Unlimited Grace

Bryan Chapell: But if I'm united to him, in every circumstance, and that union with him is united to the God of all care and the God of all power, means not only am I joyful for my salvation, I can be joyful in my isolation, like Paul in prison.

Guest (Male): So glad you joined us for today's Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel. In today's episode, pastor Brian shares a lesson from Philippians chapter 4. In a life that inevitably is met with conflict and roadblocks, Paul provides the secret to find continued joy in all things. You can find this lesson and many others when you visit unlimitedgrace.com. And while you're there, look for pastor Brian's recent book release, Are We Living in the Last Days? With a balanced biblical explanation about the book of Revelation and Christ's return, pastor Brian will help you understand the hope that unites all Christians.

Let's hear now from Dr. Brian Chapel as he shares the lesson Contented Joy. By your generosity and mission focus, I was this past week in South Florida teaching students at a school that has a large influence in Latin America. And I'll few hours after this service get back on the plane. Are you going to Barcelona again, Glenn? No. He and I see each other often in our teaching context coming back on Saturday nights getting ready for our duties on Sunday morning. I will be back in Florida again ministering in that school that has a large influence in the Latin American community, teaching pastors the nature of the gospel, how to preach it.

This last week as I was doing so, when one class started, I I got a text from one of the students indicating that his car engine had died and he was stuck in traffic. And then just a few moments after receiving the text, he walked in the door. And I kind of say, you know, what what gives? You you just said that you were stuck in traffic with an engine that had died. He said, I Googled my way out of it. So what what what does that mean? He said, that's right. My engine died. I was stuck in traffic.

So I got out my smartphone and I Googled, what do you do when your engine dies in traffic? Well, what what what was the magic solution that Google gave you? He said, well, the answer was maybe you should try restarting your engine. And he said, that worked. So he made it to class on time. Now, it's so obvious, you would think why would anybody not get that? Well, because the traffic distresses us and the stress takes us away from the obvious. The apostle Paul has clearly told us ways that we kind of keep our faith motors rolling in times of difficulty.

Already in this passage he has said, rejoice always. I'll say it again. Rejoice. And if you run into difficulty, do what? With prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. And then beyond all that, whatever you're facing, think about these things. Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, think on these things. Now, you'd think that'd be enough for our faith engine just to purr right along, and then we hit the traffic jam and the roadblock and the wrecks in our lives and we wonder how to keep going.

Well, Paul gives us the answer and then says, it's a secret. But then he tells us the secret to the source and the context and the actual secret of continued joy in our lives. What is it? To understand, you have to first know the source of the joy of the apostle Paul as he sits in a Roman prison under house arrest, chained to a guard. He says in verse 10, I rejoiced in the Lord. The source of joy is that now familiar phrase of the apostle Paul, his abbreviation for the totality of the gospel. I am in the Lord.

He has said, I'm in Christ Jesus. I'm in Christ. Over and over again he reminds us that our great joy is our union with Christ. That in Christ I am as that little doll inside the Russian nesting doll covered by his righteousness, by faith. The penalty for my sin has been put on Christ upon the cross. And now I, hidden in him, in the reality of his provision for me, I have his righteousness, his identity, his goodness. Now, his father is my father. And because he's a good good father, I am his child. All of this expression of being in the Lord is first a great pronouncement of God's care for us in every situation.

But there's an unfolding dimension from this passage as the apostle is expanding his thought. He says, I rejoiced in the Lord, which is not simply a statement of God's care, but of his power. He is the Lord over all. And if I am united to Christ, I'm not only united to his care, but ultimately to his power. And what that means is yes, I can rejoice that that God is with me in my salvation. But if I'm united to him in every circumstance, and that union with him is united to the God of all care and the God of all power, means not only am I joyful for my salvation, I can be joyful in my isolation like Paul in prison or in my singleness.

Last week I talked about celebrating marriage and some people simply said that's great for the married. But what about those who are single? Almost as though you're talking about, hey, we're rich and you're not. Then we rejoice again that the apostle is willing to make clear as Jesus did that those who are united to Christ are never alone, never abandoned. But united to Christ and both the words of Jesus and the apostle Paul, we are actually wed to Christ even in our singleness, whether it's for a season or whether it's for a life, that God has given the calling to some for the sake of devotion and his purposes, to say in me alone you are complete.

So much so that the Bible identifies that as a gift that most people do not receive because they're not able. But for those of God's special calling, he says, you are complete, united to Christ. In that union to Christ, it does not mean that we will not face difficulty or harm. Think about the apostle is saying, I'm united to the Lord. I rejoice in the Lord, but he is in prison. He's facing trial. He doesn't himself know what that will mean. After all, he's already been through all kinds of hard circumstances on the path that he has been on.

