Sermon Tone Analysis

Anxiety: A Biblical Approach

Today we are going to talk about anxiety and what the biblical approach is to this topic, a topic that has become a very touchy subject to many, and I’m going to warn you now.

This is going to be a long sermon, because this is such a weighty topic that requires much discussion.

A few years ago I preached a sermon that touched on the subject of anxiety and depression.

In that sermon I was so worried…you might even say anxious…about offending someone that I gave a million qualifications, hedged all my statements, beat around the bush, took forever to say what I believed that Bible actually taught on the subject.

I will not be taking that approach today.

I do, however want to avoid swinging the pendulum so far to the other direction that I become calloused to the experiences of others and mock those that struggle with anxiety.

Such an approach is common in some circles today, especially if the person with such struggles is a male.

“Just man up” and “stop being such a wuss” are not biblical ways to deal with our anxieties.

My goal, therefore, is to speak directly and forcefully to the issues at play, doing so with an attitude of love and gentleness.

Here’s the reality of what Scripture calls us to:

We must speak the truth, but we must speak it in love.

We must love others, but that same love demands that we speak the truth.

I hope that such a mindset is revealed as we progress through our time today.

And I want you to know that I don’t stand before you as someone untouched by anxiety.

I know what it’s like to lie awake for hours due to anxiety about a situation.

I know what it’s like to have an issue become all consuming to life that it’s the only thing I think about night and day.

I know what’s its like to allow anxiety to cripple me and prevent me from doing what I know needs to be done.

I know what its like to beat myself up over the my state of mind, only leaving me feeling worse that I did before.

Others have certainly had more severe anxiety that I, but I’m certainly no stranger to it and have to battle it myself.

I wanted to say that because if anxiety is something you struggle with, I’m going to say some difficult things today.

I need you to know that I’m every bit of preaching to myself as I am to anyone else.

I don’t stand here in judgment of anyone.

I’m here today to bring you the word of the Lord, a word that I need to submit to myself.

Before our Christmas series wherein we were focused on the person and work of Christ, we were working through Philippians 4, and as we came to verses 4 and following we found that Paul was instructing the people to respond to their circumstances in ways that would be strange to a watching world.

Rejoice always.

Be reasonable and gentle in everything.

We talked at that time about the concept of indicative verbs and imperative verbs.

Indicatives are verbs of declaration.

God sent his son.

Jesus loves you.

They declare something to be true.

Imperative verbs are verbs of command.

Be kind to one another.

Husbands Love your wives.

Do not murder, do not steal, etc.

What we find in the NT is that Paul always grounds the imperative commands in the indicative truths.

Reminder: Imperatives are always grounded in the indicatives

Reminder: Imperatives (commands) are always grounded in the indicatives (declarative truth)

Last time he commanded the people to rejoice always…even when you’re in the midst of suffering.

He said to let your reasonableness, or gentleness, or levelheadedness be known to all...

How can you do this?

how can you endure the pain, the suffering, the persecution, and respond with a measuredness and joy that seems to defy the circumstances?

The Lord is near.

He is at hand.

Though his delay makes it feel like he slow, He is surely coming and it won’t be long before he returns and sets all things right.

Whatever injustice we see before us, whatever wrongs are done against us, he will return, and he will judge, restore, and establish His Kingdom.

He is near.

He is accessible.

He will never leave us nor forsake us he is with us unto the end of the age.

We can go to him in prayer and he will hear and answer us because he is near.

It is on the basis of this indicative statement about the nearness of our God that Paul then goes into the next command:

Look with me at verses 6 and following:

The first thing that we have to acknowledge if we are going to have any level of biblical approach to dealing with anxiety is that anxiety is sin.

The Root of Anxiety is Sin

We have to acknowledge this.

In the medical world, proper diagnosis is essential to proper treatment.

The same is true for our spiritual lives.

If we are to have a biblical solution to our problems, we must have biblical definitions.

Paul is giving a direct command.

To live in disobedience to a direct command from God is sin.

It is rebellion against God’s good desires and design for your life.

There simply isn’t another way to put that, nor should we try to soften the blow.

We might be tempted to jump to certain places in our minds “but what about this…but what about that”

Hold on.

If we do not accept what God has said plainly and clearly in his word, we can never expect to see change and growth.

Jumping to what you think might be an exception before dealing with the core issues is to miss the central things that we must grasp.

I’m convinced that all the “what abouts” will be addressed by God’s word, but if we jump to all those things before accepting what the Bible says, we will not see progress.

Consider the commands of Jesus himself in the Sermon on the Mount that we read earlier.The word for anxiety is used 6 times in that passage, and three of those times are the text says “do not be anxious”.

Knowing that anxiety is sin to be confessed and repented of can be a freeing thought.

The first step to dealing with our anxieties is to submit ourselves before the Lord, and confess that what he has said is true… When we allow ourselves to linger in anxiety, we are allowing ourselves to linger in sin.

Now, I plan to address some of the “what abouts” but there are other things we need to over first.

The Immediate Cause of Anxiety is Various

There are a variety of things than can cause us to have a anxious response.

Anxiety can stem from a traumatic experience.

Things like PTSD, flashbacks, strong negative memories and associations can cause us to have an anxious response.

I can’t help but wonder if some of the Philippians experienced some form of PTSD from their experiences as a persecuted church.

Family members, loved ones being executed or hauled off to prison, Paul himself being the subject of multiple stoning attempts.

I also think of David in the OT, and the horrors that he both inflicted and endured as a man of war.

I’m not suggesting he struggled with PTSD, but it wouldn’t surprise me if he did due to his experiences.

Many of David’s anxious thoughts…and how he dealt with them are preserved for us in the psalms.

Anxiety can stem from certain fears that we experience.

Many fears are irrational, and yet they affect us.

Social fears, situational fears, relational fears.

Some fears can become so strong that we are willing to alter behavior to avoid the issue.

It might be a situation, it might be a person, it might be a decision…we are afraid to make the decision, or afraid to confront an individual, so we avoid it altogether.

I think of Timothy, a young pastor that Paul wrote to about how to handle various issues within the church.

He had to confront error, lead a church, disciple others…In the second paragraph of the letter Paul reminds Timothy that God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and love and self-control.

I wonder if Timothy’s temptation was to avoid some of these issues out of situational fear.

There might be existential anxiety.

These kinds of fears have to do with issues related to the question “why am I here?”

What is my purpose?

If I died would anyone care?

Am I loved?

Reading through the book of Ecclesiastes reveals that Solomon had to wrestle through these kids of things.

Some anxiety stems from dwelling on our fears of the unknown: What would happen if.... what if I get covid?

What others I love get covid?

What if the US goes to war?

How am I going to pay my next bill?

What happens if I get fired?