THE CYCLE OF OUR BAGGAGE.
Developing the leader within 1 Sam. 10:22
Have David bring a bag up and pull out a toy motorcycle; then start beating it. “Dude, what are you doing?” David, “I’m breaking cycles!”
People today take their baggage seriously. We like it to match. We love all the different compartments, and pockets. We like it sporty. We like it convenient (rollers).
My grandmother didn’t use baggage much in her day. She carried everything in her purse. It weighed 110 lbs. What she didn’t carry in her purse she carried in a paper bag.
Tell the story, then read verse 22. Jesus will free you from you baggage.
Jesus will rescue you from your guilt. Scarlet A; guilt, your past (10:11-12);
Do You Charge to Forgive?
I recently saw a sign in a convenience store that read, “Check Cashing Policy: To err is human. To forgive, $30.” It’s a funny way to recognize the fact that we make mistakes, but it’s also evidence of the way many people think about forgiveness.
To forgive is to accept within yourself the consequences of the sins of others. It means to accept the pain, the problems and the burden that comes when someone sins against you. Forgiveness is neither an easy nor a frequent gift.
This is what God has done for us: “… knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18, 19 NKJV). What did God give for your forgiveness? It wasn’t money or anything of wealth or value in worldly terms. He gave His Son. Jesus took upon Himself the burden of our sins.
You have seen a cloud drifting across the pure blue of the sky, and as you watch it, it breaks up and disappears forever. You will never see that cloud again.
So God deals with your sins. You believe in His Son as your Lord and Savior. Then He blots out your transgressions just as He sweeps the cloud from your sight forever.
The Bible abounds in these assurances of utter removal of the penalty of sin from the child of God.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor punished us according to our iniquities. 11 For as the heavens are high above the earth, So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. Ps. 103
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Mt. 5; How do we get a pure heart? God gives us a new one- like Saul.
7Then I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God, for they shall return to Me with their whole heart. Jer. 24:7
19Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within £them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, 20that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God. Ez. 11:19-20
23And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. 24For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them. Ez. 36
Forgiving ourselves is often the most difficult. We know the inside story. We know if we really intended to do the act or not. We know what we a capable of. We know if we were just being lazy, mean, etc. Or if we really intended good. We know, and sometimes because we know, we won’t let go.
God is also in the know. God knows…. And if God knows and offers forgiveness are who are we not to forgive?
Jesus will heal the pain from your wounds. Band-Aid; wounds from your past/present. Forgiveness may have occurred but the pain is still there.
As a kid we often would get band-aids for petty wounds. As adults we go to the other extreme and think that we should be able to handle our wounds. After all, aren’t we mature adults? We expect too much from ourselves. We think that we should just get over issues, or things.
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor; he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; 2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; 3 to grant to those who mourn in Zion— to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he may be glorified. Is. 61 (ESV)
Jesus will give you a new identity. ID Card;
This card tells people who I am.
That is how it has been all my life. People tell me who I am. There was a time when my identity relied on what people thought. How they felt predetermined what I did and more importantly who I was. I acted the way that others thought I should. I responded in a way that would make them happy.
Saul was impacted by others opinions. (10:27);
I dare say that you have been in the same boat. You’ve been told all of your life that you are this. Your behavior has been conditioned to please others. In a sense we are not very different from Pavlov’s dog.
EXTERNAL PRESSURE- Others opinions! “You can be assured that if no one is talking about you, you are not doing anything!” God put you in that job not to impress your boss, not to make money, not get glory; but to influence your circumstance! Are you being impacted by your circumstance, or are you impacting our circumstance?
Here is a secret- you are not limited to other opinions. Through Jesus you can rise above their limitations.
Gal. 2:20 20I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
Who are you? When asked that question you might answer: a banker, teacher, mother. That is not who you are, that is what you do. We identify people by what they do. They are a drug addict, homosexual, adulterer, etc. You are not what you do in a single moment. Your identity doesn’t rely on your mistakes, decisions, or events. There is another identification!
THE NAME IDENTIFIES
Several centuries before Christ, Alexander the Great came out of Macedonia and Greece to conquer the Mediterranean world. He didn’t know it, but God was using him to prepare the way for the coming of the Messiah—for it was as a result of Alexander’s conquests that Greek was established as the common language of the Grecian and later even Roman Empire. On one of his campaigns, Alexander received a message that one of his soldiers had been continually, and seriously, misbehaving and thereby shedding a bad light on the character of all the Greek troops. And what made it even worse was that this soldier’s name was also Alexander. When the commander learned this, he sent word that he wanted to talk to the errant soldier in person. When the young man arrived at the tent of Alexander the Great, the commander asked him, “What is your name?” The reply came back, “Alexander, sir.” The commander looked him straight in the eye and said forcefully, “Soldier, either change your behavior or change your name.” This story has a lesson for each of us. When we call ourselves Christians, we are identifying with Jesus Christ. When we wear a cross, or ICHTHUS, or put Christian stickers on our cars, we are being a witness for Him. We are being identified with the name of Christ. Is your behavior compatible with that name and with the symbol that shows that you are a Christian?
Jesus will change your opinion of yourself. Mirror; your opinion (10:21);
Your parents or lack of parents has heavily influenced most of us. We are conditioned to make them happy. If we do, we are successful. If we don’t we are a failure. How we determine whom we see in the mirror is based on their opinion. READ VERSE 21.
There is another mirror. James 1:23
The answer is to this is recognizing that Jesus made you. We are His workmanship. We are His garden.
Jesus offers you a crown. (9:16). Rev. 2:10 Jesus offers a crown of life. 2 Cor. 5:17
God’s purpose.
(23) People, functioning under God’s direction, ran and took him from there. Often God will use us to rescue each other.
God has called you to be a king, to be a successful leader in your life. All of your life you have been hiding. Now, God is asking you to step forward; to be a leader; and to be extraordinary in an ordinary world.
Saul originally went to Samuel looking for his donkeys. God had another idea. God brought Saul to Samuel to make him king. Today, you may be here for many different reasons. But be assured that God brought you here today to call you out of your baggage to become the leader He longs for you to be.
