Study the Word

Guest (Male): Pastor Tom Keller on what we so often do when we’re facing problems.

Pastor Tom Keller: Remember this: In our human nature, we tend to gaze at our problems and only occasionally glance at God. We need to train ourselves to reverse that process. When we have problems, we need to gaze at God—keep your eyes on Jesus—and glance at our problems.

Guest (Male): It’s said that worry is a wrong use of our imagination. And to make matters worse, some of us have really great imaginations. Worry and its cousin fear are a common and growing problem, but not without a remedy. That remedy is found in Philippians Chapter 4, and we’ll hear all about it on today’s Study the Word. Here now with today’s message is our teacher, Pastor Tom Keller.

Pastor Tom Keller: We are in the book of Philippians, Chapter 4. The title of today’s message is "How to Win Over Worry." As I was preparing, I wondered if there is ever any situation where fear actually might be helpful, where worry could be a good thing. And I found one. If you ever have a really bad cough, take two doses of laxatives; then you’ll be afraid to cough. There, fear helps, but not much anywhere else.

As an example, it’s been estimated that 85 percent of all illnesses are psychosomatic, meaning that they’ve been enabled by fear, worry, anxiety, etc. 85 percent. So let’s take a look at the Word. Our passage is Philippians 4:6: "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus."

"And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about the things that are excellent and worthy of praise. Keep putting into practice all you’ve learned and received from me, everything you heard from me and saw me doing. Then the God of peace will be with you." Starting with verse six: "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done."

Don’t worry about anything. May I ask you to raise your hand? How many of you worry from time to time about something once in a while? Wow, this is the right crowd. We’re at the right place. I appreciate your honesty. So let’s take a good hard look at worry today, which I hope doesn't worry you.

Notice the first three steps that are given here in how to conquer worry. We’re told three things. Number one, we're told what not to do. Secondly, we’re told what to do. And number three, we're told that if you comply with one and two, then what God will do. First on the list is what we’re not to do. Verse six says, "Don’t worry about anything. Anything." Now, that’s a tall order.

People will say, "Yeah, I worry, but is worry really a sin?" I mean, it’s not like it’s hatred, or murder, or lust, or envy. It’s just worry. Well, let’s settle this right here and now. Worry is a sin, and it’s a sin that makes us unstable in all our ways. James 1:8: "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."

See, Romans 8:28 says this: "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose." That’s what the Bible says. But worry says this is not true; God’s word cannot be trusted. Mark 7:37 says this: "And they were astonished beyond measure, saying, 'He has done all things well.'" But worry says this is not true; God cannot be trusted.

Philippians 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Yet worry says this is not true; God’s word cannot be trusted. Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." But worry says that’s not true; God cannot be trusted. Hebrews 13:5 says, "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" Yet worry says this is not true; God’s word cannot be trusted.

If you think about it, worry is the ultimate hypocrisy for a Christian because the believer who worries professes faith in God and yet at the same time questions and doubts the truths of God’s promises. Again, it makes us double-minded, which has a profound effect in that it makes us unstable in all our ways. Huge impact in our life. Again, James 1:8: "He is double-minded. A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways."

And worry is also a sin because through the consequences of worry, we damage and even destroy the temple of God, which is your body. 1 Corinthians 6:19 says, "Don’t you realize that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself." God owns your body. We’re to take care of it.

And yet we know that anxiety disorders affect 31 percent of Americans sometime during their lifetime and 18 percent at any given time. And as far as worrying affecting the temple of God—your body—people with anxiety disorders are three to five times more likely to go to the doctor and six times more likely to be hospitalized. In a survey of 1,044 women, 56 percent of the women reported exhibiting anxiety symptoms and worry for longer than six months. 56 percent.

As you know, COVID has not helped this. As a result, a recent survey said that in 2020, 60 percent of Americans said that their mental health had been negatively affected. So practically, how does the Bible tell us to deal with worry? Well, the verses leading up to our verse on worry point the way. Earlier, 4:4: "Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice. Rejoice."

From John Edmund Haggai’s book entitled *How to Win Over Worry*, he says this: "The majority of chronic worriers think of happiness as something that happens to them, like the sun coming out after a rainstorm. So they make the mistake of being passive, waiting until their circumstances change. Of course, there's nothing wrong with changing difficult circumstances yourself if you have the option to do so. But happiness is not a state of becoming; it is a state of being. You don't acquire happiness; you assume, you appropriate, you seize after happiness."

Again, Philippians 4:4: "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice." In the Greek here, it’s written in the imperative, which means that Paul isn't making a helpful suggestion. He—or God, really—is giving a command. It’s a command to rejoice in the Lord always, and in case you didn’t catch it the first time, he adds, "And again I say rejoice." A command.

How do you rejoice in difficult circumstances? The Bible says the answer is really pretty basic: You throw the rejoice switch on when you praise. And you know how worry and praise are like darkness and light? Just as light by its very nature extinguishes darkness, in the same way, praise extinguishes worry. You cannot praise God and doubt God at the same time. You cannot praise God and worry at the same time. You cannot praise God and bellyache at the same time.

Psalm 34:1 says David: "I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak of His praises." If you’ve been a student of Psalms, you know this is David’s MO. I’ve said this before, but after reading Psalms for many years, I've come to the conclusion that David in the book of Psalms is constantly talking about three different timeframes: past, present, and future.

And every time he talks about the past, all he says is, "God was faithful in my past, every day, always. He was always faithful in the past." In the present, he tells God very raw and straight-up what’s going on: "I’m depressed, I’m scared, I’m terrified, I’m delighted, I’m praising You." Wherever he is, he shares his raw, real emotions; he doesn't disguise it or hide it or minimize it from God. He tells Him.

But then when he talks about the future, he always says the same thing: "But I know You will be faithful. I know You will be faithful." That’s the lesson from the book of Psalms, folks. He has always been. It looks bad right now, but I know He will be. That is the book of Psalms. That was David's MO. Because remember, worry is a sin. And if that’s true, then there is no condition, there is no circumstance that can justify worrying, because there can be no justification for sin.

Just as worry is a sin, praise is the antidote to worry. We think in our natural mind that when things are good, that’s when we should praise God. When things are bad, that’s when we should pray. Now, we should do both all the time. But in reality, the greater weapon against fear is praise. Against worry is praise. When things are bad, praise God, as David did: "For I know You will be faithful on the other side of this." The enemy hates that. Can you think of anything that he would rather not see you do than when he throws something at you, you praise God? Oh, I think that makes him so mad. He’s trying to take you out, get you depressed, get you to doubt God. And when he throws it at you, you praise God. Oh, I love that.

The second step to conquering worry is found in Philippians 4:8: "And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise." And these verses follow right after God's command to us not to worry. Why? Because your thoughts, and your body, and your mind are linked.

And what Paul is saying here is, as you think, so you will feel. Proverbs 17:22 says, "A cheerful heart does good like medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones." Chapter earlier: "Pleasant words are like honeycomb, sweetness to the soul and health to the bones." So with that in mind, let’s look at verse eight again: "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—of good report—if there is any virtue, if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things."

Paul says "whatever things are of good report." To win over worry, you need to discipline yourselves to think on good things, not bad things—things that are noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report. I have a friend who called me recently, worried about the current events in this country and the world. He said that as he watches, as he follows a lot of newsfeeds, it’s depressing and even enraging. I suggested that he do a 60-day fast from the news. Are you surprised that it helped him?

And you know, maybe you need to do that too. For some of you, this aspect of the internet is not your friend—the Trojan horse that makes its way into your house to bring despondency and depression. Listen, what does Paul say in Philippians 4:8? "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, if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Whatever things are of good report. If there be any virtue, if there be anything praiseworthy, think on these things."

And remember, this solution in verse eight is directly connected to Paul’s caution in verse six not to worry. So the steps so far to defeat worry: Number one, acknowledge that worry is sin. And number two, when you’re tempted to sin, when you’re tempted to worry, do what? Praise. When you’re tempted to worry, praise. Number three, know that in order to win over worry, it matters what you think about, what you view, what you dig up on the internet.

And as far as specific issues you're dealing with that cause you anxiety, remember this: In our human nature, we tend to gaze at our problems and only occasionally glance at God. We need to train ourselves to reverse that process. When we have problems, we need to gaze at God—keep your eyes on Jesus—and glance at our problems.

If you think about it, why do we gaze at our problems anyway? Are we afraid they’re going to run away from us if we don't keep our eyes on them? I remember the story of a real estate broker from Dallas, Texas, during a downturn in the economy. A lot of problems, big brokerage house. And he said that he would go home and worry about these things. So he designed a tool to help him. He said, "Every day when I leave the office, I'd picture all my worries in the backseat of my car like Muppets. They’re all sitting back there, they’re all talking away about all the problems."

And he said there was this one vacant lot that I would pass on my way home. And he said, "Every day I'd stop the car, get out, open the back door, and I'd say, 'Out! All of you, get out! I'll pick you up in the morning, but I’m not taking you home.'" And that’s how he dealt with it. It was a practical way of getting rid of those things, not gazing at those problems. Discipline yourself to gaze at God and only glance at your problems.

