10-20-19 Sermon

Sunday, September 29, 2019

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10-20-19 Sermon

“Stuck” - unstable, restless

- Intro - Introduce myself, Gus on vaca, Lynn to get pic of him in a hula skirt

• Me - I can get Stuck

• We - Do you ever find yourself stuck?

• Not talking chevy truck stuck in the mud where a ford needs to pull it out stuck,

I’m talking you’re stuck in such a way, that nothing is developing in your life,

nothing is strengthening, nothing is growing...

• Stuck in your job, stuck in your marriage, stuck in your finances, stuck in an

addiction you cant seem to shake, stuck in your guilt, stuck in your failures, stuck

in your successes, maybe your stuck on your appearance and how others perceive

you.

• Maybe you’re stuck and you don’t even know it yet. Hopefully this short sermon

series will help you identify your stuckness and you find its time to get unstuck

• Find culprit - and deeper

• Now one of the most important things to emphasize early on is finding the culprit to

what causes us to get or feel stuck in life, and also identify some of the things that causes

us to get stuck even deeper

• Paint picture

• And so to help with this I want to paint a picture of a situation, where we may never

find ourselves in, but if you do you will have this life saving wisdom to help you.


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• And that is stuck in an avalanche...

• Skiing- everything good - then not so good

• Imagine yourself skiing down a mountain, my wife is sitting there like that will never

be me, inside joke that’s how our marriage got stuck for a few hours, don’t ask...anyways

your skiing down the side of a mountain, everything is great, the slopes are nice and

smooth, youre having a good time, everything is honky doory. Isn’t that our lives

sometimes. Everything is going great, great spouse, great kids, great friends, have a job

that pays the bills. But than you find yourself buried, things aren’t going like you want

them to,

- Spouse no conversation - don’t know each other

- you and your spouse having had a real conversation in quite some time you feel like

you don’t even know each other anymore,

- High school identity

- you struggle with finding your identity in high school

- Faith hasn’t grown

- your faith hasn’t grown/strengthened in years, you know no more about the scripture

than you did a year ago

- Retire


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- you retire and find out quickly that something that our culture looks upon as

something that should be incredibly happy and fulfilling, is not

- Comparing to others - How did we get here?

- you find yourself constantly comparing your stuff to other peoples stuff, or your job

with other peoples jobs, your car with other peoples car, how you look compared to

how others look....and it comes down to you not being satisfied with your life. How

did we get to this point?

- Highlight a few - find theme

- I want to highlight a few of these items and see if we can find an underlying theme to

them

• I’m stuck in..... My marriage....my finances....my appearance (comparing yourself to

there’s)

- Now do you see any similarities to any of these three things

- My marriage, my finances, my appearance...My, my, my

- All revolved around me, myself and I

- Stuck on ourselves?

- So could it be, that when we get stuck in life that possibly we are stuck on me? Stuck on

ourselves? Is your stuckness a pride issue?


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- Spouse, not enough $, cant buy to appear better

- My spouse isn’t doing the things that I want to do, therefore I’m not satisfied, I don’t make

as much money as I want to therefore I may not be able to buy the something that would

help me with how I appear to others. See where this is going?

- I don’t have pride

- And maybe you’re sitting there thinking well, I don’t have a pride issue... by you thinking

or saying that you don’t have a pride issue, means you very may well have a pride issue

• Buzz phrases

• Let me give you a couple of buzz phrases that indicate you may be stuck on yourself

- Catch yourself saying or thinking:

• “I’m not going to be the one to apologize”

• “You’re unwilling to receive correction or criticism”

- You’re taken back to constructive criticism so you respond with an arrogant tone

of objection

- and if you think you’re free and clear from this one cause nobody offers you

advice because they can’t find anything to criticize, I can assure you the truth is

closer to: nobody offers you advice because they know it’s not going to end well

if they do.

• “It’s not fair because I’m more deserving”


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• “Did you hear about so & so”

• “I don’t need anybody’s help”

• “It’s not me, its you”

- Do you catch yourself celebrating other people’s failures (someone fired from work,

oh that’s terrible, but what you’re really thinking is good, good.)

- Obsess over the opinions of others, or you’re convinced that your own opinion is the

only right one

- Don’t feel alone, lay it aside and focus on danger, can go deeper

- If any of these struck a nerve then pride is an issue, but don’t feel alone, because you

aren’t... and so hopefully we can lay our pride aside and focus on the danger of it because...

