[0:00] I'm going to talk to you this morning about anxiety. The prevalence of anxiety is off the charts.! The amount of people who struggle with anxiety, And it's more denied than ever in some ways.
[0:34] And Proverbs 12, 25 says, Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad. I hope today would be a good word that would make you glad. So what is it? What is anxiety?
[0:48] First and foremost, anxiety is a sin. Anxiety is a sin. Philippians 4, verse 6 says, Do not be anxious about anything. Do not be anxious about anything.
[0:59] Anxiety is a sin. The Bible prohibits it. Definition of anxiety is apprehensive uneasiness, nervousness, or worry, usually over an impending or anticipated ill.
[1:11] Another way to say that, kind of in your thoughts, would be something bad is going to happen. When there's this impending kind of doom in your heart or mind, that's anxiety.
[1:22] Another definition would be an abnormal or overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear, often marked by physical signs, such as tension, sweating, increased pulse rate, by doubt concerning the reality and nature of the threat, and by self-doubt about one's capacity to cope with it.
[1:41] Okay? So another form of anxiety would be that I just, I can't. I can't do this. I can't handle this. And it begins to overwhelm you. Even physical signs can sometimes happen.
[1:52] Okay? What are some of the forms of anxiety we can have? We can have financial anxiety. Right? Some people, I'm going to list some of these things. I want you to ask the question, Do I have anxiety in my life?
[2:03] Don't just automatically say, No, no, no, no, I'm fine. Like, listen to these different things and ask the question. Ask the Holy Spirit to lead you and convince you. Okay? So financial anxiety.
[2:15] Do you have anxiety about money or job or your business? Okay? Does it ever keep you up at night? Do you ever find yourself having conversations with people in the shower who aren't there with you? You know, are you thinking about things so much so that it's disrupting your thoughts and your peace and your rest?
[2:33] Maybe you can't sleep with financial anxiety or social anxiety. Okay? You can't stand being alone or you can't stand being with people. Right? Could be either way.
[2:44] You're constantly thinking about what people think. You're afraid of what people think. You're measuring all your words and your actions based on what someone might think of you. This can manifest in dating and in relationships and just a common sense of insecurity.
[2:58] That I don't measure up. I'm inferior. What if people think this? What if people think that? What if I am not this? What if I'm not that? Health anxiety. Okay? If you've never had health anxiety and you've been to WebMD, I doubt it.
[3:13] You probably did it. Okay? Right? Because WebMD was built for anxiety. Isn't it? I mean, isn't that like the result? You look at it and there's always something that you weren't looking for that you all of a sudden have and you're going to die.
[3:26] Right? So, health sickness, health anxiety. This is a new one because we have more information available than ever. People are constantly anxious about, well, what if I have this?
[3:38] Or what if I'm, you know, people just fear of death, period. Right? You know, just people thinking, I'm going to die. Why do you think you're going to die? I don't know. I just have this sense I'm going to die.
[3:49] Okay. You know? Have you been on WebMD lately? So, there's these different things and you're trying to self-diagnose and you're, if someone's pregnant, they get worried about the baby.
[4:01] You know, there's anxiety about that. Maybe it's not you. It's anxiety over your kids. What if my kids don't make it? What if my kids have this horrible sickness? What if my kids die? What if my spouse, what if my mom, what if my dad?
[4:14] And we get anxious over health. Right? There's family anxiety. You can get anxious over your marriage. Like, are we going to stay together? Get anxious over parenting. Am I screwing up my kids?
[4:24] Did I ruin them? We can get anxious about just the kids in general. You know? Just like, I can't handle this. It's overwhelming to the point where I'm anxious.
[4:35] I can't even function with other human beings because my little kids have got me so in a tizzy. Right? Some of you guys can relate to this. Leadership anxiety.
[4:46] You know? I'm really anxious about a wife being super anxious about their husband. I don't know. This guy, he's leading me, but what if he's not leading me right?
[4:57] I see the weaknesses in him. I see the sins in him. There's no way he could lead me well. And we're tempted with control, right? What about church leadership? Oh man, I've seen this before.
