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THE ANSWER TO AN ULCER
Psalm 37:3-8
Sunday Morning Sermon
November 28, 1999
Fair Ave Baptist Church
The title to my message this morning is “The Answer to an Ulcer.” It seems like a lot of people today have ulcers. Some of you here this morning have had problems with ulcers.
For years people thought that stress and problems caused uclers. But, now modern medicine tells us that uclers are only aggravated by stress and problems.
The question this morning is “Do you allow stress and problems to aggravate your ulcer?”
Do you want an answer to that ulcer or those ulcers?
Do you want a way to better handle the stress and problems we face every day of our lives?
If so, the answer is found in these verses.
1. TRUST IN THE LORD – V. 3
“Trust in the Lord.”
Easy to say – hard to actually do.
The word “trust” means “rely, believe, have complete confidence.”
The answer to your ulcer is to trust in the Lord,
The answer to your ulcer is to rely on the Lord,
The answer to your ulcer is to have complete confidence in the Lord.
Prov. 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Trust in the Lord –
How much? With all our heart –
Lean not unto thine own understanding –
That means trust in Him and not ourselves –
In all thy ways – How many ways?
In all thy ways acknowledge Him –
And what will He do?
He shall direct thy paths –
But it all starts with trust –
Trust in the Lord.
We must learn to depend upon God in everything.
If He said He would do it – He’ll do it.
Trust,
Trust,
Trust in the Lord.
The Answer to an Ulcer
1. Trust
2. DO GOOD – V. 3
The operative word here is “DO.”
The Bible didn’t say think good,
Or hope for good,
Or wait for good.
The Bible said “DO.”
We have turned into selfish people today. Instead of “do,” we want it “done.”
Usually people who are doing,
Doing for others,
Doing good for others,
Doing good as defined in Scripture,
Are too busy to get ulcers.
Most people with ulcers have too much time on their hands and they sit around and think and think and philosophize and before long they have made themselves sick.
Most people I know who have ulcers have too much spare time.
The Bible says “DO.”
Psa. 34:14, “Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.”
Jesus said in Luke 6:35, “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again…”
Heb. 13:16, “But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.”
Do good –
Do good for someone else –
Get your mind off yourself.
The Answer to an Ulcer
1. Trust
2. Do
3. DELIGHT THYSELF ALSO IN THE
LORD – V. 4
Delight means “great deal of pleasure.”
Do we delight,
Do we get a great deal of pleasure in the Lord?
Do we delight in the Lord,
Do we truly love the Lord,
Do we love His Word,
Do we love His House of worship?
Did you read your Bible this morning before you came to church?
Did you read your Bible last night?
Have you read your Bible within the last 24 hours?
Were you here Tuesday night for our Thanksgiving Banquet?
Did you witness for the Lord sometime this past week?
Then you do not delight in the Lord.
If you didn’t read His Word,
If you did attend His Church,
If you did tell about His Son,
Then you are not delighting in the Lord.
And if you don’t have an ulcer, you will soon.
WHY?
You are not trusting,
You are not doing,
You are not delighting,
Therefore, no peace,
No joy,
No lasting happiness.
Bring on the Tums and rolaids.
The Answer to an Ulcer
1. Trust
2. Do
3. Delight
4. COMMIT THY WAY UNTO THE
LORD – V. 5
Commit thy way unto the Lord …
Prov. 16:3, “Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be established.”
Most Christians today do not commit their ways or their works to the Lord.
The word “commit” means “to give in trust, put into the hands or power of another.”
We must commit our lives,
We must commit our living,
We must commit our way of life,
We must commit our works to the Lord.
Listen to the truth of Prov. 16:3, “…and thy thoughts shall be established.”
If our thoughts are properly established,
The stress will be reduced,
The problems won’t be as large,
Because our trust is the Lord,
We are doing good,
We are delighting in the Lord’s work,
We are delighting in the Lord,
Our ways are committed to the Lord,
Our works are committed to theLord,
And, WALLA! The answer to an ulcer.
Put your life in God’s hands,
Trust completely in God,
Put your family in God’s hands,
Commit your ways to the Lord,
Commit your works to the Lord.
Have you given your life to the Lord?
Have you given your family to the Lord?
Your children?
Your job?
Your money?
Have you given everything to Him?
The Answer to an Ulcer
1. Trust
2. Do
3. Delight
4. Commit
5. REST IN THE LORD – V. 7
Rest means “be silent and listen.”
I think we would all agree that we are too busy and that we need to slow down.
Psa. 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God…”
Zig Ziglar, the popular motivational speaker, and a born again Christian recommends at all his seminars that every day you find a quiet place and let your mind slow down.
Slow down…
Slow down…
The Answer to an Ulcer
1. Trust
2. Do
3. Delight
4. Commit
5. Rest
6. WAIT PATIENTLY FOR HIM – V. 7
We are far too impatient.
We are guilty of not waiting on the Lord.
We make too many decisions based on emotion because we are impatient with God.
We better watch out for emotions.
Instead of making foolish decisions based on emotion, WAIT FOR HIM,
Wait patiently for Him.
Too many Sunday School teachers,
Too many Bus workers,
Too many choir members,
Too many church members,
Too many committee members,
Too many people in general,
Have quit in the heat of passion,
When emotions were high,
And instead of waiting for an answer from the Lord,
They make foolish decisions.
Remember,
We are to trust in Him,
Commit unto Him,
Rest in Him,
And wait for Him.
Psa. 40:1, “I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.”
Two simple things to remember:
No hasty decisions,
No emotional decisions,
But rather,
Wait patiently for Him.
The Answer for an Ulcer
1. Trust
2. Do
3. Delight
4. Commit
5. Rest
6. Wait
7. CEASE FROM ANGER – V. 8
This is a hard one – but very clear.
Anger,
Temper,
Wrath,
Whatever you want to call it,
Is harmful to your body,
Physically,
Spiritually,
Emotionally.
Eph. 4:26, “…let not the sun go down upon your wrath.”
Until you learn to control your anger,
Whether it be at your husband or wife,
Or whether it be at your boss,
Or whether it be people you work with,
You will never have an answer for your ulcer.
Eph. 4:32, “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Col. 3:13, “Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
“Cease from anger”
“Forgiving one another”
“Forbearing one another”
“Forgiving one another”
And you’ve found one of the most important ingredients for answering your ulcer.
Trust
Do
Delight
Commit
Rest
Wait
Cease
The Answer for an Ulcer!
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