Untitled Sermon (3)

Introduction:

Let’s do a little thought exercise here this morning. Can you imagine yourself in any one of these situations? Perhaps you’re in the midst of one of these right now. There’s a big project deadline at work, tensions are high, relationships are strained, and you’re just not sure if you’re going to meet the deadline. There’s a never ending list of things to do at home, and the kids for some reason won’t allow you to tick these things off your list and you feel buried in the pressure to get it all done. There’s strain in your marriage, or a friendship, or another relationship in your life and the constant thought of it is bearing you down, making you feel like you can’t breathe. You’re living paycheck to paycheck and your car just broke down and you don’t know how you’re going to stretch the finances to make it all work.

Tension:

When you think about these situations, what characterizes your experience? Does it feel like a heavy weight that sits on your chest making life unbearable and difficult? Or are you calm, focused and disciplined when it comes to reacting to stress? Are your emotions completely controlling you, dominating your will, and leading you into compromised circumstances? Or are you proactively cultivating a healthy emotional life, so that you’re emotionally engaged and emotionally vibrant but also have self-control?

Orient to Series:

This morning as we continue our series Metamorphosis, we’re studying what Scripture says about how God transforms our lives through the renewing power of the Holy Spirit. Last week, Jeremy kicked this series off in Romans 12:1-2. In those verses, the Apostle Paul calls on the church to not be conformed to the world but to be renewed in our minds. So for the rest of this sermon series we’re looking at different parts of our lives where Scripture calls for renewal, areas like anger, ambition, assets, etc. This morning is all about anxiety from Philippians 4.

Orient to Text:

Now bear in mind that the letter to the Philippians is one of Paul’s prison letters. It seems ironic that Paul would be writing to the church in Philippi on anxiety when he is in a situation that would seemingly produce plenty of anxiety within himself. Paul writes to the church in Philippi on a range of different topics and when reading it we’re able to discern several difficult circumstances that likely would have caused the church to experience their own anxiety. For one, they were being persecuted for their faith just as Paul himself was imprisoned for preaching the gospel. In chapter 1 he indicates that the Philippians also may be subject to that same kind of persecution. Secondly, sickness may be causing anxiety. In chapter 2 Paul mentions that one of the church’s leaders Epaphroditus has had a near death experience with some sort of sickness, and he only narrowly escaped death. And then finally the church is experiencing disunity. In fact in the verses just previous to our passage Paul entreats two women, Euodia and Syntyche, to agree in the Lord apparently over some disagreement or squabble.

So persecution from their enemies, sickness in their leaders, and disunity amongst their members gave ample opportunity for the Philippian church to have anxiety.

But as we continue reading Paul’s words, we learn that God is able to transform anxiety to peace. Our anxiety can cause our heart rate to spike; it can cause our sleep to be restless; and it can make our minds race with negative thoughts. Sometimes our anxiety can feel heavy and uncontrollable. But by the power of God’s Spirit working in our lives and through following the directives in God’s Word, we allow God to tame our anxiety and guard us with his peace.

Before we continue forward , it is worth mentioning that the anxiety I am talking about today is the every day, pestering anxieties that we all face that should be offered to God. Obviously, there are anxiety disorders that are chronic and often coupled with depression and other symptoms. Know that there is no shame or wrong in seeking medical attention for this through discernment. While what I am talking about today can certainly help in these situations, and God absolutely will, this is not the specific anxiety I am addressing today.

Transition:

If I’ve piqued your interested saying God is able to transform your anxiety into peace, you may be asking yourself how. On the surface we may believe that God is able to calm our anxious minds, but what practical instruction does he give us. The first thing we’re called to do is Pray with gratitude.

1. Pray with gratitude. (vv. 6-7)

Philippians 4:6 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. (ESV)

Explain:

Paul begins these verses with a command to not be anxious, or worried. Anxiety steals our peace; it cripples our courage; it blocks us from productivity. It’s not God’s will that we suffer from such anxiety. Paul doesn’t just stop there, he offers an alternative, “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (v. 6). Remember, the Philippians needed safety from persecution. They desired not to become sick. They needed unity and reconciliation in their church. In the moment, these needs were not being met. These desires seemed like they might not get fulfilled. So anxiety set in. And Paul says that the key to transforming their anxiety is to “let your requests be made known to God.” In everything, “let your requests be made known to God.” There may be temporary relief in complaining to your fellow man, but true peace only comes from God. Commenting on this verse, one scholar says, “The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything.” There is an important word in this passage though that I don’t want to pass up. We are to bring our requests to the Lord through prayer and supplication, but we are to do so with thanksgiving! We must pray with gratitude. Another scholar put it this way, “The prayer for what is lacking should never be separated from thanksgiving for what has been granted.” If we approach God in this way, the promise is that his peace will guard our hearts and minds, our emotions and our thoughts, in Christ Jesus in a way that human knowledge could never satisfy.

