Spiritual Stability, Part 6: Obedience (Philippians 4:9) John MacArthur

Let’s open our Bibles this morning to the last  message in our series on spiritual stability   from Philippians chapter 4 verses 1 through  9. We have been addressing the question,   How do we keep our spiritual balance in the face  of tests and trials and weakness and temptation,   persecution, doubt – all of the  things that assail us in this life?   That is really the matter before us again this  morning. How can we be spiritually strong,   spiritually firm? How can we experience peace,  calm, quietness, confidence, a settled heart,   comfort, contentment, in the midst of  all of the stresses in our experience? In Psalm 38, the Psalmist was under  great stress. He says, “O Lord,   rebuke me not in Thy wrath and chasten me not in  Thy burning anger.” He was feeling the chastening   of God. He had fallen victim to temptation. His  flesh had succumbed to the onslaught of evil,   and now he was dealing with the guilt of sin and  the combined punishment of God on top of that   guilt. He says, “Your arrows have sunk deep  into me, Your hand has pressed down on me.”   He was even beginning to feel it physically, “No  soundness in my flesh,” he says, “no health in  

my bones because of my sin.” And then he begins  to think about how serious his sin is. He says,   “My iniquities are gone over my head; as a  heavy burden they weigh too much for me. My   wounds grow foul and fester because of my folly, I  am bent over and greatly bowed down. I go mourning   all day long for my loins are filled with  burning and there’s no soundness in my flesh.” He was feeling the pain of his sin, the guilt  of his sin, he was feeling the punishment,   the chastening of God as God was wounding him on  top of his guilt, on top of his sinful anguish.   In fact, it got to the point in verse 8 where he  says, “I am benumbed and badly crushed. I groan   because of the agitation of my heart.” Verse 10,  he says, “My heart throbs, my strength fails me,   the light of my eyes,” – that is joy – “even  that is gone from me,” there’s no gleam in my eye   anymore. And then to add to it, “My loved ones,  my friends, my kinsmen stay away from me. I have   no comforters, I have no counselors, I have no  helpers. I have enemies” – verse 12 – “they seek   my life. They try to injure me, they devise  treachery all day long. I have no defense,   so I stop my ears,” he says, “and I don’t defend  myself; my mouth has no arguments” – verse 14.

Here is a man in deep distress from every angle.  He is distressed because of his own sin. He is   distressed because of the chastening of God. He  is distressed because his friends are not coming   to help him, he is alone and lonely and forsaken.  He is distressed because he is attacked by enemies   who seek to take his life. He is distressed, too,  because he has no argument, for he knows his own   sinfulness. All he can do is pray. All he can do  is cry out to God. And so in verse 9, he says,   “Lord, all my desire is before Thee and my sighing  is not hidden from Thee.” “You know my heart,   Lord, You know what I’m going through,  You know my pain, You understand it all.” In verse 15, he says, “I hope in Thee, O Lord,  Thou wilt answer, O Lord my God, for I said.”   In other words, “I’ve prayed to You and I know  You’ll answer.” And then in verse 21 he says,   “Do not forsake me, O Lord, O my God, do not  be far from me, make haste to help me, O Lord,   my salvation.” Now, this is a man of God  under great distress. Hated, he has enemies.   He has friends who seem to be of little use to him  in his time of need. He has fallen to the flesh.   He is under the chastening hand of God. He is  benumbed and badly crushed. His heart is agitated.   He is unstable, to put it mildly. He is shaking.  He is blowing around like a weed in a high wind.

This kind of instability can and is  the experience of every Christian. And   sometimes it can become so very severe that  we lose touch with the ability to function in   life. We can become so overwrought with  anxieties and guilt and the hostility   and persecution that comes from others and  the lack of care and concern and love that   comes or doesn’t come from friends that,  literally, we lose our balance totally. A book recently written by a well-known pastor  begins like this: “I had visited Ward 7E many   times. Its institutional yellow walls and highly  polished floors resembled most of the psychiatric   wards in mental hospitals where I had gone  to minister to members of my congregation.   There’s always a certain apprehension that lurks  in the shadow of one’s mind while walking down   those sterile, silent corridors. Behind each door  is a different story. I’ve listened to them all,   the criminally insane, the suicidal, the  depressed, the alcoholic, the hostile, the addict,   and then on many occasions I’ve tried to talk to  those who had forgotten how to respond. I’ve never   felt comfortable with the mentally ill. This time,  however, my discomfort had been replaced by fear,   my apprehension had given way to feelings  of impending doom, the very atmosphere was   charged with foreboding glimpses of the  unpredictable. I was traumatized with   humiliation and embarrassment. I was struggling  against a creeping hostility waiting to overpower  

