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Joy in Unity, Prayer, sound thinking

Philippians 4:1-9

Introduction

Something I worked hard for that paid off –

(Degree, 25th anniversary – 3 pieces of paper

in my office – 2 degrees – ordination)

Main Point: Joy is rarely found in

something that comes easily, or quickly.

Joy is more often found in something that

comes with hard work, challenge, time, and

discipline.

Transition: As we finish this incredible

letter and journey on Joy, Paul finishes with

some practical encouragements that remind

us of how we can have joy. The first is:

I. Joy in church unity.

Philippians 4:1-3

Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and

long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus

in the Lord, my beloved. 2 I entreat Euodia

and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

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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. (ESV)

A. Concern for the church comes from

love for the church. (V. 1)

1. Paul loves this church.

2. I hope you love your local church

– I never understand people that

walk around their local church

with disdain for it, bitter at it.

3. If that is you make it right – have

a conversation and get your

attitude right – if it is theological –

then leave and find a church you

agree – but love your church.

4. Paul actually sees the people and

their eternal home as his crown.

5. If this is, people in heaven, how

large will your crown be in

heaven?

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6. A Couple weeks ago, I asked the

question, when you get to heaven,

will there be disciple there that

you have invested in?

7. Paul loves this church.

Transition: And because he loves this

church, he wants the people to be unified.

B. Agree in the Lord.

1. These 2 church members are not

getting along, and this is hindering

the gospel of Christ from going

forward in and through this

church.

2. And Paul says, twice, I urge –

urge you to get along in the Lord.

3. BTW: this is not a theological or

doctrinal issue, or surely Paul

would have weighed in and

corrected the issue with right

doctrine.

Main Point: This is matter of conscience

stuff (Meat sacrificed to idols – 1

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Corinthians 8). Some wear masks, some

believe in big government, some go trick or

treating at Halloween, some believe we

should quarantine, some think we need to

open up, some think we should get all the

vaccinations available for our children.

Some even like the Dallas Cowboys.

Matters of conscience – get along for the

good of the gospel If necessary, seek…

C. Seek outside counsel. (V. 3)

1. This is where church leadership

may step in, in a good and healthy

way.

2. This is where we resolve

conscience issues for the good of

working together – the bigger

picture of the gospel going

forward.

Transition: Joy in unity. Secondly, in

wrapping up his letter…

II. Joy in prayer.

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Philippians 4:4-7

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. (ESV)

A. Prayer is rejoicing.

1. Verse 4 is the summary of the

letter.

2. I want to suggest that praying is a

form of rejoicing in the Lord.

3. It is submitting our plans, joys,

hardships, difficulties to the Lord

in such a way that we understand

God is sovereign – and therefore

we rejoice in Him.

B. Overflow of rejoicing is

reasonableness.

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1. This is a fascinating thought.

2. We rejoice, and live lives that

honor the Lord, in simplicity and

sincerity of faith. Paul says it this

way in…

1 Thessalonians 4:11-12

and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind

your own affairs, and to work with your

hands, as we instructed you, 12 so that you

may walk properly before outsiders and be

dependent on no one. (ESV)

3. And sometimes in our obedience

to the Lord it rubs this culture the

wrong way, and this is why I think

the Paul says, the Lord is at hand,

the Lord has our back.

Illustration: Shadrack, Meshack, and

Abednego – living a quiet life honoring the

Lord and Nebuchadnezzar threatens them to

be thrown into the fire. Their answer:

Daniel 3:16-18

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Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego

answered and said to the king, “O

Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer

you in this matter. 17 If this be so, our God

whom we serve is able to deliver us from the

burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us

out of your hand, O king. 18 But if not, be it

known to you, O king, that we will not serve

your gods or worship the golden image that

you have set up.” (ESV)

C. Pray as a help to worry/anxiety.

1. This letter about Joy, begins and

ends with prayer.

2. In everything – you can pray about

anything.

3. Supplication: Bring any request.

4. With Thanksgiving:

a. There is tremendous joy in

Thanksgiving.

b. We can bring all our prayers to

God with Thanksgiving.

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c. Even difficulties and trial – we

can consider Joy and

opportunity to give thanks.

d. Week 1 I said prayerlessness

leads to joylessness – I will add,

thanklessness leads to

joylessness.

