We read the Word of God tonight from Philippians chapter 4. Philippians chapter 4, we read the first 19 verses. Therefore, my brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved. I beseech, Iodius, and beseech, Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with me in the gospel, with Clement also and with other my fellow laborers whose names are in the book of life. Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, if there be any virtue and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things which ye have both learned and received and heard and seen in me, Do, and the God of peace shall be with you. But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at the last your care of me hath flourished again, wherein ye were also careful, but ye lacked opportunity. Not that I speak in respect of want, for I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Notwithstanding, ye have well done that ye did communicate with my affliction. Now ye Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church communicated with me as concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. For even in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessity, not because I desire a gift, but I desire fruit that may abound to your account. But I have all and abound. I am full, having received of Epaphroditus the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God. But my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Thus far we read the Word of God tonight. I call your attention to verses 6 and 7. Not 5 and 6, that was my mistakes. Verses 6 and 7. Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known unto God. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Beloved congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, you are familiar with verse 4, no doubt, here in this chapter, where the Apostle Paul gives expression of the theme of this book, this letter that he wrote to the Philippians, Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice. And part of the instruction of the Apostle Paul in this letter is that there is no joy apart from Jesus Christ. That's the confession that he made in chapter 3, if you look back at that chapter. where the Apostle speaks of what his life was like apart from Christ, and even says that if anyone could say, apart from Christ, I had something to boast about. I had a life that could give one joy. The Apostle is saying, but now there's really only one thing that's important to me. And that's that I'm found in Christ. And that I have the righteousness of God which is by faith in Christ Jesus. This is my joy. And that joy in Jesus Christ and my salvation through Him is so great that I'm willing to let all those other things go. To throw them all away. To count them as nothing. Even dung. Because this is my joy. It's in Christ Jesus. This is also the observation that the Apostle makes in chapter 3. He makes an observation that he wants the Philippians to make and that he wants you to make tonight too. Look upon the heathen who deny the cross of Jesus Christ. He describes them very memorably as those who have their bellies as their God. And what he means is these are earthly minded people. He says that they mind the things of this earth and he even speaks of them having some glory which means Look now and observe those in the earth who have gotten ahead. Those who have some money in their bank accounts. Those who have achieved some status maybe in the workplace, who own a company, and who run a company and have many riches, much food and drink and possessions in abundance. And what is the apostles conclusion? They don't really have anything Their end is destruction. And so, there is no joy apart from Christ. In chapter 3, verse 1, the apostle says, Finally, brethren, rejoice in the Lord. There's where your joy is. And then also in 4 verse 4, as I already mentioned, rejoice in the Lord. There's your joy. And then now part of this instruction is this. There is always joy in Christ. That's how verse 4 needs to be understood. And that's the theme of this book. It's not only rejoice in the Lord, but rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say rejoice. Now that's a command to the Christian. Christ, through the inspired Apostle, says to the Christian church, this is not an option for you. You must rejoice always in every circumstance. But, you know, this is encouragement to the Christian too. God gives that command saying to Christians, you can. You can rejoice always. The unbeliever who is apart from Jesus Christ will have no joy in the Lord, of course, but we can see the people in the world expressing and experiencing what looks like joy, what they claim to be joy. But if you went to them and you said to them, now rejoice always and rejoice in every circumstance, they would say, I can't do that. You see, life sometimes is just too hard. And the circumstances that I don't have control over that come into my life sometimes, that bring very great evils upon me and great terrors upon me. In those times, I cannot rejoice. But the man or the woman who confesses Christ that God enables to say, I will rejoice always. And again, I will rejoice. Now, in order for that to be possible and true, we all understand, don't we, that that means that we need to have the ability to deal with the cares the anxieties, the worries of life. And that's what the Apostle speaks of here in the text. He's saying your calling is to rejoice always, and now here's the threat to that. The cares, the worries, and the concerns of life. If you are burdened with worry and anxiety, and you don't know how to respond to that properly, You will not rejoice always. But this is the trouble with us as sinners. Our natural response