Trade-In

The Real

Can I make a big confession to you? We don’t like confession do we? We don’t really want to confess any of our sins or shortcomings to each other do we?

Even though the book of James tells us to confess to one another, we really don’t like confession.

But I want to make a confession to you.

I’m a worrier. And I’m really good at worrying. I’ve always been good at.

When I was a kid I swallowed a penny. How this happen I’m not sure. But I spent weeks, no exaggeration, worrying that I was going to die and worrying that my parents would find out and be really upset with me.

When I was a teenager, and I was awkward, and well you remember what being a teenager was like, I’d worry about some stupid thing I may have said.

I’d say something and then in my mind I’d play this game. “What if what I just said made me sound like a dork? What if everyone in my school thinks I’m a weirdo? What if this is what my classmates remember and when we come back for our reunion they bring up the time I said that really dumb thing?”

When I got to college I finally started caring about my grades which is actually good. But then I started worrying about them and living in fear about them. I worried about my future. I’ve shared this before but I spent most of my time in college thinking I wouldn’t get a good job because there were so many people who had better grades and were more qualified than me. So I worried that I’d never get a good job.

Now that I’m an adult my worries seem a little more serious. I worry about my kids. What if Maya gets hurt when she’s playing outside because she’s not scared of anything? What if Carter accidentally gets ahold of something he’s allergic to? What if they fall behind in school? What if the other kids are mean to them? What if they’re meant to the other kids?

I worry about what might happen to my family if something were to happen to me? Would they be ok without me? Do I have enough life insurance for them to be comfortable?

I know I’m probably the only adult in here that worries about money but I’ll be honest and say I worry about money sometimes. Are we going to go over budget? Do I make enough to support my family? Am I saving enough so that I can retire someday or will I have to be a youth pastor into my 90s?

Bottom line: I don’t have to try to worry. I’m a natural and I’m good at it.

The Rub

And I bet if you’d be honest, you would probably say that you worry also. I mean I’m not going to ask you to raise your hand or anything but if we had a time of confession right now, I bet a lot of you would say you worry also.

Not all of you. Some of you are like, “I’m as cool as a cucumber. Every day is Bob Marly concert for me. I don’t worry about a thing, because every little thing is gonna be alright.”

But I’d be willing to bet the a lot of you worry just like me. And i’m not just basing that statement off of assumptions. The Data backs that up.

40% of people worry about something every day.

40 million American adults suffer with anxiety.

Nearly 4 million teenagers have diagnosed anxiety.

Teenagers today are under more pressure than any generation before. Social pressure, pressure to succeed at sports, music, art, etc. Pressure from parents, Pressure to have their future figured out.

It’s no wonder that teenage depression and suicide is at an all time high.

There’s more data out there to support this but the bottom line is that worry does exist and I’m not only one that worries. And maybe today that’s just the blessing for you. To find out that you aren’t the only one.

And worry isn’t just a psychological thing. It shows up physically as well. Excessive worrying can lead to heart issues, headaches, body aches, weight gain, weight loss, addiction, sleep deprivation, and a host of other ailments.

So I think a conclusion we can make is that we worry, and if there’s anything we can do to help curb that some, we should do that.

And I want to say before we go any further, there is a certain type of anxiety and worry that needs professional help. What we’re going to discover from scripture today is good for everyone. But there’s if you are struggling with severe anxiety, and worry, and depression, please seek professional help.

The Read

So, what does scripture say about worry?

I want us to look together at a passage in Philippians chapter 4.

To give these verses some context, the entire book of Philippians can be summed up by saying that Joy comes from Christ and as long as we have him nothing else really matters.

To give these verses some validity it’s important to recognize that Paul was writing this letter from a prison cell in Rome. If anyone had a reason to worry it was Paul. Paul had struggle financially during his ministry. He had been in and out of jails. He had been physically beaten. He had been involved in a ship wreck. He had been run out of almost ever town he’d been in. And no again he finds himself in prison awaiting whatever punishment that may come his way. But he had joy. And in chapter 4 he wrote these words.

(NIV)

Final Exhortations

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I think that within these verses there are 5 takeaways for us that help with this idea of worry and anxiety.

The first one is don’t worry about anything.

a (NIV)

(NIV)

6 Do not be anxious about anything...

That sounds simple doesn’t it? We can just go home can’t we? Obviously reading the verses that follow are going to begin to unfold how we do this.

But that statement by itself reminds me of an old sketch on comedy central. This lady goes into a counseling session and says she’s scared of being buried alive in a box. And the therapist just yells at her, “Stop it!” And she’s like, “Ok? You want to elaborate on that some?” And he says, “No just stop it!” That’s not very helpful is it.

To just say don’t worry about anything seems somewhat unhelpful so what exactly is it that Paul was saying.

Well one thing that I think is important to look at is the phrase that Paul write just leading up this verse. The end of verse 5 reminds the reader that the Lord is near.

God is near to us. When I was a child I had a security blanket. I called them Momma and Daddy. Situations that normally would cause fear or worry, were made to be not quite as scary when they were close by.

The Lord is near to you. You need not to worry.

But I think Paul was also just repeating a familiar phrase.

(NIV)

Do Not Worry

6:25–33pp—

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life… 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

Jesus spoke these words during the sermon on the mount. His big challenge here was to just evaluate and see if it does any good to worry. What are you going to do by worrying? Are you going to add time to your life? No then just don’t worry about it.

