S.o.t.M. WORRY, STRESS AND SPIRITUAL REST pt2
Notes
Transcript
WELCOME, LET’S GET STARTED...
How many freshmen are here? We are so glad you are here and bless you for starting your college career during a pandemic. (But, it will be a great story for your kids and grand kids.) IS ANYONE NERVOUS? WORRIED AT ALL? (Maybe tonight will help with that, I hope!)
Want to encourage you to take part in the opportunities that we are going to provide at the UCSC for you to build relationships, grow closer to God and serve Him.
We are here for you! Myself, the interns (introduce: Matthew, Makaela, Katie and Adam stand up guys) and the other ministers here and elders and body. We are here for you!
PRAYER FOR STUDYING GOD’S WORD, PRAYER FOR SEMESTER, FOR FRESHMEN, EASE OUR ANXIOUSNESS, HELP US TO FOLLOW WHOLEHEARTEDLY!
WHAT WE ARE STUDYING AND WHY!
THIS SEMESTER WE ARE GOING TO BE STUDYING THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT: (on the side of a hill…it is about as close as we are going to get.)
What we call the Sermon on the Mount is one of my favorite (and a lot of other people’s as well). IT SHOWS HOW PRACTICAL AND LIFE ALTERING CHRIST’S WORD CAN BE. BUT ALSO WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT WHO WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE GETS TO THE HEART OF TRULY FOLLOWING HIM!
THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT IS BECAUSE IT POWERFULLY DEMONSTRATES THAT TRUE DISCIPLESHIP IS NOT JUST ABOUT ACTIONS (DOS AND DON’TS) BUT ABOUT FOLLOWING JESUS FROM THE HEART!
TRANS: rather than start at Matthew 5, what I want to do this week as we did last week is fast forward to chapter 6 and look at the topic that applies very heavily to where we are right now, both because of the where our world is right now and where you are right now with starting a new semester: MATTHEW 6:25-34, the TOPIC OF WORRY OR BEING ANXIOUS!
I HAVE A FEELING MANY OF YOU ARE GOING TO APPRECIATE THIS TOPIC RIGHT NOW RATHER THAN later on in the semester. Q:DO YOU AGREE?
WE ARE GOING TO LOOK AT WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT NOT WORRYING AND THE REASONS HE GIVES FOR NOT BEING ANXIOUS. Or the how to of not being anxious.
REVIEW: FROM LAST WEEK: “DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE”
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
THE DIFFICULTY OF NOT BEING “ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE”
Q: THIS SEEMS LIKE A SIMPLE COMMAND, BUT DO YOU THINK IT IS? (Why not?)
Because there are a lot of things we are tempted to be anxious about; things that are more serious and numerous than food and clothing.
WE WORRY ABOUT A LOT MORE THAN JUST FOOD AND CLOTHING DON’T WE? AT TIMES IT CAN BE REALLY HARD TO NOT WORRY!
Philippians 4:6 says, “do not be anxious about ANYTHING?” But more than that there is a principle behind being anxious that is the bigger issue.
THIS IS DIFFICULT (one of Jesus’ hardest sayings) BECAUSE there are a lot of things that we are tempted to worry about, especially right now.
(CAVEAT: DEFINING TERMS, At this point we need to clarify our terms to make sure we are not attributing being anxious to things that it is not. Being anxious is not simply considering how to solve a problem or thinking about the future or planning.)
Q: WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BEING ANXIOUS AND THESE THINGS? WHAT DOES WORRY HAVE THAT THESE THINGS DO NOT?
The word Jesus uses here is “marimnao” which means to have an unhealthy concern about things such as circumstances, future events and physical things.
What it has that healthy concern does not is that it is driven to some degree by fear!
NOT SHORT TERM FEAR AS IN A SITUATION WHERE WE MIGHT BE IN DANGER (GOD DESIGNED OUR STRESS RESPONSE TO HELP US BE ALERT AND QUICKLY RESPOND TO KEEP US SAFE OR BE ABLE FLEE OR FIGHT.
But long term worry or being anxious can keep our stress response going for to long our too often and it can do damage to our body and mental health!