Illustrate:

Now to prove my point, I get to lay some science on you and geek out a little bit. There have been legitimate, scientific studies on gratitude that have shown that your brain is not capable of responding to anxiety and gratitude at the same time. In your brain, the limbic system and the autonomic nervous system work in tandem to regulate emotions, including anxiety and gratitude and they cannot process both at the same time! Our brains are often conditioned by the world to seek out and dwell on negative thoughts and emotions producing anxiety. The active practice of gratitude can reverse the effects of anxiety and other negative emotions. It releases dopamine and serotonin and all those feel good chemicals that we crave! Isn’t it amazing how many attempt to use science to disprove the Bible, but time and time again it only supports God’s word?!

Even this week I’ve had the opportunity to experience this. I’ll let you in on sermon prepping here a bit. One crucial step is to let the Holy Spirit preach the word to you before you preach the word to the church. A be careful what you wish for situation when it comes to anxiety. My family just came off of a family vacation which I think if we are honest is full of opportunities for anxiety. We just closed on both our new home and old home earlier this week and with that comes stress and anxiety with preparing for a move. So what happens?! Our car breaks down. God has been preaching this sermon to me all week about coming before him with gratitude in ALL situations. And I can tell you it works! When I approached the Lord in gratitude, Lord thank you for your provision of a time of rest for me and my family, provision of a new home, for finances to repair a car, for parents who are willing to lend a car, the weight of my anxious thoughts were lifted, but it took a mindful focus on these things to keep that weight lifted.

Apply:

Do you realize God’s love and compassion towards you in the midst of anxiety? Do you realize his unfathomable ability solve your problems? Are you grateful for his provision in your life over the anxieties of this world? No one loves you more than God, and, in his sovereignty and omniscience, no one is more able to meet your needs than God.

Where do you turn when you have needs that are not being met? Where do you turn when you experience anxiety? I want to challenge you to let your requests be made known to God. Run to the only one who is able to grant you peace in every circumstance. Do this by turning to prayer often. Do as Scripture tells us to pray without ceasing. And do so with gratitude in your heart! Maybe you need to keep a prayer journal that you can look back on to remind yourself of how God has provided for and answered your prayers. Maybe with that keep a gratitude journal with things you can reflect on and be thankful for in times of experiencing anxiety.

In 1 Peter 5:6-7, Peter says, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.” God is almighty and he is all-caring, so you can give him your anxieties. God is all powerful and perfectly good, so in every anxious season you can make your requests known to him. And as Isaiah 26:3 tells us, God will “keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”

Transition:

First and foremost, Paul tells us we are to pray with gratitude, and, secondly, he directs us to meditate on what is good.

2. Meditate on what is good. (v. 8)

Philippians 4:8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (ESV)

Explain:

In the previous verses, Paul speaks to prayer life, but now he speaks to thought life. He mentions all of these virtuous attributes: truth, honor, justice, purity, love, excellence, and praiseworthiness, and he tells the Philippians to think about or meditate upon anything that has these attributes. Anything that is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent, or praiseworthy, “think about these things” (v. 8). Now when Paul encourages this type of thinking, he isn’t just acting as Peter Pan sprinkling pixie dust and telling the Philippians to think lovely, happy thoughts. He’s not talking about the power of positive thinking. He is saying think true thoughts. He is encouraging them to fill their minds with the truths of God’s goodness and character that will urge them on to worship and good works towards others.

It’s a positive thought that ‘I have a billion dollars in my bank account.’ It’s a positive thought that ‘I will never get sick.’ It’s a positive thought that ‘My marriage is blessed and highly favored.’ But all of that could actually be false. So Paul is not calling for mere positive thinking. He’s calling for meditative thinking about truth, beauty, justice, and goodness. This is more than a fleeting thought, but a reflective practice that takes time and effort, but will pay off in the end.

Illustrate:

Growing up I used to attend Spring Hill camps and while I cannot remember the band that played it, I can clearly remember a song with a chorus that says “Garbage in, garbage out, found within, found without.” Garbage in, garbage out is actually a computer term developed in the early days of computer science. Essentially it meant if your data input for making a machine perform a certain way was incorrect, then the performance of that machine was going to be incorrect. The quality of your input determines the quality of your output.

Both Paul and my early childhood camp memories are saying something similar here. As our minds take in what is true, what is good, what is right, then it helps shape our hearts and sharpen our minds, so that we aren’t forever trapped in negative thoughts and negative emotions. Whatever is found within our hearts and our minds will also be found outside our bodies in our actions and deeds.