5. To God – Can you imagine that

God hears, and God answers our

prayers!!

Prayer will bring you…

D. Peace of God.

1. Surpasses all understanding –

being around people suffering or

dying (Martha Bennis)

2. How does that happen – guarding

your heart (Emotions, fear,

anxiety).

3. Guarding your mind – from worry

and spinning and thinking

fearfully over and over and over.

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BTW: Thinking, and what we allow our

minds to dwell on over and over and over is

critical to our lives, critical to peace, critical

to having joy. That is why Paul concludes

this thought by saying:

Philippians 4:8-9

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. (ESV)

III. Joy in thinking and obeying.

A. There is joy in thinking on the truth.

The importance of the mind in

Christianity:

The Bible describes our minds apart from

Christ this way:

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1. Depraved (1 Timothy 6:5)

2. Focused on the flesh. (Romans 8:5)

3. Hostile towards God (Romans 8:7)

4. Foolish (1 Corinthians 2:14)

5. Hardened to spiritual truth (2

Corinthians 3:14)

6. Blinded by Satan (2 Corinthians 4:4)

7. Futile (Ephesians 4:17)

8. Ignorant (Ephesians 4:18)

9. Defiled (Titus 1:15)

Main Point: Aren’t you glad you came to

church this morning, for a little uplifting.

Listen, our minds apart from Christ are

hopeless, lost, and joyless. That doesn’t

mean unsaved people can’t think and do

great things (Build bridges, invest well,

etc…), it does mean they can’t think like a

spiritual man or woman. Their minds (And

our minds before Christ) can’t find hope and

joy in eternal things. Only earthly and

fleshly things is the hope and joy that the

unsaved have – and as we know that does

not last and is fleeting.

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By Contrast the Christian mind: Is to

worship God in Spirit and in Truth. (John

4:4). John MacArthur says it this way based

on these couple verses: “True faith is a

reasoned response to Biblical truth.”

Paul says that a Christian mind is to think or

even dwell (Thinking over and over,

Meditating) on:

1. What is true: Word of God, what is

true in the world and in the culture.

2. Honorable: Worthy of respect (some

thoughts and movies are just not

worthy of respect).

3. Right: Righteous, thinking about

what is Holy.

4. Pure: Things without moral defect,

things that are innocent (Definitely

not porn).

5. Lovely: Gracious and sweet.

6. Good repute: Highly regarded,

worthy of praise.

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Think on these things – let your mind dwell

on these things. We can be thinking

thoughts that are not necessarily evil, just

lazy, and worthless.

Illustration: My wife asking me what I was

thinking, early on in marriage, I told her it

would disappoint her. She said what, I was

thinking about all the injuries to the

Seahawks offensive line. Not wrong, just

not the best…

Men: All Godly men that I know are

readers. Readers of Christian books that are

not necessarily easy to read.

Transition: And the overflow of the kind

of thinking that Paul encourages is a life of

obedience. Your life is the product of your

thoughts. And the product of your thoughts

is:

B. Joy of repeated obedience.

1. I would call this spiritual stability.

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2. Paul says to “Practice” the things I

showed you – Practice is doing

something over and over and over

until it becomes 2nd nature.

3. This is growing in sanctification,

growing in Holiness and

righteousness.

4. We practice Biblical and Godly

thinking, and even behavior

(Sometimes until our emotions catch

up)

5. And a life built upon minute by

minute, daily, weekly, monthly,

yearly, decades, and finally a

lifetime – is a lifetime of impact, a

lifetime of discipleship, and finally a

lifetime of Joy.

Main Point: And Paul finishes with, not

you will have peace, but rather: “The God

of peace will be with you.” – Incredible!!

Conclusion

(A time I observed peace that passed

understanding – Martha Bennis??)

Read Philippians 4:1-9 and discuss the following questions together.

I. What is the theme of this passage? a. As with many of the recent texts, there are several themes, but the primary one

is “Standing Firm,” drawn from verse 1. b. Additionally, the passage touches on our relationships and how they affect

ministry. It deals with the importance of partnering with other believers in humility and keeping our focus on the most important things.

c. The passage also addresses the issue of anxiety, and some of the antidotes that are offered to the Christian to achieve peace.

d. Lastly, this section talks about the importance of controlling our thinking. We must learn to be responsible for what we focus our mind on.

II. What challenged you in this Scripture? a. Let a little silence happen as people mull over the message and their response to

it. Encourage people to offer things that really caught their attention. b. There could be any number of specific challenges to be taken, including unity in

the body, learning how to choose rejoicing over anxiety or even the reality that we can (and must) control our thoughts.

c. Feel free to pursue discussion about any of these topics as they apply to your small group members.

III. In what ways does this passage help you appreciate Jesus more? a. The fact that Christ makes it possible for us to enjoy unity, peace with God and a

godly thought life should be plenty of reason to grow in your appreciation of the Savior.

IV. How is this passage calling you to further obedience in your walk with God? a. Ask your group what some of the primary causes of disunity are in the church.

Maybe they have some examples of what it looks like to be a ministry partner with individuals that they have disagreements.

b. Anxiety is the most commonly diagnosed emotional and mental health condition in America. It is likely that someone (or more) in your group have dealt with it. Talk about how this passage relates to our anxiety and what it does to help us deal with it. Those who have personal experience with managing anxiety may be helpful to others who are struggling with it right now. Let the body work together to help bring healing.

c. Spend some time challenging your group to talk about the matter of changing our thinking. It’s easy to let this be very general. Don’t let the group get away with generalities…encourage them to be specific. What are the ways we think differently than what is said in the section? How can we think differently about specific situations that your group members have dealt with?

V. How can this passage of Scripture shape your prayer life? a. It should strengthen the confessional aspect of our prayers. Possibly we have

people with whom we are disunified. If we need to approach them and return to a partnership in the gospel, this might be a good place to start.

b. The focus on rejoicing in the second section of the passage is something we all need to grow in. Even when we have things that we are burdened about, it is important to come with thanksgiving when we come to God.

c. If there are those in your group that are struggling with anxiety, this would be a great opportunity for intercessory prayer. Encourage your group members to pray for each other.

d. Spend some time together praying for our nation. Last week was a bitter and contentious election. Pray for God’s church to demonstrate grace and confidence in God regardless of the result. Our hope is in God, not in our political process.

VI. What are three practical takeaways from the sermon you listened on this passage?

Small Group Questions Joy of Unity, Prayer, and Mind

Phil 4:1-19 November 8, 2020

*You do NOT have to answer or discuss every question. Feel free to just pick a few. These are meant to guide you in truth. If you are having trouble answering a question, ask your small group leader to help you. They are committed to helping you develop as an authentic follower of Christ.

The COMMUNITY QUESTION:

1. What would the title of your autobiography be?

Into the WORD/APPLICATION:

Here are some suggested sites in order to dive deeper into God's Word: blueletterbible.org, desiringgod.org/articles/all, biblos.com, ccel.org, logos.com, connect.ligonier.org, thegospelcoalition.org/channel/bible-and-theology. 1. Read the scripture verses listed above and discuss the following

questions together. What is the theme of this passage?

2. What challenged you in this Scripture?

3. In what ways does this passage help you savor Christ more?

4. How is this passage calling you to further obedience in your walk with God?

5. How can this passage of Scripture shape your prayer life?

6. What are three practical takeaways from the sermon you listened on this passage?

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Coastal Yorktown | November 8th 2020

PRAYER & QUESTIONS:

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IN RESPONSE TOTODAY ’ S SERVICE . . .

I’d like to know more about accepting a relationship with Jesus.

I. Joy in C H U R C H U N I T Y .

A. C O N C E R N for the church comes from L O V E for the church.

B. A G R E E in the Lord.

C. Seek O U T S I D E C O U N S E L .

II. Joy in P R A Y E R .

A. Prayer is R E J O I C I N G .

B. O V E R F L O W of rejoicing is R E A S O N A B L E N E S S .

C. Prayer as a help to W O R R Y /A N X I E T Y .

D. P E A C E of God.

III. Joy in T H I N K I N G and O B E Y I N G .

A. There is joy in T H I N K I N G on the T R U T H .

B. Joy of R E P E A T E D O B E D I E N C E .

1 1 .08.20 | PASTOR SHAUN BROWN

Philippians 4:1–9

I N U N I T Y, P R AY E R , A N D S O U N D T H I N K I N G

I’M INTERESTED IN:

I’d like to know more about membership at Coastal.

I’d like to know more about Baptism at Coastal.