Philippians 4

I want us to turn the seat this morning to these verses that we've read together from Philippians chapter 4.

Philippians 4 · chapter mention

! 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

Philippians 2 · chapter mention

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,

Hebrews 4 · chapter mention

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,

Romans 5 · chapter mention

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

Deuteronomy 29 · chapter mention

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

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

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray

let's pray