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Sermon:
Rogation
…a sermon about Philippians 4:6, 19
by Chris Cumming
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According to Halley's Bible Handbook, Paul founded his first European
church at Philippi in about AD 51 while he was on his second missionary
journey. He was able to visit Philippi about six to seven years later
before going to prison in Rome in about 61 AD. This is when he wrote
the letter to Philippi. Some commentaries state that this letter had
multiple topics of discussion but at least one or two feel that it
generally is speaking to the all-sufficiency of Christ and our rejoicing
in tribulation.
The message for today is found in the fourth chapter. Let us read the
first 20 verses for context.
Philippians 4:1-20
1 Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and
crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
2 I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind
in the Lord.
3 And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which
laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my
fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and
seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
10 But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your care of
me hath flourished again; wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked
opportunity.
11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in
whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.
12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where
and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both
to abound and to suffer need.
13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
14 Notwithstanding ye have well done, that ye did communicate with my
affliction.
15 Now ye Philippians know also, that in the beginning of the gospel,
when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as
concerning giving and receiving, but ye only.
16 For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity.
17 Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to
your account.
18 But I have all, and abound: I am full, having received of
Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odour of a sweet
smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well pleasing to God.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus.
20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
In this letter of multiple topics, I want to discuss one. It is the
idea and concept of going to God in prayer and petition for all your
needs. It takes two verses to put this together. Let us read them.
Philippians 4: 6, 19
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus.
The title I chose for this sermon is the word, "Rogation." This word
means, solemn supplication from the stem word, "rogare", "to ask,"
apparently a figurative use and meaning literally "to stretch out the
hand." Words related to Rogation are:
Appeal
Beseeching
Entreaty
Petition
Request, including request for help
Supplication
Worship
There is another word I want you to be familiar with today. The word
is, "Providence." We often talk about providence in relationship to
what God provides for us, especially in light of Philippians 4:6 and
"letting your requests be made known unto God." However, providence
means much more than the good things we receive of God. It means
everything we receive of God; good and bad. By bad, I mean all the
elements and events He allows to happen. Let us see a prime example:
2 Corinthians 11:23b-30
23...I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in
prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered
shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in
perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in
the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils
among false brethren;
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and
thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me
daily, the care of all the churches.
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine
infirmities.
First Paul enumerates the bad events in His life. He then says that he
glories in these things. None of these, take note, were the results of
personal sin, but those things which took place in the life of one who
followed Christ. Notice what he says later in the same letter:
2 Corinthians 12:10
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities,
in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak,
then am I strong.
This sermon is about much more than taking your prayers to God. The
purpose of my sermon today is to encourage all of us to surrender to the
providence of God.
Surrender to the providence of God.
In a way, this is our sermon,
Assiduity, Part 2. In that sermon, we learned to put all things
into the hands of God. In this sermon we learn a bit more about the
concept of, “all things.” In addition, we learn to do all of this with
joy.
Personally I am seeing a side of Paul I had not thought that much about
before. He lived his life before God. He took what came at him
day-by-day whether it be blessing or tribulation. He smiled at both
knowing that all things were in God’s hands. He was looking far beyond
these things and right into the Kingdom of God. He knew this was all
temporary. Surely he smiled at every blessing and every answered prayer
but he also had a smile in his heart [if
not on his face] with every labor, every peril, every
persecution, every beating and every shipwreck. He never allowed the
cold, the hunger or the thirst to take away his joy or giving the glory
to God.
Let us again read the two key verses from Philippians 4.
Philippians 4: 6, 19
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
19 But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in
glory by Christ Jesus.
What we are going to do is immerse ourselves into these two connected
verses to get the full meaning.
6. Be careful for nothing
Be careful for nothing - That is, be
not anxious or solicitous about the things of the present life. The word
used here - merimnate - does not mean that we are to exercise no care
about worldly matters - no care to preserve our property, or to provide
for our families (compare 1 Timothy 5:8);
but that there is to be such confidence in God as to free the mind from
anxiety, and such a sense of dependence on him as to keep it calm; see
the subject explained in the notes on Matthew 6:25.
