Say "No!" to Anxiety,
Philippians 4, Acts 16
December 11, 2022
For the past couple of weeks we’ve been talking about being at peace with others and with God. It’s not always easy, especially when we have to deal with people. Because people can bring on peace-less-ness as well as high anxiety. After talking to some folks about last weeks message when I said we’re called to bless those who want to chase us down . . . I thought about getting a little more practical and talking about peace.
Because we don’t want the grinch to steal our peace!!
Do you ever get anxious? Maybe, you have to give a talk in front of people and the nerves kick in. Your boss calls you in for a meeting, and your mind starts racing. You drive past a police car and your stomach drops. You get a letter with the return address being 3 letters - - - I-R-S
It’s easy to get stuck on being anxious. More people have panic attacks than we would imagine. Sometimes, they make no sense, it just hits and away we go. Others have phobias. It can be easier than we think to get stuck on feelings and thoughts and have difficulty overcoming them.
As we’ve been looking at peace, what does it mean to experience it and how can we experience God’s peace. Today, we’re going to see an example from Paul and look at some very famous words from him as well.
The Bible speaks very clearly about some ways to overcome anxiety and actually how to find comfort in Christ. To get there, let’s look at a story from Paul’s life.
Paul, Silas, Luke and Timothy reach European soil for the first time, and move quickly to the largest city of the region, Philippi. Philippi was a major and strategic Roman city. When Paul came to this city, they met Lydia and other God-fearing women, who became followers of Jesus, and a new church was born.
Things were going along well, then in Acts 16, Paul was becoming annoyed by a fortune telling slave girl, so he heals her in the name of Jesus. The owners of the girl became furious because their source of income was gone. This is what happened next - - -
19 When her owners saw that their hope of gain was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
20 And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said, “These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.
21 They advocate customs that are not lawful for us as Romans to accept or practice.”
22 The crowd joined in attacking them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave orders to beat them with rods.
23 And when they had inflicted many blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer to keep them safely.
24 Having received this order, he put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the stocks. - Acts 16:19-24
Paul and Silas were severely beaten, then put into an inner cell, and their feet were fastened in chains. All this for healing someone and advocating strange customs.
Think about who you are, and the way you react to high unexpected stress situations. Personally, I’d be freaking out and in lots of pain. I’d be angry, confused, anxious, frustrated! All of this for healing a girl? Maybe I’d be crying out, kind of loudly . . . “Come on, Jesus, what are you doing?”
Now, look at how Paul and Silas react.
25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, - Acts 16:25
Can you imagine that? They were praying and singing hymns to God. They weren’t crying about what happened, they were praising God. AND . . . catch this, and it’s true today as well . . .
People were listening to them as they sang and prayed to God. Talk about a testimony. Then the amazing happens in the next verses as Luke tells us, there was an earthquake and the chains fell off of all of the prisoners and the doors opened to all the cells . . . and the end result is salvation for the guard and his family. What a night!!
All of this came from the fact that Paul and Silas didn’t sit in the corner and curse their luck. Instead they did the first thing we need to do when feeling anxious, as we seek to experience peace.
When Paul wrote his letter to the people of Philippi, they would’ve remembered what Paul did when imprisoned. This is why his words carried so much weight. There was value to his words, because he lived out his faith. It was evident. Paul wrote his letter to the Philippians from a Roman prison. This 4 chapter letter has been subtitled, ‘a letter of joy.’ Listen to these words from chapter 4 - - -
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:4-7
According to Paul, we need to do a few things to experience God’s peace. Especially when we’re in the midst of a tough situation.
1. We need to choose to REJOICE. Focus on joy
Paul modeled what he preached, choosing to rejoice at all times, and saying “No!” to anxiety.
From a practical aspect, this is one of the most obvious reasons Paul had such a successful ministry. He learned how to defeat stress and anxiety, he was able to function successfully in very stressful situations. He seemed to thrive in situations that would have left many people immobilized with anxiety, anger, or discouragement.
Never did Paul show the way more clearly than the night he and Silas sang in that prison, backs bleeding and bruised, ankles in chains. A song, there? Then?
While Luke tells us that an earthquake set Paul and Silas free that night, their songs tell us they’d been set free long before the chains fell off. The instructions of Philippians 4 tell us how they did it, and how it can still be done today.
We can all sing on a good day. If your team wins, your stocks go up, your Christmas present is terrific, it doesn’t rain on your vacation, good grades, job offers, then sure, we can sing.
Laughter and happiness come in those circumstances, that’s ordinary and expected. What Paul and Silas had -- and what we can have – was extra-ordinary.
Extra-ordinary joy rejoices no matter what happens at that very moment, good or bad. Even if your heart is breaking right in the middle of the song. None of us can escape the sharp pain of grief, but any of us can, even in that hour, choose to rejoice.
Paul and Silas did in that Philippian jail.
We also need to remember, in that hour of difficulty, people are watching and listening more than we’ll ever imagine. They’re looking to see if our faith in Christ is genuine. To put it simply, they want to know if your faith works. Anyone’s “faith” can work on a good day, but on those bad days, they’ll know whether or not your faith is the real deal. And they’ll watch very closely.
