Phil 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  -ESV

Everything around you might be chaotic and falling a part but God offers you peace of mind and joy in the midst of it all. One can live in full confidence and faith that everything is going to turn out for the best for you and yours (Rom 8:28) in Christ Jesus.

God the Father personally offers to give you His peace and joy—a peace that the world outside of Jesus does not understand or comprehend. It is available to you for the asking, no matter what your circumstances.

You may be engulfed in a nasty divorce and see no daylight at the end of the tunnel. You may have lost a child and you are even blaming God for it. That good job that you had for years is gone and you can’t seem to find another. You may be behind in all of your bills and the family car was just repossessed. It doesn’t matter—God promises you peace and joy in your life regardless.

You say Michael that is just crazy—there is no way that I can have any peace while I am going through this or that.

That is the point of course, God the Father offers all Christians a peace that doesn’t make sense in the ways and understanding of this world.

Here’s how it works. Every Christian has the Holy Spirit actually living inside them even though most of the time we ignore that presence. How incredible it that?  The creator of the universe actually has placed a part of himself inside of each one of us. It is that Spirit which can transform our lives and bring us peace and joy, faith and confidence, in the midst of sorrow and chaos.

It all begins when we choose to worship and praise God no matter what—in bad times and good. The Holy Spirit will flood our lives with peace and joy if we choose to take everything to him in prayer and then praise and thank him for everything regardless.

I once read a book that demonstrated this principal in the life of a prisoner who was transformed by the power of God and later became a minister that touched the lives of millions: Prison to Praise by Merlin Carothers. I highly recommend the book.

Point is, all of our lives can be transformed for the better by praising God and receiving His peace that can only come to us by His Spirit which is given to us through faith in His Son Jesus Christ.

If you’re reading this and not sure whether you have His Holy Spirit within you, sort of always believed in Jesus but never fully committed your life to Christ, now is the time. Pray to God right now…God I want your Holy Spirit in my life, I fully commit myself to your Son Jesus, please help me with my unbelief and help me to change my life. I want to receive your joy and peace in my life through your Son Jesus and by Your Holy Spirit.  In Jesus name, Amen.

*NOTE: This is the final article in the Phillipians 4:4-7 series. Here’s links to the other 4 articles:

1.  Kingdom Culture: Peace in the Midst of Chaos

2.  Kingdom Culture: Be Reasonable and Considerate

3.  Kingdom Culture: The Lord is Always with Us

4.  Kingdom Culture: Do Not Worry, Be Thankful and Pray Instead

Phil 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.  -ESV

Do not be anxious about anything? This comes in the form of a command and surely is relevant for us today in the middle of a major economic crisis and a culture that seems to be leaving us behind. In effect Paul says here—Don’t worry pray instead and be thankful. This is the way of the Kingdom and the path of faith which leads us in an entirely different direction than the dominant culture.

We know that Paul actually lived out this command praising God after being beaten and thrown in prison, ministering to those around him regardless of the circumstances, even writing this scripture and others while he was in custody.

Remember, we have a God who wants only the best for us and we have a Lord who understands what we are going through, and we have a Holy Spirit which is with us in the midst of all of our troubles inspiring us to seek the best—we are not alone, praise God and be thankful!

The passage also remind me of what Jesus said in Matt. 6:25-34 plus the Greek word for anxious is the same in this passage also:

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?” …

…“And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”…

“O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, …For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

The basic message in both of these passages is the same—live according to faith and not like the dominant culture. Praise God, seek His Kingdom, pray continually, remember to be thankful and  it will be well with you and yours for all eternity including the few years lived on this earth and in these chaotic times.

Believe me I know how difficult this may seem sometimes and I certainly am guilty of letting bad circumstances get to me and bring me down for a while. But with God everything is possible and when we let His Spirit to be more a part of our daily lives than it is increasingly fulfilled in us as we actually gain the mind of Christ and peace floods into our daily lives in spite of ourselves.            *Top

“Over time, I have discovered that God takes our fears very seriously. We often do not. Most of us have been afraid of the same things for so many years that we almost don’t notice how they’re affecting us anymore—or worse, we choose to ignore them.”

<<Read the Rest>>

Here’s a wonderful faith generating story from Bill Hamon and his wife Evelyn telling of some tough times during the early years of their ministry in 1958 when all they had were 8 pennies and they prayed for the 8 pennies to somehow be turned into $8 so that they could go down the road to their next ministry assignment:

“In the early years, my wife, Evelyn—”Mom”—and I traveled in ministry with our son, Tim. When he was a year and a half old, we were in Muskogee, Oklahoma, doing meetings in a small country church. The congregation didn’t have a pastor, and every night after I would minister they would place a basket on the altar and say, “We know you’re all poor and you don’t have anything, but if you could find something to give to the minister, that would be a blessing.”

After about two weeks of ministering there, paying for our own food, gas and other needs, we were averaging about 50 cents per night in the offering. Even in 1958, 50 cents was not very much money.  …”

<<Read the whole story>>

Side comment: Now some of you younger folks may not realize how much the worth of a US dollar has changed over the years. I can remember going to lots of Saturday matinee movies at the picture show in the mid 50′s as a kid with my 50 cents allowance which not only got me in the door but also a small coke and a popcorn–and I got to see 2 movies, a couple of cartoons, plus a newsreel to help you get seated! So much for the good ol’ days.          *Top 

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From Charisma OnLine- This week’s message on faith by  Smith Wigglesworth:

 

Suppose I had all faith so I could remove mountains; and I had a big farm, but there was some of my farm land that was not very profitable. It was stony, had many rocks upon it and some little mountains on it that were absolutely untillable and no good.

