It is great to see a full church.
It's good to see so many people here gathered together to
celebrate, baptisms and support these kids and these decisions.
And just does my heart. Good, you guys sound great
singing. It's just a great day to be
gathered together to sing together to pray together to
Worship the Lord together. So, thank you for being here.
If you're visiting again, as Kyle's already said, we want to
welcome you to New Life Community Church.
We are glad that you're here. Thanks for coming.
Coming to support the kids and we just hope that you've enjoyed
your time with us here. My name is Jasper.
I am the associate pastor here at New Life Community Church and
it's an honor to get to preach this morning.
We've been walking through a series called what happens when
we worship. And I think Kyle is going to
pick that back up next week. We're taking just a brief break
from that. So today is just a standalone
sermon. And I what I want to talk to you
about this morning is a topic very near and dear to my heart,
we're going to talk About Joy today.
Alright, so I'm excited to talk about this.
I'm excited to preach this morning before we do before we
get started. Let's go ahead and Pray Again
really quick and just ask that God speak to us through his
word. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we thank you again for today.
We thank you for this opportunity to gather in your
house and I just pray now, God that you speak to us through
your word, you speak through me. It just moved me out of the way
that you'd have us here. What you want us to hear?
They can walk out of this place inspired and Oil because of what
your word teaches. I thank you.
Again for these kids that have been baptized this morning just
praise you. God for your goodness and their
lives. We pray.
As Kyle has already said that we can come alongside them and
their parents and help them grow and their sanctification as
Disciples of Christ. Will pray this in Jesus name?
Amen. Amen.
So today I want to talk to you about Joy.
This is something that we all long for.
It is something that we spend our entire lives in Ludo is joy
in one from one degree to another.
In the classic Christian book, Pilgrim's Progress, which we are
currently reading in our men's group biblical manhood, this is
a Shameless plug for any of you guys that want to join us.
This is a great book. We just started it and so I
encourage you to come join us for that.
But in this classic book, the main character's name is
Christian and he decides that he has to leave his hometown which
is called the city of Destruction.
No wonder he wants to leave right?
Who wants to live in a town called destruction but when a I
asked why Christian feels like he needs to leave.
What is he in search for? What is he looking for his reply
as that? I'm searching for a joy that
does not fade. And so we all long for that kind
of joy, we long to be joyful, although, it seems that some
people find their greatest joy and being miserable.
Some people love and enjoy, just always being angry about
something, but we all want to be joyful.
Now, as Christians, we should, Be known as a people that are
Joyful, We should be known for our joy in the Lord.
It should be a trademark of anyone who proclaims the name of
Christ to have a certain amount of joy.
Jar, Jesus tells us in John 15, 11, that these things I have
spoken to you, that my joy may be in you and that your joy may
be full. So we see this all throughout
scripture, this is a mark of Christianity, is this kind of
joy. And so, I want to talk to you
about this this morning, not only because of that, but
because, as I've already mentioned, this is a very
personal topic for me. See, I've always been a very
anxious person. Those of you who have known me
for very long know that I still struggle with that today.
Sherry. And I laugh about this a lot
that if I had been born back in the early 1900's, people would
have said, he's a nervous child that's what They would have said
about me. This is always stem from two
things. I've always been a people
pleaser and I've always had this fear of failure and it's been
something that I've struggled with my whole life.
I never wanted to let anybody down.
I didn't want anybody to not like me or be mad at me.
And I sure didn't want to make mistakes or fail at anything,
which is a horrible way to go through life, because mistakes
are going to happen. You're going to fail, you're
going to let people down all the time.
So in my mind, what would happen is when this would when this
would happen it could be the most Insignificant thing and it
would create the Snowball Effect in my mind it would be something
very small. But by the time I got done with
it it turned into this gargantuan thing in my mind and
I'm having a full-blown panic attack over it and it's kind of
silly but that's just what I would do.
