Group in Southeast Asia seeking to share the Gospel with the people there. So I’m really glad just to see all your faces and to be here and be able to open the Word. So if you have a Bible, go ahead and open up to Philippians chapter four. We are ever more so getting closer and closer to the end of Philippians, which seems really crazy to me because it feels like we just started it. But yeah, I wanted to thank you all for your prayers and support for our team.
As we were in Southeast Asia, just knowing that Red Village Church was holding the rope and praying for us was a great encouragement in the midst of just our daily time seeking to share Christ. So thank you all for your prayers and support. I’m going to go ahead and read through Philippians 4, verses 1 through 9, and then I’ll pray and ask for the Lord’s help and we’ll jump into it. So Philippians 4, verse 1. Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord.
My beloved. I entreat Judea and I entreat Sentichi 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 minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me.
Practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Let’s pray.
Lord, thank you for your word. Thank you that you speak God through your holy word, that you have preserved for us to study and to gather around today. Please bless the preaching of your word and speak to us, God, for your glory. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.
All right, so this passage is only nine verses, but there is a lot for us to study here, so we’re going to try to just break it down verse by verse. And as we do so, we’re just going to slowly work through this. It really reminded me of something that a mentor of actually mine in Sierra had often told us whenever we would sit down and study the Bible with her. Her name was Joanne, but she would always tell us before we were going to have a Bible study. Now make sure you read the passage slow because it’s delicious and it’s something that’s just stuck in my mind whenever I go to God’s word that this is something that is precious and we need to take it in slow.
So we’re going to try to do just that with this passage and we’ll start off with verse one. So it says, therefore my brothers, whom I love and long for my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord my Beloved. The therefore here in this text is referring to what Paul had just got done writing to the Philippians in regards to straining towards the goal that is the return of Christ, who has given us a citizenship in heaven. We do not set our minds on earthly things like those who walk as enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction and whose God is their belly. Rather, we know that heaven with King Jesus awaits us who will transform our lowly bodies to be like his glorious body.
And we know that God is building this kingdom here and now through his people by the power of His Holy Spirit living within us. Therefore, keeping this goal in mind, Paul says, my brothers, whom I love and long for my joy and crown. Paul is referring to both brothers and sisters in Christ at the Church of Philippi. Here in the text and before Paul transitions into his final exhortations for the Church of Philippi, he once again states his love and his longing for for this Church, like Paul is not writing this letter out of obligation or out of duty, or out of perhaps boredom of this prison or out of personal interest. Rather, like Paul is pouring out his love in every word and in every command that he’s giving within this letter he addresses the Church as his Beloved, which is the adjective form of the richest, deepest and strongest Greek word for love.
When Paul was imprisoned in Rome, his heart longed with the affections of Christ for the well being and spiritual growth of God’s Church. And we see Paul re emphasize this before going into his final exhortations here in our passage. So Paul also calls the Church his joy and crown, which he also uses to describe the Corinth Church and as well as the Church at Thessalonica. Paul is saying the reward and joy of his work for Christ’s kingdom is not personal merit or gain or material reward, but rather his reward and joy are the saints themselves, it is that they have come to know and love Jesus, just as Paul has come to know and love Jesus. And knowing that God is redeeming lost sinners through him is what brings joy to Paul in the darkness of his prison cell.
He knows his work is not in vain. Christ is saving and sanctifying the people that he has led Paul to proclaim Christ to. And that in itself is the best reward that Paul could ever receive here on earth.
Paul tells those that he loves and longs for to stand firm thus in the Lord. This is a repeat of what Paul wrote at the beginning of his letter in chapter one, verse 27, when he said, only let your manner of life be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you, that you are standing firm in one Spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel. In verse one, Paul is setting up for his final exhortations that are aimed to help the church stand firm in the Lord so that they will remain spiritually stable. And as Paul already pointed out before, this begins with unity. So look with me at verse two and three.
It says, I entreat Eudia and I entreat Sentichi 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. Throughout the book of Philippians they are hints of what the church may have been struggling with, like unity or being led astray by false teachers. But this is the most specific issue that Paul addresses in the entire Letter of Philippians. It’s clear that there is some large disagreement between these women in the church that had gotten bad enough to where Paul had been told about it while he was in prison.
So Judea and Syntyche were clearly not new believers to the Philippian church, since they had labored in the Gospel with Paul along with an individual named Clement and other fellow workers in the Gospel. It’s possible that Eudia and Syntychi were some of the first believers in Philippi. After Paul and Silas first arrived in Philippi, which is shared in Acts, they shared the Gospel with Lydia, the seller of purple goods, along with other women who were there meeting together at the Gingetes River. And so either way, Udea and Sintiki were influential believers in the Philippian Church who had probably been around for a pretty long time and were now in opposition against each Other. Their opposition had an effect on the rest of the Philippian congregation.
And Paul knew that this had to be dealt with. For as long as there was division amongst the Church, they would not be able to stand firm. We do not know what Udia or Syntychi disagreed about, but it’s clear that whatever it was, it could not be more important than the unity of God’s Church. One commentary says Paul understood that disunity robs a church of its power and destroys its testimony. And a church facing hostile external enemies cannot afford to have its members fighting amongst themselves.
Therefore, Paul says, I entreat Judea and I entreat Syntyche. And the word entreat here it means urge or implore. So Paul is urging both these women to set aside their differences and agree in the Lord. And in doing so, Paul is zooming out to see the big picture of what’s going on here. Each is a believer in Jesus Christ.
They are now part of God’s family and Jesus has called them to live in unity for his name’s sake. Paul has already pointed the Philippian Church towards the example of Christ in chapter two, saying that though Christ was in the form of God, he did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but he emptied himself. To agree in the Lord means to agree with the example of Jesus and to seek unity and peace, because that’s what our Savior did with his time on earth and that’s his prayer and desire for us as his church.
This is Jesus same desire for us that we would not divide or choose sides amongst the Church, but that we would agree in the Lord for the glory of God. Division poses the same threat to us today. Trevor mentioned last week that we cannot become too comfortable around other Christians to the point where we lose sight of the goal. Because once we lose sight of the goal, we begin to place our focus on other people and places which inevitably leads us to sin. And the reality is that church life is very hard and unity is hard.
And as I’ve said before, family does not always get along and it’s easy for us to make the issues of our family in Christ the main thing instead of making unity in Christ the main thing. Without unity we cannot remain spiritually stable and we make ourselves susceptible to the enemy’s lies and the folly of our own sinful flesh. We must seek unity. Paul emphasizes this to the Church in Philippi. They must seek unity.
Forgiving one another and pursuing peace is the thing that we must strive towards so that Christ may be glorified for his church, Paul not only urges these women to agree in the Lord, but he also calls for his true companion to to help these women in the midst of their disagreement. And the direct translation of true companion is true yoke fellow, which means a partner who is bearing the same load under the same yoke. And so for those who don’t know, a yoke is a wooden device that would be placed on the necks of two animals and would be often oxen. It would pull the same load together for the use of farming and agriculture. So next time you’re at work and you come up to your fellow co worker, you can say, my true yoke fellow, I would greatly be obliged if you could send out an email to the rest of the office.
And I’m sure your co worker will greatly appreciate that title. But in all seriousness, this was someone Paul trusted that also bore the responsibility of overseeing the Philippian church, which is most likely an elder. Paul makes it clear that it is also his responsibility to help these women be reconciled in their division. Elders are held accountable for overseeing the church and are tasked with unifying the church. And this is a noble task, for Jesus says, blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Paul also reminds me, his true companion, that these women, as well as Clement and the rest of the fellow workers in Philippi, have their names written in the Book of Life. The Book of Life is a record of all God’s redeemed people, spoken about many times throughout the Scriptures. Perhaps the most notable is Revelation 3.5 that says, the one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the Book of Life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his holy angels. These are God’s people, saved and sanctified by the Lord Jesus, who will dwell eternally with God.
Those in ministry that are dealing with hard people or with hard circumstances, like this division that we’re reading about here in Philippians, we should not forget these are God’s people whom Jesus has redeemed by his precious blood. So moving on to verse four, the text says, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice.
Paul’s second exhortation to stand firm is also a repeat of something he has already told the Philippian Church to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoicing in the Lord is a major theme in the Book of Philippians that Paul both demonstrates and he encourages the Philippian Church to do not just every now and then, but to do Always this exhortation is vitally important to the Christian’s walk with God. Paul knew best that Christ did not die on the cross so that we could be happy at all times. Happiness is based on our circumstances. And as Christians, we’re called to face difficult circumstances for his name’s sake.
