Impossible is Nothing

Series: Breakout
July 27, 2008

Today is our final Breakout Sunday. The past 9 weeks we have driven through a book in the bible called Philippians. And in doing this we have been driven to face this book on it’s own terms. We have heard one thing over and over and over again- rejoice!

"Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice." And Paul has said it again, and again, and again. Over and over he has called us to a life of rejoicing. Of remembering and rehearsing the boundless joys of knowing Jesus. Through Jesus there is joy inexpressible, there is peace all surpassing, there is hope all inspiring available to anyone and everyone. No matter who you are, where you are, what you’ve done, what’s been done to you, what’s in your past, what’s in your present, what’s in your future. To all who give their life to Jesus there is JOY!

Last week the passage we read ended with this encouragement- whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me- put it into practice. I love what Ben said, theology is not something think about when we’re old men sitting on a stump in the forest- theology, our understanding of God, who he is, what he’s like, what he desires, profoundly effects our life here and now. So don’t wait to get your theology straight in life. In fact, nothing could be more relevant or more important in life than to get our thinking about God straightened out. So Paul says put this stuff into practice. Put it into action! If you don’t your missing the whole point!

So here’s the question for us this morning- have you put rejoicing into practice? Are you more joyful now than 9 weeks ago? Do you have more you can rejoice in? Do you have eyes to see, ears to hear, and lips to praise God and rejoice in his goodness? I want us to examine our lives, look at the message of this book, and ask ourselves, have we moved forward into a more joy-filled life in Jesus? Because if you haven’t, you’ve kinda missed the point. And I desperately don’t want you to miss the point before we close this series. I want you to break free and breakout into the joy-filled life of knowing Jesus. I want you to sense the doors that hold you back opening up, to feel the chains that tie you down drop off, the sense the weight on your shoulders lifting off. I want you to breakout! I want you to feel like Andy…

(WARNING- this clip does have one swear word in it)


After some 20 years in Shawshank prison, enduring hardships most of us will never know or experience, after having every freedom taken away, Andy never lost hope, and he never lost strength. And he finally broke out. Have you ever had that experience?

I was the baby in my family. My older brother, like all older brothers, became an expert in taunting and torture… He knew the best way to get to me, to freak me out, to break me down. It only happed at sleepovers and camping out, because it involved a sleeping bag, and some of you already know what I’m talking about. He would shove me into the bag and hold the opening closed. It was brilliant. He didn’t have to say anything, he didn’t even have to hit me. IN fact, talking would have only provided some comfort in hearing his voice. Hitting me would have been the assurance of his touch. No, he’d just hold it shut, and I was trapped, and I would break. But then finally, after all the yelling and screaming and writhing, the top would be opened, the light would break in, and I would break free. That's the kindof freedom and release god wants to give you in Jesus.

Paul, the author of Philippians, has saved the best for last in his letter, and I have saved the best for last with you today. He wants to tell them a secret, and who doesn’t love a secret? I mean, we love secrets, we whisper secrets, we work to hid secrets and we treasure secrets. But here Paul wants to shout a secret from the mountaintop. It’ s a secret he want them the to know, he wants us to know, he wants the whole world to know. Here he shares with them what is perhaps the greatest lesson any one of us could ever learn. The lesson we all long to know. The lesson that would and will, if we get it right, bring to us the ability to rejoice in any and all circumstances, the lesson that brings true contentment. 4:10-13

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

I want you to understand the man who writes these words. That this is not just some feel-good encouragement, empty words without the experience of life. I want you to know that you can believe in the words of Paul, because you can believe in the life of Paul. He is not trying to scam them. He did not wrote them to get money from them, he writes them after they have sent a messenger to him, a man who almost died to bring Paul resources so he could live, but more, encouragement from the people in Philippi. What does Paul have to gain in writing these words- nothing except sharing the greatest life lessons he has ever learned.

Paul was born a man named Saul. And as he told us earlier in this letter, he was born with the right pedigree. He was a Jew, a child of the nation of Israel. Not in part, but full. But not only that, a Jew among Jews, born of the favored tribe of Benjamin. Born into a religiously devote family. A disciple of Gamaliel. He became a Pharisee, committed to religious practice of Israel. To keeping every single law of Moses in the Old Testament. Committed to keeping every single tradition that was passed down through the ages.

Saul knew about this Jesus Christ, and his followers, and the story that was going around that Jesus rose from the dead. He believed Jesus was just another in a long line of false prophets and made-up messiahs. And he knew, that the followers of Jesus were at threat to everything he believed in, because the Jesus movement didn’t die with Jesus’ crucifixion, but began to take on new strength. Saul decided that he would be the one to fix this situation, to destroy the church, and the disciples of Jesus.

Like a cowboy given a badge and license to kill, Paul received the blessing and authority from the religious leaders to do what ever it took, whatever it took, to destroy the church. Our introduction to Saul came at the stoning to death of young Stephen, where he gave his stamp of approve to the mob. With one kill under his belt that we know, with his badge and his pistol, he set out in hot pursuit. He was on his way up to a place called Damascus to arrest the Christians there. Along the way a light broke forth from the heavens, and Saul fell to the ground. A voice said to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?”

“Who are you Lord?” Saul asked. “I am Jesus.” The voice said. “Now get up and go to the city where I will show you what to do.” Blinded by the light, Saul went to Damascus where for three days he did not eat or drink. Meanwhile, Jesus came to a believer named Ananias, and told him to go to Saul, to pray for him and to restore his sight. Ananias was confused. He had heard of the murderous threats breathed out by Saul. But Jesus told him that Saul was his chosen vessel to take the good news of Jesus beyond the walls of the Jewish culture, and to whole world. And that he would suffer for the name of Jesus. Ananias went, he prayed, Saul’s sight was restored, he immediately began to preach the message that Jesus truly was and is the son of God, crucified for our sins, risen to new life, reigning in heaven, and coming again. He told all people that all who put their belief in Jesus will be saved! Over approximately the next 30 years Paul went on three missionary journeys and planting church after church after church throughout the Middle East, Asia, the Mediterranean, and into Europe. He wrote 13 of the letters in our New Testament, half of our New Testament letters. He performed miracles, he raised the dead. And just like God promised, he suffered for the name of Jesus.

Paul lived his life in the face of death for the cause of Christ. In another portion of the New Testament, in 2 Corinthians 11 Paul is put in a position where he must defend himself, and his ministry. So he tell tells his story. Five times he received the 40 lashes minus one, which was simply and expression to say they would beat someone so terrible, that if they would be hit one more time, they would die. Three times he was attacked with sticks. One he was stoned by a mob, just like the one that killed Stephen. Three times he was shipwrecked and spent more than a whole day and night floating in the open sea. He could not go anywhere and escape danger- he was chased through the cities, he was hunted down in the country. He was pursued by Jews and gentiles alike, by bandits, robbers and thieves. He had gone with out food, with out water, stripped down naked and left for dead by the side of the road. He was thrown in prison. And as if all this wasn’t enough, the greatest weight he carried, the heaviest burden on his shoulders, was his love for the church, for the other believers in Christ. Seeing other Christians suffer, seeing the church mess things up, seeing Christians fight with one another- this, more than anything he endured in his body, brought him pain.


So when Paul says to us in our passage, I know, I know what it is like to have plenty, and I know what it’s like to be in need. I know hunger, and I know thirst, I know pain, and I know suffering. I know what it’s like to be locked up and chained down, he is not waxing eloquent about a few hardships or a missing a meal. He says this out of the immense amount of pain and suffering he has endured. So he, more than another else, more than any of us, has the authority to tell us something, to teach us something, to share with us how he has gotten through. And he has learned the secret to being content, to being filled with joy in any and all circumstances-

Paul discovered the secret of the joy filled life, the secret that brings contentment that overrides all outward circumstances. And with all due respect, the secret is not the law of attraction. The secret is not to know what you want and to imagine the universe giving it to you. The secret it not to believe it then receive it. The secret is not a catchy title and a massive marketing and packaging machine. The secret is not secret at all. The secret is that in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ is everything we could ever want or need, hope or dream, ask or desire. It is the deep and abiding contentment that comes through life in Jesus. It is the strength that we can have to do anything and everything God calls us to do, through the one who call us his own, Jesus Christ.

I can do everything, everything through him who gives me strength.
You can do everything through him who gives you strength.
We can do everything through him who gives us strength.
Impossible is nothing.

No prison can hold us captive. No chains can tie us down. No weight can crush our soul. When we give our lives to Jesus, he takes our life, and he will give us the strength to do anything and everything he calls us to do. He will give us strength to overcome all obstacles in our path. He will give us the courage to weather every storm that comes our way. He will give s

Learn this secret. Learn this lesson. Because first, we see here that contentment is a learned condition. A learned state. It’s a lesson that far too many never take to heart. That it is a learned lesson is why some people have everything the world has to offer, but never rejoice in anything; and why other people have nothing in the world, but always rejoice over everything. And lest we glamorize suffering, some people have nothing and never rejoice, and some people have much, and do rejoice. It’s a lesson, it’s a lesson learned and Paul is inviting us to learn it sooner rather than later. It’s a relationship that God is inviting us into.

