Anxious For Nothing Part 2
Pray, Think, and Do 04/29/07 AM
Text and Reading: Philippians 4:4-9
[Many of the main thoughts for this series and this sermon are drawn from the writings of John MacArthur in his book: Anxious for Nothing.]
Introduction
In a previous lesson we explored Jesus’ great instruction on worry found in Matthew 6; learning that for us as Christians, there is no place for worry in our lives because of who our Father is; because of our Faith in His promises; and because of our Future as His children. In Philippians 4 we are going to look at Paul’s charter on how to avoid anxiety.
Paul makes it clear that we are not to worry but he does not leave us adrift without direction. He provides us positive steps to fill the void; through thankful praying, right thinking, and positive actions. The best (and perhaps only way) to break a bad habit is to replace it with a better one and worrying is a habit we must be without. The foremost way to avoid worrying is through prayer. Rightful thinking and positive actions logically follow but it all begins with prayer.
Handle Everything With Thankful Prayer
A.Do Not Be Anxious
1.4:4-7 Joy and contentment (gentleness) (vv. 4-5), accompanied with an awareness of Christ’s imminent return, should dispel anxiety.
a. Paul’s appeal to the Philippians is do not be anxious about anything. But this was not a call to a carefree life.
b.We do have cares in this world, cares common to life. Paul often expressed his care for the brethren. We care about our loved ones, our careers, many different things in our lives.
c.To care and be genuinely concerned is one thing. To worry is another. When we worry we take God out of the equation.
d.Jesus warned against worry which obviously eliminates trust in God (Matthew 6:25-33).
B.
C.Pray With Gratitude
1.Paul prompts the Philippians to worship instead of worry. Praying with thanksgiving involves trusting God.
a.Prayer (proseuchē) describes a believer’s approach to God, a general term meaning worshipful conversation with God.
b.Supplication (deēsei) emphasizes requesting an answer to a specific need, refers to a prayer with a sense of need.
c.Thanksgiving (eucharistias) is an attitude of heart which should always accompany one’s prayers, focuses on the attitude of one’s heart in approaching God.
2.We can approach God with thanksgiving with all sincerity by remembering the promises given in the scriptures:
a.1 Corinthians 10:13 God will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we are able.
b.1 Peter 5:10 In our suffering, God will “perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish” us.
c.James 1:12 Persevere under trial and receive the crown of life.
d.Romans 8:28 God causes all things to work together for good.
3.Consider Jonah: Jonah 1:13-17
a.How often are we confronted by storms in our lives and consumed by them as Jonah was consumed by the fish?
b.What is our reaction to God in those cases? Do we rail against Him? Do we cry out in accusation or anger? (“Oh God where are you, why is this happening to me?”)
c.Jonah 2:1 “Then Jonah prayed to the LORD his God from the stomach of the fish,” Jonah 2:2-9
4.Jonah had his faults and weaknesses but reflected profound spiritual stability in his prayer.
5.In the midst of great difficulty he was at peace, confident in God’s ability to deliver him if He chose.
6.In the same way, the peace of God will help us be stable if we react to our circumstances, however unusual or ordinary, with thankful prayer instead of anxiety.
7.That is the promise of Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
D.The Peace Of God
1.As believers, the Lord Jesus Christ is our peace (Ephesians 2:14), and every child of God has peace with God through justification by faith in Him (Rom. 5:1). But the peace of (or from) God relates to the inner tranquility of a believer’s close walk with God.
2.This peace of God surpasses all comprehension.
a.It transcends human intellect, insight, or analysis. It is beyond man’s ability to comprehend.
b.No human counselor can give it to you because it is a gift from God in response to gratitude and trust.
3.This peace guards the believers.
a.Guard (phrourēsei) translates a military term which means “to protect or garrison by guarding.”
b.Like soldiers assigned to watch over a certain area, God’s peace garrisons the hearts and minds, that is, the emotions and thoughts, of His children.
