How Christ Conquers Conflict

Our sermon text today is Philippians chapter 4, verses 1 through 7.

Philippians 4:1–7

Philippians 4, 1 through 7.

I read this trusting it as God's inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, authoritative word for you, His people.

If you receive it that way, then you can respond at the end.

Thanks be to God.

Philippians 4, 1 through 7.

Therefore, my beloved and longed-for brethren, my joy and my crown, so stand fast in the Lord, beloved.

I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.

And I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also.

And the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again, I will say, rejoice.

Let your gentleness be known to all.

The Lord is at hand.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,

let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This is the word of the Lord for the people of God.

Thanks be to God.

You may be seated.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever.

Luke 1, 37.

No word from the mouth of God shall be void of power.

Let's pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

God, we ask that your Holy Spirit will please shine the light of Christ on these words

and apply them to our lives, to our minds, our hearts, our attitudes, especially toward other Christians.

We ask, Lord, that you will show us the power of Jesus Christ

and how his power over his people changes everything.

For your glory we pray.

Amen.

Well, I was hearing a report from one of these pastors

about how four different Reformed Baptist pastors

were invited to a church in the Midwest,

and they spent one week there.

Each one of those four pastors worked for 80 hours on one project.

By the end of that one laborious week,

each pastor had a binder like this full of handwritten notes

from all of the people they had talked with,

trying to understand and uncover the problem

that they were called to work on.

What was their work that they had to do?

What was this project?

There was conflict, interpersonal conflict,

within the congregation of another church,

and they needed help.

One of those pastors who I've learned a lot from on this topic,

his name is Brian Borgman of the great state of Nevada,

and he has so much experience, but he very humbly said

there's not a lot of helpful books on interpersonal conflict

within the church that he found useful in that situation,

but what God did make very useful

and what God did cause him to study more in depth over time

was these two or three verses in the letter of Philippians

that we just read.

My sermon for us today,

it's about conflict,

but I want to point out to you,

in this passage we read,

these seven verses,

I think there's battle language once again.

It should be no surprise by this point,

knowing Paul and knowing his audience in Philippi.

Would you look at verse one?

He says in verse one,

stand fast.

That's military language.

I'll do my best to show you why here in a moment.

Stand fast.

That's verse one.

Now look at the end of this little inclusio.

Verse seven,

God will guard you through Christ Jesus.

That's the two bookends.

It's military language for battle.

Stand fast.

God will guard you.

And what's in the middle of this little sandwich?

It's a conflict within the church.

So what can this teach us about conflict among Christians?

Well, my message for you today from this passage

is how Christ conquers conflict.

Christ conquers conflict.

With God's help,

I hope to show you how he wants us to see conflict among Christians,

what we must discern in such conflicts,

two instructions we have on getting through the conflict,

and finally,

what we must trust as we work through a conflict within the church.

So number one,

see the conflict with spiritual eyes.

He begins this thought by reminding the church of who they are in the eyes of God.

In verse one,

you,

Christian,

are beloved.

That other Christian that you have bad feelings toward,

they are beloved.

They are the bride of Christ.

And he calls them very personally,

my longed for brethren.

My brothers and sisters that I long for.

My heart toward every one of you is to be with you.

I long for you.

He calls them my joy.

When I think of the church,

these individuals,

this body,

that's the source of my greatest joy.

Not anything this world can give me.

And he calls them my crown.

So see one another through spiritual eyes.

Beloved.

Jesus Christ is the lover of the soul of his church.

And the church is the beloved of Christ.

Every single one of the New Testament authors refers to the church as the beloved of Jesus Christ.

He says,

longed for brethren.

Maybe you have a moment where you remember missing one of your siblings.

My brother and I and my sister too,

we were very close.

And I remember,

I'm the oldest,

when I went off to college and just was going to come back,

how much I longed to be with them.

Just really missed my family,

my brothers and sisters.

I miss them.

And he calls them my joy.

My joy is being with God's people.

When I'm with God's people,

my brothers and sisters,

the one that Christ loves,

that's when I get the taste of heaven.

That fellowship we share here on earth with the brethren,

that's my joy.

That's what I want more than anything else.

And he calls them my crown.

I think this is,

is Paul taking almost like a grandfather,

paternal,

loving care over all the Christians in this little congregation.

Proverbs 17,

17,

six says,

children's children are a crown to the aged.

You want to see a grandpa or a grandma light up?

It's when they look at their grandkids and they see them doing something.

It's their crown.

You know,

all my other achievements,

whatever else I did with work,

I,

I am so proud of my grandkids.

That's my crown.

I think that's how Paul is expressing his Christ-like love toward the church.

Okay.

Okay.

If all of this is true,

why is there such big conflict that it makes it into this letter?

You can only address so many things in four short chapters.

Well,

whatever is true of us as Christians in the,

the spiritual realm,

that's the already that Christ has already secured for us.

It's true.

It's our reality.

It's that Roman sevens tension.

So we still have a not yet aspect of living in this flesh in the body.

There's still remaining sin in the flesh of every single Christian.

So we could really make it simple as others have helped me to see whenever there's conflict among Christians,

it's because the not yet aspect of our salvation is eclipsing the already part.

In other words,

what Christ has done is,

is secure,

but I'm still being sanctified.

And there's a lot of me that's not yet conformed to Christ.

That's why we're pressing on together.

We're not fully there yet.

That's what conflict is.

It's,

it's really pretty simple.

He also reminds them not only of what they are,

but what they are not.

Fellow believers are not your enemies.

Would you please keep this finger right here in Philippians four,

but also turn to Ephesians and then put a marker in Ephesians six.

We're saving Philippians four and returning to Ephesians six,

verse 12.

This is helpful because it's our same author.

It's a similar church full of Gentiles and Greeks and Romans and Jewish converts as well

that live in another city.

And his instruction in this spiritual battle is,

is helpful and is very similar.

Notice what Paul says to the church in Ephesus,

Ephesians six,

12.

Church,

we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.

Fellow believers,

even the ones you're in conflict on,

they are not your enemy.

They're not the true enemy.

We do have a real enemy.

Now back to Philippians four,

look at verse one.

This is the context.

I think we need to read that first verse.

Stand fast in the Lord.

We do have a true enemy.

To stand fast in the military.

That's a holding position.

You only want to hold the high ground.

Once you've already conquered it,

there's nothing more to conquer.

Christ has conquered the high ground.

He puts his church on the high ground.

Stand fast.

Hold what Christ has purchased and accomplished.

What he has been victorious over.

See,

Satan came into this world and took the authority that God delegated to Adam.

And Jesus warns us that Satan is the ruler of this world.

Don't get entangled with this world.

It's under the dominion of the enemy of Satan.

But when Jesus Christ came,

he said,

I came to bind the strong man.

And Christ has bound him up by crushing the serpent's head on the cross.

And now the gospel goes forth to all the nations,

to all the Gentiles,

because Satan is no longer able to deceive them.

And so our battle,

it's not against flesh and blood,

but there's still a retreating enemy,

so to speak.

We're still in this world.

Satan no longer has power over Christ and his church,

but the Christians are in this world,

and we need to stand fast.

There's a war going on.

Flip back to Ephesians 6 again.

Verse 12 continues,

Our battle is against principalities,

against powers,

against the rulers of the darkness of this age,

against the spiritual host of wickedness in the heavenly places.

There is a real spiritual battle.

And when there's conflict within a church,

that's what's really going on.

There is a spiritual dimension to conflict among Christians.

So Ephesians 6, 11,

put on the whole armor of God.

Why?

To stand firm.

The same instruction as Philippians 1, 4-1.

Stand firm against the devil's schemes.

Satan will scheme.

He will try to deceive and confuse.

And he will try to stir up strife and trick Christians

about who the real enemy is.

Stand fast.

Stand firm in Jesus Christ.

So how Christ conquers conflict

is by teaching Christians

to view a conflict with spiritual eyes.

Number two,

Paul sets an example for the church and for all of us.

We are to ask God

for great discernment about conflict.

You notice how Paul is very concise

in how he deals with it?

But you can also just sense

like a veteran grandfather

who's helped so many churches and believers

and has been a missionary,

you know, planting congregations

that are thriving and bearing gospel fruit.

He has so much experience,

and that's partly why he's very direct

and to the point.

Ask God for great discernment.

This is what God has given Paul,

and we can see his example.

In two short verses,

just verses 2 and 3 of Philippians 4,

we can discern at least six insights here.

