Sermon
Philippians 4:1-3 - How to disagree well in church
Publisher transcript
Transcript
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Let me pray for us and then I'll read verses 1 to 3 of Philippians 4.
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Heavenly Father, we pray now and ask for your help as we come to look at your word.
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It's later on, on a Sunday evening, we've had a busy day doing lots of things today as a church.
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We've learned lots from your word, we've appreciated it already.
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And so we ask, please, even now, just in these moments together around these verses of Philippians,
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might you speak to our hearts, might you teach us some things about you and about the gospel.
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May you grow our love for one another, we pray.
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May you be with us, in Jesus' name. Amen.
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Okay, verse 1.
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Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
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stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends.
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I plead with Iodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
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Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel,
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along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of the line.
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Now, I've studied and read Philippians a lot over the years, and I'm sure you have too.
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And I have often just sort of passed over Iodia and Syntyche thinking, well, you know, it's just a slight historical quirk, isn't it?
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It's just an interesting edition of names.
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It's just a demonstration that this is kind of rooted in Philippi, and it's not, you know, it's not a letter from Paul directly to London.
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It's a letter to Philippi that we have to translate and get through to us.
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But the more I've studied and the more I've thought about it, the more I think that Iodia and Syntyche are kind of quite central to the letter of Philippians.
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Some commentators say, I'm not sure I agree with them wholly, but say that this is the big reason for the letter,
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that actually Paul's reason for writing to Philippi is not just to thank them for the financial gift,
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but is also to pick up this particular situation with these two women.
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And I do think it stands out, doesn't it?
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It is an odd addition.
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It's a very direct instruction in the letter, and it does have some significant links to the main thrust of what's going on.
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Some commentaries as well spend quite a bit of time trying to work out exactly who these two women might be,
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and I don't think any of them are particularly convincing.
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I think the most convincing answer as to who these two women are is this.
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This is going to blow your socks off.
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We don't know, okay?
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I think that's the most persuasive answer.
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But that's because we're not supposed to know.
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And I think, though, even though we don't know who they are,
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and even though they don't know exactly what it is that they're falling out about,
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I still think there are some things for us to look at.
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So what I think we're going to do this evening, and please indulge me in this a little bit,
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I want us just to try and rinse these verses for as much as we can get out of them,
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and then see some applications for our church life.
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So I think I've got six observations of these verses, and then I've got, I think, three applications.
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That's a lot, isn't it?
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But it's not going to take me very long, I promise you.
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Okay, so let me go for these six observations from these texts, okay?
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First one is this.
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It is not doctrinal or moral failure, okay?
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This might seem obvious.
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You might just be thinking, Steve, I don't know why you're even pointing this out.
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But it's worth clocking, isn't it?
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This is not a case of false teaching or godless living.
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And we know that because of what Paul doesn't say in these verses, does he?
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He doesn't wade into either camp and say, you know, they're right and you're wrong.
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He doesn't chastise either party for what they're teaching.
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There's no sense that Euodia is having an affair or that Syntyche is embezzling the money of the church or something like that.
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There's none of that because if there was, Paul would say so, like he does in other letters about other situations.
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You may know, like Paul says, for example, that Demas is in love with the world
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or that Alexander the coppersmith has done him much harm.
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But there's none of that here, is there?
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There's just an instruction for Euodia and Syntyche to agree in the Lord.
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So we're not in the realms of doctrinal or moral failure or error here.
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We're just in the area of two people who don't get on who are being told to agree.
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The second thing to say is that though it's not doctrinal or moral, it is still serious and it is public as well.
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I think we're to presume that Paul has heard about this situation from Epaphroditus.
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So you'll know, won't you, from chapter two, the end of chapter two, Epaphroditus is the guy who went from Philippi to Paul in the Roman prison,
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bringing with him the gift from the Philippian church to Paul, and he almost died in bringing it.
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And has also brought this report to Paul about what's going on in the Philippian church.
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So this isn't some kind of private disagreement between Euodia and Syntyche.
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People know about this, right?
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It's obvious and it's serious, right?
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Serious enough for Paul to mention it here.
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Paul is, you know, we're not to imagine that Paul, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
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writing part of the Bible, is indulging in gossip, right?
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That's not what is going on here, is it?
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He's not making a mountain out of a molehill.
