We thank God for Jesus Christ - who frees us from SIN and everything that comes with it.
Our burden of guilt, of hopelessness, and a meaningless life - and we are no longer BOUND. This FREEDOM gives us renewed purpose for life, we experience a different kind of peace and joy in this freedom.
But there are times when we seem to return to the old life and continue to carry those old burdens. Paul says in Heb 12:1
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
In this race, we are suppose to TRAVEL LIGHT, because the Lord has already carried all the burdens we have, that come with sin. That’s why He says in Matt 11:28-30
28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."
If you’re still carrying some burdens with you, then we need to RELEASE the burdens you were never intended to bear.
Travelling light is not easy.
ƒá We go jogging - take the phone to stay in touch, then a walkman, a small pouch so you can bring a water bottle, and a small towel, wallet for emergency, oh yes, the home keys... when you step out, you’re loaded.
ć Packing for travel, or for retreat... "Just in case you need them..." More and more things get into the bag.
There is another type of luggage we carry through life. Not physically but mentally. We carry BURDENS in our MIND - the burdens of guilt, discontent, hurts, loneliness, fear... When we carry leather bags, we feel tired at the end of the day. When we carry burdens in our minds, we feel very depressed and unhappy.
And so Jesus has to tell us, "Put it down!" In fact, He is saying to us, "Leave it to Me! You’re carrying burdens you don’t need to bear."
HOW CAN I HELP OTHERS WHEN MY HANDS ARE FULL?
CHURCH WEDDING DRAMA
A wedding is enacted in which we hear the thoughts of the bride and groom. The groom enters, laden with luggage. A bag dangles from every part of his body. And each bag is labeled: guilt, anger, hurts.... This fellow is loaded. As he stands at the altar, the audience hears him thinking, "Finally, a woman who will help me carry all my burdens. She’s so strong, so stable, so..."
As his thoughts continue, hers begin. She enters, wearing a wedding gown but, like her lover, covered with luggage. Pulling a hanging bag, shouldering a carry-on, hauling a makeup kit, paper sack-everything you could imagine and everything labeled. She has her own bags: prejudice, loneliness, disappointments, ... And her expectations? Listen to what she is thinking: "Just a few more minutes and I’ve got me a man. No more counsellors. No more struggling. Goodbye to discouragement and worry. I won’t be seeing you anymore. He’s going to fix me."
Finally they stand at the altar, lost in a mountain of luggage. They smile their way through the ceremony but when given the invitation to kiss each other, they can’t. How do you embrace someone if your arms are full of bags?
FOR THE SAKE OF THOSE YOU LOVE, learn to set them down. We have to TRUST GOD with the burdens that we’re never intended to bear. How can we help others, when we ourselves are carrying burdens through life? How can I introduce them to a loving Father and a wonderful Saviour - when they see that we’re dragging heavy burdens through life?
And, FOR THE SAKE OF THE GOD YOU SERVE, do the same. He wants to use you, you know. But how can He if you are exhausted?
God has a great race for us to run. Under His care you’ll go where you’ve never been and serve in ways you’ve never dreamed. But you have to DROP SOME STUFF.
ć How can you share grace if you are struggling with guilt?
ć How can you offer comfort if you are full of worries?
ć How can you encourage if you are disheartened?
ƒá How can you lift someone else’s load if your arms are full with your own?
There are certain weights in life you simply cannot carry. Jesus wants us to trust Him.
1 Peter 5:7 "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you."
The first baggage we want to consider today is HOPELESSNESS. We have to show CONFIDENCE in life because of our faith in a good God.
We must be convinced that in Christ, nothing is hopeless. No situation is hopeless.
And we must be greatly inspired by this HOPE that we’ve in Christ.
Only when you express this HOPE in life - you cannot inspire others with such HOPE.
We must express this hope constantly and without waver. This confidence in God must be there.
The world is filled with hopelessness. There’s this saying: "Without Christ, it is a hopeless end. With Him, we have an endless hope." It’s a JUNGLE out there - people are lost, tired, empty, broken and aimless. Where can they find purpose and meaning in life? Where can they find HOPE? THROUGH YOU!!!
Hope is in short supply. Life is filled with this emptiness and we need to fill it up with the hope Jesus has given us.
But sometimes, we’re like a jar with holes in it. God fills us up with His love, joy, and hope. But when we LOOK IN, we find that’s it is always lacking. It is always not full. Circumstances, people, problems... drains us. We don’t find this FULNESS of joy, the ABUNDANT love, and this OVERWHELMING hope in life.
