1 Corinthians 13:1-13 "What is Love?"

                This thirteenth chapter of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth is commonly known as the love chapter.  It’s a favorite of many Christians, and particularly a favorite to use during Christian marriage ceremonies.  In fact, if you have been to a wedding that I have officiated (as some of you have), then you have heard me read part of this chapter during the service.  You see, every wedding that I have had the privilege and honor of officiating (as well as the one that I was actually a participant in), these words have been read and expounded upon during the homily portion of the service.  I don’t go into the text and bring out Greek words, original meanings, and unique phrasings within the chapter.  Instead, I mainly just point to the common sense meaning of this text as it comes to us in vv. 4-8a.  I tell the two being joined as husband and wife about the fact that Paul was writing to a group of Christians that had confused love for something else in an effort to remind them about what true love really is.  I remind the two being married about the fact that the only true love that we have is a love that seeks to bring honor to God and seeks the welfare of His kingdom.  I do this so that those being married, as well as all those in attendance, will stop looking at love in the sense in which we define it today and start defining love in the sense that God created it; that we will stop trying to change the definition of love from that which God intended.  The word love has become highly subjective in our modern world.  It’s possible for us to tell someone we love them and then turn right around and say that we love a good pulled pork sandwich.  Now, Amy will attest to you that my favorite food is barbecue.  I could eat it every day.  However, it’s comical to think that my affection for a great rack of ribs is anywhere close to the devotion that I have towards my wife.  So, how are we supposed to understand love in God’s terms?  How does that differ from what we define love as today?  Well, that is exactly what Paul lays out for us in this chapter.  Simon Kistemaker, a retired seminary professor whom I had the privilege of learning under, beautifully sums up this chapter by saying that “[Paul’s] presentation of love, however, is without sentimentality, devoid of sensuality, and free from sexuality.”  In other words, love isn’t about the butterflies in your stomach, but about our being shaped into who God would have us be.

                The first thing that we see here is the imperative or importance of love.  Paul says that it doesn’t matter if he speaks as a man or an angel (obviously something that he can’t do), whether he has the power to prophesy, understand all things, or cause miracles to occur, or whether he gives generously or even becomes a martyr; all those things are nothing without love.  Now, Paul isn’t trying to say that none of those things matter, he’s just saying that none of them really matter without the right motive or desire.  The desire behind all that we do must be love in order for it to be of any good.  Look, you can give a ton of money to a local charity, but if it is for the wrong reasons, then it isn’t really a good work.  Sure, some good may come out of it, but in-and-of-itself, it is not a good work.  Well, what makes a good work?  When we looked at the book of James a few months ago, we said that good works were those things that flowed naturally out of our faith in Jesus Christ.  Our thanks, our love for God, manifests itself in the form of good works.  You see, the Greek word here that is translated as love is the word agape.  Now, this particular word isn’t just a generic type of love.  It is a love that exists between God and man.  It is a love that begins with God, who communicates that love to us through numerous means (God’s providence, the gift of His Son, the Holy Spirit, or the works of creation just to name a few), and we are to reflect that love back to Him.  Now, it is possible for us to have this type of love for another person, but that love must be built upon and rooted in our love for God first and foremost.

                The next section of Paul’s chapter on love is what I call the demonstration of love.  As I said, this is that part that I typically read at weddings.  This section speaks to the character of love, or perhaps we could say the characteristics that this agape love ought to have in our lives.  Being patient or forbearing, meaning slow to anger, just as God is patient with us.  You know that someone truly loves you when they have the ability to be patient with you.  Patience is also one of the fruits of the Spirit as they are given to us in Galatians 5.  Another fruit of the spirit comes next; kindness.  This is the only time the verb “to be kind” is used in Scripture.  Kindness is the extending of the love of God to others.  Continuing on in our text, we see next that love doesn’t envy or isn’t jealous.  Now, this isn’t the good type of jealousy (i.e. God being jealous for us).  This is the type of jealousy that we think of with the sin of covetousness.  Love doesn’t boast or brag.  Love isn’t arrogant or rude.  Paul has already touched on some of this in his opening to this chapter about it not mattering who you are or what you do or have done, true love is what matters.  Paul goes on to say that “[love] does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.”  In essence, if we are demonstrating this agape love, then we are not forceful or behaving indecently or keeping count of errors, but we simply seek the truth of God.  “Love searches out the truth and rejoices when that truth is triumphing over wrong.  Love and truth are inseparable partners residing in God himself.  God shares these characteristics with His people.  He endowed them with love and truth, which, though tainted by sin, are renewed in Christ Jesus through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Kistemaker).”

