This is the last in our sermon series - entitled “One Thing”. We’ve been focusing on ONE WORD in Scripture that sums up a basic Bible truth, and today’s word is PEACE.
Jesus said “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” John 14:27
And again He said: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30
Jesus knew that we lived in a world where peace of mind is hard to find. Everybody WANTS this peace, but very few know how to find it. It’s especially true in America where 75 to 90 % of all visits to a primary care physician’s office are related to stress disorders. As a result, Americans are consuming (every year) five billion tranquilizers, • five billion barbiturates, three billion amphetamines, and sixteen tons of aspirin. Much of this “medicine” is being taken to help alleviate stress or the resulting headaches and pain associated with stress.”
And Jesus says: if you let Me, I can take care of that for you. I can give you peace. I can give you rest for your souls. Just come to Me, and trust Me. But then Jesus says: He came to give us this peace - but it’s a peace that is not like the world tries to offer.
The way the world thinks about peace is based on the idea that if we could just change OUR circumstances/ our situations - then we could have peace. If you had more money, or a better job, or a better marriage - if you could just fix what’s wrong in your life - THEN you could be at peace. In other words – if things changed in your life - then you wouldn’t be so stressed. You could have tranquility… and you wouldn’t worry so much. But that’s not going to happen.
And it’s not what Jesus said. Jesus said “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world YOU WILL HAVE TROUBLE. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33
In other words, you can’t avoid trouble – it’s part of life. You can’t avoid difficulties. You can’t avoid times when you’ll be stressed. And you can’t control/fix a lot of stuff in your world. It’s part of life.
But even when those things happen - because Jesus promises that He has overcome the world, and because of that, you can have HIS PEACE. It’s a peace that is something that only JESUS can give you.
ILLUS: There’s a story of an elementary school in Columbus, OH that sums this up. There were storm clouds in the sky and strong gusts of wind – wind that bent trees and filled the air with clouds of dust … and the School radio blared tornado warnings. It was obviously dangerous - too dangerous to send the children home. So, instead, the teachers took the kids down to the basement, where the children huddled together in small groups. They were afraid… and so were the teachers. To help ease the tension, the principal suggested a sing-along. But that didn’t work. The voices of the children were weak and unenthusiastic, and eventually child after child began to cry, and no one could calm them. Then a teacher, whispered to the child closest to her, “Aren’t you forgetting something Kathie? There is a power greater than the storm that can protect us. Just say to yourself, ‘God is with us.’ Then pass the words on to the child next to you.” As the words were whispered from child to child, a sense of peace settled over the group. You could still hear the wind outside - blowing as fiercely as before - but it didn’t seem to matter now. Inside the school, the fear subsided and tears faded away. What made the difference? The storm still raged outside, but knowing God was with them calmed their fears.
One person put it this way: “Sometimes God calms the storm. And sometimes He lets the storm rage and He calms His child.”
In our text today we read about God’s SECRET for finding that peace in our lives. “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7
If you and I do what Paul tells us here, we will have the peace of God. It’s a peace that passes all understanding - it doesn’t make any sense… but it works. And we’re promised that God’s peace will guard your hearts and minds. In fact, Paul writes that “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me — practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” Philippians 4:9
In other words, REAL peace comes from God. It does come NOT from my circumstances.
So what is it that Paul says … we should do? He starts out with these words: “Rejoice in the Lord always.” And then he repeats himself – “I’ll say it again… REJOICE!” This is such an important concept that he wants to make sure you and I don’t miss it, and so, he repeats himself: REJOICE IN THE LORD ALWAYS.
Essentially Paul is saying that - No psychiatrist; No psychoanalyst; No tranquilizer; No barbiturate; No amphetamine - can offer what this simple piece of advice can accomplish.
ILLUS: A couple years ago, I read an interesting article from a secular site that said exactly what Paul tells us here. It’s a site called “Daily Health Post” and the title of the article was “How Complaining Physically Rewires Your Brain To Be Anxious And Depressed” https://dailyhealthpost.com/complaining-brain-negativity/?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=SocialWarfare&fbclid=IwAR3lK2ocsOuL3t6xGrO4ai0w20vVy6Kb_nYPc38d1eS-oWqzoGDzvaUh4ZQ)
The article said that the 3 most common types of complainers were these:
Venters: Venters vent… they are people who just want to be listened to. They typically look for someone to listen to their complaints but are quick to shut down solutions, even when it’s good advice.
Sympathy Seekers: These kinds of complainers always want to one-up your misery. They always, always have it worse than you do, and they are quick to find fault in people and in situations.
Chronic Complainers: These kinds of complainers do something researchers call
“ruminating” (a cow “ruminates” by chewing its cud, swallowing it, and then bringing it back up to chew it again), which means they obsessively think and complain about a problem. But, instead of feeling relaxed after complaining, they actually become worried and anxious as a result of the act of complaining.
