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Where There's Smoke: Anxiety

Series: Where There's Smoke

Where There's Smoke: Anxiety

March 07, 2021 | John Durham

Passage: Matthew 6:24-34

Anxiety is an issue that leads to all kinds of other issues. Like a fire that quickly spreads.

 

John Piper, Think about how many sins are connected to the root of anxiety. Anxiety about money will cause you to hoard or steal. Anxiety about succeeding will make you irritable or selfish. Anxiety about relationships will make you immoral or indifferent. Anxiety about what others think about you will make you stretch the truth. If anxiety can be conquered, a mortal blow would be struck to many sins.”

 

If anxiety is debilitating, a doctor/counselor is in order. If anxiety is simply bothersome and a choice you’re making, Jesus speaks to that! Whether an unchosen mental health issue or a decision you’re making, God deeply cares for you! MATTHEW 6:24-34

 

WE ARE MOST ANXIOUS ABOUT THE THINGS TO WHICH WE ARE MOST DEVOTED

Which is why Jesus starts this sermon on anxiety by challenging what we are most devoted to. Vs24-25a 

 

ANXIETY THINKS GOD IS SMALL Anxiety thinks too little of God—it elevates the obtaining or keeping of things outside of Him as the most needful element of life. Jesus in LUKE 12:15 A person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.

ANXIETY UNDERESTIMATES HOW MUCH GOD THINKS OF YOU Jesus uses a lesser to greater argument here. V26 & V30 Jesus points us to the character of His Father! We’ve got to stop acting like atheists! That’s what Jesus says in V32 Gentiles = Godless; By contrast we have a heavenly Father who cares so deeply for His kids!

ANXIETY IS A BIG, FAT LIAR  It overpromises and under-delivers V27.

 

What’s the conclusion? V33 You can put energy into anxiety, or put energy into seeking God.  THE GOD WHO DELIVERED US YESTERDAY AND SUSTAINED US TODAY SURELY WILL PROVIDE FOR US TOMORROW

Series Information

Where there's smoke, there is fire. In this sermon series, we will discover what the Bible has to say about depression, anxiety, and anger.

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