We’re not in control (bad news). God is (good news).

Steve Brown:
We’re not in control (bad news). God is (good news). Let’s talk, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
If you’re sick of guilt and manipulation, and if you’re looking for an honest and thoughtful presentation of Biblical truth, you’ve come to the right place. This is Key Life with the founder of Key Life Network, Steve Brown. Keep listening for teaching that will make you free.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. We’re looking at the first chapter of Philippians. And we’re looking at just a few verses, chapter 1 verses 12 through 18a. And we’re looking at a situation where Paul is in jail and sees it as an act of God. And so, we’re talking about what do you do when bad things happen to good people? And if you were listening yesterday, we talked about the commonality. I believe, and John DeBrine taught me this, that every time an unbeliever gets cancer, a believer gets cancer, so the world can see the difference. Every time an unbeliever has a marriage problem, a believer has a marriage problem, so the world can see the difference. There’s the principle of commonality we saw. And in those few verses, four times, the Apostle Paul says, I’m in jail. So, when bad things happen to Christians, or to you, or to me, we shouldn’t be surprised. Brian Pauly tells of the time that David Lodge, he was a British novelist, was in a theater watching a performance of a satirical review that he had helped to write. In one of the sketches in that review, a character demonstrates his nonchalance in an interview while holding a portable radio up to his ear. And the radio was, during the play, always tuned to a real broadcast. Suddenly in the middle of this play of this review, there came out of that radio, the announcement that President Kennedy had been shot. The actor tried to turn the radio off, but it was too late. Reality had interrupted the comedy. And that happens all the time. When it happens, an unbeliever is always surprised, but a Christian shouldn’t be. Because we know that bad things happen to bad people, and bad things happen to good people too, and bad things happen to Christians. That great theological mind and theologian Mary Tyler Moore said.

If it doesn’t hurt, you’re not doing it right.

All right, let me show you something else. Not only do I want you to see the principle of commonality, I want you to see the fact of control, Philippians 1:12.

Now, I want you to know, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

In other words, the apostle Paul is saying there’s somebody bigger than me, who put me in jail, and he’s in control, and I’m not. Do you know the most difficult thing about being a Christian? Discipline? Well, that’s, that’s hard. Being faithful in a very difficult situation? Yeah, that’s hard. Tithing? And if you can’t pay your bills, that’s hard. And we’re forgiven if we can’t pull it off. All of that is difficult, but not the most difficult. The most difficult thing about belonging to God is allowing Him to be God and not trying to be God yourself. To recognize that He’s in control. And because he is, you don’t have to be, Romans 8:28.

All things work together for good, with those who love God and are called according to his purpose.

I got an e-mail this morning from a dear friend who was talking about how difficult it was for him to turn control over to God. And he asked me what he should do about that, and I said, I’d do it by contract. And he said, what? And I said, I’d do it by contract. The walk of Christ is sometimes a contract. Though sometimes, I say to God, I give you my day and my life. I do it as a volitional act and intentionally. I place everything I am, everything that I do, everything that happens under your control. I give myself to you as a sacrifice of worship. And then I say, but you know me, and you know a sacrifice crawls off the altar. So, please make this a contract before you, no matter what I think or do. Make it a contract, and then conform to my heart to this contract. Listen, that’s practical and that works. It’s the recognition that Romans 8:28 is true. I don’t like flying on airplanes. I spend a lot of time on airplanes. And do you know why? It’s not because I’m afraid of dying. Well, I don’t like the idea of dying either, but in an airplane, but the thing that really gets to me is I’m out of control. Somebody else is controlling what’s going on. They’ve got the door shut in the cockpit or to the cockpit. And I don’t know what they’re doing up there. I’m putting my life in the control of somebody else and that drives me nuts. One of the reasons that we reacted so horribly to the charismatic movement when it first happened is because we wanted to be in control. Either you’re in control or God’s in control, you’ve got to decide. And when you recognize that it’s God, there is a good deal of peace that goes with it. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thanks Steve. If you’re just joining us, we’re taking a tour through the Book of Philippians, and tomorrow we will touch on the importance of communication. Will you join us for that? Well, here’s something you don’t need me to tell you. We all fall short of God’s standards. Shoot, we even fall short of our own expectations. We’re called to radical obedience, but why do we struggle so much? Why do we feel guilty? The fact is, we are weak and needy, and so when we run to Jesus, we find the power we lack. Steve spoke about this in a powerful message called, When Being Bad Isn’t Bad Enough. Take a listen to this clip, then I’ll be back to tell you about a special free offer. Here’s Steve.

