Hang tough…in His grip.

Steve Brown:
Hang tough… in his grip. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown, and this is Key Life. We’re dedicated to the teaching that the only people who get any better are those who know that if they don’t get any better God will still love them anyway. Steve is an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at Philippians 4 as a part of our study of Philippians. And we’re looking at supernatural things that can’t be explained except in terms of the supernatural. Now, if you’ve been listening, and you never listen to me. We’ve noted not only supernatural joy, supernatural reaction, supernatural relationship, but yesterday I mentioned a supernatural resource. It’s in Philippians 4:6.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God.

I one time sat next to the late William Buckley, who was the founder of the conservative magazine National Review. And he was, just so you know, my hero. And a friend of mine, who set up the banquet, put me right next to him, and it was a joyous morning. I tell my students, when I’m teaching preaching, that when he got up and spoke, and they had paid him a pile of money for being there. He was wonderful and when he got, I couldn’t believe what happened when he sat down next to me. He reached over, touched my shoulder, and said, Steve, was that all right? And I thought, are you crazy? You’re William Buckley, I’m a nobody. All right? It was outstanding, but I didn’t. I smiled and I said it was so good, I could hardly stand it. But I tell my students that every great preacher and speaker and communicator is insecure inside. And everyone who is married asks his husband, or his wife, or his friend, Did I do all right? I remember one of the things that Buckley said on that occasion. He said that Norman Thomas, and he had been in a debate with Norman Thomas, said that 35 percent of the Americans were not earning a living wage. Do you know what Buckley said back to that? If 35 percent of Americans are not earning a living wage, why are they still alive? That’s a good question, but let me give you a better one. If the church of Jesus Christ should have died in the first century, why didn’t it? If the Russians have spent literally millions and millions of dollars to obliterate religion, why did it stay strong? If China had three million Christians before the bamboo curtain came down, and now they have 40 million Christians, where did they come from? If you have gone through a tragedy, And yet, you’re still faithful, and still standing, and still taking nourishment. How come? Let me tell you. Because you have a resource, a resource that is the sovereign, creator, ruler, and sustainer of the entire universe. When the Southern Baptist Convention was founded, First Baptist Church in Augusta, by the way. There was a plaque put up, and it read this.

Men who see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and think the unthinkable.

Oh, that’s cool, and that’s good, and only a Christian can say that, because the Christian has a resource that makes all of the difference in the world. Sometimes when I’m witnessing, I’ll say to somebody who’s not a believer, in fact, I did this one time. Who are you going to thank? I had a young man that I wrote to for months and months, never met him until much later. And he became a Christian. He was an atheist and we did all the argument and the debate back and forth. He won some points, and I won more than he did. But his, he and his wife, she got pregnant, and they had a little girl. And he loved that little girl more than you, I mean all he could talk about was his little girl. Having daughters and granddaughters, I get that. And he would, most of his letters, some of them would have to do with the debate we were having. But most of them were about how much he loved his wife and their new daughter, who was wonderful. And so, one time, just out of the blue, I said to him, Jack, I’ve got a question for you, and it’s this. When you are overwhelmed with thankfulness, when you’re overwhelmed with joy at what happened, who in the world are you going to thank? Do you know? With that question, he became a Christian. He wrote me back and said, I didn’t have anybody to thank. And now I do. A resource of provision and correction, and love and motivation, and caring and fixing. And it goes on all the time. We’ve become Christians who see the invisible, hear the inaudible, believe the incredible, and think the unthinkable. I told you when we first started this particular teaching in Philippians, that one of the great things about being a pastor is to see the supernatural resource that is available to Christians that you serve. Most people don’t see that, but I saw it all the time. I have gone to people who had cancer and said, you may die. And if you die, it will glorify God, but frankly, I’ve seen God intervene in situations bigger than yours. And I’m going to pray that he does in your situation. And sometimes when I prayed, and got others to pray, the doctor came in, examined, and says, I don’t understand. The cancer is no longer there. I remember the doctor who came in when our younger daughter had gone through serious illness. She was one day old, and they were afraid that her leg wouldn’t grow and that she would die from a transfusion that she needed. And Christians prayed, and the doctor came in and said, this is supernatural. I don’t understand, but your daughter is fine. I’ve seen it in the lives of people that I loved when God intervened, and God was there, and God made a difference. It is so important that we Christians remember that, because you have a tendency to begin to think that the Christian faith is a list of propositions, and if you believe all the propositions, you’re a Christian. Now, you may be, and maybe that’s sufficient, but there is so much more to it than that. Again, the question that I’ve brought up all week, what is it in your life that can only be explained in terms of the supernatural? And what is it that others see that they can only explain by the supernatural? Let me show you something else. I want you to note that this text not only refers to a supernatural joy, supernatural reaction, supernatural relationship, and a supernatural resource, please note that it also talks about a supernatural rest. It’s Philippians 4:6 and this is what it says.

Do not be anxious about anything, but with thanksgiving

and then he goes on to say

present your request to God.

Now, given the problems faced by the church in Philippi, that was not a very smart statement. Don’t be anxious about anything. What about the Romans? Don’t be anxious about anything. Paul, you’re in prison. Don’t be anxious about anything. Because he’s in charge. He has your back. And he is your resource. There are times when at night I begin to worry, and I’m a worrier. It just, I can’t help it. In fact, I get worried when I’m not worried because I don’t have anything to worry about. And sometimes, I get the message, hey son, you go on to sleep, I’ll stay up the rest of the night. I think God says that in a kind of template to everything we do, and everything we say, and everything we live. Hey, why don’t you get some rest? I’ll stay up. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thank you Steve. And as we’re nearing the end of our study of Philippians, I am just enjoying each of these episodes more and more. If you’d like to re listen to any of them or maybe share the series with a friend, check out keylife.org/philippians-broadcast Hey, here’s a challenging question. Is there really generational sin? Well, that’s just one of the questions that Steve and Pete will address in tomorrow’s Friday Q& A. So, be sure to join us for that. Hey, there’s a book that Steve wrote that you might not know about. It’s called Approaching God, and it answers a ton of questions about prayer that you may have asked yourself. What does it mean when God says no? How can we know God’s will? Does God ever change his mind because of prayer? The book even includes a study guide and personal prayer stories. And for a donation of $15 or more to Key Life, that book is our gift to you. Just call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail Steve@keylife.org to order that book. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, the name of the book is Approaching God. And finally, if you’re blessed by the work of KeyLife, would you help share that blessing with others through your financial support? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card, or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can give through text. Just pick up your phone and text KEYLIFE to 28950. That’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. 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.