WEBVTT

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Okay, so I announced on Sunday that I hoped to
deal with panic attacks, or anxiety attacks.

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There are definite similarities between panic and anxiety, and depression.

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Lots of connections.

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Look, I don't know all the lingo,

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I don't stay up with all the current [research].

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Kenny actually said that he's got a 3-hour
lecture that he's got to sit through tomorrow.

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Where are you brother? What's the actual title of the class?

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"It's Advanced Mental Health."

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And you're going to hear three hours on what topic?

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"Mood Disorders and Anxiety."

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So he's going to go hear the secular take on all this tomorrow.

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And so we're going to try to give a Christian and a scriptural take on it tonight;

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maybe Kenny can come back next week and tell us how different

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the medical world and the psychiatric world approaches these things. (P)

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Now, Anxiety, Panic.

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I can tell you right off that obviously I am limited in experiences.

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I certainly am not a professional in dealing with these things.

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I am not an authority.

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Obviously there is a lot more that could be said,

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but as with everything, my authority to teach
doesn't come from the latest psychiatric journals.

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The guy that's going to lecture to Kenny tomorrow,

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where does he get what he is going to say?

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Well, he is going to get it probably from the latest authorities.

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Basically, I'm going to go back to the same thing
that Christians have been going back to for 2,000 years.

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I am under a mandate - not to preach the latest medical journals -

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I am under a mandate to preach the Word of God.

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Look, I think one of the questions you have to ask

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if you are experiencing anxiety, anxiety attacks, panic attacks;

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one of the questions that you have to settle is this:

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"Is Scripture sufficient to help you deal with the problem or isn't it?"

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That really has to be answered right from the beginning. (P)

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Is Scripture sufficient to handle panic attacks in Christians?

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And I emphasize the "in Christians", because listen,

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I am not going to speak (I mean, very little)
on panic and anxiety in unsaved people.

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That is not what I'm here to deal with.

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Undoubtedly, when Kenny sits through his 3-hour lecture tomorrow,

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they're not even going to come at it
from any kind of Christian standpoint.

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They don't care if people are Christians or not.

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They're just looking for people with panic attacks.

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They're looking for anxiety.

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They want to give names and categories to everything,

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and they want to figure out, and they want to diagnose,
and they want to give it a name.

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And then they want to medicate it by that name:

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"What's the latest medications that go along with
treating that certain syndrome or that disease?"

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They want to tag everything.

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Craig was telling me right now that pedophilia is now a disease.

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And, undoubtedly, as soon as something is diagnosed as a disease,

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then it's treated not as though it's your fault;

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now you're a victim, and on and on it goes.

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So, as we're getting started, let's pray. (P)

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Father, I ask You to help us and guide us.

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I know this is a sensitive issue. I know that it's a real issue.

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And I pray, Father, that You would allow

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that the words that would be said here 
in this place tonight would be helpful.

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We want it to align with your Word, we want it to be pleasing to You.

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I pray all this in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. (P)

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Okay, if you have your Bibles you can open them up to Matthew 6.

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Again, I am not even trying to make it a point to know all the lingo,

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but I'm assuming that what used to be known as a Nervous Breakdown

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is actually what today is called an Anxiety Attack or a Panic Attack.

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I'm just making that assumption.

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I don't hear that word used much anymore,

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but I'm assuming that it's probably the same thing.

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When we're talking about depression, anxiety,
something that's very interesting is,

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often the same drugs medically are used if
people have depression or if they have anxiety.

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So, obviously, the doctors are treating them the same way.

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Are there relationships? I think there are;

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although, obviously, anxiety is not exactly the
same as being depressed or being in despair.

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They may be linked, and I think there's lots of parallels.

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And I think dealing with them, the remedy,
is very much to be found in the same place.

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So whether it's a nervous breakdown...

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I would even bring various mental disorders into this. (P)

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But panic attacks: what are we talking?

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How many here have experienced any thing 
that you would call an anxiety attack,

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a panic attack, depression?

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[Pause].

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What happened to Kath?

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[Audience]: Sitting on the floor.

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[Tim]: Oh okay, I just didn't see the hand.

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Okay, so a fair number of people here.

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Look, there can be circumstances, there can be reasons,

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there can be things happening in your life that contribute to this.

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I want to come back to this again:

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listen, I want to deal tonight with Christians.

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I'm not talking about somebody that said a prayer
and they're saying they're saved,

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and there's no real indications.

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Look, if you don't know the Lord, you've got every reason to be depressed,

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in despair, and panicking; because your situation is really bad,

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because hell is real, and God's wrath is real, and your time is short.

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And so, what we're dealing with is Christians.

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You see, that is so important, because
as soon as you're dealing with a Christian,

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you're now dealing with a category of people, 
that, when the truth is known,

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they don't really have a reason to be depressed,
no matter what the circumstance is.

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They don't have a reason to be panicked or anxiety-filled

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when the truth about their condition is known. (P)

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The truth – haven't we heard this, don't we hear this –

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the truth shall set you free.

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Now you can examine that and say,
"Well, what's the context and what does He mean there?

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Set us free, how?"

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But I can tell you this, 
He doesn't give us a lot of exact particulars there.

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But it sets free. The truth sets you free.

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And what does it set you free from?

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Well, the truth sets us free from all sorts of slaveries and bondages.

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It sets us free from all manner of things.

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And one of the things that it certainly sets us free from is hopelessness.

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It sets us free from having to be filled with the anxiety

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over the things that the world is full of anxiety over.

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You see, the thing is, that as soon as we're dealing with a Christian

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and we talk about any fears or anxieties that that person has,

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they're unfounded. Underline that. Unfounded.

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You see, when I talk about unfounded fears,
that's such an important connection.

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People's fears and anxieties are very founded when they're lost.

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But if they're not lost, if a person is saved,
all their anxieties are unfounded.

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That doesn't mean that there aren't scary things out there;

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but your fear of them is unfounded. (P)

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You think about it, somebody can kill your body –

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I mean, think about the scariest guy 
that might torture you for a long time –

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and yet doesn't Jesus say your fear of him is unfounded,

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because after he kills your body there's nothing more he can do.

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In fact, He says, "Don't fear him."

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You see, the reality is, the scariest things in this world,

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your fear of it is unfounded. Why?

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"He that is with us is greater than he that is in the world."

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Even if the devil himself is standing outside the doorway of your bedroom;

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and even though that, in and of itself, is kind of a scary scenario,

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He that's with you inside the bedroom is greater
than he that's standing at the door.

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You see, your fears are unfounded.

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He even said, "I'll never leave you or forsake you." Didn't He say that?

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You see, the truth sets us free from these things. (P)

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So, unfounded.

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Panic attacks, anxiety attacks,

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or even depression, which is a little bit different,

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they're based on unfounded factors, unfounded fears.

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But they are fears and anxieties nevertheless.

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The person is gripped by them.

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Even though the reasons are unfounded,
they grip the person, they affect the person.

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And how do they affect the person?

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Well, sometimes people hyperventilate,

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sometimes the heart palpitates,

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sometimes they break out into a cold sweat –

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they're seized, they're gripped by a fear that sometimes is paralyzing.

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I know a pastor friend that was telling me
that years ago when he was younger,

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he could barely go to the post office and just deliver mail or whatever.

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Sometimes it's a real panic of going out into public, being exposed to people,

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because that all the more compounds it,

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because you're in the midst of people and it's embarrassing,

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and that tends to make you panic all the more.

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And so, crowds often set these things off.

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But what happens is, basically, whether we're talking about depression,

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whether we're talking about these anxiety attacks,

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it presses the person to the point where they
feel like they just cannot cope with that moment,

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like they just gotta get out of there.

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They're unable to deal with what's happening. (P)

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And I do think it's interesting, I was just trying to think through Scripture.

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Do we have any examples in Scripture of people who...

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you know, sometimes you hear in Scripture the idea of people trembling.

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But let me ask you, how often in your life have you ever really got to the point

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where you were so affected by something that you literally trembled?

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Or that your legs almost gave out?

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Or that your mouth got so dry that you couldn't talk,

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you thought your legs might not hold you,

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or you began to break out and perspire and literally tremble?

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I mean, I think that it's not real common.

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In fact, some people probably feel like...

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maybe I'm not exactly certain what that is.

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But just going through Scripture, you don't have to turn to these,

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I want you just to sit there in Matthew 6. (P)

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Job, in Job 3:26, he says, "I'm not at ease, nor am I quiet;

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I have no rest, but trouble comes."

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And obviously, those troubles were real.

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The devil was bringing real troubles in his life.

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He's a man that is just not at rest.

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He was definitely a man that was in turmoil.

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He was a man that said, the things that he feared they came upon him.

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Now we might look at that and say, "Well, is that an unfounded fear?

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The things that came upon him were real."

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Well, again, I would say if a person knows the Lord...

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and see, you know the rest of the story.

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In fact, that's one of the problems.

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One of the problems is, we don't know the rest of the story.

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And so we become gripped by fear over things
because we're deathly afraid of what might happen.

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It's nice when you know the end of the story.

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You see, if we could just see ourselves there before the Lord,

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and every tear wiped away, and full of eternal joy...

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But you see, the thing is, we can see that by faith,
even if we can't see it with the literal eye.

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And that's the issue.

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This battle really becomes a battle between fear and faith, back and forth. (P)

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Eliphaz - this is one of job's friends - he said this:

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"Amid thoughts from visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on men,

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dread came upon me, and trembling, which made all my bones shake."

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Now this seems like he might have had a demonic experience.

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And you know what?

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That may be one of the very real factors involved in
depression or involved in anxiety attacks.

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The devil is real.

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We're just playing around right here at the tip of the iceberg. (P)

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Listen to this in Psalm 53:5,

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"There they are, in great terror - this is interesting - where there is no terror."

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Scripture describes that kind of situation.

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"There they are, in great terror, where there is no terror."

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Or you have a proverb that's similar:
"The wicked flee when no one pursues." (Prov. 28:1).

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People are afraid.

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I know that's speaking specifically about a wicked person, not about a Christian.

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But the reality is, Scripture talks about
people who are afraid when no one is there;

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people who are running when no one is pursuing;

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people who are in great terror when there's no terror.

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Or you have the psalmist, David

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(James touched on this several weeks back)

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in Psalm 55, "Fear and trembling come upon me, 
and horror overwhelms me."

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You get this reality in Scripture.

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Are these guys just being hyperbolic? Is this hyperbole?

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Are they just exaggerating when they talk about trembling?

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I don't think so. And there's no reason to believe that.

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"Fear and trembling [come upon me], and horror overwhelms me."

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I don't think they're just exaggerating.

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Paul says, "I was with you in weakness 
and in fear and much trembling."

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Think about that, the apostle Paul.

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I mean, there's a man of faith, and yet he's in much trembling?

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I mean, he was put through circumstances that pushed him.

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Undoubtedly, of all the people on the face of the earth,

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you've got to know that the devil was probably really targeting Paul.

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Trembling. (P)

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Now here's something that I think if you just think about;

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and I've got numerous verses here that I think touch on this;

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but think with me here.

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If you fall into depression, or have a nervous breakdown,

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or have an anxiety attack, whatever your condition,

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(and I recognize, everybody may be different),

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one of the things is this:

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In the little bit of time that we have here,
we obviously can't deal with every single scenario.

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The truth is, every situation has to be taken separately,

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but there's some general things that are true all the way around.

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Think with me here.

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When a person goes through these kind of ordeals,
sometimes there's physical aspects to it.

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There's something organic, or chemical, sometimes.

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But any time, every time, all the time, when people
go through situations like this, it's spiritual. (P)

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Now follow that.

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Physical things may play in sometimes,
but spiritual things come into play all the time.

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You can't get away from it.

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If you're dealing with fears, if you're dealing with anxieties,

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you're dealing with the mind, you're dealing with thinking,

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you're in the realm of the spiritual.

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If you're suffering depression or anxiety,

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it has to do with the soul or with the spirit of man,
with the mind of man, every single time.

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You can't get away from that reality.

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Why is that important?

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Because that means that every single time we're dealing with this,

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even if it is a thyroid gland, or postpartum depression;

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even if it is a chemical imbalance;

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even if mental - you've got some kind of
brain damage and it's coming into play in this -

00:20:39.096 --> 00:20:48.690
even if that's the fact, even if there is some identifiable physical factor;

00:20:48.690 --> 00:20:54.440
every situation, whether it's physical or not, is a spiritual event.

00:20:54.440 --> 00:21:01.008
And that means that there is a place in every single situation

00:21:01.008 --> 00:21:05.991
for the Word of God to be applied to the soul of that person.

00:21:05.991 --> 00:21:07.525
That's critical.

00:21:07.525 --> 00:21:12.368
And you know, we have to come to this conclusion like I said before:

00:21:12.368 --> 00:21:19.507
either Scripture is sufficient, or it's not.

00:21:19.507 --> 00:21:22.327
Because if you say, "Look, I've gone to Scripture,

00:21:22.327 --> 00:21:25.927
and I've got a form of anxiety that is not addressed there,

00:21:25.927 --> 00:21:28.647
and there's no answer to it there,"

00:21:28.647 --> 00:21:32.986
then I would say you're an unbeliever,

00:21:32.985 --> 00:21:38.572
because a believer is going to find something from God's Word.

00:21:38.573 --> 00:21:41.174
And I have that based on the authority of God's Word. (P)

00:21:41.174 --> 00:21:48.012
Just think about this. I'm going to go back to, 
"Every situation is a spiritual situation."

00:21:48.013 --> 00:21:51.191
Just think of this, Proverbs 4:23;

00:21:51.191 --> 00:21:56.640
these are off-handed verses, but just see how they collectively build together:

00:21:56.640 --> 00:22:01.442
"Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life."

00:22:01.442 --> 00:22:07.169
Everything in your life flows out of - what does it say? - the heart.

00:22:07.169 --> 00:22:09.803
As soon as we are talking about the heart or the mind,

00:22:09.803 --> 00:22:15.389
we're talking about spiritual issues, issues that have to do with the spirit.

00:22:15.389 --> 00:22:21.379
I mean, when you talk about cleansing yourself
from every defilement of body and spirit,

00:22:21.379 --> 00:22:25.317
well, where is that? where are the defilements of the spirit?

00:22:25.318 --> 00:22:32.598
The spirit is the inanimate part of man, right? The thinking part.

