How To Keep From Stressing Out with Rick Warren

this week as I was traveling between appointments in Seattle Chicago Lenox Massachusetts in Charlotte I read a headline that said that personal stress worldwide is now at near record levels near record levels the highest it's been really since about world war two so I decided to do a little research on this and I found out that today a suicide has now passed car crashes as the number one injury death in America the number one injury death in America is now suicide I read another statistic that the top seven stresses in life are number one your job number two money three health relationships poor diet media overload lack of sleep and parking at saddleback oh I made up that last one obviously maybe you could identify with this I got this note Pastor Rick a few weeks ago I went to a doctor for some chronic aches and pains that seemed to be getting worse I don't sleep well and I live in a constant state of fatigue I told my doctor that I started to business seven years ago that's become very very successful but I now must force myself to go in to work I feel overwhelmed I feel overloaded so my doctor asked me to list the stresses in my life and then think of some possible ways to reduce those stresses and then write down a plan of attack I'd like to know what the Bible says about stress management I hope you're in the service today because today we're going to look at the classic text in the entire Bible on how to keep from stressing out we've been in this series through the book of Philippians and as we come to chapter 4 Paul gives us in just six to thirteen the classic anti stress management recipe if you have a Bible you can open the Philippians chapter 4 if you didn't bring a Bible that's okay just pull out these notes all the verses we're going to look at are inside your bulletins on this text passage outline now the key to this is that this passage actually comes with a stress management guarantee and let guaranteed by a doctor it's guaranteed by God so you really want to pay attention to this one if you want or lower the stress in your life in verse 7 we have the promised guarantee here's what says if you do these things you will experience God's peace there you go you will experience God's peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand the Bible calls this the peace that passes understanding how do you know when you have the peace of passes understanding you're in a situation when you have no logical reason to be at peace and you are that's the peace that passes understanding when you're in a situation where you're in total chaos total meltdown total stress total tension everything is going wrong at the same time and yet you're at peace inside that is the peace that passes understanding God says I guarantee this to you if you do these things you'll experience God's peace which is far more wonderful than the human mind could understand his peace will keep your thoughts quiet and keep your heart at rest wouldn't you like that to have your thoughts quiet and your heart at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus now God promises a more peaceful less stressed mind is anybody interested in this yeah yeah I think so now you know that there over 7,000 promises in the Bible but with every promise there is a premise God says if you do this then I'll do this there is a condition and I want you to circle the premise for this promised and it is those first several words if you do these things circle back if you do these things it's going to keep you from stressing out you will experience God's peace his peace will keep your thoughts quiet keep your hearts at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus if you do these things what things well that's what we're going to look at today and there specifically are five things that God says to do in this passage he says I want you to worry about nothing I want you to pray about everything I want you to thank God in all things I want to keep you to keep your mind on good things and I want you to be content in all things now we're going to look at these in detail so let's get right into it if you take a notes here's the first step if I want to keep from stressing out number one refuse to worry about anything refuse to worry about anything why because the number one source of stress in your life is not work it is worry you may be overworked but it's more likely you are over worried work doesn't keep you up at night worried does and most of you are over worried now God is very clear in the Bible what he thinks about worry and that's the first verse verse six the first part of the first verse verse six Philippians 4 it says this never worry about anything a circle never and circle anything never worry about anything question is there any wiggle room in that verse no is there any exception no now is there any exemption no is there any reason where God says it's okay to worry in this circumstance no never worry about anything that's about as big a blanket statement as you can make he says in no circuit what about no never worry about anything but what about no never worry about anything but what about no never worry about anything now now Jesus thought worry was such an important topic that he spent a major section of his most famous sermons called the Sermon on the Mount talking about worry in that Sermon on the Mount he gives us the four reasons you should never worry about anything you might want to write these down number one Jesus says about worry worry is unreasonable it's illogical it is unreasonable it doesn't make sense in verse chapter Matthew 6:25 Jesus says this don't worry about your