THANKSGIVING AND PEACE

Nobleton Community Church
29084 Sentinel Street PO Box 224
Nobleton, Florida 34661

Rev. Paul V. Lehmann, Pastor
813-389-8683
Nobletoncommunitychurch.org
info@nobletoncommunitychurch.org

OUR VISION IS:
To experience SPIRIT-FILLED WORSHIP AND PRAYER
To be involved in EVANGELISM, DISCIPLINING AND TRAINING PEOPLE
To use our SPIRITUAL GIFTS
To SERVE AND REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST, BOTH
“ACROSS THE STREET AND ACROSS THE WORLD”

Nobleton Community Church
Date November 24, 2024
Text Philippians 4:1-7; I Peter 3:8-11
Pastor Paul Lehmann

Listen to live audio here

Paul wrote this letter to the Philippians while he was in prison in Rome. It was a thank you letter for the offering gift that they sent to him with Epaphroditus (4:8). He has declared to them that he has all that he needs. He was allowed to receive such gifts because he was only under house arrest with an armed guard, but he lived in, probably a rented house. He had not yet been put in a 40 ft. deep dungeon. His overall tone in this book is one of joy. It is remarkable considering his circumstances, but this is the point. He wants the Philippian believers, and us, to rejoice no matter what hardship we may have to go through, no matter what suffering we might have to endure.

Phillippi was located on the northern edge of the Aegean Sea, in the province of Macedonia, which is present-day northern Greece. This church contributed to the missionary work of Paul when he was there, and it continued on even though he had been arrested.

It is not known who the “yokefellow” is. The old English word used in the K.J.V., simply means loyal partner or true teammate. It could have been Epaphroditus since he was the one who brought him their gift. How Paul also addresses a relational problem because he knows there can be no real peace or rejoicing unless there is unity and harmony in the church Paul might be sending him back with these words of pleading or begging that he encourage Euodia and Syntyche to settle their disagreement. These two ladies are leaders in the church. Unlike most Greek women who remained in the background and had little to do with public life, Macedonian women were in every way as active and involved as men. They were more like the position of women in the church and in our society today. Often times this is overlooked when trying to understand Paul’s admonishment to women in his writings.

Paul wants these women to be helped to settle their differences. They worked hard with Paul when he was there, to spread the Gospel. If this doesn’t happen it will effect the whole body of believers. Something to consider in any local church. Let’s not let disagreements stand between us. Let’s always settle our differences by talking about them rather than ignoring them. They won’t go away automatically.

We know that: Three kinds of peace are mentioned in the Bible. There is Peace with God that comes with our salvation (Rom. 5:1)

Then there is the Peace of God that comes with surrender (Phil. 4:7) in our text. This comes when we thank him for all that he has done.

The Peace on earth that is mentioned in Scripture will only come at Christ’s second coming (Isaiah 2:1-4)

Our focus today is on the Peace of God that comes in time of trouble.

Verse 6. Of course, this is easier said than done. For some it is part of their DNA so to speak; they just can’t help worrying. Usually they say, they are just “concerned” about things. This of course is legitimate, but we mustn’t allow our worry or concern, to dominate our lives and our thinking. Imagine never worrying about anything! It seems like an impossibility; we all have worries. For those who are still working like our adult children or grandchildren, there is always something to worry about. ‘Also in our homes and theirs. Then there are worries about grandkids or great-grandkids in school. We have a lot of things to worry about even if you are retired. But Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers. The key is having a thankful heart.

SO WHY IS THANKSGIVING THE KEY TO PEACE?

First of all; THANKSGIVING CALLS FOR “LOOKING UP”

Storms in life may make giving thanks difficult. We all go through times of trouble (John 18:33). The Pilgrims endured many hardships, loneliness, sickness, and malnutrition, when they didn’t have enough food to eat, and nearly half died the first winter. A drought in summer caused them to “look up” to God. A gentle rain came in answer to prayer. A good harvest resulted in the first Thanksgiving.

Looking up to our God as our Helper In trying circumstances makes us thankful people.

Then: THANKSGIVING CALLS FOR “LOOKING AROUND”

We all have many blessings and ought to give thanks for them. Consider Psalm 103, the Psalm of thanksgiving. “Forget not all his benefits.” We sing the Hymn: “Count Your Blessings,” ——“Name them, one by one.” Those benefits and blessings include; sins forgiven, daily health, (even if we are not in complete good health), and He sustains us. Then he gives us food, family, and friends.

We ought to start each day, thankful for his many benefits.

Thankful that we can get out of bed and walk, even if it is with difficulty, and with pain. The benefits of God’s love and grace can be experienced each day.

The benefit of our salvation by faith, assures us of where we will spend eternity

We have the benefit of God’s Word the Bible, which gives us his instructions for faith and practice in our daily lives. We should thank him for the written Word, and that we are able to read it, even if for some, with difficulty, because of our eyes.

We have the privilege of prayer. We do not have to be anxious because prayer makes God’s blessings available. Thanksgiving adds expectation to prayer and allows faith to expect answers. This is when we begin to experience peace in difficult circumstances. Paul tells us that we should pray about everything. Nothing is too small of a concern for God.

In I Thess. 5:16 he says that we should be joyful always, pray continually,

GIVE THANKS IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

Now God’s peace is different from the world’s peace. In John 14:27, Jesus said he gives peace, but not as the world gives. For instance true peace is not found in positive thinking, in the absence of conflict, or in good feelings. True peace comes from knowing that God is in control. Our citizenship in Christ’s Kingdom is sure, our destiny is set, and we can have victory over sin. Let God’s peace guard your heart against anxiety.

