Don't Pick It Up | Pastor Stephen Chandler

[Music] Oh Genesis 32 we're finally gonna read it if you haven't say yeah good deal if you don't have it that's okay it's gonna be up on the screen you can read it with us and here we go then Jacob somebody say Jacob Jacob was left alone and a man wrestled with him until the breaking of day you need to know there's a difference between being isolated and being alone isolation is not good being alone with God or change your life what's the difference isolation is when I'm focused on me and my problems being alone with God is when I'm focused on him and his power and his presence Suzy wrestled to the breaking of day now when he saw that he did not prevail against him he touched the socket of his hip and the socket of Jacob's hip was out of joint as he wrestled with him y'all gotta understand Jacob was a gangster I don't know if you've ever like popped out a shoulder or a knee or something like that but if you have you would know it is excruciating pain Jacob had his hip pop out and he says I don't cur I'm not scurred I'm not letting go of you until you bless me verse 26 and he said let me go for the day breaks but he said I will not let you go unless you bless me so he said to him what is your name he said Jacob said your name shall no longer be called Jacob but Israel for you have struggled with God and with men in half prevail let's pray father God we're grateful God we're grateful that not for a moment of our life as you left us or abandoned us come at every step we've taken God you've been there with us and for us even in this moment could you hear right now to speak to us transform our lives so God we lock our eyes on you we turn our hearts to you we say speak to us in a way that will forever transform our lives father God tonight we fight the enemy the Pittsburgh Steelers Lord will you smite them in jesus name amen and amen and amen please sit down high five two people tell them God is on our side come on now tell them tell him tell him tell him tell him for those of you who do not think that God cares about football you simply do not read your Bible enough the Bible says that the enemy will come one way and they will flee for different ways as the four other teams in our division we're in week four sometimes a week four of a series that we've been unpacking called baggage and the whole point of this series is that we all have issues it's amazing how we're our response to our issues are based on what we call them because what we call them is based on how we feel if I say you have issues you're just like oh I know but that's none of your business who's they baggage oh that's kind of cool let me hear about that can I give you the biblical word for baggage that I haven't used the entire series because if I did you would have cut me off from day one bondage baggage is actually bondage it's an area of your life that's controlling you and manipulating you in a way that God never in designed for you to be controlled or manipulated welcome to doesn't a church where we don't have we just jump right into the message the Bible says this is says run the race that was marked out for you in other words life was meant to be ran with energy and with excitement the Bible says that there's a great cloud of witnesses that are cheering you on life was not meant to be crawled it was not meant to be limped it was not meant to be survived here acts I mean hey how's it going I can't complain you could you're just choosing not to and I'm not jumping on you if that's your response time is sometimes we have response they wouldn't really think about we just say but let's be real Jesus did not die on the cross just so that we can't complain he said I have a plan for you plan to prosper you not to harm you I have a hope and a future for you God says I did not die on the cross for you to survive I died on the cross that you can be an overcomer that you can go from glory to glory to glory to glory but he said in order for you to run this race you're gonna have to throw off unnecessary baggage you're gonna have to get rid of those things that slow you down that keep you from going through life at the level of joy and peace and excitement and hope that he has for you next week by the way is vision Sunday somebody say vision Sunday do not miss vision Sunday we're gonna talk about all that God has done but some amazing doors that he has opened for us that we're looking to take an opportunity to maximize it for his glory and here's what I've discovered life was never meant to be lived staring at the rearview mirror your best days are never behind you and they are always ahead of you and I can identify areas in my life where I'm dragging unnecessary baggage when I don't have the energy to run with passion and excitement and hope and vision if you want to know hey where's my issue where's my bondage where's my baggage I will ask you where are you dragging where are you surviving instead of overcoming there's an area that God wants to bring additional freedom we talked in the first week about everybody and their mama and their grandma has baggage the next week we talked about how it's difficult to figure out how to unpack it and then last week we talked about most of your baggage came from your family that was a fun one I went home and even mailed it to like through my cousins y'all need to read this or watch this but today what I want to do is teach you how not to pick back up things that God has empowered you to drop it's amazing how we can be sitting in an atmosphere like this and the presence of God and God begins to speak to us and transform our lives and we make decisions in that seat I'm gonna forgive that person now I'm not even gonna worry about talking to them I'm just gonna release that situation I'm gonna drop this or or I'm gonna drop that or whatever it may be and it's amazing how we drop it in here but before we hit our car in the parking lot it's just like nah nah I need that I need that this like we drop it at Jesus's feet but then without even realizing it we pick it right back up the Bible says this in Galatians chapter 5 verse 1 stand fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled watch this again with the yoke of bondage the NIV says this it is for freedom that Christ has set us free I find so often people so doctors medical folks they'll tell you that if you have some type of infection or whatever it may be they put you on antibiotics they always say and I never listen to them this is why nothing works with me anymore but they always say make sure you finish out the prescription because if you don't finish out the prescription your body actually builds up an immunity to the actual thing that's supposed to help you and what's supposed to help you can't help you anymore because you didn't finish it I find so many people can I preach for a second have an immunity to the church into the house of God because you came in here one time and some tears came down your face and you had an encounter and you had this radical move of God and you decided this is the last time anger is gonna troll control me or this is the last time insecurity is gonna control me or this is the last time I'm gonna do this or do that or whatever it may be and because you were excited and emotional you believe that this would be it forever and then three weeks later you found yourself right back controlled by anger and you do that merry-go-round about three or four times and you turn into a cynical Christian where people around you are crying and experiencing God's presence you're like ah just because they're new that's that's like new believers stuff that's like that's like freshman stuff but but you know and you're a saint like me you understand this it's not about goose bumps it's not about tears coming down your eyes it's about I've set my feet on the Sun it rocking will not move you mean is a Viper but promise you're going to heaven the issue is not that in that powerful time that you didn't have a real encounter the issue is after you left that powerful time nobody taught you how to stay free and just because you are free doesn't mean you will stay free because it takes intentionality it takes a different way of living to remain in freedom I'm sorry the series out lamenting you guys probably know more about my life than you would ever want to know but I started talking about how me and my wife we have two children and every time we travel it's like 15 pieces of luggage ever notice every message it gets more and more and more it was like seven that ten now it's 15 next week's gonna be thirty but there's my suitcase her suitcases stroller baby's bag my golf clubs which I never use even though I always bring them and pay to check them and I don't know why I always bring them but that's a different story and there's just all this stuff and me and my wife we have this Agreement because we always Park in a long-term park and take the bus to the airport I say babe you grab the babies I'll grab the luggage and she's like it's a lot of luggage sure I said absolutely you grab the babies I'll grab the luggage I'll be honest with you it's kind of out of a selfish desire if we're gonna leave anything if I leave something I left the suitcase no biggie she leaves something she left one of our children and I get to remind her of that for the rest of her life I'm not going out like that I'll take all the suitcases you just remember our offspring it we're gonna be good and it's funny and I have this stuff up here real quick you got all this baggage and you ever carried more stuff than you were supposed to carry last message I made somebody else do this I probably again oh my gosh is heavy I didn't even know is this heavy okay here we go you know you carry stuff that's kind of more come on now oh my people one trip from the car I'm not going back all grocery bags you got grocery bags and your teeth they're hung around your neck have you ever tied them in a knot together and kind of like strung them around your neck come on now you know you are committed I'm trying to freeze I'm struggling right now but you have all this baggage that you're carrying and you may not realize it because it's subtle but when you're carrying more baggage than you have the capacity to you kind of you kind of stick out your hip a little bit and prop it on there and you got your knee like this and you can just see this picture of my wife and all the babies in the stroller and I'm coming behind her looking like it's a caravan god just let our people free we're going out in the wilderness but here's what I've discovered that when I'm carrying a lot of baggage I changed the way that I walk to be able to manage that baggage but after I dropped that baggage yeah that's gonna force go for leave it leave it that's like for a fact after I've dropped all that baggage I still have a way of walking then I've been walking that way so long it doesn't even occur to me that I don't have to walk that way anymore because I'm no longer carrying what I used to carry I no longer have to walk with a way of not trusting people because I'm not hurt like I used to be hurt I've been healed I've been made whole God has set me free but in my freedom I still walk like I have baggage