Cure for Anxiety

Intro: What is your greatest fear

Spiders, Snakes, Heights, public speaking, death

Arachibutyrophobia (Fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth)

Nomophobia (Fear of being without your mobile phone)

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia (Fear of long words)

Eisoptrophobia (Fear of mirrors)

But in all seriousness what is something that you worry about, something that you currently are worried over?

Need: Studies show that majority of people on their deathbed have said their BIGGEST regret in life is Worrying Too Muc

Seems like your generation is headed towards the same end with reported 1 in 3 teens diagnosed w/ anxiety disorder

Anxiety isn’t just a terrible feeling but a gross sin that shouts at God and tells Him that He isn’t in control, He isn’t good, He isn’t loving, He isn’t caring and ultimately that He isn’t actually God and shouldn’t be trusted.

Anxiety is a disbelief in the God of truth and a belief in the father of lies - Satan -> who is perfectly content with you not trusting our trustworthy God

I ask you, what in your life do you worry about? What is that thing, that circumstance that has you worrying?

LETS PRAY FOR HELP - God show us your faithful character, show us how and where we worry, convict us, change us and FREE us from worry, help us to Kill anxiety in our life. Help every students to treat your Word as they ought to, help them listen and me speak because we need you - AMEN

PROP: Kill Anxiety in Your Life

A Guide to worry free living - 3 things to look to that KILL ANXIETY

Look to your FATHER v.25-30

Birds - Matt 6:26 ““Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?”

Jesus remember is outside preaching to people who lived in an agrarian society. Most of their days were spent actually growing and harvesting and preparing food. A drought really could cause starvation for them and their family. Actually these peoples OT ancestors once did resort to cannabalizing their own children because of the severity of drought and famine. So hunger was much more real to them than it is to us.

We have food everywhere - you’re not allowed to say theres nothing to eat - even when your wife only buys healthy food and so your late night snack has to be yogurt and pistachios.

These people actually knew hunger and Jesus says look at those birds - they don’t farm, they don’t clock in our clock out, they don’t use wells fargo, chase or B of A - they wake up and eat what God provides and they are fine - they don’t starve -

There are 430 BILLION birds on Earth - and do you know who feeds them all? God

Brooke and I love going to the zoo and as we walk around the SD zoo we see SO MANY animals Eagles, Bears, Lions, Tigers, Elephants, Zebras - I mean you name it. As we were walking I looked at her and said “Who feeds these?” How do they keep track? If I was left to feed every animal here they would all be dead...

God isn’t overwhelmed or fazed at the task - he is the GREAT BIRD KEEPER - and the point Jesus makes is IF YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER never forgets to feed his nameless pets - how much more will he never forget to feed you?

Luke 12:24 ““Consider the ravens, for they neither sow nor reap; they have no storeroom nor barn, and yet God feeds them; how much more valuable you are than the birds!”

The Parrallell passage is helpful notice the word RAVEN - ravens specifically were the most worthless birds - Lev 11:15 explains that ravens are unclean not to be touched or eaten - Job 38:41 ““Who prepares for the raven its nourishment When its young cry to God And wander about without food?”

God cares for the dirtiest most invaluable of animals how much more does he care for HIS OWN children - Don’t Worry God will provide - just look at the birds

Time - Matt 6:27 ““And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?”

Jesus points out the ridiculousness of worrying about death - think about it - worrying changes NOTHING

But yet our WORLD is obsessively worried about death - they come up with all of these different diets and pills and exercises, surgeries, stem cell transplants - I think the main goal of medical scientists is to extend the average lifespan - everyone is afraid to die yet no one escapes it

When and how and where you die isn’t a mystery to God - it’s already written in stone - you will not be late for your funeral - your grave is already reserved - the tombstone has been written -

Ecc 3:1-2 “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven— A time to give birth and a time to die; You have a God given Birth year and Death year - your just living in the tiny dash between the two

Psalm 139:16 in Your book were all written The days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was not one of them.”

Deuteronomy 32:39 “‘See now that I, I am He, And there is no god besides Me; It is I who put to death and give life. I have wounded and it is I who heal, And there is no one who can deliver from My hand.”

Your survival depends on divine sovereignty not human anxiety

ILLUS: Last month you may have heard about Pittsburg Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins who was hit by a car and killed. Reports told us “He was JUST 24 years old - with His WHOLE LIFE ahead of them”

See the World forgets an unshakabe reality - that no matter who you are, what you do, where you come from - in the same way you have a birthday, you have a death day - Don’t Worry you can’t change it

IF THERE IS TIME POINT TO STEPHEN - God meets us in death and life is much better after it

Clothing - Matt 6:28-30 ““And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. “But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!”

Again, like food, we don’t understand this - the people hearing Jesus’ voice weren’t worried about what Prom Dress they were going to wear - they were worried that they wouldn’t have clothes to keep them warm overnight- they had no Khols, No Sun Diego, No Free People -

Jesus again points to nature and says look at the lillies - they do NOTHING they just grow and not even Solomon in his best fit compares to them.

ILLUS: This is obvious - in carlsbad they have flower fields - I always find it funny that people get pictures of themesleves there. BUT its because they know the axiom Jesus presents - that God dresses the flowers better than we can even dress ourselves and so if we want people to look at us on IG we better get in front of something more beautiful than us

But Jesus again goes from lesser to greater - he says God beautifully dresses the flowers and they can be dead within a couple hours - you know that if the irrigation in carlsbad stopped working - every flower would die within 24 hours - the whole show would be over

If God cares to clothe - thousands of little flowers how much more will he be sure to clothe you?

