Address The Mess • Part 1┃"The Mess in the Mirror"

hi everybody welcome to your move I'm Andy Stanley one thing we all have in common is we've all made a mess of thing somewhere along the way we either were a mess we are a mess or we are one dumb decision away from creating a brand-new mess today we'll address the mess right here on your move [Music] now here's a phrase that you've heard many many times before but I bet you didn't know that it had the history that it has because here's a phrase that has been around for a lot longer than all of us and it's this phrase right here hot mess hot mess did you know that it's all that this this this phrase goes all the way back to the 19th century and back in the 19th century in fact I'll let you guess what do you think in the 19th century a hot mess referred to anybody have any idea no no anybody just wild guessed nope a hot mess referred to food like a mess hall or a mess kit but then in the 21st century with the evolution of the word hot a hot mess is actually defined as an attractive disaster an attractive disaster somebody whose life is an obvious disarray and yet they remain somewhat functional and somewhat attractive someone whose life in some portion of their life is in disarray and things are just not going well they have created a mess they're in a mess a mess is happening around them and yet there's somewhat functional they can still show up for work they can still show up for school and they look a lot better than their circumstances are so what that really means that is that this is our goal in life right here this is your goal right in fact you didn't have the terminology necessarily but this is what you do regardless of what's going on at home you show up at work and you smile now when we talk about messes in this series we're talking about all kinds of messes financial messes you've gotten yourself in a financial mess because of debt or something that was beyond your control and you say all my finances are a mess maybe a family mess you know marriage and going so well or you know it was going well for a while and then something happened and you've got relational messes you got health messes some of you've let your health go or maybe something beyond your control and or you look in the mirror and you say I'm just a mess at some point wardrobe is not going to be able to compensate for this right in any area of life professional mess academically you know your GPA you're sorry even use those three letters because you try to put that off for the weekend you just try to forget about it academic mess said there's all kinds of messes or maybe you're super blessed maybe you're in this season of life where you are between messes life is good you know it's just six months ago we finally wrapped up and you know the just the way life goes are you're one but dumb decision away from creating a brand-new mess but the point is the thing that we all have in common whether you're religious or Christian or some other religion the thing we all have in common is life is just messy and sometimes it's messy because we create the mess and sometimes we inherit messes and sometimes we just look up and suddenly there's mess all around us but this is just the way life is but here's some good news because we need some good news the good news is simply this there's always someone whose life is a bigger mess than yours you can take great comfort in that no matter how messy your life gets there's all actually this is not good news that's actually mean here's here's the good news the real the good news is simply this it's not just you it's not just you it's not just your life it's not just your family it's not just your marriage it's not just your GPA here's what we're gonna talk about for the next few weeks mass is what brings us together today and here's why that's so important to think about it means that when you see someone else's mess or when you see somebody making a decision and you think to yourself you're about to make a big mess of that or you're gonna regret that or if you continue to do that you're gonna regret that or if you continue to spin that way live that way if you continue to talk to your wife that way if you continue to talk to your kids that way you're gonna create a mess before you are critical before you are critical you need to remember that you're a mess as well and that when it comes to the people around us whose lives are messy we should be students not critics because here's something we all know isn't it true when you hear the story behind someone's mess you see them differently when you hear the story in the circumstances about their mess and what created their mess and where they came from isn't it true that you breathe a little deeply you kind of sigh and suddenly you feel sorry for them you're more sorry for them than you are critical of them we should all be students and as we look at what Jesus had to say we're gonna discover that we should be students rather than critics when it comes to other people because we've all been a mess the other reason this is so important is because sometimes you make a mess that you can't get out of by yourself it's a reminder that we really really really need each other because we've all been in holes that were so deep we looked at when we realize you know what I realize I dug my own hole but I cannot get out of this by myself and if you've ever had somebody step in and assist you when you'd made mess or your life was upside down or you had a mess on your hands it's a reminder that that's to be our response to people when we realize and discover their mess imagine where the church would be today imagine where Christians would be today imagine the reputation of the church if we just