The upside to laying down...
If you had nothing to lose - would you give it all?
While in Brasil, we walked into this large but unfinished worship facility for Sunday service. Instead of pews there were white plastic chairs. Instead of a great sound system and elaborate lighting, we had the natural illumination of the sun, one speaker and a corded microphone. Yet, despite what many feel is necessary to have good ole' church - the presence of God was very apparent. Before I stood to preach, a young lady closed her eyes and sang "How great is our God" in Portugese. I didn't know the words but I could catch the melody. Tears fell from her face as she sang. Although she could have performed for her audience of foreign visitors, her worship was for an audience of one. To prepare the room for His presence she gave her all and welcomed Jesus into the room.
He will meet you where you invite him.
Matthew 21:6-11
“So the disciples went and did as Jesus commanded them. They brought
the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on
them. And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road;
others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road.
Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out,
saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the
name of the LORD!’ Hosanna in the highest!” And when He had come into
Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the
multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of
Galilee.””
Matthew 21:6-11 NKJV
1. Give everything to Jesus
Everyone at some time in their life has experienced the discomfort of
being restricted. There is nothing worse than wanting to be free and
having something hold you back. When I was younger my brother and I
would wrestle. The fights were rough and long. The way we determined a
winner was by submission. That meant that one of us was holding the
other down in such a way that the other could no longer move. In
other words someone had to give up in order for the other brother to
win.
In this passage, Jesus is about to enter Jerusalem - the first of his
stops on his ultimate journey to the cross. The bible says that his
disciples (Jesus' team of followers) took off their robes and laid
them across the donkey that Jesus rode on. This was even before they arrived
to where the crowds were anticipating their arrival.
As a leader you must lead by example - how can we complain about whatothers aren't doing when they never see us modeling it first. If you
want to see people love Jesus then you need to show people what thatlooks like. If you want to see people love others then people need to
see you love others. If you want to see people change their attitude,
behavior, lifestyle, bad habits then you need to show them what it
looks like. We can't complain about what they are doing if we aren't
showing them what better decisions looks like - Jesus is looking for
you to be the example
Jesus is intentional and your reading this today is no accident. But maybe while
you are here you are questioning why haven't I experienced anything or
felt anything. It's impossible to fill an already full glass. Often
the reason we can't receive is because we haven't made space.
Jesus wants to come in to your space and show you great and mighty
things. Jesus wants to show you real love. Jesus wants to show you
that you are special. Jesus wants to show you how amazing your future
is and how important you are but he needs you to let go of pride, let
go of fear, let go of rejection, and let Him in!
As Jesus entered Jerusalem the people laid down their clothes and even
palm branches to prepare the way. Then they worshipped.
Jesus is waiting for you to let go. Your future is depending on you
letting go. Your ultimate worship will begin the moment you - let - go
When you let go you are free to worship and free to live and love to
the fullest
There is a story of a missionary who traveled to a foreign country to
preach about Jesus. It was a beautiful place but his mission house had
no indoor plumbing and he had to wash his clothes in the lake. One day,
while carrying his clothes to the lake, the missionary noticed one man
swimming and another fishing. When the missionary got
close,r he saw that the man who was swimming was actually struggling.
The missionary called out to the fisherman but the fisherman didn't
move. He called out a second time - even louder - yet the fisherman
remained unmoved and the struggling swimmer struggled even more.
His arms flailed as he fought against the water. Soon, the struggling stopped and the
swimmer began to sink. Suddenly, the fisherman dove in and pulled the
swimmer out. On shore, the missionary asked the fisherman, "why did
you wait to save him?" The fisherman replied, " if I jumped in while
he was fighting the water, he would have fought me too and we both
would have died. I had to wait until he let go for me to save him."
Friend, Jesus wants to enter your sinking situation and take you to a
place of true freedom but he needs you to stop fighting and let go.
There is freedom when you let go
There is healing when you let go
When you let go Jesus comes in
Jesus is waiting - stop holding on to what you should have let go of a
long time ago.
When you lay down your issue Jesus will rise up in you!
