I Need a Wrecking Ball

Matthew 7:4-5
How can you say to your brother or sister, “Let me take the splinter out of your eye,” when there is a log in your eye? You deceive yourself! First take the log out of your eye, and then you’ll see clearly to take the splinter out of your brother’s or sister’s eye.

Our God is a transforming God.

He transformed:
Jacob into Israel
Abram into Abraham
Simon into Peter
Saul into Paul

Sidewalk Prophets have a song called Wrecking Ball. No, it is not the same Wrecking Ball song that Mylie Cyrus sings.

The first verse says:
Father, Father
I need to rip out this old tree
Father, Father
The roots of lust and greed
Have grown so deep into this ground
I’ve tried so hard to pull them out
On my own, they take the best of me

Then the chorus says:
I need a wrecking ball
Slamming into my heart
Breaking me all apart
Tearing the old away
Killing the fear in me
Until I can finally breathe
Even if it hurts so bad that I can’t even stand
Take it all, let me fall into your hands

Hebrews 12:14-17
Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no “root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; that no one is sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. For you know that afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears.

Esau was the oldest son of Isaac and the grandson of Abraham. He was an outdoorsman and the favorite of his father. He and his brother Jacob were rivals. Esau as the oldest son should have received the family birthright and his fathers’ blessing. He got neither.

Esau had bitter roots in his life. He didn’t let God remove them and they hindered him from knowing and following God.

Genesis draws a detailed picture of a troubled man who didn’t turn to God.

Genesis 25:34
Then Jacob gave Esau a meal of bread and lentils. He ate and drank, and then he got up and left. This is how Esau showed his contempt for his rights as firstborn.

Genesis 27:37-38
Isaac answered, “I gave Jacob the power to be master over you, and all his brothers will be his servants. And I kept him strong with grain and new wine. There is nothing left to give you, my son.” But Esau continued, “Do you have only one blessing, Father? Bless me too, Father!” Then Esau began to cry out loud.

Genesis 27:41
From that time on, Esau hated Jacob because their father had given Jacob the blessing. And Esau began to scheme, “I will soon be mourning my father’s death. Then I will kill my brother, Jacob.

Genesis 28:6-9
Esau saw that Isaac had blessed Jacob and sent him off to Paddan Aram to find a wife there. As he blessed him, Isaac commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman.” Jacob obeyed his father and mother and left for Paddan Aram. Then Esau realized that the Canaanite women were displeasing to his father Isaac. So Esau went to Ishmael and married Mahalath, the sister of Nebaioth and daughter of Abraham’s son Ishmael, along with the wives he already had.

Esau’s Bitter Roots:

Spiritual Apathy
Job 21:14
The wicked tell God to leave them alone; they don’t want to know His will for their lives.

Spiritual apathy is when there is no desire to obey God or no desire to conform to God’s will for you. Many people serve God out of a desire to be blessed not out of a passionate love for God.

Bitterness and Anger
Ephesians 4:31
Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior.

Anger not dealt with by God leads to bitterness and bitterness becomes a character trait.

Sexual Immorality
1 Thessalonians 4:3
God’s will is that your lives are dedicated to Him. This means that you stay away from sexual immorality.

Having any form of sexual activity outside marriage is not God’s will. When you insist it is your choice because it is your life and it is your body, you are in rebellion against God. You’re also WRONG! Because it is God’s life and your body belongs to God.

Focus on Material Things
Luke 12:15
Then He said, “Beware! Guard against every kind of greed. Life is not measured by how much you own.”

Things don’t make you holy.
Things don’t make you whole.
Things don’t make you happy.

Short-Sighted Living
James 4:14
What do you know about tomorrow? How can you be so sure about your life? It is nothing more than mist that appears for only a little while before it disappears.

We don’t know about tomorrow. God is an all-knowing God. We can live according to His knowledge or live according to our knowledge. Short-sighted people live based on their own knowledge.

Jesus wants your life full (no bitter root). Satan wants your life to be disordered, discouraged, and eventually destroyed.

John 10:10
The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it overflows).

That does not happen automatically, magically, or by accident. It happens through surrender and obedience.

Isaiah 30:21
And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or to the left.

Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls means allowing God to remove the bitter root in any way He wants to, even if it hurts.

The second verse and bridge to Wrecking Ball says:
Father, Father
You have brought me to my knees
Father, Father
You long for me to see
When I get lost along the path
You will fight to bring me back
Only You, can make the best of me

Hands where mercy lives where grace begins
With Your hands knock down all these walls I’m praying

This week pray God will Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls by breaking you so He can fix you, emptying you so He can fill you, and making you lonely so He can be your friend.

By a Wrecking Ball Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe