Galatians 5:23; Philippians 4:4-13
This fall, 2015, I’ve been talking with you about the beauty of a life that is synced by the Spirit of God. Our human lives are so complex and multi-faceted that sometimes they seem to get completely out of whack. I’m sure you know what I mean. It’s common for people to feel torn this way and that and say, “My parents want me to do one thing, my friends want me to do another, and my own inner desires pull me in a very different direction.” This illustration points out how many people feel each day:
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In Galatians 5:15-21, the Apostle Paul calls us to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. He also tells us what a life is like that is out of sync with God and is driven by our own desires or by the values of the world. The Bible says a life like that may seem right at times to us in the short run but ultimately will lead to “inner conflict, discord, dissensions, factions and envy…” Then, in vv.22-23, Paul says that when our lives are synced by God’s Spirit, it will produce a life in which the various parts of our lives and personalities come together. He used the analogy of fruit. I know that a piece of fruit isn’t as complex as a human life – but each kind of fruit does have a number of components. A few weeks ago, I showed you the anatomy of an apple to illustrate this. Let me show you now the anatomy of a peach:
When your life is held together and directed by God’s Spirit in keeping with God’s Word, it will be a life that is, as this picture says, “just peachy”!! It will be able to hold together and weather the difficulties and competing demands of this world. Don’t you long for that?
Many of you have written or spoken to me about how having all the demands and pressures of your life synced by the leading of God’s Spirit is proving to be meaningful to you. I’ve heard from lawyers, teachers and mothers about this. One of the clearest testimonies came in an email to me from Dr. William Lindsey, a faithful part of our LAC family. Bill is an internationally known expert in the field of Communication Sciences and has experience in deep space and satellite communication system architecting, engineering, design, analysis and simulation. Bill has published more than 140 papers on various topics in communication and information theory and holds many patents, which have been implemented in communication satellite systems and mobile communications receivers around the world. He wrote this to me:
“The various ingredients of the fruit of the Spirit live on a torus like structure (most fundamental structure of Nature) as Pastor Greg pointed out using the example of an apple. In my daily life, I strive to live by being synced with the Spirit as opposed to those days when I had turned away from God and lived by being synced with the sinful nature. Analogously, all modern telecommunication systems must be synced (synchronized) with purity in signaling. Imperfectly synchronized systems lead to corrupted (false) transmissions! Quantum Communications Systems and Networks must be polarization-synchronized (synced) to achieve purity in transmissions. May we live our daily lives "Synced by the Spirit" which is the "Voice of God" as written in the Bible. I pray, AMEN!”
Dr. William C. Lindsey
Today, we will consider what happens inside our inner beings when our lives are out of sync or are being synced by something that has been corrupted. The word Paul in Philippians uses for a life that is out of sync is “anxiety”. In contrast, what God’s Spirit produces in us is called a life of “shalom”, i.e., of peace.
What Peace Is
The biblical idea of peace is one of the most beautiful things imaginable. A life of peace is a life in which everything is the way it’s supposed to be. Every wrong has been confessed, forgiven, and made right. Every kind of hostility has ended. Every kind of brokenness has been healed. Every fractured relationship has been reconciled. The Hebrew word is so rich that most societies simply use it, i.e., “shalom.”
The Apostle Paul spoke of it in Philippians 4. In vv. 2-3, he spoke of peace with others because two women in the church were fighting with one another. But, his main point was that, when we allow him to, the Spirit of God produces in you and me an inner shalom, i.e., peace in which there is no longer the kind of turmoil and dividedness that so many of us wrestle with. Paul began his discussion with this phrase in v.6: “Do not be anxious about anything…” He ended it in v.9 with: “And the God of peace will be with you.”
So, the opposite of inner peace is inner anxiety. The word Paul used for “anxiety” was not a word that refers to the normal burden we experience when we love a person and know they are going through something hard. No, it a word that means feeling torn apart or ripped up inside. It’s when our lives feel completely out of sync. Have you ever felt that way?
If you haven’t, then let me tell you that most Americans know what anxiety is! A recent study indicates that 80% of all Americans report experieincing high stress and severe anxiety. Yes, 80%! — far higher than any nation in the world that has sought to measure such things. Because of that, I anticipate that this topic is important for many, many of us who are in the services this weekend. How important is it?
