Philippians 4 Living God’s Way – with Joy, Contentment and Gratitude

 

Philippians 4

Living God’s Way – with Joy, Contentment and Gratitude

We live in times when the second coming of our Lord Jesus is soon and our conduct can either attract or repel people from wanting to come to Jesus. This is a great responsibility for us, but here Paul gives us some sound advice in Chapter 4 of the book of Philippians and demonstrates that living this way is not impossible (v13). There are six things Paul mentions here to help us living God’s way.

1.   Put aside your differences

Phil 1:2-3 is beckoning us as true born-again believers to put aside our differences as we work to spread the gospel of the good news of Jesus Christ.

It is important to note that having differences is not being looked upon as something forbidden. We are all unique with different backgrounds and talents and how we want to do things, BUT the important matter is to be mature in resolving and putting aside those differences to work together in unity.

2.   Be joyful and have a gentle attitude

Phil 1:4-5 tells us to rejoice and have a gentle attitude toward everyone, for the Lord is coming soon.

How can someone want to know Jesus when His children are not joyful?

As born-again believers we get this joy by spending time in the presence of the Lord, by prayer and reading the Bible. Is your spirit heavy? go to the book of Psalms and read it out loud (songs of praise) for yourself to hear – the Word of God is true and cuts through flesh and bone like a two-edged sword (Heb 4:12) – the heaviness will lift (Is 61:3), because that is what the Word of God tells us.

3.   Do not worry, instead pray about everything

Phil 4:6-7 tells us that we should not worry, but instead cast our burdens onto Jesus in prayer and supplication.

Pray and ask God for what you need, always have a thankful heart. Relent, release control of your situation unto Him and trust that Jesus is for you not against you. This way you will have peace that surpasses all human understanding (v7).

When we get to a place of this peace, people may ask you how?  Then we can witness to them and tell them about Jesus’s saving grace, the gospel of His Good News.

4.   Fill your minds with Godly things

Fill your minds with things that are good and deserving of praise (Phil 4:8-9). Things to fill our minds with include:

·       Truth of God’s Word

·       Noble things, in other words – things that have good moral character

·       Right and pure things

·       Honourable things – carries weight and brings glory to God

·       Lovely things – showing gentle care, quiet acts of service, kindness in stead of bitterness and unforgiveness.

Where to we find these things to fill our mind with?

Romans 12:2 tells us do not be conformed to this world, but instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is the acceptable and perfect will of God.

We do not find it in worldly news reports, social media, movies and entertainment. Given that we must be aware of what is going on around us, we should limit our exposure to worldly things and instead feed our mind from the Bible.

To practically be transformed by the renewing of your mind is a divine partnership between each one of us and the Holy Spirit. God is true to His word and will do His part, BUT we also have to cooperate with Him and do our part.

The Holy Spirt will:

·       Convict and alert us. He provides that internal check or 'prompt' letting us know when something is polluting our thoughts or dragging us down.

·       Reveal the truth. He makes Bible scripture come alive, give us spiritual insight, and helps us understand how scripture applies to our life.

·       Break the stronghold and weakens the grip of wrongful thoughts, heals deep wounds, and provides us with the supernatural strength to change.

·       Produce spiritual fruit. He physically changes our desires over time, with love, joy, peace, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).

Choose what we feed our minds with:

·       Actively turn off toxic media, leave gossip-filled conversations, and set boundaries on what you watch or read.

·       Open the Bible and read. Make time to read or listen to the Word and let it fill and saturate you.

·       Confess and repent of sins for example dwelling on anxiety, pride, or lust, and make a conscious decision to redirect your thoughts. Step on the head of the snake, take that wrongful thought captive and replace it with prayer or a scripture from the Bible.

·       We pause and choose obedience; to hold our tongue, pray for our enemies, and deliberately act in a godly manner.

 

5.   Be content with what you have

In Phil 4:10-13 Paul demonstrates that we should be content with what we have, in any circumstance; with too much, with too little, with an empty stomach, with a feasting table. He tells that God will give us the strength to endure any of these conditions (v13). If Paul learned this secret, and it was noteworthy to share in this letter addressed to the Philippian church, then we can learn it too.

A content and grateful heart is pleasing to the Lord.

 

6.   Blessing in generosity and cheerful giving

Phil 4:14-20. Gifts that are given to fellow believers in need, and who is suffering for the sake of the gospel is a “sweet fragrance” unto the Lord (v18). It is a sacrifice that is acceptable and pleasing to God Almighty.

When we bring a sacrifice in this manner to the Lord, from His abundant wealth He will supply all our needs. Those who receive can bring Glory to God with thanksgiving.

We should however not confuse needs with wants as they can be very different things. Our wants may lead us astray into temptation and sin. What we really need from God, He will supply abundantly. The Lord knows our needs, material, emotional, relational…The question is:

Do we really trust Him enough not to worry (v7) about these things?

 

Final greeting to each one of God’s people who belong to Christ Jesus (Phil 4:21). Paul makes an effort to include every believer in his greetings to the churches, thereby emphasising that each and every one in the body of Christ matters.

Even though in JCRC we are far apart on different continents, in different countries, we are 1 Body, 1 Family in the Kingdom of God and therefore we should make time to care for one another, share in greetings, joys, struggles and the gifts the Lord imparted to each one and to each church according to His riches and glory.

 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you all (Phil 4:21). Amen

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PASTORA HESMA - JCRC CAPETOWN