1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:03,200 Philippians 4 verse 1 to 7. 2 00:00:03,200 --> 00:00:07,200 Therefore my brothers and sisters, 3 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,120 you whom I love and long for, 4 00:00:09,120 --> 00:00:10,840 my joy and crown, 5 00:00:10,840 --> 00:00:13,160 stand firm in the Lord in this way, 6 00:00:13,160 --> 00:00:14,280 dear friends. 7 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:15,660 I plead with you, 8 00:00:15,660 --> 00:00:17,200 Audea, and I plead with 9 00:00:17,200 --> 00:00:21,080 Sinterki to be of the same mind in the Lord. 10 00:00:21,080 --> 00:00:22,920 Yes, and I ask you, 11 00:00:22,920 --> 00:00:24,280 my true companion, 12 00:00:24,280 --> 00:00:26,560 help these women since they have been 13 00:00:26,560 --> 00:00:30,400 contended at my side in the cause of the gospel. 14 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,120 Along with Clement and the rest of my coworkers, 15 00:00:34,120 --> 00:00:36,720 whose names are in the book of life. 16 00:00:36,720 --> 00:00:39,000 Rejoice in the Lord always, 17 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:41,200 I will say it again, rejoice. 18 00:00:41,200 --> 00:00:43,600 Let your gentleness be evident to all. 19 00:00:43,600 --> 00:00:45,240 The Lord is near. 20 00:00:45,240 --> 00:00:47,640 Do not be anxious about anything, 21 00:00:47,640 --> 00:00:50,760 but in every situation by prayer and petition, 22 00:00:50,760 --> 00:00:54,800 with thanksgiving and present your request to God, 23 00:00:54,800 --> 00:00:58,440 and the peace of God which transcends all understanding, 24 00:00:58,440 --> 00:01:03,040 will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 25 00:01:07,120 --> 00:01:10,040 Good morning, church. 26 00:01:10,540 --> 00:01:13,920 To state the obvious, it's quite warm. 27 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:16,560 So we can be thinking of our brothers and sisters 28 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:18,880 worshiping in Broome right now, 29 00:01:18,880 --> 00:01:23,480 who are probably thinking that this is winter for them. 30 00:01:23,480 --> 00:01:26,600 But before we get into our text this morning, 31 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:30,760 why don't we come to our father in prayer and ask for his help? 32 00:01:30,760 --> 00:01:32,480 Don't you pray with me? 33 00:01:32,480 --> 00:01:35,600 Father, we thank you for your word. 34 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:37,720 We thank you that it is true. 35 00:01:37,720 --> 00:01:39,760 We thank you that it is good. 36 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:43,680 We ask that your spirit would help us this morning, 37 00:01:43,680 --> 00:01:45,880 that you would give us ears to hear, 38 00:01:45,880 --> 00:01:48,880 that you would hold Christ high in our midst, 39 00:01:48,880 --> 00:01:50,960 and that you would transform us, 40 00:01:50,960 --> 00:01:53,480 that we would leave this place this morning, 41 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:56,360 rejoicing in what you have done for us. 42 00:01:56,360 --> 00:02:00,080 We ask for this in Jesus' name, amen. 43 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:05,360 I might ask, have you ever known people in your life 44 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:09,800 where they have been under absolute horrible pressure, 45 00:02:09,800 --> 00:02:12,880 but seem to be walking through the whole thing 46 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:16,960 in absolute peace and joy in their lives? 47 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:19,960 I have, in fact, one of the great privileges 48 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:23,640 of being a pastor is getting to know people 49 00:02:23,640 --> 00:02:26,960 and the personal struggles that they have, 50 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:31,920 yet watching how God works tangibly in their lives, 51 00:02:31,920 --> 00:02:33,800 it's incredible, really. 52 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:38,240 Things that would crush and destroy the average person 53 00:02:38,240 --> 00:02:41,320 are walked through in a whole different way 54 00:02:41,320 --> 00:02:45,720 by these wonderful brothers and sisters in the faith. 55 00:02:45,720 --> 00:02:48,240 It's sobering, really. 56 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:52,080 Well, church, this morning we turned to a passage of scripture 57 00:02:52,080 --> 00:02:56,960 where Paul is talking to this congregation in Philippi 58 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:59,440 and by implication us two, 59 00:02:59,440 --> 00:03:02,960 and he's encouraging Christians that there is a peace 60 00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:07,560 that goes way beyond our own understanding. 