Philippians 4:4-7 * Midweek Advent 2 *
December 10, 2008 * Pastor Leyrer
Dear Friends in Christ,
Last Wednesday we focused on a four word sentence imbedded within this text that summarizes the entire message of Advent. That little statement is “the Lord is near.”
We spent our time talking about the three “advents” of Christ and the different ways in which the Lord, indeed, is near. He is near to us first as the newborn Baby of Bethlehem, a fact we will celebrate two weeks from today. Secondly, He is near to us as the soon-to-be returning King of Kings who could come at any time. Thirdly, He is near to us now in a very personal way through Word and Sacrament.
And by considering Jesus’ words in Matthew 25 that whatever we do for the least of His people we actually do for Him, we also talked about a fourth way in which He is near to us: through those He at times brings into our lives.
Today we’d like to talk about the impact the Lord’s various advents have – or are intended to have – on us. What does Jesus’ nearness mean to us? Again we return to a short but powerful statement found in this text. Because we know the Lord is near, Paul tells us:
DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING
Let’s start with this thought. If someone asked you what you were giving up
for Advent, you’d probably correct them.
You’d tell them that the concept of “giving something up” is associated
with the season of Lent, not Advent. And
yet, in this very “Adventy” text, the Apostle Paul is urging us to give
something up. Specifically, anxiety.
What do we mean by the word “anxiety?” In the original Greek language this word most often indicates the same understanding we have of it in English. To be “anxious” means being unduly concerned about something, or being filled with a sense of dread of what might happen, or being excessively worried about a given situation.
Another way to define anxiety as it applies to Christians would be when we as believers look into the future as if God were not in the picture.
The very fact that Paul addresses this would indicate the Philippian congregation had some things they were anxious about. This is both interesting and instructive, because sometimes we have a tendency toward an almost mythical understanding of first century Christians, as if they were spiritually bigger and stronger than believers today.
The fact of the matter is they were sinful and sometimes fearful human beings, just as we are. They understood what God had done for them in Christ, and Paul often speaks of their lives of faith in complimentary terms. Nonetheless, they still carried around the weakness of their flesh. And at times they got anxious.
In other words, they were a lot like us.
What do you think produced anxiety for the members of this First Century Philippian congregation? We can’t know for sure, but based on some of the things Paul addresses in this letter we can get a pretty good idea of at least some of what was on their minds.
For instance, in chapter one Paul tells them about his personal circumstances. Philippians was one of the letters Paul wrote while he was in prison. He was awaiting trial for events connected to his preaching of the Gospel. He talks openly about not knowing whether he was going to live or die.
We can imagine the effect this had on the Philippian
congregation. They loved Paul very
much. He was their spiritual
father. But now the dark clouds of uncertainly
were looming on the horizon. What was
going to happen to Paul in the future – and what their future might be without
him – no doubt caused them anxiety.
In addition to that, the congregation was beginning to
experience attacks from the outside.
Paul indicates they were starting to feel the sting of persecution and
suffering for nothing other than their allegiance to Jesus Christ as
Savior. They were living in a godless
world that not only challenged their faith and morals, but now seemed intent on
eradicating them as a species. And this
was frightening to them. This no doubt
caused them anxiety.
Not only that, but there were also false teachers trying to
sway them from the truth of the Gospel message that Paul had given them. Would the individual members of the
congregation be strong enough to resist, to make the right spiritual choices,
to discern truth from error? Paul was
concerned about this, and so were they. This
no doubt also caused them anxiety.
If attacks from the outside weren’t bad enough, there were also problems on the inside. Paul speaks of the unity and harmony of the church threatened by a spirit of contentiousness and competition among the believers. In chapter two he warns them against “selfish ambition” and “vain conceit” and tells them to “do everything without complaining and arguing.” In chapter four Paul even addresses two members by name; two members who had such a sharp disagreement and (reading between the lines) such a personality conflict that their inability to work things out was beginning to have a negative effect on others believers.
