I would call home to my wife, and I'd get a serenade. No, not from her. From our canary. We had only had him about a couple of weeks, and man, I found out he could sing up a storm! The whole time I was talking to my wife, the yellow bird symphony was going on in the background. It was hard to hear that canary sing and stay gloomy very long let me tell you. Every night we would put this cloth over Cherokee's cage - that was his name. And all the singing stopped. The next morning I would go into the living room and there wasn't a sound coming from under that cloth. But as soon as I took the cover off, the canary started jumping all over the cage and singing his wakeup song. I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Getting the Cover Off Your Cage." Each day with that canary was like life began when the cover came off that cage. In a way, that's like you and me. Your cage? That might be some painful memories, or a broken heart, or maybe a broken dream. Maybe you're caged in by some addiction or a habit, or anger that's eating you up inside. For some of us it's depression or even suicidal thoughts that have held us in. There's a cover on that cage, whatever it is. And as you listen today, it's dark in there isn't it? And maybe there's nothing to sing about. Well, good news for you in our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 40. King David said, "The Lord turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire. He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth." King David's imagery is a little different, but in canary terms, the cover came off his dark cage and gave him a reason to sing. The same Lord that did that for King David wants to do that for you. In fact, that's why Jesus Christ came. He says in the Bible, "The Lord has sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners." Did you notice that, "release from darkness?" Now, that little bird of ours was stuck in a dark world that he couldn't change until someone bigger and more powerful came along to remove that cover and release him from his darkness. The Savior, Jesus, came to do that for you and me. He came to die for our darkness, our sin, to remove the death sentence you and I have on our head because of our sins. And when you tell Jesus that you're trusting Him completely for a relationship with God, the cover finally comes off. All the guilt, all the shame, all of that stuff in the past is gone; it's forgiven. So many people have told me right after they've reached out and put their trust in Christ, and they've said, "I feel like 100 pounds has just been lifted off my shoulders." And the pain is suddenly lightened because God himself is picking it up for you. The dark feelings and the power that may have kept you in darkness? All of that is replaced by this unexplainable personal peace. Now, our canary? He had no choice when the cover came off his cage, but you do. Your release from darkness comes when you open your heart to Jesus Christ, and that could be today. You tired of the darkness? Well, you might be ready for Jesus to come in. And if you are, I want to encourage you to go to our website today. Because basically what it's there for is to explain how you can begin that relationship with Jesus. Just go there. Just spend a few minutes there. It's ANewStory.com. Got nothing for you to join. There's no religion to be a part of here. It's all about you reaching out and embracing the love of the man who died for you. There is light to replace your darkness. There's a song that can replace your sin the day you let Jesus lift the cover off of your life.