61 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:12,080 And because of Christ Jesus, our Lord, 62 00:03:12,080 --> 00:03:15,320 it actually already is ours, 63 00:03:15,320 --> 00:03:18,440 yet we have to learn how to walk in it, 64 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:24,440 and he teaches us about these things in a surprising context. 65 00:03:24,440 --> 00:03:26,840 You might remember that these Christians 66 00:03:26,840 --> 00:03:30,120 have been under horrible persecution. 67 00:03:30,120 --> 00:03:31,760 We've seen that over the months 68 00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:36,320 as we've been working our way slowly through this book. 69 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:39,160 It seems that they had external pressures 70 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:44,040 from the pagan society around them to give up on the faith 71 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,720 and also internal pressure with cracks and divisions 72 00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:50,320 starting to form, 73 00:03:50,320 --> 00:03:55,880 which was threatening to rip apart the members of the congregation. 74 00:03:55,880 --> 00:04:00,040 And so our apostle talks to his precious friends 75 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:04,600 about how to deal with real and present danger 76 00:04:04,600 --> 00:04:09,480 and how to experience godly peace among themselves 77 00:04:09,480 --> 00:04:11,000 that is supernatural, 78 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:17,880 and as we read here this morning, transcends all their understanding. 79 00:04:17,880 --> 00:04:23,640 And we see that in the way that Paul has structured this part of his book. 80 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:27,320 Starting with a personal plea to his dear brothers and sisters 81 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:29,560 in verses one through to three, 82 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:34,600 he then moves on to three commands or exhortations 83 00:04:34,600 --> 00:04:38,280 for the church to observe and practice. 84 00:04:38,280 --> 00:04:41,640 Verse four, we're told to rejoice. 85 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:46,760 Verse five, we're told that we are to actively work out the fruit of the spirit 86 00:04:46,760 --> 00:04:49,960 and then in verse six, we are to pray. 87 00:04:49,960 --> 00:04:53,160 But notice this, and it's very important that we do so. 88 00:04:53,160 --> 00:04:57,880 Notice what Paul tells us, and we find it there in verse seven. 89 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:03,240 There is a promise, and that promise is that God's peace 90 00:05:03,240 --> 00:05:09,080 will flood our hearts, our minds, and our lives. 91 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:13,640 So I might ask you this morning, my dear brothers and sisters, 92 00:05:13,640 --> 00:05:17,080 is that something that is important to you? 93 00:05:17,080 --> 00:05:22,440 Is having the peace of God which transcends all understanding, 94 00:05:22,440 --> 00:05:27,960 something that you want in your life and in our churches? 95 00:05:27,960 --> 00:05:29,720 Well, if you do, and I certainly do, 96 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:33,880 let's listen to what the holy scriptures have to say to us this morning 97 00:05:33,880 --> 00:05:37,240 and work our way together through this wonderful 98 00:05:37,240 --> 00:05:40,600 and encouraging part of scripture. 99 00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:44,360 If you have your bibles with you, we'll be in our text quite a bit this morning. 100 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:49,080 So let's start by looking at verses one through to three. 101 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:52,040 We read, therefore, my brothers and sisters, 102 00:05:52,040 --> 00:05:57,240 you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, 103 00:05:57,240 --> 00:06:00,760 stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends. 104 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:04,600 I plead with you, your dear, and I plead with Sintiki, 105 00:06:04,600 --> 00:06:08,280 Sintiki to be of the same mind in the Lord. 106 00:06:08,280 --> 00:06:12,760 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women 107 00:06:12,760 --> 00:06:17,320 since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, 108 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:20,440 along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers 109 00:06:20,440 --> 00:06:24,120 whose names are in the book of life. 110 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:28,360 Now, there's a lot that could be said on all the historical information 111 00:06:28,360 --> 00:06:31,080 that Paul has given us here, 112 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:35,080 but I really want to focus in on verses two and three 113 00:06:35,080 --> 00:06:40,440 and how Paul speaks about these two sisters in the church 114 00:06:40,440 --> 00:06:45,000 because he urges them in the strongest possible terms. 