Oakbrook Evangelical Free Church

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. `”And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ” NASB95

Introduction:

Opposites – 4:6-7

Worry = to treat roughly – a tearing apart or continual biting.

Matthew 6:25-34 ““For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? ““Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? ““And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? ““And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, “yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. ““But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! ““Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ ““For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ““But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. ““So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” NASB95

Worry comes from forgetting how valuable we are to God.

Worry comes from forgetting the difference between needs and wants

Worry comes from trying to control or fix something over which we

have no control.

Trust God to meet your basic needs.

Embrace God’s priorities – first things first.

Do not bring into your “today” tomorrow’s responsibilities.

Set goals

Set priorities.

Get today’s responsibilities done today.

Set boundaries and tenacious resist those who continually cross

them.

Analyze what is really happening in your day.

Make a list of everything you are doing.

              Do not borrow tomorrow’s troubles.

Urgent Not Urgent

I. Quadrant of PRODUCTION VNPs Crises Pressing problems Deadline-driven projects, mtgs preparations	II. Quadrant of QUALITY VIPs Preparation, prevention, planning, relationship building, true re-creation, training and enabling
III. Quadrant of DECEPTION VDPs Interruptions, some phone calls / emails / IMs / mail, some mtgs, many popular activities – impromptu and impulsive	IV. Quadrant of WASTE VDPs Trivia, busywork, some phone calls, emails, IMs, time wasters, “escape” activities, irrelevant mail of any kind, TV

Peace = to bring unity or harmony – a calm, quiet.

Isaiah 11:6-10 “And the wolf will dwell with the lamb, And the leopard will lie down with the young goat, And the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; And a little boy will lead them. “Also the cow and the bear will graze, Their young will lie down together, And the lion will eat straw like the ox. “The nursing child will play by the hole of the cobra, And the weaned child will put his hand on the viper’s den. “They will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord As the waters cover the sea. “Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious.” NASB95

Chorus 1
Deep enough to dream
In brilliant colors I have never seen
Deep enough to join a billion people
For a wedding feast
Deep enough to reach out and touch
The face of the One who made me
And oh the love I feel and oh the peace
Do I ever have to wake up

Verse 1
Lazy summer afternoon
A screened-in porch and nothin’ to do
I just kicked off my tennis shoes
Slouchin’ in a plastic chair
I’m rakin’ my fingers through my hair
I close my eyes and I leave ‘em there
And I yawn and sigh and slowly fade away

Verse 2
Awakened by a familiar sound
A clumsy fly is buzzin’ around
He bumps the screen and he tumbles down
He gathers about his wits and pride
And tries again for the hundredth time
‘Cause freedom calls from the other side
And I smile and nod and slowly drift away

Verse 3
‘Cause peace is pouring over my soul
See the lambs and the lions playin’
I join in and I drink the music
Holiness is the air I’m breathin’
My faithful heroes break the bread
And answer all of my questions
Not to mention what the streets are made of
My heart’s held hostage by this love
Chorus 2
And these brilliant colors I have never seen
I join a billion people for a wedding feast
And I reach out and touch the face
Of the One who made me
I’m deep enough to dream
In brilliant colors I have never seen
Deep enough to join a billion people
For a wedding feast
Deep enough to reach out and touch
The face of the One who made me
And oh the love I feel and oh the peace
Do I ever have to wake up
Do I ever have to wake up
Do I ever have to wake up now

Peace comes from God’s presence with us and in our lives.

Peace is not something we can produce within us. It is a gift from

God. Something He gives us beyond understanding.

But there are things we can do to contribute to experiencing peace.

I. Finding Peace Through Relationships, 4:2-5

Another set of opposites:

4:2 Euodia (“Success”) and Syntyche (“Lucky”)

Disagreement and disunity.

How much invested in their relationship? 5 yrs / 15 yrs not said.

For sure there is pain here.

Why? What has caused the division? Not indicated.

Lack of communication – alone enough for a wall to develop.

Misunderstanding. Hurt…anger…betrayal…bitterness

Broken confidence?

Perceived wrong done? Or actual wrong done? Affect the same.

VIP Principle:

We look to analyze and figure out cause.

God looks to bring harmony which may or may not be

accomplished by figuring out what went wrong.

Notice indications of how to work toward unity

1. Paul does not take sides! And neither should we.

“I plead with E and S”

Not commanded! Gentle persuasion.

But urgent – He names, names.

Why? Because that’s the Lord’s will.

Because their conflict is affecting the church! 1:27; 2:2

2. Urgency of each taking personal responsibility “that you agree”

3. Common ground “in the Lord”

Under His authority – because that’s what the Lord wants.

Because we have much more in common.

4. These ladies need help. – Wow! How very unique!

Comrade / yokefellow

Where angels fear to tread.

Bystanders – tendency? Get out of the way. Don’t get in between.

