Strength in Christ

So I was 13 years old and it was the day of the year that I dreaded more than any other.

School sports day.

And yours truly was running in the 1500 metres.

I was selected to do that and in case you're tempted to think that sounds impressive, selected.

Let me just give you some of the back story.

We'd been asked to sign up to put ourselves forward for an event and everyone else in my class had done so.

Except for me.

And it seemed that nobody else wanted to run 1500 metres on a hot summer afternoon.

And I didn't have a lot of space for negotiation when the teacher confronted me with a clipboard that had been signed up for every single event except for that one and my name was missing from it.

So me and 1500 metres were united.

And I set off and I learnt a lot on that particular day about running distances.

In case you haven't guessed, I'm rubbish at sports.

I always have been, probably always will be.

But I do enjoy running now.

But I didn't much then.

I started off 1500 metres ahead and just went for it.

And very, very quickly found that I was in front.

And I thought, this is great.

Three quarters of a lap around the field.

And I was ahead of the pack.

And people were shouting me on and I thought, this has never happened to me before.

Naively, I hadn't really taken on board the fact that I still had another three laps to go.

And to cut a long story short, I was not only last, but I was spectacularly last.

But a lesson that it taught me was there is all the difference between a distance run and a short sprint.

Perhaps there is a danger that we can think that in our spiritual lives we can get through with the sprint.

But life is not about sprinting.

Life's a marathon.

That's the reality of it.

Those are the challenges.

That's why we need strength.

And the strength that we need is not just the short burst strength.

Christian faith, faith in Jesus, it's a lifelong thing.

It never stops.

From here, right the way through to eternity, we're called to follow him.

And some days that will be easier than others.

Jesus never said it would be easy.

And that strength that we need, that strength that Paul is talking about,

that strength in Christ,

it's not about the strength needed for a short dash.

It's the sort of strength that's needed for that marathon that we call life.

And that's the kind of strength that we need.

When we're dealing with that difficult boss,

whether we're dealing with a difficult marriage,

whether we're dealing with a difficult child, teenager,

whether we're dealing with a difficult health issue,

whatever difficult situation,

these situations come our way.

And whatever it is that we are facing in our lives,

we need strength.

But Paul says this,

that we can do all things,

not just some things.

We can do all of these things that come our way

through the strength that he gives us.

And this passage that we have before us this evening,

this morning,

I just want to pull out three things that we have.

It says, that explain why and how this is so.

And it begins, verse one, where he says,

therefore, stand firm in the Lord.

Therefore, stand firm in the Lord.

Now, it's intriguing, isn't it,

when something starts with the word therefore.

If I came up to you out on the street

or in a supermarket or something like that

and just said, therefore,

and then proceeded to speak,

you'd think that was a slightly strange thing to do.

Because you don't normally start a conversation

or indeed anything with that word.

Because it's a word that functions as a kind of a glue

between the sentence that's about to come

and that which has preceded it.

It joins two things together.

So when we come across that word therefore in Scripture,

we've got to think not what comes next,

but actually what comes before it.

And when we look back into chapter three of Philippians,

we see exactly what Paul was talking about.

Paul says in chapter three,

he's talking about our citizenship that is in heaven.

Our citizenship is in heaven.

Yet tragically, often people seem to think that Christianity,

that its message is about a ticket to heaven.

It's not.

It never has been.

And that's a profound distortion of what it is.

Nowhere in Scripture is faith in Christ

depicted as a ticket to heaven.

It is everywhere presented as a passport of heaven.

That word passport probably doesn't occur in Scripture,

to be honest.

But citizenship does.

And there's all the difference.

You see, whereas a ticket is something

that's just about getting you in,

citizenship is about who you are

and what your relationship is between a place.

And as a follower of Jesus,

it's not just about access to something.

It's far deeper than that.

It's about knowing who you are in Christ.

That's what this series is about.

It's about your identity.

And so if we were to talk about faith at all,

let's not talk about tickets.

Let's talk about passports.

You see, if you've got a passport in your hand,

wherever you are in the world,

it reminds you of where your true place of belonging is.

You may be far from home,

but that is where home is for you.

