August 27, 2025 • 49 mins
In this message from Philippians 4:9, David Platt talks about what it means to live a life worthy of imitation.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
You're listening to David Platt Messages a weekly
podcast of sermons and messagesof pastor, author and teacher
David Platt.
Today's episode is a rerun ofone of our most listened to
messages of all time.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I've just got to say from the beginning today and I
think I've said this most everyweek this summer but I am just
in awe of how God is speakingdirectly to what we are walking
through, not just every week,every day, like reading through
(00:33):
the Gospels, this last week withthe end of Mark, like good news
Jesus is not dead, he's alive,and that changes everything.
And then Luke the last few daysthose chapters are so rich.
And then Philippians, chapter 4, where we're studying together
each week and many people areworking to memorize.
(00:54):
Today we're going to close outthis section.
Philippians, chapter 4, verses4 through 9, on anxiety, in a
week when people across ourchurch received news that
schools would not be starting inour counties this fall, leading
to all kinds of questions andconcerns and anxiety and worry
(01:20):
about how this is going to workand how you are going to work,
and how this will affect theeconomy and our lives and our
country, as this pandemiccontinues to have so many
different effects in so manydifferent ways, and into the
middle of this precise moment,unlike anything any one of us
(01:41):
has ever experienced in thisworld, god's word is saying to
us.
So I want us to read it outloud together.
Again, if you're memorizing it,just close your eyes.
But wherever you are, let'sread this out loud and as we do,
hear it as the word of God tous right now.
(02:05):
Philippians, chapter 4, verse 1.
We'll go through verse 9 today.
This is the word of God.
Let's say it out loud together,wherever we are in this room,
in all kinds of places wherewe're gathered literally around
the crown.
Stand firm thus in the Lord, mybeloved.
I entreat Euodia and I entreatSyntyche to agree in the Lord.
(02:39):
Yes, I ask you also, truecompanion.
Yes, I ask you also truecompanion.
Help these women who havelabored side by side with me in
the gospel, together withClement and the rest of my
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fellow workers whose names arein the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Again, I will say rejoice.
Let your reasonableness beknown to everyone.
The Lord is at hand.
Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in everything, by
(03:25):
prayer and supplication, withthanksgiving, let your requests
be made known to God, and thepeace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guardyour hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever istrue, whatever is honorable,
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whatever is just, whatever ispure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, ifthere is any excellence, if
there is anything worthy ofpraise.
Think about these things, whatyou have learned and received
(04:10):
and heard and seen in me.
Practice these things, and theGod of peace will be with you.
Oh God, help us to understandyour word to us right now,
amidst everything going onaround us.
So let's just put this out onthe table.
(04:31):
As people in the middle of apandemic, we are anxious about
many things, like we're anxiousabout many things.
As people in life in general wetalked about this last week we
worry about our lives, ourfamilies, our future, about
finances, about jobs, aboutschool, about health.
(04:54):
We worry in our own thoughts,we worry about what others think
, we worry about ourselves, weworry about others, and that's
just life in general.
So then you throw on top of allof that a pandemic where
everything is out of sort withour lives, families, finances,
jobs, schools, health, so muchunknown about the future and
(05:16):
worry, anxiety just goes to awhole nother level and it can be
so overwhelming Intellectually,emotionally, even spiritually.
We are anxious about manythings.
We live in anxious times andinto the middle of this God is
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saying to our hearts, like rightnow God is saying to us don't
be anxious about anything.
Like we just read it Do not beanxious about anything.
So how is that possible in themiddle of a pandemic, when you
(06:02):
don't know what to do with yourkids at home all day, when you
don't know what to do when youneed to work, when you don't
know how finances are going tocome through or what the future
holds, when you're walkingthrough all sorts of other
challenges in life and healthand family, how do you have
(06:25):
peace that surpasses allunderstanding in everything?
Like some of you many of youare like I'm just not feeling
peace that passes allunderstanding.
Right now, and this is where Iwant you to see what God is
(06:49):
saying to us today, what God hasbeen saying over the last few
weeks that we've seen in thissection of Philippians, chapter
four.
Not by coincidence, god lovesus so much.
He is speaking so clearly to usright now.
So I wanna summarize in thenext few minutes what we are
hearing from God in this part ofPhilippians, chapter 4, capping
(07:12):
off today with verse 9.
I want to summarize what God issaying with four words of
encouragement and two promisesfor every single person in this
room and every single personlistening, wherever you are
right now, so you might writethese down.
I want to offer these words ofencouragement for your life.
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I want to make them asmemorable as possible so that
you can remember them tomorrowor later this week or next week
or next month, whenever you aretempted to worry or be anxious
about anything.
So I sometimes think acrosticscan be kind of cheesy, but if
they're memorable I think theycan be helpful.
(07:56):
So today I want to give you anacrostic Stop, s-t-o-p that you
can have in your mind as soon asan anxious thought comes into
your head, as soon as you feelany sense of worry.
I want you to be able to stop,to pause and do these four
(08:17):
things, s-t-o-p.
And when you do these fourthings, I promise you, based not
on my own authority but on theauthority of the word of God, I
promise you that two things willhappen.
So let me go ahead and give youthe promises from the beginning
as motivation to listen reallyclosely to these four words of
encouragement.
So here's the two promiseswe're going to end with today.
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When you do these four things inthis acrostic stop, you will
one experience the peace of God.
When you do these four thingsin this acrostic stop, you will
one experience the peace of Godwhen you do these four things.
You will experience anotherworldly peace that
surpasses all understanding.
You will experience the peaceof God in your mind, your heart,
your life.
(09:00):
And second promise you willknow the God of peace.
You'll not just experience thisgift of peace from God, you
will know God, the giver ofpeace, and not just know him but
enjoy him and be secure andsatisfied in him and by him.
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So if you want those tworealities in your life, you
wanna experience the peace ofGod and know the God of peace in
a pandemic and in whatever elseyou're walking through, then
remember these four words ofencouragement S-T-O-P.
Whenever you begin to have ananxious or worried thought,
pause and S.
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Seek God in prayer abouteverything.
Seek God in prayer abouteverything.
This is straight from God inverse six in Philippians,
chapter four Do not be anxiousabout anything, but pray about
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everything.
So, in order to be anxiousabout anything, but pray about
everything.
So in order to be anxious aboutnothing, pray about everything.
Seek God in prayer abouteverything.
Martin Luther said pray and letGod worry, which he won't,
because he doesn't have to.
And for those who are hischildren.
You don't have to either.
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This is exactly what Jesus tellsus when he's talking about
worry in Matthew chapter six.
Right, matthew chapter six,verse 31.
Therefore, do not be anxious.
This is straight from Jesussaying what shall we eat, or
what shall we drink, or whatshall we wear Like?
How am I gonna do this?
How's this gonna work?
What's the future hold?
Don't ask these things For theGentiles.
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Seek after all these things,and your heavenly father knows
that you need them all.
What do you do?
But seek first the kingdom ofGod and his righteousness, and
all these things will be addedto you.
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Therefore, do not be anxiousabout tomorrow, for tomorrow
will be anxious for itself,sufficient, for the day is its
own trouble.
Oh, like.
This is worth a short side notehere, because that last part in
this section of Matthew chaptersix is a game changer in the
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battle against anxiety.
Like God guarantees.
Don't miss what Jesus is sayinghere.
God guarantees mercy today forchallenges today, and God
guarantees mercy tomorrow forchallenges tomorrow.
But God doesn't give mercytoday for challenges tomorrow.
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No, today's mercies aredesigned for today's burdens.
Tomorrow's mercies will besufficient for tomorrow's
burdens and anxiety.
Worry so often comes when we arefocused on tomorrow, like we
worry thinking how am I going tomake it through the fall with
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my kids doing virtual school?
How am I going to make thingswork financially in August or
September or October or Novemberor December or next year?
What's going to happen withyear?
What's going to happen withschools?
What's going to happen with theeconomy?
When is a vaccine coming?
How is all this going to affectmy life or my family in this
way or that way in the future?
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And it's not unwise to thinkabout the future.
There's certainly wisdom inplanning for the future as best
as we can.
But when you think about thefuture, particularly when there
are so many unknowns in it, stopand realize one, that God holds
the future in his hands.
And two, god promises to giveyou new mercy in August, new
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mercy in September, new mercy inOctober, November, december
Next year.
God promises that his mercywill always prove sufficient for
you in every new day, whichmeans so?
Follow this.
This means that you don't havethe mercy today that you need
for August, september, october,november next year.
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You know why?
Because it's July 26th and Godis giving mercy today for July
26th, and God promises you willhave mercy for July 27th
tomorrow, and new mercy for July28th and for August, for
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September and so on, as each daycomes and whatever each new day
brings.
And believing this is critical,maybe in some sense the key to
fighting anxiety, realizing thatwhat you need today is not
strength for tomorrow, don'tworry about tomorrow, Jesus says
(14:06):
.
Instead, live in the mercy Godgives you today and believe new
mercy is coming tomorrow andthat mercy will be sufficient
for whatever tomorrow holds Likehow can you not be anxious
about tomorrow?
Here's how, by believing thatnew and sufficient mercy from
God is coming your way everysingle day, for all that day
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holds, which is why.
So now go back to this S we seekGod in prayer about everything.
Like God, I don't know how tomake it through this fall or
this week because of this orthat concern I have, but right
now I'm gonna stop and I'm gonnalift all this to you in prayer.
I'm gonna stop and pray for youto specifically help me, this
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person, in this way, that way,asking for your help
specifically in my life, in mykids, in my family, for my
friends, for this need or thatneed in this situation, that
situation.
I'm gonna pray that and I'mgonna trust that as I pray.
Your mercy is gonna be madeknown in all these different
ways.
When you begin to experienceanxious thoughts or worry,
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immediately stop and seek God inprayer about everything that's
on your mind.
Now just start there.
That's S, then T.
Then trust God through prayersof thanksgiving.
So this is so important in bothMatthew, chapter 6 and in
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Philippians, chapter 4.
To trust God through prayers ofthanksgiving we saw it in
Philippians chapter four, versesix Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, byprayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requestsbe made known to God.
So why with thanksgiving?
The answer is because worry oranxiety.
(16:02):
So, if you remember, for thoseof you who worshiped with us the
first Sunday after the shutdownbegan, we defined worry and
anxiety biblically.
We talked about how there are avariety of different
definitions of anxiety in theworld, including clinical,
medical anxiety with all kindsof physical symptoms.
We saw that worry or anxiety iscarrying concerns in this world
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in such a way that we eitherlose perspective on life or we
lack trust in God.
So how do we keep perspectiveon life and live with trust in
God?
And Philippians chapter 4, verse6 is saying express
thanksgiving to God, which isthe same thing Jesus said back
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in Matthew, chapter 6, verse 26.
We looked at this last weekwhen Jesus said look at the
birds of the air that neithersow nor reap nor gather in the
barns, and yet your heavenlyFather feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
And the answer is yes, you aremore valuable than the birds of
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the air.
So as you begin to worry or beanxious, like, stop, seek God in
prayer about everything that'son your mind and trust that God
loves you and God will help you.
Trust that God will give youeverything you need.
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We're going to see this evenmore starting next week, so
Philippians 4 is only going toget better.
So stop and thank God for allof the ways he loves you, he
cares for you, he promises tohelp you as you lift up your
needs to God.
Going into this week, going intothis fall, thank God in advance
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for the mercy that he'spromised to give you.
Like, instead of worrying aboutthis fall, thank God that he is
going to lead you through thisfall Instead of worrying about
the future.
Thank God that he holds thefuture in his hands Instead of
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worrying about what we don'tknow.
Thank God for the promises thatwe do know.
Instead of worrying about whatyou don't have, thank God for
all the grace you do have.
Trust God through prayers ofthanksgiving.
God, I thank you.
(18:44):
We thank you right now thatCOVID is not in control, are you
thankful for that?
God?
We thank you that our securityis not dependent on our economy.
Our security is dependent onour king.
God, we thank you that you holdour lives and our children, our
loved ones, in the palm of yourhands.
God, we thank you.
You hold our breath in the palmof your hands.
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God, we thank you.
You hold our breath in the palmof your hands.
God, we thank you for yourpromises to be with us, to lead
us, to sustain us, to satisfy us, to guide us, to provide for us
.
Every day, and as we expressprayers of thanksgiving like
this, do you know what begins toreplace worry in our hearts?
Faith, faith.
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I trust the realization that wedon't have to worry because we
have a good God, a great God whopromises to give us every
single thing we need for everysingle moment we face.
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If I stop seek God in prayerabout everything and trust God
through prayers of thanksgiving,then, oh, open your mind to
that which comes from God.
Open your mind to that whichcomes from God.
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So I'll come back to this in aminute, if you're still writing
it down, but this is what wetalked about last week.
We read it just a moment ago.
Finally, brothers, whatever istrue, whatever's honorable,
whatever's just, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, whatever's
commendable, there's anyexcellence, anything worthy of
praise.
Think about these things.
So the way I'm summarizing true, honorable, just, pure, lovely,
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commendable, excellent,praiseworthy is by saying that
which comes from God.
So to stop in your thinking andjust ask is this thought that
I'm having, does it come fromGod?
Does this thought that I'mhaving, does it come from God?
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Does this thought that I'mhaving originate in him?
Is this thought honoring to him?
Is this thought worthy ofpraise before him?
And if not, then remove it fromour minds, like.
Close our minds to that kind ofthinking.
Then remove it from our minds,like.
Close our minds to that kind ofthinking and open our minds to
that which comes from God.
We talked about this last weekhow the battle for peace and joy
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and gentleness begins in ourminds, between our ears, for
what you think determines howyou live.
I wanna show you thisconnection here now, in verses
eight and 9, as we add verse 9this week.
So the Bible's telling us howto have perpetual joy and
gentleness in any circumstanceand surpassing peace, said in
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verse 8, it all happens.
You want to have joy,gentleness and peace.
Then you think about thesethings.
So you think about things thatare true, honorable, just pure,
lovely, commendable, excellentand praiseworthy, and then so
you've got this phrase thinkabout these things in verse
eight.
Then you get to verse nine andit says what you've learned and
received and heard and seen inme practice these things.
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So there's thinking in verseeight and there's practicing in
verse nine Transformed thoughtsthat lead to a transformed life.
And it starts with opening ourminds to that which comes from
God, closing our minds to thatwhich does not come from God.
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So let me give you a picture ofthis in a way that I hope may
be, yeah, extremely helpful,practical, potentially even just
life-changing way to thinkabout this.
So I want you to picture thislike four concentric circles in
our lives.
I'm going to draw it out here.
Then I want to show you thistwo places in the Bible.
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So at the core of our liveslet's look at it this way is a
decision about who or what weare going to worship.
So I'm gonna write worship here, in the very heart.
So either we worship God orourselves or other things that
we put in the place of God, andwho or what we worship then
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affects how we think.
So we'll put in the next circlehere our thoughts.
So if God is on the throne ofour hearts, then our thoughts
will be driven by God, which ispraiseworthy before him.
If we are on the throne of ourhearts, then our thoughts will
be driven by ourselves and whatseems good to us.
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If some other gods say money ison the throne of our hearts,
then our thoughts will revolvearound money.
If our reputation is what'smost important to us, then our
thoughts will revolve aroundwhat helps boost our reputation.
We could go on and on withexamples.
But who or what we worshipdetermines how we think.
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Then how we think affects whatwe desire.
So we'll put in this nextcircle our desires.
So if we think God is good,then we will desire more of God,
and what he says is good.
If we think our ways or theways of this world are good,
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then we will desire the ways ofthis world or our ways Again.
Go back.
If we're consumed with thinkingabout money, then we'll desire
more money.
If we're consumed with thinkingabout what others think about
money, then we'll desire moremoney.
We'll consume with thinkingabout what others think about us
.
Then we'll be focused on whatis going to help others think a
certain way about us.
Then those desires affect ouractions.
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So in this way and this is whatwe saw last week in Philippians
, chapter 4, verse 8, how youthink determines the way you
live.
Now we're seeing it evenclearer with this connection in
Philippians, chapter 4, verse 9.
What you think determines howyou act, how you live.
Now let's kind of test thispicture biblically and see okay,
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is this really what the Bibleteaches?
Let's go to two places.
The first is Romans, chapter 1.
So we'll start in verse 21 ofRomans, chapter 1.
I'll put it up here where theBible is teaching us about sin
in our lives, and I want you tonotice where sin starts.
