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Philippians 4:6-7, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 3:16, Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times in every way. The Lord be with you all. (ESV)
There is plenty to worry about in this uncertain world, but God prepares us through His Word to handle worrisome circumstances in a way that we can know His peace flooding our hearts in the middle of these troubles. God has told us so far In Philippians 4 to stand firm, to resolve conflicts, to demonstrate a gentle spirit to others, to rejoice always, and then in the middle of potential anxiety to pray about everything and keep a thankful heart. That’s when God promises His peace to cushion our hearts.
TWO OBSERVATIONS ABOUT GOD’S PEACE.
Romans 5:1, Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Before anyone can experience the peace of God, you must have peace with God. Peace with God is the result of being justified by faith alone in Christ alone. We are all sinners. Romans 3:10 says there is no one righteous. We were born naturally at war with God and under God’s wrath. We are all guilty before God in our sin and under condemnation. In our sin we can never come to God because He is holy. But Christ came into this world to live a perfect life and die a substitutionary death on our behalf. He became sin for us. He bore our sins in His body on the cross so that He could bring us to God. Before you can have peace with God, you must be convinced you are a sinner before God and willing to turn from your sin and put your trust, your faith in Christ alone! When a guilty sinner puts his or her faith in Christ, believing in Him as Lord and Savior, God imputes Christ’s righteousness to your account and declares you righteous. At that moment you have peace with God. The war is over. God has justified or declared you righteous. This peace with God is a legal status, a position that will never change. It’s a fact. The peace of God is seen more in your daily experiences based on your relationship with Christ.
My second observation is that we are warned not to settle for a false peace. Jeremiah strongly warns us about this false peace that is preached through false teachers.
Jeremiah 6:14, They have healed the brokenness of My people superficially, Saying, “Peace, peace,” But there is no peace.
Jeremiah 8:11, They heal the brokenness of the daughter of My people superficially, Saying, “Peace, peace,” But there is no peace.
These words are the apostate, liberal message from false teachers: “God loves everyone, don’t worry, He accepts us just as we are. We all have peace with God. He’s not a God of wrath, only love.” No, these words are lies. Thomas Watson said, “This is the devil’s peace; he rocks men in the cradle of security, on the precipice of hell.” The truth of God’s Word tells us God only accepts us in Jesus Christ. John 3:36 still says God’s wrath is on those who do not believe in His Son.
John 3:36, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
Now, the last thing I want to be charged with is being a false teacher. So, I implore you not to settle for less than genuine salvation through faith in Christ. You don’t want to hear from Jesus, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23). You want your peace with God to be real and genuine. Only then are you qualified to have the peace of God.
THE PEACE OF GOD – GOD’S INNER PEACE.
God has already told us in Philippians 4:6, “Don’t worry about anything.” That’s one of those absolutes that seems beyond possibility. “You mean God is able to give me His peace in the middle of this worrisome situation?” This is where church history is so encouraging as many of God’s warriors have experienced this peace of God, even in the face of martyrdom. In 1555 Nicholas Ridley was burned at the stake with Hugh Latimer, as was Thomas Cranmer later under the rule of Bloody Mary. The night before Ridley was to be burned, his brother offered to remain with him in the prison chamber to comfort him. Ridley declined the offer, saying he meant to go to bed and sleep as quietly as he ever did in his life. In Acts 12 King Herod had James, John’s brother, put to death with the sword. When Herod saw this pleased the Jews, he decided to have Peter executed also. The night before Peter’s execution he was sleeping soundly when an angel appeared to spring him out of jail. The angel struck Peter to wake him and then took him right out of that prison. Peter wasn’t anxious. He was sleeping in the peace of God.
What are your worries, fears, anxieties? They’re not coming to arrest you for being a Christian this morning, but you might be worried about other things. Will I get cancer? Will I end up with Alzheimer’s? Will we have enough money to pay our bills this month? Are we facing World War III? What will the next election bring? Those thoughts come when you’ve forgotten God is in complete control of everything and you’re not. God knows the future and you don’t.
I love the story about Nazi Germany’s flying bomb the Doodle Bug that landed just outside of Westminster Chapel in London. It was on a Sunday morning, June 8, 1944. A lady was visiting Westminster Chapel that morning and recorded the event. While Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was leading the congregation in prayer, a Doodle Bug dropped and exploded a few hundred yards away. The chapel cracked under the impact and dust and debris fell from the ceiling. This visitor wrote, “As the impact of the doodle bug was heard, the entire congregation rose to its feet. After a brief pause, the doctor continued his prayer as though nothing had happened, and we all sat down again. After the prayer one of the men of the church, Mr. Marsh, went up to the pulpit with a duster to remove fallen dust from the pulpit and preacher before the sermon.”
