Take
Take it from me
Take a hike
Take a ride
Take a break
Take a message
Take a letter
Take a hint
Take a bite
Take a chance
Take a hit
Take a punch
Take a shower
Take a bath
Take a breath
Take a deep breath
Take a taxi
Take a bus
Take a boat
Take a train
Just don’t take the M1 North at 5pm
It’ll take just a second
Take a minute
It’ll take a couple of hours
Take a few days
Take a number and que from the left
In that case I’ll take it somewhere else
Take advantage of
Take him to the cleaners
I’d like to take this opportunity
I’ll take you up on that
I could take it or leave it
Take this job and….
Take one
Take two
Take two..disprins and call me in the morning
Take that shot
Take the captain out of the bowling line up
Take the Currie cup from Lofters
Take your man
Take it to her
Take it strong
Take that out of here
Take a time out
Take it to the bank
Take it to the edge
Take that back
No you take it back
You take it back
No you take it back
Let’s take this outside
Hey take it easy
Take it over
Take it away
Take another deep breath
Take it off
Take it all off
Take a look
Take another look
Take a closer look
Take your hands off me, what do you take me for anyway
Take out a loan
Take out a policy
Take out the trash
Take out your frustrations
Take out your girlfriend
Take out or eat in
Please take me home
Take me to your leader
I just want you to take me away
Take your time
Take your feet off the couch
I’ll take that into consideration
Take your feet off the couch
Take that in the kitchen
Take your hands off your brother
Take your finger out of your nose
Take the cat out of the washing machine
Take the dog outside
This is going to take too long
I can’t take this
Take my turn
Don’t take this out on me
They’re coming to take me away
Take a moment
Take a walk
Take a long walk
Take a walk on the wild side
Take a trip
Take a holiday
Take some cash because they don’t take credit cards
Can I take your order?
Take a cheque
Take my place
Do you take this woman?
Do you take this man?
Take this ring
Take our picture
Take a piece of cake
Take a honey moon
Take a lifetime
Take it for granted
Take it to court
Take him to the cleaners
Take your medicine
Take your lunch
Take your books
Take your homework
Take it seriously
Take your exams
Take your pencil and begin
Take the keys
Take the car
Take a shortcut
Take a left
Take a right
Take the second left
Take another right
Take a drink
Take a puff
Take a snort
Take a hit
Take my car
Take a life
Take your life
Take it seriously
Take some time off
Take your day off
Take your hat off
Take your coat off
Take your shirt off
Take a load off
133 times.
Most revolutionary life changing phrases ever uttered all centered on the word take.
TAKE 1
For instance: “Take my yolk upon you for my load is easy and my burden is light.” Mt 11:30
Jesus grew up as a carpenter.
Carpenter in those days would not have been much special. In those days he would not have been a handy man or house changing television presenter. Although he later got into extreme makeovers and would specialize in changing lives.
But back then as a carpenter he would have primarily made doors and yoke for oxen. Yoke was a heavy piece of wood that would fit over the shoulders of two oxen so that they could work together and synergize their individual strength. Now that only works if the two oxen worked together in harmony.
Now the way they would train a young ox would be to pair the young ox with the older ox that has learned the ropes so to speak.
Now the young ox would be tempted to pull to the left or to the right, bit the older ox would stay on the right path. Now if the younger ox decided that the pace was too slow and wanted to speed up, all he would get would be a sore neck. And so slowly the young ox begins to realize that his older partner kind of knows how to do this. The pace is right. The direction is true. And so he decides to learn from the one who already knows.
“Take my yolk upon you.”
I love the way the message translates this portion of scripture.
Mat 11:29 Walk with me and work with me--watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
Isn’t that a beautiful way of putting it: Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.
I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you.
Mat 11:30 Keep company with me, yoke up with me, hook up with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.
You’ll no longer live under the yolk of bondage, no longer live under the very heavy yoke of rules and regulations. Hook up with me on a daily walk and we will find the right pace and you can learn from me and you can watch me and you can become like me eventually.
Take my yoke upon you hook up with me… Take him up on his offer
TAKE 2
Take your mat and walk
Would have been great to have been there that day.
When we take him up on his offer, it is only the beginning. Jesus takes us as we are, but we never stay the same.
Just like the paralysed guy in the story, he wants to heal all of us, he wants to make all; of us whole. Now he does not always do that physically, but did you ever take notice of what Jesus said to the guy just before he healed him? He said “Take heart, your sins are forgiven.”
You see Jesus wants to heal us from the inside out. Our internal insecurities, he wants to free us from addictions, he wants to bind up the bleeding hearts. He wants to drive out fear of the future from every one of us. He wants to take all the broken pieces and creat a whole new you.
Take your mat and walk.
All of us have been paralysed at one time or another. Because of our own choices. Some of us still carry guilt. Some of us have chosen an addictive behavior and now you have no way of knowing whether you could ever let go.
Some of you are full of shame because of sexual sin. Its like there are pieces of you scattered all over the landscape.
You have chosen a lie and you have cheated and manipulated. And sin has paralyzed you and it cripples you because of you bad choices.
Or maybe your paralyses were because of the things over which we had no control. Maybe it was words that wounded you so deeply that they still echo in your mind every day.
Maybe it was some abuse of some form. That has left you feeling dirty or worthless.
Betrayed relationships in which you have been lied to and manipulated. Making you feel like you could never trust anybody ever again.
Neglect of a spouse. The stinging accusations from a friend or the demeaning criticisms of a parent makes you always feel a little less than.
