Shabbat Shalom! Please open your Bibles to the book of Philippians, please. We are going today to read from Philippians chapter 4. I am going to read the first nine verses. Please follow me as I am reading. Paul, Shaul, continued to write in his letter to the brothers and sisters in Philippi, and he says to them now, Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech the Lord. I beseech Eudius, and beseech Sintiach, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the Gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers.

Whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally brethren, whatsoever things are true. Whatsoever things are true. Whatsoever things are honest. Whatsoever things are just. Whatsoever things are pure. Whatsoever things are lovely. Whatsoever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things, those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me do, and the God of peace shall be with you.

Beautiful passage. When I read this passage again and again, it really speaks volume because here now the letter is towards the end. Paul is in prison writing to the Philippian believers and he's just about to close that letter and now he's writing to them, you might say, almost his final words of encouragement. And really the theme of these verses today is the need of God's peace in our lives as we walk here in this world. Brothers and sisters, you know very well that oftentimes we as believers don't have the peace of God in our lives. There are many troubles around us. Almost everyone that I speak with and you speak with me, we share with each other that there are so many challenges that exist in our personal life, in our family life, in our job life, in our school life, in our fellowship life as believers.

And when we look around beyond our own personal life and we look in our own personal life and we look in the world in which we live in, every time you will just turn on the television, turn on the computer, read the newspaper, turn on the radio. And yet the apostle Paul from prison writing to the believers that Philippians desiring from them to have the peace, the shalom of God in their lives. Notice, there are two expressions here that I read. Notice that it says in verse 7, And the peace of God which passes on the standing shall keep your hearts and mind through the Messiah, Yeshua.

And in verse 9, at the end, it says, And the God of peace shall be with you. That is the whole thought that the apostle Paul is now going to present before the believers is really wrapped up by the need of shloma Elohim, the peace of God, and the assurance that the God of peace, Elohei ha-shalom, is going to be with those who are following the instruction that the apostle Paul is just about to give them in this portion of his writing. Now, let me just say another thing before we're going to go over those verses. Remember that the book of Philippians has four chapters. And the theme of every chapter is the person of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

We said already in our previous ministry meeting, the chapter 1, the theme is the Messiah who is alive. Philippians 1, verse 21 says this, For me to live is Christ, is the Messiah, and to die is gain. In chapter 2, again, the theme is the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, and the theme there is the Messiah is our example. And we read, of course, Philippians 2, and verse 5, where he said, Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, in the Mashiach Yeshua. That is chapter 2. Then we have finished in our previous ministry meeting to deal with chapter 3, And the theme of chapter 3 is the Messiah is our object.

And we read, if you remember, chapter 3 and verse 10, where the words is saying this, Notice, He is the object and Paul wanted to know him even more, to know the power of his resurrection life. He wanted to live as if he already died and rose, and he lived in the resurrection power, to live for his Messiah, his Lord and Savior, Yeshua, the Messiah. So now we are in chapter 4, and really the theme is Messiah, Mashiach, is our strength. We didn't read the verse, but in verse 13, we read, I can do all things through Christ, Mashiach, which strengtheneth me. That's the theme of the fourth chapter.

And so what now Paul is writing to the brothers and sisters in Philippi, he wanted to encourage them to have the peace of God in their lives. Imagine how many believers do not have the peace of God in their lives. We can see it in our own life at times. We oftentimes are troubled with so many things. We are anxious about so many things. There are issues to deal with, with our families, with our finances, with our health, with our bosses and our workers, or whatever we have, with our friends, and even among ourselves with the brothers and sisters, and sometimes we don't even sleep at night because our mind is spinning about what he said, what she said, what he did, what she did, what they have done for me there, and I cannot get that, and I cannot do this.

And we cannot even sleep sometime at night because we haven't handed up our problems to the Lord Jesus, Yeshua, our Messiah. And that's why the Apostle Paul is writing this portion of chapter 4 in his letter to the Philippians. Another thing I want to mention here also that is important, to distinguish between the peace with God and the peace of God. The peace with God we have once and for all when we have accepted our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. Romans chapter 5 and verse 1 says, notice that, The peace with God has been provided for us once and for all when we have accepted Yeshua as our Lord, and our Messiah, and our Savior, and our Savior.

And it is only through him that we have positionally once and for all peace with God. Shalom, Im, HaElohim. Once and for all we don't need to gain it and to earn it because it was prepared for us and provided for us when our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, have died for us on the cross, on the tree. But the peace of God is another story. This we only get as we submit to the Word of God and to our blessed Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. So look what Paul is now saying to the brothers and sisters here in this passage. Actually, verse 1 of Philippians chapter 4 really takes us back to all what he had already said in the previous chapters.

Notice he used the word therefore. In other words, therefore take us back to what he had already written for us, written for the Philippians in the first three chapters. In light of what I have already told you in this letter, brothers and sisters of the Philippians, therefore, now notice what he told them, I would want you to stand fast in the Lord Jesus the Messiah. He says in verse 1, Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, and long for my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. In light of what I have already told you, Shaul Paul is saying to these brothers and sisters, listen, I'm longing so much that you will stand fast.

In other words that we can say, that you have spiritual stability in your life. Don't be one time in a mountain, the next time in a valley, and unstable in your walk with the Lord. He says, I want you to stand fast. The Hebrew word here, to stand first, is la'amod chazak. To stand sure and fast. In other words, have spiritual stability in your life. And how sad when many of God's people are not stable in their walk with the Lord. In fact, if you read carefully the book of Ephesians, which we have already studied, the gifts that were given to the body of Messiah, the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians chapter 4, if you remember, he says the reason that the gifts were given, it's because of the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Messiah, until we all come into the unity of faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a mature man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Messiah.

In fact, in chapter 4 of the book of Ephesians, he says that the gifts were given because the people of God have inclined to go with every wind of doctrine and they are not stable. They are like the tree. The wind is pushing it one way, it moves one way. Pushing it another way, wherever the wind is coming from, they are not stable in their walk with the Lord. And so Paul is writing and he's saying, Brethren, I love you so much. You are number one, my joy. Number two, you are my crown. You know why he says you are my crown? Because the Philippians were led to come to know the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, through the Apostle Paul.

And they become like a crown for him. In other words, a crown is a reward. When he's going to stand before his master, Yeshua, the Messiah, he's going to give him crowns, rewards, because of his faithfulness in sharing the gospel, building the brothers and sisters, edifying the believers, and therefore they become a joy for him, but also a crown, a reward from the Lord. Not that he's seeking after rewards, but it is a natural way when we are faithful in our walk of the Lord, he's going to reward his own people, so he desire them to stand fast in the Lord. Notice he doesn't say stand fast for your own rights.

You know, sometimes we're saying, I'm standing firm. This is my right. And I deserve this. And I've earned this. And I worked hard for this. This is my right. He doesn't say so. But he says, Stand fast in our Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah. Learn from this wonderful person, the Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah, who loved us so much and gave himself for us. You see, this expression, stand fast, is mentioned quite a few times in the Epistles. For example, in 1 Corinthians 16 and verse 13, the Apostle Paul says, Stand fast in the faith. Stand strong. Be stable in your trust and faith in our Lord, Yeshua, the Messiah.

In Galatians chapter 5 and verse 1, the Apostle Paul says, Stand fast therefore in the liberty where with the Messiah had made us free. He mentioned this again and again in his letters that he wrote. In Ephesians chapter 6, he said that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. So he want the believers in Philippi to stand fast. In other words, to have spiritually speaking, they will be established, not in anything else except that in the Lord, Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. We need so much the Lord to help us so we can be, in other words, standing fast in the Lord as we walk with him because there are many things that are coming across in a believer's life and he or she needs so much to stand in a world in which we live in to stay steady in our walk with the Lord.

There is a verse in the book of Proverbs that Shlomo wrote in Proverbs chapter 24 and verse 10. Listen to this. If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy strength is small. This is what Shlomo, the king of Israel, wrote in Proverbs 24 and verse 10. Now, I think he was speaking about me. He was speaking about you. Because when the rough time is coming and opposition is coming, we have not the spiritual energy to stand true to what we have learned from the word of God. Now, imagine, brothers and sisters, who is saying this? The man that is in prison. The man that is sitting there in Rome bound by chain.

He is telling to the brothers and sisters of Philippa, stand fast in the Lord. When he was in prison, he was not here weeping for himself, but he was concerned with the welfare of the local believers in the city of Philippi. And in order to stand fast, we need to have the peace of God in our lives. We need to settle our matters with the Lord and to say, listen, it doesn't change. The Lord has done so much for me. He is faithful. He is near me. He is always going to lead me on. Other verses that come to my mind in Proverbs 3, verses 5 and 6, trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him and he will direct thy path. It's not only a New Testament teaching. The people of Israel historically are very own people needed it for their own lives themselves as they are living here in this world. They needed instruction and encouragement to continue to follow the God of Israel in their days before the Messiah, Yeshua, came to this world. So, stand fast. But remember, he says, dearly beloved, I love you my brothers and sisters. You are my joy. You are my crown. What I'm telling you will always benefit you because I'm telling you because I care for you. I love you.

You are my brothers and sisters in the Lord Yeshua, their Messiah. I want to just read one more verse in Psalm 27 and verse 1. Listen to this. This is the Psalmist David said, the Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I feel? The Lord is the strength of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid? I mean, this is amazing to think how David trusted the Lord and he says, He is my light. He is my salvation. He is my strength. I am going to be able to continue with his help to stand fast in the Lord. And so from here on, in the next verse 2 all the way to verse 9, he gives us four things that he is presenting before the Philippians.

The first one is verses 2 and 3, to seek to have peace among God's people. The second point, verses 4 and 5, he is addressing the Philippians to seek to have peace with all men in this world in which we live in. Then verses 6 and 7, he is continuing and he is saying, seek to have peace in your very own heart, with your own self. And finally, in verses 8 and 9, he says, seek to think and do things which are right before the Lord. Four points I would like to now share with you a little bit in these remaining eight verses. So the first one, of course, is the exhortation to seek to have peace among God's people.

This is something that we know very well that is so needful. Everywhere, and I am speaking now as I am nearly 40 years in the faith, in the Messiah, and every time I know that this is a conflict that we constantly have. We really see the struggle that is going among God's people. After all, who are God's people? Sinners that have been saved. And now they became part of the family of God and God had saved us. And now we are walking here in this world and oftentimes we find ourselves in conflict with other believers. And so Paul is now writing, and you notice what he says in verse 2.

He's speaking about two sisters that were in the city of Philippi. See, it's not always the brothers who fight. Sometimes the sisters fight. And notice how he's appealing. He's not only commending. He could have commended. He's an apostle. But he's beseeching. He's appealing to the heart, to the conscience. And he says, listen, I beseech Iodias and I beseech Cynthia that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help these women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellow laborers whose name are in the book of life. He first of all began by dealing with the local assembly at Philippi.

And you notice how beautiful. He twice used the word I beseech. I beseech Iodias and I beseech Cynthia. Apparently, there's two women in a local congregation at Philippi that had an issue with each other. And we have to realize that whether it is two men or two women, whenever we have friction among each other, we cannot move along. Those frictions are not going to build the body of Messiah. Those frictions are not going to help people grow spiritually. You and I know that. And we oftentimes expect the other to change his heart or his conscience or the other to change her heart and conscience instead of, first of all, speaking to my own heart myself.

And so Paul is beseeching them. And by the way, it is very interesting because the names of these two women, Iodias and Cynthia in the Greek language is a sweet fragrance, Iodias, and Cynthia simply mean pleasant. Imagine, with a name such as sweet fragrance and pleasant, please stop to fight. My oldest son, his name is Shalom. He's not always living up to his name. And you might have a name that means such a sweet name and maybe like sweet fragrance or maybe something such as pleasant. Are we behaving in a pleasant way? Are we a sweet fragrance to our brothers and our sisters? You see, it is interesting with such a name to live up to this name in the midst of the local congregation.

And so Paul beseeched them. You see, apparently, it may have been known already in the local assembly in Philippi and if there will not be peace, if there will not be Shalom among the people of God, you will always be under stress. You will not be happy. There will not be growth in the assembly, in the congregation because all these frictions only hurt the spiritual growth not only of the others but of my own self. Every one of us that is in conflict with another consistently, he or she will never enjoy the peace, the Shalom from the Lord because these conflicts need to be judged, need to be examined and set aside so they can continue walking with the Lord.

So Iodius and Cyntius apparently did not have the same mind on certain issues. Now obviously, you know, we cannot agree with each other about everything and we cannot always agree with someone else about everything but one thing, beloved brothers and sisters, this is the responsibility that we have before the Lord that we should seek to have peace among the people of God. It's better to sometime take the wrong than to always have our own way. And again, notice he says have the same mind. It always takes us back to chapter 2 and verse 5. Let this mind be in you which was in our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah.

And as he says, you remember in chapter 2, who being in the form of God, thought that not robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no reputation. In other words, he didn't make a name for himself. In other words, the lesson is are we seeking name for ourself, reputation for ourself, position for ourself? You know, God gives us those things as we serve him. He opened the door for us and the brothers and sisters recognize our gift and give the room for the service. But we don't demand it. We don't force it. We just need to learn from the Lord Jesus, from Yeshua, the Messiah, and to have the mind of the Messiah.

