Philippians 4.2-9 – The Philippians and the Jesus shaped life (1)

So to warm us up for this part of Flippins, we're going to play a little game. We're going to play a game called this or that. It's pretty simple. How it works is I'm going to give you two options. And then you need to give me a big cheer for the option that you prefer, right? Pretty simple. I'm going to warm up with an easy one, okay? Here's the first this or that. Dogs or cats, all right? Big cheer for dogs. Cheer for cats. Okay, all right? You understand how the game works. I'm going to go straight for the controversial one. Pineapple on pizza or no pineapple on pizza. Big cheer for pineapple on pizza. Big cheer for no pineapple on pizza. Well, that's pretty even, okay? All right. It's a beautiful autumn day in in Bathurst. I want to know now whether you prefer the heat of summer or the cold bathurst winter. Big cheer for the heat of summer. Yeah, that's me too. Big cheer for the cold of winter. That's why we all live in Bathurst. Okay, here's one for the superhero fans. Marvel Cinematic Universe or the DC Cinematic Universe. Big cheer for Marvel. Big cheer for DC. A bit of a mumble for anyone who's got no idea what we're talking about. Yeah, okay, all right. This next one is because I was born, I was born down south, right? So now I want to know whether you prefer AFL or NRL, okay? Cheer for AFL. Cheer for NRL. Now I was, I was being a bit hopeful with that one, wasn't I? Okay, right? This next one, this next one is really relevant to my life here at BPC at the moment. And to be honest, I'm looking for a bit of validation from you, okay, at this point. I'm going to ask whether you prefer iPhone or Android. Now, let me explain why I'm asking this question C, Ed and Bryson and I will have iPhones. But Jason's turned up this year and he doesn't, he has an Android phone. It took Jason, it took Jason, I'm not exaggerating, two months managed to connect to the church printer. The number of times that he has asked me for the church Wi-Fi password blows my mind. I don't know how he loses it. I'm assuming it's because he has an Android phone. Okay, so you know where I stand on this issue. Big cheer if you're an iPhone user. Big cheer if you're an Android phone user. Okay, Jason, you've got some friends here. Okay, one more. One more. This time, this time, here's one that's relevant to life at the church in Philippi. The church that the Apostle Paul is writing to in Philippians, what Susan just read for us. Euodia or Sintiki? I'm not going to make your cheer for either of them. But the thing is that in the church in Philippi, these two women Euodia and Sintiki, they are two women who have become defined by their differences. It's one or the other. It's this or that. Kind of like an iPhone and an Android phone that are in so many ways exactly the same thing designed to do the same things. These two women are in so many ways the same. They're both called to live lives worthy of the gospel. They're both called to press on and strive side by side for the sake of the gospel. They're called to live out their unity in Christ, in their unity with each other. All of these things that we've been reading about in Philippians so far. In verse one of chapter four, they're both called to help each other stand firm in the Lord Jesus. And yet, they've ended up in competition with each other. They've become defined by their differences. They've become defined by their disagreement. And the apostle Paul reckons that's actually a pretty big deal because Jesus is the one who saves us from sin. Jesus has been exalted above everyone and everything. And so we simply cannot let differences and disagreements get in the way of helping each other stand firm in Christ. And this is just as important for us here at VPC as it was for Eurasian and Sintiki and the church in Philippi. We don't want to let our disagreements, we don't want to let our differences define our relationships with each other because we're meant to be living lives worthy of the gospel. And so we want Jesus to define our relationships with one another. And that's exactly what the apostle Paul says in the very first part of what we're reading today. Have a look there at Philippians chapter four, verse two, because right there Paul addresses Euodia and he addresses Sintiki and he addresses the problem that there is between them. Verse two, have a look. He says, "I plead with Euodia and I plead with Sintiki to agree in the Lord." Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they've contended at my side in the cause of the gospel along with Clements and the rest of my co-workers whose names are in the book of life. Whatever's going on between Euodia and Sintiki, Paul reckons it's important enough that he's got a call amount on it. Whatever their disagreement is, it's not helping them to live lives worthy of the gospel together. That's pretty obvious even though Paul does actually tell us what the disagreement is that's going on between them. It's a disagreement though that is very clearly not over something that is essential to belong into Jesus. Because did you notice what Paul said there in verse three, "These two women have labored side by side with Paul for the cause of the gospel." I take that to mean that they've invited people to see how Jesus has died for themselves to offer forgiveness of sins. I take it to mean that they've been doing things like helping people grow in love and appreciation for Jesus and helping people live for Jesus. Paul says there that their names are written in the book of life. These two women, they're both on the same team, they're both part of the body of Christ, they're forgiven, they're united in Christ, your audio and sentiki, they're not disagreeing over what it means to belong to Jesus, they're not disagreeing over how you come to belong to Jesus, they're not disagreeing over how it is that people are saved by the grace and generosity of God through his Son. That's not what their disagreement is about. Whatever their disagreement is about, it's over something that's not that, not the gospel and yet their disagreement is significant enough that Paul addresses it straight on. It's nonetheless putting the unity of the Philippians church in danger. Do you remember the key verse of the book of Philippians back in chapter one verse 27? Back there Paul called the Philippians to live lives worthy of the gospel. He told them to do that by standing firm in the one spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel. There seems to be a real danger here that this disagreement between you audio and sentiki is going to stop them from standing firm in the one spirit and it's going to stop them from striving together as one for the faith of the gospel. Look, even though we don't know what the disagreement was, I wonder what might that kind of disagreement look like for us. What might be something that we might have strong opinions on, something that we could all hold very different views on, even while we're still brothers and sisters in Christ. Maybe examples of things like that could be to do with the way we do things when we gather here on a Sunday. We might have preferences about that, like we might have preferences about what type of songs that we sing. We might have preferences about whether we, when we sing, we sing with our hands in the air or our hands sucking our pockets. We might have different ideas about what we should wear to church. We might have different ideas about how often we should do the Lord's Supper. Or we might have disagreements over theological things, theological things like whether we should baptize infants or just baptize adults. Theological differences like whether we think the world was created in seven literal days or not. We might have differences of opinion on how we should live as Christians, what's the best way to live for Jesus, like we might vote different in federal elections. We might disagree on the wisdom of getting a tattoo. We might have different parenting styles. We could debate whether we should send a kids to public schools or Christian schools? Or we could just have personality differences, lots of personality differences in this room, and so that might lead to awkward interactions, misunderstandings, might find some people too intense, or too blunt, or too loud, or too shy. So we're kind of disagreements that we could have that aren't about the gospel. It's kind of disagreement Euodia and Centigua having. Paul doesn't choose a side. He doesn't say one way is right and the other way is wrong. He just says, "Make sure those differences and those disagreements don't compromise your focus on Jesus. Make sure they don't come to define your relationships." Or even worse, make sure they don't come to dominate your relationships. Make sure they never stop you from standing firm in the one's spirit. Make sure they don't stop you striving side by side for the gospel. He urges Euodia and Centigua to agree in the Lord. And to help them agree in the Lord, he then tells the Philippians what to do about this disagreement. This bit that comes next, it looks a little bit like a random collection of things that Paul wants to say before he runs out of parchment, sort of at the end of his letter. He's thinking, "Oh, what are the things I need to say? I need to tell the Philippians to rejoice." So now I've said it once, but I want to say it again, it's really important. I want to tell them not to be anxious. I want to tell them to make sure they pray. How much more room have I gotten? How much more can I fit in this letter? That's actually not what's going on here. Paul is quite intentionally wanting to show the Philippians how they are to go from disagreements to end up at peace by showing them what to do, showing them how they should agree in the Lord. That's what this little section is. And the first thing he says for them to do is rejoice in the Lord. Have a look at verse 4. He says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. I'll say it again, rejoice." It may seem like an odd conflict resolution strategy, but rejoicing in Jesus, it's more than just being happy for a moment. This is another call by Paul for us to adjust our priorities so that the things to do with Jesus are the things of greatest value in our life. Because when we value Jesus as he deserves, then any differences we may have about non-gospel things become a whole lot less significant. Because what we have in common, what we have in common in Christ is so overwhelmingly wonderful, just overshadows everything else. Jesus is the most satisfying part of our life. We've read already in this letter how Jesus humbled himself to death for us. He died in our place. He took our punishment so we can be right with God. If we've understood the gospel rightly, it is everything to us. It takes pride of place in our lives. Rejoicing in Jesus puts our focus on a remarkable common ground that we all share, puts our focus squarely on Jesus and all that he's done. Rejoicing the Lord Paul says, "It's the biggest and best and most important thing in our life. Far more important than any disagreement we may have." And then Paul adds, "Be gentle." Our gentleness should be obvious to everyone, especially in our disagreements. Have a look at verse 5. He says, "Let your gentleness be evident all the Lord is near." See, when we disagree with someone, rather than avoiding them or arguing with them or baiting them or criticizing them or teaching them a lesson or whatever else we might want to do, Paul says we ought to be gentle. Gentleness should guide every move that we make. We're not to be guided by hotheadedness, quick temper. We're not disagreeable or thoughtless. We're gentle. Quick to listen. Slow to put forward our own preferences. We're patient and we're calm and we're open and we're warm and we're safe with each other because Jesus is near. Jesus is near. He's with us. He's at work in us as we were last week. He's coming back to bring us into his new creation. So we're like Jesus. We're gentle. And then Paul adds, "Don't be anxious." Because disagreements and differences very easily make us anxious. It's not about you, but I'm anxious at the thought of not being right. I'm anxious at the thought of being publicly wrong. It's nerve-wracking to think that other people think you're wrong. We worry about decisions being made. We worry that people won't side with our point of view. Paul says, "Don't be anxious about those things. Pray." Look at verse 6. He says, "Don't be anxious about anything but in every situation by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your request to God." See again Paul shifts our focus back to Jesus by telling us to be prayerful. Pray about disagreements that you may have. Pray for the people that you disagree with. Give thanks for all that God's done for them through Christ and pray that they would live lives worthy of the gospel. And look, if you really are convinced that someone is wrong about something, pray that God would be at work in their hearts. Pray, God would change their heart. But I reckon also pray that God would change your heart too, because if someone else can be wrong, then you could be wrong. If you disagree with someone, pray. Paul says, "When you disagree with someone, this is how you spend your energy." We don't go around gathering supporters for our point of view. We don't argue with the people we disagree with. The most important thing is not trying to convince someone that they're wrong and we're right. We don't complain about people or gossip about them. Don't even chew about it while you're full of sleep at night. Paul says, "Focus on Jesus." Focus on the extraordinary goodness of the gospel. Look what Paul says in verse 8. It says, "Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, whatever's admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things." In our disagreements, we could easily wallow in bitterness and resentment and frustration. But Paul says, "We want to dwell on what's true, and what's noble, and what's pure and praiseworthy." Those are the things that should fill our minds. If you're not sure what are the kinds of things that Paul's talking about, I reckon just go back to chapter 2, because in chapter 2 you can read about the loveliness of the encouragement and the comfort that come from belonging to Christ. You can read about the nobility of Jesus who humbled himself and emptied himself to serve us. You can read about the praiseworthiness of Jesus who's been exalted by God and given the name above all names. When you disagree with your brothers and sisters in Christ on non-essential things, think about the truth and excellence of the gospel of Christ. Which all leads us kind of nicely to the way that Paul wraps up this section, because he wraps up this section by telling us what God is going to be doing in all of this. Because what God will do is God will guard our gospel unity. God will bring peace. All these things that Paul's told us, he's told us because this is what God's doing. He's bringing peace. God's at work to keep us at peace for the sake of the gospel. Even while we might be disagreeing, God will be guarding