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“The Cure for Care!”

November 12, 2006

Pastor Steve N. Wagers

Gardenview Baptist Church

Jacksonville, FL

“The Cure for Care!”

1 Peter 5: 7

Pastor Steve N. Wagers

November 12. 2006

Sermon Outline

1. We Must Send our Worry to God!

A) Conclusively

B) Completely

C) Consistently

2. We Must Strengthen our Walk with God!

A) Be Serious about the Devil

B) Be Sensitive to the Devil

C) Be Steadfast against the Devil

3. We Must Sanctify our Worship of God!

A) The Grief we must Endure

B) The Grace we now Enjoy

C) The Glory we will Enthrone

On Good Friday, 2002, a movie was released that hit the country by storm. It came to be known as one of the most suspenseful thrillers of all time. It depicted Jodie Foster as a 30-year old mother who was looking for an apartment in NYC. Foster’s character finds a Brownstone apartment on the upper Westside of NYC. She buys it and finds that it has all the amenities of the most expensive apartments in NYC. However, this apartment had one thing that none of the other Brownstones had. It had a strategic and specific room known as “The Panic Room.”

The Panic Room was a room that was totally self-contained. It is steel and concrete reinforced with a massive steel door triggered by a laser eye. It had its own heating and air system, its own electrical system, and its own telephone system. It is fully wired so that every room of the apartment can be seen at different times from a wall of monitors. This room was so designed so that if one was ever afraid they could run into the Panic Room and feel safe.

The truth of the matter is that we live in a day where many people are looking for their own personal Panic Room. They are unsure. They are uncertain. They are unsettled. After 9/11, the daily reality of terror/war, and the constant threat of a nuclear attack, people are in search of a place into which they can hide and feel safe.

In his book, Nothing to Fear, Fraser Kent lists the most common phobias.

Peladophobia: fear of baldness

Aerophobia: fear of drafts.

Porphyrophobia: fear of the color purple. Chaetophobia: fear of hairy people.

Levophobia: fear of objects on the left side of the body.

Dextrophobia: fear of objects on the right side of the body.

Auroraphobia: fear of the northern lights. Calyprophobia: fear of obscure meanings. Thalassophobia: fear of being seated.

Odontophobia: fear of teeth.

Graphophobia: fear of writing in public.

Phobophobia: fear of being afraid. 

One summer night during a severe thunderstorm a mother was tucking her small son into bed. She was about to turn the light off when he asked in a trembling voice, "Mommy, will you stay with me all night?" Smiling, the mother gave him a warm, reassuring hug and said tenderly, "I can't dear. I have to sleep in Daddy's room." A long silence followed. At last it was broken by a shaky voice saying, "The big sissy!"

What are we supposed to do with our cares? In 1 Peter 5 we are given a spiritual Panic Room. In these familiar verses, Peter writes out a prescription for problems and a cure for care.

1. We Must SEND our WORRY to God!

1 Peter 5: 7 proves that Christians do have cares. Contrary to a lot of modern theology, the Christian life is not “all honey, no bees; all flowers, no trees.” The Christian life is not all peaks, no valleys; or, all sunshine, no rain.

The word “care” speaks of “burdens, or worries.” The word “worry” comes from an old German word that literally means, “to choke.” Worry in the life of believer is a noose that strangles and chokes our faith and becomes a distressing burden.

Someone has said, “Worry is a lot like a rocking chair. It won’t get you anywhere, but it sure will keep you busy.” Peter says that we must learn to send our worries to God. We can bring our burdens and cares to the Lord:

A) CONCLUSIVELY!

The word “cast,” in one sense, meant “to throw something on something else.” It was the same word used in Luke 19: 35 when they brought the colt to Jesus and “threw their own garments” on it.

The word describes what we are to do with our worries and cares. We are to throw them, and cast them on the strong back of the Lord Jesus.

The word “cast” was also used in that day to mean, “To make a deposit.” When we go to a bank, we deposit our money. We don’t leave the bank, if it’s a good bank, worrying about what is going to happen to our money, because it’s their job to take care of our money. We get a receipt and leave our money at the bank.

In the same way, when we go the throne of grace with a burden, we get a receipt stamped with the blood of Jesus but we leave our burden with the Lord. George McDonald said, “No man ever sank under the burden of the day. It is when tomorrow’s burden is added to the burden of today, that the weight is more than a man can bear.”

