The Fear Of Depression, Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ that appears unspiritual to see a spiritual man question should be depressed questions. We are happy happy happy. So we are told to Moses and Elijah speak happy happy happy. Sometimes joining us today on this additional Fellowship in the Word pastor Bill Gebhardt Fellowship in the Words the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible church located in Metairie, Louisiana going pastor go get her now shows us how God's word world man visited Dr. in Florence, Italy.

The man was filled with anxiety. He was exhausted from lack of sleep he could meet and even avoided his friends.

The doctor examined him and found them to be in prime physical condition.

So the doctor concluded what the patient needed was he needed to have a good time.

The physician told him that the circus was in town and that its star performer was a clown named Grimaldi. Night after night, it appears that the people Dr. said were rolling in the aisles, laughing. The brilliance of the clown. He said you must going, you must see him.

Grimaldi is the funniest clown in the world, he will make you laugh and he will cure your sadness and the despondent man looked up and said no he won't I am Grimaldi hundred and 79 years later.

One of the world's funniest clowns. Robin Williams hung himself in his bedroom.

Once again depression had reared its ugly head. Depression is a long, twisting road in the dark with no landmarks, no exits, no destination marked only by discouragement and despondency and despair and depression has become a full-blown epidemic in the United States according to the national Institute of mental health. You and I have a lifetime risk of developing major or clinical depression about 17%, which means one in six of us roughly become clinically depressed every year 17 million American adults and 2 million American teenagers report major or clinical depression.

Depression is now the leading cause of disability in the United States, depression, cost our country $55 billion a year in lowered productivity and lost work hours, antidepressants have soared 400% since 1988 it has to make you wonder is the United States, the world's most depressed nation well according to the World Health Organization in Harvard Medical School.

They pulled 14 major countries, including countries like Lebanon, Mexico and Nigeria. That's right once again we ranked number one. Therefore, I would guess the personal fear of depression is a real concern or should be for us. Times change in the Middle Ages for most of time a person who was depressed, had Miller colony.

There were melancholy and then from the 1930s to the 1970s. The term that many of you at least by looking at your age. Many of you would recognizes the term that was used was a nervous breakdown when I want to do is I want to explore this area of depression and how we overcome our fear of it back.

How do we overcome it.

The first thing I want to talk about is the experience of depression.

The experience of depression. You see, it's much more common than you think.

Listen to these words.

I am not able to bear all these people alone because the burden is too heavy for me. If you treat me like this. Please kill me here and now. If I have found favor in your sight and do not let me see my own wretchedness numbers 11 Moses Lord, take my life. Now please first Kings 19 Elijah and it interesting by the way that Moses and Elijah both show up on the Mount of Transfiguration and the honored positions with the Lord. David my tears of been my food day and night while they continually say to me words of God. When I kept silent, my bones grow old through my groaning all day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into a drop.

The drought of summer and not just great biblical characters like Moses and Elijah. David Martin Luther suffered from bouts of depression, so much so that his family members.

What Heidi implements in the house which they thought Luther might harm himself with Luther wrote that sometimes when he went into a depressed state for more than a week at a time. Christ was wholly lost to me, John Knox, the great Scottish reformer, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And please put an end to my miserable life Charles Spurgeon, the great English preacher preached a sermon on Isaiah 41 verse 14 which basically says do not fear I will help you and this is what he said in his introduction he said I have to speak to myself today and he says while I show be endeavoring to encourage those who are distressed and downhearted.

I shall be preaching.

I trust to myself, for I need something researcher. My heart why I cannot tell. Wherefore, I do not know but I have a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan.

It's buffeting me. My soul was cast down within me I feel is I'd rather die than live all that God has done by me seems to be forgotten in my spirit sags in my courage breaks down please I need your prayers. I would imagine his congregation was shocked.

The experiences of depression is common even among the very best of us, Moses, Elijah, David, Luther, Knox, Spurgeon, the expression of depression. The expression of depression is consistent. I want you to turn with me to Job chapter 3 in or something you need to understand in this context of this chapter as tremendous a man as Moses was in the Elijah David and Luther Noxon Spurgeon. They really don't compare the joke. Job is the most righteous man on the planet that's on my opinion.

That's what God said.

God said Job is it the most righteous man you know what he went through, you know what happened in his life, he lost his. He lost his servants, he lost his wealth, he lost his 10 children, he lost his relationship with his wife, who told him to curse God and die.

He lost his self-esteem.

He he lost the respect of his friends. He completely lost his health and he finds himself outside the city, sitting in a dump with a clay pot scraping the sores on his body and he's depressed and Job expresses it about as keenly as anyone, but consistently with everyone else.

The first thing that Job does in the first 10 verses of chapter 3 is he asked this question, why was I ever born. Why was I ever born afterward. Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth, and Job said that the day perish on which I was born in the night which said a boy is conceived, may that be day be darkness. Let not God above care for it, nor light shine on it, let darkness and black loom claimant let a cloud settle on it, but the blackness of the day terrify it. As for that night. Let darkness seize it, let it not rejoice among the days of the year that it not come into the number of the months. Behold let that night be barren. Let no joyful shout, enter it, let those curse it who curse the day who are prepared to arouse Leviathan or the beast.

Let the stars of its twilight be darkened. He said let it wait for light, but have none, neither let it see the breaking Dawn because it did not shut the opening of my mother's womb or high trouble from my eyes well is a most righteous manner, why was I ever born, the despair of what depression can do it, and most of the second question why did I survive.

He says why did I not die at birth come forth from the womb and expire. Why did the knees receive me and why the press that I should suck. For now I would have lain down and been quiet, I would've slept.

Then I would've been at rest with kings and with counselors. He said of the earth who rebuilt ruins for themselves or with princes. He says is gold who were filling their houses with silver like a miscarriage which is discarded. I would not be as infants that never saw light pieces there the wicked cease from weight raging, and there the weary are at rest. The prisoners are eased together, they do not hear the voice of the taskmaster, the small and the greater their and the slave is free from his master.

While not only why was I ever born. When I survive it would be so much better to be dead. Don't forget this is the most righteous manner speaking, but he's depressed.

Then he asked the question. The third one.

Why am I alive verse 20 why is light given to him or suffers and life to the bitter soul, who long for death. But there is none and dig for more than for hidden treasures rejoice greatly and exalt when they find the grave. Why is light given to a man whose way is hidden, and whom God has hedged in for my groanings, comes, he says at the side of my food and my cries pour out like water is and for what I fear comes upon me and when I dread befalls me.

I am not at ease, nor my quiet.

I am not at rest. The turmoil comes, I can eat I can't sleep. I don't find any point in my life. The most righteous man, the expression of the depression happens even to the best of us. Listen to this. I am now the most miserable man living. If what I feel were equally distributed to the whole human race. There would not be one cheerful face on earth whether I shall ever be better. I cannot tell. I awfully for bold, I shall not to remain as I am is impossible it appears to me I must die to be better. Abraham Lincoln the expression of depression, despair, despondency, experience of depression is common in the expression of depression is consistent was the point. What's the point of me being alive. What are the explanations for depression. What causes us to have these periods of depression or life.

Sometimes there are situational causes Saul hating David and then hunting them down, making them a fugitive, David, and separated from everybody love that all the security systems. He finds himself alone and on the run and expresses over and over again in the Psalms to despair is depression. Elijah, after having one of the great moments of his life as a prophet slaying the priest. The bill finds out that Jezebel is now after him like a coward he runs any runs into solitude and he hides and that's why said to God, please take my life becomes depressed sometimes are situational causes phone call diagnosis information you find yourself battling.

Sometimes there are systemic causes chronic illness feeling poorly day in day out weekend and week out, month in and month out, year in and year out. It doesn't seem to ever get better.

The same thing can happen with financial difficulties. We never get ahead. Nothing ever gets better were always where we are a bad marriage.

There is a bad marriage to me can be like Chinese water torture every single day just a little bit of agony drop drop drop drop drop it just keeps up and keeps up and we can find ourselves depressed. Sometimes this there are systemic and chronic causes. Sometimes there are satanic causes doesn't have the Job see what Job did know is God and Satan had a conversation. And God mentioned Job. I always think Lord, please don't mention me in that light, but he said this is the most righteous man on earth and Lucifer said really that's because he has everything by Wendy God said no he's righteous. You can do it anyone to still be righteous, but you can take his life. Remember, the apostle Paul. He said that a messenger of Satan came and buffeted him. He had his thorn in the flesh. Sometimes you not only have systemic causes, but you have satanic causes in Fort Lee.

Sometimes there are spiritual causes in Job's case, God was testing. Job got often test us to bring circumstances in your life so that we can see where we are, how authentic our faith is not for God sake, but for our sake. There are other kinds of spiritual causes. For instance, start living carnally and then the reaping and sowing principal comes in and so you'd start reaping what you sow and what you sow is not good. What you reap is even worse then you have to deal with all that baggage down is Job almost had all those the explanations for depression are many. So we have the experience of depression is common in the expression of depression is consistent and the explanations are several could be situational. It could be systemic. It could be satanic and can be spiritual.

But the most important question is how you eliminated how is depression eliminated. What is it we need to do to eliminate depression turned to Job 7 with me for a moment.

Job 7 in the very first step.

If you going to do with depression. Your life is to recognize it. You need to recognize it. You need to admit it.

Verse 11 of chapter 7 therefore I will not restrain my mouth I will speak in the anguish of my spirit. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Joe admits it. I'm depressed about holding you back and will let you know how I feel in his book called the gospel according to Job, Mike Mason writes this, there is a point at which any man simply throws in the towel.

He does not abandon his faith, necessarily, he just gets thoroughly sick and tired of trying to put a good face on things, and when things he is facing do not have anything good about them at all.

This is not necessarily sin is just plain honesty. Job is a forthright and plainspoken man, the sort of person who's not afraid to say what is on his heart. He said we need gradually to acknowledge that such uncommon honesty may be one of the greatest virtues a saint can possess.

Admit it a while would have to say that because you don't want to admit that I don't want to say I'm depressed I could even imagine your eye guy know what your looks of the like what why is if you say that you're depressed that appears unspiritual you see what you not a spiritual man spirit. Christian should be depressed Christians, we are happy happy happy. That's all we are told to Moses say that to Elijah speak at the David talk to Job happy happy happy. Sometimes were overwhelmed using the first step is to recognize a just admit it. That's what Job did by the way, if you have trouble recognizing a just look at the symptoms. Tears, lack of appetite can't sleep, realizing it every time you look yourself in the mirror your affect us gets flatter and flatter my way. People usually notice that partof something wrong with you, and you try to push that small, no I'm good. We have to admit it. So the first thing is the recognizer depression.

The second step seems odd. Researcher depression seem strict research your depression. On the one hand researcher biblically look for other people in the Bible that were depressed. See what God says to them how they work themselves out of that part of research, but you can even research depression in another way you can find out how do I get better how people in this world. Bathroom number the radio ministry fellowship in the world. If you ever miss one of our broadcast or maybe you just like listening to the message one more time.

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