Apr 18, 2010

Series on Philippians #19

Philippians 4:14-19

Let’s pray…
Alright, we’re coming to an end of our time in Philippians, we got out of it last week to address what the resurrection means, how it changes our lives. But now we’re back in Philippians. Let’s go. We’ll dig in and see what Paul had to say to them, back then, and then we’ll tie it in to our lives now.

First let me say, this is a message about giving. If you are new here, we don’t talk about giving often. But when the text talks about something, we don’t shy away from it.

And when we look at this text, we see a lot of depth, we could probably dissect this passage for a few weeks, but here’s what I want to show you:
A. Giving is essential for furthering the Gospel. (v. 15-16)
B. Giving is a blessing for the giver and the receiver. (v. 17-18a) And,
C. There are rewards from God for giving to the Kingdom work. (18b-19)

But before we get to all that we have to read this in its context, Andy covered this wonderfully two weeks ago; let’s review quickly to tie v. 10-14 into tonight’s message.


A couple of things to unpack, starting in 10. Paul rejoices in the fact that the Philippians have renewed their concern. Listen, as many of you know from first hand experience, when you are going out of your comfort zone and pouring out your blood, sweat and tears in a task, whether it’s ministry work or mountain climbing or boot camp, or college, or parenting, or taking care of aging parents or whatever — it becomes vital for your sanity and your encouragement to hear from other people who have your back, to hear from people who have been through the fire, people who understand what it is like in the middle of the struggle.

Now all through this letter, Paul is talking about the partnership in the gospel that he shares with the Philippians.

This is bigger than boot camp, this is bigger than a man made war over land or politics, this is the eternal battle to shine light in the darkness, this is the battle to bring the good news to every nation. And it is hard. You think being a Christian is easy? If so, you’re not reading the same bible as me. If so, you haven’t read anything Jesus had to say about following Him.

It’s hard. Jesus says you and I have to lay down our lives, our rights, our desire to be made much of, we need to die to ourselves daily and follow Him — on mission for Him, to be more like Him in EVERYTHING we do.

Jesus told His disciples, keep watch, look how they treat me. I’ve come to save God’s people, to reconcile the Father’s sheep into the fold, and it’s gonna cost me my life!

Then He tells them, what they do to me, they’ll do to you. Some people will hear this Gospel this Good News and say, Yes! Finally! There is a way!

But others will run away from the light, and others will go on the offensive against the light.
So with all of that heavy truth on his heart, Paul says to the Philippians, Oh! How great it is to hear that I’m no alone. Oh! How grateful I am for your support.

Now we can see that the support had lagged for a while. He writes that the Philippians RENEWED their support for him — in other words, there had been support, then it evaporated, and then it returned.

And in v. 11 and12, Paul writes that he HAS LEARNED the secret of contentment. How do you learn to be content when you have plenty and when you have want or need? You learn by going through those seasons.

When the Philippians support dried up, Paul was left stranded. He says in tonight’s passage in v. 15, that no other church helped him. And in that season of want, Paul learned to be content in his relationship with God.

I’ve never met anyone who says that is an easy thing to learn. If someone tells you it is easy to learn it, they may only be talking about an IDEA of contentment in want.

So Paul says I learned that hard lesson and I know that no matter what, God will not leave me or forsake me, but I thank God that you came along to help me — and to share in this battle again.

So that’s review to give us some context, now lets move on:
Remember I want to show, through the scriptures, how:
A. Giving is essential for furthering the Gospel. (v. 15-16)
B. Giving is a blessing for the giver and the receiver. (v. 17-18a) And,
C. There are rewards from God for giving to the Kingdom work. (18b-19)

So first, Giving is essential for furthering the Gospel. (v. 15-16)

Jesus, before He went back to Heaven gave this command:
This is the Great Commission and with it comes a great cost. It costs time, talent, treasure, reputation, sleep, worldly desires and more.

Simply put, this commission will not be completed unless we give and give sacrificially. That means we must restructure the way we spend money, restructure our schedules, evaluate and shift our priorities — all — All, All, ALL — with Christ first. All centered on loving God; and loving God, not only in our thoughts, not only in our prayers, but also in the tangible realm, in the world.

