Philippians chapter 4, and there beginning in verse 4, rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone, the Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your request be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. And you may be seated. If we're in Christ, we have peace with God. That's an objective reality that's based solely on Christ's saving work of redemption. If we are in Christ, we're no longer children of wrath, though we were born as such. No longer children of wrath, we're now the adopted children of God. We're no longer subjects of the domain of darkness, we are citizens of heaven. We may still be in this world, but we are, in a most real sense, no longer of this world. we have undergone a radical change in identity. And that's the basis of our peace with God, that objective peace that is ours simply because of his work. However, as we have been seeing, we can be objectively at peace with God and still fail to enjoy the subjective experience of that peace in our daily lives. While we have no part to play in obtaining this peace. That's the result of justification. We do have a part to play in enjoying that peace. That's a matter of our sanctification. That's our growth and the grace and knowledge of our Savior. Well, this subjective experience of peace is what Paul is concerned with in our passage here in Philippians. His admonitions that he has given in these verses reflect what is necessary for the experience of this peace. And those admonitions seem like a no-brainer with regard to peace. I mean, after all, we won't experience peace if we're grumbling and complaining, right? And so he says, rejoice in the Lord always, at all times, and in all circumstances. And so he says, rejoice in the Lord, and again, I will say, rejoice. We won't experience peace if we're reacting to people and situations in our lives rashly and harshly and recklessly. And so Paul says, let your reasonableness, your even-keeledness, your sufficiency be evident to everyone. We won't experience peace if we're overwhelmed by worry and anxiety because that's the opposite of peace. And so he says, don't be anxious about anything. And finally, we will not experience this peace unless we trust everything into the sovereign hand of our God who is working all things together for the good of those who love him, for those who are called according to his purpose. And therefore, the Apostle Paul says, submit every concern, every insecurity, every anxious thought you may have, every worrisome situation you may face, submit them to the Lord in humble, thankful prayer. And we can rest in God whenever we make our specific requests known to him, of course, always with the provisio, not my will, but your will, O Lord, be done. As we've seen, praying biblically is a remarkable means of grace that so often we fail to enjoy. It's a means of grace, a privilege afforded to us through Christ, our blessed mediator. Prayer draws our hearts away from this frenzied and chaotic world in which we live. It turns our eyes heavenward that we might rejoice in the God of our salvation. It's a wondrous means of grace that will realign our priorities, that will help us to live calm and even-keeled lives of reasonableness and all-godliness, even so we might be gracious to our enemies. Imagine that the scripture teaches us that we should show love even to our enemies. And so all of this is necessary and it will come only by trusting in God. You will not accomplish this on your own. You will not obey these commandments on your own. These commandments require submission to God and trust in him for he is the one who works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Godly prayer is a glorious means of grace then that will counter the relentless temptation that we have to be consumed with anxiety. I don't know about you, but sometimes I just have to turn the news off, right? The anxiety that can easily rise up when we see the condition of this world, the lies that are being propagated, the wickedness that is being so adamantly set forth in our country and around the world today. Easily we can be overwhelmed with anxiety. The solution for this? Trust everything to the hands of our God. When we pray biblically, we're expressing absolute trust in the God who has saved us by His grace. And so Paul says, When we prayerfully put God as our center of being, as the center of our life, as we put our trust wholly in Him, His peace, which passes all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Indeed, it's a peace that does pass all understanding. His peace is a transcendent peace, a peace that comes to us from an eternal perspective as an everlasting solution to our greatest need. You know, the problem with the world is they have no idea what their true need is. We have only come to see it because of the Spirit of God opening our eyes. And so indeed, our greatest need is to have peace with God. And it's beyond comprehension that we have this even objective peace because God owes us nothing, as we heard in Sunday school this morning, except His wrath, except His judgment. He created us and He sustains us. Without Him, we would cease to exist. He's given us life and breath and everything else. And yet, with prideful and thankless hearts, we rebelled against Him and refused to honor Him as God. That's who we were, sworn enemies of the Lord of heaven and earth. As Romans 3 says, we weren't seeking after God. We weren't looking for reconciliation. And yet, God, who is rich in mercy, who abounds in love, graciously saved us by sending his only begotten son for our redemption. And then, on top of that, he gave us eyes to see and ears to hear that we might believe the good news of our Savior and be reconciled to him. You see? God ended our warfare with him by sending Christ to bear our sins on the cross that we might have peace with him. Why would he do that? I dare say I wouldn't if I were in his position. I don't know anyone who would. As we also heard in Sunday school this morning, what a sacrifice for any of us to even think about sending our son to die for people who don't deserve it. People who are ungrateful, people who are prideful, people who are idolatrous. But that's what God did. That's what the Father did. And so this objective peace is astounding because it's a peace that he made with us. And it truly surpasses understanding. However, in this passage, Paul's point is that our experience of God's peace is likewise beyond comprehension. Not only is that objective peace beyond our ability to figure out why God would set his love upon us, The experience of God's peace is beyond comprehension. What makes the experience of his peace so amazing, so astounding, so profoundly beyond human understanding? Well, for one thing, it's a peace this world could never afford. It's a peace this temporal, fragile, shallow world, who has only a pretense of peace, could never understand. The peace of God is robust, it's eternal, it's invincible peace, true peace, peace beyond comprehension because it hails from heaven itself. It's a peace that keeps us anchored in this agitated and unstable world. The peace of God transcends whatever adversaries we face. The peace of God transcends whatever afflictions befall us. The peace of God transcends whatever trials we must endure. This inner peace is independent of our external circumstances because it's not rooted in this passing away world. This peace is firmly grounded in our trust in the God who sovereignly is working all things according to the counsel of his will. It's a peace that cannot be measured. It's an infinite peace, as infinite as the God from whom it comes. And as we said last week, this is the piece that sustained the three Hebrew children through the fiery furnace, right? It's the piece that inspired Paul and Silas to having been beaten and thrown into prison to sing hymns and give praise to God. It's the piece that brought Peter such sound sleep the very night before he was due to be executed. Now this is not only a peace the world can't comprehend, it's a peace that surprises us. A peace that's above and beyond what we could ever possibly imagine. And it's this peace that will keep our hearts and minds through every hardship, through every trial, through every affliction. It's the peace that will guard our hearts and minds when facing opposition from the world. It's the peace that will protect our hearts and minds when faced with the schemes and assaults of the evil one. Indeed, it's a peace that goes far above and beyond what we could ever imagine. It is truly a peace beyond comprehension because it is experienced when we least expect it. It is experienced when we least expect it. It's experienced under circumstances that would make peace seem all but impossible. That's why it's beyond comprehension. And yet we can have such peace because we know something the world doesn't. Not because we're smarter or more intelligent but because of divine revelation. We know our God is in control. Well this morning I want to draw our attention to what Paul says about our experience of this peace that surpasses understanding. He says it will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The word guard is a military term. And as we've seen, this letter is filled with military imagery that surely resonated with this congregation. Remember, Philippi was a Roman colony of patriotic citizens who were fervently devoted to Caesar. And the city was not only filled with retired military, but it was home to many active soldiers as well. You know, for a moment, think of what it would be like to live in some place such as Norfolk, Virginia, where over one-fifth of the population is active military. Whenever you live in a place like that, you will regularly see military personnel on the streets, or at the local Walmart, or in the grocery store. You will become familiar with military terminology, right? Because it's simply a part of everyday life. Well, that was the case here in Philippi. These saints were very familiar with the military. They were reminded of it every day. They knew the procedures. They knew the lingo. And so Paul takes full advantage of this, and he uses that language metaphorically of our spiritual warfare. Now, without going too far into detail, if you'll remember back in chapter one, Paul speaks of his imprisonment in terms of a scouting party. that clears the way for the gospel to advance unhindered, even through the highest echelons of enemy territory, even into the house of Caesar itself. He then also admonishes the saints, calling on them to live as loyal citizens of heaven, conscripted into service for the kingdom. He tells them they must close the gaps. They must hold the line against all opposition, fearlessly stand firm, united for the faith of the gospel. And then after a lengthy series of admonitions and exhortations on what would be necessary to achieve this, Paul reiterates the importance of standing firm and united. These saints were on the front lines of spiritual battle. They were facing increasing opposition from the world. False doctrine was on the rise, threatening the purity of the faith. and they must not lose heart. They must continue standing firm in the faith. However, what we learned from the book of Philippians is that the greatest threat to their ability to stand firm and hold the line was not an external threat at all. It was an internal one. They must not let selfish ambition and empty conceit divide them. They must set aside their quarrels and come to agreement in the Lord. They must think like Christ and adopt His attitude of humility, preferring one another above themselves. This is what's needed if they're going to continue to stand firm. And Paul returns to these metaphors of the military in the last portion of verse 7 when he says, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The word guard describes the activity of sentinels, of patrols that are tasked with securing something, whether that's valuables or people or location. It could refer to a soldier assigned to guard a prisoner. You know, and that very fact makes me wonder whether, as Paul is writing this letter, if he pauses and looks over at that soldier that he's chained to. I don't know. But on a larger scale, as it applies to the Philippians here, the word refers to a garrison of troops stationed in a particular city. They might be stationed there to keep the inhabitants under control, in subjection. That's what was happening in Jerusalem. However, in Philippi, a garrison was stationed there for the protection of Rome's citizens. Philippi was a thoroughly Roman city and a foreign country far away from the homeland, and they needed protection. The citizens of Philippi knew that they were able to sleep soundly at night knowing that they were protected by a garrison of soldiers supplied by the mightiest and most efficient military force in the world at that time. However, and this is important, while Rome may have been able to protect the Philippians from physical threats, as Isaiah 40 says, all earthly powers combined are nothing before our God. They are like Isaiah, God through Isaiah says, a drop in a bucket. They're dust upon the scales. In fact, he goes on to say, in case you've missed the point, they are less than nothing. Think of that. That's how the powers of the world, of the forces of darkness, that's how they measure up against God. There is no comparison. And so that garrison of soldiers that was stationed around the city may have been able to keep political peace for the citizens of that earthly city, but they could do nothing to protect the hearts and minds of those people. And no amount of military power can protect the citizens of Earth from the righteous wrath of our holy God that is coming. Nothing can save the rebellious of this world from the judgment to come. You know, Revelation 19 says our Lord will defeat all of these enemies with nothing more than the word of His mouth. The only hope for anyone is to be reconciled to this holy and almighty God. Well, by the grace of God, we have this objective peace with him. We are safe from the wrath to come because of his redeeming work and the peace of God that Christ secured for us stands guard over our hearts and our minds. But Paul's point is not only that God's peace protects his people from condemnation. that condemnation that will surely come on the great and terrible day of the Lord. He wants us to know that even now it watches over our hearts and minds in the hostile and hate-filled world in which we live, this world of toil and trouble. God's peace is a sentinel over our hearts and minds. And this is the imagery Paul uses to describe our present experience of God's peace. No matter what trials we face, no matter what troubles come our way, no matter what opposition is mounted against us, the forces of darkness and the world's kingdoms combined are no match for the garrison of God's peace that surrounds us. When we trust everything into the hands of God, His peace will quiet our troubled hearts. It will calm our anxious minds. Remember, the combined forces of this world are less than nothing before our God. I don't know if that statement impacts you the way it should, but how in the world can anything be less than nothing? more evidence of the fact that God's peace surpasses all understanding. How can something be less than nothing before God it is? So Paul wants us to know that despite our afflictions, regardless of our trials and tribulations, irrespective of whatever situation we find ourselves in. God's peace mounts guards over our hearts and minds whenever we bring every fretful thought and every worrisome situation and every anxious concern before him in prayer. We must cast those cares on him who cares for us, trusting that he knows and will do what is best. Whenever we come before him and we do cast our cares upon him, God's impenetrable peace will surround our hearts and our minds. But again, this doesn't just apply to external threats. In the context of this letter, again, the most pressing concern, the most pressing issue is the fact that there was division that had arisen among the congregation. Division in their ranks had made them more vulnerable to external threats. You know, we sometimes fail to appreciate the corporate nature of admonitions given in scripture. These commands are plural. In other words, the commands and the promises in this passage are for all of us collectively. You see, the command to rejoice always, to live reasonably, to stop worrying, and to bring everything to God in prayer, it's not just for me individually. They're commands to us collectively as the people of God. And likewise, the promise is to all of us corporately. The peace of God will guard the hearts and the minds of us all as a people united in Christ. You see, whenever Christ calls us to himself, he's calling us to a new sphere of existence, a new realm of unprecedented peace. We become members of God's family. We're not just on an individual relationship term with God. We are all members of the one family of God. We are now citizens of heaven. We belong to a nation. This is not an individual thing. This is corporately a holy nation, as the scripture says. We are a people drawn from every tribe, kindred, and tongue. Things that used to divide no longer divide because Christ has united us. United as one body through Christ, who scripture says is our peace. When we're reconciled to God, we're reconciled to all who have also been reconciled to God. And so God's peace should also guard our hearts and minds with respect to our relationships with one another. And this was the most pressing concern among the Philippians. In Colossians, Paul explains how this garrison of God's peace protects our hearts and minds as the people of God. And so I just want to read that passage to you very quickly. And just listen to what the Apostle Paul says. to the Colossians. Put on, then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another. And if one has a complaint against the other, forgiving each other. As the Lord has forgiven you, so also you must forgive. And above all these, put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts to which indeed you were called in one body, and be thankful." Think about what he just said. Whenever we put our trust