me. This time I was being led down the silent  halls of Ward 7E not as a pastor but as a patient. “For years, I had struggled to understand the  unpredictable mood swings that could carry me from   peaks of elation to the deep valleys of despair.  I could preach with fervor and power. I could   share Christ with enthusiasm and success. I would  counsel with meaningful insight and socialize with   sheer delight, but without warning, any or all  of these positive and delightful emotions would   suddenly be forced to give way to feelings  of gloom and periods of weakness. I would   withdraw and a form of paranoia would settle in.  I would suddenly be overwhelmed with feelings of   inadequacy and inferiority. On occasion, I toyed  with thoughts of self-destruction,” end quote. Can a pastor be benumbed and badly crushed?  Can a psalmist be benumbed and badly crushed?   Can you find yourself in such difficulty in  life that you are crushed, that you’ve lost   your spiritual balance, that you’ve lost  your equilibrium? Well, the answer is yes,   apparently. The psalmist was. This pastor was. And  all of us at times lose our spiritual balance. All   of us at times find ourselves weak and  unable to stand. Where do we go? Well,   we must turn to the only one who is our  deliverance, the only one who is our salvation,   the only one who knows our hearts, the only one  who understands our desires – and that is to God.

We must do that. And that is precisely where  Paul wants to turn us in our text. And it is   very important for us to find our spiritual  strength and to find our spiritual stability   because, you see, not only is spiritual  instability intolerable in one’s own life,   for obvious reasons it takes our joy, but it  is intolerable in one’s own life because of   how it affects others. You see, a spiritually  unstable, benumbed and badly crushed believer   is a contradiction in terms to a watching  world of unbelievers who cannot understand   how you can profess an all-sufficient God but  then live as if your God was not sufficient. That’s a very important matter to consider.   You see, we would all agree that people in our  culture are much more interested in pragmatism   than anything else. They’re much more interested  in results than truth. The convincing element of   Christianity is not “Is it logical?” but “Does  it work?” Not “Is it reasonable to believe in   God?” but “Does God really change your life  and provide strength for your weakness?  

Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote: “Now, we believe that  God extends His kingdom partly through His people,   and we know that He has oftentimes done some of  the most notable things in the history of the   church through the simple Christian living of some  quite ordinary people. Nothing is more important,   therefore, than that we should be delivered from  a condition which gives other people looking   at us the impression that to be a Christian  means to be unhappy, to be sad, to be morbid,   and that the Christian is one who scorns  delights and lives laborious days,” end quote. For our sake and the sake of the watching  world who is assessing the validity of our   message by how it works in our lives, we need  to be spiritually strong. We are called to   strength. We are called to stability. We are  called to be unwavering. We are called to be   immovable. We are called to be soldiers who,  having done all, stand that we may be blessed,   that we may know joy, and that the world  may see the power of our God in our lives.

The question comes: How can we be like that?  How can we stand strong? Paul addresses it in   our text. Let’s go back to our text, Philippians  chapter 4. He desires that the Philippians be   strong, that they be stable, that they be  anxiety-free Christians, that all of their   lives be guarded by the peace of God, that they  experience calm and comfort and quietness and   tranquility and contentment, that they demonstrate  satisfaction. He desires that they be able to get   along with humble means or to live in prosperity.  He desires that in every circumstance, they know   how to be filled or to go hungry. He desires  that they know how to experience abundance or   suffer need. And in all of this, in whatever state  they’re in, that they would be what? Content. That   is the heart of their testimony, that they be  living proof that “I can do all things through   Christ who strengthens me.” We are to be the  living manifestation of the strength of Christ.

