Stand Firm Together
Notes
Transcript
Pray
Pray
Church conflict rarely begins with someone rejecting the gospel - or teaching herasy.
It also rarely begins with bad intentions.
More often, it begins with mild irritation.
A comment that didn’t land well.
A decision we didn’t agree with.
A relationship that quietly cooled.
And when that happens, it can feel unsettling — because instinctively we think, a healthy church shouldn’t feel like this.
I should love coming to church, but I find a few people rather stressful.
or
I should love serving in Sunday School, but I feel I do more that others.
or
I should love coming to church but I wouldn’t do this or that as they do.
If these are some of the feelings you have, well today Paul has 4 habits to develop to help you.
But first a little context,
, threats to church disunity have always been a challenge.
Phillipians, one of his warmest, most joyful letters,
is also one written openly by Paul to adress real disagreement between two faithful Christians.
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
And Paul links their discagreement directly with v1 ‘standing firm in the Lord’
In other words unity is crucial to standing firm.
So what are we to do about?
Well, when it comes to unity
UGH
UNITY — Our Own Instincts Don’t Work
UNITY — Our Own Instincts Don’t Work
When unity is strained, we tend to fall into predictable patterns.
Some of us retreat — we keep things polite, but rather distant.
Others push — we argue harder, justify ourselves, gather allies.
And underneath both is often anxiety:
fear of being sidelined,
fear of losing influence,
fear of change,
fear of being misunderstood.
And our minds whirl with thoughts and thinking, and perceptions, and judgements.
None of those instincts help a church stand firm.
And Paul knows that.
That’s why he doesn’t treat disagreement as a minor pastoral irritation.
He treats it as something that threatens the church’s ability to hold its ground together in the gospel.
Disunity, threatens our very confidecen in the the gospel -
Our very ability to stand firm.
You can see that in the text - listen to the ‘plural language Paul uses at the nd of chpater 3, as he prepares to address the disunity in this chapter..
But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.
“Our citizenship is in heaven.” - but we’re still stuck with bodies and minds that require transforming.
therefore
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!
Even though it wont be easy becasue our insticks creat disunity, we must nontheless look forward and hold on, stand firm.
Standing firm is always a corporate unity issue in Philippians:
Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel
So when Paul immediately speaks about Euodia and Syntyche, in v2 of our chapter today,
this is not an awkward aside. This is the danger point.
Two people pulling apart, threatens the church’s ability to stand firm together.
AHA — The Gospel Reframes Everything
AHA — The Gospel Reframes Everything
What’s striking is how Paul handles it.
He doesn’t tell us what the disagreement is.
He doesn’t take sides.
He doesn’t tell them to “sort it out privately”.
And he doesn’t even discuss the actual issue or give his view on it.
Instead, he does something deeper.
he again reminds them who they are.
He calls them brothers and sisters. - my brothers and sisters
He speaks with affection — “my joy and crown”.
We are one - standing firm requires unity.
And then at the end of v3 he says something that ought to reshape all our thinking about disunity, challenegs, difficult relationships in the church family:
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.
Paul seems far less interested in the specifics of the arguement, and much more interested in who they are.
This is not conflict management. This is gospel proclamation.
Paul is saying: before you are people who disagree, you are people who belong.
Who have your name in the same book of life.
Your citizenship is already settled. Jesus as he died on the cross, wrote your name in his book,
so that on the day of final judgement as we stand before God to give an account for our sin and lives before Him,
Jesus will say, check the book, Euodia and Syntyche are both in there - I died for them - let them into glory.
And as an aside, so hurt are these 2 ladies by each other, they will need a 3rd party, Pauls true companion to bring them together.
We don;t know who Paul is referring to, but we know what they are to remind these 2 women,.
Your future is already secure.
Your place in God’s kingdom has already been given — not earned, but purchased by Christ.
And you’re both in.
So, unlike when Paul deals with false teachers, or trouble makers in the chruch who are not true Christains - when the 2 people in question are both written in the book of life - unity is essential.
And because he knows that our own instincts will get tin the way of unity - he gives now 4 habits - you and I can put into place to help us Stand firm together.
