Letting Go of Control
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TRAVEL LIGHT—4
LETTING GO OF CONTROL
Good Morning and Welcome to Freedom Chapel
My Name is Pastor Terry the Lead Pastor here at Freedom Chapel
Well, on behalf of my entire family, my amazing wife Michelle, Our Daughter and Son in law Laci and Daniel, and our two sons Lane and Seth. I want to wish all of you the most merry and faith-filled Christmas.
If You are new Here this morning we would like to welcome you. Please fill out the You Card and we will send you cookies.
It is one of the greatest honors of my life these last 9 years, to share from God's word about celebrating the miracle of the virgin birth as we honor God, who became one of us in Emmanuel, Jesus, God with us.
Can we Give God a Some Praise this morning
How many of you would raise you have any areas of your life that you are a little bit of a control freak.
You know……….Like……….
Travel Light—(Series)—Letting Go of Control—[Standing]
26 In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,
27 to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
28 Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
29 Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
Confused and Distrubed
Why happening? Wish were different? Don’t under. Fix it. Figure out.
30 “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
31 You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
32 He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
33 And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
34 Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
35 The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
36 What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she has conceived a son and is now in her sixth month.
37 For the word of God will never fail.”
38 Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her.
38 And Mary said, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” Luke 1:38 ESV (Let it be)
Not controlling: Aggressively helpful! Thoroughly org. Coffee nervous.
Influence kids: Wear—Hair—Make ACT—Major in college—Marry.
Spouse: Where go—How to drive—Not to say—Finish sentences.
Big life events: Want I want God—When I want it—How I want it.
Control Image—What people think—Social media best friend.
Life want you to see—Filtered—Edited—23 attempts
Perfect family photo—Fighting—Angry—Got photo! #blessed
More we try to control—More we’re afraid of losing control.
More we’re afraid—More we try to control.
Desire to control is rooted in lack of faith.
When you overestimate your ability to control
Underestimate the power of God. (Could move down toward end)
This Weeks Statement to Remember is:
You don’t always have the power to control, but you always have the power to surrender.
Let’s take a deeper dive into Mary the Mother of Jesus
Teenage girl: Hopes—Dreams—Fears—Pressure—Like any other girl.
We don’t have a lot of information but Mary was most likely an arranged marriage.
According to BiblicalArchaeology.org Mary was most likely between the age of 12-14 and Joseph was not much older.
A written contract would have been written up as a promissary note through the engagement.
Engagements would last about a year……
For Mary her wedding day Mary was most likely planning for the customary wedding celebration.
Local customs varied, but the basic act was carrying the bride to the groom’s house on a litter or carriage while people applauded, played music, and perhaps danced in the streets. The bride wore a “crown” of some sort. There might also have been torches or lamps carried by the procession (Matthew 25:1). Upon the bride’s arrival at the groom’s house, the groom and friends probably emerged with tambourines and drums. … There was also a wedding feast (John 2:1–10; Matthew 22:2; 25:10; Luke 12:36; 14:8), given by the groom’s family, which could last a week or more. … At some point, somebody uttered a benediction over the couple. The ceremony was a huge event, celebrated by the entire village.
But then an Angel appears and says—“Going to be with child.”
Mary is Disturbed and confused.
What would this mean for her future.
This was not the plan—This was not Expected! This was quite the Opposite!
Maybe you can relate
Similar—Done at 3 kids—Bonus child.
Wanted a child and can’t conceive.
You took a job you thought you would love but it wasn’t what you thought it would be.
Maybe your company is downsizing and you are struggling to sleep.
Your going through a health challenge.
Or there is an empty seat at the table this year and you are struggling with a difficult loss.
Maybe it is the Everyday stuff that has you disturbed and confused…..
Kids fighting—
Burned dinner—
Crazy family coming
Your drunk overly political Uncle is coming over
You were Late church
Like Mary We Don’t know the end of story.
I really don’t like the Mary did you know song. I find it really annoying
Mary didn’t know that Jesus would perform miracles.
She didn’t know Jesus would die on the cross.
She didn’t know that God would raise him from the dead, and all the angels would sing, and he'd ascend up to heaven, and he'd be seated at the right hand of God the Father.
She didn’t even know in the moment that this Angel was speaking to her how Joseph would react.
Would He cancel the contract and leave her with this illegitimate child?
Mary didn’t know.
Mary has to make choice between
Ø Her plans—God’s purpose.
Ø Her dreams—God’s destiny.
Ø Her desire for control—God’s calling.
Even though she doesn’t understand the plan
She chooses to trust that God had a purpose.
Let IT be—Let it be done unto me…
What are you trying to control that’s outside your control?
Need to surrender?
Relationship? Fear? Image? Pursuit of perfection? Kid’s future?
Clinched fist—Let it be.
No such thing as Partial Surrender—No conditions, strings, clauses.
I’m 87% surrendered to Jesus.
Many of us Trust God with some things—But not all things.
I trust Him to Save my soul— I don’t trust him with my kids future.
I trust Him Forgive what I have done in past but I don’t trust him to Direct my future.
I trust Him with to fix my problems but I don’t trust Him with my money…
What is our desire to control rooted in?
I'm preaching to me today!
My desire to control is rooted in a lack of faith.
Desire to control is rooted in lack of faith.
When you overestimate your ability to control
You underestimate the power of God.
You don’t always have the power to control, but you always have the power to surrender.
The more I find myself trying to control, the more I overestimate my ability to control, the more I underestimate the power and the goodness of God.
Everything in culture tells us, you've gotta make it happen.
If it's gonna be, it's up to me.
I gotta get in there. I've gotta be strong.
I've gotta manipulate it.
I've gotta make it happen.
But Jesus says something that is absolutely opposite to everything that culture says.
Everything in culture invites us to live contrary to the Gospel.
You take charge. You control your destiny. You make it happen.
Jesus tells us two times in Matthew how to Fix our lives.
39 Anyone who finds his life will lose it, and anyone who loses his life because of me will find it.
25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it.
John says it this way:
25 The one who loves his life will lose it, and the one who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
To follow Jesus is to surrender control.
Why?
You don’t always have the power to control, but you always have the power to surrender.
But heres the Bad news—Surrender isn’t a one time event—Daily choice.
Imagine Mary all through life.
On the run
Jesus is missing
Everyone thinks He is crazy
Seeing Him Beaten and Executed
But I am reminded of Jesus in garden!
Jesus shows leads us into submission…..
42 “Father, if you are willing, take this cup away from me—nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”
Choice—Illusion of control—Never had.
Control is a Drug that gives you a false high but for the most part leaves you with a Bad hangover—
Control Hurts you,
Hurts those love.
And Destroys relationships……..
When we choose to surrenders we get to experience one of most freeing moments in our lives.
I am trying so hard to take on a James 4 mentality towards life.
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will travel to such and such a city and spend a year there and do business and make a profit.”
14 Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.
15 Instead, you should say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”
God wants us to let go of what you cannot change and trust Him
Let it be…
You don’t always have the power to control,
but you always have the power to surrender.
God can do way more with my surrender than I can do with my control.
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