Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Anger
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Disgust
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Fear
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Joy
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Analytical
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Openness
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Conscientiousness
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Extraversion
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Introduction
America at large is in a mental health crisis
A 2011 article published in The Week detailed some alarming numbers
1 in 5 adults taking some sort of mental health medication
22% increase from the year 2001 to the year 2010
100 percent increase in the number of children taking antipsychotic (ADHD, etc.) drugs
A MEDCO report in 2010 paints an equally bleak picture
40 million Americans (both adults and children) suffer from anxiety related disorders
This is the most common form of disorder in America
The church is not immune to this trend
Sadly the church has given the handling of these issues to the psychologists and psychiatrists rather than working through the Bible to address issues
Tonight Paul is going to show us how we can approach anxiety in our lives
First he’s going to return to a common theme of rejoicing in
Then he’s going to deal with anxiety itself in
And finally he’s going to use a list of good, moral virtues to encourage us to a higher standard of thought life in
Rejoice
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This is now the third time in this letter that Paul has given the Philippians the command to rejoice.
Each time it is used in the present active tense - meaning that it is a continuous ongoing action
Chairete (rejoice) is a present imperative, calling believers to the continual, habitual practice of rejoicing
It is true that believers often cannot find reason to rejoice in their specific circumstances.
Regardless of our circumstances we can have the joy of the Lord
John F. MacArthur Jr., Philippians, MacArthur New Testament Commentary (Chicago: Moody Press, 2001), 273.Regardless of our circumstances we can have the joy of the Lord
Paul was in prison
The Philippian church was in danger of persecution
Paul is not admonishing the Philippians to just “grin and bear it”
There is a certain breed of Calvinists, whom I do not envy, who are always jeering and sneering as much as ever they can at the full assurance of faith.
I have seen their long faces.
I have heard their whining periods, and read their dismal sentences in which they say something to this effect—“Groan in the Lord always, and again I say, groan!
He that mourneth and weepeth, he that doubteth and feareth, he that distrusteth and dishonoreth his God, shall be saved.”
That seems to be the sum and substance of their very ungospel-like gospel.
But why is it that they do this?
I speak now honestly and fearlessly.
It is because there is a pride within them—a conceit which is fed on rottenness, and sucks marrow and fatness out of putrid carcasses.
And what, say you, is the object of their pride?
Why, the pride of being able to boast of a deep experience—the pride of being a blacker, grosser and more detestable backslider than other people.
“Whose glory is in their shame,” may well apply to them.
A more dangerous, because a more deceitful pride than this is not to be found.
It has all the elements of self-righteousness in it.
CHARLES SPURGEON
Nor is this like story of the man who fell from a ten story building - as he passed each window people would hear him say “so far so good”
We have something better to look forward to - and something to consistently rejoice in.
If you have placed your faith in Christ you can rest assured in your eternal destiny and rejoice regardless of the circumstances
No created powers in hell, or out of hell, can mar the music of our Lord Jesus, nor spoil our song of joy.
Let us then be glad, and rejoice in the salvation of our Lord; for faith had never yet cause to have wet cheeks, and hanging down brows, or to droop or die.
SAMUEL RUTHERFORD
The apostles model for us how we should act when faced with trials and tribulation
Acts 5:
But we should never forget to rejoice in bounty as well
This may sound strange but we should not allow ourselves to get complacent when life is easy and forget to rejoice in our salvation
Satan’s two greatest weapons against the church are conflict and comfort.
The one causes us to take our eyes off the cross because we are so busy fighting to stay alive that we leave our greatest ally and weapon
The other causes us to take our eyes off the cross as we are lulled to sleep by a life of ease
We can see evidences of that in Paul’s next admonition to the church - that we should be known by all men for our gentle spirit
Something the church is not well known for in this day and age
We are the bigots - the intolerant ones
Westboro Cult
Unbiblical street ministries
The mishandling of the homosexual issue (Adam and Steve, etc)
All these situations have led to the church’s public view being less than having a gentle spirit
I am not saying we should give in or tolerate sin as something normal - however our reaction should have been to stand solely on the Word of God instead of try to use human reasoning
But we should be known more for our gracious spirit than for the virility of our tongue
This is how we model Christ.
We must be others-focused rather than inward-focused
Genuine Christian joy is not inward-looking.
It is not by concentrating on our need for happiness, but on the needs of others, that we learn to rejoice.
Paul finishes this with a curious saying that “the Lord is near”
Is this eschatalogical or distance?
Speaking of His second coming or the promise that He will always be with us until the end of the age?
The context suggests that what Paul has in mind is the imminence of Christ - His closeness to every believer
Over all, and not ascending,
Under all, but not depending;
Over all the world ordaining,
Under all, the world sustaining.
HILDEBERT OF TOURS
He is there ready to deliver us from any situation according to His will
Because of God’s nearness, believers should not be fearful, anxious, or wavering.
They should not collapse, but be strong and stable
This is a great comfort for the believer in light of what Paul is about to address next
This is a great comfort for the believer in light of what Paul is about to address next
This is a great comfort for the believer in light of what Paul is about to address next
Be Anxious For Nothing
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Paul now addresses another area of the Philippians thought-life
Facing persecution there is always a tendency to become anxious
We become a bit like Pavlov’s dog - if I do this is it going to bring pain - if so I don’t want to do it
believers often seem to forget what they know about God.
They lose their confident trust in Him, lose their self-control and spiritual stability, and are defeated.
This is a direct reflection on how and what we think of God
is not because he makes light of the troubles that they face but because he knows that God is greater than all their troubles
What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.
This is the biggest source of anxiety in the church today
We don’t have a God who is big enough to handle our problems.
We consistently seek to take them back from Him and handle them in other ways
Medicine - this is not to say that all medicine is bad or that true conditions do not exist
Medicine is a gift from God that can treat many physical and mental conditions
But not everything we call a medical condition truly is - and we are overmedicating ourselves in an attempt to address what only God through His Word can
Drugs
Work harder
Avoidance
We turn to idols of contemporary society rather than trust Him - and we suffer for it
Paul tells us that we have a way - in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God
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