Diggin’ Holes
How to Get Out of the Ditch
03.04.06
I. Introduction
Have you ever felt stuck? Maybe you’ve been stuck in a conversation with someone that you couldn’t get out of. Maybe you’ve been stuck in the same grade for a couple of years. Maybe you’ve been stuck in a mundane, ordinary job that you don’t enjoy. Maybe you’ve been stuck in a spiritual rut where you’re just doing the same things over and over and you’re not really moving forward.
Let me tell you about a time when I got stuck…not metaphorically, but literally STUCK in the mud. About a month ago, we were preparing to put porcelain tile down in our kitchen. One of the things we had to do to get the floor ready for the tile was to pull up the old linoleum. So we were pulling up the old linoleum and taking out of the back of my house to put it in my truck so we could haul it off. Well, we made one trip to the dumpster and came back to load up some more. I drove in my driveway and was heading to the back yard in what little bit of grass we do have on the land on the right side of our house. Well, it had rained a day or two before and it gets a bit muddy on that side, so as I was driving through, I felt the tires start to slip and spin and I wasn’t moving. Now I’ve never been stuck in the mud before so I thought if I could just put it in reverse, I might could get out. That didn’t work. Then I thought, “what if I try to rock it back and forth by going from reverse to drive and back?” That seemed to work for a little bit and I inched forward about two feet. But as I kept trying to work my way forward, I sank back into the hole I made when I first started. And after trying and praying and spinning my wheels, all I got was a big mess in my yard and mud all over my truck.
It’s no fun being stuck. You feel frustrated. You feel like you can’t do anything to get out. You feel helpless.
And I think the feeling’s even worse when you’ve done all that you know to do and you’re still in the same old mess.
II. Stuck
I think that’s how a certain lady in the New Testament must have felt. She was stuck in this place called Sickness. She had this disease for twelve years. The kind of disease doesn’t matter so much as what she went through to try to get out of it. She had gone to doctor after doctor after doctor. She didn’t have any insurance and she spent every dime she had on these doctors visits, but she didn’t get any better. In fact, she got worse. Talk about being stuck. She did everything she knew to do and she was still stuck in that same old mess.
I think that’s how Peter must have felt. He was stuck in this place called Guilt. He had been on tour with Jesus for three years, hanging with Jesus backstage, runnin’ Jesus’ errands, and watching Jesus perform mighty miracles. Peter was one of Jesus’ top 3 roadies. But when it came to standing up for Jesus when everyone had turned their back on him, Peter left him high and dry. Peter was hanging out in the streets and somebody recognized him and said, “aren’t you one of Jesus’ homeboys?” And Peter answered, “Nope.” In fact, he was so adamant that he denied knowing Jesus not once, but three times. And at that point he knew he had messed up, so he went back to what he knew to do, fishing. And you can imagine the guilt he must have felt from turning his back on Jesus.
Then there was another young man in the New Testament who was also in a mess. He was stuck in this place called Greed.
Mark 10: 17-21 NIV 17As Jesus started on his way, a man ran up to him and fell on his knees before him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
18"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. 19You know the commandments: ’Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not give false testimony, do not defraud, honor your father and mother.’"
20"Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy."
21Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
We know three things about this guy called the rich young ruler. What do you think they are? He was RICH. He was YOUNG. And he was a RULER. He obviously had it all together, or did he? Jesus told him where he was stuck – in Greed. Sure, he hadn’t murdered or committed adultery or stolen anything. But had put his money on a pedestal and exalted it high above anything else. He was stuck, but all he had to do was to give it up and follow Jesus.
III. The Rescue
When I was stuck in the mud and did everything I knew to do to get out, I couldn’t get out by myself. I needed to be rescued. So I got out my cell phone and called someone in the church who I knew could help me. And he came and got me out of the mud. He rescued me.
The lady stuck in Sickness couldn’t get out of her hole by herself. She needed to be rescued.
Mark 5:24-29 AMP “24And Jesus went with him; and a great crowd kept following Him and pressed Him from all sides [so as almost to suffocate Him].
25And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years,
26And who had endured much suffering under [the hands of] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse.
27She had heard the reports concerning Jesus, and she came up behind Him in the throng and touched His garment,
28For she kept saying, ‘If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored to health.’ 29And immediately her flow of blood was dried up at the source, and [suddenly] she felt in her body that she was healed of her [distressing] ailment.”
This woman reached out and received her rescue – she was healed. No longer stuck in Sickness and poverty. She was rescued.
Peter, who was stuck in Guilt, couldn’t get out of his hole by himself. He needed to be rescued. And after Jesus died and rose from the grave, he appeared to his disciples for a period of time. He encountered Peter fishing and called to him from the shore and invited him to breakfast. Here’s what happened afterward.
John 21:15-19 NIV 15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
17The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
18Jesus said, "Feed my sheep. I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go." 19Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God. Then he said to him, "Follow me!"
Jesus rescued Peter from his guilt. With the same statement he used to call Peter in the first place, “Follow Me,” he reinstated Peter. Can you imagine the relief Peter must have felt after that moment. “Man, Jesus is back and we’re tight again. It’s just like old times!”
The rich young ruler, stuck in Greed, couldn’t get out of his hole by himself. He needed to be rescued. And the lifeline was there, but he didn’t reach out and take hold of it.
Mark 10:21-22 NIV 21Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
22 At this the man’s face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth.
He walked away from the one who offered to rescue him. He clearly didn’t want to be rescued. He was happy being stuck where he was. And that’s his choice to make.
IV. Invitation
But, what place are you stuck in? Are you stuck in a place of addiction? A place of hurt? A place of rejection? A place of complacency? A place of despair?
Regardless of the place you’re in, the Rescuer is here. He’s here reaching out His hand to pull you out.
Some of you may be stuck and don’t even realize you’re stuck. You’re going about your life doing your own thing, not realizing that if you were to die, you’d spend eternity stuck in a very real place called Hell. The Bible says that no one is righteous and deserving of God’s grace. But, yet he offers his rescue anyway, so you don’t have to be stuck.
Romans 10:13 says “for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
Romans 10:9 says “That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
For you to be rescued, all you have to do is take His hand by faith. We’re going to say a prayer in just a minute and all you have to do is say this prayer out loud and believe it in your heart and you’ll be rescued. If you’re here tonight and you’ve never accepted Christ as your savior and rescuer, I’d like for you to right now, step out of your row and meet me down front. Go ahead and do it right now.
Now, maybe a lot of you know you’re stuck and you know you need rescuing from that place you’re in. The band is going to play a song called Rescue and as they play, you come to the front and stand with your hands raised or kneel at this altar and you call on the name of the Lord. Reach out and take His hand of rescue to pull you out.
