Message

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Rejoice In the Lord Always

Philippians 4:1-23

Key Verse: 4:4 “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

In chapter 3 we learned Paul’s gospel faith and his spiritual goal in Christ. He said that he considered all things he had as lost or garbage for the sake of Christ because knowing Christ and being found by him had worth surpassing anything else on this earth. Furthermore, he wanted to participate in Christ’s suffering, becoming like him even in his death. Paul could do so because he had resurrection faith. His hope was in heaven and he pressed toward heaven to get the prize from the Lord Jesus, who awaited him in heaven.

In chapter 4 Paul gives them his final appeal and greetings. Let’s study how Paul concluded this letter as their shepherd and mentor.

First, stand firm in the Lord (1-3). Let us read verses 1-3. “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! 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 two women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.” Paul’s plea was for the reconciliation between Euodia and Syntyche, two influential women in the church. According to Paul, they had been faithful and helpful for Paul’s ministry. They fought for Paul and stood on his side. Even though they were faithful to Paul, they did not get along well. We don’t know why they were in discord, but they needed reconciliation. Paul asked the church people to help these two women to be reconciled.

Paul urged them to stand firm in the Lord in this way. Euodia and Syntyche were powerful women, but they became weak and vulnerable when they depended on themselves. The church people were also divided in their judgment. Paul asked them to stand firm in the Lord Jesus. They could find solution in Jesus who humbled himself and obeyed the cross. We follow Jesus, but we often become easily angered, rude, and proud. We fall into temptation and fail to control ourselves. But we can overcome ourselves in Jesus who is patient with us and compassionate for our weakness. In this way, Paul urged us to have the same mindset of Christ Jesus. He said in 2:5, “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:” In the past they were the joy and the crown whom Paul had loved. Paul had great affection for both. This is the same heart of God who sees all of us equal and precious. To the eyes of God, we are all precious and equally important children of God. There is no one who is greater and smaller in the sight of God. As Paul said, God does not show favoritism. (Ro 2:11) We are all joy and crown to the eyes of God. Amen!

Second, rejoice in the Lord always (4-5) Look at verses 4-5. “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” The words, “Rejoice in the Lord” is one of the main themes of Philippians. Paul repeated it 16 times in this letter because this is the most important message to them. How could they rejoice always, even in a time of suffering and hardship? How could the Philippians rejoice when there was trouble between Euodia and Syntyche? They could rejoice because they believed that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. How could we rejoice when we see others suffer from financial difficulties and sickness? We rejoice because we believe that their present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory which is coming. How could we rejoice when we lost our loved ones by illness or from an accident? We could rejoice because we believe that we will meet them again in heaven and that our citizenship is in heaven. This is why we can rejoice in the Lord always. This also reminds me of Romans 12:12 which says, “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Our hope never disappoints us, so we rejoice in the Lord. Amen!

Read verses 6-7. “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 Christ Jesus.” Whenever we are in trouble, we pray to God. What is the evidence of God’s answer for your prayer? Some say that they received God’s answer through his words. Amen! Others say that God solved their problem directly. As for me, it is peace of mind. God answered my prayer in many ways, but he gave me peace as an answer for my prayers. Long ago I had to pray at the time of deciding whether I should get married to Mary or not. I went into two weeks of intensive prayer for God’s answer. But I didn’t hear any voice from God such as, “Yes” or “No” or “marry her” or “send her” or something like that. But the more I prayed, the more peace God gave. God answered my prayer with peace of mind. Therefore, we do not need to become anxious about anything but in every situation, we come to God in prayer. Anything in every situation means in all situations we must pray. How? With thanksgiving. Why? Because God will answer our prayer. How long? Until you have the peace of God in your heart. Read verse 7 again. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” If you struggle with something which bothers you, present your requests to God and pray until the peace of God fills your heart. About everything in every situation, present yourself with prayer and petition. Personally, the closer the ISBC comes, the more I feel burdened because of my responsibilities to the Interest Group and Midwest Tour. I am preparing the presentation with Dr. Martin Mun, who is also struggling as I am. So, we started 40 days of united prayer from yesterday. Please pray for us that we may not become anxious, but pray and prepare well with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Peace is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. (Gal 5:22)

Third, whatever is true, whatever is noble... (8-9) In our lifetime, thinking is very important because what we think mainly affects our life direction and forms our personality. If children always think about computers, they may become computer engineers or programmers. If they always think about sports, they will have a higher chance to become sportsmen. What did Paul counsel us in verses 8? “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” This verse sounds great, so it was selected as a school motto for a prestigious university in Chicago. However, where are the true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy things on this earth? Every day we hear discouraging news and watch horrible scenes from the media about violence, injustice, immorality, and so on. We cannot find anywhere on this earth such things which are true, right, pure, lovely, and so on. But give thanks to God that we find all these in Jesus Christ, who is a treasure in heaven. Jesus is true, noble, right, lovely, admirable, excellent and praiseworthy. Amen! Paul urged us to think about Jesus all the time.

According to Psalm 51 written by David, from birth we have been sinful. Whatever we thought, it was evil. These evil thoughts damaged our lives as we grew. But since we became Christians, we began to think about Jesus. Since we think about Jesus, we have been changed. Our sinful desires were replaced with Jesus’ holy desire. Our thoughts and desires were filtered with the truth of God. Our spiritual goal was to know Jesus and to become like him as Paul mentioned in chapter 3. In this way Jesus changed our thought world and mindset. The more we think about Jesus, the more we become like him, who is truthful, noble, right, pure, lovely, and so on. As Hebrews says, let us fix our thoughts on Jesus and learn from him. (He 3:1) Paul did not stop here. Look at verse 9. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Paul urges us to put what we learned from Jesus into practice. Jesus taught us who is the wise builder in the Sermon on the Mount. The wise builder is the one who builds a house on solid rock. He is the one who hears Jesus’ words and puts them into practice. (Mt 7:24-27) I pray that all of us may think about Jesus and become wise builders by obeying Jesus’ words and putting them into practice. Amen!

Fourth, through him who gives me strength. (10-23) Now Paul shows his gratitude toward the Philippian Christians who resumed their support for him. According to Paul, they were indeed concerned about him more than anyone else and any other church in Macedonia. The Philippians provided for Paul more than enough. Paul praised their gifts by saying in verse 18, “They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” Paul praised their resuming their support for him, not because he was in need, but because they were sharing in Paul’s troubles. (14) “Yet it was good of you to share in my troubles.” Indeed, Paul knew how to be content whatever the circumstances.

Look at verses 11-13, “I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” As we know, Paul lived a mission-centered life. He worked as a tent-maker even though he was a well-educated rabbi and scholar. He sacrificed his career for the sake of the gospel. He suffered much for Jesus’ names sake. He had been beaten, flogged, stoned, imprisoned, and deported so many times while he was preaching the gospel. He mentioned all the sufferings he went through in 2 Corinthians 9. He learned how to survive in the time of suffering and how to thrive in the time of blessing. Paul learned all these through Jesus Christ, who suffered and died on the cross. He learned from Jesus who endured the cross and obeyed the Father to the end. So, he said, “I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” Here ‘him’ indicates Jesus. Like Paul, let us find the meaning of our present suffering in Jesus. There is a good purpose and plan of God behind our sufferings and hardships. When we find ourselves in Jesus, we can do everything through him, and we can overcome all things for him. There is nothing which we cannot overcome in Jesus and through Jesus. Amen!

Can you find any words which Paul repeated in chapter 4? Yes! It is ‘in the Lord.’ ‘Stand firm in the Lord’, ‘to be of the same mind in the Lord’, ‘Rejoice in the Lord’, ‘will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ ‘…through him who gives me strength’ Why did he repeat ‘in the Lord’ like a parrot? This is because he found all answers in the Lord Jesus. All answers come from Jesus and are found in Jesus. Jesus wants us to remain in him, remain in his words, and find ourselves in him as branches remain in the vine. “Apart from me you can do nothing.” (Jn 15:5)

In conclusion we learned how to be content, whatever the circumstances on this earth. This is because our citizenship is in heaven. No matter how difficult and painful things may seem, we can overcome them because we will all go to heaven in the end. Our suffering on this earth is short, but our glory in heaven lasts forever! ISBC 2023 is coming closer. Let us pray that God may richly bless this conference so that we all may see His Glory. Let us pray that we may all see the great spiritual revival through this conference that the fire of the revival may spread to other campuses, cities, countries, and finally to every corner of the world. Amen!

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• Php04-01-23-message-final.docx

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