Rev. David Holwick E
Boothbay Baptist Church
Boothbay, Maine
October 11, 2020 Philippians 4:2-9
PRACTICAL POSITIVITY
I. How high is your negativity rating?
A. Scientists believe they can find your number.
The BBC reports that psychologist John Gottman has done
extensive research on the interaction of couples.
He asks couples to discuss their most contentious issues and
looks at how they communicate.
He doesn't just listen - he also measures their blood pressure,
skin conductivity, and the sentiments of what is being said.
By doing this he has come up with a mathematical algorithm,
a formula.
After he analyzes a couple, he can predict with 90% accuracy
if they are likely to get divorced.
He calls his formula the "negativity threshold."
It is how negative a person needs to be before they provoke a
strong reaction in the other person.
Many people think that good relationships are about compromise
and letting things go.
Such couples have a high negativity threshold - it takes a lot
to get a reaction going.
You may think that is a good thing, but you would be wrong.
The exact opposite is true.
Couples with a low negativity threshold do best.
They continually resolve and repair small issues and never let
them build up to become big issues.
What does the Bible itself say?
"Don't let the sun go down on your anger."
Don't let the bad stuff pile up.
#64760
B. This attitude summarizes Paul's advice in Philippians 4.
1) He is relentlessly positive.
2) Negative realities are acknowledged but he doesn't let
them set the tone.
3) God sets his tone, and he should set your tone, too.
C. I am going to highlight four areas he focuses on.
1) Relationships, personal faith, anxiety and thought patterns.
2) If you can get a handle on these, you will do well in life.
II. Conciliate your friends.
A. Fighting of two women in Philippi.
1) Women do much of the work in any church.
a) We are beginning the long process of finding a
replacement for Pastor Nash.
b) Pastors are important. But if we lose Becky Roberts
or Cindy Lewis, the wheels come off this church!
I could name many others, too.
c) So when women don't get along, it is a big issue.
1> What does Paul think should be done?
2) Remarkably he names them in a letter to be read in public.
a) He says they are real believers, not fakes.
b) Their conflict was probably because Euodia brought
the wrong brownie mix to the women's group...
c) (In my last church, it had to be Duncan Hines. Any
other brand and they threw out.)
3) The conflict was a big deal to Paul.
a) It may have been reason for big chunks of the letter.
b) Note his appeal in 2:1 to have "the same mind."
B. Help others get along - be a peacemaker, a conciliator.
1) Paul calls on a special person he names "Yokefellow."
a) Could be Luke, whom Paul left in Philippi.
b) An even-handed effort is requested.
c) You can be a yokefellow to others.
2) Even if we are not fighting anyone, we can get involved.
a) This can be a very positive ministry.
b) Don't ignore conflicts or avoid them, but get people
talking and working together again.
3) Handle conflict "in the Lord."
a) It is often beyond mere human effort.
b) Put your commitment to Jesus first.
III. Celebrate your faith.
A. Rejoice!
1) There is joy in being a Christian.
a) If you don't feel it, reflect on God's promises for you.
b) Remember what God has done in your life.
c) Your world may be falling apart, your business may be
getting flushed, but God is still on the throne.
1> Take comfort in this.
2> REJOICE in His love for you.
2) Always?
a) Christians believe God is always in control.
b) Even bad things can turn out for our blessing.
1> Whatever happens to us is for our good.
B. Be gentle (or reasonable).
1) Because we have joy in Lord, we don't have to lash out at
people.
a) Often in biblical literature, it is said to be the
attitude of persecuted believers.
2) We should pose no threat to people.
a) (God is threatening enough!)
C. Focus on the Second Coming of Jesus.
1) We have a hope beyond the uncertainties of this world.
2) Is he coming soon or later?
a) When I was a non-believer in high school in 1973,
I read the book "The Late Great Planet Earth."
It is a breezy look at the Second Coming, and it
convinced me to become a Christian.
Back then, we thought Jesus would come back in a
matter of months. He didn't.
3) But we should live as if it could happen soon.
a) It should motivate how we live now.
IV. Alleviate your anxiety.
A. Worry about nothing.
1) Worry stifles our joy and pumps out stress.
a) People tend to be pessimistic. I excel at it.
b) In our age, we have lots to worry about.
