Overwhelmed – Sermon Notes

Opening with Scripture of Jesus entering Jerusalem: 

Luke 19: 29-38 ESV

²⁹ When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples, ³⁰ saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. ³¹ If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’” ³²So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them. ³³ And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” ³⁴ And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” ³⁵ And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. ³⁶ And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. ³⁷ As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, ³⁸ saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 

Today is Palm Sunday, when many churches remember the triumphal entry of our Lord into Jerusalem before the events that led to His betrayal, death, and resurrection. In His triumphal entry, we are told that Jesus came into Jerusalem riding on a donkey. This fulfilled Zechariah’s prophecy 500 years earlier that the Messianic king of Israel would enter the city not on a horse as a mighty conqueror, but on a lowly donkey, as a gentle bringer of salvation.

The route Jesus took into Jerusalem began at the Mount of Olives, which is east of Jerusalem. Entering the city, Jesus and His disciples would have entered through a massive gateway in the high gray stone wall that surrounded the city for its protection. As Jesus and His disciples walked through the gate leading to the Lower City, they would have encounter small shops and markets. Their vendors would be craftsmen, like tailors, carpenters, and weavers. The bazaars would be farther down the narrow street, where you would meet local bakers, farmers, and other merchants selling fruit, bread, dried fish, sacrificial animals and birds, clothes, perfumes, and jewelry.  The average population of Jerusalem at the time of Jesus was around 25,000, but during the Passover, that number would swell to around 125,000.  

Thus we can imagine the scene on that Palm Sunday as Jesus approached the city of Jerusalem on His Donkey. What a rousing, mighty royal welcome He was given by a whole multitude of people, with loud praising and vigorous waving of palm branches! Now, such public acclaim, honor, and recognition is rarely given so spontaneously without any planning. It would easily have been the desire of any human king or leader. In today’s terms, it would indicate that public opinion was entirely in his favor and that he has the top ratings in all popularity polls. And any man receiving such treatment might feel lifted up with a great sense of exhilaration, joy, and pride. But not Jesus.

What Luke documents next is something that should stick with all of us this Sunday…

There are two times Jesus is said to have wept, once at Lazarus’s tomb, and the second… on the back of this donkey, as He entered Jerusalem.  

Luke 19: 41-44

⁴¹ And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴ and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Jesus was expressing His sorrow for Jerusalem because it had rejected Him and therefore missed its opportunity for peace. Jerusalem was so overwhelmed with its day-to-day busy, stressful life that it didn’t even notice the lamb being led to the slaughter for their ever-eternal soul. 

Just as He wept for the people of Jerusalem, Jesus desires for us to be blessed with the peace that passes all understanding, the peace that is ours through being His people. Jesus said,

John 14:27 NLT

²⁷ “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

And because He desires this peace for us so much, we can be assured that He weeps with us when we are troubled and deprived of peace. 

Jesus offers …a free gift of peace… and yet as I look at our world today, I would not define it as filled with peace… I find the world corrupt, filled with hate, lust and greed.  

And God’s people seem so OVERWHELMED.   

That word:  OVERWHELMED. Has been on my heart for months.  The more I think about it, the more I realize how deep rooted the feelings of stress, worry and hopelessness are intertwined in our lives… 

Our tendency in life is to get as many things accomplished in the littlest time as possible. We work from sun up to sun down, adding the hobbies, social lives and families we support. We have anxiety over finances, job security, marriage, personal relationships, parenting, even something as precious as planning your wedding can become such an OVERWHELMING moment in your life that you forget the purpose of the wedding (joining two-people-as-one through the sanctity and blessing of our Lord Jesus Christ) and instead concentrating on the negative, stressful aspects of seating Aunt Edna next to Cousin Earl because they don’t like each other and will the caterer serve fish or chicken, or both, or should we do a taco bar instead, how will be pay for all of this and how will be able to recover financially, do we pay the preacher or do we just let him first in line at the taco bar… The.  Stress.  Is.  Overwhelming.  ugggggggggghhhhhhhh!!!!!!

The overwhelming stress of life can lead to: 

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Difficulty concentrating
• Fatigue
• Headache
• Heart palpitations
• Mood swings
• Muscle tension and pain
• Stomach problems/ IBS

At the end of the day, we’re spent, we’re tired… we’re Overwhelmed and we just want to give up….

Much like this lady: <PLAY VIDEO “Just run me over world”>

Being overwhelmed isn’t necessarily sinful, but the fruit that comes from being overwhelmed can be downright demonic…

I BELIEVE THE GREATEST LIE THE DEVIL PRESENTS TO US CHRISTIANS IN OUR TIME HAS BEEN CREATING A FAMILY ATMOSPHERE, A JOB ENVIRONMENT, AND AN EMOTIONAL-PEACELESS INNER SELF THAT IS SO OVERWHELMED WITH STRESS, ANXIETY, AND WORRY; THAT WE MISS THE TRIUMPHANT ENTRANCE OF JESUS CHRIST IN OUR LIVES

Being OVERWHELMED comes in many forms; LET’S DISCUSS A FEW… and let’s see if you can find the demonic in these stressful situations. 

According to the American Psychological Association (APA), money is the top cause of stress in the United States. In a 2015 survey, the APA reported that 72% of Americans stressed about money every month. 

With 77% of participants feeling considerable anxiety about finances. 

Signs of financial stress are… 

• Arguing with loved ones about money
• Being afraid to open mail or come to the door when someone knocks
• Feeling guilty about spending money on non-essentials
• Worrying and feeling anxious about bills, to the point that you no longer answer the phone if you do not recognize the number…
• Spending money that you don’t have to purchase things that you don’t need in order to make yourself feel better, but it only leads to more stress because now, you have even LESS money? 

Being OVERWHELMED in your finances can cause high blood pressure, headaches, upset stomach, chest pain, insomnia, and general sickness. Financial stress has also been linked to a number of health problems, including depression, anxiety, skin problems, diabetes, and arthritis.

It is no wonder why the US pharmaceutical industry earned $550 billion in annual revenue last year

Finances aren’t the only means of stress and anxiety in our lives…   

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Americans now spend 8% more time at work compared to 20 years ago, and about 13% of people work a second job. 

At least 40% report their jobs are stressful, and 26% report feeling burned out by their work.

The Mayo Clinic defines Job Burnout as a state of physical or emotional exhaustion that also involves a sense of reduced accomplishment and loss of personal identity.

Symptoms of Job Burnout include:

• Become cynical or critical at work (you know that person…(pause) and if you don’t know that person… that because “you are that person” 
• Having to drag yourself to work and having trouble getting started
• Becoming irritable or impatient with co-workers, customers or clients
• Lacking the energy to be consistently productive
• Finding it hard to concentrate
• Lacking satisfaction from your achievements
• Feeling disillusioned about your job
• Abusing food, drugs, or alcohol to feel better …or to not feel at all
• Your sleep habits change or you have trouble falling asleep because work is constantly on your mind
• You are troubled by unexplained headaches, stomach or bowel problems, or other physical ailments

Men are some of the worst when it comes to work-stress.

THE OVERWHELMED MAN PRIORITIZES WORK OVER FAMILY AND JUSTIFIES IT AS HIS CONTRIBUTION TO THE FAMILY DYNAMIC.

And speaking of the family… if there was a place where you cannot escape the feeling of being OVERWHELMED… it’s at home.

Family Stress has a straightforward definition… Family stress is an imbalance between the demands facing a family and the ability of that family to handle the demands. In other words, family stress results if more stressful events happen to a family than the family can handle.

Family Stress can occur due to the results of

• Trying to balance work life and parenting
• Caring for a new baby while trying to maintain previous responsibilities
• Relationship conflict between husband and wife, or between parents and children
• The emotional stress of an Ex-Boyfriend that your daughter dated.  Or that  crazy ex-girlfriend that stalks your son after the breakup.
• Worrying about your child’s safety in public settings
• Death or illness of a loved one
• Baggage carried into the family from past hurts that project into present parenting decisions 
• Visiting or hosting your in-laws…. Uh… 
• The time and scheduling burden of driving children to school, band practice, and taking them to soccer practice “but oh crud you have to turn around because you forget the cleats and now you’re super late and then 5 minutes away from the practice field your child tells you that you’re supposed to bring the snack today at practice, and Jenny’s mom brought the equivalent of a Charcuterie (shaar ·koo ·ta ·ree) Board for snack last week and by God you aren’t going to let that little “I’ve had three kids and still look good in yoga pants” wearing soccer mom outdo you, so slide into a parking spot at the practice field like you were stealing second base in the world series, throw your kid and their cleats out the door and now you’re searching Grub Hub for a local Mexican food restaurant that will cater a taco bar to a group of 7-year-olds to feel good about upstaging Jenny’s yoga pants wearing soccer mom!  …I hope she eats a taco and gains 20lbs

Speaking of Grub Hub… WE’VE BECOME SO OVERWHELMED IN LIFE THAT WE NOW HAVE AN APP THAT DELIVERS FAST FOOD TO US BECAUSE WE’RE NOT ONLY TOO TIRED TO COOK, WE’RE TOO TIRED TO DRIVE THRU! 

Being overwhelmed can also mean the amount of negativity we consume. We need to know what happens in our world, but our world should be the people closest to us—not spending countless hours consuming Fox News, CNN, Newmax, the Daily Wire and Joe Rogan.  We know more about politics happening in the WH than we do about the kind of friends our children are keeping. 

Being overwhelmed has led to a breakdown in the family. More children are getting attention and advice from friends than their fathers (if the father is even relevant in the home). More children listen to advice from people LIVING THEIR LIFE FOR THE WORLD, than they do from their fathers because the father is too busy at work, school, play, or uninvolved in some other capacity.  No wonder children can’t figure out if there are male or female because no father has taught his sons to be men and HAS NOT taught his daughters what it is to be respected by a man. 

Speaking of children…

The CDC recently released its report on adolescent mental health: “Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Data Summary and Trends Report: 2011 – 2021”

It’s a once–in–a–decade mental health evaluation for adolescents (Ages 10 – 19): The study concluded the following: “Adolescents have seen a massive increase in addiction, a massive increase in trauma, a massive increase in suicidal ideation (thoughts and attempts at suicide) The study showed that Young women cratered psychologically, mentally, and emotionally, And Young men are four times more likely to commit suicide than young women. 

Adolescent students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, questioning, trans or another non-heterosexual identity, compared to their heterosexual peers, are far more likely to have had multiple sexual partners, an average of 4 more, from the age of 10-19. They are more likely to have used illicit drugs, misused prescription opioids, alcohol, marijuana, and electronic vapes. They are also 70% more likely to experience persistent feelings of sadness or helplessness, 50% have poor mental health and almost 25% attempted… not thought of but, attempted suicide.” 

I mean, in your teens, you should be full of energy running into your future. Instead, you are discouraged and struggling to survive. Ten years ago, High School girls, on average, missed one week of school per school year. The reasons behind these absences were sickness, pregnancy, or the loss of a loved one. High school girls now are taking, on average, 14 days a school year off, for mental health because they can’t even get up and go to school because they are so depressed.

MAYBE… JUST MAYBE.  THIS OVERWHELMING SOCIETY WE LIVE IN… IS UNDER SPIRITUAL ATTACK? 

You would think in the day in which we live, where the government is shutting down churches, dictating what kinds of words we can and cannot say, spending trillions of dollars towards left-wing ideologies, our borders are open to fentanyl, sex trafficking, and terrorism, and taking kids to drag queen shows in the norm.  Where people are the richest they have ever been, you are being reimbursed for your bachelor’s degree in Mediterranean basket weaving And gender studies.  And why go look for a job when the government will pay you instead to stay home?  Why find an honest job while you can stay home and make $3000 daily from your Only Fans page, being a digital prostitute? 

You would think in the day in which we live, where if you have gender dysphoria or some sexual kink, there’s a whole month to celebrate you.  You’re treated like kings and queens of the universe, and you get to walk around to do whatever, say whatever, and act however you want. You are literally the sacred cows of India; you are untouchable. 

You are no longer the marginalized; you have everything, everything is about you and everyone is for you.  People are not allowed to criticize, disprove, or misgender you, EVEN if you shoot up a small Christian school, killing 3 adults and 3 children.   

AND YET, DESPITE ALL THIS.  DESPITE ALL OF THE OVERWHELMING SUPPORT RECEIVED FROM THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA, HOLLYWOOD AND THIS WOKE CULTURE…

EVEN WITH EVERYTHING GIVEN TO THEM, PEOPLE ARE SELF-DESTRUCTING. 

