Philippians-Joy Love Letter 04 Paul the Pastor — James K. Boswell

Philippians 4: Christ as the Strength of Life

Chapter four, please, of the Epistles to the Philippians. We want to read together the first nine verses of this wonderful chapter. We have been looking at Christ, the source of life, the stance of life, the satisfaction, and here He is, the strength of life.

Paul says in verse thirteen, I can do all things through Christ with strength of knee. The Lord Jesus says, without me He can do nothing, but we can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us. When we are weak, then are we strong.

Verse number one. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joint crown serves ten parts in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I have beseeched you earlier, you dropped the S there, I have beseeched you earlier to be of the same mind in the Lord.

Thy treaty offered to your fellow, help of women which labored with me in the gospel, but claim it also with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice!

Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are goodly for, if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

Those things which you have both learned and received and heard and seemingly do, and the God of peace shall be with you. This fourth chapter is the most interesting chapter. I wish it had had time to develop the chapter one a bit further, but I promise to come to, say, number six and seven on this particular chapter, and that's what I'm trying to do this morning, as we bring these morning studies to a close.

And I know you've had a wonderful time during these past weeks and months here on these conference grounds. They are very beautiful conference grounds, and everything's just so congenial and favorable, and lends itself to a real spiritual time of refreshing mentally and physically, and I trust that you, as you go back home now to your sphere, those of you who are left here to carry by the staff, will be very conscious of the Lord's presence with you, carry with you the fragrance of these little files together.

Paul's Pastoral Heart for the Saints

Turn with me to verse number one for a moment. A little word, therefore. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved, I long for. Now, Paul is not only an evangelist, not an apostle, not a missionary. Paul is more.

Paul is a real pastor, and here we have an insight into the great pastoral heart of this man of God, and as he sees longing and yearning for the saints at Philippi. Twice over in the first verse, it says, dearly beloved.

Now, when we're marrying people, we very often start off by saying, dearly beloved, we're here gathered in the sight of God in the presence of these witnesses, to join together this man, this woman, the holy state of matrimony, and in many cases just a mere form.

Dearly beloved. Let us really know the people, but here the case, when Paul says that he means it with all his heart, those saints at Philippi were dearly beloved to him, and just as I believe that you have endeared yourself many a year to the heart of our brother Willie and others of the responsibility here, and you are dearly beloved to them because you are in Christ, and Christ is real to you both.

That means a lot, and here's the work of a real pastor. He says they're dearly beloved, and not only so, but unlonged for it. Unlonged for it. He longed to be with them. I sometimes think if we were denied the privilege of fellowship, we would enjoy it far more.

And, you know, when we come together again, we've often seen people, the tears literally rolling, rolling down their faces, just filled with gratitude and thanksgiving to be back among the saints of God in fellowship.

They've been incapacitated, because of circumstances, not been able to get up, and they have the joy of just being back among the saints. They've done something for them, and that's the thought here. Paul longed to be back among the saints at Philippi.

This word longed for is an interesting word. It's a word that means homesick. Homesick. In Romans 1, verse number 11, it says, I long to see you. The literal is, I, I'm homesick for sight of you. Some people sometimes say to me, hey, are you ever seasick, crossing the Atlantic so often?

And I say, no, I'm too scotched to be seasick. I never give anything away. The others say, are you ever lovesick? And I say, now, frankly, that's my business. They say, well, are you ever homesick? I say, yes, once.

I had a touch of homesickness once, now I'd never like to have it again. I think it's the most awful sickness anyone can ever have, is homesickness, and that's the word Paul was using here. He's homesick to be back in the faith of God.

Isn't that wonderful now? They go farther because of time. It says, dearly beloved, I long for you. And then it says, you're my joy and crown. You're my joy and crown. Isn't it lovely when you can look upon those whom you've led to Christ and say, wow, you're my joy and crown.

John says, my joy and crown of rejoicing at that day. There's a resolved joy that belongs to the believer. There's a joy of knowing your sin's forgiven. That's a wonderful joy. I trust we all know that joy here this morning.

