United, Joyful, and Peaceful
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Good Morning Church
It is a joy to be with you this fine Sunday Morning.
For those who do not know me, My name is Zach Klundt, I am the director of student ministries here at Bethel and I get the privilege of speaking to you this morning.
We are going to be in Philippians 4, this morning,
That’s right not Romans!
My goal today is that you leave challenged, encouraged and Joyful.
I know not something you often hear as you read Romans.
I’m kidding we are for sure challenged but as Kevin and I talked last week, he told me there is not much joy.
So if you planned on being in Romans today, you will have to wait until next week.
So feel free to flip to Philippians 4 in your Bibles, type it in on your Bible app or you can use our dope Bethel App which has all of my points and Bible verses in— totally your call but the App is the way to go.
Actually little sidebar- I really like having my own Bible and then following along still.
Because I can tell you that the last time i heard a message on Philippians 4 was on Feb 10, 2019- the last message Pastor Scott preached before he was deployed.
But yeah...
I like to make notes and underline and highlight stuff but that is me, you can do as you please, but we will be in Philippians 4, I will join you in a moment.
In our youth ministry we have been doing these discipleship groups— which are pretty much small groups.
We have been covering the fruits of the spirit found in Galatians 5:22-23.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
So we started with love and joy last Sunday we talked on Peace and this week it is patience.
Love was really easy to talk on- for the most part we know what love is.
But I tell you what I had the hardest time with Joy.
And I really have no idea why.
I am over all a pretty positive person, I tend to look at everything with optimism and a smile.
But this idea of joy dumbfounded me.
I mean think about the last time you said you were joyful?
or the last time you heard someone say they are joyful.
Is never pretty accurate?
Which then caused me to look deeper into this emotion that is Joy.
What is Joy, how do we show joy, if this is a fruit of the spirit then why are we not talking about joy more?
These have been questions that have just been running through my head and my heart the last couple of weeks and then when I had the chance to speak again on a Sunday Morning, I wanted to hit on this.
Why?
Because I think how we define joy reveals how we view God.
and the passage we are going to look at today not only talks about Joy which is a command given by Paul, but it also talks about unity, which I think this season has been one of the most decisive times in our churches, and peace which does not compute with us.
Before we dive into the text let chat about what is happening at the moment.
Paul is writing in response to a letter that was written to him.
As many of letters were written in response to churches that had questions or they wanted clarity.
Unfortunately we do not have these letter.
We have to go off of what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write back.
Paul tells of his current status which, he is in jail.
I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel, so that it has become known throughout the whole imperial guard and to all the rest that my imprisonment is for Christ. And most of the brothers, having become confident in the Lord by my imprisonment, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.
Paul is just confirming that the Gospel can not be chained up and locked up— that his imprisonment is being used to advance the Gospel.
He would go on to say how he was not afraid of death that he actually viewed it as a gain to be with Christ!
The book of Philippians is such an amazing read but man it is jammed full of so many great truths.
If you are in-between studies and you are looking for something to dive into— the book of Philippians is a great one to study.
well lets get into the text:
Lets read Philippians 4:2-7
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.
Let’s go the Lord in prayer as we begin.
PRAYER
I feel like often we know Philippians 4:4-9 but i found the pervious verses very interesting as Paul is addresses unity with one another.
And man is unity hard.
Unity with people is difficult.
People would be really easy to manage and deal with if they all just thought and behaved like me.
If I am honest, this idea of unity that Paul is talking about is very relevant to us today.
We are living in one of the most decisive times in history.
And I am talking about the Church— not politics, the mask debate, pizzagate, the school debate, the church debate, and whatever the stranger down the road wants to argue about.
While all of this is going on, here is what I have seen.
I have seen believers turn on each other.
I have seen believers not trust each other.
I have seen those who call on the Lord causing division in our churches today.
And for many of us we are watching this unfold and we stay muted on the subject.
Or we send the JIF (GIF) of Michael Jackson eating popcorn— because we want to watch the blow up.
As believers we are called to something higher.
As believers who have the holy spirit living inside of us, we are designed to be different.
And when we— who have the holy spirit living in us— act just as ordinary as John Smith down the street who has never been to church in his life— SOMETHING IS WRONG HERE.
We are not made to be like everyone else.
Our Spirit filled lives should not resemble that of people who do not have the spirit.
So how do we live lives that are extraordinary and are centered on the Gospel?
For starters we Seek Unity
Seek Unity
Seek Unity
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.
Paul was written to about these two woman in the church at Philippi.
And Paul is urging/ pleading with them each individually to come to agreement in the Lord.
Something happened that we do not know about— but these two women were at odds with each other and it was causing quite the stir.
It is clear that Paul knows them and he is pleading with them to come to unity with each other in the name of the Lord.
Paul says that he labored with them.
Paul labored with them for the sake of the gospel.
And if you have ever been on a missions trip— there is nothing like linking arms with other believers and sharing the Gospel with those who desperately need it.
Paul is encouraging them to seek reconciliation with each other.
It is like mom or dad saying hey, go say sorry to your brother or your sister.
You know that is the right thing to do but sometimes seeking unity is hard, because that involves us humbling ourselves.
It involves admitting that maybe we were wrrrrrr
were wrrrroonnggg.
Yeah that can be a hard word to say out-loud.
but if they are unwilling to reconcile just the two of them, send in the second- see if they can set the record straight.
Well in this case the mentor- the yokefellow is to help these two woman come to unity.
He spoke about this earlier in Philippians chapter 2.
Paul was really driving home this idea of seeking unity.
So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,
When we seek unity it involves humility— when we are Christ centered— being humble and united is much easier to come by.
Paul was giving the church in Philippi a process of seeking unity with one another.
When we are in conflict with someone in the church; what should our first step by,
That’s right hop on the social media and blast away!
No wait that is not what Paul is saying, he is saying go and get it figured out. One V One.
And if that fails then you add someone into the mix— this yokefellow.
Which is Syzygos (Suzy-goos)
this means to bring balance- it is a teammate.
Many commentaries are hung up with who is this person. No one really knows.
It could be a pastor and a couple said it could refer to the whole church.
The big take away here is that there was a rift in the church, Paul was aware of this- and he was writing to encourage them to seek unity with one another.
ILLUSTRATE
Have you ever lived in a place of tension with one another?
APPLICATION
Maybe right now the Holy Spirit has stirred inside of you to seek unity with someone that you do not see eye to eye with and there is a rift right now.
Maybe you want to seek unity but the other person is not.
Paul often spoke about unity in the body of believers.
This is no different— so who do you need to go and make things right with.
write their name in your Bible, your app notes, or even in your digital bible.
Here is the challenge part: call them this week.
And seek unity.
Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.
In this season of heart ache and trouble and uncertainty, seek unity with one another.
It is easy to spread disunity, but seek unity with one another.
Unity is not having an opinion but it is agreeing to be in the Lord together even if you have a different opinion.
Point number two: as we continue to ask how do we live extraordinary lives that is gospel centered?
We seek Joy.
Seek Joy
Seek Joy
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
Rejoice in the Lord always, again let me say it for those in the back, REJOICE.
This was not a suggesting that Paul was giving to the people in Philippi but he was commanding the Philippians to rejoice.
Their joy was to be in the Lord.
And this is not the first time Paul has mentioned Joy here, as he mentions it 16 times in this little 4 chapter book.
And a good working definition that I stumbled on is by John Piper— Which Scott told me if I do not use three quotes from JP then the message doesn’t count— I’m kidding he did not say that— he said 5 and I bargained it down to 3. Kidding kinda of
Here is what Piper says about Joy.
“Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”- John Piper
“Christian joy is a good feeling in the soul, produced by the Holy Spirit, as he causes us to see the beauty of Christ in the word and in the world.”- John Piper
So first off we know that Joy is a feeling, not just a feeling but a good feeling in our souls.Second, we know that Joy is not something that we can produce, but it from the Holy Spirit.This makes sense as it relates to Galatians 5:22-23
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
This is all the stuff we are covering the next couple of weeks.
Third: Through the spirit who gives us joy we see the beauty of Christ in the word (the Bible) and in the world, around us.
Joy is undeniable important in how we carry ourselves.
Love is what we show, but joy is how we act.
Now hear me out.
Growing up in a church in the Quad Cities, I knew some pretty sour people who said that they were believers.
And maybe you have meet some of these people as well.
People who are just not happy- they have no joy, like somebody ate all of their cotton candy of something.
That when they walk into the room all the happiness is just sucked out of it.
You all know the people who I am talking about— I am sure 6 people flooded your mind, and if no one did come to mind then maybe you are someone in someone else's mind.
I get it, we do not know what they have gone through, maybe they are just having a bad day or bad decade, I get it.
And I am not saying that just because you are not some bubbly person, who wants to meet everyone, and share Jesus with all, that you are not finding joy in the Lord.
I am not saying that— but please hear me there.
We all have different personalities.
But I have a hard time seeing that if we can see the beauty of Christ, then our joy, that is given to us by the spirit should be stirred up or turnt up to overflow from our bodies.
