November 5, 2024 • 42 mins
Imagine facing a sea of anxiety and being told not to feel what naturally rises within you. That's the challenge many encounter when reading Philippians 4:6, a verse often misunderstood or misapplied in times of anxiety. Today, we untangle the complexities of these biblical commands, exploring how they don't dismiss our emotions but invite us into deeper communication with God. By delving into the historical context of Paul's relationship with the Philippians, beginning with Lydia's significant role, we paint a fuller picture of the connections that shaped these teachings.
The episode takes a closer look at how Paul's encouragement extends beyond individual struggles to communal harmony, particularly highlighting the roles of Euodia and Syntyche. By addressing their disagreement, Paul underscores the importance of unity and reconciliation, revealing the potential leadership positions these women held within the early church. As we navigate modern challenges like elections and health concerns, Paul's exhortation to rejoice and remain gentle serves as a timely reminder of finding peace through prayer, even in times of uncertainty.
For those feeling the weight of exhaustion and overwhelm, practical support is at hand. We introduce a free printable guide available on our website, designed to manage anxious minds and restore clarity. With heartfelt solidarity, we offer a prayer for peace and comfort, extending encouragement to listeners navigating stress and fatigue. Remember, God cares deeply for our worries, inviting us to trust in His presence and maintain open communication. Join us as we embrace the biblical call to rejoice amidst anxiety, finding rest in His unwavering care.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Jessica LM Jenkins (00:01):
Welcome back .
Today we are talking aboutPhilippians 4.
We are still pausing our mainfocus of this podcast, which is
women of the Bible in theirhistorical context, to focus on
some topical things.
I've done some interviews.
You'll want to catch those.
Last episode we've looked atGod's compassion in Psalm 102
(00:23):
and 103.
And I'm pausing for lastepisode and this episode so that
we can really focus ondiscussing anxiety and God's
presence with us in anxiety.
You can also, if you prefer toread, catch my three-part series
on the blog talking about howGod is near us in our anxieties,
(00:47):
and I have some free downloadsfor you as well.
So that's at wewhothirstcom.
You can catch those there.
Today we're talking aboutPhilippians 4, which is one
major passage that always comesup when we're talking about
anxiety, because it says inverse 6, do not be anxious about
anything but pray.
(01:08):
It says rejoice, don't beanxious.
And for many people whostruggle with anxiety, this
verse is very troubling.
How can the Bible, especiallyif they have clinical anxiety
how can the Bible command me todo something that I don't
necessarily have a lot ofcontrol over?
They might ask, and we will getinto that as we go through the
(01:30):
passage.
Also, this is a verse that canbe used to spiritually bypass
our emotions or even spirituallyabuse people who are suffering,
because it's easy for someoneto take this verse out of its
context and uncarefully,carelessly apply it to
(01:52):
situations just all the wayacross the board.
You're trying to express hurtand sorrow over something, or a
legitimate concern, and theresponse can sometimes be in the
church well, rejoice in theLord, don't be anxious, let's
just pray.
And it shuts down communication.
So I want to start this podcastby reminding us all that God is
(02:17):
never shutting downcommunication.
He is never shutting down ouremotions, and if an application
of a passage is shutting downyour communication with other
believers and or with God andcausing you to ignore, push away
(02:37):
, sideline your emotions, thatmay not be a truly biblical way
of going through it.
As we talked about in the lastepisode, a lot of biblical words
for emotions in the ancientHebrew and Greek are actually
body terms.
The Bible expects a mind-bodyconnection as we process our
emotions.
(02:57):
So we have to be able toprocess through them, and God is
helping us process through them.
Some of the questions I getabout Philippians 4 and this
passage also has to do withthose who are really stuck on
(03:17):
doing all the right things, anattitude of scrupulosity where
it says rejoice in the Lordalways.
So they're very concerned aboutthat.
Do not be anxious aboutanything.
So they feel if I'm ever notrejoicing or if I'm ever anxious
, I'm disobeying God.
So I want to talk about brieflycommands in the Bible.
(03:38):
I was raised that you pay themost attention to the commands
in scripture when it says dothis.
That is where you place thehighest emphasis and there is
some limited wisdom to that.
But one thing I've beenmeditating on is how there are
contradictory commands inscripture.
In one passage it says pour outyour heart to the Lord.
(04:02):
In another passage it saysquiet your heart.
And yet another passage it saysrejoice.
In another passage it says besilent.
So when you have commands thatare in direct contradiction to
one another, you have toexercise spirit-led wisdom on
what you're supposed to do in agiven moment.
(04:23):
You can't look at a passagelike Philippians 4 and say
that's rejoicing the Lord always.
Do not be anxious.
This applies to every situationalways.
Period paragraph.
End of discussion.
That's not what's going on,because we have commands all
throughout scripture that don'twork together.
They are situational commands.
(04:43):
Work together.
They are situational commands.
I want to dive deep intoPhilippians 4, but first I want
to back us out a little bit andgive some context for Paul
writing to the church atPhilippi.
So we are going to actually goback to Acts, chapter 16.
You can flip there, I'm notgoing to read it, but I'm going
(05:04):
to talk through it to learn howdid the church in Philippi come
to be?
What is Paul's relationship tothis church and those sorts of
things?
Because that way we'llunderstand who the Philippians
are that Paul is writing to.
So Paul is on his missionaryjourneys and he's traveling and
he ends up at Philippi and whathe often?
(05:25):
Philippi is a Roman city.
I believe it started with aRoman garrison that then turned
into a full-on city.
So this is a Roman city andthat's going to be really
important to Paul's interactionwith the Philippians.
It's a Roman city.
So Paul shows up to Philippi andhe frequently goes to
synagogues.
There doesn't seem like therewere synagogues in Philippi, so
(05:47):
he is looking for a place toworship.
So he ends up at a river wherea bunch of women are praying,
because he's just looking wheredo people pray in this city?
So he goes to where people arepraying, which happens to be
outside the city proper, by ariver.
There he meets with he andthose who are traveling with him
.
He has an entourage, he hasLuke and others are traveling
with him.
They meet with these women.
(06:08):
They start talking with thesewomen.
They're praying with thesewomen.
They're sharing the gospel anda prominent, very wealthy,
prominent woman named Lydiacomes to know the Lord.
She and her household.
She is a householder, she is apaterfamilias, she has
leadership over her home.
She comes to know the Lord, sheand her household.
(06:28):
She leads all of them to savingfaith in Jesus and she says
Paul, you have to stay with us,stay with us, please.
So Paul relents to her requestand Paul is staying at the home
of Lydia.
We don't know I don't know offthe top of my head Scholars may
have figured it out how long hewas in Philippi.
But while he's in Philippi,he's at her house, he's going in
(06:50):
and out of the city and there'sthis slave girl who's
prophesying.
She's making her owners a lotof money with her ability to
prophesy.
She starts following Paularound wherever he goes and the
text indicates this is happeningover a course of many days and
she's just following him,screaming out things like these
people are going to tell youabout God and she may be doing
it in a mocking tone, not a likeheralding tone.
(07:13):
They're going to tell you aboutthe one who created the world.
It's likely this girl was demonpossessed and Paul finally just
has enough.
And he finally turns around andcures her, casts the demon out
and is like just has enough.
And he finally turns around andcures her, casts the demon out
and is like I'm done with this,stop it.
And then her owners get very,very upset because now their
(07:33):
cash cow is gone.
They can't keep earning Buku'smoney off of this poor,
tormented slave girl.
So the owners of the slave girlget really mad at Paul.
They go to the city officialsand say this man is stirring up
trouble in the city, which Romedid not tolerate.
That at all.
There is no freedom of speech,there is no freedom of
expression, there is no freeassembly.
A lot of things at least inAmerican culture we're used to
(07:55):
did not necessarily exist in theRoman Empire.
So the owners of the slave girlgo to the city magistrates and
they're like this dude Paul iscausing us trouble, he's got to
just mess everything up.
And so the magistrates are likewe can't have that.
This is a Roman city, we haveto keep things in line.
So they grab Paul and they whipPaul and they beat Paul and I
believe Silas is with him andwho knows who else is with them
(08:18):
and they beat them and it saysmany lashes, probably more than
a Jewish person or a Romancitizen could have done to them.
So they give them a verythorough beating, they hand them
over to the jailer, who takesthem to the tiniest, innermost
part of the jail, puts them instocks and leaves them there.