So writing to the Philippian church, he writes  about spiritual stability. In the circumstances   in which he wrote, he gives us a living  illustration of it. At the time he writes,   he is a prisoner in Rome, a prisoner in a private  house, chained to a Roman soldier. Look at verse   1, our key phrase, “Stand firm in the Lord.”  That’s the exhortation. Be spiritually strong,   spiritual stable. The question is: How?  How are we to do that? Now, we have already   covered verses 1 through 8, we have only verse  9 remaining. But let me just quickly review. There are a number of features, a number of  elements, a number of requirements in spiritual   stability. First of all, spiritual stability  requires cultivating peace in the fellowship,   we saw that in verses 2 and 3, peace. Secondly, we  saw that spiritual stability involves maintaining   a spirit of joy – verse 4 – rejoicing in the  Lord always. Then in verse 5, we noted that   spiritual stability requires learning to accept  less than you are due. We talked about humility   there. And then we noted in verses 5 and 6  that spiritual stability requires resting on   a confident faith in the Lord – the Lord is near,  so we’re not anxious. And then fifthly, we noted   that spiritual stability requires reacting to  problems with thankful prayer. Instead of worry,  

we pray with thanksgiving and thus experience  the peace of God guarding our hearts and minds. Now, we summed those up as five basic virtues.  We said in order to enjoy spiritual stability,   the believer must be characterized by peace,  joy, humility, faith, and gratitude – peace,   joy, humility, faith, and gratitude.  Note this: Those are spiritual attitudes,   okay? Godly attitudes – godly attitudes. Now, who  produces in us godly attitudes? The Holy Spirit,   the fruit of the Spirit. So when  you live a Spirit-controlled life,   the Spirit of God dispenses the peace,  the joy, the humility, the faith,   and the gratitude that one needs to maintain godly  attitudes. The solution, you see, to anxiety,   the solution to troubles and problems and  guilt, the solution to hostility and loneliness,   all of these things that are characteristic of  life, the solution is right attitude. And the   right attitude of peace, joy, humility, faith,  and gratitude is produced by the Spirit of God,   the fruit of the Spirit, in a believer who  is filled by, controlled by the Holy Spirit.

All right. Then last time, we came to the high  point, and we noted the sixth necessary element   in spiritual stability, focusing on godly  virtues or thinking on godly virtues. Verse   8 tells us that whatever is true, honorable,  right, pure, lovely, of good repute – since   there is excellence and since there are things  worthy of praise, we are to let our minds dwell   on these things. And we introduced the second  characteristic of a spiritually stable individual,   not only godly attitudes but godly thoughts  – thinking patterns – thinking patterns. How   you think is vital. And last Lord’s day, we  talked in detail about a disciplined mind.   You can keep all the fear and the worry  and the anxiety and the depression at bay   depending on how you think. If you think about  what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely,   and of good repute, you will insulate your mind  from those things which assault you. And so we   talked about the mind and how the mind is to  operate and on what the mind must focus itself.

And now we come to the final element –  verse 9. The last point I want to make,   the last feature in this list of elements  necessary for spiritual stability is obeying   God’s standard. Now, listen to what I  say. In order to be spiritually stable,   you must have godly attitudes, godly thoughts,  and the source for all those thoughts in verse 8   is the Word of God – we noted that last time – and  then you must have godly deeds – godly behavior.   You show me a life where there are godly  attitudes generated by the Spirit of God,   godly thoughts generated by the Word of God, and  godly conduct and I will show you a spiritually   stable person. That’s Paul – that’s Paul.  You cannot divorce thinking from action.

One writer says, “All the countless concerns that  burdened the Philippian Christian’s mind could be   kept at bay if they would continuously  reckon up, think over, estimate aright,   fill their minds with all things good and true  and” – he says – “rise up and put into practice   the demands of the Christian gospel.” And that  is precisely our final point. Thoughts can never   be abstracted from action. Did you get that?  Thoughts can never be abstracted from action.   And that’s the point we want you to focus on  today. Look at verse 9. “The things you have   learned and received and heard and seen in me,  practice these things.” Now, stop right there. He is now calling for practice. The term  “practice” in the Greek is prass. The verb would,   in English, be P-R-A-S-S-O. It isn’t the same  as “do,” the verb poie, which is a common verb,   it is a verb which means repetition,  action that is continuous. We talk about,   for example, a lawyer having a practice, it  means it’s a constant way of life. A doctor   has a practice. Different than practicing  something. We say someone practices the  

