Sunday 12th February 2023 - Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6

Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 1 • Why? • What if? • Why am I preaching this sermon? This is not just an enemy of my rest – it is a convicted thief of my rest… • Take last Sunday morning for example… in my mind… “What if someone doesn’t like or objects to something written in the Annual Vision Reports? What if something goes wrong with set-up before the service and people assume it’s because of something I’ve done or not done…maybe I should go down there at 10am again to make sure all runs smoothly? What happens if any of that leads to someone creating another pastoral crisis in the church that I just don’t have the energy or capacity to cope or deal with or just to get through? • What happens if/when people find out that I’m not that good a Principal or teacher – I’m just doing my best with what I’ve got? What happens when the church realise I am just a sinner who makes mistakes, gets it wrong and needs grace? My day in the week of rest is stolen… And I recognise that I am fortunate because my worries and anxiety are not about the things which keep me alive like food, clothes and shelter – my anxiety comes from what others think about me and how they react to and depend on me. • Maybe I am the right person to preach this sermon because I need to keep going, I need God to keep growing me. Everyday, every hour I need to keep on learning how to do Jesus’ – “do not worry about your life…” Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 2 Matthew 6:25-34 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labour or spin. Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25- 3 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendour was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Matthew 6:25-34 NIV Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:2 4 • Realism - each day has enough trouble of its own! Ain't that the truth! Psalm 142: 1&2 “With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord. I pour out my complaint before him; I tell my trouble before him.” Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 • Interestingly, Jesus doesn’t say “don’t worry at all”, he says don’t worry about tomorrow. • We spend a lot of time and mind-capacity and spirit-capacity worrying about things that never happen – I think that life in general and the pandemic specifically has given more and more of us (CLICK) “Caterpillar perspective” more and more of the time. • Caterpillars are slower and more vulnerable to attack – they are tastier for their predators – they are just concerned about themselves and getting their next meal… and…hiding. When anxiety starts or continues to rule in our lives we become slower, more vulnerable, it feels like everyone’s a predator ready to attack, food doesn’t taste as good and we just feel like hiding… oh yes… (CLICK) and some of us can become quite thorny, sharp and angry towards those we love when we are anxious. • Do you recognise yourself?? 5 • Realism - each day has enough trouble of its own! Ain't that the truth! Psalm 88: 3-9, 13-14 “For my life is full of troubles, and death draws near. I am as good as dead, like a strong man with no strength left. They have left me among the dead, and I lie like a corpse in a grave. I am forgotten, cut off from your care. You have thrown me into the lowest pit, into the darkest depths. Your anger weighs me down; with wave after wave you have engulfed me. You have driven my friends away by making me repulsive to them. I am in a trap with no way of escape. My eyes are blinded by my tears. Each day I beg for your help, O Lord; I lift my hands to you for mercy. O Lord, I cry out to you. I will keep on pleading day by day. O Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you turn your face from me?” Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 6 • What's the worst thing that's happened to you? • God has made humans very resilient except against worry and anxiety... Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 7 • The pandemic of anxiety - even in people you would least expect... Even in God's people. Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 8 • Worry and anxiety is endless and exhausting... and... totally pointless • Why am I powerless against it. • Can't rest when worrying and anxious.. Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 9 • What does Jesus say? • “…you of little faith…” • “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness.” • Do I do this? How can I train myself to do this rather than to be anxious and worry - Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 10 Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 • England cricket team – • assume victory is just around the corner, • don't take defeat too seriously. • Have a go. Attack. • Have faith, seek/expect victory • CLICK – “Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” Romans 8:37 • 1 Corinthians 15:57 says: “But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus!” • Deuteronomy 20:4 says: “For the Lord your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.” • Psalm 62:5-8 says: “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. • 6 Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. • 7 My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. • 8 Trust