Sunday Morning Sermon Outline

don’t worry be happy

Text

• Philippians 4:4-7 (NASB) 4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5  Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7  And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A godly man and a good king, Hezekiah loved the Lord and had a deep walk with Him. Nevertheless, he found himself in real difficulty when he heard that Sennacherib and his million-man Assyrian army were marching toward Jerusalem. The inventors of the siege strategy and the battering ram, the Assyrians had been unbeatable in battle, and unparalleled in brutality.

So what does Hezekiah do?

• First, he tries to solve his problem financially by attempting to bribe Sennacherib with the gold of the temple. His plan, of course, backfired because the sight of the gold only increased Sennacherib's determination to plunder Jerusalem. (2 Kings 18)

• Hezekiah's next plan was to build an alliance with Egypt. "You guys have horses and soldiers and military might at your disposal," he said. "Ally with us because if Sennacherib beats us, you'll be next."

At that moment, Isaiah the prophet comes on the scene and thunders a prophecy in the ears of Hezekiah:

Isaiah 31:1-2 (NASB) 1  Woe to those who go down to Egypt for help And rely on horses, And trust in chariots because they are many And in horsemen because they are very strong, But they do not look to the Holy One of Israel, nor seek the LORD! 2  Yet He also is wise and will bring disaster And does not retract His words, But will arise against the house of evildoers And against the help of the workers of iniquity.

Isaiah 32:15 (NASB) 15  Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, And the wilderness becomes a fertile field, And the fertile field is considered as a forest.

• In other words, "What God wants from you in this crisis, in this hour of need is to return to Him, to wait on Him, to be quiet before Him."

I wonder if there are good men and women sitting here today who, feeling pressure relationally or vocationally, in ministry or financially, are saying "Help me!" to this counselor, or "Save me!" to that group—when all along the Lord would say, "First and foremost, come to Me."

"Oh, I don't have time to pray," we say. "I'm late for my counseling appointment. I don't have time to seek the Lord. I've got to strip the temple of gold to pay off Sennacherib."

Yet all the while, Paul says we are not to be anxious, not to be full of care about anything. His, however, is not merely a "Don't worry, be happy" maxim, for he goes on to tell us how....

Philippians 4:6 (NASB) 6  Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

• "Prayer" refers to general communion with God; "supplication" to specific requests. Thus, Paul is saying, "Be anxious about nothing. Pray about everything. Give thanks for anything."

"That's easy for Paul," you say. "His prayers were always answered the way he wanted."

Really? Check out what he said to the Romans...

Romans 15:30-32 (NASB) 30  Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, 31  that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints; 32  so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.

• As he comes to the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul says, "Pray with me—first that I may be delivered from my enemies in Jerusalem; second, that my service may be accepted by the Christians; and finally, that I may come to you at Rome with joy."

But what happened? Paul was captured by his enemies in Jerusalem. His ministry was not readily accepted by the saints. And the only way he made it to Rome was as a prisoner.

Here's the deal, gang: God can say "Yes" to my prayers, or He can say "No." Either way, it's an answer. How many, many times I have said, "Here's my supplication, Father..." only to see that, down the road, what takes place is a whole lot better than what I asked for.

"If your child asks for bread, which of you would give him a stone?" asked Jesus. "Or if he wants a fish, who of you would give him a scorpion?" (see Luke 11:11, 12). Sometimes we think we're asking for salmon, but the Lord recognizes it as a scorpion. Sometimes we cry for bread, but the Lord sees it's a boulder—and He loves us too much to give us something that would hurt us.

So what are we to do? We're to make our request—and then rest in God's peace, a peace that passes our understanding (Philippians 4:7). We say, "Lord, I choose to not wring my hands and try to figure out how I can strip the temple or ally with Egypt. I choose to return to You, to rest in You, to worry about nothing, to pray about everything, and to be thankful for anything You decide to do."

And what happens may just blow your mind. Ask Hezekiah....

"Seek the Lord," Isaiah said. And Hezekiah did just that—even as Sennacherib continued to march. Things looked ominous, when suddenly, hearing of a new war breaking out, Sennacherib diverted his troops to an uprising northeast of Jerusalem. But that didn't keep Sennacherib's general, Rabshakeh, from firing off a letter to Hezekiah that said, "If you think we're through with you, you're sadly mistaken. We will not be stopped from destroying Jerusalem" (see 2 Kings 18).

Ever get a letter like that? Intimidating, threatening, disheartening? "Service will be suspended in five days unless..."

This time, however, Hezekiah didn't say, "Oh no! What am I going to do? Who can I call?" No, having heard the Word from Isaiah, Hezekiah took Rabshakeh's letter, went into the temple, opened it before the Lord, and said, "Lord, I'm giving this to You," as he began to worship the One who dwells above all, the One who is greater than all (2 Kings 19).

• Here on earth, things seem so big. Our mountains tower 29,028 feet above us, and the depths of the Mariana Trench plunge 36,198 feet below us. But from space, our planet looks perfectly smooth. In fact, if our earth was shrunk to the size of a bowling ball, a brand-new unused bowling ball would have more grooves and valleys and peaks than would our earth. It's all a matter of perspective.

When, like Hezekiah, you get above the situation, suddenly the problems that loomed so greatly and threatened so menacingly take on entirely different dimensions proportionately, for as the story goes on, Isaiah comes to Hezekiah, saying, "The Lord has spoken that not one person in Jerusalem shall be harmed. In fact, not one arrow shall enter the city."

The Assyrians did, indeed, come. As was their custom, they surrounded the city. All it would have taken to nullify Isaiah's prophecy was one soldier to take one arrow and fire it over the wall. But none did. The Assyrians set up their camp around the city, 185,000 soldiers strong. But that night, an angel of the Lord came and smote the Assyrians before even one man could string his bow. One hundred eighty-five thousand men were wiped out in a way Hezekiah could never have orchestrated or predicted, in a way no counselor could have directed, in a way no book would have addressed.

That's the way of the Lord. So what does He say to you and me today? "Take your cares and turn them into prayer." We all know this—but do we do it? Do we leave our anxieties and concerns with the Lord—or even as we read these words, are we wondering who we can get to help us in the problem facing us?

Right now, I ask you to find a scrap of paper and write on it that which concerns you today. It could be a relational stress, a ministry matter, a financial pressure, a family issue.

After you write it down, spread it before the Lord and say,

"Lord here it is. Like Hezekiah, I hear the footsteps and hoof beats of the mighty Assyrians headed my way. But instead of trying to take them on myself or ally with others, I choose to thank You for whatever You want to do in this situation. These are the matters that weigh me down, Lord. Free me of this burden as I lift it up to You."

Do this, saint, and you will experience the peace of God that comes not from your understanding, but which passes your understanding—a peace that will stop the Assyrians in their tracks, and that will leave you rejoicing in the goodness of your Father.

So what is this saying to me this morning?

1. Don’t ever give up your treasures to the enemy!
2. Your Testimony
3. Your Tithe
4. Your Temple

• See just like when Hezekiah gave up the treasures of the Temple, it just made the Syrian King want to attack more, it is the same thing when we allow Satan to surround our Jerusalem and we give up the treasures of our temple such as prayer, praising, power, and walking in God’s peace.

1. Don’t make an unholy alliance
2. The Bible is clear
3. The Belief is critical
4. The blessing is crystal

• Hezekiah tried to make an unholy alliance with the Egyptians. We do the same when we don’t do what the Bible instructs us to do and follow like followers of Christ should

• Don’t forget to go into the Temple with letter in hand

1. For His plan
2. For His placing
3. For His peace

• Great lesson to learn today- Don’t worry!! God has this!! Face your 185,000 strong Syrian army in God’s strength with the power of the Holy Spirit, and hold to the promises of God!! It worked out great for Hezekiah and it will work out great for you