WEBVTT 00:00:00.170 --> 00:00:01.850 We're going to be looking at the famous passage 00:00:01.850 --> 00:00:05.030 from Philippians 4 this afternoon. I mean, we 00:00:05.030 --> 00:00:06.690 all pretty much have this passage memorized, 00:00:07.009 --> 00:00:09.289 right? And it's not terribly difficult to make 00:00:09.289 --> 00:00:12.349 sense out of, but it's been increasingly meaningful 00:00:12.349 --> 00:00:15.650 for me as the years have gone by. So I'd like 00:00:15.650 --> 00:00:17.910 to consider it with you. Just verses 4 through 00:00:17.910 --> 00:00:23.710 7 of Philippians 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. 00:00:24.309 --> 00:00:29.370 Again, I say, rejoice. Let your gentleness be 00:00:29.370 --> 00:00:34.770 evident to everyone. The Lord is near. Don't 00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:38.310 worry, but in everything, by prayer and supplication 00:00:38.310 --> 00:00:41.689 with thanksgiving, make your requests known to 00:00:41.689 --> 00:00:44.950 God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all 00:00:44.950 --> 00:00:47.310 understanding, will guard your hearts and your 00:00:47.310 --> 00:00:52.759 minds in Christ Jesus. This is God's word. Friends, 00:00:52.960 --> 00:00:54.920 that last verse, verse seven, the peace of God, 00:00:54.939 --> 00:00:56.780 which surpasses all understanding. I'm sure I'm 00:00:56.780 --> 00:00:58.299 not the only one in this room. When I read that 00:00:58.299 --> 00:00:59.979 for the first time as a Christian, it just stuck 00:00:59.979 --> 00:01:03.280 in my mind. The way it's phrased is so beautiful. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:05.280 And the thing it's talking about is so amazing. 00:01:05.599 --> 00:01:07.459 And yet I'm sure I'm not the only person when 00:01:07.459 --> 00:01:09.780 I read that. I've never read that and thought, 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:13.060 yep, I'm doing good on that one. I'm all topped 00:01:13.060 --> 00:01:15.239 up on peace that passes understanding. I don't 00:01:15.239 --> 00:01:17.739 need any more of that. You all are so godly and 00:01:17.739 --> 00:01:20.019 sanctified. You're all way out ahead of me, you 00:01:20.019 --> 00:01:24.340 know? It can be easy to look at verse 7, and 00:01:24.340 --> 00:01:27.280 that can feel like an abstract ideal that might 00:01:27.280 --> 00:01:29.780 apply to the really spiritual Christians, but 00:01:29.780 --> 00:01:33.299 for normal Christians, not so much. The peace 00:01:33.299 --> 00:01:35.879 of God that passes understanding does not characterize 00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:40.939 very much of my experience. But what I think 00:01:40.939 --> 00:01:44.079 is, and my thesis today with you, if you look 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:46.599 at the structure of the passage, verses 4 through 00:01:46.599 --> 00:01:49.579 7, Paul gives three commands. and then a promise 00:01:49.579 --> 00:01:52.400 about peace. Verses 8 and 9, he gives two commands, 00:01:52.560 --> 00:01:55.819 and then the God of peace will be with you. My 00:01:55.819 --> 00:01:58.500 idea, my crazy hypothesis I want to test out 00:01:58.500 --> 00:02:01.200 with you, is that the more we follow the commands 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:03.879 that Paul gives in context, the more we're going 00:02:03.879 --> 00:02:07.260 to find this peace being ours. In other words, 00:02:07.280 --> 00:02:10.599 the passage unlocks itself for us. It tells us 00:02:10.599 --> 00:02:14.099 how to get at this deeply precious thing. We're 00:02:14.099 --> 00:02:16.240 not going to look at verses 8 and 9. Paul says, 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:19.530 think. certain things, and do the stuff you were 00:02:19.530 --> 00:02:21.550 told to do, and the God of peace will be with 00:02:21.550 --> 00:02:23.469 you. I think it's continuing the thought. You're 00:02:23.469 --> 00:02:25.069 all perfectly smart. You can figure that out 00:02:25.069 --> 00:02:26.990 on your own. I just want to look at verses four 00:02:26.990 --> 00:02:30.610 through seven. He says rejoice, and then in verses 00:02:30.610 --> 00:02:33.449 five and six, I translated it as be evident. 