20250330 The Only Way Is Through¶
Welcome¶
Good morning, my name is Clifton Bartholomew, and I am a local preacher here at UMC.
It is always so good to share with you all. Welcome again to any visitors and to all our online guests as well.
I always like to say before I preach that I am a teacher by training and so I am very used to being interrupted. If anyone is brave enough to raise their hand and ask a question or give an input, it is warmly welcomed.
Introduction¶
Jab 1 – The Modern Idea of Freedom¶
I often have a good chuckle at who our students look up to as their role models. Our students are brought up on YouTube and TikTok and their ultimate life goal is to become a famous YouTuber and make a ton of money. To me it seems ridiculous right. It blows my mind how they admire these YouTubers who often don’t even live the way they portray online? And they are obsessed with these YouTubers! They know all their music, they buy their t-shirts. And they desperately want to be them. Our students have this perception that the people behind the videos are living the ultimate good life. - They seemingly can do anything that they want, no work. - They are buying anything they want. - They can go anywhere they want.
Here is a screenshot from Jake Paul's YouTube feed: Jake Paul.png
But I guess we are no different right? For my generation it was movie stars, for my fathers generation it was music stars and on and on it goes.
We think that freedom comes when we can do anything we want, when we want, with whom we want. And to get there we need money and lots of it!
Jab 2 – The Illusion of Freedom¶
Jesus told a story 2,000 years ago about a kid who thought exactly like we do. I picture the prodigal son as one of my students, longing to be this famous YouTuber. If he had TikTok, he’d be in every other influencer’s comments saying, ‘bro, you’re living the dream.’ But Jesus shows us how that dream turns into a nightmare.
And yet, this is what we do. We chase after things that promise freedom but leave us empty. We long for freedom from responsibility, from debt, from stress… but have you ever actually gotten what you thought would set you free, only to realize you still felt trapped?”
(Pause)
“Yeah. Because the problem isn’t always out there—it’s in here. (Point to heart)
Jab 3 – The Source of Freedom¶
But what if freedom isn’t about escape, but rather about endurance?
I can remember when I was young, learning to ride a bike. My dad took me out onto the road, we had this long sloping hill that started off steep but flattened out fairly quickly. He started me off on the gently sloped section using those training wheels and got me going down that until I was comfortable. At first, I felt invincible. But when the training wheels came off? Suddenly, I was falling, scraping my knees, and crashing into bushes. It was a lot harder than I thought it would be, but I eventually got the hang of it and went higher and higher up the hill. Then, I felt like I was surfing the hill. I felt dangerous. I felt alive. I felt like I was riding the wind. It was so cool.
We think that freedom is an escape from the toils of life, but freedom comes from growing and living through them.
Paul knew what we often forget: real strength is built in suffering, not in avoiding it. He put it like this in Romans 5.3-5: we find glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.
We live in a world where we run away from discomfort. And if we can't deal with discomfort, we remain afraid children. Children who when they get angry or fearful they stamp their feet and lash out with their fists.
Right Hook – The Hard Truth¶
Paradoxically, we find freedom through enduring hardship. True freedom is not found in avoiding difficulty, but in walking through it with God.
This is one of the major themes of lent: finding freedom in the desert. During lent we enter into the desert voluntarily. We do it willingly during this season in order to learn what the desert offers us. So what can we learn from the readings today about this theme?
Explanation¶
Teaching Point 1: The desert is the training ground¶
Have you ever watched a butterfly emerging from a cocoon?
This amazing process is not a fast process. What we see in this timelapse is between 3-5 hours long. It takes 1 hour for the butterfly to break through the cocoon and and another 2-4 hours to pump blood into its crumpled winds. And do you know what the interesting thing is? That if you had to cut the cocoon open and get the butterfly out, it would never be able to fly.
If we get the full inheritance without the work, we cannot expect to be able to fly. The youngest son finds this out the hard way. He takes his inheritance early to live a life he believes is full of freedom and life. But he has not struggled to break through the cocoon. He has grounded himself.
Freedom is not a lack of hardship but an endurance through hardship. The inheritance is the result of that endurance.