                Paul finishes off this section on the character of love with those famous words, “[love] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”  In other words, there is nothing that you won’t do for something or someone that you truly love.  There is a selflessness to true love.  There is absolutely nothing that you could propose to me that I wouldn’t endure for the sake of my kids’ welfare or the welfare of my wife because I truly love them.  Do y’all know who Devon Still is?  He’s a defensive lineman for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals.  Well, do you know who Leah Still is?  She is Devon’s 5 year old daughter who has neuroblastoma, a type of cancer.  The story of this little girl has become quite popular over the past year and a half, largely due to the strong faith and resolve displayed by this family.  I saw a video recently of Leah poking her father in the stomach a bunch of times and asking him if he felt anything yet.  When the folks recording this event asked what they were doing, Devon told them that his prayer for so long had been that God would take the cancer that his daughter was fighting and put it in his body.  You see, his daughter was trying to help Devon answer his prayer by transferring her cancer to him; such an innocently sweet moment.  While Devon admitted that his daughter was twice as strong as he was when it came to this fight, he would do anything; endure any pain, in order for his daughter to be spared the pain that she lives with on a daily basis.  That is a love that is willing to do anything for the sake of another.  That is a love that sums up what we mean when we read the word agape.  This man cares not for himself, but seeks more the welfare of another.

                Finally, Paul has this last section on love.  In this section, Paul speaks to the immovability or stability of love.  He begins with those beautiful words, “Love never ends.”  Now, of course love never ends because it comes from God.  We’re told that in 1 John 4.  God doesn’t end, therefore love never ends.  As Paul goes on to point out, prophecy ends, speaking in tongues ends, and knowledge has its limits.  These are things that were seen as indicators of those who loved God and were committed to His kingdom, but they all had their limits.  They all have their temporary, earthly function.  Paul spends a great deal of time then talking about things that are partial becoming full and things that are imperfect becoming perfect.  We find those famous words, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child.  When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”  A little later on, “Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”  What does all of this mean?  It speaks to the permanent nature of love.  It speaks to the fullness that a proper application of the word love employs.  When I was in youth ministry, I used to always laugh at the kids who would tell me that they loved someone, only to find that they didn’t love them a week or two later.  Now, we laugh at this and brush it off as childish behavior, but we shouldn’t be so quick to do so.  You see, I don’t view a great deal of difference between this and the couple who pledges to love one another in the sight of God, only to get divorced a year or two later because they’re not happy and marriage isn’t what they thought it would be.  There is no such thing as falling out of love in God’s eyes.  As I’ve said many times before, marriage isn’t about our happiness but about our faithfulness to God.  God doesn’t call us to enter into marriage to make us happy, but to join us together with someone who we can work beside in honoring God through faithful support, devotion, and possibly raising children.  We have to grow up!  We can’t keep using a childish definition of love, but the full definition of agape, a love that generates from God towards us, that we reflect back to God.

                As somewhat of a way of drawing the audience back to the focus of the chapter, love, Paul ends with this final verse.  “So now, faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”  Now, unfortunately, there have been those both inside and outside of the church that have looked at this statement and taken away from it that the only thing that matters is love.  Look, I like the Beatles too, but when it comes to a right relationship with God, you need more than love.  Saying that love is the greatest of these three is like me saying that one of my three children is the smartest.  All three have proven themselves to be pretty sharp thus far.  So to say that one is the sharpest isn’t to call the other two idiots, it’s just pointing out which of the three seems to be a little bit brighter.

                The Christian faith as it exists today ought to be the response to the revelation of the Creator as the God of love.  Out of love for those who did not love, the Father gave the Son, the Son gave His life, and the Father and the Son together have sent the Holy Spirit, to save sinners from misery and lead them into glory.  The mark of the Christian life is Christian love, whole-hearted obedience to God and a sacrificial mindset when it comes to our neighbors.  Christian love is to be devoid of all self-concern.  It seeks the good of others over the good of the self.  Remember, love is a principle of action rather than an emotion.  It is a matter of doing things for people out of compassion for them.  Whether or not we feel personal affection for them is irrelevant.  It is by our active love for one another that followers of Christ may be recognized. 

It is by God’s action of love that we know just how much He cares for us.  It’s not because He gives us everything that we want, but because He was willing to go to the greatest lengths imaginable to redeem us.  He was willing to give up His one and only Son, to forsake Jesus, all for our sake.  Friends, don’t turn love (either our love for one another or God’s love for us) into something that it’s not.  Don’t make yourself the center of your definition of love.  Place God at the center of your love, where He rightly belongs.  I can promise you, that if God is the basis, standard, and center of your love, then you will experience this wonderful gift from God like you never have before.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

2 Timothy 3:16-17 "The Power of the Word"

                Why should I live my life according to what some book says?  Why should I listen to it, especially when that book is over 2,000 years old and some of the parts of it contain things that happened 6000+ years ago?  Why should my wants, desires, and actions be shaped by a piece of literature that was written by people who couldn’t have imagined the world that we live in today?  How can I really completely follow a book that talks about a sea parting before people’s eyes, 3 year droughts, people coming back from the dead, and demons being driven out of people and into pigs?  You see, these are just a few of the many questions that we face today when trying to convey the importance of Scripture when it comes to our daily lives.  The scary part is that many times, these are the types of questions that we get from our Christian friends.  Our non-Christian friends don’t even ask us these things, because they’ve already dismissed all of Scripture as laughable many times.  Our Christian friends will say, “Yes, I believe in God and I believe in Jesus, but the Bible is just so outdated and irrelevant in today’s world.”  I can’t begin to tell you the number of times that I’ve heard this quote in almost this exact wording.  Even worse, I can’t begin to give you even a glimpse into the heresies and fallacies that have come about as scholars, pastors, and some neo-theologians have sought to update Scripture into our modern context.  They think that the message is still in there somewhere, but that somehow it needs our help in becoming applicable in today’s world.  As we’ll see, the Bible speaks clearly enough to our world today, because it finds its origin, its source of creation, in the One who has known all that will come to pass since before the foundations of the earth.

                What is the Bible?  If someone were to walk up to you on the street leaving church this morning and ask you what the Bible is, what would you say?  Why is it called the Bible?  Well, because the Greek word that means book is biblia.  How many books are there in the Bible?  In total, there are 66 books, with 39 in the Old Testament and 27 in the New Testament.  Who wrote the Bible?  Well, the human authors who actually put pen to paper totaled about 40, with their occupations ranging from kings, fishermen, priests, shepherds, farmers, doctors, and government officials.  However, as the words of our text tell us, the Bible ultimately has only one author, and that is God.  Who is the Bible about?  While the Bible has a host of characters throughout its pages, the Bible is ultimately the story of Jesus.  It’s not the story of you or me, it’s not our motivational or self-help handbook (like we’ve said the past two Sundays), but it’s the story of Jesus Christ.

                Paul is writing here in the third chapter of this letter of encouragement to his friend and younger minister Timothy and reminding him of the calling to which he has been called.  Yes, he’s encouraging him as a minister of the Word, but also just as one who is found in Jesus Christ.  Near the end of this encouragement, he gives him this reminder about the power of Scripture.  He says, “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”  All Scripture (which as it existed at the time of Paul’s writing this was the Old Testament) is breathed out by God, or God-breathed.  All of Scripture, while it may have been penned by human hands, finds its origins in God Almighty.  The Greek word here that is translated as God-breathed, this is the only occurrence of that word in Scripture.  You see, Scripture is not just some collection of works written by a bunch of random folks, but a collection of works written by different people whom God worked through throughout history to compile this complete story about Jesus.  Now, I mentioned a moment ago that these words were in reference to the Old Testament specifically in Paul’s day.  However, we know from the writings and teachings of the early church that the apostles and church leaders taught that this verse was just as true for the New Testament as it was for the Old.  All of Scripture, the entirety of it, every word, every punctuation mark, is inspired by God.  Yes, there are human traits within it, but the substance is from God.

                So, we read and affirm that this God-breathed work is profitable or useful for teaching, reproof, correction, and training.  Well, how is it useful in all of these areas?  I want to take a second and look at each of these elements or aspects that Scripture is useful for, starting with teaching.  This one should be pretty obvious.  Scripture contains the things of God; therefore, we must spend time and energy in Scripture if we are ever to come to know God.  Yes, we may feel God’s presence outside of Scripture or come to an initial faith apart from His Word, but we don’t really get to know Him.  I have a good friend of mine who I went to college with.  We were at school together for two years, but never really spent a great deal of one-on-one time together.  However, when he finished college, he came back to his hometown for a semester before beginning law school.  Since he didn’t want to spend all of his time at his parents’ house, he was over at our house probably four days a week.  I really got to know him on a personal level better in those 4 months than I had the previous few years that I had known him, and to this day he is one of my closest and best friends.  To really know God, we have to be in His Word and be being taught from and by His Word.  We have to spend time alone with God through the study of His Word if we ever want to truly know Him.  Anything else runs the risk of us just making things up about who God really is.

                Secondly, Scripture is useful for reproof.  Actually, I’ll handle reproof and correction together, since they are (or at least ought to be) two-sides of the same coin.  You see, reproof, Biblically speaking, is being shown what sin is.  Reproof is being shown that sin is a transgression or breaking of God’s law.  So, when we say that Scripture is useful for reproof, we’re saying that Scripture is useful for showing us our sins.  John Calvin, who viewed and promoted three uses of God’s law, stated in his first use this principle of reproof.  Calvin stated that the law is a mirror that while showing us God’s holiness, also shows us our sinfulness and our weakness which in turn drives us to Christ.  So, when we learn about God, then we see how far off we are from God through our sinfulness, and hopefully we seek to correct those sinful acts and tendencies.  Now, this is where the disconnect comes in that I opened with this morning.  People have no issue learning about God.  They even have no problem learning what sin is and what things are considered sinful.  The problem comes in in that there is, for many, little-to-no desire to correct their sinful behavior.  This is quite honestly a mind-boggling thing to me.  It’s just foolish.  It’s like having a gas appliance that you know leaks carbon monoxide and having no desire to do anything about it.  Carbon monoxide is deadly in the physical sense just as sin is in the spiritual sense.  We hear things like “Everyone sins, so what’s the big deal?”  Well, the big deal is that when you understand the severity of sin, then you understand how saddening a statement like “everyone sins” truly is.  We try and dull the power of Scripture by saying that it has lost its meaning and application in today’s world because of its age.  If something is inspired by God and is without fault, error, or inaccuracy, then why would we not do everything in our power to adhere ourselves to such a standard?  Maybe it’s because many Christians don’t believe the Bible to be without error; maybe you’re one of those who doesn’t think that Scripture exists without error.  If Scripture isn’t fully inspired and fully without any flaw, then it cannot be our source of reproof and correction like Paul so plainly tells us that it is.

                Finally, Scripture is useful for training in righteousness.  This is a nice way of saying that Scripture is useful for preemptive correction.  It’s a beautiful way of saying it that conveys the sense in which it isn’t reactionary discipline, but something that seeks the good of others.  In all of this hatred-spewing that has seemed to go on in our world recently with court cases and political agendas, we have seen this firsthand.  Amy had some friends who were having an online debate over the issue of same-sex marriages and one of the girls stated that the reason why she opposed it was because she loved her friends deeply and didn’t want to see them commit such an egregious sin.  The other girl responded with, “You can mask hate any way you want to, but it’s still hate.”  Now, this second girl’s misguided and incorrect response aside, the initial comments made by the first girl is the nature of Scripture when it comes to discipline.  Scripture isn’t a list of do’s and don’ts placed upon us to hinder us.  The things that we are called to in Scripture, some of them things to do and others things not to do, are for our benefit.  If we can’t see that they are for our benefit, then that’s a problem with us, not with Scripture.  My son Robert loves to be outside.  That kid would spend all day outside if we let him.  One of his favorite things to do is to try and put his face in the dog’s water bucket outside just like the dog does.  Now, every time we get on to him about it he cries (or at least pouts).  Amy and I aren’t fussing at him to be mean; we’re fussing at him for his own good.  There’s no telling what he could catch from that bucket if we just let him do what he wanted to do.  The only act of love that we have is to stop him from doing it.  We’re not being loving parents if we let him continuously drink from a bucket that has much more than water in it.  God doesn’t place certain commands and responsibilities on us for our lives because He’s mean, unjust, unfair, or any other adjective you’ve heard.  He places them upon us for our benefit, so that we may live holier lives that draw us closer to Him, where we were originally created to be.

                So, what is the point of it all?  What is the point of Paul reminding Timothy of Scripture’s origin?  What is the point of Paul reminding Timothy of these four ways in which Scripture is for our benefit?  Well, because as he says in verse 17, that “the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.”  Now, this doesn’t show up in the English, but in the Greek, the words translated as competent (or completed in other translations) and equipped are variations of the same Greek word.  In other words, the children of God aren’t just equipped; they’re super equipped, perfected for every good work.  Notice that Paul isn’t just talking about ministry work, but every good work.  Being taught, learning from Scripture, equips us for every kind of good work that we can imagine.  We’re not just somewhat prepared, we’re perfectly prepared.  I was never a boy scout, but my wife will tell you that I have their motto down pat.  I’m always prepared.  I’m not the guy who rolls into a situation and doesn’t have what he needs.  When I show up, I have what I need, what someone else might need, and even the things that I might need in case of the most bizarre of emergencies.  Paul is telling Timothy that through Scripture, God has given him everything that he needs for a life of ministry, as well as just living a Godly life.

                I want to close this discussion on the inerrancy, infallibility, inspiration, and power of Scripture by reading to you something that Dr. R.C. Sproul wrote about his view of Scripture.  Sproul wrote, “I think the greatest weakness in the church today is that almost no one believes that God invests His power in the Bible.  Everyone is looking for power in a program, in a methodology, in a technique, in anything and everything but that in which God has placed it—His Word.  He alone has the power to change lives for eternity, and that power is focused on the Scriptures.”  Friends, there is no greater source that we can look to other than Scripture.  There is no added wisdom that God is going to impart upon us in terms of knowing who He is.  Yes, He may reveal certain things to us, but those things come through careful study of and complete trust and obedience in His Word.  All Scripture is God-breathed for our benefit.  Don’t waste this precious gift that God has given to all of us.  Don’t allow you Bible(s) to collect more dust than they do tears, wrinkles, and smudges from constant use.  Don’t allow the Word of God to become stale and complacent in your life.  After all, God has given His Word to us so that we might be drawn closer to Him.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Jeremiah 29:11 "God's Good Plan"

