WEBVTT 00:00:00.320 --> 00:00:08.320 Today, we're going to examine a teaching of Jesus that I think is one that, man, we owe it to ourselves to reflect on as often as possible. 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:21.440 Like this is one of those teachings of Jesus that we should just think on often, refresh ourselves about as much as possible, look back on it on a regular basis, because he makes us a promise that the world cannot offer us. 00:00:21.600 --> 00:00:22.320 It just can't. 00:00:22.559 --> 00:00:25.359 Matthew chapter 11, verses 28 through 30. 00:00:25.600 --> 00:00:32.640 Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 00:00:33.600 --> 00:00:45.039 Take my yoke upon you, which means let me lead you, let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 00:00:45.520 --> 00:00:51.039 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. 00:00:52.880 --> 00:00:55.759 The world cannot offer us rest for our souls. 00:00:56.159 --> 00:00:57.039 Can't do it. 00:00:57.280 --> 00:01:02.000 At best, the world offers us temporary rest for our bodies, or maybe distractions. 00:01:02.079 --> 00:01:05.439 There's a lot of distractions to take our minds off of the stress. 00:01:06.480 --> 00:01:10.959 But only Jesus can offer us rest for our soul. 00:01:12.239 --> 00:01:16.799 And so he says that we should come to him when we carry heavy burdens. 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:19.840 That he'll take those from us. 00:01:19.920 --> 00:01:25.519 And in essence, if we live connected to Jesus, we ought to be people who can live traveling light. 00:01:26.879 --> 00:01:33.439 I just got back from vacation with my family on Friday, and it was the most aggressive vacation we have ever taken as a family. 00:01:33.599 --> 00:01:37.040 It's the first time we've ever done uh airports with small children. 00:01:37.120 --> 00:01:38.480 It's never happened in my family before. 00:01:38.640 --> 00:01:39.359 We gave it a go. 00:01:39.519 --> 00:01:41.519 Don't know if we'll do it again, but we gave it a go. 00:01:41.760 --> 00:01:42.959 We had a great time. 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:44.560 And there were some amazing moments. 00:01:44.719 --> 00:01:51.599 My my third child, Judah, uh, he turned six over vacation, which was really cool that we got to celebrate his birthday. 00:01:51.680 --> 00:01:56.239 Um it's amazing how fast time flies because he's six years old and I love him so much. 00:01:56.400 --> 00:01:57.439 We had some interesting moments. 00:01:57.599 --> 00:02:04.799 My youngest, we're just gonna say, had a gastrointestinal crisis at a theme park. 00:02:05.040 --> 00:02:08.400 Um and it's just gonna be a story for another day. 00:02:08.639 --> 00:02:08.960 Okay? 00:02:09.199 --> 00:02:11.680 It's just it's too fresh. 00:02:11.919 --> 00:02:14.240 Um, I'm not ready. 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:16.000 It was horrible. 00:02:16.240 --> 00:02:17.759 But uh, but I love him. 00:02:17.919 --> 00:02:20.159 I love him, and you know, we're moving on. 00:02:20.240 --> 00:02:21.360 We're gonna we're gonna get through it. 00:02:21.439 --> 00:02:26.000 We're gonna you have those experiences, and you just say, I'm glad it's my child, right? 00:02:26.080 --> 00:02:27.039 Because I love my children. 00:02:27.120 --> 00:02:30.000 If it was someone else's child, I'd be like, uh, what is going on? 00:02:30.080 --> 00:02:30.560 But it was fine. 00:02:30.639 --> 00:02:32.719 It was great, I'm wonderful, slightly scarred. 00:02:32.800 --> 00:02:34.080 But we had a blast. 00:02:34.319 --> 00:02:38.319 I'll tell you what was the most amazing thing about the trip for me, though. 00:02:38.879 --> 00:02:41.439 My my wife just owned it. 00:02:41.759 --> 00:02:44.639 So she was in charge of all the packing. 00:02:45.120 --> 00:02:47.919 And there was not anything that was forgotten. 00:02:48.479 --> 00:02:53.199 There was not anything that we had too little of, there was not anything that we had too much of. 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:54.240 And here's the crazy thing. 00:02:54.319 --> 00:03:01.680 We were gone for six days as a family, all the kids, and we had no checked baggage. 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:03.520 That's like a mic drop moment. 00:03:03.599 --> 00:03:07.919 Like, no checked baggage whatsoever, just personal backpacks for each of us. 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:11.039 And I'm not even talking about those backpacks that people take with them like to the mountains. 00:03:11.199 --> 00:03:18.400 I'm talking like just normal backpacks, like kids take to school, had everything that we needed, including like extra pairs of shoes. 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:19.840 I don't know how she did it. 00:03:20.240 --> 00:03:21.199 But it was incredible. 00:03:21.360 --> 00:03:23.120 Like we traveled light. 00:03:23.360 --> 00:03:35.120 And so going through the airports, not needing to stand in those lines to check the bags, not needing to wait for the baggage claim, being able to go through the airport with hands free for children, like it was unreal. 00:03:35.360 --> 00:03:42.000 How much time, how how simple that that whole process was because my wife packed light. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:44.639 It is good to travel light. 00:03:45.439 --> 00:03:49.280 But in life, we don't we don't really get to do that very often. 00:03:50.240 --> 00:03:53.759 Because life doesn't work like you packing a bag and going on vacation. 00:03:53.840 --> 00:03:55.840 It would be great if it did, but it just doesn't work that way. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:01.919 No, life is more like if you packed your bag and then at the airport, people could just come up to you and hand you another bag and you have to carry it. 00:04:02.080 --> 00:04:02.400 Right? 00:04:02.560 --> 00:04:07.439 Like you're going to the airport, you're you're doing great, you've got your thing, and someone just goes, hey, this is now yours to carry. 00:04:07.520 --> 00:04:08.960 And you're like, I don't want to carry this. 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:10.560 You're like, well, it's yours now. 00:04:11.120 --> 00:04:12.080 Enjoy. 00:04:12.479 --> 00:04:13.599 That's how life works. 00:04:13.759 --> 00:04:21.759 Because at any given moment in time, someone or something can hand us weight that now we somehow have to hold. 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:23.920 And it gets heavy. 00:04:24.160 --> 00:04:25.839 Life gets heavy. 00:04:26.959 --> 00:04:30.399 There's just a there's a heaviness to the world. 00:04:31.360 --> 00:04:37.279 And there's a heaviness that we deal with, and it's amazing how fast heavy burdens can come. 00:04:37.439 --> 00:04:42.959 We all end up carrying a lot of baggage, whether we we intended to or not. 00:04:43.120 --> 00:04:44.879 I'm thinking about just our church. 00:04:45.199 --> 00:04:48.079 In the last two weeks, this is a two-week period of time. 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:53.920 Um, we've had one staff member's spouse in the hospital, and she's doing great, by the way. 00:04:54.160 --> 00:04:58.000 We've had another staff member that had to take a trip to the hospital because of an injury. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:04:59.600 He's also doing great, don't worry. 00:04:59.759 --> 00:05:00.720 I mean, pray for him. 00:05:00.800 --> 00:05:01.360 It's his toe. 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:02.560 Pray for Josh's toe. 00:05:02.639 --> 00:05:05.040 Hey, Josh, sorry about your toe. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:08.079 I was out of town, it wasn't my fault. 00:05:08.319 --> 00:05:19.360 Um I can think of four families in the last two weeks that are part of our church who have lost very close loved ones. 00:05:20.959 --> 00:05:27.920 I know of several people in our church who have had very intense diagnoses or family members that have had those. 00:05:28.240 --> 00:05:33.439 We have an awesome family that's part of our church that two weeks ago their house burned down. 00:05:33.839 --> 00:05:35.519 That's just in two weeks. 00:05:35.759 --> 00:05:38.160 And that's just the stuff that I know about. 00:05:40.319 --> 00:05:50.560 But I know that with a group this size, and especially when you add in everyone watching from home, the number of heavy burdens that we are carrying as a church, it's it's a lot of weight. 00:05:51.759 --> 00:05:55.040 And maybe you're going, okay, I'm not carrying weight like that. 00:05:55.279 --> 00:05:58.560 Nothing that heavy has happened to me recently. 00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.319 But maybe for you it's just the buildup of a lot of little weight. 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:05.040 You know, it's pressure at work. 00:06:05.680 --> 00:06:08.879 And it's strain in a relationship. 00:06:09.519 --> 00:06:12.720 It's financial stress and uncertainty. 00:06:13.600 --> 00:06:29.040 It's like a to-do list at home that you cannot make a dent in because things just keep piling up, and for some reason, your uh refrigerator and your dishwasher and your oven are all having problems at the same time, and oh, there's your sink, and maybe that's personal, maybe that's just me. 00:06:29.120 --> 00:06:31.519 But but that's like how my life goes sometimes. 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:37.759 Like everything's breaking down, and I don't know how to fix any of it, and I just can't get ahead. 00:06:38.800 --> 00:06:43.920 See, even the little weight, it it adds, it adds up. 00:06:44.319 --> 00:06:48.879 And so all of us end up carrying a lot of weight. 00:06:49.839 --> 00:06:52.639 And if we're honest, sometimes it's just too much. 00:06:52.720 --> 00:06:56.160 So, what do we do when we're burdened? 