Letting Go!?

Letting Go?!

December 1, 2019

Have you taken inventory lately? As I approach this Christmas season, it seems like I’ve been doing that . . . which leads to this message. Do you have a lot of STUFF in your house? I mean, more stuff than you need? Can people mistake your home with an episode of hoarders? Oh, by the way . . . Merry Christmas!!

Well, for the next 4 weeks, we’re going to look at what it means to Let Go of stuff. Not just material goods, but some of the stuff we hold onto which holds us back from truly experiencing the power and presence of God. It’s a reminder that this world is really not our home.

We tend to accumulate stuff. We accumulate clothes and electronics and we accumulate hurts and junk and seeds of discontentment and jealousies. So, we’re going to talk about letting go of some of the stuff that weighs us down and holds us back and so that we can really live the life that would be honoring to God.

Today I want to talk about letting go of stuff - - the stuff that weighs us down. Here’s a thought which goes against the worlds ways - -

It's better to have less of what doesn't matter and more of what does matter. Let me say it again . . . It’s better to have less of what doesn’t matter and more of what does matter. The problem is everything in our culture screams the opposite.

We can go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible, in Genesis to see this at work. God had created Adam and Eve. Everything was great, they had one thing they couldn’t do . . . Don’t eat from that tree. And, they were good with that!

Then that sneaky serpent slithers along and tells them - “Did God really say you can't eat from that tree?” Satan’s implying we’re lacking something, that God is intentionally holding back on us. That He really doesn’t want us to be fulfilled, content and joy-filled. So, Adam and Eve believe something’s missing in Eden.

They don’t recognize they have all of these blessings. They believe - what they don't have is what they need to be happy, fulfilled, and complete. And we’ve bought into this as well. We believe there’s something else out there that we need, which is better, which will fulfill me.

If one 84" 8K super Smart TV is good, then a 128" TV is better.

Solomon said this in Ecclesiastes - -

6 Better is a handful of quietness than two hands full of toil and a striving after wind. - Ecclesiastes 4:6

In other words, it's better to have less of what doesn't matter and more of what really does matter. Why? Because your life is too valuable. Your calling too great, and your God too good to waste your life on stuff that does not matter or last. Jesus warned us about this.

There's a powerful story about two brothers who were excited about their inheritance. One of them asked Jesus -

13 “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”

And Jesus warns them saying -

15 “Beware, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” - Luke 12:15

That’s a pretty blunt in your face warning. It didn’t just apply to those days, but maybe even applies more to our day.

Beware! Be on your guard! That’s pretty in your face. The enemy wants you to believe you need more, because he’s out to steal, kill and destroy you.

Jesus is reminding us there’s a battle for our spiritual lives. And that battle is as dangerous and important as if there was a thief lurking around the corner waiting to jump out at you. Be on your guard against all kinds of greed. Because life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.

Yet everything this Christmas season will tell you the opposite. Every store wants you to run out there for their specials. They want you to believe you need what they’re selling.

You are not what you have. You aren’t what you drive, you aren’t what you wear, you aren’t what you own. You aren’t the stuff that you have. The lie is what you don't have is exactly what you need to be happy, fulfilled, joyful, significant, to feel good about yourself, to be important, to be popular, to have a house like Joanna Gaines.

What if the stuff you have is actually robbing you from the life that you want? Is that possible? The more you strive for more, the more you realize you can’t attain it, and that makes you want it all the more. Remember, Solomon said, better as one handful with tranquility than two with toil and stress and anxiety, it's chasing after the wind.