Sermon Brief
Date Written: September 29, 2011
Date Preached: October 2, 2011
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Series from Philippians
Sermon Title: Peace & Truth
Sermon Text: Philippians 4:5-9 [ESV]
Introduction:
If I had a title to give this sermon this morning it would be “A Focus on Real Truth and TRUE Peace!”
As believers, we know that this [hold up Bible] is God’s word and it is our belief that God’s Word is TRUE in every aspect and in every precept… From Genesis to Revelation God’s word is truth and there is NO error found in it!
If you don’t believe ALL the Bible, then how can you believe in ANY part of it? If you can pick and choose what you want to believe, where do you draw the line?
For believers this is a question of FAITH… you either believe the Bible is God’s Word or you don’t…and if you don’t, how can you even and WHY would you even claim to be a Christian!
For the TRUE believer, THIS is truth [hold up Bible again]! But that is NOT so in our world today… TODAY people are not looking for real truth, they want situational ethics and relative truth! They want only the truth that suits them… but that is not REAL truth!
But even tho’ people don’t want real truth, I find that they spend a lifetime looking peace in their lives! We all know that in our world today real TRUTH has been relegated to the relative and subjective and is focused around our thoughts and selfish desires… but TRUE peace… WE ALL are seeking after TRUE peace!
Everyone wants peace… FROM the most left wing radical to the most right wing conservative… everyone desires peace! Where our trouble comes as a society is how that peace can be achieved…
There are people all over the world who are crying out for peace… they want to see all military aggression stop and that we would all get along… and as noble of a wish that is… and great as that desire is for us all to aspire to… we cannot find REAL peace in this world.
However, for the believer, the TRUTH of Scripture reveals things about this peace the whole world is seeking… The Bible reveals to us that the peace the world desires cannot be achieved by our human means… It cannot be found because we are ALL sinful and out for ourselves! Don’t get me wrong, there ARE those who will do good things for others and may portray to the world a sense that they are doing this for the greater good… but deep in their hearts it is for their own satisfaction… it is a selfish motive!
In Scripture we are told that we ALL are all sinners and have all fallen short of God’s glory and perfection… and it also says that we have to pay the price of that sin… and that price is death and an eternity without God!
AND that is where the Good News of the Gospel of Jesus Christ comes in… We have all fallen short, but God made a way for our forgiveness thru His Son Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary!
So the key FACT that we MUST remember AND understand is that TRUE peace cannot be obtained outside of REAL truth! AND the REAL truth is solid and unchanging! The REAL truth is not relative to any one particular situation or life circumstance…
The fact of the matter is that REAL truth is the ONLY truth! Contrary to what many in this world may tell you, truth is not what WE make it out to be, but truth is what it is… and we can find REAL truth… we can KNOW real truth… Real Truth is found in the person of Jesus Christ… and that TIMELESS truth of Him is revealed in God’s Word.
So let’s take a look at Scripture this morning and see what Paul had to say to the Philippian believers about peace and truth…
[read Phil 4:5-9 (ESV) here…show on screen – follow me as I read it…]
FOUNDATIONAL ISSUE…Be Christlike! – v.5
As Christians, we are called to be a witness to the world around us, but for us to be a witness and for people to actually listen to what we say… we have to live out our faith… we have to wear it proudly in our daily lives… we are called to be the representatives of Jesus here in our world today!
Paul understood this… and Paul knew the importance of relating to the world around him, and wanted the Philippian believers to know this as well…
In v.5 Paul writes, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand.”
The word reasonableness in the Greek can also be translated as gentleness, fairness, mild mannered, or equitable. Christians are called to be all of these things. Christians today…as they were in Paul’s day… are viewed as intolerant, unfair, judgmental and UNREASONBLE in our demeanor and attitude!
