Phil 1:9-11 sermon
If you have ever worked in retail, then you will know what I mean when I talk about an indecisive customer. Even if you haven't worked in retail, if you've ever been to Subway I'm sure you know the kind of person who I'm talking about. Last year when Penny and I went to Brisbane to attend a conference with some friends, we made the mistake of going to the nearest Subway at lunchtime – along with hundreds of the other conference attendees. The line stretched out the door, across the frontage of a business park, and down onto the street. But it was better food than the convention centre offered, so we waited. After over 30 minutes of waiting in line, when you finally get close to the register, what can draw your ire more than seeing the customer ahead of you, who has waited the same amount of time as you, stare up at the menu board as if for the first time, and spend precious minutes saying, “Ummmm, errrrrr, hmmmmmm”? You're thinking, “Have you never been to Subway before? Did you not have half an hour to decide what you wanted? Is it so hard to just pick a sandwich?” and you cringe because every time the Subway sandwich artist asks, “What bread would you like? Would you like avocado? What kind of cheese? All salads? What sauces? Salt and pepper? Anything else?” the answer is always a long, drawn out, “Ummmmmm.”. Subway is not the food place to go if you are indecisive!
Now you might think that I'm being mean, and that this person possibly has never been in a Subway before. But in Brisbane, Subway is like the national dish. There's a Subway on every street corner. People know the Subway menu off by heart. In the biggest shopping centre in Brisbane, there are two Subways, and only one McDonalds! They have electronic Subway service lanes! The reason a Queenslander walks into a Subway and says “Um” is not through lack of experience. It's through lack of forethought. They know they're hungry, they know they like Subway, and they know what's on the menu, so they walk in, but never switch their brain on and think what they're doing.
I think that sometimes we can be like this in our prayers. It's not that we don't pray fairly regularly. It's not that we don't think God will listen. It's not even that we don't know what needs praying for, really. But when we come to pray, so often we do it without really thinking. And so we come before God, seated on his throne that overlooks the whole of creation and all of eternity, we bow before this mighty figure and we say, “Ummmm.”
We can so easily fall into the practice of repeating stock standard prayers for regular day to day occurrences in life. When people travel, we pray for safety. When people are sick, we pray for them to be well. When they are unemployed, we pray for a job. When they are mourning, we pray for comfort. When they are young, we pray for guidance. Prayer for guidance was so common in a Bible study Penny and I attended in Queensland that it was known as the “auto-prayer”. When there's a problem, we pray for its solution. And that's well and good. But what happens when things are going well for someone? We suddenly find ourselves standing before God going “um”. Do we mutter a quick word of thanks? Pray that the good times keep on rolling? What about when you're in a prayer group and nothing really is happening with you? Have you ever said the words, “Oh, I don't really have anything to pray for”?
Well, when Paul was writing his letter to the Philippians, he was thinking. He may have even known that what he was writing would be of enduring importance. He certainly knew it would be circulated amongst churches at the time. So he wanted to make sure that what he wrote down would be well thought out and meaningful. Little wonder then that when we come to Paul's prayer for the Philippian church, we find a prayer that is expertly crafted, not only to bring encouragement to its readers, but to help shape their own prayers, especially in times where they are not struggling with a major challenge, or straying from the faith, or acting inappropriately. It's a forward-looking prayer, a pro-active prayer, a prayer for all seasons. It's a prayer that sets our minds in the right direction, and ensures our focus is where it's meant to be.
The prayer is in Philippians 1, verses 9 to 11. Open it with me, if you have your Bibles, and lets work through it one step at a time. If you have my bible, it's on page 804. Paul prays “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, 10 so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.” Wow. Every word rings with incredible depth of meaning that only comes from significant forethought. And before we look any further, there is a lesson for us there. We should put thought into our prayers. Often when we pray publicly, in church for example, we will put thought into our prayers and write them down. There is nothing stopping us from doing this as part of our regular prayer lives. I think it's so easy for us to rush our prayer. And sometimes that's appropriate – when a car swerves out of control, you don't really have time to write a psalm. But when we are settling into time with God, let's think about what we say to him. We should never be afraid of approaching God in prayer, but let's do it in a way that is respectful and diligent.
Sometimes we might be tempted by verses like Romans 8:26, which say, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” We think, “I don't know what to pray for, I'll just leave it up to the Holy Spirit.” But prayer is one of those times where we can really struggle with issues surrounding God's will, put some deep thought into what God wants, get to grips with how that will be played out in our lives, and strengthen our relationship with God by pouring out our misunderstandings and our worries. If we aren't taking those opportunities of serious, thoughtful, diligent prayer, we shouldn't be surprised if our relationship with God is not deepening like we might hope it would.
The next thing I'd like us to recognise as we look at this prayer is its structure – Paul only asks for one thing for the Philippians. He makes one request, and he sees that request as having four outcomes. His request is that their love will abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. Flowing out of this he sees four outcomes – that they will discern what is best, that they will be pure and blameless, that they will be filled with righteousness, and that God will be praised and glorified. All of these things come together into one prayer. Now, Paul may be expanding these outcomes for the reader's benefit. But exploring the outcomes you would like to see come from your prayer also gives insight into the reasons you are praying that prayer. What are you hoping for this prayer to achieve? Do you think it will achieve anything at all? Are the expectations you have for this prayer in line with God's will?
Because Paul's certainly are, as we will see when we look at the four outcomes that he sees flowing from his request. One of the rookie mistakes people make in prayer is that they think, “I prayed for it, but God didn't do it.” Prayer is about aligning ourselves with what God wants, not demanding from him what we want. Once you start to understand that, prayer becomes a very different thing. We see the world in terms of problems that need to be solved. But it's not like that for God. To God, there is no such thing as a problem. He creates everything, allows everything its place – even things that we see as bad, wrong, painful or unjust. To everything, there is a season. As I am so fond of saying, God shows just how powerful he is by being able to transform bad into good – by taking evil and turning it into something that serves his purposes, even as he punishes it for being evil.
