First Lutheran Church of Little Rock

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Gospel lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
God, our eternal refuge, throughout all generations, You’ve sheltered us.
Before the mountains rose, before the world began, You have always been,
and forever you will be.
Our days, like morning grass, may be fleeting and momentary.
Yet, every sunrise is a reminder of Your unchanging love and new mercies.
Turn to us, O Lord, with compassion in times of distress and uncertainty.
Fill our days with joy and gladness, reflecting the time we’ve faced
hardships.
Show us the wonders of Your deeds and the hopes of your promise.
Guide our actions, Lord, and bless our efforts for Your glory.
May the enduring love of our eternal God be our foundation, today and
always, as we gather in worship.
Introduction

A. The appointed Gospel reading for this morning is the last of an
important series of Holy Week interactions in Matthew between Jesus and his
various opponents (21:23–22:46).
1. Our Lord has just finished a debate with the Sadducees (22:23–33), one
in which the answer He gave to their questioning was so stunning that the
text reveals that they were completely silenced.
2. They were unable to speak, and the crowds were “astonished at His
teaching” (22:33).
3. The Lord boldly corrected the Sadducees and their false theology of the
resurrection of the dead.
4. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and so
Jesus made their error evident by a pure preaching of God’s Word.
5. Within the crowd listening, the Pharisees are present and preparing one
more assault, what is found in today’s text.
6. In addition, it is important to note the time of the event.
7. After this, Jesus’ enemies will take a new tack, and that one will
succeed; the Lord will suffer and die for the sins of the world.
8. But that death will also be for the Sadducees and Pharisees.
9. The Lord loves them, and He knows that His time is running out, so our
text is a last opportunity to teach them.
B. Within the context I just described, let’s go back in time 2,000 years.
1. You are making your way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.
2. You have come upon the scene as described in our Gospel lesson for this
morning.
3. You have never heard such noise!
4. But, of course, you’re not from around here.
5. Just like a lot of people, people are here in the city from all over.
6. It’s Passover time.
7. The sounds, the bustling—it’s crowded and very busy.
8. You can smell the smoke from the temple sacrifices.
9. Animals are calling out from the cages in the temple, awaiting their
fate.
10. You’re going to buy one and sacrifice it.
11. Looks like a long line.
12. All this pushing and shoving has you trapped out here in the temple
courtyard, near the pillars.
1. As you go to the temple to offer your sacrifice, you see Jesus, the one
many are saying is the Christ, the man born of David’s royal line to
deliver us, being questioned by his enemies. He’s brilliant!
A. What’s going on over here? Something’s happening.
1. I recognize that man talking to the Sadducees.
2. That’s that man from Nazareth.
3. His name is Jesus, who is called the Christ.
4. He’s the man everyone’s been talking about.
5. He’s healed many people of their terrible diseases.
6. I heard He just did that recently in the temple.
7. I heard that he’s even raised people from the dead.
8. People have been calling his preaching “Good News.”
9. I’m not sure what they mean.
10. Not much of the news I’ve heard lately is good.
B. Just two days ago, I was in the same crowd when he came into the city on
a donkey.
1. People were shouting out the praises of our blessed King David, calling
out to this man and laying their cloaks on the road.
2. People are calling him the Christ, the Anointed One.
3. Could he be the future King of the Jews, the one who’ll conquer the
Romans and restore Israel?
4. That’s what the Pharisees have taught us about the Christ, the man born
of David’s royal line.
5. But this guy doesn’t look like much now that I get a closer look.
6. I heard Jesus has been here in the temple teaching since He came into
the city.
7. I haven’t had a chance to hear Him myself.
8. I should have been here yesterday.
C. I heard He was very angry, knocking over the money-changers’ tables,
even using a bullwhip to drive them out.
1. I hear He called the temple his Father’s house, as though He were the
Son of God.
2. I see.
D. It looks like a debate is taking place.
1. Oh, the Sadducees.
2. Those guys are brilliant!—freethinkers.
3. I feel sorry for that no-name country boy Jesus.
4. No regular guy outwits these intellectual types.
5. Jesus is no match for . . . Oh, my, wait a minute!
6. They look embarrassed!
7. I don’t know what Jesus just said, but it sure shut up the Sadducees!
8. Now everybody’s staring at them.
9. The Sadducees aren’t saying anything.
10. They’re stunned!
11. I don’t know what he said, but whatever it was, they’re leaving,
slinking away.
12. Wow! No last words?
13. Indeed! They have nothing to say!
E. Oh, I understand now.
1. Jesus must believe what the Pharisees teach.
2. I know the Pharisees and the Sadducees hate each other.
3. Jesus must be on the side of the Pharisees.
F. Behind me—people are whispering.
1. I don’t want to look obvious, but I can’t quite see who it is.
2. Oh, it’s the rulers of the Pharisees.
3. Wait a minute.
4. Jesus isn’t with the Pharisees either.
