A New Resolve
Sermon
Sermons on the Second Readings
Series III, Cycle C
Object:
"Stand firm in the Lord" (Philippians 4:1).
Last summer, my children rode a flight simulator. Basically, they strap you into a box in front of a screen and shake it upside down. It is supposed to feel more like flying an airplane than a Disney ride. They also had a camera on the people inside the simulator so that those waiting outside can see what was going on inside the cockpit. When my daughter had the controls, the plane was level, missed the trees, and landed smoothly. When my son took over the controls, the box spun with barrel rolls, shot straight up, and then dove nose first into a spectacular crash landing.
All fun and games but not to a real pilot. They spend hours in that little box not for amusement but to train themselves and to prepare for worst-case scenarios so that when lightning does hit or an engine goes out or a landing gear is stuck in real life, they will know what to do. Without that training and foundation, they would be lost.
Can you imagine going into battle without the foundation of basic training? Can you imagine going into a highly technical computer job without some basic training in computers? Can you imagine going through job loss, divorce, or death without the foundation of new hope?
The point is, you need some basic training, some foundation, before going into a cockpit, battle, or surgery. Paul uses that same logic when he talks about life. To introduce our lesson in Philippians 4:4-9, Paul begins in 4:1 with the imperative, "Stand firm in the Lord." The imagery that Paul is using with this phrase is that of a guard or a sentry who, with weapon in hand, stands firm. He is guarding something or someone. He makes sure that nothing will get through him, not on his watch.
Paul is telling us to do the same thing. Stand firm. Do not be caught off guard. As I look at 4:4-9, the word that comes to mind is "resolve." Stand firm with resolve. The time for the pilot to figure out how to land a plane with a blown engine is not mid-air. The time for a married couple to figure out how to fight fairly is not in the middle of the argument. The time for the young adult to figure out their sexuality is not in the moment of passion. Paul is saying that the time for the Christian to decide how to respond in crisis is not when you are overcome by pain, grief, and doubt. Resolve right now how you will act, respond, and speak while you are still in the simulator. To be sure, real life is far more intense and unpredictable than a simulator but start building that foundation now.
Paul knew what he wrote about. Remember, Paul wrote this letter while beaten and imprisoned in Rome, awaiting his execution. Yet he wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always" (v. 4). How can Paul write that? Because long before he was thrown into prison, Paul decided how he would respond. He resolved in his own mind how to stand firm, how to guard his heart and mind. And now he shares three very specific things for us to guard.
First, guard your relationship with God. Paul begins by writing, "Do not worry about anything" (v. 6). Isn't that crazy? That must be the most difficult command to obey. If someone were to come to me saying that he lost his job, was going through bankruptcy, his wife was leaving him, his children were strung out on drugs, and now he wants to end it all, could you imagine simply saying, "Don't worry about anything"? That would be crazy. So how does Paul get away with it? Because it is not an emotion that Paul is commanding. It's a relationship with God. When that breaks down, worry increases because most worry is not trusting God. Most worry is unnecessary and destructive. A recent study discovered that:
* 40% of our worries never happen,
* 30% of our worries concern the past,
* 12% of our worries are needless about health,
* 10% of our worries are insignificant and petty, and
* 8% of our worries are legitimate, appropriate worries.
Even Jesus said in Matthew 6 not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will have its own worries. Let the day's own worries be sufficient for the day. So there are some things to worry about but they are few. The rest is highly destructive and reveals a lack of trust in God.
What's the answer? One church sign read, "Why pray when you can worry and take tranquilizers?" Paul would disagree. He says, "Don't panic, pray. Be a person of prayer." "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (v. 6b).
Second, guard your thoughts. "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (v. 8). Guard your thoughts.
We become what we think. Did you know that? Proverbs 23:7 says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." I read one quote that put it well: "Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny." We become what we think. Therefore, Paul puts out eight filters for us to determine whether or not this guard, this sentry, is in our minds and hearts. Is it true, honorable, just, pure, and so on? Because there is a lot of stuff out there that is not.
We pay $10 a month for cable. Basic cable. It's not much, as my kids keep reminding me. I would like to get ESPN. I would like to get Discovery. But I can't get those two without letting in a whole lot of garbage into my house that's not true, just, pure, pleasing, and so on. We argue about what movies to see because I don't want some images to be in my children's hearts and minds. I'm concerned at some sleepovers that it will be different elsewhere. When we download iTunes, we check out the lyrics.
This has always been an issue. Nothing has changed. Polluting the mind must have been an issue in Philippi. It certainly was for Luther. He said, "You can't stop a bird from flying overhead but you can stop it from nesting in your hair."
The mind and heart will be filled with images and thoughts. Paul is saying if you want to stand firm and live with resolve before the crisis hits, then guard your thoughts. Ask yourself, "Is it true, pure, just, acceptable?"
