Mental Health

Notes:

Sometimes in this world you’re going to get tired. Jesus doesn’t say stop being tired you lazies. He says come to me and I’ll give you rest. He give us strength. Do we believe that. We don’t pretend we’re not tired. We believe God is where we get our strength.

Big Idea:

Growing in Christ understands Jesus is Lord over our mental health.

Intro:

Good morning. Welcome to Church Online.

All year long, we’ve been focused on the theme of “Growing in Christ.” And currently, we’re in the middle of a sermon series titled “Master Builders.” It’s a series on how thinking impacts our living. In principle, it’s similar to the way Emmet from the Lego Movie became a “master builder” by simply changing his thinking.

Each week, we’ve zeroed in on an important topic in the Christian life. And we’ve discussed what our thinking should be like on the topic, so that our lives “grow in Christ.” And this week’s topic is a HUGE subject, not just extensively, but in relevance as well. It’s the topic of Mental Health.

A couple of months ago, I briefly shared the CDC’s recent findings that over 40% of people surveyed were suffering from mental health issues and substances abuse since COVID started. 11% of those people had thoughts of completely giving up on life. Now, on the brink of a potential second wave and more quarantines, I’m anticipating those percentages may grow. Additionally, they are now saying 20% of people who tested positive for COVID are experiencing new mental health disorders. This is a very relevant topic!

And as I mentioned earlier, it’s a huge topic. Let me get this out of the way - I am in no way a mental health expert. I’m not qualified to speak clinically on things like depression, anxiety, and suicide; nor, do we have time to get into the nitty-gritty of those definitions and details. But here’s what I am qualified to speak on - the Bible.

And while the Bible doesn’t approach mental health from a clinical perspective, it does speak about people who experienced mental health issues. And it does give us biblical truths that can be applied to our thinking so that we can live faithfully as followers of Jesus. And that’s what I’ll be discussing this morning. How biblical truths can transform our thinking so we can live mentally healthy in Christ.

A couple of precursors:

I want to be clear that it is not my intention to say mental health issues do not involve medical causes or solutions.

I also do not believe emotions are unimportant. I think sometimes mental issues manifest themselves through our emotions. And sometimes - even unintentionally - we can discount emotions.

For example, you’ve probably heard it said in church, “the heart is desperately wicked, who can know it,” quoting from the prophet Jeremiah. And that’s true! You’ve also probably heard an application of that verse saying, “We shouldn’t follow our heart” and “We can’t trust our emotions.” I agree with both of those statements from a biblical perspective.

But here’s what I don’t believe is a proper application. When we take that to mean emotions aren’t important. God created emotions. Jesus, the only perfect man, had and expressed emotions. Emotions are important and sometimes they help us understand our mental health.

Here’s my point: As we discuss mental health, how we should transform our mind, and biblical thinking can help us live with these issues, what I don’t want us to do is ignore or in appropriately discount our emotions. What I do want us to understand though is “emotions matter, but they are not our master.” Furthermore, emotions are important, but they are not truth. They can be skewed. Only God’s word is truth.

Jesus said...

John 17:17 NLT

Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.

With that said, let’s start with this...

Body:

Stress:

Anybody stressed right now? These are stressful times. That’s reality. Yes, even for Christians. I know sometimes we say things in the church like, “To blessed to be stressed,” and that may be true for you! If it is, God bless you. And I think ultimately, that’s the result of biblical thinking on our lives. But Christian or not, we all deal with stress. We see that in the Bible… like in this story...

Drag (distracted) - Kota vs Rocky and Georgie walking.

Tired/Exhausted/Insomnia:

Emotional Rollercoaster:

Depression.

Anxiety/Worry/Fear (all related)

I’m not smart enough to think of this, but Craig Groschel gives this example. When the little check engine light comes on, the problem isn’t the light coming on. The light is telling you something is wrong and you need to talk to someone who can fix it. That’s like anxiety. Anxiety is the signal that it’s time to pray - it’s time to talk to the One who can fix it. That’s our thinking. We can’t force ourselves to not be anxious. I think it’s impossible. Jesus got anxious. But it’s how we respond that matters. We train our thinking to respond to anxiety by talking to God. Don’t be anxious (don’t dwell on that anxiety thinking you can fix it) about anything (money, election, virus, job, any circumstances).

Suicide/Give-up:

Spiritual Warfare:

Anxiety/Worry (Phil 4 - the whole church was anxious - trying times.). Jesus said our worry can do nothing ,but Jesus can do everything (even the impossible). Our thinking changes when we believe God is in control. Money - financial stewardship, but God says today. Do you know how many times I had to live on the promise of today. I have enough to survive today. God has always been faithful.

def: a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event or something with an uncertain outcome.

Emotional Rollercoaster (what’s wrong with my mind)- Elijah. Some of this can be chemical. Some circumstantial. Some spiritual.

Anger - not bad unless it consumes you and leads you to sin.

Depression (Job)

def: in a state of general unhappiness or despondency.

He knows exactly what we need and what we can handle. Will we trust Him.

Stressed (Good intentions - Martha (seek Jesus).) -

def: a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or very demanding circumstances.

Slaves vs sons stress. Grace

Who is Jesus and what has he said/promised. God promised rest, strength, grace, peace. How? By faith- by aligning our thinking with what God has promised. To believe Him.

Gospel is incredibly good news for the stressed

Tired (rest - Matt 11) God can give us strength .drained of one's physical or mental resources; very tired. Reserves completely used up.

Suicide/Give up (2 Cor 1:8)

def: killing yourself intentionally due to defeat. someone plans out or acts upon self-destructive thoughts and feelings, often while they are experiencing overwhelming stress. It’s not worth living.

anxiety/worry

emotional rollercoaster: (many disorders can be associated as causes?) stressed; tired (insomnia).

depressed.

suicide/giveup

Spiritual thing - This needs to impact our thinking. We have a spiritual enemy who hates us. And one way he attacks us is through lies. So you know those overwhelming thoughts of negativity. You know those thoughts that keep you depressed and anxious. Sometimes, that’s an attack. And the best way to find safety is in the shelter of God’s arms. Otherwise, you’re going to stand out in the open and get tore up. You can fight the devil on your own and win. You can’t beat the devil with positive thinking. You need the power and promises of God.

Response:

Perspective: God is for us! (Rom 8:31)

Action: All of this takes faith. Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Notice it says “hearing” not “reading.” Reading is important, but it’s not required for faith. Especially in a day like ours when we have so many tools that can build our faith and give us the word of God. I don’t know about you, but I fall asleep reading. I love reading. I love books. But for real, they put me asleep! They say leaders are readers… Im not sure what that means for me! But use these tools to transform your thinking. To improve your mental health!

RightNow Media. You Version? Podcast?

Reach out to us. Let us pray for you. Better yet, get into Life Group where we can live together. God’s word.

God wants us to be mentally healthy

2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

But it requires us to...

Romans 12:2 ESV

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

Pray - I need Jesus to transform my thinking. I need Jesus as Master, not my emotions. Tired of the anxiety that doesn’t help. Tired of the rollercoaster. Tired of feeling overwhelmed and ready to give up. I’m ready to make Jesus my Master, but I need His help.