“Learning How To Live a Life of Generous Friendship”
Philippians Series
May 26th, 2019
Key Scripture: Philippians, Chapter Four
Learning How To Live a Life of Generous Friendship
Today, we finish our series on Paul’s letter to the Philippians. Over the last few weeks, we have been exploring the connection between Christian joy and suffering. Paul’s letter to the young church in Philippi is inspired teaching for us about how to go through tough times.
I’m going to start with a question this morning-
Do we have a theology (Explain) for suffering? (what is your view of God when things aren’t right)
I’m not asking whether we can explain suffering philosophically.
In fact, philosophy rarely helps people who are facing trials and tribulations. Instead, I am asking whether we, as followers of Jesus, can go through hard times and still show Jesus to the world.
This is the subject of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It is the Holy Spirit speaking to us about finding joy in Jesus through good times or bad.
Today we will look at the fourth and final chapter of this great letter. Our topic is: learning how to deal with tough times by living a life of generous friendship.
As we look at this fourth chapter, I think we can discover four points on the benefits of living in generous relationship with one another, followed by three additional points about how to take action.
We can discover the beauty of a life of generous friendship.
Let’s take a big chunk of this chapter and then break it down:
Phil 4:1 “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! I plead with Euodia (Yo-dia) and I plead with Syntyche (Sin-tic-ee) to be of the same mind in the Lord. 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. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 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. 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.” (Philippians 4:1-9)
Prayer
Four points I want to tackle this morning, followed by 3 applications at the end of the message, so let’s get into the first point-
#1 – Agree with each other.
Paul takes time in this teaching letter to urge two women in the church at Philippi to “be of the same mind.” It’s important that we agree with each other. Of anyone in this world, God’s people should learn how to get along with one another!
Now, this is not a call to be tolerant of bad doctrine. If someone were to come into our church and say that they really don’t believe that Jesus was God, and we should stop preaching that, we need to stand firm on the truth of the deity of Jesus. Amen?
Paul has already cautioned us to beware of bad theology. There is a tendency among us who value truth to use it like a hammer, and that’s not the intention of seeking truth.
Seeking truth must start and end with wanting the glory of God above all, not for us to want to win an argument.
With this in mind, I use the quote attributed to St. Augestine:
In necessary things Fidelity.
In doubtful things, unity.
In all things, love.
Agape love is tolerant of diverse opinion.
For example- we tolerate those here who might be Vikings fans. We pray for them that they might come into the light of truth and become Packer Backers and Cheeseheads, and we will not throw them out of the church over a football team allegiance.
So when there is a conflict over doubtful things (things that are not clearly spelled out in scripture as absolute truth, we have scripture to guide us in this situations-
Rom 12:10 Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Paul is talking about Christian harmony. “Harmony” is a musical term; while doctrine is critically important, it’s possible to get the words right but to get the music wrong in our relationships one with another.
And notice, too, that Paul does not only ask these two women to get along. He asks other leaders in the church to help them agree with each other.
You see, Christian unity is everyone’s business. We all have a stake in our unity. When we see brothers and sisters in our churches that cannot agree with one another, our response should not be to merely shake our heads or to judge them for their weaknesses.
No. We should help them to agree with one another.
Or, just agree to disagree, and carry on in agape love.
The second principle of living in Generous friendship is to
#2 – Rejoice in the Lord.
Notice that Paul does not say “cheer up!” Paul isn’t saying smile through your grimace of pain.
Rejoicing is something else altogether. It’s the outworking of a spiritual attribute called joy.
Joy is the evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in a group of people.
Joy is a sign of God’s kingdom made manifest here on the earth, right now. Joy goes beyond mere happiness and imparts the substance of Heaven.
Joy and happiness are two different things. Happiness is a fleeting emotion that is completely dependent on your immediate circumstance.
Joy is closely tied with the most important spiritual attribute there is, and that is faith. Faith is the currency of heaven. In fact, it’s soo important that scripture says “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”
Joy is the outworking of faith. It’s the assurance that God will do what is best in any situation, no matter what the immediate physical or worldly situation is at that moment.
That is why Paul is urging the people of Philippi to rejoice in the Lord.
Depression and worship cannot coexist. Turn on some music and start worshiping. You may start out like Eeyore, but you’ll wind up attracting the very presence of God into your life, your spirit and your emotions
Ultimately our joy rests in the Lord Jesus, and nothing else.
There is a progression here, a wisdom from the Spirit that Paul is sharing with us. Can you see it? We must live together in Christian unity. The wonder of Christian unity is that it gives us the ability to rejoice in the Lord together.
Which brings us to the third point living in generous friendship-
#3 –
The peace of God is available in Christian community.
Verses 6 and 7 are famous verses. I’m going to repeat them here so they are fresh in our minds going forward-
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.
At the beginning of verse 7, there is a conjunction- And. Conjunctions link to thoughts or phrases together. In this case, it’s meant to show us that verse 6 is the condition that has to exist for verse 7 to apply.
We all want the peace of God to rule in our hearts, minds and spirits, and it can and it will- but there is a condition that has to exist first.
The condition is to Banish anxiety.
Anxiety is fear of the future. It’s the antithesis or opposite of joy.
Paul is showing us that it’s impossible to live in anxiety if you are surrounded in joyful agreement with your brothers and sisters.
In fact, Paul says, “don’t worry about anything but in everything with prayer and thanksgiving” we should let our requests be made known to God.
