Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): Today on Telling the Truth, Jill Briscoe begins a message called "Overloaded," where she shares how you can find rest from religion in God's grace. But before we hear from Jill, your generous support helps keep broadcasts like this one today going out around the world so you and others can experience life.

As thanks for your gift today, we'll send you two great resources: the Briscoes' two-message series "Worry Less" and Jill's booklet "Me, Worry?" These encouraging resources are filled with biblical wisdom and practical advice to help you overcome worry and live with God's peace. So call today to request yours: 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, here's Jill Briscoe with her message, "Overloaded."

Jill Briscoe: I'm going to speak from a very well-known text: "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart, and you will find rest for your soul. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Let me read it to you in The Message: "Are you tired, worn out? Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I love that phrase. You need to recover your life. What an incredible thing it is when you come to know the living Christ and you recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest," says Jesus. "Walk with me and work with me. Watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly."

So the Lord says to us, "Get a life." That's another translation of "recover your life." Get a life. Many people are saying, "Get a life, do this. Get a life, do that." Recover your life. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. Now, what's the context of this? The context of this is religious people. Jesus was not talking to his disciples at this point. He was talking to the bigger crowd of ordinary people, Jews.

He wasn't talking to the Pharisees. He wasn't talking to the leaders. He was talking to good people, good people that were trying to be good enough for God. Good people that were trying to keep all the rules so that when they got to heaven, God would say, "Well, you kept enough rules for me to let you in, and we'll overlook the rules that you didn't manage to keep."

This was very difficult for people in Jesus' day. The Pharisees had 613 rules you were supposed to keep to be good enough for God. And many of them, Paul the Apostle included, just about kept every one of those rules. They'd made most of them from the law up, and they'd laid that heavy burden on those people. And it was a terrible burden to try and do all their religious leaders were telling them in order to be good enough for God so they could go to heaven when they died. And Jesus said, "Come unto me, and I've got a different way for you to live. And I want to lift this heavy burden of rule-keeping, religious rule-keeping, from you."

You know, religion can be a very difficult thing because we think, "Am I doing this right? Am I doing that right?" And we're jumping through all the hoops, and we're just hoping that God is pleased. And that becomes a very weighty thing, and it weighs you down. And Jesus said there is a better way and something I want to tell you. Now, I don't know if you've ever broken something very special and precious that belonged to anyone.

Have you ever broken something and the person that the precious thing belongs to is actually in the room or in the vicinity when you break it? Have you ever looked at their face? You see, we've broken something that's precious to God, all of us. Something very, very precious. What have we broken that's precious to God? His rules. His Ten Commandments. Not the 613 added bits that the Pharisees put on. God did give us ten rules to keep, and we have broken them.

And what we need to do is take a look at His face and see what we have broken, see what that has done to God. Now, that's where we begin coming to Him so He can lift the burden of our sin and shame and guilt away from us. We have, like the little boy, to open our arms and run towards our heavenly Father. And we will find, if we come to Him, He will pick us up in His arms.

But we have to realize that we have broken something precious to God. And we have to, as it were, look into the face of God so that we can see what we have done to God. So what have we broken? Well, we know the Ten Commandments. Or do we? We did a little survey in Milwaukee when my husband was preaching on that, and we just went up and down the streets of Milwaukee and said, "Do you know about the Ten Commandments?" "Well, yes, of course." "Can you tell us one of the Ten Commandments?"

Now, what would you say if somebody put a microphone under your nose? Well, probably we could all think of one or two. "Thou shalt not kill." I mean, that's easy, that one. "Thou shalt not commit adultery." It was absolutely amazing. There were very few people that could even get a couple of them. Most of them got "thou shalt not kill." And the other stuff we got were, "God helps those that help themselves." It was absolutely incredible.

One guy got the other bit. He got the idea right, but he got it the wrong way around. "Do unto others before they can do it unto you," he says. I mean, the interviewer said, "Do you go to church?" "Yeah, I live by the Sermon on the Mount." Well, if he didn't know what the Ten Commandments were, I bet he didn't know what the Sermon on the Mount was or where it was or anything else.

