2 Euodia and Syntyche, I urge you to put aside your differences, agree, and work together in the
Lord. 3 Yes, Syzygus,
loyal friend, I enlist you to please help these women. They, along with brother
Clement and many others have worked by my side to spread the good news of the
gospel. They have their names recorded in the book of life.
4 Most of all, friends, always rejoice in the Lord! I never tire of saying it:
Rejoice! 5 Keep your gentle nature so that all people will know
what it looks like to walk in His
footsteps. The Lord is ever present with us. 6 Don’t be
anxious about things; instead, pray. Pray about everything. He longs to hear your requests, so
talk to God about your needs and be thankful for what has come. 7 And know that the peace of
God (a peace that is beyond any
and all of our human
understanding) will stand watch over your hearts and minds in Jesus, the Anointed
One.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, fill your minds with beauty and truth. Meditate on
whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is good, whatever is virtuous and praiseworthy. 9 Keep
to the script: whatever you learned and received and heard and saw in me—do
it—and the God of peace will walk with you. (Philippians 4:2-9, VOICE)
External joy (horizontal)
involves earthly relationships while internal joy (vertical) involving
relationships with God and ourselves. Together they form a cross for the
perfect model for all our relationships.
34 “So I give you now a new commandment: Love each other just
as much as I have loved you. 35 For when you demonstrate the
same love I have for you by loving one another, everyone will know that you’re
my true followers.” (John 13:34-35, TPT)
Philippians 4:2-3
(above)-The relationship between Euodia and
Syntyche was poor. Strained relationships can be improved by finding common
ground.
·
Small disagreements can pull
you away from the main mission.
·
Division in the body of
Christ means division in the reward.
·
Joy and calmness will result
in unity in Christ.
Philippians 4:4-5
(above)-Have confidence that God is in
control. This will direct all of your relationships (both externally and
internally).
Philippians 4:6-7
(above)-The pathway to a greater joy is prayer
life that is intentional. (An hour for church on Sunday morning is not enough.)
Believe it or not, prayer to God works in the midst of life challenges.
Philippians 4:8
(above)-The pathway to greater joy is a
Christ-centered mindset that focuses on spiritual things.
Philippians 4:8
(above) - The pathway to greater joy is
spiritually-focused actions (in your life that are connected to other people).
14 Brothers and sisters, it doesn’t make any
sense to say you have faith and act in a way that denies that faith. Mere talk never gets you very far, and
a commitment to Jesus only in words will not save you. 15 It
would be like seeing a brother or sister without any clothes out in the cold and begging for food,
and 16 saying, “Shalom, friend,
you should get inside where it’s warm and eat something,” but doing nothing
about his needs—leaving him cold and
alone on the street. What good would your words alone do? 17 The
same is true with faith. Without actions, faith is useless. By itself, it’s as good as dead. (James
2:14-17,
VOICE)“Calmness is a human superpower. The ability to not overreact or take things personally keeps your mind clear and your heart at peace. It’s never too late to change your attitude about something you can’t change. Just decide to make the best of it. Take life day by day and be grateful for the little things. No excuses. Let go of all the purposeless drama, aimless time-wasters, and mental clutter that keeps getting in your way.” (Inspiration Arena)[i]
[i] Inspired by the sermon “Joy in Calmness: Unchained
Joy” (installment six) Sunday June 21, 2020, Interim Pastor Josh Boyer,
CenterPoint Church Lewis Center (All CenterPoint churches are closed due to the
Coronavirus, and are meeting online.) Join us every Sunday morning at 10am at
the CenterPoint Church Main Page on Facebook.
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