10 – I 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.
11 – I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.
12 – I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want.
13 – I can do everything through Him Who gives me strength.
14 – Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.
15 – Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only;
16 – for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need.
17 – Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account.
18 – I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, not that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
19 – And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.
20 – To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
21 – Greet all the saints in Christ Jesus. The brothers who are with me send greetings.
22 – All the saints send you greetings, especially those who belong to Caesar’s household.
23 – The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.
One of our favorite vacation spots as a family is Ocean Isle, North Carolina. Over the years we have tried to spend a week there each summer. And, while we are in Ocean Isle we of course spend a great deal of time at the beach. Each day we gather all the necessary gear-umbrella, folding chairs, towels, sun screen, etc.-and walk about a block to spend several hours on the shore, basking in the sun, swimming, reading novels, collecting sea shells…things like that. Well, toward the end of our stay we usually gather and pool our family talents in an attempt to build the world’s best sand castle. We decorate it with the shells we have collected and make realistic flags to fly from the battlements using sea weed and things like that. We build moats and draw bridges and try to make the walls look just like something out of the 12th century.
And…I don’t mind saying, we’ve made some pretty sharp looking castles over the years!
Now, as we build, one thing that is constantly on our minds is to how to make the castle last. So we always do our very best to make the castle impregnable to the onslaught of the sea. We built thick, high walls. We dig a deep trench around the castle to divert the water. We’ve even tried building an outer wall or two for added protection. But you know, no matter how hard we try; no matter what new sand castle building techniques we employ in construction each year; we always lose this struggle. There has never been a time when we have succeeded in keeping the ocean out. No matter how high the towers; no matter how big the trench we dig around the castle; no matter how many outer protective walls we erect. Eventually the ocean wins and our beautiful, mighty fortress crumbles. It a battle that we always inevitably lose.
And I think you can all empathize with us, not only because of your own similar coastal building experiences, but because all of us are constantly fighting and losing a battle-with aging. I mean we try to defeat this enemy that rolls in just as relentlessly as do those waves at the beach. But, as the opening words to a popular soap opera say, …as sand through the hour glass…so are the days of our lives. We can’t stop the physical effects of the ever ticking clock. We try to protect ourselves against age. We exercise. We take our vitamins. We try to eat right. But those are just stop gaps. Eventually we succumb to our overwhelming enemy. Our hair falls out. Wrinkles form around our eyes. Our energy fades. We can’t win because just like high tide, aging is inevitable. There is nothing we can to do keep this from happening. And Jesus affirmed this fact. Remember what He said in Matthew 6:25-31 ? Who of you by worrying can add one inch to your height…or subtract one day from your age?
In his book, Laugh Again, Charles Swindoll tells of one aging woman who wrote a friend a humorous description of her own aging and said:
Remember, old folks are worth a fortune-SILVER in their hair, GOLD in their teeth, STONES in their kidneys, LEAD in their feet, and GAS in their stomachs. I have become a little older since I saw you last, and a few changes have come into my life since then. Frankly, I have become quite a frivolous old gal. I am seeing five gentlemen every day. As soon as I wake up, Will Power helps me get out of bed. Then I go to see John. Then Charlie Horse comes along, and when he is here he takes a lot of my time and attention. When he leaves Arthur Ritus shows up and stays the rest of the day. He doesn’t like to stay in one place very long, so he takes me from joint to joint. After such a busy day I’m really tired and glad to go to bed with Ben Gay. What a life!
P. S. The preacher came to call the other day. He said at my age I should be thinking about the hereafter. I told him, ‘Oh, I do that all the time. No matter where I am-in the parlor, upstairs, in the kitchen, or down in the basement-I ask myself, what am I here after?’
Well, a good sense of humor does help but eventually we must accept the fact that there is nothing we can do to stop growing OLD. I heard a report done this week that says most of the old beliefs that we would eventually extend our life span well-beyond 100 years are just myths. Any recent increase in the average life-span of the human race has come because of improved care for babies.
Less of us die as infants these days which of course increases the average for all of us. But, most people live about 76 years and doctors say that probably won’t change.
Growing old IS an unavoidable fact but you know GROWING UP is not. Maturity is a matter of choice. It is a battle we CAN win. And God wants us to mature…or GROW UP. He mentions this repeatedly in His book.
