Sermon Tone Analysis

GOD’S ANTIDOTE TO ANXIETY

PHILI

INTRODUCTION:

Have you ever had a time in your life when things were so overwhelming that you couldn’t sleep?

Have there been times when you were so preoccupied with a problem that you didn’t seem to be able to function?

Have there been issues of your life that seem to dominate every waking thought?

If so, you have known anxiety.

Worry and Anxiety are different from concern and excitement.

You can be excited about something and be thrilled with anticipation…but that’s not the same as worry.

You can be concerned about something (like preparing for retirement, saving for college, etc.) and make plans to address these concerns and that’s not the same as anxiety.

Anxiety/Worry is when our concerns become all-consuming and debilitating that we have become anxious & worrisome.

Chuck Swindoll calls worry the “universal addiction.”

Iow’s, it’s something we all struggle with...

And Paul understood the natural tendency to become anxious...

He knew that anxiety is one of the greatest thieves of joy.

But in these 2 verses, Paul is going to give us some help if you struggle with worry & anxiety.

1) The Prohibition

“Be careful for nothing...”

“Be anxious for nothing”

Some translations say, “don’t worry about anything...”

Careful - to be anxious...to be troubled with cares.

(Strong, J. (1995).

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon.)

KJV - “be careful for nothing”

KJV - “be careful for nothing”

1 to be anxious.

1a to be troubled with cares.

“do not be anxious about anything...”

“Don’t worry about anything...”

Paul is talking about worry & being troubled by the cares of life…and he is telling us not to worry.

Strong, J. (1995).

Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon.

Some translations translate this phrase - “don’t worry about anything...”

Now that’s easier said than done, but some people think you can just turn worry off like you turn off a light switch…but it’s not always that easy.

And I don’t know about you but I don’t like it when people tell me not to worry...

It’s easy for them to say those words but a lot harder to do.

In Jesus condemns worry.

In Jesus condemns worry.

He says worry is foolish and shows a lack of confidence in the person, character, and ability of God.

He says worry is foolish and shows a lack of confidence in the person, character, and ability of God.

Jesus tells us that worry is wrong & He gives us several reasons...

First, It puts the focus on the wrong issues.

Jesus said, “Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing?”

NOTE: When we worry our perspective gets skewed.

We begin to focus on things that are secondary and in the process lose sight of what’s really important.

you are so worried about a graduation party that you miss the joy that comes from the accomplishment of graduating.you

worry so much about the winter weather that you don’t enjoy the Christmas holiday with family (I’m guilty of this one)you worry so much about looking good that you find you are so absorbed with yourself you can’t enjoy the people you are with.you

are so worried about not having enough money that you don’t enjoy the journey of life.

NOTE: Worry distorts our thinking.

When we worry we tend to look at situations through a magnifying glass which makes things bigger than they really are.

When we worry molehills become mountains.

Second, worry causes us to lose sight of who we belong to.

Jesus argues that God is more than capable of taking care of us.

He cares for the birds, the flowers, and the animals…but when we worry we demonstrate that we think that we’re less important to God than these things…but we aren’t.

NOTE: God will take care  of us.

Jesus tells us that God knows what we need...And b/c God knows what  we need He will take care of His children.

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?

Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!

[]

NOTE: If God knows what we need it’s inconceivable to think that God won’t meet those needs if we trust Him rather than our own devices.

NOTE: “Worry is a sin...”

And when we are anxious it shows that we really don’t trust God.

It means that either I believe God isn’t capable or that God doesn’t care.

So when we realize that we’re beginning to be filled with anxiety we should ask ourselves an important question, “Do I trust God, or don’t I?”

Third, worry is a fruitless activity.

Jesus said, “which of you by taking thought (worrying) can add one cubit unto his stature?”

which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”

who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?

Can any of you add one [moment] to his life-span by worrying?”

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version.

(2016).

().

Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.?”

New American Standahe Lockman Foundation.?”

Christian Standard Bible.

(2017).

().

Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.”

NOTE: Worry is wasted energy...There is nothing productive about worry...It leads to no where.

Someone once said, “worry is like a rocking chair, it keeps you busy, but it doesn't get you anywhere...”

NOTE: Worry hinders us rather than helps us.

Worry paralyzes us rather than energizes us.

Worry robs us of energy and often has very negative effects: our health suffers (ulcers, blood pressure, heart problems, colon distress, headaches); we don’t get enough rest because we don’t sleep well; we become irritable to be around and begin to see only the clouds on a sunny day.

Worry keeps us from being able to address the issues we can and should be doing something about.

Worry robs us of energy and often has negative effects: our health suffers (ulcers, blood pressure, heart problems, headaches)...

We don’t get enough rest because we don’t sleep well...

We become irritable to be around and begin to see only the clouds on a sunny day.

Worry keeps us from being able to address the issues we can and should be doing something about.

2) The Prescription

So worry is wrong...But what do we do about it?

How do we combat this human tendency?

Paul tells us to combat worry by prayer.

He tells us to pray about everything.

In other words, there’s no problem, no circumstance, no situation that can’t be brought before the Father.

We don’t have to hide anything from Him…We can bring our big needs as well as our little needs to God.

NOTE: Rather than talk to ourselves and get ourselves all worked up, we should talk to God about it.

Paul’s advice is to turn our worries into prayers...

Paul is essentially saying to us - Why worry when you can pray…

NOTE: If we prayed as much as we worried, we might find that we have less to worry about...

What a Friend We Have in Jesus...

O what peace we often forfeit,

O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer!