Word of Salvation – Vol.32 No.38 – October 1987
God’s Peace
Sermon by Rev. B. Hoyt on Philippians. 4:4-7
Reading: Philippians. 2:1-18, 4:4-9
Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Every Christian from time to time faces difficulties in his life which weigh him down and which seem to be too great a burden to bear. When the apostle Paul writes the words of our text, Philippians 4:4-7, he wrote as one who had much experience with difficulties. He was not a stranger to trials. If we carefully read his life and understand what’s between the lines, as it were, we realize that the Lord fulfilled in his life what He promised: that He had called the apostle to suffer many things for His Name. The apostle was no stranger to trials and difficulties. Therefore it’s amazing to hear the apostle calling us to rejoice in the midst of his suffering, as he’s in prison, facing the prospect of death. He calls us to rejoice in the Lord always and he says it again to emphasise it, rejoice! An amazing thing, strange to our ears, because it is certainly not natural.
Two Impossible Commands
We have here two impossible commands. The first command is to “rejoice in the Lord always” even in the midst of difficulties. The second command is in verse six, “Be anxious for nothing.” They are impossible commands because we can’t do these things of ourselves, especially in the midst of difficulties and trials. But we are called in such circumstances to do exactly that. These are not suggestions the apostle makes to us, “Your life would be a little better if you would have some joy in your life.” He’s not saying that. He’s not giving us a suggestion as to how we might feel better, not at all. He gives us a command from the Lord, when he says, ‘rejoice in the Lord always’, and when he says, ‘don’t be anxious about anything’.
Because he speaks out of his own difficulties, the Philippians could well understand that he would have paused after he gave that first command, “Rejoice in the Lord always.” No doubt he would have paused and stopped to think: Do I really mean that? Is that really what God commands? But he carried on knowing for sure that God had said that, “Again I say, rejoice!” He would no doubt have stopped to think because, for example in chapter 2 verse 17, we read that he faces the prospect of death. He says, “Even if I’m being poured out as a drink offering…!” He doesn’t know for sure that he will die, but even if he is to be poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of their faith, he will rejoice and share his joy with them. He calls them to do the same thing and share their joy with him. Not only did he face the prospect of death, but also his ministry was severely limited. No doubt this was a greater difficulty for the apostle, knowing his calling and being moved by the love of God to fulfil his calling. But here he was in prison. He couldn’t freely preach as he wanted to. More than that, there were others who were preaching the gospel and they were abusing him in doing it. Apparently they were saying things about the apostle Paul that weren’t good, and they were preaching from wrong motives. He says, “The former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretence or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice, yes, and I will rejoice.” It’s hard for him to rejoice. It’s hard for him to be in prison and not to be able to preach as he desires to do. It’s hard to see other men preaching from wrong motives and also abusing him, but he determines to rejoice in the midst of that trial also.
He also calls the Philippians to rejoice in spite of the fact that they face serious trials in their church. In Philippians 3:1 he says once again, “Rejoice in the Lord!”, then he proceeds to warn them about false teachers that will try to lead them astray. They will try to take you away from the grace of God. They will boast in themselves as though they have accomplished righteousness in themselves before God, but remember our righteousness is only from Christ and we are called to suffer much.
He says that he desires to share in the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Rejoice, Philippians, again I say it, rejoice!
No, we can’t accuse the apostle of speaking lightly out of no experience. He knows whereof he speaks. He himself is obedient to the command of the Lord when he rejoices in trials and difficulties. He isn’t being trite. But facing the realities of his own life and the calling of God, he calls us together with himself to rejoice in the Lord and be anxious for nothing.
Now as you reflect upon that call of the Lord you realize that it is not natural to rejoice in difficulties. We naturally worry and we naturally groan and moan when we enter into difficulties. That’s because we look at our own strength. We look at our own resources and we recognize that we are not adequate to these things and we begin to groan. We begin to bear down under the weight of the load that is on our shoulders. And we don’t find it in us to rejoice in the Lord always. You see, we’ve forgotten that the Lord brings trials and difficulties into our life. And He does so for purposes that often we don’t understand. But let us remember that we have been chosen from before the foundation of the world. Why? That we might be holy and blameless, the people of God whom God loves. He has destined us to that end, that we should be His holy people. As the Sovereign God He works in history and in our lives in order to bring about the great goal that He has for His Church: that the Church of Jesus Christ might be the bride of Christ without spot. The Lord our God, who loves us, is willing to bring difficulties and trials into our lives; He’s willing to allow pain and suffering in our lives in order to accomplish that great purpose. That’s why the apostle Paul calls us to rejoice in the Lord always, knowing that tribulation brings perseverance, and perseverance proven character. That’s what God is after.
Often we can’t rejoice, but instead we worry and fret because we consider the difficulties of this life as a greater weight than the sanctification which God desires. We consider the difficulties of this life of greater weight than the kingdom and the glory of God. And so, when we are called to rejoice in the Lord always – even in our difficulties – we can’t. Because the difficulties loom so large in our minds, and our sanctification is considered by us so unimportant, we can’t rejoice.
But let us get our perspective right. Let us focus our eyes upon that great goal that God has for us, and for all of His people. And let us remember the glories which God has in store. In the words of the apostle in Romans 8:18, “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” It’s only with that perspective that we will, by the grace of God, be enabled to rejoice in the Lord always.
It’s only when we consider the goal of God in our lives, our sanctification, which I have mentioned, that we will be enabled to rejoice in the midst of tribulations. “Consider it…,” James says in James 1:2-4, “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have it’s perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” That is God’s desire. For that goal and for that purpose He works all things in our lives. Therefore do not worry and fret. Rejoice in the Lord always.
Three Great Consolations
The apostle does not stop with these impossible commands. He continues with three great consolations:
– the consolation of the presence of the Lord,
– the consolation of His promise to hear our prayers,
– and the consolation of His peace which will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
The commands we are given here are impossible for us. They are not natural to us at all. According to the flesh we can’t obey them,
But the Lord gives His strength through these consolations. He gives His consolation, first of all, by his presence, the presence of Jehovah. The presence of the Lord. Rejoice, how? Not just isolated and alone, not just as an individual apart from God, but rejoice in the Lord, in Jehovah! In the covenant God, in whose grace you stand, under whose mercy you have been blessed, and who is constantly your God, just as you are His people. We know that God is with us wherever we go. He is our covenant God. His great covenantal promise is true, “I will be with you, I am your God and you are my people.” When Paul says rejoice in the Lord, that’s what he means. He wants to remind us that we are the covenant people of God and that Jehovah is our covenant God who is always with His people. His very Name implies that. Jehovah, I am..!
In the context of Exodus chapter 3, God was saying to Moses, “I am with you.” Often this passage is interpreted in a Greek sense, as though God was declaring Himself to be the Ever-existent One, I
Well, God certainly is that, and it is not wrong to say that about God and it is not wrong to infer that from His Name, but the Name that He gives Himself, Jehovah, I am, in the context in which He gives it at the burning bush, when he calls Moses to lead His people out of Egypt – means first of all that He is with Moses and His people. Moses needs the presence of God and he needs to know that God is there strengthening him. We know he feels this need because he says: How can I do this, Lord? And God says: I will be with you. Moses asks further: What will I say to Pharaoh? And God replies: I will be with you; say that to Pharaoh and to the people. I am with you. Jehovah!
Rejoice in the Lord your God who is with you. That’s why the Psalmist over and again in his difficulties can say: The Lord is my portion. He is my strength and my shield.
Not only does the apostle say to rejoice in the Lord always, but he reminds us that the Lord is near. The Lord is at hand, He is beside us. He is not a God who is far away or who has forgotten His people, not at all. Sometimes we feel that, but it is because of our own sin and our own forgetfulness. The Lord will never leave nor forsake His people. Our God is near.
When we fail to rejoice, when we do not rejoice in the trials that the Lord brings us, then we are confessing, perhaps not with our lips but with our actions and attitudes, that we don’t really believe that He is near. We are saying to the Lord: You have forgotten me and You are not beside me anymore and that’s why I’m unhappy. That’s why I’m not rejoicing in the midst of this trial.
The disciples were accused by the Pharisees of not fasting, of not showing long faces, in waiting for the Lord to deliver them. The Pharisees did that. They were calling upon God to deliver them from the Romans. They were righteous in doing that, they thought. And they accused the disciples of not fasting and calling upon God as they ought. Now what did Jesus say about their accusations? You don’t fast when the bridegroom is in your midst! You don’t fast when He is there with you! You rejoice and you celebrate. And so it is with us. We don’t fast, calling upon the Lord to send His deliverer to us so that He might be with us and save us. He has already come! And He has already saved us and He continues with us! Therefore we rejoice.
When we fail to rejoice we are also saying to God, the Almighty God: I don’t like your providential dealings with me. That is an expression of unbelief. We do so because we look only to our own strength, and our own resources, and we forget that the Lord is with us.
Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice. Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near!
The second great consolation that we have as we consider these commands of the Lord is His promise to hear the prayer of His people. Don’t worry about anything, says the apostle. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” You see, the apostle makes it very plain that we have no reason to worry, no reason to get all bent out of shape. Why? Because we go to our heavenly Father and make known to Him all of our needs and He hears us.
But how often the Lord has to reprove us in His Word as He reproved the disciples! ‘Until now you have asked for nothing; ask and you shall receive’. We have to bear this reproof, don’t we? You ask not and that’s why you don’t have, says James. Oh, people of God, let us not forget to pray and plead with the Lord always, to give Him thanks for His many blessings, and to bring specific requests to Him, mindful that he hears the prayer of His people. That’s His promise. And that’s what the apostle is reminding the Philippians of as he instructs them to pray. He’s not saying: Pray, maybe the Lord will hear you. As though we are like the prophets of Baal who hoped Baal would hear them. No! He’s calling them to pray because the Lord has given His promise that He will hear and answer. Therefore we are to take each of our requests to God. What a great consolation!
