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Rev. Paul Jeyachandran leads the Intentional Disciple Making Church (IDMC) Movement, which is all about calling churches back to its disciplemaking roots. Visit us at idmcmovement.com
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0:00 Today we are studying Philippians chapter 4 verses 1 to 9 and the topic is cultivating a secure mind. I want us to read Philippians chapter 4 verses 10:12 to 3 because I believe this this 3 verses will kind of give us an introduction into the things that are in the heart of Paul as he comes to write the conclusion of0:24 this letter in chapter 4. In chapter 4 verse 1, he says, therefore my brothers whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the0:36 Lord my beloved. I want you to pay attention to the endearment that Paul writes here. He thinks of the Philippian church and he says, you guys are my joy and crown.0:48 And then he encourages them. He gives them an admonition. So not only there's a words of endearment and affection, but there is an admonition that is coming. Look at this. He says, I entreat, verse 2, I1:00 entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Suddenly there is a change of mood and he goes on to talk about, I want you to agree in the Lord. He just said, stand firm in1:11 the Lord. Now he says, I want you to agree in the Lord. And then he turns to the person who is writing this letter and he says, yes, I ask you also true companion, help these women who have labored side by1:23 side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. I want you to take a moment and step1:35 back and see the big picture here. What is Paul writing here in chapter 4? What is he dealing with? I want you to think about chapter 3 where we concluded last week. Chapter 3 was all1:47 about running the race, running the race with endurance, running the race with passion and perseverance and purpose, isn't it? That you may win and that is what Paul was talking about in chapter 3.1:59 But then here, he's talking about in chapter 4, stand firm in the Lord. Now between these 2 metaphors, what is he wanting us to catch? Is it running the race or2:11 is it standing firm, being stationary, being steadfast? You know I want you to think about what Paul is trying to say here. Christian life, the life of a disciple is a race. You and2:22 I are called to run the race. There is a race that is meant for us as you pursue Christ, as you pursue Christ's righteousness and to glorify him in every aspect of your life. And that2:34 involves not just you striving and trying, but you trusting and holding on to him. Let me explain it this way. When I was in San2:45 Francisco, my friends brought me to the cable car. Of course the San Francisco cable car is, iconic, symbol of the tourism industry. So people go there, it's a landmark,2:57 people go there to want to tour it's filled with tourists. No locals usually use it. And this cable car has a unique feature. It has no, it has no engine, it's not powered by3:08 anything, but the cable car is dragged in the road from even into onto the hills by a cable. And that cable, that cable is run by a motorized machine in3:20 the power museum. It's far away. But when you look at it, it's a beautiful sight to behold because the cables are underneath the ground pulling it. But what does the cable car do? The cable car just3:32 is stationary on top of this cable and it's just being pulled. That's exactly how Paul envisions the Christian life. 1, you and I are running the race,3:44 but we don't run until he works in us. Isn't that what he said in chapter 2 that it's God who works in you and because he's working in you, now you work it out. So here3:56 Paul says, you run the race knowing that in Christ you have a race to run and it is Christ who works in you and through you and therefore you need to hold on to that cable.4:08 You need to hold on to Jesus because he's the 1 who is gonna help you. So here in chapter 4, Paul deals with this 1 thing in verse 1, stand firm4:20 thus in the Lord. I want you to think about this word stand firm in the Lord because it is almost like a book end. In chapter 1 and verse 27 and4:31 chapter 4 and verse 1, Paul uses the same phrase, stand firm. I want you to go with me to Philippians chapter 1 and verse 27. Look at this. He says, stand4:43 firm, only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ. That phrase there, the manner of life is the word for citizenship. In other words,4:55 only recognize that your citizenship is in heaven and live as worthy citizens of the gospel. In other words, Paul is encouraging the Philippian believers5:07 to live as citizens of Christ, citizens of the kingdom of heaven and live worthy of the gospel that they believe in. By how? By striving, by standing5:19 firm in 1 spirit, by striving side by side with 1 mind for the faith of the gospel. So again that phrase, standing firm. Why do we need to stand firm? Because you're5:30 citizens of heaven. So therefore, because you're citizens of heaven, stand firm in the Lord and strive side by side with your fellow believers with 1 with5:42 1 mind and