Overcoming the hurdles of life. I was going to change our theme to that theme, overcoming the hurdles of life. Then I thought, no, no, no. I think we need to talk about going back to basics yet. And as we go back to basics, which is what the little placards say, we need to know how to overcome the hurdles of life. with not some newfangled ideas or ways, but the old-fashioned ways of the Word of God and the Holy Spirit of God. How to overcome the hurdles of life. A hurdle. What is a hurdle? It's a barrier that competitors must leap over in certain races. It's an obstacle that you are expected to overcome. To hurdle something means to being the act of jumping over an obstacle. And so this morning we're going to talk about overcoming the hurdles of life. And I want to talk about one that's very serious for me because I think it's the one that really we're all facing. Victory over anxiety. I've got to have victory over anxiety. Let's jump right into it. Roman numeral number one, emotions greatly influence how we live our lives. I've been a pastor for a long time and been preaching even longer. And I want you to know that emotions greatly influence how we live our lives. I think emotions are a gift from God provided so we can enjoy life and relate to others. There's nothing wrong with emotions. Emotions are great and they're given to us by God, provided to us so we can enjoy life and relate to others. But how we express those emotions determines whether they are beneficial or whether they are detrimental. to our lives. Either we control them or they control us. Our emotions are good if they are kept in proportion. But when we allow those emotions to control us, we are more likely to harm others and maybe even ourselves. Anxiety. Anxiety is the most prominent emotion that people are experiencing today. It's important to realize that feeling anxious, now listen to me, feeling anxious is not a sin. But the Lord doesn't want us to live in a continual state of dread because of life's uncertainties. All people, everybody here encounters situations that cause them to be nervous. Sometimes it's unavoidable. For example, if you heard that your child had been in a car accident, your heart would be immediately filled with worry. That's normal. That's natural. My boy, my daughter been in a car, I don't know what the problem is. You would have some sense of worry. You know that's true. That's completely natural feeling. However, it's important to understand what we should do with anxiety and how long we ought to let it control us. Christians are struggling so bad with this one emotion called anxiety. We need to have a hurdle over anxiety and get on with life. Victory over anxiety. Roman numeral two, what is anxiety? I looked it up. Relatively permanent state of worry, the dictionary says. A relatively permanent state of worry and nervousness. Another definition was a vague, unpleasant emotion. In the New Testament, though, and that's where we're at, we're Bible-believing people. In the New Testament, the word anxiety means to be distracted or pulled apart. This is the opposite of peace, which means, peace means to be bound together. But anxiety can also be defined as dread, apprehension, uncertainty, and can be caused by some past events, present situations, or maybe future possibilities. Sometimes anxiety is a fear of not being in control. Situations over which we have no control make us feel, so oftentimes as people, very vulnerable. I don't have any control and then that vulnerability causes us to have some worry. So far this morning we have learned something. Emotions greatly influence how we live our lives and anxiety means distracted or pulled apart. Let's go to Roman numeral three very quickly and answer this question. What are the sources? What are the sources of anxiety? First of all, we must understand that God is not the creator of anxiety. And that worry doesn't fit our identity as followers of Christ. Instead, he commands us to trust the Heavenly Father. In fact, go with me to the book of Matthew, chapter number six, verse 25 and 26. Matthew chapter six, verse 25, therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life. Listen to what the word of God says. What you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat and the body more than raiment? Don't take no thought, he says. Behold, now it gives you an illustration. Behold, the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather in the barns, yet, yet your heavenly Father, look at this, feedeth them, Are you not much better than they? Quit worrying about everything and quit having so much anxiety. God says, listen, you need to learn one thing. You need to trust me for everything in life. What are the sources of anxiety? When we worry, it's important to know that there are some things we ought to consider. In that first bullet, I want you to look at legitimate causes. There are legitimate causes for anxiety. I really believe so. Some things are just naturally going to create anxiety. For example, high school kids. If they do not study for a test, and the test is today, high school kids, and you haven't studied, you're gonna be worried. If you're in college and you got so busy doing other stuff, and you never studied for the college exam, you're going to be a little apprehensive or worried or have a little anxiety. I don't know if I'm going to do very well. So my geometry student says to me the other day, hey, Pastor Lewis, starting this new year, can you tell us when we're going to have a test? I said, I