Greg Laurie - Better Than Happiness (11/28/2017)
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Pastor Greg Laurie begins a new series on Philippians titled "Better Than Happiness," exploring the book's central theme of Christian joy. He contrasts the world's elusive pursuit of happiness with the deep, enduring joy found in a relationship with God, which Paul expressed even while imprisoned. The sermon concludes by emphasizing that this joy and God's completing work are available to all who put their faith in Christ.
The Universal Quest for Happiness
Well, we are starting a brand new series on Thursday nights that we are calling "Better Than Happiness: Studies in the Book of Philippians." So let's grab our Bibles and turn to Philippians. I would encourage you to read ahead for next Thursday, as we will be looking at part of Philippians 1 and chapter 2 as well. So please read ahead as we go through this great epistle. Philippians 1. Let's pray together.
Now Father, as we open your word, we want to be happy people. We want to be content people. We want to be people that put you first. So we pray now that as we open the word of God, the only authoritative source on you and on life, we pray that you will speak to us and help us to live our lives in a way that matters, in a way that brings glory to your name. So speak to us as we open your word, we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Okay, well here is a question that is often asked: Why am I here on this earth? What is the purpose of my existence? Now, I guess it depends on who you ask, but I think some might respond by saying, "Well, I am here to find personal happiness." And by the way, that is not new to our generation. In fact, 2,000 years ago the Greek philosopher Aristotle said, "Happiness is the meaning and purpose of life, the aim and end of human existence." And certainly there are a lot of people today that are trying to find happiness.
A Psychology Today magazine had a cover story a while back called "The Pursuit of Happiness," and they had this quote in it: "Welcome to the happiness frenzy now peeking at a Barnes & Noble near you. In 2008, 4,000 books were published on the subject of happiness, while a mere 50 books on the topic were released in 2000." So clearly this is a publishing trend where people are wanting to know more about how to be happy. So is that why we are here on earth? It was philosopher Eric Hoffer who said, "The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness." I think one of the easiest ways to be unhappy is to live to be happy. You are not unlike the dog perpetually chasing its tail.
Why Money and Fame Don't Bring Lasting Joy
I mean, we have a lot of conceptions of how we would find that happiness. For instance, we might think, "Well, if I had wealth and fame, I know then I would be happy." I don't know if you heard about comedian Dave Chappelle. At the age of 32, he was at the peak of his success. He signed a $50 million deal with Comedy Central. But the ink was hardly dry on his contract when Chappelle mysteriously disappeared. He eventually surfaced 8,000 miles away in South Africa.
It took a while for him to disclose why he walked away from the third season of his show, but he finally gave the reason, and I quote, he said: "It seems the higher up I go, the less happy I am." And I think it is something that everyone wants—to be happy. But how do you get there? I don't know that there are many people out there that would say, "I don't want to be happy." There might be a few, but the reality is, even those who don't want to be happy, but rather unhappy, find a certain happiness in their unhappiness, I suppose. Because deep down inside, this is something we all desire.
But the question is, are we happy? Or let me personalize it: Are you happy? Recent polls have been conducted that reveal that 50% of Americans would say they are pretty happy, 15% state they were not too happy, and 1% said they didn't know whether they were happy or not. That is my favorite category: "I have no idea if I am happy or not. Because I am brain dead, I am not sure." But according to another survey done among Americans, we are supposedly less happy today than we were 30 years ago. Why do you think this is?
Well, let me sort of summarize it. I think to be happy, generally, you have to have good things happening. In other words, when things are going reasonably well—when the bills are paid, or you just got that promotion, or that raise, or that relationship came together, or you got the new car, or something good happened to you—you say, "Man, I am so happy." So effectively, your happiness is dependent on things happening. But the problem with that, of course, is when things are not going so well—when you get fired from that job, or your brand new car gets rear-ended, or something bad happens—your happiness is gone.
The False Promises of Beauty, Wealth, and Relationships
We have a lot of preconceptions about what will make us happy. For instance, people think, "If I was beautiful or handsome, I know I would be happy." And being handsome, maybe I better ask someone else. But I can tell you, external beauty will not make you happy. You see girls today trying to create the perfect body through plastic surgery—not girls only, but guys too. I read a stat that 94% of girls age 18 and under wish they were more beautiful, and 85% of women over 40 said they are not as attractive as the average woman.
And maybe that is why, last year alone, Americans spent $11.4 billion on cosmetic surgeon fees. Why? Because we are trying to find that perfect image that maybe doesn't even exist, because a lot of times those pictures you look at in the magazines are all photoshopped and airbrushed. I don't even think those people look like the people they supposedly are. But beauty is not going to make you happy if you were naturally a beautiful woman or a super handsome guy.