115 00:06:45,000 --> 00:06:48,600 Notice that Paul says he pleads with them. 116 00:06:48,600 --> 00:06:53,720 In other words, he begs them to be of the same mind. 117 00:06:53,720 --> 00:06:57,960 Now, we don't exactly know what's come between these two ladies 118 00:06:57,960 --> 00:07:00,760 and separated them in their friendship, 119 00:07:00,760 --> 00:07:04,200 but he urges them that they overcome it 120 00:07:04,200 --> 00:07:08,360 and come back together in peace. 121 00:07:08,360 --> 00:07:10,840 Now, church, let's think about this for a moment. 122 00:07:10,840 --> 00:07:15,560 Imagine if you had a family friend that you spoke to about a problem 123 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,000 that you were having with someone else in your family, 124 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:23,480 and then that family friend then wrote an open letter 125 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:26,920 to your entire family pleading with you 126 00:07:26,920 --> 00:07:30,280 to be reconciled to the one you've just fallen out with. 127 00:07:30,280 --> 00:07:35,560 I mean, I don't know about you, but I would be absolutely mortified. 128 00:07:35,560 --> 00:07:38,440 But I don't think we should take Paul here 129 00:07:38,440 --> 00:07:42,280 as trying to cause embarrassment or shame 130 00:07:42,280 --> 00:07:46,360 on his sisters within the family of God. 131 00:07:46,360 --> 00:07:49,720 Now, I don't think that's happening at all, and I say that 132 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:55,640 because he seems to love and respect this church more than anything. 133 00:07:55,640 --> 00:07:58,520 We see it in verse 1, don't we? 134 00:07:58,520 --> 00:08:02,120 My brothers and sisters, you whom I love 135 00:08:02,120 --> 00:08:07,320 and long for my joy and crown. 136 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,760 Here are our apostles' language here. 137 00:08:10,760 --> 00:08:13,320 He loves this congregation to bits. 138 00:08:13,320 --> 00:08:17,000 He respects this congregation, and by the looks of it, 139 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,600 he completely trusts this congregation 140 00:08:20,600 --> 00:08:23,880 with this very real problem that's going on 141 00:08:23,880 --> 00:08:29,480 within their spiritual family there in Philippi in his absence. 142 00:08:29,480 --> 00:08:33,880 And so he knows by naming his sisters not their problem, mind you. 143 00:08:33,880 --> 00:08:37,560 By naming his sisters, it's not so that they would be shamed 144 00:08:37,560 --> 00:08:40,440 and outed by their church family, 145 00:08:40,440 --> 00:08:44,680 but so that they would be helped by all those around them 146 00:08:44,680 --> 00:08:47,560 who love them ever so much. 147 00:08:47,560 --> 00:08:51,720 Yet in saying that, it does also show us 148 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:55,480 that our apostle takes division in the church 149 00:08:55,480 --> 00:08:58,360 very seriously. 150 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:02,600 Brothers and sisters, we have to be aware that this is the nature of 151 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:05,800 any church anywhere in the world. 152 00:09:05,800 --> 00:09:09,880 The church is filled with people like you 153 00:09:09,880 --> 00:09:15,320 and me who are in varying degrees of works in progress, 154 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:20,040 which means any New Testament church that is faithful to the word of God 155 00:09:20,040 --> 00:09:24,280 and preaching of the gospel is going to be full 156 00:09:24,280 --> 00:09:29,080 of little construction sites that are still being worked on. 157 00:09:29,080 --> 00:09:32,360 And so we must be aware of that reality. 158 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:37,800 The church is filled with saved sinners. 159 00:09:37,800 --> 00:09:43,880 And I just want to say a couple of things that are encouraging that we can take note of that. 160 00:09:43,880 --> 00:09:49,880 At first, Paul fully expects that Christians will struggle with 161 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:53,960 varying forms of relational difficulties. 