00:02:34.030 --> 00:02:37.129 I should have just said rejoice, and then let 00:02:37.129 --> 00:02:39.590 it be known, and let another thing be known, 00:02:39.669 --> 00:02:42.840 and the peace of God. that passes understanding 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:46.039 so that i think as we rejoice and let these two 00:02:46.039 --> 00:02:48.800 things be known more and more what feel a peace 00:02:48.800 --> 00:02:51.560 that feels impossible will actually be ours so 00:02:51.560 --> 00:02:52.860 that's what we're going to consider but before 00:02:52.860 --> 00:02:55.580 we do we all know verse 7 i'm not going to tell 00:02:55.580 --> 00:02:57.460 you anything you don't already know this verse 00:02:57.460 --> 00:03:00.439 is amazing real quickly in verse 7 does everyone 00:03:00.439 --> 00:03:06.830 see see paul says the peace of god That's a genitive 00:03:06.830 --> 00:03:10.090 of possession and of source. That's God's peace 00:03:10.090 --> 00:03:13.949 and a gift from him. This is not you trying to 00:03:13.949 --> 00:03:15.330 convince yourself that everything's going to 00:03:15.330 --> 00:03:20.189 be okay. This is not an abstract Zen ideal. This 00:03:20.189 --> 00:03:23.129 is not even God bringing you up to your own fullest 00:03:23.129 --> 00:03:25.830 potential for a calm state of mind on your own. 00:03:25.930 --> 00:03:28.870 This is a gift from the throne outside of yourself. 00:03:29.009 --> 00:03:31.650 It's something heavenly and divine, the kind 00:03:31.650 --> 00:03:34.669 of blessed peace that God himself experiences. 00:03:35.550 --> 00:03:38.050 He gives to those who have been united from his 00:03:38.050 --> 00:03:44.669 son. And it's a gift from God from outside. Notice 00:03:44.669 --> 00:03:47.530 he goes on to say that transcends comprehension 00:03:47.530 --> 00:03:51.009 or that transcends knowing. Luke, what does the 00:03:51.009 --> 00:03:53.770 NIV have there in verse seven? No, it's fine. 00:03:54.150 --> 00:03:58.050 It's fine. Say again. Understanding. Yeah. Notice 00:03:58.050 --> 00:03:59.949 verse seven would make sense without that little 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:02.530 phrase, which transcends understanding. Why is 00:04:02.530 --> 00:04:06.050 that phrase there? If you're like me and you 00:04:06.050 --> 00:04:08.750 have it, I don't know if it's obvious or not. 00:04:08.870 --> 00:04:10.729 I have a tendency to worry about stuff. I'm just 00:04:10.729 --> 00:04:13.069 irrationally selective about what I worry about. 00:04:14.069 --> 00:04:16.029 And it's funny because my wife and I are both 00:04:16.029 --> 00:04:17.870 worriers, but we both worry about totally different 00:04:17.870 --> 00:04:19.990 things. Early in our marriage, she'd be like, 00:04:20.009 --> 00:04:21.889 our finance is going to be okay. And I'd be like, 00:04:22.009 --> 00:04:24.230 I can always get a job. Don't worry about it. 00:04:24.290 --> 00:04:26.509 I'd be like, is the teaching going to be okay? 00:04:26.589 --> 00:04:28.509 And she's like, well, it goes well most of the 00:04:28.509 --> 00:04:31.050 time, Eric. Quit worrying about it, right? So 00:04:31.050 --> 00:04:34.230 my experience of anxiety, tell me if this fits 00:04:34.230 --> 00:04:36.670 with you. My experience, when I get anxious, 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:39.490 I'm thinking about the future and trying to plan 00:04:39.490 --> 00:04:41.490 what I'm going to do to avoid bad stuff. Does 00:04:41.490 --> 00:04:44.290 that resonate with it? It's that bad thing might 00:04:44.290 --> 00:04:46.290 happen, and so I can do this and this. Oh, but 00:04:46.290 --> 00:04:48.029 it might have these consequences down there, 00:04:48.069 --> 00:04:50.970 and then maybe I can do that. I'm fretting and 00:04:50.970 --> 00:04:52.509 worrying and wondering about what will happen 00:04:52.509 --> 00:04:54.209 in the future, and I have no idea what's going 00:04:54.209 --> 00:04:56.730 to happen in the future and what I can do. Now, 00:04:56.769 --> 00:04:59.949 Paul says the peace that passes understanding. 00:05:01.480 --> 00:05:04.560 In other words, this gift from the throne is 00:05:04.560 --> 00:05:06.759 not something that you have to independently 00:05:06.759 --> 00:05:11.139 verify is really worth trusting. You don't have 00:05:11.139 --> 00:05:14.220 to let yourself wonder, can I really give myself 00:05:14.220 --> 00:05:16.600 to this if I don't know if the future is going 00:05:16.600 --> 00:05:20.779 to be okay? You have a piece that grips you that 00:05:20.779 --> 00:05:24.240 you don't fully understand yourself. And instead 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:26.560 of that irritating worrying in your mind as I 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:29.579 go on and on, what about this, what about this, 00:05:29.620 --> 00:05:31.779 what about... I just quit having to understand 00:05:31.779 --> 00:05:34.000 everything, quit having to anticipate everything, 00:05:34.199 --> 00:05:36.660 quit having to control everything. And I give 00:05:36.660 --> 00:05:39.100 myself to a piece that doesn't make sense to 00:05:39.100 --> 00:05:45.680 me, and it doesn't have to. He says the peace 00:05:45.680 --> 00:05:47.899 that passes understanding will guard your hearts 00:05:47.899 --> 00:05:50.540 and your minds. That is to say, your total person. 