violin or they practice tennis or whatever  it might be. That’s using the word in the   sense of working on something to learn it.  When we use it of a lawyer and a doctor,   we hope that it means more than that. I think  sometimes they are practicing on us in that sense.   But when we say the doctor has a practice, we  mean it is his practice to do that. It is his   normal routine to live as a medical doctor.  And that’s the intent of the word prass. Paul is saying this should be your practice.  This should be your pattern of life, these   things. And now, see, he’s talking about how  you conduct yourself. Godly attitudes – peace,   joy, humility, faith, and gratitude. Godly  thoughts – true, honorable, right, pure,   lovely, and of good repute. And then godly  practices – godly deeds. You see, spiritual   stability finally comes down to the matter of  living a life disciplined to obey God’s standard.

I wish I could get this message across  to this contemporary church culture.   The reason people have so many problems, which  literally overpower them and spin them off to all   of the books and counselors and psychologists  and psychiatrists and methodologies going and   all of the formulas and so forth, the reason  they do that is because they haven’t properly   assessed the fact that the inability to  stand your ground and live a balanced,   stable, Christian life is directly related to  the absence of godly attitudes, godly thoughts,   and godly practices. And how in the world is  someone going to fix you? Because you’re the   only one who can fix those areas in the power of  God. You’re the one who must walk in the Spirit   that He might produce in you peace, joy, humility,  faith, and gratitude. You’re the one who must go   into the Word of God and find there thoughts  of true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and   good repute. You have to do it, and you’re the one  who must discipline your life to do what is right.   You show me a person filled with the Spirit  and, therefore, having godly attitudes,   you show me a person in whom the Word dwells  richly and so they have godly thoughts, you show   me a person who lives an obedient Christian life,  and I will show you a spiritually stable person.

You see, the first thing we must do is diagnose  the problem at its root as a spiritual one.   Now, I realize there can be some  times some physical complications   in our lives that debilitate us and foul  up our thinking and things like that,   but these are nonetheless spiritual problems.  They must be dealt with in a spiritual way. Let me give you a little perception. I was driving  in this morning a little before 8:00 to church,   and I noticed a guy coming the other way on the  5 Freeway really going fast. And right behind   him was a black-and-white police car with the  red light going and apparently – this guy was   in the left lane and he was on the floorboard.  Apparently, either he didn’t know the policeman   was behind him or he thought he’d just outrun him  – or try – and went flying on by. Now, of course,   preachers view the world as nothing but a  series of sermon illustrations passing by,   so it was not a large leap from that little event  to something tied to this morning’s message.   If a policeman sees a crime about to be  committed or sees someone violating the law,   he arrests him. I mean that’s what policemen  are supposed to do. They’re supposed to arrest   people who break the law. That’s their job. They  don’t try them and they don’t sentence them,   the courts do that. They just go find  them and get them and arrest them.

And in a sense, that is exactly analogous to  the principle that I want you to see here.   When you have godly attitudes produced by the  Spirit and godly thoughts produced by the Word,   together they act as the policeman that arrests  your flesh before it can commit the crime. You   see, the flesh moves to disobey God’s standard,  and as it moves that way – because after all,   it is the flesh – as it moves that way,  the policeman arrests it, preventing it   from committing a crime against the law of God.  And, beloved, if your attitudes aren’t godly,   generated by the filling of the Spirit, and your  thoughts aren’t Biblical, generated by the Word   of God, the policeman’s not on duty. And if the  policeman isn’t on duty, he can’t arrest anybody. Have you ever seen something and said to yourself,   “There ought to be a policeman here right now  to take care of this”? Well, that’s exactly   the way it is in your spiritual experience.  If there’s no policeman to arrest your flesh,   your flesh will violate the standards of God,  your flesh will violate the law of God. It starts   with right attitudes produced by the Spirit of  God, right thoughts produced by the Word of God,   which police the flesh and lead to right  practices. That’s why the practices don’t   come until verse 9. You have to start with  the attitudes and the thought patterns.

