When you are anxious, trust in Christ Jesus!
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As we read, notice how many times the word ‘anxious’ is used.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal,
but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,
but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
“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?
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. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
Did you notice how many times in this passage, Jesus uses the word ‘anxious’? 6 times! He is addressing a very common human condition, anxiety.
Anxiety is synonymous with worry, concern, fear, stress.
Excessive anxiety can become pathological, an illness. Jesus is teaching us about the common feeling of anxiety before it can become a disorder.
The disorder
Definition: An anxiety disorder is a common mental illness defined by feelings of uneasiness, worry and fear. While anxiety occurs for everyone sometimes, a person with an anxiety disorder feels an inappropriate amount of anxiety more often than is reasonable.
E.g. school kids, high school; university.
Common symptoms: Rapid heartbeat, Excessive trembling and sweating, Nausea and dizziness, Chest pain and headaches, Weakness in the limbs and muscle tension
Anxiety Disorders: Rapid heartbeat, Excessive trembling and sweating, Nausea and dizziness, Chest pain and headaches, Weakness in the limbs and muscle tension
Anxiety disorders are the most prevalent mental illness affecting Canadian adults.
The 12 month prevalence for any anxiety disorder is over 12%
2.6% of Canadians aged 15 and older reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder, an anxiety disorder characterized by a pattern of frequent, persistent worry and excessive anxiety about several events or activities.
25% or one in four Canadians will have at least one anxiety disorder in their lifetime
There are 7 categories of anxiety disorders. These include:
.ns aged 15 and older reported symptoms consistent with generalized anxiety disorder, an anxiety disorder characterized by a pattern of frequent, persistent worry and excessive anxiety about several events or activities.
Again, important to note that the 2.6% mentioned above pertain to generalized anxiety disorder only. There are 7 other anxiety disorders that are not part of this statistic. In fact, anxiety is the most common mental illness in Canada.
There are 7 categories of anxiety disorders. These include:
There are 7 categories of anxiety disorders. These include:
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Social Phobia
Panic Disorder
Agoraphobia -Agoraphobia is the fear of going out in public, either the fear of open spaces or the fear of being in unfamiliar places.
Phobias
- arachnophobia, or fear of spiders.
- snakes, airplanes, thunderstorms, and blood.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) - past trauma, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, flashbacks.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
When Jesus speaks of anxiety, we can all identify with it.
My own story.
Bottom-line: “When you are anxious, trust in Christ Jesus!”
Series: Making Sense out of Dollars.
It’s all Yours God.
God vs Money.
But when God’s Word says lay up treasures in heaven and not on earth, you will obviously ask the question- So what about me? what about my life, my existence on earth? the things I need to survive? Come on God, You can’t be that unreasonable!
How does Jesus respond?
He makes four statements.
1. Do not be anxious.
1. Do not be anxious.
What are we usually anxious about?
“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?
matt. 6:
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
:
Life - all of life.
Eat - very relevant to people who have to access food banks, have very little.
Eat
Drink
Body - health, weight, aging process, a diagnosis.
Clothes
Life Span - a FH of early death
Tomorrow - young people, young couples can be troubled by this. Will I make it in life? Can I be successful?
Jesus identifies this common problem we have. We try to handle it by laying up treasures, by accumulating money. But it only aggravates the problem. The more we have, the more we are anxious. Because we think we need it all to exist.
Anxiety enters because we overextend our lives. Impetus to simplifying our lifestyle.
What are you anxious about?
Anxiety enters because we overextend our lives. Impetus to simplifying our lifestyle. Compare with some living in a village in Africa
The prevalence of anxiety disorders
2. The Gentiles seek after all these things
2. The Gentiles seek after all these things
For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.
:
The people who do not know God, who only see what’s around them physically, materially will obviously live according to materialist values.
Gentiles seek after all these things. This is one of the distinguishing features of the ungodly. They chase after temporal things and seek to accumulate as much as they can so they can be secure. They don’t trust God and don’t want to trust God. They don’ t need Him and doesn’t want to. Chasing after things.
They think a man’s life consists of what he possesses. They value people and themselves according to what they have.
They pursue, seek after the food, clothes, drink etc. relentlessly pursuing these “things.”
That’s what life is to them.
yet sometimes the more they have, the less happy they are.
Don’t live like the ungodly who only pursues things.
Don’t live like the ungodly who only pursues things.
3. Your Heavenly Father knows your need
3. Your Heavenly Father knows your need
We have a Heavenly Father who takes care of His creation and His children.
: 5-6
Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God,
who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever;
The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.
You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.
: 15-16
: 15-16
We have a Heavenly Father who takes care of His creation and His children.
He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field.
He feeds the birds of the air and clothes the lilies of the field.
And we are of more value than them both.
The grass is clothed today but burnt tomorrow. It is temporary. You are eternal.
Other religions speak of God as God. Jesus brought in a new paradigm - God is my Heavenly Father.
A Father who loves, who cares, who is good, who knows what my needs are.
He knows my needs even when I don’t don’t. I may see today. He sees into my lifetime.
Once I trust and follow Him, He’ll lead me.
When you are anxious, trust the Lord Jesus!
The secret of the Christian life is to stay close to Jesus. He will always make a way for you. Although it seems difficult. He made a way through the Red Sea.
4. Seek first the kingdom of God.
4. Seek first the kingdom of God.
Instead of laying up treasures on earth and being anxious over food, clothing, shelter, life etc or whatever it is you worry about, Jesus said “seek FIRST the KOG.
In doing that, God will cause these things to be added to your life. They are not your life! They are mere additions.
In other words when I seek God and His kingdom, He will take of me.
When I take care of God’s business, He takes care of me.
Now this does not mean - go to church!
Seek His kingdom - what can I do to propagate God’s kingdom on earth? how am I building myself up spiritually? What is my ministry?
Seek His righteousness. God loves the righteous. How can my life be more godly? More reflective of Jesus?
As I pursue God and get involved in His work, He blesses me.
There are many sitting here today that should be much more active, making more sacrifice for God’s work. Finding something to do in the kingdom.
Conc.
When it comes to finances in our lives, there is tremendous anxiety.
But Jesus encourages us to Seek the KOG first instead of living in anxiety.
When you are anxious, trust the Lord Jesus.
do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
: 8
Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.
Song: God is able
‘Tis so sweet to trust in Jesus
Pray for those with anxiety.
Pray for school kids
Our heavenly Father knows that we need them.