The Apostle Paul, a little background—he's in prison. At some point, he realizes he's probably going to be put to death. When you read his resume of catastrophe, it's pretty impressive: shipwrecks, bitten by a snake, whipped, beaten, left for dead, threatened constantly. And yet, in the midst of all this, he writes to the Philippian church and he says, "Rejoice in the Lord always." So, what does it mean to rejoice? It's more than just being happy. Rejoice is a joy that is uncontainable. It's a celebration of what is there to celebrate: God's faithfulness. When the world is crazy, when everything else doesn't make sense, God remains constant.
Paul wants to emphasize this a little more, so he says again, "I say rejoice." What we find in the ancient language is that when something is said twice, it's meant for emphasis. "Hey, in case you didn't get it the first time, rejoice in the Lord always." Now, here's what's key with this: life isn't always easy, but we still rejoice. Paul is in prison, he's chained to a guard, what we know historically is his vision was probably failing, and yet he's telling us, "Rejoice."
So, I don't know about you, but I tend to be a bit of a devil's advocate. "Yeah, it's nice for you to say, Paul, but how do I do that?" Paul, you weren't writing this in 2020. "Again I say, rejoice." Notice what else he says here. "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone." Now, who here has Facebook? Oh, you can admit it; it's a safe place. You won't burn for it. Have you seen a lot of reasonableness on your Facebook this year? Oh, my goodness. I would love to get rid of my Facebook. Unfortunately, I'm an internet marketing consultant, so I try to stay away from it. It drives me batty. Nobody is reasonable. In fact, I was reading today—not to get too far off topic—the same organization is telling us, "Hey, flu is not occurring today because everyone's wearing their mask and social distancing." And yet, the same organization is saying, "COVID numbers are up because nobody's wearing their mask and social distancing." Okay, let's be reasonable. Which one is it?
We are being bombarded right now from messages coming from all different angles, and what so many of us are yearning for is reasonableness, or to be able to have a differing opinion without you becoming my enemy. And that's what Paul is saying here. "Let your reasonableness, or your gentleness, be known to everyone." I don't have to agree with you, but that doesn't make you my enemy. I don't have to prove myself right in every argument. I don't have to be a keyboard warrior because the opportunity presents itself. "Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand."
This is key. "The Lord is at hand." Now, there are a couple of interpretations of this. Most scholars believe that what Paul was saying here is that Jesus is returning soon. But I want to take that a step further. I think that to "rejoice in the Lord always," I have to realize that Jesus is within reach. He's right there. I can always access Him at any moment. He is always available to me, and because He's always available to me, this second part makes a lot of sense: "Do not be anxious about anything."
I marvel sometimes in my own life, and maybe you do as well. I know Jesus has it all under control, and yet I still become a basket case over the simplest of things. What do you get anxious about? What's kept you up at night? What's bothering you even today? "Do not be anxious about anything, including toilet paper. God will provide."
Let me tell you a little side story about toilet paper. I love telling this story. If you come into our house, on our mantel, there's a verse that talks about God's faithfulness. It's got a picture of toilet paper and toothpaste, and it's there for a reason. Because people come in and go, "Why would you put a picture of toilet paper and toothpaste on your mantel?" Well, what a lot of people don't realize about my family is we started a church 10 years ago, and 10 years ago today, we were homeless. And so, as we headed into that period, there was a day where there was no toilet paper or toothpaste in the house. So, we had a family prayer meeting in our living room, asking God to provide toilet paper and toothpaste. And within two hours, there was a knock at the door, and it was a friend of mine with a box. "We just cleaned out my mom and dad's refrigerator. Here's a few extra things: toothpaste, toilet paper, groceries, and 20 bucks to buy dinner for tonight." So, when I talk about I know God's faithful with toilet paper, how can I say this gently? I haven't missed a session. It's always been there. God has been faithful.