because it's one thing to drop something to the feet of Jesus is something completely different to learn how to now walk upright and as if I have been made free there's so many people that you are free but you walk like you're in bondage so amazing every time we see in Scripture they would bring some prostitute or somebody caught in adultery or whatever to Jesus and everyone expect him to condemn her or him or tell them how horrible they are do you remember that one time when all the men brought this woman in Jesus as she was caught in adultery and Jesus ignored them he he got down on one knee and this his Bible says it he began to write something in the sand I don't know what he wrote in the sand this is just Stephen being ignorant I thought I think he was writing the names of all the other men's mistresses Sally Michelle keke do you have me and the Bible says that each person whoa left one by one it says the older men left first and the younger men left last because the younger man had less dirt so thus they thought they were more righteous a guy says nope I got you got you got you then when everybody was gone he looks up at the woman he said where are your accusers she said they're all gone none of them condemn me watch this Jesus said neither do i condemn you now go and sin no more he said you are forgiven but please don't walk the same way you walked in here you have to learn to walk differently or an encounter with God will only be a pit stop in between the life of baggage the Bible says this in Exodus chapter 16 verse 3 this is Israel the children of Israel said to them oh that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt when we sat by the pots of meat and when we ate bread to the full for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger if you know the story of Israel they were an entire nation that was in slavery to Egypt God sent Moses as Moses led them out of slavery through the Red Sea destroy the entire Egyptian army in the scene then they got into wilderness and things started getting hairy in the wilderness it was hot in the wilderness there were snakes in the wilderness they were Pittsburgh Steelers in the wilderness bless God they ate the Bible says that God provided manna every morning and quail every night my Bible says it was Krispy Kreme donuts in the morning and chick-fil-a chicken nuggets every night sounds amazing right you try eating chick-fil-a every single day for 40 years in the wilderness and also that's no longer and food that's like can I eat something they began to get frustrated with where God had brought them to so they began to romanticize the bondage that they had come from they said oh if we can go back to Egypt where we had meat and our pots were full of food listen to me they were slaves they had no me and their pots were not full but when you're in the process of God teaching you how to walk in a new way can I be honest with you sometimes it's so uncomfortable you begin to romanticize the bondage that you came out of you've been single longer than you've ever been single in your life last time you're in this single you're in third grade and all of a sudden because what God has for you is taking longer than you anticipated you start looking up on Facebook I wonder what so-and-so is doing the same crazy stuff they were doing when God moved you from that situation you know that bad and we used to yell and scream and didn't agree on anything under God's green earth but but but understanding of each other maybe you step out to start your own business somebody say painful and as you're scaling it up as you're working it up as you as you're making all the hurdles and all the boundaries and all the barriers that you will later found out every other successful business hit those as well you're not different and you're not off track but as it's not as smooth as you thought it would be you began to romanticize that cubicle that you used to hate so much little you know the way that my computer screens hook up the entire cubicle like it's amazing how because of the discomfort of freedom listen to me freedom is uncomfortable learning how to trust people when you've never trusted people is uncomfortable learning how to trust God with your future when you used to trust your degree in your work ethic is uncomfortable and anybody who tells you different is lying and what happens is so many people run into the discomfort of freedom and because they don't want to deal with being alone or not having those friends are not having the security of somebody else paying their paycheck or whatever maybe you run back to that bondage when God says no it is for freedom that I sent you free you just have to learn how to walk in freedom I'm going to give you just three thoughts three thoughts to help you contain and hold on the freedom that God's brought you the first thing is this you're gonna remain free you have to learn to think think think in freedom the Bible says that Jacob is here wrestling with a man can I give you some just kind of fun just Bible study type stuff when you're reading the Bible pay attention to capitalized letters and lowercase letters when something is lowercase this just means a general something but you always capitalize the first letter of every single person's name some Matthew Mark Luke John they're all capitalized no matter where they end up in the Bible if you're reading the Bible and you see the Bible say the angel and angel is capitalized it's not talking about a random angel it's talking about Jesus Christ when it says the man wrestled with Jacob it's not talking about some random man it's talking about