the word there for mind is the word which means 1 soul and you fight for the faith of the gospel. Hallelujah. And so the same thought5:54 Paul continues here. You know in chapter 3 and verse 20, he talked about our citizenship is in heaven and now he continues on the same thought in chapter 4 verse 1. He says, strive, stand firm6:06 in the Lord. And then in verse 2, he goes on to address the issue that they are facing in the Philippian church. Now you and I, we need to understand there is no such thing as a6:18 perfect church, isn't it? In fact, you find a perfect church, please do not join it. Why? Because the moment you join that perfect church, that church will become imperfect because we are all imperfect6:29 people. That's why there is no such thing as a perfect church. But here Paul writes to the Philippian church and they are very special to him. They are so dear to him. That's why in verse 1, the language is6:41 like I long for you, I yearn for you, you are my beloved, I love you. Not only that, you're my joy and my crown. And then he goes on to deal with the problems6:53 that they find in this church. So chapter 4 deals with the problems. What are some of the problems you think they have? Verse 2 deals with personality7:05 clash between 2 ladies that I mentioned here, Syntyche and Euodia. Not only that, in chapter 4 further down you see that they had no joy. They were probably7:17 anxious about their situation. Not only that, they were poor people, they were afflicted and they had opponents so there was lot of things that were gripping them. They thought life was not good.7:29 So Paul deals with all this. They have they have personality problems, they have pressures of life, and they have perspective problems and Paul addresses these problems that are at7:40 Philippi, at at Philippian church. So in chapter 4, 1 of the core things that you and I we need to pay attention to is that he says that you do not have the mindset of7:51 Christ. Why? Because in verse 2, Paul goes on to talk about this, let Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. That word to agree is the word for mindset. It's the word8:03 phroneo. Last week I talked to you about this. It is written in Philippians about 10 times that word, your phroneo. What does that mean? It means8:15 mindset. It means that you have the mindset of Christ. It means that you you pursue like mindedness with fellow believers. It means that your attitude is like the attitude of Christ. How he8:27 humbled himself, how he emptied himself, how he did not fight for his rights but he let go of his rights and he served others, he lifted others, he went through the path of8:38 humiliation even to the point of death. That's the mindset Paul is talking about and here he says, that mindset ought to be present in our midst but that mindset is missing in the Philippian8:49 church. So this is where you and I, we need to pay attention to how we walk in this mindset. So what Paul explains here, that mindset9:01 of Christ that Paul is explaining here is in Philippians chapter 2 verse 2 all the way to verse 5, isn't it? We saw this, complete my joy of being of the same mind. That word mind there is the word phroneo.9:13 By being the same mind, like minded. Not only that, having the same love and being in full accord and having that same mind. Twice he says, have froneo. And what is what kind of9:25 mindset is this? Look at verse 3. Verse 3 talks about that do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. In other9:36 words, it's a mindset of humility. Not only that, look at verse 4, let each of you not only look to your own interests but also to the interest of others. And then in verse 5 he says, have this9:48 mind which was in Christ, the same mind that Christ had. It is the the mindset of Christ. It is the humble mindset. It's a mindset that doesn't fight. It's a mindset that lets10:00 go of its own rights. It's a mindset that is submissive. It is a mindset that is so gentle and prefers others, lifts others. And he says that same thing here and he10:12 says in chapter 4 and verse 2, if Euodia and Syntyche have that same mindset that was in Christ, If they have that same, if they think this way, if they are like minded, then there10:23 should be no problem in your midst but the problem is you don't think that way. Then he goes on to say in verse 3, in verse 3 he talks about he's writing to his10:34 companion. Look at this. Yes, I also, 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 names10:46 are in the book of life. I love this. He he mentions true companion. Who is this true companion? It's unnamed. The reason it's probably unnamed is because whoever Paul was writing, you10:58 know, when whenever Paul writes a letter, he only dictates the letter. Someone else is writing it. So in this case, Epaphroditus might have been the guy who was writing the letter for Paul as Paul dictated11:10 it. So as he comes to chapter 4 and verse 2, he's talking about, I entreat Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord and then he looks to his writer and then he says to him, yes, I ask you11:22 also true companion, help these women. And Euphaphroditus wrote that as well. You know sometimes you know when you're dictating a letter to somebody, your11:33 secretary and as they are writing, you may give them some notes and that notes is also included here. That's how I see it. But at the same time he says, help these women and these women labored side by11:45 side with me in the gospel. They labored side by side. Who are these women? They must have been church leaders or they could be believers that were there from the beginning11:57 when church was founded and they had labored side by side in the gospel to build the church in Philippi. And Paul says, their names are written in the book of life. That12:09 means he's asking them to consider this. You are running the race. You are citizens of heaven. You need to be standing firm in the Lord. You need to be agreeing and having the like mindedness in the in the Lord. But12:20 instead you are fighting with 1 another. There's personality clashes. There's disagreements. Don't you get it? Your names are written in the book of life. Let it go. Embrace the humility of Christ.12:32 Now walk in that humility. Walk in that like mindedness. That is what Paul was asking them. But I want to apply this a few key things here before I get into my main12:44 portion of the text that I want to talk about. What is Paul saying here? He's dealing with the 1 phrase that's a command there, help these women. I want you to think12:56 about this, help these women. They are partners in the gospel plus they are people who are eternally redeemed but they need help. I want you to pause and think about this. Paul mentions13:08 2 names so boldly. I'm a pastor and I've been a pastor for a very long time and we don't use the pulpit to scold people. If I want to address the issues that is13:20 in the congregation, I would rather go directly and talk to them, isn't it? But what Paul does is Paul uses the medium of the letter that he wrote to them and imagine they all gathered together13:31 eagerly receiving the instruction from Paul. They're reading the first letter that Paul had written to them and as they are reading it, suddenly the 2 names are mentioned and the the 2 ladies are listening to the letter.13:42 Imagine the embarrassment they would they would feel And I believe that was exactly the point that Paul was trying to highlight because these women ought to know that we are part of the same13:54 family. We got nothing to prove, nothing to hide, nothing to lose. We need to walk in unity. We need to preserve the unity in the body. We need to have the like mindedness, the humility of Christ.14:06 We shouldn't be concerned about our reputation, saving our face, but here Paul wants to break open the matter and deal with it. And then he says, help these women. I wanna ask you 3 questions14:18 here and I want you to take it down. Number 1, do you know that you are a threat to the unity in this church? You, myself, we are each individual in this church. We are on a14:30 daily basis, we are a threat to the unity. In other words, if we become so self centered, if we become so self absorbed, if we become so selfish in our ambition, if we become so14:42 driven by self, selfish motivation, selfish ambition, self seeking basically, what would happen is we would destroy the unity of the church. That is what Paul was highlighting. Imagine those 2 ladies14:54 when they were partnering with Paul and they were building the church in Philippi, they would have never imagined that 1 day their names will be read out like that, isn't it? That's why you and I, we need to pay15:04 attention to this. They are a threat to the unity. Number 2, do you seek help with your reconciliation? When you need, when here he says, help these women. I'm sure they15:16 they know what to do. You know, the bible always encourages us to deal with issues ourselves first. In Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15, look at this. If your brother15:27 sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. That means the bible encourages you if you have problem with15:39 somebody, go and deal with it immediately. In fact, in Matthew chapter 5 and verses 23 and verses 24, Jesus said this, if you're offering your gift at the altar and there15:51 remember that your brother has something against you, you should leave the altar. You should leave the offering and the gift at the altar and there go and reconcile first with your brother and16:03 then come and offer your gift. I want you to listen to me carefully. This is exactly what you and I need to do. We need to take responsibility to deal with it. So do you seek help when you haven't been able to16:15 deal with it? Do you seek help? And thirdly, the question I want to ask you is, do you, are you ready to help when others need help? Maybe you're a life group leader, maybe you're a zone shepherd, maybe you're a pastor16:27 in this house. Are you ready to help someone else when they need help? But pastor, I don't know how to deal with personality clashes and I don't know how to mediate. Very simple. Ask16:39 them to read Philippians chapter 4 and verse 2 and verse 3. Then