THANKSGIVING PEACE (Philippians 4:4-7)
INTRODUCTION:
This world that we live in gives us plenty of things to worry about. For many just the fact that we are moving into the winter holiday season is enough to make us anxious. For some it may be this pandemic with no end in sight that may keep you up at night. For some it is the political situation that our nation is in that causes them to worry and be anxious about the future. For some it is the circumstances they are in or their home life that has them worried. Others worry because of economic problems and the rising cost of everything. Everyone has something that causes them to worry and be at a loss as to what to do. Is there no peace, no freedom from anxiousness? This morning we are going to look at a principle given to us by the apostle Paul so that we can experience peace, not the kind of peace the world might try to offer us, but a supernatural peace that allows us to rest in our Savior’s arms knowing that He cares and is in control. Let’s pray this morning and then get into our text.
--PRAY--
SCRIPTURE:
Turn in your Bibles this morning to the book of Philippians, chapter 4, verses 4-7. We are going to take about a five to six week break from Judges. Today and next Sunday we will focus on Thanksgiving and then for the month of December we will focus on the incarnation and in January we will return to Judges. Please, if you are able, stand in honor of the reading of God’s Word and follow along as I read.
Philippians 4:4-7,
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4–7, NASB95)[1]
REJOICE IN THE LORD (Philippians 4:4)
Paul begins his principle for peace with a command to rejoice in the Lord always. He does not say it just once but repeats it to emphasize the importance of this command. It may seem unreasonable to us to rejoice in obedience to a command and we may think that to rejoice is one thing but to rejoice always is impossible. Can someone truly rejoice in the Lord always no matter what the circumstances may be. Can someone truly rejoice as the memory of past sins torments our soul, or when loved ones are suffering, or when you or someone you love is being persecuted? Remember who is giving us this command, the apostle Paul, who does indeed remember his past sins, his sins of persecuting the church. Paul, who truly does have friends, loved ones who are suffering. Paul is a prisoner facing possible death, yet he rejoices and tells others to do the same. This is the same Paul, who upon his first visit to Philippi was arrested, beaten with rods, and then locked in stocks in the inner cell of the prison. What were Paul and Silas doing in that prison cell? Acts 16:25 tells us, “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them;” (Acts 16:25, NASB95)[2] Even when circumstances could not have gotten any worse Paul and Silas were rejoicing in the Lord, singing hymns of praise to God. Paul’s example to us is that a Christian can be joyful within when outside circumstances are bad. We are to rejoice in the Lord because of our oneness with Christ, the fruit of His indwelling Spirit in us is joy, the second in the list of the fruit of the Spirit that Paul gave us in Galatians 5:22. Paul’s command to rejoice in the Lord always is reasonable because in and through Christ, all things, even those circumstances that do not seem to be favorable, “…all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28b, NASB95)[3]
It was completely proper for Paul to exhort the Philippian believers to rejoice in the Lord always, because joy should be encouraged and developed in our lives. This can be done by meditating on the proper subjects, for example, in verse 8 Paul gives us a whole list of things that we should think about, on which we should meditate. He writes, “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (Philippians 4:8, NASB95)[4] If we occupied our minds with these things, then we would have plenty of material with which we could rejoice in the Lord for all that He has done. For Paul, his joy which led to his rejoicing in the Lord was that he was an individual saved by grace whose entire purpose in life was to with his entire life magnify Christ, magnify the Savior in whose death, resurrection, and coming again he glories in. This same Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ was able and willing to supply for Paul’s every need. Paul rejoices, too, that others are being saved, and that God has chosen Paul to be used by Him for this glorious purpose of sharing the Good News of salvation. Paul also rejoiced that he had many friends and helpers in the spreading of the Gospel, who together formed a glorious fellowship in the Lord, and that God was causing all things, even being chained to a Roman soldier, to work together for good, so that even death was gain when life is in Christ. Paul rejoiced that at all times he had freedom to access the throne of grace. Meditate on these things and rejoice in the Lord always. This is the first part of the principle for supernatural peace.
BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS (Philippians 4:5)
Paul goes on to tell us to make our inward joy seen in outward kindness. The term translated “gentle spirit” does not really have an equivalent in English. The word refers to contentment with and generosity toward others. The word can also refer to being merciful or lenient toward the faults and failures of others. Further, this word can even refer to patience in someone who submits to injustice or mistreatment without retaliating. Graciousness with humility might be the best way to translate it, and we are to let this be known to all people. Paul is stating in using this term that if we truly want God’s blessing of peace then we must bless those around us by not insisting that we always get what we regard as our just due, but that we even believe that it is far better to suffer wrong, than to inflict it. Paul says that this graciousness with humility is to be shown to all, not only fellow believers.
Paul qualifies this truth of showing graciousness with humility to all, by reminding us that the Lord is near, or literally “at hand.” This is stated in such a way that it seems to be referring to the Lord’s coming for His saints, the imminent return of the Lord Jesus to the clouds to gather the church to Himself for all of eternity. Paul believed and taught that Christ’s return for the church could be at any time, he believed it could be during his lifetime. With His coming so near, when all of God’s promises made to His people will become realities, Christians, in spite of persecution, in spite of trying circumstances, can certainly show Christ’s love in their relation to others by practicing this graciousness in humility to all.
PRAY WITH THANKSGIVING (Philippians 4:6)
In this principle for peace Paul first commands us to focus on the Lord, to rejoice in Him, second to focus on others and how we treat and respond to them, thirdly to focus on our own needs and how to properly respond to them. He begins by telling us to be anxious for nothing. Remember just over a decade ago a song came out entitled “Don’t worry, be happy!” The jist of the song is that no matter what troubles you are having, don’t worry about them and be happy. The song did not tell us how we were to do this. But this is not what Paul is saying when he exhorts us to be anxious for nothing. Paul goes on to tell us how we can get rid of this worry and exchange it for peace, supernatural peace, true peace.