Here Paul is urging the believers in Philippi to present themselves to each other AND to the world around them as gentle, loving, reasonable, fair and mild mannered. Our message needs to come across clear and sharp… ALL are welcome to come to Christ! ALL are sought after to know Christ…
Here Paul was entreating the Philippian believers to open up to the world around them and to reveal to THAT world that Christ welcomes ALL people, regardless of where they are from, what they have done, OR who they are…
Let’s take for example the hot button subject of homosexuality. Can homosexuals be Christians? Well if a person has accepted Christ as his or her Savior… Scripture promises they are saved… BUT preacher what if they were living in sin… living as a practicing homosexual. Well it means that God is gracious… God is good and God will save any person who cries out to Him for help! Now God’s word teaches against the lifestyle of homosexuality, but God’s word is very clear that we are called to LOVE the person… HATE the sin!
How can we reach out with the love of Christ to ANYONE, when we refuse to accept them into our fellowship as they are today? If God can accept, forgive and save ALL those who are living in sin (regardless of what sin it is) then who are we to REJECT these people when they come to our fellowship seeking a place to worship.
Now don’t understand me, just because I have made the choice to LOVE these people, does not mean I condone their lifestyle, and as a pastor I would do all I could to disciple them and allow the Holy Spirit to change their hearts!
But if I were to be judgmental and harsh to a homosexual when they came into our church… what picture would that be drawing for the world around us about Christianity? One of hate and rejection… not the message of love and INCLUSION that Jesus preached!
Believers do you know what this means? It means that YOU are the only Jesus some of these people will EVER see, and if you present yourself as unreasonable and harsh, these people will want to have NOTHING to do with coming to Jesus… We are called to WIN disciples and not COERCE disciples…
Christ has NEVER advocated a lifestyle of hate, prejudice or EXCLUSION! Christ was always inclusive, loving and did not pre-judge people based on their appearance or skin color! WE must be more and more like Christ, so that the world sees more and more of HIM and less and less of us… We are called to be HIS witnesses, but HE is what these people need!
Paul is calling the Philippian believers to be loving, reasonable, gentle and fair minded toward ALL people… not just the people we KNOW or the people who look like us…
Here Paul says that it should be KNOWN to all… in other words, our reputation must become that of a church where ANYONE can come and feel loved and accepted! Even when they confess the horrible sins in their lives… we are called to love them… not judge them!
Be reasonable and let the love of Christ show and be evident in your life so that will see and know the love of the God we serve! Paul goes on to say, God is in our presence… He says, “The Lord is at hand…” We are the representation of God in this world! How we act… how we REACT is a direct reflection of how others SEE God! Many people see Christians behaving badly and it casts a negative light… causing them to reject any witness of Christ.
Everything we DO… everything we say… it all reflects God’s presence in this world. God’s presence and witness is at stake everytime you meet a lost person… everytime you interact with the world! How do they see your actions? Do they see the God we witness about? Or something else… Paul says to reflect Christ reasonably… Preacher that is TOO hard… EVERY DAY, EVERY WHERE I go? EVERY PERSON I speak to? EVERY THING I say? I can’t do that…
Well, if you think that YOU can’t do it… YOU’RE right, YOU CAN’T! We cannot live in such a way on our own, but Jesus tells us that THRU God ALL things are possible and in Christ we can live this kind of life…we CAN be the representative that Christ wants us to become!
This is why Paul follows this verse up with v.6-7… the strength of the Foundation…
The Strength of the Foundation – v.6-7
Paul knows that what he is calling these people to do was stressful and a very difficult, if not impossible task. If they try to do it on their own they are going to fail… let’s look at how Paul instructs them to deal with this…
[read v.6-7 here…]
Paul uses the word “Anxious” in v.6… it’s the Greek word [Merri-nah-oh] that means to be anxious, to fret over or to be troubled about… but it also means to CARE for… to LOOK OUT FOR something for your OWN benefit
Paul was using this word with BOTH meanings intact. He says be anxious for NOTHING… here Paul is NOT only telling these believers to NOT fret or worry about the issues and circumstances or situations of this life… but what Paul is also saying here is that they cannot allow themselves to get so carried away with an issue that it drives them to the point of anxiety… in other words, don’t seek to do something for YOURSELF so much that it leads you to this state of worry and fret…
Now ask yourself this morning, how often do you find yourself in this EXACT situation… you are anxious about things you cannot control OR you are sick with worry over something YOU desire by don’t know how you are going to either do it or obtain it! Paul is saying that this sort of worry and anxiety removes our focus from serving Christ and we get sidetracked!