In verse 2, Paul writes,

I implore Euodia,

and I implore Syntyche.

Remember, this is a letter,

Philippians 1.1,

to the whole congregation,

to the elders, the deacons,

and the whole congregation

of the church in Philippi.

And in this letter to the whole church,

he's imploring two specific individuals.

Why?

Well, apparently the whole church

already knows about this conflict.

And it's big enough

that it needs to be addressed,

even from the Apostle Paul.

What does he implore these two individuals?

He says,

I implore you to be of the same mind

in the Lord.

Paul was never shy

to address ethical problems

within the church,

like think of Corinthians,

where there's messed up relations

going on among the church.

He'll address that very clearly,

straight on.

So, it's most likely

not an ethical issue.

He also is not shy

about addressing doctrinal issues.

Think of his tone

in the letter to the Galatians.

We are not going to dance around here.

This is the true gospel.

We won't take any compromise

on ethics or doctrine.

It's also most likely

not a legal matter between them.

In 1 Corinthians 6,

he says,

you shouldn't be taking

a legal case, you know, outside.

You should be able

to handle even that.

So, he'll address legal issues

when those exist.

So, what can we conclude?

It's most likely

an interpersonal conflict.

It most likely deals with

a relationship

that's very broken now.

A broken trust,

hurt feelings,

things that have been said.

Most likely,

one person feeling

the other one has

a plank in their eye

and the other one

probably feeling the same.

Well, they're the one

with a plank in their eye

and we're stuck.

So, Paul discerned

this is an important

interpersonal matter

that must be addressed publicly.

But number two,

he discerned

that he ought not

to take a side

with either one.

Do you notice how

it's perfectly proportional?

It's measured

equally on both sides.

I implore this person

and I implore that person.

I'm keeping it

neutral and balanced.

I'm imploring you both

have the mind of Christ.

In conflict,

no one likes to back down.

I feel on my point,

I'm right,

I'm going to dig my heels in

and now it's personal

because my pride

is attached to this position

that I took.

At least maybe

that's just me.

But that's the tendency

of our flesh.

And then it's really hard

because whoever hears

the story of either side

is going to think,

you know,

I can see that

and then this side hears

this side,

well, I can see truth

in that too.

So before you know it,

you've got families

and groups within the church

taking one side

or the other

and we end up with

a massive divide

within the congregation.

You can almost hear

one person saying,

you know,

Syntyche,

whose name means fortunate,

she's a godly woman.

We were really sick

and she brought a meal

over to our family.

Of course,

I have to side with her.

You can hear another family

saying,

well,

I know Euodia very well.

Her name means

sweet fragrance

and her name alone

makes me want

to take her side.

So before you know it,

we've got opinions.

And then,

the snowball continues

to grow.

This person over here

is stirring up

some conflict

with another family

over here on this side

and those wounds

that maybe had been addressed,

you thought they were resolved,

all of a sudden,

new conflicts

are opening up.

We've got a big issue

on the hands

of the church.

Paul discerned

he ought not

to necessarily

take a side

in this interpersonal

conflict.

Number three,

Paul discerned

it was urgent.

This is urgent.

We can't keep delaying.

We can't avoid conflict.

This is my time

to help them

walk out Matthew 18

of deal with the conflict.

Deal with what

we have to address.

It's urgent.

The word implore,

it carries that tone

of don't put it off.

Do this right now.

In Mark 5, 23,

we're told of a person

who begged Jesus earnestly

saying,

my little daughter lies

at the point of death,

but if you come,

she will live.

That's the same

Greek word.

I beg you

earnestly

to do this.

Paul implores.

To implore someone

can be a formal address.

It's to plead with,

to beseech,

to entreat,

to urge,

exhort,

admonish.

We've got to deal

with this.

So Paul discerned

it was urgent.

Number four,

Paul discerned

that he must

minimally

but directly

address it.

He tells them,

be of the same

mind in the Lord.

You are to reconcile

with each other

in such a way

that you come

into harmony

with one another

so you can again

strive together

and march together

as he's been

calling the church

to do.

You see,

this conflict

is preventing

not only you

but likely others

within the church

from doing the very thing

Christ has made clear.

Strive together.

March on.

Press on together.

Don't be divided

and distracted

because that's what

the enemy wants

to do in the church.

Humble yourselves

as Christ

humbled himself

for you.

