Sermon Tone Analysis

Wether we like to admit it or not, we all have at least one problem or struggle in our life.

In fact, there are even struggles that our church family has.

The apostle Paul lays out here in our passage some serious struggles that Christians encounter in this fallen world.

Over the past few months as we have journeyed through Philippians we have seen how this church at Philippi was a good and caring church, but even great churches who have good people in them still struggle with sinful things.

Every church need’s God’s word to guide them and correct them.

Let’s dive in.

Notice verse one of chapter 4.

Paul uses a bunch of terms here to show the church his love and care for them.

They are his brothers and he longs to be with them.

When Paul thinks about this church it brings joy to him.

Clearly Paul loves this church.

But he also challenges them to stand firm, or to stick with it when the struggles of this life come up.

Paul is doing everything he can to encourage them to keep living the Christian life faithfully and to apply his counsel to their lives.

Never give up the Christian walk.

So, let’s take a look at these issues Paul addresses.

On all of these issues I want to help us see the problem and then identify the solution.

1.

We often deal with Disputes.

The obvious problem here was that there was a disagreement between two ladies.

Paul does not shy away here, in fact, he get’s very bold and actually calls out these ladies by name.

Can you imagine sitting in this church service and listening to this letter being read out loud and all of a sudden you hear your name being called out.

I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

Why does Paul do this?

Why can Paul do this?

Paul know this church and more specifically these ladies and he does this because he loves them and loves the church.

We don’t really know much about why this dispute has come about, but we do know that Paul wants them to settle this matter so that the good news of Jesus can still be spread and not hindered there in Philippi.

The solution here is that Paul instructs them to agree in the Lord.

He urges them to resolve or find a solution to fix this problem together.

Can they just jump right to this and fix it, no way.

The one thing that we must do just like these two ladies is to have to right attitude when we know that there is a problem.

So, the solution here is to have an attitude of unity or like-mindedness.

But notice here how Paul points them to do this in the Lord.

It’s only because of the power of the Lord that they can come together and agree.

Because of the Lord church we can come together and resolve our disputes and differences.

Paul also asks his companion to help these women get along.

We are not sure who this is, but the point here is that sometimes we need someone to step in and mediate the situation.

We do this so that the problem can be addressed and fixed and more importantly the church to be healthy and flourish.

If we are going to have real relationships with others, then there will come times that we will have disputes and conflicts.

As believers we should not look for this or try to stir up problems but always look to agree in the Lord and be willing to ask for help when there is conflict or when it seems not to be resolved.

Division in the church family can damage the health of the church but it can also affect our witness to the world.

Let’s desire to get along so that we can shine brightly in this dark world.

2. We can struggle with a Lack of Joy.

I don’t know about you but there can be some mornings when I get up and I lack joy.

Maybe it’s because there is a lot going on and I feel overwhelmed or stressed out.

It can also be that I have received some difficult news the day before.

Sometimes it’s hard maintaining a joyful heart.

Paul knew that these Christians there at Philippi needed to hear this challenge to rejoice.

George Mueller once said, “The first great and primary business every day was to have my soul happy in the Lord.”

Even he realized that there are some mornings where we don’t want to sing the Happy Song.

When you read Christian biographies of great Christian heroes and pastors we see that many of these men wrestled with seasons of despair and discouragement.

In this life there are many things that can rob us of our joy.

Paul in verse 6 talks about anxiety, there can be the loss of a loved one, illness, a difficult job or any other number of daily problems.

So, what is the solution?

How in the world can we find our joy?

Notice here that Paul doesn’t say rejoice when everything is going well.

He tells the church here to Rejoice in the Lord.

And he also tells them to rejoice in the Lord always.

Please here me today church, our joy comes from our relationship with Jesus and in knowing him, not from our current circumstances.

Paul is writing this letter from a Roman jail cell not while he is sitting on the beach in Hawaii.

Paul of all people understand that his real true joy comes from the Lord and he is grateful for everything that the Lord has done for him.

This still may not make sense for you today.

You may be here and say but what exactly made Paul happy??? What made Paul able to rejoice and be happy was that the good news of Jesus rescuing him from the death of hell made him able to rejoice.

Paul tells us to rejoice always, in fact this is actually a command not just some really good advice.

Now I already know that some of you are saying but Matt seriously how can I rejoice when certain things happen in my life??? Yes, there will come times when we are grieved or our hearts are filled with sorrow this is a natural part of life.

For even Christ himself wept and was sorrowful.

But we can grieve as those who have hope because of what Jesus has done for us.

If you have lost your joy today i want to encourage you to reflect on how graciously the Lord has treated us, and may that lead us to live for him a life of joy.

3. We can struggle with not being gracious.

Now depending on what version of the Bible you are reading from here some versions say graciousness or reasonableness or considerate or gentleness.

Paul’s point here is that he desires for us to have a gentle forbearance with others.

This is the exact opposite of being self-seeking or unreasonable.

When we take a look into the life of Christ most everything he did was about a life of graciousness.

He was going about healing the sick, blind or lame.

He restored lives and forgave people.

Here in Philippians chapter 4 Paul says that believers should have a gracious and gentle spirit with one another.

We need to be willing to give up our preferences and show grace to others.

This call to be gracious is so important as we step out into the world and engage with them about biblical truth, or even volatile issues in our culture.

I have seen way to many Christians get into arguments and fights when we need to graciously step out and take a stand for what is right.

We are not for sure what Paul has in mind here by telling us that the Lord is near or at hand.

It could mean that the Lord’s return is near or it could mean that his presence is close.

Paul may have both in mind but the point is that either way this should cause us to live differently in our world.

Solution: It should cause us to resolve differences, rejoice and to be gentle and gracious.

4. We can struggle with Anxiety.

Anxiety is not good.

Here is what King Solomon had to say about this problem.

Proverbs 12:25

(Illustration of backpack)

What is worry and anxiety?

We worry when we begin to imagine the future in a terrible way.

Pastor John Piper says, “Anxiety seems to be an intense desire for something, accompanied by a fear of the consequences of not receiving it.”

Generally in my life what happens is that when I begin to worry I think about the worst possible thing that could happen and I freak out about it.

This type of thinking is sinful and I have to confess it to the Lord.

When I think this way and freak out i believe a bunch of lies.

What I so easily forget is that God is in control and He is wise and has a plan for my life.

Why do you think these Philippians were anxious?

What did they have going on that could possibly cause them to freak out???

They faced external threats.

Paul tells them not to be frightened by their opponents back in chapter 1 verse 28.

They were also dealing with internal disputes as we have seen here with the two ladies.

They were constantly concerned about Paul and Timothy and others.

They constantly dealt with worry about God’s provision.