Casting Your Cares — Steve Mays

It's the 2010 Summer of Sermons with Steve Mays.

What are we to do about this thing, worry? What are we to do?

Today, Pastor Steve Mays shares good news for anxious times, found in 1 Peter 5, 7.

It says cast your burdens upon the Lord. That word cast is a word that means to let go. God is going to catch it. And the moment I release, then God picks it up. See, worrying is not trusting God. You need to trust God.

It was George Mueller who said, the beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. And the beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety. Now of course, we're all going to experience worry and anxiety at some point, but it's what we do with it that makes the biggest difference in our lives.

So over the next few minutes, Pastor Steve takes a look at the Apostle Peter's advice to cast all anxiety and worry on the Lord. It's through this action that we'll see our faith grow and our stress dwindle.

Let's listen.

Peter's Teaching on Humility, Fear, and Trust

So we open our Bibles to 1 Peter 5, 1 Peter 5, 7. And there are two major, major weapons that Satan will use in your life throughout your Christian walk. And one of those is the weapon of pride. Satan can use pride in just a very powerful way to keep you from really being used as an instrument of God.

The second weapon that Satan will use constantly is fear, incredible fear that will paralyze you from being all that God wants you to be. And in 1 Peter 5, Peter now deals with both of these. He deals with the area of really pride, dealing with the life of humility.

And verses 5 and 6, he deals with humility. But when it comes to a life or the power or the weapon of incredible fear, Peter now talks about a lifestyle of trusting God. And so I want to look at verse 7 concerning the importance of really trusting God and not worrying about things.

And it's interesting that I think that Peter was well qualified in his life. He had really made a lot of mistakes, much like probably many of our lives. He was a failure. He was insecure. He got himself in trouble with his mouth.

He constantly was putting his foot in his mouth. You remember the time he said, Hey, can we build three tabernacles, one for you, Moses and Elijah? And a voice came from heaven. This is my beloved son.

Hear him. I like to interpret that. Peter, would you quit talking and start listening? And then you remember the time that Peter was cursing and denying God. And there we find that he was rejected, went fishing.

But it was God that reached out to Peter. And it was in that moment of failure that God brought him to that fire. And there God began to work in his life in a very powerful way. And it was Peter that was concerned about John.

When Jesus was dealing with Peter about his life, Peter said, What about John? Are you going to deal with John? And Jesus said in my own translation, Peter, you got your own problems. Don't worry about John.

And then it was Peter that rebuked his Lord. You don't need to go the way of the cross. And Christ rebuked Peter. Get thee behind me, Satan. So when we look at Peter's life, it is so much, I think, oftentimes, of our own life.

The insecurities, the fear, and all the areas. But now, filled with the Spirit of God, growing up in the Lord, Peter writes this incredible book about hanging in there, trusting God. And so we read in 1 Peter chapter 5, we'll take a look at verse 5 through 8 to kind of get the basis and come back to verse 7.

Likewise, you younger, submit yourself unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another and be clothed with humility, something that Peter was not. For God resists the proud and giveth grace to the humble.

And in verse 6, I kind of see Peter standing by the fire, confessing, Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time. And we know that in the book of Acts chapter 2, Peter, once again, was blessed to bring forth the message to the Jews about salvation.

Verse 7, casting all your cares upon him, for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may destroy. Now take a look at verse 6, because it talks about trusting God.

He says in verse 6, Humble yourself therefore under the mighty hand of God, and he may exalt you in underlying due time. Very very important verse. Another translation would say, So humble yourself under the mighty power of God, for in his good time he will honor you.

And one other translation, Therefore humble yourself under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in proper time. Now why do I say that? Because in each of the different translations, it gives us a little bit of a better understanding what it means in due time.

Here in the King James, due time. Another translation, in his good time. And then another, in his proper time. And I believe this is where Christianity meets the road. We are, by nature, very very impatient.

We want things now. And if they don't happen now, then we begin to question people's love. Much like Martha did to Jesus, where were you? If you would have been here, my brother would never have died.

And so we see that God has his own time. Remember the story of Martha. It tells us that God held back on purpose, allowed Lazarus to die. And the reason why? That his glory may be seen. So when he raised him from the dead, it was for the glory of God.

So sometimes God withholds that he might be more gracious in the end. And when I look at this, I begin to realize this is the major problem of our life. We want it now. We don't really want God's time.

And when God begins to take his time, we question his sincerity. Why don't you love us? Why don't you help us? And I believe the very next verse really falls into what God wants us to know. Moses for 40 years was in the wilderness learning how to trust God.

You remember Paul was three years in Arabia, then 11 years in his own city, 14 years before God used him. And then what about Joseph? He, remember, was in prison for 13 years before God brought him to the top.

So God is not in a hurry. He'll take his time. It was some 20 years that Saul chased David. Why? Because God used Saul to make David the great psalmist. So when we go through these moments of not trusting, it drives us crazy because God is not working quick enough.

Casting Anxiety on the God Who Cares

Well, in verse 7, we need to do something. We need to start casting. Not complaining, not griping, not accusing God, but begin to cast. And notice in chapter 5, verse 7, casting all your cares upon him for he careth for you.

Another translation, give all your worries and cares to God for he cares about what happens to you. I'm going to come back to that. Leave all your worries with him because he cares for you. I like this last one.

Let him have all your worries and cares for he is always thinking about you, watching everything that concerns you. So the word care or, and maybe your translation, the word anxiety comes from a Greek word that means to tear apart.

It's two opposing forces that is very violent. The best way is to say that a wolf is able to get a hold of a juggler vein of a lamb and rip it out. It is a very powerful, forceful word that means to separate.

So when Satan brings anxiety into your life, it turns you upside down. It takes your mind and begins to play with it. It gives you stomach aches and ulcers and it can even give you a heart attack. It can destroy everything that God is doing.

So the question really comes down to is what am I to do? And it's interesting, it's not the big things, it's the little things that drive us crazy. It's the little foxes that come under the fence to eat the vine.

Or it was that worm that ate that plant of Jonah. Or what about that one little voice, Jezebel, who said to Elijah, you are a dead man. It's in these little moments that all of a sudden our life begins to fall apart.

Jesus and Paul on Freedom From Worry

Now the question, is worrying okay? And the answer is absolutely no. From a biblical standpoint, worrying is sin. And I need to confess it and begin to trust God. By nature, some of us really worry. And the problem is is that it doesn't solve a problem.

Now you can hire somebody to worry for you. That might be good. But once again, biblically, worrying is not trusting God. You remember what Jesus said. He said in Matthew 6 .25, therefore I say unto you, take no thought of your life.

What you're going to eat or what you're going to drink or what you need for your body. What you shall put on is not the life more than meat and the body more than clothing. So Jesus takes the responsibility of making sure that he knows what you need before you even ask.

Later on, you remember he said in John 14, verse one, he said, let not your heart be troubled. If you believe in God, believe also in me. And the word trouble is the word that means terrified, panicked, out of control.

In other words, you don't even see that God is working or in charge of things. So the question really comes to what do I do? Paul mentioned in Philippians chapter four, verse six, be careful for nothing or be anxious for nothing.

But in everything by prayer, supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be known unto God. In other words, I need to take my burdens to God. And two more and we'll dive in. In 1 Peter 5, seven, he says, casting your cares upon him.

Why? Because he cares for me. But one of my favorite is found in Psalm 55, verse 22. Cast thy burden upon the Lord and he will sustain you. So cast your burden and God is going to hold you together. I'd like to give you three things to really think about to really kind of tackle this issue that I believe that keeps us out of ministry, that keeps us away from a great marriage, a great single life that destroys our life at work.

What to Do With Worry: Casting Every Care

Three things. Number one, what are we to do about this thing worry? What are we to do? Number two, how are we to do it? In other words, how do I give it up? And lastly, I think it's the most important, why are we to do it?

Why am I to commit this to God? And I think they're kind of thought provoking. So let's take a look at it. Number one, what are we to do? What am I to do today? Well, I think very simply, he says in 1 Peter 5, seven, casting all your cares upon him.

Casting all your cares upon him. Now the word casting is giving you a picture. And in the Greek, it's a word that means to throw at his feet, or to pick up and throw upon, or to lay upon and give to. You remember it was Hezekiah that laid the letter before God, the one that Sennacherib wrote.

And it was Nehemiah that laid the letter that Tobiah and Zimbabwe wrote. So it means to lay it down. It doesn't mean to panic. It doesn't mean to go crazy. Now, if that's all you know, fine. God take you any way you got.

But here, it's more of how do I solve my problem? I lay my kids before God. I place my husband before you. I give you the ministry. In other words, it has to deal with to scatter abroad or to overturn.

I like the overturn thing for me. There's one little verse in the Bible. I don't know if you've ever read it. But it says Ephraim was half unbaked. I kind of like that. I love cooking, right now, I'm hungry, I love cooking.

So when I think of Ephraim, I think he's like fish, only cooked on one side. He needs to flip over. I think what it's saying is that God, here's my life, flip it over, here's the rest of my life. Now, God knows exactly what's driving you crazy.

And God knows what pushes your buttons. And sometimes, God allows that to happen. But here's the thing it means in a nutshell. God, I'm gonna pick this thing up, I'm gonna throw it at you. I'm gonna place my life, I'm gonna lay it before you.

Why? Because I can't deal with it any other way. Well, what am I to give God? Your past. I remember when I was, as I've mentioned before, when I was in junior high, molested. I can't go back and get that.

I can't even go back and say, I wish it didn't happen. Sure, I didn't want it to happen. Did it mess me up? Yes, it messed me up. Did it have some consequences? Yes, it did. But I can't worry about it today.

What do I do today? I believe that God wants me to share it. I believe that God's given me victory. I believe that God wants me to use wisdom. And I believe that God wants me to have faith and believe that all things work for the good.

What about the future? I have no problem. I believe that God is going to do a work and God has used this situation. In fact, every one of your children are safe because every one of those teachers are fingerprinted.

Why? I don't want any pedophile messing with our kids. Why? Because of what happened to me. So something bad has turned out good. But it didn't turn out good until what? I accepted and I gave it to God.

So the first thing I need to do is I need to close the door. When I come through, I want to shut the gate. And the reason why is I don't want to keep going back. God has forgiven you. Things have happened.

Kids were not the way you wanted them. Maybe you didn't do the very best. Maybe your business went under. Maybe you want a second chance. I don't know. But you can second guess yourself to your death.

What is done is what? Done. But what happens is Satan is so smart, he gets you so worked up about the past, you're a failure today. So the marriage today is not making it because of the past. And the children today are not working out because of what happened in the past.

And the job today is not working because you're so depressed, you can barely make it to work. You have to put a closer on this. Paul said, all things were lost that I might win the excellency of the knowledge of God.

I count all things as done that I might press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus. And the word press is the word in the Greek that means to persecute. So I'm going to let this side go and I'm heading where God wants me.

So I am to cast my past upon him. I am to cast the present today. Lord, give me strength today. And tomorrow, Lord, they're in your hands. But I'll know this, if I'm living in the past and worried about today, I'm gonna be so self-fulfilled prophecy in the future.

And what do I mean by that? As a man thinketh, so is he. If I think that no one likes me, when I meet you, I'm gonna think you don't like me. So I'm gonna protect myself. I'm gonna be kind of a jerk. And guess what?

You're not gonna like me. So whose fault is that? It's mine. The Bible says, if you're gonna be a friend, you gotta be a friend. So I'm to cast my cares upon him. But the second thing, what am I to do?

Giving Overwhelming Burdens to God

I'm to cast my burden upon God. That's in the Old Testament. And the Old Testament in Psalm 55, 22 is a different word in the Hebrew. It's even a better word. Peter says, throw it, give it, surrender it, lay it.

I can do that. But there are times that you are overwhelmed. You are devastated. You just cannot even function. Maybe news, whatever it might be, what are you to do? You wanna give it, but you can't. You wanna lay it before, but you can't.