Or, take sides! Wow! What a tragedy and miscarriage of personal responsibility! Form a posy (bunch of followers)

Everyone around has a part to play and in helping people in conflict get together. Do you know how often I’ve appealed for help and waited all to no avail. It is amazing the ineptness and unwillingness to help.

5. In the context of mutual respect.

6. Rejoice in the Lord

Many reasons to be discouraged.

More reasons to rejoice!

At the heart of joy is a decision! Happiness is a Choice

II. Finding Peace Through Prayer, 4:6-7

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. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. ” NASB95

Philippians 2:20 “For I have no one else of kindred spirit who will genuinely be concerned for your welfare. ” NASB95

4:6 Earlier Paul commended Timothy for being anxious over the welfare of the Philippians (2:20). Here he said we should not be anxious about anything. The same Greek word (merimnate) appears in both places. The resolution of this problem probably lies in viewing anxiety as concern that may become fretful and inappropriate if taken too far. Paul’s point here was that rather than becoming distraught over a particular situation we should take it to the Lord in prayer

μεριμνάω [merimnao /mer·im·nah·o/]

μεριμνάω (μέριμνα) has the same wealth of meaning as the Eng. “to care” (“care”). It means a. “to care for someone or something,”

Paul realizes that human life is swayed by care. The exhortations not to worry presuppose that every man naturally cares for himself and his life, that he is concerned about himself, that he is always intent on something and concerned about something. This is by no means ruled out as illegitimate. Indeed, it is accepted that man is concerned about himself and that he strives after things. But the why and wherefore of his concern and striving are given a new orientation, and so, too, is his understanding of himself and his life.

This would not be so if the admonitions not to care, but to cast one’s care on God, were based on the idea that God guarantees the fulfilment of all striving. Phil. 4:6 shows, however, that in intercessory prayer, which is based on anxiety, the man who prays attains a certain aloofness from his wishes when he puts them before God μετὰ εὐχαριστίας, and he thus finds liberation from care. 1 Pt. 5:7 (cf. v. 6) also shows that to cast one’s care on God does not mean to think of Him as the One who guarantees one’s wishes, but to see in Him the One who knows what we need better than we do ourselves. These exhortations to prayer are thus designed to give freedom from care as anxiety.

There is nothing too great for God’s power,

And nothing too small for Dad’s care.

Worry is not a sin, living there is!

Mark Schultz – Remember me.

Remember me
In a Bible cracked and faded by the years
Remember me
In a santuary filled with silent prayers

CHORUS: And age to age And heart to heart
Bound by grace and peace
Child of wonder, Child of God
I’ll remember you – Remember Me

III. Finding Peace Through Discipline Thinking, 4:8

Phil 2:6-11 “Have this mind in you”

Worry keeps you from appreciating what you do have.
Take control of what you can, let go of what you can’t.

Can’t control circumstances.

Can’t control people’s actions or reactions.

But you control what to focus on .

Obsessive / compulsive! What do you obsess about?

Principles:

1. Paul’s admonition to help two people who were having a disagreement should be followed by us as well. Too often we take sides in a dispute between people and the schism becomes even worse. What we should do is attempt through prayer, support, and encouragement to bring differing sides of a dispute together. Blessed are the peacemakers!

2. Life has a way of stealing our joy. Yet Jesus never changes, nor does his love for us. Therefore, we ought to rejoice in God and life, even if things are difficult. He has said that he will never leave us or forsake us. In light of this we can always be joyful. Take the command to rejoice seriously!

3. If we truly want the peace of God, let us pray and bring all our burdens, requests, and needs to him. Set up a time for daily prayer. Do it as an expression of your continual desire to know God deeply and experience His very own peace. And, when you come to Him in prayer, be thankful. Thankfulness is central to the Christian faith and love for God.

4. Ask God to help you find things in people and elements in your culture which are beneficial and can be described according to the virtues in Phil 4:8. Give thanks to God for them and let others—even non-Christians—know of your feelings about the worth of those things. Applaud truth, purity, justice, etc. whenever and wherever you see it. Such an attitude brings a positive approach to sharing the gospel with others.

IV. Finding Peace Through Actions, 4:9

Peace is a daily decision you make, not just an
emotion you feel.

Broken and Beautiful

There’s a businessman, There’s a widowed wife
There’s a smiling face with a shattered life
There’s a teenage girl with a choice to make
It’s crowded here in church today
And the preacher says as the sermon ends
Please close your eyes and bow your heads
Is there anyone in need of prayer
Jesus wants to meet you here
‘Cause we all fall short, We all have sinned
But when you let, God’s grace break in
But tears ran down, As hope rushed in
He closed his eyes, Raised his hands
Worshiping the God who can, Bring him back to life again
‘Cause there’s nothing more beautiful to God
Than when his sons and daughters come Broken
Alleluia, Alleluia
Come as you are, (Come as you are)
Surrender your heart, Broken and beautiful