Concern and Anxiety
As brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ,
we should expect periods of anxiety
that relate to the impact of sin
on our relationships.
Here's Gene:
When we think of anxiety,
we've all experienced it.
We've all had situations in our lives.
There are a lot of reasons.
For example, tragedies.
Tragedies that really we can't explain.
Beyond our control.
Natural disasters, illnesses.
And some of it's because we make
foolish mistakes--we experience anxiety.
But I think one of the major sources
of anxiety is illustrated here.
Because it was certainly a real cause
for anxiety in the life of the apostle Paul.
And it was the broken relationships
that he felt that he had with the Corinthians
as a result of that painful letter
that he wrote.
And so that's why this Principle
focuses in on how to deal with anxiety.
And we'll see that the apostle Paul
was literally filled with anxiety.
Look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 2,
beginning in verse 12.
Here we have Paul's anxiety.
He describes it. He says:
When I came to Troas
to preach the gospel of Christ,
even though the Lord opened a door for me,
I had no rest in my spirit
because I did not find my brother Titus.
Instead, I said good-bye to them
and left for Macedonia.
Now let me give you a little back story,
once again reviewing what had happened.
Remember he went to Corinth
to deal with a problem when he was in Ephesus.
He came back to Ephesus.
Decided: I'm not going to go back to Corinth
even though I said I would.
Instead, I'm going to leave for Troas
because he had a pre-arranged
agreement with Titus, who was
probably with him there in Ephesus,
to meet him somewhere
in Troas or in Macedonia.
So Titus obviously was the one
who delivered the letter.
And so what happened is,
as we see here on the map,
he decided to leave Ephesus
and go to Troas.
And he talks about that here. He said:
When I got there, I had no rest in my spirit.
I had no rest in my soul.
And I had an opportunity to minister
but I went on then to Macedonia.
2nd Corinthians 7:5 to 7 gives us
background on that:
In fact, when we came into Macedonia,
[he said] we had no rest.
Instead, we were troubled in every way:
conflicts on the outside, fears within. ...
And notice then what he says:
...But God...
Now this is key to understand
when Paul wrote 2nd Corinthians. He says:
...But God, who comforts the downcast,
comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
and not only by his arrival but also
by the comfort he received from you.
He told us about your deep longing,
your sorrow, and your zeal for me,
so that I rejoiced even more.
Now if we could take a look at that map
once again where he left Ephesus
and went to Troas.
You will see what happened.
He went to Troas.
Titus wasn't there.
Had an opportunity minister.
Went on, still looking for Titus.
And arrives in Philippi in Macedonia.
And that's probably where he wrote 2nd Corinthians.
Because he had received this.
Now one other correlation:
Where did Paul begin the letter?
What did he deal with?
Comfort.
And what's the essence of what he says here:
but God, who comforts the downcast,
comforted us by the arrival of Titus,
and not only by his arrival but also
by the comfort he received from you.
So then, Paul evidently rolled out his scroll,
picked up his quill, and said this:
Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies
and the God of all comfort. ...
What motivated him to begin
the letter with those words?
He had just experienced this
incredible comfort from Titus and the report.
...He comforts us in all our affliction,
so that we may be able to comfort those
who are in any kind of affliction,
through the comfort we ourselves
receive from God. ...
He just received that comfort:
...For just as the sufferings
of Christ overflow to us, so also
through Christ our comfort overflows.
And to me, that gives us insight as to
where he was when he wrote the letter,
why he wrote it.
Because he had just received
that report from Titus.
And in that report, Titus said:
They love you Paul.
They love you.
Now remember, he had no cell phone.
He couldn't text.
He couldn't pick up a telephone and call.
How many months had passed from the time
that he sent that painful letter?
We don't know but it probably was months.
He went all the way to Troas.
Traveled across the Aegean Sea.
Went all the way to Philippi.
Not knowing how the Corinthians
had responded to his painful letter.
And when he got the Troas, of course
he hoped to see Titus, but Titus wasn't there.
And he was filled with anxiety,
so he goes on then to Macedonia.
And it was in Macedonia that he got
the first report of how these people
had responded to that painful letter.
And that was the great source
of his encouragement.
Now that raises an interesting question
in terms of anxiety.
And what Paul actually wrote
to the Philippians.
And here's the question:
In view of Paul's concern and anxiety
in Troas and Macedonia...
Now let me just simply say:
His anxiety did not just begin in Troas.
It began when he wrote that letter.
Remember, he said: I wrote
this letter with tears.
I mean, that anxiety began
when he wrote that letter.
It continued in his soul all the way to Troas.
When Titus wasn't there,
his anxiety level went up.
He got on board ship.
Went across the Aegean Sea.
Went all the way to Philippi.
He still doesn't know.
He's still looking for Titus.
Still looking for a report.
And finally, he gets it.
So the question is:
In view of Paul's concern and anxiety
in Troas and Macedonia,
how do you suppose he would explain
what he later wrote to the Philippians?
Here's what he wrote--
we've looked at this before. He said:
Don't worry about anything...
Paul's been worrying.
...but in everything,
through prayer and petition with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. ...
The team that was traveling with him.
Those men from Macedonia that were
pulled into that big coliseum
and almost lost their lives.
Together they were praying.
And notice it says:
...And the peace of God, which surpasses
all understanding, will guard your hearts
and minds in Christ Jesus.
Now how would Paul explain that,
if he were here tonight
and you said: Paul, during those months,
what about what you wrote?
What about your anxiety?
Were you practicing what
you were preaching to us?
And I think he would say:
When you have anxiety,
and you have causes for anxiety
that are ongoing causes of anxiety,
then this promise is an ongoing promise
that you have to repeat.
And go before the Lord
again, and again, and again.
And I think Paul would say:
That's what got me through all that anxiety.
All the pain I was feeling.
All the confusion I was feeling.
All the hurt I was feeling.
Probably every morning and every night,
he went before the Lord.
These men went before the Lord.
And presented to the Lord.
And I think he might say:
And would you believe,
we had a great night of sleep?
God met us with peace.
But as he got back up
and started the next day,
what do you think--what do you think happened?
The problem still exists and anxiety returned.
And once again, he went to the Lord.
So I think that this gives us insight
into the fact that there are
single moments where we have a problem,
and we pray, and we have peace,
and the problem is resolved.
But there are people who have problems
that are persistent.
And they have to persistently practice
this process of going before the Lord
in order to survive all of the pain and anxiety
that goes with that particular problem.
And some of those problems are lifelong.
I had an experience just recently.
I was in a big shopping center--
happened to be Target.
In fact, it was New Year's Day
and I had one item that I bought.
The lines were a mile long--
exaggerating of course.
And I looked at the line. And there was
a lady standing there and she
saw my predicament.
Saw I had one item
and in essence, invited me into the line.
I kind of invited myself.
But I'm in this line and I said something.
I said: Well, happy New Year.
And she said: Well happy New Year to you.
And then she said: Do you have any
big projects for this coming year?
Now we're in line.
There's people ahead of us.
And I said: Well I'm working on a study Bible.
[She] said: Oh, are you a pastor? Minister?
I said: Yes.
And then she said: You know,
I need to talk to you a bit.
I got an issue.
I said: Really?
She said: Yes, I have a daughter
and she has a serious, serious malady.
She's 31 years old. She's deaf.
She has cerebral palsy and other complications.
And it's 24/7.
And she said: I'm at my wit's end.
I love her.
And in some respects, very intelligent girl.
But she said: I just don't know what to do.
And so I listened and I said:
You know, let's pray about that.
So we stood right there in line.
I didn't close my eyes.
She was right next to me
and I prayed.
I prayed for wisdom.
I prayed for her.
I prayed for this girl.
And said: Amen.
She was emotional.
And after I prayed, I thought:
Okay, how can I put feet to my prayers here?
And I just simply said: You know, when I
get to the office in the morning,
I'm going to research this.
I'm going to see what we can do
to maybe give some relief,
some help, something.
I said: This is a whole area that
I don't--I really don't know how
to answer that question.
Got to the office. My associate Felix
got on the phone, did some research.
Did some calling.
Actually called her back.
But before I left her that day I said:
I want to send you a copy of my Bible.
And we exchanged texts.
And she texted me right back the next day
with her address. And I sent her a Bible.
Today I received a text back.
She said: I just got the Bible.
I'm thrilled and I'm looking
forward to reading it.
But I'll never forget the end
of the conversation, as I left her
that day, in line
as she put her arm around me.
Hugged me with tears in her eyes,
thanking me that at least
that I listened and prayed.
And I think in some respects,
this is what Paul is talking about
with this Principle.
It came right out of his own life.
And so here's the Principle to Live By:
As brother and sisters in Jesus Christ,
we should expect periods of anxiety
that relate to the impact of sin
on our relationships.
But we know that that's much broader.
That happened to be the reason
for Paul's anxiety:
Because of his relationships with the Corinthians
and not knowing how they
were responding to him.
But there are many other causes,
obviously, of concern and anxiety.
Ultimately, it goes all the way
back to the garden.
The sin entered into this world
and it affected every relationship of life.
Regardless of whether or not
we have caused it, it's there
because of sin in this world.
And so this is a wonderful promise:
That we shouldn't worry about anything.
We will worry but when it happens,
go to the Lord.
There's nothing too small that God
is not interested in. And that's reassuring.