I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength. Quit looking to the things of this world to find your contentment, to find your joy. You’ll never find it that way. There will always be a better car, a bigger house. You’ll keep collecting stuff, and none of it will bring you true joy and contentment.

Quit looking to other people. They are searching just as you are. Quit comparing yourself to others, look to Christ for your strength. There will always be someone smarter, stronger, better looking, with better grades, better credentials, a better pay cheque.

Look only to Jesus. Right here, right now, I want you to learn this secret, to embrace this strength, to start living through Jesus. Today you can find the strength you need in Jesus to pull your marriage back together. You can find the strength to tell your spouse what it is you’ve been afraid to say for so long. You can confess that mistake, you can reveal that secret. You can tell that you love them, you can renew your commitment to make things work. You can get help, you can work it out, you can find the strength.

Today you can know the strength to move on if you marriage has already ended. You can pick up the pieces of your life, and you can start again, and you can find joy.

Today you can find the strength to love your child who has become almost unlovable to you or anyone else. You don’t have to give up on them, you don’t have to throw in the towel, you don’t have to cut them loose. But you can reach out, and love them and share your strength with them.

Today you can find the strength to move past the grieving. You can lift your head, you can open your eyes, you can take the next steps in him who gives you strength. Today you can find the strength to pull your household together, by pulling them into Christ. You can find the strength to get out of debt. You can find the strength to break free from addiction. You can find the strength to throw away the bottle. You can find the strength to walk past to porn. You can find the strength to look for a new job. You can find the strength in Jesus. It’s all in Jesus. All the strength you’ll ever need, all the strength you could ever ask for. It’s all in Jesus.

Faith Workout

Series: BREAKOUT
July 6, 2008

When Robin and I were first married I was working as a campus minister. In the summers, when college was out, I would focus my work on the youth of the church. One of my favorite summer ministries, then and now, was camp. I served as director of a camp called SB2W, and it was awesome. The preparation, as you can imagine, began months in advance- interviewing and hiring staff, registration, collecting fees, securing facilities and equipment, curriculum and program development- it was a lot of hard work, but worth every minute of it. Every summer we saw kids come to know Jesus as their savior, and many more make him Lord of their lives as they grew in faith together.

But there was something else I did to get ready, something much more subtle in a way, and yet something that I had to devote hours to each week. And in many ways this would truly make or break my camp experience. Robin didn’t even notice at first, but then she began to notice subtle changes in me. George, you seem to be going to they gym more often these days. George, your pectoral muscles seem to be huge these days, Why George, your biceps are enormous and your legs like giant oaks. OK, she may not have said all that, but she did notice the changes in me, and she was right, in the weeks before summer camp part of my preparation getting in the best physical shape I could be in. So she asked, why do you spend so much time working out and getting big before camp? And my answer was simple, “Robin, kids respect muscle before they respect faith.”

I know, I know, it sounds shallow and somehow less that spiritual. I should have been fasting and praying and spending extra hours in Bible study. But I make no apologies about it- I worked out my body to make an impression on those kids. I want to be able to run fast, jump high, hit the ball hard, climb the towers, and throw them around the pool like little rag dolls. And you know what, every year I saw kids lives changed. Every year kids came to respect me as the camp director, as and athlete, as a strong male that they could look up to, and in time, many of them came to look up to me as a man of faith.

I worked out my body to will and to act according the purpose of camp. And the principle still stands, and it stands for all of us. If you want huge pectoral muscles, you have to hit the gym. If you want to hit the ball like Tiger Woods, you have to hit the course. If you want to hit a baseball like Barry Bonds, you have to take steroids. If you want to be a person of strength or speed or any skill, you have to work it out. No athlete gets to the Olympics or the top of their game by natural ability or dumb luck. They work. They wake up at 4 am and hit the ice or the gym or the track while the rest of us are sleeping. And later in the day when we are goofing off or playing video games, they are working out in their sport and with their teammates.

You’ve heard the old expression; success is 10% inspiration and 90% perspiration. They may have been born with more natural ability, or given some opportunities we were, but they worked it out. They paid their dues in blood and sweat and tears, hour after hour, year after year. I was told that someone once said to Arnold Palmer in an off-handed remark, I’d give anything to hit the ball like you. Arnie didn’t let it slip by; he stopped and called his bluff. He said no you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t give anything to hit like me because you aren’t giving anything to hit like you. You don’t wake up before sunrise. You don’t hit 1000 golf balls before your first round. You don’t play a second round. You don’t hit 1000’s more golf balls in the evening. You don’t eat, sleep, live and breath golf the way I do. You haven’t given anything to hit the ball the way I do.

And the same goes for faith. IF you want to be a person of faith, a man or a woman of God, you have to work it out. If you want to know the will of God, you have to work it out. It’s about 10% inspiration, and 90% hard work. I’d love to tell you the opposite, I’d love to tell you that 90% of my life and faith is absolute inspiration. Every time I open my Bible beams of light shine up on my face. Every time I pray I hear God’s voice calling my name. Every night I go to bed and have a dream that tells my future. Every time I go for a swim the clouds part and the Holy Spirit descends from heaven, and it almost gets to be a nuisance how my life is so inspired.

Folks, working out our faith is a lot like working out our bodies. Hours of hard work for one moment of glory. Hours in the gym for an ounce of respect. Hours in the Bible for God’s word to soak in. Hours in prayer to start to hear God’s voice. Hours in worship, and sometimes only a few minutes of emotion and true inspiration. But just like those athletes, without the hours of work, they will never have the moment on the podium. And without the hours and work of our faith, we will not have the moment when it all comes together.

But here’s the great thing- don’t miss this: we work out our faith with fear and trembling as God works out his purpose in us. IF this verse is telling us anything, it’s telling us that we are on a two way street with God. WE are in this loving dynamic relationship that is a process of give and take, our work and God’s. On our part, we continue in OBEDIENCE. And in so doing, we WORK OUT our faith with fear and trembling. On God’s part, he WORKS in us to WILL and to ACT according to his purpose.

Now all of us have decisions to make. We make decisions everyday, all day long. Most of them are relatively inconsequential. Do I have the corn flakes or the Rice Krispies for breakfast? Do I wear my boots or my runners? Do I fill up with gas now, or wait until the next exit? For most of these decisions we do not consult God, or open our Bibles. However, I will say that small decisions, over a long period of time, can lead to major situations. The decision to have that Tim’s donut everyday with your coffee can add up in pounds and inches.

But in the midst of the small decisions, nearly all of us have larger decisions weighing on our minds. In fact I bet everyone here has some very significant decision to make in the near future. Maybe you’ve been putting it off, maybe it’s right upon you. Where am I going to go to school next year? Is this really what I want to be studying? Do I really see this relationship going anywhere, and do I like where it’s going? DO I really want to quit my job? Do I really want to take this new job and move my family? Some of these decisions will changes our lives forever. Some of these decisions we cannot help but approach with fear and trembling because we know just how important they really are. These are the decision for which we actively and even desperate seek God’s guidance. And we have this assurance from the Bible- God works in us to will and act according to his purpose. God is working on our behalf.

How do we work with Him? We W.A.T.C.H. for God’s will to be revealed.

Now I certainly did not invent these points we’re about to cover. I came up with the acronym, but others before me, and scripture before them, revealed that these are the five ways that God speaks to us and works in us. These are the five ways that God works in us to change our will and actions. Five ways at our disposal to discern the will of God. God may use one, a combination, or for major decisions, all five.

WORD of God
The first way we work out God’s will- in the WORD of God. The Bible. The Bible is our constant companion and source to know and follow the will of God. The Bible is literally God’s manual for living. It is his testimony to us of redemptive history, that is, how he has worked out salvation for his people, for us, over the span of human existence. It answers the most basic questions of life and the search for meaning.

How awesome that we have all the most basic and general questions of life answered for us, written down and available right at our fingertips. You want to know God’s will on any number of issue- just go to the book. You want to know how to be saved- work it out in the book. You want to know how to make a marriage work- work it out in the book. You want to know how to use your money- work it out in the book. It’s all there folks. Now there’s now way you could really study this, but I’m going to go out on limb here and say that for most of us, and most of our lives, we can know about 90% of God’s will and purpose for our salvation. I say that because so much of what God desires for us has been made so clear in his word that with nothing else we can live our lives and move forward with such confidence.

Now how are you going to find that 90%? Regular, methodical study. The consistent study and application of his word to our lives so that we know we are living and abiding by its authority. And the more we regularly read scripture, the more we’ll discover how relevant and applicable it is. It’s amazing how often when we star our day in His word, how later that same day, God will use that passage of just a verse- in our lives or is someone else’s.