But because I have faith without charity, I say, "I will use my faith, and I will move this land. I do not care where it goes so long as my land is clean."

So I use my faith to clear my land. The next day my poor neighbor next door comes and says, "I am in great trouble. All your wasteland and stony, rocky land has been tipped onto mine, and my good land is spoiled."

And I, who have faith without charity, say to him, "You get faith and move it back!"

That profits nothing.

Then when you pray, God will wonderfully answer you. Nothing will hinder your being used for God. Gifts are not only useable, but God is glorified in Jesus when you pray the prayer of faith. Jesus said, "When ye pray believing, the Father shall be glorified in the Son."

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
And though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. —1 CORINTHIANS 13:2

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Heavenly Father, fill me with Thy love so that I might be used of Thee to glorify Thy name whenever I exercise faith. Amen.              *Top

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From Charisma Online- Another message from Smith Wigglesworth to start out the week with:

Now the heart cries out for a living faith with a deep vision of God. The world cannot produce it. Living faith is a place where we seek the Word so that when we pray we know God hears. Living faith comes into the presence of God, asking Him and believing Him for the answer, while having no fear.

I used to have a tremendous temper, going white with passion. My whole nature was not what God wanted. God knew that I could never be of service unless I was sanctified. For example, I was difficult to please at the table.

My wife was a good cook, but there was always something wrong. After God sanctified me, she testified in a meeting that from the time God touched me, I was pleased with everything she cooked.

It is our human spirit that has to be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

This world is full of stimulation. It is by faith, into a place of grace that all may see us new. Behold! Behold! Behold! What is it? The Holy Ghost is arousing our attention. He has something special to say. Behold, if you will believe, you can be sons of God in likeness, character, spirit, and actions.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
2 Corinthians 5:17

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, I desire to be changed in Thy Presence. Make of me a new creation in Thee. Amen.

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Another great devotional from Charisma OnLine to start out the week with:

A message on faith from Smith Wigglesworth:

Four things are emblematic, divinely ascertained or revealed by the Lord— fire, love, zeal, faith.

Fire, burning up intensely, making us full of activity on line with God.

Love, where there is nothing but pure, undefiled willingness, yieldedness, knowing no sacrifice.

Zeal, so in the will and the mighty power of God until we press beyond measure into that which pleases God.

Faith, that laughs at impossibilities, and cries, “It shall be done!”

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
Jesus said unto them . . . if ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed . . . nothing shall be impossible unto you. –Matthew 17:20

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, set me ablaze with fire, love, zeal, and faith. Amen.             *Top 

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From Charisma OnLine, another great devotional to start out the week from the writings of Smith Wigglesworth:

We are saved by faith and kept by faith.

Faith is a substance. It is also an evidence.

God is. He is!

Faith goes on to act. It’s a reality, a deposit of God, an almighty flame moving you to act, so that signs and wonders are manifest.

Faith takes you to the place where God reigns, where you are imbibing God’s bountiful store. Unbelief is sin.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. John 1:1

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Jesus, You have created all that is. I desire to act on Your Word and to live by the power of Your Word. Amen.           *Top 

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From Charisma OnLine, a great devotional to start out the new week, particularly with so many afraid of what the economy might do:

Today’s message is from Smith Wigglesworth.

The importance of that chorus is the word only right in the midst of the chorus. If I can get you to see that when you get rid of yourself, all human help and everything else, and only have God behind you, you have reached a place of great reinforcement and continual success.

If you help yourself, to the measure you help yourself, you will find there are limitations to the life and power of God in you.

The one grand plan God has for us is only believe. Absolute rest. Perfect submission. God has taken charge of the situation. You are absolutely brought into everything God has, because you dare only believe what He says.

God would have me press into your heart a living truth—only believe!

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE:
As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. —Mark 5:36

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Only believe, only believe. All things are possible, Only believe. Only believe, only believe. All things are possible, Only believe. Jesus, what You have said, I believe.  Amen.            *Top 

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Lately, the economic news in America and Europe has been rather frightening as one bank and financial institution after another closes or faces bankruptcy with hopes of some kind of bailout.

Recently,there have been reports that the churches near Wall Street have seen lots of financial folks lately on their knees in prayer.

I have read a lot of accounts lately about the economy and no one really seems to know how to correct the mess we are in or whether the ‘bailout bill’ just passed by Congress will actually help or not. Some even think it could make matters worse.

I believe that God is calling his church and his people to stand up in faith and participate in his Kingdom/Revival economy.

I believe that a Kingdom/Revival economy is always successful regardless of the world economic condition.

I believe that God can choose to bless his people regardless of the dominant economy.

I believe that there are a number of important economic principles given to us from the teaching and ministry of Jesus.  The Kingdom/Revival economy starts with Matthew 6:33 and faith is what makes it all work: Seek ye first the Kingdom.

More on this later.            *Top 

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