Characteristics of the Christian Life: Philippians 4:4-7

As Paul nears the end of his letter to the Philippians, he gave four key characteristics of a Christian. 

1. A Christian is one who rejoices in the Lord always, I will say it again, rejoice! See Philippians 3:1. This is a command, not a request or suggestion. Christians ought to be the happiest people on earth. God never intended fun and laughter to be crowded out of our lives. Paul wrote in what follows what the key to such joy is. Jesus related the relationship with the Father to a wedding feast which was always fun. God rejoices when a single soul comes to the Lord. The result of the Prodigal son returning home was a feast as the Father representing God said, “let’s celebrate.” Read I Thessalonians 5:16 Joy is one characteristic that should be evident in every Christian life.

Why should we be joyful? Because joy is the outward expression of an inner peace that comes from the assurance that God has everything under control. An infectious joy goes far in convincing the world that Christianity is real. The Christians to whom this was written had little external reason to have joy but when God is first, joy is present. The celebration of joy is always achieved best in community, in the fellowship of others who share the joy. The church is not an option for joyful people but a place to rejoice together.

The world talks of a happy hour when they come under the influence of alcohol. How about a happy 24 hours when we are literally drunk with the Holy Spirit for Paul wrote in Ephesians 5:18, “Be not drunk with wine but be filled by the Holy Spirit.”

2. “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” The word “gentleness” carried the sense of acting beyond pure justice when the circumstances warranted mercy and understanding. Gentleness, mercy, or patience is a characteristic of God and one of the Fruit of the Spirit that should characterize our Christian walk. It carries the idea of graciously giving to another what might otherwise be seen as our right. We who have known the gentleness of God because of Jesus ought to always be ready to show the same to the world. 

The reason for being joyful and gentle is that the Lord is near.  The term carries the concept of time so means the Lord’s coming is near in time. This reminded the Christians to be ready for His return and that when He comes, He will vindicate His own. It also carries the idea of space. That means the Lord is near to us where we are. The Lord is close. 

3. Christians are not to be anxious about anything. This too is a command. Literally “stop worrying.” Why not be anxious? Because the Lord is near. Read Matthew 6:25-34 and Luke 12:24-30 In the world there is a great deal of uncertainty but because the Lord is close to us and is going to return we do not need to be anxious. Being anxious is the opposite of rejoicing. It’s the opposite of trusting in the ever present and soon returning Lord. When we do not trust God, we become anxious, but when we know He is there, we not only lack anxiousness but possess joy. This is not an argument for pretending that there is nothing to worry about but a challenge to live above worry because of the one who is with us and all He has promised to do in us and for us.

4. A Christian is a person of prayer. We overcome worry when we take everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving and present it to our God. The word “everything” is important to see. Nothing is too big for an all-powerful God and nothing is too insignificant for Him who loves and cares in ways we will never comprehend. Prayer is the alternative to worry.

Paul uses 3 words here to describe prayer. A. Prayer: Simply talking to God. B. Petition: Asking Him for things. C. Thanksgiving: Reflecting on what He has done for us and saying thanks. You do not need to worry about anything because you have taken everything to God in prayer. Thanksgiving may be the key word here. You cannot give thanks and worry at the same time. 

5. The Christian life is characterized by peace, the peace of God: Read John 14:27. It is a peace that is beyond our imagination. The Greek carries the idea of a peace that we could never conceive of or initiate ourselves. God gives it. 

This is not peace with God as a result of salvation. That is the critical first step. Joy, gentleness, a lack of being anxious and the peace that passes all understanding are available only to those who belong to Him. Spiritual benefits are always for His redeemed. 

Paul describes this peace as that which transcends all understanding. As the world looks at us in what they would consider the most trying or difficult of times they discover that we have peace they cannot understand, and we cannot explain. Because of this they will marvel at what our God does. The tendency of the world is to work on some elaborate system or scheme to ensure peace so we can rid ourselves of worry. Turning everything over to God, however, is the only real answer. When we take our cares to Him in prayer, He has a way of assuring us that He is in control and He gives us a peace that we would not have even imagined possible let alone know how to achieve by ourselves.

