Let It Go!

Introduction

Well, it’s that time of year. It’s the time of year where I try to avoid all retail establishments. Shoppers and shopping just gets crazy. But the other day I couldn’t avoid it. I had to go to Walmart and get something. And as I was walking back toward kind of the sporting goods hardware department, I had to pass the toy department. And I had to pause because of what was taking place on one aisle in that toy department. Or two people on that aisle, an adult and a young child. I surmise that it wasn’t a parent and a child.

And as I looked down that toy aisle, the aisle was strewn with different toys.

And I’d get one toy.

Be his one toy until he walked a little further and saw something better. And he put that down and picked up the other one. And he would walk a little further down the aisle and he would see something even better that he wanted more. And he would set that down on the floor and grab it. That was repeated five or six times because I could count the five or six toys that he had left out when he saw something better. His diminutive size demanded that he set that thing down before he picked the other one up. He couldn’t carry both. In fact, the command from his uncle or grandfather, whoever it was, was you get one. And that made me think about my spiritual life. That’s what we must do.

It’s all about choosing, it’s all about prioritizing. Turn with me, if you will, in the New Testament to the book of Philippians. Philippians chapter 3. The apostle Paul makes this point when after going through his resume, his pedigree of what he was in his former Jewish life, and that he had so much going for him. Scholars think that not only did Paul train under the feet of the prominent rabbi Gamaliel, but they speculate that he would have been Gamaliel’s successor, that he would have been a prominent and well-known rabbi among the Jewish people. But Paul’s going to tell us in this famous text that he gave that up. That he threw that on the floor so that he might grab on to something better. Notice how he puts it here in Philippians chapter 3.

Pick up the reading in verse 7. But what things were gained to me, that is my physical Jewish resume and pedigree, the things that were gained to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yes, indeed, I count all things for loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know him, that I may know him and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his sufferings, being conformed to his death, if by any means I may attain to the resurrection of the dead.

Paul says, I let it all go, because there was something I wanted more. And so let’s talk about that concept and that principle in a sermon that we’ve entitled, Let It Go. And no, don’t start singing. It’s not that kind of let it go. I tried, trust me, I tried to come up with a different title, but nothing worked. And so there are things when Paul says, I gave up my pedigree, my Jewish heritage, so that I might gain Christ. But notice he also says, verse 8 again, I counted all things lost. It wasn’t just those things mentioned in the prior seven verses that he gave up. Paul said, I would put all of it down. In fact, I would treat it as garbage and throw it away so that I might gain Christ.

1. Let Go of Pride

I want us to talk about some things that you and I need to give up. To let go, to sit down on the toy aisle so that we might grab hold of something far more better and far more valuable. And so let’s just talk about a few things that we need to let go. In fact, that God demands that we let go of in order to gain Christ. As Paul would say, if by any means we might attain unto the resurrection from the dead. One thing we must let go of is pride. You know, the Bible says a lot about pride, negatively about pride. And in the New Testament, in the book of James, chapter 4 and in verse 6, this principle that’s laid out and repeated throughout Scripture, Old and New Testament, tells us how God feels about the prideful.

James 4, verse 6, he gives the more grace. Therefore he says God resists the proud.

But let’s make sure we understand what’s being condemned. What’s being condemned in James 4, verse 6 and numerous hundreds of other passages that condemn pride is not some feeling of satisfaction in a goal accomplished by someone or even ourselves. It’s not sinful to you look upon your children and your grandchildren and their grades in school or their musical or athletic accomplishments or their accomplishments in Christ, and to feel a sense of pride, a sense of satisfaction. That’s not what Scripture is condemning. Scripture’s not even condemning my own sense of satisfaction in a task well done. What man among us, and I can only speak for the men, but what man among us having accomplished the perfect job of mowing the lawn. I mean it’s just perfectly mowed, edged, and trimmed, doesn’t stand back and just look at that work of art.

And feel a little bit of sense of pride that we did that. Scripture’s not condemning that. Here’s what Scripture, in fact, look over in Galatians chapter 6. The apostle is going to tell us that at times it’s appropriate for us to feel a sense of satisfaction in an accomplished task. Galatians 6, verse 4, he says, but let each one examine his own work, something that you’ve done, and let him have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another. And so in my own work, I can rejoice in that work. I can have a sense of accomplishment, a sense of satisfaction in that. That’s not the pride that’s being spoken of in Scripture. What is? Look with me in the Psalm, Psalm 10. The pride that God resists.

