Philippians 4:18-20 ~ Prison Gems: Fulfilled by other People ~ Carl Crouse

(NOTE: the video is the full service.  Skip to somewhere in middle to view sermon only) 
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I have sold thousands of items on Ebay.  I often wonder why people buy this or that ~ every now and then I hear the story.  Years ago Sally and I needed extra money; I looked through our old unused CDs on Ebay to see if any were selling well.  I found an old out of print Christmas CD by Evie going for $40-$60!  Woo hoo.  Obviously it was being snatched up by baby boomers with too much money! A small gold mind! I asked Sally if she minded if I sold it because she had it before we were married.  I played the CD to test it, and to my disappointment, it had tons of scratches and skips…  I decided to list it anyway…

I started the listing at $1.  I said I did not listen to the whole thing, maybe there is a way to get the scratches out, I have no idea.  One woman wrote and asked me if I would be willing to try one particular song.  I played the CD and listened to the single song.  It was perfect...  The woman bid.  Another person bid against her.  The woman raised the price.  Over the course of the next 2-3 people kept bidding ~ to my amazement (and entertainment), the Evie CD closed for a price of $18.00.  Who, in their right mind, would buy an old scratched up CD for $18?  Then the woman wrote me the story.  “My father has alzheimers” she said.  “The way it has affected him is that he sits blankly all day with no connection to this world. A few months ago I had the radio on, when this song was played.  My father smiled.  I could not find the song anywhere, until I found your auction.  I would have paid a whole lot more to see my father smile again.”  

God’s desire is for us to find fulfillment through the people in our lives, our families…the blessings, the depth, the goodness… Fulfilment comes as we appreciate the people in our lives, one of God’s greatest treasures.  Appreciating people and long for them is not hard during this corona virus and the stay home stay healthy social guideline… My prayer is for you who are struggling, getting anxious, just missing being with people….

After all this is over, I can’t imagine we’ll ever take for granted the people in our lives, our church family, your friends, family, even the daily people you connect with and realize you appreciate (or will we?). Please don’t ever take for granted people…  One of the wonderful people that listens in on some of our online services is Nancy Perry.  If you know Nancy you know she’s had a ton of changes in her life, including moving away.  If I post news on our FB page, such as the tragedy this week of Maria Hallford passing away in a tragic car accident, Nancy always chimes in if she knew the person with a word of appreciation… “I remember her...” Nancy will say, “from when she would come into the Post Office…”  appreciate the people in your lives, a treasure from God.  People are a gem.  Other people are God’s gift…I talk to a lot of people about end of life issues, and I have yet to have anyone tell me that the most important thing is how much money they made…

Paul is in prison. The church from Philipi sends him a gift…these verses are his response…His thank you note… it’s a gift, a practical and helpful gift, but obviously he is not thankful alone for the money… it’s the people, it’s the love that is given! 
 
Appreciate the little things...we do it so easy when our young children bring a bouquet of dandelions…when we open our eyes and see the blessings that are all around us, to recognize the joys of daily life, sometimes it’s a smile…how easy to take a smile for granted, until it is gone… the kindnesses, the acts of gratitude… this afternoon say thank you to the person who makes the meal, (maybe you’ll have to write a note to the cook in the restaurant…) the small graces.
 
See the little things as big things…If you don’t, then you’ll take the little things for granted ~~ taking people and “small” blessings is tragic… You don’t have to gush over everything, that would get old, but now and then would not be a bad thing…we get in patterns and see ourselves as unexpressive or incapable of saying what we think… youth, surprise your teachers. In grade school it is so easy to show appreciation, but as we “mature” it gets harder… husbands, wives, children, parents…friends… Paul is treating the “little” gift as a great honor and joy…

Fulfillment starts by distinguishing needs from wants.  I have no doubts there are those  in our society who have real needs… yet as a whole our culture blurs the lines between needs and wants…Paul, in one translation of v. 18 declares, “At the moment I have all I need – more than I need!  I am generously supplied…” and he’s a prisoner!  the easiest way to become more wealthy…make your list of needs as barebones as possible…the more stuff you can put on your “more than I need” pile, the wealthier you are…the smaller your “I have all I need” pile, the easier it is to attain, the easier to be a gracious person….