life don't worry about your life what you'll eat or drink or about your body or what you wear is not life more important than food and this is not the body more important than clothes he's saying this is not logical you got your priorities out of order it's irrational it's it doesn't make sense it's unreasonable now why is Brewery unreasonable another couple reasons first because worry exaggerate the problem it never makes a problem smaller it always makes it bigger have you noticed somebody says something bad about you the more you think about it the bigger it gets or you got a problem you start worrying about the more you worry about it does the problem shrink with your worry no it always gets bigger where it exaggerates it's irrational it's unreasonable it makes it bigger it grows the problem out of proportion and not only does is worry exaggerating your problem worry doesn't work it never has worked it is worthless it is stewing without doing it doesn't make any difference in your life you see to worry about something you can't change is useless and to worry about something you can change stupid just go change it in either case worry is not the answer worry doesn't work it's unreasonable second but Jesus says worry is unnatural it's unnatural why because in the entire universe the only creations of God that worry are human beings birds don't worry cows don't worry dogs don't worry cats don't worry cats create worries but they don't worry worry is unnatural what I mean by that because you weren't born with it there are no born warriors you might think you are but you're not you're not a born warrior you learned it worried is something you learn now the good news is if you learn to worry it can be yea unlearned now you learned it and actually to get good at it you got to practice it some of you are pros don't worry you have practice it so much you are so good at worrying you arguing you get the PhD if you were if they had Olympics on worry you'd get a ten okay because you have practice it so much but it's learned worry is not natural no baby is born wearing they pick it up from everybody else now Jesus says in Matthew 6:26 look at the birds of the air they don't sow or reap or store away in barns and yet your heavenly Father feeds them are you not much more valuable than they if anybody's on God's welfare program it's Birds they don't do anything except birdie things tweet that's it well I tweet but maybe yeah maybe they tweet too look at the birds of the air they don't so a read but he says your heavenly Father feeds them notice your heavenly Father I thought about the birds Heavenly Father saying your heavenly Father now if God is your heavenly father and you are his child children get special privileges and children of royalty are treated royally he says what are you worrying about birds don't worry and they're not even God's not their father God's our Creator but not their father God's your father don't worry about it he says birds don't worry animals don't worry verse 28 and 29 Jesus says and why do you worry about clothes why do you worry about clothes look at the lilies of the field the field lilies they they don't worry about theirs yet King Solomon in all his glory was never clothed as beautifully as they are he's saying and all of God's creation in the entire universe only human beings worry animals don't worry plants don't worry we are the only thing God made that doesn't trust him he says worry is unnatural he says God says you're valuable or valuable than these things I take care of them by the way since worry is unnatural it's also unhealthy your body wasn't designed to handle worry it wasn't as I when people say I'm worried sick they're telling the truth and doctors say a lot of people could leave hospitals today if they knew how to get rid of guilt resentment and worry because that's what puts most people in and see what I'm saying is it's not so much what you eat it's what is you that's what eats you that makes you sick it's the worry in your life it's not just unnatural it's unhealthy causes all kinds of health problems let me show you a couple verses up here on the Bible on the screen the Bible says this proverbs 12:25 an anxious heart weighs a man down boy you know that one and you feel like you're just pulled down by the worries you know the word worry actually comes from an old English word which means to strangle or to choke that's what worry comes from to strangle or choke and when every time you worry you are strangling and choking the life out of your life an anxious heart weighs a man down look at the opposite on here on the screen proverbs 14 30 says but a heart at peace gives life to the body you want to be healthier you need to stop worrying never worry about anything why it's unreasonable and it's unnatural the third thing Jesus says it's unhelpful it's unhelpful worry cannot make you one inch taller where he can't make you one it's shorter where he can't take 10 inches off my waist if it could it would have worry cannot lengthen your life it can shorten your life blow we know that worry cannot change the past and worry cannot control the future all it does is make today suck it messes up today that's all it does it doesn't change the past you can't change control the future it just messes up today it's kind of like sitting in a rocking chair you expend a lot of energy but you don't make any progress here just it's it's useless the only thing that worry changes is you it makes you miserable doesn't saw has never solved the problem it's unhelpful and then the fourth reason why the Bible says never worry about anything is because it's unnecessary God says what in the world you're worrying about don't you think I'm going to take care of you don't you think I'm going to meet your needs I made you I created you I saved you I love you I put my spirit in you don't you think I'm going to take care of your needs it's unhelpful but it's also unnecessary there's no need to worry Jesus says this in Matthew 6:30 you know if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow think of all the beautiful flowers that are never seen by human beings but God takes care of him he said if God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and gone tomorrow won't he most surely care for you oh you of little faith now we've been in this series the habits of happiness for eight weeks so we've gone through the book of Philippians looking at different habits and I told you many times happiness is a choice you're as happy as you choose to be if you're unhappy it's because you're choosing to be unhappy don't blame your husband your wife or anybody else it is a choice and so is worry worry is a choice nobody's holding a gun to your head you don't have to worry and so the first step in stress management is to refuse to worry about anything why because it's unhelpful unreasonable and natural and unnecessary the Bible says this first Peter 5:7 unload all your worries on God since he is looking after you and I love that word unload because literally in the original Greek it means to just drop it's not like take a long throw of it like like you're throwing a baseball or throwing a rock across the lake it just says unload it means let it go let it go and God says you know all those things you're stressing about this morning all those things you're anxious you worried you're fearful you're uptight about let it go let it go never worry about anything cuz it's not gonna do any good anyway so what do you do anyway you do the next step and that's the second part of this verse first part of verse six says never worry about anything the second part is talk to God about everything that's the second step you talk to God about everything don't panic pray don't worry worship stop talking to yourself about all the stuff that stressed you out and start talking to God talking to yourself won't do anything but talking to God will he's saying talk to God about everything this is the second part of this verse Philippians 4:6 never worry about anything instead in every situation let God know what you need in your prayers and in your request you know I got to thinking yesterday if you prayed as much as you worried you'd have a whole lot less to worry about and and and by the way God has since God has promised to care for you if it's not worth praying about it's not worth worrying about he says talk to God about everything God knows what you need in your prayers you know when I was a kid any time I had a need in my life I would I'd go talk to my dad say dad I need this and sometimes it was something tossed something that's expensive and I said dad I need this I distinctly remember that not once as a kid when I said God dad I need this never once did I worry about where my father was going to get the money never once because that's not my job it's my dad's job to figure out where the money's gonna come from it was my job as a kid as a child to simply ask it's not your job to figure out how God's gonna do it it's your job to ask to ask your heavenly father I need this help you see when you worry instead of asking that when you worry instead of asking you're acting like an atheist worry is practical atheism that's what it is it's acting like I don't have a Heavenly Father in my life it's acting like God doesn't exist exacting like I'm a spiritual orphan worry is practical atheism God says I'll take care of you it's acting like God can't be trusted here's what the Bible says look in your outline James 4:2 you do not have because what you do not ask you do not ask God so here's the second key to stress management worry less ask more worry less ask more instead of worrying prayed worry about nothing pray about everything so well I don't want to bother God with this little bitty tiny little thing there's nothing tiny to God every problem in your life is tiny to God there's no big problems in your life there's no little problems your life because all of them are tiny to God now here's what the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 32 since God did not spare even his own son Jesus but gave him up for us all he died on the cross for us won't he give us Christ who won't he who give us Christ also give us everything else we need what's he saying here follow the logic your biggest problem is getting into heaven because heaven is perfect and you're not and neither am i I stopped batting a thousand about breath number three and so God came up with plan B he came to earth in human form and he said I'll live a perfect life and I'll die for you and you can get into heaven on my ticket it's grace I don't work it I don't earn it I don't deserve it I don't buy it it's just grace I told you last week one of my mentors was Peter Drucker and I asked Peter one time Peter went what point did you step across the line and accept a relationship with Jesus he said you know Rick the day that I understood grace for the first time I realized I'm never getting a better deal there was no way I'm getting into heaven on my goodness and I'm not good enough says if God did not spare his own son but gave him for us will he give us everything that Christ has given to us will he give us everything else we need if God solved my biggest problem everything else small by comparison if God loved you enough to die for your sins don't you think he loves you enough