I want us to turn the seat this morning to these verses that we've read together from Philippians chapter 4.
! We'll be looking especially at the beginning of the fourth verse where Paul says,
! Rejoice in the Lord always! I will say it again, rejoice!
Let your gentleness be evident to all the Lord is near.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
There's one thing that unites us in our humanity.
It's the fact that no matter how much we may have or how little we may have,
how well things are going or how badly things may be going,
there is almost no one on this planet who is free from anxiety.
And the fallout from being anxious or worrying about the issues of life.
And that's true not just out there in the wider worlds for people who are not Christians,
but it's also true within the family of God's people.
To become a Christian is not to be delivered from the world and all its pressures and stresses.
The Lord Jesus Christ told his disciples on the night before he was betrayed
that he was not taking them out of the world, but they would be in the world,
exposed to all the rigors of life in a fallen world, all the pressures that it brings to bear upon us.
But because they were not of the world, they would have resources at their disposal
that those who are not yet Christians do not have.
And those resources that come ultimately from God in heaven are what will keep us,
what will carry us, what will enable us to rise above the trials and tribulations of the world
and of life in the world.
If you're familiar with the book of Philippians, it's somewhat enigmatic
in that even though at a superficial reading it seems to be a letter written to a church
where everything was going wonderfully well.
Because there's so much said about joy and about the need to rejoice in the letter to the Philippians
that it was said by an older generation of commentators that this was the epistle of joy.
It stood out as being different from so many of the other New Testament letters
because there was no absolutely obvious problem that was troubling the Philippian congregation.
But the strange thing about that is that if you use the argument or come with the premise
that you only use the strongest medicine for the most serious ailments,
then when you come to Philippians chapter 2 you find what is perhaps some of the strongest theological medicine
that the Apostle Paul administers in any of the New Testament contexts to which he speaks.
He reaches for language in what is sometimes called the Carmen Christi or the hymns of the Lord Jesus Christ
where he speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as the one who did not see equality with God
as something to be grasped or held on to, but rather he humbled himself and made himself of no reputation
and became obedient unto death, even death upon the cross.
That extraordinary and eloquent and lyrical portrayal of unfathomable truths of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And there are parts of the statement that Paul issues there that are almost impossible to fathom
with the limits of a fallen human mind.
But Paul reaches for that language.
He dispenses that pastoral medicine in the context of relationships that were obviously struggling in that congregation
and the implications for those struggling relationships in the lives of individual believers.
And the fourth chapter bears testimony to that because he begins by pleading with two key women
in that congregation, Euodia and Syntyche, to work well together.
Presumably because they were not working well together.
And that one disrupted relationship was having significant impact upon the whole church
and its life and work and witness in the area where it was placed.
But then Paul says this.
You should rejoice in the midst of these struggles, in the midst of these troubles.
You should rejoice.
And he says emphatically, rejoice in the Lord always.
I say it again, rejoice because the Lord is near.
But then he goes on in the rest of that passage that we read together
to make an extraordinary statement about how we respond to those things that disturb us in life.
And he gives us, let me try and break it down into four component parts.
In this passage Paul issues two commands
to which he attaches one promise
which he then backs up with a word of personal testimony
and then presses home
with one all-important key truth
that is the key to everything that he is saying.
Two commands, a promise, a testimony
and one all-important key
that holds them together.
The commands are very obvious.
They're there written in verses 6 and 7.
He says,
Do not be anxious for anything.
That's the first of the two commands.
Do not be anxious for anything.
I may come across to us
this fairly innocuous language
in our English translation.
It's the kind of thing that we might say to one another
in the course of ordinary conversation.
But in the language that Paul was using,
the Greek language,
he is able to inject greater emphasis,
greater force to what he's saying
and he uses words that were available to him
to make this a very emphatic command that he was issued.
Be anxious about absolutely nothing.
There is no level of issue in life
that we should allow to so get under our skin
that it leads us to anxiety,
to worry and fretfulness.
That may well be that Paul was bearing in mind
what Jesus himself had said
in his teaching of the Sermon on the Mount.
Because there the Lord Jesus Christ tells people,
which of you by being anxious can add a single hour
to the length of your life
or a single cubit to the height of your stature
depending on which way you read that statement
in the Gospel of Matthew.
But the Lord Jesus Christ speaks about the futility
of anxiety.
And even though we face issues
that do indeed perplex us in life,
do indeed disturb us in life
because they are not things that we would choose for ourselves,
they have come uninvited into our lives,
it's very easy to allow those things
to loom so large on our horizons
that they become overwhelming
and undermining in our experience,
that they disturb the tranquility,
the peace, the equilibrium of our life.
And Jesus is simply stating the obvious.
Actually, being anxious about those things
is only adding insult to injury.
Far from solving any problems
by fretting about them
because they're beyond your control,
by allowing them to consume your thinking time
and consume your passions,
actually, you're only making
a bad situation even worse
by worrying about those things
and becoming consumed about those things
for the very simple reason
they belong to that category of things in life
that are beyond our control.
The very fact that they are disturbing us
is because they are not issues necessarily
of our own making.
They have come to us
as uninvited guests in our lives.
And Paul was saying that to the Philippians.
There will be those kind of issues
and there are those kind of issues
that are disturbing the peace
in the congregation of Philippi
because they're disturbing the peace
of your lives.
And Paul says, emphatically,
do not allow them to loom so large
on the horizon of your lives
that they eclipse everything else,
not least the sovereign hand
of an all-controlling God
and the promised grace
that comes to us
through a wonderful Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ.
And almost immediately,
without drawing a breath,
he has the second command.
If he has said,
in such emphatic language,
be anxious about absolutely nothing,
he goes on to say about,
by way of response,
rather pray about absolutely everything.
So with equal force,
he counterbalances the negative statement
that he has just made.
Do not be anxious about anything.
Rather, instead,
you should pray about everything.
And in issuing that command,
he is echoing again
what the Lord Jesus Christ said,
that we are to pray at all times.
But that doesn't mean to say
that we are actively praying,
consciously praying,
every moment of every day,
waking or sleeping.
But rather,
he is saying that as the children of God,
we should have that prayerful spirit,
that sense of our
permanent,
24-7 access
to the throne of God in heaven,
through the mediation of Jesus Christ,
our great high priest,
of whom we were reminded
in Hebrews chapter 4,
just a few moments ago,
that we should be so
utterly aware
of that access that we have
to the Father,
that openness of communication
to the Father in heaven,
that we should take full advantage,
of that line of communication.
And it's such a relief
in so many spheres of life,
in a working environment,
for example,
where you are facing the challenges,
perhaps of a new job,
or the ongoing challenges
of a job that always
has issues that need to be addressed,
that if you were left
merely to face them by yourselves,
it would be an overwhelming
and a daunting thing,
but the fact that you know,
because of your line management,
you've got access
to those who are more experienced,
who've got greater wisdom,
who've got a higher level
of responsibility
that you have,
that you are able
to go to them
and bring your needs to them
at any hour of the day
if you so need to.
Well, here is Paul reminding us
that we have access
access to the High King of Heaven,
that we have a door
that is never closed,
that brings us into the very presence
of God Himself,
gives us the ear
of the Lord of all the universe,
the God who not only made
all things visible and invisible,
but the God who,
through His mighty Word,
is controlling and directing
absolutely everything
that there is,
causing all things
to work together
ultimately for the good
of those who are His children,
called according to His purpose
and who love Him,
but also for the glory
of His name.
And to be reminded of that,
that God is working
all things for His own glory
as well as for His people's good,
means that even though
there are 101 things
and more in life,
that we will never ever
fathom in this life,
when the story is finally
told in all its fullness,
when all the mysteries of life
are finally revealed,
we will realize
that those circumstances
that descended upon us in life,
that caused us such angst
and grief
in the providence of God,
were used in an extraordinary way
for the honor of His name.
And for a greater appreciation
of grace.
If you want the ultimate proof of that,
think of the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The cross
at which Jesus did not balk,
He became obedient unto death,
even death upon a cross,
but the cross over which
Jesus agonized.
You cannot fully understand
what happened at Calvary
without grasping something
of what took place
in Gethsemane,
where the Lord Jesus Christ,
confronted with the
looming shadow
of that Roman gibbet
on which He would be
immolated the next day,
pleads with the Father,
agonizes in prayer
with the Father,
if it be possible,
let this cup
pass from me.
If there is another way,
Father,
then let it happen.
And as far as
the watching world
was concerned
and as far as
His disciples were concerned,
what unfolded
when that prayer
was not answered
or so it seemed.
And Jesus was handed over
to the wicked men
who crucified Him
that next day.
But even though
His disciples thought
this is the end,
this is disaster,
everything is collapsing
in the worst imaginable way,
that the cross,
as Jesus Himself
knew and prayed
in anticipation
of that event,
was the pinnacle
of glory.
The place where
He was glorified,
the place where
His Father was glorified,
and where salvation
was secured
for His people
and for a cosmos
under the curse of sin.