Academy Award-winning actress Halle Berry is regarded as one of the most beautiful women in Hollywood, but in an interview she said: "Beauty? Let me tell you something about being a beautiful woman. It spared me nothing in life. No heartaches. No trouble. Love has been difficult." Beauty, says Berry, is essentially meaningless, and it is always transitory. You might say, "Well, if I had possessions, or more possessions, I know I would be happy."
In an article from Time Magazine with the title "The Real Truth About Money," it pointed out that if you make a graph of American life since the end of World War II, every line concerning money and the things money can buy would soar upward. But if you make a chart of American happiness since the end of World War II, the lines would be flat as a marble tabletop. This article goes on to point out that clinical depression is three to ten times as common today as it was two generations ago. They concluded, "Money jingles in our wallets and purses like never before, but we are basically no happier for it."
More money leads to depression. Maybe that is why Jack Higgins, one of the most successful authors out there—his thriller novels have sold in excess of 250 million copies in 60 different languages—when he was asked by a magazine interviewer what he knew now that he wished he had known earlier in life, the accomplished author responded: "I wish I had known when you get to the top, there is nothing there." Well, the Bible told us this a long time ago. We are told clear back in the book of Proverbs, written by Solomon, chapter 27: "Hell and destruction are never full, so is the heart of man never satisfied."
Solomon pretty much had it all. Not only was he known for his wisdom, but he was known for his spectacular wealth. And he said in Ecclesiastes 1:8: "Everything is wearisome. The eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear has its fill of hearing." I wonder what Solomon would have thought of all of our high-tech gadgetry today. You know, our home theater systems and... Now, how big are flat panels? I found out that the biggest flat panel is 152 inches. You have to sit across the street to watch it, you know, through the window of your house. It is so big.
You are watching the scenes on your TV, and you always think, "Oh, if I had just a bigger screen on the wall to watch the Super Bowl on, or if I just had a better sound system with a little better bass in it, or if I just had this or that." You ever see these guys that drive by in cars, and they're... the whole car is shaking. Again, Professor David Meyer spent eight years studying hundreds of people pursuing happiness, and here was his conclusion. I thought it was rather insightful. He says: "Once you get past poverty, money doesn't help. No matter how much stuff you buy—the closet is full of clothes, the big screen TV system—it doesn't do it."
"Once you achieve that level of wealth, and you have adapted to it, it takes new increments—a faster computer, a bigger TV screen—to re-juice the joy the initial purchase gained for them." And relationships, in and of themselves, won't make you happy either. People will ultimately disappoint everyone. Even the best people will, at times, in some way, shape, or form, let you down. Hugh Hefner—what a guy. Lives in his bathrobe and wears a little captain's hat. He's somewhere in his 80s now, and of course, he's the founder of Playboy magazine.
I read an article that surprised me, because it turns out that old Hef, the hedonist extraordinaire, is really something of a romantic, I guess, because they asked him, "What's missing in your life, Hugh Hefner?" And he said, "Well, I want the words of the songs to be true." And he wants to find true love. Maybe you should get dressed; I don't know. That might be a good start. But you see, there's nothing that is going to make you happy, in and of itself. So why have I called this series "Better Than Happiness"? Because there is something that is better than pursuing happiness, and there is something that is, in effect, better than happiness. And that something is called joy. And that is the theme of the book of Philippians that runs through it.
The Surprising Source of Joy in Philippians
Now let's consider the backdrop before we read a few verses together that will help us really appreciate what Paul is about to tell us. This is a guy that was in adverse circumstances. In other words, if I found out that Paul wrote the book of Philippians while he was sitting on the beach in the Mediterranean catching some rays and having an iced tea, that would be one thing. But the fact of the matter is, we know historically that Paul was incarcerated in Rome when he wrote this epistle.
So these are not theories from an ivory tower; this is written from difficulty. And by the way, Paul knew a lot about personal suffering. In this amazing statement in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28, listen to what he says: "I have worked harder. I have been put in jail more times. I have been whipped times without number. I have faced death again and again. Five different times the Jews gave me 39 lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and day adrift at sea."
"I have traveled many weary miles. I have faced danger from flooded rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities and the deserts and on the stormy seas. I have faced danger from men who claim to be Christians but are not. I have lived with weariness and pain and sleepless nights. Often I have been hungry and thirsty and gone without food. Often I have shivered with cold without enough clothing to keep me warm. And beside all of this, I have the daily burden of how the churches are getting along."
So you think you have problems? What is it you were complaining about earlier? Oh yeah, I remember: you have the sniffles, or your car ran out of gas on the way to work? Or what was it exactly that was troubling you? Yet despite this incarceration that Paul was facing, he writes this letter that just resonates with joy. And this, as I said earlier, was written from Rome. Now Rome was a cruel and dangerous city at this particular time historically. Caesar Nero was on the throne; he was one of the most corrupt of the Caesars.
He had instituted daily gladiator matches in the arena, and he became progressively more bloodthirsty and decadent. In fact, Roman philosopher Seneca, a contemporary of Nero, made this statement, speaking of his time in Rome: "I felt as if I had been in a sewer." Nero was known for his cruelty. He murdered his own wife and his mother, Agrippina, who helped him rise to power. In fact, her last words tell something of how horrible Nero had been as an emperor. She said of her own son to the executioner: "The good thing about my death is the womb that bore Nero is now dead."
Nero is the Caesar who set Rome on fire and then blamed it on the Christians. And Nero is the one who was probably responsible for the death of more Christians than any of the other Caesars. And he didn't just execute them; he took a perverse pleasure in torturing them, covering them in animal skins while they would be attacked by animals in the arena there, the great structure there in the middle of Rome. And then also it was Nero that would take Christians and cover them in pitch and light them on fire as he would ride his chariot to the garden.
And so this was a very cruel man, and yet he is in control and Paul is incarcerated with an uncertain future, chained to a Roman guard day in and day out, knowing his case was coming up. He didn't know if he was going to be acquitted or beheaded. And he says now that he is able to rejoice in these circumstances. And so this is a theme we are going to see running through this book. Nineteen times in four chapters, Paul mentions joy, rejoicing, or gladness.
For instance, when he thought of the Philippian believers who brought a smile to his face, he writes in Philippians 1:3-4: "I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine, making requests for all of you with joy." When he encouraged them to walk together, he got joyful thinking about it, as he writes in Philippians 2: "Therefore, if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if there is any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy and be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord of one mind."
When he mentions sending a friend to them, he urged them to receive him joyfully. And he writes in Philippians 2:28: "I am eager to send him, so when you see him you will be glad and welcome him with great joy." Even when he thought about his potential death, he was still full of joy. In Philippians 1:21, he says: "For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain... I know that I will continue with all of you with joy." And he really gets down to the bottom line of all of it when in Philippians 4:4, he says: "Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice."
How Can We Experience This Joy Today?
Okay, so joy is the theme of Philippians. Joy is better than happiness. So here is a couple of questions. Number one: How could Paul be so joyful and jubilant under such adverse circumstances? Number two: Is this something I can experience in the 21st century? And if so, how? Well, let me answer the second question first. You can experience it. In fact, you should experience it for yourself. This is not unique to Paul. What he is describing is available to any follower of Jesus Christ.
And that brings me to the first question: How is he able to do it? Well, there is another word that we find used a lot in the book of Philippians in addition to joy, and it is the word mind. And this reminds us that a lot of this has to do with how we think. In fact, the word "mind" is used ten times, and the word "think" is used five times. Add to that the time that Paul uses the word "remember," and you have sixteen references to the mind. In other words, the secret of Christian joy is found in the way a believer thinks.
It is not found in a problem-free world, because that does not exist. It is found in the way that we think. Now understand what I am saying: I am not advocating positive thinking or possibility thinking or mere optimism. The Bible is not some self-help book that will just, you know, put a little more spring in our step and make us a little bit happier. No, no. That is not at all what Paul is saying or what the Bible is teaching. Paul is saying, "I am thinking biblically."
In Philippians he tells us about his mind and his attitude and his outlook, and that is what we should have as we look at this world. We need to think along scriptural lines. He also shows us how we can live in harmony and in joy with other people. That is important because we live in such a divided culture. It seems we are more divided than ever. We are divided along racial lines, along political lines, along socioeconomic lines. But all of these barriers can be overcome through Jesus Christ.
But we must learn how to think biblically, because we can always find someone or something to blame our problems on. Paul is saying, "No. Learn to think right." And we will find out what that means as we dig in a little bit deeper. Well, that was a long ramp up. Let's actually read some Philippians right now, okay? Chapter 1, verse 1: "Paul and Timothy, bondservants of Jesus Christ, to all the saints" (you might underline that phrase) "in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi with the bishops and deacons: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."
