Set Free from Stress

INTRODUCTION

300 Illustrations for Preachers (Burning His House down to Kill a Spider)

A man afraid of spiders spotted one in the laundry room of his West Seattle home. In order to get rid of it, he grabbed a lighter and a can of spray paint. There is no report about the fate of the spider, but the house caught fire, causing about $60,000 worth of damage. That is a lot to get rid of one spider.

Fear can make us act irrationally.

>>SET FREE<<

We live in the safest/most secure society in the history of mankind. Diseases and health issues that used to be a death sentence for generations past are now treated in days by specialists. We drive vehicles that autocorrect themselves if you drift out of your lane. These vehicles have more airbags in them than you probably even know about. If you are a new parent w/ a baby, you’ve got more safety precautions…

And yet…we live in the most anxiety-plagued society in the history of mankind.

Social psychologist, Jonathan Haidt, says that anxiety is “experienced as dread and worry, and, after a while, exhaustion. At the core of anxiety, there is a fear of what might happen in the future. As the fear is allowed to linger, it diminishes a person’s capacity for clear thinking and produces cognitive distortions.

At the root of anxiety is FEAR.

Maybe you identify with this. Maybe your life, your relationships, your mental health is plagued with anxiety. This is a crazy life that throws so much at us. As followers of Jesus, how can we deal with anxiety?

READ PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9

Main Idea

Anxiety is a weapon of Satan to destroy us.

God’s peace is His gift to bless us and give us freedom in this crazy life.

Paul gives us a command—“Be anxious for nothing.” Sounds great. Sounds idealistic, right? Easy for you to say, Paul. But, my gosh, do you know what all Paul went through? If anyone had any justifiable reason to struggle with anxiety and worry it was Paul. He had survived a shipwreck. He had been beaten and run out of many towns. He constantly had people threatening to kill him. He was constantly being watched. He faced ongoing financial insecurity. He was IN PRISON when he wrote this letter!

But, here he gives us this command—as a fellow sufferer through life—to be anxious for nothing. Why? Because Paul knew that…

Anxiety is a weapon of Satan meant to destroy us.

The words “anxious” and “worry” in the Greek come from the same root term that means “to care, to worry, to be troubled, or to be pulled in different directions.”

A dog gnawing on a bone—all the way down to a nub. Anxiety gnaws away at you until you feel like there’s nothing left.

(Vance Pitman, The Stressless Life, 33-34)

How can I deal with the anxiety of this crazy life?

Now, I want to make clear that I’m a doctor—Dr. Atkins—but not “that” kind of doctor. I believe that God has equipped specialists, etc…

But, here’s what I know. I know that our God is Creator. He’s your Creator. He’s my Creator. I know we are fearfully and wonderfully made but that our bodies—including our brains—are under the curse of sin and we daily deal with the effects of the Fall in Genesis 3. I know for a fact that our God, as Psalm 139 says, knows our inmost being. I know that, yes, there are doctors and specialists that I believe, again, that God has gifted to help with issues of mental health but that God’s word is powerful. I believe that God is the healer. I believe that God is the God of peace and that His word directs us in the way of life, and freedom, and healing.

Anxiety is a weapon of Satan meant to destroy us.

And, if we’re going to start winning the battle against anxiety, we must, first,

ABIDE in Christ (vs. 4-6)

In John 14 & 15, Jesus tells us what a relationship with him looks like. He says to his disciples…

John 14:27 (ESV)

Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Then, in chapter 15 he tells us how we can experience this peace—I am the vine you are the branches—Abide in me. And Jesus says that if we abide in him then his love will abide in us and our joy will be complete.

The remainder of Paul’s letter to the Philippians, beginning here in 4:4 is a slew of commands. As Paul launches into this brief section about anxiety, worry, care, he begins with the command to “rejoice in the Lord always” and, just for extra emphasis, “again…I say rejoice.” This command to rejoice in the Lord is the most repeated point in the letter…really, the theme.

