A Prescription for Peace

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I feel a little awkward from time to time when people from church come up to me and ask me questions. They’ll say, I have a question about something you said in your message last Sunday night or last Wednesday or whatever. And I don’t feel awkward because you asked me that.

I don’t mind at all that you asked me that. I feel awkward because I have to stop and remember, what did I talk about? What did I preach on?

I mean, I know, but it’s just, I mean, I wrote the message and presumably was awake while I gave it. but I have trouble remembering that. And so I find that a lot of sermons and a lot of Bible teaching is that way.

You don’t necessarily remember every detail of every message that you hear. I like to think of it like a meal. I don’t remember every meal that I’ve ever eaten. Probably you don’t either.

I remember some highlights of some meals, But I don’t remember every meal that I’ve eaten, but I know that each of them was important because I’m here and I’m alive and they sustain me. And Bible teaching is sort of that way. I don’t remember every sermon I’ve ever heard or preached.

I don’t remember every Bible lesson I’ve ever heard. But there are certain ones that stick out in my brain. And one of those that sticks out in my mind that I will never forget happened when I was in high school.

A group of us had started a Bible study group there at Moore High School that we would meet on Friday mornings before school. And we would lead Bible studies. We would kind of take turns.

There were a few of us from different churches that had gotten together and taken this on. And we would either, as a small leadership group, we would rotate leading the studies or we would bring in guest speakers. There was one day that I brought in a guest speaker who was the pastor emeritus of our church.

He had retired after 30 some odd years as the pastor, and I loved him. I was never there while he was the pastor, but I loved him. His name was Brother Hodges, giant of a man, bright white hair, just imposing figure, also very gentle, one-on-one.

You’d say something stupid and he’d just go, I got that face at times. But in the pulpit, he was just like a lion. And I loved it.

I loved the, now I don’t do the hopping and screaming, that’s just not me, but I loved it. And I thought, he’s going to come in here and he’s going to tell everybody how it is. And he’s going to light us up and it’s going to be awesome.

I was kind of obnoxious as a teenager, I’ve told you before. A friend of mine a few weeks ago, we were talking about how we’ve mellowed over the time since then. And she said, I’m proud of us.

We’re not the bomb throwers we used to be. And that’s a good description of it. But I invited him in thinking he was going to give us that kind of message.

He was just going to shuck the corn. He came in and he had us open our Bibles. This is not where the message is going to be today.

But he had us open our Bibles to Romans chapter 12, verse 8. And led us through a study of what Paul said. As much as it’s possible, as much as it lies within you, live at peace with all men.

And I thought, what kind of deal is this? This is not what I brought you here for. But it’s what we needed to hear.

See, I was always itching to show I was right and itching for a controversy. And I can’t really remember, but I feel like there was probably some reason why I brought him in thinking he would straighten something out and prove me right. But he preached this message on peace.

And I was really irritated that that’s where he went with that. But as I began to listen, the message took root. And today, I mean, that’s one of those verses of Scripture that I just can’t get out of my mind.

It’s always there. Live at peace with all men. And it was that day that I began to realize the importance of peace among God’s people.

Now, it’s not the only important thing. It’s maybe not even the most important thing. But it is important.

And it’s stuck with me ever since. It’s not good for us to experience constant conflict. I started to learn right then and there that there are times that God’s Word calls His people to stand and fight there are times for that but every moment is not the time for that and we should be willing to stand and fight when the time comes but that we’re to seek peace wherever it’s possible because constant conflict is not good for us it’s not good for a church and it’s not good for the world to see it in us by the way if you’re visiting with us today I want to be clear I’m not preaching this because we have any problems that I know of that are going on that we require to be brought to the woodshed about peace.

We are studying our way through the book of Philippians, and this happens to be where we are today as the Apostle Paul talked to the church at Philippi about the importance of peace. And I hope that what Paul has to say will stick with you as it has with me. We’re in Philippians chapter 4 where he talks about the need for peace, the importance of peace, how we have peace with each other.

