Good evening, everyone. Please open your Bibles to Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4. For anyone who is interested, there should be an outline on the back table if that would be helpful for you to follow along tonight. We've been working our way through the book of Philippians and we're coming into the fourth chapter and a few more sermons and we will be finishing with the book of Philippians. It has been a blessing for me, a very beneficial study in my personal life and I pray the Lord has blessed it in yours as well. Let's pray tonight and ask God to bless his word. Almighty God, we do come to you tonight, and we thank you for this Word. This Word that is inspired, that is inerrant, that is authoritative, that is infallible. We thank you, Lord, for this Word that is a light to our feet and a lamp to our path, that is a sword that pierces our hearts and convicts our souls, even as a discerner of the thoughts and intents of our heart. We thank you, Lord, that it is a sword that we can take up as our spiritual armor to wield off, to ward off the attacks of the evil one. And now we pray, O Lord, as we open your word tonight, that you would be our teacher. Although I am standing here and speaking words, Father, we do understand that unless the Holy Spirit opens our minds, unless he blesses our time tonight, where we will not be taught right. And thus we pray that you would be our teacher tonight, almighty God. For we do pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Paul begins the fourth chapter of Philippians with a call for peace, both in the body of Christ and in the Christian's personal life. Indeed, peace in the body flows from personal, individual peace. The first three verses of this chapter focus on a call to members of the congregation of Philippi, Ionia and Syntyche, to put aside whatever difference was between them and make peace as they were united in Christ. To ensure this comes to pass, Paul calls on a prominent member of the congregation, identified in verse three as true yoke fellow, to do the job of a peacemaker, bringing them together, excuse me, bringing them together and working through the issues that push them apart. Paul next fires three commands that have no grammatical connection with one another, but contain a common theme, the theme of peace. The focus here, however, is individual peace. Verses 1 through 3, we're dealing with peace in the body, as two members of the church were not at peace with one another. But Paul now turns to peace in our souls, peace as individual members of Christ. As we come to the Lord, as those who are united in him by faith, Paul speaks of peace. Let's read our text today. Please look at Philippians chapter 4. And I'm going to start with the first verse and read down through the seventh. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech Iodias and I beseech Syntyche that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers, whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which patheth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. I believe we can look at this passage tonight and break it into three parts. First, verse four. Verse 5, evident gentleness. And verses 6 and 7, perpetual prayerfulness. First, let's take a few moments to look at verse 4, continual rejoicing. Paul writes, And again, I say, rejoice. The Greek word translated here, rejoice, appears in seven verses, nine times in Philippians. In other words, it's a very frequent word in this book. You remember maybe the very first sermon I preached, I said it was one of the themes of the book. It keeps coming up again and again and again. And one of the most startling things about this is that as Paul writes, remember where he is. He's in a Roman prison. He's incarcerated. He's a prisoner. He's awaiting sentence. He doesn't know if he will live or die. And yet our Apostle continues over and over again to exhort us to joy. Joy in the Lord. Rejoice here, he says, in the Lord always. And again I say, rejoice. In chapter 3, verse 1, This word also appeared in the imperative, as it does here. Notice here, he not only commands us once, but twice. Twice in one verse. I've heard it said a number of times, that when the Lord repeats himself, we better listen. Paul says twice to us to rejoice in one verse. This repetition, of course, emphasizes the imperative. He does not want us to miss this point. Further, note the temporal qualifier. Always. Always. This explains that there is never a time in the Christian life in which rejoicing in the Lord is not appropriate. Thus it is a continual activity throughout our lives. The rejoicing spoken of is not a natural endowed personality trait. In other words, some people, in the way God made them for personality, they are more bubbly. They are normally more upbeat. And we praise God for that. But that's not what this word is referring to. Nor is it an emotional state based on external circumstances. In other words, we are not only told to rejoice when things are going well for us. He says, always. But this word rejoice refers to a spiritual disposition of one who has been redeemed by the blood of Christ. Paul makes this clear in Galatians chapter 5. If you please turn there to Galatians chapter 5. Galatians chapter 5. I want to read from verse 18 through 25. These are familiar verses. Many of you may have memorized them. dealing with the fruit of the Spirit. Joy, of course, is mentioned in this list. Galatians 5, verse 18. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these. adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings, and such like. Of the witch, I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, They which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Now observe as you look at this passage. Observe that the Apostles' contrast is between the works of the flesh and the deeds of the Spirit, or the fruit of the Spirit. His contrast is between the works of the flesh, those deeds that naturally exude from an unregenerate heart, and the fruit of the Spirit, those attributes flowing from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. As each one is born, we are born sinful, and as we grow up, we will manifest these works of the flesh, naturally, as sons of Adam, as sinful people. But he contrasts that with the work of the Spirit of God in our lives. And he says, for all of you who are led, controlled by the Spirit, you will bear good fruit. And he names them. and among them is joy. These fruits, then, are the work of the Holy Spirit, and evidence is His sanctifying grace in one's life. In other words, the joy mentioned here is brought about in the Christian life by God Himself. As the Spirit works, convincing of sin, bringing to repentance, empowering to put to death the old man and bringing to life the new man, joy, along with the other fruits, will be more and more evident, eventually becoming the defining factors in the person's life. So we have a brand new Christian, who may have just received Christ. And because he is in Christ, he will have these fruits of the Spirit evident through regeneration. But as he matures in his understanding of the Word, as he makes diligent use of the means of grace, as he enters into deeper fellowship with Christ, he will grow. He will mature. And these fruits will be more evident in his life. The Spirit is working and sanctifying when this comes to pass. The joy spoken of by the Apostle is an organic and dynamic spiritual attribute that results from a mind that fully understands its natural inclination to sin resulting in death and the saving grace shown by God. It is the emotional response of the love of God poured into the soul. It is not some kind of artificial type of plastic smiling mask covering a soul that is distraught with despair. When Paul tells us to rejoice here, in other words, he is not telling us to fake it. He's not telling us just to walk around with some smile on our face all the time because we should rejoice. This is a natural, organic fruit of the Spirit that as the Holy Spirit works in us, we exude forth with joy and we can't help but show forth the characteristic that the Spirit is working in us. The joy of the Spirit fills the soul and radiates forth in one's attitude and conduct. The object of this joy, we must understand, is not past or present circumstances. Look at verse 4 and notice with me that Paul does not say, No! It is a good thing for us. Because many circumstances have little, if anything, in which to rejoice. In other words, bad things happen to us. And when they're happening to us, we don't always like it. The object, then, of the Christian's continual rejoicing is not the ever-changing ebb and flow of circumstances, but our never-changing Lord. We rejoice in the Lord. We rejoice in Christ. We rejoice in His goodness and His grace shown to us as wretched, poor sinners. Here, the commentary of John Eady. I want to read this to you. Eady says, quote, their condition and prospects, and contrast them with their past state of gloom and unhappiness? Could they but realize the nobleness and power of the truth they had embraced, and the riches and certainty of the hopes they were cherishing? Could they estimate the saving change effected in their souls, and picture too that glorification which was to pass over their bodies? Then, as they as they traced all blessings to Christ in union with Him, they would rejoice in the Lord, not in themselves as recipients, but in Him as source, not only in the gifts conferred, but in Him especially as the gracious benefactor. To rejoice in Him is to exult in Him, not as a dim abstraction, but as a living person. So near and so loving, so generous and so powerful, that the spirit ever turns to him in admiring and grateful homage, covets his presence as sunshine, and revels in fellowship with him." Close quote from Edie. You see the point here then? Paul is commanding us to rejoice in the Lord. Think for a moment about our Lord. Think for a moment about His glory. Think for a moment what Paul told us in Philippians chapter 2, that he humbled himself. Isn't that a wonderful passage to meditate upon? Think then about the gospel account of his birth, his life, his death, and his glorious resurrection. As we meditate on Christ, this