I say this because far too many Christians use the Bible as a Ouiji Board. We don’t ask our question and open it up and expect to find the answer. At times God will use his word in such a supernatural way, but don’t live by the exception. The bible is our sword, a double-edged knife, it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. Why? So that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work!

ATTENTIVE Prayer
Second, we work out God’s will through ATTENTIVE prayer. By taking the time to pray, and listen for his voice to guide and direct. Jesus tells is that his sheep will recognize his voice. And the only way to recognize his voice is to know his voice by the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. All of us have voices that we recognize instantly. Even more, there are some voices that we almost have a supernatural ability to hear. I’m telling you, when I sit up here in front of the church I can hear my daughters Karis’ voice like she’s sitting next to me. Actually, that’s not a good example because I think everyone here can hear my daughter Karis like she sitting next to you- but you know what I mean.

IF we want to work out God will we must give time to attentive prayer, both speaking and listening for the voice of God. It may come as a voice. Often is comes as strong conviction, or a feeling down in your bones. Sometimes it is impressed upon us very quickly, others will find it growing over time. In the Bible God spoke to his servants through an audible voice, through angels, through visions and dreams. The fact is that God speaks to us through his Holy Spirit in different ways, but he is in fact speaking if only we’ll take the time to listen and learn his voice. In everything, through prayer and petition, bring your requests before God.

THINKING it Through
Third we work out God’s will by THINKING it through. There’s nothing complicated about this one folks- God gave us brains, and never tells us to stop using them. In fact, he commands us to use them. Now don’t take this the wrong way, but sometimes discerning God’s will isn’t an in depth spiritual exercise. If you feel God is leading you to jump off a cliff, without a rope or parachute, well let me tell you, he probably isn’t. That sounds silly, but people have told me the silliest, most outrageous things that they thought God was telling them to do and called it a leap of faith- no, it was a leap of foolishness! If you believe God is telling you to leave your family and have and affair- he isn’t. If you feel God is leading you to a new job, but you think you’ll have to lie or cheat or not fully disclose or spread a rumor about the other person up for the job, he isn’t. If you feel God is telling you to marry someone that isn’t a Christian, unless you’re the prophet Hosea, he isn’t!

Romans 12 tells us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds- then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will. That verse alone is a whole sermon- and it illustrates the point beyond a shadow of a doubt- that God gave us brains for a reason and wants us to use them- so Christians- start using them more!

COUNSEL of the Saints
Forth, we work out God’s will by seeking the COUNSEL of the church. While not putting the weight of a decision on anyone but ourselves and seeking first God’s counsel, we must seek the counsel of the people of God. Talk to your spouse and your family, talk to folks in your small group, talk to your pastors, talk to other trusted Christian friends, talk to others that might have a unique insight or experience in the area of your decision. As important as the Bible, prayer, and thinking it through is, don’t’ go this alone. Seek Godly counsel.

And when you do, tell the whole story, not just the parts that sound good or will bias another opinion in the way you want it to go. Truly Godly counsel is a rare and blessed thing. When you find someone that will be completely honest with you, that will you the truth, will want God’s best in your life, not your best for your life, don’t ever let that person go. But go to them, talk with them, listen to them, and heed their counsel.

HAND of God
And finally, we work out God’s will by the HAND of God. What do I mean by that? Simply put, for Christ followers we have the undeniable assurance that God is in control and will at times supernaturally work things together by his hand to guide our path and show us his will. God will use his hand to open doors and shut doors, to direct and redirect our path.

The problem is see with too many is that they reverse the order. So often we want something miraculous to happen to guide and direct our life, to make the decision for us. But that’s not working out our salvation. That’s not letting God work out his plan and purpose in our lives. I’m convinced that the hand of God most often works in conjunction with all these other elements. That the hand of God shows itself undeniably when all the other work is in place.

If God were to try to guide and direct you, but you had no biblical knowledge, no prayer life, no trusted Godly friends to help you thinking it through and pray with you, I don’t believe we’ve given God the space to show his hand at work. Don’t put the cart before the horse- do the work, and then see how it plays out in the field- see what God does to bring it all together.

There have been times in my life, and perhaps times in your life, when it was simply amazing to watch and experience God’s hand working and orchestrating events, people, phone calls, Bible study, everything, coming together in a way that his will was so obvious is was almost smacking you upside the face.

Church planting is like the extreme sport of Christian ministry and working our God plan and purpose. It has truly been amazing to WATCH and see what God has been doing to build his church- and that is what he does- he has been building his church and continues to build. On my part I keep in His word, in prayer, in study and thought, in conversation with as many people as possible. But in the end it’s amazing to see God’s hand bring people, bring gifts, bring opportunities our way…

IF you have a decision to make- and you do. If you have a salvation to work out, and you do- do it with fear and trembling- do it with the confidence that it is God who is working in you to will and act for His plans and purpose. WATCH for it- in God’s Word, in Attentive prayer, by Thinking it through, with the Counsel of the church, and trusting in His Hand to bring it all together.

Attitude Adjustment

Series: Breakout
June 29, 2008

In my wallet I carry some of my most important stuff. I carry my ID, very important in today’s world. I have my insurance cards should anything horrible happen to me. I have my credit cards and a bankcard if I want to buy anything. But I also have a few things that are even more important. I have the very first note that Robin sent me. I have a card with all her relevant sizes and shapes so I can buy her clothes, shoes, whatever. But here I have the most important thing in my wallet. It’s the card that I wrote our wedding vows on, and kept in my pocket for our wedding just in case I got nervous and needed a cheat sheet (which I didn’t). On this same card is our wedding text, and it’s the text we come to today in our Breakout series taking us through the letter to the church in Philippi, one of our books of the bible. It’s Philippians 2:5-11.

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being make in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11

We picked this text not because we totally understand it, not because we’ve ever gotten it right. We picked this text because it calls us to a life higher than we can ever dream or imagine or achieve on our own or in our own strength. This passage calls us to center ourselves on Jesus, and to center our marriage in Jesus. Our unity and bond in marriage is wholly dependent on having the same attitude, the same mind, as Christ. In a world of infinite variables and almost constant flux, there are at least two things Robin and I can count on, two things that will always ground us, guard us and gird us up in our marriage and in life in general- we each as individuals have given our lives to Jesus Christ, we have union with Jesus Christ. And second, that in Jesus Christ we are united together until death do us part. It may not sound like a lot- we each put our life in Jesus, and in Jesus we have our marriage- but it is everything. It makes all the difference in our marriage, and it can make all the difference in our world.

Our hope, our lives, our attitudes are IN Jesus Christ. And I want to start by looking at this area of attitude. This whole area of our attitude, our mindset, is vitally important. I’m not sure when it happened, but the phrase “attitude adjustment” has become a common part our culture today. Hank Williams wrote a song about it, Aerosmith covered it, and now there’s even a band simple named, “Attitude Adjustment.” I probably use it more than I realize with my own kids. I tell them to change their attitude, check their attitude, adjust their attitude. It’s obviously become a part of our common culture because people realize that attitude matters. In many cases, it makes all the difference. Charles Swindoll, a very popular preacher and author, wrote a statement on attitude that has become quite famous. Perhaps you’ve already heard this…

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life.
Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude... I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it.
And so it is with you... we are in charge of our attitudes.

I’m sure that quote rings true for most of us. We have experienced, or even reaped the fruits, of our attitude. A negative attitude that wreaks havoc on our enjoyment of life, or a positive attitude that can even take bad things and make them good again.

Did you hear the one about the twins who were born with completely different attitudes? The one twin was always optimistic, always saw the bright side of things, and always saw the glass half full, often to point of annoying his parents. The other twin was the total opposite. The glass was not even half empty, but mostly empty. For their birthday one year the parent decided they would try to temper both their attitudes a bit. For the boy with the bad attitude they filled his room with all the toys, games and candy he could ever want. Then they filled the other boys room with manure. They sent them to their rooms to see their presents. The boy with the bad attitude walked out of his room already complaining that now his room was too crowded, the games went the ones he wanted, and that he’d probably get cavities from the candy. The other boy didn’t even come out of his room. Finally they opened the door to see him running wildly through the manure, diving in and out, with a smile on his face. He looked at his folks and said, “Gee thanks mom and dad, I haven’t found the pony yet, but I know he has to be in here somewhere!”

Some people just seem to have that knack to see things in a positive light. And that’s what we want to do this morning. We want to just take a moment for an attitude adjustment, but not just a vague attitude adjustment to a positive outlook. We know from the passage we are going to look at the standard of our attitude. Or rather, who the standard of our attitude should be. We have a vivid, amazing, picture of what our attitude needs to look like, and what affect it should have on our lives. It’s the attitude of Jesus, and it should bring us unity in the church.

Paul wants the church in Philippi to be one in spirit and purpose, to have complete unity. But instead of going off on a tangent about unity, which would have made perfect sense at this point, he goes off on a tangent about Jesus. About who he was, what he did, what he will become. Which makes we wonder, why? Why not some great treatise on unity? Why not teach on it, spell it out, paint a picture, tell a story?

But he doesn’t. He doesn’t get focused on unity itself as the goal. Unity itself is never the goal. We can be unified around a lot of things, and they might not necessarily be very good things! People have united to fight unjustified wars. People have united to promote hatred and racism and lies. People have united to do incredible evil and commit heinous sins. People across the ages and around the globe have united together in countless causes, many of them have do nothing for the common good or the glory of God. Unity itself is never the answer folks. Unity itself is just neutral.

What are we to be united for? Who are we to be untied for? Paul, instead of getting focused on unity itself as the goal, gets focused on the one that is to unify us. Paul takes the high road here. He points us in verse to the source and focus of the unity we should desire. He points us to Jesus. If we can adjust our attitude, or a more literal translation is to say, we can get the mind of Christ, unity is going to be the natural outcome.

A.W. Tozer wrote,

“Has it ever occurred to you that one hundred pianos all turned to the same fork are automatically tuned to each other? They are of one accord by being tuned, not to each other, but to another standard to which each one must individually bow. So one hundred worshipers [meeting] together, each one looking away to Christ, are in heart nearer to each other than they could possibly be, were they to become ‘unity’ conscious and turn their eyes away from God to strive for closer fellowship” (The Pursuit of God).

We will get closer to the unity that Paul is talking about here not by getting focused on unity, but by getting focused on Jesus. In doing pre-marital counseling I draw a triangle. At the top I have Jesus. At the other two points I have the names of the couple. Then I talk to them about the triangle. It can change shape and move. It’s possible for two people to become close, but to remain far from God. It’s possible for one person to come close to God, but the other remain far, and how this itself can stress the relationship. I finally talk about the ideal movement. When two people simultaneously move closer to God, and when that happens, they also naturally move closer to each other. The very best way to strengthen the marriage relationship, to strengthen the unity of the marriage, is to move closer together toward God.

Now imagine one God, and not just two people, but two hundred, two thousand, two million, two billion people all moving closer to God, and closer then to one another. Imagine all of them not looking to unity itself as the goal, but to Jesus as the goal. Then letting the unity that grows from Jesus work itself out in their lives, and in the life of the church, and into our world.

This is the image that Paul is painting for us. If each of us gets our eyes off of ourselves and on Jesus, if each of us gets our life in Jesus, if each of us gets our attitude changed to be like Jesus, then each of us will mystically, miraculous, marvelously find ourselves not just drawing closer to God, but closer to one another. I want to unpack this attitude, the mindset of Christ. Remember, this is the solution to what Paul has proposed to us. Asking us, the church to be like-minded, that is to have unity, but more, to do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, in humility to consider others better than ourselves, and to look to the interests of others. Or to put it simply- Union with Christ, unity with the church, means we
abandon pride
adopt humility
act selflessly

First, do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit- Union with Jesus, having his attitude, means abandoning all pride. This is the first and hardest step for many in a culture that glories in individual pride and accomplishment. “Hold your head up, walk tall, and be proud.” Pride is this excessive belief in one’s own self and abilities. It’s a healthy self-understanding on steroids. And the problem with pride occurs when one’s self gets so big, ones need for God, and understanding of God gets squeezed out.

For some of us here, pride is our big problem. If it is, others know it. We all know someone who is filled with their own pride. And if they weren’t so busy being filled with themselves, then they’d realize how terribly lonely they really are. Because people that are proud do not have friends, they are not close to their families, they are estranged from the co-workers and neighbors, and they are far from God. And in context of what Paul is shooting for here, people that are filled with pride do not know how to live in or experience true unity with Christ or with other people. Pride is the enemy of unity, which is exactly why we are prone to talk about school pride, or family pride, or patriotic pride. It actually calls us to get our attention off of our self, and onto something or someone else.

In classic Christian theology, which has so permeated our life and culture, pride has been marked as the mother of all sins. Thomas Aquinas, was the first to take note of this. It actually comes from Proverbs chapter six where the writer states there are seven things which are detestable to God. Thus, the seven deadly sins, and at the top of the list- haughty eyes, or as it’s put elsewhere, pride. Proverbs 16 tells us, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.” And again in Proverbs 20. “A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.”

Which lead to the second point, abandon pride and adopt humility. If you were here last week you heard be talk briefly about a common prayer of mine, “Lord, if I can learn this the easy way, let’s do this the easy way.” More than anything that pray comes out of my experience of struggling with pride and asking for humility. If there is any sure fire way to learn humility, it is to be humbled. But being humbled is not fun.

The bible talks a lot about humility. I knew the bible talked a lot about pride. In fact, when I did just a little bit of a word study on humility I was shocked to see how often it occurs. Basically, God hates a prideful and arrogant person, but a humble person he loves. Moses was the humblest man on the face of the earth, the bible says. And thus, god used Moses as perhaps the greatest leader the world has ever known next to Jesus. In James 4 we have a treatise on humility. James, the author, quotes proverbs in saying, God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble, and again, humble yourself before the Lord and he will lift you up. This is not an exhaustive list, but here are just some of the things that god can use to do or build up in a humble person:

• God can use a humble person.
• God can teach a humble person.
• A humble person can be a true friend.
• A humble person can listen and learn.
• A humble person knows who they are.
• A humble person does not slander or lie or boast or brag.
• A humble person has peace in their heart.
• A humble person can sleep at night.

All of this ties inextricably with the third point: act selflessly. Simply put, no one ever demonstrated or did this better than our Lord and guide, Jesus Christ. And back to the passage we began with, Jesus was the incarnation of looking to the interests of others. Jesus who was and is god, humbled himself and took on our humanity. And as if that wasn’t enough for the eternal almighty God of the universe, he took on our sin and became obedience to death on a cross. But though this death Jesus defeated sin and death, as he rose for the grave and ascended to heaven. Therefore at his name eve knee will bow and tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

This passage so wonderfully summarized for us the life of Jesus: who he is, what he has done, what he will do. It’s calls us to union in him, an in him union with all other believers. And in that unity we have the freedom finally to abandon all pride, adopt humility, and act selflessly.

This week, pray for humble confidence in the Lord and do something to make this happen:
Get to know Jesus so your eyes are on him.
Kill the pride that can kill your love of God and neighbor- apologize, say you were wrong, say you’re sorry.
Do something out of selfless ambition. One thing….

A Theology of Unity

Series: Breakout
June 22, 2008

The first week I tried to get everyone excited about our Breakout series, which is really a study taking us all the way through the letter to the church in Philippi. The second week I tried to get everyone even more excited by talking about the major theme of the letter: the joy-filled Christian life. Then last week I dropped the bomb and talked the whole service about suffering.

I thought if ever there was a service that was going to drive people away in droves it was going to be last Sunday. Basically, we invited you to embrace suffering as a major component not just of life, but specifically as part of the Christian life. You can expect to suffer as a Christian, and you can expect to suffer even because you are a Christian. But, that you can use that suffering as an opportunity- an opportunity to glorify God and grow in Him. You can run away, you can throw up you fists and shake them at the world and at God, and really you can, and all of us probably will at some point in our lives. Or you can turn to God, to glorify God and to grow in God. That’s what Paul, the author of the letter to Philippi, did. He turned his imprisonment to God. He used it as a platform for ministry. He used it to go deeper into God, deeper into his relationship with Jesus, deeper into complete submission, dependence into service.

There are many of you who simply said this is my experience. I have suffered, but it’s made me go deeper. I have suffered, but through it I glorify God. I have suffered, but I have grown in faith, in hope, in love. Folks, I commend you because I have heard stories of suffering that far surpass anything I’ve experienced in my life. I commend you because you have suffered, but you have not wasted it. You have taken it, you have owned it, you have used it. And you know what- that’s not normal. That’s a God thing. That is God working in your life, to turn your suffering into glory and growth.

Now like I said last week, we aren’t supposed to avoid suffering at all costs, but neither are we supposed to pursue it. It’s a reality of this life that we use to glorify God and grow in him. But there is another way to glory and growth. Let me tell you a prayer I learned a long time ago. It’s a prayer I started praying regularly since some difficult times in my youth. It’s a prayer that goes something like this-

God, if I can learn the easy way, please teach me the easy way.

Folks, I’m just going to confess to you that I’m not a strong man. I run, I bike, I swim, I bench press 350 pounds, ok, 300, ok maybe 250 on a good day. I may try to look tough, act tough, talk tough, but I’m not. I don’t like to suffer. I don’t like pain. I don’t like hunger. I don’t like thirst. I don’t like to have my heart broken. I don’t like to see people I love suffer. I don’t think I’d last a minute in prison. I like hot meals and a warm bed. I like to hold my woman in my arms. I like to play with my kids. I like to be healthy. I like healthy relationships.

I don’t like to learn the hard way. Now given the choice between learning, and not learning, between growth, and stagnating, I’m going to take growth, I’m going to take learning. But if I can learn and grow the easy way, instead of the hard way, I’m going to take the easy way. But some people spend a lifetime learning the hard way. Every lesson has to come with a price. They can’t simply take good and wise words and apply them to their life. They have to test every limit. They have to experience the consequences before they apply the truth. I’m no masochist people. I’m far from it. I’m a hedonist. I’m all about maximizing pleasure. I’m all about enjoying God, enjoying people, enjoying life.

And the great thing is- so is Paul. So this is what Paul then goes into for the rest of Philippians. God doesn’t want us to suffer forever, and so He is righting the wrong and suffering in the world. God doesn’t want an eternity of pain and sorrow and tears, so he is coming again, the bible tells us, to put to right all the wrongs, to bring justice, righteousness and peace. Perfect Shalom, to use the Hebrew word- the perfect state of harmony between God, people, and all of creation- both heaven and earth. He gets into this in chapter 2, but I want to go back and preface this with Paul’s prayer in chapter one. It’s too good to miss:

“And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11

Look at that prayer. Let’s break it down into its three parts:

First, “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” Have you ever known a young couple in love? That stage where they ask, “What do you want to do tonight?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” “I know, we can just sit on this couch and look at each other all evening long.” “Oh there’s nothing I’d love more.” “Oh I love you.” “The world has never before known a love like this.” We have at least three engaged couples here at Connections now, and let me be the first to tell you, this as the minister that will officiate your wedding- you are pathetic. WE see you looking at each other and batting your eyes. One says, “I have to use the rest room,” and the other says, “Hurry back, I’ll miss you.” You have no idea how much comic relief you provide the rest of us.

But it’s a great stage, a stage not to be missed or cut short. Because you are making the emotional tie that is going to take you into the next stages of your life together, and that’s a love that abounds more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Robin and I don’t really have the time now to sit on the couch and bat our eyes at each other, but I love Robin better now heading into our 12th year of marriage because I have a depth of knowledge and insight about her only surpassed by God. I know what she’s like in good times and bad, in plenty and in want, in sickness and in health. And I will continue to learn to love her better, to know her better, to know how to encourage her, support her, challenge her.

Paul wants the same for us in Jesus. When we first believe in Jesus, when His Spirit comes into our lives, when we go from being spiritually dead in sin to alive in Christ, it’s often like first love. Everything is great, cup cakes and sprinkles. And that’s a great stage. But we can’t sit on the couch with Jesus forever saying how much we love each other. We go and we grow. We grow in knowledge and depth of insight.

Here’s why, the second part of that prayer: so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ Jesus. This is an encouragement couched in a promise. He is encouraging them to grow in this love so they can discern what is best. Some of you here love Jesus. You have come to put your belief in Him, you are now alive in him and in love with him, but folks, now you need to learn some discernment. It’s time to grow up a bit and learn to discern.

This is actually quite a passion of mine, and thus, if I’m not completely weird and different from everyone else in the world, something that is deeply desired by many of us. I long for discernment. I pray for discernment. I want to be able to discern rightly what to do with my life, how to live in this world, where to invest my time and talents and resources, how to launch this church, how to lead this church, how to be a husband, how to be a father, how to love my neighbors. I want discernment, but it’s a confusing world, with competing values, and controversial beliefs. I want to be like the men of Issachar! What does that mean? 2 Chronicles 12:32, when the tribes of Israel, the nation of God, were being listed counted, tells us the men of Issachar understood the times and knew what Israel should do. I have always, always longed for that spirit of discernment, that I might understand the times and know what to do, that the church today might understand the times and know what to do, that right here, right now, Connections would be the kind of church that would understand the times here in London, and know what to do. To know how to grow God’s kingdom and this church, to reach out to our city, to bring them into worship and go with them into mission. We need discernment.

The encouragement is this- to be discerning so we may be pure and blameless. You know what it’s like to feel dirty and guilty. It doesn’t feel good. But to be pure and blameless, not in any smut or condescending way, but to just know we stand pure and blameless before God, before our spouse, before our children, before the world, that is golden! If you’re stuck in the dirt and guilt, ask forgiveness. Be forgiven. Then get discerning.

Because there is a promise here for the believer- pure and blames until the day of Christ Jesus. I elude to this a lot, because the bible alludes to this a lot, and someday soon I’ll really develop the promise in a sermon. But the Christ-follower has the giant, huge, guiding promise that stands out in front of us helping us to learn discernment, helping us in our suffering, offering us joy and hope, and it’s that Jesus Christ is coming again. That is the path of redemption that this world is on: Jesus came, Jesus ascended back to Heaven, Jesus send the Holy Spirit, and Jesus will return. Then all who put their faith in Him will be pure and blameless for all eternity in the new heavens and earth. Many of you believe that already, some of you are still learning about it. It is central to our faith and relationship with God, and I’ll tell you all about it sometime.

Paul prays one, that your love may abound, two, that you will be able to discern, and finally, three, that you will be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ- to the glory and praise of God. Filled with the fruit of righteousness. Fruit that grows only through life in Jesus and the filling of the Holy Spirit. Whole passages of the bible are dedicated to teaching us about the fruits of the Spirit. Here Paul squeezes them all into one word- righteousness. The fruit of a life set right with God.

This doesn’t come naturally, this is something that must come from God and grow from God within us. My son Justin has entered the fighting 4’s you’ve heard of the terrible 2’s- they have nothing on the fighting 4’s). Justin is genuinely a sweet boy, but all the sweetness in the world can’t defeat the reality of a sinful nature. Lately that nature has been rearing it’s ugly head. He’s been fighting with everyone, especially his sisters. Robin intervened the other day when he was pulling his sister’s hair on the trampoline. She took him aside and started lecturing, “Justin, we do not hit, kick bite or fight or pull our sisters hair. You need to love you sisters.” Justin then, with all sincerity Robin said, hit knocked himself on the head in frustration saying, “I keep forgetting that!”

And that’s the simple truth and reality of our lives- we keep forgetting these simple truths, we keep forgetting so we keep praying- we pray to abound in love with depth and insight, to learn to discern through the filling of the Holy Spirit, to be filled with the fruits of righteousness.

Now I want to jump over to chapter 2 because in these first few verses we have an amazing description of what a life of righteousness looks like.

Philippians 2:1-4. 1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

This is one of those passages that’s so good I’m afraid to preach on it because I don’t want to mess it up. But let me reflect on it with you just a bit. Paul makes a personal plea here. It’s an interesting move. He asks them to make his joy complete. It’s kind of crazy, but the fact is, Paul can say this and have it mean something. Paul planted and pastured this church. He came to Philippi and the church started with a purple cloth maker, a formerly demon possessed girl, and a roman jailer and his household. He loved the church and people of Philippi. He earned their loved and respect and admiration. So he can say, hey, make my joy complete, because they know what is going to bring him joy is going to be for their own good. What will bring him more joy than anything else in all the world? Being free from prison? No. Riches? No. Fame, popularity, power, prestige? No, no, no! There is only one thing in all the world that has the power to make his joy complete…Unity in love and spirit and purpose! Nothing would bring him more joy, more pleasure, than to know that the church stands together in unity.

The only way this is going to happen is if we are all praying to abound in love; if we are all growing in spiritual discernment, looking forward to the day of Christ’s return; if we are all living lives filled with the fruit of righteousness. This is only going to happen if everyone gets past his or her own dumb personal platforms and gets on with doing and being what is best for everyone. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but consider others better than yourselves.

I think what Paul is asking them to do is perhaps the hardest thing in the world for any of us humans to do, but is the one most necessary and needed thing in the world for all of us to do- to humble ourselves and truly put other people and their needs ahead of ours. Do we really know what effect this would have on our lives and on our world if we were completely unified, as the church, putting everyone else’s needs ahead of ours? Putting everyone else’s interests ahead of ours? What if more folks like Kathryn took six months to service in a developing country? What if more folks like Ben and Jen took students to share the gospel on university and college campuses across Canada and around the world? What if more folks like John, and Mike and Thea raised thousands and thousands of dollars to end the cycle of poverty in our world, and biked across the continent to raise awareness and education?

• Today, if this would happen, every man, woman and child in London would be fed, and housed, and would hear the good news of Jesus Christ. Today, if all the churches, if all the believers did this, this would happen in every city on every continent in the world!
• Tomorrow, everyone in every far reaching town and village would likewise be fed and clothed and housed.
• Tuesday everyone would have access to fresh drinking water.
• Wednesday every spear and every tool of war would be melted down into turned into plows to till the ground.
• Thursday medical care would make it every sick and wounded and hurting person.
• Friday everyone would have all their basic needs met and would have meaningful work.
• Saturday everyone in the world would know what the love of Jesus Christ truly looks like when the church comes together and puts everyone needs ahead their own.
• Then, by next Sunday, Jesus would just have to come back again because the only thing that would be missing would be the final defeat over all sin and death in the coming Kingdom of God.

