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How many of you are finding life a tad tiring at the moment? Days, months and even years
seem to fly by, leaving you exhausted. There are times when you literally feel breathless
from all that your life demands from you. Most of all, you feel like you aren’t really
living at all. It’s as if you have to climb on a treadmill every morning. You start running
to get the kids ready for school, you rush to an appointment, you eat your lunch while
checking your emails and then you rush off to do the next thing on your to do list.
Kids, housework, dinner, dishes, bath time, bed. Perhaps some half hearted sex with your
husband and then finally you lay your head on a pillow to sleep. Even then, thoughts
rush around your mind reminding you of what you forgot to do and what you still need to
do the following day. The shriek of the alarm clock wakes you up the next morning with a
shock, telling you that you need to get on the treadmill called life and go through it
all over again. Sadly, this is real life for many women. For
most women. This is not living at all by mere survival. And if all this isn’t enough,
we carry about many other things on this treadmill called life that add even more weight to our
already harsh existence. Today I am not going to teach you time management
and I am not going to offer you a quick fix for your crazy life. You might need to cut
a few things out so that you are not always rushing around, you may need to let go of
a few activities and take up a relaxing exercise such as walking or Pilates. There is much
you can do calm your life down and I recommend that you do take some time out for yourself
and consider what you would like your life to look like. Make a plan to get off the crazy
treadmill and move from surviving every day to loving the days you have been given. But
that is something I am sure you can easily figure out yourself. What I want to look at
today is the additional baggage that you might be carrying around. The unseen things that
make life extra hard. The weight that you feel but cannot explain. These are things
that you can get rid of today. You can leave this place brand new. You can walk out these
doors feeling lighter and with a bit more bounce in your step.
Today I want to look at your past, your present and your future. No, there are no ghosts and
scrooge has nothing to do with it.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away;
behold, all things have become new. -2 Corinthians 5:17
Some women here have experience just that, the old things in their life have passed away
and they are enjoying a new life. Other women long for a new life but don’t know how to
get it. And then there is a third group of women here that are new creations but are
still behaving as they did in the past. Let me use a little parable to paint a clearer
picture. Have you ever sat in your garden or gone for
a walk in the park and enjoyed the beautiful butterflies? When you admired these butterflies
did you call them butterflies or ex-caterpillars? Butterflies of course, I have never heard
anyone marvel at the sight of an ex-caterpillar. It’s the same for us. The first part of
2 Cor 5:17 says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ. You see, becoming a new creation is
very much like the metamorphosis process that a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly.
Firstly, Jesus comes to you. He doesn’t ask where you have been or what you have done
or how many commandments you have kept. He comes to you and he wraps himself around you
and loves you. He embraces you. He surrounds you just like a cocoon surrounds a caterpillar.
It is in His cocoon of love that you are transformed. It is here that you are in Christ. If you
allow him to cocoon you, you will be transformed. There is no requirement for this transformation
process to occur other than your consent. It is a choice. Jesus will never force himself
upon you. He is a gentleman. If you invite Him into your life then He will come begin
the transformation process. It is a process and not an isolated incident.
It takes time to be transformed but in time you will find that the old things die – they
pass away and all things become new. Once you have gone through this transformation
you will get wings! Not Redbull wings but metaphorical wings which means you are free
to soar.
The Bible says, And you shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free. - John 8:32
He offers you a freedom like no other. It is just like the caterpillar that was once
grovelling around in the mud that becomes a beautiful butterfly that can fly amongst
the flowers. What I love most about this story is that
you are no longer defined by who you once was but by who you have become. You are no
longer an ex-addict or ex-control freak or an ex-***. You are not an ex-anything
at all just like a butterfly is not an ex-caterpillar. In fact, it is just as ridiculous to call
a butterfly an ex-caterpillar as it is to call you an ex-whateveryouwere. If you are
in Christ, you are a new creation. You become brand new. You are reborn! God doesn’t patch
up the old you. He doesn’t make you a better version of you. He doesn’t take super glue
and attach wings to a caterpillar does he? Of course not. So why would he fix you up?