Listen, I can tell myself that I am Christ centered, but what does it matter if it ends with words and good thoughts and good intentions that don’t change the way I live my life?

What does my checkbook ledger say about my devotion to Christ and my concern and partnership in the great commission? What do my day planner, or calendar say? How about yours?

What are you doing to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to comfort the lonely, to provide for the needy?

And I’m talking about impacting PEOPLE with the GOSPEL here. If you are cleaning up the rivers and recycling, if you are pouring time and treasure into the animal shelter, if you are volunteering time for a worthwhile political party, that’s all awesome. But DON”T LET IT ECLIPSE YOUR GOSPEL MISSION. At the end of this world, when you are standing in front of God, He’s not going to ask how many petitions you got signed, or how many old tires you picked up or how many dogs and cats you found homes for.

No! The question will be, what did you do with the talents, the time, and the money the influence that I gave you to save souls by introducing them to the Gospel? Who’s here because YOU shared the Gospel? Who’s in Heaven because YOU supported mission work at home and abroad?

Listen you want to do all that other stuff and give to all those causes, then by all means do it! We need Christians in those areas. But in those areas of ministry, make the Gospel central. FIRST and foremost, push the Kingdom out in your little slice of the world.

Give money to charities, but give more to missions. Volunteer time to good causes, but spend MORE TIME going out into all the world to make disciples and support those who do.

I believe that some of you will be called to be a Paul, who goes out, and some will be called to stay in Philippi and work with excellence so you can earn money to send out to the Paul’s of the world, who are in the inner cities, and in the third world countries.

And whichever way you are called, ANSWER THE CALL!

And why? That brings us to the next point:
Giving is a blessing for the giver and the receiver. (v. 17-18a) Paul says:

I could go a million ways here, but let’s look at giving your time and financially supporting the Kingdom mission.
On the last point I worked from the assumption that IF you weren’t pushing the Gospel out, then it might be because you were distracted from so many other kinds of benevolence you were involved in.

Let’s be honest though, that’s not the only reason we don’t give to the mission work?
So many times we don’t give to the church, to missionaries in the field, or to para-church organizations in the community because we have sought after our own comforts or after the newest, biggest, and better trinket or whatever and when all is said and done, there’s no money left to be generous with.

That’s one key reason that I believe that the tithe, the giving to the church is supposed to be the first fruits of what we bring in — the first portion of our income. If we wait to see what we have left, it’s gone and the church’s effectiveness is impeded.

And when we honestly evaluate our time, we see that we spend much more time on the things that make us feel good or benefit us, rather than things that assist others and lift them up out of their struggles.

And it’s interesting how Paul phrases it, again he emphasizes that one way or another, he trusts God with his provision, but says it is for the good of the giver that he celebrates their giving.

He says this is being credited to our account when we give to the Gospel work. How’s that show its self? I think it shows itself through the contrast of what we give to.

If I work and work in order to get a flat screen television or a faster computer or a nicer car, or a better camera, or some nice jewelry, or a dinner at a nice restaurant, or a new pair of pants, or a slicker cell phone, or… How long will any of that satisfy and fulfill me?

Within days, weeks or — at best — months, advertisers will convince me that my new stuff is less desirable and that I’ll only be happy again once I shell out some cash for the new whatever.

But, when I send money to my friend’s Christian based homeless shelter in Lexington and reports come back about people being feed food and the gospel and reports come back about changed lives, about people who, like me and like you used to be enemies with God, but are now counted among His children, that brings a satisfaction that doesn’t fade. Satisfaction that doesn’t become obsolete.

That’s a person I get to share eternity with! And in some way, which we may never fully grasp, that is being stored up on our account, it ties back to what Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount. He told the crowd, don’t store up your treasure HERE where it fades away, store it up in heaven where it lasts forever.

How many times have we heard this? How many times have we shaken our heads and agreed, “Yes, you’re right. Those things always disappoint me are leave me wanting more.”

But then when we see that next trinket, or the next billboard, we discard what we know is important and open our wallet to waste our money again.