5. They’re saying they don’t want people to think he’s one of them.
6. They’re speaking more softly now.
7. Can I hear them?
8. They’re talking about what they can ask Jesus to trip him up.
9. They’re choosing one of their people, a lawyer, to approach Jesus.
10. They’re going to try to trap him.
G. Here goes: “Jesus, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
1. Oh, that’s a good one.
2. Be careful, Jesus.
3. He’s trying to trick you.
4. I can hear them chuckling and snickering back here.
5. Even I know that any answer you give will be wrong.
6. These guys are just waiting for you to stumble through all 613 of the
rabbinical laws.
7. If you choose one as the greatest, they’ll say there is no greatest
because different ones become greater at different times based on the
situation.
8. If you say there isn’t a greatest one, they’ll chide you for your not
knowing which is the greatest right now, in this circumstance.
9. No matter what you say, you’ll look like a fool.
10. Just don’t say anything, Jesus.
11. Just call this one “lost” and come back another day.
12. Oh, Jesus, wait!
13. Give yourself a second to think before you answer!
14. Don’t . . .!
H. Whoa! Did you hear that?
1. He just quoted from Deuteronomy and Leviticus.
2. He’s going to the Law that trumps ALL the rabbinical laws.
3. Well done, Jesus, well done!
4. He just said,
a. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a
second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two
commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
5. Brilliant!
6. That’s a summary of all Ten Commandments.
7. That is the greatest, because that says it all!
8. Well done, Jesus.
2. But he’s more! He is the Christ, David’s Son and David’s Lord! My temple
sacrifice is no longer necessary, for he is the sacrifice!
A. But wait a minute!
1. If the entirety of the Law and the prophets hang on perfect love, how
can I ever please God?
2. I mean, I can keep at least some of those rabbis’ laws, but surely even
the Pharisees—good people that they are—know that only God is capable of
perfect love.
3. Oh, my! Jesus just proved from the Torah that the fulfillment of the Law
comes through perfect loving of God and neighbor.
4. I know I can’t do that.
5. So what’s the point of this sacrifice I’m buying to offer?
B. Only God can keep the Law perfectly.
1. So the Pharisees are failures too, like me?
2. Their own question has condemned them in their sins.
3. It’s condemned all of us.
4. So now what do we do?
5. I can’t save myself!
C. Look at them.
1. They know what he’s saying.
2. They get it.
3. But they’re not saying anything.
4. They’ve been stumped just like the Sadducees.
D. Uh, oh. Here we go.
1. Jesus is looking back here now.
2. He’s getting the Pharisees’ attention.
3. He knows it was all their setup.
4. He called their bluff and they’re not happy!
5. Let it go, Jesus.
6. Don’t push it.
7. They hate you.
8. You proved your point.
9. I can hear what they’re muttering.
10. They want you dead.
E. He’s asking them another question.
1. “What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?”
2. They’re answering, “The son of David.”
3. Sure.
4. Obviously.
5. Everybody knows that.
6. Why even bring it up?
7. Are you really trying to teach them something, Jesus?
8. These guys just condemned themselves in sin.
9. Truth is, Jesus, you just crushed all of us with the Law.
10. Why now talk about the Christ?
11. Let it go.
12. Just leave us all condemned.
13. You win.
F. Shhh. Jesus is asking another question.
1. “How is it then that David, in the Spirit, calls him Lord, saying, ‘The
Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under
your feet’? If then David calls him Lord, how is he his son?”
2. Hmm. That’s a tough one.
3. We all know that passage too.
4. That’s found in Psalm 110.
5. It’s all about the Messiah.
6. We know that.
7. My rabbi, a Pharisee, taught me that that text is specifically talking
about the Christ.
8. But what’s Jesus getting at?
9. Jesus just asked about the Christ, the Son of David.
10. Obviously there can be no authority other than God.
11. And obviously no king of Israel would dare call anyone below him
“Lord,” especially his son.
12. I’ve always been taught that only the king is lord.
13. The only one higher than David, the only one David would call Lord, is
Yahweh, God.
14. So, in other words, King David will have a son, a man, the Christ, whom
he will call “Lord.”
15. That can mean only one thing: the Son born of David will be God!
G. Jesus did it again!
1. The Pharisees are silent.
2. They know he’s right.
3. Of course.
4. It makes perfect sense.
5. But they’re so angry.
6. They’re leaving.
7. They’re covering their ears and waving him off.
8. Why? Why should that make them angry—that the Christ is God?
9. That’s not what upsets them at all, is it?
10. It’s not that the Christ is God that makes them mad!
11. It’s the fact that Jesus said it!
12. They just don’t want to hear from him!
H. I have ears to hear, Lord!
1. I’ve heard of your miracles.
2. Jesus, you are the man performing the perfect acts of love that only God
can do!
3. You are the one who saw the heart and knew the pure Word of God’s Holy
Law was needed to show our sins.
4. You are the one now giving understanding of the Scriptures and showing
us a merciful God, a Messiah, a Christ who will be born of man and yet will
be God to be our deliverer, and not from bondage to the Romans, but from
bondage to sin and death and hell!
Conclusion