And so he says, listen, sweet fragrance. Listen, pleasant. You tell these two sisters that they should have the same mind in the Lord. To have the mind of the Messiah in their life. That will make peace, shalom, among the people of God. that will make peace among the Philippian local assembly if these two sisters will have the mind of the Messiah together. And imagine how wonderful it is to go to a local congregation, a local church, and to see the believers in harmony. I mean, it's so beautiful. It reminds me of the song that we often sing, He nema tov, umanaim, shevet achim gam yachat, Psalm 133.

We sang it in Israel since I was, yeah, hi. Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. That when there is unity among the believers, it's pleasant, it's good, it's a blessing for the people of God. But when there is no unity among the people of God, it only sow a seed of discord and a whole growth that God intending for the believers are, you might say, shut down until there is a dealing with it and confession and repentance and forsaking of this and moving forward in our walk with the Lord. And you know, when you think about this among our own people, you remember the time when Israel had been divided into the northern tribes and the southern tribes.

When the northern tribe, the ten tribes of Israel did not want to acknowledge David and David's grandson now as the king of Israel. And the nation was divided. And then they started to fight among each other. Imagine how sad it was in the heart of God. Even though there were twelve loaves on the table in the temple in the city of Jerusalem represent the unity of the twelve tribes of Israel. You went out of the temple and you look at the condition and you see ten tribes in the north, two tribes in the south, and they are not in agreement with one another and there is conflict and can look at the way the church is today.

The body of Messiah. They are all scattered and divided. Not all the divisions that occur among the people of God is because of doctrine. Many times the divisions among the people of God is because the people of God are not broken before the Lord humble enough to say, not my will, but the Lord's will will be. And most of the time friction happens among church groups, congregation group, assembly group, division, and splitting is because we will not learn the mind of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. I'm going to get my way or it is the highway. I'm going to do my own thing, we often say, and there is no lesson from the Lord.

And imagine how it grieves the heart of the Lord. Imagine how it breaks his heart when he sees the people who he loves so much and he's saved and he's brought to be part of the family of God. Imagine how it grieves his heart. Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4, there is one body and yet he says earlier, endeavor to keep the unity of the spirit in bond of peace. It takes effort. It takes exercise of heart. It takes humility. It takes brokenness not to fight among the people of God. So look what he says now in verse 3. After he directly mentioned the name of these two sisters which are called Sweet Fragrance and Pleasance, Iodias and Cynthia, then he says in verse 3, Paul now requesting from his yoke fellow to help them.

You know, sometimes instead of helping and binding people together, we are oftentimes adding to the friction. And so Paul is saying I entreat thee also true yoke fellow help those women which labored with me in the gospel. Now imagine, now these sisters were laboring for the Lord. They were serving with the apostle Paul in the ministry of the gospel but they couldn't walk together and have one mind together. And so they needed help. And here we are speaking to you and I, he says, listen, brothers and sisters, are we going to help to bind people together? Or are we going to help in breaking them even further apart?

What a beautiful ministry to see a brother or sister. In this case he called him yoke fellow and someone suggested that this yoke fellow is none other but Apaphroditus, the one who was carrying the gift to Paul and he was now going to carry this letter back to the Philippians. He says, I beseech you also true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel with Clement also and with other of these fellow laborers whose name are in the book of life. Now brothers and sisters, listen, they do not need to seek for name for themselves here because their names are already in the book of life.

You see, they are already registered in the book of life. We know from scripture we have the book of life and the Lamb's book of life. The book of Revelation chapter 21 used the expression the Lamb's book of life. The book of life is the record of all the people that were born into this world. The Lamb's book of life is the record of all the believers who not only were born into this world by physical birth but they were also spiritually were born into the new life, receive a new life in the Messiah and he's saying, listen, their names are already written in the book of life so they don't need to worry about the name for themselves.

And that's why he's saying to them, you fellow, help these women. Do something about it. In other words, add to their unity and harmony rather than allow them to go further and further apart and it's only not going to help the local assembly at Philippi. And you know how many divisions happen in local church and congregations and assemblies because people simply were so headstrong. Instead of humbling themselves and taking the place like the Lord, they wanted to have their own will and many churches groups. You'll ask around, you'll see how many people are going to say, oh, I know who. He and he or she and she could never get along and they went at each other and they end up splitting the whole church, the whole assembly, the whole congregation.