00:06:58.959 --> 00:07:04.240 And and maybe we could just pause and and admit that more often than not, we are. 00:07:04.399 --> 00:07:09.839 The number one answer that I hear when I ask people how they're doing is busy. 00:07:10.879 --> 00:07:12.240 You ask someone, hey, how you doing? 00:07:12.319 --> 00:07:14.480 They're like, good, busy, really busy. 00:07:14.720 --> 00:07:18.399 I think busy might just be a nicer way to say burdened. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:21.839 And we kind of value that in our culture. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:22.319 Like I do. 00:07:22.399 --> 00:07:25.439 When someone tells me they're busy, I'm like, great, awesome. 00:07:25.519 --> 00:07:26.399 It's good to be busy. 00:07:26.560 --> 00:07:28.240 But if they said burdened, I would never say that. 00:07:28.319 --> 00:07:28.879 How you doing? 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:31.120 Oh, burdened, awesome. 00:07:31.360 --> 00:07:32.160 That's great. 00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:33.519 It's good to carry burdens. 00:07:33.680 --> 00:07:34.560 Keep it up. 00:07:37.360 --> 00:07:38.879 But we're burdened. 00:07:39.199 --> 00:07:41.199 So what do we do when we carry heavy burdens? 00:07:41.279 --> 00:07:44.079 Let's go back to the words of Jesus. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:48.560 Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens. 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:49.360 Is anybody weary? 00:07:49.519 --> 00:07:51.279 Anyone carrying anything heavy today? 00:07:51.519 --> 00:07:53.279 Anyone willing to raise your hand in just a minute? 00:07:53.360 --> 00:07:55.439 Yeah, I'm kind of carrying some heavy burdens, I'm weary. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:56.319 Great. 00:07:57.120 --> 00:07:58.160 Come to him. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:01.920 All of us come to him, and he will give us rest. 00:08:02.079 --> 00:08:03.360 This is a promise. 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:07.839 Notice the certainty in Jesus' voice. 00:08:09.279 --> 00:08:10.480 Jesus is many things. 00:08:10.720 --> 00:08:12.800 Wishy-washy is not one of them. 00:08:13.680 --> 00:08:18.959 Jesus is certain about who he is, and when he says he's going to do things, he does them. 00:08:19.439 --> 00:08:22.800 And he doesn't say, I might give you rest, I'll think about giving you rest. 00:08:22.879 --> 00:08:26.319 I have a few strategies you might try to find some rest in your life. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:28.879 Here's the three golden keys for having more rest. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:30.079 That's not what he says. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:34.000 He says, Come to me and I will give you rest. 00:08:36.159 --> 00:08:37.840 Take my yoke upon you. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:39.039 Let me teach you. 00:08:39.200 --> 00:08:44.639 Because I'm humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your soul. 00:08:45.440 --> 00:08:49.120 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:52.960 What that means is if you're carrying a heavy burden, Jesus didn't give it to you. 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:55.519 Because he doesn't do that. 00:08:55.759 --> 00:09:01.519 One of the greatest misconceptions about God is that he is a burden giver, that if you surrender your life to God. 00:09:02.879 --> 00:09:07.039 And those of us in the room who are young, I know our high school students are in here today. 00:09:07.120 --> 00:09:09.840 Every last Sunday of the month, our high school students join us. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:17.039 It's an absolute fallacy to believe that if you give your whole life to God, he's just gonna lay heavy burdens on you. 00:09:17.200 --> 00:09:18.159 He's gonna weigh you down. 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:19.120 It's the opposite. 00:09:20.080 --> 00:09:24.960 Jesus is not someone coming up to you saying, Hey, are you tired and stressed and burned out? 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:26.559 Oh, here's something else to deal with. 00:09:26.720 --> 00:09:28.240 Here's another thing. 00:09:28.639 --> 00:09:32.399 Jesus is the one who comes to us and says, Hey, let me take that from you. 00:09:32.879 --> 00:09:34.240 He takes burdens. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:38.879 That's who God is, it's who he's always been. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:47.679 Proverbs 16, 3, written centuries before Jesus, says, Commit your actions to the Lord, and your plans will succeed. 00:09:48.159 --> 00:09:52.480 Now, when we think of the word commit, we typically think of digging down deep, working harder. 