Covidian Worry: Facing Uncertain Times with David Jeremiah

over these past couple of weeks we've gotten  emails and messages from all over the world and   as some of them are just so exciting we've heard  from Germany and Romania and France and lots of   places where we would not know that we would have  any kind of an impact I want to tell you about one   email that that we got this week from a lady in  Ohio and I don't want to give away her identity   except to say that in her email she said that she  and her family had been praying for her husband   for a number of years and at the end of the the  sermon on coronavirus when I gave the invitation   he prayed and received Jesus Christ and his life  was transformed and she was so happy and I know   that that has happened not just in one situation  but in many and it leads me to tell you that the   most important thing you can do if you haven't  done it already is to invite Jesus Christ into   your life I can't imagine going through times  like this without a relationship with Jesus   Christ as I mentioned in my prayer he's not only  our Savior and Lord he's our friend and counsellor   and helper and he never leaves us he never walks  away from us no matter what we're going through   so if you do not know him if you're participating  in this service and you don't know Jesus Christ in   a personal way at the end of my message I'm gonna  give you an opportunity to make a decision to put   your trust in him and I hope you will do it if you  were to google coronavirus and worry sometime this   week you would have seen more than 500 million  hits 500 million people who googled those two   things and if you were to search coronavirus  and anxiety the number is more than 1 billion   so put the two together worry and anxiety 1.5  billion people have had Google that to see if   they can find out how you deal with the anxiety  that they're feeling during the past few months   we've learned a lot about physical contagion the  spreading of a virus from one person to another   but accompanying this has been another type of  contagion it's called social contagion judson a   brewer an associate professor at Brown University  explains it this way in psychology the spread of   emotion from one person to another is aptly  termed social contagion our own anxiety can   be cured or triggered simply by talking to someone  else who is anxious they're fearful words are like   a sneeze landing directly on our brain and sending  it out of control as it worries about everything   from whether our family members will get sick  or how our jobs will be affected this week Time   magazine ran an article entitled the corona virus  pandemic may be causing an anxiety pandemic in   it journalist Jeffery Kluger wrote that the  physical corona virus pandemic continues to   spread an emotional pandemic is following fast in  its wake when the whole world is going to pieces   it's awfully hard for the human mind a fragile  thing in the best of times to cope and more and   more doctors are reporting the spread of despair  and worry and depression among their patients   especially those already suffering from some form  of anxiety disorder so what is anxiety what is   worry worry according to Webster is that which  causes us to feel troubled or uneasy distressed   or anxious or apprehensive when we worry we are  apprehensive over what might happen someone has   said worry is faith in the negative trust in  the unpleasant assurance of disaster belief and   defeat worry is wasting today's time to clutter up  tomorrow's opportunities with yesterday's troubles   the New Testament word for worry is translated to  take thought or be careful the word worry comes   from a Greek word which is merimna Oh which is a  combination of two words which means to divide to   have a divided mind to worry is to have a divided  mind that's why James says in James 1:8 that a   divided mind is unstable in all of its ways but  worry itself is always concern over the future   worry is concerned about something that we can  do nothing about and that we cannot even be sure   about one who worries looks off into the future  but the problem with the person who does that is   twofold first of all the future is not here and  secondly the future is not his there is nothing   to lay a hand on there is nothing that can be  done and so the anxious warrior cannot control   it he does not even know what it will look like  no one but God knows its true shape and so in   this pandemic that we're facing today it's just  really easy especially when we're sequestered in   our homes and we don't have the normal schedule  and routine and we're left to sit and think a lot   if we're not careful we allow what's happening to  play out to the worst possible scenario and all of   a sudden we're filled with anxiety jesus warned  Martha against such double mindedness he said in   Luke 10 and jesus answered and said to her Martha  Martha you are worried and troubled about many   things but one thing is needed and Mary has chosen  that good part which will not be taken away from   her someone has said that worry is a spiritual  fever that works havoc with the character and   service