And I started to think that this is the way that I'm wired, you
know, that's what I was told. That's the way you're wired,
it's who you are as a person. So as an adult, I started trying
to deal with this in a variety of different ways early on in My
adulthood, I dealt with this, a lot of very unhealthy ways, but
eventually as I became an adult, I went to doctors, we talked
about these things. And of course, I get prescribed,
all kinds of medications and I've think I've been on just
about everyone, you can prescribe for anxiety or
depression or anything like that.
So I tried all of that but just ended up kind of accepting this
label of, being a Debbie Downer, or a Negative Nancy or even at
one point, being called Eeyore. Alright, so that was that was
pretty hard, a hard pill to swallow, but I just started to
accept it. I just figured, you know, what?
This is part of who I am. I worry about things, I get
anxious, really easy. I believed that it was out of my
control and that I did not have a choice in the matter that I
was just destined to feel that way.
And to be that way, I genuinely believe that I have no choice in
this matter. This is a chemical thing in my
brain. It's just how I'm going to be
the A few years ago, my perspective on this started to
change. I don't remember the very first
time I heard it. I don't know if it was in a
sermon or an article I read or just in conversation.
But I remember hearing the phrase or the conversation in
effect that anxiety or worry is just a lack of faith.
Is what it is. Which really Stone, especially
as a pastor, right? Like, that can't be it.
Can't be that. I have a lack of faith.
I'm a pastor. That's what I do for a living,
right? I inspire people.
Faith in Christ. And I live my whole life trying
to live out my faith and tell people about the joy of Christ
and that can't be it. That can't be why I suffer from
anxiety. I started to realize in thinking
through this, that the two are at odds with one another.
You see, as your anxiety, increases your joy decreases and
the other way around as your joy increases your anxiety decreases
and as I started to learn this and started to study this a
little bit more. More and more.
As I started to realize that this is not just something that
I'm stuck with that. I actually have a choice in it.
I would just kick against that. Like know, these people don't
know what they're talking about. When you say, I don't have
enough Faith, you don't understand that.
This is a chemical thing in my brain that I don't control.
So it's not a lack of faith, that's offensive to me.
I would get anxious about that, but I would be a people pleaser.
So, I want to listen to him. And so anyway, What I'm trying
to get at is that I began to study God's word on this and
see. What does God say about this?
Is this true, am I lacking Faith?
Because I don't want to do that. I don't want to be a man known
for lack of faith, and I started to notice in God's word,
commands, not not. Not requests, but commands to
not be anxious and not worry, I started to see commands in God's
word to rejoice and to trust in the Lord and all circumstances.
And an in these situations where these people were being told to
trust in the Lord and they're not be anxious.
They weren't going to Walmart for a Walmart.
Pick up there were facing death and they're being told be
joyful. Don't be anxious you know I
can't even walk in Walmart anymore.
I'm I'm becoming that guy. So these people were facing much
worse and they're not being told you know what it's okay to freak
out a little bit. No they're being told be joyful,
don't be anxious. And so it started to To develop
in my mind that I'm realizing. Okay, maybe there's something to
this. Maybe this whole thing about
anxiety that I've believe, my whole life is not true over and
over and over. I saw the Christians are to be a
people marked by faith and joy not anxiety and doubt, and fear
and worry. In fact, that very joy that we
are to be marked by is to be our strength as we're told in
Nehemiah 8:10, it says, do not be grieved for the joy of the
Lord is your strength. So the Lord through his word
started to convince me that staying this way, was not an
option for me. I decided, you know what?
I'm going to quit making excuses.
I'm going to try my best to stop being anxious to depend on the
Lord and to be joyful. But of course, you know, I kept
thinking, why can't just flip a switch and so that leads me to
where we're at today. And my guess is, there are with
this many people in a room, there are probably some of you
out there that suffer from the exact same thing that do.
Deal with anxiety deal with stress over a variety of things.
And I know you're probably right there where I'm at.
So, I want you to hear what God's word has to say about this
today. I don't, I want you to
understand that you don't have to live that way, you don't have
to live with anxiety or fear or doubt or any of those things
that God's word is given us a cure for that.
We're going to see it in just a moment in Philippians.
Now, I do want to make one disclaimer.