162 00:09:53,960 --> 00:09:58,360 And so no church should look at itself and think that there is something 163 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:02,040 utterly wrong when there is hardship going on. 164 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:06,280 But as we see in our passage this morning, that doesn't mean 165 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:11,400 we just ignore it. Now as we see here, divisions and disunity 166 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:16,600 needs to be worked on, but brothers and sisters, there is good news in all of 167 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:19,960 this. And that's the second thing that I want you to take note of. 168 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:28,840 Notice the language in these verses. Christians deal with relational issues 169 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:35,320 in light of who we are in the Lord. In other words, we deal with broken 170 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:41,080 relationships and hardships of all sorts in light of the gospel. 171 00:10:41,080 --> 00:10:48,120 Verse one, stand firm in the Lord. Verse two, be of the same mind 172 00:10:48,120 --> 00:10:55,080 in the Lord. Verse three, rejoice in the Lord. Notice the language running 173 00:10:55,080 --> 00:11:00,040 through our text. We struggle and strive with one another 174 00:11:00,040 --> 00:11:05,880 in our brokenness, not as strangers or members of a Jesus fan club, 175 00:11:05,880 --> 00:11:12,920 but as spiritual siblings who have all been saved, redeemed, sanctified, 176 00:11:12,920 --> 00:11:17,480 and are totally forgiven and loved by our heavenly 177 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:22,600 Father in the Lord. What am I trying to say here? 178 00:11:22,600 --> 00:11:26,680 Well that because of Christ and what He has done 179 00:11:26,680 --> 00:11:32,840 for us, His people, we can see every strained relationship, 180 00:11:32,840 --> 00:11:39,800 every hurt, every personal offense as an opportunity to shine what we have been 181 00:11:39,800 --> 00:11:45,480 shown in the Lord to others. In other words, because of who we are, 182 00:11:45,480 --> 00:11:51,960 our status in Christ, in the Lord, we can approach every relational hardship 183 00:11:51,960 --> 00:11:58,920 as an opportunity to display the love that we have been shown to others 184 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:05,640 in Christlike forgiveness. That is something that is so unique about 185 00:12:05,640 --> 00:12:09,320 the church, that no football, knitting, or rowing 186 00:12:09,320 --> 00:12:16,280 club can ever manifest. Simply said, we as the family of God 187 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:20,360 are in the unique position because of our position 188 00:12:20,360 --> 00:12:27,480 in Christ to display the love of Christ to each other, to our brothers and 189 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:33,000 sisters where there has been an offense. And so I simply want to say that 190 00:12:33,000 --> 00:12:39,880 however deep that hurt may be, well because of who we are 191 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:46,280 in the Lord, there is a unique opportunity for the grace of the gospel 192 00:12:46,280 --> 00:12:52,840 to be manifested in that situation. For forgiveness and reconciliation to be 193 00:12:52,840 --> 00:12:57,240 shown. Church, hear me this morning, because we are 194 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:01,800 human and because we are all sinful, we will all experience 195 00:13:01,800 --> 00:13:06,360 uncomfortable relationships. That's life, unfortunately. 196 00:13:06,360 --> 00:13:11,160 But dear ones, that doesn't mean that we have to fret or 197 00:13:11,160 --> 00:13:15,960 spiral out of control when those things come because we don't have to look at 198 00:13:15,960 --> 00:13:20,920 relational difficulties in the same way that the world does. 199 00:13:20,920 --> 00:13:27,000 No, because of the gospel, because of who we are in the Lord with the 200 00:13:27,000 --> 00:13:33,240 experience of utter and total forgiveness working in our lives, we can 201 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:37,160 see every difficulty and hardship in light of the 202 00:13:37,160 --> 00:13:40,680 gospel. And there's a unique opportunity to 203 00:13:40,680 --> 00:13:47,080 share that forgiveness and reconciliation with others. 204 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:54,200 That is a beautiful truth that every Christian has an opportunity to do. 205 00:13:54,200 --> 00:14:00,040 Yet in saying that, we must recognize that sometimes this won't be 206 00:14:00,040 --> 00:14:04,920 possible to work out just between two people and we see that in our passage 207 00:14:04,920 --> 00:14:10,040 this morning, don't we? That's why Paul has asked the church 208 00:14:10,040 --> 00:14:14,920 to get involved and to help his sisters in this reconciliation. 209 00:14:14,920 --> 00:14:18,200 That's why Paul has named these precious women. 210 00:14:18,200 --> 00:14:22,760 It's because he loves them and it's he loves them too much to watch their 211 00:14:22,760 --> 00:14:28,120 division destroy one another. And so he calls on others. 