Kingdom Expansion: Continued Lessons on Freedom from Anxiety - Part 1

1 Peter 5 .7 Let's just read verses 1 -11 together.

Such a good passage. To the elders among you,

I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ's

suffering, and as one who also will share in

the glory to be revealed. Be shepherds of God's

flock that is under your care, serving as overseers.

Not because you must, but because you are willing

as God wants you to be. Not greedy for money,

but eager to serve. Not lording it over those

entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

And when the chief shepherd appears, you will

receive the crown of glory that will never fade

away. Young men, in the same way, be submissive

to those who are older. And all of you, clothe

yourselves with humility toward one another because

God opposes the proud but gives grace to the

humble. Humble yourselves therefore under God's

mighty hand that He may lift you up in due time

and cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares

for you. Be self -controlled and alert. Your

enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring

lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him

standing firm in your faith because you know

that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing

the same kind of sufferings. And 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. To Him be the power forever

and ever. Amen. Isn't that a beautiful passage?

There's so much here, but I just want to take

a few minutes to focus on verse 7. Cast all your

anxiety on Him because He cares for you. That's

going to be our focus for the next few minutes.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares

for you. Before we left to Pakistan, we finished

up kind of like a two -week teaching from Philippians

4, talking about the exchange that God has invited

us into, exchanging our anxiety through prayer

and supplication with thanksgiving and receiving

instead a peace of God that surpasses understanding

that will guard our hearts and minds in Christ

Jesus. And as I was asking the Lord what kingdom

direction does He want us to go next, I just

really felt like we're not done with anxiety.

I really feel like God wants to put some nails

in the coffin for the issue of anxiety and worry

and the cares of this world in the hearts of

us as kingdom people. So today's message is entitled,

Kingdom Expansion, Continued Lessons on Freedom

from Anxiety. 1 Peter 5, verse 7. If our mission

1 Peter 5:7

is to expand the kingdom of heaven on the earth,

and it is, and if our church has received this

mandate to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth

as it is in heaven, why are we talking... about

worry why are we talking about anxiety why is

it so important and i think we shared this in

the past few weeks but we know that probably

the most well -known passage about the kingdom

of heaven matthew 6 33 that says seek first the

kingdom of god and his righteousness everything

else will be added to you is surrounded by jesus

teachings on worry i don't think that's an accident

the context is appropriate Because the enemy

is trying to use the cares of the world, the

distractions of the world, the tools of fear

and anxiety and worry to completely cause us

to be neutralized in the kingdom of heaven. Because

as long as we are plagued with anxiety, worry,

distraction, our eyes are not clear to our kingdom

purpose on the earth. And we're running in circles.

Always looking at ourselves and the problems

that plague us. And you know, it's interesting

in Matthew 13 when Jesus is telling the meaning

of the parable of the sower, right? He says in

that seed that fell among the thorns was the

kingdom message that fell in the place where

it was choked out by the cares of the world and

the deception of wealth on the earth. Isn't it

interesting that Jesus compares the cares of

the world to thorns? Which I think is, you ever

been just trying to get somewhere in the woods

and you get caught up in briars? Man, nothing

will stop you quicker than a good briar to the

face when you're trying to walk through the woods,

right? I mean, it just kind of sticks and grabs

you. Could we, would you allow your heart again

today to be exhorted by the Word of God that

we must put this thing to death? Like I said

earlier, it's not a surprise to me that a church

family who has taken a vision, a challenge seriously,

and you said, man, this year I'm going to expand

the kingdom of heaven. in my sphere of influence

like I never have before, and you're going on

trips and you're doing all the things, it's not

surprising to me that I'm getting reports of

so many hardships and struggles. Right? Because

these cares of the world, these things that tempt

us to come into anxiety and worry and fear are

some of the oldest and most effective weapons

of Satan. He always has used it and He will continue

to try to use it until His eventual lockup in

the lake of fire. And you and I are going to

have to put this understanding deep in our hearts

that anxiety, worry, and distraction with the

cares of the world is not acceptable in the kingdom

of God. It's not a suggestion. It's not if you

want to be happy or if you want to be a fanatical

Christian. It is the command of God not to be

anxious about anything. And it's not just so

that you cannot be an anxious person. It's so

that you can be an unfettered conduit of the

kingdom of heaven, the person of Jesus, the kingdom

of God, into everywhere that He sends you. Does

that make sense? Alright, so number one, when

we're looking at this verse, cast all your anxiety

on Him because He cares for you. Some truths

here. Number one, refuse to water down the holy

Word of God. All means all. Refuse to water down

the holy... Eternal Word of God. When God says

all, He means all. It says cast all your anxiety

on Him. It may be redundant. We talked about

this a couple weeks ago, but I don't know about

you, I could hear this part every day of my life.

