A Journey of Letting Go
Text: Isaiah 43:18; Philippians 3:13
Pr Lo Yi Ping ?
Being a disciple means you’re on a lifelong journey of learning to let go. When you first received Christ, or even having followed Jesus for decades. Just like “Looking Up”, it’s a decision of our hearts too.
1. Letting go of our BADS
- BAGGAGES
o 1 Jn 1:8-9
o He 12:1-2
o there is always that something, or rather, a few somethings, that hinder or stunt our growth;
o layers of baggages – traumas, hurts, past wounding from family or someone;
- ANXIETY
o 1 Pe 5:6-7
o Mt 11:28
o 40% of our anxious thoughts are about things that would never happen
o God knows how much we need to learn to let go of our anxiety; multiple times He tells us to be strong and courageous; anxious when we focus on the negative and on ourselves too much;
- WORLDLINESS
o Romans 13:12-14
o James 4:4
o Many people are so eager to follow Jesus, but their attachments hold them back; example the rich young ruler who couldn’t part with his possessions;
o We all have attachments, pleasures or passions that can become obstacles to God
When we talk about letting go, past or present, it means letting go of not only the bad stuff. We excel at holding on to things we consider precious (memories, good experiences, milestones or anything significantly positive). These also need letting go.
2. Letting go of our GOODS
- ACHIEVEMENTS
o Ph 3:7-8
o Paul was a man of many achievements, but his perspective changed compared to knowing Christ;
o Is 43:18 – God was telling His people not to limit Him to what He had done before but to go beyond;
o Henry Blackaby: To be loved by God is the highest relationship, the highest achievement, and the highest position in life.
o This includes our successes in life, ministry, career, school, etc.
- AMBITIONS
o 2 Co 5:9
o Ro 12:2
o a brilliant guy who came to know Jesus; his ambitions became centered on Jesus.
o Ambition/ambitiousness is good. Knowing God means ambitions are driven by God. Generally, ambition needs determination. Godly ambition however needs godly determination, which is a totally different thing.
o Tim Keller: If you get meaning in life from family, work, cause, they enslave us. Building our lives on something besides God not only hurts us if we don’t get the desires of our hearts, but also if we do.
- APPROVAL OF OTHERS
o Ga 1:10
o 2 Corinthians 10:18
o It’s not a bad thing to want a good reputation. In fact, the bible does teach that a good reputation is noble. Being called to be salt and light does mean you need a good reputation.
o But we can let pleasing men become a problem, if we are not willing to let it go when it contradicts pleasing God
Letting go of the good stuff doesn’t make them invalid or insignificant, but it subjects them under Jesus’ Lordship, in favor of God’s best. God is above the bad AND the good in life. We hinder ourselves and others from experiencing the fullness of His grace and blessing when we box Him in with our “life experiences” and “human wisdom”. They can prevent us from experiencing God more fully, like that little boy and his robot car.
Essentially, all letting go boils down to only ONE kind of letting go. To be a disciple is to learn to let go of our SELF.
3. Letting go of SELF
- Matthew 16:24-25; Mark 8:34-35; Luke 9:23-24; John 12:24-25
- What does “self” include? Your: pride - your rights and point-of-view; possessions, preferences, power
- Jesus’ example: in his birth as a human, the temptation of Jesus by Satan in the desert, the garden of Gethsemane, the Cross of Calvary.
Quote from EDWJ reading — “…We are made in such a way that we cannot give ourselves to anyone we doubt.”
Do you trust God enough, to let go of your SELF, to surrender your life into God’s hands?
Do you TRUST GOD AS YOUR ULTIMATE security & significance?
What is God inviting you to let go of, right now in your life?
