Formula For '09 - Part 2
by Sam Renfro

Last month I started a two-part series called Formula for ‘09 – a formula for living out this year. This formula can be found Philippians 4:6-9. I shared the first half of the formula with you last month: “Be anxious for nothing.” The first part of the formula is something we are not to do. We looked at Abraham’s example of going through an ultimate test without being anxious. The three keys Abraham used was to move on it, prepare for it, and have faith that somehow God would keep His promise. That’s the first part of Formula for ‘09. You might be thinking, that’s fine but how do we do that? I want to give you the rest of the formula.

There are three areas of our lives that we need to be aware of in order to make this formula work. After the command of being anxious for nothing in verse 4, we get a process of how to do that. Not only do we need to not be anxious, but we need to put into practice three areas that are found here in the rest of these verses. It’s very, very simple. But just because it’s simple, don’t overlook it. It is very profound. The first area concerns the things that we say. Look at the last part of verse 6, “but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Does that mean some things? Does that just mean work related issues? Does that mean just family issues? Does that mean just financial issues? No, Paul covers the gamut here, in everything. His vocabulary indicates overall coverage. He gives us three things here that we say. Prayer is where we say these things – going to God in prayer. Supplication is how we say these things – how we go to God in prayer. And thanksgiving is with what we say these things. When we go to God and make our requests known to Him, we go to Him in supplication and with thanksgiving.

Would you not agree that if it’s worth being worried or anxious about, it’s worth praying about? But we are not supposed to come to God with just those things that make us anxious, we are come to Him about everything – every aspect, every area. Many times something comes into our lives that really messes things up and the last thing we do is pray. But that is not how it should be. It should be the first thing that we do. “In everything, by prayer.” Prayer is not a cop out. Prayer is one of the most powerful, essential tools that we as Christians have in our lives, and we usually don’t take advantage of it. How many of you like tools? It would be silly for me to be building a house, or some type of project, to have a tool in my toolbox that’s the just right for the job, that would accomplish the most, if I don’t take it out and use it? That doesn’t make any sense at all. That’s what prayer is to the Christian. The best, most powerful tool for the job, yet we never take it out of the toolbox. Paul says it’s the first thing we should do.

The second thing regarding the area of what we say is supplication. This is the how we say things. Supplication carries with it the idea of humility. The Bible says that we are to boldly come before the throne of God. But we are not to do that with a cocky or demanding spirit. We don’t say, “Hey God, I’m here, I want you to listen up now.” I would have never done that to my dad, and I would be scared to death to do that to God. You don’t do that with God. Nor is going to God in prayer like Aladdin, rubbing the magic lamp and the genie appears going, “Poof, what do you want?” That is not the process.  We go to God with supplication, in humility. We acknowledge we are needy people. We are not to be demanding.

The third area dealing with what we say is thanksgiving. How do we go to God in prayer? With thanksgiving. When are we usually thankful for something? Usually after we receive it. We are to come humbly before God in prayer, with thanksgiving. We go to Him with the idea that He is a faithful, wonderful, loving God, who knows we have needs. Give thanks for things before you have them, knowing by faith that it is going to happen. God always answers our prayers. It might not always be the answers we want, but He always answers. The things that you say, to whom you say them, and how you say them are very important to how you live.

The next area is what we think. Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”

The things that we say are important, but what we think is also very important. Have you ever thought about the fact that the things you think about have a direct affect on you and what’s going on in your life – how things come about in your life? Let’s be honest, we don’t always think right. We start thinking like the world thinks. We don’t think about God’s hand in the outcome of everything that’s happening.

The final part of this formula is the things that we do.Verse 9 says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” The things that we do will affect our lives. The things that you have learned from God’s Word, God’s truth, God’s people, and God’s processes – do them. The things you have personal knowledge of – do them. Next Paul talks about what we have received. It’s not enough to just know it you must accept. You have to make a personal choice to accept Christ as your Savior. You have to have personal acceptance of the things that you know about. The things that you have heard from personal training and personal teaching; receive them and do them. The example you have seen in others, the personal experience you see in others, follow their example. Do you want your life to be right? Do you want to be faithful to the Lord and serve Him? Paul says to take action – what you’ve learned, what you’ve seen, what you’ve heard, the examples you have seen – do them. If we don’t follow through with action, it won’t make any difference. It won’t change your life. It won’t help you when those times of anxiety and trials come. It won’t make any difference if we haven’t begun to put into practice those things we that we have learned. It’s not enough to know that we can say we should not be anxious, we have to know how to go through that process. We do it by what we say, what we think, and what we do.

This is the Formula for ‘09. A formula is no good if it doesn’t produce the desired outcome. What will be the result of this formula if you put it into place? Verse 7 says, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Paul says that if we put this formula into practice (if you say the right things, think the right things, and do the right things) we will have the peace of God in our life. Doesn’t that fit awfully well with not being anxious? Anxiety is nothing more than the absence of the peace of God in your life. If we have God’s peace in our lives we are not going to be anxious or worried about anything.

The end of Philippians 4:9 says, “And the God of peace will be with you.” Not only do we get the peace of God when we say, think, and do right, but we get the God of peace Himself. We get the very presence of God. That is a pretty awesome outcome. I can face just about anything in this life if I have the peace of God and the presence of God. There is nothing that can come that can cause you to falter or fail if you have God’ peace and God’ presence in your life. When we learn to be anxious for nothing (part 1), then we get part 2 (we learn to say, think and do rightly), then we will have both the peace of God and the presence of God. That’s it. It is very simple.

Bring everything in your life to God. Pray about it with supplication and thanksgiving. Go to God. Start thinking right. Sometimes we have to turn off some things in order to think. Do what it takes. Get alone, take a walk, do whatever it takes to think right. Do what you’ve learned. When we put those things into practice we get God’s peace and presence in our lives. That’s the Formula for ‘09.

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