Philippians 4:2-9 - Calming the Storm of the Mind
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Introduction:
What is the worst storm that you have ever been in? Was it a hurricane?
Perhaps it was a storm producing tornadoes around you.
It can be terrifying when you find yourself in the middle of a storm. There is a feeling of helplessness that overwhelms us when we catch ourselves in the midst of a powerful storm.
Sometimes, just as scary, is when we have storms in our mind. These storms are often caused by conflict and relational issues. We are overwhelmed at the decisions we need to make. We can’t seem to figure out how to continue living normally all the while we have a tornado of thoughts going through our mind.
Questions continue to fall in our brain like bands of rainfall - Why did he say that? Why did she do that? What were they thinking?
We are about to see an issue that was so bad in the Philippian church that Paul publically called it out. The storm caused by these two women was dividing the church and Paul entreated his fellow believers to come alongside and help these two ladies.
Join me as we read Philippians 4:2-9
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.
3 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.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 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.
9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
Prayer
Today we are going to discuss three ways that we can have a peaceful mind even in the midst of a stormy world. Messages like this can inevitably turn human-centric. However, we never want to be a church that is sinner-centric. That sounds funny and may even sound wrong to some. Sinner-centric was a term that I coined this past week because of the move in the modern church to focus more on man than on God. Sadly, this move is one that is not actually even beneficial for man. We will only see true growth and peace through Jesus Christ. We must always be Christ-centric (also called Cristocentric) and not sinner-centric. Keep that in mind as we go through these three points.
The first point is:
I. You Can Have a Peaceful Mind If You...Avoid Disunity in the Lord (2-3)
I. You Can Have a Peaceful Mind If You...Avoid Disunity in the Lord (2-3)
2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 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.
Paul starts off this section with a doublet using the word entreat. This is a word meaning urge, plead, and even beg. There are two women here, Euodia and Syntyche, that have some form of disagreement, and it is obviously causing division in the church since Paul is bringing it up corporately. These are likely very well-known women of the church and their disunity is being evident to all around them.
What is their disagreement? We will never know for sure. We can know that it is not a doctrinal issue though. Paul was quick to rebuke false doctrine and if it was a doctrinal issue, he would have addressed the problem and put it to rest.
This problem is more of a preferential or personality issue.
One thing I love about Scripture is that God has intentionally left certain facts out. The reason for this disagreement was left out because it makes this Scripture applicable to all disagreements in the church!
If you have been around the church very long, you have seen disagreements. It is amazing how things such as decorations, color schemes, and what food to bring to a dinner can set off a civil war in some churches!
How do we as a church avoid this kind of disunity? How do we promote love, respect, and unity at CrossPointe?
Paul gives some great advice in verse three:
3 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.
Paul promotes unity by calling for others in the church to join and help this situation.
I will digress for a minute and remind everyone about the Biblical process of dealing with conflict. This is something that we always need to remember in case of a problem with someone.
Jesus teaches this wonderful truth in Matthew 18:15-35. Time fails me to exposit on the entire account but here are a few of the highlights:
15 “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.
First - try to work out the problem among yourselves. Don’t go and bring someone in right away. Don’t gossip about the issue.
16 But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.
Then take a couple of solid believers. This can often be some leadership in the church - deacon, pastor, teacher. The hope here is reconciliation and restoration and not an attack. This is a humble approach of multiple godly believers to an unrepentant sinner.
After this we are told to bring it to the church (Matthew 18:17).
3 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.
This brings us full circle to where we are in this disagreement between Euodia and Syntyche. This is being brought before the church and he is entreating some of the leadership of the church to step in and help them.
After entreating - or pleading with - the ladies, he reaches out to someone he refers to as true companion (which could be a reference to the qualities of a certain man or could even actually be his name - Syzgos - Siz-a-gose). This true companion is to remind these women about the labor they have done with Paul along with Clement and the other believers to advance the Gospel and even mentions the fact that their names are in the book of life! These two women are regenerated, born again believers! And they are disagreeing here.
It is humbling to know that even after being born again, that we can sin to the point of disunity in the church. Yet, Paul has given us a charge as a church to come alongside and help those who can’t seem to work out their problems between themselves or a small group. Disunity is like cancer in a church. It eats away at relationships and causes division throughout it. We must fight hard to correct disunity and promote peace.
With unity with one another in Christ, we can have a peaceful mind. You also...
Scripture References: Matthew 18:15-35
You Can Have a Peaceful Mind If You...Affirm the Power of Lord (4-7)
You Can Have a Peaceful Mind If You...Affirm the Power of Lord (4-7)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Disunity with others isn’t the only cause of a turbulent and storm-riddled mind. Anxiety and worry as we see in verse 6 can also be a major cause of storms in your mind. This Greek word for anxiety is merimnaō (mare-em-nah-oh) and is used some 19 times in the New Testament. Many like to use the word concerned or care instead of anxiety because it has a better connotation. But know that out of the 19 times this word is used, 17 of them are used as the sinful type of anxiety and worry! God knows that we are much quicker to be anxious than we are to be concerned!
In order to combat these storms of anxiety and worry, Paul gives us some wonderful advice.
He commands us to rejoice twice in verse 4. Note that he is clear in what truly brings us joy. We aren’t to rejoice in our wealth always, or our health always, or our circumstances always. Some Christians misinterpret this and make off the wall statements like, “I rejoice in the fact that I got in a car accident today!’ As someone who just got rear-ended and my car completely totaled by a huge truck not too long ago - I was not rejoicing in my circumstance there!
Instead we rejoice in the Lord. After the accident, I praised God for salvation. I praised Him for protecting me and miraculously saving my life. I wasn’t rejoicing in my circumstance. I was rejoicing in my Savior.
Joy that comes in the Lord is a fruit of the Spirit that transcends all circumstances.
Moving forward, he encourages us to be reasonable to all. This word, reasonable, can also mean gracious. And his reasoning for this is because the Lord is at hand. We should be quick to forgive others and gracious with others because Jesus has been gracious and forgiving to us. In fact, Jesus gave some tough teaching regarding this in Matthew 6:15
15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
That is quite the tough teaching. But still we are told to be gracious to all.
When I got rear-ended by a guy who wasn’t paying attention and almost killed me - my reaction was astonishingly a positive one. Not because I’m naturally a wonderful person. But instead, it is because the Spirit of the Lord supernaturally helped me to be gracious and loving to the man who hit me. In a way that is even mind-blowing to me, I got out of the car and checked on the guy who drilled me to make sure he was ok! And his truck wasn’t even hardly damaged! All the while my car was scrap metal!
This grace and joy only comes from the Lord. Believe me - my flesh would not have responded that way! It would have gotten out of my accordion-like car and let him have it! But the peace of God that we see in in verse 7 is so incredible my friends.
This true peace of God is so amazing. It is the kind of peace that can calm the strongest of anxiety-riddled storms.
Believers can be given this amazing peace that guards our hearts and minds through one name and one name alone - and that is Jesus Christ.
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Looking back at verse 6, we are commanded to approach Christ in prayer and supplication (which are strong requests we make in prayer). And we are to pray with thanksgiving. Why do you think Paul encourages us to pray with thanksgiving?
Thanksgiving is an interesting thing. No, I’m not referring to how stuffing made in a turkey is so much better than stuffing made from a box… but I digress!
Thanksgiving to God does something amazing in the heart of a believer. When we spend some time reflecting on all that God has done in our lives - When we think about how many times God has answered prayers and blessed us - it increases our faith and it gives room for us to have peace. When we have more faith, we are able to let go of our problems more easily. We are able to trust the Lord. Because the wonderful Savior who has delivered us in the past is the same wonderful Savior that can do it again!
Our God is a God of peace. When we affirm the power of the Lord - when we affirm His sovereignty, His goodness, His love, His mercy, and His grace - we are able to have peaceful minds.
Finally,
Scripture References: Matthew 6:15
III. You Can Have a Peaceful Mind If You...Apply the Truth of the Lord (8-9)
III. You Can Have a Peaceful Mind If You...Apply the Truth of the Lord (8-9)
8 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. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.
I am pretty sure there are multiple sermons that could be preached on just a tiny part of verse 8. Paul shotguns a whole host of wonderful holy things to ponder in our minds. I want us to break down these and go through them one by one so we can understand them more deeply.
In order to have a peaceful mind, we must apply the truth of the Lord. We can have a peaceful mind by thinking about what is good.
Paul tells us at the end of verse 8 that we are to think about these things. The word think here means to consider, to ponder, to have regard for. In other words, these aren’t to be quick thoughts that we have and move past. They are thoughts that we are to consider over time.
Paul tells us to think about what is:
True
We need to consider the most true thing on earth first in order to have a peaceful mind. This wonderful truth is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6). We must be born again and have placed our faith and trust in Him for eternal life - by repenting or turning away from our sins and believing in the wonderful Son of God who died on the cross for our sins and rose three days later. Friends, I pray that you have understood the One who is the truth.
Not only should you think on the One who is the Truth, but you should also think on the truth of the God’s Word. We see this beautifully taught in Deuteronomy 6.4-9
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Think and meditate on the Word of God and the Savior of the world.
Honorable
Next we see we are to think about things that are honorable. These are things worthy of respect. These are thoughts of reverence. These are holy thoughts.
Just
Then we see that we are to think about whatever is just. This seems like an atypical word in this word order. Most of us think of justice with judgement - and we would be exactly right to think such. Justice is most certainly worthy of praise and excellent. Our God is a God of justice. He will avenge. Romans 12:19
19 Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.”
Knowing that God is going to make all of the wrong things right gives us peace on this side of eternity. We can think about what is right and good because we know God will one day right all of the wrongs.
Pure
In a world full of impurity, we are commanded to consider what is pure. There is so much to discuss regarding purity and time would fail me to go into the kind of detail that one could with this wonderful command. But do your best to keep yourself pure and holy and set apart for the Lord. Do not stain your mind with the sinful things of this world. Avoid the garbage that our culture calls entertainment that comes through many different channels in our lives - whether it is social media, television, internet, or other sources. Be sure to vet and research things that you allow to enter your mind through your eyes and ears. You are holy and set apart.
Lovely
This word lovely in an interesting word choice as well. God has made a beautiful creation. When we look at the mountains in the Fall season like we can right now - we see the creativity of our Lord. We see the loveliness of the world He has created. By praising the Lord for the beauty He has created, we think of things that are praiseworthy.
Commendable
Finally we get to the word commendable. This word means worthy of praise. Although many things we see today are not worthy of praise, there still are wonderful things happening in our world today as well. There are believers making an impact for the kingdom every day and we can celebrate the missional work done by other Christians throughout this world. We need not focus on the negativity of the news day by day. We need to ponder and consider the praiseworthy things that are being done today as well.
8 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.
The last two words we are given by Paul start with a prepositional phrase using the word ‘if.’ This ‘if’ lets us know that we have a choice to make as we approach life. We can choose to rejoice and think on things that are worthy of praise and excellent or we can choose to dwell on the negative things in this world. This ‘if’ assumes that there are, in fact, holy things that we can think about. But it lets us know that it is going to take effort to consider them. In a world full of evil, we must look for Christ in the midst of it. We must look heavenward and focus on holy things and not things below.
9 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 ends this section in verse 9 with a call to take what we have learned and recieved and heard and practice these things. Only then do we have the promise of peace from God.
Paul gives us a three step process in being able to practice applying the truth of the Lord. These are stated in reverse order - starting with the final and ending with the beginning.
Hear—> Receive—> Learn—> Practice
We first need to hear. We need to hear the Word of God preached and taught. After that we need to receive it. We can’t just hear something and expect to put it into practice. It can go in one ear and out the other! But even after we receive it, we may not remember it. It takes work to truly learn it. We must consider it over time and think about it as we saw above. Only then can we truly learn it and put it into practice.
But how do we practice such things that we have learned?
I want us to delve into this question very practically.
We must fill our minds and not just clear our minds. Yoga and other meditational religious activities seek to have one clear their mind. The danger of this kind of meditation is that after your mind is cleared, there is plenty of other evil that is ready to enter from our world and culture.
Although Jesus was not referring to our minds when He taught the following verses, He taught on this concept when He described a demon leaving without the filling of the Holy Spirit and repentance:
43 “When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, but finds none. 44 Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came.’ And when it comes, it finds the house empty, swept, and put in order. 45 Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and dwell there, and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So also will it be with this evil generation.”
As we can see in principle here - our job is not just to clear our minds of sinful thoughts. We must replace these thoughts with things that are holy and heavenly. Take the wonderful advice of Jesus here and replace your sinful thoughts with things of the Lord. Meditate not to clear your mind. Meditate on the Word of God. Recite important Scripture memory that can help you battle the temptations that come your way. Praise God for all that He has done and how wonderful He is. Look at creation and exalt the majesty and power and creativity of God.
My friends, when we replace the sinful thoughts of our minds by applying the truth of the Lord, we can have a peaceful mind.
Scripture References: John 14:6, Deuteronomy 6:4-9, Romans 12:19, Matthew 12:43-45
Conclusion:
As we come to a close, I want us to take a quick look at this picture. This picture is a wonderful representation of the Christian life. As we walk down the road, we see how close the storm is to the road. Parts of the road are even covered by storm clouds. It takes effort not to look at all of the storm clouds. It is hard to focus on the beautiful weather on the other side. It is hard to focus on the hope of a calm day.
However, with the Lord’s help we can put our minds on holy things.
To clarify and drive home the point today - We don’t ignore the storms in our mind and world - but we also are not controlled by them either. We trust our sovereign God to help us deal with all that comes our way. And we do this by avoiding disunity, affirming God’s power, and applying God’s truth.
Let us pray.
Prayer
If you would like to learn more about salvation through Jesus Christ or want to obey Jesus by obeying the first commandment of a believer in going through the waters of baptism - please let me know.
Have a blessed week.