to the book of Philippians. Philippians 4. We're looking at Philippians 4 verses 4 through 7. Happy New Year. Happy 2010, beginning in verse 4. Philippians 4. Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Let's pray. Lord Jesus, we come to you again in prayer because we desperately need you. Though we cannot see you, you are alive and our faith fills us with an inexpressible joy. You are so beautiful, so powerful. Would you, Holy Spirit, comfort us, convict us, change us as we face 2010. Do this for your glory and our good in Jesus name. I'm in. I've seen a lot of highlights of 2009. Now you see the highlights of 2009 every magazine comes out with some sort of highlights. Every news station has sort of the highlights ESPN has the highlight, the greatest plays of 2009. I started thinking about 2010. The highlights of 2010 out of 365 days, what will the highlights be? I don't realize something. We don't live in the highlights. We live in the low lights. We live, as Paul Tripp said this fall when he came and did the conference on marriage. We live in the mundane. We actually live in the minutes of a year. So if you have 365 days Lord willing in 2010, you actually have 525,600 unremarkable minutes. How do we live in the minutes of a year where we actually exist in the trenches? Because of Christianity isn't true in the minutes of 2010. Is it true? If we don't experience who Christ is and the reality of what he's done and where we actually live, then is it true? Is it just 52 Sundays out of a year? If this is the only time we think about the gospel or think about Jesus, then how desperate we are? I need Christ. I need help in the low lights of a year. In the minutes, 525,600 minutes in a year, mathematicians. I looked it up on Google. So it's very authoritative. Do you know when I come to a year like this, a new year, I'm always looking for the silver bullet. Some of you may be have given up looking for the silver bullet. You know that thing that's going to turn you in to the man, the businessman, the husband, the friend, the father, that thing. You know they sell that this time of year. Here's 12 steps to becoming the person you've always wanted to be. And Christianity doesn't give us the silver bullet. It doesn't give us one silver bullet, sort of figures things out. You know what it gives us? A relationship in the minutes, in the mundane minutes. And that's what Paul's talking about this morning. That's what you and I need to hear this morning. That in the mundane minutes, he tells us to rejoice always. Rejoice in the minutes. Rejoice always, what does that mean? And the second thing we're going to look at this morning, in verses 6 through 7, don't be anxious ever. How is that coming for you? Don't be anxious ever in the minutes. The first point, rejoice always. And the second point, don't be anxious ever in the minutes. And as we look at this passage, and as we watch it unfold before us, I think you'll be very encouraged. That you'll see a God who's not just with us in the highlights, but he's actually in the trenches with you. And that as you are forced to rejoice, you're forced to ask the question, what am I rejoicing about? What is true joy? And then secondly, how can Paul say, don't be anxious ever? I've been very encouraged in the past week or so that I've been looking at this text. So let's begin. Rejoice always, in the minutes, what's the problem with this verse? You might look at a verse like this and if you're really honest, you might not say it out loud, but you go, I'm so happy for Paul that he's able to say something like rejoice always. I'm so happy for him that he is so full of joy and how dare he? What do you mean rejoice always? It's almost like running with a world-class triathlete and they're saying, come on, you can do this. It's nothing. It's just 24 miles. So suck it up. When you come to a passage like this, do you look kind of looking, go, wow, well, this is Paul and then there's me, right? Just the regular ordinary person that's trying to keep the cheese on the cracker, right? Just like you. But the problem with that, we can't let Paul off the hook so quickly. First, Paul never calls himself some super Christian. He calls himself the chief of sinners. And secondly, and probably more importantly, he's writing to some people called the Philippians. Do you know what the Philippians were like? Us. Yeah, it's funny. You go down through history. One thing doesn't change. Us. The people in Philippi were just like the people in Memphis. The people in Philippi had to work and they cried and they lost people and they struggled and they blew it sometimes and they were regular people in a regular world. Paul is telling them the regular people rejoice always and he says it like a parent. Rejoice always and then do I need to tell you again? Rejoice. You know, parents, you know what that's like. Clean your room. Can you tell you again? Clean your room. Why does he repeat himself? Rejoice always, I will say it again, rejoice. How can Paul say something like this? Unless Paul is talking about a rejoicing that is profoundly different than the rejoicing that I know about. You see, my rejoicing is conditional. I rejoice when I'm in a good mood. You can see me singing and whistling down the halls because it's been a good day. But on a bad day, there's no rejoicing from Ricky Sessions. Is Paul talking about a rejoicing that is totally different? I know he is and the first reason that I know he is is that he's riding from prison. In chapter 1, he talks about himself being in chains. Now, if prison is bad in the 21st century, can you imagine how bad prison was in the first century? Do you know you were actually chained to your guards? He was chained in this particular incarceration. He was chained to one guard on his right and another guard on his left. We're told in the book of Acts. It was likely cold. I doubt the food was great. He was away from his family. He was away from the people that he loves, his church, but he still says, rejoice. In the Lord, I will tell you again, rejoice. So one of two conclusions. He's either out of his mind or he's talking about a rejoicing that comes from another place. And here it is, folks. Paul is saying that there is a rejoicing that is not dependent on where you are currently sitting. He is talking about a joy that is to be known and tasted and experienced that has nothing to do where you presently find yourself. We think a joy like this to rejoice is some sort of general rejoicing. You come to a passage like this, you think, oh, that's great, that's wonderful. I'll rejoice. I need to be more joyful. And if you have that kind of personality, then maybe you can get by. But you don't generally rejoice. You rejoice about something specific. You rejoice because you received a raise. You rejoice because you got engaged. You rejoice because you received a good report from your doctor. You rejoice because of something. You're rejoicing is connected to something. And here this, do you know what Paul's rejoicing was connected to? Wasn't to a prison. Paul, the Apostle Paul, his rejoicing in the Lord was connected to the gospel of Jesus Christ. His joy came from one place, and that is the salvation that he knows in Jesus Christ, that his life is hidden in Jesus Christ. And no matter where he's currently sitting, he can rejoice because there's something that the minutes can never take away. That's how he can rejoice. That's how he can be in prison and be so thoughtful that he can write to a letter to a group of people that are fighting with each other and tell him to rejoice because it's an alien joy. How do I know that? Well, just look at verse 3 of chapter 4. He's writing to a group of people that have sided with two women in the church, Eudia and Sintiki. And he's encouraging them to get along. Listen to what he says in verse 3. I ask you, low yoke fellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the book of life. Now, we just made, you may just sort of read over those words really quickly. Let's consider that for a second. Whose names are in the book of life. It doesn't say rejoice because your names might be in the book of life. Rejoice because your names should be in the book of life. Rejoice because why? Your names are in the book of life. And here's the good news. That eternal reality, that a Christian's name is in the book of life that nothing can ever erase it, including being in a first century jail. That for you Christian, the reason you can rejoice all the time because in those minutes there's never ever change about you. You know what that is? The God of all creation loves you so much that he sent his son to die for you, to be with you. That you will spend because of Jesus Christ's substitution in your place. You will spend eternity in friendship with God and his people. And the only way to truly experience that is not just here on Sunday morning. It's on the Monday minutes. And the way that you experience that is when you stop and say, what do I have to rejoice about? Oh yeah, my name is in the book of life. And as they say in the Delta, if that doesn't light your fire, then your wood, their wood is wet. Rejoice in what cannot change. See, the reason I don't rejoice because I'm more prone to gripping or to whining. And you know the reason I do that is because I'm entitled to happiness here. And so when I don't experience happiness, guess what? No rejoicing. But when our joy is connected into something that will never, ever change, then you're changed in the moment. Paul had a holy obsession with the gospel. I mean it. I know what Paul thought about when he was in the jail. He thought about things like this. In chapter 3, I'll read it for you. He said, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ, Jesus, my Lord. For who's sake, I have lost all things. And you can almost imagine him thinking, yeah, I don't have anything. I consider them rubbish that I may gain Christ. Is Christ Jesus so precious that we really could lose everything. And in having him, we still have everything. How do we do that? What does that look like in the minutes? Paul is giving us a command to rejoice always. And it's a command to consider what we have to rejoice about. Do you see he's such a good pastor? Because a command to rejoice forces us to say, why rejoice? Why rejoice? He says, I'll tell you why rejoice. Your name is in the book of life. I'll tell you why to rejoice. No matter where you find yourself, no matter if you're facing a lion like they did in the first century, Jesus Christ is your brother. Your sin has been blotted out. There's no more condemnation for you. You're a free man even if you're incarcerated. That the command to rejoice in the minutes forces us to remember over and over again who we are in Jesus Christ and to become excited about the gospel. I was one of these Christians and I think I said this before, every summer camp I rededicated my life in Jesus Christ. I think I rededicated my life 50 times because I felt convicted from my sinner here at the gospel again. I was like, yeah, I want some of that. But then I would come home and it would be all downhill because I was still rich and I think, well, maybe next year God, right? Maybe I'll get my act together. Do you see what Paul's saying? You don't need to rededicate your life once every summer. You need to rededicate your life in Jesus every minute. Every minute. And when you rejoice in Jesus Christ, you're reminded of the truth of who you really are, not who you think you are or what you feel like, who you are Christian. It's like a wedding ring. A wedding ring is this wedding ring ring is a constant reminder of who I am and who I'm married to. This ring reminds me that I have made vows that you only get me and my wife. You don't just get richy by yourself. It's always where a package deal now because of this wedding ring. And no matter where I'm sitting, I'm a married man. And do you know what it means to rejoice always? Again, I say rejoice. It's like a constant reminder. No matter where you find yourself, you're married to Christ. No matter where you are, the command to rejoice always. And again, I say rejoice is to remember in 2010 that there is a truth that will never ever change about you. And when you rejoice always, it makes what's eternally true about you come into the minute. I need that, don't you? See, God doesn't want to give us a silver bullet. You know why? He likes us too much. See, we want a silver bullet to sort of figure this thing out and say, God, thank you so much. I figure this thing out. I'll see you when I die when you come back, right? Jesus is, no, no, no. I want you to be dependent upon me every moment of every single day because I love you. And we're going to spend eternity together. The Christian life is a life of dependence. And when you rejoice over something, you actually experience it. See, as Lewis once said, in his reflection on the Psalms, he says, I think we delight to praise what we enjoy because the praise not merely expresses but completes the enjoyment. You know what that means? When I eat a meal that I really liked, I will tell everyone in Memphis about it. And I will, I will shame you if you have an eating at that restaurant because I have so enjoyed this and I'm so excited about this, I'm talking about the butter and the cheese and I'm just painting this picture because you know when I talk about that meal, it actually completes the enjoyment of that meal. And Paul's command for us to rejoice in the Lord over what Christ has done over and over again. You know what he's doing? He's making us complete the enjoyment of the gospel. When? In the month, in the minutes, folks, what I'm telling you is extremely practical and totally impossible. It is totally impossible for you to do this. It's a conscious, dependent upon the person of the Holy Spirit. Folks, this kind of dependence and this kind of joy is not a native weed in our hearts. You know what's native in our hearts? Winning. And so if you see someone rejoicing over Jesus Christ, guess what? You have a Christian.
What if we were a church that rejoiced like that? What if we shocked each other that we rejoiced so much over Jesus Christ? Can you imagine? I can't believe my life has been totally terrible this week but it's strange. I still have this abiding joy. Why? Because my name is written in the book of life. Folks, I do not know what 2010 holds for you. There's going to be some really hard scenes but I do know this. If you long to follow Christ Jesus and you trust in him, your name's in the book of life. Does that matter? That should make us rejoice. Not only rejoice, but also not be anxious, which is our second point. Don't be anxious ever. And that's what he's saying literally. He's emphatic here. In verse 6, do not be anxious about anything. Now does that seem unreasonable to you? You know Paul, you don't know my life. Do not be anxious about anything. But in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. In the peace of God, which nobody understands, which you can't explain, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. It's like the rejoicing. In the minute, Paul is asking us, he's commanding us to remember a truth that the minutes cannot erase. And that truth is God is in perfect control all the time and he cares for you. So talk to him. God is in perfect control all the time and he cares for you. So talk to him. That's the only way that you can not be anxious ever. It's not a civil bullet. It's a minute by minute, life and relationship. Why don't we get anxious? Get anxious because we fear losing control of our lives. We have anxiety because we fear losing control of the lives of the people that we love. Something bad may happen to them. The what if situations, the fear of letting people down, our utter inability to control our worlds. We experience anxiety. Having said that, there are people in this church, I know, that struggle with anxiety. And it's not just sort of a spiritual quick fix that you do this and you get fixed, right? There are also chemical issues that I know about. So I don't want to be one of these preachers up here that says, you know, if you get any help or therapy, then shame on you, know we're complex creatures. And we need help. But what Paul is talking about here is a universal principle for all of us who struggle with anxiety. So I don't want to discourage you if you've struggle with anxiety your whole life. I want this to be an encouragement to you. The deep underneath anxiety is a fear. Here what Paul is saying, that in the minutes, things are going to look a certain way. That in the minutes that pass by in our life, it's going to appear that everything is spinning out of control sometimes. And they're going to be some really hard times. And things are going to seem chaotic in the minute, but he tells us to pray. Why would he tell us to pray? The reason Paul tells us to pray, I'm convinced, there are a lot of reasons, but