you read Philippians chapter 2 verse 1 to 11 and ask them, are you ready to agree in the Lord? Are you ready to put aside your own personal16:51 rights and ambitions and your reputation? Are you willing to humble yourself and come and prefer others? Are you able to serve them with joy? That's all it takes And once you're ready they17:02 will be reconciled. That's the key. And you and I we need to learn to have crucial conversations. I always say to the I always say to the leaders, I always17:14 say to the leaders, have crucial conversations. Crucial conversations is when you have opposing opinions and you have strong emotions, sentiments that are strong at the17:26 same time when the stakes are high, you need to be able to have those crucial conversations immediately. Don't leave it for too late. So this is important for us. But Paul as he continues to17:38 talk about this, he says we need to preserve the unity. That is in the heart of Paul. Paul's talking about preserving the unity in the body of Christ by being of the same mind. If you have Christ likeness and17:50 Christ mind mindset, then you will preserve the unity. He writes in another part of the scripture in in first Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 10, he says, I appeal to you my18:02 brothers by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ and that all of you agree and that be no divisions among you but that you are united in the same, Same mind and same judgment. In18:14 other words, Paul was saying there should be no disagreements, there should be no divisions among you. See, I want you to pay attention to this. Disagreements will arise but you can stop it at that. You don't need18:26 to be disagreeable. What is the difference between disagreements and disagree this becoming disagreeable? 1 is a dialogue around principles and sometimes we may not agree with how things are18:38 done so we disagree, but we agree to disagree and we continue to relate because we our names are written in the book of life. We're called to walk in unity. But at the same time,18:50 there are times when you take it to a personality clash where it becomes the disagreement has now become, I become disagreeable as it it's no longer about the principle, it's now about the personality and that is where19:01 the issue is here. And Paul says, finally brothers, I want you to read this in second Corinthians chapter 13 and verse 11. Finally brothers, rejoice, aim for restoration,19:12 comfort 1 another, agree with 1 another, live in peace and the God of love and peace will be with you. Look at how he says. He gives them as a command in the Corinthian church. He says, agree with 119:24 another, live in peace and God of love and peace will be with you. That's exactly what he was trying to say here too in the Philippian church. So he's addressing the problem head19:36 on and he says to these 2 ladies, I want you to seek for help and I want you to agree in the Lord. I want you to develop like mindedness. I want you to develop that19:48 mindset of Christ. So this morning, I want to ask you this fundamental question. The question is this, we must stand together and agree in the Lord, but how can19:59 we walk in unity? How can we walk in like mindedness? And that is the focus of chapter 4 and the rest of the chapter 4. So I want you to think about this. It has to20:11 do with our mind. That is why Paul is hopping on this in the entire epistle. If you think right, if you feel right and this has to do with your mindset. So in chapter 1, I want to give you 420:23 things to write down. I want you to write this down so that you will remember how to how to summarize the entire book of Philippians. Look at this. In chapter 1, he talks about being of single mind. He says20:35 in verse 27, with striving side by side with 1 mind. What does that mean? That mind there is the word for psuche, 1 soul. He says be of single mind. That's chapter20:47 1. Chapter 2 is all about submissive mind. Philippians chapter 2 in verse 5, he says, have this mind which was in Christ Jesus, the mind of humility, the mind of20:58 submission. So single mind and then submissive mind. Thirdly, he says in chapter 3 and verse 15, he says, develop the spiritual mind because he contrasted with those who walk21:10 as enemies of the cross. Their minds on earthly things whereas your mind, a mature mind, a spiritual mind will be on heavenly things. It's a spiritual things. So he talks about developing a21:22 spiritual mind and finally in chapter 4 he deals with this that in chapter 4 verse 1 all the way to verse 7 he deals with 1 thing, let your mind be21:33 guarded. Now, let your mind be secure. That's a secure mind. Because if you are cultivating a secure mind, then you will be able to withstand and21:45 overcome any challenges that you face in life whether it is personality clashes, whether it's pressures of life or the perspectives of life. So I want you to pay attention to this.21:57 Paul's encouragement to us from Philippians chapter 4 is this, to develop, to cultivate a secure mind and a secure mind that rejoices in the22:09 unifying power of the Lord's presence. Verse 4 and verse 5 and secondly, rest in the fortifying power of the Lord's peace. Verse 6 all the way to verse 9.22:21 Let's look at it 1 by 1. Firstly, it is a secure mind, cultivate a secure mind that rejoices in the unifying power of the Lord's presence.22:32 Look at verse 4 all the way to verse 5. Read it together with me. Come on. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness22:44 be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Paul in these 2 short verses, after he deals open after he opens and deals with the conflict that they22:56 face in their relationships, Paul says rejoice and it's a command. Twice he says, rejoice. Again I say rejoice. And then he goes on to say, let your reasonableness,23:08 the word for reasonableness there is the word for gentleness, be known to everybody because the Lord is at hand. What does this mean? I want you to think about this first 1.23:20 Rejoice in the Lord. He says, rejoice in the Lord and again I say rejoice. You know 1 of the things that you and I struggle with is this.23:32 When there are conflicts in life, when we face pressures of life, when when we are going through challenges, we sometimes forget to have joy. Now Paul writes and he23:44 says here, these 2 ladies are to deal with their conflicts. Deal with it. Agree in the Lord. And then immediately he changes stone and he says, rejoice in the Lord. You may ask Paul, how can23:55 1 have this kind of a disagreement and yet rejoice? The whole concept that he's trying to help you understand is, you won't have this disagreement if you learn to rejoice.24:08 Because you would have a secure mind that rejoices in the Lord. Look at Paul's own testimony. In Philippians chapter 1 verses 17 and verse 18, Paul talks about24:20 how he rejoices even in the midst of personal affliction. Look at this, the former proclaimed Christ out of selfish ambition. There are people who preach out of selfish ambition, not24:32 sincerely but thinking to afflict me in my imprisonment Paul says. They are wanting to inflict a pain in Paul. But you know what Paul does? What then? Only that24:44 in every way whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed and in that I rejoice. Again, I say I will rejoice. Look at this. Paul writes and he says, it doesn't matter24:55 whether they preach out of selfish ambition or whether they preach out of rivalry, whether they want to hurt me by doing this. I have every reason to rejoice because Christ is being25:07 preached. Now that is the humility and mindset of Christ. Paul was not concerned about his personal reputation. Paul was not concerned about protecting his self interest. Paul was25:19 not concerned about who's abusing him, who spoke ill of him, what opinion they carry of him or how they treat him. Paul was concerned that Christ is being preached for me to live is Christ therefore Paul25:31 rejoiced in that situation. Look at this in chapter 2 and in verse 17 and verse 18, he again says, if I'm able, if I'm to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrificial offering25:43 of your faith, I'm glad and rejoice with you all. What does Paul write? Paul says, if I need to be poured as a drink offering, what is a drink offering? In your sacrificial offering, I am poured out as25:55 a drink offering. That means I'm giving my life for you to grow in faith. I'm being poured out. In other words, I'm even willing to sacrifice my own life so that you can have a26:07 standing before God, so that you can grow and mature in God. And Paul says, I'm willing to do that and in that I rejoice and you should also learn to rejoice. Paul rejoices26:18 in going through pain, in going through abuse. Paul rejoices in all these circumstances. I learned to tutor my heart to rejoice. Hallelujah. I want you to listen to me carefully.26:30 Isn't this the attitude of Christ? In Hebrews chapter 12, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame26:42 and is seated at the right hand of God. Listen, the bible says that because of what Jesus was looking forward to, Jesus had this joy that was set before him26:54 and because of that joy, Jesus endured the shame, endured even death on the cross. That's the humility of Jesus. Now in the early days of the27:06 church in Acts chapter 5, the bible says the disciples were all called in, into the council and they were beaten up. Look at this in Acts chapter 5 and verse 40. They27:18 called in the apostles, they beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus and let them go. But then in verse 41, the bible says, they were so rejoicing. Why did they rejoice? Look at this in verse27:30 41. Then they left the presence of the council rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. Look at that. They counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name. In other words, they27:42 counted worthy to suffer affliction, abuse. They went through that persecution. Why? And they did it with gladness of heart. They did it with rejoicing and they counted it worthy.27:54 Listen to me carefully. This is important. That's the mindset of a disciple. That's the mindset that Paul is talking about. You