Forgiven for his name's sake. What a wonderful joy when you're able to sing, oh happy day that fixed my joy to me, my savior, and my God. Well may this glowing heart rejoice, and tell it raptures all abroad.

But then there's another joy even greater than that. You say, oh it can't possibly. Oh yes it is. It's a joy when you lead your first soul to Christ. The joy when you lead your first soul to Christ. This is a joy that exceeds the joy of knowing your own sin's forgiven.

It's like when you catch one fish, you want to catch another. When you've caught two, you want to catch four. There's such a thrill, there's such a joy. And then John says in his letter, I have no greater joy than to know my children walking through.

So there's a threefold joy that belongs to the believer. The joy of knowing our sin's forgiven. The joy of leading other souls to Christ. And the joy of seeing them developing and maturing, being baptized, brought into the fellowship of God's beloved people, and moving forward in church fellowship, and being reproducing Christians.

There's no greater joy to anyone than to see those who have led to Christ developing and going on, and growing in the full maturity in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well that's still before you. Now look at the next phrase.

Standing Fast in the Lord and the Hope of Heaven

So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. Now here there are six little words here, and they're all pregnant with meaning. That's what takes me back to the word therefore.

The word therefore in verse one says therefore. And you say, well what is it there for? Well if you want to know what it's there for, you've got to go back to the two previous verses, and see how it's verses 20 and 21, close of chapter three.

For our citizenships in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our body of humiliation. Our bodies are not vile. That's a poor translation. Our bodies are fearfully and wonderfully made.

The body of our humiliation, with all its physical limitations, weakness, is going to change our body like unto its own body of glory, according to the working whereby is able even to subdue all things unto himself.

Now says Paul, for the threefold reason, because you're a citizen of heaven, you're looking for the Savior from heaven, and he's going to change your body like unto his own body of glory. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

Now you're just a doctor rising to go home, about to leave these beautiful grounds and wonderful Christian fellowship, but here's a word of encouragement, a word of exhortation. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

In the Lord is a great essential. In the Lord's spiritual life is obtained. In the Lord's spiritual life is sustained. In the Lord's spiritual life is perfected. There's no spiritual life apart from the Lord Jesus.

He himself is our life. He didn't just give us the gift of life. He himself is the gift. He himself is our life. He that hath the Son hath life, and now this life is sustained in Christ, and this life is perfected in Christ.

It's his life, his life to receive him, and the whole thing depends upon our adorable Lord Jesus Christ. And then there's a loving entreaty, a loving entreaty. It is this, stand fast. And you know, beloved, this is a day when we need this entreating.

This is a day when we need this word of encouragement, to stand fast in the Lord. You know, we're living in a day when all the carnal truths are being assailed and being attacked on every hand, and we, as God's people, should stand fast in our adherence to the word of God regarding his virgin birth, regarding his virgin birth.

President Simon is being attacked on every hand, but a savior is not quite God. He's not a savior at all. Paul could say, Great is the mystery of God, and as God manifests himself in flesh, that great theologian, the late John Wesley, said as he meditated upon the virgin birth, the great creator contracted to expand indescribably made man.

Oh, the wonder of the virgin birth of our adorable Lord Jesus Christ. Remember how it says, And so and so begat, so and so begat, so and so begat, in Matthew chapter one? When it comes down to Jacob, it says, And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born in Christ.

It does not say, And Joseph begat Jesus. Oh, not at all. And Jacob begat Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born in Christ. The only time you ever read of the seed of Christ, otherwise it's the seed of the man, the seed of the man.

But when it comes to the birth of Christ, it's the seed of the woman. Oh, does that not cause your heart exhaust? In Matthew chapter one, you'll read that from Abraham to David are fourteen generations.

From David to Babylon are fourteen generations. From Babylon to Christ are fourteen generations. So when you come, my friend, to trace these truths, you certainly will find that from Abraham to David are fourteen, and from David to Babylon are fourteen.

But when you come to the third section, you'll only find thirteen. And yet the Bible says there are fourteen. Is there a discrepancy? Is there a contradiction? A thousand times, no. The fourteenth one is the Holy Ghost, and that Holy One is born of the Holy Ghost.