to help you with your finances don't you think he loves you enough to help you with your health with your relationships with the career decision with closing a deal to make it a sale yeah there is no area of your life that God is not interested in the Bible says he has the hairs on your head numbered now for some of us that's not too hard but God knows every hair in your head and even the ones you left in the sink this morning that's how detail I don't even know how many hairs on my head but God does God says all care for you and I'll care for all of your life so one of the dumbest things you can say is God I'll handle this really when he's offered to take care of every area of your life to say god I'll handle this why you want to lower the stress in your life worry about nothing and pray about everything number three the third thing he tells us to do is to thank God in all things thank God in all things doesn't say thank God for all things because there's a lot of things you shouldn't be thankful for there's pain in the world there's there's evil in the world somebody gets cancer you don't thank God for cancer somebody dies you don't tell you thank God for their death but it says in all things give thanks which means even in the bad times I can find something good now here's the third part of that verse Philippians 4:6 he says you know worry about nothing and then he says when you ask God for what you need also thank him circle that thank him for all he's done always ask with a thankful heart the today's English version said now I'm not going to belabor this point because twice already in this series we've talked about the connection between gratitude and happiness you cannot be happy and ungrateful at the same time happy people are grateful people unhappy people are ungrateful people study after study after study has shown that the healthiest emotion human beings is the attitude of gratitude and the more you build gratitude in your life the more happy and the more healthy you're going to be and the in fact studies shown that having an attitude of gratitude actually raises your immunities and being ungrateful and being resentful actually lowers your immunity to to other other things in life we know that that gratitude is one of the remedies for depression because it gets my eyes off myself and gets it on other people instead of looking at what I don't have I look at what I do have it's a stress reliever gets the focus off me ungrateful people are unhappy people since when you ask God don't just ask but also thank him always ask with a thankful heart now the fact is I can always find something to be grateful for we've talked about this for on on the cover of Kay's last book on choosing joy there is a pair of railroad tracks and it's representative of life that on in your life you're always got you've got two rails at the same time one rail are the good things that happen in your life and and the other rail are the bad things that are happening in your life now I used to think that life was a series of hills and valleys mountaintops and and low load times and and you know that you have all of these good times and you have all these bad times but that's not really true the fact is you get them both at the same time all of your life in other words there's no time in your life when everything is good and and there's nothing bad in your life and there's no time when everything is bad there's nothing good in your life no matter how good things are going on in your life there's always something you need to be working on and no matter how bad things are in your life there's always something you can be thankful for be grateful for and so I can always find something and this is the third step for stress reduction be thankful and thank God in all things this is exactly what the Bible says first us alone ian's 5:18 says it in everything circle that knot doesn't say in most things it says in everything not for but in everything give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you you know people ask me I'm Rick I'm just trying to figure out what God wants me to do with my life what is God's will for my life there it is right there this is the will of God for you and before God shows you step two you need to take step one God does have a will and a plan for your life your marriage your career your education and everything else but before we get to those specifics God says let's work on the general the first thing is I want you to learn to be grateful in every situation this is the will of God for you number four the fourth step we find in the next couple verses and it's this if I want to reduce the stress in my life I worry about nothing I pray about everything I thank God in all things and number four I think about good things I think about good things now this is extremely important because the stress and your war with stress in your life that war that battle is going on between your ears the stress isn't out there it's in here it's inside it's between your ears the battle is in your brain it's in your thought life it's in your mind and your war with stress or won or lost in your mind and what you fill your mind with will determine the level of stress in your life if you want peace of mind now listen closely if you want peace of mind you're gonna have to start controlling what you allow in it most people they just their minds like a freeway anything can drive through it and they fill their mind with poison and garbage and stuffing and all kinds of things and you know the mind is like a computer it's gi geo garbage in garbage out whatever you put in your mind is going to come out in your life and and and and so