Wednesday, May 30, 2012

John 1:1-18 "And the Word Became Flesh"

Last week we concluded our look at Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It was a great chance for us to look at what a Christian life looks like and just how much we need to cling to Christ. Today, we begin our journey through the Gospel of John. John’s gospel is one of four gospels, or eye-witness accounts of Jesus’ earthly life and ministry. The Greek word for gospel, euangelion, means “good news.” The other 3 gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) are called collectively the Synoptic Gospels. These 3 gospel accounts include many similarities and resemble each other to a great degree, hence their title of Synoptic Gospels. John’s gospel, however, is a different account from the other gospels. This difference is seen right from the very beginning. Matthew and Luke’s accounts begin by telling us about the circumstances of Jesus’ conception and birth. Mark’s gospel begins with John the Baptist preparing the way for Jesus and then Jesus’ baptism. Now John’s gospel has this prologue, John the Baptist’s foretelling of Jesus, and then immediately moves into Jesus’ earthly ministry. There is no account of Jesus as a boy or his life before His earthly ministry. John’s gospel also differs from the Synoptics in that it downplays Jesus’ parables (none are recorded), downplays his miracles (records only 7), and focuses more on Jesus’ reasons for coming to earth and who He really is. You see, John’s gospel isn’t as much concerned with telling what Jesus did, but with telling us who He is. John’s primary focus is to make it very plain and clear to those reading this gospel that Jesus is God. Today, as we look at the prologue to this different type of gospel account there are several things that I want us to pay special attention to, while keeping in mind that the ultimate goal of this gospel is to show that Jesus is God.

Now I want to start off by saying that there is more information contained in these 18 verses than we could possibly hope to cover this morning. John 1:1-18, or as it is more commonly known: John’s Prologue, has been the subject of study for many scholars over the years. Brilliant biblical scholar James Montgomery Boice actually breaks this text down into 15 different sermons. Well, we don’t have that much time today. Also, while it is very understandable and beneficial to look at each verse in full and examine every little detail, there is a certain beauty that comes from looking at this unit as a whole and not breaking it down into smaller sections. With that being said, let’s look a little closer at the introduction that John gives us to his gospel.

The first thing that I want us to notice this morning as we look at this passage is a similarity that exists between John 1:1 and Genesis 1:1. “In the beginning” should sound very familiar to anyone who has ever attempted a reading of Scripture by starting at the first word. This statement here in John 1 points to Jesus’ divinity. It shows that there has never been a time that He was not. We can tell from v. 14 that the Word that is referred to here in John’s prologue is in fact Jesus Christ who “became flesh and dwelt among us.” We not only find here in the first few verses that Jesus is God, but that He was also with God in the beginning. Here John is making distinct the personalities of Jesus the Son and God the Father. This is an affirmation of our doctrine of the Trinity; made up of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Now aside from this fact that Jesus is God being what adds all efficacy to the crucifixion, you may be asking yourself the all-important “So What?” right about now. You may be saying to yourself, “Yeah, I know Jesus is God, I know about the total divinity of Jesus. I know that because he was God, his death on the cross paid for my sins. ” The so what is that now, we can know God. We can only imagine God the Father, but Jesus, the Son, was an actual living breathing person who we can know. We can know that he experienced all the same pains and joys that you and I feel. We can know that he knows hunger, loss, love, and compassion. Our God is a God who knows us, knows what it is like to be us, and is continuously caring for each and every one of us.

The next thing that I want us to pay close attention to is something that as you read further and further into John’s gospel (which we will) you find more of and that is the terms “light” and “life”. Often, throughout Scripture we find the falleness of the natural sinful world referred to as “darkness” and “death”. Here in the prologue of John’s gospel we find Jesus referred to as the complete opposite. Jesus is everything good in this world. All of the vile and disgusting things that we find in our world and in our very human natures are not in Jesus. I think that these are perhaps two of the most fitting words that we could ever hope to use to describe exactly what we have in Jesus. We hear of people who have “found religion” or who have “seen the light”. Our first thought is honestly to brush off this type of language because it sounds too supernatural. After all, not everyone has a Saul-to-Paul type of conversion. Not everyone sees an actual flash of light while traveling somewhere. But when we think of sin as being darkness, to come to Christ is seeing the light. And how great do we feel when we see the light in the darkness. If you have ever been driving late at night in complete darkness; all buildings are closed and you have only your headlights and the moon to guide you. When you reach your destination and you see even a glimpse of light, think of the relief that you feel. Now put that in life-and-death terms. You have navigated your way through sin and darkness and finally reached the feet of Jesus, the eternal light.

When we turn to the light, what do we find? We find life. The light that shines in the darkness and overtakes it is where we find life, but not just life, eternal life. Just as the darkness cannot overcome the light, death cannot overcome our Savior. He has conquered death. He has risen. To jump back to the context of John’s writing this, this light that has the power to give us life eternal was coming into the world. This light that through Him all things were created was coming. This light that was coming, was greater than all the darkness that was in the world during this time and all the darkness that will ever be.

Near the end of v.10 we start to see a shift in John’s language. Verses 10-13 speak of the reactions that the people of that day, and this day, have to Jesus Christ. You see, it’s pretty clear to me how a person reacts to Christ and the good news of the gospel. They either accept it or reject it. Now I fully acknowledge that this is many times not an immediate reaction, but eventually a decision is made as to whether to reject the gospel or not. John tells us here that his own people, meaning the Jews, didn’t accept him. Jesus was rejected. To many, he was a disappointment. He was not quite what they were looking for. Later in this gospel in 3:19 John records the words of Jesus saying, “the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” We ought to tremble at hearing this very phrase “their works were evil.” We could take this very statement and say “our works are evil.” It is from this very idea that Calvinism gets its first point, Total Depravity. Man being corrupt and polluted in some way in every aspect. There is no part of us that has not experienced sin in some way. And this rejection of Jesus should come as no surprise to us really. Look back at the Old Testament. It is quite common for those who proclaim God’s word to be cast out and despised to a certain degree. Why, even the patriarch Abraham had his moment of doubt when it came to God’s promise to give him a son through Sarah. He turned to Hagar to bare him a son instead of trusting in God’s promise. You see it’s quite simple, the reason why the world didn’t know and recognize Jesus as the Lord was because they didn’t want to. We, as well as anyone, can tell you that if we don’t want to see the truth, then we won’t.