00:05:50.860 --> 00:05:53.040 There's no part of your being that will be left 00:05:53.040 --> 00:05:55.120 unaffected. It's not like part of you will be 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:56.920 at war with yourself and part of you will be 00:05:56.920 --> 00:05:58.600 peace. Through and through you're going to be 00:05:58.600 --> 00:06:01.639 in this peace. And he says it will guard you. 00:06:02.420 --> 00:06:04.420 He could just say the peace of God will be with 00:06:04.420 --> 00:06:07.259 you. That would make sense. But guard. That's 00:06:07.259 --> 00:06:12.709 interesting. Guard from what? Well, I assume 00:06:12.709 --> 00:06:15.810 at the least it means guarding me from making 00:06:15.810 --> 00:06:18.149 dumb decisions because I'm listening to my fears 00:06:18.149 --> 00:06:21.449 and not God, right? Or snapping at other people 00:06:21.449 --> 00:06:22.949 and being unkind to other people because I'm 00:06:22.949 --> 00:06:25.250 really stressed out. I am not pointing the finger 00:06:25.250 --> 00:06:27.410 at anyone. I'm very guilty of that myself, okay? 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:30.029 At least it will guard me from that. But I wonder 00:06:30.029 --> 00:06:32.189 if in a deeper way, it just protects you. It 00:06:32.189 --> 00:06:35.310 takes care of you. It guards you. You don't have 00:06:35.310 --> 00:06:38.050 to guard it. As you start to experience this, 00:06:38.129 --> 00:06:40.750 it's not like a precious vase that you have to 00:06:40.750 --> 00:06:42.430 worry might fall onto the floor and shatter. 00:06:43.290 --> 00:06:46.009 You don't have to nourish it. It takes care of 00:06:46.009 --> 00:06:51.310 you. And it comes for your hearts and minds in 00:06:51.310 --> 00:06:53.970 Christ Jesus. That is to say, the Son of God 00:06:53.970 --> 00:06:56.769 who dwells with us more intimately than we are. 00:06:56.970 --> 00:06:59.050 This beautiful phrase from Augustine. He says, 00:06:59.069 --> 00:07:00.730 you are closer to us than we are to ourselves. 00:07:01.209 --> 00:07:03.250 You never have to worry about the peace getting 00:07:03.250 --> 00:07:04.949 interrupted on the way down from the throne. 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:07.439 because it's in Jesus Christ to whom you're united 00:07:07.439 --> 00:07:10.939 by faith. What a great verse, right? Now, how 00:07:10.939 --> 00:07:12.560 do we get in on this? Okay, we're going to rejoice 00:07:12.560 --> 00:07:14.420 and let two things be known, but real quickly, 00:07:14.560 --> 00:07:18.899 in case this still feels like an extra add -on 00:07:18.899 --> 00:07:20.860 for the super spiritual, if you don't know this 00:07:20.860 --> 00:07:22.500 already, you and I are going to need this piece 00:07:22.500 --> 00:07:26.540 this semester. Is anyone starting to feel the 00:07:26.540 --> 00:07:29.459 press and the push and the stress of the academic 00:07:29.459 --> 00:07:31.860 work across the semester? Is anyone starting 00:07:31.860 --> 00:07:34.000 to think like, I'm not sure I can do all of this? 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:37.100 Is anyone being like Hebrew, Hebrew, Hebrew? 00:07:37.560 --> 00:07:39.819 I'll give it 15 minutes and I'll pass the final 00:07:39.819 --> 00:07:42.360 exam right away. Anyone feeling that way? I very 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.740 much sympathize with that. Every semester I had 00:07:44.740 --> 00:07:46.199 at Trinity in Chicago, I was like, I don't know 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:47.720 how I'm going to get this all done. I managed 00:07:47.720 --> 00:07:52.459 to somehow. We are engaged in a significant labor. 