I can picture it, I can imagine it, I can pray for it, but none of it is going to happen until I get past my own selfish desires and start to put other interests ahead of mine. None of it is going to happen until I can just love my own wife a little more than myself. Until I can just walk across the street and introduce myself to my neighbor and say, I just want you to know that you can ask me for anything, anytime, because I’m a Christian, and Jesus commands me to love my neighbor. None of this is going to happen until I willing to say this is going to cost me some time, some energy, some emotion, some stability, some financial gain. It’s also going to cost me some selfish ambition, some vain conceit, some pride, some personal interest. But you know, maybe that’s not a bad price to pay to see lives changed and the entire world changed because all of us, all Christ followers in all churches on all the continents started putting everyone else’s interests and needs above their own.

This is my prayer for you: that your love may abound, that you will learn to discern, that you will be filled with the fruit of righteousness. Then that you will make my joy complete, as your pastor, by being one in spirit and purpose, putting everyone’s interest above your own.

A Theology of Suffering

Series: Breakout
June 15, 2008

Last we unpacked what I could have called “a theology of joy.” We live in a culture that is joy-obsessed. People are searching for it with all their heart, mind, soul and strength. But because they have made joy their god, they find themselves not on the upward trajectory to happiness, but the downward spiral to misery. They accumulate stuff, they become workaholics, they look for the one person to make them complete, and joy continues to elude them. But this desire for happiness and joy is God given, it is good, and it’s part of what it means to be human. So we don’t abandon the search for joy, we just need to look in the right place!

We look to God. We affirm that true joy, the kind of joy that isn’t faked or forced, that wells up inside of us, that transcends time, place, situations and circumstances, comes only in God. For our God is a God of joy, who made joy, who is joyful, who gives us joy in Him. We put our life in Him, we put our faith and trust in Him, we put our belief in Him, and when we get our purpose straight in Him, we are, as CS Lewis put it, “surprised by joy.” We are surprised to find the joy of the Lord. It’s the icing on the cake, the after-effect we we’re expecting, which makes it all the better.

But joy isn’t the whole story of our lives is it. In fact, our desire for joy really stems out of the other side of the coin, the other extreme of our lives, and that’s the reality of suffering. In this book of the bible we are studying, Paul, the author, rejoices over the church he planted in Philippi. He prays for them, he thanks God for them, he has the full assurance that God will complete his plan and purpose for them. And he knows that Jesus is coming again, maybe in his lifetime. He knows Jesus will come and complete his work of redeeming and renewing all of the creation. He will complete His redeeming work in all of us, His children. This is the source of his joy! God started a great work of salvation in our world and in our lives, and He will see it through to completion. His plans for the world and our lives cannot and will be thwarted. God is in control!

But there’s the crazy thing: all of this, he shares from a jail cell. He shares from one of the most miserable, hopeless, helpless situations a man can find himself in. He writes this letter of joy even while he suffers. And that’s what we want to get into today. Let me read for you where the letter picks up in verse 12:

Now I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. Because of my chains, most of the brothers in the Lord have been encouraged to speak the word of God more courageously and fearlessly.
It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The later do so in love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motive or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice!
Yes and I will continue to rejoice for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life of by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain! Philippians 1:12-21

Paul has been thrown in prison for telling people about Jesus and calling them to put their life and belief in Him as Lord and Savior. We might think that is crazy in our modern world with so many freedoms, but this was in fact one of the greatest crimes against Rome. For Rome demanded that the emperor alone is Lord and Savior. You can have other gods, worship them, whatever, but the emperor is the Lord, and he is your salvation. Paul is building a church on a different Lord and savior- Jesus.

And as if suffering in prison wasn’t enough, he suffers more because his enemies are stirring up trouble for him. They are stirring up so much trouble that Paul isn’t sure if he is going to live or die. But what’s amazing is that this doesn’t really bother him. To live, he says, is to serve Christ, and to die is to be with Christ. In fact, he goes on to say he is torn between the two. Part of him just wants to end the suffering that he knows in this world, to be put to death, and to be with Jesus; the other part knows that God continues to have a purpose and plan for his life on this earth. That plan is even evident in prison. For even there, perhaps all the more there, the gospel is being preached and is changing lives. All the guards, all the prisoners, all the brothers in Jesus know that he is in chains for the gospel. And as long as he is, he will continue to preach and to encourage the other believers. So Paul will press on in joy and in suffering.

What Paul has done, through his own suffering, and through the suffering of Jesus Christ, has given us a very tight “theology of suffering” to help us makes sense of our own suffering. What I don’t have to convince you of this morning is that you will suffer. I don’t have to convince you because you already agree with me whole-heartedly. “No argument here George, I have suffered and I continue to suffer, and in fact, I don’t think you have any idea how much I suffer.” You shed many tears, you have sleepless nights, you have know pain and misery and sorrow and sadness. If there someone here who doesn’t agree with me that there is suffering in this world, I’m just going to say, wait. I don’t say that smugly, or with some perverse pleasure in suffering. I’m just saying, you’ll find out soon enough. If you don’t think there’s suffering just stick with me, because someday you’ll need what I’m about to tell you.

What I do want to convince you of this morning is that suffering is in fact part of the Christian life. That you will suffer in this life- so use it! You will suffer in this world, so take advantage of it. You will suffer in your life, so seize it as an opportunity. You will suffer so don’t waste it! Today I want us to develop our theology of suffering, and I want to be very clear about this- Suffering is not to be esteemed as a virtue, not avoided at all costs, but rather, seized as an opportunity to glorify God and grow in our faith.

First, I want to be very clear suffering is not to be esteemed or pursued. This is one far end of the spectrum, and the earlier of the two mistakes we make regarding suffering. The early church rightly observed, and embraced the fact, that Jesus suffered. This was revolutionary in itself. We are going to get into this in a big way in chapter 2. It was compelling for many, it was transformational, that Jesus suffered. So some folks when to the extreme to actually pursue suffering. They sought to deny themselves pleasure, to deny themselves beauty, and food, and drink, and joy. The actually sought to be martyrs, they wanted to suffer and die for Jesus. Folks, there is nothing noble in this. There is nothing biblical in this. Suffering is not to be sought after. Suffering is not the way it’s supposed to be. The bible story begins with a world where there is no suffering. There was no pain, no sorrow, no suffering before sin entered the world with the fall of man. The bible ends with a world where suffering is again destroyed. Suffering is not to be elevated to a timeless Christian ideal to seek through the centuries and into eternity. The logical conclusion to seek suffering is to seek life outside of a relationship with God, apart of Jesus, apart of the redemption only he can offer, and that is sick, that is wrong. We don’t seek suffering, that’s not the same as seizing it as an opportunity.

The other extreme is to deny, or avoid suffering at all costs. To say that suffering has no place in the Christian life. This is to deny reality, to deny what the bible teaches, and to deny ourselves opportunities that God has placed before us. The extreme of avoidance is more modern mistake. To avoid pain and suffering physically, emotionally, spiritually, financially, at any cost. There is a false gospel that says the Christian life is free from suffering. And if you are experiencing suffering, you just need to pray more, work harder, confess some sin. Now to be sure, that is sometimes the case. When certain types of suffering come into our lives, the right response is repentance and confession. I’m talking about kind of theology that says this side of Jesus’ return we are to actually pursue a life free and void of suffering. A theology that says all pain and suffering is merely evidence that somehow we are not right with God. This is a lie, this is a works based salvation, and sadly, this kind of theology actually leads to more compound suffering in many peoples lives.

This view taken to the extreme completely loses sight of the fact that Jesus suffered, that Paul suffered, that all of the disciples, but one, to the best of our knowledge, did in fact die as martyrs. This view taken to the extreme denies the reality of suffering in Jesus life because of sin, denies the reality of suffering in our lives and in our world.

There have been parents of sick children who have let their children suffer because they think they have to just have faith, and just pray enough, and that they shouldn’t use their brains and get help. And their children have died. And when that happens to people in churches that teach this kind of theology, the church is forced to decide- do we change our theology and comfort them in their suffering, or do we stick with our theology and rebuke them for not praying, repenting or having enough faith to save their child. Then they decide to not change their theology, and they rebuke and cast out the parents. These folks are left suffering because they’ve lost their child, they’ve been ostracized by their faith community, and they believe that is was their lack of faith that killed their child, when it was their wrong theology. It is the saddest irony that not having a proper theology of suffering actually increases the experience of suffering in so many lives.