So, talking about sinful menand women, the Bible says follow
this, for although they knewGod, they neither.
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They did not honor him as Godor give thanks to him, but they
became futile in their thinkingas God or give thanks to him,
but they became futile in theirthinking and their foolish
hearts were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, theybecame fools and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God forimages resembling mortal man and
birds and animals and creepingthings.
So did you hear that?
Where does sin start?
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It starts in a heart that doesnot honor God or give thanks to
him, and a heart that exchangesthe glory of the immortal God
for images resembling mortal manand other things.
So that's worldly worship.
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I think that's not showing upon the screen there.
Okay, we'll put it down here.
That's worldly worship.
Okay, so that's worship wherewe've replaced God on the throne
of our hearts with someone,something else, which leads to
worldly thoughts.
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Okay, they became futile intheir what Thinking.
Claiming to be wise, theybecame fools.
So worldly worship leads toworldly thoughts.
Let's see where it goes fromthis.
Romans 1.24 says Therefore.
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So, in light of let's see if itshows up at the top here.
Barely All right, here we go.
In light of worship that iscentered around the world, that
leads to worldly thoughts.
So therefore, in light of this,god gave them up in the lusts
of their hearts to impurity, thedishonoring of their bodies
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among themselves, because theyexchanged the truth about God
for a lie and worshiped andserved the creature rather than
the creator, who is foreverblessed.
Who is blessed forever, amen.
So did you see that Worldlyworship led to worldly thoughts,
which led to worldly desires.
God gave them up in the lustsof their hearts to impurity,
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which then led to what?
To the dishonoring of theirbodies among themselves.
Worldly actions.
So then, and then it comes backto the core.
Why do they have these worldlydesires and act in this worldly
way?
Because they exchange the truthof God for a lie.
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That's worldly thoughts.
And they worshiped and servedthe creature rather than the
creator, who is blessed forever.
That's worldly worship.
So don't miss it Sin with ourbodies, like worldly actions.
These actions have a root inworldly desires and worldly
thoughts and worldly worship.
So sin starts don't miss itwhen we open up our minds to
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things which do not come fromGod at the center of our lives.
Let me say that again Sinstarts when we open up our minds
to things which do not comefrom God at the center of our
lives.
Let me show you one otherexample of this.
So we looked at this last weekin Genesis, chapter three, the
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first sin in the world.
So if this is the way sinactually works, we would
certainly expect to see it there.
So let's look at this and hangwith me here, because if this,
if what I'm showing you righthere, is true, this has massive
implications for your life, foryour parenting, for your
relationships with other people,for your understanding of the
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world.
So follow this.
Genesis, chapter three.
Let's see if these concentriccircles play out here.
Now the serpent was more craftythan any other beast of the
field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman did Godactually say you shall not eat
of any tree in the garden?
And the woman said to theserpent we may eat of the fruit
of the trees in the garden, butGod said you shall not eat of
the tree that is in the midst ofthe garden.
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Neither shall you touch it lestyou die.
But the serpent said to thewoman you will not surely die,
for God knows that when you eatof it your eyes will be opened
and you will be like God,knowing good and evil.
So when the woman saw the treewas good for food, that it was a
delight to the eyes that thetree was to be desired to make
one wise.
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She took of its fruit and ate.
She also gave some to herhusband, who was with her, and
he ate.
So what's the action here?
She and her husband took of thefruit and ate.
It's not showing there.
Okay, that says action, sorry,action.
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So that's what they did.
They took the fruit and ate.
But don't miss the root thatworldly action was based in.
Worldly what Desire she sawthat the tree was good for food,
that it was a delight to theeyes that the tree was to be
desired to make one wise.
(30:33):
Worldly desires that weregrounded in worldly thinking, a
lie from the devil that said Godand his word are not good, and
they believed it.
So what did they do?
In their worship?
They took God off the throne oftheir hearts.
They put themselves in theposition of thinking that their
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thoughts were better than God'sthoughts, which led to desires
to do that which was againstGod's word, which ultimately led
to action Eating a piece offruit.
God's word which ultimately ledto action eating a piece of
fruit.
So the whole point, again, inshowing this is to see the root
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of sin, like it wasn't when theyate a piece of fruit.
It was when God was not on thethrone of their hearts and
affected the way they startedthinking about him and his word
and their lives.
That led to desires that led toaction.
So what we allow into our minds,when we open up our minds to
what we think about, affects,determines how we act, how we
(31:40):
live.
So consider the massiveimplications of this in so many
different ways, like when youstruggle with sin.
Come back to these circles.
Whatever sin might be out herein your life, when you struggle
with sin, don't just look at theaction you are taking, the
thing you are doing, the wordsyou are speaking, whatever it
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might be.
Look at the root.
Look at the root, like Romans.
Chapter one sexual immoralitywith our bodies starts with not
living for the worship of Godand thinking that in doing this,
looking at that, whatever itmight be, that we'll be
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satisfied.
So that's what we start todesire and so we act.
So how do you stop that action?
So how do you stop that action?
By being transformed by therenewing of your heart and mind,
at the core of who you are.
Think about all your efforts tocombat sinful actions in your
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life in this way, until youaddress what is going on in your
heart and mind, then you willonly be putting a Band-Aid on a
broken limb because you will beignoring the root of any sin,
not just sexual immorality.
And then think about theimplication, not just in our
lives but for helping othersavoid sin.
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I think about parenting.
When my child does somethingwrong, if all I say is don't do
that, then I'm not helping themnear as much as I would be
helping if I sit down and saywhy did you do that?
And help them to see the rootof their action in desires and
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thoughts and, ultimately, aheart that's turning aside from
God in that moment and this isnot just for parenting.
As the church, as we help eachother grow in Christ, as we help
each other turn from sin, let'shelp each other identify the
heart, the thoughts, the desiresat the root of the things we
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struggle with Now.
Bring all this back around tostopping anxiety and worry.
Anxiety and worry happen whenwe forget that God is on the
throne of our hearts and ourlives and the world around us,
(34:10):
and we begin to think thoughtsthat are not true or honorable
or just or pure or lovely orcommendable or praiseworthy,
which spirals downward intounhelpful emotions of despair
(34:30):
and distress and discouragement,which lead to unhelpful actions
in all kinds of ways, frombeing short or harsh with the
people around us to missing outin so many ways on the abundant
life and the great things Godhas for us.
(34:51):
And the key to fighting thisbattle is stopping like pausing
and opening our minds to thatwhich comes from God.
That's why O is critical inthis whole picture.
So stop, seek God in prayerabout everything.
Trust God through prayers ofthanksgiving, oh, open your mind
(35:15):
to that which is from God.
This is where the battle israging.
And then P practice the word ofGod.
Practice the word of God.
That's the exact language wehave in Philippians, chapter
four, verse nine Remember, thinkabout these things.
In verse eight, verse ninepractice these things.
(35:39):
Practice these things and itmakes sense in light of what he
just said before this in versenine Whatever you have learned,
received, heard and seen.
So what we learn, what are wesupposed to?
What's supposed to happen whenwe learn?
So what we learn, what are wesupposed to?
What's supposed to happen whenwe learn?
We do what we learn, we applywhat we receive, we obey what we
(36:04):
hear, we follow what we see.
I gotta just point out theobvious Like if you hear this
message, this word from God inPhilippians, chapter four, and
then you don't do it, you don'tstop and do these things, then
this message, this word from Godwill not do you any good.
(36:25):
It's exactly what God says inJames, chapter one, verse 22.
Be doers of the word, nothearers only, deceiving
yourselves.
For anyone is a.
If anyone is a hearer of theword, not a doer, he's like a
man who looks intently at hisnatural face in a mirror, for he
(36:45):
looks at himself and goes awayand at once forgets what he
looks like.
But the one who looks into theperfect law, the law of liberty,
and perseveres being no hearerwho forgets, but a doer who acts
, he will be blessed in hisdoing Like.
If you hear these words ofencouragement for fighting
(37:05):
anxiety and you think, well,that was helpful, but you don't
actually stop and do thesethings, when you begin to think
anxious or worrisome thoughts,then you are deceiving yourself
and you will miss the blessingof God, and not just you but
others.
There's a powerful word here,back in Philippians, chapter
(37:26):
four, verse nine, for and we canspend a ton of time here we
won't.
