← Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
Life.Church with Craig Groeschel
Let Go of What’s Holding You Back | At Once | Part 1
00:33:18
How do you become the person you want to be? To change your life, you often need to change your mindset. Learn how to make lasting change in this message.
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So change is hard. We're coming out of the holidays, the decorations are going up, we're stepping into a new year. And so a lot of us are thinking about, hey, what would I like to be different in my life in 2025? I was doing a little bit of research on that, and I ran across some interesting things. According to the Pew Research center, they asked people, hey, what New Year's resolutions are you making? They group those together and here are the top five categories for New Year's resolutions. None of these will surprise you. Number one, health. I want to exercise more, I want to eat less. Number two, money. I want to save more. I want to get out of debt. Number three, relationships. Whether that's friends or family, I want it to get better or functional or I just want to have a relationship. Number four, hobbies are personal interests. So I want to develop myself in this area. And number five, no surprise is work or career. I want a better job, I want to climb up the ladder, or I just want a job in 2025. None of those are surprising. But there was something in the research that surprised me a little bit, and it was this. Well, instead of me telling you about it, I'm going to ask you to participate. Those of you online, you can just type it in the chat. Yes or no. If you're at one of our life church locations, I'm gonna ask if this is you, I want you to raise your hand. How many of you for 2025 already have a New Year's resolution? That's about what I expected. That's not a lot of hands here. I'm gonna assume at your life church location it is the same because according to research, only 30% of people who are asked make New year's resolution, meaning 70% or 7 out of 10 people do not make New Year's resolutions. But I don't think it's cause we don't want to change. In fact, if I was to ask most of you, hey, is there something that you would love to be different about your life in 2025, most of us would come up with something. Maybe it's, hey, I do want my finances to be stronger. I want my marriage to be better. I want to grow in my patience. I want to read through God's word in 2025, something I've never done before. Or for me, it's, hey, that relationship that I've been working on, I would love for it to be more God honoring. So what is it for you? What's the thing that you Would love to see God change about your life in 2025. But not many of us make resolutions. Why is that? Well, when I was looking at this research, they had a chart. And I think this chart may shade to the answer of why we don't make New Year's resolutions. It's broken down by age. How likely are you to make a New Year's resolution? The highest group, Those most likely, one out of two, almost 50%, was the youngest group. So those who are 18 to 29, one out of two said, yep, I got a New Year's resolution. And as you get older, you get less likely to make a New Year's resolution, culminating in those who are 65 plus. Only 18% said, yeah, I got a New Year's resolution. 14 for this next year. Why? So last year, my wife Katie came to me at the end of December, and she said, hey, I think we need to make a New Year's resolution this year. I was a little taken aback because we don't usually make New Year's resolutions. I can't remember the last one we made. And so I said, okay, tell me about that. And she said, well, it's about lady, our dog. I've spoken about my dog before. It's our third child, our black Labrador retriever. Isn't she beautiful? Seven years old. And so I was a little bit puzzled, and I said, well, okay, tell me about that. And she said, well, don't you think it would be great if starting January 1st, she was no longer allowed to get on the couch? And I was like, maybe. And she said, well, when people come over, it's a lot of work getting the dog hair completely off the couch. And it could be more relaxing at night if it was like, just me and you. And instead of me and you and the dog on the couch, I love my dog. I love my wife more. So I said, let's give it a shot. So we went out and we got a dog bed. Not just like a dog bed, like the dog bed. Plush, comfortable. I was tempted to lay on the dog bed. It was that nice. We came home December 31st. I sat lady down, and we had a conversation. I said, lady, things in this house are about to change because you used to get on the couch. No more. So we had a conversation the next day. It started. Her blanket came off the couch, and we put books up there to build a barricade to keep her from getting on the couch. Why? Because we wanted to change. Some of you are like, but how is that going for you? I have a photo of how that's going for me. Three days. I made it three days. Why? Because change is hard. But the good news is this is that change is hard, but with God, change is possible. And so here's what I want to do today. I want to talk to two different groups of people. Maybe you're in group number one, and here's what you're saying, you know what? I do want to change something with God's help in my life. Maybe it's that relationship, or maybe it is getting a better job, or maybe it's praying every day, regularly. There is something I want to change in my life. Maybe you're in group number one, or maybe you're in group number two, where you're saying, you know, honestly, it's not that I want to change something