command is not so difficult for us after all. There is so much for us to rejoice in as the people of God. We are called to rejoice Edahier explains, to rejoice in Christ is to take account of all the spiritual blessings that are resident in Him, to which the believer is now recipient, and to see all of life in relation to this blessedness. Moreover, to the point, it is to celebrate one's connection with the person of Christ, the Lord of glory, to know Him, as Paul discussed in chapter 3, verse 10. To rejoice in Jesus is to be enthralled in worship of His person and glory in the opportunity afforded a poor, miserable sinner to be numbered among His servants. We are servants of the King of kings. You got an invitation to visit Buckingham Palace. You might be full of joy. You might say, wow, I've never been to a real palace before. And if you got there and the queen herself came up to you and said, I like the way you are dressed today. You look neat and tidy. I want you to be one of my personal servants in Buckingham Palace. You would say, wow, irate. you would be full of joy. But how much more to be a servant of the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Creator of all, the One who made all things, the One who is the Savior of our souls. Rejoicing in Christ means to be captivated by His majestic presence and the grandeur of His life on earth, His death and His resurrection. This is how one rejoices in the midst of trial, turmoil, difficulty, and unrest. Christ is bigger, abler, and more glorious than anything that might rear its head on a troubled soul. This is how Paul and Silas rejoiced in the Lord, singing hymns and praising his name. After enduring a beating, and being chained in the inner cell of the prison at Philippi. There was nothing in their present circumstance in which to rejoice. They were ridiculed, falsely accused, mistreated, but the object of their rejoicing was far grander. It was focused well beyond those sturdy walls and bars, fixated upon the One who made all things and wrought a wonderful saving work in their souls. Their focus was not on their own circumstances, but on the glory of the living God and His risen Christ, the Christ in whom they were called to be ministers. It was in Christ that they rejoiced. And we must too. We're commanded to rejoice in the Lord always. Paul explains in Romans 14, 17, For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Paul tells us this is the Kingdom of God. This is the very nature of the Kingdom. That we might now rejoice in the King. Well, this brings up maybe a few questions in our minds. We might say, but if joy is a fruit of the Spirit, and I have the Holy Spirit indwelling me, why do I not always feel this joy? Why is it sometimes I feel downright depressed, discouraged, or discontent? Why do I find it difficult to rejoice always? I won't ask anyone to raise their hand, but probably someone out there, including the guy standing up on the podium, has many times not really felt a whole lot like rejoicing. And yet here Paul tells us we must do this. This is an apostolic command. We must do it all way. Well then, if this is a fruit of the Spirit, if God calls us to this, if this is a characteristic of the Kingdom of God, why don't we always feel full of this joy? Well, these are good questions, worthy of asking and worthy of giving a few moments of our time this evening. It is indeed true that many Christians do not always exhibit this attitude of joy in full measure. However, we must forthrightly admit that the problem is not with God in this. When we are not in a state of spiritual fervor that we are rejoicing in the Lord, and it is drudgery for us to do so, if we might remember this command and say, oh, I have to rejoice. How am I going to do this? We must, first of all, understand God's not the problem here. God has given us His Spirit. The Scripture clearly teaches us this. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit. Scripture clearly teaches us this. So we must say that the problem is not with God, but it resides in us. As we focus our gaze with the eyes of faith past present circumstances and upon the Lord and His provision, the Spirit works joy in us. However, If we are focused on the trials of life, the foolishness of our comrades at work, the inadequacies of our spouse, and by the way, they're probably focused on your inadequacies as well, the wealth of others in relation to our own alleged poverty, our joy decreases. Likewise, if instead of seeking growing fellowship with the Lord, we are seeking joy in worldly entertainment, relationships, or achievements, our spiritual joy will diminish. So in other words, there may be things in life that give you joy. I get great joy from holding my two little girls on my lap, on my lazy boy, on Saturday morning as the Lord wills. Lot of joy, big smile on my face. However, not even a good thing like that can be something that is my only source of joy, that outshines my relationship with Christ. I have to continue to focus my attention on the Lord. How much more in bad times? How much more is this true when we're being tried? At that point, we need