[5:10] I just met with a guy the other day. And he was telling me all the ways that I and the church were reminding him of bad things that he saw in this other church that really wounded him.
[5:22] And I said to the guy, I said, was everything in that previous church wrong? He's like, no. Was everything in the leadership bad? He said, no. Well, then if I remind you of some of those things, that doesn't necessarily mean that's a bad thing.
[5:36] Okay? Let's not have your reference point be that last church that hurt you or harmed you. Let's have the reference point be the scriptures and whether something's right or wrong. And so, but you can have anxiety about that.
[5:49] Especially if you're new, coming around a new church. And I know there's some of us who are new coming around the church and we start, someone says something, someone does something, like, I've seen that before. I've experienced that the last time I was burned.
[6:02] That person said that to me. Last time I was burned, that person acted like that. You remind me just like that charlatan who led the last church who was in. And it's like, oh yeah, that can happen. But, is it true?
[6:14] And are we getting anxious about it? And who are we following? Are we following a spouse, ultimately? Are we following church leadership, ultimately? We can get anxious about government, anxious about our president, anxious about the Congress, our governors, the mayor.
[6:28] We can get anxious about those things and say, they're going to screw everything up. They're going to ruin our society. But are we ultimately following them? We can even get anxious about God, thinking that he doesn't have it under control.
[6:39] That he's not ultimately a good leader. We get anxious about leadership, right? But who are we following? There's stuff anxiety. Hey, what's stuff anxiety?
[6:51] Your house. You know? Your, so it can just be the house itself for payers, things going wrong, being able to pay for it.
[7:01] Or it could just be hospitality. Like, my house isn't clean enough. My house isn't nice enough. I don't know if I want to have people in here. What if they wreck stuff? What if they see how I really live? What if they go in that room?
[7:12] You know, you know, whatever. Your car. Is my car going to make it? It's making that weird noise. I'm anxious about it. I don't have money for a car. If my car gets broken now, my car is broken now. I took it in the shop.
[7:23] I don't know how much it's going to be. You know, you can get anxious about all kinds of things. It's really like, I wasn't anxious, but now I'm starting to get anxious. Life anxiety, responsibility, decisions.
[7:36] Right? Some of us can't. We have a decision to make and we freeze. We just get so anxious about it. Or fear of failure. Fear of the future. Anxiousness about the unknown.
[7:46] What's going to happen? How are things going to be? Or when life doesn't make sense, we can get anxious about it. Or we can get anxious about sin. Right? We get anxious because we're tempted and we think, oh my gosh, am I going to fall?
[7:58] Am I going to give in? Am I going to, I'm anxious about getting into some position of responsibility or leadership because what if I screw it up? What if, what if I'm the one who falls and disillusions more people?
[8:09] I've experienced that. I don't want to do that with other people. We get anxious about secret sins. Well, what if this person's in secret sin? What if my leader's in secret sin? What if my spouse is in secret sin? We get anxious about the devil and what he's doing and how he's deceiving people.
[8:23] And there's so many things to get anxious about. Right? So many things. And it's pervasive. And more than ever, we just say, yeah, that's just the way it is.
[8:34] And this is just part of life. Some of us even say, well, that's just my personality. I just have a sinful personality. Yeah, join the club. We all do. That doesn't mean you have to accept it.
[8:45] That doesn't mean you have to say, oh, this is going to be the norm. Sin shall no longer rule over you. Okay? So I want to stick in one main text. I'll reference some of the rest of the scriptures, but I want to go to Philippians chapter 4, verses 4 through 9.
[9:01] Okay? So if you've got your Bibles, you can look at that. I'm going to read through it first, and then we'll jump through it verse by verse. Philippians chapter 4, 4 through 9. Rejoice in the Lord always.
[9:13] Again, I'll say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, for at prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
[9:34] And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
[9:58] And the God of peace will be with you. This is the word of God. Okay, let's look at it. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice.
