God want us to do more than just survive. If you think that by staying a Christian you’re doing God a favour, think again.
That doesn’t mean pretending to be living in constant faith and victory, God knows us and we are to worship in spirit and in truth. We need to be real……but the Word of God also says -‘Aim for perfection’ (2 Cor. 13:11)
‘Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving’ (Col. 3:23,24)
‘I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received’ (Eph. 4:1).

Are you living a passive life ?
Just letting things happen around you, either for good or bad ?
Not where God wants you to be.

To follow Jesus is to be actively seeking God, to listen to Him through prayer and His Word. To be obedient to what He commands – both the general commands in the Bible and what He says to you specifically.
To use the experience, personality, gifts and abilities, time and money…..that He’s given you, for His Kingdom and glory.

Read Matthew 25:14-30.

If you find yourself feeling sorry for this third guy who is described as a wicked and lazy servant, then you’ve missed something…. and are probably in danger of making the same mistake he did.
Apathy and laziness are issues for the Church in this nation, as we sit by and watch it go down the drain. And apathy and laziness is particularly a struggle for those living in peaceful, beautiful surroundings where the pace of life is slower and people come to retire or get away from things. Beware, be alert, be focussed on the Lord and His kingdom.
It is not an option for a follower of Jesus. There are many warnings in Scripture about cowardice, apathy, and laziness.

Men especially need to hear this – for the men of our nation have become cowardly, most clearly seen in so many opting out of being a present and caring father. If there’s an easy option we’ll take it. This is not to blame men solely for this, but it’s simply the way it has become. But it doesn’t have to be this way.

In our flesh, us men, all we want is a simple easy life – no hassle, no pressure – the old stereotypical norms of going out to work 9-5, coming home to slippers, paper and pipe, meal on the table, kids kept out of the way, …suited us fine. Men, fight it ! Because neither what we were generally, or what we have become generally, is what God wants. The old man was wrong, and the new man is little better. Both need to die.
Being a man of God is about integrity, doing what is right, being self controlled, taking up our God given responsibilities loving and serving our wives and children, fighting for the weak and needy, speaking the Word of God. Lay hold of what God wants you to be.

Going back to laziness and activity in general, look at the examples we have in Scripture – take Jesus, and Paul. Outwardly very active, always about the Father’s business….inwardly at peace, at rest, and content. True ?
So have you got it the right way round ?

Biblically, if you are not living it out, then your faith probably isn’t real.
We are not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works that God has prepared for us to do (see Eph. 2:8-10). Actively seeking God. Actively seeking to do His will.
This is so radical for some people, for some Christians….that it will mean a complete change of lifestyle and priorities.
And your flesh will scream against it…..’because the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other…’ (Gal. 5:17).

And this brings us to the main thing that we’re going to look at this morning.
If you’re a Christian, you’ll be aware I hope of a struggle inside you between your sinful nature and the Holy Spirit
What should I give into, and what should I resist ?
What should I hang onto and what should I let go of ?

Firstly. Let go of sin.
Sounds obvious, but are you doing it ?

Bitterness. Lust. Envy and jealousy. Slander and gossip. Greed. Pride or arrogance.
Laziness.

Read Hebrews 12:1-3.

If you’re going to run, if you’re going to finish the race….you have to get rid of sin and not hang onto it. No option here. If you’ve been hanging onto sin, repent today, don’t delay it.
Any rebellion against God is sin. Any breaking of His commands. In fact ‘anything that is not of faith is sin’.

But what are other things that can hold back and hinder our walk with Christ ?

Secondly. The pursuit of comfort, the pursuit of pleasure, and materialism. This has done more in the Western world to hinder the Church and the Gospel than anything else. They are Idols. And what do you do with idols ? You remove them. Again this is lifestyle, changes on what may be a significant scale. Of course you may think you have no problem with these things, but why not ask God anyway ?
Or, as you look at evangelism more, you may have become very aware of these issues.