Jesus himself as you read on in the passage at the end he says you prevailed you wrestled with God and with man Jesus let us know the end hey he wasn't just wrestling with any random man he was wrestling with me I have a question for you what was Jesus doing in the Old Testament because last time I heard Jesus was born of a virgin mary in matthew this was hundreds and hundreds of years before jesus was ever supposed to be on the scene what was he doing in the Old Testament I'll tell you what he was doing he was responding to the one thing he can't resist and that's the desperation of his children for their father Jacob had come to the place where he fight Lizabeth Jacob said I will not let you go until you bless me in other words where Jacob was saying is I have come to realize God that I cannot do this on my own God if you don't move in my life I am stuck do you know that there's a thought process to bondage and there's a thought process to freedom there's a certain way that people who have baggage think and there's a certain way that people who are free think and you can be free and have a baggage mindset just like you can have a high income and have a poverty mindset now y'all got it y'all like oh okay then let me give the example it's poverty mindsets and then there's wealth mindsets poverty mindset sounds something like this oh I have good credit so that means I can take out more debt I'm just walk real quick just wait for the other wealth mindset says oh when I have debt somebody else controls my decisions and I'm not going to allow somebody else to control me so forget my credit score I'm gonna keep it's mine I'm gonna figure out how to grow it maybe the same income but because of a different thought process next week driving the same thing live in the same place they're fine 25 years from now 35 years from now night and day you almost have really good credit scores y'all got really really quiet in the same way there's a thought process that's in baggage and there's a thought process that's in freedom in Romans chapter 12 verse 1 it says this don't copy the behaviors and the custom of this world one of the definition of the world are people that are controlled by things other than God says don't act like people who are in bondage but let God transform you if I had time to preach this listen to me if you are stressed out as a Christian you are doing it wrong if you are trying as hard as you can to be a good Christian you are doing it wrong good four weeks in church in a row I'm tired yeah and it's got via record for me I read my Bible every day it is wait for prayed for 10 minutes for seven days in a row boy I'm getting me some crowns in heaven whoa the Bible says that it's God who transforms you not you your job is not to change you your job is to worship in a pursue and the focus on the one who does change you some of you are frustrated because you've been following God or you've been in a Christian or whatever it may be and this area is not working out of that air is not working out you're just like oh I just can't make it work I know that's why you need a Savior and he's not there just to save you from your sin he's the only one that can change your heart and transform who you are now I think it would put you all add a lot more peace if you understood how God changes you sometimes we're really excited in the presence of God and man if I get a man of God or woman got to lay hands on me and set me free man and be so great I believe in the laying on of hands I believe in the power of God matter of fact catalyst is tonight we're gonna be doing both of those things but laying on of hands is not to teach you how to walk free it's to help you get free after the power you still need to learn how to walk and here's how God transforms you by changing the way that you think cusses if I can change the way that you think I can change who you are and then one since it says then you will learn to know God's will for you which is good and pleasing and perfect which means for me if I'm blinded in life if I don't have any vision if I don't know what's next for me if I'm making it up as I go along it must be because my thinking is off because if I could learn to think the way that God wants me to think then his ways will make sense to me and then all of a sudden I'll be able to see it it's you to these long pauses when I think about how honest can I be I'll run into a whole lot of guys that have no interest in getting married and I will be very confused bruh what is your problem there are options everywhere on every dream team in every connect group that's the problem you know it's just not important to me having a family it's just doesn't like a seat and then when you kind of drill down to it it could be because you you're not valuing your purity and you don't really see waiting for marriage before your intimate is something to be valued and because you don't agree with the way that God thinks in this area you have no vision for your future in that area and he said if I can just get you to change the way that you think that we are not just mammals quick M&M reference that as long as we love each other it's not enough because I is not minds and you is not yours wheeze is his it's good English right it's bad grammar is good preaching this is the temple of God that is the temple of God and even if we have no problem with this we are desecrating his temple when I changed my thinking in that way all of a sudden my eyes are open and I'm beginning and able to see the plan the purpose that God has for me and it's good it's pleasing it's perfect it's exciting I can't wait to get