The psalm that we just sang together, Psalm 42, Selection D, it has the line in it that says, Your waterfalls like thunder roar and deep to deep will call. Your waves have all rolled over me. On me, your breakers fall. The psalm is illustrating the anxiety that is coming upon a believer because of situations outside of his control. He's saying, you know, there's people saying, where is your God? And it seems as though the troubles of life are flowing over me and they're choking me as those troubles occur. We see other songs as well that talk about anxiety and that feeling of being overwhelmed and controlled. And Jesus speaks of anxiety in the Sermon on the Mount as he calls on Christians to not be anxious about their life, understanding that it's part of the common human experience. He says the Gentiles need these things and the people of God need these things. And we get anxious about our life. And here in our text today, Philippians chapter four, verses six through nine, Paul again is talking about anxiety, and he's calling on the people of God to deal with that common human experience in a godly and biblical way. Now, anxiety is or means to be troubled or to be uneasy in mind about a certain event It is being in painful or disturbing suspense or to be overly concerned about something. The root word for anxiety in Latin and in Greek is the idea that you are being choked by distress. So you can really get a word picture there, can't you? You can think about some problem in your life that is pressing down upon you, and you're worried about that, and it's consuming you, and it feels as though that pressure coming down upon you is actually choking you. And that's at the root of the word, to be choked. We live in an anxious culture. We live in a time where there are many reasons that we are able to become anxious. You can think of news channels, and I don't care if you're CNN or Fox News, or the five people left in the world that watch MSNBC. But there's always a ticker on the bottom, isn't there? And that ticker runs and it tells you every reason why you should be anxious about living in this world. You can think of our cell phones and the alerts that we sign up for. You know, my cell phone alerts will come up. News items will come up that when I read them, oh, I should be worried about that. And there's so much in this life that that we have the ability to worry about, to be anxious about, to feel like the cares of this world are are choking us. This week, I read the the criteria for being diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. And this is what I found that that the psychiatric community, as they seek to define anxiety, and as they give criteria for what makes up anxiety in a person's life, here's what what they said. to be diagnosed with general anxiety disorder. You have to have excessive anxiety and worry occurring more days than not for at least six months about a number of events or activities such as work or school performance. The person will find it difficult to control the worry And the anxiety and worry is associated with three or more of the following six symptoms. And there's a note. The symptoms must be present for more days than not for the last six months. One, restlessness or feeling keyed up on or on edge, keyed up, I guess, is a is a medical term. Two, being easily fatigued. Three, having difficulty concentrating or your mind going blank. Four, irritability. Five, muscle tension. Six, sleep disturbance, difficulty falling or staying asleep, or restless, unsatisfying sleep. I read that and said, uh-oh. And I imagine that as you hear those criteria for what the psychiatric community says make up a generalized anxiety, most of us can say that there are times in our lives and often there are times in our lives when we are anxious people, where we fit the bill for anxiety. And then we again look to the scriptures. We have psalms to sing about anxiety. God knew our frame. And He said, here's something to sing to help you through this. And Jesus knows the condition of of men's hearts, and Jesus knows that it's not even just in a general world sense, but something specific to the church. He gives in a sermon, a section on anxiety. And the Apostle Paul here in Philippians 4, as he's given us really heavy theology and excellent applications to that theology, he wants to remind the people in Philippi that we live in a world where we can be anxious and where we will be anxious. And he says we should deal with this. You see, we're not much different than the Christians that lived in Philippi in the first century. Paul is writing to a people, as you remember, that are being choked about many things. There's a government that is oppressing them because of their religious position, because they refuse to say Caesar is Lord. And the government presses down and chokes a bit on the Christian community. You have a culture around them where statism is the primary religion. And that statism has affected the church to the point where the Apostle Paul is on death row because his religion and the state's religion are going against one another. You have people that are anxious about the future of their congregation. Remember, the church in Philippi is the first church plant in Europe. There's a lot resting on this church plant as the springboard for which apostolic teaching will find its way into Europe. And there's a lot of pressure on the church in Philippi. And their beloved apostle, is not at the university teaching. You know, they don't have the famous Christian theologian that kicks out eight to ten books a year. They have Paul who's going to die. They're worried about Paul. They're anxious about the future of the church. And they have the normal struggles of life. They have jobs. They have children. They have homes. They pay taxes. Philippi is not much different than 21st century America. I looked at a list this week of the top 10 best-selling medications in the United States. And on that list of best-selling medications in the United States, two of them are anti-anxiety medications. Two of the top 10. These two medications alone make $5 billion a year for drug