Sermons

Be Anxious for Nothing

Philippians 4:6-7

 

This past week every one of us has been anxious about something.  We’ve worried and fretted about something – whether it’s job security, health issues, having money to pay our bills in our old age, problems at work, or how our kids are going to turn out.  So we’ve all been anxious.

 

But in today’s passage in the book of Philippians Paul tells us how it’s possible to stop being anxious and find peace.  Imagine that every time you felt anxious, worried, or fearful, you were able to overcome that and experience true, heart-felt peace.  Because of Jesus Christ, that’s possible.  To see how, let’s turn to Philippians 4:6-7.  If you need a Bible, please raise your hand and we will bring one to you.  Philippians 4 is on page 982 in the Bibles we are passing out.

 

Paul wrote this letter to a church he had planted in the city of Philippi.  These believers had done well at first – living by faith in Christ, loving each other, and boldly advancing the gospel.  But as time went on two problems developed in this church – some had become fearful because of persecution and were no longer as bold in their witness, and some had let disagreements produce division and lack of love.  So we have seen Paul deal with both of those topics by urging these believers to see all that they had in Jesus Christ now and forever.

 

But in chapter 4 he’s bringing this book to an end.  And in this chapter he addresses some other specific concerns -- and one of them has to do with anxiety and worry.  Look at what he says in chapter 4:6-7 –

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.

 

The first six words of verse 6 should shock us – “do not be anxious about anything.”  Here God himself, speaking through Paul, is commanding us to not be anxious about anything.  So what would that mean?  What would it mean to not be anxious about anything?

 

To be anxious means to feel fear about some future scenario.  It means there is something that could happen in the future that you don’t want to happen because it would cause suffering, or pain, or loss.  Maybe it would be the suffering of losing your job, or the pain of losing a friendship, or the loss of health.  So being anxious means feeling fear about some future scenario.

 

But Paul commands us not to be anxious about anything, which means he is commanding us to feel completely at peace about everything.  So he is commanding us to feel completely at peace about the possibility of losing our job, losing a friendship, or about what might happen to our health.

 

So this is a shocking command.  And this is not the only place this command is given.  Let me read you some other Scriptures that put this same command in different words –

 

Isaiah 41:10 – “Fear not, for I am with you.”

 

Isaiah 41:13 – “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.” 

 

Joshua 1:9 – Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go. 

 

Matthew 6:31 – Do not be anxious saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'

 

John 14:1 “Let not your hearts be troubled.  Believe in God; believe also in me.”

 

So God commands us to not be anxious, not be worried, not be fearful, and instead to be completely at peace about everything.  But how is that possible?

 

How can we obey this command?  This is a crucial question to ask, because there are lots of people who will tell us how to stop worrying; but what they say is not at all what God says.

 

For example, I Googled “how to stop worrying,” and found these five steps from Wiki-How –

1. Breathe in. Take deep breaths before whatever you're worried about is going to start
2. Relax. Don't worry about anything, just relax and try to take your mind off it.
3. Let it out. When you start to worry, tell someone. Don't keep it in; it will make matters worse
4. Get moving! Do what you enjoy to do most. Listen to music, go out with friends, or do a sporty activity: Swimming, Dancing, Ice-skating, Roller-skating.
5. Find that silver lining. If it's an exam, lesson or even a strict teacher, it will all turn out fine! If not, there's always a silver lining.

http://www.wikihow.com/Not-Worry-About-Something

 

With all due respect, those steps don’t really help you not to worry.  They might distract you from your worry for a few moments.  But once the distraction is over, the worry will still be there.  These steps won’t free you from worry and fill you with peace, because they ignore God.

 

I’ve also heard Christians encourage each other to not worry by quoting Mark Twain who said “I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, and most of them have never happened.”  But that doesn’t free you from fear, because some of those troubles do happen.  And notice how that advice also ignores God.

 

So we have to notice that Paul doesn’t just tell us not to worry, he also tells us how to not worry.  In verse 6 he gives us three steps.  Let’s read that verse again, and then we’ll go through each step one at a time –

6        do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

 

First, he says “by prayer and supplication.”  So the way to not be anxious, the way to gain peace, is not by thinking, or planning, or being positive, or busying ourselves with something else.  The way to not be anxious and gain peace is by praying.  And the phrase “prayer and supplication” is used 20 times in the Old Testament to describe prayer.

 

So if you want to not be anxious and gain peace, then the most crucial step you can take is to pray.  But how often is our first step something else?  How often, when we hear about the possibility of layoffs, is our first step to check monster.com, or update your resume, or think of what you can do to impress your boss? 

 

Those things might not be bad, but they ignore the most important reality in the universe – God!  I mean, think about it – God is in sovereign control over everything, God cares deeply about you, God has promised “ask, and it shall be given to you.”  That’s why the first step is to pray. 