I pray that the Holy Spirit would change our hearts when it comes to our money, but we also need to take some practical steps and build discipline.

Remember, Paul learned to be content. As God’s people, do we need to learn by having things ripped from our grasp, or do we want to learn by disciplining ourselves to be more generous and less wasteful in our spending?

Let’s move on to the last point, it’s tied closely to the second point.
There are rewards from God for giving to the Kingdom work. (18b-19) Paul writes:

18b They (the gifts and giving toward the mission) are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice (don’t miss that word SACRIFICE), pleasing to God (To God and not to Man, Again back to the Sermon on the Mount: When You Give, don’t do it like the hypocrites, who want to be honored by men. Do it in secret, so your Father in Heaven will see it and…) 19 And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

Now let me be careful here, this isn’t saying give to the church and give to the missionaries and give to the Christian charities and then God will give you a Cadillac or great health, or whatever else you WISH for. That’s not what it says.

You give to what’s important to God, and He will provide for all of your NEEDS.

We’re running out of time, but let me list very quickly, some of those needs.
God provides: Continuing grace and forgiveness by faith in Christ.
God provides: The indwelling of the Holy Spirit to comfort and guide you and to give you the POWER to resist the temptations that would pull you back into sin.
God provides: Food, clothing, shelter.
God provides: Moments of laughter, when you feel like you would otherwise crack under the pressure of your life and your circumstances.
God provides: Rest for your body, mind and spirit in the Sabbath.
God provides: Moments of struggle, which the Bible says help us to refocus our dependence and connection toward God thorough prayer and meditation and the reading of the Word.
God provides: Correction from the prompting of the Spirit and by our brothers and sisters in the Church.
God provides: The removal of the curse of death and Hell as payment for our sins. Again, this lifting of the just punishment is not because of the good we have done or the good we are doing, or the good that we might do in the future, it is because of the goodness, the righteousness of Jesus that has been given to us.

Those are just a few of the NEEDS that God provides for.

Now, that’s the end of the message, As Ryan gets ready to lead us in one more song, I want to encourage you all to pray to God and ask how you might be able to help serve in the Kingdom mission in a new area in Madison.

The Ruth Haven transitional home will be opening soon as a step between prison and the life outside the prison walls. A place that helps women find a new start, which is what Jesus Christ bought for everyone of us.

Now, as they get closer to their opening date and beyond they are going to need workers to help with the building, they are going to need financial assistance and more.

This is a great opportunity to put your faith that you talk about and think about and pray about into action.

Now let’s close with prayer and then a song to God…
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Apr 11, 2010

Easter ~ He Has Risen, So What?

Romans 10:9 (ESV)

Let's pray...

So, If you read my facebook page this week you may have seen my mention of the fact that THIS is my 1st EASTER sermon.

What's funny to me, or at least odd, if not funny, is that I have been so tied up, and perplexed about THIS sermon. And that doesn't happen to me often. I have a grasp of the doctrine of the Bible, I understand the content that I am going to preach on, and I am ready.
I am blessed to preach twice a week. Here on Sundays and at our outreach church on Wednesdays. So the stress isn't coming from the physical act of getting up here and preaching. This is something that I love to do. I would preach everyday if I could.

The problem, and from what I hear it's a problem that preachers struggle with every year is how to preach the EASTER sermon. Easter is the day when people come out who never come out. People who call themselves Christian and people who don't. And part of our heart as preachers is to bring you into the family. Whether here at this church or somewhere else, we believe – WE BELIEVE – that being plugged in to a family of believers to equip and encourage, to support and to correct is the best thing you can do for your life AFTER you come to faith.

So since we believe that, there's almost a kind of cheerleader mentality where we want to rah-rah the crowd on EASTER and be funny, or be topical, or be outlandish, or intellectual, or whatever – to get you to come back and connect. And it's almost like we try to talk you into joining a church or to convince you to Love God. Like He needs US to woo YOU to Him.

So some pastors think up some awesome jokes, and some try to tie the cross and the empty tomb into some very relevant topic of our time – from politics, or pop culture, or whatever and they're good at that.
Others try to brush up on their apologetics, which isn't apologizing for our faith, it is the process of systematically showing how the existence of God is rational and true, and how Jesus, and His crucifixion and His resurrection are historically true and verifiable – more verifiable than any ancient history.

And listen that's all awesome, and there are a ton of great resources to check out if you want to go that route. But here's the thing, no one I've met has ever come to faith because all of their questions were answered first. And many people are rightly insulted by some tug at their heart strings for some emotional response.

So what the Bible tells us to do, is not to be ultra relevant, or to have a quiver full of ammunition in apologetics, The Scriptures – Old Testament and New call us to preach the Bible.

This is hard because it forces us to put all of our hope for you, the people we love, into the hands and the will of a sovereign God.
And here's how equate our struggle with a piece of the Bible: Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, had a couple of His boys with Him and was praying at Gethsemane, and here comes Judas, you've all heard of Him right, Judas comes up with a mob or religious folks and a group of soldiers. And Judas kisses Jesus and that's how the soldiers know who to grab.

And then as this is going down, Peter takes out a weapon and chops a guy's ear off. And Jesus tells Him to knock it off, that this isn't Peter's fight and Jesus heals the guy's ear.

Sometimes I wonder if Jesus is saying that to us. “Stop trying to use your weapons of humor, and relevance and intellect, stop trying to make the message cool or whatever, just get the Word of God out. Paul says in Romans that it is the Gospel, not our cleverness – the Gospel, that has the power of God to save.

So I'm not going to fight for your salvation (or for your sanctification if you're a believer) – I'm not going to fight with my tools, I'm going to let God do it. I'll let the Scriptures speak for themselves.

That's all introduction, the message for the Easter sermon is “Jesus Rose Again, So What?” This message is for you if you are a non-believer, because it will give you a biblical expression of what our faith looks like, and it's for us, the believers, to remind us of WHAT OUR FAITH LOOKS LIKE.

So I pray that this might be educational and maybe an avenue toward salvation for some of you and I pray that it might stir a renewed passion for the Gospel and what the gospel calls us to as Christians.

First Let's review the story of the Bible in five minutes. I'm not asking you to agree or disagree. I remember all the arguments from before I came to faith so save them. Let me just lay out what we believe.

Creation – We believe that God, triune God, Father, Son and Spirit have always existed. They were not caused by anything, they are the cause of everything. And it seemed good to them to create the universe and where we are concerned, the world - Earth, the plants, animals, land, sea, air, and the works.
And then God made man to have dominion over the creation. To enjoy the creation and to praise God and honor God and recognize God as the source and the sustainer of it all, from the flower to our next breath.
And everything was good, very good.

Fall – Now, the Bible tells us and we believe that God gave us one command that was a negative, we were able to do whatever we wanted to do, except eat the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil – is this ringing a bell?
All would have been fine, except that Satan tempted the woman by convincing her that God didn't have her best interests at heart and that she could know as much as God and have the same power of God if she would just take a bite.
She did, then Adam did and that sin of disobedience ushered in what we call the Fall.
And the Bible tells us that everything got broken by the sin of Adam.
Since he had dominion over everything God created, it all fell with him. By everything, I mean weather patterns, tectonic plates, animals and how they interacted, everything in the universe right down to the cells in our bodies – EVERYTHING. 
From the starting point in the Garden of Eden to today, it was all corrupted by sin.

And whether you are a believer or not, there are times when you come to the very real conclusion that things are not supposed to be this way. For you that time may have come, or will come when that very close family member dies, or when your boss ditches town with all of the company funds and leaves you stranded after 20 years of your loyalty, or your spouse leaves you for someone else, or when a massive earthquake hits Haiti, or when you go back to that thing that has historically owned you - even when you know that you MUST NOT do IT again. The Bible tells us that EVERYTHING was wrecked by the sin of Adam and it was passed down to each one of us.

And the Bible is clear that the most damage was done to relationships. This is what we are constantly dealing with and I believe this is the root of every trouble in your life – the effects of sin on relationships. It corrupted our relationships with each other, with ourselves and most importantly it severed our ability - and our desire - to be in relationship with God.