And if it was true
that that
was what unfolded
through the darkness
of the cross
into the light
of the resurrection
and into the
spread of that light
through the preaching
of the gospel
through the ages,
then how much more
could we take comfort
from this promise,
this encouragement
that we have
that we are to go
to God
in prayer
with the issues
that we face in life
rather than privately
!
and we are to
seek to shoulder
them ourselves
in a way
that will only crush us.
There are the two commands
but they are
swiftly followed
by a promise
that when we do this,
when we consciously
and deliberately
refuse
to be agitated
by anything
and allow it
to become oppressive
to us,
but instead pray
about all the
different issues
that confront us
in life.
Then,
he says,
the peace of God
which transcends
all human understanding
will guard,
garrison
your hearts
and minds
in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
There's a number
of things about that
that are worth
teasing out.
The first is,
what does he mean
when he talks about
the peace of God
which passes
understanding?
Well,
it can't mean
peace with God,
the kind of peace
that he speaks of
in relation to
what it means
to be justified
by grace
through the Lord
Jesus Christ.
Romans chapter 5,
Paul says,
therefore,
being justified
by faith
we have peace
with God.
The God
who was against us
because we were
rebel sinners
and we who were
against God
because we were
rebels by nature
and rebels by choice
and because that
relationship,
the relationship
for which we were
made,
but the relationship
in which we find
breach
and ruptured
relationship
because of our
sin and our
guilt and
disobedience,
that there is
a reconciliation
between alienated
parties in that
relationship
when we are
justified.
When our sins
are forgiven
because our sins
have been
reckoned to
Christ
and laid upon
him
and we are
reckoned
righteous
in God's
sight
because the
righteousness
of Christ
manifests
through the
life that
fulfilled all
righteousness
by complete
obedience to
God's law
was reckoned
to be ours.
So that great
exchange that
took place
at Calvary
where what was
rightly ours
became his
and what was
rightly his
became ours,
the effect of
that was that
God is no
longer against
us,
but God is
for us
and God
will never
ever turn
his back
upon us.
So the
gospel does
speak about
peace with
God,
but that's
not what
Paul is
speaking about
here,
he's speaking
about something
that's had
its roots in
Old Testament
teaching,
indeed so
deeply rooted
in Jewish
culture that
right down to
the present
time in the
Jewish community
whenever two
Jewish people
greet one
another it's
with the word
Shalom.
which is the
Hebrew word
for peace.
My last
church in
Philadelphia,
we had a
Jewish believer
on staff,
he was one
of my co-pastors,
delightful man,
come to faith
early in life,
his family
had abandoned
him because of
his Christian
faith,
but he went
on to serve
God in
remarkable ways,
and I remember
him giving me
just this
wonderful
definition
of what
Shalom
meant and
means in
the Jewish
mind,
nothing out
of place,
everything
as it
should be.
Nothing
out of
place,
everything
as it
should be.
Of course
the whole
issue that
Paul was
addressing
in the
church in
Philippi was
that everything
seemed to be
out of place,
nothing seemed
to be as it
should be.
That from a
human perspective
there was no
way in which
you could
engineer this
situation to
be orderly
and to be
peaceful in
that sense.
And yet
Paul says
in this
wonderful promise
that he gives
from God
that there is
this peace
that is
of the very
essence of
God himself
because the
triune God,
Father,
Son,
and Holy
Spirit,
in their
divine unity
yet diversity
is the
God throughout
eternity for
whom it
can be
said.
Nothing
has ever
been out of
place in
him or
in his
actions.
Everything
has always
been as
it should
be because
he is the
God who
is and
who does
all things
well.
What about
this piece?
What does it
do as it
begins to
take hold?
This other
worldly piece
that he
describes.
Well, he
speaks about
it guarding.
Guarding our
minds and
guarding our
hearts.
Guarding our
minds because
when things
go wrong for
us, things
get disturbed
for us in
life.
Our minds
work overtime.
Our minds
run ahead of
themselves.
ourselves.
And Paul
is simply
reminding us
that when we
begin to
grasp that
we are not
in control,
it is God
who is in
control that
we can rightly
accept his
wise and
loving supervision
of our
circumstances,
his direction
of our lives,
saying this is
not my problem
Lord, this is
your problem.
I don't need
to think
myself silly
over this
issue.
But of
course, we
are not
just minds
in terms of
how we
approach life.
We have
hearts as
well.
That we are
affected
emotionally.
We are
affected deeply
in our
inner self
in terms of
our circumstances.
That even
though our
minds may
be alert
and clear,
very often
we can be
disturbed and
deeply unsettled
in ourselves
because of
the issues
that we
face.
