Anxiety

What is Anxiety?
painful or apprehensive uneasiness of mind over an impending or anticipated ill.
fearful concern or interest.
an abnormal and overwhelming sense of apprehension and fear often marked by physiological signs (as sweating, tension, and increased pulse), by doubt concerning the reality and nature of threats, and by self-doubt about one’s capacity to cope with issues.

How do I know if I have a problem with anxiety?
PProverbs 24:10
If you are slack in the day of distress, Your strength is limited.

Unraveling under pressure is a clear indication that you have and anxiety problem.

What is God’s intended posture for us when we face distressful situations?
Isaiah 41:10
‘Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’

Regardless of the situation we face, we must constantly rely on God’s Omni -presence & potency.

Does our relationship with God affect the level of anxiety in our lives?
Jeremiah 17:7,8
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord And whose trust is the Lord. “For he will be like a tree planted by the water, That extends its roots by a stream - And will not fear when the heat comes; But its leaves will be green, And it will not be anxious in a year of drought Nor cease to yield fruit.

When we trust in God, He insures us completely.

How do we handle anxiety that is conjured up in our own minds?
2 Corinthians 10:5
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,

If we don’t take control of our thoughts, they will take control of us.

What type of defense do we have over anxiety in reasonably severe situations?
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 1comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Things will happen but if we keep a consistent line of communication with God he will see us through.

Should we be anxious of our punishments from God?
1 John 4:17,18
By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear 1involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

God’s Love for us will always overshadow His wrath towards us.

Six Biblical Steps to Overcoming Anger

1.) Face the real issues (Gal 5:13-26)
Can you admit to having a spirit of anger?
Do you really want to live as God desires?
Do you want self-control?
Do you want to love others?

We must accept the fact of our anger. Ask those around you if they sense a spirit of anger in you. Acknowledgment is the first step of overcoming anger. Why? Our pride does not make it easy to say that we were wrong in our actions, words and judgments.
Do I really want to live out God's love in my life?


2. ) Deal with your anger (Jam 1:19-20)
Unresolved anger is always bad. I must not tolerate it.

We must acknowledge that man's anger will not accomplish God's work.


3.) Die to self; live by Christ (Galatians 2:20)
I have died to myself. I now live for Jesus Christ.

An open and deliberate decision not to live according to your old life and consciously to allow Christ to live out His life in you, is a special and necessary part of deliverance from anger. When this is done, you open yourself to Christ's full work in your life.

There seems to be two aspects to dying to self. There is the initial dedication period which is like starting anew. There is also the regular daily dying to self - a daily morning prayer were we commit ourselves to the Lord.


4.) Break the stronghold of anger (2 Corinthians 10:3-7 )
May God destroy every last lie of mine!

A stronghold is some hidden sin from our lives that we have given up hope on overcoming. We probably have tried to overcome anger in the past. Failure brings with it a disheartening and final cover up of our sin.

Truth, however, gives strength and confidence to do what is right. Lies block out the light and therefore strip us of any confidence in overcoming a certain problem.
From the verses quoted here and the many places exhorting us to deal gently with people rather than in anger, we are clearly responsible and able through Christ to overcome this stronghold of anger.





What common lies minimize the problem of anger and therefore prevent us from overcoming anger? Our common excuses;
"They deserve it."
"I was so hurt by them. I need to get back."
"I can't help it."
"I was always that way."
"My parents were that way."
"It's not too bad."
"My anger is better than before."

Hope comes when we are broken before God over our sin and welcome Him to overcome the sin in our lives. More than often our pride minimizes our anger's wrong and makes exceptions and excuses for our anger.


5.) Replace anger with acts of kindness (Ephesians 4:31)
Anger must go, but I will replace it with fruits of love.

Peace and fullness of love will not be activated unless we replace our angry spirit with a loving spirit. We must not focus on what we should not do but on what we should do. Be practical. Write down a few things you can do for that friend you have wounded (or has wounded you).

Regulate your conversation by polite statements and well-intentioned motives. For example, I will not interrupt another. I will wait for them to finish what they are saying before I speak.


6.) Fully deal with each day's anger (Eph 4:26)
Make sure before I go to bed, I deal with my anger.

Unresolved anger turns into wrath. We have a command from the Lord to heighten the importance of settling quarrel before we sleep.
Have you and your spouse made a commitment to resolve anger before going to bed? 

As a parent, have you committed yourself to make peace with your children before they sleep?

The Power of Unity: Lesson 1

Purpose
The purpose of this study is to take council with the Word of God as to arrive at clear and concise understanding of Unity; its purpose, parts and product.
As a result of the productivity of this study we should be able to take a sound biblical plan of action to infuse greater unity in our; family, church and community.

What is Unity?
The state of being united or joined as a whole.
Harmony or agreement between people or groups.
According to Aristotle there are three principles required for corporate success
Unity of time - having the proper concept and context of time.
Unity of place - all being in one place; spiritually, physically and emotionally.
Unity of action - all having the proper idea of corporate and individual goals.

