Traditional Choral Service Dealing With Stress

Our subject tonight is Dealing with Stress. Stress is a late 20th century problem. There is stress among young people. One in four young people now experience the stress of their parents breaking up by the time they are 16. There is stress among the middle-aged as many are declared redundant from work in their 40's and 50's. There is stress among the old as broken families find it harder to care for the elderly. And there is stress because there is no meaning and no purpose in life for so many. Dr Ronald Conway, a leading Australian psychiatrist, says this:

We have in parts of Melbourne the highest barbiturate dependence in the world, the highest suicide rate among young males between eighteen and thirty, the highest declared rate of rape in the world, and one in four women and one in ten men are suffering from depression. Australians have everything, and yet they have nothing to live for.

The UK is not very different. Perhaps there is stress for you from some other cause. Perhaps you have a fear for the future. Perhaps you are stressed not because you are redundant but because you are in an impossible rat-race. Perhaps it is illness. It could be anything. But the good news is this. To a world under stress and to people under stress there are those wondeful words of Jesus, uttered nearly 2000 years ago:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

We heard them in our New Testament bible reading tonight. They come from Matthew 11 verse 28. Tonight I simply want us to look at that verse and the surrounding verses - verses 25-30. There are three steps that Jesus says are necessary for dealing with stress. And they are my headings for tonight. First, BEING OPEN TO GOD; secondly, SEEING CHRIST AS THE WAY, and thirdly, HEEDING THE INVITATION. First, BEING OPEN TO GOD Look at verses 25-26:

At that time Jesus said, "I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. {26} Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.

That is the first lesson you have to learn not only in dealing with stress but in living life as God intended. Do you see what Jesus is saying here? He is saying two things. First, he is saying you must be open to God's revelation. Jesus is saying that fundamental truths about God, life and eternity are hidden from some people, but they are revealed to others - to little children, in fact. Jesus is saying that there needs to be "revelation". What does that mean? It means that human beings - men and women - cannot, on their own, by their own reasoning and cleverness, find out what they need to know about God. You need God himself to take the initiative and reveal himself to you. And he has. This is the clear teaching throughout the bible:

In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, {2} but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son [that is, Jesus Christ], whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe (Heb 1.1-2).

So, first you must be open to God's revelation. Secondly, Jesus says you need to be humble. God's truth, Jesus says, is hidden from "the wise and learned, and revealed ... to little children". Now you must not misunderstand this. Jesus is not saying you must be "childish". No! Rather you must be "childlike". Jesus is not saying that ignorance qualifies you or a good intellect disqualifies you. No! He is saying that what is essential is humility. The great barrier to a knowledge of God is not intelligence but pride. Pride is saying, "I know it all". Pride is saying, "I'm not going to examine the claims of Christ because years ago I met a Christian who irritated me or was a hypocrite." I meet people like that. Can you imagine anything more foolish? It's like taking your car to be serviced, and some second-rate mechanic does a botched job. You are reasonably cross. But you then unreasonably say, "I'm never going to have my car serviced again." Can I tell you something? If your car is over 3 years old, you will soon be without a car. It will not pass its MOT. And if you determine your ultimate destiny with that sort of logic, can I tell you something else? One day you will have to face a far more serious test than the MOT; and you will fail that too. You will face the judgment seat of Jesus Christ. And his verdict will be, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!" (Mat 7.23). So like a child you need to recognize that you can't run your world on your own; you need to be taught; you need help; and you haven't got all the answers. Let's move on, to the second requirement for dealing with stress. And that is ... Secondly, SEEING CHRIST AS THE WAY Look at verse 27:

"All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

That is an amazing claim from Jesus Christ. And it is unique. There was a letter from a young man. He wrote:

I have just made a great discovery, Almighty God had two sons. Jesus Christ was the first; I am the second.

But the address at the top of the letter was from a well-known psychiatric hospital. Jesus' claims are not like that. There are many sad, deluded people who claim to be all sorts of things. But they have one thing in common: no one believes them. They do not have disciples. Certainly their sayings and writings are not studied and treasured. And their known character and life does not support their claims. But it was so different with Jesus. His contemporaries said he was sinless. And in later generations even sceptics called him unique. John Stuart Mill, in the 19th century, had the honesty to describe Jesus as ...

a unique figure, not more unlike all his predecessors than all his followers.

Well, here in Matthew 11.27 Jesus is making amazing claims. You will never fully understand them this side of heaven. The divine Trinity and the union between the Father and the Son are a mystery. No one can fathom the mystery of the incarnation, of when God came into the world in human form in the person of Jesus Christ. While Jesus was fully man, he is above every other man. He is God incarnate. As he says:

no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.

And that is one reason why Jesus is the only way to God. He alone can reveal his Father. All religions don't get you there. It is not fashionable to say that in the modern world. But if that is true, that is true. No amount of denying will alter the fact that there is only one place in the world where you can climb the highest Mountain, namely Nepal. No amount of denying will alter the fact that in two Sunday's time there will be only one name on the World Cup. And no amount of denying will alter the fact that Jesus is the only way. The 39 Articles of the Church of England were written by Archbishop Cranmer at the same time as he was drafting the Book of Common Prayer that we are using tonight. Article 18 says it so clearly. It says you cannot say ...

... that every man shall be saved by the Law or Sect which he professeth ... For holy Scripture doth set out unto us only the Name of Jesus Christ, whereby men must be saved.

And Jesus is also the only way because he is the only answer to the root problem behind all the difficulties and pressures and sadnesses of life - the problem of rebellion against God. This is at the heart of the matter for our subject tonight. Men and women go their own way. The bible calls that "sinning". And the result is chaos, confusion and stress. Jesus alone can deal with sin and its consequences. First he makes sure we know about sin. Jesus predicted that after his death, resurrection and ascension, the Holy Spirit, the third person of the divine Trinity, would come, in his place. And ...

... when he comes, [said Jesus] he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: {9} in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me (John 16.8-9).

And all sin. Nor is this some invention of clergymen. It is hard reality. Nor do you have to be a football hooligan in Marseilles to be a sinner. You can be Royalty and you can be religious! Cranmer understood this so well. Remember those words we said earlier:

We have erred and strayed from thy ways like lost sheep, We have followed too much the devices and desires of our own hearts, We have offended against thy holy laws, We have left undone those things which we ought to have done, And we have done those things which we ought not to have done, And there is no health in us.

That is sin. But until you are convicted over the real nature of sin, Jesus Christ and his uniqueness will seem irrelevant. And you may indeed be tempted to think there are other ways to God. That is the insidious nature of sin. It is like a disease you have but don't know about. Until you know about it, you will not be interested in a specialist who can help you. Again, can I quote those 39 Articles. Sin, they say, is ...

the fault and corruption of the Nature of every man ... whereby man ... is of his own nature inclined to evil ... and therefore in every person born into this world, it deserveth God's wrath and damnation.

You say "that is rather strong". But if sin is like a cancer, that is working its way slowly and silently through your body, it needs strong language. The bible says sin is deceitful. It is deceitful in that people think sin is no big deal. In the 20th century we regularly legitimate sin in our public life. This past Monday the decadence and moral bankruptcy of British public life was seen in Parliament voting to lower the age for homosexual consent. Not that homosexual sin is the worst sin in the book, of course not. But it is a symptom of the problem - that the human heart is corrupt. So the bible says, Hebrews 3.13:

encourage one another daily ... so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.

We live in a world that is hardened by "sin's deceitfulness" and you and I are caught up in that. And it is serious. This is proved by the fact that Jesus Christ, God incarnate, had to die for sins on the cross. That is the second, and supreme, way Christ has dealt with sin. The one who the bible says is "sustaining all things by his powerful word" (Heb 1.3) - the co-creator of the universe - had to die on the cross for your sins and mine, in our place. God the Father hates sin, and so punishes it. But God is merciful to sinners like you and me. He loves us and has made a way out. So Peter says:

[Christ] himself bore our sins in his body on the tree ... For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God (1 Pet 2.24; 3.18).

When you understand that, you understand why Christ is the only Saviour. And you realise that the vital thing in life is not dealing with the presenting problems of pressures and stress now. Rather it is knowing how you can escape, through Christ, God's justifiable wrath and the eternal stress in hell that is the consequence. Again this is not fashionable talk. But do you remember Munich and Neville Chamberlain before the last War? He didn't want to talk about war. He was living in cloud cuckoo land. For war came in 1939. It is like that with God's wrath and the judgment at Christ's returns. Jesus said (Matthew 24.37-39):

As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. {38} For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; {39} and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.

You say, what then can we do? That brings me to my final heading. Thirdly, HEEDING THE INVITATION Jesus' words, of course, are not of doom and gloom. They are good news in the context of this bad news. So he gives that wonderful invitation in verses 28-30:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. {30} For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

And that is how you deal with stress. And the invitation is to "all". Do you think your situation is too bad for Christ to solve? Do you think that your sins are too bad to be forgiven? You're wrong! The invitation here is to "all". And what is Jesus' promise? Answer: to give you rest, and supremely, "rest for your souls". Jesus knows that the real problems are eternal and not just temporal; and with your souls and not just your bodies. So what do you do? In one sense, you do nothing. Rather you "come" to Christ. What does that mean? It is to have faith in Christ? Nor is that a dead, intellectual belief in the mere facts of Christ's life, death and resurrection. No! Listen again to Cranmer - this time on true faith:

This living faith is ... a sure trust and confidence in the mercy of God through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is a steadfast hope of all good things to be received from God's hand. It trusts that, although through weakness or temptation by our spiritual enemy we fall from him by sin, yet if we return to him with true repentance, he will forgive and forget our offences for his Son's sake, our Saviour Jesus Christ. He will even make us inheritors with him of his everlasting kingdom. In the mean time, until that kingdom comes, he will be our protector and defender in all perils and dangers, whatever may happen. Though sometimes he sends us sharp adversity, yet he will always be a loving father to us, correcting us for our sin, but not withdrawing his mercy from us. So we must trust in him and commit ourselves wholly to him, hang only upon him, and call upon him, ready to obey and serve him. This is the true, living, and unfeigned Christian faith. It is not in the mouth and outward profession only, but it lives and stirs inwardly in the heart.

So says Cranmer. I must conclude. I do so with a question? Have you got that faith Cranmer was talking about? Have you ever responded to that invitation to "come" to Christ, and to trust him as the divine Son of God, who loves you and gave himself for you? If not, why not do so tonight? You say, how do I do that? Answer: by faith. By faith, humbly like a child, you admit your need. By faith, you realise that Jesus alone can teach you about God and how his cross deals with the stress that really matters - the stress caused by ignoring God. And by faith you then say,

"Lord Jesus Christ, I come to you now; help me from this day on to be yoked with you and to learn from you. Forgive my sin, give me the power and presence of your Holy Spirit, and give me that rest for my soul that I so desperately need, both for now and for all eternity. For your name's sake. Amen.