For those who were trying to hold things together and keep
the peace and live out their lives to the glory of God but then found
themselves being assailed and troubled by those who were supposed to be their
allies – this must have caused them anxiety.
Do you see some parallels here? What causes us anxiety today? I would suspect the very same things that evidently bothered the Philippians.
When a loved one’s condition is uncertain and we think about
the prospect of facing the future without him or her, or if one way or another
we find ourselves physically or emotionally alone, we can become anxious.
When we stand firm in the faith or take our stand on a
position that is not held by the mainstream of society; when we feel the sting
of our opinions essentially being dismissed because we, in the eyes of some,
are just way over the top when it comes to religion; when we as parents or
grandparents or brothers or sisters wonder if our children and grandchildren
and younger brothers and sisters will have the spiritual strength to confront
the challenges of a world which for all practical purposes has purged the word
“sin” from its vocabulary, we can become
anxious.
Whether at home or on the job or even among our fellow
Christians, when we find ourselves embroiled in personality conflicts or being
hurt by those who are supposed to be on the same side as us, we can become anxious.
So what do we do? We give it up. “Do not be anxious about anything,” Paul tells us. Okay. Why? Because the Lord is near. And this information has an impact on us.
In what way? His first advent reminds us of how much we are loved by Him. To know that we are loved and not forgotten makes us less anxious. Because the same Heavenly Father who provided for our greatest need promises to also provide for every other need.
His second advent reminds us of what is in store for us eternally. To know that the things which cause us stress now are, in the words of Paul, “light and momentary” and although they may be real they “are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us” makes us less anxious.
And His third advent – the way in which He comes to us presently and personally through His Word – moves away from the abstract and provides us with a concrete strategy for dealing with the anxious moments of our lives now. Paul takes that up in the final words of this text.
This is the strategy:
Give up anxiety and replace it with the means God has graciously placed
at our ready disposal. “…but in everything, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
The antidote to anxiety is prayer. Prayer, in it simplest definition, is talking to God. Paul tells us to take up the things that worry us with God.
And not just some of the things that worry us. Notice again what Paul says: “Do not be anxious about anything but in everything…” This means as Christians we can operate under this rule of thumb: If something is big enough to worry about, it is then big enough to pray about. The reverse is also true. If we think something is not big enough to pray about, than it is certainly also too small to worry about…
Furthermore, we bring our prayers to God “with thanksgiving.” Thanksgiving, first of all, for the very privilege of prayer. Prayer is not some inalienable right. It may be an exercise practiced in some form or another by many, but only through faith in Jesus Christ are the lines of communication opened.
The privilege of prayer is one of the blessed by-products of
the Gospel message. Because of Jesus
Christ and his work of redemption we know God to be our loving Heavenly
Father. The barrier of sin that once
prevented prayers from reaching their destination has been removed through
Christ’s perfect life, sacrificial death and glorious resurrection on our
behalf and in our place. Because of
Jesus, we are forgiven Children of God.
Because of Jesus, we can talk
to God. That is worthy of our “thanksgiving.”
Also worthy of our thanksgiving is the knowledge that our
prayers are heard and filtered through the promise of Romans
So when it comes to giving up and overcoming anxiety Paul tells us to advance on our knees. As we do, we are given this guarantee: “And the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.”
The peace of God is ours. It is the peace of sins forgiven. It is the peace of knowing God is in control. It is the inner quiet so many in the world are looking for but can only be found in knowing Jesus Christ. This peace, as one Christian author put it, is “the smile of God reflected in the heart of the believer.”
And just as great as what this peace is, is what this peace does. It acts as a garrison. It guards our hearts and minds. Peace and faith stand as dual sentinels in front of the door to our souls. The anxieties of life cannot harm the Christian of faith and prayer, because we have entered an impregnable, guarded fortress – and the name of that fortress is Christ Jesus, the Prince of Peace. And in two weeks we will once again gratefully observe His first Advent…
Therefore in honor of Him and because of Him, the Apostle Paul suggests that we give something up for Advent. This is his message to us today: Do not be anxious about anything. Why? Because the Lord is near. Amen.