- Given our current state of stuck, if we’re not careful, there is always the possibility that we

can dig ourselves even deeper

- Avalanche victim

- I read a story of an avalanche victim, where upon recovering his body the rescue team

found that he had dug some thirty feet from where he was originally buried, which is a

remarkable about of distance, the problem was, he dug the wrong direction, because he

did not know which way was up. He was stuck, and dug himself even deeper.

- I have no doubt that we do this, when we get stuck in this life, if we’re not careful we can

dig ourselves a deeper hole

- For example, going back to those three examples from before


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• You’re stuck in your marriage. The honeymoon phase is way over, and now your

spouse is not who you thought he or she was, you don’t even recognize her in the

mornings cause she doesnt have makeup on, who are you, you don’t even look like the

same person! Or ladies you find that your husband can be quite disgusting, noises and

smells come out of him that you never thought possible. And so flirting becomes a

thing of the past, conversations go no deeper than “where are you running the kids

tonight?” And then all of a sudden, small flashes of attention/affection given to you by a

coworker suddenly become fulfilling to you, and what should be a red flag becomes

something you indulge in, and you begin giving that attention back, or you text them

back and before you know it you are well on your way to an extramarital relationship...

or fellas, we don’t talk about this very much, but it’s definitely something worth talking

about given that this industry makes more money than the NBA, MLB, and NFL

combined, fellas, you get stuck in your marriage and so you think you can find more

satisfaction in women on a computer screen more than you think your spouse can give

you, only to find out that it has taken away your intimacy with your wife because you

are holding this secret from her and secrets in marriage always damage intimacy,

especially one in the form of a porn addiction, which buy the way, guys, if you think

you’re free and clear to watch porn because you’re not married, that means youre stuck

and don’t know it and you are setting up your future spouse for failure

• You’re stuck in your finances... you know you shouldn’t spend the money on that car, or

those outfits, or that man toy, but you have to keep up with what others are buying,

next thing you know you’ve maxed out three credit cards, the bank or the landlord calls

and asks where’s the mortgage or rent payment for the month. You don’t have the

money to pay for them, but you got your stuff

• You’re so suck on your appearance and looking impressive in the eyes of others that you

find yourself spending more time scrolling through your social media feeds than you do

having conversations with your family

- So, how can we avoid digging ourselves deeper, that when we find ourselves stuck from

focusing too much on ourselves, what can we do to right the ship?


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- Spit first...dig second

- Back to our bit of avalanche saving advice, do you know what the first thing you should do

when you find yourself buried in snow? .... spit...spit... Why? Because gravity still applies.

If that avalanche victim, who had dug so far had just spit first, he quickly would’ve

discovered how his spit went right to his forehead and realized he was upside down and he

needed to go the opposite direction!

- Spit literally, pause and recognize

- I’m not suggesting we spit each time we get stuck on ourselves, although that would make

for some interesting conversations. “Give me a second...spit!” Not what I’m saying, but I

am saying we should pause so we can recognize which direction we are heading, are we

heading in the direction our culture tells us to go, or do we go a different direction, one

that seems upsidedown

- Beatitudes - poor, mourn, hungry, grace, pure heart, peace, persecuted for right

- A direction that tells us that you are blessed when you are poor in spirit, when you are in

mourning, when you are humble and meek, when you are hungry for always dong what’s

right, when you show grace to others, when your heart is pure, when you strive for peace,

and you are blessed when you are persecuted for doing what’s right, that direction

- Sermon on mount

- And this what Jesus taught - in what we know as his sermon on the mount, where a great

crowd gathered around him, and Jesus sat down on the the side of a mountain and opened

up and said that by living this way, you will experience not just a temporary feeling of

happiness, but a state of wellbeing, total sate of happiness and satisfaction

• Crowd then and now set compass straight


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• Keep in mind Jesus is saying this to a crowd that was confused, there was a lot of

directional confusion in that culture. People were trying to find the light, but dug

themselves deeper. Kinda sounds like today doesnt it? But Jesus came in and set the

compass for everyone!

- But he said things that didn’t make sense, like in the third beatitude: Jesus says the way

down is up and the way up is down

- And in Matthew 5:5 he says BLESSED/HAPPY ARE THOSE WHO ARE MEEK, FOR

THEY SHALL INHERIT THE EARTH.

- Meek - referring to those who do not assert themselves over others to further their own

agenda. Do things their way.

- This is thus saith Drew, not Jesus, but Jesus could’ve said, stuck are those who assert

themselves over others in order to further their own agenda

- Our world/culture is all about sticking to our agenda. To do what makes you happy, what

you feel is right, but could it be that the upside down approach is better?

- The apostle Paul warns us in Romans 12 to not be confirmed to this world, but to be

transformed by the renewal of your mind that we may be able to discern what is God’s

will for us,..... and he follows that up with saying that we are not think of ourselves more

highly than we ought to think Romans 12:3

- throughout most of Jesus’ teachings, he continually referred to those who thought of

themselves more highly than they should’ve, they were stuck on themselves they didn’t

even know it.

- Jesus tells a parable in Luke 18: 9-14 - Pharisee/tax collector/Pharisee prayed

• Where two different people came to the temple to pray. The first person he mentions is

a Pharisee, a very religious person, one who was looked as very holy in society, one who

knew it all, and acted as such. The second being a tax collector, who everyone knew


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were terrible people. Not only would they collect your taxes but would overcharge so

they could line their own pockets as well. So Jesus goes on to explain how each of them

prayed...The Pharisee prayed, verse 11, ‘God, I thank you that I’m not like other men,

and then he goes on to list all these bad people, unjust people, adulterers, and then we

find that he must’ve been praying with his eyes open, probably because he wanted to

see how many people were watching him pray but also because he thanks God that he is

not like this tax collector

• Jesus paints a very clear picture that the Pharisee is all about ‘everything they do being

done for other people to see’

- Pharisee vs. us social media

- Easy to slam these guys, until we compare how it fits into our culture. The culture of

social media. For that is where self-hype and self promotion is done these days. Not

all bad, can be used for good, thanks to Facebook messenger my wife and I started

dating. But It is nearly impossible to promote humility through social media. It is

designed to show us at our best, posting only what we want others to see. I’m

someone who does less posting and more scrolling, so as I scroll down the feed on

facebook, I see idealized versions of people. Then every once in a while I’m tempted

to do exactly the same, and post to let everyone know, “I’m here, and I always do

things right too!”

- Picture of me and boys fishing

• Caption: “Love spending time with these two... and their momma”

- Awwwww. Yeah don’t I just look like the best dad ever? The picture sure shows

it anyway

- Well here’s what you don’t see...

- What you don’t see is that...2 minutes before the picture was taken the smallest

was crying because he said his hands were cold because his glove fell off and


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then got packed with snow which I’m sure felt real good when I put it back on, I

had just got done yelling at my oldest son because he had wondered off from our

safety line that was strung across the ice, and the reason I didn’t see him wonder

off is because I was too busy trying to catch the fish you see in the picture so that

I could make an idealized post on Facebook. After taking the picture, the boys

were whining about wanting to go home because they were cold, I said okay

whatever lets go home, get them back inside, find out that my youngest hands

were in fact ice cold just like he had said, which prompted a fun conversation

when their mother discovered it before i did, in which I went off to myself to

stoke the wood burner that would help to get my child’s hands unfrozen, but it

really was just an excuse to give me time to sit down and edit the picture in

which I took, because lets face it, you cant put an unedited picture out there

anymore, and then come up with a catchy caption to go along with the edited pic

to let people know how much I love my family and I’m the best dad ever, even

though my youngest hands were so cold he was crying and my oldest could’ve

fallen through the ice.

- But you don’t see that because I only show you what I want you to see

• Do you see how we can be the Pharisee? Doing things just so other people can

see?.... Getting stuck on ourselves... notice the Pharisees prayer, I thank you that

I’m not like other men, I fast, I give, I I I... so prideful

- Then Jesus says... But the tax collector, when he prayed, wouldn’t even lift up his eyes to

heaven, not because he thought he was too good for God, quite the opposite, he felt

unworthy to, and beating his breast because he’s so mournful of his sin, and he said God

have mercy on me, a sinner!

• We have one example of SOMEONE WHO IS FULL OF HIMSELF, AND THE OTHER

IS AT THE END OF HIMSELF.

- And who went home justified, who went home no longer stuck, the tax collector


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• For I tell you, jesus said, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the

other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles

himself will be exalted.”

- So how do we humble ourselves? You have to come to the end of yourself.

- Find solution, Do vs Be.