Which is why we now move to outline the true causes, purpose, and response of suffering. Suffering is not to be sought, not to be avoided, but a reality of life and can be used as an opportunity. And here’s how it starts to work out:

First, we suffer because we live in a fallen world. Sometimes, in fact a lot of the time, the source of suffering just traces back down to the fact that we live in a fallen and sinful world, and there will be pain and suffering in this world until Jesus comes back to redeem all of creation. So we suffer because it’s fallen world and we can’t really pin the blame on anyone, because it’s just to complex. We call this original sin, that we don’t have the option but to be born into a sinful and fallen world, that we are sinful and fallen people, and that a huge amount of suffering will be a part of our world and live because of this. We suffer physically because of poor immune systems, we suffer emotionally because we are emotionally bankrupt, we suffer relationally because we are broken people, we just suffer in this fallen world.

Second, sometimes we suffer because of our own dumb choices. We suffer the consequences of our decisions, and our mistakes. If you jump out of a plane without a parachute, you are going to suffer the consequences of gravity, which isn’t so bad until you suffer the reality of the ground. If you are a lousy husband or wife, you are going to suffer divorce, and all the emotional and financial suffering that follows. If you break the law, you will suffer imprisonment. There is nothing noble or redemptive about this kind of suffering. If we learn a lesson, yes, but if we suffer because of our dumb mistakes we can’t run around saying, “I’m like Jesus, I’m blessed because I’m persecuted, I’m a saint because I’m suffering.” No, you’re suffering because you’re a fool, and you need to repent and confess that, and change the way you think and act.

Third, we suffer because of others choices. We suffer because of what others inflict upon us. We suffer because others, like us, are sinful, selfish, fallen people and sinful fallen selfish people often do horrible things to other people. This is why we have laws, why we have police, why we have wars, because we inflict suffering on other people, because people inflict suffering on us. We suffer because someone drinks too much, gets in their car, and kills our spouse. We suffer because a parent abuses us, and they abuse us because their parents abused them, and a vicious cycle of suffering is perpetuated. We suffer because a thief takes our bike to buy drugs (let it go George, let it go).

Before the final cause let me add this- let us never forget that we are often the “other.” It’s our choices and actions that cause others suffering. The hard reality of life, of my life in fact, is that many decisions I’ve made have caused pain and sorrow for other people. We can never say, “Why doesn’t God just root out all evil and sin and suffering in the world, because if he did, he would have to start with me, then you, then everyone else. Because everyone of us has been a source of suffering in the world.

Fourth, and finally, and in all these areas, we suffer because God allows it. And here’s where we have to get our thinking straight. God is not the source of suffering, but God allows suffering to come into our lives. Now if it were not for the grace and mercy and love of God, I believe we would all be overcome with suffering and death instantaneously. We’d simply be wiped out. However, God’s hand of mercy acts as a giant floodgate stopping the suffering and death that would overcome us all. But suffering and sin do spill over. God is aware of this, allows us, and so God uses this.

Suffering is not to be sought, not to be avoided, but a reality of life and can be used as an opportunity. Jesus suffered physically, you will suffer physically. Jesus suffered emotionally, you will suffer emotionally. Jesus suffered relationally, you will suffer relationally. It is a part of this fallen world and it can be claimed as an opportunity. And opportunity for two things- for God’s glory, and our growth.

Suffering will grow you. You will grow in your faith, you will grow in compassion, you will grow in prayer, you will grow in resolve, you will grow in maturity. How many of us have gone through a dark valley? We have suffered greatly, we have hurt terribly, we would never in a million years want to go through that lose, that grief, that pain that persecution, that suffering again. To desire that would be sick and self-loathing. But neither would we trade what we have learned and how we have grown for the world. Some of you know what I’m talking about. You are who you are because of the suffering. That’s because you used if for God’s glory.

Others here, maybe you don’t, you’re still lost in the pain of suffering. Many people, when suffering happens, when crisis hits, they are not ready for it, and it puts them into a tailspin. Many of you have been in that tailspin, you’re still spinning, your dropping fast, your dizzy and disoriented, and you are just waiting for the firey crash. To you I simply have one encouragement- please don’t give up on God, because God hasn’t given up on you. Please don’t turn away from God, but turn to God. Right now, maybe this is your darkest hour, your worst suffering, you tailspin. I implore you, don’t lose hope, don’t lose faith, don’t think for a minute that God has lost you. But now, right now is the time to turn to God who like no other God, will stand with you in solidarity with suffering. To you in that tailspin I want to tell you that God is with you and God can help you. So turn to the God who knows your suffering and pain. And turn this suffering around to opportunity.

A Romanian pastor, in the wake of the intense persecution of the church under communism, wrote,

“Christians are like nails- the harder you hit them, the deeper they go!”

• When the world hits you, go deeper
• When you lose your job, go deeper
• When you lose your health, go deeper
• When you lose your spouse, go deeper
• When you lose your child, go deeper
• When you start to lose your faith, go deeper
• When you start to lose your hope, go deeper
• When you start to lose your love, go deeper

The harder you get hit in this world, the deeper you need to go deeper into Jesus. Because, we do NOT worship a God who knows nothing of suffering and rejects us in our suffering. NO we have a mediator in Jesus who suffered in every way like us, and more!

The world hit Jesus with rejection…betrayal…lies…whips…rods…with stones… The world hit Jesus with nails, and hung him on a cross, where he suffered not only the physical pain, the excruciating pain in his body, he suffered more. He suffered in a way we can never know, and this is the great mercy of Jesus, that he took this suffering we could not bear. Jesus, the Son of God, without sin, perfect and pure, took the weight of our sins, of our world, and he hoisted them on that cross. He suffered the consequences of the sins he never committed, he suffered the death we should endure. And for that moment, in a way we can’t comprehend, he suffered the withdrawal of his heavenly father.

I believe this with my whole heart- the greatest cry of anguish the world has ever heard, the greatest pain and suffering that anyone has ever know, is the suffering that Jesus felt at that moment when he said on the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” For that moment Jesus suffered hell- Jesus suffered what it means to be separated from holiness and glory of God. It was metaphysically torn from himself, ripped apart from his own being. It’s a suffering we can’t even imagine because of the common grace of God.

When you get hit, go deeper. When you suffer, go deeper with Jesus. Go as deep as you have to go. Go as deep as Jesus calls you to go. And then God will be glorified in you.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Series: Breakout
June 8, 2008

Last week I spent some time setting up our breakout series and the letter to the church in Philippi. If you missed it, it’s online. Today I want to set up what the book of Philippians is largely about – the pursuit of happiness.

I was born in the states and grew up under the revolutionary document call the Declaration of Independence. This document states that all men (they caught on to slaves and women later) are created equal, and all of us are endowed by our creator with certain rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

That’s a fascinating declaration. You have the right to life and we can create a government where that can largely be enforced. We’ll argue a bit about when life begins and ends, does we ever have the right to take a life in between, but for the most part, we can enforce this. You also have the right to liberty, unless you’re a slave or a woman, but give it some time. So don’t take someone’s life, pay your taxes, and you’ll basically be free. Great enlightenment ideals, great biblical ideals. Then we have this third piece- you have the right to happiness. Well, not really. We can’t make you the promise of happiness, but we offer you this- the right to pursue your happiness. Don’t take a life, don’t take anyone’s liberty, and you’ll be free to pursue happiness. Basically we can say that the American experiment is basically the unfettered, unrelenting chasing after a dream- happiness.

So America must be the happiest place on earth, right? Well, I actually have no idea, but I do know this, on the website, the pursuit of happiness.org, America is not number 1. It’s not even in the top ten. But do you want to know who is? Yeah baby, you got it- Canada. We just barely made it in, by the skin of our teeth! Number 10.

But isn’t it interesting, or sad rather, that the very place where we’ve elevated the pursuit of happiness to one of highest ideals, is not even in the top ten happy places in the world. Despite Bobby McFerrin’s appeal, we still worry, and we aren’t just happy. That much like REM appears, we’re not just shinny happy people.

Have you ever seen one of those ads where they talk about being 100% satisfied? If you’re not 100% satisfied with your bank, call us, if your not 100% satisfied with your sex life, call us. That’s brilliant marketing, terribly misleading, but brilliant. Because really who is ever 100% satisfied? It’s not going to happen this side of heaven! Let me propose this, our relative happiness, or unhappiness, has a lot to do with where we are looking, what we are expecting. And the truth is, we are looking for love in all the wrong places, and we’re looking for joy in many of the wrong places.

I’m nowhere close to 100% on what I imagine would be a happiness scale. I mean, folks who know me I’m glad to say, really say I’m a fun guy and pretty fun to be around. Dare I say, I’m as happy and satisfied with my life as anyone I know. But when I think about it, I’m not where close to being 100% happy. My bike got stolen. I still have aches and pains. I struggle with my fragile male ego. My wife isn’t a like one of the stepford wives. My kids drive me nuts. My car needs constant maintenance. My house isn’t paid off yet. I mean, when I really think about it, there’s a lot in our lives to not be happy about. But on the other side of the coin, John gave me a free bike, I have my health, I have a wonderful real wife, the best in the world. I have three amazing kids. I have a car and a home. But am I 100% happy? That sound kind of ridiculous to me.

