From Philippians 4, verses 4-7, hear now the word of the Lord. 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 unto God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." May God bless the reading of this word. You may be seated. Well, good morning. It's a joy to be with you this morning. It's been some time since I've been here last. It's great to see some familiar faces and some new faces. I've heard some people are from afar. It's great to have you this morning with us to worship our great God and Savior. For those of you that Know what's on the calendar today and maybe anticipating a Father's Day sermon. I don't want to burst your bubble But we won't be doing that today. Happy Father's Day. Nonetheless to you fathers out there. I always I find it somewhat comedic when I end up preaching on either Father's Day or Mother's Day. I was the pastor of Cape Cod Bible Church for about six years and for whatever reason we were in the Gospel of John, well in God's sovereignty I should say, both on Mother's Day and then a year later on Father's Day. Judas was the topic for the morning sermon. We're not going to be in the Gospel of John, so you don't have to worry about that this morning. I'm going to be preaching on, I hope, a more upbeat on stimulating topics today, as you've noticed in your bulletin, the title of the sermon is, Resolved to Rejoice. Resolved to Rejoice. I'm sure with summer just around the corner, technically, even though it might feel like summer, you've noticed either on the highway, you've noticed either on bumper stickers, or you've even noticed on the front lawns of many homes, signs that warn us, that remind us that motorcycles are where? Everywhere. Motorcycles are everywhere. And this one thing that I've heard about motorcycle drivers is basically two types of motorcycle riders in the world. There are those that have fallen down and those that are going to fall down. And by God's grace, I... had a motorcycle, and both times when I fell, the first time was in a parking lot going zero miles an hour. I fell over in a parking spot because I didn't properly put down my kickstand. And the second time I fell over was in the backyard, and I realized and learned very quickly, never treat a street bike like a dirt bike, because you're going to get hurt. And if you think for a moment you might have to add me to your prayer list, don't worry, I sold the motorcycle years ago. I'm a van man, and that's what I drive now with my children, safe and secure, in my white minivan, which don't get mixed up with Pastor Steve's white minivan, because it's the same model, we're parked next to each other. But that's what we choose to drive now, to keep ourselves safe. But I think the same principle applies in the Christian life. There's two types of Christians in this room. There are those that have fallen into trial and tribulation, and those that are going to fall into trial and tribulations. Jesus prepared us in John 16.33. Jesus put it this way, in the world you have tribulation, but take courage, I have overcome the world. The Apostle Paul warns every single Christian, 2 Timothy 3.12, and indeed all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. It's a guarantee. If you're a Christian, and you're not persecuted, you need to check to see if you're a Christian. Because that's what the text says, that's what Paul warns. James, straight up tells us in the epistle of James, chapter 1, verse 2, he says it this way. Consider it all joy. My brethren, so we know he's talking to Christians, consider it all joy, my brethren, when, not if, but when you encounter, literally it means fall unexpectedly into various trials, literally multi-colored trials. And the idea is that tribulation and trials, the testing of your faith is going to be a surprise. It's going to happen when you least expect it. It will feel like someone running a stop sign and bang, suddenly you're hit. What's your response? Let me ask you, how have you been responding? What's been the disposition of your heart? What's come out of your mouth? What's flooded your mind in your thoughts? What's overwhelmed your heart in those times? I don't know. Many of you here today and I don't know if you're hurting this morning. I don't know if you lost your job last week. I don't know if someone you love and care about is deathly ill. I don't know if you're wondering if you're going to have enough money to pay the bills at the end of this month. I don't know if it has happened, if it is happening or going to happen. My hope and encouragement is to be, as it were, preparing you to either deal rightly with it and respond biblically to it, or be prepared when it happens. To summarize, trials and tribulations are not only to be accepted for the Christian, but they will have to be endured by every Christian. None are exempt. None of you who claim the name of Christ are exempt. Listen, if it hasn't happened, it's coming, and God's Word, beloved, prepares us. Does it not? It prepares us for those surprise tests, those pop quizzes, if you will, of tribulation and trial, and how we're going to respond to it. So if you would. Please turn with me in your Bible to Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1. I want you to see the text and be convinced by the text. You don't know me, so you can't rightly and sanely trust me. You need to be convinced by your own conscience with the Word of God. The Word of God is the authority in this. Church, so this is where I want to turn your attention to, Philippians chapter 1. And what the book of Philippians is going to have us consider is how and with what attitude you are to persevere through the variety of trials and tribulations that await you and to do so joyfully. I'm not up here to preach myself here, but listen, we all go through various trials. Some of you, again, if you're not hurting, you're going to be hurting. And maybe you're hurting because of things that have happened to you in the past. My encouragement is for you to respond biblically, to fix your eyes on the author and finisher of our hope, of our salvation. And listen, I don't stand here before you as a man claiming to have this stuff perfected. Alright, I don't have this perfected in my life, but what I do know is that it's easy to say. It's even easier to hear. You don't have to do nothing, just listen. It's harder to practice, right? It's harder to live. And what I do know is the Bible gives us instructions on how to deal when tribulation and trial happens. So to set a brief context to identify at least the setting of the book of Philippians, the book of Philippians is one of Paul's prison letters, one of Paul's prison epistles. That's what epistle means, it just means letters. It's one of four letters he wrote while he was on home arrest for the first time in Rome, which always kind of troubled me. If you've ever read the book of Philippians, Paul's attitude is very upbeat, yet he's on home arrest in Rome. He's literally chained to a Roman soldier who is changed four times a day. A soldier would have a six-hour shift, and he would be tied to the Apostle, and the Apostle was forbidden to go anywhere, yet he was required to pay his own rent. He was allowed to have visitors, and he was waiting and hoping