HANG IN THERE: God will take care of you - June 28, 2026
INTRODUCTION
- There is darkness, but the light dispels the darkness.
- Throw down your cloak.
- Freedom is coming.
- Christ is enough.
- Jesus gives peace and hope.
Chuck Swindoll wrote:
“We can live several weeks without food, days without water, and only minutes without oxygen, but without hope – forget it.”
1 Peter 5:5b-11 NIV
“All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is 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 for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 5:5b-11 NIV
I. TURN ALL YOUR ANXIETY OVER TO GOD BECAUSE HE CARES FOR YOU.
An average person’s anxiety is focused on:
40% -- things that will never happen
30% -- things about the past that can’t be changed
12% -- things about criticism by others (mostly untrue)
10% -- about health which gets worse with stress
8% -- about real problems that will be faced
Sermon Illustrations .com
1 Peter 5:7 NIV
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:7 NIV
A. All your anxiety
B. Turn it over to God
C. God cares for you.
II. KEEP YOUR MIND CLEAR, AND BE ALERT.
Franklin D. Roosevelt said:
We have always held to the hope, the belief, the conviction that there is a better life, a better world just beyond the horizon.
1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.”
1 Peter 5:8-9 NIV
Two explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them.
"Keep calm," the first explorer whispered. "Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run."
"Sure," replied and his companion. "You've read the book, and I've read the book. But has the lion read the book?"
Gordon Curley, Sermon Central, March 20, 2011.
A. The devil is prowling around.
B. Be firm and resist him
C. Know that other believers throughout the world are going through the same kind of suffering.
III. GOD WILL TAKE CARE OF YOU.
1 Peter 5:10 NIV
“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.”
1 Peter 5:10 NIV
A. He will restore you.
B. He will strengthen you.
C. He will make you firm.
D. He will support you as you suffer for a little while.
John Brentz, a friend of Luther, and one of the stalwarts of the Reformation, incurred the hatred of Charles V who made many attempts to kill the minister. Hearing that a troop of Spanish cavalry was on the way to arrest him, he cast himself upon God in prayer. At once the guidance came: "Take a loaf of bread and go into the upper town and where thou findest a door open, enter and hide thyself under the roof."
He acted accordingly, found the only open door, and hid himself in the loft. For fourteen days he laid there while the search continued. The one loaf of bread would have been insufficient, but day by day, a hen came up to the garret, and laid an egg without cackling. The fifteenth day it did not come, but John Brentz heard the people in the street say, "They are gone at last," and he came out.
Rogelio Mallari, Sermon Central, November 14, 2010.
The same God that provided for John Brentz will provide for you.
CONCLUSION
1 Peter 5:11 NIV
“To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
1 Peter 5:11 NIV
Turn all your anxiety over to God because He cares for you. Keep your mind clear, and be alert. God will take care of you.
To echo the words I mentioned earlier that Chuck Swindoll wrote:
As Craig T. Kocher states, "Christian hope is fundamentally different from optimism. Christian hope locks its steely eyes on the devastation of the world around it, and readily acknowledges that things may not get better. Christian hope does not bury its heat in Yule-tide cheer and artificial lights, but like an Advent wreath glowing stronger and brighter each week, this hope pushes its way into the brokenness of the world clearing a path in the wilderness so the true light might burst into the darkness."
Kocher then goes on to cite a story told by Tom Long, about a rabbi Hugo Grynn, who was sent to Auschwitz as a little boy. In the midst of the concentration camp, in the midst of the death and horror all around them, many Jews held onto whatever shreds of their religious observances they could, without drawing the ire of the guards. One cold winter's evening, Hugo's father gathered the family in the barracks. It was the first night of Hanukkah, the Jewish Feast of Lights.
The young child watched in horror as his father took the family's last pad of butter and made a makeshift candle, using a string from his ragged clothes. He then took a match and lit the candle. "Father, no!" Hugo cried. "That butter is our last bit of food! How will we survive?"
"We can live for many days without food," his father said. "We cannot live a single minute without faith and hope. This is the fire of hope. Never let it go out. Not here! Not anywhere!"
Pulpit Resource, Logos Productions, Inc, 2005.
INVITATION
It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word. You may want to follow Jesus. You may want to proclaim your faith. You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things). Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church. If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now. If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.
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