Its Beginning to Look A Lot Like... Anxiety

Mission statement: during any storm, we have to look to jesus, we have to have faith and we have to become people of prayer

PRAY

STORY - “dont you care if we drown?!?!?” they yelled, they were soaking wet, cold, frustrated and holding on for dear life. Only a couple of them were trying to steer and save them, but for most.. curled up in a ball, eyes closed desperately wishing for it to be over. Drowning was a horrific way to die but it was knocking on the front door. The chaos of directions being yelled, the fear, the panic…the anxiety of the situation only sparked desperation. Most of their eyes again were closed but the storm ceased… as they opened their eyes, heart-rate through the roof they get hit with a question. “do you still have no faith?”

you see the anxiety, the fear, the stress of the storm took over… and i get the amazing privilege to continue our series here..... called “ its beginning to look a lot like..... and i have the amazing privilege to talk about something really hard, but really important and thats anxiety...

ME

covid Church plant, anxiety attack, high heart rate, making the right decisions, am i really supposed to be doing this? i heard jesus ask me a lot, son where is your faith?

We

we all have different storms in our lives, a lot different avenues of stress and anxiety, especially during the holiday season. but for me and my life the last few months, i really was pressed, i was really hearing God wanting me to ask us this question.. and answer it together… where is our faith?!?! because I dont want to be a christian that forgets about all the things God has already done a proven to me… testimony

So Here is the overall mission statement of the message and it might sound cliche, but i promise you the spiritual practice that i will voice later might open your eyes:

during any storm, we have to look to jesus, we have to have faith and we have to become people of prayer

GOD

Mark 4:35–41 (NIV)

That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.

He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?”

They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

1. Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith? Jesus didn’t say, “Wow, what a storm!” Instead, He asked, “Why is it that you have no faith?” The storm could not disturb Jesus, but the unbelief of His disciples disturbed Him.

2. It was not their fear and anxiety of the storm that made Jesus say they had no faith. A small boat in a big storm is a scary place, and the initial fear itself isn’t wrong. What the disciples chose to do with the fear and anxiety made all the difference.

3. Jesus could say they had no faith because they did not believe His word. They each heard Jesus say, “Let us go over to the other side of the lake” (Mark 4:22). Jesus did not say, “Let’s do the best we can and maybe we’ll all drown.” He promised a safe arrival, and the disciples could have chosen to trust in that promise, but they didn’t. In this sense they had no faith.

4. Jesus could say they had no faith because they accused Jesus of a lack of care towards them. When they woke Him, they said, “Do you not care that if we drown?” (Mark 4:38) When we think Jesus doesn’t care about us, it shows we have no faith, because we don’t believe the truth about Jesus. It takes great faith to trust the sleeping Jesus, to know that He cares and works for us even when it does not seem like it. But this is the kind of trust God wants to build in us.

5. “Jesus could say they had no faith because they forgot the big picture. The disciples should have known that God would not allow the Messiah to perish in a boat crossing the Sea of Galilee. Could the story of Jesus possibly end with Him drowning in a boat accident on the Sea of Galilee?

“Our fears and anxieties are often intensely silly, and when we get over them, and ourselves look back upon them, we are full of shame that we should have been so foolish. Our Lord kindly censured their unbelief because it was unreasonable.” (Spurgeon)

6. We could put the emphasis: How is it that you have no faith? Of all people, Jesus’ own disciples should have had faith.

Would Jesus put the same question to us? “After all I have done in you and for you, how is it that you have no faith?”

I know we arent in a first century boat or in a storm on the sea of galilee.. but the emotions of the holiday season and life in general can often feel the same…

YOU

so as a visiting pastor id love to just encourage you with a couple things and practices in the midst of a storm..

you have pursue silence and solitude

Mark 1:35 NIV

Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

If Jesus went off by himself to pray to the Father, how much more do you think you should?

the more you pray in private the more power you’ll have in pubic - Jon Tyson

Prayer is something we do by faith. Even though we can’t see God,with no physical evidence before us, we believe He exists & therefore we pray through Christ as such. By faith, we believe He’s listening. By faith, we believe He cares. By faith, we believe He’ll answer. Jackie Hill Perry

2. You have to have to ask and communicate

Php 4:6–7 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

some of us need to be better communicators not only to GOd in prayer but to your loved ones around you.. and ask for that time to be silent, to be excused when tempers are high, or to take a break when conversations are overwhelming .

APPLiCATION

with one of my favorite psalms and i encourage you to memorize it this week and practice silence and solitude

psalm 121

Psalm 121:1–2 (NIV)

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—

where does my help come from?

My help comes from the Lord,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

Spiritual practices for the week

1. Silence and solitude

2. Memorize pslam 121:1-2

WE

can we be a people, christians, the people in our family that are going to be peace giving, trying out best to not get stressed over things that are out of our control. may we be a family of the most high that will pursue prayer and peace.

now to end lets take moment of silence.. and focus on what jesus has done for you, we as a family, lets apologize to Jesus about lacking in faith, in remembrance of what he has already done lets approach our lives and this upcoming holiday season with a practice of silence and solitude and an unshakable faith.

PRAY - i want to be a man filled with faith and to never question it.

gospel?