But you know, this is the mindset. If we do not know what the Ten Commandments are, then how do we know we've broken something that's precious to God? And so they deal with two aspects of living. We're to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and we're to love our neighbor as ourselves. Most of the commandments have to do with our social relationships: other people, our neighbor.

The two biggest and most important are to do with our relationship with God, and the rest are to do with our relationships with our neighbor. And they cover things like worshipping and obeying God and not having any idols and not hurting your neighbor by slandering them or lying or stealing from them, never taking something that doesn't belong to you. And don't covet. You know, if I was God and I had ten things to choose from, I don't know if I would have included "thou shalt not covet" on that precious stone where with His finger He wrote the ten rules that were very precious to Him that we've broken.

Covet, what is it? Well, a very simple definition of covet is "I want what you've got." And the deeper bit of coveting is "I don't want you to have it either." And so God, knowing that there is a root of the fruit of sin, said "thou shalt not covet" because that's where the fire starts. I want what she's got, and I don't want her to have it either, so I'm going to take it away from her.

And that's the root where murder comes from. "Thou shalt not kill." Jesus comes along and says, "Have you ever wanted to? It's the same as the act." That's where coming to Him begins. And Jesus said you need to come to me because when you realize you've broken something that's precious to me, something happens to you inside. There is an interior grief, and it's called guilt.

Guilt. Now, we're busy trying to get rid of guilt. Our society feels that's a sort of disease, and we need to help people quit feeling guilty. Guilt is a pronouncement of what we've done. Guilt is a fact. Shame is the feeling about the fact. "You are guilty," says the judge. The law says you're guilty. And you feel terrible shame as you stand condemned.

So guilty is what we are, shame is what we feel. And there is a load of guilt in people's hearts because they're guilty. I had somebody say not long ago, "I'm talking to this woman and she feels so guilty and I'm trying to help her get rid of her guilt." And I said, "Well, is she guilty?" "Well, that's not the point." Yes, that is the point. She feels shame because she's guilty.

And so if you confess the reason that you feel ashamed because you're guilty and have broken something that's precious to God, God will forgive you. You come to Him and He will forgive you. And only God can heal some things like guilt because every sin against man is a sin against God.

When David sinned against Bathsheba, he said, "Against thee, thee only have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight." Now, that's a strange thing to say. He has sinned against Bathsheba. He has sinned against Bathsheba's husband. He has committed adultery. He has broken up a marriage. He has sinned in all sorts of ways and then lied about it, then covered it up for a year. And yet when he is faced, "Thou art the man, you've done this thing and God isn't very pleased about this," he immediately repents and says, "I have sinned in your sight, against thee, thee only have I sinned." Because any sin against man is a sin against God. You've broken something precious to Him. Marriage is precious to Him. And if we break up somebody's marriage, that's something grieves Him, grieves Him. And that's why we feel guilty. That's why we feel shame. But you know, whatever we have done, whatever we have done, if we come to Him, He will lift the burden of that guilt and shame. He will forgive us.

Guest (Male): You're listening to Jill Briscoe on Telling the Truth. She'll be right back with more encouraging truth about how you can find rest in God's grace. But first, we love getting notes from listeners who tell us what God has done in their life through this ministry. Here's one from Jeff in Indiana, who says, "I certainly appreciate what you do in sharing the gospel with as many as will listen. Your sermons and character are a blessing to me. Thank you for your faithfulness."

Thanks so much, Jeff. That's the kind of encouragement your support today will help bring more people around the world as you help share the teaching and resources of Telling the Truth, so others can experience life in Christ. And we'd like to encourage you this month with two helpful resources: Stuart and Jill Briscoe's two-message series "Worry Less" and Jill's booklet "Me, Worry?"

The stresses of life can leave you feeling worried, anxious, even afraid. And this turmoil can rob you of the joy and peace God wants for you. In this powerful series, the Briscoes help you discover the secret to worrying less and living with more joy. These encouraging messages shine a critical light on a root cause of worry and give you practical guidance on how to rule your anxieties instead of having them rule you.