And the Bible says the net result is that since we were designed to worship, but are unable and unwilling to worship God, we worship the stuff He created.
Back in the day it was trees and rocks and sculptures of birds and frogs and cows. Today, it's football, or porn, or family, or careers, or drinking, or the next degree, or the next trinket (cars, electronics, cell phone...), or the idea of retirement, or just striving after cash, or fill in your own blank. We are idol factories. We will absolutely worship someone or something.
And because of the fall, we are born with a spiritually inability to worship the one true God unless He revives our hearts.
Which brings us to redemption.

Redemption – We believe that God saw our brokenness and our need for a pure and spotless substitute for the punishment that He promised as a result of sin. But none of us can make things right because we are already at a negative balance before we even begin. There's not enough good that we can do to tip the “scales” in our favor. So, without help the Bible says we are destined to sin and death and Hell.
But God loved us and does not desire for any of us to be in Hell so He made a way for us to be saved.

Ephesians 2 tell us that we were dead in our sin and so God sent His son to be the perfect sacrifice for us. He had no sin of His own, so He was able to take on the sin of the world when He went to the cross. Through our faith in His death burial and resurrection, all of our sins, the ones we have committed and the ones we will commit were placed on Him. But, only IF we will – by faith – place our trust in Jesus as our substitute and submit to Him as our Lord.

Restoration – Once that transaction of our sin for His purity and righteousness takes place the restoration process begins in our lives, personally.

But, the restoration process for all things began long ago. Before He went to the cross, Jesus said that He was ushering in the Kingdom of God. It's what we in the church call the now and not yet Kingdom of God.

The kingdom at this moment, as Jesus said 2,000 years ago, is spreading out like yeast in the dough, or like a small seed that slowly grows out to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation.

That's the part of the Kingdom mission that we get to participate in. And we'll get to that some more in a minute. The other part, the “not yet” part of the Kingdom, is the day that we believe, Jesus is coming back. Not as the suffering servant, not Jesus meek and mild, not Buddy Christ, from the movie Dogma – No as the conquering King who will divide us up sinners and forgiven sinners. And the Bible is clear, the sinners go to Hell and the forgiven sinners, which the Scriptures call saints live forever in the New Heavens and the New Earth.

Let me take a minute to say, yes. That is really what we believe. Creator God, talking snake, born with sin, sinless God-Man, death on the Cross, literal, historical resurrection, and a second coming that shakes it all out. And yes, we really do believe in Hell.

I know that some of it sounds ridiculous, I know that some of it seems offensive and a lot of it seems exclusive and close minded. I'm not arguing with your possible negative reactions and we're not here to hit you over the head with the bible until you believe. I just want to share what the Bible says.

Now with that in mind, it's Easter and so I'm preaching in light of the truth of creation and the Fall. God created it perfect, Adam and Eve sinned and we have followed suit ever since. Now, Jesus came on the scene, as God in the flesh, lived a sinless life, taught a bunch of things concerning the Kingdom of God, He was betrayed, tortured and Killed and raised on the third day.

Now, if He hadn't been resurrected, there is NO Christianity. If he didn't rise again and then ascend into Heaven, then He was just another lunatic or false Messiah. But, we believe He did raise and that's why all of these one-time cowards that followed Jesus during His earthly ministry were emboldened to preach this gospel and take what ever came with it, sometimes it came with celebration as thousands came to faith and sometimes it was pain and even death when the gospel was rejected and they were pelted with stones, some were imprisoned, some were burned at the stake and some were beheaded.
They didn't do this for a lie, they did this because they SAW JESUS, the RESURRECTED LORD.

And, as Paul describes to us in 1 Corinthians 15, the resurrection, the truth of Jesus' resurrection transforms. It transformed the first eye-witnesses, and it transforms those of us who have been convinced by their written testimony and historical example.

You can read along with me or listen to these portions of 1 Corinthians 15. I'll unpack as we go:

Jump down to:

Jump down to:

Jump down to:

Now for the point, Jesus rose again, So What?

So, believers, Jesus Rose again, So What? So What does that mean for us? It means that we are to stand fast and we are to let nothing move us as we carry out the work of the Lord.