of the child of God the one place in the  Bible where we can learn about worry from Jesus   himself is in the book of Matthew chapter 6 in  that section of Scripture called the Sermon on the   Mount now if you're going to talk about anxiety  as a pastor and you know the New Testament you   know there are two central passages one of them is  in the book of Philippians where Paul speaks about   worry and one of them's here in Matthew where  Jesus speaks about worry I think we should have   Jesus words about worry in our message and here's  what we learn in this passage in Matthew chapter   6 Jesus says three times do not worry I'm gonna  put them up on the screen so you can see them for   yourself Matthew 6:25 do not worry about your life  what you will eat or what you will drink or about   your body what you will put on verse 31 do not  worry saying what shall we eat or what shall we   drink or what shall we wear verse 34 do not worry  about tomorrow if you'd like to have the teaching   of Jesus on the subject of worry summarized in  two words here it is don't worry that's Jesus   message to us don't worry don't let tomorrow's  possible problems tear you apart today now before   understanding why Jesus can say such a thing  it might be helpful to know what Jesus is not   saying oftentimes it's important to let people  know what what a person is saying but the only   way you can do that is help them understand what  he's not saying here's a couple of things Jesus   is not saying Jesus is not telling us to forego  all planning that we should not worry about the   future I mean after all he spent 40 days in the  wilderness thinking through the ministry that he   was going to perform he planned ahead for the Last  Supper he planned for his disciples to continue   his mission he advised us to count the cost in  advance of decision so what we say do not worry   that doesn't mean do not plan I know some people  are pretty carefree and they take that phrase that   says take no thought for tomorrow and that's their  watchword for life they just kind of float through   life willy-nilly that's not the Bible way when  Jesus says do not worry he's not telling us do   not plan and secondly he's not telling us that  we can live without any concerns when Jesus says   do not worry he has not told us that we should  never be concerned about anything like if one   of our children is running out in the street we  should be concerned about but there's a difference   between concern and worry it is the difference  between a legitimate emotion and a violation of   God's clear instruction the Bible says that when  we worry we violate our trust in God worry tears   us apart and keeps us from solutions concern  helps us to focus on a problem gives us energy   to resolve it worry tends to be future-oriented  and concern usually deals with the present should   we be concerned about what's happening today in  our culture in our families in our culture in our   churches absolutely but we shouldn't worry about  it we should be concerned about it we should take   whatever steps we can take like we said in  a previous message to do the next thing make   it better every day we should get up and say  Lord God how can I make this really difficult   situation better we should be concerned about it  but that's a whole different emotion than worrying   a worried person sees a problem and a concerned  person solves a problem that's the difference   that we need to make sure we understand here's  what you must understand you don't need to worry   about being concerned but you need to be concerned  about worrying write that one down and think about   that over these next few days researcher Lucas la  frontiere a PhD said this is what breaks my heart   about worry it makes you miserable in the present  moment to try and prevent misery in the future for   chronic worriers this process leads them to be  continually distressed all their lives in order   to avoid later events that never happen worry  sucks the joy out of the here and now and his   study on worry participants were asked to record  their worries and how they cause distress and   interfered with their lives each night at 10 p.m.  they reported how much time they spent thinking on   each specific worry throughout the day then 20  days after that period they reviewed each entry   and reported whether any of the words had become  true and the good news is La fiere study found   that in his survey of worrisome people 91.4% of  there were it's never actually happened so if you   cannot help worrying remember that worrying can't  help you either in Matthew 6:25 232 Jesus is going   to help us understand why we should not worry and  then he's going to give us a couple of principles   that will help us deal with it if that's one of  our struggles I know that we might not ever get   totally beyond this but if we can take the edge  off of your anxiety and your worry through this   message in this service it will be a blessing  to all of us in verses 33 through 34 Jesus gives   us everything we need to know to overcome our  anxieties so we began with understanding worry   here are five things Jesus wants us to know number  one worry is inconsistent worry is inconsistent   Matthew 6:25 therefore I say to you these are  Jesus words do not worry about your life what   you will eat or what you will drink nor about  your body what you will put on is not life more   than food and the body more than clothing now if  you like if you take this argument at face value   what you understand is it's an argument from the  greater to the lesser listen carefully you who   worry about the necessities of life like food and  clothing the one upon whom you are depending is   the one who has given you your very life if he has  created your life do you not think he can be could   care for the simple things that adorn your life  that's the argument Jesus he's saying I gave you   your life don't you think I can handle the issues  that come into your life in other words if God has   the power to create these marvelous organisms we  call our bodies does it not make sense is it not   logical that he can provide some clothes to put on  these bodies some food to put in these bodies and   some shelter to but over these bodies cannot the  one who has done the greater also do the lesser   the point is that God would not have given us  life and created our bodies without also seeing   to provision of those things that are necessary  to sustain us if you believe in a creator god   you must also believe in a sustainer God or you're  inconsistent you can't be consistent and say thank   you God for giving me my life now I don't know  how I'm gonna make it through these next few weeks   because I don't know if we're gonna have enough  food I don't know no wait a minute if God gave   you your life then you know that God is capable  of giving you whatever you need for your life   so worries inconsistent here's the second thing we  that Jesus tells us about worry worries irrational   fears verse 26 of Matthew 6 jesus said look at the  birds of the air for they neither sow nor reap nor   gather into barns yet your heavenly Father feeds  them are you not of more value than they are the   Lord's argument here is not that we are going to  cease our sowing and reaping and gathering but   that if he takes care of those who cannot do these  things like the birds much more will he take care   of those who can in other words it is not that  we are to take no thought for tomorrow but to   take thought of tomorrow without being filled with  anxiety so if you if you bought into the logic of   the first point that the greater to the lesser you  might be thinking like this well yeah I know God   can take care of me I mean he's able to take care  of me I believe that but but here's my question   will he take care of me I know he can but will he  and the answer to that question is found in verse   26 if verse 25 is an argument from the greater to  the lesser then verse 26 is the argument from the   lesser to the greater even if I believe that God  can do the greater and the lesser how can I have   confidence that he will do this for me here's the  argument God takes care of the birds he watches   over them he provides for them in the ecosystem of  the world as we know it God sustains the birds and   then we read in Matthew chapter 10 are not two  sparrows sold for a copper coin and not one of   them falls to the ground apart from your father's  will do not fear therefore you are of more value   than many sparrows Jesus is saying if I care for  the sparrows don't you think I'm gonna care for   you Luke 12 6 says are not five sparrows sold for  two copper coins and not one of them has forgotten   before God here's a little insight into that verse  that I find very fascinating a copper coin was the   Jewish measurement known as the Assyrian and an  Assyrian was worth one sixteenth of a Denarius   now a Denarius was a day's wages in the time  of jesus so a copper coin was one sixteenth of   a day's wages so you could get two sparrows for  one copper coin and if you bought four sparrows   they would throw the fifth one in for free so  five instead of four and the point that Jesus   is making is that not one of them is forgotten by  God not even the one that was thrown in for free   and if God is going to do that for the birds of  the air and the sparrows of the ecosystem do you   not believe that he will care for you as well  do you not believe that God cares enough about   you that he's going to be there for you and help  you in every situation so worried is inconsistent   and worried is irrational and it's ineffective  it doesn't work Matthew 6:27 says which of you   by worrying can add one cubit to his stature now  there are two possible ways to look at this one   of them may be just exactly as it sounds how many  of you can worry yourself into being taller than   you already are I mean if that were possible  I'd probably be about seven feet now because   I always wanted to be real tall so I could be a  professional basketball player but I never did get   more than six - and I'm not even six - anymore  because I got married and settle down I'm only   6 1 now but can you get this Jesus said how many  of you can worry yourself into being taller than   you are of course the answer is nobody can do that  it's as futile to worry about