Break the Chains - Lesson 13 - Conclusion

Just as one weak link can break a mighty chain or
a chain is only as strong as it's weakest link,
some chains need to be broken.

Twelve weeks ago I stated…
We are going to work together to strengthen those links in need of repair.
Moreover, sever those that are of no help, those that are hindrances,
and those that we do not want to haunt our children as they do us.

Have we gained victory in any of these areas of our lives?
Have these 12 weeks been a waste of time?


Proverbs 3:3-4, “Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.”

What chains needed to be broken?
Ladies, I asked you before if your husbands act like their fathers at times?
If they took after their good traits or the less desirable ones?
What do you think are going to happen to your sons?
Even scarier yet, what characteristics will your daughter
Look for in a future husband?

Ladies, I need your help on this one?
Do you take after your mothers?
Do you also carry with you some of her less desirable habits?

What is the best character trait you were given from your parent of the same sex?

Think about this for a moment, we will talk about this in a moment…



Are you passing that on to your child?
Now let’s think about the opposite of that best trait.
What’s the worst thing you learned from your parent?
As you grew up you promised yourself you would never do that.
You would never be like that.
What is it you see yourself doing?

If you don’t do it, what haunts you?
What feelings do you have to fight and hold back?
Are we teaching them to our children?
If not directly, indirectly?
I believe we are and don’t know it.
Let us look inside now before we are sitting around wishing we did things differently,
Sitting around asking our adult children to forgive us.
Sitting around waiting for a second chance to make it right with our grandchildren.

Let’s think about our chains.
What is holding us back?
What rusty, burdensome chain is holding you down?


Story of the elephant…

Have you ever heard how they contain an enormous, full-grown elephant?

When the elephant is young they tie one of its legs to a strong sturdy tree. The frustrated baby elephant will pull, and pull, and pull, and pull against the securely fastened rope. I don’t know how long it takes, maybe days, maybe weeks, maybe even months. Eventually the baby elephant stops pulling on the rope. The elephant has learned that when he pulls on the rope he can only go that far.

So when the enormous elephant is full-grown they tie one of its legs to … a strong sturdy tree? No. They tie it to an eight-inch wooden stake drove slightly into the ground.

Haven’t you ever heard of how smart elephants are, and that they never forget?

Well that elephant remembers quite well, that if he pulls on the rope he is not going to go any further. You can even watch the elephant at the edge of his rope with tension on it. His leg will rise up, as if there is an equally resistant force pulling it back. It is a controlled response.We are the same way. We have learned, “Every time I tried that I failed. I’m not trying that again.” Or we say, “I’ve never been very good at that”, so we stop trying.


What is holding you back from the past?
What does the enemy keep reminding you of?
What chain have we not totally given to the Lord?


Ephesians 6:12, ‘For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.’


So we don’t wrestle against the flesh,
Meaning with other people.
I believe we do wrestle with our own flesh.
We feel held back.

I don’t want to minimize those struggles, those chains,
We need to look at them,
Stop making excuses for them.
Get victory over them and give the Lord the glory and honor.


Matthew 5:16, ‘Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.’



Personal testimony of Negativity…


Once again, I don’t want to minimize our struggles, our chains,
I want us to look at them, know they are real.
Know that the enemy is aware of them also.
We are going to stop making excuses for them,
We are going to get victory over them
and give the Lord all the glory and honor.

How will we do that?





James 4:7, ‘Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.’


I want us to gain victory on these areas of our lives.
I want us to grow; I want us to be better in thirteen weeks than we are right now.
I want others to be able to see it.
I want them to want what we have.
And be a part of this class.


Story of the Impala

An impala is a small deer like creature. They are found in places like the Serengeti. They stand less than three feet tall at the shoulders. You may have seen them before on the Discovery Channel. You can watch them running along in the desert then all of a sudden one will spring up in the air. The impala has the ability to jump approximately fourteen feet in the air and about twenty feet forward. Imagine that, being able to jump almost five times your hight or being able to jump that far forward. Well this creature that the Lord created can.

You can find these amazing creatures in zoos. You find yourself walking around. You look in and see these cute little deer. You could say, 'Deer, I see them all the time.' Then you read the sign that tells you where this animal comes from, and it tells you what they are capable of.

You look around, there is no impressively tall fence, there is no clear glass bubble containing these creatures. You look around the perimiter and all you see is a short barricade, a brick wall about four feet tall with a pretty vine growing on it. What did the zookeeper do? Did they clip these creature's wings?

You ask the zookeeper, 'Why does this amazing animal stay in its prison? I read the sign, I know what it is capable of, why doesn't it escape. Why doesn't the impala use the natural abilities that the Lord has given it? It is capable of jumping fourteen feet in the air and twenty feet forward. What did they do to these animals?

The zookeeper explained, 'The impala will not jump where it can not see.' This creature that the Lord created with all this ability is held prisoner. It is held prisoner by its own fear of the unknown, of its fear of potential failure.



How are we going to do that?
We are not going to focus on the bad.
We are not going to focus on our struggles.
We are going to focus on strengthening the weakest links of our chain.

While focusing on gaining victory,
Our weaknesses will lessen.

We need to be Attentive to Christ's voice

John 10:3-4, ‘To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.’
‘And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.’

A Good Name

Ecclesiastes 7:1, ‘A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.’

Blameless and Harmless

Humility

Joyful

Just and Upright

Meek

We spoke about blaming others for our troubles.

We spoke about fatigue

We spoke of remembrance

Walking Upright and Walking Worthy

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