Welcome to the preaching ministry of Tri-City Baptist Church in Chandler, Arizona. Our desire is that God would be magnified through the preaching of His Word, and that Christians would be challenged, strengthened, and edified in their personal walk with Christ. I have the privilege of having Dr. Christopher N. Dean speak to us this morning. Dr. N. Dean is the Dean of Students at International Baptist College and Seminary, which we like to refer to as that entity across a molten sea of asphalt, to our left here. He is also the head of the Bible Department there at IBCS. And he is, though more importantly, a man that loves God truly. He has dedicated his life to scholarship, to missions, evangelism around the world, to our students here at IBCS, and to discipleship. It's a privilege to have him speak to us this morning. Dr. Indy. It is a great privilege to be able to open the Word of God with you this morning, and this morning we will be in the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 1 verse 2 opens with the statement from Paul, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. What is peace? Well, it's rest, it's harmony. Oftentimes we define peace by looking at its opposite. Peace would be the opposite of unrest, the opposite of division, the opposite of turmoil, the opposite of upheaval. And so when Paul says, grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, he's really blessing the readers with a appeal for rest and harmony, not unrest or division or turmoil or upheaval. Do you identify with Paul's appeal? Where in our world today do we need peace? Well, you might say everywhere. Our world needs racial peace and political peace and international peace, moral peace, religious peace, interpersonal peace, economic peace, family peace. You go on. Our world needs peace. But what is the solution to truly have peace? Well, for some, they might say, put the world on autopilot. Imagine you're on the 101. Is the 101 a place of peace? Or the 60? Or the 202, the 10, you know, peace. I just think of those, you know, nice roads, those nice city roads. That's peace. No, that's not really peaceful. Why not? Well, there's unrest, and there's some turmoil, and sometimes there's division, and there's upheaval, and there's a wreck, and there's traffic, and it gets in our way. So how would you have peace on a road like the 101? Well, there's some companies in town who think they've figured it out in autonomous self-driving vehicles, right? I mean, every now and then going around Chandler, you'll see one of those. And, you know, every now and then you're sitting at a traffic light and you look and there's nobody in the vehicle next to you. And then it drives perfectly off that traffic light or takes a right-hand turn better than I've ever done in my life, or maybe even parallel parks, which is very hard to do. And sometimes we think if we just put everything on autopilot, maybe that would solve it. Well, I think we all have mixed feelings about vehicles on autopilot. And maybe a world on autopilot we would think the same way. Some would think the solution is, you know, big government programs or state education or a state religion. Here we are in the month of October and oftentimes at the end of October we celebrate the Reformation. a period of time where the state religion was gone awry. And there needed to be a recovery of genuine doctrine, of something that God had said, what God said was true, what God said was true about salvation. And sometimes those reformers thought, well, we'll shift from one state religion to a different state religion. And that has some of its own challenges and problems. So maybe autopilot isn't the answer to peace in our world after all. How about common ground? Would finding common ground be the place to have peace? Well, that might depend on whose ground we decide we have in common. You can have just as much turmoil by people trying to compromise and nobody being happy with the solution and, you know, give a little, take a little, and bunch of selfish people trying to get people to meet in the middle can still result in a lot of turmoil. But I think common ground gets us a little closer because Paul himself is going to exhort this kind of things in Philippians chapter two. In Philippians chapter two, verses one through five, Paul reminds us that there are certain things that we have in common. If there's any consolation in Christ, if any comfort from love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, Paul says, fulfill my joy by being like-minded. having the same love, being of one accord and of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem other better than himself. Look out, each one of you, not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Paul seems to be saying that common ground is the answer, but then in verse five, Paul's gonna define where that common ground is benchmarked. It's not benchmarked just on me or on you, it's actually verse five, let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus. Peace comes with common ground, yes, but peace comes when everyone agrees with God. true peace is not just the absence of conflict, it's the presence of an entire wholesomeness in life. God designed life to work a certain way. And life has peace when everybody agrees with God. Paul is going to elaborate on this theme of peace in Philippians, and I want us particularly to look this morning at what Paul says about peace in Philippians chapter four. I would like to say I looked ahead at the series of readings for the scripture reading and planned a sermon that fit the reading exactly, but I didn't. I picked this passage and the Lord laid it on my heart, and then this morning I realized we read this already as the scripture reading for the morning. But here we are in Philippians chapter four, and Paul is gonna describe the peace of God in various areas in chapter four. And he starts out by describing the peace of God in your relationships. Look with me at chapter four, verse two. Paul writes, I implore Euodia and I implore Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Now I want you to imagine with me the first time this letter was written. Okay, this didn't come to the Church of Philippi with chapters and verses that they read three to five to seven verses each week. Somebody showed up one week at the assembly, maybe in their house church, and said, we got a letter from Paul, I'm gonna read it to you today. And everybody's excited to be reading this letter from Paul. And this is an extended thank you note, as Paul thanks the Philippians for giving to him in his need, providing for him. He's rejoicing in what they have in common. He's rejoicing in who Jesus Christ is. He talks about the need to have the mind of Christ who humbled himself to the death of the cross, but has been exalted by the Father. And you're going through this letter, and you're really rejoicing with Paul, and Paul now comes to chapter four, and I can only imagine the person who has to read this for the first time. Right? Euodia is probably sitting over here on this side of the house church, and Syntyche's back in the corner, maybe back in the kitchen area, just trying to keep as much distance between the two of them as possible. It probably wasn't a room as big as this, so distance was a little harder to come by. But they're probably on opposite sides of the room, and whoever's reading this gets to this point and he says, Paul continues here, I implore Euodia and Syntyche from the back. Oh yeah, that's right. Preach it to her, Paul. and I implore sin-taking." Be of the same mind in the Lord. Isn't it interesting that Paul had to make a public rebuke of the schism that had been created between these two people. Paul repeats the verb He repeats the verb, I beseech Euodia and I beseech Syntyche. There's a personal responsibility laid upon each of them individually. Every one of them had a responsibility. Each of them had a responsibility to seek that kind of reconciliation. Be of the same mind in the Lord. Now what do you think the problem was? What do you think was between Euodia and Syntyche? Was it the, you know, the paint color on the plaster on the house church? Was it some minor doctrinal difference that they were debating back and forth? Was it a personality conflict, you know, introvert, extrovert kind of thing? What do you think the problem was? The text doesn't tell us. And I think that's helpful, because you know what? Regardless of what the problem was, the solution is the same. you gain the mind of Christ. You let this mind be in you, which is also in Christ Jesus, who didn't look out for his own interests, but looked out for the interests Regardless of the problem, the solution is the same. So Paul rebukes this schism publicly because he's wanting them to have the mind of Christ, but then notice what Paul's goal is. His goal is personal restoration of these fellow saints. Look at verse three. Paul says, I urge you also, true companion, help these women who labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. Notice what Paul brings to light about these women. He talks about, for example, their past service. They labored together with him in the gospel. They served together. They were in ministry together. They were part of the same outreach. but along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers. Paul doesn't consider them just past ministry partners, he calls them all fellow workers. We're working together. There's a purpose here. We're united with one goal, that is to glorify Christ, to preach the gospel, to disciple God's people. And Paul also reminds him at the end of that verse that all of these people have their names written in the book of life. There is a future, there's a future where they will all be together in heaven. That is a present standing. They do have their names written in the book of life. But the full realization of that will be when they're gathered together in the presence of God and worshiping him for all eternity. It's almost as if Paul is saying, look, you're gonna be together forever, so you may as well start getting along now. Paul wants restoration. He wants to see these ladies agree, not because Judea was right, not because Syntyche was right, but to agree in the Lord. To each give up their selfishness and have the mind of Christ. I think of this passage sometimes when I think of marital conflict. You have a husband and a wife and maybe they're struggling to get along. And they could try to compromise, you know, let's try to meet in the middle, I'll go halfway, you go halfway. But if the husband pursues the mind of Christ, and the wife pursues the mind of Christ, what happens as each of them pursue the mind of Christ? They find they come together. There's unity, because both of them, individually and together, are pursuing what Jesus says. pursuing the attitudes of Jesus. That's Paul's point. Really, whether Yodi or Syntyche was right was irrelevant in this case. What was relevant is did they have the mind of Christ? Were they pursuing the mind of the Lord? So I think it's appropriate even here to pause and apply this to our lives. Is there anyone with whom you are at relational odds with whom you've not attempted reconciliation? There's somebody that you're up against and you haven't taken a personal responsibility to do what's right for you to try to reconcile that by pursuing the mind of Christ yourself. It is important, it is imperative that we pursue the mind of Christ together. We cannot let schisms persist or rifts remain within the body of Christ. Pursue the mind of Christ. So Paul is teaching us that it's possible to have peace in your relationships when everybody agrees with God and pursues the mind of Christ. But Paul is gonna go on in the next two verses, verses four and five, to talk about the peace of God in your circumstances. And I think it's helpful when we look at these two verses to recognize that there are three imperatives, three commands, followed by a promise. Three commands and a promise. What's the first command of verse 4? Oh, it's there right at the beginning. Rejoice in the Lord always. Can you find the second command? Again I say, rejoice. Hey, it doubles up on it. It's important. What's the third command? Well, it's kind of obscured a little bit by the way he's trying to, we're trying to translate what Paul does in Greek into English, but it's the command, let your gentleness be known. Let it be known. Make it obvious. Let it be apparent. And then there's a promise, the Lord is at hand. Let's look first of all at that pair of commands, rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice. Paul is demonstrating here that joy has an object. That object is Christ, not your circumstances. This is why we can be resolved to follow the Savior, leaving a world of sin and strife. Let me ask you, how well do you think your attitude, your joy does when it's benchmarked off the stocks? Or if your joy is benchmarked by your relationships with other people, what other people think about you? Or if your joy is benchmarked by how well your job is going, whether your boss thinks you're doing well or whether your co-workers like what you're doing, whether your customers like what you're doing. See, when we benchmark ourselves off of our circumstances, our joy can be as volatile as the circumstances that are around us. But when you benchmark your joy in Christ, then it can be said, rejoice in the Lord always. Because Christ does not change. Now, in speaking this way, I've made an assumption here. Paul says, rejoice in the Lord. And I think it's helpful when we come to a New Testament epistle to try to be as precise as Paul is. The word Lord is used in the epistles to refer to Jesus Christ. It's also used to refer to God the Father. So in this passage, who does Paul have in mind as the one to whom we are supposed to benchmark our joy? Well, I've already indicated that I believe it is Jesus Christ. Personally, let me show you that from the passage. Going back to chapter three, verse 20, we read that our citizenship is in heaven from which we're eagerly waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may conform to his glorious body. So then, chapter four, verse one, he says, so stand fast in the Lord. Same person. I implore Yodi and Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. And so we are to rejoice in the Lord. He's gonna go on further and tell us that we are to be anxious for nothing. Let our requests be made known to God and he will guard our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus or literally in Christ Jesus. This theme, in Christ, is a key theme in the book of Philippians. In Christ Jesus, chapter four, verse seven. In chapter 4, verse 10, I rejoiced in the Lord. Verse 13, I could do all things literally in Christ who strengthens me. Verse 19, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. Verse 21, greet every saint in Christ Jesus. Brothers and sisters, we are in Christ. If you know God, you are united with his Son, and when you are in Christ, and you benchmark your joy on being in Christ, nothing can shake that joy. Rejoice in the Lord. Joy has an object, and that is Jesus Christ himself. In verse five then, Paul gives us a third command and a promise. Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. How are those two related? How are they connected? What does the Lord being at hand have to do with my gentleness being apparent to others? Well, let me go back to Highway 101 for a minute. If we're on Loop 101, and you're going along and everything's fine and somebody cuts you off. What attitude naturally comes out of your heart? Would you describe it as gentleness? Or reasonableness? Or moderation? No, what would we describe it as? Anger? No, no, no, that's simple, angst. Maybe frustration? Why do you get upset when somebody cuts you off on the highway? I think it's because, for just a moment there, you and I have lost control. I think that I have my vehicle between the lanes, I've got ample space around me, I'm going along, and suddenly somebody invades the insurance I've built around me. And I lose control for a minute. And when I lose control, what comes out of my heart? a fighting spirit. Got to fight to regain control. I'm going to tell you that was wrong, you better get out of my way. You know, I've got kids in the back seat. This is a family van. You don't cut off a van. Right? Okay. For a moment, I have lost hope that I'm going to get to my destination in a timely way without incident. And when my hope is broken, even in that split second, Frustration, anger, fighting, strife comes out of my heart. So how is it connected? Let your moderation, let your reasonableness, let your gentleness be known to all men, and the Lord is at hand. Well, some might say, well, Jesus is near, so I don't have to be frustrated because Jesus is here with me, but I actually don't think that's what Paul means when he says the Lord is at hand. I already referenced chapter 3 verse 20 but go back there again because Paul has already explained in this context that our citizenship is in heaven from which we are eagerly waiting for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are anticipating the coming of Jesus Christ and what's going to happen at that point? Well, He's going to set everything right. He's going to transform our lowly bodies into His glorious body. He's going to subdue everything to Himself. Chapter 3, verse 21. Therefore, chapter four, verse one, my beloved and longed for brethren, my joy and crown, stand fast thus. In this confidence, you stand fast in the Lord. So when you come down to verse five and he says, let your gentleness be known to all men, the Lord is at hand. I think he's connecting your present attitude with your future hope. And this is not something that's unusual in scripture. If I were to summarize it this way, I would say this, there is no frustration in hope. Psalm chapter 37 really describes this well when the psalmist David says, do not fret because of evildoers. Do not be envious of the workers of iniquity for soon they shall be cut down like the grass and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord and do good. Dwell in the land and feed on his faithfulness. Delight yourselves also in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him and he will bring it to pass. What will he bring to pass? Well, what your heart really desires, and when your heart is aligned with the mind of Christ, here's what your heart is gonna desire, here's what he's gonna bring to pass. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your justice as the noonday. Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger. Forsake wrath. Do not fret, it only causes harm. For evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth for yet a little while, and the wicked shall be no more. Indeed, you will look carefully for his place, but it will not be. but the meek shall inherit the earth. They shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace. Do you believe that you have a Savior who's coming back to set all things right? If you do, that should make a difference in the way you view the news, in the way you relate to politics, in the way you relate to that ornery neighbor. in the way you relate to those who are committing some of the greatest injustices of our world. Because you have a God who knows and who sees and who will set all things right. There is no frustration in hope. When trials cloud our eyes, we commit to make Christ our prize, make Christ our joy and our crown. We don't need riches. We don't need man's empty praise. because we have a hope that is set on a Christ who's coming back. That blessed hope, namely that glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. So do you tend to get bent out of shape by your circumstances? Does your world feel out of control when the wicked prosper? How do you react when you lose control? Do you trust in God's control? That's really the appeal that Paul is making here. Let your reasonableness, your moderation, your gentleness be known to everyone because the Lord is at hand. There is no frustration in hope. Paul's gonna go on here. Chapter 4, verse 6, he now gives us this familiar command. And again, we're gonna have two imperatives that are connected with a promise. And here we see the peace of God in your spirit. Two imperatives plus a promise, Paul says, be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. The first command here is a comprehensive prohibition. Be anxious for nothing. So what are you allowed to worry about? Nothing. No toleration in your spirit for those anxious worries that gnaw at your spirit, because you have a God who cares. Be anxious for nothing. So what should you do instead when you're worried, when those things in your world bother you, when you see the news, when you listen to your family, when you go to work, when you're at home, when you're out and about, when you're on the 101 and those worries and those struggles and those challenges are coming up in your spirit, what are you supposed to do about it? You turn that comprehensive prohibition into a comprehensive prayer and you pray about everything. in everything, in every circumstance, in every situation, by prayer and supplication, along with thanksgiving, you let those requests be made known unto God. That means that you're not trying to solve it yourself. That means you're giving control to the one who has control. You're giving it to God. And notice the promise that God gives. When you are anxious for nothing, and you pray about everything, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. God promises a peace that you can't explain. A peace that our world does not understand. They watch you go through that health challenge. They say, how can you be so calm when all of this is going on? They watch how you respond to your extended family and they just marvel. They don't understand how with everything going on in our world that you just aren't as bent out of shape as they are. They can't figure it out. Why not? Because you are committing it to the Lord with whom you have a relationship. and He gives peace. When stressors come in your life, and they certainly will, what takes the pressure? Does your spirit take the pressure? Or do you roll those pressures over on a God who cares? The God who gives peace. Think about Abraham. Abraham was in a circumstance where he had a lot of things that weren't going for him. God had made some promises and things did not look like they were going to turn out. If Abraham was looking at his circumstances and looking at God's promises, he of anybody had the right to say, I don't see how this is going to work. Paul says, I'm going to make a great nation out of you, I'm going to give you this whole land, and Abraham's childless. Yes, he has lots of servants. Yes, he has lots of flocks. But he doesn't own any property. In fact, Abraham dies only owning one cave and a plot of ground around it. It's all Abraham ever owns. Abraham doesn't see how this is gonna work out. But Romans tells us, Romans chapter four verse 20 tells us that Abraham did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but he was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what God had promised, he was also able to perform. And that, Paul tells us in Romans chapter four verse 22, that faith was the basis upon which God imputed righteousness to his account. And it was not written just for his sake that it was imputed to him, but also for us. It will be imputed to us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, who is delivered up because of our offenses and was raised because of our justification. Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, Paul says, we glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produce perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us. Why not? because of who gave the promise? Have you ever hoped for something and you didn't get it? You know, as a child, you really wanted that Christmas gift. Right? The weeks leading up to Christmas. Every time mom would come back from the store, you'd try to peek through the shopping bags or, you know, listen to something rattle in the trunk if you would bring it in and maybe try to figure out where that secret stash was of things that mom had. You just wanted to know if you had it. And then the things got wrapped up and they got put underneath the tree and you're picking up the boxes and you're trying to figure out, maybe, am I getting it? Am I not getting it? And can you imagine what happens on Christmas Day when you've had your heart set on this, you've been anticipating it for weeks, and you didn't get it. The disappointment. Challenge. Maybe you're hoping for a promotion at your work. Just hoping that that promotion was coming to you, and then your colleague got it instead. You had your heart set on something. Didn't happen. Hope disappointed. Can I tell you, brothers and sisters, that's never gonna happen with things that God has promised. Ever. You will not get to heaven and say, oh, didn't happen. When God makes a promise, He keeps it. and you can bank on it, and you can have this kind of hope. Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. When Paul is saying that you can rejoice in the Lord always, when Paul says that you don't have to worry about anything but you can commit everything to God in prayer and God's going to give an incomprehensible peace to your spirit, this is not just pie in the sky. wishful thinking or the power of positive thinking. This is Paul telling you to benchmark your heart on a God of integrity who keeps his promises. God will do what he says. And when you believe that, the peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. And so Paul goes on and he says this in verse eight. Verses eight and nine, guess what? There are two more commands plus a promise. Paul is constantly connecting what he tells you to do with what God is gonna do. Look at verse eight. What's the command here? Well, it's all the way at the end of the verse. Paul says, finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. If you want the God of peace in your life, first of all, Paul tells you that your meditation and your lifestyle matter. He says these things ponder. think about these things. What things? Well, when he says ponder, it's not just knowing, not just knowing them intellectually, but actually understanding them. Understanding their significance. He says these are things that are true, that are accurate. You need to meditate on the things that are accurate, true to reality. Things that are noble, respectable, dignified. Things that are just or righteous. Things that are pure, that is holy and untainted. Things that are lovely, they're attractive, they evoke love, they evoke friendship. The kinds of things that you would want to be associated with. Things that are of good report, not offensive. Things that are virtuous. They have moral excellence to them. Things that are praiseworthy. These are the things that you're not embarrassed to be associated with. This is the opposite of, yeah, you could say that, just don't quote me. Or, yeah, take that picture, but don't post it anywhere. Right? Don't share this. That would be the opposite of something that's praiseworthy. I'm not embarrassed to be associated with that. Meditate on these things. How well do you think that verse 8 describes the news? Does the news tend to be filled with what is accurate, respectable, and dignified, righteous, pure, holy, untainted, lovely, attractive, unoffensive, of good report, filled with moral excellence, and praiseworthy? I don't know what news outlet you have, but that's not what I typically find. No, it's not typically what comes to us through the news, it's not typically what comes to us through the media, through Hollywood, through the things that our culture produces. Paul says you ought to meditate on the things that fit God's reality. I'll tell you what, this book is filled with things that are true. Yes, in a fallen world we do have to interact with things that are untrue, things that are ugly, things that are sinful, that are wrong. We need to know how to deal with those things. We ought to be aware of them so we can counsel people back to Scripture on those things, so we can counsel our own hearts back to Scripture. I'm not saying we should have our head in the sand or be unaware of what our culture has, but what's the last thing you think about at night? What's the first thing you're going to in the morning? Are you pondering the things that God says are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, good report, virtuous, and praiseworthy? Meditate on these things, ponder these things, Paul says. And another command, secondly, these things ponder, but then Paul's gonna say in the next verse, these things do. Meditate on these things and the things that you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do. So Paul is gonna tell us that we ought to have these mental disciplines, but also certain practical disciplines. You do what the apostles have modeled for you to do, what the apostles have taught you to do. The things you received or learned or heard or saw in me, these do. This is what Paul says, for example, 1 Corinthians 11, verse one. The things that you've seen in me, you imitate. You imitate me like I imitate Christ. Paul is saying that when you align your mind to think of God's thoughts after him, and when you align your life to live the way that Jesus through his apostles has taught you to live, then here's the promise in that verse. Not the peace of God, but the God of peace will be with you. Your fellowship with God matters. Your fellowship with God matters. Paul says in 2 Corinthians chapter 13 verse 11, be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you. Guarding your mind and guarding your life affects your fellowship with God. We already read from Romans, this doesn't affect your justification. If you have a relationship with the God of peace, you have peace with God in his court. But that relational peace, you guard your heart, you guard your life, and the God of peace will be with you. I don't know if you like math, I know you didn't come to church this morning for a math formula. And indeed, to reduce a lesson to a formula is perhaps simplistic. But this has helped me. We often want to have certain feelings in our life, the feeling of peace and say, if I feel okay, then I will think about what God thinks about and I'll align my life with God's way of living. But I want to feel right first. Paul is saying in this verse, no, it's right thinking plus right living that equal right feeling or right affections and a right relationship with God. It's when you ponder these things and you do these things that the God of peace promises to be with you. The peace of God guarding your spirit. So what absorbs your brain cells? Where do your neurons spend most of their time? What fills your mind? What fills your life? Are those the kinds of things that are contributing to harmony with God? Peace with his people? harmony with the world as God has created it to be? Do you have the mind of Christ? Are you living like Christ? Are you in fellowship with the God of peace? This is a passage that is filled with hope when you benchmark your spirit on Christ. I said at the beginning that true peace comes when everyone agrees with God. Pastor Dave was apologizing this morning that the hymns were a combination of fight songs and peace songs. Of a resolution and fight the good fight and like a river glorious is God's perfect peace. Peace, peace, wonderful peace. But peace comes when people agree with God. Romans 16 verse 20 tells us the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. Does that sound like peace? When God puts down Satan? It is peace. Can you have peace in your life if you believe that the God of peace will put Satan down under your feet shortly? Just a little time. Yeah, the fight is hard. The way is weary. We get tired out. We get discouraged. We get frustrated. We get upset. We want to give up. We're in turmoil. Our world's in turmoil. Everything seems wrong. Just wait. God hasn't missed it. God isn't ignoring it. God's putting it right. And He will put it right. You can have the peace of God in your relationships, the peace of God in your circumstances, the peace of God in your spirit, and the God of peace Himself in your life. How is your relationship today with the God of peace?