Agree or: How We Learned to Stop Arguing and Love the Lord
Philippians 4:1-3
Philippians 4:1-3
Philippians 4
Let's Pray...
Okay, We've steadily been moving through this book of Philippians. It is a letter written by Paul a couple thousand years ago to a church in a city called Philippi.
By all accounts this was a church that was getting things right -
Over and over again Paul keeps talking about the joy that he feels when he hears about the Philippians. They're striving together; they are staying faithful through persecution. They are staying encouraged and they are keeping up their encouragement of Paul while he is imprisoned.
And throughout the letter, Paul encourages them to keep on the path. He reminds them over and again, from the first verses – and throughout the first three chapters – that their source for strength, their perfect example, their reason and way for living is Jesus Christ.
And several times he has made warnings. He warns against false teachers. He says when they come in trying to preach works based salvation, don't be fooled.
He says if they come in with that garbage, remember what I've told you, there is only one way to Heaven. There is only one way to enter into the throne room of God. There is only one way to receive the washing away of your sins.
That ONE WAY is through faith in the perfect and once-for-all sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for YOU.
Now this theme doesn't change much in the first verse of chapter Four, but we do see a noticeably different element in verses 2 and 3.
That's where we are going to camp out tonight, verses 1-3. I don't think we're going to go long tonight for two reasons. First, much of this is review and second we are not quite to the point where I see this issue, the issue of internal conflict – conflict between members in the Church in the Grass.
That doesn't mean that we won't have it later. As Andy pointed out to me this week, “we know that there will be issues like this (one between Euodia and Syntyche) within big C and little c church - after all, it's run by fallible, sinful humans so there will be conflicts.
So, knowing that these things will come, they will happen, we all need to prepare for the fight against division (a fight against division sounds odd – it's like a double negative, except we fight the negative of these kinds of conflicts with the positive of Christ-centered-ness)
We have to be mindful of the fact that's these conflicts will arise and set our hearts in the right direction so that we can approach the situation the way Jesus Christ would handle it.
We can't hide from conflict.
And, I don't know, maybe we do have this problem and I just don't see it yet. If that's the case, praise God for dealing with you in His word despite my obtuseness.
But I'm getting ahead of myself, let's start by looking back at Philippians 4:1 again and chew on it for a little while.
1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!
Why's Paul say “therefore” what's he pointing us back to? Is it the whole of chapter three? I think it might be helpful to read it that way, but if we look at what he says right after the “therefore” then it seems to make more sense to just start back at chapter 3 verse 20:
In other words, we see the “therefore and can say that because you are citizens of Heaven.
And, since WE are waiting together on the guarantee of a retuning, conquering King Jesus.
And since He - Jesus - this King who loves us, will come in the power of God in such away that EVERYTHING will be brought under His control – mainly, the effects of sin will be destroyed and cast away FOREVER.
And, since by the same mighty and incomprehensible power, He will also perfect us in Resurrection bodies – bodies free of sin, free of disease, aging, wounds of this world – and with Resurrection eyes and hearts that will be able to take in the glory of God without the grime of sin impeding our view.
“THEREFORE,” With all of that as the centerpiece of your hopes, and the object of your affection and the desire of your heart – STAND FIRM!
As individual sinners saved by grace, STAND FIRM IN THE FAITH THAT SAVED YOU!
And as the Church, a scattered and unlikely bunch of sinners - transformed into saints by the grace of God, STAND FIRM!
With the fact that the non-believers around us are going to look for the weaknesses in our armor in which to attack us, we need to make sure that we are at least unified under Christ in the Church.
As the Church, STAND FIRM in CHRIST!
And He's going to get into two pieces – at least two that I see here.
Here are the two pieces I see. (1) We stand firm when we pour the grace and forgiveness that we have received from God into our relationships in the Church.
And (2) we stand Firm when we focus what we are about on the central theme of Christ and Him crucified.
This helps us stand firm and remain in unity because it will focus our hearts on the focus of God's heart.
God's heart is seen when He determined before time began to send His son to die on the cross for us.
What was the goal of that? To reconcile His people to Himself. So that we might find our joy eternally in Him and so that we might worship Him and His glory forever.
If we get that. IF we get that, it set us on a course to spread this message of reconciliation to every tribe and tongue and nation until Jesus returns in His glory and it will quell – It will smash the division amongst God's children.
Let's get back to the text, so you can see it there.
I could spend a lot of time dissecting who these two people were. A lot of smart people throughout church history have done so and there's probably some use to it, but sometimes I think we seek that sort of thing so much that we loose sight of the ability of ALL of Scripture to speak into each of OUR lives.
Based on what we've read so far in Philippians, I see this as Paul very gently nipping an issue in the bud. An issue that could easily escalate into a major divide among God's people.
And, since it seems that these two were some sort of co-laborers with Paul in the church, their divide might very well cause a chasm to form among the believers throughout the city.
So, Paul lovingly says to Euodia and Syntyche to knock it off. In fact he not only asks them to do it, He pleads with them.
Paul doesn't see a conflict and simply hope that it will go away, no he risks his own comfort and gets into the mess and calls others in the church to do the same thing.
So many times we just look the other way when we see conflict in the church. We think that someone else will deal with it or that it's not any of our business or maybe it isn't too big of a deal.
And the conflict goes on until it has become SO big that lives begin to get wrecked, the effectiveness of the Church in the city is damaged, and sometimes church up and dies.
Or worse yet another church gets started – not on a foundation of loving God and loving others – but instead, on a foundation of resentment the last church.
Do you think God is going to bless that?
So Paul pleads with his sisters. He pleads with his fellow change agents who are called by God, called with Paul and called with you and with me, to die to ourselves and let the little things go (ultimately they are all “little things”)
Andy sent this note to me about this area of the message:
Matthew 5:21-26, where Jesus warns against anger, is part of the Sermon on the Mount that could tie in with this area.
“For me, anyway, it is my anger over some little thing that festers into a full-blown conflict. If I would simply recognize that and repent and communicate my emotion before I let it hunker down I could save myself a lot of trouble.”
And ultimately anger usually points out pride issues in our lives and in our relationships.
We need to smash our pride so that we can become less and Christ can be seen as greater.
Really, He already is greater, but we deny that, or at least lose sight of that, when we try to fight for our rights to the point that it hinders the gospel.
There is no reason that we can point to in which we should not be forgiving one another when we are wronged and come back together under an umbrella of God's grace for God's mission.
And there's no reason that we shouldn't be quick to apologize and seek forgiveness when we are the ones who sin against another person.
This reconciliation deal is a two way street, sometimes we are going to have to apologize, sometimes we'll be the ones who need to forgive.
If we let our pride rise up. If we allow wicked friends (inside or outside the church) to convince us that were justified in our sin and that we should NOT apologize, then we are not only heading down a road of pain and isolation and misery and a road toward a war torn heart, we are also dragging the church with us down that same dark path.
Listen; there is no such thing as a sin that doesn't hurt the people around you.
Look at the drunken mom or the deadbeat dad.
Look at the lazy co-worker.
Look at the politician who seeks the next election more than the needs of the people.
And, in this context look at the church, when we take our eyes off of God's reconciliation and restoration with the world.
If the shoe fits, then plug your name or names in here.
I plead with _______ and ______to agree in the LORD!
There is so much a stake!
I've seen people yelling at the top of their lungs in church because their teenager wasn't allowed to watch kids in the nursery. They left their church!
Meanwhile there are people out there, and people who attend church every week, who are going to Hell because our passions are not directed in sharing the Gospel, Our passions are directed on getting our way, our desires are for us to be made much of, for us to be RESPECTED, for us to be honored,
Instead we are called to pour our lives out, and to count everything – EVERYTHING - as nothing - as rubbish, compared to the surpassing greatness of Jesus Christ.
Agree in the Lord. That is, focus your hearts on the Gospel and it will cause you to ask forgiveness and it will cause you to forgive - IF YOU ARE HIS.
Remember, Scriptures tell us that the way of Christ seems foolish to those who are not in Christ. To those who are not truly believers, this message will be a stumbling block.
If you are not in Christ, you will say, “No, you are asking too much. No, Paul, you don't understand what they did to me.”
If that was your response as you heard this message, I would plead with you to be reconciled to God tonight. Until you are reconciled to God through faith in Christ, no reconciliation with others will amount to anything. Be reconciled to God.
LOVE GOD and He will transform your heart so that you will be able to love others.
Now, again, we are a young church and we are a small church so far and we haven't struggled with much in the way of internal conflict yet.
But, as a good friend likes to add when I say things like that, “This too shall pass, Ken. This too shall pass.”
When it does happen. I want you to remember this passage and I want you to pray, “Lord, show me, show us, how to get past this conflict by agreeing on what we know is true about You, Jesus.”
And don't forget the rest of the passage:
Remember that we are one body. When we see conflict between our family members, between other parts of our body, we need to swoop in with loving and compassionate correction toward the goal of reconciliation.
Skip over to James 3:14-18 with me. In this passage, James lays out the contrast between healthy and damaging relationships for believers.
First the sinful side:
Don't ignore the early symptoms.
A toothache, or reoccurring pain in you physical body is a sign of deeper problems that usually get worse if they are not addressed.
In the same way, hints of bickering, whispered gossip, or even subtle facial expressions that change when a brother or sister comes into a room – or leaves a room - may be the early signs of a problem that needs to be tended to in the spiritual body.
Don't wait until it is too late and drastic measures need to be taken. And don't wait so long that the one-time small malady becomes a terminal disease.
Now the rest of the passage that I want to read there in James 3 describes what it's like when we're tracking...
What more can I say except, agree in the Lord.
Let's Pray...