Now, to my pagan friends, sit tight. This isn't a call to a holy war, this isn't a call for us to smack you down with Bibles and to get you to repent.

Do we believe you are sinners? Of course. The book of Romans is clear in saying EVERYONE is a sinner, but that includes us, whether we are very good about admitting that or not. Here's what I am calling believers to based on the Scriptures today.

Be at war against sin, first and foremost your own.

Let's look at just one or two more Scriptures and unpack what giving yourself to the Lord looks like.

John 13:34-35

Jesus Rose Again, So What? So we are called to love one another.

Colossians 3:1

Jesus Rose Again, So What? Stop focusing your eyes on fleeting problems or fleeting success and instead fix your eyes on what matters, on eternity...

1 Cor 5:9-13: (This is where the church usually gets WAY off track).

So, Jesus Rose Again, So What? Stop trying to be the morality police for non-believers and start addressing sin in the church – beginning with your own. Be at war with sin in the church. If someone calls themselves a Christian and still blatantly walks in sin without remorse or regret or any intention of repentance, stop associating until he or she comes back into the fold. Jesus and Paul both instruct us to do this and the ultimate goal is restoration. It is more loving to address sin in the life of a believer than to turn a blind eye when they are going against God. That will Always end badly.

But, then Paul is clear about when we talk to non-believers. Shower them with the love of Christ. If they are going to come to faith, the Holy Spirit will show them the sin and they can repent.

Otherwise we just make another generation of morally upright rule followers with no relationship to the Savior.

I could go on and on with these calls, let me say it like this, Christians: stop being like the world. Get your faces into this book and begin living out what Christ has called you to. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us that through our faith in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus, we have been made new, the old is gone and has passed away. Is that evidenced through your words, actions and thoughts?

The resurrection of the Lord shows us that He was telling the truth about who He was – God in the flesh, our perfect king, our authority. Let us live as though we believe that. And if you aren't living like that, search your heart and start asking the tough questions? Am I a believer?

And, on a more positive note, I know that many of you are walking steadfast with the Lord, see the resurrection as your reason for joy and strength through any hardship. He has risen and so will we. It's as good as done.

I want to end with an opportunity for a response. Non-believers, we want you – urge you - to come to Christ. That is what we are here to do. That is why we live and breathe - to love you and to bring you into the family of God. To guide you toward redemption and adoption through the work of Christ, which changes you from an enemy of God to a son or daughter of God. If you are ready for that, we can walk you through it after this service. If you are not ready, if you think we are insane or worse, then we will continue to pray for you and love you regardless.

Believers, who haven't been baptized get with me after the service and we'll work on getting you baptized.
And all believers who are baptized or not yet baptized, stand fast, don't be moved by the world, and give yourselves FULLY to the work of the LORD.
And remember, don't be like Peter cutting the guy's ear off. This fight we are in is a war against sin, starting with our own. It is a spiritual battle, know that it is God fighting through you and your weapon, just like Jesus' weapon against Satan in the desert, is the word of God.
I'll leave you with this benediction or closing prayer from the writer of Hebrews.

Hebrews 13:20-21
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Apr 5, 2010

Series on Philippians #18

God (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) is sufficient
Philippians 4: 10-13

One of the (many) things I have struggled with throughout my life is the drive to “do it myself”. It is difficult to teach me anything, because I want to just jump right in and start doing. Now when I was a kid, that was okay – the teacher could tell the class what was expected and I would just do it.

But the older you get, the harder that becomes – so much of what we have to deal with each day is based in things other than “book” learning. And the beauty of this passage is that it can teach us where we need to go so that we can function as Christians.
I won’t spend much time on verses 10-11 this evening; those verses really set up the context for verse 12, but we will get back to that later.

Let’s look first at verse 13 – I know that seems backwards, but for me, as I continued to study this passage it made more sense to begin there.


Why does God give us strength?
In verse 13, Paul gives us great encouragement – that he is (we are) able to do ALL THINGS because God gives him (us) the strength (ability, talents) to do so. In his second letter to the church at Corinth, Paul talks about a problem he had, a physical ailment that afflicted him (thorn in his side), that he asked God to take from him…

2Corinthians 12:9-10

Here we see Paul giving to back to God – acknowledging the fact that there is nothing that humans can do, but that God will act through us to accomplish His purpose. He gives us strength so that the world will see His power. He gives us strength so that others around us might see His glory! We are His instruments in this broken world, to demonstrate to all the nations that He is all powerful, the One True and Living God!

