I Ain't Studin' Your (Outline)

How To Handle Stress

Title: How to Handle Anxiety

I. INTRODUCTION:

a. GREETING

Good morning, New Enoree. Today, I wanna delve into something that is so serious, they call it the silent killer.

b. THE SILENT KILLER

This thing that I am talking about, it ain't no joke.

c. THE IMPACT OF STRESS

It's like a thief in the night, stealing your peace and your joy, one piece at a time.It causes headaches and migraines.

It exacerbates skin conditions like eczema and acne.It will cause you to age quicker.

It'll have you tossing and turning, staring at the ceiling all night long.

It messes with your memory, cause you to have negative thoughts, and even interfere with your relationships because it gives you short fuss causing you to snap at your loved ones.

TRANSITION: (Paul’s Formula to Handle Stress):

II. PAUL'S FORMULA

a. Introduce the main verse

Paul gives us the formula in his letter to the church at Philippi found in the book of Philippians 4:6-7.

b. Be anxious for nothing

Paul says be anxious for nothing.

Don’t be worried about nothing.

Don’t let nothing steal your joy.

But when Paul says nothing, he ain't just talking 'bout having no worries or frets about stuff.

Nah, because in the Greek, the word he uses for "nothing" is "mēden," which can mean both no thing and no one.

III. I AIN’T STUDIN’ YOU

a. Define the Saying

The expression "I ain't studin' you" is a vernacular expression, commonly used in the African American community.

It's dismissing and disregarding folk.

IV. BACKGROUND

a. Philippi

What was going on, prompting Paul to tell them be anxious for nothing.

b. Paul’s situation

Paul's locked up, in jail dealing with all kinds of drama, but rather than being worried, stresses out or anxious, the homeboy is locked up in a Roman Jail cell just chillin'.

c. Paul’s advice

He's passing on wisdom to the Philippians, reminding 'em that they don't gotta let fear and worry run the show.

V. PRAY ABOUT IT

a. Pray first

The first thing that Paul tells them to do is to pray. Prayer is his first recommendation because it's about intimacy with God.

b. Not our initial instinct

Our first instinct ain't always to pray about it.Sometimes our first instinct is to handle it ourselves or seek advice from others.

c. Prayer of intimacy

"Proseuchomai" is all about intimacy with God.

VI. SUPPLICATE ABOUT IT

a. Make Your Request Known

The next thing that Paul says is make your request known to God.Sometimes we don’t know what to pray for, but when you draw close to God, he will show you what to pray for.

b. God is not just encouraging like man, he is also able to do something about it

God cares about your trouble, and He can do something about it.

VII. THANKSGIVING

a. Does Paul Know What I Am Going through?

Paul tells them to pray with thanksgiving.Even in tough times, Thanksgiving is something we do when the bottom is falling out.

b. When you can’t look forward to see where God is taking you, look back to see where God has brought you from

God gives us the gift of memory of our past.

c. Thanksgiving is like hot sauce

Whatever it is you are praying about, add some thanksgiving to it.

VIII. CELEBRATION/WHOOP

TRANSITION: THE PURPOSEOF THE GUARD IN THE BIBLICAL DAY

CELEBRATION/WHOOP I am not talking about the peace that money gives you.

I am not talking about the peace you find in somebody else’s arms.

This is not the peace that you find in a bottle.

This is the peace that Jesus talks about when he said, “Peace be still.”

This is the peace that kept Job when he lost everything he had.

This is the peace that kept the three Hebrew boys in the midst of the fiery furnace and they walked out without being scorched.

This is the peace that allowed Daniel to sleep in the lions den.

This is the peace that allowed Paul to stand in the courtroom of Agrippa knowing that God was already there.

This is the peace that allowed Esther to go into the king and say, “If I perish, let me perish.”

This peace will guard your heart and mind.

The word guard has two meanings.

In the Biblical sense, the guards would keep military invasion out of the city.

But the guards were also on guard when a city was under siege. When the city was under siege, the people wanted to leave. They wanted to jump ship. But the job of the guard was to keep them in.

The peace of God not only keeps something from getting into your heart.

It keeps bitterness from getting into your heart.

It keeps unforgiveness from getting into your spirit.

It keeps hate from creeping up into your soul.

But it is the peace of God that also keeps me from losing my mind when the trouble comes.

It was the peace of God that kept me holding onto my faith when it looked like all was lost.

Paul says the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your heart and your mind.

Peace, it guards me.

Peace, it keeps me.

Peace, it keeps some stuff out.

But it also keeps some stuff in.

It keeps anxiety out, but it locks joy in.

It keeps frustration out, but it keeps faith in.

It stops me from worrying, but it causes me to worship.

It keeps hope in, but it keeps hopelessness out.

It keeps faith in and it keeps doubt out.

There is some stuff on the inside of me that allows me to get up every morning with joy in the spirit, hallelujah on my lips, clapping in my hands.

The joy that I have, I would have lost.

The faith that I have, I would have lost.

The peace that I have, I would have lost, but God is keeping me.

He’s keeping it on the inside, no matter what’s going on on the outside.

CONCLUSION:

Peace, it guards me.Peace, it keeps me.Peace, it keeps some stuff out.But it also keeps some stuff in.There is some stuff on the inside of me that allows me to get up every morning with joy in the spirit, hallelujah on my lips, clapping in my hands.