service notes
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Tim 2:15
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He Cares For You
Sunday, July 26, 2009: By Pastor Hubert Ulysse
Luke 8:11-15
11.Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
12. Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and taketh away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
13. They on the rock [are they], which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away.
14. And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of [this] life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
15. But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep [it], and bring forth fruit with patience.
Pastor Ulysse started the sermon by explaining that people fall into four basic categories as it relates to the parable above from Luke.
Unresponsive- Those that hear the Word of God and do nothing with it.
Impulsive- Those that hear the word and take it to heart and start moving forward right away, but never develop “roots” in God that go deeper than a surface experience.
Preoccupied- Those that are like verse 14 and are choked by the cares of this life. These are the people who allow the world to steal their joy. Those who are preoccupied cannot grow spiritual fruit (see Galatians 5:22) to maturity because they get distracted before they have the opportunity to see spiritual matters through all the way.
Noble- Those that are honest, patient, and never give up on following God. Their lives show the fruits of the spirit and they find their peace in God.
Pastor Ulysse asked each of us to take a few minutes and think about which of these four categories we fall into. God cares for each of these groups. If He didn’t He would not have given all of them his word.
Many of us may find that we fall into the category of preoccupied. There are so many things to care about in this life, it’s hard not to get that way. Many of the cares that we find ourselves taking on are completely legitimate like education, family, and the future of our country. But to allow those cares to consume us will be our destruction. The problem comes from our perspective on the cares we feel, not in the fact that we have them. We have to realize that God is there to take care of us, and he asks us to give our cares to Him, not handle them on our own.
Psalms 127:1-2
[[A Song of degrees for Solomon.]] Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh [but] in vain.
[It is] vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: [for] so he giveth his beloved sleep.
We can either word hard, earn our living, try to make our own way in this world and fall down exhausted at the end of every day, or we can cast our cares on God and he will give us everything we need, plus the rest we need to keep going. That is the promise we find in Psalms.
I Peter 5: 6-7
5. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
6. Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
7. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
There are all types of cares. Peter (who wrote this section of scripture) had to worry about being killed for following Christ in his day in age. Today, we obviously don’t face the same kind of persecution. We may be ridiculed by our peers, or left out of events because of the stand we make to follow God, but in America we do not have to worry about our lives being in danger because we are Christians. Despite the intense pressure Peter had on him, he acknowledges in verse 6 that we have to cast our cares on God because he cares for us.
The scriptures teach us that God wants us to live life and have it abundantly, not just to muddle through and make it to the next day. We should not be consumed with the cares of this world. We have a choice: Try to make it on our own, or take our cares to Jesus who loves us, and has promised us peace and rest. When we see it in those terms, it seems like an easy choice. Living that way is the challenge.
Pastor Ulysse talked about what it would take for a man to decide that he would rather go out and fish all day than go to work. For a while, it would seem that going fishing would be a wonderful option, but when the bills started pouring in, and the rent was due, the decision not to go to work would seem less attractive. The same is true in our spiritual lives. We have a responsibility to God to be faithful and take our cares to him every day. This is how we “make our living”. And we may get by for a little while on our own, but eventually we would be stuck in a very unpleasant situation and find ourselves wanting the security of a God who takes care of us.
I Corinthians 7:29-35
29. But this I say, brethren, the time [is] short: it remaineth, that both they that have wives be as though they had none;
30. And they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not;
31. And they that use this world, as not abusing [it]: for the fashion of this world passeth away.
32. But I would have you without carefulness. He that is unmarried careth for the things that belong to the Lord, how he may please the Lord:
33. But he that is married careth for the things that are of the world, how he may please [his] wife.
34. There is difference [also] between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman careth for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit: but she that is married careth for the things of the world, how she may please [her] husband.
35. And this I speak for your own profit; not that I may cast a snare upon you, but for that which is comely, and that ye may attend upon the Lord without distraction.
In the passage above, the thing Pastor Ulysse urged the congregation to take away the idea that with our cares we cannot please God. We have to leave everything at his feet. In our day to day lives, it is so easy to find ourselves distracted. We have things that we are responsible to care for (especially if we are part of a natural family) but we need to make sure that our focus stays on Christ no matter how difficult it might seem to be at the moment.
Jeremiah 29:10-11
10. thus saith the LORD, That after seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you, and perform my good word toward you, in causing you to return to this place.
11. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
God has a plan for each of us. We may find ourselves asking: “How can I trust God? That’s just too hard!”, But focus on His track record of providing for his children throughout the ages. He can still take care of us today just like he took care of the Children of Israel.