As a result, we can’t go into that hour of crisis without a genuine and maturing faith. We must be grounded in God, in His Word, and with one another. That helps sustains us.
And Paul proclaims to you and I, “REJOICE, I say it again, REJOICE!”
And remember joy is an internal gift from God. We have joy despite our circumstances. We celebrate the promise of God’s presence, even in those dark times, we trust He’s with us, that His plans don’t have to overwhelm us, but in fact, God loves us and He has the plan, which means we don’t have to try to manipulate it. It’s trusting that the God who has called you is with you every moment of every day, no matter what happens. It’s the power of what God told Joshua as the people were preparing to enter the promised land for the first time.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. - Joshua 1:9
God commands us to trust in His promise that He will be with us, period!! No matter our situation, be brave, be bold, by strong, don’t be fearful, don’t be discouraged, don’t be dismayed . . . all because God has promised to be with you.
The 2nd thing we need to do is what Paul says in verse 5. He said - - -
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand;
Most versions say let your gentleness be known to everyone. It’s really more than that. It’s a call for the Christ follower to be “equitable, fair; gentle in the sense of being fair by relaxing overly strict standards in order to keep the "spirit of the law."
Very simply, Paul is telling the people to be reasonable with one another. Be fair, and as you do, because you’re rejoicing, you’ll be more at peace. It doesn’t mean don’t hold someone accountable, it means be reasonable . . . and that’s not always easy to do, but Paul adds something which I think most people skip over. He adds, THE LORD IS AT HAND!!
Some say this refers to Christ’s return is imminent, but I think to experience peace, Paul has another meaning. I believe Paul’s telling us the Lord is here! He’s with you. He has not abandoned you. He’s empowering and strengthening you. You can do this because He is near, giving you power and grace to do what’s necessary.
Next Paul tells us - - -
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Without going through this entire verse, because that’s a sermon in itself, is to see what Paul wants for us.
This is such a multi-layered or multi-faceted verse. It’s so rich with meaning. I want to move pretty quickly through it.
Paul tells us not to be anxious, which literally means to be divided or distracted. It means you’re moving in 2 different directions at the same time. And you know that can’t happen. So, he tells us don’t be anxious, in part, because of what he just said in verse 5, the Lord is near. If the Lord is near. If you know His presence is with you, then there’s nothing to be anxious about.
Because you trust and believe the Lord is near you, or better yet, is with you, you pray! You make your requests known to God. That’s the supplication. You tell God your needs. This is a time to pray for yourself. You’re not being selfish if you pray for yourself. I used to think it was arrogant to pray for myself, but I believe God wants us to proclaim to Him and to ourselves what we’re feeling, thinking and struggling with. As well as celebrating.
And when you pray, even for the difficult things in life, give thanks. Fine reasons to be thankful. Yes, we all know life can be so difficult, so daunting, and so much a struggle, but there’s still good in our lives and around us. So, give thanks. Sometimes it’s finding the simple things to be thankful for. It’s talking to God and expressing your thankfulness for what you have.
Before we move into the final section . . .
We’re called to rejoice, what about your life gives you joy. Even if it’s something simply and small. That’s OK. Be reasonable trusting that God is at hand. He is near to you. He has not abandoned you, but is with you, dwelling with you. Because of this trust in God, let God take away your anxiety as you pray to Him. Telling Him your needs and struggles. Often times you’ll admit to yourself prayers you didn’t know were prayers. Then give thanks as you make those requests to God.
And finally, God makes a promise to us - - -
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. - Philippians 4:4-7
Trust that God will GUARD our HEARTS and MINDS in Christ.
Paul said that we rejoice, how? On our own strength? Never! He said “Rejoice in the LORD always.”
Paul explains when we rejoice and go to God in prayer, making our requests known to Him, the peace of God will GUARD our HEARTS and MINDS in Christ.
Let me explain something about what Paul is telling us. The Greek language spoke in word pictures and that’s what Paul’s giving us. And it really helps to just imagine what God is doing for us.
Paul says our peace will be like an armed guard marching around your heart and your mind, literally fighting anxiety for you. God will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Get inside God’s city walls, so to speak, and God’s peace will march like a sentry around your potential anxieties.
Just picture your time of need and there is a military guard, ready for war, because we are at war with satan. satan wants to destroy us, he wants you to be anxious and lose sight of the blessings of life. He wants you to have no peace, so that you’re always running around . . . chasing peace, but never attaining it.
So when you call out, when you cry out to God, that military guard goes into action. In fact, I’d say there are two of them, one guarding your mind, the other guarding your heart. That is one of the great comforting promises from God. It’s a foundation from the Bible we can trust.
This is not some kind of religion-based, complicated, psychological wish-list of faking joy until you feel better. Now, let me add this - - - there are times in life when we will be sad, grief-stricken, hurt, abused, and more. I’m not discounting these moments in life. But we don’t have to stay there, we don’t have to be stuck.
This is an honest-to-goodness relationship with Jesus Christ that will so transform you, you’ll sing in a prison, no matter where the prison is or what type it is.
Friends, God offers you the gift of peace. We're in a very restless and difficult world, but if we would move towards God, even in the difficult moments, I trust we will experience His peace.
Inspired by a series by Craig Groeschel.