gotten that one thing correct now here's something that Christians believe as it relates to the minute here's something that Christians believe the Christians believe and this is so powerful we're going to talk about this a little bit more next week Christians believe that the mess that brings us together is the mess that brought God near the mess that brings us together the thing that we have in common is actually the mess that brought God near for God so love the messy people of the world that he citizen to the world that the gospel is about God looking down on the messy world and deciding I think I'll send my son there to address their mess and when Jesus showed up it was a surprise in fact one of the reasons that people didn't recognize Jesus for who he was is because in the ancient world when people thought about a God or the gods and dressing people they expected a judge they expected punishment they expected lightning bolts they expected judge judy they expected criticism they expected a god that was going to get in their face and punish them and never even asked about their story they expected all the worst and when Jesus showed up Jesus introduced a word into the messes of the world that was so unusual it was so astounding it was so Otherworld it was so unexpected he introduced the word grace and nobody expected it and nobody saw it coming and most people missed it so if your life is a mess if you're a hot mess you got a mess on one part of your life but you're trying to look good and stay functional we get that all of us have that in common here's one of the things that Christians believe is it relates to the mess the mess of your life and the mess in this world and the messiness of the world is a lens now this is maybe hard for you to believe it here's what we're going today if you can see your mess if you can see your mess for what it is if you can recognize a mess when you see one you can see God that to recognize one to recognize one is to acknowledge the other in fact the whole sentence goes like this the mess is a lens through which we discover God that God reveals himself God reveals his presence God reveals the reality of God within the context of mess to recognize one to be able to recognize a mess you are a baby step away from acknowledging you're a baby step away from acknowledging God now the interesting thing is the Apostle Paul steps onto the pages of history not as an apostle not as a good person not as a Christian person not as a Bible writer the Apostle Paul steps out of the pages of history as a man who was a one-man wrecking machine and his mission in life was to destroy the church because he saw the church as a knockoff of Judaism so the Apostle Paul decided to shut down the local church well and as you probably know has heard the story God got his attention and the Apostle Paul who was very educated very connected had studied at all the best schools knew all the languages he becomes a fanatic Christian a fanatic Jesus follower and so he begins creating churches around the Mediterranean rim and as he does as you probably know he began to write letters to those churches to encourage them in their faith and these letters were collected because they were so extraordinarily valuable they were collected they were copied and they're part of our New Testament today so the Apostle Paul because he's a brainiac I mean he's a real Brainiac he goes into all kinds of extraordinary minutiae and detail explaining these high-level theological concepts and he's the person that addresses and introduces this idea that it is actually our messes it is our inability to keep God's law it's the fact that we know we mess up from time to time that is the portal or the window or the lens through which we actually discover the presence of God here's how he says it now I'll try to break it down cuz he's kind of he's out there a little bit smart guys is this Romans chapter 3 now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law this is just a fancy way of saying if you're under a law the law is over you or if there a law that is over you it's because you were under it you got that if you signed up to go to a university when you sign a contract to go to that University the University of rules apply to you and you are under those rules because the university is over you so the Apostle Paul says that whatever law you're under that law is over you and he's talking specifically about the law of God and let me sort of tease that out for you the law of God within this context can be several things if you're a good Jewish person if you're a here if you're an Orthodox Jew it would be the actual law of God is found in the Old Testament if you're a Christian it would be the law of Jesus and the law of Jesus is you treat other people the way that God through Jesus has treated you that's the law or the commandment of Jesus but let's make it broader than that it can be as broad as the law of your conscience that there are things that you just intuitively know you should do and you should not do you are under the law of your conscience you feel accountable to the law of your conscience it's over you and you were under it now the interesting thing is this this is something else we all have in common all of us all of us because we've all made a mess from time to time in different areas of life all of us fall short of the standard either God's standard the Old Testament New Testament are the standard of our conscience we all fall short of that we all mess up from time to time and when we mess up and when somebody catches us messing up whether it's a parent or someone we work for a husband a wife whoever it might be when we know we're busted we either say or we think here's the thing that we retreat to we've said it a thousand times heard it a thousand times we generally smile when we say it we say but nobody's perfect but nobody's perfect mom nobody's perfect what do you spent me to be the perfect child expect me to be the perfect employee okay so I didn't turn it in whines but I normally turn it in nobody's perfect when you acknowledge this this is so big this is what the Apostle Paul is leaning toward when you acknowledge this you are saying something perhaps you don't know that you're saying and you're acknowledging something that is so big and transformational that most people miss it because when you acknowledge that you're not perfect or when you say or think well of course I messed up and yeah I did it again and yeah couldn't break away and yeah I've been trying to trying but nobody's perfect when you say that you are saying that there's a perfect that nobody is you're saying that there is a law there is a formula there is a morality there's an ethics there's a something that you don't live up to it exists you know it exists and you fall short whenever you acknowledge no one's perfect and I'm not perfect you're acknowledging there's a perfect that I am NOT and there's a subtle sense of accountability to something that is over you and beyond you Paul goes on he says this now we know that whatever the law says it says to those who are under the law so that what's the purpose of that is the purpose that we can all be good people and perfect people and get more perfect dirt he says no the so that every mouth may be silenced and this is all of us it's an all-skate that the whole world everybody in the world that the whole world would be held accountable to God God can be your Old Testament God could be the New Testament if you're a Christian God could be your conscience God could be your heart Paul says this there is a law that we are all aware of in some specific way or some general way we all know that we fall short we all sort of feel accountable but Paul says this here's some good news the point of that struggle the point of that sense of guilt the point of that tension isn't so that you will be perfect it's not that you would feel so bad that one day you would finally perfect yourself he says that's not the point of all at all the point of the law the point of this struggle the point of the mess the point of the tension is that you would be silenced that I would be silenced and when I'm about to look at you and be critical of you I would be silenced because I fall short as well and when you're attempted to look at being me and be critical of my mess you would be silenced for you would be aware that at once upon a time or maybe in the near future you would be a mess as well that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God that nobody has room to talk we are all accountable to the source of the law we fall short of whether it's God our conscience our just those inconvenient odds this is why Jesus says before you judge somebody else you better look in the mirror and when you look in the mirror you're gonna go silent because the whole world is held accountable to God and then he says this therefore no one will be declared righteous in God's sight by the works of the law in other words you'll never be so good that God says you're good enough because once you fall once you've felt once it's easy to do better from this point on but what do you do about all the times in the past right I mean we all have experienced that relationally but here's his point no one is held declared righteous by the works of the law look at this this is amazing rather through the law where there's God's law the law of your conscience the law of the arts whatever it is that you believe that you're under that's over you through the law we become conscious of our sin or our failure so when I read the scriptures because I'm a Christian when I read the New Testament I'm reminded I just don't love my neighbor consistently I'm reminded that I don't forgive quick enough I'm reminded that I'm not everything I ought to be for the people I love the most I'm remind that I'm reminded because the scripture the law of God is a mirror and it's a reminder so let me ask you question and this is uncomfortable what does the law that you're under whatever that is it could be Scripture give the Old Testament New Testament another religion and may just be your conscience what does the law that you're under remind you that you're not and isn't it kind of the same thing over and over isn't it that habit that you can't break that addiction you can't break away from the fact that you've told your husband a thousand times you're gonna start you're gonna stop and you can't you've told your parents I'll never do it again and you find yourself lying what is it that whatever the law that you feel accountable to what is it that it reminds you that you're not because in that moment you're experiencing the law for exactly the reason God gave it it is a mirror and it is a reminder and then three verses later he kind of gives us his bottom line Paul sums up this argument he says this for all because this is everybody this isn't just religious people for all of sin that's the big Bible word right what do you mean sin Paul can you break that down let me break it down for you and let me repeat it a different way for all of sin and fall short because that's what it means to sin and fall short of the glory of God see not only he says have you fallen short of your own standard because I fall short of my own standards forget God for a moment I can't even I can't even be what Andy thinks Andy needs to be you not only fall short of your own standard you not only do you maybe fall short of society's standard your husband's