You Are More Than…

Reading of the Word

1 Kings 19:1–9 NASB 2020

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.” And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree; and he asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Prayer of Illumination

Precious Lord,

On this Mental Health Sunday, illuminate our hearts and minds. Help us understand the challenges of mental health with empathy and compassion. Grant us courage to break stigma and create supportive communities. Bless all affected by mental illness with peace and healing. May we work towards a world that values mental health. Amen.

Introduction

Many from the Bible struggled with mental illness.

We see with Elijah in this account from Scripture.

Others that did are Job, King David, Jeremiah, and even Jesus himself in the garden as he was under so much stress and mental turmoil that he sweat drops of blood. HE UNDERSTANDS!!!!!!!

Charles Spurgeon battled severe depression for over 20 years.

Mother Teresa felt many times of God being a million miles away and no joy or hope.

The world pushes false identities upon you.

This is how the world begins to take you down that road of depression, anxiety, etc.

They will call you something that you are not.

Most of all, they will call you anything but Christian and try everything to make sure you take on this identity.

They will pull out one defining thing about you and define you by it.

and pull you down in every way possible using this one thing.

In fact, every company is defined by it’s product!

Apple is defined by its “graphic/video design abilities” in their computers.

Dell is defined by its inexpensive computers.

McDonalds is defined by their slogan “i’m loving it.”

People are also defined by what they do or what they define.

Donald Trump is defined by the phrase, “You’re Fired.”

Billy Graham is defined by his “integrity” in every area of life.

Mother Theresa is defined by “giving her life” to the lepers of India.

Mel Gibson is defined by the movie, “The Passion of the Christ.”

Oprah is defined by “generous giving” to the needy around the world.

Everyone & everything is defined by something!

The Sobering Statistics

We must look at the statistics in mental health in America today.

They are alarming and proof the church can no longer ignore this.

59.3 million Americans deal with some form of mental illness each year (970 million globally

1 in 5

25.9% of Oklahomans are in this number.

2 in 5 youth deal with serious mental health issues.

55% never seek help in dealing with mental illness.

Depression costs Americans 210.9 billion annually.

We must take a moment here as well to focus on clergy and mental illness.

These statistics are even more alarming.

70% constantly fight depression

80% will not be in ministry ten years later and only a fraction make it a lifelong career. On average, seminary trained pastors last only five years in church ministry. 13% even thought about or committed suicide.

I made a promise to myself over a decade ago, have never been ashamed to admit this, and have done it ever since. I vowed to myself after a mentor recommended to me something that helped him so much in dealing with ministry struggles. He said that I need to see a counselor once a month as long as i’m in active ministry. What a profound difference this has made in my ministry! I make sure they are Christian and can lead me in the ways of God. I also have a small inner core of mentors and pastors that I talk to also. I need support and accountability and recognize I cannot do this on my own.

The Church of the Nazarene responded in their last General Assembly in a positive way. 5 year sabbatical instead of 7 years.

These numbers here are why I take 2 days a week off. These numbers are why I will take vacation. I don’t want to be in these statistics.

This is why I ask for your prayers. They are critical!!! to me and my family in being able to minister effectively to you all.

7:28 PM. Pray for us. Set an alarm. While you do this, I pray for you at this set time each day.

You are more than your past & mistakes.

Sin/Failures

The world wants you to believe that you can never be forgiven by God.

The world wants you to dwell upon your sin and past,

(1) Takes focus from God.

(2) Wastes time.

Past Situations

The world will never let you forget your past.

The world will repeat these over and over in your mind. Could I have done something different? How can I make up for it? This will be a continuous process.

People will never let you forget them, especially those you have had a relationship with or sinned against. They will continuously bring them up to make you relive the pain and emotions you felt originally.

The world will always try to draw you back into the sin of the past through reliving it. Addiction, Attitude, hurt, struggle, pain, relationships.

YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR PAST & MISTAKES!

The past is the past.

The past does not mean you failed. It means you are human and need a Savior.

It’s why Jesus came to earth for us. God will forgive you and at this point, it needs to be sealed in the tomb of time, never looked at or dwelled upon again.

It is not what you have done in the past that matters. What matters is how will you respond now and in the future?

You are more than your fears

The Cycle of Fear

The Seed of Doubt

Doubt becomes worry

Worry becomes overthinking

Overthinking becomes an unhealthy fear.

Fear is the root cause to depression & anxiety.

Fear can cause us to do some crazy things.

It can paralyze us.

It makes us overthink.

It makes us think the worst.

In our text, we find that Elijah was so fearful, he ran for his life.

The Antidote to Fear - God

Be not afraid - 365 times in the Bible.

We don’t have to be a slave to fear.

