Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Anxiety: Its Causes and Its Cure Part I

Episode Date: June 8, 2023

In this episode, Jonny Ardavanis looks at the topic of anxiety and considers Jesus’ teaching on the subject. Before providing a prohibition against anxiety in Matthew 6:25, Jesus asks three questions in Matthew 6:19-24 that reveal some of the prominent causes of anxiety today. Jesus asks: 1. Where is your treasure? 2. Where are you looking? And 3. Who is your master? In the following episode, we will look at the cure Jesus provides to His anxious followers as He beckons us to consider the character of our Heavenly Father.Watch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey guys, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial-In. In this short series, we're looking at the topic of anxiety and despair and fear, and we're looking at what the scripture says is possible for the Christian, that being a life of peace and trust. In this episode, we're going to look at the topic of anxiety and consider what Jesus says are some of the leading causes of our anxious hearts. In the following episode, we'll look at the solution and the remedy that Jesus provides to the anxious. But in this episode, we're going to look at the causes and the symptoms. Let's dial in. We live in an anxious world.

One study in 2010 showed that in a nation of 311 million people, the USA had 253 million prescriptions filled out for those who were anxious. 40 million Americans say that they are in many ways crippled by anxiety. Every 15 minutes, someone around the country tries to commit suicide. And for every success, there are a hundred more attempts at suicide. Obviously, these are just statistics and figures that come from researchers and journalists. But my experience with those plagued by anxiety is not as a distanced reader, but in many ways it's been the hallmark of my ministerial experience. People are anxious. They're anxious about their future, their relationships, their finances. They've experienced

pain in the past. I've heard stories from students and experienced situations working in camp ministry or in college ministry that would make a stone weep. Stories that prompt this anxiety and despair and panic that leaves anxious people gasping for hope. Many, including you, may be asking the question, does Jesus say anything about my anxious mind? Does he provide comfort, hope, healing, and power in order that I can live a life of trust? Maybe you're anxious even as you're listening to this episode. Well, I want to look at one passage of scripture with you, and I want to consider how the greatest pastor and the greatest physician treats the problem of anxiety and worry. Before I continue, I want to provide a definition of terms that will really guide our study.

Maybe you're wondering this morning or this evening or however you're listening to this episode, is all anxiety sinful? Well, in the scripture, the same word for anxiety, merom nao, is used in cases such as a godly concern and an ungodly worry. For example, in Corinthians, it says that Paul is merom nao, or concerned or anxious for the churches. This is a godly concern. You could say this is very similar to a parent expressing concern for their child. But that same word meram nao is going to be used when Paul tells the church in Philippi, do not be anxious. Therefore, stresses and pressures and concerns are not necessarily bad things.

They might be even good things if they drive us to take action. But when a concern or a stress becomes an ungodly worry to the degree that we focus and fixate on that pressure and stop trusting in God, we have in turn begun to sin. In Matthew 6, Jesus is going to teach us this very reality. And in Matthew 6, Jesus gives the most famous sermon given by the most famous preacher in human history. He gathers all those who would follow him to the Mount of Beatitudes, and he presents to them his magnum opus on life in God's kingdom. And in this sixth chapter of Matthew, Jesus focuses on one main thing. That is the relationship the Christian has with God as their heavenly father.

Now in Matthew 6, verse 25, Jesus says the familiar line, therefore do not be anxious. Now we, before we continue, we need to really dive into that word therefore, and you may be familiar with this reality. When we come to the word, therefore, we come to one of the most important Bible words. This word functions in such a way as to draw conclusions and responses in light of what has been previously said. Now, with that in mind, in order to understand what Jesus is saying about anxiety, we need to understand the section that immediately precedes this prohibition that Jesus gives. Because like a physician, Jesus doesn't first prescribe without asking probing questions. When you go to the doctor, they don't go immediately

for the pain point. They say, does it hurt here? And how about here? And then they say, how about here? Jesus, the greatest physician of the soul and body, he works his way towards the issue. And I want to look at verses 19 through 25 of Matthew 6 and frame our time by asking three main questions that Jesus asks his followers. Number one, in Matthew 6, verses 19 through 21, Jesus asks you through his living word, where is your treasure? In Matthew 6, 19, Jesus says, do not store up for yourself treasures on earth where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourself treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust destroys and where

thieves do not break in or steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Understand this. This isn't segregated in any way. Jesus anchors his teaching on anxiety by talking about that which we treasure. Some may say Jesus is talking exclusively about money here, which wouldn't necessarily be true. I think he's including money, but he's talking about more than that. Jesus is talking about that which has our heart. Our treasure is what we prioritize. It's what we value. Money is not a bad thing. Wealth is not a bad thing. In the scripture, Abraham was wealthy. Job was wealthy. Additionally, relationships are not a bad thing. But when you take a good thing and you make it an ultimate thing, our priorities and our treasures become out of whack and we are prone and susceptible

to anxious living. Understand this, whatever you treasure grabs your heart. And we treasure, and when we do treasure, the gift more than the giver, we become captivated by the gift and our hearts become anxious over those very things. You may be asking, well, how do I lay up treasures on earth? Well, it's very simple. We center our lives around them. We exalt them.

And we may do this without even knowing it. Jesus is saying, when you are consumed with the things of this world, you will inevitably be anxious. Why? Well, he tells us because moths eat, things rust. You will lose your athletic abilities. Robbers steal. life is unpredictable. And when you forget you are a citizen of heaven, and when you forget you are just a pilgrim here on earth, you will exalt and treasure the things of this earth, and those things will become a recipe for your own anxiety. Everything in your life is a lease from your heavenly father.

But when you think you own the things that are actually just temporarily loaned to you during your short stay on earth, what happens? Well, we become anxious about those things. Fashions change. Martin Lloyd-Jones says that the most beautiful flower begins to die the moment you pluck it. This world is passing away. So then why do so many people live for it? Your body will one day be covered by wrinkles and gray hair. Your mind will dim. There is no such thing as unallowed beauty. How do you view the world? Seriously, think about

it. Do you cling to it or do you hold everything in your life with an open hand? Are you in a constant sense of detachment from the things of this world? Jesus doesn't merely give the negative here by saying, don't treasure things on earth, but he also gives the positive command. He says, don't lay up for yourself treasures here on earth. But then he says, but lay up for yourself treasures in heaven. Accumulate your eternal balance sheet. But then he says, Jesus understands that possessions are legitimate. But he makes a distinction between possessions and treasures.

The things that we hold with an open hand are good things. But when we cling to those possessions, those people, those relationships, that future, that job, and when we treasure those things, Jesus says we have in turn created a recipe for anxiety. So Jesus asked the anxious, number one, where or what is your treasure? Secondly, he asked the question, where are you looking? Let me read Matthew six, verse 22 and 23. Jesus says the eye is the lamp of the body. So then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness? Jesus is the great physician and he's making his way towards the prohibition he gives, that being do not be anxious. But before he does so, he asks his followers a second question.

He asked them, where are you looking? What do you look at with others or by yourself when no one is watching? Do you not know, Jesus asks, that the eye is the lamp of the body and what you look at with your eyes is not a matter of isolation as it relates to your mind. No, it affects everything. The eye is the window into your soul. I'm reading a heartbreaking book right now on the rise of anxiety, specifically amongst girls as it relates to social media. And study after study shows that the more time you spend on your phone, the more anxious you will be. In our hyper-sexualized, narcissistic, self-focused, self-loving,

under-moralized, ever-gossiping culture, people flood their minds with pictures and images, gossip and details that fuel their anxious minds. What's funny is that most people know this, but many claim that social media or binging shows is a way for them to cope with their anxiety. But what they may not realize is that this only fuels and perpetuates their continued anxious life. My mother used to sing to me the song, turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in his wonderful face, and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace. But understand this, the things of this world will never go strangely dim when your eye

is constantly looking upon them. Jesus asked the anxious, number one, what is your treasure? Where is your treasure? Secondly, he asks, where are you looking? Could it be that the things you look at, the constant shopping, the constant potential pornography that you look at is giving rise to your anxious mind. And then third, he asks the question in verse 25, really to his anxious followers, and that is who or what is your master? And verse 24, that is, he says, no one can serve two masters for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. Every single master is a totalitarian. They demand all of you. People dupe themselves into thinking that

they can serve two masters. But Jesus says, my friend, you cannot, love cannot be mixed. Service cannot be divided. Those are incompatible ideas. Now it says in second Kings 17, 24, there's this story that the Israelites were ransacked by the Assyrians. It says that then lions destroyed their property and they realized that the Assyrians attacking them and the lions destroying their property was because they didn't worship the Lord. So they found a priest who instructed them. And then it says this fascinating line in second Kings 17, it says they feared the Lord and served their graven images. Meaning they went back to God and said, okay, we'll fear you. We're sorry. But then it says they continued to serve their idols. But Jesus says, this is an incompatible idea. You cannot serve the things or the treasures in your life and also

serve God. And Jesus is once again, forcing us to consider our hearts. You may literally think, I have no master. But in the hundreds of conversations I've had with those who are anxious, there is often something deep in the roots that indicates a submission to another master. It might be painful, but soul surgery can be liberating. Although this is by no stretch of the imagination an exhaustive list, I want to give you a few examples of things people are mastered by, and I'll present them to you in the form of a question. Number one, have you been mastered by bitterness? Has someone sinned against you? Jesus considers forgiveness to be one of the surest indicators of being a child of God. He forgave those who beat him and spit on him and crucified him. He said, Father, forgive

them. But often we want justice. Maybe we even want vengeance on those who have hurt us or hurt the ones we love. I was once talking with a woman who said that she was plagued by anxiety. I asked her some questions and she relayed to me that her anxiety has been amplified ever since she caught her husband in an affair. She had been suspicious of his many business trips over the years and had hired a private investigator to follow him. It was not his business partner at the airport that greeted him, but it was his secretary. Her husband had lied and deceived her for years. They got a divorce and

let their marriage go, but there was something that she could not let go of. It wasn't just her wounds, which are rational and reasonable. It was her bitterness. She had grown to hate her husband. And this hatred and this bitterness was planted deep within the root system of her soul. And it began to produce an anxiety in her life. Consider Hebrews chapter 12, verse 25. It says, See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, and that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble and by it many be defiled. So Jesus asks, have you been mastered by bitterness in his word?

Secondly, I want to ask you a question. Have you been mastered by sexual sin? You may say, I don't have another master. And yet in the secret corners of your life, you've been mastered by sexual sin. Almost every time I interact with someone who is anxious, especially young men, I ask them about their relationship and their behavior with pornography. Sexual sin corrupts. First Corinthians says that you are a temple of the Holy Spirit. And when you operate sinfully, you grieve his spirit. You quench his spirit. And when that happens, you are on the fast track for anxiety.

The age of anxious people gets younger and younger. And many secular psychologists have linked the rise in anxiety to the rise in porn consumption. The average age of the first exposure to pornography for a child in the United States is how old? 11 years old. And 94% of children will see pornography by the age of 14. Maybe you're wondering, how big is the porn industry? Well, it's massive. The porn industry's annual revenue is more than the NFL, NBA, and MLB combined.

It is also more than the combined revenues of ABC, CBS, and NBC. And this isn't just an issue amongst men. The margin between men and women in regards to those who view pornography is becoming increasingly narrow. Jesus says in Matthew 5, 8, blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God. But those who pollute their minds and share their bodies outside God's design and in violation to God's word,

they rob themselves of God's peace and present all the ingredients for an anxious mind. The eye is the lamp of the body. It is the window to your soul. So then Jesus asked you through his word, what is the condition of your soul? Are you mastered by sexual sin? Third, in scripture, we're to consider what else we unconfessed sin. David, in Psalm 32 and in Psalm 51, details the aftermath of his sin with Bathsheba. And in Psalm 32, the man after God's own heart says that when he kept silent about his sin, his bones wasted away through his groaning all day

long. There's much more that could be said here, but your soul is not strong enough to bear the gigantic load of unconfessed and unrepented sin. Now, the three questions that we've considered thus far, Jesus asking the question, where is your treasure? Where are you looking? And who is your master? These are revelatory questions that show us

often in our life where we've taken good things and made them ultimate things, or even where we're harboring unconfessed sin. Now, it must be said that even though ungodly worry is rooted in sin, not always is that sin stemming from our own hearts. Some of our anxiety may be rooted in sin. Not always is that sin stemming from our own hearts. Some of our anxiety may be rooted in other people's sin against us that we have to then learn to carry to our Heavenly Father. I am no stranger to the reality that there are those who have experienced betrayal, abuse, and sexual trauma. And to situations such as these, we find great comfort in the words that Jesus is about to give us that we'll examine next week in regards to who God is as our Heavenly Father. Now, before we consider the remedy that Jesus

provides in the following week, in our following episode, I want to once again remind us of the truth that we examined previously, that when Jesus provides the prescription to the anxious, he is going to root the prescription in our minds. He's not going to ask us to check some box of theological agreement. He is going to beckon us to think. The war against anxious living is a war that wages in our mind. This is why Paul tells the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 10.5 to take every thought captive. In this regard, the Mayo Clinic lines up with scripture. All anxiety, even the anxiety that expresses itself physically, begins and finds its genesis in the mind. Proverbs 23, 7, as a man thinks within himself, so he is.

Now, we've already looked at the prohibition. Jesus tells his followers, do not be anxious. But what we'll examine next week is that when Jesus tells us not to be anxious, it's not cut it out or snap out of it. He is going to provide the prohibition, but also supply the power and the reasoning. And that reasoning is going to be rooted and grounded in who God is as our heavenly father. And in the following episode, what we'll see is that Jesus, after issuing his prohibition, he will provide seven features of who God is as our heavenly father that will instill

the follower of Christ with a trust in God and give them the peace of God, regardless of the situation and regardless of the circumstance. Stay dialed in.