We’ve been learning that the key to dealing with stress is securing the mind against wrong thinking and wrong feelings about circumstances, people and things.
Wrong thinking and wrong feelings, which lead to stress, come from three sources, the world, self and the devil. And just as there are three sources of bad thinking and feelings, there are three conditions that must be met in order for one to conquer worry and experience the secure mind: Right Praying, Right Thinking and Right Living.
Right Praying
Paul is saying, "You conquer worry and experience the secure mind through right praying.
“Right Praying” is praying specifically. It is casting every care and anxiety on the Lord.
“Right Praying” is praying completely. It is casting all cares and anxieties on the Lord
“Right praying” is praying with thanksgiving. It is giving thanks always for all things—knowing that the Lord has everything under His control.
The second condition that one must meet in order to conquer worry and experience the secure mind is “Right Thinking.”
The Bible teaches that you and I are responsible for our thoughts. Last time we learned that we are the gatekeepers and through the power of the Holy Spirit and the knowledge of His Word must hold our thoughts to high and holy standards. We may not be able to control which thoughts knock on our minds door but we do have control over which thoughts we let enter and stay—this is right thinking!
In order to deal with the mess of stress the Christian is to practice “right praying” and “right thinking” but it is not enough to pray right and think right if you and I are not willing to live right.
“Right Living”
In Philippians 4:9 Paul writes, “Whatever you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
There are four verbs in this verse that form two pairs: “learned and received” and “heard and seen” We are going to start off examining each of these two pairs of verbs.
Learned and received
Paul was the Philippians believer’s teacher. The Christians in the city of Philippi had both learned from him and received from him Christian doctrine and principles of Christian living. This was a direct answer to Jesus’ high-priestly prayer in John chapter 17:
John 17:19-20 - And I sanctify Myself for their sakes, so that they also might be sanctified or set-apart in truth. And I do not pray for these alone, but for those also who shall believe on Me through their word
So the Bible is letting us know that church leadership is responsible for both of these aspects—imparting unto the body both Christian doctrine and principals of Christian living.
* 1 Timothy 3:2 lets us know that the overseer must be “able to teach.”
* In 2 Timothy 2, Paul mentors Timothy, a young pastor, by encouraging him to “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.” Paul goes on to say, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”
* Later in chapter four of 2 Timothy Paul writes to this young pastor, “Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine.” (vs. 3, 4)
“Right living” begins with pastors and teachers who are teaching sound doctrine. “Right living” begins with pastors and teachers who unashamedly take the Scripture and deposit it, by the power of the Holy Spirit, into the minds and hearts of the people.
It is only through the Word of God that people are saved.
It is only through the Word of God that disciples (followers of Jesus) are made.
Pastors are not to preach around the Word—Paul says, “Preach the Word!”
Pastors are not to use the pulpit for their social and political agendas—they are to “Preach the Word!”
The pulpit is not the place for psycho-babble and pop psychology, it is for the preaching of the Word. The pulpit is not the place to preach “sermonettes for Christianettes.” Pastors (and others who are responsible for teaching in the church) are to “preach and teach the Word!”
In his letter to the Philippian church, Paul was addressing the entire church—both leadership and laity—the pastors and the people—the ministers and the membership. In other words, everybody was responsible for what they learned and received, heard and seen in Paul.
Verse 9 of our text says, “Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
Paul unapologetically told the Philippian believers to obey and practice what they learned and received, heard and seen. And just like the believers at Philippi, the believers at this church are responsible for obeying the Word of God and putting it into practice. It really doesn’t matter how much you and I know of the Word—it matters how much of the Word we do.
There is a marked distinction between learning and receiving. “Learning a truth is one thing; receiving it inwardly and making it a part of the inner man is another. Facts in the head are not enough; we must also have truths in the heart.” (Wiersbe)
Today, the church in the United States is weak; it is impotent. You can see it on Facebook—Facebook is a window into our souls. One day you can find one of your Facebook friends (who professes to love God) posting an image of a Bible verse and the next day this same person will cuss out a lover who has spurned them.
This reminds me of James 3:8-9 that says, “But no one can tame the tongue, it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness.”
The reason behind this kind of behavior is that some of us have preferences based on the Word of God but not convictions from the Word of God. There is a difference between preferences and convictions:
“Preferences” are strong feelings that one may have concerning a principal of Scripture but “convictions” are the demonstration of one’s strong feelings for a Scriptural truth. Preferences are restricted to the head; Convictions spring from the heart.