with God's help in my life, it's that everything in my life needs to change. Maybe you woke up today at the lowest point of your life, and so you got on and searched and ended up at this message because you're saying everything's gotta change. Or maybe you woke up in the opposite boat, that everything from the outside in your life looks awesome, but you woke up feeling empty, thinking, there's gotta be more to life than this, there's gotta be more. And so you're in the group that everything needs to change. The good news is we're gonna talk to both groups today. So we're going to jump into the Bible in Mark chapter one. Whether you have your YouVersion Bible app on your phone, if you want to open that up, or if you have your paper Bible Mark, chapter one, beginning in verse 16. As you begin to find that a couple of things about the Gospel of Mark, it's the second gospel in our Bible. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. Most scholars agree it was the first one actually written down. Mark is the shortest gospel, 16 chapters. Meaning this Mark doesn't beat around the bush, right? He gets to the point he tells you what you need to know and what you need to do. And that's what you're about to see, those of us who want to change. Mark, chapter one, beginning in verse 16, says this. It says, as Jesus walked beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. So it says that as Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, Galilee, the area that Jesus grew up in, Galilee, the area that Jesus did most of his ministry in. As Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee. Interesting, because the Sea of Galilee is not actually a sea. It's a huge lake. But as he's walking along, he sees these two brothers. He sees Simon and Andrew fishing. And we think, that's cool. But it really wasn't that interesting because fishing was one of the most common occupations in that area. The ancient historian Josephus said this. On an average day, if you went to the Sea of Galilee, you would see 240 fishing boats out on the lake. So you could say what they did was ordinary. And what they were doing today probably looked a lot like what they were doing yesterday. So Jesus sees these two ordinary men. Do you ever feel ordinary? Right, like you got up in your ordinary house, drove your ordinary car, went to your ordinary job, went home, and you're going to rinse and repeat tomorrow doing something very similar to what you did today. But Jesus sees these two ordinary men and he did this. He gave them an extraordinary invitation, because God calls ordinary people like you and me to extraordinary purposes. And that's what we're about to see. Mark, chapter one, continuing in verse 17, Jesus said this to Simon and Andrew as they're fishing. He said, come, follow me. Come, follow me. Jesus said, and I will send you out to fish for people. So Jesus sees Simon and Andrew doing their ordinary jobs, and he gives them an extraordinary invitation to. He says, come, follow me. That probably didn't jump off the page to you, as it doesn't jump off the page to me. Except for it's the first time in the Bible that somebody's ever said those words. In the Old Testament, there were prophets who said this, follow God. But nobody in God's word to this point had ever said, follow me. Because there had been nobody like Jesus on the pages of the Bible up until this point. And yet, as Jesus is walking along, he sees the Simon and Andrew, these ordinary guys doing ordinary things, and he gives them an extraordinary invitation. Come and follow me. The first time he ever said it, but it wouldn't be the last. 21 different times in the Gospel, Jesus said, follow me. He saw ordinary people doing ordinary things, and he extended an extraordinary invitation. Follow me. Follow me. Why? For I will make you fishers of people. It's kind of weird, but we kind of get it. Like, follow me, because I want you to join me in what I'm doing in my world. Follow me. What was he asking them to do? He was asking them to change. Hey, change what you're doing. Like, literally, stop what you're doing and start doing something different. Change why you're doing it. He was asking them to change. And so what is their response? It says this in Mark, chapter one, verse 18. It says @ once. Everybody say at once at once. Some translations say immediately, without hesitation, at once. If you didn't catch that, Mark says it again. Next verse is a story that sounds almost identical to that story. Jesus walked a little further and he saw two brothers. Does that sound familiar? Who are fishing, James and John. And immediately he called out to them, come and follow me. And they left their father and they left the boat and they followed Jesus at once. And yet as I read that, I become like the two year old who ad nauseam asked the same question over and over and over, which is this, why? Like why did they immediately drop what they were doing to follow Jesus? Why? And we go, well, because it's Jesus. Like when Jesus asks you to do something, you do it. You do it at once. You do it immediately. Except that didn't always happen 21 different times. Jesus looked and said, follow me. But there wasn't 21 different people who immediately stopped what they were doing and they followed Jesus. In fact, some people chose not to, not to follow Jesus. Maybe the most well known is in the Gospel of Mark, few pages later, in chapter 10. The rich young ruler, one day he comes to Jesus and he says, good teacher. He thought highly of Jesus, like we think highly of Jesus. Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life? Good question. And Jesus says, you know the commandments? And he starts reciting them. And the rich young ruler gets excited and he says, yeah, I've been doing them since I was young. And. And Jesus said, well, you lack one thing. Go and sell all of your possessions, give the money to the poor and come and follow me. And yet the rich young ruler didn't follow Jesus. It says he went away sad because he had lots of stuff. And you go, well, Tim, that's different. Like Jesus said, sell all of your possessions, give it to the poor, leave everything and follow me. But is it different? Because what did Simon and Andrew, what did they leave? Everything. They left their job, they left what they were familiar with, they left their family, they left their social standing to follow Jesus. Why? So my wife Katie and I just recently celebrated our 22nd anniversary. Yep. Thank you, thank you. She deserves all of that. And 22 years, she's been pretty great. But there's this one really annoying thing about being married to my wife. You guys know somebody like this, she's great at everything. And I mean everything. So here's what's happened is that people will talk to Katie. And then they'll come and they'll be like, your wife is so nice. And I'm like, yeah, she's super nice. And they'll talk to her and they'll be like, man, she said this thing and it blew my mind. Your wife is so smart. And I'm like, she's super smart. And they'll talk to her and they'll go, hey, I was talking to your wife. And like, you're kind of funny, but she's super funny. And I'm like, yeah, she's super funny. And they'll be like, I was talking to your wife and she's like the coolest person I've ever been around. I want her to be my new best friend. And I'm like, she's pretty great best friend. And inevitably, those conversations all lead to one question. For the last 24 years, 22 years of marriage, two years of dating. Here's the question. How did you end up with her? That's insulting, but understandable, right? Like, how did I end up with her? Here's a little of that story. It was when we were 19 years old. If you're having a hard time picturing me when, when I'm 19 years old, I brought along a photo of me at 19 years old. If you can't locate me in the photo, I'm the small child on the left of that photo. So now you have it. That's me, that's Katie. When we're 19. At this point of this story, we know of each other. We have some common friends. We've been around each other, but we've never been on a date. We've never expressed interest. There's never been a spar, anything like that. So one day I'm in my dorm room, 19 years old, I walk next door and my next door neighbor Landon is on the phone. He's a real loud guy. He takes the phone from his ear when I walk in and he goes, hey, Tim, I'm trying to talk Lacey into going to the Tonic concert tonight at 8 o' clock at hall and Mouse, but she doesn't want to go. She said she has too much to do. It's going to keep her out too late and she's gonna be too tired to go to class tomorrow. I have never in my life done what I was about to do. I looked at Landon and this is all I said. I said, give me the phone. He gave me the phone, I took it and I said, lacey, is your roommate there? And she said, yeah, Katie's Here. And I said, you mind putting her on the phone? Okay. She handed Katie the phone. Katie said, hello. Here were the next words. Here's what's gonna happen. Here's what's gonna happen. You and Lacey are gonna get dressed up. Landon and I are gonna pull up to the dorm at 7:30. You guys are gonna be ready in the lobby. We're gonna go to the concert. You're gonna have the time of your life. You're gonna stay out too late, but it's gonna be worth it. I pause. Here's the whole reply. Okay, see you there. Tossing the phone, walked out the room. 7:30, we pull up, we pull up. They're ready to roll. She looks great. We go to Howl and Mouse. We watch Tonic. They play the only Tonic song that I knew at the point, or still know to this day, which is, if you could only see the way she loved me, maybe you would understand. Please don't encourage me. I'll keep going. You want? No, I'm just kidding. At which point Katie is standing, like right here. She takes a little shuffle back to where her left shoulder blade touches my. My right shoulder. And for some reason, for just a couple of seconds, she laid her head back on my shoulder with her eyes closed. And like, my knees are buckling out from underneath me and I'm hooked. That's it. And some of you are like, bro, I didn't know you had that kind of swagger. Like, here's what's about to happen. I didn't know you had that kind of. Riz, I think you're giving me too much credit. Cause it really wasn't that complicated. I had two options when I walked into Landon's room. Option number one, I could stay where I was with a bunch of 19 year old smelly dudes. Option number two, I could take a step out and go out with the most captivating young lady I'd ever laid my eyes on before, who smelled good. Which one do you think I believe to be the better choice? Yeah, the second one. And why do you believe that that was my better choice? Because that's what I did. Because when we believe something's better, we usually do it. Why would Simon and Andrew hear Jesus say, come, follow me, and why would they do it immediately, at once? Cause they thought it was better. They thought that where Jesus was calling them to was better than where they were currently standing. How do we change? Well, when we believe that where Jesus is calling me is better than where I'm currently standing, we start now, right? We Start now. Why? Because if it's important enough to do tomorrow, it's important enough to