FHBC Sermon Notes

What is the peace of God all about? That is the question we attend to today.

Philippians 4:1-9 - Doug Martin guest speaker

In contrast to Galatians which Jim is taking us through, in this book of Philippians, Paul is dealing both with legalism, but also licentiotusness, the belief that anything goes, that more sin is fine under grace.

Stand Firm - V. 1 This is a military term. To stand your ground. In the close combat of the ancient world to survive , one must stand their ground. To flee was to die. To receive the God's peace we must first stand our ground.

There must be unity - v. 2 The things that unite us are the things we find in Christ himself. He is more valuable, more worthy of glory that all our pet issue.

Rejoice in Christ - v. 4 We sometimes get more worked up with over the new songs, over the styles or don't love. It is not the style that we have received, it is the object of our worship, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He alone is worthy of our praise, not matter how that praise comes forth. Let us make him the focus.

The Peace of God Relies on Jesus - v. 4-5 - Our churches are under attack, and that attack in not on our buildings but on our hearts. Jesus is worthy, but he is also sufficient to bring us into unity and to give us his peace.

We are one of the most medicated cultures. There is a time for taking medicines, but we must understand that no drug can give us peace. Only the spirit of Christ gives us true peace.

The peace of God focuses on Jesus - v. 8-9 - Jesus is the one the reveals God to us. To know his peace, we must put our true focus on him. All that is true is in Jesus, all that is honorable is in Jesus.

The peace of God shown through is people v. 9 - God raises amongst us leaders to be examples, to teach and proclaim, but that responsibility falls to all the people. To understand the peace that God has for us will not happen unless we also learn to accept and follow leadership. We have a duty to follow but also to encourage, to pray, to keep that fountain of peace that comes from our head, our savior Jesus, alive and flowing from our hearts. We need to stand up, to stand firm. In Christ alone we stand.