But this is so importantbecause Paul's not just saying
what you've learned and receivedand heard and seen in Jesus or
in God's word, practice thesethings.
Paul just said what you havelearned and received and heard
and seen in me, practice thesethings.
(37:47):
That's a bold statement, isn'tit?
And whatever you see me doing,do those things and the God of
peace will be with you.
And he just actually said a fewverses before this.
In the end of Philippians,chapter three, something very
similar.
He said brothers, join inimitating me.
(38:07):
That's a bold statement.
To say to somebody else justimitate me.
That's a bold statement.
To say to somebody else justimitate me.
Paul's saying to theseChristians just do what I do,
which might sound arrogant untilwe put this together what Paul
said in 1 Corinthians, chapter11, verse 1, when he said be
imitators of me, as I am, of whoOf Christ.
So what Paul is saying is Iwant so badly for you to follow
(38:32):
Christ that I will do everythingI can to show you what that
looks like in action, such thatif you live like me, then you
will be living like Jesus, andit's not just Paul.
Back in Philippians 3, 17, paulsays brothers, join in
imitating me and keep your eyeson those who walk according to
(38:56):
the example you have in us.
In other words, focus your eyeson people who are living like
Jesus and become more and morelike them, and the process
become more and more like him.
So I've got to at least justpause at this point and ask
(39:17):
every single follower of Jesus aquestion based on Philippians 4
and 9.
Is your life worthy of imitation?
Yes, by those around you.
If other people follow yourlife, will they be following
Jesus?
(39:38):
Students, teenagers, children,like?
Is this a way you woulddescribe your life?
This is what Paul said toTimothy Let no one despise you
for your youth, but set thebelievers an example in speech,
in conduct, in love, in faith,in purity and single brothers
(40:03):
and sisters.
Is your life worthy ofimitation, just abandoned to God
and his purposes?
Husbands, wives, is your lifeworthy of imitation such that if
a husband or a wife were livinglike you are, they would be
following Jesus in a way thattotally honored their spouse?
(40:23):
Parents?
Is your life worthy ofimitation by your kids, such
that if your kids walk withJesus like you walk with Jesus,
they will be experiencing deep,true intimacy with Jesus.
(40:45):
I was reading this week aboutJohn Patton.
He's one of my favorite peoplein history.
He was one of my favoritebiographies.
John Patton took the gospel toa never before reached
cannibalistic people on thisremote island and today that
island is 94% Christian.
And his story it's amazing.
(41:05):
I highly recommend hisbiography.
There's all kinds of things Icould say about him, but this
week on two different occasionsI found myself reading about the
influence of John Patton's dad.
There's all kinds of things Icould say about him, but this
week on two different occasionsI found myself reading about the
influence of John Patton's dadon his life.
So James Patton and John Pattontalked about how his dad had a
room in the house that hisfamily knew whenever their dad
(41:28):
went into that room that he wasmeeting with God, they could
hear him praying from outsidethe room.
They would occasionally walk injust see him on his knees
before God.
He talked about how his dadwould gather his kids around the
family room.
They would kneel to praytogether and his dad would just
pour out his soul and please toGod for provision of their needs
(41:51):
and tears for people to come toknow Christ.
He talked about how the familywould walk together four miles
to church every Sunday and in 40years John Patton could
remember three times that hisdad missed church Once because
of snow, once because of ice andonce because of a cholera
outbreak.
And you might think that walkwould lead to a lot of
(42:15):
complaining among the kids, butPatton and his 10 siblings said
their dad made going to church ajoy because they saw such joy
in him.
He talked about how his dadwould read the Bible to them,
would teach them what it meansaround their dinner table and
show them what it looks like inpractice.
(42:39):
So dads like, let me just askyou if your kids well, maybe
just ask in the most simple waypossible like what are your kids
seeing in you about what itmeans to follow Jesus?
If your kids live just like you, will they be following Jesus
(43:05):
with all their hearts?
And God has entrusted you, me,us, as dads, with the
responsibility to show our wivesand children how to follow
Jesus, and they will not be whatthey cannot see, and not just
(43:28):
dads, moms.
We've mentioned the reality ofkids being home from school.
Again, I don't presume to knowall the challenges that will
bring.
But I do want to encourage you,mom and dad don't underestimate
for a second the value of moretime with your children this
fall, more time for them to seein you the spirit of Jesus, the
(43:52):
life of Jesus.
There is nothing more valuablefor our children than for them
to see Jesus in us.
And obviously this is not justkids and parents, for all of us
in the church.
Let's each ask the questionlike if our family or friends or
(44:13):
neighbors or coworkers or groupmembers live just like us, will
they be following Jesus withall of their hearts?
Let's take responsibility forshowing others what the life of
Christ looks like in action.
This is what it means to be aChristian, to follow Jesus in
(44:35):
such a way that we're leadingothers to Jesus.
All this is P practice the wordof God.
And when we do these things,when we stop and seek God in
prayer about everything, trustGod through prayers of
thanksgiving, open your mind tothat which comes from God and
(44:56):
practice the word that you havelearned and received and heard
and seen.
When you do these things.
This is straight from the mouthof God.
Here are the two promises Oneyou will experience the peace of
God.
You will experience this peace.
Verse seven the peace of God,which surpasses all
understanding, will this is apromise will guard your hearts
(45:19):
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
You will experience the peaceof God when you pray about
everything with thanksgiving andyou think about these things
and you practice these things.
This is a promise.
You will experience otherworldly, all surpassing peace
from God and and you will knowthe God of peace Philippians
(45:46):
4.9,.
The God of peace will be withyou.
This is so awesome.
You will not just receive agift from God peace, you will
receive the gift of God himself.
God himself will be with you asyour peace.
(46:06):
This is the gospel.
This is what Jesus makespossible.
We have all sinned against God.
We're separated from God, fromhis peace, from his joy, from
his life.
If we die in this state ofseparation from God, we will
experience eternity, separatedfrom his peace and joy and life.
But God loves us.
God has sent his son Jesus todie for us so that, when we put
(46:29):
our faith, our trust in him,we're reconciled to relationship
with God, to know him and towalk with him and to experience
his peace and joy and life.
You and I, through faith inJesus have been reconciled to
God himself, the God who says so.
I'll close here.
Just summarize what we've seenin Philippians 4, 4-9.
In a world where we are proneto anxiety and worry you and I,
(46:54):
when we trust in God in all theways we've seen, we stop and we
do these things.
We will know the God who says Iguard your heart and I guard
your mind.
Like I care for you, I willtake care of you.
I will protect you, trust me.
Take care of you, I willprotect you, trust me.
(47:15):
Jesus said it in Matthew 6.
You're worth more than thebirds of the air, the lilies in
the field.
You can trust me to care foryou, and not only to care for
you but to carry you.
I will be with you.
God's not just saying you havemy peace.
God says you have me with youas you look forward to a fall
(47:35):
and a future of unknowns.
The God of peace says I carefor you, I will carry you.
And ultimately, here inPhilippians 4, the God of peace.
Remember what it said all theway back in verse 5, beginning
of this passage the Lord is athand.
In other words, the God ofpeace says I am coming for you,
(47:58):
and there's coming a day whenthis world, with all of its
worries, will one day pass away.
There's coming a day when therewill be no more worries and no
more anxiety and no morepandemic and no more pain and no
more unknowns and no moresorrow and no more sin and no
more death for our no morepandemic and no more pain and no
more unknowns and no moresorrow and no more sin and no
more death.
For our God is coming for us.
One day, the temptation toworry or be anxious will be no
(48:21):
more, for we will dwell foreverwith God in everlasting worship
and eternal security.
And that is good news.
Speaker 1 (48:29):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
David Platt Messages.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
Radicalnet.
That is good news.
You're listening to David Platt Messages a weekly
podcast of sermons and messagesof pastor, author and teacher
David Platt.
Today's episode is a rerun ofone of our most listened to
messages of all time.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
I've just got to say from the beginning today and I
think I've said this most everyweek this summer but I am just
in awe of how God is speakingdirectly to what we are walking
through, not just every week,every day, like reading through
(00:33):
the Gospels, this last week withthe end of Mark, like good news
Jesus is not dead, he's alive,and that changes everything.
And then Luke the last few daysthose chapters are so rich.
And then Philippians, chapter 4, where we're studying together
each week and many people areworking to memorize.