In Ephesians 4:14-15 it says, We are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love we are to GROW UP in all aspects unto Him, Who is the head, even Christ.
In I Peter 2:1-2 it says, Therefore, putting aside all malice and all guile and hypocrisy and envy and slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the word, that by it you may GROW in respect to salvation.
Hebrews 5:14-6:1 says, …solid food is for the MATURE, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to MATURITY…
Now as you know, for the Christian, maturity is a process we never complete on this side of eternity. We’ve mentioned that repeatedly as we have studied this little letter from Paul. One fact about mature people is they are always changing, always moving toward greater maturity. I read this week that maturity is a …developed and discerning competence as to how to live appropriately and to CHANGE rightly. Now, there are several indicators as to whether or not an individual is maturing. For, example I would say that we know maturity is present when balance replaces extremes or when good choices replace bad ones. Swindoll suggests several other characteristics of a maturing Christian. He says we are maturing…
- when our concern for others outweighs our concern for ourselves.
- when we detect the presence of evil or danger before it is obvious.
- when we have wisdom and understanding as well as knowledge.
- when our awareness of needs is matched by our compassion and involvement.
- when we have the willingness to change, once we are convinced that correction is in order.
- when we have the ability to grow spiritually by an independent intake of God’s Word.
One person summarized it in these words: Maturity is the ability to do a job whether you are supervised or not; finish a job once it’s started; carry money without spending it. And last, but not least, the ability to bear an injustice without wanting to get even.
We could go on and on but I think the best way to understand maturity is by example-by seeing maturity in the life of a mature person. Now, I’m sure you would agree that the Apostle Paul is himself a great example of a maturing disciple for in his life he displays many of the previous characteristics of maturity. And in our text for this morning Paul shows some other key qualities that we should embrace if we want to win the battle to GROW UP or mature spiritually.
1. First of all Paul shows his maturity with his practice of affirming others.
Look at verse 10 and you’ll see that he affirmed the Philippians for their thoughtfulness in sending a monetary gift with Epaphroditus to meet his needs. And in verses 15-17 he affirms them for doing this in the past, when he was in Thessalonica. Now, the generosity of the Philippian church to Paul went back a long way. Paul of course founded the church in Philippi and from there he went to Thessalonica to start a work there. Since Thessalonica was near Philippi the Philippian Christians sent messengers to find out how Paul was doing. Word came back that Paul was in financial need so they took a collection and sent it to him. Later when they had heard that the need continued they did the same thing again-this time they also sent helpers to assist Paul. From Thessalonica Paul’s mission work took him south to Berea and then on to Athens. While in Athens his companions from Philippi went back home but sent on Silas and Timothy whom Paul had left there. They caught up to him in Corinth where, according to II Corinthians 11:9, the Philippians must have heard again that Paul was in need for they sent him additional funds.
Eventually the Christians at Philippi lost track of Paul since he was constantly on the move and communications back then were uncertain and slow. This is what Paul meant in verse 10 when he said, You were concerned for me but lacked opportunity… While on his third missionary journey Paul was imprisoned in Rome. Many years had passed since he had founded the church in Philippi but their mutual love was still strong. News eventually reached Philippi as to Paul’s location. They learned that he was in prison and in need of everything. He couldn’t work as a tent maker to earn his own living. He didn’t even have clothes warm enough for the long damp winter months in Rome. Well, immediately the Philippians began to collect funds and they sent them to Rome as quickly as possible by way of Epaphroditus. And so here in his letter Paul affirmed them for their continual thoughtfulness and sacrifice. He told them their act was a fragrant offering…an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
But…I want you to note that Paul did much more than thank them for what they had DONE. He affirmed them for WHO they were. And that IS a mark of maturity….this ability to affirm, not just appreciate. You see, as important as appreciation for a job well done may be, it is incomplete. People are not mere tools appointed to accomplish a set of tasks; we are not human DOINGS, but human BEINGS with souls and feelings. We have an inner need to be affirmed for who we are for those unseen, hidden qualities that make us unique individuals of worth and dignity. And the best-most mature-people like Paul know this so they appreciate AND affirm.
