Biblical Text: Philippians 4:1-9
“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. 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.”
This is the season of Peace. Peace on earth, good will toward men. Peace is the most sought-after ‘commodity’ in our hectic lives. Mankind will go to great lengths to compromise for the sake of peace. Governments have spent countless hours in negotiations with neighboring nations to ensure that they will remain at peace. Fortune 500 Board of Directors will give up a little more of their profits for the sake of peace. In our individual homes, parents have been known to compromise with their children for the sake of peace.
Yet, try as we might, peace often eludes us. That’s because peace has a great price. You can’t demand it; you can’t purchase it; you can’t invent it, or concoct it.
If I told you that there is a way to guarantee that you will always be satisfied with your present circumstances…that you will always be guaranteed peace…would you be interested in hearing about it? Of course you would. And I’m going to share it with you. But keep in mind that this six-step guarantee is only available to members of the household of faith.
For us, Philippians contains the secret – the six steps to peace. According to the fourth chapter, there are six steps that a believer must take to maintain the peace of God within his heart and life. If we fail to take these steps, we grieve both the Lord and fellow believers who have made a special contribution to our growth and look upon us as their “joy and crown” (Phil. 4:1).
When a believer loses his peace with God, several things happen...
He becomes self-conscious, and guilty, discouraged and defeated.
He becomes cantankerous, critical, and divisive.
He begins to slip back into sin.
The peace he once had with God and man becomes disturbed, and restlessness grips his soul. His restlessness stirs him into being a troublemaker or into sin or else it plummets him into despair and defeat. He has failed; therefore, he feels unworthy and unable to walk victoriously with God.
Unbelievers do not have peace with God. They reject, question, deny, curse, and oppose God. God feels no peace between Himself and an unbeliever. No matter how mild the unbeliever’s questioning and rejection is, it is still questioning and rejection and not peace. But when an unbeliever surrenders his life and accepts God, peace is made between him and God. Peace rules both within and between the person and God. In fact, God causes a flood of peace to surge through the heart and life of the new believer.
The question is this: once we have the peace of God flooding our lives, how do we maintain that peace? How do we keep the peace of God ruling and reigning within our souls? How do we stay aware that God’s very own presence is within us—stay aware that the God of peace lives within our very being? We have to follow the six steps that lead down the pathway to peace.
The first step to peace is standing fast. Paul has just stated that there are enemies of the cross of Christ…that the believer’s citizenship is in heaven…that the Lord is going to return and take us out of this world and transform our bodies;
So now Paul says, ‘therefore, stand fast in the Lord.” The word “stand fast” (steôkete) means simply to stand firm, persist, and persevere. Imagine a soldier standing fast against the onslaught of an enemy. He refuses to give ground no matter the pressure and strength of attack. He does not flinch; he is not unstable and he is never defeated. As Christian’s, we must stand fast, no matter how great the trial, no matter how strong the pressure of the temptation, no matter how great the influence and allure of the world.
And the strength to stand fast comes from one source – in the Lord. We must be living and moving and having our being in the Lord; praying, talking, and sharing with Him daily, keeping our thoughts focused upon His glorious salvation, hope, and mission; serving and ministering for the Lord, bearing testimony of Him and meeting the needs of those who hurt and need help.
The second step to peace for the believer is agreement and unity. There is no peace if people are arguing, bickering, grumbling and criticizing. Our flesh often encourages us to ignore this truth. Paul knew about the nature of man, and he knew that there were some in the Philippian Church who were being critical, arguing, grumbling, and quarreling. The source of the disturbance in the church was due to two prominent ladies in the church: Euodia and Syntyche, who were arguing, over what, we know not. So Paul pleads for all quarrelers to agree in the Lord. If we cannot agree in the flesh, we ought always to agree in the Lord.
There is no time for arguing and divisiveness. In fact, the very opposite is true. We should make time to join hands with others and seek to fulfill the Lord’s mission upon earth.
The third step to peace is to rejoice in the Lord….not just on special occasions, but always…that means continually, repeatedly, again and again.
If Paul, who is in prison, can rejoice in the Lord, then he can rightly expect the church to rejoice, even in the midst of their problems…no matter what the circumstances.
The fourth step to peace is a strong gentleness. The word “moderation” (epieikeôs) is a difficult word to translate into English. Some have translated it to mean gentleness, forbearance, reasonableness, consideration, agreeableness, courtesy, patience, and softness. Barclay says that the word has the idea of justice in it, but that the meaning goes far beyond mere justice and claims that there is something better than justice—a gracious gentleness.
We can quickly imagine the peace that would permeate every one of our gatherings if we were more gentle and forbearing or tolerant with each other.
And notice that Paul charges us to display this gentleness with “all men” – not just believers. Consider the story of the woman caught in adultery. When she was brought before Jesus, he could have applied the letter of the Law, and she should, according to it, have been stoned; but He went beyond justice. As far as justice goes, there is not one of us who deserves anything but the condemnation of God, but God goes far beyond justice. Paul lays it down that the mark of a Christian in his personal relationships with his fellow-men must be that he knows when, and when not, to insist on justice, and that he always remembers that there is something which is beyond justice, and which makes a man like God.
Once we possess the peace of God, how do we maintain it? By following the last two steps to peace – the maintenance steps. These are the two most important steps, and if we follow them, the peace of God will rule and reign in our hearts. We will never lose our peace or be without peace.
The fifth step, then, is the peace that comes through prayer. We are charged to be anxious for nothing. That means, no worrying or fretting about a single thing. The word “nothing” (meôden) means not even one thing. Humanly speaking, the Philippians had every reason to worry and be anxious. They were suffering severe persecution; they were facing disunity and quarreling in the church; they had some carnal members within their fellowship, who were prideful, super-spiritual, and self-centered; they were facing some false teachers who had joined their fellowship, and the teachers were fierce in attacking the cross of Christ. Add to that the fact that some believers were having to struggle for the necessities of life: food, clothing, and shelter. There was little else that could confront these devoted saints of God. They were facing every trial, every temptation imaginable, the kind of trouble that arouses anxiety and worry. The human reaction would be to fret, worry and suffer anxiety.
Paul knew that the only way they could keep from worrying was to receive an injection of supernatural power. The supernatural power of God can conquer ANY worry. So Paul charges them to “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).
The remedy, then, for anxiety is PRAYER! …special time set aside for devotion and worship. The word “supplication” (deeôsis) refers to prayers that focuses
upon special needs. We’re talking about a deep, intense prayer that pours out our soul before God. Paul paints the picture of a believer begging God for intervention, because He alone is able to provide the help we need!
Then finally, peace comes through positive thinking. Not the kind of positive thinking that L. Ron Hubbard sells, but the kind that focuses our thoughts until they shape our behavior. We are wherever we store our minds, and we become what we think. A person who centers his thoughts upon the world and its things will live for the world and its things: money, wealth, lands, property, houses, possessions, position, power, recognition, honor, social standing, fame, and a host of other worldly pursuits. A mind set upon the world and the flesh can only lead to anxiety and worry, emptiness and restlessness. There can be no peace. God will not permit the worldly man to have peace, because it is the restlessness of the human soul that He uses to reach men with the gift of salvation.
Positive thinking, then, blocks out the fleshly, worldly, selfish, sinful or evil thoughts that attempt to enter our mind. Paul charges us to practice positive thinking - Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. The old saints used to put it this way – “I woke up this morning with my mind stayed on Jesus!”
All around us they’re singing of Peace.
Silent Night, Holy Night, all is calm, all is bright …..PEACE.
O Little Town of Bethlehem, how STILL we see thee lie…..PEACE.
God REST ye merry Gentlemen...PEACE.
Are you searching for peace? Take the first step! Accept Christ, and stand fast at the Cross of Calvary.
Accept the peace of a life in Christ.
Accept the peace of a mind stayed on Jesus.
Accept the peace of a heart that beats for God.
Accept the peace of a soul united with its Creator.
Christ is waiting to grant you peace.
