Whatever is True

Sermon: FCC Afton 11-20-2022 Whatever is True Scripture: Philippians 4:8-23 Recap: Today is the last week in our survey of Paul's letter to the church at Philippi. Next week, we will pause to look at how we should be giving thanks before moving into the Advent season. I hope that you have gotten as much out of our time in Philippians as I have gotten out of teaching it. Remember, the idea of surveying that we have approached Philippians with has been one of taking one shovelful of the text, sifting through it like an old-time prospector might, and then seeing what nuggets of truth we can find. It's been a process- we've been digging through this little four-chapter letter for four months. I hope that you find yourselves more familiar with Philippians than you were before; and I hope that you find yourselves situated on a better foundation of Biblical understanding than you were before- our goal, if you recall, is to have a good understanding of what God expects out of us in any situation we might encounter AND an understanding of what God's Word says about how to react and respond to the things of the world in a Godly way that points others toward Jesus. Sarah and I saw a sign in a little coffee shop in Vinita that expresses this idea well: "Live in such a way that those who know you, but don't know God, will come to know God because they know you." That pretty much sums up what we've been discussing for the past four months. Let's take a moment and recap what we have covered so far within this letter: -Paul wrote this letter as an encouragement and an exhortation for fellow Believers, but he starts it out with a powerful statement: we are called to be slaves of Christ- that is, we are called to surrender everything about our lives to Christ and then to live in a completely sold-out manner for Him. -Paul calls us His partners, both in the grace that we receive from Christ and in the ministry of Christ's Good News. -We have covered the truth that we are running a race for Christ- it is an individual race that we will be held to account for and it is one that comes with the expectation that we will grow in spiritual maturity, in knowledge, in discernment, and in love for those around us. -We covered Paul sharing his negative experiences, everything from being beaten to being shipwrecked to being imprisoned- and he says, all of that is good because it means that I am living for Christ and because it shows that the Gospel will not be stopped. -We covered how we are to live with the attitude of Christ, which includes putting everything about whom I used to be away and taking on His persona, His love, His grace in its place- including being willing to give my life in repayment for Him giving His for me, in order that I might share the message of life with those around me. -And then last week, we dug into the beginning of Paul's conclusion- including his tough love for his beloved friends. We looked at the standard that Paul established for the church and for individual Believers in order for us to mature spiritually and to be more effective in making disciples for the Kingdom in the world. The standard for the church that Paul shares with us, the things that the church must stop doing in order to be effective, includes ending drama and silly conflicts in the church and ending the disunity that keeps churches, and the church in general, from working toward the same goal, that keeps us from working together in the Gospel ministry. Paul instructs us that these things must stop and even goes so far as to call out two women within the Philippian church who were causing drama and conflict; he insists that they at least find common ground in the Lord in order that the church might not be divided. Then Paul moved on to the standard for individual Believers- what we should be doing in order to be more effective in making disciples for Jesus and so that we can effectively run the spiritual race that God has placed before us. He reminds us to continuously choose joy and to focus on Jesus each day; he reminds us to let our graciousness be evident to everyone and to be a good example of Christ to everyone every day; and lastly, he reminds us to put aside all of our worries and to trust in our Savior completely for everything that we need and His wisdom and plan for our lives. Today, we continue with Paul's conclusion, getting one last piece of instruction, as well as Paul's parting thoughts about this Christian life. We end our survey with one of the most well-known instructions to the church, one that sums up the imperative of the Christian life, one that, if accomplished, makes every aspect of life so much easier. Read Philippians 4:8-23 Pray here! -Paul begins this final piece of his conclusion with the word "finally." Where last week, we began with his use of "So then," and discussed how it was recapping and was building on the truths that had just come before- "Now that you've got a good grasp on that truth, here is how you apply it to your lives"- Paul using finally is a recap of everything that he has written so far in the letter; it is a final purpose statement. It is Paul's send-off, the final piece of information that we should know in order to do this life well, run this race well, and to be effective for Jesus. -Main Idea: Paul's final instructions and closing thoughts are important lessons for us to learn and be able to apply in our individual lives and in the church. -This is not the classic midwestern goodbye on Paul's part. This is not a "slap the knees, get up and walk to the door, and stand around talking about nothing for a few more minutes" kind of goodbye. Even though Paul repeatedly expresses his hope that he will get out of house arrest and be able to freely travel to see his friends in Philippi, I think we can get a sense that Paul understood that this might be his last chance to impart the Lord's wisdom to them- that he knew the hour of his execution was drawing near and might come any time, so he takes the time to pack his goodbye with some very important teaching. There is a lot in these last sixteen verses- a lot of emotion and personal thoughts, but there is also a lot of truth to be gathered and pondered. It is easy to overlook the end of the letter as simply Paul's goodbyes, but do not neglect the find and apply the important truths that are held within this section. As we have tried to do every week throughout this survey, let's take the truths found here, examine and study them, and store it away for the Lord to reveal their application for your life. Truth #1: Dwell on what is true. "Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, or commendable- anything of moral excellence and of praise- think about such things." -Paul instructs us to make it a priority to think about good things: consider them, ponder them, dwell on them- make them your focus; make the things that your mind returns to over and over throughout the day good and Godly things. This is vital to your focus, to your attitude, to how willing and able you will be to hear God's plan and to stay in line with God's purpose for you. You must have a storeroom that is full of the things of God, not the things of this world. Paul tells the Colossian church in Colossians 3:2: "Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things." Jesus tells us that our actions, our attitude, and our words are all affected by what we store up in our heart and mind: Matthew 12:34-35 "The mouth speaks out of the overflow of the heart. A good man produces good things from his storeroom of good and an evil man produces evil things from his storeroom of evil." Jesus, of course, is echoing Proverbs 4:23- "Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of your life." So, when Paul says to dwell on good, Godly things, he say it because it is vitally important. What you put into yourself is what will come out. It is a purposeful choice to dwell on good, Godly things. No matter the situation, there are things that are true and good that you can focus your mind on, even if there is nothing immediately good happening- even if all the good you can focus on is praising God. Even if you're going through the worst, most trying, even most tortured time, you have good things that you can turn your mind to and think about, to dwell on, and to focus on. Then Paul moves on- Don't just think about good things, but also put into action the good things that you have learned, the things that you have observed in me- you have watched how I run this race; now you run your race in the same way, applying these things you've learned to your life. Paul explains: dwell on Godly things, make that your focus, make the consideration of Godly things your standard operating procedure- to the point that your Godly thoughts influence your behaviors. Then you will have closeness with God; the God of peace WILL be with you. Truth #2: The Secret of Contentment -Paul says that he rejoiced when the church at Philippi began giving to support him, not because he needed the aid, but because he knew that it gave their congregation the opportunity to serve, and to be generous and faithful in their service. Then Paul goes on to drop one of the most important statements in the New Testament. It is probably not the one that you're thinking of; it is followed by one of the most famous verses in the Bible, which also happens to be one of the most misunderstood or misrepresented verses in Scripture: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." And while we are going to dig into Philippians 4:19 in just a minute, right now I want to focus on this first statement by Paul: "I have learned the secret of being content." He says: "I have learned to be content in any and every circumstance. I know how to be content when I have a little and also when I have a lot. I know how to be content when I am well-fed or when I am hungry, whether I am in abundance or in need." This is a continuation of Paul's instruction for us to choose to be joyful continuously. Without being filled with joy, there is no way to be content. Being content is the idea of being satisfied with what you have and okay with whatever situation you are in- no matter what. It is knowing that no matter what we go through in this life, no matter how terrible it might be, if we have Jesus, then we will come to reward in eternity. It means knowing that no matter how you are treated, no matter whether you live in pain, live in poverty, or live in loneliness, this life is nothing compared to the one to come for those who know Jesus and who endure through to the end of the race. We don't have to be happy about our circumstances or our situation, but we do have to choose joy in every circumstance- our joy should overflow and manifest in thankfulness for the good things that God has blessed us with. As James says in his letter: is your life full of suffering? You should give thanks that you're alive- and pray. Is your life full of cheer? You should give thanks for your blessings- and praise God! The secret to contentment is trusting that as long as you are walking in God's will He will hold you close and provide for your needs- that He knows best and that He has a good plan and purpose for your life, even if you can't see what it is right now, or even if it's nothing like the calm, comfy life that you envisioned for yourself. Truth #3: I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength? -I put a question mark on there on purpose, because there is an important distinction that needs to be made here- I cannot do anything just because I desire it; moreover, Christ will not give me the strength to accomplish things simply because I desire them. I cannot fly in my own strength, no matter how much I wish I could or how much I think that being able to fly on my own might benefit or advance the Kingdom of God. This verse does not mean that I can do anything I want just because I want to. What this verse means is: I am able to do all the things that He asks me to do- I can accomplish His tasks and goals with some reasonable degree of success- there is, after all, a risk that I might screw up what He has asked me to do. Look at Jonah; God presented him with a grand task: go preach repentance in Nineveh. Jonah didn't do it, so he enacted his own plan and fled- seemingly a rather easy task. But God didn't let him accomplish that easy task; instead, God brings Jonah back to His plan, back to the monumental, seemingly impossible task of reaching Nineveh- and what happens? Jonah was unsuccessful in his own easy plan of running away, and yet God makes him successful in bringing some 30,000 people to repentance. When God's will is in the mission, we will be equipped for success- if He is not in it, we don't have much of a chance at all. Truth #4: Giving generously and freely brings reward in eternity- and being equipped here in the mission He has for us on earth. "You sent gifts for my need several times, not that I seek the gift, but I seek the profit that is increasing to your account." "And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus." -God has a purpose in us giving and doing so generously- and it does not come out of His need for our gifts. He waits to see how obedient we will be in giving freely what He has given to us, how obedient we will be in responding to His call to give- and how generous we will be with what He has blessed us with. Our giving is for us! It is for our account in eternity, which is filled more and more as we serve here, as we are obedient, and as we are generous when we don't have to be. On top of that, God will give us more work to accomplish, and equip us for that work, as He sees that we are obedient and trustworthy. "Who then is a faithful and sensible servant, whom His master has put in charge of His household, to give them food at the proper time? That servant whose Master finds him working when He comes will be rewarded. I assure you: He will put him in charge of all His possessions." (Matthew 24:45-47) Invitation: Are you living your life to serve Christ today? Are you setting an example for others to follow?