These kinds of complainers remind me of a song I once heard long ago on a TV program called “HeeHaw”: Gloom, despair and agony on me. Deep dark depression, excessive misery. If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all. Gloom, despair and agony on me.”
That’s what complainers do: they see life as one long series of events filled with despair and agony… and bad luck. And the article at Daily Health Post goes on to say: BE CAREFUL! Because a complaining spirit is destructive. Negativity physically destroys your brain. People who routinely experience chronic stress—particularly acute, even traumatic stress—release the hormone cortisol, which literally eats away, almost like an acid bath, at the hippocampus. (As if you didn’t have enough to worry about!)
In addition, Negative thinking reinforces neuropathways associated with that emotion, eventually making it an automatic reaction. In other words, whatever you repetitively do (such as negative thinking) becomes easier to do the more you do it. The paths you allow your mind to travel determine where your mind will naturally go after that.
ILLUS: I recently watched a video about Manhattan in New York. Manhattan is a long island where the northern section where the roads are in grad pattern that run in straight lines. But the southern section of the island - the roads wander all over the place. The reason those southern roads wander is because, that was where the Dutch had settled and they didn’t put in paved roads right away. When they did, the paths were already there – where people had wandered wherever they felt was best, and the paths were all set in place when the roads were paved.
But then the article said the most intriguing thing: THIS IS GOOD NEWS! If you repetitively do POSITIVE thinking you’ll rewire your brain. You can train your brain to do anything, even when it comes to your outlook. The more you work hard at finding positivity in every situation, the more it becomes automatic.
ILLUS: Do you think preachers ever get depressed? Yes, we do. When that happens, I have a list of the good things in my life that I’m thankful for (my family, my home, this congregation, etc. etc.). And you know what… it usually doesn’t work. So I go back through the list… and back through the list, and back through the list – over and over again until my mind finally gives up and says “Fine. If you’re going to insist on thinking good thoughts I may as well join you.”
That’s what Paul said we should do “Rejoice in the lord always, again I say rejoice.” WORK AT REJOICING IN ALL SITUATIONS!
“Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7
So, is Philippians 4 just an ancient version of some kind of - psychological mind games? Do we just sit around and JUST think positive thoughts and every things gonna be better? Just “don’t worry… be happy?”
WELL… NO!
Because you see, there’s a secret here. And if you miss the secret you’ll miss out on the power of what Paul’s saying. Paul writes: “I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the SECRET of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.”
THERE’S A SECRET - and that secret goes beyond just thinking positive thoughts! And here’s the secret: “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:11-13
This isn’t about positive thinking - it’s about thinking about Jesus! “Rejoice in the Lord… always”.
When Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians, he was in prison - chained between 2 guards. And yet, he was so focused on Jesus - so focused on the Christ who strengthened him, that… as a result… he was at peace, even behind bars. Even when chained between 2 guards.
He didn’t get into a pity party where he complained about his life. He was in a constant state of praise and service for Jesus. As a result, he wrote several letters to churches and individuals while he was in jail, and he converted at least a couple of guards he was chained to. How could he do that? How did he convert his jailers? Well… they couldn’t get away from him. They were CHAINED to him.
CLOSE: John (one of our members here) has been a previous preacher at this congregation and the Doctors have told him he has about 2 months to live. He’s dying of cancer in his throat… and it’s difficult for him to talk, let alone eat food.
Last week, John baptized two people into Christ. He taught this couple about Jesus… and baptized them. He did that while he had cancer! How could he do that? He could do that because he rejoiced in the Lord always. And because he rejoiced he brought 2 new people to Christ. But that’s not all… there’s more. John is presently teaching two other couples and hopes to baptize them soon.
This is a man with throat cancer who has been given 2 months to live. He may die in 2 months… but he REFUSES to allow that to destroy his joy in Christ. He understands the truth of Paul’s command: “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:4-7
CLOSE: There’s a famous song entitled “It is well with my soul.” Most folks don’t realize it was written in a very dark and tragic time for the author. He and his family had planned to join an evangelist who was working in Europe and they were going to travel by ship (the only type of transportation at the time). At the last moment, the man (Horatio Stafford) sent his wife and four daughters on a ship to England, planning to join them after he finished some pressing business at home. However, while crossing the Atlantic Ocean, the ship was involved in a terrible collision and sunk. More than 200 people lost their lives, including all four of Horatio Spafford’s precious daughters. His wife, Anna, survived the tragedy. Upon arriving in England, she sent a telegram to her husband that began: “Saved alone. What shall I do?”
At one point during his voyage, the captain of the ship, aware of the tragedy that had struck the Spafford family, summoned Horatio to tell him that they were now passing over the spot where the shipwreck had occurred.
As Horatio thought about his daughters, words of comfort and hope filled his heart and mind. He wrote them down, and they have since become a well-beloved hymn: "When peace like a river, attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll—whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to know - It is well, it is well with my soul."
Another of the verse focused on the reason he could deal with this tragic loss: "My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought - my sin, not in part but the whole, Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, o my soul."
INVITATION
