Welcome.
This is Restoring Word, and we're talking about anxiety and fear and how to overcome
it.
Have you ever had an unreasonable fear or phobia or something you just couldn't get
over?
Well, we've got good news for you today.
We've got some promises in God's Word and some strategies that help everyone, no matter
where they are, overcome and deal with anxiety.
My first scripture comes out of 2 Timothy, starting in chapter 1, verses 7 and 8.
For God hasn't given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.
Now, you know, our greatest battles in life are always going to be fought in between our
ears.
What we think and how we think often paralyze all of us, and I know it has paralyzed me.
I'm a special education teacher, and I work with students every day who sit down to work
and to study, and because they've had such bad, traumatizing learning experiences, now
they're almost paralyzed when they look at math or they have to write something or they
have to remember something.
It's like they completely shut down, and that is not God's plan.
God says right here that you are to have a spirit of love and of power and of a sound
mind.
Well, how does this battle that we fight in between our ears, in our minds, in our imaginations,
how do you fight that battle?
Well, I've got probably six or seven episodes ahead of me, but today I just want to talk
and lay a foundation scripturally about guarding your mind, guarding your thoughts, and understanding
that not every thought that you have is yours.
What does that mean?
Have you ever gone to a movie theater, and you've been sitting in this theater, and you
walk out of the movie, and then all of a sudden you're thinking strange things, and you're
wondering, well, where does that come from?
I don't think like that.
Well, why?
Because things come into your soul, your mind, your will, and your emotions through the eyes,
through the ears, through touch, through taste, and through the soul, it goes down
into your spirit man, okay?
I've got another wonderful verse here.
Romans 12 verse 2 says this, and don't be conformed to the world, but be transformed
by the renewing of your mind, that you can prove what is the good, acceptable, and perfect
will of God.
The good will of God, the acceptable will of God, okay?
There's good, there's acceptable, and then there's perfect, and the perfect will of God
is for you to love Him, to serve Him, to walk in love and not in fear.
You're not designed to walk through life and to be paralyzed.
Well, how does that transformation happen?
How does that begin?
Well, it really is a daily discipline, and I don't care how long you've walked with Jesus
or how many memory verses you know, or in my case even where I've taught Bible for years,
you never arrive.
You're always growing in God.
No one has ever arrived.
I don't care who you are.
You still have to go through the process of putting things into your mind that are going
to help you fight anxiety, that are going to help you deal with negative thoughts and
imaginations.
I like to think of them as kind of fiery darts that come at me, you know, and then all of
a sudden it's like, why am I thinking those fearful things?
You know, I watch the weather a lot, and I get a kick out of watching it because it's
kind of exciting, but then on the other hand, sometimes my imagination will get away with
me.
Where is this storm going?
Are they going to be okay?
That's not God's will.
I'm supposed to stand and pray and speak the word of God and believe God that those that
I love are covered and protected in Jesus' name.
Now, not all anxiety and fear is bad.
Some of that anxiety and fear is bad.
Fear can actually be a good thing, that adrenaline rush that you need to be effective.
That's okay.
You just have to learn how to use it effectively, where it isn't debilitating.
Another great scripture here is in 2 Timothy, starting in verse 3, and it says all scripture
is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable.
All scripture is profitable.
For what?
For proof, for correction, and instruction in righteousness.
You know, once you know that you've asked Jesus into your heart, that you've asked him
to forgive you of your sins, and that you've renewed your mind, you can begin to walk in
a level of strength and peace that can only come from him.
You can walk free of anxiety and fear, and you can know that you're in right standing
with God.
God's not mad at you.
God's not trying to punish you.
You know, some people think that God is this God in the sky who's just out to get you and
ruin your good time.
That's not the case at all.
He is a loving God.
He loves you.
He wants what's best for you.
And when you walk right with him, and you walk in righteousness, there's a whole level
of peace that's really hard to comprehend and understand.
But that's the victory, is that you have peace.
You have a sound mind where you're not entertaining weird things.
Verse 17, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.
So scripture helps to complete you.
It helps you be led by him into places of peace and righteousness and supernatural provision.
You learn to understand his voice and his character.
Why?
Because you've spent time in the word, and you're learning more about his character and
his nature and what he's like and what he's not like.
And then Philippians 4, 8 here, and this is really kind of the gold standard in terms
of thinking about good things.
You know, I don't know about you, but when it's all over the media, strife and anger
and anxiety, and there's going to be this is going to happen, and then that's going
to happen, and then this is going to collapse, and then this is going to happen.
