and then we'll talk about a few things tonight. So, Philippians 4 verse 9, with all the stuff going on in the world with war, the threat of war, the war actually in the Middle East that's going on now, I don't know that I've been any place in the last few days that people are not talking about what's going on. And if you're a churchgoer, People want to know, is this the end? Is this the end? Is this the stuff that we read about in the end? I don't know if this is the end, Arnie. I know that the end is near. The Bible tells us things to look for. We could be 100 years away from the end or 500 years away from the end. That doesn't change how you and I react in the world. And I think we gotta make sure we never lose focus of that. When I read verse nine, this is what it says. Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you. God has promised us peace. in all circumstances, whether it's a sickness, whether it's a war, whether it's a divorce, whatever catastrophe on the outside is going on, it doesn't have to affect the inside. And I think that was the whole purpose of this letter to the Philippians. Now, never forget one important part about this letter. Where was Paul when he wrote it? He was in So here's a guy writing about peace and circumstances while in prison, which tells me he knew what he was talking about. So when somebody knows what they're talking about, I love to listen to them. I love to talk to people with experience. Several years ago when I was living in Colorado, there was a guy, we all went to Denver to watch him. He was well known in giving advice to parents about raising kids. And I'd heard about him my whole life as a young preacher, a young dad. So I loaded up a bunch of church people from our church in Colorado. We drove to Denver, all of us young, new parents. And it took about five minutes to realize I wasted my trip. Can I tell you why? I mean, Phyllis, everything you said was exactly true. But there was one problem. He had no kids. And it was just hard. I love when people give me advice from experience of life. And you don't even have to birth a child to know what it's like to parent. There's a lot of people who's parented other kids that they never gave birth to. I think that is still the same. But somebody that has no kids and telling people who have kids how to do it, It's hard for me to swallow. When Paul writes about having peace in all circumstances, and I know this guy's in prison, I know this guy's been beaten, I know this guy, how he's going to die, because I have the book. I like to read about this guy and I like to understand, how did you have peace? So, believe it or not, I don't know if you all believe in life verses. I was taught that a long time ago. There's probably a verse that just keeps coming back up to you in your life. Philippians 4, 7 and Romans 8, 28 were my fight between those two. I don't know really which one is my life or which one I keep going to. But Flipping's 4-7 is really one of those that ranks high. But I'm telling you, this week I've been studying that again because it's one of my favorites. And every time I do, I find a little bit more about what he's talking about. So let me just share a few things with you. I'll try not to be long. But I want you to see these things. I want you to focus from 4 to 7, 4 to 7. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. I think any time a writer repeats himself twice about one thing, I think it's important to take notice. When Isaiah was writing about what the seraphims were saying, they said, holy, holy, holy. I think that was when Jesus wanted to talk to Peter, Simon, Simon. I think anytime the name is mentioned twice or a word is mentioned twice, it's important to God. And I think when we see this, I think this is going to remind me that the number one thing that's going to help me have peace in trying times is always rejoicing in the Lord. We have to know that joy does not come from circumstances. I was listening while I traveled to Lexington today. I was listening to this guy talking about happiness. And he gave the top seven reasons for happiness. You know, every one of them was circumstantial. And I agree with some of them, by the way. He said, those who have money are happy, and those who don't have money are unhappy. And I'm like, I'm that guy. When the bank account's good, Arnie, I'm a pretty happy guy. But when the bank account's not as good, I'm not as happy as I am sometimes. Is anybody like that? Weather, sunny, like perfect degrees, I'm happy. This morning, frost on the window, not real happy. So you say weather controls your happiness? It does. I'm telling you circumstances can control my happiness. But I'm not talking about happiness tonight. I'm talking about joy. And there is a difference, a total difference, because joy is uncircumstantial. It does not matter what's going on on the outside, it doesn't affect what's going on on the inside. And I think when Paul writes this, he's writing from a place in his life where he has got joy while in prison. He's got joy in the circumstances he's in. And I tell you, to me, that's the key to this whole thing tonight. If you can maintain that joy. Now I'm gonna be honest with you. I'm gonna ask you an honest question. How many of you have trouble containing that joy? I hope this could help. I hope this can help tonight. Because here's what I've learned, and I'll go ahead and tell you what I learned. I'll give you about five minutes, okay? Here's what I learned. When I remind myself of who God is, and who Jesus is, and the power that they have, there's nothing that stands in the way for as God is concerned. So my joy is not in the circumstances, my joy is in the God of my circumstances. That doesn't mean that a test result will come back the way I wanted to. It doesn't mean that a family member will live instead of die. But it does remind me that God is the most powerful force in the universe. And He's on my side. And the Bible says in Romans 5.1, being justified by faith, we have Peace with God through Christ Jesus. When I put my faith and trust in Jesus, the peace of God became part of my life. So the circumstances are not out of His hand. There's a word that really preachers with initials in front of their names, like doctors and stuff, they use sovereign. I just like to use powerful. My God is all powerful. He knows everything, He sees everything, and He can do anything. So when I put my trust in that, every circumstance that comes down the pike should not interfere. Then tell me, Susan, why I worry so much and why I get anxious over little things. Could it be that I forget from time to time about the God of the power? And I think if I start rejoicing in Him just every day, just thinking about who He is and what He's done, I think it helps me. And I put down in my Bible when I started this study Monday, just start praising God. Even if you're by yourself, praise God. Even if no one cares, praise God. Even if somebody don't like how you're dressed or somebody don't like something, praise God. Now, I wrote down a couple passages I wanted to read to you, so go with me to Psalms. Let me just take you to Psalms 1 first. I remember years ago, when we were doing RU, this was the one they had to memorize, Psalms 1. Blessed or happy is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law does he meditate day and night. So how does the psalmist say a person will find happiness? Huh? How you walk, right? And your delight is in the law of the Lord. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in the season. His leaves shall also not wither, and whatsoever he doeth what? But what does he say about the other group? Y'all just read one phrase. Doesn't God hear what? Not so. Go over to Psalms 127, I think. Psalm 27, where does it say one? I'm looking at 27. It's just 27. Listen to these first four or five verses. The Lord is my light, my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a hole should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear. Though war should rise against me, in this will I be. Be confident. One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek after, that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. Watch verse 5. For in the time of trouble he shall what? Hide me in his pavilion. In the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me, he shall set me upon a rock. That's pretty good stuff. If you just remind yourself, you know, even in Isaiah 40, the Bible tells us, have you not heard? Have you not seen? Talk about the Lord. Even the youth shall faint, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall man up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. I know every one of those verses, but yet, sometimes I worry. Sometimes I get anxious. It's kind of ironic, I guess. that I was working on this sermon, and I got anxious about something this morning, and my blood pressure got high enough, Martha, that my ears were ringing. And I told Rochelle, I said, my ears are ringing. And I started hearing like an echo. And I knew what it was. It's blood pressure. Anybody here ever like let it climb? And God's like, hey, we've been reading this for two days. Get a grip on this. I am in control. I got this. And I think sometimes we all need to just, I put down on the top of my Bible this afternoon, calm down. Is that biblical? Calm down? I think it is. I think I can show you that in verse 5. Back to Philippians 4. So the first thing we need to do is rejoice in the Lord. We need to praise God. Even if you're by yourself. I just love it about David in the book of Samuel. When everybody else turned against him, the Bible said, David encouraged himself and the Lord is God. Don't wait on the preacher. I wish somebody would just come by and encourage me. Well, encourage yourself in the Lord. Amen? Sometimes you need to do that, and that's Paul. Paul said, Rejoice in the Lord when? Always. Always. There's not a time you cannot praise God. Verse 5, this is where I learned something, and we might just quit after this one. I've always just memorized it and moved on, but I want to know it. So it said, let your moderation be known unto all men. So, you're going to help me. What's moderation? Not done to excess. So we talk about drinking moderation. Don't drink to excess, right? That's the word moderation. Anybody else? Self-controlled. You know, all these are great words, but it's not the exact word he's looking for. I was amazed when I looked up moderation to find out the word graciousness. So think about the sentence. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Here was the big lesson for Steve this week that really resonated enough to stick. Sometimes, y'all gonna love this, sometimes we don't get treated the way we should have got treated and somebody got treated better. Or sometimes it didn't go your way and you were in the right, but the one that was in the wrong got it. Anybody yet getting this? I'm not gracious when it goes wrong, Ronnie. Fair's fair, Sam. I was right. Anybody ever been right and just wanted to fight your case? Let me tell you what Paul's writing. Sometimes, now this is going back to the verse prior. If you really believe God, how many really believe God in control totally? So why would you think, when it don't go your way, that all of a sudden he tapped out for a minute, and you need to fix this? God's in control, Brian. He's in control. So when it doesn't slide the way you want it to slide, and you start fighting it, come on, look at me. Paul says, be gracious. Again, where is he writing from? Did he deserve it? There you go. He did not. He's writing about being gracious while in prison, even though he'd been treated wrong. Now I thought, you know what? This group on Wednesday night will not agree with me. Because I'm looking in your eyes right now and I'm like, no brother, you're wrong right there. And I'm glad you all brought it up. I thought, I'm gonna go all the way to the front of the Bible, Betty, and I found one, Genesis. Abraham and Lot came up out of Egypt. Their numbers were huge. Abraham told Lot, you pick whichever way you want, and I'll take the leftover. Lot picked the best land. No, no, Brother Steve. Yes, yes, Brother Steve. Go back and read the story. Lot picked the best land, and Abraham took what was left. Lot got the land, and Abraham got the promise. Sometimes... Change that. All the time, God will make it right. You don't need to do it to help him. Boy, I got some bad places on my lip where I've been biting. Because God's like, Steve, you need to just shut this up and just trust me. Anybody need to do that too? You're in control, always. Praise the Lord. Rejoice, Steve, always. Not circumstances, but always. And trust me, I will make it right. I know what's going on. I want you to see this part of verse 5, because I think this is really probably the most important part of verse 5. He said this, Let your moderation be what? To? Yeah. See, y'all can take this away from me. This is all about your testimony. See, when it comes down to life as a Christian, our testimony is the only thing we have. Oh no, we got the gospel. Listen, if you've got a bad testimony, the gospel's not going to be really good coming out of your mouth. You need a good testimony. And sometimes you're going to have to be gracious in a time you don't want to be gracious because of all men. Do you notice what else he said there? Why? There you go. Oh, brother, we're in the last days. Yeah, we are. The Lord's soon coming. I agree. That's why. That's why. We need to let our moderation, our graciousness show forth in our life. Just say, yeah, you know what? You're right. I just need to sit down and talk to you. Can I talk about things I hate? When I'm out eating with people, and everything they bring to the table, Brother Logan, something's wrong with it. That drops me to death when people are like, well, this steak's too done. Who made this salad? I didn't want that on top. Are you kidding me? And most of the time, these people just left church. And they don't tip. How do you know that? Because the waitress is telling stuff. I just want to get up and walk away. Well, I found a hair in my food. All you want is a free meal. Hey, I baked the wrong order before. I chewed a steak all the way home, cause it was tough. Cause somebody needed it well done. Who would eat a steak well done? Well, that's a whole nother sermon. Here's what I'm saying. Calm down. Amen? There's people who just want this. Everything's wrong. And God is saying for us, We've got to be more gracious than that. That's what Paul's talking about. Now listen, this is all headed to my favorite verse, but you don't just jump on verse 7 without these other verses. You need to be praising the Lord. You need to be more gracious when it comes to things. Satisfied in every situation. I'm working on this part. I wrote it. I'm learning to write things down that I need to work on. I say without bitterness. Because I can tell you something, I can forgive people fine, but I can be a little bitter. Bless y'all's hearts. I love pastoring holy people that never have these issues. I always know I'm headed to unity because of the halo that circles the building from the sky. Y'all with me? Six, be careful for nothing. But in everything, by prayer, supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. You know one of the keys to your prayer life is your thanksgiving life? The key to your prayer life is your thanksgiving. I think if we start with that thanksgiving, Probably the prayer list gets smaller toward the time we start asking for this stuff. You ever notice