do today. So some of you are going, cool. I want to get healthier, get your gym membership today. I want to get my finances in order, make a budget today. I want to read through the Bible in a year. Start your plan today. Why? Because if it's important enough to do tomorrow, it's important enough to do today. What do we do? We start now. What did they do when they started now? Mark 18 or 1:18 says this. It says at once they left their nets. They left their nets and they followed him. What did they do? They literally let go. They let go of what they were holding onto. Because to take hold of what God's calling you to, you have to let go of what's holding you back, right? To take hold of what God's calling you to, you have to let go of what's holding you back. What did they do? They literally let go. Hebrews 12:1 says it this way. It says, therefore, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us. What does it say? It says, let go. Get rid of it. Whatever's holding you back, let go. So for some of you, man, I need to let go of that bad habit. Because the change you want to have is, I want to see myself like God sees me. But those aren't the thoughts in my mind. Well, how do you start your day? Well, I roll over in the bed, I grab my phone, I pull up the insta. I. I scroll. I open up TikTok. I scroll. Maybe you need to let go of those habits. You roll over and you grab your phone and you open it up to God's word. Hey, what does that say about me? Oh, I want to change overspending. Let go. Put the credit card at home, right? Let go. I want to change the direction and follow God. Maybe you need to let go of some of those friends that are leading you in the wrong direction. I'm not saying don't love them, but I'm just saying surround yourself with the people who are calling you to be the person that God is calling you to be. We let go. What do we do? We start now. We let go. And then it says in Mark 1:18, at once they left their nets and they followed him. They followed him. They did it. They started walking. Because you can talk about it or you can be about it, right? They started walking. They did it. They got going. Change requires action. We start now. We let go, we get going. Eleven years ago, Katie walked into the living room and she said the most shocking thing she said in 22 years of marriage. She looked directly into my eyes and she said, tim, I'm going to become a runner. Here's what you need to know about Katie. Her words, not mine. I don't sport. She tells people, I didn't play sports growing up. I played choir. She used to joke, if you ever see me running, you better start running because that means something is chasing me. So it is that woman who looked into my eyes and out of the blue said, I'm going to become a. A runner. And so, as her supportive husband for the last 11 years, I looked her back in the eye and I said, there's no way. There is no way. Like you can't do it. It's too hard. Running is hard. And you're gonna start like everybody else does and then you're gonna quit. Because running's hard. You can't do it. Do you think I said that? No. Cause I'm still married. I thought it, but what I said was this. That's great, babe. I think you can do it. And so she went that day and did what every aspiring runner does. She got fitted for some of the most beautiful, the most expensive running shoes you've ever laid eyes on. She brought them home, she showed me, I said, that's fantastic. The next morning she got up, she laced up those beautiful, expensive running shoes, she went to the front door and she announced for all to hear, I, I'm going for a run. And I said, that's great. You got it. There's no way. Six minutes later she came back through the front door, huffing and puffing like a bear chased her down the street. And she looked at me and she said, running's hard. And I said, yeah, running's hard. The next morning she walked into the kitchen like John Wayne after a three day ride on a horse, stiff legged. And she said, I'm so sore. And I said, yeah, running's hard. And do you know what she did? She went into the living room, she stretched a little bit, she laced those shoes up, and she said, I'm going for a run. And the third day she went for a run. And the fourth day she went for a run. That was 11 years ago. If you were to walk into our bathroom today, it'd be awkward. But if you did, if you walked into our bathroom today, here's what you would see. You would see A metal rack that I built for my wife because I'm so proud of her. And hanging on it, there's 23 half marathon medals, there's three full marathon medals. She's training for an ultramarathon. But because 26 miles isn't enough, she has a streak going, meaning she's run one mile every day for the last 752 days. In 2024, she ran over 2,100 miles in the year. And yet what lights her up is not a medal on the wall. It's when she hears somebody else say this, I wanna become a runner. She lights up and she runs to him and she says, you can do it. If I can do it, you can do it. And then she always says the same thing. But the hardest step is the first step out the door every day. Because here's what she's learned is that becoming a runner is not a one time decision. It's a one time decision with a daily commitment. And change is not a one time decision. It's a one time decision with a daily commitment. To Simon and Andrew in the next verse it says this, and they went to Capernaum. Jesus and his companions went to Capernaum. They kept going. We start now. We let go, we get going, we keep going. Change is hard, but with God it's possible. And yet there's two groups I want to talk to today. Those of you who