Let's take our Bibles and turn
with me to the book of Philippians chapter 4. Let's ask our Lord's
blessing. Our Father, as we come before
you this evening, we thank you for another time to pray, to
ask, to knock, and to seek. And we ask you, Lord, for your
blessing upon the preaching, upon the hearing. Have mercy
upon us tonight, we pray, remembering these, Lord, that we've mentioned.
Lord, you know. These things we ask for Christ's
sake. Amen. This message, I believe, has been born to my
heart especially because of beholding
the frailty of myself, my flesh. And over the past long time,
I'm sure, but it seemed like over the last week or so, finding
myself being anxious about things. Just concern is a wonderful thing,
you know, but when it becomes a situation of worry, anxiety,
I think the only comfort that we'll ever find, I know it is,
is in the Word of God. So this evening I want to just
speak for a few minutes before we observe our Lord's table. And I've entitled this message,
Worry and Anxiety. And what God has to say about
it. What the Lord has to say concerning comfort for it. And
I pray the Lord bless this to our hearts. I'll tell you for
a fact, I need it. Let's begin this evening here
in the book of Philippians. I started by contemplating, and
you can look at Philippians 3. I thought about what the Spirit
of God has to say concerning the marks of a believer. Now, this is a believer right
here. Philippians 3. The Apostle Paul
being the penman, for we are the circumcision which worship
God in the spirit and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence
in the flesh. Now, believers are those who
have been spiritually circumcised by the Lord in heart. I want you to keep your place
right there. Turn with me to Deuteronomy 30. Deuteronomy 30. And I want to read the first six
verses. Deuteronomy 30, verses 1-6. Deuteronomy 30 verse 1, And it
shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee,
the blessing and the curse which I have set before thee, and thou
shalt call them to mine among all the nations, whether the
Lord thy God hath driven thee. and shall return unto the Lord
thy God, and shall obey his voice according to all that I command
thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, with all
thine soul, that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity
and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee
from all the nations where the Lord thy God hath scattered thee.
If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven
from thence, will the Lord thy God gather thee, and from thence
will he fetch thee. And the Lord thy God will bring
thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt
possess it. And he will do thee good, and
multiply thee above thy fathers." And here's the first I want us
to hear. And the Lord thy God will circumcise thine heart,
and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all
thine heart, with all thy soul, that thou mayest live." Now here's
the promise that the Lord has given concerning His people. He said, I'm going to circumcise
your heart. Not the circumcision of the flesh,
the fulfillment, the trying to obey God by the keeping of the
law. Believers are going to be spiritually
cut in the heart. They're going to be made willing
to part with their rebellion against God by trying to hold
on to their self-righteousness. I'll give you a new heart. By
faith, they're going to know that the blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ has been applied to them for their pardon and for their
cleansing." Now, this is the circumcision of the heart. That circumcision is without
hands. So now, knowing that that's the
mark of a believer, back in Philippians 3.3, for we are the circumcision,
circumcised in heart, having the filth of sin, the guilt of
sin and rebellion against God removed from us. Not the presence,
but the guilt of it. The presence of it is always
going to be with us. We are the circumcision which
worship God in the Spirit. Not in form. Not in rituals. But in spirit, we rejoice in
Christ Jesus, rejoice in that which He's done, rejoice in who
He is, for He's finished. Rejoice in Christ Jesus and have
no confidence whatsoever in the flesh. That's a believer. Worship God Almighty heartfully
through the Spirit of God's exercise of grace in that new heart, knowing
that the Lord Jesus Christ has put away our guilt, robed us
in Himself, in His righteousness, and we place no confidence in
our ability to assist, to make good on regeneration before God
by our will, we have no confidence in the flesh. Now, I know this. Believers have true communion
with the Lord. I know they do. Our Lord has
said, my sheep hear my voice. Now, listen, I thought about
that. I quote that scripture. I read
that. I hear that. I know that that's
so. I know it's so. While we're reading
these scriptures, listen, you that know Him, to the voice of
the Lord. This is God speaking. This is
personal. It's relevant. It's alive. This is God's Word. It's quick.