00:22:32.598 --> 00:22:35.503
It's not necessarily a specific organ that you can find;

00:22:35.502 --> 00:22:37.061
the heart of the man.

00:22:37.062 --> 00:22:41.163
And we can say this: from the heart flow the springs of life.

00:22:41.163 --> 00:22:44.267
Everything. Everything is flowing out of there. (P)

00:22:44.267 --> 00:22:50.722
Or I just think of this: "Do all things without grumbling or disputing."

00:22:50.721 --> 00:22:52.583
Now just think about that.

00:22:52.584 --> 00:23:03.382
Every single thing that you do, is something that has a spring or an association

00:23:03.382 --> 00:23:09.778
with that part of you that grumbles, or complains, or disputes.

00:23:09.778 --> 00:23:15.533
1 Corinthians 2:15, "The spiritual person judges all things."

00:23:15.533 --> 00:23:18.807
The spiritual person judges all things.

00:23:18.807 --> 00:23:22.859
And I'm just saying, everything has a spiritual angle.

00:23:22.859 --> 00:23:27.187
We know that for those who love God, all things work together.

00:23:27.187 --> 00:23:34.992
You see, every single aspect of the life of the Christian is a spiritual aspect.

00:23:34.992 --> 00:23:39.332
It's a spiritual reality. It has spiritual implications.

00:23:39.332 --> 00:23:42.248
It comes back to faith, it comes back to thinking,

00:23:42.248 --> 00:23:46.261
it comes back to the mind, it comes back to the heart of man.

00:23:46.261 --> 00:23:48.213
Everything. (P)

00:23:48.213 --> 00:23:52.246
I Corinthians 4:5, "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time,

00:23:52.246 --> 00:23:55.723
before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness

00:23:55.723 --> 00:23:57.839
and will disclose the purposes of the heart."

00:23:57.839 --> 00:24:01.103
I'm just thinking about Judgment Day. What happens on Judgment Day?

00:24:01.103 --> 00:24:03.604
Every purpose of your heart is disclosed.

00:24:03.603 --> 00:24:06.448
Every purpose; everything that you do; everything you think;

00:24:06.449 --> 00:24:08.548
everything that you apply your will to;

00:24:08.547 --> 00:24:12.388
everything with purpose is going to come under the examination of God.

00:24:12.389 --> 00:24:14.933
What category does that put everything in?

00:24:14.933 --> 00:24:17.120
It puts it in the spiritual category.

00:24:17.120 --> 00:24:22.236
This is my point: You may have physical aspects;

00:24:22.236 --> 00:24:27.250
I think when you have somebody that's
experiencing depression or panic attacks,

00:24:27.251 --> 00:24:29.811
should you look there? Yes.

00:24:29.811 --> 00:24:34.660
Is there maybe even a place to visit a doctor? Yeah.

00:24:34.660 --> 00:24:39.222
There can be physical aspects undoubtedly.

00:24:39.222 --> 00:24:45.511
You may find that something is physically wrong with the person.

00:24:45.511 --> 00:24:49.581
You may find that something is wrong with their sleep pattern,

00:24:49.581 --> 00:24:51.576
something is wrong with their eating;

00:24:51.576 --> 00:24:54.132
something is wrong somewhere.

00:24:54.133 --> 00:24:57.102
That can be very real. But you know what?

00:24:57.102 --> 00:25:02.215
There are times when there doesn't need to be anything physical,

00:25:02.215 --> 00:25:04.703
but it's still spiritual. Everything is spiritual.

00:25:04.703 --> 00:25:06.432
Everything comes back to that.

00:25:06.432 --> 00:25:12.673
And if it comes back to that, then we need to recognize this:

00:25:12.673 --> 00:25:17.242
Scripture has something to say to it. (P)

00:25:17.242 --> 00:25:21.058
Listen to 2 Peter: "May grace and peace be multiplied to you

00:25:21.058 --> 00:25:24.453
in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

00:25:24.453 --> 00:25:33.494
His divine power has granted to us ALL things
that pertain to life and godliness,

00:25:33.495 --> 00:25:35.414
through the knowledge of Him."

00:25:35.415 --> 00:25:37.468
And where does that knowledge come from?

00:25:37.468 --> 00:25:39.184
There's only one place - Scripture.

00:25:39.185 --> 00:25:45.613
You know 2 Timothy 3, it gives us this reality that

00:25:45.613 --> 00:25:48.320
"all scripture is breathed out by God, profitable for teaching,

00:25:48.321 --> 00:25:50.770
reproof, correction, training in righteousness;

00:25:50.770 --> 00:25:55.469
that the man of God may be complete (or the woman of God complete)

00:25:55.469 --> 00:25:57.113
equipped for every good work."

00:25:57.113 --> 00:26:00.511
Scripture does that. Scripture has an answer.

00:26:00.511 --> 00:26:05.226
"How can a young man keep his way pure (or a young woman)?"

00:26:05.226 --> 00:26:09.734
Whether you have panic attacks or not, 
how can you keep your way pure?

00:26:09.734 --> 00:26:13.512
"By guarding it according to Your Word." (Psalm 119:9). (P)

00:26:13.512 --> 00:26:20.773
Or, "The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul."

00:26:20.773 --> 00:26:26.051
It's perfect, it's complete, for reviving the soul.

00:26:26.051 --> 00:26:33.085
This is critical, because if you get to the place
where it's like, "Nah, Scripture doesn't answer,"

00:26:33.085 --> 00:26:35.217
then you know where you're gonna go?

00:26:35.217 --> 00:26:39.092
You're gonna go to men's opinions. That's where you're gonna go.

00:26:39.092 --> 00:26:44.993
And men are idiots without the help of God.

00:26:44.993 --> 00:26:48.938
Oh they can tell you how far away certain galaxies are,

00:26:48.938 --> 00:26:53.648
but then they believe it came from a Big Bang,
and they wipe God out of the equation altogether.

00:26:53.648 --> 00:26:56.283
And listen, I'm not the one who made that up.

00:26:56.283 --> 00:27:01.399
God says, "Wanting to be wise, they became fools." (Rom. 1:22).

00:27:01.400 --> 00:27:06.775
And if you want to listen to men,
you're gonna end up with the opinion of fools.

00:27:06.775 --> 00:27:08.754
The doctors are fools.

00:27:08.754 --> 00:27:11.833
All you have to do is look at the history.

00:27:11.833 --> 00:27:14.589
Look at what the doctors were saying ten years ago:

00:27:14.589 --> 00:27:16.917
it's entirely different than what they're saying now.

00:27:16.917 --> 00:27:19.135
They change their minds all the time.

00:27:19.135 --> 00:27:20.490
They don't have answers.

00:27:20.490 --> 00:27:24.847
They want to take things that are sin and they want to make them diseases,

00:27:24.848 --> 00:27:28.947
because they're lost, and because they're in the power of the evil one,

00:27:28.947 --> 00:27:32.030
and the evil one wants to destroy people.

00:27:32.029 --> 00:27:34.640
He is the father of lies.

00:27:34.641 --> 00:27:39.798
He doesn't want people to recognize
that they are guilty sinners before a holy God,

00:27:39.798 --> 00:27:42.885
and to repent, and to seek salvation in Christ.

00:27:42.885 --> 00:27:46.599
He wants people to think that they can figure it all out on their own,

00:27:46.599 --> 00:27:49.487
and they don't need God, and they don't need His Truth,

00:27:49.487 --> 00:27:53.424
and they don't need His Word, and they can
figure it out, and they're wise enough;

00:27:53.424 --> 00:27:56.872
and they want to put their confidence in the arm of the flesh.

00:27:56.872 --> 00:27:58.493
And that's just the reality. (P)

00:27:58.493 --> 00:28:04.262
And if you think there's no answer in Scripture... see, I don't think that.

00:28:04.262 --> 00:28:13.620
What I think is, that every single spiritual problem
that man can ever have is addressed in the Word of God.

00:28:13.620 --> 00:28:15.685
I believe that.

00:28:15.685 --> 00:28:22.029
And if you don't believe that, you're gonna end up in big trouble.

00:28:22.029 --> 00:28:24.401
This is the only safe place.

00:28:24.401 --> 00:28:27.632
And you have to ask this. Everybody has to ask this.

00:28:27.632 --> 00:28:35.429
Now look, I would not say that I have experienced panic attacks.

00:28:35.430 --> 00:28:38.005
When I was lost, nothing like that.

00:28:38.005 --> 00:28:39.745
It didn't run in my family;

00:28:39.745 --> 00:28:42.304
I didn't know anybody that suffered from depression;

00:28:42.304 --> 00:28:44.587
I didn't know anybody that had panic attacks.

00:28:44.587 --> 00:28:50.539
I mean, we were just a bunch of drunk foul-mouthed Irish.

00:28:50.540 --> 00:28:59.850
And then when I got saved, the first ten years,
I didn't know anything about that.

00:28:59.850 --> 00:29:02.670
I mean, unmoved assurance.

00:29:02.670 --> 00:29:09.479
Every day, Christianity was just a total joy.

00:29:09.480 --> 00:29:16.847
It wasn't till I became a pastor that I actually
began to experience aspects of spiritual warfare

00:29:16.847 --> 00:29:22.273
that kind of pushed me a lot closer to the edge than ever before.

00:29:22.273 --> 00:29:30.266
There were some real battles in the soul,

00:29:30.266 --> 00:29:36.220
and battles to not fall into depression, not so much anxiety.

00:29:36.220 --> 00:29:39.822
I mean, I just had some times when it felt like I was in a vice.

00:29:39.822 --> 00:29:44.651
I mean, sometimes I remember Whitfield talking about
feeling like the devil was pressing on his chest.

00:29:44.651 --> 00:29:47.198
I used to feel that on a regular basis.

00:29:47.198 --> 00:29:51.191
It felt like I was in some all-out battle. (P)

00:29:51.191 --> 00:29:57.966
But I can tell you this: In all the things that I had to go through,

00:29:57.966 --> 00:30:07.414
I was absolutely persuaded of this -
the answer to my struggles is in Scripture.

00:30:07.414 --> 00:30:10.491
I was absolutely convinced of that.

00:30:10.491 --> 00:30:18.976
And as Christians we have to be absolutely convinced
that if you want to be made complete,

00:30:18.977 --> 00:30:23.129
and if you want to be made perfect,
and if you want to have your heart revived,

00:30:23.129 --> 00:30:27.595
and if we're gonna be granted all things that pertain to life and godliness;

00:30:27.596 --> 00:30:29.257
it's going to come through that knowledge of Him,

00:30:29.257 --> 00:30:33.329
it's going to come through His Word,
it's going to come through His promises. (P)

00:30:33.329 --> 00:30:38.416
Now here's the thing: When you come to Scripture,

00:30:38.416 --> 00:30:47.479
the most saturated area of Scripture concerning anxiety
is to be found on the Sermon on the Mount.

00:30:47.479 --> 00:30:48.718
Hands down.

00:30:48.718 --> 00:30:51.918
Matthew chapter 6, and that's where I had you turn.

00:30:51.918 --> 00:30:53.460
And we want to look at this,

00:30:53.460 --> 00:31:07.362
because the term "anxious" between Matthew 6:25 and 6:34,

00:31:07.362 --> 00:31:13.050
those ten verses, we find the word "anxious".

00:31:13.050 --> 00:31:18.144
It shows up in verse 25.

00:31:18.144 --> 00:31:23.481
It shows up in verse 27, verse 28.

00:31:23.481 --> 00:31:31.449
It shows up in verse 31, and it shows up twice in verse 34.

00:31:31.449 --> 00:31:41.477
Anxiety - here it is, the most saturated
portion of Scripture dealing with this topic.

00:31:41.477 --> 00:31:45.183
And so, look, Jesus is the authority.

00:31:45.183 --> 00:31:50.299
If He's going to talk to us about anxiety, we do really well to listen,

00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:59.690
because He's a master at it, and He hits
all sorts of aspects that have to do with it,

00:31:59.690 --> 00:32:04.629
that are well worth pointing out. (P)

00:32:04.629 --> 00:32:07.161
So, anxious.

00:32:07.160 --> 00:32:19.377
The idea of the word "anxious" is the idea
of being distracted or pulled apart.

00:32:19.378 --> 00:32:25.345
It's being distracted by these apprehensions about possible dangers,

00:32:25.346 --> 00:32:29.529
distracting cares, concerns, worries.

00:32:29.529 --> 00:32:34.214
Look, the truth is, it's a form of fear.

00:32:34.214 --> 00:32:38.913
And you see it right here in this text, because if you look;

00:32:38.914 --> 00:32:48.029
well, actually, we're gonna see it in the parallel passage in Luke.

00:32:48.030 --> 00:33:00.304
But it's the idea of the what-ifs.

00:33:00.305 --> 00:33:04.609
It's looking at tomorrow like, "Oh no!" - foreboding all the time -

00:33:04.608 --> 00:33:07.197
"What's gonna happen? This is gonna happen.

00:33:07.197 --> 00:33:09.330
I fear this is gonna happen."

00:33:09.330 --> 00:33:12.735
And it's just living in the shadow all the time.

00:33:12.735 --> 00:33:17.282
Or, "If I go over there, what's gonna happen?"

00:33:17.283 --> 00:33:28.884
You may be being bombarded by feelings of inability
and the sense of being overwhelmed.

00:33:28.885 --> 00:33:31.933
It's like I was talking about this pastor friend;

00:33:31.933 --> 00:33:36.980
it can be like where even going to the
post office is like climbing the Himalayas.

00:33:36.979 --> 00:33:41.277
I mean, it's just like you've got to go over this hurdle.

00:33:41.278 --> 00:33:45.590
And if you think about it in a time when
you don't have any of those fears or things;

00:33:45.590 --> 00:33:47.391
I mean, driving to the post office;

00:33:47.390 --> 00:33:51.978
it's like, you could listen to the radio or you could sing a hymn

00:33:51.979 --> 00:33:53.648
or you could enjoy the sunrise.

00:33:53.648 --> 00:33:59.267
And you can go over there and come back,
and it could be just an enjoyable time away.

00:33:59.268 --> 00:34:04.498
But something clouds the mind, something fills us with this fear.

00:34:04.498 --> 00:34:08.556
"Oh, what if this happens? what if that happens?" (P)

00:34:08.556 --> 00:34:12.149
And if you look at the parallel passage, you don't have to go over there,

00:34:12.149 --> 00:34:13.906
I want you just to stay here in Matthew 6.

00:34:13.906 --> 00:34:18.732
But over in Luke 12, He said to His disciples in Luke 12:22,

00:34:18.733 --> 00:34:22.250
"I tell you, do not be anxious."

00:34:22.250 --> 00:34:26.310
Then He comes back in verse 29, "Do not be worried."

00:34:26.310 --> 00:34:31.917
And then He comes back in Luke 12:32, and He says, "Fear not."

00:34:31.918 --> 00:34:38.466
You see that? "Don't be anxious; don't worry; don't fear."

00:34:38.466 --> 00:34:43.183
It's all kind of synonymous language, 
because that's exactly what happens.

00:34:43.184 --> 00:34:45.748
If you talk to somebody that's having a panic attack,

00:34:45.748 --> 00:34:50.603
and you say, "Are you full of anxiety?" "Yes."

00:34:50.603 --> 00:34:52.174
"Are you full of worries?" "Yes."

00:34:52.175 --> 00:34:54.322
"Are you afraid?" "Yes."

00:34:54.322 --> 00:34:58.760
And those are three of the words that He hits on right off there.

00:34:58.760 --> 00:35:04.859
I mean, the daily concerns of life
can turn into these overwhelming worries:

00:35:04.859 --> 00:35:12.741
"What if this happens? What if...?" and there's this foreboding.

00:35:12.741 --> 00:35:22.848
And it paralyzes, because instead of going on with life
and confronting our present circumstances,

00:35:22.848 --> 00:35:25.259
which is what Jesus is saying;

00:35:25.259 --> 00:35:32.856
He says, "Quit worrying about the future,
today has enough worries for itself."

00:35:32.856 --> 00:35:35.529
That's how He ends there in Matthew 6.

00:35:35.529 --> 00:35:39.242
Stop worrying about tomorrow; you may not even be alive.

00:35:39.242 --> 00:35:42.255
None of us may be alive. (P)

00:35:42.255 --> 00:35:44.903
But the thing is, we come back to this if you're a Christian.

00:35:44.903 --> 00:35:49.900
If you're a Christian, and even if the devil was
let loose on you like he was let loose on Job,

00:35:49.900 --> 00:35:53.756
where's Job right now? I mean, Job is in glory.

00:35:53.756 --> 00:35:56.759
Job was a righteous man.

00:35:56.759 --> 00:36:00.093
He's with the Lord. He's walking with the Lord.

00:36:00.093 --> 00:36:03.556
Paul adequately sums it up:

00:36:03.556 --> 00:36:08.931
what does he call what we have to endure right now?

00:36:08.931 --> 00:36:18.366
"Momentary, light" - that's what he calls it - "afflictions."

00:36:18.366 --> 00:36:21.766
The worst thing that could happen; now look, who was he talking to?

00:36:21.766 --> 00:36:29.018
He was talking to early Christians twenty centuries ago.

00:36:29.018 --> 00:36:34.969
I mean, what if the Romans came in
and they threw your whole family out to the lions?

00:36:34.969 --> 00:36:36.636
Is that pretty bad?

00:36:36.636 --> 00:36:37.628
Even if they did that.

00:36:37.628 --> 00:36:39.947
What if they put you on the rack and they tortured you?

00:36:39.946 --> 00:36:42.929
Some were sawn in two, do you ever read that?

00:36:42.930 --> 00:36:46.178
I mean, that's kind of a bad day when you're getting sawn in half.

00:36:46.178 --> 00:36:53.151
But momentary, light?

00:36:53.151 --> 00:36:58.807
Listen, if we really understand what heaven is,
and what it is Christ has purchased for His people,

00:36:58.807 --> 00:37:01.977
it is such a glory that is coming.

00:37:01.977 --> 00:37:05.654
But you see, when the anxiety comes you lose sight of that.

00:37:05.654 --> 00:37:07.633
Anxiety causes you to forget.

00:37:07.633 --> 00:37:11.778
It causes you to shut down as far as remembering God's faithfulness,

00:37:11.778 --> 00:37:15.840
remembering God's promises, remembering who God is.

00:37:15.841 --> 00:37:22.175
The remembering function is that which has to be kicked back into high gear.

00:37:22.175 --> 00:37:28.124
It shuts down. And it's not good, it's not healthy. (P)

00:37:28.130 --> 00:37:35.417
So, what we have to do is, we have to take all these fears,

00:37:35.417 --> 00:37:38.612
all these anxieties, all these thoughts that are going to the mind,

00:37:38.612 --> 00:37:42.966
and we have to submit them and subject them to Scripture;

00:37:42.966 --> 00:37:48.788
and let the Scripture control, let the truth set us free.

00:37:48.789 --> 00:37:51.660
We have to go back to that again.

00:37:51.660 --> 00:37:54.350
Thinking, thinking, thinking. The mind.

00:37:54.350 --> 00:37:59.450
Listen, Scripture says this, (you need to think about this):

00:37:59.450 --> 00:38:06.898
concerning sin, it says, "You need to consider yourselves dead to sin."

00:38:06.898 --> 00:38:09.129
Why do I hit that text?

00:38:09.129 --> 00:38:13.947
Because when Paul says in Romans 6:11

00:38:13.947 --> 00:38:21.332
that as a Christian you must consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God,

00:38:21.332 --> 00:38:29.644
he is saying, "You need to consider in your mind certain things to be true."

00:38:29.644 --> 00:38:39.782
When Scripture says, "Set your mind on things above,"
do you know what Scripture is assuming?

00:38:39.782 --> 00:38:49.416
Listen, one of the descriptions in Romans 8,
is that a person that's a Christian,

00:38:49.416 --> 00:38:54.527
they have a mind set on the things of the Spirit.

00:38:54.527 --> 00:38:56.344
Or James went through Philippians;

00:38:56.344 --> 00:39:02.372
Philippians 4: 8, what does it say we need to think on?

00:39:02.372 --> 00:39:06.328
Things that are what? Just tell me one of the words. (P)

00:39:06.335 --> 00:39:12.443
[Audience]: True. Excellent. Worthy of praise. (P)

00:39:12.443 --> 00:39:16.397
[Tim]: Okay, what do all those verses indicate?

00:39:16.397 --> 00:39:25.819
They indicate that you have the ability
to think on what you want to think on.

00:39:25.819 --> 00:39:32.309
Some people have this idea, "Well, I can't control what I think about."

00:39:32.309 --> 00:39:36.417
The authors of Scripture certainly think you can.

00:39:36.417 --> 00:39:41.375
When you're told to set your mind on things above, what is that?

00:39:41.375 --> 00:39:47.282
That is telling you, that just like I can set this cup...

00:39:47.282 --> 00:39:50.360
you know, if I'm sitting here drinking this,

00:39:50.360 --> 00:39:57.001
and my wife yells from the bedroom over there,
"Set that cup down," I set it down.

00:39:57.001 --> 00:40:00.627
That cup, I've got the ability to put that thing down there.

00:40:00.627 --> 00:40:03.394
Scripture is saying, just like you can set that cup,

00:40:03.394 --> 00:40:10.473
it's telling you, "Set your brain on certain things. Set your mind there."

00:40:10.473 --> 00:40:18.157
This is key, because I'll tell you what happens 
to people who fall into depression

00:40:18.157 --> 00:40:22.515
and people who fall into anxiety:

00:40:22.515 --> 00:40:27.614
Oftentimes, the people that are most able to help them

00:40:27.614 --> 00:40:34.604
are the people that help them get their minds back 
on what they need to get their minds on.

00:40:34.604 --> 00:40:38.500
That's what needs to happen. We need to think right.

00:40:38.500 --> 00:40:44.857
We need to think about the things that we need to be thinking about. (P)

00:40:44.858 --> 00:40:52.927
Now, let's actually look at Matthew 6.

00:40:52.927 --> 00:40:58.198
"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life." (v 25).

00:40:58.198 --> 00:41:05.231
Now let's just start right here: "Do not be anxious."

00:41:05.231 --> 00:41:11.637
If Jesus tells us not to be anxious and we are,
we're not keeping His commandments.

00:41:11.637 --> 00:41:14.163
I'll tell you right off.

00:41:14.163 --> 00:41:24.511
When Jesus says do not be anxious, if we are 
anxious we need to recognize this for what it is.

00:41:24.511 --> 00:41:29.099
You see, this is the medical community today:

00:41:29.099 --> 00:41:41.768
"Anxiety is alcoholism. Now pedophilia. 
It's not your fault, it's a disease."

00:41:41.768 --> 00:41:45.855
As soon as you say that, you are a victim -

00:41:45.855 --> 00:41:54.924
just like you'd be a victim if you got cancer, or smallpox, or meningitis.

00:41:54.924 --> 00:41:56.720
It's not true.

00:41:56.720 --> 00:42:02.211
Jesus says, "Do not be anxious."

00:42:02.211 --> 00:42:07.949
If you are anxious, you are defying Christ.

00:42:07.950 --> 00:42:10.934
You're going against Him.

00:42:10.934 --> 00:42:15.226
It's sin. We need to call anxiety what it is.

00:42:15.226 --> 00:42:21.492
It is based on fears that God does not want us to have.

00:42:21.492 --> 00:42:23.148
We need to be clear on that.

00:42:23.148 --> 00:42:27.488
He says, "Do not be anxious." We need to recognize that.

00:42:27.488 --> 00:42:31.677
Jesus says to us, "Don't be anxious." (P)

00:42:31.677 --> 00:42:35.672
Paul tells us to "rejoice in the Lord always."

00:42:35.672 --> 00:42:41.589
Listen, if you fall into depression, it's sin.

00:42:41.590 --> 00:42:51.118
To be "not rejoicing in the Lord" is to be 
going against the specific instruction of Scripture.

00:42:51.118 --> 00:43:00.063
Now look, there may be factors that are present in a person's life

00:43:00.063 --> 00:43:14.813
that are applying enormous pressure to be anxious, 
or to be fearful, or to be depressed.

00:43:14.814 --> 00:43:21.816
But do you know, no matter what circumstance any person ever faces,

00:43:21.816 --> 00:43:31.152
sin is never justifiable. Never. Not once. (P)

00:43:31.152 --> 00:43:40.146
Worry: look at verse 25, "I tell you, do not be anxious about your life."

00:43:40.146 --> 00:43:47.397
Go to verse 31, "Therefore do not be anxious."

00:43:47.397 --> 00:43:54.681
Verse 34, "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow,

00:43:54.681 --> 00:44:00.444
for tomorrow will be anxious for itself."

00:44:00.445 --> 00:44:04.166
Do you know what Peter tells us?

00:44:04.166 --> 00:44:07.551
We used to sing this; we still do:

00:44:07.551 --> 00:44:15.736
"Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God,

00:44:15.736 --> 00:44:19.327
that He may exalt you in due time:

00:44:19.327 --> 00:44:26.525
casting all your cares (or anxieties) upon Him;

00:44:26.526 --> 00:44:29.717
for He cares for you." (1 Pet. 5:6-7). (P)

00:44:29.716 --> 00:44:31.257
"Humble yourselves."

00:44:31.258 --> 00:44:41.311
Listen, when you don't cast your fears and 
anxieties on the Lord, it's a mark of pride.

00:44:41.312 --> 00:44:49.995
Peter says, "Humble yourselves and unload those things on the Lord."

00:44:49.995 --> 00:44:51.766
What's pride?

00:44:51.766 --> 00:44:55.392
You see, pride is thinking too much of self and too little of God.

00:44:55.392 --> 00:44:57.271
And how is that thinking too little of God?

00:44:57.271 --> 00:44:59.228
"Well, I'm just afraid to commit these things

00:44:59.228 --> 00:45:02.067
because I don't really think the Lord can take care of it.

00:45:02.067 --> 00:45:04.663
I'm scared to death something may happen to one of my children,

00:45:04.663 --> 00:45:06.801
and I just don't think I can entrust Him with this.

00:45:06.801 --> 00:45:09.570
I'm scared to death something may happen to one of my relatives,

00:45:09.570 --> 00:45:12.237
or a person I dearly love, and I cannot commit them to Him;

00:45:12.237 --> 00:45:13.703
and I'm just worried all the time;

00:45:13.703 --> 00:45:17.811
and I cannot trust God to do what I want God to do,

00:45:17.811 --> 00:45:22.090
because I know God, I know the God of Scripture, He may let them die."

00:45:22.090 --> 00:45:26.423
You know what? He might.

00:45:26.423 --> 00:45:29.065
But Scripture still says it's all working out for our good,

00:45:29.071 --> 00:45:32.116
and He still says that He'll not leave us or forsake us.

00:45:32.116 --> 00:45:36.252
And we can trust Him. We can trust Him to do right.

00:45:36.252 --> 00:45:40.594
The Judge of all the earth will do right, and we can trust Him to do it.

00:45:40.594 --> 00:45:43.868
And the thing is, we have to remember this:

00:45:43.868 --> 00:45:50.370
"For He careth for you. He careth for you."

00:45:50.370 --> 00:45:52.996
That's how that ends - He cares for you.

00:45:52.996 --> 00:45:58.068
You see, we're not dealing with a God who is a tyrant and is angry at us.

00:45:58.068 --> 00:45:59.181
Not as Christians.

00:45:59.181 --> 00:46:02.493
If you're lost, yes He is angry with you.

00:46:02.493 --> 00:46:07.444
But the thing is, if we're Christians He cares for us. (P)

00:46:09.015 --> 00:46:12.362
It is a manifestation of pride.

00:46:12.362 --> 00:46:16.907
And here's the thing: It's much more comfortable to be a victim.

00:46:16.907 --> 00:46:23.869
It's much more comfortable to say, 
"Oh, woe is me; I get these anxiety attacks,"

00:46:23.869 --> 00:46:30.800
and to come off as though, "It's not my sin. I'm a victim."

00:46:30.800 --> 00:46:36.827
You know why it's more comfortable? Because victims get pity.

00:46:36.828 --> 00:46:51.410
But if you fess up and say, "It's my unbelief.
It's my unfounded, unwarranted fears,

00:46:51.410 --> 00:46:55.909
because I just see God as being way too little.

00:46:55.909 --> 00:46:58.818
I dishonor God when I don't trust Him."

00:46:58.818 --> 00:47:04.501
You see, when you admit that, it's not so comfortable.