00:09:52.559 --> 00:09:55.039 We might say to someone, you're not committed enough to this. 00:09:55.200 --> 00:09:56.320 You gotta give more. 00:09:56.559 --> 00:09:58.320 That's not what the word commit here means. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:01.519 It's actually a Hebrew word that means to roll away. 00:10:01.679 --> 00:10:06.159 We don't use the word commit like this very often, but even in our language, sometimes we still do. 00:10:06.240 --> 00:10:13.600 If someone gets committed to a hospital, that means that the care of that person has been given over. 00:10:14.720 --> 00:10:18.559 And now it's the hospital's responsibility to take care of them. 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:21.279 That's the kind of commitment that it's talking about here. 00:10:21.360 --> 00:10:28.159 It says, commit, roll away, give all that you have to God and watch what he does with it. 00:10:28.399 --> 00:10:30.559 You don't have to do it on your own. 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:36.720 Psalm 55, 22 says, give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. 00:10:37.039 --> 00:10:39.440 He will not permit the godly to slip and fall. 00:10:39.600 --> 00:10:43.279 1 Peter 5, 7 says, give all your worries and cares to God. 00:10:43.440 --> 00:10:44.879 Not some, not a few. 00:10:45.039 --> 00:10:50.159 Give all of your worries and all of your cares to God, for he cares about you. 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:52.159 The language in these verses is really interesting. 00:10:52.240 --> 00:10:53.200 The word give. 00:10:53.519 --> 00:10:55.679 It's also sometimes translated cast. 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:00.480 You might have heard that translation before, cast your cares upon the Lord. 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:02.720 It's saying, throw them at God. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:08.480 This is not saying, hey, go up to God and say, God, look, I'm I'm really sorry to ask this. 00:11:08.960 --> 00:11:15.360 I know you've got a lot going on, but if you wouldn't mind just maybe taking this one burden of mine off my shoulders, I would really appreciate it. 00:11:15.440 --> 00:11:16.159 No, no, no. 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:18.480 It's it's like throw it at God. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:20.320 Dump it at God. 00:11:21.440 --> 00:11:24.720 It's like the way that a small child brings a burden to a parent. 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:25.279 Right? 00:11:25.360 --> 00:11:27.360 They just kind of scream and yell. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:29.279 And it's now it's yours. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:35.200 It's like when a three-year-old has a gastrointestinal emergency at a theme park. 00:11:35.519 --> 00:11:36.960 That's your problem now. 00:11:37.120 --> 00:11:37.679 Right? 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.639 It was their problem, now it's yours. 00:11:41.600 --> 00:11:44.480 You don't have to be polite when you ask God for help. 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:46.799 Because he's your father. 00:11:48.320 --> 00:11:50.879 He's your father and he loves you. 00:11:52.799 --> 00:11:55.759 So throw your burdens at God. 00:11:56.799 --> 00:12:00.000 Because he cares about you, because he can take the weight. 00:12:02.159 --> 00:12:03.360 One more time. 00:12:04.080 --> 00:12:08.240 Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 00:12:08.320 --> 00:12:10.399 Take my yoke upon you, let me teach you. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:14.240 Because I'm humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 00:12:14.480 --> 00:12:18.399 For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light. 00:12:21.360 --> 00:12:32.559 A really good friend of ours about a year ago made me really mad because she talked about our church better than I've ever talked about it. 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:36.879 Like she was able to put something about our church into words I had never used before. 00:12:37.039 --> 00:12:44.639 And as the person whose kind of job it is to talk the most, like to the church, about the church, I was like, why have I never said that? 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:47.039 That's better than what I've ever said. 00:12:48.159 --> 00:12:49.440 She just hit the nail on the head. 00:12:49.519 --> 00:12:54.240 She said, What I love about our church is that people leave lighter. 00:12:56.240 --> 00:13:06.799 This has always been a place that's been about you being able to come in heavy and leave light. 