[10:10] So for starters, the context of this main verse, we're looking at verse 6, is preceded by verse 4. And it says, Rejoice in the Lord always. Could it be that oftentimes what leads into anxiety is a lack of gratefulness for God, is a lack of joy in God, a lack of rejoicing in God?
[10:33] And if you don't think he meant it, he said it twice. He said rejoice in the Lord always. Not sometimes, not most of the time. Well, yeah, I know.
[10:43] Rejoice in the Lord when things are good. No. Rejoice in the Lord at all times. Rejoice in the Lord always. If you rejoice in the Lord always, can you be anxious? That'd be pretty difficult.
[10:57] Wouldn't it be awesome if you orchestrated your life in such a way that anxiety was hard to do? Wouldn't that be awesome? Like, I'm having a hard time. You're having a hard time? What are you having a hard time with? I'm having a really hard time being anxious.
[11:08] It's been really difficult. I just keep rejoicing in the Lord. I do it always. And I have a hard time being anxious. Wow. Wish I struggled with that. You know, what if we struggled to be anxious because we rejoice in the Lord?
[11:23] How often? Always. And if God wasn't trying to make this clear enough, through Paul, he said again, I will say, rejoice. He's doubling down.
[11:34] You must rejoice in the Lord, always. You should be thankful in Him. You should bless Him at all times. You're looking for opportunities to say, Lord, You're my joy. You're my hope.
[11:45] Okay? And he says, let your reasonableness be known to everyone. Or let your gentleness be known to everyone. Could it be that anxiety makes you unreasonable? Could it be that in the context of this?
[11:58] Because the very next verse is the Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything. But right before that, he says, let your reasonableness be known to anyone. Could it be that anxiety makes you unreasonable?
[12:09] Why is it unreasonable? Why is anxiety unreasonable? Why does it make you unreasonable? Why does rejoicing the Lord make your reasonableness known to all? Because of the most important part of this verse.
[12:22] And it's this. Right before verse 6 when it says, do not be anxious about anything. Which we all know this verse, right? Maybe you haven't memorized. Maybe you even knew the citation. You know, yeah. Philippians 4, 6.
[12:32] I got that one. It's on my fridge. It's on my mirror in the bathroom. You know, I know that one. I memorized that one when I was a kid. But what about the five words right before it?
[12:43] The Lord is at hand. The Lord is at hand. That's the key part, right? Why should I not be anxious about anything?
[12:55] Because of the first half of the sentence, it's the same sentence. Because the Lord is near. Did you hear me? The Lord is at hand. Other versions say the Lord is near.
[13:06] If the Lord is near, not, I mean, not your best friend is near, not like a good spouse is near, not like a brother or sister is near. No, no, no. This is way better.
[13:18] Did you hear what it said? The Lord is near. The Lord is at hand. Do you know this? And what does it mean to you? What does it mean to you that the Lord is at hand?
[13:30] Who is this Lord that you speak of? Who is this God that you speak of? Is he a distant God? Aloof and uncaring? Is he a God who does not care for his people? Is he a God who breaks bruised wicks and puts out, sorry, breaks bruised reeds and puts out smoldering wicks?
[13:51] Is that the God he is? No, it's not. He doesn't break the bruised reed. He doesn't put out the smoldering wick. He is not far. It says the Lord is at hand.
[14:03] The Lord is near. Okay? It says he will never leave you or forsake you. Do you believe this about God? What you believe about God determines whether or not you're going to be anxious.
[14:14] Do you believe that he's near? If you believe that a distant God is near, a God that doesn't care about you is near, a God that's not for you is near, well, so what? That actually makes me more anxious.
[14:26] If I don't know what he's going to do, if I don't know if he's good, if I don't know if he's sovereign, what comfort is that to me? He's meaning to say the Lord is near as a comfort, as a thing to lay up right into the next verse.
[14:40] Do not be anxious about anything. The reason do not be anxious about anything has weight is because the Lord is near. Do you believe that? Do you believe that the Lord is near?
[14:52] And do you believe that he is who he says he is? Do you believe in the God of the scriptures? What are you believing about God? Behind every sin is some form of unbelief about God. Okay?