Alive. It's fresh. It's new every day. My sheep hear my voice. Listen, when Paul wrote this
years and years and years ago, penned this, This is not a historical
event. We are the circumcision, which
worship God in the Spirit, right now, alive, rejoicing Christ
Jesus right now, and have no confidence in the flesh. I know,
we know, we hear His voice. He knows. He cares. He hears. Believers know Him. They believe Him. They love Him.
And they cast their lot with Him. Holding your place again,
look at 2 Timothy. Just a few pages back toward
the end of the Bible there. 2 Timothy 1.12. 2 Timothy 1.12, the Apostle Paul
again writing, says, for the witch cause I also suffer these
things. Nevertheless, I am not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed. And I am persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that
day. I know whom I have believed. We thank the Lord that He's taught
us the truth of His blessed gospel. We know and love these blessed
doctrines. I know they call them Calvinistic
doctrines, five points of Calvinism. John Calvin did not come up with
five points of Calvinism. The Scripture, it's truth. I know we relate it and we understand
what we're talking about. I love the truth of man's total
depravity. I love the truth of it. I know
it's so. I know it's so. I know that Almighty
God Unconditionally, no condition on those that He chose in Christ.
I know that God elected a people. I know He did. Ephesians 1, 4,
among all the other Scriptures that bears it out to you, and
elect people. I know that. I know that. I know that Christ
died only for the sheep. I know that. He said that. I lay down my life for the sheep.
I know that. I know that the Spirit of God
is going to call His people out irresistibly. I know that. And
I know they're going to persevere. There's going to be a preservation
of the saints in Christ. I know that. I know what I believe. But Paul says here, he didn't
say, I know what I believe. I know whom I have believed. And I'm persuaded that He is
able to keep that which I've committed unto Him against that
day. Believers believe Him. There's some things we know.
But I'll tell you this, our hope is a person. Our hope is not
our doctrine. Our doctrine is concerning Him,
but it's Christ that we believe. Now, tonight, I want us to truly
rest. in God's Word. We who worship
God in the Spirit, that is to minister, to render homage and
service unto Him, worship Him in heart, rejoice, glory, and
make their boast. That's what it is. To rejoice
in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in our flesh. None. We've got God's Word of encouragement
concerning the trials and the tribulations that we go through. And the anxiousness that I find
myself often having to deal with. Here is God's Word. Now turn
to Philippians 4. Philippians 4. Listen to the voice of the Lord.
My sheep, hear my voice. You that daily have to deal with
jobs and people and things that you go through. I am kept from
much of that. I've done that for years, but
I know I'm kept from a lot of it because of being here. But
I know that you deal in situations daily that try. Family problems. It's just on and on and on. There's
no end to it. No end to it. But listen, concerning
worry and anxiety, hear God's voice. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again, I say, rejoice. much effort to look at the wording
of these scriptures. Rejoice. Calmly be happy. Calmly be happy. Be well. Be glad in Him. And oh, that we might find it
to be so. Remember this. He has put away
the guilt of our sin in His precious blood. Rejoice. Calmly be happy. There is therefore right now
no condemnation, no sentence of condemnation to them which
are in Christ Jesus who walk, who live, who walk not after the flesh,
after the carnal thoughts of this old man, those carnal thoughts
of self-worth. There is no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh, but
after the Spirit. by the guidance and the power
of God's Spirit who graciously directs His people according
to God's will, God's purpose, and God's Word. This Word right
here. Here's our light. Blessed by
the Spirit of God. Things that come up. I think to myself, as I was studying
these notes again today, going over these things, and it was
no time that I found myself anxious,
anxious, concerned. And I think, oh, that I might
set my eyes and my face, and by faith, Look upon Him. When these things that crop up
and how quickly they crop up, we're in a very real world with
some very real trials. Rejoice calmly. I think the Lord helped me. Help
me here. Calmly happy. Rejoice in the
Lord. Remember this. who are His in regenerating grace. And you know whom you have believed. You've been robed in His righteousness. In Him, holy and without blame,
before Him in love. He said, I'm not going to leave
you. I'm not going to forsake you. Rejoice! Your name is written in heaven. He has everlastingly loved you.
