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
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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

OVERWHELMED: WINNING THE WAR AGAINST WORRY LESSON 1 INTRODUCTION AND CHAPTERS 1-3

THE WINNER

This week we start our study in winning the war against worry in earnest.  For the next several weeks we will be studying from Pastor Noble Perry's book "Overwhelmed:  Winning the War Against Worry".  For the past five weeks in preparation for this extended study we have been spending our Sunday adult study sessions in a devotion written by Pastor Perry titled, as has been our study, "Overwhelmed Challenge".  That study is also on this blog.  If you want to study along with our Sunday study group, and get the most from it, you will need to get the book.  You can get it from Amazon by clicking the title of the book link that is above or clicking on the image of the book at the end of the blog.  Join us as we learn to win the war against worry.

Introduction:

The purpose of this study is to show that although we live in a world where all kinds of things and situations can cause us to feel stressed, become depressed and feel overwhelmed that we can win that war by identifying those things that stress us and using the tools and resources available to us a children of God to not only deal with them but to win.

All of us experience stress, anxiety, worry, fear, and depression at some point in our lives and the church for the most part doesn't really talk about it.  In fact we have often hear that if you have enough faith you should never have any of those problems.  Of course we know that isn't true that things happen that are out of our control.  The bible has lots of examples of people who suffered through situations not of their own making. Job for example, and Daniel, who pastor Perry uses in this book, to illustrate how we can deal with those times and win even when we are deeply depressed.

Question?

What did you do the last time you went through a stressful time or a time that you were depressed or it you are going through one now how are you dealing with it?  I want to be honest not super spiritual.  You don’t have to be specific about the situation just how you dealt with or are dealing with it.?

In chapter 1 pastor Perry talks about a situation at a youth camp and an incident while tubing.  Before he even got in the tube at the creek he was having second thoughts because of things in his past.  How can past experience especially not so good ones affect our attitude about things and cause us stress?

1.  When he did finally get in the tube he actually did have a problem.  If our initial fears actually happen then what?

For pastor Perry that experience of nearly drowning, or so he thought, was a reminder of what it feels like to be completely overwhelmed especially when someone tells us or we think that it is going to be easy.  I know I have been in some situations, even taken jobs that I thought would be snap, and become completely overwhelmed.  Anybody have something that they care to share?

Well being constantly stressed out and worried, anxious, and full of doubt don’t have to be normal.

Overwhelming situations

In chapter 1 he lists some overwhelming situation that you may have had to deal with in the past or are dealing with now:

• getting laid off
• experiencing marital struggles or struggles in a relationship
• having your first child (none of us will have that one again)
• graduating from college with a degree, thousands of dollars’ worth of student loans, and no job possibilities in sight (many of our young people are facing this)
• taking care of aging parents
• getting a call from your doctor saying you need to come in as soon as possible
• not being able to get over a past full of mistakes
• losing someone close to you

2.  When you are going through any of these or similar situations what kind of person is it you don’t want to see and why?

Well these things are real and they won’t go away by themselves but you can work your way out of being in constant stress or depression.  It’s a work in process not an overnight success.  Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning light is true but that doesn’t me joy comes overnight.

3.  How can we choose to between being overwhelmed or to overcome, to win and not surrender?

We can make the decision to overcome.  To do that we have to change our focus.  pastor Perry gives us one scripture from  Hebrews that challenges us to look to Christ Hebrews 12:2 (HCSB) keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.

4.  What are some others you can think of?  

Here are some that I found:

Exodus 34:6 (KJV) And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,

Psalm 16:11 (HCSB) You reveal the path of life to me; in Your presence is abundant joy; in Your right hand are eternal pleasures.

John 10:10 (NKJV) The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

Matthew 6:31-34 (HCSB)31  So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ 32  For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33  But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. 34  Therefore don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.  

It’s not the circumstances that need to change for us to not be overwhelmed it’s us and where we put our focus and we should put our focus on God.