[15:04] The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything. So you might say, and this is the ultimate yeah but verse in the Bible in our culture today. Right?
[15:14] And I want to ask you a question. How do you relate to the scriptures? Are you a yeah but interpreter of the scriptures? Does the culture so apprehended you that you read the scriptures and say yeah but is your natural inclination?
[15:33] When the scriptures say don't be anxious, you're like yeah but you don't understand. My parents were anxious before me. My mom before me had postpartum depression. You know, that's just the way it is.
[15:44] I'm just, you know, it's part of my heritage. I am an anxious person by nature and that's just the way it is and that's okay. But this says do not be anxious about anything.
[15:58] Do not be anxious about anything. That's pretty all-inclusive. Anything. Don't be anxious about anything. But how many things have we justified as, well of course there's certain things you shouldn't be anxious about.
[16:12] But I have a list just as long as the things that I've justified in my own mind that it's okay to be anxious about. And then the word of the Lord says, don't be anxious about anything. About anything.
[16:23] Why? Because the Lord is near. The Lord is near. Don't be anxious about anything. How many things have we accepted in our life as acceptable forms of anxiety that the scriptures are saying? No, this was never meant for you.
[16:35] You're a child of God. How dare you think that this was the norm? How dare you think that you are living in a reality where the Lord is not near and that the Lord who is near is not mighty to save you from your sin of anxiety?
[16:49] He is. Do you believe that? You see, when you don't believe that, we get into fear, which leads to control. Look at Abraham and Isaac for an example, right?
[17:01] Remember the story that Abraham did twice, actually? Abraham is traveling because the Lord sent him out and he's got his wife with him. And they go into a place where there's a king and he says to his wife, half truth, right?
[17:15] Says, hey, just tell him, tell him you're my sister. Okay? Tell him you're my sister. Well, he technically was a half sister. Okay?
[17:26] And he says, just tell him you're a sister, but instead of telling him that you're a wife. Why? He was afraid that he'd be killed because she was attractive. Well, what did the first king do when that happened? The king took her as his wife.
[17:38] Can you imagine this? Out of anxiety, he said, hey, don't tell him the full truth because I'm afraid. So I'm going to try to control this and manipulate it. And his wife was taken by another man to be his wife.
[17:52] That's a bad day. That's not good. Right? And you know, God intervened. Okay? And you think, wow, crisis averted.
[18:02] I'm never going to do that again. He does it again. He does it again. He literally does it again. And he taught it to his son. Because then if you keep going in Genesis, what did Isaac do?
[18:16] Isaac does the same thing. In Genesis 26, 7, he says, she is my sister, for he feared to say, my wife, thinking lest the men of the place should kill me because of Rebecca, because she was attractive in appearance.
[18:30] Fear and anxiety lead to control. control. And guess what? It's not real control. It's an illusion of control. For those of you who don't know this, I have a word for you. You're not in control.
[18:42] You might think you are, but it's all an illusion. You want to talk about a simulation? We are living in a simulation. I'm going to tell you that this morning. The simulation we're living in is that you're in control.
[18:54] And most people believe it. It's a simulation. It's not real. It's not true. It dictates the whole world and what they do. But the truth is, the reality is, there is someone in control and it's not you.
[19:09] It's God. God is in control. And I hope for most of you, not hopefully all of you, that's good news. It's good news that I'm not in control. But when you feel like you have to be in control, that's what anxiety leads to.
[19:22] I have to be in control. And you can't. That's what makes you anxious. I feel like I have to be in control, but I'm not in control. What am I to do? Stop being in control. Don't be anxious about anything.
[19:34] Why? How? Because the Lord is near. Because the Lord is near. Romans 8.31 says, If God is for us, who can be against us? And isn't that the thing that, you know, that whole list of things I was giving you, isn't that like the group?
[19:48] That's a pretty good list, don't you think, of the things that are against us? And most of you are like, yeah, I've thought about probably a lot of those things. How many times have we been tempted to anxiety those things, given into those things?