Paul and his companions arepraying.
(08:38):
They know this is because ofthe gospel.
They know this is because ofwhat they're preaching about
Jesus and the opposition againstthat message.
They know that they arecontinuing the suffering of
Jesus and they are sitting inprison and they are praying and
they are singing.
God sends an earthquake,releases them from prison.
(08:59):
All the shackles fall off, butthey don't leave.
They don't leave the prison,they stay there.
The jailer comes back.
He's like oh no, the prisonershave escaped.
If people find out that I letmy prisoners escape, they're
going to torture me to death.
So I'm just going to commitsuicide right now and make a
quick end of it.
Paul's like hold on, don't dothat, we're still here, we
didn't run away, you're fine.
And the jailer's like oh, mygoodness, that's incredible.
(09:21):
So he takes Paul and hiscompanions and he bathes their
wounds Evidently they're sittingin jail without any wound care,
which is infection city.
And so he takes them and hebathes their wounds and he's
like why are you doing this?
What is going on?
Paul shares the gospel with himand he comes to know Jesus.
Well, the next day the cityofficials come and say okay,
(09:44):
paul, you need to leave the city.
And Paul goes oh, no, no, no,no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, stop, everything stops here.
Yesterday you beat me, youthrew me in jail.
I am a Roman citizen, I haverights.
You cannot do that to a Romancitizen without a trial.
You messed up, you shamed mepublicly and I'm going to let
(10:12):
you know the deep trouble thatyou are potentially in if I
decide to make an issue of this.
So you want me to leave town?
I'll leave town.
You have to escort me out oftown.
Now.
You may be wondering why wouldPaul make such a big deal about
(10:34):
this?
He's a very humble man.
He didn't tell them at thebeginning that he was a Roman
citizen.
He's very humble.
Why is he kind of making a bigdeal about himself now, like I'm
a Roman citizen?
That's not humble, gentle,quiet spirit that Paul says we
should have.
Well, I believe there's a verykey reason Paul is making a big
deal about his Roman citizenshiphere and it has to do with the
(10:56):
Philippian church.
He has a couple fledglinglittle baby house churches.
He has the jailer's housechurch and Lydia's house church.
These people are vulnerable.
They are susceptible tooppression by the authorities
the authorities who justliterally beat the skin off his
back and put him in jail.
The authorities who justliterally beat the skin off his
back and put him in jail.
But, paul, by pulling a littlebit of political power I am a
(11:19):
Roman citizen by pulling that onthe authorities, that lets them
know they messed up and they'regoing to be less likely to go
after the Philippian churcheswhen Paul leaves.
This is a protection measurefor the churches, I believe, not
(11:42):
a prideful I'm a Roman citizen,how dare you do that to me kind
of measure.
Paul is protecting his churchesbefore he leaves, so in much
shame and chagrin and hopingPaul doesn't make a bigger deal
of this and get them in moretrouble.
The city officials escort himout of the city.
He goes back to Lydia's housewhich may have been a complex
outside of the city and stayswith her, says goodbye and then
he leaves and continues on hisjourney.
(12:04):
So Paul has in some ways, Ibelieve, ensured protection for
the fledgling churches he hasleft in Philippi.
He goes on his journey.
He ends up in prison again.
This time many scholars believehe's in Rome.
He's being watched by thePraetorian guard.
He has access to Caesar.
(12:26):
That is, the king, the bigruler, the emperor's household,
the big ruler, the emperor'shousehold.
He has access to Caesar'shousehold.
He's being watched by thepersonal guard of the emperor,
under lock and key.
Now, as one scholar I read notedoften in prison they had room
(12:49):
but not board per se.
I believe it was Nije Gupta whosaid that.
I thought it was very catchy.
They had room but not board.
So they'll put you in prisonbut they're not going to provide
you anything you need, liketoday in prison.
They have to feed you, theyhave to clothe you, they have to
give you your basic necessities.
Back then they didn't have to.
They put you in prison.
And if you didn't have familyand friends to take care of you
(13:11):
and feed you, you starved todeath in prison.
That's just the way it worked.
And so Paul is in prison inRome and the Philippian church
sends Epaphroditus with a giftto Paul in prison to help him
out in prison.
And so Epaphroditus stays for awhile with Paul.
He gets really sick, herecovers and Paul sends
(13:33):
Epaphroditus back to Philippiwith the letter to the
Philippians.
So Paul writes Philippians in aRoman prison, largely as a
response to a gift thePhilippian church sent him, but
also because there's some issuesgoing on in the Philippian
church.
Why do I bring all this contextin before we even talk about
(13:54):
Philippians 4?
Paul has undergone dramaticallytraumatic experiences.
Some scholars would even say hehas symptoms of like PTSD.
So when Paul writes the wordsin Philippians 4, rejoice always
, do not be anxious.
(14:14):
This comes from a place ofunderstanding and trauma.
He is not superhuman, he is notjust band-aiding oh, you have a
bleeding cut, let me just slapa band-aid on it.
He's not spiritually bypassinganything the Philippians are
going through.
He is giving them hope.
(14:36):
So let's walk through the textand see how Paul, with his
tender, shepherding heart thatunderstands suffering and he
went out of his way to make surethe Philippians would not be
persecuted, as much as he couldhelp that.
How does Paul encourage them?
And what is going on on theground?
They sent him a gift.
(14:56):
They were worried aboutEpaphroditus.
He sends Epaphroditus back tothem with the letter.
And so in chapter four I'mgoing to start at verse one he
says therefore, my brothers andsisters, whom I love and long
for my joy and crown, stand firmin the Lord.
In this way, my dear friends,paul has such a close, intimate
relationship with thisparticular church.
(15:17):
It's evident all throughout theletter.
He says stand firm in the Lord.
And he says I plead with Iodiaand I plead with Syntyche to be
of the same mind in the Lord.
So now Paul names two leaders ofthis church, two women Eotica
and Syntyche.
We don't know anything aboutthem.
Nije Gupta, in his book TellHer Story, mentions that these
(15:41):
are names that I believe it wasNije.
I read a couple differentarticles on them today.
He mentioned we'll go with DJ.
He mentioned that Eotica andSyntyche those are slave names.
So these may be freed women whohave now got some status in the
church.
They could be elders, theycould be deacons in the church.
(16:02):
But the fact that Paul ismentioning them by name is
significant because he doesn'tmention people by name that he
is in strife with or he is notfriends with.
And in the ancient worldmentioning women by name was
kind of against societalconvention.
So the fact that Paul does thisso frequently shows how much he
(16:25):
values these women and howimportant they are to him.
So he says I plead with Iodeaand Syntyche to be of the same
mind in the Lord.
They're having a disagreementwith each other or they're
having a disagreement with Paul,we're not sure who they're
disagreeing with, and peopledebate, but there's some sort of
disagreement going on and Paulis wanting them to be of the
(16:46):
same mind for unity.
He's calling these women, whothey may be, householders,
paterfamilias.
That is, a householder issomeone who is in charge of a
household, and a householdincludes servants.
It's like a business and afamily at once.
There's clients there's.
They could be patrons overclients In the ancient world.
(17:06):
It's not just today.
My household consists of myhusband being our two kids.
It's just the immediate family.
Back then the householder is theperson in charge of a large
household which could have manyservants, many patrons, lots of
stuff going on, and churchesoften met in households and
again, according to scholarslike Nije Gupta and many, many
(17:29):
others, whose names are escapingme at the moment often the head
of the household would becomethe elder of the church and so
when you have women, potentiallythey could have become the
elders of those house churches.
So we don't know fully whatrole Iodea and Syntyche played
in the Philippian church, butthey were significant members of
(17:50):
the church.
If they were lower members ofthe church, if they were lower
members of the church, paulprobably wouldn't have addressed
them.
He would have expected thehouseholder over their house
church to deal with theirdisagreement issues and help
them along.
If they were just a lay personunder another pastor elder, he
would expect that pastor elderto help them work out their
(18:11):
issue.
Here he is pleading with themdirectly, which signifies their
leadership, as well as in verse3, he continues and he says yes,
I ask you, my true companion,to help these women, since they
have contended at my side in thecause of the gospel, along with
Clement and the rest of myco-workers whose names are in
(18:31):
the Book of Life.
So Paul includes Iodia andSyntyche with the rest of his
co-workers.
These are people who work rightalongside Paul in the ministry,
the mission of the gospel.
They are highly valued andtheir names are in the Book of
Life.
Some scholars again Nijay Gupta, I believe, is one of them.
(18:53):
I've been reading his bookrecently mentioned that the Book
of Life there is not the Bookof Eternal Life, meaning that
they are saved because it's achurch that's expected that they
are saved.
This Book of Life is moresignificant to talk about those
who have served God in a reallyspectacular way.
They're recorded in a specialbook.
So their names, iodia andSyntyche, have this special
(19:17):
leadership ability.
So Paul writes to this churchwhere a couple key leaders are
either in disagreement with eachother or with him or with
someone else.
There's a disagreementhappening.
Paul is so thankful for thischurch, he has such a close
relationship with this church,but he wants them to walk in
unity.
So in that background, all ofthat is context.
(19:39):
We now get to the verses that wehave questions about.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be evidentto all.
The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in every situation
, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your
requests to God, and the peaceof God, which transcends all
(20:01):
understanding, will guard yourhearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.
So these verses four throughseven are what we're really
focusing on today, because manyof us I don't know about you,
but I'm feeling anxious.
The election is tomorrow, as Irecord this, on Monday, the 4th,
or it will be yesterday by thetime you probably get this
(20:25):
recording the election ishappening here in America.
We are nervous, no matter whoyou're voting for.
We are nervous about who'sgoing to be the next president.
We're nervous about no matterwho you're voting for.
We are nervous about who'sgoing to be the next president.
We're nervous about who isvoting for the president.
My husband has health issues.
Your families I'm hearing fromyou are having health issues,
behavior issues with yourchildren, neurodivergent
(20:46):
diagnoses, lack of diagnoses.
It's fall.
Seasonal depression is rampingup.
We're just anxious.
There is a lot on our minds.
So we've talked about thecontext for the Philippians.
We've talked about a lot of ourcontext.
You can probably fill in theblanks on anxieties you are
dealing with that I have no ideaabout, but God knows.
(21:09):
So Paul looks at these people.
He looks at us through the HolySpirit, through the eyes of the
Holy Spirit, that we wouldsomeday be here.
And he looks more specificallyat the Philippian church and he
says yes, I am in prison.
I am writing this from prison,from an ungodly emperor who will
eventually put him to death.
(21:31):
Paul is going to die, maybe notfrom this prison term, but
maybe his next one.
I'm not exactly sure where thisfalls in the chronology and I
didn't look it up, but thisemperor will put Paul to death.
And Paul says all right, breathewith me.
You guys have strife in yourchurches, your elders, your
(21:54):
deacons, they're not gettingalong.
I'm in prison, you care aboutme.
You were worried aboutepaphroditus.
I've sent him home to you.
Maybe Iota and Syntyche weresome of the women at the river
with Lydia, we don't know, I'lljust throw that out there.
And Paul says, okay, I see, Isee the emotions.
(22:14):
This is a big enough emotionaldeal, this strife going on in
the Philippian church, that Ihave to speak into it.
He says, okay, I see what'shappening in the world.
We have children being murdered, we have whole people groups
being wiped out.
We have all of these thingsgoing on.
Rejoice in the Lord.
(22:36):
And that seems like the lastthing we want to do when the
world is falling apart.
How do we rejoice in the Lord?
But Paul says I say this to youin chains we rejoice in the
Lord.
I'll say it again Rejoice, letyour gentleness be evident to
(22:59):
all.
The Lord is near.
That little phrase right there,the Lord is near, is the answer
to your how question.
The how, why, what does thismean?
Question that all of that comesback to the Lord is near.
How do I rejoice?
What does that look like?
The rejoicing is simplyspeaking out praise to God.
It doesn't have to be frivolous, it's definitely not the.
(23:24):
Let's all go around in thecircle and talk about something
we're thankful for.
I'm so thankful for a sunny day.
No, it's not that it could be,but that's not what he's asking
us to do necessarily.
I believe Paul in this verse ishe's saying rejoice in the Lord,
lift your heart to remember thegoodness of God.
I was taking a walk last nightjust praying.
(23:46):
Lots of things are deeply on myheart and mind and I finally I
got into a rhythm in my brainwhich is aligning with my
footsteps and it was just givethanks to the Lord, for he is
good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord for heis good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord for heis good.
(24:07):
His love endures forever.
And it just continued in mymind and I think that's a
picture of what this rejoicingin the Lord could look like.
It's not necessarily a giddydelight in some semi-trivial
thing like warm weather and ahot lunch though those things
matter but it can sometimes be adesperate clinging in our
(24:30):
darkest moments that the Lord'slove endures forever.
Rejoicing does not necessarilymean be happy.
Rejoicing is an action, notnecessarily an emotion.
Now, rejoicing can flow out ofour joyous, glad emotions.
(24:51):
Rejoicing can also be the cryof a broken heart focusing on
God's character.
Because Jesus is near.
The Lord is near, paul says, asIodia and Syntyche have strife,
have conflict, as we haveconflict in our election and
(25:13):
maybe in our nation because ofthe election here in America, as
there are wars and rumors ofwars in Gaza and the Ukraine,
the Lord is near and we may notsee it, we may not realize it,
we may not fully understand, butour rejoicing is for the
purpose of reminding our heartsof the nearness of God and we
(25:38):
can act gently because he isnear.
He fights on our behalf.
If the wrong person whoever youbelieve that may be gets
elected in America, god is stillfighting on our behalf and that
may look like we have peace andprosperity and human ideas of
freedom.
Or Paul writes this to us fromprison, imprisoned in or near
(26:04):
the household of an emperor whowill eventually sentence him to
death.
It may not, and God will benear us through the end, even if
the worst things we can imaginecome true.
Earlier in this letter, paulsays I am torn on whether I want
to live or die, because to diemeans I get to be with Jesus and
(26:25):
that is better.
To live means I get to love andserve you, and I don't know
which to choose.
Paul invites us to have a viewof the world that is outside the
human.
It is so easy to get caught upin human things in the election.
Who's going to win?
What are we going to do aboutimmigrants and abortions and
(26:48):
women's rights?
And do our voices matter?
And those things are importantand we should vote and care
about our neighbors.
But Paul is helping us seesomething beyond that, that we
are not citizens of this world.
We are citizens of God'skingdom.
Citizens of God's kingdom, andthe Lord is near to us.
(27:09):
And as we walk as sojourners,as immigrants in this world to
which we do not belong though weoften forget it and feel like
we do the Lord is near.
In that Rejoice in the Lord.
Always, paul says, I will sayit again rejoice.
And this is imagine as hespeaks.
(27:30):
His tone here is much moreapparent scooping up a hurt
child or as you put your armaround a wounded, frustrated
friend.
It's not someone standing onthe church, on the street corner
with the big sign that saysrepent.
It's not that vibe at all.
This is Paul speaking to hisdear, dear, dear, dear friends,
(27:54):
putting his arm around them andsaying rejoice in the Lord.
I will say it again rejoice.
Recall to your mind and speakwith your voice.
God's good character and hispresence with you.
Doing this will enable you tobe gentle.
The Lord is near.
If the candidate you believe isgoing to do the most good for
(28:16):
our country doesn't win, ifdemocracy falls, the Lord is
near.
He is still with us.
Even when everything fallsapart and everything could fall
apart.
We are not promised health,wealth, prosperity or freedom.
The church, the Philippianchurch, didn't even have a clue
(28:38):
of the health, wealth,prosperity and freedom that we
take for granted, that we arevery concerned about losing.
And Paul says the Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything.
We don't know what theirparticular anxieties were.
We know what ours are Do not beanxious about anything.
And again, this is like pickingup a little child who's scared
of the thunder and saying it'sokay, it's okay, mommy's here,
(29:02):
mommy's here, don't be anxious.
Don't be anxious, I've got you.
This is the attitude.
Do not be anxious aboutanything.
But in every situation, byprayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present yourrequests to God.
Now let's talk briefly aboutwhat he means by anxiety here.
(29:22):
Do not be anxious.
Is that an anxiety disorder?
What is he talking about here?
Great question, I'm so glad youasked.
Do not be anxious.
Here is not talking about ageneral sense of anxiety or what
commonly would be diagnosedtoday as an anxiety disorder.
(29:44):
That isn't what Paul has inview here.
Paul has in view specificworries.
