The Monster Of Anxiety Series

I. Introduction

You will remember last week we began by talking about Monsters Inc. and how the skilled "scarers" were employed in The Scare Factory to harvest the screams of human children to power their city called "Monstropolis".

It was a cool and fun movie. However, I think we need to admit that there is still a scare factory in existence today. We struggle with mind monsters because when Adam and Eve encountered the devil in the Garden of Eden, they believed his lies over God's truth. In the process not only did, according to Paul in Romans 5:12, we inherit their sin we also inherited their thought process. So, in the garden not only did we lose relationship, dominion, authority we lost our mind. Then Jesus shows up on the scene commissioned to redeem, restore, reconcile and another fancy word - justify - us - just as if I'd never sinned. He was and is on a mission to restore everything we lost. So, Jesus shows up preaching and teaching about another Kingdom and spends His time trying to get us to learn to think differently and correctly. He declares we a part to play in this path to deliverance and restoration when He says in . . .

Matthew 22:37 (NIV)

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.

We are made up of three parts. heart, soul and mind. Most of us have allowed Jesus to save our heart/soul but we haven't allowed Him to renew or redeem our mind. The struggle then is that we struggle. Paul knew this reality and declares in Romans 7:25 we serve the Lord with our mind. So, we must understand we can have a new heart and a saved soul and have the same mind. That is why after a powerful worship service, even while I am preaching, your mind can begin to operate in doubt, disbelief and distraction. We must renew our mind. So, we said that we must filter, fight, and focus. I hope you have been doing that all week and I pray that you will do that over the next few moments today.

Adam and Eve choose to not be influenced by the truth of God's Word and discover their mind is now controlled by Satan’s lies. Remember we wrestle against principalities (principles) and so instantly they begin to think differently than they have previously. They encounter a mind monster that is still working in our midst today. Let's go back and look at what happens and see if maybe the same monster is prowling the recesses of your mind on a regular basis.

Genesis 3:6-11 (NIV)

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?”

They eat the fruit to gain wisdom - mind power and in that moment, they are overtaken by two mind monsters. I could probably argue which one they encountered first but the order isn't important. What is important is that these mind monsters are to this day the favorites of our enemy to use on us! So, don't get distracted by an argument that I may address them out of order. Let's focus on how to uproot these monsters so that we can free our mind.

Notice . . . they ate the fruit and it they take actions to cover themselves and hid. Why? I would submit that they hid out of a fear of punishment or retribution from God. In their MIND they suddenly have a preconceived idea - I wonder where that came from - that God will be ruthless with them and that they won't be able to survive His reaction.

Think about it . . . the only interaction they have had with God since day 1 is one of relationship, camaraderie, companionship, provision, protection and have never seen God angry or in a punishment mode. However, now in one instance they jump from trusting God to now fearing Him. They instantly come to the conclusion that something bad is going to happen. And so, they respond - we were afraid.