Christians Dealing With Panic Attacks and Anxiety - Ask Pastor Tim
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0:01 - 0:17Okay, so I announced on Sunday that I hoped to
deal with panic attacks, or anxiety attacks. -
0:17 - 0:27There are definite similarities between panic and anxiety, and depression.
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0:27 - 0:30Lots of connections.
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0:30 - 0:34Look, I don't know all the lingo,
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0:34 - 0:37I don't stay up with all the current [research].
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0:37 - 0:43Kenny actually said that he's got a 3-hour
lecture that he's got to sit through tomorrow. -
0:43 - 0:49Where are you brother? What's the actual title of the class?
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0:49 - 0:51"It's Advanced Mental Health."
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0:51 - 0:55And you're going to hear three hours on what topic?
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0:55 - 0:58"Mood Disorders and Anxiety."
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0:58 - 1:08So he's going to go hear the secular take on all this tomorrow.
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1:08 - 1:15And so we're going to try to give a Christian and a scriptural take on it tonight;
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1:15 - 1:22maybe Kenny can come back next week and tell us how different
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1:22 - 1:28the medical world and the psychiatric world approaches these things. (P)
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1:28 - 1:36Now, Anxiety, Panic.
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1:36 - 1:52I can tell you right off that obviously I am limited in experiences.
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1:52 - 2:01I certainly am not a professional in dealing with these things.
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2:01 - 2:07I am not an authority.
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2:07 - 2:12Obviously there is a lot more that could be said,
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2:12 - 2:21but as with everything, my authority to teach
doesn't come from the latest psychiatric journals. -
2:21 - 2:24The guy that's going to lecture to Kenny tomorrow,
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2:24 - 2:27where does he get what he is going to say?
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2:27 - 2:33Well, he is going to get it probably from the latest authorities.
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2:33 - 2:40Basically, I'm going to go back to the same thing
that Christians have been going back to for 2,000 years. -
2:40 - 2:44I am under a mandate - not to preach the latest medical journals -
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2:44 - 2:48I am under a mandate to preach the Word of God.
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2:48 - 2:56Look, I think one of the questions you have to ask
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2:56 - 3:06if you are experiencing anxiety, anxiety attacks, panic attacks;
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3:06 - 3:14one of the questions that you have to settle is this:
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3:14 - 3:21"Is Scripture sufficient to help you deal with the problem or isn't it?"
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3:21 - 3:25That really has to be answered right from the beginning. (P)
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3:25 - 3:30Is Scripture sufficient to handle panic attacks in Christians?
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3:30 - 3:33And I emphasize the "in Christians", because listen,
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3:33 - 3:44I am not going to speak (I mean, very little)
on panic and anxiety in unsaved people. -
3:44 - 3:47That is not what I'm here to deal with.
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3:47 - 3:50Undoubtedly, when Kenny sits through his 3-hour lecture tomorrow,
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3:50 - 3:54they're not even going to come at it
from any kind of Christian standpoint. -
3:54 - 3:56They don't care if people are Christians or not.
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3:56 - 3:59They're just looking for people with panic attacks.
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3:59 - 4:01They're looking for anxiety.
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4:01 - 4:04They want to give names and categories to everything,
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4:04 - 4:07and they want to figure out, and they want to diagnose,
and they want to give it a name. -
4:07 - 4:09And then they want to medicate it by that name:
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4:09 - 4:15"What's the latest medications that go along with
treating that certain syndrome or that disease?" -
4:15 - 4:18They want to tag everything.
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4:18 - 4:25Craig was telling me right now that pedophilia is now a disease.
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4:25 - 4:29And, undoubtedly, as soon as something is diagnosed as a disease,
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4:29 - 4:33then it's treated not as though it's your fault;
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4:33 - 4:37now you're a victim, and on and on it goes.
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4:37 - 4:44So, as we're getting started, let's pray. (P)
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4:44 - 4:47Father, I ask You to help us and guide us.
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4:47 - 4:53I know this is a sensitive issue. I know that it's a real issue.
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4:53 - 4:55And I pray, Father, that You would allow
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4:55 - 5:01that the words that would be said here
in this place tonight would be helpful. -
5:01 - 5:07We want it to align with your Word, we want it to be pleasing to You.
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5:07 - 5:11I pray all this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (P)
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5:11 - 5:25Okay, if you have your Bibles you can open them up to Matthew 6.
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5:25 - 5:32Again, I am not even trying to make it a point to know all the lingo,
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5:32 - 5:39but I'm assuming that what used to be known as a Nervous Breakdown
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5:39 - 5:44is actually what today is called an Anxiety Attack or a Panic Attack.
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5:44 - 5:46I'm just making that assumption.
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5:46 - 5:48I don't hear that word used much anymore,
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5:48 - 5:55but I'm assuming that it's probably the same thing.
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5:55 - 6:04When we're talking about depression, anxiety,
something that's very interesting is, -
6:04 - 6:11often the same drugs medically are used if
people have depression or if they have anxiety. -
6:11 - 6:16So, obviously, the doctors are treating them the same way.
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6:16 - 6:21Are there relationships? I think there are;
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6:21 - 6:30although, obviously, anxiety is not exactly the
same as being depressed or being in despair. -
6:30 - 6:33They may be linked, and I think there's lots of parallels.
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6:33 - 6:43And I think dealing with them, the remedy,
is very much to be found in the same place. -
6:43 - 6:47So whether it's a nervous breakdown...
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6:47 - 6:54I would even bring various mental disorders into this. (P)
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6:54 - 7:03But panic attacks: what are we talking?
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7:03 - 7:12How many here have experienced any thing
that you would call an anxiety attack, -
7:12 - 7:16a panic attack, depression?
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7:16 - 7:22[Pause].
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7:22 - 7:27What happened to Kath?
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7:27 - 7:29[Audience]: Sitting on the floor.
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7:29 - 7:33[Tim]: Oh okay, I just didn't see the hand.
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7:33 - 7:38Okay, so a fair number of people here.
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7:38 - 7:43Look, there can be circumstances, there can be reasons,
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7:43 - 7:52there can be things happening in your life that contribute to this.
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7:52 - 7:57I want to come back to this again:
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7:57 - 8:05listen, I want to deal tonight with Christians.
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8:05 - 8:10I'm not talking about somebody that said a prayer
and they're saying they're saved, -
8:10 - 8:13and there's no real indications.
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8:13 - 8:19Look, if you don't know the Lord, you've got every reason to be depressed,
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8:19 - 8:28in despair, and panicking; because your situation is really bad,
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8:28 - 8:32because hell is real, and God's wrath is real, and your time is short.
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8:32 - 8:39And so, what we're dealing with is Christians.
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8:39 - 8:44You see, that is so important, because
as soon as you're dealing with a Christian, -
8:44 - 8:49you're now dealing with a category of people,
that, when the truth is known, -
8:49 - 8:54they don't really have a reason to be depressed,
no matter what the circumstance is. -
8:54 - 8:59They don't have a reason to be panicked or anxiety-filled
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8:59 - 9:03when the truth about their condition is known. (P)
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9:03 - 9:07The truth – haven't we heard this, don't we hear this –
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9:07 - 9:10the truth shall set you free.
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9:10 - 9:17Now you can examine that and say,
"Well, what's the context and what does He mean there? -
9:17 - 9:19Set us free, how?"
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9:19 - 9:26But I can tell you this,
He doesn't give us a lot of exact particulars there. -
9:26 - 9:31But it sets free. The truth sets you free.
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9:31 - 9:33And what does it set you free from?
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9:33 - 9:37Well, the truth sets us free from all sorts of slaveries and bondages.
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9:37 - 9:39It sets us free from all manner of things.
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9:39 - 9:45And one of the things that it certainly sets us free from is hopelessness.
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9:45 - 9:50It sets us free from having to be filled with the anxiety
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9:50 - 9:53over the things that the world is full of anxiety over.
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9:53 - 9:58You see, the thing is, that as soon as we're dealing with a Christian
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9:58 - 10:04and we talk about any fears or anxieties that that person has,
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10:04 - 10:10they're unfounded. Underline that. Unfounded.
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10:10 - 10:19You see, when I talk about unfounded fears,
that's such an important connection. -
10:19 - 10:23People's fears and anxieties are very founded when they're lost.
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10:23 - 10:31But if they're not lost, if a person is saved,
all their anxieties are unfounded. -
10:31 - 10:35That doesn't mean that there aren't scary things out there;
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10:35 - 10:39but your fear of them is unfounded. (P)
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10:39 - 10:41You think about it, somebody can kill your body –
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10:41 - 10:45I mean, think about the scariest guy
that might torture you for a long time – -
10:45 - 10:49and yet doesn't Jesus say your fear of him is unfounded,
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10:49 - 10:53because after he kills your body there's nothing more he can do.
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10:53 - 10:55In fact, He says, "Don't fear him."
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10:55 - 10:58You see, the reality is, the scariest things in this world,
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10:58 - 11:00your fear of it is unfounded. Why?
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11:00 - 11:02"He that is with us is greater than he that is in the world."
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11:02 - 11:05Even if the devil himself is standing outside the doorway of your bedroom;
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11:05 - 11:10and even though that, in and of itself, is kind of a scary scenario,
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11:10 - 11:14He that's with you inside the bedroom is greater
than he that's standing at the door. -
11:14 - 11:15You see, your fears are unfounded.
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11:15 - 11:19He even said, "I'll never leave you or forsake you." Didn't He say that?
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11:19 - 11:23You see, the truth sets us free from these things. (P)
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11:23 - 11:25So, unfounded.
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11:25 - 11:28Panic attacks, anxiety attacks,
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11:28 - 11:31or even depression, which is a little bit different,
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11:31 - 11:39they're based on unfounded factors, unfounded fears.
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11:39 - 11:43But they are fears and anxieties nevertheless.
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11:43 - 11:45The person is gripped by them.
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11:45 - 11:50Even though the reasons are unfounded,
they grip the person, they affect the person. -
11:50 - 11:52And how do they affect the person?
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11:52 - 11:54Well, sometimes people hyperventilate,
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11:54 - 11:56sometimes the heart palpitates,
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11:56 - 11:58sometimes they break out into a cold sweat –
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11:58 - 12:06they're seized, they're gripped by a fear that sometimes is paralyzing.
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12:06 - 12:12I know a pastor friend that was telling me
that years ago when he was younger, -
12:12 - 12:18he could barely go to the post office and just deliver mail or whatever.
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12:18 - 12:27Sometimes it's a real panic of going out into public, being exposed to people,
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12:27 - 12:29because that all the more compounds it,
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12:29 - 12:32because you're in the midst of people and it's embarrassing,
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12:32 - 12:34and that tends to make you panic all the more.
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12:34 - 12:39And so, crowds often set these things off.
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12:39 - 12:44But what happens is, basically, whether we're talking about depression,
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12:44 - 12:47whether we're talking about these anxiety attacks,
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12:47 - 12:52it presses the person to the point where they
feel like they just cannot cope with that moment, -
12:52 - 12:54like they just gotta get out of there.
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12:54 - 12:59They're unable to deal with what's happening. (P)
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12:59 - 13:05And I do think it's interesting, I was just trying to think through Scripture.
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13:05 - 13:13Do we have any examples in Scripture of people who...
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13:13 - 13:20you know, sometimes you hear in Scripture the idea of people trembling.
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13:20 - 13:24But let me ask you, how often in your life have you ever really got to the point
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13:24 - 13:29where you were so affected by something that you literally trembled?
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13:29 - 13:32Or that your legs almost gave out?
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13:32 - 13:36Or that your mouth got so dry that you couldn't talk,
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13:36 - 13:38you thought your legs might not hold you,
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13:38 - 13:48or you began to break out and perspire and literally tremble?
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13:48 - 13:53I mean, I think that it's not real common.
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13:53 - 13:55In fact, some people probably feel like...
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13:55 - 14:00maybe I'm not exactly certain what that is.
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14:02 - 14:06But just going through Scripture, you don't have to turn to these,
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14:06 - 14:08I want you just to sit there in Matthew 6. (P)
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14:08 - 14:18Job, in Job 3:26, he says, "I'm not at ease, nor am I quiet;
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14:18 - 14:22I have no rest, but trouble comes."
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14:22 - 14:24And obviously, those troubles were real.
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14:24 - 14:27The devil was bringing real troubles in his life.
