Let’s pray together. Father, we thank you for this evening.

We thank you for time just to push everything out. It’s laying us down, causing us to be anxious and just focus on you and hear from your word and your mind of who you are. Thank you, Father, that in your son is salvation. Let us love that salvation and share that salvation, Lord.

And Lord, we do lift up a special prayer for Michael and Tiffany, Lord, that you would give them great anointing and great blessing, Lord, as they go or provide every need that they have. Supply more than they could have imagined and bless the work that they will do, Lord. We trust that you will. And Lord, that many will come to Satan in faith and that the gospel will go forth.

That’s our prayer. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Well, good evening. It’s good to be with you. I was thinking it was actually 16 years, not 13. So I don’t know if that makes me look older or you look older. So both, I guess. So, no, no, I love Michael. He’s been someone through the years I can call for advice or to fuss at. You know, if I need to about ministry things. So he’s a good friend. So we’re going to be in Philippians chapter four, verse four through seven. I’m going to take a break from Revelation this week. And I guess thematically, maybe a little bit wanting to consider thanks with you.

Philippians chapter four, verses four through seven.

Paul says, 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 requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I do love early American history, especially when you kind of think about the era when Puritans were colonizing the Americas. I mean, if you’ve ever read William Bradford’s A Plymouth Plantation, really, it wasn’t this economical drive to go to the new world and, you know, build a big house and have all these luxuries and riches. It was a desire to worship God. It was a desire to live for the Lord in a way that honored him. And it cost them a lot. They had to leave England and go to Holland for 12 years. And because they didn’t have any skills that were relevant in Holland, they lived in poverty those 12 years, doing terrible factory jobs together. And after 12 years, because the Spanish were going to invade and go to war with Holland, they knew they weren’t going to be saved there. They tried to get approval from the king of England. To go to the Americas, he wouldn’t give it. So they had to sign on with something of a trickster of a businessman so that they could get there. So they had to go with a bunch of rabble rousers who were not interested in the gospel and Jesus. They were out for profit. So now they’re on a boat. They start going out to sea and the boat starts leaking water and sinking. So they come back and then they get on a boat that’s barely OK. And they make their way across the sea. And then half of them die. The first. Winter and it is trial and struggle after struggle after struggle. It was really, really grueling and hard. And it did not go the way they wanted to go. Yet, if you read of Plymouth Plantation, they are the happiest, joy filled, thankful people to the Lord. And I kind of want to bounce that off you in the same way. I think you can look back. It’s hard to believe. We’re at the end of the year. Twenty twenty three is almost over. And can you look back and say that? Year did not go the way that I thought it would go. There were some things that happened this past year that I thought that was really hard. And I did not want to have to deal with that. I was laying in bed with Jessica the other night and went, you remember, I had a headache from January through August. And I know you all know that because we prayed about it. I had a chronic headache from January to the end of August. And the Lord finally, you know, lifted those headaches with my CPAP machine. Yeah. So that makes you feel like an old man. But but you deal with. You deal with things that you didn’t want to deal with. And then you have a choice. You and I have a choice to always let our changing circumstances, things that happen control us. Or is it possible that in the Lord we can always maintain a certain tone and tenor in our hearts because of who he is? And I think that’s the case. I think that’s the case for Paul. And I want it to be the case for us. You and I can always, always. Always have joy in the Lord.

We’re at the end of this letter. And Paul has said some encouraging things, but he said a lot of things that aren’t so encouraging. He reminds them that he’s imprisoned. He reminds them that it’s been granted, he says, to them to suffer for the cause of Christ. He reminds them that they live in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation. He reminds them of the Judaizers, who he calls dogs, who are on the inside of the church, trying to save the world. Trying to tear apart gospel and grace. And then the very end, he talks about this conflict between these two women. And it’s apparently such a big conflict. He mentions it in this corporate letter because it’s causing dissension in the church. And then you stack on top of all of that. These are just regular people like you and I with sin struggles trying to figure out life. So I think we can identify with them. And then sometimes we just feel like road-worn believers, trying to keep the faith, trying to take one more step. And is it possible even to do it with joy?

So I think what Paul says at the very end of this letter is entirely calculated and on purpose. He says, rejoice. And that’s like something you see like on a bag, maybe for Christmas. And there’s candy canes and it says rejoice. It feels like a very, you know, general, fluffy term you’d throw out. So it’s not that Paul’s run out of things to say. And he’s like, whoops, I just spent this whole letter talking about negative things. I should say something that’s slightly encouraging. Paul says rejoice. It’s an imperative command. But then he repeats himself. He says, again, I say rejoice.

So we can’t pass over it that Paul, not just in this letter, but Paul elsewhere talks about what it means to rejoice and have joy. And it’s something that he says, you always have to have this. If you’re a Christian, you should always do this thing. You should always, always rejoice. What does that mean to rejoice?

To rejoice means to be supremely glad. It’s kind of a, it’s like a superlative happiness for your soul. It’s a gladness that nothing else can touch within. So if I rejoice, it’s me actively exercising my joy. I have joy and I’m rejoicing. I’m exulting in the joy that I have within. And you have to wonder, Paul, how could you suggest such a thing when you know being a Christian in the first century is really hard? How can you suggest I always rejoice when there’s cause for despair? And. Discouragement in my life, in church life, in my nation. But I want you to notice Paul does not just say rejoice. He says what? Rejoice in the Lord. In other words, the quality of your joy of rejoicing does not depend on external factors around you. And the frequency. The frequency with which you can experience joy and rejoice does not depend on when or if things happen around you. Because your joy and my joy rests entirely upon who the Lord is, what he has done and what he will do. So it’s an anchor fixed, what? Outside of your present situation and circumstance. In Psalm 34, David says, I will bless the Lord at all times. His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul makes its boast in the Lord. Let the humble hear and be glad. Oh, magnify the Lord with me and let us exult in his name together. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. David wrote that song when he had to run from Saul and take the holy bread from the priest. And then he had to pretend he was insane. It says he let the spit run down his beard so that the. The king of Gath wouldn’t kill him. David knew what it meant for his situation to degrade and to crumble. That’s when he writes this song. David knows what poor circumstances feel like. Yet David is not slow to exult in the Lord. So the tone and tenor of David’s heart doesn’t have to change, even though his circumstances do. And I don’t think it’s insignificant at all that you and I have 150 songs. It’s proof that David and the other writers of Psalms, they needed to verbalize on a regular basis who God is. They needed to, like, scratch it down somewhere. You and I have a lot of spiritual arrogance if we think we can go about life and I’m always kind of clear headed about who God is. Not at all. Like, I need the deep humility to recognize when life is hard and things get tough. One of the first things that happens to us is we get spiritual amnesia and I’m quick to forget who God is. When spiritual adversity comes, when the enemy attacks, that pillar is the first thing that’s shaken is who are you, God? Who are you? And if I’m not constantly reminding myself, Lord, this is who you are. This is who you are. This is who you are. That faith is going to be throttled. And I’ll forget.

If David needed to verbalize out loud over and over again, friends, so do you. So do I. We need to constantly remind ourselves of who our source of joy is. And it’s God. And he is a deliverer. If you took time to write out every adjective that David and the psalmist give the Lord in 150 words, you would be able to do it. In 150 chapters, you would probably be dumbfounded when you think about just how wonderfully descriptive you can be when you talk about God, fortress, refuge, tent, level path, buckler, all the things. I don’t have a list or I wouldn’t read it. It would probably take forever. But friends, God wants us to be reminded of who he is. But also then thinking about what has he done? What has he done? And Paul spent the whole letter encouraging the Philippians in what God has done. He’s saved his people through Christ. And I want to read it from Romans because I like how Paul says it in chapter five. He says, while we were still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly. One will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a good person, one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us and that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by saved by him from the wrath of God. For while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son. Much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