                Before we really get started, I’ve got to tell y’all a somewhat humorous story about something that happened to me this past week.  You see, each Sunday I take a manuscript of my sermon and post it to a blog, an online page that I maintain.  It’s not an exact copy of the sermon, but it’s a rough draft of sorts for how I plan on the flow of the sermon going and the information being delivered.  Well, I got an email from someone this past week who apparently stumbled across my blog and wrote me a short but pointed opinion about my particular interpretations of our last two texts, John 3:16 and Philippians 4:13.  She was particularly upset with the way in which I “demolished a beautiful text of personal motivation like Philippians 4:13.”  She said that it was her favorite verse and that no matter what I said it wouldn’t change what it meant to her.  Two things, next Sunday we’re going to look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17 and Scripture’s inerrancy and infallibility, so I hope she decides to read that one as well, and also, I hope that Jeremiah 29:11 isn’t her second favorite text if her interpretation of it is similar to that of the verse from Philippians that we examined last Sunday.

                Look, I gave you that story (which actually happened by the way) in order to do two things.  The first of which is to introduce the way in which we’re approaching our text for today, looking at it in its context and not just an out-of-nowhere framework.  The second is to give you an understanding as to why I’m doing this short exercise with a handful of verses.  The way in which many Christians have taken God’s Word and corrupted it and made it more about themselves than about God has, I think, a lot to do with the state of affairs in our country and our world as it pertains to the Christian church.  The gospel has, for many, become more about them that about Christ.  Jeremiah 29:11 is a prime example of such a misinterpretation.  As we will see in a moment, these are words spoken by God through the prophet Jeremiah to God’s chosen people who were living in exile.  These were words of encouragement to a people so that they didn’t lose their hope.  However, many so-called Christians today use them as Scriptural backing that whatever financial or business venture they embark upon that there is success to be found because God has promised it, or that God is going to deliver them from a time of suffering to a time of prosperity in this earthly life.  They interpret these words to mean that the Christian life is to be a life that is free of pain and suffering, or at least minimal pain and suffering.  Well, you know that that isn’t the case; just look at what we said last Sunday about sometimes the Christian life specifically being a life of suffering and hardship.

                If we were to look at the context in which we find these words spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, we would see that they were given originally to the nation of Israel.  Not only were they given to the nation of Israel, but they were given to Israel very early during their exile into Babylon.  So, God’s people since the time of the promise made to Abraham have been through a rollercoaster in terms of their status.  They enjoyed prosperity under Joseph, and then slavery after Joseph had passed.  They were delivered through Moses, enjoyed growth under Joshua, and struggled during the time of the judges.  They were blessed under Saul, David, and Solomon, but had deteriorated slowly since that point, ultimately ending in this Babylonian Captivity.  And notice if you will, that God doesn’t come out and say not to worry because He’s getting ready to give them right back what they lost through being exiled and then some.  No; God’s words spoken through Jeremiah immediately before this say, “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place.”  Now, we will deal with how God ultimately fulfilled this in a minute, but did you notice the seventy-year timeframe?  If you were going through a difficult time and I told you that all you had to do was wait seventy years, would you take comfort in that?  I don’t even know that we would take comfort if we were promised seventy days of hardship, much less seventy years.  Also, don’t forget that there had to be some of the Israelites who were thinking “God, didn’t we endure 400 years of slavery in Egypt already?  Didn’t we endure 40 years in the wilderness wandering without a home?  Hasn’t one of our kingdoms already been destroyed and overthrown?  Do we really need to be in exile for another 70 years?”  I know I’m not one to criticize God, but there had to be those who were thinking that this suffering was just an endless list of “just wait a little longer.”

                Also, God doesn’t tell Israel that they need to suffer and can just sit and sulk for the entirety of that time.  Earlier on in this chapter, in verse 7, God tells them to “seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.”  In other words, these folks, God’s people, who are in exile (i.e. not supposed to be there) are commanded by God not to try and get back to where they are supposed to be, but to seek to have an impact on where they are.  It doesn’t matter if you’re not at the physical, financial, occupational, or social destination that you want to be at or that you feel that you are supposed to be at.  What matters is that you are having an impact for the gospel right where you are.  God is giving a command that no matter where we find ourselves, that our goal ought to be the promotion and glorification of His kingdom and His righteousness and His glory.  Our primary goal isn’t to be the restoration of our status, but the declaration of God’s status.

