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Hark the
Herald Angel Sing
Philippians 4:2-9
Today we will continue to look at Hymns that are mistaken for Christmas
Carols. This one is a little easier for me to understand with the talk
about the Angels singing glory to the newborn king. But listen to the
thrust of the song:
Hark! the herald angels sing, Glory to the newborn King! Peace on earth,
and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled."
We have peace as believers because we have been reconciled with God.
Christ came and provided the sacrifice for our sins so that we can be
reconciled. But to be honest with you, especially at this time of the
year with all of the fusing and fighting that happens at the toy aisle,
it’s a little hard to feel at peace.
God offers His children "the peace...which passes all understanding."
That phrase is found in Philippians 4:7. And in the verses surrounding
it, Paul deals with the subjects of peace with one another, peace
within, & peace with God.
Now, before we go any farther I need to lay a little ground work. Peace
is not the opposite of war, The opposite of war is creation. When we
talk about peace in a Biblical sense we are talking about "being in a
right relationship." I need you to write that down, because it is
important, actually it is vital to your Christian life, and the life of
this church that we are at peace with one another or in a right
relationship with one another.
First we have got to be at peace with one another
But that’s not the attitude of a lot of people today. They’re convinced
that if you don’t gripe & complain & argue & fight for everything you
want in life, you’ll never get it.
That is the "Me first, & everybody else last," attitude that we have
been discussing in our Bible class over the past few weeks. In John
14-16 Jesus is constantly addressing the "It’s my way, or the highway!"
attitude of the apostles.
But we don’t suffer with that type of struggle do we? I mean we are
Christians who were raised under the covenant of grace, and those petty
problems that the Apostles had were because they lived under the
covenant of the law.
We are all on the level ground at the foot of the cross. Every one of
the Christians in this room was saved by the grace of God. And since we
all have that in common, we always get along with each other, never
disagreeing, right?
Wrong! We do disagree at times. Even though we’re all Christians,
wanting to serve our Lord, there are still times that we disagree.
We were working with a congregation a couple of years ago that sent out
a questionnaire & asked its members to fill it out & send it back
because they were trying to find out what the people felt about certain
things.
The one thing that the survey revealed was that they were a very diverse
congregation.
For instance, some thought they ought to go to the bank & borrow all the
money they could borrow, buy more land & build all the buildings they
needed immediately.
But others felt that they shouldn’t borrow at all. Instead, they ought
to wait & not build anything until they could pay cash for it.
Some felt they were giving way too much to missions, and said that they
were having a light house effect where they were sending the light off
in the distance but were they were it was dark. They needed more money
so that they could offer more for their people and use it to help pay to
update their existing facilities or build new ones.
But others said, "We’re not giving enough to missions. We need to give
more!"
One person responded that the preacher didn’t preach enough on
stewardship, & he ought to be encouraging the people to give more.
But someone else wrote, "It doesn’t make any difference what the subject
is, the preacher always talks about money."
Now that wide diversity should not surprise us because we all have
opinions on everything - even about church work. But the question is,
what do we do with the diversity?
Do you allow it to cripple you? Do you say, "We’re so diverse we’ll
never agree, so therefore we won’t do anything?"
Or do you move forward prayerfully, realizing that some will disagree
with whatever course you take?
Now I believe that the Bible gives us some guidance on how we are to
handle these matters.
First it teaches that those of us who follow Christ are called to be
servants. Jesus says in Matthew 20:26 But whoever would be great among
you must be your servant,
Secondly we are told to try to live at peace with every one. Romans
12:18 If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.
And for our third point go back to our text for today Philippians 4 and
we will notice verses 2-3
Here were two women; both of them really committed Christians who have
worked side by side with the Apostle Paul, who have had a disagreement.
But pay attention: This is a letter to the whole church at Philippi, &
in it Paul has dealt with some very important matters. So why on earth,
in the midst of such an important letter, does Paul stick in something
so personal about two of the ladies in the congregation?
Shouldn’t he have tried to solve this problem much more discreetly &
privately? Why so publicly as to write about it in a letter that
millions have read now for nearly 2,000 years?
Well, maybe it is because it is important that the church communicate to
the world that we don’t handle disagreements the same way that the world
handles them - that we’re able to find common ground & agree to work in
harmony with one another.
Look at what Paul does & what he doesn’t do.
First of all, he doesn’t take sides. He doesn’t say, "Syntyche is right
& Euodia is wrong. So you get out of here, Euodia." He doesn’t do that.
Secondly, he doesn’t pull rank. He doesn’t say, "I’m the apostle here &
therefore I say if you two don’t agree, you’re both out of here."
