Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, January 23, 2022

Stress, Anxiety and Fear.

Crazy title but today Pastor Michael is talking how in this crazy pandemic world we live in, our stress, anxiety and fear are amped up worse than ever.  But this is about a foundation that can endure the worst this world can deal out.  There is a foundation that can do that: Jesus Christ.  

Not every kind of fear is a bad thing.  The right kind of fear can actually protect us.  The fear of God, for example, is such an overwhelming reverence for Him that we dare not do anything that would disrespect Him.  The right kind of fear keeps us from destroying what is good in our lives.

Now, there is fear that is bad.  Anxiety drives more than we realize and control issues and perfectionism: they are often fear in disguise.  Addiction issues can also be found to have fear and anxiety at their core, too!  

Now we can talk of a spiritual fear, a fear of refusing to accept God.  If you take human stress, anxiety and fear, they are built on lies (usually the devil’s!).

This fear robs us our peace and blessings.  Marry human fear with spiritual fear and it truly is the devil working on his plan, that of causing all of this fear!

There is always enough money to obey and trust God.  There is always enough energy to trust and obey God.  God does His best work when the odds seem to be against us.  Fear would have us believe the worse.  Yet Jesus paints a different picture: He tells us not to fear.  He gives us a reason, in Luke 12:32.  We are children of God.  That relationship changes everything. 

You Heavenly Father wants to bless you. No matter what, you have lots of blessings, even if you’re struggling.  Ask yourself, what exactly do you want?  Trouble-free lives aren’t on this side of heaven!

Stress, Anxiety and Fear: tells us we don’t have enough.   Faith says we always have enough!

Let’s look at what the Bible for Hope notes on worry:

(Bible for Hope Study Notes) …we all worry about our finances, our loved ones, our jobs, our health, and a host of other life issues. It may be hard to relate to Jesus’ words concerning worry. After all, Jesus had no children, no boss, no rent to pay. Jesus never had to grocery shop for a family and make dollars stretch, or car pool kids to sports, try to make the PTA meeting, and put dinner on the table. Jesus never had to take care of his elderly parents and help his teenagers plan for college at the same time. How can we apply His teaching about not worrying to twenty-first-century life?

Actually, these passages are more for us today than ever. In a materialistic, consumption- minded, technological world, Jesus is telling us to order our priorities: “Seek the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:31). For most of us, however, there is a large gap between managing our day-to-day lives and seeking God’s kingdom. In order to achieve the peace of God, to not be overwhelmed by the pressures of life, we have to change. We read that we cannot add a single hour to our life by worrying and fretting, but because worrying is what we know best, it’s what we do first, especially in stressful situations. To seek first the kingdom means to pray first, releasing our fears and worries to the Lord.

Today’s verse can be found at Luke 12: 32.