Anxious is kind of thisspecific concern or even a
rumination on that concern.
And so, instead of ruminatingon specific concerns, what
happens if X candidate wins?
That's a rumination.
(30:05):
You're toying it over in yourmind, looking at all the
possible negative outcomes.
Replace rumination on yourconcerns with rejoicing,
celebrating the character of Godand prayer.
In one of my articles you canfind on my blog I talk about
three types of anxiety.
There's general anxiety anxietydisorders.
(30:27):
Number two would be physicalanxiety your body's way of
handling stress and anxiety.
Your mind might not feelanxious, but your body is
recognizing that anxiety.
Your body is carrying it inyour physical flesh.
The ancient world understoodthis way better than we do.
(30:48):
We're often having to relearnit through counseling and other
helps to get our minds andbodies to work together.
But our bodies carry anxiety.
We've been struggling withhealth things in my household
and I was realizing that my bodywas reliving excuse me, my body
(31:09):
was reliving old traumasbecause my body remembered
things from years ago that mymind wasn't thinking about.
But my body felt it and I couldfeel the anxiety and the
pressure and just the crushingweight in my physical body.
Paul isn't talking about thatanxiety either.
(31:31):
That's not one we necessarilyhave control over and that is
one Paul and Jesus evenexperienced.
We see Jesus in the Garden ofGethsemane where he's pleading
with God to take this cup fromme.
He's dealing with massivephysical anxiety there.
He's also dealing with aspecific anxiety which Jesus
(31:56):
models for us, paul'sinstructions in the garden.
So Paul isn't saying don't havean anxiety disorder, don't let
your body feel the effects ofstress and anxiety.
That's not what Paul's saying.
He's saying do not be overlyconcerned to the point of
constant rumination aboutanything.
(32:18):
Don't let those concernsspecific concerns.
You can name what yours are.
Mine would be the election, myhusband's health, one of my kids
I'm on strep watch.
I'm waiting to see if they'regoing to come home with a fever
and potentially strep throat.
I have all of these concerns.
Those are just three.
You have a whole different list.
(32:38):
He's saying don't let those beso overly consuming that they
take over your mind and yourheart, that they take over your
mind and your heart.
Don't be anxious, Don't beruminating, don't be dwelling on
those things overly.
Now he's not saying ignore them, do not take that.
I've often taken.
I don't worry about thingsbecause I just ignore them.
(33:00):
No, that's not good either.
He gives us a help here.
He says do not be anxious aboutanything, but in every situation
, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your
requests to God.
Remember how we started talkingabout how keeping open doors of
communication between us andother believers and us.
(33:20):
And God is always his heart.
He says present your requeststo God, because Jesus is near.
He cares about all of yourspecific anxieties.
He cares about your kid withthe flu.
He cares about the flat tire onyour car.
He cares about whether yourtruck is going to pass
inspection.
He cares about who will win theelection.
He cares about your child'sschool teacher and the struggles
(33:43):
they're in.
Present your requests to God.
He wants to know them.
It would be imagine with me.
Jesus is near, the Holy Spiritindwells God's people, and so
what a flip side of this versecould be.
Imagine you're sitting therenext to Jesus or the Holy Spirit
(34:04):
, like you would a good friendat the coffee shop, and they're
saying I sense that you'reworried.
I sense that you're sittingthere next to Jesus or the Holy
Spirit, like you would a goodfriend at the coffee shop, and
they're saying I sense thatyou're worried, I sense that
you're upset, what's going on?
And you're like nothing, I gotit, but you're really concerned.
I know I got it, I'm just goingto ruminate on it and figure it
out.
Your friend would have rightespecially if they're a good
friend to be offended.
(34:24):
Hey, now if I'm going out tocoffee with you, taking hours
out of my day to check in on you.
I would like to hear what'sgoing on in your life, please,
and thank you.
And again, this isn't somebodyI don't know, it's a good friend
.
We have that open connection.
Imagine that.
That's the attitude this comeswith.
Paul says Jesus is right therewith you.
He's there and he's saying whatdo you need?
(34:49):
What's going on?
What are you worried about?
Are you worried about theelection?
Let's talk.
Are you worried about yourhusband's health?
Let's talk.
Are you worried about yourchild's teacher?
Let's talk.
Present your requests to God byprayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, and that's not aformula One, two, three, you get
(35:11):
the reward.
It's saying we pray, wepetition, with thanksgiving.
Looking at God's character, wecould talk to him because he's
near and he loves us and we canbe so thankful for who he is.
We present our requests to Godand then this is a promise the
(35:31):
peace of God, which transcendsall understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds inChrist Jesus.
Does that mean the problem willgo the way you're hoping or
whatever?
No, but Jesus is near and hewill guard your hearts and your
minds.
You are safe.
Then Paul gives us a choice.
(35:52):
He says finally, brothers andsisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever isright, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever isadmirable, if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy, thinkabout these things.
Whatever you have learned orreceived or heard from me or
seen in me, put into practiceand the God of peace will be
with you.
Paul is desiring peace for thePhilippians and peace for us,
(36:13):
and this isn't the peace ofspiritual bypassing, where you
just ignore your emotions andyour problems and hope that they
go away because you push thehappy Christian button.
How are you this morning?
I am blessed, thank you so much.
No, he's not asking for that.
Blessed, thank you so much.
No, he's not asking for that.
(36:34):
He is saying you have pouredout your prayers and petitions
before God.
You have emptied your soul tohim.
Let's think about what is nobleand true.
We do have some choice on whatour mind dwells on, and there
are those of us here whostruggle with scrupulosity and
OCD and PTSD and things where wedon't have full control over
what our mind is just going tohit us with, and it'll hit us
(36:55):
with these negative, horriblethoughts over and over and over,
and the fact that some sort oftrauma or mental illness is
forcing your brain to andexhausting your will with
whatever it's hitting you with,that does not mean you are a
failure, because thinking aboutwhatever is true and noble and
(37:19):
right feels like animpossibility.
This is an encouragement.
This is an indication on how wecan disciple our emotions.
It is not a pass fail demandfrom God.
It is an invitation of abrother, of a dear friend,
because, do not forget, we areco-heirs with Christ, co-heirs,
(37:45):
legal younger brothers of Jesus.
And I say brothers becausewomen often didn't have
inheritance right in the sameway.
So when God says you are a sonof God, that is a legal term.
It's not talking gendernecessarily.
It's a legal like heir.
We are legal little brothers ofChrist, co-inheritors of the
(38:09):
king of the universe's bounty.
Your brother is sitting withyou saying tell me all about it.
I love you.
I want to hear your heart.
Let us lift our minds tothinking about the good things
and the holy things and theright things.
Doesn't mean it's going to beeasy, doesn't mean everything's
(38:31):
going to work out, but what Iwant you to walk away from this
podcast with is that the Lord isnear, he's right there and he's
offering you his peace, becauseGod's peace isn't necessarily
always a feeling of everythingjust feels right in the world
and I'm not feeling hugeconflicting emotions.
(38:52):
It's not that necessarily itmight be, but peace is also a
person.
Jesus is our peace and he isnear.
The peace of God, whichtranscends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and mindsin Christ Jesus.
We can trust him.
He can give us a sense of peace.
(39:14):
But even when we're completelyoverwhelmed, trauma-logged,
fighting off depression, ocd,ptsd, trauma, all of the things,
even if we don't have thesensation of peace, jesus is our
peace and he is there with us.
(39:36):
So, dear one, I hope as you walkaway, I hope as this podcast
ends, you have hope that nomatter what happens in the
election, no matter what happensin the wars and rumor of wars,
no matter what happens in theelection, no matter what happens
in the wars and rumor of wars,no matter what happens with that
diagnosis and health issue,jesus is near and he wants to
hear all of it and it's not a.
(39:58):
You can only send your requeststo him after you've rejoiced
and been thankful enough.
I've thought that before, likeI have to do, I have to do it in
order.
I have to rejoice and I have tobe thankful.
There are also verses in theBible that simply say pour out
your heart to the Lord and ifthat's all you can do, that's
what he wants.
He's not looking for a rubric,he's not looking for any
specific order.
(40:18):
He just wants your heart and hewants to hear you.
Maybe you're sitting herelistening, going.
I am so exhausted, so tired, Idon't even know where to start
Go.
Exhausted, so tired, I don'teven know where to start.
Go to my website.
