Paul has been writing to the Philippian church. The tone of the letter was encouragement for the church. He started chapter 1 by explaining that his imprisonment and trials had been used for God’s glory. He shared his objective and mission in life, to glorify God with his body and his life and his death. To live is Christ, to die is Gain. He kept encouraging them in chapter 2 to share his mindset and the mindset of Christ, to live to serve and obey God; and he went to some deep theological places about how the Son emptied himself of divine nature to fulfill his mission on Earth. Most recently in chapter 3 Paul commanded them to rejoice in the Lord, or more precisely to rejoice in their union with the Lord. That union is found only in Christ Jesus, the only door, the only gate, the only way to be united with God as a son or daughter, instead of being an object of his just and fair wrath. He said there are enemies of the cross, but they don’t necessarily have to look like people who persecute the church and hate Jesus. Some of them are ruled by their stomachs, and their minds are set on earthly things. The more time and effort we spend focusing on earthly things and worrying about the things of this world, the less our minds and hearts are looking heavenward. This was where he ended chapter three, and it is a good reminder for a self assessment to make sure you are prioritizing your life in a Biblical way. He said our citizenship is in heaven and we are awaiting Jesus’s return so he can bring everything under his control and dominion. He will transform our lowly bodies to be like his Glorious body. That was the final point Paul said in the prior chapter. So Therefore, we’re on Chapter 4 now, let’s read.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!

He is just finishing up reminding everyone that their minds and thought should be heavenward, and he says to his brothers and sisters, his friends who he loves and misses, he calls this church his joy and crown. The relationships he has with people in this church are treasure to him, they are his crown, which is to say he takes pride in the church, they are an ornament to his existence, the top or highest most point in his life, the people who are most precious to him. He tells them to stand firm in this way. Stand firm in what way? Be firm in having Heaven be your true country and your true citizenship. So how does that look? Well we can assume it looks different in some ways to having your citizenship fully in earth or the world. But specifically what does it mean to have a heavenly citizenship?

2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

He’s spoken before about sharing the mindset of Christ. And he returns to this point. The congregation should share one mind. One mindedness doesn’t mean we share all of the same likes and dislikes, or look like a cult. It should look like what he wrote in chapter 2. We should share the same mindset of Christ who humbled himself, and emptied himself of Godly nature. He didn’t cling to Godliness or desires to be one with God. He came to serve and to obey. Jesus made himself nothing. Now at this point in the letter Paul mentions two women by name, Euodia and Syntyche. Apparently these two are in some manner of disagreement, and do not have like-mindedness. The specifics are not mentioned, and we can assume they are probably not worthy of being mentioned. But there is something to learn from this warning. First thing to know is that Ministry, and the work of the Gospel should NEVER be hindered by personal differences. And the second thing to know is that Ministry and the work of the Gospel potentially COULD be hindered by personal differences! This is a serious enough issue that he pleads with both of them. He doesn’t appear to take sides, which means their difference of opinion is just that. An OPINION difference. If it was a disagreement about something as severe as doctrine or teaching, Paul would undoubtedly take the opportunity to outline correct doctrine. But they are having a difference of opinion. It’s hard to be a pastor in certain situations, because you try not to take sides, but also you don’t want to discount what someone else is feeling or going through. But at the same time, these two not getting along is causing some unnecessary difficulty for this church. They could have any number of reasons for not getting along. They could have had a different idea of how a meeting for the church should run, the first may have been unfriendly towards the second, and it probably wasn’t, but what if it COULD have been intentional. Maybe feelings were hurt somewhere along the way, maybe both are thinking they are wrong, but the other one is more wrong. “Look maybe I should have been nicer, but look what SHE did, she shouldn’t have done or said THAT, right?” This is human nature, and we need to be on the lookout for it. We are acting like citizens of earth, instead of citizens of heaven. All of a sudden what happens is our humanity and sinful nature turn something that is an offense and makes it into our own little idol. We begin to nurture our hurt, remembering everything about that little offense, instead of letting it go. Example. I tell my friend Franky that I have a headache, and am sluggish. He says to suck it up and tells me about something worse that he’s going through. Maybe I feel like he discounts me or brushes me off. Now I brush him off. Was he wrong? Maybe.. sure. I guess he could have been more sympathetic. Was I wrong? Yes absolutely. I KNOW I could be more forgiving and loving; I could give him the benefit of the doubt (and maybe he actually IS going through something worse), and in doing so reflect God’s love. Instead of treating him the way he treated me, I should treat him the way I’d want to be treated. Who’s worse here? Well even though we’re both wrong, If I am the person that is taking the fact that I’ve been offended and using it to continue treating this other person badly, then I am worse. But in the scope of heaven, we’re both wrong enough to be equally condemned before a Perfect Holy God. And we’re both in need of a Perfect Righteous Savior, And if we’re both Christians, we’ve both been shown that love and that Forgiveness. But for some reason we are not remembering that forgiveness from God and acting likewise. At least I know I am not. Paul says that both of those women worked with him at his side contending for the Gospel. Both of them along with Clement and the other co-workers are listed in the book of Life. Their similarities are closer than their differences, but their differences are what is getting in the way of ministry. Paul pleads with both of them. He pleads with his true companion (who’s name he didn’t mention) to help the two get along. We don’t have to be best friends with everybody. Some people, we get along with easier than others. Some times that person is easier to get along with than other times, it’s not a fixed thing. He’s too needy, too chatty, too distant, too quiet, too friendly, too mean, too serious, too flaky. But that’s the thing about being in a body with different members, we are gifted in different ways, and that also means we’re deficient in other ways. But we share a common goal, and we share a common citizenship. We should see ourselves as ambassadors to heaven, and in so doing we need to make sure that we aren’t letting our personality differences get in the way of the Gospel. The Gospel is bigger than us, and it’s more important and powerful over us, it should unite us more than our differences divide us. We should all rejoice in this truth.

