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Shepherding Sermons (Philippians 4:4-9) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple · Fairview Presbyterian Church (PCA) Sermons

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And so what we're going to do now is turn to
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Philippians chapter 4 and I'll read 4 through
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9 for us. And so would you please give attention,
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listen to the reading of God's Word. Philippians
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4, 4 through 9. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again
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I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be
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known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not
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be anxious about anything, but in everything
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by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
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let your requests be made known to God and the
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peace of God which surpasses all understanding
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will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ
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Jesus. Finally brothers, whatever is true, Whatever
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is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure,
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whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,
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if there is any excellence, if there is anything
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worthy of praise, think about these things. What
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you have learned and received and heard from
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me and seen in me, practice these things and
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the God of peace will be with you. Let's go to
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God in prayer. Father we thank you for the gift
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of prayer and Yet we sometimes don't take advantage
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of it enough That we have your ear You are the
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God who created the heavens and the earth and
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we get to talk with you in prayer father Help
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us to understand how to pray Especially when
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we feel weighed down by anxiety And so be with
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us and offer us the counsel of your word and
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your spirit now, we ask in Christ's name, amen.
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Some of this, at least some of this is familiar
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to you, right? We've probably all said it or
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thought it or had it said to us, right? Verse
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seven, the peace of God. surpasses all understanding.
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Have you heard that before? Yes, most of us have.
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We may have even said this recently. I think
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I said this actually yesterday to somebody, right?
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My fear though is that we don't really understand
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the greatness of the peace of God and the greatness
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of the gift of prayer. Sometimes when we talk
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about anxiety and the solution to it being prayer.
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We think of prayer like a formula, like an equation,
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maybe like a recipe, okay? So I've got a cup
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of prayer and if I just add a dash of supplication
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and mix it with some Thanksgiving, then voila,
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anxiety is gone. The problem with that... is
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when we think that we've done it all right, but
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we still have anxiety. And we say, Lord, what
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gives? I prayed with the right amount of supplication
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and the right amount of thanksgiving, and yet
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I'm still anxious. Why is that? Ed Welch, who's
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a very good biblical counselor, says that when
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we reduce prayer to a formula, we forget Christ.
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And so what we're looking at tonight in this
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passage, it's about prayer, but it's not a formula
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to be followed. We must remember to whom we are
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talking to. This is not a recipe. This is God
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that we're talking to and in his son, we have
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peace. And so what this is really getting at
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here is that prayer as a prescription for our
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anxiety is not to be done only when there's a
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crisis. Prayer is not just the Hail Mary that
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you throw up. The Christian life is to be all
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of prayer. And so if you want freedom from anxiety,
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you must have the peace of God in Christ. But
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anxiety is a big problem that gets swept under
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the rug. We don't want to talk about it or we
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think that it's not a big problem indeed There
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may be some who would listen to this and say
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I'm tuning that guy out I'm just an anxious person
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and that's just the way it is Please don't think
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like that Do not doubt the power of God to give
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you peace and to replace your anxiety with joy
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What I want us to see tonight is that the prescription
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for anxiety is the nearness of God when we seek
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him in prayer. Let me say it again. The prescription
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for anxiety is the nearness of God when we seek
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him in prayer. And what Paul offers to us is
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seven, at least seven exhortations, things that
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we need to hear that will help us with our anxiety.
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Now, Few things produce more anxiety than a preacher
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who gives you seven points in the sermon, but
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I'll keep those brief for you. But you might
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be asking, well, what gives Paul the right to
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tell me about the remedy for anxiety? What are
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Paul's credentials, if you could say it that
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way, when it comes to prayer and anxiety? Well,
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first of all, please note that what we're reading
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God's word and so what Paul tells you God tells
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you through his spirit who inspires these words
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of Paul and so what we're reading yes it's from
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Paul but ultimately it's from God who gives peace
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right secondly remember where Paul is if you
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remember much about Philippians remember where
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Paul is when he writes this he's in prison it
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would be really difficult to listen to Paul about
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anxiety if he were sitting on a beach in Crete
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sipping a mimosa, right? So no, he is in prison.