A. Oh, my! It’s YOU!
1. YOU are David’s Lord!
2. YOU are God in the flesh, the Son of God.
3. The temple is your Father’s house.
4. You are the King of the Jews.
5. You are the Christ!
6. They will not believe, but I do!
7. I’m hanging on your words, Lord.
8. You are the Christ, the Son of the living God!
9. Kyrie eleison!
10. Have mercy on me, a sinner, and save me!
B. He’s moving up a few steps near the pillars.
1. He’s preparing to preach.
2. I must hear this wonderful good news, this Gospel of forgiveness.
3. Never mind what I was doing—my sacrifice here at the temple.
4. Never mind where I was going.
5. I must stay right here.
6. This is where I need to be, with David’s Son, my God and my Lord.
C. I am reminded of what it says in Isaiah 53:
Isaiah 53:4–5, 7 (NASB95)
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we
ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our
iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His
scourging we are healed.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent
before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth.
D. The Forgiveness of My Sin Has Been Revealed in Jesus, the God-man of
Nazareth Amen.
E. Let us pray:
Gracious and loving God, whose wisdom and understanding is beyond all human
comprehension, we gather before You, drawn together by Your love which
surpasses all understanding.
As the Pharisees questioned Jesus, seeking to test His wisdom, we are
reminded of Your command to love You with all our heart, soul, and mind,
and to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Help us, O Lord, to genuinely embrace this command, making it the
foundation of our lives.
Let our actions, our words, and our very thoughts reflect this great love.
We acknowledge that our understanding is limited, and often we are
challenged by the teachings of Your Word.
As Jesus stumped those who thought they knew everything, let us always
approach Your Word with humility, seeking to learn and grow, rather than to
justify our preconceptions.
In a world divided by countless differences, help us to be ambassadors of
Your love, reminding all that before You, we are all equal.
As we navigate the complexities of our daily lives, let the two greatest
commands be our guiding light.
And Lord, as we lift up our joys and concerns, may our prayers always find
their foundation in love.
Whether we are praying for guidance, healing, comfort, or gratitude, let
our love for You and for one another be the thread that ties our hearts
together.
In the mighty name of Jesus Christ, the cornerstone of our faith, we pray.
Amen.
F. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
G. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Old Testament lesson from Isaiah 45 serves as our sermon text for
this morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
LSB 745 In God, My Faithful God (stanzas 1-3)
In God, my faithful God,
I trust when dark my road;
Great woes may overtake me,
Yet He will not forsake me.
My troubles He can alter;
His hand lets nothing falter.