And I think that the rest of what Paul has to say will help with some practical steps but we can start by just deciding we aren’t going to worry about something. Taking that intentional step is a really good place to begin.

This is pretty simple really. We have alot to rejoice in

So the first thing we do is we don’t worry about anything.

The second thing we do is Pray about everything.

b (NIV)

6b ...by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

A lot of our students come to Bre and I when they’re struggling with something. Whether it’s a sin issue, or big decision they have to make, or if it’s just the heaviness of life that coming crashing down around them. And we always listen to their concerns and then the first thing we say in response is always the same. Have you prayed about?

Because listen, I believe prayer is the best place to start. Prayer is the reason I’m here today. The Prayer’s of my mother are probably the number one reason I made it out of adolescence.

Paul doesn’t just use the word prayer. He says petition. Another translations says supplication. Supplication means that you humble yourself and beg God to intercede. And I think there’s a natural calming that takes place when you recognize that you can’t do anything about it, but God can do everything about it.

And Paul also says present our requests with thanksgiving. When we are talking to God about our current worry it’s easy to finish that prayer and still feel hopeless. But when we are intentionally thankful for everything he’s done for us and will do for us our attitude is different after a prayer.

One commentator wrote that, “Prayer is to be offered with thanksgiving. The attitude of gratitude accompanies all true approaches to the Father.”

We should pray about everything because prayer replaces worry.

The third thing we can do is to Let God’s peace overwhelm us.

(NIV)

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Every time I read this verse in Philippians it reminds me of the old song that we knew as kids. “I’ve got the peace that passes understanding down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart. I’ve got the peace that passes understanding down in my heart. Where? Down in my heart to stay!”

Paul says three things about this peace.

It comes from God.

There’s no doubt about where it came from. The source is clear. This peace comes from God.

It transcends understanding.

It doesn’t make any sense for you have peace during a stressful situation right? When anxiety is at an all time high in your life you shouldn’t have peace right? That’s why it transcends understanding. It doesn’t make any sense. But it’s from God and you have it.

(ESV) 39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

(ESV)

39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

I didn’t make sense for Jesus to be able to calm a raging storm with just his words. But he spoke peace into that situation and he can speak peace into whatever you are worried about also.

39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

The peace will guard your hearts and your mind.

The greek word for guard is a military term. This peace of God stands on duty and it keeps anything that brings anxiety out.

When you have worry in your life, let God’s peace overwhelm you. We’re really good about getting overwhelmed by everything we’re worried about and everything that brings us stress. But by praying, let’s allow the peace of God to overwhelm us.

The fourth thing that we need to do is to trade in our worry for worship.

(NIV)

(NIV)

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Paul moves on here and tells us to shift our focus. It’s as if he’s saying if you don’t want to worry about everything bad in your life, how about you quit focusing on the bad and start focusing on the goodness of God.

I shared on this verse a couple of years ago and we went through list of characteristics to determine what Paul was talking about and when we were finished with it we came to a conclusion. Paul was talking about Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

I shared on this verse a couple of years ago and we went through list of characteristics to determine what Paul was talking about and when we were finished with it we came to a conclusion. Paul was talking about Jesus.

He’s the one who is true. He’s the one who is noble. He is the one that is right. He is the one that is pure. He is what is lovely. He is the admirable. He is excellent. He is praiseworthy.

Jesus is where our focus should be. And when we intentionally focus on him that is worship. When we put all of our efforts toward him that is worship.

(ESV)

3 You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.

Isaiah said that when people keep their minds on God they will remain in perfect peace.

because he trusts in you.

So if you want to stress less and have less anxiety. Trade your worry for worship.

The Ready/The Response

A lot of you have worries that you brought with you today.

Some of you are in a really similar stage of life as me and you’re just worried about being a good parent or a good spouse.

For some of you, the biggest worry in your life right now is raising a teenager.

For some it’s being a teenager.

Maybe some of you are just now stepping into a stage of life that’s brand new. Maybe you’re an empty nester and your worried about what already passed. Did I do a good job raising my kids? Are they ok on thier own?

Maybe you’re newly retired and also worrying about something that’s already passed. Did I save enough when I was working?

I think that in error we could read a passage of scripture like this or listen to a message like this and just pretend that our concerns don’t exist. Please don’t mistake the message this morning. I’m not saying that you should live recklessly. “Well if I just don’t think about my concerns they will go away.” That would be nice, but that’s not how it works!

Absolutely not. What I am saying is this. There’s a God in Heaven who created you to worship him. He sent his son to die so that you could be reconciled to him. And if you will follow him, and trust in him, and focus on him in the midst of the concerns you have, worry won’t define your life.

At the end of the day when you remember all that you have that concerns you have on one side, and you remember the love of God on the other side the scales aren’t even.

Your concerns are real and I don’t want to minimize that. But so is the love of Christ and I want to maximize that!

So maybe this morning you've been worried for so long you don’t what it’s like to not be worried. Maybe you’re the type of person who makes things up to worry about when they don’t have anything else to worry about. Maybe even when you have nothing to worry about, you’re just worried that there is something you need to worry about! And maybe you’re just exhausted by all of it.

We’re not going to have an invitation this morning but we are going to have one final song to just focus on the goodness of God and worship him this morning! So will you please stand and join the band to trade in your worry for worship!