[19:59] There's a whole list of things that are against us. And if that list is ever short from you, all you have to do is watch the news, and it'll just grow, right? There's new ways than ever before to be anxious about things.
[20:13] you think, but there's so many things against me. But the Word of God says, but God is for us. And if God is for us, really? Who can be against us? It's a rhetorical question.
[20:24] He's saying, if God is for you, no one can be against you. No thing could honestly be against you if God is for you. Anxiety, in its truest sense, is really an act of pride.
[20:36] It's an act of pride. 1 Peter 5 talks about this, and then we'll get back to our text. 1 Peter 5, 5-7 says, God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on Him, because He cares for you.
[20:58] So, humility is taking your anxiety and casting it on the Lord. Humility is saying, God, I cannot handle this. I'm not in control.
[21:08] I can't, I'm not in control of my health. I'm not in control of my kids. I'm not in control of my leadership. I'm not in control, ultimately, of my finances. I'm not in control of my, whether I'm going to die or not.
[21:20] I am not in control. And so, my humility says, you're God, I'm not. You're for me. I make stupid decisions. God, I cast all my anxieties on you, because you care for me.
[21:34] The reason we don't cast our anxieties on Him is because we don't think He cares for us. Some of us need to get honest this morning and say, and I know it's not the right answer, but some of us have to give the real answer.
[21:46] The right answer is, oh, yes, God cares for me. God is good all the time, brother. Good to see you. See you next week. You know? And some lame lie, you know? Because some of us don't really believe that.
[21:58] Some of us have to be honest and say, I don't believe that He cares for me. And that's why it's hard for me to cast my anxieties on the Lord. I feel like I'm on my own. I feel like He doesn't really care.
[22:11] And I've believed it for all this time, ever since that one thing happened to me. It was at that time I believed I'm on my own. No one's looking after me. No one's taking care of me. And we come up with a case that we've built in our head for why God isn't for us and why we have to be the one who's fighting for ourselves.
[22:30] And if you ever want to know if you're not believing that God is the one who fights for you and is for you, just look at if you're fighting for yourself. The evidence of your unbelief in the God who fights for you is that you're fighting for yourself.
[22:42] The evidence of your belief in the God who fights for you is that you are marked by rest. By rest. Are you at rest? If you cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares for you, that's an act of humility.
[22:58] Pride says, no, I got this, Lord. No, I'm going to do this on my own. So, you have all this here in Philippians 4, and then He really brings in the good stuff right here in verse 7.
[23:10] Okay? So, do not be anxious about anything. All right? But in everything, offer your request to God. Actually, did I skip? Oh, I'm sorry. I skipped this part.
[23:21] But in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. Okay? And so, the answer is prayer.
[23:33] And it's not some things. It's not most things. He says, don't be anxious about anything, but in everything. You hear this all-inclusive language. Again, I'm going to say it again. You know I just said it, but I'm going to say it again.
[23:44] The yeah-but culture, the yeah-but mentality, when we read the scriptures, it says, there's multiple reasons where my anxiety is okay. Listen to the all-inclusive language in Philippians chapter 4.
[23:55] Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything. This is all-inclusive. All things are to be brought before the Lord by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request be made known.
[24:09] Okay? Prayer, supplication, with thanksgiving. Again, it's with thanksgiving. Why? Because you're rejoicing in Him. You're looking to Him so that you're not in anxiety. Now, it says, let your request be made known.
[24:23] Some of us are really good at this. We make our requests known, but we're really bad at what the scriptures say. We're not making them known to God. You see what it says here? It doesn't just say, let your request be made known.
[24:34] That's not the end of the sentence. It says, let your request be made known to God. Some of us are really good at talking about all the bad things in our life and how overwhelming our life is, and we complain about things, and we gripe about things, and we think that the world is against us, and we think that nothing ever goes right for us, and we're just constantly spitting out unbelief.
[24:55] And it says, but in everything by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. To God. Where are you taking these things?
[25:06] Where are you taking your anxieties? Do you have a prayer life that is emblematic of a casting of your cares onto the Lord? Is this what your prayer life looks like?