could. Don't know if I will. Because you ought to just be ready. They said, well, it's so much better. We can prepare so much better if we know we're going to have it. Well, that's probably true. But when they don't know and they haven't studied, guess what? They're full of anxiety or worry or apprehension. I don't know if I'm going to do very well on this test. You see, there are some legitimate causes for that. Inappropriate reasons. Now, this is number two here, the second bullet. Inappropriate reasons. At other times, our worries are caused when we feel that we might not get what we want. It could be better, it could be some possession perhaps we dreamed about, we wanted to have, or a relationship we wanted to keep, or even sometimes, even if we know it's not right, we still get apprehension and worry. Unacknowledged issues, the third bullet. When we don't deal with the cause of our anxiety, it takes up long-term residence within us, causes all sorts of emotional and physical problems. You know, some people actually give up and live in misery. And I've seen that in church work. They simply give up and live in misery. You don't have to live like that. Once an issue is settled, They find something else to fear or dread. But that's not the way God wants his children to live. God does not listen, folks. I know there's all kinds of things out there that we're worried about. With the young couples, it's, well, does she like me or not? Hey, mom, can I sit beside her or not? I mean, some of you might think, that's stupid. You didn't think so when you were 16. Is it okay if I hold hands or not? We worry. Then we get a little older and we have to worry about our job. Is it going to be there tomorrow? My money, is it going to be there when I need it? I'm frustrated with my job. I worry about everything. I need shoes, but I don't have any money. And we fret ourselves, and we worry, and we fret, and we have anxiety, and then we see two people talking, and they're not talking about you at all, but you think all of a sudden, they've gotta be talking about me. You see their heads together, and you say, see, see right over there? They're talking about me. You don't know who they're talking about. but you're just convinced they're talking about you because you feel so guilty. By the way, I'm gonna preach about guilt tonight, overcoming the obstacle of guilt, the hurdle of guilt. But invariably, you'll hear the preacher preach a sermon and you'll say to somebody, you know, I don't know how he knew it, but he was preaching right at me. Who told him about me? I don't know how many times people come up to me later and say, preacher, who has been talking to you? I said, They said, you sure it hasn't been my husband? No, no, but we're full of anxiety, apprehension, I don't know which way to turn, I don't know what to do. Now listen, ladies and gentlemen, God does not want you to live your life that way. Do you think my life is just a smooth road all the time? Oh no, not on your life it's not. But I've got a big God that I've gotta go to and rely on and rest in and he brings me joy, and he brings me happiness, and he brings me peace, and he brings me a subtleness in my mind only because of who he is and not who I am. I'm a wreck. By the way, so are you. Quit looking like you're so perfect. You're not perfect. You're just as much a mess as anybody else. And we need to come to grips with that. Now we've learned that emotions greatly influence how we live our lives, and we've learned about what anxiety is, and we've learned what sources create anxiety. Why should we avoid anxiety? Why should we want to jump over that hurdle? Well, first of all, it isn't spiritual, and it's not scriptural. Go with me to Matthew chapter six. I'm gonna read all these verses here. So get your Bible and just go with me to Matthew chapter six. It won't take us long. These verses are good to read anyway. These verses talk about not worrying. It's not scriptural for us to have anxiety. In a single passage of scripture, Jesus said, do not be anxious. About three times, I think. Let's look at verse 25 through 34. Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what you shall eat or drink, nor yet your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body more than raiment? 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 you not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his stature? And why take your thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they spin. Yet I say unto you that even Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothed the grass of the field, which today is and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed? For after all these things do the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. 