Technicolor JOY: Philippians 4:4-7
Pastor Jefferson M. Williams
Chenoa Baptist Church
09-10-2023
Hola
When I first finished seminary, I worked in a large psychiatric hospital's needs assessment call center. I would take calls, set up assessments, and answer questions from patients, family members, and doctors.
Every once in a while, we would receive a “mystery call.” This was a fake call from someone at the corporate office to evaluate our skills. Most of the time, they were so bad that we knew right away that they weren’t real.
We were told what day a mystery call would come in but not the time. I had worked most of the afternoon and night and all the calls were legit so we assumed the call would come the next morning.
Five minutes before I ended my shift a call came from one of the units, in-house. I had a friend who worked on that unit so when I answered I said, “Hola! It’s time to party!” Then I heard, “My mother has been hearing voices. What should I do?” It was the mystery call!
I went home that night and told Maxine that I was going to be fired the next morning. I tossed and turned all night wondering how I could be so stupid to answer a call that way. I came very close to having an anxiety attack.
The next morning, a woman walked into our office and asked to see Jefferson. I took a deep breath and started to apologize.
She cut me off and said that they were going to have to work on the system to transfer calls because she didn’t actually hear my greeting but she gave me a 5/5 because I did such a good job on the call.
I spent 15 hours worried about something that God had already taken care of. Anyone else ever experienced that?
The Pandemic of Anxiety
It’s estimated that over 40 million Americans deal with mild to moderate forms of anxiety.
Anxiety is a normal emotion. We all feel it. A little bit of anxiety is good for us. It keeps us sharp and on our toes.
I’ve been preaching for many years but I always feel a little rush of anxiety right before I get up to preach.
I felt a LOT of anxiety right before I jumped out of a perfectly good airplane.
Anxiety becomes a problem when it is pervasive. When it is overwhelming. When you can’t shake it off.
It is characterized by extreme uneasiness of mind or brooding fear about some possible contingency.
A woman feared for years that her house would be broken into. One night they heard a noise and the husband went down to investigate. He found a young man trying to crawl through the window. They both froze. Finally, the man said, “What’s your name kid?” The kid stuttered: “Brad sir.”
The man replied, “Well Brad. Come with me upstairs. My wife has been waiting years to meet you.”
Chronic anxiety can disrupt your sleep patterns, cause high blood pressure, lead to more depression, and can lead to heart disease.
The average age of diagnosis is 10-11 years old. In fact, it’s been said that the Millennials and Gen Z are the most stressed generation ever.
The amount of stress that a typical high school student deals with today is the same level as a psychiatric patient in the 1950s.
Social media plays a huge part in this stress and anxiety. Never before has a generation been so bombarded with information and so “connected” while feeling incredibly isolated.
FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) is a pandemic among our teens who feel that can never measure up to the Instagram influencers.
Anxiety is caused by the amygdala in our brains firing and dumping stress hormones that cause a flight or fight response.
As I’ve said, that’s normal.
When I was robbed at gunpoint in college, I experienced fear and anxiety.
That’s healthy. When that happens, your brain can take up to 16 hours to stabilize again.
But if your brain is constantly flooded with these hormones, anxiety can become a constant, chronic reality.
It can become so bad that the symptoms can mimic a heart attack.
During my days working at the psychiatric hospital, I would do assessments on patients in the ER.
Many times, I got to sit by the bed of a bewildered patient who thought that they were dying of a heart attack only to discover that they were physically fine. They had experienced a panic attack.
Some people worry about the past. Some worry over the present. Some worry over the future.
One researcher proposed that 85% of the things we worry about never happen.
Out of the 15% that do happen, 79% of people found that they handled it better than they thought and that they learned valuable lessons through the events.
We are going to look at Paul’s prescription of how to handle anxiety.
Can’t We All Just Get Along?
Last week, we studied verses 2 and 3 in which Paul calls two warring women out by name and pleads with them to make peace.