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And so we should listen to him here. Additionally,
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he's not just in prison, but according to chapter
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one, verse 13, he's in prison and the entire
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Imperial Guard knows about it. And so Paul has
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made quite a name for himself. He probably doesn't
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know, will I ever write another letter after
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this one? He doesn't know, right? He's in trouble.
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And what does he do? Paul asks for prayer himself.
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It's in chapter two. And so Paul is telling you
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something that he relied upon every single day
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of his regenerated life. For those reasons, we
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can definitely Listen to Paul on this. Now, for
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those who may be young, got several children
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in here, maybe you're not really sure. What is
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anxiety? What's this guy talking about? Well,
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a very simple definition for anxiety might be
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to be troubled with cares, to be worried. Typically,
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anxiety has a negative connotation, not always,
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but typically it does. I really like what Alexander
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Therminos, who's a biblical counselor, has to
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say about anxiety. He says, it's easy to think
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of anxiety as a feeling, but it's more than that.
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Anxiety is a way of relating to future events.
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He says, and I quote, anxiety looks at the future
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and says, I don't want that, whatever it is,
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to happen. It's a combination of what we think
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might happen, and our desire to do something
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about it. But friends, sometimes with anxiety,
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we are lackadaisical about it. We will admit
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that we are anxious, but we don't admit that
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it's wrong. We admit that we are anxious, but
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we won't admit that it's wrong. But Paul is emphatic
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here. Look in verse six. Do not be anxious about
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anything. So this is a command not to be anxious.
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But here's the thing. I've already mentioned
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two biblical counselors who are very good. I'll
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give you one even better. It's Paul. Paul doesn't
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simply say, hey, don't do this anymore. Don't
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be anxious anymore. No, he gives us the prescription
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for anxiety. It's not a formula, but this is
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God's word. So we're going to look at these seven
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exhortations. The first one is there in verse
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four. Rejoice in the Lord always again, I will
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say, rejoice. Rejoicing, he says it twice here
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for emphasis, but it's not just a general rejoicing,
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is it? It's rejoicing in whom? The Lord, right?
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And so that is absolutely key. Rejoicing in the
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Lord. If you want to have joy in your life, you
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must have the source of joy. With Jesus, we're
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able to, again and again, rejoice. Joy doesn't
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have a season. I was supposed to preach this
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in January, so this illustration would have worked
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better then. But as some of you know, I really
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enjoy looking at signs as I drive signs on businesses
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and things. And I really like pointing out the
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ACE hardware. They always have something kind
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of interesting that I make better. Don't tell
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them I said that. But this holiday season that
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passed, they had a sign that said, holiday cheer
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starts here. All right, I guess you can find
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joy in the Ace Hardware. I like going in that
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store. But for the Christian, there is no season
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for your joy, is there? The season is every single
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day, but it's only able to be that if you have
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Jesus in your life, right? The joy comes from
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him, so we can rejoice always. But you might
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say, well, how? And how can Paul possibly have
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joy when he's in prison? Is this even possible?
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Not only is it possible, but I think if you know
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Philippians well, you would agree with me. This
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is Paul's cheeriest letter, isn't it? It really
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is. It is so warm. If you didn't know, you would
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think Paul is living the good life here. But
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no, he's not. And yet he still has joy and tells
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us to have it too. Because joy, is not dependent
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upon your circumstances. Joy is not dependent
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upon your circumstances. Those who know Christ,
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who've been saved from sin, have an eternal home,
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always have a time and a place and a reason to
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rejoice, right? Because the Lord doesn't change.
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He is the same yesterday and today and forever.
