Living in the Peace of God - Phil. 4:2-9

Join us as Pastor Tyler continues in the sermon series on Philippians: Jesus Changes Everything - Living in the Peace of God - Phil. 4:2-9

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:25

Good morning, church. Good to see everyone. Philippians chapter four. We are nearing the end of our time in the book of Philippians. Next week will be our last week in the book of Philippians, and then we head into the Easter season, celebrating the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. So it's been a wonderful journey through the book of Philippians. And today, these verses, I think, like others in the book of Philippians are some of the most profound and impactful verses in this entire book. And probably many of us here this morning have been influenced, been encouraged, even been exhorted by this passage of Scripture in the past. And so this morning we're looking forward to just spending a little bit of time talking about what it means to live in the peace of God. Well, have you ever been anxious before? You ever had a worry before? Maybe you've had 10,000 of them this morning already. Go figure. And he says to her, Why are you worrying so much about nothing? And the wife responds, Because 90% of what I worry about never happens. So if I worry, I know it won't happen. You know, when you think about it, it really is amazing that the Bible is full of passages that talk about anxiety, talk about worrying. And it's amazing that there's so much that is instructed. I mean, even think of Jesus who gives these matters his direct attention in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6, Luke 6, John 14, let not your hearts be troubled, he says. And also 1 Peter 5, 7, cast your cares or your anxieties, as some translations put it. Cast all your cares or your anxieties on him. Psalm 55, cast your burden on the Lord. And what's the promise? He will sustain you. Isaiah 41, do not fear, for I am with you. We know these verses. Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 26, 3 to 4, some of my favorite verses. You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace. For it is trusting in you, trust in the Lord forever, because in the Lord, the Lord Himself is an everlasting rock. And what's more than these instructions we see throughout Scripture is that we also see biblical men and women of great faith struggling with fear, struggling with anxiety, struggling with worry. We're confronted with this fact that anxiety, fear, and worry is to be human. Something we can all relate to. But you see, sometimes we can misinterpret, misunderstand some of these passages of scripture, misapply them, misuse them. Because what Philippians 4 isn't, is Philippians 4 isn't this one-two cure, this one-two punch of uh cure all. But rather what Philippians 4 is, and I want us to get this this morning, it's an invitation. It's an invitation from God, from Jesus to come to him. You see that in the text? Come to me. It's not a pray and your anxiety will go away, or memorize this verse and it will go away, or if only you had more faith, then your anxiety would just disappear. But it's an invitation, come and dwell with the Lord, God Almighty, the one who holds and directs the universe, who loves and cares for our souls. So this morning, if you're here and you or anyone you know is walking through a deep and dark journey of anxiety and depression, some of these journeys need some real clinical help. I just want you to know that we're glad that you're here. And we are glad that we get to walk with you in the joys and in difficulties of life. As together we seek Jesus, the one who carries our burdens and our shame. You know, something that's remarkable, let every one of these passages that we mentioned in Scripture, when it talks about anxiety and worry, is that all of these passages, if you think about it, they all kind of have the same elements. We see the heart and the love of Jesus or the heart and love of God for his people, his heart toward us in sympathy and in grace, as Hebrews 10 tells us. He knows our weaknesses, and we see this invitation here this morning to lean on him in our troubles. He cares for our struggles, and like no one else, he wants us to experience. God wants us to experience the rest and the peace of God. I mean, after all, Jesus is the Prince of Peace. So this morning we're going to see that Jesus gives us peace in relationships. He gives us peace in circumstances, and he gives us peace of mind. So the first thing is peace in relationships, and we see this in verses two to five. You know, relationships have this unique ability and this unique place in our life that they can cause unrest and anxiety in ways that nothing else can. When there is tension between us and someone else, we can feel it, and sometimes others can feel it too. Which is interesting about this passage when Udia and Syntachi are mentioned, obviously the church knows what's going on between these two women. Others can feel it. You know, some of us may be the type of person that we're very expressive about the conflicts we're in. We're very expressive about tension. Or perhaps you're the kind of person where you're more quiet about it, where we ignore it. But where we struggle is really finding the place, regardless of where you are, is finding the place of peace, love, and grace in our conflicts with others. And Paul brings this out in these verses. Because as we know, even being quiet about it, ignoring conflict feeds