My sins fill me with care,
Yet I will not despair.
I build on Christ, who loves me;
From this rock nothing moves me.
To Him I will surrender,
To Him, my soul’s defender.

If death my portion be,
It brings great gain to me;
It speeds my life’s endeavor
To live with Christ forever.
He gives me joy in sorrow,
Come death now or tomorrow.

Introduction

A. Isaiah saw a dismal day ahead.
1. Yes, it would be more than a century after his lifetime, but it would
deeply affect his people.
2. Judah would be carried off to captivity in Babylon.
3. The city of Jerusalem would be laid waste, all the way to the ground.
4. It would seem to be the end for God’s people as a nation; countries
simply didn’t rise again from this kind of death.
5. Worst of all, the line of kings, successors of David, from which the
Lord’s Messiah was to come, would be cut off.
B. And yet, Isaiah also saw that there was hope.
1. Against all odds, Judah would come home.
2. Jerusalem and the temple would be rebuilt.
3. And somehow, God would continue the line of the Messiah, the Savior.
C. But here’s the really remarkable thing about our text.
1. Isaiah sees that the Lord would accomplish this through another
“messiah” (lowercase m), another savior (lowercase s), who didn’t even
believe in Him.
2. Talk about against all odds!
3. This other messiah, this savior, would think he was accomplishing so
much by his own power and with the help of many gods, but our text, and the
history that did indeed come true just as Isaiah saw it, is in fact another
proof that
D. There Is No God like Our God.
I. Throughout the world, people choose their gods.
A. We see this in our society today.
1. The obvious part:
a. All kinds of religions are represented, and people combine them at will.
2. The less obvious part:
a. People choose whom or what to trust with their lives.
b. Martin Luther’s explanation of the First Commandment in the Large
Catechism says it this way:
1. “A god means that from which we are to expect all good and in which we
are to take refuge in all distress.
2. So, to have a God is nothing other than trusting and believing Him with
the [whole] heart.”
B. But those gods are no help when it counts.
1. They were powerless against the military and political developments of
the prophet’s time.
2. They leave us powerless against the developments around us.
3. Worst of all?:
a. They promise but fail to deliver!
II. But with the one true God, it is the other way around.
A. God chooses an unlikely “savior,” “messiah,” to bring the people of
Israel back to Himself.
Isaiah 45:1–2,4 (NASB95)
1 Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right
hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open
doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
2 “I will go before you and make the rough places smooth; I will shatter
the doors of bronze and cut through their iron bars.
4 “For the sake of Jacob My servant, And Israel My chosen one, I have also
called you by your name; I have given you a title of honor Though you have
not known Me.
1. Cyrus doesn’t know God.
a. Historical sources tell us that he worshiped all kinds of deities,
including those of Babylonia, which he had conquered.
2. He doesn’t realize that all political power comes from the Lord,
something Jesus pointed out to Pilate while Jesus was on trial:
John 19:11 (NASB95)
Jesus answered, “You would have no authority over Me, unless it had been
given you from above; for this reason he who delivered Me to you has the
greater sin.”
3. The Lord reveals to Cyrus that he is responsible to God.
a. God names him, meaning God was first, and Cyrus’s life comes from him.
b. He has to answer to God.
B. This “savior,” Cyrus, is a preview in history of the coming “Anointed”
Christ—like a low-resolution thumbnail picture.
1. His origin is unimpressive.
a. Babylonia is the superpower of his time, but he is from Persia.
2. His rise to power surpasses all expectations.
3. His idea that everybody should choose his own gods is nothing but a
pagan doctrine, but this policy saves those whom God has chosen
a. that is, those who believe that there is only one God.
III. This one and only true God, found in Christ the Lord, is alone the
Savior of all men.
A. He seems even less impressive than Cyrus.
1. A God in human nature doesn’t seem very impressive.
2. He was born into a poor family and grew up in a negligible town, that is
Nazareth, with no formal education.
3. At least one person had a low opinion of the little town of Nazareth and
the people that came from there, as we hear in John 1:46 (NASB95):
Nathanael said to [Philip], “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
4. And in the end, He was seemingly deprived of all power, condemned to
death by two courts.
B. But He has won the victory in this world once and for all.
1. The ruler of this world is disarmed.
Isaiah 45:1 (NASB95)
Thus says the LORD to Cyrus His anointed, Whom I have taken by the right
hand, To subdue nations before him And to loose the loins of kings; To open
doors before him so that gates will not be shut:
John 14:30 (NASB95)
“I will not speak much more with you, for the ruler of the world is coming,
and he has nothing in Me;
John 16:8–11 (NASB95)
8 “And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and
righteousness and judgment;
9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no
longer see Me;
11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
2. The tomb of death and the gates of hell break open.
3. People will know that there is none besides Him
Isaiah 45:6 (NASB95)
That men may know from the rising to the setting of the sun That there is
no one besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other,
IV. Unlike the other gods or “saviors,” our God is the one who is in
charge, always and forever.
Isaiah 45:7 (NASB95)
The One forming light and creating darkness, Causing well-being and
creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these.
A. That gives us comfort . . .
1. When our experiences seem different.
2. When we feel powerless against the developments around us.
B. Dr. Daniel Schmidt, provost in the North region of the Independent
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, relates the following story:
1. “My family and I worked for the church in southern Africa for almost
seventeen years.
2. At that time, the crime rate in the Republic of South Africa was rising
constantly.
3. One Sunday morning in his sermon, a pastor of the Free Evangelical
Lutheran Synod encouraged parishioners to believe that God is in charge in
spite of that daily experience of crime.
4. When he came out of the church, his pickup truck was gone.
5. He stood in the parking lot, silently struggling with God, who had
allowed that to happen after what he had just preached.
6. But he had to conduct a second service in another congregation.
7. The organist in turn gave him a ride.
8. On the way, they passed a mobile speeding camera.
9. Several cars had been pulled over.
10. As the organist slowed down to pass them, the pastor realized that one
of the trucks was his.
11. The thug, trying to get away quickly, had been stopped by a police
officer.
12. God used a person of authority to return the pastor’s property to him
and did so in a way that he had not expected, something we hear in our Old
Testament lesson from Isaiah 45:1, 4–5.
13. Just imagine how he preached on the same theme in the second service!
C. That gives us certainty . . .
1. That the Lord will bring us home against all odds.
2. That in the end, the whole world will have to acknowledge the truth that
we confess: the Lord is God, and there is no other.

