DON'T WORRY

There was a man called Patrick and he used to worry a lot, His friends knew him as a constant worrier. One day his friend Mike met him walking down the street, and Mike noticed Patrick was very happy, whistling as he walked along with a spring in his step. Mike could hardly believe the change he could see in his friend Patrick, so he stopped him and asked what made the change.

"It's wonderful Mike!" said Patrick, "Sure I haven't worried for several weeks now at all!"

"That's great!" said Mike, "But how did you manage it?"

"Well!" Patrick explained, "I just hired a man to do all the worrying for me!"

"That's marvellous, Does he charge much?" asked Mike.

"Only a thousand dollars a week" said Patrick!

"A thousand dollars a week" said Mike, "Where on earth could you get that kind of money?"

Patrick looked at him and smiled, "That's not my worry, it's his!"

Worry can harm you physically, it brings ulcers to your stomach and saps the vitality and life out of your being. It can drive you to an early grave.

It also restricts your service for Jesus.

Proverbs 12:25 NIV An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.

Prov 12:25 Good News Bible Worry can rob you of happiness!

Prov 12:25 AMP Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down.

Ecclesiastes 11:10 KJV Therefore remove sorrow from thy heart, and put away evil from thy flesh:

Eccles. 11:10 NIV So then, banish anxiety from your heart and cast off the troubles of your body, for youth and vigour are meaningless.

Eccles 11:10 Moffatt's Bible Banish worries from your mind and keep your body free from pain!

1 Peter 5:7 KJV Casting all your care [worries] upon him; for he careth for you.

You can be like Patrick and give somebody else all your worries, but it won't cost you anything, He [Jesus] did all for free when He went to Calvary.

Learn to focus on God's positive solutions and not your negative problems

Doctors tell us that about 70% of people in hospital today are there because of emotionally induced illness. Think about that! 7 out of 10 people are in hospital today because they worried about something and it became a sickness that needed hospital treatment. What a lifestyle!

Further to that psychiatrists tell us that over 95% of the things that the people worried about never happen anyway. So they worried themselves sick over nothing, many of them having psychiatric help for no reason at all.

People are afraid today.

"I'm afraid I can't go in an plane!"

"I'm afraid I can't go in an elevator!"

"I'm afraid I can't go to church tonight!"

"I'm afraid, I'm afraid, I'm afraid of this and that and the other!"

The doctor's call this E.I.I. [Emotionally Induced Illness].

Listen to these figures! You will be amazed.

• It is conservatively estimated that about 15-20% of the people who live on this planet at this time suffer from an E.I.I. [Emotional Induced Illness]

• In America I understand that the figures show that 1 out of 4 people are taking tranquilizers to escape from worry and anxiety. Some as young as 8 or 9 years old are now pill popping to get calm and relaxed.

• In Great Britain the figures are more staggering. 1 in 4 people have a psychiatric disorder of some kind or other.

• Mental and emotional illness rate No. 1 in Australia. A survey in NSW showed that 1 in 3 people consulted their family doctor and needed help for some form of mental stress.

• In New Zealand several million dollars each year are spent on tranquillisers by people trying to find and answer to fear and worry.

• Even the psychiatrists themselves are ending up on the couch. A study in Great Britain found that nearly 200 doctors had been treated at British Psychiatric Hospitals and most of them were psychiatrists.

• In USA a study of nearly 2000 ministers of a well known denomination revealed that 25% of the ministers and their wives have had psychiatric care or counselling at some time in their ministry.

God did not plan this lifestyle for His people, this is harmful and undue stress that we should not have to put up with!

People who have these fears of planes, lifts, darkness, closed in places etc. The fears are very real to them, and they cause physical problems for them.

Dr. John A. Schlindler in his book "HOW TO LIVE 365 DAYS A YEAR!" shows how emotions affect the body physically. He says the colon is the mirror of the mind.

He describes a situation in which a criminal had an operation under local anaesthetic. When the operation was being done the young man was told that the police were waiting for him after the operation, immediately this information went into his mind, and very soon there was a spasm in his colon as his physical reaction followed the mental acceptance of the situation.

Jesus said in Matthew 6:25-34 KJV 25 Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?

26 Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?

27 Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?

28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:

29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

31 Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

32 (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

34 Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

YESTERDAY TODAY TOMORROW

Cannot be altered Can be handled Cannot be handled

Strength gone Strength available Strength unavailable

Now history Belongs to you now In God's hands

Guilt Relaxation Tension

Remorse Rest Anxiety

• So many people focus on YESTERDAY talking about what might have been, if only this or that had happened. The good old days! My friends you can't live in the past.

• So many are focusing on TOMORROW! Won't it be great when the kids leave home! Won't it be great when the mortgage is paid off! Won't it be great when I leave school!

• God says we are to focus on TODAY! Psalm 118:24 aptly says, KJV This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Phil 4: 6-9 KJV Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.

Jesus also said in Matthew 12:35 NIV The good man brings good things out of the good stored up in him, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in him.

I read of a pilot who was flying his small aircraft and he took a panic attack, his mind seemed to lock up and then he found that his legs were paralysed. It started out as a thought and ended up as a physical manifestation.

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Literal Translation says God has not given us a born again human spirit that can be subject to fear and timidity.

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; BUT OF POWER,

He has replace our inability and weakness with His power.

Joel 3:10 KJV...let the weak say, I am strong.

Phil. 4:13 KJV I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

Phil 4:13 NIV I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

Phil 4:13 AMP I have strength for all things in Christ who empowers me - I am ready for and equal to anything through Him who infuses inner strength into me [ that is I am self sufficient in Christ's sufficiency]

1 Peter 1:5 KJV Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:5 NIV who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1:5 New RSV who are being protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

2 Cor 10:3-5 NIV 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

4. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Psalm 27:1 NIV The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?

God wants you to replace your weakness with His POWER!

Lets look at our verse in 2 Tim. 1:7 again, For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, AND OF LOVE, and of a sound mind.

God's love is so wonderful it fills up every area of our lives, if we allow Him to do so.

As we allow Him access into our lives we find His love does something wonderful, it deals with fear.

1 John 4:18 NEW KJV There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love.

Love is a spiritual force, it is a choice on your part to use it.

Proverbs 15:17 NIV Better a meal of vegetables where there is love than a fattened calf with hatred.

Proverbs 15:17 LIV It is better to eat soup with someone you love than steak with someone you hate.

Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

26 for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

One time I was lifting a large plastic bag of garbage and suddenly felt a sharp pain in my finger. I looked down to see blood flowing and realised that something sharp had been in the bag. It turned out to be a razor blade that had slashed my finger right to the bone.

I faced a decision immediately, panic or trust God. The word of God flooded into my heart, Ezek. 16:6 KJV And when I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own blood, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live; yea, I said unto thee when thou wast in thy blood, Live.

With the word of love from a Heavenly Father, I wrapped the finger in a clean handkerchief, and kept on working. When I looked at it a little while later the cut had not been bleeding, but was open right down to the bone. I wrapped it again and thanked God for His love and healing power. Later when I came into the house I looked again only to find that the cut had closed over and there was just a slight mark on the finger where the cut had been.

I had had no fear of the sudden disaster that had overtaken me. He became my confidence and kept me from being snared.

Proverbs 3:25-26 NIV Have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,

26 for the LORD will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared.

Let's look at our key Scripture again

2 Timothy 1:7 KJV For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

The un-renewed mind is the devil's playground, and the renewed mind is the devil's battleground.

Your mind is the main area the devil targets, because if he can get you to doubt in your mind the promises and ability of God then he has you defeated.

Remember 2 Corinthians 10:5 KJV Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

1 John 4:4 KJV Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

There is a story in Mark 5 about a man who was a wild man, he was the demon possessed Gadarene. He was a dangerous character who lived in a grave-yard. He was so wild and strong that when he was tied up with chains he would just break them asunder. He roamed about the mountains yelling and screaming. If it was today he would be put into a strait-jacket and locked up in a padded cell in a mental institution and sedated.

In the story:

BEFORE MEETING JESUS The man was restless and untamed

Mark 5:1 KJV And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes.

2 And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit,

3 Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains:

4 Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

AFTER MEETING JESUS The man was seated.

Mark 5:15 KJV And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting,

He was now seated, not roaming wild.

BEFORE MEETING JESUS The man was naked.

Luke 8: 26 NIV They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.

27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.

AFTER MEETING JESUS The man was clothed.

Mark 5:15 KJV And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

BEFORE MEETING JESUS The man was out of his mind.

Mark 5:4 KJV Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him.

5 And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones.

AFTER MEETING JESUS The man was in his right mind.

Mark 5:15 KJV And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

When the man had an encounter with Jesus it affected his whole life. He changed completely.

It affected him spiritually, mentally, physically, socially, domestically and in every area of his life.

A sound mind affects every area of your life!

Some people are imprisoned by their thinking.

The Bible says in Proverbs 23:7 KJV For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:

Some years ago there were some needy settlers in British Columbia who began stripping an abandoned fort for the timber and other goods they could scavenge from it to help them. The place had been used as a jail, and so they found mighty locks attached to heavy doors and steel bars covering the windows.

As they began stripping the place they were amazed to find that the walls were in fact made from board and paper, which had been cleverly painted to resemble iron. The prisoners had been fooled by the ruse and so had never tried to escape. They had been imprisoned by their thinking that it would be impossible to get out of the iron cell they were in. Yet all the time a strong hefty push with a shoulder would probably have knocked the wall over.

Too many Christians are hemmed in by their fears, worries and stress.

Remember 2 Timothy 1:7 KJV For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

I pray today that you would be like Luke 1:74-75 NIV says, to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear

75 in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

I have a friend in America who comes from South Africa, he says.

"If you worry you die, if you don't worry you die, so why worry?"

HEBREWS 13:5-6 AMPLIFIED BIBLE.

5. Let your character or moral disposition be free from the love of money - [including] greed, avarice, lust and craving for earthly possessions - and be satisfied with your present [circumstances and with what you have]; for He (God) Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless, nor forsake nor let [you] down, [relax My hold on you]. Assuredly not!

6. So we take comfort and are encouraged and confidently and boldly say, The Lord is my Helper, I will not be seized with alarm - I will not fear or dread or be terrified. What can man do to me?