00:07:52.579 --> 00:07:55.629 It is absolutely worth it. Consider how many 00:07:55.629 --> 00:07:57.430 Christians across the world have the privilege 00:07:57.430 --> 00:07:59.730 of coming. Look, I'm not trying to big up my 00:07:59.730 --> 00:08:02.009 own ministry here, but how many Christians across 00:08:02.009 --> 00:08:04.069 the world have access to theological education 00:08:04.069 --> 00:08:06.589 like this? Maybe one in 10 ,000? I don't know. 00:08:08.269 --> 00:08:11.050 But this is a significant labor. When I get to 00:08:11.050 --> 00:08:12.730 the end of the semester, I am shot. It takes 00:08:12.730 --> 00:08:14.569 everything I have to get through it. And friends, 00:08:14.649 --> 00:08:17.990 I find studying depresses me. You should not 00:08:17.990 --> 00:08:20.850 be surprised, especially the first years, if 00:08:20.850 --> 00:08:24.889 you feel a dip spiritually. And Ecclesiastes 00:08:24.889 --> 00:08:29.009 says studying is much weariness to the flesh. 00:08:29.149 --> 00:08:30.889 There's something about human beings. Studying 00:08:30.889 --> 00:08:32.649 is good, and you will need to keep doing it in 00:08:32.649 --> 00:08:35.090 your life. But it's not necessarily automatically 00:08:35.090 --> 00:08:37.429 life -giving, and especially not in November 00:08:37.429 --> 00:08:41.950 when it's cold and rainy, and we've been at this 00:08:41.950 --> 00:08:45.129 for 12 weeks, right? We're going to, and you're 00:08:45.129 --> 00:08:48.340 stressed out and grouchy like I will be. And 00:08:48.340 --> 00:08:50.080 friends, you're going to need this after you 00:08:50.080 --> 00:08:51.820 leave Oak Hill. I have not talked to a single 00:08:51.820 --> 00:08:53.980 graduate of Oak Hill who has said, after I left 00:08:53.980 --> 00:08:55.539 Oak Hill and went into ministry, my life got 00:08:55.539 --> 00:08:59.440 easier. Consistently, the testimony is, Oak Hill 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:01.059 was challenging and stressful, and it pushed 00:09:01.059 --> 00:09:03.059 me, and then I got more challenged and stressed 00:09:03.059 --> 00:09:05.899 out and pushed when I was in ministry. With all 00:09:05.899 --> 00:09:07.879 due allowance for self -care and not burning 00:09:07.879 --> 00:09:10.480 out, God has not called you to a stressful, easy 00:09:10.480 --> 00:09:14.220 life. So this precious, seemingly unattainable 00:09:14.220 --> 00:09:16.519 gift of Philippians 4 .7, this is a necessity 00:09:16.519 --> 00:09:20.460 for all of us. Sorry, can't even speak English. 00:09:20.799 --> 00:09:23.179 Okay, how do we get it? First, rejoice in the 00:09:23.179 --> 00:09:28.580 Lord. And we all know this already. Most of the 00:09:28.580 --> 00:09:31.279 Philippians are going, yeah, right, Paul. Do 00:09:31.279 --> 00:09:33.600 you know the Wednesday morning I've had or the 00:09:33.600 --> 00:09:35.860 year I've had or how little sleep I've gotten 00:09:35.860 --> 00:09:38.460 this month? And Paul really lovingly and gently 00:09:38.460 --> 00:09:40.559 looks us in the eyes and said, I am talking to 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:43.590 you. Again, I say rejoice in the Lord. How many 00:09:43.590 --> 00:09:46.090 of us naturally just rejoice in God? I don't 00:09:46.090 --> 00:09:48.649 tend to wander into that on my own. And notice 00:09:48.649 --> 00:09:51.669 he says rejoice in the Lord always. Christians 00:09:51.669 --> 00:09:54.090 never let their circumstances dictate how much 00:09:54.090 --> 00:09:57.090 joy they find in their Savior. And friends, biblically, 00:09:57.149 --> 00:09:59.350 joy in the Lord does not exclude profound grief 00:09:59.350 --> 00:10:03.429 as well. Paul is not saying have a positive mental 00:10:03.429 --> 00:10:07.350 attitude. He says rejoice in the Lord. And that 00:10:07.350 --> 00:10:10.059 doesn't mean it excludes all grief, okay? Okay, 00:10:10.139 --> 00:10:12.960 so how do we do this? Especially if it's not 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:14.940 natural for me, how do we do this? The simplest 00:10:14.940 --> 00:10:18.200 way I know is to tell God the stuff you like 00:10:18.200 --> 00:10:21.840 about him. Notice it doesn't say think about 00:10:21.840 --> 00:10:25.970 God. It's You consciously direct your mind and 00:10:25.970 --> 00:10:28.870 your affections to that invisible presence there 00:10:28.870 --> 00:10:31.049 in the room with you, and you list for him the 00:10:31.049 --> 00:10:33.149 things you like about him. And I find when I 00:10:33.149 --> 00:10:35.870 do that, it begins, it's very artificial and 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:37.950 stilted, and I just kind of don't want to be 00:10:37.950 --> 00:10:40.350 there. And it takes time for my heart to warm 00:10:40.350 --> 00:10:43.190 up before I'm actually rejoicing. It's not natural 00:10:43.190 --> 00:10:45.809 for me. But if I'm not rejoicing in the Lord, 00:10:45.950 --> 00:10:48.590 I shouldn't be surprised if I'm not experiencing 00:10:48.590 --> 