(00:54):
Today we're going to close outthis section.
Philippians, chapter 4, verses4 through 9, on anxiety, in a
week when people across ourchurch received news that
schools would not be starting inour counties this fall, leading
to all kinds of questions andconcerns and anxiety and worry
(01:20):
about how this is going to workand how you are going to work,
and how this will affect theeconomy and our lives and our
country, as this pandemiccontinues to have so many
different effects in so manydifferent ways, and into the
middle of this precise moment,unlike anything any one of us
(01:41):
has ever experienced in thisworld, god's word is saying to
us.
So I want us to read it outloud together.
Again, if you're memorizing it,just close your eyes.
But wherever you are, let'sread this out loud and as we do,
hear it as the word of God tous right now.
(02:05):
Philippians, chapter 4, verse 1.
We'll go through verse 9 today.
This is the word of God.
Let's say it out loud together,wherever we are in this room,
in all kinds of places wherewe're gathered literally around
the crown.
Stand firm thus in the Lord, mybeloved.
I entreat Euodia and I entreatSyntyche to agree in the Lord.
(02:39):
Yes, I ask you also, truecompanion.
Yes, I ask you also truecompanion.
Help these women who havelabored side by side with me in
the gospel, together withClement and the rest of my
(02:59):
fellow workers whose names arein the book of life.
Rejoice in the Lord always.
Again, I will say rejoice.
Let your reasonableness beknown to everyone.
The Lord is at hand.
Do not be anxious aboutanything, but in everything, by
(03:25):
prayer and supplication, withthanksgiving, let your requests
be made known to God, and thepeace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guardyour hearts and your minds in
Christ Jesus.
Finally, brothers, whatever istrue, whatever is honorable,
(03:48):
whatever is just, whatever ispure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is commendable, ifthere is any excellence, if
there is anything worthy ofpraise.
Think about these things, whatyou have learned and received
(04:10):
and heard and seen in me.
Practice these things, and theGod of peace will be with you.
Oh God, help us to understandyour word to us right now,
amidst everything going onaround us.
So let's just put this out onthe table.
(04:31):
As people in the middle of apandemic, we are anxious about
many things, like we're anxiousabout many things.
As people in life in general wetalked about this last week we
worry about our lives, ourfamilies, our future, about
finances, about jobs, aboutschool, about health.
(04:54):
We worry in our own thoughts,we worry about what others think
, we worry about ourselves, weworry about others, and that's
just life in general.
So then you throw on top of allof that a pandemic where
everything is out of sort withour lives, families, finances,
jobs, schools, health, so muchunknown about the future and
(05:16):
worry, anxiety just goes to awhole nother level and it can be
so overwhelming Intellectually,emotionally, even spiritually.
We are anxious about manythings.
We live in anxious times andinto the middle of this God is
(05:37):
saying to our hearts, like rightnow God is saying to us don't
be anxious about anything.
Like we just read it Do not beanxious about anything.
So how is that possible in themiddle of a pandemic, when you
(06:02):
don't know what to do with yourkids at home all day, when you
don't know what to do when youneed to work, when you don't
know how finances are going tocome through or what the future
holds, when you're walkingthrough all sorts of other
challenges in life and healthand family, how do you have
(06:25):
peace that surpasses allunderstanding in everything?
Like some of you many of youare like I'm just not feeling
peace that passes allunderstanding.
Right now, and this is where Iwant you to see what God is
(06:49):
saying to us today, what God hasbeen saying over the last few
weeks that we've seen in thissection of Philippians, chapter
four.
Not by coincidence, god lovesus so much.
He is speaking so clearly to usright now.
So I wanna summarize in thenext few minutes what we are
hearing from God in this part ofPhilippians, chapter 4, capping
(07:12):
off today with verse 9.
I want to summarize what God issaying with four words of
encouragement and two promisesfor every single person in this
room and every single personlistening, wherever you are
right now, so you might writethese down.
I want to offer these words ofencouragement for your life.
(07:34):
I want to make them asmemorable as possible so that
you can remember them tomorrowor later this week or next week
or next month, whenever you aretempted to worry or be anxious
about anything.
So I sometimes think acrosticscan be kind of cheesy, but if
they're memorable I think theycan be helpful.
(07:56):
So today I want to give you anacrostic Stop, s-t-o-p that you
can have in your mind as soon asan anxious thought comes into
your head, as soon as you feelany sense of worry.
I want you to be able to stop,to pause and do these four
(08:17):
things, s-t-o-p.
And when you do these fourthings, I promise you, based not
on my own authority but on theauthority of the word of God, I
promise you that two things willhappen.
So let me go ahead and give youthe promises from the beginning
as motivation to listen reallyclosely to these four words of
encouragement.
So here's the two promiseswe're going to end with today.
(08:40):
When you do these four things inthis acrostic stop, you will
one experience the peace of God.
When you do these four thingsin this acrostic stop, you will
one experience the peace of Godwhen you do these four things.
You will experience anotherworldly peace that
surpasses all understanding.
You will experience the peaceof God in your mind, your heart,
your life.
(09:00):
And second promise you willknow the God of peace.
You'll not just experience thisgift of peace from God, you
will know God, the giver ofpeace, and not just know him but
enjoy him and be secure andsatisfied in him and by him.
(09:23):
So if you want those tworealities in your life, you
wanna experience the peace ofGod and know the God of peace in
a pandemic and in whatever elseyou're walking through, then
remember these four words ofencouragement S-T-O-P.
Whenever you begin to have ananxious or worried thought,
pause and S.
(09:44):
Seek God in prayer abouteverything.
Seek God in prayer abouteverything.
This is straight from God inverse six in Philippians,
chapter four Do not be anxiousabout anything, but pray about
(10:05):
everything.
So, in order to be anxiousabout anything, but pray about
everything.
So in order to be anxious aboutnothing, pray about everything.
Seek God in prayer abouteverything.
Martin Luther said pray and letGod worry, which he won't,
because he doesn't have to.
And for those who are hischildren.
You don't have to either.
(10:25):
This is exactly what Jesus tellsus when he's talking about
worry in Matthew chapter six.
Right, matthew chapter six,verse 31.
Therefore, do not be anxious.
This is straight from Jesussaying what shall we eat, or
what shall we drink, or whatshall we wear Like?
How am I gonna do this?
How's this gonna work?
What's the future hold?
Don't ask these things For theGentiles.
(10:46):
Seek after all these things,and your heavenly father knows
that you need them all.
What do you do?
But seek first the kingdom ofGod and his righteousness, and
all these things will be addedto you.
(11:08):
Therefore, do not be anxiousabout tomorrow, for tomorrow
will be anxious for itself,sufficient, for the day is its
own trouble.
Oh, like.
This is worth a short side notehere, because that last part in
this section of Matthew chaptersix is a game changer in the
(11:28):
battle against anxiety.
Like God guarantees.
Don't miss what Jesus is sayinghere.
God guarantees mercy today forchallenges today, and God
guarantees mercy tomorrow forchallenges tomorrow.
But God doesn't give mercytoday for challenges tomorrow.
(11:54):
No, today's mercies aredesigned for today's burdens.
Tomorrow's mercies will besufficient for tomorrow's
burdens and anxiety.
Worry so often comes when we arefocused on tomorrow, like we
worry thinking how am I going tomake it through the fall with
(12:14):
my kids doing virtual school?
How am I going to make thingswork financially in August or
September or October or Novemberor December or next year?
What's going to happen withyear?
What's going to happen withschools?
What's going to happen with theeconomy?
When is a vaccine coming?
How is all this going to affectmy life or my family in this
way or that way in the future?
(12:36):
And it's not unwise to thinkabout the future.
There's certainly wisdom inplanning for the future as best
as we can.
But when you think about thefuture, particularly when there
are so many unknowns in it, stopand realize one, that God holds
the future in his hands.
And two, god promises to giveyou new mercy in August, new
(13:02):
mercy in September, new mercy inOctober, November, december
Next year.
God promises that his mercywill always prove sufficient for
you in every new day, whichmeans so?
Follow this.
This means that you don't havethe mercy today that you need
for August, september, october,november next year.
(13:22):
You know why?
Because it's July 26th and Godis giving mercy today for July
26th, and God promises you willhave mercy for July 27th
tomorrow, and new mercy for July28th and for August, for
(13:43):
September and so on, as each daycomes and whatever each new day
brings.
And believing this is critical,maybe in some sense the key to
fighting anxiety, realizing thatwhat you need today is not
strength for tomorrow, don'tworry about tomorrow, Jesus says
(14:06):
.
Instead, live in the mercy Godgives you today and believe new
mercy is coming tomorrow andthat mercy will be sufficient
for whatever tomorrow holds Likehow can you not be anxious
about tomorrow?
Here's how, by believing thatnew and sufficient mercy from
God is coming your way everysingle day, for all that day
(14:32):
holds, which is why.
So now go back to this S we seekGod in prayer about everything.
Like God, I don't know how tomake it through this fall or
this week because of this orthat concern I have, but right
now I'm gonna stop and I'm gonnalift all this to you in prayer.
I'm gonna stop and pray for youto specifically help me, this
(14:55):
person, in this way, that way,asking for your help
specifically in my life, in mykids, in my family, for my
friends, for this need or thatneed in this situation, that
situation.
I'm gonna pray that and I'mgonna trust that as I pray.
Your mercy is gonna be madeknown in all these different
ways.
When you begin to experienceanxious thoughts or worry,
(15:19):
immediately stop and seek God inprayer about everything that's
on your mind.
Now just start there.
That's S, then T.
Then trust God through prayersof thanksgiving.
So this is so important in bothMatthew, chapter 6 and in
(15:39):
Philippians, chapter 4.
To trust God through prayers ofthanksgiving we saw it in
Philippians chapter four, versesix Do not be anxious about
anything, but in everything, byprayer and supplication, with
thanksgiving, let your requestsbe made known to God.
So why with thanksgiving?
The answer is because worry oranxiety.
(16:02):
So, if you remember, for thoseof you who worshiped with us the
first Sunday after the shutdownbegan, we defined worry and
anxiety biblically.
We talked about how there are avariety of different
definitions of anxiety in theworld, including clinical,
medical anxiety with all kindsof physical symptoms.
We saw that worry or anxiety iscarrying concerns in this world
(16:29):
in such a way that we eitherlose perspective on life or we
lack trust in God.
So how do we keep perspectiveon life and live with trust in
God?
And Philippians chapter 4, verse6 is saying express
thanksgiving to God, which isthe same thing Jesus said back
(16:51):
in Matthew, chapter 6, verse 26.
We looked at this last weekwhen Jesus said look at the
birds of the air that neithersow nor reap nor gather in the
barns, and yet your heavenlyFather feeds them.
Are you not of more value thanthey?
And the answer is yes, you aremore valuable than the birds of
(17:17):
the air.
So as you begin to worry or beanxious, like, stop, seek God in
prayer about everything that'son your mind and trust that God
loves you and God will help you.
Trust that God will give youeverything you need.
(17:40):
We're going to see this evenmore starting next week, so
Philippians 4 is only going toget better.
So stop and thank God for allof the ways he loves you, he
cares for you, he promises tohelp you as you lift up your
needs to God.
Going into this week, going intothis fall, thank God in advance
(18:03):
for the mercy that he'spromised to give you.
Like, instead of worrying aboutthis fall, thank God that he is
going to lead you through thisfall Instead of worrying about
the future.
Thank God that he holds thefuture in his hands Instead of
(18:24):
worrying about what we don'tknow.
Thank God for the promises thatwe do know.
Instead of worrying about whatyou don't have, thank God for
all the grace you do have.
Trust God through prayers ofthanksgiving.
God, I thank you.
(18:44):
We thank you right now thatCOVID is not in control, are you
thankful for that?
God?
We thank you that our securityis not dependent on our economy.
Our security is dependent onour king.
God, we thank you that you holdour lives and our children, our
loved ones, in the palm of yourhands.
God, we thank you.
You hold our breath in the palmof your hands.
(19:05):
God, we thank you.
You hold our breath in the palmof your hands.
God, we thank you for yourpromises to be with us, to lead
us, to sustain us, to satisfy us, to guide us, to provide for us
.
Every day, and as we expressprayers of thanksgiving like
this, do you know what begins toreplace worry in our hearts?
Faith, faith.
(19:27):
I trust the realization that wedon't have to worry because we
have a good God, a great God whopromises to give us every
single thing we need for everysingle moment we face.
(19:50):
If I stop seek God in prayerabout everything and trust God
through prayers of thanksgiving,then, oh, open your mind to
that which comes from God.
Open your mind to that whichcomes from God.
(20:12):
So I'll come back to this in aminute, if you're still writing
it down, but this is what wetalked about last week.
We read it just a moment ago.
Finally, brothers, whatever istrue, whatever's honorable,
whatever's just, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely, whatever's
commendable, there's anyexcellence, anything worthy of
praise.
Think about these things.
So the way I'm summarizing true, honorable, just, pure, lovely,
(20:36):
commendable, excellent,praiseworthy is by saying that
which comes from God.
So to stop in your thinking andjust ask is this thought that
I'm having, does it come fromGod?
Does this thought that I'mhaving, does it come from God?
(20:57):
Does this thought that I'mhaving originate in him?
Is this thought honoring to him?
Is this thought worthy ofpraise before him?
And if not, then remove it fromour minds, like.
Close our minds to that kind ofthinking.
Then remove it from our minds,like.
Close our minds to that kind ofthinking and open our minds to
that which comes from God.
We talked about this last weekhow the battle for peace and joy
(21:21):
and gentleness begins in ourminds, between our ears, for
what you think determines howyou live.
I wanna show you thisconnection here now, in verses
eight and 9, as we add verse 9this week.
So the Bible's telling us howto have perpetual joy and
gentleness in any circumstanceand surpassing peace, said in
(21:42):
verse 8, it all happens.
You want to have joy,gentleness and peace.
Then you think about thesethings.
So you think about things thatare true, honorable, just pure,
lovely, commendable, excellentand praiseworthy, and then so
you've got this phrase thinkabout these things in verse
eight.
Then you get to verse nine andit says what you've learned and
received and heard and seen inme practice these things.
(22:04):
So there's thinking in verseeight and there's practicing in
verse nine Transformed thoughtsthat lead to a transformed life.
And it starts with opening ourminds to that which comes from
God, closing our minds to thatwhich does not come from God.
(22:26):
So let me give you a picture ofthis in a way that I hope may
be, yeah, extremely helpful,practical, potentially even just
life-changing way to thinkabout this.
So I want you to picture thislike four concentric circles in
our lives.
I'm going to draw it out here.
Then I want to show you thistwo places in the Bible.
(22:49):
So at the core of our liveslet's look at it this way is a
decision about who or what weare going to worship.
So I'm gonna write worship here, in the very heart.
So either we worship God orourselves or other things that
we put in the place of God, andwho or what we worship then
(23:13):
affects how we think.
So we'll put in the next circlehere our thoughts.
So if God is on the throne ofour hearts, then our thoughts
will be driven by God, which ispraiseworthy before him.
If we are on the throne of ourhearts, then our thoughts will
be driven by ourselves and whatseems good to us.
(23:35):
If some other gods say money ison the throne of our hearts,
then our thoughts will revolvearound money.
If our reputation is what'smost important to us, then our
thoughts will revolve aroundwhat helps boost our reputation.
We could go on and on withexamples.
But who or what we worshipdetermines how we think.
(23:57):
Then how we think affects whatwe desire.
So we'll put in this nextcircle our desires.
So if we think God is good,then we will desire more of God,
and what he says is good.
If we think our ways or theways of this world are good,
(24:19):
then we will desire the ways ofthis world or our ways Again.
Go back.
If we're consumed with thinkingabout money, then we'll desire
more money.
If we're consumed with thinkingabout what others think about
money, then we'll desire moremoney.
We'll consume with thinkingabout what others think about us
.
Then we'll be focused on whatis going to help others think a
certain way about us.
Then those desires affect ouractions.
(24:41):
So in this way and this is whatwe saw last week in Philippians
, chapter 4, verse 8, how youthink determines the way you
live.
Now we're seeing it evenclearer with this connection in
Philippians, chapter 4, verse 9.
What you think determines howyou act, how you live.
Now let's kind of test thispicture biblically and see okay,
(25:02):
is this really what the Bibleteaches?
Let's go to two places.
The first is Romans, chapter 1.
So we'll start in verse 21 ofRomans, chapter 1.
I'll put it up here where theBible is teaching us about sin
in our lives, and I want you tonotice where sin starts.
So, talking about sinful menand women, the Bible says follow
this, for although they knewGod, they neither.
(25:25):
They did not honor him as Godor give thanks to him, but they
became futile in their thinkingas God or give thanks to him,
but they became futile in theirthinking and their foolish
hearts were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, theybecame fools and exchanged the
glory of the immortal God forimages resembling mortal man and
birds and animals and creepingthings.
So did you hear that?
Where does sin start?
(25:47):
It starts in a heart that doesnot honor God or give thanks to
him, and a heart that exchangesthe glory of the immortal God
for images resembling mortal manand other things.
So that's worldly worship.
(26:10):
I think that's not showing upon the screen there.
Okay, we'll put it down here.
That's worldly worship.
Okay, so that's worship wherewe've replaced God on the throne
of our hearts with someone,something else, which leads to
worldly thoughts.
(26:31):
Okay, they became futile intheir what Thinking.
Claiming to be wise, theybecame fools.
So worldly worship leads toworldly thoughts.
Let's see where it goes fromthis.
Romans 1.24 says Therefore.
(26:54):
So, in light of let's see if itshows up at the top here.
Barely All right, here we go.
In light of worship that iscentered around the world, that
leads to worldly thoughts.
So therefore, in light of this,god gave them up in the lusts
of their hearts to impurity, thedishonoring of their bodies
(27:17):
among themselves, because theyexchanged the truth about God
for a lie and worshiped andserved the creature rather than
the creator, who is foreverblessed.
Who is blessed forever, amen.
So did you see that Worldlyworship led to worldly thoughts,
which led to worldly desires.
God gave them up in the lustsof their hearts to impurity,
(27:43):
which then led to what?
To the dishonoring of theirbodies among themselves.
Worldly actions.
So then, and then it comes backto the core.
Why do they have these worldlydesires and act in this worldly
way?
Because they exchange the truthof God for a lie.
(28:04):
That's worldly thoughts.
And they worshiped and servedthe creature rather than the
creator, who is blessed forever.
That's worldly worship.
So don't miss it Sin with ourbodies, like worldly actions.
These actions have a root inworldly desires and worldly
thoughts and worldly worship.
So sin starts don't miss itwhen we open up our minds to
(28:28):
things which do not come fromGod at the center of our lives.
Let me say that again Sinstarts when we open up our minds
to things which do not comefrom God at the center of our
lives.
Let me show you one otherexample of this.
So we looked at this last weekin Genesis, chapter three, the
(28:49):
first sin in the world.
So if this is the way sinactually works, we would
certainly expect to see it there.
So let's look at this and hangwith me here, because if this,
if what I'm showing you righthere, is true, this has massive
implications for your life, foryour parenting, for your
relationships with other people,for your understanding of the
(29:10):
world.
So follow this.
Genesis, chapter three.
Let's see if these concentriccircles play out here.
Now the serpent was more craftythan any other beast of the
field that the Lord God had made.
He said to the woman did Godactually say you shall not eat
of any tree in the garden?
And the woman said to theserpent we may eat of the fruit
of the trees in the garden, butGod said you shall not eat of
the tree that is in the midst ofthe garden.
(29:30):
Neither shall you touch it lestyou die.
But the serpent said to thewoman you will not surely die,
for God knows that when you eatof it your eyes will be opened
and you will be like God,knowing good and evil.
So when the woman saw the treewas good for food, that it was a
delight to the eyes that thetree was to be desired to make
one wise.
(29:51):
She took of its fruit and ate.
She also gave some to herhusband, who was with her, and
he ate.
So what's the action here?
She and her husband took of thefruit and ate.
It's not showing there.
Okay, that says action, sorry,action.
(30:11):
So that's what they did.
They took the fruit and ate.
But don't miss the root thatworldly action was based in.
Worldly what Desire she sawthat the tree was good for food,
that it was a delight to theeyes that the tree was to be
desired to make one wise.
(30:33):
Worldly desires that weregrounded in worldly thinking, a
lie from the devil that said Godand his word are not good, and
they believed it.
So what did they do?
In their worship?
They took God off the throne oftheir hearts.
They put themselves in theposition of thinking that their
(30:57):
thoughts were better than God'sthoughts, which led to desires
to do that which was againstGod's word, which ultimately led
to action Eating a piece offruit.
God's word which ultimately ledto action eating a piece of
fruit.
So the whole point, again, inshowing this is to see the root
(31:18):
of sin, like it wasn't when theyate a piece of fruit.
It was when God was not on thethrone of their hearts and
affected the way they startedthinking about him and his word
and their lives.
That led to desires that led toaction.
So what we allow into our minds,when we open up our minds to
what we think about, affects,determines how we act, how we
(31:40):
live.
So consider the massiveimplications of this in so many
different ways, like when youstruggle with sin.
Come back to these circles.
Whatever sin might be out herein your life, when you struggle
with sin, don't just look at theaction you are taking, the
thing you are doing, the wordsyou are speaking, whatever it
(32:01):
might be.
Look at the root.
Look at the root, like Romans.
Chapter one sexual immoralitywith our bodies starts with not
living for the worship of Godand thinking that in doing this,
looking at that, whatever itmight be, that we'll be
(32:21):
satisfied.
So that's what we start todesire and so we act.
So how do you stop that action?
So how do you stop that action?
By being transformed by therenewing of your heart and mind,
at the core of who you are.
Think about all your efforts tocombat sinful actions in your
(32:44):
life in this way, until youaddress what is going on in your
heart and mind, then you willonly be putting a Band-Aid on a
broken limb because you will beignoring the root of any sin,
not just sexual immorality.
And then think about theimplication, not just in our
lives but for helping othersavoid sin.
(33:05):
I think about parenting.
When my child does somethingwrong, if all I say is don't do
that, then I'm not helping themnear as much as I would be
helping if I sit down and saywhy did you do that?
And help them to see the rootof their action in desires and
(33:27):
thoughts and, ultimately, aheart that's turning aside from
God in that moment and this isnot just for parenting.
As the church, as we help eachother grow in Christ, as we help
each other turn from sin, let'shelp each other identify the
heart, the thoughts, the desiresat the root of the things we
(33:48):
struggle with Now.
Bring all this back around tostopping anxiety and worry.
Anxiety and worry happen whenwe forget that God is on the
throne of our hearts and ourlives and the world around us,
(34:10):
and we begin to think thoughtsthat are not true or honorable
or just or pure or lovely orcommendable or praiseworthy,
which spirals downward intounhelpful emotions of despair
(34:30):
and distress and discouragement,which lead to unhelpful actions
in all kinds of ways, frombeing short or harsh with the
people around us to missing outin so many ways on the abundant
life and the great things Godhas for us.
(34:51):
And the key to fighting thisbattle is stopping like pausing
and opening our minds to thatwhich comes from God.
That's why O is critical inthis whole picture.
So stop, seek God in prayerabout everything.
Trust God through prayers ofthanksgiving, oh, open your mind
(35:15):
to that which is from God.
This is where the battle israging.
And then P practice the word ofGod.
Practice the word of God.
That's the exact language wehave in Philippians, chapter
four, verse nine Remember, thinkabout these things.
In verse eight, verse ninepractice these things.
(35:39):
Practice these things and itmakes sense in light of what he
just said before this in versenine Whatever you have learned,
received, heard and seen.
So what we learn, what are wesupposed to?
What's supposed to happen whenwe learn?
So what we learn, what are wesupposed to?
What's supposed to happen whenwe learn?
We do what we learn, we applywhat we receive, we obey what we
(36:04):
hear, we follow what we see.
I gotta just point out theobvious Like if you hear this
message, this word from God inPhilippians, chapter four, and
then you don't do it, you don'tstop and do these things, then
this message, this word from Godwill not do you any good.
(36:25):
It's exactly what God says inJames, chapter one, verse 22.
Be doers of the word, nothearers only, deceiving
yourselves.
For anyone is a.
If anyone is a hearer of theword, not a doer, he's like a
man who looks intently at hisnatural face in a mirror, for he
(36:45):
looks at himself and goes awayand at once forgets what he
looks like.
But the one who looks into theperfect law, the law of liberty,
and perseveres being no hearerwho forgets, but a doer who acts
, he will be blessed in hisdoing Like.