The element of fear drives us to go beyond just thinking and problem solving to being nervous, overthinking and even obsessing about things.
Last week we had some really good answers to the questions that I want to ask again: I want to give everyone who is here this week the opportunity to answer:
Q: WHAT HAVE YOU WORRIED ABOUT MOST OVER THE LAST 5 MONTHS?
Recently, everything going on in our country and world with the pandemic and social unrest and not know when things will get back to normal. There is a lot of brokenness in our world and within ourselves that we may worry about?
Q: WHAT ARE YOU TEMPTED TO BE ANXIOUS ABOUT right now? (I asked last week but I want to give those who were not here a chance to comment.)
(i.e. how this semester will go, or will it continue to go as it is, what you are going to do with your life (major), what you are going to do in the field you have chosen, how you are going to do with making relationships, social life (anyone?)
YET CHRIST SAYS “DO NOT BE ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE.” EVEN WHEN WE AGREE AND WANT TO WE CAN STILL BE LEFT AT TRYING AND WONDERING, HOW?
THINK ABOUT ALL THESE THING THAT HAVE BEEN MENTIONED before now and what you are thinking of currently and considered CHRIST NEVER INTENDED YOU WORRY ABOUT ANY OF THOSE THINGS! (That seems a bit impossible…)
Q: HOW MANY OF YOU SUCCEEDED IN NOT BEING ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING IN THE LAST 6 MONTH UP TO TODAY? (Me neither…)
We need to BELIEVE WE CAN grow in being able to worry less and even not at all the majority of the time. IF WE FOLLOW JESUS’S TEACHINGS WE CAN!
Q: HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD LOVE TO BE ABLE TO BE LESS ANXIOUS OR WORRIED?
AS CHALLENGING AS IT IS WE NEED TO STRIVE TO NOT JUST be LESS anxious but not anxious at all. We will come back to this.
TRANS: To get to a place where we worry less and less to not at all most of the time let’s look for two things in our text of Matthew 6:25-34: (1 What does Jesus say about how not to be anxious and (2 Why Jesus says not to be anxious!
TRANS: BEFORE WE LOOK AT WHAT JESUS SAYS WHY NOT TO WORRY we might need to make sure we understand how serious it is. I mentioned a few things before but:
Q: WHAT ARE THE MOST DANGEROUS THINGS ABOUT WORRYING OR BEING ANXIOUS?
There are a lot of physical dangers to being anxious about life such as what we said before. Luke 21:34 says anxieties “weigh us down.” We know what that’s like right, we feel the emotional weight of what we are worried about.
Being anxious consistently can turn into one of many anxiety disorders such as depression but what living in worry can do to us spiritually is even more serious.
Let’s look at a couple of scriptures that show this. Could someone get:
WORRY CHOKES OUT THE WORD
The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful.
Anyone ever been choked before maybe, hopefully while wrestling or grappling. When you being choked and not enough air is getting through it is hard to focus on anything else right. You are not able to do much else.
When we are anxious in our hearts, it is hard to really focus on anything else and the truth of God’s word doesn’t get through because the worries in our minds are blocking it and taking up to much space to allow for the word to be understood or focused on.
Is the word being fruitful in your heart? You can tell by how much you are changing and whether or not their is any fruit in your life.
WORRY KEEPS US FROM SITTING AT THE FEET OF JESUS
You may know the story of Jesus going to Mary and Martha’s house and Martha is busy getting things ready and Mary is sitting at the feet of Jesus listening and enjoying His presence. Martha gets upset and tells Jesus what to do (bad idea) so that He will make Mary get up and do something…this is what Jesus says;
But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
We miss out on the best thing (dwelling in Christ’s presence and growing closer to Him) for things that are less important. The pull of the urgency takes us away from experiencing Christ in our lives.
How often have you missed spending time in prayer and deep study and meditation of God’s word because you were busy doing so many other things…that you were worry about so they came first.
Let’s go verse by verse and try to pick out the why and how we can overcome worry:
WHY JESUS SAYS NOT TO BE ANXIOUS ABOUT YOUR LIFE:
As we read the text I be trying to pick out the bigger reasons Jesus says not to be anxious!
“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Q: WHAT REASON DO YOU SEE IN THIS VERSE TO NOT WORRY?
LIFE IS MORE THAN THE THINGS WE WORRY ABOUT
Think about Jesus statement: “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?” You could add in a lot of things we worry about:
“Is not life more than _____________?” What you have? Your grades and getting a degree? What people think of you? Being in a relationship? The relationship you are in?
If life isn’t about the things that our culture obsesses over...
Q: WHAT IS LIFE ABOUT? OUR BODIES ARE MORE THAN CLOTHING, THEN WHAT?
Life is about living in relationship with God and loving Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength, and loving others as ourselves.
We were created to be in relationship with God, worship Him and live life fully out of that relationship. WORRY MAKES US FOCUS ON THE SMALL THINGS, THE ETERNALLY UNIMPORTANT.
WORRY HAS A WAY OF CONSUMING OUR THOUGHTS SO THAT WE HAVE A HARD TIME ENJOYING LIFE AND THE BLESSINGS GOD HAS PUT IN FRONT OF US.
RQ: HAVE YOU EVEN NOTICED HOW WHEN YOU ARE WORRYING ABOUT SOMETHING YOU HAVE A HARD TIME FOCUSING ON OR ENJOYING WHAT IS GOING ON AROUND YOU?
Like when you are with friends or the people God has placed in your life but you can’t really enjoy what is going on because your mind is focused on the thing you are worried about? WORRY CAUSES YOU TO MISS OUT ON LIFE.
We can completely miss out on the joys of life because we worry about THE LESS IMPORTANT things.
WORRY TEMPTS US TO FOCUS ON THE MINOR THINGS AND DISTRACTS US FROM OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD AND WHAT HE HAS CREATED US TO BE AND DO!
Even if what we worry about is something the world says we should be most concerned about like possessions. Look at what Jesus says Luke 12:15
And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.”
Trans: let’s move on to the next verse and I’ll ask a similar question:
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Q: WHAT REASON DOES THIS STATEMENT OF JESUS GIVE TO NOT WORRY?
GOD LOVES YOU AND WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU!
IT IS NOT JUST THAT GOD CAN PROVIDE FOR US LIKE HE DOES THE BIRDS, BUT THAT HE LOVES US MUCH MORE THAN THEM.
GOD LOVES US AND WILL TAKE CARE OF US! (Verses 26, 28-30) Jesus gives two examples of God’s care for things that are loved far less than us. (a) Birds of the air and (b) the lilies of the field. The point is that God loves us and will take care of us.
WE DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY BECAUSE WE HAVE A LOVING FATHER WHO IS GOING TO TAKE CARE OF US! THIS IS THE BIGGEST REASON WE HAVE TO NOT WORRY!
JUST TO MAKE SURE WE KNOW IT, HE PROMISES OVER AND OVER TO TAKE CARE OF US!
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
He may not make everything perfect but He will supply your needs and Has already supplied a way for us to be saved! This should show us!
He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
Trans: Let’s move on to the next verses:
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
Q: HOW DOES THIS HELP US TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE DON’T NEED TO BE ANXIOUS?
WE SHOULD NOT WORRY ABOUT WHAT WE CANNOT CONTROL! WE OFTEN worry about things in the future that we have little to no control over.
Think about the things we have already talked about. How many of those things are in the future. How many of them can we know right now? How many of us know how long we are going to live?
BUT BY BEING ANXIOUS WE CAN ACTUALLY take away from life if it continues to the degree that it effects our health.
Tran: let’s move on in the text:
And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
Q: WHAT DOES THIS VERSE REVEAL ABOUT THE DEEPER REASON WE WORRY?
WE ARE ANXIOUS BECAUSE WE NEED MORE FAITH
YES! It is because we need to have faith! The real issue trust! Do we trust that God will take care of us. Do we trust that God is with us, that He has a plan. That He know how it’s all going to work out.