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." He explained that it is unnecessary because the Father will provide all that we need. Now, do you really believe that? The Father will provide all that we need as His children. Then we can trust that he will do exactly what he promised. He's going to do what he said. We simply can't accept a lifestyle of anxiety when Jesus Christ is our Prince of Peace. And yet we've got Christian people who are running around like a bunch of banshee Indians, scared to death, apprehensive, I don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow, I don't know what's gonna, listen, that's not the life of the Christian. We have peace, settledness. Anxiety has a negative effect on every area of our lives because, and I don't have this written down, but I do want you to write this down. Under anxiety has a negative effect on every area of our lives because it, number one, divides our minds. If you want to take a note, it divides our minds. Anxiety divides our minds. Apprehension pulls us in two different directions. It makes it so hard to focus on important matters because I'm pulled so hard in different directions. I'm full of anxiety, I fear, I don't have the trust I need, and I'm worried. Preacher, I am so frustrated, and I don't know what to do. And since we're not focusing on God, we're pulled in all kinds of areas and all kinds of ways. Secondly, it decreases our productivity. Because we are distracted with worry, we can't give anything else our best efforts. When you are distracted with worry, you cannot give your best efforts to anything you're doing. Some of us in this building have been ill. We have had illnesses, we've had problems. I remember the time, I don't know if you remember the time that the arthritis hit me so bad. I have arthritis in my spine. I have what's called ankylosing spondylitis. It's an arthritic condition of my spine, and I have pain every single day of my life, every day. Rich probably has about the same kind of thing. I think he's had back surgery a couple times. But actually, the doctor said, if you don't stand up straight, totally, he said, when you get to be about 75, you'll be like this. You'll be looking at the ground all your life. That's where you're going to finish ending up your life. Well, I don't like to think about that like that. And if I kept thinking about that, Richard, I would be depressed. If I kept thinking about someday at 75 or so, if I lived that long, I'm gonna be walking around like this, like some folks have. I would be depressed. I can't live like that. I can't live with anxiety. Oh, what may be, what might happen. I don't know if I'm gonna make it. Listen, you cannot, you cannot, as a Christian, live like that. I'm trying to help somebody this morning who's full of anxiety and frustration, but sometimes we get ill. And remember the time that I could not walk because the arthritis had gone down to my feet. And I had it in my feet so bad I couldn't walk. I was in a wheelchair preaching from this pulpit in a wheelchair for three weeks. How many of you remember that? Some of you were here, yeah. And I preached in that wheelchair. I couldn't stand on my feet. I couldn't walk on my feet. They hurt so bad, and they were so swollen. I just had a terrible time. In those days, I'm gonna be honest with you, it was tough to try to develop a message to preach to my church about faith in God when my feet hurt so bad. Listen, when you're worried about yourself and you got pains in your chest or you got pains in your breathing or whatever, it's hard to concentrate and focus on the good things of God. It's called anxiety. It's called frustration. But God, I've got to have some help. Listen, ladies and gentlemen, the altar is here this morning, and there's a big God in heaven who loves us, who can help us, and I'm telling you, through those difficult times, I would lay in my bed at night, my wife not even knowing that I couldn't turn over, and I would cry before God. I said, God, what is wrong with me? I can't even turn in bed. God, help me, please. I'm not gonna make it. I learned some big lessons in those days. That's why I can preach like I'm preaching now. I mean, there were times I got to bed, I couldn't move from my back to the side, because my back hurt so terribly bad. I never whined the blues. I never talked to anybody about that and whined the blues about that. I just wept to the Lord, said, God, you got to help me. I can't turn my neck like normal people can. Why? Arthritis. Is it going to get better? Probably not. Am I going to worry about it? Probably not. I'm not going to frustrate myself with it. I am going to live for God. I'm gonna preach as long as I can preach. I'm gonna do as much as I can do as long as I can do it. Listen, we have got to quit letting the devil get in our minds and tell us we can't do this and we can't do that and I can't go to church, I can't be involved, I can't go in the choir. Listen, get in the choir, get up here, work for God, get in the orchestra, do something for God. Life is really short. Just start doing something for God. Quit worrying about, well, I don't know if I wanna do it, because people talk about it. Who cares about what people say? If I cared what people said, I would have quit years ago. I've heard so many negative comments. I hear a lot of positive ones, thank you. I like the part when people say, wow, you never changed. Preacher, you look the same as you did when you were 20. I really like that comment. Somebody just told me that last week again. I can't believe it. I paid her off and we left. It decreases our productivity. Listen, every time you're worried about something, you know, and many of us have gone through some real difficult financial and also physical health things, and we can't focus like we want to. And we know that, don't we? But listen, refocus your attention on God. It affects our personal relationship with others. It affects our personal relationship with others. It's hard to keep anxieties to ourselves. When we're filled with fear, we burden other people around us. I try my best, I'll be honest with you, not to do that. If there's something going on in my life, I try not to tell everybody what's going on. If they wanna pray for me, fine, but they don't need to know everything about what's going on. I practice that and have practiced it for years. People say, well, what about it? Well, I'm not gonna talk about that right now. You don't need to do that because anxiety people will tell everything and then everybody gets anxiety filled. Next thing, it leads to unwise decisions. Anxiety has a negative effect on every area of our lives, and because it leads to unwise decisions, those who are overly concerned about the future are prone to make hasty decisions, to stop feeling uncertain. And then you make hasty decisions, you're getting yourself in trouble. You can't make hasty decisions in life. Are you listening to everybody? Do not make hasty decisions in life. Oh, you see a $25,000 automobile and you know you can't afford it, but you just love the color and love how it rides. Don't buy it. Just wait. Probably a $4,000 car work just as good as a $25,000 car. May not look as pretty. Who's in for the looks? If you want to buy a Hemi engine, I suggest that's a good thing. I snuck right into that thing. It leads to unwise decisions. Next thing, it steals our joy. And it steals your peace. It's impossible. I'm telling you, I figured this out when I was so sick with this arthritis attack. I've had it three or four times. So it'll come again, no doubt. I'll probably have it again. And I'm preaching to myself here. It's impossible for me to be fretful and peaceful at the same time. I can't be fretting and having peace at the same time. I'm either going to believe God and have peace or fret. I suggest you have peace. It proves to be a terrible waste of time and energy. In my situation, it always proved to be a terrible waste of time, a terrible waste of energy to constantly be thinking about myself. Uncertainty and frustration and worry are exhausting. Would you say amen to that? Those things are exhausting. They achieve nothing. Also, they hinder us from accomplishing God's goals for my life. Romans 5, and I'll be finished. What is the correct way then? I've got to figure this out. What is the correct way to deal with anxiety? Now, how many of you would say, Preacher, at times in my life, and maybe today, I am going through, you're exactly right, some anxieties. Could I see your hand? Just hold it up there a minute. I want you to look, it's all over the congregation. It's not just a few folks, it's a lot of folks. We're going through some anxieties. We don't know exactly how to handle situations. So what is the correct way to deal with anxiety? There's so much at stake. It's foolish to give in to anxiety or seek quick fixes or temporary relief. If you never get to the root of the problem, worries will soon move beyond negative emotions and cause much physical problems. Go with me back to Philippians chapter four, verse four through seven. The solution is found right here in these verses. Instead of being anxious, I should bring my worries to God. Rejoice in the Lord always. And again I say, what's the word? Okay, follow me please. Rejoice in the Lord. Rejoice in the Lord. Always. One more time. Rejoice in the Lord. Always. And again I say. Rejoice. Now I didn't, I wasn't the one who wrote that. Who wrote that? Who wrote that? God. Did he write this Bible? Rejoice in the Lord. But I don't feel like it. Do it anyway. All right. But a preacher, nobody else is going through what I'm going through. Always. Rejoice in the Lord. Then in that bed, my house, my back hurting so bad, my neck hurting so bad, I'm laying on my backside and my wife has gone to work and I'm trying to get out of bed and I can't get out. I'm saying, God, just kill me. Let me die. I'm not good to anybody. I couldn't get up and tell my wife goodbye. But John, I learned something. I'm telling you what I learned. Joel, when I started saying, God doesn't matter, it doesn't matter. I love you with everything that's in me. I want to tell you this morning, I love you. I want to tell you, I love you and I rejoice that you're touching me today. I didn't feel like he was touching me at all. but I had the confidence that he was. George, because I knew the book, I know the word, and he said he was there. He said he's there. He said he never leaves me. He never forsakes me. I know he's there. He said he would touch me. He said he would heal me. I kept rejoicing. Finally, I got to be out of that bed. Next day, I had to do the whole thing all over again. That happened just one time. You have to be serious about this stuff. God, I know you're going to use me. And then God raised me up. Then there was a time I couldn't move this hand. I was right as it hit my hand. I don't know if you remember that or not. I could not move this hand at all. I went to three doctors and they couldn't understand what it was. They couldn't fix it. I finally went to Toledo Clinic and I said, I got to have something done. I can't move my fingers. I feel like an invalid. I can't move my hand. It kills me. My mind's always on this stuff and not on the word of God. You gotta have some help. And God gave me the right doctor. And he said, oh, I can fix that. Now, you gotta remember, I was three, four weeks with this thing in a semi-soft cast. I couldn't move it. Nobody could figure out what it was. God led me to the right guy, he said, I can fix that. I said, really? He said, oh, no problem. Guaranteed. Now you're worth your weight in gold, buddy, if you can do that. He said, turn your wrist over. I turned it over. He got this needle. I said, what are you gonna do with that? So I'm gonna put it right in here. I said, ah, that hurts right there. He