“I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you, loyal yokefellow, help these women who have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers, whose names are in the Book of Life. (Philippians 4:2-3)
Paul does not mean to embarrass them but does not hesitate to deal with this divisiveness head-on.
We went over Ken Sande’s PEACE plan together and saw how important unity is to the Kingdom:
Pursue peace at all costs
Express yourself Biblically
Ask “Is this worth it?”
Confess your sins
Engage a mediator
If you missed the sermon, you can always watch it on-demand on FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, or our website.
Turn with me to Philippians 4:4-9.
Prayer
A Prescription for Anxiety
“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, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Paul, who wrote this letter chained to a Roman guard, wanted to help his beloved believers at Philippi understand the peace that Jesus could bring in the midst of anxiety.
Max Lucado writes,
“The presence of anxiety is unavoidable. The prison of anxiety is optional.”
Let’s look at five actions that Paul gives them in this passage:
* A Choice to Rejoice
When anxiety threatens to overwhelm us, Paul encourages us to rejoice. In fact, he says to rejoice in the Lord always. And just in case they didn’t get in the first time, he repeats it - again I say rejoice!
Why “always?” Because life is hard but God is good.
It’s a word picture of little lambs skipping in joy. Or a girl with her chicken.
The word rejoice is in the plural. This is a command to Euodia and Syntyche and the church to live a lifestyle of joy that results in an active choice to be joyful in Christ, regardless of our outside circumstances.
Rejoicing “in the Lord” takes our eyes off of our situations and focuses it on our Savior.
Remember when we studied the book of Habakkuk together:
“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.” (Had 3:17-18)
Rejoice in what He has done for you in the past. Rejoice that you are a child of His. Make a choice to rejoice even in the midst of chaos, fear, and anxiety.
Paul and Silas were arrested, stripped, beaten with rods, and placed in a prison cell with their feet in stock. I would have probably been throwing myself a pity party but they made a different choice:
“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose.” (Acts 16:25-26)
The blood on their backs was probably not dry and they didn’t know if they would be alive in the morning but they made a choice to rejoice.
When anxiety is stalking you, sing!
Sometimes that looks like singing or it could be resting in silence or taking a walk in nature and listening to the wind.
Solomon wrote in Proverbs:
“All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful heart has a continual feast.” (Prov 15:15)
* Let your gentleness be known to all.
When we get anxious, we can become sharp-tongued with others. Our anxiety spills out of our mouths and hurts the ones we love the most.
This can be translated as “sweet reasonableness.”
Paul wrote to Titus that this gentleness is a sign to others of our love for Jesus:
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” (Titus 3:1-2)
Remember that gentleness is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. We don’t try to be gentle. We simply tell God that we are not feeling gentle right now and we need the Holy Spirit to help.
We imitate Jesus who said:
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” (Matt 11:28-29)
Be kind because everyone is fighting a hard battle. Video.
* The Lord is near.
When we feel anxious, fearful, or depressed, God may seem like He is a million miles away. But that’s just our perception.
God is near!
You are not alone. He is near. He hasn’t, and will never abandon you. God is near. God is for you. God is near. He knows you better than you know yourself. He knows what you need. He is near.
David wrote in his journal:
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
This can mean that God is near to us in proximity but also that Jesus’s return is near as well.
James wrote:
“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near. Don’t grumble against one another, brothers and sisters, or you will be judged. The Judge is standing at the door!” (James 5:8)
The fact that Jesus is returning should help us to stay focused on the goal of letting our light shine for Christ. (See Matt 5:16)
Paul then gives a command:
* Do not be anxious but he adds “about anything.”
Whoa! Isn’t that a little unrealistic? Surely we can be anxious about certain things like our kids or our 401Ks, right?
Let’s face it. Anxiety/Worry is a sin. It is a lack of trust in God’s goodness, sovereignty, and provision. It’s saying that you don’t really think He is for you and that He doesn’t love you.
Is anyone else feeling their toes being crunched?
One of the most important steps you can take in your struggle with anxiety is to simply admit that there are times when you don’t trust God.
