rethink life Phillpians 4:4-13 09/05/10

rethink life Phillipians 4:4-13

4Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. 10I rejoice greatly in the Lord that at last you have renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you have been concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Intro
Last week – pastors seminar – theme the revitalization of the UMC

The Methodist church is in decline
73k in 2007 55k in 2008

so the denomination is on a campaign – rethink church

Video Quotes
• What if church was surprising
• practiced what it preached
• took your breath away
• offered hope
• was a verb
• transformed your life
• challenged itself
• loved radically
• put thought into words and words into action
• what if church was valued
• was amazing
• was a given
• helped people find meaning
• stood up for the weak
• challenged bigotry
• what if church was like breathing
• confronted poverty
• astounded you
• opened doors
• fed the hungry
• was a soured of light
• offered mercy
• gave you comfort
• was always honest
• made Jesus visible
• what if church was authentic
• challenged the status quo
• challenged hatred
• was listening
• was a celebration
• more than a building
• had a sense of humor
• filled with the spirit
• was forgiving
• practiced what it preached
• what if church was community
• never glorified itself over god
• fostered peace
• was a catalyst for good
• never condemned
• was empowering
• was brave
• was something we do
• what if church was mindful of others


isn’t this what Jesus asks his followers to do?
Rethink life

The problem is not systems or organizations or pastors or laypeople
The problem isn’t even doctrine.
The problem is that we have forgotten what the Christian life is about

Many kinds of Christians here, at different walks of life
Non believers. Not sure if you are a believer. My feet are wet believer.
Some dabble in the Christian faith
Some take it more seriously
Each of us, no matter who we think we are, are a bit polluted with soft secularism
We live the life as we choose to live it, and hold Christ at bay.

The worst is when we don’t see it or refuse to see it.
We have a pretty good life. Great schools. Nice homes.
How do we call such people to the Christian life?

Is there a difference between believing in Jesus and living the Christian life?
Rethink Life
Live as we live it-
Conduit illustration. Feed me!!

When this is our posture can we rejoice always? Do we find the peace of God? Are we content in all things? In any thing?

Illustration of lack of contentment – people at airport

Paul has learned in all things to be content
He doesn’t want everything anymore.
He is busy doing something else
He can do all things thru Christ

How is this possible? It isn’t as long as we think our life is about us being taken care of.

Conduit – lets take another look.
Where should we be in this picture
When we understand our purpose in life, we start to find the joy.
When we allow God to work thru us, we are close to him

Mike M in Denver – gave $ and pizza. Returned to hotel with joy.

Long story short – myself and a colleague were walking in downtown Denver one evening and a girl that looked like she could not have been more than 20 years old asked if we ‘had any spare change’ when we walked by, I initially did what I always do – don’t make eye contact and just keep walking. I got about 5 steps by and stopped, turned around and gave her what little cash I had in my pocket. She thanked me profusely. I honestly did not care where it was going – all I knew was that she needed it and I had it

Later that evening We sat outside at a table (the weather in Denver was great!), and ordered a pizza. The pizza was way too much for 2 people – we had the leftovers boxed up. As we were walking to catch the train back the burbs and our hotel – I saw a man playing the guitar in hopes of getting donations. I bent down and asked if he would like the pizza – he got a big smile and said ‘Thank You very much’.

Who left with the most joy? The girl, the guitar player or our friend



conclusion
Story of the dippers
An anger took a man on a tour of heaven and hell. They visited hell first.
He opened one of the doors and the man looked in. In the middle of the room was a large round table. In the middle of the table was a large pot of stew, which smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water.
The people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles that were strapped to their arms and each found it possible to reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful.
But because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.The man shuddered at the sight of their misery and suffering. The angel said, ‘this is Hell.
They went to another place where the room was exactly the same as the first one. There was the large round table with the large pot of stew which made the man’s mouth water. The people were equipped with the same long-handled spoons, but here the people were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking.
The angel said, this is heaven. The man said, ‘I don’t understand. ’‘It is simple,’ said the angel. ‘It requires but one skill. You see they have learned to feed each other, while the greedy think only of themselves.’
And so lets rethink life
each of us can choose the kind of life that we want to live.
Hell on earth or heaven on earth.
The scripture invites us to a life of contentment and joy.
What will we choose?