WE OFTEN WORRY BECAUSE WE ARE TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO CONTROL THE SITUATION WHEN WE NEED TO TRUST THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL!
Q: IF WE HAVE LITTLE FAITH, HOW CAN WE GROW A DEEPER FAITH?
FEED IT, GET INTO GOD’S WORD AND LET IT STRENGTHEN YOUR BELIEF. (That is what it’s for!) Faith comes by hearing the Word of God initially but also continually
ACT ON IT! WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU ACT ON YOUR FAITH OR PRAY IN FAITH? YOU witness God work and your faith is strenthened.
Q: WHY DO WE STRUGGLE SO OFTEN TO HAVE THE FAITH WE NEED TO NOT WORRY?
Often it is because we are more focused on the difficulty or seeming impossibility of what we have in front of us or what is going on THAT WE LOSE SIGHT OF GOD’S POWER AND HIS PROMISES.
Think about the times that Jesus used the phrase, “Oh you of little faith.” One of those times was when He was pulling Peter up out of the water after He was walking on water but took His focus off of Jesus and on the wind and waves!
BUT THIS SHOW US THAT WHAT WE NEED TO OVERCOME WORRY IS FAITH THAT GOD IS GOING TO DO WHAT HE SAYS! FOCUS ON GOD RATHER THAN THE PROBLEMS!
TRANS: again, let’s look at what Jesus says next...
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
Q: OK WHAT DO YOU NOTICE ABOUT WHY NOT TO BE ANXIOUS?
LIVING IN WORRY DESTROYS OUR DISTINCTION AND FOCUS ON WHAT’S IMPORTANT
It destroys our DISTINCTION. Jesus said Gentiles (in other words unbelievers) seek after these things. Therefore if we worry we look just like everyone else when our priorities are supposed to be the spiritual over the physical and God’s kingdom over ours.
GOD KNOWS THAT YOU NEED THEM, WE SHOULD BE SEEKING AFTER GREATER THINGS WHICH JESUS SAYS NEXT.
But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
WORRY TAKES OUR FOCUS OFF OF GOD AND HIS KINGDOM
THIS STATEMENT IS THE CULMINATION OF JESUS’ WORDS ON WORRY. It is what we need need to do instead of worry. WORRY throws OUR FOCUS OFF! We cannot focus on God while being caught up in being anxious about life.
WORRY TEMPTS US TO MAKE WHATEVER THE PROBLEM OR SITUATION THE CENTER OF OUR FOCUS.
Going back to our discussion last week. Jesus is talking about not worrying right after SAYING “YOU CANNOT SERVE GOD AND MONEY!”
WORRYING ABOUT THE NECESSITIES OF LIFE CAN TEMPT US TO SEE AFTER AND SERVE MONEY RATHER THAN SEEK AFTER GOD.
WHEN WE ARE NOT SEEKING HIM FIRST OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM IS IN THE WRONG PLACE! WHAT WILL MATTER IN THE END?
RQ: WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING AFTER MOST? WHAT DO YOU REALLY WANT OUT OF LIFE?
Trans: Now let’s talk about what Jesus says that help us overcome living anxiously.
LET’S LOOK AT ONE MORE VERSE FROM MATTHEW 6:
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Q: HOW DOES THIS TRUTH HELP WITH ANXIETY?
ANXIOUS THOUGHTS BEGET ANXIOUS THOUGHTS AND ANXIOUS THOUGHTS ABOUT TODAY LEAD US TO WORRYING ABOUT WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN IN THE FUTURE.
DO YOU USUALLY JUST WORRY ABOUT ONE THING? WHEN WE START COMPILING STRESS AND WORRY ABOUT THINGS FROM THE PAST AND FUTURE IT JUST FEEDS FEAR AND MORE WORRY!
This is one of most needed verses right now because of how people are so worried about future. But you may also be worried about how this semester is going to go. LET’S END WITH SOMETHING THAT I want to challenge you to practice this week.
THIS IS A GOOD CHALLENGE: Every time you START TO feeling anxiouS, or have anxious thoughts, no matter what it is stop yourself and pray to God about and be thankful for God’s help, and control and power.