If you want a cure for your care, then bring it to Jesus. He is more than able to handle the Lord. Cast your care upon Him conclusively, and cast your care upon Him:

B) COMPLETELY!

We’re instructed to cast “ALL your care upon Him.” In other words, we’re to give God every part of every single care. Someone has well said, “If it’s too small to be made into a prayer, then it’s too small to be made into a care.”

When we come to God, we don’t have to simply come with the big burdens, but we can give Him the little burdens as well. As Psalm 55: 22 says, “Cast thy burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain thee: He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.”

I heard about the old man who had never flown in an airplane in his life and some of his grandkids finally persuaded him to fly just to see what it was like. He finally agreed, and flew around his home, the countryside, and was up in the air for about 20 minutes. He landed, got out of the plane, and his grandkids asked him, “Papaw, how did you like the ride?” He said, “The ride was fine, I just never put my full weight down.”

Thank God, when we come to Jesus we can put our full weight down. We can shed our burdens and allow Him to shoulder our burdens and share our burdens. We can send our worries to God conclusively, completely and:

C) CONSISTENTLY!

What gives us the right to send our worries to God? What gives us the privilege to come into God’s throne room with all of our baggage? Peter says that we can cast “all of your care upon him” because “HE CARETH FOR YOU!”

The word “careth” is a used in the present tense, which denotes a continuous, consistent action. We can send our worries to God today, and every day. We can cast our cares on Him conclusively, completely and consistently.

One of the biggest lies of the devil is to try to convince us that “Nobody cares.” But, friend, God cares! From the moment of your birth to the moment of your death, and every moment in between, God cares for you.

Cast your care upon the Lord

The care that loads your heart;

Take Him this moment at His Word,

And let Him do His part.

The need is deep, the care is great;

The burden hard to bear

Roll it on Him with all its weight

And leave it resting there.

This heavy thing, it is His gift

His portion you to bless;

Give it to Him, what He shall lift

No more on you shall press.

Cast all your care, not a part

The great things and the small.

The Lord’s all-loving, mighty heart

Has room and thought for all.

Yes, He will ponder every care

Consider each detail;

Yourself, your burden let Him bear

He will not, He cannot fail!

Secondly, involved in this cure for care is not only the advice to send our worries to God, but:

2. We Must STRENGTHEN our WALK with God!

Just in case you’re not aware, if you are a Christian, you have an enemy and you have an enemy. You are under attack, your home is under attack, your family is under attack, and your life is under attack. You have an enemy that never rests, and never sleeps.

Furthermore, he knows your strengths, as well as, your weaknesses. He is always looking for an opportunity to exploit your weaknesses, and use your strengths as a weapon to bring you down.

Winston Churchill, in an address to the British House of Commons said, “We must always be ready to meet, at our average moment, anything that any possible enemy could hurl against us at his selected moment.”

That is great spiritual advice as well. In fact, in verse 8, Peter unmasks and unveils our enemy, the devil, by telling us that if we are withstand the battle, and then we must learn to strengthen our walk with God.

He wants us to sit up and pay attention by telling us to:

A) Be SERIOUS about the Devil!

We’re admonished to “be sober, be vigilant.” The word “sober” has nothing to do with refraining from alcoholic. The word literally means, “To be serious.” Peter is telling us to take the devil seriously.

I remind you that our enemy, the devil, is much more than a little, old man sitting on a can of potted meat with a pitchfork, two horns and a long tail. He is real and he is powerful. He is powerfully real, and really powerful.

Peter refers to him as our “adversary.” The word is a legal term referring to a legal opponent in a lawsuit. The same word is found in Revelation 12:10, where he is referred to as “the accuser of the brethren.”

The devil constantly stands in the courtroom of Heaven. He is hell’s D.A. who is always bringing a case against us, trying to condemn us of our sin. He is always trying to dig up dirt on us by rattling the skeletons in our closet. He will bring up past sins trying to rob us of the joy of our salvation.

Billy Sunday was right, “I believe in the devil for 2 reasons; the Bible talks about him, and I’ve done business with him.” He is a real enemy and we need to be serious about him.

Secondly, we need to:

B) Be SENSITIVE to the Devil!

