God’s Love Gives Peace

The purpose of youth group.

Earlier, Ryan mentioned the mission of this church which is to know God and make Him known.

When you come to youth group or Sunday morning gatherings you are participating in that mission!

Part of knowing God is knowing his Word, his people, and the things he loves.

So if you want to know God, you are in the right place.

Tonight we are starting a new series inspired by the overwhelming wave of emotions that tend to come at the end of summer.

I think back at my own life and see all the times where my emotions have marked my life in a significant way.

And I remember the world, still now, trying to convince me that there was nothing wrong with me.

There’s nothing wrong with you, you’re just anxious.

You’re just angry.

You’re just insecure.

You’re just burnt out.

But why?

If there was nothing wrong with me, then I wouldn’t be feeling that way.

It is the Bible that blatantly addresses that there is something wrong with me.

The title of the series is:

Chat, are we cooked?

Yes. We are so cooked.

We have a big problem called sin.

That very sin affects us and infects the rest of this world.

It is our sin and the sin of others that causes anxiety, anger, insecurity, and burn out.

But here is the truth I we find in Bible:

God’s love gives us peace for our anxious thoughts.

God’s spirit gives us self-control for our anger.

God’s name gives us confidence for our identity.

God’s presence gives us rest for our tired souls.

So all that said tonight I am teaching on the topic of anxiety and the title of my message is this: God’s Love Gives us Peace.

Now, as we chat about this topic, I want to give some clarity.

I am not a doctor.

I cannot give you a medical diagnosis.

I cannot give you a medical prescription.

But I am a preacher and a disciple of Jesus.

So what I can provide for us through this series is a spiritual diagnosis

and maybe a spiritual prescription.

Now as we talk about anxiety, there are some disclaimers I want to give you.

I am not saying a relationship with Jesus will heal your anxiety.

I am not saying you are anxious because you don’t have a strong relationship with Jesus.

Let’s open our Bibles to Matthew 6:26–34 “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? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 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?

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. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.…”

#1 God cares about you.

I love when the Bible illustrates God as a being who tends to animals and plants.

We see God doing this very same thing in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of the Bible.

God loves his creation deeply, but humans are extra special in the eyes of God.

One of the authors of the Bible says we are like the firstfruits of God’s creation.

Which means we are the very best out of all the things he’s made.

And so in this passage where Jesus is telling us not to worry, he is describing how God cares for birds by feeding them, and cares for the lilies by clothing them beautifully.

And Jesus is really trying to get us to consider, if God cares for birds and flowers, imagine how much more he cares about the firstfruit of his creation: which is you and I.

And he illustrates his care using the things that made people anxious at that time: food and clothing or shelter.

So Jesus is telling us that God cares about those things.

Sometimes our anxious thoughts drive us into isolation, and that is a lie from the devil.

The devil wants us to doubt God.

To doubt if God cares.

And in my own life, the devil has used my real experiences, and manipulated them as evidence to prove his own lies.

Because someone failed me then, the enemy tells me that everyone always fails me. I can’t rely on anyone.

Because someone walked out on me once, the devil tells me nobody loves me and everyone always leaves.

He loves to feed into our anxious cycles leaving us with nothing.

Which is my second point:

#2 Anxiety gives us nothing, but God gives us everything.

We see in verse 27 Jesus says, “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

I’m not saying the solution to anxiety is simply don’t be anxious. Got it.

No, guys.

This is just a truth, that we need to remember when we’re stuck in a cycle of worry and anxiety: it gives us nothing.

But Jesus in his own words says in verse 32,

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. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Remember I said earlier I cannot give a medical diagnosis.

Here is the spiritual diagnosis: We don’t have a good grasp on how much God loves us.

That’s what our anxious thoughts often reveal.

What should you do when you feel anxious? This is the prescription: Seek the Kingdom of God.

Seek the King: Pray

Seek the King’s Law: Read your Bible.

Seek the King’s People: Reach out to your Christian community: Pastors, youth leaders, or christian friends.

I want to finish with this passage in John 14:27

“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.”

#3 The peace of Jesus is literally out of this world.

His peace cannot be replicated by anything else in this world.

Do you find yourself seeking release from anxiety in things of the world?

I know I did.

I turned to many things: drugs, alcohol, relationships, parties, school, netflix.

Do you find yourself numbing out your anxious thoughts?

Your anxiety comes from a lack of peace.

None of these things will give you true peace.

We don’t have a good grasp on how much God loves us, and understanding that gives us peace.

The only way we can understand God’s peace is by experiencing it.

And guess who the bible calls the prince of peace?

Jesus himself.

That’s why John 3:16 is so telling.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

God loves us so much, and to more we seek his love, the more we will experience his peace.

God’s love gives us peace. Jesus is that very love.

I’m gonna close us out in prayer if we could all just close our eyes and bow our heads.

If any of you are battling anxiety right now, right where you are just raise your hand and I’m gonna pray God’s peace over your life.

God, You’re the Maker of everything good. You know me far better than I ever could. Please settle me, fulfill me, and refresh me as I realize Your peace in my mind, body, and soul. I trust all this and all of me into Your good, strong, and wide-open arms. In Jesus’ name, amen.