NO MAGIC WAND
(or "Aleeve does not relieve")
Matthew 11:28-29
INTRO.- ILL.- A fellow who owned a pizza place was audited by the IRS. The agent said, "I want to know about all of your travel expenses. For example, you have expenses for six trips to Rome just this year. How do you justify that?"
"Justify nothing!" the man said, "DON’T YOU KNOW? WE DELIVER!"
Isn’t home delivery great? Except we can’t get it where we live! Not at Brian Drive. But fast is good. Instant is better.
We live in a fast, instant kind of society. We want what we want and right now! Not tomorrow. Right now!
This is why we have microwaves, drive-though fast food, pizza delivery, drive-up banking, drive-through car washes, e-mail and "instant messaging" for faster communication with people.
We do have a lot of modern conveniences that people in other societies don’t have. What should we think of them or make of them? WE SHOULD BE GRATEFUL AND THANKFUL.
If it’s something good, we must be thankful to God. Of course, we must focus more on the Giver than the gift.
Beyond being thankful, what else should we make of all these modern conveniences? We must realize that they are not "quick fixes" to our problems in life. There are no "quick fixes" to life’s problems.
ILL.- Last Thursday afternoon my car died. Not completely. Just a partial death. I had parked my car outside the building in my usual spot. I went outside to go calling, put my key in the ignition and nothing. No headlights. No radio. No ding, ding, ding. No nothing.
I called Al Walters, the handyman and asked if he had jumper cables. Since Al the handyman was not so handy he called Elmer the French man Banet, and he was Johnny on the spot with his jumper cables. He hooked them up, said "let there be spark and there was spark."
I drove my car down to 15th street to the battery specialist and he hooked up his meter to my battery and gave it the last rights. He said, "Yep, it’s your battery. It’s blown a weld." (I figured he would surely say that the problem was the nut behind the wheel.) Within minutes I had a new battery at a cost of $53.07. The whole deal didn’t take more than 30 minutes. No mess. No fuss. No time, to speak of.
Brothers and sisters, don’t you wish all things could be cured /fixed/repaired so quickly, so easily, so painlessly, so cheaply? But we know that it doesn’t happen this way. Not with most problems that we encounter.
There are no quickie cures. No magic cures. There is no magic wand. No "luck of the Irish" even though it is St. Patrick’s Day. And "Aleeve" does not relieve. "Aleeve" may well relieve some pain, some physical pain, but not the deep soul pain that life often hands to us. There is no pill in a bottle that is a quickie, miracle cure.
ILL.- Someone has suggested that TV commercials teach a child three interesting things. The first is that all problems are solvable. The second is that all problems are solvable fast. And the third is that all problems are solvable fast through the agency of some technology. It may be a detergent.
It may be an airplane or some piece of machinery, like an automobile or computer.
Brothers and Sisters, we know that this isn’t so! Most problems in life are solvable, but most are not solved quickly. And they are not definitely solved with money, material things or machinery.
There is no magic wand, ah, but there is a miraculous wonder! His name is Jesus!
Matthew 11:28-29 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."
Don’t these words sound good? To me, Jesus is saying, "I am here for you. I am gentle. I will be gentle with you. I understand what you are going through. I understand your pain. I want to help you, soothe you, and make it better. Come to me. Lean on me. Trust me with your life, your problems and your pain. I can ease the pain. I can forgive the sin. I can make things better."
Jesus was, is and always will be the answer to life’s pain and problems!
PROP.- Let’s consider two different looks at life and how they help or hinder.
1- Looking back - beholding pain
2- Looking ahead - making progress
I. LOOKING BACK - BEHOLDING PAIN
ILL.- A husband heard his wife drop a hint about being 8 again. So, on her birthday, he told her, "dress up in your jeans, tea-shirt and jogging shoes, we’re going out." And off they went to the amusement park where they went on some fun rides, had ice cream, cotton candy, and funnel cakes. After that it was more rides and more fun food.
Later, they went to McDonald’s for cheeseburgers, fries and milkshakes. After that he took her to the movie show.