to the grind of daily life is exactly that, isn't it? Worry, anxiety. And then there are the calamities, the especially difficult sorrows and troubles in life. And our quick response, our natural response is to wring our hands. and to run away with anxiety. It is this sinful worry, this spiritual anxiety that the Apostle Paul addresses here in the text. And he is showing us we need this instruction, this beautiful instruction in which God through the Apostle says, now I know you. I know your life. I know your troubles and your sorrows and I also know your natural response to these things. I know you need me and my care and my comfort. God says, I see your worries. I see how life is very difficult for you and sometimes even seems vain. I see how you worry about what happened in the past. I see how you become anxious about what's going on in the present. I see how sometimes you even let your mind wander off into the future and you become anxious. Well now, listen to me. Here's the answer. I give you prayer. Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. No, you don't need a therapist, or a life coach, or medication. Not understand that there's no place for any of those things. But the Apostle Paul is laying his finger on a spiritual issue. And he comes with the spiritual remedy. Turn to God in prayer. This is the way to overcome anxiety. The way to have joy. Or now the text that we consider tonight speaks of peace. And so, let's consider tonight overcoming anxiety by prayer. We're going to notice in the first place that we're prone to worry. The Apostle recognizes that here in the text. Secondly, we're called to prayer. And then thirdly, through prayer we're blessed with overcoming anxiety, but blessed with Peace. The Apostle Paul, and we need to see that here in the beginning, is showing us that we need to come to terms with the reality that worry, care, he's talking about in the King James, is worry, anxiety, that's a sin. He says, and here's a command, be careful for nothing. This is a prohibition of worry and anxiety. This is a prohibition from God. And that points out to you and me, and we need to be clear on that, that this is a sin. God prohibits, we know that from the commandments, What is sinful? God prohibits stealing because it is sinful. He prohibits rebellion because that is sinful. He prohibits murder because that is sinful. And now when God comes in this passage and says, I prohibit care and worry and anxiety, God is saying, that is sinful. Now, there are some who would say this is a rather superficial way to deal with a very complex and difficult problem. A person who has trouble with anxiety, panic, worry, has a deep and very complex problem that requires a very intelligent physician maybe to look for physical causes for this condition or maybe an intelligent psychologist is needed to be able to look for the very complicated thoughts that lead to this problem. And then there should be a very complicated and very all-encompassing diagnosis that can help this person deal with his or her worry and anxiety. But the Word of God here is saying, that although there might be a place for those other things, if someone comes along and says, now, here's what you need to do to deal with anxiety and worry, you need to deal with it from a physical point of view, and you need to deal with it from a psychological point of view, and it's not dealt with from a spiritual point of view as sin, the Word of God says that's superficial. That's not getting down to the real root of the problem. Worry, the Word of God says, the turmoil of heart and mind about life is sin. It's sin. That's how the text addresses us tonight when it says, be careful for nothing. And the text is saying to everyone here tonight then, this is something you as a sinner are prone to. Men, don't look at your wives or the women of the congregation and maybe with a shrug of the shoulders and a lighthearted attitude say, well, that's really their problem. It's not our problem. No, this is a sinful problem for men And the young people and the children of the congregation must not have the attitude, well, that's for those who have lived longer, those who are older, those who have experienced more of life. They're prone to worry and anxiety. No. No, the children and the young people struggle with the wrong response to the problems of life too. The rich, the healthy may not say this is a problem for the sick and the poor. When God in His Word says this is a sin, He's saying this is something that we are all prone to. And the Apostle is saying here now, that this is a problem because there are many things. In fact, there's an unlimited number of things about which we as men and women and young people and children might be worried about. You notice that he's not specific here. He doesn't say, be careful now, be not careful for this, and don't worry about that, and don't worry about this thing. But he's very general here. There are so many, many things that we as sinners are prone to become worried about. You can become worried about yourself, your own life, your own health, your own job, your own circumstances and possessions. You can become worried about others. You can become worried about your children. And as children, you can become worried about your parents. You can worry about the church. You can worry about the state of the world, what's going on in the realm of politics, in the realm of the economy. And if you're not worried about the past or the present, which you could be worried about, But even if things are going well for you in the present and have been going well for you for some time now, all you need to do is think about the future. It's very easy to become worried for the mind to race