Do you remember pot-bellied pigs? They were one of the passing fads from the 1980s – that decade when all of us had big hair, big glasses and really fuzzy sweaters. Some of us also had pot-bellied pigs.
Around our house, pigs were for eating and not for petting. The “pet pig craze” never caught on at the Weller farm, but for millions of Americans like Dale Riffle, it did. Riffle bought a cute little Vietnamese pot-bellied pig named Rufus. The breeder claimed that the pig was quite smart, and would only grow to be about forty pounds. As it turned out, the breeder was half-right: the pig was quite smart.
But it soon grew to be over 150 pounds. And in spite of Rufus’ refusal to use the litter box, and his hunger for wallpaper, carpet and drywall, Riffle refused to get rid of Rufus. So he sold his suburban home and moved with Rufus to a five acre farm in West Virginia.
Soon, Riffle started taking in unwanted and abandoned pigs, and before long, the guy was living in hog heaven. There are currently 180 residents on his farm. According to an article in US News and World Report, they snooze on beds of pine shavings. They wallow in mud puddles. They soak in plastic swimming pools and listen to piped-in classical music. And they never need fear that one day they’ll become bacon or pork chops. There’s actually a waiting list of unwanted pigs trying to get a hoof in the door at Riffle’s farm.
Dale Riffle told the reporter, “We’re all put on earth for some reason, and I guess pigs are my lot in life.” It amazes me that someone would want to devote their life to caring for a bunch of outcast, lazy old pot-bellied pigs?
Here is something that is even more amazing to me: that an infinite, perfect, majestic and holy God would care for an insignificant, sinful, sometimes openly rebellious and indifferent people like you and me. God cares about you and me – that is incredible to me.
And yet, I think there are times when all of us wonder if God really does care, aren’t there? Has there ever been a time when you cried out to God and waited for an answer, and yet the answer didn’t seem to come?
You’re not alone. As faithful a man as Israel’s King David sometimes wondered where God was.
Psalm 10:1 (NIV)
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
Psalm 13:1-2 (NIV) For the director of music. A psalm of David.
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and every day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?
Isn’t it amazing that someone like David wondered where God was? Isn’t it reassuring to know that if you’ve ever wondered if Jesus cared, you’re not alone?
We’re going to spend the next four weeks answering that question. And while we don’t know who was the first person to ask that question, we do know who the first person to put it to music was. He was a Methodist Pastor named Frank Graeff. Graeff lived around the turn of the century and published the hymn, Does Jesus Care? in 1905.
For the next four weeks, we’re going to look at the four different verses of that hymn and ask the question, Does Jesus Care?.
The first verse wonders, “does Jesus care when I’m depressed?” We’ll be answering that question next week. Then on September 14, we’ll ask, “does Jesus care when I’m afraid?” On the 21st, we’ll answer the question, “does Jesus care when I’m a failure.” This is maybe my favorite verse of this hymn. It is a question that, maybe we all haven’t asked or verbalized, but it is one that I suspect we have often felt. Where is Jesus when we’re struggling with some temptation? Where is He when we’ve tried to resist, but failed? Does He care? Then on the last week, we’ll look at the fourth verse of this song and ask, “does Jesus care when I am grieving?”.
I hope you’ll be here for all four weeks of this teaching, because the answer to that question – Does Jesus Care? – is something that we all need to hear. And one other thing. I hope you’ll invite someone to come with you.
Now today is your lucky day, because I’m going to give you the answer to all four questions right up front. Did you ever have a teacher who, during the lecture, would tell you, “this is going to be on the test.”? It’s good to have the answers ahead of time, isn’t it. Well, today is your lucky day because I’m going to give you the answer to the question, “Does Jesus care?”
And the answer is: yes He does!
If you only get one thing out of the next four sermons I preach, I want you to walk away knowing that Jesus cares! And not just knowing – that is, in the head – but also allowing that knowledge to penetrate into your heart, so you’ll not only know God cares, but that you’ll also feel His caring in your life.
Let’s take a look at the chorus of that great song. It’s on the back of your bulleting insert.
Oh yes, he cares, I know he cares,
His heart is touched with my grief;
When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Savior cares.
If the first line of that chorus is true – and I believe it is – then I can know that He cares for us. But how? How can we know that God cares?
First, we can know He cares because His word says so. I suppose someone like Peter might have had reason to question whether or not God cared. He died a martyr’s death, after all. But what does Peter say in 1 Peter 5:7? “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” Right there it is in the book. Jesus cares for us!
Luke records a sermon that Jesus gave once. He wanted to impress on his listeners how important they were the their heavenly Father. Luke 12:6-7 “Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
One of the renderings for the term sparrow in Hebrew referred to small birds, and in Luke the word probably refers to a small house sparrow. The birds were well known in Syria; they were small, tame and found everywhere. Because of their great number they were sold cheaply; five would go for one and one-half cents. The idea is that if God cares for something so inexpensive and small, then certainly He will care for and protect us!
If God takes the time to know the number of hairs on my head, then I can know He cares for me. (Now, I must admit, numbering the hairs on my head is getting easier for the Lord these days.)
We can know Jesus cares because the Bible says so. Peter said it. Luke said it. Most importantly, Jesus said it! But there is another way we can know God cares about us. We can know because He sent his son. William Barclay wrote, “Jesus’ coming is the final and unanswerable proof that God cares.” The fact is, Christianity is the only world religion where the supreme being of that religion so clearly demonstrates his caring for mankind. J.B. Phillips wrote, “ There have been, and still are, religions which are concerned with the worship of a god or gods, but which have no influence on man’s behavior toward man. Christianity is not like this. The fact that the infinite God focused himself in a man is the best proof that God cares about people.”
God showed his love and care for us by sending His son to die for us!
I love the passage in Romans 5 where Paul makes clear God’s love. Listen to it in a different translation. . .
Romans 5:6-8
Look at it this way: At the right time, while we were still helpless, Christ died for ungodly people. 7Finding someone who would die for a godly person is rare. Maybe someone would have the courage to die for a good person. 8Christ died for us while we were still sinners. This demonstrates God’s love for us.
You can know God cares for you because His word says so, but also because of His actions. He sent His son for us, and we all know that actions speak louder than words.
Now look at the second part of that hymn’s chorus: “His heart is touched with my grief.” One of the ways we can know Jesus cares is that His heart is touched by my grief.
You know, there are still cultures that hire professional mourners. That seems so foreign to us. And yet there are people who make their living by going to funerals and crying on cue. I would submit to you that a paid mourners cares. But not about the grieving family. A paid mourners cares only about getting paid.
The way you can really tell that someone cares is when they grieve with you. And Jesus does that.
Last week, we looked at Mary Magdalene and her sister Martha. We talked briefly about the time when they sent word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was dying. You remember that Jesus tarried, and by the time he got to Bethany, where the family lived, Lazarus died. The good news is that Jesus brought Lazarus back to life.
But there is something else in that account that is pretty good news as well. We learn that Jesus cares. As we pick up the story, Mary has just run out to meet the Lord.
John 11:33-36
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. 34"Where have you laid him?" he asked.
"Come and see, Lord," they replied.
35Jesus wept.
36Then the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"
Look back at verse 33. John writes that Jesus was “deeply move in spirit. . . “ The Greek word for that phrase is only used five times in the New Testament. One of those times is when Mary, Lazarus’ sister poured out her expensive perfume on Jesus feet. Remember that? One of the disciples “became indignant”. That’s the same word that is used here in John 11:33. And what was that disciple indignant about? He was indignant at the waste. The perfume could have been sold and the money given to the poor.” What a waste.
I believe that is what Jesus is feeling here in John 11. His friend Lazarus has died. What a waste! I know many of you have felt those same feelings in recent days. Whenever someone dies, and particularly if the circumstances are sudden or tragic, we think, “what a waste.”
We can know Jesus’ heart is touched by our grief because He feels about death the same way we do – what a waste! Death wasn’t God’s plan in the Garden of Eden, and it isn’t His plan today. And when our hearts grieve because of death, we’re not alone.
Listen, Jesus cares. John 11 teaches us that. But that’s not all. I want you to know this morning that Jesus isn’t going to stop caring.
If you’re a parent, you know that you don’t suddenly stop caring about your child. Jus because Johnny graduates high school and heads out into the world – you don’t stop caring. You never do! And neither does your heavenly Father.
When David Livingstone appeared at the University of Glasgow to receive the honorary doctor of law degree, he was received with silent respect. He was gaunt and weary from 16 years of exposure to Africa’s hardships. One arm hung useless at his side because of an attack by a lion.
Livingstone asked, "Shall I tell you what supported me through all those years of exile among a people whose language I could not understand and whose attitude toward me was always uncertain and often hostile? It was this: ’Lo, I am with you always even unto the end of the world’ "
Those were Jesus’ last words before He ascended into heaven: "I am with you always." (Matthew 28:20).
At the end of his life, Moses called together the people of Israel. He reminded them how God had been with them during their wilderness journey – how He had protected them and watched over them. He passed along his mantle of leadership to Joshua and affirmed Joshua in front of all the assembly. And he told the people of Israel that the battles ahead in the Promised Land weren’t going to be easy. You see, Moses knew something about the people of Israel, that I suspect is true of many of us, too. When the going gets tough, the tough sometimes wonder if God got going. Moses knew that there would come a time when Israel’s warriors might wonder if God had forgotten them – if God no longer cared. And so Moses stood in front of them all and said, (Deuteronomy 31:6) “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you."
Jesus will never stop caring about you and I! “When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,” you can know that Jesus cares!
You can know that He cares here (the head). You can feel that he cares here (the heart). But what will you do about that care here (the hands)?
We come to the part of the sermon that some call the “so what.” “Well, preacher, we’ve heard all you have to say, so what do we do now?” I’m glad you asked.
Sometimes we miss instances of God’s caring because we’re not looking for them. We don’t seem to sense that He cares, because we’re too busy, or too blinded to notice all the times that He has looked out for us.
Give you an example. . . When my kids flip on the light switch or turn on the water, they don’t stop to think, “Wow, dad paid the bill this month. I’m sure glad my dad cares about me enough to pay the utilities.”
We do the same thing with God. Its not that we intentionally ignore God’s caring, but that we become accustomed to all that He does for us. This week, I want to encourage you to keep a “caring journal.” It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – just a note card will do. And on that note card, jot down all the times you experience God caring for you. You’ll be amazed at the results.
There is something else I want you to think about this morning. One of the ways God cares for us, and maybe even the primary way He cares for us is through other people. God uses other Christians to show how much He cares for you.
I see that here every week, during the greeting time, during our prayer time. Before and after services. You care for each other. You’ve even cared for me and my family that very same way, and I can tell you, when you’re going through life’s storms, it is so good to know that Jesus cares, and that He cares through his people.
The story is told of the ship that was trapped in a severe storm at sea. All were preparing to abandon ship, all except one young lady who was playing with her dolls. When asked if she were not afraid, she calmly replied, "No, because my father is the captain.
When the storms of life seem to trap you, remember that your Father cares for you, and say, "I am not afraid because the Captain is my Father!"
