Philippians 4:1-9 text

Good morning again everyone. Today we are going to read about half of the last chapter of Philippians. I wanted to preach the whole thing but we would have been here for an hour and a half and I am sure we all have some things to do today. So I kept it reasonable. But there is a lot of information here in these 8 verses we get to tackle. Paul all throughout this letter has exhorted the Philippians to be the body & family of Christ. and how that actually plays out in the church. He has exhorted them to have their faith solely in Jesus and to pour out the same love Christ pours out on us on one another. And he has warned them to walk like Jesus and not be distracted by the world. And he gives this final all encompassing exhortation in Chapter 4 that just sums up everything beautifully. So with that will all of you who are able to stand with me for the reading of God’s word. This is Philippians 4:1–9 “””“Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” “”” The word of the lord. You may be seated. So I felt a little bad about having to show the last 2 verses of the previous scriptures we looked at at the beginning of the sermon last week, I kind of felt like I should have put it with that weeks scriptures. I know it sounds dumb but i felt like I hadn’t done a good job breaking up the scripture. But now i don’t feel so bad about that. Cause i am realizing it’s just the way Paul writes. Cause again I have to remind you guys of what Paul immediately said in the scripture from last week so you can have context for what he says starting in this week. Even the people who came up with the chapter divisions thought it should go in Chapter 4. So I am going to read The last 5 verses of last week and add the first verse from this week so we can get the whole picture of what he is saying. Philippians 3:17-4:1 “””” Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us. For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ. Their end is destruction, their god is their belly, and they glory in their shame, with minds set on earthly things. But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body, by the power that enables him even to subject all things to himself. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.”””” So now we see how Paul was sharing some hard truths while exhorting them to look forward to the Resurrection. And in the first verse of chapter 4 he kind of love bombs them doesn’t he. I mean he says My Brothers who I love then calls them my joy & crown and then after exhorting them to Stand firm in the lord he calls them beloved. You know I don’t think we realize just how much how we say something to someone affects whether they will receive what we say, Sometimes how we deliver something can effect a persons acceptance of it more than the content of what we are trying to tell them. I mean think about all the times you have tried to tell your kids or you sibling or even your parents some truth but delivered it with a not so nice tone. Did they listen? Probably not. I mean being a parent I have had to learn this the hard way. You know ill be frustrated after a long day of work and come in the door only to trip over something 1 of my kids left in the middle of the floor. And instead of asking kindly with love for them to pick it up. What will I do. Yell at them “PICK IT UP”. And they may even pick it up but then the whole night is off to a bad start. Remember what Proverbs 15:1 says “”””A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.”””” Or ill have to tell a friend that what they are doing is a sin. But instead of lovingly and compassionately telling them what they are doing is pushing God away. I will preach fire and brimstone at them. Repent!!!!!! We forget this all the time though don’t we. As Christians I think we can be concerned with making sure what we say is the truth but in that process we can neglect the delivery of that truth. You know I think there is a perfect scripture that reminds us of this. Ephesians 4:15 “”””Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ,”””” Jesus himself was the truth, and he was the most compassionate and loving person to ever walk the Earth. So when we deliver the truth about him we should think about how he would say it. And I would say Paul definitely was doing just that here. Now after the loving exhortation to stand firm in the Lord he goes on to say in verses- Philippians 4:2-3 “””” I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.”””” So we finally reach Euodia & Syntyche! Now these are 2 women who are obviously disagreeing about something and Paul being wisely reserved doesn’t go into detail about what the disagreement was. Think about that for a second. So often and i am speaking from personal experience here. When we see a brother and sister in an argument the very first thing we want to do is ask “ What's this all about”. And we will say it is so we can help resolve the issue between them but sometimes the truth is we just want the juicy details. I mean come on guys the Jerry Springer show was the biggest show on television for how many years. We are hard wired to be enthralled by conflict between one another. But God’s word warns us against stirring the pot as it were. In Proverbs 26:17 it says “””” Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears.”””” That doesn’t seem like a very good idea does it. And we see the negative outcome that can take place in the lives of the people involved when we get involved in other peoples quarrels in Proverbs 16:28 “”””A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends.”””” And there are like 100 more we could list out. So when we see our brothers and sisters fighting how are we to handle it according to Paul. And I want to remind you this is not a case where one person sinned against another we have a whole different outline for that situation. Paul asks them to “Agree in the Lord”. Now what is translated agree is a term used in many places in Paul’s letters that when more completely fleshed out means to set ones mind on something. So Paul is saying