Untitled Sermon (5)

A Life More Abundant

Introduction

My task before you this morning is not to necessarily bring something new to most of you, but to address something by way of review. I think many times we get caught up in life and lose focus on what really matters. We do that too often, and it’s at that point where I think we need to step back and recalibrate our lives to God and His Word. I’m a slow learner, and so sometimes that recalibration takes a while for me. But God can work in us. I’d like to share a bit of how God has been bringing me back to the basics and how I think it can be a challenge to all of us.

In the OT, we read about details of the Jewish Temple that was created for God’s dwelling. Within the temple, there was a thick veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the holy place and the rest of the temple where God’s people were. It was supposedly as high as 60ft and 4” thick, which is a significant illustration. The veil represented the sin that caused the broken relationship between God and man (Is 59:1-2). Only the high priest could enter and intercede with God on behalf of his people to make atonement (a covering) for sins (Leviticus 16). In Hebrews, it says that Jesus changed that once for all (Heb 10:19-24) as our High Priest. 2 Cor 5:21. His body represented that veil. And as it says in Matthew 27, just his body was broken for us on that cross, the veil in the temple was literally torn from top to bottom. This was the pinnacle point of the crucifixion in regards to God and mankind. What does that mean? It means that barrier to God was now fully gone and our fellowship can be restored to Him. It means He didn’t just give us positional reconciliation before Him. He offered loving and eternal fellowship with God because Jesus was our mediator (1 Tim 2:5) and intercessor (Rom 8:34) every day. Jn 10:10 Jesus said that He came that we not just have life, but have it more abundantly. I contend that the abundance of life is what we lose out on from time to time. We have life, but not always life more abundantly.

We understand our position in Christ: our justification as a result of our faith in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. At the point of belief, we are secure eternally because our salvation is based on God and who He is and the promise that He’s made in Scripture. But it doesn’t stop there. It starts there.

There’s a familiar passage, for many of us, that I think captures the essence of what this abundant life is about in a nutshell. This morning I want to look at that passage and unpack Three Major items in the Christian life that come in the form of commands.

Let’s now turn to the book of Philippians, looking at chapter 4.

Looking at Philippians 4:4-7

Before diving in, let’s explain Philippians briefly and the context - Without that, it’s like opening a letter you got in the mail and starting to read in the middle of the page (you can get lost quickly)

Letter to a church in Philippi (60-62 AD) that Paul founded on his second missionary journey

Paul gets imprisoned, most likely in Rome for the reason of spreading the gospel.

In prison he writes 4 letters, called the prison epistles (others are Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon), one of which is to the church at Philippi

In this letter he writes affectionately to the believers there, longing to see them

expressing gratitude to them for their support for him (Phil 1:7) as well as commends them for faith in Christ

One of the few letters where Paul has almost nothing negative to say of the church

he talks about his circumstance of imprisonment (Phil 1:12-14), and that it’s actually created a platform to share the gospel more, and that it’s spurred on his faith and the other’s faith

develops a major theme of what it means to have Christlikeness (Phil 1:21)

He explains what true humility is using Christ as the ultimate example in Phil 2. He then hones in on what he wants the Philippians to focus on as they press on in the Christian life

talks about his circumstances and his mentality in spite of those circumstances, namely his JOY

“joy” (7), “rejoice” (9)

(Phil 1:12-18) “my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel...Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I REJOICE. Yes and I will REJOICE

JOY is clearly a major topic - Paul has joy, Paul asks for joy (2:2), Paul strives for them to have joy (1:25), Paul defines joy (4:11-13), Paul calls the Philippians his joy (4:1), Paul commands joy (2:18), even acknowledges that he repeats himself regarding joy (3:1)

One commentator said that “the theme is pursuing Christlikeness, but the dominant tone is joyful”. I would say that the theme is the pursuit of true joy in the person of Christ

We’ll get more into this as we unpack the verses

READ Philippians 4:4-7.

1) First Command - JOY

We just talked about it but like Paul, I don’t think it can’t be overstated...because it’s under-used!

V4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say rejoice!

χαίρω (chairo) - to be in a state of happiness and well-being, to be glad (present active imperative) (BDAG)

Some scholars have made a distinction between happiness and joy, saying that happiness is a reaction to our circumstances while joy is a state that we enter by choice as Christians. But the Greek word χαίρω doesn’t allow for that. The word is also used elsewhere as a reaction to an event or circumstance ("chairo” vs “chara” Jn 16:20), sometimes even in a sinful sense (chief priests were “glad” when Judas betrayed Jesus Mk 14:11)

The fact that it’s a command implies two things:

That we are expected to rejoice

That it’s possible to be in a state of happiness

That may be a foreign concept to a lot of us with our understanding of happiness. We consistently think that happiness is something we want but it’s based on what happens to us. You’ve heard people say, “do whatever makes you happy”. In fact, it’s in our Declaration of Independence. A few weeks ago, Pastor Dave mentioned that famous phrase: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of _____Happiness”

Why “pursuit of happiness” and not just “happiness”

Because as it reads, we can’t guarantee happiness. You can only claim the right to pursue it. Whether or not the founding fathers intended this, I’m not sure

So how can Paul command them to be happy continually if we can’t guarantee it?

Many of us may be a difficult situation. As Keith Whitley said, “I’m no stranger to the rain”. The thought of being commanded to be happy may be repulsive and almost seem dismissive of what’s going on your life. Maybe you’re ridiculed in school or at work for your faith. You may be having trouble in your marriage; your love has grown cold for each other. Maybe it even ended in a divorce. You may be lonely, have health issues, lost a job, have family trouble, financial trouble, depressed about the state of our country, etc. Those are not minor things, but I encourage you to look at Paul and the church at Philippi.

Keep in mind the context.

As we know Paul wrote letters, some to churches and some to individuals.

It’s commonly believed that the congregation would hear the letter being read in front of them; this letter is from a guy that has been suffering for the cause of the gospel for decades, being opposed by his own Jewish people and the Romans. They are aware of Paul’s tribulation. In Acts 9:15-16 , Jesus told Ananias to go evangelize to Paul because he was a chosen instrument and that God would show him how much he must suffer for His name’s sake.

I’m sure they’re at least aware of the list of Paul’s sufferings that we find in 2 Cor 11:23-28, and that was recorded only 2/3 of the way through his 32-yr ministry (36 AD to ~68 AD)

They know that he is now in prison, because they sent Epaphroditus to him to visit him and bring a gift. His life was hanging in the balance

He even acknowledges that the church at Philippi had started to undergo persecution and tells them of the suffering they are to endure.

For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake, (Phil 1:28-29)

Despite all of that, what does Paul say? REJOICE! (active sense)

How would you react? Would you think “Paul you are out of your mind?!” (Acts 26:24)

Would you say, “How can you say that when you are threatened with your life? OR, “You don’t know my situation in my life!”

It’s as if Paul knew what their response would be and so he repeats himself. I like how the NIV puts it: “I’ll say it again, rejoice!”

In fact he does this same thing twice earlier in the letter (Phil 1:18, 3:1)

As we know, Paul pushes the theme of Joy here for them and for us, mentioning it 16 times in the letter

Rejoice? What is there to rejoice in?

ANSWER: THE LORD. Rejoice in THE LORD.

See, joy has an object that it relies on. And it is only as reliable as the object it depends on. If someone does something for you that’s nice, that may make you happy, but the duration of that happiness is really only based on what that person did.

So how can Paul command the Philippians, and in turn, us to be joyful always, despite all the issues in life? Because of the object that our faith is rooted in Jesus Christ.

“Rejoice in the Lord” means to rejoice in union with the Lord, which is Christ in this context (Phil 3:20)

And when we rejoice in union with the Lord it’s because of who Christ is and what He has done for us.

I like how the Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology puts it

When one carefully examines the contexts of this recurring word, one begins to see that when Paul talks of joy he is in reality describing a settled state of mind characterized by peace—an attitude that views the world and all of its ups and downs with equanimity, a confident way of looking at life that is rooted in faith, in a keen awareness of a trust in the living Lord of the church (3:1; 4:4, 10; cf. 1:25–26). In other words, joy for Paul is an understanding of existence that can include both elation and depression, delight and dismay, affliction and ease, prosperity and poverty, because joy is that which enables the Christian to see beyond the circumstances of life to the sovereign Lord who stands above all circumstances and has ultimate control over them.11 Gerald F. Hawthorne, “Philippians, Theology Of,” in Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology, electronic ed., Baker Reference Library (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1996), 612.

