WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:03.680 Our scripture passage this morning is quite short. 00:00:05.040 --> 00:00:16.879 It's at the end of one of Paul's epistles, one of his prison's epistles, and it's just so full of wonderful truth and great encouragement to us this morning. 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:25.600 Would you please turn in your Bibles to Philippians chapter 4 verses 6 through 7? 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:33.600 Philippians 4, verses 6 through 7. 00:00:36.159 --> 00:00:46.719 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request be made known to God. 00:00:47.119 --> 00:00:56.159 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:00:57.439 --> 00:00:59.679 Please join me in a short prayer. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:06.319 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:09.680 O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:11.439 In Jesus' name. 00:01:11.760 --> 00:01:12.400 Amen. 00:01:15.359 --> 00:01:18.400 Anxiety, what a word. 00:01:19.280 --> 00:01:22.239 As I think about that word, I'm anxious. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:26.400 Where is he going with this? 00:01:29.359 --> 00:01:33.760 Anxiety, stress, worry. 00:01:34.480 --> 00:01:37.200 And sometimes we say, oh, I'm not worried. 00:01:37.359 --> 00:01:38.480 I'm not anxious. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:40.400 I'm just concerned. 00:01:41.280 --> 00:01:41.920 Right. 00:01:45.280 --> 00:01:48.719 I have a question for you this morning and a question for me. 00:01:50.239 --> 00:01:51.680 What are your anxieties? 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:53.359 What do you worry about? 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:56.400 Hold that thought for a moment. 00:01:56.879 --> 00:01:59.599 Let's go back in history just a little bit. 00:02:01.760 --> 00:02:07.599 A couple of years before I was born, and if you want to know that year, I'll gladly tell you, you can tell. 00:02:07.840 --> 00:02:09.360 I'm quite old. 00:02:09.680 --> 00:02:11.039 1946. 00:02:12.000 --> 00:02:20.319 Two years before I was born, there were scientists out in the New Mexican desert getting ready to test the first atomic bomb. 00:02:20.800 --> 00:02:35.120 They were worried, they were concerned, they were anxious that maybe this first nuclear explosion would lead to many more and to a conflagration around the world. 00:02:40.080 --> 00:02:48.319 When I was a kid, and we traveled from Mentor, Ohio, to Cleveland, Ohio, we traveled from east to west. 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:53.919 Driving into Cleveland on the Memorial Shoreway, I remember looking out the window. 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:58.479 Off in the distance, not too far away, you could see Lake Erie. 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:10.800 But in between Lake Erie and the Memorial Shoreway, there were mounds of dirt, maybe about this high, and pretty long and pretty wide. 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:28.960 Within those mounds were contained the Nike missiles, and they were pointed north for fear that we would be attacked by Russia, by the Union of USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. 00:03:29.280 --> 00:03:30.879 We're worried about that. 00:03:32.319 --> 00:03:34.159 So let's go back not too far. 00:03:34.400 --> 00:03:36.639 Do you remember where you were on 9-1-1? 00:03:37.439 --> 00:03:38.719 I remember where I was. 00:03:38.800 --> 00:03:40.080 I see some shaking heads. 00:03:40.240 --> 00:03:42.080 You're allowed to shake your head. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:45.599 It encourages the speaker to know that people are really with you. 00:03:48.240 --> 00:03:49.919 9-1-1 happened. 00:03:50.159 --> 00:03:51.840 The towers were hit. 00:03:52.240 --> 00:03:54.000 The Pentagon was hit. 00:03:54.479 --> 00:04:00.560 Not too far from here in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, a plane crashed, killing everybody on board. 00:04:00.879 --> 00:04:06.479 And then do you remember the eerie silence in the skies above for days afterwards? 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:09.280 No jets, no airplanes. 00:04:09.599 --> 00:04:15.120 We were afraid that there would be more planes crashing in, so who knew where they might crash. 00:04:15.360 --> 00:04:17.120 So those were worries. 00:04:17.439 --> 00:04:23.519 You know, I could really go on and on about that, and I won't, but one other thing, well, just think about peace. 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:29.360 Think about last Friday in the conference between Trump and Putin up in Alaska. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:31.439 I'm sure you saw that on your TVs. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:37.360 I'm sure right now, even as I speak, the TVs are loaded with news stories about that. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:42.399 The banner behind those two world leaders said pursuing peace. 00:04:42.720 --> 00:04:43.839 Pursuing peace. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:45.439 So we're worried about this. 00:04:45.519 --> 00:04:46.240 We're concerned. 00:04:46.319 --> 00:04:54.240 As I started to prepare the sermon, I thought about the concerns of Gaza and of Ukraine and Russia and war. 00:04:54.399 --> 00:04:55.759 Those things are still going on. 00:04:55.839 --> 00:04:57.439 So those things concern us. 00:05:09.279 --> 00:05:29.519 And it's the idea that one of our enemies might take a nuclear weapon, detonate it over Hawaii, knock out our power grid, and they predict that that would happen, that most of us in this country within a year or two would be dead because of the lack of food supply and pure water and medicine and all of that. 00:05:29.759 --> 00:05:33.600 So those are the things that we worry about internationally and nationally. 00:05:33.759 --> 00:05:36.959 What about personal concerns, personal worries? 00:05:38.319 --> 00:05:44.000 Even in talking to a brother this morning before the service, he mentioned the word anxiety. 00:05:44.720 --> 00:05:47.680 I said, Colin, you mentioned the word anxiety. 00:05:47.839 --> 00:05:48.319 Thank you. 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.399 You led right into the sermon. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:05:51.680 Anxiety. 00:05:51.920 --> 00:05:54.160 What are your concerns personally? 00:05:54.720 --> 00:06:00.000 I know mine, and I think I share this with many of you in this service this morning. 00:06:00.240 --> 00:06:05.199 We're concerned about our families, our children, our grandchildren. 00:06:05.439 --> 00:06:07.279 We have health concerns. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:18.079 Pat and I have not been members here for very long at all, but the people that we have known and got acquainted with in this congregation, there are deep, deep concerns. 00:06:18.720 --> 00:06:24.160 Health concerns, money concerns, family concerns. 00:06:24.399 --> 00:06:29.759 So those are the things that really tend to consume our time and our thoughts. 00:06:31.920 --> 00:06:34.560 So what do we do about these anxieties? 00:06:35.600 --> 00:06:39.360 The verses in Philippians break down into three nice little sections. 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:40.959 I hope you'll remember these. 00:06:41.279 --> 00:06:49.199 One, a command, second, a plan, and finally, a promise. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:51.439 So here's the command. 00:06:51.519 --> 00:06:53.279 Look at it in your scripture. 00:06:53.839 --> 00:06:56.079 Be anxious for nothing. 00:06:57.040 --> 00:06:59.120 Be anxious for nothing. 00:06:59.600 --> 00:07:04.879 Now, frankly, I don't think any of us like to be told what to do. 00:07:05.759 --> 00:07:09.680 If you like to be told what to do, I'd like to talk to you after the service. 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:15.439 I go back a couple of months to Delaware, to our daughter's house. 00:07:15.680 --> 00:07:31.040 Pat and I were sitting on the sofa, and little Edie was running around the living room, and she started to make a bolt for the stairs, because she was going to run upstairs, and her mom said, No, Edie, no, no, no, don't go upstairs. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:40.720 Edie stopped momentarily, looked at her mom, and interestingly enough, looked at me, and then we proceeded to the stairs. 00:07:41.439 --> 00:07:43.680 She didn't want to be told what to do. 00:07:44.000 --> 00:07:46.800 I see smiles on your faces, parents especially. 00:07:47.040 --> 00:07:48.079 Grandparents, too. 00:07:48.160 --> 00:07:50.240 You remember those days, I'm sure. 00:07:51.279 --> 00:07:53.199 But here is the command. 00:07:53.519 --> 00:07:55.839 That's our first point, the command. 00:07:56.639 --> 00:07:59.279 To not be worried about anything. 00:07:59.600 --> 00:08:02.959 This anxiety word is full of meaning. 00:08:03.120 --> 00:08:19.680 The dictionary definition is a common human emotion involving feelings of worry, unease, and apprehension, often accompanied by physical symptoms like increased heart rate, sweating, and difficulty concentrating. 00:08:20.079 --> 00:08:26.560 Other symptoms include sleepless nights, loss of appetite, etc., etc. 00:08:27.759 --> 00:08:33.120 Public speaking can be stressful too and cause anxieties and dryness of mouth. 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:39.279 Thank you for your indulgence. 00:08:41.200 --> 00:08:47.919 This word anxiety, some of you remember from literature class, the Romantic period. 00:08:48.399 --> 00:08:50.960 The German term for anxiety is angst. 00:08:51.120 --> 00:08:52.639 You remember that word angst? 00:08:52.879 --> 00:08:56.159 And then in literature we have Sturm und Drong. 00:08:56.879 --> 00:08:58.080 Sturm und Drong. 