4 habits that will help us avoid disunity, disallusions, frustrations with others in our church family.
.
Habit 1 — Remember Where You Live, and Who Lives There
Habit 1 — Remember Where You Live, and Who Lives There
Paul’s first move is not “be nicer”.
It’s: remember where you live.
As we’ve already been thinking about.
You name is in the book,
You are citizens of heaven.
And the person you are struggling with is a citizen too.
Their name — and yours — is written in the same book, because Christ gave up his place to bring you both home.
This knowledge, doesn’t make disagreement vanish.
But it makes it impossible to treat one another as enemies.
You are not rivals.
You are fellow citizens.
When you find yourself frustrated with a fellow believr,
we often forget where we live.
We thnk we live in Worcester Park,
and our integirty,
status
matters to others,
so we need to proove we’re worthy of our home and the other is wrong.
But if we don’t live in WP,
and we live in with our hearts in Heaven,
then we don’t have anything to proove, and have no battles to win,
no pride is required -
for we have already made it!
and so has the person we find frustrating.
They might be wrong, I might be wrong - but eaither way in Christ - we’re made right.
This first habit has many names.
Often we say ‘is this a gosopel issue’
Will egtting this thing wrong or right affect our or their, or someone elses salvation?
If not - then remeber where you and they live.
Becasue whatever this issue is - it’s not worth risking the ability to stand firm.
Habit one - ask Is it a gospel issue, if not.
Remeber where you live and who lives there with you.
Remember Where your name is written
Once Paul has re-established identity, he moves to even more practcial habits to work on..
Habit 2 — Look Up Before You Lash Out
Habit 2 — Look Up Before You Lash Out
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Paul moves from who we are together to how we respond when tension rises.
He doesn’t say, “Fix the problem.”
He says, “Rejoice in the Lord.”
Not because everything is easy, but because Christ is always worth rejoicing in.
Lift your eyes up from the problem to Your saviour.
Rejoicing here is not emotional denial; it is theological and emotional re-centering.
When relationships are strained, Paul deliberately redirects the church’s gaze away from the situation and back to the Lord.
That matters, because when tension rises our instinct is to look sideways
— to our rights, our frustrations, our sense of being wronged.
To comparison to others, and we end up lashing out - if not literally, then certainliy in our hearts to protect ourselves.
Paul says: look up.
Then he adds, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.”
This is not weakness, but strength under control — a refusal to insist on our own way, even when we feel justified. Acheieved by looking up to Jesus - rejoicing in Him - rather than lashing out.
And Paul grounds that urgency of this habit in one short phrase: “The Lord is near.”
Christ is present. He sees. And he is coming. He will put things right.
If the Lord is near, then we don’t need to lash out.
We don’t need to win every moment or force outcomes.
And not only that we don’t want to be found like the unsuspecting home owener who knew the thirf was coming but did nothing to prepare.
We can afford to be gentle - when we rejoice in the Lord.
And that gentleness, Paul says, is to be visible — shaping tone, speech, and response.
In a church under strain, gentleness becomes a powerful stabilising force - and it’s acheivebale if we first rejoice.
So Paul’s logic is simple and searching:
When tension rises, don’t look sideways first.
Look up before you lash out.
As we rejoice in the Lord and all he is, and all he has done in and for us, as we celebrate the Lrods Supper, celebrate his glory, celebrate his willingness to put our names in his book of life.
well then our grievances lose their grip — and unity is protected. And we will stand firm.
Habit 3 — Turn Worry into Peace through Prayer
Habit 3 — Turn Worry into Peace through Prayer
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
When unity and relationships are strained, anxiety is rarely far behind.
We become anxious about being misunderstood,
about losing influence,
about where things are heading,
about what others might be thinking.
And anxiety has a way of reshaping how we relate to one another.
It wurrs round and round in our head, and it can absorb our minds in a downward spiral or turmoil.
Paul says, “Do not be anxious about anything.” That’s not a sharp rebuke, as though anxiety were simply a failure of faith.
It’s a gracious invitation. Paul knows anxiety is real — but he also knows it is dangerous if left unchecked.
