IT’S A NEW YEAR!

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Are you in the habit of making New Year’s resolutions? One dictionary defines a resolution as “a firm decision to do or not to do something”. Another dictionary says: “a serious decision to do something.” From those definitions, I get the impression that resolutions are choices that we commit ourselves to do. What are you looking forward to in this new year? What are you dreading? What do you hope to find? What choices did you make last year? Are you satisfied with those choices? The search engine Google put a short film on U-Tube entitled “What Did The World Search For This Year.” It focused on personal and world events that made life worth living in 2013. At the end of the film are written these words: “Search On“. I hope that you have come to this site to gain an eternal perspective on life, and to seek God’s wisdom to guide you on your continuing search for answers and meaning to life. The Bible tells us that there are only two things in this world that are going to last forever: God’s Word and people. In Matthew 24:35 the Lord Jesus told the parable of the fig tree, and said, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” In I Peter 1:24-25 the apostle Peter quotes from Isaiah 40 when he says: “All flesh is like grass, and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls off, but the word of the Lord abides forever.” The other entity that lasts forever is people. They will live forever in one of two places: heaven or hell. In John 5:24 Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My words, and believes in Him who sent Me, has eternal life. He will not come to judgment, but has passed from death to life.” By contrast, the apostle John records in Revelation 20 what he saw in a vision: “And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it. . . . And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the books were opened; and another book was opened, which is the book of life. . . . And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” The wonderful and exciting thing about heaven is that it lasts forever. The terrible and terrifying thing about hell is that it lasts forever. Each year brings you closer to death, and also to eternity. May you choose to have a joyful eternity by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Savior and Lord. Then every day and every year until eternity will be filled with joy, inner peace, and unfading hope.

Thank you for visiting, and a happy New Year to you!

THE SECRET OF CONTENTMENT – Philippians 4:10-23

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INTRODUCTION:

A deacon in a church once said to his pastor: “We Christians are either thermometers or thermostats”. A thermometer doesn’t change anything around it. It just tells the temperature. It’s always going up and down. But a thermostat regulates the room or building it is in. When you turn up the thermostat, the heater comes on and the room gets warmer.

The apostle Paul was a thermostat. Instead of having spiritual ups and downs as his situation changed, Paul went right on, doing his work and serving the Lord Jesus Christ. Here in Philippians 4:10-23, Paul gives the reasons for his contentment, and gives the glory to God.

I. PAUL’S CONTENTMENT (verses 10-13)

In verse 10, the apostle Paul rejoices that the church at Philippi had become concerned about his needs. He had been praying for them. Now Paul rejoices at the way God had answered his prayers and provided an opportunity for them to be of service to him while he was in prison at Rome. Then Paul says in verse 11, “For I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.” The word “learned” means “learned by experience” Paul had to go through many difficult experiences in life in order to learn how to be content. When Paul wrote these words, he was deprived of almost everything – except contentment.

I may have shared this illustration with you before , but it’s so appropriate for this verse. Leaning on his fence one day, a devout Quaker, who believed in simplicity of life, was watching a new neighbor move in next door. After all kinds of modern appliances, electronic gadgets, and plush furnishings had been carried into the house, the Quaker called over to his new neighbor and said, “If you are lacking anything, neighbor, let me know, and I’ll show you how to live without it.” That Quaker and the apostle Paul had at least one thing in common – they had learned the secret of contentment. We may not always be able to choose our circumstances in life, but we can choose our attitude toward them.

The opposite of contentment is dissatisfaction or greed. I’m sure we’ve all met greedy people, but people aren’t the only ones who are greedy. An animal that is almost impossible to capture is the ring-tailed monkey of Africa. But the Zulu people have a method that’s both simple and effective. It’s based on this little creature’s love for a particular melon that grows on a vine. The seeds are its favorite food. Knowing this, the Zulus cut a small hole in the melon, just large enough for the monkey to put his hand inside to get the delicious morsels. The little fellow reaches through the hole and grabs as many seeds as he can. But pulling his clenched fist out of the melon is impossible because now it is larger than the hole. He will pull and tug and scream and struggle to get free, but it’s no use. As long as he holds on to his prized seeds, he is trapped by the melon – and the Zulus have captured one more ring-tailed monkey.

All too often we also become the victims of our own selfishness and greed. Lured by the attractiveness of material things, we strive to get more and more. Then one day we realize that what we have been living for is the cause of our frustration and unhappiness. Our hand is in the “hole” and we can’t seem to get it out because we won’t let go!

Happy is the person, whether wealthy or poor, whose greatest satisfaction is in the Lord Jesus Christ! That person can say with the apostle Paul, “I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am.”

Paul’s motto is found in verse 13: “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” A father found his little boy one day trying to lift a heavy stone. The youngster pushed, pulled, and struggled to get the boulder to move. Then, as he was just about to give up, his dad said, “Son, are you using all your strength?” “Sure am”, he answered. “No, you aren’t”, the father responded. “I’ve been standing here all the time and you haven’t asked me for help!” How often have we tried to do things without relying on God’s strength? We use up all our energies, and then, because the task seems impossible, we’re tempted to throw up our hands and give up. Remember, we are not using all our strength unless we are drawing upon the power of the Lord Jesus Christ in us.

II. PAUL’S GRATITUDE (verses 14-18)

In verses 10-13, Paul expresses his gratitude to the church at Philippi for their many gifts, especially for their most recent gift. In verse 15, Paul says “No church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving but you alone.” They showed their devotion to the Lord Jesus Christ, and their love for the apostle Paul, by giving sacrificially to Paul. Let me share with you another example of sacrificial giving. In about 1490, two friends, Albrecht Durer and Franz Knigstein were struggling to become artists. They were very poor and a lot of training was involved. So they decided that one would work and support both while the other pursued art classes. They cast lots and Durer won. Before leaving, he assured Franz that he would return and help him so that he could develop his talent. He did come back to keep his promise, but to his surprise, he discovered the enormous price his friend paid. Hard labor had caused his slender, sensitive fingers to become stiff and twisted. They would never be able to perform the delicate brush strokes necessary in fine painting. On one occasion Durer found Franz kneeling, his gnarled hands folded as he prayed for his companion. Quickly the great artist sketched that scene, and from it he produced his masterpiece, “The Praying Hands”. The world is richer because of Albrecht Durer, but much credit must also go to his faithful friend.

In verse 18, the apostle Paul thanks the Philippian church for their most recent gift. He calls it “a fragrant aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well-pleasing to God.” Thank you notes give us the opportunity to make permanent our feelings of gratitude for our friends or loved ones. Paul sent a thank you note to the Christians at Philippi. They were the only church that had supported him financially on his missionary journey, and Paul did more than just say thanks. He told them specifically what good they had done by helping him. Thank you notes work both ways. They help the sender to express appreciation, and they help the receiver to know what he had done to assist. Does someone you know deserve a note of thanks?

III. PRAISE TO GOD (verses 19-20)

In verses 19 and 20, Paul gives praise and glory to God, and says, “You met my need, and God is going to meet your every need.” A needy widow in Chicago lived by the motto: “The Lord will provide.” Even when severely tested, Mrs. Hokanson never lost her smile and her deep faith. Casting all her cares on God, she found that He always took the burden and supplied the needs.

Mrs. Hokanson was the sole support for her mentally retarded son. Eventually, chronic arthritis confined her to bed. When a church youth group went over to Mrs. Hokanson’s house to cheer her up,, they were amazed to discover that she was not depressed. When she was asked, “What will you and Arthur do?” She gave her usual quiet, confident response, “The Lord will provide.” When Mrs. Hokanson died, many people wondered what would happen to her son. But when friends and neighbors went home with Arthur after the funeral, he proudly showed them his collection of stamps. Instead of tearing the stamps off the envelopes, he had taken and kept over a hundred letters intended for his mother and left them unopened. Many contained substantial gifts – enough to care for the boy for the rest of his life.

When we cast all our cares on the Lord, we’ll be amazed at the wondrous way He provides! Our needs can never exhaust God’s supply.

God’s promise to provide for our needs covers the little things as well as the big ones. The same God who helped Elisha retrieve the borrowed axe head in II Kings 6, and who supplied flour and oil for a faithful widow in I Kings 17, will meet all our needs as well, not only the physical needs, but also the emotional, social, and spiritual needs. We worship a God who is greater than any of our problems.

Have you learned the secret of contentment in your life? If you are still searching and want answers, please go to my ABOUT PAGE, especially to the section entitled QUESTION. If you have more questions or want to know more about a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, please leave a comment and I’ll respond to you. Thank you for your attention, and may God give you the joy and contentment you desire as you respond to Him.

TRUE RIGHTEOUSNESS – Philippians 3:1-11

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Circumstances and people can rob us of joy, can’t they? But so can things. And it is this thief that Paul deals with in chapter three. It’s easy for us to get wrapped up in things, isn’t it? And not only the things we can see and touch, but also things like reputation, fame and achievement. Jesus warns us in Luke 12:15 that our lives do not consist in the abundance of things we possess. Quantity is no guarantee of quality. Many people who have the things money can buy have lost the things money cannot buy.

The key word in our passage of scripture for today, Philippians 3:1-11, is the word “count”. It means “to evaluate”, to “examine carefully”. Many people today are slaves of “things” because they’ve never sat down and seriously considered the values that control their decisions and actions, and this has robbed them of real joy. In the case of the apostle Paul, the “things” he was living for before he knew Christ seemed to be very noble: a righteous life, obedience to the Law of Moses, and the defense of the religion of his ancestors – the Jewish religion. But none of these satisfied him or made him feel acceptable to God. Paul had high enough morals to keep him out of trouble, but he didn’t have enough righteousness to get him into heaven! It was not bad things that kept Paul away from Jesus – it was good things! Paul had to lose his “religion” to find salvation. In this passage of Scripture we’re studying today, Paul explains that there are only two kinds of righteousness: righteousness based on works and righteousness based on faith, and only faith righteousness is acceptable to God.

I. RIGHTEOUSNESS BASED ON WORKS (verses 1-6)

In verse 1 Paul says, “Finally my brethren”. It doesn’t mean that Paul is about to end his letter, because he keeps on going. The word “finally” means “for the rest” or “for what remains”. Paul is changing his topic. He has warned the believers at Philippi before, but now he warns them again. “Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision”. We have to go back to the beginning of the church to find out what Paul means. From the beginning, the gospel came “to the Jew first”. The first seven chapters of the book of Acts deal only with Jewish believers or Gentiles who had become Jewish converts. In Acts 8 the message went to the Samaritans, but this did not cause too much of a problem since the Samaritans were at least partly Jewish. But when Peter went to the Gentiles in Acts 10, this caused an uproar. Peter said that it was God who had directed him to preach to the Gentiles, and the problem seemed to be solved, but not for long. These strict Jewish believers told the apostle Paul that it was necessary for the Gentiles to obey the Jewish rules before they could be saved. They followed Paul wherever he went and tried to steal his converts and his churches. Paul uses three terms to describe them. He calls them “dogs” because they were following on Paul’s heels, viciously “barking” their false teachings. Secondly, Paul called them “evil workers” because these men taught that the sinner must be saved by doing the good works of the Law of Moses. Thirdly, Paul called them “the false circumcision” because they taught that circumcision was necessary for people to be saved. In contrast to these false Christians, Paul says in verse 3 that the true Christian is one who is directed by the Holy Spirit, boasts only in Jesus Christ, and puts no confidence in his sinful flesh.

In verses 4-6 Paul uses himself as an example. He was born into a pure Hebrew family, and was circumcised on the eighth day as required by Jewish law. He was descended from the tribe of Benjamin, the favorite and most faithful of all the tribes. Paul spoke the Hebrew language, and was a Pharisee, the strictest and most devout leaders of the Jewish nation. He was also a persecutor of the church, and was morally blameless. Paul had everything going for him.

II. RIGHTEOUSNESS BASED ON FAITH (verses 7-11)

But when Paul met Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road in Acts 9, Paul believed and became a child of God. After this happened, Paul lost some things, but he gained much more than he lost. He recounts this here in verses 7-11. What did Paul lose? Verse 7 says that he lost his reputation as a Jewish scholar and religious leader. He also lost his religious achievements and his Jewish friends.

But what did Paul gain? Verse 8 tells us that Paul gained a personal, intimate knowledge of Jesus Christ. Verse 9 tells us that Paul gained the righteousness of Christ. When Paul trusted in Jesus Christ as his Savior and Lord, God put Christ’s righteousness into Paul’s account, and Paul’s sins were placed in Christ’s account. His sins were paid for in full by the blood of Christ on the cross. In verses 10 and 11, Paul experienced the fellowship of Christ in His suffering, death, and resurrection. This was Paul’s desire, his goal, and a source of strength and joy.

Paul gained far more than he lost. The things he had lost were like garbage in comparison to gaining Christ. No wonder Paul had joy! His life did not depend on the cheap “things” of the world but on the eternal values found in Christ.

When God asks us to surrender something of temporal worth, He does so for the purpose of replacing it with a prize of eternal value. Are you willing to trust Him and obey Him? Is the Lord calling you to sacrifice something you treasure in order to give you something of lasting worth? People who live for “things” are never really happy because they must constantly protect their earthly treasures and worry about whether they will lose their value.

Can you say, along with the apostle Paul, that to have Christ, and know His resurrection power in your life, is your greatest joy? And can we agree that the things we left behind have become so unimportant that we consider them “but garbage”? Consider and reflect on these words written by the missionary Jim Elliot before he was killed because of his faith in Jesus Christ: “He is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose”.