What should be on your needs list? Shelter, food, clothing are obvious, but make sure you include people that you love and people that love you!  Guys are renowned for being stoic, stubborn, independent (plenty of women fit that bill too).  We pride ourselves on not showing emotions.  Read this scripture closely and you cannot help but conclude that while Paul appreciates the gift, he most appreciates the people that gave the gift, he is incredibly thankful for Epaphradites.  By putting other people on your list of absolute needs, that without them you would die, you would become depressed, your world would collapse, that frees you up to embrace the kindnesses, the companionship, the relationships.  I am convinced that in our society, the biggest problem we have is loneliness… we see it in our society today… the mental challenges…
 
A companion principle to distinguishing needs from wants: Focus on what you have, not what you don’t have… Clearly Paul could use more – he’s in prison, yet his attitude is I have enough.  I read an article years ago with the most intriguing title: The Monster Called More.  It was about greed. It was the desire for a little bit more, a little bit more… the friend that cannot be pleased, the workaholic that wants a little more… a little more recognition, a few more resources…
 
Another thought… this is a hard one for so many…some of you are too humble and you have to get over it… a simple principle: Let people appreciate you… don’t downplay it and say it was nothing… if we truly want to develop a God given appreciation for others, that means we have to let people appreciate us… Paul is thanking the people for there appreciation of him…he doesn’t say “you shouldn’t have…”
 
Appreciate what you have, and work to make others around you smile…Paul is working hard for the people to be joyful as he lets them know his gratitude…READ v. 17…. V. 19.  and my God will meet all your needs…the blessing of other people so that they will be smiled upon by the Lord.  I had a woman once pay me $18 because I had something that would make her father smile, she told me she would have paid a whole lot more… the richness of watching other people smile is priceless… I saw a baby smiling in a store a while ago and about a dozen strangers were standing nearby smiling… work to put a smile on the people you love, the people you appreciate…pray for the Lord to bless them and believe that he will….
 
Another hard one… Practice true sacrifice for each other…the deepest relationships include an element of sacrifice…a little bit of inconvenience is not sacrifice….giving up something for another…Paul says, “[your gifts] are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice” a sweet smelling sacrifice…

Why do we sometimes have a hard time letting people do things for us that cost them something.  I read one definition of sacrifice of giving up something for love. 

Earlier in the book of Philippians, ch. 2, Epaphradites was sent with the gift from the church to Paul, and while he was there, E. became ill.  Paul even says, he almost died.  But now he is sending E. back to the church to comfort them.  It was an incredible sacrifice, an incredible gift, an incredible hardship, separation, time, energy… true sacrifice for each other makes us so uncomfortable, yet sacrifice, giving something up in order to help somebody else, even if it is an evening, money, an opportunity because another person has a need…binds people together, builds unity…

Casual relationship seldom include sacrifice.  But not so with deep relationships. Years ago, I worked with a family, the mother had died, and as the two grown children told me the story of their mother, the theme kept coming ~~~~ how much she gave up to raise them, their father was a good man, but always gone when they were growing up in Alaska – even when he was home he was not involved…as adults the children realized that the mother gave up school, gave up a choice of where to live, worked hard, as adults, when the son was divorcing from his wife, the mother encouraged him and his wife, the mother stepped in… and yet, as the children talked, it was obvious to me that the mother’s greatest fulfillment was her family and the people in her life.  She may have given some things up, but what she gained was far more valuable… Is that not so often the way it is with sacrificial giving… you give something up and in return there is something better…


And in the scripture, I love that little extra clause…”the gift is an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.”  God is in the mix of the relationship.  God is watching.  God cares…
 
The reward of finding fulfillment through the people in our lives is wealth beyond money.  Learning to appreciate the little things from the people around us…understanding that those little things are huge and not to be taken for granted…making a short list of needs in our life so that everything else is a bonus… include on the list of needs people… let people appreciate you, work to put a smile on the face of others, and to see the Lord bless them… be ready to sacrifice time, opportunities, resources when it is fitting to enrich others…
 
Appreciating each other is pleasing to God! We have to be creative in this day of social distancing, but we can do it… Fulfillment through the gift of other people is a prison gem… one of the joys that transcends our circumstances.  Ask the Lord to bless the people around you, and understand that there is no greater gift from the Lord.  The Lord desires that we have meaning and fulfillment even when life is difficult.  Other people are a great need bringing peace and satisfaction.  Amen.