I'm not a doctor so don't go home after I preached this
sermon today and go through all your medications away and saved
you ask for said, I don't need that anymore.
Talk to your doctor first before you do that, but I'm trying to
let you know that you're not stuck in life having to depend
on that. Okay.
So let's open our Bibles to Philippians chapter 4, we're
going to be looking at Verses 4 through 9 Philippians four
verses four through nine. Now, before we read, let me give
you a little bit of context here.
Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians, to the Philippian
church, it was the very first church that Paul had ever found
it in Europe. The this church had plenty of
reason to be anxious to be worried about what was going on.
Okay. So they're facing opposition.
They're facing persecution, that's happening.
All Christians are facing that but their founder.
Paul is in prison at the time when he writes this letter, Also
epaphroditus who was a prominent member of the church was sick
and almost died as we see in chapter 2 verse 27.
There was this unity in the church.
We see early on in Chapter 2, Paul.
Urging them to be of the same mind and the same Accord.
And then we see here in chapter 4, in the first few verses that
there were two ladies and sinti key in euodia that, he was
urging them to be agreeable in the Lord to set aside your
differences and get along, be reasonable to one another.
So in this church, there's all kinds of things they could be
anxious and worried about. There's disunity, there's
persecution their Founders and prison.
There's guys getting sick and almost dying and there's lots of
reasons to be anxious and to be worried.
But Paul gives them some very clear instructions in this text
today about how to deal with that.
So we are going to read verses four through nine of Philippians
chapter 4. If you would if you can stand to
your feet as we read from God's word.
I'm going to read, and when I finish reading, I will say this
is the word of the Lord, and you will respond.
Thanks, be to God. So, let's read Philippians 4
verses 4 through 9 rejoice, in the lord always, again, I will
say rejoice, Let your reasonableness be known to
everyone. The Lord is at hand.
Do not be anxious about anything.
But in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ. Jesus, finally, Brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is Honorable, whatever is just
whatever. Pure whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable if there is any Excellence.
If there is anything, worthy of Praise, think about these
things. What you have learned and
received and heard and seen in me practice these things.
And the God of Peace will be with you.
This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God, you may be
seated. So this whole letter, the whole
letter of Philippians is one big encouragement to the people of
Philippi everything Paul writes and here's meant to encourage
them and spur them toward joy in the Lord.
That is the whole theme of Philippians and that is the
theme of our text today. In fact that's the theme of this
entire sermon. If I could sum it up in one
sentence, my big idea for you today is we often call.
It is this, the peace of God. Places our anxiety when we dwell
on Christ, the peace of God, replaces our anxiety when we
dwell on Christ. So I want to talk to you today.
About how do we do that? How do we dwell on Christ?
Paul gives us three ways in this text that we can keep our mind
and our attention focused on Christ.
If we can't dwell on him, the first is to pray.
Alright prayer is the very first one and verse in verse 4.
Paul starts out Ending them, he says rejoice in the lord always,
again, I will say rejoice, anytime you see a command like
this repeated back-to-back, it is meant to draw your attention
to that. It's meant to be a big way of
waking you up to say, pay attention to what I'm about to
tell you because this is important.
This would be the equivalent of a parent if they're trying to
talk to their child and I say, hey pay attention to me and look
at me when I'm talking to you. That's what Paul's doing.
He's saying, Rejoice, I'm going to say again, rejoice in the
lord. Always, this isn't a request.
This is a command to rejoice in the lord always.
Now, Rejoice is a, it's a verb. This is a form of the word Joy.
It is joy in action. In fact, in this context, the
way Paul uses the word it is, it means to be joyful or to make
yourself. Joyful he is commanding them.
He's not saying if you feel like it, maybe smile a little.
No, he's saying be joyful. Make yourself joyful in the face
of all the trials that you're going through, everything that
you're up against be a joyful, people be known for it.
He's not just asking this. Now, here's the kicker, he tells
us how he's not just saying look be joyful just to be a joyful
person, just so that you're happy and you're more easier to
be around. No, he's saying rejoice in what?