Some of you don’t want to admit that because you are afraid it will make you look like a bad Christian.
You are a bad Christian and so am I! We are only as sick as our secrets.
Let’s say it together -
There are times when I don’t trust the goodness of God. We are like the dad who told Jesus, “I do believe. Help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24)
Okay, now that we are being honest, what does Paul say to do?
* Present Your Requests to God
Paul writes in every situation, by prayer (general prayer) and petition (specific prayer requests), with thanksgiving, tell your
Heavenly Father about what’s going on.
When you start to feel that tension, that weird heart rate, the sweat, the panic, don’t pretend like it’s not there.
Anxiety is like the check engine light of our soul that is telling us it’s time to pray.
Get alone and simply tell God what’s going on. Thank Him that He loves you even when you’re anxious. Give thanks that He promises He will see you through it.
Don’t run from Him. Run to Him. Sometimes that means counseling.
Peter said something similar when he quotes from Psalm 55:
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” (I Peter 5:7)
The word casting means to throw onto. Imagine that we are throwing hay bales on a truck. That’s what God wants you to do. Cast your anxiety on Him. Why? Because He cares for you. He loves you. He is near.
The old hymn says:
What a Friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!
The Promise
?“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus.” (v. 7)
God promises that His peace, which is far beyond our human comprehension, will be a garrison around your thoughts and emotions.
The only source of this peace is “in Christ Jesus.”
Isaiah writes:
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you.” (Isaiah 26:3)
Jesus told His disciples in John 14:
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” (John 14:27)
And in John 16:
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)
Jesus addresses anxiety directly:
“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 than food, and the body more than clothes? (Matt 6:25)
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? (v. 26)
Several years ago, the United States Public Health Service issued a statement about anxiety in our culture:
No fox ever fretted that he only had one den to hide in.
No squirrel died of anxiety over the possibility that he should have stored up more food for winter.
No dog lost sleep because he hadn’t buried enough bones in the backyard.
The second question Jesus asks, and I think He did with a twinkle in His eye:
Are you not much more valuable than they [the birds?]
Of course, you are. God loves all his creatures but He has a personal relationship with us:
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)
Sitting with Elnor. Next.
The hymn writer reminds us:
Why should I feel discouraged
Why should the shadows come
Why should my heart feel lonely
And long for heaven and home
When Jesus is my portion
A constant friend is He
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches over me
His eye is on the sparrow
And I know He watches me
Anxiety and worry are a lot like sitting in a rocking chair. You may be moving but you are going anywhere.
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
“Our anxiety doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength.”
Worrying is unproductive and accomplishes nothing. And yet, we all still worry and have anxiety.
“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28-30)
Next.
They are “here today and gone tomorrow” yet God takes care of them. And yet, we in our human frailty, let anxiety push faith out and we question God’s goodness, His provision, and His love for us.
Notice He didn’t say, “You of no faith.” He says that our faith is there but needs to be grown.
“Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matthew 6:31-33)
I love the way Eugene Peterson paraphrases this verse:
“Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.” (Matthew 6:33, The Message)
It’s all a matter of perspective. Jesus says to actively intensively search out God’s kingdom and righteousness and God will provide what you need to accomplish that.
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Matthew 6:34)
For the fourth time in these verses, Jesus tells them not to worry. This time, He rules out worrying about the future.
Ray Pritchard calls this “borrowing trouble.”
God wants our attention on the present and oftentimes we are focused on what might happen in the future.
Ed Welch, a Christian psychologist, says that much of our anxiety comes from our desire to eliminate uncertainty. We want to know what the future holds.
We might not know what the future holds but we know who holds the future!
Lamentations 3 states it beautifully:
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.” (Lam 3:22-23)
Trust Him with tomorrow. He’s already there.
Max Lucado gives us this acronym:
Celebrate what God has done
Ask for God’s Help
Leave your concerns with God
Meditate on positive things
The Battle for the Mind
“Finally, brothers and sisters, 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.” (Philippians 4:8)
The battle with anxiety is fought in the mind.
We are called to love God with all our hearts, all our minds, and all our strength.
Researchers tell us that we have 70,000 thoughts a day. That’s 25 million thoughts a year.
We can not control everything. In fact, there is very little we actually can control. We can’t fix everything.
But we can make a decision about what we will allow our minds to focus on.
True - true as to fact, the actuality of something as opposed to untrue things. Valid, reliable, honest.
Many people today don’t ask if something is true. They ask, “Does it work?” Or “How does it make me feel?”
Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6) He prayed, “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
Truth is the headwaters of the river of our thoughts.
We have to traffic in truth.
Facebook is not going to start charging us! That fake post has been going around for over ten years.
Josh Seiter, a former contestant on the Bachelorette, was found dead this past week at the age of 36. I read Maxine the obituary. He had mental health problems and it implied that he had committed suicide.
Except, he’s not dead! It was a hoax and he was hacked. He spent 24 hours desperately trying to get back into his account to assure his devastated friends and family that he was still here.
As Abraham Lincoln once said, “Never believe everything that’s on the internet.”
Noble - honorable, worthy of respect, entitled to honor.
Wayne Barber writes,
Right- that which conforms to the perfect eternal, unchanging standard of God’s righteousness.
Pure - free from defilement, stainless, especially in the area of sex
William Barclay wrote:
“The Christian’s mind is set on the things which are pure; his thoughts are so clean that they can stand even the scrutiny of God.”
Lovely - this is a combination of two words that means “toward a friend.” Lovable, enduring, amiable, gracious
Barclay again:
“There are those whose minds are so set on vengeance and punishment that they call forth bitterness and fear in others. There are those whose minds are so set on criticism and rebuke that they call forth resentment in others. The mind of the Christian is set on the lovely things—kindness, sympathy, forbearance—so he is a winsome person, whom to see is to love.”
Admirable - well-spoken of, highly regarded. Someone or something that deservedly enjoys a good reputation.
Are we concentrating on the good things we see in others or are we dwelling on their faults and shortcomings?
The last two sum up the first six:
Excellent - quality of life that made someone stand out as excellent.
Praiseworthy - worthy of being commendable. It literally can be translated as “applause.”
We are to meditate or to dwell on such things. This means to evaluate, consider, to calculate. They are a filter that helps us decide what we should let into our minds.
I had an opportunity to go see one of my favorite comedians this week but decided against it after seeing some of his clips on YouTube. While he is funny, some of his material would probably be less than praiseworthy.
We have turned off movies and shows because of the language and the content not passing the Philippians 4:8 test.
The average American watches four-plus hours of television a day. That’s one of the reasons we haven’t had cable in ten years.
That’s why Paul says that:
“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Cor 10:5)
When that anxious thought comes into our minds, we must lasso it and throw it back out.
Satan is a thief who wants to steal your peace, kill your trust, and destroy your assurance of God’s love for you.
Listen to this next sentence carefully:
Every single thing that we worry about will seem completely silly and irrelevant 20,000 years from now.
These eight words perfectly describe God’s Word. Read Psalm 19.
Tony Merida writes:
"What we think matters, and it matters more than we think. We need God’s Word to saturate our minds so that we may be renewed and kept from offensive ways."
That’s why it is important to be in God’s Word every day. When we have so much media bombarding us, we need the truth of God’s Word to stabilize us spiritually.
Not only should we meditate on these things but we are to do them as well:
“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.”
Prayer leads us to the peace of God which transcends all understanding. Imitating Paul’s calm in the midst of the storm and the peace of God will be with you.
Paul calls us to get right, think right, and live right.
Not My Will
Did you know that Jesus experienced anxiety to the point that drops of blood dripped from His forehead?
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus wrestled with His human heart with anxiety concerning the cross.
He asked His Father if there was another way. He finally simply surrendered to the Father’s will and said, “Not my will but Yours be done.” That’s the antidote to anxiety.
That is a prayer of surrender. That’s the prayer that God wants us to pray when we are anxious.
Ending Video: Cast Your Cares
