Peace Beyond Understanding

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Short Summary
The discourse reflects on the peace of God described in Philippians 4:7, emphasizing how this divine peace surpasses understanding and guards the believer’s mind through continuous communion with God. It encourages rejoicing always, maintaining a gentle and humble spirit, and focusing on whatever is true, honorable, and praiseworthy as keys to experiencing lasting tranquility amid life’s challenges. The speaker also highlights the loving relationship between Paul and the Philippian brethren and underscores prayer and thanksgiving as essential practices for sustaining this peace.

Long Summary
Detailed Summary of the Discourse on Philippians 4:7 and Related Themes

Introduction and Contextual Example
– The speaker opens by emphasizing how God can transform the ordinary into something extraordinary, illustrated by a personal example of the beauty seen through a west-facing window.
– The speaker describes a natural scene involving a “marital leaf” with a Tanzan green color that turns golden in the sunlight, symbolizing tranquility and God’s creative power.

Central Bible Text: Philippians 4:7
– Philippians 4:7 is highlighted as a foundational scripture:
*“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”*
– Brother Russell’s commentary is cited, explaining that the peace referred to is not human peace but the “peace of God”—a peace rooted in realizing God’s power, goodness, and protective hand over believers.
– This peace acts like a sentinel that challenges hostile thoughts, anxiety, and fear, guarding the Christian’s mind and enabling fellowship and communion with God.

Personal Reflection on Birthdate and Scripture
– The speaker reflects on his birthdate (March 1st) and how it’s connected to the text in Philippians 4, describing it as a personal birthday gift from God.
– The discourse notes a series of “manatexts” (scripture readings or meditations) spanning from February 26 to March 6, focusing on Philippians 4:4–7 and verses 11–12, which form a beautiful thematic section on peace and rejoicing.

Meaning of Peace (Philippians 4:7) and Its Translation
– The Greek word translated as “peace” here (from 1550 Strong’s Concordance) implies tranquility—a calmness that reflects God’s presence and blessing.
– This tranquility is what the speaker associates with the peaceful natural scene described at the beginning.

Philippians 4:1 – Exhortation to Stand Firm in the Lord
– Paul addresses the Philippians as his beloved brethren, calling them his joy and crown, urging them to stand firm in their faith.
– The letter is described as one of Paul’s most loving, full of approval and encouragement rather than reprimand.

Appeal for Unity (Philippians 4:2–3)
– Paul pleads for harmony between two sisters, Euodia and Syntyche, who had disagreements, urging them to reconcile for the sake of the Gospel.
– He also mentions a “true yoke fellow” (likely a fellow worker in the Gospel) and others whose names are written in the book of life, emphasizing community and shared struggle.

Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord Always”
– Rejoicing is described as an attitude of thanksgiving for God’s providential care, essential for experiencing the peace of God.
– The speaker notes that while believers still face disappointments and challenges, their peace acts like a compass, continually redirecting them toward God’s will and calmness amidst turmoil.

Philippians 4:5 – Gentle Spirit
– The call to let one’s gentleness be known to all men is tied to God’s overruling and the humility believers should have, recognizing that everything they have is a gift from God.

Philippians 4:6 – “Be Anxious for Nothing”
– Believers are exhorted to pray and present their requests to God with thanksgiving, especially in dark or difficult times, but also continually.
– This ongoing communication with God is vital for sustaining peace.

Hebrews 4:14 Reference
– The speaker references Hebrews 4:14 to reinforce that Jesus is our great High Priest who sympathizes with our weaknesses, encouraging believers to hold fast their confession and boldly approach God’s throne of grace.

Philippians 4:7 – The Peace of God
– Returning to the key verse, the peace of God is described as surpassing all understanding and as a guiding force for the heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
– This peace is attainable through constant communion and communication with God.

Philippians 4:8 – Focus on Virtue and Praise
– Paul instructs believers to dwell on whatever is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, good, excellent, or praiseworthy.
– The speaker notes this verse is likely one of the most frequently cited and beloved, emphasizing its importance in maintaining peace.
– Staying immersed in God’s word and focusing on these virtues helps guard the mind and nurture the peace of God.