In the Lord rejoice in the lord always, that is where our joy is
found, is in the lord. It's not in the circumstances
around us. It's not in this world that we
live in its in Christ and Christ alone.
That's how we can be joyful always.
That is the cause for our joy, it is the object of our joy.
It's what fuels our joy and not just occasionally, but always As
in any circumstance, we can rejoice in the Lord, amen.
Even when our circumstances seem disastrous, we have reason to
rejoice in Christ. We're only on the first verse
and we already have all the motivation.
We need to be a joyful people but let's let's keep going.
So let's see how else Paul is instructing us to do this.
Paul gives a second command he says, let your reasonableness be
known to everyone now reasonableness here means
forbearance or a gentle spirit. So remember, there's been
disunity within this church, we saw these two ladies that were
arguing over, who had the better casserole and he's telling them
Y'all kidding. It's telling y'all need to be
reasonable. You need to be agreeable in the
Lord. Don't be known for your fighting
in your bickering. Be known for your love, for one
another. And so he just got done,
exhorting them that. He told them back in Chapter 2
to be of the same mind of the same love and full Accord with
one another. So in light of this we know
Paul's talking about our relationships with other people.
He's addressing that specifically, he's talking about
how to love one another how to be agreeable to one another, how
to put aside our differences and let our love for one another
Trump, any Petty differences that we might have.
But this can also mean to use reason in your thinking, let
your reasonableness be known instead of letting those little
anxieties or doubts or fears snowball to where you're just
out of your mind and just acting crazy be reasonable.
Think about what you say before you speak stop and take a breath
and think about it. Let your reasonableness be
known. So that others.
See that in you you're not the kind of person that just flies
off the handle and let your emotions and your feelings run
you. You're a person that is rooted
and grounded in God's word and confident in what he is done and
joyful in him and nothing can shake.
That, that's the kind of people that we are called Next Paul
reminds them his listeners. Why they should have this joy
and this reasonableness as well as the very next command, he's
going to get into. He tells them the Lord is at
hand. Now this could mean that the
Lord is coming soon. It could also mean that the Lord
is with you right now both Are true, but it's because of
Christ. It's because of Jesus that we
can have joy that we can love others and that we can be
reasonable again. That's our motivation, our fuel,
our purpose, in all of this is Christ.
Paul then gives a third command and we're really getting into
the meat of the text now, verse 6, he says the Lord is at hand.
Do not be anxious about anything.
But in everything by prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God.
Here we find the cure for anxiety.
All right, so anyone out there like me that deals with this on
a regular basis. This is your text.
This is what you hang onto. Don't be anxious about anything.
See, I used to think my problem is that I get anxious and worked
up over little stuff. I need to learn how to Discern
in my mind, the things that are worth getting worked up over in
the things that aren't like. Maybe I'm just getting too,
worked up over the little stuff but you know, I'll save it for
the big stuff so maybe I shouldn't get.
So anxious about running late for something.
But if I have a blowout on the way there, then I have every
right to just have a full-blown meltdown, right?
That's what I used to think that is not what Paul is saying here.
Paul is saying, don't be anxious about anything.
Now, consider remember the context of these people and what
they're going through as a church.
Paul saying don't be anxious about a thing, anything, rejoice
in the lord, always no matter what you're facing, no matter
what you're going through. This is a bold statement for
these people considering what they're facing instead of
getting anxious. He says, let your requests be
made known to God. He's saying instead of worrying
and get anxious, take it to the Lord and then he gives us some
specific ways to do that. The first is through prayer is
through talking to God, that's all prayer, is talking to the
Lord vent. To the Lord, take your burdens
to him and pour it all out. He already knows your heart
anyway. You might as well talk to him
about it, get it all out of your system.
He wants to hear from you, he's a good father.
He loves his children, cry out to him.
We've been singing in homegroups a song.
It's a classic good old him. The what a friend we have in
Jesus and we're going to sing it today at the end of the service,
one of the lines in that song says o, what peace?
We often forfeit. Oh, what needless pain?
