Sermon Series: Jesus: Everything You Need 

Instructions for a Fulfilling Life 

Philippians 1:18b-21 

CBC Bishop, March 9, 2003

In a nutshell: Paul gives us his instructions for living a fulfilling life. Three things are involved: Trust in the power of prayer, depend on help from the Holy Spirit, and keep Jesus first.

I. Introduction

A. Instructions

Have you ever purchased something for which there were no instructions? Last week, UPS delivered a new electric impact wrench to the office-I had bid on it and won it on the Internet auction site, Ebay.

Since I try to do most of the maintenance on my motorcycle myself, this was a tool I needed to get certain clamps on the motorcycle tightened to the proper tightness so they wouldn't slip when I put pressure on them.

Now, friends, I have seen mechanics use impact wrenches in automotive garages, so I had an idea of how they worked. But I had never used one myself. So, before I used it for the first time, I wanted to read the instructions to make sure I didn't mess anything up or break the tool or dent anything on my bike.

Now, I have to tell you, this wasn't a real expensive tool. It is made in China, and it's not something that a professional mechanic would use day in and day out. But for the occasional use for which I needed it, I figured it would be good enough. So, when I brought it home, I opened the case, and found the instruction book. And guess what I discovered? I discovered the instructions were printed in French, German, and Chinese. But not a word in English! And since I don't read either French, German or Chinese, the instruction book that came with the tool was just like having no instructions at all. So, I had to learn how to use the tool without a guide about how it worked.

B. Transition

I don't know if you've had similar experiences in trying to put something together, or learning a new skill, or trying to cook a pre-packaged food item, or attempting to learn how to use a new tool. But let me tell you, it's frustrating not having the proper instructions to follow.

Well, I came across a statement from the secular author, Kurt Vonnegut, that echoes this frustrating feeling, but he applies it to life. I've put his words on the front of your worship folders this morning. He wrote…

"Someone said, 'The mind is a marvelous instrument. Unfortunately, it did not come with instructions.' We could say the same for life-all of life. And the more we miss the key to living a full life, the more people invent guide books that tell us how to "find life."" (Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater." Christianity Today, Vol. 30, no. 3.)

Wow! Is that ever true. I went on Amazon.com, the Internet book store this week, and searched their titles and descriptions for books having to do with happiness, or fulfillment, or meaning in life. And I finally stopped counting the books when the list began approaching 4000 current titles. Kurt Vonnegut was right, there is a whole lot of advice out there on what the instructions are to living a full life, or how to "find life". Lot's of people have a lot of different answers. So, who do you believe and what instructions do you follow?

C. Instructions Found in the Word of God

Well, for me, I prefer to go to a source that I've dedicated my life to examining. It has always proven faithful, trustworthy, infallible and true at every juncture of my life-I'm talking, of course, about the Bible, God's Word to us. And that's just where we're going to go this morning to find the answer to this question…, "What are the instructions for having a fulfilling life?" If you brought your Bibles with you this morning, I'd like to invite you to turn with me to the first chapter of Philippians, where we're going to start reading at the second half of verse 18.

Now, while you're turning there, let me remind you that the person writing this is Paul, the apostle. His circumstances while writing these words were that he was under house arrest in Rome, chained to a Roman guard 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. He was cut off from his friends. His enemies were bad-mouthing him all over the world. He couldn't do his work. And he had little hope of getting out of that situation alive. And yet he's going to tell us the instructions to follow in order for us to have a fulfilling life like he was experiencing, even in the midst of those awful detours, difficulties and disappointments he was going through.

It kind of gives you a hint that a fulfilling life isn't necessarily an easy life. There is something deeper to fulfillment that goes beyond ease or success or fame. So let's look at what he writes…

Philippians 1:18b-21 18b Yes, and I will continue to rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance. 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.

As I read and studied these three and a half verses this week, three specific things jumped out at me that Paul said contributed to his life being full and rewarding. These three things are what I call the instructions to having a fulfilling life. Let me show you what they are…

II. Instructions

A. Trust in the Power of Prayer

As we read these verses, it's obvious that Paul had every confidence that God would take care of him even in the midst of his difficulties. He believed that God would provide exactly what he needed. He was optimistic. He was hopeful. He was confident. He was expecting something good to happen. Why? Because he followed the first instruction: he trusted in the power of prayer.

Look again at what he says in verse 19: …for I know that through your prayers and the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ, what has happened to me will turn out for my deliverance."

Paul knew that he could expect God to do something significant in his life, because people were praying. And Paul trusted in the power of prayer.

Friends, prayer should be our first response to everything and anything in our lives-- I don't care if it's good or if it's bad. -When things are going good, we should pray prayers of thanksgiving and praise to God. -When things are going bad, we should pray prayers for help.