Third, guard your examples. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Is that arrogant? A little bit earlier, Paul said, "Join in imitating me. Let me be your example." Is that conceited? I don't think so. I think it is mentoring. Christian mentoring. We all need examples.
When I'm confronted with a tough theological question, I think, "WWLD" "What would Luther do?" He would stand firm on justification by faith alone. When I'm confronted with a tough pastoral issue, I think, "WWCD" what would Charlie do? (Charlie was my first senior pastor who taught me about the ministry.) When I'm trying to figure out how to handle a delicate issue with another person, I think "WWGD" what would Gretchen do? (She's my wife who is a whole lot nicer than I am!) Surround yourselves with the best examples.
Paul is a mature Christian. He is writing to baby Christians. He has seen a lot more, experienced a lot more. He can say, "Learn from me, follow me, listen to me," not with arrogance but with some wisdom gained over the years. We can do the same.
My most successful counseling sessions happen when I get out of the way. When I talk with someone in the middle of crisis who needs advice, I say, "I want you to talk to so and so." I give them the name of a person in the church who has gone through the same ordeal and lived to tell about it. They have learned for their experience and can say what Paul said, "learn from me, follow me, listen to me," not out of arrogance but out of experience.
Paul says, "Guard those examples. Surround yourselves with those examples. Learn from those examples." And then, let's be bold. Go one step further. Be that example -- to others. Be that example. Because others are watching. It's been said that children learn what they live. Look up the poem "Children Learn What They Live" by Dorothy Law Nolte online.
Guard your relationship with God. Guard your thoughts. Guard your examples.
And then Paul makes a promise. If you do this, "the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds." You deliberately, consciously, faithfully guard relationships, those thoughts and those examples and you will find that God's peace will place a sentry inside of you and guard your heart and mind when crisis hits.
When will that be? Unfortunately, none of us knows. There are times, however, in which my mind wanders and I think -- how would I hold up if a September 11 attack hit my family? How would I hold up if a Hurricane Katrina hit my home? How would I hold up if that drunk driver took my wife? How would I hold up if it were my child in that hospital bed? I don't think any of us know for sure but this much is certain. There will come a day in which you will walk out of that simulator and into real life. That's not the time to figure it out. Paul's saying, "Now. Now is the time."
Guard your relationship with God. Guard those thoughts that enter in. Guard those examples so that when you leave this room, this simulator, and enter the real world, you can stand firm with a new resolve. Amen.
Last summer, my children rode a flight simulator. Basically, they strap you into a box in front of a screen and shake it upside down. It is supposed to feel more like flying an airplane than a Disney ride. They also had a camera on the people inside the simulator so that those waiting outside can see what was going on inside the cockpit. When my daughter had the controls, the plane was level, missed the trees, and landed smoothly. When my son took over the controls, the box spun with barrel rolls, shot straight up, and then dove nose first into a spectacular crash landing.
All fun and games but not to a real pilot. They spend hours in that little box not for amusement but to train themselves and to prepare for worst-case scenarios so that when lightning does hit or an engine goes out or a landing gear is stuck in real life, they will know what to do. Without that training and foundation, they would be lost.
Can you imagine going into battle without the foundation of basic training? Can you imagine going into a highly technical computer job without some basic training in computers? Can you imagine going through job loss, divorce, or death without the foundation of new hope?
The point is, you need some basic training, some foundation, before going into a cockpit, battle, or surgery. Paul uses that same logic when he talks about life. To introduce our lesson in Philippians 4:4-9, Paul begins in 4:1 with the imperative, "Stand firm in the Lord." The imagery that Paul is using with this phrase is that of a guard or a sentry who, with weapon in hand, stands firm. He is guarding something or someone. He makes sure that nothing will get through him, not on his watch.
Paul is telling us to do the same thing. Stand firm. Do not be caught off guard. As I look at 4:4-9, the word that comes to mind is "resolve." Stand firm with resolve. The time for the pilot to figure out how to land a plane with a blown engine is not mid-air. The time for a married couple to figure out how to fight fairly is not in the middle of the argument. The time for the young adult to figure out their sexuality is not in the moment of passion. Paul is saying that the time for the Christian to decide how to respond in crisis is not when you are overcome by pain, grief, and doubt. Resolve right now how you will act, respond, and speak while you are still in the simulator. To be sure, real life is far more intense and unpredictable than a simulator but start building that foundation now.
Paul knew what he wrote about. Remember, Paul wrote this letter while beaten and imprisoned in Rome, awaiting his execution. Yet he wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always" (v. 4). How can Paul write that? Because long before he was thrown into prison, Paul decided how he would respond. He resolved in his own mind how to stand firm, how to guard his heart and mind. And now he shares three very specific things for us to guard.
