Through Him Who Gives Me Strength

Travel can be expensive. Camping, hoteling, even staying with relatives has a price. It was the same Paul’s day. Food, lodging, and transportation, it all adds up.

Yet Paul wasn’t keen on collecting money from new believers. He preferred to preach the gospel without passing the hat to cover his expenses. Sometimes Paul worked in the towns where he planted a church, buying fabric made from goat hair and sewing waterproof seams by hand to make tents. He was a tradesman, using his skill to support his whole team.

But the Christians in Philippi were particularly generous to Paul. After he was escorted out of Philippi and traveled east to Amphipolis, Apollonia, and Thessalonica – a trip Robin & I made in January, though we were happy to travel by car instead of on foot – Paul received care packages and encouragement, prayer support and financial aid from the church of Philippi. In this letter, Paul calls them partners in the gospel. The Chr. in Philippi supported Paul and his church-planting team. Similar gifts prompted this letter.

In the daily Bible readings, we studied Paul’s situation as he wrote this letter. Paul was arrested in Jerusalem, lived in prison in Caesarea for at least 2 years before sailing to Rome to stand trial before Caesar, enduring a shipwreck and snakebite along the way.

In this letter, Paul mentions he’s in chains. He also mentions that the gospel is spreading through Caesar’s household. In the closing lines, Paul extends greetings to the Christians in Philippi from the “people of God” in Caesar’s household. Putting it all together: Paul wrote this letter during his first imprisonment in Rome. He was under house arrest.

It's why the Christians in Philippi sent a care package. Epaphroditus, who brought the gifts and support from Philippi, became a close to Paul. Paul calls him:

My brother, co-worker and fellow soldier, who is also your messenger, whom you sent to take care of my needs. Philippians 2:25b (NIV)

Being under arrest in Rome isn’t the like being in jail in Ontario. Rome doesn’t give prisoners three hot meals and a cot. Good food and creature comforts come from outside.

You can see why Paul is grateful to the Philippian church. They lived up to the instructions in the NT book of Hebrew:

Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering. Hebrews 13:3 (NIV)

That’s what leads to Paul’s reflection on contentment.

Faith in Jesus offers no guarantee that you’ll live on easy street the rest of your life. Followers of Jesus experience something of Jesus’ suffering – as Paul mentions in ch. 3:

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. Philippians 3:10–11 (NIV)

It’s not something everyone wants to participate in. Nobody signs up to believe in Christ so they can participate in Jesus’ suffering.

In fact, some preachers offer a gospel of sunshine and roses: The so-called “health and welfare gospel.” They dare to promise that if you’re a follower of Jesus, you’ll never experience a difficulty, a challenge, or even a paper cut again.

It's a misrepresentation of the gospel. A false promise. Instead, the gospel promises that Jesus Christ, 100% human and 100% God, was born to take the punishment for human sin. That’s good news because our first parents led the whole race astray by disobeying God.

You have your own experiences, but I’ve found that no matter how hard I try, I can’t be fully righteousness all day, every day. I fall short of God’s standard of righteousness. And God, in his justice, always punishes sin. Sin leads to death.

But, because Jesus died the death that I deserve – because he took the punishment all sinners deserve – and because Jesus rose to life again, 3 days later, all who have faith in Jesus as Saviour and Lord are forgiven for their sin and have life in Jesus. It’s a great gift! Have you received it too? Do you trust God’s promises? Faith in Jesus means life, joy, and purpose.

But until we die or Christ returns, Jesus’ disciples continue to live in a world that is stained by sin, wrestling with our own sinful tendencies and the sinful tendencies of our neighbours; both those who share their faith in Jesus and those who don’t.

That’s why there’s an awkward paragraph in this letter about Syntyche and Euodia. These women had quarrel that soured their relationship and affected others in the church. It such a problem that Paul heard about it, ‘way out in Rome.

In this letter, read aloud to the believers in Philippi, Paul calls Syntyche and Euodia to reconcile. He asks a companion to help them “be of the same mind in the Lord.”

Disagreements happen in the church. When possible, we ought to seek reconciliation. It’s the work the elders do behind the scenes, through conversations and times of prayer: mending bridges and healing relationships.

