Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[Transcript of a midweek message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube^[1], July 2021]

One day life is going fine, the next you haven’t a clue where you are or where you’re going. If that’s you then there is hope!

Do you feel lost in life? Maybe you’re struggling to see the way ahead. Well, I want to tell you now that there is someone there who wants to help you, wants to save you and wants to bring you home.

I was once on a trip to the Lake District with a friend who was celebrating his 40th birthday party and we decided to head up the mountain side for a nice walk during the day. It was lovely when we set off but when we got towards the top suddenly the weather changed and a mist descended on us. Whereas before we knew where we were going; it was familiar sights and landmarks, we knew the way ahead, when that mist descended on us we could no longer see anywhere beyond a few metres. We were completely lost.

Maybe you’re finding that life is like that; at one point you knew where you were going, everything was great but suddenly this mist has descended on you and you no longer have those familiar landmarks that help you and guide you through life. Maybe you’re in a downward spiral and you just can’t seem to get out of it; you’re just getting worse and worse.

It’s at these moments that often we’re tempted to try and help ourselves; to strategise a way out of this predicament, this desert place that we find ourselves in, and this is why self-help books are such a huge section in our bookshops. We try and work it out ourselves, we want to just buy that ‘get out of jail free’ card because that’s what it can feel like. It can feel like a prison.

What I want to tell you now is that you cannot rely on yourself to get yourself out of these situations. It’s just not that easy. So how can you get help? How can you be found, how can you be rescued?

Well, first of all you need friends, you need people you can trust around you who are willing to say the hard truths, who are willing to guide you and help you, pray for you. This is why, in Horley Baptist Church, home groups are so foundational to what we do because it’s those places where people are discipled and and you can help disciple others and guide them through life. You know, when they’re feeling lost, put them back on the straight and narrow. Maybe you need professional help; we can feel a little bit embarrassed about that in the UK – it’s an American thing – but sometimes you just need that professional help, someone to talk to, someone who will listen and help you.

Both of those things are great but I want to say, as a follower of Jesus Christ, that Jesus is the answer, that Jesus wants to help you, that Jesus has come to seek and save the lost. You see, Jesus, we’re told, was listening to the mumblings of some religious leaders who were a bit upset that Jesus spent so much time with those who they labelled sinners, the people on the fringe, the irreligious, the lost. In response, Jesus tells this story of a shepherd who has 100 sheep and one sheep goes missing; there’s still 99 left but he leaves those 99 sheep in open country and goes off to seek and find that lost sheep. When he finds that sheep he brings it home and he rejoices that that sheep that was lost was now found.

You see, Jesus wants to seek and find you; he wants to bring you home. No matter what you have done or haven’t done, Jesus is there for you. You might argue “Well, that’s all well and good” if you know it’s not your fault that you’re lost, but maybe for you you’re guilty, it’s your own fault you have got yourself in this mess, and I’ve certainly found myself in that position. Well a character in the Bible, in history, called king David, arguably the most popular most successful of the kings of Israel. There was a time where he had an affair with a married woman called Bathsheba, he gets her pregnant and he tries to cover it up and ultimately he has Bathsheba’s husband killed and then marries Bathsheba instead.

I’m guessing that probably whatever you’ve done isn’t going to be quite as bad as that, but David still cried out to God. You can read it in Psalm 69. He says I’m up to my neck in water, he cries out to God to help him and he admits his guilt, he admits his fault in all this but still he cried out to God. Maybe you need to humble yourself, you need to swallow your pride and say you know I am guilty but I need help. See, if you’re on a mountain side and you’ve broken your leg – yes, you can try and crawl home but ultimately you need mountain rescue to come and rescue you.

It’s the same in life; you know, yes, you can try and help yourself, try and drag yourself to home but ultimately you need Jesus to come and save you. No matter what you have done, Jesus is there for you. He wants to rescue, he wants to save you and he wants to bring you home. All you need to do is send up that flare and ask for help.

So, if you’re lost, have friends around that can help you, ask them for help, maybe seek professional help but ask Jesus because he is there for the lost, he is there for you and he wants to save you. So, send up that flare.

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[1] YouTube link: Are you lost?
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