Namaste or God's Way - Biblical Stress Management

Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

• Stress. It plays a prominent role in the lives of most everyone above age 13, and believe it or not, it has its proper place in your life, unless you let it get out of hand.
• Are you stressed?
o School
 Worried about grades, classes
o Work
 Worried about money, career aspirations
o Relationships
 Worried about boyfriend/girlfriend, physical intimacy

• Identify the source of your stress
o Are you engaged in sin?
 God HATES repeated sin.
 Just as with other people, how much credibility comes from the man or woman who commits the same offense repeatedly despite apologizing over and over again? How much do you hate to be wronged repeatedly?
 If I cheat on my spouse and then apologize, does that allow me to commit the same offense again? No.
 SIN MATTERS. For those of you that believe that because you’re saved that you have the “license to sin”, you couldn’t be any further from the truth. If you feel no conviction of your sin, you may need to evaluate the status of your salvation. Are you genuinely saved?
• A true child of God is disciplined like a child of God.
• Sin is multiplied with passing generations.
o Compare of lineage of Cain and the lineage of Seth
 Lineage of Cain produced Lamech, the Bible’s first polygamist and double murderer
 Lineage of Seth produced Enoch, who walked with God and was taken up into heaven by God without even suffering death!
 The sins that you fail to repent and commit to eradicate now will be trapped in an endless cycle of your descendents.
 If you’re a part of a vicious cycle of sin, then you can escape! You don’t have to be victim to the sins of your ancestors. But you must be willing to surrender and trust God.
o To get our attention about our sin, God the Father punishes us.
 Through conviction
 Through the withholding of His wonderful plan
• Dr. Charles Stanley said, “I hope that when I am face to face with God, that He won’t have to say to me, ‘Charles, I had a wonderful plan for your life, but you chose to follow your own plan, your own will, so I’m afraid I can’t reveal to you what I would have had in store for you.’”
• Is God withholding His plan for your life because you choose the route of sin and the road of rebellion?
 If this is you, then YOU must
• Examine yourself under the Holy Spirit’s direction (Psalm 26)
• Repent
• Commit to eradicate such sin out of your life
o Are your priorities out of line?
 Is God the highest priority in your life?
 Have you made Christianity a crisis religion in your life? An emergency hotline?
 Is school, relationships, or work becoming idols in your life?

• Realize that God frustrates us in our sin and allows us to be tested and tried for the purpose of sanctification – the process of becoming more holy, or more like Jesus Christ.
o If you’re stressed, realize that God’s in control of your life. He knows the things you need and He is a loving Father that will provide for you as long as you remain obedient.
o Again, God is your highest priority.
 Matthew 6:33 - But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
 When God’s first in your life, He will allow all of your other priorities to fall into place.
 Don’t be mistaken. There is no way you can carry out the wonderful plan that God has for you without God Himself.
• Without God, the wonderful plan would never be conceived.
o Isaiah 55:8 – For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.
• We are insufficient to achieve victory over sin alone! The gifts that this secular world has to offer you cannot compare to the gifts that your Father in Heaven has promised you.
o John 14:27 - I am leaving you with a gift--peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give isn't like the peace the world gives. So don't be troubled or afraid.
• If you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you don’t have to worry about your fate as lost people do. As a matter of fact, lost people have a legitimate reason to worry, because they have not yet accepted the eternal gifts of God that provide the only means for victory. Lost people are HOPELESS until they receive Jesus Christ. God gives you victory if you trust Him. Therefore, don’t act hopeless as a lost person does, because that in itself blasphemes God and His grace and mercy towards you. In other words, a real slap in the face to God.

Another acronym for you to remember.
A serious problem with our culture

Striving
To
Readily
Embrace
Secular
Society

All of our worries and stressors boil down to
•How am I viewed by other people, the world?
•How am I the most pleasing to other people, the world?
Focus on how you are most pleasing to God and forget the rest!

Three ways to address stress - they will completely change your outlook on life!
1. Pray without ceasing - 1 Thessalonians 5:17.
2. Praise the blessings that you have every day
3. Meditate on the Word of God