You're kind of paralyzed here. And it happens once in a while. It says, cast your burdens upon the Lord. That word cast is a word that means to let go. It means to relax. The best way I could illustrate this, if you're a weightlifter, you pick up the weights and you can do it.

But in that moment, you realize you have too much. So you know in your heart, you can't push it up. And you know in your heart, you're about ready to lose it. And you have two options. One, show off and get hurt.

Or second, take it down and hurt your back. What should you do? Let go. Let the weight fall. And what happens is when my life is overwhelmed, God wants me to let go. But I won't because I don't want anyone dropping the ball.

I've already dropped the ball. I'm already in trouble. I didn't look to God. I got this thing. Drop it. What about my marriage? Drop it. Why? God is gonna catch it. And the moment I release, then God picks it up.

The moment I let go of the kids, God picks it up. The moment I let go of the widowhood, God picks it up. The moment I let go of the hospital, God picks it up. So first of all, I am to throw things, give things, lay things out.

And when I can't, I am to what? Help me. Let go. Oh, but I can't. You have to. Well, why can you not? Because you don't trust God Almighty. See, worrying is not trusting God. You need to trust God. So number one, that's what I'm to do.

Prayer, Supplication, and Thanksgiving

But number two, how? How am I to do this? Well, I think in Philippians chapter four, verse six and seven, it lays it out really well. It says, be careful or be anxious for nothing. Philippians four, six and seven.

But the conjunction, in everything, by prayer, supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And now check this out. The peace of God, which passes all understanding. I don't know why the kids ran away.

I don't know why I'm sick. I don't know why this is happening. Shall keep your heart from bitterness and shall keep your mind from going crazy. Now this is absolutely incredible. So here it is. In my mind, I know I'm to give it to God.

Amen? In my mind, I know I'm to let go. But how? Here, it tells me, I'm to go to God. And I am to ask and I am to tell and I am to thank God. So let's use me as an example. Another surgery, probably 20 in the last three years or so.

You know, another surgery. God, you know, my knee helped me. I don't understand. God listens. My wife doesn't, but God does. Remember the time I shared with you, I have to have like the prostate surgery and I told my wife, I really don't wanna go through this and I just, as a guy you think, oh no.

No one's gonna touch me. And my wife looked at me and she says, hey, I had a baby come through me. What's your problem? Could you be a little bit more compassionate, you know? But it was good because it forced me to go to God and tell God a little thing.

So I begin to ask God, can you help me? Steven, I wanna fix your knee. Well Lord, can you kinda tell me why? Because your knee's a mess. You're old, you're overweight. Okay. How about thank me that you can still walk?

Okay, thank you Lord. So it's God puts everything in perspective. Is it fair? Sure it is. Is it right? Yes. Well how can you say that? Because God's God. And God knows what I need to get my attention to focus.

The sad thing is, is every time I'm gone, the church grows and makes more money. That's what's hard, you know? But you know, it's just like my hands and my life are in the hands of God. So what do I do?

So I have problems. Okay, I give my business to God, give my children to God, give my marriage to God, give my personal life to God. Okay, great. That's one side. Now I need to talk to God. Jesus, would you help me?

I surrender, I give. And it says here, in everything by prayer, asking, supplication, telling, and thanksgiving, let your request be known. What will happen when you start talking to God about your mess?

I'll tell you what's gonna happen. A few things in verse seven. That which you don't understand, you still won't understand. But this is what's gonna happen. Your heart is not gonna get bitter and your mind is not gonna go crazy.

And if my heart is okay and my mind is good, God will get me through anything. It's when the heart goes bad and my mind is wacko. So the only thing that brings peace is that it's the Word of God. And then lastly, and I've saved this for the best because this is the biggest thing.

God Cares, Sustains, and Keeps

Why are we to do it? Number one, very simply, what are we to do? I'm to cast. I'm to drop. Number two, how are we to do it? I'm to talk to God. Lord, help me, be with me, encourage me. Number three, and if you haven't heard anything, you've got to get this.

This is so important. Why are we to do it? Why should I give you my problems? I'm gonna give you three simple things that you will never forget. In 1 Peter 5 or 7, because God cares. I wanna say it one more time.

Because God cares. Now you might not care. And your friends might not care. And the church might not care. And the world might not care, but God does care. And it bothers God when you're hurting and you don't think He really cares.

He came, He died, He suffered, that He would be able to understand the agony of your life. The emotional upheaval that you go through, He does care. What did Martha say? Don't you care? If you cared, you would have been here.

What do I say? Lord, you don't care. You don't care about my life. You don't care about my looks. You don't care about my dress. You don't care about my pimple on my face. God, you don't care. You don't care if I get a job.

You don't care that I'm overweight. You don't care. I can't see. You don't care about my opera. You just don't care. It's lucky God doesn't kill us. So what does He say? Stephen, I've made you. I've bought you.

No one else will ever care like me. No one. Who picked you up out of the street? You did. Who put your feet upon the rock? You did. Who listened to you when no one else did? You. Who has held you together?

You. I care. Second, it says in Psalm 55, verse 22, God sustains. Not only does God care about your problem, but God sustains. In Psalm 55, 22, it says, cast thy burden upon the Lord. He shall sustain.

Now check it out. When your marriage was upside down, He held it together. When your kids ran away, He still loved them and watched over them. When business was upside down, about ready to go over, He kinda held it together.

When you were ready to chuck out and shoot yourself, God put you back together. When you couldn't get out of bed, God helped you get out of bed. God's helped you. And Stephen, again, when you've been in bed with a broken back and out for 90 days, the church grew and made more money, and just, I wanna let you know that I'm holding things together and I'm gonna bless with the Lord.

Could you not bless so much? Because it makes me feel like you don't need me. I don't need you, Stephen. But, you know, think about it. Has God held you together? Yeah. In your unfaithfulness, He was what?

Faithful. In my weakness, He was what? Powerful. Together. In my uncompassion, He was passionate. In my frustration, He was faithful. Oh, Lord, you really have held it together. Is it too late? Never too late.

So He's able to sustain, to grab a hold of something, to work, and He's able to give your spouse a new heart. And He's able to give that kid a new desire. And He's able to take that business and send people there.

Because He, not only does He care, but He holds things together. He sustains. He'll hold the church. And then lastly, because He keeps. I love this. In Philippians chapter four, verse seven, and the peace of God which passes all understanding under a line shall keep your heart.

So, in 1 Peter 5, seven, He cares. In Psalm 55, verse 22, He sustains. And then in Philippians chapter four, verse seven, He will keep. And God will hold you together. That which He's begun, He's able to keep until that day.

That which is restored, that inheritance, He's able to keep it to the day. God's gonna hold you. God's gonna sustain you. God's gonna solve your problems. 90 of the things you worry about are never gonna happen.

God's for you and with you. He's above you. He's under you. He's around you. He's in you. If God be for you, who can be against you? So, let me go back. Is worrying a sin? What do you think? Absolutely.

What do I do with that sin? I have to repent. Jesus, I am so sorry for not trusting you. Do you really care about me that much? You know something? God really cares about you. He really cares. And God's really held you together these years.

And God's gonna keep you and do something very, very special in your life. Amen.

Pastor Steve Mays, revealing the Lord's strategy to effectively deal with the cares of this life. Today's lesson is called, Casting Your Cares. And it originally came out of Steve's set entitled, God's Keeping Power.

In it, Steve answers questions like, what does it mean to live for God? And how can we live a godly life when the world around us is so corrupt? In this 12 part Bible study from First Peter, Pastor Steve addresses the growing problem of ungodly living among believers.

He challenges us to confront and repent from sin in our lives. It's strong biblical counsel that'll help you become a better representative of Jesus Christ here on earth. God's Keeping Power is a series now available right there at our website, lightoftheword .org.

Or get all the details on how it can be sent to you by calling 1 -800 -339-WISE. There's more from Steve's SOS collection next time. Helpful Bible study to help you grow in your faith this summer right here on Light of the Word.

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