And Paul
uses the
language of
military
protection.
The effect
of the
peace of
God is
to shield
our minds
from
disturbing
angles on
life,
disturbing
perspectives on
life.
To think
not as the
world thinks
with no
reference to
God, but
to think
always with
God in
the center
frame of
our
understanding
of what's
happening to
us and
what's going
on around
us.
At the
same with
our hearts.
That we
don't allow
our emotions
to take
control.
We don't
allow our
emotions to
run riot
and to
lead us
into deep
disturbance.
But rather
we are content
to know
as God
says to
Moses and
through Moses
to the
Israelites in
Deuteronomy
chapter 29
that the
everlasting
arms of
the everlasting
God are
round about
and underneath
us.
When we
don't know
what's going
on, we
know that
the bottom
is not
going to
fall out
of our
world because
the arms
of God
are supporting
us through
the worst
of situations.
Paul's
promise is
backed up
by a word
of personal
testimony.
It's
strange that
for those
in the
Christian
ministry
through the
ages
that those
who serve
as ministers
are not
merely called
to perform
certain
duties
and fulfill
certain
tasks
the most
central of
which is
to proclaim
the word
of God
and to
seek to
pastor
the people
of God
but actually
they are
called
to walk
the path
of the
issues
about which
they preach
themselves.
So it is
not unusual
for pastors
who will
inevitably
find themselves
preaching
about suffering
to actually
be called
by God
to walk
the path
of suffering
in some
shape or
form.
That almost
inexplicably
and in ways
that often
baffle us
as ministers.
We find
ourselves
walking
roads
that we
have preached
about to
others
that we
suddenly have
to experience
for ourselves
and under
those circumstances
our
confidence
in the
message
that God
has given
is put
to the
test.
It is
very easy
to stand
in a
pulpit
and to
preach
in abstraction
about these
things
things.
It is
a very
different
thing
to preach
those
same
things
to
yourself
and to
your
family
when you
are in
the thick
of it
and going
through the
furnace.
Yet it is
only as
God takes
his servants
through the
furnace
that he
proves that
his word
is not
true
theoretically
it is
true in
reality.
And so
for Paul
Paul goes
on to speak
very candidly
about his
own personal
experience
of life
because he
goes on
to speak
in verses
10 and
11 about
the way
in which
the
Philippians
were showing
him their
generosity
and supporting
him in his
need and
he responds
by thanking
them for that
by saying
I am not
saying this
because I
am in need
for I have
learned to be
content whatever
the circumstances
I know what
it is to be
in need and I
know what it is
to have plenty
I have learned
the secret
of being
content in
any and
every situation
whether well
fed or hungry
whether living
in plenty
or in want
he can put
hand on
heart before
his listening
congregation
and say
dear brothers
and sisters
I may not
be experiencing
exactly what
you are
experiencing
but I have
been there
myself
I have
been there
in the
challenges
that God
has brought
me through
in a way
that has
put my
faith to
the test
in the way
that your
faith has
been put
to the
test
in which
I am
being brought
out of
my depth
in the way
that you
have been
brought out
of your
depth
to realise
that we
stay afloat
not because
we can swim
through these
difficulties
but because
God keeps
us through
these difficulties
God makes
a promise
and he
will not
break it
the only way
that you
can test
that promise
is if you
find yourself
in circumstances
where it is
put to the
test
that doesn't
mean to say
it's easy to
go through
these troubles
it doesn't
mean to say
that Paul
went through
these trials
that he speaks
about
extreme need
as much as
extreme provision
doesn't mean to
say that he
went through
them all
with some
kind of
smiley face
artificially
stuck
on his
lapel
but rather
it was
because
he came
to the
other side
and he
knew that
poverty
had not
sunken
and wealth
had not
distracted
him
but he
could literally
go to
either ends
of the
spectrum
of the
experience
of life
and be
derailed
by
neither
it's
just as
easy to
be derailed
in our
faith
when things
are going
well
as when
things are
going
badly
and Paul
was able
to testify
bear witness
I've
been
through the
worst
and God
has kept
me
I've
been
through
the
best
and God
is still
kept
me
and it's
good to be
able to
know that
when you
face these
circumstances
that we
all face
that we
are not
alone
that's one
of the
first thoughts
that crop
into our
mind
nobody
understands
because nobody
has walked
this way
before
and again
go back
to that
little passage
that Paul
read
before our
pastoral
prayer
that we
have a
great high
priest
who is
not
unable
to
sympathize
with us
in our
weakness
but who
has been
touched
with the
feeling
of our
infirmities
has been
tested
in every
way
like as
we are
yet
remained
without sin
that the
ultimate
proof
the ultimate
testimony
that God
keeps this
glorious
promise
that he
makes
is the
way that
he kept
it to
his own
son
in human
flesh
during his
time on
this earth
that the
Lord Jesus
Christ
was never
utterly
abandoned
but even
in the cry
of dereliction
when he
cried out
my God
I am
forsaken
why
that was
not
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
being
swallowed
up
in despair
because
that same
Lord
Jesus
Christ
who
uttered
those
very
words
knew
full
well
that
God
had
promised
I
will
not
leave
let my
Holy
One
see
decay
I
will
not
abandon
him
to the
grave
!