You see, prayer is communicating with the great God and Creator of the universe. And if you really believe that such a God exists, then you should pray. Our prayer life or lack of it says much more about what we think about God than what we think about prayer. -If we really have faith in God, then we will really trust in the power of prayer. -If we don't have much faith in God, or don't have much of a relationship with Him, then prayer will become a religious exercise, rather than a vital communication.

The reason prayer works is because God works. God is working on your behalf and my behalf every moment of every day. We read in

James 5:16b 16b …The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.

-It's powerful because God is powerful. -It's effective because God knows what He's doing. He loves us. And He desires to bless us. So we should pray.

And, along those same lines, and for those same reasons, we should pray for others. And on the flip side, we should also ask others to pray for us.

Don't forget as you read this, that Paul was counting on the fact that he would be blessed through the Philippian Christian's prayers. When we stand in the gap and pray for other people, they receive blessings through our prayers. That's why we need to be praying for other people and we need to have other people praying for us.

Friends, this is so important. Please listen…if we are serious about following Jesus, prayer must be elevated from an occasional activity to a way of life. -We need to enlist people to pray for us. -We need to ask them to pray that whatever we're going through, that the outcome of our lives would be that our lives would glorify Christ. -And we should count on the fact that God will answer that prayer.

You need to trust in the power of prayer. This is where a fulfilling life begins.

B. Depend of the Help of the Spirit

The second instruction for experiencing a fulfilling life is found in the second half of verse 19. It is something that Paul said he was depending upon. He said he was depending on…the help given by the Spirit of Jesus Christ,

Paul not only knew that he could trust in the power of prayer, but he also knew he could depend on help from the Holy Spirit.

Let me ask you, "What about you?" Do you depend daily on the work that the Holy Spirit of God wants to do? You should. You see, a fulfilling life cannot be lived apart from the work that the Spirit of God wants to do in your life.

Now, this can be a little scary for some people. Scary, mainly because so many Christians have never been taught about the Spirit. And scary because so much of what's being taught about the Holy Spirit is feeling based and not fact based. And what has happened in so many conservative evangelical churches, like ours, is that people go on with their faith and have no clue what the real work and ministry of the Holy Spirit is all about.

Friends, I'm here to tell you that it's nothing to be scared about at all. When Jesus left this earth and ascended into heaven to go back to be with the Father, He sent us the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's job was to dwell inside each follower of Jesus Christ and empower each Christian to stop living for self, and start living for Jesus.

Listen to what Jesus said would happen to his followers after he left:

Acts 1:8 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Jesus is telling his disciples what would happen to them when the Spirit came on them after He left. He said they would receive power.

-He didn't ask them to go and wait until they spoken in tongues. -He didn't ask them to go and wait until they had seen a vision. -He didn't ask them to go and wait for some physical manifestation. He simply told them what they would receive power. They would receive power to live for Him and be His witnesses in all the world. There is nothing scary about that! Jesus gave those disciples a commission to "go into all the world with the Gospel". And for them to do that, He was going to give them a spiritual rocket booster to get them off their duffs, out of their houses, and into the world! (Can I say "duffs" from the pulpit? J).

The Spirit was also a supernatural flotation device that would help them… -rise above circumstances, -rise above discouragement, -rise above disappointment, and -rise above the mundane routines of life to show the world that there is something better and more fulfilling in life than self-preservation or merely good deeds. That something better is a relationship with Jesus.

And friends, that's still the case today. We still need that power to be able to "go into all the world" and rise above our circumstances. …That's not scary, that's practical and quite frankly, pretty wonderful! Don't you think?

In fact, when you think about it, Christianity cannot exist without that Holy Spirit power. We need to depend upon what only the Holy Spirit can provide, rather than on what we can provide. Otherwise, we will end up trying to live the Christian life in our own power, which is utterly and totally inadequate. It can't be done. I know. I have tried to do it on a number of occasions. It doesn't work. You fall flat on your face. And you fail miserably.

Illustration: You see, if you have merely good intentions and try real hard to live for Jesus without the Holy Spirit, you're like the Japanese Kamikaze pilot who was fired after flying twenty-seven missions-- he meant well but he just wasn't getting the job done.

You can really want to serve Jesus, but if you're not filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, you will never be effective.

In Ephesians 5:18, we're told… 18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

That phrase "be filled", literally is the Greek phrase "Keep on being filled." You see, the fact of the matter is that even though every Christian has the Spirit of God inside him or her, every Christian is not always filled with the Spirit.

To be consistently filled with the Spirit, you and I must consistently surrender the control of our lives to the Spirit of God. This requires an intentional act of laying down our control of our life, at the feet of God. This is a control issue. -Who's going to control my decisions, my wants, and my actions. -In reality, it is a daily decision. -In fact, not only is it an every day decision, sometimes it's an every hour yielding of my will to God's will. -It is a willingness to completely surrender ourselves to the Lord in everything we do.

And it is at that place of absolute surrender that we receive the power of God's Holy Spirit. If we hold back anything in ourselves, if we want to cover up any little sin or wrong or excuse any action in any way, then we risk losing the help of the Spirit, when we would need it the most.

Friends, God wants us to abandon ourselves to the Spirit, just as a drunken person abandons him or herself to the influence of the booze they're drinking. Just like alcohol controls the one intoxicated by it, so we must be controlled by the Holy Spirit of God. We do that by daily, sometimes hourly, and sometimes minute by minute…surrender of the various areas and circumstances and actions of our lives.

When we do that, it puts us in the place of being able to hear God's voice, or feel his "nudging", or know what He wants us to do, so that we can obey Him.

You see, sin separates us from God. It prevents us from hearing God's voice. But surrender, restores that connection. Surrender cleans out the gunk in our spiritual pipes, and enables us to hear the still small voice of God speaking to us. And, as we intentionally decide to obey God, rather than obey self, we will be led by the Spirit. And, as we are led by the Spirit, we will receive the power to do what pleases God and what God wants us to do. Like we used to say in youth ministry, "Where God guides, He provides."

So, if you and I want a fulfilling life, we need to follow the instructions: Trust in the Power of Prayer, and Depend on the help of the Holy Spirit. We're almost home. But there's one more thing on Paul's instruction sheet. It's found in verse 20…

C. Make Jesus First

Philippians 1:20 20 I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death.

The phrase "I eagerly expect" is a very dramatic and unusual phrase in the Greek language that Paul was using. In fact, before Paul, this phrase was never used in ancient Greek writings. Because of that, many scholars feel that Paul probably coined the phrase.

The Greek word is apo-kara-dokia. Apo means, away from. Kara means, the head. Dokia means, to look. And apokaradokia means the eager, intense look, which turns away from everything else to fix on one specific thing. What is that one specific thing? That Christ will be exalted in my body.

In other words Paul is saying, the last instruction to have a fulfilling life is to keep Jesus first in everything you do, with every part of your body-that means your brain, your hands and feet, your sexual organs, your speech, your thoughts, your reasoning, your desires…everything you do with any part of your body, keep Jesus first!

This was Paul's desire. This was his passion. And if we want a fulfilling life, then it must be ours as well. We need to keep Jesus first.

Sadly, this is what is lacking in so many Christians and so many churches today-a real passion for making God first in life. -Is it lacking in your life? -Are you passionate about your relationship with Jesus Christ? -Does having a relationship with Jesus excite you? -Is Jesus first in your life? Or has work, or family, or sports, or leisure activities, or a relationship with another person taken over that number one spot

Friends, listen to me, if something else is first in your life, then either you really don't have a relationship with Jesus, or you don't really understand who He is.

When Paul was writing the letter to the first century Colossian church, in the first chapter he was describing Christ as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, which He is. He went on to say that Christ is so great... that in everything he [Jesus Christ] might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things... (Colossians 1:18b-20a).

The fact is that we are in a relationship with the all-powerful God of the universe, the one who made all things and through whose power all things hold together. If that doesn't excite you, you need to check your pulse.

Our problem is that we usually don't see the reality of who God is. -We tend to make God after our own image, rather than us being made after His own image. -We make him a super-human, not God. -We don't really realize how awesome He is. But He is incredibly awesome. What we need to do is to catch a glimpse of who He is, and that would change our lives forever.

My prayer for all of you and for myself is that in the decision-making parts of our brains, we would so strongly desire Jesus to be number one in our lives that desiring anything else would be like desiring macaroni and cheese, when you could have steak or lobster.

Paul ended this instruction by saying, "For to me, to live is Christ..." (v.21). -Do you have his passion? -Do you want that passion? You see, that's what Calvary Baptist Church needs. We need to see Jesus Christ first in our individual lives and the life of our church. Bishop and the surrounding communities need to see that… -He is our reason for living. -He gives our lives meaning. -He brings purpose and fulfillment to the routines of our lives. -And ultimately, He is our destiny.

III. Conclusion

So, unlike the instructions with my impact wrench, these instructions are in plain English so everyone of us can understand. Do you want a life that's fulfilling? Follow the instructions: 1. Trust in the Power of Prayer 2. Depend on the Help of the Spirit 3. Make Jesus First

Amen. Invitation to come up and pray with a leader and recommit yourself to a life of true fulfillment in Jesus Christ.