Restoring the Joy
A Study of the Book of Philippians
Sermon # 11
Dr. John R. Hamby
“How To Live With Joy In a Stressed Out World”
Philippians 4:4-9
I don’t know how you felt as you came into the church this morning. Some of you may feel on top of the world; everything is going your way. But probably most of you; did not come feeling that way at all. Some of you came with a heavy burden. You are weighed down with the stress of this life.
The truth is this morning that you are either yourself under stress, or you are deeply concerned about someone you care about that is under stress or you are inadvertently the cause of stress in those will whom you live and work.
Stress is the word that we use to describe the affects of anxiety or worry. The word “worry” is a synonym for anxiety, and it comes from an Old English word meaning “to choke or strangle.” That is exactly what worry or anxiety does to our peace, productivity and joy.
Someone has observed that worry is the Christian’s most popular sin because it is the one that we don’t even try to disguise. Worry is so common in our lives that we are not even particularly ashamed of it.
This morning I want to share with you some insights in “How to Live With Joy In A Stressed Out World!” This is the subject that Paul addresses in verses four through nine.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (5) Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. (6) Be anxious for nothing, 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 under-standing, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (8) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praise-worthy--meditate on these things. (9) The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.”
(NKJV)
I want to jump ahead an paraphrase verse six because it is here that we find the general principle for overcoming anxiety, here Paul says, “Worry about nothing, pray about everything!” To put it another way, “Don’t worry about ANYTHING but rather pray about EVERYTHING.”
And although we know that we should not worry, it is not enough to be told, or even to tell ourselves, “Stop Worrying!!!” We are however, prone to pray about the “big things” and forget to pray about the “little things.” But the “little things” left unattended become “big things.” Therefore God would have us to pray about everything. Indeed, if it is big enough to worry about it is big enough to pray about. Paul advises us to take the energy that is used in worrying and put into prayer. Paul’s advice is simple; turn your worries into a stimulus for prayer. Do you want to worry less? Then pray more! Whenever you find yourself starting to worry, stop and pray.
Now having established this general principle; “Worry about nothing, pray about everything!” Let’s look back and see what Paul is telling us about how to stop the worry game.
Charles Swindoll points out three keys words emerging from this passage. I want us to examine these three keys words. I want you to mark these down in the margin of your Bibles. … Rejoice (v.4) … Relax (v. 5) …. Rest (v.7). [Charles Swindoll. Laugh Again. (Dallas: Word, 1991) p. 200]
First, we are told to Rejoice (v. 4) “Worry about nothing, pray about everything!”- Rejoice. Verse four says, “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! The word “rejoice” means “to be glad.”
After writing to a few of the members of the church at Philippi to call for unity (4:2-3) Paul returns to church as a whole and tells them to “rejoice.” Does it seem strange to you that a man in prison would be telling others in the church how important it is to “keep rejoicing” ? Paul demonstrates an important lesson: “Our inner attitudes do not have to reflect our outward circum-stances.” It is easy to be discouraged when we find ourselves in difficult circum-stances or to take unimportant events too seriously. As believers we may often find ourselves in circumstances in which we cannot be happy, but we can always rejoice.
Consider the value of rejoicing. On one hand rejoicing eliminates whining, rejoicing minimizes pouting, rejoicing replaces self-pity and rejoicing lessens pessimism. On the other hand, rejoicing increases hope, rejoicing refreshes the spirit, and rejoicing validates our testimony. Rejoicing is as much a choice as is gripping; rejoicing is our decision as much as is complaining; rejoicing is our option as much as moaning. So Paul says; Choose to rejoice.
Secondly, we are told to Relax (v.5) “Worry about nothing, pray about everything!”- Relax!
Verse five says, “Let your gentleness be known to all men.” The word that is translated “gentleness,” here today we might say “easy going” – it is the idea of a relaxed easygoing lifestyle. To put it in the words of today, “Lighten up.” Paul isn’t calling Christians to “put on” some empty superficial show of happiness, but rather light up a little. Don’t take yourself or your circumstances so seriously.
In the second part of verse five Paul says, “The Lord is at hand.” It can be argued that when Paul says, “The Lord is at hand” that he is referring to the second coming, and certainly we believe in that. But it can also be understood to say, “the Lord is always equally near His people and continually on hand.” The New Testament repeatedly reminds us of the continuing presence of the Lord in the hearts and lives of believers and it also tells us to stay on the alert for His return. When we live with both of these as present realities in our lives, we find it much easier to relax.
Third, Rest (v.7)-“Worry about nothing, pray about everything!”- Rest! In Philippians 4:6-7, Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (v. 6). In other words, don’t sweat it. Whatever is troubling you, giving you an anxiety attack, or weighing heavily on your heart; that is what you are to pray about. Whatever it is—ask! Make the request known to God. It is an invitation to transfer our troubles to God. (1 Peter 4:7) “Cast all your anxiety on Him for He cares for you.”
Concerning this Charles Swindoll has written, “The more we practice giving our mental burden to the Lord, the more exciting it gets to see how God will handle the things that are impossible for you to do anything about.” [Charles Swindoll. Laugh Again. (Dallas: Word, 1991) p. 205]
God does not promise that He will remove all the problems that were the initial cause of our anxiety but he does promise us peace. The promise is found in verse seven: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (v.7). What does this mean? The word “guard” was a military term that described a Roman soldier holding his weapon, walking back and forth in front of an open gate so that no one could enter. Paul is saying that this is how God will guard your hearts and minds and give you His peace. Our Heavenly Father who delights to give good gifts to His children, will guard your heart against whatever is troubling it. He will not allow any menacing worry to enter. He guards our Hearts because they are susceptible to wrong feelings and He guards our Minds because they are susceptible to wrong thinking.
The peace of God is not something you can manufacture, buy or earn. It is a result of a heart that is totally surrendered to God. The only way you can have the peace of God is to have peace with God. Individuals gain peace with God when they place their faith in Christ as their personal Savior (Romans 5:1). And we have the inner quiet peace of God when we walk daily with him.
When we transfer all our troubles to God through prayer and attain His peace, how obvious will this be to others? Paul says that it will “surpass all understanding.” People simply will not be able to comprehend the peace that the believer can model in times of crisis.
Conclusion
Prior to a few weeks ago, when the wife and I took a cruise, I was unaware that modern passenger ships have “stablizers” that can be run out underwater on each side of the ship to keep the ship from rolling side to side. (Now let me assure that in rough seas, you will thank God for stabilizers.) What stabilizers are to a ship in strong seas, Christ’s indwelling Spirit is to the Christian in the gales of life.
As we close today I want to imagine yourself being stabilized by the gospel. How would you look and act? What would your schedule, involvement, and priorities be?