And the next step to winning over worry is to count your many blessings. Some of you are young and maybe you still think this way. Well, when I was young, I thought that people who were happy were happy because they had an easy life. And those that looked unhappy had lived a difficult life. But you know, that is not the case. There are some very happy, contented people who, when you hear their stories, have had extremely difficult lives. Oh, I admire those people; they’re my heroes.

And conversely, there are some very unhappy malcontents who have had cushy, easy lives. Because the truth is, the truth is, happiness is much more about what you do with the hand of cards that you’ve been dealt with than what the hand is itself. There’s a famous story of a king who was so unhappy that he dispatched one of his men to go to try to find a happy man. The king ordered, "When you find a happy man, purchase his shirt and bring it back to me so that I might wear it so that I can be happy as well."

For years, the king’s emissary traveled in search, but he could not find one happy man. Finally, one day as he was walking in one of the poorest quarters of one of the poorest counties, he heard a man singing at the top of his lungs. He followed the sound and found a man plowing a field. He asked the man, "Are you happy?" The plowman replied, "I have never known a day of unhappiness." The king’s representative then told the plowman the purpose of his mission, that he was to purchase his shirt and bring it back to the king. The plowman laughed uproariously as he replied, "Why, man, I don’t own a shirt."

You know, we tend to take God’s blessings for granted, don’t we? It reminds me of this poem: "I had the blues because I had no shoes, until upon the street I met a man who had no feet." You know, I worked at a Lexus dealership when I went over there. I was 30 and they put me in charge of the dealership. It was a difficult time in the economy. And the man that I replaced was about 70 years old, 65, 70 years old. And that’s not easy to do, to be replaced in that fashion. He was so gracious to me, so kind. His name is John Farry. I love that man, amazing.

But he used to quote that little poem: "I had the blues because I had no shoes, until upon the street I met a man that had no feet." He quoted it all the time, and I thought, "That’s really a neat, positive quip." And then years later, I discovered that when he was late teens, early 20s, he was in a motorcycle accident and lost his leg. And he had a prosthesis from the knee down; I never knew it. So those words were not just words to him. It was an attitude; it was a way of life. It was a way of dealing with difficulties. "I had the blues because I had no shoes, until upon the street I met a man who had no feet." Count your blessings. Count your blessings.

Psalm 40:5 makes this point: "Oh Lord my God, You performed many wonders for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list; You have no equal. Listen, if I tried to recite all Your wonderful deeds, I would never come to an end of them." That’s David’s MO. And so when you are tempted to worry about something, discipline yourself to count your many blessings. Remember God’s faithfulness in the past.

You know, when Sue and I sit down with married couples who are struggling, many times at the close of what was a productive time together, we’ll end by asking them this question: "So what is it that originally attracted you to your husband, to your wife?" And they shift in their posture, and they get a little closer, and their countenance changes. They leave the problems here and now and mentally go back to their dating days. And they lighten up and they begin smiling and laughing, looking at each other, remembering those happy days in the beginning.

And you know, the same thing happens when you are struggling and you go back to better days and recount, remember God’s faithfulness to you then. Listen, here’s the truth. If you’re 40 years old, that means that so far you have lived 14,600 days. 14,600 days. And every single one of those 14,600 days, God has been faithful to you.

You say to me, "You don’t even know me. How can you say God has been faithful to you?" Can I tell you how? Here you are. You're here today. You’ve had enough food for 14,600 days. You’ve been sheltered for 14,600 days. You’ve survived all the illnesses that come upon you in 14,600 days. Here you are. So it is absolute folly for you to think, after that string of faithful days, that God will not be faithful to you again today. And King David echoes this thought in Psalm 37:25: "I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging for bread." Do you think you'll be the first?

So again, the steps to winning over worry are number one, acknowledge that worry is a sin. Number two, when you’re tempted to worry, do what? Praise. Number three, it matters what you think about. Number four, gaze at God and just glance at your problems. Number five, count your many blessings, name them one by one.

Guest (Male): We're going through Philippians one verse at a time on Study the Word with Pastor Tom Keller. You can hear this message again any time of the day or night online at ccleb.com or subscribe to our YouTube channel at Calvary Chapel Lebanon. If you'd rather have a CD copy, call us at 717-273-5633. Have you been helped by the ministry? Let us know that. It would be so encouraging to Pastor Tom and all of us at Study the Word. Give us a call at 717-273-5633 or write to Study the Word, 740 Willow Street, Lebanon, Pennsylvania, 17046. You can email us through the website as well at ccleb.com.

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