I have a freebie on there andit's a piece of paper.
You can print it out, you canlook at it on your phone and
it's just a guide just to helpthe tired and exhausted brains
(40:42):
be like okay, what can I do?
How can I do this?
To just hold your hand and stepyou through some of these
things for your own heart's sake.
If that is helpful, it is freedownload available on my website
, wewhothearscom.
It's not helpful, you haveother tools.
I am praying for you.
I am with you in this anxiousseason and I pray that the Lord
(41:05):
will bless, that.
He will keep you and make hisface shine upon you and give you
peace.
Have a great day.
Welcome back .
Today we are talking aboutPhilippians 4.
We are still pausing our mainfocus of this podcast, which is
women of the Bible in theirhistorical context, to focus on
some topical things.
I've done some interviews.
You'll want to catch those.
Last episode we've looked atGod's compassion in Psalm 102
(00:23):
and 103.
And I'm pausing for lastepisode and this episode so that
we can really focus ondiscussing anxiety and God's
presence with us in anxiety.
You can also, if you prefer toread, catch my three-part series
on the blog talking about howGod is near us in our anxieties,
(00:47):
and I have some free downloadsfor you as well.
So that's at wewhothirstcom.
You can catch those there.
Today we're talking aboutPhilippians 4, which is one
major passage that always comesup when we're talking about
anxiety, because it says inverse 6, do not be anxious about
anything but pray.
(01:08):
It says rejoice, don't beanxious.
And for many people whostruggle with anxiety, this
verse is very troubling.
How can the Bible, especiallyif they have clinical anxiety
how can the Bible command me todo something that I don't
necessarily have a lot ofcontrol over?
They might ask, and we will getinto that as we go through the
(01:30):
passage.
Also, this is a verse that canbe used to spiritually bypass
our emotions or even spirituallyabuse people who are suffering,
because it's easy for someoneto take this verse out of its
context and uncarefully,carelessly apply it to
(01:52):
situations just all the wayacross the board.
You're trying to express hurtand sorrow over something, or a
legitimate concern, and theresponse can sometimes be in the
church well, rejoice in theLord, don't be anxious, let's
just pray.
And it shuts down communication.
So I want to start this podcastby reminding us all that God is
(02:17):
never shutting downcommunication.
He is never shutting down ouremotions, and if an application
of a passage is shutting downyour communication with other
believers and or with God andcausing you to ignore, push away
(02:37):
, sideline your emotions, thatmay not be a truly biblical way
of going through it.
As we talked about in the lastepisode, a lot of biblical words
for emotions in the ancientHebrew and Greek are actually
body terms.
The Bible expects a mind-bodyconnection as we process our
emotions.
(02:57):
So we have to be able toprocess through them, and God is
helping us process through them.
Some of the questions I getabout Philippians 4 and this
passage also has to do withthose who are really stuck on
(03:17):
doing all the right things, anattitude of scrupulosity where
it says rejoice in the Lordalways.
So they're very concerned aboutthat.
Do not be anxious aboutanything.
So they feel if I'm ever notrejoicing or if I'm ever anxious
, I'm disobeying God.
So I want to talk about brieflycommands in the Bible.
(03:38):
I was raised that you pay themost attention to the commands
in scripture when it says dothis.
That is where you place thehighest emphasis and there is
some limited wisdom to that.
But one thing I've beenmeditating on is how there are
contradictory commands inscripture.
In one passage it says pour outyour heart to the Lord.
(04:02):
In another passage it saysquiet your heart.
And yet another passage it saysrejoice.
In another passage it says besilent.
So when you have commands thatare in direct contradiction to
one another, you have toexercise spirit-led wisdom on
what you're supposed to do in agiven moment.
(04:23):
You can't look at a passagelike Philippians 4 and say
that's rejoicing the Lord always.
Do not be anxious.
This applies to every situationalways.
Period paragraph.
End of discussion.
That's not what's going on,because we have commands all
throughout scripture that don'twork together.
They are situational commands.
(04:43):
Work together.
They are situational commands.
I want to dive deep intoPhilippians 4, but first I want
to back us out a little bit andgive some context for Paul
writing to the church atPhilippi.
So we are going to actually goback to Acts, chapter 16.
You can flip there, I'm notgoing to read it, but I'm going
(05:04):
to talk through it to learn howdid the church in Philippi come
to be?
What is Paul's relationship tothis church and those sorts of
things?
Because that way we'llunderstand who the Philippians
are that Paul is writing to.
So Paul is on his missionaryjourneys and he's traveling and
he ends up at Philippi and whathe often?
(05:25):
Philippi is a Roman city.
I believe it started with aRoman garrison that then turned
into a full-on city.
So this is a Roman city andthat's going to be really
important to Paul's interactionwith the Philippians.
It's a Roman city.
So Paul shows up to Philippi andhe frequently goes to
synagogues.
There doesn't seem like therewere synagogues in Philippi, so
(05:47):
he is looking for a place toworship.
So he ends up at a river wherea bunch of women are praying,
because he's just looking wheredo people pray in this city?
So he goes to where people arepraying, which happens to be
outside the city proper, by ariver.
There he meets with he andthose who are traveling with him
.
He has an entourage, he hasLuke and others are traveling
with him.
They meet with these women.
(06:08):
They start talking with thesewomen.
They're praying with thesewomen.
They're sharing the gospel anda prominent, very wealthy,
prominent woman named Lydiacomes to know the Lord.
She and her household.
She is a householder, she is apaterfamilias, she has
leadership over her home.
She comes to know the Lord, sheand her household.
(06:28):
She leads all of them to savingfaith in Jesus and she says
Paul, you have to stay with us,stay with us, please.
So Paul relents to her requestand Paul is staying at the home
of Lydia.
We don't know I don't know offthe top of my head Scholars may
have figured it out how long hewas in Philippi.
But while he's in Philippi,he's at her house, he's going in
(06:50):
and out of the city and there'sthis slave girl who's
prophesying.
She's making her owners a lotof money with her ability to
prophesy.
She starts following Paularound wherever he goes and the
text indicates this is happeningover a course of many days and
she's just following him,screaming out things like these
people are going to tell youabout God and she may be doing
it in a mocking tone, not a likeheralding tone.
(07:13):
They're going to tell you aboutthe one who created the world.
It's likely this girl was demonpossessed and Paul finally just
has enough.
And he finally turns around andcures her, casts the demon out
and is like just has enough.
And he finally turns around andcures her, casts the demon out
and is like I'm done with this,stop it.
And then her owners get very,very upset because now their
(07:33):
cash cow is gone.
They can't keep earning Buku'smoney off of this poor,
tormented slave girl.
So the owners of the slave girlget really mad at Paul.
They go to the city officialsand say this man is stirring up
trouble in the city, which Romedid not tolerate.
That at all.
There is no freedom of speech,there is no freedom of
expression, there is no freeassembly.
A lot of things at least inAmerican culture we're used to
(07:55):
did not necessarily exist in theRoman Empire.
So the owners of the slave girlgo to the city magistrates and
they're like this dude Paul iscausing us trouble, he's got to
just mess everything up.
And so the magistrates are likewe can't have that.
This is a Roman city, we haveto keep things in line.
So they grab Paul and they whipPaul and they beat Paul and I
believe Silas is with him andwho knows who else is with them
(08:18):
and they beat them and it saysmany lashes, probably more than
a Jewish person or a Romancitizen could have done to them.
So they give them a verythorough beating, they hand them
over to the jailer, who takesthem to the tiniest, innermost
part of the jail, puts them instocks and leaves them there.
Paul and his companions arepraying.
(08:38):
They know this is because ofthe gospel.
They know this is because ofwhat they're preaching about
Jesus and the opposition againstthat message.
They know that they arecontinuing the suffering of
Jesus and they are sitting inprison and they are praying and
they are singing.
God sends an earthquake,releases them from prison.
(08:59):
All the shackles fall off, butthey don't leave.
They don't leave the prison,they stay there.
The jailer comes back.
He's like oh no, the prisonershave escaped.
If people find out that I letmy prisoners escape, they're
going to torture me to death.
So I'm just going to commitsuicide right now and make a
quick end of it.
Paul's like hold on, don't dothat, we're still here, we
didn't run away, you're fine.
And the jailer's like oh, mygoodness, that's incredible.
