Called to Freedom: Looking Inward

INTRO

Good morning, everyone.

Let me ask you something:

Have you ever felt weighed down by something?

Not just tired, but slowed down

Like something was holding you back mentally, emotionally, or spiritually.

When I think about that feeling,

think about football players practicing, specifically resistance training

They wear parachutes or have someone literally holding us back while we try to run

And the whole point was simple:

Once the weight was removed, you could run faster

Here’s the question for us today:

If the Christian life is a race, and it is,

what are the things weighing us down from running in the freedom Jesus already gave us?

TENSION

Yesterday we talked about how God’s faithfulness makes freedom possible

Today we’re being honest about something else:

Even free people can live like they’re still chained

Galatians 5:1 CSB

For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm, then, and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

That means slavery is no longer forced on us

but it can be picked back up

So if freedom feels hard sometimes, the Bible doesn’t pretend that’s strange

It tells us to look inward and ask:

What am I carrying that Jesus never asked me to carry?

TRUTH

Point 1 – Sin That Clings

Hebrews 12:1 says we are to:

“Lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely…”

Notice the wording:

Sin clings…

It wraps around us

It entangles our feet while we try to run

Romans 6 reminds us that sin no longer has dominion over us

but it still tries to convince us it does

That’s why freedom doesn’t mean pretending sin isn’t serious

It means recognizing that Jesus already broke its power, and now we actively resist it

If sin stays in our lives, it will always slow us down

Chains and freedom can’t coexist

Point 2 – Weights That Hinder

But Hebrews doesn’t stop at sin

It also says, “every weight.”

That’s important because weights aren’t always sinful

A weight is anything that’s not a sin by itself, but still keeps you from running the race well.

Things like:

Social media

Friend groups

Sports or activities

Entertainment

Even good things that slowly take God out of first place in your life

Weights are often harder to notice than sin because they don’t always feel wrong

They just quietly take priority over God

But anything that consistently pulls your heart away from Jesus, will eventually keep you from experiencing freedom

Point 3 – Laying It Aside

Hebrews doesn’t just identify the problem, it gives a solution:

“Lay aside.”

That phrase literally means to put off or to lay down

Like taking off a backpack before running

The bottom line is simple and uncomfortable:

We must be willing to give up anything that hinders us from running the race well

Freedom isn’t about trying harder

It’s about letting go more honestly

APPLICATION

So here’s what I want you to think about today:

For Christians:

What sin or weight do you need to lay aside now?

What is currently hindering your relationship with Jesus the most?

For those still deciding:

What’s stopping you from dropping the baggage that separates you from God and stepping into freedom in Christ?

Jesus didn’t just forgive sin

He died and rose again so you could actually be free from it

CONCLUSION

You don’t lay things aside to earn freedom

You lay them aside because freedom has already been given

Christ has set you free

Now don’t carry what He already told you to drop