I really think that Christians should be some of the most happiest and joyful people on the planet.
I really think they should.
But see we are not and I think there are many reasons for this, but I think many can be boiled down to we do not rejoice in the Lord daily.
John Piper says in his book “Desiring God” this.
“The enemy of worship is not that our desire for pleasure is too strong, but too weak! We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, a television, a microwave oven, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new laptop. We have accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled. And so our worship has shriveled.”- John Piper “Desiring God” Pg. 99
“The enemy of worship is not that our desire for pleasure is too strong, but too weak! We have settled for a home, a family, a few friends, a job, a television, a microwave oven, an occasional night out, a yearly vacation, and perhaps a new laptop. We have accustomed ourselves to such meager, short-lived pleasures that our capacity for joy has shriveled. And so our worship has shriveled.”- John Piper “Desiring God” Pg. 99
We rejoice in worldly things that leave us empty and unsatisfied, and joy-less.
Those things are not bad okay, hear me here, but tell which of those things mentioned do you have to be a believer to partake in?
NONE
None of it.
Our pleasures that we seek are too weak— We are as C.S. Lewis states “Half-hearted Creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us.”- C.S. Lewis “The Weight of Glory.”
Our pleasures that we seek are too weak— We are as C.S. Lewis states “Half-hearted Creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered to us.”- C.S. Lewis “The Weight of Glory.”
As David say ins Psalm 37:4
Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Or in Psalm 32:11
Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!
Then Paul comes to back to unity in the Lord by saying in verse 5,
Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
Paul is having inserting joy in-between to slices of unity.
I am sure we have all had those moments, where we are experiencing Joy and then all of a sudden here comes the compliant or here comes the disunity.
It steals our joy and we are left filling broken— And Remember folks Paul is not talking to unbelievers, but those who have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them.
If you have the Holy Spirit then as a believer we are to be reasonable and of sound mind.
I pray for this daily for our church, for our ministries, and for us as leadership because disunity will destroy everything in its path, its takes reasonableness, humility and JOY IN THE LORD to continue in unity with one another.
Seek Unity with one another
Seek Joy in the Lord
and lastly seek Peace
Seek Peace
Seek Peace
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.
Our joy is complete when we seek to delight in the Lord.
no longer do we need to be anxious.
Which that is all 2020 has been has it not, this has been the year of anxiety.
Paul is saying to the people as he is in jail, most likely getting ready to be killed and he is telling them to not be anxious about anything.
But he does tell them something to do, and that is to pray.
Prayer cures anxiety.
We are finite people trying to solve problems that an infinite God can take care of and instead of feeling the weight anxiety and burdens, God is promising us peace to experience, that comes from the joy that we delight in Him.
God gives peace unlike any other peace in this world.
I know I have shared this story with our students, but when our first born Evey arrived in this world she was 1 lb 12 oz and 13 in long.
Brittni had gone into sever preeclampsia, She was only 29 weeks pregnant and Evey was measuring at 25 weeks.
Meaning she was not suppose to be out yet.
Yet the doctor came in and gave us some peaceful words, she said “We are going to take the baby.”
at 29 weeks.
Our first baby and even in that moment; call it the being naive or maybe just wishful, I knew Evey and Brittni were going to be okay.
I was at peace— and I am telling you it was not a peaceful situation— Brittni had 12 nurses taking care of her getting her ready for an emergency C-Section.
But as we looked back on it, we had peace about everything— In those few moments that were not a blur, I just remember saying, God I trust you.
PICTURE
Peace that defies the natural law of emotions is not something I just make magically happen.
I believe that it was the Holy Spirit granting me peace that surpasses all understanding.
Evey if you know her now is a beautiful 7 year old girl who spent 54 days in the NICU and never once did we worry about her not making it.
Picture.
You see when the world is on fire around you— it is so easy to look at the flames and feel fear and anxiety but in those moment seek unity with one another, seek joy in the Lord and you really don’t have to seek peace, it is just given to you.
I am reminded of the book of Esther when doom was coming for the Jews and Mordecai challenges Esther with a simple phrase.
For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
In a time such as this.
We are all here in this moment in time that has been orchestrated by God.
We were created for a moment like this, in the middle of a global pandemic, you were created for a moment just like this.
You were created for a purpose and that is to delight in the Lord— let your unity and Joy and Peace be made known to all— because who knows maybe you were meant to be here for a time such as this.
Let’s Pray
Thank you all for joining us today.
My prayer is that we seek unity, joy and peace as we leave from here.
Have a great Sunday and rest of the week, we look forward to see you here next week.
And as you go know that you are loved.