Paul’s Divine Revelation
– The speaker points out that Paul’s teachings didn’t come from man but directly from Christ (citing Galatians), highlighting the divine authority behind the epistles which shape Christian faith and peace.

Practical Application: Continuous Communion
– The discourse stresses the necessity of continual prayer and thanksgiving—not only in hardship but in everyday life—to maintain the peace of God.
– This ongoing relationship with God is the foundation for tranquility and spiritual strength.

Inspirational Quote from Martin Luther
– The speaker shares a quote given by his wife from Martin Luther: “Every evening brings us closer to God,” reinforcing the idea of daily communion and growing intimacy with God.

Closing Reflection
– The discourse comes full circle, returning to the imagery of the window view—now at sunset in winter—symbolizing both the natural beauty God provides and the spiritual peace available to believers.
– The message encourages appreciation of God’s gifts in nature and scripture, and the pursuit of peace through faith.

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Key Bible Verses Mentioned:
– Philippians 4:1 – “Therefore, my beloved brethren, whom I long to see… stand firm in the Lord.”
– Philippians 4:4 – “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”
– Philippians 4:5 – “Let your gentleness be evident to all.”
– Philippians 4:6–7 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your

Transcript

It’s a subject that I’m going to speak about. You could make a 45 minute discourse anyway.

As one example when God takes something that is so commonplace every day and something that appears in your life every single day of your life and makes something extraordinary how to, and I don’t know if this picture is good enough but this is a beauty of my west facing window. Now this is the marital leaf the in the background of weak and it’s like.

But it. It still has that Tanzan green to it. Okay so it’s golden when the sun came up and something comes up all of a sudden and when the sun came up and lit it with this black cloud overcast over the top of was like God just look. I made these hand like a tight lamp.

Understanding how to keep your words in life through Christ Jesus is Philippians 4. 7 and I’ll just go ahead and read brother Russell’s comment on it. He says it is not our peace that is him referred to. It is the peace of God. The peace which comes to us from a realization of God’s power and goodness and willingness to hold us in his right hand as his children.

The thought is that this peace stands guarded continually as a sentinel to challenge every hostile or worrying thought or fear. It keeps the Christian’s mind so that he as peace with the Lord, fellowship, communion and it guards his mind also his reasoning facilities instructing him and assuring him respecting the divine power and divine divine wisdom and love.

There’s been in 1952 and if you do the math, if you take 1952 it’s divisible by four. Do you know what that means? 492. So in other words, if my mom expedited my arrival by one day I would be standing up here 18 years old.

Well not really but I would have. I would have only experienced 18 birthdays up to this point in my life. I’d be. I’ll be 74 years old this coming March 1st when you’re at 10. That’s a big deal.

I’m so thankful I had March 1st as my birthday so I can have a birthday every year. It just takes a Saturday for you. It doesn’t matter much anymore. What does matter is this tax. It’s one of my favorite texts in the Bible and the fact that the Word gave it to me as a birthday text is always and a little gift from them to me that I’ve always just really loved.

And the fourth chapter of the Philippians is a feat of a string of manateex that runs. Let’s see if I’ve got that. Okay. It starts on February 26th and runs through March 6th. It’s March through out of this chapter through 11 and 12.

So I what I need to do is go through this part of Philippians and look at these different texts that are used in the manatext. Because this is just a beautiful section of Scripture. This word peace in 47 is actually translated from 1550. I’m not going to spend a lot of time going through those definitions except the first ones. A state of tranquility.

And I think that’s why this picture struck me that way. It was just a state of tranquility and the beauty that God had put there.

It was just a real gift, and that’s what we need to look for, a blessing. You’re mates Foreign let’s go ahead and start at Philippians, the fourth chapter, starting with verse one. He says there, my beloved brethren, whom I long to see, my joy and crown in this way stand firm in the Lord my belief.

Writes in a reprint 3150 or 3127 in an article that’s entitled Rejoice in the Lord Always. He says, this letter to the brother in Philippi is one of the most loving of his letters we have recorded for our admonition. He refers to them as his joy as well. He contains no reproofs or chiding such as we see in many of his leaders. Instead, this letter has only words of approval, accommodation, and special love.

And the opposite slack for these brethren works both ways. They will examine as much as he loves them. I don’t think we kind of see that here kind of east into eternity. Because Paul refers to them. He says, I urge Euronia and to live in these two sisters didn’t get along too well, and it bothered Paul.

And so he makes a comment. He said, eleven, nobody in the Lord, and indeed a true companion. I ask you also to help these women who have shared my struggle in the cause of the Gospel, together with Clement also and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are written in the book of life. There’s just a real closeness in all of this. He’s telling them to look at harmony and this, this fellow.

You know, there’s some translations that translate this a little different. The King James, it says true yoke fellow, and in fact, I’ve read some commentaries that think that this individual’s given name was yoke fellow, but I kind of doubt it. I think that that was an adjective that was used for him because he was a fellow worker with poems.

This is actually his name. This says Gary.

Anyway, I won’t pronounce anyway that. That one is given name there. It’s. It’s the Greek. Onto verse four, Rejoice in the Lord always.

And again I say rejoice. This is the Manatext for February 26th. Rejoicing implies an attitude of thanksgiving to God for all of his providential overrulings. This attitude is essential to experience this peace of God.

Is this happy state perpetual? Do we reach this peace that’s beyond comprehension and understanding? And that’s just the way we are? We just never come down from that. No, of course not.

This side of the veil, we will always continue to have disappointments. Our good intentions will be misinterpreted. Our plans will be thwarted. The difference is that unlike the world, we have verses like this. It’s kind of like a compass.

You know, when a ship is sailing across waters and it’s thrown to side to side by the waves and the wind, the pilot of the. The ship can always bring it back on course because he has a pilot that directs his way, and that’s what verses like this are for us. It has a melody effect on us. We will be slow to anger and gentle for those around us.

Which is the next verse? Let your gentle spirit be known to all men.

That went fast. Do I only have five minutes? Oh, okay, okay, okay. Anyway, I’ll. I’ll try to speed up here a little bit.

We’re in connection with God’s overruling in our lives to give us the gentle spirit, because it should give us a humble spirit.

What do you have that God hasn’t given you?

Everything. We are gods and everything we have is God’s.

Let’s go on to the next verse. Be anxious for nothing. But in everything, by prayer and supplication, give thanksgiving and let your requests be known to God. This is the Manatext for February 28th. In dark times, that’s what we need to do.

But we need to do that all the time. We need to always have this. This communication going on with our Heavenly Father to have this. This peace of God, and he invites us to visit the throne of grace often.

And we’ll deviate from Philippians here for just a second, and Hebrews, the fourth chapter. At verse 14, Paul says, Therefore, since you have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

We have a high priest that’s able to sympathize.

And so We. We have not only the. The option, but we have a right and even obligation to communicate with our Heavenly Father in all things, and not just during the bad times, during the good times as well, and that gets us to the. Our keynote verse here, that the peace of God.

If we do that, if we commune with our Heavenly Father, we will have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding and will guide your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus, and how do we stay there? How do we stay. You’re saying that it’s possible to stay there all the time, but this. He gives us some suggestions.

He says, finally, brethren, whatever is true and whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is good, of good repute, if there’s any excellence, if anything is worthy of praise, dwell on these things. This is a manatext for March 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th, and I didn’t do enough research to tell you unequivocally that this is a record, but I think it is. If anybody knows of any single verse that’s used more than this many times, I’d like to know about it. But it is an amazing verse, and it’s a verse I’m sure we all deeply appreciate.

Now, in this verse, Paul says that if you stay in the writings that he wrote, you will have this piece, which seems like kind of an arrogant thing to say, but it’s not, because as he says in Galatians, he says, I did not get this from man. He got his revelations directly from companies, and we did, too, because most of our Bibles come from the writings of Paul.

So that is the verse. Just a very quick overview of that wonderful verse. There’s six and seven together. They kind of go together. In order to get this peace of God, you’ve got to have communion with God.

And to have this communion with God, you’ve got to be in a state of communication with Him, and that goes through your day, not just during the bad times. So the slide that my wife, Sister Kathy gave to me, she reads a lot, and she ran across this quote from Martin Luther. It says, every evening brings us closer to God.

I thought that was kind of neat. You might recognize this is the same scene that I started with, except the sun is going down instead of coming up this way, and it’s wintertime instead of summertime.

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