When you are in Christ you are a new creation. You become brand new. You are reborn into
a new creation just like a caterpillar is reborn into a butterfly. old things have passed
away – they are dead. all things have become new. You are not an ex-anything.
One problem exists with the human transformation that doesn’t exist in the caterpillar transformation.
Butterflies have no problem believing that they are butterflies and they have no problem
doing what butterflies do. However, some humans tend to be reborn and still act like the old
‘thing’. If they were a butterfly, they would have beautiful wings but never fly.
They would spend their days walking around on the ground eating dirt. Some never get
to taste the sweet pollen that new life offers them. Some never experience the freedom that
their new wings have to offer. If you are in Christ then you are a new creation
– old things are dead so stop hanging around the grave of your past and get on with your
wonderful new life. You are more than your past. You don’t have to walk around carrying
the shame. If you are, it is because you have chosen to carry your shame. There is a beautiful
verse in the Bible that says, Instead of your shame you shall have double
honour, And instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their
land they shall possess double; Everlasting joy shall be theirs. - Isaiah 61:7
If you are in Christ then everlasting joy is what you should be carrying as well as
double honour. You see, God has no desire to see his beautiful butterflies grovelling
around in the mud – His desire is to see us free and beautiful. We are designed to
be beautiful. Before Adam and Eve bit the forbidden fruit we were perfectly beautiful.
It was only sin that messed us up. Thankfully, through the sacrifice Jesus made on the cross,
we have been given another chance to make things right as they once were. Jesus took
the punishment for all the stupid things we have done in our life, the things we are ashamed
of, the mistakes we made and all the many things that we have done, the things we should
have been punished for. Jesus took all the punishment for us so that we could have another
chance to be free. The great thing about what He did was that He not only took our punishment
for us but He also took away the shame so that we could be transformed from ugly to
beautiful, from sick to well from ashamed to honoured, from depressed to joyful. I could
go on forever with all the things that He has transformed for us. Which is why it’s
so sad to see those that know Jesus still act like they don’t.
Today is a new day for us all. The Bible says,
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who
are the called according to His purpose. - Romans 8:28
This means that no matter what you have done, it will not be wasted. This means that no
matter how much time you think you have thrown away it is not lost. This means that if you
love God then you are called according to His purpose and if that is true for you then
absolutely every single thing in your life can be used by Him for good. EVERYTHING. The
Bible doesn’t say ALL if it means SOME. It says all things and means all things. Your
present is safe, your future is bright. Nothing has been or will be wasted in your life.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not
walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Romans 8:1
Did you notice that Romans 8:1 also mentions being IN Christ Jesus? You see, there is condemnation
for those who walk according to the flesh, even for those who are reborn but living as
they once were. It is only those who are safely tucked away in Jesus that can live free from
condemnation. It is for those who have allowed him to transform them into a new creation,
for those that have let the past go and have embraced the new life that Jesus offers. It
Would you like to be free from that weight? From guilt? From the baggage of your past?
From shame? From hopelessness? Would you like to live your life and stop surviving day to
day because you are exhausted from all the weight that you have to carry around on top
of your long to do list?
Today is the day you can be free. A simply yes is all it takes. Permission is all God
requires from you. If you want to be free, if you want to be transformed, reborn into
a new creation, then allow Jesus to envelop you with His love and begin this incredible
process in your life. It’s not easy, there will be painful day,
it is a life altering process after all, but the end result will be well worth it.
It you want give up all the punishment that you deserve to Jesus then just say yes and
gratefully receive His free gift of love. It all boils down to that one word – Yes.
Those of you that have said yes but know that you are still living as caterpillars, say
yes again today. Allow Jesus back into your life to continue what He started when he first
wrapped His loving arms around you. Get back in Christ.
If you want to be forgiven of absolutely everything and have a brand new start today, no matter
where you have been, no matter what you have done, please raise your hand to indicate a
‘yes’ to Jesus. To give him permission to come into your life.
Prayer
Dear Lord Jesus,
Today I want put my life right with you and start to live a life IN YOU.
Thank you that you died on the cross so I could be free. Please wash me clean today
so I can have a brand new start. I surrender my all to you now.
AMEN