Right here I’m going to pick on my alma mater a little bit. One of the great things about going to college in a college town is that you quite often see the prominent personnel of your school around town. When I was in school in Starkville, I would run across major figures from the university on a regular basis around town. I had the “privilege” of running into one of our more prominent football players several times and I must say that I was never impressed. The way he acted, the way he treated women, the way he treated his own body, was not the type of person I wanted leading my football team, much less representing my school. I was telling my dad about it one day on the golf course when a friend of his who was a huge State fan walked up and started chewing me out. He was one of those delusional fans; the type of guy who if it had their college’s name on it then it must be 100 % top quality. He started telling me that I had no idea what it was like to have that kind of pressure on me and that I had no clue what that young man had going on at home and all kinds of other stuff about why I was in the wrong. I listened to him until he nearly passed out from getting so worked up. When he finished he yelled, “Now do you have anything else to say?” I looked at the ground, looked at him, and I said, “Well, that might be true, but the state that I’ve seen him in numerous times isn’t the answer, and answers aren’t written on the bottom of bottles and glasses, and those girls that he was for lack of a better word harassing sure didn’t seem to really care for him or his way of handling his problems.” This friend of my dad’s just couldn’t see it; he didn’t want to see it. He refused to think anything less than good thoughts about this football player.

We know the truth. We know who Jesus is. The question becomes if we want to see it our not. As Christians, we want to receive Him. We long to receive Him. There is no excuse for us just as there was no excuse for those in Jesus’ day. Not only was there the miraculous conception and birth, but Jesus spent 3 years of ministry proving to all that he was who he claimed to be. He was God, come to earth in the form of man. Let this be a reminder to all of us that there are still many people who are out there today who have not yet accepted Jesus Christ because they simply will not believe it.

The second reaction to Jesus and His gospel is described in vv.12 & 13. We are told what awaits those who do receive Him. We are to become children of God. We are set apart. We are to receive that eternal life that Jesus has paid the price for. The ability of the light to overcome the darkness and life to conquer death is ours for all eternity. This is the good news of the gospel. This is our great hope. We are reborn. But being reborn is a much greater transformation than we might think. There is a change that takes place within every fiber of our being. If we make a change on only the intellectual level but never really change anything in our actions or deeds, there is not rebirth. Isaac Watts, the great hymn writer, wrote in “When I Survey the Wondrous Cross”:

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
That were a present far to small;
Love so amazing, so divine,
Demands my soul, my life, my all.

This rebirth that we are to experience when we truly accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior is our fulfilling of the Great Commandment. We love God with all our heart. We love God with all our soul. We love God with all our mind. We love God with all our strength. When we truly are reborn, we see things in a completely different light. There is more than a surface-level change that takes place.

It’s at this point where I want to challenge each and every one of us here today, myself included. We have seen the divinity of Jesus, His glory. We have seen that even though we are totally depraved and corrupted by sin, there is a light for us in Jesus Christ. This light is greater than all the darkness and can overcome all sin no matter how powerful. All of this being true, there are still those out there who reject the good news of the gospel. There are still those out there who are living in the darkness for one reason or another. There are those that choose to stay at home on Sunday after Sunday instead of gathering with God’s people to worship Him. Now it’s true that you and I can’t change the hearts and minds of those around us, that is something that only God has the power to do. But we can be the tools that He uses to carry out this great work. We do this by growing personally in our own walks with Christ. We do this by growing in grace ourselves. We do this by praying that God will give us the courage to speak when given the opportunity. Don’t be someone who lets others remain in the darkness. Point towards the light. Point others to Christ. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Philppians 4:19-23 "Resting in God's Promises"

Well, we’re finally here; the final verses of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. I have greatly enjoyed our look at every word, every letter, and every punctuation mark of this particular epistle, and I hope you have too, but there are still a few more words that need to be covered. Last week, we said that Paul’s parting words to the Philippian Christians were of such depth and length that it would take us a couple of weeks to deal with them all. We looked at his encouragement for us to be content despite our situation. We said that this contentment comes from Christ and that because of our having Christ within us that there is nothing that we cannot do. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. And so we come to our text this week; Paul’s final words to this congregation, and we find even more encouragement. We see a clear statement that God will provide; followed by Paul’s explicit command for how we are to respond to all that he has told us.

Verse 19 reads, “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Notice the word before God: my. You see, Paul knew who the only one who could supply all that the Christian needed was. He doesn’t say “a god” or “whatever god you happen to believe in at the time”, he says “my God”. He means the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. I understand the sentiment within our world today that God is pretty much the same in all religions, we just worship him in different ways. Well, maybe I should back up a bit. I understand that that idea exists, but I don’t understand it at all. I don’t agree with it in any way. To say that my God, the Creator of the Heavens and the earth is the same as any other god is quite simply not true. My God, who called everything into being and did so solely for his own glory, is not the same as any other god that people may worship. My God, is the One True God that Jesus lifted the High Priestly Prayer of John 17 up to.

Throughout Scripture, God makes promises to his children. Whether it is the promises specifically made to people such as Abraham or David, or a general promise made to a larger body of people like those made to Israel and to Christians everywhere, not one of them has failed. All of the promises that God made with those in the Old Testament about the coming Messiah came true; they were fulfilled. We know that, but think about some of the ones that are made in Scripture about the Christian life; specifically some of those within the New Testament. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him shall not perish but have everlasting life” is a promise of everlasting salvation. Romans 8:28, “and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” John 10:9 says, “I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture.” Later on in that very same chapter in verses 27 & 28 we find, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand.” Why, even in this very same letter that we have been looking at over the last 4 months, there are promises. Do you remember a few weeks ago when we looked at 4:6 & 7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let you requests be made know to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

And these are just some of the many promises made throughout Scripture. Well, today, we come to perhaps the greatest promise in the Bible because it includes all of these other promises. We’re told in verse 19 that our every need will be supplied. Do you need salvation? Of course you do, and God will supply it. Do you need strength during trials? God will supply it. Do you need comfort, strength, compassion, or someone to meet you in your loneliness? God will provide for all of these needs. He will supply all that we need in our various situations.