to focus our attention on the Lord. Thus we must ask ourselves, what is my daily focus? Am I living by faith, trusting Christ, and resting in His promises? Or am I seeking to run my own life, my own way, and being distracted by present circumstances and allowing them to dictate my actions instead of Christ's word? When the distractions come, when temptation come, when difficulties come, Do we go into crisis mode, in other words? Or do we remember that we serve a sovereign God? Do we remember, and do we say either out loud or sign it to ourselves, Romans 8, 28? Oh, praise God. Praise God for who you are, Lord. When we begin to focus on the Lord again, our joy will return. We need to pray for it. We need to ask God about it. We need to continue to focus our attention on what we should focus our attention on. Further, is it my heart's desire to grow in fellowship with Christ? If so, am I making diligent use of the means of grace to this end? Remember I said that if we are not in fellowship with God, our joy will decrease. Well, we should ask ourselves, am I in fellowship with God? Am I making diligent use of prayer and scripture reading? And am I doing these things because I love the Lord and I desire to be with Him? Is Christ a source of my greatest joy? Or are there some other people, things, or pleasures that rival Christ as a joy in my life? I don't want you to get the wrong idea here, that you shouldn't take joy in anything else. shouldn't walk around sour all the time, except when you're thinking about the Lord. That isn't the idea here. The idea is that Christ should be our greatest joy, above all else. Christ is a supreme object of the Christian's joy. Thus, every circumstance is interpreted against the backdrop of his glorious person and gracious provision. Paul commands us, rejoice in the Lord always. At this point, the natural inclination of the sin-cursed soul is to insert an honest, but you don't know my circumstance. I would rejoice, but this is good providence of God that he has inspired his holy repetition for our learning and anticipation of such excuses. Rejoice in the Lord always. It's almost like there should be a pause there and wait for the but. And again I say rejoice. Paul's saying there's no getting around this. We cannot sit back and take some time off from rejoicing. We must not see ourselves as the exception to apostolic command here. God knows the heart of man and he knows what is best for us. There is no room for exception or excuse. The apostle has not left one minutia of an inch of weagle. He says, Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, Rejoice. Let's then go to verse 5. where Paul deals with evident gentleness. Again, this is a command. The word translated moderation is a very interesting word in Greek. It is a word that has no exact English equivalent. There's no English equivalent that brings out the entire nuance of the word. So as we're translating, as we're starting with the original Greek and we're translating into English, we look for words that give an exact representation of what's going on there or very close. And this word in Greek is so big that there's no English word that does it justice. It is used outside the Bible in classical writings to designate a superior that does not insist on a wooden application of the letter of the law, but instead uses wisdom to apply the spirit of the law to each case. From this, it became used to designate the qualities of forbearance, generosity, considerateness, reasonableness, and moderation. Yeah, the word has all of those nuances in it. Lastly, it has been used to describe meekness under provocation. That is, not striking back, but quietly enduring agitation. From this overview, one can see the wide range of meaning of this word. However, providentially, it does appear four times in the New Testament. It would be helpful then for us to look at these four occasions tonight. So I'm going to ask you first to look at 1 Timothy 3. 1 Timothy 3, verse 3, where this same word that is translated in verse 5, moderation, appears. This is where the Apostle Paul is writing about the qualifications of elders in the church. And he's going through the list of qualifications for an elder, and he says, not given to wine, no striker, not greedy of filthy lucre, but, and here's our word, patient. Not a brawler, not covetous. So here we see that one of the qualifications of an elder in Christ's church is to be patient. And that's the word here translated moderation in Philippians 4. Which would mean here that the elder should be able to forbear when wronged due to a mild spirit. We also see it used in Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3 verse 2. This is a general admonition to Titus of what should be taught to all Christians. And there's a long list, and let me pick up at verse 2 of Titus 3. To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, and here's the word again, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men. Notice that the word here is used to define the opposite of one who is a brawler. One who immediately flies off the handle and wants to start a fight. Now maybe you've known people like that, and if you have seen it in action, then that is exactly the opposite of what this word in Philippians 4 is trying to get across. Gentle. is what we should be. Turn please to James chapter 3. James chapter 3 verse 17. James here is speaking of the wisdom from above, heavenly wisdom. And he says, but the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable. And here's our word again, gentle. and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. The man, then, that is imbued with godly wisdom will exhibit these characteristics, among which is gentleness. And lastly, please turn to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, verse 18, here Peter is speaking to servants, and he says, Not only to the good, and here's the word, gentle, but also to the froward. So here he says that a servant is supposed to be subject to his master, even if his master's a hard man to bring himself a subjection to. And I think here we see that the nuance of the word as not being provoked easily comes out, or forbearing under provocation. A reasonable master, not only one who expects, excuse me, not only a reasonable master, but also one who expects the impossible and treats a difficult task as it's easy. You should submit to him too, because you have the spirit of gentleness. This then gives us some idea of Paul's meaning. The quality then is a quality of gentle forbearance. This gentleness is not due to a lack of strength or ability. Let's make sure we understand that. When Paul calls us to be gentle, he's not saying that we should be wimps. He's actually telling us that it takes a great deal of strength to exhibit this quality. This gentleness is not due to a lack of strength or ability, but calculated self-restraint. It is the quality of not insisting on one's rights, though they may be easily or ably secured, but giving them up for a greater good. It describes the attitude of the Lord Jesus himself, as described in 1 Peter 2. It says that Jesus was one who, when he was reviled, reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not. but committed himself to him that judges righteously." Isn't that a beautiful picture of the Lord? We know that Lord Jesus had all power and strength and could have easily been able to get his way, as it were. Could have muscled his way through. But instead, when he was reviled against, he reviled not again. When he suffered, he threatened not. This is the quality that the Apostle Paul is getting at here. This sort of self-restraining gentleness is the Apostle's point. He commands the Philippians, as well as us, to be known for this quality. This is a character trait that all men should think of to describe us. Not vengeful, but forbearing. Not tight-fisted, but generous. Not disrespectful, but considerate of others. Not overbearing in deportment, but reasonable. Not given to excess in emotion or spirit, but moderate in spirit. Paul then gives an outstanding motivation and encouragement to such behavior. He says, This phrase can refer to either spatial or temporal proximity. If it is a spatial closeness, we are reminded of the promise of the Lord when He said, Paul himself employed just that sort of thinking in 2 Timothy 4, verses 16 and 17. Paul is here going through and reminiscing about his Past activities and he says at my first answer or my first defense as he stood to defend himself Before a judge he says no man stood with me But all men forsook me I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge. And then he says this, Notwithstanding, the Lord stood with me and strengthened me. So you get the point here? All men betrayed him. All men left him behind. But he says, Oh, Jesus didn't leave me. Jesus was right there with me. Paul testifies to the Lord's faithful presence with these words. These words that could literally be rendered, If this is Paul's meaning here in Philippians chapter 4, it's an encouragement that the Lord is with them and will enable them to stand up in a posture of gentle forbearance whenever the time comes. However, the language also bears another meaning, that of temporal closeness, in which case it refers to the Lord's return. In this case, it would be a proper inducement for them and us to obey and be found faithful at His coming, as we might remember is expounded in a parable. Let me read that to you, Mark chapter 13. For the son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left his house and gave authority to his servants, and to every man his work, commanded the porter to watch. Watch ye therefore, for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even or at midnight, or at the cock crowing, or in the morning, lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. And when I say unto you, I say unto all, watch. Thus we see that if Paul here is referring to a temporal proximity, he is saying the Lord is coming again. Be ready. Paul's second imperative then for this evening is, let your moderation be known unto all men. is at hand. That brings us to verse 6 and 7, where we see perpetual prayerfulness. The third imperative is seen in verses 6 and 7, and while it is no