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Here is a disagreement that is serious enough and public enough for him to call out in a letter to the church.
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Perhaps there's a direct threat to the unity of the church.
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Perhaps there's a danger that the fighting could get worse as people perhaps take sides and it spreads through the church.
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So Paul takes this really seriously, doesn't he?
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Euodia and Syntyche, they're not getting on, and people know about it,
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and it has some serious implications for the life of the church.
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There's the first two.
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The third one, it's not in the leadership, but it is between mature Christians.
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Now, we don't know who these women are, but we do know that they're not leaders in the church, right?
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Elders in the early church were always men.
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Paul is clear on that.
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We're told in 1 Corinthians that he has a pattern of way of doing things in church that he applies in all the churches
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concerning the relationships of men and women.
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But just because they're not elders does not mean they're not serious-minded, mature believers.
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Verse 3 tells you that they have worked alongside Paul, worked with Paul.
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And it's noticed it's not actually underneath his leadership, but by his side that he says.
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To such an extent that he can say with confidence that their names are written in the book of life.
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Now, I think this is the same as in chapter 1, verse 27.
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Just turn back over the page.
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Chapter 1, verse 27.
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Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ.
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Then whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence,
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I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, striving together as for the faith of the gospel.
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Now, that is what Euodia and Syntyche have done.
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Now, they have, verse 3, help these women since they have contended at my side,
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side by side with me in the cause of the gospel.
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Same word, same idea.
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It's worth saying, perhaps even just as an aside here,
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with this reference to Euodia and Syntyche working side by side with Paul and his ministry team,
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that whatever the New Testament means by male headship in the life of the church
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and Paul's instruction in 1 Timothy 3 that it is men to be elders in the life of the church,
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it does not mean, does it, that women are not engaged in the ministry of the church.
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Women in the New Testament are teaching the Bible, they're doing evangelism,
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they're laboring alongside men, and Paul is clear on that here.
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Because that's true, it means that disagreements, even in the church between two women
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who are not on the eldership or leadership of the church,
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or two men who are not on the eldership of the church,
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even those disagreements can be serious enough to threaten the unity of a church
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and to be called out by Paul publicly.
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In other words, I think the point here is it's not just the relationships on the leadership of the church that matter,
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but it's the relationships between the members that also matter.
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And that's what Paul says here.
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So they're not in the leadership, but they are mature Christians.
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Every disagreement has an impact on the ministry of the church.
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Number four, disagreement requires some outside help.
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Okay, so you notice that, don't you?
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Okay, verse three, so I plead with you, I plead with you, I plead with you, I plead with you,
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I plead with you to be of the same mind of the Lord.
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Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women,
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since they have contended at my side in the course of the gospel,
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along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are written in the book of Lyons.
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He calls out this true companion in verse three to help them to get along with one another.
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Now, we don't know who that is.
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You could speculate about who that might be.
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Perhaps it's someone from Paul's missionary team.
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Perhaps it's the pastor of the church.
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Perhaps it's another one of the leaders.
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But the point is that Euodia and Syntyche need his, I guess it's his, help.
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And they should seek it out.
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And it should be willingly given.
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I think at times we can be too proud to accept help, can't we, in interpersonal relational problems.
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Having outside help feels like a whole layer of failure.
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But Paul isn't embarrassed either to call this disagreement out publicly,
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or to suggest publicly that these women might need help to get along with one another.
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There you go.
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Those are four.
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We are rattling through the moment, you see.
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Told you it wouldn't be long.
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Number five.
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Number five.
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It is solved by Christ-like love.
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Look again at verse two.
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I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
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Now this is Paul's special word in the letter of the Philippians.
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The word mind.
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It's this word fronin.
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It's the mindset that he's been talking all the way through the letter.
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It's the mindset of chapter two.
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So turn back to chapter two.
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This is where it comes, isn't it?
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In your relationship, verse five.
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In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.
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This is the one mind of verse two.
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Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one spirit and of one mind.
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This is Paul's favorite word in the letter.
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It's this idea that we are to be self-sacrificial in our love for others.
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Self-sacrificial love that looks to one another's eternal well-being above our own comfort.
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Just like Jesus, who left the glories of heaven for the filth of a cross for our eternal salvation.
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And so here, Euodia and Syntyche are being told, listen, be minded towards one another in the same way.
