Asbury Church

Sunday, August 7 starts an exciting chapter in Asbury’s history: for the first time in 29 years we’re welcoming a new senior pastor! So that we can all begin this new era together, we’re having ONE worship service that day at 10 am with our new pastor, the Rev. Andrew Forrest.

This is one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. I’ve quoted it since I was a teenager. We see Paul’s gratitude and joy “in the Lord” for the response of his friends in Philippi. I’m not a tattoo guy but verse 11 (contentment) and verse 13 (I can do all things…) would meet my approval.

Johnny Cash sang, “I’ve been everywhere, man.” Paul could have said, “I’ve suffered everywhere, man.” His suffering starts in Acts 9 and doesn’t end until he dies. He suffered in Damascus, Jerusalem, Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Thessalonica, Berea, Corinth, Philippi and Ephesus. He was executed in Rome. As he wrote in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28: “Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” Paul didn’t exactly have it easy. His prayers didn’t go as he requested when he asked the Lord to remove “the thorn” from him (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). However, he remained joyful. This week we read he learned the secret of being content.

Our theme of the week, CONTENTMENT, is an acquired trait. Contentment is not our natural state. There will always be things to complain about, but we can learn contentment, too. While Paul was content, he also lived with a godly ambition. He wanted to accomplish great things.

Paul uses the word “rejoice” eight times in Philippians. The word, “rejoice,” is in all four chapters. He uses “joy” an additional five times. Such frequent use of this word for Paul is unparalleled in his writings. Philippians is “The Epistle of Joy.”

Hebrews describes Jesus enduring the cross “for the joy that was set before Him.” James begins his wonderful little book by saying, “Count it all joy, my brothers...” You would think he would say something like “when everything is going your way” but he completely reverses the narrative. Jesus said in the Beatitudes that we are not blessed because of favorable circumstances, but because we are approved by God.

In 4:4, Paul says to rejoice in the Lord. He did not say rejoice in your circumstances, situations, feelings, experiences or successes, but to rejoice IN THE LORD. The secret of joy for a Christian is to be “in Christ” or to let Christ be in us. We can be joyful because we know that whatever else happens, Jesus wins. Since we are “in Christ,” we will be “more than conquerors through him who loved us.” The power of His Resurrection is what gives us confidence that all things will work together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28).

Paul practiced joy, too. In Acts 16:25-26: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake…” I would have been calling for a lawyer, complaining about how unfair and rude the Philippians were, praying for God to get me out—but Paul had a different mindset. Amid suffering, he was singing and praying. Having such mentors and examples is humbling. Few of us look at life this way. Galatians 5:22 transitions from our ways to the way of the Holy Spirit, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love…” The first fruit of the Spirit after love is joy. When God’s love is in us, joy follows.

July 4 is our annual day to remember the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia in 1776. The founding of the United States of America is fascinating history. Against all odds, the patriots defeated numerous enemies and obstacles. Though the U.S.A. has never been perfect, I believe it is an honor to be a citizen of this great country. We have much to work through as a nation, but I would not want to trade my citizenship to live in another country. Furthermore, I believe this is the best time in the history of the world to be alive.

As a citizen of the world’s greatest nation in his day, Paul leveraged his Roman citizenship for the sake of the gospel when he was arrested. He was on a mission for the Lord. He accomplished amazing things. No one would have blamed him if he had triumphed in his accomplishments, but his focus was forward-thinking. He was running a race and wanted to cross the finish line with a kick. He was not slowing down, quitting, or retiring. As a result, Paul endured tremendous suffering and eventual martyrdom. Yet, nearly 2,000 years later, we are still memorizing his words. THAT is influence.

Those who follow Jesus hold dual CITIZENSHIP (our theme this week). One is of human origin and lasts for as long as we live. The Lord gives us our second citizenship. That citizenship started when we first believed. It is the place where we go when our first citizenship ends. Because of our second citizenship, we are confident that we cannot lose.

Jesus not only came the first time, but we believe He will come again. While no one knows the day of His return, we eagerly await when our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, comes the second time and sets up His kingdom on the new earth.

This is a wonderful line in our memory verse: the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. “The surpassing worth.” Isn’t that beautiful? Nothing compares to it. There is no ONE or no THING who compares with Jesus. Paul had great accomplishments in his life, but in comparison with Jesus, they were “loss, rubbish,” and “dung.” What he thought had been so important was diminished in comparison with Jesus.

To watch a Major Leaguer hit a fastball (or even see it), see an NBA player dunk or shoot three-pointers, or admire a swimmer win gold, we probably will simply gawk at the feat. Ordinary folks cannot compete. We won’t go out and try this ourselves because we would fail. There is contrast, not comparison, with these extraordinary athletes. Jesus’ teaching and deeds are surpassed only by who He is—God in the flesh.

When we find something extraordinary, we want to hold on to it. We find a way to obtain what is valuable: like a treasure in a field or a pearl of great price. Jesus’ parable about this is our Tuesday reading.

The word, “knowing,” means nearness and intimacy. Paul knew Jesus in a personal way as his Savior and as his Lord. “Jesus Christ is Lord” (not Caesar, Herod, money, power, etc.). He is the ruler of my life. When Thomas met the resurrected Christ, he was stunned into worship: “My Lord and my God.” His “Oh My God!” moment is our appropriate response, too. When we worship the Lord, we put the right One first. As C.S. Lewis said, “Aim at heaven and you get earth thrown in. Aim at earth and you get neither.”

It is natural to assume we are saved by our own good deeds. We learn as children we must not fail, lose, or fall short, or we face the consequences. We assume God grades on a curve, too, so we had better perform or we will face His rejection. We feel we are never quite good enough to please God and that He is always angry with us about something. On the other hand, some live as if it is our business to sin and God’s business to forgive. Neither extreme promotes the mind of Christ.

In Ephesians 2:1-10, Paul uses the word grace to describe salvation. We do not deserve, earn, or merit God’s love. Our good works (deeds, self-effort, or self-righteousness) are insufficient. We cannot do a thing to save ourselves. Instead, God’s gracious actions in Jesus Christ save us. We are completely at God’s mercy. Scripture is clear that the way of salvation has never been by promoting our own self-righteousness. However, we get to contribute to our salvation. When we abide in Christ, good things naturally follow. Salvation is not just something that happened one-time years ago—it is a continuous and ongoing action now. Birthing a baby is a wondrous thing. However, there is more than just a new birth. The baby must grow and become a functioning adult. Something is wrong when growth does not happen.

Paul says to “work out your own salvation.” We work it OUT, we do not work it IN. Grace is God’s gift to us. We do not work FOR our salvation by striving or achievement. Salvation is not part of a “self-help” improvement course. We do not have to make promises to God that we will clean up our lives so we will be good enough for Him to save us. A drowning swimmer needs a life preserver, not swimming lessons. Working out our salvation is us cooperating with God’s love. Because God’s power has entered our lives, we can work it out in practical ways. We can become teammates and supporters of Jesus. We can allow God’s grace to help us be salt and light in His world. Those who learn to work out their salvation are the ones who enjoy their faith the most.

We are not passive in our workout routine. We don’t just watch the teacher, we engage. We are active partners. We are “response able.” Like the icing on a cake—it “adds to” the final outcome.

Can you imagine being around Jesus? His is the most brilliant, creative, imaginative, and beautiful mind of any person who has ever lived. After all, He is fully human AND FULLY GOD. If we only considered His human qualities, there is still none like Him before or since, but He is so much more than merely human. Jesus Christ is the second Person in the godhead. The “Son of God” is not a lesser designation, like “God, Jr.” Jesus said, “Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

Incredibly, Paul invites us to share in the mind of Christ. In 1 Corinthians 2, Paul explains that Jesus’ mind was not the secular approach. Jesus came to reveal that the mindset of the Lord has a completely different value system than ours. The good news is that salvation is holistic— including the revelation of Jesus’ mind in us.

What do we mean when we talk about having the mind of Christ? Since Jesus loved to pray, so should we. Since Jesus knew scripture, so should we. Since Jesus loved to worship, so should we. Since He treasured friendships, so should we. Since Jesus served with a glad and generous heart, so should we. Since Jesus forgave those who hurt Him, so should we. Since Jesus had a mission and purpose, so should we. Since Jesus cared about lost people, so should we. Since Jesus had a heavenly focus, so should we. Our minds can be made new (Romans 12:2). We no longer have to be stuck. Old ways can be replaced with new ways. His mind can be in us, too. That fills us with tremendous hope, love, joy and peace. What a surpassing gift.

People can and do change. A friend recently told me about his friend whose addiction to alcohol was literally killing him. His friend had a major health incident and while he was in the hospital instantly lost all desire to drink. His immediate transformation has lasted for years. People can and do change. Our Celebrate Recovery ministry lives this out every Monday night. We believe that the Lord can work in any situation for transformation. That renewal of the mind is what happened to Paul. Acts 9 describes the dramatic story of his mind being made new.

Paul was asking the same question as an English punk rock band, The Clash. Netflix used The Clash’s 1981 song in a series called “Stranger Things.” It had these words, “Should I stay or should I go?” Paul desired to be with the Lord, but he also knew there was still work for him to do. He was so convinced that the next life would be so much better that he could hardly wait to be there. This is the blessed hope for Christians. No matter how bad things get, followers of Jesus always have a future with hope. This is the gift of God through the Resurrection of Jesus.

Two contemporary philosophies existed when Paul wrote. The Stoics did not want to express emotion. “Grin and bear it” was their motto. Their opposites were the Epicureans. Their motto was “Eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow we die.” Neither philosophy embraced a future with hope. Dorothy Sayers, a friend of C.S. Lewis, wrote, “…the sin that believes in nothing, cares for nothing, seeks to know nothing, interferes with nothing, enjoys nothing, hates nothing, finds purpose in nothing, lives for nothing, and remains alive because there is nothing for which it will die.” That philosophy is completely opposite of Paul.

Jesus said, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.” (John 12:24-26)

Paul had great successes, but also endured an enormous amount of suffering. He shared two secrets about how he made it through his trials (in verse 19). They apply to us: The Holy Spirit fills us with His presence and coaches us. Other followers of Jesus help us, too. If a spiritual giant like Paul needed help, how much more do we need it?

Paul visited Philippi on his second missionary journey (around A.D. 49-51). He wrote to them while he was in prison (at Caesarea Maritima, Ephesus, or Rome) between A.D. 55 and 62. Had he gone east, instead of west, things might have been very different for Christianity. Paul was a major player in the spread of our faith.

We’ll read from Acts 16 this week. Three socio-economic classes of people in this chapter display the diversity of the gospel. Lydia was a wealthy woman. There was a slave girl possessed by evil. The Philippian jailor was a middle-class worker. Like Paul and all of us, these three had unique encounters with Christ.

Paul was competent but humble. Humility leads to grace, gratitude, peace and prayer. It recognizes the gifts of others (partnerships). Humility touches our emotions (affections). Paul had a message to share about Jesus. Paul was on a mission to help others follow Jesus.

Affection is a tender attachment that comes through experience. Often, that bond is developed during suffering and hardship. Paul was physically wounded when he was in Philippi. That trauma probably had something to do with why he developed such deep affection for them.

Paul also described the affection of Jesus. We constantly see His affection for others in the Gospels. He had compassion for the crowds who were lost and without a shepherd. He cared deeply about children, women, the sick, outcasts, and the rejects of His society. Our two favorite parables (The Good Samaritan and The Prodigal Son) each connected the word “compassion” to the “good guys” in the stories. When we know that people really care about us, we give them the benefit of the doubt. When we think they are just using us for their own objectives, we do not trust them and will not align with them. A heart of affection is a game changer. As John Wesley put it, “If your heart is as my heart, lend me your hand.”