We Bear all because we do not carry Everything To God In
Prayer. Pray to God bear your heart to
him, pour it out to him. He wants to hear from you.
The second thing, Paul tells us is through prayer and
supplication. So supplication is asking for
something, it's when you're asking God for something.
You're asking God, take away this anxiety and me, take away
the stress. God, please help me deal with
these circumstances in a sane way where I'm not losing my
mind. Isaiah, 42 3 says that a bruised
Reed. He will not break and a faintly
burning Wick. He will not quench.
Psalm 34:18 says, the Lord is near to the Brokenhearted and
saves the crushed in spirit. God is near.
He wants to hear your prayers. He wants you to bring your
concerns to him. He is glad to hear it, you're
not burdening, God, there's no burden you could lay at the foot
of the cross. It's too heavy for him to carry.
So, take it to God In Prayer. Take it in supplication, plead
with him an Skin to help you ask him to help you see what you
need and then lastly, do it all with Thanksgiving.
Do it with Thanksgiving show gratitude and thankfulness for
what God has already done for you.
We don't go to the Lord in arrogance, we go in confidence
knowing we can approach the throne but not arrogant making
demands. We go thankful for what God has
already blessed us with when we make our petitions to it.
So that's the first part that's kind of Step.
One is prayer and that kind of Prayer, of Supplication and
Thanksgiving. Pray ask and be thankful, but
don't do it, according to your own will according to your own
selfish. Desires.
James 4:3 says you ask and do not receive because you ask
wrongly to spend it on your own passions.
We want to make sure when we go to the Lord in prayer and we're
making supplications and petitions that were asking
according to his will according to his sovereignty.
So let's be sure to do that when we go to the Lord in prayer.
So that's the first thing is to pray.
We must be sure that we are praying in line with God's will.
We must be thankful. And if we will do this, if we
will do this, he will Guard our hearts and Minds in Christ.
Jesus, look at verse 7, the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding will guard your hearts and Minds in Christ
Jesus. And the structure of this
statement is very interesting. It's what we see in other places
in scripture. This is what's called an if-then
statement. If you will do this, then this
will happen. Paul is saying, if you will take
it to the Lord and take it in prayer and supplication with
Thanksgiving. If you will do that, then he
will, he absolutely will guard your hearts and your minds in
Christ. Jesus.
That is a promise. That's not a maybe that is a
promise. He will guard your hearts and
Minds. Now why do we need our hearts
and Minds to be guarded? Why in the world?
Why do I need that? Jeremiah 17:9 says that the
heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick, who
can understand it. Proverbs 28:26 says, whoever
trusts in his own mind, as a fool, but He Who Walks In wisdom
will be delivered. See, I know that left to my own
devices. I will begin to worry, and have
anxiety and spin out of control. I know that I know that if I
follow my own heart, and my emotions, and my feelings that,
I'm going to get in trouble really quick.
That's why those sayings of follow your heart as a bunch of
nonsense. Follow God's word.
Follow him. My heart will lead me astray my
feelings and my emotions will betray me.
And my mind will wander with thoughts of what.
If, what if If this happens, what if that happens.
So I need the peace of God to protect my mind, and my heart
from those thoughts, and those feelings.
I need to have discernment to know what God's promise me in
his word versus what my heart. My feelings might be telling me
and we can have that peace. If we will take it to the Lord,
in prayer, is what Paul is telling us in this scripture.
John Piper says it this way, Paul.
Promises that a life of faithful Christ.
Dependent Christ exalting prayer, will be alive protected
from anxiety and its many sinful fruits by God's.
Peace. God promises us.
This, why not cash in on that promise?
Let God's peace guard, your heart and mind by taking it to
the Lord in prayer. So the first thing, first way we
dwell on Christ as we pray, the second way is we think This
process of replacing anxiety with joy doesn't just end with
praying to God and leaving it all there.
Once we cast our anxieties At His Feet, once we empty our mind
and our heart of all these burdensome thoughts, and fears,
and anxieties, we have to replace that with something
positive. Now, we need to put good things
there. We need to take the bat out and
put something good and worthy in there.