In a study conducted 8 years ago by the American Psychological Association, 3/4 of Americans experience symptoms related to anxiety in a given month: 77% reported physical symptoms; 73% reported psychological symptoms. Money, work and relationships were the leading causes of anxiety. Physical symptoms of anxiety included: fatigue (51%); Heart racing uncontrollably (51%); headaches (44%); upset stomach (34%)… and many reported suicidal tendencies of many kinds.
All indications point to the fact that things have gotten much worse than when that study was done in 2008. After all, we have been going through the severe financial downturn since that time. And now, it seems that the problems associated with anxiety are particularly acute among the young – from middle schoolers through undergraduate college students.
Amy Novotney, in an APA article entitled Students Under Pressure, says that “about ½ of all college students said they feel overwhelming anxiety in their lives” according to the 2013 National College Health Assessment, which examined data from 125,000 students from more than 150 colleges and universities.
Other statistics are even more alarming: More than 30 percent of students who seek services for mental health issues report that they have seriously considered attempting suicide, up from about 24 percent in 2010. Novotney writes, "Those who have worked in counseling centers for the last decade have been consistently ringing a bell saying something is wrong and getting worse with regard to college student mental health.”
Similar issues are now being reported about middle school and high school students. Our own students here at LAC have told me about the anxiety prevalent among their peers especially about getting good grades, body image, and fulfilling expectations in sports or other endeavors. Bryan Maier, who has worked with our students all the way from middle school through college age wrote this to me: Among the High School to 29 year olds, most really feel anxious about their future. Questions of getting into college (doing enough to get into college and being spread to thin), getting a job after college, finding friends after college, finding a spouse after college. These are what bring the most anxiety to the group I work with.
This is the world we live in. Jesus came to make things different from us when we follow him and are indwelt by his Spirit. One of those things is that, when the world is filled with anxiety, we should begin to experience peace. But how? How do we begin to experience peace in the midst of an anxiety filled culture?
How Peace Grows
Each week in this series, we have seen that the fruit of the Spirit doesn’t grow by us working hard to keep a set of rules or by us doing it with our own strength. This surely is true of peace. In Phil 4:11, Paul confessed, “I have had to learn to be content.” It wasn’t that he was just by nature a peace-filled guy. No, this peace had to grow and develop in him. And it will have to grow in you too.
But, never forget that Paul was in prison when he told us not to be anxious and to be at peace. And, this wasn’t the first time he had been in a lonely and damp cell. In addition, Paul did not seem to be one who naturally possessed an even and unflappable temperament. In fact, Paul seemed at times to be rather volatile. Still, in Phil 4:6-9, Paul tells us how he learned to be at peace in spite of what happened in his life. I’ll give you his three pieces of counsel about how this fruit of the Spirit grows -- and ask you to reflect on them.
But let me say this upfront: When I give you these three pieces of counsel, you may think, “It’s not that simple.” So, let me say that I think all three of these are foundational to God filling you with his peace. At the same time, for the many people who are deeply affected by anxiety, God provides other resources too: Like good Christ-centered counseling and therapy, like appropriate medications when our human physiology is out of whack, like improving our eating, sleeping and exercising habits when we feel anxious, etc., etc.
Still, I am convinced that these three related practices are essential: praying, thinking and mentoring.
Practice #1: Praying -- In every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God and the peace of God… (4:6b-7a).
You would expect the Bible would call you to pray when you are anxious – and it does. But, I believe it is a very specific kind of prayer that makes the difference. Here’s what Paul suggests: You should identify the situation or the circumstance that is causing your anxiety. He says, “In every situation…” I find that, all too often, the “situation” is that people insist that they have to have something happen in this world that they have to have or accomplish in order to have peace. Therefore, they cannot be content with trusting God. Their peace, instead, is dependent on things or on circumstances. Let me tell you this clearly: Peace cannot begin in your inner being until you own up to the fact that you will never have peace if your peace is dependent on something in this world. In every situation, Paul is saying you should pray like this: “I thought I could find peace by having that thing -- by accomplishing this goal… by getting that relationship… but, Lord, I now confess that none of that will lead to peace. I present that thing to you. I give it to you.”
In my own life, I find I have to come back to this point of surrendering things to God again and again. We think so naturally that we find peace through our own efforts or through acquisitions. As Tim Keller has said, “Until you recognize you are incapable of making yourself content, you will not be content.”
