Baggage Part 2

Last week we started into a two part series on Baggage and the first half of this series was “Let it go”. We talked about letting our baggage go so it was not slowing us down, keeping us from the altar, we focused on the need to leave our baggage with God and not take it back.

This week I want to focus on A New Thing

This week I want to talk about what new thing God has for you that maybe you are unable to see because you are looking in the wrong direction. You see, you cannot move forward while looking backwards.

Isaiah 43:18–19 NIV

“Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.

We have all seen the movies or read stories where one of the characters is focused on something that happened in their past. It could be the reliving sports glory, career success, academic achievements, or it could be something more hurtful like love lost, abuse, or other painful memories.

What is it about our past that keeps our attention, even as the world moves forward and time marches on into the future?

To be fair have we not all talked about going back to how it used to be? I hear this especially when people are reminiscing about the state of our nation. What about the good old days when things were simpler, there was no internet, the sun was our alarm clock and our bedtime reminder?

See, the past is attractive because it is safer than the present. There are no painful surprises when we look back, even if the history we look at his horrible we look upon it knowing what happened already and from survivors eyes.

Clearly, the challenge with this mindset is that you cannot move forward while living in the past.

So my message today is about leaving past baggage behind us, for better or worse, and moving confidently into the present reality of God’s provision for us.

1. Leave the Past in the Past

There are so many things that Isaiah could be referring to but I think one of the clear past issues that is being addressed is the the Exodus from Egypt, perhaps another point in Israel’s history but I want to go to the Exodus for moment.

Listen to what Pharoah says to the nation of Israel in

Exodus 12:31 NIV

During the night Pharaoh summoned Moses and Aaron and said, “Up! Leave my people, you and the Israelites! Go, worship the Lord as you have requested.

At this point in history the Israelites were being granted freedom from over 400 years of slavery to the Egyptians.

It is hard to imagine what people were feeling as they packed up their homes, families, livestock, etc… and started walking off into the wilderness towards the promised land.

It is even harder to imagine they would want to go back to lives of servitude, (but as we now know that is exactly what they eventually wanted as we saw several weeks ago in our Urban Legend series).

Wandering through the wilderness was hard. It was different from what they were used to. And many of them simply wanted to return to the way things used to be.

Sound familiar?

Do not think for moment that you and I are any different than the distant Israelites. In fact, listen to the encouragement that Paul gives the churches in Galatia:

Galatians 5:1 NIV

It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.

On some level what Paul is saying is “Leave the past in the past and stand firm in your newfound freedom.”

Do not go back to the way things used to be. What if God has something new for you going forward? What if the new thing springs up right in front of you but you are caught up staring into the past?

Jesus was clear about this, He addressed it beautifully in

Luke 9:62 NIV

Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

2. The Best is Yet to Come

You know I often hear people tell me they really do not like change. My first answer as a I psychology professional is, that is probably not really true. We all love change to be honest. Think about the new house, the new car, the new child or grandchild, the newness of the seasons. We love change, what we do not love is those things we perceive we have no control over. If we look to the past, we have an illusion of control because we know the outcome.

As believers, we have eternity in paradise with God, Jesus, and the saints that have gone before us to look forward to. This is why we “fix our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith,” who set the example and went before us. We see in John 14:2

John 14:2 NIV

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?

Think about that, Jesus went before you to prepare your room in the Father’s house. How many of you have either had a guest or been a guest in someones house and they prepared a room for you or you prepared the room for them? That is a wonderful consideration, someone prepares a room for me and I genuinely appreciate that.

The same excitement you feel about a vacation destination, family member, or retirement party, should pale in comparison to the excitement you feel about an eternity in the house where God’s One and Only Son has prepared a room for you to spend eternity.

Yet, so many of us are trapped, bogged down by the baggage of this life as we continue to look behind us at things in our past.

My only encouragement I can give is the same as last week: Let it go and move forward.

Life is a grand adventure for us, it is full of plots and twists, surprises around every corner, some good some not so good. Yet at the same time we have eternal assurance of where we will end up ultimately.

Live today like a person who is excited for and anticipating the most amazingly epic travel adventure of their life.

Live everyday like the best is yet to come, even when you cannot see it.

3. Walk by Faith not by Sight

The truth is, it is way easier to believe God will do something new and good in your life if you can see a blueprint of what it will look like. Not many people will go blindly wandering out on an adventure without knowing where they are going, and yet on some level, that is what a life of faith can feel like sometimes.

We simply cannot be in control all the time.

In fact, we probably control far less than we think we do. We often life our lives with an illusion of control that really does not exist.

We cannot stop other people’s choices from impacting our lives.

We cannot insulate ourselves from every potentially bad or damaging situation in life.

However, we do get to choose whether or not to hold onto baggage from those events.

And we do get to choose everyday to move forward - even if the path is unknown.

The Apostle Paul said ti so beautifully in

2 Corinthians 5:1–7 NIV

For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed instead with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. For we live by faith, not by sight.

That is a long passage and it is because Paul has a lot to say there. What I want to highlight is merely the idea that this is not our home, and while we are here we long to be truly HOME with the Lord.

CONCLUSION

We have all heard the story of “doubting Thomas” at some point in our life:

John 20:24–29 NIV

Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed; let that be your battle cry today.

Here is the challenge for us then today: Believe Jesus

In spite of our past, our trauma, pain, and disappointment. In spite of the unknown adventure the future here on earth holds.

God is doing new things in our lives, He has something for us here in the present and again in the future.

Jesus prepares a place for us, an eternal home

Keep your eyes fixed on Him this week. Choose to walk in the freedom that you have through our Lord and Savior, the Perfect Lamb, the Perfecter of our Faith, Jesus Christ

As disciples of Jesus, we do not face an uncertain future. Granted, we do not know what will happen to us tomorrow or next week or over the next few years. Nor do we know when or how our lives will end. We’re not prophets or soothsayers.

But our future is far from uncertain. We can open up the Bible, any time we choose, and read about the last chapter of world history. It’s right there in Revelation, in black-and-white.

And the message? Jesus wins! And in Jesus, we win. The resurrection is coming. All tears will be wiped away. All cancer will die. All abuse will cease. All hatred will end.

That is not a wish or a good guess or a probable eschatological forecast. It’s a divine fact, grounded in the resurrection of our Lord Jesus from the grave. His ultimate victory at the end of time—which is also our victory—is as solid and certain as is the glory of his resurrected flesh.

Our Action Step Today:

Let the baggage go, lay it down, leave it here today at the altar as we respond by taking communion together, choose to travel light.

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