Let's keep going here. "Be anxious about nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." This is key. If we begin with thanksgiving, if we bathe our prayer life in thankfulness, what we find is the things we ask for tend to diminish in severity because we start to realize just how faithful God is. "God, today I really need toilet paper and toothpaste, but you know what? I've seen you provide all my life, and so I'm not worried whether the toilet paper and toothpaste are going to show up, but I want to walk with you through this experience. I want to learn what it is you have for me in this moment."
As you keep going here, he says, "Let your requests be made known to God." Sometimes we just save the big stuff for God, but what God's really after is, "Why don't you bring me into every conversation? Let's talk about the small things. Let's talk about those little things that grind on you. They're maybe not life-changing, but they're important to you. Let's talk about them."
Verse 7: "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I love this terminology: the peace of God that surpasses all understanding. This year, I've watched some families mourn, and I'm always fascinated. The families where Christ is the center and the families where Christ is not the center—there's a difference in how they mourn. There is a peace that surpasses all understanding in their mourning. In fact, many times their mourning is really a celebration in the midst of grief. It's only possible because God is guarding their hearts and their minds.
And I love this idea of guarding because guarding serves two purposes: it's to keep the enemy out, and it's to keep the troops in. Jesus said, "I've come to give you life more abundantly." So, He guards that. The devil seeks to kill and destroy, and Christ guards against them. When we understand that He is guarding our thoughts, He's guarding our heart, we can approach difficult years much differently.
Part of the reason I chose this passage today is, I don't know what 2021 is going to look like. I'm hoping for the best, but I'm seeing things that concern me, and I'm sure many of you are the same way. Whether we like it or not, we're seeing things locked down again. We listen to what's happening in the UK. There's a new strain, new things to worry about. And if we don't get this right, we'll lose our peace, we'll lose our joy, and we'll find it difficult to carry on. The truth is, even here in Wichita, the statistics are alarming. Suicides were up 70% this year. People are struggling. People are fragile. My communication with our staff every week is, "People are struggling. Be sensitive. Have grace. Be patient." People are struggling, and that may describe where you're at.
But Paul gives us an antidote, and this is what's so great about this passage because, again, my question to Paul is, "Paul, how do I rejoice in the Lord always? Things are going crazy." And he gives us a principle here, starting in verse 8. "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
So, the principle that I want to give you is this: What you focus on expands. Here's what I mean by that. When you make your mind aware of a certain situation or a certain topic, subconsciously, your mind will begin to look for more of those things. Let me explain this to you. I get up in the morning, and I go, "Man, my back hurts." And all of a sudden, I realize, so does my leg, and my knee, and my neck is stiff. See where we go with that?
Scott used this illustration the other day: You buy a red pickup truck, all of a sudden, the road is full of red pickup trucks. They were always there, but you were not aware. You were not looking for those things, but once you engage that process, it's going to continue on, good or bad. Now, that's the beautiful thing. We can program going the opposite direction, and that's what Paul is giving us here. He's saying, "Listen, start focusing on the right things."
He begins with, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true." Well, today, it's kind of hard to tell what's true in this world because you can post something on Facebook, and an independent fact-checker may tell you that's not true. Or bless your sweet aunt's heart; she sends you this alarming message, and you go to Snopes, and you find out, "Hey, that's not true." Or we have to recant news stories. It's not easy to figure out the truth today. So, what we have to start looking for is, "What do I know is true?" And if I remember, "The Lord is at hand," I start to find a lot of truth I can anchor into.
"Jesus died for me. That's true. He rose from the grave. That's true." I can move it in a little closer. "Been married to my wife almost 32 years. She's still here. That's true. Slept in bed last night. That's true. Had some coffee this morning. That was true. Still have work to do. That's true." And as I start to look for truth, I'm going to find more truth.
Let me take this analogy a little further. So, I teach a conference called the Total Transformation Summit, and when I do this, Kenya is my favorite place to do it because I have a lot of fun with the Kenyans. One of the things that I always ask my audience is, "What do you want more of in your life?" And then I give them a biblical perspective on what's God's plan for that, using this passage.
