OVERWHELMED: WINNING THE WAR AGAINST WORRY LESSON 2 - CHAPTERS 4-6

Introduction:

FOCUS

Last week we ended by saying that in order to overcome being overwhelmed with stress, worry and anxiety we need to identify and really know who we are.  If we are saved and believers we are no longer slaves to Satan and sin, or to this world system, but that we are now subjects in the kingdom of God, we are His children.  Just as Daniel in Chapter 1, of the book , in the bible that has his name, decided to change the focus of the circumstances he found himself in after Babylon invaded Judah destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and took the strongest and brightest to Babylon.     The specific verse that we looked at was Daniel 1:8 "But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king's meat, nor with the wine which he drank: therefore he requested of the prince of the eunuchs that he might not defile himself." Daniel didn't identify himself with his situation as a captured foe or slave, but he identified himself as a worshiper of a Great God. 

That’s also who we are.  We are not who we were before coming to Christ where we were slaves to sin and to this world system with no way of getting out but,  We are now new creatures as Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB) 17  Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, ⌊he is⌋ a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.  We have to shed our past and take on our new nature and take our focus from our situations and circumstances and but the focus on Christ.

Talking about focus this morning,  I want us to read Luke 10:38-42 (HCSB)

38  While they were traveling, He entered a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.

39  She had a sister named Mary, who also sat at the Lord’s feet and was listening to what He said.

40  But Martha was distracted by her many tasks, and she came up and asked, “Lord, don’t You care that my sister has left me to serve alone? So tell her to give me a hand.”

41  The Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things,

42  but one thing is necessary. Mary has made the right choice, and it will not be taken away from her.”

What Martha was doing was not wrong, in fact she was preparing a meal and making sure that her guests were being well taken care of.  She was being a great hostess.  The fact that her sister wasn’t helping her was causing stress and anxiety.  If I am cleaning the house for somebody coming over, mopping the floors, vacuuming, cleaning up the bathroom and Ruth is sitting listening to gospel music or even reading her bible and we are expecting our guest in 30 minutes I may be a little upset too.

Anyway," Martha's focus on tangible, practical issues masked the deeper questions she wrestled with: Why am I the only one working to make things better? Why do people ignore me? Why don't other people follow the rules? Why am I always worried? Is it okay to enjoy things? Jesus knew this, so when Martha confronted him in exasperation, He paid attention to her. He heard her words, but more than that, He heard her heart. He redirected her focus, calling her out of her circumstances: “but few things are needed—or indeed only one” (Luke 10:42). The one thing she needed was Him."

"Like Martha, the answer to our anxiety, fear and need for order is to focus all our attention, thought and worship on Jesus. He is the only one who provides lasting purpose to fulfill our deepest desires."

* From "Journey to Change" Reading Plan on YouVersion

Approach:

When we are going through an overwhelming situation or time, and we are praying for God to be with us, to guide us, or direct us, we often want to hear Him speak to us with the answer to our prayer either in an audible voice, from somebody else, a family member or friend, or our pastor, or whoever.  However as Pastor Perry points out in chapter 4 of this book Daniel and his friends made their decision (the bible says that Daniel was the one talking to the king’s guy but none of 4 of them wanted to eat the food from the king’s table)  to give them an opportunity to just eat fruit and veggies and in 10 days they would look better than the other guys.  In the story it doesn't say that God appeared Daniel to assure him that everything would turn out fine and that in fact they would look better.  He didn't have any guarantees he just knew that his God was bigger than his circumstance and that somehow he would get him and his friends through it.  Have you had a situation similar to this where you had no guarantees, but that you were going to stand on God’s word and that’s it?  Tell us about it.

An example is the struggle that we have at out church. We have a very small congregation, our congregation is not affluent, in fact most of our members live on fixed incomes and those not very big. Yet every month we are able to meet our obligations, including a hearty mortgage payment,  with no guarantee that we are going to be able to do it. In fact looking at our our offerings you would say that we won't be able to do it. Yet we know, like Daniel, that our God is bigger than the monthly circumstances and we get through it somehow month after month.

