Philippians - Working with People

Are you today rejoicing in your ministry? You say, well no, I'm not. We've got problems. Well, everybody has problems. Wherever God is at work, the devil is going to be at work. Wherever God is trying to accomplish His great purposes, Satan is going to try to thwart them.

But in Philippians, we have an emphasis given on the joy of ministry. Not enduring our work for the Lord but enjoying our work for the Lord. Not just caring a burden, but being a blessing. In Philippians 1, Paul told us that if we want to have joy in our ministry, we've got to have the right message, and that message is Christ and the gospel. In Philippians 2, we must follow the right model, the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the pattern, the model for our ministry, and He was a servant. In Philippians 3, our motives must be right. His righteousness and His reward and His return.

Now we move to Philippians 4, and here Paul gets down to the nitty-gritty, everyday, nuts and bolts activities of ministry, and he talks about the means for our ministry. Now, what are they? Well, there are five of them. Philippians 4:1-3: God's people. Here Paul talks about the people who labored with him, God's people. Philippians 4:4-9: God's peace. The emphasis in that paragraph is on the God of peace and the peace of God.

Then Philippians 4:10 and 14-18: God's providence. The providence of God at work in your life, taking care of the needs that are there. So we have God's people, Philippians 4:1-3, God's peace, Philippians 4:4-9, God's providence, Philippians 4:10 and 14-18. Then Philippians 4:11-13: God's power. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Paul gives a beautiful testimony there of how the power of God works in his life. Finally, in Philippians 4:19, as he brings the letter to a close, God's promise. What is God's promise? My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

Let's begin now with Philippians 4:1-3, where Paul tells us that the first means for ministry, the people of God. "Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodia, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow workers whose names are in the Book of Life." The people of God. They worked together with him. Notice what he says about fellow workers, fellow laborers.

Now, brother pastor, brother missionary, Sunday school teacher, let me say a word to you. Don't get your eyes only on the problem people in the church. Every church has its Diotrophes, every church has its Euodia, its Syntyche, every church has people who create problems. We know this. But around them are many other people who don't create problems. Paul had all sorts of problems there in Rome in Philippians 1, there was a division in the Roman church. Some of the Christians were preaching to encourage Paul, and some were preaching to discourage Paul. In Philippians 2, Paul had to write to the Philippian Christians, "Now, don't just think about your own things. Think about others. Don't be proud and selfish. Follow the example of the Lord Jesus." In Philippians 3, Paul is weeping because of the worldly, carnal crowd. Here in Philippians 4, we have division in the church.

Now Paul could have been discouraged. Paul could have said, "Oh my, these Christians." I've often quoted that little poem, "To live above with saints we love will certainly be glory. To live below with saints we know, that's another story." Oh, we love the church, its individual Christians we cannot stand.

Now, when you read Philippians, you find that the Apostle Paul was connected with people. He was not an isolationist. Paul did not show up on Sunday morning, preach a sermon, and vanish the rest of the week. Paul was involved with people. Paul was like the Lord Jesus Christ. He had a concern for individual people. He wasn't just a platform man. He wasn't just somebody who who preached the word of God publicly to great crowds. No, he was concerned about individuals. In Philippians 2, he said, "I'm so thankful for Timothy." He also said in Philippians 2, "I'm so thankful for Epaphroditus." There are people in the church who do help to share the load. There are those yokefellows who are with us, men and women, young people, even boys and girls, who help us in the ministry. Now, my brother, my sister, get your eyes upon those who are faithfully serving the Lord. Don't be discouraged by those one or two or three people who create problems.

You see, the first step in enlisting people in the church to serve the Lord, the first step is simply to realize that we're all human. Woe unto that preacher, woe unto that missionary or Sunday school teacher who thinks that he's ministering to angels. He's not. We're all human. And wherever you read in the New Testament, whatever church you visit, you find that people were human.

In the Galatian church, they were biting and devouring one another. Paul had to write to the Ephesians and encourage them to walk in unity. Here are the Philippians, the church is divided. Even though it's a fine church, a church that was missionary-minded, and yet there were there were little problems in the church. The Colossian church was getting all wrapped up in philosophy and getting their eyes off of the Lord Jesus. In the Thessalonian church, a group of people had quit their jobs and put on white robes and they were sitting waiting for Jesus Christ to come back, and they were becoming a bunch of freeloaders, a bunch of people who would not work for a living. Wherever you look in the New Testament, you find everyday, garden variety, clay people who made mistakes and who did things that were wrong. People are human.

