In Christ - The Sanctification Of Power

Introduction

Good Morning church family. You know one of the greatest things of this modern world is technology. Technology as a whole is woven into our society and culture whether we like or not. I tend to be the kind of person a little be hind the main stream. And, to give you an example, it was not until recently that I learned you could order your entire shopping cart from Walmart. When I learned of this, I was not surprise, as I was ordering stuff online for years. The norm was when an online order was placed, typically the UPS person, or what I like to call it - the surprise truck, would show up with you order.

Well take Walmart for example, they along with other retailers are changing the face how we interface with the whole grocery shipping experience. I don’t know if anyone here has used the service. Back in Albuquerque there were some who I knew who had used the service. They raved about the service. Mostly because they no longer had to deal the with Walmart crowds. All they had to do was pull their car up to designated spot, and someone would come out to their car with their stuff - groceries done! A frequent comment I heard had to deal with the picking of fresh items, meat, dairy, produce. I was hearing things picked were not always at their peak, or sometimes found at the bottom of the bag that contained all the canned good items. I hope you’re ready for salsa for guacamole, because that’s what looks like is on the menu tonight. Some people were simply not 100% pleased with the entire experience.

Do you feel the same way when God addresses a genuine need and provides exactly what you need? Or do we sometimes seeking more, or perhaps seeking something different to what God has provided? Do we have peace with what God has provided? We all enjoy the nice things in life. We like when God provides exactly what we need. Plus, we enjoy when God provides a little something extra! When I was writing this sermon, I started thinking what would be some basic necessities? For most of us, access to food and water would be at the top of the list. Now I had to look this us, there is an estimated - almost 800 million who do have not access to food or clean water.

When you think about it that way, isn’t it great how God has not only provided for us; He has made food and clean water available to us package with so many more blessings from a car to drive, to health care, to a family to a place where we can openly worship the One true living God! Our text this morning talks with us about the provision God has made to each of us uniquely. I invite you to open your Bibles to Philippians. This morning we are going to be in Chapter 4, and we’ll be reading verses 10 through 13.

Philippians 4:10–13 NIV

10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 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. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Pastoral Prayer

Our first point starts with a delicate appreciation. Paul adds with no apology for his repeated expression of joy in the Lord, great joy this time. Paul alluded to the generosity of the Philippians, by the had not formally thanked them for their kindness. One thing you will find is that Joy is the predominant note of this letter. Especially for a man who is in prison. I’ve not had the experience of being formally in either jail or prison. I could not imagine the mental weight that could be carried from such an exuberance. Yet when we read about Paul, he is overflowing with JOY! Some the very things which would naturally tend to make him sour or hardened only added to his happiness.

The occasion of Paul’s joy was the Philippian gift, which he saw as a renewed expression of their concern for him. The gift provides the ultimate occasion for the letter, but not its immediate purpose. Paul here uses the gift as the occasion for commenting on their long-standing partnership in the gospel. Their recent gift is proof of their continuing friendship, and Paul discusses it so as to strengthen his special bond with them.

I’d like for us to take a minor side step for just a moment. In verse 10, Paul repeats himself twice, where he says “you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me.”

Philippians 4:10 NIV

10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it.

We have come across one of the great themes used in Philippians. This theme is “to think.” The Greek word phroneō means to think. It’s not uniformly translated in the English versions, and so it can be hard to notice its repeated appearance, and the emphasis on the right use of the mind which goes with it.

“To think” is this context means to observe, or to be concerned. It means to set one’s mind on. When you being looking at this word, you will find it sprinkled throughout this letter. Paul uses this word to speak of a way of thinking, a feeling, an attitude, a mind-set. You can think of this word as a verb. It “carries the thought of “concern” in both thought and act.

For Paul this is vital: the way we think is at the heart of the Christian life - he makes it clear that the love he feels for the Philippians is actually the Christian way of thinking about them. It also echoes attempts to adopt a unity of ‘mind’ in Christ. Its occurrence here underlines that the Philippian gift to Paul was in keeping both with the mutuality of their partnership and with the attitude of a Christ-like service.

Paul tells his friends how delighted he is that they have caused their thoughts about him to grow and bloom again. The end of verse 10 ends with some soft words of grace. Paul tells the Philippians, they had “had no opportunity to show” concern. “In other words, you had lost contact me with so that you didn’t have the opportunity to be helpful to me.” How gracious Paul was!