How amazing this is! That each of us is chosen by God for a purpose – and that in our weakness (in our brokenness, our imperfection) He takes over and does things so awesome, so amazing that those who witness it cannot help but see God!

I was reading a sermon by a 19th century preacher named C.H. Spurgeon, and he had an amazing message for Philippians 4:13 – it was 150 years old and his message still brought me to a standstill.
In the first part, Spurgeon expands upon Paul’s message of encouragement. He states that should God see fit (according to His will, not ours) to call us for a purpose, that he (God) will give us what is needed to complete that purpose. Here is how Paul puts it in his second message to Timothy.

2Tim 4:17-18

And Spurgeon noted that this was not just for “external” things as he called them – not just for outward mission work. But God gives us strength to tackle “inward” things – to conquer those sins that seem to own us; to resist the temptations that the world and the enemy throw at us every day – the sanctification that every believer goes through every day, being perfected and made more like him.

As believers, as the adopted children of God, we have the Holy Spirit – the very Spirit of God – dwelling within us.

And his power is beyond measure, beyond our imagination, and there is nothing that God cannot do. So if he is working through us, “we” can do anything that is set before us. And we need not fear man or the enemy, for we know that God is with us and that our eternal life is secure regardless of what happens to our body in this world.

One important note regarding the structure of the sentence. In the original Greek, Paul uses a present tense – “can do” is a present and continuing act. It’s not a one-time event, but is part of the daily walk of a Christian.

Let’s look at what may be my favorite example of the power of God working through a man – David and Goliath. This story is found in 1 Samuel 17.
It starts with the army of Israel facing off against the army of the Philistines (not just unbelievers – but they blasphemed against the name of God), and out steps Goliath.

• Goliath was described as a “champion” and was listed at 9 feet tall
• He wore bronze scale armor that weighed 130lbs
• The iron point of his spear weighed just over 15 lbs

For 40 days, he came out and taunted the Israelite army, challenging one man to come forward and face him to determine who would rule.

The problem was that the men of Israel were terrified of Goliath – they knew that because of his size and his strength, and (presumably) his skill with the weapons of the day, there was no individual in their ranks who was a match for him. And they were right – but that was because they forgot the reason that the Israelite army was successful was simply that they had God on their side. God was sufficient to bring victory to Israel (and when they strayed from him, the battles went badly).

So David comes to the Israelite camp, bringing supplies to his older brothers who were following King Saul. David hears Goliath’s challenge and here is his response in verse 26

We can see already that David is not focusing on his abilities, but resting his faith in the power of God. So David goes to King Saul and tells him that he will fight Goliath. Saul does not believe that he can, but sends him forward anyway. Saul tried to dress him in armor and give him weapons, but all that stuff was too cumbersome for David. So he took it off and stepped forward without armor, and with just his shepherd’s staff, a sling, and five stones.

(Read 1 Samuel 17: 41-49)
David, the shepherd boy, charges forward into battle – a little kid running towards a giant while an army of men stand behind him in fear. But there is no fear in David, for he knows the outcome of the battle before it begins – David puts his whole faith in God, knowing that the battle is God’s. And through David, God destroys the Philistine army and brings victory to Israel.

Given the context of V13, let’s go back to V12

Content in ANY situation?
In the context of verse 12, Paul is talking to the Philippians about contentment with our physical condition and the questions we tend to ask ourselves when concerned about our physical condition – do we have enough food to eat, or are we hungry? Do we have sufficient material goods to get us through the day or are we left in need of something?
But let’s be honest, these kinds of questions don’t ever lead anywhere. It’s a chasing after the wind for the Christian, because we know that if we put our faith in God that he will provide for our needs. Even if we are hungry, we know that God will take care of us. Go back to the Sermon on the Mount

Matthew 6:25-34
Jesus tells his disciples not to worry about the comforts of this life. For God provides for all. And while there will be times that we will run into physical discomfort, ultimately we have a better reward waiting for us after death.