When we realise that prayer isn't about problems and solutions, but about God's will and seeing it done, we stop looking for answers to prayer in shapes we'd expect or desire, but instead look for God's transforming of situations for his glory. Paul will say later in this book, in chapter 4, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” And then what does he say? That those things that are making you anxious will go away? That God will zap them with lightning for you? No! When you present your request to God, God's response is this, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” The situation doesn't change – you change. Sometimes situations will change. But far more often things play out exactly as you'd expect them to, and we are the ones who change to become more reliant on God's strength to get us through. The more we are seeking God's will in our prayers, the more we will realise his will is to change us into what he wants – that in fact God's primary goal for people's lives is to see them changed, moulded, transformed into the people he wants us to be for eternity. He wants that more than he wants us fed, or educated, or wealthy. Is that what we want?
Lets look at what Paul is hoping to achieve in his prayer to God on behalf of the Philippian church. Four outcomes – that they will discern what is best, that they will be pure and blameless, that they will be filled with righteousness, and that God will be praised and glorified. This is where God's will is at. Paul wants them to be changed for the better in their decision-making, to be changed for the better in their standing before God, to be changed for the better in the things they do, and he wants God to be glorified by it all. That's a lot of change. You ready for that? Am I ready for that? Are we as a church ready for the idea that by our prayers we may be seeking to transform each other? If I were to walk up and say, “Morning Mike, I've been praying that you're able to make more godly decisions,” then he's likely to turnaround and say, “Well, Ben, I've been praying that you might live a somewhat more righteous life,” and I might then reply, “Well, I'll certainly be praying that you're found pure and blameless in time for heaven”, to which he might reply, “Your face,” and we both walk off in a huff.
We have to be honest with ourselves. There is always room for improvement in these areas. Who here went their whole week without making one bad decision? Who can say that every single thing they did in every way was righteous, that is totally right before God? Who does not need God to purify them and free them from accusation of wrongdoing? We're all in the same boat! We should all want to be changed, and we should all want it for each other. On family camp last weekend we looked at encouragement, and we decided that encouragement is those things we do to help someone deal with dangerous or difficult situations with firmness. We should want to see each other built up, strengthened, made better, made perfect!
And we know that's not going to happen here on this planet. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't be striving for it, hoping for it, and praying for it all the same. Penny asked me a very interesting question that came out of her Bible college studies last week – should Christians strive for perfection they can't reach, or accept that we never will in this life? Because whether we strive or not will obviously have an impact on how we live our lives. I remember when I'd just been at this church a couple of years, still a pretty wet behind the ears Christian, one of the elders who will remain nameless said to me, “Ben, you know what they say. If you're a realist when you're 20, you've got no heart. But if you're an idealist when you're 40, you've got no brain.” Okay, he didn't use those exact words – he said capitalist instead of realist, and socialist instead of idealist. But the truth is that Christians are in the eyes of the world idealists (chasing a perfection that can never be attained), but in truth, understanding God and eternity, we are realists (knowing that God will make us perfect). It is by this means that God has chosen to be glorified, and this is what we praise him for – that he works in us, changes us, transforms us into the perfect people we are meant to be, so we can in turn strengthen and encourage others as we walk that path to living that perfect life with him in heaven.
And what is it that Paul seeks for us, that we might display these wonderful fruits of godly decision-making, right living, and shamelessness before God's judgement? He prays that our love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. He doesn't pray just for knowledge and insight. We live in a time where so many people think education is the balm to soothe the ills of the world. Teach young people to drive better, and they'll have less accidents. Teach bankers how to read the market better, and they'll cause less financial collapse. Teach warring people more about each other, and they'll stop fighting. That does not solve the problems. Teach young people how to drive better, and some will take even bigger risks to feed their pride. Teach bankers how to read the market better, and some will strive to generate even more profit to feed their greed. Teach warring people more about each other, and some will use that information to hurt their enemies more deeply.
Now education is good! We should strive to know more and have a better understanding of the world, life and God. Paul prays so! But we must understand that the problem isn't lack of education – it is lack of love. If our actions are not motivated by love, then they are motivated by pride, and we wrap our car around a tree; they are motivated by greed, and we thrust millions of people into poverty; they are motivated by hate, and people die – and our knowledge and insight becomes a tool by which we sin faster and more efficiently. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, “If I speak in human or angelic tongues, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body [to hardship] that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.”
That is why Paul prays that “your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight.” God wants us to use what you know to love one another. At the end of the day, the crux of this prayer is all about how we love each other. It's that love for each other that should be informed by all that knowledge and insight we strive so hard for. It's that love for each other that will help us to discern what is best. It's that love for each other that will fill us with the fruits of righteousness. Love for each other will show that God is transforming us, through Christ, to be pure and blameless in his sight. Our love for each other will bring glory and praise to God. John recorded these words of Christ, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” And John was so struck with it, that he never stopped repeating it all the days of his life. “This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.” “This is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.” “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” “No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” “And now, dear lady [church], I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another.”
Next time you're waiting in line in Subway, do me a favour and know what you're going to order before you get to the checkout. And next time you pray for someone, and you're not sure what their needs are, do them a favour and pray that their love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, because that will lead to them making better decisions, living a more fruitful, righteous life, will speed their path to purity and blamelessness before God, and will bring God glory and praise. May we all love each other enough for that to be our prayer for each other.
Amen
No comments:
Post a Comment