Bible Study Notes - Philippians 4:4-9

Bible Study Notes - Philippians 4:4-9

Writing to his most beloved church in Philippi, Paul offers effective techniques for eliminating negative thinking in this brief passage.  First, he instructs them to Rejoice in the Lord always.”  Music always comforts and empowers; “[it] soothes the savage beast.”  Regardless of any day’s trials and tribulations, the right music can help you overcome them.  Periods of praise and worship encourage us to see our Heavenly Father as awesome and amazing.  As we offer praise with thanksgiving, we realize He is much greater than any obstacles or adversary we face.  However, our praise of Him does not depend upon our circumstances.  It should be equal in good and bad times as He remains unquestionably faithful regardless of our situation or setting.  Hence, Paul directs the Philippian Christians to rejoice all the time whether on days of rain or sunshine.  In the Greek, the word, rejoice, means literally spinning ecstatically irrespective of your surroundings.  Paul reiterates his directive, “I will say it again: Rejoice!”

Second, at the time of Paul’s letter, the Church expected the imminent return and Second Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Some disciples forewent marriage and other earthly concerns as they relegated them to being essentially and eternally meaningless were the Lord to return within a few years.  As “the Lord is near,” the Philippians were to be gentle and caring with everyone with the objective of winning as many people as possible to the Lord.  They emphasis upon saving souls prevented them from entertaining life’s daily negativity as they looked forward to a joyous eternity.  Actually, it helps sometimes to assess the eternal worth of your problems.  Usually, they pale greatly in comparison with the rewards, rejoicing and righteousness of eternity.

Third, Paul simply and explicitly condemns anxiety and negativity.  “Do not be anxious about anything.”  Below, I offer a few practical techniques for eliminating negative thinking.  Yet, Paul states the fundamental and primary necessity of annihilating negative thinking.  Despite where you began life, you cannot progress toward your dreams and goals if you perpetually entertain and nurse doubt, skepticism and complaints.  That mentality questions God’s character as it indicts His past faithfulness.  Is He really able to assist me as I struggle with today’s major challenge?  Negative thinking disregards the biblical promise of divine provision of every need and our Heavenly Father’s sworn testimony through Jesus Christ that He will never leave or forsake us.  We are not helpless and powerless in any situation.  God does no abandon us like orphans left in a crowded public area without any clue.  As His love is unfailing and His faithfulness unquestionable, we have absolutely no need to be anxious about anything we experience.

“In everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”  Prayer and meditation are the most effective means of eliminating negative thoughts.  A cardinal spiritual discipline, prayer allows us to speak frankly, honestly, freely and openly with our Heavenly Father about our feelings, desires, needs and problems.  We petition Him for wisdom, guidance, peace and resolution.  A victim of perpetual sexual molestation, incest and abuse, Celie, one of the main characters in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple, talks with God about her predicament in a very raw manner.  A colleague once shared his need to swear openly and loudly toward the nighttime heavenly skies in order to ensure God heard him.  Hopefully, we can dispense with religious rituals and other formalities as we pray.  Legalisms about prayer such as the physical posture in which a person prays, the length of the prayer or the order of the wording and requests often detracts significantly from the empowerment and encouragement of this essential spiritual practice. 

The other side of this divine conversation is meditation in which we listen to the Holy Spirit as He answers our inquiries and requests.  Our Heavenly Father desires to grant us His loving wisdom and guidance.  Regrettably, we fail to listen as we will not allow the Lord to impart His answer.  Has a relative or friend ever called you seeking your counsel? When this person finally pauses, you begin to share your perspective and offer feedback only to be interrupted rudely by an overly anxious person who talks a mile a minute and need to vent.  We respond to our Heavenly Father in a similar manner.  Fear, doubt and panic permeate our minds and hearts.  Accordingly, we do not allow Him to get a word in edgewise.  However, when we do, He lovingly and graciously surprises us with His infinite compassion and amazing counsel.  In many instances, we realize we are always in His protection and care; thus we need not fret or worry.  Meditation upon His perfect past provision and care equips us to look for its continuance despite the shifting sands of time.  He remains the same yesterday, today and forever.  In moments of silent meditation, we hear His caring voice and feel His loving presence. 

Incidentally, our petitions should be as specific as possible.  God rarely deals with generalities.  His perfect knowledge of our situation yields an equally ideal response.  Ask for exactly what you need!  Bottom line your request.  Have you had the experience of having to pull a request out of someone?  It is evident what they want and need.  They stall and hint hoping you will state their exact need as an indirect way of volunteering to meet it.  Whereas these tactics offend us because the people who make the requests should know us well enough to ask directly, they also offend the holy and loving character of our Heavenly Father who possesses perfect knowledge of our circumstances and loves us unfailingly.  Ask specifically.  Seek diligently.  Knock loudly.