in God, His peace not only guards our hearts and minds, it rules in our hearts. And this is the language of an umpire who renders a verdict in a contested situation. That's the term in the Greek. So Paul is saying, let the peace of Christ be the control. Let it be the decisive factor that settles every issue in our hearts. As the people of God, as the people of God's peace, we are to let Christ's unifying peace be the arbiter amongst us in every situation. Since we're called to peace, it's to be given precedence over personal opinions. It's to be given precedence over individual interests. It's to be given precedence over competing points of view. You know, within a family, there's often strife and division because we so exalt our personal opinions. Because we put our individual interests ahead of everyone else in the family. Because we think our competing point of view is more appropriate, is more true than theirs. And you see, this is a problem. We then feed division and strife and destruction when we do. Paul is saying to us in this passage, Consider one another above yourself. Don't be selfish. Don't let your opinion, your individual interests, your competing points of view, let that not be the focus. That will destroy your unity. Now, of course, Paul isn't talking about compromising the truth for the sake of unity. That's not unity. We have to keep the gospel pure, right? I mean, that's the very thing for which they're called to stand united, the faith of the gospel. So the scriptures must be our guide, the lamp for our feet, the light for our path. However, as was the case in Philippi, divisions often arise from selfish ambition and stubborn pride. That's what is being forbidden here. As Paul says, our lives ought to be characterized instead of pride, instead of an opinion-based superiority over others. Instead, our lives should be characterized by compassion, by kindness, by humility, by meekness, by patience. And then we're to bear with one another. Paul doesn't mince words. We're to bear with one another and forgive one another, even if we think we have a valid complaint. Don't miss that point. Paul says, even if you think you have a valid complaint, I mean, after all, Christ has forgiven us and there's no more valid complaint that anyone could ever have than that which he has against us. If you think you have a valid complaint, God has thousands of times, millions of times more against you and against me. And yet Christ has forgiven us. And so as Paul tells the Corinthians, we ought to be willing to suffer ourselves to be done wrong. That takes humility. We have to love one another with the love with which he has loved us. That's what binds us together. And so Christ has called us to peace. And so we should strive to live up to the objective reality of peace with God that brings peace with one another in the body of Christ. We should strive to relate to one another in a way that promotes the peace to which we're called. That's what Paul says in this passage. The peace that Christ secured for us on the cross ought to have a profound effect on our relationships with one another. Now this morning as we close, I want to make sure that we understand something because all of this talk of peace in the midst of such a troublesome and difficult world can cause misunderstanding. God's peace doesn't render us numb to life's pains and troubles and sorrows. We will still face trials and tribulations, Jesus promised that, and we will still feel the pain of affliction. But Paul is saying it doesn't need to make us anxious. That's what he's saying. It doesn't have to agitate us or overwhelm us or drive us into deep depression. It doesn't need to rob us of our joy in Christ. Whenever we trust all things into God's hands, his peace mounts guard, not over our bodies, but over our hearts and our minds. Remember, we're called to stand firm, side by side, to form a united front against all opposition to the gospel. And though we can't help but hear the threatening chants of war all around us, and I'm talking about war against the gospel, while we can't help but hear the beating of their drums, we need not be dismayed if we truly have committed everything to God in prayer, because as we know, they shall not prevail. For our Savior has overcome the world and it remains defeated. And so we may indeed feel the sting of the slings and arrows of battle, but if we've trusted everything to God, such pain cannot wound our hearts and our minds, for there is an impenetrable garrison protecting our souls. The peace of God has mounted guard around our hearts and our minds. We have an incomprehensible peace surrounding our hearts and minds, keeping us secure, a peace that's ours because our Savior has already overcome all opposition. What can man do to us? Who or what could ever separate us from his love? The combined powers of darkness and the kingdoms of this world are less than nothing before the sovereign God who surrounds our hearts and our minds with his peace. And so indeed, this is how we're called to live. This should be our pursuit. And as we close this morning, listen to this beautiful prayer. from the 19th century poet John Greenleaf Whittier. And my prayer is that we can all make it our own. Drop thy still dues of quietness till all our striving cease. Take from our souls the strain and stress and let our ordered lives confess the beauty of thy peace. Breathe through the hearts of our desire, thy coolness and thy balm. Let sense be numb. Let flesh retire. Speak through earthquake, wind, and fire. Oh, still small voice of calm. This is the peace of God that speaks to us in every situation, the peace of God that is meant to rule in our hearts, the peace of God that stands as a garrison around us. And no one, no one can separate us from his love. No one can snatch us from his hand. And that gives us confidence and peace like no other. This is the peace to which we are called. May God grant that we experience it in an ever greater way, day by day, as we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Savior. And to him be all glory forever and ever. Amen.