Philippians 4:6-7
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Introduction
Please turn in your Bibles to Philippians 4:4-7, I’m going to verses 4-7, but we’ll only focus on verses 6-7.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 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.
Illustration
Dale Carnegie wrote of interviewing Henry Ford when Ford was seventy-eight years of age.
He had expected to find a nervous old man.
When asked if he worried, Ford replied, “No. I believe God is managing affairs and He doesn’t need any advice from me. With God in charge, I believe that everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?”
I’m sure many of us are currrently experiencing a certain degree of anxiety.
Whether the issue is small or big, anxiety creeps into our lives in different ways.
Brothers and sisters, as we are approaching the end of the year...
Let me ask you several questions:
What are you worry about in 2025?
Why are you feeling anxious?
What is the cause of your anxiety?
What is causing you not to trust in the Lord?
I hope this message will be theological and practical.
Context
We are in the letter to the Philippians written by the Apostle Paul during his time in prison in Rome.
Paul wrote this letter to the Christians at Philippi because of their partnership with Paul’s gospel ministry.
Paul spoke about his joy to God for the Philippians.
He talked about joy in the midst of suffering in prison.
He exhorted them to be humble just like Christ.
He calls them to rejoice in the Lord because it protects them from succumbing to false teachers.
He reminds them that they are to pursue Christ because their citizenship is ultimately in heaven.
Philippians 4:1 is Paul’s concluding exhortations for the Philippians to stand firm in the Lord.
1 Therefore, my brothers, whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.
Verses 2-9 provide the Philippians with guidance on what spiritual stability entails.
Today’s message on spiritual stability is having the peace of God through prayer.
So, here’s the main idea that I want you to remember for this message:
Stand Firm By Fighting Anxiety With Prayer So That You Would Experience The Peace Of God.
Essentially, anxiety is the problem, prayer is the solution to the problem, and God’s peace is the result of adhering to the solution.
As we can begin looking closely at what God has to teach us, there are three points that I want to make.
First, You Are To Mortify Anxiety (v.6a)
Paul says, “Do Not Be Anxious About Anything.”
The Old English definition for mortify or motification means to “put to death.”
Paul is talking about anxiety or anxious.
The Greek word would be merimnao.
It could be defined as unnecessary worry OR legitimate concern.
It could be used in a negative sense or in a positive sense.
For example, merimnao is used positively back in Philippians 2:20.
Paul wanted to send Timothy to the Philippians because “there is no one like him, who will be genuinely CONCERNED for your welfare.”
Meaning, like Paul, such concern was exemplified in Timothy’s servant attitude; that is, he loved the church, cared for the church and did not seek his own selfish interests and purposes.
Timothy had a heart for the church, which is to see everyone become spiritually mature in Christ.
Therefore, putting off anxiety does not mean that we are to live a carefree lifestyle, sit back, be apathetic and not do anything.
God has given every person in this room with the ability to plan for the present and future.
We should be wise and as much as possible take extra precaution.
We are to have proper concerns for the welfare of others and take responsibility for our own actions.
The book of Proverbs has much to teach us about planning, but human planning is ultimately subjected to the sovereign will of God.
21 Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
However, sometimes proper or legitimate concerns could lead to anxiety.
Consequently, we harm ourselves even more than we think.
It is true that stress, concerns, and fear are a part of our life, especially in this fallen world.
The question is: how do we respond to them?
When we start planning for the future, we may start to realize that there is no guarantee that our plan will always come to pass.
So, we begin to worry and be anxious because of the possible danger that lies ahead.
We are uncertain of what the future would hold.
And when we worry, tranquility or peace leaks or even spills out of us.
The root of all worries and anxieties is caused by fear, dread, and lack of faith in God’s plan.
We then start asking all the “what if” questions and outline numerous possibilities of how an event would take place.
Some of us are worrying about school.
What if I don’t get an honour roll? What if I don’t make through this stressful semester?
Some of us are worrying about finance or job.
What if I don’t make enough to pay my credit card bills or mortgage?
What if I don’t do well in my interview?
Some of us are worrying about our children.
What if my children do not grow up to love the Lord?
What if they get into the wrong side of the crowd?
