Finding Peace

Philippians 4:4–9 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Introduction

Today were going to finish up our series in Philippians where we are looking at the advice the Apostle Paul is giving to the church in Philippi

Recap

First

First we looked at Philippians 1 where Paul wrote for the church to, trust the process.

God had began a good work in them and Paul promised that it would be God who would see it to the end.

He would carry them through and complete what he started.

Second

Then, we looked at Philippians 2 where Paul instructs the church to protect the work God in doing in them by protecting the unity among them..

We learned that its not about us..

and as believers our job is to come together in one mind and on accord..

that mind being the mind of christ..

Today

Today were going to finish in chapter 4 where the apostle is giving the church advice on how they can have peace, that goes beyond all understanding.. in their lives..

Illustration

In Mark 4:35-41 we find a very familiar story

Its the story of Jesus and the disciples in the storm.

Story

If you dont know the story..

Jesus instructs his disciples to get into a boat and they begin to go to the other side of the sea.. a sizable distance..

and while they are rowing

Jesus falls asleep on a pillow in the front of the boat..

when they are a good way out into the water..

a massive windstorm comes up.. and the boat begins to take on water..

the disciples, who many of them are experienced fishermen begin to panic..

because this is a bad storm..

BUT JESUS.. Stays asleep..

Finally they wake him..

and ask him..

Do you not care that we are about to die here?

Jesus.. not afraid.. gets up and speaks.. PEACE… to the storm..

and all is calm..

That story illustrates peace well for us..

Not just that Jesus spoke peace..

but that Jesus had peace.. and the disciples did not..

in the middle of the raging circumstances of that storm..

the disciples panniced..

while JESUS slept..

The disciples has anxiety and fear..

Jesus had the peace that surpasses all understanding..

and when he work up, he chastised them because they did not yet have that same peace in his presence..

I don’t know about you, but I need that kind of peace

The peace that enables me to take a good nap in the middle of crazy circumstances..

Paul

Pastor paul is writing to the church here in Philippians 4..

he writing from his own roman imprisionment..

he’s in his own set of circumstances..

And hes writing to a church who is facing daily persecution and their own troubles as well..

and he tells them

You can have peace in the middle of the crazy circumstances

and more importantly than telling them..

He shows them how we can have it..

peace Paul is talking about?

Peace

The greek word for peace in verse 7 and 9 is Eirene

and it carries a spectrum of meanings including:

well-being

prosperity

Freedom from anxiety

safety from harm

and deliverance from enemies..

Calm

this peace is an inner calm..

a quiet despite the circumstances or storm..

Not circumstantial..

notice though..

this peace is not a result of resolved issues..

its not because circumstances change..

or problem go away..

INSTEAD IT IS IN SPITE OF THEM..

IN THE MIDST OF THEM..

look at verse 7 again..

Philippians 4:7 ESV

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

Paul is writing while living in crazy circumstances..

to people living in crazy circumstances..

saying.. in the middle of all the crazy..

the calm tranquility that God offers to us transcends them all..

IT GOES BEYOND UNDERSTANDING AND CIRCUMSTANCE..

BECAUSE ITS THE PEACE.. OF GOD

A DIVINE PEACE THAT Originates with and is given by GOD HIMSELF..

Verb

I want us to note..

that this word in greek is actually a verb..

that means its an action word..

its not simple a description of a state of being..

its active and working..

Paul is telling us that PEACE WILL ACT upon you..

like the peace Jesus released on the sea that day in the boat.

Protects

This peace acts like a Guard for our hearts and minds..

it will protect our hearts like a soldier from things such as anxiety, fear, and doubt.

working in our lives..

Just like jesus speaking peace to the waves.. and watching them calm..

THE PEACE OF GOD, WHEN APPLIED TO OUR LIVES.. IS AN ACTIVE AGENT THAT CHANGES THE INNER ENVIORMENT of OUR SOUL..

BRINING CALM TO THE CRAZY..

How?

Pual says this peace can be ours..

and gives us advice here as to how it can be ours..

how we can live in it..

Pauls Path to Peace

Paul gives us a path to peace here in this passage.

Look at verse 9..

Philippians 4:9 ESV

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

I love when the bible makes it clear for me..

He says..

DO THESE THINGS..

AND GODS PEACE WILL BE WITH YOU..

Lets look at the four things Paul tells us to do..

Rejoice

First.. Paul tells us to rejoice..

Philippians 4:4 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.

Philippians 4:4 NLT

Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again—rejoice!

Paul says have joy!

AND he doesn't suggest it..

He almost commands it..

Showing us the importance of this directive..

Greek

The greek word paul uses is CHAIRETE

its another verb that means to be cheerful, calmly happy, or well off..

It means to have joy..

RE-JOICE..

AND its an action..

meaning you have to do it..

it doesn't just happen..

its a conscious decision to do it..

Choice

You see Rejoicing is a choice

we can choice to have joy.. or choice not..

but its our choice..