that? That the things you really were going to bring up, like, I'm not bringing that up. That's kind of like a kid. Sometimes we're just like kids, ain't we? My little granddaughters, if they don't have the right color of pacifier, I want the blue one, I want the blue one. Well, the red one's fine. Take the red one. I want the blue one. If he gave them the blue one, they would want what? The red one. We're just like that. But what God is saying, won't you start with thanking me? That's part of the praise thing. You see how this is kind of climbing together? Start thanking me and thanking me and thanking me, and then make the supplication. Now, the supplication part is when you ask not for the sick, but for yourself. Well, that's kind of weird, preacher. I don't really think you should ask for yourself stuff. Well, if you don't, who's going to? I do intercessory prayers, Brian. I do pray for people and on their behalf. But listen, from Lexington to here, I prayed for me a whole bunch of stuff. And then somebody would call and I'd talk to them a minute, then I'd hang up and I'd go back talking to God about my stuff. Because I remember what I was talking about. Because they're important to me and I'm asking Him. You know, I wrote down, Jesus said, ask and what? What else did he say? Seek and what? That's the same thing Paul said. Same thing he said. Prayer, whether it's Paul or Jesus talking to us, He's telling us the same stuff. We need to seek God on behalf of ourself and our needs. There's nothing wrong with that. Then He closed this way, "...and the peace of God which passeth all understanding." Shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I circled two words in that verse. Anybody know what two words I circled? Hearts and mind. See, Susan, if he can get my heart, chances are he's got my mind. But apparently, Lona, Because this anxiety thing and worry pops up again, he don't have all the heart he needs. Because the mind's going crazy. Has anybody in this room let their minds run crazy? Like, you start thinking about something, and you think the next step, and the next step, and the next step, and then how this thing's going to all go down in the end? That's when the pressure starts going and the ears start ringing. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Okay. Here's what he's telling me. How's this peace of God going to keep my heart and my mind? What did Romans 5-1 say? We are justified how? By faith. See, this all goes back to one simple thing. How powerful is your God? See, when I was 12 years old, he was powerful enough, Patrick, to get me out of hell. Apparently, Brian, from everything I understood and everything I read, I couldn't save myself. But he could save me from hell. So you know what Steve did? He jumped on the Jesus train. And I said, I don't care if there's other options. I'm in on this. This is the way I believe. This is what I trust. And I'm all in here. Anybody know what I'm talking about? Now, how powerful is that God for a 12-year-old? And then when I'm 19, He says, I need you to do this. I'm like, there's no way I can sit in front of a bunch of people and talk. You just need to trust me. And you know what? 42 years later, I trust him. So why do I have trouble in other issues if those two things, he's proved who he was and the power that he has? I'm just asking in the room tonight, is there anybody else who's got some worries and some anxiety over some stuff that you don't know how they're going to work out? I'm telling you tonight, it's your own fault. You're going to have to put it back on who you trusted on in the beginning, because he has the power to make it all right. And when it's not going like you want it to, then you not fakingly become gracious, but really become gracious. I'm just fine with it. And Brian and I have met people when things are, when they've just been rooked out of something, they just seem fine with it. I'm like, how are you like that? I'd had to said something. Am I the only one in the room that needs to say something? Thank you, brother. It's just me and you. I know you're not looking back. We're alone, brother. Everybody else is good. That's not true. There's a couple others of us. I love what Paul is writing, but I love what the Spirit is teaching. We can walk through this life graciously. and let the world know, how are you so calm? Well, it's God. God's in control of everything. Some circumstances I can control, but most of the time I'd make a mess. God's in control of this. You believe in God that much? I do. They see it. You feel it. And the blood pressure comes down. probably without even a pill. Amen. Let's stand and pray. Father, thank you tonight for loving us. Thank you for your Word. Lord, we learn every day from verses we think we know. So Lord, always help us be students of the Word. Help us delight in your Word. That's where we find this joy you're talking about, this happiness. Lord, it's not in the circumstances of life, but it's in who you are. So Lord, thank you tonight for everything you do. Lord, I pray for our time of invitation tonight. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. What are we singing, Doug? Let's sing one verse or something.