00:08:58.320 --> 00:08:59.600 Storm and stress. 00:08:59.919 --> 00:09:01.039 Some of you are smiling. 00:09:01.120 --> 00:09:04.080 You remember that from music, from art, and from literature class. 00:09:04.240 --> 00:09:04.799 Yes. 00:09:05.120 --> 00:09:06.720 Storm and stress. 00:09:08.240 --> 00:09:14.240 I like to think about this word, well, I don't like to think about anxiety, but I'm presenting this, so I do think about anxiety. 00:09:14.399 --> 00:09:17.679 But I think about anxiety as having that letter X in it. 00:09:17.919 --> 00:09:18.240 X. 00:09:18.720 --> 00:09:20.639 X is the unknown. 00:09:21.039 --> 00:09:26.240 How many of us worry and are stressed about the unknown? 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:31.679 Many years ago, I was immersed in positive thinking books. 00:09:32.159 --> 00:09:42.559 Norman Vincent Peel, Robert Schuler, believe it or not, Charlie Tremendous Jones, Zig Ziggler, and a host of others. 00:09:42.799 --> 00:09:54.080 And some of those books, frankly, they might have had kind of a religious veneer, but a lot of them are pretty much psychological dribble, if I can put it that way. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:10:04.320 Some had a good Christian emphasis, but many of them emphasize the fact that some of the things we worry about never even happen. 00:10:04.960 --> 00:10:06.639 How many of us have experienced that? 00:10:06.879 --> 00:10:09.919 We worry about something that we think is going to happen. 00:10:10.159 --> 00:10:12.000 And it's always tomorrow. 00:10:12.159 --> 00:10:14.480 Aren't we encouraged to think about today? 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:18.000 Aren't there enough stresses and problems and challenges today? 00:10:18.240 --> 00:10:19.600 Don't worry about tomorrow. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:23.120 I think that's also in the Bible, too, I believe. 00:10:28.559 --> 00:10:31.360 The command or demand from God is an absolute. 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:34.080 We're to worry your stress over nothing. 00:10:34.320 --> 00:10:35.840 Nothing, nothing. 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:37.519 That's a big order. 00:10:37.759 --> 00:10:41.360 One other thing before we leave the effects of stress. 00:10:42.080 --> 00:10:49.840 I'm sure you've read and know about the whole idea that stress can often lead to physical problems. 00:10:49.919 --> 00:10:52.879 When we worry about things, it can lead to physical problems. 00:10:53.200 --> 00:10:57.919 Heart issues, uh, all kinds of issues in the body. 00:10:58.399 --> 00:11:03.039 That would be a fun discussion to sit down over coffee and talk to your doctor about. 00:11:03.519 --> 00:11:06.559 I have a cardiologist that I'm especially fond of. 00:11:07.200 --> 00:11:12.559 I keep throwing out the invitation to have coffee with him, but he's always too busy to have a coffee with me. 00:11:12.639 --> 00:11:21.759 But I'd like to pick his brain from a medical standpoint of all this, the aspects of the physical results of anxiety and stress. 00:11:22.799 --> 00:11:28.320 We find numerous passages in the Old and New Testaments which reinforce this directive to not worry. 00:11:28.559 --> 00:11:37.600 So if you're taking notes, and I hope you are, hope there's enough worthwhile here to take notes, I'm going to give you some references to look up this afternoon. 00:11:37.759 --> 00:11:39.840 I have an assignment, a homework assignment. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:41.120 So here they are. 00:11:41.919 --> 00:12:00.559 Psalm 41.10, Psalm 55, 22, Psalm 34, Psalm 46, and of course our scripture reading today of Psalm 27. 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:04.720 The Lord is my light and my salvation. 00:12:04.960 --> 00:12:06.639 Whom shall I fear? 00:12:07.200 --> 00:12:12.399 I was going to have us reread that, just the first part of that again, but I'll leave that as part of your assignment to read. 00:12:12.559 --> 00:12:15.440 What a rich psalm is Psalm 27. 00:12:15.600 --> 00:12:21.840 And if you look at verse 14, it wraps it all up in our putting our trust in the Lord. 00:12:26.720 --> 00:12:38.639 Actually, there are many more passages we could cite, and after all, when you come right down to it, is not the whole Bible focused on the greatness and goodness of God and for us to put our trust in Him. 00:12:39.679 --> 00:12:42.320 So do not worry about anything. 00:12:42.399 --> 00:12:43.120 That's a command. 00:12:43.279 --> 00:12:44.320 There's the command. 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:53.600 We could very well make this one of the shortest sermons on record and wrap it up right there and say, stop worrying with having anxiety. 00:12:53.759 --> 00:12:57.519 And we could have prayer and bless the food and we'd go right to the meal. 00:12:57.759 --> 00:12:58.799 So shall we do that? 