Loading summary
Transcript1 lines
- [00:02]
A
Amen. Amen. And I also want to let our New Jersey family know how much we love them. We're getting ready to welcome them into our worship gathering. Let's make some noise for our New Jersey family. Sup, Jersey? Well, let's go together to the word of God. I got a long way to go in a short time to get there. But, you know, Thanksgiving's coming up, and we used to call my great grandmother Big Mama. And one of the things I noticed about Big Mama, she was always cooking but never eatin'and. You know, one time we just asked big Mama, why don't you eat? She say, baby, I eat. She say, I eat a little bit while I'm cooking. I want you to know I've been eating while I'm cooking this week. So I hope this message blessed you, but it blessed me while I was cooking it. So let's go together to the book of Philippians, chapter four, beginning at verse eight. And here's what it says. Paul says, finally, brothers and sisters, whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me or seen in me, put into practice. And the God of peace, earlier in the text, he talks about the peace of God. Here in the text, he talks about the God of peace. He says, and the God of peace will be with you. Before I give my subject, I want us to acknowledge one of the charter members. You know what that means? Founding members. You know what that means? A1 from day one. We don't call them original gangsters. We call them original members. Got one of our original members, if you remember the show called the Golden Girls, wave at your boy. You remember Golden Girls, Some of y'all. I'm looking at all the 20 somethings. Like what 30 something's, like. Well, anyway, there's a group at our New Jersey location. We call them the Golden Girls. They are. They are our original members. We got one in the building today. We call her Miss Sissy. Miss Sissy. Stand up, Miss Sissy. Go crazy for Miss Sissy, everybody. An original member. I want to talk from this subject in this series. Arresting Anxiousness. Mind games. Clap your hands, every location if you're ready for the word mind games. This particular passage in Philippians 4 exposes us to a significant and sobering truth regarding the reality of anxiousness. And this truth can be captured in the following phrase. Anxiousness is not always the sickness. Sometimes it's the symptom of an undisciplined imagination, that wherever there is the lack of discipline, there will be the presence of problems. And we live in a cultural context where there's a lot of conversation about discipline regarding our bodies and discipline regarding our budget and discipline regarding our boundaries. But it is equally important and imperative to have discipline regarding our imagination, because an undisciplined imagination leads to anxiety. Pastor Darius, what is an undisciplined imagination? Thank you for asking. An undisciplined imagination refers to the uncontrolled tendency of the mind. Listen to this. To create scenarios, fears, or what ifs that amplify worry and anxiousness. Let me read that one more time. It refers to the uncontrolled tendency of the mind to create scenarios. If you know your mind can do that, say, yes, it creates scenarios, fears, or what ifs that amplify worry and anxiousness. It involves allowing thoughts to spiral without intention, guidance, or boundaries, often leading to exaggerated or catastrophic thinking. That's an undisciplined imagination. And if my mind doesn't have discipline, then eventually anxiousness will have my mind. And maybe this is why the Apostle Paul seems to not just in this book, in Philippi, in Philippians, but throughout all of his writings. He seems to be articulating this consistent theme between spiritual development and mind management. All throughout Paul's writing, not just in Philippians, but in almost all of his letters, you see him emphasizing the connection between spiritual development and mind management. That my spiritual development affects my mind management, and my mind management affects my spiritual development. That my spirituality doesn't just affect my morals, it also affects my mind. He didn't just say it to believers in Philippi, he said it to believers in Rome. In the book of Romans, chapter 12, verse 2, he says, do not be conformed, come on, family, to the pattern of this world. But be ye transformed by your attending church. Be ye transformed by dancing in the aisle. Be ye transformed by using a tambourine. It's nothing wrong with all of those things. But he says, be ye transformed by the renewing. So there's a connection between my spiritual development and my mind management. He didn't just say this to believers in Rome. He said it to believers in Corinthians, in second Corinthians, which is the second letter he wrote to believers in Corinth. The context of this conversation in Second Corinthians, chapter 10, verse 5, is the context of spiritual warfare. Literally, in this part of the letter, he is talking to them about biblical spiritual warfare. Not church spiritual warfare, which is a demon in every chair, but biblical spiritual warfare. Listen to this. When he says, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God. For the pulling down of strongholds. Come on. The casting down of imaginations. Watch what he says. We demolish arguments and every pretension. We demolish what? We demolish what? We demolish what? Because anxiousness comes from arguments. Not arguments with people on the outside, but arguments. Come on here. Arguments on the inside. You're not going to make it. This isn't going to work. This is going to end. Wrong. You're about to be embarrassed. Come on. You know the person you argue with the most. And so the text says, we demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. And listen to what he says. Because this is the work of warfare. This is the work of warfare. We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ. So the work is not allowing the thoughts to accumulate. Because if thoughts are like bricks, if we allow the thoughts to accumulate, what started as a brick becomes a wall. And the word the Bible uses to describe walls in your mind is strongholds. Are you hearing what I'm saying? So the way I stop a thought from becoming a stronghold is not by allowing those thoughts, those arguments, to accumulate, because it's easier to remove a brick than it is to knock down a wall. But he didn't just talk about the mind to believers in Rome. He didn't just talk about the mind to believers in Corinth. He talked about the mind to believers in Colossae. He says, since then you have been raised with Christ. Set your hearts on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. And then he says in verse two, set your mind where. Where? Where anxiousness flies at low altitudes. They missed it, Corey. I said anxiousness flies at low altitudes. So if I keep running into anxiousness, I'm thinking too low. This is the season to think higher. Let me put it. Let me say it one more time. I said, this is the season to think higher. Is there anybody in the room that would admit in this season of my life, I am allergic to thinking that it's not serving God's intention for my life? There's this theme with Paul between spiritual development and mind management. If you've ever heard the term sanctification wave at me now. Do you know in sanctification, the object of the Spirit is the mind, that what actually gets sanctified is your mind. You can't sanctify your body without sanctifying your mind, because the body only obeys the mind. The body has impulses, but the mind gives the body permission to act. The. The body can't do anything. The mind doesn't allow it. Y'all not talking to me? I said, y'all not talking to me in here, huh? Yep. Huh? But. Mm. Yes. Come on here. Because some of the stuff the body desires, it desires because of memories in the mind. Wait a minute. Is that okay for this service? Come on here. I said come on. So Paul is suggesting, you cannot change your life just by trying to change your life. You can only change your life by changing your mind. You cannot address anxiousness by simply trying to address anxiousness. You can only address anxiousness by addressing the mind. And this is the essence of what Paul is articulating to believers in Philippi regarding their anxiousness. Listen to what he says in the concluding exhortation of this text in verse number eight. Put the text on the screen because I want them to see the first word it says. Finally. Finally. It's like Paul saying, we've been having a conversation about how to arrest anxiousness, and I have taught you that if you're going to arrest anxiousness, Paul told them they had to address their interpretation of events, that they had to express intentional appreciation, that they had to engage in strategic supplication. But here in verse 8, he's about to offer the final ingredient in this spiritual recipe. It's like he's saying, you can pray and you can praise, but if you don't add this ingredient, you won't arrest anxiousness. He's saying, after we get the right perspective, after we praise, after we pray, anxiousness can still run rampant if we let our thoughts run wild. So he's giving them direction, Tario, on how to address their thoughts. He's giving them direction so that they can give direction to their thoughts. He tells them what to think about. And by telling them what to think about, he's teaching them what not to think about. So he's saying, you can't just praise right and pray, right? To arrest anxiousness, he says, you gotta learn how to think right. And he says, so that you're not confused on what I mean by thinking right. Let me give you some examples. It's not a comprehensive list. It's an example, a list of examples on how to think. He says, you know what you need to think about. It's right here in the text. Whatever number one is true. Do you see it there. I say, do you see it there? When Paul uses the word true here, it's a Greek word that refers to or corresponds with divine truth. Paul's saying whatever's true. He's saying whatever corresponds with what God says is true. How do I know what God says is