(09:21):
So he takes Paul and hiscompanions and he bathes their
wounds Evidently they're sittingin jail without any wound care,
which is infection city.
And so he takes them and hebathes their wounds and he's
like why are you doing this?
What is going on?
Paul shares the gospel with himand he comes to know Jesus.
Well, the next day the cityofficials come and say okay,
(09:44):
paul, you need to leave the city.
And Paul goes oh, no, no, no,no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, stop, everything stops here.
Yesterday you beat me, youthrew me in jail.
I am a Roman citizen, I haverights.
You cannot do that to a Romancitizen without a trial.
You messed up, you shamed mepublicly and I'm going to let
(10:12):
you know the deep trouble thatyou are potentially in if I
decide to make an issue of this.
So you want me to leave town?
I'll leave town.
You have to escort me out oftown.
Now.
You may be wondering why wouldPaul make such a big deal about
(10:34):
this?
He's a very humble man.
He didn't tell them at thebeginning that he was a Roman
citizen.
He's very humble.
Why is he kind of making a bigdeal about himself now, like I'm
a Roman citizen?
That's not humble, gentle,quiet spirit that Paul says we
should have.
Well, I believe there's a verykey reason Paul is making a big
deal about his Roman citizenshiphere and it has to do with the
(10:56):
Philippian church.
He has a couple fledglinglittle baby house churches.
He has the jailer's housechurch and Lydia's house church.
These people are vulnerable.
They are susceptible tooppression by the authorities
the authorities who justliterally beat the skin off his
back and put him in jail.
The authorities who justliterally beat the skin off his
back and put him in jail.
But, paul, by pulling a littlebit of political power I am a
(11:19):
Roman citizen by pulling that onthe authorities, that lets them
know they messed up and they'regoing to be less likely to go
after the Philippian churcheswhen Paul leaves.
This is a protection measurefor the churches, I believe, not
(11:42):
a prideful I'm a Roman citizen,how dare you do that to me kind
of measure.
Paul is protecting his churchesbefore he leaves, so in much
shame and chagrin and hopingPaul doesn't make a bigger deal
of this and get them in moretrouble.
The city officials escort himout of the city.
He goes back to Lydia's housewhich may have been a complex
outside of the city and stayswith her, says goodbye and then
he leaves and continues on hisjourney.
(12:04):
So Paul has in some ways, Ibelieve, ensured protection for
the fledgling churches he hasleft in Philippi.
He goes on his journey.
He ends up in prison again.
This time many scholars believehe's in Rome.
He's being watched by thePraetorian guard.
He has access to Caesar.
(12:26):
That is, the king, the bigruler, the emperor's household,
the big ruler, the emperor'shousehold.
He has access to Caesar'shousehold.
He's being watched by thepersonal guard of the emperor,
under lock and key.
Now, as one scholar I read notedoften in prison they had room
(12:49):
but not board per se.
I believe it was Nije Gupta whosaid that.
I thought it was very catchy.
They had room but not board.
So they'll put you in prisonbut they're not going to provide
you anything you need, liketoday in prison.
They have to feed you, theyhave to clothe you, they have to
give you your basic necessities.
Back then they didn't have to.
They put you in prison.
And if you didn't have familyand friends to take care of you
(13:11):
and feed you, you starved todeath in prison.
That's just the way it worked.
And so Paul is in prison inRome and the Philippian church
sends Epaphroditus with a giftto Paul in prison to help him
out in prison.
And so Epaphroditus stays for awhile with Paul.
He gets really sick, herecovers and Paul sends
(13:33):
Epaphroditus back to Philippiwith the letter to the
Philippians.
So Paul writes Philippians in aRoman prison, largely as a
response to a gift thePhilippian church sent him, but
also because there's some issuesgoing on in the Philippian
church.
Why do I bring all this contextin before we even talk about
(13:54):
Philippians 4?
Paul has undergone dramaticallytraumatic experiences.
Some scholars would even say hehas symptoms of like PTSD.
So when Paul writes the wordsin Philippians 4, rejoice always
, do not be anxious.
(14:14):
This comes from a place ofunderstanding and trauma.
He is not superhuman, he is notjust band-aiding oh, you have a
bleeding cut, let me just slapa band-aid on it.
He's not spiritually bypassinganything the Philippians are
going through.
He is giving them hope.
(14:36):
So let's walk through the textand see how Paul, with his
tender, shepherding heart thatunderstands suffering and he
went out of his way to make surethe Philippians would not be
persecuted, as much as he couldhelp that.
How does Paul encourage them?
And what is going on on theground?
They sent him a gift.
(14:56):
They were worried aboutEpaphroditus.
He sends Epaphroditus back tothem with the letter.
And so in chapter four I'mgoing to start at verse one he
says therefore, my brothers andsisters, whom I love and long
for my joy and crown, stand firmin the Lord.
In this way, my dear friends,paul has such a close, intimate
relationship with thisparticular church.
(15:17):
It's evident all throughout theletter.
He says stand firm in the Lord.
And he says I plead with Iodiaand I plead with Syntyche to be
of the same mind in the Lord.
So now Paul names two leaders ofthis church, two women Eotica
and Syntyche.
We don't know anything aboutthem.
Nije Gupta, in his book TellHer Story, mentions that these
(15:41):
are names that I believe it wasNije.
I read a couple differentarticles on them today.
He mentioned we'll go with DJ.
He mentioned that Eotica andSyntyche those are slave names.
So these may be freed women whohave now got some status in the
church.
They could be elders, theycould be deacons in the church.
(16:02):
But the fact that Paul ismentioning them by name is
significant because he doesn'tmention people by name that he
is in strife with or he is notfriends with.
And in the ancient worldmentioning women by name was
kind of against societalconvention.
So the fact that Paul does thisso frequently shows how much he
(16:25):
values these women and howimportant they are to him.
So he says I plead with Iodeaand Syntyche to be of the same
mind in the Lord.
They're having a disagreementwith each other or they're
having a disagreement with Paul,we're not sure who they're
disagreeing with, and peopledebate, but there's some sort of
disagreement going on and Paulis wanting them to be of the
(16:46):
same mind for unity.
He's calling these women, whothey may be, householders,
paterfamilias.
That is, a householder issomeone who is in charge of a
household, and a householdincludes servants.
It's like a business and afamily at once.
There's clients there's.
They could be patrons overclients In the ancient world.
(17:06):
It's not just today.
My household consists of myhusband being our two kids.
It's just the immediate family.
Back then the householder is theperson in charge of a large
household which could have manyservants, many patrons, lots of
stuff going on, and churchesoften met in households and
again, according to scholarslike Nije Gupta and many, many
(17:29):
others, whose names are escapingme at the moment often the head
of the household would becomethe elder of the church and so
when you have women, potentiallythey could have become the
elders of those house churches.
So we don't know fully whatrole Iodea and Syntyche played
in the Philippian church, butthey were significant members of
(17:50):
the church.
If they were lower members ofthe church, if they were lower
members of the church, paulprobably wouldn't have addressed
them.
He would have expected thehouseholder over their house
church to deal with theirdisagreement issues and help
them along.
If they were just a lay personunder another pastor elder, he
would expect that pastor elderto help them work out their
(18:11):
issue.
Here he is pleading with themdirectly, which signifies their
leadership, as well as in verse3, he continues and he says yes,
I ask you, my true companion,to help these women, since they
have contended at my side in thecause of the gospel, along with
Clement and the rest of myco-workers whose names are in
(18:31):
the Book of Life.
So Paul includes Iodia andSyntyche with the rest of his
co-workers.
These are people who work rightalongside Paul in the ministry,
the mission of the gospel.
They are highly valued andtheir names are in the Book of
Life.
Some scholars again Nijay Gupta, I believe, is one of them.
(18:53):
I've been reading his bookrecently mentioned that the Book
of Life there is not the Bookof Eternal Life, meaning that
they are saved because it's achurch that's expected that they
are saved.
This Book of Life is moresignificant to talk about those
who have served God in a reallyspectacular way.
They're recorded in a specialbook.
So their names, iodia andSyntyche, have this special
(19:17):
leadership ability.
So Paul writes to this churchwhere a couple key leaders are
either in disagreement with eachother or with him or with
someone else.
There's a disagreementhappening.
Paul is so thankful for thischurch, he has such a close
relationship with this church,but he wants them to walk in
unity.
So in that background, all ofthat is context.