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And so because the Lord doesn't change and your
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salvation in Christ doesn't change. You can always
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have joy, even when the situation is less than
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ideal. But you might say, well, all that sounds
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good, but I still have anxiety, right? Well,
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friends, I had anxiety just preparing for this
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sermon because it's difficult, right? We do struggle
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with anxiety. And so how do we rise above it?
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Only with the Lord. Look at verse eight. Look
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at verse 8. What he is doing here is lifting
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us above the problems of this life to focus on,
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as it says, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
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whatever is just and pure and lovely and commendable.
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These are the things that describe your Savior,
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right? And so rather than looking at the problems,
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we look at the solution. We look at the Prince
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of Peace. Right? And so we must focus on Christ
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when we are anxious. Second exhortation is in
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verse five. Let your reasonableness be known
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to everyone. Now you might say, well, what's
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the reasonableness? What's he getting at here?
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It seems that this word, and indeed your translation
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may say this, but this word has a gentleness
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component about it. And notice too, It's to be
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known to everyone. And so there's this idea here
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of the fruit of the Spirit, gentleness, being
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within the fruit of the Spirit. But the fruit
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of the Spirit has to do not just with our relationship
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with God, it certainly does, but also our relationship
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with one another. And so your reasonableness,
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your gentleness, as you are being sanctified,
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is going to have an impact upon other people,
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right? So that when you go through the... through
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the trials, through the difficulties. As you
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are being sanctified, this will not always have
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a negative connotation, will it? Actually, you
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may be able to have joy in these situations and
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other people see it. And they might say, what's
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different about him or what's different about
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her? They're going through this thing and yet
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they seem joyful somehow. This is what Paul is
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getting at here, is that we don't have a season
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for our joy and that because of the sanctifying
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work of the Holy Spirit, we can endure and still
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continue to trust completely in Jesus, right?
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And so Paul says, let it be known to everyone.
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Verse six, and this is where I want to hang out
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for a few minutes, do not be anxious about anything.
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Anybody in here ever go backpacking? Any backpackers?
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Yeah, some of you have gone on backpacking trips.
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Have you ever started on your backpacking trip?
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And you can imagine this even if you haven't.
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You ever been on a backpacking trip and you start
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up that first big hill and all of a sudden that
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pack feels really heavy? Anybody ever felt like
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just taking the contents out of the bag and just
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throwing them down the hill off the cliff? We
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want to unload all of that stuff because it's
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too much for us to carry. Friends, when we carry
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anxiety like this, it weighs us down like a very
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heavy backpack. And we might feel like we can't
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get rid of it. We're on the trail and we're wishing
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that we weren't, but God offers the way to unload
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it. Already read from first Peter chapter 5 verse
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7 cast all of your cares on him because he cares
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for you But how? This is what Paul is getting
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at to illustrate this I was thinking That sometimes
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we neglect prayer Like we neglect our health
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I was thinking about this recently because I
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have a dentist appointment coming up. I wonder
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if anybody is like me. About two, three weeks
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out from the dentist appointment, you really
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start getting after it with the toothbrush. You
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get the floss out finally after a few months.
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Am I the only one who does this? You don't want
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to be embarrassed before the dental hygienist.
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So your gums are bleeding. You're trying to make
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it look great, right? What Paul is saying here
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is don't be like that with prayer. Don't wait
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until you're in complete crisis mode to finally
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turn to God in prayer. The Christian life is
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to be one of constant prayer. Because once you
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let all of that anxiety just rest upon you and
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weigh you down, it becomes harder to unload.
