Jesus' Antidote For Anxiety"

Title: “Anxiety and Its Antidote” Script: Mt. 6:19ff.

Type: Expository series Where: GNBC 3-30-25

Intro: “In an issue of the AARP Bulletin, readers were asked to respond to the question: What’s your strategy for coping with stress? The answers ranged from "Eat a chocolate chip cookie" to "Have a stiff drink." But Don Betz of Oakdale, Minnesota, offered his own unique solution. Every January 1st, Betz says, "I give my wife $1, and she worries about everything for both of us." That is not the end of the entry, Betz added, "If someone else wants to be worry free, they can also send her a dollar." Chronic worry can cause serious physical problems, such as ulcers, heart attacks, and high blood pressure. Dr. Charles Mayo, of the famous Mayo Clinic, wrote, "Worry affects the circulation, the heart, the glands and the whole nervous system. I have never met a man or known a man to die of overwork, but I have known a lot who died of worry." We can literally worry ourselves to death.” (Credit Davon Huss, sermon “Anxiety”) Anxiety disorders are a significant mental health concern in the United States, affecting an estimated 19.1% of U.S. adults, with women experiencing higher rates than men. Over 40 million adults in the US have an anxiety disorder, and nearly 1 in 3 adults will experience an anxiety disorder at some point in their lives (NIMH). If this is the case, Jesus’ teaching today should resonate with many.

Prop: Examining Mt. 6:19ff we’ll notice factors contributing to as well as items that Jesus says will alleviate our anxiety.

BG: 1. Continuing in the SOM, think of as 1 sermon although I am giving in many.

2. Given on a mountainside near the Sea of Galilee, soon after start of ministry.

3. Principles for His followers to live by. For us today.

Prop: Let’s examine together Mt. 6:19ff to notice what items contribute to our anxiety as well as what Jesus says can alleviate that same anxiety.

I. Jesus’ Diagnosis – 3 Common Factors Contributing to Our Anxiety. Vv. 19-23

A. 1st Factor: Locating our Treasure in the Wrong Place.

1. What is Your Treasure and Where are You Trying to Secure it?

a. Illust: If you or I were sick with a degenerative medical condition our doctor would probably outline for us the stages of progression in the disease. With similar clinical precision our Lord specifically outlines that anxiety is a moral sickness that can often be traced to three factors in our lives.

b. We’ll notice in Jesus’ discourse that wrong actions, attitudes, and choices significantly contribute to our overall levels of anxiety. He warns us about “laying up treasures”. Illust: I remember as a child a neighbor getting an early (And very cheap!) metal detector. I had visions of us combing the lawns and alleys of our neighborhood to find a pirate’s treasure chest (Right there in Indiana!). Now the “treasure” that Jesus speaks of is not necessarily Blackbeard’s box, but rather, it is whatever we prize most dearly in our lives.

2.

a. V.20 Jesus tells us that ultimately there are only two locations one can secure his/her “treasure”: in heaven or upon the earth. Now, here’s the kicker, every earth-bound treasure is temporal and temporary and ultimately has the potential to fail. When we place our faith in temporary treasures they by necessity breed anxiety within their owners because they can never be eternally secure. Illust: Stock market/investments, home, relationships, academic pursuits, etc.

b. Jesus’ teaching couldn’t be more timely for our day. Certain elements of the Church are entirely engulfed and ensnared in teaching that appears to be so spiritual but actually is simply pandering to the carnal anxieties of the world’s system. Many of their preachers pedal “health and wealth and prosperity” as inevitable attributes of true faith. Instead of helping to deliver us from the fascinations of this world’s system, it only further immerses the foolish and unsuspecting believer into its anxieties. Illust: I recently saw one of the aging proponents of this anxiety inducing propaganda boast about the number of Breitling watches he owns (36) and mercilessly told the story of a duped parishioner who came to him because had terminal cancer. Gave this “evangelist” a Breitling Bentley watch so as to “sew his seed of faith to be healed”. The man died anyway and the evangelist kept the watch! #37! That’s a lot of treasure in watches! Where is yoru and my treasure? What in this life do you and I assess as REALLY important?

B. 2nd Factor: Thinking about Life the Wrong Way. Vv. 22-23

1. Jesus employs a metaphor to paint a vivid picture with spiritual applications.

a. Illust: What is a “metaphor”? A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares two often dissimilar things or ideas. Unlike in a simile you don’t use terms such as “like or as” in making the comparison or contrast. The result is to make a vivid or imaginative comparison. Illust: He has a heart of gold. The world is a stage. The storm was a beast. Well, Jesus is doing the exact same here where He is comparing “healthy and dark eyes” as a spiritual illustration.