Last week I told my Wednesday night Bible study the story of Fred Craddock, famed pastor, teacher, and author, who once wrote of a time in his life when he and his family went to Gatlinburg, Tennessee for a vacation. One night they went to a restaurant that looks out over the Smoky Mountains, and as they were dining, a distinguished looking, older man who seemed to be the proprietor, moved from table to table speaking to the guests. Craddock acknowledged that he himself was a rather private person and particularly on vacation didn’t want to be interfered with.
So he looked at his wife and commented, I hope he doesn’t come over here. And he was somewhat resentful as the old man finally made his way to their table and began to talk to them.
Where are you all from? the old man asked. Craddock answered, Oklahoma. Then the man asked, What do you do for a living? Trying to hid the fact that he was a minister, Craddock replied, I teach homiletics in the graduate seminary of Philippis University. Oh, so you are a preacher! the old man replied. I have a preacher story to tell you. And with that, he pulled up a chair, and Craddock winced at what was to come.
The old man said, I was born just a few miles from here, across that mountain. My mother was not married at the time….and the reproach that fell on her fell on me as well. They had a name for me when I started to school, and it wasn’t nice. I can remember going off by myself at recess and at lunchtime, because the taunts of my peers cut so deep. What was even worse was to go to town with my mother on Saturday and feel all those eyes literally piercing thru me, and realize they were asking, ‘Whose child is he?’ ‘I wonder who his father is?’ When I was about twelve, a new preacher came to the little church in our community and people began to talk about his power and his eloquence. I began to go myself and was intrigued by him, although I always slipped in late and tried to get out early because I was afraid that people would say, ‘What’s a boy like you doing in a place like this?’
Well one Sunday, the benediction got said quicker than I realized, and I found myself caught with a lot of people crowding around. Before I knew it, there stood the preacher, looking at me with those BURNING EYES of his. He said: ‘Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’ And I thought to myself, ‘Oh, no….here we go again!’ But then a smile of recognition broke across the preacher’s face and he said, ‘Wait a minute….I know who you are! I see the resemblance! You are a son of God!’ And with that he patted me across the back and said, ‘Boy, you’ve got quite an inheritance! Go and claim it!’ The words of that one statement, said the old man, literally changed my life.
By this time Craddock was utterly enthralled and asked: Who are you? The old man replied, I’m Ben Hooper. Then Craddock said to himself: Ben Hooper! Oh yes! I remember how my grandfather used to tell me that on two occasions, the people of Tennessee elected an illegitimate man to be their governor, and his name was BEN HOOPER. And it all started when a mature man of God affirmed a small boy by saying: I know who you are. I see the resemblance. You are a son of God! You’ve got quite an inheritance! Go and claim it!
Have you ever been affirmed like that? Has anyone ever made you feel proud simply because you were God’s precious creation…worth more than the life of His own Son….gifted and called to His purposes? I have, and it feels wonderful. This practice of affirming others in this way is one sign of maturity and it is a quality that all Christians, young and old should embrace. For, as Hebrews 10:24-25 says we should all: …consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. We must, …encourage one another-and all the more as we see the Day approaching. Mature people see the need to build others up…to cheer them on…not just for what they do but for who they are.
2. And then…another quality of maturity found in the life of Paul was his ability to be content in all situations of life.
Look at verse 11 where Paul writes… Not that I speak from want; for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. To Paul it made no difference whether he was freed or bound to a soldier, whether the day was hot and humid or bleak and frigid, whether the Philippians sent a gift or failed to make contact.
You know, some people are thermometers in that they merely REGISTER what is around them. If the situation is tight and pressurized, they register tension and irritability. If it’s stormy, they register worry and fear. If it’s calm, quiet, and comfortable, they register relaxation and peacefulness. Others however, are thermostats. They REGULATE the atmosphere. They are the mature change-agents who never let the situation dictate to them. And Paul was a thermostat kind of guy. He was content regardless of his situation.
A. Now…one thing Paul would tell us is that this contentment is an INTERNAL disposition. In other words, we don’t really need anything outside of ourselves to be happy. We don’t need money or possessions to be joyful. No, true contentment comes from within. Now I think most of us believe that. We just don’t live like we do for we live in such a discontented age. Statisticians tell us that Americans move on the average, every three years, and divorce every 7.
