Gods Peace, the Sentry of a Christians Heart and Mind Philippians 4:6-7, - Stop worrying about even one thing, but in everything by prayer whose essence is that of worship and devotion and by supplication which is a cry for your personal needs, with thanksgiving let your requests for the things asked for be made known in the presence of God, and the peace of God which surpasses all power of comprehension shall mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. West - The New Testament: An Expanded Translation Worrying - The Greek construction indicates that we have here a prohibition which forbids the continuance of an action already habitually going on. The Philippian saints were habitually worrying. Paul exhorts them to stop it. The word nothing is literally not even one thing. West Do you know someone who is always worried, miserable and uneasy, obsessively thinking about how bad a situation is or can turn out to be? Worry or anxiety is a symptom of a spiritual deficiency in the life of a believer in Christ of which we all can suffer from. When trying to help or praying with a worrying or anxious Christian we need to be careful not to fail to notice what is the primary cause of their worry or anxiety by only focusing on the situation that is troubling the person. The important points that Paul brings to our attention in these two verses, need to also be considered the in the life of this Christian. Another thing we need to be careful not to do when we cannot understand why the Christian is so worried about a simple or trivial issue, is to have the inclination to simply tell them, just give it to Jesus and expect that all will be taken care of which can be a result of the lack of our spiritual discernment and guidance of the Holy Spirit. What is this spiritual deficiency in the life of a worrying or anxious Christian? The answer is found in verse seven, it is the lack or absence of the peace of God. As a result there is nothing guarding their hearts and minds, they are totally exposed to the lies and thoughts of the devil. The bad situation in this Christians life is not the only thing the devil uses to attack them with. Because they lack the peace of God, which transcends all understanding guarding their hearts and minds the devil also attacks these two areas, which for a Christian is even worse. If this troubled Christian tells you that they have been praying constantly concerning their situation but it does seem to be doing any good, that their situation is not changing and they are still worrying and anxious, this indicates that their primary concern or focus is on the situation and not why the peace of God, which transcends all understanding is lacking in their life. If the life of a Christian has been submitted and abiding in Christ Jesus prior to the situation, then it will most assuredly be in Christ Jesus when confronting a troubling situation. Prayer will not be a reaction to the troubling situation, because prayer would have been a normal characteristic and practice in the Christians life that is in Christ Jesus. When reading what the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:6-7, we need to understand that he speaks of a spiritual fact that he experienced in his own life when faced with a situation where he could have easily been obsessively thinking about how bad his situation is. Acts 16:22-25, The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. Upon receiving such orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks. About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God... Were Paul and Silas praying and singing hymns to God as an act of desperation because there was nothing else they could do? No, this is an excellent example of a Christians character in a bad situation that was going to get worse. Paul and Silas were not praying and singing hymns to God while they were in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks in hope that they would get some mercy. They were praying and singing hymns to God because His peace which surpasses all power of comprehension was guarding their hearts and minds as a result of them living in Christ Jesus. How were Paul and Silas praying in this situation? The answer is found in verse six, but in everything by prayer whose essence is that of worship and devotion and by supplication which is a cry for your personal needs, with thanksgiving let your requests for the things asked for be made known in the presence of God. Paul and Silas did not need to be in a church service to worship and sing to God because who they were as Christians and Christ Jesus in their life was displayed in the actions of their character and this dreadful situation did nor could not change this fact. Finally, I hope you noticed that Paul wrote these words of instruction of why we are not to be anxious, to the very congregation of the city where he and Silas were attacked, stripped and beaten, severely flogged, thrown into prison, then put in the inner cell and had their feet fastened in stocks. The Philippian congregation knew that when he told them, Dont worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience Gods peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 NLT), that these words were not just a pep talk or some spiritual theory he wanted them to grasp. Many of the Philippian congregation knew about this event first hand especially the Philippian jailer and his whole family who could have been part of this church. What experience do you have about Gods peace guarding your heart and mind that can use to help a worried or anxious Christian? Pastor John
Posted on: Thu, 08 Jan 2015 20:45:50 +0000
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