As Paul had already stated in his letter, God has granted us to not only believe for Jesus sake, but also to suffer for his sake. We are called to die to ourselves, to live without any selfish ambition, to offer ourselves as a living sacrifice to God, order, to serve others and to serve Christ. And as Paul wrote, within the darkness of his prison cell, he knew that many trials lay ahead for the Philippian Church. Yet in the midst of uncertain circumstances, difficulty, trials, there is one thing that would remain the same, and that is in God. We can rejoice God always.
God does not change what God has said and established. Absolutely nothing can change. Therefore, the finished work on the cross has sealed all who place their faith in Christ to an eternity with God in heaven, no matter what happens here on earth. And as Paul says in Romans, who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword. As it is written, for your sake, we are being killed all the day long and we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation we have will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Since nothing can separate us from the love of God, we rejoice. And since what God has done will never change, we rejoice always. The joy of the Lord is ours.
Through Christ we can rejoice in God at all times, no matter what the circumstance is, even in the difficult times. For joy is not a feeling. It is a deep down confidence that God is in control of everything for a believer’s good and for his glory. And thus all is well, no matter what the circumstance. In order for us to stand firm, we must rejoice in the Lord always.
Paul makes this very clear. We must continually look past our circumstances to a God that has overcome it all and raise our hands in worship to an eternal rock and cornerstone that is Christ Jesus. If you’re taking notes, write this down. There is never a time in our lives that is not fitting to rejoice. In the Lord.
I’ll say that again. There is never a time in our lives that is not fitting to rejoice in the Lord, including today. That is why Paul says it twice here, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Moving to verse five, it says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone.
The Lord is at hand. The word reasonableness here can also mean gentleness, or as another commentary says, gracious humility. Paul is saying that others should know you not for your rash or divisive things that you say, but rather for the things that you don’t say in gracious humility and gentleness. The Greek word for reasonableness encompasses the patience to endure injustice, disgrace and mistreatment without retaliation, bitterness or vengeance. It is this contentment with those around you even when they do what is wrong.
And Paul says to do this because the Lord is at hand. This is talking about the day when the Lord will come and deal with all the injustice and bring final judgment to all of mankind. Because Jesus is returning to bring justice. And we are reasonable with those around us showing gentleness and grace, even if we don’t feel like they deserve it. Because we know that Jesus is returning.
To remain standing firm, it is necessary to show gracious humility to those around us so that we may remain unified with our brothers and sisters in Christ and display the gentleness of our Lord to those who do not know God.
Moving to verses six through seven, it says, 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. Do not be anxious about anything.
Some of you here may hear that and immediately think, okay? Yeah, sure. Well noted, Paul. I’ll try not to be anxious about anything. If we’re honest, it is difficult to think of a life without anxiety and worry.
With all the things that are going on in our lives and all the uncertainty that life brings, how can one not be anxious? Well, this morning, God’s word is telling us how we can pursue a life without anxiety. So if you walked in here feeling anxious and feeling heavy burdened, lean into God’s Word with me. Paul says, do not be anxious, but instead do this. Remember, Paul is in prison.
He’s separated from those that he loves. He’s been mistreated, he’s been wrongly accused because of his faith in Christ. Out of all people, Paul has many reasons to be very anxious about everything that is going on in his life. Yet Paul says, do not be anxious. Instead, in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
The supplication here means asking for what is needed. Essentially, Paul is saying, go to God in prayer for everything that is going on in your life, everything you are feeling anxious about. Go to God in prayer. Not that God doesn’t already know what you need, but because God desires us to go to him with our needs and our anxieties and our requests, he wants us to come to Him. The incredible thing about our God is He’s not burdened by his people’s prayers or anxieties.
Actually, God welcomes us to come to him with all of our sins, fears, and problems over and over and over and over again because he is a God who loves us. Now, a key part in this verse that Paul mentions is to do this with thanks thanksgiving, the attitude of the believer’s heart when coming to God in prayer matters. If we come to God with our requests, doubting that he can help us or meet our needs, are we really praying to God? To those who have placed their faith in the risen Son of God, all of God’s great and precious promises are available to you.
God works all things for the good of those who love him and who have placed their faith in Christ. Therefore, those who are spiritually stable, standing firm in God’s promises, should approach God in prayer with thanksgiving, knowing that God not only hears his people, but because of Christ’s finished work on the cross, he also answers the prayer of his people and draws near to his people. So we pray to God with thanksgiving, rejoicing in the Lord for his goodness and faithfulness, trusting God with every anxious thought and request. Thankful prayer brings release from fear and worry because it affirms God’s sovereign control over every circumstance in our life.
And when we affirm that his purpose is for the believer’s good. Now moving to verse seven, here’s what Scripture promises for us when we do this and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
The peace of God here refers to freedom from anxiety that comes from God’s literal presence with us. In John 14, Jesus told his disciples, peace, I leave with you, my peace I give to you not as the world gives to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. This is the supernatural peace that can only come from God, an inward tranquility of the soul that comes to those who have been reconciled to God through Jesus Christ. It surpasses all understanding, which means it’s far above any kind of human reasoning that we could think of.
Sometimes we view anxiety as like a sudden hindrance to our Christian walk with God that can’t be hurdled or avoided or can’t be changed. Yet we forget we serve a God who is far above our fears and anxieties to the chaos and the wind and the waves of the storms of life. Jesus says, be still, and they are immediately stilled to a peaceful calm. Here, in this very passage, God says he will do this very thing in the hearts and minds of his people who come to him with their prayers and needs. With thanksgiving, Jesus says, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
This peace will guard the hearts and minds of those who are in Christ Jesus. But this peace is not available to the unbeliever. We must be reconnected to God through faith in the living Son of God, Jesus Christ, in order to receive this peace. And to those of you that are believers, if you came in here carrying heavy burdens or anxiety or fear, take them to the Lord in prayer. You will have the chance to do this after we finish studying this passage as we take the Lord’s Supper together.
And if you go home after service and you’re still struggling with fear and anxiety, then I encourage you, continue going to the Lord in prayer. And I don’t mean like a small prayer before you eat dinner or go to bed. I mean earnestly seek the Lord on your knees. And if you’re married, then do this with your spouse. Pour out your heart to God and thank him for his goodness and faithfulness in the midst of whatever you’re struggling with.
And the peace of God that transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This is his promise to us.
Moving to verse eight, the text says, finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
Here Paul is giving his last encouraging exhortations to the Philippian Church before he concludes his letter. He points out that in order for God’s people to stand firm, they must be thinking about godly virtues. For those that are in Christ, there are two things we can fill our minds. Things of the Spirit that Scripture says brings life and peace, or things of the world that Scripture says brings death. To be honest with you, this verse has been the most convicting.
For me personally, I think this is probably one of the more prevalent sins in our culture right now that we tend to accept and normalize is what we’re filling our minds with and that culture says is acceptable. But how many or we Sorry. We live in a digital age of entertainment where there’s an endless amount of different shows and movies and podcasts that are available to us every single month, and all of them beg for our attention and for our subscription. But how many of these shows, movies and podcasts fit the Description of Verse 8? One simply cannot fill their mind with the things of the world and expect to grow in godliness.
It won’t happen.
Godliness does not come from the world. Rather, godliness comes from God. Therefore we must set our minds on things that are above, not on the things that are here on this earth. Proverbs 4:23 says, above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. The heart spoken about in this proverb resembles the innermost thoughts of a person.
We must be careful about the things that we see and dwell on because they have the ability to influence our inmost being. Therefore, Paul gives the Philippian Church eight godly virtues to dwell on in order that they may stand firm in the Lord. Whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, worthy of praise. Think about these things. Now, I’m not going to go into a word study on all these virtues for the sake of time that we have, but it’s vital that we understand that we cannot dwell on these virtues apart from the word of God.
Which is why Paul starts off the list of virtues with whatever is true. Now, during my time in Southeast Asia, we talk to many different people from many different religious backgrounds on a daily basis. We talked to people that were Islamic, people that had background in Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, free thinker, agnostic, atheist, and many more. Different backgrounds. And with many of these people, after you would share the truth of the gospel with them, often they would respond by saying, that’s good for you.