1> There are big worries that everybody worries about.
A> Climate change, the economy, racial unrest...
2> There are also small worries that are personal to us.
2) Remember that you are not God.
a) Worry is assuming responsibility that God never
intended for us to have.
1> It's playing God, controlling the uncontrollable.
b) Dr. Walter Cavert has done studies on our worries.
He has discovered that:
40% of our worries never happen.
30% of our worries concern the past.
12% of our worries are needless worries about health.
10% of our worries are insignificant or petty concerns.
8% of our worries are really legitimate concerns.
3) The Bible says, "Do not worry about anything." Matt 6:25,34
a) Worry is not natural, Jesus is saying.
b) It is something you learn.
1> You have to practice to get good at it.
2> But if it is learned it can also be unlearned.
c) Leave your concerns with God.
B. Pray about everything.
1) Replace a negative with a positive.
a) Instead of worrying, pray.
b) If those people who say "I don't have time to pray"
would spend their time praying instead of worrying,
they'd have a whole lot less to worry about.
2) "In everything..."
a) Some people think that God is only interested in you
praying about "religious" matters.
b) God is interested in everything in your life.
3) "Supplication" is a specific, detailed request.
a) Get specific with God.
b) Tell Him exactly what you want and what you need.
1> Most people's prayers are too vague, too general.
A> "God, help all the hurting people..."
B> That is how I have to pray when our service is
broadcast but it is not how I pray on my own.
Neither should you.
2> Instead, pray for specific individuals and needs.
C. Have a thankful attitude.
A pastor was visiting some of his parishioners.
He took his young daughter with him.
As they visited an elderly couple, the old man gave her a
handful of peanuts.
Expecting her to show a spirit of gratitude, the father
asked his daughter,
"Honey, what are you supposed to say?"
Sincerely, and with her eyes fixed upon the old man,
she asked, "YOU GOT ANY MORE?"
That sounds like many of us.
We accept God's gifts, never saying "thank you" but simply
asking, "Have you got any more?"
It is God's nature to give.
We need to acquire the nature of being grateful. #2965
1) The healthiest human emotion is the attitude of gratitude,
having a grateful heart, being thankful.
a) It actually increases your immunities.
b) It is a physical benefit to express gratitude.
2) Ungrateful people also tend to be unhappy people.
a) Nothing ever satisfies them, it's never good enough.
b) They are "when and then" people -- "when such and such
happens, then I'll be happy".
3) If you're stressed out, make a list of fifty things you
can be thankful for.
D. Have peace in everything.
1) God's peace.
a) The peace that characterizes God himself?
b) Or the peace of being brought back to God through Jesus?
c) Or the inner contentment that comes from knowing God?
1> Since the peace stands in contrast to the anxiety in
verse 6, inner contentment is probably in view.
2) Beyond our understanding.
a) Christians ought to be as stressed-out as anyone.
b) Instead, God can give us peace in the midst of turmoil.
A life insurance company did a study.
They learned that people who attend church once a week,
live on the average, 5.7 years longer than the
general public.
The contentment and joy of knowing God is truly
health-giving.
By being here, you are saving your life!
We can't explain it, but deep down we know it is true.
c) Our inner peace is not logical but God-given.
1> It guards our hearts and minds with his power.
V. Elevate your thoughts.
A. What you take in matters. Consider Pineville, Louisiana.
Tammy Campbell lives there, in a nice subdivision house.
She noticed something unusual.
She was seeing stringy white stuff in the filter of her
refrigerator ice-cube maker - and the filters in her
dishwasher and washing machine.
Some of her neighbors noticed it, too.
About 60 of them.
The stringy white stuff in the filters turned out to be used
toilet paper.
And the crud that was filling up their water heaters was poop.
Apparently, three months earlier, city workers had mistakenly
connected a sewer line directly to a main water line.
For 90 days, these people had been drinking, bathing, and
cooking with sewage water.
They were dropping frozen sewage cubes into their extra-strong
iced tea.
They could take comfort in knowing the sewage was somewhat
diluted by the time it got to them.
And the city officials assured them there was enough chlorine
in line to kill most of the germs. Most of them...
#35262
Some of you may be grossed out by this true story.
You may be thinking, didn't the Boothbay Water Department do
some construction on their facility this summer? They did...