Thirdly. ….And this effects others….. Let go of people.
Release others.
Especially in families and marriages.
Insecurity and fear breeds control – seeking to make others do what you want, …and control brings bondage. It holds others back.
To manipulate, to deceive, to play emotional and psychological games, to seek to control – this is the spirit, the essence, ….of witchcraft.
To encourage others, build others up, to serve others, to consider others better than yourself – this is Biblical. To point them to Jesus. To release others to become the best that they can be in Christ.
Are you doing that for your husband or wife ? For your children ? For your parents ?
Are we thinking of others in our relationships, or ourselves ?
‘You will know the truth and the truth will set you free’. Sometimes it starts with the truth about ourselves and our attitudes. And then the truth that Jesus has died for us and those sinful attitudes, and we can now die to sin, and become a new creation in Him. Set free, and setting free others.

So how do you let go, what does it feel like ?
I know this is a question that some of you have, who struggle to let go of things.

The psalms give us examples in words of people letting go, but we know it’s more than words, it has to come from inside, from the soul.

If you’ve had a conversion experience you’ll know, because at that point you let go of your sin and guilt before the cross of Christ. And you’ll remember the incredible sense of release and relief that happens.

It’s giving up to God, ……humility is vital, …….it’s surrender, an acknowledgement from the heart that your wrong and God’s right, that you can’t do it, that you need the Lord totally. A laying down on the altar. Submitting all to God, holding nothing back.

Let’s put it another way. Just as when you’re sick, you regurgitate food. When you breath out, you breath out used air. When you go to the toilet you get rid of waste.
Spiritually and emotionally you do the same with these things before God. You are letting go, letting sin and destructive emotion leave you. And because Jesus has taken these things on the cross, you have been given the power to let go of them. So choose to do it.

Okay, what do we hang on to.
God of course…..our anchor, our rock, our fortress….and sometimes only God.
Everything else hold more loosely to, because there will probably be times in your life when you feel everything else has been stripped away – certainties, family and friends, securities, even what you thought God had said through the Bible or prophecy……all that will be left is the Lord.
Deep calling to deep, spirit to Spirit, heart to heart, the place of complete intimacy.
I can’t stress this enough. In terms of the most important thing to trust in, to rely on, to hang onto….it’s God Himself – not the Bible, not prophecy or supposed prophecy, not church or what others say…..it’s the Lord Himself.
These other things are of great value, but they’re not God.

After God, comes His revealed truth in Scripture, against which any prophetic word should be tested.
Hang on to God’s truth, the eternal truths of the Word of God.
Let the Bible be your yardstick, plumb line, set square….against which you measure everything else.
If the Bible and the world – scientists, philosophers, politicians, doctors, historians – appear to be in conflict, always trust the Lord and what He has revealed to us in the Bible, not man.
Hold on to the truth of God’s word.

Also, hold on to love. May seem a strange thing to say. We don’t think of love as something to hold onto generally, but that’s exactly what we need to do. To guard it.

Read Matthew 24:9-14.

Don’t give in to pressure from this world. Don’t give in to the attacks of the enemy.
As the world gets in a bigger mess because of sin, as God’s judgements come upon the earth – many will lose their first love…it will grow cold.
Hold on to God’s love – fight doubt, fight cynicism, fight fear, fight pride – hold on to God’s love – grace, undeserved, obedient, sacrificial, giving, serving. And a love which shares the truth of the Gospel.

‘Your Gospel O Lord is the hope for our nation’

People need Jesus. They need to be forgiven, saved, reconciled to God.
Hold onto the fact that the Lord does ‘not want anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance’ (2 Peter 3:9).
And the Gospel ‘is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes’ (Romans 1:16).
He has entrusted the proclamation of this message to us, His people, the Church.

Read Hebrews 10:35-39.

Don’t shrink back, don’t be lazy or a coward, or you will be destroyed.
Believe, persevere, and do the will of God.
Be active…for the Lord.
If you do, when Jesus returns, you will be saved, richly rewarded, and receive what He has promised.

‘Well done good and faithful servant’