Message Through Word
Title: Worry Not
Bible Verse: Philippians 4:1-9
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord.
3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Introduction:
Worry means to be pulled in different directions.
Our hopes pull us in one direction; our fears pull us in the opposite direction; and we are pulled apart.
If we are to conquer worry and experience the secure mind, we must meet the condition that God has laid down.
I. Right Praying (vv.6-7)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Paul used three different words to describe right praying:
•Prayer
•Supplication
•Thanksgiving
The word "prayer" is the general word for making requests known to the Lord. It carries the ideas of adoration, devotion, and worship.
Whenever we find ourselves worrying, our first action ought to be to get alone with God and worship Him.
Too often, we rush into His presence and hastily tell Him our needs, when we ought to approach His throne calmly and in deepest reverence.
Come with reverence because He is our King, but also come with bold assurance because He is our Friend and Counselor.
Our earnest prayer will have powerful results (James 5:16B)
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
II. Right Thinking (v.8)
8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Peace involves the heart and the mind (Isaiah 26:3)
3 You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.
Wrong thinking leads to the wrong feeling, and before long the heart and mind are pulled apart and we are strangled by worry.
We must realize that thoughts are real and powerful, even though they cannot be seen, weighed, or measured.
We must bring into captivity every thought and make it obedient to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
Paul spells out in detail the things we ought to think as Christians:
• Whatever is true
whenever we believe a lie, Satan takes over
• Whatever is honest and just
this means worthy of respect and right
• Whatever is pure, lovely and of good report
we must major on the high and noble thoughts, not the base thoughts of this corrupt world
• Whatever possesses virtue and praise
if it has virtue, it will motivate us to do better, and if it has praise, it is worth commending to others.
Right thinking is the result of daily meditation on the Word of God.
The Christian who fills his heart and mind with God's Word will have a built-in radar for detecting wrong thoughts.
III. Right Living (v.9)
9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
It is one thing to learn a truth, but quite another to receive it inwardly and make it a part of our inner man (1 Thessalonians 2:13)
13 And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe.
Facts in the head are not enough; we must also have truth in the heart (James 1:22)
22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.
God's peace is the umpire that calls us out (Colossians 3:15)
15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
If we are walking with the Lord, then the peace of God and the God of peace exercise their influence over our heart.
Whenever we disobey, we lose that peace, and we know we have done something wrong.
Conclusion:
There is no need to worry! And worry is a sin! With the peace of God to guard us and the God of peace to guide us — Why worry?