that visitation would come, bringing him financial support so he could pay his rent, so he could buy his food. Roman imprisonment was far less, far different than today's imprisonment. There was no free education. There was no well-balanced diet. There was no weight room to work out in. Paul went through a very troubling circumstance here. But his attitude and disposition is awesome. It's awesome, and I hope you're encouraged with it. It's one of four prison epistles that Paul wrote. The other ones are Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon. Colossians, Ephesians, and Philemon, along with Philippians, were all written during Acts chapter 28. You can read about that later. Acts chapter 28 talks about this prison experience of Paul. Now, without getting into the specifics of the epistle, if we were to consult the majority of commentaries on this most tender of letters, we would see that nearly every single commentary would say that the main theme of this book is what? Joy. If you've read the book of Philippians, you know that the book of Philippians expresses a clear attitude of joy, of rejoicing. Even while on prison and home arrest, yes. Yes, he constantly exercises and highlights the theme of joy. But for this study, to take you a little bit more in-depth, I don't want to be superficial and shallow, I want to take you a little deeper. For this study, I would suggest to you that that assessment, that the basic theme of the book of Philippians has to be taken a step further. More specifically, that the theme of the book of Philippians is joy that is primarily connected to, tied to, and inextricably linked to God in Christ through the gospel. It's tied to God in Christ through the gospel. If we were to do a word study in the words joy or rejoice in the book of Philippians, we'd find that 11 times, okay, 11 times the verb form is used, kero is used, the verb, 5 times the noun form is used, kara. Kero, the verb, and kara is used a total of 16 times. And as I said, each time Paul refers to joy or to rejoice, he consistently refers to God, Christ, or the blessing reality or message of the gospel. It's constantly leaked, and I want to take you on a quick flash survey of that theme in the book of Philippians. So with your Bibles open to chapter 1, follow along quick because we're going to hit through some verses in chapter 1. We'll end in chapter 4 where our study is going to be, but I want you to see where this concept of joy is rooted in. Look at chapter 1, verse 4. Look at what Paul says with regard to joy. He says here, highlighting his prayer life for the saints in Philippi, he says here, always offering prayer with joy in every prayer for you all. Why? Why did he do that? Look at verse 5. In view of your participation in what? The gospel from the first day until now. So gospel participation in the mind of Paul caused his heart to exuberate joy. Look at verse 18. Look at verse 18 of chapter 1. He asks the question, what then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in this, I rejoice. He says, I will rejoice. This is just after Paul highlighted that some people were preaching the gospel in order to cause him more pain, more suffering, more tribulation. He says, you know what? I don't care. The gospel is being proclaimed, and because of that, I rejoice. I have a genuine, sincere attitude of joy in my heart, regardless of my circumstances. Look at verse 25. Verse 25, and convinced of this, I know that I shall remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the what? In the faith. In the faith. In the body of truth that saves their soul. Paul says here, you know what? Gospel sanctification is more important to me than leaving this earthly life and going to be with Jesus. Because that's what he was contemplating. He's saying, I don't know what's better. Should I die and be with the Lord? Not that he was suicidal. Don't ever mistake Paul for being suicidal. He was hard-pressed to understand, what should my heart's desire be? Should I desire to be with the Lord, which is far better, or should I continue on for your progress, for your sanctification in the gospel? And he says, you know what? I realize this. It's better for me to stay here for you. I don't want to be selfish and want to go be with the Lord. It's better for me to be here for you. Look at chapter 2, verse 1. Paul asks, Some rhetorical questions, they're all assuming a yes answer. And what does he write? Chapter 2, verse 1. If there is any encouragement in Christ, of course there is. If there is any consolation of love, yes and amen. If there is any fellowship of the Spirit, of course everyone experiences this. If any affection and compassion, do what? Verse 2. Make my joy complete. by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. So what caused his heart to rejoice? Gospel unity. Gospel unity. When the church is unified around the gospel, when they understand the importance of the gospel, the ministry of the gospel, that caused joy, not only on the Apostle Paul's heart, but it should be causing joy in our hearts. Look at verse 17. Look at verse 17. Paul highlights a specific individual that brought him joy. Verse 17 of chapter 2, Paul says to the saints, but even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all, and you too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me. He's saying this. Rejoice over gospel service that God allows us to be in the ministry together. Let this cause joy in us. Who cares if our life is being torn out? Who cares if I'm going to be extinct soon? This is for the ministry of the gospel. Look at verse 28. Here he gets even more specific. Verse 28 of chapter 2. He says, Therefore I have sent him. Who? According to verse 19, that's Timothy. Therefore I have sent Timothy all the more, eagerly in order that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less concerned about you. Therefore receive him in the Lord with what attitude? With all joy, and hold men like him in high regard. Listen, express gospel love to those in the ministry, those sacrificing for the cause of Christ. Men like Timothy, and men that are like him. Share an attitude of joyful love with those men, as they live their life for the ministry. Look at chapter 3, verse 1. Chapter 3, verse 1. For some of you that are thinking, oh no, I'm on verse overload here. Too many verses, I can't take another one. Listen to chapter 3 verse 1. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me and it is a safeguard for you. One more verse is always good. One more verse is always good. And Paul says this is a safeguard for you. For you to be reminded about the gospel and the joy that is connected to the gospel. We'll look at chapter 4 verse 1. We're getting to the bookends of our study this morning. Here's the first bookend, and we'll look at the next bookend that sandwich our passage. But in chapter 4, verse 1, Paul writes here, Therefore, my beloved brethren, whom I long to see my joy and crown, so stand firm in the Lord, my beloved. What caused him joy? It's gospel fruit. Gospel fruit, you can read about it later on in Acts chapter 16 when Paul went to Macedonia and he preached the gospel for the first time and he met a woman named Lydia who believed because God opened her heart and she received the truth of the gospel and her life was changed, her household was changed and she began being used for the ministry of the gospel. And Paul rejoiced over gospel fruit. Genuine salvation in the souls of other people caused him joy. Alright, what's the book end? Look at chapter 4, verse 10. Chapter 4, verse 10, he writes to the Philippians, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me. What is Paul? Rejoicing over? He's rejoicing over gospel support. The Philippians, out of their poverty. These were not rich Christians. These were dirt poor Christians. Gave a gift, a financial gift, to the Apostle Paul back in Rome. They used the papyrus to do that. And the papyrus showed up with the gift. And Paul says, your gospel support, your financial support in the ministry, causes my heart to rejoice greatly. Because I know you gave sacrificially. You didn't give out of your abundance, you gave out of your poverty. And that causes me to express an attitude of joy to God even while on home arrest. Now please, please do not misunderstand Paul's encouragement and expressions of joy as if he is some sort of cockeyed optimist simply finding a silver lining in every dark cloud. This letter is not merely some sort of spiritual pep talk. It's not that at all. He's not like so many who deny reality, just hoping and wishing all the problems are going to go away on their own, and act sinfully optimistic. Paul is not like that at all. He knows what he believes. He has a right theology. He believes true doctrine. His heart is fixed on God through Christ in the ministry of the gospel. That's what his whole life was about. So, how are you to be resolved to rejoice? Well, let's look at our passage this morning. I know we read it, but I'm going to get you into it again, because I want you to be convinced in your conscience by the Word of God. So, look at chapter 4, verses 4 through 7. Look at the text with me. What does Paul say at the end of this epistle? The last chapter, he writes to them and he says this, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice! Let your forbearing Spirit be 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, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Listen, I know it's easy to say. I know it's easier to hear, Beloved, it's hard to practice. I don't deny that for a moment. It's hard to practice. But, by God's grace, through faith in Christ, we can obey these imperative instructions. I don't want you to lose heart. But I do want you to notice. I want you to notice that there are no conjunctions connecting verse 4 to verse 5, or verse 5 to verse 6. There's no conjunctions. The word AND is not there. Therefore, I want you to understand, each command that Paul gives here stands independent of the other, and thus, each command is emphatic. Paul is, he's almost, you can see him pointing his spiritual finger at them, saying, listen, you better hear me, you better do this, you better understand this, you better believe this. He's not joking here, he's being very emphatic. It's the context that shows, I believe, that they are related to one another. That is to say, that each imperative command is not completely isolated from the other, but contextually tied to the other. I think the context shows they're like dominoes. One leads to the other, which leads to the other, which leads to the other. You need to have all of them. pieces to a puzzle. You need to have all of them. So this morning, Paul, I believe, is going to lay out for us four ways to maintain a joyful attitude so that you will be equipped when trials come or encouraged in the midst of your trials. Whether you're already there or it's coming, four ways to maintain a resolve in your heart and your mind to have a joyful attitude. Whether someone cuts you off in traffic. Whether you go all the way to the pizza parlor and forget your wallet. Whether you get diagnosed with cancer. Whether you're going to lose your eyesight. Whether you don't know if you're going to have enough money to pay the bills. How do you have an attitude resolved to rejoice? Well, I'm going to give you those notes one at a time, so if you're taking notes, I hope you are, for your betterment, so you pass the quiz later on. Point number one, the first way to maintain a joyful attitude is to rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord, as born again, Holy Spirit filled, chosen by God, Christians, for there really are no other Christians, right? We are commanded to obey this imperative. And if commanded to obey, then we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to obey. And if empowered by the Spirit to obey, we are expected to obey all of God's commands, regardless of what they are. And here's one of them. So what does the Apostle Paul command? Through the inspiration of the Spirit of God. This is a gold nugget on the surface, right? Look at the text, verse 4. Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice. Now you might be thinking, wow Lou, that wasn't very creative of a first point. Don't worry, I will alliterate. All my points will begin with R's, even though I can't pronounce them correctly. But this is a gold nugget on the surface. There's no deep mining necessary to pull the command out of God's Word. It's right there on the surface, and you can't... I mean, come on, think about it. How excited would you be if you're walking down the road and you found a gold nugget? Just bend over and pick it up! Rejoice over it! Look at what the text says! Literally, let me expound here. What is the text saying? Literally, Paul is saying this. You all You all rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I will say, you all rejoice. And that's because in the Greek verb, Paul is using the second person plural form of the verb. You all. He's sounding like a southerner, not like a New Englander. He's speaking plural. You all. Everybody in the church. You all do this. You all express this attitude all the time. But for clarity's sake, let me say, let me highlight what Paul is not saying, because this is the opposite of the problem, I think, in the church. Paul is not saying, or he does not mean, for clarity's sake, he does not mean that Christians are to rejoice over sin, wickedness, evil, or death. That's not what he's saying. He's not calling believers in Christ to have a masochistic or morbid attitude toward the evils of this world. Nor is he calling believers in Christ to be immune, insensitive, or apathetic to trials, but to focus and trust in someone greater than their trials. Turn back with me. Philippians chapter 2, verse 27. We already highlighted it, but I want you to see that Paul exemplified many different attitudes, depending on the situation. When it came to speaking about Epaphroditus, Epaphroditus had a near-death experience. And Paul says in chapter 2, verse 27, He was sick to the point of death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but also on me, that I should have what? Joy upon joy? No, sorrow upon sorrow. Paul knew what it meant. felt like to have the waves of emotion overtake you. Paul didn't rejoice over the death of even God's holy ones. Paul didn't joke about death and he didn't take it lightly. Neither should we. I know