our gospel unity. Have a look at verse 9. Paul says, whatever you've learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. The God of peace will be with us. Paul also mentioned peace in verse 7 as well. Just have a look quickly back at verse 7. He said, the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. In other words, the peace that we have with God through His Son, Jesus, the peace that deals with our sin and restores our relationship we've got. God will give us that same kind of peace with each other, and the reason that God will give us that kind of peace with each other is to guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus, to ensure that we stand firm in the Lord. This is picking up on a theme that actually has been running since the start of chapter 3, this idea that Paul wants us to be safe in the Lord. Paul wants us to rejoice in the Lord because it keeps us safe. When people were telling the Philippians to trust in all Jewish traditions, Paul said, no no, rejoice in Jesus. When the Philippians were surrounded by enemies of Christ, Paul told them to press on for the joy of their citizenship in heaven. Now Paul says when you disagree, rejoice in the Lord. It will keep you safe in Christ, rejoice in the Lord. Don't let differences stop you living lives worthy of the gospel. The God of peace is at work in your hearts and minds because Jesus is just too important and too wonderful to let disagreements get in the way. Back in the 1920s, there were two brothers in Germany who ran a shoe company. The Dasler brothers, their names were Ardi and Rudolf and they made sports shoes for decades and they were actually really, really good at it. They made shoes that athletes wore at Olympic Games and won gold medals but after 30 years of success, Ardi and Rudolf had a disagreement. No one's completely sure what their disagreement was about but their shoe factory shut down almost overnight and Ardi and Rudolf became completely defined by their disagreement and their differences. They both went and started rival shoe companies in the same little town in Germany but such was the feud between them that even the employees of one shoe company wouldn't talk to employees of the other shoe company. This dividing line cast the shadow over the whole town. The employees of one shoe company would all go to completely different cafes, bakeries, barbers to the employees of the other shoe company. These two brothers literally divided their entire hometown. The best part of the story though, all the worst, is that when Ardi and Rudolf died, they were buried at completely opposite ends of the town cemetery. Brothers and sisters, that cannot be us. How awful would it be for us here, brothers and sisters in Christ, in God's family, to be so divided like that? How awful if our disagreements and our differences derailed our common goal because we're not making shoes. We're helping each other follow the risen and ruling Lord Jesus who saves us. We cannot be divided in that. Look to be clear, and this is especially important if you're visiting BPC today or if this is your first time. We're not talking about this stuff because there's some issue going on here at Morning Church. It just so happens that we're up to this as we're reading through Philippians. If you asked me to name the Euodia and Sintiki of Morning Church, I couldn't do it. That's good. Really good, but we will disagree on things. We will have differences of opinion. That's okay, but when it happens, when we disagree, the solution isn't for us to start going to Arvo Church. The solution is that we agree in the Lord because we're talking about small issues, things that aren't central to being saved by Jesus. We want to keep our focus on Jesus and we want to continue to do what's best for Jesus work in one another. We continue to rejoice in the Lord just because we disagree, we don't stop doing those simple gospel things like praying for each other, reading the Bible together, serving each other, serving each other together, helping each other stand firm in one spirit. We are happy to work on things at church even when they don't suit our preferences because we agree in the Lord. When we feel really strongly about something, we're no less gentle in the way we talk about it because we agree in the Lord. Our disagreements and our differences, they are not what is most important to us. Jesus is. Rather than just his own treat you, agree in the Lord. I'll pray. Father, thank you so much for Jesus. Thank you that Jesus has saved us in your grace and your mercy. Father, we don't deserve that and yet you've rescued us through your Son and you've reconciled us to you. Father, please make Jesus the focus of everything that we do. Please may Jesus be our greatest joy. Father, please make nothing ever overshadow that joy that we have in Christ. Please may he be of first importance to us. Please may Jesus be so much more important to us than our disagreements. Please may we help one another love and serve Jesus and help us never to let anything get in the way of that.