Peace In the Lord
Notes
Transcript
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Message
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So we are in a crazy time. There is a lot that is unknown and unsure. Most of us are always looking for peace, but especially now.
Christians can have peace in the Lord.
Christians can have peace in the Lord.
The passage we’re looking at tonight is the beginning of the end of Paul’s letter to the Philippian church.
Verses 1 ties the section before and the section following.
His “oh hey, before I let you go” moment.
Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement 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 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.
Peace with each other
Peace with each other
The church is called to resolve conflict.
Imagine getting called out like this! When I was in school, we passed notes… The worst thing that could happen was if the teacher saw you and took your note to read to the class.
Go to notes in JNTI.
This is not saying that we should never have conflict. It’s not saying that we ignore it. But we are supposed to work through it. We’re supposed to help others work through it.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
When we don’t handle conflict in the church, between Christians, it can become a distraction to our main goal, that Paul talked about back in chapter one, spreading the Gospel.
So instead, we rejoice!
Peace in our situations
Peace in our situations
I think Paul’s train of thought moves him from this conflict resolution to not letting ourselves get hung up on stuff that distracts us, but instead have peace in ourselves.
Has everyone had the “glass half full or half empty” discussion while at a restaurant.
For me, I don’t generally worry about it even if my glass is less than half full, unless I’ve got a bad waiter. (I know the discussion is deeper than that, but work with me.) As long as I have a good waiter that I trust, I don’t get anxious about the glass.
We have a good God who we can trust. We don’t need to be anxious.
Go to notes in JNTI.
Man do we need that word right now! A lot of different people are anxious about a lot of different things right now.
Take those things, whatever they are, and give them to God. He wants to be there for you in these things.
casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
God is good, and we can trust him in the midst of this and anything. Even when we can’t see it or understand it, we can still trust Him!
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Peace in our thoughts
Peace in our thoughts
We need to let our minds be set on good things.
Paul told us what happens when our minds are set on Earthly things.
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.
So Netflix and other streaming platforms are booming right now. Social media consumption is up. Most of us are taking in a lot of stuff.
These verses tell us what we need to be thinking about. How does that impact what we watch, listen to, and read?
We all want to know: Is it ok to watch Tiger King?!
I don’t believe there is a clear, defined line on this for every person.
First off, students, honor your father and mother.
Next, if it causes you to sin or to desire to sin, take it off the playlist.
From there, I think it depends on you.
The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean.
You need to be able to separate what is true from what is not. Identify what is good and what is not.
Know what your sin struggles are and don’t put yourself into temptation.
Is it going to make you take sin less seriously?
You need to be able to hang on to what is talked about in verse 8… and let the rest go.
Try to identify how the Gospel would answer the brokenness being displayed.
I think all these are things that go into answering the question, “what is it ok for a Christian to watch, listen to, or read?”.
If you find yourself not thinking much about the things listed in verse eight, the media you consume is one of the first places I would look!
In the spirit of what Paul says in verse nine, does your life look like others who follow after Jesus closely, or more like the tv characters you watch?
I want mine and yours to look like Jesus and those who pursue Him. The God of peace and the peace of God are much better than some of this crazy stuff happening in Riverdale!
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If the peace of God is a concept that seems distant to you and you want to know more about that, I’d love you to reach out!
Christians, be thoughtful about what you take in and honest about its affect on you. Seek God’s peace in yourself, your situation, and with others.