Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Philippians

Philippians 4:6-7 08/31/03

Introduction: Have you heard about Tracy Lyperd? Tracy was a beauty queen in VA a few years ago. Shortly after crowning her successor, she drove 250 miles to seek revenge on her ex-boyfriend for jilting her & marrying another. She took along a pistol, a hammer, lighter fluid & matches. When she arrived at his house & rang the doorbell, it was answered by his new father-in-law. Tracy faked having car trouble, & asked if she could use the telephone. Once inside the house, she took out her hammer & hit the father-in-law on the head. She stunned him, but didn’t knock him out. What she didn’t realize was that he was an ex-secret service agent. He grabbed her & as they struggled, she pulled the pistol from her purse & tried to shoot him. That’s when the mother-in-law joined the fray & the two of them wrestled her to the floor, holding her until the police arrived.
I have a suspicion that Tracy, with that kind of disposition, was probably never in the running for the Miss Congeniality award. When questioned, she said that she was driven to seek revenge because she needed "inner peace."

Explanation: We continue this week our look at following good advice. Last week, we saw that good advice is always found in the Word of God. And following the good advice found in God’s Word is always the right thing to do. Why? For a number of reasons, but in Phil. 4:2-5 we saw that following good advice will bring true and lasting joy to our lives.

This week, we will once again look at the benefits of good advice. Specifically we will see that following the good advice from God’s Word will bring true and lasting peace to our lives.  Obviously something our beauty queen was unable to find. But that is a reality of life, isn’t it? Most, even many Christians can’t find the true and lasting peace they so desperately long for.
Why? Because they have their minds on all the wrong things. And because of that, they lives their lives in a way that only brings anxiety, worry and fear.

Transition: But the Apostle Paul has a better way. He has some good advice that if we let it rest in our minds, it will direct our actions and we will find peace…God’s peace.

Philippians 4:6-7
What is it that keeps you up at night? What concerns cause you to toss and turn rather than enjoy a good nights sleep? Wouldn’t you like to put your head on the pillow at night and fall instantly into a deep and restful sleep? Would you believe that God is even more concerned about your peace of mind than you are?

Let me try to give you what I see as the big picture here for Paul…and for us as well. I believe that worry and anxiety are the result of tension between the head and the heart.

 -We know in our hearts as Believers that God will never leave us or forsake us.
 -We know in our hearts as believers that God always have our good in mind.
 -We know in our hearts as believers that God loves us with a never ending, unconditional love.

 BUT

 -We often think in our minds that God is no where to be found.
 -We often think in our minds that God has another agenda that just may not be good for us.
 -We often think in our minds that God really can’t love us because we know how we really are….and so does God.

The space between what we know in our hearts because of the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit and what we think in our minds because of our limited view of our present circumstances leads us to anxiety, worry and fear.

But God, through the pen of the Apostle Paul tells us not to be anxious, not to worry and not to be afraid. What are we supposed to do when our hearts and minds are at war? Take the good advice Paul has given…PRAY!

1. Prayer
This term describes the Christians communion with and approach to God. It is a general term describing the Christians relationship with God. We can talk to Him..even cry to Him. It is a bowing before Almighty God in a constant attitude of worship. 24/7  Instead of anxiety, worry and fear…re-enter communion with your Heavenly Father. Worship Him, talk to Him. Pray.

2. Petition
This term emphasizes requesting an answer to a specific need.

3. Thanksgiving
This term reminds us to thank God for what he has already been doing in your life. But it is so much more than that. It implies our complete trust in God, as it takes faith to thank Him for a request not yet answered. It is also the part most often missing from our prayers.

But understand, God not only wants us to SAY thanks, He wants us to BE thankful. The truth is we deserve nothing from God but eternal death because of our sinful rebellion against Him.  Anything He gives us is a gift…anything..even the hardship of a difficult circumstance is better than eternal separation for God in Hell.

Once we begin to cherish this truth in our hearts and begin to acknowledge it in our minds, we begin to win the war on anxiety and, we can begin to be thankful and then express it wholeheartedly in our prayers.

Remember, first comes prayer, our approach to God, our communion with God. Praying is not just something we do in a crises. We pray, approach and seek communion with God all the time…that’s what in everything means. Our hearts attitude is an ongoing, prayerful communion with God.

As we develop a life attitude of prayer, a habit of daily communion with God, our focus will change from our circumstances and needs to God.

 -You will enjoy and savor the person and character of God.
 -You will remember and appreciate that He is holy, righteous, loving and kind.
 -That he knows all things and is powerful enough to handle all things.
 -You will find comfort that God has not only forgiven you of your sins, but has adopted you into his family.
 -And you will thank Him, not only for what He has already done in your life, but for what He is currently doing and what He
  will do as you bring your requests to Him.

This is the attitude and lifestyle for making requests to God. This is the right attitude and lifestyle that will bring you peace.

Remember, Paul was under house arrest in Rome when he wrote this letter. There was a guard constantly on guard at his door. Why? To make sure he didn’t escape. Not really, Paul had asked to see Caesar, he wasn’t going anywhere.  No, the guard was to protect Paul from those Jewish leaders who had already tried to kill him on numerous occasions.
Do you see it? God’s peace is like a guard, stationed 24/7 to protect your heart and mind against the onslaught of anxiety, worry and fear.

Isn’t this the kind of peace you want? This kind of true, lasting peace, God’s peace is first not possible apart from a relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ. So if you have never given your heart to God by believing in his son Jesus as the one who forgives your sin, then do it today and I promise you will begin to know God’s peace.

If you are already in relationship with God through faith in Jesus Christ, but still lack abiding peace because of specific circumstances that are not only stealing your joy but your peace as well, perhaps it is time to refocus… Remember a continual attitude and life of prayer, communion with God will be the right forum for our specific requests for God’s help.

All of this, God’s peace, is available to us because of the wonderful, matchless grace of Almighty God.

Conclusion
Isn’t true and lasting peace is your deepest desire in life. Paul reminds us this morning that the Peace of God will come, and will only come when you make prayer a living, active and growing part of our lives.

Although not specifically mentioned here, Scripture speaks of two formats for prayer…personal and public. Personal prayer is done when you are alone. Public prayer is done when you are in public. By public I mean with others…corporately.

While I want to think the best of all of you and believe that you have active private prayer lives, I can’t say that for our corporate prayer life. The attendance at our Mid Week Praise and Prayer ranges from 5 to 12 or so faithful prayer warriors. Statistically, that is pretty good when compared to the national average for churches. But I am not content with pretty good and I hope you aren’t either.

Part of the process of developing an active, living and growing  prayer life, one that continually seeks communion with God in everything, not just in times of crises, will be attendance at Mid Week Praise and Prayer.

-It is here that the heart of CBC beats strongest.

-It is here that burdens are lifted,
    that joy is expressed
    and peace is found.

Let me encourage you, all of you to be a part of the heartbeat of this church family. That too is good advice I hope you will all consider following.