THE PASTOR’S POINTS
Bible-Teaching Ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
Dr. Russell Brownworth, Pastor
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As she opened her Christmas present, the wife saw he’d given her a beautiful skunk-skin coat. She exclaimed, "Oh, it’s beautiful, but I just don’t understand how this nice coat can come from such a foul-smelling little beast." Said her spouse, "Listen, I don’t expect any thank-you’s, but lay off the personal remarks, okay?"
Paul knew how to say thank you! In this short passage we find him unveiling the principle of finding contentment in any circumstance. He says, "...for I have learned to be content, whatever the circumstances" (11b).
That’s plain! That also describes the only framework for joy that is lasting and worthwhile.
I believe too many Christians have given up the idea that joy is for THIS LIFETIME. In a rather fatalistic approach to life, some have decided that we will only know real joy in heaven -- we’ll just have to wait. There is a Greek word that expresses that philosophy, baloney!
Joy is like the name of the candy my daughter buys occasionally, "Now & Later". There is no reason on earth why there shouldn’t be joy. Paul thought so; we should. Paul lived so; we should. Maybe you’ve lost some of that joy; you shouldn’t! I invite you to see Paul’s positive steps to reclaiming the joy...
Step One - Renew Your Thought Life
Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things. Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
What we think is vitally important. Chuck Swindoll wrote:
"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past -- we cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude -- I am convinced that life is ten percent what happens to me and ninety percent how I react to it."
It is critically important for believers to reclaim our thought life. Today we are assaulted with audio and visual pollution. It’s hard to watch ten minutes of television without some attack on Christian values.
Paul says CHOOSE HIGHER!
Paul gives us a "shopping list" of values that helps us renew our thought life:
TRUTH
Situation ethics has become the norm in our society. In a recent survey only 23% of evangelical Christians expressed a strong belief in absolute truth. This was in response to the statement,
"There is no such thing as absolute truth; different
people can define truth in conflicting ways and
still be correct."
Wow! When believers have no framework for truth something needs to be reclaimed. The reality of the survey indicates that even a large segment of evangelical Christians has bought the concept of situation ethics, rather than accepting by faith the Scripture as absolute truth.
The impact of this is a society that makes allowance for every aberration that comes along, rather than a society that corrects. Our aberrations will not set us free, but truth will. Truth has a name -- we call Him Jesus.
NOBLE
What exactly is "noble"? The language of the Bible suggests that this is connected with the same root word as "holy". This means we are moving away from the physical and into the spiritual.
RIGHT
This word should be no stranger, as it captures what we would call "the American work-ethic". It generally refers to the sense of duty. There is a job to be done -- do it!
PURE
Paul returns to the root word for "holy" again. Slightly different, this refers to moral purity. A believer should concentrate on keeping his thoughts scrubbed-down. I do own a television -- I have determined that my eyes and ears, mind and heart will not profit by most of what is offered by today’s media, which seems to believe that "alley-cat" morality is preferable than moral integrity and sexual fidelity. In the end, it is difficult to "think on" pure themes if you are constantly filling your "thought-tank" with sludge.
LOVELY
I like this word a lot! It is a compound of two words that form an English phrase: "to kiss towards". One author said, "Lovely is found only here in the New Testament and has a fundamental meaning of ’that which calls forth love’ (prosphile’). It covers a host of qualities but basically means that the person should be attractive, lovable."
Most of us could take a lesson from this word. It is natural to be irritated and agitated from time to time. However, that isn’t the way to renewal or joy.
ADMIRABLE, EXCELLENT and PRAISEWORTHY
These words are similar in direction -- they speak of those things that are (in William Barclay’s words) "that which is fit for God to hear". The wonderful advice I received as a child still rings true -- "would you want Jesus to hear that?" Knowing that God knows even the intentions of my heart (Gen 6.5), it becomes very important to keep my thoughts in a condition which God approves.
Watching "Good Morning, Jacksonville" the other day, Dr. Buffington informed us about a "new" scientific field -- Neuropsychology. The basis (as my unscientific brain is able to understand) is that the input, consideration, and output of your mind can affect your physical state. Phrases like, "That made me sick" can actually help make you sick if you dwell on it, and speak it out loud.
Isn’t it wonderful how science continually "discovers" these things? The phrase, "And God SAID" appears 11 times in the Bible. Six of those occurrences are in Genesis 1. It seems God was into rearranging things according to His mind long before Dr. Buffington’s Neuropsychology.
God told us we are like that: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he..." (Prov 23.7).
Step Two - If we are seeking a proper approach to joy and contentment, it will start with a renewal of the thought life.
Center your thoughts on the things that are clean, winsome and lovable, and fit for the Lord to hear.
Renew Your Servanthood
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 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. Philippians 4:9,10 (NIV)
What the NIV translates, "Put into practice," the KJV simply says, "do". What was Paul encouraging them to do? Follow his example! He’d learned the joy of renewing his mind in Christ. It had transformed his mind (Ro 12.1,2) and he wanted the same joy for his beloved family at Philippi. To "do" or "put into practice" is an imperfect, and means "to keep on doing, again and again". You can only be saved once, but renewal is a lifetime process. Paul was pointing at the peace of God.
