The Sermon on the Mount

Worry and Anxiety

 The Sermon on the Mount
• Matthew 6:25-34
• Why do we worry? What do we worry about?
• 40% on things that will never happen
• 30% on the things of the past that won’t change
• 12% on criticism by others, mostly untrue
• 10% on unfounded health concerns
• 8% on real problems we will face
• 70% of all illnesses are psychosomatic (bodily symptoms caused
by emotional disturbance)
 Worry and Anxiety
• What is worry?
• The Latin of anxiety is angustia.
• Constrictedness, narrowness, contractedness
• Angina pectoris – heart disease
• I have never known a man to die from hard work,
but many who have died from doubt. –Dr. Charles
Mayo
• So often, the feeling overshadows the reasons for it.
 Worry and Anxiety
• Worry is fear
• For God hath not given us the spirit of fear;
but of power, and of love, and of a sound
mind. II Timothy 1:7
• Worry is dangerous
 Worry and Anxiety
• Worry is doubt
• And we know that God causes all things to work
together for good to those who love God, to those who
are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28
• Doubt in the Lord we claim to trust
• Whatever is not from faith is sin. Romans 14:23
• Worry is sin
 Four Reasons Why We Worry
• We doubt God’s care
• About our circumstances
• Casting all your anxiety on Him, because He
cares for you. I Peter 5:7
• Romans 8:35-39
 Worry and Anxiety
• We doubt God’s capacity
• In our circumstances
• When we make decisions without God
• When we face temptation alone
• Philippians 4:6-9
• We are weak in our circumstances
• We are weak in our sins
• When I am weak, then I am strong. II Corinthians 12:10
 Worry and Anxiety
• We doubt God’s control
• Over our circumstances
• Will God provide for us?
• Will God preserve us?
• Will God prevail?
• Unlike other animals, human beings spend a lot of time thinking
about what is not going on around them, contemplating events
that happened in the past, might happen in the future, or will
never happen at all. – Harvard Psychology Professor Daniel
Gilbert
 Worry and Anxiety
• We doubt God’s comprehension
• Of our circumstances
• Does God know what it is like?
• Psalm 139
 Worry and Anxiety
• Why worry?
• We aren’t in control of most things we worry about.
• Our power in the things we do control is limited.
• God knows our concerns.
• God is in control of everything.
• God is able to act in ways we can’t imagine.
• God cares about all that surrounds us.
• God commands us not to fear, not to doubt, not to worry.
• But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these
things will be added to you. Matthew 6:33