“Be Excellent”
[Philippians 4:2-9]
November 9, 2014 Second Reformed Church
As citizens of Heaven, through
Jesus, we now have the rights and privileges of Heaven. Proclaiming the Gospel and living out the
Gospel through the race of faith – striving to become holy – working out our
sanctification by the Spirit – looking to Jesus as our hope and goal. Being assured of the truth of the Gospel –
being assured of our salvation in Jesus Alone.
Standing firm in the Gospel against all who teach otherwise.
As citizens of Heaven we are called
to live lives that are different – that reflect the Gospel and our sure belief
in it. We are to grow in the joy of
living lives of faithful obedience to God with our whole selves – heart, soul,
mind, and strength.
Paul directs the Philippians in how
to live lives of Christian excellence:
First, for the sake of the Gospel,
we must agree in the Lord.
Second, we are to be centered on the
joy of the Gospel.
And third, we are to strive for
spiritual excellence.
All of this is a life-long work –
which the Holy Spirit works in us. Yet,
we are able to quench the Spirit through our sin – we can fall back into sin –
we can become less mature, rather than becoming more mature in the faith. So, we must be watchful, first of ourselves,
and then of our brothers and sisters – to help them, in Christ, as we are
gifted.
First, for the sake of the Gospel,
we must agree in the Lord.
“I entreat Euodia and I entreat
Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 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.”
Have you ever heard anyone say, “I
don’t want to be part of the church – the church is full of hypocrites”?
Have you ever heard the saying, “If
you ever find a perfect church, don’t go there, you’ll ruin it”?
One of the unique things about the
Church is that we admit that we are sinners.
We continue to sin against our First Love – we continue to be
disobedient to God and unfaithful.
Charles Spurgeon – the 19th century preacher – was once reprimanded
by someone after worship – a woman told him the ways that she thought he was a
bad person. Spurgeon replied that she
didn’t know him at all – he was a far worse sinner than she thought he was.
The fact that we continue to sin
against our Loving God and Holy Savior is not to our glory – we dare not pat
ourselves on our backs for being sinners or even being willing to admit that we
are sinners. When we sin, we ought to
experience deep anguish and regret – a tearing of our heart with tears – we
ought to run back to our God with sincere repentance, begging for forgiveness
for the Sake and the Merits of Christ, our Savior – striving not to sin again.
Woe to us if we ever consider our
sin a small thing! We ought to be undone
– unraveled to our deepest core – disturbed to where we can only find hope and forgiveness
at the breast of Christ. Woe to us if we
think sin is not a big thing because our sins have been forgiven in
Christ! Shall we join in pounding the
nails into the flesh of the Sinless One?
Shall we mock Him for His Love and Sacrifice?
Two of the women in the Philippian
church were at odds with one another.
Paul doesn’t say what the issue was – surely the church knew what they
were arguing about. Even if what they
were arguing about was trivial, the disruption that their argument was causing
in the church was sin. So Paul begged them
to reconcile for the sake of the Lord.
For the sake of their witness, the witness of the church, and for the
unity of the brothers and sisters in the faith, Paul begged them to stop and
reconcile as sisters in Christ – members of the One Body of Christ.
God has saved people who are not the
same – who have different preferences and understandings of some things. But we are gathered together because we
believe the one saving Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We have gathered together because our Triune God is worthy of our
worship. We have gathered together to
help and support each other in the race of faith – to love each other, to grow
together, to learn from each other, even to correct each other in matters of
the faith.
We have not gathered together to be the
center of attention or to prove that we are right about matters that don’t
matter to the Gospel – and where we do have differences on things in the
Scripture, we are to treat each other with love – to bear with each other – to
seek the truth together – in the Scripture – and as those who are called to
herald the Word of God preach and teach, always submitting to the clear
teaching of God’s Word.
These women both agreed on the
Gospel – they were sisters in Christ – but something had caused them to be at odds
with each other – enough that it was disturbing the unity of the church. So, Paul begged them to reconcile. And Paul called on a close companion, who is
not named in the text, to intercede and help them to reconcile.
Sometimes a third party is necessary. Sometimes we can’t see beyond what we think
we are right about, and we need someone to help us get our priorities straight. Jesus gives us this principle when He says, “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. 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. If he refuses to listen
to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church,
let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector” (Matthew 18:15-17, ESV).
Understand, if intervention is
needed between Christians to maintain the unity and peace of the church, the
goal is reconciliation. Paul saw that it
would be difficult for these women to reconcile, so he told his friend to help
them.
It was of some additional urgency
that these women reconcile because they were well-known – prominent members of
the church. Paul says that both of these
women labored with him and Clement and the other workers in proclaiming the
Gospel. It was especially disruptive to
the church to have such people at odds, because they were women who were more
mature Christians who had helped others to grow in their faith.
Paul gives a word of sharp comfort
in telling them that they are written “in the book of life” – which means that
they were Christians – they were not just playing church – as some people do –
they were sound believers who had gotten caught up in something that they
needed help resolving.
