WHEN YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR AND KNOW IT

WHEN YOU’VE GONE TOO FAR AND KNOW IT

DOC LYNCH

It's a crummy place to be. You've gone too far. Even by your own imperfect standards. We all have had self made lines that we won't cross, and when we cross them it's not easy to come back from.

The GUILT. Ohhhh…the GUILT. I remember the guilty days. If there was one thing I was grateful for in meeting Jesus Christ, it was the forgiveness aspect. The relief of guilt. I latched onto that part. Probably because I had so much of it. I spent 20 years trying to anesthetize myself so as not to feel its effects, but the more I drank and drugged, the more lines I crossed, and the more guilt piled up, so the more numbing agents I needed, and the more numb I got the less I cared about anybody…so…

…it's where humanity meets Animal Kingdom. Yup. That's how low we can sink. Base animal instincts. You have an "itch" you scratch it. Any way possible. Who cares? What's yours is yours, and what's yours is mine if I can take it from you. Jungle Law. Amazing what we get away with when we obliterate the lines and are filled with false courage.

Funny though, the guilt always rises up even during the briefest moments of sober thinking. Stuff it. Kill it. Bury it. "IT" becomes "YOU". There is no "IT". Guilt is what you have become. Like breathing. Always there, always needing to be pacified. Even if you stop piling on more guilt, there is a lifetime of remorse and melancholy to keep you rolling on a toot for the rest of your probably guilt shortened life.

This doesn't end well. Well…at least at the status quo level. It CAN end well.

I had a friend at work who was a believer in Jesus. He was like my polar opposite. He was good. I was worse than bad. *GUILT* He cared about stuff. I cared about nothing. *GUILT* He had a family. I USED TO have one. *GUILT* He loved his wife. I had treated mine poorly. *GUILT* He adored his kids. I guess somewhere in me I did too, but I'd trade off spending time with them for almost anything else that would make me feel good. *GUILT*. I cussed every other word. He NEVER did. He never lost his temper. I did ALL THE TIME. He loved. I hated.

He LOVED Jesus. I couldn't have cared less. In fact, I thought he was a deluded sucker.

He told me enough about Jesus every chance he got. I look back on the days just before I grabbed hold of Jesus, and I realized that God sent him to me. It was perfect. Even though I didn't realize it at the time, this once runner of the streets turned gentle ambassador for Jesus, was being used to change my life.

No one was more excited for me than he was when I told him that I had also become a believer.

I have been "that guy" to so many people over 32+ years now that I have lost track.

He told me "the story", and I tell others the story. Then they tell the story.

What's the common thread and theme that never changes?

"VICTORY!"

Victory over so much, but the eradication of guilt being the healing of the soul and spirit we desperately need. It is the icing on the cake.

With guilt out of the way, it makes room for the good person you were meant to be, the one that has been lying buried and dormant deep beneath the surface.

From a father on paper only emerges a dad. From broken and dissipated vows an actual marriage rises up.

When you look in the mirror this morning what stares back? A person you can't stand?

In your guilt ridden pity, it's hard to imagine that God loves you and Jesus died for you. It's hard to imagine that when we hate ourselves, and we do when the guilt trip has it's bags packed and waiting for us. If you hate you, and YOU KNOW others hate you (for what you did to them, HENCE the GUILT) you become self loathing and try to snuff it out. Pretty tough to get to know Jesus that way, huh?

Romans 10:13 (AMP) – "For everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved."

Jesus waits. He looks at us different than others. You will find no pity from those you have screwed around. They hate you now. That's the world standard. We are microcosms of the world conflagration. People are at war with themselves and others every day due to the most petty indiscretions. Yet…Jesus loves you. I didn't get that for the longest time.

Romans 8:1 (AMP) – "THEREFORE, [there is] now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live [and] walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit."

THERE IT IS! THAT verse RIGHT THERE, is the one YOU just might need to hear today! It is the Word that Jesus gave me for you today!

It is YOUR answer! Listen to me. THIS is YOUR gift today! This is YOUR second chance. THIS IS IT!

What did you do that is killing you today? What line did you cross? What lines have you erased? What self imposed guilt are you going to try to stuff and ignore or self medicate today?

Look…take it from me. When we are dealing on that level, there is just not enough alcohol or pills. You need a supernatural intervention by Jesus Christ where you understand that you can be forgiven and the guilt lifted.

"There is NO CONDEMNATION of you in Jesus Christ" and He is the ONLY ONE who has the authority to pronounce that over you and allow you to feel lighter and look in the mirror and like what you see.

Over my desk has hung a framed bible verse for the last 32 years. I look at it every day as a reminder of what I have been saved from and how much Jesus loved me. It says:

Romans 6:23 – "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

I am your friend today and forever. I gain nothing but the pleasure of seeing you rise up from the ash heap and live. That would give me great joy.

Get here. You can get here from there, and I will be there for you every step. But you must take the step.

Peace. Joy. Freedom. Victory. In Jesus Christ.

Jesus Never Fails.

I’m Pastor Doc Lynch and I went too far and knew it. Fortunately I found my way back, and all because of Jesus. Many people I know today never knew me as the “old” me. Today you can meet me as the “new” me. I can show you the way out of guilt and shame.

Why not visit us today at Revival Life Church, 21 Executive Center Drive, New Milford, CT 06776? 10 am for church. I really hope to see you there!

~Pastor Doc Lynch~