©2005 Larry Huntsperger Peninsula Bible Fellowship

11-20-05

Firewood For Our Souls

11/20/05 Firewood For Our Souls

For the next two weeks

we are going to revisit some things we looked at

when we began our study of Paul’s letter to the Philippians nearly 10 years ago.

We are going to revisit the first few verses of that letter,

not because I have any intention of reteaching the book,

but simply because, this past week, I needed to remind myself

of some of what Paul says to us in that passage,

and the most effective way I have

of reminding myself of the truth

is through my teaching it to you.

I suppose there are some of you listening to me right now

who assume that, after teaching Scripture for more than 30 years,

I now have within me a great wealth of knowledge about God,

truths that, having once learned them,

I never or rarely forget them again,

truths that then keep me on a nearly constant plateau of trust and faith.

There may be such people in the world,

but I’ve never met one personally

and I am certainly not one myself.

When I was young in my Christian life

I’m sure I did anticipate that,

if I grew enough in my knowledge of my Lord,

the time would come when daily turmoil would all but cease

and I would live in a state of constant faith and trust in my King.

I gave up all such thinking long ago

and have now for many years

just accepted the reality that, not only does the warfare not cease,

but in some respects it seems to become more intense the longer I live.

Certainly my own personal history

of seeing the love, and grace, and faithfulness of my Lord to me throughout nearly 40 years, now,

does help a great deal,

but the truth is

that every single day of my life

I must once again choose to recall the central truths about my God

and then make conscious choices

to build my life that day upon those truths.

And what I want to offer us this morning

is what I’ll call firewood for our souls.

We have a wood stove in our house.

For half the year it sits there cold and unused.

But once the temperature drops below freezing,

each night I load up that stove with paper, and kindling, and logs,

and then each morning

I stumble down the stairs and light the fire.

And before long

there is this glowing source of heat in our little log house

that makes it far easier for me to mentally handle the temperatures outside.

It is my hope

that the truths Paul shares with us in these opening verses of Philippians

will have the same affect on our spirits this morning.

We are now well into yet another winter here in Alaska.

Winters in Alaska are never easy.

This is the time of year

when we begin to get that “caged-in” feeling,

a time when it becomes crystal clear

why someone came up with the term

Cabin Fever.

The book of Philippians is a fascinating

4-chapter letter

that can be of tremendous value

in helping us understand

how to handle the winters in our lives.

It is a very different type of book from,

oh, say the book of 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 before Caesar

that would determine whether or not

the Roman Government

would let him live

or execute him as a meddlesome trouble-maker

who seemed to cause riots

and civil disturbances

just about everywhere he went.

This was clearly winter in Paul’s life,

a winter that had stretched on for two years,

with the very real possibility

that he would live in this 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 winters of life.

It was written to a group of believers

with whom Paul shared a relationship

that I think in many ways

was very much like

the relationship that I share with you.

They cared about each other very much,

Paul and the Philippian Christians.

The Philippian church had kept in close touch with Paul

through most of his travels,

encouraging and supporting him

as they were able.

In fact, there was a period in Paul’s travels

when the only group

who helped Paul meet his physical needs was the Philippian church.

They would send him money and supplies

as they were able,

apparently numerous times

in his travels.

But then they received word

that Paul had been arrested in Jerusalem

and hauled off to Rome for trial.

And for nearly two years

they had no communication with him,

not even knowing

whether he was still alive.

Then finally word reached them about where Paul was

and Epaphroditus, one of the leaders of the Philippian Church,

gathered together a gift of supplies

and money for Paul,

and set off to Rome to deliver it.

Maybe I can help us get a little better feel

for what was happening between

Paul and the Philippian church

during the time surrounding

the writing of this letter.

In the early years of our life together here at PBF

the church made it possible

for me to return to Trinidad

and to take Sandee and Joni with me.

For those of you who are not aware of it,

back in my single days,

during the early 70’s,

I helped a missionary family

to start a church on the Caribbean Island of Trinidad,

and for years I had wanted

to return to the Island

to see how the church was doing.

And in the summer of 1990

the Fellowship made it possible

for us to go.

But two days after we arrived on the island

a militant rebel group stormed the government buildings

and attempted to overthrow the Trinidadian government.

For several weeks there was an 18 hour a day curfew on the Island

in which anyone found on the streets after curfew

would be shot.

We did eventually make it off the Island without incident,

but it turned out to be far more of an adventure than we’d planned on.

OK, now imagine what it would have been like

if we had gone to Trinidad,

and then you had received word

of the chaos on the Island

and you had no communication from us.

You didn’t know whether we were alive

or dead,

safe, or in hiding, or in pain.

And then imagine what it would have been like

if this silence went on, not for day, or weeks,

but for several months -

no word,

no communication,

no way of finding out what was happening.

I can hear Paul and Ed now

as, week after week in their public prayers,

they would say, “And let’s continue to remember Larry, and Sandee, and Joni

wherever they are.”

Sort of brings a tear to your eye, doesn’t it?

That is not unlike what was happening

between Paul and the Philippian church

in the 2 years preceding this letter.

Now let’s take it one step farther.

After several months of no word from or about us

you finally receive a message

that we are being held under house arrest

by the Trinidadian government

under suspicion of spying for the U.S. Government.

No trial date has yet been set,

but the government has consented to allow

someone from the states

to visit us and to bring us money

to help with our legal defense.

You all join together

and take up a very generous collection,

then you buy Ed a ticket

and send him off.

Several weeks pass without Ed returning

and with no word from him.

Then you hear a rumor that he became extremely sick soon after arriving on the Island

and that the doctors there did not expect him to live.

That is very close to the situation that existed between Paul and the Philippian church

when this letter from Paul arrived.

Paul was in prison.

Epaphroditus, one of the leaders of the Philippian church,

had taken a gift to Paul from the church,

but had then become extremely sick.

And the church was praying,

and hoping,

and waiting to hear.

And then finally Ed comes back,

recovered, and bringing a letter -

we’ll call it The Epistle of Larry to the Soldotnans”.

That’s not unlike

what we have going on in Paul’s life

as he writes this letter.

There are all sorts of winters in our lives,

and the worst ones

have nothing to do with the weather.

Sometimes winter is brought on

by a son or a daughter

who’s going through some deep struggles in life.

You can’t fix it, can’t change it -

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 winters of our lives.

It is a remarkable letter

not only for what it says,

but all the more for what it says

given Paul’s circumstances 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.

OK, with that as background,

let me read you the first 6 verses of this letter

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

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 then making 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 winter survival.

It is the nature of all winter experiences

for our attention to be focused

on what’s happening around us.

Every morning when I get out of bed

and stumble down the stairs,

before I put a match to the fire

I flip on the porch light and look at the temperature.

Now why do I look at the temperature?

Obviously

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...

And there it is again,

God’s favorite title for the Christian - His Holy ones.

Paul understands

the absolute necessity

of 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 lives,

just as Satan loves to remind us

of who we once were.

We may not feel holy,

we may not always act holy,

but these are simply temporary difficulties

that cannot change the eternal reality

that 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

depend 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.

You see,

there is something crucial going on in Paul’s opening words.

Rather than beginning

by talking about his prison,

or his pain,

or his concern for his future,

rather than beginning by talking about his winter,

he begins by reminding us

of four 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 God’s judgement for our sin.

We saw last week that sin does demand judgement,

sin does demand payment,

sin does demand suffering,

and Christ really did suffer,

and really was judged,

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

And we now stand freed from the wrath of God,

His HOLY ONES FOREVER.

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 our Lord with us in this,

we are immersed in HIM.

And then in verse 2 he gives us the 3^rd crucial truth -

he tells us what to expect from this God we are in.

Grace to you and peace from God our Father.

And rather than rush through that phrase

we’ll just set it aside until next week

when we’ll spend a whole morning on it.

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.

No winter ever has

or ever will in any way

at any time short-circuit

God’s commitment to us

or His ability to complete and perfect within us

the good work He has begun in our lives.

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

Here is Paul, 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.

And he is the one who is 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 arms

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 does talk about his prison,

and the sickness of his friend,

and other real life issues in the verses that follow,

but when Paul begins his survival manual

for how to thrive in prison

he begins by telling us the truth.

No matter how things my look,

or how cold it may feel,

or how deep the frost may have penetrated our souls,

still four things have not changed.

We are still His Holy ones,

we live forever secure in Christ,

He 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

until the day we stand face to face

before our Lord Jesus Christ.