If anxiety doesn’t stay contained. It makes us reactive. It sharpens suspicion. It pushes us either to control or to withdraw.
And when anxiety begins to shape the atmosphere of a church, unity starts to feel very fragile.
So Paul doesn’t say, “Stop feeling worried.” He says: redirect it.
“In every situation… present your requests to God.”
Take the worry you are carrying and deliberately bring it before the Lord. Turn anxiety into prayer — not occasionally, but “in everything.”
And notice how Paul describes that prayer: prayer and petition, with thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving matters because it reminds us that God has already been faithful, even as we ask him for help now. It pulls us out of panic and back into trust.
It’s hard to be thankful and remain as anxious as we were.
Find things in your perceived enemy you can thank God for,
And your disagreement will find what we’re promised in v7 as a result of this thankful prayer:
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Peace here is not something we manufacture by calming techniques.
It is something God gives as a result of prayer.
Paul uses a guarding image — like a sentry posted over the inner life of the church.
God’s peace stands watch over hearts and minds
so that fear does not spill out into sharp words, defensive reactions, or relational breakdown.
But we bypass his gracious defence for us if we neglect to pray with thankfulness.
Because very often, what we don’t pray about, we end up projecting onto others.
Unprayed anxieties become accusations.
Unprayed fears become frustrations.
Paul says: don’t let that happen.
Turn worry into peace through prayer — and let God himself protect the inner life of his people.
That habit doesn’t remove every difficulty, but it stabilises us and the church so we can continue to stand firm together in the gospel.
Next time you feel anxious about an aspect of church, or a fellow Christian write it down and commit to pray for it before God, ‘with thanksgiving.’
See how the Lord will bring you peace as a guard against further anxiety and disunity.
Habit 4 — Train Your Thinking
Habit 4 — Train Your Thinking
Then Paul goes deeper still — to the mind.
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 you dwell on matters,”.
Conflict rarely explodes suddenly. It grows quietly in the imagination:
replayed conversations,
assumed motives,
rehearsed grievances.
So Paul calls the church to disciplined thinking — thinking shaped by what is true, noble, pure, lovely.
Not naïve thinking.
God-shaped thinking.
Unity usually collapses in the mind before it collapses in the room.
So think on good things instead.
And notice this is an instruction. I’ve called all these things habits - becasue they are thing we are to work on.
Train your mind to think on the good things of God, and the God things in others.
Force yourself - train your brain and thinking.
Pause
And so the final habit - and if you remember no others today remember this one:
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.
Habit 5 — Make These Habits a Habit
Habit 5 — Make These Habits a Habit
In other words: don’t just admire these habits, habitulise them.
Don’t go home today and think weren’t there some good habit ideas from Philippians that could help my faith in standing firm, my mind in seeking unity.
Actually make these habits a habit.
read this short passage everyday for a week, and make an effort to adopt Paul’s teaching here.
Put it into practice.
After all - it will be worth it for you, and for us as a church
- just imagine if we all went away committing to
remeber where we live - and who live there
Look up before we lash out
Turn Your Worry into Peace through prayer
Train your thinking
Can you image what we would be like as a church?
Well we don’t need to imaging,
We;re told what it will be like.: “And the God of peace will be with you.”
Live out the gospel you have already received — and you will find that the God of peace walks with you.
This is why church family is so unlike any other community.
Aren’t you so often amazed how well, despite some tensions we hold together in love as a church?
It’s the peace of God with us.
So don’t stop practicing these things.
Paul assumes church life will be hard.
But he also assumes God is kind.
These habits don’t make us citizens of heaven.
They are how citizens of heaven learn to live together now.
And that’s why unity is not optional for standing firm.
A divided church cannot strive together for the faith of the gospel.
So when unity is strained — and it will be — Paul doesn’t tell us to walk away.
He tells us to walk back together:
to our shared citizenship,
to our shared Lord,
and to the God of peace who keeps his people standing.
So rejoice, pray and give thanks.
remeber where we live - and who live there
Look up before we lash out
Turn Your Worry into Peace through prayer
Train your thinking
Pray
