The sermon this evening comes from Philippians chapter 4. Turn with me there. I'll read verses 4 through 9. Philippians chapter 4 starting with verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice. Let your gentle spirit be made known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, Whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence, and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. Pray with me. God in heaven, help us now as we examine your word Help us now to examine our own hearts as well, so that we will see the ways that we are falling short. Convict us of our sins. Cause us to redirect our hearts towards deep affection towards You, Lord cultivated by thinking of You rightly. Father, in blossoming into love and good deeds done for one another, and done in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ. Be with us now, and be glorified. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. The peace of God. The peace of God can be a very elusive thing. As we travel through this world, as we are constantly stumbling over our own sinful hearts, as we're constantly poked and prodded by the sinful hearts of others, As I worked at the Counseling Center, I don't even know how long I worked there, I had the opportunity to watch George Sipion work with people. And often times he would turn to Philippians chapter 4 in dealing with people and all of their struggles and all of their sins. The funny thing about counseling is often times people come in and want you to fix their circumstances for their own comfort. George would often times tell people, I don't have a magic wand. I can't change your world and I can't change your circumstances, but what I can do for you is help point you to Christ through the midst of this. For you to adjust your thinking and adjust your own life through the midst of your own circumstances. And then he would pull out this piece of paper and he would draw this illustration. It was a three-legged stool and the top of the stool he would explain is the peace of God. Coming down from the stool, we'd have one leg, and you'd draw a little head on there, and you'd say, and this is your mind, this is your thinking, is one of these legs. You'd draw another leg coming down, and you would draw a heart there, and you'd say, these are your affections. You'd draw another line coming down, and say, and put a hand there, and say, and these are the things you do. As we look at this passage, as George pointed out, all these things are being dealt with. The peace of God We look at verse 9, the things that you do, the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. We see that our minds are to finally brethren, in verse 8, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute. If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. And all these things accomplish the peace of God in your life. I need that. I need that. I find myself being anxious. I find myself being discontent. As we examine these passages tonight, the call for you is for you to cultivate a heart of peace as you dwell on everything that's lovely about God and as you do His will. As we look at verse 4, the first step in a life of peace Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice. Well, all of you think right now, what is there about the Lord that you have to rejoice in? What is there about the Lord that you have to rejoice in? As there are a number of ways that I could have outlined this, and there are a number of ways that I could present this to you, but even thinking about God Himself, if we stopped to contemplate the Father, to contemplate Him calling you from before the foundation of the world. So often it's more than I can get my head around. Also, considering my own shortcomings, even my own rebellion against Him, Him seeing all of that, and that He would still call me from before the foundation of the world. to consider his strength, to consider his majesty, to consider his glory being above all the heavens, the highest heavens, above the stars. My friend Ian, my Ian, he has served in Iraq, and he told me about one night they'd have all the lights shut off in their base to keep them a little bit safer from mortar attacks. He said the stars are always brilliant, but one night he went out and they were especially brilliant. talked about laying on sandbags, looking up at the sky, and he could see nothing to the right or the left, behind him or below him. As he was elevated up off the desert floor, he felt like he could see the concave of the earth. He said it seemed like he could see stars on top of stars on top of stars. He said in that moment he wished that everybody could see that. Imagining God's glory being above highest heavens. Greater than that, He has chosen to love you. There's a great reason to rejoice. Rejoice in the Lord. Think of the Son as well. I hope you never get tired of me explaining what Christ is to me. I cannot fathom standing and talking to Christ as He walked the earth. To meet someone who, again, did everything out of perfect love for the Father. You talk to me and you'll hear my arrogance. You'll hear me thinking wrongly about a number of different things. The holiest person that you've ever met still would not compare to speaking to Christ. as his sole motivation in life was loving the Father. And then that was manifested in love for others as well. In his conversation with you, you would see that he has loved you perfectly, that he was loving you perfectly, and he is loving you perfectly. And this is the Christ who loves you even now. Perfectly. demonstrated with his sacrifice on the cross. Everyone receives love in different ways. One of the great challenges in marriage is to understand how your spouse understands love and how they receive love. It's especially difficult for men because women seem to change all the time what they enjoy. Something I love the most small acts of kindness small acts of kindness I was working on my sermon the other day and my son Nate came up behind me and said father I brought you a cup of coffee and this