00:47:04.501 --> 00:47:06.597
To be guilty, to be blameworthy,

00:47:06.598 --> 00:47:11.224
to have to admit fears, anxieties, depressions, worries, are our fault,

00:47:11.223 --> 00:47:16.945
it's more difficult. (P)

00:47:18.392 --> 00:47:26.587
Matthew 6:25, He says, "I tell you, do not be anxious about your life,

00:47:26.588 --> 00:47:29.856
what you will eat or what you will drink."

00:47:29.855 --> 00:47:39.659
And I recognize, in a world where lots of 
people were trying to survive day to day,

00:47:39.659 --> 00:47:41.882
where they didn't have an abundance,

00:47:41.882 --> 00:47:45.024
their anxieties may have surfaced in other areas.

00:47:45.024 --> 00:47:47.518
We live in a wealthy society.

00:47:47.518 --> 00:47:53.634
Nobody here is worrying about whether we're going to eat tomorrow.

00:47:53.634 --> 00:47:56.806
Our anxieties tend to crop up in different places.

00:47:56.806 --> 00:48:07.265
But nevertheless, you notice the anxieties here are about things in this life,

00:48:07.265 --> 00:48:14.201
and the same principles that have to do 
with our food, our drink, our body,

00:48:14.201 --> 00:48:17.013
it has to do with everything else.

00:48:17.013 --> 00:48:24.613
"Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?"

00:48:24.613 --> 00:48:27.536
And here is what you want to get at:

00:48:27.536 --> 00:48:30.336
He is going to tell us about the character of God.

00:48:30.336 --> 00:48:36.046
You see, this is the key. This is always the key.

00:48:36.046 --> 00:48:40.192
We have to remember who God is and what He has promised.

00:48:40.192 --> 00:48:44.175
He says, "Look at the birds of the air:
they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns,

00:48:44.175 --> 00:48:49.666
and yet - notice - 'your'."

00:48:49.666 --> 00:48:51.757
He's talking to Christians.

00:48:51.757 --> 00:48:59.255
He would never talk this way to lost people, 
because lost people should mourn and wail.

00:48:59.255 --> 00:49:02.865
Scripture says that.

00:49:02.865 --> 00:49:12.274
He's telling them, as children of the Father, 
"Your heavenly Father feeds them (the birds).

00:49:12.274 --> 00:49:15.530
Are you not of more value than they?"

00:49:15.530 --> 00:49:23.642
Of more value to who? To the Father. Obviously.

00:49:23.643 --> 00:49:28.972
He's hitting the tenderness. God is your Father.

00:49:28.972 --> 00:49:31.495
He's your heavenly Father. (P)

00:49:31.495 --> 00:49:35.407
This is like Peter saying, "He cares for you."

00:49:35.407 --> 00:49:40.163
You see, a little child doesn't have to run around being anxious

00:49:40.163 --> 00:49:41.827
about where their next meal is coming from.

00:49:41.827 --> 00:49:44.636
They don't have to run around being anxious about anything.

00:49:44.636 --> 00:49:49.329
Why? Because they trust mommy and daddy are gonna take care of it.

00:49:49.329 --> 00:49:51.867
Little children don't even worry about those things.

00:49:51.867 --> 00:49:56.776
You don't start worrying about those things till you get to be older.

00:49:56.776 --> 00:50:03.441
Why? Because the child just knows 
mommy and daddy are gonna take care of it.

00:50:03.441 --> 00:50:10.645
And He is saying, these animals get cared for, all the time.

00:50:10.645 --> 00:50:17.243
And in the sight of your Father in heaven, you are of much greater value.

00:50:17.243 --> 00:50:19.914
You see, one of the things that comes with all these fears,

00:50:19.914 --> 00:50:21.894
is we feel like we're alone.

00:50:21.894 --> 00:50:26.618
We feel like God has abdicated, He has vacated us, He's not there.

00:50:26.618 --> 00:50:30.347
We feel like He really has forsaken.

00:50:30.348 --> 00:50:35.030
We feel like Psalm 22, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

00:50:35.030 --> 00:50:36.755
There's this sense; but He hasn't.

00:50:36.755 --> 00:50:41.547
He's saying, He cares for you, He loves you. (P)

00:50:41.547 --> 00:50:48.818
And then verse 27, "Which of you by being anxious 
can add a single hour to his span of life?"

00:50:48.819 --> 00:50:51.988
What a thing to say!

00:50:51.988 --> 00:50:56.159
You go into depression, you curl up in a ball, and you lay in bed.

00:50:56.159 --> 00:51:01.555
What good are you going to bring of anything?

00:51:01.555 --> 00:51:06.371
You're full of anxiety and you have a panic attack;

00:51:06.371 --> 00:51:15.070
and so you basically go into hiding, and you just feed all this anxiety.

00:51:15.070 --> 00:51:17.253
Can you change anything by all your worrying?

00:51:17.253 --> 00:51:22.624
You can get an ulcer, but by all your worrying
can you change what's going to happen?

00:51:22.624 --> 00:51:25.974
Can you change it? You can't change it.

00:51:25.974 --> 00:51:30.662
You can't change any of the future.

00:51:30.662 --> 00:51:33.626
So here's the thing about it:

00:51:33.626 --> 00:51:39.022
People that are going through panic attacks,
what are they accomplishing by it?

00:51:39.022 --> 00:51:46.499
The panic and the anxieties, the worries,
the fears, are not changing anything.

00:51:46.499 --> 00:51:50.491
It's kind of like jealousy.

00:51:50.491 --> 00:51:57.585
It hurts the person, but it doesn't really do any good.

00:51:57.585 --> 00:52:04.659
It just rots the person, it decays the person, it destroys the person,

00:52:04.659 --> 00:52:08.195
but it doesn't help. (P)

00:52:08.195 --> 00:52:09.978
"And why are you anxious about clothing?

00:52:09.978 --> 00:52:12.675
Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow:

00:52:12.674 --> 00:52:15.019
they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you,

00:52:15.020 --> 00:52:21.115
even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

00:52:21.115 --> 00:52:23.588
If God so clothes the grass of the field,

00:52:23.588 --> 00:52:27.513
which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, -

00:52:27.513 --> 00:52:32.672
notice the 'much more' - will He not much more [clothe you]?"

00:52:32.672 --> 00:52:37.217
You see, He's concerned, He's watching, He knows.

00:52:37.217 --> 00:52:41.616
"O you of little faith." You see that?

00:52:41.616 --> 00:52:45.109
Faith versus fear - that's the issue.

00:52:45.109 --> 00:52:47.405
"You of little faith."

00:52:47.405 --> 00:52:50.301
Is it faith? Is it fear?

00:52:50.301 --> 00:52:53.011
That's what He said to them in the parallel passage -

00:52:53.011 --> 00:52:55.847
"Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good..."

00:52:55.847 --> 00:52:59.974
Are you gonna fear, are you gonna be full of anxiety?
or is there gonna be faith?

00:52:59.974 --> 00:53:02.821
He says, "O you of little faith." This is a little faith issue.

00:53:02.821 --> 00:53:09.010
You are not trusting God when you are full of anxieties.

00:53:09.010 --> 00:53:13.759
Why? What did David say? He said, "I can go against a troop!"

00:53:13.759 --> 00:53:15.753
Not only can I make it to the post office,

00:53:15.753 --> 00:53:20.585
not only can I overcome my fears of being in a crowd and make it to church,

00:53:20.585 --> 00:53:25.685
I can go against a troop if God is with me. (P)

00:53:25.685 --> 00:53:29.140
"Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?'

00:53:29.140 --> 00:53:31.475
or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' -

00:53:31.475 --> 00:53:34.405
now notice this, this is good -

00:53:34.406 --> 00:53:37.073
For the Gentiles..."

00:53:37.074 --> 00:53:43.107
What's the Gentile? The Gentile is just a good picture of lost people.

00:53:43.108 --> 00:53:46.052
That's what He means when He uses it here.

00:53:46.052 --> 00:53:55.925
The Gentiles; in other words, they worry about all these things.

00:53:55.926 --> 00:53:58.796
They're troubled.

00:53:58.796 --> 00:54:01.823
And He says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all."

00:54:01.823 --> 00:54:06.392
I mean, so much we need to remember about who our Father is.

00:54:06.392 --> 00:54:10.230
But just focus in on the 'Gentiles' right there.

00:54:10.230 --> 00:54:16.003
I mean, you just think about that -
"the Gentiles seek after all these things."

00:54:16.003 --> 00:54:21.378
You know what? We can understand why the world is stressed out.

00:54:21.378 --> 00:54:22.846
We can understand that.

00:54:22.846 --> 00:54:27.570
We can understand why they're anxious 
and why they're full of worries.

00:54:27.570 --> 00:54:30.749
I mean, I think about it. I'm 53 years old.

00:54:30.749 --> 00:54:35.407
I think about what life would be like if I was getting older and older,

00:54:35.408 --> 00:54:37.425
and didn't know the Lord,

00:54:37.424 --> 00:54:40.279
and death was coming closer and closer.

00:54:40.280 --> 00:54:44.109
It's like, when you're young, you feel like you have some breathing room;

00:54:44.109 --> 00:54:45.846
but as you get older and older and older,

00:54:45.846 --> 00:54:52.876
it's like you become more and more hedged in, and death is coming. (P)

00:54:52.876 --> 00:54:57.780
We can understand, the world, the things that they want to hold on to,

00:54:57.780 --> 00:55:00.736
they just go through their fingers like sand.

00:55:00.737 --> 00:55:02.670
They want to hold on to their money;

00:55:02.670 --> 00:55:06.202
they want to hold on to their financial stability and security;

00:55:06.203 --> 00:55:11.608
they want to hold on to their youthfulness,
and they want to hold on to their health,

00:55:11.608 --> 00:55:18.006
and they want to hold on to this world.

00:55:18.007 --> 00:55:25.609
They're worried about all of it, and yet 
the thing is, it's all going to be taken away.

00:55:25.609 --> 00:55:27.296
Everything they are worried about:

00:55:27.296 --> 00:55:30.815
they're worried about their children, it's gonna be taken away;

00:55:30.815 --> 00:55:33.520
they're worried about their wealth, it's gonna be taken away;

00:55:33.520 --> 00:55:36.692
they're worried about their possessions, 
how they get so bent out of shape -

00:55:36.692 --> 00:55:41.522
this little thing gets a dent, or that thing over there gets scraped -

00:55:41.523 --> 00:55:43.507
it's all gonna be taken away. Everything.

00:55:43.506 --> 00:55:51.621
We can totally understand why Gentiles, who are lost,
would be in a panic about all sorts of things. (P)

00:55:51.621 --> 00:56:00.086
I heard like 23 or 27 million Americans 
supposedly deal with panic attacks right now.

00:56:00.086 --> 00:56:03.799
I mean, can you imagine, you're lost, you're facing [eternity].

00:56:03.799 --> 00:56:06.628
The scientists are trying to tell you there's a Big Bang,

00:56:06.628 --> 00:56:12.637
"What? Am I headed to nothingness? What is this life?
Just some random thing and I'm facing eternity?"

00:56:12.637 --> 00:56:15.088
You know what the problem is?

00:56:15.088 --> 00:56:17.084
Scripture says eternity is written on our hearts.

00:56:17.084 --> 00:56:20.043
No matter what the scientists tell us, we've got a conscience.

00:56:20.043 --> 00:56:23.463
And it tells you, "Judgment Day, Judgment Day, Judgment Day.

00:56:23.463 --> 00:56:26.681
You are headed towards a God that you have to give an account to."

00:56:26.681 --> 00:56:31.545
And there is something in there, no matter 
how much we try to suppress it and block it out,

00:56:31.545 --> 00:56:34.668
it just keeps speaking, accusing us, accusing us.

00:56:34.668 --> 00:56:40.760
And it's like, you can imagine why people, their conscience is accusing. (P)

00:56:40.760 --> 00:56:42.491
I know where I'd be.

00:56:42.491 --> 00:56:47.959
If I wasn't dead already by drinking myself into oblivion, that's where I'd be.

00:56:47.959 --> 00:56:50.031
I mean, the bottle would be to my lips;

00:56:50.031 --> 00:56:51.479
because you can't deal with it.

00:56:51.479 --> 00:56:53.498
It's like, "I don't want to think about it."

00:56:53.499 --> 00:56:55.515
You're either gonna medicate it,

00:56:55.515 --> 00:56:59.529
you're gonna run to the doctor and say, 
"I've got panic attacks! Give me the drugs!"

00:56:59.529 --> 00:57:01.691
And have you ever seen the drugs?

00:57:01.691 --> 00:57:08.321
Sometimes, we go over to Papa's house in the evenings,

00:57:08.321 --> 00:57:11.720
and oftentimes it's right about when the news comes;
and we're gonna go out to eat with him.

00:57:11.721 --> 00:57:14.165
But when they're running the evening news,

00:57:14.166 --> 00:57:17.456
they run all those medication commercials for old people.

00:57:17.456 --> 00:57:20.400
And they've got ones for depression and for panic.

00:57:20.401 --> 00:57:26.932
And it's like, "Now the side-effects here are: they may cause suicide;

00:57:26.932 --> 00:57:30.828
they may cause feelings of depression; 
they may cause feelings of anxiety."

00:57:30.828 --> 00:57:35.069
And you're like, "Wait! That's what they're supposed to treat!"

00:57:35.068 --> 00:57:37.422
It's like, they don't even have an answer.

00:57:37.423 --> 00:57:41.982
It's almost like they're saying, "Yeah, take these medicines,

00:57:41.982 --> 00:57:44.092
we want to sell you billions of dollars of these." (P)

00:57:44.092 --> 00:57:50.493
The truth is, we live in an age of just rampant idolatry.

00:57:50.493 --> 00:57:57.651
People just wanting stuff, and fighting, and madly reaching,

00:57:57.652 --> 00:58:02.932
and retirement, and saving.

00:58:02.932 --> 00:58:05.147
And they're just gonna lose it all.

00:58:05.147 --> 00:58:09.308
The problem is, we live in this age 
where Jesus says, "Don't lay it up here."

00:58:09.308 --> 00:58:13.464
Why? "You've got moths, and you've got thieves, and you've got rust."

00:58:13.464 --> 00:58:15.747
And that's the problem - we live in an age of decay.

00:58:15.747 --> 00:58:17.709
Why? Because everything is cursed.

00:58:17.710 --> 00:58:22.502
We live in a cursed universe where 
everything is decaying, including our own lives.

00:58:22.502 --> 00:58:24.884
Everything is running out. Everything is wearing out.