why st. Anders your wife's standards your parents standard your school standard he says for all have fallen short and everybody is silenced because everybody ultimately falls short of the glory of the splendor the magnet and magnificence the greatness the perfection of God and what he's reminding us of this is so subtle is that the reason you recognize a mess when you see one is because every mess has a reference point the reference point for the mess that you've created is the unmess you know what the marriage should look like you know what you how you should behave you know how you should respond you know that you should be able to break away you know that you should be able to escape that habit you know that you shouldn't be in that relationship every mess has a reference point it's the un-- mess and here's Paul's point this is so powerful it is the awareness it's the awareness the awareness of our messes this is so powerful for some of you this may be the moment awareness of our messes awakens us to something outside of us to which we are accountable this is this point that the awareness of our messes the awareness of the fact that I can't even keep up with where I think I should be I can't even live up to my expectations if there's a God I'm sure I can't live up to God's expectations and so my natural inclination is I'm going to try harder and harder and harder Paul says no no no no no God didn't give you the law so you'll try harder and God didn't dig doesn't ding your conscience so that you'll just become a better person God speaks to you through your conscience and God reminds you so that you will become aware that there's something there's someone outside of you to whom you are accountable now many many years after the Apostle Paul kind of laid this out in this sort of complicated way another guy came along that you've heard of his name is CS Lewis CS Lewis was a scholar teacher somewhat historian philosopher who became a Christian as an adult he lived during the Second World War a world war he was a British citizen and as you may know he's written lots and lots of books but here's what he does in Chapter one this is so fascinating in Chapter one of mere Christianity CS Lewis talks about this in different terms he talks about it in terms of watching two people quarrel that's his word that's the word we don't use anymore try that with your kids stop quarreling because they'll stop and be like what is that okay you know we say stop fighting stop arguing stop hitting but he uses the word quarrel and here's what he says this is so powerful see this Louis is this he says I've observed because this is the thing that opened the door for CS Lewis's brilliant guy to become a Jesus follower well this was the thing this was the thing he could not escape he tried and tried to tried as a philosopher and thinker to escape this but this was the thing that cracked him open as an individual to be open to the teachings of Jesus and here's what he said he said when I watch two people quarrel here's what I'm aware of there are two people who were both appealing to a standard that neither of them created and neither of them can escape he says to two people quarrel it's like you're not fair I am fair you're not fair well that's not just it is just you're not sensitive I am sensitive you're not paying me enough I am paying you not you don't pay enough tension you don't come home on time well I'm doing the best but I think I do I'm doing a lot better than he says whenever people quarrel if you watch they're both appealing to the same standard that is outside of them that neither of them created this just bugged him it's like where did this come from and then he said this he said rarely in a quarrel between two people will you hear one of them say and this is a quote so pardon my language he says never rarely will you hear somebody in a quarrel say well to hell with your standard in other words forget justice forget mercy forget sensitivity forget being a good husband forget being a great wife you know forget it forgetting if there's no one ever jettisons the standard what they do is they argue that they're keeping it better than the other person thinks they're keeping it or here's what we do we argue that there's a good reason why we fall short that there's a reason I should get it out there's a reason that I should get a past and just bugs es lewis' to death as a non-christian he could not figure out why is it that all over the world even though it takes different shapes and forms and it's not consistent all over the world why is it all over the world that there's this thing that we feel accountable to that we just can't get rid of and clearly we didn't create because if we created it we just get rid of it and not feel bad about our behavior and in the first chapter of mere christianity here's what he writes this is so powerful he says the law of gravity tells you what stones do if you drop them the law of gravity tells you the law of gravity the natural law of gravity tells you what a stone does when when you drop and then he goes on later in the book and talks about all the natural laws and how all the natural laws make the universe predictable it's why you know a pilot can do the same thing time after time after time and a jet or an airplane and make the plane fly because the laws of nature are predictable it's why if you play golf it's why you can get better and better and better because gravity doesn't shift every you know thirty minutes and change the way that you hit the ball in other words every whether it's sports flight so many things the laws of nature the laws of nature are predictable they're observable he says so everybody knows when you drop a stone what's gonna happen that