said, that's where it's gonna go in and you're gonna feel like the top of your head's gonna come right off. I said, really? Okay. Ah! I turned it over. Okay. Sweat started, you know. I put one right there and one right there. You kidding me? That's what hurts. He said, no. Shot me twice more and I just, oh! I felt like I was gonna pass out. I'm sitting there holding my wrist and saying, oh dear Jesus. Oh, oh my goodness. He said, I'll be back in five minutes. He said, you move that hand like that. You must be a miracle worker. You Christian? I held it like this. I sat in that chair. I was holding it. I didn't even try it. It hurt so bad. He came back and he said, well, how is it? I said, I don't know. He said, well, move it. I said, I can't. He said, move it. I said, okay. Wow. I said, wow, it doesn't hurt at all. How'd you do that? See, we get full of anxiety, then God can answer it so easily. If I direct you to the right doctor, to the right medication, and doctors and medications are okay. Come on, amen? That's why we have nurses and doctors. I've not had a single problem since then. Unbelievable, that's been years ago. Anxiety. What's the correct way? Bring your worries. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Verse number five. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. There it is. With thanksgiving, let your requests remain known unto God. and the peace of God which passeth all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus Christ. Bring your worries to God. That's the first bullet. Whatever is troubling you this morning, it is a matter of prayer. The first step to freedom from anxiety is openly acknowledging your fears and your concerns to the Lord. Second bullet, come to the Lord with an attitude of thanksgiving. Come to the Lord with an attitude of thanksgiving. When you're apprehensive, you may not feel grateful, but when you think about God's loving involvement in every aspect of your life, the reasons why you should always praise him become crystal clear. The third bullet, come with a threefold conviction. You gotta come to God, I think, with a threefold conviction. Remember, these three things, I think they're very important. First of all, and I mentioned this Wednesday on my message, the Lord loves you unconditionally. You have got to somehow remember that, folks. God loves you. God's not giving you something to make you suffer. He loves you unconditionally. And he wants, I think my God wants the best for me. That's how I look at my life. God's not trying to slap me down all the time. He's not trying to put me down. God wants the best for me at all times. He loves me unconditionally and he wants the best for me. I think that's so important. Number two, he has the desire. He has the desire and power to help me. I constantly remember that. God, you have the desire, you want to help me. And by the way, you have the power to help me. You can help me. Thirdly, he has promised to relieve me of my worries, so I can expect him to do just that. He wants to relieve me of my worries. He wants to, so I can expect him to do it. Last bullet and I'm finished. Recognize that anxiety is a faith battle. Recognize that anxiety is a faith battle. You must believe that God will replace your anxieties with his amazing, unfathomable peace. When you bring those things to him, he brings you peace. I've had a lot of things in my life that I've thought about. My mind's thinking all the time. Even when I lay down at night to go to sleep, my mind is thinking all the time. And then I say to God, God, I just need to rest. I got quit thinking about all this stuff. Now I'm going to focus and just give it to you and I need to rest. And I fall right to sleep and I sleep all night long. Thank God for that wonderful piece. God knows how to solve the anxiety problem. If you surrender your concerns into his hands and trust him to walk with you through the fears and uncertainties, you can have this amazing peace yourself. Even if everything breaks loose all around you, you can still have peace. Now ladies are coming and I'm closing. Now, as great as all these promises are that I've given to you, they will not be yours if you give Christ your worries with one hand and take them back with the second hand. Now, come on, you're never gonna have peace if you're saying, oh, this morning, preacher, I came to an author and I gave God all of my problems, all my worries and anxieties, And then when you got up from the altar, you picked him back up with your left hand. That's never going to work. You got to give it to God. I wonder what it is. It could be lots of things this morning. I'm not going to try to delineate what it could be, but we must completely surrender all of our thoughts to him and focus not on what could happen, but focus on him. Many times I've seen people who have been freed from anxiety, it's like a light's been turned on. Their smiles come back, their attitudes are corrected and completely changed. The bondage that darkened their lives for so long was broken because they finally came to God and gave them their anxieties. Remember, no one has to live in anxiety. It's a choice. Freedom and peace await those who are willing to give their worries to God. and leave them in his hands. It's a hurdle. I gotta overcome the hurdle. Anxiety. The devil's been playing with my head. He's been playing with my mind. Preaches so many things I worry about and frustrate myself about. This morning, I want somebody in this room to get freedom. Get free from those things. Come to God.