14 Dec 12/17/23 Philippians 4:4-7 “The Only Sure Way to Peace!”
12/17/23 Philippians 4:4-7 “The Only Sure Way to Peace!”
I think I say this every year about this time. I can’t believe that it is almost Christmas. We are in the third Sunday of Advent. This is the Sunday of joy. You have heard me say this many times about some of the attributes that Jesus gives us. Jesus gives us joy. You cannot have real joy if you don’t know Jesus. Now just about any non-Christian will argue this point. They will say that they have or can have all the joy that we have. It’s a matter of what your mindset is. And they are right in their very limited mindset. Here is what I mean. There is a very famous picture of Jesus standing outside knocking on the door. What this means is that He is knocking on your door. You have to answer to let Him in. Jesus is standing outside in the wide-open spaces. The world is at His hands. Everything is there. You, on the other hand are standing in a small room behind this door. You don’t have very much but then you don’t know how much you don’t have because you have never been outside the door. You live in a very finite world. When you answer the door, you let Jesus in plus you let yourself out into this vast new world. In the same way, joy is standing outside your door and you cannot have it in its pure form unless you answer the door. The same goes for love, faith, joy, peace and so on. You need to have Jesus living inside of you to really experience the full effect of any of these attributes. You can have some joy, peace, love without Jesus but you will be cheating yourself if you don’t know Him. Today, we are going to talk about a very famous piece of Scripture from Paul that fits so very nicely into our Advent season. Let’s find out what Paul means here with these gifts and what this means to us.
I’m going to start a little different today. Here is a poem written by Larry Bryant called, “That’s When the Angels Rejoice,”
When the Model T first hit the street, It didn’t bring all heaven to its feet.
And when the first computer was born, They didn’t blow Old Gabriel’s horn. There’s only one thing that we’re sure about, That can make those angels jump and shout. It’s when a sinner makes the Lord his choice, That’s when the angels rejoice. Now heaven doesn’t strike up a band, For any old occasion at hand; It’s got to be a special thing, To make those angels smile and sing. Now when the United States became a nation, There was no angelic celebration. But when one lost sinner comes back home, They jump for joy around the throne!
This is the third Sunday of Advent. It is the Sunday of joy and what can be more joyful than rejoicing. Let’s try to begin with an understanding of what joy really is, not by our world standards but by God’s standards. Joy is a choice to respond to circumstances with contentment and satisfaction. It’s based on the belief that God will use these experiences to accomplish His work in our lives. Also, joy is a fruit of the Spirit. It is comforting, content and full of peace. It’s an enduring attitude of the heart and spirit, and a natural part of the Christian faith. The important thing to remember here is that joy is not happiness. You can be unhappy about something and still have joy. Basically, I think, joy is having Jesus living inside of you.
Paul begins by telling us to rejoice in the Lord always. This may seem a little contradictory but it is true. You can have joy when the Lord is living inside of you. But you might have to work a little to have it. You have to be seeking joy. It doesn’t matter what is happening around you, if you respond with contentment and satisfaction, you have joy. It’s really hard to explain so let me try a couple of illustrations.
In 2010, Haiti suffered a devastating earthquake. Richard Stearns, president of World Vision, tells this story. After the quake, the church consisted of a tent, patched together with duct tape. There were six amputees singing in the front row and no one was singing louder than Demosi Louphine, a 32 year old single mother of two. During the quake, she lost her right arm and leg. She was fortunate enough to prosthesis for both. After the service, Stearns met the family at their home which was another tent about five feet tall and eight feet wide. She had also lost her job but not her life. Things were really hard for them. Demosi said, “Jesus brought me back like Lazarus, giving me the gift of life.” She believes she survived the earthquake for two reasons: to raise her two girls and to serve the Lord for a few more years. She was still excited about life because she had the joy of Christ in her heart.
Recently, I had the honor and privilege of officiating a wedding for a wonderful young couple. There was joy in this wedding. God wants you to rejoice in your relationships. God wants our churches and our relationships to be alive and overflowing with joy. The Bible tells us that the joy of the Lord is our strength. We read in today’s reading to rejoice in the Lord always. Jeffrey Harper tells us that he was at a wedding when he was reminded of how important marriages are. On that day, Jeffrey told the couple, “Today has become a holiday, which will be celebrated every year for the rest of your life. This will probably be the only time you have the power to declare a certain day a holiday which will be observed by others. It will be celebrated wherever you are as waiters sing, ‘Happy Anniversary,’ or your children throw surprise parties for you.
This is a wonderful sentiment, not just for newlyweds, but for all of us. Anyway, we are to rejoice in the Lord always. It should not really matter what is happening around you, as you can see by our first story, rejoice. Rejoice! This is not your home. You are only here on a temporary basis. You can be temporarily wounded or hurt in this world. You can have lots of things take away from you. But if you have Jesus living in your heart, then you will not have to worry about the long run because in the long run, you will be in heaven. So, invite Him in today.