And, you know, I just have made a decision recently, I'm not living in those thoughts,
that I know there's things out there that are potentially going to happen, but Jesus
is big enough.
And I am potentially going to think on the good things.
This is from Philippians 4, verses 8.
This is a good one.
Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things
are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of
a good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate
on these things.
Okay, so you don't meditate or think about or entertain in your brain fear and anxiety
and this and that and this anger.
You know, the media gets you sucked in to get you mad, so that you'll come back and
watch more.
Well, turn it off.
Turn it off.
Crack open your Bible, crack open a good book.
Crack open a book that will help feed you.
Listen to someone preach the word on a subject that, you know, maybe that's what you need
to hear right now.
And honestly, I'm getting ready for state testing, and I'm getting my students ready
for state testing, and this whole series is really about them.
They don't have to be afraid.
They don't have to walk in anxiety.
They don't have to operate in fear.
They can have a sound, peaceful mind.
Instead of the emotional roller coasters that go up and down and up and down, they
can walk steady with Jesus and be whole in their heart and in their mind.
Going on here in verse 9, the things which you have learned and received and heard and
saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.
That's what we need.
The God of peace.
You know, sometimes I look at people who have very stressful jobs, and I look at them and
I think, how do they handle that?
handle that pressure. How do they handle all of this stuff that's just exploding
around them? Well, they have learned, they have received, and they have heard the
Holy Ghost, Jesus. They've meditated on how much He loves them. He gives them
strength in their inner man, and these things they do because why? The God of
peace is with them. You can be in the middle of a storm, and you can be at
peace. Nobody ever said there wasn't going to be storms in life. Nobody ever
said that things were going to be easy. Nobody ever said that there would be
seasons where everything would just be wonderful, and you could just relax, and
you don't have to worry about anything. No, that's not life. I mean, in
reality, life is going from one battle to another, and the sooner you learn how to
battle effectively and efficiently, renewing your mind, filling your mind
with peace and things that are going to give you strength, the more victorious
you're going to walk in this life. One more scripture for you today, and it's a
little bit long. This is 2 Corinthians 10, 3 through 6. Oh, I got two. I got
two more. Though we walk in the flesh, we don't walk according to the flesh, for
our weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty in God for the
pulling down of strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that
exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into
captivity, into the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all
disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. This is New King James,
bringing all those negative thoughts into captivity. I take authority over
anxiety in Jesus' name. I take authority over the spirit of fear in Jesus' name. I
have the mind of Christ. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
You know, I've been looking at the history of panic attacks, and what
happens is it's just a spiral where your mind affects your body, and then your
body affects your mind, and it just gets more and more and more and more, and all
of a sudden, you know, you're just completely shut down. That's not
God's will for your life. God's will for your life is for you to walk in strength
and in peace in Him, and it happens when we humbly acknowledge that we need Him
desperately, desperately, and we're willing to just take the word, which is
good, and it's lovely, and it is of a good report, and we pour the word into our
minds. We can then know and have peace, and when you operate in that place of
peace, even though everything around you is absolutely crazy, you can make calm
and wise decisions, which is, you know, what we all want. So this is Isaiah 41 10.
Fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will
strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, and I will uphold you with my righteous
right hand. That's what He wants to be. He wants to strengthen you. He wants to
build you up. He wants to hold you. He wants to strengthen you with His
righteous right hand. He is good. He wants to be there in the middle of the storm.
He wants to walk you through the difficulty. You know, sometimes I look
back at some things that have happened in my life, and I think, how in the world
did I do that? I can tell you I did it with Jesus. I did it with Jesus. There's
no other way. This is 2nd Timothy 1, starting in verse 8. Therefore, don't be
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner, but share with me in
the sufferings for the gospel, according to the power of God, who has saved us and
called us with his own holy calling, not according to our works, but according to
his own purpose and grace, which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time
began. You know, we don't have to think about what's going to happen. Our
testimony is of Jesus, His grace, and His Word operating through us and empowering
us to do the impossible. He's walked with us. He saves us. He empowers us to
walk in the calling that each of us have. Not all of us are called into five
ministry. Some of us are called, like me, to work with very difficult, troubled
children. Some of us are called to deal in the military with very stressful
things or in business with, you know, high pressure and sales and commissions and
pressure, pressure, pressure, pressure. You can get so bombarded from all of that
that you don't walk in freedom and that's not God's will. Join us next time
as we continue to focus on how to walk victoriously through anxiety and fear
and stress and turmoil. God's will is that you would walk in peace and that
you would walk in grace and you can do it through transforming your mind and
learning to guard what you think. Thank you for listening and we'll see you
again soon.
Mhm.