The prideful heart that God despises is not a heart that says, I feel good that I did that, or I feel good that someone else did that. It’s this sense of I am it. I’m the top of the food chain. I don’t need anybody else. And especially I don’t need God. Look at Psalm 10, verses 3 and 4. The psalmist says, for the wicked, the wicked boast of his heart’s desire. He blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord. The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. And so the pride that’s condemned in Scripture is this pride that I don’t need God. I can do it myself. God is not to be thanked and praised for what has been done.

I did it. That’s the pride that’s condemned in Scripture. Look also in 1 Corinthians chapter 4 in the New Testament echoes that sentiment or that definition of pride. 1 Corinthians 4. And in verse 7. 1 Corinthians 4, verse 7, for who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now, if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it? You see, pride that’s condemned in Scripture is this concept of, as he said in the Psalm, God’s not in my thoughts. All I’m thinking about is myself and how good I am and what I have done and can do on my own. God does not factor into that equation. That’s the pride. That’s the proud that God resists.

2. Turn Loose of Bitterness

But he gives grace to the humble. The humble who says, God, I can’t do it. I need you. I need your grace and your mercy and your love and your forgiveness. And so we need to let go of our pride. And to be humble. And to say, if not for the grace of God, we could not stand. Another thing we must turn loose of is bitterness. You know, to walk the straight and narrow, to be doctrinally sound in Christ, we must be people characterized by love and sweetness, not by anger and bitterness. Scripture universally condemns that attitude as much as it condemns the attitude of pride. Look at some sister passages. Let’s start in the book of Ephesians, chapter 4.

In Ephesians chapter 4. In very blunt language on this subject, the apostle, the inspired apostle says this, Ephesians 4, verse 31. Let all, all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking being put away with you with all malice, and be kind to one another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you. Let all bitterness, anger, and malice and wrath and evil speaking.

He just says, you’ve got to let that go. If you want to embrace God. Look at his sister passage in the book of Colossians, Colossians chapter 3. Again, echoes these sentiments. Colossians 3, verse 8. But now you yourselves are to put off all of these. Anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy language out of your mouth. Put it off. Or again, you’ve got to let go of that. There is so much in this life. It’s almost like life, the world, sin, temptation, and Satan is conspiring to make us bitter. To make us hateful. Almost everything does that. You think about so many of our hobbies are competitive in nature. Tennis or golf or the new fad pickleball. We’re competitive. I want to beat you. And if if you win that point, you damage me.

It’s almost like it’s just saying, we need to be competitive in this. Our other more passive hobby is to watch sports on television. And it’s my team against your team. And my team’s better than your team. And if your team beats my team, it’s because they cheated. It’s almost as if the world is conspiring to try to make us enemy. And then there’s the wonderful congenial world of politics. That pits us one against the other. In a contentious election, one side is against the other side, and we pick sides, and we’re enemies of the other side. And it’s almost as if the world is conspiring to make us enemies and to make us bitter. And God says, You want to be my child, you’ve got to let that go.

Notice this warning in the book of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12. Remember, the book of Hebrews is just one long sermon urging us not to fall away from God. And in this context, in this sermon of don’t fall away, this warning is issued among many warnings in the book of Hebrews. Hebrews 12, I want to begin in verse 14. Pursue peace. Pursue peace with all people and holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Let’s pause there. A couple observations about verse 14. Pursue peace. Seems to me to imply that it’s not just going to happen naturally. It’s not just going to fall in my lap because I claim to be a Christian. Somebody I have to pursue. I have to work out, I’ve got to chase it down.

Because all of this is counterintuitive to what the world is setting us up to be. But then he says, without it, we won’t see the Lord. We’ve got to let that go. But then the warning comes in verse 15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. He says, Many have fallen away. And it started with that root of bitterness. And you know, we can see that, can’t we? We often see it. I’m not real bright, you know that. I only see it in hindsight. Someone leaves the Lord. And at first we maybe seem shocked at that. What happened? Then we might sometimes make this observation, you know, they they were kind of getting negative.

Everything they said was just negative. They were just down on everything and everybody. They were against. And what we were seeing, only see it in hindsight, is that there was a root of bitterness springing up. By it, they became defiled.

3. Let Go of Sin in General

And the Holy Spirit is saying, you’ve got to let that go. If you’re going to see the Lord. Another thing that stands in our way, and we’re going to broaden it to just sin in general. We all have our own thing, don’t we? And by that I mean our own weaknesses, our own inclinations, and therefore our own temptations that Satan can try to capitalize on. And it’s different for you than it is for me. But the wiles of the devil are that he knows those weaknesses and can find those gaps in our armor to attack us with.

Whatever it is, no matter how desirable it might be, no matter how much temporal joy it might bring me. If I want to see heaven, I better let it go. And I better do everything I can to defeat it. Look in Hebrews. Are you still there in the book of Hebrews? Turn over one or back up just a little bit in chapter 12 to verses 1 and 2. He says, Therefore, we also, after going through that long list of faithful worthies of the Old Testament, he says, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. And let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us.

Looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Let us, if we’re going to finish this race like Abraham and David and Moses, and that long list of faithful people in chapter 11, if we’re going to finish this race, he says, you better lay aside the sin that so easily ensnares us. Paul said, I let it go, the temptation that wars against our soul, that would rob us of our eternal bliss. It doesn’t matter what it is. You better let it go.

And sometimes it’s more, and I know that sounds simple about just letting it go, but you better fight it. Struggle with it and win that fight with the grace and the help of God so that you might gain Jesus. We’ve made this point before in James chapter 1, but we’ll repeat it here. In James chapter 1, James is pointing out that good things come from God, not bad things. Sin and temptation don’t come from God. It comes from our own lust and desires, that temptation and sin almost personified can capitalize on in our own lives. And here’s what we need to do with that sin and temptation. James 1, look at verse 12. Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been approved, he’ll receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised those who love him.

Bear with me. I know many of you have heard this point from me and from this pulpit multiple times. But James is saying, two groups of people have been promised the crown of life. Those who endure temptation. Blessed is the man who endures temptation. When he is approved, he’ll receive the crown of life, but it’s been promised to somebody else. The crown of life that’s been promised to those that love the Lord. I think in reality, what James is saying is the crown of life has not been promised to two different groups of people, those who endure temptation and those that love the Lord. I think James is trying to connect those thoughts.

This is an oversimplification of this principle. But it’s true nonetheless. That temptation to sin is all about a choice. What do I want more? What do I love more? To borrow the words of Hebrews 11, do I love the passing pleasure of sin? Or do I love God more? It’s a choice. Just like the uncle in the toy aisle, you can only choose one. And like that little boy, he had to put one down to get that which was better. What do I love more? Since the choice I must make on a daily basis. If I’m to see Jesus.

4. Let Go of This Old Body

And that’s our flesh. In the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, in Paul’s treatise on the resurrection. He tells those Christians and us today that a change is going to take place he doesn’t give us all the details about that change but he tells us that we’re going to be changed remember in a twinkling moment in the twinkling of the eye we’ll be given a new body a spiritual body that’s befitting of the spiritual location where we will spend eternity and then he makes this observation 1 Corinthians 15 verse 50 now this I say he’s going to tell us that all that change has to take place because of this I say brethren that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God does corruption inherit incorruption flesh and blood cannot inherit the beauties of heaven and so there’s something else I have to let go and that is this old body as he would argue in the first parts of this chapter or the earlier parts of this chapter this body is not made for that location and so it’s got to stay behind it’s got to corrupt it’s got to decay and fall away and we’ll be given a new incorruptible body and so I have to give this up and that puts things in perspective doesn’t it?

The beauty of that transformation is that it helps me put things in proper perspective. As I get older, and I’m discovering new body parts that I didn’t know I had, and I’m just discovering them because they hurt. And as I’ve watched my parents and others lose that battle with the flesh, but really win that battle. And see the pain and the anguish and the despair. It gives me perspective. Maybe there’s a blessing in that pain. Stay with me. Maybe there’s a blessing in that suffering. The more this outward body decays, falls apart, doesn’t work like it used to and hurts, the more I’m willing to give it up and set it down on the floor to get something better.

Because it makes me want heaven and a new body.

About this. It’s all going to decay and rot and dissolve. And that that doesn’t decay and rot and dissolve is just going to be burned up. And so there’s nothing here that I’m not willing to let go so that I might gain there. And I thank God for that perspective. That we gain sometimes only in suffering and in loss. And so I’m of a mind this morning to become a minimalist. I’m willing to give it all up. As Paul would say, that I may attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

Conclusion

Nothing, my pride, my bitterness, any temptation, this flesh and blood body is so important that I’m not willing to let it go, that I might gain Jesus.

Would you obey that gospel this morning and change your perspective and let everything go that you might attain unto the resurrection of the dead? Can we help you as together we stand and as we sing?