                When Jeremiah says the words, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord…” we have to realize that the “I” that is being referred to there isn’t Jeremiah, it isn’t the people of Israel, and it most certainly isn’t you and me, but it is God Almighty.  God alone knows what plans He has for us in the future.  God alone knew the plans that He had for Israel and their “welfare and not for evil, to give [them] a future and a hope.”  God alone knew that Christ was the aforementioned future and hope of Israel and our future hope as well.

                I want to speak very plainly to what many times we see folks do with this verse.  They do this with similar verses as well, but I want to focus on this verse in particular this morning.  One thing is that we put ourselves as the focus of this verse.  When it’s something that we want, then we just assume that it’s God’s plan for us.  I really want that job, that car, that house, that life, that whatever it might be, and so God’s plan must be for me to have that.  That’s not what this verse means at all.  You know we talked just a second ago about the “I” being God?  Well, when we think along these lines, then we are putting ourselves as the “I” and not God.  Another thing that we see, and I already mentioned this a little earlier as well, is that we see many people use these words as Biblical validation for a lucrative business deal.  Somehow, the focus of this verse has become the Hebrew word shalom, which is translated in various English versions of this text as either, welfare, peace, or to prosper.  We particularly like the translation that renders the reading of this text as “to prosper” because that just carries with it a certain image of success in our world.  But you see, this verse isn’t about gaining wealth.  It’s about a restoration, but not in a completely financial sense like we tend to see it.  This verse is somewhat of an Old Testament version of Romans 8:28, “All things work for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purposes.”  We know that not everything is good in-and-of itself; not every experience is good or pleasant, but that God works all things for good, for the glorification of His kingdom.  Well, the words of Jeremiah 29:11 are saying that God knows the plan.  The plan may not be enjoyable, like 70 years of exile, 400 years in slavery, 6 months unemployed, the loss of friendships, or the alienation from certain folks, but know that because it is God’s plan that it ultimately is a plan of peace, a plan of shalom, and a plan of hope.  Because it is God’s plan, it’s a good plan.

                So, the question is probably lingering out there right now, “Well, if you’ve spent all this time talking about how this was a specific promise for Israel, then does it have anything to do with us; does it have any meaning for us?”  You know, that’s a good question.  Many folks don’t know how to distinguish general promises of God (i.e. those made for all Christians at all times) from specific promises (those made to a certain group).  Recently “retired” pastor and theologian John Piper in an interview about this passage was asked a similar question.  He was asked if we can claim this passage in any way.  His answer, “Absolutely we can claim it, and we can completely claim it because of Christ.”  You see, this entire prophecy in Jeremiah is about Christ.  When Jeremiah speaks of the hope and the future for Israel, he’s speaking specifically about the promised Messiah.  Just as Jesus was the hope for Israel, he’s our hope too.  You see, the promise that God was making Israel through Jeremiah about a restoration, a hope, and a peace, is a promise that He has fulfilled for us in Christ through his life to perfection, his saving death, and his glorious resurrection.

                In a few moments, we’re going to partake of the Lord’s Supper.  As I deliver to you the words of the institution of that sacrament, I will remind you that Christ said in the Upper Room, gathered there together with his disciples, that the cup, which he poured out for them, was the new covenant in his blood.  In other words, Christ was saying to his disciples, “When I die, I am securing for you all the new covenant promises that have been made.  All of the promises that my Father made with the nation of Israel, His chosen people, will be fulfilled in His new covenant people, all those who profess saving faith in me (i.e. the Church).”  The Apostle Paul, in his second letter to the church in Corinth, told them that “all the promises of God find their Yes in Christ.”  All of the promises that God has ever made to His people find their completion, their fulfillment, in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

                The words of Jeremiah 29:11 are powerful words.  They are very famous and important words.  They may even be your favorite words in all of Scripture aside from “He is risen.”  I know and have known may folks that claim this verse in Jeremiah to be their favorite verse, and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.  This is right up there with some of my favorite verses.  In fact, all three verses that we’ve looked at (John 3:16, Philippians 4:13, and Jeremiah 29:11) are among my favorite verses in Scripture.  However, we cannot misinterpret them or take their meaning out of context.  God has a plan.  He has a plan to prosper us, to give us peace, to give us hope, to give us welfare, to give us a future, and to restore us.  That plan is already in motion.  It started before the foundations of the earth, it was revealed in the Garden to Adam and Eve, clarified through the prophets, accomplished by Jesus Christ, and the fruits of that plan are being applied this very day by the Holy Spirit.  God’s plan looks different for each and every one of us, but the One through whom that plan is accomplished is the very one whom we remember this day through the partaking of the elements on the table before us.  God’s plan is very complex, but at the same time very simple.  God’s plan is Jesus Christ.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

Philippians 4:13 "What are All Things?"

