Give Peace a Chance

Philippians 4:6-7

We all know the symptoms

-not eating or overeating

-not sleeping

-feeling like your stomach is doing a flippity-floppity

-an inability to concentrate

-irritability

We know the symptoms because most of us have been there...before

-taking your driver’s test, the ACT, or GRE

-speaking in public

-driving in heavy traffic in a strange city

-a job interview

-finding a pain or lump where there should be neither pain nor lumps

-a baby who won’t stop crying no matter what you do

-an appointment with a surgeon

-rain that won’t stop

-the phone ringing in the middle of the night

All of those can trigger varying levels of anxiety

-think about it—what has stressed you out this week?

--are you thrilled by the idea of Iran testing long-range missiles?

--are you hopeful about the war in Iraq and Afghanistan?

--are you excited about fuel prices in the future?

--will you be content with “just whomever” moves into the White

House in January?

As the saying goes: “If you are not worried, you obviously do not

grasp the gravity of the situation.”

-that’s the typical response to stress, isn’t it?

--if you are not worried about North Korea, you are either

uninformed or just plain crazy

--your friends will think you’re loony if you’re not anxious about

gas prices, food prices, or something

--as someone advised, “If you don’t know what to do, walk fast

and look worried.”

-we live in a world that is so out of whack in every conceivable

way and so it’s only logical that we should respond in kind, right?

Well...not exactly

-did you notice Jesus repeating Himself just a little in the Scripture

passage (Matthew 6:25-34) Tim read earlier?

--v. 25 à I tell you, do not worry...

--v. 27 à Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his

life?

--v. 28 à And why do you worry...?

--v. 31 à So do not worry...

--v. 34 à Therefore do not worry about tomorrow...

Specifically, Jesus commands us not to worry about our life, food,

drink, our bodies, clothes, death, or tomorrow

-and all this coming from a homeless man who never knew where

He would spend the night...never knew where His next meal

would come from

-how can Jesus tell His disciples that they will be dragged into

court for their faith and threatened with their lives, but then

command them, “Do not worry...”?

-how can Jesus tell Martha—who’s only trying to provide a clean

house and a nice meal for her 13 guests—that she’s too worried

and bothered when she’s only trying to get a little help?

-and this barely scratches the surface of the number of times Jesus

commands us not to fear...like in Luke 12:4 when He says à I

tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body...

--you know, I’ve thought a lot about this command...and I think

I’ve concluded that if I were there I probably would have

interrupted, “Uh, Jesus, those are exactly who I’m afraid of!”

---of course, the irony of all of that is when Jesus Himself

faced those who could and eventually would kill His

body, Jesus Himself was never afraid

-what’s the difference between Him and, say, those of us who’ve

managed to turn worry into a hobby?

Let’s seek the answer to that important question by reading our text

-Read Philippians 4:6-7

Paul has the nerve to imitate Jesus’ words and give us another

unambiguous command—a command, not a suggestion, not a

helpful hint to find inner peace—Do not be anxious about anything

-anything!

--not your daughter going off to college

--not your parents’ shaky marriage

--not the questionable sufficiency of your retirement savings

--nothing—absolutely, without any doubt—nothing

-it’s as if God’s inspired Paul to put a big, ol’, red, 8-sided, pop-up

STOP sign on this page in our Bibles

--Stop being anxious

---you know what that means, don’t you?

---you’re not going to like it much, but it means that being

anxious is a sin...always

----the tough thing about this for me is that I can’t even

worry about you getting upset with me

----of course, if you have a problem with this command

you’ll need to take it up with God

-----this isn’t a matter of interpretation—this is

about as clear as they come

So am I really saying that worrying is a sin?

-well, technically I’m not saying it, God is...I’m just agreeing with Him

(which, I’ve discovered, is a pretty good overall strategy for life)

Why is worry or anxiety such a big deal?

-well, we know from Matthew 6 that worrying is totally useless

--remember, worrying can’t add a single hour to your life...so

worrying about catching some rare disease isn’t going to help

you—in fact, worrying actually decreases your life expectancy

---so even at its best, worrying is a waste of time

-but Paul and Jesus are claiming that worrying is sin...as in, the-

wages-of-sin-is-death kinda’ sin

--how in the world can something that is so common, so socially

acceptable, and apparently so harmless be so sinful?

