Getting out of a rut
Prayer-
Introduction-
I want to talk about being in a rut and how to get out of a rut.
You know the standing joke about being in a rut is to stop digging.
But how do you do that? Universal question!
Everybody has advice… for someone else.
When I look at society, there are not a lot of people I would want to give me advice about getting out of a rut.
A rut is a hole- (man-made grave) spiritual, emotional, and yes sometimes physical.
A hole that you have gotten into and you do not know how to get out.
Most keep digging deeper and they make it worse and blame everyone around them but themselves.
People are yelling stop and you don’t listen.
In a rut…spiritual numbness… or stuck are common phrases for your situation.
I like stuck best myself because the times I have been there I was hoping that someone or something would pull me out of where I was and set me free because I felt stuck in my mindset, stuck in my situation, or stuck in my circumstance.
Illustration-
For me, I think of superglue.
You ever try to glue something with superglue?
When I am trying to put my life back on track…I am taking things and trying to piece them back together and if you are not careful, you get your fingers and other things stuck because you do not think those things through.
It is hard to get yourself unstuck! Use it if you like it.
If you we were talking and you told me your muscle went numb, I would think you lost feeling in it. It is numb!
You might reply back that your muscle is like pins and needles stabbing you and you are trying to get the pain to stop and get normal feeling back. How does that treat you?
Those of us who are a little older might add jumping up in the middle of the night with a Charlie horse and having to lay a certain way so you don’t trigger something crazy going on… but that is a different story. Sorry… bad memories!
Being Spiritual stuck or spiritually numb has a few faces.
It can be that you are not spiritually where you were with the Lord awhile ago and have digressed.
It can be that you are no longer hearing from the Lord or you are not listening to the Lord.
The opposite of spiritually stuck would be spiritually alive.
Alive…You are very sensitive to what the lord is saying and doing around you.
Which are you this morning?
Spiritually lacking something in your life or spiritually alive and seeing God do amazing things?
I don’t need a show of hands but either you said to yourself that things between you and the Lord are good or you just had to admit to yourself that spiritually you are not where you know you need to be.
Today we live in a society that will eat away every bit of joy you could possible muster up if you let them.
A million ways someone makes you sad, deals you a bad hand, talks bad of you for no reason, steals joy because of drama in their life, they bring you down.
Bummer takes on new meaning every day.
Romans 16:20
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” Everybody says Amen.
Most of us would say… Jesus you cannot do that fast enough for me.
A lot of times, even though we are far from God, we hope that He would do that for you.
That God would crush the enemies of our lives under our foot and give us His peace.
This should have everyone of us saying Amen.
It should have us to our feet giving a God like that our praise and being encouraged to worship and serve Him with all our hearts.
If that does not get you to your feet- then you must decide if it is you not listening or God not hearing and responding.
A RUT WILL KEEP YOU FROM BEING SENSITIVE OF THE THINGS OF GOD
Times of spiritual dryness comes to everyone at times in our lives. (Repeat)
What we do with it will determine if we get out and how long it takes to get out.
God’s Word has something to say to us about spiritual numbness and being in a spiritual rut.
It is found in our text this morning and is usually associated with evangelizing others by sowing seed.
Matthew 13:1-13:9
I want you to see this –
If it works for the Sower of seeds for others, the principal will work for the sowing of seeds for yourself. (Repeat)
Red letter print- Jesus himself talking to us this morning
Lays out the parable of the Sower-
Disciples confessed and asked him why He talks in parables
Because the secret of the kingdom of God is in you!
Unbelievers don’t get it
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.”
Jesus paints a picture here.
He would use whatever the audience of listeners would understand.
Maybe Jesus got into the boat to speak his truth and said look over there-
There is a man scattering seed-
2 ways to throw seed-
Walk down the field and throw seed. (Toss it from your hand)
If the wind would blow, some of the seed would be caught by the wind and go places it was not intended to go.
Lazy way, but not uncommon, put a sack of seed on a donkey and cut a hole in the bag and walk the animal up and down the field.