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.360 Let's do the benediction and go right to the meal. 00:13:01.600 --> 00:13:03.200 Well, you know better than that. 00:13:03.360 --> 00:13:06.159 There's much more to it than just stop it. 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:09.200 Stop it, stop it, stop, stop worrying. 00:13:09.519 --> 00:13:12.240 I have to tell myself that all the time. 00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:14.559 So here's the plan. 00:13:14.720 --> 00:13:16.879 First of all, we had the command. 00:13:17.200 --> 00:13:19.600 Do not worry, do not have anxiety. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:21.600 But here's God's plan. 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:31.679 God does not leave us just with this command, even though in Scripture, Old and New Testament, we are given many things that we are just playing to obey. 00:13:31.840 --> 00:13:36.240 Just like a parent says, do this or do that, and you say why? 00:13:36.399 --> 00:13:40.799 And the response is, because I'm your mother, because I'm your father. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:43.840 God could have done the same thing, but no. 00:13:44.639 --> 00:13:48.480 He opens it up here to a solution for us. 00:13:48.720 --> 00:13:51.279 But is one of those very, very important words. 00:13:51.519 --> 00:13:58.960 But lay all your requests before him with prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving. 00:13:59.600 --> 00:14:00.799 So what is prayer? 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:07.360 Prayer is that simple act of asking God for his will to be done in all circumstances and all request. 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:14.480 It is that communion between a child and a parent, which at times is even a silent communication. 00:14:15.519 --> 00:14:18.720 So prayer is letting our request be known to God. 00:14:19.039 --> 00:14:22.879 Supplication, I think, has even a deeper meaning than prayer. 00:14:23.120 --> 00:14:30.159 Supplication is a more of an emotional plea to God. 00:14:30.480 --> 00:14:37.840 It includes some of those things that we can't even express verbally or in our silent prayers to God. 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:41.759 Please turn to Romans six twenty-six, will you? 00:14:42.320 --> 00:14:44.080 Romans six twenty-six. 00:14:54.960 --> 00:14:55.759 I'm sorry. 00:14:58.159 --> 00:14:59.600 Romans eight twenty-six. 00:15:12.320 --> 00:15:25.279 Likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:43.440 And that is such a comforting verse to me because often in my personal prayers, even prayers that I don't feel comfortable sharing with people, those deep inner prayers that I sometimes cannot articulate. 00:15:43.600 --> 00:15:49.360 The Holy Spirit, God has promised the Holy Spirit will help me to communicate those prayers. 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:52.480 That is a wonderful assurance to me. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:55.759 So what is Thanksgiving? 00:15:55.919 --> 00:16:06.240 Why do we have prayers and supplications and why is it followed up with this final push for us to have thanksgiving? 00:16:06.399 --> 00:16:09.120 I think Thanksgiving has two aspects to it. 00:16:09.279 --> 00:16:12.240 One is that we look to the past. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:22.240 We look to what God has done for us in the past, our answered prayers, and we make sure that we give thanksgiving to God for that. 00:16:22.559 --> 00:16:34.159 But also in our prayers and supplications, we look forward to the fact that God is in control and that we're thanking him preemptively for those answered prayers. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:45.039 Whether those prayers are answered the way we want them answered, or we leave it to God's will and he answers in his own way, we thank him for his answers. 00:16:45.679 --> 00:16:49.200 I just want to address the boys and girls for a minute. 00:16:50.320 --> 00:16:54.240 I see you out there, boys and girls, young people. 00:16:55.039 --> 00:16:58.559 I know your parents worked with you on this, but be thankful. 00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:00.399 Be thankful. 00:17:01.600 --> 00:17:02.799 Not too long. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:06.480 Too much time will not pass before we're on a big holiday. 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:08.240 One of my favorite holidays. 00:17:08.480 --> 00:17:09.279 Not Christmas. 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:10.160 I like Christmas. 00:17:10.240 --> 00:17:11.920 I know kids like Christmas. 00:17:12.160 --> 00:17:13.759 I love Thanksgiving. 00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:16.319 And not just for the turkey and the pumpkin pie. 00:17:16.720 --> 00:17:22.160 I like Thanksgiving because it's a great time to thank God for what He's done for us. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:28.799 You drive around Knox County and around central Ohio, you see these wonderful fields of corn and beans. 