they go and they see movies they shouldn't see and they watch shows it shouldn't watch and they read novels they should and they listen to gossip they shouldn't listen to and they just let anything in their mind they worry about water pollution they worried about food pollution they worry about air pollution but they're not worried at all about mind pollution and yet that's the most serious pollution I said well I'm just trying to be open-minded some people are so open-minded their brains fall out and they will allow anything into their lives and let it now here's what the Bible says Philippians 4:8 fill your mind with those things that are true and good and right think about there it is feel you might think about things that are pure and beautiful and respected if anything is excellent if anything is worthy of honor think about those things now notice the Bible gives us eight tests on whether we should allow something in our mind or not and so if you want to lower the stress you're gonna have to change what you think about and control what you allow into your mind and they test our before I listen to our watch our talk or say our hear this I should say is it true is it good is it right is it pure is it beautiful is respected is it excellent is it worthy of honor doesn't that just sound like television No No and television is getting worse and worse I mean because the heroes today on televisions are in order zombies vampires serial killers like Dexter crack addicts corrupt politicians and and perverts and you call that entertainment I got enough of that in the world you know you would never invite somebody over and say hey come on in here and sit in my living room and kill 19 people but you'll do it on the television now he says here think on things that are good and pure and right let me give you a verse to write down proverbs 14 9 this isn't in your outline Purvis 14 9 it's here on the screen it says this fools make fun of sin that's foolish that's foolish now when you think about these things true good right pure beautiful respected excellent worthy you know what that is it's picture of God and what he's really saying is think about God here's what Isaiah says there on your outline you Lord will keep in perfect peace wouldn't you like to live in perfect peace would you like to be less stressed out you Lord will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you whose thoughts are fixed on on you if you fix your thoughts on God he says I will keep you in perfect peace you see that what you think about is going to determine how stressed and how worried you are you know I've told you the story of Corrie ten Boom Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian young woman during World War two her family the ten Boom family her dad was a clock maker and they lived in Amsterdam during World War two and they made a story that she wrote a book about and actually made a movie of her life called the hiding place and during World War two the ten Boom this family took in Jewish friends and hid them in what was called the hiding place in their house for many years to prevent them from being captured by the Nazis and shipped off to death camps one day the Nazis found out and not only took the the Jewish friends but took Corrie and her family and they went were taken to death camps in Poland and Corrie lost her entire family she was the only one that survived and it's a very wonderful story and in it she says something I've never forgotten she said if you look at the world you'll be distressed if you look within you'll be depressed but if you look at Christ you'll be at rest it all depends on what you have your eyes on you know people say well look within well I did I didn't like what I saw I don't want to look at then I want to look without I want to look at God I want to look at Christ think about good things now there's one other step that's number five be content with anything the Bible tells us to be content with anything this is the fifth key to living a reduced stress life when God says if you do these things you'll have God's peace in your life now let me explain contentment because a lot of people misunderstand the meaning of contentment a lot of people think means contentment means I have no ambition no no no no no Paul who wrote this book remember he's probably one of the most ambitious men who ever lived he single-handedly takes the good news the gospel all across the Roman Empire he's one of the most ambitious people ever he says I've learned to be content so it has nothing to do with ambition that's not contentment contentment is not laziness contentment is not apathy contentment is not complacency contentment is not fatalism what will be will be que sera sera contentment is not lacking ambition content here's what contentment is it's enjoying what I have right now rather than waiting for something else to happen in order for me to be happy does that make sense it's enjoying what I've got right doesn't mean I don't want to progress doesn't mean I don't have goals the Bible says you should have goals it means I'm not waiting for something to happen in my life in order to be happy contentment is the opposite of coveting coveting is when and then thinking when this happens then I'll be happy when this happens then I'll be happy and when that happens then I'll be happy that's when and then thinking contentment is actually independence from circumstances it means my joy is not connected to what's happening in my life right now my joy my happiness is not based on my happenings it's not based on my circumstances it means I've learned to enjoy whatever I've got right now and I'm not waiting for something