• When I’ve experienced being stuck in life I always want look for a solution, find some

specific action steps to take that resolve the problem. What can I do to fix it? Assuming

the answer is in the word “do”. And while sometimes we have some dos that need

done, the truth is nothing will work unless I humble myself. It’s so much easer to do

rather than to be isn’t it? DOING TAKES ACTION, BEING REQUIRES

TRANSFORMATION. Are we willing to be transformed by Jesus and what he taught?

Or are we too proud to be humble?

- Beatitudes not new

- You know what’s interesting about Jesus’ teaching on the beatitudes is that is it was not

something new. There are several passages in the OT that talk about God blessing the

humble. The only reason it seemed upside down to the people at the time and to us now is

because we have turned things in the wrong direction.

- Jesus living = freedom from getting stuck

- But when we witness the ways of Jesus being played out in our lives and in the lives of

others, it is so inspiring, you can see the person freeing themselves from the possibility of

getting stuck right there.

- News/media


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- I don’t like watching the news at all, you can ask my wife, but the only reason I even give

it even a little of my attention in the mornings is to see how ridicules the headlines might

be that day.

- But there was one story recently that just inspired me, it had been built up for several

weeks, you may have heard it, a Dallas police officer shot and killed and unarmed man

because she went into what she thought was her apartment, only to find a man there in

which she shot and killed. But then she quickly realized it was not her apartment, but her

neighbors, and she had just killed an innocent man.

- She was tried in the court of law and convicted of murder! And they showed video of

people in the courtroom celebrating her conviction. A few days later was her sentencing

trail, where she was sentenced to 10 years in prison, in which when I saw the headline

pop up, I really didn’t want to watch this bit of news because it tends to paint a negative

picture of our men and women in Blue, but then I saw this photo, that went along with a

story, that to be honest I don’t think the media wanted to share. This is a photo of the

brother of the murdered man hugging the woman who shot him. Before this photo was

taken, Brandt Jean, the teenage boy in the photo gave what is commonly know as a

victim-impact statement, but there was nothing common about it, it was totally upside

down, and to be honest I had to dig a little deeper because most news headlines stopped at

the photo and did not publicize this statement and you’ll see why. Brandt said this in his

statement, “If you truly are sorry, I know, I can speak for myself, I forgive you. And, I

know if you go to God and ask Him, He will forgive you. Again I’m speaking for myself,

not even on behalf of my family, but I love you just Iike anyone else. And I’m not gonna

say I hope you rot and die just like my brother did but I personally want the best for you,

and I don’t even want you going to jail, I want the best for you. And the best would be to

give your life to Christ. I’m not going to say anything else, I think giving your life to Christ

would be the best thing that you can do. Again I love you as a person and I don’t wish

anything bad on you. I don’t know if this is possible, but can I give her a hug please?”

- After the young man extended his forgiveness and compassion, the judge, who just

finished sentencing her to 10 years in prison got down from her chair, went back into her

chambers and approached the convicted murderer with her personal bible, flipping


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through its pages on the way up to her and read to her John 3:16, For God so love the

world that he gave his only son, that whoever would believe in Him would not perish but

have everlasting life.

- When asked by the media why the judge did that, she said, I told myself, that my job is to

do justice, love mercy and walk HUMBLY. which is not a job description for a United

States judge, but rather a passage from Micah 6:8 which states what God requires of us!

- It’s upside down isn’t? But I can guarantee you that man, and that judge went home

justified. Humbling themselves to show grace and forgiveness to a person that our culture

says does not deserve it. When his mother was asked about what her teenage son said, she

said “I am proud of my son, Brandt. Your load is lighter.”

- Unlike the ones celebrating her conviction, that young man is not stuck in his inability to

forgive, but rather he is free because he lived out Jesus’ teaching. Because he is now stuck

in Jesus. The best place you can be

- If you’ve been stuck now for quite some time. Where you’ve been living for yourself and

the ways of this world for so long that you’re just exhausted. You want to try something

different? try living a way that seems upside down but is actually right side up, that seems

like it would be a life looked at as being weak and miserable, but will actually give you

strength and fulfillment. Try following Jesus. Jesus said: that I have come so that you may

have life and have it abundantly. John 10:10 He wants us to experience this life at its

absolute best. So when you’re stuck, pause, spit if you have to, and follow Jesus. I hope

you come back next Sunday, as Seth will dive deeper into what it takes to become fully

unstuck. Let’s pray

10-20-19 Sermon

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