Sermon Tone Analysis
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God, what a joy it is to be with Your people, in Your house.
We have sensed You here with us.
And as we turn now to the study of Scripture, we ask that You would open our eyes to see You.
Open our ears to hear You, Open our hearts to love You.
Teach us and change us by Your power, through Your Word.
We ask it that Christ might be glorified in us, Amen.
You can turn in your Bible to .
Once you have found that place, I’ll ask that you stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word.
In his writing, “Is Christianity a Matter of Convenience?”
Michael Ramsden spoke of a colleague who while in Asia asked his audience to close their eyes and imagine peace.
After a few seconds the audience was invited to share their mental pictures of peace.
One person described a field with flowers and beautiful trees.
Another person spoke of snow-capped mountains and an incredible alpine landscape.
Still another described the scene of a beautiful, still lake.
After everyone described their mental picture of peace there was one thing common in them all—there were no people in them.
Ramsden commented, "Isn't it interesting, when asked to imagine peace the first thing we do is to eliminate everyone else."
But peace isn’t the absence of people.
It’s the presence of Christ.
I want to talk to you today about God’s peace for God’s people.
Before we begin to look at these verses I need to talk just a little about the peace of God.
First, a definition.
The peace of God is the state of harmony that is available to believers through having a right relationship with God.
It is an absence of hostilities between you and God.
It is being reconciled to a right relationship with God.
Peace refers to the believers total well-being, and security.
Those who believe have peace with God.
Christ secured it for us on the cross.
Our well-being and security are not in jeopardy.
But, we don’t always live with a sense of God’s peace.
We don’t always have that sense or feeling of total security and well-being.
Turmoil rather than tranquility is often what we feel in our soul.
For the believer, peace is always a reality, but not always the way we feel.
As we come to it is clear Paul wants the church to experience the peace of God.
He wants them to live with a sense of well-being and security because of their relationship with Christ.
In these verses, Paul addresses three things that can disrupt our experience of peace.
And he show us how Christ can help us overcome these things and experience God’s peace.
I. Disunity (Vv 2-3)
I. Disunity (Vv 2-3)
Few things will disrupt our experience of peace as quickly as conflict or division in the church.
This was apparently a problem for the church at Philippi.
Two of the leading women were at odds with one another.
We don’t know what the issue was, but it was serious enough that it had reached the ears of the Apostle Paul in prison.
It was serious enough that he felt the need to address it in a public letter.
It was serious enough that it disrupted the peace and productivity of the church.
It’s important to notice that these were godly women, women engaged in the Lord’s service.
Notice how Paul describes them in the latter part of verse 3.
These women worked hard alongside Paul in his struggle to advance the gospel.
Working with Paul they no doubt faced opposition, but served faithfully.
Paul even mentions their reward, their names are written in the book of life.
All this just points to the reality that even God’s most faithful servants can disagree and have serious conflict.
When that happens the sense of security and tranquility we enjoy as a church can suffer.
In the first church I pastored two teenagers had a falling out.
One set of parents defended their child.
The other set of parents defended their child.
The friends of one couple took sides with them.
The friends of the other couple took sides with them.
What started as a disagreement between two teenagers quickly spread to their families, then to the church.
And pretty soon none of us were at peace.
Just turmoil and bitterness.
Disunity destroys peace.
The good news is that in Christ we have the means to deal with disunity and restore peace.
Notice verse 2 again.
Notice the phrase “in the Lord.”
We might say it like this.
“Let your common bond in the Lord provide the grounds on which you come together.
Let your common faith in Christ unite and unify you.”
Based on their common faith in Christ Paul entreats these two ladies to agree in the Lord.
He is literally telling them to be of the same mind.
This is much more than just agreeing in thought or opinion.
It means to strive after a unity and harmony in life.
It is an appeal to be at one in their thinking, and as a result their unity of thinking they will have the ability to work together in harmony.
Notice Paul appeals to each woman separately.
This tells us a couple of things.
Paul is not concerned with who is right or wrong in their conflict.
He calls on both women to resolve the issue.
The grounds for their agreement is to be their common faith in Christ.
Who is right or wrong isn’t what matters.
The peace and productivity of the church is what matters.
Paul expects these women to be spiritually mature enough to be able to come to gether in the Lord.
You’ll notice in verse 3 he calls on someone to help the women agree.
The word help implies that Paul expects these women to be working to come together in the Lord.
If you are helping someone do something, they are involved in the process.
Christ has given his followers the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit within us should give us the desire and the drive to come together in the Lord.
That’s one of the ways Christ has equipped the church to deal with the disunity that disrupts our peace.
Another way He has equipped the church for this is by giving us spiritual leaders.
The spiritual leaders of the church should make disunity a matter of concern.
Paul didn’t just sit back and hope these ladies would work it out.
No!
He entreated both of these women to agree in the Lord.
The word “entreated” is often translated “implored” or “to plead with.”
It is used in of a man who implored Jesus earnestly to heal his daughter who was dying.
Christ has given the church spiritual leaders.
They are a gift of grace to the church.
Part of their role is to preserve the unity and peace of the church by imploring God’s people to agree in the Lord.
All this just points to the reality that even God’s most faithful servants can disagree and have serious conflict.
And when that happens the church suffers.
Another way Christ has equipped the church to deal with disunity is through those in the church who are spiritually mature.
You’ll notice in verse 3 that Paul refers to someone he calls, “my true companion.”
We might say, my faithful partner.
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