Matthew 6:25-34
25. Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
26. Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
27. Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
28. And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
29. And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
30. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, [shall he] not much more [clothe] you, O ye of little faith?
31. Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
32. (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
34. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day [is] the evil thereof.
When we find ourselves feeling overwhelmed, this is a great passage to look at. It is a promise that God cares about us as individuals. He loves us, if we will just have the faith to put him first in everything we do, he meet every need we will ever have. That is an amazing promise!
When we are dealing with the uncertainty of giving God all of our cares instead of handling them on our own it takes great faith. Pastor Ulysse taught us that this is a wonderful time to distinguish between “if faith” and “though faith”.
God, if you do this for me then I will serve you.
Or
God, though you slay me still will I trust you (just like Job prayed in Job 13:15)
Pastor Ulysse told the story of how in Haiti, there was a point during the building project on a new church where they ran out of money long before they ran out of supplies to build the building. They had a choice to make: either come to the site of the building project every day by faith and give their worries to God knowing that he would provide a way, or stay home wondering why God hadn’t met their needs.
They went to the site every day for three months, and when they arrived, God somehow provided the materials they needed to make progress toward seeing the building completed. Sometimes it would be by finding materials that had been thrown away on the property, and sometimes, people would come and give them things that they no longer needed that would amazingly be exactly what the building crew needed for the next step. Then, on day during the fourth month, everyone arrived to work expecting a miracle, but nothing happened. They prayed, but they still had nothing to build with! Then, Pastor Ulysse called the group together and said that God had provided for a long time, but maybe this was the day that they would have to go home without having made any progress on the church. As they were getting ready to leave, there as a man in the crowd that was visiting a cousin the village nearby and had money to buy a car. When he heard what was going on, his heart was touched to give the church the money he had been saving. That day, the building project was given $10,000 which allowed them to finish the building. God always provides a way, even when we are about to give up and move on. That’s why we can safely cast all our cares on Him.
Luke 12:6-7
Are not five sparrows sold for two farthings, and not one of them is forgotten before God?
But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Isaiah 49:14-16
14. But Zion said, The LORD hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.
15. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.
16. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of [my] hands; thy walls [are] continually before me.
Even though this is a scripture from the Old Testament, this is promise that is for us today. God loves us and cares about us more than a mother cares for her child. That’s hard to even wrap our minds around, but this scripture shows us that it’s true.
Genesis 29:16-
16. And Laban had two daughters: the name of the elder [was] Leah, and the name of the younger [was] Rachel.
17. Leah [was] tender eyed; but Rachel was beautiful and well favoured.
18. And Jacob loved Rachel; and said, I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter.
19. And Laban said, [It is] better that I give her to thee, than that I should give her to another man: abide with me.
20. And Jacob served seven years for Rachel; and they seemed unto him [but] a few days, for the love he had to her.
21. And Jacob said unto Laban, Give [me] my wife, for my days are fulfilled, that I may go in unto her.
22. And Laban gathered together all the men of the place, and made a feast.
23. And it came to pass in the evening, that he took Leah his daughter, and brought her to him; and he went in unto her.
24. And Laban gave unto his daughter Leah Zilpah his maid [for] an handmaid.
25. And it came to pass, that in the morning, behold, it [was] Leah: and he said to Laban, What [is] this thou hast done unto me? did not I serve with thee for Rachel? wherefore then hast thou beguiled me?
26. And Laban said, It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn.
27. Fulfil her week, and we will give thee this also for the service which thou shalt serve with me yet seven other years.
28. And Jacob did so, and fulfilled her week: and he gave him Rachel his daughter to wife also.
29. And Laban gave to Rachel his daughter Bilhah his handmaid to be her maid.
30. And he went in also unto Rachel, and he loved also Rachel more than Leah, and served with him yet seven other years.
31. And when the LORD saw that Leah [was] hated, he opened her womb: but Rachel [was] barren.
32. And Leah conceived, and bare a son, and she called his name Reuben: for she said, Surely the LORD hath looked upon my affliction; now therefore my husband will love me.
God saw all of Leah’s cares, and then blessed her with the most amazing unconditional love mankind knows: The love of a child.
God knew the deepest darkest hurt that Leah felt. He didn’t make her life carefree or easy, but he was right there beside her through all she faced. Pastor Ulysse reminded the congregation that God cares about us like this too. Even if the hurt we feel is way too personal to talk about, God knows and is right there with us.
No matter how hard things get, we have a God who wants to take our cares so we don’t have to face it alone. In fact, when we try to take care of ourselves and don’t accept the love and direction of Jesus Christ, we set ourselves up for failure every time. It’s time we all learn to cast our cares on God, because he cares for us.
