LOOSE THE COLT AND UNTYING YOUR POTENTIAL
Luke 19:30-34
This morning, I come to you with what I believe is a positive message. It’s a message for us today. I find that in my times of prayer and fasting for this church body, and seeking God for direction, that one resounding theme keeps on ringing in my spirit: there is an incredible potential in this church that God desires to unlock. An incredible possibility for growth, and ministry… and power within this community. There’s a power to facilitate change, and a power to build people’s lives. There’s a potential locked within us if we have the courage to unleash that potential.
Today we’re talking about that very thing. Our passage today is Luke 19. We’ll begin reading in verse 30.
Luke 19:30-34
30 Saying, Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.
31 And if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because the Lord hath need of him.
32 And they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.
33 And as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye the colt?
34 And they said, The Lord hath need of him.
I. The first thing we need to see about untying our potential is that it will require us to go in directions that we have never gone in before.
This is just days before Jesus was to be crucified. The hour was come for the Son to be glorified. He was about to go to Jerusalem, and suffer a cruel death for the remission of our sins; to be lifted up on that tree. The very one of which He spoke when He said “If I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me…” He was going to be made a curse.
Gal 3:13
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Jesus told the disciples, “Go get a colt, you’ll find tied up in the city…”
How many of you know today that in order to bring TRUE glory to God, that sometimes we have to be willing to do some unusual things? We have to be obedient to His voice, even if it doesn’t make sense. We have to be obedient, even when we can’t understand His reasoning. Obedience to God brings Him GLORY. We want HIM to be glorified in us; in our church; in our city. And sometimes that means doing things that are out of the ordinary.
II. So Jesus sent them into the UNUSUAL to INCREASE THEIR FAITH…
God’s request don’t come to us because He is weird. He doesn’t tell us to look into a fish’s mouth for a coin, because He’s strange. He doesn’t use mud in the eyes of a blind man, because He’s weird. He uses the UNUSUAL to get OUR ATTENTION. He uses uncommon things, even the impossibilities of life to BUILD OUR FAITH. It’s one of those things to make us say within ourselves, “THAT HAD TO BE GOD. There’s NO OTHER POSSIBILITY. THERE IS NOTHING ELSE IT COULD POSSIBLY BE”
He uses the UNUSUAL to make us RECOGNIZE His sovereignty. He uses the BIZARRE to BOLSTER OUR STRENGTH. So Jesus sent them for something UNUSUAL.
“Go to the edge of town… you’ll find a colt there that has never been ridden. Bring Him to me. If anyone asks you where you’re going, you tell them, ‘The Lord has need of him…’” They went, and did just what He said. And just what He told them would happen, happened. They were questioned. When you are doing the will of God, you can expect people to question your motivation. When you are listening to the Lord, you can expect people to question your position. They’ll question your actions. They’ll question your purposes. They’ll question your motivation.
If you think the world won’t question you when you are doing His will, you have another thing coming. But what the Lord had told them came to pass. How many of you know that God will prepare you, for what He sends you to do? God’s not going to take this church anywhere she’s not prepared to go. Christian, God won’t send you into any situation you aren’t prepared to go into. He always prepares us for what we’ll face. And He’ll give you the reasoning you need to get it done. “The Lord has need of him…”
The Lord has need of this thing. Brand new… never ridden… that’s talking about FRESH PATHS… NEW IDEAS… UNTAPPED RESOURCES. There are going to be some NEW COLTS employed in the service of the Lord, and in that process of glorifying Him. That colt was to BEAR UP the Lord. How many of your know that God would have us BEAR UP THE LORD, to GLORIFY HIM. We’re to BEAR UP the Lord to CARRY HIM; to carry His message. We’re to LIFT HIM UP, so that He can draw all men unto Him.
God’s going to have us LOOSING SOME COLTS for the Kingdom. Untying some potential for the Kingdom of God. Loosing some COLTS for the Kingdom of God. Loosing some new ideas for GLORIFYING HIM. Loosing some new means of LIFTING HIM UP. Loosing some new means of BEARING THE GOSPEL. LOOSING COLTS.
LOOSING THE MEANS. LOOSING THE TRANSPORTATION. I am going to present a controversial idea to you today. I’ve shared a similar line of thought with you before, but I do so again so that we may get this into our spirits. The Gospel is ALIVE. The Gospel WORKS. But the Gospel is HANDICAPPED. It can’t walk. The Gospel can’t walk on it’s own. The Gospel needs COLT LEGS to CARRY IT. The Gospel needs a COLT BACK to ride upon. The Gospel can’t talk. It needs a COLT VOICE so that it can be heard. The Gospel is DEAF, and DUMB… and MUTE without a COLT, friend.
There are colts that can be utilized to carry Him to the world today. But YOU AND IT have to untie them in our lives, in our church, in our city… You and I have to loose them. We have to LOOSE THE COLTS in this church to carry this GOSPEL MESSAGE. We have to LOOSE THE COLTS to see kids come into the Kingdom. We have to LOOS THE COLTS financially to do this work. But are we willing to face the heat? Are we willing to DO SOMETHING UNUSUAL when He says to do it? Do things that might not suit us, but that WILL suit our Jesus?
Are we willing to stand up to the questioning and the grilling while we are in the PROCESS? The questions about our deeds, the questions about our motives. Are we willing to LOOSE COLTS today? UNTIE every available means to bear the Lord to a lost and dying generation. I personally believe that this morning, we’re in a position to see COLTS LOOSED in our church, our city, our individual lives, and our community.
But it all bears on two key points – are we willing to take on ANY TASK from the Lord, no matter how unusual? And, are we willing untie the means that He directs us to? Will we UNTIE COLTS that will help us BEAR THE LIVING WORD OF GOD to this GENERATION? Will we UNTIE A COLT to CARRY THE GOSPEL? Will we UNTIE A COLT to GLORIFY THE LORD? Will we LOOSE COLTS to see victory in our world?
III. The disciples had to go out looking for a colt…
Church, you and I will have to open our eyes, and LOOK for the COLTS. Look for those means to bear the Gospel. Look for ways to see Him Glorified. Look for ways to BEAR HIM UP. Look for ways to SHARE THIS GOSPEL. Look for ways to give the Gospel legs. Look for ways to UNTIE the COLT. There are ways to get this message out. UNTIE the COLT. UNTIE the COLT that He may be glorified.
