right? We are not talking about how to get to Heaven.

We know that the only way to get to Heaven is by repenting of our sins and asking Jesus to be Lord and Savior of our lives and to change us to become more like Him. But when we do that, we submit to His will and purposes for our lives and while His will for everyone’s life is different, His purposes for us are basically the same. Today’s focus is on the purpose of ministry. Even Elvis knew his purpose was to minister and serve and when he didn’t fulfill that purpose he didn’t fulfill his life.

So, who should be our model for ministry? Elvis? Garth? Michael? I’m sure they have all done good things in this life but it’s not them. And while Paul is the poster boy for living out his purpose, it’s not even him either. Who did Paul learn from? He learned from Jesus. We learned last week that anyone who devotes their life to learning from Jesus is a disciple. So, let’s all be disciples and turn to Paul’s book of Philippians chapter 2, verses 1-11 and let’s learn from Jesus as well.

I mentioned Paul had joy and in no other book is that more evident than Philippians. He talks about joy a lot here. “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say rejoice!” he says in chapter 4. And he writes all of this…while in prison. And while he sometimes said that we should emulate him, he was always ultimately pointing to Jesus. Let’s read Philippians 2:1-11.

Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ² then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. ³ Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, ⁴not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. ⁵ In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:

⁶ Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
⁷ rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸ And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! ⁹ Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹ and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

Most commentators think Paul was quoting a hymn popular in the first church starting in verse 6. That may be why most versions choose to make it look a little differently. But wherever it comes from it is perfect for following the purpose of discipleship we looked at last week. With discipleship, we learn from Jesus as we live our lives. We have a relationship with Him and make the choice to continue learning from Him as we live.

Paul is saying at the beginning here that if we really do have that relationship; if we really do have fellowship with Him and are learning from Him then we will be like Paul because that is what Paul had. And if we are like-minded with Paul we will do as Paul did and emulate Jesus.

Paul ends this focus starting in verse 6 by describing how Jesus did what He did and His motivation for doing it. It says that Jesus made Himself to be a servant in human form and was obedient to the Father even to the point of dying. We will look deeper at this passage tonight and I will have lots of questions for you starting about 6 pm tonight. But this morning I want us to see more about how Jesus served. How did He minister? How did He live out His purpose?

How many of you believe that God has given you some sort of talent or ability or gift? Maybe you’re not the world’s greatest at it but you have the ability to serve God in some way. The Bible, and Paul specifically teaches that we all have God-given gifts. Do you know why? 1 Peter 4:10 says “Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others.” Some people want to serve God but they don’t really want to serve people. That’s not their gift, they think. But that’s not possible. God gave those gifts to us so we would serve other people and Jesus modeled that.

An elderly widow, restricted in her activities, was eager to serve Christ. After praying about this, she realized that she could bring blessing to others by playing the piano. The next day she placed this small ad in the Oakland Tribune: "Pianist will play hymns by phone daily for those who are sick and despondent--the service is free." The notice included the number to dial. When people called, she would ask, "What hymn would you like to hear?" Within a few months her playing had brought cheer to several hundred people. Many of them freely poured out their hearts to her, and she was able to help and encourage them. (Source Unknown.)

God has given all of us some gift or ability or talent. And while others may have that same ability and may even do it better, we have the unique opportunity to minister to those people God has given us to minister to. There are 4 things that we need to look at in the life of Jesus that made Him such a good minister or servant. The first thing I want us to see is that He was available. Do you know what the #1 killer of ministry is? It is busyness.

I heard a fascinating quote about ministers the other day, and you know, we are all ministers. I don’t know who said it but it went something like this. You should use the phrase “busy minister” in the same way you say “adulterous spouse” or “embezzling employee”. What do you think about that? It’s pretty severe but I think it’s true. Again, Satan wants us to think that busyness is next to godliness. But remember Satan is a liar and he wants you dead.

It may or may not be true that hard work never killed anyone but busyness has killed a lot of ministry. So many times in the Bible when Jesus does some amazing thing it is when He was on His way to do something else. In Matthew 20 it says that Jesus was leaving Jericho when two blind men asked Jesus to have mercy on them. So Jesus stopped. It says in verse 34 “Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.”

In Luke 8 Jesus is on His way to heal Jairus’s daughter and is almost being crushed by so many people around Him when a woman touches the hem of His robe and it says that Jesus stopped and it says in verse 48, Then he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace.”

Eric Hoffer said, “The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world.” Bits & Pieces, May 1990, p.1

Do you sometimes feel that all you do is rush, rush, rush? It’s not supposed to be that way. Have you ever said you were too busy to go on that mission trip; too busy to serve at the church; too busy to help somebody who needed it? You don’t do yourself nor anyone else any favor by not being available.