You may not realize you are ingesting sewage in many ways
that is not as obvious - through television, the internet,
some of the people you associate with...
B. What do you fill your mind with?
1) Christians are noted for our warnings about sin and impurity
- the dangerous and negative things we are against.
2) Another focus is just as important - we need to fill our
mind with things that are positive and beautiful.
3) We need the ability to discern what is best and brightest,
and then we need to choose those things.
4) In doing so, we will reflect what our God is all about.
C. An upward focus.
1) The word "finally" is a clue.
a) Pastors put their strongest thought in the summary and
this is the summary of Philippians.
b) Paul begins his conclusion by asking them to focus on
8 principles, and all of them are positive.
1> Truth, honor, justice, purity, beauty, commendable,
excellence, praiseworthy.
2> They are not just positive, but upward-focused.
2) Notice the emphasis on thinking.
a) What you train your thoughts on will mold who you are
as a person.
b) We are all born with different intellectual abilities,
but we all can focus our minds on the right things.
Someone has figured out that the average person has
10,000 separate thoughts in a day.
That works out to 3.5 million thoughts a year.
If you live to be 88, you will have had over 308 million
different thoughts.
That is why Joanne Cain is so amazing!
Every one of those 10,000 daily thoughts represents a
choice you make.
What will you use it for?
Look at it another way.
What if someone gave you $10,000 every morning and
said you could spend it on whatever you wanted, but
it had to be spent by midnight?
It would get your attention and focus your mind.
Don't let it go to waste.
Sermon #21727
3) Thinking should lead to doing.
Alan Redpath once formed a "mutual encouragement"
fellowship at a time of stress in one of his churches.
The members agreed to apply a simple formula before speaking
of any person or subject that was perhaps controversial.
The key word is "THINK":
T - Is it true?
H - Is it helpful?
I - Is it inspiring?
N - Is it necessary?
K - Is it kind?
If what you are about to say does not pass these tests,
keep your mouth shut!
#2635
VI. Do people see this in you?
A. Paul is not afraid to present himself as a living example.
1) "Learned and received" - basic Christian instruction.
He preached the gospel to them.
2) "Heard and seen" - what they saw in his life, both in
his speech and conduct.
a) Like us, ancient Christians learned from examples.
b) People are learning from you...
B. Positivity is wonderful but it has its limits.
1) Norman Vincent Peale distilled it into a short book and
made a fortune.
a) President Trump had a pew in Peale's church and says
the man and his attitude had a deep impact on him.
b) Americans have made this attitude into a minor industry.
c) But we often treat it as if it is what Christianity is
all about.
2) There is more to Christianity than positive thinking.
a) Repentance from sin is always at the heart of the gospel.
1> Jesus began his ministry by proclaiming, "Repent
and believe!"
2> You cannot erase that, even if it is unpopular.
b) But being cleansed and pure and positive is our end goal.
3) Positive thinking is not salvation, but the fruit of it.
a) When I try to control my thought patterns I soon come to
the conclusion that I cannot do it on my own.
b) I find my sinful attitudes are deeper and more damaging
that I would care to admit.
c) Therefore, I recognize I need a Savior.
1> I came to this conclusion years ago.
2> Have you?
=========================================================================
SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:
#2635 “A Pastor's Mutual Encouragement Fellowship,” by Alan Redpath in
"A Passion For Preaching,” Christianity Today,
August 20, 1990, page 33.
#2965 “You Got Any More?” by Rev. Ray Bowman of the First Baptist Church,
Mantachie, Mississippi, quoted in Dynamic Preaching
(www.sermons.com) disk, Spring 1992 "A".
#35262 “Sewage Cubes,” unknown author, from the Rev. Abe Kudra
Illustration Collection.
#64760 “The Mathematical Formula For Love,” by Hannah Fry, BBC News,
February 8, 2015; http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-31168242.
Kerux Sermon #21727 “Think On These Things,” by Rev. Dr. Ray Pritchard,
Calvary Memorial Church; Oak Park, Illinois;
http://www.keepbelieving.com. Collected by Rev. Abe Kudra.
These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be
downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html
=========================================================================
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
Created with the Freeware Edition of HelpNDoc: Free help authoring environment