We'll turn together this evening to Philippians and the chapter 4. Philippians and the chapter 4. I'm going to read some verses together and then I leave some thoughts with you from this passage tonight. Paul's letter to the Philippians and the fourth chapter. We'll commence our reading at the first verse. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech you, Dias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow labourers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful 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 passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue, And if there be any praise, think on these things, those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do. And the God of peace shall be with you. Amen. We land there at verse nine. May the Lord add his own blessing to this reading from his own precious and infallible word. If you look there with me at verse seven, And you can see at the commencement of verse 7, it says, and the peace of God. And then if you look down into verse 9, you will see towards the end of verse 9, the words, and the God of peace. So here in this passage, you have the peace of God and the God of peace. There are many words that are associated with Christmas. And perhaps you may receive Christmas cards with some of those words upon them. They would be scriptural words, maybe the word joy. And of course, that's a word that is associated with Christmas and with the Lord's birth and the entrance of the Lord into this world. We were singing tonight, joy to the world. And the Lord certainly brought in the gospel glad tidings of great joy. There's the word light, and I have seen that word on Christmas cards, light having come into the world. Maybe the word glory, and the announcement of the Savior was glory to God in the highest. And then the word hope, That's another word that would be associated with this time of the year. And of course the message of the gospel is a message of great hope. But surely the word peace is a message that we associate with this time of the year. And the word peace is there in the verse 7, and it's also in the verse 9, the peace of God and the God of peace. And when you think of the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's recorded there in Luke chapter 2 and the verse 14, words which we referred to just a moment ago, glory to God in the highest and on earth, peace. And so that word was given by the heavenly host at the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ, on earth, peace, or peace on earth. And in that great announcement of the Savior's entrance into this world, it was to bring peace. And that didn't mean that from that point onwards that all wars were going to cease immediately. No, we know that when we look around us today in this world that that's not what it means because the world is still filled with all kinds of trouble and turmoil and war. And so the peace that the Lord Jesus Christ was to bring was that peace that is an inner peace. It's the peace within the heart of the believer. The one who comes to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, they experience the peace of God. The peace of God, that's what verse 7 is speaking about. Of course, one of the effects and the results of that will be peace with others as well. And when Paul wrote to the Romans in chapter 12, And to verse 18, he said, if it be possible, as much as lieth within you, live peaceably with all men. And so the Christian is to be characterized in such a way that as far as lieth within them, they're to live peaceably with all men. And that peace that we refer to tonight is also part of the fruit of the Spirit, It's the third one mentioned in that nine-fold cluster, love, joy, and peace. The peace of God and the God of peace. And just to leave a few brief thoughts before you tonight on that thought of peace, think about that peace personally. In Philippians here, the apostle is writing to God's people. And it is his desire that they would all experience this peace personally, that they would have that inner peace within their heart and within their mind. And remember, when the apostle Paul wrote this epistle to the Philippians, he was a prisoner. He was one who could speak in the first chapter about his bounds. The affliction of his bounds, he was still a prisoner, and yet he can write to the Philippians about this peace of God. And so in the midst of the time of trouble in the life of the Apostle Paul, he still experienced this peace, and he's speaking to them about joy. In fact, this is the epistle of joy, and he's saying to them, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. So Paul himself was experiencing that personally, and in the midst of his affliction, he could speak of the peace of God. He would have had every reason to be anxious, and yet he could speak about this peace. The words there of verse 6, he could say to them, be careful for nothing. And that word careful there, as I'm sure you're aware, it doesn't mean to be careless. When he says be careful for nothing, he's not encouraging the Christian to live that careless life. That's not what the word means. It's a reference to be anxious and to worry. And he's therefore saying not to be anxious and not to worry. In fact, the root word here that's translated careful, it has the meaning to pull apart and to be distracted in different directions, to be drawn in different directions that you feel you're just being pulled apart. That's the word here. Many would feel at times when they face so much trouble that They're just being pulled to pieces. That's this word, careful, anxious, worry. And Paul's saying, be careful for nothing. Don't be anxious about anything. You remember Martha? Martha's spoken of in Luke chapter 10. And down at the end of that passage, it enters into their home there in Bethany, the home of Mary and Martha. And while Mary sat at the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ, Martha was cumbered with much serving. And the Lord said to her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things. That word careful there is that same word. Martha, you're being pulled apart in all these different directions. You're going to come to pieces. And the Lord is saying to Martha, oh, we're careful and troubled about many things. And these things that were troubling Martha, it's that anxious care. It's that burden. It's that great weight, it's that heaviness within, that anxious concern. It's the same word that the Lord uses in Matthew chapter 6. That's part of the Sermon on the Mount. And the word is translated there, thought, thought. And in Matthew 6 and the verse 25, the Lord says, therefore, I say unto you, take no thought for your life. If you were just to take that in the English and to take it literally, again, it seems like the Christian is being encouraged there just to be thoughtless and to be careless in their lives, to live in a reckless manner, take no thought for your life. No, that word thought is that anxious worry. where you're being pulled apart and you're being drawn in all of these different directions, that's what's behind the word thought here, when the Lord says, take no thought. And then in Matthew 6 and verse 27, the word is used again, which of you by taking thought can add one cubit onto a stature? You can take all of this anxious concern upon yourself, but you can't change it, and you can't do anything about it. And the Lord is saying, therefore, don't take that thought. Don't become careful and troubled. Verse 28 of Matthew 6. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. And yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Don't be taking that anxious thought. Verse 31, the Lord uses the word again. And he says, therefore, take no thought, saying, what shall we eat, or what shall we drink, or wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek. And all of these things, we're pulling them and drawing them in all sorts of directions. And the Lord is saying, you'll be pulled apart. Don't be taking that anxious thought. Don't be getting burdened down. Verse 34 of that chapter, the Lord says, And here in verse 34, in our English Bibles, that word thought appears twice, but when you would look at it in the original, it's actually there three times. Because the emphasis is being put on this, Take no anxious thought. Be careful for nothing is the exhortation. And you could be saying to me tonight, that's easier said than done. And so it is. So how? How then, when faced with so many things and being pulled in so many directions, how can we experience the peace of God and not to have that anxiety and that worry? The answer is found in our Bible reading at the end of verse 7. The peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." That's the secret here. It's through Christ Jesus. He is the true source of our peace. It's the peace of God from the God of peace. He is the Prince of peace. He is the one who purchased that peace for his people. When Paul wrote to the Colossians in chapter 1 and to verse 20, he said of Christ, having made peace through the blood of his cross. So this peace was purchased at the highest cost, at infinite price, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to purchase this peace. It's through Christ Jesus. And when he left this world, he left his people that legacy of peace. In John 14 and 27, he said, Peace I leave with you. My peace give I unto you, not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Therefore, we can come personally to rest in the Lord Jesus Christ. and experience the peace of God, the peace of God. And so we think about it personally. But I want you, secondly, to think about it practically, with so many things. And we touched upon those things in Matthew chapter 6, all of those different things that could burden our hearts and that could pull us in all sorts of directions. Potentially, those things could disturb our peace, the circumstances that we could find ourselves in. And therefore, we need to try and maintain that peace and protect that peace. And in our Bible reading, there is some practical exhortations and counsel given to us. in order that we might maintain that peace. You see, verse 6, be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God. And so, what comes here before the peace of God is referred to is the idea of bringing everything to the Lord in prayer. Everything. Those expressions there in verse 6, be careful for nothing but in everything. With prayer, carry everything to God in prayer. And that word there in verse 6 for prayer is the general word for communing with the Lord. And there is our fellowship and our communion with the Lord. And to maintain the peace of God, we must maintain that fellowship with the Lord. The word supplication in verse 6, that's the actual petitions that we would utter to the Lord. Thanksgiving there in verse 6. And no matter how great the trouble, no matter the difficulty that you face, there is always room for thanksgiving. There's always room to praise the Lord. Verse 6 speaks about requests, specific matters, those details that potentially would disturb our peace, make request unto the Lord about those things. This is the practical way in which we will maintain the peace of God. It's by maintaining that fellowship with the Lord. And therefore, don't let the devil rob you of this peace. Another practical way of maintaining that peace is to train the mind. Verse 8 shows us there what we're to do with the mind. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. You see, the battle today is always on for the mind, and we would hear so much today about mental health. Well, here's the Lord giving us counsel, and He's saying, think on these things. What is it that you allow into your mind? What do you saturate your mind with? What do you fill your mind with? Well, the Lord says, here's the things to fill your mind with. Wholesome things. Focus our thoughts upon that which is God-honoring. If there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things. And if we do that, that helps to maintain that peace. And therefore, there's this practical exhortation being given. And so we think about the peace personally. We think about it practically. Thirdly, think about it powerfully, powerfully, because the peace of God is a powerful thing. It's powerful in the sense of its guard. Look what it does in verse 7. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep. That peace of God is a keeper. And that word keep means to guard. So the peace of God shall guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." If ever there was a day when we needed to guard the heart and to guard the mind, it's the age in which we're living today. And therefore, the peace of God garrisons our hearts and our minds. It puts that defense around them. It protects. I spoke a moment ago about us protecting the peace and maintaining that peace, In actual fact, the peace protects us. The peace keeps our hearts and minds. It's able to guard us in a very powerful way. Then you notice as well, it's powerful in the sense of its greatness, and that verse 7 says, the peace of God, which passeth all understanding. Such greatness of this peace. Such is the greatness of this peace. That it passeth all understanding. That we cannot fully comprehend this peace. We don't have the ability to fully understand this peace. Such is the scope of this peace. It goes beyond human comprehending. Isn't that how the apostle also described the love of God? When he was writing to the Ephesians, and he spoke about the length and breadth and depth and height, and then he said, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, passeth knowledge. It goes beyond knowledge, goes beyond the human comprehension. And so we have to put the peace of God into this same category, because it passeth all understanding. There's such a depth to this peace. Peace, perfect peace in this world of sin. The Holy Spirit whispers peace within. Thank God tonight we can know it personally, practically, and powerfully, and that we would rest in the peace of God. I read the story about the submarine that was out at sea, and it was doing its various maneuvers out at sea, and of course it had plumbed down into the depths, and whenever it returned to shore, the captain was asked, how did the storm affect you? And the captain said, what storm? What storm? They were so far down in the depths of the ocean that while the sea was raging above them, they had reached the point that mariners call the cushion of the ocean. There's a calmness there. And they were able just to rest there in the depths of the ocean. The waters and the storm may rage above them, but were they where there was a calm and there was a peace. And tonight, child of God, we're looking for that cushion. And that cushion is the peace of God and all the depths of that peace that we can come to rest in the Lord. And the storm may be raging above us and around us, but we'll find the cushion. of God's peace and we can rest there. Know that these thoughts tonight would bless our hearts and that we would know the peace of God from the God of peace.