The Many Facetsof Life

Philippians 4:1-4 

Adapted from a Steve Shepherd sermon

http://www.sermoncentral.com/print_friendly.asp?SermonID=65340

Philippians 4:1 ESV 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. 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.

Someone said the seven ages of man are: spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills.

Most of us experience some of those, if not all of them. We especially don’t like the

bills, the ills, and the pills. And maybe the wills! We probably prefer the thrills over

anything else in life.

Cecil Beaton took pictures of Queen Mother Elizabeth on her 50th birthday. In an

extravagance of tact, Beaton sent her proofs so retouched that not a wrinkle

showed.Her secretary returned them with a polite note that said in effect: “Her Majesty feels that, having weathered 50 years of life on earth, she would not like her photographs

to suggest that she has come through completely unscathed.”

The truth is: no one goes through life unscathed or unwrinkled or unhurt, etc.

We all experience certain negative things. It would be nice if we didn’t, but we do.

Leroy Lawson is the great preacher and past president of Hope International

University in Fullerton, CA.He retired from that position in July, 2003.

During that time he was also the Sr. Minister of the Central Christian Church of Mesa, AZ. Leroy is a great preacher and a

gifted writer.

You might get the impression that nothing negative ever happened to him in life.

WRONG.

Some years ago Leroy and his wife lost a son to suicide.

No one goes through life unscathed.

Boyce Mouton is the longtime preacher of the First Christian Church of Carl Junction,

MO.He and his wife Betty have five grown

children. On Oct. 25, 2002, Boyce’s 24-year-old

grandson, Joshua Mouton, was involved in a traffic accident that left him paralyzed

and with all kinds of other injuries.

At one point, a surgeon told the Moutons that Josh would never recover and that he would be in a vegetative state for the rest

of his life.

Josh has proved that doctor wrong.

He interacts with people and can move most of his right side.

For two hours every day, he goes to rehab sessions at St. John’s rehabilitation center where he is trying to learn how to speak,

eat and walk again.

His current form of communication is to respond to yes-or-no questions, with one finger on the right hand meaning, "yes"

and two meaning "no."

1/22/2004 – “Progress has been slow for Josh the last month or so. There are still bright moments such as recently when Nancy was preparing to leave and told

Josh she loved him. He quickly pointed to himself and back at her. She asked him if

he was saying he loved her and he answered, "yes" with a sign. There are also discouraging times because of the gaps in

Josh‘s mental abilities and his physical limitations.

“Josh is unable to do anything for himself and requires 24-hour care. He cannot speak, but communicates on a limited

basis with "yes" and "no" signals. He is working on some true sign language. He

laughs out loud at amusing comments and enjoys movies. He always responds

warmly to Kiley when she comes back from work or running errands.

His movement is limited to his right arm and hand and his head. He is sustained by a feeding tube, but eats and drinks small

amounts orally.

It was Boyce Mouton’s continued admonition to look for the blessings amid the trials that helped the family keep its

sanity during those tense months.

Joshua’s dad, John said of his father, Boyce, "Dad is optimistic, almost to a fault. It almost drives you nuts, but it’s also very contagious. Every time he would come to visit Josh at the hospital, he was always

looking for the silver lining.

"But that’s him to a T. Whenever we would get more bad news, like Josh needing

another chest tube, Dad would find something good out of it.

He fostered that optimistic outlook and reminded us that this is not the end, and I think we’ve adopted that philosophy as a

family."

As I said earlier, no one goes through life unscathed, unwrinkled or unhurt. We all

suffer in some form in life.

Life has many facets to it. Some of it is good, very good and some of it is not so

good.

In our text, Paul described some of the facets or aspects of the Christian life in

three words:

1- Stand2- Agree

3- Rejoice

1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus

in the Lord, my beloved.Standing is good. Standing on your faith,

your beliefs, or your convictions is good. It is very good if what you believe is the

truth.

STAND “Stand firm in the Lord”

David Hume, 18th century British philosopher who rejected historic

Christianity, once met a friend hurrying along a London street and asked where he

was going.The friend said he was off to hear George

Whitfield preach."But surely you don’t believe what

Whitfield preaches do you?“"No, I don’t, but he does."

You can’t help but admire someone who has strong convictions, particularly when it

is something worthwhile.

You not only admire those people, you are often drawn to them and to whatever it is

they believe in.

Take, for example, Mel Gibson and his movie “The Passion Of The Christ.”

It is reported he spent something like 30 million dollars of his own money to make this movie about the last 12 hours of the

life of Christ.

A person doesn’t spend that much money on something he doesn’t believe in!

Everything I have seen about the movie and why Mel Gibson made it is positive.

The movie was born out of his faith, which apparently is growing.

