There is an emotional epidemic that is affecting people all over the world, including the church…it’s called stress.  It is so disruptive and destructive that an article in the Wall Street Journal suggests that it is responsible for taking more lives than smoking, drinking, and lack of exercising combined.  You see, it is not as much as what you eat rather it is what is eating you.

 The University of London printed that it was 6x’s more likely to cause cancer than high cholesterol, smoking, and elevated blood pressure…I am referring to a silent killer…

-You can’t see it. (invisible)

-You can’t hear it. (inaudible)

-You can’t feel it. (intangible).    It’s called stress…

 It is completely indiscriminatory …. Everyone no matter your age, economic status, or season of life you are in is vulnerable to stress.
Stress -  force or influence exerted when one thing or body part presses on, pulls on, pushes against, or tends to compress or twist another thing or body part.  The state or result of one thing pushing against another.  Pressure, strain, or tension.  Stress is caused when your every effort to push through this life are met with the cares of this world pushing back.

We all are dealing with stress in our life.  Stress is pretty much unavoidable.  What we have to learn to do is manage the stress.  there are some things that Jesus taught to help manage stress.

Philippians 4:6-7. Living Bible

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. 7 If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

1.   V. 6 “Refuse to worry about anything…”
Jesus spent a majority of His most famous sermon (Sermon on the. Mount) on the subject of worry…He says many things about it…here are 3

·      Worry is unreasonable, illogical, and it doesn’t make sense.
Matthew 6 “Don’t worry about your life; what you’ll eat or drink; or your body, what you’ll wear.  Your life is more than your food, and your body is more than just what you’ll wear…”

·      The next thing Jesus taught in the sermon of the mount about worry is – Worry is Unnatural-
Jesus points out the in all of the things in the universe that He created, the only thing that worries is us.  In Matthew 6 Jesus refers us to the birds and tells us how they do not worry.  I mean, birds don’t worry and God is not their Father…he’s their creator but not their Father.

·      The next thing Jesus said about worry in His sermon on the mount is that - Worry is Unhelpful-
It can’t make you taller…shorter…skinnier.  It can’t help yesterday…it can’t change tomorrow…the only thing it can do ruin today.  The only thing changes is YOU.

The next step is the next phrase of Phil. 4:6…
2. “…Talk to God About Everything…”
In other words…don’t panic, pray!  Don’t worry, worship!   Don’t stress, talk to God about everything.

·      If we prayed as much as we worry, we would probably have a whole let less to worry about.

·      Here’s what Paul is saying to the church at Phillipi, “…if it’s not worth praying about, it’s not worth worrying about…”

The next thing he tells us to do in Phil. 4:6 is point #3
3.” …Thank God in All Things…”
Not for all things…rather, in all things.  The New Living Translation of that phrase is “…when you ask God for what you need also thank Him for all He’s done…”

 Did you know when you have an attitude of gratitude and thankfulne