[Generated Transcript]

As we come to chapter four, we get to the application section of Paul’s letter. So he has been writing, trying to communicate really one message the entire time. You need to rejoice in the Lord. Find your joy, find your sufficiency, your satisfaction in the Lord. And he applies it into three areas. So first, their personal relations. You need to have unity in the Lord. And then he speaks about their inner turmoil. Are you in suffering or pressure? Are you finding your rest in Christ? And then he ends saying, you need to find your delight in Christ. That everything you’re striving for is gonna be found in Christ himself.

So he’s talked about that at a teaching level, at a theological level, but then you’ll see he turns and he actually is gonna address particular situations and says, here’s where it finds its root in the church. It’s sort of like Paul’s version of three simple steps to a happy life. He says, okay, for your church, here are three simple steps to apply what I’ve been trying to teach you about Christ. Now, when we read through them, they’re not gonna sound necessarily simple, but he’s trying to make them in manageable steps. Look, this is how you grow in Christ. They come across as more simple ways, but he says, through simple things, that’s how growth in Christ happens. Let’s begin, we’ll read verses two to nine.

This is God’s word to us. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. 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. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. This is God’s word to us. As we come to this section, we’re getting three things that he’s applying to the church in Philippi. He says, this is how you need to put this into practice, everything that I’ve been trying to teach you.

And I was thinking about, think of your favorite love song. What’s the love song you listen to as a teenager? Seems to always be maybe some 13-year-old who’s written some pop love song. And you think, what do you know about love? And then they grow up, and you think, oh, they actually didn’t know anything about love.

They’ve been in multiple relationships, and they divorced this many people. So think about your favorite love song. And now think about the author of that love song. Has he remained or she remained faithful to the spouse? Does her life actually represent knowing something about love?

Or could that person just sing about it? What Paul is saying here is, okay, you can sing your theology, you can listen to theology, you can nod your assent to it, but let me teach you to live it out. Okay? That’s what he wants us to hear too. Okay, we can sing it, we can say it, we can teach someone else it, but can you live it out? And so he tries to make it really simple.

And those three topics that we’ve been covering, unity around you, in your interpersonal relationships, the inner turmoil in yourself as you encounter suffering, and then where your delights are, those are the three areas he covers. At least in the ESV that I have, those are three paragraphs, so it’s pretty easy to divide up. And those are gonna be the three things we look at as we examine, okay, what does it look like to apply rejoicing in Christ into our life in the church? Hopefully, we’ll go through this and you’re gonna think, wow, these are really difficult. But Paul is trying to make them sound simple. Because he’s trying to say, through simple means, you actually grow in Christ.

Now, I wanna bring you first, before we get into the first section, into Psalm 119. It’s been a psalm that, a section of the psalm that’s been running through my head quite a bit. Starting in verse 97, there’s a section in here, Psalm 119 kind of has eight verses at a time, different sections of things.

And he says this, oh how I love your law, it is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged or the elders, for I keep your precepts. In that section of verses, he’s saying, I actually excel beyond my enemies, I excel beyond those who are teaching me things about God, and I excel beyond even the elders that God has put over him.

And why, why does he say that? And the things he points to are just really simple things. Well, your commandments are always with me. Your testimonies are things that I meditate on. I keep your precepts. All of these are really simple, basic things, but he says, I’m just focused on the really simple things.

And then that leads to an excel of life in Christ. That’s what Paul is trying to communicate here in this section. Let me give you some simple things, and if you can focus on simple things, and just be, have a simple, godly life, your growth in Christ will be transformative. You’ll excel beyond your wildest dreams. Christ is not asking for you to be a superstar. He’s asking for your devotion. And here’s some simple steps that he gives. So beginning with is he speaks to the unity of the church. He says, I entreat you, Odia, and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. What’s interesting here is he calls out two people by name. How often in a sermon have you had a pastor? So Ross, let me talk to you about your sin. You’re immediately like, well, I don’t know if I want to actually hear about that. Let’s talk privately. But Paul just calls out two women in the church, and he says, look, they need to agree in the Lord. And then he pushes even further. I ask you also, true companion, help these women. And he recruits help from the church.