We all need more conviction and courage in living the Christian life.

We need to believe it, trust it, live it and stand on it! We must not be afraid to speak

for Christ!

Where will we get this conviction? Romans 10:17 ESV So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The more we get into the Word of God and the more the Word of God gets into us, the more courage and conviction we will have!

1 Corinthians 15:1 ESV Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to

you, which you received, in which you stand,

Have you?

1 Corinthians 15:58 ESV Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not

in vain.

Don’t you know?

1 Corinthians 16:13 ESV Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong.

2 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the

traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

There is a story told about the great English actor Macready.

A preacher once said to him: "I wish you would explain to me something."

"Well, what is it?

I don’t know that I can explain anything to a preacher."

"What is the reason for the difference between you and me?

You appear before great crowds night after night with your fiction and I am preaching

the essential and unchangeable truth, and I am not getting any crowd at all."

Macready’s answer was this:"This is quite simple.

I can tell you the difference between us.

I present my fiction as though it were truth and you present your truth as though it

were fiction."

We need to live our faith like we believe it is truth, the whole truth and nothing but the

truth.

Perhaps if and when we do this more people will be drawn to Christ and to His

church!

2 I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.

These were two women in the church at Philippi who apparently couldn’t get along

with one another. Conflict happens in the world and in the

church, because we are still human beings with strong opinions and ideas.

AGREE “Agree with each other in the Lord” Or agree in

the Lord.

Two men who lived in a small village got into a terrible dispute that they could not

resolve.

So they decided to talk to the town sage.

The first man went to the sage’s home and told his version of what happened.

When he finished, the sage said, "You’re absolutely right.“

The next night, the second man called on the sage and told his side of the story.

The sage responded, "You’re absolutely right."

Afterward, the sage’s wife scolded her husband.

"Those men told you two different stories and you told both of them they were

absolutely right.

That’s impossible -- they can’t both be absolutely right.“

The sage turned to his wife and said, "You’re absolutely right."

What is the moral to this story?

Agree with everybody?

Tell everybody they are right?

No, the real way to handle conflict is to learn to disagree without being

disagreeable.

Bill Hybels is the Senior Pastor of the large Willow Creek Community Church in South

Barrington, IL.Their attendance is something like 18,000

per weekend. He said, “First, we acknowledge that conflict is inevitable.

Then we go the next step and say, ‘When your nose does get bent out of joint—not if

but when—you have a biblical responsibility to take the high road of

conflict resolution.’

“That means going directly to the person with whom you’re having this conflict rather than building a guerrilla team to

ambush this person later.”

“We also reach a kind of reverse accountability.

In staff meetings or in front of the congregation, we say, If someone whose

nose is bent out of joint comes to you for a ‘Won’t you join my cause?’ conversation,

you have a biblical responsibility to interrupt mid-sentence and say, ’I think

you’re talking to the wrong person. Please go to the individual with whom you’re

having this conflict and seek to resolve it in a God-glorifying way.’"

Conflict is not good.Not often. I have not seen much good come

from it.I think if people would learn to bear with one another first of all then most conflict

could be avoided.

Colossians 3:13 ESV bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord

has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

BEAR WITH EACH OTHER.

This is something that is often missing in our lives.

These words could well be translated “put up with one another.”

Sure, you don’t like something about someone, but put up with it anyway.

There are things you don’t like about your mate, but you put up with them and it for

the sake of your marriage.He may clip his toenails in the living room, on the carpet and that just infuriates you, but you may have learned to put up with

him in this matter.She may take two hours to get ready for

church or to go out to dinner, but you hopefully have learned to put up with her

slowness, etc.The illustrations are endless.

There are many things that our loved ones (mates, children, etc.) do that irritate us but we have learned to put up with these things

because we love them more than we love our own opinions and ideas.

We bear with them because we love them dearly!

Besides, you’re doing things that drive your mate nuts, but they put up with you

anyway!

Now the other side of the coin is this:

If something is so bad that confrontation must take place then it must be done in the

spirit of love, forgiveness and with the attitude of wanting to help, not hinder and

not to put down, etc.

For example, were there times when your children were little and you would

discipline them, spank them, but afterward, sit down with them and say something like,

“Honey, the reason I did this is because I love you, and what you did was not good,

etc.”

Paul advised these two women to “agree with each other in the Lord.”

We will never fully agree with one another about everything in life, but we must strive

for agreement.We must agree on the basics of life, the Christian life, etc. and beyond that, learn that the Lord allows individual opinions.We must be generous and gracious with

one another!

Romans 15:1 ESV We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the

weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his

good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, "The

reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me."

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.