00:58:24.897 --> 00:58:28.527
And so we can't lay hold on anything, we can't keep a grasp.

00:58:28.526 --> 00:58:31.994
And then we've got a medical community with all of its drugs,

00:58:31.995 --> 00:58:34.597
wanting to drug everybody up for everything. (P)

00:58:34.597 --> 00:58:39.762
Look, I'm not gonna say that there aren't 
some things that can legitimately be medicated.

00:58:39.762 --> 00:58:43.802
But you know as well as I do, that our medical community has run wild,

00:58:43.802 --> 00:58:52.908
and they are prescribing drugs for things 
that are biblically defined as nothing but sin.

00:58:52.908 --> 00:58:56.750
And people don't need drugs, they need to repent.

00:58:56.750 --> 00:59:00.228
That's the real issue in so much of this stuff.

00:59:00.228 --> 00:59:04.029
And the psychiatric people, they're gonna try to 
convince our brother Kenny tomorrow,

00:59:04.029 --> 00:59:10.127
that it's all syndromes and diseases.

00:59:11.629 --> 00:59:18.167
But when you go down through this, you know what's interesting?

00:59:18.168 --> 00:59:30.076
He says, "Your heavenly Father knows that you have need of them all." (P)

00:59:30.076 --> 00:59:35.557
There was a time I was really wrestling, really struggling.

00:59:35.557 --> 00:59:41.312
I mean, I just felt like I was under a massive barrage and attack,

00:59:41.312 --> 00:59:44.180
it was driving me crazy.

00:59:44.180 --> 00:59:53.224
And it drove me to pray; I was much in prayer.

00:59:53.224 --> 00:59:55.764
And you know what? No matter how much I prayed,

00:59:55.764 --> 01:00:03.595
I just felt like God had given the devil license to put me under a barrage.

01:00:03.595 --> 01:00:07.366
And in the midst of it, I knew this:

01:00:07.366 --> 01:00:13.428
I could come to this solid conclusion:

01:00:13.428 --> 01:00:24.099
"Father, I'm praying to You, and I know You hear me, 
and I know You're in control.

01:00:24.099 --> 01:00:30.586
And so, if I've prayed that this thing be taken away 
and it's not being taken away, and You're in control,

01:00:30.586 --> 01:00:32.263
I trust You.

01:00:32.263 --> 01:00:38.631
You want this to be happening, and You're 
wanting to accomplish something through it.

01:00:38.632 --> 01:00:42.349
I just need You to show me," which I believe He did.

01:00:42.349 --> 01:00:44.998
But we need to have that rock-solid [conclusion].

01:00:44.998 --> 01:00:46.835
This is what Jesus is driving at:

01:00:46.835 --> 01:00:50.958
You need to know who your Father is in the midst of all these anxieties.

01:00:50.958 --> 01:00:55.359
He is a Father who cares for you. He's your Father.

01:00:55.359 --> 01:01:00.020
Look, if He cares for all the birds and all the flowers around you,

01:01:00.020 --> 01:01:06.880
and He values you so much more, 
don't you think He's going to take care of you?

01:01:06.880 --> 01:01:11.124
And the thing is, He knows what you need before you ask. (P)

01:01:11.124 --> 01:01:14.272
And when you look over at the parallel passages in Luke,

01:01:14.272 --> 01:01:20.950
you have this glorious reality: "Fear not, little flock,

01:01:20.950 --> 01:01:25.692
for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom."

01:01:25.692 --> 01:01:31.342
In other words, when it comes to the stuff here that you're anxious about,

01:01:31.342 --> 01:01:33.371
He's got you covered and He knows your needs.

01:01:33.371 --> 01:01:39.204
And if you seek first the kingdom of heaven,
all these things are going to be added unto you.

01:01:39.204 --> 01:01:41.516
And what about beyond?

01:01:41.515 --> 01:01:45.013
"Fear not, little flock. Don't have anxieties about that either,

01:01:45.014 --> 01:01:48.103
because the kingdom is reserved for you."

01:01:48.103 --> 01:01:51.408
You don't have to be all uptight. You don't have to be up in arms. (P)

01:01:51.408 --> 01:01:56.497
Listen, we are the only people on the face of the earth

01:01:56.503 --> 01:02:00.434
that really have a right to walk around 
with no anxieties and with no fears.

01:02:00.434 --> 01:02:02.513
Oh, a healthy fear of God, yes;

01:02:02.513 --> 01:02:07.746
but not these kinds of fears that are based on all these anxieties.

01:02:07.746 --> 01:02:15.862
Because, listen, think about it, you work backwards;

01:02:15.862 --> 01:02:18.701
this is typically the way that you want to work through it.

01:02:18.701 --> 01:02:19.936
What does Jesus do?

01:02:19.936 --> 01:02:24.238
Jesus identifies the anxiety, and then He works back from it.

01:02:24.238 --> 01:02:28.953
"You're gonna be anxious about this thing? 
Well, don't be anxious about that thing,"

01:02:28.953 --> 01:02:32.162
and then He works back and He hits the character of God,

01:02:32.169 --> 01:02:37.239
"Here's why you don't want to be anxious about that, because God is like this."

01:02:37.239 --> 01:02:46.629
And if we work back on all of our anxieties and 
all of our fears, what are they?

01:02:46.629 --> 01:02:49.122
What is it we're really afraid of?

01:02:49.122 --> 01:02:54.690
You know what you'll be able to put your finger on every single time?

01:02:54.690 --> 01:03:01.371
That you're failing to believe God, and 
you're failing to see God as the God that He is.

01:03:01.371 --> 01:03:06.361
You're failing to take God for who He says He is in Scripture,

01:03:06.361 --> 01:03:10.677
and you're failing to lay hold on the promises that He gives.

01:03:10.677 --> 01:03:17.312
Listen, that is behind every true Christian's depression,

01:03:17.312 --> 01:03:22.389
behind their panics, behind their anxieties, behind their fears.

01:03:22.389 --> 01:03:28.112
What's happening? They are forgetting who God is.

01:03:28.112 --> 01:03:33.386
And it's never excusable, no matter if you're 
under the most vicious attacks of Satan. (P)

01:03:33.387 --> 01:03:37.848
Listen, let me tell you, I think it was Pergamum.

01:03:37.848 --> 01:03:42.988
To the church at Pergamum, Jesus says,

01:03:42.988 --> 01:03:48.463
"I know where you are; you are where Satan dwells.

01:03:48.463 --> 01:03:52.349
Yet I have these things against you."

01:03:52.350 --> 01:03:56.485
Now just think about that. What does that say?

01:03:56.485 --> 01:04:04.510
It doesn't matter if you're in the hottest climate 
when it comes to spiritual warfare.

01:04:04.510 --> 01:04:06.552
Jesus still had those things against them,

01:04:06.552 --> 01:04:10.725
and did not dismiss their wrongs 
because of the intensity of the battle.

01:04:10.725 --> 01:04:14.062
He still said, "I have this against you."

01:04:14.062 --> 01:04:16.617
Or think with me here - Asa.

01:04:16.617 --> 01:04:19.554
Asa was diseased in his feet,

01:04:19.554 --> 01:04:22.616
and yet he was faulted because he did not go to God,

01:04:22.616 --> 01:04:23.820
he went to the doctors.

01:04:23.820 --> 01:04:26.886
You say, "Well, come on, the man was in pain,

01:04:26.887 --> 01:04:30.241
the man was in turmoil. Why in the world would you fault him?"

01:04:30.241 --> 01:04:36.401
No! Even though it's true his feet were diseased,
and undoubtedly he was in immense amount of pain,

01:04:36.401 --> 01:04:38.367
he was faulted for that.

01:04:38.367 --> 01:04:40.566
Why? Because, again, it's forgetting.

01:04:40.567 --> 01:04:44.407
"Is there no God in Israel that you go running off over there first?"

01:04:44.407 --> 01:04:46.429
You have to remember who God is.

01:04:46.429 --> 01:04:49.487
No matter what the situation, no matter if there's disease,

01:04:49.487 --> 01:04:56.655
no matter if there's some kind of physical issue, sin is not excused.

01:04:56.655 --> 01:05:01.776
You find this throughout Scripture that this is the reality. (P)

01:05:01.776 --> 01:05:12.950
I think I had some other example.

01:05:18.947 --> 01:05:22.126
Well, I would just say this, one that I mentioned already,

01:05:22.126 --> 01:05:29.782
"Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul."

01:05:29.783 --> 01:05:33.367
I mean, hear what's being said: "Don't fear those who kill the body."

01:05:33.367 --> 01:05:40.045
If we have fear of man, it's idolatry.

01:05:40.045 --> 01:05:46.496
It's idolatry in the fact that we're fearing man more than we're fearing God,

01:05:46.496 --> 01:05:56.254
but then it's idolatry in the sense that we're 
creating a small god out of the true God.

01:05:56.254 --> 01:06:00.410
Look, there's something in the character of God to answer every single fear,

01:06:00.410 --> 01:06:05.080
every anxiety, and every depression, that the true Christian goes through.

01:06:05.080 --> 01:06:07.932
There's an answer in the person of God.

01:06:07.932 --> 01:06:09.974
And that's where Jesus takes us.

01:06:09.974 --> 01:06:18.779
He says, "Look, your anxieties, they don't do anything for you anyway;

01:06:18.779 --> 01:06:21.663
but you need to remember who God is."

01:06:21.663 --> 01:06:28.475
"O you of little faith" - you suffer from anxieties like this, it's a small faith.

01:06:28.475 --> 01:06:31.675
And remember, faith always has an object.

01:06:31.675 --> 01:06:40.824
What He is saying is, "You're of little faith in who your Father in heaven is.

01:06:40.824 --> 01:06:46.079
He is in control, He is powerful, and He cares for you;

01:06:46.079 --> 01:06:48.185
and He's your heavenly Father. (P)

01:06:48.186 --> 01:06:51.795
I mean, have you heard the promises?

01:06:51.796 --> 01:06:56.231
I was just telling one of the ladies at the Grace House this last week,

01:06:56.230 --> 01:06:59.754
that oftentimes when we're in the midst of these things,

01:06:59.755 --> 01:07:02.250
if we can just lay hold on one promise--

01:07:02.250 --> 01:07:07.553
believers don't need to believe every promise 
that God has ever given all at once.

01:07:07.553 --> 01:07:15.286
The fighting the good fight of faith, in the midst
of the battle, is often clinging to one promise.

01:07:15.285 --> 01:07:18.565
If you can just cling to one that you know is true,

01:07:18.566 --> 01:07:23.303
and you sink your teeth into and you will not let go of it.

01:07:23.303 --> 01:07:25.214
God promises.

01:07:25.214 --> 01:07:28.778
I mean, there's that wonderful promise there in Isaiah 43:

01:07:28.778 --> 01:07:32.225
"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;

01:07:32.231 --> 01:07:34.837
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;

01:07:34.837 --> 01:07:37.379
when you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,

01:07:37.380 --> 01:07:40.931
and the flame shall not consume you."

01:07:40.931 --> 01:07:43.984
Remember the promises of God. (P)

01:07:43.984 --> 01:07:48.028
In Pilgrim's Progress, what happened?

01:07:48.028 --> 01:07:57.463
Pilgrim and his friend ended up in Doubting Castle. Giant Despair.

01:07:57.463 --> 01:08:02.130
Here's depression, here's despair; full of doubts.

01:08:02.130 --> 01:08:09.117
And, in the end, what was it that Pilgrim found in his pocket?

01:08:09.117 --> 01:08:10.506
He found a key.

01:08:10.506 --> 01:08:15.687
Remember what the key was? Promise.

01:08:15.687 --> 01:08:23.268
You see, he saw, that in the Christian battle, 
it was just latching on to a promise.

01:08:23.268 --> 01:08:30.371
And I would say that to anybody, any Christian, that is fighting,

01:08:30.372 --> 01:08:36.490
because the reality is, look, we have an enemy.

01:08:36.490 --> 01:08:39.991
And he will try to trip us up; and he will lie.

01:08:39.991 --> 01:08:43.831
And we heard about it on Sunday, what is he trying to do?

01:08:43.831 --> 01:08:48.050
He tries to slander God to us.

01:08:48.051 --> 01:08:50.687
And he will make us think that God doesn't like us;

01:08:50.687 --> 01:08:55.885
he'll make us think that God has abandoned us;

01:08:55.886 --> 01:08:59.531
he'll come at us with all manner of lies.

01:08:59.531 --> 01:09:04.755
And that's where the battle often is.

01:09:04.756 --> 01:09:10.005
And when we're under this attack, and those attacks may be real,

01:09:10.006 --> 01:09:13.760
you know, Paul faced a thorn in the flesh.

01:09:13.761 --> 01:09:16.193
Sometimes people think that that was physical,

01:09:16.194 --> 01:09:20.715
but there's really nothing from the passage there in 2 Corinthians 12

01:09:20.716 --> 01:09:26.761
that indicates the thorn in the flesh was physical.

01:09:33.413 --> 01:09:39.263
Anybody recall what that thorn in the flesh was called?

01:09:39.263 --> 01:09:42.255
The messenger of Satan.

01:09:42.256 --> 01:09:49.904
And it seems like it probably was more like a demonic attack.

01:09:49.904 --> 01:09:58.116
There's really nothing from the passage that 
seems to indicate that it was physical necessarily.

01:09:58.116 --> 01:09:59.685
These things are real.

01:09:59.685 --> 01:10:03.255
I mean, I've experienced these things being in the ministry. (P)

01:10:03.255 --> 01:10:07.572
Is it true that people can have chemical imbalances? Is it true?

01:10:07.572 --> 01:10:13.515
Yes, all those things are true, but they never justify sin.

01:10:13.516 --> 01:10:19.134
A panic attack does not justify sin any more than a heart attack justifies sin.

01:10:19.134 --> 01:10:23.546
There's never a time when it is right to rebel against God.

01:10:23.546 --> 01:10:25.886
You remember what happened to Jesus?

01:10:25.886 --> 01:10:31.886
Jesus, it says in Hebrews 5, "He learned obedience."

01:10:31.887 --> 01:10:36.415
What does that mean? It certainly doesn't mean that He ever disobeyed.

01:10:36.415 --> 01:10:40.352
But it says He learned obedience through what He suffered.

01:10:40.352 --> 01:10:48.503
In other words, the greater His suffering got, 
the more He was taught,

01:10:48.503 --> 01:10:55.558
the more He learned to obey in the fire.

01:10:55.558 --> 01:10:57.623
And that's where we're at.

01:10:57.623 --> 01:11:04.837
We're not justified because we're under attack
or because there is even: "I got a thyroid issue,

01:11:04.838 --> 01:11:10.698
or I got a chemical imbalance, that makes me 
feel cranky or somehow fills me full of fears."

01:11:10.699 --> 01:11:15.429
You know, it's often said that people that are getting dementia,

01:11:15.429 --> 01:11:18.687
and certain kinds of fears grip people.

01:11:18.687 --> 01:11:28.593
I mean, there's never a time in Scripture 
that we are told that a sin is justifiable.

01:11:28.593 --> 01:11:29.306
At all.

01:11:29.306 --> 01:11:33.034
And anxiety is being of little faith.

01:11:33.034 --> 01:11:37.702
It's fearing, and it's not regarding God for who He is.

01:11:37.702 --> 01:11:39.503
It's doubting Him.

01:11:39.503 --> 01:11:48.374
That's really what's behind these things: 
doubting Him and not taking Him at his promises. (P)

01:11:48.375 --> 01:11:51.857
Listen, the battle can be fierce.

01:11:51.857 --> 01:11:55.718
But this is what we're called to do: fight the good fight of faith.

01:11:55.718 --> 01:11:57.607
Fighting the good fight of faith.

01:11:57.607 --> 01:12:04.490
Our faith is never tested when life is easy; it's tested when it's hard.

01:12:04.490 --> 01:12:08.018
It's tested when the storm clouds are overhead.

01:12:08.018 --> 01:12:12.688
It's tested when you're in the furnace,

01:12:12.688 --> 01:12:18.304
and you're crying out for God, and you're wondering where He is.

01:12:18.304 --> 01:12:24.559
It's tested when you're praying and He's not answering immediately.

01:12:24.559 --> 01:12:31.872
It's tested when His providence in your life 
seems like a "frowning providence,"

01:12:31.872 --> 01:12:35.723
like in the song we sing.

01:12:35.723 --> 01:12:40.006
But those things ripen fast,

01:12:40.006 --> 01:12:46.042
and it bursts forth on our head with all manner of good things.

01:12:46.042 --> 01:12:47.995
But we have to trust Him.

01:12:47.995 --> 01:12:52.561
And I know, that's where I've come back to
when I personally have been in the fire

01:12:52.561 --> 01:12:54.712
and been in the midst of these battles.

01:12:54.712 --> 01:13:06.496
It's really coming to set the mind squarely on, 
"Who is God? Who is He? What has He promised?",

01:13:06.496 --> 01:13:15.537
and stay there, and cling to that reality that I know my God is in control.

01:13:15.537 --> 01:13:22.632
And in light of that, we live.

01:13:22.632 --> 01:13:26.754
I mean, that's faith - when I'm not walking by sight.

01:13:26.754 --> 01:13:30.402
I'm walking by this God who has revealed Himself in the Word,

01:13:30.402 --> 01:13:35.306
and by the truths that He has given,
and that the truth will set me free.

01:13:35.306 --> 01:13:38.678
But who is He? And I know this, He's in control.

01:13:38.678 --> 01:13:46.010
And I know this: if I am experiencing unearthly levels of anxiety,

01:13:46.010 --> 01:13:47.797
He has allowed this to happen.

01:13:47.797 --> 01:13:51.500
He is putting me through the fire; He is testing me.

01:13:51.500 --> 01:14:03.404
And whenever we're tested, you know this,
He always gives a way out (I Corinthians 10).

01:14:03.404 --> 01:14:08.932
There is always a way of escape without sinning. (P)

01:14:08.932 --> 01:14:13.026
If we let these fears, if we let these anxieties,

01:14:13.026 --> 01:14:16.754
if we let these depressions grip us and take us down,

01:14:16.754 --> 01:14:20.548
you know what happens? We will not be fruitful;

01:14:20.548 --> 01:14:24.306
we will not be involved in the lives of others the way we should be;

01:14:24.306 --> 01:14:28.787
we will not be involved in relationships the way we ought to be.

01:14:28.787 --> 01:14:36.003
And the thing is, there are many things that God 
would have us to do with our lives that we will not do.

01:14:36.003 --> 01:14:40.714
Why? because we shut down. You become paralyzed.

01:14:40.713 --> 01:14:43.961
I mean, if you can't leave the house,

01:14:43.962 --> 01:14:48.328
how is Jesus gonna say to you, "I was in prison and you visited Me"?

01:14:48.328 --> 01:14:53.735
Well, it's not gonna happen, because you basically shut down.

01:14:53.735 --> 01:14:59.262
And all these ways that we're supposed 
to be involved in the lives of others,

01:14:59.262 --> 01:15:04.264
and use our spiritual gifts to profit others, we will fail to do.

01:15:04.264 --> 01:15:11.075
We will fail to love others as we ought,
because you just become crippled.

01:15:11.075 --> 01:15:13.263
But remembering what the Lord has said.

01:15:13.263 --> 01:15:17.846
And I mean, there is so much to be said for going to the Word of God,

01:15:17.846 --> 01:15:21.935
and in whatever condition you find yourself, you go to Scripture;

01:15:21.936 --> 01:15:27.231
and it's just pleading with the Lord, 
"Lord, just give me one promise.

01:15:27.231 --> 01:15:30.543
Just let me find one promise."

01:15:30.543 --> 01:15:41.014
Many of these Christians of old, I think of Bunyan actually,

01:15:41.014 --> 01:15:43.814
who wrote about Doubting Castle.

01:15:43.814 --> 01:15:47.770
I mean, he talks about many of the trials that he faced early on,

01:15:47.771 --> 01:15:56.266
just horrible attacks, and full of all sorts of potential anxieties and despair.

01:15:56.266 --> 01:16:01.954
And he would often search Scripture, sometimes for months on end,

01:16:01.954 --> 01:16:08.962
simply to find one promise that he could just hold on to,

01:16:08.962 --> 01:16:11.016
that would carry him through.

01:16:11.016 --> 01:16:14.600
That's what you got to do. That's fighting this good fight of faith.

01:16:14.599 --> 01:16:16.901
It's going to the truth of God's Word.

01:16:16.902 --> 01:16:23.301
It's planting yourself on God's promises, and then striving.

01:16:23.301 --> 01:16:27.035
It's learning obedience in the midst of the suffering -

01:16:27.035 --> 01:16:32.077
that's following the path of Jesus. (P)

01:16:32.077 --> 01:16:34.522
James, I know you were looking at the topic too.

01:16:34.522 --> 01:16:38.262
What do you have to add to that? (P)

01:16:38.263 --> 01:16:41.167
[James] I guess 1 Corinthians 10, you referenced that.

01:16:41.168 --> 01:16:43.022
You pointed this out years ago:

01:16:43.022 --> 01:16:48.415
Paul says there, it's not just the way of escape,
but that you may endure it.

01:16:48.415 --> 01:16:55.928
And you kind of emphasized that word "endure",
because it's not a promise to be instantly delivered,

01:16:55.928 --> 01:17:00.942
it's a promise that in the midst of the fire, 
the Lord will help you endure it.

01:17:00.942 --> 01:17:05.854
And sometimes, yeah, these things don't go away in the blink of an eye,

01:17:05.854 --> 01:17:10.120
but you've got to keep trusting the Lord and endure it. (P)

01:17:10.120 --> 01:17:15.596
[Tim] Yeah, the way out is not necessarily the way out of the trial.

01:17:15.596 --> 01:17:19.009
The way out is the way out of "not sinning".

01:17:19.009 --> 01:17:21.623
That is where there's always a way out.

01:17:21.623 --> 01:17:27.158
Yeah, the trial actually may last the rest of your life.

01:17:27.158 --> 01:17:28.691
Look, I can't guarantee that.

01:17:28.691 --> 01:17:30.228
Now, that's not always the case -

01:17:30.229 --> 01:17:37.316
there's many trials we entered into, and the Lord cuts it short.

01:17:40.993 --> 01:17:45.904
We're not given promises that we won't die.

01:17:45.904 --> 01:17:48.719
We're not given promises that we won't get a disease

01:17:48.719 --> 01:17:50.653
that will be with us for the rest of our days.

01:17:50.653 --> 01:17:52.245
None of those things are promised.

01:17:52.245 --> 01:17:58.760
In fact, what we are promised is "through much tribulation."

01:17:58.760 --> 01:18:10.649
And so, finding Christians that get lambasted 
by temptations to distrust, or fear,

01:18:10.649 --> 01:18:18.046
or be full of anxiety, or to be in despair, or to fall into depression,

01:18:18.046 --> 01:18:21.301
that ought not to surprise us.

01:18:21.301 --> 01:18:25.050
The issue is, what's the remedy?

01:18:25.050 --> 01:18:30.025
And Jesus gives us the remedy: Remember who your God is,

01:18:30.025 --> 01:18:33.405
and remember what He has promised.

01:18:33.406 --> 01:18:35.508
And you've got to set your mind.

01:18:35.508 --> 01:18:49.335
Listen, the thing to do is what we always are called to do when we are in sin.

01:18:49.335 --> 01:18:51.617
You are called to repent.

01:18:51.617 --> 01:18:59.673
Listen, the worst way forward is to say, "I'm having a panic attack.

01:18:59.673 --> 01:19:02.411
It's not my fault. I got an excuse.

01:19:02.411 --> 01:19:06.256
Other people just don't know, they don't know what I'm going through.

01:19:06.256 --> 01:19:10.558
If they knew, then they would excuse my sin 
or they would excuse my conduct."

01:19:10.558 --> 01:19:12.027
That's not the way out. (P)

01:19:12.027 --> 01:19:16.605
The thing to do is to look, and if we recognize, "Lord, it's true.

01:19:16.605 --> 01:19:19.519
I have not trusted You.

01:19:19.519 --> 01:19:24.403
I have thought of You as being way too small and my problems way too big.

01:19:24.403 --> 01:19:25.548
I haven't trusted You.

01:19:25.548 --> 01:19:31.744
I haven't been able to cast my cares upon You and leave them there."

01:19:31.744 --> 01:19:33.712
The best place is to admit it.

01:19:33.712 --> 01:19:39.606
The best place is to confess it and plead to the Lord for help,

01:19:39.606 --> 01:19:45.213
and seek to lay your faith into the promises; being honest.

01:19:45.214 --> 01:19:49.574
Being honest is by far the best way forward.

01:19:49.574 --> 01:19:55.976
Being dishonest, trying to ignore it or not take 
responsibility for it [is not the way forward],

01:19:55.976 --> 01:20:08.254
because anxiety and fears, worries,
despair, depression, they are our fault.

01:20:08.254 --> 01:20:15.447
When Scripture is clearly calling us to not be that way, it's our fault.

01:20:15.447 --> 01:20:19.218
And the best thing to do is not to try to see the right doctor,

01:20:19.219 --> 01:20:21.984
who is going to convince us we're victims.

01:20:21.984 --> 01:20:24.558
The best thing to do is go to Scripture and recognize,

01:20:24.558 --> 01:20:28.027
Scripture is telling us very specifically [it's our fault]. (P)

01:20:28.027 --> 01:20:31.316
You get people who have panic attacks or something,

01:20:31.316 --> 01:20:35.906
and I recognize some well-meaning Christians could be very insensitive,

01:20:35.906 --> 01:20:40.566
and they come up to somebody and 
they have no idea what these attacks are like,

01:20:40.566 --> 01:20:44.279
or even maybe they doubt the legitimacy of them or whatever;

01:20:44.279 --> 01:20:47.393
and they're just saying, "It's just sin, you just need to repent."

01:20:47.393 --> 01:20:50.207
Well, okay, you could say it like that,

01:20:50.207 --> 01:20:57.902
and the person feels like, "That person didn't really help me."

01:20:57.902 --> 01:21:08.556
But the truth is that some people will feel like, 
if you tell them it's their sin,

01:21:08.557 --> 01:21:12.759
they'll tell you, "Well, that's not helpful."

01:21:12.759 --> 01:21:20.447
Well, that person may not feel that it's helpful 
because they may not want to admit the truth.

01:21:20.447 --> 01:21:24.167
But really, there's no wiggle room here.

01:21:24.167 --> 01:21:31.303
Scripture is pretty clear that anxiety and worries like this

01:21:31.303 --> 01:21:38.429
are just an indication of an ungodly fear,

01:21:38.430 --> 01:21:42.721
and they're an indication of being of little faith.

01:21:42.721 --> 01:21:48.894
And the remedy, O the remedy is to see how big God is,

01:21:48.894 --> 01:21:54.094
to see how faithful He is, to see how kind He is, how much He loves us.

01:21:54.094 --> 01:21:57.662
Listen, if you see God for who He is,

01:21:57.662 --> 01:22:04.790
you're not gonna be traumatized by worry and anxiety all the time,

01:22:04.790 --> 01:22:07.149
because He's good.

01:22:07.150 --> 01:22:10.381
He's good, and He's gonna do good.

01:22:10.382 --> 01:22:18.069
And the truth is, even if He takes your children, He's good.

01:22:18.070 --> 01:22:21.138
And you don't want to live in light of the what-ifs,

01:22:21.138 --> 01:22:25.921
because the truth is, the thing that most people worry about don't come to pass.

01:22:25.921 --> 01:22:30.964
And the thing is, if you worry that much about it, 
it's probably an idol to you.

01:22:30.964 --> 01:22:34.842
And God may decide to come take it away from you

01:22:34.842 --> 01:22:41.075
because He actually has promised to cleanse us from all of our idols.

01:22:41.076 --> 01:22:45.691
Look, when you worry about something so much 
and you can't commit it to the Lord,

01:22:45.691 --> 01:22:53.392
you can believe that there's some serious 
idolatry happening there, as well as pride;

01:22:53.392 --> 01:22:56.745
and it's unhealthy. (P)

01:22:56.745 --> 01:23:00.437
Panic attacks are real.

01:23:00.437 --> 01:23:02.749
Depression is real.

01:23:02.750 --> 01:23:05.956
Some people genetically are more given to it.

01:23:05.956 --> 01:23:11.495
And I would say this because sometimes you see it in whole family lines.

01:23:11.495 --> 01:23:13.501
I think of Brainerd.

01:23:13.502 --> 01:23:19.181
I think his brother, his father, it was there.

