Letting Go
Matthew 11:28-30
This morning I want to share with you the third message in this series entitled, Road to Recovery. And boy what a step we'll talk about today! This is the hinge pin of the whole process of recovery.
I shared with you two weeks ago a fact that I want to remind you of again - life is tough. And how easy it is to get stuck in life. Some are stuck in relationships. Some are stuck in grief over the loss of a loved one. Some are stuck in anger. Some are stuck in work, in a sexual relationship. But it doesn't end there. When someone feels they can't get out of it, it can quickly become a cycle. Being stuck turns into feeling guilty because you are stuck. And then the guilt turns into anger when you say that you should be able to change, and you're angry at yourself. And then the anger turns into fear because you fear that you'll never get out of that hurt, habit or hang-up - you're being controlled by that hurt, habit or hang-up. And then the fear turns into depression and you start feeling sorry for yourself and have a pity party where you say, in essence, "I give up; I can't change." And you start the cycle all over again and get even more stuck. And perhaps believer you may feel like the apostle Paul (Romans 7:24), "O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?" We're using the word, RECOVERY, to discuss how to get unstuck. R stands for: "Realize I'm not God: I admit I'm powerless to control my tendency to do the wrong thing and my life is unmanageable." E stands for: "Earnestly believe that God exists, that I matter to Him, and that He has the power to help me recover." And this morning we understand that C is found in the answer that Paul gave to his own despairing question in Romans 7 (v 25), "I thank God - through Jesus Christ our Lord." C stands for: Consciously choose to commit all my life and will to Christ's care and control. I want to share with you a passage of Scripture that expresses this step very well.
Matthew 11:28-30
11:28 "Come to Me, all [you] who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
11:29 "Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
11:30 "For My yoke [is] easy and My burden is light."
This is an incredible invitation that our Lord has extended here! I want you to see three major points:
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Hindrances to coming to Christ
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To not accept this invitation is like living with an unopened gift. Here in this verse our Lord is saying, "I want to give you this gift of relief and release and recovery and rest (this text literally reads, "I will rest you from the burden of sin,") and yet you've done nothing about it." What an invitation to come, but still some did not accept. So what keeps us from taking this Third Step, this important step? Put another way,
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What causes me to procrastinate giving my problems to God and to delay surrendering my life to the care and control of Christ? What keeps a person from coming to Christ? Several reasons:
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Pride. Proverbs 18:12: "Arrogant people are on the way to ruin because they won't admit it when they need help." And I'm not simply talking about some fathers that will not stop and ask for directions - though our wives don't see it as a challenge to conquer, do they men? Proverbs 10:8: "The self-sufficient fool falls flat on his face." And if pride is keeping you, the Lord will allow some pride breakers to come into your life with hopes that you'll surrender to Him. Can I be honest with you? It's not pride that causes one to not ask for help, but foolishness.
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Guilt. I may be ashamed to ask God to help me. We get a sense of this in Psalm 40:12 where David prayed, "For innumerable evils have surrounded me; my iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of my head; therefore my heart fails me." Have you ever felt that way? Because of decisions we've made we may feel that we can't ask for help - you know, "I got myself into, I'll have to get myself out of it." Or maybe you've asked for help in the past, "God if You will get me out of this, then…." And we're back in the same old place again. Friend, I want to remind you that there is no sin God cannot forgive, except for one - rejecting Jesus as Savior. There is never a time that God does not want to help you. But we have to decide that pride or guilt will not keep us from seeking the Lord, from accepting His invitation to come to Him.
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Fear. Some never come to Christ for this one reason - they are afraid of what they may have to give up. I'm sure you've heard the story about a guy that falls off a cliff, and half way down he grabs a branch. He's hanging on for dear life. Five hundred feet down. Five hundred feet up. He cries out, "Somebody help!" He hears the voice of God, "This is the Lord, trust Me, let go and I'll catch you." He looks back down the five hundred feet down; he looks up. "Is there anybody else up there?" How often God is the last resort when He should be the first One that we call to for help. "I'm afraid to let go." Some of you are hanging on for dear life by that branch and saying, "This isn't that bad. No problem, really, I'm fine."
What are you afraid of if you commit your life to Christ? What are you afraid will happen if you give God care and control of your life? Are you fearful of what you might become? Are you fearful of giving up control of your life to Someone else? Who are you kidding? You're being controlled all the time. It's just that you choose who you're being controlled by when you let God control your life. You're controlled by the opinions of other people. You're controlled by hurts you can't forget. You controlled by habits, hang-ups, by the way your parents brought you up.
Do you know what freedom is? Freedom is choosing who controls you. When you give your life to the care and control of Christ He sets you free. Jesus said, "Those who sin are slaves to sin, but if you know the truth, the truth will set you free." Real freedom is choosing who your master will be. So what are you afraid of? What are you holding on to that you think, "I can't let go of this in order to give my life to God?" A relationship, an ambition, a habit, a lifestyle, a possession?
Think about it like this, "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his own soul in the process?" Is anything worth more than his soul? No. Understand friend that when you give your life to Christ - you never ever had it so good. He really does add new meaning, new significance, new vitality, and gives it back to you in a whole new way. Do not let fear keep you from Christ. Something else that keeps some from Christ is,
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Worry. Here's how worry is expressed, "What if…. What about…." And because of uncertainty or questions that have not been answered, some never make the decision. You must make the decision to open your life up to the care and control of Christ and then the doubts, fears, questions and worries will work out in God's time and God's way. "I want answers to all of these things first, preacher." Really? Did you have all the answers to parenting before you became a parent? You thought you did, but parents know better! Did you have all the answers to the job you took? Probably not. I know this when it comes to Christ - accepting Him is the best decision you'll ever make.
Over nineteen years ago I made this third step in my life - I consciously chose to commit my life to Christ. And I'm telling you that things changed in my life. Did I have the answer to every question? No, but I know the One who knows the answers. Was I free from every problem? No, but I know the Problem solver. For those that think they are set free from problems when they come to Jesus, let me help you - "Wake up!" In fact, there are some problems that you never have until you give your heart to Christ. So why do it? Very simply; I'd rather have problems with Jesus in my life than to have problems without Jesus in my life.
The Christian life is a decision followed by a process. Same with recovery. It is a decision followed by a process. All I'm talking about today is the decision. "OK, let's do it, let's go for it."
In World War II the Marines had a definite strategy they used in the Pacific when they went to retake the Pacific from the Japanese. They used the same strategy on every island and it worked every time. First, the Marines would go to the island that had been taken captive, and they would start bombing it, and they would just pelt it with bombs and grenades and all kinds of explosives. That was called the softening-up period. Many of you are in the softening-up period right now. And all kinds of explosions are going off in your life that are just sending fragments everywhere and you're saying, "My life isn't working." You come to a point where you say, "Yes, I need something beyond myself." It's softening up your pride. "I need help. I need God in my life. There's too much stress." The second phase, the Marines would come in and establish a beach head, maybe only twenty yards deep and two hundred yards wide but they would just get a presence on the island. When they had established the beach head, had they completely liberated the island? No. They had just gotten in. From there they began to fight the battles. Sometimes they'd move one hundred yards forward and sometimes they'd get pushed back. And sometimes they'd win the battle and sometimes they'd lose it. But everybody knew that once they had established a beach head total liberation of the island was inevitable, just a matter of time. And in the history of WW II once the Marines had landed and established a beach head they never lost an island. It was just a matter of time that the entire island would be set free.
When you make this step, what's happening is God gets a beach head in your life. The Bible calls it conversion or being born again. It just means God gets a presence in your life. Does that mean everything in your life is perfect? No. It means God's in your life; He's got a beach head and the rest of your life He's going to be setting you free, little by little by little. It's a process. But we must trust Him. "But what if my problems are too great?" They may be too great for you, but never for God. Friend, I want you to understand that when it comes to salvation, being saved or staying saved is not up to us; it's up to God. You cannot lose your salvation once you have been saved. Why? Salvation is not up to you but up to God. Read John 10:28-30 to see that point!
And when God establishes that beach head in your life, the best really is yet to come. Paul put it like this to the Philippian church (1:6), "Being confident of this very thing, He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."
And others are kept from coming to Christ because of,
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Doubt. Some may say, "I just don't know if I have enough faith." Paul said that every person has been given a measure of faith. You have enough faith, but are you willing to trust with what you have? I still like the statement of Jairus to Jesus when Jesus said, "If you believe, your daughter will be healed." He said, "Lord, I believe, help my unbelief." And she was healed. It's not the size of faith that matters. It's the size of what you put your faith in, the size of your God. You can have giant faith, put it in the wrong thing and get no results. Faith is not the issue. The issue is what you put your faith in. A small faith in a big God gets big results. Don't let any of these things keep you from taking this step.
I want you to see a second major point,
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Hope and Help found only in Christ vv 28-30
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What incredible encouragement Jesus gives to those that were willing to listen and trust! And we see three aspects of help and hope here.
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Rest. The Believer's Bible Commentary speaks of three "rests" in this passage here. Let me give them to you. And please understand that all of these are gifts from the Lord.
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The rest of salvation. This gift comes from realizing that Christ finished the work of redemption on Calvary's cross.
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The rest of conscience. This follows the realization that the penalty of one's sins has been paid once for all and that God will not demand payment twice.1 And the third rest is spoken of in verse 29,
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The rest of heart. This is found by taking the lowest place before God and man; rest that one experiences in the service of Christ when he stops trying to be great.2
Some are killing themselves to try to have a peace (a rest of heart and soul) and it cannot be found apart from trusting in Christ.
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Instruction. We find where Jesus instructs, "Take My yoke upon you." This means to enter into submission to His will, to turn over control of one's life to Him."3 If you never turn control of your life over to Him, you will never be able to do the next admonition - learn from Him. And I want you to understand something about learning - and growing believers realize this - learning is a process. "As we learn more about Him, we find a deeper peace, because we trust Him more. Life is simplified and unified around the person of Christ."4 And remember that this invitation that Jesus gave is for ALL.
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Help. We see the help found in Jesus' command to take the yoke. I mentioned it a moment ago, but I want to bring something else out into the light. There is a striking contrast with the Pharisees. Jesus said of them, "For they bind heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers" (Matthew. 23:4). Jesus' yoke is easy; it does not chafe. Someone has suggested that if Jesus had had a sign outside His carpenter's shop, it would have read, "My yokes fit well…" This does not mean that there are no problems, trials, labor, or heartaches in the Christian life. But it does mean that we do not have to bear them alone. We are yoked with One who gives sufficient grace for every time of need. To serve Him is not bondage but perfect freedom. J. H. Jowett says: "The fatal mistake for the believer is to seek to bear life's load in a single collar. God never intended a man to carry his burden alone. Christ therefore deals only in yokes! A yoke is a neck harness for two, and the Lord himself pleads to be One of the two. He wants to share the labor of any galling task. The secret of peace and victory in the Christian life is found in putting off the taxing collar of "self" and accepting the Master's relaxing "yoke."20-5
What a great word! I want you to understand that the burden of doing God's will is never heavy when He is the other One in the yoke with us that is helping to bear the load.
But there's a final question that needs to be addressed,
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How do I come to Christ? v 28
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Jesus said, "Come unto Me…." God is a very personal God - He never deals in proxy, and we can't deal with Him like that. By the way, why would we ever want to deal with Him like that when God's Word declares that He has loved us with an everlasting love?
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Let me give you some specific points: To come means,
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I accept God's Son as my Savior. I need to be saved. I need help. I realize I need Him in my life. "Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved." What does it mean? It means committing your life as best you know how to Jesus. Does that mean you understand everything about Him? No, but it means that you're willing to trust in as much of Him as you understand, knowing that He is far greater. "Well, I just don't know about that." Why? When you got married, did you know everything about your spouse? Probably not. Most certainly not! You'll spend the rest of your married life getting to know them. So it is with Christ.
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I accept God's Word as my standard for living. From now on I've got a manual that I'm going to live my life by. We have an instruction manual. It's the Bible. God says this is your standard by which you evaluate life around you. Paul said (2 Timothy 3:16-17), "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
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I accept God's will as my strategy, as my goal in life. "God, what do you want me to do?" Why not put it like this when you wake up, "Lord, you woke me up this morning. It obviously means you have another day for me, a purpose for my life. What do you want me to do with it?" As David says, "I delight to do your will." I seek first God's will. "God, I'm willing to do anything, anywhere, anytime. I don't even have to understand it but I'm living my life on Your terms because You made me for a reason. You have a purpose and I want to fulfill that purpose that You made me for." And God's will becomes my strategy for life, whether I understand it or not.
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I accept God's power as my strength. Philippians 4:13: "I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength." No longer do I have to rely on my own energy. Things work better when they're plugged in. You get plugged into God, you're not so tired all the time. God says, "I will give you My power to be all I want you to be."
Come. Are you willing? Jesus said (Revelation 3:20), "Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door I will come in and fellowship with him." Jesus says, "I'm standing at the door of your life and I'm knocking and I'm saying I want to come into your life," but He's a gentleman. He'll not beat the door down. To consciously choose to commit your life to Christ means to open the door. The key that unlocks that door is willingness.
Are you willing to place your trust in Him right now? Some of you may say that you've tried this Jesus and salvation stuff before and it just didn't work. May I suggest to you that your decision was more involvement than it was commitment? Some of you here today, you think your involvement in attending church on Sunday morning, or even an involvement in a ministry is what is going to get you to heaven. It's not true. It's commitment - a true commitment to Jesus Christ as Savior of your life. There's a great difference between involvement and commitment. A kamikaze pilot that has been on 33 missions - he's involved, but not committed.
Are you involved or committed? What's the difference? The difference is between Jesus saying, "Depart from Me, I never knew you," and Him saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant."