This sermon is from the series THE LIFE OF CHRIST on the theme THAT WE MAY KNOW HIM. It was preached at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Cherry Log, Georgia on August 23, 2015 by Pastor Paul Mims. You can hear this sermon at www.csbccl.org THE CHRISTIAN PESSIMIST Matthew 10:1-4 At his famous Harvard Commencement address in 1978, Alexander Solzhenitsyn remarked, A decline in courage may be the most striking feature which an outside observer notices in the West. Almost 40 years later, we could add: and an increase in pessimism and despair. Defeatism and disillusionment have become fashionable in certain circles, considered high acts of sophistication. Books announcing the ruination and end of America flood the bookstores. Hopelessness has become the theme of many commercials on television predicting the end of America as a powerful force in the world. William Doino says, One expects such views from nihilists, not believing Christians. Yet an increasing number have been tempted by this cult of doom. He may be a little hard on in his criticism of us because of the changes we have seen in our country in the last forty years. This is exactly the focal point of the next national election that we face. Nevertheless, the opposite side of pessimism is hope. Gordon MacDonald writing during the last market crash says, During his time in a Nazi prison, Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote to his friend Eberhard Bethge that he was neither a pessimist (expecting things to get worse) nor an optimist (expecting things to get better). He said that he was living by hope. Hope! One of three foundational forces faith, hope, and love that St. Paul said "remains" when everything else goes belly-up.
I find Bonheoffer's allusion to hope as an alternative to optimism or pessimism to be insightful and inspirational. He has identified a biblical idea that I think sometimes gets lost in the shuffle. Bonhoeffer provokes me to take a new look at how I am evaluating things during this economic crisis as a Christ-follower and as an organizational leader. Bonheoffer was writing about hope in a moment when his life was on the line. My (our) problems pale in comparison with his. In these days of financial meltdown, most of us have, at best, lost financially. Bonhoeffer lost his life life on earth, anyway. But to the very end he defined reality in the context of hope. A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty. Winston S. Churchill Today, we re going to take a look at the Apostle Philip. In his early association with Jesus he tended to be a little pessimistic, but later he learned how to be optimistic in his faith. He was on the learning curve of trust and tended to see everything in terms of what he or someone else could do. But he learned that with the Lord all things are possible. Philip demonstrates to us that the Lord can use any type of personality for his glory. The 12 men that he chose to be his apostles were just ordinary men. They had no special outstanding training, wealth, or social standing. Our Lord saw in them what he sees in us that is the potential we all have when our personalities are molded by grace. There are four words that I will use to describe him. I. SEARCHING. The apostle John is more descriptive of the life of Philip than the other gospel writers. He tells us of the call of Philip in John 1:43-46: The next day he purposed to go into Galilee, and he found Philip. And Jesus said to him, follow me. Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city
of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathaniel and said to him, We have found him of whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. Nathaniel said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see. This account says that Jesus found Philip and it also says that Philip found Jesus. That is the way we talk today when we say, I have found the Lord. But the truth is he found us long before we found him and was drawing us by his Holy Spirit unto himself. Philip had a seeking heart and had been studying the law and the prophets in an effort to discern reports about the Messiah that John the Baptist was preaching. So he goes down to the Jordan River to hear this Prophet that had appeared on the scene. Jesus sees him and approaches him and says, Follow me. It is interesting that Philip is the only one of the 12 that Jesus approached first. Philip then found Nathaniel and said, We have found Messiah! Philip was from Bethsaida, the same village of Andrew and Peter. It is likely that they had been friends from childhood. He was also friends with Nathaniel who was from the village of Cana. Friendship is one of the strongest foundations for evangelism. Do you have friends that would trust what you say about Jesus? When Nathaniel was pessimistic about Jesus coming from Nazareth, Philip said to him, Come and see. Sometimes, that is all you have to say to an unbelieving friend Examine him for yourself! II. OVERWHELMED Philip was most likely the disciple that was assigned to make all the local arrangements of food and lodging for the disciples as they traveled. This was a big responsibility assigned to him. In John 6:1-7 is the story of the feeding of the 5000. After these things Jesus went away to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. A large crowd followed him, because they saw the signs he was
performing on those who were sick. Then Jesus went up on the mountain, and there he sat down with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was near. Therefore Jesus, lifting up his eyes and seeing that a large crowd was coming to him, said to Philip, Where are we to buy bread, so that these may eat? This he was saying to test him, for he himself knew what he was intending to do. Philip answered him, Two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them, for everyone to receive a little. Why was Jesus testing him? The implication is that often times he had been pessimistic about what they were to eat and where they were to stay overnight. I can imagine him saying, I just can t find enough food for us. I just don t know where were going to spend the night. We just can t continue to travel like this. We ve got to have some assurances before we leave home on these trips. So this was a big test for Philip as they faced the feeding of the thousands who were flocking to Jesus. A denarii was the common amount for a day s wages. Philip was saying, If we had 200 days wages that would not be enough to give each one here just a few bites. Philip was being realistic in saying, We can t do this. But what was he overlooking? He had seen Jesus perform so many miracles and yet he did not see a miracle in this context. We are so much like Philip in that when we face overwhelming situations that we tend to just take the practical view. But in the Lord s work in our lives we must always be open to the possibility that he knows what he is going to do in our situation and will do it. Situations like this require the very best in us and the faith to entrust the outcome to the Lord. As he saw the few pieces of bread and fish being multiplied to feed the thousands I am sure that Philip grew and learned in time to say, With Jesus, we can do anything! III. UNCERTAIN
Philip was a Jew with a Greek name which meant, Lover of horses. There was an instance when some Greek people approached Philip because of his name thinking that they would have an entrée into Jesus, and said, We would see Jesus. In John 12: 20-22, we read, Now there were some Greeks among those who were going up to worship at the feast; these then came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and began to ask him, saying, Sir, we wish to see Jesus. Philip came and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip came and told Jesus. Philip was uncertain as to what to do. What was the protocol? Could he just interrupt Jesus at the feast? Would this be permissible? So he goes to Andrew and asks, What shall I do? Then Andrew says, Come on, I will go with you to take them to Jesus. Philip was uncertain about himself in various situations and did not want to be responsible if he was wrong. Another time he showed his uncertainty. It was at the Last Supper. In John 14:8-14, we read, Philip said to him, Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us. Jesus said to him, Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father; how can you say, Show us the Father? Do you not believe That I Am in the Father, and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own initiative, but the Father abiding in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; otherwise believe because of the works themselves. Truly, truly I say to you he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it. Philip was a person whose thoughts were pragmatic, analytical, and completely naturalistic. This kind of thinking limits the supernatural power of God to work in our lives. When we are pessimistic we lose the opportunity to see what faith will do. Jesus taught him to trust him and
to ask for what was needed in his name. We miss the blessings of faith when we always see things from a naturalistic point of view. We need to lay hold on the supernatural side of our faith. When Philip questioned Jesus about the Father, the training of the 12 was at an end. At the Last Supper, Philip showed his lack of understanding about the spiritual dynamics of the Trinity. For over two years, Philip had seen miracles of every kind and yet he does not grasp the relationship of Jesus to the Father. He had heard Jesus teach about the Father on many occasions, but his mind was boxed in with facts and figures and not open to the great spiritual truths. IV. FAITHFUL. The good news is that Philip overcame his pessimistic nature that limited his faith. After the resurrection and the Ascension of Jesus back to heaven Then they returned to Jerusalem from the Mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day s journey away. When they had entered the city, they went up to the upper room where they were staying; that is Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon the zealot and Judas the son of James. These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers. (Acts 1:12-14) The resurrection, ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost changed these men of average ability into servants of the Lord with supernatural abilities to proclaim his word across the world. There is a story, not included in the Bible, where after a time the disciples gathered again on the Mount of Olives. Each one was given a mission. It is believed that Philip traveled to Scythia which is in southern Russia and remained there for about 20 years. Later, he and Nathaniel went to Turkey and ministered in Hierapolis. There he and Nathaniel were used of the Lord to heal the wife of the Roman proconsul. She became a Christian and this angered her husband. The proconsul
ordered that Philip and Nathaniel be put to death by crucifixion. The story goes that both were nailed to crosses and that at the last moment something happened and Nathaniel was taken down from the cross and set free. Philip died on the cross in his 87 th year. He was the second of the apostles to be martyred. In 2011, his tomb was found in Hierapolis. What does Phillip s experience teach us? We can grow out of our limited abilities and understandings into a person with a supernatural faith in God. We can grow in Christ so that our natural way of thinking will not limit us in his service. A man decided to start a hot dog business. He bought a cart, filled it with hot dogs, and pushed it down a busy city street during the lunch hour. He sold out, so he ordered more from his supplier. As the weeks passed, he kept expanding his business and became a successful vendor. One day his son came home from college and gave him some advice. Dad, don t you know what s going on in the business world? Things are bad. We re in a depression. His father replied, We are? I guess I d better cut back on my supply of hot dogs. So he did. He reduced his inventory, ordering only minimum quantities. Because he kept running out, his frustrated customers stopped buying from him. Several months later he shut down his business. That night he called his son at college and said, Son, you were right. We are in a depression! The way you choose to see the world creates the world you see. Pessimists expect the worst to happen, which often becomes a selffulfilling prophecy. But hope changes everything. Praise Be to His Name!