Elder Ben Wishall leads us through week seven of our eight week Philippians series. Out of Philippians 4:1-9, Ben teaches how to don the peace of the Lord and quell our anxious hearts.
KEY POINTS:
- The intent of this passage is not to push us to do more, but to trust God more. To believe, pray, and rejoice.
- Paul gives us three tools to combat anxiety:
- Rejoice always: God gives us the object of our joy in Jesus. We get to partner with Him in ministry and experience this joy every single day because our name is written in the book of life.
- The Lord is at hand, He is is near. The Lord, the Sovereign King, Yahweh, the Almighty, is with us. Not being anxious is a byproduct of the Lord at hand.
- Pray with thanksgiving. The greek word behind supplication is defined as a heartfelt petition arising out of deep personal need. Paul urges us to enter prayer with rejoicing and thanksgiving, and then to let our requests be made known to God.
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
COMMUNITY GROUP DISCUSSION:
- Do you find yourself seeking peace, saying “I just need _____.” Ben shared how thoughts like this take our eyes off Jesus and remove the Spirit of God from the equation. Spend some time waiting on the Holy Spirit to reveal how you might answer this statement in your life right now.
- Share with your CG about something that is giving you anxiety in the present, perhaps your answer from the above. Pray aloud together, employing the three anxiety-combating tools Paul outlines in the scripture. For Christ-followers, rejoice that your name is written in the book of life! Declare who He is and that He is at hand. Thank God for the promises that you have in Christ Jesus!
- Ben concluded the sermon with the story of Mary and Martha (Luke 10:38-42). Do you resonate more with Mary or Martha? Discuss as a group. Together, commit to embodying more of Mary in your lives. Will you sit at Jesus’ feet more? Will you trust him with that one thing? He will bring you peace that surpasses all understanding.