Casting your cares and fleeing from the devil
1 Peter 5:1-8
Good morning everyone, Welcome.
1Peter Chapter 5:1-8. Peter speaking to a crowd of believers
1 Peter 5:1-4 Read from the bible- clearly and slowly.
Peter has some history with the church and with Jesus.
Peter is one who most look up too and yet we are reminded that he has had some issues with doing what he was suppose too.
We cannot ignore that Peter has failed a few times in his walk with God and needed the grace of God to rest on his life.
Anyone else need to be reminded of God’s grace?
One article I read stated that Peter failed at least 13 times between what he was told to do by Jesus and what he did.
I am glad that Jesus loves and forgives imperfect people.
I am glad that He gives second and third chances.
Here is a list of some of Peter’s failures
Peter & the other disciples try to keep the children away from Jesus. Jesus instructs them by using a little child. Mark 10:13
Peter fails to “continue” to walk on water. Jesus catches Peter when he was sinking and instructs him to keep his eyes on Jesus not the storms of life. Matt 14:22
Peter, filled with selfish ambition (soft answer for outright sin) argues with the other disciples about “Which one of us is the Greatest!” Jesus instructs them all about the kingdom. Jesus doesn’t have a melt down or get frustrated with them. There is no rejection. Jesus instructs them. – Luke 22:24
Peter speaks up on the Mount of Transfiguration when Moses and Elijah appear to talk to Jesus. No one is talking to Peter. But it is Peter who suggests it is good that he, James and John are there…so that they can build 3 shelters or dirt huts for Jesus, Moses and Elijah.
Peter resists the single greatest reason Jesus became a human: to atone for the sin of the human race. Jesus severely rebukes Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.” However, note, Jesus does NOT reject Peter and doesn’t even demote him from leading the church.
Peter resists Jesus when He says that He is going to wash Peter’s feet. “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” John 13:8 Jesus instructs Peter, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
Who can forget:
Peter fails to stay awake and falls asleep in the Garden of Gethsemanie right before Jesus is killed. Jesus finds them sleeping and instructs & disciplines them, “The flesh is weak but the spirit is willing. Pray that you may not fall into temptation.” But Jesus does not reject them.
Peter denies Jesus three times with cursing in a public arena. Matthew 26:74 (sin) (Jesus restores Peter. ( John 21:15-19)
Peter is completely overwhelmed by his sin, self-discovery of his own weakness and quits the team and goes back to the only work he feels he can do… fishing. John 21 (Until Jesus restores him)
I am glad that Jesus offers us more than we deserve in blessings and less than we deserve in punishment.
Here is what Peter says to the elders of the church after all the things that he has gone through-
Do not be greedy for money
Serve, do not Lord over the people God has called you to be over.
Be an example to the people of God
(4) “And when the chief shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of glory that will never fade away.”
Here is how you keep God’s grace working in your life-
Read verses 6-10 read from bible clearly
Humble yourself! Humble yourself… If you don’t allow God to humble you, He will do it by means you would probably want to avoid.
I believe for Peter it was two things the Lord did for him when he finally humbled himself and let the Lord work in his life.
Two things
Gave him the ability to cast his anxiety and his cares on Jesus
Taught him to be self controlled so that he knew how to defeat the devil working against his life.
Casting your cares on the Lord
Worry and anxiety will take over in your life if you let it. In fact it will break you if we don’t learn to understand what it means to cast our cares on the Lord.
The pressures of life are overwhelming
We lie in bed, tossing and turning and replaying and rehashing things till we cannot sleep and get the rest that we need.
Our hearts pound harder and harder and then it turns to panic.
We know that we need to get a hold of emotions and thoughts
We actually get mad at people that remind us that we need to turn these things over to the Lord- We get mad at them for not worry with us…we think that they don’t care.
When you open your bible and this verse comes alive in your heart, it will change your life forever.
Cast your cares on Him…the word cast is the Greek word epiripto (Eep-pee-rip-to)
“Epi”- on top of something and “ripto” means to hurl, to throw, to violently throw or fling something with great force.
We are not designed to carry the burden of worry, anxiety.
It is too much for our nervous system to handle or tolerate.
We can manage it for awhile but eventually our body and mind will break down from the pressure.
In the medical field, it is believed that a lot of our problems and sickness is from stress and pressure.
Man was not designed that way by God- We were designed to give our anxieties and stress to Him.
Renner says that this verse 1 Peter 5:8 is calling us out and saying that “your shoulders are not big enough to carry the burdens your trying to carry or bear yourself. This load will eventually break you- so let me carry the load.
Take that load and heave it with all your might! Fling it over my back and let me carry it!
The other place this Greek word is used in Luke 19:35- where the disciples were told to cast or throw their garments on the back of the donkey- Jesus tells us to throw them on Him.