Next, Paul talks about how you are to be gentle in all things. What the Bible usually means by gentleness is humility and compassion. In our modern world, we often associate humility with weakness. That is so not true. You are to be humble before the Lord because you know who He is and just how powerful He is. But you also know just how kind, how gentle He is when He is dealing with you. Even when you are disobedient, Jesus will usually be gentle with you. He realizes that we are very broken people. He also realizes that He is the only way in which we can redeem ourselves.
However, if you happen to be one of those people who don’t know Jesus on a personal basis, then you could be in for a lot of trouble. God will do things to get your attention. Many times, these things are not that pleasant but He has to get your attention. Maybe you are fighting alcohol or drugs. Maybe you are in a situation that is totally against the Bible but you think it is wonderful. He will have to do something strong to get you out of the situation or relationship. Maybe you are one of the millions who think that you can get along without God or Jesus. I’m sure you can think of many other situations where people are against God. None of these people will come out of their sinful situations on their own because they are too much in love with their sin. We have our work cut out for us. The harvest is huge but the workers are few. It doesn’t take too much to see this in today’s world.
When you run across situations where there is sin as far as you can see, remember that God is near. He is right at your fingertips all the time. All you need to do is call out to Him. He will answer. He will help you. He will help you to help others. Therefore, you do not have to be anxious about anything. Maybe there is a worrier listening today. Maybe you are what I might refer to as a professional worrier. Just as a little thought here to all you people who worry about everything, did you know that many of our illnesses are in some way related to worry, anxiety, and stress? Heart disease is the number one killer in this country. 38% of all heart disease deaths are related to hypertension, high blood pressure and anxiety. Worry has been linked to cancer, lung problems, accidents, cirrhosis, gastrointestinal problems and suicide. 75% of all visits to primary care doctors are stress-related complaints and disorders. I think that most of you know about this so my question is, “Why do you keep on worrying about things that you have no control over if you know worrying is so bad for you?”
I think the answer to this is that you have a hard time to fully trust Jesus. I think that your prayer life is a little lacking. Paul tells us here and in many other places to take your praise, thanksgiving, and requests to God in prayer. Please learn this no matter what you do, do it in prayer first before you actually do it. Jesus Christ is the only solution to worry that I know about. If you can, please remember that Jesus is your rock. He is your pillar. He is your whole life so go to Him and go to Him often. He will be a very gentle God to you if you come to Him with repentance in mind.
The last thing that Paul wants you to know from this passage, and I got much of this from Sermon Central, is that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and your mind in Jesus Christ. That is quite a mouthful. This question was once asked, “If you could choose what you want most in life, what would you ask for?” The most common answer was “Peace.”
People want peace in their marriages, families, workplaces, country and world. Our country has some of the best medical and psychological treatment centers, highest educational institutions and worldwide communication abilities. Yet with all of these things, most people are without true inner peace. The results are devastating… broken marriages, split families, hatred, rebellion, financial anxiety, a country unsettled. Much of our sin problem in the world today, come from a lack of peace, the real peace that only comes from Jesus Christ.
Now, the world will offer you peace through many forms of escapism… drugs, alcohol, immoral relationships, constant entertainment. It is sought through all forms of pleasure, self-satisfaction and positive thinking. Many believe that peace is defined as the absence of trouble. They refuse to face the problems in their lives believing that this is finding peace. The world, however, has never held the answer to true peace.
You can choose to have true peace. As I stated, true peace comes not from man but from God. This peace is the fruit of the Holy Spirit spoken of in Galatians 5:22. This peace means to be in harmony with God, to be bound, joined and woven together with God the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. It also means to be assured of, confident of and secure in the love and care of God. There is a consciousness and a sure trust that God will provide, guide, strengthen, sustain, encourage, deliver and save completely those who seek Him with all their hearts. This supernatural peace comes first and foremost from receiving Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord. Secondly, this peace comes from a knowledge of God’s Word. If you have never done this, then confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to live in your life as your Lord and Savior. You will never regret doing this.
The Apostle Paul knew this peace. He suffered greatly because of his love for the Lord, love for God’s truth and because of his commitment to the commission given to him by Jesus Christ. Yet in all this, all his hardships, his heart was kept in perfect peace.
He had been imprisoned, stoned, left for dead and scourged by the Romans, and yet he said in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things, God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.” Please note the conditions of knowing God’s peace: 1.) You must love God, and 2.) you must be called according to His purpose, which means fitting into His plan and His perfect will into your life.
Most people reject God’s peace because they surrender to their own selfishness and their lust for the pleasures of this world. But Jesus said, “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give you.” A legacy of inner peace is offered to all who know Jesus Christ, regardless of their circumstances. In these days of uncertainty and distress, will you receive Jesus Christ into your life? He is the Giver of eternal life and the Prince of Peace!
Today, we have looked at the joy of the Lord, His wonderful gentleness and the wonderful peace that can only come from knowing our Savior. All these things and much, much more can be yours. All you have to do is ask. Go to Him now and go to Him often. And thank you, Jesus, for first loving us. Let’s pray.
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