Psalm 118:24 KJV 1900

This is the day which the Lord hath made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.

We have to choose to have joy..

but how can we do that in the middle of suffering or struggle?

I love what The esv study bible says for this verse..

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 4

The joy that Paul calls for is not a happiness that depends on circumstances but a deep contentment that is in the Lord,

when we choose to rejoice, even in our suffering..

we are not taking joy in our circumstances..

WE ARE REJOICING IN FAITH..

TAKING JOY IN THE ONE WHO IS THE SOURCE OF JOY..

JESUS..

WE ARE REJOICING CLAIMING..

EVEN THOUGH THINGS MIGHT BE ROUGH..

JESUS IS STILL GOOD AND I TRUST HIM

this is what paul is telling the church..

Joy in the middle of suffering

in the middle of the crazy.. choose to rejoice..

The Tony Evans Study Bible Chapter 4

The church faces opposition within and without, yet here is Paul, writing a letter about joy and telling the Philippians to rejoice. From a human perspective, it doesn’t make sense. And yet the path to joy is to actually choose to rejoice, so Paul tells them to rejoice in the Lord always.

Worldly happiness is not the same as godly happiness. Godly happiness is called joy. In the Bible, the word joy is a celebration term. Thus, Paul is calling for celebration. The difference between joy and secular happiness is that the latter depends on what happens; it is circumstantially driven. So, if things are going in an upward direction in life, you feel up, but if things are going down, you feel down. This keeps you on an emotional roller coaster Biblical joy, by contrast, has to do with stability and celebration on the inside regardless of circumstances on the outside. We must choose to rejoice in order to experience the joy God promises us.

WE HAVE TO CHOOSE TO REJOICE IN FAITH!

Can we practice that for a moment..

Give god a praise..

Be Reasonable

Pastor Paul goes on to build on this ..

and he says.. on top of rejoicing..

be reasonable..

Philippians 4:5 ESV

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

Philippians 4:5 NLT

Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.

Philippians 4:5 NKJV

Let your gentleness be known to all men.

in a nut shell Paul is saying.. be considerate of others..

and as one pastor put it.. don’t spread you unhappiness to others..

Greek

The greek word translated reasonableness means gentle, mild, forbearing, reasonable..

this word is an adjective..

a descriptive word..

used to describe a noun..

and in this case paul is saying that consideration or others and gentleness should describe us..

after all.. Paul tells us in galatians..

Galatians 5:22-23 speaking of the fruit of the spirit that operates in the believe tells us gentleness is one of the fruits..

it should describe us..

Gentleness is the disposition that seeks what is best for everyone.. not just oneself..

Philippi

In the cultural context of Philippi, a Roman colony, such a demeanor would stand in contrast to the often harsh and competitive nature of Roman society. The call for gentleness is not just for personal relationships but is to be evident to "all," indicating a public witness of Christian character. 

Pastor Paul is tells us essentially..

Get along with others..

don’t pick petty fights..

or make it about yourself..

because these things take you peace..

instead AVOID THEM AND BE REASONABLE..

Pray

Paul moves on to say pray about everything..

Philippians 4:6 ESV

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

Philippians 4:6 NLT

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

We are a worrying culture..

we worry about everything..

we worry about what we will eat.. what we will wear.. what people think..

we worry about the future..

we even worry about the past..

we worry about everything..

and that worry steals our peace..

PAUL SAYS INSTEAD OF WORRYING PRAY..

GIVE IT ALL OVER TO GOD..

Worry is fruitless..

Matthew 6:25–34 ESV

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

JESUS TELLS US..

WORRY WONT HELP YOU AT ALL..

Instead..

Your father knows what you need..

Seek him..

pray..

trust him..

and he will take care of you..

1 peter 5:7 AMP

casting all your cares (all your anxiety, all your worries, and all your concerns, once and for all) on him, for he care about you(with deepest affection, and watches over you very carefully)

instead of being anxious.. acknowledge your dependance upon God..

and pour your troubles out on him..

letting him care for you..

Think differently

finally, Paul tells us to change the was we thing..

the things we dwell on..

Philippians 4:8 ESV

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Paul says..

instead of dwelling on all the things that rob you of peace..

the things you cant controll..

the think that drive you crazy..

the things that you cant fix of bring anxiety and fear..

think about the things of god..

Take control.

their are times in our lives where we have to learn to take control of our thinking..

because if not..

out thinking will take control of us..

2 Corinthians 10:5 ESV

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

sometimes you just have to say..

not.. im not thinking that way..

maybe you need to find a scripture and repeat it..

find a praise song and sing it..

recite a psalm..

BUT CHANGE THE NARRATIVE IN YOUR HEAD TO REFLECT THE NARRATIVE OF GOD..

Altar Call

We can have peace in our lives..

it can be inspite of the circumstance..

but it takes some action our part..

are you at peace?