Note: I have used many notes and sermons to put this message together
Casting All Your Cares on Him
Philippians 4:4-9 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! (5) Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. (6) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; (7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (8) Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. (9) The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
Introduction
Billy Graham: Historians will probably call our era “the age of anxiety.” Anxiety is the natural result when our hopes are centered in anything short of God and His will for us.
—Billy Graham, 1965
We started this series on Anxiety discussing Be Anxious for Nothing. Looking at this passage from Paul here in Philippians. In our first message we talked about the importance of staying CALM.
Celebrate God’s Goodness
Perspective is the key:
OPEN: An elderly mountain farmer had been involved in an accident between his mule-drawn wagon and an car driven by another man. Now, the farmer was suing the driver, claiming personal injuries as a result of the accident.
When the farmer was on the stand, the attorney for the driver of the car "Tell me sir, isn’t it true that after the accident, you said that you never felt better in your life?"
"Well," the farmer began, "that morning I got up, hitched up my mule to the wagon, and put my hound dog in the seat beside me and I started on down the road…”
The lawyer interrupted "Please, just give me a simple yes or no answer to the question"
At this point the judge stepped in and directed the lawyer to let the farmer have his way in answering the question.
"Well," the farmer began again, "that morning I got up, hitched up my mule to the wagon, put my hound dog in the seat beside me and I started on down the road… and I jest got over the rise of the road when this big car barreled into my rear end. My mule was knocked to one side of the road, my dog to the other and I was pinned under the seat.
Directly, a policeman came along, seen my mule had its leg broke, pulled out his pistol and shot him dead. He went over to my dog, seen it was hurt real bad, and shot it in the head."
"Then, he came over to me and asked, ’Well, how are you feeling?’ and, shore nuff, I said I never felt better in my whole life."
Ask God for Help
Leave Your Concerns with the Lord
Meditate on the Good Things
After this we talked about Learning to Rejoice in the Lord always.
Paul gives us another phrase in this passage that I think will help us to deal with anxiety. When we feel anxiety coming on, and we will. When we are tempted to be stressed and we will look what he says in verse 7:
Philippians 4: (7) and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
MSG 7 Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life.
Paul here stresses the importance of getting this anxiety, anxiousness under control. This is to guard our hearts.
Importance of Guarding the Heart
Pro 4:23-27 Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life. (24) Put away from you a deceitful mouth, And put perverse lips far from you. (25) Let your eyes look straight ahead, And your eyelids look right before you. (26) Ponder the path of your feet, And let all your ways be established. (27) Do not turn to the right or the left; Remove your foot from evil.
Answer: Proverbs 4:23–26 instructs believers to, “above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Keep your mouth free of perversity; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you. Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.” When Solomon refers to guarding the heart, he really means the inner core of a person, the thoughts, feelings, desires, will, and choices that make that person who he/she is. The Bible tells us that our thoughts often dictate who we become (Proverbs 23:7; 27:19). The mind of a man reflects who he really is, not simply his actions or words. That is why God examines the heart of a man, not simply his outward appearance and what he appears to be (1 Samuel 16:7).
The opposite of anxiety is peace
1 Peter 5:5-9 NKJV Likewise you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for "God resists the proud, But gives grace to the humble." [29] (6) Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, (7) casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. (8) Be sober, be vigilant; because [30] your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (9) Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world.
Why guard your heart? This is necessary for at least three reasons: by Michael Hyatt
1. Because your heart is extremely valuable. We don’t guard worthless things. I take my garbage to the street every Wednesday night. It is picked up on Thursday morning. It sits on the sidewalk all night, completely unguarded. Why? Because it is worthless.
Not so with your heart. It is the essence of who you are. It is your authentic self—the core of your being. It is where all your dreams, your desires, and your passions live. It is that part of you that connects with God and other people.
Just like your physical body, if your heart—your spiritual heart—dies, your leadership dies. This is why Solomon says, “Above all else.” He doesn’t say, “If you get around to it” or “It would be nice if.” No, he says, make it your top priority.
2. Because your heart is the source of everything you do. King Solomon says it is the “wellspring of life.” In other words, it is the source of everything else in your life. Your heart overflows into thoughts, words, and actions.
In Tennessee, where I live, we have thousands and thousands of natural springs, where water flows to the surface of the earth from deep under the ground. It then accumulates in pools or runs off into creeks and streams.
If you plug up the spring, you stop the flow of water. If you poison the water, the flow becomes toxic. In either situation, you threaten life downstream. Everything depends on the condition of the spring.
Likewise, if your heart is unhealthy, it has an impact on everything else. It threatens your family, your friends, your ministry, your career, and, indeed, your legacy. It is, therefore, imperative that you guard it.
3. Because your heart is under constant attack. When Solomon says to guard your heart, he implies that you are living in a combat zone—one in which there are casualties.
Many of us are oblivious to the reality of this war. We have an enemy who is bent on our destruction. He not only opposes God, but he opposes everything that is aligned with Him—including us.
How to guard your heart
Humility is the key.
Council is another key. Don’t do it alone.
Proverbs 11:14 ESV / 19 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful
Where there is no guidance, a people falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.
Watch the short cuts.
Jesus temptation: turn stones into bread, bow down, jump off this mountain so people could see God” was all about short cuts.
Let the Word of God infiltrate your heart. Be careful what we put in our heart.
Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