We bow before Him this morning. We cry, Thou art the everlasting Word, the Father's only Son. God manifested, sin inherited, and Heaven's beloved One. Worthy, O Lamb of God, art Thou. At every knee to Thee should bow.

Christ's Sinless Life and Vicarious Death

And then we must think of His virtuous life, that those who think it was possible for Christ to have sinned, but He did not sin. I heartily disagree with that. There is no fifth column as to Christ's concern.

There was never anything in Christ that is bound to sin. He is the Holy Sinless Son of God. His Father could say, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. His friend could say, He did no sin.

He knew no sin. There was no sin found in Him. His very force could say, I find nothing worthy of death in this man. Another one said, I find no fault in this man. Judas who betrayed Him cried, I have sinned, and I betrayed the innocent blood.

And please note in the deathly article there, he does not say, I have sinned, and I betrayed innocent blood. It's the innocent blood, the only blood that is innocent, the only blood that is pure, the only blood that is holy, the Holy Sinless Son of God.

And every member of the very scene from hell came and cried, We know who Thou art, Thou Holy One of God. Let us bow before Him this morning and worship the Holy Sinless Spotless Son of the Living God.

His Father, Friend, and Foe of Heaven and earth and hell all point to our adorable Lord Jesus, declared a sinless, a perfect man. But what about His vicarious death? Yes, my friend, His death is death for another.

When you make much of the blood of Jesus Christ these days, people do not like that. They say, Put the soft tablet upon the blood. Don't mention the blood. Talk about His love. Substitute the word for love.

Don't mention the blood. Oh, my friend, listen today. A bloodless gospel is no gospel at all. It's the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin. And apart from that blood, there's no forgiveness, there's no remission.

I was preaching in a chapel some time ago. A nurse came up to me. She said, You know, Mr. Bartle, I've been in the faith for three years. It's the first time in three years I've heard the blood mentioned from that platform.

I said, Look, what are you having? All of a sudden we're having wonderful messages, beautifully constructed, beautifully put together, grammar perfect, word perfect, but there's been no power. We haven't seen any soul saved.

It's the blood of Jesus Christ that brings about the miracle, my friend, and we must make much of the blood of Christ. Certain members of the family, the late Harold St. John in England, went to listen to a very eloquent orator in a very fanciful church, and when Mr. St. John told me the story, it made the perspiration run cold down my back.

That man stood there and said before that enlightened, uncultured congregation, I was as much bathed in a pot of red paint as I have in the blood of Calvary. My friend, we must make much of the blood of Jesus Christ.

That blood's going to be pressured all eternity. It's the blood that atones for the soul, and we sometimes sing, triumphantly, precious, precious blood of Jesus shed on Calvary, shed for grievance, shed for sinners, shed for me.

I know there's that word, shed. The word is not spilt. Now, sometimes they come across the word spilt in our hymns, but hymn, good hymnology is not always good theology. The blood was never spilt. There was no accident when Christ died.

He voluntarily, willingly, and deliberately poured out His blood for you and for me. After all eternity, we're going to say unto Him that loved us and loosed us from our sins in His own blood. To Him be honor and glory and power.

Time was allowing to develop this. Apart from this little chorus we sometimes sing, there is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that blood lose all their guilty stains.

I do believe I will believe that Jesus died for me, that on the cross He shed His blood from sin to set me free. Oh, is this reeling your heart today? Is that the testimony of your soul right now? I do believe, I will believe that Jesus died for me.

Oh, beloved, carnal, charteous Christ, my sins deserve eternal death, but Jesus died for me. But what about His victorious resurrection? Thank God for His vicarious death. Bearing shame and scoffing, grove in my face, condemned, He stood, filled my pardon with His blood.

Hallelujah! What a savior! For the cross is empty, and the tomb is vacated, and the day He lives and lives in a pardoned, endless life. And we today must make much of the visible return of our adorable Lord Jesus.

His virgin birth, His virtuous life, His vicarious death, His victorious resurrection, and now His visible return. This is a truth that has been attacked and every hand has been chewed, but thank God He's on the way.

