It’s time to rest…supernaturally, of course.

Steve Brown:
It’s time to rest…supernaturally, of course. Let’s talk on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown. He’s an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life, a program all about God’s radical grace. We’re committed to bringing you Bible teaching that’s honest, straight-forward, and street-smart. Keep listening to hear truth that’ll make you free.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Don’t you love those times with Justin? Bishop Holcomb on Mondays during Lent. I have learned so much from him. And we’ve still got another one to come, and it will be as good as the others have been. But right now, we’re returning to our study in Philippians. And the last time we were there, you will remember, of course, we were in Philippians 4: the 7th and the 8th verse, and we’re talking about beyond understanding, the supernatural nature of the Christian faith. And we’re going to continue with that today. Now, if you were listening, well, let me read the text to you. This is what Paul writes.

Rejoice in the Lord always; I will say it again, rejoice. Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Transcends all understanding, if you’ve been listening, we have seen about a supernatural rejoicing, Philippians 4:4. There is no way you can explain that Paul, in this verse, uses the word rejoice twice. Good heavens, man, he’s in jail. He may be facing execution. Things are not going well, but in the midst of it, a supernatural joy. And we also saw that there is a supernatural reaction, Philippians 4:5a.

Let your gentleness be evident to all.

We live in a culture that has plenty in it to tick off Christians. In fact, I find myself irritated 67 percent of the time, I checked. But there is something in me that is gentle. And it didn’t come from me, it came from him, and it’s unexplainable. Then we saw a supernatural relationship, Philippians 4:5b through 6.

The Lord is near; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving present your requests to God.

We have an open door to the throne room of the universe, and the world can’t understand it, and sometimes we have trouble understanding it. And then we saw, if you were listening, or we mentioned, I’m going to talk more about it today. We’ve noted in this text not only a supernatural joy, reaction, relationship, and resource. Please note also a supernatural rest. You’ll find it in the sixth verse.

Do not be anxious about anything but with thanksgiving.

Wait, wait, wait. What do you mean with thanksgiving? He means exactly what he said. He was telling them that he was in jail, that this was a hard time and a hard place for him, and yet he was thankful to God. Why was that? Because God was in charge of everything. As we moved into the new year, I had a phrase I started using with friends when I would write to them, or talk to them, or e-mail them, or text them. I would say this, may the worst thing that happens in 2025 be like the best thing that happened in 2024. I thought that was kind of a nice way to wish a Happy New Year, but in fact, there is a deeper truth there. The worst thing that happened in 2024 and the worst thing that will happen in 2025 are both under the hand of a sovereign God who knows what he’s doing, and he does it right. That’s why Paul was thankful. He knew that. He had a supernatural rest that came from the reality that God was in charge. A friend of mine tells about the time when Louis XIV had died. At his funeral, the cathedral was packed with mourners who had come to pay their last respects to the monarch. In the great cathedral, there was only one candle, a big one, by the way, next to the casket of the king. It was there to symbolize his greatness. When the court preacher got up to deliver the eulogy, you know what he did? He reached over and snuffed out the candle. In the darkened cathedral, the preacher’s voice spoke these words.

Only God is great.

He is. And there is a supernatural thing that can’t be explained by unbelievers in the life of believers. I remember after hurricane Andrew and we’d lost everything. This has been years ago and it was one of those experiences that happen in life and that everything changes after it happened. Everything in our life was before Andrew and after Andrew. And I’ll spare you the details, I’ve gone there too much, but it was a horrible time. And then, after all we went through, the loss of our house, the roof was gone, it had been condemned, everything we owned was soaked and we lost, it was a horrible time. Somebody stole my car, and you need to know that I just wanted to say, Lord, isn’t this enough? Let me keep my car, at least. It wasn’t a very pretty car, a tree had hit it during the hurricane, and it was dented badly, but it drove okay, and somebody knew it drove okay, sneaked into the parking lot of the place where we were staying, and stole that sucker. And I want you to know that in the past, if I had experienced that, I would have gotten my gun and gone and looked for my car. You know what happened? I went back to our little apartment, and it really was little, about the size of a hotel room with one window that looked out on a brick wall. And Anna was sitting there reading. And I came in and said, guess what happened? She said, what? I said, somebody stole my car. And she said, you’re kidding? I said, no, I’m not kidding. I wouldn’t kid about something like that. And then she started giggling, and the giggling turned into belly laughter, and pretty soon I was laughing, too. And she said, what you meant to say was, that somebody stole God’s car. And I remember that incident, and I remember feeling okay with it. Eventually, we found my car. Eventually, we got a lot of stuff back. Eventually, things came together. Eventually, we moved to Orlando. But at that moment, everything was bad, everything. And there, Anna and I were laughing. It was called a supernatural rest, and you can find it in so many places. I’ve told you before that I’ve never been to a Christian funeral where there wasn’t laughter. What’s that about? It’s about a supernatural resting in the God of the universe who is in charge of everything. And that’s why Paul said, give thanks, thanksgiving in all of these circumstances. Now, let me mention one thing and we won’t have time to talk about it, but we’ll talk about it tomorrow. I want you to note from the text, not only a supernatural rejoicing, reaction, relationship, resource, and rest. Please note a supernatural reassurance, Philippians 4:7a.

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts.

Oh man. That’s true. There’s a peace that comes in the middle of the storm. There’s a peace that comes when you’ve lost somebody you love. There’s a peace that comes when you just lost your job. There’s a peace that comes when everything is falling apart. There’s a peace that comes when people turn their back on you, and it’s him. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
Thanks Steve! That was Steve Brown resuming our unhurried tour through the book of Philippians, getting near the end now. Do hope you’ll stick with us throughout.

If you’re paying attention to life, you’ll allow the good distractions to be just what they are. You’ll savor them, straining out every last drop that they have to offer because it is precisely in those moments God’s stoking the flames of joy and wonder within you, outside of the local church.

Well, that was an excerpt from an article from Alex Early called Distractions. It’s a powerful and timely piece, and you’ll find it in the latest edition of Key Life Magazine. This issue is part of our year long celebration of Key Life’s 40th anniversary. 40! Can you believe it? Claim your free copy of Key Life Magazine by calling us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail Steve@keylife.org to order that magazine. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of Key Life Magazine. And finally, if you’re blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing with others through your financial support? Giving is easy, just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. And of course now you can give safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And as always, Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.