INTRODUCTION
• SLIDE #1
• WE are in the midst of our series entitled WHO AM I BECOMING? When you give your life to Jesus, your life should be and will be different as we allow ourselves to be molded into the image of Jesus. Each day we should reflect Him more than the previous day.
• One of the things that you will find as you work through the transformation process is that as you are being transformed, you will see so many rich blessings that will result.
• We live in a very fast paced, at times chaotic world. Many folks struggle with ongoing anxiety about life.
• Anxiety can cause a great number of physical as well as psychological issues.
• The publication, Harvard Health Publications from the Harvard Medical School states:
• Research on the physiology of anxiety-related illness is still young, but there's growing evidence of mutual influence between emotions and physical functioning.
• Yet anxiety often goes unidentified as a source of other disorders, such as substance abuse or physical addiction, that can result from attempts to quell feelings of anxiety.
• And it's often overlooked in the myriad symptoms of chronic conditions like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or migraine headache.
• Anxiety has now been implicated in several chronic physical illnesses, including heart disease, chronic respiratory disorders, and gastrointestinal conditions.
• When people with these disorders have untreated anxiety, the disease itself is more difficult to treat, their physical symptoms often become worse, and in some cases they die sooner. http://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/anxiety_and_physical_illness
• God does not want you to be enslaved to anxiety, He wants you to experience something much better, PEACE.
• Today we are going to examine the issue of peace. Would it not be nice to be able to deal with the chaos of life in a non-chaotic way?
• Life can throw you for a loop, but how would you like to be able to deal with those loops without being destroyed or destroying others around you?
• In Christ, you can defeat anxiety and enjoy true peace! Before we dive into our text, I want to begin by…
• SLIDE #2
SERMON
I. Defining peace.
• There are a few ways to look at peace, one of the popular views of peace is absence of war or strife.
• If you are in a home were there has been a lot of tension, peace would be defined as the absence of conflict.
• Dictionry.com defines peace as, “the normal, nonwarring condition of a nation, group of nations, or the world.”
• The word we translate PEACE in the NEW Testament writings goes a bit deeper than simply an absence of war.
• Think about this, even if there is an absence of war, are there tensions? We see tensions between countries that are not at war, unfortunately we see it many homes also.
• The Greeks and Romans pictured peace as an ideal state that a hero achieved through war.
• This led to a common adage, “If you wish peace, prepare for war.”
• By contrast, the Stoic philosophers which began in the early fourth century, conceived of peace as an inward tranquility.
• The Stoics were closer to the biblical meaning.
• God has something better to offer to you than absence of war.
• The basic feature of the Gk. concept of εἰρήνη is that the word does not primarily denote a relationship between several people, or an attitude, but a state, i.e., “time of peace” or “state of peace,” originally conceived of purely as an interlude in the everlasting state of war.
• n the New Testament, the concept of peace is consistent with the Old Testament in that it refers to prosperity, which climaxes in the peace the Messiah brings.
• Peace gives one freedom from all anxiety.
• When you are trying to bring someone to Jesus, ask them how it would feel to be free from anxiety? Jesus can offer that, but there is something we all need to know.
• Peace something that we can only achieve through a relationship with God.
• As we unfold our text, we will see why this a vital component to one being able to enjoy true peace.
• The Apostle Paul dealt with a lot of difficult times once he began to follow Jesus.
• Yet he was able to not let the stuff going on around him to shake him. A few verses down in our text in verse 12, he speaks of being able to be content with much or little, that can only happen when one is at peace!
• Can you imagine who discouraging it would be to see problem and persecution BEGIN with you started following Jesus?
• When you are in Christ, what can stop one from enjoying the peace that God? What can keep you from having an anxiety free life?
• SLIDE #3
• Philippians 4:6 (HCSB) — Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
• SLIDE #4
II. Roadblocks that deny access to peace.
• I only put the first part of verse 6 on the screen because I want us to focus on a major roadblock to being able to experience peace, and this roadblock is a symptom of a deeper roadblock.
• Don’t worry about anything is literally IN NOTHING BE ANXIOUS. It is the same word translated CARE in Philippians 2:20.
• SLIDE #5
• Philippians 2:20 (HCSB) For I have no one else like-minded who will genuinely care about your interests;
• There it has the positive sense of “to care” (for someone) as in Philippians 2:20, but in 4:6, it reveals the negative sense of anxiety, a lack of trust in God’s care (Matt 6:25–34; cf. 1 Peter 5:7). Don’t worry about anything is often expressed idiomatically, for example, “Do not eat up your own heart,” “Don’t let your thoughts kill you,” or “Don’t let your thoughts take away your strength.”
• When we allow worry to overrun our lives, it produces irritability and defensiveness (NIV College Press Commentary).