01:23:19.181 --> 01:23:23.944
People, for whatever reasons, can genetically be more inclined to certain things.

01:23:23.944 --> 01:23:26.348
That's a reality.

01:23:26.348 --> 01:23:30.296
There can be different factors. We don't downplay any of those.

01:23:30.296 --> 01:23:32.575
And until you've been in somebody else's place,

01:23:32.575 --> 01:23:36.157
you don't want to downplay the trial that they're facing,

01:23:36.158 --> 01:23:40.811
and you don't want to try to tell them 
that these things are figments of their imagination.

01:23:40.811 --> 01:23:43.544
I guarantee you, they are not.

01:23:43.544 --> 01:23:46.242
But what you can tell them and encourage them is:

01:23:46.243 --> 01:23:49.370
no matter how difficult the suffering is,

01:23:49.370 --> 01:23:54.458
no matter how intense the onslaught may be,

01:23:54.458 --> 01:23:56.507
no matter how demonic it may be,

01:23:56.507 --> 01:24:03.340
or whatever organic chemical realities may be 
happening with your body that are contributing to this,

01:24:03.340 --> 01:24:09.227
still sin is not a viable option.

01:24:09.228 --> 01:24:11.033
But trust in the Lord.

01:24:11.033 --> 01:24:15.848
No matter how intense the trial gets, trust the Lord.

01:24:15.848 --> 01:24:19.326
He always is going to give you a way out.

01:24:19.326 --> 01:24:22.358
Always, He is going to.

01:24:22.358 --> 01:24:27.411
Sin is never a 'must' option.

01:24:27.411 --> 01:24:41.421
And no matter the trial, we have to press people on 
in the path of righteousness.

01:24:41.421 --> 01:24:43.688
And God says, "I won't leave you."

01:24:43.688 --> 01:24:49.000
And even when Paul said, "Oh Lord, please take this away."

01:24:49.000 --> 01:24:50.019
"No, Paul."

01:24:50.019 --> 01:24:50.774
"Please."

01:24:50.774 --> 01:24:51.507
"No."

01:24:51.507 --> 01:24:52.778
"Please."

01:24:52.778 --> 01:24:55.374
"My grace is sufficient."

01:24:55.374 --> 01:25:00.448
That, we have to rest on. His grace is sufficient. (P)

01:25:00.448 --> 01:25:03.736
You see, the thing I was involved with, and some of you know this,

01:25:03.736 --> 01:25:06.318
but there was a time (you may think this is crazy,

01:25:06.318 --> 01:25:09.890
but I'll tell you this, when you're in the midst of it, it is not crazy).

01:25:09.890 --> 01:25:13.327
I had the biggest tree in my yard right out here in front.

01:25:13.327 --> 01:25:21.826
And I was sitting in my office one day, 
and it came like a bolt of lightning:

01:25:21.826 --> 01:25:26.467
"You need to cut that tree down, it's an idol to you."

01:25:26.467 --> 01:25:37.498
And, I mean, it might seem foolish but it was all-out hellish war.

01:25:37.498 --> 01:25:45.563
And I pleaded with the Lord; and in the end I was not at rest.

01:25:45.564 --> 01:25:47.391
I could not pray, I could not go into...

01:25:47.391 --> 01:25:50.568
I mean, it was turning me into a mess.

01:25:50.568 --> 01:25:52.416
And you might think, "Over that?"

01:25:52.416 --> 01:25:55.166
Well, I went out and I chopped that tree down.

01:25:55.166 --> 01:26:02.036
And I hoisted it up, and I said, "Lord, 
no tree is gonna stand between You and me." (P)

01:26:02.036 --> 01:26:09.063
Somebody at the Men's Retreat said, "Was that God or was that the devil?"

01:26:09.063 --> 01:26:14.357
And Charles answered for me, and he said "Yes" to both.

01:26:14.357 --> 01:26:16.388
And I think that's right.

01:26:16.388 --> 01:26:23.558
It's much like Job, where God is in control,

01:26:23.559 --> 01:26:27.083
but He allows the devil to do things.

01:26:27.083 --> 01:26:28.172
And He's in control.

01:26:28.172 --> 01:26:32.319
And I had to come to that: "Lord, I'm asking You to take this away -

01:26:32.319 --> 01:26:35.353
this battle, this fierce thing that's happening in my brain -

01:26:35.353 --> 01:26:37.808
I mean, I was in turmoil."

01:26:37.808 --> 01:26:39.035
He wouldn't take it away.

01:26:39.035 --> 01:26:42.998
And so I just had to conclude, God's not taking it away,

01:26:42.998 --> 01:26:48.114
so He wants me to give in to this.

01:26:49.606 --> 01:26:53.961
I don't know. But I'll tell you what, it was real.

01:26:53.962 --> 01:27:00.757
And there's been other seasons, not with trees,
but there's been other seasons very similar.

01:27:00.757 --> 01:27:06.355
Total battles. These things are very real.

01:27:06.355 --> 01:27:10.247
And it's not been since I've been a pastor that I've actually had seasons

01:27:10.247 --> 01:27:14.697
where clouds, and it's like the temptation to depression.

01:27:14.697 --> 01:27:24.825
I mean, one of the elders up in Kirksville, 
he was telling me about traveling overseas.

01:27:24.825 --> 01:27:27.724
And he was traveling with a preacher.

01:27:27.724 --> 01:27:37.918
And they said they found that preacher curled up 
in a fetal position in the corner of his hotel room.

01:27:37.919 --> 01:27:41.238
These kind of battles are very real.

01:27:41.238 --> 01:27:52.789
Spurgeon would sit out back of his house there, and he'd just weep.

01:27:52.789 --> 01:27:55.602
These battles are very real. (P)

01:27:55.602 --> 01:27:59.100
Many of you know the story of William Cowper.

01:27:59.101 --> 01:28:03.360
I almost wouldn't recommend to people that are 
having problems that they listen to it,

01:28:03.360 --> 01:28:08.465
because I'm afraid it'd throw you even deeper into your problems.

01:28:08.465 --> 01:28:12.007
I've never found great amounts of encouragement,

01:28:12.008 --> 01:28:17.653
although he's written some glorious songs that we sing.

01:28:17.653 --> 01:28:20.585
These battles are very real and we don't want to minimize them,

01:28:20.585 --> 01:28:23.518
we don't want to tell people they're not experiencing them.

01:28:23.518 --> 01:28:27.628
But we do want to insist that the Bible has answers.

01:28:27.628 --> 01:28:31.311
And in the Scripture what we find is a knowledge of the true God.

01:28:31.311 --> 01:28:38.504
And it's Him and His promises that we've got to 
seek to get people to latch on to.

01:28:38.504 --> 01:28:41.952
And like I say, Scripture just doesn't give us a wiggle room on this.

01:28:41.952 --> 01:28:46.274
You will not find the passage that says anxiety...

01:28:46.274 --> 01:28:54.186
Listen, if it's concern, like Paul talks about the anxiety for the churches,

01:28:54.186 --> 01:29:00.601
where it's loving concern, that's another thing.

01:29:00.601 --> 01:29:04.744
I mean, where somebody is actually thinking and praying all the time

01:29:04.744 --> 01:29:12.182
about their children or about churches, 
and they are concerned for the purity.

01:29:12.182 --> 01:29:21.531
When the term 'anxiety' is used that way, 
where a loving concern is involved,

01:29:21.531 --> 01:29:23.559
that is obviously a good thing.

01:29:23.559 --> 01:29:30.171
Or where fear is used, like a genuine, good, healthy, godly fear of God,

01:29:30.171 --> 01:29:32.598
that's a good thing.

01:29:32.598 --> 01:29:40.102
When we're talking about the anxieties where we are fretting -

01:29:40.102 --> 01:29:42.176
the kind of fretting that doesn't do any good,

01:29:42.176 --> 01:29:50.760
the kind of fretting that is calling into question the very character of God -

01:29:50.760 --> 01:29:54.534
it's very unhealthy. (P)

01:29:56.094 --> 01:30:02.259
Well, any other comments on this? (P)

01:30:09.031 --> 01:30:20.808
[Sister] When does a concern turn into
an anxiety, and how do you test that? (P)

01:30:20.808 --> 01:30:32.215
Well, I would say this, it would be when you're paralyzed or crippled

01:30:32.215 --> 01:30:37.861
from doing the things that you know God wants you to do.

01:30:37.861 --> 01:30:49.614
It would be when you're not able to commit those cares to God.

01:30:49.614 --> 01:31:01.031
It would be when you so fret over those things
and are not trusting the Lord,

01:31:01.032 --> 01:31:03.105
because you're not taking Him at His word,

01:31:03.105 --> 01:31:08.304
or you're seeing Him as too small, or incompetent,

01:31:08.304 --> 01:31:15.614
or not trustworthy to take these concerns.

01:31:15.614 --> 01:31:23.147
I mean, if you have the kind of care or concern 
that Paul had for the churches,

01:31:23.147 --> 01:31:30.212
and it made you think about those churches all the time

01:31:30.213 --> 01:31:32.509
and pray about them all the time,

01:31:32.509 --> 01:31:37.676
but you were able in your prayers to commit them to the Lord,

01:31:37.676 --> 01:31:48.441
and then to come out of praying and be able to sing and rejoice in the Lord,

01:31:48.441 --> 01:31:53.151
I think that's probably a good indication.

01:31:53.151 --> 01:32:02.695
When you can couple a loving concern for others
with an ability to rejoice in the Lord and praise Him,

01:32:02.695 --> 01:32:13.367
and see Him as big and sovereign and trustworthy, 
you know you've got a healthy concern.

01:32:13.367 --> 01:32:20.536
Because, typically, when a concern is sinful, 
and it's anxiety, and it's full of fear,

01:32:20.536 --> 01:32:25.673
it's gonna zap your joy, it's gonna zap your rejoicing in the Lord

01:32:25.673 --> 01:32:29.427
(you won't be able to sing, you won't be feeling full of praise)

01:32:29.427 --> 01:32:32.711
because you won't be seeing God big and trustworthy,

01:32:32.711 --> 01:32:39.679
you're gonna see your problems big and worry-worthy.

01:32:39.680 --> 01:32:43.754
I think that's a good test. (P)

01:32:44.610 --> 01:32:48.035
[Sister] So someone who is trusting in the Lord, 
like you said, trusting in His character,

01:32:48.035 --> 01:32:52.832
is not gonna look like somebody curled up into a little ball.

01:32:52.833 --> 01:32:54.320
Does that make sense?

01:32:54.321 --> 01:33:00.674
Like, somebody who is going through a big trial, practically speaking... (P)

01:33:00.675 --> 01:33:04.583
[Tim] Well, if you're curled up in a fetal position 
and not wanting to get out of bed,

01:33:04.583 --> 01:33:11.193
I mean, you're basically feeling like, "I can't do this."

01:33:11.193 --> 01:33:20.919
And the Lord is saying to us that: 
"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

01:33:20.919 --> 01:33:23.617
And even though that's speaking money-wise there,

01:33:23.618 --> 01:33:30.981
I think that's a reality obviously that applies to all of them.

01:33:30.982 --> 01:33:35.486
"Without Christ I can't do anything; and with Him I can do anything."

01:33:35.486 --> 01:33:39.337
And it's not trusting Him.

01:33:39.338 --> 01:33:42.204
Basically, why are you curled up that way and staying in bed?

01:33:42.204 --> 01:33:44.627
Well, it's because you feel overwhelmed

01:33:44.627 --> 01:33:52.302
by whatever problems or by whatever situation that you're up against.

01:33:52.303 --> 01:33:57.960
I mean, you're basically being crippled and not rising up out of bed,

01:33:57.960 --> 01:34:02.810
and going forth with your life to do the things that God calls you to do,

01:34:02.810 --> 01:34:06.977
because you're just feeling overwhelmed,
you're feeling like, "I can't do this."

01:34:06.977 --> 01:34:12.630
And whenever a Christian gets to the place 
where they just say, "I can't do it,"

01:34:12.630 --> 01:34:21.113
that really is making a statement about God, 
who says, "With My help you can." (P)

01:34:22.677 --> 01:34:28.165
So, I mean, we have to be very careful.

01:34:28.165 --> 01:34:31.095
When we say, "I can't do it,"

01:34:31.095 --> 01:34:35.505
and God is saying, "I am the God of the impossible."

01:34:35.505 --> 01:34:40.333
When God is saying He is able to do exceedingly 
abundantly beyond what we ask or think;

01:34:40.333 --> 01:34:48.446
when God is presenting Himself as Big, and Able,

01:34:48.447 --> 01:34:53.916
and with us, and not going to forsake us...

01:34:53.917 --> 01:34:57.770
You see, here's the thing: When we live like the world,

01:34:57.770 --> 01:35:01.275
you see, this is what the Gentiles do:

01:35:01.275 --> 01:35:05.253
When we basically live our life no different than the Gentiles,

01:35:05.253 --> 01:35:09.118
basically what we're saying is, 
"Our God is no different from their god."

01:35:09.118 --> 01:35:10.191
That's really what we're saying.

01:35:10.191 --> 01:35:13.771
If we're gonna say we're Christians and we've got the true and living God with us;

01:35:13.771 --> 01:35:18.007
you see, this is the problem: When Israel would act like the other nations,

01:35:18.007 --> 01:35:22.209
sometimes the prophets would come to them 
and say, "Is there no God in Israel?"

01:35:22.209 --> 01:35:25.007
I mean, you're doing this, you're doing this, you're doing this -

01:35:25.007 --> 01:35:29.016
you're hiring out foreign militias;

01:35:29.016 --> 01:35:35.933
you're seeking other gods, or you're seeking witches, or you're seeking...

01:35:35.933 --> 01:35:42.247
I mean, these guys would do different things, 
and it's like they're acting just like the nations.

01:35:42.247 --> 01:35:46.668
That's what we don't want to do.

01:35:46.669 --> 01:35:51.067
I mean, Jesus is like, "Okay, all your worrying doesn't do any good.

01:35:51.067 --> 01:35:53.736
And when you act like that, when you fret over those things,

01:35:53.736 --> 01:35:56.027
you're acting just like the Gentiles do." (P)

01:35:56.027 --> 01:36:01.663
Well, again, I don't have any problem with a lost person 
curling up in a little ball and staying in bed,

01:36:01.663 --> 01:36:07.406
because I recognize they are up against overwhelming 
realities and they have nobody for them.