And so the Apostle Paul requesting from this yoke fellow and most likely it is Apaphroditus of whom we read in chapter 2 and verse 25, yet I suppose it necessary to send to you Apaphroditus my brother and companion in labor and fellow soldiers but your messenger and he that ministered to my needs. Paul is saying about Apaphroditus, he said, listen, my yoke fellow, he said, please help this. In this case, of course, it's two women but in any situation it could be two men. we need to help each other. We need to make sure that we are peacemakers. You remember what the Lord Jesus said in Matthew chapter 5?

He says, blessed are the peacemakers. Those that make shalom among the brothers and sisters, those are the ones that will be such a blessing, they will be honored by the Lord. We know that from scripture, there will be such a reward for the peacemakers. Brothers and sisters, I'm encouraging you today and I'm encouraging myself, wherever we are in our local fellowship situation, let us the Lord to help us to be bridge builders and not those that harm the unity among the people of God. I can tell you, if we will be in such an attitude, we are going to be so blessed by our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, it's going to reward our hearts going to be satisfied when we are bringing people together.

I'm not saying we all need to see everything in the same way, to dress with the same clothes, to walk in the same way, but one thing for sure, we are to seek to make peace among the people of God. This is so important and so Paul writes in Philippians chapter 4, seek to have shalom among the people of God. I want to have one more verse to read to you in John chapter 17, Yeshua, praying to the Father before he went to the cross, to the altar, to give himself a ransom for many. Look what he's saying, in verse 20, I do not pray for these alone, speaking for the disciples, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word, then verse 21, that they may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that thou had sent me.

You know, that was the prayer of Yeshua the Messiah just before he had gone to the Garden of Gethsemane to prepare himself for his death on the altar. And so this is what Paul is encouraging the brothers and sisters, seek to have peace among the brothers and sisters in the local assembly, local congregation. Well, this is important. I encourage all of us to have this desire to seek to be those that are not fighting and hurting each other, but blessing each other, and not by force, but simply humbling ourselves before the Lord and taking the place that the Lord had given unto us. Well, notice, and I'm continuing now, Philippians chapter 4, and verses 4 and 5, now he's extending that.

He says, not only that we are to have peace among each other, it's a great testimony to the world, but now he's saying seek to have shalom, to have peace with all men, beyond, you might say, the boundaries of the local congregation, outside in the world. All of us are doing something here in this world. Some of us are working in one area or another, carpenters, you might say, some of us are painters, otherwise fixing cars, mechanics, in any area. You know, we are all in area of our life. Well, how is our relationship with our fellow men? What do they think about us as believers?

Do they look at us and say, oh, this arrogant believer in Jesus, the Messiah, what does he think himself or what does she think herself? Well, Paul is saying, notice he began in verse 4 and he says, rejoice in the Lord. And again I say, rejoice, and then he continues in verse 5, he says, let your moderation or gentleness be known unto all men. The Lord is nigh, is at hand. So now he's saying, look, not only that we want to have peace among God's people, but we also ought to seek peace wherever we are among all men, wherever the Lord placed us, at work, at school, we are to be able to seek as much as it is within us, shalom, peace, with our fellow man.

And how are we going to be able to do it unless we have the joy of the Lord in our hearts? And so he began in saying here in verse 4, he says, rejoice, notice again, not rejoice in your circumstances only, but rejoice in the Lord. You remember he already said it earlier in verse 1, stand fast in the Lord. Everything is linked with the person of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah, and he says, rejoice in the Lord how many times? Always. And again he says, I want you always to rejoice in the Lord. You know, rejoicing in the Lord does not mean that our problems are going to be over, that everything is going to be fine in our life.

This joy is much more than just simply being happy. I mentioned that before that happiness depends upon how things happen in our life. And if you are like me, I'm happy when things are well. But I'm not so happy when things are not so well. But to rejoice is a cut above. It's a joy that comes of my and your relationship with our Lord Yeshua the Messiah. If our relationship we are walking with Him and enjoying fellowship with Him, there will be joy in the Lord because of who He is and what He has accomplished and how precious He is to the believer in Yeshua the Messiah.

And He reminds us again of the price He paid for us which we don't deserve to receive. And He reminds us again of what He has done coming from heaven to become the Messiah the Mashiach to be nailed to a cross and to be judged by a holy and a righteous God on your behalf and mine because we have sinned and we needed forgiveness of sins. So that produced joy in the person of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah and that helps us to be able to, as it says here in the next verse, to let our gentleness be known unto all men because the same Lord Yeshua is nigh, He is close to us.

in Hebrews He says I will never leave you, I will never forsake you, I will be always nigh. You remember He said in Matthew chapter 28, Lord I will be with you all the way through, even unto the end of the age. You know that right now even though we don't see the Lord with our eyes, He is right here in the midst of the people of God. He delighted to see you and I reading the Bible, the Word of God. He delighted to see the believers listening to the Word of God. He delighted to hear you and I singing about Him. We can rejoice in the Lord.