true? John 17:17. Jesus says, Sanctify them by your truth, your word is true. So when Paul is saying whatever is true, he's saying whatever aligns with the word. So he's teaching them how to distinguish between facts and truth. Because anxiousness comes when you're obsessed with facts. But we get free from anxiousness when we become obsessed with truth. Because facts don't change truth. Come here, Church. But truth will change the facts. Facts are temporary, observable realities that may describe the current state of things. The current state of things. But truth is eternal reality that is based on God's word and God's promises. So the fact is, Lazarus was in a grave for four days. But the truth is, Jesus said, I am the resurrection. So the truth is, he'd been in the grave four days. But whenever Jesus gets there, whatever's dead has to come back to life. The fact is, there may be an area of your life where you have some need, where you're wrestling with some lack. But the truth is, my God shall supply. Supply. Somebody say, all of it. All of it. All up my knee. The fact is, there may be some weapons that are formed against you. That's a fact. But the truth is, no weapon formed against me shall prosper. The fact is, you may be growing weary, you may be tired, you may be exhausted because you're waiting on God to do something you need God to do. That's a fact. But the truth is, they that await upon the Lord shall renew their strength. Facts don't change truth, but truth changes facts. So Paul says, I need to think on the truth, not just the facts. He says, whatever is true. Can y'all handle what he says next? I said, can you handle what he said? Okay, I got about 50% of the room. I said, can you handle what he says next? He not only says, whatever's true, look at the text. He says, whatever's noble. Now, let me tell you what noble means here. It's associated with things or people that are honorable, serious, or worthy of reverence. You got it? Okay. He says, whatever's true. Think about that. Then he says, whatever's noble. Think about that. Okay. Things or people that are honorable, serious, or worthy of reverence, which means if they are not honorable, Tario, they're not talking back to me. If they're not honorable, serious or worthy of reverence, I shouldn't be thinking about them. He. He is. Come on here. Because the enemy doesn't just use things to steal your joy. The. The enemy uses people to steal your joy. And you need to know what people are not honorable, serious, or worthy of reverence. I can't think about them. Where are my honest people that will admit you can be in joy and in peace? And then somebody say the wrong name, and the name alone just trigger you like, Lord, you just so sometimes it's spiritual to say to yourself, I'm not thinking about them. I can't think about that. Not right now. I'm not at the point where I can. I'm going get to the point. One day, but today, not today. Let me go to this side. Yeah, there will be a day, but today, not yet. You can't get to a place you act like you already at. Whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, which is what aligns with God's justice and righteousness. We should be aware of injustice. We should push back against injustice. We should speak up for those proverbs says that cannot speak for themselves. Psalm says, righteousness and justice is his throne. Not one, the other. Rightness with God leads to rightness with people. It's called the Great Commandment. God even says through John, if you claim to love God, who you have never seen, and you don't love your brother, brother or sister, and you handle them inequitably. Come on here. He. John says you're a liar and the truth is not in you. That's what John says. That's what the. So we should be aware of it. But if you become obsessed with it, it'll steal your peace. Whatever's true, think about that. Whatever's noble, think about that. Whatever's right. Think about, think about that. Whatever's pure, don't hold your amens on this one. Now. Whatever's pure, don't hold your amens on me. Now, come on. Now, come on. We say amen if it's true, not if it's comfortable. Come on here. If it's true, we say amen even if it's uncomfortable. Here it is. Whatever's pure, he says, think on things that are morally and spiritually clean. Here's what Paul is suggesting here. Immorality creates anxiousness. See, sometimes the consequence of immorality isn't getting caught, is the fear of getting caught sometimes. Come on, say Amen. If it's true. Come on. Yeah. Sometimes the consequence isn't what comes out. It's the fear of what could. Whatever's true, whatever's noble, whatever's right, whatever's pure, whatever's lovely. Which means dwell on what is beautiful and fosters love. You see, we all are going to find ourselves in ugly seasons and ugly situations. We must intentionally look for the beauty in the midst of the ugly. Losing loved ones. My family's been going through that. Losing loved ones is ugly. But you can find the beauty, the ugly. It shouldn't take grief to get us this close. So let's make something