love just welled up inside of me he brought me the right creamer and he brought me the sugar to make it on my own I'll have you consider what is it for you It causes love to swell in your heart. Consider all the love that Christ has demonstrated for you. What love should that swell in your heart? How much should you rejoice in that great love? And as we're rejoicing in the Lord, consider the Holy Spirit. It continuously boggles my mind as I think of the Holy Spirit, that as I have a spirit that dwells within me, the Father has a spirit, the Son has a spirit, they share the same spirit, that spirit hovered over the surface of the waters at the creation of all things, and that same spirit has been given to you, and dwells in your heart even now. To work in you, to change you, to strengthen you, given to you as a seal, given to you as a promise. So I say to you, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice because of your great God. Next, look with me at verse 5. Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. I call upon you now to exercise a gentle spirit. Exercise a gentle spirit. We in the Reformed community are generally not known for our gentleness. Galatians 5.22 describes the fruits of the spirit. Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. As we think, it's exciting to consider, look at the consistency of Scripture, that these are the fruits of the Spirit, God's Spirit within you, manifest these things flowing out of you. In 2 Corinthians 10.1 it reads, I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. meekness and gentleness of Christ. I grew up with an image of a Christ who was simply that, who was simply meek, who was simply gentle. I miss the rest of the picture of Christ, that he was bold, he was strong, he stood in the face of sin. But yet, in dealing with people, unless they were religious leaders, who should have known better, he was meek. He was gentle. And then at the end of verse 5, it says this, the Lord is near. It says, let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. This is either you looking forward to Christ's coming. The Lord's coming is near. Because of this, be gentle. Or it's saying He is with you now. Both are true. Both are true. As you interact and as you deal with others, keep in mind that the Lord is near. There should be this gentleness manifested. And I'll tell you, generally it's easy for me here, as I interact with you, as I only have to deal with you for two minutes a week. The real test will come within your closer relationships. The real test will come within your own home. people that you live with, the people that you have to see from day to day, the people, maybe the people that you work with. In those circumstances, it is imperative that you exercise a gentle spirit. Display the meekness of Christ, you who are married with your spouses, you with children, with your own children, you in the workforce of the people that you work with. Be gentle. where the Lord is near. These things that you practice, you get better at. If you have a nasty heart and a nasty disposition, you'll get better and better at that. But if you practice meekness and gentleness, you'll get better at that as well. Children hear this in regards to your own siblings as well. The ways that you treat them ways that you interact with them. Gentleness, the meekness of Christ. Parents with your children, spouses with your spouses. Exercise a gentle spirit. The Lord is near. Next look with me at verse 6. Be anxious for nothing. I don't usually get distracted by that, but that one got me. Verse 6. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. At your request be made known to God. The command is right there. Do not be anxious. We can look back at verse 5 and see that the Lord is near. You're cleansing yourself from sin. remembering the Lord is near, you do not need to be anxious. When we need to be anxious is when we're harboring sin, when we're practicing sin, and then there is a right anxiety that should be upon us, but as we throw off our sins, the promise and the statement that the Lord is near should give you comfort, should give you some rest, should give you some peace. We look at the rest of the verse, and these are the ways that our anxiousness is calmed. Be anxious for nothing, But, in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. This is an example of replacing one sinful attitude with a holy attitude, with a righteous attitude, where we would sit and where we would meditate and be anxious about the things that we do not have The things that we are fearful will afflict us. Replacing that with prayer, replacing that with supplication, asking God for things, and replacing it with thanksgiving as well is a difficult thing. And I tremble every time I have to do this when I'm praying with someone who's in a bad situation, what we would consider a bad situation. Actually thanking God for the situation that they are in. knowing that this is indeed God's hand upon them, for the purpose of a purification, for a cleansing, even for a pushing, to push them closer to Christ. In the midst of your prayers, in the midst of your anxieties, even thank God for the circumstances that are making you anxious, that you will be drawn to Him. As I said this morning, through the course of your life you will indeed be pushed, you will indeed fall down, but you must choose where to fall. Fall into the arms of Christ or choose to fall into sin. So talk to Him. Let your requests be made known to God to replace your anxiety and to replace your fear. Next, look with me at verse 7. And the peace of God What surpasses all comprehension will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So I call upon you to kindle the peace of God in yourself. This is what comes as you live this way. As you focus on Him, as you replace your anxieties with prayer and supplication and thanksgiving. This is what comes as you direct your hearts to God. The result is peace. The result is peace in your heart. I was talking to a young man recently, and I was explaining to him that as we come into the world in a sinful state, we're like a house that's cattywampus. It's twisted. It's distorted. Door frames are turned sideways, and doors don't shut all the way. Windows are tilted. Walls are tilted, and the whole place is a mess. There was a house when I was growing up. We called it the ghost house. This was not a safe place to go. It was an old farmhouse that had been abandoned. You'd walk up and the steps were tilted and they would creak and door frames were the wrong way and people would fall through the floor in the ghost house. It was a terrifying thing. You come into this world largely like the ghost house. Your mind is twisted. Your mind is distorted. Because of this, we have fears and we have anxiety. But as you approach the Word of God, and as you conform your thinking to scripture, the foundation is sealed. The wall is set up straight. The doorframe is fixed. And throughout the course of your life, the things that you face are for your remodeling. to care for you, to get you thinking rightly about God, and that God really did predestine you from the foundation of the world. Scripture says. If He really has loved you so much that He gave His one and only Son to rescue you, Scripture says that He has. If it's really true that nothing can snatch you from His hand, and it really is, if He really is all perfect and He really does cause all things to work together for good for those who fear and love Him. He really does. What reason do you have to be anxious? What reason do you have to be fearful? You see, the peace of God surpasses all understanding when we truly dwell on these things. Next, look with me at verse 8 and this is something that I've tried to memorize several times, and I don't know why it never works. I think I lose interest trying to get all these words in the right order. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence in it, anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. So direct your minds to chew on what is good. Direct your minds to chew on what is good. The first one there is true, whatever, I'm sorry, the first one there is whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there's any excellence, anything worthy of praise, One translation renders it, whatever is true. I challenge you, what do you dwell on? What do you meditate on? If you're supposed to meditate on whatever is true, would that count video games? Would that count Harry Potter? Would that count the Eclipse series? Would that count Lord of the Rings? Whatever is true? The last movie that you've seen? The last fiction book that you've read? Does that count? Does that qualify? Is that where our minds are supposed to be working? Certainly not. Whatever is honorable, would that include the headlines and the checkout lines? Whatever is right, whatever is pure, does that count the Steelers or any other team that we would love to pursue or follow? Whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, any excellence, anything worthy of praise, It's baffling how often our default setting is to complain about something, or to attack someone for something, when there are plenty of things that are worthy of praise in one another's lives that we should be pursuing. But even if we just look and consider the attributes of God that are expressed here as well, finally brethren, whatever is true, the Word of God is true. Whatever is honorable, God is honorable. Whatever is right, God is right. Whatever is pure, the word of God is pure. Whatever is lovely, our salvation is lovely. Whatever is of good repute, any good deed done from any of us in the name of Christ. If there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. This is where your mind should be. This is what you should be directing your hearts to and your affections to. dwell on these things. Next, verse 9. The things you have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, practice these things, and the peace of God will be with you. I call upon you now to practice goodness. Practice goodness. Commit yourself to doing the things that scripture calls you to. to loving the orphan, to loving the widow, to bearing one another's burdens, to spreading the kingdom, spreading the good news. There is so much opportunity even in this room to love in the name of Christ. To love in the name of Christ. To truly be interested in one another. To truly pray for one another. To truly love one another. Practice goodness also means fleeing from evil. I hope you've come to the place where you realize and understand that disobeying God never bears any good fruit. Its end is your misery and the misery of everyone who touches you. So flee from evil, practice goodness, run after expressions of true love, Run after a constant expression of true love. Call upon each of you. For some reason, my heart's dwelling with the children this morning in relationship to siblings. That when you would rise in the morning, you would see how you could love your brothers and sisters. You'd see how you could love your parents. You'd see how you could love everyone you come into contact with. Imagine living a day like that, living a day like Christ, where everything that you do is out of love for the Father, and that overflows and manifests in expressions of love for everyone that you come into contact with. What a day that would be. What a day that would be. From that place, chewing on everything good, speaking to God about all of your anxiety, and speaking to God about every concern you have. Thanking Him for everything that's in your life. The peace of God will be with you. The peace of God will be with you. Kindle this heart. Cultivate this heart. Giving thanks in all things. Seeking the peace of God. Pray with me. God our God, thank you for your good word. Thank you for your truth. God bless us with minds that pursue you, hearts that love you, hands that do your will. Give us your peace so that you will be glorified in the ways that we love you and the ways that we love others. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen.