Turn with me to Ephesians 5:15-17. I'm not going to preach your typical Palm Sunday message today. I'm going to preach a message entitled, "Careless Caring". How many have had a few cares and worries going on in your life lately? I believe this message will challenge and encourage us this morning.
Ephesians 5:15-17 says, "Be careful then how you live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity because the days are evil. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is."
Lord, we thank you again for your word. God, may we decrease and may you increase. May this word bring encouragement and may you be glorified. Amen
I think there's no doubt that we live in evil days. It's amazing even in the last week there have been two mass shootings that have happened in New York and Washington State. Also, Gordon Brown announced that we're having a new world order being established even now. How many of you are excited that Jesus is getting ready to come back? We're getting to watch prophecy being fulfilled right before our eyes. As we look around we can see man's inhumanity to man and sin multiplying in various forms. We see many people struggling with hurt and pain and upheaval in their lives. I think that there is no doubt that we must deal with certain issues in our life that are beyond our control, things that we won't have any say over or be able to do. But God has given us the ability to deal with adversity and hardship with wisdom. No matter what we go through, no matter what we experience, we are not people who are without help or direction. We are a people with the direction of the Holy Spirit to be able to live in whatever we experience with the wisdom of God.
Many people struggle when they make decisions based on what they think is right and what they think will feel good. Many people deal with things based on the best knowledge that they have but the truth is we have the knowledge of the Word of God and we have the help of the Holy Spirit to give us wisdom no matter what we're going through. Many of us spend a lot of time worrying and fretting over things that we can do nothing about, things that are bigger than us. I want to call this "Careless Caring". As Christians and as a believer myself, I have found that there are times in life where we experience things that we have no control over, we didn't bring it on ourselves, we can't help it and we are waiting for God to do something. But we have wasted a lot of that time without the peace of God and we struggle with a lot of the internal things that go on in our thinking as we worry about what God is going to do and what is going to happen.
God tells us that we are to live wise and not as fools. We are to understand what God's will is for us. How many believe that God's will for us is that we live in victory and in peace and under his direction? That's His desire. But many people do not do this because we are needlessly carrying baggage, hurt and fear that we were never meant to carry. Many of us carry burdens and cares that God never intended for us to hold on to and never desired for us to live under. I know that we're living in a time with an uncertain economy and it's uncertain where we're going to go and what we're going to do but Jesus says, "Be of good courage, for I have overcome the world". Listen, I believe that God is raising up believers that walk in the power and wisdom and the peace of God. That's His desire, that no matter what we go through, the things that used to shake us, the things that used to trouble us or leave us weak kneed, we are able to walk in faith. That doesn't mean that we are not aware of what's going on around us or that we are ignorant of the way we should feel but we are expectant of who our God is, almighty God, the Savior who said he would care for you.
Because the days are evil, we must be careful how we live. We must be sure that we're living in holiness, without sin. We also must make sure that we're living wisely, walking in God's promises, his provision and his priorities. Walking wisely means not allowing worry or fear to grip our lives. I wonder if there's anyone here who has ever allowed fear or worry to grip you every once in awhile? The thing that strikes me is that we see what's going on and how many Christians are experiencing the same feelings and expectations that the rest of the world has? They look at the economy and read the paper and they live in fear and worry. Even those who have lost their jobs, how many believe that God will take care of you no matter what? Listen, either living for Jesus works or it doesn't. Either he is the God who cares or he doesn't. Either he does what his word says he will do or he doesn't. I believe that one of the things that God is doing in his people is allowing us through these difficult times to recapture that idea of living by faith and living in his peace even when the circumstances around us aren't peaceful.
Philippians 4:6-8 is a very familiar portion of scripture. It says, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus". The Bible says to be anxious for nothing but to take everything to God in prayer. How many understand that nothing and everything are fairly inclusive words? It covers everything in "be anxious for nothing but in everything take it to God in prayer". Those who walk wisely will do this.
As believers, especially in America, we talk a lot about having an education, about being smart. But there's a real difference between being smart and having intelligence and living wise. How many know there are a lot of smart, unwise people? If you don't believe me just look at Wall Street and see what happened to our economy. There were a lot of brilliant people who did a lot of unwise things. But those who walk wisely will take everything to God in prayer and will be anxious for nothing because they understand if they do then they will receive the promise of peace. God's peace surpasses all understanding. I want to give you the new "Nemitz" translation, peace that doesn't make sense. How many of you have ever had stuff happen to you and you have felt the Holy Spirit come along side you and rise up within you when everything around you is falling apart but you are standing there in this unique peace that God has given his people? This is the promise for every child of God.
I know that sometimes when I begin to speak this, certain Christians look at me like I'm absolutely out of my mind, like I'm taking it a little too seriously and reading it just a little too literally. How many know we serve a literal God who means what he says and does what he says? "And the peace of God which passes all understanding will guard your heart and your mind through Christ". This is a deep, all encompassing peace that only can happen when we cover everything in prayer. When we come to the Lord, prayer helps us to live wisely because we are now living in peace and not in worry and confusion. As a matter of fact, it says to do this with thanksgiving.
How many of you have ever had a situation where you've felt God wanted you to thank him and you've said, "God, I don't want to because I'm really feeling kind of ticked off and unsettled about what's happening to me right now". The Bible says that we are to bring our cares to Him with prayer and supplication and with thanksgiving. Here's what happens, worry and confusion lead to despair and helplessness. You have a choice, you can live in that hopelessness or you can begin to thank God for who he is and thank him in advance that his promises are true. Listen, In advance of seeing what's going to happen, the truth is he already said he would do it and if God said he is going to do it, it's as good as having it.
So we begin to thank him for it and here's what thankfulness does, it leads to praise and expectation and to a faith where instead of feeling hopeless and in despair you begin to see what God sees. You begin to thank him for the promises that he said you'd have and it changes your whole outlook on the situation. My wife and I just had something that happened to us this week. The Lord had already prepared us for it, had already told us that this person was going to do something to us. It involved money and not only am I Italian but I'm Jewish as well and when you start messing with my money I get a little unsettled. I didn't start to worry about it, I just got a little angry about it. God said, "you're not having peace right now, you're a little worked up, now you better practice what you're going to preach". So I began to praise him and thank him that he had everything under control. It's amazing how quickly when you stop talking about the problem and start talking about the Lord that all of a sudden that peace begins to come.
We are careless with our caring when we try to carry our cares ourselves, when we try to shoulder it. 1st Peter 5:7 says, "Casting all your care upon Him because he cares for you". Our cares, our worries, our fears and burdens are heavy loads that we need help with. There are major reasons why people do not cast their cares on the Lord. Number one is that some actually say, "I don't want to burden God with my problems". Why didn't you take it to the Lord? Because I just didn't want to bother God. Listen, he is almighty God. Our burdens don't weigh him down one bit. You may go to someone else and it may bother them but there is the promise of the word that says, "Cast your cares on Him because he cares for you". The title "Christ" means anointed one and the anointing is the burden removing, yoke destroying, power of God. He is the one who removes every burden and breaks every yoke. That would seem to be the place that wise people would go to have the weights of life lifted, to the anointed one. We need to understand that cares are important to us and by casting them upon the Lord, we are putting the things that we care about in his hands. This is an act of worship, not a burden. Have you ever noticed that we compartmentalize our cares? We have no problem entrusting our family to the Lord. "Thank you God for watching over them and loving them like I can love them and even better than I ever could". But when it comes to some of our problems and cares we're afraid to run to Him. I know that one day we will cast our crowns before the Lord for everything that we've ever done but casting our cares on the Lord is the exact same concept. When we get to heaven and we wear those crowns we're going to cast them at his feet because he is worthy of all our praise. I want us to begin to see the cares and the troubles we have in this life as the same thing. Sometimes we clutch them so close but when we begin to take those cares and say, "Lord, this belongs to you, this is something that is precious to me". It is an act of worship, it is a sacrifice of praise. It says, "I know you are almighty God, I know that you are able and I'm going to give you the things that are dear to me".
The second reason that people don't cast their cares upon God is because they don't believe that he does care. The Bible says, "For he cares for you". One of the reasons that so many people live with worry and fear is because they believe he does not care. They believe that although God does that for others, he'll never do that for me. I don't care how long you've served Jesus. Sometimes we think we've got this altogether. I have learned that some people who have gone to church all their life still carry this great insecurity in their heart that somehow God does this for everybody else but not for them. Cast your cares on Him because he cares for you. It doesn't change. Do you truly believe that God cares? If he would give his life then almighty God cares about our problems. Our problem may be small in His eyes but you are a big deal to God. When we go into Riviera Beach this afternoon we better believe this. When we go to share the Gospel we better help people know that God cares because we're going to a place where there is a lot of care and a lot of need. We're going to a place where people are used to others not caring for them and so they become used to it. As we begin to share that God cares we better know that He cares for us because we're about to unleash the miracle power of God into their life for salvation, for healing, for provision and for his help. What we're about to do this afternoon is not a small thing in God's eyes. It's a big deal. God loves people.
Casting our cares is an act of faith as much as it is an act of worship. It says that we trust that His word is true concerning us. By casting our cares on God we demonstrate that we believe he will be careful with our cares. Sometimes we think we're the only ones that can handle these things just right, that we've got the delicate touch. As long as we hold on to them then at least there's someone who cares about them so deeply, about our family, our needs, our health, our success and even our hurts and failures. I want you to hear me, we do not serve a careless God or a God who cares less than we do. The Bible says that God spoke the world into creation. Have you ever looked at the detail of what God has made? Have you ever just looked at yourself for a little bit? Have you ever studied the back of your hand? Think of the detail that God put into you? Think about the detail that God can put into every area?
Matthew 11:28-29 says, "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your souls". Listen, he is a careful God and he is full of care in everything that he deals with.
Psalms 86:5,15 says, "You are forgiving, O God, abounding in love to all who call to you. But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness".
There are some people you will talk to that when they begin to hear what you are going through, even some Christians, they almost speak to you like your problems are your fault. Some of our problems are our own fault but God still cares to help us through every one of them and he is not careless or flippant. He doesn't talk about your lack of faith. He just talks about your need to trust Him and your desire to know that His word will be true. For many, casting our cares on God is hard because we have carried the burden for so long. One man said, "I give my problem to the Lord but my problem is that after I give it to the Lord I take it back". It's a hard thing. As a matter of fact we can get so used to the problem that we don't know how to live without the problem. It's become such a part of our life so we take it back. Probably one of the greatest songs ever written is called, "Leave it there". If the world from you withholds its silver and gold and you have to get along with meager fare, just remember in his word how he feeds the little birds. Take your burden to the Lord and leave it there. The chorus goes like this, "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". Leave it alone, leave it in God's hands.
Sometimes we spend so much time worrying about something that it becomes what we live for. We've had so much trouble with it that although we live for God, we have spent so much time focusing on the problem and praying about the problem and living for the problem and we grow so familiar with it that when we let it go we suddenly feel empty without it. Some people are so used to crisis and so used to change and turmoil that once they have given something to God they wind up finding another thing to stir up their life because they feel comfortable with that stirring. Listen, that is not of God. He says he wants us to live in the peace and the fullness of his life for us.
Psalms 55:22 says, "Cast your burden on the Lord and He shall sustain you". That means when you give these things to God he will give you something good to live for. I believe this is one of the greatest promises people could ever have. Some people go from crisis to crisis but God says he desires for us to go from glory to glory. As a matter of fact you can be in crisis and still live in the glory of God. You can be in turmoil and still live in the peace of God.
One way of carelessly caring is making other people's burdens our own. What I see God doing in his people again is truly caring for other people as believers. God says that not only does he care for us but he's set us in the world to care for and love others. How many are thankful when someone cares for you and loves you and is good enough to come to your side?
Galatians 6:1-2 says, "Brethren, when a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one anothers burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ". One of the ways to be carelessly caring is to make other people's burdens your own. We are to help other people carry their load to the Lord. Romans 12:15 says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice and weep with those who weep". If we are going to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ we are truly going to have to be involved in other people's lives to the extent that it actually means something to us.
Last week when the missionary was here, I usually get taken aback when the missionary's come. As a matter of fact I don't want to do altar calls when the missionary's come anymore. I want someone else to do them because I couldn't even compose myself last week as I looked at what God was doing in the lives of those people, as people are being changed and saved not only here in Jupiter and West Palm Beach but around the world. It is awesome to see people come to Christ and to see the terrible things that they have been in and delivered from. But I have watched others who minister that internalize other people's problems. Just like temptation, when we restore people to wholeness we are to care but not so much that we take on the role of savior. We serve Jesus but we are not Jesus. How many are glad for that? It is ok to help people carry their burdens to the Lord but we are to help them take it to Jesus, not to take it on our self. I have had to counsel so many people who have gotten involved in ministry and have become weighed down by the cares of other people. We must love people, we must pray with them, we must feel what they feel and care for them so deeply.
When you come to my office with your issues and your problems I'm going to weep with you and we're going to take it to the Lord but I want you to know when I go home I'm going to sleep well. I'm not going to worry about all that you're going through. That doesn't mean that I don't care for you or that I'm not interested. What it means is this, we went together and took it to the Lord and we're going to leave it there. Some of you have family that you've been helping and friends that you've been praying for. It is one thing for God to wake you up to get on your knees in intercessory prayer to seek the face of God for them but when you get up from your knees it is good to wash your face and eat something and go back to sleep or back to what you're doing. When you leave it in the hands of God it is not only an act of worship but an act of faith that says, "God, I know you've got them and you're going to take care of them and I know there's nothing that I can do about this that's going to change it. I'm taking it to you because you're the one that's going to change it and I'm going to leave it there and I believe that I'm going to see not only peace in my life but their life changed. When we do this we will see the miracles of God.
The Bible says that these days are evil and to live as wise, not as unwise. Church, I want to encourage you, if you're turning on the television to watch the news and it's disturbing you too much then stop watching the news. If you can't read the paper without getting all shook up and discouraged, if you are a believer and you know what the Word of God says then you already know what the newspaper says about the future. It's going to shake you politically if you believe differently. It's going to shake you spiritually as you see the evil increase but what it should do is let you know that this word is true, it shouldn't leave you discouraged or down. As a matter of fact it should make you want to shout that the God who said what he said thousands of years ago is coming to pass and that gives us a reason for hope.
Listen, let's not spend time carelessly caring but spend our time in the wise pursuits of the things God has for us, in the things that will make a difference. I want to encourage you, whatever you're need is, we can take it to Jesus right now. If you need a job you can spend time worrying that you don't have one and you can worry about the bank account but the truth is you can't do anything to change it or make that money appear in there but God is going to sustain you and take care of you. The choice is to live in worry and fear or to live in trust and hope. How many know the same God of Elijah who could have ravens feed him by the brook and show him the one stream that was running through the area to keep him well fed, and that same God who gave the Israelites manna in the wilderness and bring out water from a rock? If that's the same God that you serve then he is not a respecter of persons. If he's got to do it again then he'll do it again. He will find a way because he is almighty God.
