The Secret to Peace Philippians 4:4-7 Pastor Troy Dobbs Grace Church of Eden Prairie November 15, 2015 Which word or phrase MOST describes your life right now? - Stressed Out! - Burned Out! - Wigged Out! - Worn Out! - Ready to tap out! If you said all the above you may need therapy or a great vacation or for your kids to grow up and move out 1
so you can put a Dream Maker X400 7- seat spa and jacuzzi tub in their bedroom. (Not that I ve done any research!!!) JACUZZI TUB PHOTO In all seriousness: A. Did you know: We talk about burn out now more than any other time in recent history. i B. Did you know: Psychologists have identified and labeled more emotional disorders as a result of stress and anxiety than ever before. ii 2
C. Did you know: Depression is one of the most prevalent, costly and debilitating diseases of modern times, unsurpassed by any other chronic disorder. iii D. Did you know: More than 50% of adult Americans suffer adverse health effects due to stress. iv E. Did you know: $190 billion is spent annually on healthcare costs due to work related stress. v (Forbes, January 2015) 3
F. Did you know: Women who work full-time and have children under the age of 13 report the greatest stress worldwide. vi G. Did you know: That the men married to the women who work full-time and have children under the age of 13 can personally verify they are under the greatest stress worldwide. vii H. Did you know: Medical researchers estimate that up to 90% of illness and disease is stress-related. viii 4
I. Did you know: Stress is linked to the six (6) leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. ix We are literally killing ourselves self-imploding due to stress. Sadly, / tragically our culture looks for peace in a pill or person or past time or a position. 5
None of which are viable long-term solutions! So is there a better alternative is there a way to find the peace we all so desperately desire. READ TEXT Philippians 4:4-7 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 6
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. x Paul is letting us know that peace is not just a tranquil / meditative state of mind it is an intentional way of living. xi Bottom line: The right lifestyle choices lead to PEACE. The wrong lifestyle choices lead to STRESS. xii So how do we experience verse 7? The peace of God surpassing all understanding and guarding our hearts / minds in Christ Jesus. 7
Answer: Make 3 lifestyle choices. OUTLINES The first lifestyle choice that leads to peace is: 1) Choosing to rejoice instead of complain. xiii (v4) Of course, everyone knows the irony of this exhortation is that Paul is not writing about rejoicing from a luxurious bed and breakfast chalet in Ephesus he is writing from a dirty prison, where the outcome of his life hangs in the balance. So Paul is not your typical poster boy for joy. He s different. 8
Most people need circumstances to rightly align to have JOY. Paul only needed JESUS to have JOY. He basically says JOY shouldn t be contingent or dependent upon anything but Christ. Now this is a counter-cultural way to think but Paul is essentially saying that: - Joy is not based on whether or not the sun shines - Joy is not based on whether or not he calls you back - Joy is not based on whether or not the check comes in 9
- Joy is not based on whether or not gas prices fluctuate - Joy is not based on whether or not you get a raise - Joy is not based on whether or not you get a promotion - Joy is not based on whether or not you make the team - Joy is not circumstantial. Because finding joy in circumstances leads to fluctuating joy. But finding Joy IN Christ Jesus is constant because Jesus is the same yesterday / today and forever! 10
This is why Paul says in verse 4 that Christians are to rejoice in the Lord always. Christians, Eugene Peterson says, are to celebrate God all day every day. xiv Notice Paul repeats his command for emphasis because it is so much easier to complain than it is to rejoice. Now I know a lot of you have some legitimate reasons to complain: tough breaks lousy upbringing difficult marriage 11
poor health, etc. etc. and Paul is not saying rejoice in those He is not going Bobby McFerrin don t worry, be happy, on us here! NO! He is commanding us to rejoice in the Lord always which I know still sounds difficult! But listen, joy is not a feeling or an emotion. Joy is not tethered to having picture perfect circumstances. Joy is an enduring happiness that comes from a deep-seated 12
confidence that God is in control of everything. So I don t have to be happy about everything negative that happens in my life but I can have true joy because I know God loves me and is in control! Interestingly, Paul uses a Greek word for rejoice that is a present imperative which means Christians are to continually and habitually rejoice in the Lord. Don t miss this: We are to PRACTICE rejoicing! Like we practice our golf swing Like we practice piano Like we practice swimming 13
So the moment you are ready to complain about the long line at Chipotle rejoice in the Lord that you have the resources to eat out. The moment you are ready to complain that your kids are driving you completely crazy rejoice in the Lord that one day they ll grow up and move out PRACTICE REJOICING IN THE LORD! And here s what I have found the more you know Him the easier it will be to find joy in Him. A. W. Tozer said: Knowledge of God is the key to rejoicing. Those who know the great 14
truths about God find it easy to rejoice; those with little knowledge of Him find it difficult to rejoice. xv So increase your knowledge God and practice rejoicing in Him. Now, some people view God as a cosmic killjoy determined to make our lives miserable but that is a misunderstanding of who God is. It is a wrong view of God. C. S. Lewis said, God is the most joyful being in the universe! xvi God is the fullness of JOY. 15
So, the better you know Him the easier it will be for you to celebrate Him all day every day. Consequently, the first way to find PEACE is by choosing to rejoice in the Lord rather than complain about your circumstances. The second lifestyle choice we need to make in order to experience the peace of God is 2) Choosing reasonableness instead of retaliation. xvii (v5) Bottom line: you will never experience peace if you are always in retaliation mode. 16
Let me say it another way. You can t have peace if you are always at war with everyone around you. xviii So choose reasonableness instead of retaliation. The word for reasonableness in verse 5 literally means bigheartedness. Being big-hearted produces a patience (in us) to endure disgrace and mistreatment WITHOUT retaliation bitterness, or vengeance always being our default response. 17