Our Text of Focus
Psalm 133
1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
2 It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;
3 As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

Through this text we find three truths about unity
The Purpose of Unity
The Parts of Unity
The Product of Unity

The Purpose of Unity
Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!
The purpose of unity is to bring Good and pleasantness to all mankind.

The Good {from Strong's Hebrew lexicon 2896 Tov}
Righteousness
Morally sound example
Practical living
Excellence

Pleasantness {from Strong's Hebrew lexicon 2898 Tuv}
Beauty
Cheerfulness
Prosperity

The Parts of Unity
It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron' beard: that went down to the skirts of his garments;

The oil that was used by Moses to anoint Aaron the high priest was developed by God to imputed His holiness upon His People. Lets take a look at the oil.

Exodus 30:23-25, 30
Take also for yourself the finest of spices: of flowing myrrh five hundred shekels, and of fragrant cinnamon half as much, two hundred and fifty, and of fragrant cane two hundred and fifty, and of cassia five hundred, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and of olive oil a hin. And you shall make of these a holy anointing oil, a perfume mixture, the work of a perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil . . . And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister as priests to Me. (NASB)
The oil used to anoint Aaron was a mixture of four spices in oil.
myrrh - medicines & perfumery
cinnamon - spice & flavor
cane - sweet
cassia - therapeutic
The spices were mixed together in olive oil, which worked as a purifier.

They were different spices mixed together to make a wonderful fragrance - a holy oil. What a picture of unity. It is a picture of very different people, yet people who are united.


The product of Unity
As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the LORD commanded the blessing, even life for evermore.

The dew of Hermon - represents the supernatural provision of God.

Our unity with each other in Christ will yield the greatest blessing of eternal life.

Deeply Rooted in the Teachings of Christ~ Luke 20-21:36

Chapter 20
Lesson 1: V.1-8 “You don’t have to explain yourself to people that are not willing to do the same for you.”

Lesson 2: V.9-18 “When the sent leaders of God come with His instructions obey them or else..”

Lesson 3: V.19-26 “God promotes proper priority.”

Lesson 4: V.27-40 “Resurrection is a true benefit for every believer, but only for eternal gain.”

Lesson 5: V.41-44 “Christ is greater than divine humanity but He is divinity in human form.”

Lesson 6: V.45-47 “Be aware of people who honor ceremony over sincerity and use their position for gain.”

Chapter 21
Lesson 7: V.1-4 “God honors the depth of your sacrifice more its weight.”

Lesson 8: V.5-9 “There are no endtime signs or prophesies; only God’s time.”

Lesson 9: V.10-28 “ Being a Christian in this world is hard but God will be with us every step of the way.”

Lesson 10: V.29-36 “We all must live faithful to God & His word that we endure these times until eternity.”

The Anatomy of a Believer

Psalm 15(nasb)
1 O Lord, who may ​​abide ​in Your tent?
Who may dwell on Your ​​holy hill?
2 He who ​​walks with integrity, and works righteousness,
And ​b​speaks truth in his heart.
3 He ​​does not slander ​with his tongue,
Nor ​​does evil to his neighbor,
Nor ​c​takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 In ​​whose eyes a reprobate is despised,
But ​who ​honors those who fear the Lord;
He ​​swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 He ​​does not put out his money ​1at interest,
Nor ​​does he take a bribe against the innocent.
​​He who does these things will never be shaken.
In this psalm David describes the lifestyle of the believer who lives in intimate fellowship with the Lord.

Psalm 16
1 ​​Preserve me, O God, for ​​I take refuge in You.
2 ​​I said to the Lord, “You are ​​my Lord;
I ​​have no good besides You.”
3 As for the ​​​saints who are in the earth,
​2​They are the majestic ones ​b​in whom is all my delight.
4 The ​sorrows of those who have ​bartered for another god will be multiplied;
I shall not pour out their drink offerings of ​blood,
Nor will I ​take their names upon my lips.
David’s complete personal commitment to the Lord gave him assurance that God was in control of his life and guided his steps. This assurance will bring a matchless sense of security and joy to the life of the believer.

Psalm 17
“I love You, O Lord, ​​my strength.”
2 The Lord is ​​my ​rock and ​my fortress and my ​​deliverer,
My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge;
My ​shield and the ​​horn of my salvation, my ​stronghold.
3 I call upon the Lord, who is ​aworthy to be praised,
And I am ​saved from my enemies.
David, confident in his firm commitment to God, remained deeply aware of the dangers faced by a righteous man living in a sinful world. As believers, we have comfort in knowing that God will confront the wicked and the righteous shall find satisfaction in God’s presence.

Galatians 6:1-10
1 ​​Brethren, even if ​anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are ​spiritual, ​restore such a one ​​in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.
2 ​​Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill ​b​the law of Christ.
3 For ​​if anyone thinks he is something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.
4 But each one must ​examine his own work, and then he will have reason for ​boasting in regard to himself alone, and not in regard to another.
5 For ​​each one will bear his own load.
6 ​The one who is taught ​​the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.
7 ​Do not be deceived, ​​God is not mocked; for ​whatever a man sows, this he will also reap.
8 ​​For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap ​corruption, but ​the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.
9 ​​Let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we will reap if we ​do not grow weary.
10 So then, ​​while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the ​​household of ​c​the faith.
Paul’s letter concludes with a series of exhortations and reminders. The believers have a responsibility to and for each other, as well as to those who teach and preach the word of God. Paul also reminds the believer that the choice they make (to please the passions of their sin nature or to please the Spirit) will have a definite impact on their present and on their eternity.


Ephesians 3:14-21
14 For this reason I ​bow my knees before the Father,
15 from whom ​1every family in heaven and on earth derives its name,
16 that He would grant you, according to ​a​the riches of His glory, to be ​​strengthened with power through His Spirit in ​the inner man,
17 so that ​Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being ​b​rooted and ​grounded in love,
18 may be able to comprehend with ​​all the ​saints what is ​b​the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know ​a​the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be ​filled up to all the ​d​fullness of God.
20 ​​Now to Him who is ​able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, ​according to the power that works within us,
21 ​​to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations ​​forever and ever. Amen.
God called the apostle Paul to unite all believers of his time, both Jew & Gentiles and to explain the previously unrevealed truth that God intended to join Jew and Gentile together as one believing community, one body of Christ. Paul was mindful of his faults but rejoices in the untold wonder of God’s eternal plan; and with a deep sense of humility ministers the eternal Good News to the Ephesians. As he ministered, he prayed that the family of one Father (the believers), might discover in their growing love for one another the incomprehensible love of Christ and be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. The apostle concludes with one of the Bible’s most beautifully important doxologies.

Understanding God's Will

Once we arrive at a clear discovery of GOD’s will for our lives, we see His purpose for creating us.But, once we have this information it must be translated from information to knowledge and the knowledgemust be transformed into action.

In this lesson we will take information extracted from God’s word coupled with each of our personalrevelation of His will for our lives to arrive at a lucid and precise understanding of God’s will for our lives.

God’s word on understanding God’s will

"He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to
love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." ~Micah 6:8

‘So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” ~ Ephesians 5:17 (1-21)

“...in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” ~1 Thessalonians 5:18 (12-24)

Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. ~ 1 Peter 2:13-15

What God has reviled to you

What do you believe to be God’s will for your life, as He has revealed to you?

Does your personal revelation of God’s will for your life complement or contradict the previous Scriptures?

Can you glorify God and edify others by doing what has been reviled to you?

Will you live a fulfilled life apart from doing what has been reviled unto you?

Conclusion: Ephesians 1:11-14
​Also we ​​have obtained an inheritance, having been ​predestined ​according to His purpose who works all things ​​after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in ​​Christ would be ​​to the praise of His glory. In ​​Him, you also, after listening to ​a​the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also ​​believed, you were ​​sealed in ​​Him with ​the Holy Spirit of promise, who is ​a​given as a pledge of ​​our inheritance, with a view to the ​​redemption of ​God’s own possession, ​to the praise of His glory.

Discovering GOD's Will

There a Three arenas of God’s will that we as believers need discover. They are as follows;

Individual will ~ This is the specific purpose for which God has created each of us.

Now the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,

And before you were born I consecrated you; I have appointed you a prophet to the nations.” - Jer. 1:4,5

Corporate will ~ As believers it is the will of God that we unify ourselves for the purpose of sharing His love.

I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. - John 17:23

Ultimate will ~In the grand scheme of our existence, God was fully aware that we would forsake Him therefore He set in order a divine plan which would redeem us to himself.

He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention which He purposed in Him. - Eph. 1:5-9

With the knowledge we have of God’s Corporate & Ultimate will the only part left to discover is His will for our individual lives. According to George Müller (1805-1898), an English evangelist and philanthropist, discovering God’s will for our lives is a daily undertaking that should be relished by every believer. We will conclude this lesson by examining an excerpts from Müller’s essay “How to Ascertain the Will of God”:

I seek at the beginning to get my heart into such a state that it has no will of its own in regard to a given matter. Nine-tenths of the trouble with people generally is just here. Nine-tenths of the difficulties are over come when our hearts are ready to do the Lord's will, whatever it may be. When one is truly in this state, it is usually but a little way to the knowledge of what His will is.

Having done this, I do not leave the result to feeling or simple impression. If so, I make myself liable to great delusions.

I seek the Will of the Spirit of God through, or in connection with, the Word of God. The Spirit and the Word must be combined. If I look to the Spirit alone without the Word, I lay myself open to great delusions also. If the Holy Ghost guides us at all, He will do it according to the Scriptures and never contrary to them.

Next I take into account providential circumstances. These often plainly indicate God's Will in connection with His Word and Spirit.

I ask God in prayer to reveal His Will to me.

Thus, through prayer to God, the study of the Word, and reflection, I come to a deliberate judgment according to the best of my ability and knowledge, and if my mind is thus at peace, and continues so after two or three more petitions, I proceed accordingly. In trivial matters, and in transactions involving most important issues, I have found this method always effective.