In the Greek, Paul uses a phrase that translates “I am instructed” or “initiated into mysteries”. So Paul has been taught how to be content – and it is a mystery that is shown only to Christians. And Paul gives it to us in verse 13 - It is only through God, that we can follow the example of Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit (God’s strength working through us), that we can be content in any situation.

And when we have that contentment with the physical, we can then focus our attention where it belongs – the Lord Almighty. As Christians our task is putting aside the physical and the sin that physical wants often lead to, and focusing on the work that God has called us to.
NOT content in Plenty?

The first time I heard the phrase “in plenty and in want” was when Leslie and I were being wed by a Justice of the Peace in San Antonio, TX. I thought it was an odd little phrase – I wasn’t into God’s word at the time, so I had no idea that it was a biblical reference.
The concept as described by Paul makes sense – we are to be content with the circumstances that God puts us in, whether “good” or “bad”. But how could I not be content with plenty? If I was comfortable, if I had my basic needs taken care of, surely I would be content…

1Tim 6: 6-10

In plenty, or the pursuit of “more plenty”, we can fall into the trap of money becoming our idol. It can be the driving force by which we live. But it is not how I get to heaven – it’s not like I can buy a ticket and hand it to Christ when I die.

Hebrews 13: 5-6

There are a lot of ways to make money – and ways to make a lot of money – but those things can destroy us. As Paul says to Timothy, money/wealth is just a trap set by the enemy. Amassing wealth is meaningless in the end (see the book of Ecclesiastes). Christ is the only door to get to heaven and the Father.

Last point on V12 – as I was reading through some of the commentaries on this verse, I was struck by a particular observation (I forgot to write down who it was by). That in this passage, Paul is not simply talking about enduring poverty (not just getting by), but that the mature Christian knows how to make use of what God has given him. Whether God has entrusted me with much (plenty), or with little (want), I am to make use of it.

This reminds me of the parable of the talents – three servants gifted with money by their master according to their abilities. The first two make the most of these gifts and double what they were given, and are then richly rewarded by their master upon his return. But the last takes and hides the money because he is afraid of what will happen to him if he fails. But then the master comes back, finds out that the servant did nothing with what he was given, so he takes it from the “bad and lazy” servant, gives it to one of the others, and tosses him out of his house.

When you put Philippians 4: 12 and 13 together, you begin to get a sense of how powerful this message is. I can take what God has given me, no matter how big or how little, and by his strength turn it into something amazing.

If you are like me, you may be thinking what a great message of encouragement! Reading through all of this, I could feel my spirits soar – felt myself saying/shouting “God is sufficient”.

Now comes the conviction. Earlier I mentioned that I read through a sermon on V13 given by C.H. Spurgeon. Here is the part of his message that brought me to my knees -
Spurgeon asked a question of his audience – as valid today as it was then (and before) –
“in the name of reason I ask why are you doing nothing?”

When I was reading this portion of Spurgeon’s sermon, I literally stopped. I was stunned at the simplicity of the question, and the weight it had. Spurgeon went on, saying that if all of the Christians and all the churches in London (insert your town here) put the strength of God to work that there would not be poverty; that the gospel would be preached; that men would be saved from “dropping into hell”.

What Spurgeon was pointing out is that we (Christians) have no excuse. For we can do all things through him that gives us strength. We aren’t depending on our own abilities, on our own wisdom, or skills, or insight. We aren’t even depending on whether God gave us a lot to work with or just a little. For when we are weak he is strong!

If I believe that God is in me

If I believe that God is all powerful

If I believe that he sets out good works for me to do in advance (Eph 2:10)

All that is left then is to search myself - What is it that is stopping me from doing those good works that God has set out for me? What fear am I allowing to keep me small?

Just because I’m not Billy Graham doesn’t mean that I can’t proclaim God’s word…

Just because I’m not Aretha Franklin doesn’t mean I can’t sing his praises…

Just because I’m not King David doesn’t mean I can’t lead believers to serve God…
Because God is sufficient!

Let’s pray...
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