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Philippians 4:1-7 Final Instructions: Be Resolute; Quit Fighting; Get Your Happiness From God Himself; Be Gentle; Know That Messiah Is Near; Instead Of Worrying, Pray!

We are getting to the end of this wonderful letter, written by Rabbi Paul and Timothy to the Community of Messianic Jews and Christians in Philippi. For those of you not familiar with him, Paul was one of the greatest men who ever lived. The rabbi from Tarsus was intelligent, courageous, intense, devoted, zealous. He was an expert in Judaism. He was a great scholar and theologian. He was a Pharisee, which means he was part of an exclusive group who were very serious about practicing Judaism. He was also a Roman citizen. He spoke and wrote Greek and was familiar with Greek and Roman literature and culture.

While initially opposed to Yeshua and His followers, he became a radical follower of the Son of God who had appeared to him and transformed him. Paul was one of the greatest evangelists of all time and his efforts changed the course of Western Civilization. This very special man was a prophet, a very special individual who heard from God. He was an apostle, a very special and select individual who was chosen to represent the Risen Messiah. In fact, Paul was a very special apostle – the apostle to the Gentiles, specially equipped and sent to reach and teach the non-Jewish peoples. Paul wielded great spiritual authority He wrote much of the New Testament, which has impacted billions of people and hugely influenced the world. Rabbi Paul was one of the very greatest human beings who ever lived. We should pay attention to his writings that have been preserved for us, including these final instructions to the Philippian Community.

Remember, Paul is writing this letter while imprisoned in Rome, awaiting a trial that could result in his death. Many people would be fearful, depressed, despondent, immobilized. Not Paul! He was confident, happy, active.

Be Resolute

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends! Rabbi Paul was very close to the Messianic Jews and Christians in the Philippian Community. He considered them brothers and sisters and dear friends. He loved these people a lot and very much wanted to be with them. That’s understandable since the Philippian Community gave him so much nachus, so much satisfaction. They filled him with a good kind of pride. Because he started this community and was involved in their growth, their accomplishments made him look good. They were like a crown on his head, the kind of wreath given to someone who wins a prize in an athletic game, indicating victory and success.

This community of Christians and Messianic Jews were doing so well. They were doing so much that was right. Their love for the risen Messiah; their love for Paul himself; their loyalty to him; their encouragement; their financial support that enabled him to bring the good news to others and build up new communities of Christians and Messianic Jews; their own involvement in the work of evangelism; their courage and steadfastness in the face of opposition – made the Lord’s Representative very happy and proud. Paul wanted this community, whom he felt so close to, to continue doing what they were doing, and to continue to stand firm, being resolute and immovable, not giving in to the intimidation of the opposition. And, this is the kind of community God wants us to be. May it be so! Amayn?

Quit Fighting

This was a great group of people, but it was not a perfect community. There was a problem that the Lord’s emissary became aware of. Word had gotten to Paul that a couple of the women were quarreling with each other. And even if that seems like a small thing, and not worthy of the attention of a great apostle (and eventual inclusion into the Word of God), Paul knew that a serious disagreement between two people can escalate and draw others in and hurt the whole community.

I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the Good News, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Euodia and Syntyche were spiritual women. They were serious about serving God. These courageous women had worked with Paul, struggled with him to bring the Good News to others. And yet, these godly women had gotten themselves into a situation where they were fighting with each other and unable to resolve their differences on their own. So, Paul asked someone else, someone close to him, a man he calls his true companion, his faithful partner, to intervene as a mediator and help them work out their differences and come into agreement.

This is how Messiah’s Community is to function. God’s people are imperfect. We may truly love the Lord like Euodia and Syntyche, yet still find ourselves in a quarrel with another godly person. There have been situations like that here at Shema. There have been times when two individuals who are genuine believers have gotten into a fight and the elders have intervened to bring reconciliation. If you find yourself in an argument with another member of the synagogue, be open to mediation to help resolve the situation.

I really like it that Paul considered the names of his co-workers to be written in the book of life. That tells us that those who know that Yeshua is the Messiah, and prove it by working to bring that truth to others, and work to building up Messiah’s Community of Jews and Gentiles, will surely live forever!

Get Your Happiness From God Himself

Even though earlier in this letter, Paul had told them to rejoice in the Lord, the imprisoned apostle reinforces that instruction – not once, but twice – which means it’s very important. Getting our happiness because of God Himself is something that the Lord’s Representative wants God’s people to put into practice. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Most people are happy if their lives are going reasonably well, if their circumstances are good. But your circumstances can change in a moment. You can lose your job, your health, your wealth, even your life. Relationships can change. Friends and family can disappoint. Like Paul, you can wind up unfairly imprisoned. We don’t want our happiness to be dependant on our circumstances. We want an inner joy that is rooted in a reality that won’t change.

There is so much alienation from God, brokenness, sinfulness, sadness in the world. It’s easy to understand Messiah’s words: Blessed are those who mourn. But, one can mourn over a world that is far from God, a world that is fallen, damaged, hurting, broken, and at the same time be glad because you know who God is and what He has done, is doing and will do – celebrating God all day, every day. How do we rejoice in the Lord? In two ways:

First, by filling our minds with truths about God Himself. That He is eternal and infinite God. He is without beginning and without end. He has life in Himself. He is self-existent. He is complete. He is perfect. He is all-present everywhere, all-powerful, all-knowing, infinitely wise. He is beautiful. And He is the Creator of this beautiful universe and everyone and everything in it. He is morally perfect. He is full of love, gracious and merciful, holy, righteous and just, faithful and true, good, kind and generous. And, He will never change.

Second, we rejoice in the Lord by thinking about the things God has done, is doing and will do -especially for those of us who are part of Messiah’s Community. We remind ourselves that God created us, sustains us, helps us, redeems us. When Adam and Eve sinned, He promised to fix the disaster of Eden. He preserved humanity through the Flood; created the holy nation of Israel to be a light to the world; saved Israel out of Egypt; performed signs and wonders for us; gave us great leaders; gave us His Word; made excellent promises and covenants with us; taught us the principles of salvation; brought us into the Land He reserved for us; sent us judges and kings, prophets and priests, holy men and women.

God the Father sent Messiah to be the Savior of the world! The Son of God lived a perfect life, suffered much and then died a painful atoning death and then rose from the dead, overcoming our greatest enemies – Satan, sin and death. After the Messiah ascended to the right hand of the Father, the Father and the Son then sent the Holy Spirit, who connects us to the Father and the Son, gives us eternal life, transforms us from within, and guides and teaches us!

What makes me happy? Knowing that I am reconciled to the Three-in-One God of Israel, loved by God, will live forever with God! That God the Father is my Father. That the Lord Yeshua the Son is my king, and my brother and friend. That the Holy Spirit lives in me now and will live in me forever, uniting me to God the Father and Messiah the Son and joining in a great fellowship with all the other sons and daughters of God.

What makes me happy? Knowing that the good angels are my protectors and allies. That I am a son of God, precious and eternal. That I are part of an amazing community made up of the redeemed from all the ages, Jews and Gentiles whose sins will be forgiven and who will reach perfection. That God has amazing things in store for me, including a great and eternal inheritance.

Don’t make the mistake of allowing your happiness to be dependant on your circumstances, your present situation, how well things are going at the moment.

We need to learn to let God be the source of our happiness; to get our greatest satisfactions because we know the Living God, and know that we are in a right relationship with Him, and that we understand what He is doing, know that we will live forever with Him.

Christians and Messianic Jews need to be bold, courageous, outspoken. We need to take a firm stand for God; for morality, for absolute truth. We need to boldly proclaim the bad news – that humanity has been ruined by the Fall of Man in that happened in the Garden of Eden; that humanity is far from God, alienated from the Creator; that Jews and Gentiles are heading to death, not life; to Hell, not Heaven. And we need to unashamedly proclaim the Good News – that reconciliation with God is possible, but there is only one way to God, which comes from knowing that Yeshua is the Messiah, and then transferring our loyalties to Him and God His Father. We need to be bold, courageous, uncompromising about these truths, but we also need to be gentle.

Be Gentle

Let your gentleness be evident to all. God the Father is the King of the universe. He is a firm ruler yet gracious and reasonable. Messiah is gentile and kind, but strong. We are to be the same. We are to make it obvious as we can that we’re gentle, gracious, fair, considerate, reasonable. Can we stand for absolutes, for the truths of the Bible, and still be kind and considerate? Can we go against the spirit of our age – that there are no absolute truths, that all opinions are equally valid, and still be gentle and reasonable? Yes.

Know That Messiah Is Near

The Lord is near. He is near both in regard to time and to space. I’ve talked about “normalcy bias” before. It’s human nature to assume that tomorrow will be, more or less, like today. Christians and Messianic Jews are to live with a different perspective. We are to keep in mind that the risen and ascended Messiah will return to planet Earth one day, and radically change everything. And we are to live as if His return were imminent. If that is our perspective, we are going to live with a sense of urgency. We will be concerned to warn others about spiritual realities; we will live more for God, and not for ourselves, for future rewards and not for a more comfortable life on Earth. If we expect the Master to show up any day, we will live so that we are doing what He wants us to do each day – being holy and carrying on His great mission to reach the lost with the Good News and build up Messiah’s Community. We are to live knowing that He is near in time.

And, we are to live knowing that He is near in space. We are to understand that He is very close to us. He is closer than our breath. By means of His Spirit, He is living in us. In a fallen, confusing, dangerous, unhappy world, knowing that Messiah is close to us, aware of each one of our trials, aware of our challenges, our sadness, our suffering, should be immensely comforting. Knowing that He is near – to comfort, to help, to sustain, to encourage, should give us shalom rav – great peace.

Instead Of Worrying, Pray

This world is a seriously messed up place. In it there are people who are selfish and corrupt and dangerous. Governments can become corrupt and oppressive. Nations can fall. Jobs can be lost. Economies can collapse. Currencies can be destroyed. Wealth can disappear. Relationships can end. Families can fall apart. Little can be considered safe or secure. In such a world, it is easy to worry. Paul challenges not to give in to anxiety, but to pray. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Messiah Yeshua.

Paul had told the Philippians to get their happiness from God, and not from their circumstances. Worry can destroy our happiness. Anxiety can upset us, immobilize us, debilitate us, ruin our health. We don’t need to be dominated by worry. Instead of worrying, pray!

Don’t fret about anything. Let your requests, sprinkled with praise and thanksgiving, reshape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, that everything will come together for good, will come and settle you down. It’s wonderful what happens when Messiah displaces worry at the center of your life!

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which surpasses anything you can understand. This peace will protect you in your in your deepest places. This peace will protect your heart and your mind and your thoughts. This peace will control the way you think and feel.

Be resolute; quit fighting; get your happiness from God Himself; be firm but gentle; know that Messiah is near in regard to time and to space; instead of worrying, pray!