First, like it or not, worrying is a sin simply because God says it is

-because the Bible reveals it’s God’s expressed will for us not to

worry, when we do worry we break His command...and that in

itself is one of the most straightforward ways of defining what sin is

--so if God had declared jumping on one foot to be a sin, then if

you jumped on one foot you would be committing a sin

-do you know why that sounds a lot like the parental line, “Because

I said so, that’s why”?

--it sounds a lot like it because it is exactly like it

---because God is God, and because He is sovereign

(meaning, He’s in charge), He makes the rules

----so while you can say, “I don’t see what the big deal is

about sex outside of marriage...or what’s wrong with

a little pride or gluttony...or why I can’t gossip a little”

----but in the end it really doesn’t matter what you and I

think...God makes the rules and He judges us when

we break His rules...that’s why He is God and I am

not (and neither are you)

But if you go back to Matthew 6, you’ll get the gist of the problem

-“Don’t worry,” Jesus says...but why?

--because if you worry then you cannot be...what? trusting God

---and failing to trust God in any circumstance for any reason is

always sin

---failing to trust God means you’re not recognizing Him as God

----and that’s a bad thing...it means you’re saying that God is

incapable of handling the situation...it means you’re

saying that God doesn’t care enough...it means you’re

saying that God doesn’t love you...it means you’re

saying that God isn’t faithful, that He doesn’t keep His

Word...and that is some pretty shaky ground...and it’s

dangerous, deadly ground...because it’s sinful ground

Think about it this way

-has someone ever asked you to do something, but then they

constantly are bugging you about it...griping about all the things

you’re doing wrong...telling you how to do it better—in other

words, how to do it their way

--and it doesn’t take you very long to figure out that they don’t

trust you to do it...they put on a good show by asking you to

do it, but in the end they try to do it themselves

-gee, don’t you think that’s exactly what we do with God?

--“God, take my life. Lead me. Make me into who You want me

to be.”

---and everything starts out well as long as life is good and

fun...but as soon as His plans start to go a different

direction from yours...or when He dares to use suffering

and difficulties to transform you into the image of Christ

—you cry, “No fair!” and you immediately re-take control

of your life

--and that’s when you realize that the surrendered life isn’t always

what you thought it would be...because God does use tough

times to teach you to depend on Him instead of worry

---read the stories of the heroes of the faith...I guarantee you

they spend far more time in the dark valleys of life than

they do on any elusive mountaintop

But God gives us a genuine alternative to anxiety

-go back to Philippians 4:6 à Do not be anxious about anything,

but (and here’s the choice we have) in everything

--do you hear that contrast?

-in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present

your requests to God.

--instead of worrying about anything, we should be praying about

everything

---petition is the act of presenting our needs to God...turning

them over to Him completely

---thanksgiving is the act of recognizing how God has proven

Himself faithful throughout your life...it not only honors

God, but He uses it to encourage and strengthen you

And then v.7 makes an almost unbelievable promise: Read

-God promises you His peace...a peace that is so amazing that it’s

impossible to understand

Let me read to you a picture of that perfect peace

Read Mark 4:35-40

The world around us is crying out in fear: “We’re dying! Somebody,

everybody do something! Bail water! Worry! Stress out!”...and all

the while Jesus is in the back of the boat...sleeping like a child who

is resting securely in His Father’s infinitely strong arms

God’s not calling us to be apathetic or passive, He’s calling us to trust

-trust His faithfulness

-trust His promises

-trust His word...be still for a moment...listen...and be encouraged

Cast all your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you

When I said, “My foot is slipping,” Your love, O Lord, supported me. When anxiety was great within me, Your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Cast your cares on the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous fall...[therefore] as for me, I trust in [Him].

Why do you say...and complain...“My way is hidden from the Lord, my cause is disregarded by my God” Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. So do not fear for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.

If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

1 Peter 5:7, Psalm 94:18-19; 55:22-23, Isaiah 40:27-31; 41:10;

43:1b-3a, Romans 8:31b-32, 35, 37-39