What if my child does not like me?
What if my child doesn’t follow Jesus?
Some of us are worrying about our relationship with our co-workers and family members.
Sometimes, those relationships add fuel to our stress if there’s intense conflict.
John MacArthur: “We allow our daily concerns to turn into worry and therefore sin when our thoughts become focused on changing the future instead of doing our best to handle our present circumstances.”
Paul commands the Philippians not to be anxious, which is used in a negative sense.
Unnecessary worry or unreasonable anxiety is an issue.
If we neglect the Apostolic command from Paul, we are hence sinning against the Lord.
Now, if Paul were here, we should ask him this question: Why are you commanding the Philippians not to be anxious about anything?
Were they anxious for Paul’s well being in prison?
Were they anxious about the conflict between Euodia and Syntyche in verses 2-3?
Were they anxious about Epaphroditus’ health? (2:26)
We do not exactly know what kind of anxiety the Philippians might have been experiencing.
Nonetheless, Paul’s command to the Philippians “do not be anxious” assumes that they have been anxious, and they are now commanded to stop.
Anxiety is contrary to the command of standing firm in the Lord.
It is anxiety that causes our faith to be shaky and unstable.
Anxiety is so dangerous physically, emotionally, and mentally because it is “a small trickle of fear that meanders [or wanders] through the mind until it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.”
Scripture provides us a number of reasons for the danger of anxiety.
In Matthew 13:22, Jesus taught on the parable of the sower.
When He spoke about the seed sown among thorns, Jesus said, “this is the one who hears the word, but the CARES [Worries and Anxiety] of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful.”
25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.
The Hebrew meaning for “weigh someone down” means making a person stoop down or bow down before someone out of honour and respect.
Metaphorically, carrying anxiety in you causes you to stoop down in depression because the burden is too weighty.
Of course, there is Matthew 6:25-34.
Jesus has much to say about anxiety.
I won’t read it, but let me summarize it.
Jesus teaches us that anxiety reveals our lack of faith in God’s goodness, sovereignty, care, and provision for His children.
Being anxious about daily mundane things is what non-Christians do.
In fact, anxiety does not add an extra hour to our lives; rather, anxiety could shorten our life span.
Dr. Charles Mayo wrote this about worry or anxiety, “Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry.”
Anxiety does not help us at all nor does it give us any benefits!
It “is like a rocking chair; it will give you something to do, but it won’t get you anywhere.”
What Jesus is reminding us from His teaching is that God provides food and clothings for nature, such as animals and flowers.
If God can provide those things for nature, then how much more will He take care of His children?
The remedy to our anxiety is to trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness over our lives.
We are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to us.
So, the next time you see bird dung on your car, rather than getting angry at the bird, you should praise God that He even feeds the bird so that it can unload on your car.
The Second Point We Learn Is That We Are To Substitute Anxiety With Prayer (v.6b)
Paul says, Philippians 4:6
6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
Notice the conjunction, “But.”
Paul is drawing a contrast to the negative statement that he just made.
Paul is not simply telling them to stop being anxious.
He’s also correcting them by substituting anxiety with prayer about everything.
Don’t we all need this correction and reminder in our lives?
Paul uses three synonyms pertaining to prayer: prayer, supplication, and requests.
Prayer is a general term in which speak to or make requests to God.
If you study and look at how Paul uses that word in his letters, prayer is used in the context of intercession for others.
Intercession means praying or pleading to God on behalf of others.
Supplication is a similar word for prayer
But the original meaning specifically means an urgent request to meet a need.
And requests could mean making a “demand.”
Paul adds in thanksgiving.
Gratitude, thankfulness, and thanksgiving is supplied in prayer.
In some of Paul’s letters, thanksgiving always accompanies with prayer. 1 Thessalonians 5:17–18 says, “pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.”
Why come to God in prayer with thanksgiving?
Well, when you are facing trouble and despair, it might be natural for you to cry out to God in prayer.
But without thanksgiving, what could we say to God?
We can express ungratefulness to Him.
We can blame Him for what He has done in our lives.
We can question and doubt His goodness.
We often feel extremely anxious about the future and our present circumstance.