This week has been a particularly trying week at our house. We spent Sunday afternoon and all day Monday at Amy’s grandparent’s farm since we couldn’t be there to eat with everyone for a Mother’s Day gathering on Saturday. We had a great time getting together with them and there not being everyone else there. Instead of the full 20 of us being present, it was just Amy and I, her grandparents, and our kids. We got to sit and visit with them instead of worrying about taking care of everyone else or at least making sure that a majority was still pleasant and content. As Amy’s grandpa said, “It’s nice to just have y’all all to ourselves.” It was truly a good time getting to catch up with them. Well, when we went to leave early Tuesday morning there was a problem: our dog Beau was nowhere to be found. The other 2 dogs that live there were where they were supposed to be, but our dog wasn’t. It was odd, because he was always there. He was never one to venture too far from the house. He always wanted to stay as close to the house as he could so that he could get to us quickly when we came outside.

Well, after looking for him for a couple of hours, we decided that we would go ahead and leave and hope that he showed up later. So, we all loaded up and left. We got maybe 10 minutes down the road and decided that we needed to go back and look some more. So we turned around and proceeded to walk through poison ivy, thorn bushes, blackberries, and pine tree saplings for another 2 hours in hopes that we mind find him. It would be just like the movies you know? We couldn’t leave him alone, we return back and because of our determination we would be rewarded. Well, that didn’t happen. We didn’t find him. After determining that we simply weren’t going to find him, we were faced with the task of breaking the news to our kids. I know this doesn’t seem like much, but in our family it is a difficult thing. You see, they have never known a time without him. For that matter, Amy and I have never known what it’s like to be married without him. We have always referred to our dog when talking to Ashby and Thomas as, “your brother.” Ashby has even been known to call Beau her favorite brother on occasion.

And we told them that he was missing, but that they might not see him again. Ashby told Amy, “That’s okay momma. It’ll be ok.” Not wanting to let them know how bad things were, we quickly told them we knew and loaded them back into the truck to head back home. About halfway back, Amy and I were talking and she began to cry a little. Well, Ashby asks Amy, “Why are you upset momma? What’s wrong?” I told her that her momma just missed Beau and was a little sad about it. Ashby responded, “Yeah, I miss him too, but maybe we’ll find him when we get home. Maybe he’s at our house.” Well, realizing that our earlier attempts had not quite done the job, once again we had to tell her the news. We told her that her dog had gone to heaven. Now this isn’t the place to insert an argument for canines entering into heaven. If you would like my opinions on that matter, you can come and ask me some other day. But after hearing me tell her that her dog was now in heaven, Ashby responded with, “Oh, like Jesus.” Tears began to well up in our eyes as we heard the words “like Jesus” come from our daughter’s mouth. It was in that moment where I thought back to the words of last week “all things.” Just knowing the fact that my daughter has already begun to piece together the notion that death isn’t something to fear or to run from because there is Jesus Christ was enough to put both Amy and I over the edge. For a brief moment, the pain of losing a beloved member of our family without any warning or really any idea what happened was overcome by the words of a child.

Now it may not seem like much and we know that in the grand scheme of things it’s not a big deal that we lost our dog. Part of owning a pet is that they quite simply don’t live as long as we do, and I’m very thankful for that fact. But it is tough dealing with loss, no matter what shape or form it may take. And we still hold out some hope that maybe one day we will find him or that we will at least find out what happened to him, but it’s just not the same around our house today as it was a week ago. You see, our house has been filled with a lot of stress lately. We’ve had some bad luck in numerous areas of our life as of late. To say that some things could have gone better for us lately would be a bit of an understatement. Don’t get me wrong, we’re still blessed, but there are days that it takes a lot of reminding for us to remember how blessed we truly are. As I was sitting outside our house this week watching the kids play in the yard, I was thinking about all that has gone on in the life of our family as of late and that statement and sentiment that I hate more than anything in this world crept into my mind, “This isn’t fair.” Because you see it isn’t fair, we all really deserve something much worse than we have received.

As I continued thinking along this same line, I start to think about this weeks’ text dealing with God’s promises never failing. In 1 Corinthians 10:13, Paul writes, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability…” This is the verse where we get the popular saying, “God won’t give us more than we can handle.” (And all this time you thought that was in the Bible) As I began to ponder that verse, I was reminded that this verse in 1 Corinthians 10 highlights that God will not allow a Christian to be tempted beyond what he can bear, but it does not say that he is the source of the temptation or trial. James 1:13 says, “When under trial, let no one say: ‘I am being tried by God.’ For with evil things God cannot be tried nor does he himself try anyone.” So God does not bring problems on us. He is not the source of the trials we may face, but he does allow us to be tried, and as Scripture tells us, he will help us, if we rely on him. He will provide for us and supply for our every need.

The final part of verse 19 says that His supplying for our needs will be “according to his riches in glory.” Now, it’s a little lost on many of us when we see something spectacular. When you think about it, the mere concept of typing a message on a computer screen, clicking a button, and someone halfway across the world being able to read it almost instantly is quite spectacular. However, most of us don’t give this a second thought because it is commonplace in today’s world. It’s something that many of us can experience on a regular basis. For us to assume that something is spectacular, it has to be something that not everyone can experience. Think about a person going into space. This is definitely something that many more people won’t experience than will. What if someone who would never go into space wanted to experience space? Well, this would be a quite difficult task. Suppose that an astronaut decided that he was going to take a canister of some sort and open it up while he was in space. Theoretically, he could close the lid and seal space inside of it. He could then bring it back to earth and present it as a gift to another person. In one sense, this canister would contain a sample of space, but it really wouldn’t give a person here on earth an idea of what space is like. It would not even begin to capture the immensity and grandeur of space. No matter the size of the container, it’s not going to be big enough to contain the vastness of space.

In a one sense, this promise that God makes to fill our every need in Jesus Christ out of his glory, is like that of the example given about space. We are given some of the glory of God. Even as we grow as Christians and are able to experience even more of the glory of God, it’s never going to come close to the full magnitude of God’s glory. There will always be infinite glory beyond that which we experience. We can’t exhaust the riches of God. Our needs are never too great for God to provide for. Think about it, the finite cannot exhaust the infinite. It isn’t possible. God can and will provide for our every need. Paul makes that promise very clear here in our text today. He will provide for our every need through his Son Jesus Christ. And just as the words of my daughter in a moment of pain reminded me of the joy that exists within Christ, Paul’s words here should remind us of the joy in Christ that we should have every day. Because Christ has given us the ultimate gift, he has provided for our greatest need with his saving death and resurrection. That, salvation, paying the price that is owed for our sins, is something that none of us can do, but Christ has done it for us.

