Sermons by Ken D. Trivette from the Living Word

The Book of Philippians
GOD'S ANSWER TO WORRY
Philippians 4:6-7

1. The artist, Chester Harding, was painting Daniel Boone's portrait when the old frontiersman was in his eighties. As he dipped his brush into the pallet, he asked, "Mr. Boone, have you ever been lost?" Boone thought for a moment and then replied, "No, I can't say I was ever lost, but I was bewildered once for three days."

2. I guess all of us have been bewildered a few times. There are those events and happenings in life that leave us filled with anxiety and cause us to worry. Margaret P. McCordie of the University of Wisconsin gave a list of what causes people to worry. She stated that 40 percent of our worries are over things that never happen, 30 percent of our worries are over things over and past that could not be changed by all the worry in the world, 10 percent are petty worries, and 12 percent are needless health worries. She also stated that only 8 percent of the things we worry about are real and legitimate worries. ("The Sins of the Saints" by Herbert Lockyer)

3. I find it very interesting that the things we worry about the most are things that never happen. Mark Twain made the observation, "I am an old man and have known my troubles, but most of them never happened." An unknown poet gave us these words:

He worried about the weather,
He worried about his health,
He worried about his business,
He worried about his wealth.
She worried about the children,
She worried about her clothes,
She worried about the neighbors,
She worried about her woes.

They worried about their taxes,
They worried about their pets,
They worried about their future,
They worried about their debts.
They worried, still they worried;
They worried, but alas,
They worried about a lot of things,
That did not come to pass.

4. Someone has said, "Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles, but robs today of its strength." Another has said, "Worry is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained." Still another has said, "Worry is the interest you pay on troubles that seldom come." Vance Havner said, "Worry, like a rocking chair, will give you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere."

5. The text before us deals with the subject of worry. Let's look at these two verses and see what is God's answer to worry. First, notice with me:

1. THE DESCRIPTION OF A TROUBLED HEART!

1. Paul said in verse 6, "Be careful for nothing." Notice the word "careful." When we think of being careful we think of exercising caution. The word as used in our text speaks of being anxious or worried. You could read Paul's statement, "Don't worry about anything."

2. What does it mean to worry? The Latin word for "worry" describes a turbulent force responsible for turmoil within. Worry is when the heart and mind are in turmoil.

3. The Greeks thought of worry as something that tears a man in two and drags him in opposite directions. It is like opposing forces at work to tear a man apart. Worry is being emotionally and mentally torn apart.

4. The Anglo-Saxons used the figure of an animal clutching its prey by the throat and strangling it. Worry is the choking of stifling of a calm and peaceful heart. Understanding what we mean by worry, think with me of:

A. The Consequences of Worry

1. All of the descriptions I have given you of worry suggest the injurious nature of worry and the consequences of worry in our life. For one thing, they describe how worry is physically destructive. Worry has physical consequences.

2. George Henderson writes, "Worry is one the most fatal of all transgressions. It is a sin against not one organ of the body, but against the body as a whole. It is a demon whose pressure is felt upon the heart, and there is not a capillary in any gland or tissue which does not shrink under the glance of its gloomy eyes. A man who worries is slowly draining the springs of life." ("Heaven's Cure for Earth's Care")

3. One of the most interesting books I have ever read is "None of These Diseases" by Dr. S.I. McMillen. In the book he has a lot to say about worry, anxiety, and stress. He describes how "carnal emotions and stress" play a large factor in cholesterol levels. In the chapter entitled, "Upset Mind--Sick Body" he describes how invisible emotional tension in the mind can produce striking visible changes in the body, changes that can become serious and fatal. He gives a list of things that anxiety and worry can cause physically:

4. He writes, "The office of a physician is filled with people suffering from nearly every disease in the book because their minds are beset by a thousand worries about their finances, their health, or their children."

5. Dr. Roy R. Grinker, of the Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago states that anxiety places more stress on the heart than any other stimulus, including physical exercise and fatigue. (Quoted in "None of These Diseases")

6. Worry is not only physically destructive, it is also spiritual depleting. Worry affects us in many ways spiritually. It weakens our desire for prayer and spending time in God's Word. It beclouds our spiritual vision. It takes us out of Christian service. It takes our eyes off God. It even hinders our worship. 

7. There is not only the consequences of worry, but think with me of:

B. The Condemnation of Worry

1. Sir Walter Scott, when about fifty-five, was saddled with a large debt. It caused him much distress and worry. His doctor said to him one day, "Sir Walter, if you do not cease worrying you will die." Scott looked up with a sad smile and said, "Why, doctor, as long as that debt is hanging over my head, I cannot help worrying. I know the worrying is killing me, but you might as well go and tell my cook to order the water in the kettle not to boil, as to command my brain not to worry."

2. Yet, as we look at our text we see that is exactly what God is telling us. He says, "Be careful for nothing." God is telling us not to worry about anything. Worry, on the part of a Christian, is being condemned.

3. As you read the Bible you find that the Lord Jesus condemned worry. Jesus said in Matthew 6:25, "Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put non. Is not life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?"

4. Herbert Lockyer writes: "We live in a troubled world, and worry seems to be the most natural thing to do. Any phase of worry is unnatural and certainly unchristian..." ("The Sins of the Saints")

5. When you understand the consequences of worry you understand the condemnation of worry. To put it very simply, "WE ARE NOT TO WORRY!" You say, "But I can't help but worry." As we look further at our text we see that Paul not only tells us not to worry but gives us God's answer for worry. Secondly we see:

2. THE DIRECTIONS FOR A TRUSTING HEART!

1. We read in verse 6, "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." Paul tells us not to worry about anything, but to pray about everything. Instead of worrying about things, pray about them.