This is not a comprehensive list, and neither do I want to overly analyze this socially or psychologically, but I propose that people are looking for happiness in three main areas- in possessions, in power, and in people. Looking at many folks it is clear that they are pursuing possessions. It seems to be the whole point and passion of their life. They work for it, they cheat for it, they are slaves to the market, when the market is up, all is good, when the market is down, all is miserable. Some seem to truly love money itself. Like scrooge Mc duck swimming in his money, or Montgomery Burns bathing in money, it’s just money that seems to bring them joy.

They want the biggest, the best, the most and more. It’s the newest car, the latest gadget, the finest clothes, it’s just stuff. What’s the new saying, the one with the most toys wins. And that’s really how so many live. You know that people actually get addicted to stuff. Just stuff. The thrill of getting more stuff. They compulsively shop and accumulate more clothes, more jewelry, more shoes, more music, more of anything and everything.
Personally, I don’t want lots of toys. I want to be friends with the guy who has a lot of toys, and then enjoy his toys while he’s at work trying desperately to pay for all his toys, who then has a massive heart attack because he’s so stressed out over his toys, and who subsequently wills all his toys to me. I’m always encouraging my neighbors to buy a boat, put in a pool, get stuff, then let me play with it!

Others pursue it in power. They often think they can buy happiness not with stuff, but with the more intangible things like power and fame. People lust for power. They direct their education to get power. The look for relationships that can position them for power. They get into relationships because they can exert power. If possession can become an addiction, how much more power. The old saying goes, power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. But it’s a corruption we are so happy to embrace. But powerful people are, again, very often miserable people. The stress, the responsibly, the lust for power is overwhelming.

Some pursue happiness in people, in relationships. They live their life looking for the right person to come and make all their hopes and dreams come true. Their happiness is on hold, because it’s wrapped up in a person they’ve never meet, a person who might not exist, a person, if your outlook and expectations are really messed up, a person who can never exist. Because ultimately no person can bring you the happiness that you desire. In fact, what I’ve seen time and time again is that people get involved in a relationship with the stated or unstated expectation that this person will truly be for them everything they’ve always wanted, hoped and dreamed for.

Folk, particularly you folks that maybe are still looking or hoping to find that one, let me break the news to you, the one doesn’t exist. Now I’m not saying relationships aren’t awesome and hold the power for joy in our lives. IN fact, I don’t think we can really be joyful and happy without relationships. But again, it’s this expectation, this need, to have your joy fulfilled in another person. But the truth is this- no person can sustain your happiness. They’ll try. There are plenty of folks who will try to be your savior, your messiah, your everything, because they think that true joy is in being god to someone. But folks, I’ve seen it time and time again, it’s doesn’t work, it doesn’t last, the whole thing falls apart. Two people come together, expecting the other one to meet their needs, and they keep taking and taking from each other, pulling fro the other, protecting themselves, and it doesn’t work. It doesn’t end in happiness, it ends in pain. Your ultimate happiness can’t be wrapped up and dependent upon another person.

The bible speaks a lot about this. A man names Solomon achieved power, fame, riches and wealth. He had the whole world at he fingers. Anything he wanted, anything he desired, he had. He wrote a book of the bible that goes into detail his pursuit of happiness. Ecclesiastes. It’s fascinating. Thomas Wolfe said it is the greatest work of writing he has ever read, it’s wisdom the most lasting and profound. Solomon begins the book with these words- “Meaningless, meaningless! Everything is meaningless!” Right there you know this is going to be a really fun book, great to read to the kids at night before bed. Then he begins to take us through his life, and his pursuit of happiness. He acquired wisdom and knowledge, more than anyone else on earth we’re told. He was given this directly as a gift of God. And what was his conclusion- with wisdom comes much sorrow, with much knowledge, more grief. There you go kids, do yourself a favor and drop out- just kidding. But many of us have been there. We know knowledge is wonderful, but it can also be hard. Without something else in your life, without something more, the very wisdom and knowledge you acquire can become a burden. Many of you have experienced this- the university and college years can be some of the most difficult as young people need to learn not just information, but how to manage and make sense of the information, the education, they receive.

Moving on- pleasure, that is meaningless too. Solomon denied himself nothing- food, drink, and especially women. The dude had thousands of women in his household. He amassed riches and wealth like the world has never seen. He took on projects, he worked diligently, he had it all, he had the power, fame, fortune. Finally, in the end of his hedonistic pursuit of please in any and every way he could find and experience it, he said this.

“Then I realized that it is good and proper for a man to eat and drink, and to find satisfaction in his toilsome labor under the sun during the few days of life God has given him- for this is his lot. Moreover, when God gives and man wealth and possessions, and enables him to enjoy them, to accept his lot and be happy in his work- this is a gift from God.’ Ecc. 5:18-19

And all of these things, possession, people relationships, power, all of this stuff, instead of bringing us joy, can have the exact opposite effect- they can become prisons. They become bars that hold is in, chains that hold us back, weight that wears us down. They are not the source of happiness and joy. Joy in not found in money, power, fame, possessions. North America has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. And the single most diagnosed and medicated illness in NA is depression. In our pursuit of joy, in our all out, no holds barred search for joy we have uncovered and experienced it’s antithesis- depression.

When Paul wrote to the Philippians from a prison cell he said, “I thank my God every time I remember you in all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with JOY because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he (God) who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Ph. 1:3-6

Brothers and sisters, I want you to take confidence in this- God began a good work in you. You are a good work, you are a great work. You are made, known and loved by God and he has a good work in store for you, and he will bring it to completion in Jesus Christ. And there in is our joy- in what God is working out in us, where he is leading us, when he will complete us in the day of Jesus’ return.

When we become a Christian the Holy Spirit is in our lives. Notice I say in our life, because we are told from the bible that when we come to believe in Jesus, when we put our faith and trust in Him and give our life to him, we do so only because the Spirit first moves us. Think of it this way- your parents didn’t consult you before they conceived you. It just doesn’t work that way. And so it happens this way spiritually. This is why Jesus uses the analogy of being born again. Your earthly parents brought you into the world, and your heavenly father brings you into Spiritual life through his Holy Spirit. The bible is very clear on this. Dead things don’t come back to life without God. Spiritually dead things don’t breathe spiritual life and birth into themselves- they can’t, their dead.

I say all this in relation to joy, because I don’t think we can create joy in our lives. Rather, we can only choose to accept the gift of joy and begin to cultivate it in our lives. Once the Spirit moves in us to bring us spiritual birth, he also births in us certain fruits. They are available to us, and need to be cultivated and nurtured in us. The first is love, because God is love. The second is joy.

I think that’s pretty great. I’d have to say that given the choice for what I’d want God to give me, first I’d have to say life, here and eternally, and guess what, that what God first offers us. Second, I’d have to say love, because without love, with out being loved, well, what would life be. And as I think about, as I’ve prayed about it, I’d have to say the third greatest thing we could experience in life is joy. And that’s exactly what the bible tells us God wants to birth in us.

Joy comes as a gift from God. Joy also comes in know that God will complete his work in you. Since he chose you, since he called you, since he saved you, since he began this great work in you, he will bring ot to completion. God is a great finisher. He’s a great beginner to- he began a great work in creation and a great work in you. But even better, he’s a great finisher. And he will finish his world of joy in you life.

Finally, joy comes from our confidence in the return of Christ. Jesus will finish his work during our lifetime, or at his return. Either way, it will be finished in us. And for the follow of Jesus this is if infinite comfort and joy- to know that Jesus will come and finish this work.

CS Lewis, a famous Oxford scholar who came to faith in Jesus in his adulthood, became the greatest Christian apologist of the 20th century. And one of the most fascinating things he wrote, in my opinion, is simply the title of his autobiography. Obviously, when you write a book about yourself, and come up with a title, you are going to want to say a whole lot in that word or words. The title he chose to capture the first half of his life, and especially his Christian conversion, was “Surprised by Joy.” His experience of coming to faith in Jesus surprised him with joy. He was looking for meaning, for purpose, for a cohesive world view, for all the things you might expect an oxford don to long for, but what he found was the his longings were all meet in this person named Jesus, and in Jesus there was joy. It came to him as a gift, it caught him off guard, and it was wonderful.

And that’s the rub- when we get beyond our search for happiness, and ge to with our search for God, with knowing God, with serving God, the bonus is joy. And so I invite you to give your life to God, to join in partnership with the Gospel, to believe that God will complete his good work in you, that Jesus is coming again. And be surprised by the joy of God that takes root in your life.