We don’t have to live thinking the worst.

Easier said than done. This takes much effort and grace to be able to do. Most of all, it cannot be done without God. No medication or counseling can give you the ‘peace that surpasses all understanding’ that God gives.

Remember the hope that we have in God.

Everything will be OK. God is intimately involved in our lives.

He cares for us.

He has our best as his desire for us.

YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR FEARS!

“Never, ever give up on hope, never doubt, never tire, and never become discouraged. Be not afraid” -John Paul II

This became his motto that everyone remembers him by. Those three words: “Be not afraid.”

You are more than your diagnosis

Health/Disability

Interpreting that because we use a cane or walker, we need fixed. Almost saying that because of our condition, God doesn’t approve of us like this and wants to heal us so we can be like everyone else. People putting God in their own individual box.

Makes disabled people feel as if they are less valuable or less human than non-disabled people.

Healing can become an idol.

Many always believe that God only wants to heal them on this side of heaven.

God didn’t heal Paul of his ‘thorn in the flesh.’

God hasn’t totally healed me of my back problems.

God didn’t heal that little 5 year old boy Alex when we had thousands of people praying for this.

I ran into a very interesting book a couple of years ago entitled “My Body is Not a Prayer Request” by Amy Kenny. It gave me a new outlook on how we need to look physical healing and how we pray for those needs.

“People go on the assumption that God wants to heal someone 100% of the time. Some of the irony is that my life isn’t disastrous or deficient at all. Most days, my disability isn’t the worst part of my day, or even what I need prayer for. To assume that my disability needs to be erased in order for me to live an abundant life is disturbing not only because of what it says about me but also because of what it reveals about people’s notions of God. I bear the image of the Alpha and the Omega. My disabled body is a temple for the Holy Spirit. To suggest that I am anything less than sanctified and redeemed is to suppress the image of God in my disabled body and to limit how God is already at work through my life. Maybe we need to be freed not from disability but from the notion that it limits my ability to showcase God’s radiance to the church. What we need to be freed from is ableism. People make it seem as if it consumes my life and makes me worthless. The world thinks people with disabilities needs to have them erased from their lives for me to enjoy an abundant life.” -My Body is Not a Prayer Request by Amy Kenny

Disability can be a blessing.

God has used my back problems to draw many to Christ.

God brought me back to my calling to ministry through my back problem.

God allow me to have a unique connection with those in nursing homes because of my back problem.

People look at the disability instead of the ability God gives us through the Holy Spirit.

It shows that we are human and not superman.

It shows us that in order to do things, we need to rely on God’s ability in our weaknesses.

Disability can be a place of encounter with the glory of God.

John 9:1–5 NASB 2020

As Jesus passed by, He saw a man who had been blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?” Jesus answered, “It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him. We must carry out the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the Light of the world.”

John 9:35–38 NASB 2020

Jesus heard that they had put him out, and upon finding him, He said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” He answered by saying, “And who is He, Sir, that I may believe in Him?” Jesus said to him, “You have both seen Him, and He is the one who is talking with you.” And he said, “I believe, Lord.” And he worshiped Him.

YOU ARE MORE THAN YOUR DIAGNOSIS!

God has gifted us with his grace to endure the diagnoses that we are given.

God will use diagnoses beyond our wildest dreams in drawing people to Christ.

Application: How does the church respond to this overwhelming problem in the world?

The church today needs to respond differently than the world does.

The church needs to be open and welcoming.

The stigma of negativity in mental health needs to be gone.

They feel that if they deal with mental health issues that they are and cannot be a good Christian.

He was clear that depression isn’t a guaranteed sign of whether or not someone is a Christian; nor is it a sign you aren’t growing in your faith. It is possible to be faithful and depressed:

“Depression of spirit is no index of declining Grace—the very loss of joy and the absence of assurance may be accompanied by the greatest advancement in the spiritual life.” -Charles Spurgeon

Theres nothing to be ashamed of in struggling with mental health conditions.

Shame is not of God. We need to replace that shame and stigma with God’s pure love.

Many struggling with mental health conditions feel isolated and alone.

They deserve to be treated as human beings, made in the image of God like we are.

“Whoever suffers from mental illness 'always' bears God's image and likeness in himself, as does every human being. In addition, he 'always' has the inalienable right not only to be considered as an image of God and therefore as a person, but also to be treated as such.” -John Paul II

We must assure them they are not alone in this struggle.

Be present.

Learn to listen well.

Make others feel seen, heard, and recognized.

Assure them that God is with them and will never abandon them.

We cannot fix them. Thats God’s work. We just need to be present.

The church needs to be a place of healing and restoration.

