This week I heard the story about a pet store delivery truck going down the road. And every stop light he came to he'd run to the back of the truck, grab a 2x4 and start beating on the side of the truck. Nobody could figure out what he was doing, so finally somebody asked him, "What are you doing?" He said, "This is only a 2 ton truck and I'm carrying 4 tons of canaries and I've got to keep 2 tons of them in the air all the time."
Now, that's a picture of too many lives. Many of you here today are working hard to keep a lot of things "up in the air" so that they won't come crashing down. And sadly, that's where too many people are stuck. They don't know any other way to live. So they get stuck in unhealthy relationships; or unhealthy habits; or unhealthy grief; or unhealthy anger. They try to stay one step ahead of the bill collector, or the last lie they told, or that person they're trying so hard to hide that "secret" part of their life from. How does one get "unstuck?"
That's what we've been talking about. Step 1 - Admit it - I've got a problem. That's the "R" in "recovery" - realize. Step 2 - Believe it - Not only am I powerless but God has power and He is willing to help out. That's the "E" in "recovery" - earnestly seek God. But it's not just enough to know God will help you. You got to take action. You've got to make a decision. You've got to walk across the line. Which brings us to the "C" in "recovery: Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control. (READ TEXT)
Jesus says, "Come to Me . . . Take my yoke upon you." What did He mean? When we think of "yoke" we think of eggs or oxen. But what Jesus referred to was that we should follow Him. Jesus was a Rabbi; and in His day every Rabbi had a distinctive "yoke" which was the way they lived in accordance to their understanding of God's law. Rabbis would have disciples, who would follow them so they might learn from them. They took that Rabbi's "yoke" upon them. That's what Jesus is inviting us to do, to follow Him and learn His way of living. This is God's invitation: "I will make your life easier; lighten your load; give you relief. You will have release; rest; rejuvenation. Give me control of your life and watch what I do."
Why would anybody turn that down? Yet some of you have heard this before and you've never acted on it. It's like having an unopened gift. What causes us to procrastinate giving our problems to Christ and delay surrendering our lives to His care and control?
1. Pride.
"Pride leads to destruction . . ." - Proverbs 18:12 (CEV)
"The self-sufficient fool falls flat on his face." - Proverbs 10:8 (Living Bible)
At one of the first church's I preached at that recorded the message, I was handed a cassette tape following the service. I was honestly very proud of the sermon I had delivered, and couldn't wait to play in in the car on our way home. As I was pleasantly listening to my sermon, I was dismayed to hear myself speaking about pride. I spoke of "Pride, pride - P R I D." Needless to say, I was knocked down a peg or two.
Maybe you're not ready to give control of your life to Christ because you're thinking, "I'm doing pretty well on my own." Well, if you're not facing any problems just wait a while, because if you are calling the shots, it is inevitable, your pride with catch up with you. You just need a greater dose of pain. And God will allow it to get your attention and show you that you don't have it as together as you think you do.
2. Guilt.
"Problems, far too big for me to solve are piled higher than my head. Meanwhile, my sins, too many to count, have caught up with me and I'm ashamed to look up." - Psalm 40:12 (Living Bible)
You may say, "Do you know how many times I've made a promise to God and broke it? I'm embarrassed to ask God for help. You don't know all I've done wrong. I couldn't go to God and ask for help." You're dead wrong. There's no sin God can't forgive. Don't let pride or guilt keep you from taking this step. He wants to forgive your guilt.
3. Fear.
We're often afraid of what we might have to give up.
A guy fell off a cliff and on the way down, he grabs a branch. It's foggy, and he has difficulty seeing. He's hanging on for dear life. He cries, “Somebody help!” He hears God's voice, "This is the Lord, trust Me, let go and I'll catch you." He thinks he's hearing things, so he asks, "Is anybody else there?" Again, he hears God's voice, "This is the Lord, trust Me, let go and I'll catch you." He finally decides to let go and trust God and when he does, the fog disappears to reveal that he is only 2 feet from the ground.
You may say, "I don't want anybody controlling me." But you're being controlled all the time. Right now, you're letting pride, or guilt or fear control you. And so there you are, you're life's gone "over a cliff" and you're holding on. You need to let go and give God control.
If you've been afraid to open your life to the care and control of Christ because you'll have to give up something, don't worry about what He might have you give up. Think instead, of what you have to gain.
"It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on . . . But what happens when we live God’s way? He brings gifts into our lives, much the same way that fruit appears in an orchard - things like affection for others, exuberance about life, serenity. We develop a willingness to stick with things, a sense of compassion in the heart, and a conviction that a basic holiness permeates things and people. We find ourselves involved in loyal commitments, not needing to force our way in life, able to marshal and direct our energies wisely." - Galatians 5:19-20; 22-23 (The Message)
4. Worry.
We worry because we confuse decision-making with problem-solving.
In 1963 JFK announced, “We're going to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.” That was the decision. Had all the problems been solved? No. If you confuse decision-making with problem solving, you will never make a decision. You make the decision, then solve the problems. Kennedy said, "We're going to go to the moon," then it was up to NASA's to solve the problems.
Likewise, you need to make the decision to give Christ care and control of your life, knowing He'll guide you in working on the problems of your life afterward. But the good thing is, God always has the plan in place before the problem arises. Once you decide to give your life to Christ's care and control, you don't have to figure anything out, you simply need to learn how to follow Him.
The Christian life is a decision followed by a process. Same with recovery. I need to decided to give care and control of my life to Christ.
"In World War II, the Marines used the same strategy in retaking the Pacific from the Japanese. It worked every time. First, they'd go to an island and pelt it with bombs. That was the softening up period. Next, the Marines would establish a beachhead, maybe only 20 yards deep and 200 yards wide, but they would establish a presence on the island. Now, had they completely liberated the island? No. They had just established a presence. From there they fought battles. Sometimes they'd move forward and sometimes they'd get pushed back. But everybody knew that once they'd established a beachhead total liberation of the island was inevitable. And in the history of WWII once the Marines had landed and established a beach head, they never lost an island. It was just a matter of time before that island would be set free.
God is the one who began this good work in you, and I am certain that he won’t stop before it is complete on the day that Christ Jesus returns." - Philippians 1:6 (CEV)
That's God's promise to you and me.
Where are you today? Some of you are in the softening up period. All kinds of bombs are going off in your life that are sending fragments everywhere in your life. Don't let pride or guilt or fear or worry keep you from making the decision you need to make. Give you life to Christ's care and control. Let Him establish His presence in your life. Then follow His leading and start experiencing freedom.
Conclusion: What might it mean for you to give your life to Christ's care and control today? Some of you need to accept God's Son as your Savior. Some of you need to accept God's Word as your standard for living. Some of you need to accept God's will as your strategy for life. Some of you need to accept God's power as your strength.
“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” - Matthew 11:28-30 (The Message)