So all the problems, and yet did Paul give up on them? No, he loved them. "Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, longed for, my joy and crown, my dearly beloved." I think the first step is to accept that people are human. Secondly, love them. That's what Christian love is. Love is not deserved and love is not earned. Christian love means we treat other people the way God treats us. And Paul loved these people, and Paul did not use his apostolic authority to command them and tell them what to do. Listen to these verbs, "I beseech Euodia, I beseech Syntyche, I entreat thee, true yokefellow." Here is a loving friend, a loving shepherd who's begging these sheep to get together and to put their differences under the blood of Jesus Christ.

So we must accept the fact that people are human, and we must love them. Thirdly, we've got to face the reality of these problems. Paul openly deals with this problem. It was a public matter, there was nothing to hide. That's one of the problems in churches today. We have a tendency to hide things, sweep them under the rug. We don't lovingly go to people and say, "My brother, my sister, you don't realize what you did, but this is what you did," and give people a chance to be sorry and to be forgiven, and then put it under the blood of Christ and forget about it.

Why do we expect more of other people than we expect of ourselves? Why are we harder on other people than we are on ourselves? Why is it that when there's a casualty in the church, we abandon that casualty or even worse, stand there and kick it? We're the only army in the world that abandons its casualties, and we should be ashamed of ourselves. It takes a diamond to cut a diamond, and sometimes it takes a saint to cut a saint. And we've got to realize that these things happen. So face the reality of it and and admit the tragedy of it. Oh, we should be burdened about division in the church. We should be greatly concerned. Our eyes should be filled with tears, our heart should be broken because of the division in the church today.

Now, I'm not talking about everybody getting together in one big family. There has to be a doctrinal basis for fellowship. But I think today we're using too many other things as a test of fellowship, people, or different causes or different ministries. And we test everybody by whether or not they're carrying a certain flag or promoting a certain cause. And according to my Bible, the faith once and for all delivered to the saints is the bond of ministry, the bond of fellowship, and Jesus Christ is the center. And if we make any other person or any other thing the center of fellowship, we are going to create problems.

What's the remedy for all of this? He tells us, "Let's stand fast in the Lord. Let's realize the enemy is around us, and we need to be united. We are in the Lord. We belong to each other. And we need each other. And we desperately need to encourage one another." Notice the repetition. "So stand fast in the Lord." Philippians 4:1. "That they be of the same mind in the Lord." Philippians 4:2. It's in the Lord that we find unity and harmony.

God gives us people. People are God's tools for getting things done. When the Lord Jesus Christ wanted to win a world, he called 12 men, and he equipped them. One of them turned out to be a traitor, and he was replaced. But these men were equipped and trained and sent out, and they won other people and trained them. God's only method for getting the job done is people. You can't do it with computers, they're just tools. You can't do it even with the media that we're using, they're just simply tools. God has to have people. Somebody has to play the organ. Somebody has to preach the sermon. Somebody has to build the building. Somebody has to drive the ambulance. Somebody has to perform the surgery. God uses people, and people are human. And human beings have failings, and human beings are weak. And oh, you and I just need to love one another and agree in the Lord. We may disagree on other things, but let's agree in the Lord and let's be laboring together in the Lord.

We need people in order to get them the work of the Lord accomplished in the world today. But sometimes God's people create problems, don't they? And sometimes circumstances are difficult. So in Philippians 4:4-9, we have the second means that God provides for ministry: God's peace. You cannot minister for the Lord and have joy in your heart if you're being torn apart down inside. Worry and worship and work and witness cannot go together. Either we're going to have worry and fall apart or we're going to have joy and build up the work of the Lord. God's peace.

In Philippians 4:10 and then 14-18, God's providence. Paul tells how God in His providence took care of him and met his every need. In Philippians 4:11-13, God's power. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And then he closes the paragraph in Philippians 4:19 with the fifth means that God provides, God's promise. "My God shall supply all your need according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus."

Let's talk now about God's peace. Victory over worry. What is worry? Well, worry is wrong thinking and wrong feeling about circumstances and people and things. Now, whatever it is you're worrying about right now, it'll drop into one of those categories. Worry is wrong thinking, that's the mind, and wrong feeling, that's the heart, about circumstances and people and things, and this tears us apart.

Paul gives to us a very simple formula for victory over worry. It involves three simple factors. Philippians 4:6-7: right praying. Philippians 4:8: right thinking. And Philippians 4:9: right living. I want to repeat that now. Philippians 4:6-7: right praying. Philippians 4:8: right thinking. And Philippians 4:9: right living. He begins with an admonition to rejoice in the Lord, Philippians 4:4. Rejoice in the Lord always. The atmosphere of joy comes when you see the Lord, not people, not circumstances, not things, just see the Lord. And this ought to lead to a life of fair-mindedness, of of a charitable attitude toward people. Let your moderation, your sweet reasonableness be known unto all men. Why? The Lord is at hand. I don't think that means the second coming of the Lord. I think it means He's right there with us. So we can rejoice in the Lord, we can have a sweet reasonableness about the things of life. We're going to be merciful toward the failings of others. We're going to see the situation through the eyes of the Lord if we realize the Lord is right there with us. Now, in this kind of an atmosphere, let's consider factor number one, Philippians 4:6-7: right praying. Not just praying, but right praying.