When we're in those difficult places,

those times of situations where we need that strength,

we need to be reminded of where our home truly is.

And that is the promised future of God,

that eternity that nothing can destroy.

You may have heard that just recently

the great American preacher Tim Keller passed away

after a very long struggle with cancer.

One of the things that Tim Keller once said,

one of the many profound things that he said,

disarmingly simple at face value,

but very, very profound.

He said simply this,

if the resurrection of Jesus is true,

everything's going to be all right.

That's where his citizenship is.

Citizenship in him.

Identity, that's where we belong.

And it's knowing that Paul says that

and unpacks that in Philippians 3

that he's able to then start by saying,

therefore,

therefore.

So then what does he go on to say?

Well, he goes on to say many things,

but knowing that life is not just about sprinting,

but it's a marathon.

He says,

verse 11,

I've learnt to be content.

Notice he doesn't say,

I'm content.

I've learnt to be content.

See, learning is a process.

It might happen quickly.

More often,

it tends to happen over a period of time.

And you get the fear,

as Paul is saying this,

that he's referring to the latter.

That contentment is not something

that just happened for him.

He's had to wrestle really hard.

Remember,

this is a man

for whom life was not a walk in the park.

whose life was constantly on the edge

for what he was trying to do

in planting churches.

A man who was put in prison.

A man who was beaten.

A man who went without.

And so,

being content with those situations

in all circumstances,

he says,

was something that he has had to learn,

to learn over a period of time.

So if we ever look at our own lives

and we think,

what's gone wrong?

Don't be surprised

because contentment is something

that is supposed to take a long time

if Paul is somebody

that we're meant to be learning from.

And sometimes we've got to dig deep.

It doesn't come naturally.

It's not immediately obvious.

It can be hard work.

So don't be surprised.

Don't think that somehow

you're getting it wrong,

that you're stumbling,

that somehow you're not a real Christian,

that you're not really safe,

that there's some hidden formula somewhere

that you're not following.

No.

That's how it is.

Contentment is something

that has to be learned.

That was true for Paul

and we shouldn't be surprised

when it's our reality too.

That strength that we need

for that marathon that is life

is something that comes gradually.

But of course,

to go back to that therefore,

we can come back to it

and we should go back to it

over and over again.

Our citizenship is in heaven.

Our citizenship is in him.

That's where we are.

Or that is where we are on our way to,

but that is where our home is.

Remember,

the resurrection of Jesus is true.

It's going to be alright.

So we've got to dig deep,

but how do we dig deep?

Well, Paul goes on even more

and he says,

in verse 4,

he says this,

rejoice in the Lord always.

I will say it again.

Rejoice.

So he's not happy just to state that.

He's really got to emphasise.

He's got to bring this home.

This is serious stuff,

he's saying.

You've got to rejoice.

I'm going to say it again.

Repeat.

Rejoice.

Now,

how do we do that?

How do we do that

when we actually don't feel

that we've got that strength?

What do we do?

Well,

rejoicing actually

is the greatest weapon

that we have.

I'll tell you a story.

It's during the Napoleonic War

and

18,000 troops

marched upon

an Austrian town

where there was no military presence.

The town council

were getting ready

to surrender

to Napoleon's troops.

except that the

parish vicar

begged with them

and said,

no,

let's worship.

He reminded them

that it was actually Easter

and said,

okay,

we're surrounded here

by troops

and we don't have any.

But it is Easter.

Let's ring the church bells,

go in and worship

and commit this to God.

And that's exactly

what they did.

By the time

they came out of church,

the Napoleonic forces

had fled.

They had heard

the sound

of the church bells

ringing

and the people

praising God

and assumed

that they were

giving thanks

because their own armies

had clearly arrived.

Rejoicing sends

the enemy packing.

it gives

them

his marching orders.

The sound

of rejoicing

should never

be underestimated.

And why is that?

Well,

here's three reasons.

Or sorry,

three things,

three ways

in which we can

go about doing this

when we don't

necessarily feel

like rejoicing.

The first thing

is this.

Quite simply,

make God

your highest joy.

Make God

your highest joy.