~Barnes Notes
Quoted verses
1 Timothy 5:8 [See
Lesson]
But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own
house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.
Matthew 6:25
Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put
on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
Be careful for nothing - Be not
anxiously solicitous [concerned];
do not give place to carking [distressful]
care, let what will occur; for anxiety cannot chance the state or
condition of any thing from bad to good, but will infallibly injure your
own souls. ~Adam Clarke
Be careful for nothing - This must be
understood not in the most extensive sense, but with a limitation and
restriction. There are many things that saints are to be careful for, as
men and Christians; they are to be careful of their bodies, as well as
of their souls; of the health of them, which is to be preserved by all
lawful means, and not exposed to unnecessary danger; and for their
families, to provide things honest for them, proper food and raiment,
and the necessaries of life; for whoever does not do that, denies the
faith, and is worse than an infidel; and even for the things of this
world in a moderate way, using all diligence and industry in obtaining
them; men ought to be careful to discharge the duties of their calling
in civil life, and to care and concern themselves for the honour of God,
the interest of religion, and the support of the Gospel; and that they
offend not God, by sinning against him: but the carefulness the apostle
speaks of, is an anxious solicitude for worldly things, an immoderate
concern for the things of life, arising from diffidence [fear],
or negligence, of the power, providence, and faithfulness of God: saints
should not be anxiously, or in a distressing manner concerned for the
things of this world, but be content,
whether they have less or more; nor be over much pressed with what
befalls them, but should cast their care upon the Lord, and carry
every case to him, and leave it there:
~John Gill…emphasis mine
6. But in everything
But in everything - Everything
in reference to the supply of your wants, and the wants of your
families; everything in respect to afflictions, embarrassments, and
trials; and everything relating to your spiritual condition. There is
nothing which pertains to body, mind, estate, friends, conflicts,
losses, trials, hopes, fears, in reference to which we may not go and
spread it all out before the Lord.
~Barnes Notes
But in everything - Instead of anxiety,
just lay the case before God, and trust him to do all things well. Three
elements enter into the appeal to God: Prayer, the outpouring of the
soul; supplication, stating our wants; thanksgiving; we must always come
to God, not in a complaining spirit, but with thankfulness for present
mercies. ~People's New Testament
But in everything - The Syriac and
Ethiopic versions render it, "in every time": always, constantly, every
day, as often as there is opportunity, and need requires.
~John Gill
6. By prayer and supplication
By prayer and supplication - The word
rendered “supplication” is a stronger term than the former. It is the
mode of prayer which especially arises from the sense of “need,” or
“want” - from deomai, “to want, to need.”
~Barnes Notes
The next three paragraphs are from the Adam Clarke commentary.
By prayer and supplication - God alone
can help you; he is disposed to do it, but you must ask by prayer and
supplication; without this he has not promised to help you.
By prayer - solemn application to God
from a sense of want.
Supplication - continuance in earnest
prayer. With thanksgiving, for innumerable favors already received; and
for dangers, evils, and deaths turned aside. And let your souls be found
in this exercise, or in the disposition in which this exercise can be
performed, at all times, on all occasions, and in all places.
~Adam Clarke
6. With thanksgiving
With thanksgiving - Thanksgiving
connected with prayer. We can always find something to be thankful for,
no matter what may be the burden of our wants, or the special subject of
our petitions. When we pray for the supply of our wants, we may be
thankful for that kind providence which has hitherto befriended us; when
we pray for restoration from sickness, we may be thankful for the health
we have hitherto enjoyed, and for God’s merciful interposition in the
former days of trial, and for his goodness in now sparing our lives;
when we pray that our children and friends may be preserved from danger
and death, we may remember how often God has interposed to save them;
when, oppressed with a sense of sin, we pray for pardon, we have
abundant cause of thanksgiving that there is a glorious way by which we
may be saved. The greatest sufferer that lives in this world of
redeeming love, and who has the offer of [the
Kingdom] before him, has cause of gratitude.
