February 26, 2019

The Bible says that God created everything in the universe out of love.  That was His whole motivation.  He made you to love you.  Did you know that?  That’s why you’re here.  You were created to be the object of God’s love.  So, He created you and He put you on this planet to learn to love.  In fact, one day Jesus was walking down the street and guy comes up to Him and says, “Sir!  Sir, can You tell me what matters most?  Of all the things in the Bible, what should I really focus on?” Jesus said, “Oh, I can answer that.  I can summarize the whole Bible in two sentences.  And, if you get these two things, you get it.”  Jesus said: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.  And love your neighbor – love your neighbor just like you love yourself.  There are no commands more important than these.”  (Mark 12:30-31)   That’s what it’s about! 

You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you frame it.  You determine the meaning of what happens to you.  You will find what you are looking for. Like two different types of birds flying around.  The vulture and the hummingbird.  What does the vulture find when it flies around?  Dead stuff.  Rotting stuff.  Road kill.  What does a hummingbird find?  Beautiful stuff.  Flowers.  Nectar.  Why?  ‘Cause that’s what they’re looking for.  And you will find what you’re looking for.  You can’t control what happens to you, but you can control how you frame it.  You determine the meaning of what happens to you.  Let’s turn to the Bible.  When you open up the Bible, you meet a man named Paul.  Paul’s big dream is to bring the Gospel to the world’s biggest city, the capital city, the center of the world, Rome.  But it doesn’t quite work out the way Paul planned.  Paul gets arrested.  He is charged with being a follower of Jesus Christ – a crime which carries a death sentence.  So, instead of being a preacher in Rome, Paul winds up being a prisoner in Rome.  He’s locked up, chained to a Roman guard 24/7, a new guard every 8 hours.  What’s Paul’s attitude?  I’ll tell you what Paul didn’t say – he could have said it, but he didn’t say it.  Paul could have said: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what happened to me really stinks.”  That’s what he could have said.  He could have said: “As a result of everything I’m going through, I quit.  I’m never going back to church again.”  That’s what he could have said. But here is what Paul actually said: “I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the Gospel.  As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.  And because of my chains, all the believers have been proclaiming the Gospel more and more courageously and fearlessly.”  (Philippians 1:12-14)   Paul is saying, “What everyone else thought was bad, I think turned out to be good!  Think about it!  I wanted to bring the Gospel to Rome.  Now I get an all-expense-paid trip to Rome, compliments of the Roman government.  I get a new Roman guard chained to me every 8 hours.  God just gave me … a captive audience!  Everybody thinks I’m a prisoner.  But guess who the real prisoner is!” 

This year’s resolution? I will jettison all regrets about my past.   “Jettison” means “to throw overboard, to lighten the load.”  The Bible teaches us that if you want to enjoy life, there are some things you’ve got to get rid of, because they are weighing you down and wearing you out.  The first thing you’ve got to get rid of are your regrets about the past.  We all have regrets.  Because nobody’s perfect.  We’ve all got some skeletons in the closet.  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of Sherlock Holmes, once decided to play a prank on some of the most prominent men in England.  He sent out an anonymous note that read simply: “All is found out.  Flee at once.”  He just wanted to see what would happen.  Within 24 hours, all 8 men had left the country.  I’m sure we could find out certain things about you that would make you want to flee this service right now.  We all have regrets.  The only problem with regret is, it doesn’t work.  It cannot change the past.  It can only make you miserable in the present.   The Bible says learn from it and move on.  The Bible says, “Forget what happened in the past and don’t dwell on events from long ago, because I’m doing something new.”  (Isaiah 43:19)  Underline: “Don’t dwell.”  To dwell means to live someplace.  Don’t live in the past.   Learn, not live.  Learn from, not live in. Everybody has setbacks.  Everybody blows it.  Everybody has failures.  In fact, failure is the only way you succeed.  You cannot succeed in life without failing.  Why?  Because that’s how you learn what works and what doesn’t work.  So never call it a failure; call it an education.   Some of us in this room are highly educated!  We’re good at failing.  If there’s a piece of advice I could give you as your friend, I would say this to you:  Don’t waste your failures.  Learn from them.  Try something and if that doesn’t work, learn from it and try something else.  The Apostle Paul told us his secret: “One thing I do is to forget what is behind me and do my best to reach what is ahead.”  (Philippians 3:13-14)  The starting point of joy is to let go of the past.  Jettison all regrets – the grief, the guilt, the grudges. 

Away in a Manger, no room for a bed, the Little Lord Jesus lay down his sweet head…. How many of you learned that song growing up?  Maybe you were in the Christmas Pageant and you were dressed as an angel or a little lamb. For me, this song always kind of gets to me – it’s like it just reaches right inside me and grabs hold of my heart.  Maybe it’s something about imagining “the little Lord Jesus.”  “Away in a manger, no crib for His bed; The little Lord Jesus laid down His sweet head …”  But there’s one thing you and I shouldn’t lose track of: This isn’t just a sweet, little, 6-pound 8-ounce baby, He is the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings!  So, this morning, rather than focusing on the size of the Baby, I want to focus on the Lordship of Christ.  “The little Lord Jesus.”  So, the key thought is simply this: Jesus is Lord.  

Friend, if you’re serious about living a fully-surrendered life, try to answer just one question today: What area of your life have you been unwilling to surrender to God?  What is it?  Is it your convenience?  Your schedule?  Your sobriety?  Your sexuality?  Your weekends?  Your money?  What do you think God has been trying to tell you to change, but you’ve been unwilling … Resisting … Pushing back.  Would you pray with me right now?  Lord Jesus, I surrender.  I want You to be in control.  I’m not afraid to make this step because I know You love me, You know what is best for me, and You’re just trying to lead me to even better places.  Help me figure out what I need to change in my life to follow You more fully….Amen.  

It has been said that all human beings live in tents.  In fact, we live every day, and sleep every night, in one of two tents:Content or Discontent. How about you?  Where have you been living lately?