02-06-11 Survival Truths For Winter

We are not returning to Romans this week.

Instead I am going to take us back

to a passage of Scripture we studied together many years ago.

I’m going to do this

because it’s Winter,

and because it’s cold,

and because the days are still very short,

and because Christmas is over,

and because the December credit card bills have arrived,

and because we made the mistake of stepping on the scales this past week,

and because there are a whole bunch of lies

that we are especially vulnerable to in Winter.

And so, to help defeat those lies,

I’m going to take us back

to the first 6 verses of Paul’s letter to the Philippians.

Those of you who were with us

during the several years it took us

to study our way through Philippians

know how deeply this little letter

affected me personally.

We are only going to dip back into the book

for one week,

and then only into the first 6 verses,

but even with these verses

so much of the power of what we will see

comes from understanding

what was going on in Paul’s life

at the time he wrote this letter.

It is a very different type of book from

Romans.

Romans was written by Paul

to give us the content, the doctrine we need

to effectively function as Christians.

Philippians, on the other hand,

was not written to offer us doctrine,

nearly so much as it was written

to help us with our attitudes.

It was written by Paul from Rome

where he had been in prison

for nearly two years

waiting for a trial

that would determine whether or not

the Roman Government

would let him live

or execute him has a meddlesome trouble-maker

who seemed to cause riots

and civil disturbances

just about everywhere he went.

Paul, too, was in Winter,

only his Winter had stretched on

for two years,

with the very real possibility

that he would live in Winter

for rest of his life.

It is a letter that allows us to see

the attitudes that enabled Paul

not only to survive

but to thrive in the endless months of Winter.

There are all sorts of Winters in life,

and the worst ones

have nothing to do with the weather.

Sometimes Winter is brought on

by a son or a daughter

who is going through some deep struggles in their life.

You can’t change it for them -

all you can do is pray

and hope

and wait.

Sometimes Winter comes from

having someone we love very much

suddenly yanked out of our life

leaving a huge,

cold,

empty hole into which we fall

every morning when we step out of bed.

Sometimes Winter comes in the form of

loneliness

or fear

or stress that blankets our life

like a heavy fog,

making it impossible for us

to see more than a few hours

or a few minutes ahead.

Sometimes Winter comes in the form

of losing a job we love,

or finding a job we hate.

Winter is brought on by anything

that makes us feel trapped,

or isolated,

or imprisoned,

or empty

or hurt.

Paul wrote the book of Philippians

in his own personal Winter,

sitting in prison

very possibly waiting

for his own execution.

And in it he shares with us

the attitudes that equipped him

not only to survive

but actually to thrive

in the worst Winters of life.

It is a remarkable letter

not only for what it says,

but all the more for what it says

given Paul’s situation when he wrote it.

At least 16 times in these 4 chapters

Paul uses the words ‟joy” and ‟rejoice”.

And even more important,

he gives a basis for it.

We are only going to touch the first few verses together,

but if you’re looking for some additional Winter encouragement in your own life,

I think you would enjoy reading the rest of the letter on your own.

OK, with that background,

let me read you the first 6 verses of this letter

and we’ll see what Paul has to offer us.

PHI 1:1-6 Paul and Timothy, bond-servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always offering prayer with joy in my every prayer for you all, in view of your participation in the gospel from the first day until now. For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul begins his letter by introducing himself,

telling his readers that Timothy is with him,

and makes it clear that this is an open letter

to everyone in the Church.

And then from the very first verse

Paul begins to reveal to us

the keys to surviving Winter.

It is the nature of all Winter experiences

for our attention to be focused

on what’s happening around us.

I understand that perfectly.

It’s one of the things I do best.

It’s the way I start every day I live.

Each morning

I groan my way out of bed,

feel my way to the stairs,

stumble on down,

look at the temperature,

and then light the fire in the wood stove.

Now why do I look at the temperature?

I do it

so that I can begin the morning

with a little self-pity

when I see how cold it is.

I begin each day by focusing

on what’s happening around me.

But I want you to see what Paul does

when he begins his comments to us.

Rather than beginning by talking about

what’s going on around him,

he begins by reminding us

of who we are,

and where we are.

...to all the saints in Christ Jesus

who are in Philippi...

First he reminds us who we are.

....to all the saints...

...to all the HOLY ONES...

It’s God’s favorite word for addressing the Christian - His Holy ones.