We can be individuals, but we must
be united in the things of Christ for the sake of the Gospel. There is nothing more important than the
advancement of the Gospel. We must find
ways to work with each other. If you
love Jesus – if you believe the Gospel – we must not let anything come between
us that compromises our advancement of the Gospel.
The world is looking at us – are they
seeing us argue over non-essentials – or do they see us strangely united in
telling others that Jesus Alone is the hope and salvation of the world?
Second,
we are to be centered on the joy of the Gospel.
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I
will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at
hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the
peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and
your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Let’s face it; it is easy to become overwhelmed
with our schedule, with all the things happening in the world and in our
families. It’s easy to get down about
sickness and disability. It’s easy to
look at the church and the denomination and the evil pervading churches in our
area and despair. It’s easy to throw up
our hands when we see Christians around the world being beheaded and imprisoned
for their faith.
But we ought not to lose hope as Christians. As Christians we always have a reason to
rejoice – Jesus and His Gospel. No
matter how hurt and confused we may be about what is going on, we have a loving
Father who calls us to cast our cares upon Him and rejoice in what Jesus has done
– looking forward to the end of our race when we are received into the fullness
of the Kingdom.
And so Paul tells the Philippians to
rejoice – when there are disagreements in the church – when false teachers are
trying to confuse them and lead them away – when the government and others are
trying to put them to death – still I say, rejoice!
And we are called to the same. Now, that is not putting our heads in the
sand and denying the problems that exist – the horrors and pain of the world
and our lives, but to see that no matter what happens now – no matter what our
struggles now – no matter if the Reformed Church in America should go apostate
and try to shut us down, no matter if our government starts to outlaw
Christianity, or investigate our giving, or demands to evaluate my sermons –
with all that happens – we can still say – we must say – we rejoice in our God
and Savior, because He will never betray us or forsake us. We are safe and eternally His.
Once when Paul was visiting
Philippi, a woman who was possessed by a demon and made her captors money by
giving “prophecies” – fortunetelling – began following Paul and his friends and
crying out that he was a representative of the One God. Paul cast the demon out of her and she was
well, but her captors lost their way of making money, so they turned the city
against Paul and his friends, beat them mightily, and had them thrown in
prison.
Surely,
their bodies were in pain, but they we centered on the joy of the Gospel. They were suffering for their witness to
Christ – and that is a good thing. If
people hate us and abuse us for believing the Truth of Jesus Christ – rejoice
and give thanks to God! Pray for those
who persecute us and continue to proclaim your faith in the Gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Listen
to what Paul and his companions did after being beaten and thrown in jail: “About midnight Paul and Silas were praying
and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,” (Acts
16:25, ESV).
Are
you so in love with Jesus and His Gospel that you cannot help but continue to
rejoice in it – not matter what happens?
That doesn’t mean we won’t have times of sorrow, but, even then, we turn
our hope to Jesus and what He has done to make us right with God. That’s what Paul means by our “reasonableness”
being known to everyone – that we have a reasonable hope, no matter what may
occur – that we always have a reason to look to Jesus in sure hope.
The
Lord is coming soon! Jesus is returning
and He will make all of Creation right again.
The battle is won. We are saved
in Jesus. We are heading towards
glory. The end is near – no matter what
may happen between now and then.
And
that’s why we shouldn’t be anxious.
Now,
we need to understand there is good anxiety and bad anxiety. Good anxiety helps us to move forward and
seek the completion of whatever is before us.
It helps us to strive forward towards Jesus. Bad anxiety paralyzes us – it is a hopelessness
that the Christian ought not to have – because ours is a faith of hope.
Peter wrote, “Humble yourselves,
therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt
you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you” (1 Peter
5:6-7, ESV). If you don’t know how
something is going to work out, give that anxiety to God, because God knows,
and He is working all things together for the good of those who love Him – even
horrible, terrible things – and He loves
us with an everlasting love, which sent His Son to make us right with Him.
Jesus
said, “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will
eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not
life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the
air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by
being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you
anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither
toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed
like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is
alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O
you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’
or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after
all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But
seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will
be added to you.
“Therefore do not be anxious about
tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is
its own trouble” (Matthew 6:25-34, ESV).
Jesus is not saying we shouldn’t be wise
and plan for the future. He is saying we
are to do what is right and pleasing to God, receiving the provision of God,
and trusting Him for the future.
We spend about $2,500 a week to keep
this church open, and we receive about $500 a week from all sources. There is a good anxiety which asks what we
can do about this. How can we be
faithful to God with our money and blessings and gifts and talents? We are each called to be faithful – to give
generously – if you believe the Gospel is being preached – if you believe in
the ministry of Jesus Christ in this church.
There is a bad anxiety which says, “Oh, no, the church is going to close
– all is lost.” No, God will keep us
here as long as He has work for us to do.
Let us trust Him and raise our prayers to Him, asking that He would
search our hearts and give us wisdom.
