Dealing with Stress | Part 1

What is the basic cause of stress. Listen to Adrian Rogers problem of stress is that between the demands are placed upon us the strength we have that is the stress factor over here the demands that we have the necessities that deadlines the opportunities all those things that we must do to here is the and my weakness, and the difference between those things causes stress to love words, pastor, teacher and author Adrian Rogers said this is the day of the quick cash. The mad – and a lot of stress. Many of us are emotionally fatigued, physically drained and spiritually defeated. The reason being, most of us are dealing with some form of stress is not a sin to be stressed Jesus Christ in his humanity knew what it was like to be weary.

What is the solution to a stressful life. If you have your Bible turnout.

Isaiah chapter 40 will begin in verse 28 as Adrian Rogers gives insight on dealing with stress and a series of sermons dealing with God psychiatrist how to handle your emotions before your emotions handle you, and we've talked about such subjects as thou and depression were talked about loneliness today were going to be talking about stress this is the day of the quick cash mad – a lot of stress. We think were very intelligent. We think were very smart but really when you analyze it, about what we have added to civilization his speed and noise we get there faster but we still don't know where were going. We don't own a bicycle them or we go on a motorcycle and we get there.

Just make a lot more noise.

Somebody is said that this generation can be described in three words.

Hurry worrying. I read an interesting statistic. Americans consume 4 1/2 million pounds of aspirin every year you mentioned.

This is an aspirin a pounds of aspirin where all tenants were all stressed up and nowhere to go well. Think about were all under stress.

Well, what is a Bible have to say about stress why did I believe, by the way, Oliver Cromwell, the great British statesman said that Isaiah chapter 40 is the greatest chapter in the Bible Isaiah dipped his pain and the golden glory when he wrote Isaiah chapter 40. Those of you who are musicians know that Isaiah chapter 40 was inspiration for handle as he wrote the mighty oratorio, the Messiah. Those of you who know church history know that Isaiah chapter 40 was chapter the put iron into the blood of the great Martin Luther when he stood before that religious counsel and said here I stand I can do no other God will be. Who was that that was God speaking through Martin Luther who had received his strength from Isaiah chapter 40.

I want us to look at this wonderful, wonderful chapter, but not all. I want us to look just at the few verses at the end. Isaiah chapter 40 verse 28 hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord that creates more of the ends of the earth think is not, neither is weary.

There is no searching of his understanding.

He giveth power to the St. and them that have no might he increases strength even the user shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength they shall mount up with wings as eagles they shall run and not be weary, and facial wall and shall not faint. First of all I want you to notice what I'm going to call the problem of stress.

The problem of stress. Look, if you will, in verses 29 and 30, he giveth power to the faint end of them that have no might he increases strength evenly. You shall faint and be weary, and the young man shall utterly fall years ago was abandoning Ponce De Leon game to Florida. He was seeking a fountain of youth.

Somebody had told him or somewhere he'd been led to believe that there was a fountain in Florida that if you would drink the waters of that fountain you wouldn't get old anymore that you would have the secret of perpetual.

You alas and alack there is none for the body, but praise God.

There is one for the soul is right here in Isaiah chapter 40 and I want you to pause long enough to take a B be drink of the souls fountain of youth with our outward man perish, our inward man may be renewed day by day. Now what is the problem of stress. The problem of stress is that gap between the demands that are placed upon us and the strength we have to meet those demands. Now that is the stress ratio that is the stress factor over here the demands that we have the necessities that deadlines the opportunities all those things that we must do want to do have to do to do over here is me and my weakness over here is my all to and over here is my weakness and the difference between those things causes stress.

Okay, now here is the problem. Stress, even the use evenly young people are going to find themselves stressed they going to find that their strength is gone, they do not have the strength to meet the need, and is not a sin to be stressed is not a sin to be weary is not a sin to run out of strength I hear you may be weary for three basic reasons.

Number one just the plain demands of service. For example, the Lord Jesus Christ himself was weary. The Lord Jesus knew what it was they get tired.

Remember there when he just before John chapter 4 before he witness to that Samaritan woman. The Bible's teaches that Jesus was weary and he set upon the curbing of the well there at Samaria. Jesus had been traveling those hot dusty roads and his body was depleted and drain the strength because it was human. He had humanity. Just like we do remember that in Mark chapter 5 when Jesus was preaching and teaching the crowd stronger and it was a little later had initial blood a little woman and she elbowed her way through the crowd and she stuck out that thin transparent hand, she thought, I can just touch the hem of his garment. I'll be made whole and she touched him immediately. She was healed by Jesus turned around and he said, who touched me virtue has gone out of me and the word that is translated virtue might well be translated. Strength is gone out of me. Life vitality is gone out of me into her bathroom. Whenever you minister. Whenever you serve. If you truly ministering. If you're truly serving. You are giving yourself and virtue goes out of your strength goes out of your life those out of the Lord Jesus know what it was to be weary.

He got so tired. One time that he went to sleep in the middle of a storm on the fantail little ship on the Sea of Galilee.

You've got to be weary to do that Jesus wasn't lazy. He was tired even the user shall thing and be weary as you serve God as you do those things that you want to do the necessities of life.

You're going to find that's those out of and yet duties remain, and the difference between those duties that you have in the strength that you have to meet those duties causes stress, frustration, how am I going to get it done.

How my going to meet these deadlines. Where is the strength coming from modeling the demands of service. Also, the dissipation's of sale take strength out of another one is not bad but the other is Michael Sampson, that heavyweight champion of the Old Testament strongest man to live so far as I know destroyed a mighty lion as though he'd been a little baby goat carried off the gates of the city of days on the shoulders so an army of Philistines with the jawbone of a jackass my mind but he began to flirt with a trashy pilot named Delilah. He prostituted his relationship with John and his CN case was depleted sin. My dear friend will weary takes out physical strength emotional strength tomorrow. Strength and spiritual strength, but all of that is compounded by the devices of Satan. I will demands of service. The dissipation of sin and the devices of Satan.

Satan wades until he sees that your weary folks, all of us are going to know the stress factor good people and bad sinners and saints, young and old evenly use shall faint and be weary, God demands that are upon us, and there is this mitigation of strength is a gap in that gap is the stress factor. Okay, say, and I want you to notice not only what I want to call the problem of stress. But I want you to see the promise of strength. The Bible says in verse 31 but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall not made, they shall renew their strength now looking toward renew the Hebrew word child. It literally means they shall exchange their strength to say listen, the Christian life is not so much a changed life as it is an ex change life. I give him my strength, which is really weakness for the weakness of God is stronger than men in the strength of management weakness, and I give that to God and God gives his committee and there is a change. There is an exchange's the same thing that the apostle Paul talked about Galatians 220. I'm crucified with Christ.

Nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life I now live. I live by the faith of the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me.

That is more than a change life.

It is an exchange life. Did you know that you can put off your weakness. Just like you take off her coat and you can put on God strength just like to put on another one. They that wait upon the Lord shall exchange their strength. Now that brings us to the real question, how do you wait upon the Lord, because this is the crux of the whole matter and here is the answer to stress the key to dealing with stress is in this little phrase here in Isaiah chapter 40 and verse 31 waiting upon the Lord, the psalmist said almost the same thing in Psalm 27 verse 14 wait on the Lord, be of good courage. He shall strengthen my heart way I say on the Lord.

Well, the question comes pastor what is it mean to wait on the Lord and here's where most of us are going to miss it. Most of us might think that waiting on the Lord is some form of passive sitting around waiting for God to do something it is not passivity is activity. Waiting on the Lord is not being passive, it is not sitting around until God finally moved when you wait upon God. You take the initiative.

You know, back in the olden days when the ball would be courting a girl, you know what they were called that young man is waiting all night young lady. I got several ways to I suppose waiting on her to get ready.

But folks, that's not what they met when they met that he was waiting over it meant that he was pursuing her very actively. If you ever seen a boy well listen when I was head over heels in love with Joe is not more in love with her today than I was then, I was actively pursuing her my mind.

My motions my will. Everything pursuing this girl that I love and their friend when you're waiting upon God. Do not just sitting around your actively pursuing God now if waiting upon God is the secret of strength you need to learn how to wait upon God.

First of all it really means that you are long for the Lord there is to be a deep deep desire in your heart for God, let me give you verse Psalm 62 verse one truly my soul, wait upon God. From him cometh my salvation, that is all God, you're the one I need all God.

I long for you as the Harte-Hanks after the water broke so my heart desires you all my God I long for you Lord I desire you ICQ you desire God to wait upon God is still long for him to desire him to want him more than anything else. And if you do that wait upon God mean something in. If you long for him. You listen to him. Proverbs chapter 8 verse 34.

Listen to this verse. Blessed is the man that hearest me, watching daily at my gates, or 18 at the post of my doors.

Now God here links waiting with listening. I listen to God when I wait upon the Lord, I have tuned my ear to God and how do I do it. I watched him daily at his gaze. That is God and I have an appointment God and I have a quiet time God and I have a Trysting Pl., God and I have a time of place at his gates at his doors prioritize. I go to meet him and I wait upon him.

