Hook
A.W Pink once said,
For the Christian to keep his heart… means for him to pay close attention to the direction in which his affections are moving, to discover whether the things of the world are gaining a firmer and fuller hold over him, or whether they are increasingly losing their charm for him.
I think that is a great quote, and it fits really well with the theme of what we have been talking about throughout this series, but also what we are going to be looking at today, which in a way is sort of an answer to everything we have covered up to this point. This letter has addressed a lot of tough topics, both for the believers in Philippi in the first century, and for us today. We’ve been forced to talk about things like our conduct and behaviour as Christians, the importance of unity as a church, humility, not fighting or grumbling, the importance of letting God change you, and the fact that compared to what we have in Jesus, everything else in our lives is worthless. Finally, last week, we were forced to ask ourselves what we are truly pursuing in life? What are we putting all our energy, time and money into?
This week is a reminder that we need to be mindful of what is in our hearts and in our minds, because that will play a big part in what comes out into our lives as well. It is, in a way, the answer to everything we have learned about so far. And that answer is to Guard your Heart.
Our passage today is Philippians 4:1-9, and I am reading from the New International Version:
Philippians 4:1–9 (NIV)
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 and I plead with Syntyche 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.
Verse 1
So through this series, there have been hints that there was some conflict or disunity among the congregation, and this passage presents the only tangible evidence as to what the problem MIGHT have been, but even here it is pretty vague, so we just don’t know.
But let’s start going through this passage, starting in verse 1. You may have noticed that Paul uses two adjectives to describe the Philippian believers, and I want to discuss those just for a minute. He says,
Philippians 4:1 (NIV)
Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown...
He calls them his joy and crown. Now of course, we know that Joy is not an uncommon theme in Philippians.
When I first said to Sherrilyn that I was going to preach on Philippians, the first thing she said was “Joy”! But this particular use of the word here is unique. Because in all the other instances, it is referring to Joy found in the Lord. But what Paul is saying here, is that the CHURCH is his joy. He of course doesn’t mean that they replace or are better than the joy found in Jesus! But his life is better, BECAUSE he knows them.
Then he calls them his crown as well. The imagery around the crown speaks both of the fact that they were a symbol of Paul’s success as a servant of Jesus, and the honour that he has to have been the means of founding such a church.
Then he gives this command:
Philippians 4:1 (NIV)
… stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
This language, “stand firm”, has military origins in Greek, and the literal translation is, “to be firmly committed in conviction or belief” So the church was not to be weakened by disunity, turmoil, or incorrect values. It was to stand together to accomplish God’s will.
Verses 2-3
Philippians 4:2–3 (NIV)
I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche 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.
These two names at the beginning are both female, Greek names. There have actually been a number of inscriptions found in Philippi that date from that period that suggest women were heavily involved in the city’s religious activities, so it makes sense that they had worked with Paul in the building of the church in the city. We don’t know exactly what their role was, but it is clear that they had served in some capacity.
This section does shed a tiny little bit of light on the division problem in Philippi. We can tell from this passage that these two women were in disagreement, we just have no idea what it is that they disagreed about. On one hand, the fact that this is in a prominent place in the section suggests that the problem had some significance, and could, if left to fester, divide the church in two. Clearly it was more than just a small disagreement. But on the other hand, it occurs near the end of the letter, and is handled in a relatively soft manner. Paul clearly had faith in these women and the church leaders to correct the problem.
What is interesting here, is this reference to a “true companion.” We have no idea who this is. Some have suggested that the Greek word is actually a person’s name, Syzygus, but there is no evidence to support that really. At the end of the day, all we can do is guess as to who this is. We know it is someone that Paul saw as an associate of his, and that they must have been prominent enough in the church that everybody would have known who he was referring too. Because of this, our best guess is that it was one of the ministers or bishops.
Verses 4-7
Philippians 4:4–7 (NIV)
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.
So this is the beginning of a list of 3 imperatives, or commands, followed by one indicative, or a promise, for those who listen and follow. The first imperative, is to Rejoice.
Imperative 1: Rejoice
Philippians 4:4 (NIV)
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
One thing you should be aware of when studying scripture, is that repetition is important. If something is repeated, especially immediately after it is first said, then it is important and needs to be accepted as such. And that is the case here. Their joy was to be in the Lord, and it was to be unchanging. They should ALWAYS find joy in the Lord, regardless of what was going on in their own lives.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says,
Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.