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In this mind that has been given to you by Christ Jesus.
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That is how this conflict will be resolved.
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I mean, in a sense, you could say, couldn't you, that the argument between Euodia and Syntyche is not so much resolved as it is overcome.
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You know, the disagreement between the two women is transcended, if you like, by this greater love that flows into them from the love of Christ on the cross.
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This is the image, isn't it, of the letter of the Philippians, that Christ loves us with a self-sacrificial love for our eternal well-being.
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And that flows into us and transforms us so that we might love one another with a self-sacrificial love for the eternal well-being of others.
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And Paul says, listen, that great flow from Christ into you is enough for you to be able to get along with one another, to be of the same mind.
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He isn't just saying, you know, just kind of like bury the hatchet.
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He's saying, listen, there is something that you have access to in the Lord Jesus, which can bring you together despite what's going on.
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He's telling them in the blood of Christ, there is a source of unity that is greater than any source of disunity.
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It's not, it's, it's not saying, listen, Euodia, what you really need to do here is you really need to accept that Syntyche probably has a point.
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You know, you know, Euodia, when Syntyche says that you're sort of annoying, well, that, you know, she's kind of right.
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Yes, yeah.
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It's, it's not saying, you know, Syntyche, you just got to admit you do have a bad temper at times, don't you?
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You are a little bit of a grumpy person.
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It's not that, is it?
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It's saying Euodia and Syntyche, into you both is being poured the love of Christ Jesus himself.
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His selfless love has taken over your hearts.
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Now agree with one another that what you have in Christ is greater than anything that is separating you from one another.
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Agree to that.
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Finally then, sixthly, I think he's deliberately vague.
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Deliberately vague.
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I don't know if you've noticed this if you read the New Testament.
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The New Testament is consistently vague about lots of details that you'd really like to know.
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What particular false teaching is going on?
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Like Colossians, there's a heresy going on in the letter to the Colossians.
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In Philippians, you're never quite told what it is, for example.
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In Philippians, you're never quite told why Euodia and Syntyche are not getting on.
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And I think that's deliberate.
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Not so that we are led to speculation, but so that we see that these letters have an implication beyond themselves.
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We are to see that it is possible for you and for me tonight to be Euodia or to be Syntyche.
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That's the point.
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Because we don't know exactly what it is that they were disagreeing about.
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So we need to see that the implications are beyond these two women and have something to say to us tonight.
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This great letter of Christ's work.
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I think Philippians 2 is probably one of the high points of the New Testament, right?
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This declaration of Christ's work.
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If you're looking for a Christological statement, a statement on the person of Christ,
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you can't really do much better or much greater clarity than chapter 2.
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You being in very nature, God did not consider an equality with God something to be grasped or used to his own advantage,
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but considered himself nothing, taking the nature of a serf, being found in human flesh, humbling himself,
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becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross.
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Therefore, God has exalted him and given him the name above every name.
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You know, that's the high point, isn't it, of New Testament Christology.
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And then yet, bang, it's landed with Euodia and Syntyche.
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Listen, these great truths of Christ land in your life, in your relationships with one another.
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Euodia and Syntyche, you have no idea who they are.
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You have no idea why they fell out.
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But what you do know is that these great truths about Christ and his person land here in that conversation with that person you find difficult at church.
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How do you know you know the truth of the glory of Christ?
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You know it because when you have that conversation with that person you find difficult to get on with,
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the truth of who Christ is brings you unity with them, even though you find them difficult to get on with.
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And that's why it's deliberately vague.
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The Philippians is meant to land in our Euodia and Syntyche moments in the life of the church.
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Now, with that in mind, I want to suggest to you three applications.
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First application, okay?
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First observation.
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I think because these verses are in Philippians, it means this.
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Disagreements in church life are to be expected.
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Disagreements in church life are to be expected.
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I think it is possible for us to be very idealistic about church life.
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And to assume that we just might get along with one another without ever having a problem with each other.
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And that relational problems are probably some sign of something really serious, some kind of serious moral failure or some serious doctrinal failure.
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And that someone's probably a liar, probably a thug.
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They probably need to be removed from the church.
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But these verses are a reminder to you and I that disagreements in the life of the church are to be expected.