Paul knows about disagreements. A few months before he visited Philippi, he quarreled with Barnabas. They didn’t agree about taking John Mark on their trip. John Mark deserted them on their first trip. They disagreed so sharply that Barnabas took John Mark (author of the gospel of Mark) and went one direction and Paul chose Silas and went a different direction. Later, they mended fences. In a later letter, Paul call John Mark his “son in the Lord.”

Why is this kind of dirty laundry about early Christians aired in the Bible? The fact is: this stuff happens in the church. We claim that only Jesus is without sin. The rest of us still struggle.

Not just interpersonal stuff, but accidents, natural disasters, persecution for faith in Jesus. Just last month, Charlie Kirk, a debater, provocateur, and Christian apologist, was murdered during a debate. Around the world today, more Christians face persecution for their faith than ever before. Don’t forget, as he wrote his letter, Paul himself is in chains, waiting to hear whether the emperor will release Paul or execute him.

Then there are the challenges we face of mental health or physical health. People watch our services every week on TV or the livestream channel because illness makes it hard to come in person. And this week a former member of our congregation, Matt Ypma, was diagnosed with Lymphoma: a type of cancer. Tough news at any age, esp. 23 yrs, done school, & ready to go!

There kinds of hardship and difficulties happen because the world was knocked off-kilter by the fall into disobedience and sin. Yet Paul says that he has “learned to be content whatever the circumstances.” He says:

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. Philippians 4:11b–12 (NIV)

Does it sound too good to be true? Is it possible to be content when you have cancer, with Parkinson’s Disease, dementia or depression? Paul says that the secret to contentment is this:

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

There’s a confession in Christian Reformed Churches that expresses confidence that God to give us strength in all circumstances. The HC unpacks the Apostles’ Creed. In Q&A 26, it describes what it means to believe in “God the Father Almighty, creator of heaven and earth”:

I trust God so much that I do not doubt

he will provide whatever I need

for body and soul,

and will turn to my good

whatever adversity he sends upon me in this sad world.

God is able to do this because he is almighty God

and desires to do this because he is a faithful Father.

That’s the confidence that Paul is talking about. Paul doesn’t imagine his chains away. He’s not whistling in the dark, pretending that he might not be executed tomorrow. Paul sees the circumstances clearly and trusts that God will give him strength to deal with whatever comes his way.

Paul has reason for such confidence. You might recall from Acts 27 that while sailing from Caesarea to Rome, Paul was shipwrecked. God didn’t let anyone drown in the storm. The sailors, soldiers, prisoners, and passengers swam or floated ashore on planks, just like an angel promised Paul beforehand.

And when Paul was drying himself by the fire, he tossed a pile of brushwood that on the fire. A venomous snake darted out and bit Paul. God prevented Paul from swelling up or falling dead from snakebite.

You want to hear what Paul has experienced in the service of Jesus Christ his Saviour and Lord? Paul published a list in the 2nd letter to the Corinthians:

Five times I received from the Jews the 40 lashes minus one.

Three times I was beaten with rods,

once I was pelted with stones,

three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move.

I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. II Corinthians 11:24–26(NIV)

If that’s the Apostle Paul’s experience, don’t believe for a moment that your illness, accidents, or other difficulties mean that God doesn’t care for you, doesn’t love you dearly, or doesn’t provide for all you needs. God loves you dearly!

God doesn’t always spare believers from difficulty, but he never, never leaves us alone. He gives us the strength – especially strengthening our faith, our connection to other believers, and our connection to Jesus – to face whatever difficulties we must endure on our journey of faith.

 That’s my experience. I’ve been a pastor for 23 years: anniversary of ordination last Saturday. I’ve had my ups and downs:

· Dry spells when I’m not on fire for the gospel, not growing in my faith.

· Challenging times with disagreements in the church.

· Difficult times when it felt like prayer and preaching and hospitality made no impact and no lives were being changed by the gospel of Jesus.

There were some tough seasons; really tough.

I stuck with it because God’s call remains strong.

When I wavered, the HS renewed my faith through the disciplines of praying and studying God’s Word, through the community of believers, and by singing songs that express the power of the gospel. Along with Paul, I learned the secret of contentment:

I can do all this through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:13

I offer you the same encouragement:

My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen. Philippians 4:19–20 (NIV)