The Next Level part 2

Getting Stuck

I wanna take you all the way back to when I was young and stupid. So all the way back to yesterday...

Ok maybe a little bit further than that. I was more like 18. I was a relatively new driver and it was early in the winter. Now understand at 18/19 I was still pretty responsible I liked to have fun. So one day after running a church errand to Fredericton I was taking a friend home who lived on the Greenfield road.

Now remember this was back before the four lane so you still came into Florenceville from the MaCain side of the river then loop around under the bridge to head to Centerville.

Well as we approached route 103 to the left and Hume road to the right, I remember this this dirt road that connected Hume road to Greenfield road but that wasn’t plowed in the winter.

So I looked at my friend and said,”wanna have some fun?” Well when an 18/19 year old says, “Wanna have some fun?” The correct answer is “No, what am I stupid!”, but no one told my friend that because he looked me in the eye and said “sure let’s do it”.

Well although it was early in the winter there was still a good amount of snow so about half way across this road we got stuck, in my mother’s little purple cavalier. This of course lead to a lot of pushing and shovelling but we did eventually made it to the other side.

The car road a little rough after that as the wheel wells and rims were packed with snow, but within a couple days it was back to normal.

Now Jump ahead 2 months. It is now February and a German foreign exchange student who was staying with my father had come up to visit for a weekend.

It was my job to entertain Jonis, so I took him for a driving tour, this time in my truck. As we were driving down the Greenfield road, I remembered this dirt road that connected the Greenfield road to the Hume road that wasn’t plowed through the winter. I think you can see where this is going.

So I looked at Jonis and said, “Wanna see if we can get the truck stuck?” Apparently they hadn’t learned how to respond to that type of question either because he said yes.

Well we made it about half way. After shovelling and pushing for 45 minutes we made it 10 more feet, so we decided to walk for help. Turns out there was more snow in February than December. Go figure. It also turns out not only did they not plow that road but they used the end of it to plow into.

As we walked over the 60 foot mound of snow we were glad we didn’t spend any more time shovelling and pushing because we were pretty sure we were not getting through that.

But a friend with a four wheel drive truck and a bent bumper later we were back on the Greenfield road.

So why do I tell you these stories that made me look so “wise and responsible”? Mainly because I wanted to ask you a question.

Have you ever felt stuck in this life and you know it’s because you made some stupid choices?

We have all felt stuck in life before, maybe we felt stuck in a job, or stuck in a financial cycle of going pay check to pay check.

Maybe we’ve been stuck in a relationship that isn’t going anywhere, or stuck mentally or emotionally where we become obsessed with with one or two thoughts that keep us bound up.

Sometimes we get stuck in a rut with our routines, or habits. I’ve known many people stuck in a sin. I’ve known churches that were stuck in worship and routine, just going through the motions.

We all know how it feels to be stuck, but this Series is called

The Next Level. In this series we have been talking about getting to the next level Spiritually speaking. Because no matter where you are in your relationship with God trust me there is a next level. We talked about how it takes ridiculous Faith to get to the next level.

By that we mean that over the top faith that allows you to really step out of your comfort zone. So we have been looking at different people in the bible and how they demonstrated ridiculous faith to get to the next level and see what we can learn from them.

Can anyone guess who we are looking at today? Good job. Zacchaeus.

But first the question.

How can we go to the next level if we are feeling stuck spiritually?

Luke 19:1–10 NLT

Jesus entered Jericho and made his way through the town. There was a man there named Zacchaeus. He was the chief tax collector in the region, and he had become very rich. He tried to get a look at Jesus, but he was too short to see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore-fig tree beside the road, for Jesus was going to pass that way. When Jesus came by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and called him by name. “Zacchaeus!” he said. “Quick, come down! I must be a guest in your home today.” Zacchaeus quickly climbed down and took Jesus to his house in great excitement and joy. But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled. Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!” Jesus responded, “Salvation has come to this home today, for this man has shown himself to be a true son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”

How can we go to the next level if we are feeling stuck spiritually?

Reconcile with those you’ve wronged!

Me: The bungee game at Sussex. video. This is what it is like to try and get ahead in our relationship with God when we know we have a fractured relationship with someone else.

We: We all have done things we are not proud of and those things can hold us back. Not because God won’t or hasn’t already forgiven us, but because like a bungee cord it keeps us bound to the past in our mind. And sometimes what it takes to to cut the cord is for us to make things right.

God: This is what Zacchaeus did. Jesus already showed love to him by coming to his house but Zacchaeus wasn’t going to move on until he made things right. By making this commitment and following through with it Zacchaeus was able to move forward in his new relationship with Christ with out the hang ups of old relationships holding him back.

But understand that took Ridiculous faith on Zacchaeus’ part. But this story is a great example of what Paul was talking about in

Romans 12:18 NLT

Do all that you can to live in peace with everyone.

You: Do you have something between you and another person that is holding you back? If you want to move forward to the next level you need to reconcile with them. This means forgiving them of the faults and apologizing and if possible making right what you did wrong.

Yes it takes ridiculous faith but it can help you to become unstuck.

We: Listen we are forgiven already. this has nothing to do with being saved. We are saved by grace along, this is about growing in that salvation by going to the next level by removing all that holds us back.

But what about those who we cannot reconcile with, because we no longer have contact or they have passed yet our wrong doing is still holding us back?

We can take comfort in knowing God has already forgiven us. And with ridiculous faith pray that he would help us to let it go. Often this comes down to the desires of our heart. We need the heart of one who wants to make it right. The heart of Zacchaeus who said...

Luke 19:8 NLT

Meanwhile, Zacchaeus stood before the Lord and said, “I will give half my wealth to the poor, Lord, and if I have cheated people on their taxes, I will give them back four times as much!”

Luke 19:

If we can reconcile God desires that there be nothing between us and anyone else, especially a brother and sister in Christ. So if possible we should strive to reconcile as much as it depends on us.

Next Step: Make that call, pay back what you owe, as much as it depends on you make it right.