sometimes we joke, yeah, when I die, dance on my grave. What do I care? I'll be with Jesus. No, death is serious. Death is grievous. Death is no joke. There are times to be sorrowful. Yet, There are times to rejoice. Paul is not saying be rejoicing over death, wickedness, evil, or sin. Instead, he's pointing the Philippians to rejoice not in their circumstances, but in the one over their circumstances. What Paul is saying is that as Christians, and this only applies to Christians, this only applies to Christians, we are to rejoice in the Lord. That is in the Lord of our circumstances. You've got to love prepositional phrases. They have meaning. In the Lord is what Paul is calling the saints of Philippi to rejoice in. It's in Him. He is the object of their faith. He's also the object of their hope, their trust, and their joy. They are to rejoice in the Lord. They are to rejoice in the One who is above and sovereign over our trials and tribulations. Do you see it? Do you see it in the text? Well, you might be asking, okay, big deal. What does this joy look like when I lose my job? What does it look like when I have no money to pay my bills? What does it look like when someone I love has to endure suffering or when my spouse leaves me? How do I deal with the waves and billows of sorrow that overtake me and then have an attitude of joy in the Lord? Well, let me give you a definition of joy. I would say this. A definition of the verb to rejoice would be this. Christian joy, or Christian rejoicing, is not a passing feeling or a fleeting emotion. Alright? We can't live our life on emotions and feelings, because they come and go, right? Like the wind, they're all over the place. Sometimes they depend upon what we ate, sometimes they depend upon what we've experienced. But, Our joy, our rejoicing, is a deep-seated confidence and trust in our God. That is, we have complete assurance in the goodness of our God. That God is on His throne and God is on your side. That God is in control and He's working all things to the Christian's good and to His ultimate glory. Our spiritual disposition must reflect a joyful, rejoicing demeanor in God, in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, in the one who is alive, crucified, buried, and risen from the dead. You say, well, are there any Old Testament examples about this? Yes, there is. There are Old Testament examples. Keep your bullets in, in Philippians chapter 4, and turn with me to the Old Testament. Jeremiah. Turn to me to the prophet Jeremiah chapter 9. I love this verse. I love all the verses of the Bible, but I love this one as well. This is one of the first verses I memorized as a young Christian. And by God's grace, I've been able to go to seminary, I've been able to do in-depth study, I've come full circle to these elementary principles of the Christian faith, like a man clinging to a ladder 20 stories up. I come to verses like this, and I'm like, Lord, I'm not letting go. Look at the text, Jeremiah 9.23. Here's a synonymous thought to what the Apostle Paul is saying in Philippians chapter 4. Look at chapter 9, verse 23. Thus says the Lord, and I quote, Let not a wise man boast in his wisdom, And let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts, i.e., let him who offers praise, let him who has a rejoicing attitude, boast of this, that he understands and knows me. that I am the Lord who exercises loving-kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth, for I delight in these things, declares the Lord." Do you see it? If we're going to have a rejoicing attitude, it has to be in the One we know. It's in the One we believe in. It's in the One who exercises loving-kindness, justice, and righteousness on earth. Here, let me turn to another passage in the Old Testament, Psalm 84. Look at Psalm 84 with me. This is a verse I've used numerous times. Counseling my own soul, waiting for a job. Counseling singles who are waiting for a spouse. Counseling moms and dads waiting for the Lord to provide them with children. Look at Psalm 84, verse 11. Psalm 84, 11. For the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord gives grace and glory. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Let me say that again. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Verse 12, O Lord of hosts, how blessed, how joyful is the man who trusts in thee. Do you see where our joy is to come from? Listen, I know it's hard when you're in the mix. It's hard when you're in the crucible and you feel like, oh Lord, I'm being ground down to powder. I don't know if I can take it. Remember, no good thing does He withhold. If you're a Christian, if God has brought trial and tribulation, physical pain and suffering, physical relationships or financial hardships, if this is His friend given to you, this is good for you. This is good for you. I know this is easy to say. I know it's easier to hear. It's harder to live. But we have to renew our minds, right? We have to renew our minds. We have to change the way we think about our circumstances. We need to pray, Dear Lord, if this is what you have allowed in my life, and if this is good to sanctify me, to conform me into the image of Christ, help me to redefine my definition of good. If this is your definition of good, God, then help me to change the way I think. Please turn back with me to Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4 verse 4. Because in light of life's difficulties and all the multi-colored trials that we all experience differently, it's almost as if the Apostle Paul seems to expect an objection from one of us or many of us. to cry out and say, wait a minute, Paul, you don't know my circumstances. You don't know my marriage. You don't know how my kids treat me. You don't know how my parents treat me. You don't understand my boss, Paul. How dare you call me to rejoice? What does he say? Look at verse four. Rejoice in the Lord always, here it is, again I will say rejoice. Don't think for a minute you can just brush him off and yeah we'll deal with that command sometimes later. Paul's like no, no, no, hear me. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I will say rejoice. He offers this echoed imperative command again, as if he's anticipating some resistance from his readers. To put it another way, Paul is not saying, regardless, listen, he's not saying regardless of your trials and tribulations, but in the midst of every trial and every tribulation, through all the persecution, all the pain, the marital, parental, and relational problems, rejoice in the Lord. That is to say, rejoice in your God! Rejoice in your Savior! Rejoice in your Creator! Rejoice in your Sustainer! Rejoice in your Provider! Rejoice in your Redeemer! Rejoice in Him! Now obviously here, I think it's obvious, I don't think it needs to necessarily be highlighted, but your knowledge of God is key at this point. Right? You've got to know a little bit about your God. If you're going to rejoice in your God, you've got to know something about His person, His character, His nature, His work. In his classic book on the attributes of God, The Knowledge of the Holy, A. W. Tozer wrote this, listen, quote, What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us. Were we able to extract from