00:13:07.840 --> 00:13:10.399 Not to come in, yeah, we can clap for that. 00:13:10.720 --> 00:13:11.360 We need that. 00:13:11.519 --> 00:13:12.480 I need that. 00:13:13.759 --> 00:13:17.200 Because let's be honest, sometimes, depending on how you've grown up in church, that's not how it goes. 00:13:17.279 --> 00:13:19.120 Sometimes it'd be the opposite of that. 00:13:19.279 --> 00:13:21.039 Like I came in feeling pretty good. 00:13:21.279 --> 00:13:23.600 I leave feeling heavy. 00:13:23.840 --> 00:13:24.480 You know? 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:27.759 But that's not how it ever would have been to hang out with Jesus. 00:13:28.799 --> 00:13:37.919 Like no one who ever came to Jesus heavy walked away discouraged, or it was some giant burden that they now had to bear. 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:53.360 In fact, one of Jesus' greatest criticisms, most direct criticisms to the Pharisees, to the religious leaders of his day, he said to them once, You hypocrites, you put burdens on people and don't lift a finger to help. 00:13:54.000 --> 00:14:01.039 It was audacious to Jesus to watch the people who claim to represent God lay heavy burdens on people's shoulders and then not help them with it. 00:14:02.080 --> 00:14:04.080 They simply said, Do better, do more. 00:14:04.159 --> 00:14:05.679 And Jesus never did that. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:09.039 He says, Come to me, let me take it. 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:17.519 So we have an opportunity this morning to do some business with God, to leave a little bit lighter. 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:20.639 Because we're all carrying baggage. 00:14:21.200 --> 00:14:27.360 Now, that same friend who said that they love the fact that our church is a place where people leave lighter made another astute observation. 00:14:27.600 --> 00:14:31.679 She said that, you know, a lot of us, the baggage that we carry, it's pretty obvious. 00:14:31.919 --> 00:14:39.279 Because it's like we're carrying just like a laundry pile and it's spilling out everywhere, or maybe it's in a trash bag at best, but it's it's like people can see it. 00:14:39.360 --> 00:14:41.759 It's like, oh yeah, that's something that you need to deal with. 00:14:42.000 --> 00:14:45.360 Some of us, though, are really good at carrying baggage. 00:14:45.600 --> 00:14:47.600 Like we organize our baggage. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:50.960 We have it very well sorted and compartmentalized. 00:14:51.200 --> 00:14:57.360 We might even pack our baggage in really nice luggage, and to the rest of the world, they go, wow, you're doing great, but it's still baggage. 00:14:57.519 --> 00:15:01.039 It's still weight that we have to carry that maybe we're not meant to. 00:15:02.159 --> 00:15:15.120 And so, what if today, right now, like now, we could discern whatever weight we're carrying that we're not meant to, and leave it here. 00:15:16.080 --> 00:15:18.080 And leave it lighter. 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.440 What does it mean to really give it to God? 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:27.919 To let it go? 00:15:28.159 --> 00:15:29.360 What does that look like? 00:15:29.600 --> 00:15:31.120 How could that happen right now? 00:15:31.360 --> 00:15:37.679 Sometimes there's those those phrases that we use sometimes in church that like we all kind of nod our heads, like, what does that actually look like? 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:38.480 Like, give it to God. 00:15:38.559 --> 00:15:39.360 Yeah, how how? 00:15:39.600 --> 00:15:40.720 How do I give it to God? 00:15:40.879 --> 00:15:42.000 Do I write him a letter? 00:15:42.240 --> 00:15:44.879 Like, what is there a form I fill out? 00:15:45.039 --> 00:15:46.000 Tell me. 00:15:47.519 --> 00:15:51.679 But I I just I just want us to focus on one word. 00:15:52.080 --> 00:15:54.080 And in a moment, I'm gonna invite some people on stage. 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:56.000 We're gonna pray together for a little bit. 00:15:56.240 --> 00:16:00.399 And actually, like I said, have a chance to do some business with the Lord. 00:16:00.720 --> 00:16:06.240 Sometimes on Sundays we talk about the ways we can grow, and then it's like, all right, now leave and do that. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:10.000 But I think it's important sometimes that we just like do it now. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:11.840 It's like going to the gym. 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:17.200 You could go to the gym and just look at all the equipment and make a mental checklist of like the things you're gonna do later, like later on will work out that. 00:16:17.279 --> 00:16:22.799 Or you could just, I don't know, exercise when you're there and knock it out then, right? 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:27.919 We can do that sometimes, but but we're about to step into an opportunity to surrender. 00:16:28.799 --> 00:16:32.080 And how many of us could admit that it's hard to surrender? 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:34.159 Like, I'll admit. 00:16:34.399 --> 00:16:38.080 It's hard, it's hard to surrender because to give it to God means you've got to let go. 00:16:38.720 --> 00:16:56.799 What that means is that for some of us, there's burdens that we're carrying that, if we're really honest, we're kind of culpable in the fact that we're carrying it because we've sort of chosen to hang on to it and we kind of hate it, but also kind of like it. 00:16:57.200 --> 00:17:02.720 And maybe it's a burden you've been carrying for so long that it's become part of your identity, part of who you are. 00:17:02.960 --> 00:17:05.039 It's like your cross to bear. 00:17:06.400 --> 00:17:09.599 But even Jesus needed someone to help him carry his cross. 00:17:11.519 --> 00:17:12.799 He didn't hold on to that. 00:17:13.039 --> 00:17:14.960 He got off that cross pretty fast. 00:17:17.839 --> 00:17:28.799 So maybe as we pray, there's burdens that God brings to your mind that you've been carrying for a long time, and letting it go is kind of scary because you've almost identified yourself as the person who carries this burden. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:30.400 And what if that burden was gone? 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:32.400 You'd have to be someone else. 00:17:32.640 --> 00:17:34.880 Maybe be the person that you're meant to be. 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:36.720 That can be scary. 00:17:37.920 --> 00:17:44.079 Surrender means recognizing when you just you can't. 00:17:45.440 --> 00:17:47.519 I hate saying I can't. 00:17:47.599 --> 00:17:48.640 I hate it. 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:52.880 Because I'm wired to want to believe that I can do just about whatever I want to do. 00:17:53.119 --> 00:17:54.880 But there's things I can't do. 00:17:55.039 --> 00:17:58.160 There are things that you can't do that we cannot do. 00:17:58.960 --> 00:18:00.160 They're just bigger than us. 00:18:00.240 --> 00:18:07.359 And sometimes we have burdens, situations, where we've done all we can do and it hasn't worked. 00:18:07.599 --> 00:18:09.440 And we just can't. 00:18:10.160 --> 00:18:13.359 And what we have to do is have the humility to go, God, I can't. 00:18:13.519 --> 00:18:22.559 I have nothing to offer this situation, so I just have to leave it in your hands, Lord, and I'm not gonna do anything else, I'm not gonna touch it until you change something. 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:28.559 But I need you to change something, I need you to do something, and once you do it, once you change it, I'll happily jump back in. 00:18:28.640 --> 00:18:30.000 But I just can't. 00:18:30.480 --> 00:18:31.440 But you can. 00:18:32.559 --> 00:18:34.799 There's nothing that God can't do. 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:37.680 There's nothing that's impossible with God. 00:18:39.440 --> 00:18:44.880 But surrender means having the humility to recognize when we're in that situation with burdens that we just can't carry. 00:18:45.119 --> 00:18:49.599 Sometimes there's burdens that we have to carry to a certain degree. 00:18:49.839 --> 00:18:51.759 We can't just lay it aside. 00:18:52.720 --> 00:19:02.880 So on our trip in the airport, uh, my youngest son, the one with the gastrointestinal issues, um, he also developed this really interesting um, I've never heard of this before. 00:19:02.960 --> 00:19:04.720 It's called selective paralysis. 00:19:04.960 --> 00:19:08.880 And what selective paralysis is, is that it's really interesting. 00:19:08.960 --> 00:19:14.400 What it means is that in an airport, when you see an escalator or a moving sidewalk, you can run because you love it. 00:19:14.640 --> 00:19:21.039 But when there's not an escalator or a moving sidewalk, your legs stop working and you sit on the ground and say, I can't walk. 00:19:21.359 --> 00:19:37.839 And your dad, who in the moment wants to parent you and like get that out of you, recognizes now's not the time because we're in an airport and it's moving, and so you just have to pick that up, and that's extra weight that you weren't expecting to carry, but you gotta carry it because it's your child. 00:19:39.759 --> 00:19:42.480 Look, the simple truth is, by the way, I love my son. 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:43.279 He's awesome. 00:19:43.359 --> 00:19:44.880 He and I are gonna be so close. 00:19:45.119 --> 00:19:49.279 I get to go through this phase with all of my boys when they're about three or four, and it's a great phase. 00:19:49.440 --> 00:19:51.200 We get to iron things out. 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:58.640 And my number one rule with this phase is that if you fight me, I will win. 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:00.240 Like, it's just it's done. 00:20:00.319 --> 00:20:00.799 So don't. 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:02.559 Same kind of thing works with God. 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:09.200 But anyway, um, you know, sometimes there's situations that are burdens that, guys, we just don't have the ability to put it down. 00:20:09.440 --> 00:20:15.119 Because we're enmeshed with it, it's a relationship that we can't avoid, it's a situation that we have responsibility in. 00:20:15.359 --> 00:20:17.039 And we can't simply just go, oh. 00:20:17.920 --> 00:20:21.359 I couldn't just like leave him behind at the airport, like, oh, I got three more. 00:20:21.519 --> 00:20:22.319 I can't do that. 00:20:22.480 --> 00:20:23.119 You know? 00:20:23.359 --> 00:20:24.799 I have to pick it up. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:28.319 But what you don't have to do is carry it alone. 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:41.200 And so sometimes surrendering means surrendering control of a situation to God where you're still involved, you're still hands-on, but you're not the one who's deciding the way it's going. 00:20:41.680 --> 00:20:48.400 Where you say to the Lord, I've done it my way, my way clearly has some flaws, some holes. 00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:50.960 Now I'm gonna do it your way. 00:20:51.279 --> 00:20:57.039 So, Lord, I'm holding this, but you tell me where to put it, you tell me where to move it, you tell me what to do. 00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:04.079 It becomes like a team lift type scenario where God's carrying it with you and He's in control, and you're just moving with Him. 00:21:05.200 --> 00:21:13.119 It's amazing sometimes how something that's incredibly heavy and cumbersome to lift by yourself is incredibly easy to lift with someone else. 00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:15.839 Especially if that someone is God. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:17.839 But it's all about surrender. 00:21:17.920 --> 00:21:29.440 It's surrendering control and authority, it's surrendering to a point of humility where you recognize what you can't do, and it's surrendering what maybe you don't want to surrender because it's become part of how you see yourself. 00:21:29.519 --> 00:21:32.559 It's tough, but it's powerful. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:35.599 And so here's what I'd like us to do. 00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:43.599 Um, I asked some friends about two or three days ago if they would begin to pray about some potential burdens that might be shared in the room. 00:21:43.680 --> 00:21:50.960 And if those of you who I asked to do that wouldn't mind coming up right now, that would just be amazing, unless none of you showed up to church, and then I'm in a little bit of trouble. 00:21:51.119 --> 00:21:53.200 Um but of course you did. 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:59.440 And so uh each of these people are people many of you will recognize, um, but if you don't, they're just people that are are. 00:22:07.039 --> 00:22:07.680 Right now. 00:22:58.960 --> 00:23:01.119 Why is it a specific word in your hair? 00:23:02.240 --> 00:23:03.279 We have to get a hundred people. 00:23:06.880 --> 00:23:08.559 God knows exactly what you're doing. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:11.519 And this is personal time for you and him. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:15.440 Now, for some of you, this is like this is like riding a bike, you pray a lot. 00:23:15.839 --> 00:23:16.880 You've done this before. 00:23:17.119 --> 00:23:18.880 And you're like, okay, I've got to shift it as well. 00:23:19.440 --> 00:23:20.240 For some of us. 00:23:22.240 --> 00:23:23.279 For some of us. 00:23:24.480 --> 00:23:25.519 This is new. 00:23:26.319 --> 00:23:27.920 It might be a little odd. 00:23:28.319 --> 00:23:33.440 Because maybe you're someone who's never really liked praying intensely before. 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:36.000 Like, number one, you don't have to. 00:23:38.319 --> 00:23:40.880 But give it a try. 00:23:43.920 --> 00:23:45.920 Just focus on the Lord. 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:48.720 Have an open heart and an open mind. 00:23:49.039 --> 00:23:50.160 And just ask him. 00:23:51.759 --> 00:23:53.200 Lord, what do you have for me? 00:23:53.519 --> 00:23:56.559 What burden do you want to bring to my mind that I need to let go of? 00:23:56.640 --> 00:24:00.799 And give me the courage to surrender it right here and right now. 00:24:01.519 --> 00:24:08.240 So, uh, Fred, if you wouldn't mind starting, and uh the rest of us, just let's just go down the line from there. 00:24:08.559 --> 00:24:08.880 Okay? 00:24:09.119 --> 00:24:10.000 Let's pray. 00:24:57.599 --> 00:25:02.960 And the reality that our brothers and sisters are under a fierce attack. 00:25:04.880 --> 00:25:14.000 But as you continually promise in your word, though in our army surround us, we can find our peace and our courage in you. 00:25:16.160 --> 00:25:19.039 So we pray for courage for our brothers and sisters. 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:35.279 That they would be protected, that those who are fleeing would be welcomed into homes in other nations, and those who are remaining would stand firm for the country and their home that they love. 00:25:37.119 --> 00:25:41.279 And Lord, we have no ability to change the hearts of those who are attacking them. 00:25:42.640 --> 00:25:44.720 But you do change hearts. 00:25:45.519 --> 00:25:53.200 And we pray you would change the heart of Putin and the Russian leaders who are leading this invasion. 00:25:54.480 --> 00:25:56.559 Oh Lord, we pray have mercy. 00:25:57.920 --> 00:26:04.000 So many, many times in your word, we have a condition. 00:26:06.240 --> 00:26:09.039 And then the word reports about God. 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:19.359 Oh Father, we pray that that would now be the conclusion of this horror. 00:26:20.960 --> 00:26:21.839 But God. 00:26:24.880 --> 00:26:27.359 Work out your purposes, we pray. 00:26:28.160 --> 00:26:38.880 Redeem this crisis and bring peace, healing, and hope to the Ukraine and to this world. 00:26:40.720 --> 00:26:49.039 Knit our hearts together with our brothers and sisters that we might stand with them in prayer as we put our trust in you. 00:26:49.759 --> 00:26:52.480 In the holy name of Jesus, we pray. 00:26:54.319 --> 00:26:54.960 Amen. 00:27:03.359 --> 00:27:20.640 The Lord gave me a scripture, He says He wants to bestow on you a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of a joy, meaning instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of despair. 00:27:21.200 --> 00:27:31.440 They will call you oaks of righteousness, a planning of the Lord for the display of his displendor. 00:27:33.039 --> 00:27:36.000 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. 00:27:36.240 --> 00:27:48.400 If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come into him and we will sup with him and he with me. 00:27:51.279 --> 00:27:54.960 Father, we uh I just come before you in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:27:55.119 --> 00:27:57.359 Holy Spirit, friend, we need you. 00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:07.680 Father, let our hearts not be like couches where everybody sits, but let our hearts be like thrones where you alone sit. 00:28:10.240 --> 00:28:18.160 Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we pull down everything that would exalt itself against the knowledge of God. 00:28:18.400 --> 00:28:20.960 And Father, we just lose freedom. 00:28:21.680 --> 00:28:26.480 Freedom from the weight that we carry. 00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:30.559 We pull it down in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:36.079 And Father, you have given us authority, legal authority, according to your word. 00:28:36.720 --> 00:28:41.839 That if we ask the Father in the name of Jesus Christ, that you will do it. 00:28:42.079 --> 00:28:48.160 And so, Father, in the name of Jesus Christ, we pull it down, Lord, in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:52.319 We lose freedom, Lord, from every bondage and every chain. 00:28:52.480 --> 00:28:56.720 Let it be broken right now in the name of Jesus Christ. 00:28:56.880 --> 00:29:02.079 And Father, let you alone be God and God above all. 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:04.160 Father, surround them. 00:29:04.400 --> 00:29:07.759 Surround them with your love and your protection, Father. 00:29:08.319 --> 00:29:09.759 Speak to them, Lord. 00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:12.000 Hold them in your arms, Lord. 00:29:12.240 --> 00:29:17.759 You want us to sit with you, Father, have to call them away during the day, Father. 00:29:17.920 --> 00:29:30.319 Call them away in the night hours to sit with you, Lord, that they might soak in your presence and that they might know you, that they feel comfortable to call on you and tell you anything that's on their hearts, Lord. 00:29:30.640 --> 00:29:34.960 Father, we thank you that you're faithful, you're kind, and you're good. 00:29:35.200 --> 00:29:37.920 And that you feel forced, no one can be against us. 00:29:38.079 --> 00:29:42.480 They can try, but you are God and you win. 00:29:42.720 --> 00:29:45.599 And so, Father, I thank you that your hands are upon them. 00:29:45.680 --> 00:29:48.480 I thank you that freedom is in this place, Lord God. 00:29:48.640 --> 00:29:54.640 That a freedom they've never known, Lord, that's gonna invade their lives this day, Lord God. 00:29:56.400 --> 00:30:00.960 And that you alone will be God in every moment of their lives. 00:30:01.200 --> 00:30:04.720 I give you honor and glory and praise in Jesus' name. 00:30:04.960 --> 00:30:05.599