For example, Hebrews 10:24-25 says, “Think of ways to encourage one another to outbursts of love and good deeds. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage and warn each other, especially now that the day of his coming back again is drawing near.”
How many of us have a conviction for the truth in this passage and how many of us have a preference for it? And, how could one tell?
This passage of Scripture is encouraging believers not to miss church. It’s saying when you assemble yourself with other believers, you are responsible for stimulating, provoking and encouraging them to love each other in Christ and to serve Christ with good works.
Is command of Scripture a preference or a conviction for you?
The one who has a preference for this truth says, “I agree, the Bible says I should regularly fellowship with my church family and encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to love one another and to perform good deeds.”
One who has a conviction for this truth says, “I agree, the Bible says I should regularly fellowship with my church family and encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ to love one another and to perform good deeds. I’m not going to let anything get in the way of me obeying this passage of Scripture.”
An example of conviction
The story is told that a few centuries before Christ a man named Alexander and a small company of soldiers approached a strongly fortified walled city. Alexander, standing outside the walls, raised his voice and demanded to see the king. When the king arrived, Alexander insisted that the king surrender the city and its inhabitants to Alexander and his little band of fighting men.
The king laughed, "Why should I surrender to you? You can't do us any harm!" But Alexander offered to give the king a demonstration. He ordered his men to line up single file and start marching. He marched them straight toward a sheer cliff.
The townspeople gathered on the wall and watched in shocked silence as, one by one, Alexander's soldiers marched without hesitation right off the cliff to their deaths! After ten soldiers died, Alexander ordered the rest of the men to his side. The townspeople and the king immediately surrendered to Alexander the Great. They realized that if a few men were actually willing to commit suicide at the command of this dynamic leader, then nothing could stop his eventual victory.
When it came to obedience to the command of their General, did Alexander’s soldiers have a preference or a conviction? Let’s get back to our text.
The Philippian believers not only learned and received the teaching of God from the Apostle Paul, they bought in on it; they banked on it; they took ownership of it; they obeyed it.
The Apostle James says it this way, “Become doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.” (1:22)
Listen again to the words Paul uses as he writes the Philippian believers: “Whatever you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
Some of you may remember the structure Paul uses in writing many of his letters. First he communicates doctrinal truths and then he follows these truths with encouragements to apply the teaching in one’s life. In other words, he teaches doctrine and then duty; position and then practice. He teaches “this is what you must believe” followed by “this is what you need to do.”
In our Philippians text Paul writes, “You have learned and received from me”—this is doctrine. Then Paul says, “You have heard and seen in me.” In other words, Paul has lived out this doctrine before their very eyes. Paul says, “the truths you have both learned from me and seen me live out…DO and the God of peace shall be with you.”
If you want to deal with the mess of stress in your life…if you want to have victory over worry and anxiety—the Bible is teaching that we need to obey and live out the Word of God. Much of the anxiety many Christians has less to do with the circumstances of life and more to do with not doing the Word.
The point here in Philippians is that followers of Christ need to learn and receive the Bible as taught by church leaders and hear and see the Word of God modeled by mature and obedient Christians…and then put it into practice—this is the equation for discipleship and right living that results in the peace of God in your life.
Paul equates peace with learning and obeying the Word of God. In the Old Testament Scriptures, there were several occasions where God had to tell His people that they wouldn’t experience the opposite of His peace if they were disobedient.
In Jeremiah 35 (vs. 12-17) the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah:
The Lord, the God of Israel, says: Go and say to Judah and Jerusalem, Won’t you learn a lesson from the families of Rechab? They don’t drink because their father told them not to. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you won’t listen or obey.
I have sent you prophet after prophet to tell you to turn back from your wicked ways and to stop worshiping other gods, and that if you obeyed, then I would let you live in peace here in the land I gave to you and your fathers. But you wouldn’t listen or obey. The families of Rechab have obeyed their father completely, but you have refused to listen to me.
Therefore, the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Because you refuse to listen or answer when I call, I will send upon Judah and Jerusalem all the evil I have ever threatened.
In Romans chapter 2, Paul mentioned those who spurned the grace of God and continued to sin even though they knew His wrath will one day be poured out on them in judgment.
But no, you won’t listen; and so you are saving up terrible punishment for yourselves because of your stubbornness in refusing to turn from your sin; for there is going to come a day of wrath when God will be the just Judge of all the world.
He will give each one whatever his deeds deserve. He will give eternal life to those who patiently do the will of God, seeking for the unseen glory and honor and eternal life that he offers. But he will terribly punish those who fight against the truth of God and walk in evil ways—God’s anger will be poured out upon them.
