00:00Hello everyone, my name is William Chambers. It is a blessing to be here with you all.
00:04It's such a blessed event to bring the Word of God to people. You guys don't know how much I
00:08enjoy doing it.
00:09That being said, if I had a title for today's topic, I would call it
00:14Stop Carrying What God Never Gave You.
00:21Some of us are carrying things that God never assigned us to.
00:24Hmm. We're losing sleep over things that God told us to release in prayer.
00:31Today we're going to learn the difference between praying about it and giving it to God.
00:37There is a difference. You can pray over something and still hold on to it.
00:42But God offers a divine exchange.
00:46Give me your anxiety and I will give you peace.
00:50Give me your worry and I will give you my rest.
00:57Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
01:02let your requests be made known unto God.
01:05And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
01:10shall keep your heart and mind through Christ Jesus.
01:16Paul is writing this letter while he's in prison.
01:19He's going through hardships and he's talking about the peace of God.
01:23He's saying, don't let anxiety become your ruler for no reason at all.
01:31Be careful for nothing.
01:33Don't let anxiety become your ruler because of finances, because of health,
01:39because of your relationships, because of any uncertainties you're going through.
01:43There is no reason that anxiety should rule in your heart.
01:48This is a command from God not to worry.
01:52This is a command, meaning that anxiety is sin.
01:57It's not deliberate rebellion, but it is trusting our own understanding,
02:02leaning on our own understanding, leaning on our own ability other than God.
02:07We're making ourselves a God.
02:11We're putting ourselves in God's place.
02:14When we worry, we try to figure out what only God can figure out.
02:21That's what keeps our minds circling and circling and circling,
02:25trying to figure this thing out.
02:26And your mind is circling and it cannot find rest.
02:30It is exhausting to try to figure out what only God can.
02:35Oh, anxiety is that thing that tells us, what if everything falls apart?
02:41What if this don't work at all?
02:44What if you cannot fix this?
02:46What if this goes on forever?
02:49That's what wary tells us.
02:50But faith tells us God is still sovereign.
02:54Remember, God is still present and God is still able.
02:59So Paul is telling us, he's giving us a command that prohibits anxiety
03:04because God is still in control.
03:09Worrying is exhausting.
03:11It drains you of your joy.
03:13Drains you of your focus.
03:15Drains you of your sleep at times.
03:18Drains you of your peace.
03:19Drains you of your clarity.
03:22It pulls your mind into constant tension.
03:25And God is saying, I don't want you anxious over nothing.
03:29So the text goes on and gives us a remedy for anxiety.
03:33It says, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
03:37let your requests be made known unto God.
03:42Many people carry things they should be praying about.
03:45Many people are carrying things that they should be giving unto God.
03:49Let your requests be made known.
03:51Instead of releasing our burdens upward to God,
03:54sometimes we rehearse them inwardly over and over and over.
03:59Just rehearsing that thing.
04:00Just going over that thing.
04:02And what happens is the anxiety gets heavier and heavier and heavier.
04:08But Paul in his text is telling us that every concern should be a conversation with God.
04:17Every concern should be a releasing conversation unto God.
04:21It's telling us that prayer is releasing that thing to God.
04:25Not just releasing that thing, but letting that thing stay with God.
04:30Prayer is not just asking for things.
04:32It is drawing near unto God.
04:35Prayer is an act of surrendering.
04:38What am I surrendering?
04:40I'm surrendering my fears.
04:42I'm surrendering my panic.
04:45I'm surrendering my burdens unto God.
04:48And God is doing a great exchange, a divine exchange.
04:51God said, when you bring me your fears, I'm going to give you trust.
04:54When you bring me that which you panic over, I'm going to give you peace.
04:59When you bring me burdens, I will give you rest.
05:06God's saying, surrender your cares unto me.
05:09Quit thinking about that over and over.
05:11Know that I'm sovereign.
05:12Know that I'm in control.
05:13Know that I'm able.
05:14This surrendering means that we refuse to pick it back up when we have handed it over unto God.
05:21As we look at this text, the soul that learns this verse discovers a holy rhythm.
05:26Meaning that troubles come, prayers rise, and peace guards the soul.
05:34Troubles come, prayers rise.
05:36Troubles come, prayers rise.
05:39Peace guards the soul.
05:40Troubles come, prayers rise.
05:43Our troubles, when they come into our life, prayers should rise unto God.
05:46And this text is promising us peace.
05:49It's promising us a supernatural peace when we make our requests made known unto God.
05:56God does not promise that he's going to change it.
05:59He does not promise that he's going to answer all your questions.
06:02He does not promise that he's going to change your circumstances.
06:05He does not promise that he's going to give you an instant deliverance.
06:08But he does promise peace in this text.
06:11I'm promising you, I'm guaranteeing you a divine peace if you are careful for nothing.
06:19If you make your requests known unto God, if you give it unto me, I will give you peace.
06:26This is not saying that believers will not struggle with internal anxiety.
06:30But the anxiety should not have the final authority over your soul.
06:38You should be casting that thing with God and leaving it with him.
06:42God will give you, I promise to give you, an alien peace.
06:49A peace that's not yours.
06:50A peace that your mind cannot even produce.
06:54God said, I'm going to give you a peace where people look at your hardship and the things that you're
06:58going through.
06:59And they think, how are you still standing?
07:03They think, how in the world are you still trusting?
07:07Why are you not falling apart after going through all that?
07:12And that in and of itself, that type of peace is a testimony unto your God.
07:18God promises to give you a peace that will keep your heart and mind.
07:22And when we talk about keeping your heart, God is talking about like a soldier guards, protects, and stands watch
07:29over a city.
07:30God said, I will guard, protect, and stand watch over your heart.
07:35I will keep it.
07:37I'm giving you a peace that becomes a spiritual guarding of your heart and mind.
07:42It's going to guard you from collapse.
07:44It's going to guard you from fear and the torment that comes with thinking about something over and over without
07:50a solution.
07:50I'm going to guard you against mental tension and the exhaustion that worry brings.
07:57Concern shouldn't become, in the believer's heart, a consuming fear.
08:03It shouldn't consume you.
08:05It should not stay in your heart, enthroned on your heart.
08:10That's the place where God should be.
08:12So this text is telling us to stop carrying what God never gave you to carry.
08:18Lord, help us to do so.
08:19In Jesus' name I pray and say, amen.
08:35Amen.
08:36Amen.
08:37Amen.
08:40Amen.
08:42Amen.
08:50Amen.