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Here we find it's entirely possible, isn't it, in a healthy church, a church which loves Paul, loves the ministry of the gospel, loves contributing to the ministry of the gospel, loves standing side by side with Paul to preach the gospel.
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It is entirely possible in a church like that for two people who are still engaged in the life of the church proactively, for those two people to find themselves at opposite sides of a disagreement that is serious enough to threaten the unity of a church where neither party is clearly in the right or the wrong.
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I want to admit to a bit of personal naivety on this thing.
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No, I do.
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I think I have been surprised when I have found myself disagreeing with others and I've thought that it should be possible for me to fix those things at every given moment.
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It's just not true.
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Not true in the New Testament, is it?
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Famously, Paul and Barnabas fall out in Acts 15 over Mark, don't they?
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And they end up going their separate ways.
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They have a disagreement that is so strong, they end up going separate ways.
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It does seem in 2 Timothy that there's some reconciliation between Mark and Paul.
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God seems to use it to double his missionary force.
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But at the same time, the disagreement is written there to show you these things happen even in healthy churches.
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Now, that doesn't mean that we should go looking for disagreements, does it?
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Please don't.
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You know, Steve says, disagreements are a good thing in the life of the church.
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That's not what I'm saying.
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I'm saying that disagreements are an inevitable part of the life of the church, but it doesn't mean we should go looking for them.
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But it does mean that we shouldn't take them to be in themselves a sign of failure or of doctrinal error.
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But we should agree to agree in the laws.
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And here's the pinch of all this.
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This means that there are aspects of church life which are not clearly addressed by Scripture directly.
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Let me apply it to the Paul and Barnabas argument first, and then we'll come to some arguments about ourselves.
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Paul and Barnabas fell out because they couldn't agree whether Mark should be on the team or not.
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Right. And so the implication is that the Bible doesn't tell them whether or not taking Mark was the right or the wrong thing to do.
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There's no instruction about how many times you should let somebody walk off from a job before you consider them no longer worthy of a place on the team.
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Right. Paul thought Mark walked away one too many times, so they shouldn't include him.
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Barnabas was inclined to give him another chance.
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There's no instruction in the Scriptures that told them the answer to that.
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So they were free to disagree over it and come to different conclusions.
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So people will disagree.
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And there are lots of areas like that in church life.
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There is no verse in the Bible that tells you the age of the hymns that you should sing when the church gathers.
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So you are welcome to take a different opinion to other people on that.
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Right. There's no instruction in the Bible that tells you exactly which instruments you should and shouldn't use.
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Or the length of the sermon that should be preached.
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Or the clothes that the preacher should wear.
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Or the time of the prayer meeting.
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Or the way that you're going to organize the rota for the Sunday school.
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Or what cakes you're going to have on the refreshment table.
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Or the hours that a volunteer should do.
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Or the amounts of visits a sick person should expect to receive.
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There are many things like that in the life of the church.
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And because there's no specific instruction in the Scriptures,
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we should expect people of different personalities to come to different conclusions on those things.
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And because we're different, and because we're this side of glory,
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we should expect to misunderstand one another on those things.
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We should expect to think that other people in church are crazy
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because they come to a different conclusion on something that the Scriptures are not clear on.
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We should expect to have areas of church life where you look at it and you feel like,
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well, if I was doing that, I wouldn't do it like that.
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I would go as far as to suggest that if you look at every area of church life and you go,
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that is being done exactly as I would have done it in every single way.
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Either you're in a church which is only full of people who are exactly like you,
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which would be weird,
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or you're in charge of everything, which you shouldn't be either.
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Actually, we should be able to look at aspects of church life and go,
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I'm glad they're doing it.
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They're not doing it in the way that I would do it,
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but praise God that they're doing it like that,
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because that's how they're doing it.
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We should expect, shouldn't we, to come to those different kinds of conclusions.
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And in a weird way, then those sort of disagreements are a sign of health.
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They mean that we are different, and that's a good thing.
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And we should be very careful when people come to different conclusions
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on areas that the Bible gives us freedom on,
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we should be very careful not to put value judgments on those
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which lead these things into being more serious.
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You know, that Christian over there,
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I know they have a glass of wine with their evening meal from time to time,
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which probably means they're not really very serious about their Christian faith.
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We shouldn't say that second part, should we?
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Because it's not true.