Instead, he encourages them to find common ground where they can agree.
He says, "I plead with (you) to agree with each other in the Lord."
Remember this is the same Paul that wrote what we just read in Romans
12:18? “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace
with everyone."
There is something else that Paul does. He appoints a third party to
intervene.
In vs. 3 he’s called, “faithful friend." We don’t know who he was, but
whoever he was, he was a peacemaker.
Now there is nothing Satan would rather do than to divide this church.
Because if he can do that, then he can cripple us so we can’t get out
the good news about Jesus. The last week has been hard around here. And
we have all had our part in it. But now it is important that we pledge
to one another & to God that we’ll not allow ourselves to be used as
pawns in the hand of Satan to divide His church. As we serve God
together, we will be at peace with one another.
Next Paul talks about having peace within.
Let’s continue with verse 4-7
Now, I don’t know how you felt as you came to church this morning.
Sometimes we feel like we’re on top of the world & everything is going
our way. But probably, most of the time, we don’t come to church feeling
that way.
Did you come this morning carrying a heavy burden? Maybe you’re worried
about something.
Maybe there is a problem in your life that just doesn’t seem to go away.
Maybe you feel guilty because of some sins you have committed.
Maybe you’re concerned about finances.
Maybe you’re frustrated because you’re trying to get something
accomplished & you can’t seem to get it done.
Whatever the reason, here we are. And I think Paul’s words are directed
at all of us who carry burdens.
And we need to realize that as Paul writes these words he is not sitting
in some ivory tower. Not all the pieces of his life are in place either.
He’s in prison & facing trial. He may soon be executed. But in these
verses, Paul writes a formula for developing peace within.
He says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer
and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." In other
words, "Don’t worry. Let God handle it."
Someone once said “worry is the Christian’s most popular sin because it
is one that we don’t even try to disguise. Worry is so common in our
lives that we’re not even ashamed of it.
When we come to church we mouth all the right words: Blessed assurance
Jesus is mine, or It is well with my soul.
But then we leave church and forget that He’s with us. We forget He’s
Lord and King. And we take all the burdens that we brought with us & put
them right back on again. And we begin to worry more & more.
In Matthew 6, Jesus talks about worry. Now I know you’ve heard these
words before, but please listen to them again. Listen to how complete
and inclusive they are, and listen to it as though you were standing
face to face with Jesus and He is looking right into your eyes as He
speaks these words.
”don't worry about the food or drink you need to live, or about the
clothes you need for your body. Life is more than food, and the body is
more than clothes. You cannot add any time to your life by worrying
about it. Don't have so little faith! Don't worry and say, 'What will we
eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear?' The people who
don't know God keep trying to get these things, and your Father in
heaven knows you need them. The thing you should want most is God's
kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need
will be given to you. So don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow
will have its own worries. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Worry is assuming responsibility that God never intended us to have. He
will carry the burdens for us. We need to turn our worries over to God.
1 Peter 5:7 says, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares
about what happens to you.”
Finally, Paul mentions peace with God.
Let’s finish our passage today by reading verses 8-9
We need to read these verses often Paul is saying, "Here are 8 filters.
Everything you hear & everything you see needs to pass through them. And
if it doesn’t make it through these 8 filters then it shouldn’t be in
your mind and in your heart.
There is so much garbage in this world. And the old saying "garbage in,
garbage out" is true. So think about it. Can the movies you see, and the
TV programs you watch, & the music you listen to pass through these 8
filters?
Paul says, "Put everything through these 8 filters. If it’s not true,
then don’t welcome it.
If it’s not noble, if it’s not right, or pure or lovely or admirable or
excellent or praiseworthy, don’t let it find a home in your heart. And
if you’ll use these filters you’ll have peace with God."
Do you remember the words that Jesus first spoke to His disciples
following His resurrection? The disciples were in the upper room, and
they were fearful for their own lives. Their leader was dead, & their
future uncertain.
Just then Jesus appeared though locked doors & spoke to them. Do you
remember what He said?
His first words were just one simple phrase, `Peace be with you.’
The very thing that they didn’t have was the very thing that He offered
- peace. And He still offers it to us today.
Do you have it? Did you come into God’s house this morning with it? Or
did you find yourself carrying burdens that were too heavy to carry? And
are you going to leave here with those burdens still? Or are you going
to turn them over to Jesus?
I know One who died on a cross for your sins. And I know One who shed
His precious blood so that you can have everlasting life. And I know
that He is available to you this morning, and that you can have Him as
your Lord and Savior simply by coming and confessing your faith in Him,
and giving yourself to Him.
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