there and it's not like you had this major of PIFAN II it's just that he was able to change the way that you think can it give you some thoughts of bondage some thoughts of bondages are thoughts of inadequacy where every time you step into a new opportunity our door opens or there's an opportunity for you to take a risk you are overcome and paralyzed by fear that's the mindset of bondage your Bible says that God has not given us a spirit of come on 10:45 God is not giving us a spirit of but of love and a sound mind something all past as far as I got I got no more free if I'm fearful it's because I have the mindset of bondage because fear is focused on what I bring to the table freedom and faith is focused on what he brings to the table so when a door opens if you're in fear you're saying I don't have enough if you're in faith you're saying if he opened this door he must be willing to give me more than enough so that I can walk through this situation it's not about me God it's about you empowering me do you know that you could be humble and prideful at the same time some of the most prideful people are some of the most humble people that doesn't make sense right let me explain you ever come to some man you're really intelligent or you did a great job doing this or man I love that message or man you have a beautiful house or whatever it may be your parental cells may be like oh no no they start krumping oh it's like they can't take a compliment I used to be like that people use it man this is great church is great message here about how House office ah these people these ladies and then I realize the only reason I would be uncomfortable with somebody complimenting me as if I thought I owned my gift but when I realized they're not really complementing something that I develop their compliment is something that was gifted to me by the grace of God and it's not actually mine at all it belongs to him so by dumbing down that gift I am dumbing down the gift giver so yes that is great yes that is awesome you thought that was a great message so did I I was amazed I didn't think it was gonna go that good but look what God did through that situation we have to learn to think not based on our inadequacies but based on the fact that he's more than enough first things you need to think of freedom the second thing is this you need to learn to talk in freedom so so Jesus he comes up to Jacob and he says Jacob what's your name I have a two-year-old named Zoey and and she's the smartest little girl in the world she just was not interested in learning her name so she went around telling people my name is me hey what's your name I mean I know you're you but what's your name me every night we'll pray and we'll be sitting in a little rocking like time to pray like okay everybody I say dear Jesus you said there Jesus you pray pray for daddy we all pray for daddy first just get there and Hart Prix for daddy proof for daddy pray for mommy pray for mommy put her grandma put her grandma pray for Oprah for Robbo pray for Zoey pray for me and I'm like no no no pray for Zoey she said yes I did do you like me me and then all of a sudden she learned a name and now she won't stop saying it Zoe Zoe Zoe Zoe Zoe I Zoe so now every night when we press they pray for daddy should pray for Zoe so pray for mommy should pray for Zoe we pray for grandma pray for Zoe she learn when God came to Jacob but he said what's your name you have to understand it was a loaded question because the last time somebody acts Jacob what his name was he lied when his dad said who is this that's coming in my room Jacob said it's Esau you see Jacob was the second born esau was the first born the first born got 2/3 of their father's wealth and jacob did not have enough faith that God could provide for him so he decided to lie and to manipulate to get what God had promised him but he did not believe that God was actually going to fulfill his promise so when God asked Jacob what his name was he's asking us are you gonna finally accept who I made you to be are you gonna keep trying to be somebody else because somebody in this world told you to be an executive at that firm you have to be domineering and even though that's not how I made you that's the image that they put in front of you so that's something that you're pursuing or they told you to succeed here you need to be pastor or just look seed here you need to be funnier to do this or to do that and you are striving to be somebody that God did not make you to be because you are not confident enough that your destiny can come to pass the way he made you and God is looking at me just like he's looking at you saying what's your name are you gonna finally say god this is who I am I stuttered sometimes I'm not as articulate as I wish I was sometimes I'm insecure sometimes I'm fearful but this is who I am when Jacob said my name is Jacob you have to understand the name Jacob meant err emit manipulator means the planter to grab the heel of another Jacob said this is who I am I'm not perfect guy says I never needed you to be perfect I just needed you to realize that there's beauty in you that was placed there by me and because you've now realized that your name is no longer Jacob the manipulator your name is now Israel which means God prevails the power of God you finally realize it doesn't matter how you were made because you're not the biggest factor in your success the biggest factor in your success is that the Lord prevails that his power is on me and he is going to bring it to pass James chapter 3 verse 7 scissors for every kind of beast and bird of reptile and creature this sea