This special resource plus Jill's booklet are our thanks for your gift today to help more people experience life through the teaching resources of Telling the Truth. So request your copy of "Worry Less" and "Me, Worry?" when you call 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388 or give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, let's head back to Jill to close out today's teaching.

Jill Briscoe: Now, some people say that God forgives and forgets. I don't believe God forgets because I don't believe He can. God never had a thought He's never had, if you think about that. And He cannot forget what He knows. And forgiveness means that God forgives you and then looks at you as if He had forgotten. Sort of difficult to grasp.

But He looks at you as if He had forgotten what He very well remembers. Only God can do that. Only God can look at you as if you'd never sinned when He knows you did and He can't forget it and treat you as if He had forgotten. The grace of God is an incredible thing. And when we realize what we have done to hurt Him and we come to Him with our load of sin and guilt, there is a huge load lifted.

I'm just a spokesperson. I am pleading with you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God. That's what Paul went around saying. I'm an ambassador for Christ, that's all. And I ask you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. What a wonderful thing it is because people become reconciled to God. They come to Him, they keep company with Him, they get their sins dealt with, and that load is lifted.

This young girl ran up and she said to me, "I cannot bear this anymore." And I said, "What is it? Do you want to tell me?" She said, "I hate my mother-in-law. It isn't dislike, it isn't hostility, I hate her. And this weight, I can't breathe. It is destroying me. And I have tried to give it to God, and I've tried to get on my knees and say, 'God, take it, I give it to you, I give this burden of hate to you, I give it to you.'"

And she said, "Nothing's happened." And I said, "Well, let's try this." And I took her hands and I said, "Ask Him to take it. You can't do anything. You can't even give it to God. We are helpless here. Just say, 'I can't do this. I can't even give it to you. Take it. Forgive me because in hating this person, you have broken something that's precious to God.'"

And she said, "Oh, I know, I know, I learned that tonight. And then I realized that's what's weighing me down, that's what's got me by the throat and I want to be rid of it." And she came to Christ. And I tell you, we prayed, or she prayed, and I looked at her, and I even felt it in her hands, they just relaxed. And she looked at me and she said before I needed to hear it, because it was obvious, "It's gone. It's gone."

So you come to Christ and you get a life. She had not had a life for a long time because she was burdened with this sin, but she didn't know Jesus. And you cannot get rid of those things yourself. You can't get rid of bitterness. You can't get rid of a load of any of that garbage. And you can't give it to Him. You can't do anything. You can just come helpless.

God waits for us to be helpless. You know, we talked about the shepherd and the sheep. And sometimes a little sheep gets so lost and so messed up and they get themselves in such a mess they're up on the mountain in a little crevice. And the shepherd knows that they could fall over that crevice to death at any minute. But if he goes after them before they are totally exhausted, before they are totally starving, before they're at the end of their rope, he knows they'll resist like a drowning man in the water.

And so he waits until all the little lamb can do and the little sheep is sort of say, "bleat," and then he'll climb up, get his hands thoroughly torn in the process, and he'll rescue the lamb because it's helpless. And Jesus says you need to come to me at the end of your rope. You have tried to get rid of whatever it is in your life that is absolutely sinking you and you can't do it without God.

So you need to get a life. And when I ask you to come to Christ, which I am asking in His stead, I am not saying come to Elmbrook. I am not saying come to church. God is not a Methodist. God is not a Catholic. God is not a Protestant. God is not an evangelical free. God is not a Baptist.

God is not a Pentecostal. God isn't a member of Elmbrook Church. God isn't any of these things. And we are not inviting you to join a denomination or change your faith; we're inviting you to come to Christ. It's working on the streets once among gangs, street kids, and a little boy said to me, "Hey, miss, what abomination do you belong to?"

Well, I was happy to tell him I didn't belong to any abomination. Not that I believe denominations are abominations, I don't. They're an expression of the body of Christ, the church of Christ. But we are not asking you to come and join another club, a Christian club that has a different set of rules. No, we're asking you to come to Christ. It's your relationship with Him that we're talking about that goes right across all denominations, Christian denominations, and is laced into every statement of faith in every church that is a true church, a creedal church that believes in the creed, if you wish.

