Philippians 4:4-9

1. Philippians 4:4-9

2. Philippians 4:4-9 • “Rejoice in the Lord always…” • What blocks our joy? • Worry • Frustration • Anger • Fear • Envy

3. Philippians 4:4-9 • How do our habits of thinking block our joy? • We evaluate: “This is bad.” “This isn’t fair.” • We make connections with past negative experiences: “This is always what happens.” • We make dire predictions about the future: “If this keeps up, we’ll never get anywhere.” • We make judgments, criticisms, and diagnoses about ourselves or others: “I’m just no good at this.” “They’re wrong or stupid.”

4. Philippians 4:4-9 • “Let your gentleness be evident to all.” • We observe carefully. • We ask thoughtful questions. • We process our current feelings. • We consider the needs and feelings of others. • We acknowledge our needs and feelings. • We encourage others to express their needs and feelings. • We work to find areas of agreement and solutions that meet everyone’s needs where possible (Phil. 4:2,3) • We take our concerns to God in prayer, with thankful hearts. • We focus on God’s faithfulness in the past, and trust in his continued faithfulness in the future. • Trusting that God answers prayer, we rejoice!

5. Philippians 4:4-9 • The Antidote to Worry • Prayer and Petition – requests – we acknowledge our needs and the needs of others, to one another and to God. • Thanksgiving. Giving thanks acknowledges: • We have received a gift • We value the gift • We recognize the generosity of the giver • We value their generosity and their giving

6. Philippians 4:4-9 • After rehearsing and reviewing his goodness we feel more keenly his love and have more confidence in his power. When we focus on God’s love and his power, fears subside and worries abate, replaced by his peace.