THE PATH TO PERSONAL PEACE
Steve W.
Reeves
stevewreevessermons.blogspot.com
INTRODUCTION:
A. Zig
Ziglar, a well-known sales consultant and motivational speaker, told about a woman who came to him before one of his seminars. She had a scowl on her face
and a chip on her shoulder. “I hate my job,” she said. Ziglar asked her, “What do you
hate about your job?” Without missing a beat, she said, “Everything! I hate the people
I work with. I hate the company I work for. I hate the environment I work in.” Ziglar
responded, “Ma’am, I have good news for you. You won’t have to hate your job much
longer.” She said, “What are you talking about?” He replied, “They’re getting ready to
fire you.” She couldn’t believe it. Ziglar continued, “There is no company on earth that
can tolerate the amount of toxic thinking you are bringing to work.”
1. What Ziglar was saying comes from a Biblical principle.
2. Proverbs 23:7- “As he thinks in his heart so he is.”
B. Do you ever struggle with your thoughts? Do you have peace of mind or is your mind
falling to pieces? Are you dissatisfied, critical and angry?
1. Many people are prisoners in the dungeon of their thoughts. In Proverbs
4:23 Solomon wrote, “Keep your heart with all diligence for from it spring the issues
of life.”
2. Is there any way we can change our thinking?
C. Ironically, the answer comes from a man who was a prisoner himself. The apostle
Paul knew what it meant to be imprisoned.
1. On his second missionary journey, accompanied by Silas and Timothy, he hoped
to take the Gospel into Bithynia but was prevented from doing so (Acts 16:7). As
they stayed in the city of Troas, Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia calling,
“Come to Macedonia and help us” (Acts 16). Readers of Acts will also note that it
was at this point that the author, Luke, began including himself in their number.
2. Arriving in Macedonia they came to Neapolis, Apolonia, and Philippi. Philippi was
primarily a gentile city consisting of retired Roman soldiers. There was, however, a
small group of Jews who met by the river on the Sabbath. Paul preached to them
and converted Lydia and her household (Acts 16:14-15).
3. As Paul continued to preach, opposition arose. He and Silas were imprisoned.
a. What would your thoughts be if you were chained in a dark, damp, dungeon?
b. Would you bemoan your circumstance? Would you question God? Would you
become negative and sour?
c. Acts 16:25, “But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing
hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.”
d. While they were singing and praying there was an earthquake the shook open
the prison bars. These events led to the conversion of the Philippian jailor as he
believed on Christ, repented and was baptized (Acts 16:31-33).
D. Of all the congregations Paul helped to establish, none were as meaningful to him as
the one at Philippi.
1. In his letter to them there is no hint of doctrinal error or heresy.
2. He began by saying, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you”
(Philippians 1:3).
3. These people loved Paul and Paul loved them. This was the only congregation we
know of from which Paul accepted a gift.
4. In Philippians 4:4-8 he shared what I like to call, “three steps for personal peace.”
I. REJOICE
A, Joy is one of the great themes of Philippians.
1. The words “joy” or “rejoice” occur 15 times in the letter. There are 104 verses in
the four chapters of the letter. This is a ratio of one to seven.
2. In Philippians 3:1 Paul wrote, “Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write
the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you.”
3. In Philippians 4:4 Paul added, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say,
rejoice.” Ancient languages used repetition as a means of emphasis.
B. What did Paul have to rejoice about? He was living in miserable circumstances.
1. After being accused of inciting a riot in Jerusalem, Paul was tried and ultimately
appealed his case to Caesar. On his way to Rome he had been shipwrecked
(Acts 27:44-49). Once he arrived in Rome he was held under constant guard by
Roman soldiers.
2. In 2 Corinthians 4: 4-7, Paul declared, “But we have this treasure in earthen
vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not
from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but
not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus
also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being
delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be
manifested in our mortal flesh.”
2. In 2 Corinthians 11:25-28, “Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was
stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the
deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from
robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in
the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false
brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in
hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such
external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the
churches.”
3. Notice Paul’s comment in Philippians 1:12-14, “Now I want you to know,
brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the
gospel, 13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well
known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else, 14 and that
most of the brethren, trusting in the Lord because of my imprisonment, have far
more courage to speak the word of God without fear.”
4. Paul went on to mention that some were preaching Christ out of selfish ambition.
He said that he would continue to rejoice that Christ was being preached.
C. Someone might ask, “Paul, how could you rejoice under such circumstances?”
Paul would respond, “I do not live under circumstances. I live on top of them
because God is with me.”
1. Paul lived with the realization expressed in Romans 8:37-38, “But in all these
things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am
convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other
created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus our Lord.”
2. A little boy was seated by himself on an airplane. When the plane hit turbulence
the woman seated next to him noticed how calm he was. She said, “You are a
brave young man.” He replied, “It’s okay, my dad is the pilot.” When God is your
pilot you can “rejoice always.”
II. RELY
A. Notice verse 6, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and
supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
1. Do you realize that anxiety or worry is a tool of the Devil? He wants to destroy
your peace of mind and steal your joy by creating an atmosphere of anxiety in
your life.
a. He wants you to worry about things that happened yesterday. He wants you
to worry about all of those mistakes you made in the past. I am old enough to
look back upon some mistakes that I’ve made. Can I do anything about them
now? No. They are not worth worrying about. I’ve tried to use them to learn
some lessons. In Philippians 3:12 Paul said, “This one thing I do, forgetting
what is behind.”
b. Satan wants you to worry about tomorrow. Are you doing to have enough
money? Are you going to have enough to eat? Jesus addressed these issues
in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:25-32, ““For this reason I say to
you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will
drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food,
and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air, that they do
not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds
them. Are you not worth much more than they? 27 And who of you by being
worried can add a single hour to his life? 28 And why are you worried about
clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they
spin, 29 yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself
like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive
today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe
you? You of little faith! 31 Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or
‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ 32 For the Gentiles
eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need
all these things.”
2. The word “worry” come from an old English word, “worowen,” meaning, “to
choke.” Worry will choke your health, your mental stability and most importantly
your spiritual life. Worry is a mild form of Atheism. It is like rocking in a rocking
chair. It gives you something to do but you never get anywhere.
B. What is the antidote for worry? Noticed the remainder of the verse, “In everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to
God.”
1. Do you think your problems are too small for God? If He knows the number of
hairs on your head. There is no minute detail of your life that is not important to
Him.
2. Do you think your problems are too big for God? If God can create the world and
everything in it, He can handle your problems.
.
III. REMEMBER
A. How are we to pray? With thanksgiving.
1. Remember everything God has done for you.
2. As Joshua called Israel together prior to his death, God reminded the people of
everything he had done for them. In Joshua 24:11-13 He said, “You crossed
the Jordan and came to Jericho; and the citizens of Jericho fought against you,
and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Canaanite and the Hittite and the
Girgashite, the Hivite and the Jebusite. Thus I gave them into your hand. 12 Then
I sent the hornet before you and it drove out the two kings of the Amorites from
before you, but not by your sword or your bow. 13 I gave you a land on which you
had not labored, and cities which you had not built, and you have lived in them;
you are eating of vineyards and olive groves which you did not plant.”
B. For what are you thankful? Paul reminded the Thessalonians to “be thankful in
every circumstance” (1 Thessalonians 3:18).
1. Do you remember the woman Zig Ziglar met? The one who said she hated her
Job? Here is what Zig told her to do. He told her to write down ten things she
was thankful for about her job. Although she resisted at first, she eventually
came up with a list. He told her to read that list aloud to herself every day for one
month. Sometime later he ran into her and her whole countenance had
changed. She loved her job. She just needed to be reminded of the things for
which she was thankful.
2. When Paul concluded his first letter to the Thessalonians, he stated many of the
same principles found in Philippians 4. “Rejoice always; 17 pray without ceasing;
18 in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus” (1
Thessalonians 5:16-18).
C. The most miserable people in the world are unthankful people. They may have all
the wealth in the world, but if they are unthankful, they are never content.
CONCLUSION:
A. Once there was an old man who lived on top of a hill. He was known for his wisdom
and sound advice. Two boys wanted to trick the old man. They caught a sparrow and
took it to the old man’s door. They were going to ask him if the bird was dead or
alive. If he said, “dead” they would let the bird go. If he said, “alive,” they would crush
it. When the asked the old man he wisely replied, “The answer is in your hands.”
B. Every choice you make has a consequence. Every decision leads to a destiny.
1. For those who follow Paul’s inspired instructions to “rejoice, rely and remember”
the result is found in verse 7, “And the peace of God that surpasses all
understanding will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.”
2. Can you think of a better way to live?
C. Have you chosen to follow Christ? Come to Him in faith, and repentance. Confess
His name and be baptized into Him (See Hebrews 11:6; 2 Peter 3:9; Matthew 10:31-
32 and Galatians 3:26-27).