And let’s go there to Philippians chapter 4 this morning. If you would turn with me in your Bibles, if you’re using a device to read the Scriptures, there’s a link in our bulletin, or it’ll be on the screen for you if you don’t have a Bible with you. But once you find it, if you’re able to without too much trouble, if you’ll stand with me as we read together from God’s Word, we’re going to look at verses 2 through 7 this morning.

Paul writes, I implore you, Odea, and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the Gospel, with Clement also and with the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always.

And again, I will say rejoice. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.

And you may be seated. Now, this was a little bit difficult to get to a single topic that he’s talking about because he’s dealing with all sorts of little interpersonal things that were taking place within the church, but they all fall under that general heading of him wanting to see peace among the people of the church at Philippi. And I want to make a very important disclaimer at the outset because I don’t want you to hear things this morning that I’m not saying.

okay I am not saying that the bible I’m not I’m not telling you that the bible teaches that peace should come at the cost of compromise when it comes to the truth of god’s word when it comes to right and wrong when it comes to sin I am not saying that we should just abandon what’s right what’s clear in god’s word for the sake of going along and getting along that that is not what I’m saying that’s not what the bible is saying it should not come at the expense of compromise with immoral behavior or false teaching. But this assumes, as Paul’s writing to these people who are active and faithful in the church, there’s the assumption that everybody here believes the truth of God’s Word, and everybody here basically wants to do things that please the Lord.

And within that framework, he’s telling them, within those boundaries, he’s telling them, do whatever you can to live at peace with one another. So I don’t want you to hear from that, that we need to compromise with every ridiculous philosophy that starts to infiltrate churches and Christianity all around the world that we’re supposed to compromise with everything the world says is now right. We’re talking about within the boundaries of what’s biblical. Only within the boundaries of what’s biblical. Do our best to live at peace with one another.

And so we see from this passage that God intends His people to live at peace. If you think back to the very beginning of humanity, the Garden of Eden, one of the things that was so spectacular about the garden before sin entered in, about that whole arrangement before sin entered in, was that they lived in perfect harmony with God, with each other, and with all of creation around them. It was a place of peace.

That’s part of what. . .

There was no conflict. Doesn’t that sound nice? Think of some of the things that you have to deal with on a daily basis.

Some of the things that pop up that just wear you out because of the conflict, the drama, the confrontation. And that’s not the way God intended things to be. And so God intends His people to live at peace.

He intends us to live at peace individually. That’s why He deals with some individuals who were sideways with each other. In verse 2, He says, I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche.

Those are two women’s names, by the way. And He says, I implore them to be of the same mind in the Lord. These two women had some sort of personal disagreement that had come to his attention.

Keep in mind, they’re in Philippi, which is basically the northern part of Greece. He’s in Rome, which is in Italy. He’s across the sea from them, and he’s heard about the little spat that they’re having.

I mean, this isn’t just they couldn’t agree on where to go to lunch. We don’t know what it was, but this was something significant that somebody had told Paul about. But Paul calls on them to put it aside.

Now, his solution, though, for how they should find peace was not that they should just compromise. Oh, just meet in the middle. Yodio’s over here, Syntyche’s over here, just work it out and meet in the middle.

You get a little of what you want, you get a little of what you want, and everybody’s halfway happy. That wasn’t his answer. A lot of times that’s the answer we think that needs to happen if we have a disagreement.

Well, we just need to compromise, we just need to meet in the middle, somewhere between my perspective and your perspective. For us as believers, my perspective and your perspective aren’t really what matters. Because he says to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Whose perspective is it that matters in the conflict here? It’s the Lord’s, right? He says be of the same mind in the Lord.

He wants them to agree in the Lord. That means ultimately, we’re not even trying to see things from each other’s perspective. We’re trying to see things from the Lord’s perspective.

There was a conversation Charlie and I were having yesterday about parenting, and it really was a conversation, not an argument, nothing like that. But we were saying, I don’t see how we can. .

. We didn’t see a clear answer on how to handle a situation. Because her thought was this, my thought was this.

We’re talking about how do we handle this. And finally, we just agreed, I don’t think either of us have the right solution. And it doesn’t have to be decided today, but we just need to pray about this.

Because taking my solution and her solution and meeting somewhere in the middle is probably not going to be the answer. We realize that there’s a wisdom here that’s needed that we don’t have, but He has it. And so we just decided we’re going to stop and we’re going to wait until we see things from God’s perspective.