5.  Do we really realize how great God is or is it just convenient to say it because we hear it all the time?  

Pastor Perry uses the story of Daniel to illustrate how Daniel changed his focus from the bad circumstances he found himself in after Babylon invaded Judah destroyed Jerusalem and the temple and took the strongest and brightest to Babylon.  

Let’s read Daniel 1:3-7 (HCSB)  ³  The king ordered Ashpenaz, the chief of his court officials, to bring some of the Israelites from the royal family and from the nobility— ⁴  young men without any physical defect, good-looking, suitable for instruction in all wisdom, knowledgeable, perceptive, and capable of serving in the king’s palace—and to teach them the Chaldean language and literature.  ⁵  The king assigned them daily provisions from the royal food and from the wine that he drank. They were to be trained for three years, and at the end of that time they were to serve in the king’s court. ⁶  Among them, from the descendants of Judah, were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ⁷  The chief official gave them ⌊other⌋ names: he gave the name Belteshazzar to Daniel, Shadrach to Hananiah, Meshach to Mishael, and Abednego to Azariah. 

6.  What were the circumstances that Daniel and his friends found themselves in and how did they get there?

The Babylonians wanted to completely change them from Jews to Babylonians including who they worshiped.  They started the process by changing their names.   

The circumstances were real but the first step in overcoming that overwhelming situation was to understand that God is really greater than whatever we are going through.

In pastor Perry’s story about the duck pond where he ran from a goose until he realized that he was bigger than the goose and when he stopped and confronted the goose the goose left.

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  Later on he realized that we often run from things that we have power over.  

What is it we say every Sunday “I have the power to tread on serpents, I have the power to tread on scorpions, I have the power….  Perry quotes 1 John 4:4 (HCSB) ⁴  You are from God, little children, and you have conquered them, because the One who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. 

7.  What are some others?

OK so we have to know who we are if we are going to use this power and authority that we have.

In Chapter 3 in the section Embracing Your True Identity  Perry goes back to Daniel and his situation.

8.   What was so important about the two words “But Daniel?

 Daniel 1:8 (KJV) 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.

Here is the same verse in some other bibles

Daniel 1:8 (BBE)8  And Daniel had come to the decision that he would not make himself unclean with the king's food or wine; so he made a request to the captain of the unsexed servants that he might not make himself unclean.

Daniel 1:8 (GW) 8  Daniel made up his mind not to harm himself by eating the king's rich food and drinking the king's wine. So he asked the chief-of-staff for permission not to harm himself in this way.

9.  How does that apply to you today?

Daniel didn't identify himself with is situation a captured foe or slave but he identified himself as a worshiper of a Great God.  That’s 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.  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.

But we have to shed our past and take on our new nature.

10.  How do we do that?

Next week chapters 4-6

.

The Overwhelmed Challenge - Lesson 5 - Finishing Well

THE WINNER!!

Last week our subject was God is Faithful and we started with a tweet from Rick Warren "Stress is a choice. We get stressed out when we choose to focus on our own limited resources instead of focusing on the unlimited resources available through our heavenly Father."   That tweet is the subject of a discussion on LinkedIn, a business social media platform that I am part of.  One of the Groups on LinkedIn is Faith Driven Business and that group is discussing the tweet.   Here are just three of the comments.

"Love this quote by Rick Warren. Scripture does not say cast some of, most of or just the bad stuff but it clearly says, "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I choose obedience over stress."

"There can be a lot of stress in the broadcast industry...but when I start feeling my left side tightening, I grab my Bible and just flip to anywhere in the New Testament and or my "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young, read a little, say a prayer of gratitude and the left arm pressure goes away and I am good to go back to "It's Showtime!"...that's my prescription for me and any one reading....Blessings...."

"That's absolutely correct! It's so essential to remember that God is Almighty and He is osur guide, through business, careers, family life, social life....Whenever I get stressed He reminds me that He has everything under control and He is never taken by surprise when anything happens. He knows.