Paul tells the Philippians – and us
– we are to be in prayer – both bringing our requests to God and thanking God
for all we have been given. And he tells
us that we have this promise – if we bring our requests to God – seeking His
Will – and bring our thanksgivings to Him – worshipping Him and glorifying Him
for His great mercy to each one of us and this church – we will receive peace –
the peace of God that says with sublime confidence, “I will be obedient and
faithful to God and trust Him for my future and the future of this church and
His Church worldwide.”
And Paul says, God “will guard our hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus.” Paul is
using military language here – it is as though he said that God will post a
bunch of soldiers around us to guard us – to keep us from sin and to lead us –
in heart and mind – to be centered on the joy of the Gospel. This is part of how God makes the way for us
to escape from the temptation to sin that is always before us – God is guarding
us – God has set up guards around us to keep us from having to sin – we cannot
be forced to sin – we sin out of free rebellion against the One Who loves us.
And third, we are to strive for
spiritual excellence.
“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. 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 turns to urge the Philippians –
and us – to focus on those things of spiritual excellence and to practice those
excellences as we see them practiced in others.
We are to pay close attention to these things – to know them and be them
and show them.
“whatever is true,” – we ought to
desire to know, to learn to speak, to experience all of God’s Truth in the
Creation – everything that is real and lasting and pleasing in the sight of
God. We ought to desire to know what is
true and how we ought to be – coming into conformity to the True of God – as
found both in the Scripture and throughout the world. We are to love God with our hearts, souls,
minds, and strength truly – wisely – knowledgeably.
“whatever is honorable,” – we are to
focus on the things which are lofty and majestic – what greater than to focus
on the attributes of God – Who God is – meditate on all those things which we
are told God is. Open your Bible and see
Who God is and be awe-struck and prone to worship.
“whatever
is just,” – whatever is in accord with God’s justice – we are to do that, to
pursue that, to see that done among all people.
Let us know and fight to have God’s right on earth. When we see
injustice done – especially injustice as God tells us what is right and wrong,
we ought to stand up and object.
“whatever
is pure,” – we are to be pure in thought and action. We are to keep away from all those things
that bring us down into the muck and the mire of sin. We especially are to watch out for those
things which engage our body in sin – we are to keep our body pure – saying “no”
to sin.
As
Paul wrote, “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain
from sexual immorality; that each one of you know how to control his own body
in holiness and honor, not in the passion of lust like the Gentiles who do not
know God; that no one transgress and wrong his brother in this matter, because
the Lord is an avenger in all these things, as we told you beforehand and
solemnly warned you. For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness.
Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his
Holy Spirit to you” (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8, ESV).
“whatever
is lovely,” – we are to admire those things which all people recognize as
pleasing and beautiful. That is not to
say that we cannot have different aesthetics, but we should be able to
differentiate between those things which are beautiful and those things which
are foul. We ought to hold up those
things which are lovely – Christ being chief.
“whatever
is commendable” – we are to be involved in those things which all people find
worthy. We are not to give offense to
people by the things we choose to engage in.
“if
there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about
these things.”
As
we have noted before, when Paul uses the word “if” in this type of context, he
is not saying that there might not be things which are excellent and worthy of
praise – he is drawing attention to the fact that everyone – and especially
Christians – recognize that there are things which are truly excellent and
worthy of praise – these things are where we are to focus ourselves – we are to
seek to be those things and know those things and keep away from things which
are not excellent and worthy of praise.
A
real impact is made when someone asks us to be involved in something and we say
we can’t because we are Christians – we can’t because it is not the best way to
honor God and Who He is. Have you ever
had the honor of telling someone you could not go along with them because what
they were suggesting is offensive to God?
We
have become callous and allowed the views of the world to numb us to what is
truly excellent and praiseworthy. We
have engaged in filth and worthless pursuits.
We have cared more about our pleasure in the moment and how others will
see us than what God – the One God Who has saved us – desires for us – what our
loving Father desires for the sons and daughters He died to make right with
Him. We must become more sensitive – and
we best do that, first, by knowing what God has said in His Word, and then by
reading good Christian books – especially biographies, and from imitating men
and women who are pursing what is excellent and worthy of praise.
We
must meditate on the things we have learned from God’s Word, what we have
received from the preaching and teaching of God’s Word, what we have heard
about men and women who have pursed excellence and things worthy of praise, and
what we have also seen in such people.
What
will it take for us to stand firm in the faith, for us to agree together in the
Lord for the good of the advancement of the Gospel, for us to trust the Lord
and not be anxious – but really trust Him, and to purse those things which are
excellent and praiseworthy – striving to become like them – like our Lord Jesus
Christ?
What
will it take?
Let
us pray:
Most
Beloved and Loving Father, we are full of excuses, but You desire great and
glorious things for us – things that You will bring us to at the end of the age
and desire to give us more and more even now.
Humble us and cause the fires of the Holy Spirit to burn strong within
us so we will run hard after the prize of Jesus Christ – desiring to be like
Him that You would be glorified and we would have Your joy – right now – in
great measure. For it is in Jesus’ Name
we pray, Amen.
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