I had a friend who had to go to the emergency room. He shot a roofing nail into his knee and literally stuck himself to the roof. As he tried to use the hammer to pull the nail out, he realized he need to be rescued.
Have you ever needed to go to the emergency room? If you are bleeding, a bone sticking out where it doesn’t belong, or a nail in your knee, you want a doctor to fix it. You don’t want the doctor to give you all the information about medicine. You need immediate help.
Today I get to do a recap of the series we just walked through. If I were to look back over the last several weeks, I would say it was about recognizing we are in a spiritual emergency. It’s about looking at our lives and being honest about our true condition. This isn’t about putting up with things and trying to push through. It’s about us bringing ourselves to God and saying, we need You. We need rescued. We need saved.
Jesus said:
I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in the darkness. – Jesus in John 12:46 TLB
Why would Jesus say that? I’ve come as a light into your dark world? Because God created us and saw the mess were are in. He entered earth in the form of Jesus to rescue us from our dark world.
Think about the world you live in. Think about all the stories you know about others. Stories of pain, struggle and bad decisions. Think about all the people in your family. Family relationship struggles and hurts. Think about the social media posts that people put out there. Posts about depression, pushing through a miserable life, etc. Think about your own heart and emotions. I think we can say, ‘We are all wandering in darkness.’ How do I know? See if you connect with the following seven indicators. I added one late.
I live with anxiety and fear and it steals my joy.
I feel scattered, uncentered and fragmented.
I feel physically, spiritually, and emotionally tired, almost dead inside.
I pray with God very little and feel stuck spiritually.
I feel like giving up, having little or no hope about my future.
I walk with a constant battle of depression, rejection and loneliness.
I have thoughts that suicide would be the answer to life.
I am afraid to fail so I don’t try to be the best I can be.
Do you connect with one or two of those eight indicators? What does it all mean? It means we are wandering in darkness. Spiritual darkness. It’s a spiritual emergency. It’s not something we agree with, walk out of church and do nothing. It’s an emergency. That’s why what Jesus said was so profound.
I have come as a Light to shine in this dark world, so that all who put their trust in me will no longer wander in the darkness. – Jesus in John 12:46 TLB
This whole series was about how we practically move from darkness and into the light. Our prayer for you has been that you would fully engage this series because it’s the deepest discipleship you will ever walk through. It was about addressing the real things about life. Things like, how to have a meaningful relationship with God. How to live on purpose. How to deal with issues of our past like hurt, family, etc. Things like, what to do when you are confronted with the limits of your life and experience grief and loss. Things like what to do when crisis hits our lives.
There are a couple of things you need to know about your life.
First, you were created by God on purpose. That means you are incredibly valuable. You have purpose and meaning.
King David told us;
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous – and how well I know it. NLT Psalms 139:13-14
Secondly, you have an enemy who wants to ruin you. Ruin your hope, ruin your joy. Ruin your purpose and meaning.
The Apostle Peter told us;
Be careful! Watch out for attacks from the Devil, your great enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for some victim to devour. NLT 1 Peter 5:8-9
What does all this mean? It means you are in a battle. If you thought life is hard, you are so right. If you thought hurts deeply, you are so right. There is a reason, you are in a battle and it’s not fair and it’s brutal.
The Apostle Paul told us;
12 This is no afternoon athletic contest that we’ll walk away from and forget about in a couple of hours. This is for keeps, a life-or-death fight to the finish against the Devil and all his angels. 13 Be prepared. You’re up against far more than you can handle on your own. MSG 6:12-13
The only thing that will bring you to life and restore your soul, is your relationship with God. That’s why we spent so much time on this series. Probably, one of the best ways to engage God is worship. That is why we are ending today with worship.
Please hear me tell you the following.
If you live with anxiety and fear and it steals your joy, you need the Holy Spirit.
If you feel scattered, uncentered and fragmented, you need the Holy Spirit.
If you feel physically, spiritually, and emotionally tired, almost dead inside, you need the Holy Spirit.
If you pray very little and feel stuck spiritually, you need the Holy Spirit.
If you feel like giving up, having little or no hope about your future, you need the Holy Spirit.
If you walk with a constant battle of depression, rejection and loneliness, you need the Holy Spirit.
If you have thoughts that suicide would be the answer to life, you need the Holy Spirit.
If you have negative thoughts about failing so you don’t try your best, you need the Holy Spirit.
To close out today, I am going to read a scripture for you. I will pray and invite you to pray with me. We will have a second set of worship to engage God.
Here is what scripture says about asking God to save you.
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved… That’s it. You’re not “doing” anything; you’re simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That’s salvation. 10 With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: “God has set everything right between him and me!” Romans 10:9a [NIV], 9b- 10 [MSG]
Scripture makes is to clear. All we need to do is call out to Jesus. It’s not about you fitting into a system of rules. It’s not about your performance. It’s not about you being better to be accepted. It’s about calling out to God and asking Him to save us. He does the work. He does the saving.
Maybe you thought, I’m a disappointment, so Jesus would have nothing to do with me. Because of that, you have never called out to Him. Today, right now, you need to.
Maybe you have been going to church all your life and you know everything about everything. And because you know so much, you think this is for other people. You’re wrong. This is for you right now. You need saved today as much, if not more, than the first day you called out to Jesus.
Here is the prayer I want you to repeat quietly to yourself.
Jesus, I need help.
I’m tired. I’m hurting. I’m torn up inside. I’ve given up.
Jesus, please come and save me, redeem me, bring me back to life.
Jesus, please come right now and do whatever You need to do in my soul.
Jesus, please help me see myself the way You see me.
Amen.
Let’s sing and ask God to do something we could never do.