Introduction: (Video Clip – Wounded in Iraq) Worry has become a national obsession in our world today. You do not have to have a loved one overseas in combat to worry. We are a nation of worriers and we worry about everything…
Parents worry about their children
Adult children worry about their aging parents
There are finance issues
Health issues
And we worry about what others think of us
Hospitals and doctor’s offices are full with people who have physical problems brought on by overwhelming anxiety.
When we worry, we overeat, get depressed, lose sleep and have an uneasy anxiety about life in general.
Is worry necessary? Psychologists are discovering more and more most worries are not legitimate. Consider the following…
40% of our worries never happen. Anxiety is the result of a tired mind.
30% of our worries concerns past decisions which cannot be changed
12% of our worries centers on criticism by others, meant to make us feel inferior
10% is related to health, which only worsens as we worry
8% of our worries are legitimate, showing that life does have real problems which can be met head on when I eliminate senseless worry.
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus made a brief, but comprehensive statement regarding worry.
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Unfortunately, believers are not exempt from worry. We try to hide our worry calling it Christian Concern. In reality, worry is the secret sin for believers. Not only is needless worry a sin, it is a joy stealer – and like the joy stealers we have mentioned before worry rob us of the abundant life Christ promised.
Today as we close out this series from Philippians, I want us to discover how we can be victorious over anxiety and worry.
Before we look at Paul’s solutions let us understand what is worry
Worry Defined
What is worry? Our English word for worry comes from the word – meaning to “To strangle” That describes worry pretty well, for worry has a way of strangling us physically and mentally. The biblical word for worry literally means, “to be torn apart” Worry comes when the thoughts of our mind and the feelings of our emotions pull is in direct directions and “tear us a part”
For Example - The mind thinks about the problem, our emotions wrestle with the problem creating a vicious cycle that wrecks our emotional state. Our minds tell us not to worry, but our emotions if uncontrolled stir us up and thus we worry.
Once we define worry, we can begin to understand the solutions Paul has for us. In Philippians 4, Paul shares with us THREE RIGHT PRACTICES we must do to defeat this Joy Stealer.
Philippians 4:4-9
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
To conquer worry, we must get three things right…
The Right Kind of Praying
Paul said, Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
How is your prayer life?
How often do you spend time in prayer? Paul tells us if we are to keep worry at bay, we must first, not be anxious and second in everything go to God in prayer.
Too often prayer is viewed as a last resort; we try to fix, mold, and mend people or situation and then when all of our efforts fail we go to God. Is it any wonder we turn to worry before we turn to God?
As Paul writes to this young church, he gives a 3-fold formula for an effective prayer life.
The word Paul uses for prayer in this text means adoration carries with it the idea of praise or worship. The key to overcoming worry it focus on God, through worship. Listen to the words of the Psalmist and you begin to understand the power of worship when it comes to overcoming worry.
Psalm 37:25, I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.
Psalm 23, The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want
Psalm 18:1-3, I love you, O LORD, my strength. The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies.
These verses are just a few of the examples that remind us when we are worried we need to go to god in worship.
Following our worship, Paul tells us there is to be a time of petition – this carries with it the idea of asking sincerely for the desires of our heart
Finally, Paul says to give thanks or thanksgiving, listen to the words of Paul from Colossians - Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. Colossians 3:15-16
Listen it takes faith to thank God when you are full of worry and concern, but through that thanksgiving we demonstrate we are taking our worries and problems and placing them on the shoulders of the one who can control all things.
A biblical example of this kind of prayer life is seen in the life of Daniel. In the 6th chapter of the book of Daniel we discover Daniel, a righteous man is at odds with some of the kings court. These men convince the king to issue a decree banning prayer to anyone except the king of Babylon. Immediately Daniel finds himself in a difficult situation, Daniel was accustomed to praying to God 3 times a day. To the average person this may have caused concern and anxiety, but not for Daniel. In Daniel 6: 10 we read, Now when Daniel learned that the decree had been published, he went home to his upstairs room where the windows opened toward Jerusalem. Three times a day he got down on his knees (worshipped) and prayed (petition), giving thanks (thanksgiving) to his God, just as he had done before.
This week when you are facing a time of anxiety, or you are burdened with worry, why not follow the example of Daniel and the lessons of Paul and offer up the right kind of prayer, one that is filled with worship, petitions and thanksgiving.
To overcome worry, you must have the right kind of praying, but there also must be…
The Right kind of thinking
Look at verse 8 once a gain - Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
If you to want to free yourself from worry, you have to think about the right kind of things. Isaiah 26:3 reminds us, You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Thoughts are powerful.
Maybe you heard about the elderly woman who was so worried about the crime in her neighborhood, she began carrying a gun. After day of shopping, she returned to her car and found four men sitting in her car. She immediately dropped her shopping bags and drew out her gun, she warned the bandits she knew how to use the gun and was not afraid to use it.
The four men hurried out of the car, running for their lives, whereupon the lady began to load her shopping bags into the backseat of her car. Then she got in the driver’s seat and made a startling discovery – her ignition key did not work. Upon closer inspection, she discovered her car, which was identical, parked 5 spaces away. Terribly embarrassed she loaded her bags into her car, then she looked for any sign of the four men she threaten. Not finding the men she drove to the police station to explain her actions, when she arrived at the precinct she found four terrified men reporting a carjacking by an angry old woman with a gun. NO CHARGES WERE FILED!
Wrong thoughts can lead to wrong actions – but spiritual thinking leads to peace. Paul told the Corinthian church to take every thought captive. I have to admit there are times when I do not follow Paul’s advice, instead of capturing every thought, I sometimes let thoughts run free and that is when worry appears in my life.
How do we think rightly?
Paul says draw your focus on what is Pure, holy and praise worthy. What do you think about each day? Where does your mind go through out the day?
Do you focus on what is Holy or unholy?
Are your thoughts pure or are they impure?
Is your conversation praise worthy or is there a critical spirit on your lips?
Recently I have rediscovered Oswald Chambers devotional “My Utmost for His Highest” in the book Chambers brings new insight to God’s word that is both practical and timely. His devotional is a constant reminder of the power of reading and thinking about God’s word. When it comes to worry, we need to be reminded of what God says in his word. Those who love your instructions have great peace and do not stumble. Psalm 119:135
When it comes to reliving anxiety, let us take the advice of Paul and think on the right kind of things and those things are found in God’s word. Psalm 119 reminds us God’s word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. It is also the key to reliving anxiety
While it is important to have the right kind of prayer life and the right kind of thought life, it is also important to have…
The Right Kind of Living
Right living always relives anxiety, when one is not living in a way that honors God; there is a sense of guilt. True guilt is essential for living. God uses guilt to influence us to change our mind and behavior, thus leading us to repentance. If we never felt guilty about an issue, we would not follow rules or standards. For that reason Paul said in verse 9, Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
It is not enough to use the Bible as a basis for praying and claiming of promise: The Bible must be a focus for living. We will only have true peace, which is the absence of anxiety when our lifestyle matches our convictions, when we put our faith into practice.
For each of us we face a daily battle to live a lifestyle that honors God.
Every day Satan wants to whisper to you – “It is just one sin, what would it hurt?” However, that one sin will hurt – it will affect your lifestyle, alter your thinking and if we are not careful damage your prayer life. It is for that reason Paul told his followers to live the right kind of life. A lifestyle that shuns anxiety and life that focus on what Christ thinks of you, rather than what the crowd thinks of you.
The example of Peter
If there was ever a man who faced anxiety, it was Peter. On the night before Jesus was crucified, he pledges his allegiance to Jesus – “If everyone else falls away – I will still be there for you”. However in the course of 12 hours, Peter will deny Christ 3 times and desert him at his hour of need. His boldness turned to denial and his denial turned into anxiety. How would he ever face anyone again? Yet 30 years later Peter wrote these words - Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:7
What made the difference? The resurrection of Jesus; The resurrection of Jesus reminds us…
When everything seems out of control
When nothing makes sense
When all of hopes are dashed
When it seems like your life is a failure
When all you can do is worry
The resurrection of Christ serves as a constant reminder; God is in control of everything. God is not anxious – God does not worry – God is in control.
The resurrection tells me I have no need for anxiety, no need to worry – For god has everything under control.
Are you trying to control things today? Do you have concerns that are stealing your joy? Are you worried about anything?
Now is the time to give to the Lord.
Paul said it so eloquently it needs repeating…
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything!
Prayer