~Barnes Notes
Recap from that commentary:
---with every burden there is something to be thankful for.
---think about the times God provided for you before.
---think about previous healings and your life of good health.
---think about all the times He interceded on your behalf.
---think about all the times God protected your children and friends.
---think about all the times you were forgiven sin.
---think about eternal life in the Kingdom of God.
6. Let your request be made known unto God
Let your request be made known unto God -
Not as if you were to give him information, but to express to him your
wants. God needs not to be informed of our necessities, but he requires
that we come and express them to him; compare Ezekiel 36:37. “Thus saith
the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel
to do it for them.” ~Barnes Notes
19 But my God shall supply all your need.
My God shall supply all your need - As
you have given to me in my distress, God will never suffer you to want
without raising up help to you, as he raised you up for help to me.
~Adam Clarke
Note: Another commentary I
read made an interesting statement, “Nothing is lost, even in the
present life, by doing good.”
19 According to his riches in glory.
According to his riches in glory - see
Ephesians 3:16. The word “riches” here means, His abundant fullness; His
possessing all things; His inexhaustible ability to supply their needs.
The phrase “in glory,” is probably to he connected with the following
phrase, “in Christ Jesus;” and means that the method of imparting
supplies to people was through Jesus Christ, and was a glorious method;
or, that it was done in a glorious manner [Ed.
Both I say]. It is such an expression as Paul is accustomed
to use, when speaking of what God does. He is not satisfied with saying
simply that it is so; but connects with it the idea that whatever God
does is done in a way worthy of Himself, and so as to illustrate His own
perfections. ~Barnes Notes
Quoted verse:
Ephesians 3:16
That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be
strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
Note: This is fantastic
information both about God and Paul. There is something continuous in
the mind and attitude of both these beings. God does everything by
glorious method and manner. God is constantly looking for ways to give
and spread riches and prosperity in all aspects of our lives. He is the
supply for all things in all situations and in every, and I mean every
aspect of our lives. Hence the reason we constantly put everything into
His hands. Paul knows this absolutely. Virtually his whole life and
ministry and thinking was that this is the God he loves was his abundant
supply for everything, everywhere. With every action, Paul was
acknowledging to himself that God was coming forth with all his needs.
According to his riches - His fullness is
infinite; and through Christ, whose followers we are, he will dispense
every requisite blessing of providence, grace, and glory, to you.
~Adam Clarke
According to his riches - God is rich not
only in the perfections of his nature, which are inconceivable and
incommunicable; and in the works of his hands, of creation and
providence, the whole earth is full of his riches. He gives all things
richly to enjoy, plenteously and abundantly:
~John Gill
In glory - in a glorious manner, so as to
show himself glorious, and make his people so, to the glory of his rich
grace; and "with glory", as it may be rendered, with eternal glory; he
will not only give grace here, and more of it as is needful, according
to the abundance of it in himself and in his Son, but glory hereafter:
and all ~John Gill
19 In Christ Jesus.
By Christ Jesus - and through him, who is
full of grace and truth; who is the Mediator in whom the fullness of it
lies, and through whose hands, and by whom, it is communicated to the
saints: or "with Christ Jesus"; along with him God gives all things
freely, all things pertaining to life and godliness: or "for the sake of
Christ Jesus"; not for any worth or merit in men, but for the sake of
Christ, in whom they are accepted, and on whose account respect is had
to their persons, and so to their wants.
~John Gill
By Christ Jesus — by virtue of your being
“IN” (so Greek, not “by”)
Christ Jesus, the Giver and Mediator of all spiritual blessings.
~Jamieson, Fausset, Brown
By Christ Jesus - The union with Christ
will constitute the chiefest reward. It is not ‘by’ Christ that the
fulfilment will be wrought, but He Himself shall be the fullness of
their joy. ~Popular Commentary
In the beginning of this letter to the Philippians we read the
following.
Philippians 1:4
Always in every prayer of mine for you all making request with joy.
We have learned that in all assiduity we are to pray about everything.