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Certainly God can do it. But for the Christian
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who is constantly praying, we're able to ward
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off the anxiety and trust in God. And letting
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all of that anxiety Rest upon you. It's it's
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not to be funny. It's worse than plaque buildup,
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right? And so we must be constantly in prayer
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So don't allow it to linger Don't allow it to
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breed more anxiety make prayer the rhythm of
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your life But how do we pray against anxiety
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just a few points of application under this exhortation
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one? to pray against anxiety, you need to know
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yourself. You need to know yourself. What is
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it that causes your heart to race? What is it
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that causes you maybe to sweat? What are the
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triggers in your life? Is it finances? Is it
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a relationship? Is it job performance? Is it
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the weather? Is it tax season? Is it the in -laws
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coming over? Is it giving your teenager driving
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lessons? Teenagers, is it your parents giving
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you the driving lessons? What is it that causes
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the anxiety in you? Know these things about yourself.
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Maybe even make a list of the things that produce
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anxiety in your life so you'll be aware of them.
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And then... Don't just make the list, but again,
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I've already read it, but verse eight, focus
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on whatever is good, which is Christ himself.
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So focus on him. Sometimes, though, you might
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not know exactly what it is that produces anxiety.
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You know you've got anxiety, but you don't know
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why. Here's where I think it's helpful to be
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in the church, is to have people in your corner.
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people in your camp that you can talk to and
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you can say, brother, sister in Christ, can I
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talk to you? And can I have you pray for me and
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pray with me? Right? Think about Paul himself.
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Paul is actually showing this to us. He wrote
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a letter to the Philippians asking for them to
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pray for him. And so if Paul needs the prayers
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of the church, don't we also need them? Be involved
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within the church. I'm preaching to the choir.
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You're here. But have relationships. Have deep
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friendships within the church so people can pray
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alongside with you. Also, how to pray against
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anxiety. Pray remembering the promises of God.
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Look at the end of verse five. A promise. The
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Lord is at hand, right? This is a statement about
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the nearness of the Lord, his omnipresence. Perhaps
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you remember Psalm number 145, verse 18, that
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says the Lord is near to all who call on him,
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to all who call on him in truth, right? And so
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pray remembering God's omnipresence, how he is
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close to you. But I also think there's something
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additional going on with the Lord's nearness
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there. I believe that this is a reminder of the
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future return of Christ. This is good news for
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us, that as Christians, we will not deal with
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anxiety forever. I know maybe it feels like that,
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but you will not deal with anxiety forever. The
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plans Christ has for you do not include anxiety.
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Don't be anxious about Christ's return. If you
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are in Christ now, He will come for you or you
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will go to Him. And in Him, you are safe. And
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so you don't have to be anxious about that. Lastly,
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under this heading, pray scripture, right? You've
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got an entire Bible of prayers and promises,
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right, that can help you pray. But maybe you
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even say, I can't even get my prayers off the
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ground sometimes. I don't know how to pray. Then
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remember that the Lord Jesus lives to intercede
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for you, and the Holy Spirit does, too, with
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those groans too deep for words. And so remember
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that Jesus and the Spirit are praying for you.
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But you can pray the prayers of Scripture. or
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even ones that are not intended necessarily to
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be prayers. You can pray this scripture right
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here from Philippians chapter four. Lord, you
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tell me not to be anxious and I don't want to
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be. I don't want to feel like this. Help me to
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pray now with thanksgiving and give me peace.
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You can turn even Philippians chapter four, verse
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six into a prayer for your anxiety. But certainly
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you've got so many other scriptures to choose
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from. You've got the Psalms that do communicate.
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anxiety and prayer against anxiety and so look
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for those scriptures. I mentioned one biblical
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counselor already and he sees a simple statement
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in chapter 4 verse 6 to help us pray. So his,
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and this is not a formula, this is him looking
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at prayer in Philippians 4 and saying this may
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help you. So one, when you're anxious and you
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need help with prayer Firstly, tell God what
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you want. It mentions supplication in here. I'm
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going to speak to that in a minute. Tell God
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what you want. Tell him why it matters. And then
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thirdly, give thanks. Don't forget to give thanks
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within your prayers. Matter of fact, at the end
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of the bulletin on the back side of it, you can
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see this is fleshed out a little bit more for
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you how to pray when you're anxious. And so refer
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to that. Well, I mentioned supplication here.