01:36:07.405 --> 01:36:10.318
God isn't for them, God isn't with them, God isn't helping them.

01:36:10.319 --> 01:36:13.479
God has made no promise to them other than destruction,

01:36:13.479 --> 01:36:16.173
because they're in rebellion against His Son.

01:36:16.173 --> 01:36:18.768
And so I recognize, yes, curl up.

01:36:18.768 --> 01:36:22.064
I mean, isn't this what Paul says, 
"Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."

01:36:22.064 --> 01:36:25.182
Or, "Roll up and stay in your bed, for tomorrow we die."

01:36:25.182 --> 01:36:26.744
I mean, it's no different.

01:36:26.745 --> 01:36:30.365
What's the difference? Do one or the other, you're gonna die.

01:36:30.365 --> 01:36:34.119
But when we've got God as our God and we curl up in a little ball...

01:36:34.120 --> 01:36:40.657
look, I'm not gonna say Satan can't throw some fierce fiery darts at us

01:36:40.657 --> 01:36:45.100
that can knock us to the ground and put a guy 
over there in the corner curled up in a little ball.

01:36:45.100 --> 01:36:49.651
I suspect that that very man, by the very next day, 
was not curled up in a little ball.

01:36:49.651 --> 01:36:51.406
He was probably standing in a pulpit,

01:36:51.406 --> 01:36:55.370
and people were being wonderfully converted under his preaching.

01:36:55.370 --> 01:37:00.959
It just happened to be he was under an attack like that right at the moment. (P)

01:37:00.959 --> 01:37:04.713
I mean, there was another time he was 
walking up some stairs, and he just collapsed.

01:37:04.713 --> 01:37:08.626
And some of the spiritual battles and warfare that come upon us...

01:37:08.626 --> 01:37:13.975
and look, I'm not saying that any of us are even 
gonna weather these kind of attacks perfectly.

01:37:13.974 --> 01:37:15.536
We're still in transition.

01:37:15.536 --> 01:37:17.337
We're still works-in-progress.

01:37:17.338 --> 01:37:19.755
We're still being sanctified.

01:37:19.755 --> 01:37:26.035
We see the example of Jesus, who, through all of 
His sufferings, He was learning obedience;

01:37:26.035 --> 01:37:27.634
and he did that perfect.

01:37:27.634 --> 01:37:29.803
Well, we're supposed to be imitating that,

01:37:29.803 --> 01:37:33.919
but of course, there's still imperfections hanging on to us.

01:37:33.919 --> 01:37:35.417
I recognize that.

01:37:35.417 --> 01:37:39.619
We're gonna have our times of failure 
and we're gonna have our times of falling,

01:37:39.619 --> 01:37:41.245
but we have to come back.

01:37:41.245 --> 01:37:47.425
The way you fight through these things is setting the mind.

01:37:47.425 --> 01:37:53.080
It can become so much a matter of, you've got to start with that confidence

01:37:53.080 --> 01:37:55.444
that the answers are in here (the Bible).

01:37:55.444 --> 01:37:57.773
And Lord, I'm gonna go in your Word.

01:37:57.773 --> 01:37:58.828
I've been there before.

01:37:58.829 --> 01:38:02.351
In some of the battles that I faced in the Christian life,

01:38:02.351 --> 01:38:05.904
it's been, "Lord, I just need a word.

01:38:05.904 --> 01:38:08.672
I don't need a lot of words, I don't need ten words.

01:38:08.672 --> 01:38:12.232
I need one promise. I need you to give me something."

01:38:12.232 --> 01:38:15.971
And He has. He's been faithful. (P)

01:38:15.971 --> 01:38:18.536
It's just something you can, whatever you're being faced with,

01:38:18.542 --> 01:38:23.477
something you can just lay hold of, that gives you 
some solidity to your situation.

01:38:23.477 --> 01:38:25.537
It puts some foundation under you.

01:38:25.537 --> 01:38:27.114
Something that gets you through.

01:38:27.114 --> 01:38:32.414
Something that, no matter how quick those fiery darts are coming,

01:38:32.414 --> 01:38:34.543
what do you raise up? The shield of faith -

01:38:34.543 --> 01:38:37.364
faith in that word, faith in those promises,

01:38:37.364 --> 01:38:41.842
faith in the character of God, faith in His faithfulness - you raise up.

01:38:41.842 --> 01:38:44.089
That's how we defend ourselves.

01:38:44.089 --> 01:38:50.144
And those darts can come in hailstorms,
and sometimes the mind is just totally...

01:38:50.144 --> 01:38:52.105
I mean, you can't hardly think straight.

01:38:52.105 --> 01:38:55.360
There's just a barrage, and there's confusion.

01:38:55.360 --> 01:38:59.863
But if, in that confusion and darkness, you can see that one bit of light

01:38:59.863 --> 01:39:02.932
where you can reach out and lay hold of that one promise,

01:39:02.933 --> 01:39:07.806
and hang on to it like Jacob hung on to that angel (tried to buck him off);

01:39:07.805 --> 01:39:15.299
and you're just gonna hang on to that truth 
no matter what storms come against you.

01:39:15.299 --> 01:39:17.996
I mean, this is fighting the good fight of faith.

01:39:17.995 --> 01:39:19.573
And it's a fight.

01:39:19.574 --> 01:39:23.220
Listen, God would not have called it that unless it was truly a fight.

01:39:23.220 --> 01:39:26.370
Hanging on to Christ, and hanging on to His promises,

01:39:26.370 --> 01:39:28.334
and hanging on to the Word of God.

01:39:28.334 --> 01:39:34.157
Satan... it's almost like, could God have taken Satan out at the beginning?

01:39:34.157 --> 01:39:37.315
He could have. Why is he here?

01:39:37.316 --> 01:39:42.737
The devil is God's devil, and he is here to accomplish God's purposes.

01:39:42.737 --> 01:39:47.945
And I have to believe that one of the 
primary purposes that the devil has,

01:39:47.945 --> 01:39:59.458
is that God is using the devil to make us stronger and to test our faith. (P)

01:39:59.459 --> 01:40:01.572
I mean, you think about Paul.

01:40:01.572 --> 01:40:06.080
This messenger of Satan, what did it do for Paul?

01:40:06.080 --> 01:40:09.452
It destroyed his pride.

01:40:09.452 --> 01:40:15.863
When you come against onslaughts that want to 
send you into anxiety attacks and whatever,

01:40:15.863 --> 01:40:19.887
if anything, you're made very aware of your weakness.

01:40:19.887 --> 01:40:29.968
And Paul said, "I'll boast in this, because when I'm weak He's strong."

01:40:29.968 --> 01:40:33.149
See, there was the confidence.

01:40:33.149 --> 01:40:38.144
He can be tore apart in these things and he can be a weakling;

01:40:38.144 --> 01:40:41.014
and he can plead and pray, and God didn't take it away;

01:40:41.014 --> 01:40:42.641
and yet he could still boast in it,

01:40:42.647 --> 01:40:47.037
because he could still see the strength of Christ working through his life.

01:40:47.037 --> 01:40:51.729
That's really where we want to get in the midst of these things.

01:40:51.729 --> 01:40:56.973
And you can pray, "Lord, please take this away,
take this depression away, take these factors.

01:40:56.973 --> 01:41:00.991
Lord, I'm trying to cling to promises, 
I'm looking at your character. I believe..."

01:41:00.991 --> 01:41:05.621
But you're feeling this barrage.

01:41:05.621 --> 01:41:12.216
And look, undoubtedly, some people, that may be where the battle is.

01:41:12.216 --> 01:41:16.318
Every day they get out of bed, 
they have to fight that battle all over again. (P)

01:41:16.318 --> 01:41:18.861
I mean, I heard John Piper say one time,

01:41:18.861 --> 01:41:22.016
he basically has to get saved every day all over again.

01:41:22.016 --> 01:41:25.176
You have to understand what he means by that.

01:41:25.176 --> 01:41:28.947
Basically, he said, every morning when he rose up,

01:41:28.947 --> 01:41:34.006
he needed to lock on to gospel promises all over again. Every day.

01:41:34.006 --> 01:41:37.072
Because the battle was gonna be real, it was gonna be intense,

01:41:37.072 --> 01:41:39.313
and his faith was being tested.

01:41:39.313 --> 01:41:42.156
And so, he just felt like every day he had to be saved all over,

01:41:42.156 --> 01:41:45.989
just latching back on to the promises of the gospel.

01:41:45.989 --> 01:41:48.261
If you're given to anxieties,

01:41:48.261 --> 01:41:52.731
I mean, look, there may be some seasons 
where God gives you a little bit of respite,

01:41:52.731 --> 01:41:57.099
because He's merciful that way. He'll give us some seasons.

01:41:57.099 --> 01:42:03.106
But often, we start having little seasons of vacation 
from the things that we were dealing with,

01:42:03.106 --> 01:42:05.900
and we're feeling like, "Oh, well maybe they're gone for good."

01:42:05.900 --> 01:42:10.117
Well, it just was a little vacation the Lord gave us to rest,

01:42:10.117 --> 01:42:12.092
but here it comes again.

01:42:12.092 --> 01:42:17.810
And, oftentimes, the things that we're susceptible to,
we're susceptible to, our whole Christian life. (P)

01:42:17.811 --> 01:42:20.834
Sometimes there's seasons where we go through certain things,

01:42:20.834 --> 01:42:23.150
and we come out, and we never go through that again.

01:42:23.150 --> 01:42:27.139
But, oftentimes, the places we're most vulnerable,

01:42:27.139 --> 01:42:31.687
and where Satan seeks to attack - he feels our weaknesses out.

01:42:31.700 --> 01:42:34.463
And if you have an inclination towards anxiety,

01:42:34.463 --> 01:42:39.959
don't be surprised if he attacks you right there 
the whole rest of your life.

01:42:39.959 --> 01:42:42.677
If you have a disposition towards depression,

01:42:42.677 --> 01:42:47.549
don't be surprised if he doesn't attack you
right there for the rest of your life.

01:42:47.549 --> 01:42:50.816
Look, through much tribulation.

01:42:50.817 --> 01:42:57.949
Every one of us are fighting some battles sometimes, 
many times, many ways, many places,

01:42:57.949 --> 01:43:02.558
as we're striving to reach the end here and endure to the end.

01:43:02.558 --> 01:43:06.935
And some people, it's in this category.

01:43:06.935 --> 01:43:11.201
And some, not so much, but it's other things. (P)

01:43:11.202 --> 01:43:17.521
[Brother] You said that pastor, they went over there 
curled up in a fetal position, you know,

01:43:17.522 --> 01:43:19.303
and then he went the next day in a pulpit.

01:43:19.310 --> 01:43:21.830
I'm sure he preached a good sermon. (P)

01:43:21.831 --> 01:43:25.760
[Tim] Well, this guy was a missionary, and he was out on the front lines. (P)

01:43:25.760 --> 01:43:27.862
[James] It wasn't anxiety he had then... (P)

01:43:27.862 --> 01:43:35.324
[Tim] No, I would not say that was necessarily anxiety.

01:43:35.324 --> 01:43:44.879
I mean, it may have to do with some kind of 
feeling deep darkness or depression on the soul.

01:43:44.879 --> 01:43:49.494
I would just say this, that as far as dealing with it,

01:43:49.494 --> 01:43:53.709
you basically want to find out, What are people afraid of?

01:43:53.709 --> 01:43:55.085
I mean, that would be the first place.

01:43:55.085 --> 01:43:57.881
You want to work backwards through the situation.

01:43:57.881 --> 01:43:59.708
Talk to people.

01:43:59.709 --> 01:44:02.765
The way to deal with it, and everybody's gonna be different;

01:44:02.765 --> 01:44:08.035
so when you find somebody that's struggling, 
you want to find out, What is it they fear?

01:44:08.035 --> 01:44:10.178
What is creating the anxiety?

01:44:10.178 --> 01:44:17.632
And then try to work back from that, in the sense of trying to pinpoint

01:44:17.632 --> 01:44:21.766
what is it that that anxiety or that fear,

01:44:21.766 --> 01:44:26.230
where is it that they're not trusting God or seeing God for who He is?

01:44:26.230 --> 01:44:30.259
And try to really pinpoint that. (P)

01:44:30.260 --> 01:44:34.577
Well, let's pray.

01:44:37.757 --> 01:44:51.765
Father, I know that we all think too smally, 
too little, too small of thought.

01:44:51.765 --> 01:45:02.093
None of us have rightly estimated Your power,
Your glory, Your love for us.

01:45:02.093 --> 01:45:05.127
Scripture says You care for us.

01:45:05.127 --> 01:45:16.805
Lord, I know we have not rightly estimated the care that You have for us.

01:45:16.805 --> 01:45:22.340
Lord, we have not rightly estimated just how much unbelief we have,

01:45:22.340 --> 01:45:26.961
how much little faith.

01:45:26.961 --> 01:45:31.771
But we get a little bit of a feel, maybe a lot of feel, from our Lord's words,

01:45:31.771 --> 01:45:34.501
that You are to be trusted.

01:45:34.501 --> 01:45:38.477
And if You do what You do for the flowers,
and You do what You do for the birds,

01:45:38.477 --> 01:45:42.885
and if we're of much more value to You than they are,

01:45:42.885 --> 01:45:45.491
how much more will You take care of us.

01:45:45.492 --> 01:45:47.601
And You know our needs before we ask for them.

01:45:47.602 --> 01:45:49.481
We don't want to be like the Gentiles.

01:45:49.481 --> 01:45:56.319
Help us to not be like them, who fret and worry,
and are concerned and paralyzed,

01:45:56.319 --> 01:45:58.145
who are without hope.

01:45:58.145 --> 01:46:01.539
We don't want to live like those without hope.

01:46:01.539 --> 01:46:05.762
We don't want to live like those who are perishing,

01:46:05.762 --> 01:46:08.836
but like those who have a Savior, those who have a future,

01:46:08.836 --> 01:46:13.654
those who have the true and the living God as our God.

01:46:13.654 --> 01:46:16.319
You are our God.

01:46:16.319 --> 01:46:19.106
Lord, help us, increase our faith.

01:46:19.106 --> 01:46:20.972
We don't want to be of little faith.

01:46:20.972 --> 01:46:23.454
We don't want to be full of anxieties.

01:46:23.454 --> 01:46:28.786
Lord, give us grace to cast all our cares upon You.

01:46:28.786 --> 01:46:33.450
We pray this in Christ's name. Amen.