I've convinced this is the very primary reason, because pray realigns you with reality. You know what that reality is? God is God and you are not. God is in perfect control and you are not in perfect control. And anxiety oftentimes comes because we're trying to do his job. And I don't know about you, but I'm not good at it. That anxiety comes because we're trying to do the job of God and prayer realigns us with reality that God is in perfect control. He made everything. He is going to keep everything together because he is the author and he is the king. It's like Paul said in Colossians 1, listen to this. Jesus is the image of the invisible God. He is the first born-over-all creation by Jesus. All things were created, things in heaven and on earth, things that are visible, things that are invisible, thrones, and powers, rulers and authorities. All things were created by him and for him and he holds all things together right now. Jesus Christ holds everything perfectly together. And when you pray, you're coming to Jesus, you're shepherd, your brother, your friend, and he's holding everything together at this very moment. Folks, are you trying to hold your life together and you think, I don't have it in me for another year? The first thing prayer does is it makes you a creature and it makes you worship the Creator. The anxious never, but pray because God's perfectly in control. The second thing he says is that he's perfectly in control but he also perfectly loves us. That's the second thing prayer does. That this one who's perfectly in control, there's no sweat on his brow, is the one who washed the feet of the disciples, including Judas. He's the one who went to the cross and died. He's the one who we call Jesus our brother.
He's the one that was beaten for us. Don't you want to talk to someone like that? He tells us to pray and give petition. Look at verse seven, verse six, petition with thanks giving for present your request to God. When we pray, it means we go and talk to him. When we make petition, it means we go and ask for help. Now there's a problem. One of the reasons that I'm anxious is because I don't think I need anybody's help. Like a three-year-old trying to play with some toy that can't possibly understand how to play with. No, no, no, no, I got it. I got it. I got it. Yeah, well, you're holding it upside down. You got it. And what prayer does when we come to petition? Basically, God's saying, you're holding it upside down. You need my help. And you know what makes anxiety melt away? God help me. Just help me. I don't have some lofty prayer. I just need your help with thanks giving. Doesn't that follow? Thank you that I can pray to you for help. Thank you for all that you are. Thank you for loving me even though I try to do your job and I'm not good at it. Thank you, thank you that my name is written in the book of life. Thank you, thank you, thank you. And then he says, make your request known to God. That is, get specific with him. Make your request known to him. And then Paul says that well known verse. And then the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Literally, it will garrison. It's a military word. Your heart and your mind will be will be guarded like guard dogs by what? The peace of God. And I can't understand it. Don't you want peace? I wish I could give you a silver bullet for 2010. I really, I want one bad. I could make a lot of money. The Christianity gives us a relationship with the God who wants us to return to him over and over and over again. To come to him, are you anxious than pray? Spend your whole day praying to him. Is it a hard day? Talk to him the whole day. Keep talking to him. And I close with this application. We need to pray. Now does that sound like preacher talk? Of course, you'll pay me to say things like that, right? We need to pray. There are some, there are some exciting things going on at independent Presbyterian Church. We're having great conversations about the future and vision and direction. It's awesome. But if we don't pray,
would hay and stubble folks? Builders labor in vain if the Lord does not build the house?
So if you were to ask me and ask the session what you could do in 2010, what would you really have to do? If you don't do anything, we want you to be on your knees praying for this church and praying for its leaders. I want to know where God wants this church to go. I'm not really interested in my ideas. I'm very interested in His. And you know the only way we find that out, it's not by being anxious, but by going forward. We love you and we need you. Show us where to go. Would you, would you make 2010? Would you commit to pray for us? It's okay if you forget. Would you pray for us? You know there are opportunities on Sunday mornings to pray for this service. Do you know that that's been happening for, I'll probably a year now? People come together in a room and if you feel so led, they come together in a room and they pray for me. You tell what? I don't like that a lot. They pray for me. They pray for us. You know that's why it's been so exciting here. You could be a part of something like that. Let's pray now. Lord Jesus, thank you for these people and I pray that you've been honored. Father, you are so good, so wise and so powerful. We give you all the glory. Thank you for this time. Thank you for my brothers and sisters here. I pray that you will use your word to encourage and to convict and if there are those who do not know you, Jesus. I pray that you, Holy Spirit, would take off the, take off the blinders and soften their hearts and show them that you are the only way. It's in your precious name on the end.