We change our jobs, our homes, our relationships, but we’re still not satisfied. John Rosemond is a family psychologist who wrote several years ago about the epidemic of discontented boredom in our culture among suburban affluent children. As part of his study he found that on average the typical American five year old owns 250 toys. Now, think about it, a five-year-old has only lived for 260 weeks. That’s almost one toy per week. No wonder they’re bored! I mean, adults, have your life experience taught you that contentment comes from having more toys or going to more movies or eating out more or from getting way more weekends or from enlarging your wardrobe? No of course not. The pleasure that comes from accumulating things is always temporary at best. Like a drug it satisfies for a short while but the more we get, the less satisfying it is. This is because true contentment is not an external thing. No, it comes from within.
B. A second thing Paul would tell us about contentment is that it is a learned disposition.
In other words, we’re not born contented nor do we gravitate instinctively toward contentment. This is a virtue that is learned and developed. This reminds me of the testimonies of men who were prisoners of war during the Vietnam War and survived the horrors of Hanoi. These brave men said things like, We learned after a few hours what it took to survive and we just adapted to that. They didn’t whine or complain because they had been captured. They didn’t eat their hearts out because the conditions were miserable and the food was deplorable. No, they chose to adapt. Contentment is a learned disposition.
Now, let’s be sure we understand each other here. There are some things about which we should never be content. We are not to be content with the needs of those around us. We are to be concerned and discontented with those needs, so that we do all we can to meet them. We are not to be content to see people die and go to hell. We are not to be content with our own imperfections…those sins in our lives that continually draw us away from God. There ought to always be a tension-a discontent that comes from looking at who we are and who God wants us to be. If we let Christ live in us…we will always be DISCONTENT with things like this.
Well, how could Paul adapt and endure? What was it that relieved the tension and allowed him to be so relaxed within? It was the fact that he was convinced-he had learned-that Christ was in the midst of his every day, pouring His power into him. He had learned that as he said in verse 19, God would supply all of his needs. And when we believe that, anything is bearable…nothing is out of control. This leads to the third characteristic of a maturing Christian.
3. You see, like Paul, mature individuals have learned to have confidence in God’s power.
And Paul very clearly demonstrated this quality in verse 13…one of the most quoted texts in all of Scripture…where he says, I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. Now, there were people in Paul’s culture who like him had learned to be content. We refer to them as the Stoics. They trained themselves to be self-sufficient. And, to a degree, Paul shared their emphasis on contentment, but with a twist. You see, for Paul it wasn’t self-sufficiency but Christ Sufficiency. The stoic’s sufficiency/contentment came from their own inner strength. Paul’s came from outside, from being a man IN Christ on whom he was totally dependent and thus not independent at all in the Stoic sense.
You see there are two ways to handle pressure. One is illustrated by the bathysphere, which is a miniature submarine. It is used to explore the ocean in places so deep that the water pressure would crush a regular sub like a tin can. Bathyspheres compensate for the pressure with a steel hull that is several inches thick. They are small and cramped. When scientists in bathyspheres reach the ocean floor, however, they find they are not alone. When the outside lights are turned on and they look out the thick windows, they see fish. These fish cope with extreme pressure in an entirely different way. They don’t build thick skins; instead they remain elastic and free. They compensate for the pressure outside through equal and opposite pressure inside themselves. You see maturing Christians aren’t hard, thick-skinned stoics. They are moved by the needs around them. They care about what happens to themselves or others. But, they have learned to rely on God’s power within to enable them to withstand the pressure from without. As Paul said, It is Christ IN you the hope of glory.
You know we tend to say, I am okay…UNDER the circumstances. But circumstances were never meant to be something Christians get UNDER. With Christ’s indwelling power we can be ABOVE the circumstances of life. This word translated strengthens is also a rare word in the Greek but it is one that Paul used quite often. In I Timothy 1:12 he said, I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, Who has STRENGTHENED me. In II Timothy 4:17 he said, But the Lord stood with me, and STRENGTHENED me. In Ephesians 6:10 he said, Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the STRENGTH of His might. The word means to infuse strength or to put power into. This strength, then, was not something that Paul conjured up from within. No it was a power that was infused into his life. Paul’s statement in verse 13 was not an expression of self-confidence but rather God-confidence.
