In doing this "Casting Our Cares" series I have listed certain KEYS to remember as we learn to cast our cares upon the Lord. So far I have listed these two KEYS...
PRAYER KEY: God knows and understands our current need and our current position better then we do. PRAYER KEY: The Bible is God speaking to us. We can and should cast all our cares upon the Lord because He cares for us affectionately. The Father watches over His Word to accomplish it. Today we will address the third KEY in learning to cast our cares upon the Lord. PRAYER KEY: In daily life we all will have plenty of opportunities to worry and fear if we want to do it: I guarantee that you had many opportunities to worry and fret over this last week. And I bet you took ample time with some of those opportunities. So let me ask you this. Did any of the worry, fear, or fret achieve anything, change anything, or help in any way? Did that worry, fear and fret give you some feeling of control over the situation and it's outcome? Matthew 6:25-27 ESV “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (26) Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? (27) And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? Matthew 6:32-34 ESV For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. (33) But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (34) “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. I have been raised up from a death bed three times now, in 1979, 2007, and 2009 when my heart stopped during a medical procedure. In each of these times I had received both negative and positive words from family and friends about my health. Of course we typically get warm feelings when we get the positive words and we typically get emotionally down when we get the negative reports. However, our victory does not depend upon either the positive or negative words of people. The words we get from other people need to align with the Word of God and be in agreement with the Holy Spirit. We need to confess our sin of worry and be filled with God’s Word and His promises. Our faith should grow through trials. If we do not respond correctly in trials then our faith can wane. We need the Word of God in us because faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word. We cannot pray correctly without knowing the Word of God and the Character of God. James 1:2-4 ESV Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, (3) for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. (4) And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. Romans 10:17 ESV So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ. I have been in places and situations were I would have run away had I not gotten a Word from God that assured me He put me there for a season and for a reason. Sometimes the only word I would get is “There are hard trials ahead, but they are not meant to destroy you, or make you a victim, for your good." Philippians 4:6-7 ESV do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
0 Comments
It is nothing new when I state that Christians undergo trials and are sometimes afflicted, brokenhearted, crushed, and depressed. We just want peace. How does God our heavenly Father respond to us in these times?
Psalms 34:18-19 ESV The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. (19) Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. The Lord knows the afflictions and trials of the believers and the Lord’s deliverance is ready for those who ask and surrender the cares upon Him. If we want deliverance we need to know that it does not come by our telling the Lord what He already knows. He knows we are hurting. It is not enough for us to know that God knows, understands, and cares for us. We must do what His Word tells us to do. Every distraction that keeps us from walking in the rest and peace of the Lord needs to be cast or thrown upon Him. Philippians 4:6-7 ESV do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. (7) And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 5:7 ESV casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. The things we fear and fret over nullify our prayers. We need to turn them over to the Lord. The Greek in 1 Peter 5:7 actually says to cast or throw them to the Lord. How do we know if we have turned these things over to the Lord? If we have fear and worry then the Lord does not have it because we have not given it over to the Lord by faith. If the Lord has received your frets, fears, and worries then you no longer have them. When we still have the frets, fears, and worries and are anxious we are trying to figure out a solution to the problem. God does not need to figure out a solution to a problem. If you can’t sleep or eat because of the constant thoughts of the cares then they have not been committed to the Lord, no matter how long or hard you have prayed. When we really, by faith, cast our cares upon the Lord it is a done deal. We don’t have to do the same ones over and over again. God the Father delivers us from fear by His Word and His love. If we walk in fear then we have a “Word” problem and a “Love” problem. We can never be free from fear if we continue to justify it or excuse it as normal.
1 John 4:18 ESV There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 2 Timothy 1:7 ESV for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control. First, in this study, I will list the fears that we should be free from then over the upcoming weeks I will go into Scriptural detail on each. 1. We should be free from the fear of MAN: 2. We should be free from the fear of DEATH: 3. We should be free from the fear of the FUTURE: 4. We should be free from the fear of DANGER: 5. We should be free from the fear of IDOLS: 6. We should be free from the fear of DREAMS: 7. We should be free from the fear of EVIL: 8. We should be free from the fear of WAR: 9. We should be free from the fear of IMAGINATIONS (Fearful Thinking): 10. We should be free from the fear of our ENEMIES: 11. We should be free from the fear of PUNISHMENT: 12. We should be free from the fear of DARKNESS: 13. We should be free from the fear of SPIRITS: 14. We should be free from the fear of the SPIRIT OF FEAR: |
AuthorCharles Morris. Founder and Senior Pastor of RSI Ministry, RSI School of Ministry, and RSI Publishing L.L.C.. Archives
March 2021
Categories
All
|