Do everything without complaining and arguing. That’s Philippians 2:14. Have you done that? Have you walked through one week and did everything without complaining or arguing? How about a day? An hour? This message last week, if you grabbed the scripture and applied it, has the power to transform your life.
That was what Sam talked about last Sunday. He said words have power. They have the power to bring people down and the power to inspire them. Remember he shared Proverbs 18:21 that says,
Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit – you choose.
And where do words come from? Our hearts. Jesus told us that what comes out of our mouth starts in our hearts.
As Sam recorded his talk for YouTube, I just thought, ‘This right where people live. This is everyday stuff that people wrestle with.’ If you missed it, I encourage you to go back and watch it.
Today begins what Christians call, ‘Holy Week’ also called, ‘Passion Week’. It’s called that because this week is proof of God’s passion for us. What makes this week epic is what it cost God to love us. It’s a story about God’s passionate love for us. It’s a story about Jesus who took on our sin, our guilt, our punishment so that we didn’t have to experience that judgement. It’s a story of God’s victory over sin and death, forever. It’s the one story that changed everything.
The story of Jesus walking into Jerusalem on a donkey is recorded in the gospels. Today I want to explain why God entered earth in the form of Jesus. Why did Jesus walk into Jerusalem on a donkey? What is ‘Holy Week’ or ‘Passion Week’ about? Now brace yourself, you may have never heard this before. This might surprise you. This is from Romans 7 and 8.
Chapter 7:15-16 I’m full of myself – after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary.
17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time.
21-23 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
24 I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question?
25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different.
Chapter 8:1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death.
3-4 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. MSG Romans 7:15-8:4
Have you heard that before? Do you connect with this? Isn’t Paul’s struggle like your struggle in life? I absolutely connect with this. When you read this, are you surprised it’s in scripture? Are Christians even allowed to talk like this? In other Bible translations, Paul says, ‘I want to do good but I do bad things anyway.’ He says, ‘I can’t make myself do what is right.’ He says, ‘I am a miserable person.’ Paul is arguably one of the most important leaders in the Bible and he put in writing, ‘I am a miserable person.’
Let’s talk about this for a second.
Chapter 7:15-16 I’m full of myself – after all, I’ve spent a long time in sin’s prison. What I don’t understand about myself is that I decide one way, but then I act another, doing things I absolutely despise. So if I can’t be trusted to figure out what is best for myself and then do it, it becomes obvious that God’s command is necessary. MSG Romans 7:15-8:4
Do you connect with Paul? He says, I am struggling with sin. I’m addicted to it. It’s so bad, I don’t even understand myself. I do things I despise. He said, I try to make the right choices, but I end up doing things I hate. Are you like Paul?
Let’s ask four questions to see if you are like Paul.
Do you struggle with sin? You know it’s wrong, but you keep going back to it. And when you go back to sin, it leaves you feeling worse about yourself. If you answered yes, you are like Paul.
Do you struggle with anxiety and depression? You know who you want to be and no matter how hard you try not to be that person you can’t shake it can you? If you answered yes, you are like Paul.
Do you struggle with relationships and forgiveness? You know who God has called you to be. However, you struggle to take the love and forgiveness God gave you and give love and forgiveness to people around you. You know people around you don’t deserve it or they haven’t earned it. If you answered yes, I struggle with that, you are like Paul.
Do you struggle with fear and doubt? You want to have courage but fear freezes you. All you can see are challenges and you are so afraid of failure. And that fear steals all your courage. If you answered yes, you are like Paul.
Why do we struggle with this stuff? It’s because of sin and the damage sin causes. Sin has been in our lives since the day we were born. Sin ruins our ability to be who we want to be. We are all in the same situation.
Don’t you wish you could do something about it?
Let’s keep reading.
17-20 But I need something more! For if I know the law but still can’t keep it, and if the power of sin within me keeps sabotaging my best intentions, I obviously need help! I realize that I don’t have what it takes. I can will it, but I can’t do it. I decide to do good, but I don’t really do it; I decide not to do bad, but then I do it anyway. My decisions, such as they are, don’t result in actions. Something has gone wrong deep within me and gets the better of me every time. MSG Romans 7:15-8:4
Paul admits, the power of sin in my life is destroying me. I need help. He tried being religious and following all the rules, it didn’t fix it. He tried self-help and will power, it didn’t fix it. He tried being good, it didn’t fix it. Paul realized something. Something deep inside of me is messed up.
Let’s ask four questions to see if you are like Paul.
Do you struggle to be who you want to be? You are like Paul.
Have you tried to be religious and follow all the rules and realized it hasn’t given you passion, or healing, or joy? You are like Paul.
Have you tried self-help or will power and realized it doesn’t give you passion, or healing, or joy? You are like Paul.
Have you realized something deep inside you is messed up and every attempt you make to find passion, or healing, or joy comes up short? You are like Paul.
Let’s keep reading.
21-23 It happens so regularly that it’s predictable. The moment I decide to do good, sin is there to trip me up. I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just when I least expect it, they take charge.
24 I’ve tried everything and nothing helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t that the real question? MSG Romans 7:15-8:4
If you stop and think about it, not sure this should be allowed to be in the Bible. Paul is admitting that he is a mess – he’s sinful – is that allowed to be written and talked about? He struggles to be who he wants to be – aren’t we supposed to fake it? Aren’t we supposed to stuff our junk, smile, and say God is victorious? Paul is saying he is miserable because he is dominated by sin and it’s damaging his life. In another translation Paul says, “I am a wretched man, who will rescue me?”
Do you connect with this? That feeling like there is a dark cloud over your life? That feeling like your sin, your emotions, your hurts, your fears, dominate you? That feeling like you will never be who you want to be? Almost like life is overwhelming and defeating? If your answer is yes, you are like Paul.
What does Paul say? Let’s keep reading.
25 The answer, thank God, is that Jesus Christ can and does. He acted to set things right in this life of contradictions where I want to serve God with all my heart and mind, but am pulled by the influence of sin to do something totally different. Chapter 8:1-2 With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. MSG Romans 7:15-8:4
And there it is. That’s why God came to earth. That’s what makes Jesus walking into Jerusalem on a donkey an epic story. That’s what makes the crucifixion and resurrection an epic story. It’s a story of God who entered earth through Jesus to destroy the black cloud over your life. Do you struggle with sin, anxiety, depression, relationships, forgiveness, fear, control and doubt? Do you struggle to be the person you want to be? Please hear me say this slowly. That means you are normal. Paul did too. That’s why Jesus came. That’s why we call Him the Messiah. That is the passion of God. He wants to rescue you.
Let me ask you, would you like to be rescued? Would you like to see the black cloud in your life destroyed?
Let’s keep reading.
3-4 God went for the jugular when he sent his own Son. He didn’t deal with the problem as something remote and unimportant. In his Son, Jesus, he personally took on the human condition, entered the disordered mess of struggling humanity in order to set it right once and for all. The law code, weakened as it always was by fractured human nature, could never have done that. MSG Romans 7:15-8:4
I love how the Bible puts it, ‘God went for the jugular.’ It’s aggressive and violent and unapologetic. God aggressively went after the curse of sin and death to destroy it. He personally entered our disordered mess and aggressively, violently, unapologetically destroyed sin.
This is how Hebrews puts it.
14 Because God’s children are human beings – made of flesh and blood – the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying. NLT Hebrews 2:14-15
What is Holy week about? What is Palm Sunday about? It’s about God entering our chaos and destroying sin and the curse of sin in our lives.
I want you to do five things today.
- Ask yourself: Am I normal? Do I struggle with sin, anxiety, depression, relationships, forgiveness, fear, control and doubt? Do I struggle to be the person you want to be? If the answer is yes, you are like Paul. You are normal.
- Have you tried to fix it and realized you can’t? Have you discovered every attempt you have made to fix yourself spiritually, you failed? If the answer is yes, you are like Paul.
- Do you want to be rescued? Do you want sin and the curse of death to be broken over your life? If the answer is yes, you are like Paul.
- Name it: What do you struggle with? What is your dark cloud in your life? Is it sin, your emotions, depression, anxiety, hurt, fear, control, or doubt? What is it that dominates you?
- Pray and ask Jesus for help.
Let’s read Romans 8 again.
With the arrival of Jesus, the Messiah, that fateful dilemma is resolved. Those who enter into Christ’s being-here-for-us no longer have to live under a continuous, low-lying black cloud. A new power is in operation. The Spirit of life in Christ, like a strong wind, has magnificently cleared the air, freeing you from a fated lifetime of brutal tyranny at the hands of sin and death. MSG Romans 7:15-8:4
Today, I invite you to ask Jesus for help. I invite you to enter into what Jesus has done for you.
Pray with me.
“Dear Jesus, please help me. I am like Paul. I feel so frustrated. I am struggling to be the person I want to be. Please forgive me for who I am, my sin. Please come and destroy the black cloud in my life. Please come and rescue me. Please anoint me with the Holy Spirit to live in me. Please free me from a life that lives under the brutal tyranny of sin and death. From this day forward I want You to be the Lord of my life so I fully surrender my life to you.”
If you prayed that, please let us know.
What is Palm Sunday about? What is Holy Week or Passion Week about? It’s about God entering earth through Jesus to rescue us.