All is the Greek word pos. I love the definition

here. This is right out of Strong's Concordance

of Greek Words. Each, every, any, all, the whole,

everyone, all things, everything, always. I mean,

it doesn't get much more clear for us. When God

says cast all your anxieties on Him, all means

all. Each one, everyone, any of them, all of

them, the whole of them, everyone that's causing

you to... To be tempted to anxiety. Some of you

are elbowing someone sitting next to you. All

things, everything, in all ways, at all times,

we are not to carry anxiety. We are to cast them.

We're going to talk a little bit more about what

that means in a moment. We are not created to

sustain the weight of anxiety caused by the cares

of the world as a daily lifestyle. We're not

created to carry those. We were created to be

yoked with the One who has shoulders big enough

and strong enough to carry the cross full of

our anxieties. We were not created to be people

who walk in a lifestyle of anxiety, fear, or

worry. And we wonder why we're tripping up. We

wonder why we're not... the representative of

Christ that we dream about being. We wonder why

we're not powerful and effective in the kingdom.

And this might be one of those clues to you.

You want to become who you are destined to be

in the kingdom of God? I know I do. If that's

you, and you're waiting for nothing to be worried

or anxious about in your life, you're never going

to see kingdom effectiveness. Because it's not

about waiting to the moment you have nothing

to worry about. It's about making the choice

that I will not carry anxiety, worry, fear, or

distraction by the cares of this world. I refuse

to. And if God tells you to cast all the cares

on Him, I guarantee you He will impart the grace

to be obedient to that Word. He doesn't say,

hey son, cast all your cares upon me and then

not give you the ability to do it. That's not

a good father. No, he gives us everything we

need. We must refuse to compromise any lifestyle

that caters to carrying anxieties. Are you with

me? We must refuse to compromise any lifestyle

that caters to carrying anxiety august 4th or

3rd 4th through 7th we're going to take our annual

backpacking trip here at the church it's not

too late if you say i didn't even hear about

this backpacking trip i don't know where you've

been we've talked about it's been the announcements

but you're welcome to go i would love for you

to go and on this backpacking trip we're going

to pack our backpacks with everything we need

to live in the woods, we're going to climb up

a mountain, and we're going to stay there for

three, four, some people five days, okay? What

I learned in my very first backpacking trip,

and some of the men in this room were there,

is that you're tempted to think in a backpacking

trip, well, because, a little clue, to get lightweight

backpacking equipment, it's not cheap. It can

be expensive. The lighter the weight, the more

expensive the equipment. And if you're cheap,

like me, and you're on your first backpacking

trip, you think, oh, backpacking tent, you know,

3 .7 pounds, regular tent, 8 pounds, 9 pounds.

You think, I'm a man. I can handle 4 extra pounds.

Right? You're like, oh, just put the regular

tent in there. And your kids are like, I want

a chair to sit on. You're like, I can buy a $75

backpacking chair that weighs like 0 .6 pounds,

or I can just carry this regular fold -up chair

that's like 3 .2. And you're like, I'm a man.

I can carry an extra two and a half pounds. I'm

no sissy. But what you find out is the accumulation

of all those pounds and ounces, and you stick

it in this big overflowing backpack, And because

you're taking more than you think you needed,

you've got stuff strapped to it, hanging on it,

you're messing with the balance. What you do

is you destroy any enjoyment of that journey.

And it's amazing how after that first trip, how

much little... you can do with. You're like,

you know what? I didn't need that so much. In

fact, the first trip we ever went on was we just

got invited to go on a bow elk hunting trip with

some men in the church. And we were just going

as hikers. And one of the guys took so much stuff,

he could not make it to the campsite the first

night. So he camped halfway. And when he made

it, he got a big fire going and burned the majority

of all his clothing that he brought. He was like,

there's no way I'm taking this back down the

mountain. I am not exaggerating. He burns, and

it was, he wasn't my size or I would have brought

it all home because it's all like good hunting

gear. I'm like, you know, he's burning it. Yeah,

oh man. He fed everybody all his food that he

brought that was ridiculous. And what I'm saying,

I hope this gives the testimony of it's, It's

not just the huge things that start to take a

toll in your kingdom lifestyle. You know what

I'm saying? It's natural to worry a little bit

about this. I mean, it's my job as a parent to

have a little bit of worry about my kids. And

we start picking up these small burdens. But

they end up... and cumulative nature becoming

more than we can bear. And we find ourselves

useless for the kingdom of heaven. Does that

make sense? So, could we pause right here and

I just want to ask you, what are the things that

the enemy has lied to you about and said, a little

bit of care, a little bit of worry, a little

bit of anxiety, a little bit of fear is just

a natural part of the life. And you begin to

accumulate some things in your spirit. I want

to encourage you that right now would be a really

good time to pause and repent before God. And

repent just means to say, I choose to think like

you think. And God thinks this way. No anxiety.

You carry no anxiety. That's how God thinks.

And you need to renew your mind to that. You

know, we often pause in these teachings and I

give us an opportunity to repent. Don't become

so familiar with that that you begin to take

advantage of it. Do you know what a gift it is

to repent before God? Be stirred. Have some fear

of the Lord in your heart. If you are walking

in anxiety, it's not a suggestion. It's a command

to repent. So let's do that. Let's just take

a moment if you need to. Whether it's cumulative

small things or big things, you've accepted or

settled for a lifestyle of anxiety. Good job.

Number two. You're writing these things down.

Anxiety must be seen for what it is. A snare

and weapon used by Satan to steal, kill, and

destroy. Do not entertain it or flirt with it.

It must be continually cast away. Does that make

sense to you? See anxiety for what it is. Let

the Spirit of God, let the scales fall from our

eyes, and it's not just this little thing to

be played with, or if we get to this comfortable

part in our Christian life, then we'll deal with

anxiety or worry. No. It is a weapon that the

enemy is using to steal, kill, and destroy you

and I. So we need to see it for what it is. And

we need to stop flirting with it and instead

the Bible says cast it off. Cast it away. It's

interesting that the context of the passage,

cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares

for you. Look at the next verse. And be self

-controlled and alert because your enemy the

devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking

for someone to devour. I for one, am refusing

to let the devil devour the church of God with

anxiety anymore. Alright? It's such a plague

on our culture. And it should not be so. So we

need to recognize it for what it is. Does it

make sense that we don't entertain it or flirt

with it? We're not to entertain these things.

Cast them off. It's interesting this Greek word

for cast here. Epi -ripto. It's a compound verb

made of two words. Ripto means to throw or place.

And epi means upon something. Are you okay with

just kind of a funny story? Just for a second.

Kind of break the intensity of the moment. In

Bible college and seminary, we have to study

Greek and Hebrew. And it's a lot of Greek words.

I mean, hundreds and hundreds of words that you

have to learn in the Greek language. And so,

this is before. What's that app now that's the

digital flashcards? Anybody know? Quizlet, thank

you. Before Quizlet, we had this thing called

a metal ring with a bunch of flashcards on it,

you know? We flipped through, you know, and on

the fronts, the Greek word on the backs, the

definition is hours and hours. I always loved

the word epi because I instantly knew the meaning

because in my mind, it was like epi upon, I pee

upon. And so, I don't know, Jill always says

the world is a man's urinal. That's like, if

I was going to fail a Greek test, I always knew

I had one. A piapon. So, enjoy that. Well, it

helped me. If you're ever in a Greek test, it

might help you. But, to throw a pawn, or to cast

or to place a pawn. That's important because

it could have just said ripto, which means to

throw. Or to cast or to place. But it's on purpose

that it's to place upon. Cast all your anxieties

on Him. On Him. He is the subject of who and

what you should be placing. The care upon. The

promise of Philippians 4, 6, and 7 that we've

been talking about for weeks is only offered

when we cast our cares on Jesus. We cannot just

try to get rid of them. Does that make sense

to you? You can't just through meditation let

your cares be lifted up into the atmosphere.

Baloney. It's not going to work. You can't cast

them upon something that doesn't care enough

to receive it. Try casting your anxieties on

your already anxious, weighted friends and see

how that goes. Quit going to your friends first

with your anxieties. Quit trying to cast all

your anxieties on social media. Quit trying to

cast it on your vice. For many of us, when we

get nervous, the first thing we want to do is

reach for a bottle, a cigarette. a shopping website,

a candy bar, anything other than Jesus that would

try to make us feel better than our worry. And

it never, ever works. Never works. And it never

will. There is a place to cast all of our anxieties

on. And He is big enough and great enough and

wonderful enough and attentive enough to receive

them every time. But the people of God, they're

going to continue to walk in an ineffective nature

in the kingdom of heaven as long as we're trying

to put off our fears, our worries, on our own

abilities, or our vices, or our friends, or our

pastor, or whatever it may be. There's only one

with shoulders broad enough for your anxiety.

And His name is Jesus. It's just Him. We only

get the peace that passes understanding when

we intentionally exchange our anxiety with Him.

That's the promise. Another interesting thing

about this word cast. How many of you have a

New King James Version, King James Version, Christian

Standard Bible, ESV, any of those versions today?

In your version, it says casting. That is the

proper translation. of this word in this verse.