Help ThoseWho Labor In The Gospel

Paul was admonishing one of the members of the Philippian church to help these two women overcome their differences in the

Lord.

labored side by side is a military or athletic term for a "hard fight." It is metaphorical

for the intensity of gospel work.

These women helped Paul in his evangelistic mission work.

Many of Paul's helpers mentioned in Romans 16 were women.

Even missionaries have disagreements (cf. Acts 15:36-41).

How they solve them as Christians is the issue, and the witness! (Utley)

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years. His

mind, wit and work earned him the unofficial title of "the greatest justice since

John Marshall."

REJOICE“Rejoice in the Lord”

At one point in his life, Justice Holmes explained his choice of a career by saying: "I might have entered the ministry if certain clergymen I knew had not looked and acted

so much like undertakers."

I’ve seen some preachers like that.I think there are times when we must be

serious but there are also times when we must demonstrate some joy and perhaps

some laughter.

Generally, when you hear someone laughing you automatically assume they

are joyous or are a joy-filled person. Laughter is scriptural and it is good

medicine.It is the sign of something good in a

person’s life. A joyful heart is good medicine, but a

crushed spirit dries up the bones. Proverbs 17:22 ESV

We are drawn to people who laugh a lot. Churches that laugh a lot of are attractive

and contagious.This is another reason why I use humor in

my sermons.I want people to learn to laugh in life.

I want us to experience joy in the Lord. I want us to realize that laughter in the

church is good medicine.

This is one reason why Wayne Smith preached for 40 years at the Southland

Christian Church in Lexington, KY.He laughed a lot and made his people

laugh.They were a contagious bunch of people!

But it was a good contagious!That church grew numerically and

spiritually.

Now the point of this text is this:

What brings joy into our lives?

What makes us truly joyful and full of laughter?

Today’s Christian Woman(Ruth Barton)

“When my husband and I were first married and lived in a small apartment, I thought if

we could just buy a house I’d be satisfied.” “Several years later, we did get our house.

Even though it was a modest, three-bedroom ranch in need of decorating and

repair, it felt so good to have space!

And to walk out our front door into a grassy yard rather than a dark hallway

seemed like heaven on earth.

For the privilege of owning a home I could certainly live with peeling paint, yellow and green wallpaper, and an outdated kitchen.

Or could I?

“It didn’t take long for me to realize I’m not that easily satisfied.

Oh, I was fine as long as the first flush of purchasing excitement lasted.

But pretty soon, desire began to overtake me again.

If we could just replace the shag carpeting, if we could just get rid of the avocado

appliances, if we could just remodel the kitchen … then I’d be satisfied.

‘Well, here it is ten years later.We’ve done all those things (and more!) and I’ve made a startling realization: It

doesn’t matter how much we buy, there is always plenty more that I want.

I’m very much a part of the never-enough world.

Chances are, so are you.”

Ruth Barton is right on!Material things don’t bring lasting joy or

happiness.We will always see something that we like

better than what we have and want it.Eventually or hopefully, we will come to the realization that material things don’t bring

lasting happiness.

Only the Lord can produce lasting happiness or joy.

Or as some people say, happiness is based on happenings (or things) and joy is based on our relationship to God and Christ and

what we have in them.

This is why Paul said, “Rejoice in the Lord always.”

What we have in Christ is lasting.It is eternal. It can never be taken away

from us.

He has given us the forgiveness of our sins, the release from guilt, the relief of

realizing that we don’t have to be perfect to please Him, and the promise of an eternal

home in heaven.

If these things don’t bring some joy to our hearts then something is wrong.

Like Wayne Smith used to say, “If this doesn’t light your fire then your wood is

wet.”

There was once a stern/sober faced minister who preached a sermon on “The

Tears of Jesus.”He said, “Three times we read that Jesus

wept, but never read that He smiled.”

A little girl below, forgetting herself exclaimed: “Oh, but I know he did!”

Shocked, the minister said, “Why do you say that, my child?”

Frightened with all eyes on her, she said, “Because the Bible says He called a little

child, and he came to Him.If Jesus had looked like you, I know the child would have been afraid to come to

him.”Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord

always. And let it be seen in you!

In Florence, Italy, a young artist labored long and hard over a marble statue of an

angel.When finished, he asked Michelangelo to

examine it.The young artist concealed himself.

No Master looked over the work more carefully—it was perfect in every way.

Conclusion

The young artist waited. But his heart nearly broke when he heard, “It lacks only

one thing.”

For days the artist could not eat or sleep, until a friend called Michelangelo at studio and ask him what he thought. “It lacks only

life.”

Many people who are now living lack life.

They lack the life that only Christ can give them.

It is our job to share Him with them.

And how thankful we need to be that Christ has given us such a wonderful life with

many different facets to it.