In Philippians 4:1-9, the message centers on prayer, peace, and a renewed mind. Explore Philippians 4:1–9 and discover how prayer, gratitude, healthy thinking, and the peace of God shape our response to anxiety and conflict. Rather than treating the passage as abstract theology, the sermon traces what these truths reveal about God, the gospel, and the way followers of Jesus are called to live.
A major emphasis is the believer's response to God through prayer, surrender, worship, and spiritual hunger. The message challenges passive Christianity and invites listeners to pursue God intentionally, trusting that transformation grows as we bring our desires, habits, and decisions under the authority of Scripture. The goal is a faith that moves beyond information into communion with God and obedient action.
Along the way, the message engages themes including Philippians 4:1-9, prayer, peace, and a renewed mind. These ideas help place the primary passage within the larger story of Scripture and show how its theology speaks to real spiritual formation. At its heart, the sermon helps answer questions such as: What does Philippians 4:1-9 teach about prayer, peace, and a renewed mind? It also considers how should prayer, peace, and a renewed mind shape the way Christians live?
For someone studying this passage, exploring the Christian faith, or looking for practical biblical teaching, this sermon offers a clear path from the text to everyday discipleship. The invitation is to hear what Scripture says, receive it with humility, and take the next faithful step in following Jesus.
What does Philippians 4:1-9 teach about prayer, peace, and a renewed mind? | How should prayer, peace, and a renewed mind shape the way Christians live? | How can believers apply Philippians 4:1-9 in everyday life?
Philippians 4:1-9, prayer, peace, and a renewed mind, philippians 4, 19 prayer, healthy thinking, a renewed mind
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We we got to uh just the very beginning of Philippians 4, the first verse. And so we're going to start in verse two here in a moment. Um but this is going to be a very fun message. And I'm I almost feel like I I I kind of regret letting people know on social media this week that today's message was going to be about anxiety because just talking about anxiety can make people anxious, right? And so I'm wondering right now if if we've got some people at home that are like, I don't want to hear about anxiety, you know, because I get anxious about it. But who needs some peace in your life today? Anybody? You need you need supernatural peace in your life. Hallelujah. In the last 20 years, there's been a nationwide rise of anxiety, depression, suicidal ideiation, confusion about identity, and just overwhelming stress. You've probably said it. I know I've said it. I'm stressed. I'm stressed about the economy or our nation or the world. We hear debates about climate, politics, global conflicts, health care, food shortages, job security, school systems, and even militant religions taking over cities. To say we're living in stressful times is an understatement, right? >> And in 2 Timothy 3, it said that in the last days, it'll be perilous times of great stress. And I just want you to know as I as I get into this every single week, I pray for this church, I pray for for many of you by name on a weekly basis. And as your pastor, I pray that your mind and your heart would be at peace. I pray for your families. I pray for your home. I pray that Jesus, who is the prince of peace, would reign in your life and in everywhere that you walk. But here's what's what's wild and and I know that even as we talk about anxiety today, we could easily go like a little prayer is not going to fix what I'm dealing with, right? And and if we can just be honest today, can I can I speak to you honestly? >> A little prayer is not going to stop the feeling of stress or anxiety. It takes more than that. If you're in a season that's dealing with stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts, I want to encourage you today. It's okay to not be okay, but it's not okay to stay that way. It's not okay to make agreements with anxiety and say, "This is my lot in life, and I guess this is just my struggle with the Lord." No, I'm a big believer in spiritfilled counseling. And if you want to find a great counselor, come and talk to me personally. I'd love to help you. But the stats on anxiety and depression in this nation again are wild. And one of the main reasons that adults and teenagers are dealing with this is because of this right here. >> Smartphones and social media. And as a pastor and as a dad, for all of the the parents here in the room today, please delay screens and social media for as long as possible. >> Amen. >> Guard their hearts. It's your responsibility. And here's the thing. If your kids are already hooked on screens, make an accident happen. And break that thing. >> It they're going to be mad at you. They're going to hate your guts, >> but they're going to thank you 10 years down the road when they're not a zombie. >> Your kids might be entertained on a screen so that you can get stuff done around the house. And I get that. I love turning on Bluey so I can have a conversation with my wife. But in the process of doing that, we're teaching our children and even teaching ourselves that entertainment is what's needed to cope with overwhelming feelings and anxiety. We're teaching them that happy distractions are better than godly peace. For adults, this is a real struggle. I want to ask, what do you do when your stress level is high or your anxiety levels rise to the point where you can't sleep at night or you're having heart palpitations or you're having headaches and migraines and all these things like I I'll just be real with you today. I've had full body panic attacks. I've blacked out under highly stressful situations. I've had major suicidal ideiations because of depression. I've been there. All while being a Holy Spiritfilled believer. Can I Can I mess with your theology today? I remember actually telling somebody this who was a mentor of mine at the time. They're no longer because they said I I I told them all these things that I was dealing with and they said, "Oh, that's demonic. You must not truly be saved." If you're a Christian that's dealing with anxiety or depression or suicidal thoughts, you're demonic. >> You must NOT REALLY BE SAVED. BUT tell me, you've heard it before. >> You've heard people say and question your salvation. And I and I got in that moment. I was at a dinner with this person. I was like, "Please don't question my salvation." Like, you're going to want saving if you keep questioning my salvation because I'm going to throw hands, right? Because think about this. WE CAN FOLLOW BE FOLLOWING Jesus and loving Jesus and still struggle with these things. >> Because just like Peter who was walking on the water towards Jesus in the midst of the storm, all he did WAS HE TOOK HIS EYES OFF OF JESUS FOR ONE second to look at the storm around him and he began to drown. >> He didn't stop loving Jesus in that moment. >> He didn't stop trying to get towards him. It was just one moment where he no longer became the center of our attention. He allowed fear of being out of control distract him from focusing on the God who was and is in control. >> Amen. >> Jesus shows us that we are created to walk in freedom. So why do we still find ourselves bound in fear, anxiety, or depression? I gave my life to Jesus. So, what do I do when I lack peace in my life? Who do I turn to when I'm wrestling w with worry? What do I say when the pressure overtakes me? And what's beautiful is that Paul shows us in Philippians 4, and he's going to show us this process to help us not just believe in God's word for peace, but actually take some steps forward to experiencing this peace. Because how many know we can think about it and not actually do what God has called us to do? >> I know a lot of believers, none none none none of the believers are here in this room, but I know a lot of believers, they've got a lot of head knowledge, but they don't actually live out the thing that they know. >> Can we live out what we know today, church? >> This is going to be a very practical message. So, if you're taking notes, you can take notes. If you want to get on your phone, I I'm going to believe that you're not texting somebody, okay? And that you're taking notes. We are the church. Amen. >> The church should be a people of peace. >> But people can kill our peace more than anything else. And so when we get into Philippians 4 and look at verse two, I want you to have that in your mind. It says, I entreat, I put in parenthesis there, I beg iodia and I entreat and beg Cintic to agree in the Lord. This is Paul speaking. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women who have labored side by side with me in the gospel together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life. Here's what's funny. All right, before we get into the processes and the patterns, I just want you to see this. Basically, there's some drama happening between these two ladies in the church, and Paul is begging them to work it out. And what's really funny is this letter is being read out loud in front of the whole church. Here's why it's funny. How would you feel if your pastor got up on Sunday and started airing out your dirty laundry? That's basically WHAT PAUL'S DOING. IT GOT THAT BAD. THE DRAMA WAS THAT BAD THAT PAUL HAD TO SAY SOMETHING in front of everyone in the church. These are women again who have labored with Paul in ministry, highle leaders, but they've been causing drama in the church. Have you ever been in a drama-filled church? Not this one. We'll kick you out. I'll kick you out. If you want to be in a dramatic church, please find another one. I will help you. I was going to make a joke about a denomination I was going to send you to, but I'm not going to do that. Paul's not only pleading in this verse with these ladies to get along. He's asking others in the church as well to help out with this conflict. Because church, we can work through conflict when it arises because we are people of peace. Peace doesn't mean that you won't have conflict. It's that you choose to resolve it because the church should be a place of peace. Ephesians 2, Paul writes this. He says, "As Christians, we must bear with one another." Bear with one another. I don't have the verse up there. Sorry. What does bear with one another mean? Put up with one another. You are bound to have somebody that rubs you the wrong way in church. You're bound to have somebody that rubs you the wrong way in life. It was really funny. I was talking to a pastor the other day. They've got like four services on Sunday, you know, like all these different times. And he had to walk a couple through a really, really nasty divorce. It was tragic. It was horrible. But both of them still wanted to come to church. So he's like, "All right, you get the morning service. You get the afternoon service. You're, hey, we're going to work this out one way or another because you still need Jesus." [laughter] >> Matthew 18, Jesus said, "If you're offended by someone, you who are offended, go tell them their offense." This is the Nick 4 version