or someone to make me happy now here's what Paul says and in the next few verses verse 11 12 he says I've learned I've learned to be content circle the word learned contentment is is not natural I'm bought my nature content you're not by nature content you have to learn it just like you have to unlearn worry and you have to learn happiness you have to learn contentment something that we get educated on I've learned to be content whatever the circumstances he says I know how to live on almost nothing or I know how to live with everything and in the original Greek he said I know how to live in poverty and I know how to live in luxury I know I'm both that well I know how to be happy neither in poverty or luxury and nothing or with everything I've learned the secret of contentment in every situation whether I'm well fed or hungry whether I have more than I need or when I don't have enough now he says there I have learned to be content how do I learn contentment let me give you a couple of three ways you might just write these down they're not in your notes or just right now the first way you learn contentment is this stop comparing stop comparing that's so important because the source of all discontent is comparison I remember many many years ago when I was a little boy and got up on Christmas morning and my parents had given me the gift of my lifetime a stingray bicycle okay with these butterfly handles get your motor running banana seed I thought it was so cool and I thought I was so cool until I saw my neighbor got a better one and my happiness went out the door now the Bible tells us over and over and over it is stupid it's dumb it's foolish to compare yourself to anybody else why two reasons one you're always going to find somebody who's doing a better job than you and somebody who has more than you and you're going to get discouraged - you're always going to find somebody you're doing a better job then and you have more than and you get full of pride either way you're dead in the water God takes you out of the game and you sit on the sidelines for the rest of the game discouragement and pride are the two things that take you to knock you out of life so he says don't do that God says I called you to be you I made you to be youth you don't be you who's going to be you when you get to heaven got it and say why won't you more like your sister or why would you more like your mom or your dad or what Gazeta the weddin why don't you be you I made you to be you most of us start off as originals and end up as carbon copies God never makes copies of anything no two snowflakes are like no two human beings are like you have a unique thumbprint handprint voiceprint footprint I print you are unique even even identical twins aren't really identical they're different millions of ways God never makes a repeat god man makes clones God never makes clones when God made you he broke the mold God wants you to be you and if you don't be you who's going to be you now if you beat rot if you're going to be somebody else in life God made we'll kill you because he doesn't need to to that person he made you to be you and he wants you to be you and so he says stop comparing and when you because when you compare you get jealous and you get envious now the Bible says this look at this verse on your outline peace of mind makes the body healthy but envy is like a cancer in other words it eats you up it will eat you alive if you get envious now that phrase peace of mind makes the body healthy that free that word peace of mind actually another translation is the word contentment contentment makes the body healthy so stop comparing here's a second little tip for up for learning contentment stop thinking that having more is better you see there are three myths that we're taught by advertising in society having more will make me more happy having more will make me more important having more will make me more secure none of those are true they're all lies having more will not make you more happy having more will not make you more valuable and having more will not make you more secure first place you can lose it all you use billion even lose a billion dollars in a lot of ways and your value is not based on your valuables and your net worth is not based on your self-worth is not based on your net worth it's based on who you are not what you own so stop thinking that having more will make me more happy having more will make me more important having more will make me more secure none of those are true you need to find your security and something that can never be taken from you well I can't if I put my security in my job it can be taken from me if I put security in my bank account I can lose that if I put my security in my health I can lose that or my good looks I can lose that it has to put security of something can't be taken from me and that is my relationship to God I'll never forget Viktor Frankl standing in a death camp if you've never read his book a man searched for me it's terrific book and says you know they stripped me naked they took away everything including my wedding ring and then he said I realized that there was one thing that could never be taken away from me my my ability to choose my response you you cannot control everything that happens in your life but you can choose how you respond that's your freedom now here's what the Bible says Ecclesiastes chapter 4 it's better to only have a little with peace of mind than to be busy all the time with both hands trying to catch the wind it's what I call the Saddleback shouldn't we go out we buy things we can't afford with money we don't have to impress people we don't even like and then