“Do Not Be Anxious”

How many of you have ever dealt with anxiety?

Maybe you feel anxiety being in a new situation

Being around new people

Maybe you are a freshman and your starting a new school or your a senior and your heading off to college

Listening to the radio yesterday morning and one of the seniors said students are using vapes to deal with anxiety

1. (V4) Rejoice in the Lord Always

The word rejoice was used 10 times in this Epistle

Paul is writing from prison and he is telling us to rejoice

How does Paul find the ability to rejoice when he is in jail?

Maybe your thinking, “You don’t know my situation, if you knew it, you wouldn’t tell me to rejoice”.

a) Paul says rejoice in the Lord, not in the situation

2. (V6) Do not be anxious, instead pray

a) Matthew 6:25-26 (Don’t be anxious about your life)

Matthew 6:25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”

Matthew 6:26 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”

Jesus tells us the same thing, don’t be anxious because your father values your needs and will provide

b) Because our Heavenly Father cares, we can bring our needs to Him in prayer

Prayer: is communicating or talking to God

Supplication: is asking for the things that you need

With thanksgiving: This guards against a whining, complaining spirit before God when we let our requests be made known.

3. (V7) Promise of Peace

a) The peace of God comes as we commit our worries to Him

We trust Him to fight our battles

b) The peace of God surpasses all understanding

Its unexplainable

Have you ever met a Christian who is dealing with something heavy, like maybe they have terminal cancer or they lost a loved one, yet they have this unexplainable peace? (The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding)

Isaiah 26:3 “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Application:

(V8) Think about praise worthy things. (Don’t focus on the bad, but rather on the good)

(V9) Practice what you have learned

(V11) Be content in whatever situation you find yourself in today (Maybe you don’t like your school, find contentment and it will be easier than fighting it with a bad attitude) 1 Timothy 6:6 “godliness with contentment is great gain”

(V12) Paul through difficult circumstances learned how to be content in all circumstances

(V13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (You have the ability through the Holy Spirit to overcome)