So when you are reasonable you are not argumentative or demanding or manipulative. And the Bible says let your reasonableness will be evident to all. So let me as you a few questions? Are you reasonable or retaliatory? When people think of you, do they consider you BIG-HEARTED or SMALL-MINDED. Are you a get them back kind of person or a kind and gentle person? 18
If so, Paul says the Lord is NEAR. So choose reasonableness instead of retaliation because Christ s return should motivate us to live godly, gentle, big-hearted lives. Moreover, constantly retaliating leads to a constant state of stress and anxiety! In that way, being reasonable leads to relational relief. To summarize: The peace of God comes from doing life God s way: A. By choosing to rejoice instead of complain 19
B. By choosing reasonableness instead of retaliation. The third lifestyle choice we need to make in order to experience the peace of God is 3) Choosing to pray instead of worry. xix (v6) 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. xx The word anxious means to divide or be drawn in different directions. All of which tells us that worry makes us feel like we are being pulled apart!!! 20
One person said: Worry is wasting today s time to clutter up tomorrow s opportunities with yesterday s troubles. xxi So what do you worry about? People worry about so many things today - They worry about their jobs. - They worry about their money. - They worry about their marriage. - They worry about their children. - They worry about their health. - They worry about paying their bills. - They worry about their past, their future. 21
- They worry about their investments. - They worry about their retirement. Several years ago a professor at a leading American University studied the areas people worry about and discovered that: - 40% of what we worry about never happens. - 30% of what we worried about concerned the past which we can do nothing about. - 12% of what we worried about were needless worries about health. - 10% of what we worry about were petty issues 22
- 8% of what we worry about were legitimate concerns. xxii So we need to get a biblical perspective on worry. R. H. Mounce once said, Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God. xxiii Bottom line: When we worry we re really saying that God can t take care of us! When we worry we are really saying: Our problems are bigger than God s promises! 23
So Paul says they way to worry about nothing is to pray about everything. xxiv By prayer he means to humbly prostrate yourself before God. It carries with it the idea of adoration and worship. So the better you know Him and the more you talk to Him, the more secure you will become. Supplication refers to earnestly sharing your problems and needs before God. Tell Him your concerns! HE CARES FOR YOU. With thanksgiving means gratitude drives effective praying. 24
Present your requests to God ask for His help and guidance regarding your specific needs. And the by-product Of choosing to rejoice instead of complain Of choosing to be reasonable instead of retaliatory Of choosing prayer instead of worry will be: 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. xxv Those 3 lifestyle choices lead to peace. 25
Don t miss that verse 7 says peace is a supernatural thing! PEACE transcends: human intellect human analysis human insights human understanding human solution because peace s source is the God whose judgments are unsearchable and whose ways are unfathomable. Thus peace cannot be humanly explained. Moreover, Paul says this peace will guard your heart and mind the phrase for guard is a military term used of soldiers on guard duty. 26
The picture would have been familiar to the Philippians, since the Romans stationed troops in Philippi to protect their interests in that part of the world. So just as soldiers guard and protect a city, God s peace guards and protects believers who confidently trust Him. God s peace will guard you - from the fear of the unknown and uncertain - from the fear of the future - from the lies of the enemy. SO THE EASY PATH IN LIFE IS TO A. COMPLAIN B. RETALIATE OR C. WORRY. 27
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i Did you know: We talk about burn out now more than any other time in recent history. ii Did you know: Psychologists have identified and labeled more emotional disorders as a result of stress and anxiety than ever before. iii Did you know: Depression is one of the most prevalent, costly and debilitating disease of modern times, unsurpassed by any other chronic disorder. iv Did you know: More than 50% of adult Americans suffer adverse health effects due to stress. v Did you know: $190 billion is spent annually on healthcare costs due to work related stress. Forbes, January 2015 vi Did you know: Women who work full-time and have children under the age of 13 report the greatest stress worldwide. vii Did you know: That men married to the women who work full-time and have children under the age of 13 can personally verify they are under the greatest stress worldwide. viii Did you know: Medical researchers estimate that up to 90% of illness and disease is stress-related. ix Did you know: Stress is linked to the six (6) leading causes of death: heart disease, cancer, lung ailments, accidents, cirrhosis of the liver, and suicide. x Philippians 4:4-7 xi peace is not just a tranquil / meditative state of mind it is an intentional way of living. xii The right lifestyle choices lead to PEACE. The wrong lifestyle choices lead to STRESS. xiii 1) Choosing to rejoice instead of Complain. xiv Christians are to celebrate God all day every day. xv Knowledge of God is the key to rejoicing. Those who know the great truths about God find it easy to rejoice; those with little knowledge of Him find it difficult to rejoice. - AW Tozer xvi God is the most joyful being in the universe! CS Lewis xvii 2) Choosing reasonableness instead of retaliation. xviii You can t have inner peace if you are always at war with everyone around you. xix 3) Choosing to pray instead of worry. xx Philippians 4:6 29
xxi Worry is wasting today s time to clutter up tomorrow s opportunities with yesterday s troubles. xxii 8% of what we worry about are legitimate concerns. xxiii Worry is practical atheism and an affront to God. RH Mounce xxiv So Paul says they way to worry about nothing is to pray about everything. xxv v7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 30