"I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
The Door to Joy: Being a Saint in Christ
So let's start by identifying who this book is written to. It's written to the saints who are in Philippi. Now we don't want to miss what this means, because we might say that this is the door to the life of joy: you need to be a saint. Now, some of you are thinking, "Well, that excludes me because I'm a sinner." Well, wait a second. What exactly is a saint? Is a saint a person who never sins, never has made a mistake, never has done anything wrong, or maybe is a person who has performed a miracle and thus we can regard them as a saint?
Well, those may be definitions that people throw around, but I don't really care about those. All I care about is what does the Bible say? And when the Bible speaks of a saint, it is simply speaking of a believer. The word "saint" means set apart and consecrated for the purpose of God's service. So in effect, every true believer in Jesus Christ is a saint. I am a saint. You don't have to call me St. Gregory if you don't want to, but maybe I will answer if you do. But no, I am a saint, and you are a saint too. A saint, again, is a true believer.
So the point I am making is the truths that we are unlocking now, these are not just wonderful truths for any person that believes. No. These are for believers only. These are for true saints: the man or the woman who has put their faith in Jesus and Jesus alone to save them. So that is why it is so foolish to try to find happiness and purpose and joy apart from a relationship with God. It was C.S. Lewis who said, and I quote: "God designed the human machine to run on Himself. He Himself is the fuel our spirits were designed to burn, or the food our spirits were designed to feed on. There is no other."
"That is why it is no good asking God to make us happy in our own way without bothering about faith. God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing." So, Paul is addressing these words to true believers. And notice what he says in verse 6: "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it." I love that. God finishes what He starts. Greg does not finish what He starts. Greg, in contrast to God, will start a project, get all excited about it, and lose interest in it, and not finish it adequately. God always finishes everything He begins.
With man you have unfinished books, unfinished songs, unfinished buildings. And why? Well, maybe it is a lack of resources or power, but more often than not it is just a lack of desire. But God never loses interest in us. Aren't you glad? I mean, imagine God saying, "I choose you to be my child. I love you. I have a plan for you. I am going to... get kind of tired of you. I am going to move on now." And what? What? No, God will finish the work He has begun in your life. Hebrews 12 tells us that He is the author and finisher of our faith.
Now notice again what he says: "He who has begun a good work in you." It doesn't say, "You who have begun a good work in you." See, this is not up to me to finish; it is up to God to finish. Now I play a part, and I will tell you what that is in a moment. But this is not for me to work out; this is for God to work out. There is my part, and there is God's part. It is possible for me to be resistant to the work that God wants to do in my life. He has given me a free will. I can sabotage my life. I can make stupid decisions and do bad things even as a follower of Jesus Christ.
Now if I am a true follower, I will come to my senses and repent and turn back to God. But that doesn't mean I would not still face the consequences of the wrong decisions I made. So God wants to do a work in you, but God is also looking for your cooperation. A verse we will get to later and deal with in depth here in Philippians says: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that works in you both to will and do of His good pleasure."
Now that phrase, "work out your own salvation," doesn't mean work for your own salvation. It says work it out. And a better translation would be "carry it to the goal and fully complete." So the idea is you are to work out what God has worked in. You carry it to the goal. That is your part. You apply yourself. But it is God that is working in me, both to will and do of His good pleasure. So God plays a part, and I play a part. But be careful that I don't turn my back on the things of God, because I can make a mess of my life.
Hebrews 3:12 says: "Beware, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, and departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called a day, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin." Listen to this: "We become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." Those words were written to believers. So God is saying, "Look, Christian, you make sure that you carry it to the goal. You make sure that you hold the beginning of your confidence steadfast to the end." God will work in you, but you must work it out in your life as well.
God's Good Work and Our Ultimate Purpose
And notice, it is a good work. "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it." Listen, God's plan for you is really good. Now that doesn't mean that it always feels good, or that it tastes good, or that it is fun in the process, but ultimately we can be confident that it is good. Jeremiah 29:11, God says: "I know the thoughts that I think towards you... thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope." So it is a good thing.
Now this is problematic for us because we don't always know what is happening. Sort of like when you are on the freeway, and you get behind a large truck, and you can't tell what is happening. And so he is braking, you are going, "Oh, we are hitting traffic," and you slow down, and he gets slow, and you are slower. And then you finally pull up from behind him and realize there is nobody else on the road. He is just going too slow. But you couldn't see. See, I like to see ahead on the road and know what is coming. And sometimes in life I don't know what is happening. I don't know what is coming.
In fact, what is coming isn't making a lot of sense to me. But God has promised that it is a good work. And He has also promised in Romans 8:28 that He will work all things together for good to those that love Him and have a call according to His purpose. But don't forget the next verse, verse 29, which is right after 28. Verse 28 says, "All things work together for good to those that love God." Verse 29 says, "For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestine to be conformed into the image of His own dear Son."
To me it is a funny thing how people will argue divine election—and by that I mean they will argue endlessly about who God chooses, who God doesn't choose, how to know if you are chosen by God. And very few people seem to talk about why we were chosen. Instead of asking so much about who is chosen... and by the way, if you wonder if you are chosen by God, I have a simple way to find out: believe in Jesus Christ and you will confirm you were chosen by God.
It's sorta like you walk by a door and it says, "Whoever will, let him come." You wonder, "Am I one of the chosen ones?" And you go back and forth in front of the door. One day you say, "I am going in." You walk in, you shut the door behind you. On the other side it says, "Chosen in Christ from the foundation of the world." I do believe God has chosen me before I chose Him. You know why I believe that? Because it is in the Bible. But I also believe that I have a free will and I have to exercise that will. You know why I believe that? That too is in the Bible.
I don't have to reconcile these two views. I don't have to believe in a system of theology that says there is no place for the free will of man. Because the fact of the matter is, predestination and free will are both found in the Bible, sometimes side by side. Well, how do you reconcile that? You don't have to reconcile, friends. It is all true. I am just thankful I am chosen and that I am a saint. And you can rest in that confidence as well. But coming back to the point I was raising: why was I chosen? He chose me to be conformed into the image of His own dear Son.
So let's get back to that good thing. God works all things together for good to ultimately make me like Jesus. Now, what is going to make me like Jesus may not be temporarily good. And by that I mean, what will make me like Jesus might be adversity. It might be hardship. It might be suffering. And it also might be blessing and abundance and other things. But it is all in God's hands, and I have to trust Him for the outcome. So "He who has begun a good work in you will complete it unto the day of Jesus Christ." God will finish it. And one day I will be perfect. On earth? Absolutely not. Only when I get to heaven and I receive that new glorified body.
1 John 3 says: "Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us that we should be called the children of God. It has not yet been revealed what we will be. But we know that when we see Him we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is." Now, believing that one day Jesus Christ will come back again should affect me in the way that I live.
Paul's Prayer for Growing Believers
Let's read verses 9 to 11 of chapter 1. Paul says this: "I pray that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."
Now as we wrap this up, Paul prays for three things for the Philippian believers. Number one, he prays that their love will continue to grow (verse 9). And if you are a true follower of Jesus, your life will be characterized by love. Jesus said in John 13:35: "By this shall all men know you are my disciples, if you have love one for another." 1 John 3 reminds us: "If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar. For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen."
So don't tell me you love God and you hate someone. And especially don't tell me you love God and you hate a Christian brother or sister. That is not acceptable. How can you say you love God that you can't see when you don't love someone that you can see? And you know, here is the thing with love: don't sit around and wait for the feeling of love. Just do it. Don't wait to feel love; just start doing loving things. Have you ever noticed in 1 Corinthians 13 when Paul gives us the classic definition of love, he doesn't talk so much about what love is as much as he talks about what love does?
He says love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way and it is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wrong. You know people that keep a record of everything: "I remember when you said that one hurtful thing 20 years ago." Really? Yes, I did. Yeah, you know what? You need to let that go. It is time for you to forgive. Don't tell me how much you love God if you are hating somebody else. So Paul says, "I pray that you will grow in your love." But he is not talking about some sentimental love; this is a love that is based on a knowledge of God's word.
Because number two, Paul prays that their knowledge of God's word will grow. In verse 9 he says this: "I pray that your love will abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment, that you may approve the things that are excellent." We need an intelligent, discerning love that does the right thing. The word that Paul uses here for "approve" could be translated to examine, prove, and analyze. Why is that important? Because the Bible tells us one of the signs of the last days, among other things, is false teaching.
The only way I am going to be able to detect false teaching is by knowing what the word of God teaches. And you know, I think a lot of times people don't really have a proper theology formed. Maybe one of the reasons is they jump around from church to church constantly. "Yeah, well Sundays we go to Calvary Chapel, then we go to Saddleback, then we go to Mariners, then we go to Harvest, and sometimes we go to all four in the same day." And you know, that is kind of nice in a way, but in another way, I don't know if that is a good thing for your spiritual growth.
I think you need a church. I think you need a theology. I think you need a pastor. And I think you need to be consistent. And I think you need accountability in a church. Because you know, you can run around and do all kinds of crazy things and no one knows much about you, and that is not a good thing for a balanced Christian diet. So you need to find a church, commit yourself to it. Now I am not saying don't come here if you go to another church, nor am I trying to pull you from another church here. I am just saying find a church, stay there, be faithful, accountable, pray for the pastor, listen to what he says, support that ministry, be accountable, and develop and use your spiritual gifts in that place.