Paul understands

the absolute necessity

of our reminding ourselves over and over again

who we are -

who we have become in heart and spirit

because of the transforming work

of Christ in our life,

just as Satan loves to remind us

of who we once were,

and tries to convince us that nothing has changed.

We may not feel holy,

we may not always act holy,

but these are simply temporary difficulties

that cannot, will not change the eternal reality -

we are now and forever

His Holy Ones,

purified through the blood of Christ.

And with those opening words

Paul begins to reveal his battle strategy

for thriving in Winter.

He is telling us that our success,

our mental and emotion success

depends upon our not allowing

our circumstances to shape

our concept of ourselves as Christians.

When we begin with the circumstances

do you know what question

immediately comes to mind?

Why is this happening to me?

What have I done to cause this?

Or what can I do to change it?

And underlying all of those thoughts

we allow the circumstances

to subtly

but powerfully mold

both our concept of ourselves

and our concept of our God.

If only I had done better

or been better this wouldn’t have happened.

What Paul does in these opening verses

is truly remarkable.

Rather than beginning

by talking about his prison

or his pain

or his concern for his future,

he begins by reminding us

of 4 crucial elements

of our life with Christ.

He talks about WHO we are,

he talks about WHERE we are,

he talks about WHAT to expect,

and he talks about WHO is in control.

We’ve just looked at the WHO -

we are God’s saints, God’s holy ones.

And underlying that truth is the reminder

that we can never allow ourselves

to begin believing that Winter has come

or the prison doors have slammed shut

as the result of God’s judgement for our sin.

Sin does demand judgement,

Sin does demand payment,

sin does demand suffering,

and Christ really did suffer

and He really was judged,

and He really did make full and complete payment for our sins forever.

And we now stand freed from the wrath of God,

His HOLY ONES FOREVERMORE.

Then the WHERE -

...to all the saints IN CHRIST who are in Philippi...

We are IN CHRIST.

We are not just with Him,

or beside Him,

or for Him,

we are IN HIM.

Here again, when God wanted to create

a phrase that communicated

the kind or relationship we share

with our Lord Jesus Christ

He came up with the phrase “In Him”

In Christ.

And in that phrase He wanted to create in our minds

a mental image of our being

absolutely and totally surrounded

with the Person and presence of our God.

We do not have to go to Him,

or look for Him,

because where He is we are -

in Him.

Part of any Winter experience

is that feeling of abandonment,

that feeling of being all by ourselves,

alone.

And to that Paul says, NO! Not only is your Lord with you in this,

you are immersed in HIM.

#3. And then in verse 2 he gives us the 3rd crucial truth - he tells us what to expect.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

16 of the 21 New Testament Epistles

open with the assurance of Grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

WHY?

First of all let me assure you that it was NOT because this was

the early Christian’s form of ‟Have a nice day!”

It was not simply a pleasant greeting

passed around between believers.

The New Testament Epistles were written for a crucial and specific purpose:

they were written EXCLUSIVELY to believers-

to those who had already joined themselves to God

through faith in Christ for their sins,

and they were written in order to reveal to us

the principles that govern a grace-based walk with God,

and to show us how to think

like the new Creations we have already become.

This is a little bit of what Paul is telling us

in Romans 12:2 where he says,

...do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.

The New Testament Epistles

make that mental renewal process possible.

And whenever we find repetition in the Epistles

it is there for one or both of two reasons -

1. Either the concept is so crucial to our survival

that it demands repetition.

2. Or it is a concept that is so foreign to our thinking

that we are in danger of missing it

or forgetting it without constant repetition.

This grace and peace thing

is repeated for both reasons.

Maybe I could help us understand

what I see going on with this phrase

found at the beginning of nearly every New Testament letter

by putting it in a little different context

for just a minute.

Do you see this door over here to my right?

Well, I’d like you to imagine for just a minute

that God is waiting for you

just on the other side of that door.

(Yes, I know this illustration has major

theological and doctrinal problems with it,

but just set all that aside for a minute.)

God is on the other side of that door,

He has asked you to come through the door and talk with Him.

Now, how would you approach that door?

Would you try to peak through some crack along the edge

or underneath before opening it wide open?

Would you open it up just a tiny crack

and peak through?

Would fling it open?

Would you take your Bible along?

Would you change your clothes first?

When you and I reached out to God through faith in Christ’s payment

for our sins

we were accepting His invitation

to stop running from Him

and start building a friendship with Him.

But, having never met Him personally before

none of us have any accurate idea

what He is really like.

