Peace for Anxious Times

TEXT: Philippians 4:6-7

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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.

ME

Good morning church! Most of you know me as Pastor Terry, Pastor of New Life A/G. But, first of all I am a child of God, I am the son of Kenneth & Rosalyn, I am the husband of an amazing woman, Kaylene, 32+ years, I am the father of 6 amazing children, Lynsey, Joshua, Rachel, Hannah, Sarah, and Rebekah, of most all who are married, and now I am the grand-father of 4 amazing grand daughters. I am a Security Police, USAF Veteran from Dessert Shield, Dessert Storm who served my country proudly and was honorably discharged . . . and . . .

I am a man of God who is all about living and preaching the Word of God to a dark and lost world the best I possibly I can so the world may know JESUS, and this topic today, “PEACE”, is something that I have endeavored to live by ever since I became a Christian . . . and in the day that we live in . . . it rings stronger now than ever before!

WE

In this day YOU & I, WE, live in, WE are being led and driven by many circumstances . . . by worry, anxiety, and fear, the very thing that Phil 4:6-7 says not to be driven or led by. WE ARE NOT TO BE ANXIOUS about anything! That means ANYTHING! Even when the world is telling us that we need to be! Our future, our Jobs, and more importantly our Health (physically, emotionally, and spiritually), our Spouses, our Children, and our Grandchildren, and for some even your Great Grandchildren, or your Great, Great Grandchildren. My 97yr old grandmother is here today and we just recently took a picture with 5 generations in it.

As a human being, a man, first of all, a husband, father, and grand-father . . . THAT IS NOT EASY TO DO! I’m just being real and vulnerable here! Are you connecting with me? Please hang on these words for a moment . . .

GOD

You see . . . this is all true and we have all been effected either directly or indirectly by many things since the beginning of COVID at the beginning of this year, and the uprising of racial tensions in our country since May 31st . . . and maybe for some of you . . . things were building even before that!

With all of this common ground that could or has effected us . . . we have another common ground that is stronger and more influential and effective! Jesus Christ! The Word of God!

You see . . . as a man . . . I’m given something by God innately that leads me to provide and protect . . . to love my wife like Christ loved the Church, to mentor and raise my children and my grandchildren in the way that they should go . . . just like the rest of you men here today and listening online.

There is something that rises up within me when injustice is being done, people are being mistreated, no matter their color, class, ethnicity, or any other distinguishing factor! There is something that rises up when God’s creation is being mistreated and led down a path, a destructive, and deceptive road that is so dark, so evil, and so oppressive that only the devil himself would walk it!

That something . . . that something is the Spirit of God! The Spirit of God tells me through this Holy Word, to not be anxious, to not worry, to not be fearful . . . in anything!

The Spirit of God tells me to pray, to petition (which means to earnestly pray, to plead with God, to cry out to him) about everything that is on my heart, everything that I am concerned about . . . everything that I am anxious about . . . everything that I am worried about . . . everything that I am fearful about.

You see, Psalms 55:22 says “Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous fall.” 1 Peter 5:7 says “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” LEAVE NOTHING!

“WORRY ABOUT NOTHING! PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING!”

NOTHING IS NOTHING . . . AND IT LEAVES OUT EVERYTHING!

And to do it all with thanksgiving! Paul never lets prayer become a leap in the dark! It rests on a foundation! Romans 10:17 says “Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.” Our prayers need to rest on faith, and faith on the Word of God!

This is not telling us to go back and thank God after our prayers are answered . . . which we should do anyway! But, it is telling us that when we go to Him with our prayers, with our pleas, with out cries . . . about EVERYTHING . . . that we are to thank Him!

Thank Him for what He has already done in your life by answering past prayers! Thank Him for His past faithfulness! Remember the altars of the past that have been set up because of the answered prayers, the past victories, the past mountains He helped you scale, the past valley’s that He has brought you through! REMEMBER the heights and the depths of all that He has done! REMEMBER those things and thank Him! REMEMBER HIS FAITHFULNESS and pray to Him in faith . . . cry out to Him in faith!

And, when we do that . . . there is something that is going to happen . . . and Pastor Fred is going to come and tell us about the results . . .

COME MY BROTHER

YOU

WE