and the heart to beat rapidly. In verse 7, is digging into the heart and the mind of man. The Apostle is recognizing this is the reality of the world in which I live and in which you with me as members of the church live. It's a world filled with many evils and problems. But the Apostle is saying, but here's really the root of the problem. It's within us. He speaks of this as peace. for your hearts and your minds, that they have the peace of God in them through Jesus Christ. But now here's the opposite of that. Hearts and minds that are fallen and sinful and therefore respond sinfully to the things that happen in life. The Apostle is saying, This is what comes natural to the sinner. Worry is unavoidable. Now that's important for us to recognize tonight because it means that we need to be sympathetic to those who struggle with worry. There may be a stigma, you know that. that those who struggle with worry and anxiety carry around when they think of themselves. There's something wrong with me. There's something that makes me spiritually less worthy so that I don't measure up to others because I struggle with this worry and anxiety. Or maybe it's others in the congregation who have a tendency to do this, to apply that stigma to others in the congregation. Well, I don't struggle with that kind of anxiety. I'm not a worrywart. That woman, man must have something really wrong with him. That person's not quite the kind of Christian I am because I don't struggle with worry. No, worry is a sin to which we are all prone. And as we are sympathetic with the sin, other sins of other people, so we need to be sympathetic when we deal with this sin. And here's the point. God in the text is saying. I'm sympathetic. What a comfort that is to anyone here tonight who's struggling with anxiety and struggling with the circumstances of life right now. Maybe your family members don't understand you. Maybe your friends don't understand you. Maybe the others in the church even are seemingly putting you down and insulting you because they don't understand what you're going through. God comes here and He says, I know. I recognize your worry and I come to bring you help." And what a beautiful thing it is here to understand that worry is not normal for God. And that when God created the world in the beginning, there was no need for worry because He created everything good Worry and anxiety is not a part of the original creation. There were no evils that befell man in the beginning. And then too, Adam and Eve had upright hearts and minds. They trusted completely in God. Worry was not part of their life. And so now, this is what the apostles are revealing here. The good news that in God's redeeming work through Jesus Christ, He says, I deliver you from worry and anxiety. And you can hear that tonight, can't you? As you think about this text and you compare it to Matthew chapter 6, where the Lord Jesus Christ uses the same word And He says, take no thought or take no care. Don't worry about what you're going to wear. Don't worry about what you're going to eat or drink. Don't worry about tomorrow. The Lord Jesus Christ could come and say, I am the Son of Man. I've come to bring salvation. And this is the good news. I bring salvation from worry and care. And so God, says to his people who are redeemed through the blood of Jesus Christ and renewed in his image by his Holy Spirit, you put away worry. This is not normal for you. What's normal for you is that you don't worry. Oh, yes. It's normal for people who are outside of Christ. It's normal for people who do not know salvation from God. Normal for people who live in this evil world and only have their sinful, evil hearts and minds and don't know God. Yes, they will worry and be anxious. But God says, Not you, my people. Don't worry. Well, now then you can see what the problem is when we worry. Our problem is not merely that bad things happen to us. How many of you don't respond that way to the text tonight? Well, God could surely make things a lot easier for me in obeying this command, not worrying about anything, if He would take all of the things out of my life that cause me worry. If there was nothing to be careful about, I would be careful for nothing. But no, that's not really the cause of worry, that there are many things that happen in our lives that are evils, that are bad. Nor is the cause of worry this, that these things happen and I can't control them. That too might be what you might respond and answer to the question, what causes you to worry? Well, first of all, it's that bad things happen to me. And then secondly, it's that I don't have control over these things. And that makes me worry because I can't stop them. I can't do anything to change the circumstances of my life. What will happen to the economy? What will happen to my job, my business? What will happen to my family, to the church? These things are out of my control. If only I could control them, then I wouldn't worry. But don't you see what God is saying? No. What you need is not to be able to escape all of the bad things of life. And what you need is not to be in control over everything that happens in your life. What you need is to know that I am God. And that I'm your God for Jesus' sake. And what you need to do is trust me. And you see, when you worry, when I worry, that's really what it is. There's the sin. I'm not looking to God. I'm not seeing Him as the God who created all things and who has all power over all things. I'm not really trusting His wisdom or His goodness towards me, that He has controlled this in all things in my life for my good. I'm not really trusting that He loves me. No. I think that I need to have control for myself. I trust me. You see, that's normal to be expected of a fallen, unbelieving sinner apart from Christ. You say to an unbelieving man, do you have worry in your life? And he will say to you, if he is honest, of course I do. And you say to him, why do you have worry in your life and anxiety? And he will say, because there are so many things out of my control. And it appears to me that they're out of everyone's control. You say to that man then, what hope do you have? And what will you do when cancer comes? What will you do when there is a very terrible report concerning someone in your family? What will you do if you lose your job? And what will you do when you think of the future and you see so many potential problems and no answers to them? That man is going to say, if he's honest, I worry. I wring my hands. I lose sleep at night. My heart races. My mind races too. But then you say to that man, but what do you do with your worry? And if he's honest, he's going to say, nothing. I've got nothing to do with it. Oh, sometimes I'll say something like this, don't worry, be happy. Or sometimes I will pretend that on Friday when the work week is over and I have some freedom for some leisure time that I can forget my worries. Maybe when I sit on a beach and I have a drink in my hand, maybe when I have something else that can alter my mind, alcohol or drugs, for a little while I can forget these things by putting them out of my mind. But it doesn't really fix anything. My problems are still my problems. I can't fix them and I don't know anybody who can. Well, God has the answer for his people. You have something and someone you can turn to. when the cancer comes, when your child falls ill or is injured or killed in a car crash, when you lose your job, your money, your possessions, when you're concerned about the past, the present, or the future. You have a God that you can turn to. This is what God is saying here in the text. This is the doctrine that we need to understand. You need to know Me. You don't need your circumstances to change. You don't need to be given any control or power over your circumstances. You need to be able to sing what we sang earlier. God is my portion. He's my delight. And when I look at my life, And I look at all that's happening in the world and my circumstances. I can see them in the light of God. In the light of His power and His love for me. And that all these things are working for good. But now the Apostle becomes very practical for you and me tonight and says, and this is how you deal with your worry. And come to know God in your life. Through prayer. Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Worry needs to be combated with something. Worry needs to be replaced with something. And hear the apostle that way tonight. He's saying there's one thing that will help you defeat the worry, and there's one thing that will help you replace it so that the worry is gone. And that's prayer. Don't focus only on getting rid of the worry and the anxiety. That's what the unbelievers do. That's what they're left as the only option. Let me try to escape my worries. But they don't escape them in that way. And don't try to replace your worries with anything else. Don't think, well, this is what's going to replace my worries. Entertainment, television, movies, drugs, alcohol, any of those things, or even therapy or exercise. Don't think that you're going to be able to replace your anxiety even simply by going to your parents or an elder or a pastor, which are all good things to do. But God is saying, if you want to drive worry out of your heart and mind, you need prayer. You need prayer. This is where we need to be honest in examining ourselves. Is there a physical side to our anxiety? That may very well be. Is there a psychological side or component to our anxiety? That may very well be too. But are we willing to be humble? To admit that there's also the spiritual component. That it's sin. and that it's my lack of trust in faith in God, and that I'm not expressing that in prayer. Worry goes away by prayer. If God uses a therapist, a minister such as Reverend Van Overloop, or another member of your family or congregation to help you with your worry. Thank God for that. But then remember that the Apostle is laying his finger on the most important thing, that you develop your relationship with your God in prayer. Prayer. He speaks of prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. This is what's going to help you. Prayer. Talking to God. Talking to God as God. That's what prayer is. Prayer is us going to Him, recognizing that He is God, and that we have need of Him. Why do you go to God in prayer? Why don't you go to anyone else in your time of need? Because you are confessing about God. Thou art God. able to help me. But then there's this too. The thought always goes along with that, that we have the right to pray to God because we are His children. Prayer is a covenant activity. It is the activity of God's friends seeking Him in prayer, saying, I have the right. to go to Thee because Thou art my God and my Father." And then, if we have that understanding, we make our supplications, our requests to God. Bringing to Him in prayer our circumstances. Pouring out to Him in prayer the needs of our hearts and our minds. Telling Him about our concerns for the present and the future. for this reason. Not so that we can inform God and then try to change God's mind about our lives. No. We go to God in prayer So that we will see the trouble with our own weakness and sins. See that we need to change our minds and our understanding about things. So that we will learn to see everything in the perspective of who God is. Making our request knowing He knows what we need. that He is in control