We are to “be sober” and “vigilant.” The word “vigilant” means, “To be awake, or alert.” In other words, we need to leave on our spiritual radar 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are never to let our guard down, but we must be serious about the devil and sensitive to the devil.

Why? He is “as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.” I have always found it interesting that Peter refers to the devil by the use of the analogy of a lion.

I believe one reason is because lions are forceful. A lion in 14 to 21 times stronger than the average man. You can rest assured that if a real Tarzan fought a real lion, you better put your money on the lion.

Thus, just as man is no match for a lion, so you or I are no match for the devil in our own strength. Human strength cannot defeat him, only Heavenly strength. He cannot be defeated by the natural, only in the supernatural.

However, lions are not only forceful, lions are fearful. He is described as “a roaring lion.” It is a documented fact that most lions roar just before dawn, between 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning. Most people are asleep between 3 and 6 o’clock in the morning. Whenever someone is asleep they are at their most vulnerable point.

Spiritually speaking, the devil roars and seeks to attack when we are the most vulnerable. When we have ceased to be aware, and alert, watch out, the devil will begin to roar.

Lions also roar to create fear. When lions roar they paralyze their prey, thereby giving them much more of an advantage when the attack.

Satan’s best and favorite tool is fear. Fear does not come from God, because “God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.” That is why God uses the phrase “fear not” 365 times in His Word. There is 1 for every single day of the year to help us to be serious about the devil, sensitive to the devil, and:

C) Be STEADFAST against the Devil!

Notice verse 9. “Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” We are not guarantee a life free from attack, but we are guaranteed a life free of annihilation.

How do we defeat the devil? James says, “Draw nigh to God and he will draw nigh to you. Submit yourselves therefore to God, resist the devil and he will flee from you.” Peter says, “Resist steadfast in the faith.”

In other words, we do not defeat the devil with fight, only with faith. We cannot defeat the devil with a battle, but we do defeat the devil with belief in the One who has already defeated the devil.

I heard about a lion who walking through the jungle, roaring and snorting. He came up to a rabbit and let out a loud roar and said, “Little rabbit, who is the king of the jungle?” The rabbit trembling with fear said, “Oh mighty lion, you are the king of the jungle.” He came up to a monkey, let out a roar and asked, “Little monkey, who is the king of the jungle?” The monkey replied, “Oh mighty lion, you are the king of the jungle.”

Finally, the lion came up on an elephant. He let out a mighty roar and asked, “Dumbo, who is the king of the jungle?” The elephant just wrapped his big trunk around the lion, picked him up like a sack of potatoes, tossed him up against a tree like a bag of garbage. As the lion slid down the tree he looked to the elephant and said, “Just because you don’t know the answer, doesn’t mean you have to get sore about it.”

Ladies and gentlemen, we are not living in a world where a good lion and a bad lion are engaged in an eternal with an uncertain outcome. The devil is known as “a roaring lion;” but, there is another lion, and He is the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The satanic lion may be the king of the jungle, but the Sovereign Lion is the King of the Universe. Thus, as we war against “principalities and powers” be sure to strengthen your walk with God.

Finally, in order to find a cure for care we must send our worry to God, we must strengthen our walk with God, and:

3. We Must SANCTIFY our WORSHIP of God!

Peter closes this division with a doxology of praise. He reminds us that though we are in a fight, the fight should only strengthen our faith in the One who has already won the victory. He describes:

A) The GRIEF we must ENDURE!

In verse 10, Peter speaks of the sufferings of the saints. We are reminded that we are not exempt from suffering, sorrow or sadness. There are times in life when we must simply endure times of grief.

However he describes our suffering in 2 ways. First, he tells us that God measures our suffering. We’re told that we will “suffer a while.” In other words, times of suffering do not come to stay, they come to go. It doesn’t matter what we are going through, all that matters is that we’re going through. God is the One who measures our suffering, which is only for a little while.

God not only measures our suffering, but He manages our suffering. You see our times of suffering are not without a purpose. Peter says that God allows us to suffer to “make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

In other words, God measures and manages our suffering for the purpose of perfecting us, maturing us and completing us. He uses suffering to ‘strengthen” our faith and to “settle” our fears.

Someone has well said, “God only had one Son who did not sin, but He has never had any sons who did not suffer.” It is also been said that the “5 greatest words in the Bible are ‘And it came to pass.’” Again, God measures our suffering and manages our suffering to help us to endure times of grief.

B) The GRACE we now ENJOY!

This is one of the most blessed verses in the Bible. Get the picture. Peter has just warned us of our adversary, the devil. He has just given us a reality check to remind us that we are to going to have to fight Satan, as well as face suffering.

Yet, right on the heels of that word of caution comes a word of comfort in verse 10; “But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.”

You may think that God has fallen asleep at the wheel of your life. You may think that through those difficult days and dark nights that God doesn’t care. You may think that there is no way out, and no way through.

But, thanks be to God, “the God of all grace” is still on the throne, He’s still in control, and He’s still calling the shots. He is the God of saving grace. He is the God of securing grace. He is the God of strengthening grace. He is the God of surviving grace. And He is the God of sufficient grace.

In spite of the grief we must endure we will always find His grace to enjoy. Finally, we catch a glimpse of:

C) The GLORY we will ENTHRONE!

In verse 10, we are the subjects of glory. He “hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus.” In verse 11, we are the singers of glory, “To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”

In the Greek New Testament the emphasis is always placed on the ending rather than the beginning. In other words, you could read verse 11 this way, “To Him, Amen; be glory, Amen; and dominion, Amen; for ever, Amen; and ever, Amen!’

The grief of this life is only preparation for the glory in the next life. Paul caught a glimpse of the glory in Romans 8: 18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present world are not worthy to be compared with the glory shall be revealed in us.”

One day, we’ll not just be spectators of His glory; but, we will be SHARERS in His glory. We will be on center stage with King Jesus, and there will be no more grief, no more graves and no more groaning. There will be no more sin, no more sickness, no more suffering, no more sorrow, and no more struggles. What a day, glorious day that will be!

Charles Albert Tindley was indeed an imposing figure. He stood 6'2", 230 lbs. Although he was rugged, he was also honest, humble and compassionate. A contemporary testified that his towering physique, commanding voice, matchless eloquence, cogent reasoning, inimitable style, and unbounded faith all combined to render him "the most popular preacher of his time."

It was a far cry from the early days when he was born in slavery in Berlin, Md., and grew up in illiterate poverty. His mother died when he was about 5 and he was separated from his father, to face a new and strange world. His poignant, pathetic efforts for an education are almost unbelievable. Walking along the road, the ragged, barefoot boy would find bits of newspapers which he put into his bosom, because slaves had no pockets or possessions. Then, at night, before the fireplace, he would struggle to learn what each character meant. At that rate, he was 17 before he could spell the word "cat."

In his earliest years, he never had a Bible, and church was generally closed to him. But, a white boy, about his age, became friendly and helped in his efforts to learn. Charles had come to know the Lord. After Emancipation, he was able to reach Philadelphia and obtain work as a hod carrier. He continued to study at night and he became sexton of the Bainbridge M. E. Mission.

In 1880, he married Anna Daisy Henry. Eventually they would have 12 children. With every dollar he could spare he bought a book to help prepare for the ministry, to which he had felt long called. In 1885, he was admitted on probationary ministerial status to the Delaware Conference, M. E. Church. By correspondence, he studied diligently, even learning Greek and Hebrew. His first appointment was at Cape May, N. J. There, the new pastor, living in a humble cottage, was to experience a fiery trial.

One snowy morning, parents and 2 small children found themselves with "no food except a stale piece of bread," which they were going to soak in water and give to the youngsters. Even worse, their daughter, Elanora, had died the night before, and there was NO money for a funeral. At just the right moment, a team of horses pulled up outside his house, and a benefactor came to the door bearing a large sack of provisions. He also had a load of wood for a fire, and when he found out about the dead girl, he promised that she would have a decent burial. The Tindley's rejoiced greatly and tearfully at the providential providing hand of God. That incident inspired him to write the words:

If the world from you withhold,

Of its silver and it's gold.

And you're asked to live upon a meager fare.

Just remember in His Word,

How He feeds the little bird;

Take your burden to the Lord,

And leave it there.

Leave it there, Leave it there.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

If you trust and never doubt,

He will surely bring you out.

Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there.

Look at your fears and send your worry to God. Look at your foe and strengthen your walk with God. Look at your future and sanctify your worship of God. He’s the God of all grace, so take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. That, my friend, is the tried and proven cure for care.

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