look what he says next he says but the laws of human nature or the law of human nature tells you what human beings ought to do and do not the law of human nature says that if you're kind and if you're gentle and you're good to people that makes things go better that if you eat right things go better that if you not if you're gonna refuse to become addicted to anything things go better in other words we know what the laws of human nature are that are the things that would make nature humanity do better he said but unlike any other area in the whole universe that we know of unlike any other area in the world in the when it comes to the laws of human nature we know what they are but we don't do them and he just bugged him what is that he goes on and he says this human beings all over the earth have this curious idea that they ought to behave in a certain way and cannot really get rid of it we just can't decide no no one should be sensitive sensitivities stupid I shouldn't honor other people honoring other people is stupid I shouldn't try to be fair what a crazy idea is that he says there's this sense of built-in heart driven sense of ethics and morality that we just can't get rid of and then he caps it off with this statement and this is what drove him to become a theist and ultimately a Christian he said there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts there is something above and beyond the ordinary facts of men's behavior and yet quite definitely real it's not something that we imagine a real law which none of us made we didn't create it but which we find I love this phrase pressing on us that don't miss this look up here look up here here's what he's saying it's so powerful this is what Paul was saying this is what we've all experienced CS Lewis says we have all felt the pressure of conscience the pressure of odd the Apostle Paul says CS Lewis says I want to convince you of this that that pressure is the gracious presence of God and that pressure that we can't escape that is universal in every single culture is not God pressing us so that we will be better people it's God pressing us so that we would acknowledge and recognize God that our mouths would be silenced and we'd realize there is a law there is a standard that we cannot attain and we cannot maintain consistently and that all the universe and all the people in the whole earth are silenced in the presence of God once we acknowledge and said earlier once we acknowledge our messes we are a baby step away from acknowledging God once we acknowledge I've made a mess of that relationship I've made a mess of my finances I've made a mess of my health once we acknowledge the mess once we're aware once we become aware once we realize once we acknowledge that we fall short of our own standard if there's a God certainly God standards once we acknowledge the mess we are a baby step you are an inch away from acknowledging God but today that's kind of heady that's kind of out there today I wanted Lando something a little more practical okay the moral of the story today kind of backing up a little bit the moral of the story today is simply this we all have something in common the mess religious non-religious Christian non-christian some other religions what we all have in common is the mess and the reason this is significant for this week as we launch into this series is simply this this means that you have something in common with the person you despise the most this means you have something in common with the group that you despise the most you know the fill in the blanks I don't like the blanks I don't like people who blank I don't like men who always blank I don't like women when they blame like this category of people whoever that category is for you I've got some good news Paul says when you recognize your mess and that they're met when their mess begins to remind you of your meth mess everyone is silenced because the moral of the story is we all have something in common the mess we all fall short of our own standards if there's a God's God's standards in fact we fall short of one another's standards so this week I want you to try something okay this is kind of weird I think it'd be cool if you said this out loud you probably won't because you probably won't remember the phrase but just just for a week wouldn't it be interesting is when you see one somebody making a mess you go to work tomorrow and there he is again and he's always a mess in fact he comes into work on Monday talking about his weekend mess and you're like oh you're such a mess when you see the mess this week instead of being critical instead of being judgmental instead of setting yourself apart instead of thinking I'm better than and I hope I never and I hope my kids never I don't even want to go over there and hear about it from now on for the just this week actually I want you to whisper under your breath this phrase I know a mess when I see one because I am one the reason I even know that's a mess is because I'm aware of an unmet and the fact that I recognize there's such thing as an unmet I am a mess the mess is what brings us together today [Music]

Channel: Your Move with Andy Stanley

Views: 25,840

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Keywords: Andy Stanley, Your Move with Andy Stanley, Your Move, Address the Mess, change your life, how to make my life better, personal development, how to find yourself, sadness, happiness, depression, get control of your life, take your life back, take back your life, better decisions, fewer regrets, why do bad things happen to good people, how to get better at life, how to say no to friends, how to say no to people

Id: CfiUAe6KXI0

Length: 27min 14sec (1634 seconds)

Published: Fri Apr 13 2018