We don’t really understand what this is all about. Sure, we have bad days. Often things don’t go the way we would like, our plans don’t work out, or we may even suffer. But in the first centuries of the church, Christians were being put to death for their faith.
I think it is important for us to understand our past as a church. When Paul wrote this letter, Rome was ruled by an emperor named Nero, you may have heard of him. He is the one who lit Rome on fire, and then blamed the Christians for it. He used to put Christians on big stakes, cover them in oil, and light them on fire to light the walkways around his palace. He was the one who began the practice of taking Christians to the coliseums, covering them in the skins of dead animals, and then let loose lions that had been starved to tear them to shreds in front of a cheering crowd. They didn’t have movie theaters back then, this is what people used to pay to see for Saturday night “entertainment”.
So when we read something like “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in ALL CIRCUMSTANCES”, it does NOT mean the same thing for us that it did for them. But they still got this. You see, it is the privilege of Christians to rejoice in the Lord, no matter what is going on in our lives, because we are not rejoicing in our circumstances. We are rejoicing in the fact that there is a God and a Saviour, that everything ELSE in life can change, but he never does. There is not a moment in life when you cannot find joy in the character, law, and promises of God.
Imperative 2: Be Gentle
Philippians 4:5 (NIV)
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
There is some disagreement as to whether that should be translated “gentleness”, or “moderation”. And your translation of the bible might have either. So in this case, moderation would refer to a restraint on passion, a general soberness of living, being free from all excesses. If it is gentleness, which I personally prefer that translation, it would be “considerate, and lenient”.
The root of the problem here is that not every Greek word has a perfect English equivalent. The word definitely contains an element of selflessness to it, which is why I prefer gentleness. A good translation of this would be fairmindedness or graciousness:
Fairmindedness / Graciousness (?p?e???? / epieikes) “The attitude of a person who is charitable towards the faults of others, and merciful in their judgment of their failings because they takes their whole situation into their reckoning.”
Imperative 3: Do Not Be Anxious
Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Anxiety is a big topic in our society, and I really want to be careful to not belittle anxiety, and to also make sure you understand what he means here. Jesus speaks about anxiety in the great commission,
Matthew 6:25 (NIV)
“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
So notice that this is not about our modern understanding of chronic anxiety, this is about unproductive worrying. If you are suffering from chronic anxiety, yes, pray, but seek help from medical professionals. But if you are worrying about how you are going to pay bills, or what life will bring next, pray and let go of it. Take it to God.
Matthew 6:31–34 (NIV)
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
You may be familiar with the hymn, his eye is on the sparrow? It comes from Matthew 6. God makes sure that the birds have food to eat, and he cares much more about you than he does birds. Do not worry, he WILL take care of you. Pray, surrender your worry to him.
Indicative: You Will Have Peace
Philippians 4:7 (NIV)
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
If you do these three things, If you Rejoice in the Lord, live a gentle life in moderation, and give your worries to God, you will experience peace. And it is not just ANY peace.
First of all, it is a divine Peace, it comes from God. It particularly refers to the peace that is felt when we have no anxious concern about the supply of our needs, when we go about our lives confidently, and commit
EVERYTHING, including worry, into his hands. And I want to be clear, there is a difference between feeling peace about our needs being met because we trust GOD to meet them, and feeling a peace about our needs being met because we trust OURSELVES to meet them. That is not a peace from God, and it will disappear once your situation changes.
Second, it transcends or passes all understanding. By our own human reason, it doesn’t make sense. It is the highest possible kind of peace. We will feel peace in moments when perhaps we LOGICALLY should NOT feel at peace. But we will still feel it, we will still experience it.
Third, and this is really what I want you to remember today, it will guard your heart and mind. This is a military metaphor, the peace of God will keep guard over you, it will garrison and protect your hearts and minds from stress and worry. While the peace is from God, which means the PROTECTION is from God, we bring it about by doing those three things. we talked about.
Verses 8-9a
Philippians 4:8–9 (NIV)
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.
These final verses have a definite structure to them, there are two lists, each completed with a verb, or a call to action.
Christian Thought
The first list is of 7 qualities that should characterize Christians and their thoughts:
Truth, being truthful or dependable.
Noble, worthy of respect, honorable That word is often used of church leaders in the New Testament.
Right, which is normally translated as Just, or fair.
Pure, or Holy, in relation to God and others.
Lovely. This is the only place it is used in the New Testament. The fundamental meaning is, that which calls forth love.
Admirable, or of good repute. Also the only place THIS is used in the New Testament, and it means anything that is not likely to offend.
And then finally, Excellent or praiseworthy - This refers to MORAL excellence.
So this first list, these characteristics will, if we fill our minds with them, unite the church and present a good testimony to the world around us. The verb, or the call to action for this list, is to “think about such things”.
Christian Practice
The second list is of three things that should characterize the practice of the Christians and their actions:
Whatever you have (from Paul):
Learned from me
Received from me
Heard or Seen from me
And the verb, the call to action, is to put it into practice. So again, as it has many times throughout this letter, the theme of imitation is predominate.
Result
So what is the result of following these two lists, that should characterize our thought and actions? The last part of verse 9 is the answer,
And the God of peace will be with you.
Alright, so like I said at the beginning, this is sort of a summation of the entire letter, it’s the answer to all the problems and calls to action that came before this. So, what should we take away from this? As we start to conclude this Philippians study, next Sunday will be the last week, what should you take away from the entire letter? The entire call throughout the letter can be summarized in chapter 1 verses 9-11,
Philippians 1:9–11 (NIV)
And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.
What you should take away this week, is that primarily, we achieve this goal ONLY if we guard our hearts, through following the guiding principles Paul covered in this weeks passage. Of course, you should also take away from this week that WE don’t really guard our hearts, God does. But our actions and thoughts bring about that peace that leads to our hearts being Guarded. So what should you take away from all of this? How should we be guarding our hearts?
1. Guard your hearts by Living in Unity
First, we should guard our hearts by living in unity. It’s always easy to find something to disagree about! And you know what? We are allowed to disagree! In fact, I would argue that life would be pretty boring if everyone just agreed about everything all the time. But when we DO disagree, we need to be very, very careful about how we conduct ourselves.
Galatians 5:14–15 (NIV)
For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
We need to remember to daily put aside the way we used to live, the way the world lives still, and instead live like Jesus did. We are allowed to disagree, but we are to work together to solve our differences. Paul called these two women, Euodia and Syntyche, to be of the same mind, to resolve their differences, and we must do the same.
2 Corinthians 13:11 (NIV)
Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.
We need to guard our hearts from falling for petty arguments, we need to live in unity. Being of one mind, living in peace.
2. Guard your hearts by Surrendering Worry.
We are such good worriers. What will I do if this happens, or if this person does this thing? If we are worrying or anxious about every thing in our lives, Paul in this passage tells us to pray. Give it to God. And he says that if you do that, that you will be filled with his peace, which passes all understanding.
Proverbs 3:5–6 (NIV)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV)
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.
God knows what is best for you, and has your best interests at heart. Trust in him, and you will experience his peace.
3. Guard your heart by Meditating.
Meditation is not something we talk about often as the church, but it is spoken of often in scripture. The truth is that whatever we are filling ourselves with, that is what will come out of us as well.
Psalm 1:1–3 (NIV)
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers.
Psalm 19:14 (NIV)
May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer.
Paul says that we should think about and meditate on whatever is excellent and praiseworthy, remember that list from before? Meditating on the things of God will guard your heart, and will bring you peace.
So to conclude, if the Philippian church was to be successful in achieving anything that Paul has asked of them in this letter, they needed to guard their hearts and minds, because whatever you fill your life with, is what will come out of your life as well. And the same is true of us.
So as we leave here today, I want to leave you with these thoughts:
If we spend our days being angry about how we have been wronged, or going over past arguments in our head, we will never get along, we will always be divided.
If we spend our days stressed and worried about things that we have absolutely no control over, we will never get anything done. We also will never trust in God to take care of our needs.
But if we do the hard work of resolving our differences and being unified, if we give our worries and stress to God in prayer, if we meditate on his word and on things that are excellent and praiseworthy - If we do these things, we will experience a peace that doesn’t even make sense. A peace that passes ALL understanding. And that peace will guard our hearts and minds.
This is no small task! But it is a noble task, and it is the task that we are called too. And it is my genuine hope that we will all be able to experience this peace, each and every one of us.