2. The story of told of the celebrated Austrian composer, Franz Joseph Haydn. He was in the company of several distinguished quests. The conversation turned to the best means of restoring mental energies when exhausted with long and difficult studies. One person said that his recourse was to drink a bottle of wine. Another remarked that his solution was to involve himself in the company of others. But when Haydn was asked what he did, he replied that his practice was to retire to his study and engage in prayer.

3. God's answer to worry is prayer! Yet, it seems that prayer is the last thing we do when we are worried. Paul tells us that it should be the first and foremost thing we do when worried about something. Notice more carefully what he says about praying when we are worried. First, he says:

A. Take Your Worries To God

1. Paul said, "...in everything by prayer and supplication." The words that he uses speaks of presenting your needs to God. They speak of laying your petitions before God in prayer that He might meet those needs. We are to take our worries to God and tell God our worries.

2. The Psalmist said, "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved" (Psalm 55:22). 

3. In 2 Kings we read of a letter Hezekiah received telling him of the king of Assyria's threat. Yet we read in 2 Kings 19:14, "And Hezekiah received the letter of the hand of the messengers, and read it: and Hezekiah went up into the house of the LORD, and spread it out before the LORD." What id Hezekiah do when he received disturbing and distressing news? He prayed about it.

4. The songwriter put it this way:

Are you weary, are you heavy-hearted?
Tell it to Jesus, Tell it to Jesus;
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Tell it to Jesus, Tell it to Jesus,
He is a friend that's well known;
You have no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.

5. What is it that is worrying you? Is it physical, financial, marital, emotional, mental, or spiritual? Tell it to Jesus! Take your burdens to the Lord in prayer. Secondly, may I suggest that you:

B. Trust Your Worries With God

1. We also read in verse 6, "...with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." We can bring the things to God that worry us and we can come to God with thanksgiving leaving our worries with Him.

2. When we come to God, no matter what it is that concerns us, troubles us, and perplexes us, we can come with thanksgiving that He is available. We have a heavenly Father that we can go to with our worries. He is available. I think of the little poem:

Said the robin to the sparrow
"I should really like to know
Why these anxious human beings
Rush around and worry so."

Said the sparrow to the robin,
"Friend, I think that it must be
That they have no Heavenly Father
Such as cares for you and me."

3. We do have a Heavenly Father that cares and He is available. Furthermore, He is not only available, but He is also able. We can come to God with thanksgiving for we know that He is able to take care of whatever is worrying us.

4. Worry in a nutshell is you and me wondering what we are going to do. God's answer to worry is bringing those matters to God and leaving them with Him to let Him do with them what He wants to do.

5. A group of people stood on the Matterhorn admiring the scene. One of the group pulled out a pocket microscope and put under the glass a fly that he had caught. He explained to the group that the legs of the household fly in England were naked, and then called their attention to the legs of the fly he had caught. They were thickly covered in hair. He reminded the group that the same God Who made the lofty Swiss mountains attended to the comfort of His tiniest creatures, even providing socks and mittens for the little fly whose home these mountains were.

6. I remind you that if God would watch over and take care of a little fly on the Matterhorn, He will certainly take care of you. You can take your worries to God and trust your worries with God. Finally, as we think of God's answer to worry we see:

3. THE DELIGHT OF A TRANQUIL HEART!

1. Paul tells us what to do with our worries and then in verse 7 he speaks of the result of following those directions. He says, "And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Instead of anxiety, there is tranquility. Instead of being torn apart we are held together. Instead of perplexity there is peace.

2. The word "keep" describes a garrison of soldiers that are standing guard. God's peace is a guard from worry. When the peace of God fills our heart, it protects us from anxiety and worry.

3. Several years ago there was a submarine that was being tested and had to remain submerged for many hours. When it returned to the harbor, the captain asked, "How did the terrible storm affect you?" The officer in charge of the submarine looked at him and said, "Storm? What storm? We didn't know there was a storm." The sub had been so far below the surface that it had reached the area known to sailors as "the cushion of the sea." Even though the ocean above had been whipped into huge waves by the high winds, the water deep below was never stirred.

4. God's peace is a cushion in the midst of the storm. Even though there is much to worry a person, that person is not worried. Instead, there is a peace that has been given by God. How does this peace affect us? First, I think of how God's peace:

A. Reaches Us Emotionally

1. Paul stated that God's peace keep our "heart." The heart speaks of our emotions. Instead of being an emotional wreck, there is peace. Secondly, God's peace:

B. Reaches Us Mentally

1. Paul also said that God's peace keeps our heart and "minds." There are times when we think we are going to snap. Yet, God's peace is the answer.

2. I am sure you are familiar with the poem about the old lady that lived in a shoe. She had so many children that she did not know what to do. Someone has offered us this version of the poem:

There was a sad Christian
Who lived in a stew
She had so many troubles
Tho she knew what she should do.
She should cast them all on Jesus
And find sweet releif;
But she choose to worry,
And suffer much grief.

3. Joseph Scriven said it well in his great hymn, "What a Friend We Have In Jesus:"

O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer.

4. Paul said that we should not worry about anything. Instead, we should pray about everything. That is GOD'S ANSWER TO WORRY!