And all of this leads us to Paul’s benediction as it’s found in the final 3 verses. Now, this is pretty much a signature ending to a letter, but I want us to look at something quickly before leaving this letter. In verses 21 and 22 Paul writes, “Greet every saint in Christ Jesus,” and “All the saints great you.” These two words, every and all, are great reminders to us. All of the calls to Christian living that Paul has made to us throughout this letter; all of the talk about being content in Christ, trusting in God to provide, praying for all we need, and all of the other calls made by Paul during this letter culminate with one simple notion. That simple notion is that we are to take the message of the gospel to everyone. We are to witness to all those who we come in contact with. Friends, the grace that God gives to each and every one of us is amazing and much more than we deserve. How could we possibly want to keep such great and wonderful news a secret? How could we want to keep this to ourselves? We must take the good news of the gospel and proclaim it until such time as we can no longer do so; for we have been purchased at a great price. Let’s take up the task of proclaiming the joy that we find in Jesus Christ to all those who have ears to hear and eyes to see. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Sunday, May 13, 2012

Philippians 4:10-18 "Contentment"

Well, we’re getting closer to the conclusion of our study of Philippians. Next Sunday will be the final week in our look at Paul’s letter to this beloved congregation. And as with many letters, there is more of an ending needed than a simple goodbye. Paul begins the process of ending his letter in 4:10 and it takes him 13 verses to accomplish this task. We will look at the first part of Paul’s farewell address this week, and then dissect his final parting words next Sunday. And these words for us in our text here today carry with them a great deal of biblical history. In just a few short verses, we’re told of a time in Paul’s life and ministry that was pretty difficult. And Paul is telling them exactly what large part they played in sustaining him throughout some of his struggles.

Having a little bit of a better understanding of where we are in terms of history will help us to understand Paul’s sentiments here more clearly. During Paul’s first missionary journey, he entered into this city named Philippi in the region of Macedonia. At that time, there were no Christians there, and Paul began to preach and teach the words of the Old Testament to small groups of people there. As they began to understand what he was saying to them, he made sure to link what he was teaching them to the life of Jesus Christ. Those who had listened to Paul’s teachings began to profess their faith in Christ, become Christians, and establish a church there in Philippi. After the establishment of this church and its becoming functional on its own, Paul left to carry out this same task in other parts of the world.

His first stop after Philippi was Thessalonica; the same Thessalonica from 1 & 2 Thessalonians. After leaving Thessalonica, Paul went to Berea and then Athens. Throughout all of his travels, this church at Philippi continued to support the Apostle Paul. They were a church that constantly remembered Paul and cared for his needs. Throughout Scripture, churches are known and remembered for their actions. The church in Ephesus was known for its hard work. Corinth is known for its division and moral laxity. Why, there are even churches today that upon hearing their name, they are immediately associated with their work. It may be the negative descriptors like those associated with Westboro Baptist Church. It may be something positive like we think of when we hear about Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York. Well, the church a Philippi is no different. The Philippian church is remembered because it remembered. It cared for Paul and provided for his needs when no other church did so; not even those other churches that Paul worked to establish.

At the time Paul is writing this letter, many years have passed since Paul first visited Philippi and founded the church there, but the love that they had for him had only grown over time. The phrase “absence makes the heart grow fonder” very much applies to the relationship between Paul and this body of believers. Whenever they received word that Paul was in need they immediately worked at providing for that need. Even if the necessary funds weren’t readily available, they raised the money to take care of whatever Paul needed. And Paul is very well aware of this fact. In verse 18 we read, “I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied.” But this text is much more than a simple thank you to the Philippians for their continued support of Paul’s missionary ministry.

I think that the central theme of this text is found closer to the beginning. Beginning in verse 11 we read, “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” After reading this, that word “content” causes me to pause. It gives me great difficulty, and it’s not so much the meaning of the word, but the application of it. Because Paul is telling us here that no matter the circumstance, that we are not to be worried and we are to trust that God will provide. And this is difficult for many of us to be okay with. The word “content” means to be satisfied and to not want more. And it’s this sentiment that many of us have a difficult time dealing with.

As your pastor, I have the responsibility of standing up here each and every Sunday and delivering God’s Word to you. In doing so, it is my responsibility to inform you as to just how that word applies to you. But you see, I have to do much more than simply tell you what the text means to you and how it impacts the way that you are to live your life. I have to let it impact my life too. In fact, part of my calling is to be an example and to literally “practice what I preach.” And that’s exactly what I plan on doing this morning. You see, I have felt this problem. I have fallen victim to not trusting in God to provide for my every need and to not being content with my situation. I want to take a minute to tell you just how this has looked in my life, at least in its most recent form. As many of you know, Amy and I had lived in Jackson, MS for quite some time before moving to Houma; 6 ½ years to be exact. And we had a nice little house; our first house together. Unfortunately, we still have that house, and it’s not as a vacation home. Each month, writing a check that goes to pay a mortgage on a house that we don’t even use irritates me. I’m not very content with this situation. I have this want to change my situation. I’m not very satisfied with still owning this particular piece of property.

Now, I don’t mean to turn this into a rant about my not being able to sell a house or a plea for help. That’s not what I’m trying to do at all, and I hope that none of you take that from what I’m saying. I’m trying to show you just how easy it is for us to not be content. Because when you look at it, what’s there to not be content about? In my particular situation, I have a beautiful wife, amazing kids, a good job, a loving church family, and so many more blessings that I can’t begin to name them all. This thing about having an unsold house is nothing more than a money thing. It’s my materialistic nature (sin) wanting me to sell this house so that quite honestly I can get more stuff. I want to sell this house so that I feel more secure in my finances, but it shouldn’t be this way. There’s nothing that I need to survive that I don’t have. There’s absolutely nothing that is a necessity that I don’t already have. It’s a problem that I deal with; the problem of wanting more and more stuff. Maybe you deal with this problem? Maybe you deal with another problem similar to this on a regular basis? What are areas of your life where you have trouble being content with your situation? Maybe it’s finances; maybe it’s relationships; maybe it’s housing situations? No matter what it is, we’re told here to be content in those situations. We’re told to trust in the Lord to provide for all we need.

