How Do We Maintain the Peace of God?

One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Philippians 4:5b-9.  I have heard countless messages on some portion of this passage but seldom have I heard the passage dealt with in whole.  There are some exegetical keys to understanding the whole text and, unless you use them, you are likely to hear several messages instead of just the one covering the entire passage.  I believe the best title for this passage would be "How to Maintain the Peace of God in Your Life.”  Let me remind you that there are two kinds of peace for the believer in Jesus Christ.  First, we have peace with God when we believe on God's Son as Savior and Lord.  Romans 5:1 declares,

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

When we become believers in what Christ did for us on His cross the emnity between us and God is removed.  When Christ died for the world He removed the emnity between God and man because of sin.  That becomes reality for each of us when we trust Jesus Christ personally.  However, there is a second peace which we receive from the Lord as a result of our salvation.  Jesus said,

My peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you, I do not give to you as the world gives.  Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27

This second peace we receive is the indwelling Holy Spirit who allows us to have "inner peace" in our moment by moment relationship to God.  Unfortunately, life is not friendly to the peace which Jesus gives us daily.  We are constantly being bombarded with temptation, anxious thoughts, and the trials of life which we encounter on a daily basis.  

So what do we do about remaining in a constant state of peace?  That is precisely what the great apostle is telling us right here in this memorable passage.

One of the keys to unlocking this entire text is found between the two "book ends" found in verse 7 and verse 9.  In verse 7, the condition we are being told to possess is "the peace of God which passes all understanding".  That is the first book end.  In verse 9, we are told when we do the three things within this text that "the God of peace will be with you."  This is the second book end.  

Now, notice that this text then discusses three imperatives or commands which we must practice in order to constantly experience the "peace of God" and to have "the God of peace with us" daily.

They are;

1. Pray right........ vs 7.  Anxiety, which means to pull in opposite directions, endeavors to pull you apart spiritually.  There is only one possible and potent antidote for anxiety and that is prayer.  The text commands us to pray about everything!  Whatever you choose to leave out of the scope of your prayer life will likely come back to bite you later!

2. Think right...... vs 8.  Don't allow ungodly thinking but practice thinking about things that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent,  and worthy of praise,  This is not natural for us nor is it always easy.  However, by strategically ordering our thought life toward virtue, we gain incredible benefits.  Isaiah told us in Isa 26:3, "Blessed is the person whose mind is focused on God and His goodness."

3. Do right........... vs 9.  Do the things you have learned, heard, or seen in other strong believers like Paul,  and know to be right.  

Early in my Christian life before I had a confirmed Christ- like character I simply imitated in my life what I saw as good character traits in other respected leaders I was fortunate enough to know.  Slowly but surely I began to become like those very leaders myself.  There is no such thing as a self-made man or woman in Christ!  We need strong examples and good practice constantly set before us.  Our children need intentional training in order to develop into godly leaders. 

For example, if you practice prayer before your kids they too will learn to pray as a godly habit.  If they don't see you praying than they will not consider it to be important!  So what exactly are they seeing in you?  Doing right demands a positive example to follow and it all begins with godly training in the home!

However, because many of us come to Christ as young adults or adults, we need to apply this principle of doing right by imitating good examples in other strong believers around us.  That's exactly why Paul, who wrote this book said in 1 Cor. 11:1, "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ."

Let me simply say that it is impossible to enjoy God's incredible peace without practicing these three spiritual disciplines.  Remember these are commands so don't treat them as just available options!

As you begin to practice them you will be able to enjoy the peace of God and the God of peace...........right now!