Free to Shine

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Good morning, Chapel family. Great to see everybody today. I am so excited that we are resuming indoor baptisms today! Isn’t that awesome? So congratulations to everyone being baptized today! We celebrate this moment with you. And we’re going to get to keep celebrating, because due to Covid, we’re trying to not to clump so many baptisms together—you know, we normally baptize only 2-3 times each year. But this year we’re going to spread them out, so you’ll be seeing a few people getting baptized every month, and I’m kind of excited about that. Jesus told us to go out and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, so 2,000 years later, it’s a joy to carry out that mission. Amen?

Okay…we’re taking this spring to walk through Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Paul wrote this letter while he was locked up in a prison cell in Rome. True confession: the idea of getting sent to prison is a terrifying thought to me. Can you relate to that? I mean, it’s not like I have a body buried in my backyard, and I live in fear of someone finding out. (Why would he even say that?) But we’ve all heard the stories of people who get accused of a crime they didn’t commit, and the system fails them, and they wind up getting sent to prison. And I’m just saying: the thought of that is terrifying. When I imagine myself waking up every day in prison, with all my freedom ripped away, it feels confining and claustrophobic and panicky and just depressing. It’s a terrible thought, isn’t it?

And that’s what makes this letter so powerful. Because the guy who wrote it was a prisoner. So when you look at it on the surface, how much freedom did Paul have? Zero. None. And yet, when you start reading the letter, you realize really quickly that this is not a man who’s feeling claustrophobic and panicky and depressed. There’s a largeness and a spaciousness and a fierce freedom to his soul that just spills out on the page. So as you go through the letter, whatever topic Paul is talking about, you have that reality as the backdrop, and it makes the whole thing more powerful.

And it makes the whole thing connect with our lives. Because I realize that my nightmare of getting sent to prison will probably never happen, and it will probably never happen to you. But we all have our prisons, don’t we? Whether it’s physical problems, or family problems, or work problems, or financial problems. Those can feel like prisons. And Philippians shows us that even with those outward chains—even if some of those things never change—there’s this inner freedom that’s possible. And that’s what this series is all about.

So here’s what we’re going to talk about today: regardless of the prison walls around us, we are free to shine. There’s a little line in today’s passage that says, “Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky.” I’ll never forget, on my first trip to Rwanda, we had just finished dinner on the first night, and it was already dark out. And somebody called me outside. The house where we were staying sat right on the shore of Lake Kivu, which is the lake that separates Rwanda from the Congo. There’s no city for hundreds of miles, so the sky is utterly black. And as soon as I took a few steps away from the house, I knew why they called me out. The stars were like nothing I had ever seen in my life. They were insanely dazzling and so brilliant; it made your heart want to explode. And for a long time, I stood on the shore of that lake, just in awe.

And Paul the prisoner says we have the opportunity to shine like that. To be lights in a world that’s becoming increasingly dark, right? See, because the danger is, we’ll be afraid to shine. We’ll be afraid

to stand out. Too much risk. So as the world becomes more secular and dark, we’ll be tempted to just blend in. To be like everybody else. That’s so much easier, right? But being different for the sake of Christ is a really good thing. You shining is what this world needs. It’s what the people around you need. If you choose to shine, the people around you will be blessed.

So, from the confines of his prison cell, Paul was shining like a star. And he invites us—whatever prisons we’re dealing with—to do the same. So how do we do that? Let’s talk about that today. Today’s Scripture is in Philippians chapter two, verses 14 through 18. I invite you now to hear the Word of God…

14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing, 15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16 as you hold firmly to the word of life. And then I will be able to boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. This is the Word of the Lord.

The reason those Rwandan stars shone so brightly is because there was such a contrast between the darkness of the sky and the brightness of the stars, right? The stars were so different from the background. So in this little section of the letter, God invites us to shine by being different in three ways. Here they are: A Different Kind of Attitude, A Different Source of Truth, and A Different Path to Joy. A different kind of attitude, a different source of truth, and a different path to joy.

So, first let’s talk about A Different Kind of Attitude. In verse 14, Paul says: 14 Do everything without grumbling or arguing… Can we just stop the sermon right there? I mean, let’s just close in prayer and go live that out, right? “Do everything without grumbling or arguing.” But actually, we can understand this a lot better when we realize where Paul was drawing this image from.

