The Christ Church Wednesday Bible Study Group is now going through and studying the book "Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World" by Max Lucado. In this book Max reminds us that we can trust God in all things. He is good, he does good, and he is working all things together for your good and His Glory.
To get a copy of the book click this LINK or the image of the book at the end of the notes for the session
Keep Your Prayers Simple
By Rick Warren
“And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words . . . for your Father knows what you need before you ask him." Matthew 6:7-8 (NIV)
Longer is not stronger when it comes to prayer.
God is much more interested in humble and authentic prayers than a long-winded sermon in prayer. Just get to the point!
Jesus had a lot to say in the Sermon on the Mount about praying simply, without trying to sound super spiritual:
"And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words . . . for your Father knows what you need before you ask him" (Matthew 6:5-8 NIV).
You don’t have to convince God of what you need. He already knows! Just come to him as simply, honestly, and humbly as you can, and talk about what you need.
Don't use prayer to show off. I’m sure you’ve seen people do that. But that doesn’t mean they get any credit for that kind of prayer. God doesn't want to hear that kind of prayer.
Instead, be sincere. Don't spout off clichés. Don’t add in fillers because you’re afraid your prayers are too short.
Talk to God like you would to a loved one or a good friend. Say, "God, nice day. Thanks for making this one. Talk to you in another three seconds." Prayer is an ongoing conversation. You can just pick up where you left off in another minute and keep the conversation open.
Adding words to your prayer doesn't make it any stronger. Keep it simple, with a sincere heart and sure faith.
Jesus provides a remedy to our anxiety
Matthew 6:25-34 (MSG) “If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don’t fuss about what’s on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body.
Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds. Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion – do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers – most of which are never even seen – don’t you think he’ll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I’m trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God’s giving. People who don’t know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works.
Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don’t worry about missing out. You’ll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”
Last week we talked about rejoicing in God’s sovereignty and the fact that He is always in control, so we can rejoice always.
Philippians 4:4-6 NIV Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Habakkuk 3:17-19 NIV Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. The Sovereign Lord is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to tread on the heights. For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.
If you want to rejoice in God regardless of your circumstances, it is crucial that you learn to trust in his sovereignty.
Today we want to talk about rejoicing in God’s Mercy.
Our book starts chapter 3 by saying that guilt frenzies the soul but grace calms it.
A frenzied soul is one that is in a state or period of uncontrolled excitement or wild behavior. Guilt causes this anxiety because when we feel guilty we regret something that we have done or not done and we are worried about the consequences and that makes us anxious. Adam and Eve felt guilt after they disobeyed and so what did they do. They realized that they were naked and they hid.
Genesis 3:6-10 NIV When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
Before they disobeyed there was no indication they felt any fear or anxiety. They had never hidden from God. Because they had nothing to hide.
Genesis 2:25 NIV Adam and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame.
We have been taught the Christian life is one of peace. When we don’t have peace, we assume the problem is within us, which leads us to feel guilty.
So what do we do when we feel guilty to try to deal with it.
Numb it somehow. Funny how it reappears when we get home.
Deny it. Pretend we never stumbled. Concoct a plan to cover up the bad choice. One lie leads to another, then another. We adjust the second story to align with the first. Beforelong our knee-jerk reaction to
Minimize it. We didn’t sin; we just lost our way. We didn’t sin; we got caught up in the moment. We experienced a lapse in judgment.
Bury it. Suppress the guilt beneath a mound of work and a calendar of appointments.
Punish it. Cut ourselves. Hurt ourselves. Beat up ourselves. Flog ourselves. Long lists of things to do and observances to keep. Painful penance. Pray more! Study more! Give more! Show up earlier; stay up later.
Avoid the mention of it. Just don’t bring it up. Don’t tell the family, the preacher, the buddies. Keep everything on the surface, and hope the Loch Ness monster of guilt lingers in the deep.
Redirect it. Lash out at the kids. Take it out on the spouse.
Offset it. Determine never to make another mistake. Build the perfect family. Create the perfect career. Score perfect grades. Be the perfect Christian. Stay in control. Be absolutely intolerant of slip ups or foul-ups by self or others.
Embody it. We didn’t get drunk; we are drunks. We didn’t screw up; we are screw ups. We didn't just do bad; we are bad. Bad to the bone. We might even take pride in our badness.
It’s only a matter of time until we do something bad again.
A guilty person is quite often an anxious person so we need to get rid of the guilt in order to get rid of the anxiety. Unresolved guilt will turn you into a miserable, weary, angry, stressed-out, mess.
Psalms 32:3-5 NIV When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Paul, who said;
Philippians 4:4-6 NIV Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Was a recipient of God’s mercy and grace.
Paul could have been destroyed by guilt. He had orchestrated the deaths of Christians. He was an ancient version of a terrorist, taking believers into custody and then spilling their blood.
“Paul was like a wild man, going everywhere to devastate the believers, even entering private homes and dragging out men and women alike and jailing them” (Acts 8:3 TLB).
The Message bible says And Saul just went wild, devastating the church, entering house after house after house, dragging men and women off to jail.
When Jesus pointed out that Saul was really going against the God that he thought he was worshiping by doing works that he thought would please God he could have been destroyed by guilt but he realized that he had received God’s grace and mercy.
He gave his guilt over to Jesus.
Philippians 3:7-11 NIV But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
Once you realize that through the blood of Jesus you are now righteous you can throw off guilt and the anxiousness that comes through it and move on.
Philippians 3:7-11 NIV But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
When we do sin yes we should acknowledged that we did it and it was disobedience and we need to confess it but we don’t have to be overcome with guilt and anxiety because we know that God does forgive us.
1 John 1:9 NIV If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
A happy saint is one who is at the same time aware of the severity of sin and the immensity of grace. Sin is not diminished, nor is God’s ability to forgive it. The saint dwells in grace, not guilt.
Titus 2:11-15 NIVor the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. These, then, are the things you should teach. Encourage and rebuke with all authority. Do not let anyone despise you.
The book has Titus 2:11, 15 THE MESSAGE “God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone!… Tell them all this. Build up their courage” . But I want to read it in its entirety.
Titus 2:11-15 MSG God’s readiness to give and forgive is now public. Salvation’s available for everyone! We’re being shown how to turn our backs on a godless, indulgent life, and how to take on a God-filled, God-honoring life. This new life is starting right now, and is whetting our appetites for the glorious day when our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, appears. He offered himself as a sacrifice to free us from a dark, rebellious life into this good, pure life, making us a people he can be proud of, energetic in goodness. Tell them all this. Build up their courage, and discipline them if they get out of line. You’re in charge. Don’t let anyone put you down.
God’s grace is greater than your sin. What you did was not good. But your God Is good. And he will forgive you.
Here’s the bottom line.
John 1:29 NIV The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
Place yourself entirely in his care. Trust Him He’s got you and will forgive you so that you don’t have to carry all that guilt and the anxiety that comes with it. Trust him like the trapeze artist.
The secret is that the flyer does nothing and the catcher does everything. The worst thing the flyer can do is to try to catch the catcher. A flyer mustfly, and a catcher must catch, and the flyer must trust, with outstretched arms, that his catcher will be there for him. We are the flyers and God is the catcher.
Your Father has never dropped anyone. He will not drop you. His grip is sturdy and his hands are open.
2 Timothy 4:18 NIV The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
“And I know the Lord will continue to rescue me from every trip, trap, snare, and pitfall of evil and carry me safely to His heavenly kingdom. May He be glorified throughout eternity. Amen” (2 Tim. 4:18 THE VOICE).
Bible Study Audio
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