say, hey, I want to change something, we've been speaking to you. But those of you who say, I want to change everything, here's the good news, is that though this passage talks to those who want to change something, it's about two people that God changed everything in their life. Because Simon and Andrew, two ordinary guys, got an extraordinary invitation and they left everything. And they reoriented their entire life around Jesus. Because that's what it means to follow Jesus. They took whatever was at the cent of their life, whether it was chasing money or power or sex, or the affirmation of somebody else or comfort or myself. And with God's help, they removed that from the center of their life. And they put Jesus at the middle of their life and oriented everything around. Why? Because he's the only thing worth following in life. The good news of Jesus is this. It's that he's that good. He's that good. Because where he's calling you is better than where you are. Luke 9. Jesus said it this way. Then he said to them, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves, take up their cross daily, and follow Me? Why? Because following Jesus is not a one time decision. Salvation, that's a one time decision. Following Jesus is a one time decision with a daily commitment. If you want to change everything in your life, the best way to do it is to change what you're following. And Jesus is the only thing good enough to orient your entire life around. But here's what I'm gonna guess. I'm gonna guess that there's a few of you going, man, that sounds great, but I've tried that. I tried that. I tried it and it didn't work. I tried the church thing, the God thing. I tried church for three months, didn't fix my marriage. I tried the God thing for seven months, still struggling with the same addiction. I tried tithing for eight weeks. I tried it. It didn't work. Listen, I'm not preaching at you because there's some moments that thought creeps into my mind, like God, I've tried living this relationship as you've called me to, putting them first sacrificially for two years. But it doesn't seem like it's working. Here's what God's word says to us when we say I tried says, your grammar stinks. Cause you got the wrong subject and you got the wrong verb tense. Cause here's what Jesus said. Come and follow me. That's the action. Come and follow me and what? Here's a word for word translation. Follow me and I will make you become fishers of men. Who's the subject? It's not us. It's not, I tried it. It's Jesus. Jesus said, follow me and I will change you. But it's not past tense. I tried it, I tried it and it didn't work. It's not that God didn't work, it's future tense. It's a future ongoing action. It's not that God didn't work. What Jesus says is what is that? God's still working. God is still working. Your marriage, God is still working. Your relationships, God is still working. Your finances, God is still working. God is still working. So maybe you shouldn't be done working either. If you'll bow your heads and close your eyes with me as we pray today. God, thank you so much that you're with us, that you love us, that you are for us, that you love us without us doing anything in return as we continue with an attitude and spirit of prayer. Maybe you're here today because you're in that first group saying, hey, with God's help, there's something in my Life, I want to change. I want to look more like Jesus. Maybe just be patient to read my Bible if that's you, and you say, yeah, there is something in my life that I want to look different this next year. I'm just going to ask that you raise your hand with me today because I'm raising mine as well. Let me pray for us. God, thank you so much that with you, change is possible. God, help us to believe in our heart that where you're calling us is better than where we currently are and that the discomfort of change is worth the destination that you're calling us to. God, help us to put it into action and to not give up and to keep going as we continue with every head bowed and every eye closed. Maybe you're in that second group saying, I don't just need God to change something in my life, I need God to change everything. Here's the good news. The good news is that's what Jesus came to do. God's word said it this way. For the wages of sin is death. What you and I have earned through our actions. Our sin is to be eternally separated from God. But that's not what God wants. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God. What God is freely offering to you and to me is eternal life through Christ Jesus. What God is offering for me and you is to let Jesus pay the payment of our sins so that we can be restored in relationship with God. If you're here today and you're ready to make that decision, I want to start following Jesus to receive his grace, to receive his forgiveness, to turn from my sin and to follow him. I'm gonna ask that you raise your hand right now saying, yes, I'm ready to make that decision, to follow Jesus with my life. Those of you online, just type it in the chat. I'm ready to follow Jesus Life Church. I'm gonna ask that you pray aloud with me because nobody should ever pray this prayer alone. And as a church family, we pray alongside those praying this for the first time. Pray with me, Heavenly Father. I'm ready to follow Jesus with my life because I know that I'm a sinner. But I believe that Jesus died on the cross and was raised from the grave so that I can be saved. So thank you, Lord, for your grace, your forgiveness, and this new life as I follow you. And it's in Jesus name that everybody said, amen. Life Church, let's celebrate big.