beautiful out of something ugly and be more intentional about getting close to celebrate life, not just to acknowledge passing. Find the beauty. Come on here. Am I making sense? Find the beauty. My wife and I, in a few months, we're about to be empty nesters. And something wrong with y'all because I didn't even. It's gonna be ugly. It is. Cause I love my boys. But then on the other hand, we gonna be inside and outside. We are inside and outside. We just. You gotta find the beauty. So if all I think about is my boy that used to put my shoes on, if that's all I think about is my boy that used to run and jump in my bed. If all My boy. If all I think about is my boy that used to ask me to go to the barbershop to get movies. Y'all done have those barbershops? Dad, can we go get a movie? I was like, you want to go to Blockbuster? No. The barbershop. Wait, son, I don't think we're supposed to be getting the movies from the barbershop. If all I think about is that. Seriously, I can't handle that. So I got to try to find some beauty in the ugly. I got to find the beauty in the ugly. Whatever's lovely, whatever's admirable, whatever is excellent or praiseworthy. I got to think on those things. So if it's not that, and I think on it, is going to create anxiousness. Am I making sense? So Paul is telling us and showing us how to arrest an undisciplined imagination. By choosing what to think about, I'm choosing what not to think about. So instead of running to thoughts, running from thoughts that are negative, I'm running two thoughts that are godly. Cause some deliverance on zeal is on the other side of pursuit. You got it? Yeah. Sometimes you get delivered from the wrong thing by pursuing the right. Hi. Yah. Sometimes you don't get free from it by running from it. You get free from it by chasing after him. Here it is, family. Here it is. Y'all tired, but I got five minutes. Here it is. I'm taking ten. Here it is. Here it is. Paul is showing us how to arrest the undisciplined imagination. But if we just use this passage and this passage alone, it's not enough to help us with implementation. See, my obsession is not education. My assignment is transformation. So education and information is just a means to an end. So my assignment is not complete if you simply leave here informed. My assignment is complete when you start seeing incremental change and sometimes quantum leaps in your life. So it's not just information, it's transformation, it's change. And in order for there to be change, there has to be three things when it comes to a spiritual truth. Number one, you need some theology, you need some education. But you not only need. So you need to be taught about anxiousness. Does that make sense? You need to be taught from the Scriptures that I can arrest anxiousness. I need to be taught that. But in order to implement that, I need more than education from the Scriptures. I need examples in the Scriptures. Then I need practice in my life. So I need education. I need examples, and then I need implementation, which is practice. Because I'm not going to go from hearing a sermon on anxiousness to knowing how to arrest anxiousness because of one sermon. I've got to practice taking every thought captive because I've lived my whole life letting my thoughts run rampant. Come on here. So I'm going to need practice. So we need education from the Scriptures, but we need examples in the Scriptures of someone that actually modeled arrest and anxiousness. And in the few minutes I got left, I want to share with you an example from the Scriptures that we can learn from. Can I share it with you? Yeah. It is a biblical character named Elijah who was a prophet that got arrested with anxiousness. A prophet got arrested with anxiousness. I'm going to say it again. A prophet got arrested with anxiousness. Which means your spiritual status doesn't exempt you from. From wrestling with anxiousness. Pastor. It's in the text. In 1Kings 19, the Bible says while he himself, Elijah, went a day's journey into the wilderness. Somebody say wilderness? Come on. Every location say wilderness. I don't have time to bother this. But wilderness in the Bible represents a season of transition, and the wilderness exacerbates anxiousness because wilderness represents when you're in a season. That's Unfamiliar that you didn't predict. And when you find yourself in seasons you never imagine yourself in, it can create anxiousness. So listen what this prophet said, this man of God. This man of God says, it says he came to a broom bush and sat down under it and prayed that he might die. He's in such emotional turmoil, he sees death as the only option for relief. This is a prophet who's in such anguish emotionally, he sees death as the only option for relief. And if you are watching this and you are wrestling with this thought, let this be your sign to live. This is not a coincidence that you're watching or in this room now. It's not a coincidence that I decided to talk about this now. This is your sign. Live. That is your imagination making assumptions that aren't true. That