When the Apostle Paul was writing this letter, and specifically these verses here, he is referencing one of the more difficult times in his ministry. The timeframe for this text is after he has endured numerous physical hardships, been put in jail, freed miraculously during an earthquake, continued his ministry elsewhere, and has been driven out of various locations by rioting and unruly mobs. Despite all these things happening to him, Paul says that he’s learned to be content no matter the situation. No matter what problems have come up in Paul’s life and ministry he is satisfied. He has learned to enjoy his life and enjoy God no matter what his situation is. And the question that we want to know is how. How did Paul learn to be content no matter what the situation?

You see, it’s not an easy task to be content. Such a simple word carries with it a very difficult reality. Being content is tough, much less being content no matter what the situation. And Paul tells us exactly how we can be content in difficult times. It’s how Paul was able to be content in all situations. “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” And the one who strengthens Paul is Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Some of your Bible’s interpret this verse as “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Paul is able to be content no matter what because he wholly rests in Christ Jesus.

Years ago, my parents gave me a painting that a friend of mine had done that displays these very words that are found in Philippians 4:13. And for probably nearly 10 years, that painting has resided over my bed. Being the OCD person that I am, it has resided directly over the center of my headboard. And many times over the course of those 10 years, it was just a wall covering. The words on the canvas, were just that: words. You see, this verse is one of the most widely known verses in all of Scripture. It’s one of the most often quoted and highly printed verses from the Bible. And that’s the problem, we’ve heard it so many times that we almost dismiss it. When someone is struggling with stress and feels like the weight of the world is on their shoulders we recite these words to them and they respond with the common, “Yeah I know, but…” But nothing! These words mean everything to us. These words tell us that there is absolutely nothing whatsoever that can come our way that we can’t accomplish, overcome, and get past because we have Christ Jesus within us. When I have felt the words “I can’t do this” trying to make their way out of my mouth, I have often looked above my bed and seen the words from Philippians 4:13; all things! It doesn’t say I can do most things or all things in a particular area of life, but it says all things.

You see, there is absolutely nothing that we can’t accomplish with Jesus Christ. And as it specifically relates to our being content and our trusting in God to provide what we need, it is imperative that we understand this idea. So often, we try and take matters into our own hands and away from God. We don’t trust that God will provide for our every need. And I’m not just talking about money here. There are numerous areas of life in which we resist relinquishing control to God, but money seems to be the most popular in our society today. Many times, when this notion of trusting in God to provide for our needs comes up, people pop up with the question, “So are you telling me that God doesn’t want me to save up for retirement and the He wants me to just trust that everything will turn out alright?” Well, yes and no. I’m not saying that it’s bad to plan wisely and to anticipate a time in which you aren’t working anymore. In fact, I’m thankful for sound financial planning. Because of the fiscal planning of my grandfather, my grandmother, who is suffering through Alzheimer’s, is able to enjoy a much more comfortable level of care than she could otherwise. I’m not saying that financial planning is bad. What I am saying is that we need to not try and push God out of the way. We need to be mindful of the fact that God may be calling us to do something other than just worry about ourselves. He may cause us to give up certain things.

God calls all of us to do different things with our lives. There are those that God has called to sell everything and follow Him. There are missionaries in foreign countries that have given up a great deal in order to follow his call. There is a family living in a compound, a 900 square foot cinderblock home, in Ganthier City, Haiti as we speak. When this year started, he was a doctor and she was a dentist. Their son was a soccer star at a local high school who had just finished his junior season. God called them to move to Haiti and labor there. They left everything. They left sound financial situations. They left during their prime earning years. They left the comforts and luxuries of this country. They left a place that has a basic infrastructure, because that’s what God called them to do. But that’s not for everyone. Some of us, God calls to stay; God calls us to be the ones to labor in our everyday situations. For some of us, he calls us to labor here, and while doing so calls us to support those who He calls to give up everything. God called the Christians in Philippi not to go off, but to stay where they were and to support Paul in his ministry.

What Paul is trying to tell us in this text, is that no matter what, we are to be content. We are to as the Westminster Confession of Faith puts it, “Glorify God and enjoy Him, forever.” That’s the answer to the question of what is our primary purpose. That’s the answer to the question of how we remain content no matter what our situation. This week, I had the privilege of gathering together will all of the other Louisiana EPC pastors. It was a great time of being able to sit around and discuss what is going on in our lives both personally and professionally. As we talked about many of the things that are currently causing us each of us various amounts of stress at this time: family issues, financial issues at home and at church, membership issues, activity issues, we all begin to see that everyone has things that cause them concern. If you can think of it, someone at the table brought it up. But here’s the good news, the thing that helped and helps all of us be content regardless: Christ is alive. Christ has conquered death. There’s absolutely nothing that can’t be done with Christ. There is nothing that cannot be overcome because of the grace found in Christ Jesus. No matter whether we are in a state of plenty or a state of want, we should be content because we have already been given more than we deserve. What we deserve is nothing, absolutely nothing. But what we have been given is everything. It’s this attitude and viewpoint that Paul finally understands and it’s this attitude and viewpoint that we are to understand. No matter what things cause us to worry; no matter what our situation; we are to not only be content with things, but we are to be thankful for that fact that they are even as good as they are. All that we are and all that we have, comes from God. Everything that we claim as our own, the things that we have earned, are gifts; gifts given to us out of nothing other than grace. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Philippians 4:8-9 "The Doubtful Things"

The concepts of culture and Christianity and how they relate to one another tend to fascinate many people. I know that their relationship has always fascinated me. Why, there are even Christian schools and seminaries out there today that have taken this topic and run with it. I know of several men who train future pastors in the classroom, but actually make their living studying the relationship between Christianity and culture. Because you see, for as many different people as we ask this question to, we will get as many different answers. What is the relationship between Christianity and culture? There are some who are of the mindset that anything that has cultural significance is bad in terms of the Christian faith. There are also those that will take the complete opposite approach and completely separate their “church-life” from their “everyday-life”. Most Christians, however, will fall somewhere in between these two extremes.

Being a pastor brings with it a great deal of blessings and things that make this calling special. Getting to help others grow in their faith, baptizing believers and their children, helping celebrate Christian servants who have been called home to be with their Father, officiating a service in which a man and a woman pledge their lives to one another and to God, and so many other things that I can’t begin (and won’t try) to list them all. But there are those things about being a pastor that aren’t as much of blessing. You see there are constantly questions that people want answered. And don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying that it’s always bad when people have questions, but it just depends on the type of question. You see, there is nothing wrong with the question that is geared at gaining a deeper and clearer understanding of God’s Word. There is nothing wrong with the question that seeks to aide in the growth of one’s Christian faith. The not-so-fun questions, however, are those asked by those who just want to know how far they can take something before it becomes a problem. In other words, they just want you to tell them that what they’re doing is okay. They want you to reassure them that they aren’t doing anything antithetical to the Christian faith.

Now, sometimes these questions can be quite funny. I had a lady ask me one time if it was okay that she told a local charity organization that she couldn’t help out with an event that she usually assisted with. She had a vacation planned for that time before she knew about the event and she just simply felt awful about not being able to help. I quickly assured her that it was quite alright that she didn’t help and that she should indeed enjoy her vacation without hesitation. No, this isn’t the type of question that I’m talking about. I’m talking about the types of questions where the person asking almost knows the answer before they even ask the question. When someone comes into my office and wants to know if flirtation with another woman is actually a violation of their wedding vows, or when someone wants to hear that an unethical business deal is okay because it’s only business and their church and work lives are separate. These are the types of moments that feel pretty lonely for a pastor. Because as much as we may love our congregation; our fellow Christians, we don’t love having to correct them. We don’t love the damage that sin can have on their lives.

All throughout our study of Philippians; a study that has lasted us almost four months; we have seen Paul deal numerous times with the Christian life. Many of the sermons have concluded with some type of charge that the way a Christian lives is of great importance and is in many cases a strong witness either for or against the Gospel. So, as we near the end of this letter, Paul is putting the finishing touches and the closing remarks on this discourse with his most favorite of congregations. Paul gives us here a list of characteristics: “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable; if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Now, I want to do something a little bit different here and if you will follow me for a second I will try and get us all on the same page.

In Galatians 5, Paul gives us the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The fruits of the Spirit are those things, those characteristics, that sum up the visible attributes of the Christian. If you will notice, the list in Galatians 5 and the list in our text today in Philippians 4 have no common traits. There are no words found on the list in Galatians 5 that appear on the list that we now find in Philippians 4:8. Well, I’m the kind of guy that likes to see if there is any understanding to be gained from not just what Scripture says, but what it leaves unsaid as well. With that in mind, we must ask ourselves, where does this list in our text come from and what does it mean.

Well, this list that we have in our text is actually a list of pagan virtues. Yeah, took me by surprise too when I discovered this. This list of characteristics in Philippians 4 (true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, and worthy of praise) is taken from Greek ethics and philosophy of the day. So, as we look at this list, knowing that it is derived from pagans (i.e. non-Christians), what do we make of it? Our first thought may be to say that it is a list of evil, but could we really say that? I mean, I don’t think that things that are truthful, honorable, just, or commendable are evil. As a matter of fact, I would hope that those who know me might use words like this to describe me. So what does it all mean? Well, Paul is trying to tell us that there are good things in this world that come from many different areas.

Think about it this way; is there anything wrong with music? Is there anything wrong with appreciating beautiful architecture or fine craftsmanship? Well, I don’t think so. And if I am understanding the Apostle Paul correctly then I don’t think that he does either. We couldn’t say that there is anything inherently non-Christian about these things, but they don’t exactly flow out of these fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5 either. Think back to those questions that I mentioned earlier that I get asked on a regular basis as a result of my calling. You see, part of the problem is that we want everything written out plain as day for us to understand without any effort. We want Scripture to tell us plain and simple what is and isn’t allowed. Well, the truth of the matter is that it doesn’t. Scripture doesn’t specifically list out whether one job is more “Christian” than another. It doesn’t answer the question as to exactly which behaviors are allowed and which ones aren’t. It does in some cases, but not all. If you have ever had a discussion with any Baptist friends, you will quickly find that the mode of baptism is never explicitly laid out for us. Whether to sprinkle the head or immerse the believer isn’t defined. In terms of specifically spelled out for us, whether a person is to be baptized as an infant or after professing their faith is never said.

So you see, there are a lot of things that aren’t spelled out for us clearly in Scripture. Do you know why they aren’t clear? It’s because we don’t have the ability to decipher everything as clearly as we would like. Our sin has caused a great barrier to form between our minds and the meaning of the Word. You see, Scripture contains within it all that we need as our rule and guide for daily life. The problem comes when we aren’t led by Scripture but instead we are led by things of this world. Take the issue of money. There is nothing inherently wrong with money, but there is something wrong with the love of money and money being a driving force in a person’s life. Or perhaps you might think of love. There is nothing wrong with the relationship between a man and a woman. In fact, it is a blessing given to us by God; an ordinance commanded shortly after creation. The problem comes in when it becomes corrupted by sin and love becomes lust and this lust destroys the beauty of the covenant of marriage.

There’s a phrase that says that we need to “let Scripture interpret Scripture.” So, let’s do just that. There are two verses that were also from Paul that I think help to give us some clarity on these verses in Philippians 4. The first, Romans 6:14 says, “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” You see, we don’t earn our own salvation. Our salvation was gained by the saving death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So many people act in a manner that if they aren’t doing something that is explicitly commanded in Scripture, then they are doing something evil. Well, the second verse I want to look at helps to clarify that thought. 1 Corinthians 6:12 states, “‘All things are lawful for me,’ but not all things are helpful. ‘All things are lawful for me,’ but I will not be enslaved by anything.” There are a number of things in this world that are not necessarily Christian. As I mentioned earlier, I don’t think that music or architecture are inherently Christian. We could add to that list sports, fishing, hunting, gardening, social clubs and organization, and numerous other activities. We could say that all of these things are non-Christian in their origin since they are all things that aren’t specifically commanded in Scripture, but I don’t think that any of us would call any of these things evil. Sure, when we turn football stadiums into houses of worship then there is great danger there. When I can tell you more about the starting lineup for my Mississippi State Bulldogs football team than I can about my prayer life, then there is a problem. But if football is simply something that I enjoy in its proper place within my priorities then I see nothing wrong with that.

And I think it is this sentiment that the Apostle Paul is trying to convey to us. In fact, he is telling us that there are great works that can be done for the sake of the gospel through these other things. I can’t begin to tell you how many people that I know who have begun their Christian walk by being encouraged by others while taking part in activities outside of the church. Why, I have seen people come to know Christ through softball teams, community plays, fishing trips, hunting trips, camping trips, construction projects, cooking events, and other things along the same lines.

As we were talking about these verses Wednesday morning at our men’s Bible study, I shared with everyone some things that Amy and I had to deal with when we told all of our friends that I was going to attend seminary and enter into pastoral ministry. Most of our friends asked us the question, “So, how does this change things?” What do you mean “change things?” I was a Christian before going to seminary and I will be a Christian after seminary. Many of our friends felt like they had to be guarded around us because of my calling. I had to be extra careful and go out of my way to show them that I was the same person now as I was prior to my calling to ministry. I used a lot of the same activities that I used to do with my friends to show them that things hadn’t changed. I still went fishing with my friends, I still went hunting with my friends, I still played golf with my friends, I still went out and got together with all of my friends. I wasn’t condemning. I wasn’t standing over all of them telling them what they needed to do. In other words, I was being the same person that I had always been, but with a new calling on my life.

Over time, my friends began to understand that I was still an average person. I was still the guy that they had known for years. That same guy who had gotten into trouble with them years earlier was still there, but he had a different calling on his life. And do you know what this eventually led to? This eventually led to opportunities for me to discuss my faith with them. More importantly, it led to opportunities for us to discuss their faith. It presented me with great opportunities to witness to them and to share the Gospel with them. It’s not as if any of them went through any miraculous conversions, but it did plant a seed within many of them that would bloom at a later date. Over the last 5 years, it has been amazing for Amy and I to watch as many of our friends who were not involved in churches to not only join churches, but become active in the life of those congregations.

You see, this list that we have in our text, although a list of non-Christian virtues, are good things. There are things in this world that are technically non-Christian, but are very good. They are good for energizing us and they are good opportunities for us to share the Gospel. I want to challenge everyone in this room today. This isn’t a challenge that consists of making drastic lifestyle changes. This isn’t a challenge to really change anything at all. This is a challenge to continue to live the same life that you have always lived. The only thing that is changing in any way is what you are to do in those moments when you find yourself in the company of others. Look for opportunities to share your faith with those around you. Pray that when you are presented with a chance to help someone out in their Christian walk, that God will use you to present the Gospel to them. We have no idea whose heart is open and ready to hear the good news of the Gospel. I cannot stress to you enough how powerful the Lord can work during these moments to change the hearts and minds of those who He calls to be His own. Our lives are great blessings. God wants us to enjoy what He has given to us. Let’s enjoy all that we have been given, while taking every opportunity we get to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever. Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Philippians 4:2-7 "Revised Stress Manual"

Although I like to claim that I am a carefree person who doesn’t tend to worry about much, that isn’t entirely true. I want to be this type of person, and I tend to be this type of person when I have a lot of things going on. The problem is that when I have time to slow down and think about what I have going on, then I start to get anxious and worried. I know, this is just the opposite of what you would expect. You would think that during the times when I am overwhelmed with dates and events written in my planner that I would find my times of greatest stress. I guess the truth is that I have to move at such a fast pace that I don’t even have time to get nervous. So my question becomes, how do I handle myself in these moments when I have the time to worry and become anxious. You see, Philippians is one of my favorite books of Scripture and the words of Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything” are the first words that enter my mind when I hear or even think of the word anxious. I know that God doesn’t want me to worry over insignificant things because He has promised to provide. So how do I live according to His command for me to not worry? Well, lucky for me and for you, the Apostle Paul gives us here a manual for how to handle stress. This morning, I want to quickly look at what Paul has to say in this stress management manual.

You see, Paul is trying to help the Philippians deal with some stress that they have experienced recently. The first 2 verses of our text contain a summary of the situation. There has been an argument between Euodia and Syntyche. Two prominent Christian women in this community have had a disagreement and it has caused some difficulties for the Philippian Christians. And Paul gives the Philippians step-by-step instructions as to how they are to deal with the stress of getting past this argument and back to the task at hand.

The first step that Paul gives us is to remember our greatest joy. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.” To get the complete meaning of this simple statement we have to look at the original Greek text. You see, the word used here to mean rejoice is a variant of the word that means joy. Upon hearing this word joy, I hope many of you are thinking back to the fruits of the Spirit from Galatians 5. You see, joy is a Christian virtue, while happiness is a worldly one. Happiness is external while joy is internal. Happiness is circumstantial, while joy is never-ending. To quote James Boice, “Joy issues from the nature of God, and it is intended to well up within those in whom God’s Spirit dwells. It is not external; it is internal. It does not hinge upon circumstances. Things may happen to the Christian that no one, including the Christian, would be happy about. But there can still be joy.” The Christian who is filled with this supernatural, abounding joy will not be changed by the stressors of this world.

So the first step to handling anxiety is to remember the great promise and one unchangeable truth of the eternal joy that we have in our Savior Jesus Christ. In other words, there is a sense of keeping in mind our priorities; knowing what’s important. The next thing that we are to do flows naturally from the first. As we rejoice in the Lord over this great promise, even when we feel oppressed and are suffering, we are to let others see our gentleness. Paul exhorts the Philippians to be reasonable. “Make your reasonableness known to everyone.” This word reasonableness isn’t calling use to be unnecessarily rigorous, especially about unimportant matters. As I have already alluded to, it is a call for us to be gentle, to be compassionate. Not that we are to compromise on our doctrines or our beliefs, but we must be flexible in our attitudes when it comes to our dealings with others, especially other Christians. Think about the man who is dealing with the loss of a family member, or the woman who has just received a terminal diagnosis who for a moment blames God. Should we not forgive the thoughts they had during the moments of their greatest weakness? You wouldn’t condone their thoughts at all, but you would only want to show them the love that you have for them. Or maybe even better, think of the child who rebels from their parent simply because they are too rigid. I have known many a person who rebelled again their parents and their Christian faith because their parents were too rigid in their expectations and showed little compassion. Although I have known some whose hearts were so hardened that they would not accept their children back, how grateful is the heart of one whose child returns to him. Think about the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father didn’t sit idly by and wait for his son to return to him. After seeing him he ran out to him and met him. Before he could even say a word to him, his father hugged him and wouldn’t let go. If that isn’t an act of compassion and gentleness then I don’t know what is. Now think of the greatest act of compassion that the world has ever known. Think about the sacrificial death that came to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Despite continuous sin and falling short of God’s will for our lives, our God showed compassion. Instead of condemnation, we find salvation in the saving death of Jesus Christ, the one and only Son of God.