                One of the strangest things that I enjoy is watching athletes being interviewed.  I don’t really know why I enjoy watching interviews immediately after sporting events so much, but I do.  It’s not like many of them have anything prophetic or thought-provoking to say.  Maybe it’s the fact that you get to see some real emotion from these men and women who at times we forget are people just like you and me.  If an athlete has just lost, you see the pain and frustration in their eyes.  You can also tell by the determination in their voices whether they will choose to learn from an experience and get better or whether what just took place crushed them for good.  The most notable one that I can remember was several years back after number 1 ranked Florida lost to Ole Miss in football and Tim Tebow took the stand and simply said “We’re not losing again, period.”  And as history would have it, he was right.  Maybe the reason I like watching interviews is that after winning a big game, athletes finally resemble all of us in their excitement.  If you’ve ever watched a team celebrate after winning a championship, there’s a certain jubilation that makes you forget about the money they’re making, the contract disputes, and the business of it all.  However, one of the things that I often get a kick out of is when they ask someone how they did it.  Let’s say that after winning the World Series, a reporter asks a pitcher how he was able to throw like he did or another player how he was able to keep getting those timely hits.  His response:  “I just want to thank God.  I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Now, many of us wouldn’t and don’t bat an eye or give a second thought to this person saying these words.  There’s no doubt that God gives every athlete, performer, and everyone else some amount of talent in a particular area.  I’m fully on board with giving God the glory.  However, does the verse that we’re looking at today, Philippians 4:13, really have anything to do with a brilliant sports moment?  Does it have anything to do with our moments of success and achievement in our daily lives?  What are the reasonable and unreasonable applications of this most famous war-cry for overcoming an obstacle?

                What I want us to do before we really even dive into this verse and see what is and is not a right application of these words, is to look at the context of what’s going on when Paul writes these words.  You see, Paul’s relationship with this particular church, the church in Philippi, was unique in its closeness.  There was a two-way love between Paul and this congregation that quite honestly didn’t exist between Paul and the other churches that he founded.  It’s not that there was anything wrong with those other churches; it’s just that there was a special relationship that existed between Paul and the Philippian church.  When he needed support (financial, physical, etc.) they were ready to help him out.  Many times, Paul didn’t even need to ask them for help before they were already making plans to give him what he needed.  Immediately before and after our verse for today, Paul’s words are about God’s provision.  Paul is speaking about how God, many times through that very church in Philippi, saw to it that Paul had what he needed in both life and ministry.  Even in circumstances and situations where Paul didn’t have everything that he needed, he somehow seemed to always get by.  Just look at the words immediately before our verse.  Paul says, “I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”  In other words, Paul had developed (or more accurately God had developed within Paul) a sense of contentment that allowed Paul to persevere no matter what was going on around him.  Have you ever had those moments in your life; maybe it was weeks, months, or even years, where you don’t know how you got by but somehow you did?  It’s like if you went back and added up now how much you had coming in and how much you had going out and there’s no way that you should have been able to survive.  Yet, you did and you really didn’t feel the sting of it in the moment like you probably should have or that you might feel thinking about it now.  That’s where Paul was in life and ministry and he was completely comfortable with it.  Now, don’t mistake comfort with complacent.  Paul was anything but complacent.  He was constantly moving forward for the sake of the gospel.  It’s just that he wasn’t worried about himself or his health or his welfare because those things always seemed to work themselves out.  He was fulfilling that command that Jesus gave us about not worrying about tomorrow because tomorrow will take care of itself; those words about the flowers having clothes and the birds having food.  Paul placed his entire trust in the sovereignty and providence of God.

                That’s the context in which we find these words, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”  Paul’s not talking about being able to lift some massive amount of weight over his head.  He’s not talking about being able to physically outrun any group of persecutors that may come after him.  He’s talking about being able to fulfill the mission that God has set before him, and to do so faithfully while praising God the entire way through it.  The brilliant reformer John Calvin says of this verse that “when [Paul] says all things, he means merely those things which belong to his calling.”  Paul’s all things are his being able to preach and teach, to endure, persevere, and overcome the hardships of ministry, and to be able to rely upon God for endurance and strength.  Paul’s all things are references to the task at hand that has been given to him to proclaim the gospel.  Paul’s all things are not references to general life events, but to the hardships that he was enduring for the sake of and as a result of his being found in Christ.  Look, I understand how this verse can be taken and used in an athletic setting or some everyday life type of context, and I think that to a certain extent there is some application there.  We can do things because of the power of God working through us that otherwise we wouldn’t be able to do and that we can’t do on our own.  I’m fully on board with that; I just don’t think (and more importantly the context of this verse doesn’t indicate) that these words are to be applied to every area of our lives.  I don’t think that God is necessarily involved with whether or not you make a free throw or if you win an election or get a particular job.  I think that God sometimes (not always) allows us to reach certain levels of influence and prominence so that our influence and impact for His kingdom can be enhanced, but that’s something different than just overcoming adversity.  I think that God merely wants to see one thing in our situations in life:  can you praise Him regardless of the situation?  In other words, can we praise Him on both sides of the vows of marriage that we take:  plenty and want, joy and sorrow, sickness and health.  Can you praise Him; do you praise Him, on both sides of that equation?  It’s often said that if you say that you need something in order to praise God fully then whatever it is that you need is your true god.

I have a painting that hangs on our bedroom wall with the words to this verse on it.  A friend of mine from my hometown painted it for me years ago and it has been on my wall ever since.  When I was in college, it hung above my bed.  After Amy and I got married and moved into our first home, it hung over our bed.  Now, due to my wife’s decorating taste, it doesn’t hang over our bed anymore, but it’s still in the room.  No matter where I have lived, that painting, that verse, has been on a wall in my bedroom, and I can’t think of a better place for it.  I have absolutely no choice but to look at it every day (several times each day) and to think about it.  I’m reminded every time I look at it about what it actually means.  In other words, I’m reminded constantly to ask myself the question, “Is God enough?”  Is God enough in my life regardless of whatever else happens?  Regardless of what I lose or endure in this life, is God enough for me to overcome it?  Do I live a life that tells people that all I need is God?  Do I live a life that portrays the notion that because I am found in Christ, that there is nothing that I cannot do and cannot overcome?  You see, it’s not a reminder to me that I can push myself that extra mile running in the morning.  It’s not a reminder to me that I can have that type of life that I dream about.  It’s a reminder to me that no matter what life throws at me that I have the power to overcome it because I have my hope in something that is greater than all the things of this world.

As I’ve thought about this verse over the years, and the type of person that it calls us to be, the type of belief that it calls us to have, there is one word that has just kept popping up in my mind:  steady.  Have you ever known someone that you would just classify as a steady person?  There are never really any overly high highs and there are never really any low lows, but the person is just steady.  They’re just really rock-solid folks, many of them being stabilizing forces within various communities (family, friends, work, church, etc.).  They’re able to keep both good news and bad news in proper focus and a proper perspective.  They bring a sense of calm to an otherwise chaotic situation.  Now, I’m not saying that these folks are the models of this verse, although they very well might be in some cases.  What I’m trying to say is that our faiths ought to resemble the steadiness of these folks when it comes to our reliance, devotion, and trust in God.  When we are found in Christ, we ought to know that we are taken care of.  And we’re not taken care of by our own efforts or our own power, but through the power and the strengthening of the Holy Spirit.  Paul has spoken several times in this epistle already about the great power and blessings that are found in our being found in Christ. 

In another one of Paul’s epistles, he speaks about what it means to be heirs with Christ.  In Romans 8, Paul says that the children of God are “heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”  To be an heir of something means that you are to inherit it; it means that whatever that person owns is to become yours at some point.  Paul is saying here that we are heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ.  That means that all that Christ, the Son, inherits from His Father is to be ours as well.  That’s why Paul says that he can endure any amount of suffering because no matter what he must endure in this life, it is nothing compared with the glory that awaits him.  After all, life is fleeting in light of eternity.  I heard someone say recently that they were born in 1954, they blinked and were in the second grade, blinked again and they were marrying their high school sweetheart, blinked again and had three adult children who were all married, and that they would blink again soon and wake up in the presence of Christ.  The suffering that we endure in this world is nothing compared to the glory of heaven.  There is nothing that we cannot endure, particularly because we have the sustaining hand of God covering us.

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me” is not a motto for superhuman strength or stamina.  It’s not a verse that we should tell ourselves as a means of motivation for reaching our goals.  Do you know what the most important words that you can tell to someone in the midst of strife or struggle are?  It’s a short little five word sentence.  It’s going to be okay.  It’s going to be okay.  You can get through this.  This isn’t something that you can’t overcome.  Sure, things may be different from this point on, but that doesn’t mean that life as you know it is over.  You may have lost someone dear to you, you may have lost your job, your kids might not be making the choices that you want them to make, but it’s going to be okay.  You can weather this storm.  You may not think that you have the ability to get past this, but you.  And do you know why you have that ability?  It’s because you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you.  You can get past this.  You can get beyond this.  You can overcome this and praise God the entire way through it.  And the reason why you can do this is because you are found in Christ.  You trust that God will provide you with everything you need.  It may not be everything you want, but it most certainly is what you need.  Just as Paul was able to rest in knowing that God would see to it that his needs were meet, we can rest in knowing that God will see us through whatever it is that we’re going through.  We may not enjoy it and it may be difficult, but our instructions are simple.  We are to press on, persevere, and praise God all the while.  Glory be to God; in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  Amen.