Philippians 4:6 says, "in every thing by prayer and supplication." That
prayer is to be given in joy. Indeed, we are to be in joy in
everything, good and bad. We are to surrender to the providence of God.
The Biblical Illustrator speaks volumes to this concept. Let me share a
few thoughts from that commentary.
Christian joy
I. What does this precept mean?
1. Joy, like every other simple emotion, cannot be defined; it must
be felt to be known. The text enforces that form of joy which we should
call habitual cheerfulness as:
(1) Opposed to gloom and dejection.
(2) As distinguished from levity and mirth. Mirth is an act,
cheerfulness a habit. Mirth is like a meteor; cheerfulness like a star.
Mirth is like crackling thorns; cheerfulness like a fire.
(3) As distinguished from indifference and insensibility.
2. The text requires that cheerfulness should be habitual.
(1) It is required of us in working. We are to earn our bread by the
sweat of our brow or brain joyfully, not counting work a hardship.
(2) There should be cheerfulness in giving, which God loves.
(3) In Christian communion.
(4) In general social intercourse.
(5) In suffering.
(6) In worship.
3. The precept directs us to derive our habitual cheerfulness from the
Lord. No creature was ever happy in itself separated from God. You must
not, therefore, try to get it from yourself.
(1) You will never get it from increase of wealth. That brings increase
of care.
(2) Nor from the Church;
(3) but from Christ; His character, advent, death, righteousness,
exaltation. ~Biblical Illustrator
Some words from Job. Tell me if Job shows any traits of Paul.
Job 5:17-27
…for when the bad things happen
17 Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not
thou the chastening of the Almighty:
18 For he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make
whole.
19 He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no
evil touch thee.
20 In famine he shall redeem thee from death: and in war from the power
of the sword.
21 Thou shalt be hid from the scourge of the tongue: neither shalt thou
be afraid of destruction when it cometh.
22 At destruction and famine thou shalt laugh: neither shalt thou be
afraid of the beasts of the earth.
23 For thou shalt be in league with the stones of the field: and the
beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee.
24 And thou shalt know that thy tabernacle shall be in peace; and thou
shalt visit thy habitation, and shalt not sin.
25 Thou shalt know also that thy seed shall be great, and thine
offspring as the grass of the earth.
26 Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn
cometh in in his season.
27 Lo this, we have searched it, so it is; hear it, and know thou it for
thy good. ~Emphasis mine
Joy, rejoice and rejoicing in
Philippians:
Rejoicing: 1 time in 1 verse.
Rejoice: 10 times in 8 verses|
Joy: 6 times in 6 verses
Rejoicing:
Paul uses it 9 times in 9 verses in 7 books of New Testament
In Philippians:
1:26
That your rejoicing may be more abundant in Jesus Christ for me by my
coming to you again.
Rejoice
Paul uses 22 times in 19 verses in 7 books
In Philippians:
1:18 What then?
notwithstanding, every way, whether in pretence, or in truth, Christ is
preached; and I therein do rejoice, yea, and will rejoice.
2:16 Holding forth the word of
life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in
vain, neither laboured in vain.
2:17 Yea, and if I be offered
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with
you all.
2:18 For the same cause also
do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
2:28 I sent him therefore the
more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I
may be the less sorrowful.
3:1 Finally, my brethren,
rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things to you, to me indeed is
not grievous, but for you it is safe.
3:3 For we are the
circumcision, which worship God in the spirit, and rejoice in Christ
Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh.
4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway:
and again I say, Rejoice.
Joy
Paul uses 26 times in 24 verses in 8 books.
In Philippians:
1:4 Always in every prayer of
mine for you all making request with joy,
1:25 And having this
confidence, I know that I shall abide and continue with you all for your
furtherance and joy of faith;
2:2 Fulfil ye my joy, that ye
be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
2:17 Yea, and if I be offered
upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy, and rejoice with
you all.
2:18 For the same cause also
do ye joy, and rejoice with me.
4:1 Therefore, my brethren
dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the
Lord, my dearly beloved.
So be like Job and be like Paul and…surrender to Providence. |
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