Peace
Sermon Notes
One of our desires here at City Awakening is to be a place where both skeptics and believers can seek truth and find joy in loving community. We want to be a place where both skeptics and believers feel welcomed and comfortable asking tough questions about faith and life. In fact 2020’s been a year full of questions. It’s been questions about faith, life, politics, racial injustice, COVID 19...What if I get sick? What if I lose my job, my income?...What if I lose my freedom? What if they force vaccines on us? What if the voter fraud is true or the government conspiracy theories are true?...What will I do if I actually run out of toilet paper?...Nobody expected toilet paper being an issue in 2020!...My point is everybody’s been affected in some way by 2020, and the reality is we aren’t guaranteed 2021 will be any better. There’s a lot of uncertainty heading into 2021, and we aren’t guaranteed it’ll be any better. So I want to transition us into 2021 with a message on peace. Peace is a major part of the Christmas narrative, so I want to talk about what is peace, and how to have peace for your life? Let’s turn to Philippians 4:4-12 and get into it. You can find Philippians in the last quarter part of your bible, we’ll be in Philippians 4:4-12. The title of today’s message is Peace, and here’s the big idea. Jesus is the Prince of Peace, who can give you the gift of peace...Jesus is the Prince of Peace, who can give you the gift of peace.
Context:
Here’s your context. Paul, the author of Philippians, is a guy who understood hardships. He states in 2nd Corinthians 11, “I have suffered far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews forty lashes...25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned…27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.” Simply put Paul’s a man who knows hardships. In fact he’s writing this letter while sitting in a Roman prison for his faith in Jesus, and you know what his primary message is in this letter? It’s about joy. He’s faced all these hardships, he’s sitting in prison actually facing the death penalty for his faith in Jesus, yet he’s writing about joy. And it’s in ch 4 that he talks specifically about peace, so let’s see what he says about peace, and how to have peace for our lives. Let’s check it out.
The Word:
Philippians 4:4-12 states, “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything...” You know what that is? It’s peace...To not have to worry about anything is complete and total peace. It’s that feeling you get when you’re able to take a vacation and shut everything down. You can shut off your phone, your laptop, all the pings, beeps, alarms, school, work, and worries so you can enjoy the mountain scenery or the ocean waters. It’s that feeling you get when you’re able to finally unplug and say “Ahhhhh. Now I can finally rest and have some peace.” Actually that isn’t peace, it’s a situational peace that only lasts as long as the vacation lasts. Yet this is exactly the kind of peace most of us are seeking! We’re seeking a kind of peace that’s defined by our situations and circumstances. “If I can just make it to vacation then I’ll have peace. If I can just graduate, get a raise at work, or close that next business deal then I’ll have peace. If I can just get married, have kids, get my kids to listen, move out of my parent’s house then I’ll have peace.” It’s all flawed views of peace, because if you define your peace by situations and circumstances, you’ll never have peace since your situations and circumstances are constantly changing.
But Paul’s talking about a different kind of peace, a much greater, more stable peace than situational peace. I mean consider Paul’s situation, he isn’t writing this on vacation! He isn’t saying don’t worry about anything while on vacation in Jamaica listening to Bob Marley. He’s writing this sitting in a Roman prison facing the death penalty. This means there’s a different kind of peace, a much greater, more stable peace humanity can experience regardless of their situations and circumstances. Paul says it’s the peace of God. He says you don’t have to worry about anything because the Lord is near. He’s defining peace not by situations and circumstances, but by the God who’s greater than his situations and circumstances. It’s the only way to have lasting peace. The only way to have lasting peace is to believe in a God who’s greater than your situations and circumstance. It’s to define your peace not by the instability of the world, but by the stability of God. Some people give false impressions that they’re at peace, but it’s really fatalism. They can’t control things so they give up. That isn’t peace it’s hopeless fatalism. The opposite of peace is fear, worry, anxiety, fatalism, and Paul’s saying the antidote is the hope and peace of God. So what’s peace? It’s trusting God’s in control of your life, regardless of your situations in life. It’s trusting God’s in control of your life, even when things are spiraling out of control in life. He then gives 3 ways to grow in this peace, 3 ways to grow in the peace of God.
Again vs. 6, “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” Okay so Paul says don’t worry about anything, but how do we do that? How do we not worry about anything? He says...
#1 Pray With Thanksgiving = He says we need to pray with thanksgiving, make our requests known to God with thanksgiving. This is important because a lot of times when we pray we ask God for things and only praise Him when we get what we want. But that isn’t what Paul’s saying. He’s saying we need to pray with thanksgiving AS we’re making our requests known to God. He’s saying we need to be like “God here’s the situation I’m facing, here’s my request, and here’s what I think will be best for me in this situation. But I want to thank you in advance for the outcome of this, because even if you don’t grant my request, I trust you know what’s best.” As one of our staff members put it “If you live life thankful, you’ll always feel blessed.” But what Paul’s saying is if you thank God in advance for your requests, it’ll prep your heart to have peace regardless of the outcome of your requests. It’ll prep your heart to have peace knowing if God says no to your request, it’s because He’s doing something better than your request. If you believe that you’ll have peace, if you don’t you won’t have peace. You’ll never have peace if you can’t trust God with the outcome of your requests. You’ll never have peace if you keep trying to control your life, instead of stating your requests and trusting God to do what’s best for your life.
Vs. 8, “Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy, dwell on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you…” The Greek word for ‘dwell’ can also be translated as ‘think.’ Paul’s saying dwell on these things, think on these things, drill the things in vs 8 deeply into your mind. This leads to the 2nd thing he teaches about growing in peace. The 1st is to pray with thanksgiving, the 2nd is...
#2 Think Correctly = We need to practice thinking correctly about our situations. He’s saying when you’re dealing with worry you need to think about what’s true and praiseworthy about this situation. In particular he’s talking about thinking and dwelling on things that are true and praiseworthy about God! If you see a Christian walking around without peace it’s usually because they’re thinking incorrectly, they’re thinking Jesus should’ve prevented the hardship they’re facing. But there isn’t a single bible verse that promises we won’t ever face hardships in life. Paul’s saying we’re thinking incorrectly and we need to think correctly. We need to think big picture, put things in perspective, realize everything will be okay because Jesus is preparing a new heaven and earth where hardships will cease to exist. If you’re a Christian and don’t have peace, it’s because you’ve been thinking little picture, seeing only the problems in front of you. Paul’s saying you need to think big picture and see the glorious future that’s ahead of you.
Now this is different than the advice our culture gives, because our culture says the way to deal with your worry is to think happy thoughts. You need to train your mind to think happy thoughts and stop thinking negatively. In some counseling cases that’s helpful, but in most cases it isn’t because it’s a refusal to face reality. Not thinking about your problems is avoidance, it’s refusal to face reality, and we do this kind of thing all the time! We distract ourselves by going out to eat with friends, having some drinks, going to the gym, binge watching Netflix so we don’t have to think or face reality. You’ll never have peace that way because eventually the distractions end and the problems you’re avoiding will still be there waiting for you. Having peace isn’t about avoiding reality, it’s about facing reality with the assurance you’ll make it through your reality. How do you know you’ll make it through your reality? Paul says the only way to know is if the God of peace is with you. Christian peace doesn’t come from avoiding your problems, it comes from thinking correctly about your problems and dwelling on the stability of God despite your problems. Peace doesn’t come from the absence of thinking, it comes from the presence of God. It comes from the God of peace being with you...Let’s go to vs 12.
Vs. 12 states “I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content, whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 13 I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.” Paul’s saying the ‘secret’ to being content, to having peace in all circumstances is...
#3 Relying on Jesus = The secret to being content and having peace in all circumstances, is to rely on Jesus in every circumstance. The Greek word for content is autarkeia, it means to be content in all circumstances. It’s to have inner clam and peace regardless of the situation. Paul’s saying the secret to having peace is found in having a relationship with Jesus. We’ll still face hardships, get pushed down, feel like we’re drowning, but like a fishing bobber we’ll keep bouncing back because of the joyful buoyancy in our relationship with Jesus. We’ll still face hardships, but we won’t be sunk by our hardships. Look the opposite of joy isn’t sadness, it’s hopelessness. It’s not having something to find hope and stability in. That’s why so many people lost their joy during COVID. It’s because their situation changed, life as they knew it changed, and things became unstable. They realized their health isn’t stable, their job isn’t stable, their money isn’t stable, their life isn’t stable. But if a Christian stops in times of turmoil to pray thankfully, think correctly, and rely on Jesus fully, they’ll always be able to find peace and joy in knowing they have everlasting hope and stability in Jesus. They know their future is always bright with Jesus.
The point is if you define your peace and joy in something other than the stability of God, your peace and joy will be like a house built on sand instead of solid rock. You’ll have all kinds of cave-ins that’ll keep robbing you of peace and joy, and you’ll never be content. You’ll be too worried the mini sandcastle kingdom you’ve built will be washed away by the storms of life. It’s the natural consequence of where your life’s headed if you don’t build your life on the solid rock of Christ. The further you move away from Jesus, the less peaceful and joyful your future will be as you feel the instability of your own finitude. But if you’ve ever seen waves hitting rocks on a seashore, you know the rocks don’t budge. It doesn’t matter how vicious the waves are, the rocks don’t budge. Paul’s saying “I’ve been hit with wave after wave after wave. I’ve been beaten, flogged, stoned, without food or water, and I’m sitting on a cold prison floor filled with human waste awaiting the death penalty. It’s been wave, after wave, after wave, but I’m still at peace, still have joy, still haven’t been broken because the God of peace has been with me through it all.” So what about you?...What about you, how’s your life?...Are there vicious waves smacking against your peace and joy?...Are there waves of discontent in your life, you feeling discontent with life and the things you’ve been chasing in life?...Are there waves of hardship in your life, you feeling confused, beat up, exhausted from the struggles of life?...Are there waves of worry in your life, worried about your future, the uncertainty of 2021, how you’re gonna make it through a certain issue you’re dealing with?...What are some of the vicious waves that are smacking against you, smacking against your peace and joy?...Here’s the good news of Christmas.
Isaiah 9:6, “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.” You know who the Prince of Peace is? It’s Jesus...Jesus is the Prince of Peace. Roughly 700 yrs before Jesus was born God promised to send Jesus as the Prince of Peace, to give us the gift of peace. That promise says Jesus is a gift that was given. It says a child will be born, a son will be given. John 3:16 says “For God so loved the world that he gave!” Jesus is a gift that was given. He didn’t come to be another sage, wise teacher, or religious leader, he came to be our Savior, to be our Prince of Peace, to give us the gift of peace! Some of you’ve been looking at your hardships and thinking God doesn’t care about you, but that can’t be true because the entire Christmas message is about a gift! Its about the incarnational gift of Jesus coming to die for your sins on the cross so you can have peace with God! Our sins have separated us from God, they’re an act of war against God’s holiness, but Jesus came as a gift, as a peace offering between us and God. If God didn’t care about you He wouldn’t have gone to the cross for you! But just like with any gift you can receive it or reject it. So the question isn’t does God care about you, it’s will you receive the gift of peace He’s offered you?
The Big Idea:
Look the big idea is Jesus is the Prince of Peace, who can give you the gift of peace. The message of Christmas is about the incarnational gift of Jesus entering our world to save us and give us a much greater, more stable peace and joy, than the instability of situational peace and joy. But you can’t have the gift of peace without the Prince of Peace. So if you haven’t received this gift, receive it today by asking Jesus to forgive you of your sins, to be your Savior, your Prince of Peace. If you do that tonight you’ll be at peace with God, have eternal stability in your relationship with God, have an eternal buoyancy of peace and joy no hardship can ever sink and no vicious wave can ever destroy...If you’ve already received the gift of Jesus, then don’t forget the stability you have in Jesus. Don’t forget he’s already given you peace with God, which means you can have his peace no matter what happens in 2021. The more you trust Jesus with your life, the more at peace you’ll be in life. So keep trusting Jesus and walking in the peace and joy he’s already given you, by praying thankfully, thinking correctly, and relying on Jesus fully.
...Prayer then Candles...
At this time we’re gonna respond to the gift of Jesus, by lighting some candles and worshiping Jesus. As the candles are being passed go ahead and turn them on, and the light’s a symbol of Jesus being our peace, our hope, our light in this dark world. So let’s light our candles and worship Jesus for being our Prince of Peace, who came to give us the gift of peace.