Sermons

Fighting anxiety in fearful days!

Posted by Alex on
Sermon on May 10 by Pastor Roland Eskinazi

Scripture: 1 Peter 5:6-11 focus on v7

 

 

Worry cripples witness! Worry is over-concern, as a result of over-loving something more than God.
When your worry wants to drown you:

1. EXPECT IT – IT WANTS ALL YOUR HEART!      ‘…your anxiety’

  • Worry always lives in tomorrow more than today
    The word ‘anxiety’ means double-minded.
    When imagination takes us to scenarios that may never happen, we will be distracted from living for Jesus today.
  • Worry wants to control and crush a joyful spirit
    The more you yield to God’s control over your life (Jonah in the belly of the fish), the less you will worry.

“When my life was ebbing away, I remembered you Lord, and my prayer rose to your holy temple” (Jonah 2:7)

2. FACE IT – AND CAST ALL YOUR WORRY ON THE LORD!      “.. casting all your anxiety on Him…”

  • Dump anxiety, and throw it where it belongs
    The word ‘cast’ means throw with force.
    The solution to over-concern is not becoming laid-back or lazy, but to see it as an opportunity for faith to act.
  • Ditch anxiety, and trust the Pilot to fly
    For as many times as God says: “Do not fear”, He says “I will be with you” (Isaac, Moses, Jesus’ disciples).
    In days where there is plenty of fertile soil for the weed of worry, do you speak and live as if Jesus is locked down too?

3. SWAP IT – FOR PEACE IN ALL SEASONS!    “…because He cares for you”
“…because He cares for you” is literally “because to Him it matters concerning you”

  • “I am sufficient for the big and small of your today”
    Just like Israel and the manna, the Lord trains us to trust Him.
    Sometimes the Lord will give us only what we need, not more, so we are back on our knees the next day.
  • “I am sufficient for each tomorrow, and forever”
    No matter how tough life may become, it can never be too tough to disqualify you from grace, tailor made for you.

‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor. 12:9)

Remember!
Jesus, too, faced fear – and overcame. Since He did, we may always run to Him and find grace and mercy to help us in our time of need. (Heb. 4:16)
In this week, let us live as JS Bach sought to. He did not stop with writing ‘Soli Deo Gloria’ (to the glory of God alone) at the end of his manuscripts. He often added ‘Jesu Juban’. Help me, Jesus!

THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION AND PRAYER

  1. Try to quantify your fears. What are the top two anxieties that may keep you awake?
  2. What is a common way we deal with our worries? Why is over-concern crippling to our witness?
  3. Was Jesus ever fearful? Where and when? How may that help us? Think of some other passages that give us a clue to how to maintain abiding peace?

Learn I Pet 5:6 and 7 by heart, meditate on it during the week and pray for daily sustaining peace.

 

Photo credit FreeImages.com/Vera Koch