Today we can do it but also wherever we are found in our lives. You know, think about some of the older men of God many, many years ago. We have the book of Habakkuk here. Turn with me for a second to the book of Habakkuk in the third chapter, the book of Habakkuk. Just turn there for a moment. Here's the prophet of Israel, some years ago, he's writing now about his situation in his life. Look at this. Habakkuk is now writing some of the words. I want to read them. Habakkuk chapter 3. And look what he said in the difficult days in Israel history. Although the fig tree shall not blossom, verse 17 of Habakkuk chapter 3, neither shall fruit be in the vines.

The labor of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat. The flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls. And then he said in verse 18 of chapter 3, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. And I will joy in the God of my salvation. Now you would ask Habakkuk, why is it that you can say that you will rejoice in the Lord? Look at the situation among your own people. They were fighting among each other. And God said I'm going to send the Kaladins, the Babylonians to punish the people of God. And yet Habakkuk says I know God and He loves our people Israel.

And he says listen, even there will be all these issues that happen in the life of our people Israel, yet I am going to rejoice in the Lord. And I will joy in the God of my salvation. When things are difficult and problems happen in our life and we feel as if God does not seem to be around and if things are going to be difficult in the life of the believer, the believer can still turn to the Lord like Habakkuk of old, the prophet of Israel and say yet I'm going to rejoice in the Lord. He is the one who gives joy to the heart of the believer.

You know when everything passes here in this world, the only thing that is left for us is to be with our Lord in heaven. We were just talking, some of us earlier about the verses that is found in 1 Corinthians chapter 13, the love chapter. And we're just pointing out to the fact that prophecy will end. Even faith will turn into sight. But the only thing that remains is love. Love never fail. And the love of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah, towards us towards us. We can experience this today and we can enjoy it today because this is exactly what we are going to enjoy in eternity when the Lord chooses to take a believer back home to be with him.

Rejoice in the Lord now because the Lord delight to have you rejoice in him. It will help us in our relationship with the world around us. Turn to Isaiah for a moment also. We want to see the history of the people of Israel. And Isaiah says in chapter 41 and verse 15 says, Behold I will make thee a new sharp threshing instrument having teeth. Then verse 16, Thou shalt fend them and the wind shall carry them away and the whirlwind shall scatter them and thou shall rejoice in the Lord and shall glory in the Holy One of Israel. God promised our people Israel that he is going to restore them and ultimately Israel shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.

Isaiah said later on in chapter 61 and verse 10, look at the nation of Israel prophetically speaking in chapter 61 verse 10, I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful in my God for he has closed me with the garment of salvation he has covered me with the robe of righteousness.

Brothers and sisters you and I are forgiven people our sins have been dealt with the price have been paid there is much reason for us to rejoice in the Lord like we are exhorted here by the apostle Paul and so there is a blessing for those of us who are rejoicing in the Lord and that will enable us as it says here in verse 5 of Philippians chapter 4 let your gentleness be known unto all men because the Lord is at hand the Lord is near notice he used the word gentleness the word for moderation let your moderation should really be gentleness and humility you know when the world around us look at you and

I what do they see in us an aggressive individuals or people who are meek who are gentle like we learned from the Lord you know one of the things that attract unbelievers is when they see believers who are attractive in their mannerism in their behavior and to see this attitude of gentleness and humility is the way in which God attract the unbelieving world to the person of the Lord who said in Matthew 11 come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest take my yoke upon you and learn of me for I am meek and lowly you know he is the one that can teach us to

be in such a way so seek to have peace among God's people Philippians 4 verses 2 and 3 seek to have peace with all men Philippians 4 verses 4 and 5 in Romans 12 and verse 18 said if it is possible seek to have shalom with all men we are not always successful others not always desire it but from our point of view we are to seek to be at peace with others around us wherever we find ourselves in our life well next it says here in verse 6 and 7 another thing that is important is to seek to have shalom peace with our own self an inward shalom you might say a personal peace