Steve Brown:
I told you about how guilt works. Real guilt starts with doing something bad, feeling bad, getting punished, and getting free. That’s healthy, that’s good, that’s good prison philosophy, it’s good social philosophy, it’s good educational philosophy, it’s good parental philosophy. You do something bad, you feel bad, you get punished, you get free. That’s real healthy guilt. Now, let me tell you about unhealthy guilt. Unhealthy guilt doesn’t have a one. In other words, you’ve been abused, or ashamed, or shame, or put down, or hurt, or you have issues in your background, and you feel like dirt, and you want to eat dirt, and you feel so bad about yourself, so you feel bad, and you punish yourself, and that makes you feel worse. So, you punish yourself more, then you feel worse, then you, if there’s no one, there’s never a four. And as somebody has said, never repent of a sickness and never treat a sin. So, there’s real guilt. And as I read this text to you, if you didn’t wince, you didn’t understand. If you didn’t hold up the mirror of God’s absolute call to obedience, you didn’t get it. God is not calling you to be religious and have power, he’s calling you to run to Jesus and be weak. And in your weakness, and your lack of mercy, and your need for forgiveness, then God’s going to do something. And he’s, where do we get this celebrity thing? That’s crazy. So, you can’t soften the radical obedience to which Jesus calls us. He calls us to come to the end of ourselves. He calls us to take up a cross. What’s a cross? It’s a place where people die. He’s calling us to self death. And erase that, leaves a smudge on the page every time you do that. But Jesus didn’t just say that. Notice, not only his call to radical obedience, notice his reference to a radical God. Look, the second part of the 35th verse, but I’ll start at the 35th verse.

But love your enemies, do good, lend, expect nothing in return. Your reward will be great.

And here it comes, sports fans.

You will be the sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the ungrateful. He is kind to the evil.

That’s not us, that’s them.

Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

If you’ve listened to me teach much, I often say that God’s not angry at his people and he’s not. I don’t care where you’ve been or what you’ve been smoking or where you’ve been sleeping or what you’ve been drinking or where you’ve gone. I don’t care about the far country, if you’re his, he’ll never be angry at you because of the imputation of Christ righteousness in the believer’s life. I’ve said that that’s who I am, but I always, cause you never know when unbelievers are going to be in a congregation. I always say, but if you don’t know him, you be afraid. You be very, very afraid because you’re living under the wrath of a holy God. I still believe that, but I’m not going to say it that way anymore. I’m going to say it softer because of this text. You notice what Jesus said? Jesus says that God, and we’ll be his sons and daughters, that God likes dan Brown and the Da Vinci Code. What’s with that? That God likes the strippers and the gays and the sinners and the atheists. God is that, one time Lincoln went to visit a hospital peopled with wounded soldiers that were captured from the Confederate Army. And they knew, their enemy was coming to visit and they hated that. They did, they were angry until Lincoln showed up. And he didn’t say anything. He stood in the door, looked at the soldiers and he wept. It’s the kind of God we worship.

Matthew Porter:
We would love to send you that full sermon on CD for free. So, call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also drop an e-mail to [email protected] to ask for that CD. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for the free CD called, When Being Bad Isn’t Bad Enough. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? Giving is easy. You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely through text. It’s easy, just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 again, that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Text that to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.