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14:27 - 14:32He's a man that is just not at rest.
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14:32 - 14:34He was definitely a man that was in turmoil.
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14:34 - 14:39He was a man that said, the things that he feared they came upon him.
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14:39 - 14:44Now we might look at that and say, "Well, is that an unfounded fear?
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14:44 - 14:48The things that came upon him were real."
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14:48 - 14:52Well, again, I would say if a person knows the Lord...
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14:52 - 14:55and see, you know the rest of the story.
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14:55 - 14:57In fact, that's one of the problems.
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14:57 - 15:00One of the problems is, we don't know the rest of the story.
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15:00 - 15:09And so we become gripped by fear over things
because we're deathly afraid of what might happen. -
15:09 - 15:13It's nice when you know the end of the story.
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15:13 - 15:16You see, if we could just see ourselves there before the Lord,
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15:16 - 15:21and every tear wiped away, and full of eternal joy...
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15:21 - 15:27But you see, the thing is, we can see that by faith,
even if we can't see it with the literal eye. -
15:27 - 15:29And that's the issue.
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15:29 - 15:37This battle really becomes a battle between fear and faith, back and forth. (P)
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15:37 - 15:41Eliphaz - this is one of job's friends - he said this:
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15:41 - 15:47"Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,
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15:47 - 15:52dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake."
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15:52 - 15:55Now this seems like he might have had a demonic experience.
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15:55 - 15:57And you know what?
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15:57 - 16:05That may be one of the very real factors involved in
depression or involved in anxiety attacks. -
16:05 - 16:08The devil is real.
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16:08 - 16:13We're just playing around right here at the tip of the iceberg. (P)
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16:13 - 16:17Listen to this in Psalm 53:5,
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16:17 - 16:27"There they are, in great terror - this is interesting - where there is no terror."
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16:27 - 16:29Scripture describes that kind of situation.
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16:29 - 16:34"There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror."
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16:34 - 16:39Or you have a proverb that's similar:
"The wicked flee when no one pursues." (Prov. 28:1). -
16:39 - 16:40People are afraid.
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16:40 - 16:45I know that's speaking specifically about a wicked person, not about a Christian.
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16:45 - 16:50But the reality is, Scripture talks about
people who are afraid when no one is there; -
16:50 - 16:52people who are running when no one is pursuing;
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16:52 - 16:56people who are in great terror when there's no terror.
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16:56 - 16:58Or you have the psalmist, David
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16:58 - 17:02(James touched on this several weeks back)
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17:02 - 17:10in Psalm 55, "Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me." -
17:10 - 17:12You get this reality in Scripture.
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17:12 - 17:17Are these guys just being hyperbolic? Is this hyperbole?
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17:17 - 17:20Are they just exaggerating when they talk about trembling?
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17:20 - 17:23I don't think so. And there's no reason to believe that.
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17:23 - 17:27"Fear and trembling [come upon me], and horror overwhelms me."
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17:27 - 17:32I don't think they're just exaggerating.
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17:33 - 17:42Paul says, "I was with you in weakness
and in fear and much trembling." -
17:42 - 17:44Think about that, the apostle Paul.
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17:44 - 17:48I mean, there's a man of faith, and yet he's in much trembling?
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17:48 - 17:51I mean, he was put through circumstances that pushed him.
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17:51 - 17:54Undoubtedly, of all the people on the face of the earth,
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17:54 - 18:01you've got to know that the devil was probably really targeting Paul.
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18:01 - 18:04Trembling. (P)
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18:05 - 18:14Now here's something that I think if you just think about;
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18:14 - 18:20and I've got numerous verses here that I think touch on this;
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18:20 - 18:23but think with me here.
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18:23 - 18:29If you fall into depression, or have a nervous breakdown,
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18:29 - 18:33or have an anxiety attack, whatever your condition,
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18:33 - 18:36(and I recognize, everybody may be different),
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18:36 - 18:38one of the things is this:
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18:38 - 18:45In the little bit of time that we have here,
we obviously can't deal with every single scenario. -
18:45 - 18:52The truth is, every situation has to be taken separately,
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18:52 - 18:58but there's some general things that are true all the way around.
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18:58 - 19:01Think with me here.
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19:01 - 19:15When a person goes through these kind of ordeals,
sometimes there's physical aspects to it. -
19:15 - 19:22There's something organic, or chemical, sometimes.
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19:22 - 19:36But any time, every time, all the time, when people
go through situations like this, it's spiritual. (P) -
19:36 - 19:38Now follow that.
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19:38 - 19:47Physical things may play in sometimes,
but spiritual things come into play all the time. -
19:47 - 19:48You can't get away from it.
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19:48 - 19:53If you're dealing with fears, if you're dealing with anxieties,
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19:53 - 19:57you're dealing with the mind, you're dealing with thinking,
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19:57 - 20:01you're in the realm of the spiritual.
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20:01 - 20:04If you're suffering depression or anxiety,
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20:04 - 20:11it has to do with the soul or with the spirit of man,
with the mind of man, every single time. -
20:11 - 20:16You can't get away from that reality.
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20:16 - 20:18Why is that important?
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20:18 - 20:23Because that means that every single time we're dealing with this,
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20:23 - 20:30even if it is a thyroid gland, or postpartum depression;
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20:30 - 20:33even if it is a chemical imbalance;
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20:33 - 20:39even if mental - you've got some kind of
brain damage and it's coming into play in this - -
20:39 - 20:49even if that's the fact, even if there is some identifiable physical factor;
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20:49 - 20:54every situation, whether it's physical or not, is a spiritual event.
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20:54 - 21:01And that means that there is a place in every single situation
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21:01 - 21:06for the Word of God to be applied to the soul of that person.
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21:06 - 21:08That's critical.
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21:08 - 21:12And you know, we have to come to this conclusion like I said before:
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21:12 - 21:20either Scripture is sufficient, or it's not.
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21:20 - 21:22Because if you say, "Look, I've gone to Scripture,
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21:22 - 21:26and I've got a form of anxiety that is not addressed there,
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21:26 - 21:29and there's no answer to it there,"
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21:29 - 21:33then I would say you're an unbeliever,
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21:33 - 21:39because a believer is going to find something from God's Word.
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21:39 - 21:41And I have that based on the authority of God's Word. (P)
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21:41 - 21:48Just think about this. I'm going to go back to,
"Every situation is a spiritual situation." -
21:48 - 21:51Just think of this, Proverbs 4:23;
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21:51 - 21:57these are off-handed verses, but just see how they collectively build together:
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21:57 - 22:01"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."
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22:01 - 22:07Everything in your life flows out of - what does it say? - the heart.
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22:07 - 22:10As soon as we are talking about the heart or the mind,
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22:10 - 22:15we're talking about spiritual issues, issues that have to do with the spirit.
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22:15 - 22:21I mean, when you talk about cleansing yourself
from every defilement of body and spirit, -
22:21 - 22:25well, where is that? where are the defilements of the spirit?
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22:25 - 22:33The spirit is the inanimate part of man, right? The thinking part.
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22:33 - 22:36It's not necessarily a specific organ that you can find;
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22:36 - 22:37the heart of the man.
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22:37 - 22:41And we can say this: from the heart flow the springs of life.
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22:41 - 22:44Everything. Everything is flowing out of there. (P)
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22:44 - 22:51Or I just think of this: "Do all things without grumbling or disputing."
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22:51 - 22:53Now just think about that.
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22:53 - 23:03Every single thing that you do, is something that has a spring or an association
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23:03 - 23:10with that part of you that grumbles, or complains, or disputes.
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23:10 - 23:161 Corinthians 2:15, "The spiritual person judges all things."
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23:16 - 23:19The spiritual person judges all things.
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23:19 - 23:23And I'm just saying, everything has a spiritual angle.
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23:23 - 23:27We know that for those who love God, all things work together.
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23:27 - 23:35You see, every single aspect of the life of the Christian is a spiritual aspect.
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23:35 - 23:39It's a spiritual reality. It has spiritual implications.
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23:39 - 23:42It comes back to faith, it comes back to thinking,
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23:42 - 23:46it comes back to the mind, it comes back to the heart of man.
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23:46 - 23:48Everything. (P)
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23:48 - 23:52I Corinthians 4:5, "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time,
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23:52 - 23:56before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness
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23:56 - 23:58and will disclose the purposes of the heart."
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23:58 - 24:01I'm just thinking about Judgment Day. What happens on Judgment Day?
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24:01 - 24:04Every purpose of your heart is disclosed.
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24:04 - 24:06Every purpose; everything that you do; everything you think;
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24:06 - 24:09everything that you apply your will to;
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24:09 - 24:12everything with purpose is going to come under the examination of God.
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24:12 - 24:15What category does that put everything in?
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24:15 - 24:17It puts it in the spiritual category.
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24:17 - 24:22This is my point: You may have physical aspects;
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24:22 - 24:27I think when you have somebody that's
experiencing depression or panic attacks, -
24:27 - 24:30should you look there? Yes.
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24:30 - 24:35Is there maybe even a place to visit a doctor? Yeah.
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24:35 - 24:39There can be physical aspects undoubtedly.
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24:39 - 24:46You may find that something is physically wrong with the person.
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24:46 - 24:50You may find that something is wrong with their sleep pattern,
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24:50 - 24:52something is wrong with their eating;
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24:52 - 24:54something is wrong somewhere.
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24:54 - 24:57That can be very real. But you know what?
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24:57 - 25:02There are times when there doesn't need to be anything physical,
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25:02 - 25:05but it's still spiritual. Everything is spiritual.
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25:05 - 25:06Everything comes back to that.
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25:06 - 25:13And if it comes back to that, then we need to recognize this:
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25:13 - 25:17Scripture has something to say to it. (P)
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25:17 - 25:21Listen to 2 Peter: "May grace and peace be multiplied to you
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25:21 - 25:24in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
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25:24 - 25:33His divine power has granted to us ALL things
that pertain to life and godliness, -
25:33 - 25:35through the knowledge of Him."
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25:35 - 25:37And where does that knowledge come from?
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25:37 - 25:39There's only one place - Scripture.
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25:39 - 25:46You know 2 Timothy 3, it gives us this reality that
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25:46 - 25:48"all scripture is breathed out by God, profitable for teaching,
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25:48 - 25:51reproof, correction, training in righteousness;
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25:51 - 25:55that the man of God may be complete (or the woman of God complete)
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25:55 - 25:57equipped for every good work."
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25:57 - 26:01Scripture does that. Scripture has an answer.
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26:01 - 26:05"How can a young man keep his way pure (or a young woman)?"
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26:05 - 26:10Whether you have panic attacks or not,
how can you keep your way pure? -
26:10 - 26:14"By guarding it according to Your Word." (Psalm 119:9). (P)
-
26:14 - 26:21Or, "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul."
-
26:21 - 26:26It's perfect, it's complete, for reviving the soul.
-
26:26 - 26:33This is critical, because if you get to the place
where it's like, "Nah, Scripture doesn't answer," -
26:33 - 26:35then you know where you're gonna go?
-
26:35 - 26:39You're gonna go to men's opinions. That's where you're gonna go.
-
26:39 - 26:45And men are idiots without the help of God.
-
26:45 - 26:49Oh they can tell you how far away certain galaxies are,
-
26:49 - 26:54but then they believe it came from a Big Bang,
and they wipe God out of the equation altogether. -
26:54 - 26:56And listen, I'm not the one who made that up.
-
26:56 - 27:01God says, "Wanting to be wise, they became fools." (Rom. 1:22).
-
27:01 - 27:07And if you want to listen to men,
you're gonna end up with the opinion of fools. -
27:07 - 27:09The doctors are fools.
-
27:09 - 27:12All you have to do is look at the history.
-
27:12 - 27:15Look at what the doctors were saying ten years ago:
-
27:15 - 27:17it's entirely different than what they're saying now.
-
27:17 - 27:19They change their minds all the time.
-
27:19 - 27:20They don't have answers.
-
27:20 - 27:25They want to take things that are sin and they want to make them diseases,
-
27:25 - 27:29because they're lost, and because they're in the power of the evil one,
-
27:29 - 27:32and the evil one wants to destroy people.
-
27:32 - 27:35He is the father of lies.
-
27:35 - 27:40He doesn't want people to recognize
that they are guilty sinners before a holy God, -
27:40 - 27:43and to repent, and to seek salvation in Christ.
