I Peter 5 - Winona - 9-14-08 PM
“What? Me? Worry?”
I Peter 5:6-11
Sunday, September 14, 2008 – AM Service – FBC Winona
The Professional Worrier
“I have a mountain of credit card debt,” one man told another. “I’ve lost my job, my car is being repossessed, and our house is in foreclosure, but I’m not worried about it.”
“Not worried about it!” exclaimed his friend.
“No. I’ve hired a professional worrier. He does all my worrying for me, and that way I don’t have to think about it.”
“That’s fantastic. How much does your professional worrier charge for his services?”
“Fifty thousand dollars a year,” replied the first man.
“Fifty thousand dollars a year? Where are you going to get that kind of money?”
“I don’t know,” came the reply. “That’s his worry.”
We seem to have many things in this life which get us discouraged
· Marriages in turmoil, Family stress, Rebellious children, Financial crises, Job worries, Economy, Problems which seem to mount up and the mountain gets higher and higher
· Morality and ethics in America today, Spiritual oppression
Peter addresses dealing with things that overwhelm us and worry us in I Peter 5
· Begins the chapter by giving counsel to the elders (older) to watch over younger
· Then charges younger to not be too proud but take counsel from the older
· He charges both groups to humble themselves and be willing to be used
· This same concept of humility works when dealing with difficult situations
· That brings us to verses 6-11
· Those of us who are going through tough situations need an extra dose of Word.
I Peter 5:6-11
6Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
8Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.
10And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11To him be the power forever and ever. Amen.
Action and Response – You do something . . . He responds
1) Humble yourselves . . . that He may lift you up
· When we are down, our immediate reaction is to fight back and crawl up
· Sometimes the response you give in the heat of battle is not led by God
· The last part of that statement is the most difficult . . . in due time
2) Cast all your anxiety on Him . . . He cares for you
· When we cast our cares – it actually is like throwing it on Him – getting rid of
· What we often look to do when we are down is someone to hold it with us – not cast on
· We can be assured that God is interested in what is troubling us – He cares for us
3) Be self-controlled and alert . . . the devil prowls like a roaring lion
· Not talking about taking control of the situation
· Talking about making moves wisely, under control and under leadership
· Hasty moves can prove to be a negative witness and make us susceptible to the devil
4) Resist him, stand firm in the faith . . . your brothers are undergoing the same sufferings
· Sometimes it is the most comforting of thoughts to know someone else goes through it
· You may think you are the only one suffering – but open your eyes
· We need not be ashamed to let our brothers know we are hurting
5) Suffer a little while . . .God will restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast
· “Hold on my child, Joy comes in the morning”
· Psalm 30:5, “ weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
· The end result is you will be stronger and more fit to face the next trial
If these things are true . . . then the converse must be true as well
· Don’t humble yourself... He won’t be able to lift you up – you’ll fall off of your pedestal
· Don’t cast your cares on Him . . . you won’t be able to know how much He cares
· React quickly without control, don’t be alert – fall right into the devil’s trap
· Don’t resist evil or stand firm – you’ll fall right into many holes-won’t be able to get up
· If you don’t. . . you may suffer more than a little while – you’ll be weak and wimpy
When J. C. Penney Worried
James Cash Penney, coming from a long line of Baptist preachers, grew up with deep convictions. He was unwaveringly honest. He never smoked or drank, and he was a hard worker. But in 1929 when the Great Depression hit, Penney found himself in crisis. He had made unwise commitments, and they turned sour. Penney began to worry about them, and soon he was unable to sleep. He developed a painful case of shingles and was hospitalized. His anxiety only increased in the hospital, and it seemed resistant to tranquilizers and drugs. His mental state deteriorated until, as he later said, I was broken nervously and physically, filled with despair, unable to see even a ray of hope. I had nothing to live for. I felt I hadn’t a friend left in the world, that even my family turned against me.
One night he was so oppressed he didn’t think his heart would hold out, and, expecting to die before morning, he sat down and wrote farewell letters to his wife and sons.
But he did live through the night, and the next morning he heard singing coming from the little hospital chapel. The words of the song said,
Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you.
Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you
God will take care of you – thro’ every day, o’er all the way
He will take care of you; God will take care of you.
Entering the chapel, he listened to the song, to the Scripture reading, and to the prayer. Suddenly—something happened. I can’t explain it. I can only call it a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into warm, brilliant sunlight. All worry left him as he realized more fully than he had ever imagined just how much the Lord Jesus Christ cared for him. From that day J. C. Penney was never plagued with worry, and he later called those moments in the chapel “the most dramatic and glorious twenty minutes of my life.”*