So, one of the things that invariably comes up because it's a lot of business people is, "I want more money." Great. So, I send them off to lunch, and one of the things that I will do is I'll walk through the auditorium, and I'll start putting Kenyan shillings all over the room—on the floor, in chairs, under chairs, on steps. Invariably, you'll see them all come back, cell phone up to their ear, and they will walk past hundreds, sometimes thousands of shillings that I've put all around the room.
And so, when they get done with lunch, I say, "Okay, let's back up for a minute. Who here wanted more money this year?" Oh, all of them. "Well, did you see? You just walked past 100 shillings here, a thousand over here. You're not serious about it. You're not looking for it."
Here's why I'm saying this. Sometimes, we say, "I want more joy in my life. I want more peace in my life." But we're not looking for it. We're so focused on the garbage that we miss God's blessings. And so, he says, "Focus on what is true."
And so, I want you to think for a minute. What is true in your life this morning? And if you're struggling with it, it may be as simple as, "My feet are on the floor. Start there, and build from there, and let your focus expand."
Second thing that he says, "Whatever is honorable." So, what have you seen that's honorable this year? What is it that you've watched that's pretty honorable? And maybe something as simple as somebody holding a door for you. But what's honorable? What can you build on? I always like to look at it from Paul's perspective. Here he is in jail, writing this. What might be honorable? Maybe he's just watching the changing of the guard. The younger officer gives honor to the older officer, but he builds on that. What is honorable to you? What is the thing you can focus on and let it enlarge within your mind and in your hearts?
"Whatever's just." What is the just thing that you've seen this year? What is the just thing that you need to focus on at the moment? How do you bring more justice into the circumstances that are around you? And to me, when we look at some of these things, if I can't find it, then the question becomes, "What do I do to bring it into the environment?"
Right now, our country, let's be honest, is in a tug of war. There's a lot of things going on that aren't honorable, that aren't just, that aren't fair. How do I, as a follower of Christ, bring more of that into my environment? How do I bring more of that into my relationships? How do I teach that to my children and my grandchildren?
"Whatever's pure." That's why I asked, "How about new babies?" New babies are pure. Then they grow up and become teenagers, and the whole thing washes out, but they start out really pure. I can focus on that. I can focus on that purity. We live in a world right now where so many of us, we've been corrupted. Sometimes we drag that guilt around. Yeah, purity went out the door a long time ago. That's the beautiful thing with Jesus. There's always a fresh start. The God of second chances.
I told you about some marriages that have been restored this year. Remember our core things here: restore, rebuild, release. Jesus can restore. He can bring purity back into circumstances where there is no purity. He can make things new once again.
"Whatever is lovely." Who all got to watch the sunrise this morning? Anybody? I drove in this morning to the church. The sun was popping through the clouds. One thing we're very blessed with here in Kansas is we get beautiful sunrises and sunsets. Most of the time, we're so preoccupied driving to and from somewhere, we don't pay attention to them. Shame on us. What you focus on expands. What is lovely for you today? Maybe it's a bouquet of flowers. Maybe it's the sunrise or the sunset. Maybe it's somebody you love. What's lovely for you today?
The Bible tells us, "How lovely are the feet of those who bring good news." Every time we share the gospel, that's lovely. Something we can focus on.
Let's keep going here. "If there's whatever is commendable." Let's talk about commendable. What we love to do is catch people doing wrong. What we look for is what's correctable. But Scripture's telling us, "Look for what's right." It's a management principle you hear in business: Catch your people doing the right things and say something. Don't just wait till they mess up. Look for what's commendable.
Now, sometimes that's not easy, especially if you've got teenagers living at home who are going through that very selfish, eye-rolling phase. Sometimes you have to look hard for what's commendable, but look for it anyway. And let me even preface that. It doesn't stop at high school. When they show back up at your house in college, it's similar. Look for what's commendable. What can I compliment you on? What can I admonish you in and build you up in? What's commendable?
"If there's any excellence." I want you to think about the excellence around you. What are things that are excellent? Maybe it's a well-cooked meal. Maybe it's something that somebody builds that's built well. What is excellent? Maybe it's just excellent service. What can I focus on that's excellent? I always laugh with Paul here. Paul probably focused on there was one meal that the jail cook made that he really liked. Macaroni and cheese night was probably his favorite because the cook did that with excellence. Even in the worst of situations, we can find excellence if we look hard enough.
Let's keep going here. "If there's anything worthy of praise, there's lots of things to be praising for." And if I—if I'm running out of things, I, Carl, life's just crazy. Great. Start with Jesus. "You took on the form of a human being. You were in a manger. You died on a cross. You went to death. You rose from the grave. Praise you." That's the place to start. That's the great thing here. Paul reminds us early on, "The Lord's at hand." If you're running out of things, if you can't think of anything, remember, Jesus is right here. Start with Him and build from there.
Here's what happens when we take this to heart. We begin to see the world differently, and we begin to operate differently. Can I just speak to the family here for a minute? One of the biggest disappointments is when we as Christians are the loudest complainers to the world around us. Remember, "Let your reasonableness be known." How different would people look at us if we just be a little more reasonable in what we had to say?
This is Paul's admonition because what you focus on expands. If I start with complaints, the complaint is going to grow. I'm going to find more things to complain about. But if I find these good things, these good qualities, I'm going to find more of those qualities as I look.
Notice what Paul says. "What you've learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you." So, how do you rejoice in the Lord always? How do you rejoice in all circumstances? It's not enough to know this. You have to put it into practice. You have to take control of your thoughts. Scripture tells us to take every thought captive. Realize when you are focused on the wrong things and shift your point of focus.
What Paul is laying out here is absolutely life-changing if we'll apply it. Most of us just don't want to apply it. It's easier to go down the path of negativity. It's easier to go down the path of complaint. It's easier to give up because circumstances seem out of control.
My question for you, Church, is, we don't know what 2021 looks like, but where's your focus going to be? What are you going to let expand? Are you going to get mad over things that you really can't control anyway? Are you going to be a difference-maker? Are you going to change your perspective?
My favorite t-shirt that my family bought me a few years ago says "Perspective," but it's backwards. The only time it reads correctly is if you're looking in the mirror. But the reason they bought that for me is because I'm notorious for telling my family when they start complaining about things, "Well, that all depends on your perspective." Because if I look at the world through this lens, this is how I see it. Sometimes we have to shift our perspective, and that's what Paul's admonishing us to do.
Don't look through the world's lens. Don't look through a fleshly lens, but look through the lens of Christ, and watch how things change. Back to the principle: What you focus on expands. If you're looking for problems, you're going to find more problems. If you're looking for Jesus, you're going to find more of Jesus. If you look for these qualities, you're going to see more of those things.
Sometimes we have to slow down enough to pay attention. We're always in a hurry, always got an agenda, somewhere to be. We have to learn to slow down. I had a business owner friend of mine asking me on Wednesday, "Why do you take retreats every year?" So, because I have to force myself to slow down, and I was honest with him, I said, "It'll take me probably eight hours to get my mind to totally shut down to where I can really start to think clearly." That's why I take four days. It takes that long just to unravel the noise. I take a notebook with me every year, and I start to write down what is God saying to me in the moment because I know it's going to get noisy again when I leave, and I need to go back, and I need to see, "What's the instructions for this year? What's God trying to say to me in the moment?"
I want to encourage you, if it's getting a little too noisy in your head, disengage for a day, half a day, two hours, an hour, do what you have to do. My admonition to our staff this week was that very thing. This year, more than ever, I want you to get some headspace built into your schedule because you're carrying a heavy load. Our counseling load has gone through the roof this year as most of you have dealt with people who are just sharing their problems and their concerns with you, but on top of your own concerns and burdens, that weight gets heavy. If you don't break away, so you can focus on the right things, it'll sink your boat.
So, today's a very practical message, as much as it's a very spiritual message. Do what you have to do to stay healthy in Christ. Don't let the enemy rob your joy. Don't let the confusion around you sink your ship. He's got a bigger plan, but you have to trust in Him. The Lord is at hand.