The desert is our training ground and it can be: - Desolate - Lonely - Difficult - It is where we meet with the devil. - It is where we face our demons. - It is the thing we want to escape from. - It is the place that tests us. - It makes us weary. - It is where we don't find rest.
Teaching Point 2: Don't hide in the desert, the only way is through.¶
The desert is NOT meant to be lived in forever. It is a temporary space. And often, even though we have plenty opportunity, we choose to remain in the desert. We find it easier to live in the discomfort rather than work through the discomfort.
The prodigal son could have come home home a lot sooner than he did. He only made the decision to come home when he literally could not stoop any lower. When he was eating with the pigs. The Israelites could have moved from Egypt to the promised land in months, yet it took them 40 years. They remained avoidant and disobedient, choosing complaining and blaming rather than growing in their maturity.
What’s your desert? The relationship you should’ve left? The conversation you’re avoiding? The risk you won’t take? You can pretend it’s not there, but deep down—you know.
You can wander. You can delay. You can camp out at the edge of the desert, hoping it disappears. But it won’t. The only way out… is through.
Teaching Point 3: What you find on the other side is not what you'd expect¶
Success is not just making it out the desert, it is who we become because of it.
Forty years in the desert, eating manna from heaven. Every. Single. Day. And then the moment they step into the Promised Land? God cuts off the manna supply. Wait, what? They finally make it—and God stops feeding them? Because the Promised Land isn’t about being taken care of. It’s about standing up, stepping in, and learning to live in God’s abundance. Freedom isn’t being taken care of like a child—it’s stepping up as an adult.
Think of any hardship you have gone through, who are you now because of it?
Application¶
So the desert is the training ground, what can we do in order to face the desert?
Action 1: Coming Back to God - Every time¶
The most powerful truth in our faith isn’t about getting everything right—it’s about being with God.
Being a Christian isn't about being good or moral or about not sinning. As Mark said last week, if it were, we would all be goners.
The truth is we can't do life without God. Coming to God is not a one-time event, like the Prodigal Son’s dramatic return. In reality, we get lost in the desert over and over again—sometimes for minutes, sometimes for years. The good news? Every single time we turn back, heaven rejoices.
Luke 15 shows us three "lost" parables: the lost sheep, the lost coin, and the lost son. In every case, the moment of return is met with angels rejoicing and celebrations in heaven. - You don’t have to fix everything before coming back. Just come back. God doesn't care. - You don’t have to clean yourself up first. Just come home. God doesn't care. - No matter how long you’ve been lost, God is waiting with open arms. It's never too early or too late.
What’s keeping you from turning back today? Guilt? Fear? Stubbornness?
Action 2: Take off the training wheels - Live fully¶
We often settle for safety instead of living. We hold onto our “training wheels” because they feel secure—whether it’s routines, comfort zones, or even our fears.
The younger son may have been reckless, but at least he lived. The older son in the Prodigal Son story was physically in the Father’s house, yet he never really embraced the life his Father had for him. I pray that we can learn to live dangerously as Christians, without training wheels, falling, getting back up, but experiencing the fullness of a life lived with God.
Paul reminds us in Galatians 5.1:
"It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery."
- The safety of the known can become its own kind of prison.
- The Christian life is not about mere survival—it’s about thriving.
- Following Jesus means risking, trusting, stepping into the unknown.
Where are you clinging to training wheels when God is calling you to ride freely?
Action 3: Face it (Deal with your s##t)¶
We all have struggles we avoid. We push them aside, hoping they’ll go away. But deserts don’t disappear—you have to walk through them.
What are you avoiding? - That difficult conversation? - That toxic habit? - That past hurt? - That big step of faith?
The Israelites delayed their journey by decades because they resisted growth. The Prodigal Son only turned around when he hit rock bottom. But the truth is, you don’t have to wait until everything falls apart before making a change.
- Hard things don’t get easier by ignoring them.
- The pain of avoidance is often worse than the pain of facing it.
- The only way out of the desert is through.
The desert isn’t your enemy. It’s your training ground.
The storm isn’t your destruction. It’s your preparation.
The struggle isn’t where you die. It’s where you are made new.
The only way through? Is through. And Jesus is walking with you.”
One Liner¶
The only way to the other side of the desert is through