*Let It Go & Leave It
Hi Everyone!!
*I hope Bishop is okay with me creating a title for this sermon.
Sunday, we had the pleasure of hearing from our Bishop about letting that thing go, leaving it there, and moving forward.
Philippians 3:12-14
[Context: We've gone over the preceding verses a few weeks ago, but Paul was explaining that if anyone is able to talk about their natural/human/bad deeds, it's him. He went through a whole list, but then we arrive to verse 12 where he's saying, "yes, I've done those things and though I don't do them anymore, I'm not perfect and I'm not trying to say that I have achieved perfection, but I'm moving forward and I'm still trying"] Not that I have already attained,[c] [footnote: obtained it] or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have [d]apprehended [footnote: laid hold of it]; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
There are some notable action words in verses 13 and 14: press on & reaching forward. I take from this that in order to achieve perfection, some work has to be done. Moving forward and leaving the past in the past won't just happen on its own; there are some things we have to do as well. When I thought things were too tough, my mom always told me, "anything worth having is worth working for." Prizes are won (we're ignoring the trophies given just for participation right now) and require work. Leaving things behind can be hard to do, but once we arrive at the prize [overall: heaven, but can also include whatever goal you're currently striving to meet], it'll be so worth it.
There are some things we have to remember and there are some things we have to forget
Bishop's Story Time: The Not So Soaring Eagle
*Not copied word for word, but you'll get the point
There was an eagle who was hurt. He was rescued and put in a cage while he was being nursed back to health. He moved around the cage a bit as he got better. After some time, as he was recovering, he would fly up a little and come back down; this was a continuous act. As time went by and he got even better, he would fly a little higher and come back down. Again, time went by and he got a little better, and he would fly to the top of his cage, hit his head and come back down. He kept flying up, hitting his head and coming back down. Finally, the people who were taking care of the eagle took the lid off the cage to give him room to fly and soar, but he only flew as high as the height of his cage.
The eagle was so conditioned from his past experiences that he lost what should have come naturally. His past pain kept him trapped in the box whether he was in it or out of it.
We are often like that poor eagle and we feel like we're stuck because we've been hurt to the point where we have a hard time moving forward whether we're still in that situation or not.
Bishop's Story Time: The Woman & Her Trash
There was this woman who was dating this guy and one night when they were together, the Stylistics was playing in the background and they happen to get in an argument. Things got a little heated, harsh words were said, and he hit her and she hit him back. That relationship ended. Fast forward to some time later, she met this really great guy, like the total package kind of guy. They went on a date down at the Harbor and after dinner at Grace's Mandarin, they went down to chill by the water. The guy thought he was setting the mood by playing some music. He went to his playlist and cut on the Stylistics, specifically the same song that played in the background the night her and her ex got into the fight. To his surprise, she flipped her wig, fussed him out, and left.
What's the issue here? The trashman did not come and get her trash because she never bagged it and put it on the curb. Sis held on to her past experience and allowed herself to be trapped in that box even though she was no longer in it. As a result, she threw a monkey wrench in her new relationship and potentially ruined what could have been.
Here's the song he mentioned: People Make the World Go Round x They Stylistics
(For those who are unfamiliar with the song, you may be reminded that it is one of the songs played on the movie, Crooklyn)
We have to leave our trash behind. We cannot be hoarders of our past. It is okay to push the eject button from the past in order to allow ourselves to experience better.
"You can't relate to your present if you stay connected to your past."
Bishop's Declaration:
MESS, I'm leaving you behind!
MESS, I'm turning my back on you because I'm an overcomer in the name of Jesus!
Not having a healthy balance of remembering and forgetting will have you:
-Rehearsing Resentment: when you don't deal with it, it becomes a looping track
-Remembering Regrets: those looping tracks consistently remind you of what happened
-Reinforcing Remorse: those memories trigger the feeling of remorse for what's been done
Result: Those R's will act in future relationships
Eph. 4: 31-32
Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, [i]clamor [footnote: loud quarreling], and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. [Let that thing go! This second chance didn't do anything to deserve being treated like the last time] 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving [forgiveness is one of the clearest signs that what happened in the past was left in the past] one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
David's Fall, His Plea, & His Release
The Fall: 2 Samuel 12:9-14
9 Why have you despised the commandment of the Lord, to do evil in His sight? You have killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword; you have taken his wife to be your wife, and have killed him with the sword of the people of Ammon. 10 Now therefore, the sword shall never depart from your house, because you have despised Me, and have taken the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your wife.’ 11 Thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will raise up adversity against you from your own house; and I will take your wives before your eyes and give them to your neighbor, and he shall lie with your wives in the sight of this sun. 12 For you did it secretly, but I will do this thing before all Israel, before the sun.’ ”
13 So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. 14 However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”
His Plea: Psalm 51
A Psalm of David when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba
His Release: 2 Samuel 12:15-25
15 Then Nathan departed to his house. And the Lord struck the child that Uriah’s wife bore to David, and it became ill. 16 David therefore pleaded with God for the child, and David fasted and went in and lay all night on the ground. 17 So the elders of his house arose and went to him, to raise him up from the ground. But he would not, nor did he eat food with them. 18 Then on the seventh day it came to pass that the child died. And the servants of David were afraid to tell him that the child was dead. For they said, “Indeed, while the child was alive, we spoke to him, and he would not heed our voice. How can we tell him that the child is dead? He may do some harm!”
19 When David saw that his servants were whispering, David perceived that the child was dead. Therefore David said to his servants, “Is the child dead?”
And they said, “He is dead.”
20 [from here until the end of 25 we see what it looks like to let it go. David knew he sinned, he knew there were consequences, etc., but I believe he also knew that he couldn't hold on to his mistake forever, so he got himself together and kept pressing forward] So David arose from the ground, washed and anointed himself, and changed his clothes; and he went into the house of the Lord and worshiped. Then he went to his own house; and when he requested, they set food before him, and he ate. 21 Then his servants said to him, “What is this that you have done? You fasted and wept for the child while he was alive, but when the child died, you arose and ate food.”
22 And he said, “While the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, ‘Who can tell whether [b]the Lord will be gracious to me, that the child may live?’ 23 But now he is dead; why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me.”
24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore a son, and he[c] called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25 and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So [d]he called his name [e]Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
Let It Go & Press Forward!
Facebook Live: Sunday, July 7, 2019
Til next time,
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