You see, it’s what Paul was talking about in  2 Corinthians 10 when he said the weapons of   our warfare, you know, are not fleshly.  If you try to use fleshly weapons against   the flesh, it isn’t going to help. The  weapons of our warfare are spiritual.   Spiritual attitudes and spiritual truth,  spiritual thoughts, will bring everything   captive to the obedience of Christ – 2  Corinthians 10:5. It’s a great truth.   It takes everything prisoner and pulls it  down to the obedience of Christ. That’s a   great thought. You want godly attitudes and godly  thoughts to take your flesh prisoner, don’t you?   And bring it captive to the obedience of  Christ. And that’s what Paul is saying here. Sin in your behavior will produce spiritual  instability. Sin in your practice will   produce spiritual anxiety. However, purity  in behavior will produce peace and stability.   Isaiah 32:17 puts it this way:  “And the work of righteousness   will be peace always.” Always. You show  me a person living a pure, godly life,   I’ll show you a person experiencing what?  Peace. And then it says in Isaiah 32:17:  

“And the service of righteousness produces” –  implied – “quietness and confidence forever.” Now,   this is true not only in the millennial kingdom to  come, where righteousness – the righteousness of   Christ ruling in the world will bring peace,  but it’s true in your life. It is a truism.   Righteousness produces peace. Righteousness  produces quietness and confidence and “then my   people,” says Isaiah, “will live in a peaceful  habitation.” Righteousness produces peace. It was at the cross where righteousness  and peace met. It is the wisdom from above   that is peaceable, the true wisdom. The  righteous wisdom of God produces peace.   James 3:18 says: “The seed whose fruit is  righteousness is sown in peace.” At the cross,   righteousness and peace kissed each  other. Where there’s righteous practice,   there is contentment, comfort, calm,  quietness, peace, tranquility, stability.

So the Philippians needed to continuously  put into practice, to loyally conform to,   to uncompromisingly embrace, and to allow  their conduct to be habitually controlled by,   the law of God. And, therefore, virtue  conquers vice. Remember Romans 12:21?   “Overcome evil with” – what? “With good.” With  good. So Paul’s words are very direct. You’ve   got to practice these things as a way of life.  These things need to be your habit. This calls   for discipline. I wish we had time to go into the  whole matter of how to live a disciplined life,   but it’s the discipline of your  life that creates the habits. If I were to sort of describe spiritual  growth from my own personal experience,   I would see spiritual growth as the development  of godly habits. In other words, as you grow as   a Christian, you begin to notice that the habits  of your life are right. The diminishing of the bad   habits, the arrival of the good ones. And that’s a  matter of self-discipline by the power of God. As   you discipline your life and begin to cultivate  good habits, you get your life under control.

Now, let’s look specifically at the verse and see  what Paul is referring to. You have to practice,   he says, you have to make habits of  these things. What things? Verse 9:   “The things you have learned and  received and heard and seen in me.” My,   this is a great statement. “The things you have  learned and received and heard and seen in me.” Now, where did a Christian in Philippi  go to get information about how he was   supposed to live? You say, “Well, he went to the  Scripture.” Yeah, but all he had was what? The   Old Testament. The New Testament books were not  yet brought together in a canon as we know it,   or a canon in the sense – with one “N” – that is,  a rule or a standard, the New Testament corpus,   as it’s called, or body of truth. That didn’t  happen for a long time. All of the New Testament   books certainly weren’t written at this time. They  may have had access only to a very minimal amount   of written revelation in the New Testament.  It was in the future. So if they wanted to   know God’s standards for life, where did they  go? They had to turn to whom? To the apostles.

Do you remember in the book of Acts it says that   Peter preached on the day of Pentecost? Three  thousand people believed and were baptized,   and it says they continued daily in the apostles’  doctrine. Why? Because that was the source of   their truth until all these books were brought  together. So before the composition of the New   Testament and its full acceptance as authoritative  Scripture, the standard of Christian belief and   the standard of Christian behavior was embodied  in the teaching and the example of the apostles.   They were the persons who had the authority of  Christ and who practiced the standards of Christ.   That’s why Paul says, “Be ye followers  of” – what? – “of me as I am of Christ.” So what does he say now? You want to  know how to live? You can’t tell them   to turn to the New Testament, it’s not  together yet. He says, “What you learned,   received, heard, and have seen in me,  do these things, practice this way.”   It’s important to note, beloved, that the apostles  really lived among the people. They ate with them,   they slept with them, they lived with  them. Because it was an utter essential   that their life be totally, from start to finish,  exposed to them so they would learn how to live.

