Illus: A teacher said to her students, "Boys and girls, there is a wonderful example in the life of the ant. Every day the ant goes to work and works hard all day. And at the close of the day, what happens?"
Little Johnny said, "SOMEONE STEPS ON HIM."
Many folks can’t understand why these little ants are so vicious.
Illus: Listen, every day they must talk among themselves about these big humans who have nothing better to do than to walk around stepping on them. THEY GET TIRED OF BEING STEPPED ON!
What are some of the things that crush us day after day?
What has caused so many people to be depressed with life?
(1) SOMETIMES IT IS SIN
Listen, we all know people who we have known for sin and the whole time we have known them they have lived constantly in a life of depression.
Many folks are taking all kinds of medication for depression and it is not doing any good whatsoever.
Why are they living a life of depression?
Because they are living a life of sin and there is no MEDICATION that we can take to solve our sin problem…NONE!
They have a SIN PROBLEM and they are not willing to face up to their sin problems and deal with it.
Illus: They make me think of a very pretty nurse took her troubles to her pastor
• She said to him, "Pastor, you must help me,"
• He said what kind of problem do you have?
• She said, "It has gotten so that every time I date one of the young doctors here, I end up doing things I know the Bible teaches are sin. And then afterward, I feel guilty and depressed for a week."
• "I see," nodded the psychiatrist. "And you want me to tell you how to strengthen your willpower so that you will quit doing these sinful things…right?"
• She said, “No, I want you to fix it so I won't feel guilty and depressed afterward."
The fact is, God made us to feel bad when we sin for a reason, and that reason is so that we will quit doing it.
1 John 1:9 “…confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
But when it come to this sin problem we have to own up to it and confess it is the problem why some folks live with guilt and shame.
But today, many think the answer to living a life of guilt and shame is to continue in sin and get on medication, and walk around like a Zombie and not be able to feel the GUILT THAT COMES FROM A LIFE OF SIN!
I am going to tell you something perhaps you have not heard, the Bible tells us the way of TRANSGRESSOR IS HARD!!!
I know the devil tell you different but SIN WILL DRAG YOU DOWN AND SUCK ALL THE LIFE OUT OF YOU!
Many are living a life of DEPRESSION simply because they have sin in their life and they are not willing to deal with it.
SOMETIMES IT IS BECAUSE OF SIN.
(2) SOMETIMES IT IS FINANCIAL
We have many who are living in a state of depression because of their finances!!!
Illus: A wife was telling her friend about her household budget. She said that she spends…
• 40 percent of her income for food
• 30 percent for shelter
• 30 percent for clothing
• 20 percent for transportation and incidentals
• The friend said, “Wait a minute, that makes 120 percent.”
The woman responded, “DON’T I KNOW!”
Not having enough money to pay our bills can bring on deep depression.
Illus: A businessman was in a great deal of trouble. His business was failing, he had put everything he had into the business, he owed everybody -- it was so bad he was even contemplating suicide.
As a last resort he went to a priest and poured out his heart with tears flowing down his cheeks.
When he had finished, the priest said, "Here's what I want you to do: Put a beach chair and your Bible in your car and drive down to the beach. Take the beach chair and the Bible to the water's edge, sit down in the beach chair, and put the Bible in your lap. Open the Bible; the wind will rifle the pages, but finally the open Bible will come to rest on a page. Look down at the page and read the first thing you see. That will be your answer, that will tell you what to do."
A year later the businessman went back to the priest and brought his wife and children with him. The man was in a new custom-tailored suit, his wife in a mink coat, the children shining. The businessman pulled an envelope stuffed with money out of his pocket, gave it to the priest as a donation in thanks for his advice.
The priest recognized the benefactor, and was curious. "You did as I suggested?" he asked.
• "Absolutely," replied the businessman.
• "You went to the beach?" "Absolutely."
• "You sat in a beach chair with the Bible in your lap?" "Absolutely."
• "You let the pages riffle until they stopped?" "Absolutely."
• "And what were the first words you saw?"
• "Chapter 11." (Bankruptcy)
Many folks today are living in a life of DEPRESSION because of…
(1) Sin in their life they are not willing to deal with it.
(2) Finances out of control because they do not have the slightest idea of how to spend money or save money.
Many of us are like the ant; they feel they we have been stepped on.
Depression is a big problem, not only have some of the great men and women of history had a battle with depression, many of the heroes of the Bible like Moses, Elijah, Job, and King David suffered from depression.
GOD’S PEOPLE DO NOT HAVE TO LIVE IN A DARK WORLD OF DEPRESSION!
David said, in Psalm 40:1-2, "…I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. "
Illus: Paul talks about the “thorn” in his flesh.
Warren Weirsbe said, "God did not give Paul any explanations. Instead, He gave him a promise. That is, God’s grace WAS SUFFICIENT TO HELP HIM!”
Let me share some practical things from God’s wisdom that can help you to fight off depression. You are absolutely no use to the Kingdom of God, running around here tripping over your bottom lip. God wants to help you!
Some of these things may seem crude, but if you are going to deal with depression you need to consider them, such as, you need to learn to-
I. SHUT UP
I know it sounds crude to tell someone to SHUT UP, but l will tell you why I said that in a few minutes.
DO YOU KNOW WHY PEOPLE COMPLAIN SO MUCH?
They complain because it is the easiest thing in this world to do.
Did you know you can talk yourself into a DEPRESSION?
That is, you can be as cheerful as anyone and sit down and start to talk about bad things, and soon you will get so depressed that you can’t sleep at night.
Listen, you can run your mouth or sit there and listen to someone else run their mouth, and you will get so depressed you can not sleep at night.
Illus: A man asked a waitress, "Do you serve breakfast here?"
