What To Do With Life’s Cares!

What to Do with Life’s Cares!

Chuck Sligh

March 26, 2017

NOTE: PowerPoint and ProPresenter 6 presentations are available of this sermon upon request to chucksligh@hotmail.com.

Adapted from a skeletal outline in Preach for a Year, by Roger Campbell, pp. 31-32.

TEXT: 1 Peter 5:7 – “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

INTRODUCTION

The popular 19th century American preacher, poet and theologian, Joseph Parker, had a good word of advice to preachers: He used to say, “Preach often to those with troubled hearts”

I’m taking Parker’s advice today. I want to speak to you today on the subject, “What to Do with Life’s Cares!”

Our text today, 1 Peter 5:7, a verse for troubled believers. Let me read it again: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” Read it out loud together with me: “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.”

I would like for you to notice three things that are in this verse, and what this means for you and me:

I. FIRST, NOTICE THAT YOU ARE IN THIS VERSE. – Peter says, “Casting all YOUR care upon Him for he careth for YOU…”

So much in this world is impersonal. This is the age of bigness and numbers. When you call about your bank or credit card accounts or a utility company, your name is only secondary—the first thing they ask for is your account number is. You’re not a person to them; you’re a number. You have a Social Security number, insurance policy numbers, credit card numbers, bank card numbers, debit card numbers, driver’s license number. We live in a world of bar codes, scanners, computers, user names and passwords. Sometimes our world that loses sight of the individual.

But God knows you personally as an individual! God doesn’t keep track of His own by cosmic computers! In fact, He knows His own by name.

In John 10:2-3 the saved are called sheep and Jesus is the Shepherd and we read: “To him [speaking of Jesus] the porter [i.e., “gatekeeper”] openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.”

Though Jesus taught large groups of people, the Gospels record many examples of Jesus’ knowledge of and personal care for individuals:

* In Luke 19:1-10, Zacchaeus climbed a tree to see Jesus pass by, apparently because he was so short, and Jesus knew who he was, knew he was up in that tree, knew his name, knew his shortcomings and why he needed Jesus’s forgiveness and then called him to come down for he was going to his house to stay that day!

* In Matthew 9:20-22, a woman who had had a discharge of blood for 12 years thought that if she could just touch the hem of His garment, she might be healed, and as soon as she did, Jesus immediately recognized her, knew what she had done, knew why she had done it, and lovingly gave her this encouraging word: “Take heart, daughter, your faith has made you well.”

* In Matthew 19:13-15, the disciples tried to keep the children from coming to Jessus, and Jesus said to allow them to come to him, whereupon he lovingly took them in his arms and laid hands of blessing on them one-by-one.

* The woman at the well in John 4 thought Jesus was just another Jew, but realized that He knew who she was, what she had been through in her life, what she needed to find fulfillment and lovingly led her to Him.

Jesus cares about individuals. In our text, Peter said, “Casting all YOUR care upon Him for he careth for YOU.” Praise God!—God has time for YOU; YOUR cares are important to Him; God cares for YOU. If you are beset by care and worry and anxiety today, YOU are in 1 Peter 5:7.

II. SECOND, NOTICE THAT ALL YOUR CARES ARE IN THIS VERSE TOO. – Peter said, “Casting ALL YOUR CARE upon Him…”

There are many kinds of cares in this life—many things you can allow to get you down if you don’t keep your eyes on Jesus—

* Cares about your family, your children, your wife, or your husband.

* Cares about your finances, your future, your job, your security.

* Cares about your health, the health of your family members, your mental health.

* Cares about politics, the president, Congress, the economy, the next recession.

* Cares about world conditions, war and ISIS, Iran, Russia, China, North Korea.

There’s no end to the number of cares that can weigh us down in this life. But let me share with you something that ought to thrill your soul: EVERY CARE THAT YOU ARE CARRYING IS IN THIS VERSE.