these 2 women whatever they are disagreeing on that they should put that aside so as to set their minds on Jesus where they do agree. I mean how often do we argue with fellow believers over stupid things like politics or which football team is better or even which celebrity is more handsome Jonny Depp or Brad Pitt. But you get what i am saying. We let trivial things get in the way of our relationship with each other in Christ. In reality we shouldn’t let any of our differences in opinion or anything else get in the way of that. And the truth is most of the time Just setting our minds on Christ is the solution to our trivial disagreements. Look what else Paul wrote in Ephesians 2:14-16 “”””For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.”””” If Jesus can cause Jews and gentiles to set aside their long held disagreements on everything and anything I think he can inspire us to set aside our disagreements on who should have won the super bowl. And we all agree the Pats should have won anyway. Now i want to point you to someone he asks for help in the matter. It says in my translation True companion but others render it true Yolk fellow. Now no one knows who this actually might be. While there are many suggestions from the Bishop there to Epaphroditus. But I actually take a different view. I think he was exhorting the entire church in a way. It makes perfect sense that he would be asking any true companion in Christ to take up the task of helping these 2 women reconcile. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 5:9 “”””“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”””” If we look at ourselves as true followers of Jesus the very first thing we should be looking to foster peace especially among our brothers and sisters. And he reminds them that is exactly who they are helping here. He lists that these 2 have labored side by side in the gospel with all of them and then he reminds them that the most important thing that we tend to forget. That their names are in the book of life. You know if I had been actively thinking this when i decided to get in an argument with my brother or sister, I probably would just say forget whatever it was and move on. Cause when you compare what we disagree about in this world with the truth that we are in the book of life, everything else seems insignificant. I can only imagine nothing needed to even happen after reading this letter aloud to the congregation. I am sure they heard what Paul said and realized what they were arguing over was of little to no importance. So they probably dropped it and moved on. But we are not the church in Philippi. So we might have to do the legwork Paul is describing here. I mean We really don’t want a Jerry Jerry Jerry situation in our Church. Do we? Now Paul goes on to tell them what they should be doing by saying Philippians 4:4-5 “””” Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; .”””” So enough of this division stuff Paul says and lets get back to what we should be doing together as a family in Christ. Rejoicing. And he makes sure they get his message he says it twice. It is hard to be at odds with each other when you are filled with the joy of the Lord. And even more than that it is what we are Called to do together. Rejoice in the Lord. Have you ever stopped to ask why that is. Psalm 33:1 gives a good explanation """".Shout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous! Praise befits the upright."""" This is something that we tend to forget. We are the upright. We are told all the time to distinguish ourselves from the rest of the world. And just as love is the main thing that people should see when they look from the outside. As jesus told us as the riteeous, we also should be seen rejoicing in that love together. Because unlike the world we've been reconciled to god, that is something that should always cause us to rejoice together. And don't think it's disconnected from what he says in the rest of the verses when he says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone for the lord is at hand. You know, often when we're in our little quarrels or disagreements amongst each other, we forget how that looks to the outside world. The outside world itself fight about just about everything, both from insignificant to serious things, Paul is saying we should distinguish ourselves from them by letting the little stuff go. Short of what it takes to be saved or sinning against one another. We shouldn't be fighting at all. We shouldn't be dwelling on disagreements because think about it first for a second. If the outside world sees us disagreeing on these little things, do you really think we're gonna be attractive as a community to them. We're sitting here saying we have something that they don't, but if we can't even agree to disagree on the little things well, we don't look so different to them. Do we. 1Peter 2:11-12 says""""Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. 12 Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation."""" I want you to imagine walking into a church. You know, seeking the truth, you know, you're not quite sure if jesus is the way and imagine the first thing you see when you walk in is two people arguing over something that you yourself can't quite understand because you don't know anything about doctrine or soteriology or eschatology. And They're arguing over some little thing like that. You Might start to think. Well if they can't agree on that. Then, how can I expect them to know how to be reconciled to god. We have to remember what we do in this is the body matters to those who were outside of it. We've talked about it before, but when you come to christ all of a sudden, a magnifying glasses put on you and everything that you do. We talked about last week. How we were purchased by the precious blood of christ, we ought to act like it. As peter says we are sojourners and exiles of this world, And as Paul says, the lord is at hand time is short. That trumpet could sound ten years from now or ten minutes from now. And if we cause damage to the way that the church looks to the outside, that could be one less brother or sister who would have been saved, had we not. Paul goes on in verses 6-7 Philippians 4:6-7 """".6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."""" So I mean, we can just kind of skip, right over these verses cause none of us get anxious ever about anything. I know that we are the most peaceful, calm and level headed people in this entire world. So we can just skip over what Paul said right here. Yeah right. I now have to confess to god a sin that I just committed. A lie to be specific. But seriously, we see this exhortation over and over and over again in scripture. And it's because when Christ came as a man to this Earth, he understood the anxieties that we all dealt with. And went through, he understood, just how damaging they can be. I mean, think about it in your own life. How often will you be perfectly at peace walking throughout your day? And then a little thought comes into your head. It could be something as simple as did I leave the stove on, or how am I gonna pay that bill? Or even as serious as what am I going to do about this cancer diagnosis. But when you actually examine the reason why we're actually worrying, it points us to an uncomfortable truth that we don't like to have to voice out loud. Remember last week I talked about how being a christian takes brutal honesty. While this is one of those moments where we all have to be, brutally. Honest about this. These moments where we experience anxiety especially when it comes to things that we can't control. It's because we're not trusting god. In that moment of worry, in that moment of doubt and that's what it is, it's doubt we're disbelieving that god can handle all the things in our lives. Now i'm not saying that you shouldn't plan. Because you absolutely should plan the bible. Does tell us that again?And again it talks about it in Proverbs 6:6-8 """"Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. 7 Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, 8 she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest."""" So we're not saying don't plan here, that's not We're saying. But what I am saying is, think about past moments where you've become anxious and ask yourself, the question did me becoming anxious help anything at all. Did my anxiety actually have any impact that is good on what was going on that was causing. Or and this is the more likely scenario or did my anxiety cause things to become a hundred times worse. In the truth is, we don't need to be anxious. We all know the exhortation from Jesus. On the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6 where he talks about the lilies of the field. And how God arrays them? And God takes care of the birds of the air. And how if he clothes, the grass of the field and takes care of the birds of the air, then he'll take care of you all that much more. But something a lot of people don't realize is those verses start with the word therefore. Here let me show you. Matthew 6:25 """".Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"""" We have to remember the word, therefore is a clause. So, Jesus is saying that you don't have to worry. If and then the requirements that he was talking about before that are the prerequisite, it's a saved person to not have to worry. Let's take a quick look at the verses that came before it. Matthew 6:19-24 """"Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24 “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money."""" So after reading that this makes a lot more sense, doesn't it? If we keep our minds and our eyes and our hearts set on the things of God, then we don't need to be anxious about anything. Because we're not considering the things of this world, and in this world our treasures. Jesus in verse twenty two says the eyes the lamp of the body.So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light. Now, you guys might be asking, what does this have to do with what Paul was talking about? Well, remember, paul is writing to Euodia and Syntyche who had some disagreements that paul thought were threatening The church. And in the process of paul telling him what they should be focusing on one of the biggest things he says is do not be anxious about anything. Because Paul knows that for them, to be in a quarrel, they weren't putting their eyes on the right things. They had their eyes set on the things of this world. So in this verse, he's exhorting them to return their minds and their eyes to the right things. Because when you don't have your heart set on whether the Patriots are the better team. Which they are. Then you are not going to care if someone disagrees with you about that. That's why he says in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. By the way, let your request be made known to god. Guys, when we experience anxiety and just overwhelming gloom and doom feeling we have to return to God. In prayer so that he can bestow on us the right heart posture and state of mind. Remember what else Jesus said in John 14:27 """"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid."""" And in that chapter, he was talking about sending the Holy Spirit who was gonna teach us all things. And help us communicate with the father and him in heaven. So that we might actually receive this piece, this piece that surpasses all understanding. That he says will actually guard our hearts and minds in christ, jesus. Now on to the final verses which are the most famous in this chapter. Philippians 4:8-9 """".Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."""" Now, a lot of times we hear just verse eight without the context added by verse nine. But I think it's really important that he's exhorting them. Yes, to put their minds on these things in general, but also in relation to what they have seen through him. Paul wasn't telling them to just decide in their own minds what is true in what is lovely and pure and commendable? And just and honourable, but he actually gave them an example in his walk. Because remember, Paul Peter, the other apostles.