Now, if you read that like me, you’re also seeing, I don’t even know who this person is. And if you read people, no one knows who this is. There are different ideas being thrown out. But Paul is writing, and there’s someone who the church that he’s writing to and the person he’s writing to will know just by him talking very directly. Oh, that’s who he’s calling. It must be someone who Paul knew really closely that he doesn’t even have to name the person by name, but just says, hey, you should get involved in this as well.

As we think about what does that look like for us, what Paul is saying is that unity in the church starts with who is the person that you feel like you’re in conflict with? Who are you in disagreement with? How are you putting the unity of Christ, how are you giving legs to it? How are you putting it into your hands?

Now, there’s a few things in this that are helpful to see. He doesn’t just say Euodia and Syntyche agree, get along. He says, agree in the Lord. So as you think, well, what do I need to do? It’s not just saying, stop butting heads. But it’s saying, or give in to your position. It’s saying, agree in the Lord. Paul’s not asking you to just be submissive and stop thinking what you’re thinking or seeing in the Bible. But he is saying, look to the Lord and the Lord’s interests. Agree in the Lord. Second, he’s not actually taking any sides. I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche. It’s kind of an unnecessary repeating of words, but he’s not trying to put one over the other. He’s not making any decision. Now, sometimes in conflict, there are really clear ways that, ah, this person is in the wrong, and this person needs to see their sin. Or maybe it’s like a 25, 75%.

But he’s trying to say, if you’re in conflict, what can you do to help? Because oftentimes, we look at our conflict, and we assume, well, if only they would listen to me more. Then, if they could see my perspective, then we would agree in the Lord. But what that actually means is, if they saw my perspective, they would agree in me. So what are you doing in your conflict to reach out, to agree in the Lord? Maybe as pastoral advice, because this isn’t in here, but how can you go to that person and say, hey, I disagree with you, but can you explain to me your perspective again?

And then ask questions, not to try and figure out how to win that argument, but just so that you can repeat back to them what they were saying, and they’d say, ah, yes, this is exactly what I think. You’re right, that is how I think about things. What if we approached it that way? You’re first saying, well, I want this person to know that I can see what they’re saying, and I can see what they’re thinking. I’ve listened and I’ve heard them out.

That doesn’t mean you have to actually agree with what they think, but it doesn’t mean that you’re trying to see their perspective. And maybe they’ve seen something in the Lord that you haven’t seen, and maybe they are seeing it right. Maybe there’s something that you’re not seeing about Christ, and I think that the humility is to come together in that. It then turns and it looks at people on the outside.

Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me. He actually says, in conflict, this isn’t just an isolating experience. How often our conflict just feels like it’s me and that person, and we’re butting heads, and there’s nothing that can happen.

And so you’ll talk to people about it, but how many people have actually come together alongside you and said, let me walk through you with this? Now, what he recruits them for is help these women, help them to come and agree in the Lord. He’s not saying help them to see the truth or help them, tell them what is right, but you’re coming alongside and how are they applying Christ and seeing Christ correctly that they’re desiring unity? Are there situations where maybe that applies to you? You’re seeing conflict. And we often come and we come with a judgment. Ah, that person’s right, that person’s wrong, or I’m on that person’s side. How are you coming alongside both of them and helping the people, helping the people to live out Christ in their life as they pursue unity in their relationships?

As it goes on, he has a section, he frames it, they have labored side by side with me in the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the book of life. Now there’s a phrase there, together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, which could kind of go in two different places, and maybe you’re reading it that way.

Is he also recruiting Clement and the rest of his fellow workers to help these women like his true companion? Or are these also people who have labored side by side with Euodia and Syntyche? I think it’s the second one, and here’s the reason. When it speaks about Clement and the rest of his fellow workers, well, he’s already recruited just one person. And then he speaks to Clement and his fellow workers, and then he adds, whose names are in the Book of Life. This is kind of an odd phrase, and it doesn’t seem to have a place. It’s true, but it’s not the way that Paul normally speaks, if he’s just describing people who should also be helping. It’s accurate, but here’s what I think is going on.

He’s giving a way of framing the women. Help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel. Look, these women are not just out there, they’ve worked in the gospel. You need to see them and respect that they have done work for God. And then he goes on. Well, look who they’ve worked with. Together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers. That phrase for fellow workers is those who were like the closest with Paul, side by side with him in his work. And so he’s saying, look at the ranks among whom these women have worked, who they were associated with. And these people, their names are in the Book of Life. If these are the ranks that these women were in, that’s how you need to view them.

