He is the Prince of Peace

So what are some of the deterrents that we face?

Anxiety

Anxiety is one of today’s major unconquered enemies.

Anxiety effects one of ten men and one of four women.

Our society tends to accept it as normal.

It’s greatest threat lies in its ability to distract us from something that truly merits our attention.

Luke 21:26

Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken.

Jesus spoke of the great dangers of wars, natural disasters, famine, disease and persecution.

Jesus warned us to guard our hearts against anxiety-the threat from within.

Luke 21:34

Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.

Anxiety leads to health problems, causes panic attacks, as well as shortness of breath.

Proverbs 12:25

An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up. “Anxiety in the heart of man causes depression.”

A great number of people are on antidepressants including people in the church.

Pharmacies, health stores etc. have shelves packed with modern remedies.

Weighed Down.

Burdened, heavy, and depressed. Depression will cause us to sleep

and try to hide from worries and grief.

Heaviness causes apathy and lethargy.

Burdens bend you over and stop you from looking up.

Anxiety and Care

These words come from the Greek word merimna.

Merio-to divide, Noos-the mind. It refers to anything which causes

this division or distraction. It causes irritation, uneasiness and

discomfort.

Martha was Distracted.

Luke 10:41,42 Martha, Martha the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her.”

Anxiety blinded Martha from discerning the precious time that Jesus would be with them.

Matthew 13:22

The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

Anxiety causes spiritual barrenness. We may hear the word but it is

choked out if anxiety remains It prevents us from bearing fruit.

Jeremiah 17:7,8

But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.

Trust is our best weapon. It is more than a mental assent but an

active placing of our lives in His hands.

What Happens When We Trust in Man

Jeremiah 17:5,6-Cursed is the man who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away form the Lord. He will be like a bush in the wastelands he will not see prosperity when it comes. He will dwell in the parched places of the deserts, in a salt land where no one lives.

Philippians 4:6,7

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Thanksgiving

When anxiety hits, we pray for our mind to have peace, but do we also place the importance of giving thanks equally?

It has the ability to redirect our minds from troublesome thoughts toward the goodness and faithfulness of our Lord.

I Peter 5:6,7

Humble yourselves, therefore under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Care is the word merimna indicating anxieties, burdens and worries which divide the mind.

Is it pride that causes us to hang on to anxieties and burdens?

Camel

Sickness

Finances

Teenager of Child

Depressed

Breaking Up

Will I Find Him or Her?

Acts 3:19

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord.