OceanSide church of Christ




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How Jesus Handled Stress
by: Dalton Gilreath

I.              Introduction

A.   I suppose everyone deals with stress on a fairly regular basis

                                          i.    Some deal with more than others

                                        ii.    Some begin to have poor health over time connected with stress

B.   How we deal with stress is what separates us from others

                                          i.    Remember, Jesus dealt with stress just like we do (Hebrews 4:15)

                                        ii.    He felt our infirmities physically and mentally

                                       iii.    Let’s learn from a day in the life of Christ

II.            A day in the life of Christ (Mark 2:1-15)

A.   People fought for His time

                                          i.    Jesus is dealing with a crowd of people inside a home (2:1-5)

1.    A man with palsy is let down through the roof

2.    They wanted Jesus’ time immediately

                                        ii.    Do you know people like this?

1.    People don’t always appreciate how busy you are

2.    They tug at your time which can be stressful

3.    How do we handle the stress?

                                       iii.    Jesus appreciated the lengths the men went through to get the sick man to Him

1.    He healed him instead of being ugly or complaining

2.    Stress might cause us to react in an ungodly way instead

B.   People criticized His every move (2:6-12)

                                          i.    Certain scribes thought what He was doing was blasphemy

1.    Jesus could hear their thoughts and addressed them

2.    He answered their question as being legitimate

                                        ii.    How do we handle criticism?

1.    Do we know people who sit around and wait for an opportunity to pounce on us?

2.    Do we avoid them or explain ourselves even though we don’t really owe it?

C.   Jesus wanted to do more good (2:13-15)

                                          i.    People followed Jesus which was not stressful

1.    However, there can be little doubt Jesus wanted more of these type of events and not the previous ones

2.    He healed lots of folks but He was there to save souls

                                        ii.    Sometimes it can be stressful not to accomplish more of the tasks we want to get done

1.    We can only do good so much in a day amongst all our other responsibilities

2.    This too can cause extra stress when we feel inadequate or unaccomplished

III.           How Jesus did it

A.   Jesus tells us what causes a poor handling of stress (Matt 6:27-30)

                                          i.    Notice it is due to a lack of proper faith

                                        ii.    This is hard to hear knowing I have stress in my life

B.   Jesus used this phrase three other times in the New Testament

                                          i.    A lack of faith allows stress to cause fear - Matthew 8:26

                                        ii.    A lack of faith allows stress to cause doubt – Matthew 14:31

                                       iii.    A lack of faith allows stress to cause an improper point of view (Matt 16:8)

IV.          How can we handle stress

A.   Define the source (Matt 6:24-25)

                                          i.    What is it I am stressing about?

                                        ii.    Is it important? Does it matter?

B.   Change your point of view (Matt 6:26)

                                          i.    Remember that you are a Christian

                                        ii.    We know that all things will turn out for good if we are faithful Christians (Rom 8:28)

                                       iii.    If God takes care of animals don’t we realize He takes care of us?

C.   Is there anything I can actually do? (Matt 6:27)

                                          i.    We stress over far too many things that we cannot even control

                                        ii.    No matter how much we think  about our height we won’t grow two inches

1.    If I cannot control it I shouldn’t stress over it

2.    After all, what good is it going to do to worry about it?