He’ll show one or both of us what we’re supposed to do. In conflict, you can do that as well. As believers, you’re not always going to see things eye to eye.

But you can step back and say, it’s not about my perspective or what I want. It’s not about your perspective or what you want. If we can both just step back and realize we’re not God and say what matters is His perspective, then we can be of the same mind in the Lord.

And if we can do that, it’ll go a long way toward there being peace in our personal relationships. God intends us to live at peace individually. He intends us to live at peace in the church.

He says in verse 3, I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. We know that at some point, this conflict between the two women became an issue for the church as a whole. It began to cause problems among other believers in the church.

And I’ve seen that happen. I have been in on meetings that started with two people who didn’t like each other. And next thing I know, I’m getting called out of a Sunday evening service for a meeting with 20 people who are all sitting there saying, I don’t even understand why we’re here.

Things can get out of control. It can cause trouble in the church. And this had become a concern for the church because it was a threat to the future peace of the whole church.

Now he says in verse 3 here, I urge you also true companion. We don’t know exactly who he’s talking about when he says true companion. Some people have said maybe it was the pastor, maybe it was some influential member, maybe it was even the church as a whole.

But whoever he was addressing in particular, he’s writing this to the church as a whole. And even if he’s writing to an individual and saying, Jeff, I want you to step in, it’s because he’s looking at somebody that other people in the church respect. Or says, Bonnie, will you step in and talk to these two ladies?

Somebody that they’ll both respect. Again, so we don’t know if it’s the whole church. We don’t know what particular person.

We just know it’s somebody involved with the church because it has become a church issue. And so he’s writing this letter. He’s dealing with it in this letter to the whole church.

And he’s asking them to step in and mediate the dispute and guide them back to peace with each other. That’s why he says, help these women. And by the way, the problem is not.

. . I know he emphasizes these women.

It’s because they were women. He’s not saying women are the problem. He’s just saying in this case, the problem happens to be between two women.

If it was two men, well, there were some men he said some things about that we might get to at some point. But how were they or anyone else within the church supposed to have peace amid their differences? Part of it was by recognizing each other not as opponents, but as fellow laborers in the gospel.

He says, help these women who labored with me in the gospel. Paul wasn’t beating Euodia and Syntyche over the head about their problem. Paul obviously had some respect for both of these women.

He says, they have been valuable partners with me in ministry, in sharing the gospel. They have contributed greatly to the Lord’s work there in Philippi. As a matter of fact, he says that they were as valuable of partners in kingdom work as anybody else he’d served with.

He compares them in verse 3 to Clement and the rest of his fellow workers whose names are written in the book of life. As I read this, I get the sense that this disagreement hurt Paul because he looks at both of these women as valuable contributors to the ministry, people that he respects, people that he loves. I believe it hurts him to see them at odds with each other and to see that it could be dragging the church in.

And so for him to call them fellow laborers, And He implores somebody within the church to step in and help them move forward as fellow laborers. And sometimes, I’ve seen it happen, we in church, when we get crossed up with each other, we can start to see each other as opponents. We can start to see that other person as somebody, well, I just don’t like.

As opposed to what they really are, which is a fellow laborer in the gospel. I think if we can get to a point where we see each other along those lines that we are partners in this work. And that sometimes we are going to disagree.

But if we can see each other not as opponents, but as partners in the work, it goes a long way towards solving the conflicts between us. Because we realize that we may have different ideas about how to get there, but ultimately we’re working toward the same goal. We want the same thing, which is for Jesus to be glorified, disciples to be made, the gospel to go out. That’s what we’re working toward.

We just may have different ideas about how to get there. So he wants us to live at peace individually in the church and in the world. He says in verse 5, let your gentleness be known to all men.

The Lord is at hand. He’s not just saying be nice to each other. He’s saying be gentle out in the world.

This verse talks about the attitude we show to the world. Let it be known. Let your gentleness be known to all men.

This is the public front of our faith. It’s what we’re known for. What we should be known for is gentleness.