There was a moment in the life of Israel when they were on their way to the Promised Land. They had been rescued out of slavery in Egypt, they had miraculously crossed the Red Sea, and they were on the journey between their old home in Egypt and the new home God had prepared for them. And shortly after they had crossed the Red Sea, the food supply started running out, and the people started to…anyone remember? Complain. Later, they had a hard time finding water, and the people started to…everyone? Complain. Then they started grumbling about their leaders: “I don’t think Moses and Aaron really though this through.” So there was this rising tide of discontentment and complaining and arguing. These people were nothing like us, right? I can’t relate to this at all.

So look how Moses summarizes the attitude of the Israelites in Deuteronomy 32:5…to their shame they are a warped and crooked generation. Do those words sound familiar? Look at Paul’s words in Philippians 2:15…so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a (do you see it?) …warped and crooked generation.” That’s no coincidence. See, Paul knew his Old Testament really well. So as he’s challenging the Philippians, he clearly has the ancient Israelites in mind. He’s saying, “You know the history of our people. You know how easily their attitude slipped into complaining. Despite how God was miraculously providing for them, they always found something to grumble about.” And it was such a tragic moment, because it was specifically their complaining that kept most of them out of the Promised Land! God said, “Because you complained against me and didn’t trust me, I’m going to banish you to forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and most of this generation will die in the desert and never get to see the Land.” Wow. In the eyes of God, complaining is a really big deal. It’s such a barometer of the condition of our hearts, and the

condition of our faith. So Paul says to his readers, “Check your heart. Check your attitude. When you find yourself surrounded by complainers, don’t be pulled into that darkness.”

How are you doing on this?

Did you know that for the third year in a row, New Jersey was #1 on the list of “Most-moved-out-of States in the Country?” In 2018, 2019, and 2020, more people fled New Jersey than any other state in America. Doesn’t that make you proud? And right now, almost half of all New Jersey residents are seriously considering leaving over the next ten years. You know what I say? Fine! Leave! More bagels and pizza for us! More space on the beach and hiking trails for us! But seriously, we all know some of the reasons people leave our state, right? We could make a little list—why are people leaving New Jersey? Property taxes. The cost of houses. The winter weather. The traffic. We could make a pretty good list, right?

But here’s the thing: it’s one thing to leave because of all those reasons. It’s another thing to stay and complain about all those reasons. Are you with me? Have you heard anyone complaining about the cost of living in New Jersey recently? Not yet today? Just wait—there’s still time. So we all know people who have no intention of actually leaving, but they love telling everyone how expensive and terrible and corrupt the state is. Or, they do move out of the state, and on their way out they remind everyone else why New Jersey is so awful—do you know those people?

Here’s my point: the experience of the Israelites was preserved in Scripture to show us how toxic complaining can be. Listen to this great description by Jeff Manion:

“The heart drifts toward complaint as if by gravitational pull—after all, complaint seems a reasonable response to a sequence of disappointing events. Generally, you don't have to extend an invitation for complaint to show up. It arrives as an uninvited guest. You return home from yet another frustrating day to discover that complaint has moved into your guest room, unpacked its luggage, started a load of laundry, and is rooting through your fridge. Even as you seek to dislodge complaint—as you move its bags to the curb and change the locks—it crawls back through the guest room window. Complaint resists eviction.

Before we know it, complaint feels right because it is familiar. With every struggle, we become the Israelites murmuring in the desert.”

When I look at the generation we’re living in, it feels like we’ve taken complaining to a new level, doesn’t it? From social media to late-night talk shows to the way we demonize our political opponents, grumbling and arguing have become part of the fabric of our culture. And it is so easy to fall right in with that. Don’t do it. And that warning is a little extra powerful, coming from a guy sitting in chains.

Before Nelson Mandela became the president of South Africa, he spent 27 years in prison for political reasons. And when he was released, he said this: “As I walked out the door toward the gate that would lead to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison.” See, every one of us has the potential for bitterness in our hearts. Don’t we? And if we allow it to, it rises up and it pours out in complaining and grumbling. And Mandela said, “If I give in to that bitterness, it doesn’t matter if I’m a free man on the outside—I’d still be in prison.”

So Paul says, “Rise above that. Through the power of Christ in you, walk through your days without grumbling or arguing. Use that same energy for other things. And in this generation of cynical, nasty complaining, I’m telling you: you’re going to shine like a star in the darkness.”