Be of the same

mind

of Jesus Christ.

It's most likely

that wonderful

glorious passage

in Philippians 2

where we saw

Christ's great

dissension

and humility

as a slave

and then his

ascension

being exalted

by God the Father

for his obedience.

That's the theological

point of this letter

with this conflict

as being part

of the occasion

for which this letter

needed to go back.

Paul discerned

he must address

it directly.

Number five,

Paul discerned

that this was

also a case

where a local

in-person mediator

would be helpful.

Look at verse three.

It says,

I also urge you

true companion.

Maybe it's a reference

that everyone

would have understood

to one of the

local officers

or something like that

or possibly a Greek name.

What it literally means

is genuine

yoke fellow

which is great

even if it's his

actual name.

I mean,

what providence

is yoked up

with Paul

pulling in the same

direction

and plowing this field

that God has given

them to cultivate.

So I urge you

to true companion

help.

Help these women

who labored with me.

Help them.

The word help,

it carries with it

the meaning of

bringing two things

together.

So help them

by putting them

back together.

Sometimes in any

relationship,

especially the most

intense relationships

like marriage,

they just need help.

Need someone to help

bring us back together

with one another.

One of the most

clever titles

for a book on marriage

biblically is called

When Sinners Say

I Do.

Isn't that exactly

what's going on

in marriage?

Two saved sinners

saying I do

to one another.

There's the already

that we're in Christ

but there's also

plenty of not yet

in both of our lives.

One of the chapters

is called

The Fog of War.

When it feels like

in a relationship

you're at war,

picture 200 muskets

firing the gunpowder

on one side,

the same from the other,

and there's that

black smoke.

It's really hard

to discern

and see clearly

what's our way

forward here.

It's foggy

and it's really helpful

to have an objective

third party,

someone else

that can come in

and ask

and listen.

Now,

the fact that he

has to tell them

and not only tell them

but tell the whole church

and tell his fellow

yokemen

to help them,

it can reveal

something to us,

doesn't it?

They had not gotten

help yet

or if this person

was in a position

to help,

the help had been

rejected.

We need an apostolic

authority saying

you need help

and this man

is going to have

the authority

to help you.

Why is it that

in our flesh

we oftentimes

don't want help?

We don't want

to be told

that we were wrong.

I don't want

to have to sit there

and have someone

else tell me,

Jason,

here's the plank

in your eye,

brother.

lovingly in the Lord.

How about you

let the Holy Spirit

work on you,

Jason,

on that plank

right now?

That's humbling

and once my pride

has gotten attached

and it's become

public,

my flesh

is never going

to choose that

but God in his grace

he calls us

back to that

and that's what

a helper

bringing two together

is going to have

to do,

speak the truth

and love

to both sides.

Most likely

there's something

each side

must repent of

to the Lord

and there can be

no peace

with one another

until that happens.

Think about this

when Jesus

in John 5, 6

he walked

by

and saw

a crippled man

lying there

for a long time

the Bible says

adding that detail.

Notice Jesus'

words to that man.

Do you

want

to be healed?

Do you

want

to be healed?

Jesus

expected

this man

to give

a verbal

answer

before he

brought the

healing power

that only

he could

bring.

So in

conflict

a mediator

a local

in-person

helper

sometimes

will need

to do that.

Ask each side

do you

want

help?

Do you

want

to be

healed?

Or do you

want to

continue

with this

miserable

conflict?

Well number

six

Paul discerned

it is

wise

to also

publicly

affirm

both

women.

He tells

the church

outdo

one another

in showing

honor to

one another

within the

church.

The church

should be

so generous

in lavishing

honor on

all those

who work

out of love

for Christ.

Look at what

he says

in verse

three.

These

women

they labored

with me

in the

gospel.

They are

my fellow

workers.

Remember

how he

called Epaphroditus

his fellow

worker?

He's

putting

that same

title of

honor on

both of

these women

publicly.

Imploring to

both of

them publicly.

Honoring both

of them publicly.

He's attaching

his reputation

to each one

of them

to try to

help.

He's trying

to clear

both names

of any

potential

slander.

Proverbs

10

18

says

whoever

conceals

hatred

with lying

lips and

spreads

slander

is a

fool.

Paul

is giving

a fresh

start

so to

speak.