Thank God He's coming. His coming is as certain as the dawn, and I'm waiting for the resurrection morn. He's coming back again. His words so very plain. His coming is as certain as the dawn. So stand fast in your adherence to the word of God regarding five wonderful deeds, those cardinal truths.

Unity and Perseverance in the Fellowship

And now, please, don't do something else. Stand fast in maintaining the oneness in the fellowship of the saints of God. Maintain purity and perseverance amongst the saints of God. This is important. Now, the little word soul is so important.

Soul, and it links on immediately with the threefold reason. Because you're a citizen of heaven, you're looking for the Savior from heaven, He's going to change His body like His own body of glory. So stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.

Now, please look at verse number two. I beseech you, Oria, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind as the Lord. Now, this word here, beseech, it comes twice. Did you notice that? He doesn't say, I beseech you, Oria and Syntyche.

Oh no, he besought them both. He besought them both. And this word, beseech, is a very interesting word. It's a beautiful word. Paul uses it over and over and over again. He loved to use this word, beseech.

It's a word that means a young man's getting down before his young lady, and he's proposing to her. He's seeking to woo her, that he might win her. Our old Scottish divines used to say to us younger fellows, they said, woo hard.

Woo hard for Christ. Woo hard. Woo to win them. Woo to win them for Christ. And that's the word Paul's using here. Some people tell me Paul was a bachelor. I don't believe that for one moment. He was once a bachelor.

Oh yes, but I don't believe that Paul was a bachelor. I believe Paul was a widower. And Paul was married as Saul. He never married as Paul. He was married as Saul, and his wife, a little boy, died during an epidemic at Lystra.

He never married as Paul. That's important to remember that, too, you know. Now, may I help you right here again? And also, Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin. And all married men were members of the Sanhedrin.

And so, if Paul was a bachelor, he must have known an awful lot about women. You see? And the Paul, the word he uses here, I beseech. I beseech you, Odeon. I beseech Sintikee. He's wooing that he might win.

I was conducting a wedding at St. Catherine's, where dear Mr. McLaren comes from. And at the wedding reception, the bride's father got up to give a speech. And he said, 45 years ago today, I got down on my knees to propose to my bride.

He said, it's taken me all that time to get back in my seat. After 45 years. I beseech you, Odeon. I beseech Sintikee, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. May I help you here? A friend of mine is in Yonkers, outside New York.

And he came to read the scripture, and he couldn't quite pronounce these two names. So he said, Euryus and Sintikee. The lady was so upset she left the meeting. He said, that proves it. Euryus and Sintikee.

But the word is here, Euryus and Sintikee. Be of the same mind. Can you hear him saying it? Ah, he's dictating it. Be of the same mind in the Lord. See, you're standing fast in the Lord in verse 1, but you're of the same mind in verse number 2.

Now, verse number 3. I am speaking also to your fellow, I believe this is Papadidus, help those women which labor with me in the gospel. But claim it also, other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life.

The same word is fellowship in the gospel, chapter 1, verse 5. Same word is serving as a son with him in the gospel, chapter 2, verse 22. And now he speaks about the women laboring with him. See where we're getting to?

The whole assembly, the whole community are participating. The whole assembly are in this. They're all participating. There's no dead wood in the assembly at Philippi. Oh no, they're all living members, and they're participating, and they're contributing to, adding to the spiritual tone of the whole atmosphere.

They recognize an assembly as an evangelizing unit, and every brother and sister in the assembly is a living, fruitful, and productive cell, adding to, contributing to, the spiritual tone of the whole assembly.

And the Lord himself, of course, is a glorified head of his assembly, and the Holy Spirit himself is a presence who presides in the little church. Oh, the joy of this, how it fills the heart. And now, may I draw your attention to this little expression, whose names are in the book of life.

Now, here are people whose names are not illustrious. They haven't hit the headlines, haven't hit the front page, but my friend, they are illustrious in heaven, whose names are in the book of life. And I often say this, and I repeat it this morning, I believe the greatest work for God done behind the scenes is not all done from the desk.

A lot of people seem to think all the work done by the evangelist and by the Bible teacher, not at all. Most of my work done in my own home, done in other people's home. Often when I'm having meetings, I have a clinic, and every morning from nine to half past eleven, I'm in the chapel.

