You're Never Alone Sermon

Spiritual Growth 101: Prayer

Story: I used to always worry… I always had a lot of questions. And a lot of anxiety about the unknown.

How many of you know that anxiety doesn’t just affect you mentally, but physically as well. I’m convinced that if there’s one area in our lives that we could all improve on, it’s in the area of worry.

Title: You’re Never Alone

Passage: Philippians 4:4-9

“4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your graciousness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Don’t worry about anything (greek is medeis, meaning nothing), but in everything (Greek is pas, meaning every & all), through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable—if there is any moral excellence and if there is anything praiseworthy—dwell (greek is logizomai, meaning to consider, think, or meditate) on these things. 9 Do what you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.”

Pray: (Pause 3-5 seconds)

Background: Paul is writing this letter to the church at Philippi. Paul and his friends started this church on his second missionary journey. This was the first church established on the European continent. The church sent a gift with Epaphroditus to be delivered to Paul. Paul was in prison at the time. This letter is Paul thanking them for their generosity and encouraging them in the faith.

Main Points: 3 practical ways to live out the text

1. Celebrate God and be kind to others (4)

   1. Paul is writing this letter from prison. I think there could be several reasons as to why Paul encourages the church to rejoice, be joyful or to celebrate God.

      1. First, I believe it’s because he was speaking to a people that needed to be reminded of this truth. How many would say we need to be reminded of this truth as well? One 1999 study estimated that anxiety disorders made up about a third of the nation’s mental-health bill.

      2. Second, I believe that Paul is wanting to get the point across that our circumstances do not determine our attitude. Paul is saying that even in prison I rejoice! Rejoice in the Lord always! I’ll say it again… REJOICE! Our circumstances change daily, often times really high and really low all in the same day, but our God is never changing. He’s faithful and He’s worthy of our praise this minute, the next minute, the next hour, the next day, and for all eternity!

         2. Celebrating God and being kind to others is a good reminder in every season that it’s not about us. Celebrating God in every season is saying “I may not be in the best health right now, but God you are good!” “I may not have clarity for tomorrow, but God you are faithful!” “I may not understand why I’m in all this pain, but God you are a loving Father!”

      3. Rejoice in the Lord always! And being kind to others is saying “I may not be having the best day, but I’m going to smile at my waitress and leave a big tip.” “I have just received some bad news, but I’m not going to take it out on my kids.” “My boss may have just chewed me out, but I’m going to kill him with kindness.” WHY?! Because it’s not about me!

         3. Nothing sets the atmosphere better in God’s house than the praises of His people. It’s not the lights, it’s not the room…. it’s the lifting of our hands, lifting of our voices, and singing of the glory of God. I believe the same is true of our hearts.

      4. I believe the praise of God’s people sets the atmosphere in our hearts of surrender and gratitude. It takes our eyes off the temporary and focuses on the eternal. It takes our affections off of the material, and sets our affections on the supernatural.

      5. God inhabits the praises of His people. He’s near. He’s present. It’s not that He wasn’t near before, but now you’re leaning into His presence with intentionality and focus.
         4. The Joy of the Lord is my strength. AMEN?!
      6. More prayer, more peace (5-7)

   2. Paul’s instruction turns us from anxious worry’ers to prayerful warriors.

   3. Question: How is it possible to not worry about anything?

   4. Does He have your attention?

      1. What you pay attention to is what will stir your affection. We live in a fast paced, competitive, and aggressive environment. There’s nothing wrong with all of those things, but it can cause our attention to come off of the most important things.
      2. In our routines, in our habits, in the morning, laying down at night, does he have our attention, does he have our affections? Are we being intentional to create space in our day to talk to God.

      3. Illust: Neriah saying my name 25 times in a row.

         1. God is never too busy. He is always right there, and ready to listen and speak back. 4. Question: Are we too busy to pray? We’re not too busy to worry! We’re not too busy to stress. We’re not too busy to talk about our problems with our friends.

            4. Does He have your trust?
               1. “casting all your cares on him, because he cares about you.” - 1 Peter 5:7
               2. Illust: Jess trying to get ahold of me and calling me 6 times.
               3. How do I know that He’s going to be there?! How do I know he’s going to hear my cry?

         2. “O God, listen to my cry! Hear my prayer! From the ends of the earth, I cry to you for help when my heart is overwhelmed. Lead me to the towering rock of safety, for you are my safe refuge, a fortress where my enemies cannot reach me. Let me live forever in your sanctuary, safe beneath the shelter of your wings!” - Psalm 61:1-4

         3. “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” - Psalm 34:18

         4. “The Lord is close to all who call on him, yes, to all who call on him in truth.” - Psalm 145:18 NLT 4. Think about the things that you are anxious about on a regular basis, then ask yourself this question, Do I trust God with that?

         5. Much of our anxiety, not all (recognize that chemical imbalance and anxiety disorders are a real thing), is tied to our level of trust in the Father. And when it is more than that, getting help is not a lack of faith.

         6. It is as if God says, “You’re staying up worrying about something that I’ve already worked out.”
            5. Does He have your worship?
               1. Anxiety drives you to worship the problem, prayer reminds you that God is in control and it drives you to worship Him.
               2. “And let the peace of Christ, to which you were also called in one body, rule your hearts. And be thankful.” - Colossians 3:15
               3. Peace is not a feeling, it’s a person. You cannot separate peace and God. He is the essence of peace. It’s His very nature. It’s who He is.
               4. Look back at the verse “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” A feeling doesn’t stand guard, a person stands guard! And His name is Jesus.
            6. Pray with words not eloquence. It’s not that some of you aren’t good at praying, it’s just that you need to spend more time talking to God.
         7. Check the input (8-9)

   5. Illust: Trying to hook up the projector at Pinewood

   6. You are what you think about. Or with Jesus, you are who you think about.
   7. God’s not calling us to a deeper sense of isolation, he’s calling us to a more intimate communion with Himself.
      1. “You will keep the mind that is dependent on you in perfect peace, for it is trusting in you.” - Isaiah 26:3
      2. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” - Psalm 139:23 NLT

Walking Points:

1. Be intentional in your prayers this week to give thanks to God and rejoice!
2. Every time you start to feel a sense of worry, stop, drop, and pray!

3. Meditate on the character and nature of God. Lean in to communion with the creator of the universe!

   1. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” - John 14:27

Invitation.

Let’s pray.

All these “things”

Romans 8:31-38

Matthew 6:33