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Paul has been saying this over and over throughout the letter. Rejoice! I say it again Rejoice. In chapter 3:1 he wrote:

3:1 Further, my brothers and sisters, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.

Rejoice in The Lord, Rejoice in your union with the Lord. It’s no trouble to write the same things again. It’s a safeguard for us. We need to be reminded to rejoice. Rejoice in God’s goodness, His power and Majesty, his character, his divine providence, his foreknowledge of us, rejoice that we aren’t objects of his wrath, we aren’t paying the wages of our sin. Rejoice that he gives us a spirit to call him Father, Rejoice that the spirit dwells in us and counsels us, and instructs us. Rejoice that when The shepherd calls his sheep we hear his voice. Rejoice that there’s nothing we can add to our salvation, Rejoice that this relationship doesn’t depend on our whims and our performance. Rejoice Always. When you are rejoicing in these things, it should be easier to stay out of trouble! It should be easier to get along with other people who are rejoicing about the same things. It should be easier to forgive and love, easier to withhold judgement, easier to think of others before ourselves. It is a safeguard, and it should be done continually Rejoice Always!

5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul says we should let our gentleness be evident to all! Wow. Gentleness? Other translations say meekness. There are so many things people display. Some people let their strength be evident to all, you’re in a tough part of town, you can’t look weak. Some let their wealth be evident to all; people call it conspicuous consumption. Some people let their schooling or degrees be evident. I love going to a doctor’s office and reading all their degrees on the wall. It makes me wonder how much of that they actually remember, or how much student loan debt they have. At my job we let our logic or our decision making be evident. Some people don’t like making a display of anything, they’d rather just blend in and be unnoticed. But if we want to appear as citizens of heaven, we should put our meekness and gentleness on display. It will certainly look different than the rest of the culture. It’s a way to become more Christ like. It’s hard to describe what gentleness looks like, but it’s easy to see the opposite. Harshness, bitterness, roughness, heavy handedness, toughness, pride, imposing your will on others. These are things to avoid. Why should be be gentle. The Lord God is near. We serve a God who is omni present, a God who is as close as our breath. Our God is right there with us, at all times. Sometimes we act as if that’s not the case. Verse 6. Do not be anxious about anything. Do not worry. Paul admitted earlier in this letter that it saved him from worry to send Epaphroditus back to the church. It’s human to worry; Worrying and Anxiety is natural. But it’s supernatural to not let things give you anxiety. When faced with anxiety, remember God’s near, God’s in charge, God’s sovereign. His will is better than ours, even if it doesn’t always make sense. In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. We are commanded to pray to God. We shouldn’t neglect that instruction. We should have a constant dialogue and communication with God. We should present requests, not like a genie granting wishes, not like a terrorist with a list of demands, we should do it with thanksgiving. Our requests should all be given with thanksgiving in our hearts. Think about that! Normally when you make a request, usually you are lacking or wanting something. “Excuse me waiter, could I get more ketchup??” You usually don’t have a feeling of thanksgiving until after your request is granted. But here, Paul says to have the thanksgiving first, while you’re making the request. It’s a different way to ask and petition and make requests. It forces you to think of the things you already have and be thankful for those before asking for something else; consider your current situation through a lens of gratitude prior to making the request to change something in that situation. This prayer discipline will help us to not be anxious, because we are practicing contentment, gratitude, thanksgiving; it will help us to acknowledge God’s sovereignty. When we pray with Thanksgiving in our heart, that’s the mindset and the heartset (I don’t think heartset is really a word, but it works) to have when we approach God and we glorify Him more when we aren’t making requests that change his will. Look what the Bible tells us happens when we pray that way. Verse 7: The Peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.. First the peace of God. This is something that only Christians can truly know and appreciate. We have peace with God. We were enemies, we were dead in our sins in a state where we were at war with God. We were at war with His authority in our lives. We were at war with the order He set forth; that wages of sin is death. We were at war with the consequences of our actions, our thoughts, our words. But he made peace. He did it using the ultimate peace offering, His Son. Jesus tells us blessed are the peacemakers; when we