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What is that? Supplication is a specific form
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or component of prayer where we offer up to God
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our needs or our desires. The problem that we
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have is we either only give God our supplication
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or sometimes we think God doesn't want to hear
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all of that so I won't give it to him. The sweet
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spots in the middle. giving God the adoration
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and thanksgiving and the confession, but Paul
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is very clear here in everything by prayer and
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supplication. Let your request be made known
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to God. And so yes, God wants to hear from you
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and you can be honest with God about your fears
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and your anxieties. As a matter of fact, think
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about it this way. Your anxiety is a great time.
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to further your trust in God. When you experience
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anxiety, think of this as a way that you can
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grow in your faith and in your prayer life, right?
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But make sure that as you pray here, I think
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he's emphatic about this too, that you do remember
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thanksgiving. And so this is a little further
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into verse six, by prayer and supplication with
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thanksgiving. When you pray, do you realize to
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whom you're talking? Does it ever cross your
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mind that you are praying to the God who created
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the heavens and the earth by the word of his
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power? That you are speaking to the God who sent
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his one and only begotten Son to save you from
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your sins. Does that cross your mind? We ought
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to know to whom we are praying and that should
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produce thanksgiving in our hearts. Because since
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God can do the things that I have just mentioned,
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can he not also help you within your current
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predicament, within your situation? Yes, of course
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he can. And so let your request be made known
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to God with thanksgiving because God always accomplishes
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his perfect will. Back to verse eight. for our
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second to the last exhortation I listed all of
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these things or I read all of these things and
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then he says think about these things and so
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when you're in a situation that is producing
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anxiety Focus not on the problem. Don't ignore
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the problem, but don't focus all of your efforts
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upon the problem focus your efforts upon Christ
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who is the solution, the prescription for our
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anxiety. We talked about this recently within
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a sermon about Peter and the boat and how he
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gets out onto the water. He's doing great until
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he notices the predicament. He takes his eyes
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off of Jesus, right? And so in your anxiety,
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focus on the prescription. Focus on the Prince
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of Peace. Focus upon Jesus. I think part of the
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problem with our focus is that we focus our concerns,
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our worries upon things that may happen but have
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not yet happened, right? But Jesus says in Matthew
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6 that today's trouble is enough for today. We
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ramp up our anxiety when we play over and over
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and over in our minds the things that may happen
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but have not happened. And we play them over
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so often that it becomes real in our minds, that
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we really think this is happening, instead of
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focusing upon Jesus. But what does Paul say then
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after all of this? Look in verse nine. He does
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not want us merely to hear these things. What
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does he want us to do? What you have learned
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and received and heard and seen in me, practice
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these things. And so don't just hear these words.
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but put them into practice. You are a new creation
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in Jesus. And the Holy Spirit empowers you to
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live in such a way that you can trust God completely.
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And then when you do that, you get the glorious
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result of it all. It's in verse nine and in verse
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seven. The peace of God, which surpasses all
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understanding, will guard your hearts and minds
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in Christ Jesus. The God of peace will be with
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you. The God of peace will be with you and he
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will guard these things for you. This is very
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counterculture. This is very much the opposite
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of the way that the world thinks. The world says
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you need to gather all of the peace that you
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can for yourself and you need to guard it. Whatever
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the peace looks like in your life, you need to
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get the money and you need to get the stuff.
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and you need to get the prestige, you need to
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have it all, and then you need to protect it.
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That's different from what the scripture says,
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isn't it? It says the Lord will guard these things.
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The Lord is guarding them for you. The Prince
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of Peace came for you, and what Jesus provides
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for you cannot be taken away. Friends, when you
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struggle with anxiety, I want you to remember
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the promise of God's presence and how you can
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draw near to him in prayer and you can have his
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peace that is kept for you in Christ Jesus. Let's
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pray.