"Balance in the Face of Stress, Competition and Materialism"

October 26, 2003 Pastor Cliffe Knechtle (33:05)
How do we deal with the stress of success? How does stress and imbalance come into our lives? 1. Stress comes when we find our identity in our accomplishments. Society says we have to be number one in order to be successful. Our identity should be based on the fact that God created us, He loves us and we are to use our God given talents to serve and glorify Him. 2. Stress comes from our desire to be in control. God didn&Mac226;t create us to control, manipulate, and deceive others but rather to submit our lives to Him. "Juggling Life" skit before the sermon. 3. Stress comes when we are unwilling or unable to deal with reality. We will experience struggles, disappointments, and pain but we must face the pain instead of turning to substitutes to try to escape the pain. We must use the pain to grow character, perseverance, and integrity. Christ has told us to rest in Him. If we turn to God in our pain, we will develop depth of character, determination and strength to pursue God and what is good, true and right. If we trust in Christ, He will give us peace. Peace is the calmness that comes from knowing that God is ultimately in control and that we can trust Him to bring about good in the midst of unpleasant circumstances. 4. Stress comes from idolatry. Society worships beauty, brains, brawn, bucks, and fame. Nothing is wrong with these things; they are gifts from God. But we are not to worship the gifts but rather worship the giver. These things are not an adequate foundation upon which to build our lives; it will ultimately crumble. Instead, we are to build our lives on the solid foundation of Christ. 5. Stress comes from an uncertain future. Jesus said „I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies.‰ We want to live and affirm life. God has forgiven our sins and has given us the gift of eternal life. Jesus Christ brings hope, which is not wishful thinking, but rather the confident expectation of good for the future based on the promises of God. We are to invest our hope in a reliable, unchanging, sovereign God that never fails; the risen Jesus Christ. Christ tells us to come to Him, trust in Him, and submit to Him. If we trust in Christ, he helps us deal with stress. He is the ultimate solution to the stress that we experience. Summary submitted by Karen Walsh