Welcome to the InTouch Podcast with Charles Stanley for Thursday, December 4th. Are you on the edge of panic because of a situation out of control? Only Jesus can give you the peace that passes understanding. Stay with us to learn how to fix your eyes on Christ and experience real, lasting, unshakable peace. The title of this message is Unshakable Peace.
and you might ask the question, is it possible to have unshakable peace in a world in which you and I live with so many causes for anxiety all about us? And the answer is yes. And the key to experiencing that unshakable peace is found in the book of Philippians chapter 4.
So I want you to turn, if you will, to that fourth chapter. And let's read beginning in verse 5, just the three verses there. Verses 5, 6, and 7 of Philippians chapter 4. Paul writing, remember, out of a prison now. He's not at the beach somewhere in some condominium taking it easy.
He's in a prison cell. And he's writing to these Philippian Christians as a wonderful message of joy and peace. And he says in verse 5, Let your forbearing spirit, your yielded spirit, be known to all men. The Lord is near. And then he says, Now, when we think about peace, we usually think about feeling good.
But in the scriptures, there are two kinds of peace. One of them is the peace that we call the peace with God. And peace with God means that you and I make a decision to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. And that brings to a halt the opposition and the hostility and the enmity between God and ourselves. He forgives us of our sins and saves us and places us into His family and we become the children of God.
That's when you and I experience peace with God. The war is over and we have become His children, no longer His enemies. But after you and I become a child of God, we have to live in this world full of anxieties and fears and frustrations and all kinds of troubles and trials and tribulations.
Now, the Bible talks about the peace of God. And what Paul is talking about in this passage is just that. The peace of God which surpasses all human understanding.
Now, when we talk about peace, let's think about that peace of God for just a moment because we're talking about that tranquility and quietness of the soul, that sense of confidence, that sense of assurance that we have, that stillness that no matter what's going on around us, somehow on the inside, everything is quiet, still, and secure. Likewise, the peace that God gives, this peace of God, is a peace that is not determined by circumstances. That is, circumstances do not have to be a certain way in order for us to experience the peace of God. The peace of God isn't something that you and I are brought into through some change of circumstance. Neither is it a matter of chance or of luck, but it is a matter of choice.
The peace of God dwelling and ruling in your heart and mind in an unshakable fashion is a choice that you and I make.
So as we think about unshakable, that means that it is steady, steadfast and strong, that it is unflinching and unwavering. and therefore no matter what happens that peace remains and we are confident and secure and steady and steadfast and not thrown off balance no matter what we face in life well what is it that gives us the biggest problem and Paul mentions it here in this sixth verse when he says be anxious about nothing that is don't be anxious about anything so first of all let's think for just a moment about the enemy of this peace of God, this quietness and tranquility of soul, this deep inner sense of security that we have in him, no matter what our circumstances may be.
Well, it's very evident that our enemy to peace is this fact that you and I face constantly all types of things that would cause us anxiety, whether it is in your business or in your home or in your school or among your friends, relationships or whatever it might be, even pleasure. There are those moments of anxiety and sometimes deep abiding anxiety, sometimes overwhelming anxiety.
Now the question comes not how do I get rid of it or how do I create such an atmosphere around me that I don have to face that anymore There not a single verse in the scripture that says we ever be able to arrange any kind of circumstance where we are no longer facing troubles, trials, heartaches, burdens, tribulations, because God says these things are coming upon His children. And one of the reasons that all of these verses in the Bible about peace is that God is in the process of assuring us and reassuring us of how we can respond and how to respond when these things come. He doesn't say they're not coming. But let's think for just a moment, what are the real causes of anxiety? I think you and I can wrap them up in two words.
One of them is inadequacy. When you and I face a situation that we feel very inadequate to deal with, we don't know how to deal with it, it's too large, it's too big, it's too great, it absolutely overwhelms us, what happens? When we don't know how to handle it, we become anxious, we become fearful, We get unsteady. We become insecure. And so we begin to feel and sense things that we don't want to feel.
We don't want to sense things that we just had rather not feel this way. And so we say, well, you know, I don't like these things that cause me to have knots in my stomach and furrow on my brow and to be so irritable that nobody around me can get along with me and I make everybody else around me miserable. How do I eliminate this?
Well, feelings of inadequacy are one of the primary reasons for anxiety, that we don't think we can cope with what we're dealing with. A second cause for anxiety is pride. And that is, we are too proud to either go to God and say, Lord, I just can't handle this. God, I don't know what to do. I am absolutely and totally dependent upon you.
Lord, I don't know what to do. Or we oftentimes are too proud to share our burden, our heartache, our trouble, our trial with someone else.
Now listen, there is nothing wrong with saying to someone else, you know, I really need somebody to pray for me. I really need somebody to love me. I really need somebody to understand me. There's nothing wrong with that. God made every single one of us inadequate.
Now if he made me that way, why do I want to strut around like I am? The truth is we weren't made to be adequate. We are not adequate. We cannot handle things in life because God did not equip us to handle life apart from himself.
So therefore, there's nothing to strut about, nothing to be prideful about. Admit, yes, God, we are absolutely inadequate.
Now, with that in mind, Paul says, don't be anxious about anything. But you say, now, wait a minute, there's some things in life that I am concerned about.
Now, it's one thing to recognize responsibility and to have certain concerns about things in your family or in your job or your school or whatever it might be. naturally have concerns. They're natural concerns that God intends for us to have because He wants us to be responsible, not irresponsible.
Now, how can you and I detect when a reasonable, rational concern, a legitimate concern has become an anxiety?
So jot these three things down, and I think it might be of help if you will. First of all, my normal natural concern has become an anxiety when I desire what I want more than I do the will of God. When I desire what I want more than I do the will of God in a circumstance or situation, then I am on the road to anxiety. Secondly, when I am hurried into an hasty and ill-advised action, when I hurry into some hasty, ill-advised action to do something, that is a good sign that my concern has moved over into the attitude of being anxious and fearful and insecure and therefore making very, very unwise decisions. And the third is a constantly agitated in unrest.
That is somehow never happy, never quite at peace, never settled, can't quite be pleased about anything. Listen, that is the life of anxiety. God does not intend for you and me to live that kind of life. The enemy of the peace of God is anxiety.
Now remember this, life is never going to be fixed. Circumstances are never going to be fixed. We're not going to be able to corral it all, put it together, and keep it glued the way we want it.
So we just have to face the issue. There are going to be difficulties, trials, and heartaches, and things that would cause us anxieties and fears and insecurities. And so the question is, how do we deal with them?
Well, the second thing I want to say in this passage is this. It is the will of God for you and me to experience unshakable peace. steady, steadfast, strong, unfaltering, unwavering, unflinchable peace. It is the will of God that we do it. Go back to John chapter 14, verse 27.
And Jesus has been calling himself the Messiah and telling him he was the Savior and all these things. And now on this night, here observing the Passover, he telling him about dying going to leave them going to be separated One of them is going to betray him And listen you talking about anxious moments and frustrations and fears and not knowing what to do and asking who is it Lord Have I done it Am I the one They full of anxiety that night They had a reason to be, humanly speaking. Listen to what Jesus said to them in the 27th verse. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you, not as the world gives do I give to you.
Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Now listen, that's either just some talk out of an itinerant preacher's mouth, or this is the word of the living God in the midst of turmoil and stress and anxiety and fear and real frustration. He said, I want to give you my peace. He said, don't let your heart be troubled. You don't have to be anxious in these moments. You don't have to be fearful in these moments.
I want to give you a peace that will sustain you through this. Because you see, it is the will of God that you and I experience unshakable peace. Look, if you will, in Colossians chapter 3, verse 15, a passage you may not be so familiar with. He says, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body and be thankful. Let the word of Christ richly dwell in you with all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another, with psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with thankfulness to your heart.
He said, let the peace of God rule in your heart. What does that mean? That means in the midst of the storm, in the midst of questions and doubts and fears and uncertain and insecurity. What is the rule is peace, not anxiety, but peace. He said, let it rule.
Why? Because it can rule. And one of the passages that I want you to notice that's probably not quite so familiar. If you'll turn to 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, if you'll notice in the 16th verse, 2 Thessalonians chapter 3, 16. Listen to what the Apostle Paul wrote to these Thessalonian Christians.
He said, Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. Look at that. He says, May the Lord of peace Himself, the three words I want you to notice here is continually grant you peace in every circumstance. He's going to give it when? First of all, it's a gift.
He says, grant you peace. Peace isn't something I manipulate. Peace isn't something I have as a result of fixing anything. Peace, he says, let the Lord of peace, the God of peace, grant you, give you what? He says, continually give you peace in how many circumstances?
How many? Every circumstance, all circumstances. That's why Paul said in this Philippian chapter, he says, don't be anxious about anything. There is a solution. There is a way not to be thrown off base.
There is a way not to be knocked out. There's a way not to be knocked down no matter what that threat is to your life. He says there is a peace that passes all human understanding. And Paul said here, he says, it is ours for the asking.
Now, so he said, first of all, the enemy to this peace of God is anxiety, a natural, normal thing we deal with every day. Secondly, it is the will of God for us to live in this peace, which we say is an unshakable peace.
Now, the third thing I want you to notice here is I want us to look at the description of this peace as Paul describes it, because he describes it right here in this passage. He says, this is the kind of peace I'm talking about.
Now, he says, if you'll notice in verse 7, he says, first of all, it is the peace of God, not peace of man, not peace of circumstances. It is the peace of God. What does he mean by that? That is, it has its origin in him. that is this peace that is unshakable is directly related to a personal relationship with him.
Go back again to John chapter 16 for a moment. In the 16th chapter of John, again, you'll recall there in the upper room going through great difficulty. In the 16th chapter and the 33rd verse, listen to what he says. He says, these things I've spoken to you that in me, look at that, in me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage.
I've overcome the world. He says, you're going to have it in the world. You can expect that. Look for it. Anticipate it.
But he says, in me, he says, you have peace.
So this peace has its origin in God. He says, the peace of God. Look, if you will, in Ephesians chapter 2 and here in verse 14, Paul says it this way. For he's speaking of Christ. He himself is our peace.
that is it is Christ himself who is our peace then we mentioned in Galatians 5 22 the fruit of the spirit is peace and so when we come to look at all of these passages and back again you'll notice we said in second Thessalonians chapter 3 he said is that it is a gift now listen there's no such thing as having the peace of God apart from God himself it is a gift that God gives through a relationship we have with Him through His Son Jesus Christ That why my friend no matter what you try how long you live and what you possess and how many pleasures in life you attempt to enjoy, you will never have the peace of God in your life, the peace that really sustains you, the peace that really tranquilizes your heart and quieten your spirit, the peace that will make you stable and steady and steadfast, unflinching and unwavering. No matter what the circumstance is, there's no way to experience that apart from God through His Son, Jesus Christ. That's why we say to you, you must receive Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. He says, Jesus says, in me you have peace. Christ is our peace.
He is our peace. Jesus said, I give unto you peace. Not as the world gives, give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled. In the midst of great difficulty, He says, I give you peace.
He says, I am your peace. Christ living on the inside of us is the source of our peace. God, he says, is a God of peace.
So he says, he describes it as the peace of God.
Now look at this next phrase. He says in verse 7, which passes all understanding, passes all comprehension. If you wait till you can figure out how God can make you steady and steadfast and strong, that you can be unflinching and unwavering in the midst of all kinds of storms and persecution and heartaches and trials and tribulations and things that you and I absolutely cannot control. If you wait till you understand it, you'll never experience it. He says the peace that God gives, one of the characteristics of this peace is that humanly, you can't figure it out.
Because you see, this is what the world does. The world attempts to create around themselves circumstances and an environment financially secure. And all the rest that goes with what they consider that would create peace, pleasures and meeting their goals and desires in life. They think all of that's going to bring peace. But you look around you, oftentimes it's the people who have the most and the most opportunities and the most privileges and the most wonderful avenues of opportunity in life.
They are the most miserable. Why? Because none of that has anything to do with it. And you see, if my understanding of peace is fix my circumstances, settle my peace. Fix my circumstances, secure my peace.
You'll never experience it because it's not to be found there. Unshakable peace is what he says. beyond our understanding, beyond our comprehension. You can't understand it. Don't try to understand it.
Just experience it. Just enjoy it. And let me tell you why it's happening and what's going on. An unshakable peace, steady, no matter what goes on in your life. But listen to this third thing.
He says now, the peace of God which surpasses all comprehension shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. That is, first of all, he says it's going to protect our heart.
Now, what is he saying? When he says our hearts and minds, what he's referring to here primarily, he's talking about our emotions. When difficulty hits us, fear and frustration, anxiety, emotions get all tangled up.
So he says the kind of peace that he's talking about will protect us. It will protect the way we think and therefore the way we feel.
Now, the word he uses here when he says guard is a military term in the Greek, and it was a term used for the soldiers who surrounded the city to guard it. The word, in essence, means to garrison about. That means to totally surround and protect and to keep and to fortify. And so what he's saying is this, the quality of peace that he's referring to here is the kind that garrisons about. And what that means is this, that the peace of God cushions everything that comes their way.
That's why he says, let it rule in your heart. Let it reign in your heart. And when you and I learn to allow the peace of God to rule in our heart, it cushions everything that comes our way. Therefore, it doesn't throw us off balance. It does not get us out of fellowship with God.
It does not throw us into panic. You see, when you and I are living in Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus is our Savior and God is our Lord and our Master, nothing should cause us to panic. Why? Because the answer to everything in life is living on the inside of us in the person of Christ. He says, don't be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, that your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, will guard, keep, garrison you about so that your mind and emotions are protected and you don't have to give in to anxious, fearful, panicky moments or trials in your life.
Thank you for listening to Unshakeable Peace. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by InTouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