00:17:28.960 --> 00:17:33.440 And the corn, the way it's grown this year, even is starting to brown now from the bottom up. 00:17:33.599 --> 00:17:35.440 There'll probably be an early harvest. 00:17:35.599 --> 00:17:42.319 So Thanksgiving is a formal time when we thank God for the things he's given to us physically and spiritually. 00:17:42.480 --> 00:17:50.720 But children, make sure that you're thankful to your parents and to everybody who does things for you and provides for you. 00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:52.400 Safe thank you. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:54.319 Oh, and please helps too. 00:17:54.559 --> 00:17:56.240 Please and thank you. 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:58.160 Please and thank you. 00:18:05.920 --> 00:18:08.000 Let your request be made known unto God. 00:18:08.160 --> 00:18:10.079 Let me just make this observation. 00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:18.480 As a child growing up, I remember having requests to my father and my mother, especially my father. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:21.680 And there were certain things that he gave to me. 00:18:22.079 --> 00:18:24.799 And there were certain things he did not give to me. 00:18:25.119 --> 00:18:29.599 That was all within his wisdom, knowing what to give me and what not to give me. 00:18:29.839 --> 00:18:33.200 Personally, I think he probably spoiled me a little bit. 00:18:33.440 --> 00:18:35.440 I'm being very honest with you. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:38.240 He was a child of the depression. 00:18:38.720 --> 00:18:40.000 And he did not have much. 00:18:40.160 --> 00:18:42.000 My mother did not have much. 00:18:42.640 --> 00:18:46.880 So they grew up, I wouldn't say in poverty, but they were pretty close to it. 00:18:47.039 --> 00:18:55.920 And I think my dad coming out of World War II and got a good job in Cleveland, frankly, I think he gave me some things pretty over the top. 00:18:56.160 --> 00:18:58.319 But I'm thankful for those things. 00:18:58.799 --> 00:19:02.240 But I didn't always get what I wanted from my father. 00:19:03.680 --> 00:19:05.680 There's a true story for you. 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:09.519 The famous English theologian and teacher and writer J.I. 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:15.920 Packer, when he was a kid, he wanted a brand new bicycle for his birthday. 00:19:16.720 --> 00:19:18.160 Guess what he got? 00:19:18.960 --> 00:19:20.640 He got a typewriter. 00:19:21.440 --> 00:19:33.839 Now for those who don't know what it is, you go like this, that's a typewriter. 00:19:34.079 --> 00:19:36.079 We do that this right on the pad. 00:19:36.640 --> 00:19:36.960 Okay? 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:38.319 On the laptop. 00:19:38.559 --> 00:19:42.400 That's just for those that might be an anachronism. 00:19:42.559 --> 00:19:43.279 Look that word up. 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:43.920 I just made it. 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:44.400 No. 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:45.680 A typewriter. 00:19:45.759 --> 00:19:46.720 So they gave him a typewriter. 00:19:46.799 --> 00:19:48.240 Why did they give him a typewriter? 00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:57.440 They knew that his skill set, his skill sets were set in writing and on intellectual pursuits. 00:19:57.599 --> 00:19:59.279 What did he do his whole life? 00:19:59.599 --> 00:20:06.720 He wrote books and books on the Bible and on Christ, and we can pick them up today and we can read them and be inspired. 00:20:06.960 --> 00:20:08.240 He's with the Lord. 00:20:08.480 --> 00:20:10.000 The typewriter is gone. 00:20:10.160 --> 00:20:14.319 The words remain, and his insights into Scripture remain with us. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:16.240 What a wonderful thing. 00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:20.400 Now, I must say this. 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:28.880 My wife is not able to be with me this morning, as you know, and we thank you for your prayers. 00:20:30.640 --> 00:20:33.519 And I'm going to take a little tangent. 00:20:33.839 --> 00:20:37.279 Pat warned me, he said, Dave, don't get on tangents. 00:20:37.440 --> 00:20:40.640 You know how you are with storytelling, and you can go too long, too long. 00:20:40.799 --> 00:20:41.839 I just look at my watch. 00:20:41.920 --> 00:20:44.480 I think I'm still within the time limit, I believe. 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:47.680 But here's a tangent, and I think it's a valuable tangent. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:59.359 On this whole subject of prayer, I have read from the great saints that probably one of the biggest pitfalls and problems in the Christian life is prayer. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:01.839 I think you probably would agree with me. 00:21:02.000 --> 00:21:05.680 Prayer is one of the hardest things for us to be disciplined on. 00:21:07.279 --> 00:21:10.079 Here's a little book I'm going to recommend by J.C. 00:21:10.160 --> 00:21:10.559 Ryle. 00:21:10.720 --> 00:21:10.799 J. 00:21:10.960 --> 00:21:11.039 C. 00:21:11.200 --> 00:21:18.799 Ryle was a theologian and preacher and a leader in the Church of England for most of the 19th century. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:20.640 He died in 1900. 00:21:20.960 --> 00:21:21.119 J. 00:21:21.279 --> 00:21:21.359 C. 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:25.279 Ryle wrote this little book, Do You Pray? 00:21:25.839 --> 00:21:28.720 I think it's only 67 pages long. 00:21:29.359 --> 00:21:37.759 And I was going to say to you, it's not really a practical guide to prayer, but as I looked over it again this week, it is a practical guide to prayer. 00:21:38.000 --> 00:21:52.079 But I think the thing that impresses me most, at least impressed me most when I first read it, was the fact that as he goes through the aspects of prayer and the importance of prayer, he keeps asking this question Do you pray? 00:21:52.799 --> 00:21:53.920 Do you pray? 00:21:54.160 --> 00:21:55.920 And that's the crux of the issue. 00:21:56.160 --> 00:21:57.440 Do we pray? 00:21:58.160 --> 00:22:03.039 Now, I have Known folks that are super organized with prayer. 00:22:03.359 --> 00:22:06.000 One was a colleague of mine in Mount Vernon and Nazarene. 00:22:06.079 --> 00:22:07.359 She's with the Lord now. 00:22:07.680 --> 00:22:11.599 And she had a journal of prayer that was wonderful. 00:22:12.319 --> 00:22:14.079 Not everybody can do that. 00:22:14.400 --> 00:22:22.319 When you pray, how long you pray, your organization of prayer, this book will really help nail those things down for you. 00:22:22.720 --> 00:22:24.160 Do you pray? 00:22:25.759 --> 00:22:30.160 Now, with the plan in mind, let's look at the promise. 00:22:34.319 --> 00:22:42.960 And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:22:43.599 --> 00:22:48.400 And is one of those very, very important words, and the peace of God. 00:22:48.640 --> 00:22:51.440 So in the last few days we've heard a lot about peace. 00:22:51.759 --> 00:23:00.960 Historically speaking, in the world view of things, the League of Nations and the United Nations were attempts to bring world peace. 00:23:01.359 --> 00:23:03.119 They really didn't work out that well. 00:23:03.279 --> 00:23:06.240 They helped in a few cases to slow things down. 00:23:06.559 --> 00:23:14.480 The world peace is one of those things, as we know, will only come about when Jesus Christ returns and brings peace to the world. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:20.160 But I think this passage is talking more about our own personal peace. 00:23:20.720 --> 00:23:25.519 Peace has been defined as freedom from disturbance or a feeling of tranquility. 00:23:29.519 --> 00:23:32.880 Peace on one hand, anxiety on the other. 00:23:35.599 --> 00:23:38.960 All this peace passes all understanding. 00:23:39.359 --> 00:23:41.759 It's beyond our comprehension. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:48.640 And I know that there's a lot of you folks in here who have been believers for many years, you have experienced this peace. 00:23:49.519 --> 00:23:52.240 We've experienced times when we haven't had inner peace. 00:23:52.319 --> 00:23:53.039 We struggle. 00:23:53.200 --> 00:23:55.279 I think that goes to the very end of our days. 00:23:55.440 --> 00:24:01.119 We still struggle, a lot of things we struggle with, but God promises to give us that peace. 00:24:05.279 --> 00:24:09.359 He promises us he will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:17.200 And I go back to this idea of a message I heard many years ago by the pastor who had the most influence in my life. 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:29.359 But he referred to this word guard as a garrison, a garrison being a number of troops surrounding you to protect you in your life, and especially your spiritual life. 00:24:29.599 --> 00:24:34.079 A garrison or a fortress or a castle, a place of safety. 00:24:35.440 --> 00:24:53.279 You know, years ago, cruising down the Danube River, past Melk, Austria, and headed down to Vienna, you could look up to the hillsides on both sides, right and to the left, and you could see the beautiful vineyards and the quaint little towns along the Danube River. 00:24:53.519 --> 00:25:05.920 But the thing that was most striking to me, way up there, high above, overlooking the river, were these castles or these fortresses where people would flee to when the enemy was coming in. 00:25:06.240 --> 00:25:09.759 They would go in and the gates would close, some of them even had moats around them. 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:11.759 We've seen those pictures, haven't you? 00:25:12.000 --> 00:25:15.839 And that the people would go and they would be protected. 00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:24.559 I'd like to tell you a little story from history, from church history, that is really a significant story about a fortress. 00:25:25.759 --> 00:25:37.759 October 31, 1517, Martin Luther, the great Protestant reformer, walked up to the church doors in Wittenberg. 00:25:37.839 --> 00:25:43.599 I'm going to anglicize them, Wittenberg, not Wittenberg, Barthburg and not Wurtzburg. 00:25:43.759 --> 00:25:44.880 I'll anglicize them. 00:25:44.960 --> 00:25:54.799 So he walked up to the big church doors in Wittenberg on October 31st, 1517, and put up, nailed up the 95 theses on the door. 00:25:55.039 --> 00:26:22.079 The 95 theses were his complaints against the Roman church, and especially the ones where they were selling indulgences, where the church was coming around and selling pieces of paper, and you paid your money and put it into a can, and when the coin hit the bottom of the can and you bought the indulgence, you could have grandma or grandpa or mom or pop, whoever, pop up out of purgatory. 00:26:22.480 --> 00:26:25.359 They were selling salvation, through indulgences. 00:26:25.519 --> 00:26:29.359 That was only one of the 95 theses that Luther put up there. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:42.000 Four years later, he was required to go to the Diet of Worms, where he was going to be put on trial and told to recant of his books and of his writings. 00:26:42.559 --> 00:26:44.000 I'm shortening this. 00:26:44.079 --> 00:26:48.799 It's a much more interesting story in the details, but we don't have time for it this morning. 00:26:49.039 --> 00:27:00.000 But he stood before the Charles V, the Emperor, and stood before the highest leaders in the church at the time, the Roman Catholic Church, and then there were some of his friends sprinkled in the crowd. 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:03.359 And they had his books laid out in front of him on a table. 00:27:03.519 --> 00:27:07.039 And they said, Martin Luther, are these your books? 00:27:07.200 --> 00:27:09.599 And he said, Yes, those are my books. 00:27:09.920 --> 00:27:14.319 Do you recant or you take back what you said in these books and these papers? 00:27:15.039 --> 00:27:22.559 He said, unless you can convince me from sound reason and from Scripture, I will not recant. 00:27:24.000 --> 00:27:34.720 I'm sure in the back of Martin Luther's mind was the thought that about a hundred years before him there was a reformer in Prague, Czechoslovakia, by the name of Jan Huss. 00:27:35.119 --> 00:27:38.079 And Jan Hus basically said the same things. 00:27:38.240 --> 00:27:45.519 They put him on trial, he would not recant, he would not take back what he had written and what he had said and what he had preached. 00:27:45.680 --> 00:27:49.759 They took him out, they tied him to a stake, and they burned him alive. 00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:51.759 They martyred Jan Hus. 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:55.440 I'm sure that Martin Luther had that in mind. 00:27:55.680 --> 00:27:57.440 He took his stand for truth. 00:27:57.680 --> 00:27:58.880 He would not budge. 00:27:58.960 --> 00:28:05.039 And of course, you know the famous saying, Hier steh ich, here I stand. 00:28:06.079 --> 00:28:13.759 As he was taken out of the city of worms, he was put in a cart, and his friends, they were driving him back. 00:28:13.839 --> 00:28:18.480 It was the middle of the night, and some horsemen appeared out of the darkness. 00:28:18.640 --> 00:28:22.799 They put a gunny sack over his head and they kidnapped him. 00:28:23.119 --> 00:28:31.200 They took him to a castle high above the valley, a very secure castle, and they took him in. 00:28:31.279 --> 00:28:32.240 He didn't know what was going on. 00:28:32.319 --> 00:28:34.640 They took him up to his room and took the bag off his head. 00:28:34.880 --> 00:28:39.279 He found out it was friends who had protected him and taken him to that castle. 00:28:40.640 --> 00:28:44.880 At first, it was an enjoyable vacation for him. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:46.240 He got some rest. 00:28:46.480 --> 00:28:47.920 He got better food. 00:28:48.160 --> 00:28:53.039 Actually, the food was so good it didn't have enough rubbish in it and it created problems for him. 00:28:53.119 --> 00:28:53.839 You can figure that out. 00:28:54.000 --> 00:28:55.440 Go online and look it up. 00:28:55.759 --> 00:28:58.400 He had some health problems because of the food. 00:28:58.640 --> 00:29:04.640 But then he got very dissatisfied of being cooped up because he knew that there was a price on his head. 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:11.519 The Roman church would take him out and burn him at the stake, like they had done beyond a hundred years earlier. 00:29:12.400 --> 00:29:25.279 So not only the upshot of that story is the fact that God protected him, but he sat there week after week after week in candlelight at his desk, and you can still see his desk this morning. 00:29:25.440 --> 00:29:26.559 Go online and look it up. 00:29:26.640 --> 00:29:31.279 Look up the Wartburg Castle and look up his desk in his room where he stayed. 00:29:31.519 --> 00:29:44.720 He translated the New Testament from the Greek into the German language so that the people, the common people, could have the Word of God that we hold before us now. 00:29:45.359 --> 00:29:52.640 Ours obviously is in English, but the German people then had the Word of God they could read and study it for themselves. 00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:55.920 There's so much to that story. 00:29:56.000 --> 00:29:59.839 I wish I could go on, but I don't have time to go on with that. 00:30:00.079 --> 00:30:11.759 It's a wonderful thing how God protected him, but also the struggle that Luther had within his own life in taking a stand for Christ and for the truth. 00:30:13.759 --> 00:30:21.680 Now I want to kind of bring this to a conclusion by confessing to you, I probably have left out the most important part of this message. 00:30:22.160 --> 00:30:24.559 And I want you to go back to your scripture, if you will, please. 00:30:24.799 --> 00:30:27.119 You have your Bibles open to Philippians. 00:30:32.240 --> 00:30:40.799 You know, the folks hundreds of years ago that broke our Bibles down into chapters and verses, at this point they really didn't do us any favors. 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:45.440 I want you to look at the statement that precedes, be anxious for nothing. 00:30:45.839 --> 00:30:47.759 It's in the previous verse. 00:30:49.039 --> 00:30:52.720 And it says, the Lord is at hand. 00:30:53.680 --> 00:30:55.440 The Lord is at hand. 00:30:58.079 --> 00:31:04.960 I think that should say to us as Christians, as Bible believers, the Lord is always at hand. 00:31:05.200 --> 00:31:06.240 The Lord is at hand. 00:31:06.400 --> 00:31:07.920 God is sovereign. 00:31:08.240 --> 00:31:19.599 God is provident in all of these things that we've talked about, whether it's world peace or personal peace or the struggles we have as individuals or families, the Lord is at hand. 00:31:20.319 --> 00:31:24.240 That really is the most important prelude to these verses. 00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:26.720 The Lord is at hand. 00:31:30.079 --> 00:31:32.880 I want to finish up with a story this morning. 00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:43.440 It's quite personal, but it will soon move from the personal to being more objective and talk about someone who was a great influence on me and who led many people to Christ. 00:31:45.440 --> 00:31:54.400 If you look through these windows, about 10 or 12 miles from here, as the crow flies, there's a Christian camp. 00:31:55.279 --> 00:31:57.839 It's called Penile Bible Camp. 00:31:58.240 --> 00:32:03.119 It was created, owned, and operated by the Ohio Bible Fellowship. 00:32:03.519 --> 00:32:06.319 I was a camper there for several years in high school. 00:32:06.640 --> 00:32:11.839 I was also the camp bugler, which means I was up early to play revelie. 00:32:11.920 --> 00:32:14.720 I was the last one to go to bed at night playing taps. 00:32:15.680 --> 00:32:22.960 And as a result of getting up early to play Revelie, I would head down to the shower house, get a shower, and stand in front of the mirror to shave. 00:32:23.359 --> 00:32:27.839 And the camp director that year, his name was Reverend Carl Witt. 00:32:28.640 --> 00:32:34.400 And Reverend Witt was the pastor and founder of Delaware Bible Church, Delaware Christian School. 00:32:34.559 --> 00:32:37.440 Some of you know that work in Delaware, Ohio. 00:32:39.119 --> 00:32:40.720 We became friends. 00:32:40.960 --> 00:32:50.559 There was an older man, a mentor, that took a high school student, a virtual nobody, under his wing, and we became friends. 00:32:50.880 --> 00:32:57.119 Fast forward many years, 1976, we get a call on the phone from Carl Witt. 00:32:57.599 --> 00:33:01.440 Hey Dave, would you be interested in looking at a job at Delaware Bible Church? 00:33:01.680 --> 00:33:02.400 So we did. 00:33:02.480 --> 00:33:03.440 We looked at it. 00:33:03.680 --> 00:33:14.400 And in God's providence, we went there to work with the music in the church, the band, the little band program in Delaware Christian School, and for a while worked with the youth group in the church. 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:20.400 That relationship between Pastor Carl Witt and his wife Vera grew. 00:33:20.960 --> 00:33:31.359 We had many, many wonderful experiences, ups and downs of church life, growth, challenges, problems, difficulties, births, deaths, all of that. 00:33:31.920 --> 00:33:34.160 But we became quite close to them. 00:33:35.279 --> 00:33:42.799 As the years went on, he was called, they were called into retirement in Florida to help take care of his aged mother. 00:33:43.039 --> 00:33:47.359