We are standing on this side of the door,

hearing His invitation

to come in and know Him better,

but we bring to that door

all of our preconceived ideas

of who He is,

and how He acts,

and what He expects,

along with our own pockets full of

personal shame

and feelings of failure

and inadequacy

and unworthiness.

To be honest, I think most of us

would probably open the door

just a crack

and peek through.

The entire Bible was written

to share with us God’s dealings with man throughout human history,

but the New Testament Epistles,

those books beginning with Romans

and continuing through Jude,

were given by God

to a unique group of individuals

for a highly specialized purpose.

If we were to take the time

to read the opening lines

of each of the 21 New Testament letters

we would see that every one of them

was addressed exclusively to true Christians -

God’s holy ones,

made holy through their faith in Christ.

These letters are the equivalent to that doorway,

that entrance into the presence of God.

And God knows that we bring to this doorway

all of our God-baggage,

all of our concerns about what we can really expect from Him,

what He thinks of us,

how He relates to us in Christ.

How about all of those unresolved issues

that still shred our lives?

How about all of those fears

or tender places that we keep telling ourselves should have been resolved years ago?

How about those times when already

we, like Peter, have denied Him,

or refused to trust Him,

or grumbled about

the way He has handled our life?

What kind of expression

will we see on His face

when we open that door?

The New Testament writers

begin their writings with the words,

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ...”

in order to answer that question.

It is a sentence carefully designed by God

to serve as the Christian’s introduction

to every conversation

we have with our Lord.

When we peak through the crack in the door

it is His way of assuring us

that we need have no fear of flinging the door wide open.

He is not standing there, arms folded,

with a scowl on His face,

and a list in His hands of all the

errors and omissions in our life

since the day we entered the kingdom.

In this single sentence Paul and Peter and John single out the two most crucial ingredients in our union with God through Christ,

the two things we need most desperately

and find it the most difficult

to accept

or believe

or remember - grace and peace.

Paul said it best in Rom. 5:1-2

ROM 5:1 Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand;

Peace with God - the battle is over forever.

No longer enemies.

No more hiding, or running, or playing games.

The Creator of the universe has personally chosen us

to be on His team,

and nothing can ever alter that fact.

And we have also received our introduction by faith into this GRACE in which we stand.

The rules really have changed -

we do not stand before our God

on the basis of our ability to do it all right,

we stand on the basis of His grace,

His commitment to show us kindness,

His kindness for eternity

not because we have earned it,

but simply because He loves us

and the barriers to His expressing that love

have been removed forever in Christ.

Now it’s true that when our Lord sits down with us in these Epistles

there are sometimes hard issues

He talks over with us,

but that is all the more reason why

He has chosen to begin with that assurance of His grace and our peace with Him - just so there will never again

be any misunderstanding

about our position with Him.

#4. and then finally, in verse 6

Paul reminds us of who’s in control -

For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Paul begins his survival manual

for the Winters in our lives

by telling us right up front

that no Winter ever has

or ever will in any way

at any time short-circuit

God’s commitment

or God’s ability to complete and perfect

the good work He has begun in our lives.

And I want to be sure we hear Paul’s words accurately.

This is Paul the Apostle speaking,

the one individual in all the world

who is more vital,

more critical to the birth of the Body of Christ

than any other human being in history

ever has been

or ever will be again,

sitting in prison for two years.

He has a better grasp of what needs to be done and how to do it

than anyone else alive.

And there he sits, day

after day

after day.

And it is in this context that he affirms

this remarkable truth that:

... He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.

Once our Lord Jesus Christ picks us up

and holds us in His hands

He does not set us down again

until He has carried us into

the eternal presence of God the Father.

From our perspective what’s going on right now

may not look anything like

the skilled handiwork of God,

but things are often not at all as they appear.

Some of God’s finest work is done in Winter,

or in prison.

Paul certainly doesn’t deny the reality of his circumstances.

Before this letter finishes

he talks about his prison,

and the sickness of his friend.,

and about the other real life issues he faces.

But when Paul begins his survival manual,

sharing with us how to thrive in prison

he begins by telling us the truth.

No matter how things may look,

or how cold it may feel,

or how deep the frost has penetrated,

still 4 things have not changed:

we are still His Holy ones,

we live forever secure in Christ,

our God is actively working to bring His grace and peace into our lives,

and no circumstance we will ever encounter can prevent our God from perfecting and completing the good work He has begun in us

right up until the day we stand face to face

before our Lord Jesus Christ.