Who is the living Lord? He is our example and our God (Phil 2:5-8) , Ps 16:7-11

What has He done? Jesus said “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world” Jn 16:33. See also Romans 8: 31-39

He has overcome sin and the effects of sin; the suffering, the separation, and most importantly death!

He has also promised: to be with us, to get us through the tough times Phil 4:13, to bring us to be with Him in glory (Phil 3:20-21)

I'm afraid that sometimes, especially in conservative churches, Christians have demeanors that are more dismal than an old Hank Williams song. Or perhaps they put on “the face” at church, while inwardly:

They have forgotten their first love in Christ

What they need is a heart like David had when he prayed, “restore unto me the joy of my salvation, and renew a right spirit within me” Ps 51:12

Brothers and sisters, let that loss of joy not be true of us today.

You say “well only in certain times can I have joy”. Paul says always. Rejoice in the Lord always.

Pastor Dave said recently that to maintain joy, we must preach the gospel to ourselves everyday

--> story of kid in Campus Crusade who sang on campus - James McMahon, said “I’m blessed” when people asked how he was doing. That man had joy on his face every time I saw him.

I think all happiness is a result of a reflection on a particular thing. Some things require less reflection, like our circumstances. We have a natural emotional reaction to them. Some things require more reflection, like the objective truths of Christ and His grace.

2) Second Command - Forbearance

V5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.

The command here is actually "Let be known (ginosko - to arrive at a knowledge of something (BDAG))” your gentle spirit. Meaning, let people come to the understanding that you are gentle.

Paul was instructing that the Philippians let loose their gentle spirits.

this implies that they had gentle spirits and it’s a safe assumption (see Phil 1:9)

gentle spirit Spirit is not in the original text (NASB), gentleness (NKJV), reasonableness (ESV), moderation (KJV)

forbearance (1977 NASB)

The word is frequently translated “gentle”.

In the qualifications for elders

1 Ti 3:3 “not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome”

Also used elsewhere in the context of wisdom

Jas 3:17 “ But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy.”

This is interesting because to me, gentle/reasonable/moderate don’t really describe what the word truly means, at least in our modern understanding of the word.

It doesn’t mean just mild mannered, even-tempered as stated in Gal. 5:22-23 (not the same word)

The term is epieikeia.

epieikeia suggests the yielding of a judge, who, instead of demanding the exact penalty required by strict justice, gives way to circumstances which call for mercy.1 Connell, J. C. (1996). Gentleness. In D. R. W. Wood, I. H. Marshall, A. R. Millard, J. I. Packer, & D. J. Wiseman (Eds.), New Bible dictionary (3rd ed., p. 405). Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.

That’s why “forbearance” is a better word Rom 3:25. The word carries with it a withholding of judgement, a mercy and an attitude of grace towards others. That’s more than gentleness or meekness!

Paul says to let it be known to ALL MEN - According to the command tense here (aorist passive imperative), at any time people should understand that’s characteristic of us.

I think the idea is this: as you rejoice in the Lord (V4), ie. you let your joy come from God, His provisions, promises for you, and His mercy and grace, you align yourself in the correct vertical relationship with God. This should spill over into the horizontal relationships that you have with everyone. To be merciful, just as your Father is merciful Lk 6:36-38. Because when we understand what God has done for us despite our position and guilt before God, it should be natural that this mindset becomes evident to others. See Eph 4:32.

Titus 3:2-6 sums it up well, using the same Greek word, talking about the believers in Crete:

1 Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed,

2 to malign no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing every consideration for all men.

3 For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another.

4 But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared,

5 He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit,

6 whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,1

1 New American Standard Bible: 1995 update. (1995). (Tt 3:2–6). La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The Bible makes it clear that we aren’t to hunt people down in vindication or seek justice on our own accord. We restrain. Why? Jesus himself did that for us to save us from God’s just wrath. This also creates an environment for the gospel to flourish with unbelievers Mt 5:16.

END OF V5 The Lord is near.

Won’t spend too much time here. It could mean 1 of 3 things.