Conclusion

A. Even those who don’t believe that there is only one true God live by His
power and by what He daily provides for their lives.
1. But without Him, they will be lost eternally.
2. That is why God calls us with the First Commandment, saying: “I am the
Lord, your God, who saves you.”
3. He gives us every reason to trust Him against all worldly opposition and
to believe that He will bring us to the heavenly Jerusalem.
4. In truth, there is no other like Him. Amen.
B. Let us pray:
LSB 745 In God, My Faithful God (stanzas 4-5)
O Jesus Christ, my Lord,
So meek in deed and word,
You suffered death to save us
Because Your love would have us
Be heirs of heav’nly gladness
When ends this life of sadness.

“So be it,” then, I say
With all my heart each day.
Dear Lord, we all adore You,
We sing for joy before You.
Guide us while here we wander
Until we praise You yonder.
Text: Public domain
C. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.
D. In the Name of the Father…Amen.

A. In the Name of the Father…Amen.
B. The Epistle lesson serves as our sermon text for this morning.
C. Grace, mercy, and peace be yours from God our heavenly Father through
our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
D. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, let us pray:
LSB 919 Abide, O Dearest Jesus (stanzas 1-3)
1
Abide, O dearest Jesus,
Among us with Your grace
That Satan may not harm us
Nor we to sin give place.

2
Abide, O dear Redeemer,
Among us with Your Word,
And thus now and hereafter
True peace and joy afford.

3
Abide with heav’nly brightness
Among us, precious Light;
Your truth direct and keep us
From error’s gloomy night.

Introduction

A. In our worship together on this Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost, we are
directed to the rich banquet that is our life as God’s people redeemed and
chosen in Christ—both here in time and hereafter in eternity.
1. This week’s Collect reminds us that because of our sinfulness, we
deserve only God’s severe judgment—no lavish banquet!—yet He still invites
us to trust in him for our salvation because of the greatness of his grace
and mercy.
2. In today’s Old Testament Reading (Isaiah 25:6–9), we are given a
description of the joyous feast of eternal life that awaits us in heaven, a
feast we can anticipate in true joy even now because our death has been
conquered once and for all!
3. In the Epistle (Philippians 4:4–13), Paul can only recall abundant
banquets in his past (4:12), yet he affirms that even while our way to
heaven may be in hunger, we can rejoice in all circumstances—for God grants
us peace and strength through his Spirit!
4. And in this Sunday’s Gospel (Matthew 22:1–14), Jesus’ parable of the
royal wedding banquet of the king’s son, Jesus shows us that salvation is
extended to all by God’s free grace.
B. Knowing all this, we can truly celebrate the peace and contentment that
God pours out upon us. How so?
1. By letting others know of the joy we have in Christ,
2. By the gentle attitude and selflessness we strive to exhibit in our
dealing with others, and
3. By testifying by our attitude that anxiety has been lifted and peace of
heart given to us:
A. even as we maneuver through all the ups and downs of life in the here
and now,
B. waiting to be welcomed into our Lord’s heavenly kingdom.
C. Joy is a key word and a key concept in the apostle Paul’s letter to the
Philippians.
1. Here in chapter 4, it is good for us to remember that even while Paul
was in prison, his joy abounded beyond all the adversity and suffering he
was encountering.
2. In addition, he was ever mindful of the ministry and love poured out
upon him by warm-hearted Christians.
3. Yet at the same time, he knew how to rebuke the Philippians lovingly.
4. In connection with the “secret” he talks about in verse 12 and that
which Paul deals with in verses 5–7, it is encouraging to know that this
secret can pass all misunderstanding as well as all understanding.
5. What great assurance we are given in verse 13!:
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
6. Do you believe that we can do “all things” through Christ who
strengthens us?
7. What a blessing it is to realize that while there is every need for
grace, there is always grace for every need.
8. And the divine supply of our Lord’s grace is inexhaustible, since it
comes from His riches in glory.
9. Without saying it in our text for this morning, Paul tells us: “I have
got a secret” and he wants to share it with us.
I. To learn Paul’s secret, we begin by recapping what we were told in last
Sunday’s Epistle.
A. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians while he was in prison.
1. To a church that was undergoing persecution.
a. From Rome
b. From those within the Church.
2. To a church that disagreed as to what identified each individual as
being a Christian.
a. Did one have to follow the Jewish ceremonial laws in order to be a
Christian?
B. Paul himself came to the realization of how easy it is to make a “wrong
turn.”
1. He’d spent his younger life piling up every conceivable work of the Law
to be a good Israelite.
2. Then he’d learned we are raised up instead by the power of Christ’s
death and resurrection.
3. So now he counted all the old things as rubbish.
4. But in Christ he could still keep “running the race” while on his
earthly pilgrimage.
II. Now while he was in prison, the Philippian congregation had sent Paul a
gift, though he was quite content.
A. The size and details of the gift are not identified.
1. However, it was almost certainly a collection of money.
2. The gift supplied not only Paul’s physical need but also, more
important, his need for their love.
B. For some reason, the gift was delayed in getting to Paul.
1. Still, the apostle rejoices, for he knew that the Philippian
congregation was concerned for him all along
Philippians 4:10 (NASB95)
But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your
concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked
opportunity.
2. In addition, he eases the minds of the Philippian congregation regarding
the gift’s delay by assuring them with these words:
Philippians 4:11–12 (NASB95)
11 Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever
circumstances I am.
12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live
in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
III. Well, what was it that allowed Paul to be content?
A. Three things:
1. he had learned he could rejoice in the Lord always,
2. he had learned to have reasonableness (moderation, forbearance) in all
things, and
3. he had learned not to be anxious about anything.
B. Paul could “rejoice in the Lord always” (verse 4)!
1. There are many kinds of rejoicing.
a. There is rejoicing in committing sins.
b. There is rejoicing in receiving gifts—which may be by no means sinful.
2. However, the rejoicing of which Paul is speaking here:
a. Is a lasting rejoicing that remains when all other rejoicing vanishes.
b. Is a rejoicing in the Lord who has won for us salvation and saved us
from eternal death.
C. Of equal importance is what Paul says in verse 5:
Philippians 4:5 (NASB95)
Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
1. This is something Paul had to learn, perhaps under difficult
circumstances.
2. The message of the Gospel should affect all of our actions.
a. Even as our God has forgiven us, we should forgive others.
b. We should conduct ourselves with love and genuine concern for others.
3. Even if we are suffering wrongly at the hands of others, we should
follow the example of our Savior when He went to the cross to die there for
our sins.
4. And we should remember that the “Lord is at hand” to take us out of this
world of strife.
D. Paul knew, practiced, and directs us not to be “anxious about anything”
(verse 6).
1. Be careful to worry about nothing
2. Cast all your cares upon the Lord.
3. Already now we can give thanks for His answer!
IV. So, then, what is Paul’s secret that taught him this?
A. Again verse 12 of our text:
Philippians 4:12 (NASB95)
12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live
in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of
being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.
B. Here’s the secret (it is like Paul is calling up us to lean in closer to
hear him): having Christ is having all.
1. That’s what Paul means when he says:
Philippians 4:13 (NASB95)
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
2. Remember last week:
a. Paul learned that everything he’d formerly counted on was rubbish.
3. What mattered most to Paul?
Philippians 3:8 (NASB95)
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing
value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of
all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ,
C. By virtue of his living union and identification with his Lord Jesus
Christ, who always was, is, and ever would be his strength and his tower,
Paul could face any and every circumstance!
1. Neither the abundance of things nor the lack of them moved Paul away
from that which was the most important.
2. When we have Christ:
a. We have forgiveness of sins.
b. We have eternal joy.
c. We have the certainty that He is caring for us now—in whatever the
circumstances.
d. What does this mean? What verse 7 of our text says!
Philippians 4:7 (NASB95)
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
D. You and I can now say the same!
1. What Paul wrote to the Philippians in this heart-felt letter he also
says to us:
a. Rejoice in the Lord always!
b. Let all people know our forbearance (reasonableness, gentleness).
c. Have no anxiety about anything.
d. Our Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died on the cross to take away our
sin.
e. He rose from the dead.
f. He has placed faith into our hearts and has kept it there through the
working and power of the Holy Spirit.
g. And He is coming soon to bring us to His heaven to live with Him forever.
h. We know that!
Conclusion

A. Knowing this secret can certainly make it possible for us to look beyond
the problems and obstacles we face in our lives here on earth.
1. We can cast all our cares on him who is our strength and our tower.
2. We can have true peace!
B. We, Too, Now Know Paul’s Secret of Having the Peace of God in Every
Circumstance:
1. It’s all about Having Christ.
2. And when you have Christ, you have everything you need. Amen.
C. Let us pray:
LSB 919 Abide, O Dearest Jesus (stanzas 4-6)
4
Abide with richest blessings
Among us, bounteous Lord;
Let us in grace and wisdom
Grow daily through Your Word.

5
Abide with Your protection
Among us, Lord, our strength,
Lest world and Satan fell us
And overcome at length.

6
Abide, O faithful Savior,
Among us with Your love;
Grant steadfastness and help us
To reach our home above.
Text: Public domain
D. The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord.
E. In the Name of the Father…Amen.