And that's
why
the Lord
Jesus
Christ
was able
to speak
his last
words
on the
cross
as words
of absolute
confidence
Father
into your
hands
I commit
my spirit
because he
was kept
by the
promise of
God
he was
upheld
and he
in his
own
experience
through the
gates of
death
into the
tomb
where he
was laid
not merely
for the
resurrection
he experienced
but to the
enthronement
that is now
his as he
sits at the
right hand
of majesty
on high
he is
literally
living proof
that God
keeps his
promise
not just to
his own
incarnate
son
but to
all his
sons and
daughters
in the
Lord Jesus
Christ
who have
been adopted
into his
family
which brings
us to the
last thing
what is that
one important
key
that all
important
key
that Paul
astutely
inserts to
everything
that he
says
this is
not an
apostolic
pep talk
saying you
really need
to get your
act together
you need to
get your
thinking
straight
no he
is saying
that ultimately
it's not
merely about
how we
perceive
things
or how we
approach
things in
life
but we
are told
that this
peace of
God
which
passes
understanding
that will
keep our
hearts
and minds
is in
Christ
Jesus
and again
to drive the
point home
he says
in verse
19
and my
God
will meet
all your
needs
according to
his glorious
riches
in Christ
Jesus
it's the
one thing
about Paul's
teaching
that is so
glaringly
obvious
that is so
amazingly
missed
by so many
Christians
in their
understanding
of what it
means to be
a Christian
that the
whole of
Paul's
writings
about the
Christian
faith
whether it
be in his
preaching
as we have
it in the
book of
Acts
or whether
it be
in his
letters
as we have
them to
the different
churches of
the New
Testament
the number
of times
he either
directly or
indirectly
says that
being a
Christian
is all
about being
joined to
Jesus
being united
to Christ
because we
are in
him
because there
is a
living
and loving
as well as
legally binding
bond
that joins
us to him
in spiritual
marriage
what we
are in
him
will for
eternity
make us
different to
what we
were in
ourselves
those of you
who are
married will
know what I
mean when I
say that
marriage
changes you
marriage
changes you
the Paul
Levy that I
knew on that
flight to
Africa
when he was
19 was
very different
from the
Paul Levy
that was my
neighbour when
he was married
to Claire
marriage
changes people
but that's
true at a
human level
that because
the two
become one
and two
lives in
a most
profound
and extraordinary
way
change
the two
people who
are involved
in that
life
so in a
more glorious
way when
there is a
spiritual
marriage between
the Lord Jesus
Christ and his
people in the
covenant bond
that is established
by God
with each of
us as
Christians
individually
with all of
us together
corporately
as his church
unitedly
it's not that
we change
God because
God cannot
be changed
but that
living and
loving bond
that he
establishes with
us in
Christ Jesus
forever
changes us
that we can
never be what
we used to
be
that what we
are in
union and
communion with
Christ will
transform
what we are
not merely in
relationship to
one another and
to the world
around us but
how we face
the issues
of life that
would otherwise
unsettle us
and so easily
sink us
were that not
the case
and the fact
that the Lord
Jesus Christ
reminded his
disciples before
he ascended
into heaven
I will never
leave you
and I will
never forsake
you
but through
the darkest
days as well
as through
the brightest
through the
darkest nights
as well as
through the
brightest days
I will be
there
and I
will be
keeping
you
how much
we need
that word
today for
all of us
because my
guess is
there is no
one in this
building from
the youngest
right through
to the oldest
who in their
own unique
and personal
way is
wrestling
is not
wrestling with
the issues
that Paul is
talking about
here
and even
though our
issues may
differ
the answer
is the same
for everyone
in this
building
and even
if you're
here as
someone who
isn't yet
a Christian
and you're
struggling with
these issues
and you don't
quite know
where to
turn
the answer
is still
the same
I can do
all things
as well
through Jesus
Christ
who gives me
strength
let's pray