They held the office of elder. This is something I don't think we quite make a connection with when we're here following christ. We love the bible. We love the word of god. It is our guide. It is our light. And sometimes we can get into our heads a bit and we can start to think, well, why do I need these other examples to follow if I have the bible? And I can just follow what it says in there. I can just follow Jesus's example. And that is true to an extent, but there's something to be said about having an example in your own community of someone who's actually doing that. Who's actually walking out those examples In scripture that we see. Because the truth is in this society, it might look a little bit different Following jesus. Then, it does say in africa or china or the philippines. There is actual utility in having an example in your community of someone who is successfully as much as humanly possible. Anyway, walking out the exhortations, we see in scripture. Now, remember, paul's exhorting everyone to take up this practice. Because as we all follow the examples that we see of our brothers and sisters walking according to the commandments of christ. We then can continue to look at each other

To help us know whether we're we're, I actually walking according to these examples. So in Conclusion “Be The Example”. So what are these things we are supposed to follow in each other. He starts with whatever is true. When we believe in the lives of this world takes our mind and our eyes off of jesus who said he is the truth. All the rest of these flow out of that whatever is noble just means something that is seen in a good light in truth. Not scandalous so to speak. Whatever is just just means? Doing what is right in the eyes of god. Whatever is pure means keeping yourself in a state of holiness ready to serve god so to speak. Now, whatever is lovely, I like that. He uses that word in there. Because I'm sure you guys have all experienced that person. Who's just filled with the the joy of Christ? And you just want to be around them. Thanks to what I think he's trying to get across here when he says whatever is lovely. Which fits perfect here because if you Euodia and Syntyche had been lovely towards one another, they wouldn't have been quarrelling. And then commendable just means worthy of praising. Andy doesn't just limit it to these things.He then says whatever is excellent and worthy of that praise to think about those things. Guys, if we kept all these things in our minds, guess, what? Jerry springer never would have been a thing. No one ever would have watched the Jerry Springer show. If they had all been listening to what paul said here in this letter. And the truth is, even though watching things like the Jerry Springer show feel good in the moment. They don't lead us to the peace of god.Which is why he's telling us to practice these things. So that we have the peace of god. When we set our minds onworldly things like fighting with one another or watching other people fight. We're chasing money or chasing the flash in the 1000 other ways we can do that. They just lead us further from God. You know, in in my walk with christ, it was really hard to give up a lot of the worldly things. And still is, it's not easy to put down. What you spent thirty six years practicing. But as I put down more and more of myself and pick up more and more of christ I experienced that peace, and I know all of you do, too just in the six years that I've been here, I have seen so much progress in each and every brother and sister, whose lives I've been able to be a part of. And as we continue to grow together and give examples 41 another to follow of following christ. I pray that we seem lovely to the rest of the world. So that they, too, will want to become part of our growing family. With that let's pray.