Now, let’s look at these four  terms – learned, received, heard,   and seen. Each of them highlights a very  important aspect. The first word is the word   “learned” and this comes from the Greek verb  root for the word “disciple.” And it has to   do with the idea of teaching, instructing,  discipling. The word mathts is a learner,   one who receives instruction. So Paul here is  referring to his personal instruction of them,   sometimes preaching to the Philippians,  sometimes teaching them in a formal class,   sometimes conversing with them in a dialogue,  sometimes discipling them one-on-one. In Acts 20, it says that when he ministered, he  went from house to house. Sometimes it was just   talking with a family around their dining table.  But he says, “All of the things that you have   learned from me as I have taught you in many ways,  publicly and from house to house” – as he said in   Acts 20:20 – “practice these things – these things  that I have taught you.” This was instruction,   expounding to them the Old Testament truths,  expounding to them the meaning of the New   Testament revelation which he had received  from God, explaining to them how to apply   it in their life – his personal teaching  exposition to them. Now, this was common.

By the way, in writing to Timothy,  Paul even says in 2 Timothy 3:10,   “You followed my teaching, my conduct, my  purpose, my faith, my patience, my love,   my perseverance, my persecutions, and my  sufferings.” “You followed everything in   my life” – that’s the only place Timothy could go  to learn. So as Timothy was traveling with Paul,   he just patterned his life exactly after Paul.  Since he didn’t have a New Testament yet,   he just patterned his life exactly after Paul. And  that’s what the key function of the apostles was,   not only to reveal truth but to live it so the  early church would have a model to follow. And   Paul, on a number of occasions says, “You’re  to follow my pattern.” Back in chapter 3 of   Philippians verse 17, he said it. “Join in  following my example and observe those who   walk according to the pattern you have in us.”  “Follow my example and the example of people   who follow my example.” That’s how it was in  those days. They had to follow a human pattern. So the first thing is: “You must practice in  your life the things I taught you, the things   you learned from me.” Then secondly, he says, “the  things you received.” Now, some might say, “Well,   he doesn’t mean anything different here, he’s  just using another term. It’s a synonym.” Well,   that could be. On the other hand, the word  “received” has some interesting usages in   the New Testament. And most commentators  would agree that the word “received” can   be used as a technical term for the  revelation from God that came direct.  

And I would like to have us use it that way  as we look at this verse. Paul, I think,   has in mind here the received Word. Not what  he taught them in explaining and expounding   the Scripture, but what God gave him and he gave  them, which was the Scripture which they received. Just to show you how this term “received” is  used and also a companion term, just a couple of   illustrations. First Corinthians 11:1-2: “Be  imitators of me just as I also am of Christ,” same   concept. Then this: “Now I praise you because you  remember me in everything and you hold firmly to   the traditions just as I delivered them to you.”  Now, here he’s talking about something different.   He is saying, “Not only do you follow my  example, not only do you listen to what I say,   but you’re holding onto the tradition the same way  I delivered it. I delivered something to you and   you’ve received it.” And I believe there he has  much more in mind, the very revelation of God.

In 1 Corinthians 15, he follows up with another  very similar statement. He talks about the gospel   in verse 1. “I make known to you, brethren,  the gospel which I preached to you which also   you received.” Then he says in verse 3: “For I  delivered to you as of first importance what I   also received.” And then he goes in to that  Christ died for our sins, according to the   Scriptures He was buried, that He was raised  on the third day according to the Scriptures,   that He appeared to Cephas then to the Twelve,  and so forth. Now, I think he’s using a more   technical term here. He says, “I want you to  do what you learned from me,” very general,   “everything I taught you,” which would  include Scripture. But now he’s saying,   “And I want you particularly to practice what you  received. What God delivered to me I received,   what I delivered to you, you received.” He’s  talking about the treasure of Scripture,   and I take it that we can use this in the  technical sense, the received Scripture.

