The Cure for Our Anxiety

Today on Renewing Your Mind this above all things, creates anxiety but were trying to solve two masters.

We would like the blessings of the gospel, but we simply can't let go of other things last few months have provided us with the opportunity to worry pandemic financial distress civil unrest is safe to assume that nearly everyone is looking for something, anything, to ease the anxiety but it's vital that we treat not just the symptoms that we get to the cause is Dr. Sinclair Ferguson were coming to our tents starting in the summer on the Mount got a couple of things that we have seen live right to the foundation of Jesus teaching the first is that he is the king in God's kingdom and the kingdom has come on the issue in the kingdom, power, and now he's teaching people about kingdom discipleship on the second thing we've seen as each of these three chapters in Matthew 567 can be summarized by the use of one one chapter 5 by the word fulfillment. I'm not chapter 6 by the Wiebe father on. In chapter 6 Jesus is teaching his disciples, but the knowledge of God is our heavenly father delivers us from two very common plagues in the spiritual life. The first is the plague of hypocrisy and he's been doing with that in chapter 6 verses 1 to 18 but now is coming on to something. But in some ways, maybe even more pervasive knowing God is our heavenly father not only delivers us from hypocrisy. But in verses 19 to 34 Jesus is teaching us that this is the cure for anxiety on this hypocrisy is a plague among religious people and exceptionally true that, especially not one time. Anxiety is an almost universal plague in the Western while I'm it's a very wonderful thing to think like Jesus who is who is so concerned about religious hypocrisy would also bliss tenderness towards us that he understands what we are actually like that many of us, perhaps behind our brave face are deeply anxious people on. We want to try to deal with anxiety. One of the things that probably ought to be clearer than it really is to us, but if anxiety is not caused by a chemical disarmed in our bodies, putting chemicals into our bodies cannot possibly be the cure for all anxiety and so Jesus wants to teach us here a long time QR for anxieties.

There's another big one and I want you to notice that appears in this passage, and in some ways it is a key to this passage is the word therefore you'll notice it but beginning in verse 25 it links together these two sections.

First, 19 to 24 and then verse 25 through to the end of verse 34 it's an important Bible. One doesn't touch Paul in Romans chapter 12 in the light of all that he has taught us about the gospel man that turns the door open into application the Christian life, and he says therefore, in the light of all this because these things are true that our conclusions but you want to be able to draw from this teaching on these doing Jesus is doing exactly the same thing here, although if I'm not mistaken, this is often missed by us. We look at verse say a 19 and onboard son. We see Jesus speaking about treasures in the eye is the lamp of the body, and no one can serve two masters and amenity seems to go on to speak about anxiety and sometimes we think these are you speaking about two different things. Notice that what he is going to speak about his anxiety is going to speak about how we can be delivered from bottom anxiety but he is grinding that teaching on what he thinks causes that anxiety. So this whole section when you when you see that that is this link that's what he says don't be anxious. He's really referring back to what is already said and if you understand what he's already said, you begin to see what her tears but delivers you from anxiety. I remember as a youngster being taught.

Whenever you see the word therefore in the New Testament you stop and you ask yourself the question, wherefore the valve for all quarters of the four therefore so we must understand that Jesus teaching about anxiety is linked into what she has just been saying in the previous masses because they are what is doing a second as a kind of spiritual physician is he's he's putting his finger on the cause he is giving a diagnosis of the causes of our anxiety.

Not sure if any of you are physicians, but I'm sure most of you know that sometimes you may go to a physician because of a pain, but you have day the doctor will say we just let me examine your he never goes straight for the pain does he revisit his heart. This find out if you're a man of course, you think I think I'm going to escape. He's not going to find Cliff but really feel the pain in them. He knows full well whatever.

This only works his way slowly towards the payment menaces is a senior and he could see his finger right on the very spot that it's interesting to see Jesus doing lessee has. He has a wonderful nine in the Gospels of putting his finger right on the problem. So what is the problem here. I suspect the problem is, Jesus analyzes it is much deeper on rather different from what most people certainly an all-time think it really is and Jesus is saying to his disciples reputable symptoms. The first symptom is less you see it's in verse 19 to 21 it's putting your treasure in the wrong storehouse so he says don't lay up for yourselves treasures on square moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys where thieves do not break in and steal. We live in a very different world from that world. I want say laughter and a part of Scotland where until I was about 26 there was no policeman. If people went away on the family vacation but they didn't even bother to lock the doors to most of us know nothing of that kind of society and these people didn't know much of that society either if you had possessions then they will endangerment. I don't because the moths would come in and eat them up because rust might destroy our because thieves would break in and steal. It's interesting nowadays is intent, but I guess one of the largest industries in the United States of America has got to do with this. The anxiety that is created by the treasures we possess that Jesus is not saying going live in a Monastery and 1/2 have two concepts what the land live the good life. He understands that possessions are legitimate, but he's distinguishing isn't he between our possessions and our treasures.

The things that we process with an open hand and not able to say to the Lord.

It is relatively a matter of indifference to me what I possess. This will not because that is where my treasurers but when my treasure is infested in the possessions but I have in Jesus understanding when I have misplaced the real nature of lasting treasure, then that's a recipe for anxiety and the more you have, the more insurance you by the more you get, the more anxious you become. When I was sent flying over to Orlando. It so happened just before the plane took off. We were just announcing the door was closing and the lady sitting in the row in front of me discovered she didn't have a cell phone.

We all felt tough. Because we will attached our cell phones. Some people quite literally, some of them run their years, it's almost impossible to know what you feel when you know you've lost yourself on life's this is a very small thing, very small part of your life. But we have invested so much of our treasure and but when we lose it. It is a slow, weird. We lost on you. Be glad to know that they find herself on the way to help relieve gently sitting in front of me, but that's really that was to me just like a part of the love of how we tend to live that we create anxiety because our treasure is in the wrong storehouse and we also create anxiety since Jesus because we have eyes that N only darkness that this is a most intriguing statement doesn't note in verse 22 Jesus says they are high is the lamp of the body. So if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eye is a disease, then your whole body is full of darkness. And it's another beautiful picture. Listen to what he's he's using.

If you have if you have healthy eyes. It is so there's light inside you. You feel that some another unit inside yourself and your seeing out but if you're if your eyes are disease then there is snow light within. And there's darkness without ceasing.

While he gives us the clue here. He says to us, but to what we need is healthy by what he means by healthy I is that we should be looking in the right direction. You know the old expression you're eyeing up something long time since I found somebody say about eyeing up something interesting expression.

What do they mean I'm evaluating unsold if my eye is focused on things of passing value when the end of the day. He says smart my body is going to be full of darkness and I'm just I'm just not going to know where I can find lasting treasure and soiled volumes from one thing to another to another. In order to find lasting treasure. I did so. It's a recipe for anxiety and then use this illustration. He says no one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. And you can almost sense you. But Jesus is a bit like a physician. He is started.

He started with material things is the hunt here when I press upon your docility of the engine allows a little yes, but I can cope with lot many, this depressing eyeball is uncomfortable but then he moves from their undertaking moves to your heart to your loyalties and I think particularly followed since Christiansen for for visa disciples who especially listen to this. This was him getting right to the pain center of the sickness of anxiety. This above all things, creates anxiety but were trying to serve two masters.

We would like the blessings of the gospel, but we simply can't let go of other things, the superglue of this world is so strong that we just cannot be free from weed. We depend on this and you say you understand what the problem heroes, but what God has given us in the world to be our servants to use for our glory know for his glory. But just for our blessing when those things become our masters, we find ourselves in a conflict between two masters. And that's so recipe for anxiety so recipe for saying you know if if if I if I serve him, I'm going to give up him and I don't think I can live with that for many people is the great struggle of the point at which they realize Christ is calling them into his kingdom, and it can be all kinds of things I guess for people my age when we became Christians in the teenagers. One of the first things that you think about this.

I'm going to lose most of my friends and especially for youngsters that can be an enormous PR pressure on the what does it produce it. It just produces anxiety. It produces anxiety about how they really my friends. I feel this is the promise of the gospel, but I think I would have to say is a teenager who had to wrestle with that question. What if it means losing my friends and somebody would started reading the Bible.

I find Jesus saying you know, no one has given up things like friends without receiving a hundredfold in this life, as well as the blessings of the life to come.

If ever there was a promise of Jesus that comes true.

That's a promise that comes true but it only comes true when you're no longer trying to serve two masters and discovering that one of them that was meant to be your servant has actually become your bondage master noticing all of these things will produce anxiety in our lives. And part of the reason is because we are not thinking clearly about the gospel and that's where this is that for comes in. In verse 25 therefore he sent so listen to the physician so this is the situation. This is the sickness. Therefore, I am about to give you the only remedy about peculiar Jesus now turns from his diagnosis of the symptoms of our anxiety to prescribing the gospel cure for that anxiety. What do we do we need to do what is his prescription.

What is it but he calls us to understand what he calls us to understand the gospel because us to understand what it means to be able to call God your heavenly father and you notice how he does it the 40 says here's the first aspect is says that is it. While he says no I have a couple of prescriptions for you. First is less.

You need to think through the implications of the heavenly father's reign in the world. He says you don't need to be anxious about these things. No quality. He says because the people are anxious about if you a man from Mars visiting this country for a week on them since you're traveling around Europe.

You are always in the airport Sunday you will in the supermarkets in your you're picking up all the glossy magazines you could find as a way into what are the most important things in this world for the people who live in this world it would be these things, wouldn't it, it would be what you eat and what you drink and what you put on your body in one form or another. The little man from Mars green are not would assume that the object of worship in our country is ourselves and our body and what we're eating and what we are drinking and what we are willing and there's a whole industry, but says to us please be doing God's and we worship them, you know that was a very famous store on the West Coast sports manufacturer who was less interested in the sport on more interested in selling the goods that the stars would wear and in particular they sold footwear under one of their stores was known as cell. I'll miss out a blank because I don't have a good lawyer. It was known as the Temple and nobody thought twice about spoke a devastating truth. You know it's not cool to where Clark's shoes, especially if your youngster but it's cool to wear.

You know what because you know who wears you know what Jesus was saying, dear friends, just stand back for a moment and see what is happening here. You need to be delivered from the sun. The only way you can be delivered from this is to understand that is a bad master, but the father who reigns over all things is the best of all possible masters and he tells us how this is so, he says, look, just think about that life is more than food and drink and clothes first 25 verse 26 you know your eyes get outside of the mall and look into the skies go iTunes the country. What do you see you see that your father provides for the birds of the air is just think about that how much taller do you get by lobbying you think that when you are nine you wanted to be the same height as everybody else in your school class, but you could lie in bed at night and rolled just by what and then he says, look at your garden and the sheer beauty of the flowers of the field that the father clothes. He is he is the ultimate exquisite designer so with Hayden, you have no need to be anxious and then here comes the kicker. He says don't you see what you're doing your professing to be my disciple, but your thinking and living like a pagan. So think through the implications that you are a child of the heavenly father who reigns in the swaddled and then he presses the point home with another client and make sure you yield the whole of your life to him. These famous words in verses 33 and 54. He says don't be anxious about tomorrow how not by seeking first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you is not a promise, promise. I suppose one another.

Here today. We could we could stand up and say this is how this came true in my life because I saw it first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, even although I was anxious about what I might lose in the process I learned that he is no man's detriment. No woman's and he has given me all things spiritually to enjoy the challenge here. Some of you know the name of George McDonald Scotsman who in such a huge influence on CS Lewis but he said Lewis said he thought he never written a book without thinking about George McDonald, George McDonald's best books are fantasies in one of those fantasies. The character at the center of the story gets lost and meets the old man of the arsonist trying to find the way to the promised land is under the old man of the article raises are stored in in the ground and underneath that is a great dark hole and says to the lost man that is the way and the man looks and honey says, but that are no stairs that are no stairs in the old man as he says no you need to throw yourself because there is no other way and that's how it is, throw yourself into the hands of anxiety begin to are we willing to believe that what Jesus said is really true. The amazing thing about the Christian life is that if we trust him completely worry will melt away today here on Renewing Your Mind with continue.

Dr. Sinclair Ferguson series on the sermon on the Mount, Jesus, longest discourse is found in Matthew chapters 5, six and seven and it's the best known and most beloved sermon ever preached.

Dr. Ferguson series looks at the important themes and lessons that we find there but it's it's not just an academic study. As we heard today the sermon on the Mount pointers to an intimate relationship with our heavenly father. There are 12 messages in the series and we like to send them to you. There contained on two DVDs you can request them with your donation of any amount when you call us at 800-435-4343. You can also go online to Renewing Your Mind.work if you downloaded a free app to your phone or tablet that here's a chance to use a feature you may not of noticed that you complete your request for Dr. Ferguson series just go to the my learning Library tab and all 12 videos will be available for you to watch at any time. The series is titled simply the sermon on the mount and you can request it with your donation of any amount when you go online to renewing your my.org or when you call us at 800-435-4343. Later ministries we want to encourage you to grow in your faith. We do that through this daily program along with published materials like the Reformation study Bible and table talk magazine teaching series as well as conferences all of our resources and events are meant to help you articulate what you believe in what you believe it, so let me take just a moment to say thank you for standing with us in this worldwide effort to proclaim the holiness of God to as many people as possible. Actually, Dr. RC Sproul continues the theme that the doctor, Ferguson began today. What does it mean when we pray in the Lord's prayer. Thy kingdom come, we hope you'll join us. Beginning Monday here on Renewing Your Mind