Our difficulties, you see, are real and the Lord knows those difficulties. He has suffered and been tempted in every point as we are. And He is a great High Priest who intercedes for us, who carries our prayers to the throne of God and who receives from God all the riches of glory in order to pour them out upon His Church. The difficulties are real, but the power of God and the promise of God is great.
Prayer is one of the means which God has ordained through which He will supply our needs. And that’s why we need not worry. Because as the people of God we may bring our petitions and requests to God.
Thirdly, we have the great consolation of the peace of God. In the midst of difficulties and trials when we are called to rejoice in the Lord, and not to worry or fret about anything, God promises that, as we make our requests known to Him, the peace of God will guard us, will be a refuge, a fortress around us, guarding our hearts and our minds.
Now, the apostle here is speaking of peace in the objective sense. He speaks of the peace which God gives to His people in the work of Christ on the cross, something that happened outside of us that God has accomplished for us. That’s the peace that he is talking about. And that’s how it was achieved for us, by Christ as He gave Himself. Christ humbled Himself, as the apostle said earlier, even to the point of death. And God has raised Him and has given Him a Name above every name. What confidence this gives His people, that we have been reconciled to God. Therefore having been justified through faith you have peace with God.
God is no longer our enemy. God is even more than our friend. He’s our heavenly Father. Because He has made peace. Peace that arises from what He has accomplished in Christ. He then speaks of that peace as guarding our hearts and our minds. It does this through faith as we know and lay hold of Christ’s work which reconciles us to God. In this way His peace is a fortress around us, protecting us, and in which we find refuge.
Now there is some difficulty in this phrase, “surpasses all comprehension.” The word comprehension is literally ‘mind’, as you see in the marginal reference of your, New American Standard Bibles. So if we translate literally, “surpasses all mind,” what does the apostle mean by that? I don’t believe that he means, I have often understood it in the past, that the peace of God is something that we can’t really understand. If you reflect upon that you would say, no, of course not, the peace of God is something we are called to understand. That peace which God has accomplished is the very centre of our salvation. We are to know, and believe, and understand that God in Christ has reconciled us to Himself. We ought to understand the apostle to be saying that the peace of God which guards our hearts and minds. is greater than all the thoughts of our mind in the midst of our difficulties. You see, he’s talking about rejoicing in difficulties. He’s talking about not worrying in difficulties. And he’s calling us as God’s people to remember that God’s peace guards us.
What we so often try to do is to figure things out and guard ourselves and quiet our own hearts and our own minds in our worries and difficulties. This is what the Psalmist at first did, in Psalm 73. The Psalmist has seen, in the midst of his own difficulties, how the wicked prosper. He’s having a lot of trouble in spite of living righteously before God, but the wicked who persecute him not only seem to get along fine but they even seem to prosper. That bothers him and gives him real trouble in his soul. And in verse 16 he says, “When I ponder to understand this, it was troublesome in my sight.” He thought about it, he tried to figure it out, to reason and quiet his own heart, but he couldn’t do it. He continued to be troubled. Verse 22, “Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before Thee.” He came to the end of his rope because he couldn’t figure it out.
You see, he tried to guard his own heart and mind. He tried to establish things in his own way and he wasn’t able to.
Then, when his heart was embittered and he was pierced within, not being able to figure out things, he turned to the Lord and he sought the Lord as his refuge. Verse 23, “Nevertheless, I am continually with Thee”; He knew the presence of God, you see. “Thou hast taken hold of my right hand. With Thy counsel Thou wilt guide me, and afterward receive me to glory.” He began to get his perspective right. He recognized that God had a great goal for his life. “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. But as for me,” verse 28, “the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord God my refuge.” He guards me. My trust in Him is what gives me strength because He’s my Saviour. He is the source of my rest and peace.
I believe that it’s that same concept more fully developed in the New Testament which the apostle Paul is teaching us. Because God is our Saviour, and because He has accomplished salvation for us in Christ, therefore, as we trust in Him, our hearts and minds are guarded. All of the thoughts of our minds aren’t able to guard us or to quiet our hearts, but the peace of God, which surpasses, which is greater than the thoughts of our minds, guards us.
The Lord is our refuge and our strong tower. And therefore in His care and salvation we have nothing to fear. Nothing about which we need worry. Of course it’s a matter of faith. It’s not a matter of sight. It’s not something that the Lord works automatically in us apart from faith. But He calls us to believe His Word. He calls us to believe His promise and through that means, through our trust in Him and our rest in Him, we have these great consolations: that God is near us, that as our God He hears our prayer and therefore will give all that we need in our trials and difficulties, and that the great peace which He has accomplished for us on the cross shall guard us and quiet our hearts and our minds.
May the Lord our God grant you His peace and may He guard your hearts and your minds so that you may rejoice in Him always. So that you may be anxious for nothing but continually take your requests to the Lord.
Amen.