“In every situation, present the matter to God…” So, what is the situation that makes you anxious? Is it smething about the future that you fear? Is it someone’s expectation of you that you think you’ll never live up to? What I’m asking you to do is not unlike what artist Toby Allen, who is a contemporary artist who wrestles with mental illness, has tried to do. He does artwork turning different areas he struggles with into cartoon monsters. He said, “Art helps me become clear about what’s troubling me. Doing this originated from imagining my own anxieties as monsters and finding it to be a healing process to draw them.” Here is how he pictured anxiety. He said anxiety is small and dark and often is not seen by others though it is very real to you. Look at the picture he made: It’s like anxiety is always whispering in your ears. Allen’s “Anxiety” carries a clock because it’s often tied to irrational things that never happen:
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You may not do exactly what Toby Allen did as an artist -- but Paul is saying here, “Identify whatever it is that is making you anxious. Look at it – name it. Then, present it to God. Give it to him in prayer. That thing is not greater than God is. Tell him you will trust him and not be afraid.” And peace will begin to grow in you.
This is what Jesus did in Gethsemane. He said to his Father, “Father, is it necessary for me to bear the sins of the world in my death. Is it possible that you could take this cup from me? But, I give it to you Father. I entrust it to you, Father. Your will – not mine.” Learn to pray like that and the seeds of peace will begin to grow.
Practice #2: Thinking – “Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right… —think about such things and the God of peace will be with you (4:8a,9b).”
Throughout the New Testament, our role in God’s transforming work always begins with out minds. As Rom 12:2 says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your minds.” In v.8, I want to focus on the first 3 words in which Paul tells us what to do with our minds, i.e., set them on what is 1) true, 2) noble and 3) right. Those words in the NT almost always have to do with what we believe – with the big truths that direct our lives. The Bible is teaching, “When anxiety comes – or even before it comes – take time to stop and consider deeply and carefully what it is that you believe?”
So, let’s do that now: what do you believe about God? Is he powerful? Is he more powerful than the thing you’re anxious about? Is he good? Does he care when you are feeling torn apart? Do you know that God has declared to you that he loves you? And, do you believe that he is present with you when the anxiety comes? Think about that.
And what do you believe about the world? Do you think that if you do everything perfectly, that everything will always go the way you want it to? Or, do you think the whole world is messed up and that God is now in a process of working all things together for what ultimately will be good – both for you and for everyone! Will you trust him?
You see – so many therapies in our day tell you what, when you are feeling anxious, you should get away and get those things out of your mind. But when you do that, the moment you go back home or back to school, the problems will still be there. The Bible tells you to use your mind. Think more. I am fully aware that when a panic attack comes, your mind races and it’s hard to stop and think. So, get ready for it now. Those things about God and the world and yourself that God has revealed to you in his Word, think about them now. When you know that the God who made the universe is with you and loves you, you can now that when you entrust everything to him, he will guard your heart and mind.
Practice #3: Mentoring – “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you (4:9).”
Just before Jesus went to the cross, he told his followers in John 14 that in order for us to experience shalom, he would give his life for us, give his Spirit to us and give us one another. I don’t know everything about anxiety and peace, but I do know this: We need both God’s Spirit and God’s people in order for us to grow in our experience of God’s peace. The people in the church in Philippi had watched as Paul was flogged and then unjustly imprisoned in Acts 16. And they knew he had been so much at peace in that time that he was singing songs in the night in the midst of injustice and pain. And, here Paul was again – walking with them and teaching them.
And we need one another in similar ways. It’s so great to worship together but we also need smaller groups where we can teach, exhort, encourage and support one another. And, it’s a part of learning how to live when you are to be with and learn from those who have walked longer in the faith than you have.
I’m going to call up Pastor Jeff Mattesich now to give testimony to this in his own battle with anxiety. I have watched the fruit of peace growing in him and have wanted you to hear from him how God has been doing his work in Jeff’s life…
At the end of Jeff’s testimony: If you or a person you care about is struggling with anxiety, I want to give you the opportunity to come for a brief moment of prayer with some of our church leaders. I’m sure you know that there will not be time for you to share more than a sentence or two about what might be causing your stress or anxiety. It should be something like, “Pray for my relationship to my children.” Or, “pray for my work situation.” And, our prayers also will be brief. But, the Bible says when a church person is hurting, then the leaders should pray — and we’ll begin today…”
Our brother, Ken Medema, will create a song about this message. At the end, I will come up and invite you to come forward for a moment of prayer together with your church family.