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The Tunnel of Anxiety and the Light of Grace – Philippians 4:4-7

 

Anxiety is an emphasis on the parts over the whole. It is a distortion of our perspective of life, seeing the individual problems in our lives rather than the fullness of life that Christ offers. It is like a tunnel through a mountain – narrow, dark and entirely missing the grandeur of the larger picture.

So how do we get out of this Tunnel of Anxiety? Paul offers several instructions.

First, be conscious of and rejoice in God’s grace. “Rejoice in the Lord always.” It is an emphatic command, not just a suggestion.

Second, we must be gracious with God’s grace. “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” We must follow Jesus in adhering to the spirit of the law and not keeping so tightly to the letter that we fail to show love and gentleness to the world around me. We have been shown grace and must show it in turn to the world.

Third, we must recognize the closeness of God’s grace. “The Lord is near.” The Psalms tell us that God is close to the brokenhearted, and James writes that if we draw near to God, he draws near to us. And not just near physically, but near in time. This life is brief and our time to be with Christ in eternity is closer than we realize.

Fourth, we must request God’s grace, seeking it earnestly, “by prayer and petition,” making bold requests of God. God is willing to take those complex individual parts of our lives and help us see how it fits into His bigger picture. God has a far broader perspective than even just our mountain, let alone our tunnel.

Fifth, we are to be grateful for God’s grace. Our requests are to be “with thanksgiving,” even in the midst of anxiety, troubles and persecution.

The result of all of this is peace. Peace is the restoration of wholeness to all these complex individual parts. This is itself a small picture of the gospel: a perfect creation, broken, but redeemed and restored to wholeness by the work of Christ.

Anxiety calls is to put a higher priority on the individual parts of life, but God’s grace reminds us that God has higher purposes and plans no matter how those individual problems sort themselves out. And this wholeness is not just an individual thing, but a wholeness that binds is together with the body of Christ.

The true cure for anxiety is not a lessening of emotional pain but a restoration of the whole picture of God’s grace. In the “aha” moment between anxiety and peace, we must remember that it did not come from within, but rather is a gift of God.

Peace is a garrison within our hearts that protects, strengthens and heals us. And as Paul writes, this all comes from the Prince of Peace Himself. “Peace I give to you; my peace I leave with you.”

When anxiety comes, we must be conscious of God’s grace, gracious with that grace to ourselves and others, be aware of the nearness of that grace, seek His grace in prayer, and be grateful for that grace. Through all of this, God offers a peace that transcends all our limited understanding.

– Sermon Notes, Jeff Krabach, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, October 14, 2018

Philippians 4:4-7

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Our Destiny, God & Glory – Philippians 3:17-4:3

Sometimes it is good as a church to look up and see how what you are doing is connected to the church as a whole. Here in this passage, Paul is looking ahead to a difficult future. He is nearing the end.

Paul makes an initial plea that the Philippians follow him, to the extent that he follows Christ. Conversely, the are many who turn aside from Christ. This means they are rejecting the very purpose of the universe.

It is not that they aren’t good people. Many of them are better people than you are. But it is their end that Paul is concerned with: their destiny, their god and their glory. Ecclesiastes gives us a clear picture of the futility of life when your destiny is nothing but the grave, and when the highest thing in your life is mere consumption and personal glory.

Most important, though, they become enemies of God, doomed to ultimate destruction. In contrast, we who follow Christ are redeemed from all those same situations that we still live in and given an eternal purpose. We are citizens of heaven, which means our destiny, God and glory go far beyond the things of earth and self.

This also means we have hope in Christ’s second coming. The resurrection was a down payment. His walking out of the grave was proof and promise that our citizenship is based in something real, and that His second coming will come with that same sort of power.

Not only that great cosmic promise, but Paul also points to something very specific: transformed bodies. This is more than just improvement in our physical selves, but a healing of the relationships broken at the fall: with God, with ourselves, with each other and with our world.

Being a citizen of heaven means that we can grab onto these future promises and pull them back into the present. The values of heaven can become our values here. This will not make everything work out ok, but it will mean we are used by God to accomplish His great purposes. We must believe that He has our best in mind, though in ways we cannot comprehend.

If you are an achiever who thinks about the world in terms of your abilities and what you can accomplish, this is a challenge to your worldview. We are not called to achieve but to die. Witness the story of the rich young ruler.

If you are the reverse of that, if you see yourself as a victim or a failure, the difficulty comes in accepting your worthiness. As Jesus said when he read from the scroll of Isaiah in the temple, His favor is extended to the poor, the weak and the captives.

Paul then shifts seemingly abruptly from the cosmic and eternal to something that seems much smaller, and addresses a fissure within the church. But he did not really shift all that far. Because these two women are citizens of heaven, their dispute matters in eternal ways, and their ultimate reconciliation is one of the great eternal purposes of God.

What are the ways that you can participate in God’s great purposes this week?

– Sermon Notes, Jim Fikkert, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, October 7, 2018

Philippians 3:17-4:3

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Momentum vs. Stagnation – Philippians 3:12-16

Stagnation and momentum both can lead to growth, but very different kinds. Stagnant water will grow bacteria, algae and other unpleasant things, while running water gives us life.

Here, Paul writes about the momentum he seeks in his own life, and that he calls the Philippians to.

He cites the “momentum of maturity.” Paul is not perfect, but recognizes his own deficiencies and opportunities for growth. True perfection lies in grasping at the life that Christ lived.

Here at Seed we try to live this out by accepting people where they are, but not being content that they stay that way. This is true no matter whether someone is an unrepentant sinner whose life is in a self-made shambles, or an upstanding, well-respected person of faith and love. None of us have yet reached the goals set for us by Christ.

Christ himself takes hold of us to move us forward in the plans He has for us to do His work, in addition to living out the example for us.

Paul was motivated by two things, then. First, his own depravity – just how far he has to go – and second, how much Christ loves him and what He wants for him. As Tim Keller has said, we are worse than we think we are, but more loved than we can possibly imagine.

So Paul has done a self assessment, has taken the internet quiz and knows there is work to be done. Where we don’t match up with Christ, we must change in order to change that. But rather than reflecting on the past, Paul looks to the future. We should learn from our past but not dwell on it. We cannot let either past pain or past glories rob us of our momentum. We can’t let memories of the “good old days” cause us to miss out on what God has for us in the present.

And what is that? Paul’s language is aggressive and forward-moving: “press on,” “take hold”, “strain towards”. We are not to live in apathy or to “let go and let God.” Rather, even though we know the race is won for us, we must keep running.

But we get the power to keep running from Jesus as well. We can have confidence that God works in our lives, moving us closer to the perfection He desires for us. God loves us, as a church and as individuals, more than we ourselves do.

Mature people, Paul writes, think this way, seeking always to die to self and live in Christ. While the goal itself is presently unattainable, the mature understand this and rely on the power of Christ to move us forward.

This maturity is an attitude of perseverance and never giving up, as we seek to live up to what Christ has attained for us.

– Sermon Notes, Jeff Krabach, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 30, 2018

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Jesus Plus Nothing – Philippians 3:1-11

Paul here writes strongly against the Judaizers, the “circumcision group” who insist that circumcision is required for salvation. He is laying down a diss track up there with anything you’ll find anywhere today. He recasts them as “the mutilation” because he has seen the damage such beliefs can cause to a congregation.

Not just that, but he goes after them from a position of authority. “That’s not a knife,” he observes about these ethnically focused, legalistic opponents. “This is a knife,” he says, as he pulls out his heritage and zeal as an ethnically, theologically, zealously pure Jew. What these Judaizers aspire to is what Paul had accomplished while still young.

And yet, like a cargo ship in danger of sinking, all this precious cargo has become a liability. It isn’t just null, but is actively distasteful in comparison to knowing Christ. God’s act of allowing Paul to truly see and know Jesus has ruined Paul for everything else. It’s like a young man falling in love, with everyone and everything fading away in comparison to his beloved.

Against this ritualistic, ethnically-based righteousness based on works, Paul places the grace of God and the righteousness freely given to us by God. This grace, this opportunity to know Christ means that the suffering in account of Christ is worth it. “A crucified Lord results in cruciform disciples.” Knowing Christ happens in two phases: both now and in the future. Without being conformed to Jesus’ death now, there can be no participation in the resurrection in the future.

The same Jesus who hangs on a cross to justify us also calls us to come and die and be raised again with Him. Hanging on that cross is only Jesus, and Jesus-plus-nothing is what offers us this grace. We have a hard time with this – the statements of Christ throughout the New Testament are too hard for us to easily accept. So we create a religion of Jesus-plus-comfort, Jesus-plus-happiness, much like the Jesus-plus-circumcision righteousness of the Judaizers.

How do we live out this Jesus-plus-nothing righteousness in our lives? First, we must spend time getting to know Him, not just through church services one day a week. Second, we must spread the news of Christ and his work on the cross.

– Sermon Notes, Brian Bailey, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 23, 2018

Philippians 3:1-11

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Paul’s Anxiety and Ours – Philippians 2:25-30

Despite Paul’s own troubles, he is concerned for the Philippian church and feels somewhat helpless to help them deal with their internal and external troubles. He wanted to send Timothy, his most trusted disciple, to help them, but was not immediately able to do this for whatever reason.

His second choice, then, was Epaphroditus, who I will call E. E was originally from Philippi and was most likely a Greek convert, since the name itself is a purely Greek name. E had been sent to bring monetary relief to Paul and help out generally, but now was homesick for Philippi.

Paul uses three words to describe E. Brother means a fellow believer. Coworker, meaning he had been assisting Paul in his ministry. Soldier, fighting side-by-side with Paul to share the gospel. He was likely the person who actually carried the letter to the Philippians originally.

Paul had been dealing with a lot, between imprisonment and persecution, so the illness of E would have been an additional trial. His recovery was a significant blessing to Paul, but because of what happened, E went home earlier than planned.

Paul reassures them not to freak out about E’s early return, that the reasons are solid and that they do not reflect poorly on either E or on the Philippian church. He instructs them to honor E (and all people like him) and welcome him with joy.

So what can we in the 21st century learn from this snippet of life in the 1st?

The first thing we can learn revolves around anxiety. There is an idea that, if we just trust God enough, we won’t have anxiety or be worried. Here we see the Apostle Paul himself, though, actively worried for the spiritual health of the Philippian church.

As we also struggle with anxiety, Jesus calls us to to peace we can find in him. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus addresses questions of anxiety – pointing to the birds of the air and lilies of the field, and the peace we can have if we trust in God. (Note that for many people, anxiety is also a biological issue that may require biological intervention.)

Anxiety is also different than momentary fear, which is a built-in survival tool that is designed to keep us alive. But anxiety as a lifestyle is destructive, physically, emotionally and spiritually.

Was Paul living in anxiety like this, as he worried about the Philippian church? It would be understandable. Here at Seed there is some anxiety as we go through a season of transition and seek a new teaching pastor. Change is hard and can often cause anxiety.

But no matter how cliché it sounds, in these times, we need to trust Jesus. The first step of this is to know Jesus in the first place. Jesus’ life, sacrifice and resurrection offers us peace with God. This is the most important thing you can do, and the first step towards the eternal peace God offers.

What comes next?

  1. Prayer, meditation and scripture.
  2. Be realistic about what you can and cannot change.
  3. Take a break from social media (and possibly cable news) .
  4. Try to gain perspective and consider the bigger picture that God sees, as well as the way at have been blessed.
  5. Don’t feel anxious about being anxious – give yourself grace, and give others grace. God already has.

– Sermon Notes, Dave Lester, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 16, 2018

Philippians 2:25-30

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The Godfather – Philippians 2:19-24

There is a vulnerability to Paul in this letter. You can very much feel the weight of all that came before, the successes and failures, the deaths and the new life, the frustrations and the joys. Paul here, writing from a prison cell, is simply concerned with for the Philippians and wanting them to be in the Lord, or “on mission.”

Recall that in the section just previous, Paul cited the Philippians as a key marker of his service to God, something that makes all his toil and suffering worthwhile. So when he sends Timothy to the Philippians as a spiritual godparent, there is a lot that comes behind that.

In Paul’s letters to Timothy, he spends much time encouraging boldness. Timothy was young, which means that in the Greek culture he lacked the authority that came with age. He had been raised and brought to faith by his grandmother Eunice and mother Lois.

Paul assures the Philippians that Timothy has “no equal in soul” in terms of his concern for the Philippians. This is what makes Paul confident that Timothy is the right person to serve as godfather to his spiritual children. In Corinthian he calls him out in his way as well, noting that the Corinthians had “many teachers but few fathers,” and that Timothy can take on that role of godparent.

The role of a godparent in Christ is to continually be intentionally pointing others to Christ. As we grow in maturity, we are all called to this role of godparent in some way. How do we do this.

First and most importantly, you must know Christ. It is not about you or what you have accomplished or are capable of, but about the righteousness imputed by Christ’s death and resurrection. You must have humility and be aware of your own sin, but also leaven that with an acknowledgement and embracing of our authority in Christ.

You must continually develop yourself in Christ through the process of sanctification. This is the continual life process of growing and sharpening and movement towards the person of Christ. To be a good godparent means that you are moving forward in the lord rather than sliding backwards or staying stagnant. Peter describes sanctification in 2 Peter 1:5-7, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love.”

Third, you need to know and own the assignment as a godparent. In Matthew 28, Jesus outlines what that assignment is: “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” We are called to be godparents, not spiritual baby daddies, discipling, not just telling and moving on.

How do you godparent? First, pray and seek guidance. Second, take an inventory of who you are in a position to godparent and who is godparenting you? Third, assess their needs and engage and build a relationship. Fourth, assess the level of effort needed, and then determine how to move forward. Maybe this means taking the small things first, maybe the big ones. Finally, pray over the entire thing again and invite Jesus into the mission.

– Sermon Notes, John Lehigh, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 9, 2018

Philippians 2:19-24

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The Christ-pleasing Life – Philippians 2:12-18

Paul opens this section with a reminder that the Philippians are near and dear to Paul. He has a close relationship of mutual affection with the Philippians that he didn’t have with, say, the Corinthians.

He also calls them to obedience and an orientation of servanthood, which is not something we are good at doing or even understanding. But the obedience is not to Paul or to any individual pastor, but rather to Christ. It is through Christ that they “work out” their salvation, living out His regenerative work. That work changes both their will and their resulting behavior.

Specify, Paul calls on them not to grumble or dispute. It calls to mind the Israelites in the wilderness, not to mention our own behavior. Why does God detest this grumbling and disputing? It is a lack of trust in God, one that will cause division in the church and undo the work of Christ that the Philippians are doing.

Instead, they are called to be light to the world, just as Jesus called us to in the gospels. They are not called to be hidden or secret, but rather shining like stars. The “word of life” also brings to mind the gospels, where John calls Jesus the “logos”. It is this word, this relationship with Christ that makes possible the behavior the Philippians were called to.

Paul himself models this behavior, being “poured out like a drink offering” along with the sacrifice and service of the Philippians.

The result of all of this is joy. Joy is an emotion, which means we do not necessarily have control over it. If we see a bear, we immediately feel fear without making a decision to do so. We must be transformed so that service to God naturally evokes joy.

How does this happen? As we commit ourselves more and more to the pursuit of and imitation of Christ, our view of the world changes. On a natural level, looking at the world gives us plenty of reasons to doubt or not have faith, but the work of Christ on the cross offers us the strength and the joy that we need.

– Sermon Notes, Aaron James, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, September 2, 2018

Philippians 2:12-18

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Christ as Our Example – Philippians 2:5-11

Jesus is both our Savior and our needed example of humility. Paul here is writing to a group of believers he cares deeply for, and is suffused with joy and love for Christ. Jesus is referenced by name 54 times across 104 verses.

Not everything was perfect with the Philippians, who faced persecution from without and pollution from within, and much of the letter deals with one or both of these.

This passage opens by referencing the previous verse and calling them to the mind of humility mentioned there, but also calls ahead to the example of Christ that he will go into in more detail shortly.

In order to get to that example, Paul delves deeply into the divine nature of Jesus Christ, who was in God and equal to God in all things. But it is equally important that despite that divine equality and power (or perhaps even because of it!) he was not selfish and rather than demanding what was due him (everything!), he humbled and even humiliated himself. This was in sharp contrast to the Greek gods the Philippians would have known, and to the Philippians themselves and, if we are honest, ourselves.

Paul is saying that Jesus makes himself of no reputation by taking the form of a servant. The term “form” here is the same word used to describe Christ’s divine nature – just as real and vital to his nature as his divinity. Just like Jesus washed Judas’ feet even when he knew what Judas had done, he also took the form of a human, a slave, to serve us when we were still his enemies.

He was obedient even to death on a cross – a form of execution not even allowed for Roman citizens and generally reserved for slaves.

Like Jesus, we must give up our own way to serve. It isn’t fair, but it is the job description as we follow Christ. Nothing about the Crucifixion was fair.

And so what is the result of all this humility? God exalts Jesus to the highest point in all the universe. Paul here echoes Isaiah 45 where God declares himself to be exalted above all things. Here, Paul very clearly calls for Jesus to be honored as God, because the Father honors him as God.

Jesus had the humility to want what God wants, even when it cost him everything. Likewise, we must give up our own high estimation of ourselves and take on the same task that Christ did – to die.

To die to our wants, our comfort, our entertainment, our pride. We don’t generally want to do these things and so tend to construct a “crossless Christ” in order to avoid staring at the stark reality of the example we are called to.

Fortunately, God is the one who both does the work and earns the glory. What do we do to make this happen? We should pray to be made nothing – God will answer this prayer, and it will be painful. We make time for the benefit of others and pursue opportunities to serve others.

– Sermon Notes, Brian Bailey, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, August 26, 2018

Philippians 2:5-11

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Unity – Philippians 1:18-26

Be in one Accord

The theme of this section is the unity brought about by the Holy Spirit.

Paul is shifting here from the discussion of outside persecution and false teachers to the response needed from the Philippians: unity. There is a vital connection between striving together for the gospel and the unity of the church. Disunity makes everything more difficult. It calls to mind the disciples arguing about who was the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and there are and they’re arguing, and the prayer of Jesus for unity of believers in John 17. This is the unity brought about by the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.

Paul calls for the church to seek emotional unity, in affection and sympathy; intellectual unity, “of the same mind”; and unity of will, “in one accord.”

Unity, though, is impossible if we are seeking our own gain. Instead, we must die to ourselves and seek the benefit of others, considering others above ourselves. Later, Paul cites Jesus as the ultimate example of humility. Humility carries with it the seeds of the love and unity Paul is calling us to.

Paul is challenging this Philippian community of believers to know each other well so that they can know what other people’s interests are.

This is a direct challenge to today’s “scorched earth” environment of social media, politics and current events that heightens disunity in all our lives. How do we maintain a general sense of unity despite the differing opinions and perspectives within the church? What about within a marriage? Within a business?

In some ways, this can even be more difficult in a workplace where it is easy to slip into selfish ambition under the banner of providing for our family.

In church, we have doctrinal disagreements, operational disagreements, personal disagreements. Because of the importance of the overall questions of God and salvation, it is far too easy to attach outsized importance, and then outsized vitriol, to smaller issues in these spheres.

Then, of course, there is politics. Enough said.

The most essential thing in order to seek unity is to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. To put His teaching above all other teaching, and accept his gift of grace when we fail to live up to our. We must be be connected to Jesus and derive our unity from our mutual affection for Him and for His body.

We must let the Holy Spirit guide us in all our relationships, working against our selfish ambition in our marriages, workplaces, churches and even politics.

The beautiful thing about the gospel of Christ and our prayer for Seed Church is that our doors are and will be open to all people, welcoming every kind of person to a community centered around Christ and his Kingdom.

– Sermon Notes, Dave Lester, Seed Church, August 19, 2018

Philippians 1:18-26

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Jesus is Worthy – Philippians 1:18-26

Paul is full of joy because his life is centered around Jesus. He answers the question here that Jesus asks in Mark 8. Just before heading to Jerusalem to be crucified, Jesus asks his disciples who he is. Paul is clear about that answer here.

Paul’s deep longing for Christ are a higher aim than today’s obsession with “authenticity”.

For Paul, the difficulty of the choice between life in service to Christ and death leading to union with Christ was far more distressing than the notion of trial or execution by far.

Is Paul’s joy real? Is he really anticipating the trial with eagerness? Is Jesus really so worthy to Paul?

In reality, Jesus is that worthy to the Father, and that is what is shining through in the life of Paul. Paul’s life is a picture and a result of the worthiness God sees in Jesus.

Paul eventually comes down on the side of life in the body, not because it means more to him or because he knows the results of his upcoming trial. Rather it is because he sees which result is more necessary for those he serves, like the Philippians, and that service itself is in pursuit of the glory of God.

The glories of God have become Paul’s gladness. Like us, his chief end is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever. But we live in a world, culture and even church that is indifferent to the pleasures of Jesus. With all the avenues of entertainment available, there are so many distractions that outshine our limited understanding of Christ.

So what do we do? We cannot force ourselves to desire God more. Rather, the love of God for the Son comes into us and becomes our love for the Son.

This is what Christ prayed for the church in John 17, and this is what we should pray for. This is what we must give time to, what we must prioritize over our screens and entertainment. This is what we must seek in study and preaching during the week, not just on Sunday mornings. This is what we must speak out as we seek others’ enjoyment of Jesus as well.

– Sermon Notes, Brian Bailey, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, August 5, 2018

Philippians 1:18-26

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