getting to be taller   than you are as it is to worry about the future is  it possible to gain a cubit in Heights by worrying   of course not so why worry about the future but  many New Testament scholars believe that Jesus   was not talking about stature but rather about  the length of days so in this case the argument   would sound like this which of you by worrying  can add one day or one minute to your life and   the answer is no one can do that no one no one can  add a moment to his life by worrying that's not   possible but the question has been worded which  of you can subtract if we ask that then you could   answer that very positively because I know and  you know people who have subtracted from their   life because of their worry Bruce Dunn once wrote  there are undoubtedly graves all over America were   lie the sleeping bodies of truly believing people  who cheated God out of 10 maybe 15 or more years   of life because they worried themselves into their  graves ahead of time which of you by being anxious   can add nobody which of you by being anxious can  subtract everybody just make sure you don't allow   the enemy to so so much anxiety in your life that  it keeps you from doing what God has called you to   do so worried is inconsistent worry is irrational  it's ineffective and it's illogical watch this   verses 28 to 30 so why do you worry about clothing  consider the lilies of the field how they grow may   neither toil nor spin and yet I say to you that  even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed   like one of these now if God so clothes the grass  of the field which today is and tomorrow is thrown   into the oven will he not much more clothe you  oh you of little faith once again Jesus points   to his environment and uses as an illustration he  points to the lilies of the field and he says they   don't toil they don't spin but God closed them  in such beauty that they outshine the glory of   the kingly robes of the king if the flowers of  the field which quickly wither and die and have   no eternal quality and are so adequately cared for  do we need ever to doubt that the father in heaven   will also care for us in everything that we need  to make it in this world if God takes such good   care of the beauty of the flowers of the field men  and women which have a very short lifespan does it   not make sense that he will care for you because  your eternal he says that his care of the flowers   of the field is greater than the splendour of  Solomon and his glory God cares about us that much   so worried is inconsistent it's irrational it's  ineffective it's illogical it's irresponsible in   verses 31 and 32 here's what we read therefore do  not worry saying what shall we eat or what shall   we drink or what shall we wear for after all these  things the Gentiles seek for your heavenly Father   knows that you need all these things now listen  carefully when you're tempted to worry you need   to stop and ask this question who am i anyway am  i a child of God or am I an unbeliever when Jesus   uses the word Gentile here he's referring to the  people who do not know God another translation   is the word pagan in other words when you worry  about the things that might happen to you you're   functioning like someone who doesn't have a family  or a father you're acting like an orphan but you   have a father and your father loves you and he  will care for you and he knows that you have   needs and he plans to fulfill them and instead of  worrying about your needs ask the Heavenly Father   Father in heaven give us what we need the point  that Jesus is making is if we function and anxiety   rules our life we may be true followers of Jesus  but the outward testimony of our life is that we   don't know God because the more pressure that we  find in our lives during times like this if you   are walking with the Lord that pressure will drive  you toward the Lord if you're not walking with the   Lord it will drive you away from him so if you're  being driven away from the Lord it didn't start   with the coronavirus it started before that time  the issue is are you going to come back and use   this opportunity to get things right between you  and the Lord well that's what Jesus had to say   about worry but at the end of the passage where  he tells us why worry doesn't work he gives us   two keys that will help us as we try to deal with  anxiety especially at a time like this the first   key is this number one commits your life totally  to Jesus Christ that's the longview notice verse   six chapter 6 verse 33 but seek first the kingdom  of God and His righteousness and all these things   will be added to you notice seek first the kingdom  of God instead of worrying about food and drink   and sickness and dress Jesus commands us to seek  first the kingdom of God Hudson Taylor gives us   this word of advice let us commit our work  our plans ourselves our lives our loved ones   our influence right into God's hand and then when  we have given over everything to him there'll be   nothing left for us to worry about if you give it  all to God if you put him in the center then one   of the interesting observations about this central  