[25:18] Don't feel bad about it. Don't think, oh, man, I just feel like I'm just thinking about myself. Listen, this is part of what prayer and supplication is for. It's for you to offload these problems onto the one who loves taking it.
[25:30] You're never going to burden him. It's not like he's like, man, my followers are great, but this one guy, man, he's just constantly just dumping all this stuff on me. God's not like that. He's a father.
[25:41] He never tires of you coming to him. He never tires of you offering your anxieties to him. He wants to take them. And if you ever doubt that, if you're ever wondering how badly God wants to be near us, how badly, to what extent will God go to be near us?
[25:56] Look to the cross. This is why we have to remember him every week, like Sam was saying, because we forget. Later in Psalm 46, verse 10 of the Psalm he read to call us to worship, it says, Be still and know that I am God.
[26:11] Be still and know that I am God. Some of us need to just be still and say, God, I trust you. I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, but I'm having a hard time and so I'm going to cast my cares on you. I'm going to, in prayer supplication.
[26:22] But I'm taking them to God. Some of us lean too heavily on other people. Some of us lean too heavily on our spouse. Some of us lean too heavily on a certain relationship or our pastors or whatever.
[26:33] Listen, when you're trying to pull something from someone that can't give it to you, you're automatically going to frustrate the relationship. Okay? When you're trying to treat someone as if they can give you what only God can give you, you'll frustrate yourself and them because they can't.
[26:48] They can't give it to you. Right? This is where we have to go to God. They have to go to God. Verse seven says, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[27:04] Okay? Here's the promise now. Right? He's not just throwing out a command and saying, hey, do this. He's saying, do this. And then the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding.
[27:17] Listen, it's a peace that surpasses understanding. This is why you can't say yeah, but to the scriptures because of brain science. This is why you can't say yeah, but to the scriptures because we figured out new things about the brain and the body.
[27:31] That means anxiety is now acceptable. There is a peace of God that surpasses understanding. You can't appeal to understanding to say you don't need the peace of God that surpasses understanding because it surpasses understanding.
[27:44] You get it? Like that's the point. This is supernatural. This is bigger than any white coat can tell you. All right? Some guy with a bunch of letters behind his name is going to tell you, no, it's okay to be anxious.
[27:57] Don't listen to the preacher, man. Don't listen to the offensive book, the Bible telling you not to be anxious about anything. That's okay. You can do that. We've actually discovered that it's okay. We've actually discovered that it's not good for people to tell you that.
[28:10] In the Bible, this ancient text, this thing that has existed before you were ever even a thought in your parents' mind, this truth is here, that there is a surpassing greatness and knowledge, a peace that surpasses all understanding, that will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[28:31] But some people are like, well, what if it doesn't? Like, what if I do this and it doesn't? What does it say? Does it say it might guard you? Does it say hopefully it will guard you?
[28:42] Does it say, man, there's a really good chance it will guard you? That's not what it says when I look at the text. What does it say? The peace of God which surpasses all understanding will.
[28:53] It will guard you. Do you believe the word of God? Do you believe that what he says is true? Do you believe that God himself is the author of this text? And that Paul was inspired by the Holy Spirit when he wrote it?
[29:06] And that the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your minds in Christ Jesus? I love that the word used here is guard.
[29:18] Do you believe that there's a kind of peace that comes from God that is actually violent? What way? Oh, it's violent against every other obstacle that would come against you.
[29:29] There's a peace of God that guards your heart and your mind. Do you know what I'm talking about? I'm talking about. You all know of a felt kind of violence that you feel of anxiety trying to get into your mind, into your heart.
[29:44] It almost feels like it's a war. It almost feels like it's violence. Some of us have been so entrenched in it, even sometimes demonically, that it feels like we're going crazy. And we feel like, man, I'm under attack.
[29:56] I feel like I can't get out from underneath this. But the word of God shouts to us and says, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
[30:09] That isn't a word of action. That is a violent word to say, no, God's power stands against all these things that would seek to come into our hearts and minds and put anxiety there.