Promote them to get help: therapist, doctor, life coach, etc.

Sometimes, mental health conditions can be a sign of physical conditions.

Other times, mental health conditions can be caused by a situation.

Many times, mental health conditions can be a spiritual issue.

We need to help others in picking up the broken pieces so that God can restore them.

Sometimes, it can be an issue of sin.

Conviction can be overwhelming.

Let me caution you though we cannot run to this at first. Let us love and let God convict and us there ready to help in the process of hope and restoration.

The church needs to be full of love and redemption..

We want those who are broken and feel ran over to come into the church.

We need to help others in picking up the broken pieces so that God can restore them.

We show them patience and grace and God makes them anew.

Most importantly, the church needs to bless and point them to Jesus Christ.

Pray for them.

Bless them in their needs - physically, emotionally, spiritually.

Show them love.

The world has no right to identify you. Jesus is the only one who has the right to identify you.

So what does Christ say about our identity?

You are His own special possession. (1 Peter 2:9, Deuteronomy 14:2)

You are chosen, handpicked by the God who created the universe. (1 Peter 2:9, Jeremiah 1:5, Ephesians 1:3-4)

You are treasured. (Deuteronomy 7:6 14:2, 26:18)

You are irreplaceable. (1 Thessalonians 1:4)

You are loved beyond compare. (1 John 4:19, 4:10, 3:16, Romans 5:8, 8:35-39)

You are worth dying for. (1 John 3:16, Romans 5:7-9)

You are forgiven. (Ephesians 1:7, 1 John 1:9, Romans 8:1, 33-39)

You are His child. (1 John 3:1, Galatians 3:26)

You are secured for all eternity. (2 Corinthians 1:22, John 10:28-29)

You are set free. (Romans 6:18, Galatians 5:1)

You are precious to Him. (Isaiah 43:4)

You are set apart. (John 15:16, 19, I Peter 2:9)

How will you define yourself?

Do you believe your identity is found in Christ?

Unlike the world’s identity of you, this one is true and the only one that matters!

Conclusion

We have talked about caring for others in this sermon but its time to take a moment in conclusion to focus on ourselves.

We must have time for self-care. Take care of yourself!

Give yourself times of sabbath rest.

Do as little as possible related with your work.

Even Jesus had to get away from the crowds by himself to be with his Father or to be just with his disciples to enjoy their presence and have some down time.

If it is that important for Jesus, how much more important is it for us.

More on this later this summer through a series entitled “Be Still.”

Connect with family and friends.

We do this more frequently at funerals than while they are alive. This trend has led to what we are talking about today.

I’m going to do as a Nazarene Missionary I met years ago did. If possible, i’m going to have a celebration of life with me there. He was getting sick and before he got really bad, he had a great time of meeting and celebrating with all those who meant so much to him. Why should everyone else enjoy all that good food without me?

Take time each day to connect with God.

Put down the screens! More on that this summer.

If I talked about it now, you’d be here another hour on this. But fear not, we are going to talk about it for 4 weeks this summer. It goes right along with this issue and we will see that.

To Sum it Up: Love yourself. Take care of yourself. Love one another. Take care of one another.

This is how we combat mental illness. With allowing God lead us to love ourselves and one another. Let’s continuing shining bright for him. So many need to see this light for the hope just to get them through today. The little things make all the difference in this world. Thanks be to God for helping us in this crazy, twisted, and chaotic world!

Prayer After Message

Heavenly Father,

In the wake of the insightful sermon on mental illness, we're humbled by the reminder that our identities transcend our struggles. We recognize the complexity of this issue and the importance of responding with deep compassion and understanding. May we, as Your people, embrace our role in breaking down the walls of stigma and ignorance surrounding mental health.

Grant us the wisdom and courage to cultivate environments of acceptance and support, where individuals feel safe to share their stories and seek help without fear of judgment. Help us to be agents of healing and hope, extending Your love to those who are wrestling with mental health challenges.

As we navigate our own journeys, may Your comforting presence be our guiding light. And for those who find themselves in the grip of darkness, may Your grace surround them, leading them gently towards the path of restoration and wholeness.

In Your boundless mercy, empower us to be instruments of Your peace in a world longing for understanding and empathy.

In the name of Jesus Christ, our ultimate source of healing and redemption, we pray.

Amen.

Benediction

May the grace of our compassionate God wrap around you like a comforting embrace, reminding you that you are never alone in your struggles. May the light of understanding and empathy shine brightly in our hearts, illuminating the path toward healing and wholeness. And as we go forth from this Mental Health Sunday, may we carry with us the commitment to break down stigma, extend love to all, and foster communities of acceptance and support.

May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit go with you now and give you his peace.

Amen.