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They've come to perhaps a different conclusion to you,
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but that doesn't mean that you can pass judgment
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on the seriousness of their Christian life.
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You know, that person, I've noticed that when we sing,
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sometimes they put their hands in their air and they close their eyes.
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That probably means they don't take the Bible very seriously.
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We shouldn't come to that conclusion, should we?
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We shouldn't go there.
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Oh, that person, they always fold their arms when they sing.
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Probably means they don't believe the Holy Spirit.
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We shouldn't make that conclusion, should we?
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We shouldn't go there.
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It's not necessary, because the fact that they think differently to others
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is just an indication that they're not like you,
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and that's not a failure.
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It's actually a good thing.
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We should expect to disagree in the life of the church.
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Secondly, we should expect to need help with our relationships with one another,
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and should expect to help one another with their relationships.
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The problem, I would suggest, is not the fact that Yodia and Syntyche disagree.
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The problem is that they are unable to get over it and move on.
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And Paul asks them, listen, seek some help.
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Go to my true companion, and he will help you.
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And he told the helper to be essentially more proactive, isn't he?
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Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, yes, you know who you are, true companion,
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you who've been sat on the sidelines for far too long while Yodia and Syntyche are not getting on.
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You go and get involved and go and help them to agree in the Lord's.
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The church life and our church life together should be essentially a disagreement solver,
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not by making us into clones of one another,
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but by presumably by getting the true companion here to turn us back to the gospel
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and show us that the same mind that we have in Christ is enough for us
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to get over our disagreements and press on in the Lord's.
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So let me ask you how good you are at that.
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How good are you at being a true companion or at seeking the help of a true companion?
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I would suggest to you that churches are generally not very good at this.
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I think we tend to, I'm not going to generalise,
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but I do think we tend to seek people in our disagreements
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who will agree with us to defend our cause
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rather than people who we might think would genuinely help us get over it.
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So we try and share our disagreements to rally people to our team.
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But actually what we're here to do is to seek genuine reconciliation with one another
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and seek people who will help us to find genuine reconciliation,
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reminding us, listen, the unity that you have in Christ,
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what Christ is doing in the gospel in pouring love into you
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is greater than this difference that you have.
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So who can you be a true companion to?
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Who can you help?
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Who can you encourage?
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How, when that topic of conversation comes up again,
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how can you point back to the unity that we have in Christ?
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Finally then, final application, and I'm not going to tell you what it is.
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I'm instead going to ask you a question.
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I want you to think, you can ask the person next to you if they might help you.
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I want you to ask the person next to you,
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what are the things that the scriptures tell us we must do when we gather the church?
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What things does the scriptures tell us that we must do when we gather as a church?
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Have a think about that.
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It's not a trick question.
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I'm not trying to trip you up.
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Have a think.
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What does the Bible say we must do when we gather as a church?
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I'm going to say a trick of water as well.
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And then I'll show you around this because I think it's an application as well.
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Go for it.
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Have a think.
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Or talk to the person next to you.
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What do the scriptures say we should do when we gather as a church?
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Okay.
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So my question was, what do the scriptures say that we should do when we gather as a church?
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Joe, you said sing, didn't you?
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Yeah.
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That's right.
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We are to sing.
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We are to sing together.
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Interestingly, we are to sing for one another's benefit.
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That we sing to teach one another and to encourage one another, don't we?
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So, yes.
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Very helpful.
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Lucy?
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Sarah said, come together as you need to be on the church.
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Yes.
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So we are to gather together and we say we can't do church on our own.
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We have to do it together.
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Church is the word gathering in the New Testament.
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Ecclesia means to gather, to come together.
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Yeah.
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Do not give up meeting together as some are in the habit of doing.
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Hebrews 10.
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Yeah.
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Sing.
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Gather.
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Yes.
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We are to encourage one another.
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Yeah.
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To love one another.
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Yeah.
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To pray.
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Yeah.
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To break bread.
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Yes.
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Share the Lord's Supper together.
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We can add baptism to that as well.
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Yeah.
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We are to baptize people into membership of the church.
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Sorry?
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Yes.
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Confessing our sins together.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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Yes.
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So seeking help from one another to support one another.
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Yeah.
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Slightly disappointing that we've not said read the Bible or preach.
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But anyway, there you go.
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Is that what you're going to say?