Everybody in the world, at one time or another just needs somebody to stopand be there for them. In fact, people are desperate to know that Jesus stops for them; that Jesus is there for them; that Jesus cares enough to stop and minister to them. And they see that through you as a disciple of Jesus who takes time to stop and minister to them. But you can’t do that if you are not available.

After being available, we see that Jesus was also grateful. We have Thanksgiving coming right up and you might think that being grateful is more appropriate for the sermon series we have coming in November. How does being grateful make you a more effective minister? Well, let’s see when Jesus was grateful.

In John 11:41Jesus is about to raise Lazarus from the dead but He stops and takes time to pray, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me.” Have you ever prayed that prayer? Most of us have. Most of us realize how ridiculous it seems that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe would stop and take time to hear our prayers. But the Bible is full of passages telling us that God does hear our prayers. And that should make us grateful.

Paul said in 1 Timothy 1:12, “I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service.” Thank you, Lord, for hearing me. Thank you, Lord, for giving me strength. Thank you Lord for sending Jesus to model thankfulness to me and through whom I have the strength to do all things!

Psalm 100:2 says, “Serve the Lord with gladness! ^rCome into his presence with singing.” We serve God with grateful hearts because He loved us and saved us. That ought to make you a serving force to be reckoned with. When you realize what you are saved from and what you are saved to then you should be grateful and that gratefulness makes you a powerful servant just like Jesus.

Jesus was available and He was grateful. He was also faithful in His service. What does it mean to be faithful? Jesus gives us a great definition, used of Himself in John 17:4 where He prays to the Father,“I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” What a perfect description of being faithful! Bringing glory to God by finishing the work He has given us to do.

Oswald Chambers said, “God wants to use us as He used His own Son.” But there is a problem with being faithful. See, the way to be faithful is to be consistent, to be always there, always doing your job; one that can be counted on at all times. This is somebody you can not only set your watch by but also your calendar. You know what I mean? This is somebody who never stops doing what they are supposed to be doing until they die.

And so the problem with being faithful is that most of the time you don’t get credit for it until you are dead. If somebody is faithful except for the last few years of their life, is that person really faithful? If a man is faithful to his wife most of the time, is he faithful? If your refrigerator works great except for those times every now and then when it quits, is it a faithful appliance?

In the fall of 1777, General George Washington and his ragtag assembly of men retreated to Valley Forge, PA to establish winter headquarters. It was a dark time for the revolution. Many died of starvation or cold, never more than half of the force was in any shape to battle at one time. Many deserted the cause, because the stress and suffering was too great. But thousands others remained faithful. They stayed in there, despite frozen bodies, starvation, sickness and bone-biting coldness, because they had a goal and a purpose for being there - that was more important to them than personal comfort or even safety.

So, the problem with faithfulness is that you rarely get the credit you deserve and if it wasn’t difficult then you would never hear the words from God, “Well done my good and FAITHFUL servant.” But Jesus proved Himself to be faithful and He is our model for that as well as for being available and grateful.

There is one more way that we can serve like Jesus served and that is to serve generously. And do you want an example of Jesus being generous? Well, you can just open up to almost any page of the Bible and see it. From Genesis 1, where God says, “Let us make man in our image” all the way to the cross where He so generously gave His life as the ultimate sacrifice for sin.

Jesus proved Himself to be available, grateful, faithful and very generous. And so now this is the point in the sermon where every smart preacher on the planet explains how you can be like Jesus and give your money to the church. And they wouldn’t be wrong to say it. Jesus was very generous and the church is His bride and is only sustained by your generosity. And maybe I’m not smart but I already know you to be generous. I know it is your generosity to this church that keeps the bills paid and the lights on and gives us the ability to do any kind of outreach.

But I also think about how Jesus was most generous. He spent His life pouring out His life for His friends. It ended with His generous substitution of Himself for us on that cross but it also included spending day in and day out worshipping with, discipling, fellowshipping, and ministering to those who had the least; who were least likely to repay Him or give Him credit for anything.

Do you want to be generous like Jesus was generous? Then it is going to take more than just giving to the church. It is going to require you giving your time, your talent and your treasure; your whole life for somebody else. Maybe that is one person every day, a different person every day or a group of people. Your life is not your own and you will never be satisfied; you will never fulfill your purpose as long as you are thinking of yourself first.

That is how you serve like Jesus. That is how you are available, grateful, faithful and generous. Because as the book says, “It’s not about you.”

Invitation: Generously giving your life for someone else starts by telling them that you love them too much not to tell them the truth about the free gift of salvation that Jesus provided on the cross when He died to take their place. A purpose-driven life can only begin with a relationship with the Savior. Confess your sins. Repent of those sins and ask Jesus into your life to be Lord and Savior today.

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