Easier said than done.

Sermon  •  Submitted
0 ratings
· 4 views
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
View more →

Easier said than done.

fear

John 14:27 NASB95
27 “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
Joshua 1:9 NASB95
9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Psalm 23:4 NASB95
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
1 Peter 5:6–7 NASB95
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, 7 casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Worry

Matthew 6:25 NASB95
25 “For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Anger

Ephesians 4:26 NASB95
26 Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,
Ephesians 4:31 NASB95
31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.
James 1:19–20 NASB95
19 This you know, my beloved brethren. But everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not achieve the righteousness of God.

Forgiveness

Mark 11:25 NASB95
25 “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.

The Problem

Jill and Sarah are best friends. They do everything together, but they are also very different.
Jill is constantly strung out; the smallest mishap will send her into a state of frustration, stress and shouting. She is affected by everything around her: the traffic, long lines, the mean colleague. Her mood and happiness are directly influenced on a daily basis by what is happening around her. Sarah on the other hand, doesn’t let small things get to her. She decides how she wants to feel and she is much happier on a continuous basis than Jill.
What is the difference?
Choice
You have the ability to effectively manage your own emotions. The question is do you want to?
It is a skill that can be developed.
Learning any new skill takes dedication, time and effort.
Guitar
2 Timothy 1:7 NASB95
7 For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and love and discipline.
It’s not easy.....and when it comes to emotions, the default is to not control them.
Emotions are controlled in the limbic system which is the oldest part of the brain.
reason is in the prefrontal cortex which isn’t even fully developed until early 20’s
So the default is that your emotions hijack your reasoning.
Ignoring emotions, suppressing them or not dealing with them will come back to bite you! Stress and anxiety come from suppressed emotions, so if you think that dealing with your emotions by ignoring them is going to work, you are sorely wrong.
Health issues
Self medicating.
Mental breakdowns
etc.
Step 1 Being aware of your emotions.
Recognize when you are acting out of emotions. Identify and label the emotions your are feeling.
Paul in Romans 7 where he says, I do not understand my own actions..........
Lamentations 3:40 NASB95
40 Let us examine and probe our ways, And let us return to the Lord.
2 Corinthians 13:5 NASB95
5 Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?
Proverbs 18:2 NASB95
2 A fool does not delight in understanding, But only in revealing his own mind.
2. Discover the ‘Why’ of Your Emotions
If you accept that you are in control of your emotions. That you get to decide how you feel, then the why lies within.
Yes our circumstances affect us. But what specifically is causing you to feel the way you feel inside?
Often times it is how you are thinking about things.
It is easier to let our minds focus on thoughts that feed our emotions rather then look for a way to change them.
Here’s proof. When you are sad, do you listen to songs that make you feel better, or do you listen to sad songs.
3. Then Ask Yourself, “What Is the Solution?”
Once you have discovered why, what can you do to take back control? Sometimes, you might need to change the way you are thinking about the situation.
You see, your thoughts lead directly to your feelings; so if you are feeling bad, you most likely have a negative thought that is making you feel that way. If you start thinking of other possible ways of looking at the situation, you will begin to feel better immediately. What you focus on expands!
Sometimes, by simply understanding why you feel a certain way at a certain time, your emotions will start to diminish because understanding always leads to calming.
Philippians 4:8 NASB95
8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.
Count your blessings.
4. Choose How You Want to React
Learning to listen to your emotions, to identify, understand and then choose them, isn’t something that you decide to practice twice a week at lunchtime. No, it is with continuous effort and discipline that you can start to build this essential skill.
Proverbs 12:25 NASB95
25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.
Proverbs 12:25 NASB95
25 Anxiety in a man’s heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.
Colossians 3:13 NASB95
13 bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.
Related Media
See more
Related Sermons
See more