He's your husband. You're His sons. Accept it in
the Beloved. And in the times of affliction, remember, He who works all things
after the counsel of His own will, whatever comes your way,
Whatever comes your way. Whatever comes your way. And
I'm thinking, you know, I'm standing here right now. And if the Lord
orders, whatever will go against my flesh, and I hear about it,
and I find out about it, Lord help me, whatever comes my way. Whatever my lot may be, that
I might remember, Set my face toward Him. And calmly be happy. Rejoice in the Lord. Always and again I say, because
I just forgot it. Again, I say rejoice. Verse 5, let your moderation
Be known unto all men your patience. Let your patience be perceived
openly. Waiting on the Lord is one of,
if not the greatest trials that we have. Waiting on the Lord. You know, that sounds It has a sound of life. It has a sound of goodness and
peace. Wait on the Lord. Wait on the
Lord. What good advice. That is good
advice. That's godly advice. Wait on
the Lord. Wait on the Lord. But I'm telling
you, oh, how our flesh fights against that. We're tempted to
do something. I'm going to do something. I had someone call me this week,
and just the course of the conversation was such that a question came
up about, well, do you think that we ought to, you know, we
think maybe we ought to, you know, doesn't matter what it
was. And oh, I began to think on that. And I was anxious inside. And I'm thinking, you know, maybe
I should. Maybe I ought to, you know. I turned over and I looked at
the Scripture. Turned back to Philippians 3.
Paul was talking about, in chapter 3, Philippians 3, he was talking
about what he formally trusted in. About the confidence that
if anybody had any confidence, he had confidence. He said before
in the flesh, he said, circumcised, verse 5. on the right day, came out of
the right stock of Israel, out of the right tribe of Benjamin,
Hebrew of the Hebrews, mama, daddy, both Hebrews, touching
the law of Pharisee, concerning zeal, persecuting, on and on
and on, and in regenerating grace. God called him out of darkness.
And verse 7, those things that were gain to me, profitable to
me, I counted loss for Christ, And then he said in verse 8,
I count all things lost for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things.
Do count them but done, that I may win Christ. Be found in
Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ by righteousness, which
is of God by faith. And then he went down, look at
verse 15. This was the blessing to me right
here. He said, let us therefore, as many as be perfect, mature
in Christ, be thus minded, like he had just talked about. Let
us be thus minded. And if in anything you be otherwise
minded, God shall reveal even this unto
you. And oh, how I needed that. I needed that. And I thought
to myself, no, no, I don't need to say anything. Here's what
I need to do. I need to wait on the Lord. And to let, back in chapter 4,
let's look in chapter 4, verse 5, let my patience be known unto
all men. Let my moderation be known. Let me wait on the Lord. James 1-4 says, let patience,
cheerful endurance, have her perfect, her complete and mature
work. Bear with others. I told you
about Brother Scott telling me that. I said, Scott, what do you think?
I heard this. I heard this. What do you think?
He said, Lord, teach him. Lord, teach him. Let your moderation
bear with others for Christ's sake and do it patiently. Patiently. Well, what should
I do? No, I don't think you ought to
say anything. Let your moderation be known
to all men. Interpret every situation in
this light. If I knew everything about it,
I'd probably see it differently. Wait on the Lord. Wait patiently on the Lord. And consider the influence that
a bad or a selfish attitude has upon the gospel that we preach,
upon the feelings of brethren. Let your moderation be known
unto all men. Why? The Lord is at hand. The Lord is at hand. Either in
place or in time is what that means. The Lord is at hand either
right here or in time, closely, to see Him personally, the psalmist
says, Psalm 133, verse 1, Behold how good and how pleasant it
is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Let your moderation,
your patience be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful. Be anxious. for nothing. Oh, I'm telling you right now,
this right here just flies right square to me. Be careful, be anxious, that
is, worry about nothing. Oh, Lord help me. But in everything
by prayer, by petition, and supplication, out of need, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God. Whatever, whenever,
wherever. Talk to the Lord first. I'm telling you, if no one else
needs this, and I know you do. I can tell you I do. I do. How tempted I am, I want to get
somebody's advice on this. What do you think? Be careful for nothing but in
everything. by prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known