in him at all times, you people pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” • Where do you need to go, what do you need to do to refresh or reboot your brain, your spirit, your body to know that we are more than conquerors in Jesus, that he fights and is victorious against our enemies and that he is our refuge and rest…what does that look like for you today, tomorrow – how can you remember what God is saying to you right now. 11 • Remember whose Kingdom and what the King is like. • GROW MY FAITH – WORSHIP AND PRAISE Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 • England cricket team – much of the metamorphosis of the England cricket team revolves around the captain – Ben Stokes who himself reached rock bottom a couple of years ago • The Gospel! • Back to Ben Stokes – he was defeated by anger, grief and mental exhaustion • He withdrew, took time and came back to be asked to be captain of a failing, anxious, scared and timid team • He knows what failure feels and tastes like • He plays without fear and anxiety and he enjoys it, has a go and doesn’t take losing too seriously. • The team look to their captain as an example and like a king… • We have a much better King and Captain – we need to remember who he is , what he is like, that he is a winner, that he doesn’t take failure in his team as seriously as we sometimes think he does. • How do we do this? Worship and praise – throw yourself all in. Keep doing it. • I feel my anxiety ebb away when I start to sing about God and his glory, when I am filled with worship of who God is then anxiety and worry is pushed out. • Is that right? Is it just me? 12 • Look at God's faithfulness, goodness and love to his people in the Bible • GROW MY FAITH – BRING BIBLE INTO YOUR LIFE – Elisha’s servant eyes (2 Kings 6: 8-23) • See with eyes of faith!! Expect the best… Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 • How can you bring the truth of the Bible into your life? • How can we change our perspective? • Story of Elisha’s servant… • How can we go from suspecting the worst to expecting the best and victory? 13 • Look at God's faithfulness, goodness and love to his people now • Prayer times together giving thanks for answered prayers and God’s undeserved gifts to us • Gratitude helps to defeat anxiety Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 • How often over the years do I say about the importance praying together and I am guessing there are many different reactions in your hearts and minds to that… have we had a vaccination so that we become immune to the need for prayer? • Are people sitting there agreeing with me but just knowing that that is someone else’s job in the church? • Are you just not able to, too much on, too tired, too busy? • If prayer together is so important…. Do we need to adjust our lives to fit it in? • Is this a sermon that’s going to make a difference? • Are you going to commit to coming on a Wednesday evening to pray together? • Are you going to say to the elders “Can I start a prayer time on a Monday morning or a Thursday afternoon straight after work and invite other people?” • Today are you going to plan to carve out time to pray together and book it in your calendar on your phone. • Not praying together can become a habit which is hard to break, resilience to hearing the challenge to pray together can become hard and impenetrable… • I think that people think…he’s an elder…he’s supposed to pray with people…he wants other people to pray because he wants to be able to bask in the glory of a large prayer meeting – whereas the truth is that I am more like a man shivering in a life boat trying to haul others in saying “here is a place of rescue, refuge and safety – get in with us.” • The other side of it is that Yes! I unashamedly want all the church praying together so that we can see God glorified in this place, so that the power of God will shake this building, fill his people and empower them to go out and share his good news. Yes! I WANT the power of God in his church and I know that comes from praying together! 14 • Seek righteousness – how do you interpret “seek righteousness” • How can you do that this week? • Have I given up a little bit on righteousness? Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 15 • Do not worry about tomorrow? • Not a chance!! Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 16 • Flush out the rats! • Pray for the person beside or in front or behind you… Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 17 • And finally… Enemies of rest: Anxiety - Matthew 6:25-34 • • • • • • • • • • • • • Metamorphosis – name the changes from a caterpillar’s life to a butterfly’s? Ugly to beautiful Busy to resting wings open enjoying life Feeding constantly to fluttering from sweet nectar to sweet nectar Perspective – 2D to 3D – Rattle and Hum change If there’s time – read from phone about Filippino Lippi… 2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” Philippians 3:20-21 “But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” Romans 12:2 “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” We are in process – sometimes small changes, sometimes when we allow God he can make totally transformational change in our lives You and me, let’s do something to start defeating anxiety in our lives and win the victory of rest ONE THING! Big or small? PRAY 18 19