Latest / THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST / THINGS YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO CARRY - PT. 3

Transcript

THINGS YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO CARRY - PT. 3 · THIS IS THE LIFE PODCAST

• 0:19
  Speaker 1: Good morning. Thank you for joining us here today on
• 0:21
  Speaker 1: our podcast. Hope you've been joining us this week as
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: we've been talking about things that God never meant for
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: us to carry. And we have talked about the weight
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: of tomorrow. We did that Monday and The need to
• 0:34
  Speaker 1: control everything yesterday got a lot of good responses out
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: of that one. Today we come to a burden that
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: often grows really out of a genuine love and concern
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: for those people that we love. And that is the
• 0:49
  Speaker 1: feeling we have that it is our responsibility to fix
• 0:53
  Speaker 1: everyone and to fix every situation. This morning in 1
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: Corinthians chapter 3 verse number 6. The Apostle Paul writes
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: something very significant for this subject matter, I believe. He
• 1:08
  Speaker 1: simply says, I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: the increase. That's important. Because when someone we love is hurting, struggling,
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: even making choices that are damaging their lives, we naturally
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: want to help, and we should. But, We offer advice.
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: We provide encouragement. We do everything we know to do
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: to lead them in a better direction. But if we're
• 1:40
  Speaker 1: not careful, and listen close this morning, if we're not careful,
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: we can begin carrying the responsibility for decisions that only
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: they can make. See, Paul said, I have planted, Apollos watered,
• 1:57
  Speaker 1: but God gave the increase. And Paul understood his role.
• 2:01
  Speaker 1: That's what he's trying to tell us. Everybody has a role.
• 2:04
  Speaker 1: And Paul understood what his role was. He could plant
• 2:08
  Speaker 1: the seed. Apollos could water it. Now listen to this.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: Neither of them could create the growth that was needed.
• 2:19
  Speaker 1: That part belonged to God and God alone. And the
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: same is true in our relationships. We can love people.
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: We can pray for them. We can speak truth into
• 2:31
  Speaker 1: their lives. We can offer help when they are willing
• 2:35
  Speaker 1: to receive help. But we cannot force someone to change,
• 2:40
  Speaker 1: make them listen, or choose the right path. Jesus never
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: asked us to become someone else's Savior. That's His job.
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: That's His responsibility. Have you ever found yourself blaming yourself
• 2:56
  Speaker 1: because someone you love refused to change? How many times
• 3:01
  Speaker 1: have you replayed conversations wondering if you could have said
• 3:05
  Speaker 1: something differently or done something more? I think we've all
• 3:09
  Speaker 1: done that at one or two times in our lives.
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: There may be times when God leads us to speak again,
• 3:16
  Speaker 1: reach out again, even offer another helping hand. Nothing wrong
• 3:20
  Speaker 1: with that. But there also comes a time when we
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: must recognize that we have planted. Maybe we have watered.
• 3:29
  Speaker 1: But now we must step back and trust God with
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: the increase. Releasing that responsibility does not mean that you
• 3:39
  Speaker 1: have stopped loving them. It means you have finally understood
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: the limits of your responsibility. Even Jesus allowed people to
• 3:48
  Speaker 1: make their own decisions. He spoke the truth, He extended grace,
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: and He offered a better way. But he did not
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: force anyone to follow him. And sometimes the hardest but
• 4:04
  Speaker 1: the most loving thing we can do is step back.
• 4:08
  Speaker 1: Continue to pray. And allow God to work in ways
• 4:11
  Speaker 1: that we can't. You are responsible for being faithful. We
• 4:17
  Speaker 1: all are responsible for being faithful. But we are not
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: responsible for controlling another person's actions. Or reactions. So today
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: don't carry guilt over decisions that were never yours to make.
• 4:33
  Speaker 1: Plant the seed. Water it with prayer, love and truth.
• 4:38
  Speaker 1: Then place that person into God's hand. And trust Him
• 4:42
  Speaker 1: with the increase. Today you be safe. You be strong
• 4:47
  Speaker 1: and you be blessed. And you understand. That everything is
• 4:54
  Speaker 1: not yours to fix. Put it in the one who
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: can only repair our lives, and that's Jesus Christ the Lord.
• 5:03
  Speaker 1: Lord's will, we'll see you back here again tomorrow. Until then,
• 5:08
  Speaker 1: have a great day.