00:10:50.429 the peace of God, if I can't rejoice in him, 00:10:50.490 --> 00:10:53.990 right? Okay, so that this doesn't remain too 00:10:53.990 --> 00:10:56.210 abstract, I'm going to rejoice in God in front 00:10:56.210 --> 00:10:59.649 of you all for the next three hours, okay? And 00:10:59.649 --> 00:11:01.429 we can get—no, I'm kidding. I'm going to say 00:11:01.429 --> 00:11:04.549 two things about God that I really like, okay? 00:11:04.990 --> 00:11:08.009 His providence and his happiness. Okay, so first 00:11:08.009 --> 00:11:12.090 of all, God's providence for me. Across my 49 00:11:12.090 --> 00:11:15.549 years, according to my calculator, I've had a 00:11:15.549 --> 00:11:19.289 little over 2 ,500 Wednesdays. Guess how many 00:11:19.289 --> 00:11:24.009 of them I remember? Not very many. Across the 00:11:24.009 --> 00:11:27.169 thousands of seconds I had, for the millions 00:11:27.169 --> 00:11:30.149 of atoms that are in my body, there has not been 00:11:30.149 --> 00:11:34.450 a single instant of my existence that God's presence 00:11:34.450 --> 00:11:38.490 and alert, careful, attentive care and awareness 00:11:38.490 --> 00:11:41.850 and protection has not been with me. Not a single 00:11:41.850 --> 00:11:45.470 second. Not a single second. In my best moments, 00:11:45.549 --> 00:11:48.309 in my worst moments, in my most bored moments. 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:51.539 In the chapters of my life where I didn't really 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:55.639 know what was going on, in every single instant, 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:58.820 God is providentially ordering all things to 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:02.759 serve his purpose for me. His purpose being, 00:12:02.899 --> 00:12:06.519 turn Eric into an actual Christian, someone who 00:12:06.519 --> 00:12:08.779 can actually be happy in heaven and God's holiness. 00:12:09.159 --> 00:12:11.559 Turn Eric into someone who can actually stop 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:13.539 thinking about himself so much and be a blessing 00:12:13.539 --> 00:12:15.820 to other people, and turn Eric into someone who 00:12:15.820 --> 00:12:19.210 can glorify God. Everything in my life is serving 00:12:19.210 --> 00:12:23.769 that purpose. The horrible stuff in my life is 00:12:23.769 --> 00:12:26.289 serving that purpose. We all have those times 00:12:26.289 --> 00:12:28.250 where life is tough, but you're kind of thinking, 00:12:28.350 --> 00:12:30.590 this is okay, I'm doing okay, I'm going to get 00:12:30.590 --> 00:12:31.929 through this. And you have those times where 00:12:31.929 --> 00:12:33.629 life is tough, and you're genuinely and without 00:12:33.629 --> 00:12:35.429 self -pity thinking, I really don't know how 00:12:35.429 --> 00:12:38.149 much more I can stand to that. That stuff is 00:12:38.149 --> 00:12:41.049 serving God's purpose to make me wildly happy 00:12:41.049 --> 00:12:42.769 in his presence forever in the resurrection. 00:12:44.850 --> 00:12:47.210 even the boring stuff and the stuff that doesn't 00:12:47.210 --> 00:12:49.309 make sense to me, that's also serving God's purpose. 00:12:49.370 --> 00:12:51.950 Like a master artist, God never wastes any of 00:12:51.950 --> 00:12:54.710 his materials. And if everything in my life is 00:12:54.710 --> 00:12:58.389 serving God's purpose to make me a living fountain 00:12:58.389 --> 00:13:01.110 of joy in the resurrection before him forever, 00:13:01.370 --> 00:13:04.889 then everything in my life serves me. I have 00:13:04.889 --> 00:13:06.490 a divine friend. Do I sound like I'm bragging? 00:13:06.590 --> 00:13:08.850 I guess I kind of am. I have a divine friend 00:13:08.850 --> 00:13:11.970 who is more committed to my eternal happiness 00:13:11.970 --> 00:13:15.960 than I am. And everything in my life serves that. 00:13:16.080 --> 00:13:18.039 And it's not just that. It's the happiness with 00:13:18.039 --> 00:13:20.419 which God does that. I told my kids when they 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:22.259 were little, you think you're having fun on Christmas 00:13:22.259 --> 00:13:24.740 morning? I'm having way more fun than you. And 00:13:24.740 --> 00:13:26.139 they didn't believe me, and they were totally 00:13:26.139 --> 00:13:29.200 wrong. One Christmas, my daughter, my wife sent 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:32.820 up this cute, not an obstacle course, but like 00:13:32.820 --> 00:13:35.149 she left notes around the house. to where to 00:13:35.149 --> 00:13:36.690 find a present. Like, go look in the kitchen 00:13:36.690 --> 00:13:38.450 now. And then eventually she found the dollhouse. 