Jesus, The Source of Peace
(Philippians 4:4-7)
1. The most infamous young lady to win the Miss Williamsburg, VA beauty pageant has to be Tracey Lippard. She was crowned Miss Williamsburg 1993. She served her year well representing the City of Williamsburg in many activities. As her reign came to an end in February 1994 she crowned her successor and then drove 250 miles to kill her boyfriend’s new lover and that girl’s parents.
Tracey had taken with her on this trip a 9mm pistol, a butcher knife, lighter fluid, matches and a hammer. When she arrived at the house of her rival, she rang the door and the girl’s father answered it. Tracey said she was having car trouble and that she needed to use the telephone. Once in the house she took the hammer out of her purse and hit the father in the back of the head as he was walking her to the phone. She stunned him, but didn’t know him out.
He grabbed her and she struggled but pulled the pistol out of the purse and tried to shot him. His wife hearing the struggle ran to help her husband and both of them were able to wrestle her to the ground and held her down until the police arrived.
When asked why she did what she did, she said that she was just looking for “inner peace”.
(source: sermoncentral)
2. Life can be just too much. And the Lord knows that.
3. The pursuit of peace will never be completely over until we get to heaven. But we can borrow some peace today from tomorrow’s endless supply.
Main Idea: The Source of Peace and Strength to cope with life is found in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
TS----------->> The Christian finds this peace and strength in Jesus Christ by heeding Paul’s commands, commands which are meant to become habits.
I. Rejoice in Him
A. Rejoice IN the Lord
1. In the SPHERE of the Lord. We should rejoice because we are IN the Lord and saved (the primary meaning because this makes sense in light of 3:1-3, where rejoicing is a safeguard against false teaching)
• We rejoice that our names are written in the book of life (3)
• Luke 10:20, "However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."
2. Rejoice in the SIGHT of the Lord; sing His praises and worship Him, a theme seen throughout Scripture. We must make a point of regularly praising and celebrating Him, for God is pleased when we do so.
• You will often heard it said that Joy is not dependent upon cirucumstances, but Happiness is. We can make that distinction if we wish, but if we said, "find happiness in the Lord always," the meaning would be the same. It is the "in the Lord" phrase that adds the anchor to joy/happiness. There is only one Greek word, Xairo, and it is translated either "I am joyful" or "I am happy."
3. FIND JOY in the Lord during both good and bad times, and find joy in Him even if we cannot find joy in our circumstances; rehearse your relationship to Him, your destiny, the exciting things He will have for you to do, His faithfulness in the past, how your life is different because of Him
• When you are a child, everything is new and exciting; you think you can climb to the moon, the seasonal changes are unfamiliar, snow is the best toy ever created, and life is an adventure. We used to burn coal…one year, my dad bought scrap wood from a contractor; my dad was a printer…sheets of cereal boxes… But familiarity breeds boredom, unless you get more deeply into things….
• Same in spiritual realm: the Lord will becoming boring if you do not get more deeply into the things of God…or new angles in the spiritual realm…it is hard to be joyful if you are not discovering more about God…
B. Always ???????
1. Does this mean every second of every day?
2. Let’s let the Bible answer this: same Greek word, ???????
John 18:20 "I have spoken openly to the world," Jesus replied. "I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.
Does this mean Jesus spent every waking moment in the Synagogue? No, it means he frequently taught there.
Colossians 4:12, "Epaphras, who is one of you and a servant of Christ Jesus, sends greetings. He is always wrestling in prayer for you, that you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured."
"Epaphras, come and get your dinner…" "I can’t; I’m wrestling in prayer…. "Ephrasas, hold the baby while I step out, "I can’t, I’m wrestling in prayer." Go to work…witness
3. In an over reaction against those who do not believer in absolutes, modern Christians tend to absolutize everything: words like all, always, never, everything, etc., are stretched beyond the normal usage of language…
4. Does God always want a smile on our face? No. He wants us to frequently find joy in Him, but not every second of every day…no pretending
C. Whatever our conclusion, it should harmonize with these verses from Ecclesiastes 3:
There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
2 a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot,
3 a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build,
4 a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance,
5 a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
6 a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away,
7 a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak,
8 a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.