In Galatians 1:9, he says, “As we  have said before, so I say again now,   if any man is preaching to you a gospel  contrary to that which you received,   let him be accursed.” Here he seems to  be more directing his thought toward the   revelation from God in actuality. Again in 1  Thessalonians chapter 4, “Finally, brethren,   we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus  that as you received from us as to how you   ought to walk and please God that you may excel  still more.” And again, he’s talking about the   revelation from God to him, from him to them,  that became the treasure which they were to   guard. As he said to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:19-20,  “Guard that treasure that was entrusted to you.” So Paul is saying, “Look, I want you to practice  in your life what I’ve taught you. I want to you   to practice in your life what I’ve delivered  to you of the Word of God itself. The Word and   my comments on it, my instruction from it.”  It’s basically what Paul has in mind when he   says to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2, “The things  you received from me among many witnesses, the   same commit to faithful men who shall be able to  teach others also.” “You’ve received it, you pass   it on.” “You received it from me, they’ll receive  it from you, and they’ll deliver it to the next   generation.” So he’s passing on the baton, as it  were, of revealed tradition to be passed on again,  

so “what you’ve been taught in general” and  “what you’ve been taught in specific revelation.” Now, notice the third term he uses here is  the term “heard,” “and what you’ve heard.”   Some would suggest that it just means  the same thing as learned and received –   you’ve learned/you’ve received/you’ve heard  is all the same thing. I think we would be   better served if we really understand the care  with which the Spirit of God chooses words,   to assume that the word “heard” here now takes  this discussion to another dimension. He’s   already covered what he told them in “learned.”  He’s already covered what God told them in   “received.” And now I believe he is alluding  to what they have “heard” from other sources   than himself or God. In other words, “what you  have heard about me and is true of me.” Because   the word spread everywhere about this man, Paul.  His reputation was impeccable. They had surely   heard much from others about his ministry,  about his character, about his lifestyle,   about his preaching. And so he is not afraid  that something has been exposed that isn’t right,   so he just says, “what you’ve learned –  that is, what I personally have given you;   what you’ve received – that is, what God has  transmitted through me to you by His revelation;   and what you have heard about me from  many sources. Practice these things.” And then fourthly, he says, “And what you’ve  seen in me.” Now, we’re coming to first-hand  

experience. Not what you heard from me,  second-hand. Not what I gave you from God,   third-hand. Not what you’ve heard from people  around, fourth-hand or fifth- hand or whatever,   but first-hand what you’ve seen. “You’ve seen  my life, you’ve observed me. I’ve been with you,   you’ve been with me. Practice these things.” Boy,  what a consummate, consummate call to Christian   duty. Everything you’ve been taught, everything  that’s been revealed from God, everything you’ve   heard to be true of my lifestyle, and everything  you’ve observed in me, do it as a way of life. He’s not embarrassed to say this  because he knew his calling. Beloved,   the apostles were called not only to walk  with Christ, but they were called to be living   models of New Testament Christianity before  the early church. That was their calling.   He modeled the standard. He had the peace, the  joy, the humility, the faith, the gratitude. He   thought on what was true, honorable, right, pure,  lovely, and of good repute. He walked according   to the revealed truth. And he says, “You’ve got  to live like this. Follow me, I’m your pattern.” When the New Testament came, obviously, it was  written down. And now the pattern is the New  

Testament. But, may I hasten to add, that doesn’t  mean that those who preach and teach and represent   the New Testament are permitted to live any  old way they like. I think some people think   that. Just because we’re not apostles doesn’t mean  that we’re not to be imitated as we follow Christ.   Jesus said, you’ll remember, at the end of  the Sermon on the Mount, talking about the   man who built his house on a rock and a man  who built his house on the sand. He said the   man who built his house on a rock was like  the man who hears the Word and acts on it,   and the man who built his house on  the sand is like the man who hears   the Word and doesn’t act on it. Paul  is saying practice what you’ve learned. You remember what James said in James  1:22? “Be not hearers of the Word only   but” – what? – “doers.” It’s the same concept  exactly. It’s the same pattern exactly. “Practice   these things that are true in my life. Practice  the lifestyle that I live.” Why? “Because I’m   living according to the revealed Word and  Will of God,” that’s what Paul is saying.   And we have to be able to say that, too.  “Follow my life because I’m following the   revelation of God.” “Follow my patterns,  I’m following the revelation of God.”