-
27:43 - 27:47He wants people to think that they can figure it all out on their own,
-
27:47 - 27:49and they don't need God, and they don't need His Truth,
-
27:49 - 27:53and they don't need His Word, and they can
figure it out, and they're wise enough; -
27:53 - 27:57and they want to put their confidence in the arm of the flesh.
-
27:57 - 27:58And that's just the reality. (P)
-
27:58 - 28:04And if you think there's no answer in Scripture... see, I don't think that.
-
28:04 - 28:14What I think is, that every single spiritual problem
that man can ever have is addressed in the Word of God. -
28:14 - 28:16I believe that.
-
28:16 - 28:22And if you don't believe that, you're gonna end up in big trouble.
-
28:22 - 28:24This is the only safe place.
-
28:24 - 28:28And you have to ask this. Everybody has to ask this.
-
28:28 - 28:35Now look, I would not say that I have experienced panic attacks.
-
28:35 - 28:38When I was lost, nothing like that.
-
28:38 - 28:40It didn't run in my family;
-
28:40 - 28:42I didn't know anybody that suffered from depression;
-
28:42 - 28:45I didn't know anybody that had panic attacks.
-
28:45 - 28:51I mean, we were just a bunch of drunk foul-mouthed Irish.
-
28:51 - 29:00And then when I got saved, the first ten years,
I didn't know anything about that. -
29:00 - 29:03I mean, unmoved assurance.
-
29:03 - 29:09Every day, Christianity was just a total joy.
-
29:09 - 29:17It wasn't till I became a pastor that I actually
began to experience aspects of spiritual warfare -
29:17 - 29:22that kind of pushed me a lot closer to the edge than ever before.
-
29:22 - 29:30There were some real battles in the soul,
-
29:30 - 29:36and battles to not fall into depression, not so much anxiety.
-
29:36 - 29:40I mean, I just had some times when it felt like I was in a vice.
-
29:40 - 29:45I mean, sometimes I remember Whitfield talking about
feeling like the devil was pressing on his chest. -
29:45 - 29:47I used to feel that on a regular basis.
-
29:47 - 29:51It felt like I was in some all-out battle. (P)
-
29:51 - 29:58But I can tell you this: In all the things that I had to go through,
-
29:58 - 30:07I was absolutely persuaded of this -
the answer to my struggles is in Scripture. -
30:07 - 30:10I was absolutely convinced of that.
-
30:10 - 30:19And as Christians we have to be absolutely convinced
that if you want to be made complete, -
30:19 - 30:23and if you want to be made perfect,
and if you want to have your heart revived, -
30:23 - 30:28and if we're gonna be granted all things that pertain to life and godliness;
-
30:28 - 30:29it's going to come through that knowledge of Him,
-
30:29 - 30:33it's going to come through His Word,
it's going to come through His promises. (P) -
30:33 - 30:38Now here's the thing: When you come to Scripture,
-
30:38 - 30:47the most saturated area of Scripture concerning anxiety
is to be found on the Sermon on the Mount. -
30:47 - 30:49Hands down.
-
30:49 - 30:52Matthew chapter 6, and that's where I had you turn.
-
30:52 - 30:53And we want to look at this,
-
30:53 - 31:07because the term "anxious" between Matthew 6:25 and 6:34,
-
31:07 - 31:13those ten verses, we find the word "anxious".
-
31:13 - 31:18It shows up in verse 25.
-
31:18 - 31:23It shows up in verse 27, verse 28.
-
31:23 - 31:31It shows up in verse 31, and it shows up twice in verse 34.
-
31:31 - 31:41Anxiety - here it is, the most saturated
portion of Scripture dealing with this topic. -
31:41 - 31:45And so, look, Jesus is the authority.
-
31:45 - 31:50If He's going to talk to us about anxiety, we do really well to listen,
-
31:50 - 32:00because He's a master at it, and He hits
all sorts of aspects that have to do with it, -
32:00 - 32:05that are well worth pointing out. (P)
-
32:05 - 32:07So, anxious.
-
32:07 - 32:19The idea of the word "anxious" is the idea
of being distracted or pulled apart. -
32:19 - 32:25It's being distracted by these apprehensions about possible dangers,
-
32:25 - 32:30distracting cares, concerns, worries.
-
32:30 - 32:34Look, the truth is, it's a form of fear.
-
32:34 - 32:39And you see it right here in this text, because if you look;
-
32:39 - 32:48well, actually, we're gonna see it in the parallel passage in Luke.
-
32:48 - 33:00But it's the idea of the what-ifs.
-
33:00 - 33:05It's looking at tomorrow like, "Oh no!" - foreboding all the time -
-
33:05 - 33:07"What's gonna happen? This is gonna happen.
-
33:07 - 33:09I fear this is gonna happen."
-
33:09 - 33:13And it's just living in the shadow all the time.
-
33:13 - 33:17Or, "If I go over there, what's gonna happen?"
-
33:17 - 33:29You may be being bombarded by feelings of inability
and the sense of being overwhelmed. -
33:29 - 33:32It's like I was talking about this pastor friend;
-
33:32 - 33:37it can be like where even going to the
post office is like climbing the Himalayas. -
33:37 - 33:41I mean, it's just like you've got to go over this hurdle.
-
33:41 - 33:46And if you think about it in a time when
you don't have any of those fears or things; -
33:46 - 33:47I mean, driving to the post office;
-
33:47 - 33:52it's like, you could listen to the radio or you could sing a hymn
-
33:52 - 33:54or you could enjoy the sunrise.
-
33:54 - 33:59And you can go over there and come back,
and it could be just an enjoyable time away. -
33:59 - 34:04But something clouds the mind, something fills us with this fear.
-
34:04 - 34:09"Oh, what if this happens? what if that happens?" (P)
-
34:09 - 34:12And if you look at the parallel passage, you don't have to go over there,
-
34:12 - 34:14I want you just to stay here in Matthew 6.
-
34:14 - 34:19But over in Luke 12, He said to His disciples in Luke 12:22,
-
34:19 - 34:22"I tell you, do not be anxious."
-
34:22 - 34:26Then He comes back in verse 29, "Do not be worried."
-
34:26 - 34:32And then He comes back in Luke 12:32, and He says, "Fear not."
-
34:32 - 34:38You see that? "Don't be anxious; don't worry; don't fear."
-
34:38 - 34:43It's all kind of synonymous language,
because that's exactly what happens. -
34:43 - 34:46If you talk to somebody that's having a panic attack,
-
34:46 - 34:51and you say, "Are you full of anxiety?" "Yes."
-
34:51 - 34:52"Are you full of worries?" "Yes."
-
34:52 - 34:54"Are you afraid?" "Yes."
-
34:54 - 34:59And those are three of the words that He hits on right off there.
-
34:59 - 35:05I mean, the daily concerns of life
can turn into these overwhelming worries: -
35:05 - 35:13"What if this happens? What if...?" and there's this foreboding.
-
35:13 - 35:23And it paralyzes, because instead of going on with life
and confronting our present circumstances, -
35:23 - 35:25which is what Jesus is saying;
-
35:25 - 35:33He says, "Quit worrying about the future,
today has enough worries for itself." -
35:33 - 35:36That's how He ends there in Matthew 6.
-
35:36 - 35:39Stop worrying about tomorrow; you may not even be alive.
-
35:39 - 35:42None of us may be alive. (P)
-
35:42 - 35:45But the thing is, we come back to this if you're a Christian.
-
35:45 - 35:50If you're a Christian, and even if the devil was
let loose on you like he was let loose on Job, -
35:50 - 35:54where's Job right now? I mean, Job is in glory.
-
35:54 - 35:57Job was a righteous man.
-
35:57 - 36:00He's with the Lord. He's walking with the Lord.
-
36:00 - 36:04Paul adequately sums it up:
-
36:04 - 36:09what does he call what we have to endure right now?
-
36:09 - 36:18"Momentary, light" - that's what he calls it - "afflictions."
-
36:18 - 36:22The worst thing that could happen; now look, who was he talking to?
-
36:22 - 36:29He was talking to early Christians twenty centuries ago.
-
36:29 - 36:35I mean, what if the Romans came in
and they threw your whole family out to the lions? -
36:35 - 36:37Is that pretty bad?
-
36:37 - 36:38Even if they did that.
-
36:38 - 36:40What if they put you on the rack and they tortured you?
-
36:40 - 36:43Some were sawn in two, do you ever read that?
-
36:43 - 36:46I mean, that's kind of a bad day when you're getting sawn in half.
-
36:46 - 36:53But momentary, light?
-
36:53 - 36:59Listen, if we really understand what heaven is,
and what it is Christ has purchased for His people, -
36:59 - 37:02it is such a glory that is coming.
-
37:02 - 37:06But you see, when the anxiety comes you lose sight of that.
-
37:06 - 37:08Anxiety causes you to forget.
-
37:08 - 37:12It causes you to shut down as far as remembering God's faithfulness,
-
37:12 - 37:16remembering God's promises, remembering who God is.
-
37:16 - 37:22The remembering function is that which has to be kicked back into high gear.
-
37:22 - 37:28It shuts down. And it's not good, it's not healthy. (P)
-
37:28 - 37:35So, what we have to do is, we have to take all these fears,
-
37:35 - 37:39all these anxieties, all these thoughts that are going to the mind,
-
37:39 - 37:43and we have to submit them and subject them to Scripture;
-
37:43 - 37:49and let the Scripture control, let the truth set us free.
-
37:49 - 37:52We have to go back to that again.
-
37:52 - 37:54Thinking, thinking, thinking. The mind.
-
37:54 - 37:59Listen, Scripture says this, (you need to think about this):
-
37:59 - 38:07concerning sin, it says, "You need to consider yourselves dead to sin."
-
38:07 - 38:09Why do I hit that text?
-
38:09 - 38:14Because when Paul says in Romans 6:11
-
38:14 - 38:21that as a Christian you must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God,
-
38:21 - 38:30he is saying, "You need to consider in your mind certain things to be true."
-
38:30 - 38:40When Scripture says, "Set your mind on things above,"
do you know what Scripture is assuming? -
38:40 - 38:49Listen, one of the descriptions in Romans 8,
is that a person that's a Christian, -
38:49 - 38:55they have a mind set on the things of the Spirit.
-
38:55 - 38:56Or James went through Philippians;
-
38:56 - 39:02Philippians 4: 8, what does it say we need to think on?
-
39:02 - 39:06Things that are what? Just tell me one of the words. (P)
-
39:06 - 39:12[Audience]: True. Excellent. Worthy of praise. (P)
-
39:12 - 39:16[Tim]: Okay, what do all those verses indicate?
-
39:16 - 39:26They indicate that you have the ability
to think on what you want to think on. -
39:26 - 39:32Some people have this idea, "Well, I can't control what I think about."
-
39:32 - 39:36The authors of Scripture certainly think you can.
-
39:36 - 39:41When you're told to set your mind on things above, what is that?
-
39:41 - 39:47That is telling you, that just like I can set this cup...
-
39:47 - 39:50you know, if I'm sitting here drinking this,
-
39:50 - 39:57and my wife yells from the bedroom over there,
"Set that cup down," I set it down. -
39:57 - 40:01That cup, I've got the ability to put that thing down there.
-
40:01 - 40:03Scripture is saying, just like you can set that cup,
-
40:03 - 40:10it's telling you, "Set your brain on certain things. Set your mind there."
-
40:10 - 40:18This is key, because I'll tell you what happens
to people who fall into depression -
40:18 - 40:23and people who fall into anxiety:
-
40:23 - 40:28Oftentimes, the people that are most able to help them
-
40:28 - 40:35are the people that help them get their minds back
on what they need to get their minds on. -
40:35 - 40:38That's what needs to happen. We need to think right.
-
40:38 - 40:45We need to think about the things that we need to be thinking about. (P)
-
40:45 - 40:53Now, let's actually look at Matthew 6.
-
40:53 - 40:58"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." (v 25).
-
40:58 - 41:05Now let's just start right here: "Do not be anxious."
-
41:05 - 41:12If Jesus tells us not to be anxious and we are,
we're not keeping His commandments. -
41:12 - 41:14I'll tell you right off.
-
41:14 - 41:25When Jesus says do not be anxious, if we are
anxious we need to recognize this for what it is. -
41:25 - 41:29You see, this is the medical community today:
-
41:29 - 41:42"Anxiety is alcoholism. Now pedophilia.
