Do Not Be Anxious
December 01, 2018      |     By: Sam McVay, Jr.      |      Category: Sermons      |      Location: Wichita
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Philippians 4:4-8 (ESV)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice.
5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 
6 do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

Notes from Brock
ON PHILIPPIANS 4:5-9

Philippians 4: 4-9 (NASB)
4 Rejoice in the Lord always’ again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made know to God.
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable,  whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
9 The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Everyone is familiar with the portion regarding not being anxious about anything, wherein if we process these things “with prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,” letting God know, then, say the scriptures, “the peace of God will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”

Everyone knows that part, as well we should. Further, there are two bookends that Paul uses to enclose this profound teaching on anxiety. First, in vs 5, he exhorts us, with repetition for emphasis, to rejoice always (which is really a restating of 3:1, again for emphasis). Rejoicing is the first bookend that supports the ‘volumes’ of vs 6 and 7. Rejoicing reminds us of what the truth is and reorients our thinking so that we do not fall prey to the idea that our circumstances determine what is reality and truth.

Vs 7 says the peace of God will be with us.
Vs 8 forms this remarkable second bookend that buttresses the anti-anxiety portion of 6 and 7, and in effect is a restating, again for emphasis, of 2:1:

Paul says in (NASB) vs 8,
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise…..

An examination of how that verse is translated reveals the many amazing and different ways it is translated in different scriptures/versions/translations, all to the same effect and with greater expansion and breadth.

Here is what Paul is saying we are to focus on:
Whatever is

true              honorable        right
pure              lovely           lovable
gracious          modest           holy
amiable           honest           winsome
righteous         reputable        authentic
compelling        real             admirable
respectful        merciful         kind

(cont’d)

Whatever is

commendable                  praiseworthy              of good report
of good repute               any excellence            worthy of praise
any virtue                   any praise                of good fame
any praise of discipline     wins respect              deemed worthy of praise
any worthiness               the best                  the beautiful
any moral excellence         worthy of respect         venerable
fair                         acceptable                excellent
precious                     deeds of glory            deserves praise

Then, after this list of things we are to focus our attention on, (which means, by definition, we are NOT focusing on the negatives and the awfuls that the evil one demands of us [as if he has that right]), the scriptures instruct us WHAT we are to do with these remarkable things;

(NASB) vs 8b, …if there is any excellence and anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

These instructions are telling and significant in and of themselves—

fix your thoughts on         keep thinking on           meditate on
dwell on                     practice                   ponder
cherish the thought of       think on these things      fill your mind and meditate on
keep your thoughts on        exercise yourself in these things.

These are not passive instructions but exhortations that form the second bookend for the great verses 6 & 7. So, we have the “rejoice always” as the first bookend, and the “dwell on” all those remarkable aspects while we are wherever we are in vs 8 as the second bookend.

Then, if that is not enough, Paul crowns it all off with vs 9:

NASB vs 9: The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

He says that if we practice what we “have learned and received and heard and seen” in Paul, (which means Paul was not anxious), going beyond the wonderful promise of vs 7—that the peace of God will be with us, Paul promises “the God of peace will be with (us)”.

In working with anxiety disorders and depression day in and day out, what my field has taught me is this rule, true for all of us--kids, adolescents, adults, oldsters:

           Whatever I focus on, I AMPLIFY. Whatever I focus on, I EMPOWER.

Hence, this being a true statement, if I am busy dwelling on and focusing on, and therefore, amplifying and empowering whatever is good and pure and real and authentic and lovable and honorable, I will, as a rule of human functioning, amplify these things. This is not positive thinking. It is rather a refusal to adopt the pessimism and negativity that aligns me with the evil one, inflating my anxiety and which opposes and obscures the work that God is always doing and is always about—His good and His honorable and His right and His pure……for He is always good.