REJOICE:  INSTRUCTIONS FROM AN INMATE

 

A Study in the Book of Philippians

 

“EXPERIENCE THE PEACE OF GOD”

 

Philippians 4:5-9

 

He grew up in a little town in Mississippi.  His family was dirt poor.  At the age of 18, while making $14/week as a truck driver, he decided to make a recording, just on a lark.  And you know the rest of the story.

 

Who am I describing?  Elvis Presley went on to become the King of Rock-n-Roll.  One of his many popular songs was “All Shook Up”.  That song became a theme of Elvis’ life.  He lived his life “all shook up”.  Shortly before his death, Elvis said that he would pay a million dollars for just one week of a normal life of peace.

 

Are you all shook up?  You don’t have to live your life that way.  Peace doesn’t have to be missing from your life.

 

We can experience the peace of God.  That is the promise of our text.

READ PHILIPPIANS 4:5-9

 

God’s promise is that His peace will surround us and fill us.  This promise of peace is written directly on the heels of the command to rejoice.  There is a connection between joy and peace.  They are side by side in the listing of the fruit of the Spirit- first love, then joy, then peace.  Joy & peace are inter-related.  Joy and peace work in tandem.  If we have more peace, we will have more joy.

 

Let’s say our memory verse together and then we will get into the text. And when we get to that last word, let’s shout it out so loud that the penguins at the South Pole will hear us.  Let’s fill our lungs with air & our hearts with hope.  Here we go:

 

“Rejoice in the Lord always.  I will say it again:  Rejoice!” –Philippians 4:4

 

In Philippians 4:5-9 Paul tells us how we can experience the peace of God.  First:

 

1. REMEMBER THAT GOD IS WITH YOU

 

The promise that God is with you is mentioned twice in this passage.  In verse 5 Paul says that the Lord is near.  Some think this refers to the Lord’s 2^nd coming.  And it can.  But it can also refer to the Lord’s presence with us today.

 

Then, at the end of verse 9 Paul says that the God of peace will be with you.  These 2 statements promising that God will be with us serve as bookends to this passage on how to experience God’s peace.  It’s like Paul is reminding us not to forget that God is with us.

 

God promises to be with us.  Whatever problems you are going through, God is going through those with you.  He is the God of peace.  His presence brings us His peace, even in the midst of difficulty.

 

God made this promise in Isaiah 41:10:

 

“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” –Isaiah 41:10

 

Look at all those promises God has made to you there.  “I am with you”.  “I am your God.”  “I will strengthen and help you.”  “I will uphold you.”  All of those promises indicate that God is with us and is working in our lives. 

 

Therefore we don’t have to fear.  God’s presence is very reassuring.  It gives us peace, joy and comfort.

 

God is with you even when you don’t realize it.  He promised that He will never leave us or forsake us.

 

When my children were young, I would go into their bedroom after they were asleep to check on them.  I would watch them sleep.  I would marvel at how peaceful they looked.  I would pray.  I would thank God for them and ask Him to watch over them.  I did the same thing with my grandchildren.

 

My children/grandchildren were totally unaware of my presence right beside their bed.  But I was there nonetheless watching over them.

 

Your Heavenly Father is always with you, watching over you, even when you aren’t thinking about His presence or aware of it.  He is watching over you even when you sleep.  Psalm 121 tells us that our God who watches over us does not sleep.  He has the watch 24/7.  At the end of that Psalm, the promise of God’s watch care over us is reiterated:

 

“The Lord will keep you from all harm; He will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” – Psalm 121:7-8

 

Doesn’t that give you a more secure feeling, knowing that God is watching over your life?  And even when those troubled times come into our lives, God is still watching over us, helping us to get through the tough times.

 

God’s presence brings us peace.  Remember that He is with you ALWAYS.

 

The 2^nd thing that we need to do to experience God’s peace is to…..

 

2. GIVE YOUR TROUBLES TO GOD

 

READ VERSES 6 & 7

 

First of all, we have a command in this verse.  The command is “don’t be anxious about anything.”

 

Do you ever get anxious?  Do you ever worry?  I think this command gets violated daily.  We’re going to have a mass confessional right now.  if you ever worry about anything, would you say “yes” on the count of 3? 

 

We worry, don’t we?  We worry about a lot of things.  Paul says not to worry about anything and yet, some of us worry about everything.  Others of us worry about some things.  But we all worry.