We see people who are struggling for a period of time, or are in some conflict, and we start writing them off, don’t we? Well, they must be immature believers, or maybe they’re not even saved, especially if they’re in conflict with me. They probably don’t even know Christ at all. But Paul is framing this in a way of saying, look what they’ve done, look who they are. You’re seeing certain actions which are confusing to you, but look at their pattern of life and see them optimistically, okay?

And this is important in conflict to view things that way. Are we thinking about those that we’re in conflict in in that way? Are we seeing someone who is also a child of God, who also knows things about the Lord, who the Lord’s been working in their heart? Or is it always someone who’s, well, they’re a step behind me? Or are we looking in on two people in conflict and putting ourselves above them and saying, well, I can help them, but you’re helping them from above rather than from side by side?

Do you understand what I mean? Here he’s framing the women to say, look at them as mature women. Mature women in the Lord, but they’re struggling and they do need help. This is where he’s giving feet to it. We talked about this at the beginning of chapter two. It says in chapter two, if there’s any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the spirit, And here, he’s actually gonna grab the same language. I entreat you, Odi, and I entreat Syntyche. That word entreat is the same word as encouragement in Christ.

Look, I’m calling you to do this thing. You need to do this thing. And then he’s getting participation from the body of Christ to do this. He’s applying everything from chapter two and saying, okay, here’s where it gets legs. Here’s where it works out in its hands. But it comes across in kind of a simple way.

Look, you can’t force someone to agree with you, but are you making your best effort to be able to agree in the Lord with them? Are you hearing them out? So what makes this simple? What chapter two was getting across is, are you humble before the Lord? Are you coming to someone with humility? Is the Lord the one that you’re defending and not yourself?

And if we approach conflict in that way, okay, how do I hear out this person? How am I putting the desires of Christ first and not my own desires? That’s the start of overcoming conflict. That’s how you begin agreeing in the Lord. So if you wanna see details, okay, I see I’m in conflict. I know I need to agree in the Lord. I need help. Don’t just look at these verses, but go back to chapter two, the beginning, and read that over, the mind of Christ and his humility, and see, okay, how can I apply this in that situation? That’s your simple step.

And then he’s gonna dive a little deeper, which in some ways seems to kind of work out of that, because maybe you’re striving for unity with someone and it’s just not working. And you’re this turmoil of, I can’t fix this situation, because you can’t change somebody. But the next thing he addresses is that inner conflict.

And he starts off saying, rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. He’s going to give a series of commands, but he’s trying to say one thing. There’s a pattern. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. He says, when he says reasonableness, he’s not talking about rationality. It’s not a thing of the mind. Let your ability to think be known to everyone.

The reasonableness, you may have a footnote there that speaks about gentleness or meekness or something along those lines. The reasonableness speaks to the fact of, well, there’s someone who always claims his rights. She’s always, well, here’s what I’m owed. And a reasonable person is put in contrast with that. The gentle person, the meek person.

You’re willing to receive a wrong, to not get paid what you’re owed, to not receive what you think that you’re owed, and just let it go. Think of Moses, the most meek on the earth, and he was accused of things that were false, and he responded by yelling at them and pointing a finger, and you’re wrong, right? No, he falls down before the Lord, and he starts pleading with the Lord. Lord, you know I didn’t do that, right? You saw that my heart wasn’t that way. He’s not trying to claim something for his own.

They owe me obedience, but he’s always humble before the Lord and willing to accept rebuke. And the one time where he claimed something and said, I think I know something, is when he struck the rock against God’s orders. So it kind of reminds you of, well, when you think you know something, you don’t know it as you ought. A meek person is always willing to accept wrong.

There’s a story about Warren Buffett, this wealthy investor, that he says, well, his biggest regret was he was investing in this company, and he was given this deal. I don’t know. He was told, I’ll sell you all these shares for $15. I don’t know what it is. And then he says, OK, great. It was an oral deal from the owner of the company. And then it came through, and they took off 15%. And they’re going to give it to him for less money. And so he bought the rest of the company and got that guy fired.

But he said, that was my biggest regret because in my anger, I could have spent that money in companies that were actually worth that money, but I didn’t. See, he didn’t have meekness. He wasn’t willing to accept a wrong. He said, I’m gonna get back at them.

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. Well, why can we accept wrong? Because the Lord is at hand. You’re meek. You’re willing to accept wrong because you know that God is watching. And this isn’t any God. This is the living and true God who acts in the world, who sees the wrongs that are done to you and is going to defend his people. That’s what he’s saying here. It’s not just a good thought. I’d like to be humble. I’d like to be meek. I’d like to be willing to give up things. But it’s because you know that it’s resting on God who’s stable.

That’s the pattern that he then follows in verse six. Don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. The anxieties that come in, the fears that you have, he says, oh, don’t be anxious about anything. And we read that and we think, that’s easy to say, but I am. But I am anxious, right? He says, well, here’s what you do.

You bring everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, and you leave it to God. I have this thing that I can’t conquer. I’m owed this thing, and I get angry when I don’t have what I’m owed. He says, well, remember, the Lord is at hand. The Lord is gonna uphold justice. The Lord will defend you. I’m anxious, and there’s things I can’t control.

There’s things that are wrong in my life, and there’s fears that are welling up my heart. Well, give it to God in prayer. Give it to God in prayer. Now, I know it seems really complicated, because we all think, well, I’ve prayed about these things, and I still feel anxious.

But here’s what God says, and here’s why it actually is really simple. We leave it to the Lord in prayer, we remind ourselves of those truths, and it says in verse seven, he gives us a promise. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. This is a promise from God. So when you’re looking at your life and saying, this stuff’s not coming true, run to Philippians 4 verse 7 and pray this back to God. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Now here’s what he’s saying and here’s what he’s not saying. He’s not saying that the peace is gonna overwhelm you and you will be peaceful. But he is promising the peace of God is going to guard your hearts.

The language he uses of guards is actually like a sentry or a garrison, like Paul being surrounded by a garrison in Jerusalem. These troops that are protecting him because the Jews were trying to get at him. The peace of God is going to protect you. Maybe you’re still struggling with the anxiety or maybe you’re still not seeing how it makes sense and you’re having to go back to God again and again in prayer. But God is saying actually around you is his protection. And when you have attacks, it is there and it’s defending you. That’s God’s promise. The peace of God will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

And to a level that surpasses even your ability to understand it. Which is sort of a comfort when we say this doesn’t make sense, this is not what I’m experiencing. Well, he said you’re not gonna understand it. But you know it’s true. God’s there and he’s guarding his sheep. He’s guarding you and he’s promised it. And so he won’t let you slip. Bring your anxieties to the Lord. Bring your fears and your feelings of unfairness to God. He is living and active. He’s working in your life to fulfill his promises. So he’s covered unity in relationships, and he’s covered the inner turmoil that we struggle with. And then he turns, and the last subject is our delights. Finally, brothers, and then he gives us a list.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there’s any excellence, if there’s anything worthy of praise, think about these things. And this is where it actually becomes simple. I’m going to start with a simple this time.

It starts with the thought life. Now, I know you’re thinking, well, that’s complicated. I can’t control my thought life. But he’s just saying, you don’t need to be acting like a super Christian. But what are you setting your mind on? Think about these things. He’s not starting you off on things that there’s no way you could do. But he says, just allow God’s word to penetrate and examine your thought life. OK? So let me run through a few thoughts. It starts off, before every word, it says whatever is, whatever is, whatever is.

He’s leaving it open-ended because he wants you to examine your own thoughts. He’s pointing you towards this is the mind of Christ, as true, as honorable, as just, pure, lovely. But he’s not saying you need to think this exact thing. He’s saying examine your thoughts, And how do they align with God’s thoughts? Are they things that are these? So I’m going to throw out a few thoughts that are just kind of probing, as I probed my own thoughts. Whatever is true.

When you think about God, or as you think about your religion, are you more thinking about, here are my theological quirks, the things that make me unique or different than others, or here are the things of contention that really get my mind going? Or do your thoughts about God settle in the things that you know are firm and true? Yeah, I know you have some weird interpretation of that, or you have some weird belief about, I don’t know, dinosaurs or aliens, but what do you actually dwell on? What are the things that you rest in in your thought life? The things that you know, I know this is true. God’s made this abundantly clear, and that’s what my rest is on.

Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, That word also is trying to get at some sort of seriousness, gravity to things. Now, it’s not saying that you can’t be joking around, you can’t be a joking person, but are you a person who can actually speak with some sort of gravity? Or sort of, you just tend to laugh things off when they get serious. You’re quick to make a joke about the things of God.

Is your thought life honorable? Are you willing to rest in something that makes you uncomfortable? Are you willing to let someone else rest in something that’s making them uncomfortable? But it is something that you need to think about. Is someone going to come up to you with some deep secret in their life and feel, I can share this with this person, and they’re going to treat it with seriousness, even if they’ve not been through it themselves? They’ll handle my heart with honor. whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is just.

How do you think about the people you disagree with, that you get into arguments about? You leave that argument and what do your thoughts go to? Here’s why they’re wrong or then it moves into here’s why they’re just bad people in general. Right? Or is it actually are you seeing the good in them as you are still talking to that person, as you’re in disagreement and arguing? Are your thoughts just about people?

Whatever is just, whatever is pure, what have you put in front of your eyes in the last six months? How many murders have you watched or adulterous relationships have you observed on television? How many news articles about those things have you clicked on because you want to know more? What are the things that you’re putting in front of your eyes that are then pouring into your brain and changing the way that you think?

That your delights are being changed from things of purity that initially as a child you’d be repulsed by this thing, but it’s in front of our eyes enough that it’s just normal. Or even you find some sort of pleasure in hearing about grotesque crimes or adulterous relationships or all the things that are so common in our culture. Whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, I was talking to kids at a summer camp this summer and preaching through this small section here.

And I asked them to raise their hand if they’ve seen a YouTube video of train wrecks. And most of them had raised their hand. It’s just a thing kids watch. Train crashes. I said, OK, well, how many of you have watched videos about trains being constructed? and there were far fewer hands, a lot fewer hands.

Do we delight in things that are lovely as a God of creation and order or do we find some sort of delight in chaos, things being destroyed or not working out or things falling apart? Whatever is lovely. See, the God who we’re ordering our thoughts after is one who delights in truth and order and creation of things. And yet we often will delight in the destruction of things and chaos and seeing things fall apart in front of us. Whatever is lovely. Whatever is commendable. This is a really easy one to get guilty about. But what if someone could see your thoughts? Would they think, oh, those are commendable thoughts. Or would you say, I don’t want anyone to look into my mind?

Whatever’s commendable. Whatever’s excellent and worthy of praise. See, it’s interesting that he doesn’t just say, think about God. But he actually is giving you liberty to think about other things. but ordered after God’s pattern. God is excellent. God is worthy of praise. There’s some sort of objective excellence though.

Are your thoughts striving towards those things? I want to see and think about things that are excellent because that reflects God’s character. When I think often, our thoughts will go to things that bring us praise, or here are the things that are excellent about me. But are we willing to dwell on things outside of ourself, things that are just objectively excellent and worthy of praise, and see God in that? Whatever is worthy of praise, whatever is excellent, Now, as he runs through this, it should bring us to conviction because our hearts don’t normally go to these things.

But it’s simple because it’s saying, just examine your thoughts. Spend this week thinking through your thoughts and, I don’t know, maybe set a timer for every hour. And just bring it to mind, well, what have I had my mind set on for the last hour? Is it things that align with this? How do I start just slowly moving my mind to think of things that are better for me to be resting on? Why is this so important? Because the things that our minds dwell on change us. How often did you as a kid, you heard something and you thought, you didn’t think anything of it?

Or maybe you’ve seen kids and they need to learn what’s funny, what’s a good thing to praise, what’s beautiful, And so you start looking at something, and you think, ah, that looks ugly. But then you get used to it over a few years, and you think about it, and all of a sudden, you think that thing looks good. I mean, fashion’s a wonderful example of that, right? You watch people, and you’re like, ah, there’s no way that will ever be popular. And then five years later, you’re wearing the exact same thing, and you think, this is beautiful.

Our thoughts change what we desire. And God’s saying, okay, you want to desire the Lord. What are your thoughts settling on through the day? Are they settling on the things that reflect God, that then your desires are gonna follow? So how are your thoughts reflecting God? But then it moves and says, okay, after that simple step, here’s some other simple steps to take.