You'll notice he says, "Be anxious for nothing," don't be pulled apart, "but in everything," in other words, our prayer life should touch everything. So often we think, well, Lord, I can come and pray about the big things in life, you know, I can take care of the little things in life. Oh no, pray about everything. In fact, when you have your devotional time in the morning, and I hope that you do, pray about the whole day. Just take your calendar and just go through the whole day. You're shopping, you're driving, looking for a parking place, whatever it may be, pray about everything. And the Lord will give you guidance.

Now he uses three words here. "In everything by prayer," that means adoration, "and supplication with thanksgiving," that's appreciation. Right praying involves these three elements. First, adoration, worship. Don't just rush into the Lord's presence with "gimme this and gimme that and gimme something else." Adoration, worship, devotion, just loving Him and telling Him how much we love Him and adore Him. Adoration, and then supplication, this means the earnest giving of our requests, sharing our burdens with Him, and then finally, appreciation, thanksgiving. "Let your requests be made known unto God." That word request means definite petitions. Too much praying is vague, nebulous, general. "Lord, bless the missionaries." Now what does that mean? Let's be specific in our requests.

Now he says, if you pray like this, if there is adoration, supplication, and appreciation, if you are specific in your praying and you include everything, then the peace of God, which passes all understanding, don't try to explain it, shall guard your hearts, the wrong feelings, and minds, wrong thinking, through Jesus Christ. You see, God will give peace even if He does not grant our every request. God may not give you exactly what you ask for, but He will give you peace. And so right praying is the first step toward conquering worry.

I notice in Daniel 6, that this is the way Daniel prayed. He was about to go to the lion's den. But listen to how he prayed. Daniel 6:10. "Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house, and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he did aforetime." Then these men who were trying to get Daniel into trouble, these men found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God. What was Daniel doing? Praying, making supplication, and giving thanks. No wonder God gave him peace. Right praying.

Now in Philippians 4:8, he says, you must follow this up with right thinking. You cannot have peace, you cannot have victory over worry unless your mind is controlled by the Lord. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee because he trusteth in Thee." Isaiah 26:3. The carnal mind is war against God, but the spiritual mind brings life and peace. Romans 8:6. We must have our minds filled with that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous, excellence, praise. This is what he's saying to us in Philippians 4:8: right thinking.

The minute you let a lie into your mind, you're going to start worrying. You hear some rumor, somebody phones you and says, "Have you heard about so and so in the church?" The first test is, is it true? You see, we have here an eight-fold test of what should go into our minds. By the way, you may think I'm somewhat of a fanatic, but there are some things I won't listen to on the radio. Some things I will not watch on television. Some things I will not read, simply because they cannot pass this test. It amazes me that people want to read these magazines and newspapers filled with gossip about political figures and Hollywood figures. What is this going to do for your mind? Why do you want to receive that kind of trash into your mind? There are people who are addicted to the serials on radio and television, and they get all wrapped up in the imaginary problems of people, and they wonder why they can't read their Bibles, why they can't pray and why they can't get something out of church. Notice there's an eight-fold gate that thoughts must pass through if God's going to approve of them. Now, if you want to have victory over worry, if you want to have the peace of God guarding you and the God of peace guiding you, number one, is it true?

Now, if it isn't true, don't think about it. If somebody comes along with some story, find out if it's true. So often the things that we hear simply are not true. Is it honest? That means respectable. I don't want to read or hear about the marital mix-ups of people who are famous. That's not honorable, that's not worthy of respect. Is it just? That means is it honest and right? Will it do anybody any good? Is it pure? Not mixed up with with lust or mixed up with something else. Is it pure? Is it lovely? Paul means by that worthy to be loved, admirable, is it something you could admire? If that thought in your mind were framed and and put on the wall, would people admire it? Does it have a good report? Is it worth talking about? Is it virtuous? In other words, does it drive you to do better? Another word there would be excellence. Is it excellent? Does it make you want to be a better person to think about that? Is it praiseworthy? Could you commend it to somebody else? Now, the instant you find a thought in your mind that does not pass through one of these eight doors, get rid of it.

Right praying. That means adoration, supplication, appreciation. Right thinking. Test every thought by this eight-fold test in Philippians 4:8. Then you can apply this formula in your own life.