passage on worrying especially for right now is it   comes right after a long discussion about money  and material things and I know a lot of people   are really worried about what's happened with  the economy and we've been through a few things   like this before in recent years where people  talk about their 401k it's not around anymore   or it disappeared and we worry about money it's  interesting to me that this passage about worry   is connected to material things because the  thing that causes most of us stress I would   I would daresay there's way more stress in our  culture today about the economic problem than   there is about the coronavirus problem and what we  need to understand is that whenever we place too   much faith in the material things of this world  and not enough faith in Christ we will begin to   worry about survival and many other things that's  why Jesus said no one can serve two masters for   either he will hate the one and love the other or  he will be loyal to the one and despise the other   you cannot serve God and Mammon so here's what I'd  like to ask you at this particular point in this   message have you committed your life totally to  Jesus Christ if you've been if you're a Christian   and you found yourself totally filled with anxiety  during these days why don't you just take some   time and get before the Lord and say Lord I'm not  doing really well with all this stuff right now   and I want you to know I'm gonna commit myself  all my worries all the stuff that's on my mind   I'm gonna commit it to you I'm gonna give it  to you and I'm gonna ask you to show yourself   strong in my behalf commit your life totally  to Jesus Christ that's kind of the long view   here's a short view concentrate your energies  on living one day at a time listen to what it   says in verse 34 therefore do not worry about  tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about its own   things sufficient for the day is its own trouble  and I know there's not anybody here for me to hear   from but I would always say can I get a witness  when I got to this place because all of us know   that every day has its own set of issues every  day has its own problems that we have to deal   with and every day that we start over is a new  day when new problems and new challenges that's   just the way life is and isn't interesting that  God divided our lives up in two days so that we   wouldn't have this long uninterrupted space but  every day is an opportunity for us to deal with   the issues of life John Stott said it this way  he said one day's trouble is enough for one day   or each day has enough trouble of its own so why  anticipate them if we do we double them for if our   fear does not materialize we have worried once  for nothing and if it does materialize we have   worried twice instead of once in both cases it's  foolish worry just doubles the trouble you have   all of the agony of worrying now that something's  going to happen and it may not happen so you've   worried for nothing like we said before 90% of the  things people worry about don't happen but if you   worry about it and something does happen now you  got to worry about it again so now you've worried   about the same thing twice and that doesn't make  any sense there is a powerful verse of scripture   and if you don't get anything else from what I've  said in this message I hope you'll get this one   this verse has helped me a great deal in my life  and I believe it will help you as well it's found   in Deuteronomy 33 25 here's what it says as your  days so shall your strength be that is a promise   from God God says for every day I will give you  enough strength for that day this is a muscular   reminder to us that each day has its own needs  and its own supply sufficient unto the day is the   evil thereof in other words each day has a burden  that belongs to that particular day don't borrow   tomorrow's burden before tomorrow worry does not  empty tomorrow of its sorrow worry empties today   of its strength so why would you do that why would  you allow that to happen so Jesus is telling us to   take each day as it comes and give our attention  to what God is doing right now you know one of the   things we're hearing from our psychologists who  are trying to figure out how to deal with all of   this stress that everybody's feeling right now is  that we're tempted if we're not careful to get up   in the morning stay in our pajamas all day watch  TV kind of hang around and not have any schedule   and what they're telling us is you need to put  a schedule together for your day what am I going   to do today what are my goals for today how can I  accomplish what God wants me to do everybody needs   to do that what you're doing is you're taking this  however long it is and you're putting it into day   tight compartments and then you just deal with  that day and when that day is over you pillow your   head and then you'll get up the next day and deal  with that day one day at a time if you do that   you will discover that God's grace is sufficient  for each day but he's not promised us grace until   the coronavirus is over he hasn't promised that to  us at all he's promised to us grace for every day   and years ago in an article in the Denver seminary  magazine focal point Paul Borden gave some helpful   suggestions for warriors I think this might be  worth just the whole thing that we have done   in this message he said write down what you're  worried about the bills your job the sickness   the children the grandchildren your health the  future now you got your worry list now turn your   worry list into a prayer list ask the Lord to work  in every one of those situations you're concerned   about pray specifically for your needs and depend  on him I say this and it sounds almost like this   is too simple but over the years I have had the  opportunity to have people come and ask me if I   would pray for them and a certain thing they're  going through and and I've often asked them have   you told the Lord about this and they look at  me like I'm a stranger and I've said well why   would you come and ask me about it if you haven't  asked him about it it's interesting for all of you   who are sharing in this service online what are  your worries maybe you could write down your top   five let me ask you this question have you asked  God about every one of those have you laid those   out before him and said here are my thing here's  my concerns here's my anxiety well this man said   you take your worried list and you turn it into  a prayer list and then after you take your prayer   list you turn it into an action list because most  of us know that God usually answers our prayers   through us he does something that changes what we  do if you turn your prayer list to an action list   you will have insight that there's something you  can do about some of your cares and as we turn our   worries into prayer and action we will paralyze  anxiety and replace it with the responsibilities   of life an exasperated husband asked his wife  why are you always worrying when it doesn't do   any good she quickly piped back oh yes it does  90% of the things I worry about never happened   that's the way a lot of people look at worry  but God has a better plan if we're inclined to   worry we can turn that worry over to the Lord  we can understand that he's never too weary or   too tired to pay attention to us he has all wisdom  and all power and he loves to use it in our behalf   and the Holy One who directs the Stars has his  loving arms around us even at a time like this   if you want to have a great adventure my friend  I would encourage you to start a little journal   during the coronavirus and see what God does enter  into your journal all the things you're worried   about make sure you pray about them and keep  track of how God in His incredible power moves   into your life and undertakes for you and your  family and the ones you love it won't be perfect   God hasn't promised us that he's going to give  us everything that we want but he has promised   us the things that we need and you know when we go  through a crisis like this if we're not careful we   all become activists and we're out doing this and  we're going to do that get grocery for somebody   and all that if you're not careful God gets pushed  to the sidelines and at a time like this he needs   to be deadness center and we need to confront  our issues before him and ask for wisdom from   him so that we can live in peace in the midst  of a world of anxiety I mentioned to you at the   beginning that if you didn't know Jesus Christ  that's where it all starts you can't have this   peace that comes through Jesus if you don't have  Jesus so I want to ask you have you ever trusted   Jesus Christ as your personal Savior has there  ever been a time in your life when by prayer   you admitted that you were a sinner and asked for  God's forgiveness and accepted him as your Lord I   want to ask you to do that right now we're gonna  pray this prayer as we end this service and I want   you to pray in your heart father for all those who  have gathered here in this great coast-to-coast   auditorium we pray and especially for those  who who need you who have never trusted you   as their personal Savior my prayer is that they  will receive you and ask you to become their Lord   and Savior that they will in this very moment in  this service Lord God they will become followers   of Jesus Christ and then Lord show them your  love and your your compassion and your peace and   may this be the birthday of many new believers  who have put their trust in you father when we   have you in our heart we can be concerned but  we don't have to worry we can not understand   everything that's going on but we don't have to  be filled with anxiety thank you for promising us   that we can cast our cares upon you for you care  for us and I pray this prayer in Jesus name Amen

Channel: David Jeremiah

Views: 175,997

Keywords: coronavirus outbreak, corona virus, covid 19, virus outbreak, david jeremiah, turning point ministries dr. david jeremiah, shadow mountain community church, fear, anxiety, worry, concern, bible, coronavirus, biblical, wisdom, faith, God's Word, prophecy, end times, signs, pandemic, matthew 24, Jesus, God

Id: niKySUKeoVQ

Length: 34min 22sec (2062 seconds)

Published: Mon Mar 30 2020