So we have seen thus far that when we are faced with anxiety that we are to first remember the joy that we have in Christ and secondly to remember the compassion that has been shown to us and the great gift that has been given to us by our Heavenly Father. So these first 2 steps are aimed at us getting our minds right when dealing with anxiety. The next step in the Apostle Paul’s model for dealing with stress and anxiety is something that we must physically do. Paul tells us here that we are to pray, but not just any kind of prayer. When faced with anxiety we are to pray for everything. Handle everything with prayer and supplication. We must make our requests and our worries known to God. Yes, God knows our situations and there is nothing limiting Him from acting, but if we know that He is the only one with the power to deliver us and provide for us then why would we not go to Him in prayer. In the modern remake of the classic film Clash of the Titans, there is a scene that depicts this perfectly. Now I don’t agree with Greek mythology, but this scene shows our attitude towards prayer far too often. Perseus and all of the men with him are in great peril. One of the men that is with Perseus asks him if he has prayed to his father, Zeus, the king of the gods. Perseus’ response to his men is, “No, and I will not pray to him because I can do this myself.” Now we don’t flat out admit that we won’t pray to God because we want to do things without any help, but we virtually do this when we don’t go to God in prayer.

When we talk of prayer, what exactly are we talking about? Well, prayer is talking with God. But true prayer, is for the believer alone. True prayer is a pouring out of the heart on behalf of the believer to God. I have known many who have come to know Christ later on in their life. I have had the privilege of standing beside them as they make their first profession of faith. I can tell you without a doubt that you will never see a prayer that represents the blessings that we have in Christ Jesus more than that first prayer that someone makes once they have gone from being lost in the darkness to finding themselves in the light of grace. Billions of people each and every day pray to some higher power. Many of these prayers are wonderfully articulated and very elaborate, but unless they are made to God the Father in the name of Jesus Christ the Son then they are worthless. Whether by rituals, chants, meditations, or any other method of prayer, only Christ provides access to the one true God. And some of you may take issue with these statements and think that I am being intolerant of other faiths, but I am merely reciting the very words of Jesus Christ from the Gospel of John. “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6). Jesus doesn’t say here that he is one of several ways or avenues to come to God. He didn’t say that he was merely a prophet who points the ways (multiple) to God, but he is the eternal prophet who is THE way to God. This means that no prayer offered to God apart from faith in Jesus Christ has ever reached our Heavenly Father.

As you can probably imagine, my life has been filled with some stress and anxiety over the past several months. Why, on January 8th, I preached my final sermon at Grace Chapel Presbyterian Church in Madison, MS. The next Sunday, I was to be in the pulpit of this church. Entering that week, we hadn’t sold our house in MS. We didn’t have an actual place to live in Houma yet. I had some oral examinations coming up on that Tuesday, followed by more examinations the last weekend in January. We didn’t know exactly what we were going to do with our kids in Houma. Amy didn’t have a job lined up. We were going to have to keep bringing our dog back and forth to the vet in MS for some treatments. And then there was the regular everyday life stressors that are always there. Oh and throw in the stress that goes with being a first-time pastor at a church that had gone some time with an absence in the pulpit. But other than that there really wasn’t and hasn’t been too much going on in our house. Even today, many of those same issues still exist today, but it’s alright.

When Amy and I came to visit this church, there was something that was done in the service that was different than anything I had ever seen. There was a lengthy prayer made during the middle of the service where someone stood up and prayed for the congregation. Not just a general prayer for the congregation, but every member of the congregation who was in need of prayer. This prayer for all of the concerns of the congregation was very striking to me and I couldn’t shake the concept.

With this idea in the front of my mind over the last several weeks prior to our moving here, I gave it a try. I sat alone one day and prayed. I prayed for each and everything that was causing my anxiety. I prayed for every person that I could think of that was in need of God at that time. I prayed for every church family that I could think of who was in need of God’s guidance in a strong way. I prayed like I had never prayed before. And I want to tell you what happened in that moment, I felt a wave of calm overtake me that I haven’t felt since I was my daughter’s age, when I didn’t have a care in the world. In those 30 minutes spent in prayer I turned everything over to God. You see, I was clinging to the things of this life. I was trying to be the one in control instead of letting the God who created the universe control all things. I was not trusting that God, in His providence, was going to take care of me, my family, and all those who I care about. That was my sin causing a barrier to form between me and God. My sinful want of being in control was causing me to not know God as I ought. And, as is the case with any conversation, the better you know someone the more heartfelt the conversation. The more powerful and intimate the relationship, then the more powerful the conversation. In this case, the more intimate we are with God, then the more powerful and meaningful our prayers become.

So we have changed our mindset, shifted our priorities, and prayed without limitations about all that causes us to worry. What happens? Verse 7 tells us, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” This is that feeling that I felt after praying so heavily over all the things that have caused me to stress, caused me anxiety. There was a peace about me that can only come from God. Friends, it is a great privilege that we have to pray to God. The mere fact that it is so easy is further proof of God’s amazing love.

The fact that we can come to God no matter who we are, no matter what is going on around us, and no matter what we may have done is a tremendous blessing. Why would we not take full advantage of this gift? Why would we not make full use of this news? So when you are faced with stress, you need to pray. Even if you aren’t stressed, you need to pray. The command here in this text made by God through the Apostle Paul is to take everything to God in prayer. Our God is the only one with the power to lead us through the troubled times in our life. Our God is the only one who we have to thank for all of the blessings that we currently enjoy. Prayer to God, humbling ourselves before Him, is the greatest act of thanks that we can ever give to God. Let’s all take full advantage of this and take everything to the Lord in prayer.

What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.

Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.

Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee;
thou wilt find a solace there.

Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.