Week 9: Joy in Anxiety (Philippians 4:2-9) Discussion Questions

Transcription

1 Week 9: Joy in Anxiety (Philippians 4:2-9) Discussion Questions! 1. How can conflict tear friendships, a family, or even a church apart? 2. Why is it so important to not let conflict fester? 3. What is the best approach when encountering conflict? Read Philippians 4: What is the big picture that we should keep in mind amidst conflict? Read Philippians 4: What does it mean for our gentleness to be evident to all? 6. Is there a situation in which you might commonly not be gentle in your response? What would it look like to be gentle in this particular scenario? 7. Why is it important to remember that the Lord is near? 8. How does prayer with thankfulness provide a deep peace beyond our understanding? 9. What does it mean to you to know that you can receive a peace that makes no sense amidst even the most challenging circumstance? Do you have an example of this? 10. Why is this sometimes so difficult to put into practice? 11. How comforting is the image of our hearts and minds being guarded? Read Philippians 4: How challenging do you find the standard for our thoughts? 13. How might we even approach this? How can our thoughts be shaped appropriately? 14. Some people consider Paul s command to put into practice (anything that they have learned, received, heard, or seen from him) as arrogant. How does his attitude actually demand a very high level of accountability for his behaviour? 15. In this passage, how is it evident that God is concerned with our whole selves? The Anglican Church of Noosa

2 Talk 9/10 (Philippians 4:2-9): 9/6/13 Joy in Anxiety by the Rev d Adam Lowe The Principle of the Matter Witnessing a Family Feud? I wonder if you ve ever been privy to a family dispute other than your own. You know, that awkward situation when there s some quarrel going on between loved ones, it doesn t even need to be a dramatic one, and you kind feel like you should really be witnessing this. It s not that you don t have family quarrels, but you just don t have them in public... So you try to look at the ground, [my favourite technique is to] pretend that I m invisible, and just hope the storm passes soon and that the tentacles of the aggravators don t try to reel me in to join their cause. It just seems easier to pretend that conflict doesn t happen. How about in the church? Conflict, no never. As long as I close my eyes and pretend to be invisible, I ll find no conflict here. And so we have Euodia and Syntyche in the church of Philippi. Now we don t know what their quarrel was about, but it must have been going on for some time as Paul would have heard about it from Epaphroditus. But regardless of how long it was going on for or how significant it really was, I m sure they never anticipated that this would become one of the most public quarrels - recounted for the next 2,000 years - ever to be. This Particular Circumstance - Shared Responsibility I mean, can you imagine that from Long Service Leave we get a letter from Mark and I stand up here and read it. And it says I plead with Laura Keet and I plead with Chef Jean-Claude Pommes-Frites to agree with each other in the Lord. I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. (4:2) The word for plead is immensely personal. Paul is saying, I urge, exhort, appeal, implore, beg you to agree in the Lord. And so the letter is read in front of the whole church because where there is conflict amongst us it has the power to tear the body apart. Therefore if there is conflict, we have a joint responsibility to help resolve it. We can t look away. It s not that we won t disagree. Note that Paul isn t asking them to agree in whatever the issue was - could have been doctrinal, liturgical, theological, moral - no, the basis for the joining is being in the Lord. Having contended at Paul s side in the gospel - as partners in the gospel (fellow workers) - with their names in the book of life, Paul is asking them to recall the true basis of unity. Principle: Big Picture applied to Small Matters Paul is saying to Euodia and Syntyche, remember the big picture of Christ and eternity. Remember the verses leading up to our passage today... The Rev d Adam Lowe 1

3 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. 1 Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends! (Philippians 3:20-4:1) {BLANK} And so we have a big biblical principle of how we are to deal with not only conflict, but all the storms, all the stress, and all the turbulence of life. The big truth of the gospel impacts our circumstances, be they mundane or mega. So whilst Paul talks of the yokefellow helping out in this situation, he doesn t start with a process of conflict resolution, but the big picture that... Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again. All Need Stabilisation Paul continues on in quick-fire mode, with a series of commands in rapid succession. And what we see is really how this big picture of standing firm in the Lord applies to everything in our lives. With lives full of all sorts of turbulence, all forms of trouble and pain, there is only one true source of stability - one way in which we can stand firm. And that is in the Lord. So having given us that big picture, Paul gives us three methods of standing firm. Method: Rejoice and be Gentle (vv.4-5) The first one is rejoice and be gentle. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Paul is imperative here - saying it twice, that we are to rejoice. So often when we think about rejoicing we think about the internal welling up of joy, but in the context of the passage and the people they would have had a very public understanding of what it meant to rejoice. Paul is saying that the followers of Jesus should celebrate exuberantly! Can you imagine the effect of that - if we rejoice together and keep celebrating Christ, how much it might bring us back in unity? Can you imagine how if Euodia and Syntyche did that, how they still might disagree on an issue but the weight of it will be put into perspective? Friends that s a wonderful part of us worshipping, rejoicing together. We are reminded that our unity is in Christ, and that helps put into perspective how those relationships ought to be tempered. However, we also note that Paul says let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. So whilst we rejoice our gentleness should be pervasive, it should be recognisable to everyone. Recognisable to those in our church, recognisable to those with whom we disagree, recognisable to the entire community of Noosa. We should a people who have a radical evenness of temper. That takes an ability to de-centre ourselves from the situation - from the things that might annoy us - and instead be centred in the big picture of Christ. It s acting in a way with which we would be satisfied with the Lord being near. It s a little ambiguous by what Paul means, as near can mean close in both time and space... The Lord will return soon, or the Lord who came so close to humanity, or the Lord who is so incredibly close in his Spirit right now. Perhaps all three - the reality is this, God is with us and Jesus will return, so in the recognition of his presence we are to act with gentleness. The Rev d Adam Lowe 2