Apply:

So, what is the state of your thought life? Are you dwelling on depressive, hopeless, ungodly, and unhelpful thoughts? Are you absorbing stories, songs, images, and experiences that turn your heart and mind toward God? Some of us are consumed by politics and the state of our nation enflamed by biased news outlets. For others of us there are provocative, tempting websites that we need to stop visiting. There may be movies or TV shows that in and of themselves may not be bad, but our eyes and minds should still be protected from them. For many of us its social media and our phones that pull us away from truthful, good thoughts. These things stir our anxiety, and they lead our minds into dark places. This doesn’t mean that every bit of media we watch or listen to needs to have the “Christian” label on it, but we do need to be careful the way our inputs can affect us negatively. And if we are going to listen to and watch and experience some non-Christian media, we need to at least balance that with taking in what is true, honorable, pure, and lovely. The best and most foolproof way to do this is to pour into God’s Word. Are you regularly listening to the Scriptures being preached? Do you make Sunday morning worship a priority? Are you studying Scripture in community? Are you actively involved in a life group during the week outside of Sunday mornings? Are you reflecting on Scripture privately and with your family? Are you singing songs with lyrics containing biblical content? These are all different ways to cultivate a healthy and hopeful mindset.

Transition:

Paul has one last note on how we can experience God’s transforming power by changing our anxiety to peace? Let’s recap. We pray with gratitude, then meditate on what is good, and lastly live out God’s Word.

3. Live out God’s Word. (v. 9)

Philippians 4:9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you. (ESV)

Explain:

First, Paul spoke to the way we pray. Next, he spoke to the way we think. And, finally, here he speaks to the way we live. He calls on the Philippians to practice the things they’ve learned from him, and he tells them to practice the things they’ve seen in him. So there’s apostolic teaching and apostolic example, and both of these together give us a template for how to live. “Practice these things,” Paul says.

Now you might think that this verse is insensitive to people who are suffering from anxiety. They are struggling with difficult-to-control and very painful emotions, and Paul just says, ‘Practice faithful living.’ He says, ‘Act in godly ways.’ Easier said than done right? Is this Paul being callous and unsympathetic towards their anxiety? I don’t think so. This is not Paul giving a flippant solution, or boasting of his abilities, but rather displaying the work of God to transform Paul’s own anxieties to peace, even in intense persecution and imprisonment, through prayer and thankfulness.

Illustrate:

In a web article from just a couple of years ago, nurse practitioner Siri Kabrick put together some directives for “coping with an anxiety disorder.” And she wrote this article for the Mayo Clinic’s website, so this is no run-of-the-mill, random internet blogger. In her article for managing anxiety, Kabrick shares practical, applicable wisdom like avoid alcohol and drug abuse. Another one of her tips is to socialize. Later she says to make sleep a priority. She also lists staying physically active, drinking limited amounts of caffeine, eating healthier, and not smoking.

So a lot of her advice here is just, ‘Go live a normal human life.’ She refers to the instruction she offers as “lifestyle changes.” In other words, she knows that the way you act is going to affect the way you feel. Yes, a lot of times our feelings control our actions, but it can work the other way around also.

Apply:

Likewise, Paul says to the Philippians and he says to us: As you struggle with anxiety, as you struggle with ongoing fear, go live the Christian life. Practice the things you’ve learned. Practice the things you’ve seen in other faithful Christians’ lives. Go to church. Connect in Christian community. Read Scripture. Walk in integrity. Pray regularly. Talk to people about Jesus.

This doesn’t mean that we keep our emotions hidden, stuffing them deep down and away until they explode out of us. This doesn’t mean that we live in denial of how we feel. But it does mean that by God’s grace and the power of the Spirit we stay active in the Christian life, doing what we know, doing what we’re able, doing what has been modeled to us by other Christians so that over time our anxiety is weakened and our hope is strengthened.

The best part of all of this is that Paul shares promises connected to his instruction that we pray with gratitude, meditate on what is good, and live out God’s Word. He says in v. 7, “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus,” and he says in v. 9, “the God of peace will be with you.” If we are mindful and faithful to do these things, scripture assures us that not only will the peace of God fill our hearts, but the God of peace himself will be in our presence. Those are the promises tied to his instruction. Church family, let’s cling to those amazing promises by faith, and let’s implement this instruction and these practices in our lives.

Conclusion:

I want to leave you with one last encouragement. The God of peace, who Paul promises will be with us, sent to us the Prince of peace as our perfect example and suffering savior. Jesus Christ, one with God and God himself, willingly came to earth to live a fully human life, to experience the same emotions and struggles that we do, including anxiety. On the night he was betrayed, fully knowing that the cross lay before him, that death for sins he did not commit, our sins, lay before him, he was overcome with sorrow and dare I say anxiety, to the point where he sweat blood. But how did he respond? He approached his father in heaven in prayer. He let his requests be made known to God that if it were possible for this not to happen that it wouldn’t, but ultimately he focused his thoughts on what was true and good, and it was the will of his Father. Father not my will, but let your will be done. Our anxieties can feel heavy, overbearing, and impossible to overcome, but by approaching God in prayer with gratitude, by meditating on God’s good truths, and by living out his word we can not only be free from anxiety but experience unimaginable peace, the kind of peace that isn’t even logical from an earthly perspective. Remember we worship the God of peace, and through his gospel we learn that he turns darkness to light; he turns death to life; and he is able to turn our anxiety into deep, lasting peace.