and I learn to rejoice. Now having said that, there28:06 are situations in life where you are grieving. You lost a loved 1. You're going through a painful circumstance in life. How can I rejoice pastor? Do you know the28:17 bible declares that sorrowful yet rejoicing. That's the life of a disciple. Yes, there are sorrows. We may be tearing. We may be crying. But at the same time, our hope is28:29 not in this world. Our hope is in heaven. Our hope is in Lord Jesus who redeemed us eternally. Our names are written in the book of life and therefore we learn to rejoice. That's what it is. But sometimes when28:41 you read the Christian biographies of great men of God, you would find that they went through seasons of dryness, seasons of despair, and seasons of discouragement. They did go through those28:53 things. But those things are only a temporary season. But even in that season, you need to learn to rejoice in the Lord. And that is how you overcome and that is exactly what he was trying29:05 to highlight here. You know when I was reading through George Muller's biography, he talks about this that the first order of business for him, first order of business in any given day29:17 is to make himself happy in the Lord. Because once you set your mind to be happy in the Lord, to be joyful in the Lord, everything else will flow. That's why you and I, we need to recognize joy is our29:28 gift. Joy is what God has given to us. Praise God. Hallelujah. You and I we need to continue to rejoice in the Lord. But many times people would say that joy because I I don't have joy29:40 because I didn't get what I desired. But can I humbly say this, joy doesn't come when you get what you desired? Joy comes when you realize what you deserved. You and I, we deserve to29:52 be in hell, separation from God. But God came and redeemed us. He clothed us with power on high. He gave us himself and he gave us his power to live30:04 on earth. That's why you and I we should be rejoicing in every season of our lives. Here, secondly Paul goes on to say, be known for gentleness. Let your reasonableness be30:15 known to others. Reasonableness. What is reasonableness? Gentleness. Graciousness. Sometimes it's translated as even contentment. That means it it comes from a place of being30:27 content. The Lord has given me his blessing and that's contentment is what this chapter is about. Later on Paul will talk about contentment and here he says, you need to be, let your reasonableness be known to30:39 everyone. What is this reasonableness? It is it is not seeking revenge when you are hurt, when you are abused. It is not seeking or not responding and reacting in rage30:51 or even being rude. It is actually the opposite of being contentious and self seeking. You and I, we need to recognize this. What does Paul mean by reasonableness? In other words, it's the31:03 gentleness. Paul says to the Corinthian church, when I came to you, I came to you with the gentleness of Christ. That Christ is gentle. The way Christ deals with his his31:14 opposition is gentle. The way Christ deals with his accusers, his betrayers, people who doubt him, people who accuse him, people who deny him is gentle. And if you have the mind of31:26 Christ, your behavior will also be gentle towards others and that is what Paul highlights here. You know when I'm thinking through this, I know that it's difficult for many31:38 times when you're in certain situations where other people are taking advantage of your, graciousness. But I want you to listen to me carefully. A believer will31:50 never miss out by putting God first. You will never come second by putting God first. You will never you will never be, you will never lose out if you stray, you if you try and honor32:02 God and walk in that gentleness being being being humble and gentle and being content. You'll never miss out. You know in the in the book of Genesis chapter 13,32:14 there is a conflict between Abraham and Lot. There's a conflict. There's a strife between the herdsmen of Abraham and the herdsmen of Lot. And this contention grew to a point where32:26 the people around them, the Canaanites are watching their lives. So you know what Abraham says to Lot? Lot, I want you to take the first preference in choosing the land. Go wherever your heart wants to32:37 go. You choose first and wherever you go, I won't go there. In other words, Abraham was so content in God. Abraham was so gentle and humble in this situation.32:49 He was so content in God. He allowed Lot to choose first. And Lot really chose a good portion that was good to, good for his eyes to see. But in the end what? Whatever Lot chose,33:01 the whole lot became part of Abraham's inheritance. You know why? Because Lot was taken as a captive and Abraham went to rescue him. In other words, you will never miss out by putting other people first.33:13 You will never miss out. And that is what Paul is trying to highlight here to the 2 ladies. If you rejoice in the Lord, you will develop the mindset of Christ. When you're so joyful, no 1 can offend you. When you're so33:24 joyful, you won't feel the hurt and the pain and the abuse because