here. Okay, I need to summarize this because it's very long. But y'all, we live in a world where if you make me mad, I'm going to gossip about you. I'm going to badmouth you. I'm going to get people on my side, right? There's three sides to every story. Yours, mine, and the truth. >> And so, I'm going to tell you my truth and get all these people with me, right? And then I'm going to sit back and I'm going to wait for them to apologize to me and never tell them because that obviously is how to resolve conflict, right? Get people to read my mind. Church, if you're not willing to confront offense, we shouldn't be willing to carry offense. >> Jesus said, "If you've been offended, go tell them to their face, you really hurt my feelings. You upset me. You offended me." And then Jesus said, "If your brother or sister hears you, you can reconcile. Praise the Lord. But if they don't reconcile and it's still bothering you," Jesus said, "Bring two or three people with you. And if they still don't listen, then you take it to the leadership of the church. And then he says, if they listen, great. And if they still don't listen, then you treat that person like an outsider. And let me just say, treating someone like an outsider does not mean you cut them off. >> It means you move them from your conflict list to your prayer list. Because church, we are called to reconcile things in prayer, not just person to person. You can't cut them off. You don't have the privilege under Christ to condemn someone to hell. >> That's good. >> If you can't resolve conflict, you have to resolve it in prayer. Jesus taught us to forgive quickly. To forgive always. If someone wrongs you, you forgive them seven times 70 times. And Romans 12:18 says, "If possible, so far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone." So understand this church, this is so important. When there's drama in the church that we're unwilling to confront, it's going to affect our mission. It's going to affect how we reach people. It's going to affect how we love people, how we disciple people. And we are way too focused on reaching people far from God and discipling Christians to be caught up in drama. Amen. >> Amen. >> So Paul starts off with this. And now he begins to show us this pattern for us to experience peace. Are you all ready for this? This is so good. Write these things down. Look at this verse. Philippians 4:4-7. It says, "Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonleness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. This is powerful. It's also kind of triggering if you really read it because church, this is not a formula. It's a pathway to walk in a pattern for your life to live out in action. >> We're going to hit six different things. I think I only listed four of them in my notes, but we're going to hit six different things that I want you to to watch for in this passage. The first one is this. Rejoice always. We rejoice at sports games. kids graduating, when certain politicians get elected, but when's the last time you just rejoiced in Jesus? Not on Sunday when you've got an anointed worship team up here, but Monday through Saturday. C can we find ourselves? Can we can we can people catch us in praise where we're saying, "Man, God is good. God, you are awesome. You're perfect in all of your ways. Lord, thank you. I'm filled with with gratitude because you're so perfect. Even when things aren't working out, Paul said, "Rejoice." And he said it twice. He said, "Rejoice always." Rejoicing in the Lord. And rejoicing isn't meant to be circumstantial. >> Amen. >> I'll rejoice when everything's working, right? I'll praise God when I get my way. No. Rejoice in the Lord always, church. >> And here's the thing. Worship is not a genre of music. It's a heart posture of praising God and worshiping in spirit and in truth. >> Rejoicing in the goodness of God. It's not a genre of music that we hear on the radio, y'all. But it is a heart posture for us. And I'll be honest with you, some of y'all some of y'all know this about me, some of you don't. I love my punk rock and hardcore music. If they ain't screaming, it's not rock and roll. Okay, that's just that's just me. All right. I was a very emo kid growing up. >> Yep. Still am. Thank you. >> But the attitude and temperature of my home shifts drastically when we play worship music in our house. >> When I put when I turn on some Garrett and Kate, you know, Bethl worship sessions in our house, everything shifts. All the fighting begins to stop. All the screaming begins to get quieter and quieter because the presence of God comes. It it it pulls me into a place where my heart posture goes, I I just have to worship him. I have to praise him. It's a powerful practice that we can step into. We're so blessed to have Spotify, Apple Music, and all these different things where we have worship at our fingertips now >> that we can just invite the presence of God into every moment. Number two, be reasonable to everyone. Unreasonable people are not peaceful people. Have you ever talked to or argued with someone who could not be reasoned with? And let me just say if that person is sitting next to you, just keep your eyes looking forward right now. Okay? Don't nudge them. Don't do it because it's going to just cause drama here. Okay? They constantly try to provoke you. They have to have the last word. They're fly [laughter] talking about me. They're flying on the edge of their feelings. Listen, church, you're not at peace when you're fighting with everyone. When everything is an argument to win or a platform for your emotions, you're always losing peace. Because peace is a fruit of the spirit. It's