companies. $5 billion. Billion, not million, billion. Since 2001, there has been a 22% increase in the use of anti-anxiety medication. in the United States. And interestingly, many of those who are on these medications still say they have symptoms consistent with the label anxious. So what's going on? Why is the world's cure for anxiety falling short? Why has diagnoses increased and medication use increased? Do we see, do we not see an increase in people's ability to deal with anxiety? And here's the reason. The reason that the world and the medical community has not been able to cure Anxiety is because anxiety is a spiritual problem. Anxiety is a spiritual problem. And we see that in our text, don't we? The Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, says, do not be anxious about anything. You know what that means? It means that when you are anxious about your life, and myself too, when I am anxious about my life, whether it's something small, like I get anxious if my desk has stuff on it, like clutter, I don't like clutter. If it's something little and unnecessary like that, or if it's something huge, like a visit with your doctor where he sits you down and he says, we need to seriously talk. And he tells you news that you don't want to hear. In both of those cases, if we respond with anxiety, it's a spiritual problem and it's sin. And the reason that I can say that it's sin is because through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, He says, do not be anxious, and then He qualifies it about anything. Anxiety is a spiritual problem. There's two reasons why anxiety can be and is sin according to the Scriptures. The first reason is that anxiety is distrusting God. Anxiety is distrusting God. And there can be different reasons why you don't trust God. It may be that you are not a Christian and that you've never trusted God. And as you look to the world for cures for anxiety, there's nothing that is able to cure that spiritual problem because it is a spiritual problem. You see, the first thing that we should do if we do not trust God is we should cast ourselves at the feet of Jesus Christ for help. That we should repent of our sins and we should say, Lord Jesus, save me from myself. But those of you that are Christians, those of you that are converted, there's still times when you don't trust God. Isn't there? There's still times where we just We struggle in our own hearts and with our own souls. And we question God. And we question God's motives. And we question what God is doing. And we say, how can I trust You, Lord? Help me to trust You. As the Gospels record, I believe, help thou my unbelief. There are times when we still don't trust God, even as Christians. Jesus said He would even take care of the birds. He'll take care of us. He said He takes care of lilies in a pond. He'll take care of us. We also see that anxiety is a sin and a spiritual problem because it is a failure to accept God's providential care for your life. The Scriptures teach that all things come to pass according to the counsel of His will And that means that all situations in which you find yourself are there because your Heavenly Father thought that it would be best for you to be in that providential situation. And that means good things. And that means bad things. And that means joyful things. And that means hard things as well. When we are anxious about something that may or may not happen to us, we are questioning God's fatherly care. We are questioning His providence towards us. You see, anxiety in our life is a kingdom barometer It teaches us whether we are seeking His kingdom, whether we are seeking first His kingdom. As Jesus said, don't be anxious about all these things. Seek my kingdom. And the barometer for anxiety is whose kingdom are we seeking? Are we seeking God's will? Are we seeking God's kingdom? Or are we seeking our own will? And are we seeking our own kingdom? It's a barometer and it's a litmus test for us. So Paul instructs the Philippians, do not be anxious about anything. But notice that it's not just a platitude. It's not something that's just thrown out as something that we should do or something that we should think about or give thought to. It's not like you crack open a fortune cookie. Do not be anxious about anything. Okay, that's interesting. And you go on with your day. Paul says, do not be anxious about anything. And then he goes on and he gives us help for how we can cure anxiety within our lives. And he gives us three things to consider, three ways to think about anxiety, a threefold cure for anxiety. And this is a great text. And the reason why I think that it's a great text is that all of us as Christians need to know this. We all get anxious about things. I could give you my list of things I was anxious about this week. And you could give me your list of things you were anxious about this week. And God says, do not be anxious about anything And it's also a great text because it has evangelistic purpose. As you help out friends that are unbelievers. We all have those those texts that are sort of easy evangelistic gospel texts that that we bring to our friends at times, but here is a time where A friend may approach you and say, listen, things are a mess. Things are horrible. And you have the opportunity here to open God's word and say, God says, do not be anxious about anything. And here's what God gives for how you can cure that anxiety. And it can become evangelistic because this is Christ centered. This isn't just This isn't just psychiatry 101 or biblical psychiatry. This is something that is centered on who Jesus Christ is. And that gives us opportunity with our friends and family. This is also a great text because we have this ability to trust in God and to rely on God more. as we open up the scriptures, knowing that this world is full of trouble and Christ is the cure. So let's look at this threefold cure, this threefold paradigm for dealing with anxiety. And what I want you to notice as we as we look at this threefold cure is that It takes into account the whole person It's not something that that is just focused on one particular part of the person, but it's holistic as The scriptures are towards us so we begin with This morning with your heart's response to anxiety your heart's response to anxiety. Look at verses 6 and 7. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. So Paul says that there's this contrast here, or the beginning of a contrast at least, where he says, here is anxiety. And we're going to contrast anxiety with this cure for anxiety. And what he calls this cure, what the goal of curing anxiety is that the peace of God would reign in your hearts, in your minds. And you can see those as contrasts, can't you? If you ever get anxious, the opposite spiritually of anxiety is the peace of God. We want God's peace to rule within your hearts, to guard your hearts and your minds. So, he says, how is this done? How do we start to put off anxiety and to put on the peace of God in our life? You see that In the first place, it's a heart problem. It's a heart problem. We're called to trust in the work of the Lord Jesus, and we're called to trust in His sovereign will and His good desires for us. And yet often what happens is our hearts run wild. We can think of the emotional roller coasters that are within our hearts at times as we distrust God and as we fill our hearts and our minds with anxiety. And Paul says, stop running wild with this anxiety and bring those requests before God. Let your requests be known. So the heart's response to anxiety is prayer. We come before God prayerfully. Paul says that, doesn't he? He says, let those requests be known. So what are you anxious about? Are you anxious about your family's finances? Let God know that. Pray about that. Are you anxious about a doctor's appointment like I mentioned early? Let that request be made known unto God. Are you anxious about school? Something that young people are frequently anxious about. Whether it's something like your GPA or whether it's choosing a college or choosing a major or how far or how close it is to being done with college. And then what do you do? You're kind of left on your own, aren't you? And you can get anxious about that. Let that request be made known unto God. Are you anxious about career changes or or job problems, situations at work? Let that request be made known unto God. You see, anxiety is often about good things. It's about good things in life we get anxious about. We want to do well. We want to succeed. We want to do what's right. And often those are the things that we find ourselves getting anxious about. And because they're good things, we excuse them and say, well, it's okay to be anxious about this because it's a good thing. The Spirit says, do not be anxious about anything. And with our hearts, we bring our requests before God. We pray through those situations for which we are anxious. We're called to not worry about those things. And know that God is ultimately the one who can handle them. But notice it's not just petitions. It's not just let your requests be made known unto God. Like we go to God and we lay down on the black couch of prayer and we start talking through our issues. That's not what we have here. Paul also says that we are also to bring our thanksgivings before God. So part of our heart response in prayer is not just asking. It's not just saying, God, I need this. I don't know what to do about this. I'm struggling with this. What do I do here? What should I do here, Lord? It's also coming before Him in thankfulness for those things. When's the last time you thanked God for something you're anxious about? When's the last time you brought a situation before God that is a hard providence, something that stresses you out, something that works you up, or what was that one DSM-5 term that you are keyed up over? When's the last time you brought that before God and you said, thank you for this situation? Paul says, we thank God for these situations, for these trials, for these things for which we are anxious. And the reason that we thank God for these things is because trials in our lives and the things that make us anxious, those are the things that will most conform us to the image of Jesus Christ. Those are the things, the trials in our lives, are the things that will most align us with God's will as we seek Him and as we trust Him and as we follow biblical patterns in our life. We will be polished through those trials. Sometimes, A person who lives in my home will say, why do you always, and then they will insert something that I evidently always do. And the answer that I always give, or quite often give, is that those things make you more like Jesus. Okay, that's a theologian's answer. It's not an answer that is sought. Why do you always? Well, because it makes you more like Jesus. But this is what Paul is telling us is our heart's reaction to anxiety, is that we bring these concerns before God, and we even thank God for those things that make us anxious, because those are the trials that will have you to shine as gold. Those are the things that will polish you as a gem. Those are the things that will be used to conform you to the image of Christ. Your heart in prayer as part of the battle against anxiety. We also see in our text in verse 7 that the head plays a part in this battle as well. Paul says in verse 7 that the peace of God will guard your hearts, which we've discussed, and your minds in Christ Jesus. So that peace of God, that shalom, as the Scriptures talk about, is this idea of wholeness, this idea of completeness, this idea of all things being made right And Paul says that peace will reign in our minds as well. Look at, for our second heading, our head's response to anxiety, or your head's response to anxiety. And this is verses 7 and 8. Have you ever paid attention to the fact that in your mind you have an internal dialogue that happens all day long? If you listen carefully inside of your mind, you will realize that you are constantly interacting with yourself and interacting with the experiences of life around you. And you will interpret those experiences in that internal dialogue. You're driving. You're in a hurry to get somewhere. The light turns red. You interpret that red light. And