you you will have a different kind of mindset than them. Therefore, you will strive to have that unity.33:36 And secondly, goes on to say, if you're gentle, everyone will know. That's key, isn't it? And then he goes on to say in verse 5,33:57 There's a 2 ways you can interpret it. Near in time means that the that the Lord is at hand, the Lord is near, the time of the Lord, the day of the Lord is near. It could be right because Paul is34:09 talking about the day of the Christ throughout this episode. In chapter 1 and verse 6, says at the at the day of Christ. In chapter 1 and verse 10, says at the day of Christ. In chapter 2 and verse 16, he34:21 says day of Christ. In chapter 3 and verse 20, he says we await a savior who is coming from heaven for us. So he's looking forward to the day of Christ. So it could be that he's referring to the day of34:32 Christ or it can be that he's referring to the nearness of God. That means in space he's near us. And I believe it is the second 1. It is near us. God is near us.34:44 And here he says, because the Lord is with you in this journey. When you are hurt, he's with you. When you're going through that conflict, he's with you. So34:56 embrace the mindset of Christ. That's what he's talking about. So the first thing he says, cultivate a secure mind that rejoices in the unifying power of the Lord's35:08 presence. Secondly, he goes on to say, a secure mind rests in the fortifying power of the Lord's peace. Let's read Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 to verse 935:20 together. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God which passeth all35:31 understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And then in verse 8 he says, finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is35:43 pure, whatever is lowly, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. And what35:55 you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. He talks about the peace of God and he ends with the God of peace. Now let's look at it36:07 in detail. He wants us to cultivate a secure mind. So firstly, he wants to deal with some of the problems he finds here. The first problem he finds is in verse 6. He says, do not be36:19 anxious. In other words, you and I we need to relieve anxiety through prayer. That's what he's talking about. He says, do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with36:30 thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. 1 is a negative command. Do not be anxious. Stop being anxious. And secondly, there is36:42 another command in this verse where he says, let your request be made known to God. And he says, how do I overcome anxiety? Pray with thanksgiving in36:54 everything, about everything. Now this is important for you and me to understand. What is anxiety? I want you to think about this definition of37:05 anxiety. Anxiety seems to be an intense desire for something accompanied by a fear of the consequences of not receiving it.37:17 Anxiety seems to be an intense desire for something accompanied by a fear of the consequences of not receiving it. In other words, it's an intense desire. You desire37:29 something. You want to be married but then there is also fear that you would probably not find anyone. You want to have children and the clock is ticking and you have this fear that you may never37:41 conceive. And therefore as a result, there's anxiety that happens. Okay. I want you to pay attention to this. Anxiety happens when you start developing wrong37:52 thinking and wrong feeling over things, over circumstances and over people. And he says this here because in this context, people generally in Philippian church have38:03 anxieties. He knows that if there is a personality clash in the church, the pastors, the leaders, the members will feel what will happen if these 2 cannot get along. What would happen?38:15 There's an anxiety over the relation relational conflict. But Paul also knows there are other kinds of anxieties they have in this Philippian church. In fact, he told in chapter 1 and verse 28, he38:27 says, there are opponents that are fighting against them. So there is an opponents from without and there is strife within. Not only that, they were concerned for Epaphroditus in38:39 chapter 2, isn't it? That Epaphroditus was ill and they heard about it and they were anxious for him. Not only that in chapter 4, Paul writes further on and he says that they were concerned for Paul. In other words, they38:51 were also anxious to help Paul. In in second Corinthians chapter 8, Paul actually writes about the Macedonian church which is the part of, Philippi. Philippi belongs to the39:03 Macedonian churches and they were affliction. They they had affliction. They were going through season of affliction and season of poverty. So they were poor as well. Financially, they are struggling. So Paul writes and39:14 he says, do not be anxious because he knows there's anxiety in their midst. Especially in this COVID season, how as a pastor, I go before God and I weep for the people of God. Do you know how manyShow more
Paul Jeyachandran
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