He's

saying

like

Proverbs

18

17

the one

who

states

his

case

first

seems

right

until

the

other

one

comes

and

examines

him.

Remember

who you

are

in

Christ.

Ask

for God

to help

you

discern

what's

really

going

on.

What

are

all

the

layers

that

need

to

be

dealt

with

here.

And

let's

humbly

have

the

mind

of

Christ

and

be

reconciled

together.

Well

you might

be wondering

is this

possible

for God

to help

a church

or help

an individual

or help

me

this much?

And I

encourage you

to look

at the

promises

of Scripture

that God

promises

to give

discernment

and wisdom

to those

who belong

to him.

In Proverbs

10

18

I apologize

Proverbs

2

1

through 6

he says

if you cry

out for

discernment

and lift

up your

voice for

understanding

if you

seek

discernment

as silver

and search

for her

as for

hidden

treasures

then you

will

understand

the fear

of the

Lord

and you

will find

the knowledge

of God

for the

Lord

gives

wisdom.

So we

need to

follow this

example

and ask

God

for great

discernment

in the

midst of

conflict

among

Christians.

I love

what Paul

does next

in verses

3

through 7

he

gospels

the church

through the

conflict.

He

gospels

them

through

conflict.

I think

everything

that follows

in the rest

of our

passage

verses 3

through 7

these are

safeguards

to protect

the local

church

from conflict.

I think

that's what

we read

here.

In verse

3 he

says rejoice

brothers and

sisters

your names

are in

the book

of life.

Your names

are in

the book

of life.

You are

Christians.

Maybe you've

got a couple

of sons

and you

walk in

and they're

just wrestling

each other

throwing each

other

yelling at

each other

do you want

to just sit

them down

and say

you are

Christians

stop it.

Both of your

names are the

book of life.

Revelation 12

10 says

now have

come the

salvation

and the

power and

the kingdom

of our

God and

the authority

of his

Messiah for

the accuser

of our

brothers and

sisters who

accuses them

before our

God day

and night

he has been

hurled down.

Your names

are in the

book of life.

The accuser

no longer

can blame

you one

another.

What's at

stake here

he's telling

them is this.

Does the

work of

Jesus

for you

make any

difference in

your relationships

with one

another?

That's what's

at stake

here.

Your names

are in

the book

of life.

Will the

reign of

Christ make

any difference

in the way

that you

live now

and treat

one another?

In verse

4 he says

rejoice in

the Lord

always.

The quote

goes that it

takes 72

muscles to

frown but

only 13

to smile.

Aren't you

tired of

wearing yourself

out over

this conflict?

Rejoice in

the Lord.

It's hard to

be in

conflict when

you're always

rejoicing in

the Lord.

But these

emotions are

hard to

shake.

I think

they're

actually

impossible to

just say I'm

going to not

think about

these bad

emotions toward

this person

for a while.

How do we

replace this

negative emotion

with something

positive like

joy?

It's only

with the

presence,

the indwelling

life of

Christ himself

moving into

the believer

once again

filling your

mind,

filling your

heart.

He fills

you with

his joy.

He says

rejoice in

the Lord

always.

I will say

it again

rejoice.

Verse 5,

I think verse

5 is in the

context of the

conflict.

Let your

gentleness be

known to

all.

Let your

gentleness be

evident to

all who are

watching in

the church and

outside of the

church.

It's hard to

fight against

someone who's

as gentle and

docile as a

lamb, isn't

it?

Proverbs 15

1 says a

harsh word

stirs up

anger but a

soft answer

turns away

wrath.

And he

tells them in

verse 5,

the Lord is

at hand.

Rejoice in

the Lord.

Let his

mind be in

you.

Let his

joy fill

your heart

and push

out those

bad emotions

toward other

Christians.

The Lord

is near.

The Lord

is at

hand.

I was a

little surprised

to find out

what does that

mean, that

phrase, is

at hand.

I learned

that the

rabbis use

this term

to make

nigh or

to say

something is

being made

near.

They use

that to

describe making

a convert

or making

a disciple.

So how

do we

put that

together?

So Paul

is telling

this church

and these

individuals in

conflict, the

Lord is

near.

And it's

also a

phrase saying

the Lord

is discipling.

The Lord

is handling

you.

The Lord

is the

one overseeing

this

relationship.

Your names

are written

in the

book of

life.