Either way is not 100% foolproof that all the seed will be placed where it is needed to grow as intended.
The fields were long narrow strips of land and in between each row was a common walk path that are so packed down and hard that nothing would grow.
So no matter how the seed was put down, if it hit that hard surface, it was not going to seed there because the ground was not prepared to receive it.
Hummmmmmm… Remember we are talking about him/her (point away from congregation) but not you and I
What if that is why we are struggling in our lives with walking with God?
Really about two kinds of soil-
Fertile ground ready for seed- ready to grow.
Hard ground unable to receive the seed because of not preparing the soil.
2 kinds of people in the world
Hearers of the Word/ Do nothing with it
Doers of the Word/ Hear the Word and apply it to their lives.
The lesson from Jesus Himself is plain…Right?
We have to have God Word rooted and applied to our lives. Period!
We have to pull the weeds of our life and get out of the weeds we are living in.
If we take this parable as a warning to how we hear God’s Word-
We see different ways that His Word takes root according to what we do with it.
Our fate is how we apply God’s Word.
It is not wither it will change us- it is if we will let it change us.
His seed thrown and the birds eat it up immediately.
We hear God’s Word and we are distracted, unmoved, too busy, don’t take it heart and the enemy of our soul snatches up before it can be rooted in our heart where God can begin to do something with it.
Sermon on TV- change the channel
Go to church/ sleep in.
Get involved with church people and church events/ no time.
Don’t see the need of God being active in your life.
His seed is thrown on rocky places where there is little soil to fertilize.
It is the person who hears God’s Word and is excited about what this means for their life, but little knowledge of his word. He/she has as no mentors or leaders to move them forward.
Does not take advantage of people wanting to get involved in their lives to help them.
The first sign of trouble which will not be long after you determine that you want the Lord in your life. You give up.
You weaken to the enemy who literally steals your joy, and you allow him to bring the past back up of who you were and not who you are becoming in Christ.
Word falls on Thorny ground
The word is planted and the cares of life choke out what God is wanting to do.
The friends that we need to stop hanging around- choke his word out of us.
Because we stay shallow in our knowledge of God’s Word, we do not know the power and authority that we have as children of God and the enemy is allowed to deceive us because he has us in the past instead of the future.
A short time of staying idle and we revert back to where we were instead of where God wants us to be.
Why it is so important to be in the presence of God worshipping corporately on a regular basis is we don’t allow the week to choke out what God is doing and keeps us focused on God instead of circumstances.
Illustration-
Guy this week pulls up to the church and I think someone is coming in to see me, he gets out of the car and walks to the middle of the parking lot and starts flying a remote controlled airplane. First thought I hope he does not hit my truck. I am surprised that he thought that he could come in the parking lot and just take over the lot. I watched for a few minutes and I quickly determine that he does not know anything about flying that plane. In a matter of minutes and two-four big crashes, I see him pick his plane off the ground with a broken wing, get in his car and drive off.
This reminded me of the Word of God and the thorny ground.
New to the faith and did not know what to do.
Doesn’t understand the dangers.
Did not ask for help on how to navigate the new relationship with God.
Because of shallow roots and discouragement, he takes his broken plane at first sign of trouble and says it is not for him.
Word falls on Good Ground
Not only Hearers of the Word, but Doers of the Word.
They translate hearing to action.
Their minds are open for God to do something special in their life.
They root the seed of God deep into their heart and soul and desire it to grow.
Closing,
If you are in a rut this morning- Decide how you got there (Figure it out) and what you need to do to get out. Ask God to show you.
Take a minute and stop digging-
Where is God in your life? Priority or occasional?
Are you listening to him? Are you a teachable spirit?
What soil are you planting His Word in?
There are people who mind is so shut that the seed of God’s Word has not chance to penetrate the hard soil. Don’t be that person.
The un-teachable spirit erects a barrier that will not let God in. Don’t be that person.
Be very careful to be too busy to pray.
Be careful that life does not squeeze out the things of God.