00:13:38.610 --> 00:13:41.029 My little daughter's jumping up and off the ground. 00:13:41.169 --> 00:13:44.070 It's a dollhouse. It's a dollhouse. And she thought 00:13:44.070 --> 00:13:47.110 she was the happiest person in the room. Her 00:13:47.110 --> 00:13:48.929 mother and I were way happier in that moment. 00:13:49.070 --> 00:13:51.549 My son is five years old. He opens a present. 00:13:51.629 --> 00:13:54.690 It's a Captain America costume. His quote, word 00:13:54.690 --> 00:13:58.950 for word, wow. Now this is a Captain America 00:13:58.950 --> 00:14:03.320 costume. Wow. And five minutes later, he's on, 00:14:03.379 --> 00:14:05.039 and he's got the shield, and him and I are like 00:14:05.039 --> 00:14:07.320 play fighting on my bed and stuff. And he thought 00:14:07.320 --> 00:14:09.379 he was having the most fun that day, and he wasn't. 00:14:10.620 --> 00:14:12.720 Friends, if it's going to be an unspeakable joy 00:14:12.720 --> 00:14:14.659 for us to be before the Lord Jesus in the new 00:14:14.659 --> 00:14:16.759 creation, it's going to be a deeper joy for him 00:14:16.759 --> 00:14:22.580 because of his love for us. There is no lack 00:14:22.580 --> 00:14:25.000 in God. We don't feel any need in God, and yet 00:14:25.000 --> 00:14:28.710 he's able to love us in such a way that you are 00:14:28.710 --> 00:14:31.250 a real cause for happiness with God, even though 00:14:31.250 --> 00:14:34.309 you give nothing to him. In the resurrection, 00:14:34.570 --> 00:14:36.409 the Lord Jesus is going to come up to every single 00:14:36.409 --> 00:14:38.529 one of you, and he's going to take your hands 00:14:38.529 --> 00:14:40.250 and hug you and look you in the eye, and the 00:14:40.250 --> 00:14:42.070 voice that spoke the Sermon on the Mount is going 00:14:42.070 --> 00:14:44.190 to look at you and say, I am so happy you are 00:14:44.190 --> 00:14:46.509 here. There is no way we were going to get this 00:14:46.509 --> 00:14:50.950 party started without you. Now, we all could 00:14:50.950 --> 00:14:53.250 say more, and if you were speaking, you could 00:14:53.250 --> 00:14:55.669 rejoice in the Lord in a way that I can't quite, 00:14:55.909 --> 00:14:59.129 okay? Just those two things, God's providence 00:14:59.129 --> 00:15:03.529 and his happiness in that providence. I, and 00:15:03.529 --> 00:15:05.250 I'm saying this more for me than for anyone, 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:07.549 I have to make a continual practice of rejoicing 00:15:07.549 --> 00:15:09.629 in the Lord. I've got, or I shouldn't be surprised 00:15:09.629 --> 00:15:11.750 when I don't experience the peace of God. Okay, 00:15:11.850 --> 00:15:14.690 second command, let your gentleness be known 00:15:14.690 --> 00:15:20.269 to everyone. So when he said the NIV has reasonableness, 00:15:20.350 --> 00:15:23.240 I think perfectly good translation. When he says 00:15:23.240 --> 00:15:26.559 gentleness be known, that is, it should be obvious. 00:15:26.639 --> 00:15:29.159 It should be evident. And when he says to everyone, 00:15:29.299 --> 00:15:31.980 that means no exceptions. It doesn't matter whether 00:15:31.980 --> 00:15:33.580 they're Christian or not. It doesn't matter whether 00:15:33.580 --> 00:15:35.639 they annoy you or not. It doesn't matter whether 00:15:35.639 --> 00:15:38.019 they've wronged you or not. There's no exceptions 00:15:38.019 --> 00:15:41.559 here. Let your gentleness be known to everyone. 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:45.460 Now, quick nuance. The same Paul who said this 00:15:45.460 --> 00:15:48.299 dragged Peter over the coals in Galatians 2 for 00:15:48.299 --> 00:15:50.720 hypocrisy because he's not even with Gentiles. 00:15:51.870 --> 00:15:53.470 And I get the sense he said that in front of 00:15:53.470 --> 00:15:56.289 everyone. He grabs the head of the church and 00:15:56.289 --> 00:15:57.950 says, you're a hypocrite. I imagine that would 00:15:57.950 --> 00:16:01.070 have made for an awkward lunch, right? The same 00:16:01.070 --> 00:16:04.649 Jesus who says he is gentle and lowly will excoriate 00:16:04.649 --> 00:16:08.169 the Pharisees and say, woe to you. Gentleness 00:16:08.169 --> 00:16:12.549 does not mean weakness, passivity, people -pleasing, 00:16:12.590 --> 00:16:16.519 and spinelessness. Okay. And you know this already, 00:16:16.679 --> 00:16:18.320 but in ministry, you're going to need to have 00:16:18.320 --> 00:16:21.100 the capacity to have those really blunt conversations 00:16:21.100 --> 00:16:23.379 where you say things you wouldn't normally say. 00:16:24.059 --> 00:16:27.940 At the same time, what Paul says here in this 00:16:27.940 --> 00:16:30.700 passage must deeply characterize our lives. If 00:16:30.700 --> 00:16:34.120 I'm not being gentle to everyone I meet, I have 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:37.100 no right to expect the peace of God to be mine 00:16:37.100 --> 00:16:41.460 because I'm not representing who God is. There's 00:16:41.460 --> 00:16:45.419 a bi -form. The word for this in Matthew 11, 00:16:45.539 --> 00:16:47.980 when Jesus says, I am gentle and lowly, we're 00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:51.139 reflecting Jesus when we do this. It's a meekness. 00:16:51.360 --> 00:16:55.039 It's a non -reactiveness, not easily irritated. 00:16:55.799 --> 00:16:59.960 It's a non -defensiveness. It's a calm, level 00:16:59.960 --> 00:17:03.759 -headed, kind, considerateness of other people. 00:17:04.079 --> 00:17:06.839 We've all had those conversations with other 00:17:06.839 --> 00:17:08.140 Christians where you just think there's just 00:17:08.140 --> 00:17:11.789 no talking to you. I can't convince you. You've 00:17:11.789 --> 00:17:19.710 made up your mind. It's not abrasive. It's not 00:17:19.710 --> 00:17:22.730 pushy. It doesn't wear people down. It's not 00:17:22.730 --> 00:17:27.849 overly argumentative. It's reasonable. It's the 00:17:27.849 --> 00:17:30.450 same word in 1 Timothy 3 .3 for the elder being 00:17:30.450 --> 00:17:34.890 gentle and not argumentative, right? James 3 00:17:34.890 --> 00:17:41.670 .17 has the same word. peaceable, our word, gentle, 00:17:41.890 --> 00:17:45.430 open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, 00:17:45.589 --> 00:17:48.710 impartial and sincere, open to reason, full of 00:17:48.710 --> 00:17:52.109 mercy. If that doesn't deeply characterize my 00:17:52.109 --> 00:17:55.309 life to everyone, whether they deserve it or 00:17:55.309 --> 00:17:58.130 not, I shouldn't be surprised if I'm not experiencing 00:17:58.130 --> 00:17:59.769 the peace of God, because I'm not reflecting 00:17:59.769 --> 00:18:04.890 who Jesus is. Third thing, okay, and Paul says, 00:18:04.990 --> 00:18:07.069 let that be known. Third thing he says, let it 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:09.799 be known, is your prayers to God. They're not 00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:12.019 the same word in Greek, but they're related forms 00:18:12.019 --> 00:18:14.119 and they sound similar. So if you had heard this 00:18:14.119 --> 00:18:15.700 at Philippi, you would have put the two together. 00:18:15.880 --> 00:18:17.980 Paul says, you make one thing known to human 00:18:17.980 --> 00:18:20.380 beings and another to God. You make your gentleness 00:18:20.380 --> 00:18:22.259 known to everyone and you make your requests 00:18:22.259 --> 00:18:25.299 known to God. I often flip it and I make all 00:18:25.299 --> 00:18:26.819 my annoying requests known to people. I don't 00:18:26.819 --> 00:18:30.640 say anything to God. He says, do not worry, but 00:18:30.640 --> 00:18:32.880 in everything by prayer and supplication, make 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:37.950 your requests known to God. Worry. When you feel 00:18:37.950 --> 00:18:40.470 that surge of anxiety, worry is an intense sort 00:18:40.470 --> 00:18:43.950 of urgent feeling. It's not calm. As you go through 00:18:43.950 --> 00:18:45.930 the day, he says, don't worry, but in everything, 00:18:46.089 --> 00:18:48.990 as you go through the day, every time you are 00:18:48.990 --> 00:18:50.970 feeling that worry, every time you're thinking, 00:18:51.069 --> 00:18:53.970 what if that happens? Or, oh no, here comes that 00:18:53.970 --> 00:18:56.250 other person. Or you see that thing inside yourself 00:18:56.250 --> 00:18:57.930 and you think, oh my goodness, not this again. 00:18:58.650 --> 00:19:01.369 You continually direct the energy toward God 00:19:01.369 --> 00:19:02.890 and you start pestering your Heavenly Father 00:19:02.890 --> 00:19:05.869 about it. When my kids are little, if they were 00:19:05.869 --> 00:19:07.730 tired of their food, I'd have them just shovel 00:19:07.730 --> 00:19:10.549 it off onto my plate. Everything on your plate 00:19:10.549 --> 00:19:12.369 that you don't want, you just shovel it off onto 00:19:12.369 --> 00:19:15.089 God's. And you continually say, Lord, I'm worried 00:19:15.089 --> 00:19:17.890 about this. Will you please attend to that? You 00:19:17.890 --> 00:19:20.250 do not have to pray long, complicated prayers. 