Gentleness should be that attitude. There’s one Greek scholar I read this week who explained this word by saying there should be a sweet reasonableness to our attitude and reputation. You always feel sweet and reasonable?

No, I don’t either. But you know what? The more I listen to the Lord and not just what I want, the more sweet and reasonable I become.

Isn’t it funny how that happens? So that’s the public face we’re supposed to display to the world. Again, does that mean that we compromise on the truth?

No. Does it mean that we say things that aren’t true and refuse to say things that are true? No.

Does it mean that we say right is wrong and wrong is right? No, it doesn’t mean any of that. But we can stand for truth in a loving way without being jerks about it.

I heard somebody say one time, I’m a Christian, but I’m not mad about it. We can do that. That’s what he calls us to do.

And again, this is coming from the Apostle Paul who took some very hard stances when it was necessary. But the only thing about us that’s offensive should be the cross. The only thing offensive about us should be the message.

You might say, well, the message shouldn’t be offensive. The Bible says the message of the cross is offensive. We can’t make it so it’s not.

If we preach the truth, it’s going to offend people. But we can do it without enjoying offending people. We can do it without wanting to be abrasive.

So he says we should be gentle in our attitude toward the world. Let our gentleness be known to all men. Now that’s not a guarantee of peace because Jesus promised repeatedly that we would be at odds with the world.

I don’t care how nicely we say it. When we call sin, sin, some people are going to be upset. But if we’re doing it in a loving way and we’re doing it with a pure motive of wanting to see them come to find the hope in Jesus Christ that we have and we’re not doing it to prove a point.

We’re not doing it to score points. If we’re doing it the right way and in the right reasons, that’s on them that the message offends them. But this is where it comes back to what Romans 12 says.

If it is possible, if it is possible, as much as it lies within you, meaning as much as it’s up to you, live at peace with all men. It may not always be up to you. There comes a point when no matter how peaceful, how loving you are, the world just wants to take offense and conflict has to be had.

And that’s okay. But as much as it’s possible, as much as you can do it without compromising His truth, we’re supposed to live at peace with the world around us. Now, all of this sounds really hard.

If it sounds hard to you, I understand that because it sounds hard to me too. The only reason we can do this is because of God. Because a lot of this goes against our nature.

I told you I was much more of a fighter, not like fist fight, but much more of an arguer and debater in my younger years. That’s my nature. It’s the Holy Spirit that’s changed me.

It’s the Holy Spirit that has softened me. I would still be just as obnoxious as I ever was. I’m glad y’all didn’t know me back then.

As a matter of fact, when I run into people I went to high school with, one of the first things I say is usually, I’m so sorry. A lot of this goes against our nature, and it’s only possible, and I’m not saying I’m all the way there yet either. But this change, this living in peace, is only possible because of the work that God does in us.

His will is for us to be at peace even if our circumstances aren’t peaceful. He says, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Up to now, through this passage, Paul has given them instructions on what to do. But he makes sure to end it in verse 7 by saying ultimately it’s up to the peace of God.

Ultimately, it’s dependent on what God does in you and what God brings to your heart and how He guards you with that. He wants our hearts and minds to be at peace, as He tells us in verse 7. As He lays out in verses 2 through 6, He wants us to be at peace with each other.

But that peace is only possible, as He says in verse 7, through Jesus Christ. We can only have peace with one another in the church. We can only have peace with the world outside. We can only have peace, really, in ourselves because of Jesus Christ. because we’ve been made at peace with God through Jesus Christ. The Bible describes the world as being enemies of God, not because God made it that way, but because we rebelled against Him.

And yet the Bible speaks of us being made at peace with God. Because we were so nice, God said, oh, that’s fine. No, because Jesus Christ made the peace possible.

Peace only comes through Jesus Christ. True peace finds when we find peace with God through Jesus Christ. If you’ve ever felt separated from God, if you’ve ever felt like He was distant, there’s a reason for that. The Bible says we are distant from Him. It says He’s near to us, but we’re distant from Him.

Our sin has separated us from God. And there’s not a thing that you or I could ever do that can bring us back into fellowship with God. We can’t ever do enough good to make peace with God.