This is critical for our spiritual lives as individuals—
but it is powerful and necessary for a community of believers.
Have you ever noticed how anxiety and worry can take hold of an entire community people?
It’s like a social virus: consider a herd of cows grazing close to an electric fence. If just one cow brushes up against electric fence and receives a shock, the whole herd is startled! You can watch the surprise and fear work its way through every cow.
My point is simply to suggest that together as a church family, we should not worry about anything. Paul shows us that together we can, through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let our requests be made known to God, and together, we will experience joy and peace.
If those conditions are met- The wonderful result is that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (Together)
Together! It is good news that the peace of God can guard my heart and mind individually. It is wonderful news that the peace of God can guard our hearts and our minds together, corporately.
This is important because one person who is at peace can be dismissed as an exception. But you cannot dismiss an entire congregation peaceful and happy people who live without anxiety.
This kind of community life is an example of the kingdom of God here, now, on earth, as it is in heaven.
The 4th principle of living in generous friendship is to
#4 –
Think about the “Whatevers.”
Let’s read about the whatever’s
“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. 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.” (Philippians 4:8-9)
This list of whatever’s in Philippians is a life-giving list!
These whatevers teach us to be like Jesus, and we should think on these things. (What’s more, we should do it together.)
What makes these “whatevers” so powerful is that we can share them with one another when we come together.
Remember our focus today is that that this chapter is about living lives of generous friendship together, in Christian community.
If God speaks anything noble or right or lovely or admirable or excellent or praiseworthy to one of us, it only makes sense that he or she should share with all of us.
Amen? That’s how the body of Christ comes into it’s fullness- head, torso, arms and legs are all functioning to propel us as a body into the destiny that God has for this body of believers.
Now, this list of four community traits is only the first half of the chapter. Paul’s reason for writing this letter was to acknowledge a generous gift that the church in Philippi had send to Paul while he was in prison in Rome.
Remember- Paul is in a Roman prison and Romans didn’t give prisoners three meals, TV, Airconditioning, clothing and medical care. IF the person imprisoned got no support from the outside world, they died.
So what Paul was speaking about here is a financial gift, delivered along with a brother who had been tasked with serving Paul in whatever way Paul needed while in prison. (buying food, clothes, ect).
Paul was writing to acknowledge this gift, and through his letter we learn the significance of living a life genuine friendship. Let’s look at these closing verses:
“I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid more than once when I was in need. Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.
And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Philippians 4:10-20)
In these verses we have the opportunity to see St. Paul’s personal response to the gift the Philippians had given him, and we get to see some things that are eternally true for any community of faith.
Here are three important takeaways for any community that wants to learn how to live a life of genuine friendship:
1: Showing Concern
The church in Philippi had plenty to worry about. The Roman Empire was engaged in the systematic persecution of Christians. But this church in Philippi did not allow outside circumstances to get in that way showing practical, loving concern for the Apostle Paul. We think we are concerned when we are worrying about certain situations.
But in reality, we are truly concerned only when we are doing something about these situations.
The church in Philippi was, indeed, concerned about Paul’s imprisonment. But they did not stop at worry or anxiety. They received an offering and dispatched one of their choice servants to both deliver the money to Paul and to look after Paul’s needs.
This is how any church should show concern: by taking action.
The 2nd way to show genuine friendship is to learn
2: The Secret of Contentment
Surprisingly, Paul was already at peace in Rome even though he was in prison! In verses 12 and 13, Paul says that he had learned “the secret of contentment.” This secret was not like a password or a cheat code for a video game. This was a secret that Paul had gained by practical experience, by living day to day with Jesus Christ. God’s secrets come over time, through a trusting and consistent relationship with Him.
In verse 13, Paul writes famous words that are famously misquoted! “I can do all things through him who gives me strength.”
But look closely: the context for “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” is Paul’s contentment in his circumstances.
Pause.
Contentment is the condition for saying “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Paul can talk about doing all things precisely because he has learned the secret of contentment.
Have we?
3: The Joyful Gift
What a curious way Paul has of saying “thank you!” Paul is grateful for the generous gift from the Philippines not because of how the gift will help him but because the gift is evidence that the Philippian church is looking beyond themselves and living a life of generous friendship.
The Philippians share this gift with Paul out of their own suffering. Paul sees their spiritual growth and their generosity.
He is not so much happy to receive the gift as he is to see practical evidence of their Christian maturity.
And here we find a second verse that is so frequently used out of context: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Paul says that his God will supply all of their needs according to his (God’s) riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Why does this matter?
Paul is not claiming these riches for himself: he is letting the Philippians know that because they have shown generosity to him that his God will supply their needs.
How often we quote this verse in relationship to our own needs. It’s true that God will supply our needs, but the context of this verse is Paul’s great confidence of God’s goodness toward the Philippian church.
This is a beautiful picture of Christians living together in the life of generous friendship.
Pastor Paul is so happy that his students have learned the secrets of contentment and generosity not because Paul has benefited from the gift, but because these qualities will serve the Philippians for generations to come.
All stand
As your pastor, I really believe that we could be a church like this, because in many ways many of you already show these attributes.
It’s my prayer that that our actions would be the fulfillment of Christ’s work in us, both individually and as a congregation!
P
Prayer Point- Oh, we could be the kind of church that could be a sign of the Kingdom of God both to the community around us and to our brothers and sisters all around the world!
Altar Call