Think about these things, verse nine. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. It moves from, think about it, but then start to observe it. Remember how we talked about, you gotta find people who are doing what you need to grow in. Observe it in people. Because if we’re just thinking in our heads, we’re gonna get way off track. But are you seeing people who are reflecting, ah, this is a godly pattern of thought. This is a godly way of speaking about this or that.

Let me observe it and watch it for a little while and make sure that I’m on the right track about what I’m trying to imitate. And then it moves to practice. Practice these things. So he’s actually saying, it’s OK to move slow. What are your thoughts doing? Adjust your thoughts. Watch and observe. See it, hear it, touch it, taste it, and then practice it.

It actually is in simple steps. He’s coming down to our level, okay? He’s saying, here’s the heights of chapter three, the desire for Christ. How do you get there? Well, it’s like Psalm 119. Well, here are the simple steps. Here are the things to grow in, and then you’ll find yourself where you’re trying to be. Focus on these simple things.

And he gives you a promise. Did you see that? And the God of peace will be with you. Now I told you when we were going through chapter three, look, this is the heights of the letter. This is what it’s all trying to reach. It’s a crescendo working towards all of it. And that this unadulterated love and desire for Christ, that’s what our life is aimed at. That’s the one thing Paul’s pursuing. And this is how he applies it as he’s speaking to them.

Because the promise in verse seven, the peace of God will guard you, now becomes even more intimate. Well, if you set your hearts on God, the God of peace will be with you. Do you see how it became more personal? It’s not just what God’s gonna give you. I’ll give you my peace. But he says, no, if you set your desires and your thoughts on God, those will become your desires. And God himself will then come to you.

We need to see that’s not something we deserved. It’s not like you just, oh, because I love Jesus, he needs to come to me. You can’t force God into that, but it is something that God has promised us. He promises us right here the best promise that we can have.

What’s the only thing that’s gonna fulfill your desires, that’s gonna actually change you, that’s gonna give you any hope past death? God himself. But this God is the God of peace. He wants you to find rest in him. And so what he’s saying in this last section is, I’m guaranteeing this for you. If you set your heart on me, if you set your thoughts on me, then I will give you the desires of your heart. I’ll give you the right desires and I’ll give you myself. Isn’t that a beautiful promise? Christ lived and died for you to be able to give you this security. You know that God will be with you. The God of peace will be with you.

So as we are going out and thinking, okay, well what relationships can I draw near to? Can I try and steer towards the Lord? What’s my anxiety that I have to bring to the Lord in prayer and faith? What are my inner thoughts, my desires that I need to start nudging over?

It’s simple steps, but it will be hard. But this is the promise held out at the end. This is what you’re aiming for. The God of peace will be there. Christ himself will be walking with you and bringing you to the end. And then you’ll see him face to face, and your desires will be only for him. all the things that we desire apart from him, and says, no, God is gonna transform you that you’ll have the desires, and you’ll see Christ, and he will be all that you need. That’s what God promises us. It’s peace, but peace because we live and are given God himself in Christ.

Let’s pray. Oh Lord, how much we long for peace. in our inner turmoil, in relationships which have fractured, in so many struggles, and maybe we’re at the point where we look and we think there is no hope. There is no hope. And so we’re given promises from you and we think, I’ve tried praying. I’ve tried this, I’ve tried that. It doesn’t work. But Lord, you’ve given us Christ. You’ve given us yourself. And you secure your word by his blood.

So I pray that in our congregation, you would make your word clear and true to us. That those who are struggling under conflict, who are struggling under fear and anxiety, Would you help them to cast their cares on you? Would you help them to humble themselves before Christ and pursue unity? And would you make your promises true for them that they would see that the peace of God is guarding their hearts and their minds? As they turn their thoughts from things that we do that are not pleasing to you and we give small correctives, would you pour out abundant grace and mercy upon us and show us the fruit of our repentance, the fruit of correction in Christ as you shower us with yourself.

Lord, we pray this because we know your character, that you are a God who gives, that you are a God who gives abundantly more than we ask or imagine. You are a God who’s given your only son, your son whom you love, for us. And so from that character, we plead with you that these promises would be true. And by the power of Christ’s blood, we plead that you would empower us to walk in a manner worthy of Christ. In whose name we pray, amen.