Have you noticed how all the news headlines,
they're just filled with hardship or uncertainty, for example.
Can you imagine the hardship of all those who are trying to deal with the destruction of Hurricane Harvey?
I mean, can you imagine what they're trying to do right now,
all throughout Southeast Texas, Louisiana, throughout the path of Harvey?
Then think about the uncertainty of Hurricane Irma.
Right now, out in the Atlantic, not knowing really where it's going,
where it's going or if it's going to strike the United States.
Then there's the uncertainty of the North Koreans.
What are they going to do?
We have our own personal hardships and uncertainties right here in Pickens County
and really right here in this room.
Have you ever stopped and thought on any given Sunday when we gather in this service
and in your Sunday school class?
There are people who are dealing with serious health issues,
their own or a close family member.
At least every month, members of our church, people sitting in this room,
are dealing with the grief from the death of a close family member or friend.
There's always job uncertainties.
Always some kind of family crisis, it seems.
And then, if we're honest, from time to time, we come in this room,
we have emotional and spiritual struggles that maybe no one knows about.
So really, hardships and uncertainties, they're just a way of life.
And that's real personal when it affects us, it doesn't.
Well, what one word best describes the way most people deal with hardship and uncertainty?
Wouldn't worry be that word?
Or stress?
Anxiety?
It seems that some people, they think worry is their duty.
I have a family member that over the years,
after I've gotten over being sick or some kind of issue in my life,
their response was, well, I was worried about you,
as if that was supposed to comfort me.
That was their way of helping me.
I worried about you.
We know that worry is one of the most common ways
that people deal with problems,
but it's not the way that God intends for us as His children
to deal with our problems.
We know that,
but it doesn't always prevent us from worrying, does it?
We struggle, just like everybody else.
Things are going on in our lives,
and we are at least tempted to worry,
to get all stressed out.
Over what is about to happen,
or what we're involved in right now.
Well, today I want us to take a refresher course.
For most everybody in this room,
it'll be a refresher course.
In overcoming worry,
a refresher course in what to do instead of worry,
that the Apostle Paul provides for us
in Philippians chapter 4.
If you would,
turn to Philippians chapter 4,
and I want us to look together at two verses of Scripture,
where Paul deals with this issue.
Really, he confronts it head on,
telling us that as God's people,
we're not to worry.
He gives us an antidote.
He gives us what we should do in place of worry.
And he tells us why we shouldn't worry,
how God, if we'll respond the right way,
how he will help us.
That's what we're going to look at.
Read with me,
Philippians chapter 4,
verses 6 and 7,
and keep your Bibles open the entire time,
because we're just going to look at this back and forth.
Philippians 4, beginning in verse 6.
Do not be anxious about anything,
or do not worry about anything,
some translations will say.
But in everything,
by prayer and supplication,
or prayer and petition,
with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known to God.
And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
which is beyond comprehension,
some will say.
The peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus.
What we see here
is Paul providing a better way,
an alternative,
to dealing with hardship
and uncertainty in our life.
And he first points out
that worry is never the answer.
Here's how he says it,
very direct.
Don't worry about anything.
Do not be anxious about anything.
Now I want you to understand,
Paul did not write that
from the comfort of his easy chair
looking out over the ocean somewhere.
Paul wrote,
do not be anxious about anything
from Rome,
where he is under house arrest,
at all times he is chained to a Roman soldier,
and he is waiting on his court appearance
before Caesar.
Paul's under arrest,
chained to a Roman soldier,
as he dictates this letter.
And he doesn't know,
sooner or later,
he's going to appear before Caesar,
he doesn't know if he's going to be condemned to death,
if he's going to be put in prison,
or if he's going to be set free.
There's a lot going on in his life
that would make the normal person anxious.
Paul's not the normal person,
or he's not responding as the normal person would be.
Paul tells us,
do not be anxious about anything.
Now,
Paul understood how easy it would be
to worry just like everybody else.
I mean,
he's just a real human being,
a real man.
If you read through the book of Acts
about his travels,
he faced all kinds of hardships,
put in prison on several occasions,
beaten at times,
even beaten to the point
he was left for dead on one occasion.
There were times he didn't have enough to eat,
times he was abandoned by his friends.
If you read some of the things he writes
of a personal nature in his letters,
there's a lot of uncertainty
about what's going to happen in the future.
He wants to go to this place,
but he doesn't know if God's going to let him or not.
He's concerned about a church,
and he hasn't heard from them.
He's concerned about some of his friends.
He doesn't know where they are.
There's a lot of things in Paul's life
that cause him to at least be tempted
to be worried,
to be all stressed out.