The reason I think is because we fail to see how much God has provided for us and blessed us.
Actually, let’s not be too self-focused on how much God has given to us.
Let’s first consider giving thanks to God for who He is.
Thank you, Lord, because You are Good.
Thank you, Lord, because You are all-powerful.
Thank you, Lord, because You are Worthy and Glorious.
Thank you, Lord, because You are Holy and Pure.
Jesus taught us in the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed be your name.”
Then, we are to give thanks to God for all the benefits and blessings that He poured into our lives.
Even the breakfast that you ate this morning or the lunch that you will eat is ultimately given to you by our God.
Even the fact that you arrive safely to church this morning is because of God’s grace and providence over your life.
You are here this morning not by any slim chance of luck, but by the God who governs every detail of your life so that you can receive the message of God’s word and be reminded of the gospel message.
Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
Even though we may not understand why we are facing challenges in our lives, we know that God is in control and He has a purpose.
To that, we can give thanks knowing that He is sovereign who can relief us from anxiety and worry.
Speaking of the gospel or the good news, we as believers have reasons to be thankful for the great salvation that God has given to us through His Son.
Without Jesus’ substitutionary atonement and resurrection, we would be hopeless and helpless to ever be saved.
However, although there are good reasons to be thankful for the gospel, we are not to keep this message to ourselves.
Paul tells us this in 2 Corinthians 4:15
15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.
Paul instructs us that we are to spread the gospel to people so that more and more people can give thanks to the triune God to the glory of God.
So, we have every reason to have an attitude of gratitude because thanksgiving is one of the marks of the Christian life.
And when are thankful for what God has done in our lives in the past and in our present, we can give thanks to God and look forward to what He would do for His children in the future instead of worrying it.
May we not be like the unbelievers of this world as Paul said in Romans 1: “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
Now, back to Philippians.
Notice the phrase, “let your requests be made known to God.”
This is an unusual expression because it sounds as if the Philippians need God to know the requests, as if He does not know what they are.
Of course, other passages of Scripture do not suggest that God does not know our requests.
It is reasonable for us to bring requests to God, not because God is unaware of our prayers and requests.
Rather, by bringing to God our requests, we are laying out all our troubles and cares before the presence of God.
The Apostle Peter says it well in 1 Peter 5:6-7, “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.”
The audience that Peter wrote to were suffering immensely as followers of Christ.
In the midst of their hardships, Peter instructs them to humble themselves, that is to give themselves over to the plan of God.
Anxiety is a form of pride because it tells God that we are going to handle the situation by ourselves.
But, that is not the biblical response to anxiety.
If we are to fight against anxiety and worry, then we need a humble or meek attitude that comes from the fruit of the Spirit.
Only if we have a humble attitude would we cast our anxieties onto God because He cares for us.
When we cast our anxieties, we are essentially throwing our burdens to the Lord.
Whatever anxieties, despairs, hardships, trials, and sufferings we may be facing in our current circumstance, know that we can have an attitude of faith and trust in our God our Father who cares deeply about His children.
So, let’s lay our requests before God...let’s make them known to Him.
Let’s pour our burden onto Him.
God is never afraid of your requests.
God is essentially saying to us, “Just toss your burdens to me. Bring them on because I will take care of you.”
I suppose some of you might have asked this question, “If God knows everything and all that we need, then why should we pray?”
Well, the best reason we are to pray is because Scripture commands us to do so.
Another good reason is because Paul prayed.
Peter prayed.
God’s people in the Old Testament prayed.
The book of Psalm is filled with prayers.
As a matter of fact, Jesus prayed.
You don’t want eliminate the tension between God’s sovereignty and our human responsibility.
Yes, God is sovereign and He knows all things from past, present future, and He can achieve and accomplish His purposes and plans with or without our prayers.
But yes, God also commands us to pray to Him.
Jesus says in John 14:13–14, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.”
Effective prayer must be done in the name of Jesus.
That is, God-honouring prayers are requests that Jesus delights in answering.
In His providence, God works through our prayers to achieve His ultimate end.
There are many valid reasons to pray.
