Jesus On Anxiety Series

INTRODUCTION

• How many of you here today live a life without anxiety or worry? Please raise your hand. Don’t be embarrassed to raise your hand.

• What are some of the things that you worry about in life? Some things that send chills up your spine when you think about them?

• People worry about everything under the sun. We worry about things ranging from what we will wear to worrying if we will have a job to pay the bills next month.

• Worry consumes the lives of many people. Worry is something that even affects the health of people. Folks who are in a constant state of worry can hurt themselves health wise.

• One man said, “Don’t tell me that worrying does not help. The things I worry about never happen.”

• Worry and anxiety can drain the very life out of you.

• One man found a unique way to take care of worrying about money.

• I have a mountain of credit card debt”, one man told another. “I have lost my job. My car is being repossessed and our house is in foreclosure, but I am not worried about it”, exclaimed his friend. “No, I’ve hired a professional worrier. He does all my worrying for me, and that way I don’t have to think about it.”

“That’s fantastic! How much does your professional worrier charge for his services?”

“$50,000 a year”, he replied.

“$50,000 a year? Where are you going to get that kind of money?”

“I don’t know”, comes the reply. “That’s his worry

• Jesus is going to talk to us today about worry and anxiety. These are things that we really struggle with today. Jesus is going to share some insights about worry.

• Today let us see what Jesus has to say about anxiety!

SERMON

I. ANXIETY IS UNFAITHFUL BECAUSE OF OUR MASTER (25)

• Verse 25 is the beginning of a challenge to lean on God in our times of need.

• Jesus is telling us that since we are not to serve two masters we are to not be a people drained by anxiety.

A. Our master owns everything (Psalm 50:10-ff; Psalm 104:24)

• The root cause of our anxiety is the fact that we do not think that our God is big enough to help in our time of need.

• The Psalmist reminds us that our master owns everything.

• PSALM104:24 O Lord, how many are Your works! In wisdom You have made them all; The earth is full of Your possessions.

• How many of us have had a lot of anxiety over money. How many times have you wondered if there was going to be enough money left at the end of the month? Doesn’t it seem that just about the time you think you are about to get your head above water, something goes wrong? The refrigerator goes out, a medical emergency happens. It always seems like something.

• What do we do when these things happen? Many times we start on the path to anxiety. We start to be consumed by the problem. We get to the point that we lose focus on everything except the problem.

• It is almost as if we have a weight on our chest that we just cannot get rid of.

• In Luke 11:13 Jesus said, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"

• If we have a need, our Father who is in heaven knows the need and will take care of us.

• The English term worry comes from an old German word meaning to strangle, or choke. That is exactly what worry does; it is a kind of mental and emotional strangulation, which probably causes more mental and physical afflictions than any other single cause. (MacArthur)

• In a similar way, the substance of worry is nearly always extremely small compared to the size it forms in our minds and the damage it does in our lives. Someone has said, “Worry is a thin stream of fear that trickles through the mind, which, if encouraged, will cut a channel so wide that all other thoughts will be drained out.” (MacArthur)

B. Our master controls all (1 Chronicles 29:12)

• 1 Chronicles 29:12 says, "Both riches and honor come from You, and You rule over all, and in Your hand is power and might; and it lies in Your hand to make great and to strengthen everyone.

• When you start to be consumed by worry or anxiety, remember that the God you serve controls all things.

• The God who loves you does not want your life to be drained away by anxiety.