Because all the good we could ever do won’t erase the wrong that we’ve done that separates us from Him in the first place. So the only way we can have peace with Him is to come to Him through Jesus Christ, who took responsibility for all that sin that separates us from God. He took responsibility for it, and He was nailed to the cross, and He shed His blood, and He died.

He took our punishment in full and died in our place so that that sin is forgiven and our slate is wiped clean. And because of that, if we’ll trust Him, we can be at peace with God. And then God will help us to be at peace in our circumstances.

It doesn’t mean when He says the peace of God that passes understanding will guard your hearts and minds. That doesn’t mean that everything around us is going to be sunny and our circumstances are going to be at peace. It means that we are going to be at peace amid all the craziness of our circumstances because of the peace that He’s brought in us.

But if you need peace with God today, it starts with understanding that you’ve sinned and can’t save yourself. With believing that Jesus Christ died as the one and only payment for your sins so that you could be reconciled to God. That He rose again to prove it and that He now offers it as a free gift.

In just a few moments when we prepare to end the service, if you have questions about that, I invite you to come find me or I can direct you to other people if you’d rather talk to somebody else. We’d be glad to try to answer any questions you’ve got and explain to you further what Jesus has done for you. But this morning, all you have to do is believe that He died for you and rose again and ask His forgiveness on that basis.

And the Bible says you’ll have it. That’s where peace with God starts. Now, if you’re a believer, if you’re somebody who already has peace with God, there’s instructions in here for you.

We have to guard the peace that He’s given us rather than undermine it. God’s given us the peace, but often we do things to get in the way, don’t we? Do you ever get in the way of what God wants for you?

Of what God says your life is supposed to be like? I do that all the time. We all do.

If you’ve trusted Jesus as your Savior, He’s given you peace with God, and He’s given you some instructions as the Holy Spirit speaks through the Apostle Paul about how to guard the peace He wants you to have around you. Some of these instructions. and some that we’ve already discussed.

He says, be of the same mind in the Lord in verse 2. Try to see things from God’s perspective instead of demanding your own or even trying to compromise with the person you’ve got conflict with. He talks about helping these women who labored.

In verse 3, we need to view our fellow believers as partners rather than opponents. If we can see that we’re working toward the same thing, it changes the whole discussion. He tells us in verse 4, rejoice in the Lord always.

And again, I say rejoice. He says it twice. Because there will always be things, there will always be reasons to be unhappy and to focus on our circumstances and complain.

And when you feel that way, are you at peace with other people? When I’m upset about something, don’t I get a little crankier? Benjamin goes, yeah.

But if instead of looking at our circumstances, we’re looking at the Lord, we’ll find reasons to rejoice. He says, let your gentleness be known. Verse 5, be gracious.

Be gracious to others because of the grace that God has shown to you. Well, what if they don’t deserve it? Tell me how much you deserve the grace that God has shown you.

I don’t like hearing that. Because I know how much grace He’s shown me. I know how little I deserved it.

And boy, that just snatches away all the arguments I have for not showing grace to others. But it’s true. Let your gentleness be known to all men.

Then he says in verse 6, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to God. Entrust your worries to Him.

Even entrust those worries about those times that you are in conflict with somebody. You just can’t seem to solve it. Entrust it to Him.

Take your cares and your worries to Him. Be anxious for nothing, but go to Him in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. And I know, I know, I know these instructions, they sound so simple.

Some of you are probably thinking, I’ve heard this in Sunday school since I was this tall. I get it. I get it.

But there’s a reason the Bible reminds us of things like this again and again and again. It’s because they are simple, but they’re also hard to do it sometimes. And they’re so important that we need the reminder.

And keep in mind, as we talk about these things to do, the message here is not go do all these things and God will love you extra much, extra special. The purpose of all of these things. The Bible is not a self-help book. The Bible is not a book about how to be healthy and wealthy and wise and live your best life now.

The Bible is a book to help us understand what God wants so that we can glorify Him. So that we can find salvation in Him through Jesus Christ and so we can glorify Him. And when we do these things that Paul is talking about all throughout this passage, when we live at peace with one another, when we find ways as much as possible to live at peace with the world, we demonstrate to the world the peace that He has given us and give opportunities to talk to them about the peace that He can offer them through Jesus Christ.