is tamed as it's been tamed by mankind but no man can tame the tongue it is an unruly evil full of deadly poison with it we are blessing our God and Father and with it we are cursing ourselves we will come in church and lift holy hands and tell God how awesome is how worthy is how righteous he is then we walk up these doors you may not say it but in your hearts you feel like I'm not enough yet I still need to work harder I still need to prove to somebody something I need to get here I need to do this I need to do that when God already said to cure the righteousness of God cause already said that I've accepted you that I've cleansed you that I've called you that I've equipped you that I've gifted you and he's saying how can you bless me with one mouth and curse my image in you with that same mouth he said blessings and curses can't come from the same mouth just like clean water and dirty water can't come from the same he said you have to decide if you believe what I say about me you have to believe what I say about you that was so good saying if you believe what he says about him you have to believe what he says about you if you believe that he's righteous then you have to believe that he's made you righteous if you believe that he is more than enough you have to believe that him in you is more than enough last thing is this we have to learn how to walk in freedom you got to learn how to think freedom speak freedom you need to learn how to walk in freedom the Bible says that after he finished wrestling with Jesus Jesus changed his name and blessed him and since Jesus went on it and it says Jacob crossed over into Pinal but it was noticeable that he was limping because in his wrestle with God the way that he walked changed and even though he left God's presence his walk was forever altered how do I know that I have had an encounter with God not because I learned a Bible verse that I never knew but because I walk out of these doors differently my perspective is difference my focus let me give you three three three areas that he walked differently and first of all his walk was different what that means is his approach to life was different the second thing is the direction that he was walking and changed you see up to this point Jacob was walking away from his problems after that encounter with God he was going smack dab right at the biggest mistake he had ever made in his life because he finally realized my biggest mistake does not define me the encounter with God that I just had defines me he changed how he walked he changed where he walked he also changed who he walked with hey this is not good to put this at the end of message because I don't have time to unpack it but check about four wives this Old Testament not two dozen they used to do that kind of foolishness back then it's amazing how birds of a feather flock together all of his wives are liars he was a liar and he just happened to find women who lie so says when he got back he lined his wives up I don't even know how this line works like who do you tell is like sister wives who's number one who's number two anyway put homegirl in the back so you say back there Kiki's back there they put the second wife there and all her kids and the third wife there then the fourth wife there but the Bible says after he lined up all the wives he went out ahead of them and left them behind I've discovered that if God sets me free I've dropped my baggage but I insist on walking with people that are still in bondage it is only a matter of time between before I am back in bondage here's why because if you're free and you have nothing to carry in that cousin or that sister or that person that you've known since third grade that you are committed to because y'all y'all loyal family if they're carrying something and I'm not because of the compassion in my heart tracking with me I'm gonna try to help them with what they're carrying the only problem is that now I'm carrying the same offense the same thinking the same baggage that they were carrying not realizing that me carrying it for them is not helping them because the only thing that's gonna help them is when they drop it at the feet of Jesus and actually by me carrying it with them I'm delaying the point where they realize that this is not working I need to drop this off at Jesus so because I'm loyal I'm actually loyally keeping people away from the only person that can set them free remember I said that freedom is painful because freedom requires you to make some decisions if I love you and I care for you and I'm always here for you but I can't walk with you anymore you will always be family but it's time for me to put some healthy boundaries in place if you ever need help I am here for you you can find me at seven one nine five Oakland Mills Road it 9 10:45 or 12:30 but don't come to my house you're gonna have to learn that if I'm gonna maintain this freedom I need to get around people that think and freedom that talk and freedom that walk in freedom and trust that just like Jesus died for me he doesn't need me to die for them they are in his hands he has it under control father God we're grateful that whom the Sun sets free is free and Dean got teach us how not to pick back up those issues baggage that bondage that you set us free from

Channel: Union Church

Views: 4,301

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Keywords: Baggage, spiritual baggage, What does God say about baggage, What does God say about Spiritual baggage, baggage sermon, how to deal with baggage, depression sermon

Id: vMeSmig_-pw

Length: 41min 13sec (2473 seconds)

Published: Mon Oct 01 2018