The Peace of God

Text: Philippians 4:1-9

Thesis:

Application:

Reading of the Word

Selected Text: Philippians 4:1-9

Intro

Fixations

I tend to fixate on things. How about you? It is one of my greatest strengths and also one of my greatest weaknesses. My compulsion to fixate on a singular topic or desire often enables me to be highly productive. I can make larger amounts of progress on a project in a small burst of time because it has my total undivided attention and energy. My ability to fixate often causes me to think deeply about a subject, even when I am focused on other things, whatever I am fixated on often lingers in the back of my brain, stewing, pondering, etc. In many ways, my ability to fixate is a critical skill which I utilize in preparing sermons, including this one. But fixations can also cause a wide range of problems.

The Cycle of Harmony

Joyfulness -> Gentleness -> Nearness -> Prayerfulness -> Thankfulness -> Peace

A Holistic Approach to the Fruit of the Spirit

The Intention of New Testament Lists

Lists in the New Testament often get dissected where each individual entry in the list being separated from the others and examined with a magnifying glass. This can be a fruitful approach to meditating on Scripture, but it should not be the primary way in which we interpret and digest lists in the New Testament. Lists are often presented not as exhaustive details of parts, but as a series of pictures in a collage.

Sanctifying Momentum and Bodily Limits

Fruits of the Spirit Help Bear Other Fruits of the Spirit

Likewise, fruits of the flesh help bear other fruits of the flesh.

Your Mind Can Only Contain So Much, So Choose Wisely

The Brain is Not Designed for Excessive Periods of Focus

https://hbr.org/2017/05/your-brain-can-only-take-so-much-focus

Your Brain is Designed to Toggle Between Active Focus and Passive Focus.

Positive Constructive Daydreaming, or what Christians call a Baptized Imagination and Ceaseless Prayer

Imagination and Meaning

Lewis argued at one point that, while reason is the natural organ of truth, “imagination is the organ of meaning.” In other words, we do not really grasp the meaning of any word or concept until we have a clear image that we can connect with it. You can find a more detailed argument of this contention in Selected Literary Essays (see “Blusphels and Flalanferes”). The practical effect of this belief in Lewis’ writing was that even in the midst of an apologetic argument, he provided just the right picture, image or metaphor to help the reader grasp the meaning of the argument. For instance, note the use of image or analogy in this quote from The Weight of Glory:

...Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.

https://www.cslewisinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/KD-2001-Summer-The-Importance-of-Imagination-for-C.S.-Lewis-and-f-277.pdf

Tyler Staton: Older generation, win brain get heart, current generation, win heart get brain

Outro

Landing Point