the anger, the bitterness, the contention, and even subsequently the anxiety that we have within our hearts. And this whole passage, if you just think about it within that context, it's amazing that Paul would draw our attention to the gospel in this matter. But we also know that being a bulldozer in those conflicts and those relationships doesn't work either. So in verses two to three in Philippians 4 is where we'll start. He says this in verse 2 I urge Udia and I urge Synteche. Great names, by the way. To agree in the Lord. Yes, I also ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, along with Clements and the rest of my workers whose names are in the book of life. You know, we aren't clearly told in these verses what the conflict was between these two women, but when we look at their story, there's several things that I think are helpful and that we can extrapolate from the text as a point of us being able to learn from what's going on here. First is this they were holding something against one another. It's clear they're holding something against one another. These women weren't agreeing in the Lord. So Paul has to say, agree in the Lord. And so for Paul to say, agree in the Lord, there's obviously disagreement. Their disagreement was likely something to have to do with secondary matters of the faith. Perhaps they were majoring on something that isn't majored on in Scripture. They were maybe binding the conscience of one another instead of welcoming freedom in Christ, the freedom of choice in the application of the gospel. Some of the same things we've been talking about as we've been working through the book of Philippians, they were probably complaining about one another. They were probably putting themselves before each other. All these things Paul is building throughout the book of Philippians to this point. I mean, whatever it is, it had to be an argument about something that wasn't necessary and that was distracting them from the good, wonderful ministry of the gospel. As we understand, we see that these women were believers in verse 3, and they were involved in some intense gospel ministry along with the Apostle Paul. And something that's also interesting about the book of Philippians and the Philippi Church is that we gather from this passage and from others, and even as Paul uh showed up in Philippi and started preaching the gospel, um, we gather that this church was largely made up of women. And so these women, as being these uh perhaps in some kind of leadership form within the church, have a dispute, and the church knows it, feels it, senses it, sees it. Maybe it was a spiritual matter. We don't know. Maybe it was one of those they wanted the gray carpet and they wanted the blue carpet kind of thing in the church. We don't know. But I what I believe is happening here with these women is an everyday kind of conflict that we're all susceptible to. It's likely a blowing out of proportion kind of situation. And yet it needed some humble and gracious redirection. So here's Paul's response. He says, agree in the Lord. Agree in the Lord. He names them. Udia and Syndeche. Wow, names them. They're in the Bible. Agree in the Lord. He's saying, come to the place of we can agree in the Lord and disagree in these ways for the sake of unity and the sake of peace. Agree on and in Jesus, Paul is calling them to. You know, relational peace means conformity to Jesus. Relational peace means conformity to Jesus. It means agreeing in Jesus. It means dying to oneself and serving the other as Jesus did. And so Paul says, agree in the Lord. You know, living in and enjoying the peace of God involves a selfless, gracious treatment of others. And it means living in peace as much as possible. And as Paul goes at the point in Romans 12, 18, right? If possible, he says in Romans 12.18, as far as it depends on you, live in peace with everyone. I love that he says, as far as it depends on you. So he acknowledges that sometimes in life there are those situations and there are those relationships that we just can't live in peace with. Because of the brokenness of this world. There's family relationships that will remain broken. There's friendships that will remain unmended. But Paul is calling us in Romans 12 and these two women here, as much as possible as it depends on you. Agree in the Lord and live at peace. Don't stir up conflict. But to agree in Jesus means accepting one another and our differences. Do you know what it also means? Agreeing in Jesus? Being uncomfortable. It means that, you know, I dying to yourself. It means dying to yourself. There's nothing comfortable about that. Think about your own life for a moment. Think about your own Udia and Syntechy situation. What things in your life, what things in the church are you making a big deal about that Jesus doesn't tell you to make a big deal about? What criticisms come to your mind about others that should be stopped and replaced with grace? What are you taking offense to that you shouldn't be taking offense to? Dying to oneself isn't comfortable. It's messy. It's tough. But that's what we're called to do in our relationships. Agreeing in Christ. Sometimes we shouldn't take things so seriously. And we're going to learn soon that we should take such things to the Lord. So he says, agree in the Lord. And then we get this uh we get this uh understanding from verse three that they needed help. So he says verse three, yes, I ask you, true partner, to help these women who have contended for the gospel at my side, among with Clement and the rest of the co-workers whose names are in the book of life, they needed help with the situation. You know what's interesting about verse 3 is that their conflict, of course, as we know, was public, and it was obvious enough that everybody knew what was going on. And Paul says, instead of, you know, gossiping about it, instead of just sticking in your holy little huddle about it, go and do something about it. Be the community of grace and be the community of the gospel that we are set apart unto Jesus Christ to be in one another's lives. Go give them some help. The community was to gather around them and help them. You know, we need one another. We need one another to help us overcome our relationship hurdles. We need one another to live in relational peace as much as possible. And so Paul calls on the church to help, help them out. And then we see in verse 5, 4 and 5, the character of a peace pursuer, the character of a peace pursuer in relationships. He pivots almost quickly in verse 4, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Let your graciousness be known to all. The Lord is near. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again, rejoice. You know, some of us have to tell our faces in the morning, listen, rejoice. Maybe you gotta look in the mirror and just say, hey, rejoice. You know, typically, grumblers and complainers aren't joyful people. Complaining really is the opposite of rejoicing. Paul is like, rejoice in the Lord. We've got reasons to rejoice. I mean, just think of the wonderful truths we've been looking at, even just in the book of Philippians, the impact of the gospel, how Christ comes and just transforms our life. We've got this eternity with him to look forward to as our citizenship is in heaven. That he has released us from the power of sin and shame. We've got so much to rejoice over, but yet we get so bogged down on all the negative things. Complaining, disputing, grumbling. They didn't serve the cookies I like. Man. And verse five, he says, let your graciousness or gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. Whoa, what a motivation. See that? The Lord's near. He sees, and he's coming back. Let your graciousness or your gentleness in some translations be known to everyone. Are you known as a gracious and gentle person? We all have our moments. I know. Are you known as a gracious and gentle person? Jesus perfectly embodied this. He did so even while being slowly killed. Think about that. Not one complaint, not one grumble from his mouth. He was called to the cross, and he knew that's what he was called to, and so he embraced it with grace and with gentleness. Listen, we are called to relational unity, and it's messy, and it's tough, and it's difficult, and it means killing your sin, it means killing your pride, setting those things in your own heart aside for the love and grace of somebody else. And Jesus perfectly embodies that for us on the cross. And then, as believers, what does Jesus do? He doesn't just say, okay, well, look to me, he gives us the Holy Spirit also. The Holy Spirit that works out the fruit of the Spirit in our lives, with the fruit of the Spirit being gentleness. Are you gracious in how you think about others? How do you talk to and about others? Is it gentle? Is it gracious? I mean, this is profoundly important because church, this Is spiritual warfare we're waging. And our attitudes and the things we think about is the battleground. And then he takes us further into peace and circumstances, verses six to seven. Peace in circumstances. So that was peace in relationships, and then peace in circumstances. These verses, verses six to seven, are profoundly encouraging. And the fact that it's mentioned to all the believers shows us this. This is a common experience. Anxiety is a common experience. You know, the Christian life in a big way is to wrestle with anxiety and worries and frustration. And so Paul draws our attention to the cross. Verse 6, he says, Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Wow, what a good reminder, isn't that? It's beautiful. And even this like this simple but like profound reminder. Have you prayed about what you've worried about? Have you prayed about what you're anxious about? You know, one commentator notes in these verses that these verses include a prohibition. So don't worry about anything. A command, talk to God, and then instructions. This is how you talk to God. And then this comforting promise in verse 7 that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. You see, we live in a culture that functions on worries and anxieties. I mean, there are entire industries that exist for the what-ifs of life. We worry about our worries. You know, I was even thinking about this this week. I don't think any modern insurance company would have insured Jesus and his disciples. I don't think they would have insured any of the early churches. I mean, at best, their premiums would have been astronomical. Here's this guy walked around saying, I'm going to die on a cross. And I'm not saying that there isn't a place for wise planning. There certainly is, but listen, we can overdo it. As our planning and our control of outcomes becomes our security instead of Jesus Christ. And what's happening here in verses 6 to 7 is this invitation for us to come into the presence of God through prayer and experience his grace. And Paul is saying, don't worry about anything. Come to the Lord in prayer. Bring your worries, your anxieties to him. And this means, do you know what this means for us? This means a lot of praying. A lot of praying. When was the last time you genuinely felt at peace with God? Know that moment? That feeling? He wants us to experience that. We will never fully experience it, of course, on this side of eternity. But according to Philippians 4, we can get a glimpse. Through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request. These three words, prayer, petition, and present your request, are another literary triplet of similar words and meanings that Paul uses to grab our attention in the original language. This idea of petition, they all basically are pointing to the same thing, just a different angle. Petition. Asked with urgency based on presumed need. Just think about this. These are urgent prayers. Petition. There is no interrupting God anytime, any place. For all the time and in every place, we petition the Lord. God is saying, listen, interrupt me anytime. You know, someone says that in our lives, and we don't always totally mean it, but listen, God means it. Interrupt me at any time. Petition. Isn't that amazing? And what's also amazing, this this this uh this word has this idea of repeatedly coming in life over and over and over again. It's like, you know, we're faced with that moment where like I felt peace for five minutes after I prayed, but then I just feel anxious again. Well, it's time to come back into his presence. It's not a one and done deal. But then he says, we do all this with thanksgiving. The attitude, this is the attitude with which we pray. Thankfulness can be medicine for the soul. Everyday worries, anxieties, and fears typically pull us into thinking things that aren't true or factual. But with thanksgiving, I love it, with thanksgiving, it focuses on what's true. There's always a place for thanksgiving in whatever we may be facing. Thanksgiving brings perspective, it brings contentment, it doesn't do away with the pain of the circumstance, but it gives us perspective. Tell him what you're thankful for. Present your requests to God, Paul says. Tell him how you really feel. Tell him what you're anxious about, tell him how you really feel. Think of David, King David's prayers and petitions of fear, of anxiety. In the book of Psalms, read some of those prayers and petitions, pray them, they'll help put words to what you're feeling and going through. You can't scare God away, and you can't use up his patience. Interrupt me, he says. And keep interrupting me. Verse seven, and what's the result? The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This is a promise. Verse seven is a promise. A promise that God's peace and his presence never disappoint. But we won't always understand it. There's a quote here from Moses Silva, and I didn't put it on the screen, but listen to what he says here in his commentary. He says, God's peace transcends our intellectual powers, precisely because believers experience it when it's unexpected, in circumstances that make it appear impossible. Paul's suffering in prison, the Philippians treat threatened by quarrels within and by enemies without. This is what the peace of God is. And so for us, it's the unexplainable peace that a believer has when they're on their deathbed awaiting their eternal home. It's the unexpected, not just unexplainable, but it's the unexpected peace that we experience at times that we know anyone in their right mind would be freaking out right now. But we're on Christ's mind and he's on ours, and so his peace invades our troubles, overwhelming our anxieties, fears, and our worries. That's what it means to enjoy the peace of God. And then the third and final thing is this peace of mind. Christ gives us peace of the mind. Finally, brothers and sisters, 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 anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things. Do what you have learned and received and heard from me and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. Did you know that nobody talks to you more than you talk to yourself? We all have a conversation we're constantly having with ourselves in our heads. All day. Because we are what we think we are, whatever occupies your mind the most, your emotions and your decisions will follow suit. That's why, even in uh the epistles, we have this uh this way that the authors would focus on what to believe. Doctrine first. So take for instance Colossians. Paul focuses the first two chapters of Colossians on the doctrine of who Jesus is. And the final two are on what this means practically in life, because what occupies our minds will always inevitably come out in how we respond and interact in life. And these verses draw this out for us. And Paul begins with truth on the list. He says, Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true. And it isn't by accident, he says, truth. Truth here is the word of God. It's the gospel. Jesus is the truth. So whatever is Jesus, think on these things, really. The Lord is drawing our attention to the gospel, to do some gospel Christ-centered thinking. And so then all of the preceding words are expressions of truthful thinking. Truthful thinking is hard. It's challenging. But with the gospel, we move from the question, from asking the question, what if? That's what we do in worries. Well, what if, what if, what if? But with the gospel, we move from the what if, and Paul is saying, move from the what if to the emphatic what is. Set your mind on truth, he