1) Near in proximity (Jesus by our side) (Eph 2:12-18) - Don’t think is what Paul is driving at

2) Warning that He is Near in time (Jesus coming again) - Doesn’t fit the climate of the letter either. It’s a letter of affection, and encouragement, not like Corinthian letters

3) Comfort that He is Near in time (Jesus coming again)

This fits better (Phil 3:17-21)(Phil. 1:6; 2:16; 3:20; 4:5)

Paul sets the stage for where our belonging is and that we are looking for Him. We know that He is nearer than when we first believed (Rom 13:11-12; Jam 5:8-9)

He is saying HANG IN THERE!

Paul is saying “have a forbearing spirit because...

a) there isn’t time to be wasted on quarrels and

b) He’s coming soon to administer justice and to set things right (2 Co 5:10, Ro 2:16, 2 Ti 4:1)

3) Third Command - Prayer

V6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God

(also present, active, imperative)

Prayer is one of the biggest things mentioned in Scripture but I would say one of the least used.

We talk a lot about being in the Word, and that is of preeminence, but a man or woman could be a student of the Word their whole life and miss communion with God.

Some weeks, our only prayers might be at church or at the dinner table.

Steve Farrar, in his book Point Man, says if that’s the only times that we pray, it leaves us unprepared for spiritual battle (paraphrase)

Leonard Ravenhill said, “No man is greater than his prayer life”

Paul Washer says this “Most of the older men that I have talked to, one of their greatest regrets is not that they did not study enough, but that they did not pray enough. If you are going to go for the deep truths, you must stay on your knees or you are going to become large-headed, off-balanced, calloused, hard, and proud.”

We could recite quotes forever, but the point is:

Folks, Christianity is a relationship. And no one likes a one-sided relationship. God speaks to us through His Word, but we also need to speak with Him daily. It’s to our benefit and more importantly, to God’s glory.

How do we do that?

Jas 5:16 “...The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much”

What is effective prayer?

Warren Wiersbe calls this “right praying”

Along with Matt 6:7-15, I think Phil 4:6 gives the best example for “right praying”, as well (albeit, it leaves out 1 Jn 1:9).

Paul makes a stark contrast between anxiety and prayer here

Empty ourselves of all worry

Fill our lives with prayer

Why? There’s a full transfer of burden from us to God

You say “well that’s hard to do; just “give it all to God!”

If anyone had a prescription to worry it was Paul and the Philippians

Paul seemed to know that death was a very real possibility (Phil 1:20)

Yet Paul again encourages them (Phil 1:28-30) them to not be in any way alarmed (let oneself be intimidated) by their opponents

Paul goes one step further and commands them to be bankrupt of worry by adding the word “nothing”

Best expression I’ve heard on why not to worry:

If you can control it, then do something about it

If you can’t control it then why be worried. Because you couldn’t do anything anyways (Matt 6:25, Lk 12:25 - Which of you by worrying, can add a single hour to his life’s span?)

In both cases, we are not to worry

Paul says bring it to God....all of it! Same word also in 1 Pet 5:7

Now when we say God, does it matter which person of the Trinity are we speaking about?

There’s no passages that I’m aware of that mention praying to the Holy Spirit (maybe Rom 8:26-27)

A lot of people today in evangelical Christianity pray to Jesus. Now are there passages that mention prayer to Jesus? Yes, but it’s not our scope today to look into those (Jn 14:13-14; Acts 1:24, 7:59, 9:5-6; 1 Cor 16:22; 2 Cor 12:8-9, etc).

Prayer is shown in Scripture to be primarily to the Father. We pray to the Father in the name of the Son through the Holy Spirit Eph 2:18; 3:14; 5:20, Jn 15:16; 16:23 , Romans 1:8; 7:25; 8:26, 1 Jn 2:1, Jd 20 . Also see Hebrews 9:1-14; 10:12-14 for how we have access to the Father.

I will say that every time Paul commands prayer to his readers, he commands us to pray to the Father (See above examples)

Paul reaffirms that here clearly in his distinction between the words God, Lord, and Christ Jesus

Also keep in mind the temple illustration. We now have access TO the Father because of Christ’s work done in the Spirit.