Look to your father, He always provides.

Look to your FAITH v.31-32

Jesus contrast believers with non-believers

“Don’t Worry about food, water & clothes - thats what non-believers worry about - YOU KNOW GOD, YOU KNOW HIS PROMISES!” You have faith in the all sufficient, all knowing, never sleeping, never changing, loving and caring God who has said to you “Don’t Worry”

1 Peter 5:7 “casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.”

Jesus brings back in the theme of this entire SERMON that “Christians ARE DIFFERENT” So be different!

Non-Believers don’t know God, they have no faith in God or in the promises of God

Maybe you Christian have been through a ROUGH time but in that time you remember Rom 8:28 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Now imagine that time w/o that verse - that is every day for a unbeliver - they don’t have that promise - not because they don’t know it but because that is a reality reserved ONLY to those with Faith in Christ

So no wonder the WORLD is obsessed with MAKING and HOARDING as much money as possible, with frantically searching for ways to avoid death, desperately searching for pleasure, taking physical pills to alleviate a spiritual problem

Listen the ULTIMATE SOLUTION is not Xanax, Ambien, or Prozac it is FAITH in JESUS CHRIST!

Don’t trust me, your friends, your parents because they will always fail trust God because verse 32 HE KNOWS WHAT YOU NEED - more than you do

Think with me - what is it that you and everyone else needs more than ANYTHING ELSE? They need an answer to their sin

If there is anything to be anxious about it is the thought of eternal Hell - torment torture and total darkness forever. It is as real as we are sitting here tonight. Even Jesus himself was sweating blood just thinking of it. It is a place that is being filled as we speak. And it was or maybe still is your eternal destiny - that is EVERYONES GREATEST PROBLEM and should be their greatest anxiety

YET GOD DEALT WITH IT - Jesus Christ knew your name, could see your face and as spurgeon said there he hung-the naked Saviour ... He who clothed the lilies had not wherewith to clothe himself”

Listen God LOVES you he does, Eph 1:4 “just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love”

God doesn’t love you because of your Christianity - he loved you before you knew what Christianity was

STOP WORRYING -God has proven himself to you when He didn’t have to and if you have faith in Him than look to it and KILL YOUR ANXIETY

Look to your FUTURE v.34

Matt 6:34 ““So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In my opinion there are no more comforting words in all of scripture - Jesus the Son of God says to you tonight and we don’t know the tone but a sanctified imagination tells me he wasn’t yelling or joking but gently smiling, lowering the volume to where we’d need to lean in he says “Don’t worry about tomorrow it will care for itself: Today has enough trouble of its own”

Can you hear him? Look to your future - what about it? That is is unknown. You could win a million dollars tomorrow, your house could burn down, your cat could die, your cat could live - WHAT IF’s are endless so why worry?

Listen some of you get anxious about things that haven’t happened but your so worried that you bring them into reality

Mark twain “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened”

You’re so afraid that you wont get a wife/ husband that you are already acting like a 40 year old single

You’re so afraid you won’t get into that school you already act like you havent

Listen Master Cheefu got it right - yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery today is a gift thats why its called the present

Just take life one day at a time - Lam 3:22-23 “The Lord’s lovingkindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.”

God gives enough grace for everyday. He will never give you more than you can handle.

“Each day has enough trouble of its own” - God doesn’t promise an easy life - things will get hard but when they do James 1:2 “Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,” and cast your burden on Him

Look to your future - it may have some difficulties but Rom 8:18 “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”

Press on, endure, don’t worry - Look to your father, faith and future

Conclusion v.33

Matt 6:33 ““But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

What now? Fill real estate that worry owned in your heart with this SEEKING JESUS

This is the Sermon on The Mount in a sentence

Seek first His Kingdom

Make him priority number 1 give Him your whole heart. Live for him.

Ask God to allow every word, thought, action, motive, step, and breathe to be for HIM and HIM ALONE

This passage was set up by Matt 6:24 ““No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.”

and Its appropriate we call it back and remember that you cannot serve two masters - you cannot serve God and wealth, you cannot serve God and worry

Just seek Him - seek him

A few take aways

You can’t trust who you don’t know

If you don’t know God maybe you have rejected Him, you have chosen sin over him, or maybe this is the first you have ever heard of Him - no matter the reason if you don’t know Him than you can’t trust him and you will never be free from anxiety because these promises don’t apply to you.

You need to come to Jesus tonight - you either sit in that chair and are worried about a car crash on your drive home or you sit their at peace because Christ has covered you - Cry out to God tonight to save you, believe inthe gosepl and repent from your sin (Luke 14 if there is time)

You can’t kill something if you haven’t identified it

You need to identify the area you have not given to God, the thing youre anxious over and KILL IT - it is stealing your joy, crippling your life, ruining your testimony and questioning your faith - GO SIT in your car and don’t turn it on until you have prayed your heart out and casted your burden on God - Give it to Him

You can’t be lazy

I lean toward the false theology of let go and let God

BUT thats wrong - you MUST work - Shawn Farrell says “The Lord provides for us by our labors not our laziness”

We must stay on top of things - 2 Thess 3:10 “For even when we were with you, we used to give you this order: if anyone is not willing to work, then he is not to eat, either.”

Go work hard, fulfill your responsibilities, apply for college, apply for a job, make and save money,

BUT MOST OF ALL Kill anxiety in your life tonight