ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING - PART 1

Pray, Give Thanks And Let God Worry - Martin Luther

Philippians 4:6 is one of the most straightforward commands in Scripture, but one of the hardest to fulfill. Yet if we believe in the inspiration of Scripture, the originator of this verse is none other than the Holy Spirit.

How can God expect us to be anxiety free? He must have a reason. He wouldn’t tell us to do something that’s impossible to do. No, the rationale for this imperative comes in the words that follow. The reason we can be anxious for nothing is that our prayers, petitions, and requests can be given over to God in the spirit of GRATITUDE. Prayer with thanksgiving gives us rock-solid assurance that our anxieties are unfounded.

It is possible for a worshiper who is practicing the presence of God daily to be able to manage all his fears, anxieties and stresses. How is this possible? The answer is found in the presence of God. When you are in the presence of God, there is JOY and “The Joy of the Lord is your strength”! That is why Paul is able to give us a command in Philippians 4:4 to “REJOICE in the Lord always. I will say it again: REJOICE!” In fact a worshiper who is practicing the presence of God will be able to stay calmed in any situations because “the Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5). And the result is having "the peace of God" (Philippians 4:7) in midst of all circumstances.

Can I challenge you further on the spirit of thankfulness, gratitude and rejoicing?

1) Colossians 3:15-17"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."Be thankful - that is not a suggestion; it is a command. In all that we do we need to be guided by two principles: doing it "in the name of the Lord Jesus" and "giving thanks to God through Him"

2) Ephesians 5:19
"... speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."When you are full of the Holy Spirit you will continually give God thanks. In fact, you can measure the fullness of the Spirit within you partly by the spirit of a thankful heart. When you cease to do so, it is one sure indication you are beginning to leak out

3) 1 Thessalonians 5:18
"... in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."What is the will of God in Christ Jesus? To give thanks in everything. So if you are not giving thanks, as we have already seen, you are actually out of the will of God.

GRATITUDE is an attitude that if it isn't flowing naturally now, should be cultivated zealously. Practice it often, and it will soon become as natural as breathing.

Have a joyous and victorious week!
TPWC

ANXIOUS FOR NOTHING - PART 1

Pray, Give Thanks And Let God Worry - Martin Luther

Philippians 4:6 is one of the most straightforward commands in Scripture, but one of the hardest to fulfill. Yet if we believe in the inspiration of Scripture, the originator of this verse is none other than the Holy Spirit.

How can God expect us to be anxiety free? He must have a reason. He wouldn’t tell us to do something that’s impossible to do. No, the rationale for this imperative comes in the words that follow. The reason we can be anxious for nothing is that our prayers, petitions, and requests can be given over to God in the spirit of GRATITUDE. Prayer with thanksgiving gives us rock-solid assurance that our anxieties are unfounded.

It is possible for a worshiper who is practicing the presence of God daily to be able to manage all his fears, anxieties and stresses. How is this possible? The answer is found in the presence of God. When you are in the presence of God, there is JOY and “The Joy of the Lord is your strength”! That is why Paul is able to give us a command in Philippians 4:4 to “REJOICE in the Lord always. I will say it again: REJOICE!” In fact a worshiper who is practicing the presence of God will be able to stay calmed in any situations because “the Lord is near” (Philippians 4:5). And the result is having "the peace of God" (Philippians 4:7) in midst of all circumstances.

Can I challenge you further on the spirit of thankfulness, gratitude and rejoicing?

1) Colossians 3:15-17
"And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him."
Be thankful - that is not a suggestion; it is a command. In all that we do we need to be guided by two principles: doing it "in the name of the Lord Jesus" and "giving thanks to God through Him"

2) Ephesians 5:19
"... speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."
When you are full of the Holy Spirit you will continually give God thanks. In fact, you can measure the fullness of the Spirit within you partly by the spirit of a thankful heart. When you cease to do so, it is one sure indication you are beginning to leak out

3) 1 Thessalonians 5:18
"... in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."
What is the will of God in Christ Jesus? To give thanks in everything. So if you are not giving thanks, as we have already seen, you are actually out of the will of God.

GRATITUDE is an attitude that if it isn't flowing naturally now, should be cultivated zealously. Practice it often, and it will soon become as natural as breathing.

Have a joyous and victorious week!
TPWC

THE JOY OF THE LORD

"Be joyful always ...

give thanks in all circumstances

for this is God's will for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

There is a great difference between JOY & HAPPINESS. Joy is the realm of the spirit whereas happiness is related to our emotions and circumstances. When things are going well, we have happiness. It is good to have happiness, but we cannot have it all the time.

To illustrate: If I lost my wallet, I would be very happy when the founder returned it to me. After a few days, I would no longer have the feeling of happiness although my wallet is still with me. What I have actually lost is the feeling of happiness at the time of finding it.

Joy on the other hand, is not dependent on feelings or circumstances. There is only one source of Joy and that is God - God Himself! That is why it is possible to "Rejoice in the Lord always!" In Philippians 4:4-7, Paul actually commands the Philippians to "Rejoice in the Lord always "(verse 4) and they are able to do so because "the Lord is near" (verse 5). You will note that while submitting they are also encouraged to submit their petitions; their prayers include the spirit of thanksgiving. (verse 6) And the resultance is having "the peace of God" (verse 7) in midst of whatever circumstances.

Therefore, when our circumstances cause us nothing but grief, fears, doubts, anger, depression ... we can still rejoice because our joy is not based on fluctuating circumstances, but has it's source in the One Who loves us and is the object of our love. Beloved, if we but exercise our faith and choice to "rejoice in the Lord", in the midst of our adverse circumstances, these negative feelings of grief, fears, doubts anger and depressions will just melt away!

Why It Is Important For A Christian To Have JOY OF THE LORD?

1) The JOY of the Lord is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10)
2) Without it we could have lost the JOY of our salvation. (Psalm 51:12) As a child of God, JOY is our Christian testimony to reflect to the depressed world that in any situation, God is good all the time.
3) A healthy Christian is one that is JOYFUL because he is actively connected to "The Vine and bearing fruits." (John 15:5 & Galatians 5:23)
4) A JOYFUL believer is one that has his prayers answered. (John 16:24)
5) We are commanded to "Rejoice In The Lord Always!" (Philippians 4:4)
6) It is God's will to be JOYFUL! (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18)
7) JOY is one of the key to God's presence! (Psalm 100:4)
8) JOY is the evidence of one who is living in a Victorious Abundant Life. (John 10:10)

Apostle John in 1 John 1:4 - "We write this to make our JOY full."
This verse shows that:

a) We need to read, mediatate and be a doer of the Word so that we do not leak. Some Christians may be walking with either half tank or worst still with an empty tank without JOY! We let the emeny rob (like a thief - John 10:10) us of our JOY through the circumstances and pressures of life. The key to a JOYFUL and abundant life is to stay connected to The Vine (John 15:5). Only then we can "Count it all joy even when we fall into divers trials or testings" (James 1:2) because it is "The Joy of the Lord" which is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) that will carry us through.

REJOICE!\0/\0/\0/
TPWC