It's not your fault, it's a disease." -
41:42 - 41:46As soon as you say that, you are a victim -
-
41:46 - 41:55just like you'd be a victim if you got cancer, or smallpox, or meningitis.
-
41:55 - 41:57It's not true.
-
41:57 - 42:02Jesus says, "Do not be anxious."
-
42:02 - 42:08If you are anxious, you are defying Christ.
-
42:08 - 42:11You're going against Him.
-
42:11 - 42:15It's sin. We need to call anxiety what it is.
-
42:15 - 42:21It is based on fears that God does not want us to have.
-
42:21 - 42:23We need to be clear on that.
-
42:23 - 42:27He says, "Do not be anxious." We need to recognize that.
-
42:27 - 42:32Jesus says to us, "Don't be anxious." (P)
-
42:32 - 42:36Paul tells us to "rejoice in the Lord always."
-
42:36 - 42:42Listen, if you fall into depression, it's sin.
-
42:42 - 42:51To be "not rejoicing in the Lord" is to be
going against the specific instruction of Scripture. -
42:51 - 43:00Now look, there may be factors that are present in a person's life
-
43:00 - 43:15that are applying enormous pressure to be anxious,
or to be fearful, or to be depressed. -
43:15 - 43:22But do you know, no matter what circumstance any person ever faces,
-
43:22 - 43:31sin is never justifiable. Never. Not once. (P)
-
43:31 - 43:40Worry: look at verse 25, "I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."
-
43:40 - 43:47Go to verse 31, "Therefore do not be anxious."
-
43:47 - 43:55Verse 34, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,
-
43:55 - 44:00for tomorrow will be anxious for itself."
-
44:00 - 44:04Do you know what Peter tells us?
-
44:04 - 44:08We used to sing this; we still do:
-
44:08 - 44:16"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,
-
44:16 - 44:19that He may exalt you in due time:
-
44:19 - 44:27casting all your cares (or anxieties) upon Him;
-
44:27 - 44:30for He cares for you." (1 Pet. 5:6-7). (P)
-
44:30 - 44:31"Humble yourselves."
-
44:31 - 44:41Listen, when you don't cast your fears and
anxieties on the Lord, it's a mark of pride. -
44:41 - 44:50Peter says, "Humble yourselves and unload those things on the Lord."
-
44:50 - 44:52What's pride?
-
44:52 - 44:55You see, pride is thinking too much of self and too little of God.
-
44:55 - 44:57And how is that thinking too little of God?
-
44:57 - 44:59"Well, I'm just afraid to commit these things
-
44:59 - 45:02because I don't really think the Lord can take care of it.
-
45:02 - 45:05I'm scared to death something may happen to one of my children,
-
45:05 - 45:07and I just don't think I can entrust Him with this.
-
45:07 - 45:10I'm scared to death something may happen to one of my relatives,
-
45:10 - 45:12or a person I dearly love, and I cannot commit them to Him;
-
45:12 - 45:14and I'm just worried all the time;
-
45:14 - 45:18and I cannot trust God to do what I want God to do,
-
45:18 - 45:22because I know God, I know the God of Scripture, He may let them die."
-
45:22 - 45:26You know what? He might.
-
45:26 - 45:29But Scripture still says it's all working out for our good,
-
45:29 - 45:32and He still says that He'll not leave us or forsake us.
-
45:32 - 45:36And we can trust Him. We can trust Him to do right.
-
45:36 - 45:41The Judge of all the earth will do right, and we can trust Him to do it.
-
45:41 - 45:44And the thing is, we have to remember this:
-
45:44 - 45:50"For He careth for you. He careth for you."
-
45:50 - 45:53That's how that ends - He cares for you.
-
45:53 - 45:58You see, we're not dealing with a God who is a tyrant and is angry at us.
-
45:58 - 45:59Not as Christians.
-
45:59 - 46:02If you're lost, yes He is angry with you.
-
46:02 - 46:07But the thing is, if we're Christians He cares for us. (P)
-
46:09 - 46:12It is a manifestation of pride.
-
46:12 - 46:17And here's the thing: It's much more comfortable to be a victim.
-
46:17 - 46:24It's much more comfortable to say,
"Oh, woe is me; I get these anxiety attacks," -
46:24 - 46:31and to come off as though, "It's not my sin. I'm a victim."
-
46:31 - 46:37You know why it's more comfortable? Because victims get pity.
-
46:37 - 46:51But if you fess up and say, "It's my unbelief.
It's my unfounded, unwarranted fears, -
46:51 - 46:56because I just see God as being way too little.
-
46:56 - 46:59I dishonor God when I don't trust Him."
-
46:59 - 47:05You see, when you admit that, it's not so comfortable.
-
47:05 - 47:07To be guilty, to be blameworthy,
-
47:07 - 47:11to have to admit fears, anxieties, depressions, worries, are our fault,
-
47:11 - 47:17it's more difficult. (P)
-
47:18 - 47:27Matthew 6:25, He says, "I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,
-
47:27 - 47:30what you will eat or what you will drink."
-
47:30 - 47:40And I recognize, in a world where lots of
people were trying to survive day to day, -
47:40 - 47:42where they didn't have an abundance,
-
47:42 - 47:45their anxieties may have surfaced in other areas.
-
47:45 - 47:48We live in a wealthy society.
-
47:48 - 47:54Nobody here is worrying about whether we're going to eat tomorrow.
-
47:54 - 47:57Our anxieties tend to crop up in different places.
-
47:57 - 48:07But nevertheless, you notice the anxieties here are about things in this life,
-
48:07 - 48:14and the same principles that have to do
with our food, our drink, our body, -
48:14 - 48:17it has to do with everything else.
-
48:17 - 48:25"Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"
-
48:25 - 48:28And here is what you want to get at:
-
48:28 - 48:30He is going to tell us about the character of God.
-
48:30 - 48:36You see, this is the key. This is always the key.
-
48:36 - 48:40We have to remember who God is and what He has promised.
-
48:40 - 48:44He says, "Look at the birds of the air:
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, -
48:44 - 48:50and yet - notice - 'your'."
-
48:50 - 48:52He's talking to Christians.
-
48:52 - 48:59He would never talk this way to lost people,
because lost people should mourn and wail. -
48:59 - 49:03Scripture says that.
-
49:03 - 49:12He's telling them, as children of the Father,
"Your heavenly Father feeds them (the birds). -
49:12 - 49:16Are you not of more value than they?"
-
49:16 - 49:24Of more value to who? To the Father. Obviously.
-
49:24 - 49:29He's hitting the tenderness. God is your Father.
-
49:29 - 49:31He's your heavenly Father. (P)
-
49:31 - 49:35This is like Peter saying, "He cares for you."
-
49:35 - 49:40You see, a little child doesn't have to run around being anxious
-
49:40 - 49:42about where their next meal is coming from.
-
49:42 - 49:45They don't have to run around being anxious about anything.
-
49:45 - 49:49Why? Because they trust mommy and daddy are gonna take care of it.
-
49:49 - 49:52Little children don't even worry about those things.
-
49:52 - 49:57You don't start worrying about those things till you get to be older.
-
49:57 - 50:03Why? Because the child just knows
mommy and daddy are gonna take care of it. -
50:03 - 50:11And He is saying, these animals get cared for, all the time.
-
50:11 - 50:17And in the sight of your Father in heaven, you are of much greater value.
-
50:17 - 50:20You see, one of the things that comes with all these fears,
-
50:20 - 50:22is we feel like we're alone.
-
50:22 - 50:27We feel like God has abdicated, He has vacated us, He's not there.
-
50:27 - 50:30We feel like He really has forsaken.
-
50:30 - 50:35We feel like Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"
-
50:35 - 50:37There's this sense; but He hasn't.
-
50:37 - 50:42He's saying, He cares for you, He loves you. (P)
-
50:42 - 50:49And then verse 27, "Which of you by being anxious
can add a single hour to his span of life?" -
50:49 - 50:52What a thing to say!
-
50:52 - 50:56You go into depression, you curl up in a ball, and you lay in bed.
-
50:56 - 51:02What good are you going to bring of anything?
-
51:02 - 51:06You're full of anxiety and you have a panic attack;
-
51:06 - 51:15and so you basically go into hiding, and you just feed all this anxiety.
-
51:15 - 51:17Can you change anything by all your worrying?
-
51:17 - 51:23You can get an ulcer, but by all your worrying
can you change what's going to happen? -
51:23 - 51:26Can you change it? You can't change it.
-
51:26 - 51:31You can't change any of the future.
-
51:31 - 51:34So here's the thing about it:
-
51:34 - 51:39People that are going through panic attacks,
what are they accomplishing by it? -
51:39 - 51:46The panic and the anxieties, the worries,
the fears, are not changing anything. -
51:46 - 51:50It's kind of like jealousy.
-
51:50 - 51:58It hurts the person, but it doesn't really do any good.
-
51:58 - 52:05It just rots the person, it decays the person, it destroys the person,
-
52:05 - 52:08but it doesn't help. (P)
-
52:08 - 52:10"And why are you anxious about clothing?
-
52:10 - 52:13Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:
-
52:13 - 52:15they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you,
-
52:15 - 52:21even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
-
52:21 - 52:24If God so clothes the grass of the field,
-
52:24 - 52:28which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, -
-
52:28 - 52:33notice the 'much more' - will He not much more [clothe you]?"
-
52:33 - 52:37You see, He's concerned, He's watching, He knows.
-
52:37 - 52:42"O you of little faith." You see that?
-
52:42 - 52:45Faith versus fear - that's the issue.
-
52:45 - 52:47"You of little faith."
-
52:47 - 52:50Is it faith? Is it fear?
-
52:50 - 52:53That's what He said to them in the parallel passage -
-
52:53 - 52:56"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good..."
-
52:56 - 53:00Are you gonna fear, are you gonna be full of anxiety?
or is there gonna be faith? -
53:00 - 53:03He says, "O you of little faith." This is a little faith issue.
-
53:03 - 53:09You are not trusting God when you are full of anxieties.
-
53:09 - 53:14Why? What did David say? He said, "I can go against a troop!"
-
53:14 - 53:16Not only can I make it to the post office,
-
53:16 - 53:21not only can I overcome my fears of being in a crowd and make it to church,
-
53:21 - 53:26I can go against a troop if God is with me. (P)
-
53:26 - 53:29"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?'
-
53:29 - 53:31or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' -
-
53:31 - 53:34now notice this, this is good -
-
53:34 - 53:37For the Gentiles..."
-
53:37 - 53:43What's the Gentile? The Gentile is just a good picture of lost people.
-
53:43 - 53:46That's what He means when He uses it here.
-
53:46 - 53:56The Gentiles; in other words, they worry about all these things.
-
53:56 - 53:59They're troubled.
-
53:59 - 54:02And He says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all."
-
54:02 - 54:06I mean, so much we need to remember about who our Father is.
-
54:06 - 54:10But just focus in on the 'Gentiles' right there.
-
54:10 - 54:16I mean, you just think about that -
"the Gentiles seek after all these things." -
54:16 - 54:21You know what? We can understand why the world is stressed out.
-
54:21 - 54:23We can understand that.
-
54:23 - 54:28We can understand why they're anxious
and why they're full of worries. -
54:28 - 54:31I mean, I think about it. I'm 53 years old.
-
54:31 - 54:35I think about what life would be like if I was getting older and older,
-
54:35 - 54:37and didn't know the Lord,
-
54:37 - 54:40and death was coming closer and closer.
-
54:40 - 54:44It's like, when you're young, you feel like you have some breathing room;
-
54:44 - 54:46but as you get older and older and older,
-
54:46 - 54:53it's like you become more and more hedged in, and death is coming. (P)
-
54:53 - 54:58We can understand, the world, the things that they want to hold on to,
-
54:58 - 55:01they just go through their fingers like sand.
-
55:01 - 55:03They want to hold on to their money;
-
55:03 - 55:06they want to hold on to their financial stability and security;
-
55:06 - 55:12they want to hold on to their youthfulness,
and they want to hold on to their health, -
55:12 - 55:18and they want to hold on to this world.
