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Standing TALL Against Financial Insecurity
1/11/04
Given by Russell Q. Adams

January 11, 2004

Standing TALL Against Financial Insecurity

Philippians 4:11-19

Opening words: Our text this morning is from Paul’s letter to the Philippians, chapter four, verses eleven thru eighteen. The church in Philippi had sent Paul a gift and Paul responded by sending them this thank-you note. He expresses his appreciation and states his contentment in Jesus. Never forget that these words were not written from a five star hotel. These words were written from horrors of a Roman prison. Yet, Paul was content because Jesus was the foundation of his life. Our world is filled with temporary things. Only God is eternal. Let us hear these words together.

THEME = Jesus must be the foundation of our lives.

Introduction

According to both the Gallup Polls and the Barna Research Group, the number one personal concern in America today is money. Money is followed by health, career and parenting issues. There just doesn’t seem to be enough money and everything seems to be getting more expensive. Is there anyone here today not concerned about their financial situation? Has anyone here stayed up late at night in the last month worrying about their money? You are not alone. Money is the number one personal concern in America today. I don’t want to sound too critical but those surveys tell me there are many Americans who are building their lives on their financial resources.

This morning I am not going to give you financial tips. I know next to nothing about the stock market. I am not going to tell you how to make more or save more money. However, this morning I am going to remind you that we are in the disciple making business. If you are a disciple of Jesus Christ, then the foundation of your life is Jesus, Himself! The foundation of your lives should not be your portfolios, your spouse, your family, your friends or your job. Sooner or later those things will slip away. The foundation of your life should be Jesus. Only God is eternal!

Body

My goal this morning is to help you discover the foundation of your life. We are in the disciple making business so as your spiritual guide I am going to ask you three questions. Each one is based on this forth chapter of Philippians. The foundation of Paul’s life was Jesus. Nothing else really mattered to Paul. The apostle Paul was content regardless of his situation because Jesus was the foundation of his life. Is Jesus the foundation of your life or has something substituted the Master? If you are not sure then you will find out by answering these three questions.

Question Number One: Have you learned to be content? If Jesus is the foundation of your life then you should be content. Everyday is a gift from God. The Apostle Paul wrote this letter from a Roman prison, yet he says in verses 11, "I have learned to be content." The key word there is learned. We seem to have many who missed that class. Sometimes we are restless because we want more. We are like vice-president of a financial securities company who says that financial freedom begins at ten million dollars. Sometimes we are restless because of the regrets in the past or fears of the future. The past and future can rob you of a contented present. That is why contentment has to be learned.

Several years ago I did a funeral service for a woman who was 103 years old. I met with the surviving children. Her children were not young. The daughter, Mildred, was 79 years old. The son, John, was eighty-three. We sat their in the corner of the funeral home and talked about the service. They told me about their mother. They told me about their father. They told me about their childhood and special memories of their mother. Suddenly, the eighty-three year old son began to cry and said, "My mother was never proud of me. She wanted me to be a doctor." The man had been retired for years. He lived in a big house. He drove a nice car. He had a great family, but he wasn’t truly content. He felt like a failure because he never received his mother’s blessing. Contentment has to be learned. Sometimes our pasts can rob our present.

Sometimes our fears of the future can rob us of our presents. Every Halloween the tradition was the same. Kathy stayed home to pass out the candy. I would walk the kids around the neighborhood to collect the candy. I usually walked with our good friend, Amy. She had a daughter Anna’s age and she had a son two years older. We would start off in a group and then get spread out as the trip went along. I will never forget the year that Amy’s son, Lucas, saw friends across the street, so he ran off with them. He was about fourteen years old so he was safe but Amy began to cry. She said, "Did you see that? I have been married long enough to know when not to talk to women. That was one of those times. I didn’t say a word but I thought I was glad he was gone. With tears running down her face, she started. "Someday, Lucas is going to leave. He is going to get married. They are going to have a few babies. They are going to have to leave this area because there is no work. I am not going to see Lucas. I am not going to know my daughter-in-law. My grandchildren will not even know me." I said, "He just ran across the street to be with his buddies. Do you really think there is a girl out there that will marry Lucas?" Do you see what happened? She missed her son that day because she was so preoccupied with the future. Sometimes contentment has to be learned. Has anyone here today learned contentment?

Dietrich Bonhoeffer shortly before his death wrote these words for us today.

What is happiness and unhappiness? It depends so little on circumstances; it really depends on what happens inside a person.

Has anyone here today learned to be content?

Question Number Two: What is the source of your contentment? Verse twelve thru fourteen says, "I know what it is to be in need and I know what it is to be in plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether in plenty or in want. I can all everything through him who gives me strength." What the secret that Paul learned? What is the secret of contentment? The secret is you build your life on the foundation of Jesus.

If those Gallup and Barna polls are correct then we have many people in America are building their lives on a foundation of money. Many believe that money brings happiness and a lack of money brings sadness. If you do not believe me then ask Elecia Battle. She is the South Euclid woman who claims to have lost the winning $162 million Mega Million multistage lottery jackpot ticket. She said she lost it and her purse at a shopping center. On the night it was reported lost dozens of individuals were out in the bitter cold air of South Euclid looking for the ticket. The other day she admitted it. She never lost the ticket. She never owned the ticket. So why did you do it? Battle said, "I just wanted a different life." There are many Americans who are building their lives on a foundation of money. You don’t have to be rich to love money. The early Puritans saw money as a curse. The more you had the greater the curse. Because the more you had the farther you walked away from God? Maybe they had something?

What is the foundation of your life? Is the foundation of your life your spouse? Is the foundation of your life your family? Is the foundation of your life your job? Is the foundation of your life your money? Is the foundation of your life your house? Is the foundation of your life your friends? Is the foundation of your life Jesus? I am going to say this gently. In time all those things are going to be taken from you. Only Jesus never fails. What is the source of your contentment?

Question Number Three: What does God promise? God promises to be faithful to us in this world and heaven when we leave this world. On Thursday afternoon I went to Copeland Oaks and visited Marge Olin. I picked that day on purpose because a family member was having surgery and I didn’t want Marge to sit there alone. As our visit unfolded she began to ask about various people in the life of this church. She couldn’t remember everyones name so she got out the latest pictorial directory. We sat on the couch side by side and went through all the pictures. For me that was an emotional thing. The faces of the people, now gone, was devastating. When we got to Marge’s picture she began to cry. She pointed to the face of her deceased husband, Clarence. She said, "I sure miss my Sweetie! It will be great to see him again." As I drove home I thought about Marge. She lives alone in a small apartment. Her husband is gone. Her money is tight. Her mind was a little cloudy, but she was content. Why? Because, the foundation of her life is Jesus. What is the foundation of your life?

Conclusion

During his inaugural address in 1929, President Herbert Hoover predicted that the final victory over poverty is at hand. Those words would come back to haunt him. Black Thursday was October 24, 1929. Business was normal on Wall Street until about 11:00. Suddenly orders to sell began to take over. A sell panic swept the floor. Prices moved down. Before it was over banks closed and personal saving accounts were lost. Wages were slashed and the unemployment rate rose to 16%. On Black Thursday, October 24, 1929, some people began to jump out of windows to their death because they felt their lives were over. The foundation of their lives was their money! But now their money was gone. I hope that is not your story.

Have you learned to be content? What is the source of your contentment? What does God promise you? If you want to stand tall against the fear of financial insecurity then don’t make your finances the foundation of your life. Make Jesus the foundation of your life. And all of God’s people said, "Amen!"