 

And how should we pray?  That’s the second step – it’s by prayer and supplication “with thanksgiving.”  What does that mean?  Too often we explain that only as thanking God for the blessings in our lives.  And there’s nothing wrong with doing that.  But I don’t think that’s the main part of this thanksgiving.

 

I think the main part of this thanksgiving is thanking God for all that he promises to be to us in Christ.  Yes, God has given us many other blessings.  But there’s one blessing that infinitely greater than all of them – and that is all that we have in Christ.

 

So imagine that you are worried about the possibility of losing your job.  Think of what happens when you turn your heart towards God, and start to thank him for all that you have in Christ.

 

Thank you, Father, that I have Jesus Christ as my Savior, through whom I am completely forgiven for all of my sins.  And thank you that in Christ you are rejoicing over me to do me good with all your heart and all your soul.  And thank you that Christ has all authority in heaven and on earth, which means he is in sovereign control of whether I keep my job, or lose my job.  And thank you that he will do whatever will bring me the greatest joy in him.  And thank you that whatever happens, he will give me all the grace I need, all the wisdom I need, all the strength I need, all the finances I need.

 

That’s what I think it means to pray with thanksgiving.

 

Then third – let your requests be made known to God.  God knows what you need before you ask him.  But God wants you to bring your needs directly to him.  Why?  Because it reminds you that you are the needy one, and that God is the all-powerful one.  So it humbles us, and glorifies him.

 

So pray, and let your requests be made known to God.  Father, please protect my job.  Give me wisdom about how I can better serve this company.  Help me do a great job on my current assignment.  Strengthen my faith, and conquer my anxiety. 

 

That’s what it means to let your requests be made known to God.

 

But now compare how completely different Paul’s list is from the Wiki-How list –

 

Wiki-How List	Paul’s List
Breathe in Relax Let it out Get moving Find that silver lining	By prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God

 

The Wiki-How list completely ignores the most important reality in the universe – God.  But every step in Paul’s approach focuses on God.

 

So here’s what we should do when we are anxious –

• by prayer and supplication – turn your heart towards God
• with thanksgiving – thank him for all that he promises to be to you in Christ
• let your requests be made known to God – ask God to work in your situation.

 

And that brings us to our next question – what does God promise will happen when we do this?  Read verses 6 and 7 together –

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.

 

So when we with prayer and supplication turn our hearts to God, thanking him for all that Jesus is to us, and letting our requests be made known to him – the peace of God will guard our hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

So what is the peace of God?  It is a feeling of peace that comes into your heart supernaturally from God himself.  You can’t just choose to feel this peace.  You can’t think your way into this peace.  But when you turn your heart towards God, thanking him, and asking him – he will supernaturally fill your heart with peace.

 

And notice that this peace surpasses all understanding.  It’s not that this peace is just a feeling which has no connection to understanding.  It’s not that we just suddenly feel peace, and don’t know why.  No, it’s because this peace can’t be explained by our circumstances.  But even though it can’t be explained by our circumstances, it can be explained.  We know why we have peace.  And it’s because of all that we have in Christ.

 

But notice something else Paul says about this peace.  Paul says this peace will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.  Guard them from what?  From anxiety.  From fear.  From worry.  When you pray this way God will give you a peace that will protect you when Satan launches his flaming darts of fear or worry or anxiety against you.

 

But notice that God’s peace guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.  Underline those three words “in Christ Jesus.”  Those are maybe the most important words in these two verses.  Throughout his letters Paul talks about us being “in Christ,” or “in Christ Jesus.”  In fact, I counted 84 times when he mentions this.

 

And notice that God’s peace only guards our hearts and minds when we are in Christ Jesus.  See, when you are anxious and worried about layoffs, at that moment your hearts and your minds are in layoffs, more than they are in Christ.  Your heart is in layoffs, because that’s what your feelings are focused on, and your mind is in layoffs, because that’s what you’re thinking is focused on.

 

But when you turn to God with prayer and supplication, thanking him for all he promises to be for you in Christ, and making your requests known to him – the Holy Spirit will supernaturally move your heart and mind from being in layoffs, to being in Christ Jesus.

 

Which means you will see that you are in Christ --  

• who has so much love for you that you went to the cross,
• who has all the forgiveness you will ever need,
• who rejoices to do you good with all his heart and all his soul,
• who has a loving and wise plan to do with your job whatever will bring you the greatest joy in him forever,
• who has all the grace you need to endure whatever trials might come,
• and who will give you everything else you need in the meantime – wisdom and grace and strength and finances.

 

And when you see Jesus Christ standing before you, and you trust him, and love him, and trust him – you will be in Christ.  And being in Christ will give you such peace that the feelings of your heart, and the thinking of your mind, will be guarded from all anxieties, worries, and fears.

 

Questions?

 

Let’s take some time right now and follow Paul’s three steps regarding whatever anxieties are in our hearts.  Let’s turn to God in prayer, thanking him for all that he promises to be to us in Christ, and making our requests known to you.  And let’s watch how God fulfills his promise of giving us a peace that surpasses understanding, and which guards our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.