We pray because:
we yearn to fellowship with God,
we want to give glory to God,
we want to humble ourselves and be dependent upon God,
we need God’s wisdom in our trials and hardships,
we seek deliverance from trouble,
we want to express our gratitudes to God for who He is,
we need to confess our sins before the Lord,
we need God to save our unbelieving friends and family members, and
we want to see God work spiritual growth in our lives and in other people’s lives.
Of course, in Philippians, we pray because we seek relief from anxiety and fear.
In other words, prayer changes us.
So, let’s present our requests to God.
But, what kind of requests should we make?
Well, Paul says, “In Everything.”
There are no exceptions to our call to prayer.
God is meticulously sovereign over everything, so we are to entrust everything into His hands by prayer and supplication.
We do not only pray when we are experiencing anxiety, but we are to pray no matter what the season of our lives is.
Prayer to God can be made in good times and bad times, in joy and in sadness, in comfort and in hardships.
God instructs us to be constant in prayer and to pray unceasingly.
We are never to abandon this important spiritual discipline of prayer in our Christian lives.
Robert Rainy made a comment regarding this verse: “The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything.”
Prayer and unreasonable anxiety should not co-exist in the Christian life.
This is the battle between the Spirit and the flesh in us.
Anxiety is the expression of fear.
Prayer is the expression of faith.
Fear is an attitude of anxiety or distress that is caused by concern over a possible threat to one’s future.
Faith is an attitude of trust and confidence in God no matter the circumstance.
Anxiety is concerned about the situation to which we have no control over.
Prayer is trusting in the One who has complete control over the situation.
This leads me to the final point.
The Third Point We Learn Is That As A Result, We Experience God’s Peace (v.7)
No doubt that peace is a big theme in the Scriptures.
In the Old Testament, the word “peace” is called shalom.
In our modern understanding, we may assume “peace” is an absent of war or conflict, which could refer to them in Scripture.
The basic meaning for shalom is being complete or whole. You can visualize a huge brick wall that is completely built.
That’s shalom.
If a brick or two are missing from the wall, then it is not complete or whole. And anxiety is like a wrecking ball that smashes your brick wall of life.
Your life is no longer complete or whole, and you are experiencing the restlessness, fear, and fatigue through anxiety.
According to Paul’s teachings, the peace of God is achieved through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, and mortifying anxiety.
This is what we long for, right?
A sense of peace from all our anxiety and worry.
But, what exactly is the peace of God?
It is the peace that comes from God.
God is not plagued by anxiety.
He is not troubled by anything.
He has no need to fear about the possible threats of the future.
It is the peace that He possesses and it is the peace to which He lives and governs all things.
At the same time, it is the peace that He is willing to give to His people.
Jesus says in John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
But, how does prayer achieve the peace of God?
Because I might suspect that some of you would say, “Well, I tried praying to God and it did not work. I’m still just as anxious I was before praying.”
Is the peace of God achieved through an answered prayer?
Notice that Paul did not mention that the experience of God’s peace is the result of an answered prayer.
So, no.
Is it achieved by having our prayers perfectly aligned with God’s will?
Not exactly.
Our prayers may often be in error and we may pray for the things that is not aligned with God’s sovereign will.
Who gives you the peace of God? God.
And God can see the depth of our hearts.
So, referring back to 1 Peter 5:6-7, prayer achieves the peace of God when we are humbling ourselves before God in faith.
We need an attitude of humility and faith in God’s goodness and sovereign plan. Why?
Well, in 1 Peter 5:5, Peter says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”
Isaiah 26:3 says, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.”
That is it.
We are to trust in God.
We are to focus on Him and turn our eyes upon Jesus and God will keep you in perfect peace.
So, pray and present your real needs before God in faith and in humility.
But, don’t just pray only in faith and humility, but also walk and live your Christian life in faith and humility.
Be watchful and be vigilant against the attacks of the enemy.
Pick up the word of God, read through Matthew 6:25 again, and remind yourselves as God’s children that He will take care of your needs.
We can experience an inward, God-given peace because it is the divine protection over those who are in union with Christ.
It will guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
Guard is a military term that Paul is using.
And that word is used four times in the New Testament.
Out of the four instances, only one is used literally and the other three are used figuratively.
It literally speaks of soldiers guarding the city gates from allowing the enemies to attack.
Figuratively speaking, in Philippians 4:7, since Paul is in prison, he is using that concept to relate to the peace of God the guards our hearts and our minds.
Our hearts speak about the emotional angle and our volition.
Our minds speak about the mental aspects, dealing with the thoughts and reasoning of the person.
Essentially, the peace of God protects the person’s inner life, that inner life could be summarized by our feelings, thoughts, and will.
But, what does this God-given peace look like?
Please describe the experience.
Well...Paul says that the peace of God surpasses all understanding.
John MacArthur says that this “refers to the divine origin of peace. It transcends human intellect, analysis, and insight.”
This is the kind of peace that no human reasoning can comprehend.
Human reasoning may tell you, “Wait, aren’t you worried and anxious about your cancer result? Don’t you know that you’re going to die in a couple of months? I don’t understand why you’re so calm and peaceful about it?”
When you experience the peace of God, you can tell human reasoning, “Yes, I know I have every reason to be anxious about my health and my future, but I know that this is not without a purpose. I know and I trust in the God who will care of me and will walk me through this trial. For that, I choose not to worry, but I choose to walk by faith and love the Lord with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.”
Additionally, secular counselors and psychology in the world that can’t offer you the true peace that God offers.
Therapy cannot do that for you.
Medicines to control your anxiety disorder cannot do that for you.
Unfortunately, you have to pay these people just to offer you a cheap knockoff peace.
They may not address the deep issue of your anxiety, and that is sin.
They may tell you to cope with it when God tells you to put it off.
Only Scripture can offer you the remedy for anxiety.
Indeed, the peace of God is supernatural and it can be experienced when you come to Christ in prayer.
He does not need your money.
He does not need your advice or counsel.
He wants you to come to Him with your real needs.
Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
It is difficult to explain to you the peace of God experientially, but I believe it can be experience as promised in Scripture.
I know when I experience hardships and trials that prompt anxiety in me, I can always turn to the Lord for help.
I constantly remind myself of what God has done in the past.
I know He has provided for me, I know He took care of me, I know He is good.
Therefore, I know He will provide, I know He will care for me, and I know He will never change and He will always be good.
I know we will stumble and fall back into anxiety from time to time.
But, I can tell you that God uses trials and hardship sanctify us, so that we would grow to trust Him more and more.
Maybe, when you first became a Christian, you succumb to anxiety easily when you lost your job.
But, after being a Christian for many years, you experience the same trials and hardships of losing your job; but your attitude towards it has changed, you have no reason to worry about it because you faith and trust in God has deepened over the years.
“With God in charge, I believe that everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about”
Gospel
I do not think this peace of God is directly related to the salvific peace that God offers to us through Christ.
But, it is worth mentioning that true peace is found in the gospel.
In Romans 5:1-2, because we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through Christ.
Meaning, we were enemies of God, but in Christ, we have been reconciled with God.
God reconciled us to Himself through Christ.
God restored the broken relationship to wholeness (peace) with those who repent of their sins and trust in Christ for the saving works.
If you’re not a believer today, and if you’re worried about something, then let me suggest something, worry about whether or not if you received the gift of eternal life through Christ.
Do you know if you will spend in eternity with Jesus in heaven or if you spend in eternity separated from God in hell.
Conclusion
One day John Wesley was walking with a troubled man who expressed his doubt as to the goodness of God. He said, “I do not know what I shall do with all this worry and trouble.”
At the same moment Wesley saw a cow looking over a stone wall. “Do you know,” asked Wesley, “why that cow is looking over the wall?”
“No,” said the man who was worried.
Wesley said, “The cow is looking over the wall because she cannot see through it. That is what you must do with your wall of trouble—look over it and avoid it.”
Anxiety never raises your eyes above your problems, your situation and circumstances.
Prayer raises your eyes above and beyond yourself to God and his power.
Faith enables us to look past our circumstances and focus on Christ.
May you be encouraged and hopeful by God this morning.
If you are feeling anxious, if there are fears in your life, then I invite you, right now at this time, in a moment of silence, to let your requests be made known to God, and then I will close in prayer.