Well, what could that possibly be Paul tells us in verse 8
Finally Brothers, whatever is true, whatever is Honorable,
whatever is just whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable if there's any Excellence.
If there is anything worthy of Praise, think about these
things, What is true? What is Honorable?
Pure? Lovely commendable.
Excellent worthy of Praise dwell on that.
Think about that, not your circumstances, not what's
causing the anxiety. Don't think about that, think
about what's good. He's instructing them what to
fill their mind and their thoughts with the ESV Study
Bible says that the Philippians are to fill their minds with
things that will inspire worship to God and service to others.
So that begs the question. Well what what is true?
And honorable and just and pure and lovely.
What is commendable? Jesus.
Jesus Christ is all of those things.
What is excellent and worthy of Praise.
Jesus Christ. And not just that but all the
good things he's already done. All of the blessings.
He's poured out on us time and time again.
We think about those things that is worth thinking about that is
worth dwelling on what we've seen in here this morning.
These are the things you think about dwell on that, not the
petty little things that we're going through that can cause
stress remember God's goodness through our trials and
tribulations, how can we do this?
How can we meditate on these things?
We study his word, we sing his Praises.
We remind ourselves daily of his goodness of his salvation for
us. Psalm 51, 12 says, restore to me
the joy of your salvation. If nothing else remembering that
God saved us from sin and death saved, us from hell should be
enough to cause joy in our hearts every single day, that
should be enough. But there's so much more he's
poured out. So many blessings on us.
We should always be thinking on these things.
We think on that, if we remember those things, we remember his
goodness and dwell on that and not the negative circumstances,
all of that stuff just Fades away.
If you fix your Gaze on him, the worries of the world just seemed
to fail. Just pale in comparison.
As the song says, Turn Your Eyes Upon.
Jesus look. Full in his wonderful face.
The things of Earth will grow strangely gently dim, in the
light of his glory, and grace. Yes.
Romans 8:18 says, I consider that the sufferings of this
present time are not worth comparing with the glory.
That is to be revealed us. So dwell on Christ, not your
circumstances and then the third thing to do.
We pray, we think. And then we do, we can't just
let it all be good thoughts in our head.
We have to put it into action at some point.
He tells us how to do this, in verse 9.
What you have learned and received and heard and seen in
me practice these things. What you've learned received
heard and seen, practice those things.
So practice means an ongoing action, right?
We continually do it. Not just once you don't just try
it once. All that didn't work, I'm done
with that. You over and over, and over
again, you do these things constantly doing these things.
So, what were these Things that these Philippian people had
learned and received and heard and seen in Paul.
What it, what is it? What is it?
They're supposed to be practicing.
Well, they learned who Jesus was that he was the son of God
almighty. They learn why he came and
suffered, a death on a cross, for their sake.
And for our sake, they received that message and they believed
it with repentance and Faith. They heard the gospel
unfiltered, not watered down preached everywhere.
Paul went and they saw Paul live out, the gospel, loving others,
and enduring persecution suffering for the name of
Christ. This is what they heard.
This is what they learn, this is what they saw.
And he's telling them to go and practice, those things practice,
what you've learned, and what you've seen and what you've
heard. Don't just let it be something
that you hear, and then that's it.
Don't just come in this place. On a Sunday morning and hear
good preaching, and hear about the gospel in walk out and be
unchanged. Go live it out.
Go practice. The things we talk about is
James. 1:22, says, be doers of the word not just hearers only,
and if we will do this, we have another promise in this Text as
if one wasn't enough, he promises the God of Peace will
be with you first. We saw that the peace of God
will guard our hearts and minds and now we see that the God of
Peace will be with us so not only is he going to send his
peace to protect my mind and my heart but he himself will be
with me in every circumstance. What great Assurance is that?
What? Cause for Joy is that the god of
creation, God himself will be with me and my son.
Circumstances in my stress and my anxiety has promised to be
with me. That is such a reason for Joy
this morning, and such a reason to praise God, and thank him.
