Thankful for Peace

Message Transcription

Well, it is good to be with you this morning. It's an exciting time of the year. One of my favorite times as well. Brenda, thank you for your welcome this morning. I love that story that you share about the way God is at work in our lives and has a way of mingling our lives together in ways we can't even begin to imagine. Learning to be thankful for that all that God is doing and will do. If you have your Bible turn over to Philippians Chapter four. We'll spend the bulk of our time there together today. But before we get into the Scripture, I just want to ask you to be thinking about in fact, I'm going to invite you to take a challenge that was given to me. It's called the Gratefulness challenge. What would you like be life. Life be like if I said that right? And I say that right life be like if you were more grateful. If you are intentionally more grateful for the blessings and the people and the situations and the circumstances in your life, how might your life be different? Imagine if a whole community gathered together and said, We're going to intentionally be more grateful. What might happen in a community like that, in a city who has a community that dwells in her like that? What if we chose to spend the next 18 days as we prepare for Thanksgiving and gather around those tables, as we love to do with the people that we love and have missed? As we remember all that God has done in the last year.

What if we didn't just leave it up to that one day? But we actually tried to to practice it every day? Maybe in some small ways at first, but where we begin to develop this habit. Dr. Robert Emmons is a professor at UC Davis. He's the leading expert on gratefulness and what it means to be grateful and people who are grateful. He spent over two decades studying this topic of what are people who are grateful? Like what he found was people who are grateful, who commit to regularly, consistently being practicing gratefulness. He said there are physical and psychological and social blessings. He says people who do this report having stronger immune systems, they're less bothered by aches and pains. They have lower blood pressure, exercise more, take care of their health. They sleep longer and feel more refreshed upon waking up. Anybody long for that one? That one just stuck out to me. They sleep longer and they feel more refreshed when they wake up. But not only does being grateful have these physical blessings, he also says psychologically they have higher levels of positive emotions. They're more alert, alive and awake. Some of you may need to jab the neighbor next to you more joy and pleasure, more optimism, more happiness.

But not only that, they said socially how they engage the people around them, he says. They're more helpful, they're more generous, they're more compassionate, they're more forgiving, outgoing. Not only that, they feel less isolated and lonely simply by practicing gratitude. If you're like me, you may recognize that gratitude has never been more important than it is right now. Right lives of gratitude, people who are grateful coming out of a COVID pandemic with the social and the political unrest. Tuesday is going to be a day, y'all. Can we say that? Can we acknowledge it's going to be a day? How are we going to approach that day? How are we going to be a part of the community that we're around? In the midst of all the craziness and hatred of racism and culture, wars and actual war. People in positions to help seem more intent on stoking that fire, contributing to the anger and the vitriol than than helping us find ways to to find unity, as Mark reminded us at the table. See gratitude is not the sentimental experience. It's actually a pillar of flourishing community. Dr. Emmons Research over and over and over again demonstrates this. There's a German sociologist named George Simmel, who lived a century ago, who studied these things. He called gratitude the moral memory of mankind, the foundation of social behavior that keeps society from breaking apart.

He argued that if you took away every grateful action, if it were suddenly eliminated, those were eliminated. Society would crumble. That gratitude is a bedrock pillar of human community. But it's not something that's practiced much in our culture. It's a learned behavior. You notice that when you have a child or a grandchild and they're given something, what is something a parent or grandparent always says? What do you say, little Johnny? What do you tell her, little Susie? All right. Thank you. We think that why? And the kid has a great. Why? Why do we do that? It's something we're learning. It doesn't come natural to us. And yet, time and time again, if we cultivate gratitude in our lives. It's amazing what happens. Dr. Emmons would say that gratitude isn't a side dish. It's it's not an add on like guacamole on your burrito if you're feeling like it. Lord, I think I'll sprinkle in a little gratitude today. Maybe now it's a way of life. It's a way that we approach and face the world. One of my favorite preachers says it this way. He says Gratitude is at the core of human society. It's not optional. It's not an add on. It is not a failure to take seriously the tragedy and pain of this world. It must come precisely in the midst of the tragedy and pain of this world.

This pain in this tragedy that will not be healed in our lives personally or in our society until there are people who are consumed with gratitude. That's why the scriptures talk so much about gratitude, being thankful. In fact, in all of Scripture over 170 times, this topic is brought up over 70 times alone in the New Testament. We're drawn to being people who are grateful, who give thanks. But again, it's not something that comes naturally. So we have to be intentional. So the gratitude challenge for this month, I invite you to take along with me is would you practice being grateful every day for the next 18 days as we head up to Thanksgiving Day? Would you start to practice on a daily basis being grateful? Dr. Emmons. His research would tell us that if we're serious about doing this, one of the first and best ways to make this become a habit in our life is to keep a gratitude journal. Maybe some of you do this as I was talking with Kaylee about my message this week, and I said, Hey, I'm going to do this gratitude journal thing. You want to try it with me? You know, your response was, I already do every day and I want good for you. Because, see, she stumbled into the reality that Dr. Imus points to us by by studying the world around us, that that people who practice this, noting gratitude, who write it on a list, who write it down in the journal, who name it at the beginning or the end of the day, they they exercise more regularly.