it's more than a feeling. It's a fruit that we can embody and grow in. And so I want to ask you today, can we be a fruit of the spirit person all the time? And again, just a summarized version of Galatians 5. The fruit of the spirit is the evidence of the spirit of God on the inside of you. It's crucifying the flesh and not being led by our feelings. It's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And scripture tells us that we can be all of these things. We can embody all of these things because of the spirit of God dwelling within us. But sometimes it takes us crucifying the flesh and saying, "I'm going to make a choice to not let my feelings control my life, but I'm going to follow and move in all of these virtues and all of these gifts and fruits." Paul said to be reasonable to everyone. And sometimes, listen, sometimes we go, "Well, I'm going to fight and I'm going to win and then there will be peace." Right? It's kind of like how our government is running things right now. We're just going to bomb the mess out of this country and then there'll be peace, right? We do the same thing sometimes in in our relationships. I'm just going to mess this person up. I'm going to hurt them until they finally give in and then there'll be peace. It got real quiet in here. >> Someone may have different values or perspectives. They may call themselves Christians but live in a very different way than you. They may disrespect you or trigger you or hurt you. But church, you can be reasonable to them. You can be kind. And so I ask, are you known by the fruit of the spirit or are you known to be led by your feelings? Are people afraid of your feelings and your attitudes about things? Is it a joy to be around you? Does your presence embody peace whenever you walk into the room? These are good questions for us to to ask ourselves. I'm even asking myself now. Now, the third one, this is probably going to be the most fun and triggering for everyone. It's great. Reject anxiety and don't worry. It says, "Don't be anxious about anything." Why can we do that as believers? Because we know that God is with us. >> Amen. We have a word from God, a promise from Jesus who said, "I will never leave you or forsake you. Greater is he that is in me than he that is in the world. I'm more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus." In order to reject anxiety and worry, it's not running away. It's remembering that the Lord is with me. That the Holy Spirit dwells on the inside of me, lives on the inside of me. But here's the hard truth. Anxiousness has a lot to do with trust. Because when I get anxious, it's usually because I don't trust the people involved. I don't trust their intent. I don't trust their ability or their actions and I start to get a little worried or I don't trust that the situation is going to work out maybe because I don't have control in it. When we trust God with anything, we don't have control anymore. We surrender control and we trust that he's going to handle everything. And church, it's really hard to be anxious when you're focusing on God's power and his track record and his word, especially in scripture. Every panic attack and every suicidal thought that I that I've had in my life, it didn't come because Jesus abandoned me. It was because I refused to recognize that he was with me. I refused to to trust him with all the details in the moment. I refuse to put my faith in the truth that he had my best interest at heart. Or I believed a story that my feelings told me and I stopped believing God's word. And it's really interesting to me because we used to believe so many things in this world just based on a word. But the world now has us questioning everything. This is supposed to be funny guys. So just roll with me here. Because we used to believe as a society in the food pyramid. We trusted doctors and now we question whether they've been bought by big pharma. We thought that the moon landing happened. Did it? >> I'm about to flip your whole world upside down today, y'all. Were there weapons OF MASS DESTRUCTION IN IRAQ? Did the Democrats rig the 2020 election? Did the Republicans rig the 2024 election? Huh? Where are the Epstein files? What about aliens? Are aliens actually Nephilim? And there's reptilians under the ground >> or dinosaurs? You know, is a Tyrannosaurus Rex actually a dragon? Okay. [laughter] >> I think so. >> I think so, too. All right. >> Hey, I've had some Hey, he just needs wings, man. This thing's all cartilage. It could have just like died off, you know? >> Hey, come on, somebody. This is a really good one because I I've been watching a video on this. There's this guy that's convinced that we are actually living in the Matrix and that the Matrix was a documentary. Okay, it's kind of a funny joke. Listen, you watch the news or you spend an hour on social media and it'll have you questioning your reality. All it takes is one video for you to get anxious about the unknown. And then here's the thing. We bring that mentality into our faith and we can't take God at his word. When he says, "Worry about nothing," we go, "Well, that's easy for you to say." What's your motive in me not worrying about anything, God? His motive is that we would have peace. Number four, write this down. Make your requests known to God. Peter said, "Cast your cares on him because he cares for you." He's saying, "Tell God what's stressing you out." You can do this, church. We can do this. Paul says, "Make your requests known." We're invited to share with God all of the things that we are stressed with. And even Jesus in the sermon on the mount in Matthew 6, he teaches us how to pray. He he starts off saying, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be your name." You know, many of us know this prayer. But before he teaches this pattern of prayer, he gives us this truth. He says, "God knows everything you need before you ask him, but talk to him anyways. >> Pray in this way." And some can say, "Well, God knows what I need, so I don't need to tell him." No, God is inviting you to fellowship and intimacy with him when you make your requests known to him. And to do this, it requires three other things. So, if you're doing like sub points here, I did A, B, and C. Okay. For to you to make your request known to God, the first thing you do is just show up. I'm here. I'm talking to God. God, I'm humbling myself. I'm trusting you. And then I'm listening for him. I'm showing up in this. I'm taking time. I'm setting aside time for just me and the Lord. The phone's off. All the distractions are off. For me, I like to go in my closet because I got my wife's clothes and my clothes and all the things in there. It just like soundproofs that room. If a bomb went off in my house, I probably wouldn't be able to hear it. The second thing, at first I show up. The second thing is thanksgiving. Sometimes we only know how to thank God when he does what we asked him to do. But we should be thanking God before we ask for anything. I have this family member who prays like they wrote the King James Bible. And and if you pray like this, I'm not making fun of you today because I got very convicted when I made fun of this guy because he would pray. Let's just for an example here. All right, we're praying for dinner before we start to eat. And he starts off with, "Thank you, Father God, for this macaroni and cheese. Thank you, Father God, for these muffins. Thank you, Father God, for this steak. Thank you, Father God. Over and over and over again. Thank you, Father God. Thank you, Father God. Thank you, Father God. Thank you, Father God. And as a 14-year-old boy, I was very annoyed because I'm like, "Bro, God knows his name. YOU DON'T HAVE TO SAY FATHER GOD 30 TIMES in a 30- secondond prayer." But I remember I was thinking this in my head and the Holy Spirit I had just gotten filled with the Holy Spirit like a year before. So it was it was quick. Holy Spirit was like, "What if you need to remember who God is? What if you need to remember and remind yourself that he is your father God?" God doesn't need a a thank you, but our hearts need to hold gratitude remembering how good our God is. It's so important that we come to him with gratitude. So before we ask for anything, we should be thankful for the Lord for who he is because gratitude moves our heart from an entitled expectation to intimate interaction with him. And then finally, after showing up and giving thanks, we ask. Paul says again, make your requests known to God with prayer, with supplication, with thanks, and then the peace of God will guard your heart. And I want to be really careful because I really don't want us to see this as a formula. I'm not into formulas. I like patterns. I like habits. But sometimes when we see our faith as a formula, we think if I do all of these things, then I should be getting this result back. I rejoiced. Check. I was reasonable this week. Check. I said no to worry. Check. I prayed with thanksgiving. Check. So now I'm demanding that God give me peace. No. What I'm trying to show you right now is that there is a pattern that you can set your life to to begin experiencing peace. Because honestly, it's really bizarre when we look back at this scripture because Paul says that this is a peace that surpasses all understanding. It's not some senseless piece or necessarily impossible to understand, but it's beyond our ability to explain. I can't explain this peace to you unless you've experienced it. I can't. And even Paul is saying this, it's past our understanding. It's past our ability to explain to you. You have to just walk out these patterns and then the peace of God will come and then you can experience this peace. Because we could easily again try to explain it and say is the peace of God a contentment in the midst of all circumstances. Is it this surrendering of control or needing to know everything? Like how do you have peace when you're wrestling with identity in Christ? How do you have peace when doors are closing when your health is failing? When your jobs are lost and your family is fighting and there's so much uncertainty around me, how do you do it? Well, for me, I submit things to the Lord. I've been praying. I've been rejoicing in spite of my circumstances. And I've put these patterns into practice. And then all of a sudden, in a moment, I have peace from heaven. And it doesn't make sense. The storm surrounds me, but I have peace, >> church, because my hope is and my confidence isn't in my job. It's not in my health. It's not in my family or this world. My hope is in Jesus Christ. >> I trust his word and I position myself in the ways that God's word told me to pattern my life after. So the question I would challenge us with today is if you don't have peace, do you have this pattern? If you don't have peace, are you praying? Are you reasonable? Are you kind? Are you a fruit of the spirit? Because it's hard to be at peace when you refuse to let God into your life in prayer. It's hard to be at peace when you can't rejoice in the goodness of God in all circumstances. And our responsibility in building this pattern of peace is you have to decide to do it. I can't like lay hands on you and then you start walking in this peace and then you go off and live whatever patterns in life that you have. You may feel at peace in the moment when there's prayer and some man or woman of God comes and prays over you or anoints you with oil. You can have that moment, but if you want to sustain peace in your life, you have to move in these patterns. I'm going to build this into my life. I have to make a decision to do these things. It's not just going to happen. I I talked about it in worship today. So many times we're waiting on a feeling to move our hearts. But what if we made decisions that contradicted our feelings and then our feelings began to back that up? It's pretty amazing what you can tell your brain to think and then your brain tells your body how to feel. I'm going to build this into my life even when it doesn't make sense. I'm going to reject worry. I'm going to renew my mind by filling my mind with scripture rather than social media and entertainment. I'm going to find a spiritfilled counselor who's who can help me maybe with some of the deeper things that I'm struggling with. But I have to make a choice to believe God's word and act upon it. Because again, you can believe all these things and you can speak all these things over your life, but if you don't act on it, it's really meaningless. Because the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. So maybe we should change the result by choosing a new action. Philippians 4:8. 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, church. You can have a prayer life. You can be a worshipper. You can be a reasonable person. But if your internal thoughts are toxic and you're putting toxic thoughts in through media and national news cycles, you're not going to have peace. The probably the fifth thing to write down here is to guard your mind. You want to lose peace? Scroll on social media until your butt falls asleep on the toilet. Y'all, it doesn't take 30 or 45 minutes to go to the bathroom. I know cuz I've done it. I just get on my phone and I just start scrolling. And I get it. It's like a moment of It's a moment of peace. I lock the door and my kids can't get me. My wife can't get me. If she comes by and says, "What are you doing?" I'm going to the bathroom. Leave me alone. She's shaking her head. It's great. It's an escape, right? It's a It's a moment to decompress, but but forgive my language here this morning, okay? We might be moving crap out of our bodies, but we're shoving crap into our minds, right? >> Isn't that good? Come on. >> You want to lose your peace? Join the drama online. Part of having peace is watching your thought life. Some of you know the song, Be careful, little eyes. what you see. Be careful, little ears, what you hear. We're not going to sing the rest of it. What you allow into your mind will shape your thoughts. It's as simple as that. Norman Vincent Peele, he wrote the book u the power of positive thinking. He made these statements in his book. Keep your heart free from hatred of others. Keep your mind free from worry. Live simply, expect less, and give generously. Many of us are stressed because we're trying to protect all the stuff that we've got. But this is why we tithe and we give generously. Not just so that we can have a nice building and free food and events for all of our families, but because it helps us. Giving helps us. Giving produces peace in you to know that you've done something generously. God loves a cheerful giver who thinks less of themsself and thinks more of others. So, I'm just going to give so that others can have and others can receive. Paul writes in Colossians, "Keep your mind focused on the things of heaven, not the things of this world." Jesus said, "Don't be anxious about your life." And I said this already. It's really easy for Jesus to say, "Don't be anxious." Because he's Jesus. It's really hard to to practice this, but he said 'do not be anxious about your life, what you'll eat or what you'll drink, nor about your body, what you're going to put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? The Gentiles seek after these things. Your heavenly Father knows that you need it all. What does it say? But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. We trust God. We trust God's word. And when it comes to how to live with God's peace, we have to choose to live at peace. It's a choice. It's not just a feeling that comes over you and it just stays over you forever. It's something that you can put into practice with patterns because church, if you're not changing, you're choosing that. We choose to live at peace with each other. We choose to rejoice in the Lord. We choose and commit to being reasonable people. We choose to reject worry and anxiety. And we know the Lord is with us. We choose to pray with thanksgiving. And we choose to guard our thoughts. Can you see the pattern here? >> So much of our anxiety is from feeling out of control. But these six things are areas that you can control. I'm feeling anxious. Everything's out of control. Are you taking control of these things in your life? >> Are you taking control of these areas that you can begin to to walk in your intentional action and your choices? And so, moving forward this week, my prayer is that you can walk in this. If you need to take a picture of it, take a picture of it. I'll leave it up there for a second. It's a choice that we make. And when we can begin to to move and practice these choices, we begin to experience the peace of God. And we're going to see that here. Philippians 4:9, what you have learned and received and heard and seen in me. Paul says, "Practice these things." Practice these things and the God of peace will be with you. Here's what's cool. Like if you're if you're following the scriptu
