Antidote to Worry
Notes
Transcript
The Bible tells me not to worry — but I have a lot to worry about
The Bible tells me not to worry — but I have a lot to worry about
I worry about everything — kids — wife — finances — church — my parents — you — country — world
How can I be anxious about nothing when it seems everything can be worried about?
I am going to assume that I am not alone in the struggle with worry
I am going to assume that I am not alone in the struggle with worry
We all have plenty to worry about — and especially in today’s context
I was having dinner with Friends Friday night — Dave has almost 80 years of experience and wisdom — Dave said, “in all my years of living I’ve never seen what I am seeing today”
I know that you all have internal and external forces that are causing stress and worry and anxiety
I know that you worry about your health, your elderly friends and family, your jobs, finances, your kids
I also know that worry steals the joy of life — we all are stressed and depressed
Every hear of the worry worm? Someone coined the phrase because they saw worry to be like a worm. Some of you are gardeners — gardening is hard work — planning — prepping — back breaking work — you work hard to plant those vegetables or maybe flowers like roses. I remember one year my wife planted roses around our house in Bristol. They grew and eventually beautiful flowers budded and blossomed — they were beautiful — but one day like overnight we came out and the flowers were full of holes — a worm has found its way to the peddles and ate it’s way through them
Worry is like a worm that eats its way through your heart and mind — we need an antidote — a worry killer
TRAN: Good news for us today. Paul has an antidote to worry. The Philippian church was under internal and external pressure. Paul wrote a lot about unity and especially joy. Joy is the major theme of the Philippian letter. It makes sense that Paul would address worry and anxiety because worry and anxiety are joy killers.
BIBLE: We are in Philippians chapter 4
BIBLE: We are in Philippians chapter 4
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
Easy for you to say Paul — you didn’t live in 2020!
Notice Paul says, “Rejoice in the Lord always” — NOT — “Rejoice in all circumstances”
What does Paul mean exactly… “Rejoice in the Lord always”
Does he mean there is always something to rejoice about if you are “in Christ”?
Does he mean that those who have Jesus in their life will find reason to rejoice in every circumstance?
Seems difficult doesn’t it — Job loss — Death — Covid — Financial troubles — depression
Here is what I interpret Paul command to mean...
The living presence of Jesus in our lives is our Joy and no circumstance can take away from you
Rejoicing is not optional for Jesus followers — it is a command — it is an emphatic command — rejoicing is at the beginning and end of the verse — Paul wanted them to get it
Something else — Paul uses a verb that is in the present continual sense — this means he wants them to not just have moments of sporadic outbursts of emotion — rejoicing must be a habit or discipline in life for the Jesus follower
One more thing about the verb Paul used — it is in the plural — Paul sees rejoicing as a corporate discipline and not just a private individual activity — We should rejoice together in the Lord always
Listen Christian: to rejoice “in the lord” means Jesus is not just a source of rejoicing — it means He is the object of rejoicing — we don’t rejoice because he changes our circumstances — we rejoice because Jesus is greater than all of it — we rejoice nevertheless
“Joy in Philippians is a defiant ‘Nevertheless!’ which Paul sets like a full stop against the Philippians’ anxiety” — Karl Barth
Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Paul gives them a second command
He uses a word that is related to a word in the Greek we find in non-Biblical writings — it refers to a person who is willing to be magnanimous above and beyond what is fair — it refers to a compassionate person like Jesus
Paul’s antidote to worry and anxiety involves being more concerned about others problems than my own -- showing others compassion — giving others the benefit of the doubt
“The Lord is near”
Not a reference to the second coming
Paul is not saying — Be joyful — life is going to suck really bad now but its okay Jesus will be here soon!
I interpret this phrase with verse 6 — “The Lord is near…don’t be anxious”
I believe Paul is telling the Philippians and us that Jesus is near to the believer now — His living presence is with us even now in all circumstances
Like a scared child walking into an unfamiliar place — where the unknown is frighting — we can reach up and grab the hand of a big brother, father or mother
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
A third exhortation — Do not be anxious about anything and Prayer for everything
Paul sees worry and anxiety as counterproductive to the life of the believer — it accomplishes nothing
In fact the only thing it displays in our lives is just how much we don’t trust the Lord
“The Christian is not to live a careless or uncaring life, but is to live life “without a care in the world,” which is to say without anxiety attacks.”
Paul’s main antidote to worry is prayer
The best way to stop worry about anything would be to pray about everything
But it is not just a prayer and petition — it is not just prayers because we want something
Prayer with the attitude of thanksgiving is the stress-buster we need
“thanksgiving is the surest evidence of a soul free from anxiety” - John Wesley
Eucharistia = thanksgiving — same word we use for the Eucharist — the same thanksgiving we display at the table of the Lord — it is a remembrance of how we have been blessed by Jesus’ sacrifice — he laid down his life for us and that should be enough
The Antidote to Worry is Threefold
Rejoice in the Lord always and in all circumstances
Focus on the needs of others and be compassionate
Pray about everything with confidence and with thanksgiving in your hearts
And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Verse 7 might be the most interesting statement Paul uses in this closing section to the letter to the Philippians
Paul says when we practice the threefold antidote to worry…there is a promise
Paul uses a military image — like an army standing guard around a city — protecting the people inside the walls from those who would harm them — the Peace of God will stand guard around our hearts and minds to protect the Joy inside
“Peace of God” — does not mean absence of conflict or trouble — as a matter of fact you can have conflict and trouble all around you and still have Peace — this is the “transcends all understanding”
The Peace of God means calming, healing presence — it transcends our understanding because we experience it when we least expect it — in circumstances that seem impossible — God’s peace comes
What are you going to do with your worry?
What are you going to do with your worry?
So Tony — let me get this straight — Christians should never worry?
If this is what your take away is — then you will simply become an inauthentic person — constantly feeling guilty because worry is part of this normal life — there will always be things to worry about — we are not to be careless or uncaring
Even the Apostle Paul worried — ever read his letters to his churches? Romans, Corinthians, Galatians — Paul worried about his churches — their spiritual condition — their relationships — their lives — Paul worried too
Here is what should be your take away...
You will always have worries in this life — your path in life will have many challenges and circumstances that you just cannot control — every circumstance gives you a fork in your road
One leads to anxiety, depression, and despair
One leads to peace, assurance, comfort — it leads us to JOY!
Which road you travel depends on your choices — God is not going to do this for you — your disciplined response to the worries in life matters
Paul says for those who believe — those who trust God — worry should...
Push us toward each other — to share our worries and to rejoice together in the Lord (why Sunday is so important)
Cause us to realize there is someone in my world who is worse off than me — it should motivate us to focus on the needs of others and have compassion instead of focus on my needs
Drive us to our knees — to tell God all about it but to do so with a thankful heart
This is the antidote to worry — when you practice these three things you will come to realize that “the Lord is near”
The Antidote to Worry is Threefold
Rejoice in the Lord always and in all circumstances
Focus on the needs of others and be compassionate
Pray about everything with confidence and with thanksgiving in your hearts
Imagine what life might look like if the people of God practice these three things daily!
Imagine what life might look like if the people of God practice these three things daily!
Witherington, B., III. (2011). Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (p. 247). Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Company.