Are you living in wonder?

Steve Brown:
Are you living in wonder? Let’s talk about it on this edition of Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was author and seminary professor Steve Brown, and this is Key Life. We’re all about radical grace. Because of what Jesus has done, God’s not mad at you. Keep listening and that message will set you free to live a life of joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Hope you guys had a great week-end. And as always, I hope your Pastor’s sermon was as good as my Pastor’s sermon. If you’re just joining us, we’re studying the Book of Philippians, and we’re up to the fourth chapter. We’re getting close to landing this plane. The fourth chapter of the Book of Philippians. Before we study, let’s pray. Father, as we come into your presence once again, we are thankful that you wrote it down, that you gave us the Scripture, that you gave us the guide, that you gave us the principles, that you gave us the truth. Father, we would have gotten it wrong if you hadn’t done that. And we’re also glad that you invited us into your presence, not because we’re good, or pure, or obedient, or even faithful, but because we are yours. Father, you know everybody who’s listening to this broadcast. You know the hard places and the soft places, the tears and the laughter. Remind us that you’re sovereign over all of that, and that you are good all the time, sufficient for every need. And then, as always, Father, we pray for the one who teaches on this broadcast. Forgive him his sins because they are many. We would see Jesus and him only. And we pray in Jesus’ Name. Amen. Now, if you were listening last week, I sort of introduced this subject. The text is Philippians 4:4 through 7, where Paul says this.

Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Now, if you’re not a believer, and you were flipping across the radio dial, and you heard this fog horned voice read that passage of Scripture, you probably said to yourself, you’ve got to be kidding. Don’t you understand how messed up things are? Don’t you get war? Don’t you get cancer? Don’t you understand that there is no peace, except in a bottle or in a pill. Well, there is, and that’s what the Christian faith offers. And it is beyond understanding. Sometimes we forget, don’t we, that the Christian faith is, at its base, a supernatural faith, where nobody can understand. I’ve been reading a great book by Rod, well, maybe it’s not a great book. It’s a sort of great book, at least in the main theme of the book, by Rod Dreher, and it’s called Living in Wonder. And what he says in that book is that we as Christians have become so embedded in systematic theology and rationalism and what you can see and touch and hear that we’ve forgotten the wonder, the reality that is behind it all. And one of the great things about this book is the stories that he tells of things that have happened to real people in real time. For instance, he talks about a story of a man in Jerusalem working a Christian souvenirs shop. And he said he went in there expecting to find a nice Christian, and in fact found a sort of Hell’s Angel. Looked like a biker with tattoos, looked mean, he looked scary, and he was big. And Rod said, I was surprised at what he was doing there. And I asked him who he was and what he was doing there. And he said, a few years ago I came to Jerusalem because I could get drugs here. And I decided I had to do something or I was going to die. My addictions were killing me and he said I knew what that was going to cost me and I didn’t think I could do it and then suddenly I was held. Rod said, what do you mean held? He said I was hugged and held for four full days. I didn’t eat anything. I couldn’t move. These arms were wrapped around me and they held me there. And when I finished the four days, two things were true. First, I was hungry, because I hadn’t eaten over those four days. And secondly, I was free. I started reading Matthew. I started seeking out other Christians, and that’s what I’m doing in this store today. You know, things like that happen all the time. They really do. I honestly don’t believe that we can do the Christian faith unless we first realize the supernatural nature of the Christian faith. I’m not charismatic. I had a daughter who was healed because of some charismatics who prayed for her. So, I don’t make fun of them, and certainly not in thunderstorms. But I’ll tell you the gift the charismatic and Pentecostal people have given to God’s people, a reminder. A reminder of the wonder, a reminder of the supernatural nature of the faith we proclaim, a reminder that God is really there, really. And he intervenes in our lives in supernatural ways. And there’s probably no better statement in all of Scripture of that supernatural nature of the Christian faith. Rejoice, what?

Rejoice always.

Paul says. He said.

In everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Now, I don’t want to sound overly pietistic in saying this, but I’ve been walking with Jesus for a very long time, longer than many of you have been alive. And I want you to know I can’t leave, I can’t leave because it’s rational. It’s the only rational world view there is but that’s not enough. I can’t leave because of the supernatural intervention in my life in so many ways. And so, there’s a sense, maybe minimally, that I’m an illustration of the text I just read to you. I have found that I can rejoice because the things that Paul talks about in this particular text are things I’ve experienced personally, and you have too. It’s the living in wonder. It’s presenting a life to the world that they can’t understand. What is it about your life that can only be explained in terms of the supernatural? What is it about my life that can be explained only in terms of the supernatural? When I was teaching seminary students, I would say, you’ve chosen a hard profession and you’re crazy. And then I would say, but there’s something that makes up for all of it. And do you know what it is? You get a front seat on a supernatural God working in the lives of a whole lot of people. And you get to watch and say, you go, God, you go. I’ve seen it over and over again. There have been those that I thought would never come to Christ who came running. There are those who were sick and didn’t expect to recover, and they got well. There are those I couldn’t love, but I did. There are those who couldn’t forgive me, but they did. There are those who went through tragedy and trauma and difficulty with an amazing peace and thanksgiving that you can’t explain. There are those who get it and walk it and live it, and the world looks and says, that’s crazy. That’s just plain crazy. And it is, but it’s crazy like a fox. And it’s exactly what Paul is talking about in this text in Philippians. And what we’re going to talk about for the next two or three weeks, what is it in your life that can only be explained in terms of the supernatural? You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Are we living in wonder? Thank you Steve, for that challenging question. As you know, we’ve been exploring Paul’s letter to the Philippians and today delved into chapter 4: verses 4 through 7. And we shall continue from here tomorrow, so hope you’ll join us. Well, you probably already know the story of Mary and Martha in Luke 10, but it’s worth remembering that Martha was not a monster, Mary was not a saint. So, what do we do when the noise is too loud? When we’re so busy, we just can’t sit still. Well, how about we stop and we get quiet and sit at Jesus’ feet, especially during this Lenten season. Steve addressed this common challenge in a message called, When the Noise is Too Loud. And if you’ll call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE we’ll send you that message on CD for free. Again, that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail Steve@keylife.org to ask for that CD. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your absolutely free CD called When the Noise is Too Loud. And before you go, if you’ve been blessed by the ministry of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your giving? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950. Again, that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.