of our lives, and that He does all things for our good. And then seeing that God is the sovereign God, seeing that He is the one who controls everything in our lives, We put away our anxieties and even our complaints. And then the apostle drives home the power of prayer to help us overcome anxiety when he adds this, now, give thanks. Bring prayers, requests, and thanks to God. What an important practical thing the Apostle is instructing members of the church to do. Do you have a tendency, he's saying, to think about all of the things that are going wrong in your life? Do you have a tendency to think about all of the things that you're not happy about? Well, now you need to start doing this. Think about and point to the things that God has done for which you must be thankful. Look at the good things. And then you will begin to overcome your worry and anxiety. I once heard a man who was a good father say something like this to his children when they wanted to complain and talk about all that was wrong. You need now to give thanks. And he said to his children, if you're giving thanks to God, well then you won't be able to complain. I think that's something like what the Apostle Paul is doing here for us. He's saying, if you think about all of the good things that God has done for you in Jesus Christ, all of the good things He's done for the church, if you think about how He has delivered you from the bondage of sin and given you eternal life, and think about the hope that you have in Jesus Christ, and all of the reasons that you have to give thanks, well, Won't you start to begin to feel a little bit embarrassed and foolish in thinking about all of these things that you're worried about? Give thanks. Start looking in your life as men and women and children. When you start to become anxious, your heart starts to beat. and your mind starts to race. What are all of the good things that God has done for me in Christ Jesus? And then in prayer, making requests and thanksgiving. God will drive away your anxiety and give you joy and peace. Verse 7 speaks of that peace. And the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. What is peace? Oh, beloved congregation, do you see what the Apostle is saying? This peace of God is beyond our understanding. We can't really describe this peace. This is the peace of God in heaven. Eternal, everlasting, heavenly peace. Eye hath not seen this yet. And ear hasn't really heard this yet. This hasn't really entered into the heart of man to conceive this yet. We won't understand this until we get to heaven. And yet the Apostle is saying, God works this peace into your hearts through prayer and through His word. So consider this tonight. God is the God of perfect peace who is undisturbed by any sorrow or worry or care. He's undisturbed by all that Satan is doing, by all that the wicked world is doing to attack His kingdom and cause. Is God frantic? Is He worried? Is He wringing His hands because of what the wicked are doing? No. They're the ones who are panicking. They are the ones who are in turmoil. They are the ones who know that their days are numbered. They are the ones who know that from eternity, God has planned to create them, to govern them, to use them, to destroy them and bring glory to His name. God is at rest as He sees. the coming about of their destruction. But then now think about your life and the life of God's people too. This will give you peace. You're so easily disturbed. By what? Maybe by sin? by your guilt, your consciences accusing you, and you begin, because God has given you a spiritual sensitivity to sin, to wonder, is my sin going to bring me to hell? Is God going to separate Himself because of my sin? Will I be destroyed because of my sin? And we wrestle and worry about those kinds of thoughts, and God sits in heaven. And He sees us in Jesus Christ. And He's perfectly at peace and confident of our salvation because of His death on the cross. But then what about the circumstances of your life? The Bible speaks of the fires. and the waters, the floods, and you read Isaiah, and Isaiah puts his finger on this. Sometimes we as the people of God think these things will destroy us. This fire is going to burn me. This water is going to drown me. This trouble that I have in my life tonight, this struggle that I have in my family, It's going to hurt me forever. God sits in heaven and He is undisturbed. Those things can only work for your eternal weight of glory. I planned them. I sent them. I controlled them. And they're bringing you and preparing you, shaping you for heaven. And God says that to you and me in His Word. And He puts that knowledge into our hearts. And He guards it through Jesus Christ. And He says, be at peace. Yes, you can overcome worry and have peace. You don't need to worry about your sin and your guilt. You don't need to worry about your sickness or your health, your present or your future. You don't need to worry about your children or the church. Pray to God. leave behind all of the circumstances of this life. Enter into His throne room of grace. Bring Him your prayers with thanksgiving. He will give you peace. Amen. Father in heaven, grant that we may have the peace of Jesus Christ tonight. that we may be worried about nothing because we recognize we have nothing to be worried about because of what Thou hast planned, because of what Thou hast done, and because of what Thou hast promised to do for us and all Thy sinners in Christ Jesus. So, Lord, draw us to Thee by means of prayer. and help us to direct each other to Thee, so that in our life's sorrows and troubles, we may never seek to find solutions without Thee. In Thee, we have our peace. We pray, giving Thee thanks for Jesus' sake. Amen.