Paul gives us the cure for worry, he tells us how we can be anxious about nothing. The cure for worry is prayer. He goes on in this verse to say, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” (Philippians 4:6, NASB95)[5] The cure for anxiety is the pouring out of our heart to God, this does not mean however that there is no action, we pray, we reflect, we act. Paul anticipated that questions would be asked about prayer, like what should be prayed for, what circumstances or situations should we bring to God in prayer? Paul’s answer is “in everything,” note the sharp contrast in this verse, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer…” (Philippians 4:6a, NASB95)[6] In the context of the verse, the emphasis is on all such circumstances or situations which might cause you to worry. Our prayer should not just be restricted to this, but those things that worry us should be matters of prayer.
The word translated prayer is a word that carries the idea of adoration, devotion, and worship, in other words when we pray, we need to get alone with God and worship Him. Adoration is what is needed, recognizing who God is, seeing His greatness and majesty. We must realize that He is big enough to solve all our problems. We must approach His throne of grace in deepest reverence recognizing first of all Who it is that we are approaching.
The second word that Paul uses in this verse for prayer is supplication, which refers to an honest sharing of our needs and problems. In supplication we are asking our great God to supply what is needed to fulfill our needs and find relief from our problems.
After adoration and supplication comes appreciation, or thanksgiving. We offer our thanks to God. Do you give thanks in everything? Giving thanks in everything implies humility, submission to God’s will, knowing that His will is always the best. We must give thanks for past blessings and answers to prayer, for present blessings and firmly grounded assurances for the future. When we give thanks for blessing not yet received, for answers to prayer that have not yet been answered we show our trust in God to have our best in mind, we show that we know He cares for us and will answers our prayers according to His will knowing what will be best for us in each need and in each circumstance and situation. Paul goes on to say that we are to let our requests be made known to God, in other words pray with definite, specific requests, not just in generalities. As we enter into the very presence of God, we must realize that nothing it too great for His power to accomplish and nothing is too small for His love to be concerned about. He is after all our Father who in Christ loves us with an infinite love.
THE RESULT: GUARDED PEACE (Philippians 4:7)
When we rejoice in the Lord always, when we practice graciousness in humility to all we come in contact with and we bring everything to God in prayer with thanksgiving, the result is peace. Paul begins this last verse of our passage this morning by writing, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension...” (Philippians 4:7a, NASB95)[7] Paul immediately tells us that this is not just any peace, it is the peace of God. This peace originates in God who Himself possesses it in His own being. He is glad to give it to His children. This peace then is a gift of God’s love. Not only does He give it, but He also maintains it. This is not the peace with God that we received when we were justified, that peace was given when our sins were forgiven through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace with God means that we no longer have to fear God’s wrath against sin because we have been justified before God, we have been clothed in the mantle of Jesus Christ’s righteousness for all time. God’s wrath against sin is no longer a part of our future, Jesus Christ, out perfect substitute took that wrath on Himself on our behalf. The peace of God spoken of here is a supernatural peace that we can have in the midst of the storms of life. It is the peace that welled up in Paul and Silas as they sat in the inner cell of the prison, bound in stocks with their backs bruised and bleeding from being beat with rods. It is the peace that welled up within them and burst forth in prayers and hymns of praise to God. Paul speaks of this peace in every one of his epistles. Often in the opening verses of his salutation and often at the close and sometimes even within the body of his letter. Paul could talk of it because he had it, he experienced it daily in his walk with Christ. In the context of these verses, it is the God-given result of rejoicing in the Lord’s bounties, practicing the humble graciousness in relationship to man, and trustful prayer to God expressed in thanksgiving.
Paul says that this peace of God surpasses all comprehension. This can only be supernatural peace and like the love of God which Paul also says surpasses knowledge in Ephesians 3:19 we can never measure the breadth, length, height, or depth of God’s love or of God’s peace. Just as the love of God is unfathomable, so also is the peace of God in the life of the child of God. By nature man will never be able to comprehend this peace that invades his life, no more so than a blind man can appreciate a glorious sunset. The value of this gift of God’s peace is priceless and one of the reasons that it is so valuable is that it “will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:7b, NASB95)[8] Philippi was a Roman city, the Philippians were used to seeing Roman sentinels standing guard. Paul uses the same Greek word here as a sentinel standing guard, God’s peace will set a guard at the door of your heart and the door of your mind. It will not allow the peace of God residing there be disturbed. The man of trust and prayer has entered the impregnable citadel from which no one can dislodge him, and the name of that fortress is Christ Jesus. It is in Christ Jesus that the peace of God resides undisturbed.
CONCLUSION:
As we enter into another holiday season, as we look at our world crumbling around us, as it seems there is no end to this pandemic, as our own circumstances seem overwhelming, and those anxious thoughts begin to well up in our hearts and minds, stop and rejoice in the Lord always, reach out in humble graciousness to those around you and lift up your heart in prayer to the Lord with thanksgiving and the peace of God will invade your heart and mind and guard them against the anxiety of the circumstances with which you are faced.
I cannot tell you how wonderful this peace is, there are times that I forget, and I worry and become anxious but if I stop long enough to think I begin rejoicing in the Lord and praying with thanksgiving and the peace of God washes over me again and there is nothing in this world like it. It truly is supernatural and unfathomable and the most wonderful feeling of resting in the Lord Jesus Christ. People will see that there is something different about you because you will be calm in the midst of a storm in your life. Enjoy the holiday season in peace.
[1]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[2]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[3]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[4]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[5]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[6]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[7]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.
[8]New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995.