And so, as he writes this,
makes this statement,
do not be anxious about anything.
Paul is writing to Christians
in the church at Philippi,
but I really think,
in light of all that's going on in his life,
he's reminding himself as well.
Don't be anxious about anything.
Let's try to understand what Paul is talking about
when he tells us not to worry.
Now, we need to understand,
worry is not the same thing as concern.
When he says,
do not be anxious about anything,
he's not saying,
don't care about anything.
Nowhere in the Bible
are we as Christians taught
to be unconcerned
about what's going on around about us.
We are never called
to try to distance ourselves
from reality.
We're never called to try to
be unemotional,
uninvolved,
or unconcerned about
what's going on in our life
and in people around about us.
I want you to think.
Jesus rejoiced with people
who were rejoicing
and he wept with those
who were weeping at times.
There were times Jesus went to parties
with his friends.
There was one time in particular
that most everyone knows.
Every child knows
the shortest verse in the Bible.
Jesus wept.
Well, he was weeping at the tomb
of his friend Lazarus.
Jesus got angry at times.
Jesus was far from detached
and unemotional,
uninvolved in people's lives.
Jesus was very much involved
and concerned
about what was going on.
He laughed with people.
He partied with people.
He wept with people.
He hurt with people.
And he got angry a lot of times
at the religious hypocrites
and confronted them
over some of the ways
they were distorting
the truth of God's word
and some of the ways
they were taking advantage
of people they were supposed
to be helping.
Worry does not mean
don't be concerned,
don't care,
don't be involved.
Worry literally means
to be divided,
to be pulled apart.
Jesus addressed
the sin of worry
in Matthew chapter 6
immediately after he had said
no one can serve two masters.
I want you to look at it.
Matthew chapter 6,
and by the way,
beginning in verse 25,
Jesus gives a long statement
about why we should not worry.
He actually says it three times,
do not worry.
He compared people who worry
with pagans,
not people who are believers
and know God
as their heavenly father.
But look at what it says
in verse 24.
No one can serve two masters,
for either he will hate the one
and love the other,
or he will be devoted
to the one
and despise the other.
You cannot serve God
in money.
But note the very next verse,
therefore,
I tell you,
do not be anxious
about your life.
You cannot be divided,
serve God in money,
God in things.
And you can't be divided
in terms of where your trust is
about the details of life.
What he's talking about
is we've got to have
a single-minded devotion to God.
We've got to really trust Him,
seek His will above all things,
and know that He's our heavenly Father.
He can be depended on.
He can be trusted.
Worry is a sign
that we don't trust God.
Worry is,
let me rephrase that,
worry is a sign
that we don't trust God
completely.
That we have a divided mind.
When you're worried,
when I'm worried,
and there's times
we give in to this temptation
and we just get all stressed out,
don't we?
When we worry,
we would not say,
I absolutely do not trust God.
If we were pinned down,
I do trust God,
but.
I do trust God
to take care of my children,
but.
I do trust that God's going to
work things out
in this situation with my job,
but.
When we worry,
we trust God some,
but not absolutely.
We trust God some,
but not enough
to refrain from
letting our emotions
and imaginations
run away with us.
We trust God some,
but not enough
to not
get all stressed out.
Now,
let's think for a moment.
Does worry ever do any good?
When you get stressed out,
you're all anxious,
you're all tied up in knots,
you can't sleep,
you can't eat.
Does it do any good?
Does it help the situation?
Does it help you?
Well,
you know the answer.
Worry is one of the most useless things
that a person can do.
It never changes anything.
Jesus pointed that out
in that Matthew chapter 6,
chapter,
section,
where he preached on,
talked about worry.
Look at it.
In verse 27
from the New Living Translation,
he says,
can all your worries
at a single moment
to your life,
can all your worries
do anything
to change your situation?
Can it change you?
Now,
worries can make you sick.
Worried and you get all stressed out
can have harmful effects,
but never good effects.
Now,
one thing we need to be clear about,
and I think most people
would understand this,
but for those who don't,
when Paul tells us,
do not be anxious about anything,
he's not saying,
well,
don't do anything.
He doesn't mean that
if there's something you need to do,
don't do it.
If you're in a situation
and you're worried
or you're tempted to worry,
but there's something you can do
to change it,
then you should do that.
If you've got an,
if you think you've got
some kind of health problem right now,
some things are going on
in your body,
with your body
that you think's not right,
and you're concerned,
you're stressed out about it right now,
instead of worrying about it,
why don't you go to the doctor?
That would make sense,
wouldn't it?