It has to do with relationships. I was married to Elizabeth in 1967. Over the last 26+ years we have renewed our vows once, publicly. But the renewal of relationship takes place every day. If we want peace in our household there must be a continued renewal of our minds meeting in the same purpose and joys. It can’t be like the man who on his fortieth wedding anniversary was asked by his bride, "Why don’t you ever tell me you love me?" Said he, "Listen, I told you I loved you when I married you...if it ever changes I’ll let you know."
In ancient times the Jews saw renewal as the only genuine peace -- the renewing of "right relationships" between men, and with God. If you’re looking for peace with God based only on a "walk down the aisle with Jesus" ten, twenty, fifty years ago, you are out of date, as well as being out of touch. It won’t work in a marriage, or friendship, why should we expect it to work with God?
Paul said to put into practice what we saw in his life. What was that? Paul was a servant who gave himself fully in the work of the Lord. If you want the joy of having peace and contentment, renew your thoughts, and your servanthood.
Step Three - Rely On Your Source
I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 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. I can do everything through him who gives me strength. Philippians 4:11-13 (NIV)
There are two basic concepts about relying on Christ as your source of power and joy:
ADAPT IN CONTENTMENT
Circumstances are as changeable as the wind. Daily we see incredibly fast changes that would’ve given our fore fathers migraines. How can you be content? It’s a matter of trust. When I was first saved there was also a call to be a pastor. Now, a pastor is supposed to be an undershepherd, a feeder of the flock. It was my understanding that I would teach God’s people God’s Word. I would be a Bible Teacher, visitor, friend, counselor. Then came seminary.
Some of the good brethren just knew that the only way to grow a church was to preach "brimstone" three times a week. I am not knocking my professors -- most of them were very Godly men who had been pastors. They knew the score. I wish I had listened more intently. From my notes of one preaching class, Dr. Luther Dorr told us, "If you’ve got 95% Christians gathered on a Sunday, and ALL you ever give them is fire and brimstone -- well, you’ve got your flock on a starvation diet."
The brothers who wanted a "sulfur shower" (a-la-Sodom) were evangelists. They weren’t wrong. Sometimes it takes hard preaching to get some stubborn folks saved. It’s just that God "gave some evangelists...some pastors and teachers" (Eph 4).
It just took me a lot of years to figure out that I’m not a gifted evangelist, I’m a pastor. When I came out of seminary with that "gonna grow me a big church" agenda, it didn’t take too many years for Jesus to show me I’d stuck my errant foot in my religious mouth. If a church grows to be big -- big in spirit -- big in ministry, it is not the preacher’s agenda -- it is what Christ does through the body. It is the power of Christ in each of us. Trust means (for me) that I must be a pastor, not an evangelist. I "do the work of an evangelist" (2Ti 4.5) but my primary goal is to be a good pastor/teacher for my flock.
I can be more than contented with that, because it is the center of God’s will for me.
Now, that’s the sense of trust you need to be contented in changing circumstances. Settle on what God has called you to be, and let that be your controlling compass, even in the worst changing circumstances. Adapt with contentment. And
DEPEND WITH CONFIDENCE
"I can do all things..."
One thing you need to know about this verse is that Paul meant it, without reservation. That phrase is actually only one word in Greek. But Paul wrote it twice. In the language of the Bible that means it is something Paul wanted his readers to really notice. He’s saying, "I can do all things, I really can!"
But, even if he tripled it, that doesn’t mean we should misunderstand it. It doesn’t mean we can do what we want -- it means Christ will empower us to do anything HE expects us to do. Some people want to point to this verse and use it as a "blank check" for their own selfish agenda. What they’ll get is a surprise. To live dependently on Christ means our agenda gets put away.
Think of the power of Christ. He only ministered 3 years, wrote no poetry, painted no pictures. He played no music, built no buildings. What He did accomplish goes beyond art, philosophy, music, literature, or politics. "He alone can speak peace to the human heart, strengthen the weak, and give life to those who are spiritually dead."
Now that’s not a bad formula for understanding the power of Christ in our lives, peace where it counts, strength where it’s needed, and spiritual life for eternity. Now that’s joy -- and it is available in this lifetime. Tony Campolo lives in that kind of joyful/playful attitude:
"Near our home in Philadelphia there is a toll bridge that crosses the Delaware River. The toll on the bridge is twenty-five cents, but sometimes when I cross the bridge I give the toll-taker two quarters and I tell him, ’One quarter is for me and the other is for my good friend who is in the car right behind me.’ I don’t know who is in the car behind me, but I want to tell you that it is worth twenty-five cents just to pull away from the toll booth, look in the rear view mirror and watch the toll-taker trying to explain it to the guy in the next car....
Being possessed by Jesus creates a spontaneity and a joy that sends you bursting forth on the world as a fun person. That is why I tell you as young people that giving your life to Christ will prove to be the best move you could possibly make. It doesn’t curtail your joy and spontaneity. Instead, in your surrender to Christ you will find yourself possessed with a spirit of life that will make you a joy to everyone who knows you."
Can’t add much more than "Amen, Tony!"