You got your truth, I got mine. We can respect each other and just do our own thing because all religions are the same anyway. We’re all on different paths, all leading to the same end. To the people that say this, although they’re being respectful, they are at the same time being very ignorant of what is being told to them. Truth cannot be all things at once.
I’ll say it again. Truth cannot be everything at once. Truth by definition is that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality. Jesus said for this purpose I was born. And for this purpose I have come into the world to bear witness to the truth.
Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice. Jesus also said, I am the way, the truth and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me. If you hear the Gospel and in response say, that’s good for you, you’re calling God a liar. Just the same, you are actively rejecting Jesus sacrifice on the cross and saying, Jesus is a liar and is not true.
Jesus says, the one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge. The word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day. But to those who repent and believe they will receive life from the only one who has conquered sin and death and been raised back to life, God’s truth is found here in God’s Word. Every last word is trustworthy and true for the salvation of all who believe. This is where we learn about God, and therefore this is where we find the source of these godly virtues.
Think about the truth of God’s word. Think about what God has declared to be honorable, just and pure in His Word. Think about the commandments and actions in the Bible that are lovely, commendable and excellent. Think about the one and only true God who is worthy of all our praise and adoration. Do this first and foremost through reading the Bible and whatever else points us to the Scriptures, whether it be songs or sermons or books or even shows and movies.
Think of these things as well, but as the source in which where we find our truth and find these virtues, we go to God’s Word. Looking at verse nine, now our passage ends today by saying, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. Paul encourages the Philippians to not only think about the things that reflect God and His Word, but also to practice these things. As James says, we’re not to just be hearers of the Word, but we’re also to be doers of the Word.
Paul sums up everything that he has taught the Philippians, whether it’s by this letter or in person, or things that even just they’ve heard about Him. He says, in all these things, put them into practice. Everything that the Philippian Church has received from Paul and his example, they are told to to just keep putting them into practice. Do not get weary in your practice of godliness, for the God of peace will be with you. Not only does the peace of God fill his people who come to him, but the God of peace himself is with us and will continue to lead us in becoming more and more like Christ every day.
With that, Paul ends his final exhortations that allow for God’s people to stand firm in the Lord. And as I said at the beginning of this sermon, there is a lot here that we as believers can be thinking about in relation to our own lives. These final exhortations that Paul gives are both deeply encouraging and deeply challenging. All of us fall short of these exhortations at some point, in some place. But in all of our shortcomings, we have a perfect advocate who has stood firm in the Lord until the very end.
And he is the Lord Jesus who came to this earth as fully man and fully God to proclaim the truth and to provide a way for sinners to be forgiven through his death and through burial and resurrection on the cross three days later. If God, through His Word, has convicted you this morning of sin or you have not been applying these exhortations, then I encourage you turn to Jesus. He is faithful to forgive us and to help us stand firm. Be of great courage that this is the life that God calls us to live, and he also equips us to live it like this life. And these exhortations that we’re reading about in God’s Word, like they’re incredible.
And God has called us to this kind of living, a life filled with unity, rejoicing, peace that passes all understanding, minds that are filled with the things of the Spirit and actions that reflect Christ to all of us, all of those around us. If you’re here and you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, know that this offer remains available for you as well. Today, Jesus and Jesus alone has stood firm through sin and suffering so that you could experience life with God. And anyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And you can do that today.
Believe, Father, fully in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved. May we continue to both think about and practice the things that God has taught us through his perfect and holy word. And may we be a church that seeks to stand firm in the Lord until He returns. Let’s pray.
Father, thank you just for this great passage in your word. Thank you that it is true and that all of it is trustworthy. I thank you, God, that you say you provide peace that passes all understanding for all those who come to you diligently in prayer. And so God, for each of us here, help us to do that when we feel anxious or fearful or worried. God, help us to go to you in prayer and to cast our burdens on you because we know you care for us deeply.
And God help us to rejoice always because you are always worthy of praise, God and rejoicing and for you do not change even in the midst of struggles, God and loss that we will face. You are worthy of praise in the midst of all of it. God, help us to apply your word today. Help us to stand firm as a church Lord in unity and to continue to seek out loving one another and God agreeing in the Lord, for that is what you called us to do. Thank you for your word.
Thank you for this morning and God to your name be the glory and praise. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.