1.  In Chapter 4 there is a section A “Right Now” God.  What does it mean to you that God is a “Right Now” God?

Notes:  God is constantly working no matter whether you see it or not.   Jesus said in John 5:17 (HCSB)  But Jesus responded to them, “My Father is still working, and I am working also.”   God is still working today just as He did back in the days He did with the people in the bible.  He has not stopped working.  He is not a back then God He is a “Right Now” today God.  We also think that we have to have the right formula for God to move.  If you want God to do this then you have to do that.  If you believe that,  then you are being religious and working for God’s help and favor. Then if it doesn’t happen after we have done all this work because of course that’s what it says in the bible when we take things out of context and just quote them, we get confused, and even bitter toward God because we think that He wasn't pleased with our work.   He doesn't operate like that.  God is not stuck in the past; God doesn’t demand that we jump through certain hoops.  He is a “Right Now” God working for our good.  Again Romans 8:28.

2.  People will encourage you to compromise your decision to focus on God.  Remember you are no longer the same you are now a new creature or creation.   How do you deal with that?

Notes:  In the section No Compromise Pastor Noble discusses the fact that when we make the decision to focus on God rather than our circumstances we will have opposition.  When Daniel asks the king’s guy to let them eat fruit and veggies what was the guy’s response? Daniel 1:10 (HCSB) yet he said to Daniel, “My lord the king assigned your food and drink. I’m afraid ⌊of what would happen⌋ if he saw your faces looking thinner than those of the other young men your age. You would endanger my life with the king.”

He mentions some situations that may occur; you are single and your body clock is ticking lol; married and things are not going well at home and there is a very nice person at work willing to listen to your problems; you need money to pay your bills and friend comes over with an idea of how you can make or get some money by telling a little white lie, etc.

Daniel and his friends didn't compromise and after 10 days look what happened even into future years.  Daniel 1:15-21 (HCSB) 15  At the end of 10 days they looked better and healthier than all the young men who were eating the king’s food. 16  So the guard continued to remove their food and the wine they were to drink and gave them vegetables. 17  God gave these four young men knowledge and understanding in every kind of literature and wisdom. Daniel also understood visions and dreams of every kind.  18  At the end of the time that the king had said to present them, the chief official presented them to Nebuchadnezzar.  19  The king interviewed them, and among all of them, no one was found equal to Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they began to serve in the king’s court. 20  In every matter of wisdom and understanding that the king consulted them about, he found them 10 times better than all the diviner-priests and mediums in his entire kingdom.  21  Daniel remained there until the first year of King Cyrus.  

3.  God can do anything but it doesn't mean that our lives as believers is a Cakewalk as Noble says in the section No Cakewalk.  Have you heard in the past that once you accept Jesus into your lives all your problems will be gone?  

Notes:  All you gotta do is pray and everything will be all right.  Quoting from the book.  “One of the biggest myths in Christianity is that if you love Jesus, do good stuff, read your Bible, go to church, and follow the religious rules, you will never face overwhelming circumstances or tough times.”  What a crock.  Those are my words not Perry’s. In fact the bible teaches the opposite.  

4. What are some examples of people in the Bible experiencing overwhelming circumstances? 

Examples:  David being chased by Saul, Nehemiah in building the wall around Jerusalem; Peter and John being thrown in jail for the lame man being healed outside the temple; Stephen being stoned for preaching the gospel; the heroes of faith mention in Hebrews 11, and of course Paul.

5.  What did Jesus say about dealing with overwhelming circumstances?

Notes:  In John Chapters 13 through 17 He is ministering to his disciples and, I agree with Pastor Perry that these are some of the most intense teachings of Jesus.  In these chapters He talks about His betrayal, He washes the disciple’s feet;  He gives the new commandment John 13:34-35 (HCSB)34  “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also love one another.  35  By this all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” ; He predicts Peter’s denial; He reveals the Way to the Father, through Him John 14:6 (HCSB )6  Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. ; He reveals the Father; He talks about praying in His name; He talks about the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (the Trinity) in 14:19-26; He talks about His peace; and there is a lot of other stuff He is ministering to His own.  Here is where I’m going at 16:33 Jesus says John 16:33 (HCSB) 33  I have told you these things so that in Me you may have peace. You will have suffering in this world. Be courageous! I have conquered the world.”   Well He wouldn't have said it unless there would be overwhelming situations that they and we are going to have to deal with.  It is not all roses, but He has overcome them and because we are His we can overcome.

6.  In Chapter 6 Noble recounts a funny story about the time that he was a youth pastor and responsible for making the announcements and one Sunday a young ladies water broke she was on the way to the hospital to have a baby.  Well he announced it as he got it and said Cindy’s water broke and she is on the way to the hospital.  Well he had a big problem for some old ladies that jumped him and said we don’t talk about kind of thing in church.  We still have that kind of attitude today in church in that certain things are just not talked about.  What are your thoughts about restricting the things we talk about in church?  Is that a problem?

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil
Image credit:  Picture by Ally Aubry found on Flickr. 
Used with permission under 
Creative Commons. No modifications made.

Notes:  Because there has been a prohibition of talking about certain things or not expressing our feelings when we are hurting in certain areas like money or sex we are often putting lipstick on a pig so to speak.  We are masking how we sometimes hurt and so we don’t get help.  I use to hear some old time preachers and old time mothers talking about the church being a hospital well if you can’t talk about your sickness what kind of hospital is it.  Is it only one that deals with the common cold or a stubbed toe and not drug addiction or sex addiction, or depression?

If you can’t bring your deepest problems to the church because you are afraid of what others may say as Noble says in the section The Problem with Church World where people have to pretend that “..there lives are picture-perfect”.  There are two problems that result. 1) the issues or problems will sooner or later come out and either they will result is gossip or the leadership will tell them not to come back until the problem is handled or 2) then can’t take the pressure of trying to put up a false face for the church so they drop out.

I like this comment that those on the right side of the cross (believers) and those on the left side of the cross (unbelievers) both face hardships.  In Noble’s words “When we meet Christ, we are saved from the penalty of sin, but we do not escape the effects of sin --whether that’s our own sin of other people’s sin or simply the broken world we live in.   Church is the place where we need to go for healing not the place to pretend that we’re perfect.  It shouldn't be the place we run from when we feel overwhelmed it should be the place we run to.  That is where Jesus will meet us and change us.,

Winning the Battle Over Depression

In Chapter 6 Pastor Perry introduces the fact that he had a 3 year battle with depression during which time he contemplated suicide.  He will develop it more in Chapter 7 when he goes more into his background and his depression.  Again he mentions that the church has a problem talking about depression because we somehow believe that Christians should not get depressed and talking about it can be uncomfortable because we don’t know a lot about it.  

7.  Have you ever heard a sermon of been involved in a study in church about depression?  Have you ever know a pastor of church leader who admitted that they were depressed when they showed all the signs of depression?  

8.  Why do you think that’s the case?  

Notes:  Some people don’t think that a true follower of Jesus  could struggle with depression.  If they do then their  faith is not strong enough or they don’t speak the word of God into their lives which will deep them from becoming depressed..  Again, in my humble opinion, this is a crock.  Look at the Bible.

Biblical Giants Have Bad Days Too

Pastor Nobel lists a few that had bad days. Moses in Numbers 11:14-15 looks like he is asking God to take him out.  That sounds suicidal doesn't it?

Then Elijah in 1 Kings 18 after the tremendous stand-off with the prophets of Baal.  He is running from Jezebel and in 1 Kings 19:3-4 appears to be asking God to take him out.  Sounds suicidal doesn’t it?

Then there’s Paul who we have talked about over the last 3 months.  What does it say in 2 Corinthians 1:8?

9.  What do the experiences of these biblical giants tell us?

Notes:  Quite often depression comes because of things out of our control including people who intend to harm us.  

10 .  Can somebody tell us what is going on in Daniel 2 after the dream and how does Daniel get caught up in it and how does it work out?

Notes:  He goes back to Daniel and his experiences after being exiled to Babylon.  Daniel and his boys are now counted among the elite the wise men when Nebuchadnezzar has a dream and Daniel is put into a position totally outside his control and which he had nothing to do with.  

It works out because Daniel doesn't freak out he asked for some time and then he  He called his friends together and said we need to pray and ask God to help us otherwise we are going to be killed with all the rest of the wise men, astrologers, etc. Then God gave him the dream and the interpretation.  

That’s how we can respond when we are faced with overwhelming situations that seem to come out of nowhere.  Don’t panic.  Seek the Lord.  Settle down and pray and ask God for the answer.

Next week Chapters 7-10

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God bless you,

Donald