He says, in vs. 5…

“The Lord is at hand…”

Two ways, I think, of reading this. If you are saved/if you’re a child of God, He is ever present with you. He’s as close as your hand.

Another way…His return is close. What you’re worried about is in your future. God’s already there. He’s omnipresent.

So…If I am living in relationship with Jesus—abiding in Him—and He is as close as my hand—two things—be glad & be grateful

Joy and FEAR cannot coexist.

Be glad

Nehemiah 8:10 (ESV)

And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

It is anxiety that robs us of our joy. And what is anxiety but fear? Fear is the enemy of joy. It is hard to be joyful when we are afraid.

R. C. Sproul

Paul tells us that PRAYER is the primary channel that we practice our GLADNESS and GRATITUDE.

He says “don’t be anxious about ANYTHING but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication…”

Now, I know a lot of times, the remedy for anxiety/worry that a lot of people get is “just pray about it!” And, let’s be honest, unfortunately, a lot of times if we get that advice we just brush it off. Maybe we’ve gotten frustrated with prayer. Maybe we’ve BEEN praying about our concerns and our fears and our worries and our anxiety and it just hasn’t gone away. We’re defeated. We’re “gnawed” to death by our anxiety and prayer just seems to hit the ceiling.

But, here’s what Paul says…our prayer and our supplication are to be made with thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving and FEAR cannot coexist.

Be grateful

All in the context of constant/ongoing conversation with God (Pray without ceasing//1 Thessalonians 5:16).

1 Peter 5:7 (ESV)

casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

Put your cares out of your own reach…put it on the top shelf—on the throne.

Studies have shown that gratitude reduces anxiety (depression, too) in part by optimizing the functioning of the autonomic nervous system as well as those same neurotransmitters involved in anxiety.

The brain can't respond to anxiety and gratitude at the same time, which means it's one or the other.

And the promise is verse 7— “AND (the result) the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Dwell on TRUTH (vs. 8)

The battleground for anxiety is the mind. This is why Paul says that the peace of God will guard your “minds” in Christ Jesus. The lies of Satan fill our minds to doubt God’s word, to doubt God’s provision, and to doubt God’s goodness. To doubt our future.

What occupies your thoughts?

Whatever is…

TRUE

HONORABLE

JUST

PURE

LOVELY

COMMENDABLE

EXCELLENT

PRAISEWORTHY

Train your mind—fill it with the word of God. “Well, I’ve tried to think about things other than what I’m worried about/fearful of.”

Question—how much of God’s Word have/are you memorizing and meditating on?

Psalm 1—the blessed man is the one who delights in the word of the Lord and meditates on it day and night…like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.

Satan—father of lies

Trust and Obey by FAITH (vs. 9)

I know there’s a temptation that some of us may have this morning…and I genuinely, with all of my heart, believe that it is a lie from Satan—the Father of Lies—himself.

“You’ve heard all this before. You’ve tried everything and it just doesn’t work for you.”

Are you going to believe the Word of the God of Truth over the whispers of the Father of Lies? Are you going to take Jesus’s invitation to come to him if you are heavy weary and loaded down with heavy burdens—that you can give those to him and he will give you his load of grace and love and mercy?

Anxiety is a weapon of Satan to destroy us.

God’s peace is His gift to bless us and give us freedom in this crazy life.

You cannot control the future—there is so much that you cannot control. You need to surrender.

Will you choose to ABIDE IN CHRIST, DWELL ON TRUTH, TRUST AND OBEY BY FAITH?

CONCLUSION

1) Lord Jesus, I surrender control of my life to you. You love me more than I could ever fathom. I recommit myself to abide in you. Lord, I want to fill my heart and mind with your truth and dwell on your truth. And, Lord, I take you at your word—your promises and your provisions—by faith.

2) MAYBE YOU’RE HERE AND YOU’VE BEEN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT/FIX YOUR LIFE ON YOUR OWN. YOU HAVE A SIN PROBLEM.