When you look up this in the literal Greek, it's

an aorist active predicate of this Greek verb.

And I don't know what that means other than I

have to look it up every time I'm parsing a Greek

verb. But what it means is this is expressed

as a continuous action. Casting... casting your

anxiety on God will never be a one -time experience.

You say, Jesse, how many times am I going to

deal with this? How many times am I going to

have to have this exchange with Jesus about this

anxiety? I don't know, but keep doing it one

more and one more and one more. And know that

He is producing in you a freedom that will be

sustained. But this is a continual casting. of

anxiety. And hey, guess what? When you get victorious,

and you will, when you get victorious over one

area in your life, I'll tell you what, Jill and

I, when we first started having children, we

were captivated with fear about our children.

But God, especially in Jill, I saw a finite moment

that she made that exchange and set free. But

guess what? You're going to get victory over

areas, but when you do, I hate to tell you, the

devil's not going to go, okay, well, I guess

we're done with anxiety. No, he's going to try

to bring something else. A different situation.

A different circumstance. And you're going to

be tempted in that moment. And in that moment,

you're going to have to intentionally go, I have

to cast this care upon God, upon Jesus. I have

to go to Him and exchange it through prayer and

petition with thanksgiving. And I will receive

His peace that passes human understanding. Does

that make sense? Casting your anxieties on God

was never meant to be a one -time action. It

is a continual lifestyle of casting our cares

upon Him. In difficult seasons of our lives,

this may need to be an hourly or minute -by -minute

exchange. One of the most powerful things that

I received from this past week at Pakistan, there

are two phrases, one by... Brad, that deeply

continues to reverberate in my heart. And one

by Pastor Russell. The context for this one is

the one Pastor Russell said in one of his sermons.

Anything that hinders or suppresses the presence

of God in your life must become your enemy. Let

that settle on your heart for a second. Anything

in your life that suppresses or hinders the presence

of God must become your enemy. What does it say?

It's saying, if you're involved in something,

some act, some thinking process, some lie, and

you understand that you're feeling the peace

and the presence of God lifting in your life,

that thing needs to become your enemy. You don't

flirt with it. You don't play with it. You declare

it your enemy. And that's what I'm talking about

in this area of anxiety. We cannot settle for

this thing robbing us of the manifest presence

of God for the sake of these people and their

eternal salvation. We cannot settle for a lifestyle

in which we are not continually exchanging anxiety

for the peace of God. Because they need to see

what it looks like to live in a world full of

anxious circumstances and walk in a kingdom peace

that cannot be shaken. They deserve to see that.

Does that make sense? If it suppresses the presence

of God in our lives, it must become our enemy.

Children, kids, first of all, I love you. I'm

so proud of you. I thank you for sitting in service

with us today and listening to the yelling preacher.

And I'm sorry I said that thing about Greek and

peeing. I feel like I could have waited to a

better service for that. But it is what it is.

But I want to share specifically with you children.

Right now, your parents, it's their job to protect

you from a lot of things. But even, they're doing

their best job. But even they can't protect you

from things that you want to worry about, that

you want to have fear about. If you could learn

now at this age that God has made my heart able.

to have no fear or anxiety by His power. You

are going to start off so much stronger than

we ever were. No one ever taught this to me when

I was your age. And that's why you're going to

be so much more powerful in God. than we ever

dream of being. If right now you can say to yourself,

children, if right now at your age, 4, 5, 6,

10, 12, 16, if you can say to yourself, I recognize

that I will not carry the weight of anxiety because

my God cares for me. There is no limit to kingdom

impact in this world. Could we just pause right

there for a second? If you need to repent and

just commit to recognize it for what it is and

refuse to carry it. We're not going to have time

to... move through these other two truths so

we'll pick them up at a later date. Because I

wanted to just give a few minutes for us to respond

to the Lord today. I'm going to ask Brad just

to come and just, yeah, come on. When I was a

young man in a youth group, I remember they taught

us this chorus, so just bear with me. Why don't

you just stand? Would this be okay? Would you

stand and just open your heart to what the Holy

Spirit wants to do right now? He taught us this

chorus. And I cast... All my cares upon you.

And I lay all of my burdens down at your feet.

And anytime I don't know just what to do, I will

cast all my cares upon you. We're going to sing

it again, but I want to open the altar right

now. I want to open this space. If you just want

to come cast a care upon the Lord, if you want

to come exchange a worry, please don't leave

with this weight. You're not designed to carry

it. And what we're going to get to next week

is this is how He cares for you. He cares so

much. He wants to take this thing. He wants you

to walk in freedom. So would you just come? I'm

going to sing it one more time. And I cast all

my cares upon you.