We talked about what Jeremiah wrote in Lamentations after all the stress he was under during his ministry.  Remember he was prophesying that Judah was going to be conquered and go into exile because of it’s idol worship. Because of  that  he was called a  meddler and a traitor; and people, nobles, and kings, tried to do him to death.  Eventually Judah was conquered by Babylon and Jerusalem and the temple destroyed and the people sent into exile.  On seeing  the destruction of the city Jeremiah wrote Lamentations (the definition of lament is a passionate expression of grief or sorrow, or to mourn).  

Lamentations 3:22-24 (NKJV) ²²  Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not. ²³  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ²⁴  "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!"

We said last week that God is:

• Faithful!  
• My circumstances do not dictate His character!!!  
• I can always trust Him and know that He is in complete control of the universe and that ALL things are ultimately for HIS GLORY and my good (Romans 8:28 (NKJV) ²⁸  And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.)

This week

This week we are going to talk about finishing well as we win the war against stress and worry.  

People don’t usually remember how you started—but they almost always remember how you finish.  Like a few years ago when the Lakers made it to the playoffs and got swept by Dallas in 4 games.  Nobody remembers that their record was 45-37.  Not great but they won more than they lost but what people do remember is how they finished. They were swept.  In fact I had to look it up to find their record for the year but I didn't need to look up the fact that they were swept by Dallas in the Western Conference finals.  They didn't win one game.

We all want to make a positive impact

I believe that all of us, no matter what has gone on in the past,want to make an impact in the body of Christ.  I’ll tell you what I want to do.  I want the work that I am doing on the Internet with “Faith The Evidence” to spread like wildfire.  Not to generate money, although that would be a great thing, but to be a blessing to others no matter where in they are in the world.  The emphasis of the website is to show that God has given us all a measure of faith, and that we should develop it, walk in it, and live in it with  the bible as the instruction manual.  I want to help people walk by faith.  I also want to help other people who want to put their ministries on the Internet.  Not necessarily church websites but individual or group ministries.  I know that you all have something that you want to do for the kingdom of God.  Anybody want to share?

Paul's approach to finishing well

Well here’s what Paul said to Timothy about finishing well. It is thought that 2 Timothy contains the last words found from Paul. They were written from prison shortly before he was martyred.  

2 Timothy 4:6-7 (NKJV) ⁶  For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷  I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 

Now that’s finishing well.  

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NKJV) ²⁴  Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. ²⁵  And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. ²⁶  Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. ²⁷  But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. 

THE GOLD MEDAL

Paul says that he doesn't just preach and teach  willy nilly or with no real purpose but he disciplines himself, he trains hard he works hard so he can finish well.  Paul's work for the gospel  demanded personal discipline. Paul wanted to win the prize and so should we. 

That’s finishing well.

We should finish by reaching God's goal for us

What we should be doing is reaching forward to God’s Goal.  Go to

Philippians 3:12-14 (NKJV) ¹²  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. ¹³  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, ¹⁴  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

Reaching that goal would be full knowledge and perfect conformity to Christ which is what God wants us to be, conformed to the image of Jesus..  So since we haven’t reached that goal yet  we can’t become complacent we have to continue training like the athlete.   

Don’t dwell on the past even if it is good and with great accomplishments, and of course if it is not good don’t dwell on it at all.   Keep moving forward toward the goal which is complete knowledge and conformity to the image of Christ. 

That's finishing well.

Finish Well

Remember that the only thing most people are going to remember is how you finished. Remember what we said last week:

God IS faithful! My circumstances do not dictate His character!!! 

I can always trust Him and know that He is in complete control of the universe and that all things are ultimately for HIS glory and my good. 

Romans 8:28 (NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

Remember what we said in our first lesson about all things working together for the good.....?  

We said that  it is the destiny of those who love the Lord to be like Jesus. God is committed to produce in us all the love, all the joy, all the patience, all the long-suffering, all the goodness, and all the gentleness of Jesus.  But until that happens we are still subject to the realities of sin and death.  It is God's love in Christ that sustains us and empowers us—even in the midst of our experiences of sin and death—"to be conformed to the likeness of his Son". 

Romans 8:29 (NKJV) ²⁹  For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

God works in all things toward that good purpose. But only "those who love him" know that, because they are participants "with him" in the working out of that purpose.

Let’s finish today with this Charles Spurgeon devotional that I read just this morning from "Charles Spurgeon Morning And Evening" devotional because it fits with our winning the war over worry and stress.

1 Chronicles 5:22

There fell down many slain, because the war was of God.

VICTORY

Warrior, fighting under the banner of the Lord Jesus, observe this verse with holy joy, for as it was in the days of old so is it now, if the war be of God the victory is sure. The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh could barely muster five and forty thousand fighting men, and yet in their war with the Hagarites, they slew "men, an hundred thousand," "for they cried to God in the battle, and He was entreated of them, because they put their trust in Him." The Lord saveth not by many nor by few; it is ours to go forth in Jehovah's name if we be but a handful of men, for the Lord of Hosts is with us for our Captain. They did not neglect buckler, and sword, and bow, neither did they place their trust in these weapons; we must use all fitting means, but our confidence must rest in the Lord alone, for He is the sword and the shield of His people. The great reason of their extraordinary success lay in the fact that "the war was of God." Beloved, in fighting with sin without and within, with error doctrinal or practical, with spiritual wickedness in high places or low places, with devils and the devil's allies, you are waging Jehovah's war, and unless He himself can be worsted, you need not fear defeat. Quail not before superior numbers, shrink not from difficulties or impossibilities, flinch not at wounds or death, smite with the two-edged sword of the Spirit, and the slain shall lie in heaps. The battle is the Lord's and He will deliver His enemies into our hands. With steadfast foot, strong hand, dauntless heart, and flaming zeal, rush to the conflict, and the hosts of evil shall fly like chaff before the gale.

Stand up! stand up for Jesus!

The strife will not be long;

One day the noise of battle,

The next the victor's song:

To him that overcometh,

A crown of life shall be;

He with the King of glory

Shall reign eternally.

Finish Well

Next week we are going to start our study using Pastor Perry's book "Overwhelmed:  Winning the War Against Worry"  Read as much as you want but our study next week will be of the first three chapters.

The Overwhelmed Challenge - Lesson 4 God Is Faithful

The foundation scripture for this study is Romans 8:28 (HCSB)  We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose.

Review

Last week we talked about stress and the things that cause stress.  Things like:

1. The belief that I am in control of my life
2. When I know without a doubt what God has told me to do but I begin to listen people who tell me it’s impossible.
3. When I try to explain myself to those who don’t really want an explanation; they just want to argue.
4. When I refuse to take some time to disconnect and rest.
5. When I begin to take on the “Messiah complex”thinking how Jesus needs me  rather than how much I actually NEED HIM!
6. When I focus on the size of the problem rather than the size of God.  
7. When I worry about results more than obedience
8. When I fail to share my worries and concerns and admit my mistakes to others for fear that it may make me seem weak and stupid
9. When I become unaware of HIS presence every single minute of my life

This week we are going to talk about the faithfulness of God and how knowing that He is faithful we can overcome our stress and worry.

 Introduction

Whenever we feel stress no matter the cause, or we start to worry about things that may, or may not happen, we should try to slow down and focus on God.  We have talked about these things in our previous times together  but what we haven't talked about yet is the faithfulness of God.  That's what we are going to do today.

I want to start out study today with a quote from Pastor Rick Warren that I saw on Twitter last week.
 "Stress is a choice. We get stressed out when we choose to focus on our own limited resources instead of focusing on the unlimited resources available through our heavenly Father."

When we focus on the unlimited resources available through God we look first at His faithfulness.  

The definition of faithful 

Old Faithful Geyser 

1. strict or thorough in the performance of duty
2. true to one's word, promises, vows, etc.
3. steady in allegiance or affection; loyal; constant
4. reliable, trusted, or believed
5. adhering or true to fact, a standard, or an original; accurate

This description accurately describes God's faithfulness.  