[30:20] Do you believe that? Do you believe that God will give us that kind of peace, a peace that guards? Do you know of this peace? There's nothing like it. You might even say it surpasses understanding.
[30:31] Because it does. He then says in verse 8, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things.
[30:49] Okay? So, so often the reason we get anxious is because we're thinking about the wrong thing. Right? We're just feeding it. That's why everybody laughs when you hear about WebMD, right?
[31:01] Because so many people have done it. It's like, I didn't even know there was these many things that could happen to me. Now that I know, I'm, I'm super afraid. And we hear about more tragedies than ever before.
[31:12] The proliferation of news makes us, it's not that even certain things have increased. In fact, you know, the irony is child kidnappings are way down from when I was a kid.
[31:25] But do you think people are less afraid of them now? No way. They're way more afraid. People are way more afraid of that kind of stuff. Even though factually, it's way less possible of happening than what it used to.
[31:39] But what is it? It's because we hear about every single one. You used to not hear about it in that state and that state. You only heard about it if it was in your neighborhood. Now we hear about it everywhere. We hear about every bad thing everywhere. That's what sells.
[31:51] That's what sells news. Okay? What are you thinking about though? Are you thinking about whatever is pure? Whatever is lovely?
[32:01] Whatever is just? Whatever is commendable? If there's any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What is your thought life? What do you think about? Are you taking your thoughts captive and you casting your anxieties on the Lord because he cares for you?
[32:15] Verse 9, he says, What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. What you've learned, received, and heard and seen in me.
[32:25] So it's not just book knowledge. This isn't just, we're not just supposed to grow in our freedom from anxiety just by reading, just by learning.
[32:37] We're also supposed to hear and see it in other people. See what he's saying here? What you've learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things. Practice these things. He was a living model of this.
[32:49] How do we know that? Well, first of all, he's saying it, but this is the great thing about the scriptures. When we have stuff like this where Paul's talking about this, Acts chapter 16 tells us what was going on when he was in Philippi talking to these people, right?
[33:03] You know, God calls him over to Macedonia. He travels over to Macedonia. He comes in there, all right? Starts preaching the gospel. Lydia gets saved, all right? And then this slave girl with divination powers is annoying Paul, so he casts a demon out of her.
[33:19] Interesting little event there, right? And throws the economy into turmoil in Philippi. And so what do they do? Well, that was no small thing. His little annoyance turned out to be a rough day.
[33:32] Okay. They attacked, they attacked him. And I think I can't, is this Silas in here? I can't remember. It's either Silas or Silas and Timothy. Anyways, the crew he's with, they attack him.
[33:45] They strip them. Okay. So they're, they attack him. They strip him from his clothes. They beat, they beat him with rods. Okay. So not just hitting him. They're beating him with rods.
[33:57] And then they throw him in prison. Okay. Attacked, stripped, and beaten with rods. And what does he do when he gets to jail? Is he anxious?
[34:09] Is he sitting there worried and complaining, what are we going to do? We just got, you know, he could have, remember the verse that says, whatever's true, whatever's just. Paul could have just sat there and thought how unjust this was.
[34:22] He's a Roman citizen. He's, there was no trial. There was no accusation. They just, this is vigilante, quote unquote, justice. It was injustice. He could have meditated on how injustice was.
[34:34] Does he do that though? What does he do? Look at Philip in Acts 16. What's the first, what's the first thing you find them doing when they get into that jail? Praying and singing hymns to God.
[34:46] Paul modeled this. He says, now think of this verse nine, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me practice these things. What did they see in Paul?
[34:57] They saw a man who was attacked, who was stripped and who was beaten with rods, thrown into jail in shackles. And what did he do? He prayed and he sang hymns to God.
[35:09] He went to God. He was thankful. He let his reasonableness be known to all. Right? What do you do when hard times come?
[35:20] And what was the last time you were beaten with rods? I don't think I've had one of those times. So whatever, however bad I thought it was, it wasn't as bad as this. I've never been stripped and attacked, unjustly thrown into prison and beat with rods.
