Pastor Gary.
Exercise: Worry List. Write out a list of your worries.
Philippians 4:6-7 Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
1. Don't worry.
2. Prayer and supplication.
3. With Thanksgiving.
Result: Indescribable peace of God.
The command to "be anxious for nothing" assumes that everyone is already anxious (worried). Our natural inclination is to worry. Yet part of our sanctification is not to act the way we do instinctively. [We are not to worry.]
Philippians 1:29 For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake,
- The gift from God is that He is in control of everything. God is greater than all the sufferings and all anxieties.
The irrationality of worry. Have you ever solved a problem by worrying about them? A: No.
Matthew 6:25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
- What do people worry about? A: Usually the bare essentials.
- What do people worry about? A: Usually the bare essentials.
Philippians 1:21 For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. 22 But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. 23 But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; 24 yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake.
- Christian, do you worry about death? Paul states here that it'd be better to be with Christ.
- Yet on TV we see that the world worries about death so much and they advertise "organic" this and that. Products to keep you healthy and living longer.
Matthew 6:30 But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
- When we worry, we are demonstrating lack of faith in God and His sovereignty.
- Worry declares our Lord as being untrustworthy.
The opposite action of worry is to PRAY.
Prayer is expressing need and total dependence upon Him.
Prayer is synonymous with worship.
- No sins of Daniel's were recorded in Scripture.
- Here is a portion of Daniel's prayer, it's full of a sense of worship:
Daniel 9:4 I prayed to the Lord my God and confessed and said, “Alas, O Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant and lovingkindness for those who love Him and keep His commandments, 5 we have sinned, committed iniquity, acted wickedly and rebelled, even turning aside from Your commandments and ordinances. 6 Moreover, we have not listened to Your servants the prophets, who spoke in Your name to our kings, our princes, our fathers and all the people of the land.
Daniel 9:15 “And now, O Lord our God, who have brought Your people out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand and have made a name for Yourself, as it is this day—we have sinned, we have been wicked. 16 O Lord, in accordance with all Your righteous acts, let now Your anger and Your wrath turn away from Your city Jerusalem, Your holy mountain; for because of our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and Your people have become a reproach to all those around us. 17 So now, our God, listen to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplications, and for Your sake, O Lord, let Your face shine on Your desolate sanctuary.
- Godly men, like Daniel, ask the Lord for things, YET their supplications are embedded in worship of who God is.
When Gary was in fear of drowning in a rip tide, he prayed: "God Help Me."
It wasn't flowery, it was a cry of urgency. This is prayer.
Be Thankful. To give "thanks" acknowledges that God is in charge. We need to realize that we deserve nothing and that the gift of salvation is THE GREATEST GIFT God could ever grant us.
Ephesians 5:20 always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;
The Result.
Philippians 4:7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
- Yet everyone wants verse 7 without verse 6.
- The mature Christian will be pleased with whatever solution/outcome the Lord determines.
Worship your anxiety away.
Your circumstances might not change, but your heart will.
Challenge: Find someone that lives without anxiety that doesn't have an active prayer life.
Question: Why don't people pray? Survey says: They are BUSY.
Yet, do you have time to worry? If you have time to worry, then you have time to pray.
Remember the Exercise of writing out your "Worry List"?
Cross out the title of "Worry List" and replace it with "Prayer List" then pray and worship through those struggles.
