Spiritual Baggage

Turn with me to:

Luke 10:1-4

10:1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 "Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.

NASB

Pray for the passage read:

Now mark that down keep your finger on it or put your bulletin to save it we will come back to that verse.

Well as summer comes up and the holidays are ending, Some of us went on or are going on a vacation!!!!!

We love to get away don’t we. But alone with trips or leaving for awhile comes what?

Packing your luggage carrying around a lot of baggage. Most of us like to fly but I want you to picture in your head the long lines, weight limits, delays or layovers and all kinds of red tape and carrying all your luggage from your house to the car, from the car to the check points at the air port.

What is the best feeling in the world at that time? It’s when you give your luggage over to someone else at the counter.

But wait what about that one carry on we are aloud to take with us. We try as hard as we can to cram that big carry on bag into a little overhead storage compartment.

What about us parents with 1, 2 or even 3 kids. I remember when I was a teenager I loved to go to the beach. All I would take is my surfboard and a towel, that’s it. But after I was married and the kids came alone all that changed. My surfboard never made it to the car. Instead we took

Diaper bags, play pens, coolers, toys, bottle bag, blankets, umbrellas plus 2 chairs and so on. Needless to say going to the beach was not high on our list anymore.

The more kids we have the more baggage we tend to carry around don’t we. Or my favorite is “ Dad will you carry this for me.

As we look at all the baggage we carry around with us. I mean physical of course, But what about emotional baggage or what about spiritual baggage.

You know not only are we concerned with our feelings and spiritual state but when we have kids our worry and prayer load doubles and sometimes triples, doesn’t it?

You see so many things are effected by spiritual baggage. For instance when we go before God to pray, Did you get ready for that? I mean did you clear your mind and get rid of all the baggage that you drag around with you.

Turn to:

Matt 11:28-30

28 "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. 29 "Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart; and you shall find rest for your souls. 30 "For My yoke is easy, and My load is light."

Why would Jesus say something like that?

I’ll tell you why He knows we all have baggage, all kinds of baggage.

Jesus wants us to loose or baggage.

Jesus is issuing a call to all who are weary---tired from hard toil

And burden --- loaded down

To come to Him

Our weariness come from enduring our burdens or baggage we carry. Our sins and consequences from sins.

Jesus says to yoke ourselves with Him by placing ourselves under His yoke and learning from Him, we find rest for our souls and burdens. By yoking with Jesus we become true disciples of Jesus. To serve Him is no burden.

In Psalms it is believed that David wrote:

Ps 55:22

22 Cast your burden upon the LORD, and He will sustain you;

He will never allow the righteous to be shaken.

NASB

David’s confidence found expression in his words to the saint—(us)

To entrust—(cast)

Our burdens—(our cares)

Onto the Lord

1 Peter 5:7 says

God will never forsake the righteous

Psalms 55:15 says

He will destroy bloodthirsty and deceitful men who afflict the righteous.

Sometimes it hard to let go of our stuff and trust that what we can carry can see us through. But the internal baggage is even harder to let go of. You see Satan says we need it to keep us safe or it drives us to success or it makes us stronger. And since we can’t see it, it just builds up until the weight of it is just to much and falls on us.

Tell 97 Promise Keeper story In Birmingham Al w/ Danny and Scott Andrews.

I will always remember the time I went to a Promise Keeper event in a outdoor stadium in Birmingham Al It was pouring down rain and God was dealing with me hard. I was carrying a lot of spiritual Baggage. The Rev Franklin Graham was speaking. I was sitting up High under a over hang and I was staying dry but God said go down and repent but I fought it. I mean it was raining plus I was full of pride. So finally God won and I went down, There I was standing in the rain in mud up to my ankles. The God pushed me on my knees, I started crying like a baby but that rain, oh that rain was washing me clean from the inside out. Before I know it, I was on my knees face down in the mud and my own filth but that day, Glory to God He wash me clean. He took away me baggage and my sin that day. And I was never the same.

I know He can do the same for you.

So let’s look back at Luke 10:1-4

Luke 10:1-4

10:1 Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others, and sent them two and two ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come. 2 And He was saying to them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest. 3 "Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way.

NASB

Christ knows it is impossible to do his will with baggage. What Luke is telling us is following Jesus requires letting go of the baggage we are tempted to carry. Just to name a few

1. Prejudice

2. Resentment

3. Hatred

4. Rebellion

5. Adultery

6. Drugs/ alcohol

7. Money

8. Pride

9. Religion

10. Gambling

Have I described you today, Is spiritual baggage keeping you from have a relationship with Christ. Or do you want to know Christ for the very 1st time. Well in a few short moments God is going to give you that very opportunity. Church Listen to me very carefully, if God is working on your heart and you know who you are don’t miss out on the greatest decision you will ever make. Maybe you’re looking for a church home. Come on up. Don’t let this opportunity pass up by so you come, you come.