Later that night in bed, he turned to her and said, "Well, what was it like to be 8 again?" She opened her eyes and said, "I was talking about my dress size, dear!"
Sometimes we would like to go back and be a size 8 again or be 8 years old again and be carefree. Back to the past. Perhaps the blast of the past or "the good old days," if indeed, they were good. And there was some good in the days gone by. All of us have experienced some good in the past.
For others, looking back to the past is not good. It is a matter of seeing pain, beholding pain.
Philippians 3:13-14 "Brothers, do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do; Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
The apostle Paul says to forget what is behind.
ILL.- A father agreed to give his son a regular allowance on condition that he keep a careful account of the way he spent it. After a few months, the father looked over the boy’s record. He found various amounts listed under appropriate headings but was puzzled at the last and largest item of all, which was put down as "G.O.K."
The boy explained: "I forgot how I spent a lot of my money, so I put everything I couldn’t remember under G.O.K., which means ‘God only knows.’ "
It’s funny how we can remember some things in our lives and forget others. I think that for most of us the pain of the past is hard to forget. Only God has the ability to forget.
Job 14:1 "Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble." Days full of trouble.
Rom. 8:18 "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Our present sufferings.
Life is full of trouble and suffering because this is an imperfect world we live in. And when we look back, most of us behold pain.
ILL.- Just last Sunday night they had that 9/11 special on TV that gave us a different look at what happened on that terrible day. And that look which they gave us was like all the others. IT WAS PAINFUL. Of course, it was more painful for those who lost loved ones in the twin towers.
When we look back and see the pain of the past from losing loved ones, from brokenness in the home, from past failures, etc., how do we deal with these things? We need something to take us above and beyond our pain.
Many people have found that exercise or some hobby is a form of relief from the rigor and roughness of this life. Exercise, sports, hobbies, work: all may provide some relief, but it’s not a lasting relief.
ILL.- Two men rested at the top of a high mountain. The first man said to the second, "What brings you up here so often? It’s such a rough climb." The climber replied, "Well, it’s like this. All my troubles and heartaches are down in that little valley, and when I’m down there, they seem pretty big. But up here they seem pretty small."
Brothers and sisters, we all need a high mountain to climb that will make our pain seem less or be less.
Psalm 119:25 "I am laid low in the dust; preserve my life according to your word." (or revive me with your word)
Psalm 119:28 "My soul is weary with sorrow; strengthen me according to your word."
I have personally discovered that any time I am laid low...low from the suffering of the present or the past...I find peace and comfort and strength from climbing the mountain of God’s Word. God’s Word can strengthen our faith and lift our spirits in the midst of pain like nothing else can!
ILL.- A young man by the name of Joseph Scriven lost the woman he loved in death. The woman he was engaged to be married died by drowning. Scriven was for some time unable to cope with her death. Finally, after months of bitterness he came out of it by writing a hymn. "What a friend we have in Jesus."
Jesus is our burden-bearer. He is our pain reliever. He is our mountain of majesty.
II. LOOKING FORWARD - MAKING PROGRESS
Philippians 3:14 "I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus."
God wants us to press on past the pain. He wants us to make progress in the faith.
ILL.- The first-graders were visiting the airport. As the roaring planes landed and took off the teacher remarked to the class. "Isn’t it wonderful that we have so many airplanes and, just think, a few years ago we didn’t even have automobiles." One curious youngster piped up, "Well, how did people get to the airports?"
ILL.- Henry J. Ellsworth, commissioner of the U.S. Patent office, assured people that his resignation was really of no great concern. "Mankind," he declared, "has already achieved all of which it is capable. There will be no more inventions requiring patents." The year was 1844.
I think we all agree that mankind has come a long way in the last 100 years or more. Isn’t it amazing how we have progressed? But have we really?
II Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever." We are to grow in Christ. Grow in His grace and graciousness. Grow in knowledge of Him.
Have we really grown in Christ? Perhaps but not nearly enough or fast enough. We have progressed tremendously in the realm of material things, but not so much spiritually.
ILL.- A man by the name of R.E. Olds made the Oldsmobile and the Reo cars. About 1902 he announced a new model which he called his Farewell Car. He implied that this automobile was the ultimate, that after it, nobody could ever bring improvement to the motorcar. How wrong he was! There’s always more to be done. You can never catch up. You can never finish.
This is not only true of advances in technology, but also spiritual advances. There is always more to be done. There is always room for more spiritual growth.
Phil. 3:13-14 "Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one things I do. Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal...."
As spiritual-minded as Paul was, he admitted that he didn’t have all together. He still had much room for improvement. DON’T WE ALL?
ILL.- When Thomas Carlyle had finished writing his history of the French Revolution, he took the manuscript to a neighbor, John Mill, for proofreading. A few days later, Mill came to Carlyle’s house with devastating news. His maid had used the manuscript to start a fire in the fireplace.
Carlyle raged like a madman for several days after that. For two full years he had poured his whole being into the manuscript. Now, it was gone. Two years of his life were reduced to ashes. In view that disaster, Carlyle thought he would never write again.
One day, however, Carlyle stood looking out his second story window. Across the way he saw a stone mason slowly and patiently rebuilding a collapsed wall, putting one stone on another, until finally the wall took form.
For the first time Carlyle accepted the unfortunate mistake of his past and began to rewrite his book. Diligently, one page at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time, he wrote and finished what was probably his finest work.
Brothers and sisters, to make progress in the future we must not dwell too long in the past. Instead, we must realize that no matter what has happened we can rebuild and we must! The process may be slow, but it must done in order to have a better life in the future.
ILL.- Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote his daughter after she wrote him about a past mistake she was brooding over. He wrote, "Finish every day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in, but get rid of them and forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day, and you should never encumber its potentialities with the dread of the past. You should not waste a moment of today on the rottenness of yesterday." Good advice.
ILL.- I was fired from my first job in a grocery store in Webb City, MO, when I was 18 years-old. The assistant manager had it in for me. He just didn’t like me and that’s why he fired me.
That man has probably been dead for 30 years now but I have resurrected him time and time again and beat him up and you know what? IT NEVER HURT HIM AT ALL, BUT I’M SURE IT HURT ME!
If we are ever going to make any progress in the future there are many things that we need to leave in the past!
Some people spend their whole lives thinking about their past pain and they never get anywhere because of it. They may proudly say, "I will never get over it!" "I will never forget what he/she did!" "I will never forgive so and so."
All of us have painful pasts, but somehow, we must go forward and get on with living a productive life. How do we do that?
We use good common sense. We do what is necessary. We do what is helpful in a positive way. If seeing a doctor can help, then go see a doctor.
ILL.- In the past, I used to think that anti-depressant medications and psychiatrists were a joke, but not any more. I have come to realize that some people actually do have a chemical imbalance in the brain that can be helped with medications. And God gave us the medications and the doctors to be able to figure out these things. WHY NOT USE THEM IF THEY CAN HELP?
Also, we must not depend on "good luck." I BELIEVE IN GOD’S BLESSING, BUT NOT GOOD LUCK!
Prov. 16:3 "Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed." That’s all the "good luck" that I need! I want God’s blessing on my plans. I am going to take the matter to Him and ask Him to bless it, to bless my life, to relieve me from past pain!
ILL.- "Making things right when things go wrong." That’s the title of a book by Dr. Paul Faulkner.
Brothers and sisters, things do go wrong in life. We live in an imperfect world where imperfect things happen all the time! The only sure way to improve things or make things right is to look to the Lord!
He is our creator, sustainer and Savior! He is the answer to the pain of the past and the progress of the future!
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future."
God has a plan for your life and it does not include continual pain and misery! He wants you to live higher and better and richer and fuller!
CONCLUSION---------------------------------------
ILL.- A little girl was taken to a doctor for a minor, but painful surgical procedure. When everything was ready, the kindly doctor said, "This will hurt, but you can cry or scream as much as you want." The little girl looked up at him, smiling, and said, "I would rather sing."
Life is something of a surgical procedure. We are always being operated on in some form or another; by people, by our work, by life’s happenings. And Jesus gives us the ability to sing in the midst of it all.
Jesus said, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." I WILL MAKE YOU SING!