preach sound doctrine, when we explain the truth found in the Bible, and when we transmit the word of God so a sinner can see their sin, repent, see the need to be saved, see Jesus as that savior, and become forgiven, reconciled and adopted in the family, we become agents of Peace. We become the blessed peacemakers Jesus spoke of. Unless we experience that permanent Peace with God, we will never be prepared to feel and appreciate this peace of God on earth. The peace of God is not really logical, it transcends understanding. So there’s a miraculous and supernatural element to it. It’s a gift from God so it comes via the Holy Spirit, which means it’s not able to be explained in the flesh. Having a peace of God means receiving the Word of God for what it is, believing that God’s will is ultimately better than our will, and that means contentment. That peace guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Wanda preached last week that we should Love the Lord with all our hearts and minds and souls and strengths. That is the ultimate form of worship. There are many aspects of our lives, mental, physical, emotional, spiritual and all of them should obey and love God, and worship Him with everything. Paul adds that fostering this spirit of Gentleness, thanksgiving, prayer and petition, will result in having a peace of God that guards your heart and mind in Jesus Christ.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Paul’s instruction is to not let anxiety win. We should make these assessments throughout our lives, particularly when we are feeling overwhelmed. He said to keep praying and making requests with thanksgiving. The Peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. Now he recommends checking our thoughts. If the peace of God is guarding our heart and mind, what is our mind doing with that peace? I can go through life bouncing around from one worry to the next. I have to pay this bill, I have to get gas, I have to get home, OH before I get home I should get groceries, I have to eat, I have to clean up. These things don’t necessarily cause me anxiety, but I will get flustered if I do them out of order, or miss an opportunity to accomplish one before it gets too late and causes another problem. There’s nothing wrong with checking off a to do list, and we all have chores to do, that’s life. But when we live our whole life putting out little fires, we miss the opportunity to rest and experience the peace of God. When we have peace and stop worrying, where should our thoughts go? We should meditate on certain things. Whatever is true whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. Anything excellent or praiseworthy, think of those things. Meditate on the good. We spend plenty of time worrying about the bad, and if we are passionate we spend time trying to fix the bad things. But that can lead to despair and disillusionment. We should take time to think about the good things. What is true? What is truth? God loves us, enough to send his Son to die for whosoever believes. Wow! That’s worth thinking about. Jesus’ life of obedience was right, his death that sacrifice and obedience is noble. That is pure and lovely truth. We can think about half truths or myths, even worse we could spread lies. We could think about the evil in the world, the criminals, the liars. That would lead us to sadness, or anger, or doubt that God is good. If we spend time in those thoughts, we start thinking wrong, and it leads to acting wrong. We start plotting about how to get away with things or bend the rules. Or ways to avoid doing work. I have seen people who spend more time and effort avoiding work than it would take to actually just do what they are supposed to. We could think impure things, and allow our thoughts to wander to self serving places. But thinking that way will not lead to peace. It will lead to dissatisfaction in thought which leads to a sinful set of actions. It will lead to heartache, emptiness, and disappointment, and maybe if unchecked it will lead to death. Paul says first, check your thoughts. Whatever you’ve learned from Paul, remember it and put it into practice. Thoughts lead to actions; sometimes one thought takes longer to turn into action than another, but you always need to think and believe something is true before your action follows. You never act outside of your framework of belief. When you do act and when you put Pauls teaching into practice also remember the God of Peace is with you. The wording is a bit different here. The peace of God guards our hearts. Peace, A characteristic of God, will guard our hearts. Here he says as we change our thoughts and our practice, The God of Peace will be with us. In this clause, He is identifying God the father, God the creator God the Judge, God the Righteous and Holy one, God the provider, God the Alpha and Omega, as this omnipresent God who will be together with us. He will be with us. God promised never will I leave you or forsake you. Jesus said I will be with you always even until the end of the world. God will be a companion to us and the nature of that companionship will be peaceful. There is no better thing to think of. There is no greater comfort. There is no better promise.