Then you too are crippled. Not because you of something you do or have don but because someone else has knocked your legs out from under you. No matter what the circumstance Jesus Christ is still saying today “ Pick up your mat and walk”
He wants to heal you and he has the power and the strength to do it. Sitting right here in this room there are people here who got to the point where they thought they would never walk with God again. So much hurt so much guilt so much disappointment so much shame, so much disillusionment. But they heard Jesus say to them get up take my hand I will piece you back together and I will make you a new creation. I wil restore your soul.
Take a note though that Jesus did not say leave your mat and walk. He said take your mat and walk.
Like the mat becomes part of our story. God will use our particular mat to help other people down the road. Isn’t incredible that God recycles our pain so that one day we stand face to face with someone and they are where we used to be and we can say look, at one time I never thought I could get up and pull myself from that place, but look at this mat. Look I have been able to climb off that mat and I am not on this mat anymore. I heard Jesus say, despite your crippled state, just pick up your mat and walk.
Look I can walk, in fact these days I am even running.
Maybe today you need to hear Jesus say “Take up your mat and walk.”
TAKE 3
Jesus also said “No one takes my life from me. I Lay it down.”
When he said that he was telling his followers about what was about to happen. He said” we are going to go to Jeruslaem in a few days and when we get there you need to know that I am going to be falsely accused I am going to be mocked and I am going to be ridiculed, I am am going to be beaten in fact I am going to be condemned to die. But he told them. Make no mistake about it no one will take my life from me I am going to lay it down voluntarily.
You could almost hear the apostles objecting. Jesus may have settled them and said “ Guys look, do I want to be falsely accused do I want to be spat on do I want to be ridiculed do I want to be mocked, NO, but I’ll take it so that you can see the truth. Do I want to be whipped, do I want to be beaten, No but I will take it so that your deepest woujnds and your bruises can be healed. Do I want to be condemned to die, No but I’ll take it so that you can live without condemnation . Do I want to be tied up and shackled, no but I’ll take it so your chains can be forever broken. Do I want to wear a crown of thorns no but I’ll take it so that you can someday wear a crown of life. Do I want those steel nails to pierce my hands and feet. No but ill take them. So that my blood can wash away my sins. Do I want to be separated from my father, no but I’’l take even that, knowing that you will never have to be. But no one takes my life from me, I lay it down.
He went on to say For I have the right to lay it down whenever I want to. I also have the power to take it again. So that whoever believes in me will live forever.
Now that we now that’s true, Jesus goes on to say:
Here is what I want you to do:
TAKE 4
Take up your cross. Out of all the take phrases that one is the biggest.
Take up your cross today and follow me. Embrace me as your savior trust me as your healer. Follow hard after me with courage and conviction.
When Jesus said take up your cross and follow me, he was not talking about talking up your cross or taking up a sticker on the back of your car, or taking up a tattoo of a cross.
When he talked to those people that day about taking up their cross and following Him they knew exactly what he meant. A cross always meant death. When people would see a man carrying his own cross beam through the streets, when they saw a cross piece of his shoulders, they knew that that guy was making a one way trip. He was not coming back.
In fact there was ancient road in Palestine, that was known as the way of the cross because of the excessive crusicifictions that the Romans carried out along this road. Under one such instance, they crucified 1760 people ten meters apart all the way down this road. Trust me people knew what taking up a cross meant.
In terms of following Jesus. Well I think Jesus was asking them just as he is still asking us, to die. To die to ourselves. To honor each other above ourselves. To make a one way trip of surrender to him. Letting him lead our lives the whole way every day.
Taking up our cross daily nailing our own pride, your own plans your own habits, your own sinful nature, to the cross.
Because you can be set free in an instant. But living free, well that’s a daily decision.
It’s a daily decision to take up your cross and let go of your own. Daily we have to say not my will but yours. Not my plans but yours, not my glory but for yours. And that’s when you really start to live. When you say Take my life and let it be. Consecrated Lord to thee.”
It means to let go of the things that have captured your heart. To let go of the affections that have stolen your focus from Him. The things that keep you from really experiencing life. Jesus said that if anyone wants to come after me he must deny himself take up his cross and follow me.
Mt 16:25.
When we take up our cross and follow him daily, we find true life.
Balloon story.
Fetish
Shower
Fair
Competition. Cruise
Ticket
Won
All expense
All his tuff
Taxi
Balloons and confetti
Bon Voyage
Cabin
Amazing
Door too narrow
Deck chair
Crackers on the deck
Dining areas narrow corridor
Cheese and cracker and on the deck chair
Invitation – dinner with the captain
Looked at it looked down corridor
Hungry clicnk of silver ware
Back on the ship slowly let the ballioons go.
Finest company – finest banquet ever enjoyed in his life.
What you holding on to so tightly that Jesus is calling you to let go of so you could enjoy real life. Because real life is found when you let go. What cant you let go off. What is keeping you from really living these days?
Know Jesus Christ, yoked up with him, you hooked up with him, but for some reason or another you are not experiencing a real life with him. Maybe its because you just need to hear him say come on now, take up your cross die to your self and follow me. Let go of some stuff so that we can work together and live together so that you can experience life that I cam to give you. Life to the full. So how about it? Wont you take him up on his offer?
Take it. Let go of your balloons and grasp hold of the only thing that can give you true life. Leave behind those things that are stopping you from taking the gift the life is.l But the life thaty only Jesus can give.
Jesus closed off his list of takes with two of the most profound takes ever.
He handed them the bread and said take eat, this is my body. And then passéd them the wine and said take drink this is my blood. Don’t let today drift past and you don’t take that body and that blood that will change every fiber of how you do life.