-
55:18 - 55:26They're worried about all of it, and yet
the thing is, it's all going to be taken away. -
55:26 - 55:27Everything they are worried about:
-
55:27 - 55:31they're worried about their children, it's gonna be taken away;
-
55:31 - 55:34they're worried about their wealth, it's gonna be taken away;
-
55:34 - 55:37they're worried about their possessions,
how they get so bent out of shape - -
55:37 - 55:42this little thing gets a dent, or that thing over there gets scraped -
-
55:42 - 55:44it's all gonna be taken away. Everything.
-
55:44 - 55:52We can totally understand why Gentiles, who are lost,
would be in a panic about all sorts of things. (P) -
55:52 - 56:00I heard like 23 or 27 million Americans
supposedly deal with panic attacks right now. -
56:00 - 56:04I mean, can you imagine, you're lost, you're facing [eternity].
-
56:04 - 56:07The scientists are trying to tell you there's a Big Bang,
-
56:07 - 56:13"What? Am I headed to nothingness? What is this life?
Just some random thing and I'm facing eternity?" -
56:13 - 56:15You know what the problem is?
-
56:15 - 56:17Scripture says eternity is written on our hearts.
-
56:17 - 56:20No matter what the scientists tell us, we've got a conscience.
-
56:20 - 56:23And it tells you, "Judgment Day, Judgment Day, Judgment Day.
-
56:23 - 56:27You are headed towards a God that you have to give an account to."
-
56:27 - 56:32And there is something in there, no matter
how much we try to suppress it and block it out, -
56:32 - 56:35it just keeps speaking, accusing us, accusing us.
-
56:35 - 56:41And it's like, you can imagine why people, their conscience is accusing. (P)
-
56:41 - 56:42I know where I'd be.
-
56:42 - 56:48If I wasn't dead already by drinking myself into oblivion, that's where I'd be.
-
56:48 - 56:50I mean, the bottle would be to my lips;
-
56:50 - 56:51because you can't deal with it.
-
56:51 - 56:53It's like, "I don't want to think about it."
-
56:53 - 56:56You're either gonna medicate it,
-
56:56 - 57:00you're gonna run to the doctor and say,
"I've got panic attacks! Give me the drugs!" -
57:00 - 57:02And have you ever seen the drugs?
-
57:02 - 57:08Sometimes, we go over to Papa's house in the evenings,
-
57:08 - 57:12and oftentimes it's right about when the news comes;
and we're gonna go out to eat with him. -
57:12 - 57:14But when they're running the evening news,
-
57:14 - 57:17they run all those medication commercials for old people.
-
57:17 - 57:20And they've got ones for depression and for panic.
-
57:20 - 57:27And it's like, "Now the side-effects here are: they may cause suicide;
-
57:27 - 57:31they may cause feelings of depression;
they may cause feelings of anxiety." -
57:31 - 57:35And you're like, "Wait! That's what they're supposed to treat!"
-
57:35 - 57:37It's like, they don't even have an answer.
-
57:37 - 57:42It's almost like they're saying, "Yeah, take these medicines,
-
57:42 - 57:44we want to sell you billions of dollars of these." (P)
-
57:44 - 57:50The truth is, we live in an age of just rampant idolatry.
-
57:50 - 57:58People just wanting stuff, and fighting, and madly reaching,
-
57:58 - 58:03and retirement, and saving.
-
58:03 - 58:05And they're just gonna lose it all.
-
58:05 - 58:09The problem is, we live in this age
where Jesus says, "Don't lay it up here." -
58:09 - 58:13Why? "You've got moths, and you've got thieves, and you've got rust."
-
58:13 - 58:16And that's the problem - we live in an age of decay.
-
58:16 - 58:18Why? Because everything is cursed.
-
58:18 - 58:23We live in a cursed universe where
everything is decaying, including our own lives. -
58:23 - 58:25Everything is running out. Everything is wearing out.
-
58:25 - 58:29And so we can't lay hold on anything, we can't keep a grasp.
-
58:29 - 58:32And then we've got a medical community with all of its drugs,
-
58:32 - 58:35wanting to drug everybody up for everything. (P)
-
58:35 - 58:40Look, I'm not gonna say that there aren't
some things that can legitimately be medicated. -
58:40 - 58:44But you know as well as I do, that our medical community has run wild,
-
58:44 - 58:53and they are prescribing drugs for things
that are biblically defined as nothing but sin. -
58:53 - 58:57And people don't need drugs, they need to repent.
-
58:57 - 59:00That's the real issue in so much of this stuff.
-
59:00 - 59:04And the psychiatric people, they're gonna try to
convince our brother Kenny tomorrow, -
59:04 - 59:10that it's all syndromes and diseases.
-
59:12 - 59:18But when you go down through this, you know what's interesting?
-
59:18 - 59:30He says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of them all." (P)
-
59:30 - 59:36There was a time I was really wrestling, really struggling.
-
59:36 - 59:41I mean, I just felt like I was under a massive barrage and attack,
-
59:41 - 59:44it was driving me crazy.
-
59:44 - 59:53And it drove me to pray; I was much in prayer.
-
59:53 - 59:56And you know what? No matter how much I prayed,
-
59:56 - 60:04I just felt like God had given the devil license to put me under a barrage.
-
60:04 - 60:07And in the midst of it, I knew this:
-
60:07 - 60:13I could come to this solid conclusion:
-
60:13 - 60:24"Father, I'm praying to You, and I know You hear me,
and I know You're in control. -
60:24 - 60:31And so, if I've prayed that this thing be taken away
and it's not being taken away, and You're in control, -
60:31 - 60:32I trust You.
-
60:32 - 60:39You want this to be happening, and You're
wanting to accomplish something through it. -
60:39 - 60:42I just need You to show me," which I believe He did.
-
60:42 - 60:45But we need to have that rock-solid [conclusion].
-
60:45 - 60:47This is what Jesus is driving at:
-
60:47 - 60:51You need to know who your Father is in the midst of all these anxieties.
-
60:51 - 60:55He is a Father who cares for you. He's your Father.
-
60:55 - 61:00Look, if He cares for all the birds and all the flowers around you,
-
61:00 - 61:07and He values you so much more,
don't you think He's going to take care of you? -
61:07 - 61:11And the thing is, He knows what you need before you ask. (P)
-
61:11 - 61:14And when you look over at the parallel passages in Luke,
-
61:14 - 61:21you have this glorious reality: "Fear not, little flock,
-
61:21 - 61:26for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."
-
61:26 - 61:31In other words, when it comes to the stuff here that you're anxious about,
-
61:31 - 61:33He's got you covered and He knows your needs.
-
61:33 - 61:39And if you seek first the kingdom of heaven,
all these things are going to be added unto you. -
61:39 - 61:42And what about beyond?
-
61:42 - 61:45"Fear not, little flock. Don't have anxieties about that either,
-
61:45 - 61:48because the kingdom is reserved for you."
-
61:48 - 61:51You don't have to be all uptight. You don't have to be up in arms. (P)
-
61:51 - 61:56Listen, we are the only people on the face of the earth
-
61:57 - 62:00that really have a right to walk around
with no anxieties and with no fears. -
62:00 - 62:03Oh, a healthy fear of God, yes;
-
62:03 - 62:08but not these kinds of fears that are based on all these anxieties.
-
62:08 - 62:16Because, listen, think about it, you work backwards;
-
62:16 - 62:19this is typically the way that you want to work through it.
-
62:19 - 62:20What does Jesus do?
-
62:20 - 62:24Jesus identifies the anxiety, and then He works back from it.
-
62:24 - 62:29"You're gonna be anxious about this thing?
Well, don't be anxious about that thing," -
62:29 - 62:32and then He works back and He hits the character of God,
-
62:32 - 62:37"Here's why you don't want to be anxious about that, because God is like this."
-
62:37 - 62:47And if we work back on all of our anxieties and
all of our fears, what are they? -
62:47 - 62:49What is it we're really afraid of?
-
62:49 - 62:55You know what you'll be able to put your finger on every single time?
-
62:55 - 63:01That you're failing to believe God, and
you're failing to see God as the God that He is. -
63:01 - 63:06You're failing to take God for who He says He is in Scripture,
-
63:06 - 63:11and you're failing to lay hold on the promises that He gives.
-
63:11 - 63:17Listen, that is behind every true Christian's depression,
-
63:17 - 63:22behind their panics, behind their anxieties, behind their fears.
-
63:22 - 63:28What's happening? They are forgetting who God is.
-
63:28 - 63:33And it's never excusable, no matter if you're
under the most vicious attacks of Satan. (P) -
63:33 - 63:38Listen, let me tell you, I think it was Pergamum.
-
63:38 - 63:43To the church at Pergamum, Jesus says,
-
63:43 - 63:48"I know where you are; you are where Satan dwells.
-
63:48 - 63:52Yet I have these things against you."
-
63:52 - 63:56Now just think about that. What does that say?
-
63:56 - 64:05It doesn't matter if you're in the hottest climate
when it comes to spiritual warfare. -
64:05 - 64:07Jesus still had those things against them,
-
64:07 - 64:11and did not dismiss their wrongs
because of the intensity of the battle. -
64:11 - 64:14He still said, "I have this against you."
-
64:14 - 64:17Or think with me here - Asa.
-
64:17 - 64:20Asa was diseased in his feet,
-
64:20 - 64:23and yet he was faulted because he did not go to God,
-
64:23 - 64:24he went to the doctors.
-
64:24 - 64:27You say, "Well, come on, the man was in pain,
-
64:27 - 64:30the man was in turmoil. Why in the world would you fault him?"
-
64:30 - 64:36No! Even though it's true his feet were diseased,
and undoubtedly he was in immense amount of pain, -
64:36 - 64:38he was faulted for that.
-
64:38 - 64:41Why? Because, again, it's forgetting.
-
64:41 - 64:44"Is there no God in Israel that you go running off over there first?"
-
64:44 - 64:46You have to remember who God is.
-
64:46 - 64:49No matter what the situation, no matter if there's disease,
-
64:49 - 64:57no matter if there's some kind of physical issue, sin is not excused.
-
64:57 - 65:02You find this throughout Scripture that this is the reality. (P)
-
65:02 - 65:13I think I had some other example.
-
65:19 - 65:22Well, I would just say this, one that I mentioned already,
-
65:22 - 65:30"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."
-
65:30 - 65:33I mean, hear what's being said: "Don't fear those who kill the body."
-
65:33 - 65:40If we have fear of man, it's idolatry.
-
65:40 - 65:46It's idolatry in the fact that we're fearing man more than we're fearing God,
-
65:46 - 65:56but then it's idolatry in the sense that we're
creating a small god out of the true God. -
65:56 - 66:00Look, there's something in the character of God to answer every single fear,
-
66:00 - 66:05every anxiety, and every depression, that the true Christian goes through.
-
66:05 - 66:08There's an answer in the person of God.
-
66:08 - 66:10And that's where Jesus takes us.
-
66:10 - 66:19He says, "Look, your anxieties, they don't do anything for you anyway;
-
66:19 - 66:22but you need to remember who God is."
-
66:22 - 66:28"O you of little faith" - you suffer from anxieties like this, it's a small faith.
-
66:28 - 66:32And remember, faith always has an object.
-
66:32 - 66:41What He is saying is, "You're of little faith in who your Father in heaven is.
-
66:41 - 66:46He is in control, He is powerful, and He cares for you;
-
66:46 - 66:48and He's your heavenly Father. (P)
-
66:48 - 66:52I mean, have you heard the promises?
-
66:52 - 66:56I was just telling one of the ladies at the Grace House this last week,
-
66:56 - 67:00that oftentimes when we're in the midst of these things,
-
67:00 - 67:02if we can just lay hold on one promise--
-
67:02 - 67:08believers don't need to believe every promise
that God has ever given all at once. -
67:08 - 67:15The fighting the good fight of faith, in the midst
of the battle, is often clinging to one promise. -
67:15 - 67:19If you can just cling to one that you know is true,
-
67:19 - 67:23and you sink your teeth into and you will not let go of it.
-
67:23 - 67:25God promises.
-
67:25 - 67:29I mean, there's that wonderful promise there in Isaiah 43:
-
67:29 - 67:32"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
-
67:32 - 67:35and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
-
67:35 - 67:37when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
-
67:37 - 67:41and the flame shall not consume you."
-
67:41 - 67:44Remember the promises of God. (P)
-
67:44 - 67:48In Pilgrim's Progress, what happened?
-
67:48 - 67:57Pilgrim and his friend ended up in Doubting Castle. Giant Despair.