So what problems and cares are we to throw on His back? We are to cast all of our cares on Him.
Cares is the Greek word Merimna- (Mer-rim-na) which means anxiety.
Anxiety is any affliction, difficulty, hardship, misfortune, trouble, or a complicated circumstance, that arises out of troubles in our lives. It can be financial, marital, job related, family related, business, anything that concerns us.
It means anything that causes you anxiety or worry- regardless of why it happened is what we need to throw over the shoulders of Jesus Christ!
Nothing is too big or too small to talk to the Lord about.
He cares for you- He is concerned, He is thoughtful, He is interested, He is aware, He gives meticulous attention to you and what you are going through.
Peter carefully uses the right word to assure we know that Jesus really cares about the things that are heavy on our hearts.
Do not ever let the devil tell you that your problems are stupid, small, or insignificant to bring to Jesus.
Renner paraphrases this verse for us- Quote “Take that heavy burden, difficulty, or challenge that you are carrying- the one that has arise due to circumstances that have created hardship and struggles in your life- and fling those worries on the back of Jesus. Let Him carry them for you! The Lord is extremely interested in every facet of your life.
Question
Do you habitually worry about things that keep you up at night?
Will you cast those cares on the back of your savior instead of carrying them yourself?
The second part of the verse- this is packed with so much good stuff! Amen!!!!
Be alert and be aware of the devil’s schemes
“Be alert, and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Some versions say be vigilant.
Have you ever thought these words- Don’t even ask God for His help because you got yourself in this mess, He won’t help you because you are reaping what you have sown?
That was the enemy of your soul, the devil roaring like a lion
vigilant means to be watchful, to be attentive- to have a watchful attitude of one who is on the lookout to make sure your enemy cannot gain entry into your life or place of residence.
Peter tells us that the enemy can be pretty sneaky in the way he attacks us.
Peter calls him an adversary- He is not our friend, he is an adversary- an enemy you do not want to trust.
Interpreted Greek word was used in the New Testament for a lawyer who argues in a court of law. The devil is a prosecutor who condemns you and wants to prosecute you to go to prison.
The devil is telling us that like a prosecutor, we are guilty and should be put in prison for past mistakes and past sins. He drags up the past and reminds us of our former mistakes and wants us to believe that we are in the mess we are in with no hope of redemption.
He takes Jesus out of the equation. Without Jesus, He would be correct…but with Jesus it is a whole different set of rules.
It is true that we have to answer for the mistakes and sins we have committed.
Jesus can forgive and Jesus can put us back on the right track.
Satan is the accuser and Jesus is the redeemer.
If Satan can get into our heads and have us believe the lies he throws at us, we will not accept Jesus forgiveness and instead of living in victory, we live subpar and under condemnation.
He will have us believe that we are unrighteous and unworthy and like a prosecutor, he will make these charges against us-
He will take some of our mistakes and bury us with them
He will use half truth of some things we did- maybe we did spend too much money and that is why we are in debt.
He may use our kid’s rebellion so we think that it is all our fault these kids are struggling.
The devil will use us against us if we let him.
We must remember what the Psalmist David wrote- “The Lord is the one who rescues and redeems our lives.”
He is restoring God
He is a redeeming God
He is a God who wants to pull us out of darkness and into His light-
You just need to repent of past mistakes, get your heart right with God, and then tell the devil to flee!!!!
You need to stop listening to the accuser and start listening for the voice of the redeemer.
Peter tells us- “The devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking who he may devour”
When a lion is hungry, he makes a deafening roar- it paralyzes its prey to not move. Your mind becomes so filled with his accusations that you cannot hear anything else and you believe his lies.
Close-
If you keep listening, he will keep accusing! You have to being your thoughts under the captivity of Christ. Thoughts that pull you away from God must be rejected and the thought that draw you closer embraced.
Renner states-
“You must be constantly alert and on your guard! The devil, like an accusing lawyer, will try to charge you with all kinds of arguments and accusation. You need to know that he is like a lion on the prowl-constantly walking around, roaring with a deafening sound, earnestly seeking the kind of person he can completely consume.”
That is why we need the church and God’s people to help us when we are overwhelmed by the enemy.
To help you pray
To help you stand against his attacks
Has the devil been harassing you? It is time to stand up in Jesus name and take back what he is trying to steal from you.
Be determined to stay alert, stay prayed up, alert and watchful.
Maybe you can make this your prayer this morning-
Lord, I am asking you to help me take authority over the accuser and over the accusations that he has been speaking in my mind. He is telling me all the reasons that I have no hope and the reasons that I am in this mess of a life. I thank you for your forgiveness and patience in my life. I lay claim to the power of Jesus in my life and by the authority of God’s word the devil has to flee from my life. I refuse to listen to his accusation any longer.
