If you were to ask Paul the same question with regards to the Philippians whom he regards in verse 1 as his joy and crown, his greatest desire is that they would stand firm in what they have been taught, so that they would receive their heavenly citizenship. This is what Paul is encouraging the Philippians to focus on and to live for in the closing verses of chapter 3!

Now, Paul is aware that in any gathering of people, whether in the community or in the church, there will be individuals that differ with each other. This in itself is not bad, because after all, God hasn’t made us clones of each other – instead he has made us as unique individuals, each with the ability to exercise our independent minds! However, if as individuals we then choose not to exercise characteristics such as mutual respect, love and understanding towards other people, then we know that things will often get out of hand and turn rather ugly! And it is in the context of an ugly situation that has arisen that this part of the letter now addresses.

In the opening verses of our chapter this evening, we learn that there is division in the ranks of the church in Philippi. On this occasion, it centres around 2 women, who, from all accounts are at each other’s throats and are causing quite a disturbance in the life of the church – a disturbance that the church itself has been unable to resolve internally for whatever reason – a disturbance so big that it has now reached Paul himself.

Any conflict in the life of a church is never a good thing, however, it is imperative that it is dealt with in the right and proper manner to ensure the restoration process can take place. Often this will be done in private with the help of a friend or pastor, but in some cases, a word in public to both parties that does not favour either side, can help to break the deadlock. Now the thought of being singled out by name, in front of everyone else would be embarrassing to say the least for most of us, yet on this occasion, this is what Paul does, but notice how he does it, because how he does it is very important:

First, he pleads with the women concerned to agree with each other – as we read in verse 2: I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.

Second, because their argument is having such an impact on the life of the whole church, Paul appoints someone to help them – a mediator if you like. As we read in verse 3: Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women. Who this is, we don’t know – but what is important is that the situation demands the help of a third party to bring about a resolution.

Third, he reminds them that the reason why things should be resolved is that they all share both in the same work – that is making the Gospel known to all people and in the promise of an eternity with Christ. As verse 3 continues: help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Having addressed this disturbance and trusting that the church will now be able to put this incident behind them, Paul recognises that it is important that the church has something else to focus its energies on (after all living with disputes does consume ones lives), so he encourages them in verse 4 saying: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

But what does rejoice mean? Well, broadly speaking, today in the 21st century, we would describe it as an internal feeling of happiness – a sense of joy welling up and making one happy from within. Yet, in a 1st century Greek setting, it was about so much more, because to them, the idea of rejoicing was intrinsically linked to public celebration. You see, in the ancient world, people used to organise great festivals, games and shows to celebrate their gods and their cities – and ‘rejoice’ was one of the words used to describe the way one would outwardly express themselves at these events – you could say these were opportunities where one could ‘let down their hair and go to town!’

However, the danger is that in any type of celebration, there will always be those who are offended by such expressions of emotion for whatever reason – it might be that they just don’t like such displays – it might be that they are by nature quieter and more reserved in character – it might even be that the actual expression is rather excessive. Whatever the case, Paul encourages the Philippians that they can celebrate all that Christ has done for them – they can proclaim to the world his goodness, but there must be a gentleness that can be seen by all – as we read in verse 5: Let your gentleness be evident to all.

However, Paul knows that it’s not always easy to be gentle especially when one is anxious, and this is now what he turns his attention to, when in verse 6 he writes: Do not be anxious about anything.

One of the realities in life is that we can all suffer anxiety over something or someone. In Paul’s world, one thing that played on many minds concerned the pantheon of gods that much of society worshipped and the worry that they were out to get you for some offence you might not have even been aware you’d committed – in other words you never knew if something bad was waiting for you just around the corner!

Today, whilst it probably isn’t the thought of a pantheon of gods out to get us that might make us anxious, we too are surrounded by things that can equally make us anxious. It might be wanting to provide a better quality of life for ourselves and our families than we’re able to; it might be our jobs and seeking that elusive promotion; it might be having the latest model car; it might be whether our pension will be sufficient, or if we have one at all; it might be our self-esteem and how we look; it might be, it might be – whatever the case, the truth is that an anxious life can also lead us eventually to questioning whether we think we are acceptable to God.

The good news is that Paul is aware of these issues, and so gives us the best possible help and advice, when in verse 6 he says: but in everything, 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.

You see, God wants to be part of every part of our lives and not just those parts we think he would be interested in. This is why he says in all circumstances to bring everything to him. Let me ask you, how good are you at involving God in every area of your lives? From the seemingly mundane of wanting a car park at the local shopping centre, to major decisions such as where to live and what to do? Ask yourself, do you bring every situation to God? The reality is that there will be parts of our lives where we do not involve God for one reason or another. What we need to learn is that when we do let God in, then we will experience an incredible peace – a heavenly peace unlike anything else on offer in this world – a peace that comes only from God – a peace that can still our anxious minds, only if we choose to let him in.

And when we do let him into our minds and lives, then his peace is able to help us focus our minds on what is true, noble, right, pure, lovely admirable, excellent and trustworthy – wow, what a list of wonderful things to be thinking about rather than anxious things! I know what I would prefer – do you know what you would prefer?

Imagine for a minute a church that is unified, a church that rejoices and celebrates all that God has done, a church that is gentle and peaceful in its ways, a church that thinks only true, noble, right, pure, lovely admirable, excellent and trustworthy things. A church like this would be such as radically different place to be part of. This is the kind of church that each of us are called to be part of, and I believe it is possible for such a church to exist this side of eternity, but it does require you and me to live all this out.

Let me ask you – are you up for the challenge of a lifetime?