We read in I Peter 3:8-11, that we are to live in harmony with one another, and that we must seek peace and pursue it. This is why Paul began that fourth chapter in Philippians by encouraging two women to reconcile their differences.

Finally: THANKSGIVING CALLS FOR “LOOKING AHEAD.”

Doubt cringes and cowers, afraid of what tomorrow may bring. Faith welcomes the future with optimism, expecting the best. Paul reveals what a thankful heart contains. It contains things that are true, whatever is noble and honest, right and just, pure, lovely, good, admirable, and virtuous. (verse 8). We are to think about things that are excellent or praiseworthy. What we put into our minds determines what comes out in our words and actions. Paul tells us to program our minds with thoughts that are honorable. Do you have problems with impure thoughts and daydreams? Examine what you are putting into your mind. Replace harmful input with wholesome material. Above all, read God’s Word and pray. Ask god to help you focus your mind on what is good and pure. It takes practice, but I can be done.

Thanksgiving allows us to believe the best is yet to come.

Is your mind a place for thankful thoughts to dwell, or is it a place where all you think about are impure thoughts, or at the very least, negative dissatisfied thoughts, that end up being expressed? Even gossiped about, if it involves other people. Let’s be careful what we talk about, especially when it involves other people. Maybe your mother or grandmother, were like mine, and said; “If you can’t say anything good about someone, don’t say anything at all!” too often we just say whatever we think. (Sometimes that may be a good thing, )but usually we not only need not say it, but change the way we think about it. It is very hard to be negative, criticize, and be dissatisfied if we are praying, thanking God for what he has done for us, and offering praise IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES —-Like Paul said in I Thessalonians 5:16. But he also said in Ephesians 5:20 that we should always be giving thanks to God the Father FOR ALL THINGS. This is very hard to do and it doesn’t make sense to us. But think about the fact that we don’t have any trouble quoting Rom. 8:28: “All things work together for good to those who love God, and are called according to his purpose.” KJV. The NIV says that…all things God works for the good of those who love him and who have been called according to his purpose. This verse isn’t calling something that is bad, —good, but God will make it turn out good for those who love him and are called according to his purpose. But too often we can’t imagine that we should thank God for something that is hard, or the pain that we have.

You may remember when I have mentioned before about an army chaplain named Merlin Carothers. He wrote the little book “From Prison to Praise.” It tells the remarkable story of how he went from being jailed as a young person, to becoming an army chaplain, and learning how to praise the Lord IN ALL CIRCUMSTANCES, THANKING HIM FOR ALL THINGS, and teaching others to do the same. He has also written another book entitled “Answers to Praise” where he recounts many testimonies of God touching lives and healing people who learned to thank the Lord for infirmities and praise him even in hardship. One such story came from a woman who through his preaching in a Methodist church heard about praising God even for sickness or pain. She didn’t think she would ever be able to do such a thing. She was getting on in years and normally she was not surprised when she had aches and pains. But then she began having back pain that just wouldn’t quit. It grew more and more painful. She was awakened at night with the pain, and the discomfort increased to the point that she could hardly get out of bed in the morning. She confessed that her fears grew as she worried about being completely incapacitated by the pain. She went to several doctors but didn’t receive any help. One morning when she had the worst pain that she ever had, the thought came to her that she had never once been thankful to God for the experience he was allowing, nor had she tried to believe that he would teach her something wonderful out of this. So she began praising god and thanking him for the physical pain she was enduring. This didn’t help a bit she said. Now you might be thinking that—see all that praise stuff just doesn’t work!—It’s true that she still had difficulty getting out of bed. She moved around for a little while and then felt that she had to sit down.

While sitting in a chair in her living room, she—

meditated on thanking and praising God Now I don’t want you to miss this. She specifically took time to pray and meditate on the Lord. It seemed like she was filled with a deep sense of praise to God. She felt praise for God that she had never experienced before. She felt a kind of joy coming up inside of her. She ended up actually being thankful for the pain she had. . When she realized that it was time for her to get up and get something done, she thought, “I’m going to believe that God will just bless and help me all day long and teach me whatever it is he wants me to learn.:; She said, when she got out of her chair and started to move around, she was suddenly aware that she had no pain. She moved her arms and legs and then bent over. To her astonishment, the pain was gone. She had never seen a miracle of any kind in her life. She thanked God for letting her see his wonderful power. She said she may have pains iin the future, but now she knows for sure that God uses everything and will bless us as we trust him.

Merlin Carothers commented on her testimony and wrote back to her, that not everyone is so completely and dramatically relieved of pain as she was. But God has his perfect plan for each one of us. In this women’s case, she shares with people in her group the joy of what had happened in her life.

As God touches us, when we learn to thank and praise him for what we are experiencing; and for what he allows us to go through; others will be encouraged to pray and thank him for their difficulties too. If people have never experienced the Lord’s healing power or his blessing on their lives, they will then be interested in learning for themselves what God can do for them. Each of us plays a small part in God’s glorious plan to reveal his love for all people. You will be surprised at the overwhelming peace that comes when we truly are thankful

Paul concludes this section by saying in verse 9—-“Keep putting into practice all you learned from me and heard from me and saw me doing, and the God of peace will be with you.” You see, it is not enough to hear or read the Word of God or even to know it well, we must also put it into practice. How easy it is to listen to a sermon and forget what the preacher said (especially when I preach). How easy it is to read the Bible and not think about how to live differently. /How easy it is to discuss what a passage means and not live out that meaning. Exposure to God’s word is not enough, it must lead to obedience. God’s faithfulness is great, so we can surely be faithful to put our trust in him.