(19:39):
We now get to the verses that wehave questions about.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
I will say it again Rejoice.
Let your gentleness be evidentto all.
The Lord is near.
Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in every situation
, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your
requests to God, and the peaceof God, which transcends all
(20:01):
understanding, will guard yourhearts and your minds in Christ
Jesus.
So these verses four throughseven are what we're really
focusing on today, because manyof us I don't know about you,
but I'm feeling anxious.
The election is tomorrow, as Irecord this, on Monday, the 4th,
or it will be yesterday by thetime you probably get this
(20:25):
recording the election ishappening here in America.
We are nervous, no matter whoyou're voting for.
We are nervous about who'sgoing to be the next president.
We're nervous about no matterwho you're voting for.
We are nervous about who'sgoing to be the next president.
We're nervous about who isvoting for the president.
My husband has health issues.
Your families I'm hearing fromyou are having health issues,
behavior issues with yourchildren, neurodivergent
(20:46):
diagnoses, lack of diagnoses.
It's fall.
Seasonal depression is rampingup.
We're just anxious.
There is a lot on our minds.
So we've talked about thecontext for the Philippians.
We've talked about a lot of ourcontext.
You can probably fill in theblanks on anxieties you are
dealing with that I have no ideaabout, but God knows.
(21:09):
So Paul looks at these people.
He looks at us through the HolySpirit, through the eyes of the
Holy Spirit, that we wouldsomeday be here.
And he looks more specificallyat the Philippian church and he
says yes, I am in prison.
I am writing this from prison,from an ungodly emperor who will
eventually put him to death.
(21:31):
Paul is going to die, maybe notfrom this prison term, but
maybe his next one.
I'm not exactly sure where thisfalls in the chronology and I
didn't look it up, but thisemperor will put Paul to death.
And Paul says all right, breathewith me.
You guys have strife in yourchurches, your elders, your
(21:54):
deacons, they're not gettingalong.
I'm in prison, you care aboutme.
You were worried aboutepaphroditus.
I've sent him home to you.
Maybe Iota and Syntyche weresome of the women at the river
with Lydia, we don't know, I'lljust throw that out there.
And Paul says, okay, I see, Isee the emotions.
(22:14):
This is a big enough emotionaldeal, this strife going on in
the Philippian church, that Ihave to speak into it.
He says, okay, I see what'shappening in the world.
We have children being murdered, we have whole people groups
being wiped out.
We have all of these thingsgoing on.
Rejoice in the Lord.
(22:36):
And that seems like the lastthing we want to do when the
world is falling apart.
How do we rejoice in the Lord?
But Paul says I say this to youin chains we rejoice in the
Lord.
I'll say it again Rejoice, letyour gentleness be evident to
(22:59):
all.
The Lord is near.
That little phrase right there,the Lord is near, is the answer
to your how question.
The how, why, what does thismean?
Question that all of that comesback to the Lord is near.
How do I rejoice?
What does that look like?
The rejoicing is simplyspeaking out praise to God.
It doesn't have to be frivolous, it's definitely not the.
(23:24):
Let's all go around in thecircle and talk about something
we're thankful for.
I'm so thankful for a sunny day.
No, it's not that it could be,but that's not what he's asking
us to do necessarily.
I believe Paul in this verse ishe's saying rejoice in the Lord,
lift your heart to remember thegoodness of God.
I was taking a walk last nightjust praying.
(23:46):
Lots of things are deeply on myheart and mind and I finally I
got into a rhythm in my brainwhich is aligning with my
footsteps and it was just givethanks to the Lord, for he is
good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord for heis good.
His love endures forever.
Give thanks to the Lord for heis good.
(24:07):
His love endures forever.
And it just continued in mymind and I think that's a
picture of what this rejoicingin the Lord could look like.
It's not necessarily a giddydelight in some semi-trivial
thing like warm weather and ahot lunch though those things
matter but it can sometimes be adesperate clinging in our
(24:30):
darkest moments that the Lord'slove endures forever.
Rejoicing does not necessarilymean be happy.
Rejoicing is an action, notnecessarily an emotion.
Now, rejoicing can flow out ofour joyous, glad emotions.
(24:51):
Rejoicing can also be the cryof a broken heart focusing on
God's character.
Because Jesus is near.
The Lord is near, paul says, asIodia and Syntyche have strife,
have conflict, as we haveconflict in our election and
(25:13):
maybe in our nation because ofthe election here in America, as
there are wars and rumors ofwars in Gaza and the Ukraine,
the Lord is near and we may notsee it, we may not realize it,
we may not fully understand, butour rejoicing is for the
purpose of reminding our heartsof the nearness of God and we
(25:38):
can act gently because he isnear.
He fights on our behalf.
If the wrong person whoever youbelieve that may be gets
elected in America, god is stillfighting on our behalf and that
may look like we have peace andprosperity and human ideas of
freedom.
Or Paul writes this to us fromprison, imprisoned in or near
(26:04):
the household of an emperor whowill eventually sentence him to
death.
It may not, and God will benear us through the end, even if
the worst things we can imaginecome true.
Earlier in this letter, paulsays I am torn on whether I want
to live or die, because to diemeans I get to be with Jesus and
(26:25):
that is better.
To live means I get to love andserve you, and I don't know
which to choose.
Paul invites us to have a viewof the world that is outside the
human.
It is so easy to get caught upin human things in the election.
Who's going to win?
What are we going to do aboutimmigrants and abortions and
(26:48):
women's rights?
And do our voices matter?
And those things are importantand we should vote and care
about our neighbors.
But Paul is helping us seesomething beyond that, that we
are not citizens of this world.
We are citizens of God'skingdom.
Citizens of God's kingdom, andthe Lord is near to us.
(27:09):
And as we walk as sojourners,as immigrants in this world to
which we do not belong though weoften forget it and feel like
we do the Lord is near.
In that Rejoice in the Lord.
Always, paul says, I will sayit again rejoice.
And this is imagine as hespeaks.
(27:30):
His tone here is much moreapparent scooping up a hurt
child or as you put your armaround a wounded, frustrated
friend.
It's not someone standing onthe church, on the street corner
with the big sign that saysrepent.
It's not that vibe at all.
This is Paul speaking to hisdear, dear, dear, dear friends,
(27:54):
putting his arm around them andsaying rejoice in the Lord.
I will say it again rejoice.
Recall to your mind and speakwith your voice.
God's good character and hispresence with you.
Doing this will enable you tobe gentle.
The Lord is near.
If the candidate you believe isgoing to do the most good for
(28:16):
our country doesn't win, ifdemocracy falls, the Lord is
near.
He is still with us.
Even when everything fallsapart and everything could fall
apart.
We are not promised health,wealth, prosperity or freedom.
The church, the Philippianchurch, didn't even have a clue
(28:38):
of the health, wealth,prosperity and freedom that we
take for granted, that we arevery concerned about losing.
And Paul says the Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything.
We don't know what theirparticular anxieties were.
We know what ours are Do not beanxious about anything.
And again, this is like pickingup a little child who's scared
of the thunder and saying it'sokay, it's okay, mommy's here,
(29:02):
mommy's here, don't be anxious.
Don't be anxious, I've got you.
This is the attitude.
Do not be anxious aboutanything.
But in every situation, byprayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present yourrequests to God.
Now let's talk briefly aboutwhat he means by anxiety here.
(29:22):
Do not be anxious.
Is that an anxiety disorder?
What is he talking about here?
Great question, I'm so glad youasked.
Do not be anxious.
Here is not talking about ageneral sense of anxiety or what
commonly would be diagnosedtoday as an anxiety disorder.
(29:44):
That isn't what Paul has inview here.
Paul has in view specificworries.
Anxious is kind of thisspecific concern or even a
rumination on that concern.
And so, instead of ruminatingon specific concerns, what
happens if X candidate wins?
That's a rumination.
(30:05):
You're toying it over in yourmind, looking at all the
possible negative outcomes.
Replace rumination on yourconcerns with rejoicing,
celebrating the character of Godand prayer.
In one of my articles you canfind on my blog I talk about
three types of anxiety.
There's general anxiety anxietydisorders.
(30:27):
Number two would be physicalanxiety your body's way of
handling stress and anxiety.
Your mind might not feelanxious, but your body is
recognizing that anxiety.
Your body is carrying it inyour physical flesh.
The ancient world understoodthis way better than we do.