But I think with all kinds of things that we expose ourselves to, we get a little bit of confusion, and we may not really know what we believe on a given subject. And this is something we need to grow in. And so we can confront someone if they are in sin. You know, when you are kind of jumping from church to church to church, no one will actually say, "Hey, you know, I noticed that that person you are with actually isn't your husband. What is up with that?" "Oh, he is my boyfriend." "Yeah, aren't you married?" "Yeah." See, they would never do that in one church, but they would hop around and show up with someone else or go do a different thing.
See, that is where accountability comes in, and we need to confront one another if something is wrong. Ephesians 4:14 says: "We should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men and the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, but speak the truth in love." So if I see a believer that is doing something that is wrong before God, I have to bring it to their attention. Galatians 6:1 says: "Dear friends, if a Christian is overcome by sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person get back on the right path."
I was talking with someone the other day who wasn't going to church anywhere, and I asked why. And they said, "Well, I don't want to be judged." And the fact is, they were doing something that was unscriptural, and I brought that to their attention. And I said, "Well, what do you mean by not wanting to be judged? What is your definition of being judged?" They said, "Well, I am afraid that if I showed up, people would not agree with what I am doing, then they would say something." And I said, "So that's being judged?" "Yes, it is." I said, "I hope if you go to a church, someone would say something."
The fact of the matter is, that would be the loving thing to do, right? We need to understand what this whole deal is on judging. I hear this thrown around a lot. In fact, I think this is the non-believer's favorite verse: Matthew 7:1, "Judge not lest you be judged." And they love to quote that to the Christian who dares to confront them. "Well, hey man, judge not lest you be judged." Okay, what does that even mean? Well, Jesus said it, right, in the Sermon on the Mount. What does it mean? "Judge." The word "judge" means condemn. "Condemn not lest you be condemned."
I am in no position to say who's going to hell or, you know, this is not for me to decide. That's for God to decide. I would never say to someone, "You're going to hell." Hey, condemn not lest you be condemned. That's God's decision. But should I apply discernment and wisdom and even judgment among fellow believers? I mean, what is judgment? It's an evaluation, right? Where I say, "Hey, you know, I don't think you're doing as well as you could be doing," or "I want to encourage you." That is encouraged in Scripture.
1 Corinthians 6:2 says: "Don't you know one day that we Christians are going to judge the world? Since you're going to judge the world, can't you decide little things among yourselves? We'll judge angels one day. So you should be able to resolve ordinary disagreements here on earth." And so in a way, we should apply judgment, but not condemnation, you see. So first I want to hear the facts. First I want to make sure my information is right. I want to hear your side of it. Then I want to lovingly tell you the truth from God's word, because the Scripture says I should speak the truth in love.
And with humility, I want to help you get back on your feet again—not with pride, not with arrogance, not with condescension, but with humility, wanting to help you reach your full potential as a follower of Jesus. The third thing that Paul prays for these Philippian believers about is that they would live lives of integrity and be ready for Christ's return—that they would live lives of integrity. Verse 10 and 11 he says: "My prayer is that you would be sincere and without offense." Now what does that even mean? "Sincere" is sometimes translated "without wax."
So Paul's prayer is that you would be "without wax." Well, that is not helpful at all. What does it mean? Back in these days in ancient Rome, fine pottery was relatively thin and fragile and often would develop cracks after firing. So rather than remake the piece, unscrupulous shops would fill the cracks with hard, dark wax and then sell it like new. So you'd say, "Oh, this is great." And you'd take it home and put it on your backyard in the blazing Mediterranean sun, and parts of it would start to melt. "Oh man, you'd take it back. What have you done? This isn't right." And so you would say, "I want one without wax."
Our modern version would be like Bondo. You know, when you buy a used car, you know, take a good look at it. Make sure there's no Bondo. Bondo is like kind of this resin product that is used to patch up things. And so maybe there was a dent here and they just put a little Bondo in there. And so you don't want to buy a car with a lot of Bondo on it. And so the idea is that you are to be without wax. You are to be sincere. I guess what I am asking is, are you a Bondo believer? And by that I mean, is there some fakeness there?
You know, Jesus saved his most scathing words, not for struggling sinners, but for hypocritical believers—those that appeared to be one thing but really were another. And so that is what Paul means when he says we are to be "without offense." It's to move forward in your life without moral failure. I remember Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10: "Give no offense to the Greeks or the Jews or the church. Give no offense." Another way to translate that is, "Don't give a non-believer a reason to not believe."
You know, and they will say, "Oh yeah, well you say you are a Christian. Well, how come that person over there who says they are a Christian just, you know, did this?" "Oh, I don't know." "Yeah, they just were out, you know, committing adultery, or they just got caught stealing, or they did this other thing," and you are like, "You know, that is a bad thing." "Well, we are not perfect. We are just forgiven." You know, that is a good thing to say, but the bottom line is we really wish that person had not done that thing because it is kind of embarrassing and it is hard to explain, isn't it?
And so here is the thing: let's make sure we are not one of those people that brings reproach to the name of Jesus Christ. Because you have a sphere of influence. You have a group of people that are watching you carefully. They are watching your every word, and they are just hoping you will mess up. And when you walk with God and you live a godly life and you stay faithful to your husband or your wife and you do the things that God wants you to do, it drives them crazy. And so it should. It is the power of a good testimony.
You remember after David fell into sin with Bathsheba, the prophet Nathan came to him. In 2 Samuel 12:14 it says: "You have given the enemies of the Lord great opportunity to despise and blaspheme him." I mean, stop and think about most people that backslide. You know, it does not happen overnight. You do not call up your strong Christian friend and say, "Hey dude, want to backslide? Seriously. Pick you up at seven. We just totally go apostate." Yeah. You know, there might be some idiot out there that has done that, but that is not generally the case.
It starts usually with tolerating something that is sinful—something you would have never gone near before. Now you tolerate it. You sort of just put up with it. You play around with it. "Oh, it is not going to hurt me. I am so strong. I have walked with the Lord all these years. I have memorized so many Bible verses." Yeah. You do not think you can still fall? It does not matter. You have ever seen a little baby rattlesnake? They are actually kind of cute. They are just miniature. They have got their little fangs and their little tail and the rattle, and they are just staring. "Oh, a little baby rattlesnake." You know, give him a little... "Oh, he bit me. I am now dying from the baby." Yeah.
Because the venom of a baby rattlesnake is more potent than that of an adult rattlesnake. So it can look so cute and so cuddly, I guess, if you are into that sort of thing, and then boom, it bites you. So it starts with accommodating, where you just sort of turn a blind eye to something. Then you give in to it and legitimize it and start making excuses for it and defending it. Next thing you know you embrace it as a normal lifestyle. That is not the behavior of a real saint, of a real follower of Jesus. If you want to finish well in the race of life and live joyfully, if you want God to complete the work He has begun in you, then you need to press on as a follower of Christ.
God's Second Chances and Our Response
He will give you the strength to do it. You need to ask for that strength each and every day. God will complete the work He has begun in you. Here is the good news: even if you have messed up, God can turn it around. You know, one game I like to play with my granddaughters, I call it "squiggles." And I tell them, "Just write anything you want on a piece of paper. Make any line, just a little drawing. I don't want it to be anything." So they will do some little crazy line, you know. And then I will go in and I will turn it into something, and it will usually be a funny face or a character or something.
And so I will take their squiggle, their line on a piece of paper with no rhyme or reason, and I will turn it into something. And in a much greater way, God can do that with you. So you have messed up and you have made this mistake and you have done this wrong thing. "I guess I have just blown it." Well, yeah, guess what? We serve the God of second chances. So you come to Him and say, "Lord, I really messed it up. Can you help?" And His answer is yes. And He will come, and hopefully you will learn from your mistakes. Hopefully you will not go and repeat them again.
Hopefully you can fail forward, and by that I mean, "I have learned from this and now I want to live an even more godly life and help others to not fall into this area." So, yes, God can even redeem the mistakes we have made. He will complete the work He has begun in you. Look, as I said, even a Christian can wander away from the Lord. Even a Christian can make a bad decision and do a really bad thing. We are effectively capable of doing anything, even as followers of Jesus, because we still have our free will and an old nature, right?
However, if you are a true Christian, even when you have blown it or you have gone astray, you will always come home again. The true Christian will always come back to the Lord. The one who says, "Yeah, I am not into the whole Christian thing. I tried that. It did not work out for me," and they walk away—I would suggest they were never a Christian at all. "Well, 'Judge not lest you be judged.'" Well, good point. That is why I said I suggest, because I do not know. But here is why I say it: because 1 John says, "They went out from us, and they did not come back to us, which proves they were never really of us to start with."
So I guess the real test is, if a person walks away from God and never comes back, it would appear they were never a Christian to start with. But if a person walks away, stumbles, falls, and comes back, well, that is just a prodigal son or a prodigal daughter that will be welcomed home by their father who loves them and missed them during their time away. Yeah, God can forgive you and give you a second chance. And there might be some of you here that, you know, as I have spoken tonight, you have said, "You know, Greg, this sermon wasn't that funny tonight. There is usually like more jokes, illustrations. Sorry."
I am just kind of letting the text speak for itself, you know. But maybe some of this has made you a little uncomfortable because there is something you are doing you know you should not be doing. And the Holy Spirit has made you aware of that, and it is not a real great thing for you right now. Well, listen, it is a really great thing that is happening, because that shows your conscience is working. If you can live in sin and hear a message about the evil of sin and not be moved by it in any way, shape, or form, that to me is scary stuff. But if you come and say, "Oh man, that made me a little uncomfortable." Yeah, good, good, good. Now do something about it.
Well, what do I do? Say, "Lord, I am sorry," and turn from that sin. And come back to you and ask you to give me your strength now to live a godly life. And if you have been trying to find happiness in this world and this culture, can I just tell you it is a waste of life? And there are people that have spent their entire lifetimes chasing after this and have never found it. Don't let that happen to you. You can find the real joy God has for you in life through a relationship with God. Because 2,000 years ago, God proved His love to you by sending His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross in your place.
Because we have broken His commandments, we have fallen short of His standards, but He loves us, He died for us, He rose again, and He will come into our life and forgive us of all of our sin if we will turn from it and put our faith in Him and Him alone. So in a moment we are going to pray, and I am going to give you an opportunity to ask Christ to come into your life. Or if you have fallen away and you are a prodigal son or daughter, I am going to give you an opportunity to come back home tonight to the Lord. So let us all bow our heads if you would and pray together.
Father, I pray for every person here, that you help them to see these words we have shared are true, they're gospel truth. And I pray if they do not yet know you, Lord, that they would come to their spiritual senses and believe in you now and receive the forgiveness that you offer. Now while our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and we are praying together, if you would like Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sin, if you would like to know that when you die you will go to heaven, if you have done things that you know are wrong but you want to be forgiven of them, and you want to put your faith in Christ now, would you just lift your hand up wherever you are sitting and I would like to pray for you tonight.
If you want Christ to come into your life, God bless you. And God bless you there in the aisle. Down here toward the front, God bless you. There in the back, in the very back, God bless you in the back there. God bless. Just lift your hand up where I can see it, please, and I'll pray for you. God bless you there in the back. Yeah, you want Jesus Christ to come into your life. You are looking for that joy that He offers, the hope of heaven, the removal of your sin and guilt. Lift your hand up; I will pray for you tonight. You want Christ to come in. God bless you. God bless you. God bless you.
While our heads are still bowed, maybe some of you would say, "You know what? I have been a prodigal son or daughter. And I have been going out there doing things I know I should not be doing as a Christian, and I am ashamed. But I want to come back to the Lord and I need a second chance tonight. Pray for me." If that is your desire, if you want to return to Christ, raise your hand up and let me pray for you tonight, wherever you are sitting. God bless you. Lift your hand up if you would, please. God bless. God bless all of you. Thank you, Lord. Anybody else in this final moment? If you haven't lifted your hand yet, and you want to make this commitment or recommitment to Christ, lift it now. God bless you.
Father, thank you for each one of these. They are precious in your sight. Now help them to come to you and receive your forgiveness, we would ask now in Jesus' name. Amen. Excuse me. Everyone that Jesus calls, he calls openly and publicly. And in a moment our worship group, being led by Paula, is going to... Well, you said it. I did it. I just wanted to see if you are listening. Our worship group is going to lead us in a song of invitation. And I am going to ask if you raised your hand with me during that last moment of prayer, saying that you want Christ to come in or you want to come back to the Lord, I am going to ask them when the song begins, you would get up out of your seat, walk down these aisles, stand up here in the front. And when you get here, I will lead you in prayer.
Now why do I ask you to come down to the front like this? Because everyone that Jesus calls, he calls openly and publicly. Jesus said, "If you will acknowledge me before people, I will acknowledge you before my Father and the angels in heaven." But he added, "If you deny me before people, I will deny you before my Father and the angels." So this is a way to acknowledge him before people and say, "I mean business. I don't care who sees." Maybe you did not raise your hand, but you want to make this commitment; you come as well.
So again, if you raised your hand, even if you did not, you want your sin forgiven, you want to know that when you die you will go to heaven, you want your guilt removed, you want to believe in Jesus, or you have fallen away from the Lord and you're a prodigal son or daughter and you want to come back to him—right now, as the group sings, you get up, come down to the front. And when you get here, I am going to pray for you. Get up and start coming right now. Come on. God bless you. A choice is set for you now.