So He wants to carry your sin. He wants to carry your guilt, and He wants to assure you that He is the burden bearer. He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed. All of us have strayed away like sheep. We've left God's paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on Him the guilt and sins of us all.

He was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we are healed. He carried our sins, and He also carried our sorrows. He carried life's sorrows. What does this mean? Well, one of the life sorrows is shame. I know people's lives that are ruined with this incredible sense of shame. How could God ever forgive me? I can't forgive myself for what I've done, for what I've been. How could God forgive me? And this is a huge burden. It's a sorrow, a soul sorrow. Well, He can carry that.

Guest (Male): This is Telling the Truth, and you just heard Jill Briscoe with her message, "Overloaded." Jill's not quite done for the day, though. Coming up, she's answering questions about trading in the burden of legalism for the freedom of grace. Worry and anxiety can limit your joy and keep you from experiencing true peace. And that's not what God wants for your life.

We want to help you conquer worry and anxiety so you can start to live with the joy and peace God intends by sending you Stuart and Jill Briscoe's encouraging series, "Worry Less." This uplifting two-message series offers biblical truth about the root cause of worry and will help you uncover the secret to worrying less and living more. "Worry Less" is our thanks for your gift to help more people experience the peace and joy of life in Christ through the unchanging truth of God's word.

And when you give today, we'll also send you Jill Briscoe's booklet, "Me, Worry?" These resources will help carry you from angst and uneasiness to the peace God intends for your life. Simply request your copies when you call today and give a gift to help keep Telling the Truth going out around the world. Call 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388 or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now, let's hear more from Jill about today's message. Jill, how does God heal our guilt?

Jill Briscoe: Well, God doesn't heal our guilt. He forgives our guilt. He covers our guilt. The love of God, the agape love of God, has a covering quality about it, not an exposing quality. That's what all those wonderful sacrifices were for: the blood covers. The covering, the atonement is a covering of a life given over the ugly.

And I remember John MacArthur, in a wonderful series he preached on 1 Corinthians 13, saying that love has a covering quality. It runs around the world looking for the nasty and saying, "Let's cover that up." And it's not a bad cover-up. Covering it up means let's get the person to expose it to the blood of Christ, which alone can cover, which alone can forgive.

And so if somebody comes to me and they're suffering physically with depression and the root cause is guilt, I tell them they're guilty. They're feeling guilty because they are. They're feeling shame, which is about what they are, and they need to come to Christ. He's the one that died on the cross to forgive, to cover, and His blood covers all our sin, it says.

And so the first thing is: get your theology right about the cross of Christ and the blood of Jesus. And if you don't know what I'm talking about, then go and ask your pastor, "Pastor, would you explain to me what the atonement is about? What does it mean? What were all those sacrifices about all in the Old Testament about a lamb shedding its blood and the priest taking that as an offering for sin? What is that? And then what does it mean Jesus was the Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world?"

Once you get it theologically, then you thank Him humanly. What you can do is thank Him. Once you've got enough of that, understand it, believe it, commit yourself to it, ask Him. "Lord, I've got a lot of things here that I feel guilty about and certainly a lot of shame about. I hear that you died for this and that your blood can cover. And so please do that for me." You can do that. Anybody can do that. We're invited to do that.

Guest (Male): Thanks so much, Jill. We hope today's message encouraged you. Before we go, remember that when you give today to help keep Telling the Truth broadcasts like this one going out around the world, we'll send you a copy of "Worry Less," the Briscoes' two-message series designed to help you start worrying less and living with more joy. And as a special thanks, we'll also send you Jill's booklet, "Me, Worry?"

So call now to give and remember to request these resources with our thanks: 1-800-889-5388. 1-800-889-5388. Or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Tune in tomorrow as Jill Briscoe concludes her message, "Overloaded," and shares how Jesus can free you of the sins truly weighing you down. Experience life tomorrow on Telling the Truth.