(30:48):
We're often having to relearnit through counseling and other
helps to get our minds andbodies to work together.
But our bodies carry anxiety.
We've been struggling withhealth things in my household
and I was realizing that my bodywas reliving excuse me, my body
(31:09):
was reliving old traumasbecause my body remembered
things from years ago that mymind wasn't thinking about.
But my body felt it and I couldfeel the anxiety and the
pressure and just the crushingweight in my physical body.
Paul isn't talking about thatanxiety either.
(31:31):
That's not one we necessarilyhave control over and that is
one Paul and Jesus evenexperienced.
We see Jesus in the Garden ofGethsemane where he's pleading
with God to take this cup fromme.
He's dealing with massivephysical anxiety there.
He's also dealing with aspecific anxiety which Jesus
(31:56):
models for us, paul'sinstructions in the garden.
So Paul isn't saying don't havean anxiety disorder, don't let
your body feel the effects ofstress and anxiety.
That's not what Paul's saying.
He's saying do not be overlyconcerned to the point of
constant rumination aboutanything.
(32:18):
Don't let those concernsspecific concerns.
You can name what yours are.
Mine would be the election, myhusband's health, one of my kids
I'm on strep watch.
I'm waiting to see if they'regoing to come home with a fever
and potentially strep throat.
I have all of these concerns.
Those are just three.
You have a whole different list.
(32:38):
He's saying don't let those beso overly consuming that they
take over your mind and yourheart, that they take over your
mind and your heart.
Don't be anxious, Don't beruminating, don't be dwelling on
those things overly.
Now he's not saying ignore them, do not take that.
I've often taken.
I don't worry about thingsbecause I just ignore them.
(33:00):
No, that's not good either.
He gives us a help here.
He says do not be anxious aboutanything, but in every situation
, by prayer and petition, withthanksgiving, present your
requests to God.
Remember how we started talkingabout how keeping open doors of
communication between us andother believers and us.
(33:20):
And God is always his heart.
He says present your requeststo God, because Jesus is near.
He cares about all of yourspecific anxieties.
He cares about your kid withthe flu.
He cares about the flat tire onyour car.
He cares about whether yourtruck is going to pass
inspection.
He cares about who will win theelection.
He cares about your child'sschool teacher and the struggles
(33:43):
they're in.
Present your requests to God.
He wants to know them.
It would be imagine with me.
Jesus is near, the Holy Spiritindwells God's people, and so
what a flip side of this versecould be.
Imagine you're sitting therenext to Jesus or the Holy Spirit
(34:04):
, like you would a good friendat the coffee shop, and they're
saying I sense that you'reworried.
I sense that you're sittingthere next to Jesus or the Holy
Spirit, like you would a goodfriend at the coffee shop, and
they're saying I sense thatyou're worried, I sense that
you're upset, what's going on?
And you're like nothing, I gotit, but you're really concerned.
I know I got it, I'm just goingto ruminate on it and figure it
out.
Your friend would have rightespecially if they're a good
friend to be offended.
(34:24):
Hey, now if I'm going out tocoffee with you, taking hours
out of my day to check in on you.
I would like to hear what'sgoing on in your life, please,
and thank you.
And again, this isn't somebodyI don't know, it's a good friend
.
We have that open connection.
Imagine that.
That's the attitude this comeswith.
Paul says Jesus is right therewith you.
He's there and he's saying whatdo you need?
(34:49):
What's going on?
What are you worried about?
Are you worried about theelection?
Let's talk.
Are you worried about yourhusband's health?
Let's talk.
Are you worried about yourchild's teacher?
Let's talk.
Present your requests to God byprayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, and that's not aformula One, two, three, you get
(35:11):
the reward.
It's saying we pray, wepetition, with thanksgiving.
Looking at God's character, wecould talk to him because he's
near and he loves us and we canbe so thankful for who he is.
We present our requests to Godand then this is a promise the
(35:31):
peace of God, which transcendsall understanding, will guard
your hearts and your minds inChrist Jesus.
Does that mean the problem willgo the way you're hoping or
whatever?
No, but Jesus is near and hewill guard your hearts and your
minds.
You are safe.
Then Paul gives us a choice.
(35:52):
He says finally, brothers andsisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever isright, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever isadmirable, if anything is
excellent or praiseworthy, thinkabout these things.
Whatever you have learned orreceived or heard from me or
seen in me, put into practiceand the God of peace will be
with you.
Paul is desiring peace for thePhilippians and peace for us,
(36:13):
and this isn't the peace ofspiritual bypassing, where you
just ignore your emotions andyour problems and hope that they
go away because you push thehappy Christian button.
How are you this morning?
I am blessed, thank you so much.
No, he's not asking for that.
Blessed, thank you so much.
No, he's not asking for that.
(36:34):
He is saying you have pouredout your prayers and petitions
before God.
You have emptied your soul tohim.
Let's think about what is nobleand true.
We do have some choice on whatour mind dwells on, and there
are those of us here whostruggle with scrupulosity and
OCD and PTSD and things where wedon't have full control over
what our mind is just going tohit us with, and it'll hit us
(36:55):
with these negative, horriblethoughts over and over and over,
and the fact that some sort oftrauma or mental illness is
forcing your brain to andexhausting your will with
whatever it's hitting you with,that does not mean you are a
failure, because thinking aboutwhatever is true and noble and
(37:19):
right feels like animpossibility.
This is an encouragement.
This is an indication on how wecan disciple our emotions.
It is not a pass fail demandfrom God.
It is an invitation of abrother, of a dear friend,
because, do not forget, we areco-heirs with Christ, co-heirs,
(37:45):
legal younger brothers of Jesus.
And I say brothers becausewomen often didn't have
inheritance right in the sameway.
So when God says you are a sonof God, that is a legal term.
It's not talking gendernecessarily.
It's a legal like heir.
We are legal little brothers ofChrist, co-inheritors of the
(38:09):
king of the universe's bounty.
Your brother is sitting withyou saying tell me all about it.
I love you.
I want to hear your heart.
Let us lift our minds tothinking about the good things
and the holy things and theright things.
Doesn't mean it's going to beeasy, doesn't mean everything's
(38:31):
going to work out, but what Iwant you to walk away from this
podcast with is that the Lord isnear, he's right there and he's
offering you his peace, becauseGod's peace isn't necessarily
always a feeling of everythingjust feels right in the world
and I'm not feeling hugeconflicting emotions.
(38:52):
It's not that necessarily itmight be, but peace is also a
person.
Jesus is our peace and he isnear.
The peace of God, whichtranscends all understanding,
will guard your hearts and mindsin Christ Jesus.
We can trust him.
He can give us a sense of peace.
(39:14):
But even when we're completelyoverwhelmed, trauma-logged,
fighting off depression, ocd,ptsd, trauma, all of the things,
even if we don't have thesensation of peace, jesus is our
peace and he is there with us.
(39:36):
So, dear one, I hope as you walkaway, I hope as this podcast
ends, you have hope that nomatter what happens in the
election, no matter what happensin the wars and rumor of wars,
no matter what happens in theelection, no matter what happens
in the wars and rumor of wars,no matter what happens with that
diagnosis and health issue,jesus is near and he wants to
hear all of it and it's not a.
(39:58):
You can only send your requeststo him after you've rejoiced
and been thankful enough.
I've thought that before, likeI have to do, I have to do it in
order.
I have to rejoice and I have tobe thankful.
There are also verses in theBible that simply say pour out
your heart to the Lord and ifthat's all you can do, that's
what he wants.
He's not looking for a rubric,he's not looking for any
specific order.
(40:18):
He just wants your heart and hewants to hear you.
Maybe you're sitting herelistening, going.
I am so exhausted, so tired, Idon't even know where to start
Go.
Exhausted, so tired, I don'teven know where to start.
Go to my website.
I have a freebie on there andit's a piece of paper.
You can print it out, you canlook at it on your phone and
it's just a guide just to helpthe tired and exhausted brains
(40:42):
be like okay, what can I do?
How can I do this?
To just hold your hand and stepyou through some of these
things for your own heart's sake.
If that is helpful, it is freedownload available on my website
, wewhothearscom.
It's not helpful, you haveother tools.
I am praying for you.
I am with you in this anxiousseason and I pray that the Lord
(41:05):
will bless, that.
He will keep you and make hisface shine upon you and give you
peace.
Have a great day.
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