is a Satanic thought. The Bible says Satan put it in the heart of Judas to betray Jesus. And if you're considering death as the only option to feeling nothing or feeling better, that is a Satanic thought that we rebuke. It is not from God. It is not true. He's dealing with so much emotional anguish. He says, I just want to die. Take my life. I've had enough. And he's feeling this way over a threat. Listen to this. He's at a point in his ministry where he's just had miraculous victory on Mount Carmel, where God answered his prayer with fire and proved God's power over the prophets of baal. And despite this triumph, his mood quickly shifts when Queen Jezebel threatens his life, vowing to kill him in 24 hours. So he's anxious over a threat, and the prophet is arrested with anxiousness. But thank God, this is not where the story ends. And some people's greatest misstep and mistake in their evaluation of you is they stopped reading before God stopped writing. Come get me. Somebody. Say it like you mean it. Say, keep reading. Yeah. Cause God's not finished writing my story. And if you stop reading right here, you're gonna miss. This is what God is getting ready to do in my life. Don't stop reading, because this is not how the story ends. He goes from. Listen to this. He goes from being arrested by anxiousness to the end of the story, arresting anxiousness. So the question is, how what happened with him that can happen with us so that we can do what Paul said in Philippians 4. I see just three things in the text. I'm done. Taryo. Here it is. Here it is. Three things he needed that we needed. Number one, I'm about to Lose half the church right here. Number one. Number one, Sabbath pastor. Where do you see it first? Kings 19:5. It says then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. After all that talk, he just need to lay down. Get somewhere. Get somewhere. Come on, don't be ashamed. Get somewhere. And cuz some of your anxiousness is a result of your exhaustion. You know what it takes. You know one thing it takes to take every thought captive? Energy. It takes energy. And some of our issue is you're too exhausted to fight. Too exhausted to fight. You don't have the mental energy to push back against darkness. So when the enemy is building these bricks, you don't even have the fight in you to knock them down. This is why we need Shabbat Sabbath, which speaks to rest. It is a commitment to follow the example example of our Heavenly Father by establishing work rest rhythms. The one who created the whole world in six days and on the seventh day rested not because of fatigue, but because of accomplishment. Rested not because he needed to because but because you needed to see what could be done in six days if you do it God's way. Walter Brueggemann suggests that Sabbath is a act of resistance against the tyranny of constant production and performance. It's a countercultural act of resistance against the oppressive systems of productivity and consumerism in the modern world. Brueggemann draws a parallel between modern society and Pharaoh's Egypt in the Exodus story. And just as Pharaoh demanded relentless production and exploitation of labor, modern culture often enslaves people to endless cycles of work and production. When God wants you to know you are more than what you produce, you belong to me. And so we're calling it grinding and the Bible calls it Pharaoh. Cuz I'm telling you now, whenever you move from one level to the next, you graduate from the top of one level to the bottom of another one. You go from a high school senior where you're the top of the food chain to a college freshman back at the bottom. Sh. I am not defined by what I produce or consume, but who I belong to. And the culture of more now faster creates anxiousness. But the Sabbath disrupts this pattern by forcing us to stop, to trust God and to embrace contentment. And this is a principle that requires faith. The Bible doesn't say the just shall use faith. It says the just shall live by faith. It means that faith is not some fire extinguisher that I break the glass and use in case of emergency. It's the way I live my life that God, when I Do this your way, you're going to do more with less. I'm not your example. But Jesus is your example. Jesus is your example. But I should be an example of what it means to follow Jesus. So you follow me as I follow Christ, right? Okay. How many think your pastor busy? Y'all do know we have a whole faith based personal development business that runs probably about six programs. So I've got staff on church side, staff on business side. We've got commercial real estate, we got kids, we got family, we got locations. How many know we we busy? How many know your pastor take a Sabbath every week? Playing video games tomorrow. Tomorrow. Going to see Gladiator tomorrow. Because the Sabbath is not about what you do on one day, it's about what you do on the other six. And some people can't have one day cuz they mismanaged the other six. You are taking on that which God hadn't assigned. We had to look at each other real early in our parenting journey. And we realistic parents, we never told this to our kids, but we'd be honest with our, with each other. We'd be like, he can't play that now. We would never tell him, but we'd be like, he can't play. Some, some parents be lying to us. You know, he just need a little time. He can't play. And we let our kids try all sorts of things. When they got to like junior high, we had to sit all of them down, sit both of them down. Say, now we got to decide which of these few things we gonna do. Because my pastoral ministry gave me some insight into parenting. And that is business. Don't stop badness. Let me just get them in piano. Let me get them in this, let me get them that. And then if they want to vape, they're going to vape in the bathroom after practice. So we're not anti extracurricular activity. Our kids, both of our kids play college football. My youngest is getting ready to sign in a few days for Syracuse University. So we're not anti extracurricular activity. We're saying a lot of stuff we're doing is we're adding things to our plate that God never told us to put on it. And now there's a spirit of hurry and busyness and the cultural context and the ethos of your home is anxiousness, peace. It's in disarray. No peace there. Sabbath is not a day. It's a principle. Some people say no, Pastor. The Sabbath this Saturday, that was old Covenant. Here's what Paul says In the New covenant. Colossians, chapter two, verse number 16. I'm out of time. Therefore, do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink with regard to a religious festival. That's why all the people gonna tell you shouldn't celebrate Christmas. All right, A new moon celebration or a what? Or a what? So it says, let no one judge you by what you eat with regard to a religious festival, a new moon or a what you should be worshiping on Sat on Saturday. Paul says, don't let anybody judge you with that. And then he tells you why. Verse 17. These are a shadow of things were to come. The reality of these things is found where. So I don't have to celebrate Passover because it was a shadow of Christ. So I don't have to kill a lamb every year and put the blood of lamb on my doorpost. Because Christ is the Passover lamb that was slain once and for all. Come on church. So Jesus says, I mean the writer Hebrews says without the death of the testator, the Testament is not enforced. So a person has to die for a will to be enforced. So when Jesus died, the New Testament, which is God's will to us, became enforced. So those requirements and responsibility restrictions of the Old Testament now were were completed or fulfilled in Christ. So now we are exempt from those because of the blood of Jesus. We have gone from the old covenant to a new covenant. When Jesus had the Last supper with his disciples in the upper room, when he poured the wine, he said, this is my blood of the new covenant. Not the old, the new. I'm out of time. A principle. It's a work rest rhythm. So Protestant Christians, we worship on Sunday, not cuz it's the Sabbath. That's the day he got up. Sabbath was about rest anyway, not worship. Why did the Pharisees get mad at the man who was taking up his bed and walking? Cuz it was on the Sabbath. Because that was considered work. So the issue with Sabbath wasn't shouting, it was work. When the Pharisees got mad because the disciples were picking corn on the Sabbath. Because it wasn't just about worship, it was about work. Because the word Shabbat doesn't mean worship, it means rest. There's a rest that remains for the people of God. Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden. I will give you. You're too tired to fight because you're being discipled by culture and not by scripture and the people you emulating. If you pull back the curtain, you don't want their life. You chasing after something you're not going to want when you get it. I need Sabbath number two. I need scripture. Bible says they told him, get up and eat. You need strength for the journey. You can't fight satanic thoughts with positive affirmations about the universe. I am strong. The devil's putting thoughts in your head. I need the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And number three, I need stillness. The Bible says he went in a cave and lodged there. He stood still for a minute. And God asked him, when he stood still, why are you here? Not while you're in the cave. Why are you in this emotional condition? And God had to correct assumptions he had made. Because sometimes God can't show you you until you sit with you. Be still and know that I am God. Let's talk about why you're really anxious. May God deliver us from anxiousness. Father, give us the courage and the wisdom to respond appropriately to the word you've spoken to us today. Help us to learn to Shabbat, to rest. Help us to develop habits of eating, digesting your truth scripture. And for those of us that are constantly on the go, make us lay down in green pastures, lead us to still waters. I ask this in Jesus name. Amen. All right, everybody, give me two minutes, please.