Secondly, God invites us to have A Different Source of Truth. Pick it up midway through verse 15: Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky 16a as you hold firmly to the word of life. So Paul says, “Another thing that will really set you apart from the darkness of culture is where you derive your truth from. People will notice that for you, there is a voice that carries more weight and more authority than any other voice.” And Paul calls it “the word of life.” In other words, the inspired Scriptures. Paul says, “Hold firmly to that, above any other voice. Hold to that voice tightly, and hold every other voice a little more loosely.”

We all have certain sources that we look to for truth, don’t we? For some of people, it’s the liberal news media: whatever they hear on CNN or MSNBC is gospel truth. For others, it’s the conservative news media: whatever they hear on Fox, or sources that are even further to the right, is not to be questioned. Other people have certain leaders whose words carry tremendous weight—whether it’s a professor or a pop culture figure or a parent or a really smart friend, or even a pastor. We all have people that we’ve come to respect and listen to, and there’s nothing wrong with that; but Paul is warning us to hold those voice a little more loosely. Make sure those voices are subordinate to the word of life.

Look at 1 Peter 1:24…

“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, 25a but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

So if we want to have a perspective on life that’s more enduring than the latest fad; if we want to have something substantial to say, we need to find ways to internalize God’s Word. For me, this means taking time every morning to read and meditate on and pray over a short section of Scripture. This is not Dave the pastor, preparing a sermon; this is Dave the man, preparing for life. And I record my thoughts in simple notebook. And then next morning, I take the next short section. And I just go through the Bible that way; when I get to the end—which takes about five years—I turn it over and start again. And over time, I have found that God’s Word is shaping the way I view life.

Hebrews 5:14 says But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil. When we make it a habit to feed ourselves with God’s Word, day after day, that constant use trains our senses. So when we hear an idea, we have this spiritual discernment that enables us to assess it. We hear something, and we say, “That really resonates with the kingdom of God,” or we hear something, and we say, “That doesn’t sound right.” We become wise people.

And all of this is so countercultural, isn’t it? To hold to God’s Word more firmly than any other voice? At times, that approach will make us unpopular in our culture. When we hold firmly to the word of life, liberal people will think we’re too conservative on some issues, and conservative people will think we’re too liberal on other issues. But that’s okay, because we’re not after popularity.

Last month, Pastor Ted shared with the staff an editorial he recently read by a guy named Arthur Brooks. It was all about how Beethoven lost his hearing in the latter part of his life, which most people know. But what many people don’t know is that after he lost his hearing completely, that’s when he composed his best music, including the Ninth Symphony, which many regard as the greatest piece of

orchestral music every written. Isn’t that crazy? So how could that be? Well, in the article, Brooks says that Beethoven’s early work was similar to the work of other composers—he would hear them, and maybe subconsciously imitate their sound. But then he couldn’t hear them anymore. And I love this quote: “Deafness freed Beethoven as a composer because he no longer had society’s soundtrack in his ears.” Think about this: maybe one of the reasons Paul could write so powerfully from prison was that he no longer had society’s soundtrack in his ears. So he was all alone with the word of God (which he largely knew from memory), and the Spirit of God. And that freed him to write with such clarity and such timelessness that we’re still reading his words today. So whatever it takes for you to get society’s soundtrack out of your ears, so you can hold firmly to the Word of Life, do it. It’s so worth it. And you’ll shine like a star in this dark world.

And then, third, God invites us to have A Different Path to Joy. When you read Philippians, the theme of joy comes up over and over again. If I’m counting correctly, Paul mentions “joy” or “rejoicing” sixteen times in this really short letter. So this is one of those times—look at verse 17: 17 But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. 18 So you too should be glad and rejoice with me. What did he mean when he said, “Even if I’m being poured out like a drink offering”? Well, in the Hebrew temple, one of the kinds of offerings was called a drink offering. The priest would pour out wine onto the altar, on top of an animal or grain offering. So it was part of what was being sacrificed to God. So Paul was basically saying, “Even if my life is being poured out by being in this prison—even if I never make it out of here alive—I will die a happy man. I’m glad and I rejoice.” That’s an amazing thing to say, isn’t it?