If you hear these words ofencouragement for fighting
(37:05):
anxiety and you think, well,that was helpful, but you don't
actually stop and do thesethings, when you begin to think
anxious or worrisome thoughts,then you are deceiving yourself
and you will miss the blessingof God, and not just you but
others.
There's a powerful word here,back in Philippians, chapter
(37:26):
four, verse nine, for and we canspend a ton of time here we
won't.
But this is so importantbecause Paul's not just saying
what you've learned and receivedand heard and seen in Jesus or
in God's word, practice thesethings.
Paul just said what you havelearned and received and heard
and seen in me, practice thesethings.
(37:47):
That's a bold statement, isn'tit?
And whatever you see me doing,do those things and the God of
peace will be with you.
And he just actually said a fewverses before this.
In the end of Philippians,chapter three, something very
similar.
He said brothers, join inimitating me.
(38:07):
That's a bold statement.
To say to somebody else justimitate me.
That's a bold statement.
To say to somebody else justimitate me.
Paul's saying to theseChristians just do what I do,
which might sound arrogant untilwe put this together what Paul
said in 1 Corinthians, chapter11, verse 1, when he said be
imitators of me, as I am, of whoOf Christ.
So what Paul is saying is Iwant so badly for you to follow
(38:32):
Christ that I will do everythingI can to show you what that
looks like in action, such thatif you live like me, then you
will be living like Jesus, andit's not just Paul.
Back in Philippians 3, 17, paulsays brothers, join in
imitating me and keep your eyeson those who walk according to
(38:56):
the example you have in us.
In other words, focus your eyeson people who are living like
Jesus and become more and morelike them, and the process
become more and more like him.
So I've got to at least justpause at this point and ask
(39:17):
every single follower of Jesus aquestion based on Philippians 4
and 9.
Is your life worthy of imitation?
Yes, by those around you.
If other people follow yourlife, will they be following
Jesus?
(39:38):
Students, teenagers, children,like?
Is this a way you woulddescribe your life?
This is what Paul said toTimothy Let no one despise you
for your youth, but set thebelievers an example in speech,
in conduct, in love, in faith,in purity and single brothers
(40:03):
and sisters.
Is your life worthy ofimitation, just abandoned to God
and his purposes?
Husbands, wives, is your lifeworthy of imitation such that if
a husband or a wife were livinglike you are, they would be
following Jesus in a way thattotally honored their spouse?
(40:23):
Parents?
Is your life worthy ofimitation by your kids, such
that if your kids walk withJesus like you walk with Jesus,
they will be experiencing deep,true intimacy with Jesus.
(40:45):
I was reading this week aboutJohn Patton.
He's one of my favorite peoplein history.
He was one of my favoritebiographies.
John Patton took the gospel toa never before reached
cannibalistic people on thisremote island and today that
island is 94% Christian.
And his story it's amazing.
(41:05):
I highly recommend hisbiography.
There's all kinds of things Icould say about him, but this
week on two different occasionsI found myself reading about the
influence of John Patton's dad.
There's all kinds of things Icould say about him, but this
week on two different occasionsI found myself reading about the
influence of John Patton's dadon his life.
So James Patton and John Pattontalked about how his dad had a
room in the house that hisfamily knew whenever their dad
(41:28):
went into that room that he wasmeeting with God, they could
hear him praying from outsidethe room.
They would occasionally walk injust see him on his knees
before God.
He talked about how his dadwould gather his kids around the
family room.
They would kneel to praytogether and his dad would just
pour out his soul and please toGod for provision of their needs
(41:51):
and tears for people to come toknow Christ.
He talked about how the familywould walk together four miles
to church every Sunday and in 40years John Patton could
remember three times that hisdad missed church Once because
of snow, once because of ice andonce because of a cholera
outbreak.
And you might think that walkwould lead to a lot of
(42:15):
complaining among the kids, butPatton and his 10 siblings said
their dad made going to church ajoy because they saw such joy
in him.
He talked about how his dadwould read the Bible to them,
would teach them what it meansaround their dinner table and
show them what it looks like inpractice.
(42:39):
So dads like, let me just askyou if your kids well, maybe
just ask in the most simple waypossible like what are your kids
seeing in you about what itmeans to follow Jesus?
If your kids live just like you, will they be following Jesus
(43:05):
with all their hearts?
And God has entrusted you, me,us, as dads, with the
responsibility to show our wivesand children how to follow
Jesus, and they will not be whatthey cannot see, and not just
(43:28):
dads, moms.
We've mentioned the reality ofkids being home from school.
Again, I don't presume to knowall the challenges that will
bring.
But I do want to encourage you,mom and dad don't underestimate
for a second the value of moretime with your children this
fall, more time for them to seein you the spirit of Jesus, the
(43:52):
life of Jesus.
There is nothing more valuablefor our children than for them
to see Jesus in us.
And obviously this is not justkids and parents, for all of us
in the church.
Let's each ask the questionlike if our family or friends or
(44:13):
neighbors or coworkers or groupmembers live just like us, will
they be following Jesus withall of their hearts?
Let's take responsibility forshowing others what the life of
Christ looks like in action.
This is what it means to be aChristian, to follow Jesus in
(44:35):
such a way that we're leadingothers to Jesus.
All this is P practice the wordof God.
And when we do these things,when we stop and seek God in
prayer about everything, trustGod through prayers of
thanksgiving, open your mind tothat which comes from God and
(44:56):
practice the word that you havelearned and received and heard
and seen.
When you do these things.
This is straight from the mouthof God.
Here are the two promises Oneyou will experience the peace of
God.
You will experience this peace.
Verse seven the peace of God,which surpasses all
understanding, will this is apromise will guard your hearts
(45:19):
and your minds in Christ Jesus.
You will experience the peaceof God when you pray about
everything with thanksgiving andyou think about these things
and you practice these things.
This is a promise.
You will experience otherworldly, all surpassing peace
from God and and you will knowthe God of peace Philippians
(45:46):
4.9,.
The God of peace will be withyou.
This is so awesome.
You will not just receive agift from God peace, you will
receive the gift of God himself.
God himself will be with you asyour peace.
(46:06):
This is the gospel.
This is what Jesus makespossible.
We have all sinned against God.
We're separated from God, fromhis peace, from his joy, from
his life.
If we die in this state ofseparation from God, we will
experience eternity, separatedfrom his peace and joy and life.
But God loves us.
God has sent his son Jesus todie for us so that, when we put
(46:29):
our faith, our trust in him,we're reconciled to relationship
with God, to know him and towalk with him and to experience
his peace and joy and life.
You and I, through faith inJesus have been reconciled to
God himself, the God who says so.
I'll close here.
Just summarize what we've seenin Philippians 4, 4-9.
In a world where we are proneto anxiety and worry you and I,
(46:54):
when we trust in God in all theways we've seen, we stop and we
do these things.
We will know the God who says Iguard your heart and I guard
your mind.
Like I care for you, I willtake care of you.
I will protect you, trust me.
Take care of you, I willprotect you, trust me.
(47:15):
Jesus said it in Matthew 6.
You're worth more than thebirds of the air, the lilies in
the field.
You can trust me to care foryou, and not only to care for
you but to carry you.
I will be with you.
God's not just saying you havemy peace.
God says you have me with youas you look forward to a fall
(47:35):
and a future of unknowns.
The God of peace says I carefor you, I will carry you.
And ultimately, here inPhilippians 4, the God of peace.
Remember what it said all theway back in verse 5, beginning
of this passage the Lord is athand.
In other words, the God ofpeace says I am coming for you,
(47:58):
and there's coming a day whenthis world, with all of its
worries, will one day pass away.
There's coming a day when therewill be no more worries and no
more anxiety and no morepandemic and no more pain and no
more unknowns and no moresorrow and no more sin and no
more death for our no morepandemic and no more pain and no
more unknowns and no moresorrow and no more sin and no
more death.
For our God is coming for us.
One day, the temptation toworry or be anxious will be no
(48:21):
more, for we will dwell foreverwith God in everlasting worship
and eternal security.
And that is good news.
Speaker 1 (48:29):
We hope you've enjoyed this week's episode of
David Platt Messages.
For more resources from DavidPlatt, we invite you to visit
Radicalnet.
That is good news.
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