a personal shalom in verses 6 and 7 look at it it says in verse 6 be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and your mind through Christ Jesus here is now the third thing that Apostle Paul requesting from these brothers and sisters it is to seek peace now in internal peace everyone every individual are to seek an individual peace of God in our own hearts there are so many things that trouble the believer in his or her life issues that rise up in our life life is not easy

there are trials there are tribulations there are difficulties yesterday I had a call from a sister we talked about tribulation you know we have to distinguish between the great tribulation of the prophet Zechariah and Jeremiah and the tribulation that we experience in our life as believers this great tribulation mentioned of course also in Daniel chapter 9 Jacob's trouble Sarat Yaakov in Jeremiah chapter 30 that has to do with the period of time in human history at the end last days that there would be trouble here in this world specifically God's judgment going to fall upon the face of this earth that is yet to come in a future day but we as believers have tribulation

every day if any one of you can tell me brother Gideon I don't have any problem things are all well with me I'll kind of question where you are in your spiritual relationship with the Lord you and I experience problems in our life it could be in our family situation in our work situation our health situation anything in our life we have problems in fact Yeshua said in this world at the end of chapter 16 of the gospel of John you are going to have tribulation but be of good cheer I have overcome the world so notice what he says now in verse 6 to seek to have shalom peace within our own self he

says in verse 6 take all your personal cares to the Lord in prayer you know when I read this passage the Lord does not say be careless or what he's saying that share your burden and your cares with the one who cares for you and so he says be careful for nothing but then he reverses but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God notice the three expressions prayer supplication thanksgiving prayer tefillah supplication thanksgiving to say thank you to the Lord and so he's really saying in everything share your burdens with the Lord years ago a sister told me when I first became a believer brother Gideon

don't begin the day without to tell the Lord your needs I remember my grandfather many years ago when I was a very young boy in Jerusalem getting up in the morning the first thing he did he was taking the time to pray and we have to realize that we need to share with God everything that we are going through in our lives he wants to hear it he wants to have this fellowship with the believer with his own people and he said you know in everything Paul by praying by supplication you know supplication is beseeching God how many of us have things that we can beseech God for Paul already says in the earlier verses

I beseech Eodias I beseech Sintia and then he says you supplicate beseech God for certain things for things in your life not only to pray and to ask him for things but also beseech him on behalf of others brothers and sisters we can beseech the Lord and supplicate on behalf of our own families many of them are lost and maybe some problems that existing in our home life in our job situation and we can ask the Lord Lord help me I need your help I don't have wisdom on how to deal with this problem help me Lord I need you to help me and when we go astray we can say to the Lord Lord

I fail you and I confess my sins before you and I beseech you to restore me back to yourself how many needs we have in our life that we can supplicate and share this with the Lord and do you think he doesn't know the problems that we go through he knew that before it happened he knows that when it happened and he knows what you're going to happen after it happened and he said I want to hear you sharing with me all the challenges that you go in your own life in order for you to have shalom the peace of God we need to turn to the Lord in every situation of our life how

many broken situations exist in the life of the people of God to whom shall we go we can make a phone call to each other we can talk back and forth about everybody else but we fail to take the time to take it to the Lord on our knees in the closet to tell him here is the situation Lord please help I need your help and also notice that he continues he says that with thanksgiving not to neglect to say thank you for what you have provided for me what you have given to me what you have done for me in my life Lord I thank you in everything by prayer by supplication by thanksgiving

and then notice let your requests be made known unto the Lord you and I might say but doesn't he know everything already of course he does but we want to hear you and I share this with him he want that you and I will tell him the situation that exists in our own life he delights to hear his own people sharing the burdens that they have in their lives in Matthew chapter 6 and verse 25 Yeshua said therefore I send to you take no thoughts for your life what you shall eat and what you shall drink nor yet for your body what you shall put on is not the life more than meat and the

body is more than raiment behold the fowls of the air for they sow not neither do they reap nor gather into the barn yet your heavenly father feed them are ye not much better than they you know it's easily said one brother said many years ago we trust God for our eternal soul but we don't trust him for a piece of bread we trust God for our eternal destiny but we don't trust God for many of the challenges that we have in our life I speak for myself it's amazing how real it is and so the Lord want to hear us praying Peter said to the first century Hebrew believers in first Peter chapter 5

and verse 7 he said casting all your cares upon him for he cares for you he cares for you brothers and sisters he cares for me he cares for the people of God and that's why he's exhorting us he says listen in everything by prayer and supplication and with giving thanks let your request be made known to God and you know what's going to happen if we're going to do so there will be shalom in our hearts because the next verse 7 he says and the peace of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and your mind through Christ Jesus through the Messiah Yeshua you see if we share with the Lord and