First, guard your relationship with God. Paul begins by writing, "Do not worry about anything" (v. 6). Isn't that crazy? That must be the most difficult command to obey. If someone were to come to me saying that he lost his job, was going through bankruptcy, his wife was leaving him, his children were strung out on drugs, and now he wants to end it all, could you imagine simply saying, "Don't worry about anything"? That would be crazy. So how does Paul get away with it? Because it is not an emotion that Paul is commanding. It's a relationship with God. When that breaks down, worry increases because most worry is not trusting God. Most worry is unnecessary and destructive. A recent study discovered that:
* 40% of our worries never happen,
* 30% of our worries concern the past,
* 12% of our worries are needless about health,
* 10% of our worries are insignificant and petty, and
* 8% of our worries are legitimate, appropriate worries.
Even Jesus said in Matthew 6 not to worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will have its own worries. Let the day's own worries be sufficient for the day. So there are some things to worry about but they are few. The rest is highly destructive and reveals a lack of trust in God.
What's the answer? One church sign read, "Why pray when you can worry and take tranquilizers?" Paul would disagree. He says, "Don't panic, pray. Be a person of prayer." "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (v. 6b).
Second, guard your thoughts. "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things" (v. 8). Guard your thoughts.
We become what we think. Did you know that? Proverbs 23:7 says, "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." I read one quote that put it well: "Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny." We become what we think. Therefore, Paul puts out eight filters for us to determine whether or not this guard, this sentry, is in our minds and hearts. Is it true, honorable, just, pure, and so on? Because there is a lot of stuff out there that is not.
We pay $10 a month for cable. Basic cable. It's not much, as my kids keep reminding me. I would like to get ESPN. I would like to get Discovery. But I can't get those two without letting in a whole lot of garbage into my house that's not true, just, pure, pleasing, and so on. We argue about what movies to see because I don't want some images to be in my children's hearts and minds. I'm concerned at some sleepovers that it will be different elsewhere. When we download iTunes, we check out the lyrics.
This has always been an issue. Nothing has changed. Polluting the mind must have been an issue in Philippi. It certainly was for Luther. He said, "You can't stop a bird from flying overhead but you can stop it from nesting in your hair."
The mind and heart will be filled with images and thoughts. Paul is saying if you want to stand firm and live with resolve before the crisis hits, then guard your thoughts. Ask yourself, "Is it true, pure, just, acceptable?"
Third, guard your examples. Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Is that arrogant? A little bit earlier, Paul said, "Join in imitating me. Let me be your example." Is that conceited? I don't think so. I think it is mentoring. Christian mentoring. We all need examples.
When I'm confronted with a tough theological question, I think, "WWLD" "What would Luther do?" He would stand firm on justification by faith alone. When I'm confronted with a tough pastoral issue, I think, "WWCD" what would Charlie do? (Charlie was my first senior pastor who taught me about the ministry.) When I'm trying to figure out how to handle a delicate issue with another person, I think "WWGD" what would Gretchen do? (She's my wife who is a whole lot nicer than I am!) Surround yourselves with the best examples.
Paul is a mature Christian. He is writing to baby Christians. He has seen a lot more, experienced a lot more. He can say, "Learn from me, follow me, listen to me," not with arrogance but with some wisdom gained over the years. We can do the same.
My most successful counseling sessions happen when I get out of the way. When I talk with someone in the middle of crisis who needs advice, I say, "I want you to talk to so and so." I give them the name of a person in the church who has gone through the same ordeal and lived to tell about it. They have learned for their experience and can say what Paul said, "learn from me, follow me, listen to me," not out of arrogance but out of experience.
Paul says, "Guard those examples. Surround yourselves with those examples. Learn from those examples." And then, let's be bold. Go one step further. Be that example -- to others. Be that example. Because others are watching. It's been said that children learn what they live. Look up the poem "Children Learn What They Live" by Dorothy Law Nolte online.
Guard your relationship with God. Guard your thoughts. Guard your examples.
And then Paul makes a promise. If you do this, "the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds." You deliberately, consciously, faithfully guard relationships, those thoughts and those examples and you will find that God's peace will place a sentry inside of you and guard your heart and mind when crisis hits.
When will that be? Unfortunately, none of us knows. There are times, however, in which my mind wanders and I think -- how would I hold up if a September 11 attack hit my family? How would I hold up if a Hurricane Katrina hit my home? How would I hold up if that drunk driver took my wife? How would I hold up if it were my child in that hospital bed? I don't think any of us know for sure but this much is certain. There will come a day in which you will walk out of that simulator and into real life. That's not the time to figure it out. Paul's saying, "Now. Now is the time."
Guard your relationship with God. Guard those thoughts that enter in. Guard those examples so that when you leave this room, this simulator, and enter the real world, you can stand firm with a new resolve. Amen.
