FREE TO HAVE PEACE (5 OF 6)
Scripture: Philippians 4:4-9
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Free to Have Peace (5 of 6)
Series: True Freedom
Dave Gustavsen
Philippians 4:4-9
We’re taking this spring to walk through Paul’s letter to the Philippians, which was written from a Roman prison cell. So if you looked at Paul from the outside, you’d say, “There’s a guy with zero freedom.” But as you read the letter, you figure out quickly that he was actually a free man. There’s a largeness to his soul that you just can’t miss. So no matter what prisons we have in our lives—relational or physical or financial prisons—Paul is living proof that there is this deeper kind of freedom that’s possible. It’s a life-changing concept.
So…today, Paul’s going to show us that no matter what’s going on around us, we are Free to Have Peace. What a priceless thing it is to have inner peace, isn’t it? And just to make sure we’re clear on what this means, there’s a verse in this passage that tells us what the opposite of peace is. In Philippians 4:6, it says Do not be anxious about anything. The opposite of peace is anxiety.
So what is anxiety? Here’s a simple definition: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. That’s what it means to have anxiety. A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Any of you felt any of that recently? Over these past, oh, fourteen months or so? Last week I was talking with a friend who’s a licensed therapist, and she said the biggest life issue that people are dealing with now is uncertainty. There’s just so much that’s up in the air. And all that uncertainty can make us really anxious.
So, feeling worry, nervousness, or unease—and the pandemic has given us so much reason to feel that way. But let’s not blame everything on the pandemic! The level of anxiety in American culture was rising way before anyone heard of Covid-19. In 2016, Time magazine ran an article entitled: “Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why The Kids are Not Alright.” One teenager who was inte ...
Series: True Freedom
Dave Gustavsen
Philippians 4:4-9
We’re taking this spring to walk through Paul’s letter to the Philippians, which was written from a Roman prison cell. So if you looked at Paul from the outside, you’d say, “There’s a guy with zero freedom.” But as you read the letter, you figure out quickly that he was actually a free man. There’s a largeness to his soul that you just can’t miss. So no matter what prisons we have in our lives—relational or physical or financial prisons—Paul is living proof that there is this deeper kind of freedom that’s possible. It’s a life-changing concept.
So…today, Paul’s going to show us that no matter what’s going on around us, we are Free to Have Peace. What a priceless thing it is to have inner peace, isn’t it? And just to make sure we’re clear on what this means, there’s a verse in this passage that tells us what the opposite of peace is. In Philippians 4:6, it says Do not be anxious about anything. The opposite of peace is anxiety.
So what is anxiety? Here’s a simple definition: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome. That’s what it means to have anxiety. A feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Any of you felt any of that recently? Over these past, oh, fourteen months or so? Last week I was talking with a friend who’s a licensed therapist, and she said the biggest life issue that people are dealing with now is uncertainty. There’s just so much that’s up in the air. And all that uncertainty can make us really anxious.
So, feeling worry, nervousness, or unease—and the pandemic has given us so much reason to feel that way. But let’s not blame everything on the pandemic! The level of anxiety in American culture was rising way before anyone heard of Covid-19. In 2016, Time magazine ran an article entitled: “Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why The Kids are Not Alright.” One teenager who was inte ...
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