Because we are so hard-wired to define joy very differently than that. How do we normally define joy? Life is going well for us. Right? I graduated from my Master’s program…joy! I got that job…joy! I got engaged…joy! The Knicks are going to the playoffs this year—can you believe it?...joy! And Paul says, “I’m being poured out like a drink offering…joy!” How can he say that? Well, we saw this in the first chapter: Paul is absolutely certain that the moment his heart stops beating, he will be in the presence of Christ. He said, “To depart and be with Christ is better by far.” So it’s like, “There is literally nothing they could do to me that could take away my joy. Because there’s nothing that could happen to me that doesn’t end well.” We like to say, “It’s all good”; for Paul, literally, it was all good.

Over the years, I heard Pastor Earl Comfort say lots of profound things. But one of the things I remember the most was a very simple thing. He often said, “Never postpone joy.” I need to hear that. Because there’s a part of me that feels like joy is just around the corner. Do you know what I mean? I’ll be truly happy as soon as…I finish this degree…as soon as I get the right job…as soon as I recover from this injury…as soon as I pay off this debt. There’s always something that has to happen before you can really be joyful. So you’re never truly thankful; you’re never truly in the moment. And before you know it, life has gone by, and you’re still waiting for joy. And Paul shines out as a remarkable example of someone who refused to postpone joy. He found his joy in Christ, and nothing could take that away.

I’ve seen this kind of joy shining in some of the most unlikely places. I’ve seen it in the barrios of Bogotá, Colombia—joy in the midst of poverty. I’ve seen it in the ICU of Morristown Memorial Hospital—joy in the midst of terminal cancer. I’ve even seen it at funeral gatherings—actual joy in the midst of grieving. And joy is always a beautiful thing, but when it’s against such a dark backdrop, it really shines. “Even if I’m being poured out like a drink offering—even if I die here!—rejoice with me.”

A different kind of attitude; a different source of truth; and a different path to joy. That kind of life really does stand out. And here’s the exciting thing: when we resist blending in, and allow God to

shine through us, it has a strong effect on the people around us. Let me close with two quick examples of that.

There’s a New York Times editorialist named Nicholas Kristof, and a few years ago he wrote a column about evangelical Christians. He started by saying that some evangelical leaders act hypocritically and don't reflect Christ. But then he wrote this:

But in reporting on poverty, disease and oppression, I've seen so many others. Evangelicals are disproportionately likely to donate 10 percent of their incomes to charities, mostly church-related. More important, go to the front lines, at home or abroad, in the battles against hunger, malaria, prison rape, obstetric fistula, human trafficking or genocide, and some of the bravest people you meet are evangelical Christians (or conservative Catholics, similar in many ways) who truly live their faith.

I'm not particularly religious myself, but I stand in awe of those I've seen risking their lives in this way—and it sickens me to see that faith mocked at New York cocktail parties.

When we allow God to shine through us, it affects the world around us.

This is all incredibly personal for me, because of my own experience. During my first year of college, I was trying to figure out who I was. I was spiritually skeptical; I was restless; I got drunk a lot. And during the winter I decided to join some of my friends from the dorm, and participate in fraternity rush—which is when you make your rounds and check out the frats, and hope one of them invites you to join. So we did that for a couple of weeks. And these were typical frats of the 1980s—keg parties and loud music in dark basements of frat houses. And so we checked out five or six different frats. And at one of them I met two guys who were well-respected members of the fraternity…but they were different. Part of it was the fact that they had both decided not to drink—which definitely made them stand out in that context—walking around frat parties with a Coke. But it was more than that. The kind of humor they used; the way they treated their girlfriends; their care for the other guys in the frat. I quickly learned they were Christians, and they had decided to live out their faith right there in the fraternity.

I am eternally grateful to those two guys…because in a place where it would have been so easy to blend in, they chose to keep their lights on. So I wound up pledging that fraternity; I wound up choosing one of those guys as my big brother; and it took me about a year, but eventually I gave my life to Christ. And that has made all the difference in my life.

Listen: there is so much darkness around us, and it looks to me like the darkness is increasing. But we follow the one who called himself “the light of the world.” So when we walk with him and faithfully represent him, we are like lights in the darkness. So don’t just blend in! Don’t be afraid to be a little different! There is someone out there whose future depends on you shining your light.

No matter what prison you might find yourself in, you are free to shine.