God Promises Peace

Introduction

A. All of us have had those days and nights. Some situation or circumstance robs us of sleep or productivity. We are thinking about the event and try to figure out what to do. We want the event to come and go so that we can rest easier or we do not know when the event will happen but we worry because we do not know what else to do or the circumstance is not to our liking and we fret over missed opportunities because of the circumstance.

B. If we live long enough, we all have those experiences. Some worry more than others but everyone worries at one time or another. What we want is peace and God promises peace to his children. We continue our study of the promises of God. When God makes a promise, he will keep it. Promises are designed to bring confidence and assurance. God has promised to never leave or forsake us. He is always with us. God has promised that he will take all the pain, hurt, suffering, and evil that happens to us in this world and use it for our good. God has promised that when we confess our sins, he is quick to forgive our sins.

C. Today as we look at the promise of God to give peace to his children, the text we will use places worry and anxiety in contrast to God’s peace. In other words, worry is what humans experience; peace is what God gives. But as we shall see this promise has a very practical application for God’s children. God wants you to have peace. He promises that he will be the giver of peace and the presence of peace to you. But he wants his children to give up something and to do something so that peace can be more fully realized. When a sleepless night comes, God breathes peace. When your stomach churns, God’s peace brings calm. Confidence is ours when we trust God’s promise.

The Text

A. There are problems in Philippi. There is external opposition from Jewish infiltrators who are causing problems (1:28, 3:2; 3:18). The believers in Philippi are very concerned about Paul (1:18-19; 4:10). And there is selfishness within the group leading to disunity and conflict (2:3-4; 4:1-3). With these problems the believers are distressed and uncertain. Paul writes this letter to bring greater confidence and it stresses the attitude of joy throughout the writing. Our text mentions joy twice and verses 1 & 10 use the word as well.

B. Joy is an inner attitude of gentleness coupled with peace. This comes from verse 5 which serves as an expansion of Paul’s exhortation to rejoice in verse 4. This gentleness as translated in the NIV is a combination of gentleness and patience. If we go back to 2:3-4, we learn that real joy is not inward; it is outward. Real joy finds its fullest context in thinking about others rather than thinking about self. Additionally, Paul says that this joy finds its place in understanding that God is near. This nearness can have two meanings and some translations take the approach in NIV to translate the phrase without further explanation. The nearness can be in proximity which reminds us of God’s promise in Hebrews 13:5 that God will never leave us nor forsake us. It can also mean that God’s return is near as the RSV points out. Either way, the result is the same—Joy is the response to problems when we recognize that God is near in proximity or time for his return.

C. God’s nearness means worry has no place in life. Instead of worry we pray. Worry takes energy. Worry depletes faith. We bring our petitions and our thanksgiving to God. In line with 2:3-4, when we look to the needs of others rather than our own needs, then worry dissipates. What does Paul says will happen? Verse 7—God’s peace will be given. This is the promise. Problems bring worry. Worry brings prayer. Prayer brings peace. God will bring peace—a peace that goes beyond our understanding. A peace that cannot be explained. A peace that guards our heart and mind. A peace that exceeds the worry. Joy and peace go together.

D. Paul knew that worry and anxiety would occupy the minds and heart of the believers. But he also knew that prayer would bring peace. The two go together. When anxiety comes, prayer is the response. Expressing your worries and telling God what is going on is the response. Knowing that God is near brings joy and God’s response to prayer is to bring peace to his child. This is God’s promise. So we pray with great confidence and we find courage to face the problems that surround us.

Application

A. This text is not difficult to understand. The real issue involves the heart and mind of the believer. Some worry more than others. There are some who have mastered worry and others who are mastered by worry. No matter where you are on the worry spectrum, Paul’s instructions matter. When worry arises we are to pray. But you say praying doesn’t stop the worrying. Sometimes it is difficult to give things over to God. After all, we don’t know what God is going to do with those things and we aren’t sure how quickly he will respond.

B. Have you ever noticed that things don’t look as complicated once they have been experienced? The child worries about school and the parent may be unsympathetic because the school worry pales in comparison to the parent’s concern. A young couple worries about raising the child and the older couple smile sympathetically but also the smile says that the worry isn’t the worst that is yet to come. The older person worries if they are going to make it financially in the world of retirement and the grave speaks that there is more to be concerned about. The point—once we have been through certain trials and experiences, we learn that some things are not nearly as significant as we thought they were.

C. Worry is usually associated with something we haven’t experienced before and even if we have, it is associated with uncertainty and lack of confidence. God’s promise is to bring confidence. So we pray when we worry and God brings peace that exceeds our understanding. So Paul doesn’t stop with prayer. The promise is the prayer will bring peace. But there is something that the believer must do. When anxiety comes, the believer prays but verse 8 also says the worry has to be replaced with something. Think on things that are praiseworthy. Worry comes. We pray. But we also think about things that will replace worry. We think of things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

D. In a practical way, try this. Keep a journal. Let’s call it a Peace Journal. Every time you have a worry write that worry in your Peace Journal. Then pray and after praying about your worry, write down five things that are excellent and worthy of praise. This will take some practice. Writing is helpful because you will want to go back and review your Peace Journal from time to time. You can do it without writing but most of us are not able to remember everything. Write down the worry; pray; write down five excellent or praiseworthy things. Like what? Five things that you can point to and know that God has acted. You might become repetitive but with time and effort the praiseworthy things will expand.

1.  Forgiveness.

2.  Love

3.  Support from friends and family

4.  Strength to meet the challenge

5.  Mercy to share

E. And then after a period of time review your Peace Journal. Read about a previous worry and see what happened. How did it turn out. Whatever the result, answer these questions.

1.  What happened?

2.  Where was God in the process?

3.  What strength was needed to get through?

4.  What did I learn through that experience?

5.  How is my life more like Jesus now?

6.  What attitude do I need to change?

7.  Now add the answers to your list of praiseworthy things.

F. Will this solve your worry problem? God promises peace when we pray. But notice verse 9. When we think of praiseworthy things, it isn’t just peace that God provides but the God of peace will draw near. Not only will God give you peace; he will give you himself. Pray and praise must go hand in hand. Pray and praise. Pray and praise. God promises peace.

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