any man a complete answer to the question what comes to your mind when you think about God, we might predict with certainty the spiritual future of that man." Do you get what he's saying? What you think about God is going to determine your future. Your future in everything! How do you respond to difficulties in trials? How do you respond to your marriage? How do you respond to your kids? How do you respond to your finances? How do you respond to the doctor? So let me ask you, what do you believe about God? What do you believe about His character, His essence, His person and His work? I have to digress for a moment, because it begins with the gospel. It begins with the gospel, and if you don't get the gospel, if you don't know the gospel, if you don't understand or believe in the gospel, you can't do this commandment. We've already established it. To rejoice in the Lord is a commandment, an imperative command given to Christians only. So I have to ask you one simple question. So please listen to me. If you haven't listened to a word I've said so far, I don't know how that's possible, but please listen to me now. Let me ask you the question, are you a Christian? Are you a Christian? I don't mean, do you know about God? I mean, do you trust Him? Do you believe in Him? Well, where does that begin? It begins by believing you're a sinner. You're a wretched, wicked sinner. You have violated God's holy law. You have violated the standards. And worse than that, you have violated God Himself. Do you ever think about, why does an infinite God require infinite punishment? It's because we've sinned against an infinite being. He requires finite beings pay an infinite price because He is infinite in His holiness. He is infinite in His righteousness. He is infinite in His justice. And when we violate that, God requires payment. But God demonstrated His love. Right? When did He demonstrate His love? While we were still yet sinners, the Bible says. He demonstrated His love by sending His Son, His Holy Son, His perfect Son, to this earth to take on the form of humanity, to become a servant, and to take upon Him the sins of those who would believe. And Jesus offers His life as a sacrifice to those who believe. And He promises forgiveness and pardoning. Sanctification and love? Infinite? Home? In heaven? With Him? Forever? On a condition. You turn from your sin and you trust in Jesus. You don't trust in your money. You don't trust in your knowledge. And you don't trust in the sincerity of your own prayers. You trust in Him. His finished work on the cross. His perfect life. His death. His resurrection. You trust that by Him, you are healed. By His work, you're justified. And the Bible says, remember you don't trust me, you don't trust this little man, I'm fallible. The Bible, the infinite, the infallible Bible says God will forgive you, and He will pardon you, and He will transform you, and He'll pour His love in your heart, and you'll have an affection for God, affection for Christ, you'll be filled with the Holy Spirit, you'll long for His Word, you'll desire to obey, and you'll find the power to obey. But we need to move on. So let me bring you to point number 2 here. Point number 2. The second way to maintain a joyful attitude is to reveal your trust in the Lord. Reveal your trust in the Lord. Here in verse 5, Paul makes a command that can easily be glossed over and not given much thought. So let's think about it together. Look at verse 5. Paul writes here, let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. Let's stop there for a moment. Because to begin with, I want to consider what he's not saying. For clarity's sake here, what is Paul not saying? The Apostle Paul is not encouraging the Philippians to air their dirty laundry to the world or to wear their troubles on their sleeves. Okay? He's not promoting that we gossip about ourselves or be absorbed by self-interest and have a personal pity party for ourselves every time we go into trial and tribulation. That's not what he's saying. What he is commanding the Philippians and us is to be open and honest with those in our lives while we have to endure difficulties and times of distress. He's saying this, when difficulties and trials and tribulations come, don't turn into a monk. Don't hide away in your home and say, okay, these are my own personal problems, so I'm going to walk personally with Jesus and just deal with this on my own. He's saying, no, don't do that. If you need encouragement from the saints, then seek them out. If you need the elders to pray over you, then call them up and invite them to your house. Let them counsel you. Let them disciple you. Let them pray for you. What he is saying here is that we need to reveal our trust in the Lord properly. Again, this is another plural command given to everyone in the church. He's saying here, let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. You all, let your forbearing spirit be known. So we could ask the question here, what's a forbearing spirit? What does the word forbearing mean? Well, this is a hard word to translate into English. Many commentators and Bible versions provide a variety of possible translations. One commentator noted that, quote, forbearing has been rendered by others as sweet reasonableness, generosity, goodwill, friendliness, magnanimity, charity toward the faults of others, indulgence of the failures of others, leniency, big-heartedness, moderation, and gentleness as some of the attempts to capture the rich meaning of the word translated forbearing in the New American Standard." This commentator went on to suggest that perhaps, quote, the best corresponding English word is graciousness. the graciousness of humility, the humble graciousness that produces the patience to endure injustice, disgrace, and mistreatment without retaliation, bitterness, or vengeance." Again, easy to say. Easy to hear, hard to practice when things are difficult at work and your boss is unfair, or when persecution feels relentless, or your spouse is unwilling to reconcile. The question comes down to, how are you responding? Not what are they doing, how are you responding? We could ask, why would Paul choose such a word? Were the Philippians in great turmoil from others? Well, in one sense they were. They were in great turmoil. If you look at Philippians 1.27, Paul warns them, only, he says in Philippians 1.27, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Why? Verse 28, in no way alarmed by your opponents. Did they have opponents? Yes. Were people in opposition to the saints at Philippi? Yes. Look at chapter 3.2. Paul warned them, beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision. There were heretics, there were heretics threatening the church, heretics trying to derail the Christian faith. Paul warned them, watch out. Even Paul's personal example. was one of a gracious spirit. Back in Philippians 1, verse 23, he said here, But I am hard pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better. He wasn't vindictive. He wasn't vengeful towards those that were preaching the gospel, hoping to inflict further harm upon Paul. His focus was, hey, being with Jesus is far better than this, right? It's better than going to hell. I'd rather suffer persecution