 

Worry is a big problem.  Worry is a thief.  Worry is a joy robber and it will steal our peace.  The Book of Proverbs says this:

“An anxious heart weighs a man down.” – Proverbs 12:25

 

Worry will wear you down real fast.  Worry will wreck your emotional well-being. It will take away your joy and your peace.

 

I want you to notice how many things we aren’t suppose to worry about.  We’re not to suppose to be anxious about anything.  Nothing.  You’re not allowed even one worry.  We are not to be anxious.  Period. 

 

Is that even possible?  Well it must be, because God has commanded it.  How can we overcome worry?

 

Paul tells us to take action when we worry.  We are to pray.  We need to let our anxiety trigger our prayer life.  When we worry, we need to give our troubles to God.

 

And Paul tells us that we need to pray about everything that worries us.  I came across this article that illustrates what we ought to pray about:

 

You wake up feeling rested, then realize your alarm should’ve gone off an hour ago.  PRAY.

 

None of the clean clothes you were able to find match.  PRAY.

 

Your teen-ager shaved…..the left half of his head.  PRAY. (HE’D BETTER PRAY!)

 

Your bills are due, and your toddler hid the checkbook.  PRAY as you look for it.

 

A strange fluid is dripping from your car.  PRAY.

 

You accidentally delete your quarterly report 10 minutes before a meeting with your boss.  PRAY.

 

You’re in charge of games for the church youth night.  PRAY!

 

Your toilet’s overflowing, but at least you found the checkbook!  PRAY!

 

What should you pray about?  Anything that you are worried about.  Instead of worrying about anything, we need to pray about everything.  If something is big enough for you to worry about, it’s big enough for you to pray about.

 

Now as we pray, Paul said that we need to pray with a specific attitude.  He said that we need to pray with THANKSGIVING.  Gratitude needs to accompany our prayers as we give our troubles to God.

 

Why do we need to pray from a grateful heart when we give our troubles to God?  One reason is that we are to always be grateful people.  1 Thess. 5:18 tells us that we are to give thanks in every situation because it is the will of God.

 

Another reason why we are to thank God when we give Him our troubles, is because the perspective of Thanksgiving will help defeat worry.  When you thank God for something He’s already done for you, it’s a reminder that He always takes care of you.  And that reminder will ease your anxiety.

 

A grateful glimpse into the past generates peace for the present.  So, as you give your troubles to God and ask Him for His help, don’t forget to thank God for what He’s already done for you.

 

Now, when you pray whenever you get anxious and worried, God has made a promise to you.  His peace will guard your heart and your mind.

 

This word “guard” is something that the Christians in Philippi could relate to.  They were a Roman colony.  As citizens of the Roman government, they were under the protection of the Roman government. 

 

Roman soldiers would stand guard over the city.  Every night Roman soldiers would be posted around the perimeter of the city.  The Philippian Christians knew that, when they put their heads on their pillows at night, they could sleep peacefully because the soldiers were standing guard over their city.

 

When we give our troubles to God, God promises that His peace will guard our hearts and minds.  We’ll be protected from the emotional enemies of worry and anxiety.  Our hearts and minds will be surrounded by God’s peace.  God’s peace will fill us.  God’s peace will relieve our stress and anxiety.

So, when we begin to worry, we need to pray. Every time we begin to worry about anything, we need to pray.  We need to give our troubles to God.  Peter wrote:

 

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for He cares about what happens to you.” – 1 Peter 5:7

 

If something matters to you, it matters to God.  It matters to God because you matter to Him.  He is your Heavenly Father. We’re His children. 

 

You might be tempted to think, well that’s true when it comes to the big things in my life.  God cares about the major league stuff in my life like disease, death, sin and disaster. 

 

But what about the small stuff?  Does God really care about grouchy bosses or flat tires or lost dogs?  What about flight delays, toothaches or a crashed computer?

 

Do those things matter to God?  Yes they do.  Peter wrote that we are to give ALL our worries and cares to God. Whether it’s a big thing or a small thing, if it worries you, it matters to God and you need to give it to God in prayer.

 

What a Friend we have in Jesus,

All our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry

EVERYTHING to God in prayer!

 

O, what PEACE we often forfeit,

O, what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry,

EVERYTHING to God in prayer

 

Give your troubles to God.  God will give you His peace. 

 

Another thing that we need to do if we are going to experience the peace of God is to……

 

3. THINK THE RIGHT THOUGHTS

When we worry, what are we doing?  We’re thinking about our problems all the time.  The definition of worry is “to divide the mind”.  And we won’t have any joy or peace.

 

Since worry consumes our thoughts, what we need to do is to re-direct our thoughts.  And that is what Paul tells us to do in VERSE 8.  READ IT.

 

Re-directing our thoughts to the right things will result in peace of mind.  Isaiah 26:3 says:

 

“You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in You.” –Isaiah 26:3

 

When we direct our thoughts to good things we will have peace.  This is especially true when we direct our thoughts to God, who is the God of peace.

 

How can we direct our thoughts to God?  What are some things that we can fill our minds with so we don’t think about our worries all the time?

 

One thing is to fill our mind with God’s Word.  God’s Word brings us joy.  Psalm 19:8 says:

 

“The commandments of the Lord are right, bringing joy to the heart.” – Psalm 19:8

 

The more you read and meditate on God’s Word, the more joy you will have.

 

Another thing we can do to think the right thoughts is to think about all the blessings God has poured into your life.  1 Samuel 12:24 says:

 

“But be sure to fear the Lord and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; CONSIDER what great things He has done for you.” -1 Samuel 12:24

 

Do you ever stop and consider all that God’s done for you?  Do you ever pause, on a regular basis, to reflect on the blessings of God in your life?  It would be a good thing to take some time every day to think about what the Lord has done for you and then thank Him for them.

And the more you think about the good things in your life the less you will worry about your problems and concerns.

 

The fourth thing that Paul mentions in this passage that we should do to experience God’s peace is to…..

 

4. DO THE RIGHT THING

 

READ VERSE 9

 

Paul told the Philippians to put into practice what they had learned from Him and the God of peace would be with them. Doing the right thing always leads to a greater sense of inner peace and well-being.  Psalm 85:10 says:

 

“Love and faithfulness meet together; righteousness and peace kiss each other.” –Psalm 85:10

 

That’s an interesting phrase isn’t it?  “Righteousness and peace kiss each other.”  What does that mean?  It means that if you do the right thing, you will be at peace with yourself and with God.  When we sin, we feel guilt.  When we do the right thing, we feel better about ourselves.

 

A little boy was riding his tricycle around the block.  He was going around the block again and again, as fast as his little feet could pedal.  Finally,  a policeman stopped and asked him what he was doing.  The little boy said, “I’m running away from home.”  The policeman asked, “if you are running away from home, why do you just keep going around the block.”  The little boy replied, “because my mommy said that I’m not allowed to cross the street.”

 

Obedience will keep you close to the one you love.  In our case, God and our obedience will be rewarded with peace.

 

One right thing we can do is to practice joy every day.  Paul told the Philippians to do what they had learned from him or heard him say or seen by his example.  What has Paul been talking about to them all throughout this book?  Joy.  16 times. 

 

Joy was something they needed to put into practice.  We do too.  Joy is a learned behavior.  Joy does not come to us automatically.  If it did, Paul would not have had to give us the command to rejoice in the Lord always.

 

  Joy is not something that just happens to you.  You have to be proactive towards joy every single day.  One of my favorite verses on joy is Psalm 118:24:

 

“This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” –Psalm 118:24

 

We need to rejoice every single day.  But that will take some effort on our part.  We have to put joy into practice.  Every day we need to make the decision:

 

“Today, I will be joyful.   Today, I will rejoice in the Lord.  Today, I will praise Him for the blessings in my life.  Today, I will thank the Lord for the gift of life.  Today, I will ask God to help me to rise above the negativity of life and concentrate on that which is godly and good.”

 

I think at the beginning of each day we need to take charge of our day and our attitude.  Each & every day decide, today I choose joy.

 

Elvis said- “I’d give a million dollars for just one week of peace.”  You don’t have to purchase peace.  The fact is you can’t.  Peace isn’t for sale. 

 

But the good news is that you don’t have to pay for peace.  Peace is a free gift when you know Jesus who is the Prince of Peace.

 

If you want to have peace to surround you and fill your heart and life, then you need to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior if you haven’t done so.

 

We want to invite you to place your faith in Christ this morning; to turn your life over to God; to come forward as we sing this song so that you can confess your faith in Christ and be baptized into Him.