[35:34] That hasn't happened to me. And yet I would complain for far less things. Paul went in there and he started praying and singing hymns. He wasn't anxious. He modeled this and it affected the Philippian church.
[35:47] It says, What you've learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. Okay? And we should do the same thing in parenting. Guess what? If you're anxious, you know what you're parenting your children in?
[36:01] Anxiety. Case in point, Abraham and his son, Isaac. What did Isaac do? He did the exact same thing. Did the exact same thing. Do we realize how anxiety gets passed down?
[36:13] And we all, we know this and we get anxious about it. Have you ever been anxious about passing anxiety down to your kids? We do this sometimes. Do you know that the God of peace will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus in such a way that you can hand down a lack of anxiety to your kids, that you can hand down peace to your kids, that you can hand down stability to your kids, that you can hand down a normative model of life to praise God and pray to God when things seem to be anxious?
[36:44] Do you know that you can hand that down? You can. You can. It's true. And we need to. But we're going to have to buck the order of the day.
[36:55] The order of the day is anxiety. Do you hear me? This is the order of the day. You don't think you're affected by it? You're a fool. We're all affected by it. We're in the water and it's boiling.
[37:08] Do you understand what I'm saying? The water around us is anxiety and it's getting hotter and it's becoming more normative than ever. And there's this book, this ancient offensive book called the Bible that says, don't be anxious about anything.
[37:21] Don't be anxious about anything. How dare you say that? I didn't. The Lord did. The God of all creation said that. Matthew 28, 20 says, behold, I am with you always to the end of the age.
[37:35] Hebrews 13, verse 5 says, I will never leave you or forsake you. You believe that that God is near you. Do you believe that? When you believe that, you're not anxious. In closing, let me read a few verses on anxiety.
[37:49] Psalm 94, verse 19 says, when the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul. Jeremiah 17, 7 through 8 says, blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
[38:04] He has like a tree planted by water that sends out its root by the stream and does not fear when heat comes. For its leaves remain green and is not anxious in the year of drought.
[38:16] For it does not cease to bear fruit. Picture that for your kids as well. Your kids, little shoots who do not fret, who do not get anxious in the year of drought.
[38:27] When things are lacking, when things aren't the way you want them to be. Can you believe that even your kids could be trusting in the Lord and not ceasing to bear fruit? Psalm 127, verse 2, it is vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil.
[38:45] For he gives to his beloved sleep. Well, yeah, as long as you have the right amount of magnesium and melatonin and all this other stuff. That's what he meant, right?
[38:56] Like, that's what I need to do. I need to take, I need to get every newfangled way to get better sleep. I got to make sure I'm getting my cold plungeants, my sauna use, my everything I need to get.
[39:06] And then he gives his beloved sleep. Is that the truth? I'm not saying there's anything wrong with those things. There's not. Okay? You hear that? There's nothing wrong with those things.
[39:19] Okay? But, there's no, just like there's nothing wrong with medication in and of itself. Medication is not a sin. But, medication is not a remedy for sin.
[39:31] Okay? It's not. It's not a remedy for sin. You don't medicate sin. You don't medicate sin. Now, you can medicate certain facts that sin has had on the body.
[39:42] But, you will never get over your sin because of medication. You know how you get rid of your sin? Repentance. Trust in the Lord. So that in the year of drought, you're not anxious.
[39:55] You're not eating the bread of anxious toil for he gives his beloved sleep. Some people need to hear that word alone today. That he gives his beloved sleep. Do you believe that? Can you receive that truth?
[40:05] That God gives his beloved sleep? And that maybe the reason I'm not getting sleep is because I'm anxious? That maybe the reason I'm not getting sleep is because I'm anxious? Maybe the reason gluten is so hard on my stomach is because I've been anxious for so long and it's ruined my stomach?
[40:23] Just saying. Think about it. Luke 12, 24-26. Consider the ravens. They neither sow nor reap. They have neither storehouse nor barn. And yet God feeds them.
[40:35] Of how much more value are you than the birds? And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single hour to a span of life? If you then are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?
[40:48] Why are we anxious about the rest? Amen? Amen? Amen?