an internal dialogue happens as you interpret what just occurred. You're walking down the street. minding your own business and somebody asks for change and they show you a sign. And whether good or bad, you interpret that experience and you have an internal dialogue concerning that experience. In your home, the kids start fighting. You interpret that and you interact with it in your mind and you respond in a certain way. And you react according to the internal dialogue. You're stressed out at work. You get an email from your boss, see me in my office such and such time. You interpret that email as to what your boss wants to talk to you about? Put that dialogue in the context of anxiety. There's many things that we get anxious about through our day. There's many things that trouble us. There's many things that have the potential of troubling you. And you are interpreting those things, constantly interpreting the experiences of your life. You know, that one day a month when it seems like all the bills come at once and you open them and you interpret internally, where you're unsure about what you should do with your life. And you're always interpreting your experiences through that uncertainty. There's all sorts of things that we have internal dialogue about, that we interpret in this life. Things from help in raising infants, to medical concerns, to troubles with teens, all sorts of things. The mind is the battlefield where this anxiety is partly fought. And what does Paul say? He says, finally, brothers. Or because of this, brothers. Or in relationship to what I have just been talking about, brothers. And then he gives us a mental reboot. He says, think through these things, meditate on these things. Let these things help you to interpret the experiences of your life. So you're anxious. Bring it to God in prayer. Here's your heart's response. You pray about it. You let your requests be known. You give thanks for these things. And also in your head, here's what you do. Whatever is true. Whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there is any excellence, if there's anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Paul's saying that anxiety is partly thought in the mind, and in your mind you need to use biblical words and biblical patterns to interpret life, to interpret the experiences that cause anxiety in your life. Start with the first one. Whatever is true, you get anxious about something. And at least this is what I do, and I'm sure you're similar. If you're anxious about something, the first thing you do is you run to the worst case scenario. You say, well, this is what's going to happen. And you have this whole apocalyptic idea in your mind. Paul says, reboot, think through anxiety, meditate. Is it even true? Is what you're anxious about even true? And he wants us to consider these things. He doesn't want us to have these what if stories in our minds. Well, you know, this person, this is what they think of me. Well, why do they think that? Because when I walked past them in Trader Joe's, they looked right through me. They didn't even acknowledge that I exist. They hate me. What if they're thinking about something and they actually didn't see you because they're working through something in their mind? Whatever is true. And Paul gives us this whole list of things to start working through, things that we meditate on, things that we take the anxiety that comes into our mind, and as we pray it through from our heart, and as we think it through our mind, and we meditate on these things, Paul is telling us that we are to take the mental aspects of anxiety, and we are to fight against angst with our minds. These things are things that are learned from the example of Christ. And those of us that have submitted to Christ are called, even by the Apostle Paul, to put on the mind of Christ. And here he gives us a way to think like Christ. Is it true? Is it honorable? Is it commendable? Is it excellent? And he tells us to meditate here. See, truth is measured with spiritual discernment. And things that are commendable are those things which are dignified and above reproach. And that which is right is defined by God's justice. And those things which are holy are those things that are chaste. And those things that are lovely refer to our interaction with others. And those things that are admirable or of good rapport, they tell us that those things are well-resounding, or it's the opposite of grumbling. And He begins to teach us how to think like a Christian. How do we apply union with Christ? It's a battlefield in the heart, and it's a battlefield in the mind. So what Paul has in view here is the Christian who is suffering under anxiety is called to fight in the mind through meditation, through changing the internal dialogue that occurs as the kingdom of God reigns in our minds. Putting on the mind of Christ is a major aspect of our sanctification. And because anxiety is a spiritual problem, it must be combated spiritually. Paul says, finally, brothers, because of this, brothers, Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable. If there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. Friends, I would encourage you as you are anxious this week, maybe take a note card and write down this verse and and think through the situation interpreting it through these words of Paul's. After you've prayed, after you've thanked God, after you've brought it to God in prayer, as you battle it in your mind, think it through with these qualifiers. So we've seen a heart for prayer and a head for meditation. And thirdly, we see that the hands are also essential in the battle against anxiety. The third heading is the hands response to anxiety. You see, anxiety is not just fought through prayer. It's not just fought through thinking biblical thoughts. It's also fought through practicing the Christian faith. We see that in verse 9. Paul says, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. So there's this third condition here, the hands, the practice. And we know that these three verses, it's one thought in the mind of the apostle. This isn't me wanting to get finished with