NEVER HAVE WE HAD MORE COLLECTIVE AFFIRMATION AS A CULTURE AND LESS CONTENTMENT AT THE EXACT SAME TIME.

OUR LIVES, OUR FAMILIES, OUR SCHOOLS, OUR COMMUNITIES AND OUR NATION HAS BECOME OVERWHELMED

IF WE CONTINUE DOWN THIS PATH, THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WILL BECOME THE MODERN DAY SODOM AND GOMORRAH

It’s like, well, maybe something spiritually IS going on here.

IT IS NO WONDER WHY JESUS WEPT… 

HE WITNESSES OUR STRUGGLES, OUR PAINS, OUR WORRIES, AND OUR ANXIETIES.  

But pastor Collin… You’ve like literally just talked about my everyday life.  I’m soooo Overwhelmed that I don’t know what to do, where to start. 

One moment you think you’re doing so good, the next, your lost, stressed and can’t seem to hear or see Jesus in any aspect of your life.  

Let me give you an example of how we’re gotten here…

In 2018, a 19 year old “lamp lighter” was discovered in the middle of the ocean inside a small rectangular raft that was not intended for open ocean waters.  His job as a lamp lighter was to keep small fishing basket lamps lit near his village so the fishermen could check the baskets at night.  The teen had fallen asleep in the middle of the night, and during this time winds and ocean currents took him an estimated 100 miles off shore.  He awoke, not to see the shoreline of his homeland, but surrounded by water on all sides, with no propulsion (pruh · puhl · shn) and no direction in which to paddle.  After 2 months adrift, the teen was discovered 1676 miles off away from his fishing village in Indonesia.  

When he spoke about the ordeal, he talked about how he never felt the raft drift away, it felt just like any other time he had been checking the lamps at night…

See, here in lies the trick of the Enemy…  

YOU HAVEN’T WALKED AWAY… BUT YOU HAVE UNKNOWLING DRIFTED  

So how do we stop from drifting?  You set an anchor. 

Jesus say about stress and anxiety.  

Matthew 6:33 King James Version

³³ But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; 

Seek first:  It’s a declaration for action.  You cannot passively “seek”

Do you remember when we were kids and used to go outside and play, Hide and seek (example)

What are we actively seeking?  The kingdom of God:  

Kingdom of God:  Kingdom of God, also called Kingdom Of Heaven, in Christianity, the spiritual realm over which God reigns as king, or the fulfillment on Earth of God’s will. The phrase occurs frequently in the New Testament, primarily used by Jesus Christ in the first three Gospels.

The Aramaic term for “kingdom” is malkut, the word Jesus uses here does NOT refer primarily to a geographical area or realm nor to the people inhabiting the realm but, rather, to the activity of the king himself, his exercise of sovereign power. The idea might better be conveyed in English by an expression such as kingship, rule, or sovereignty.

ACTIVLY SEEK GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

So, what is God’s sovereignty?

GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IS HIS RIGHT AND POWER TO RULE OVER EVERYTHING THAT EXISTS. GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY IS EXPRESSED THROUGH HIS NAME, HIS AUTHORITY, HIS CONTROL, AND HIS PRESENCE.

In other words… THE ENEMY HAS NO POWER IN THE NAME OF JESUS.

QUIT GIVING POWER TO SATAN

QUIT WORRYING ABOUT WHAT WILL COME, BECAUSE 

(OK, JUST LET THE HS LOOSE ON THIS ONE… HAVE FUN, ME)

Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (The righteousness of God speaks to God’s character, specifically in regard to the coherence between his revealed will and his actions on behalf of his people. Also: Justice)

What is the “character of God” 

Fruits of the Holy Spirit (GOD)

Galatians 5:22-23 – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;

When we become Overwhelmed we are no longer seeking love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and we have no self-control. 

(OK, JUST LET THE HS LOOSE ON THIS ONE TOO. LOL … HAVE FUN, ME)

ENDING

WE’RE JUST GONNA LET GOD DO THIS. 

REMEMBER, IT’S PSALM SUNDAY, SO DO GO BACK TO JESUS ENTERING JERUSALEM