God gives us that peace by guarding our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Literally He stands garrisonover our hearts. Paul uses a military term associated with standing guard. God is not subject to anxiety as we are and when we trust Him and take all of our cares to Him in prayer and thanksgiving He sets Himself up as the shield against unrest, depression, tension or fear. Those things do not exist in Him and cannot get through Him to us. This allows us to have real joy in the midst of everything.

Notice what He guards. First, He places His protective peace and assurance over our hearts. The term “heart” is used in the New Testament to refer to the seat of emotions and our source of thought and moral choice. His peace gives us emotional tranquility that cannot be found in anything the world suggests as an answer. 

And then He guards our minds. The word “minds” is used to describe our thoughts and thought process. God puts a shield upon our minds. We only need a few moments in the presence of Him who has all power and loves us so much that He gently says, “It’s OK, I am with you.” 

Psychologists earn upwards of a couple of hundred dollars an hour to try and bring a little peace to a troubled society. God says “My peace, I leave my peace with you. I give it, not like the world that charges or gives and takes back.” What the world offers is actually only a shadow of real peace. God gives a peace that comes freely and complete.

Christians are different, even peculiar. We know what life is all about and know that God had a standard of right and wrong that He calls sin. Christians are also different because in a world that seemingly is falling apart, we have joy. In a world where the prevailing philosophy is to get the other guy before he gets you, we know gentleness and show it to others. Christians are different because in a world that seems so uncertain and unstable, we know Him who is the same yesterday today and forever and therefore we are not anxious. We are different because in a world that needs drugs, alcohol and more toys to bring even a measure of peace, we have a peace that passes our ability to understand it because we have the God of peace within. We are different and how glorious that difference is. It’s a difference to be celebrated and to recognize each day.

 Easter 2022

Easter is the most important day in the year and the message of Easter the most important message we must share. It is the most challenging message the world will ever hear. 

Jesus spoke often of His death, but never once did He speak of His death and not reference His resurrection. Read Mark 8:31. The Cross was necessary to provide salvation, but the resurrection was essential if that provision was to be available to us. If Jesus had not risen as He said He would, everything else He said would be open to question.

The message of the resurrection is either the most important event in all of history or the most horrific deception ever fostered on mankind. If Jesus died and was raised from the dead, then all who believe in Jesus have the assurance that they too will be resurrected. If the accounts express only the false dreams of the early Christians, millions of Christians who staked everything on those reports are, in the word of Saint Paul himself, the most miserable of all people.  Read I Corinthians 15:17. The resurrection is at the heart of our faith. If it never happened, then everything else we say falls apart

What evidence is there for the truth of the resurrection? First, it is clear Jesus really died on the Cross. The beatings Jesus received in Pilates palace would have weakened Him sufficiently to ensure He could not have survived a crucifixion. The Roman soldiers, trained in death, verified He died. The embalming process guaranteed He died. 

Since He was dead the only way to come to life again was to be revived as Lazarus was, or be resurrected to life. A revival to life meant in time one would die again. A resurrection was a return to a permanent life that death could never again touch. Jesus was resurrected to a life that would never end. The descriptions given of His post-resurrection appearance and doing things, like walking through closed door and coming and disappearing at will, testify to the fact that Jesus was not merely revived to life. He was resurrected to a new and glorious body. 

The resurrection is key to the message of the church. What evidence is there that Jesus was resurrected?  There are 3 proofs that verify beyond any reasonable doubt that Jesus was resurrected. 

The first evidence is the empty tomb. Matthew 27:51-61 details the burial of Jesus. His body was placed in the tomb and a stone that might have weighed a ton rolled in front of the entrance. A Roman guard of 16 soldiers was stationed to guard the body. They added a Roman seal that meant certain death to anyone who broke it.  

And the body was gone. There is no way to explain the empty tomb apart from a resurrection. The Romans would never have taken it. The guards risked death for losing a body they were called upon to guard. The last thing the Romans wanted was a story of a Messiah that would disrupt Roman rule and peace. They did not move it.

The Jews would never have moved it. They did not want the story of Jesus being the Messiah to go any further and the idea of a resurrection would fuel that belief. If they had taken it, they certainly would have displayed it to prove Jesus was not alive.

Some suggested Jesus’ Disciples took His body to perpetrate the rumor that He was the Messiah. But those Disciples were no match for the Romans. They would never have attempted to take the body from them. They were so scared they were hiding in a locked room. Attacking the Romans was not an option.  

The tomb was empty and the only reasonable way to explain that is that it was empty because of a resurrection.

A second evidence that Jesus is alive is the testimony of those who saw Him following that resurrection. Paul detailed some of those appearances in I Corinthians 15:3-6. There were at least 515 individuals who saw Jesus alive. Can you imagine a court trial today with either side providing over 500 eyewitnesses to prove their case? That would be a no brainer for the jury. 

An empty tomb and 500 plus witnesses should settle the case. Jesus died but did not stay dead. The third evidence is the changed lives of the Disciples who saw Him alive. It was not by accident that the Gospels detailed the response of the Disciples to the arrest and death of Jesus. When Jesus was arrested, they scattered in fear. Peter, who followed for a while, finally denied he knew Jesus and ran away. Only John dared to approach the crucifixion itself. The Disciples were so afraid of what might happen to them they rushed to an upper room, locked the door and hid out. Then Jesus appeared to them. Everything changed. This group of wimps suddenly became men of great courage who boldly stood up to angry mobs and Jewish leaders determined to silence them. They declared they had no other choice but to speak of Jesus. Absolutely nothing but the reality of Jesus’ resurrection could transform them that way. 

It got more dramatic. According to history, every one of the Disciples, with the exception of John, died a horrible death for their faith. Want to know how easy it would have been to avoid an excruciating death? All they had to say was “We made it all up. He is dead.” But they refused to say that because they knew He was alive just as He had said over and over again He would be. 

The fourth evidence for the reality of the resurrection is the countless lives that have been changed as down through the centuries millions of individuals have committed themselves to Jesus because they were certain He died for them and was alive. When they made that commitment, He transformed their lives just as He did the Disciples. 

Jesus is alive. The next question is even more important. So what? Does His resurrection have meaning to us today?

Because He lives. we can have constant fellowship with Him. You cannot fellowship with a dead Savior, but He is not only alive but has promised to never leave us. Jesus can be with us 24/7. 

Because He lives, He can intercede for us with the Father. Read Romans 8:34.

Because He lives, we have a power to victoriously live the Christian life. We are called upon to be different, but we are not left to live that life on our own. Read Romans 6:4, 

Finally, in I Corinthians 15 Paul gives us probably the most important truth when looked at from an eternal perspective. The Bible teaches that Jesus’ resurrection was the first but because of His resurrection God will provide a resurrection for all who believe in Him as Savior. 

We have 100% confidence that Jesus really was raised from the dead and given a new, glorified body. We know He was the first to be resurrected and all who believe in Jesus will share in the resurrection. Because He lives, we can have fellowship with Him. Because He lives, He intercedes for us in heaven. Because He lives, we have His power to live each day as He would have us live. The resurrection is a fact of history relevant each day until we join Him in glory.

Palm Sunday: Jesus Weeping over Jerusalem 

Mark 11:1-11 and Luke 19:41-44

Jesus wept! Any time we see someone in tears we stop and think about it. Our hearts go out to people who are legitimately crying because they are hurting. When we read that in the midst of the account of Palm Sunday that Jesus wept it causes us to want to know more.

This is the second time we read in the Gospels that we read that Jesus wept. Earlier Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. The Greek has two different words to describe one crying. At the tomb of Lazarus, the Greek tells us that Jesus wept (dakruo) what might be called “silent tears”, that is tears that simply rolled down His cheeks. Here the word is different (klaio) and tells us that His weeping was aloud. The word describes when one is overcome with grief and expresses it in an audible crying.

Luke 19:28 tells us that Jesus was approaching Jerusalem from the east, that is from Bethany. He came over the area known as the Mount of Olives and according to verse 37 was about to descend into the Kidron Valley. From there He was able to see the whole city of Jerusalem, It was a magnificent sight especially at the time of the Passover when thousands of Jews from all over Israel and the world had journeyed there to celebrate God leading them out of bondage to Egypt. Jesus saw that great city that was preparing to welcome Him. Verse 37 tells us that the disciples and others began to joyfully praise God. Then, without warning and certainly unexpectedly according to verse 41, Jesus burst into audible crying.

We cannot even imagine what must have gone through minds of the disciples. Why would Jesus be crying on such an important and glorious day? And then Jesus spoke these words of Luke 19:42-44. Read that passage.

There were two parts to His message. The first concerned “this day” according to verse 42 and the second the “day that will” come. “This day” referred to that very day when Jesus entered Jerusalem. He who was the King of kings and Lord of lords had come but, as John noted in the introduction to his Gospel, “He came unto His own and His own received Him not” (John 1:11). Had they received Him things would have been so different, but they refused despite their reception of Him that day. Because they would not accept Him as Savior then verses 43, 44 would become a reality.

Jesus knew that because of their refusal to accept Him as the Messiah judgment would come and 40 years later, in 70A.D, the Roman armies came and totally destroyed the city, leaving it in ruin just as Jesus described it. The Roman army simply sat for well over 4 years allowing no one in or out of the city. Food was long gone so when those who had not already died of starvation or disease were too weak to resist, the Roman army simply walked in as victors. Josephus tells us over a million were killed and nearly that many more taken as slaves to Rome. Jesus knew that was going to happen, knowing it because He was God. Everyone, however, should have known it was coming. God had repeatedly declared that if His people did not follow, obey, and worship Him judgment was inevitable. Like us, however, few Jews believed God would do that to His people. 

(Two important truths from the events of Palm Sunday are first, only God really knows the future and second, that fulfilled prophecy is one of the most powerful testimonies we have to who Jesus was.) 

What should strike us all is how those tears demonstrated so vividly God’s love for mankind, a love that was so strong that God sent His only Son to be our Savior. His love is so strong that He rejoices when a sinner accepts the provision of the Cross. It is so strong that we are assured nothing in heaven or earth, in time or eternity will separate us from it. The picture of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem is an incredible testimony to the depth of God’s love for us.

For a moment think about the city He was weeping over. This was the city that had every reason to love God, obey, and worship God. It was the city in which He made His presence known in a special way in the temple that was there. They had, however, chosen to reject Him and what He had said to them in His word. Read what Jesus said about the religious leaders in Matthew 23:33.

There should have been incredible praise to God in Jerusalem for all He had done for them but instead of following His commands they set up a system of religious activities that only vaguely represented what God wanted. They refused to worship God, accept His Messiah or live the holy life demanded of them. 

If it had been us that day knowing what Jesus knew we would probably have been looking to heaven and saying to the Father, “It’s about time.” Jesus knew what they were like and what they had done but read Matthew 23:27. The love of God is beyond anything we can even begin to comprehend, love displayed so loudly and vividly when Jesus wept over the impending judgment on Jerusalem.

The tears Jesus shed that day should speak volumes to us about the nature of God. Satan wants us to think that God is out to get us, that somehow God delights in zapping us. Unfortunately, too often the church has helped Satan get that idea across. In our zeal to encourage people to live holy lives we have sometimes pictured God’s anger at sin as an overriding characteristic of His. Too often the picture we have of God is of One sitting in heaven making a list and checking it twice to be sure He has down every time we slip up.  

Of course, sin is wrong and every time we sin it hurts God and there are often consequences for us, but God does not delight in discipline or judgment. Sin sometimes angers God. Within a few hours of Jesus entering Jerusalem, He was in the temple area and was so angered by the sin He saw there that He turned the tables of the sinning money changers upside down. But the primary response of God to our sinfulness is tears, tears because He knows full well what we are missing out on because of sin. 

Jesus introduced us to the creator of the universe, the all-powerful God who holds everything together, who knows everything and is everywhere, by declaring we can call Him our Father who is in heaven. Jude tells us we are loved by the one we call father. Read I John 3:1. The tears Jesus shed on Palm Sunday because it was necessary for God to judge Israel for its sin should speak as clearly as possible to us about God’s love.

As we prepare our hearts for the celebration of Good Friday and Easter may I suggest we keep two things in mind. First, let’s keep the seriousness of sin before us. Sin hurts. Sin hurts us and sin hurts God. Sin separates. Sin caused Jesus to have to go to the Cross. But second, Holy Week and Good Friday are not about an angry God striking out against our sin but a loving God taking the judgment of our sin upon Himself. God loves us as the events of Palm Sunday so vividly demonstrate. Let’s remember that the whole week speaks loudly and clearly about how deep His love is for us.