And I know we,
as men,
a lot of times,
we ignore things,
and, you know,
a lot of guys just,
just get sick
because they wouldn't go to the doctor.
That's not our finest moment,
guys,
when we know something's wrong,
and we get all stressed out,
we're tense,
but we won't do anything about it.
If you think your job is not stable,
if there's a good likelihood
that by the end of the year
your company's gonna shut down,
instead of you just getting
all stressed out about it,
why don't you start looking
for something else?
Why don't you get your resume together?
Why don't you start asking around,
looking around,
and make,
you know,
find something else
that you can do
if it truly does
break down or shut down?
It's early in the school year,
but some of you may be
already getting stressed
about your grades.
Don't worry about it.
Just study.
Study.
And don't pray those prayers
like I used to pray.
Lord, if you'll just get me
through this test,
I'll study better
for the next one.
Lord, if you'll just let me
get through this semester,
I'll never do that again.
To be honest with you,
I didn't intend for it
to be this way,
but those were just
all lying prayers.
Instead of making excuses,
instead of getting all worked up,
stressed out about it,
I should have just studied.
If there's something
in your life
that's giving you a problem,
and it's just stressing you out,
you're just all tied up about it,
and there's something
you can do,
do it.
But if you can't,
don't stress out.
Worry won't help.
Even worse,
it dishonors God,
because when we worry,
it's like saying to Him,
I really don't trust you.
Now,
if worry's wrong,
what's the right way
to deal with hardship
and uncertainty?
Well, Paul tells us,
pray about everything.
Look at verse 6.
But in everything,
by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving,
let your requests
be made known to God.
Paul doesn't say,
just don't worry.
He provides us
with an alternative to worry.
He says,
take your problem to God
in prayer.
Prayer is the Christian
solution to worry.
Now,
I want to emphasize,
prayer is the Christian's
alternative to worry.
When Jesus taught us to pray,
and Jesus gives us
the best model prayer,
His teaching on prayer,
His teaching on everything
is what's best.
But when Jesus teaches us
to pray in Matthew chapter 6,
beginning about verse 9,
in Luke chapter 11,
He tells us to always
begin our prayer.
How?
Our Father.
Jesus talks about
praying to God
from the relationship
of being His child,
our Father.
Only a Christian
can pray that prayer.
Only a Christian,
only someone who has
truly repented of their sins
but their trust in Jesus
has been born again
by the Spirit of God,
has been forgiven
and made a child of God.
made right with God.
Jesus very clearly said,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life,
and no one comes
to the Father
except through me.
The only way that anyone
can know God
as their Father
is through a right
relationship with Jesus Christ.
And that's what enables us
to be able to pray.
If you want to be able
to take your problem
to God in prayer,
instead of worrying about it,
make sure you have
a real relationship
with God
as your Father
through your faith
in Jesus.
Make sure that you have
a close relationship
with Him
because you're spending time
with Him every day,
talking to Him,
listening to Him,
talking to Him in prayer,
listening to Him
as He speaks through His Word
so that when something
does come up,
when you need to talk to Him,
you don't have to
reintroduce yourself to Him.
The relationship is strong.
It's intact.
And note that Paul emphasizes
that we can make
specific requests to God.
He's talking about
praying in general
but also uses the word
supplication
or some translations
use the word petition.
That's just asking God
for stuff.
If someone said,
that's help me
kind of prayers.
Asking God to work
in your home situation,
to work
in relation to that job.
Asking God to work,
help you in relation
to your relationship
with someone.
Matt Chandler
does a good job
of explaining
the relationship
between prayer and worry.
Matt Chandler
is a pastor,
has a great way
of communicating
the truth of God's Word.
We've used some of his studies
on Sunday nights
so some of you
are familiar with him.
I want you to look
at what he says.
Really,
prayer and worry
are of the same essence.
They are both
a rehearsing
of circumstances,
a mulling over,
and a kind of mental
and emotional chewing.
But in worry,
there's no connection,
no traction.
It's like spinning
our wheels.
Worrying is like
trying to travel
in a rocking chair.
But when we pray,
we are worrying
at God.
We take those anxieties
and direct them Godward,
taking them to him,
placing them before him,
and of utmost importance,
handing them over.
This is why Martin Luther says,
pray and let God worry.
Chandler goes on to say,
we have a supreme example
of this supplication
in the prayer of Jesus
in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Facing his impending arrest,
torture,
and execution,
Jesus is so grieved
and broken
that he is sweating blood
as he prays.
He prays,
my father,
if it be possible,
let this cup pass from me.
But then he adds,
nevertheless,
not as I will,
but as you will.
What has Jesus done,
Chandler asks?
He has obeyed the command
not to worry
by worrying at God.
He takes his anxiety
to the Father
and hands it over.
There's always a situation
in our life
where we're tempted to worry.
The idea is
don't pretend it doesn't exist.
Take it to God.
Talk to Him about it.
You know,
Peter must have learned
that from Jesus
because he writes this,
casting all your anxieties
on Him
because He cares for you.
When you face
hardship and uncertainty,
and you will
if you're not now,
learn to take it to God
in prayer.
One way to do this
is ask God
for the wisdom
to know
what you ought to do.
In a lot of situations
that we
are stressed out about,
there's something
that we know
we need to do.
Well, go to God
and ask Him,
Lord, give me the wisdom.
Help me to understand
what it is
that I need to do.
Ask Him
to guide you
in developing
a plan of action
when it's clear
you've got to do something.
But in some situations,
there's just nothing
you can do.
Or there's nothing
you should do.
That's the time
that we ask God
to help us
and trust Him
to take care of it
and then not worry
about it anymore.
Note what else
Paul says
about our prayers.
He says,
do it with thanksgiving
that your requests
be made on to God.
This doesn't mean
you thank God
for your problems.
You don't thank God.
It's not saying here
we thank God
that you're hurting,
that you're suffering.
But we are to thank God
in our problems.
There's a big difference.
You know,
no matter what's going on
in our lives,
we've always got a lot
to be thankful for
if we're Christians.
If we're Christians,
we are children of God
and God has promised
to never leave us
nor forsake us.
As we were singing
about earlier,
nothing can ever
separate us from God
and His love.
Nothing.
No one.
No thing.
God is for us
because we're His children.
Another thing we need
to think of
and we need to give thanks for,
this world is not
all there is.
You know,
for a lot of people,
their whole concept
of reality
is just what they see.
what they feel,
what's happening right now.
But for us as Christians,
we know better.
We know that
God
is preparing
a new heaven
and a new earth
for us,
His people.
Jesus talked about
going to prepare
a place for us.
one day,
either after we die
or if we live long enough
when the Lord comes back
into this world,
one day,
all the hardships
and uncertainties
of life in this world
will be no more.
One day,
all that there will be
will be
a new heaven
and a new earth
where we are,
where we're with
people that we know
who are Christians,
and we're living
the life that
God intends for us
to live,
glorifying Him,
serving His purpose,
doing something meaningful
as His children
for all eternity.
We have a lot
to be thankful for.
Paul tells us
not to worry
but to pray.
And then he gives us
a reason
for such prayer.
Look at the last thing,
verse 7,
the peace that replaces
worry.
It says,
And the peace of God
which surpasses
all understanding
will guard your hearts
and your minds
in Christ Jesus.
I want you to understand this.
Paul does not say
that your prayers
will make everything okay.
It is,
it is not true
that if you have
enough faith,
if you pray
just the right prayer,
then your sufferings
will end.
That's false teaching.
That's ungodly teaching.
That's just totally
contrary
to what we see
happening
in the Bible.
God never promises
that if you pray
a certain prayer,
if you have
a certain amount
of faith,
that He will take
all your troubles
away.
But what God
does promise
is to be with us
in our troubles
when He doesn't
take them away.
I want you to look
at what a man
by the name
of Joe Thorne
says because he
does a great job
of describing
how God works
in relation to suffering.
Look at it.
God does not promise
to rid your life
of affliction
and difficulty.
He does,
however,
offer to give you
the grace needed
to suffer well.
It isn't wrong
to ask God
to relieve you
of your pain,
but it is more
important that
in the midst
of the pain,
you rely on
the promise
of God
to work such
experiences
for His glory
and your good.
To use these times
as a means
of perfecting
your faith,
strengthening
your spirit,
and transforming
your life
in such a way
that you are
becoming
more like Jesus.
Paul,
in his own way,
tells us
something like this
in Romans 8,
28.
And we know
that in all things,
he's been talking
about suffering
up to that point.
And we know
that in all things,
God works for the good
of those who love Him,
who have been called
according to His purpose.
A lot of times,
we don't understand
what God's doing.
We don't understand
how anything good
could come from
certain situations.
That's where faith
comes in.
That we trust God,
that He is great
and that He is good.
He's involved
in this world.
He's involved
in our lives.
He's involved
in all situations.
Working in such a way
that ultimately,
He will be glorified,
His purpose
will be accomplished,
and we
will develop,
as Christians,
we will develop
more Christ-like
character.
That's God's real goal.
Understand,
God never
promises
to rescue us
from all trouble.
But He does
promise to
replace our anxiety
with His peace.
Think for just a moment.
How do you feel
when you're all stressed out?
When you are really worried?
Don't you feel
uncertain?
Nervous?
Tired?
Afraid?
Well,
when we learn
to trust God
and pray
instead of worry,
this verse
is telling us
that He will give us
a peace
within our soul
that cannot be described
with words.
Let's think about it.
What is this peace?
It is a supernatural
experience.
It's something
that God gives
to His people
within our soul
that cannot really
be explained.
It's beyond comprehension.
But it can be
experienced.
peace.
Here's what I want you
to think.
Some of us
in this room,
we could stand up
and talk about
how we've experienced
that peace.
There have been times
in my life
when I have prayed
for a person,
for a family member,
a situation
that I'm really
close to
and involved in.
And God didn't
make it go away
but He gave me
a sense of peace
that it's going to be
He's with me
and I can just
continue on.
Some of you
in this room
have told me
yourself
how in the midst
of some kind
of difficulty,
that's how God
helped you.
He just
gave you
what you needed
to be calm,
to have wisdom
to know what to do
and to act
smart,
wisely
in the midst
of a very difficult
stressful situation.
Some of you
in this room
know this
because you
heard it
but there have
been members
of our church
who have died
and they
looked me
in the eye
one
in a hospice
room
at a hospice
house
and told me
that they
had peace,
they were
ready to go,
they knew
they were going
to be in the
presence of the
Lord soon.
Some of you
have heard
something like
that.
I've heard
that in a
home.
I've heard
people
who know
death is
imminent,
it's going
to happen
and they
look me
in the eye
and a lot
of times
they smile,
it's going
to be alright.
That is a
peace
that cannot
be explained.
If a person
is not a
Christian,
they cannot
comprehend
that.
That's the
grace of
God
working in
the life
of His
children
to prepare
them to
come into
His presence
in a peaceful,
in a calm,
in a way
that's not
all stressed
out.
If we'll
pray instead
of worry,
we'll discover
what John
Piper says
about peace,
the peace
of God.
Look at it
with me.
When we let
our requests
be made known
to God
like this,
in the
devotion of
prayer,
in many
specific
requests
for help,
with a
heart that
is thankful
for everything
God
designs
for us,
the pleasures
and the
pain,
then His
peace will
guard our
minds and
free us
from anxiety
in a way
that defies
mere rational
explanation.
It surpasses
all
understanding.
Here's what
I want us to
think as we
wind this up.
We all face
hardships and
uncertainties.
And when we
do, we have
two choices.
We can
worry.
We can
subject
ourselves to
all kinds
of fears
and stress
and misery.
Or, we
can pray
and trust
God to do
what only
He can
do and
give us
the wisdom
to do what
He wants
us to do.
If we
will do
that, He
promises to
give us this
supernatural
power to
experience
peace in
the midst
of the
hardship, in
spite of the
uncertainty.
But you
know, this
is a choice
we've got to
make in
every difficult
situation.
It's not a
once and
for all kind
of decision.
We may
struggle with
it every
day.
In some
stressful
situations, we
may struggle
many times
throughout the
day and
many times
call out to
God to
give us
what we
need for
the moment.
But if we'll
learn to
really trust
God, that
He really is
in control,
and that He
is working
everything out
according to
His good
purpose, we
can and we
will avoid
worry.
We can have
it replaced
with a
satisfying
peace of
God deep
within our
soul.
But here's
the thing,
you as a
Christian, you
got to make
the choice.
in every
situation, whether
it's stressful,
whether there's
uncertainty, whether
it's trouble,
whatever, you
got to make
the choice.
Am I going
to worry and
get no relief,
or am I going
to pray and
trust God and
experience His
peace?
Let's pray
together now.
Dear God,
show us how we
should respond.
you know how
we normally
respond.
You know what
we normally do
when we get
under stress,
when there's a
lot of
uncertainty,
when there's
fear,
when there's
suffering.
Father,
show us if
we are more
untrusting of
you than
trusting.
Help us,
Father, to
confess our
sin, if it
is, and
truly repent
and seek your
forgiveness.
Help us,
Father, to
understand that
as your
children in
this world.
You want us
to learn to
pray and
trust you and
depend upon
you and
obey you.
And just
drive home the
point, dear God,
that's the way to
experience your
peace.
In an attitude
of prayer, you
just listen to the
Lord and obey
Him as He speaks
to you.
If you'd like me
to pray for you
during this time,
I'll be here at
the front and
would be glad,
honored to do
that with you.
Let's
pray for you.
After
meeting
on
the
sun
D
other
h