says. Our thinking shapes who we are and what we do. Whatever we allow to occupy our minds will be our dominant thoughts turned into actions. That's why he gives us verse nine. If we allow bitterness, anger, impurity, and lust, or criticisms and judgment, or fears and failures to take residence in our minds instead of Christ, we will speak words, we will perform actions, and we will treat others in anger, in impurity, in deceitful ways, in irritable ways. Our mind is the battleground for the heart. This is why Paul says what he does here. This is why he says what he does in Romans 12, 1 and 2, that we're to be transformed by the renewing of our mind. And this is why throughout Philippians, we're called to have the mind of Christ. And here we're taught what that means. You see, legalism focuses on the externals, but the gospel captures the hearts and minds of the believer. For instance, looking at these verses, look at these verses in verse 8 in particular. And think of it as this kind of filter for every thought that comes into your head. Is this thought truthful? Is it honorable? Is it just? Is it pure? Is it lovely? Is it commendable? Is it worthy of moral excellence? Is it praiseworthy? This becomes our filter. This is the gospel. These are the things in the gospel. They become our filter. For instance, are our thoughts about others? Filter them through Philippians 4.8. If someone didn't respond to your text, your email, or your phone call, does that really mean they don't like you? Or they're mad at you? Maybe, but you don't know that for sure. Or do we just think that's what it means? They just didn't respond. Move on. Are our thoughts about others rooted in truth? When someone isn't doing what you believe a Christian should do, are we thinking thoughts of praiseworthiness, moral excellence, good report of that person? Are we giving them the benefit of the doubt, so to speak? Or is it full of judgment and critical thoughts of the person? Is your mind burning with sexual lust towards others? Or towards the purity of the truth of the gospel? Are we tearing people down in our minds instead of building them up? Thought about that in that conversation in your mind? Don't tear people down. Build them up. It starts in the mind. Do we give them the benefit of the doubt or do we feed feelings of resentment? Do we feed feelings of insecurity? Do we conjure up narratives about others and make them the malicious enemy? And I'm talking about in our minds. That's where it all starts. Instead, we should ask, what do I absolutely know to be true? And then choose to dwell on the truth that represents honor, excellence, purity, love, and grace. Our thoughts about others. But it's also in relation to our thoughts about God. Is what I'm thinking about God true? Do I really believe that he loves me? Does he occupy my mind? Who is God really? And then there's the thoughts about ourselves. You see, everything else in the list derives from truth. Everything in the list comes from truth. Do you know what isn't in the list? Sin. It's not in there. Sin isn't on the list. Obsessing over it isn't on the list, but the truth of the gospel, Jesus, honorable, lovely, commendable, praiseworthy, these are the things that are on the list. We are constantly preaching some kind of message to ourselves. What message are you preaching? Is it true? And if it is, it will invite us into the peaceful, restful presence of God. And then Paul says this while on these things. This means to think about something in a detailed and logical manner and to do it over and over and over again. It's like a cow chewing their cud. I won't need to get into details about cows in their stomachs, but, anyways. Cow chewing their cud, regurgitating and chewing again, coming back to it over and over again because our life depends on it. Dwelling on these things. This is the spiritual warfare that we wage. The battleground is our minds. And we're going to close this morning with how Paul does in verse 9. He says, Do what you have learned and received and heard with me and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you. Notice the shift from the peace of God being with us in verse 7 to now the God of peace being with us here in verse 9. Paul uses another triplet of words, the things you've learned, you've received, you've heard in me, emphasizing again the nature of his personal pastoral relationship with these people. And the verse begins with this word do. Do what you've learned, received, and heard. Do the truth. What we think ultimately results in what we do. It takes effort, it takes intentionality, self-control. But it's possible because you have the power of Jesus Christ and the gospel at work in your heart and life. And because of this, he says, do. Living a life of truth, establishing the mind of Christ, peace in relationships, peace in circumstances, peace of mind ends in the presence of our God as the God of peace will be with you. Let's pray, Father. I pray that our minds and our hearts would be drawn to Jesus and his beauty and his grace. That we would enjoy the peace that surpasses all understanding. We thank you, Lord, you keep inviting us and inviting us. You want the interruptions. Thank you for your love. We thank you for your mercy. I pray, Lord, for those of us who are here this morning and who are really struggling with anxiety, that we would bring these things before you, leaving them at your feet, casting our cares on you, knowing that you care for us, we pray. In Jesus' name. Amen.