• Once those issues start getting a foothold in your life, friction begins to grow. Friction in your faith, in your relationships, and in the depths of your soul.
• The Philippian church had plenty on the service to raise their level of anxiety, the hostilities of their neighbors couple with the constant threat of persecution was enough to raise their level of anxiety.
• Anxiety is a reflection of a faith problem. Now do not take this thought wrong, I am not saying if you are hit with a bout of worry that you are a terrible follower of Jesus, what I am saying is that when you allow worry to overtake you, you are saying that you do not trust that God has your back.
• The deeper one’s faith, the less one struggles with anxiety because anxiety is rooted in a lack of trust.
• Remember back to when you were a young child, did you worry about the electricity being shut off? Did you worry about your parent’s car payment or mortgage payment? Did worry if you were going to eat? (SADLY SOME OF YOU DID).
• For most of us we did not worry, trusted our parents had it covered.
• In Matthew 6, Jesus addressed the issue of anxiety.
• SLIDE #6
• Matthew 6:25–34 (HCSB) — 25 “This is why I tell you: Don’t worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the sky: They don’t sow or reap or gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than they? 27 Can any of you add a single cubit to his height by worrying? 28 And why do you worry about clothes? Learn how the wildflowers of the field grow: they don’t labor or spin thread. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was adorned like one of these! 30 If that’s how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, won’t He do much more for you—you of little faith? 31 So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32 For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34 Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
• Even in contemporary life with its complexities, the same simple concerns can eat us up with anxiety.
• So let’s look at the rest of verse 6 to see what we can to overcome anxiety.
• SLIDE #7
• Philippians 4:6 (HCSB) Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
• SLIDE #8
III. The path to experiencing true peace.
• Ok, don’t worry, be happy! How? What do we replace worry and anxiety with?
• THE CURE for worry and anxiety is not inaction, nor is it apathy.
• Notice we are told BUT IN EVERYTHING…
• EVERYTHING! Isn’t God too busy doing God stuff for me to bother Him? NO!
• There is an obvious contrast between the phrase “in everything” here and “ABOUT ANYTHING” in the preceding clause. “In everything” is sometimes taken in the sense of “always,” denoting time, and sometimes in the meaning of “in every situation” or “in every circumstance of life.”
• The majority of translations, however, take it in the sense of “all things,” that is, all one’s interests.
• Worry overtakes us when we decide to take on life on our own, or if we decide to lean on others or other things.
• We are to take everything up to God in prayer trusting He will take care of it.
• The word thanksgiving is an attitude that can spring forth from recognizing God’s blessings and control of circumstances.
• Anxiety tends to forget God and rely on human resources.
• So both prayer and a recognition of God’s love and goodness are powerful, and together they are most effective.
• God is the God who urges men to pray (Luke 11:9–13). Will their self-centeredness turn them away from real help?
• Many do not pray because they have yet to develop a deep enough relationship with God to trust Him. Those who are in a deep relationship with Christ KNOW that prayer is not a waste of time, it is an effective weapon for the battles of life.
• SLIDE #9
• Philippians 4:7 (HCSB) And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
• SLIDE #10
IV. The blessings that flow from experiencing peace.
• Here is the great blessing we will experience when we give it over to God!
• Verse 7 says we will have the peace of GOD! This is the only place in the New Testament writings that this thought is phrased this way. Usually the phrase is the God of Peace.
• The difference in meaning in these two expressions is a matter of focus. Here the focus is on the “peace” which originates in and comes from God, while in verse 9 it is “God” who causes or gives peace.
• Since this peace comes from God, it is something that we cannot comprehend, it surpasses every human thought, and the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus!
• Basically, the verb rendered SURPASSES means “to rise above,” or “to excel.” The focus is on the idea of uniqueness rather than relative superiority. Paul is not interested in making a comparison between God’s peace and human ingenuities; rather he is explaining the nature of God’s peace.
• The verb rendered GUARD is a military term.
• It pictures a garrison or a military sentinel “keeping guard over” a city or a fort to maintain peace and to protect against attacks.
• The city of Philippi in Paul’s time was guarded by a Roman garrison, so the metaphor would probably appeal to his readers.
• What Paul says to his friends is this: as the result of your prayers God’s peace will stand like a guard to keep your hearts and minds safe from attacks of worries and anxieties.
CONCLUSION
• In life, you can choose the path to anxiety or the path of peace. As followers of Jesus, as those who are being transformed into the image of Jesus day by day, we should allow ourselves to develop the level of trust that allows us to enjoy peace.
• I find that many who say they do not like to be anxious or they say they do not like drama, usually run headfirst into a life rife with anxiety and drama.
• Peace is hard for us to enjoy because by definition, to obtain the peace of God, we have to do something we are not comfortable doing, RELINQUISH CONTROL!
• So are you enjoying peace, and if not, are you ready for a change in life?
