Hebrews – Encouragement for a life of faith
Part 11
“Unencumbered”
Hebrews 12:12:1-4 I have piled a lot of items up here in front this morning
I know running is a thing of the past for a lot of us
If I am running, I suggest you run as well because something is either falling on me or trying to eat me
But
Still just for grins
Imagine
Trying to run carrying theses items
Some are small and would not be much of a hindrance
Others are a bit larger and could at the minimum slow us down
Some others are so big that running would be completely out of the question and some so large that the thought of even taking step could cause multiple hernias and job security for your chiropractor
I think you get my point
In order to run well
You and I would need to drop or better yet never pick up things that add weight
And thereby hinder our movement
Last week in our study of Hebrews we took a look at the faith of just a few of the founders of our faith
We saw how normal people did extraordinary things because they developed and used their God given gift of Faith
They set the bar high in the area of faith
But I can tell you
If God calls you to do something
And you have faith
I mean complete faith
You in of yourself are incapable of accomplishing the goal
But with God
All things are possible
As we continue our study through the great book of Hebrews
We come to a familiar verse
I have used this verse in the past
Many times
And the writer or Hebrews gives us a good visual picture
Of how allowing ourselves to be encumbered with things that hinder us
Prevents or stunts spiritual growth
These things can prevent us from finishing the race or even running the race in the first place
And these weights if not dealt with
Can cause a separation from our God who loves us
Once again not a loss of salvation
Jesus himself
Gives us assurance of salvation
But these weights can definitely cause a loss of blessings
Please open your bibles to
Hebrews chapter 12
And let’s read together verses 1 -2
Throw your bulletin in there as we will return back here in a bit
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.”
The huge crowd of witnesses is all of those listed in the hall of fame of faith
But
Also
All Christians that have ever lived the true Christian life
They have set examples for us though their words
Their actions
Their love
The list of these witnesses will vary from person to person
But what I need you to know is there are many
Many
Listen
Many
Who have finished the race, many more who are successfully running the race
They have fulfilled God’s call in their lives
It is possible
And if they can do it
We can do it
But How
Verse 1b tells us how
“let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up.”
Let us strip off
Get rid of
Cast off some versions say
Anything
Anything
That slows us down in the race of spiritual growth
The race of a new and closer relationship to Jesus
We must get rid of them
So I want you this morning to image the physical things that are up here
As spiritual things
I want you imagine them as emotional things
I want you to imagine them as things that keep you out of close and true fellowship with God
This prayerfully will give you visual image of the often invisible things that hinder us
The things that hobble us
The things that can completely disable us
So what are these things?
These weights?
These hobbles?
I can tell you they can be almost anything
This morning I want to try and identify a few weights
And then we can come back and see how we throw them off
Let’s start out with some pretty common things that can slow us down
Fear is a big one
We fear the unknown so we don’t step up and step out when God calls
We Fear being labeled as weird
As a Jesus freak
As a bible thumper
We fear giving up our old lives
Because they are familiar
We don’t really like what we have
But it is ours and we know what we have
Kind of like the kids hanging onto that stinking ball of wool in the mutton bustin
They don’t really like where they are
But in their minds it beats the alternative of falling
We fear failing
We fear falling
We fear persecution in the form of teasing- verbal and physical abuse
We Fear being left out and treated differently
And Fear
Can be heavy
Fear can slow us down
And Fear can completely stop our progress
We must cast off
Throw off
Get rid of fear in order to run the race God has for us
Hebrews 12:2 tells us how to do that
“We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.”
Keeping our eyes on Jesus displaces fear
Knowing God is there
Trusting in him
Think back to when you were a small child
Scared of the dark
Just hearing one of your parents voices
Feeling their hand in yours
Displaced the fear that filled you
God says a lot in his word about how to get rid of fear
Isaiah 41:10
“ Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.”
God says
Don’t be afraid—I am right here
I will give you my strength
I will lift you up
Jesus gives us this promise of the Holy Spirit in John 14:27
“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.”
Don’t be troubled or afraid
I am with you
In your heart
In the dark
In the storms
In the wrecks
In the tough times
In the hard times
If you have Jesus
You have a restored relationship with a God who loves you
Protects you
Provides for you
And Paul says in Romans 8:1-2
So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power[a] of the life-giving Spirit has freed you[b] from the power of sin that leads to death.
He goes onto say in verse 26
“And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness.”
And then in verse 31
“ If God is for us, who can ever be against us?”
If you have a relationship with God through the blood of Jesus
You have nothing to fear
Get rid of it
And run the race for all you have
Bitterness
Anger
Unforgiveness
Can weigh us down and stop our growth and our movement
Listen to me
We all have a past and we all have had things happen to us and even done to us that we did not deserve
Maybe your brother in law cheated you on a cow deal
Maybe the woman or man you thought you would spend the rest of your life with left
Maybe someone close to you died unexpectanty or too young
Maybe a bad person did something bad to you
Maybe you were hurt by someone at work, at church
Maybe
Maybe ?????
I could go on and on and most likely not hit all the things that cause bitterness, anger and unforgiveness
I could preach for weeks and not do justice to all the ways anger can intrude on our lives
Bitterness
Can kill our walk with Christ
Anger can completely hobble us
And unforgiveness
We could go for weeks about this one
These are all weights that Jesus did not design you to carry
As a matter of fact
He gave his life to take these burdens from you
But we
With our stiff necks and strong wills
Often refuse to lay them down
Choosing instead to become so weighed down we can’t even think about moving
Much less running a race
Harbored bitterness
Harbored anger
Harbored unforgiveness
Become sin in our lives
And like any sin
It is poisonous
It grows roots and if not controlled can completely take over our lives
The writer of Hebrews says we must get rid of this stuff
Jesus says we MUST forgive because we were forgiven
James says anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires
Anger, bitterness and unforgiveness often turn to rage
And rage is NEVER a good or healthy thing
Fear can hobble us
Anger, bitterness and unforgiveness can shackle us
But there is something that is not often addressed
That is detrimental to spiritual growth
False teachings
Jesus says in John 8
Verses 31-32
“Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. 32 And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings
Faithful to my teaching
---My Teachings----
The Holy Bible is the infallible
Inerrant
Word of God
Penned by men under the direct supervision and guidance of God
Every word is true
Every word is pure
Every word is as 2 Timothy 3:16-17 says
“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. 17 God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.”
This entire Book is the living
Breathing
Life changing word of God
Jesus teaches us very simply how we get right with God
Jesus teaches us very simply how we are forgiven
Jesus teaches us very simply how we are delivered
Jesus teaches us very simply how we are redeemed
If anyone is teaching you something other than what Jesus teaches
They are misinformed
Misguided
Or are they wolves who are deliberately leading people astray
Some false prophets look for power
Some for money
Some seek control
And some just have been taught wrong themselves and refuse to open their eyes
Their hearts
Their minds
And their bibles
In order to rightly divide
The word of God
You
We must read God’s word in context
Taking scripture out of context is dangerous
And it leads to false teachings
Here is what Jesus says about salvation
John 14:6
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
Jesus is the only way
If someone is telling you different
If you believe different
You or they are not reading scripture properly
He says in John 11:25
“I am the resurrection and the life.[a] Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying.
This is a promise of ETERNAL life
Eternal
Life
Forever
If we could lose it would not be eternal
Jesus would be a liar and our faith would be useless
In John 3:16-18
“For this is how God loved the world: He gave[a] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18 “There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son.
Let me make this simple
That is how Jesus intended it
We as a human race have made such a mess out of it all
So many have tried to make something so simple
So hard
Religion has taken what Jesus intended to be all inclusive\ ALL who believe
And turned it exclusive/. All who believe and—
Jesus says
Everyone who believes will not perish
Everyone who does not -----will
Listen to me
The blood sacrifice of Jesus is enough for salvation—Period
We must accept it
Reach out to him
Turn from our sins and be delivered
By Grace
That is our part
Acceptance and repentance
Listen to me
Baptism
Good works
Church attendance
Church membership
Tithing
Serving
Are all an important part of the Christian walk and life?
A growing maturing Christian should do these things
But they are results of salvation
Not requirements of salvation/ Not conditions of salvation
Adding to the grace of Jesus
Means that the ones teaching these falsehoods
Don’t think that Jesus’ sacrifice was enough
They don’t think that the suffering he endured on the cross for us was enough
Many teach that we have to do something to earn the gift
If we have to earn it is no longer a gift
It is no longer grace
It is wages
God loved us so much that while we were still sinners he sent his one and only son to die for us
To forgive us
To save us
Jesus Christ
God the son
Fully man
Fully God
The perfect complete
Final sacrifice
He was not just a good man
He was not just a prophet
He was not just a god
But God himself- he and the Father are one!
The word was God John 1 says
He is and always will be God from before the creation of the world
And anyone who tells you differently is not telling you the truth
We have a wonderful promise from our savior
As long as we are living
That is while we are alive
While our heart is beating
While we are breathing
We have the chance to receive the sacrifice of Jesus for salvation
All can be saved—all means all and all means me and all means you
Once we cross from life to death
That offer is closed
The writer of Hebrews writes
“And just as each person is destined to die once and after that comes judgment,”
When we leave this life apart from Jesus our chance at salvation is gone
No purgatory
No baptism of the dead
No second chances
No rerides in the afterlife
God does not want any to be lost
That is why he sent Jesus
But we must- must
While we are living make a decision to accept Jesus
Any other decision is the wrong one
Listen
Scripture does not contradict scripture
If we read something are told something or are taught something that goes against the word of God
Someone is not interpreting or understanding the text correctly
This is dangerous and if we want to truly mature in our faith we must strip off the false teachings and read and learn the pure word of God and apply it to our lives
These are just a few of the weights that hold us back
Sexual immorality and sexual sins
Addictions
Dishonesty
Complacency
Apathy
Apostasy
Idolatry
Are just a few more
We could go on for days
Hebrews 12:1-5
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. 2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.[a] Because of the joy[b] awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
Close from the heart
Pray