That may seem

a really obvious

thing to say

but it's important

for us to latch

onto it

because there are

so many other

choices around.

So many things

that face us

every day of our lives

that could become

our highest joy

or things

that we pursue

but it's actually

it's a choice

who we choose

or what we choose

to be the

most important

thing in our lives.

and if we are

to follow the way

of the New Testament

there is only one

that can ultimately

be that source

of joy.

Make God

your highest joy.

Secondly,

forgive me

if I'm stating

the obvious

but focus

on the Holy Spirit.

Now it's no accident

that in Scripture

there is such

a strong

correlation

between joy

and the presence

of the Holy Spirit.

Repeatedly

over and over

and over again

it's when

the Holy Spirit

is present

that joy is present

but when joy

is present

it's because

the Holy Spirit

is present.

That doesn't mean

to say that problems

aren't present

just the opposite.

Think of Paul.

Think of Paul

having to learn

his contentment.

but it is

when the Holy Spirit

is present

that joy

is to be found.

Make God

the focus.

Make God

the supreme

source of joy

and secondly

focus on the Holy Spirit.

Thirdly,

cultivate

what is often

called

an attitude

of gratitude.

Give thanks.

Continually

give thanks.

Sometimes

as I say

like Paul

to learn

to be content

we've got to

dig quite deep

to bring

those things

to mind.

That's why

it can be

helpful

to actually

write things

down.

Have a book

write things

down

start the day

end the day

perhaps start

and end the day

with it.

Try and think

of one thing

or three things

whatever it is

but bring some

structure into it

to write some

things down

and think

okay what have I

got to be

thankful right now?

Sometimes

they may be

really really

massive things

probably most

of the time

they will be

extraordinarily

ordinary

mundane

things

but those

are important

things

and it's

when we

cultivate

that sense

of gratitude

and being

thankful

and knowing

what we

have

that we

are set

free

to rejoice

more

and to

make more

room for God

and more

room for his

Holy Spirit

and therefore

more room

for that strength

that only he

can bring

that strength

that we need

not to sprint

but to run

that marathon

of life.

One last

story

is a story

about

Corrie

Ten Boom

Corrie

Ten Boom

her sister

Betsy

were middle

aged Christian

women who

during the

Second World

War

they were

living in

Holland

and they

resolved

to conceal

fleeing

Jews

from the

Nazis

they rescued

many

but eventually

they were

arrested

and they

were taken

to Ravensbrook

concentration

camp

Betsy

died

there

but Corrie

miraculously

survived the

concentration

camp

and later

witnessed

to the

strength

that God

gave her

when she

was asked

how she

prepared

how to

prepare

for

persecution

she used

to tell

this story

about her

childhood

she said

this

when I was

a little

girl

I went

to my

father

and I

said

daddy

I was

afraid

that I

will

never

be

strong

enough

to be

a

martyr

for

Jesus

Christ

tell

me

said

father

when you

take a

train

to

Amsterdam

when

do I

give you

the money

for the

train

ticket

do I

give it

to you

three weeks

before

no daddy

she said

you give

me

you give me

the money

for the

ticket

just

before

we get

on the

train

that is

right

my father

said

and so

it is

with God's

strength

our father

in heaven

knows

when you

will need

the strength

to be a

martyr

for Jesus

Christ

he will

supply

all you

need

just

in time

let's

pray

we

started

this

service

by asking

the question

what sort

of things

do we

need

strength

for

for each

of us

that will

perhaps

have a

different

answer

right now

but let's

just think

right now

of what

things

we can

think of

that we

need

God's

strength

for

and let's

hold them

before him

in prayer

Lord thank

you

that it's

not because

we are

strong

but because

we are

weak and

broken

that you

have come

to us

in Christ

and that it

is because

we are not

strong

but that we

are actually

weak

that you

come to

us

in the

power of

your

Holy

Spirit

come to

us now

we pray

come into

those situations

that we

hold in our

hearts before

you now

those situations

that lie

before us

we lay them

before you

come Holy

Spirit

come in your

strength and in

your power

fill us

and renew us

in your

perfect strength

we pray

in Jesus name

Amen