4.We need to know that we live in an imperfect world and we will have troubles but our trust rests in the Lord.
a.John 16:33 Jesus said to his followers “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
b.As His followers today, our Lord will give us His peace as we confidently and thankfully entrust ourselves to His care.
As believers, we are to leave worry behind with our prayers and gradually become different people through new ways of thinking and acting.
Discipline Your Mind To Right Thinking
E.Dwell On These Things
1.The word finally indicates that Paul has arrived at the climax of his teaching. Or he may have been using the word in the sense of “it follows then” that if one is to have this inner peace from God and maintain a life free of worry, then certain steps must be taken, notably in ones thoughts.
a.The imperative form of logizomai (dwell on) makes it a command; proper thinking is not optional in the Christian life.
b. To dwell on means “to evaluate,” “to consider,” or “to calculate.”
2.Believers are to consider the qualities Paul lists in this verse and meditate on their implications. The verb form calls for habitual effort to set all thoughts on these virtues.
3.Scripture leaves no doubt that people’s lives are the product of their thoughts. Proverbs 23:7 declares, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”
a.The modern counterpart to that proverb is the computer acronym GIGO (Garbage In, Garbage Out). Just as a computer’s output is dependent on the information that is input, so people’s actions are the result of their thinking.
4.Jesus expressed that truth in Mark 7:20–23: “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”
5.We might assume that worry is the result of too much thinking. Actually, it’s the result of too little thinking in the right direction.
F.The Discipline of Right Thinking
1.The New Testament calls us to the mental discipline of right thinking.
a.Colossians 3:2 “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.”
b.1 Peter 1:13 “Therefore, prepare your minds for action…”
2.Our minds need ongoing cleansing and refreshment to right thinking.
a.Romans 12:2 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
b.Ephesians 4:23-24 “and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.”
c.Colossians 3:10 “and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him.”
G.What We Should Think About
1.In this brief list, Paul provides eight virtues for the transformed mind to concentrate on.
a.Whatever is true: We will find what is true in God’s word and in the nature and state of His creation.
a.Whatever is honorable: Whatever is noble, dignified, worthy of respect.
b.Whatever is right: Whatever is agreeable to justice and righteousness.
c.Whatever is pure: Whatever is morally clean and undefiled.
d.Whatever is lovely: Whatever is pleasing and amiable, things which are kind or gracious.
e.Whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise: Whatever things are reputable in the world at large, universally praised virtues such as courage and respect of others. Things which promote the general good of mankind, and are thus praiseworthy;
And all this needs to lead to right living, which is putting our thankful prayers and right thinking to practical action.
Put Your Thoughts Into Actions
H.Practice What Has Been Preached
1.Godly thinking cannot be divorced from behavior.
2.Philippians 4:9 “The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
a.Practice refers to repetition or continuous action. The English word can have the same connotation. We speak of a lawyer or a doctor as having a practice, because their profession maintains a normal routine. Someone practices a musical instrument to improve a skill.
b.Christians are to make it their practice to lead godly, obedient lives.
3.Paul refers them to his conduct; to all that they had seen, and known, and heard of him, as that which it was proper for them to imitate.
a.Paul challenged the Philippians to pursue Christlikeness by imitating his own example and the examples of others whose lives were based on his (“mature” believers in 3:15).
b.Philippians 3:17 “Brethren, join in following my example, and observe those who walk according to the pattern you have in us.”
c.1 Corinthians 11:1 “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
4.If the believers would keep on doing or practicing the virtues that Paul cited above, they would experience the God of peace. God is the source of peace for all believers.
a.Many people today seek to have the peace of God without having to deal with God, but that can’t be done. To know peace, we must know God.
Conclusion
It’s not enough to hear or read the Word of God, or even to know it well. We must also put it into practice. It is easy to listen to a sermon and forget what the preacher said. It is easy to read the Bible and not think about how to live differently. It is easy to debate what a passage means and not live out that meaning. Exposure to God’s Word is not enough. It must lead to obedience. And obedience is where we began in this lesson, obedience to the command to be anxious for nothing through thankful praying, right thinking, and active practice of God’s will in our lives.
Invitation