Several years ago a visitor to the World’s Fair noticed a man, dressed in a brilliant gold suit, standing beside a hand pump. His arm was moving up and down and the water was gushing out of the pump. As he observed from a distance, the visitor said, That man is really pumping that water. However, when he moved closer he discovered this was not a man but a dummy whose arm was tied to the arm of the pump which was being operated by electricity. He then realized that the man was not pumping the water. The water was pumping him. And that is the way it is with the Christian. People see us from a distance and exclaim, That man really has power for God. However, when they come closer and really get to know us they realize we are not pumping out this power of God. Instead, it is pumping us. Paul relied on this power source so he declared, I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. If you have ever allowed God to fill you with His power so that you could have the strength to do truly God-sized tasks, then you know there is no greater thrill in life!
So, we see Paul’s maturity in the way he affirmed the Philippians for who they were and in his ability to be content regardless of external circumstances. We also see it in the fact that he relied on God’s power and not his own. Paul was indeed a mature individual. But you know, in this text we can see another quality of maturity in the Philippians themselves….
4. …for mature believers give as they did…sacrificially to meet the needs of others.
The Philippians gave even when they couldn’t afford to give because they had discovered that giving sacrificially enriches the giver. In verse 17 Paul pointed to this principle when he exclaimed, Not that I seek the gift itself, but I seek for the profit which increases to your account. Paul and his Philippian friends had experienced first hand the truth of Jesus’ words when He said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:35 )
Maxey Jarman of Nashville, Tennessee, who died at the age of seventy-six, was an internationally known Christian businessman. He took a company from seventy-five employees to 75,000 employees. His company, GENESCO, in the late 1960’s was the world’s largest apparel company. During his heyday, Maxey Jarman gave away millions. He built churches around the world and gave generously to all kinds of Christian causes. Then, he experienced financial reverses. He lost his company and most of his personal fortune. During the darkest days of his financial crunch, he was asked by a personal friend if he ever thought of the millions he had given away over the years. Jarman answered, Of Course I have. But remember, I didn’t lose a penny I gave away. I only lost what I kept. That is the paradox of Christian discipleship. What we give, we keep. What we let go of we hold on onto. When we are willing to empty ourselves we become full. You see no gift that we make to God ever leaves us poorer for it makes available to us the gifts and the riches of God. The act of giving forces us to trust God. It deepens our relationship with Him so we are blest in the act. Paul knew that the Philippians’ giving to him materially would open them up to God’s giving to them spiritually. And, we need to mature like this for we will not have the joy that God wants us to have until we have learned to give like that.
This morning we have completed a lengthy study of the book of Philippians. I hope you have benefitted as much from hearing these messages as I have from preparing them. The main thing I have learned is that this is a letter of joy, a message we desperately need to hear in today’s often joyless world. In chapter 1 you may remember that Paul spoke of the JOY OF LIVING saying, For me to live is Christ! In our study of these verses we learned that as long as Christ is central in our lives nothing can steal the joy He brings. In chapter 2 of Philippians Paul speaks of the JOY OF SERVING others and we talked about the pleasure that comes from following Christ’s example of humility. In chapter 3 Paul writes about the JOY OF SUBMITTING everything to Jesus’ Lordship…saying that in comparison to the righteousness we find in Christ our earthly accomplishments are worthless. And then, in the last part of chapter 4 Paul speaks of the JOY OF MATURING…he talks about the pleasure that is to be found in growing spiritually.
It is my desire and constant prayer that all of us who make up this church would commit to embracing each of these aspects of JOY. I want our church to continue to be a place in which the JOY of the Lord is lived out.
This morning you may feel God leading you to be a part of this church…to join us…pooling your spiritual gifts with ours as we seek to share this JOY with our community and world. Or you may see the need for you to recommit yourself to maturing in your walk with Christ…following Christ more closely so you will reflect His joy in all you do. And, if you are hear today and are not a Christian I hope you see your need to embrace Christ as Savior and Lord. Hebrews 12:2 says that dying in your place brought Him joy.
He loves you that much! He wants to be the center of your life! You were designed for that relationship. We invite you to make this or any decision public by walking the aisle now as we stand and sing.