(022) Philippians XV: Jesus in the Everyday
Philippians XV: Jesus in the Everyday
Philippians 4:2-5
March 2, 2008
Sarah’s Hell-a’lujah song.
I took last week “off” to work on the website:
1. If you got to TGCConline.com, it will take you to “About.”
2. The links are on the left, next is the “online Community.”
3. Next, “Sermons & Resources”
4. Next, “Movies...”
5. Next, “Prayer Room”
6. Finally “Calendar & Events”
7. You can also click to see the full calendar.
I would love to see a photo album of church events. Talk to me if you are interested in helping out with that or anything else.
· The goal is to inform, build community and equip.
Opening prayer
· Nicole’s father, and Dave Bishop and his family.
· Eyes to see how to live Christ out in everyday life.
Jesus in the everyday
Paul is drawing to the end of the letter. The main body of it wraps up with 4:1, and now he begins his closing, throwing out a ton of reminders and miscellaneous commands.
· All of them are centered around living out the radical, life transforming change Jesus has made in us, in everyday life.
· We have passed from death to life.
Peter and I went to a conference, and I was impressed by one of the speakers, who is an economist. In the way he talked, his Christianity permeated his perspective.
This is how we’re meant to be, our thoughts, attitudes, perspectives, and actions should be so thoroughly transformed by the power of Christ that he pours out in every conceivable way.
· Not weirdly, not as two separate tracks, but integrated and naturally.
I have titled this sermon “Jesus in the everyday” because we are going to look at four ways in which the Christian’s life should be qualitatively different because of what Jesus has done in us:
1) We get along, 2) We rejoice, 3) We are gentle, 4) we are not anxious [cut and preached following week due to time]
Turn to Philippians 4:2-7 but we will read as we go. There are pew Bibles available. Bring your Bibles, so you can keep track, and more importantly, make notes in you Bible.
drama in philippi
The mark of Christianity is unity, yet two women in the church are having a hard time getting along.
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:2-3 NIV
Paul does not tell us what the problem is, which tells us a lot:
· It was not doctrinal and it was not moral.
· What we have here is some first class drama.
It was about was big enough to be addressed in the Bible, which causes us to believe they were leaders. They were probably deaconess and their rift could bring a rift into the church.
Paul pleads, begs them to “agree with each other.” The Greek phrase means to have a common heart and mind, it mean harmony.
· It is being in community with each other.
Bigger churches need unity more
The bigger this church gets, the more important unity and trust between the leaders becomes.
Currently we are too big for this to be a true community. We cannot all share life together, so we meet in smaller groups, but we mostly know each other.
Q How do we maintain unity when we are too big to know everyone?
We are going to grow. We proclaim the truth of God, we live in community, and we reach out and engage our culture.
We will maintain and develop community in smaller groups, but to prevent becoming several small churches meeting in one building, the leaders (group leaders and elders) must be in community.
· Some scholars think these women both hosted house churches.
Mediators
But Paul knows that these ladies are beyond being able work it our themselves, so he appoints a mediator: “I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women...”
Q Who was this “loyal yokefellow”? Paul?
He doesn’t say (and he isn’t shy about naming names), which leads me to believe it is an open invitation: If you are my yokefellow, and you are able to help, then do.
· The mark of a mature Christian is that he or she can help bring unity, rather than being drug into the drama.
· A mediator can’t take sides with either party, but place his or her allegiance with Christ and unity.
The mediator’s job is to remind these women that they share a common purpose (“contended at my side for the gospel”)and they share a common family (“whose names are in the book of life”)
Getting along
And now turning back to bringing Jesus into everyday life:
· We bring Jesus into everyday life by getting along and helping others get along.
In all relationships, we should be the peacemakers.
· One of the greatest keys to this is humility.
· If we’re not so interested in being first, it is amazing how much better we get along.
And specifically looking at relationships with Christian co-workers: What does it say when Christians coworkers are more interested in their differences than similarities?
Rejoice
The second thing that should make Christians different is their ability to rejoice in all circumstances.
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Philippians 4:4 NIV
This isn’t a denial that life is hard. Paul wrote this from death row. But we rejoice because we know that God is good.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 NIV
Before we were born, God knew that we would choose him. And the point is that our entire life is like book before him. We can’t tell at any given point what’s free will, what God controls, and what he allows.
· But we know that our story is a not a tragedy.
The second way that we bring Jesus into everyday is by rejoicing in all circumstances. In the everyday we should be filled with joy, and in the dark times, peace, trust, and hope.
Gentleness
Likewise, we should also be known for gentleness.
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Philippians 4:5 NIV
Epieikes: BAG: “Not insisting on every right of [the] letter of [the] law...yielding, gentle, kind, courteous, tolerant.”
Christians should be known for being the gentlest, kindest, and most courteous people in the office, in the checkout line, and even in traffic.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:5-7 NIV
The knowledge that Jesus is near motivates us to act like him. Nearness can mean either nearby or soon, and Paul means both.
We bring Jesus into everyday by being gentler, kinder, and more courteous than the world around us.
Benediction
May the Holy Spirit fill you and make your unity, joy, and gentleness know to all. Amen.