D. But the Christian life is described by Jesus as a wedding feast, not a funeral; we should be known as people who are joyful, but not superficial, artificial, or in denial.
• Would your friends, family, and fellow workers describe you as a joyful person?
• Have you, at times, experienced God’s peace by choosing to rejoice in Jesus Christ?
The Source of Peace and Strength to cope with life is found in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
II. Think REASONABLY Because of Him (5a)
A. Gentleness means REASONABLENESS and CONSIDERATION ????????
1. KJV: Moderation
2. NASB: "Gentle spirit"
3. NIV: "Gentleness"
4. Holman Christians Standard: "Graciousness"
5. English Standard Version: "Reasonableness"
B. We react EMOTIONALLY when we are threatened
C. One of the first lessons we teach new believers: Do not depend upon FEELINGS
D. The more our JOY is anchored in the Lord, the more objective we are about life
E. Although LOVE evidences God’s work in our lives, so does REASONABLE CONSIDERATION, which is why we need to let this of reasonable light shine
F. We are to DIFFER from the world
• If you watch some people on news interviews
1. They dodge the question
2. They will not admit they do not know an answer
3. They rant and rave and are filled with venom
4. They do not try to see things from other perspectives
5. God holds us to a higher standard
• We are the only people who can honestly face life and have the security to be reasonable…
The Source of Peace and Strength to cope with life is found in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
III. Expect Him
purposely ambiguous for a double meaning
A. He is near to SUPPORT us
• Psalm 145:18 reads, "The LORD is near to all who call upon Him,?To all who call upon Him in truth
• As a pastor, I am with people at their deathbeds, traumas, tragedies…time and time again…and I see God helping people in their dire distresses
B. He is one the EDGE of His seat, ready to return
"Jesus said He will come like a thief in the night, at an hour you know not…"
C. This reminds us that our citizenship is in HEAVEN, and our King will summons us SUDDENLY
"The Lord is at hand therefore be not careful to exact your full rights; love is more precious than gold in the treasury of heaven."
The Source of Peace and Strength to cope with life is found in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
IV. Pray To and Through Him (6-7)
A. We tend to absolutize these verses as though we should never worry at all
1. 2 Thess. 3:1,5, "So when we could stand it no longer, we thought it best to be left by ourselves in Athens… For this reason, when I could stand it no longer, I sent Timothy to find out about your faith. I was afraid that in some way the tempter might have tempted you and our efforts might have been useless."
2. First we feel the fear and the worry; we process it and then ask God to help us in dealing with it; but we have to stop this denial of reality game
• Psalm 56:3, " When I am afraid, I will trust in you."
• It is not so bad being human…God enjoys real humans
B. We bring our burdens to the Lord in prayer and receive His peace
such a deal!!!
1. Peace from SEROTONIN
• Artwork can bring serotonin (which is why idolatry is deceptive)
• Quiet, peaceful, slowdown experiences….confuse spiritual with chemical
2. Peace of God, which is BEYOND explanation
3. Prayer is about more than peace; it can CHANGE things
C. This peace will guard our MINDS and HEARTS
1. I notice in my own life, my Quiet Times affect my disposition
2. I am more "at peace" when I take time to pray
3. When I pray, I admit my weakness and poverty, but confess God’s grace and strength; if I find strength in myself, I get the glory; if I find strength in God, He gets the glory.
• This process is not a permanent "fix." Often we have to keep brining our stresses over and over and over again to God. This would wear out people, but God not only does not get weary or bored, He also loves it! The more we confess our dependence on Him, the more we choose to share even the details of life with Him, the more He is pleased.
The Source of Peace and Strength to cope with life is found in Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
Conclusion
1. Our world is filled with stress. National, local, in our families, personal.
2. Life has always been rough: wars, violence, sickness, financial concerns, family conflict, even growing older
3. But in Jesus Christ, we have to feel the impact of pain and grief in this world…but we can get away as we borrow strength today from our eternal relationship to the Savior God.