Gratitude is the polar opposite of negativity.  Each remembrance of thanksgiving removes the temptation to fret over things we do not have.  Being thankful is the surest means of always seeing the proverbial glass as half full rather than half empty.  “Gratitude in the attitude” is a wise saying which recommends that we train our minds and hearts to look for something for which to be grateful in every occurrence.  Recently, a cancer survivor shared with our First and Third Tuesday Prayer Meeting that she was grateful for every difficult day on which she was sick and could eat or rest because it was another day in the land of the living and one closer to the healing she eventually received.  An attorney friend who underwent open heart by-pass surgery late last fall shares his gratitude of being spared a heart attack which would have damaged irretrievably his heart muscle and possibly ended his life.  Embedded in the endings of job loss, broken engagements, career ending injuries, divorce and even death are new unimaginable beginnings that emerge through the lenses of thanksgiving.  Simply stated, gratitude enables a person to accentuate the positive and resist the tendency to dwell upon negative factors.

Divine peace annihilates negative thoughts as head and heart agree to seek and implement God’s will.  In fact, God’s presence and His shalom prevents anxiety, fear and negativity from invading a disciple’s mind or heart.  The Greek words that Paul uses in this passage paint a vivid picture of a sentinel standing guard at all hours of the day and night.  No one enters the gates of the palace without identifying himself and being granted permission.   Should someone possibly evade the watchman and armed guard, the latter person shouts loudly, “Halt, who goes there?”  If the guard receives any threat of force or further resistance, he fires his weapon to neutralize and even annihilate this potential danger to himself and the people who he protects.  Afterwards, he arrests the assailant and arranges a proper adjudication of his violation.  The Holy Spirit performs a similar function for disciples as He imparts remembrances of our Heavenly Father’s unconditional and unfailing love and faithful provision.  These reflections equate with firing rounds ammunition to eliminate threats to our well-being.  He impedes the beginnings and development of negativity.  Further, the Holy Spirit reassures us of the Father’s gracious gift of divine power as He comforts us as we overcome these mental, emotional and spiritual tests.  In Latin, the word, comfort, is a combination of cum (with) and fortis (power or fortitude).  Practically, the Holy Spirit comes to us with spiritual dynamite and godly wisdom to assist us in resolving our daily dilemmas.

Additionally, Paul says God’s peace surpasses human understanding.  It does not lend itself to religious formulas and clichés.  Living is peace is not merely the absence of emotional turmoil.  Rather, it is the presence of security, stability and blessed assurance in both head and heart.  Completing a detailed pros and cons lists with a majority of favorable factors does not yield peace when making a paramount decision relating to love, work, health or finances.  Usually, determining whom to marry, which house to buy, whether to accept a job offer, when to move or any number of other main choices is a matter of attaining peace.  How do you know if you are making the right decision?  Certainly, examining the financial, relational, political, spiritual and personal implications for a reasonable and satisfactory answer is necessary.  Yet, a logical evaluation in and of itself will not grant divine peace.  Intellectually, all circumstances may appear fine yet you may still have a foreboding feeling.  Is this the right decision for me and my family?  You cannot experience God’s peace and personal angst simultaneously.  Pay attention to the internal questions and voice. 

Ask our Heavenly Father for His wisdom and guidance in which He will reveal previously undisclosed facts and hidden variables.  His mystical, magnificent and mysterious orchestration of our daily affairs resolves all challenges, provides every need and imparts His peace.  In my move from Nashville, TN to Cambria Heights, NY to accept my current pastorate, Almighty God perfectly coordinated every single detail.  Literally, everything my family and I needed for this move was given exactly when we needed.  In the two years since the move, by God’s grace we have “lived into the move” and proactively affirmed our decision.  Hence, we know with the Lord’s assurance that we made the right decision.  Our hearts and minds maintain symmetry of peace as we daily express gratitude for God’s peace as we moved one thousand and eight hundred miles to a new place for our children as they near adolescence and my mother-in-law as she faces the challenges of her autumn years.  Simple rationality would not have sufficed to yield the blessed quietness we feel.

“An idle mind is the devil’s workshop.”  That adage advises hearers to keep busy in meaningful and worthwhile pursuit as sitting idly potentially leads to dangerous choices and even more despairing consequences.  Lazily watching television and playing video games creates mental vacuums for fear, doubt and negativity to fill.  Paul suggests ideas to the Philippians for their quiet times of reflection.  He exhorts them to think about truth, nobility, justice, purity, love, admiration, excellence and anything else that may be praiseworthy.  If disciples occupy their minds and hearts with these spiritual ideals, then they do not allow negativity an inch in their consciousness.

Paul concludes the passage with a final remark of assurance of God’s peaceful presence.  But, his last recommendation to the Philippian Christians is an instruction to apply “whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.”  The best means of determining the worth of any sermon is assessing its practical application in your life.  Most unfortunately, many churches follow the secular and humanistic trends of American popular culture with an emphasis of entertainment and feeling good.  These hedonistic impulses stipulate the value of a sermon or worship experience depends significantly upon their abilities to make listeners feel good or leave with a sense of enjoyment similar to departing a movie theatre or concert hall.  In great contrast, Paul warns the Philippians against such emotional responses which mimicked the licentiousness and permissive immorality of the Roman Empire during the first century.  Discipleship development, individually and congregationally, depends heavily upon willingness, discipline and commitment to apply Christian principles within daily living.