Paul’s statement here did not reflect his own need or mental state. He had learned to be at home with whatever God supplied him. He was grateful for God’s provision during this chapter of his life. And he says this in verse 11. Paul says, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”

The first reason Paul did not need the gift was his own contentment. He states that he had learned contentment. Paul is quick to let his friends know that he is not complaining! Content means “sufficient in oneself, self-supporting, self-reliant, strong enough.” It appears only here in the NT. It’s used in the Lord’s statement to Paul, “My grace is all you need” (2 Cor 12:9), and when John the Baptist told the Roman soldiers “Be content with your pay” (Luke 3:14).

Paul’s happiness does not depend on circumstances or things; his joy comes from something deeper, something apart from either poverty or prosperity. Some of us have learned how to (as the King James puts it) “be abased,” because when difficulties come we immediately run to the Lord! But few have learned how “to abound.” Prosperity has done more damage to believers than has adversity. An example is found in Revelation 3:17, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing.” When you find yourself in a season of abundance, does God get smaller? Or do you see God just as big as when in the valleys of life? A 1st century Roman philosopher, Lucius Seneca said, “The happy man is content with his present lot, no matter what it is, and is reconciled to his circumstance.”

This echoes in verse 12 where Paul says,

Philippians 4:12 NIV

12 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.

If contentment was the school teacher, verse 12 is the lesson learned. You could say Paul had learned the secret. You could also think of this as the “school of hard knocks.” Many of have been there. Some of us have eared a doctorate courtesy of the school of hard knocks.

Whether we find ourselves living “high on the hog” or facing rations or even starvation, Paul indicates that his contentment extends to circumstances both of hunger and of eating his fill; he has learned to cope with having either more than enough or too little.

Paul learned to be content when living in prosperity. The need to learn contentment in the midst of wealth may not be immediately apparent. Biblical wisdom, however, teaches that:

Ecclesiastes 5:12 ESV

12 Sweet is the sleep of a laborer, whether he eats little or much, but the full stomach of the rich will not let him sleep.

And that some wealthy people tend to: “set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.”

1 Timothy 6:17 ESV

17 As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy.

Paul had developed adaptability. Paul presented three contrasts that provided the lesson for learning and explained the nature of contentment. In verse 12, the first and last speak to physical needs in general, while the middle refers to food. In these varied experiences, Paul displayed spiritual equilibrium. He was equally unaffected by poverty and riches. This knowledge is learned by walking with Christ, who is the sufficient one, and by developing a solid theology of material things. Things ultimately do not matter. This came at a strong contrast to the false teachers, where some were preoccupied with food and other earthly matters. This shows Paul was able to rise above any set of circumstances.

Paul says he is able “to do all this through him who give me strength.” When Paul says all things, does he literally mean all things? Does is mean we can go outside and jump our house? Of course not! This statement may sound like a wild-eyed pipe dream and can be easily misinterpreted. Paul does not mean to imply that Christ is like some magical genie in a lamp who renders us able to do anything we want. Translating the preposition “through” may cause one to miss Paul’s point that it is by being in Christ that one is empowered.

Paul claims no power in himself. All his strength is “in the one who empowers” him. Paul denies anyone or anything else the rightful claim to be his source of strength. He rejoices in the gift from the church in Philippi, but he will not allow the church or their gift to take the place of Christ. When Paul looked at himself, he saw chains, weakness, humiliation. But when he looked at Christ, he saw “the one who gives strength” to become like him in and through suffering. Paul’s contentment in all circumstances was not a passive acceptance—a whatever-will-be-will-be attitude—but an active pursuit of the goal to know Christ and to preach Christ

Conclusion

If we depend on our own power, we will fail; but if we depend on His strength, we can do all things through Him. This explains why Paul could rejoice even in prison: he had learned the secret of the secure mind through the power of God.

Paul’s confident words can be spoken by every Christian. The power we receive in union with Christ is sufficient to do his will and to face the challenges that arise from our commitment to doing it. God does not grant us superhuman ability nor every resource to accomplish anything we can imagine without regard to his interests. As we contend for the faith, we will face troubles, pressures, and trials. But we do not need to worry about being given more than we can handle; Christ will supply resources sufficient to complete what he asks us to do.

There’s this saying. I don’t know who wrote it. But! It sure gives me a push sometimes. It goes like this, “Somebody somewhere is depending on you to do what God has called you to do.” God has each of us exactly where He needs us, whether in an office, in the field or at home. You are there for a reason. Do you need strength this morning? I invite you up to pray. If you know of someone struggling, go over to them and extend the arm of fellowship and love – pray with them.

Closing Prayer