00:19:20.650 --> 00:19:22.630 Please can I ask everyone to remember, Jesus 00:19:22.630 --> 00:19:24.529 himself says, don't think you're heard because 00:19:24.529 --> 00:19:26.289 of your many words. You don't have to explain 00:19:26.289 --> 00:19:29.309 the problem to God. It can be short, brief, and 00:19:29.309 --> 00:19:33.920 repeated. It can be just, Lord, have mercy. Or 00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:37.519 Lord, please help. Or Lord, fix this. Or whatever 00:19:37.519 --> 00:19:43.000 it is. Every surge of worry, you keep passing 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:44.819 it on to God. And guess what starts to happen? 00:19:44.900 --> 00:19:46.920 The peace of God that surpasses understanding 00:19:46.920 --> 00:19:50.119 is yours more and more. Now, what if, and guys, 00:19:50.180 --> 00:19:52.279 I need to give credit. I'm going to embarrass 00:19:52.279 --> 00:19:55.460 him. Mark Sterling, who's here for this week, 00:19:55.500 --> 00:19:57.359 really helped me with this passage and helped 00:19:57.359 --> 00:19:59.740 me with some of the connections and this crucial 00:19:59.740 --> 00:20:01.380 phrase right in the middle that I'm going to 00:20:01.380 --> 00:20:03.359 talk about. So credit where credit is due. Thank 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:06.099 you, Mark. Do you see I skipped something in 00:20:06.099 --> 00:20:08.319 the middle? What if you find yourself saying, 00:20:08.400 --> 00:20:10.579 I don't want to be gentle to people. I'm too 00:20:10.579 --> 00:20:14.299 tired and too frustrated. Or I don't quite trust 00:20:14.299 --> 00:20:16.200 myself to be gentle. Or what if you find yourself 00:20:16.200 --> 00:20:19.720 saying, I can't stop worrying. It's got a hold 00:20:19.720 --> 00:20:23.259 of me. Does everyone see right there in the middle, 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:28.299 the Lord is near? That stands as the reason and 00:20:28.299 --> 00:20:31.799 the ground, and it makes it possible for me actually 00:20:31.799 --> 00:20:35.500 to be gentle and non -anxious. The Lord is near 00:20:35.500 --> 00:20:40.200 means he is present and he sees and he cares. 00:20:41.380 --> 00:20:43.460 There's nothing that happens in your life or 00:20:43.460 --> 00:20:45.920 in your church that he's distantly aware of, 00:20:46.019 --> 00:20:48.619 and it's like 18th on his agenda, and he'll get 00:20:48.619 --> 00:20:51.730 to it when he can. And when it says the Lord 00:20:51.730 --> 00:20:56.069 is near, that means he is active. If you could 00:20:56.069 --> 00:20:59.089 see how busy heaven was each day with the divine 00:20:59.089 --> 00:21:01.730 sovereign commanding his divine servants to bring 00:21:01.730 --> 00:21:04.210 about his kingdom in the world, it would be quite 00:21:04.210 --> 00:21:07.829 something. Friends, if the Lord is near, that 00:21:07.829 --> 00:21:12.009 means present, caring, alert, active, then you 00:21:12.009 --> 00:21:15.789 can be chilled out with other people. You don't 00:21:15.789 --> 00:21:17.809 have to feel like I need to fix this problem 00:21:17.809 --> 00:21:20.990 or I need to fix this person. You don't have 00:21:20.990 --> 00:21:23.130 to grind people into the dust trying to get them 00:21:23.130 --> 00:21:24.910 to be better Christians or something like that. 00:21:25.529 --> 00:21:27.730 You can be chilled out with other people, and 00:21:27.730 --> 00:21:30.609 you can keep passing stuff off to God and just 00:21:30.609 --> 00:21:32.890 say, please take care of this, and you be the 00:21:32.890 --> 00:21:35.309 Savior instead of me. And again, friends, that 00:21:35.309 --> 00:21:37.309 doesn't mean you're silent or passive. In Galatians 00:21:37.309 --> 00:21:41.109 2, Paul said something really blunt to Peter. 00:21:42.329 --> 00:21:45.710 But my experience is whenever I speak or act 00:21:45.710 --> 00:21:47.930 outside of this deep peace, I usually get it 00:21:47.930 --> 00:21:51.069 wrong. And I'm not a blessing to other people. 00:21:53.710 --> 00:21:56.849 That's it. Rejoice, gentleness known to other 00:21:56.849 --> 00:22:00.450 people, your requests known to God. And the peace 00:22:00.450 --> 00:22:04.630 of God, which surpasses all understanding, will 00:22:04.630 --> 00:22:08.029 guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 00:22:09.150 --> 00:22:12.569 May that be ours this day and this week and this 00:22:12.569 --> 00:22:15.589 semester. Amen. Let's take a moment to reflect 00:22:15.589 --> 00:22:16.569 on what we've just heard.