Lamentations 3:19-26 and God's Faithfulness

Lamentations was written by the prophet who was constantly under stress.  Jeremiah began his ministry during Judea's king Josiah's reign.  In a previous study several months ago we talked about Josiah and the revival that happened during his reign.  After him, if you remember, things went downhill and he was the last, so called good king, before the exile to Babylon.  Well Jeremiah's ministry started five years after the revival.    This time in Judean history is one of constant political, moral, and religious decline, culminating in the Babylonian exile. 

Jeremiah, and his message, was completely rejected.  He was regarded as a meddler and a traitor.  He was even thrown into a well at one time.  So you see that Jeremiah was under constant stress.  Well his prophecies about the exile did happen and Judea was taken into exile and Jerusalem and the temple were subsequently destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar.  

Lamentations was written by Jeremiah to express his and is people's mourning and anguish at the ruin of Jerusalem, the temple and of the nation.  What we are going to read in chapter 3 is Jeremiah's acknowledgment of God's faithfulness even under these circumstances.  The section that we are reading is part of Jeremiah's prayer of reassurance because of God's faithfulness.   Here is the passage:

Lamentations 3:19-26 (NKJV) ¹⁹  Remember my affliction and roaming, The wormwood and the gall. ²⁰  My soul still remembers And sinks within me. ²¹  This I recall to my mind, Therefore I have hope. ²²  Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
²³  They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ²⁴  "The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I hope in Him!" ²⁵  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. ²⁶  It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the LORD.

What does this have to do with dealing with stress?  

The lesson for us is that  God is Faithful  and that should reassure us when we are stressed.   Things were not ideal for Jeremiah but he still declared that  God is faithful, that His mercies are made new every morning and he will wait on the Lord.  We too can do that even when things are not ideal for us. 

God is faithful  

We can all remember times when things were tough.  Maybe we needed to make critical decisions,or we were launching out on something new that God directed and we had no idea of how to go about it or how it would end up.  At those times we can remember what Paul wrote to the Corinthians when he was having to deal with criticism

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (HCSB) 16 Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. 17 For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. 18 So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  

 When you were broke and didn't know how you were going to make it He was faithful.

Revelation 3:8 (HCSB) I know your works. Because you have limited strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name, look, I have placed before you an open door that no one is able to close.

We can all remember times when things were not so rosy and God was faithful.  I am a risk taker, (many times to the chagrin of my wife), so I have left jobs to take others that I thought would improve our lives (like the grass is always greener) and the opposite happened.  In a couple of cases the new companies didn't last and I was out of a job.  Sometimes there was unemployment compensation, at other times I was an independent contractor which meant no unemployment compensation.  One time we relocated to a brand new city and opps no more company or job (thank God He delivered me from taking those kinds of risks).  God provided for us in each instance.  Oh there was lots of stress but we knew that God is faithful and that we would survive and be able to use our experiences as a testimony that will help others.  I don't recommend that you make the same mistake over and over, like I did, or like one of our study group members said is not very smart, or another said that's the definition of insanity.  My point was, ( yes I was convicted of not making very smart decisions), that God was and is faithful even when we do dumb things.  Remember though that there are consequences for or actions.  Yes God is faithful but we still have to deal with the consequences.  

A couple of weeks ago one of our group members told us that she keep a Gratitude Journal.  What she is doing is recognizing God’s faithfulness.  She writes the things down that she is grateful for, all of them.  It doesn't matter how small you think they are.  When you do that and concentrate on  God's blessings you will forget about the thing stressing you.  Your focus in now on God and not the circumstances.    

Let's close with something from Pastor Nobel Perry's devotional series "The Overwhelmed Challenge".  

• God IS faithful!
• My circumstances do not dictate His character!!! 
• I can always trust Him and know that He is in complete control of the universe and that ALL things are ultimately for HIS GLORY and my good (Romans 8:28!)