212 00:14:28,120 --> 00:14:32,120 He calls on the maturity and the experience of others 213 00:14:32,120 --> 00:14:38,520 in the Lord to help their sisters. Also that they might cultivate a culture 214 00:14:38,520 --> 00:14:45,800 of reconciliation where forgiveness is offered and relationships are restored. 215 00:14:45,800 --> 00:14:52,120 In other words, Paul is calling the church to be gospel centric. 216 00:14:52,120 --> 00:14:57,560 He is calling the church to live in light of who we are in the Lord so that 217 00:14:57,560 --> 00:15:02,680 there might be really real godly peace in the church. 218 00:15:02,680 --> 00:15:06,760 So by way of application, to experience this peace 219 00:15:06,760 --> 00:15:11,880 among themselves, this supernatural peace that transcends all their 220 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:18,040 understanding, he then exhorts the church. He commands the church. Verse 4 221 00:15:18,040 --> 00:15:25,240 Rejoice in the Lord always. I say it again, rejoice. Now if you're anything 222 00:15:25,240 --> 00:15:30,280 like me, I think that's a really odd place to put something like this. 223 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:35,480 I mean he's just told the church of an internal division. 224 00:15:35,480 --> 00:15:41,960 Now I want you to rejoice. But if we think about what Paul is saying here, 225 00:15:41,960 --> 00:15:46,360 this actually hasn't come out of the blue and it's something that we've noticed 226 00:15:46,360 --> 00:15:51,560 before in this book. In fact, it's been a concern of Paul all 227 00:15:51,560 --> 00:15:57,240 throughout this letter to the Philippians. He wants them to, he doesn't 228 00:15:57,240 --> 00:16:04,200 want them to rejoice in their circumstances. Now remember the context 229 00:16:04,200 --> 00:16:10,040 that the letter has been written into. They are under persecution from the 230 00:16:10,040 --> 00:16:15,800 outside and from the inside there's division. 231 00:16:15,800 --> 00:16:22,360 And so with that said, we can see that Paul doesn't want these beloved people 232 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:27,320 to fixate all their attention on their circumstances, 233 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:34,440 but to turn their minds towards the Lord. That's the exhortation here. 234 00:16:34,440 --> 00:16:41,480 Rejoice. Rejoice how? Rejoice in the Lord. 235 00:16:41,480 --> 00:16:45,160 A few months ago, Haley and I had the opportunity to visit 236 00:16:45,160 --> 00:16:49,720 a church in another town and they were an absolutely 237 00:16:49,720 --> 00:16:54,600 beautiful congregation. But in saying that, they were a very 238 00:16:54,600 --> 00:16:58,520 small congregation with only about 15 people. 239 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:02,600 So after the service, I got speaking to the minister and I told, 240 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:08,040 and he told me that he was only there in the last couple of months because the 241 00:17:08,040 --> 00:17:13,880 last pastor left over a church split. And then he went on to tell me that the 242 00:17:13,880 --> 00:17:17,880 church actually used to be quite large, but that they had an 243 00:17:17,880 --> 00:17:22,840 argument over something to do with some new laws coming in at the federal level 244 00:17:22,840 --> 00:17:26,760 of state government and the people became so 245 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:33,640 fixated on their external what-ifs and hows that they eventually turned 246 00:17:33,640 --> 00:17:39,880 on each other. And what was a thriving Christian community and one of the most 247 00:17:39,880 --> 00:17:47,320 pagan towns in Western Australia was torn to shreds in public view. 248 00:17:47,320 --> 00:17:53,800 A burnt-out pastor, a divided community and a sign to that town that 249 00:17:53,800 --> 00:17:58,680 Christian community can be just as horror to place to be in 250 00:17:58,680 --> 00:18:03,560 than a Mackers in Northbridge on a Friday night. 251 00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,160 Brothers and sisters, do you hear what our apostle is telling us here? 252 00:18:11,160 --> 00:18:17,560 He's saying that if we fixate on our circumstances, if we are fixated on the 253 00:18:17,560 --> 00:18:21,880 externals of the world and the internals of the church to 254 00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:26,600 find our joy, then when pressures and hardships come in those 255 00:18:26,600 --> 00:18:33,720 areas and they will come, then we are going to be in serious trouble. 256 00:18:33,720 --> 00:18:39,320 Church, if we don't remember the Lord and if we forget to look to Him 257 00:18:39,320 --> 00:18:44,920 and to rejoice in all that He has done, all that He is and all that He is going 258 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:48,680 to do for His people, if we take our eyes off Him and 259 00:18:48,680 --> 00:18:53,320 forget who we are to each other in the Lord, 260 00:18:53,320 --> 00:18:58,360 then we too run the risk of being torn to shreds. 