Exemplary Peace

Yesterday's plans for worship were washed out. I went to the park at 8:00 AM to check out things. It was barely raining, but a very cool breeze was blowing across the lake. Everything was wet. We immediately canceled the picnic and called everyone to meet at church.

What I later discovered was that we had an enormous amount of people out of town. Since so many missed the worship service I am posting a bit of my sermon here. No illustrations. No fills or frills. Just some of the basic ideas I talked about. The sermon title is "Exemplary Peace."

Paul reminds us that relational peace is an outgrowth of inner peace. I see a Personal Peace Plan outlined as we develop the virtues of joy, gentleness, and trust.

Here goes ....

Philippians 4:1 through Philippians 4:7 (NLT)
¹Dear brothers and sisters, I love you and long to see you, for you are my joy and the reward for my work. So please stay true to the Lord, my dear friends.

²And now I want to plead with those two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Please, because you belong to the Lord, settle your disagreement. ³And I ask you, my true teammate, to help these women, for they worked hard with me in telling others the Good News. And they worked with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the Book of Life.

⁴Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice! ⁵Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

⁶Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. ⁷If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

Michael Vick, quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons, is scrambling for his reputation. Once known for his strong arm, fast feet, and substantial income, now he is known for questionable water bottles, vulgar hand gestures, and mounting legal troubles. A few weeks ago his sports paraphernalia were some of the most sold items on the market. Now you can only buy them on Ebay. When I last checked, his jerseys were drawing almost no bids.

His reputation has gone from the penthouse to the outhouse in a matter of months.

Reputation is defined as the “overall quality or character as seen or judged by people in general.” (Miriam-Webster Online)

Two women in the city of Philippi developed quite a reputation. Euodia and Syntyche are only known because they had a quarrel. What a legacy they have left of themselves! We know so few names of people from 2000 years ago. But, these two women have managed to have their names included in the best selling book of all time. Wouldn’t it have been nice to have them remembered for something positive?

Imagine this – 2000 years from now someone opens a church history book and finds your name recorded for a significant event. “John and Jill destroyed the reputation of the congregation in Sterling Heights because they had a fight and couldn’t settle it.”

Many Christians have named their little girls after women in the Bible: Sarah, Deborah, Lois, Naomi, Ruth, Rhoda Rebecca, Rachel, Leah, Esther, Mary Abigail, Hannah, Phoebe, Anna, Candace, Chloe, Elizabeth, Judith, Julia, Lydia, Martha, Tabitha, Susanna, and Pricilla. These are all names we have known in contemporary time. But, when have you heard of someone named Euodia or Syntyche?

Those two women had a reputation for quarreling. What are you known for? Are you known for being a loving person? For serving others? Are you known as a person of peace?

Immediately after encouraging these two women to settle their disagreement, Paul urges the church to live at peace. He describes a way of living that includes the inner dimension of personal peace as well as the relational peace we ought to have with others.

Let’s look at his personal peace plan.

1. Paul's peace plan begins with joy.

⁴Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!

Rejoicing is the keynote of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It is a quality that we are to live with. It recognizes that life may not always be filled with happy circumstances. However, our spiritual and emotional well-being is not dependent on circumstances, but rather our fellowship with Christ.

Our inner attitudes do not have to be directed by our outward circumstances. It is amazing to note that Paul wrote these words from prison. He does not consider his encouragement to rejoice to be an unattainable attitude.

Psalm 16:8 through Psalm 16:9 (NIV)
I have set the LORD always before me. Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

2. The second part of Paul’s peace plan is gentleness.

Philippians 4:5 (NIV)

⁵Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

The Greek word here is “epeikes.” It is one of the most untranslatable words in the Greek language. As such, it is translated differently in almost every English translation of the Bible.

Let me list some of the various translations of the word. Do these words and phrases describe you?

KJV – moderation

Wycliffe – patience

Tyndale – softness

Geneva – patient mind

Rheims – modesty

Moffatt & RSV – forbearance

NEB – magnanimity

NLT – considerate

PH – reputation for being reasonable

NIV – gentle

• Are your hearts homes where other people can come without being worthy or deserving? (Magnanimous)
• Are you patient with others?
• Is there softness about how you relate to others?
• Are you modest in your estimate of yourself?
• Are you considerate of others?
• Is there a gentle quality about you?
• Do you have a reputation for being reasonable?

3. The third leg of Paul’s personal peace plan has to do with trust.

Philippians 4:6 (NLT) "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything.

Anxiety is our most common problem. We sell millions of dollars of medications to treat it. Anxiety is the futile and frustrating attempt to bear the burdens of life and our future alone.

Paul’s peace plan teaches us to quit carrying our problems and to turn them over to God. The question is whether or not we trust God enough to commit them to him. He encourages us to tell God every detail of our need in prayer. We yield the problem to God and leave it safe in his hands.

What is your reputation? Are you a person of peace?