Philippians 4:13
A couple weeks ago I heard a song I hadn’t heard in years. It wasn’t a hymn or praise chorus. It wasn’t even a tender love ballad. Some of you will remember it. Some of you may have never heard it even
though it was top of the Billboard chart at one time. Of course, the time was one week in October
1960. It was sung by Larry Verne. And I don’t recall if he ever sang anything
else.
I won’t do it
justice but here’s how it began.
(That famous
day in history
The men of the 7th
Cavalry went riding on
And from the
rear a voice was heard
A brave young
man with a trembling word rang loud and clear.)
“What am I
doin’ here?”
“Please Mr
Custer, I don’t wanna go
Hey Mr Custer,
please don’t make me go.
I had a dream
last night about the comin’ fight
Somebody yelled
‘Attack!’
And there I
stood with a arrow in my back.”
Ok it’s not Rodgers and Hart. But
it does say something about a problem we all face: Facing the future. That future can be scary because we don’t
know what it holds. And, of course, as
the young soldier discovered, the future can be scary even if you have an idea
about what’s coming.
I know that with eyes of faith some can see God’s hand at work in the
events of the past, whether in the world at large or in their personal
lives. The men and women of the Bible
often bolstered their faith by such backward looks. They reasoned that if God had been faithful
in the past, he would be faithful in the future.
But not all of us have that kind of vision. Sure, in time, we may come to see God’s hand
at work in our personal history, but that might take months, even years. And, of course, sometimes we may never come
to this faith-perspective on some of our experiences.
At such times, we hear the Christian affirmation that history is going
somewhere, that time is not a meaningless cycle of events, and quietly say, “I
sure hope so.”
Don’t misunderstand what I’m saying.
Christians do believe that history has a goal. Each year, each decade, brings us closer to
that goal. William Barclay wrote: "It is the Christian conviction that
history is a plan, that history has a purpose, that history is the working out
of the will of God."
History is moving toward the accomplishment of God's work of redemption,
reconciliation, and re-creation.
We can't mark the calendar to designate when that event will take
place. But we believe that history is on
the move, moving toward that event.
Intellectually, we can appreciate that this is part of our faith. We don’t have to scrap this tenet of the
faith, despite the behavior of our fellow Christians who occupy the lunatic
fringe. But wondering if the Lord may
come tomorrow doesn’t necessarily keep us from wondering if a pink slip may
come tomorrow.
We may know THE FUTURE but we simply don’t know the future—our future.
When Paul wrote Philippians, there’s no doubt he knew of the gospel’s
promises regarding the future—he had preached them for years—but he didn’t know
his future. He didn’t know what
his tomorrows would bring. With that in
mind, I thought it might help us to take an overview of this well-loved letter
to see what it has to say about facing an uncertain future.
When we face an uncertain future, we need to remember God is not a quitter.
In his opening words to the Philippians, Paul said, “I
thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for
you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the
gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he
who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus
Christ.”[1]
Sometimes Paul’s words apply only to a congregation. Sometimes they apply only to individual
believers. Sometimes they may be applied
to both. I think these words can be
claimed by churches and each of us individually.
Paul was telling the Philippians that God is not a quitter. He will finish what he starts.
Whether you’ve been a believer for decades or have only recently become a
believer, God is still working in you. Keep your life open to him and he will
keep working.
God’s goal for each of us is to make us more like Christ. Unless we allow it more power than the events
really have have, nothing that has happened in your past or will happen in your future can prevent
that.
When we face an uncertain future, we need to keep our priorities in place.
When Paul wrote the Philippians, he was in prison. His future was uncertain. He might be released. He might be executed.
In the face of this, Paul kept his eye on what was important.
1. He could face the future if
the gospel continued to advance.
Even in the most difficult of circumstances, he was able to share the
gospel.
12 I want you to know,
beloved, that what has happened to me has actually helped to spread the gospel,
For some, circumstances like those Paul faced would have shut down any
effort to share the gospel. Instead,
Paul seized the opportunity to witness to those around him, including the
imperial guard.
2. He could face the future if his
relationship with Christ grew.
His future was in question, but he held on to the desire to have a
thriving relationship with Christ. He
put it this way, “I want to know Christ and the power that raised him from
the dead. I want to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death.”[2]
No doubt Paul would have wished for human comfort and security in the
days to come. That’s only natural for
any of us. In Paul’s case it wasn’t to
be so. But that was okay because those
things weren’t his highest priority. His
highest priority was his relationship with Christ. He could face any future if that relationship
was secure.
When we face an uncertain future, we need to strive for an attitude of joy.
Paul tells the Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord.” Joy is not the same
as happiness. Happiness depends on our
circumstances. Joy is the sense of well
being rooted in the knowledge that all is right with our relationship with God
because of what Christ has done for us and in us.
It is better than happiness because happiness depends on
circumstances. The things on which our
joy rests are unchanged by our circumstances. Our joy rests on God’s love, the
sufficiency of Christ’s work on the cross, his victory over death (a victory we
will share with him), and our hope for eternal life.
Joy can be present even when we lack the energy to dance, sing, or even
smile. Tim Hansel once said, “I cannot choose to be strong, but I can choose to
be joyful. And when I am willing to do that, strength will follow.”
When we face an uncertain future, we need to cherish the privilege of prayer.
In Philippians four Paul says, “Do not worry about anything, but pray and
ask God for everything you need, always giving thanks. And God’s
peace, which is so great we cannot understand it, will keep your hearts and
minds in Christ Jesus.”[3]
Paul’s words mean that we can ask God about any concern we may have. No need the future may bring is off limits
for prayer. Anything that seems a
threat, anything that causes you to lose sleep—except, perhaps, the standing of
the Buckeyes—is a legitimate matter for prayer.[4]
Our outlook as we pray is shaped by an attitude of gratitude, “with
thanksgiving.’
When we face an uncertain future, we need to keep our thinking straight.
You’ve probably heard me mention Victor Frankl. Frankl was a Jewish psychiatrist who was locked
up, along with his family, in a German concentration camp during World War II. Only he survived. While eventually becoming a Christian, Frankl
was already making the observations that would help shape his theories when he
was released from the camp.
His experiences led him to discover this truth: It isn’t what happens to
you that matters so much as what happens to what happens to you.
He had observed that some people simply could not leave the tragic facets
of their experiences behind. They
allowed these experiences to dominate their thinking. He knew some people would say you can’t
control your thoughts but he countered by insisting the one freedom that can
never be take from us is the freedom to decide how we respond to what happens
to us.
Much of what Frankl said applies to our past experiences. How does what he said apply to the future?
Let’s let Paul help us answer that question.
The apostle knew bad thinking can be crippling. It can keep us from being able to respond
when crisis comes. Out of control
thinking makes us vulnerable to the conspiracy mongers and the Chicken littles
of the world.
Since Paul knew this, he reminded the Philippians they needed set a guard
on their thinking as they faced the future.
He even dared to suggest how they might best focus their thinking.
Echoing Paul, try to approach the future “…by filling your minds and
meditating on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling,
gracious—the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly; things to
praise, not things to curse.”
When we face an uncertain future, we should not limit our possibilities.
Before Paul closed his letter, he reminded his readers that his life had
already had its ups and downs. There
were times when he had plenty and time when the things were lean. In those times, he discovered that Christ
gave him what he needed. He put it this
way, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Paul wasn’t talking about being able to win athletic events, though some
have used the verse as a kind of sports mantra.
He was declaring that he could face whatever the future brought. Peterson paraphrases like this: “Whatever I have, wherever I am, I
can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.”
Don’t let yourself get away with saying, “I can’t do this,” when you face
a new challenge. Let Christ introduce
you to new possibilities.
Conclusion
I don’t know what the future may bring.
That’s not quite true. I know the
future will bring the unexpected. I know
the future will bring challenges. I know
the future will bring opportunities for God to surprise us with his grace.
[2] The
Holy Bible: New Century Version, Containing the Old and New Testaments.
Dallas, TX : Word Bibles, 1991, S. Php 3:7
[3] The
Holy Bible: New Century Version, Containing the Old and New Testaments.
Dallas, TX : Word Bibles, 1991, S. Php 4:6
[4] For those outside the US who may read these
sermons, “Buckeyes” is The Ohio State University football team. The team is very popular in Ohio.
