10-15-23 Sermon "Peace of God" - 19 Minutes

Philippians 4:1-9

This morning I'll be reading Philippians chapter 4 verses 1 through 9. And I'll be reading from the Holman Christian Standard Bible. Philippians 4:1-9 This was written by Paul to the church in Philippi and the joy that he had in his heart,,, for this church is made more remarkable since Paul was actually in prison at this time. And in the verses that we look at this morning,,, Paul is trying to teach them,,, to work together. Philippians 4:1–9 (HCSB) 1 So then, my brothers, you are dearly loved and longed for—my joy and crown. In this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends. 2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. The word of God for the people of God,,, thanks be to God! God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning. Let us pray: Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone here today and all that are listening and watching by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen. ___________________________________ Last Sunday we looked at Philippians 3:4-14,,, and we seen that our relationship with God is important,,, and like Paul's,,, it must be the right relationship.

I told you that Paul was trying to live a life for Christ!

Live a life that showed God's love for others in all that he did,,, or said,,, striving for perfection like Christ,,, even while he knows that he may not obtain that life until Christ comes again.

Building that relationship with God that helps him each and every day,,, it's personal to him,,, you can see that in the words that he has written.

And when it came to our relationship,,, what are "we",,, striving for,,, what are we trying to obtain?

To have our sins forgiven?

So many times today,,, when we are asked,,, why did Jesus die on the cross,,, I'm afraid that our only answer is,,, so that I can have my sins forgiven,,, and I can go to heaven.

When,,, truthfully,,, (well,,, it does include that,,,) but oh,,, so much more than that,,, as well!

God intended for our relationship with Him,,, to be restored,,, which includes our sins being forgiven,,, "sure",,, but that's not all!

We must remember that "our God",,, "our Creator",,, has restored our connection to Him,,, and it's there,,, we just have to reach out,,, and grasp it!

It's available to us right now,,, at this moment,,, while we live here on earth!

Not just for our future,,, for our day to day living,,, each and every day!

That's why Christ died on the cross!

Yes,,, our sins are forgiven,,, but along with that,,, is our ability to speak with God,,, one on one!

We don't need a priest,,, or a preacher to speak to God for us!

Although I do believe that praying for each other in the church is important,,, there is strength in numbers,,, as we seen this week in our praying for Bryce,,, and others in the past as well!

But when you are alone with your problems,,, your trials,,, God is there,,, and He's there,,, because Jesus Christ died on that cross,,, to restore,,, "you and me",,, to a relationship with Him,,, (a relationship that last's for eternity,,, "that's true"),,, but don't ever forget,,, it's intended,,, to help us in our daily walk with Him,,, each and every day,,, right now,,, where we are,,, as He continues to guide us,,, and help us,,, to stay on the narrow path,,, that leads us all,,, home!

This morning we will look at these verses in Philippians 4:1-9,,, and see how they will help us in our walk with God this week. ___________________________________ Verse 1 said: 1 So then, my brothers, you are dearly loved and longed for—my joy and crown. In this manner stand firm in the Lord, dear friends.

Paul’s love for the Philippians,,, which is visible throughout this letter,,, is especially seen in the opening verse of chapter 4.

And one of his primary thoughts,,, was that these people would be characterized by the fruit of the Spirit.

As we see from these verses,,, love,,, joy,,, and peace,,, were uppermost in his heart and mind for them.

And,,, in order to experience these Christian graces,,, Christ must be at the center of a believer’s life.

So Paul made this plain,,, in the words that he wrote to them.

___________________________________ Verses 2-3 said: 2 I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to agree in the Lord. 3 Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers whose names are in the book of life.

You have probably heard,,, or think about,,, these 2 women as having a disagreement that is disrupting the church,,, or causing friction in some way.

I know that's the way that I've usually interpreted it,,, and I've heard others speak of this as well.

But,,, I found an article that gives a different,,, or an alternative explanation to these words from Paul.

The author of this article,,, thinks that Euodia and Syntyche,,, leaders of the church in Philippi, are being encouraged to pursue the vision of unity that Paul stresses throughout the letter,,, and,,, an unnamed “true partner”,,, is asked to aid these leaders toward that end.

In this article,,, he states that Paul addresses them,,, not because of an existing quarrel,,, but because they are facing strong opposition in the church,,, that having the same mindset,,, will be their greatest defense,,, and by working together,,, God's mission can be accomplished much easier.

I'll try to tie this together at the end.

___________________________________ Verse 4 said: 4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

Remember as I said earlier that Paul is in prison at this time and here he is saying "rejoice in the Lord always"!

My Holman Christian Study Bible says that it seems strange that a man in prison would be telling a church to rejoice.

But Paul's attitude teaches us an important lesson.

Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circumstances.

Paul was full of joy because he knew that no matter what happened to him,,, Jesus Christ was with him.

Several times in this letter,,, Paul urged the Philippians to be joyful,,, probably because they needed to hear this.

It's easy to get discouraged about unpleasant circumstances or to take unimportant events too seriously.

If this is a time in your life where you haven't been feeling joyful lately,,, you may not be looking at life from the right perspective.

And your answer to this problem is shown in the next verse.

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Verse 5 said: 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near.

The first part is accomplished because of the last part of the verse!

Let me explain!

Our graciousness can be known to everyone because of the Holy Spirit leading and guiding us each and every day.

In other words since Jesus is near us each and every day,,, this is possible,,, no matter what we are going through.

The peace of God is available to us as we go through any problem that we have.

This peace that the Holy Spirit gives us,,, is what allows us to be content in the fact that we know that no matter what happens,,, God is in control.

It's this knowledge that helps us get through anything that we are struggling with!

Knowing that no matter how bad things are or no matter how bad we have messed everything up,,, God is working everything out for our "good" for those of us that love the Lord!

And,,, the knowledge that Jesus is coming back,,, gives us great joy,,, and an even greater peace,,, as well.

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Verses 6-7 said: 6 Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

We hear it many times,,, "don't worry",,, and when we respond correctly,,, we should never worry.

Because when we do this in the right way,,, that gives us the peace of God that we need,,, each and every day!

We have to stop letting the things of this world dictate to us the way that we feel,,, and let God guide us through our faith in Him,,, not our circumstances!

___________________________________ Verses 8-9 said: 8 Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is any praise—dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.

Paul is telling them to be sure that their minds are filled with the right thoughts and then they will not have room for impure thoughts or worries.

That's why we must be careful of what we watch on TV,,, or,,, when we go to the movies,,, or,,, listen to on the radio,,, or,,, the books that we read,,, anything that can put impure thoughts into us.

Then be sure that we seriously spend time in the Bible,,, reading,,, studying it,,, and listening for Him to speak as you read,,, these things will help us every day.

And obeying the words that we read as well.

It does us no good to just read the Bible every day or come to church every week,,, if we don't apply it to our life outside of church.

We must let the word of God enter into us,,, but it must grow so much that it is visible for others to see.

It's this out pouring of God's love that has entered into us that will save so many more than we can get in this church!

Because its when they see Christians truly living a Christ-like life all through the week instead of just on Sunday that really makes them take notice.

And that will get them interested and make them ask questions that could change their life in a great way forever!

___________________________________ Now,,, if you remember,,, at the beginning,,, I said that Paul was trying to get everyone to work together.

And that's very important for any church today.

And,,, it will be easier to achieve anything,,, if we learn from his words to the Philippians.

That's why this scripture,,, and the article that I found this week,,, along with the events happening around us in our community,,, seemed to fit what we need during these troubling times.

Because it's always easier to sidestep satan's plans when we work together.

___________________________________ Going back to verses 2-3,,, the article that I found,,, written by Tyler Allred in 2019,,, argued that Paul was teaching them to work together,,, not because of a disagreement that they were having,,, but simply stating that the danger was so great that working together was the best line of defense to their threat.

Allred argues that Paul,,, by getting these 2 leaders in the church to focus and work together rather than working apart,,, knows that they can show the world what can happen when people in the church work together towards a common goal.

And especially for us today,,, when that work ethic is shared by all of the churches in the community as we seen this week when we came together to pray for Bryce,,, and,,, the combined prayers for the war in Israel.

What a wonderful opportunity to show support for those in our community,,, and the world,,, as we come together for the common goal of prayer!

This is what we need more of,,, all Christians,,, with a focus together,,, of uniting in prayer,,, lifting someone in need to God through that prayer,,, without thought of denomination,,, or even,,, church name!

___________________________________ We should be doing the job that God has for us by working together to spread the message of God's kingdom.

And just like Paul states in these verses,,, when we focus on Christ,,, instead of our problems,,, when we work together,,, united as Christians,,, that's when we truly receive the peace that we need,,, to get us through,,, each and every day!

Because only then,,, will you ever understand,,, that the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ ___________________________________ Hymn: 337 - Oakdale Hymn: 337 - Seminary Benediction -----------------------------------------------------------