Pastor Cho's Sermon Outline - Yoido Full
Gospel Church - Seoul, KoreaLife and Anxiety Psalms 91:1 ~ 91:12 2002-12-08
The great Russian author Tolstoy spoke of human anxiety. A wild ox gored a man with its horns. The man found a dry well and ran into it. Fortunately, there was a piece of wood laid in the middle of the well, so he sat down on it. He saw the wild ox looking down at him. Relieved, he looked down only to see serpents at the bottom of the well. On one end of the wood he was sitting on, he saw some honey made by a bee and ate the honey. A mouse was eating the wood where he sat. As he looked up and down, he was in despair, although he was eating some honey. "This is human life,"said Tolstoy.
Anxiety as a lost being. Those who have lost their homes and are wandering about are called refugees; their lives are very insecure. When Adam and Eve sinned, they were driven out of Eden and became refugees (Genesis 3:24). Their descendants-all human beings-lost their identity in life (Genesis 4:14). People are filled with anxiety and ask, "Where did we come from? What do we have to live for? Where are we going?"
Anxiety due to the uncertainty of circumstances. Throughout the world, people are experiencing unpredictable disaster (Jeremiah 51:29; Isaiah 8:22; 24:19; Romans 8:22). There are earthquakes, floods, fires, extreme temperatures in weather, famine, and sickness. We fear political insecurity with the reports that North Korea may have nuclear weapons. It is difficult to watch the TV news and read the newspapers. We are anxious about war and terrorism (Matthew 24:6,7; Ecclesiastes 8:7,8). The world is faced with the prediction of economic insecurity.
Anxiety due to the absence of meaning in life. People ask, "Why should we suffer?"(1 Peter 1:24; James 4:14; Proverbs 14:13). People are distressed and uneasy because of a sense of guilt (Romans 2:9). They're depressed about the present, the future, anxious about death, and the uncertain world after death (Ecclesiastes 6:12; Hebrews 9:27).
God's prescription for human anxiety. The Word became flesh 2,000 years ago; the invisible God came to earth as Jesus, a historical man (1 Peter 1:20; John 1:14). We have answers through Christ's death on the Cross and resurrection: redemption, healing, the Holy Spirit, and heaven (John 3:16; 11:25; Isaiah 53:5; John 14:1,2). He is our foundation for peace. Every day we should read Psalm 91:1-12. We don't need to worry or be anxious. We have eternal life in Jesus (1 John 5:11,12), God loves us (1 Peter 2:9,10), we can have joy in serving Him, (Romans 14:18), and He will never leave us (Romans 8:38,39; Psalm 42:5). Anxiety will always try to attack us, but we can always exchange our anxiety for peace and joy in Christ (Hebrews 13:5,6).
Heavenly Father, we cannot trust in this world. We can find peace only in Jesus Christ.
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