Fellowship Bible Church - Mullica, Hill N.J.
Biblical Strategies for Overcoming Anxiety (Part Three)
Our Vision: Together, strengthening you to change your world for Christ.
Locations & Times
Fellowship Bible Church
590 Jackson Rd, Sewell, NJ 08080, USA
Sunday 9:15 AM
Matthew 6:25
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
(1) Anxiety sets in when we find meaning and security in temporal things.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Matthew 6:19-21
19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
“The more we accumulate on this earth, the more we will tend to worry that we might lose it. It seems like we should be able to keep our possessions secure, but Jesus’ teaching is clear: we cannot. Thieves break in, moths devour, and rust destroys the remainder. So much of our time is spent worrying about how we can hold on to something that, at best, is only temporary.”
Safe in the Storm: biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety.
Safe in the Storm: biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety.
Matthew 6:22-23
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
RX: If your priorities are divided, focus on the eternal.
Matthew 6:24
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
(2) Anxiety sets in when we think that tomorrow depends on us more than God’s faithfulness.
Matthew 6:25-26
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? 26 Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
RX: If you’ve forgotten God’s faithfulness, increase your dependence through prayer.
“Jesus taught that to worry is to forget the faithfulness of God…So how do you maintain your confidence in God’s faithfulness? The same way that Jesus did. You grow in dependence upon the Lord through prayer. This is why in the Lord’s Prayer we are encouraged to ask God to give us our daily bread. We shouldn’t let more than 24 hours go by without acknowledging our dependence on him.”
Safe in the Storm: biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety.
Safe in the Storm: biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety.
Matthew 6:31-34
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
31 Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
(3) Anxiety sets in when our mind is consumed about those things we cannot control.
Matthew 6:27
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
The theological term we use to describe God's control over all creation is sovereignty. Because he preserves, sustains, and governs all events, you can be certain that includes the events of your personal life.
Safe in the Storm: biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety
Safe in the Storm: biblical strategies for overcoming anxiety
RX: If you’re doubting God’s SOVEREIGNTY, remember his attributes and rehearse his promises.
He is SOVEREIGN: Daniel 4:34-35
…for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
…for his dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom endures from generation to generation; 35 all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing, and he does according to his will among the host of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand or say to him, “What have you done?”
God’s WISDOM means he knows all things actual and possible and what is best for me.
God’s PROVIDENCE means he actively sustains, preserves and governs our world for his purposes.
He SUSTAINS: Hebrews 1:3
He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
He PRESERVES: Job 34:14-15
14 If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, 15 all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
He GOVERNS: Psalm 103:19
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.
He PRESERVES: Job 34:14-15
14 If he should set his heart to it and gather to himself his spirit and his breath, 15 all flesh would perish together, and man would return to dust.
He GOVERNS: Psalm 103:19
The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules over all.
God’s providence provides a basis for science: God has made and continues to sustain a universe that acts in predictable ways.
-- Dr. Wayne Grudem
-- Dr. Wayne Grudem
God’s ETERNALITY means that he exists outside of time and sees all events equally vividly.
Psalm 90:1-4
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations. 2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place
in all generations. 2Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. 3 You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!” 4 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.
Four words flag my tendency to worry: “If only” and “what if.”
“If only” looks at my past and “what if” looks at my future. Both are outside of my control, but not outside of God’s.
Matthew 6:27
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?
And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?