less authoritative in its force, the Apostle gives a more thorough explanation. Verse 6 actually has two imperatives. One negative, be careful for nothing, and one positive, let your requests be made known unto God. The first one is an all-inclusive scope. Christians serve a sovereign God who works all things according to the counsel of His will. Thus we should never be overtaken with this sort of doubting carefulness. The word translated careful is used numerous times in the gospels, usually translated thought, and seven times in Paul's writings. However, not all of these occurrences are sinful. For example, in Philippians chapter four, verse six, we see, excuse me, not all are sinful as it is in Philippians chapter four, verse six, is what I meant to say. For example, in 1 Corinthians 7, 32-34, the same word is used for attentive carefulness given to the relationship of marriage. When the young man and young woman enter into a covenant of marriage, they no longer can only think of themselves, but they must now also think of their spouse. Thus Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 7, Verse 32. But I would have you without carefulness. There's the word. He that is unmarried careth for things that belong to the Lord. How he may please the Lord. But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world. How he may please his wife. There is difference also between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord. You'll notice in this passage then, that Paul describes two types of attentive carefulness that are honoring to God. First, the carefulness of the unmarried person who gives his or her full attention to minding the things of the Lord. Second, the married one who not only minds the things of the Lord, but also must be attentive to one's spouse. Thus the apostle is not saying that spousal carefulness is in some way sinful, but he teaches for husbands and wives to care for one another in other places. But that the unmarried person does not have this division of affection and extra burden of care, and thus can focus fully on the Lord. Also, Paul uses the same word earlier in this epistle, in chapter 2, verse 20, when he explains that he is sending Timothy to Philippi. He says, I have no man like-minded who will naturally care, that's the same word, for your state. Timothy's love for the Philippians drove him to an attentive care for their spiritual state and thus made him the perfect candidate to be the emissary of Paul. So we see here at least two uses of this word, care, to give care to that are God-honoring. We should care for the things of the Lord. Married folks are called to care for the things of their husband or wife. And yet in the passage today, the word takes on a negative connotation. When we read, be careful for nothing. He's not here somehow crossing out, canceling out what he already said is good to care about. He says be careful for nothing. The word to care is used in a different way. In our verse here in Philippians chapter 4, it is used to refer to troublesome anxiety that burdens the soul and perplexes the mind. John Calvin explains that the word is used to describe, quote, that anxiety which proceeds from distrust in divine power or help. Close quote. So Calvin connects this kind of burdensome anxiety with a mistrust in God. That makes sense, doesn't it? If we are thinking and being burdened down with the cares of the world, and that's what our mind is always thinking about, we're not trusting our sovereign God. We also see a commentary from John Eady. Eady writes this, quote, The solicitude guarded against in this state of mind is which one frets himself to know more than he is able, or reads something too far beyond him, or is anxious to make provision for contingencies, to guard against suspected evils, to nerve himself against apprehended failures and disasters, The spirit is thrown into a fervor by such troubles, so that the joy of the Lord is abridged and this forbearance would be seriously endangered. So Edi talks about this anxiety where we're reaching out, trying to put everything in order, even things that are beyond our ability to control. But we just have to be in control of it. And because we can't be, it is amazingly frustrating for us. And it becomes something that we become anxious about. It burdens down our souls. And Edi here connects this with the two parables right before. He says, if our minds are troubled in this way, we will not be exuding forth with rejoicing in the Lord. Nor will we be able to have the spirit of gentleness that Paul commands us to have. Paul's language here takes on the force, stop your burdensome anxiety or worrying. It is the default state of the mind of man to engage in this sort of worry. Consequently, Paul commands us to cease and desist this faithless behavior. The apostles' words mirror those taught by the Lord Jesus. I'm going to ask you to please turn to Matthew chapter 6. Matthew chapter 6. To look at Jesus' teaching. Matthew chapter 6, verse 25. Jesus says, And that's the word there, care, thought. For your life, What ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, nor yet for your body what ye shall put on? Is not the life more than meat, and body more than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto a stature? And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow. They toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is an Tomorrow is cast into oven. Shall he not much more clothe you? O ye of little faith! Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, and what shall we drink? Or withal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. but seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow, for the morrow shall take thought of the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." Close quote. The Lord reasons here from the lesser to the greater. God is good, and if in His providence He cares even for animals and plants, how much more will He show His fatherly care for His own people who are called by His name and who are washed in the blood of His dear Son? This doctrine is driven by a number of theological premises based on the very character of God Himself. It's based on His mighty sovereignty. If God is sovereign, He controls all things, and therefore He surely is able to give to us the things that we need. It's based on His good providence. He brings about all things for His own glory and for the good of His people. It's based on the love for His people. He sent His own Son to die for us. It's based on His faithfulness to His promises. He has promised us to pray to Him and to pray, Our Father which art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread. And then He will provide. And upon His mercy for those in need. God is a God of mercy and will supply all our needs. Thus, if we believe in a God with these blessed virtues, describing His divine character, there is nothing that could cause us to doubt Him and fall into this sort of burdensome anxiety. Nonetheless, because we are frail creatures, faithless carefulness occurs at various times throughout our lives. Thus Paul explains the remedy for such worry. He says, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God. This is the second command in this verse. It's the positive side of the command. The negative side was that we should not be careful for anything or be careful for nothing. And here he gives a positive command, let your requests be made known unto God. The apostolic command tells us that we should cry out to our loving Father when our minds are burdened with worry. when our souls become cast down with anxiety, when trouble of heart sets in and begins to unnerve us, we are commanded not to take it up and attempt to shoulder it ourselves. But as the Apostle Peter exhorts in 1 Peter 5, verse 7, he says, casting all your care upon him, for he careth for you. In times of uncertainty, let God be God. In times of difficulty, let God be God. He is the all-knowing and loving Father who desires to give good gifts to His people. Hence, we should seek Him in prayer. The prayer spoken of here consists of numerous parts. It consists of approaching God and explaining the situation to Him. sharing our hearts with him, unburdening our hearts to him. It includes asking him for specific solutions to our problems. Praying, this is, oh Lord, what about this? This is on my mind, this is a great worry to me, Lord, what should I do? How is it that you will answer this prayer, Lord? What would you have me to do? Not my will, but thy will be done. Offering Thanksgiving for the many blessings that he has already given us in the times. He's answered prayer in the past This is a comfort to the troubled heart We do not have to walk through the valley of deep darkness alone We are never told to manhandle the problems that seek to undo us and But there is one who is able and willing to walk the road with us, guiding us, protecting us, strengthening us, and encouraging us. Are you bothered today by something? Does worry seize your heart? Is anxiety clouding your mind and rocking your soul? The promise of verse 7 is that the very medicine that a troubled heart and perplexed mind needs is available. When one is troubled in this way, when one is burdened down with this anxiety, what do they need? They need for the burden to be lifted. They need the peace of God. And what does Paul tell us here? When we come to him in prayer, when we share these things with him and we say, Oh Lord, how will I survive this trial? If we call out to Him, God sends His peace. He comforts those who are in need of comfort by consoling with a supernatural, heavenly peace. The burden is removed. The weight is gone. It is handed over to him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. God's peace is described here in the text as an impenetrable fortress. The word translated, keep your hearts, the word there, keep, it says, So here's a town, a walled city, and if anyone comes to invade the city, The citizens take up pitchforks against the enemy who have greater weapons? No! There is a garrison of soldiers there. Their job is to make safety and security their number one goal. It is a term that evoked security and safety in the Roman world. Thus we see that upon prayerful release of our burdensome anxiety to God, He sends us a garrison of peace. to give us security from the threat of spiritual unrest. Matthew Henry commentates this way. He says, quote, the peace of God, that is the comfortable sense of our reconciliation to God and interest in his favor and the hope of the heavenly blessedness and the enjoyment of God thereafter, which passes all understanding is a greater good than can be sufficiently valued or duly expressed. This peace will keep our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. It will keep us from sinning under our troubles and from sinking under them. Keep us calm and sedate without decomposure of passion and with inward satisfaction." This is the blessed care that the Father gives to His sons and daughters in Christ. We see then that these three imperatives describe the state of internal peace for our souls. As we rest in Him, let us rejoice always in His goodness and grace shown to us, being known for our gentle forbearance and considerateness to others. and being instant in prayer, calling upon Him in time of anxiety that we might enjoy His blessed peace. Let us pray. Good Fathers, we come to texts such as this where we see clearly Thy multitude of good attributes shown, thy sovereignty, thy goodness, thy grace, thy mercy, thy love, thy peace and joy. We do ask, O Lord, that you would open our minds as we meditate upon this, that we would not forget that there is so much to rejoice about in Christ, that we would continue or even begin to have that manifested joy in us. That we might also be gentle, forbearing, considerate to those around us. And Lord, that we would remember that you have commanded us, not that we should not be careful for anything, but that we should come to you in prayer. And then, upon casting our cares upon you, the one who cares for us, that we might enjoy thy perfect peace. O Father, you have been so good to us in giving us this word to encourage our hearts and souls this evening. And I pray, O Lord, that you would use it and apply it as you see fit. For we do pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, amen. Okay, we do practice a time of interaction here, so any of the men of the congregation that are members, if you have any questions or comments, additions, or the like, please raise your hand, the microphone will be brought to you. I see Gary. Thank you. One of the things I thought of when you were talking about rejoicing in the Lord and the need to do that, you talked about the heaviness that sometimes makes it difficult to do that. One of the passages that came to my mind is found in Isaiah, which says what the solution to that is, it says to put on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. And of course, we don't feel like doing that either when we or heavy. However, we do have an example in scripture of two men who would have been, I would think, experiencing great heaviness. That was Paul and Silas when they were thrown in the Philippian jail. And we're told in Acts there that they did begin to praise the Lord in that circumstance. And so there's an example of putting on the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. And I think that in my own experience, and in the experience of many others that that is an effective antidote to the spirit of heaviness. Amen. Thank you, Gary. Anyone else? See Bill? During your discussion on the need to rejoice evermore, you used a phrase that said the Lord would not allow us any room, and I wish you could maybe comment on this a little bit further. You said He would not give us one minutia of an inch of wiggle. That was great. That's classic. The Lord will not give us one minutia of an inch of wiggle room when it comes to not rejoicing. In 2 Corinthians 6, I think Paul says something there in verse 10 that encapsulates the struggle we sometimes have by the sorrow, the grief that we feel in this world of sin. Jesus was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. When we look around and we see things that truly grieve us, We see people ruining their lives with sin. We see error. We see taking captive souls of men, false gospels, false religions. There's much to be sorrowful for. But Paul said this as he was talking about the paradox, almost, of his apostleship. For example, he said about his work, he said, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report, as deceivers and yet true, as unknown yet well known, as dying and behold we live, as chastened and not killed. And then he said this, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing. And I've thought a lot about that of late, that he was sorrowful yet always rejoicing, even though there was the sorrows of a world of sin. He was able, I think as you were explaining, to look beyond those, even though he had deep grief over those things. He was able to rejoice because God is still on the throne, he's working his will. And when we look at Christ, we're able to rejoice even in a world that's filled with sorrow. So there's Paul's life, all as sorrowful yet always rejoicing. Thank you, Bill. Very applicable to the message. I appreciate that addition.