we get in debt we have to we have to become workaholics to pay for all the things we've bought and if you own something and God told you to give it away you don't own it it owns you a lot of people are possessed by their possessions there's nothing wrong with possessions nothing wrong with them but unless you make it your god and and you cannot be possessed by your possessions and he said you know if your whole life is trying to work harder to pay for stuff he says you're missing the point a third day and I'll end with this is learn to learn to admire without having to acquire I found this personally fun for me learn to admire without having to acquire in other words I have learned that I don't have to own it in order to enjoy it the fact is with ownership ownerships a lot of pain a lot of the times I mean you got to insure it you got to maintain it you got to store it you got to haul it I mean let me give you example my family and my kids and my grandkids we like to jetski and we like to go down to Mission Bay in San Diego particularly in jet ski we've done on several vacations we'll go jet skiing and because we've done this a lot as a family I've often thought well maybe I should go buy some jet skis and then why in the world would I do that I mean then I got in shirt then I got to maintain it then I got a store then they got a haul it back and forth you know if it's just down there I go down there and use it rent it for an hour - I'm gonna give you a true confession I know it's gonna shock you I have never spent one hour of my life scraping barnacles off my boat because I don't know one okay I just use yours you got a lodge at Aspen I'll jump up and down on your bed you can insure it maintain it and store it and haul it not learn to admire without having to acquire learn that I don't have to own it to enjoy it that's part of contentment now these five strategies that I've just mentioned they're very easy for me to explain but they're very hard to do it's not easy to worry about nothing it's not easy to pray about everything it's not easy to thank God in everything it's not easy to think about good things and it's not easy to be content with anything so where in the world am I going to get the energy to do these things that reduce the stress in my life God says this you come to me you come to me and I will give you the power and the ability to do what will help you do what is best for you Paul ends this passage with verse 13 one of the most famous verses in the Bible is verse 13 I have the strength to face anything and everything by the power that Christ gives me I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me I can worry about nothing when Christ strengthens me I can pray about everything when Christ strengthens me I can thank God in everything and all things when Christ strengthens me I can keep my mind on the right thing when God strengthens me and I can be content with anything when Christ strengthens me what we're talking here is not about a religion religion about a relationship you may be Buddhist you may Baptist you may be Catholic or Protestant or Jewish me Muslim or Mormon or no religion at all God has never made a person he doesn't love God has never made a person he didn't die for God has never made a person he doesn't have a purpose for and he says if you'll come to me I will help you I'm gonna close with this last verse job 22 verse 21 says this obey God and be at peace with him this is the way to happiness you see the real reason you're not at peace is because you're at war with God and until you make your peace with God that's what the Bible says God sent Jesus to do is to make peace with God for us when you make peace with God then you get the peace of God and then you can have peace with others another be peace in the world till the Prince of Peace is reigning in our hearts so in order for you to have the peace of God you have to first have the peace with God and let's close with that let's bow our heads would you bow your heads with me and I'm going to lead you in a prayer my blessing on you this week is Romans 15 33 it says I pray that God who gives peace will be with you so would you pray this simple prayer it doesn't really matter what your words you say if you just say well as I say this you say me to God me to say dear God I don't really want to be stressed out I want to learn the habits of happiness and you have promised that if I do these things I will experience your peace so I'm going to hold you at your word now I don't have the strength to do these so Jesus Christ I need you to give me that strength help me to worry about nothing to remember it's unreasonable and unnatural and unhelpful and unnecessary you're going to take care of me dear God help me to worry about nothing and dear God help me to pray about everything instead of talking to myself to talk to you help me to thank God in all things help me to think about the good things God I ask you to help me to be content with anything god I want to have peace with you so I can have the peace of God Jesus Christ I don't understand at all but as much as I know how I say yes to you I don't want a religion I want a relationship I just want to get to know you and so I open my heart as humbly god I say make yourself real to me and I pray this in your name amen

Channel: Saddleback Church

Views: 435,882

Rating: 4.7784762 out of 5

Keywords: Rick Warren, Pastor Rick Warren, Saddleback, Saddleback Church, Religion (TV Genre), Worry, Stress, How To Worry Less, How To Keep From Stress, Overwhelmed, Contentment, Worried, Stressed Out, Stressed, Help

Id: S82EJ14zlMc

Length: 47min 19sec (2839 seconds)

Published: Fri Sep 19 2014