-
67:57 - 68:02Here's depression, here's despair; full of doubts.
-
68:02 - 68:09And, in the end, what was it that Pilgrim found in his pocket?
-
68:09 - 68:11He found a key.
-
68:11 - 68:16Remember what the key was? Promise.
-
68:16 - 68:23You see, he saw, that in the Christian battle,
it was just latching on to a promise. -
68:23 - 68:30And I would say that to anybody, any Christian, that is fighting,
-
68:30 - 68:36because the reality is, look, we have an enemy.
-
68:36 - 68:40And he will try to trip us up; and he will lie.
-
68:40 - 68:44And we heard about it on Sunday, what is he trying to do?
-
68:44 - 68:48He tries to slander God to us.
-
68:48 - 68:51And he will make us think that God doesn't like us;
-
68:51 - 68:56he'll make us think that God has abandoned us;
-
68:56 - 69:00he'll come at us with all manner of lies.
-
69:00 - 69:05And that's where the battle often is.
-
69:05 - 69:10And when we're under this attack, and those attacks may be real,
-
69:10 - 69:14you know, Paul faced a thorn in the flesh.
-
69:14 - 69:16Sometimes people think that that was physical,
-
69:16 - 69:21but there's really nothing from the passage there in 2 Corinthians 12
-
69:21 - 69:27that indicates the thorn in the flesh was physical.
-
69:33 - 69:39Anybody recall what that thorn in the flesh was called?
-
69:39 - 69:42The messenger of Satan.
-
69:42 - 69:50And it seems like it probably was more like a demonic attack.
-
69:50 - 69:58There's really nothing from the passage that
seems to indicate that it was physical necessarily. -
69:58 - 70:00These things are real.
-
70:00 - 70:03I mean, I've experienced these things being in the ministry. (P)
-
70:03 - 70:08Is it true that people can have chemical imbalances? Is it true?
-
70:08 - 70:14Yes, all those things are true, but they never justify sin.
-
70:14 - 70:19A panic attack does not justify sin any more than a heart attack justifies sin.
-
70:19 - 70:24There's never a time when it is right to rebel against God.
-
70:24 - 70:26You remember what happened to Jesus?
-
70:26 - 70:32Jesus, it says in Hebrews 5, "He learned obedience."
-
70:32 - 70:36What does that mean? It certainly doesn't mean that He ever disobeyed.
-
70:36 - 70:40But it says He learned obedience through what He suffered.
-
70:40 - 70:49In other words, the greater His suffering got,
the more He was taught, -
70:49 - 70:56the more He learned to obey in the fire.
-
70:56 - 70:58And that's where we're at.
-
70:58 - 71:05We're not justified because we're under attack
or because there is even: "I got a thyroid issue, -
71:05 - 71:11or I got a chemical imbalance, that makes me
feel cranky or somehow fills me full of fears." -
71:11 - 71:15You know, it's often said that people that are getting dementia,
-
71:15 - 71:19and certain kinds of fears grip people.
-
71:19 - 71:29I mean, there's never a time in Scripture
that we are told that a sin is justifiable. -
71:29 - 71:29At all.
-
71:29 - 71:33And anxiety is being of little faith.
-
71:33 - 71:38It's fearing, and it's not regarding God for who He is.
-
71:38 - 71:40It's doubting Him.
-
71:40 - 71:48That's really what's behind these things:
doubting Him and not taking Him at his promises. (P) -
71:48 - 71:52Listen, the battle can be fierce.
-
71:52 - 71:56But this is what we're called to do: fight the good fight of faith.
-
71:56 - 71:58Fighting the good fight of faith.
-
71:58 - 72:04Our faith is never tested when life is easy; it's tested when it's hard.
-
72:04 - 72:08It's tested when the storm clouds are overhead.
-
72:08 - 72:13It's tested when you're in the furnace,
-
72:13 - 72:18and you're crying out for God, and you're wondering where He is.
-
72:18 - 72:25It's tested when you're praying and He's not answering immediately.
-
72:25 - 72:32It's tested when His providence in your life
seems like a "frowning providence," -
72:32 - 72:36like in the song we sing.
-
72:36 - 72:40But those things ripen fast,
-
72:40 - 72:46and it bursts forth on our head with all manner of good things.
-
72:46 - 72:48But we have to trust Him.
-
72:48 - 72:53And I know, that's where I've come back to
when I personally have been in the fire -
72:53 - 72:55and been in the midst of these battles.
-
72:55 - 73:06It's really coming to set the mind squarely on,
"Who is God? Who is He? What has He promised?", -
73:06 - 73:16and stay there, and cling to that reality that I know my God is in control.
-
73:16 - 73:23And in light of that, we live.
-
73:23 - 73:27I mean, that's faith - when I'm not walking by sight.
-
73:27 - 73:30I'm walking by this God who has revealed Himself in the Word,
-
73:30 - 73:35and by the truths that He has given,
and that the truth will set me free. -
73:35 - 73:39But who is He? And I know this, He's in control.
-
73:39 - 73:46And I know this: if I am experiencing unearthly levels of anxiety,
-
73:46 - 73:48He has allowed this to happen.
-
73:48 - 73:52He is putting me through the fire; He is testing me.
-
73:52 - 74:03And whenever we're tested, you know this,
He always gives a way out (I Corinthians 10). -
74:03 - 74:09There is always a way of escape without sinning. (P)
-
74:09 - 74:13If we let these fears, if we let these anxieties,
-
74:13 - 74:17if we let these depressions grip us and take us down,
-
74:17 - 74:21you know what happens? We will not be fruitful;
-
74:21 - 74:24we will not be involved in the lives of others the way we should be;
-
74:24 - 74:29we will not be involved in relationships the way we ought to be.
-
74:29 - 74:36And the thing is, there are many things that God
would have us to do with our lives that we will not do. -
74:36 - 74:41Why? because we shut down. You become paralyzed.
-
74:41 - 74:44I mean, if you can't leave the house,
-
74:44 - 74:48how is Jesus gonna say to you, "I was in prison and you visited Me"?
-
74:48 - 74:54Well, it's not gonna happen, because you basically shut down.
-
74:54 - 74:59And all these ways that we're supposed
to be involved in the lives of others, -
74:59 - 75:04and use our spiritual gifts to profit others, we will fail to do.
-
75:04 - 75:11We will fail to love others as we ought,
because you just become crippled. -
75:11 - 75:13But remembering what the Lord has said.
-
75:13 - 75:18And I mean, there is so much to be said for going to the Word of God,
-
75:18 - 75:22and in whatever condition you find yourself, you go to Scripture;
-
75:22 - 75:27and it's just pleading with the Lord,
"Lord, just give me one promise. -
75:27 - 75:31Just let me find one promise."
-
75:31 - 75:41Many of these Christians of old, I think of Bunyan actually,
-
75:41 - 75:44who wrote about Doubting Castle.
-
75:44 - 75:48I mean, he talks about many of the trials that he faced early on,
-
75:48 - 75:56just horrible attacks, and full of all sorts of potential anxieties and despair.
-
75:56 - 76:02And he would often search Scripture, sometimes for months on end,
-
76:02 - 76:09simply to find one promise that he could just hold on to,
-
76:09 - 76:11that would carry him through.
-
76:11 - 76:15That's what you got to do. That's fighting this good fight of faith.
-
76:15 - 76:17It's going to the truth of God's Word.
-
76:17 - 76:23It's planting yourself on God's promises, and then striving.
-
76:23 - 76:27It's learning obedience in the midst of the suffering -
-
76:27 - 76:32that's following the path of Jesus. (P)
-
76:32 - 76:35James, I know you were looking at the topic too.
-
76:35 - 76:38What do you have to add to that? (P)
-
76:38 - 76:41[James] I guess 1 Corinthians 10, you referenced that.
-
76:41 - 76:43You pointed this out years ago:
-
76:43 - 76:48Paul says there, it's not just the way of escape,
but that you may endure it. -
76:48 - 76:56And you kind of emphasized that word "endure",
because it's not a promise to be instantly delivered, -
76:56 - 77:01it's a promise that in the midst of the fire,
the Lord will help you endure it. -
77:01 - 77:06And sometimes, yeah, these things don't go away in the blink of an eye,
-
77:06 - 77:10but you've got to keep trusting the Lord and endure it. (P)
-
77:10 - 77:16[Tim] Yeah, the way out is not necessarily the way out of the trial.
-
77:16 - 77:19The way out is the way out of "not sinning".
-
77:19 - 77:22That is where there's always a way out.
-
77:22 - 77:27Yeah, the trial actually may last the rest of your life.
-
77:27 - 77:29Look, I can't guarantee that.
-
77:29 - 77:30Now, that's not always the case -
-
77:30 - 77:37there's many trials we entered into, and the Lord cuts it short.
-
77:41 - 77:46We're not given promises that we won't die.
-
77:46 - 77:49We're not given promises that we won't get a disease
-
77:49 - 77:51that will be with us for the rest of our days.
-
77:51 - 77:52None of those things are promised.
-
77:52 - 77:59In fact, what we are promised is "through much tribulation."
-
77:59 - 78:11And so, finding Christians that get lambasted
by temptations to distrust, or fear, -
78:11 - 78:18or be full of anxiety, or to be in despair, or to fall into depression,
-
78:18 - 78:21that ought not to surprise us.
-
78:21 - 78:25The issue is, what's the remedy?
-
78:25 - 78:30And Jesus gives us the remedy: Remember who your God is,
-
78:30 - 78:33and remember what He has promised.
-
78:33 - 78:36And you've got to set your mind.
-
78:36 - 78:49Listen, the thing to do is what we always are called to do when we are in sin.
-
78:49 - 78:52You are called to repent.
-
78:52 - 79:00Listen, the worst way forward is to say, "I'm having a panic attack.
-
79:00 - 79:02It's not my fault. I got an excuse.
-
79:02 - 79:06Other people just don't know, they don't know what I'm going through.
-
79:06 - 79:11If they knew, then they would excuse my sin
or they would excuse my conduct." -
79:11 - 79:12That's not the way out. (P)
-
79:12 - 79:17The thing to do is to look, and if we recognize, "Lord, it's true.
-
79:17 - 79:20I have not trusted You.
-
79:20 - 79:24I have thought of You as being way too small and my problems way too big.
-
79:24 - 79:26I haven't trusted You.
-
79:26 - 79:32I haven't been able to cast my cares upon You and leave them there."
-
79:32 - 79:34The best place is to admit it.
-
79:34 - 79:40The best place is to confess it and plead to the Lord for help,
-
79:40 - 79:45and seek to lay your faith into the promises; being honest.
-
79:45 - 79:50Being honest is by far the best way forward.
-
79:50 - 79:56Being dishonest, trying to ignore it or not take
responsibility for it [is not the way forward], -
79:56 - 80:08because anxiety and fears, worries,
despair, depression, they are our fault. -
80:08 - 80:15When Scripture is clearly calling us to not be that way, it's our fault.
-
80:15 - 80:19And the best thing to do is not to try to see the right doctor,
-
80:19 - 80:22who is going to convince us we're victims.
-
80:22 - 80:25The best thing to do is go to Scripture and recognize,
-
80:25 - 80:28Scripture is telling us very specifically [it's our fault]. (P)
-
80:28 - 80:31You get people who have panic attacks or something,
-
80:31 - 80:36and I recognize some well-meaning Christians could be very insensitive,
-
80:36 - 80:41and they come up to somebody and
they have no idea what these attacks are like, -
80:41 - 80:44or even maybe they doubt the legitimacy of them or whatever;
-
80:44 - 80:47and they're just saying, "It's just sin, you just need to repent."
-
80:47 - 80:50Well, okay, you could say it like that,
-
80:50 - 80:58and the person feels like, "That person didn't really help me."
-
80:58 - 81:09But the truth is that some people will feel like,
if you tell them it's their sin, -
81:09 - 81:13they'll tell you, "Well, that's not helpful."
-
81:13 - 81:20Well, that person may not feel that it's helpful
because they may not want to admit the truth. -
81:20 - 81:24But really, there's no wiggle room here.
-
81:24 - 81:31Scripture is pretty clear that anxiety and worries like this
-
81:31 - 81:38are just an indication of an ungodly fear,
-
81:38 - 81:43and they're an indication of being of little faith.