Paul is admonishing these believers here (and US as well) to NOT be anxious… don’t let ANYTHING drive you to this point! INSTEAD Paul encourages these believers to do what most of us NEVER consider… he calls us to be thankful and to pray! Now when you are anxious about things or overwhelmed by a situation… is your 1st thought to be thankful and pray? That is NOT the human reaction… but this is what Paul has called us to do…
Paul calls us to prayer in times of anxiety and stress… we are called NOT to worry or fret, but in THANKSGIVING we are to pray! Prayer and Thankgsiving… Paul says that these things will deliver us from this anxiety and worry that we have!
Look what Paul says… He says, “In EVERYTHING…” (v.7) this means all aspects and situations of life… we are called to commit them to prayer with great thanksgiving in our hearts. This is what he was writing to the church IN Thessolonica (1 Thess 5:17-17) where he says we should pray without ceasing and give thanks in all situations…
Why does this help us? What does it do for the believer? Well, this type of prayer on our behalf is a prayer of FAITH! Because we know when the world is against us and anxiety is overwhelming us… PRAYER based in thanksgiving does NOT come easy, but in FAITH we go to the throne and God makes a promise to us when we do this…
Paul tells us that this promise of God is that when we pray this prayer of faith… the “Peace of God” that we can NEVER fully understand or even comprehend is going to overwhelm our lives… But not only will it permeate our lives, but it will become a guardian to our hearts and our minds, protecting us from the attacks of the Evil One and those seeking to drowned us in worry and anxiety!
Can you imagine… the very peace of God overwhelming you and over shadowing your heart and mind? All to the point where you are fretting over NOTHING because you know in your heart and mind that God is in control… this is the peace God promises… and my description fails to grasp the VAST SCOPE of this peace… it is beyond our full understanding, but it is a promise… it is the power of our foundation in Christ! It is how we can deal with the evil world we live in…
This world places believers in some rather awkward situations… where our faith is challenged… where anxiety can over take our hearts and cloud our thinking! Paul lets us know that God cares and God will bring us peace in those moments if we but turn to Him!
Do you want to have this peace I am telling you about? If so Paul says to come in thanksgiving and prayer… you cannot come to God with revenge or hate in your heart… we cannot come with complaints and whining, but we are called to come to Him in thanksgiving of what He has done FOR us!
The peace promised here is available on to those who are willing to let go of the anger, disappointment of the situations in their lives that has driven them to worry and anxiety… let it go and thank God for His provision of salvation in your life… let it go because it is holding you hostage!
But preacher you just don’t know what I am dealing with…
You don’t know the stress I am under…
You don’t know the situation I am facing…
You don’t know or understand how bad and evil the people I am dealing with are …
I will say this… I do NOT know, but God does! I DO know this…stress, anxiety and fret only serves to hurt you and tear you down, you have to choose to step out on faith in prayer and thanksgiving
That is the power behind the promise… but there is also a procedure to putting this power into play in our lives… let’s look at v.8-9 here…
The Procedure behind the Foudation – v.8-9
[read v.8-9 here… show slide now]
How do we achieve such peace? And when we get that peace how do we STAY there? So often we may experience God’s peace only to slip and lose it… Paul gives us some very practical steps here to help us get to this peace… prayer with thanksgiving, but to do that we must let go of the anger and focus on something… Paul says we must focus on:
Focus on TRUTH (God’s word/daily Bible study)
Focus on HONOR (God’s precepts and teachings)
Focus on JUSTICE (God’s love for humanity and hate of sin)
Focus on PURITY (Living out a godly life through obedient service)
Focus on COMMENDATION (Be a Barnabas…an Encourager… lift each other up)
Focus on EXCELLENCE (Whatever you are doing… do it with all your heart for Jesus!)
Finally, Focus on PRAISE and I would add the OBJECT of your Praise!
Sunday morning worship services…
Sunday school Bible study
But also EVERY DAY of the week! Focusing on HIM who has saved you!
When our focus is HERE, it cannot be on WORRY!