They report fewer physical problems. They feel better about their lives as a whole. They're more optimistic about the upcoming week. They're more likely to have made progress toward important goals in their life. Our gratitude is this habit. It's a it's a posture that we can grow in. It doesn't come naturally. So would you join me in this practice and this growing? So what I'm doing is I'm keeping a journal at the at the end of the day or beginning of the day. More likely for me, I'm going to write down just 3 to 5 things that I'm thankful for, blessings in my life, people, circumstances, opportunities. And each day I'm kind of varying up what I'm looking at. But I invite you. There's several different of these exercises online. You can find one and download it and try it yourself, and I invite you to take that challenge to be grateful. This morning I want to spend just the last couple of minutes together looking at this passage from Paul as he's riding to this young church in Philippi, a church that we learn back in chapter four. Actually in chapter four, we learn there's this conflict going on between two friends.

You ever had two friends in conflict? You ever been in conflict with a couple of friends? We know the story. Things get said that should not have been said. Right. Pride is engaged in walls come up and sometimes it feels like the only thing that's going to break through is the Holy Spirit doing something. And so Paul's writing to this young church and he says, Encourage these two to have the same mind that Christ Jesus did. And those of us who are familiar with Paul's letter, that kind of takes something off in our brain that goes this takes us back to chapter two, where he says, Have the same mind in you that Christ Jesus had, who being in very nature, God did not consider equality with God, something to be grasped, something to be taken advantage of, but instead He humbled himself. And this beautiful, beautiful picture of the mind of Christ. Paul comes back to it here and he says, Help these two. My faithful companion, he says. We're not sure exactly who that is, but. But he includes the church in that help. These two have that mind that that poem in chapter two wasn't just some random Oh, hey, I just thought of this. I came across this. You might want to look at this, but rather he had some some idea in mind of where he was going. That being grateful in a community has a power to transform it from the inside out.

And then he gives them this interesting command. He says in verse four, Rejoice in the Lord always. I love how Austin read that just a moment ago. Rejoice, exclamation. And remember, we're reading our West Texas translation. This is the plural. Rejoice, y'all rejoice, rejoice. And Paul's day rejoicing wasn't just this individual non-contact sport rejoicing celebration. It was a communal thing, he says. Rejoice community. Because in his day, those communities, those cities, they rejoiced about all kinds of things. They would they would create all kinds of festivals and parties for their gods and goddesses, for their cities, for Caesar himself. And so in Paul's mind, why wouldn't the church celebrate Jesus? Why wouldn't they engage in that same kind of rejoicing? But it's going to look a different way. It's going to look like the kingdom of God. You're going to see some qualities come out that he's going to describe. The first one being celebration involves this prayer that helps us overcome anxiety. Anxiety was a way of life for so many in Paul's day. They lived in constant fear that they might say something or do something that would anger one of the gods and they'd be punished. And so they never quite knew what was going on around the corner. And I know that may seem kind of strange to us, but have you ever worked for a boss who you weren't sure how they felt about you and that you knew? Each day as you show up, you better do the right thing.

You better perform. Maybe it's been a relationship that you were in. You can sense some of the anxiety and the fear that comes with never knowing exactly where you stand. That was a way of life in Paul's day sometimes. And even today, it's our way of life. But Jesus didn't guarantee a a stress free, a pain free life. In fact, he says just the opposite. Paul joins them in that he doesn't guarantee no pain. What he guarantees is God's presence. No matter what you face in your life, no matter what you're going through, God is with you. And not only is he with you. He is for you. And not only is he for you. He is working. He's working on your behalf. Do not be anxious about anything, Paul writes. But in every situation, by prayer and petition with Thanksgiving. Present your request to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Boss says, When we pray, when we give thanks, even in the midst of really hard things, God does this amazing thing called peace. He gives us peace. He argues, One way that we battle worry and anxiety is we pray.

And Paul, like Jesus, invites us to pray about all kinds of things. Sometimes one of the things that keeps us from praying is we think God doesn't care about that. That's too small, that doesn't really matter, and yet it does to us. But I can't really. I've got to get better wording. I've got to learn how to talk to God before I can. Paul says, No, no, no. Just present it to God. Give thanks that you have a God who listens. Who cares who is with you? Who is for you? Who is working on your behalf? Be thankful because this peace is going to come. And it's not the stoic robotic. I feel nothing. I don't worry anymore. Right. Hey, you guys like that robot, right? I worked all week on that one, you guys. No, it's this, though. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Because I know you're with me and your rod and your staff. It comforts me. And amidst of craziness of circumstances that turn out in a way I would have never imagined that God is with me, that there is a piece for ends that comes. That it's beyond understanding. And those of us on the outside look at it and go, How can you live that way? And that's just God's. I know God is with me. I know that he is for me.