Anybody who wants to talk with me can come and consult with us there. And I find more work done in the people's hearts there than by my ministry from the desk. And I believe the greatest ministry done, how done, is behind the scenes altogether.

Now, I want to give you an illustration. A doctor of philosophy was prevailed upon to go and listen to a preacher. He was a Scotsman, his grammar was atrocious, but this doctor of philosophy went to listen to him.

He didn't intend to, mind you. But he got there, and this particular night, as the man preached, the doctor seemed to listen. And a few nights after, he went back again. He'd been invited to supper by some friend, you see, who, out of courtesy, he went along with him to the meeting.

And that's always a good way of getting people to meetings, by the way, invite them for supper. Invite them for a meal and say, now we're going along the chapel, you come along with us. And they're only too happy to come along.

Why not try that first night, by the way, with some of your local friends? May I help you right here now? And so a few nights after, he went back again. A few nights after, he went back again. And the last night that doctor of philosophy was there, listening to this rather uncouth kind of a preacher.

But as the supper was over, the preacher said to him, I'm going to ask that man if he's sane. One of those young blunt kind of preachers was saying, I'm going to ask if he's sane. And so the doctor came, so the doctor said to the evangelist, good night, brother.

The preacher said, are you sane, doctor? He said, yes, I was sane the very first night I came to the service. Now immediately the evangelist's chair began to swell up. My, what a wonderful, notable letter of interest.

This doctor of philosophy is sane in my meeting. My, won't that just be wonderful, you see? So he said, doctor, what was I preaching on the first night you came? And he said, it was never anything you said that brought me to Christ.

How deflating some people can be. He said, what was it? He said, it was a handshake and the God bless you I got from the old man giving out the hymn books. I recognized that old man had got something I hadn't got, and I didn't rest until I found his savior as my savior that night.

When we get home to heaven, we'll see things in a true perspective. Often I've seen people wander away into the inquiry rooms after a gospel meeting. I have thrown myself over the desk and said, oh God, oh God, how much of the flesh is about this.

How much of the flesh is about this. By that little egg custard you know you baked the other day and you took it across to Mrs. Salsa because she wasn't very well. That cup of cold water you gave in the name of a disciple.

That letter you wrote to that loathsome missionary. That visit you made to that shut-in. That smile, that handshake, that God bless you. Yes, my friend, this is going to be a reward in the coming day.

And the great things we thought were getting well done, oh God, the table and the things we'd forgotten about, we're going to owe and we're done for him. I want to encourage you people who may not be always able to come to this minister, that the work behind the scenes you can do, and you with a single eye to the glory of God, we're all in this, you know.

And I believe the greatest weapon is prayer, is prayer. We can all pray, and we can all thank God one for another, and we can all love one another going back to the first day. Isn't that right? Now let's go a little farther, because my time is running out.

Rejoicing, Gentleness, and the Peace of God

Verse number four. Rejoice in the Lord on Sundays. Now, you could do it on Sundays too. Rejoice in the Lord during the days of convention. Yes, but rejoice in the Lord always. Always. Now, you can take this from Paul when he says, and again I say rejoice.

Verse one, you're standing fast in the Lord. Verse two, you're rejoicing in the Lord. Verse number four, you're rejoicing in the Lord. Verse three, you are of the same mind as the Lord. But here now, he says, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

Now, we can take this from Paul, can't we? Paul's running a Roman dungeon. He speaks fast and stout. He's in most adverse circumstances, yet nineteen times he can say to you and says to me, rejoice, rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice.

You're past your time of testing, a real time of difficulty, probably physical and probably mental, or maybe you have had some financial reverses or some disappointments, and somebody comes along who's never had a reverse in his life, never had a headache in his life, never had a pain in his life, and you're going through a time of real sorrow.

He comes along and says, cheer up, brother, God bless you, keep looking up, brother. You just feel like hitting him smack in the nose, don't you? But somebody comes along, especially what you're going through.

They know what it is to suffer physically. They know what it is to be bereaved. They know what it is to suffer loss. They come along and say, God bless you, sister. I understand, brother. You can take it from them.

You rejoice together. Isn't that true? That's the word used here. And Paul, we can take it from Paul this morning. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice. Now, please go to verse number six and says here, verse five, let your moderation, let your sweet reasonableness, let your gentleness, your yieldingness be known unto all men.

Now, can you hear the old warrior writing to those two sisters and saying, now let your gentleness, rather than translate it like this, let your sweet reasonableness, your sweet reasonableness. You see, that's a beautiful thought.

See, Paul, you women are the most reasonable creatures in the world. Paul knew that. I remember seeing at the conference some time ago, a man came up to me afterwards and said, Mr. Paul, are you married?

I said, I'm very happily married. Why do you ask? Haven't I got a subdued look about me? Well, he said, not that exactly, but he said, when you said women are the most reasonable creatures in the world, I said that man can't be married.

I said, well, are you married? He said, yes. I said, well, probably you've got the wrong one. Women are reasonable creatures, and Paul knew that. And a few to the sweet reasonableness, to the gentleness, to the lady-likeness, and he said, let your gentleness be known.

You see, Paul, to me, is a real master. He really is. You know, when he dies, he fills his mind and heart and vision with Christ in the first three chapters. He says, Christ is the source of life, he's the standard, he's the satisfaction, and now he drops this nasty pill.

You know, he gets him in love with the Lord Jesus, gets his heart up to exercise with Christ. Just like a mother going to give her child a nasty pill, she puts in the spoonful of jam, says, here's a spoonful of jam for you, darling.

The child can't understand why mother's so generous all of a sudden with her jam. But you see, the pill's in that nasty jam, that nasty pill's in the jam, and so the pill goes over along with the jam.

And Paul's just like that. Do you ever notice that? He just fills your heart with Christ, and just gets you in love with the Lord, just like the jam. See, you're so taken up, and then he drops the nasty pill.

He says, let your moderation be known unto all men. Let your sweet reason be known unto all men. Isn't that just like him? We were out in the rock at the Rocky Mountains recently, and saw two mountain goats at the ledge of a rock.

So there was no room for the two goats to pass by each other, and they couldn't turn around, the ledge was so narrow. So what happened? The one goat lay down and allowed the other goat to walk over the top of it.

Let your yieldingness, your gentleness be known unto all men. But often I find that in Christian circles, diagraphing down the great North American continent and other parts of the world, a few people got a clash of personalities.

Not doctrinally, no, no, but just a clash of personalities. And you know, they're just like the two goats. They just look at each other, and they look at each other, but instead of one lying down, let the other one walk over the top of him.

Oh, they begin backing away at each other, and backing away at each other. And as a result, as the pros fall over, and as the goats are done, they fall over the Christian and kill. You see? Let your gentleness, let your yieldingness be known unto all.

What does it mean? Let the one lie down, let the other one, oh, but that's not, that's not natural, brother, that's not natural. No, it's not natural, my brother, but it's spiritual. 1 John 3, 16. Because he laid down his life for the brethren, we ought to lay down, because he laid down his life for us, we ought to lay down a life for the brethren.

Isn't that true? If you're even in the right, if it's just a clash of personalities, lie down, let the other fellow walk over the top of you. Take the wrong place, for the Lord's sake, and for God's glory.

But, why? Because the Lord's at hand. That's why the Lord's at hand. You see, he's nearer to you than your neighbor. Oh, I know that we have a refugee who's coming back again, and we'd like everything to be straight and aboveboard in view of the Lord's coming, wouldn't we now?

Because his coming is very, very near, but now, he's at hand now. He's looking on now. He knows everything about us now, and because of this, he says, let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord's not only at hand, he's holding our hand.

He says, I'll never let go of your hand. And Paul says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. And now look at verse number six. Be careful for nothing. Why? Because the Lord's at hand.

Don't be over-enthusiastic, don't be perturbed, don't be pushed out. Why? Because I love this. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

May be careful, though, that everything by prayer, that is generally, to pray in a general way, with supplication means in particular, with requests, with thanksgiving means in detail. And then, verse seven, and the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.