WHAT WOULD IT TAKE TO RESTORE YOUR HOPE?
WHAT WOULD YOU NEED TO RE-ENERGIZE YOUR JOURNEY?
Like to suggest 3 today -
(1) GO TO THE RIGHT PERSON
Get down on your knees and acknowledge Him.
When you are lost in a jungle, you need a Person ¡V touch light, maps, compass, etc. may help but they are limited. You need a person, and not just any ordinary person. You don’t need someone equally confused. You need someone who knows the jungle, and knows the way out. Only ONE can restore your hope - JESUS. He is introduced to us as the SHEPHERD.
ASK JESUS TO PASS THE BROOM
A little boy was afraid of the dark. One night his mother told him to go out to the back yard and get the broom. The little boy turned to his mother and said, "Mamma, I don’t want to go out there. It’s dark."
The mother smiled and reassures him, "You don’t have to be afraid of the dark. Jesus is with you and He is out there to look after you and protect you." The little boy looked at his mother real hard and asked, "are you sure He’s out there?"
"Yes, I’m sure. Jesus is everywhere, and He is always ready to help you when you need him." The little boy thought about it for a minute, then went to the back door and cracked it a little.
Peeking out into the darkness, he called, "Jesus? If you¡¦re out there, would you please pass me the broom?¡¨
We find it hard to sense His presence. How can I best sense His presence?
TALK to Him. LISTEN to Him. You have to get this ¡¥sense¡¦ back ¡V get into Worship¡K
(2) ASSUME A RIGHT POSTURE
I have to BOW before Him ¡V and acknowledge His sovereignty and trust Him.
We have to have FAITH in the sovereignty of God. The world is not being ruled by chance but by a God who is in control. Even a sparrow cannot fall without His notice. So, He cares about us. Nothing can happen that does not concern God.
Jesus does not give us hope by changing the jungle - removing all problems, all hurts, all pains. He restores our hope by giving us Himself. And He has promised to stay until the very end - "I am with you always, to the very end of the age" (Matt 28:20)
¡§But then, I want this problem to be solved. I want all thorns to be removed, leaving me just the rose.¡¨ And then you find yourself still in the jungle. You’re still surrounded by tall trees and sharp thorns. You’re still open to the elements. The jungle has not changed - it is still a jungle. It hasn’t change, but you have.
You wanted everything else to change ¡V but instead, God did not change the circumstances ¡V God changed you! He fills you with faith, hope and love. He fills your life with His presence and power. It¡¦s not your rescue plan; it is His.
¡§When we pray, we relinquish in a radical way our so-called sovereignty over the purposes of our lives. We subordinate our plans, schedules and life scenarios to the infinitely wiser and more joyful work of God’s hands.¡¨ ¡K Ben Patterson, Marriage Partnership, Vol. 7, no. 3.
Therefore you move on ¡V in this journey through life ¡Vyou keep walking out of the jungle:
(3) MAINTAIN THE RIGHT PERSPECTIVE
Your Shepherd knows that you were not made for this place - He reminds us in 1 Pet 2:11 that we are "like foreigners and strangers in this world."
So lift your eyes from the ’jungle’ around you to the heaven above you. Col 3:2 "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things."
We need that reminder ¡V because we¡¦re too caught up with this world.
We all need that reminder, because all of us need hope.
WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED IN LIFE
We need to have the perspective of Thomas Merton - man known for his prayers.
Prayer may give us the thinking that we need to ask because we’re always in a position of lack, but not so. In prayer we discover what we already have. You start where you are and as you move, you see things that are already yours. Things you already have.
In Christ, we already have everything. But we don’t know it, and we don’t experience it. You’re just discovering they’re all along yours! Everything has been given to us in Christ. All we need is to experience what we already possess.
... from Weavings - May/June 1995 pg. 23
We have to claim it. And you need to know to WHOM to turn.
Conclusion:
Maybe some of us feel that we’re not in any problem. Everything is good. I’m not in a jungle. But we still have to REMEMBER this message - because we do not know what tomorrow holds. You may be just one turn from a disaster, one turn from a hospital bed, from an empty house.
The reason you can win a WAR, is because you have been preparing and training for it during peace times. The reason you can stand the storms of life, is because you have been growing strong during good times. The storms only reveal what you have or have not been doing during peace times.
One day, when that bag of hopelessness is thrust upon you, remember to let it go¡K
Don’t let its weight sinks you. The Shepherd is there to take it up but He’s just waiting for you to acknowledge Him.