knowing I'm going to heaven. The forbearing spirit, it could be due from tribulation, from persecution, or it could just be from the trials of life. Either one are possible. The question is, how are we revealing our trust in the Lord in the midst of trial and tribulation? You could ask the question, does God use your life as a witness? He should be, right? Your life should be used as a witness. Why do you need to reveal your trust in the Lord? Well, you know the unbelieving world is watching, right? Even when you think they're not watching, they're watching. They're watching, and they're like tigers behind the bushes, and you're like that little doe prancing through light, and if you step out of line, they're going to pounce on you and scream, hypocrite, right? You go to church, you say you believe in Jesus, you claim the name of Christ, and this is how you respond in difficulty? No faith, no trust, no hope. Why would I believe in your Jesus? You think it's important? You better believe it's important. Listen to what Paul says, Philippians chapter 2, verse 14. Do all things. Oh, these words, all inclusive terms, right? Do all things without grumbling or disputing. Verse 5. Here's the reason. That you may prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent. Children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation among whom you appear as lights in the world. Beloved, when will you shine brightest in the world? When you are in the darkest of trials. Right? When do the stars shine brightest? When it's the darkest of nights. And when you go through that tribulation, it's imperative that you live your life without grumbling, without complaining, trusting in the Lord. God will use your life as a testimony and witness to show the veracity of the Gospel. I don't care if you have many friends or if you have one friend. I don't care if it's inside the church or outside of the church. Your life matters. Your trust in the Lord matters. I've heard it said that there are actually five gospels. There are five gospels. You know the first four, right? Matthew, say it with me in your head. Mark, Luke, John. So who's the fifth gospel? You. You're the fifth gospel. You're the fifth gospel. Listen, they may never read the words of Jesus, but they're going to read your life. They may never hear the words of Jesus and the word of Scripture, but they're going to hear every word that comes out of your mouth, and they're going to judge you on it. They're going to hold you accountable to it. Are you revealing a trusting disposition in the Lord? Are you revealing a rejoicing attitude in the Lord? Well, let's go to the third point then. Let's go to the third point. If we're going to maintain a joyful attitude, we need to 1. Rejoice in the Lord. 2. Reveal your trust in the Lord. And 3. Rest in the Lord's proximity. Rest in the Lord's proximity. The third way to maintain a joyful attitude is to rest in the Lord's proximity. Look at the end of verse 5. This is awesome. Look at what Paul says to the Philippians. The Lord is what? Near. The Lord is near. Here, Paul abruptly inserts an indicative statement of fact. This is a surety. This is a guarantee. In the original, the verb of being has to be supplied because it's merely implied by the noun and the adjective. The noun is the Lord. That is the subject. Near is the adjective. Near further describes the Lord. Where is the Lord? The Lord is near. So what does Paul mean? Well, there are two possibilities. Paul is either referring to space or he's referring to time. One or the other. He's either referring to space or time. If he's referring to time or temporally, Paul is encouraging his readers to rest in the Lord's imminent return. That is to say that the time of his appearance is near. Their hope would be that God would vindicate his people at the presence and coming of our Lord. That Jesus himself would offer retribution and vengeance for the wrongs that the Philippian saints had suffered. So they were to take heart. They were to be comforted. The result would be that the present Lord would bring absolute justice to his people. And the Philippians may have been encouraged temporarily to trust that the Lord is going to return at any moment. Twinkling of an eye, he'll be here. He'll right every wrong. He'll pour out all the vengeance on your enemies. You wanted to, but refrained because he said don't. Vengeance is mine. I'll deal with them. Maybe that's what he's referring to. It's possible. If you look at chapter 3, verse 20, look at the text. Chapter 3, verse 20, in the closer context, Paul encourages them, for our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of the power that He has, even to subject all things to Himself. That includes our enemies, right? So maybe that's what Paul is encouraging them with. Temporally, the Lord is coming back soon. Don't worry about your difficulties. Don't worry about those trials and tribulations. Or, he could be referring to spatially. To space. Meaning this, if Paul is encouraging his readers to rest in the Lord's personal presence with his people, as one commentator writes, quote, the Lord is standing by. He's the looking one, hearing every word spoken, taking note of every action, end quote. And that should produce a joyful attitude through the Lord's knowledge and presence, right? Knowing that we don't go through this life alone, but Christ is with us. Psalm 34, 18, the Lord is near to thee. Broken hearted? Right? Psalm 34, 18. Psalm 145, 18. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him. To all who call upon Him in truth. I mean, we know that the Lord is omnipresent, right? He's with you when you're crying in your car. He's with you when you're praying and burning holes in the rug in your bedroom saying, God, I don't see a way out. I need help here. He's with you when you're hurting in the hospital. When your heart is breaking, He's with you. So we know that spatially He's with us. We know that temporally He is near. He's coming back soon. Jesus said, when He was ascended into heaven, Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. If this be the case, then Jesus is closer to you than I am, right? If he's talking spatially, then Jesus is closer to you than the person sitting next to you, in front of you, or behind you. He's closer to you than the words on your lips, or the breath on your mouth. Now personally, I think Paul is purposely ambiguous for a two-fold reason. I think he wants his readers to think of Jesus both close in space and close in time, because both are true. I think both are true, and I think Paul is purposely being ambiguous. He wants them to live their lives. Listen, he wants you to live your life as if Jesus is coming back today, and he's with you right now. Because that's true! With Jesus by our side and potentially returning at any minute, His proximity should cause us to rejoice at all times and through all situations because our rejoicing is in Him! It's in Him. And if you love Him and you believe in Him, if you are loyal to Him, devoted to Him, trust in Him, If you are convinced that He died for your sins and rose again from the dead for your justification, beloved, this has to be true of you. Has to be true of you. And if it is true of you, then you will be able to be resolved to be rejoicing. And if you're still saying, well, how is this all supposed to be applied to my life? What if I struggle? What if I really have a difficulty having a bad attitude? Point number four. Let's get ready to land the plane. So look at point number four, we're going to look at verses six and seven here. The fourth way to maintain a joyful attitude is how? Rejoice in the Lord, reveal your trust in the Lord, rest in the Lord's proximity, and rely upon the Lord in prayer. Rely upon the Lord in prayer. These two verses of the fundamental and essential yet elementary and basic truths we need to cling to and practice if we're going to maintain a joyful attitude. I don't care if you became a Christian today or if you've been walking with Jesus for 15 years. Well, if you've been walking with Jesus for 50 years, then you know this verse is true, and you know how applicable it is, and you know how necessary it is to pray. And if you're new in the faith, then you need to befriend an older saint in the Lord, and learn from them. Because they've been there, they've done that, they've walked the block with Jesus. And they know how essential prayer is, and we can know this, right? Intellectually, oh yeah, Christians ought to be about praying. But are you? Are you about opening your heart and your mind to the Lord, trusting Him in prayer, calling upon the name of the Lord, telling Him what's burdening your heart, asking Him, making requests? Look at the text. Look at the text. Verse 6. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request remain known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I want you to note here verse 6. Verse 6 begins with what? It begins with a prohibition. It begins with a negative imperative command given to everyone. Again, he's speaking like a Southerner. Literally, you all be anxious for nothing. That, my friends, is an all-inclusive statement. Now, before our minds wander, let me note again what Paul is not saying. He's not saying that we can never have cares or concerns He's not saying that. Paul used the same exact word positively to describe Timothy back in Philippians chapter 2. Look with me. I want you to see this. Chapter 2 verse 20. Speaking about Timothy, Paul said this. For I have no one else of tender spirit who will genuinely be anxious for your welfare. Translated in the NAS, concerned. Positively, it's concerned. Negatively, it's anxious. But I wanted you to catch the word. Does Paul want us to be caring people? You better believe he does. He wants you to be caring and compassionate. He wants you to be concerned about one another. Love one another. Be caring people. Hurt when your brother hurts. Rejoice when your brother rejoices. Weep when your brother weeps. But what does he not want us to be? Well, let's look at what he is saying. Verse 6. Be anxious for nothing. That is an all-inclusive statement. It's an all-inclusive statement that J.B. Lightfoot calls this, quote, anxiety. Here's his definition. Quote, anxious, harassing care, that unreasonable anxiety which arises in one who is full of cares, especially about the future, and thus distracted in mind. End quote. How does that look today? Well, let me say, if you're pondering your situation to the point that you have heartburn, okay, if you're so consumed If you're so distracted by whatever issue is going on in your life that you can't sleep, you can't eat, you can't go to church, then you're not trusting in the Lord. Okay, let's own up to it and call it what it is. It's anxiety. It's anxiety that's unholy. It's unrighteous. It's sinful. The physical signs of anxiety are clear. I mean, that's exactly why there are things called Tums and Rolands, right? They're in business because we're an anxious people. Now, to begin with, we have to realize that to violate this command, beloved, to violate this command, this negative imperative, not to be anxious, we are not only acting theologically foolish, but we're being morally rebellious against God. This is serious. To be anxious is to be morally rebellious against God. We have to understand that anxiety not only demonstrates a lack of confidence in God, but it makes God out to be, or at least we treat Him to be, a liar, untrustworthy, unfaithful, unloving. Do you see why it's an issue with God? I mean, you know what it's like, husbands. When your wife asks you for the 20th time, do you love me? Honey, I said I do. I'm faithful. I come home every night. I labor for you. Why? What? I tell you. No. I'm hoping you tell her all the time and you express it not only in your words but in your actions. You understand the frustration of, honey, of course I love you. You know I love you. How much infinitely offended is God when we're like, God, I don't know if you love me. What? I gave my son for you! How dare you question my love for you! How dare you question my provision for you! I gave my very best for you! Do you see why God gets offended? Why God says it's a sin? And beloved, we have to clean the verses just like that when we're struggling. Lord, do you love me enough to provide for the bills? Do you love me enough to provide me with hope and a future even though I'm terminally ill? Do you love me enough even though I lost my job? We need to be reminded that God did not spare his own son, Romans 8.32, but delivered him over for us all. How are we not all to with him freely give us all things? I mean, what did Jesus say in Matthew 6, right? You know that, again, elementary truths. We know this. But when tribulation and trial happens, right? Oh Lord, are you going to provide food? Are you going to provide clothing? Am I going to be provided drink? What is the summary of Matthew 6? Jesus says it this way. This is my summary. Don't worry about what you'll eat, what you'll drink, or what you'll wear. Worry won't add one hour to your life. Look at the birds! I love looking at those birds. Seagulls around here. Think about it. God has used many of you to provide for those birds. You think you're just throwing french fries out there. He's using you to provide for them and they don't have a care in the world. Look at the lilies of the field. Look at how God provides. He clues them. Aren't you much more important than they? Of course. But what are we supposed to do? Matthew 6.33, But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all things will be added to you. That is to say, obey His will. Do what He says. Seek His authority. Seek His will. And God will take care of you. And let me encourage you, Christian, if you sin, God will still take care of you. He just does it through chastisement. Right? Hebrews 12. He'll chastise you because He loves you. Because you're not an illegitimate child. He loves you and He'll chastise you. The only time it will be beneficial is when? The Bible says when we learn from it and we yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. He'll still take care of you. He'll never leave you nor abandon you. But we've got to obey the text. Look at the end of verse 6 here. Here's a contrasting conjunction. Be anxious for nothing, but, in contrast to being anxious, in everything, in everything, in the big things and the little things, in the major issues of life and in the minor issues of life, do what? By prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. I think these words here, prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving, they're similar, but they are different. I don't think Paul is just using these synonymous words for some sort of stylistic change-up. He's trying to be colorful with his language, so to speak. No, I think they have definitive meaning. When he talks about prayer, he's talking, he's encouraging the saints, instead of being anxious, communicate with God. Pray to Him. Talk to Him. In your general communication to God, talk to Him about your cares and your concerns. And also in your supplication. That is, in your petition, both for others and for yourself. Intrigue Him. Call upon Him. Make your requests known to Him. And to do it, as it were, in a basket of what? Look at the text. Thanksgiving. Why? Well, because Thanksgiving is what characterizes Christians. We are to be a thankful people. Why? Because God's our Father. He's our faithful provider. He's our forgiving God. And if you can't find something to be thankful for, I'd go back to say, are you even a Christian? How can you not be thankful for something that God has done in your life, sustaining you, providing for you, forgiving you, faithfully serving you? I mean, there's always something to be thankful for. So why does Paul command us to let your request be made known to God? Why does he say that? Literally, he commands. It's a commandment. Literally, make your request known to God. Comparative command. Why? Does God not know? Is God lacking in knowledge? No, we need to go back to CO1, right? God is omniscient. He knows everything. He knows. He knows what's going on in your life. He knows your hurts, your struggles, your trials, your tribulations. He's aware of that. We tell God, not for His benefit or to inform Him, but for our benefit. This is God's gracious gift to us. It's called prayer. Prayer is a gift given to us for our benefit. We cry out to Him. We cast our cares on Him. We are reminded as we do so that He loves us, that He answers our prayer in His will and in His time. Beloved, this is to characterize us as Christians, those that have faith in Christ. Some have asked, even, if God is sovereign, why do we pray? Right? If God is sovereign, then why pray? Let's be fatalistic. One pastor recently responded with this. If God wasn't sovereign, why would we pray? Of course God is sovereign. That's exactly why we pray. We pray for the salvation of others. Why? Because God saves people. He opens their hearts. Not me. He opens their minds to believe and receive the gospel. Not me. Paul is commanding us to pray to God for our benefit and His glory. We talk to God, we tell God our burdens, our concerns, we cast all anxiety upon Him. Why? Because He cares for us. Listen, you don't want to be like someone throwing darts any just where. Right? If you throw darts any which way, you never miss. If you don't have a bullseye, then you can't miss. Right? How do we see God answer prayer? Pray specifically. Pray regularly. Be mindful of what you're praying. And when He answers, your heart rejoices. Praise God He said yes. Praise God He said no. Praise Him if He gives. Praise Him if He takes away. You praise Him all the time. But when we pray, we see that He listens, He hears, He responds. And what's the conclusion? Look at verse 7. This will happen. This will happen. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now, the peace of God here, I think this is both the peace that comes from God and belongs to God and is given to those who trust and obey God. This is not limited or isolated to salvific peace. That peace of God which is brought about once we are spiritually reconciled to God and redeemed to God through faith in Jesus Christ? I don't think it's limited to that at all. I think it goes beyond that. It's the peace, as the Bible says, that surpasses all comprehension. This is the peace that is inherent within the nature of God that He gives us as a spiritual gift. It's just spiritual grace. How do we know that? Well, because Paul says so. Look at the text. It surpasses all comprehension. It goes beyond understanding. Does it mean it's not understandable? Does he mean it's incomprehensible? No. I think what he means is that it's spiritual. This is what believers, this is what Christians experience. That is to say that God's bestowed peace is both transcendent and beyond human ingenuity, human insight, or human understanding. It's what causes tranquility within a Christian during the most difficult of circumstances. It surpasses all comprehension because it is spiritually experienced by the one who has faith in God. It is God's gift to those who trust and believe in Him. It's that spiritual attitude and disposition that in the most distressing of circumstances, you can sing with the hymn writer, When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say, It is well, it is well with my soul. Why? What makes it possible for a Christian to pray that? Because He gives me His peace. It's because I'm resting in His proximity. It's because I am revealing my trust in the Lord. It is because I am rejoicing in the One who is sovereign over my circumstances. My hope is in Him. And Paul here, he uses a play on words. Look at verse 7. The peace that surpasses understanding will do what? It shall guard your hearts and your mind. What's the plan word? Remember where Paul's writing from. He's tied to a Roman guard. He's under 24 hour surveillance. That's exactly what God's peace does for us. We're under his 24 hour surveillance. We're tied to His peace. It's a spiritual gift to us. And the Bible says it will guard your hearts and your minds, your emotions and your intellect. What you feel and what you think will be back in Jesus, right? Look at the bookends. Rejoice in the Lord at the beginning. Your hearts and your minds will be guided in a person, Christ Jesus. It's all about the Gospel. It's all about the Lord. It's all about our Savior. The only thing to ask is, are we resolved to be joyful? Are we resolved to rejoice in the Lord? Are we resolved to reveal our trust in the Lord? Are we resolved to rest in the Lord's proximity? Are we resolved to trust in the Lord through prayer? Let's pray and ask God to help us. Father in heaven, we thank you for your love and your grace. Thank you for your empowerment. Thank you for these clear imperatives that we know, by the power of our resurrected Savior, we can obey. And God, you know where we fail. You know our struggles, our trials. God, we ask that you help us. Help us to live a life, both in the church and outside of the church, that demonstrates the truthfulness and veracity of the gospel, that we've been changed by Christ. Help us have that right joyful, blessed disposition that we might bring your name glory. Father, we thank you. We thank you that you are our anchor. Lord Jesus, we thank you that you are our stronghold. We thank you that you are a rock. We thank you for your Holy Spirit who lives and resides in us. who empowers us to will and to obey. So God, we pray that you'd help us to live out our salvation with fear and trembling, with a joyful attitude. In Jesus' precious name, Amen.