We can be joyful, we can be a people known for Joy, not
anxiety, and doubt, and fear, if we will dwell on Christ, if we
will take our cares to him through prayer and think on,
what is good and practice, the things we've learned and seen,
we can live a life free of anxiety and stress.
You don't have to live your life that way like I thought I did.
We can't divert our gaze left or right, we have to stay focused
on Christ or like Peter. We will start to sink and drown
the sorrows and the worries of this world.
The peace of God will replace our anxiety if we dwell on
Christ. So what does this mean for you
today? How do we take all of this and
apply it? There's been several commands in
this text of things to do, so I'll obviously do those things.
But Believers in here today, if you've placed your faith in
Christ, if you are a Christian in this text, we've seen
multiple things. Paul's commanding his listeners
to do. And I want you to take this away
from this today, maybe you're like me.
And you think, well, I suffer from anxiety and stress and
worry and depression. And I'm just doomed to be that
way. All my life but firmly believe
because of passages like this, that through Christ, we have
freedom from those things. So, whenever you feel anxious or
worried or have doubts or fears in this life, pray don't be
anxious about anything. But in everything by prayer and
supplication with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known
to God. If you will do this, the peace
of God, will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus to
is think, think about what is pure.
Lovely commendable. Worthy of Praise.
Don't dwell on your problems. Dwell on Jesus.
Think about him. Think about At all, he has done
for you and then do don't just listen and think and let it all
be in thought. But go and practice the things
that you've seen and heard and learned practice what?
God's? Word teaches, you If you will do
those things, you can have the peace of God.
And the God of Peace will be with you today.
But if you're in this place and you've never placed your faith
in Christ, if you are not a Believer, you've never said, I
want to make Jesus, Lord of my life and my king.
I've never submitted my life to him.
I want you to know that you that this world is full of anxiety
and sorrow, and sadness, and sickness and death, and worry
and despair. It is everywhere.
You look now. No, you know, that?
The Evangelical commentary on the Bible, said this and said
it. So well, that the peace of God,
which replaces anxiety in the life of a prayerful believer is
impossible to experience. Unless one already is at peace
with God, through faith in Christ.
How true that is. There is no peace from God.
Peace in this world. We don't have our minds and
hearts protected from the stresses of this world apart
from peace with God. Through Jesus Christ, that has
to come first without repentance and faith in him.
We are at enmity with God and that is reason to have anxiety
and worry and doubt and fear. But if you will place your faith
in him and him alone, not yourself.
If you will, repent of your sins and give your life to Christ,
you can know this same piece, the Troubles of this world will
melt away and comparison to knowing him.
This is the promise that were given in this text today.
Romans, 5:1 says, therefore, since we have been justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
So if you've never done this, I invite you today.
And I beg you to repent of your sins and place your faith in
Christ and him alone. Turn your doubts and cares and
anxieties toward him, cry, out to him.
And let that piece guard your mind and hearts, give your life
to him, and Noah piece that you can never know.
Apart from him. I beg you for that today.
Let's pray, father, we love you, God, we thank you for this time
together. We thank you for your word.
We thank you for what we read in Philippians for that.
No matter what this world throws at us, they're all the anxieties
and doubts and fears that this life may have for us.
That we can have peace through your son, Jesus.
God, we thank you for his death on the cross that he paid for
our sins and that by putting our faith and our hope and trust in
him that we can be free of sin. God, I pray if there's anyone in
this place today that has never done that, they would do so, now
that they would cast their cares and anxieties that your Feet
that they would trust in you that they would put their full
confidence and faith in you. That they would know your peace
Lord. God please help us to not trust
our own Hearts. I trust our feelings not be
weighed down with the anxieties of this world but to remember
Christ to dwell on him. Always want to experience this
piece that you've talked about in your word.
God, we thank you for that in Jesus name.
Amen. You have any?
God please help us to not trust our own Hearts.
I trust our feelings not be weighed down with the anxieties
of this world but to remember Christ to dwell on him.
Always want to experience this piece that you've talked about
in your word. God, we thank you for that in
Jesus name. Amen.
You have any?