There will be sorrow and suffering for Jews and Gentiles alike who keep on sinning. But there will be glory and honor and peace from God for all who obey him, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. For God treats everyone the same.
There will come a day when God will judge the wicked. You may think that everything is ok and that you are living “high on the hog” but there is coming a day when God will settle all accounts.
You may be thinking at this point, “I know I am a Christian, I’ve trusted Jesus Christ as my Savior but I am not experiencing the peace of God. There is nothing but stress, and anxiety in my life.”
One reason for this is that you could be experiencing the chastening of God (Hebrews 12):
“My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.”
Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
I don’t know about you but sin stresses me out. If I am dragging around unconfessed sin I get anxious. I do not like to play around with God. The Bible says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God…”
When King David killed Uriah to cover up his sin with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba that resulted in her pregnancy…the entire period of time between his sin and the confession of it, he was stressing out and this anxiety exerted some severe physical, emotional and spiritual wear and tear on him. David share some of this in Psalm 32:
Psa 32:1 Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
Psa 32:2 Blessed is the man to whom Jehovah does not charge iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
Psa 32:3 When I kept silence, my bones became old through my roaring all the day long.
Psa 32:4 For by day and by night Your hand was heavy on me; my sap is turned into the droughts of summer. Selah.
Psa 32:5 I confessed my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, I will confess my transgression to Jehovah; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah.
Perhaps you don’t get stressed out about unconfessed sin. If so, it could be for one of two reasons: (1) Either you are a Christian who is ignorant of the Word of God or (2) You are not a Christian at all.
Listen to what the Apostle John writes (1 John 3:7-10):
Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
Right living is doing what is right, and right living results in the peace of God in your life.
I am not saying that by obeying God you will be without trouble—actually obedience to Jesus Christ oftentimes invites tribulation. Jesus says “In this life you will have tribulation.”
What the Bible teaches is that when you obey God and get in trouble as a result of your obedience, God has promised to be with you and to deliver you.
In 2 Timothy 3:12 Paul writes of his own experiences with trouble, “Persecutions, afflictions, which came unto me at Antioch, at Iconium, at Lystra; what persecutions I endured: but out of them all the Lord delivered me.” He says in verse 12, “Yes, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.”
The point Scripture is making is that “right living results in the peace of God. This is what Paul means when he writes, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 7If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
There was a man whose dog had just been killed in a forest fire. Heartbroken, the man explained how it happened. Because he worked out-of-doors, he often took his dog with him. That morning, he left the animal in a clearing and gave him a command to stay and watch his lunch bucket while he went into the forest. His faithful friend understood, for that's exactly what he did. Then a fire started in the woods, and soon the blaze spread to the spot where the dog had been left. But he didn't move. He stayed right where he was, in perfect obedience to his master's word. With tearful eyes, the dog's owner said, "I always had to be careful what I told him to do, because I knew he would do it."
A Christian named Polycarp lived in the second century A.D. He was arrested and brought into the great amphitheater in Smyrna (in Asia Minor). Thousands of people were there to watch what would take place. The ruler reminded Polycarp of his great age and he urged him to deny his Christian faith: "Revile Christ, and I will release you."
But Polycarp answered, "Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He has never done me wrong; How can I blaspheme Him, my King, who has saved me? I am a Christian." The ruler then cried out to the crowd, "Polycarp has confessed himself to be a Christian." The crowds yelled, "Let him be burned!" Wood was collected and made into a pile.
Polycarp asked not to be fastened to the stake. "Leave me thus," he said, "He who strengthens me to endure the flames will also enable me to stand firm at the stake without being fastened with nails." As the woodpile was lighted Polycarp bravely lifted up a final prayer to his God and finally the flames consumed him. He died in 156 A.D.
Before we start feeling too sorry for people such as Polycarp we need to remember that the fires that this man went through only lasted for a brief moment. When the people threatened to burn Polycarp at the stake unless he would deny Christ, one of his enemies said, "I will have you consumed with fire unless you change your mind." Polycarp replied, "You threaten fire which burns for an hour and is soon quenched; for you are ignorant of the fire of the coming judgment and eternal punishment reserved for the wicked" (see Matthew 25:41-46).
Let’s close with words of the psalmist in Psalm 37. In this psalm we see how the peace of God is equated to right living or obedience to God:
Do not fret because of evil men or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the LORD and do good; (right living)
Dwell in the land (right living) and enjoy safe pasture. (peace)
Delight yourself in the LORD (right living) and he will give you the desires of your heart. (peace)
Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him (right living) and he will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun. (peace)