I know that. That the love that we have for when nothing can separate me from that. Paul says there's a peace that can come that the world can't touch. And he says it guards your heart and your mind. And it's this image of of soldiers surrounding a citadel, right surrounding a city, making sure nothing gets past. This peace. It protects our hearts. But not only do we see that those prayers. That helps us overcome anxiety, but we see that the patterns of thinking begin to change. As we start to celebrate intentionally, we start to recognize and notice and name the the ways of God's good creation. Instead of being consumed by anxiety and worry, we're free to allow the Spirit to begin changing us, to begin working on us. He tells them to intentionally think about, listen to what he tells them. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true. Whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable. If anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things and imagine if this could be the flow of thoughts in your mind. In my mind. Why would we want to think about anything else if we could spend our time thinking about these things? When Kelly and his favorite rom coms, chick flicks, whatever you want to call it, it's called Return to Me. There's a scene when she's out painting in her father's garden in the back.

And this guy that she likes and he likes, he kind of walks up and sees it and she at first kind of gets shy and I don't want you to. Well, then she shows him and he said, Wow. Have you been to to Italy? It was a picture of an Italian kind of a sidewalk area. She said, No, it's only in my dreams. I've just seen it in my dreams. And he said, Man, I bet you can't wait to go to sleep. There's something so powerful. About the peace of God at work in our lives, that it changes how we view the world, that we begin to think about all that's lovely and noble. It draws our attention to the goodness of God, and that changes how we engage and interact with people. It's such an Antonin. This list is just full of antonyms of what we find in our world today. I just turn on the local news, the global news, the national news. And it's almost this exact opposite. Things that are untrue, ignoble, false, impure, ugly, detestable. Viktor, vicious and blameworthy. Think about these things. Our culture is constantly trying to get us to dwell on not the goodness of God's creation, but all the ways it's been messed up and how it's coming for you and how you need to be scared. That's not the way of a kingdom.

See, it's impossible to be a person who rejoices, who celebrates, who gives thanks to our good and beautiful God, if the only thing we fill our mind with. Is the the word of the world. Instead, we need to be the kind of people who pursue thinking about the things of God, all that He's given us to celebrate. So our prayers help us overcome anxiety to to celebrate the goodness of God, which overflows into the way that we think and the way that we see. And Paul will say, actually, then we'll impact the way that we live. And so he ends with this incredible word. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put it into practice and the God of peace will be with you. Paul says, Follow me as I follow Christ. Being grateful and thankful has so changed the way that he lives that he would be willing to invite someone. Just if you're not sure what to do, just watch me. Just follow me. Just listen to me. And see and hear and then do. I mean, who of us could say the same thing? Paul again draws us back and. And the God of peace will be with you. And a life of thankfulness leads us to a life of peace. And remember, this is something we learn, which I love how Paul reminds us immediately after this first verse ten.

Listen to what he says. I rejoice greatly in the Lord. That at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I'm not saying this because I am a need for I have learned. If you have that Bible with you, you can mark it and just invite you to underline that it's going to come up another time for I have learned, I've learned to be content, whatever the circumstances and know what it is to be in need and know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him. Who gives me strength? This way of life, of thankfulness, of gratitude. It's not something that comes naturally. In fact, most of the world is trying to shape and form us in a different way. So we're going to have to be intentional church. We're going to have to learn like Paul did. We have to start putting it into practice. And hence is my pursuit in this gratitude journal invites you to whether it's a journal some other way. Invite you to take this gratitude challenge this month. Say we want to grow in our gratitude because we recognize that leads us to a way of seeing the world one another and God that brings a peace into our lives so that we can be thankful, God for the peace that we experience, even in the midst of hard things.

And some of us church, we're going through some hard things. Doesn't minimize it. Rather, it meets us right there in the midst of it to remind us we're not alone, that we don't walk this road alone. We are together, that God loves us and he is for us. And so we church can be thankful. God, Thank you so much for your word that inspires and challenges us to live in such a way. That we can't wait to wake up in the morning. To see how you will be at work in our lives. Oh, God. Would you help us to be a grateful people? That here in our community that we would celebrate and honor and rejoice over people, friends, fellow followers like Tim and Becky, who have given their whole life to living this way. And Lord, they'd be the first ones to say they're not perfect at it. They haven't been. Began Their pursuit for you has been shaped by their intentional way of living. They gather your strength. They've been able to face all kinds of things. So God, would you continue to strengthen them? Hg How would you continue to strengthen each of us? May we put this life into practice? May this season of Thanks may not.

May it not just be a word, a thought, an idea, but it would actually become our way of life. Got so many in this church have been living this way for so long. And I'm so, so incredibly thankful for that. Would you help us to learn from them? May they be like Paul was to this young church to say, Watch me, listen to me, follow me. Yeah. I mean, we live in such a way that we could in turn tell those around us, the people that that don't know hope they don't know true gratitude. They don't know what it means to have a God of peace who's not ready to zap them or send them to hell, right. For every mistake they make, but instead a God of grace and love who longs to bring redemption and reconciliation. In fact, that's why he's given us this vision. To be a people who partner with you and your reconciliation of all creation. God, you've challenged us to be a people who pursue you. Who built community in such a powerful way that others can't help but see the blessing. The joy, the life, the peace that comes. That overwhelms and overflows into unleashing compassion in our city, in our world. Oh, God, we want that. May that be so for us today, we pray. In Jesus name, Amen.