telling him our problems and share with him the situation in our life our failure and whatever we have in our life what is going to happen is that there will be peace shalom in our hearts because we have unloaded you we share with him our burden and he can give us that peace that will enable us to continue on to follow him and notice it says here and the peace of God shalom ha Elohim which passes all understanding it will keep your hearts and it will keep your mind but it is only through the Messiah Yeshua Christ Jesus so precious to see this in this letter of Philippian chapter 3 so brothers and sisters seek

to have peace among each other seek to have peace with all men seek to have peace in your own hearts by sharing with the Lord all the things that you are going through in your personal life now finally in verses 8 and 9 he said to them to seek to think right things which will lead us to do the right things you know Solomon the king of Israel said as a man thinketh so he is Proverbs 23 and verse 7 I don't know about you but many many thoughts coming into my mind all day long many things spinning in our own mind you know the devil is a master in putting all kind of thoughts

in your mind and in mine he doesn't want you to think about the things of God so he putting all kind of things into our mind and of course the sin nature that we have is so sinful that many evil thoughts rise up in our own mind many things that are not honoring to the Lord rise up in our own mind the way in which you catch a person and you steal from him or her the relationship with the Lord is by capturing his or her mind often time the Bible says that the eyes of your understanding in other word God uses the understanding of men to speak to him or her but also the

enemy used the mind of men in order to drive us away from the Lord and so Paul is now saying to the Philippians he says listen have your mind think on those things that are good and that which will be honoring to the Lord and so notice in verse 8 he says think on good things and he gives you a list look at this verse it says in verse 8 finally brethren whatsoever things are true whatsoever things are honest whatsoever things are just whatsoever things are pure whatsoever things are lovely whatsoever things are of good report if there be any virtue if there be any praise listen think on these things you know there's a

list here the list is something that which is true honest just pure lovely good report virtue or excellent and praise think on these things you know when we watch television for example it is amazing how those who send to us all these information through the TV often time knowing how to get our mind with all kind of garbage that which is no good you don't find some beautiful movies you might say of wholesome movies to attract you and to make you think about that which is positive most of the time you find things which are drawing our mind into all sort of things which are not right with God and that's how the world does

that's how the world is working and that's how Satan works and that's how the sin nature in us works and yet God says no Yeshua said no Paul is instructing the believer brothers and sisters if you are going to have this peace of God you got to think of that which is number one true number two honest number three just number four pure number five lovely number six good report number seven virtues number eight praise think on the things which are honorable to the Lord I read a remark like this listen to this remark you saw a thought you reap an action you saw an action you reap a habit you saw a habit you

reap a character you sow a character and you reap a destiny in other words whatsoever man thinks so he is as he thinks so he is how many times our mind is filled with that which is not honoring to the Lord and Paul is saying from prison to the brothers and sisters in Philippi whatsoever things are true honest just pure lovely good report virtue and praise think on those things and then he says because these things are so important because it will help you in your life Joshua the leader of Israel was told this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth and thou shall meditate upon a day and night meditation thinking

of the words of the Lord then you're going to have good success then you're going to progress and you'll have good success Joshua chapter 1 and verse 8 the first psalm is speaking about the two men psalm 1 blessed is the man that walk is not in the counsel of the ungodly no stand in the way of sinners no sit in the way of scornful but his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law does he meditate day and night and he shall be like a tree that is planting by the rivers of water that bring forth fruit in its season think on those things he says think of that which

you think that are wonderful and lovely and so on and then I'm going to close with verse 9 if we have good thoughts in our mind and we think on good things it will help us to do the right thing because immediately in verse 9 it says here those things we just read about those nine things that I mentioned here he says those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me Paul is saying do them and the God of peace Elohei ha shalom will be with you so what he's concluding here beloved brothers and sisters is not only to think about them but as a man thinks so he

will also do and how a time when our thoughts are not right we fell into sin and later on we felt sorry that we haven't had the right thoughts and we end up not being a blessing at the end the Lord is always able to restore us but the Lord wants us to think and to meditate on those things which are pleasing to the Lord you notice he closed the word and the God of peace will be with you not only the peace of God shalom Elohim but the God of peace the God of the shalom is going to be with the believer because we we have we aligned ourself with his thoughts and we

honor him in a manner in which the thought pattern have been in our life well may the Lord just help us in all this to seek unity among the people of God to seek shalom among all men to seek shalom in our own life and to seek to think and to do that which is right