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What’s left to say?
What’s left to say?
As Paul is wrapping up his message to the Philippians,
He wants to promise them the Peace of God.
but before he can promise them that, they need more instruction.
In chapter 3 Paul talked about how he learned to put no confidence in the flesh,
even though his track record for being a devoted Jew was exemplary.
He told them to follow the new example of life he was living.
Yet in the mist of this talk, he found a way to tell them not to sin,
that sinning Christians were
Crucifying Christ all over again and
to persist in that lifestyle
would endanger their souls to hell.
As we will see today, the Philippians needed to learn
more about the importance of Christian Unity.
They needed some instruction on how to rejoice, when they felt anxious and
They needed channel their minds, their thinking to correct areas.
Before we read verse 2-9 this morning lets just look at verse 1 and then answer the question,
How much did Paul care for the Philippian church?
How much did Paul care for the Philippian church?
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
He cared a lot for them!
He called them
his brothers and sisters
his Joy
his crown
and he said he longed for them,
he longed to see them.
and he called them dear friends.
This was not some academic letter,
this was a letter to close friends in the Lord that he longed to see and be with.
It’s intended to motivate them to walk in such a way with God that
they have God’s peace with them
within them.
So in a sense it’s not unlike a coaches speech before the last game.
Amber Lee tweeted this statement in 2012, long before I ever heard of tweeting
The inspirational locker room speech delivered pre-, post- or even mid-game is a sports tradition.
It's commonplace in locker rooms in most sports at any level and absolutely mandatory
in the closing minutes of any great sports film.
Philippians, is like a coaches letter to encourage his team, to play the game well.
So let’s read our next section of Philippians leading up to the promise of the God of Peace being with them
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
When I first became a Christian, I thought what a wonderful place church was, were everyone was good, and godly and got along well.
When I started attending council meetings at church
I was shocked at the strong opinions and disagreements Christians could have.
Sometimes those strong opinions get out of hand.
At Philippia they have gotten out of hand for
Eudia and
Syntyche
Paul pleads that they will be of the same mind.
or as the message puts it
2 I urge Euodia and Syntyche to iron out their differences and make up. God doesn’t want his children holding grudges.
Bitter Christians is a contradiction of terms because
that is not how we are supposed to live and act.
Jesus said
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
We give Jesus Christ a bad name, not only when we sin,
but also when we just can’t get along.
So Paul pleaded that Eudia and the other women would settle their difference.
Was that good enough?
Not for Paul
Just asking them to get along wasn’t enough
Paul asked people in the church to step in and HELP these women settle their differences.
These women were not just fringe people
who only come to the church a few times a year
they were co workers who had contended, they labored, they strove as athletes for the work of the gospel.
So Paul is calling all the other serious leaders to help those ladies get along.
Are there relationships you have been content to let slide?
Are there relationships, you need to attend to?
I know I have some I should try again to address.
When children don’t get along, we can make them co-operate.
But when grown ups won’t get along, nobody can make them,
but we can do all we can to encourage them and pray for heart changes
Who is Paul asking to intervene?
Genuine Christians
Co-Workers whose names are in the book of Life.
God apparently has many books, many records of our lives in heaven.
The very hairs on our heads are numbered but there is one book
The Lambs book of life where our name is written,
If we have repented of our sin, asked Jesus in and are now walking with Him.
12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books.
It is the responsibility of all Christians to help Christian men and women be of one mind in Christ.
to have unity and fellowship.
What else did the Philippians need to learn?
They needed to learn to rejoice always.
They needed to learn to rejoice always.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
That command has caught on and been emphasis in the lively chorus “Rejoice in the Lord Always”
Let’s pause a minute to sing that chorus
Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice
Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice
Rejoice, Rejoice and again I say Rejoice
Rejoice, Rejoice and again I say Rejoice
It’s easy to rejoice in sunny days and be thankful.
Yet on those sunny days, we often forget to be thankful.
We are to busy enjoying life.
In hard days, rejoicing can be hard for a very different reason
we don’t feel joyful.
Sometimes we have trouble rejoicing because we are anxious.
So Paul goes on to say
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
I can be pretty good at worrying.
what can I
what can you
what can we do to
We can probably learn to give God our burdens, our prayers and concerns better:
more often
more seriously
with more faith ..........................
Leave it there at the altar,
don’t keep picking it up gain
to wear out the floor, worrying over the problem a little more.
Learning to trust God with patience
has been a slow lesson for me.
Paul wants the Philippians to rejoice
and sometimes to rejoice, you have to learn to give things to God in prayer and leave them in His care.
Amen? Amen!
If we can regularly pray
If we can genuinely give our burdens to God
and not take them back
If we can live with a thankful heart and attitude,
then
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God will guard our hearts.
In my life, God has done a lot of repair work in my fragile and weak heart.
I used to be so afraid of dis-appointing someone, anyone
but as I have been learning these lessons from God’s word
God had been guarding my heart and
the fears and doubts that used to hold me back
are almost completely gone.
Seldom to I feel those chains of fears and self doubt any more.
Paul promised in vs 7 that God’s peace,
which is so fa-nominal it blows our minds at times
that is it passes our understanding
His peace will guard our hearts.
and I say AMEN!
Paul has one one step he wants the Philippians to follow, so God will be with them
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
What are we to focus on
whatever is true, whatever is noble,
whatever is right, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—
if anything is excellent or praiseworthy
What are we supposed to do with all these things
Think on them.
I agree with Paul that if we fill our minds and time with these good wholesome things, our life will go better.
What did Paul promise
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
He promised that if we do these things
If we don’t trust in our work but in Jesus finished work on the cross
if we don’t wilfully sin and make Christ our enemy again
and on the positive side, if we
work on relationships so we can be united in christ with others
if we rejoice at all times
giving our anxieties to Christ in prayer
and if we focus our minds on things that are Good, true, noble, right, pure, love, admirable and praiseworthy
Then the God of peace will be with us.
Let’s pray.