We’re
now in week eight of our nine week sermon series through Paul’s letter to the
Philippians. At the beginning of this
final chapter, Paul comes back to the main themes of unity, joy and of being in
Christ. As he now begins to write his
conclusion, there’s a sense of urgency in the series of commands he gives the
Church as he deals with both personal and practical matters.
One
of the commands he gives to the Philippians, and to us, is to Rejoice! Rejoice? What’s there to rejoice about in our
world I wonder? In the newspapers this
week we’ve been bombarded by anxiety-inducing reports – the threat of Ebola; home-grown
potential terrorists being arrested and apparently, there might be a hurricane heading
in our direction! Our personal trials also
cause us to be anxious; when our plans crash and burn, when our bubble of good
times bursts, we can be overtaken with anxiety and worry.
We
know from what we’ve already learnt of Paul’s situation that he too has much
cause for worry and anxiety. He’s in
prison in chains for Christ in danger of losing his life (Phil 1:13). He’s also concerned for his friends in
Philippi; he warns them of evil doers (Phil 3:2), of enemies of the cross of
Christ (Phil 3:18) and he knows there is disunity within the community (Phil
2:3-4). Doesn’t sound like a recipe for
rejoicing to me… and yet, that’s exactly what Paul does. We can hear his joyfulness throughout the
letter; he uses the words joy or rejoicing fourteen times. We know his joy is unaffected by all the
happenings in his life because he keeps on telling us how joyful he is!
What
causes him to be joyful? For Paul, joy
is not dependent on his circumstances; it’s not superficial happiness or a cheerfulness
that can easily be swept away by the pain of his suffering or his concerns for
his friends. It’s a confidence in what
God can and will do through Jesus Christ.
It’s the joy of knowing he’s forgiven.
It’s a joy that acknowledges the realities of life, but looks beyond them
to the joy of knowing that Christ has overcome death; death for Paul holds no
fear. His joy is rooted in faith, in a
deepening and trusting relationship with the Lord. Christ is the source of his joy.
I
don’t know about you, but it seems to me that sometimes our lives are a bit
like one of those panoramic photographs – you know the sort that requires a
wide-angled lens and it captures the whole scene. Our ‘panoramic wide-angled’ view on life
might include the global crises and the national issues I’ve already mentioned
and it might include our own hopes and fears.
All these take up most of the picture and at the edge, somewhere on the
periphery, is our Christian lives – Christ on the edge. But Paul challenges that image. “Rejoice in the Lord always” he says “The
Lord is near” (Phil 4-5) - Jesus in sharp-focus in the centre, Christ in the
middle of all life’s happenings, present now and our hope for the future. That’s what ‘being in Christ’ means. Christ at the centre. That’s what gives joy,
but it also comes with some other implications.
In
our relationships with one another, we are to have the “same mindset as Christ
Jesus” (Phil 2:5). We know when we
looked at chapter 2 that some in the community are having difficulty with
putting others before themselves. More
specifically now, his beloved friends Euodia and Syntyche, his co-workers in
spreading the Gospel in Philippi, are in dispute with each other. By naming them it’s as if he is with them
face-to-face as he pleads with them to be of the “same mind in the Lord”
(4:2). Notice Paul doesn’t take sides,
but asks for another member of the community, his ‘true companion’, to support
them. The danger is the community will
be divided if people begin to take sides, but the very act of working it
through and supporting each other together, creates a unity of effort, a common
purpose. Christ at the centre, in
sharp-focus, means having the same mindset as him; putting others before ourselves
and supporting one another to overcome our human disagreements.
But,
can we manage to make space in our panoramic view of life for Jesus? For God? How do we stop the everyday issues filling up
the frame? The origin of the word
‘worry’ comes from the Old English word wyrgen,
which means to strangle. Quite appropriate really; worry and anxiety
can choke us. It affects our thinking
our feelings and robs us of joy. It
crowds-out our relationship with God because we want to carry the burden of the
future ourselves and exercise control over things we have absolutely no control
over. Paul tells us how we can be free
from anxiety. Christ at the centre, in
sharp-focus, means trusting in the Father who loves us enough to give His
Son.
Trust
in God means we can present any request to Him.
We can bring “every situation” to Him in prayer. Paul says, “by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God”.
(4:6) Don’t worry about anything, but pray about everything. Talk to him, about the little things, the
big things EVERYTHING! Let God
know what’s troubling you, not because he doesn’t know already, but because in
a relationship, we share our thoughts, feelings joys and sadness. And he says, be thankful. Have you noticed how turning our attention to
thanks lifts our mood? Instead of
directing all our attention to our needs and worries, thanksgiving shifts our hearts
and minds to the blessings God gives us.
It puts him and not our worries to the forefront and as we pray – “the
peace of God” counters any anxiety because it protects us or “guards our hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7). That’s
total wellbeing and inner peace from God.
That’s what we can expect when we focus on Christ, when we put him at
the centre. Let’s rejoice in that!
Questions
1. What makes up your ‘panoramic’ picture of life? Would you
say Christ is in your peripheral field
of vision or in sharp-focus?
2. Does Paul suggest any ways we can make Christ
the Centre of our lives?
3 This section of Chapter 4 concludes with “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” (Phil 4:8-9) Why do you think Paul tells us to
think about such things? How might the
‘panoramic view’ of our lives change as
we think of such things?
4. Have you had any experience of falling out with someone in
our church community that, without naming
names, you could in a general way share with others? How was the issue resolved?
5. Make a list of your worries and anxieties and
all the things you are thankful for.
Bring them to God in prayer.
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