Heart and Mind Part 4
Message Summary: Social studies show we are the most connected, yet the loneliest society in history. Loneliness is a major contributing factor in mental health; we need community. The Bible compares our enemy, the devil, to a lion, which is a predator that isolates their prey to attack them. When we start to cast our anxieties and cares at the feet of Jesus, we need to be alert, be vigilant, be aware and watchful in expectation that the enemy will start to attack. He wants to keep us from casting our cares on God because it will lead to us walking in freedom. We need to remember who our true enemy is; it’s not other people or political parties but spiritual forces at work. We are not alone in our struggles; these are the lies that the enemy likes for us to believe and is why we need spiritual community in our lives, to build us up.
The night before Jesus was crucified, he asked the disciples to pray for him and asked his inner circle to stay with him because he didn’t want to be alone. If Jesus needed friends, you need friends!
Community gives a sense of:
- Belonging which allows you to be yourself.
- Security which gives the opportunity to trust and depend on other people.
- Support which gives you people that care about you and give strength during difficult times.
- Where do you need to shift your mindset to be aware and remember who your true enemy is?
- How would this shift affect your daily life?
- How can you build your community and act as a friend you want to have?
- How can you be more vulnerable within your circle of influence?
1 Peter 5:8 (NIV): Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
Ephesians 6:12 (NIV): For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Matthew 26:36-38 (NIV): Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Matthew 7:12a (NLT): “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you.”