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones is an example of a man who knew the peace of God, even when the bombs were falling. We’ll hopefully never experience that kind of scenario, but God’s peace is available for any circumstance.
GOD’S PROMISE – INNER PEACE.
God prepares us for unexpected, anxiety causing events in these two verses, as well as other places in His precious Word. God says in every circumstance, with prayer and petition with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, (then here comes one of God’s great promises for our lives) and the peace of God that passes understanding will keep or guard your hearts and minds, your inner person, in Christ Jesus, and only in Him.
Jesus assured us of this peace as well.
John 14:27, Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
John 16:33, These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
These are not just platitudes. God means what He says. You and I should be experiencing God’s inner peace and inner calm when other people going through the same circumstances are riddled with anxiety or living in panic palace. What did 2 Thessalonians 3:16 say? May God give you peace at all times and in every way (in every conceivable circumstance)!
There’s no way around it. The way you handle problems, temptations, trials, and difficulties reflects your view of God. If you understand and firmly believe that God is sovereign over every aspect of your life, that your sovereign God is also your loving heavenly Father, that He is in control of everything in your life for His glory and your good, and if you understand that nothing is beyond the reach of God’s control, if you understand He’s orchestrating everything for His eternal purpose, and if you can rest in that anchor of your soul with confident faith, then you are going to be stable in the midst of life’s storms. You may feel yourself sinking like Peter, but what did he say? “Lord, save me!” And what did Jesus do? He reached out His hand and saved him. Jesus will never let us sink. Never. Let’s do a quick review from verse 6 on God’s prescription for handling anxiety.
Philippians 4:6, Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Pray in every circumstance – vs. 6, “in everything.”
“In everything” means in every situation, in every circumstance. That includes lost axe heads. Second Kings 6:5 tells of one of Elisha’s seminary students borrowing an axe to cut down trees. As he was chopping away the axe head flew right off the handle into the Jordan River. He cried out, “Alas my master! For it was borrowed.” That would make me worry too, like you borrow a car and put a dent in the door. Yikes! This fellow in 2 Kings 6 went to the right person, Elisha the man of God. He asked, “Where did it fall?” “Right there,” replied the student. So Elisha cut off a stick, threw it river, and the axe head floated. Elisha commanded, “Go get it.” So the student put out his hand and grasped the axe head. One author said, “Every anxiety is a personal invitation from God to come to Him in prayer, to call us back into His presence, to talk to Him about it.”
Pray with a firm focus on God – vs. 6, “with prayer and supplication.”
Instead of looking at the issue with worry, fear, anxiety, and panic, turn your eyes upon Jesus just like Peter did. Look full in His wonderful face. Get a firm focus on God and who He is. Get your mind fixed on your sovereign, loving God.
Isaiah 26:3-4, You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock (ESV).
Think like David: “I’ve got all this trouble, all these enemies chasing me around, but I’m praying and praising and worshipping You. You are King, sovereign over everything, and give strength and peace.”
Psalms 29:10-11, The LORD sat as King at the flood; Yes, the LORD sits as King forever. 11 The LORD will give strength to His people; The LORD will bless His people with peace.
Pray with a heart full of gratitude – vs. 6, “with thanksgiving.”
Our hearts ought to be a fountain of gratitude with specific thanksgiving offerings to our loving, caring, personal heavenly Father. “Give thanks with a joyful heart.” We ought to be sweet with thanksgiving like Hershy Kisses are sweet with chocolate. When we are squeezed, thanksgiving ought to run out of us like orange juice runs out of squeezed oranges.
When’s the last time you sat down and counted your blessings, maybe writing down 40 or 50 of them. “When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, when you are discouraged thinking all is lost.” What next? “Count your many blessings name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.” Name them. Name all of God’s rich grace poured into your life through His Son Jesus Christ. Ephesians 1:3, “We’ve been blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus.” And don’t forget about your temporal blessings. Did you have hot water for a shower this morning? Do you have in-house plumbing? Do you have a refrigerator? Central AC? Yet we often hear, “Wah, wah, wah!” Man, how easy it is to be whiners even when we are swimming in eternal and temporal blessings. Paul says the same thing in 1 Thessalonians 5:18, “In everything give thanks, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” Paul says the path to God’s beyond-comprehension peace is rich with the fruit of thanksgiving.
Pray with specific requests – vs. 6, “let your requests be made know to God.”
Paul says let your requests be made known to God. There you are with your eyes fixed on God, and now you submit your requests to God. That doesn’t mean God’s going to answer your requests just the way you ask Him, but He wants you to make them known to Him.
Some say, “Well, we prayed about it and nothing happened.” There are two major mistakes often made about prayer. First, we misread God’s promises. God did not promise to change our circumstances to make things easier. Paul wasn’t released but remained in prison. Remember Jesus in the garden? “Father, if possible change my circumstances. Nevertheless, not my will but Yours be done.”
The second mistake about prayer is that we forget God’s purpose for us. He may or may not change our circumstances, but He has promised to change us, to use these worrisome trials to conform us to the image of Christ. He promised in Romans 8:28, “All things work together for good to those who love God, to those called according to His purpose.” What is that “good” and that “purpose”? Verse 29 tells us it is so we might be conformed to the image of His Son. That’s God’s constant goal and purpose for His people. What is the result of praying and thanking and trusting your God?
GOD’S PROMISE – GOD’S INNER PEACE MOVES IN.
Philippians 4:7, And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
God’s peace comes from Him – vs. 7, “the peace of God.”
Paul is talking about the peace that comes from God – it’s source is in God. It is God’s peace. God never worries about a thing. His character is pure peace. Nothing can ruffle the peace of God. God is a God of perfect peace. He’s never stressed or anxious or doubts. And His wonderful peace moves into your heart like a full-scale military fleet surrounding and protecting your inner person, your heart and soul. This is one of the precious realities many of God’s people have written and sung about. Francis Ridley Havergal lived in Great Britain and corresponded with Fanny Crosby here in the states. She was a gifted young lady who lived with pain and weakness most of her life. She endured various trials – her American publisher went bankrupt and the offices of her British publisher burned down, including manuscripts on which she’d been working. She wrote about God’s peace through these trials:
Like a river glorious is God’s perfect peace.
Over all victorious in its bright increase;
Perfect yet it floweth, fuller every day;
Perfect yet it groweth, deeper all the way.
And then the refrain:
Stayed upon Jehovah, hearts are fully blest.
Finding, as He promised, perfect peace and rest.
God’s peace is supernatural – vs. 7, “the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension.”
This peace is beyond human understanding or explanation, but many of God’s people can testify that God’s peace filled their hearts as they prayed, gave thanks, and let Him know their heart’s concerns. You may know this. God carried your load and you rested in Him. When you should be falling apart, God’s peace sustained you. This is not mystical or magical, but this peace is based on the truth of God’s character and promise. This peace is beyond our comprehension and passes our understanding just like the love of Christ is above our comprehension but true.
Ephesians 3:19, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.
God’s peace guards your heart and mind – vs. 7, “will guard your hearts and your minds.”
Guard is a military term of protection, preventing hostile invasion. Remember in Elisha’s day (2 Kings 6) the powerful enemy threatened the city. His servant woke up and saw a huge army of horses and chariots surrounding the city. He cried out to Elisha, “Alas, my master. What shall we do?” That’s anxiety. But Elisha knew God’s perfect peace and said, “Don’t fear, for those with us are more than those with them.” Then he asked God to open his servant’s eyes so he could see all the angelic forces surrounding the city! Sure enough, “the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” God’s peace guards your inner self and surrounds your heart and mind. When God says His peace will guard your heart and mind, no one gets past His security team. So here is your heart with your thoughts processing, rattling around in your brain, and at the same time here is God’s supernatural peace gently cushioning, protecting, and easing your thoughts so you have a sense of shalom, calmness, and “perfect peace and rest.” Spurgeon says we should stop looking like Christ fell off His throne. Don’t walk around looking like your shoes are too tight. Sometimes we need to pray, “Lord, I need your beyond-understanding peace right now. I’ve got a storm brewing within me. Please command it to hush up. Let me focus on You.”
God’s peace is only available in Christ – vs. 7, “in Christ Jesus.”
Where do you find this peace, this inner calm of trusting God? You can’t get this peace at the pharmacy or the liquor store or on the street corner or even a church. Vacation won’t give it to you. Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace. All true peace is in and from Him. Remember, peace with God comes through our Lord Jesus Christ. Have you trusted and relied on Christ alone for your salvation? If so, you will forever have peace with God. The peace of God only comes as you prayerfully cast your cares on Him.
Isaiah 26:3-4, You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. 4 Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD GOD is an everlasting rock (ESV).
SO WHAT?
Paul teaches us in Philippians 4:6-7 that no matter what happens, no matter what you go through, no matter the trials of life, the opposition, the setbacks, the craziness, the anger and hate, the conflicts, the losses of Job or the betrayals of Joseph, no matter the circumstances of your life that would produce anxiety and worry – here’s the beautiful, wonderful fact. Every one of us who have trusted Christ alone for our salvation from sin can know God’s peace experientially, moment by moment, in our hearts and minds. May our loving heavenly Father help us cast all our cares on Him, for He cares for us!
MacArthur in his book Anxious for Nothing says this: “If you’ve lost God’s peace in your life, you can find it again. Retrace your steps by trusting God in everything, turning away from sin and walking in obedience, enduring His refining work in your life, doing what is good, and living by the Word of God in a righteous way. As Paul said, God’s peace is continually available to you. Avail yourself of it.”