He was in jail for a number of times in Israel until he appealed to Caesar. On that appeal to Caesar he goes through shipwreck and snake bite. Now he's in Roman house arrest chained to a guard. He's got to raise money for his own rent and food in order to survive. He knows the pressures. But somehow in that pain he is able to talk about joy because he believes so profoundly in the power and the care of God. It's it's really the voices that we need from people who have been there that helps us recognize how profound it is to have joy when life is one of suffering.

Samuel Rutherford guest is a name not many of you will know, but he knew the traffic jams and the hard life. The son of a minister at the time of the Reformation in Germany, he watched his father go through persecution and turmoil so intense that though he was gifted to be a pastor, he did not pursue a pastoral calling, but rather became a professor of philosophy at the university. The Lord wouldn't let him go. And when he was given the highest appointment that could be given to an academic in Germany, he turned it down and said, I am going to be a pastor.

And as he began to identify with the trials and the hurts and the pain of his people, the pain became most intense for him when a man that he had shared his life with, his music director, got gravely ill. And Rutherford Chapel had himself to say, what does my faith mean now in these circumstances? The words that he wrote to a hymn to encourage his music director were these. Whatever my God ordains is right. Holy his will abideth. I will be still whatever he doth and follow where he guideth. He is my God. Though dark my road, he holds me that I shall not fall.

Wherefore to him I leave it all. Listen to Kevin do a modern version.

Kevin: Whatever my God ordains is right. His holy will abideth. I will be still whatever he doth and follow where he guideth. He is my God. Though dark my road, he holds me that I shall not fall. Wherefore to him I leave it all.

Bryan Chapell: The words are a little archaic, but they touch something deep. The tune that Kevin just did is written by Paco Bell. You know Paco Bell? So often we play his canon in weddings. And if you listen to the tune, you'll recognize a little of that tune echoed as something deep is being touched. The apostle Paul recognized that as he not only is rejoicing in the care and the power of God, whatever the circumstance, but recognizing the way in which God is ministering to him is by the people of God. Remember the apostle writes also in verse 10, I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me.

You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. It's been over a decade since the apostle Paul was actually in Philippi starting the church there. He's not been with those people for a long time. Now he's in house arrest in Rome having to raise rent and money for food. And the ones who are sending money to him are those least capable, he will say in just a few verses, those at Philippi. And yet they are sending money to support him in his mission, in his imprisonment there in Philippi, as though the people themselves are in Christ Jesus.

They are they're actually united to God's purpose and plan so much that Paul perceives the care and the power of God are being poured through his people to become the reality in the life of the apostle. I think the nearest example to us is what's going to happen this next weekend. As Friday we began having the mission conference here and you begin recognizing that we can't think it's just tradition and maybe performance and maybe just something we do out of habit as a church that we support missionaries. Do you recognize that some of these people we will not have seen for years?

And we have been faithful. You have been faithful as a people in supporting them not just for their work, but according to the understanding of the apostle, we actually as the people of God become God's care and power in their lives as though they perceive his divine presence and continuing and support because the people of God still their hearts touched for the purposes of God become the witness of the care and power in their lives. So they come here and we encourage them and they encourage us. But that work of God's people as they minister as the body of Christ is actually saying God's care and power are being poured through his people.

We experienced it as a family just a few weeks ago when Kathy's mom passed away. It was unexpected and we weren't even in town. And you all as a congregation sent first dozens and then scores and ultimately hundreds of messages and notes and cards. And it was for my wife as though God himself were ministering to her soul in a time of grief. As you begin to recognize what it means to be in Christ Jesus is not just theological abstraction. It is actually the power and the care of God coming into the lives of others by the work of his people.

It happens in ways that sometimes surprise us.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Unlimited Grace, the audio broadcast ministry of pastor and author Brian Chapel. Our world is shaking with news of wars, economic uncertainty, natural disasters, social unrest, and personal tragedies. Now many Christians are wondering, are these the end times? No one seems to be able to handle a world seemingly spinning out of control. Are these the end times or is there to be no end to the madness of war and the sadness of a broken creation? The Bible answers with the certainties and comfort of God's word. Pastor Brian will help you understand our times in his new book, Are We Living in the Last Days?

This careful look at the major views of end times prophecies in the book of Revelation is written to comfort our hearts and strengthen our faith. Jesus promised us peace of heart in a troubled world. And you can understand and anticipate that peace through the assurances of God's word in pastor Brian's new book, Are We Living in the Last Days? You can request your copy of Are We Living in the Last Days when you go online to unlimitedgrace.com or by calling 844-41 Grace. That's 844-414-7223. And now more from Brian Chapel on today's Unlimited Grace.

