CENTRAL THOUGHT
God is concerned about the needs of those who trust and obey him.
TEXT: Luke 12:22-31, 8:14, 21:34-36, 1 Peter 5:6-7
INTRODUCTION:
Our heavenly father has great care and concern for every aspect of our lives, and has promised to provide all of our needs if we will but trust and obey Him. Life in general is attended with many cares. It was the desire of our Savior to get it across to His disciples and to us that God knows, understands, and is concerned with the legitimate cares of this life. There are not only legitimate cases, but also overburdening cares that we can become so heavily laden with that which will choke out the place that the word of God should have in our hearts and lives.
When Jesus said “take no thought for your life”, He meant we should not allow it to be a heavy burden or to be anxious about it. He said this because He could have us to know that the Heavenly Father, the One who created us and brought us into this life really is dutiful in His concern for us to supply every need that we have. This message is surely a needed message now. If we look around we see people who are over burdened with cares and responsibilities of life. Their hearts and minds are so anxious and worried about their financial state that they have no place in them for spiritual blessings or interests in eternal values.
They are literally taken up with the fleeting things of this life of vanity. The sad thing is that it will (if not corrected) render them unprepared for the Lord’s coming. What a privilege to humble ourselves under God’s hand of love, and know that we do not have to worry about anything, for God has promised to care for us and see to it that every need will be supplied in due season.
LESSON OBJECTIVES
- The objectives of this study are:
- To know some of the cares of life
- To know how to handle cares
- To know the consequences of being overburdened with cares
- To know that God is concerned about our cares
Q1. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE CARES OF LIFE?
Luke 12:22
Human beings, are always concerned about the necessities of life. The spiritual man do mind the things of the Spirit while the carnal man do mind the things of the flesh. From Luke 12:22, Jesus who knows that man gets worried about life, mentions food, clothing, and welfare of the body. Food is a necessity of life. Without it, man cannot live. One has to labor in order to have enough to eat and to cater for one’s dependents or household. We cannot go about naked and one has to retire to a comfortable shelter after the days labor. The issue of taking care of dependents like children, parents, or brethren form other areas of concern for us. Often we feel that it is the much energy expended in worrying that yields the needed result. For our safety, the scripture says in Psalm 127:1 “Except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen watcheth but in vain”. It is not how much security we have put in place but the Lords doing. He gives us power to make wealth (Deut. 8:18). Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward (Psa. 127:3). All we are and have are from the Lord.
While we have a catalogue of things we care about for life and Godliness the scripture admonishes us that we should be careful for nothing for He cares for us.
Q2. HOW SHOULD CHRISTIANS HANDLE CARES?
Luke 12:30 ‘For all these things the nations of the world seek after …” The people of the world seek after fame, power, wealth, and all that the world can give. They seek for them in a manner of do or die affair and most occasions corruptly enriching themselves. Sometimes most of them enter into destructive covenants with the devil and his agents. They not only lose all and their lives prematurely, they are also bound for eternal condemnation.
But we are not so. They child of God must constantly know and be assured that “… your Father knows that you need these things” (Luke 12:30). The scripture enjoins us therefore “But seek ye the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added to you” (Luke 12:31). Our Father assures us that these things that we care for are mere additions to the subject matter- Salvation. God is faithful and He will surely add all these blessings to us if we are willing and obedient. The foundation to our overcoming cares and worries is our faith in the all sufficient God. God feeds the ravens, He clothes the lilies. He is more than able to do same to all those who put their trust on Him. We should therefore cast all our cares upon Him for He careth for us.
Q3. HOW DOES “CARE” HINDER CHRISTIAN GROWTH?
The Lord gave a parable of the sower who went to sow his seed. While sowing, the seed fell on various types of soil. Some indeed fell among thorns and these were explained as those that would grow up and will be choked by these thorns and would perish. The seed symbolizes the word which fall on hearts that are preoccupied with the cares of this world. And the word which has no root is choked by these “cares” and dies away. A life that is pre-occupied with the cares of this world cannot store and live by the word of God (Luke 8:14). The Christian that bears the burdens and cares of life will not have time for prayers, study of the word, and fellowship. If he does, it will be merely a mechanical routine. He will live in fear rather than by faith; depending on the mechanism of working hardest to achieve any goal rather than trusting in God to bless the labor of his hands.
He will not trust in the efficacy of prayers. He may even depend on good works in and for the church. Blessings of God are reduced to mere materialism. One may have luxuries and money and use such monies to pursue earthly gains rather than the heavenly. Such Christians more often than not, remain babes and carnal rather than growing in the things of the Spirit.
Q4. HOW DO WE AVOID BEING WEIGHED DOWN BY THE CARES OF LIFE?
1 Peter 5:6-7
God is always willing and able to exalt all those who are under His control. All that we are and have are free gifts from Him. He will never forsake His own. Seeing we have such a Father who cares about us, we should learn to trust in Him. The scripture enjoins: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
We should give ourselves to constant study and be obedient to the word of God. The solutions to our worries, cares and anxieties are found in the word. It should be our watch word rather than over burdening our thought life. In Romans 1:17, we are told that “the just shall live by faith”. Another antidote is in Mark 11:24 “Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them and you will have them”. Trusting our big God will remove the burden of cares from us.
Q5. HOW DOES GOD FEEL ABOUT THE CARES THAT WE HAVE IN THIS WORLD?
“If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will He clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Luke 12:28). From the scriptures above, we know that God is in charge of our welfare. He does not want us to be anxious about these things of life for He cares for us. He feeds the ravens that neither sow nor reap. God sees us much more valuable than the lilies and ravens and desires to take care of us. He sees us often as being burdens we ought not to bear. Jesus summarized His teaching by saying “If you then are not able to do the least, (as adding a cubit to our stature), why are you anxious for the rest?
The scripture also enjoins us to “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication and with thanksgiving let your requests be known unto God” (Phil. 4:6). God wants to remove the burdens off of His children if we will allow Him in. His thoughts towards us are of peace and not of evil, to give us expected end (Jeremiah 29:11).
Daily Living Application:
We must acknowledge that the struggle for existence is no doubt the basis of human activities. While every human being has this in focus, we find that various devices are adopted. Many today, have allowed the cares of this life to overwhelm them. The Christian should realize that this is one of the spheres of life from which he has been saved. As soon as one is saved, that individual can be free by letting Christ bear his burdens. Christ indeed is our burden bearer and He delights in our cares. If He clothes the lilies and feeds the ravens, how much more will He do for us who are his if we can be willing and obedient. He promised us the fruit of the land and indeed to bless the labors of our hands. Let us therefore cast all our cares upon Him for he cares for us. Let us not allow the cares of life so occupy us that we have no time or space for the things of God (Luke 8:14). Christians should be preoccupied with things of heaven for we are in this world as sojourners. We are citizens of heaven so we should declare the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9).
Memory verse:
Psalm 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved”.
Daily Devotional Guide:
Monday: Lay up treasures in Heaven
Matt. 6:19-24
Tuesday: Do not worry
Matt. 6:25-34
Wednesday: Love for enemies
Luke 6:27-36
Thursday: The Lord cares for you
1 Peter 5:6-7
Friday: Watch and wait for His coming suddenly
Luke 21:34-36
Saturday: No confidence in the flesh
Phil 3:1-11