You and I and Paul would do this as a spiritual resource. Reflex, point yourself back to what Jesus has done. Jesus has spared you from the wrath to come. Jesus has washed away every sin. Jesus has reconciled you to the father. Jesus has given you inheritance in the heavenlies. That is a great spiritual victory that always stands above whatever spiritual battle you’re fighting now. I always have a crucifixion. I always have a crucified but risen savior. Whatever spiritual distress I’m in, I can rejoice. Why? Because no one can undo what Jesus did at the cross. No one can undo that he was raised on the third day. And I really think that’s a test and a challenge for each of us. When you have spiritual adversity of different kinds, do my circumstances dictate the gladness of my soul? Do I go up and down based on my circumstances? And if that is the case, I want to submit to you, and I will say I need to submit to this as well. I’m not spending enough time cherishing the cross of Christ. It’s not wonderful enough to me in my heart that when God allows difficulties along, they can so quickly crush my soul and throw me into despair. And it takes me forever to come out of that. And I can’t go to the cross quickly. I can’t go to the cross quickly and be reminded of my ultimate victory in Jesus. And I’m not trying to overply it. Like a loved one passes away or a relationship breaks or something bad happens. And it’s like, I have so much joy. I don’t even know how to cry at this funeral. Like, I don’t even know what that’s like. Like, that would be ridiculous. Paul says we are sorrowful while rejoicing. So it is possible and what it should be like to be the most sorrowful people on the planet because we know deeply the brokenness of the world. Yet we are at the same time those who rejoice greatly. So it’s not that sorrow doesn’t happen. Difficulty doesn’t happen. It’s that you and I, if we’re in Christ, we have an overarching joy in our hearts that never allows the tone and tenor of rejoicing to quit. The present suffering, it’s real, but it’s temporal.

It’s real, but it’s temporal. The cross. The cross promises me the eternal realities of victory and joy.

So you and I can rejoice and we should rejoice and we must rejoice and we should rejoice, especially when it’s hard. If we can only rejoice when it’s extremely easy to rejoice, we’re no good at rejoicing. We have to rejoice when it’s difficult. And that proves my faith that God is the source of my joy. And I trust his character. I trust who he is.

You know, I like a good poem. So I found one. I found a new poet I’ve been reading lately. And this is called Let Patience Have Her Perfect Work. It’s by Christina Rossetti. And she starts with that question. Can man rejoice who lives in hourly fear? Can man make haste who toils beneath a load? Can man feel rest who has no fixed abode? All he lays hold of or can see or hear is passing by. And is prompt to disappear, is doomed, is foredoomed, continueth in no stay. This day he breathes in his last day. This year of time is the world’s last year. Thus in himself he is most miserable. Catch this. Out of himself, Lord, lift him up to thee. Out of himself in all these worlds that flee. Hold him in patience underneath the rod. Anchor his hope beyond life’s ebb and swell. Perfect his patience. Perfect his patience in the love of God. So you and I have no source of lasting joy if we want to find it here. It’s got to be there where Christ is. It’s got to constantly be there. We’ve got to constantly re-anchor joy in who Jesus is and what he has done. And what he’s going to do. What he’s going to do. And that’s everything that we’ve been learning in the book of Revelation together. So practically. I want to encourage you. Make a habit of reading the Psalms. I think the Psalms should be read daily. Even if you’re studying a different book of the Bible. It’s good even just to have a short Psalm. A short snippet to kind of bounce around in your head for that day. Like one I’ve been doing lately is level path. Lord, you’re a level path beneath my feet. You’re a level path. And maybe the next week it’ll be you’re a rock. It says you’re a rock. It says you’re a rock. The Spirit uses those things to quickly snap us back to who God is when adversity, when trial pulls us away.

What have you lost this year? What friend have you lost? What good health have you lost? What situation has gone bad? Jesus says in him you have every good reason to be a rejoicing person. And better than that, the plural is here in the Greek. So when he says rejoice, it’s plural, which means what? Rejoicing is a team sport. You and I need to constantly be encouraging one another to have this kind of joy. Because when you live, you know, all alone, it’s easier to kind of devolve in yourself. But when you have brothers and sisters who are there to remind you, hey, no, remember, this is who Jesus is. Remember, Paul said rejoice in the Lord. So let us rejoice together. Rejoice together and encourage one another to that good end.

Paul says always rejoice. The second thing he says is always be gentle. In verse five, he says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone. So if you were to translate that, that’s that’s the idea of being gentle, of being kind.

Right before Paul says this in four, he talks about these two women, Euodia and Syntyche. Okay. Gave them their names. But they’re in this fight. They’re in this dissension. They’re believers. Paul says their names are in the book of life. He goes on to mention them with some other folks. But this this conflict is there that Paul says, this has got to be straightened out. What is the last thing? What is the last thing you want to be when you’re in some kind of conflict? Someone’s hurt you. Someone’s, you know. Someone’s spoken poorly of you. You just know you’re right and they are dead wrong. What is the last thing you want to be?

Reasonable, kind, gentle. When you’re in that heated conflict, you want more than anything to protect your name. You want to show why you’re right. You want to stand above the other person. You want to be the winning party. And this is most important. I really believe this. I know we’ve talked about it a million times. This is most important in the context of the local church. It’s where we’re supposed to be able to have internal conflicts. And they’re handled in a way that the world can’t. Now, is that true that we do it like that? Unfortunately, it’s not the case. But here’s where it’s shown. If I truly have the gentleness and the kindness of Christ Jesus in the church. Certainly in my home. In any dealing. In any dealing with the world. Paul says you should be gentle with everyone.

But I’ve been embarrassed. But I’ve been hurt. Someone’s caused me undue stress and frustration. Right? My animal instincts have kicked in. I want to win against my adversary.

But what is that unreasonableness? What does that lack of gentleness show about me when I’m like that? It shows that I have a heart that’s convinced it is its own defender. I am responsible for defending my name. That’s how the world works.

Friends, I want to ask this. And again, this is really hard. This is a really hard one. If we’re in Christ Jesus, isn’t it true that man’s opinions and man’s attacks don’t hold the weight they once did? Because man does not define who I am. Christ Jesus does. Isn’t it true that it only matters who God says I am? And his son and I don’t need other people’s validation. I’m not my defender. Jesus has set me free to love people and treat people the way he has loved and treated me when I was at my worst. And that’s what he’s called me to do. He is my defender. I can wait on him to do what’s right. He’s called me to love people with kindness and gentleness. And this certainly isn’t the only place where Paul talks. He talks about it in Titus three. He says, remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work, to speak evil of some people. No, you can’t speak evil of no one. Avoid quarreling. Be gentle to show perfect courtesy toward all people. For we ourselves were once foolish. Disobedient. Let us stray slaves of various passions, pleasures, passing our days and mouths in envy, hated by others and hating one another.

So do you belong to yourself? You don’t. I don’t. I am not my own. I belong to Jesus. And whether it’s an internal struggle with brothers and sisters or it’s my marriage or it’s my toddler. They won’t. They won’t stop screaming or it’s being, you know, persecuted or mistreated or something for my faith. I am called to be kind and gentle, not a pushover, but I’m called to be kind and gentle.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book, The Cost of Discipleship. He says this. The only way to overcome evil is to let it run itself to a standstill because it does not find the resistance it’s looking for. Resistance merely creates further evil and adds fuel to the flames. But when evil meets no opposition and encounters no obstacle, but only patient endurance, its sting is drawn and at last meets an opponent which is more than its match. What’s his point in that? What’s his point in that? He’s talking about relationships between people. It’s really this. You and I can know theology. Theology, like the back of our hands, you and I can memorize every single Bible verse and we can have great church attendance and we can give all kinds of money away. But at the end of it, we are missing it. If we cannot learn to love like Jesus has loved us, missed it entirely, missed it entirely.

Friend, do you seek to be gentle and kind the way Jesus is gentle? Kind with you. That’s our calling in Christ Jesus. And Paul seems to think, as difficult as it is maybe to believe, we can be that in Christ, in the Spirit, to everyone. Why everyone? Because Jesus is Lord of your whole life. And there’s no part of your life where you can say, excuse me, Jesus, this person I really don’t like. So you’ll have to let me use the words. I would like to use with them this one time. I don’t get to play that game, do I? Jesus is Lord of my whole life and it has to be conformed to him.

Third thing Paul says, always give thanks. Always give thanks. The Lord is at hand. Don’t be anxious about anything. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request. Be made known to God. So don’t be anxious. Now that, you feel like Paul’s going too far. Paul, that’s too far. Paul doesn’t know about mental health crises we have in our modern times. Everybody’s anxious. Everybody’s anxious. Can’t mean that, can he? But he does mean that. And he does say that. What does it mean to be anxious? It doesn’t mean to be anxious. It doesn’t mean that you’re not concerned about things. It means you’re not overly or unduly concerned about anything. And you shouldn’t be, Paul says. Even though you’ve got a lot of unanswered questions about how come that situation happened the way that it did. Or you got a lot of concerns about what the future holds. Or you got a lot of anxieties about health. Or you got a lot of anxieties about this or that or your children or whatever it is. Isn’t that too long? Isn’t that too lofty a thing to say?

I’ve always loved this passage in Luke 10. I think it answers the question very well. But Luke chapter 10 says, As they went on their way, Jesus entered a village and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary who sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted and much serving. And she went up to him. And said, Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me. But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you’re anxious and you’re troubled about many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.

Apart from the common graces that you and I get daily, like waking up. Did you deserve to wake up today? Or oxygen in your lungs or or food or clothes, all the things we generally don’t thank God for that we should. Here’s this ever present reality for those of us in Christ Jesus. And it’s this. God is always near and present. God is always right here. God deeply cares about everything you’re going through. And he would have you. Despite how anxious you are or how bad you think it is, this insurmountable mountain. He could. Oh, could even the Lord do anything about this? We feel we think. Jesus invites you to sit at his feet. And be reminded he deeply loves you. And he’s deeply able, able and capable to help you and bring about a perfect end. Mary knew it. Was it not that Mary didn’t have anxieties? I’m sure Mary had anxieties. She just chose the better portion. Martha and Jesus were in the same room together. Think about that. Think about Martha years later. Like if you wanted to laugh at her. Like Martha, you realize you were in the same room with Jesus and you were over here like bickering. Like, I know. What was I doing trying to like bake chicken and Jesus is in the room? Like, what was I doing? But we do the same thing, don’t we? Instead of just being with the Lord and being just overwhelmed with thanksgiving for his presence and power and care. We go, oh, my gosh. This thing, this thing, this thing that’s so small and we think it’s greater than the Lord.

We give thanksgiving because Jesus is always enough. It’s always enough. There’s thanksgiving for Christ and it proves our satisfaction and delight in Christ when life goes awry. Let us be in the posture of Mary praying. Believing, trusting, saying thank you because Jesus, you’ve already given me so much more than I could ever need or want in your cross.

So Thursday.

Be thankful for Turkey and be thankful for size and be thankful for a day off of work. But maybe it needs to be a new tone and tenor and rhythm of your heart and life to live with thanksgiving. Much thanksgiving. Believing to God.

Verse seven. Paul says in the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Friends, you and I can and must, must always rejoice.

For Christ Jesus has delivered us. Rejoice. You’re secure in the heavenlies. Rejoice. Christ has been made yours. You can always be gentle and kind. Because Christ has set you free from having to defend yourself and take care. Number one, God loves you. God is keeping you. You can always be thankful because you always have so much more than you deserve in Christ Jesus. And if we. Are thankful and gentle and rejoicing in the Lord. What does Paul say? You’ll be guarded and you’ll be kept on every side in his perfect peace. Your mind and your heart will be kept in peace. And Jesus wants us to have peace. Jesus said, peace. I leave with you.

So regardless of the year you had. Or maybe you’re getting ready to have a bath. You don’t know. You don’t know what’s coming. You can definitely. Have all the joy you could ever need. And have the gentleness and kindness of Christ Jesus. And you can be the most thankful person in every room you walk into. And more than anything, you can be full of the peace that passes understanding. Christ offers it to you freely. Let us receive it and enjoy it to the glory of God. Let’s pray.

Father, how prone we are to disbelieve, how prone we are to worry, how prone we are to complain. To complain, Lord.

Lord, let us only be satisfied in knowing You, satisfied in learning about You, satisfied in knowing You deeply care and You are working all things together for Your glory and You are using every instance of adversity to grow us up more and more into the image of Christ. Let that not be wasted on us, Lord. You are not a God who is aloof. You are not a God who is aloof. You are not a God that changes and is moody and forgetful like we are. You are perfect in Your power. You are perfect in Your love and Your cross shows us that so clearly.

So, Father, help us to believe. Help us to rejoice. Help us to be kind.

Help us live with much thanksgiving to You and to have Your peace.

I pray it in Jesus’ name. Amen.