-
81:43 - 81:49And the remedy, O the remedy is to see how big God is,
-
81:49 - 81:54to see how faithful He is, to see how kind He is, how much He loves us.
-
81:54 - 81:58Listen, if you see God for who He is,
-
81:58 - 82:05you're not gonna be traumatized by worry and anxiety all the time,
-
82:05 - 82:07because He's good.
-
82:07 - 82:10He's good, and He's gonna do good.
-
82:10 - 82:18And the truth is, even if He takes your children, He's good.
-
82:18 - 82:21And you don't want to live in light of the what-ifs,
-
82:21 - 82:26because the truth is, the thing that most people worry about don't come to pass.
-
82:26 - 82:31And the thing is, if you worry that much about it,
it's probably an idol to you. -
82:31 - 82:35And God may decide to come take it away from you
-
82:35 - 82:41because He actually has promised to cleanse us from all of our idols.
-
82:41 - 82:46Look, when you worry about something so much
and you can't commit it to the Lord, -
82:46 - 82:53you can believe that there's some serious
idolatry happening there, as well as pride; -
82:53 - 82:57and it's unhealthy. (P)
-
82:57 - 83:00Panic attacks are real.
-
83:00 - 83:03Depression is real.
-
83:03 - 83:06Some people genetically are more given to it.
-
83:06 - 83:11And I would say this because sometimes you see it in whole family lines.
-
83:11 - 83:14I think of Brainerd.
-
83:14 - 83:19I think his brother, his father, it was there.
-
83:19 - 83:24People, for whatever reasons, can genetically be more inclined to certain things.
-
83:24 - 83:26That's a reality.
-
83:26 - 83:30There can be different factors. We don't downplay any of those.
-
83:30 - 83:33And until you've been in somebody else's place,
-
83:33 - 83:36you don't want to downplay the trial that they're facing,
-
83:36 - 83:41and you don't want to try to tell them
that these things are figments of their imagination. -
83:41 - 83:44I guarantee you, they are not.
-
83:44 - 83:46But what you can tell them and encourage them is:
-
83:46 - 83:49no matter how difficult the suffering is,
-
83:49 - 83:54no matter how intense the onslaught may be,
-
83:54 - 83:57no matter how demonic it may be,
-
83:57 - 84:03or whatever organic chemical realities may be
happening with your body that are contributing to this, -
84:03 - 84:09still sin is not a viable option.
-
84:09 - 84:11But trust in the Lord.
-
84:11 - 84:16No matter how intense the trial gets, trust the Lord.
-
84:16 - 84:19He always is going to give you a way out.
-
84:19 - 84:22Always, He is going to.
-
84:22 - 84:27Sin is never a 'must' option.
-
84:27 - 84:41And no matter the trial, we have to press people on
in the path of righteousness. -
84:41 - 84:44And God says, "I won't leave you."
-
84:44 - 84:49And even when Paul said, "Oh Lord, please take this away."
-
84:49 - 84:50"No, Paul."
-
84:50 - 84:51"Please."
-
84:51 - 84:52"No."
-
84:52 - 84:53"Please."
-
84:53 - 84:55"My grace is sufficient."
-
84:55 - 85:00That, we have to rest on. His grace is sufficient. (P)
-
85:00 - 85:04You see, the thing I was involved with, and some of you know this,
-
85:04 - 85:06but there was a time (you may think this is crazy,
-
85:06 - 85:10but I'll tell you this, when you're in the midst of it, it is not crazy).
-
85:10 - 85:13I had the biggest tree in my yard right out here in front.
-
85:13 - 85:22And I was sitting in my office one day,
and it came like a bolt of lightning: -
85:22 - 85:26"You need to cut that tree down, it's an idol to you."
-
85:26 - 85:37And, I mean, it might seem foolish but it was all-out hellish war.
-
85:37 - 85:46And I pleaded with the Lord; and in the end I was not at rest.
-
85:46 - 85:47I could not pray, I could not go into...
-
85:47 - 85:51I mean, it was turning me into a mess.
-
85:51 - 85:52And you might think, "Over that?"
-
85:52 - 85:55Well, I went out and I chopped that tree down.
-
85:55 - 86:02And I hoisted it up, and I said, "Lord,
no tree is gonna stand between You and me." (P) -
86:02 - 86:09Somebody at the Men's Retreat said, "Was that God or was that the devil?"
-
86:09 - 86:14And Charles answered for me, and he said "Yes" to both.
-
86:14 - 86:16And I think that's right.
-
86:16 - 86:24It's much like Job, where God is in control,
-
86:24 - 86:27but He allows the devil to do things.
-
86:27 - 86:28And He's in control.
-
86:28 - 86:32And I had to come to that: "Lord, I'm asking You to take this away -
-
86:32 - 86:35this battle, this fierce thing that's happening in my brain -
-
86:35 - 86:38I mean, I was in turmoil."
-
86:38 - 86:39He wouldn't take it away.
-
86:39 - 86:43And so I just had to conclude, God's not taking it away,
-
86:43 - 86:48so He wants me to give in to this.
-
86:50 - 86:54I don't know. But I'll tell you what, it was real.
-
86:54 - 87:01And there's been other seasons, not with trees,
but there's been other seasons very similar. -
87:01 - 87:06Total battles. These things are very real.
-
87:06 - 87:10And it's not been since I've been a pastor that I've actually had seasons
-
87:10 - 87:15where clouds, and it's like the temptation to depression.
-
87:15 - 87:25I mean, one of the elders up in Kirksville,
he was telling me about traveling overseas. -
87:25 - 87:28And he was traveling with a preacher.
-
87:28 - 87:38And they said they found that preacher curled up
in a fetal position in the corner of his hotel room. -
87:38 - 87:41These kind of battles are very real.
-
87:41 - 87:53Spurgeon would sit out back of his house there, and he'd just weep.
-
87:53 - 87:56These battles are very real. (P)
-
87:56 - 87:59Many of you know the story of William Cowper.
-
87:59 - 88:03I almost wouldn't recommend to people that are
having problems that they listen to it, -
88:03 - 88:08because I'm afraid it'd throw you even deeper into your problems.
-
88:08 - 88:12I've never found great amounts of encouragement,
-
88:12 - 88:18although he's written some glorious songs that we sing.
-
88:18 - 88:21These battles are very real and we don't want to minimize them,
-
88:21 - 88:24we don't want to tell people they're not experiencing them.
-
88:24 - 88:28But we do want to insist that the Bible has answers.
-
88:28 - 88:31And in the Scripture what we find is a knowledge of the true God.
-
88:31 - 88:39And it's Him and His promises that we've got to
seek to get people to latch on to. -
88:39 - 88:42And like I say, Scripture just doesn't give us a wiggle room on this.
-
88:42 - 88:46You will not find the passage that says anxiety...
-
88:46 - 88:54Listen, if it's concern, like Paul talks about the anxiety for the churches,
-
88:54 - 89:01where it's loving concern, that's another thing.
-
89:01 - 89:05I mean, where somebody is actually thinking and praying all the time
-
89:05 - 89:12about their children or about churches,
and they are concerned for the purity. -
89:12 - 89:22When the term 'anxiety' is used that way,
where a loving concern is involved, -
89:22 - 89:24that is obviously a good thing.
-
89:24 - 89:30Or where fear is used, like a genuine, good, healthy, godly fear of God,
-
89:30 - 89:33that's a good thing.
-
89:33 - 89:40When we're talking about the anxieties where we are fretting -
-
89:40 - 89:42the kind of fretting that doesn't do any good,
-
89:42 - 89:51the kind of fretting that is calling into question the very character of God -
-
89:51 - 89:55it's very unhealthy. (P)
-
89:56 - 90:02Well, any other comments on this? (P)
-
90:09 - 90:21[Sister] When does a concern turn into
an anxiety, and how do you test that? (P) -
90:21 - 90:32Well, I would say this, it would be when you're paralyzed or crippled
-
90:32 - 90:38from doing the things that you know God wants you to do.
-
90:38 - 90:50It would be when you're not able to commit those cares to God.
-
90:50 - 91:01It would be when you so fret over those things
and are not trusting the Lord, -
91:01 - 91:03because you're not taking Him at His word,
-
91:03 - 91:08or you're seeing Him as too small, or incompetent,
-
91:08 - 91:16or not trustworthy to take these concerns.
-
91:16 - 91:23I mean, if you have the kind of care or concern
that Paul had for the churches, -
91:23 - 91:30and it made you think about those churches all the time
-
91:30 - 91:33and pray about them all the time,
-
91:33 - 91:38but you were able in your prayers to commit them to the Lord,
-
91:38 - 91:48and then to come out of praying and be able to sing and rejoice in the Lord,
-
91:48 - 91:53I think that's probably a good indication.
-
91:53 - 92:03When you can couple a loving concern for others
with an ability to rejoice in the Lord and praise Him, -
92:03 - 92:13and see Him as big and sovereign and trustworthy,
you know you've got a healthy concern. -
92:13 - 92:21Because, typically, when a concern is sinful,
and it's anxiety, and it's full of fear, -
92:21 - 92:26it's gonna zap your joy, it's gonna zap your rejoicing in the Lord
-
92:26 - 92:29(you won't be able to sing, you won't be feeling full of praise)
-
92:29 - 92:33because you won't be seeing God big and trustworthy,
-
92:33 - 92:40you're gonna see your problems big and worry-worthy.
-
92:40 - 92:44I think that's a good test. (P)
-
92:45 - 92:48[Sister] So someone who is trusting in the Lord,
like you said, trusting in His character, -
92:48 - 92:53is not gonna look like somebody curled up into a little ball.
-
92:53 - 92:54Does that make sense?
-
92:54 - 93:01Like, somebody who is going through a big trial, practically speaking... (P)
-
93:01 - 93:05[Tim] Well, if you're curled up in a fetal position
and not wanting to get out of bed, -
93:05 - 93:11I mean, you're basically feeling like, "I can't do this."
-
93:11 - 93:21And the Lord is saying to us that:
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." -
93:21 - 93:24And even though that's speaking money-wise there,
-
93:24 - 93:31I think that's a reality obviously that applies to all of them.
-
93:31 - 93:35"Without Christ I can't do anything; and with Him I can do anything."
-
93:35 - 93:39And it's not trusting Him.
-
93:39 - 93:42Basically, why are you curled up that way and staying in bed?
-
93:42 - 93:45Well, it's because you feel overwhelmed
-
93:45 - 93:52by whatever problems or by whatever situation that you're up against.
-
93:52 - 93:58I mean, you're basically being crippled and not rising up out of bed,
-
93:58 - 94:03and going forth with your life to do the things that God calls you to do,
-
94:03 - 94:07because you're just feeling overwhelmed,
you're feeling like, "I can't do this." -
94:07 - 94:13And whenever a Christian gets to the place
where they just say, "I can't do it," -
94:13 - 94:21that really is making a statement about God,
who says, "With My help you can." (P) -
94:23 - 94:28So, I mean, we have to be very careful.
-
94:28 - 94:31When we say, "I can't do it,"
-
94:31 - 94:36and God is saying, "I am the God of the impossible."
-
94:36 - 94:40When God is saying He is able to do exceedingly
abundantly beyond what we ask or think; -
94:40 - 94:48when God is presenting Himself as Big, and Able,
-
94:48 - 94:54and with us, and not going to forsake us...
-
94:54 - 94:58You see, here's the thing: When we live like the world,
-
94:58 - 95:01you see, this is what the Gentiles do:
-
95:01 - 95:05When we basically live our life no different than the Gentiles,
-
95:05 - 95:09basically what we're saying is,
"Our God is no different from their god." -
95:09 - 95:10That's really what we're saying.
-
95:10 - 95:14If we're gonna say we're Christians and we've got the true and living God with us;
-
95:14 - 95:18you see, this is the problem: When Israel would act like the other nations,
-
95:18 - 95:22sometimes the prophets would come to them
and say, "Is there no God in Israel?" -
95:22 - 95:25I mean, you're doing this, you're doing this, you're doing this -
-
95:25 - 95:29you're hiring out foreign militias;
-
95:29 - 95:36you're seeking other gods, or you're seeking witches, or you're seeking...
-
95:36 - 95:42I mean, these guys would do different things,
and it's like they're acting just like the nations. -
95:42 - 95:47That's what we don't want to do.
-
95:47 - 95:51I mean, Jesus is like, "Okay, all your worrying doesn't do any good.
-
95:51 - 95:54And when you act like that, when you fret over those things,
-
95:54 - 95:56you're acting just like the Gentiles do." (P)
-
95:56 - 96:02Well, again, I don't have any problem with a lost person
curling up in a little ball and staying in bed, -
96:02 - 96:07because I recognize they are up against overwhelming
realities and they have nobody for them. -
96:07 - 96:10God isn't for them, God isn't with them, God isn't helping them.
-
96:10 - 96:13God has made no promise to them other than destruction,
-
96:13 - 96:16because they're in rebellion against His Son.
-
96:16 - 96:19And so I recognize, yes, curl up.
-
96:19 - 96:22I mean, isn't this what Paul says,
"Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." -
96:22 - 96:25Or, "Roll up and stay in your bed, for tomorrow we die."
-
96:25 - 96:27I mean, it's no different.
-
96:27 - 96:30What's the difference? Do one or the other, you're gonna die.
-
96:30 - 96:34But when we've got God as our God and we curl up in a little ball...
-
96:34 - 96:41look, I'm not gonna say Satan can't throw some fierce fiery darts at us
-
96:41 - 96:45that can knock us to the ground and put a guy
over there in the corner curled up in a little ball. -
96:45 - 96:50I suspect that that very man, by the very next day,
was not curled up in a little ball. -
96:50 - 96:51He was probably standing in a pulpit,
-
96:51 - 96:55and people were being wonderfully converted under his preaching.
-
96:55 - 97:01It just happened to be he was under an attack like that right at the moment. (P)
-
97:01 - 97:05I mean, there was another time he was
walking up some stairs, and he just collapsed. -
97:05 - 97:09And some of the spiritual battles and warfare that come upon us...
-
97:09 - 97:14and look, I'm not saying that any of us are even
gonna weather these kind of attacks perfectly. -
97:14 - 97:16We're still in transition.
-
97:16 - 97:17We're still works-in-progress.
-
97:17 - 97:20We're still being sanctified.
-
97:20 - 97:26We see the example of Jesus, who, through all of
His sufferings, He was learning obedience; -
97:26 - 97:28and he did that perfect.
-
97:28 - 97:30Well, we're supposed to be imitating that,
-
97:30 - 97:34but of course, there's still imperfections hanging on to us.
-
97:34 - 97:35I recognize that.
-
97:35 - 97:40We're gonna have our times of failure
and we're gonna have our times of falling, -
97:40 - 97:41but we have to come back.
-
97:41 - 97:47The way you fight through these things is setting the mind.
-
97:47 - 97:53It can become so much a matter of, you've got to start with that confidence
-
97:53 - 97:55that the answers are in here (the Bible).
-
97:55 - 97:58And Lord, I'm gonna go in your Word.
-
97:58 - 97:59I've been there before.
-
97:59 - 98:02In some of the battles that I faced in the Christian life,
-
98:02 - 98:06it's been, "Lord, I just need a word.
-
98:06 - 98:09I don't need a lot of words, I don't need ten words.
-
98:09 - 98:12I need one promise. I need you to give me something."
-
98:12 - 98:16And He has. He's been faithful. (P)
-
98:16 - 98:19It's just something you can, whatever you're being faced with,
-
98:19 - 98:23something you can just lay hold of, that gives you
some solidity to your situation. -
98:23 - 98:26It puts some foundation under you.
-
98:26 - 98:27Something that gets you through.
-
98:27 - 98:32Something that, no matter how quick those fiery darts are coming,
-
98:32 - 98:35what do you raise up? The shield of faith -
-
98:35 - 98:37faith in that word, faith in those promises,
-
98:37 - 98:42faith in the character of God, faith in His faithfulness - you raise up.
-
98:42 - 98:44That's how we defend ourselves.
-
98:44 - 98:50And those darts can come in hailstorms,
and sometimes the mind is just totally... -
98:50 - 98:52I mean, you can't hardly think straight.
-
98:52 - 98:55There's just a barrage, and there's confusion.
-
98:55 - 99:00But if, in that confusion and darkness, you can see that one bit of light
-
99:00 - 99:03where you can reach out and lay hold of that one promise,
-
99:03 - 99:08and hang on to it like Jacob hung on to that angel (tried to buck him off);
-
99:08 - 99:15and you're just gonna hang on to that truth
no matter what storms come against you. -
99:15 - 99:18I mean, this is fighting the good fight of faith.
-
99:18 - 99:20And it's a fight.
-
99:20 - 99:23Listen, God would not have called it that unless it was truly a fight.
-
99:23 - 99:26Hanging on to Christ, and hanging on to His promises,
-
99:26 - 99:28and hanging on to the Word of God.
-
99:28 - 99:34Satan... it's almost like, could God have taken Satan out at the beginning?
-
99:34 - 99:37He could have. Why is he here?
-
99:37 - 99:43The devil is God's devil, and he is here to accomplish God's purposes.
-
99:43 - 99:48And I have to believe that one of the
primary purposes that the devil has, -
99:48 - 99:59is that God is using the devil to make us stronger and to test our faith. (P)
-
99:59 - 100:02I mean, you think about Paul.
-
100:02 - 100:06This messenger of Satan, what did it do for Paul?
-
100:06 - 100:09It destroyed his pride.
-
100:09 - 100:16When you come against onslaughts that want to
send you into anxiety attacks and whatever, -
100:16 - 100:20if anything, you're made very aware of your weakness.
-
100:20 - 100:30And Paul said, "I'll boast in this, because when I'm weak He's strong."
-
100:30 - 100:33See, there was the confidence.
-
100:33 - 100:38He can be tore apart in these things and he can be a weakling;
-
100:38 - 100:41and he can plead and pray, and God didn't take it away;
-
100:41 - 100:43and yet he could still boast in it,
-
100:43 - 100:47because he could still see the strength of Christ working through his life.
-
100:47 - 100:52That's really where we want to get in the midst of these things.
-
100:52 - 100:57And you can pray, "Lord, please take this away,
take this depression away, take these factors. -
100:57 - 101:01Lord, I'm trying to cling to promises,
I'm looking at your character. I believe..." -
101:01 - 101:06But you're feeling this barrage.
-
101:06 - 101:12And look, undoubtedly, some people, that may be where the battle is.
-
101:12 - 101:16Every day they get out of bed,
they have to fight that battle all over again. (P) -
101:16 - 101:19I mean, I heard John Piper say one time,
-
101:19 - 101:22he basically has to get saved every day all over again.
-
101:22 - 101:25You have to understand what he means by that.
-
101:25 - 101:29Basically, he said, every morning when he rose up,
-
101:29 - 101:34he needed to lock on to gospel promises all over again. Every day.
-
101:34 - 101:37Because the battle was gonna be real, it was gonna be intense,
-
101:37 - 101:39and his faith was being tested.
-
101:39 - 101:42And so, he just felt like every day he had to be saved all over,
-
101:42 - 101:46just latching back on to the promises of the gospel.
-
101:46 - 101:48If you're given to anxieties,
-
101:48 - 101:53I mean, look, there may be some seasons
where God gives you a little bit of respite, -
101:53 - 101:57because He's merciful that way. He'll give us some seasons.
-
101:57 - 102:03But often, we start having little seasons of vacation
from the things that we were dealing with, -
102:03 - 102:06and we're feeling like, "Oh, well maybe they're gone for good."
-
102:06 - 102:10Well, it just was a little vacation the Lord gave us to rest,
-
102:10 - 102:12but here it comes again.
-
102:12 - 102:18And, oftentimes, the things that we're susceptible to,
we're susceptible to, our whole Christian life. (P) -
102:18 - 102:21Sometimes there's seasons where we go through certain things,
-
102:21 - 102:23and we come out, and we never go through that again.
-
102:23 - 102:27But, oftentimes, the places we're most vulnerable,
-
102:27 - 102:32and where Satan seeks to attack - he feels our weaknesses out.
-
102:32 - 102:34And if you have an inclination towards anxiety,
-
102:34 - 102:40don't be surprised if he attacks you right there
the whole rest of your life. -
102:40 - 102:43If you have a disposition towards depression,
-
102:43 - 102:48don't be surprised if he doesn't attack you
right there for the rest of your life. -
102:48 - 102:51Look, through much tribulation.
-
102:51 - 102:58Every one of us are fighting some battles sometimes,
many times, many ways, many places, -
102:58 - 103:03as we're striving to reach the end here and endure to the end.
-
103:03 - 103:07And some people, it's in this category.
-
103:07 - 103:11And some, not so much, but it's other things. (P)
-
103:11 - 103:18[Brother] You said that pastor, they went over there
curled up in a fetal position, you know, -
103:18 - 103:19and then he went the next day in a pulpit.
-
103:19 - 103:22I'm sure he preached a good sermon. (P)
-
103:22 - 103:26[Tim] Well, this guy was a missionary, and he was out on the front lines. (P)
-
103:26 - 103:28[James] It wasn't anxiety he had then... (P)
-
103:28 - 103:35[Tim] No, I would not say that was necessarily anxiety.
-
103:35 - 103:45I mean, it may have to do with some kind of
feeling deep darkness or depression on the soul. -
103:45 - 103:49I would just say this, that as far as dealing with it,
-
103:49 - 103:54you basically want to find out, What are people afraid of?
-
103:54 - 103:55I mean, that would be the first place.
-
103:55 - 103:58You want to work backwards through the situation.
-
103:58 - 104:00Talk to people.
-
104:00 - 104:03The way to deal with it, and everybody's gonna be different;
-
104:03 - 104:08so when you find somebody that's struggling,
you want to find out, What is it they fear? -
104:08 - 104:10What is creating the anxiety?
-
104:10 - 104:18And then try to work back from that, in the sense of trying to pinpoint
-
104:18 - 104:22what is it that that anxiety or that fear,
-
104:22 - 104:26where is it that they're not trusting God or seeing God for who He is?
-
104:26 - 104:30And try to really pinpoint that. (P)
-
104:30 - 104:35Well, let's pray.
-
104:38 - 104:52Father, I know that we all think too smally,
too little, too small of thought. -
104:52 - 105:02None of us have rightly estimated Your power,
Your glory, Your love for us. -
105:02 - 105:05Scripture says You care for us.
-
105:05 - 105:17Lord, I know we have not rightly estimated the care that You have for us.
-
105:17 - 105:22Lord, we have not rightly estimated just how much unbelief we have,
-
105:22 - 105:27how much little faith.
-
105:27 - 105:32But we get a little bit of a feel, maybe a lot of feel, from our Lord's words,
-
105:32 - 105:35that You are to be trusted.
-
105:35 - 105:38And if You do what You do for the flowers,
and You do what You do for the birds, -
105:38 - 105:43and if we're of much more value to You than they are,
-
105:43 - 105:45how much more will You take care of us.
-
105:45 - 105:48And You know our needs before we ask for them.
-
105:48 - 105:49We don't want to be like the Gentiles.
-
105:49 - 105:56Help us to not be like them, who fret and worry,
and are concerned and paralyzed, -
105:56 - 105:58who are without hope.
-
105:58 - 106:02We don't want to live like those without hope.
-
106:02 - 106:06We don't want to live like those who are perishing,
-
106:06 - 106:09but like those who have a Savior, those who have a future,
-
106:09 - 106:14those who have the true and the living God as our God.
-
106:14 - 106:16You are our God.
-
106:16 - 106:19Lord, help us, increase our faith.
-
106:19 - 106:21We don't want to be of little faith.
-
106:21 - 106:23We don't want to be full of anxieties.
-
106:23 - 106:29Lord, give us grace to cast all our cares upon You.
-
106:29 - 106:33We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.
- Title:
- Christians Dealing With Panic Attacks and Anxiety - Ask Pastor Tim
- Description:
-
How should Christians deal with panic attacks and anxiety? Does the Bible have anything to say about these issues? More than that, is the Bible sufficient for us to deal with these?
�MP3: https://illbehonest.com/download/fullsermons/christians-dealing-with-panic-attacks-and-anxiety-tim-conway.mp3
→ View on I'll Be Honest: https://illbehonest.com/christians-dealing-with-panic-attacks-and-anxiety
→ View more resources on the topic of anxiety: https://illbehonest.com/topic/anxiety-worry
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 01:53:10
Michael Okiei edited English subtitles for Christians Dealing With Panic Attacks and Anxiety - Ask Pastor Tim |