261 00:18:58,360 --> 00:19:02,280 Church, it's little wonder that Paul commands one of the most persecuted 262 00:19:02,280 --> 00:19:07,160 churches in the New Testament to not fixate on their 263 00:19:07,160 --> 00:19:14,920 situations, but to always look to the Lord and rejoice. 264 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:19,880 Second, he wants them to put into practice the fruit of the spirit. 265 00:19:19,880 --> 00:19:23,480 Every born-again believer in the Lord has the spirit of God 266 00:19:23,480 --> 00:19:26,920 in them and with that there will be evidence 267 00:19:26,920 --> 00:19:32,600 in their lives of this work. When we look at Paul's letter to the 268 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:37,960 Galatians, he talks about that evidence by way of fruit and 269 00:19:37,960 --> 00:19:44,200 gentleness is right there in that list. That's what he says in verse 5. 270 00:19:44,200 --> 00:19:51,960 Let your gentleness be evident to all. In other words, let the work of God 271 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:59,240 so permeate your lives that it's evident not to just those in the church 272 00:19:59,240 --> 00:20:04,600 but to everyone around you. I love what Paul does here actually 273 00:20:04,600 --> 00:20:09,720 because it reminds us of just who we are in light of everything. 274 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:15,960 He says the Lord is near. Now that's not to scare us, 275 00:20:15,960 --> 00:20:20,280 but to remind us of just who is in our lives 276 00:20:20,280 --> 00:20:24,600 and to whom we will give an account one day. 277 00:20:24,600 --> 00:20:28,360 I remember many moons ago that Haley and I were 278 00:20:28,360 --> 00:20:32,760 having a disagreement over my lack of gifting of being able to pick up 279 00:20:32,760 --> 00:20:37,480 items of clothing off the floor and we were having a bit of a 280 00:20:37,480 --> 00:20:41,640 squabble and speaking pretty directly to each other. 281 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:46,120 When all of a sudden there was a knock on the door from our friends who had 282 00:20:46,120 --> 00:20:51,160 arrived early for dinner and just like that I realized how 283 00:20:51,160 --> 00:20:55,400 stubborn I was being and that our friends didn't need to be subject to my 284 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:59,480 justification of leaving my socks in the kitchen 285 00:20:59,480 --> 00:21:05,880 at once again. So I humbly apologize to my dearly beloved and I'm sure I'm not 286 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:11,880 alone in this right man that when we are together with our loved ones 287 00:21:11,880 --> 00:21:16,920 maybe in the midst of an argument with family members 288 00:21:16,920 --> 00:21:22,920 we forget who is actually present in our lives and who's watching. 289 00:21:22,920 --> 00:21:26,760 We forget to whom we will give an account 290 00:21:26,760 --> 00:21:31,640 of every word we speak. So we might ask the question 291 00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:37,160 if Jesus walks through the door, well do you think the disagreements that you're 292 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:42,280 having are worth having in light of the Lord? 293 00:21:42,280 --> 00:21:50,280 Are you exuding the fruit of the Spirit in the midst of conflict? 294 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:59,240 First church we are to rejoice not in our circumstances but in the Lord. 295 00:21:59,240 --> 00:22:03,400 Second we're to put into practice the fruit of the Spirit knowing that our Lord 296 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:08,680 is near. Third we're to pray. Verse 6 don't be anxious about anything but in 297 00:22:08,680 --> 00:22:11,880 every situation by prayer and petition with 298 00:22:11,880 --> 00:22:19,320 thanksgiving present your requests to God. In other words our apostle reminds us 299 00:22:19,320 --> 00:22:26,040 that we're to rely on God in every single area of our lives. How do we know 300 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:32,200 that we're really relying on Him? It's because we take things to Him. 301 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:39,480 We take our anxiety to the throne of grace. Now don't mishear me this morning church. 302 00:22:39,480 --> 00:22:47,320 This isn't Paul saying that you're not going to have any issues if you just pray. 303 00:22:47,320 --> 00:22:53,080 That's not what he's saying here. I mean this isn't the inspiration for the song 304 00:22:53,080 --> 00:22:58,760 don't worry be happy. As we've already seen through this series we see it again 305 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:03,480 this morning. Christians will go through different and horrible 306 00:23:03,480 --> 00:23:08,680 circumstances in this life and there will be things that crawl into our hearts 307 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:15,320 and minds that will cause us to stress out and fret. But this is the thing. 