Bryan Chapell: As you begin to recognize what it means to be in Christ Jesus is not just theological abstraction, it is actually the power and the care of God coming into the lives of others by the work of his people. It happens in ways that sometimes surprise us. The writer of whatever my God ordains is right, Samuel Rutherford was German, but the words that Kevin sang were English. They were translated by an English teacher named Catherine Winkworth. Much illness in her life, she suffered a great deal and her family as well. So that when she was a young woman, her father became gravely ill.

He died. And the business that had been supporting the family went away. They had to sell their home. They had to sell possessions. They had to move to a very poor portion of London. And in that poor segment of society they got to identify with poor people and suffering people and struggling people. Not only did Catherine's father die in that poor section of town, her sister died too. And a friend gave to Catherine Rutherford a a devotional of German devotionals. Catherine had had much time in Germany, didn't know much, but she began to study and to translate that devotional work in German as a way of ministering to her own heart.

And she came across the Samuel Rutherford hymn. And it touched something deeply. And as she translated it, it became one of the most sung hymns in England at that time. But let me tell you something. It was 200 years after Rutherford first wrote it in a different language. As God was at work, his care and power, not only for Catherine, not only for Samuel, but for the many whose lives they touched, and because her hymn became such an inspiration, it began the work of charitable foundations in England for the poor and the indigent and the sick.

As God was working his plan, his care, his power far beyond what any individual in the plan would have known because they were in the Lord and God was using them in his calling far beyond their circumstances. The path was long, but it was wondrous as whatever God ordained was right.

Kevin: Whatever my God ordains is right. He never will deceive me. He leads me by the proper path. I know he will not leave me. I take content what he hath sent. His hand can turn my griefs away. And patiently I wait his day.

Bryan Chapell: There are those who think that because whatever God ordains is right, that that becomes just mere fatalism. You know, God's just going to do what God's going to do. But what the apostle understood and what God's people have understood through the ages is if we are united to the Lord in his purposes, then as his care and power at work, it's actually giving us greater zeal. I'm I'm not just hope against hope wishing that something will happen. I am united to the Lord. So his care and purpose are being poured in and through me so that there's greater zeal and purpose and desire to do the work of God believing that he is not limited to the moment.

He is working through his people for his people, the purposes of his plan. And I need to remember that that he's working through people in such a way that we wait patiently for him to unfold all that he was doing in his care and in his power. So I think of those of you who are who are teachers. I think those of you who are foster parents for another time. I think of those of you who are grandparents to children again in your lives. And all that God is doing, if you say, well, I'm not seeing the results today.

I am not seeing the results this week. To actually believe that God is saying to you in a family, in the workplace, in school, through tutoring, through friendships, is God is it happens to us, doesn't it? We recognize bringing to my memory what people may think of years later as your witness, your care, your work in their lives. And God as he is working his plan, his care, his power is uniting his own purposes to us so that we patiently as his people wait for what he is doing believing that he is powerfully at work in and through us, which tells us what the context of our joy is, not just our source that is in God in union with him, but ultimately the context of our joy.

If I believe that God is working through his people across time showing his care and his power, then where is he working? Well, the simple answer to what is the context of his work is, well, it's whatever. Although it's not resignation, it is confidence. It is my God is at work. Whatever the situation is because his care and his power are here. Verse 11 says it so clearly. Paul writes from that imprisonment, not that I'm speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. That's not resignation. It is the confidence that God is at work in his life even in these awful circumstances because he's going to name whatever the circumstances are.

They unfold in verse 12, remember? I know how to be brought low and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance, and need. He knows all the negatives and I need him to know that. That this isn't just rose colored glasses. It's it's not failing to assess or take stock of the real world in which we live. The apostle says so clearly, yes, I know joy and I rejoice in God's using you his people to minister to me, but I've taken stock. I know what it means to be brought low.

I know what it means to abound. I know what it means to face hunger and at the same time plenty, to face need as well as abundance. I know all of this and I'm still telling you that this joy is possible. Paul actually says he is content whatever the circumstance. That's that's tough on us. But important for us to hear what he has said is the context of his contentment. It's both plenty and want. If you can be content in both plenty and in want, that means it's also possible not to be content in plenty and in want.

Guest (Male): That's pastor Brian Chapel and you've been listening to Unlimited Grace. If this message has been an encouragement to you, you can find a collection of more valuable resources at unlimitedgrace.com. When you visit, you will find today's message and many others from pastor Brian. While you're there, make sure to sign up for pastor Brian's daily devotional sent right to your inbox. Also be sure to request a copy of Dr. Chapel's book, Are We Living in the Last Days? We'll send you this book right away as our way of saying thank you for your most generous financial support.

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