And what is the promise attached to that? The  end of verse 9, what is it? “And the God of   peace shall be with you.” Now, God is the God  of a lot of things. He’s the God of love, He’s   the God of grace, He’s the God of mercy, He’s the  God of compassion, He’s the God of all comfort,   He’s the God of justice, He’s the  God of power, He’s the God of light,   He’s the God of life. He’s the God of a lot  of things. Why does he say the God of peace?   Because what’s he talking about here? He’s talking  about spiritually strong, stable, firm, tranquil,   content in the midst of difficulty. He’s talking  about being adequate for life. He’s talking about   being sufficient for all the difficulties. He’s  talking about being able to do all things through   Him who strengthens me. He’s talking about being  content in anything and in everything. And that’s   why he calls Him the God of peace. That’s why  in verse 7, he mentioned the peace of God.

Now, follow this. If you have godly  attitudes and godly thoughts and godly deeds,   you will be guarded by the peace of God and  the God of peace. What a tremendous statement.   Therein lies your comfort, your tranquility,  your calm, your quietness, your confidence.   It was so real to him, so real to him, that he  began to, I think, think of God very often as the   God of peace. It means the God whose character is  peace and the God who is the giver of peace, the   source, the origin of it. He began to think of God  that way. Why? Because he was in endless trouble   all the time. Read 2 Corinthians 11:23-33, always  in difficulty, always in trying circumstances,   always facing temptation, hostility, persecution,   tests, trials, and so forth. And he had found  God to be the God of peace. Why? The Spirit   had granted to him godly attitudes, the  Word had granted to him godly thoughts,   and he had policed his life by those means to  godly practices and so he knew the peace of God.

It became a favorite of his, and very often in his  letters he refers to God that way. Romans 15:33,   he says, “Now, the God of peace be with you all.”  Twenty verses later: “And the God of peace will   soon crush Satan under your feet.” At the end of  his second letter to the Corinthians, verse 11 of   chapter 13: “And the God of love and peace shall  be with you.” At the end of his first epistle to   the Thessalonians, chapter 5 verse 23: “Now may  the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely.”   At the end of 2 Thessalonians chapter 3 and verse  16: “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually   grant you peace in every circumstance.” It  became a favorite of his, the God of peace. How can you know the God of peace and the peace  of God? How can you be tranquil? How can you be   calm in the midst of everything – temptations,  onslaughts, doubts, fears, troubles? By living   according to God’s pattern, by thinking according  to God’s pattern, and by feeling according to   God’s pattern – right attitudes, right thoughts,  right action. You have to police your life,   and your action ultimately will control  your stability. That means you have to be   disciplined. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, writing in his  book, Spiritual Depression, gives this testimony.  

He said, “I defy you to read the life of  any saint that has ever adorned the life   of the church without seeing at once that the  greatest characteristic in the life of that saint   was discipline and order. Invariably, it is the  universal characteristic of all the outstanding   men and women of God. Read about Henry Martyn,  David Brainerd, Jonathan Edwards, the brothers   Wesley, and Whitfield – read their journals.  It does not matter what branch of the church   they belong to, they have all disciplined their  lives and have insisted upon the need for this;   and obviously it is something that is thoroughly  scriptural and absolutely essential,” end quote. We must be disciplined to add to our faith  virtue – pure conduct, patterns of life,   practices of righteousness. And this makes us  able to be content in any circumstance and find   the strength of Christ. That’s certainly  my prayer for you. Let’s bow together.

Father, thank You for the good Word, the great  holy and divine wisdom dispensed to us through   this text and through the amazing life of Paul.  Help us, Lord, to have those kinds of attitudes,   feelings, those kinds of thoughts, those kinds  of deeds which lead to spiritual stability. And,   Father, when we are unstable and vacillating  and when we’re benumbed and badly crushed,   like the psalmist, and when our hearts are  agitated, Lord, help us to do the inventory.   How about my attitudes? How about my thoughts?  How about my practices? And find there the problem   and find in You the solution. Fill us with Your  Spirit that we might feel the way we ought to,   fill us with Your Word that we might think the  way we ought to, and use those two things to   police our flesh that we might live the way  we ought to in order that we might enjoy the   peace of God and the God of peace. Give us that  great, great benediction of Your peace. Amen.

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