Sunday, March 29, 2020

Fear and a Mind like Christ What Tomorrow Brings


Fear and a Mind like Christ
What Tomorrow Brings
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House of Faith Church | www.PS127.org | www.TruthDigest.org

This Document is a Sermon Outline, you may hear the full audio of the actual sermon by following the link Online Audio Files located above for this, and other Full Sermon Audios. For a complete list of Sermon Outlines, visit TruthDigest.org or Truth Digest on facebook; for our Official Church website, visit PS127.org, or find us on facebook at House of Faith Church

SERMON INTRODUCTION

Today I would like to talk to you about fear, anxiety, worry, stress.

This issue is really a matter of trust and faith.

Fear, anxiety, worry and stress is basically putting your trust and faith into what “could possibly happen”, usually worst case scenario, instead of putting your trust in faith in the Lord who looks after you.

We struggle between our carnal mind (our flesh) and having a “Mind like Christ” (our Spiritual Thinking and Understanding) Philippians 2:5-8.

Our carnal mind is controlled by our perceptions;
  • Paradigms formed through life
  • Our education
  • Our upbringing
  • Our social class and financial status
  • Our experiences (good and bad)
  • Our geographical location
  • Our governmental practices and their effects (ie socialist, communism, etc)

These factors determine our paradigms, which rule over our Perception of everything we see, hear, read and think.

Our perception creates our “reality”, which is not reality itself, but our understanding of it.

EXAMPLE: A wild dog comes into your yard, hungry and afraid. It has a “perception” of reality, that humans are mean, cruel, dangerous. So this dog forms a paradigm to steer clear of humans. His perception is his reality.

You see the dog, and put food outside for it and after a while the dog beings to change his paradigm, not because he is more intelligent than before, or some magical event took place, but because he had NEW insight, a human being kind, caring and safe.

Because the dogs understanding was changed his “reality” changed.

We are all in need of paradigm shifts. Changes in our understanding that will change our perception thus change our reality.

The scriptures tell us our thinking is wrong because it was created through a series of things and experiences that formed the paradigms in our carnal minds. We live in a sinful world surrounded by wickedness, which forms our perceptions and creates a reality that is not the greatest.

Because we see our broken reality around us, we can become fearful, which leads to worry about the “what-ifs”, which leads to stress and causes anxiety.

Philippians 2:5 “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…”

Jesus wants us to have a “mind like Him”, or in other words, take the NEW information of His teachings, and destroy the paradigms keeping you from living a joyful and blessed life free from the bondage of fear, anxiety and depression.

We “get” this new information by reading the Word of God, Prayer, fellowship with other believers, one on one time with the Lord.

The Lord says, “Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be open to you.” Matthew 7:7-8

The “ask, seek and knock” is OUR responsibility, the Lord’s promise is “it will be given to you, you will find, and the door will be opened”, and the blessing of our obedience to asking, seeking and knocking is the receiving, the finding and the doors being opened.

And remember, What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open! (Revelation 3:7)

As a man thinks in his heart, so he becomes (Proverbs 23:7)

TODAY’S SERMON – FEAR AND A MIND LIKE CHRIST
What Tomorrow Brings



SCRIPTURE READING

Matthew 6:25-36
25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. 30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


  1. JESUS SAYS “DO NOT WORRY”
    1. Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life
      1. The thought here covers all aspects of your life
      2. Bills, work, buying, eating, sicknesses, viruses, etc.
      3. All the things that your life is comprised of

    1. What you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear.
      1. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?


    1.  Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?
      1. Remember this…does worry “add” good to your life?

  1. WHAT WILL YOUR WORRYING BRING YOU?
    1. So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 
      1. For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 
      2. Food, drink, clothes, representing the “physical materialistic things of this world”
      3. The Pagans (those without the Lord) chase materialistic things.
      4. However, Jesus tells us in verse 23 that life is “more than these things”


    1. What is there other than material things?
      1. Things that are more precious than material things;
        1. Love
        2. Peace
        3. Forgiveness
        4. Security
        5. Health
        6. Friendships


    1. So how do you ‘receive’ them?
      1. Jesus tells us;
        1. seek first his kingdom 
          1. Meaning a relationship with Christ
          2. Seeking the Kingdom of God, putting it first
        2. and his righteousness,
          1. Meaning to seek a lifestyle pleasing to the Lord
          2. Obedience to His word unlocks the benefits of the Kingdom
        3. and all these things will be given to you as well. 

  1. DO WE NEED TO BE FREED FROM WORRY?
    1. Worry, fear, anxiety, stress and depression are not from God
      1. God gives only what is good for us
      2. Worry is a lie from Satan about what might happen
        1. In hopes of causing you to trust his lie more than God’s truth


    1. Stand on the Word of God and His truths
      1. His truth brings lies into light, destroying them
      2. His Word gives us insight into the mind of God, so we too may “think like Christ”
      3. Like the stray dog, we can use this NEW information, break our paradigms and change our perception, which LITERALLY changes our reality!

  1. WHAT DOES SCIENCE SAY ABOUT WORRYING?
    1. The Facts
      1. For instance, for a study published in 2008, researchers at Purdue University followed found those who live with worry (stress, anxiety) were 25% more likely to have shorter lifespan.




    1. Jesus asks, “Can worry add a single day to your life?
      1. Jesus knows, and science proves it.
      2. Worry causes;
        1. Anxiety
        2. Panic attacks
        3. Sense of impending doom
        4. Makes one ultra sensitive to their environment
        5. Ultra sensitive to surroundings, criticisms
        6. Your perception is anyone and anything could possibly be a threat
      3. It interferes with
        1. Apatite
        2. Healthy sleep patterns
      4. And it causes unhealthy habits as a means of self-medicating to cope with the stress and anxiety caused by worry and fear.
        1. Overeating
        2. Smoking
        3. Drinking alcohol
        4. Drugs
      5. Science has proven worry causes the sympathetic nervous system to;
        1. Release hormones that effect blood sugar levels
        2. And triglycerides (blood fat levels) which is our body’s fuel


    1. What does excess triglycerides do to the body?
      1. Dizziness, fast heart rate, fatigue, headaches, inability to concentrate, irritability, nausea, nervous energy, rapid breathing, trembling, twitching.
      2. And when this extra fuel energy is not spent on physical activities;
        1. The body can suppress the immune system, cause digestive disorders, and even short term memory loss.

CONCLUSION – What can we do about worry?
Jesus says, “do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself…”

We can do our part by seeking first His Kingdom, reading the Word, Praying, putting the Lord first in matters of our life, and seek His Righteousness (we are not righteous) but in Him (Salvation) we take on His Righteousness.

Ask, and it will be given, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.

You can put your faith and trust in the Word of God instead of your fears and worries, and He will free you from your anxiety, stress and depression!

NEXT WEEK: Return to Revelation Series

Want to learn more about Salvation and Getting Saved?

Want to hear the audio to this sermon?



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