4 Method: Pray with Thanksgiving (vv.6-7) The second way that we might keep hold of the big picture is by prayer and petition. But just not any type, but prayer characterised by thanks. The Human Experience of Anxiety Many social commentators, such as Hugh Mackay, note that despite incredible material wellbeing, many Australians live with high levels of insecurity and anxiety (NCLS, Occasional Paper 4). There s people in our community who are experiencing the most tragic and challenging of circumstances. Immense loss. Situations in which we couldn t help but think anxiety is the natural emotional expression and I would never want to diminish their pain. I struggle to fathom the pain that they must be feeling let alone how that might know peace. Do not be anxious... Thus, when we read verse six, I think we should be a little shocked in how emphatic and extensive it is. 6 Do not be anxious about anything... No anxiety in any circumstance. Anything. Paul of course doesn t say this lightly, he was a man who knew immense pain and the reality of death was ever before him. Of course, if these words were dispensed on their own they could have perilous outcomes. As if by the power of positive thinking we might overcome pain and searing loss. And friends that s the exact opposite of Paul s point. A Peace that makes no sense... to us That actually, if you want to know peace across the entire spectrum of life s circumstances, it s only the peace of God - a peace that makes no sense, a peace beyond our understanding, a supernatural peace - that will do. A peace like an army that marches around your heart and your mind to protect you. Through thanks How can we experience such a peace?...but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. I find it sometimes so challenging to give thanks in all circumstances. But there is something so wonderful and liberating when we do. See, often we don t want to give thanks until we know the outcome - but what we re called upon here is to give thanks trusting that God will do good. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) The Rev d Adam Lowe 3

5 Sometimes that means giving thanks even when we can t see any good that God can bring out of this. It s a peace that passes our understanding not his. The disciples - running away - gazing upon the cross couldn t have imagined a more dire circumstance. How could they give thanks for their Lord being crucified? Yet in time, they and we would see out of such a horrific thing, we have the greatest news of all time. Karl Barth - the Swiss Reformed Theologian said this: To begin by praising God for the fact that in this situation, as it is, he is so mightily God such a beginning is the end of anxiety. To be anxious means that we ourselves suffer, ourselves groan, ourselves seek to see ahead. Thanksgiving means giving God the glory in everything, making room for him, casting our care on him, letting it be his care. The troubles that exercise us then cease to be hidden and bottled up. They are, so to speak, laid open to God, spread out before him. Barth When we pray to God in thanks, we re saying God, you re in charge. And then...god s peace, like a garrison of soldiers, will keep guard over our thoughts and feelings so that they will be as safe against the assaults of worry and fear as any fortress. Method: Think and Act Differently (v.8-9) Finally, Paul commands the Philippians to think and act differently. Godly thoughts and Godly action. Godly Thoughts In our present day we have so many inputs competing for our attention. Sometimes we can be so overwhelmed by information that we have very little time to think about what we re thinking about. And if the input is rubbish then I suspect what we will thinking about is probably going to be rubbish too. Paul s desire for our brains is no less than marvellous in its loftiness. 8 Finally, brothers, 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. Now, I m pretty sure that if all of my thoughts were displayed on the screen after church, I wouldn t be getting too many saying what noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent, praiseworthy things you think about Adam. I suspect the descriptors might be somewhat different. Notice the aspiration isn t just not thinking bad things, that s not enough. Paul is saying to think basically in a holy or Godly way. Once again, no amount of positive thinking is going to happen. There is definitely a corrective element to our thinking sometimes that has to occur. But primarily I think we need to drench ourselves with good inputs. Like reading God s word in order that our thoughts might be shaped. And in turn our action might be shaped. The Rev d Adam Lowe 4

6 Presence of God 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. Some people when they hear that think, gee, Paul was pretty arrogant. But actually I think it is a way of us being less accountable about how we act. By relegating Paul s resolve as arrogance, we dodge the importance and the power of how we act to influence others. I m filled with with trepidation at the mere thought of saying - put into practice whatever you ve learned, or received, or heard, or seen me do. But friends, I wonder if we realised what was really at stake, if we would be more conscious of how we acted, of what we said, of what we showed people, and what we gave people. {BLANK} Conclusion Example: Horatio Spafford - 19th Century Lawyer sent his wife and four daughters to England. November 22 crossing the atlantic, the vessel was struck and 226 people lost their lives. Horatio received a telegram from his wife that said Saved alone. He then travelled to England and at the point where the point where the boat had sank, wrote the hymn All is well with my soul. When peace, like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. With my soul (with my soul), It is well, it is well with my soul. And Lord haste the day, when my faith shall be sight, The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul. (Refrain) Friends we need to keep reminding each other of that big picture and also keep relying on Christ as a stabiliser. Best way is to do that is through: Gentleness. Thankfulness. Godly Thought. Godly Action. These things that Christian legends are made of - not because they show how glorious the individual is, but because they show how glorious God is. So God wants all of you - emotionally, physically, and mentally. The Rev d Adam Lowe 5