With that, he brings up 3 Components of Prayer:

Prayer προσευχή (proseuchē)- reverent petition and adoration, our acknowledged position before God (Paul bows the knee Eph 3:14-15) - this is not so much the posture of the body but the posture of the heart

Supplication δέησις (deēsis)- earnest request, urgent request to meet a need, a plea (see the word supply in the name)

Should we combine those two? Are they the same? - Paul seems to always keep them distinct in the three other times they are mentioned (exact Greek words) (Eph 6:18, 1 Tim 2:1; 5:5) - So I think we should too

Actually, the way the sentence is structured, I think supplication goes more in hand with Thanksgiving - When we make a supplication, we are earnestly requesting something while at the same time we should recognize that we have been “supplied” with many things already and that God meets those needs. Gratitude is an important part of prayer that is appreciative while humbly asking for a need, not a want. Our WANT should be what God WANTS.

Now for what are we to be thankful for? The easier question is what are not to be thankful for? - Paul could have something specific in mind here but I think it’s an “attitude of gratitude” he’s driving at.

We may be in bad circumstances that make us cold to gratitude. Maybe we have become hardened and bitter. Yet if we can bring our heart posture to one of humility, God gives grace to those who humble themselves Jam 4:6

Are we thankful for the fact that we can go to Him since that veil was rent in two? Are we thankful for the family of God? For blood family (wife/husband/children)? For the blessings of what we have in America? For our trials?

James says to consider it all joy for those trials because they produce endurance. I’m not saying to ask for trials, but we can be thankful of what they can result in.

Verse 6 presents opposites

What’s the opposite of worry? It’s not just being at ease. It’s trusting, trusting through prayer.

Folks, if you are not daily going to God in prayer, I guarantee you are carrying burdens that you shouldn’t. I say that from experience. You may not know how to pray at times, but God knows what you need. Go to Him; He desires that fellowship.

Men especially, as leaders of the home, lead by example in this!

“He who kneels before God can stand before anyone” - didn’t originate with me

FINALLY Verse 7

V7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Rejoicing in the Lord and right praying results in overwhelming peace; peace that God himself gives! That is true fellowship that yields reward

What is this peace of God?

Well for one, we can’t understand it.

it surpasses all comprehension (comprehension lit. mind)

We might say today that it “blows our mind”

The peace OF God is something that originates with Him

We know that this peace functions to guard (protect from something) our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

The word guard is a military term. Let’s use that military illustration

We are in the secure camp of Jesus Christ. Our joy and reliance on Him puts up bigger fortress walls made of God’s peace

Our hearts and minds are within these walls, protected from being captured by the troubles of this world

Heart - contains our emotions, feelings, the inner self (volition, desires, etc)

Mind - describes our thoughts and capacity to reason

If we stray outside those walls of peace, our emotions/desires and our thoughts become vulnerable to attack by the worries of this world (elaborate if time)

It’s easy to see that if we stray outside those walls of peace that only God provides, we fall apart and quickly let our circumstances govern over us. Our emotions and desires are so vulnerable and unarmed. They change with the circumstances if we are not looking in the right direction. The mind, as intelligent as it is, can reason with the world’s way of thinking and can succumb to the doubt that it meditates on Col 3:15

Here Paul is saying that the peace which God gives us keeps our heart and mind within the parameters that are in Christ, in His glory, in His fellowship, and in His praise.

If you want to get a taste for what that peace looks like, look no further than Paul.

Paul again is a great example when he sang in prison Acts 16:25. See his attitude in prison (Phil 1:12-14). Who’s chained to whom?

Look at many of the martyrs throughout history as they are killed. Many of them had joy until the end, and they asked God to forgive their persecutors as they were dying

They had that assurance and inner tranquility that must’ve blown the minds of those standing around

Queen Mary (Bloody Mary) of England certainly couldn’t fathom it when she said “I fear the prayers of John Knox more than all the assembled armies in Europe”

What’s the point of the passage? It’s those three last words really, IN CHRIST JESUS.

Being a Christian is not just in our eternal security. It is a life meant to be in Christ Jesus

1) Are you struggling with having joy based on family life, work, even among other believers? Are you trying to be happy (based on your circumstances) or are you joyous (based on God and who He is)? Are you rejoicing in Christ this morning? In His person? In His character?

2) Are you forbearing and gentle like Christ has been towards us?

3) Are you going to God in prayer? Do you know that it’s because Christ died that we can even pray?

I heard recently that Dennis Rokser ends his daily program Grace for the Race with Rom 15:13. I hope he doesn’t mind that I share that with you.

Let’s challenge each other to live life more abundantly!

PRAY WITH ME