unto God. Hold your place there as I close
this. Psalm 37. Psalm 37. Verses 1 to 8. Let me just read this. Threat
not. Psalm 37. Verse 1. Threat not
thyself because of evildoers. Neither be thou envious against
the workers of iniquity, for they shall soon be cut down like
the grass and wither like the green herb." I heard Brother
Henry say, I've told you this before, I heard Brother Henry
say, he said, try to be as nice as you can to unbelievers. He said, this is the best they're
ever going to have. This is it. This is the best. And here we are in a world of
anxiety and trouble and woe and warrings and fretfulness, except
to fret not thyself because of evil doers. Neither be thou envious
against the workers of a nicket. They shall soon be cut down like
the grass and wither as the green herb. Trust in the Lord. Rest, lean upon, and do good,
trusting Him. So shalt thou dwell in the land,
and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord. He shall give thee the desires
of thine heart." I used to tell my kids, again I told you this,
I used to tell them, I said, listen, the situation never changes,
only the way you look at it. Here we are, we're in this world,
and I know that our Lord has sent Every trial and tribulation
and chastening that we have, He sent it and tempered it in
mercy. Tempered it. For the performance
of exactly that which He's purposed it. I know that. I know that. I know it at least
in my head, Carl. I know that in my head. Delight
thyself also in the Lord. He shall give thee the desires
of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord. Trust also in Him. He shall bring
it to pass. And He shall bring forth thy
righteousness as the light and thy judgment as the noonday."
I looked that Scripture up to try to find out exactly what
the psalmist was saying. Verse 5 and 6 again. Commit thy
way unto the Lord. Trust also in Him. He shall bring
it to pass. And verse 6 says this, and the
Lord will show you that what you trusted Him for was the best
way, was the right way. That's what He's saying. You
shall see. That that which He purposed,
as you commit yourself unto Him and trust Him and wait on Him,
you're going to find that was the best way. A few years ago, I went to a
doctor. And a doctor examined me and
told me, he said, you have a malignant tumor in your bladder. I really didn't hear a whole
lot after that. I don't remember exactly what
all he said. That stuck in my mind pretty
quickly. And just humanly speaking, to
be honest with you, just humanly speaking, I mean, my mind went
to the end. But after going through a lot of the treatments, the surgeries,
and the treatment and everything. Some of you relate to what I'm
talking about right here. After going through all the treatments
and everything like this, I was talking to Betty Groover here
a few years after that. She said, well, how are you doing,
Martin? How are you doing? I said, I'm doing great. I feel
fine. And she said, really? She said, well, we pray for you.
And I said, Betty, thank you. I said, I appreciate that. And
I said, I can tell you this. I said, this is probably one
of the best things that ever happened to me. This is the best
thing. It never happened. I didn't see
it that way at first. But I can tell you this. I'll
tell you what it does. It causes you to really realize
this life is frail. It can just be over that quickly. You realize that this Word is
sure. And that the only comfort that
you have is what God has to say. Not me. Not you. What does He
have to say? Verse 5, commit thy way unto
the Lord. Trust also in Him, and He shall
bring it to pass, and He shall bring forth thy righteousness
as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday. Rest in the Lord. Wait patiently for Him. Threaten
not thyself because of Him who prospereth in His way, because
of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass. Cease from anger. Forsake wrath. Threaten not thyself
in any wise to do evil. Be careful for nothing. But in
everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request
be made known unto God. And in verse 7 of Philippians
4, last verse, and the peace of God which passes all understanding
better than any intellect that you or I have. The peace of God,
the quietness, the rest which passeth all understanding shall
keep from anxiety, agitation, your hearts and minds through
Christ Jesus. I need that. I need that. Lord, help me. Lord, settle my
heart. That I might behold you, might
see you, and rest in you, and behold the peace, the comfort,
the joy of the Lord. There's enough anxiety to just
completely tear us down all the time. Leave us in a state of
just depression, stuff like that. Setting our face toward Him.
And taking our eyes off of that which is causing us worry and
anxiety. Lord, help me. Help me. I ask. I knock. I seek. I think about it. He said, you
have not because you ask not. Lord, help me settle my heart
for Christ's sake.