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So yes.
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Paul tells Timothy to commit himself to the public reading of scripture.
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He is to preach the word in season and out of season.
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So whether you like it or not, Paul's constricting Timothy to preach.
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To preach.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Yeah.
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Confession.
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We've had that.
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Okay.
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Okay.
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Oh, look at that.
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You see it.
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It's almost 25 plus 70 and throwing a spanner in the works.
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Yes.
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Prophesying.
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So I think probably in 1 Corinthians 12 and 14, the prophesying is probably quite close
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to what we would call preaching.
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Yeah.
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It's interesting there, isn't it, in those chapters?
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Yeah.
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There you go.
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Yeah.
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It's interesting, I think, as well, what you get from those 1 Corinthians passages is that
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everybody wants to be involved.
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So I think participation is something that we're instructed to do.
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So when you come and gather as church, it's not something that's done to you, but it's
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something you participate in.
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Right?
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So that's one of the hallmarks of an authentic church.
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Yeah.
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So we read the Acts passage as well about they committed themselves to the breaking of
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bread and fellowship with one another and to the apostles' teaching.
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Right.
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Okay.
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There's one thing that I didn't think you'd say, so you fell into my trap.
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So turn to 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 26.
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I would give you a page number, but I'm not there yet myself.
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So someone...
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Someone...
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1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, verse 26.
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1-1-8-8.
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1-1-8-8.
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Thank you.
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Greet all God's people with a holy kiss.
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Okay?
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Romans 16, verse 16.
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Turn to Romans 16, verse 16.
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Romans 16, verse 16.
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That is on page 1143.
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I'm sorry I'm doing this quickly, but we've almost run out of time.
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Romans 16, 16.
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Greet one another with a holy kiss.
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Okay?
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1 Peter, chapter 5, verse 14.
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1 Peter, chapter 5, verse 14.
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Greet one another with a kiss of love.
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Now, here's my third and final application.
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Yes?
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Sarah, you're the winner.
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Well done, Sarah.
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She's on Zoom, so...
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I'm sorry that we didn't come to you, but there you go.
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So, my final application from these verses in Philippians is this,
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that we are to share our unity with one another or our peace with one another in Christ.
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I am not suggesting that we go around kissing one another.
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I think that is a first-century tradition in terms of a greeting one another.
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But here's the thing I think that we neglect to do,
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is we neglect to recognize and share together the peace that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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This is more than just saying hello to one another, isn't it?
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It is greeting one another in the life of the church in a way that reflects the unity and peace that we enjoy in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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You may have been to an Anglican church where they share the peace with one another as part of the corporate worship.
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I think there's something to be said for that.
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It is saying, listen, what we have together in Christ, what God has done for us in Christ,
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is something that we share with one another.
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You might be my syndicate and I might be your euodia,
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but we are shaking hands in church and saying,
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we have peace in Christ.
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We're brothers, we're sisters in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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And notice, this is exactly what Paul is insisting for euodia and syndicate, isn't he?
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He isn't saying, listen, euodia and syndicate, we all want holiday together.
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Have each other around for Christmas dinner.
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Become best friends with one another.
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He's not saying that at all, is he?
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What he's saying is, listen, what you have in Christ is enough for you to get on with one another in the life of the church.
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It is precious what God has done for you in Christ.
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And it's precious enough to transcend your disagreements.
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And that's why it's a part of ancient worship services.
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Maybe we should introduce it in some manner in the life of our church,
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that we greet one another and speak and share peace with one another.
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That we have in the Lord Jesus.
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Because the truth is, we're not making it up, are we?
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We're not faking it with one another, pretending to be at peace with one another.
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There's a real peace that we share in the Lord Jesus Christ.
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There you go.
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That is Philippians 4, verses 1 to 3.
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Let me pray for us as I close and then we'll sing.
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Heavenly Father, thank you so much that the love that we've received from the Lord Jesus,
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through his death for us on the cross, is sufficient for us to get along with one another
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and to share peace with one another.
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Thank you that you've made us all different.
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That we're from different places, different cultures.
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We have different ways of looking at things.
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And that means that we might disagree with one another at times.
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But thank you that what we have in the Lord Jesus is enough to transcend those disagreements
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because we're brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus.
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And we give you thanks and praise and glory in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Amen.