October 24th, 2022

How to Renew Your Mind​

Sermon by: Pastor Harrison Chokka
Summarized by: Kelsey Bodnar

I’m sure we can all remember the last time we had anxious thoughts. It could have been caused by a looming midterm, starting a new job, or going to an event where you knew nobody. Anxiety can be debilitating and cause us to tear ourselves apart. But what does God’s word say about fear and anxiety? We’re in the third part of our Untangling Emotions series. This message will take us through the emotion behind our fear and anxiety.

 What’s interesting about the feeling of anxiety is that we often tie it our identity. How do we define fear and anxiety?  Fear is defined as an intense biological response to immediate danger, whereas anxiety is defined as an emotional response regarding things we may think may happen. It’s important to understand that emotions are given to us by God. Although they can become destructive, in its purest forms, our emotions are telling us something. Fear communicates that something we value is under attack. The difference with anxiety is that something MAY be under attack. Fear and anxiety can also direct us to something that’s life-giving.

Isaiah 55:1
Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters: and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.​

 A big indicator of why these two emotions may come up is because we’re following our way. When these emotions come up, we have our go-to responses that we turn to; we shut down, spend hours scrolling through our phones, or meet up with a friend and vent about our problems.

We do this instead of seeking the Lord and following God’s way, which give us the renewal of our minds that we are looking for.

Isaiah 55: 6
Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts.

When it comes to anxiety, we may understand that we are anxious, but have zero clue why we feel that way. Pastor Harrison gave us three questions we need to ask ourselves when our anxiety kicks in:
1.     What am I feeling? (Address)
2.     Why do I feel this way? (Engage)
3.     What does God’s word say about this? (Correct)

Our emotions tell us things, especially in how we react. Fear and anxiety can help us understand what we value.   

Isaiah 55: 7
Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

At the end of the day, these lies aren’t rooted in reality. We have to acknowledge that our ways aren’t working, and we need to come to Jesus and repent. We have to confront the lies and replace it with truth.

Isaiah 43: 1-2
​Do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have summoned you by name. You are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you: and when you pass through the rivers, they will sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned: the flames will not set you ablaze.

How do we confront those lies and replace them with the truth? We must do two things:
1.     Look back at the faithfulness of God
​2.     Replace the lies with truth

Isaiah 55: 8-9
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Whatever we are feeling today, we need this reminder: Feelings are fleeting. Faith is a fact. We do not have to be a slave to our feelings.

Thank you for being here! If this message resonates with you and you want to see more, here’s our YouTube channel, where we post live sermons every Sunday.  

Listen to the sermon podcast on Spotify here. 
​
Join us IN PERSON every Sunday at 175 Carleton Dr #170, St. Albert, AB
Doors Open at 9:30 a.m.
Service starts at 10 a.m.