I am I listen to him I will put the sermon in the sentence. Right now, dear friend, answer the stress is a quiet time with God. We talk about this quiet time we preach about it we sing about it. We don't practice it dear friend. That's the reason so many of us are so stressed. We have not met God early in the morning we not saw his face when not shut other things out and shut ourselves up along with God, we must saturate our souls in his word and bathe ourselves in his presence. It is no wonder that with stress. Don't wait upon God means number on the long for him. And because we long for him. We listen to him, dear friend. When we listen to him. We learn to look to him. Listen to this in Psalm 104 verse 27 God is talking about the creatures of the field.

The animals and all of these creatures that God has created. And it says these wait, all upon the that thou make us give them their meat in due season. What that means they'll look to God. Birds look to God.

The foxes look to God. The beast of the field look to God. These all wait upon the thou may us give us them.

Their meat in due season. Lord I look to you. I don't know what the need is today God but your sufficient. I don't know what the problem is God, but your sufficient God. My hope is in you. You see, when I long for him. I listen to him and when I listen to him. I looked at him my friend cometh from the Lord I lift up mine eyes unto you, but one with stress. Most of us would not want it to be no how much quality time we spent with God one. Why was so tense. Wonder why was so nervous.

Wonder why we're so stress we are to wait upon God and that he still long for him. That means to listen to him.

That means to look to him and my friend. It means one more thing. It means to live for him.

Listen, listen, if you will hear in Proverbs chapter 27 in verse 18 again he uses this word wait go so keep with the fig tree shall eat the fruit thereof that is how to keep a victory well you quoted fertilizer you nurture it, you do whatever is necessary to keep the things that will harm awake you spend time on that victory. Now he says if you from the fig tree, then you have a right to eat the fruit thereof, but now wait a minute he's not finished yet, so he that waited on his master shall be on.

Now God is our master, and if we wait on the Lord.

That means that we are to be doing for God what a person would do to fig tree if you wanted fruit from the fig tree when a person serves the fig tree he gets fruit from the fig tree when a person serves God he eats heavens fruit he that wait upon his master shall be on what is it mean to wait upon God. It means to serve God means to live for God.

When you go to a restaurant and the waiter comes why we call them a waiter because he surface but the word wait in the real sense to wait upon somebody means to serve when you wait upon God battling you just sitting in a chair waiting time when God want to do something, it means you are living for God. When a man takes care of fig trees. The fruit thereof, and when a man waits upon his master, his master honors him.

Now, what does it mean therefore wait upon God. Listen to me they that wait upon the Lord are going to exchange a strength don't wait upon God means to long for God.

It needs to listen to God it means to look to God it means to live for God that is in my life is wrapped up are you waiting upon God, not wanting them exchange a strength right now the third and final thing which is first of all the problems. Stress. Secondly, the promise of strength.

Thirdly, the program of service. What happens when wait upon God.

Why does God give us strength will look verse 31 but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength, while well number one, they shall mount up with wings as eagles number two, they shall run and not be weary. Number three facial wall and not think now the three things that cause the stress. One is adversity the storms of life.

They cause of stress. The other is opportunity.

The things that we want to do.

We're afraid to go to get away from us. They cause a stress and the third is necessity. The things we have to do. Adversity those of the things to come upon us unexpected opportunities. Those of those glorious things that we want to seize upon. We don't want to pass us by necessities those of the things we have to do day after day. I want to show you different. If you fail in any of these areas, you can have stress that adversity comes to us and is like a storm and God here uses the analogy of an eagle and he says when wait upon the Lord we shall mount up with wings as an eagle. Now the eagle sees the store on the Eagle's North laborer.

He's not a bird of the barnyard in the mud and the fill he's used several times in the Bible to speak of the saints we like eagles. I've studied the life of eagles limiting about an eagle and Eagle looks to the storm longs for the storm because he knows that those thermal drafts of the storm can cause him to so analyze any of the wise before he spreads his mighty wings and that storm is no threat to him because the rise almost he arrives is above the stone is put those wings out there, and he sold coming up tomorrow will your part two of this important message. You know I love worth finding. It's one of our great honors to come alongside you, and pray with you and for you if you can go to our website homepage@lwf.org/radio and scroll down to find our prayer wall. Find the option they are to either submit a prayer request or pray for others, or do both. This resource is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry in the community praying continually for one another's needs. Let us hear from you today after like to order a copy of today's message in its entirety.

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