308 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:19,160 Our apostle tells us here, plainly in our text, 309 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:23,720 that we don't have to be anxious because in every situation 310 00:23:23,720 --> 00:23:29,000 we have a God who is in charge who loves us more than we could possibly 311 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:37,000 imagine. A Father that we can go to because we are in the Lord 312 00:23:37,000 --> 00:23:42,840 and because of what he's done for us we will be heard. 313 00:23:42,840 --> 00:23:46,520 I don't know about you my brothers and sisters but real anxiety 314 00:23:46,520 --> 00:23:52,440 tends to grip my heart when I want to be in control of a situation but I'm just 315 00:23:52,440 --> 00:23:56,360 not. And you know what the sad thing is about 316 00:23:56,360 --> 00:24:00,680 that? None of us are actually in control of the 317 00:24:00,680 --> 00:24:05,720 things around us anyway. And so by being anxious about a situation 318 00:24:05,720 --> 00:24:11,560 that you're not in control of actually doesn't do a single thing except stress 319 00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:15,800 you out and discourage others around you. 320 00:24:15,800 --> 00:24:19,880 Church, worrying and fretting, well it doesn't actually 321 00:24:19,880 --> 00:24:25,480 give you more control over the situation that you're out of control of 322 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:30,120 in the first place. Now all it does is causes you to feel more 323 00:24:30,120 --> 00:24:34,600 anxious and to not be able to sleep at night. 324 00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:38,920 So our dear apostle says, he says, brothers and sisters, 325 00:24:38,920 --> 00:24:42,360 instead of worrying about the things you can't change 326 00:24:42,360 --> 00:24:48,360 go and speak to the one who is in control of everything in your situation. 327 00:24:48,360 --> 00:24:52,200 And because he loves you and because he is promised to take care of you 328 00:24:52,200 --> 00:24:56,360 he will listen to any and everything that you bring to him. 329 00:24:56,360 --> 00:25:03,000 That is our promise brothers and sisters. If you are in the Lord, if you trust him 330 00:25:03,000 --> 00:25:06,360 with all that you are then you actually have nothing 331 00:25:06,360 --> 00:25:11,480 to worry about in this life. We have nothing to worry about because 332 00:25:11,480 --> 00:25:18,120 our loving Heavenly Father knows us, he knows our needs and he will take care 333 00:25:18,120 --> 00:25:23,720 of us. So this invitation is open to all his 334 00:25:23,720 --> 00:25:27,800 beloved children to go before the throne of grace 335 00:25:27,800 --> 00:25:35,320 to find mercy, to find undeserved favor, to help us in our time of need. 336 00:25:35,320 --> 00:25:42,280 And so the invitation is open to all of his children, all of us, to ask our 337 00:25:42,280 --> 00:25:47,720 loving Heavenly Father to practice what he has told us to do, 338 00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:53,320 to be at peace with one another, to rejoice in all circumstances, 339 00:25:53,320 --> 00:25:58,280 to be gentle towards all, to pray about everything. 340 00:25:58,280 --> 00:26:02,040 Because as we seek to obey what God would 341 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:09,480 really have us to do, that we will really experience his peace that surpasses 342 00:26:09,480 --> 00:26:14,440 anything we have ever known. And just with that understanding that Paul 343 00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:19,320 ends this part of scripture by pointing us to that very thing verse seven. 344 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:23,640 And the peace of God which transcends all understanding 345 00:26:23,640 --> 00:26:30,040 will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 346 00:26:30,040 --> 00:26:35,000 See what our apostle is telling us? He's essentially telling us that when we 347 00:26:35,000 --> 00:26:40,840 make it a practice of turning from what is right in front of us with all its 348 00:26:40,840 --> 00:26:48,920 what ifs and maybes to the Lord in all circumstances, when we remember who we 349 00:26:48,920 --> 00:26:52,760 are in the Lord and how God has shown us such 350 00:26:52,760 --> 00:26:57,240 incredible grace and mercy in the Lord Jesus Christ, 351 00:26:57,240 --> 00:27:04,440 when we run to and not from our Heavenly Father in our crippling anxieties, 352 00:27:04,440 --> 00:27:07,960 then there will be a peace that transcends 353 00:27:07,960 --> 00:27:14,440 and surpasses all our understanding. In other words, Paul says when we make a 354 00:27:14,440 --> 00:27:19,880 practice of turning to the Lord through any and everything, 355 00:27:19,880 --> 00:27:23,880 when we make it a practice to rejoice in the Lord no matter what the 356 00:27:23,880 --> 00:27:27,640 circumstance says, when we make it a practice to 357 00:27:27,640 --> 00:27:33,560 live in gentleness with all those around us, even those we may struggle with, 358 00:27:33,560 --> 00:27:38,680 when we're tempted to worry but again make it a practice to pray so that we 359 00:27:38,680 --> 00:27:44,120 might trust ourselves and remind ourselves of God's sovereignty 360 00:27:44,120 --> 00:27:48,200 in our lives, then there will be peace beyond our 361 00:27:48,200 --> 00:27:54,120 comprehension and it will be known through and through. 362 00:27:54,120 --> 00:28:01,240 Church, the promise here is simple. When the circumstances are screaming 363 00:28:01,240 --> 00:28:10,040 to you, despair and hopelessness, if we turn to the Lord time and time and 364 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:15,400 time and time and time again, we'll experience 365 00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:22,840 His peace that is already ours in Him. So church, as we end our time in this 366 00:28:22,840 --> 00:28:27,720 wonderful and encouraging part of Scripture, I want to again ask that 367 00:28:27,720 --> 00:28:32,200 question that we started with, is having the peace of God which 368 00:28:32,200 --> 00:28:37,640 transcends all understanding, something that you want in your life 369 00:28:37,640 --> 00:28:43,000 and in our churches, then might I encourage you to put into practice 370 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:48,440 what we've heard this morning? The promise is there for every single 371 00:28:48,440 --> 00:28:54,120 born-again believer, but might I also encourage you in something else? 372 00:28:54,120 --> 00:28:59,080 Might I encourage you to go to your Heavenly Father 373 00:28:59,080 --> 00:29:07,160 and ask Him for His help in putting into practice what we have heard this morning? 374 00:29:07,160 --> 00:29:14,680 We live in a world that is fallen. We live in a world where relationships 375 00:29:14,680 --> 00:29:21,080 are hard. We live in a world where things just don't seem to work out. 376 00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:25,480 So we must pray so that we might put into practice what God 377 00:29:25,480 --> 00:29:30,360 wants us to do, because if we don't practice these things that we've heard 378 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:35,000 this morning, well we won't really experience the 379 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:41,960 promise that is being held out to us. And I don't know about you my brothers and 380 00:29:41,960 --> 00:29:45,720 sisters, but I need that peace that goes beyond 381 00:29:45,720 --> 00:29:50,920 anything that I could ever produce in and of myself. 382 00:29:50,920 --> 00:29:54,760 We need that peace in our own lives. We need it 383 00:29:54,760 --> 00:30:01,000 in our churches, but experiencing that peace begins with our own obedience 384 00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:06,120 as to what God has told us to do. But let's end on this promise. 385 00:30:06,120 --> 00:30:10,840 We have a God that we know loves and cares for us. 386 00:30:10,840 --> 00:30:14,920 He sent us the Lord Jesus Christ. We are in the Lord 387 00:30:14,920 --> 00:30:18,520 together. We have a God who has given us His Holy 388 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:25,480 Spirit as a helper. So when hard times come and they will come without and 389 00:30:25,480 --> 00:30:29,160 within the church, we have a testimony 390 00:30:29,160 --> 00:30:35,720 that we are doing none of it by ourselves in our own strength, 391 00:30:35,720 --> 00:30:41,240 but we do all things in the Lord. Would you pray with me? 392 00:30:42,680 --> 00:30:49,320 Father, we began our time by asking for your ministry in our midst to hold 393 00:30:49,320 --> 00:30:55,240 Christ high among us this morning. Father, you know each and every 394 00:30:55,240 --> 00:30:59,800 single one of us. You have told us through the Lord Jesus that not 395 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:05,240 where you know the very hairs on our head. Father, you know everything that is 396 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:11,640 going on in our lives right now that is out for people to see and in private. 397 00:31:11,640 --> 00:31:18,440 Father, we want to experience this peace. We want this peace that goes beyond 398 00:31:18,440 --> 00:31:22,680 that transcends surpasses our own understanding. 399 00:31:22,680 --> 00:31:29,800 We want to be a people who love you, know you, and talk and share 400 00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:37,640 the good news of you. We ask for your work in our lives, in this church, and the 401 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:53,560 churches around us. And we ask for this in Jesus' name. Amen.