Remote Control: Emotions

What is up Vertical! Today we start a 4 week series on Control. We will talk about specific things that can control us and how those things takes us away from the fulfilling life God has for us. Today, I just want to kick off the series, with my main point:

Main Point: Total Control is an illusion that lead us to avoid surrender & sacrifice.

You see, I am a firm believer- and the scripture will tell us so- that we are all controlled by something/someone. For instance: Who controls the remote at your house?

You are essentially at the mercy of the person with the remote! You can’t change the channel and you are forced to watch what they want. Why is this so difficult? Because we want to be in control!

Whether you recognize it or not, you are in a constant battle for control. Who drives the car? How late can you stay out? What movies can you go to? How good do your grades need to be? Who can you date? Do you come to church or small groups? How do you spend “your money?” What college will you go to?

These tensions all stem from a NEED for CONTROL. Even when we aren’t in CONTROL we QUESTION everybody else’s ABILITY to be in CONTROL!

When we say” I want to control my life!” we are saying, “ God, I do not trust you know what is best for me.”

Now, while you may have control over a few areas of your life, the Bible is clear that ultimately, when it comes to your spiritual walk you are either control by sin or by the Spirit.

Paul wrote to the Romans about this idea of who has control over your life. Let’s read Romas 6:16-23 and draw some principles that will give us the foundation for this series.

Romans 6:15–23 NIV

15 What then? Shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! 16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. 19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Principle #1: WE ARE NOT IN TOTAL CONTROL BUT CAN CHOOSE WHAT TOTALLY CONTROL US.

Romans 6:16–18 “16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? 17 But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you have come to obey from your heart the pattern of teaching that has now claimed your allegiance. 18 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.”

Paul reminds us that there are two options when it comes to our spiritual walk: we are slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness.

At the same time, it is human sinful tendency to want to want to remain in total control of our lives. Our natural desire is to gain more and more “control” in our lives.

Yet, TOTAL Control is an illusion created by sin to make us believe we are “free”, autonomous and self-sufficient.

But we were not created to be in control, we were created to obey. It’s not a slam on how God made us. He created us to need to be controlled on purpose. Why? Because while we don’t always know what is best for us, HE DOES! Surrendering control of our lives to Him makes Him Lord and gives Him the glory He deserves.

The Bible refers to us as sheep, because of our inability to be “free” autonomous and self-sufficient.

Why should we put God in control?

Principle #2: WHAT CONTROLS US WILL DETERMINE OUR TOTAL DESTINY

Romans 6:19–22 “19 I am using an example from everyday life because of your human limitations. Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness. 20 When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. 21 What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life.”

You see, time and time again the scriptures reminds that being slaves to sin will create a destiny full of death.

On the other hand, the destiny of those who believe in Christ is holiness and eternal life.

God is worth being worship and adore. He is worth us giving him full control but at the end of the day, the one that benefits the most in this relationship is me.

We can never out-do or out-give God. You can never present something He is lacking or something that would make Him better. All the benefits of God being in control are for us.

God will continue to be God with or without my decision to surrender. My destiny drastically changes with or without my decision to surrender.

Now, here is where it makes a difference. If you do not believe that sin brings death, then you believe you have no need for Jesus but when you understand the doctrine of humanity which states that we were made in God’s image, yet our nature became corrupt because of sin, creating a need for a savior that we could not personally provide, to which God provided himself through the person of Jesus to bring redemption and restoration to our intended image, then you will simply realized “I am a sinner and Jesus is the only way to be saved.”

Principle #3: WHEN YOU UNDERSTAND GRACE, YOU WILL NOT HAVE A PROBLEM WITH TOTAL SURRENDER AND SACRIFICE.

Romans 6:23 “23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What will you SURRENDER or SACRIFICE to give the remote control back to God?