Philippians so that I can get on with our next series. That's not why I picked this large of a section. Remember, we've been going slowly for the last several weeks. This is all connected in Paul's mind. He says, don't be anxious about anything. Let the peace of God rule in your hearts and your minds. Use your hearts for prayer and thanksgiving. Use your mind for meditation on God's Word. Use your hands for the practicing of the Christian faith. And the God of peace will be with you. Don't be anxious. Have the God of peace reign. Heart, pray. Mind, meditate. Hands, practice. And the God of peace, Jesus Christ, will be with you. Paul is telling his hearers that Christianity is something that is to be practiced as well. It's not something that is merely a private matter of the heart. Otherwise, he would have just said, pray it through. And Christianity is not merely a set of theological principles. Otherwise, he would have said, think about it. But he says, pray about it and think about it. And Christianity is practice as well. And our practice must conform to apostolic teaching in order to find the cure for anxiety. It's not prayed away like the mystics. It's not meditated away by changing your will like the Pelagians, or it's not classical conditioning like Pavlov. But the practice of the Christian must be part of the peace of God in the life of the believer. You see, you may have something for which you are anxious about in your life, use college again, as we've used that as an example. If you're anxious about college and you're anxious about a future career and you're anxious about doing well in your studies. And You're rightly anxious. It's a good thing to be concerned about. And you've prayed about it. And you've thought about the right things. But you're not practicing your faith actively, knowing that God is a God of means. You will still be anxious, even when you've prayed and even when you've meditated. We must practice. As well, God is a God of means. Fill out college applications. You won't be accepted without filling out the application. Or things concerning your job. Things that you're anxious about, if you've prayed about it and you're attempting to think the right things, but you are not putting New Testament principles into practice, you will continue to be anxious because in Paul's mind, all three of these things go together. If one is struggling with being anxious about his or her life, and they're praying and believing the right doctrine, but you're just sitting around and maybe wasting life watching television or clicking through things online, you will still have anxiety. Because the Christian faith is something that is to be lived. It's something that is to be practiced. There are New Testament calls for how we are to live in this world as we apply the truths of Scripture and as we reflect the teaching of the New Testament in our home. These are all parts of the cure for anxiety. We must find ourselves doing as well as believing and thinking and praying. The reason why Paul may be moving us in this direction is because, as I said, anxiety is unbelief at the core. And what's the first thing in backsliding, if you are in unbelief, what's the first thing that is thrown off? It's not prayer and it's usually not doctrine. It's usually practice that goes first. Somebody lives an anxious life and they say, you know, God doesn't care. God, God isn't helping me through these things. And in my life's a mess and he's not helping me. And I pray and I believe the Apostles Creed. I believe the Westminster Confession of Faith. But God's not helping me. I think I'm going to stay home from church this week. The first things to go are practice. Backsliding begins with those things. You know, God hasn't really been helping me as I've read the Bible, so I'm not going to read the Bible. And our practice goes first. Paul says we pray and we think and we practice what has been given to us. Paul reminds us here that this is what he has done. Paul is a man who Many of us, if we were in his situation, would be filled with anxieties. And Paul says, here's a life. Paul's not anxious. And it's not because he's careless. He cares tremendously. He loves the church. He loves Jesus Christ. He loves the life that God has given him. But he understands and he is resolved that God will be God. And God will be served by him. Paul is not some messed up psychologist trying to find answers for his own life. He's someone who is resolved to see Jesus Christ glorified. And that's what happens. And he's living a life that is free from this unbelief that so many of us often are filled with, this anxiety and this cares in this world. Paul understands that the peace of God reigns in his life, even in the midst of, in the face of death. Friends, we have a very interesting text here that has many opportunities. This is like 21st century evangelism. 40% of Americans, adult Americans in their life will use some form of psychotropic drug to help with emotional and mental problems. As a culture, we've largely shifted to these physical solutions to spiritual problems. We all have friends and family that deal with anxieties, and many of us deal with anxieties at times. I'll admit that the criteria from the DSM-5, there's times in my life where I can say, this is where I am. But we have this wonderful opportunity to present Christ as the peace of God that can reign in your life as the alternative to this anxious life. And you may be suffering with anxiety, even as a Christian, and maybe you have never seen this text as this biblical approach to working through anxieties. Friends, we have this wonderful spiritual cure that is focused on the person and work of Christ. We can see Jesus in this text as the peace of God. A threefold cure. for anxiety, the heart as you bring your prayers and your thanksgiving and your requests to Christ, your head as you meditate and you conform your mind to Jesus Christ through His Spirit and His Word, and your hands as you practice the faith that was given to you through the apostles and faithful confessors of the church. Anxiety's threefold cure. The heart, the head, the hands. Amen.