• Waitress: "Sure, what will it be?"
• "Let me have some watery scrambled eggs. Some burnt toast and some weak coffee."
• Waitress: "Whatever you say, sir."
• Man: "Now, are you doing anything while that order is being filled?"
• Waitress: "Well, not much."
• Man: "Then, would you please sit here and nag me a while. I’m homesick."
People that complain or listen to others complain, stay in a constant state of depression. They are not happy and people around them are not happy.
Phil. 2:14, "Do all things without murmurings and disputings:"
We are commanded by God to stop complaining about everything. Griping and complaining only makes things worse, not better.
One of the best cures for depression sometimes is to SHUT UP and STAY AWAY from people who are always complaining about something. IT IS DEPRESSING!
Life is too short to waste it hanging out with people who are depressed, and who want to depress everyone they come into contact with.
God was not impressed when the people of Israel complained.
1 Cor. 10:1-5, "Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness."
1 Cor. 10:10 "Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer."
God is not pleased when we gripe and complain. Especially, when we have it so good.
Illus: Someone said, "Whenever you are tempted to tell your troubles to other people, remember that half your listeners aren’t interested, and the rest are glad you’re finally getting what’s coming to you."
Instead of complaining about what we don’t have or what we don’t like in our lives, we should look at what we do have and thank God for it!
Illus: We need to do as the songwriter said and count our blessings, name them one by one and see what the Lord has done.
To overcome DEPRESSION we need to SHUT UP and -
II. SHAPE UP
1 Tim. 4:8 "For bodily exercise profiteth little:..."
Illus: Many today are like the patient who went to the doctor and was told, “Sorry, but right now you’re not in good enough shape to get in good shape.”
Everyone can exercise and get in shape regardless of their age.
Illus: On Saturday, December 23, 1972, Richard Knecht of Prospect, Oregon, set out to shatter the existing world sit-up record.
For the previous six months a Marine Corps captain had held the record, with an amazing 17,007.
Knecht was determined to capture the title. He began the grueling attempt in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and 11 hours and 14 minutes later had shattered the record with 25,222 sit-ups.
How many years of training had gone into preparing for this Herculean feat?
Not as many as you might think. When he set the record, Richard Knecht was 8 years old.
WHY SHOULD WE SHAPE UP?
Exercise is good for us.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
It works this way; “You work the body and it will work for you.”
Some people say, “I can’t afford the time to exercise. Listen, you can’t afford not to take time to exercise.”
It is said that regular exercise toughens the mind as well as the body.
Illus: After working out three times a week for six months:
• One group was found to be 20% more fit
• They also scored 70% better in a test of complex decision-making.
Not only does exercise improve the body and mind, it also improves the spirit of a person. It can help to relieve some of the effects of depression.
Illus: A young mother was feeling terribly low about life. She said, "I made an appointment to see a family doctor in our area, hoping he might be able to recommend some vitamins to help me feel better. Instead, he gave me a checklist to fill out.”
She said, “He evaluated my answers, then said the three magic words that brought both terror and hope into my life: ‘You’re clinically depressed.’"
She said, "The doctor handed me a prescription. He also gave me some advice.”
He said, “Exercise for half an hour, three to five times a week. As much good as the medication will do, the exercise will do that much or more.”
Today we live in a society where folks are lazy.
Illus: Remember the old days when you had to get up and walk across a room to change the TV channel? During those days, the knob on the television was only touched a few times a night at most.
But today we can lay back in our cozy chairs with a bowl of ice cream and with our remote control, and we can flip those channels a hundred times a night. (If you do not think that is so, you ask my wife!)
People today pop a few vitamins in their mouth and they think this is all they need to do for good health. IT IS NOT!
When we do not exercise this body we are sending a signal to our brain that we are shutting down, and soon your body will receive the message. Send a signal to your body through exercise, that you are not making provision to shut down; you are making arrangements to live the ABUNDANT LIFE GOD HAS PROVIDED FOR YOU ON CALVARY.
In order to win the battle against DEPRESSION, we need to SHUT UP, SHAPE UP and -
III. LOOK UP
Any time our focus is on ourselves, we are the losers and so is everyone else around us. When Christ walked the earth, His focus was on people.
Matt. 9:36, "But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd."
As followers of Christ, our focus should also be on others.
We should be quick to see the hurt in people and move to help them if we can.
• Rom. 12:15, "Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep."
• Prov. 12:25, "Heaviness in the heart of man maketh it stoop: but a good word maketh it glad."
God put us here to help one another and to be kind and loving to one another. When we bless others, we bless ourselves.
• Prov. 11:25 "The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself."
We need to be in the refreshing business! We should be a breath of fresh air to those around us. We should also be the medicine that soothes aching hearts.
Illus: When Dr. Mark Guy Pearce of England was in this country, he related an experience that presents a good lesson for the soul-winner. He said he was out fishing for trout; he had worked hard and caught none. His equipment was excellent but he was unable to catch any fish. Finally he came upon an old fisherman whose sack was full of trout.
He asked him how he was so successful.
The old fisherman told him that there are three rules to follow in trout fishing:
• First, keep yourself out of sight
• Second, keep yourself further out of sight
• Third, keep yourself still further out of sight
The preacher walked away thinking, "That is the best advice I have ever heard for becoming a successful fisher of men. I must keep myself out of sight and put Jesus Christ in full view."
That’s some of the best advice I know on how to get rid of depression in our life. Take the focus off yourself and place it on others and immediately you will start to feel better. The more I learn to love Christ and love others, the less depressed I will be.
Conclusion:
I want to remind you that Paul said, “…for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
To overcome depression, we have looked at three Bible principles. We must -
I. SHUT UP
II. SHAPE UP
III. LOOK UP