Rejoice

together in

this, this

great thing.

Jesus

said in

Matthew

18, 20,

where two

or three

are gathered

in my

name, there

I am

with them.

And you

know Matthew

18, the

context is

in resolving

conflict.

So the

context of

this great

promise that

where two

or three

are gathered

in the

name of

Jesus, he

is near, he

is handling, he

is ministering,

he is working

out what only

he can do

among you.

Christ's

presence brings

refreshing, it

brings peace,

joy, comfort,

it's ice

melting warmth

when Jesus

is near his

people.

Why is

that?

It's because

of who Jesus

is.

First Peter

2 tells us

in verses 22

and 23, it's

because Jesus

Christ committed

no sin, nor

was deceit,

found in his

mouth, the

opposite of

Satan.

And when he

was reviled, he

did not revile

and return.

When he

suffered, he

did not

threaten, but

he committed

himself to

him who

judges

righteously.

In our own

flesh, we will

never want to

do that, but

if Jesus is

handling you,

discipling you,

he is near

you, he

will help you

do that.

His joy will

replace that

anger.

So we

gospel ourselves

through conflict.

Christ is here

ministering.

Number four is

we pray through

conflict with

thanksgiving.

He says,

pray with

thanksgiving.

Be anxious for

nothing, but in

everything by prayer

and supplication

with thanksgiving.

Paul is saying

to the church,

when you're

really in

conflict, what's

going on is a

spiritual battle,

but you can

stand firm.

Christ has

already conquered

conflict.

You can rejoice.

He is with you,

his people.

In Christ, you

are strong, you

are victorious.

You can stand

firm in Christ

together.

And when you

have that confidence

in Christ, you

will have to be

anxious for

nothing.

But in

everything by

prayer and

supplication, with

thanksgiving, make

your requests

known.

Isn't it true that

when there is

tension in a

relationship or

conflict, it's

hard to pray about

anything else until

I feel like that's

resolved?

And so, when

you're in conflict

and you're praying

and bringing your

requests to the

Lord, you're

praying for him to

help you.

Help me resolve

this to the best

of my ability to

be at peace with

all men.

Help me, Lord,

on my part.

And it's really

hard when it's

conflict with

someone that you

care about.

The more deeply you

care about them, the

harder it is.

But it's also

impossible to

remain angry or

mad at someone when

you're praying for

them.

You're praying for

God's will to be

done in their life

as in yours.

He says to pray

with thanksgiving.

It's not, Lord,

make my brother

repent.

Teach him the

lesson the hard

way.

You need to teach

him because I've

tried.

That's not it.

It's to pray with

thanksgiving.

In Matthew 7, 4, and

5, you can say to

your brother, let me

take a speck out of

your eye when there's

a log in your own.

Jesus says if you do

that, you're a

hypocrite.

He says first take the

log out of your own

eye.

What happens when God

takes a log out of my

own eye?

I'm so thankful.

I feel horrible.

I had this massive

blind spot.

God forgave me.

He gospeled me

through it once more.

His righteousness

covers all my flaws.

And that's the way

that we minister

Christ to one

another.

1 John 5, 4.

Everyone who has

been born of God

overcomes the

world.

Rejoice.

Give God thanks

that the enemy

will not win.

He will not prevail.

He will not bring

division and

destruction between

brothers and sisters

or between a church.

Christ has overcome

the world by the

power of his work

and his life.

We're told in

Ephesians 6, 17,

take the helmet of

your salvation.

Rejoice that you're

saved, brothers and

sisters, and take the

sword of the Spirit,

which is the word of

God, praying always

with all prayer and

all supplication in the

Spirit.

It's battle when we

pray over conflict,

when we remind

ourselves we are

saved by God's grace

alone, and we're

battling the enemy,

but the enemy will

not win here.

He will not cause

this division.

Pray through conflict

with thanksgiving.

And the fifth heading,

the last one for today,

is trust in God's

promises with each

next step.

In verse 7, he says

this wonderful promise

that the peace of God,

which surpasses all

understanding, it will

guard your heart and

your mind through Christ

Jesus.

The peace of God.

Relational shalom.

To be reconciled with

God and with our

neighbor, that's the

peace of God.

There can be no peace

with a brother or

sister until there is

peace with God.

God.

In Romans 5.1, we read

that we have been

justified by faith, and

we have peace with God

through our Lord Jesus

Christ.

Jesus gives this

wonderful promise in

Matthew 5.9,

Blessed are the

peacemakers, for they

shall be called sons of

God.

A child of God does the

work of the Father.

A child of God sees a

conflict between brothers

if they're called in to

help, and they can be

be a peacemaker.

Remembering that there's

no peace among man with

one another until there's

peace with God the Father

through Jesus Christ.

It's to be an evangelist.

It's to be a peacemaker.

And to reconcile conflict

among Christians is to be

one who gospels brothers and

sisters in the truth of who

they already are in Jesus

Christ.

And the peace of God which

surpasses all understanding.

It's greater than your flesh.

It's the spiritual reality of

your soul.

It's the mystery that you

can't explain, but anyone

looking at your life or this

situation, they can't deny it.

It's a powerful work that

passes all understanding.

This work that Christ does in

his people.

Well, you can likely look at

your family member or your own

life by God's grace and you can

see the Holy Spirit has been so

patient with me.

If I compare my life now

compared to 10 years ago, I

would never on my own be who I

am now.

I am so different.

I'm more gentle, not all the way

gentle that I want to be.

I'm more humble.

And if someone would have

treated me the way that I was

treated just now 10 years ago,

they probably would have had to

call the cops, you know.

God's been working on me.

That passes all understanding.

It must be that the reality of

the gospel of Jesus Christ in me

is eclipsing my flesh a little

bit more.

All glory be to God.

The peace of God, we're told this

wonderful promise, it will guard

your hearts and minds through

Christ Jesus.

Satan wants to deceive our hearts,

to stir up anger, resentment,

bitterness, keeping a list of

wrongs against me.

But God is the God of peace.

Christ in me.

He fills me so much that there's

no room.

God is the one guarding our hearts

through Jesus Christ.

He dwells in our hearts.

Satan can't bring hatred into my

heart if Christ is filling it.

Christ is living there.

That's what it means to be

perfectly safeguarded in the heart

by Christ Jesus.

The powers of darkness, they want to

tempt me, to dwell on my bad

thoughts in my mind, to scheme evil,

to act manipulatively, to protect my

own pride.

But God, by his grace, his Holy Spirit,

he keeps lifting my thoughts to God,

to new heights of God's spirit.

He's reminding me over and over how

much God has saved me from.

That's what it means to be perfectly

safeguarded in your mind through

Jesus Christ.

When we think of Christ's love for

his church, for our brothers and

sisters, how much Christ loves that

person, his faithfulness to each one

of us, and how much God is

sanctifying them just like he

sanctified me, then there's really no

room left in my thoughts against a

brother or a sister with God's help.

He fills our minds with more of

Christ.

And the peace of God truly passes all

understanding.

See, man can be pretty clever.

Man can tickle the ear of the flesh.

But there's no wisdom like the wisdom

of the gospel.

And there's no power like the power of

the blood of Jesus Christ.

When believers are brought around the

foot of the cross once again,

and he just takes us one by one,

360, looking up at the person and

work of Jesus and our need for him.

There's no greater wisdom.

There's no greater power than the

blood of Jesus Christ for his people.

My prayer for us is that God will use this

very pointed text to the church in

Philippi to hedge us off to shelter,

to protect, to put up a tower and a

wall to prevent any further division or

conflict that the enemy will try to

bring in on this little body.

And also that he will spur us on to deal

with it.

If there is something that needs to be

dealt with, that we can do it in a

biblical way.

Reminding one another of how much Christ

loves each other.

Confessing any sin in my own life to

make it right.

Let me own my part of it and confess that

humbly before you and before the Lord.

And we can strive together that the mind

of Christ will work out in his people

because Christ has already conquered all

conflict among Christians.

Let's pray that he'll do that for us.

Father, thank you for your word.

Thank you for your power, for your Holy

Spirit that's at work among your people.

Lord, we pray that you will protect us and

we thank you that you have conquered the

conflict among brothers and sisters.

But it still needs to be worked out.

I pray that you will work it out among

us and that you'll also protect us, Lord.

As conflict does come up, we'll understand

this is part of life in the flesh in this

world and that we can take steps to let

you conquer it once again so that you'll

be glorified in your church.

We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ,

our Lord.

Amen.