Untangled

Announcement

Graduation Sunday: June 6 • Honor high school and college graduates • [e-mail] • Info needed: where they are graduating from, what future plans are, baby and current picture

First service only: At the end of our 10:30 AM service, we will be ordaining two new elders for our leadership here at Maple Grove, Jeff Carson and Austin Tucker. That will be part of our livestream service if you’d like to watch from home.

Introduction

What are some things that easily get tangled up in your life?

When I bought my first iPod a long time ago, they came with those white earbuds. It seems like every time I threw those things in my pocket, they came out like this (pull out earbuds). Completely tangled up. Then, you’d spend the time untangling them, try to use this little piece to keep them from getting tangled up the next time you put them in your pocket, but you knew it was a fool’s errand because it was just going to get tangled up again as soon as you put it back in your pocket.

How about Christmas-time? You’re all excited about decorating for Christmas and when you go to your storage to grab the Christmas lights, you realize you didn’t end up packing them up very well and now they’re a giant ball of tangled wires that will take hours to untangle. This is why I bought a Christmas tree that’s pre-lit. No tangled wires with that one!

Maybe it’s not wires that get tangled…maybe it’s your hair. Now I don’t have this problem, but I remember when my niece was younger, her hair would get tangled and it hurt when her mom or dad would brush the tangles out. I always felt bad for her, and thankful I’ve always have kept my hair short.

There are so many things that get tangled up in our lives. But it’s not just physical things, right? Our lives can get tangled up with many things that at first seem like they’re not that bad, but over time, they’ve caused us to stumble or struggle moving forward.

Some of these things could include:

Bad relationships, making bad decisions with who we hang out with, who influences our lives

Bad financial decisions, getting ourselves into debt or not being generous with our money

Making poor entertainment decisions, looking at things on the internet you shouldn’t be, watching shows that might not be the best for you, listening to music that you’d be afraid or ashamed to tell someone the lyrics.

Getting into arguments over political issues, not civil conversations or debates where you agree to disagree, but literal arguments with those people you are on opposite sides of.

And so many more...

The Bible calls the things that get all tangled up in our lives sin. Sin is the stuff in our lives that keep us from living fully for God. It is what drives us to desire the things that aren’t of God. Sin happens when we know the right thing that God wants us to do to follow Him, and then choose the opposite.

It is so easy to get entangled by sin, even when we don’t want to. It can be like those Christmas lights, you try to neat and perfect but then you don’t get it quite there and then the next year when you go to decorate, you have a ball of lights you need to untangle.

Like those lights, you try to keep yourself walking the straight and narrow path, but sometimes you commit just what seems like only a little bit of a sin and then it compounds on you. And it’s a constant struggle to keep fighting that sin.

Sometimes we find that we’re not struggling against the sin, we’re not putting up that fight, and that’s when sin gets completely tangled up in our lives and now it’s going to take time to untangle it.

However, we don’t need to fight this alone. We don’t need to try to muster all of our strength in order to fright against the sin that gets entangled in our lives and causes us to stumble and fall.

In the New Testament in the Bible, one writer says that there is a better way to run the race of life, a way that we want to look at today.

So, if you have your Bible or a Bible app on your phone, turn with me to the book of Hebrews chapter 12.

The author of Hebrews is unknown and there is debate on who it could have been. One popular opinion is that the writer is the apostle Paul (I think there have been good arguments for this take; although, there are also differences to Paul’s other New Testament writings, which some believe that makes it unlikely). There are a number of other people who have been put forward, but none really have a strong lead on the others.

So, it is probably best that we say that the author is anonymous.

The audience was likely a Jewish-Christian audience with the references to the Old Testament and well-constructed arguments demonstrating Jesus as greater than some who were very important in Judaism like angels, Moses, the high priest, and sacrifices.

While this is a written letter sent to churches, many believe that it was originally a sermon that was then sent around. I think this is the case. When our small group was studying Hebrews, one of the things a study guide I had tell us to do was to read the entire book out loud. I did, and man, this could preach today. It takes about twenty-or so minutes to read out loud and you can hear it reads differently than the letters.

We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.

As you turn there, let me ask you a question: who do you admire and why do you admire them?

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...”

So who is he talking about? Who is this great cloud of witnesses? To understand that, we need to look back one chapter, chapter 11 which speaks to the faith of many of the Old Testament heroes.

It begins with a definition of what faith is...

Hebrews 11:1–2 NIV84

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for.

The writer then proceeds to take the reader through amazing examples of faith, beginning with Abel, continuing with Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, the Israelites as they passed through the Red Sea, or when they marched around the city of Jericho and its walls came down, Rahab, and even more who go unnamed yet died for their faith in God.

These great people who demonstrated faith in the Lord are the great cloud of witnesses. The author doesn’t use witness here as if they are watching you, but, as one commentator puts it, “they are witnesses in the sense that they bear witness to the Christian community of God’s faithfulness and of the effectiveness of faith.”

They are examples of faith and that God is faithful to fulfill His promises. They were amazing examples of faith for the Jewish-Christians in the first century, when this letter was written.

These people are still examples of faith for us today. Not that they were perfect people. They had flaws and missteps, I mean, included in this list are Gideon, who wanted to test the Lord, Samson, who pretty much did everything against his role as a judge of Israel, and David, who, even though he was probably the greatest king of Israel, he committed adultery and murder. And yet, they were still commended for their faith.

We need to look back to people of faith as well. The author of Hebrews uses the analogy of a running a race for the Christian life. And so, to run that race well, even to start it well, we need to look back at those who have already run that race, and run it well. We look back to the Old Testament heroes of faith, like the author does here. We are fortunate that we can also look to the New Testament and see new heroes of faith, like the apostles, who by faith followed Jesus, who most, by faith, were executed.

We can also look to those throughout the two thousand years since the completion of the New Testament. Those who lived by faith. Like Martin Luther, Hudson Taylor, Justin Martyr, Dwight L. Moody, Billy Graham, and so many more. These people aren’t perfect, and that should encourage us!

So, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we run our race. But to run that race, we can’t be weighed down by anything.

We need to throw off the things that hinder us.

As a youth pastor, one of the things I try to do is to support our students in their school/extracurricular activities. I’ve had the opportunity to go to some really fun things over the years and some that were…fine. One of the activities I was able to attend over the past few years with one of our students who graduated last year were cross country and track events. Luke (who volunteers and helps run our sound mix on many Sunday mornings) ran cross country and distance-running track events. One thing you notice when you watch these athletes run is that they, of course, don’t run with tons of layers on. Most of the time, it’s a tank top and shorts, both super light weight. I’m pretty sure their shoes even have as little weight on them as possible. And why do they do that? When you’re running a long race, you don’t want to add on any extra burdens to weigh you down.

The same is true as we run the race of the Christian life. This race is a marathon, it’s not a sprint. And so, we need to heed the words of the writer of Hebrews.

Hebrews 12:1b

The New International Version (1984) God Disciplines His Sons

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles

What is it that hinders your race? What sin do you find so easily gets you all tangled and tripped up? Is it something that you have struggled with for years and can’t quite shake? Maybe it’s something like anger, jealousy, gossip, pride, or something like that. Or you continue to deal with sexual sins that weigh on you.

Perhaps it’s not sin that is hindering you or what you need to throw off.

Maybe it’s the weight that watching the news constantly brings to you.

Maybe there’s a hobby that you take up that leads you to neglect time with your family or even take time away from reflecting on God’s Word.

Maybe it’s something that you’ve not given over to the Lord. Is there something in your life that you hold on to, thinking you can take care of it yourself, when maybe, if you give that over to God, it can lift that heaven burden from you?

There are burdens that each of us carries, sins that we all need to deal with. These are the things we need to “throw off,” to make ourselves as light as possible so that we are able to run this marathon of a race.

We are to run the race with perseverance.

Next week, I’ll be up in Speedway for a little race called the Indianapolis 500. For about three/three-and-a-half hours, thirty-three drivers will run their cars five hundred miles at an average of over 215 miles per hour. Having grown up in Speedway and living across the street from the track, it is one of my favorite places to be. While it’s not an endurance race like some that run for 24 or 12 hours, the drivers still need to drive for 500 miles at breakneck speeds in order to win the race. One of the four time winners of the 500, Rick Mears, when asked about winning the race, would always start by looking at the first lap. He says that you can’t win the race in the first turn. Meaning there’s no point in making a bad decision that could take you out of the race on the opening lap. The driver must run all 200 laps to win that race. Oftentimes, you can make a small mistake or give up positions early and then recover. There have been many times where drivers have been patient in their strategy which has resulted in a win.

The same is true for the race the Christian runs in their lifetime.

Hebrews 12:1 NIV84

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

The word “perseverance” could also be translated “endurance.” It relates to running the race with steadfastness, delaying gratification until the race is completed. In order to run this race well, you must run with endurance in mind. Understand that it is a long-haul. You can’t win it in the first turn.

So we prepare by looking to what those who have traveled before us have done by faith. We lighten our load from the burdens and the sins that weigh us down.

We continue to train every day to improve our pace, our technique, and our endurance. It’s like using the couch to 5k plan. What does this look like?

Obedience to God’s Word, day after day, year after year.

Making decisions based on God’s direction and His Word, choosing to live in righteousness instead of sin.

To do this, we need to read God’s Word every day. Starting small if we have to but growing in endurance over time.

It also means that we spend a lot of time in prayer over our lives, asking God to lead us, to give us the strength to keep going. So many times, we start to feel like we’re fading, when we need to refuel, and do that by going to the Lord.

The race is laid out before us, and then finally, we look toward the finish line.

Application: Fix our eyes on Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 NIV84

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Of course, every race has a finish line. Most races, you know where that line is. For the cross country runners, it was after three laps. For the Indy 500, it’s 200 laps and 500 miles.

But for the Christian, we really really don’t know how long our race is going to be. It could last for many years or it could end sooner than we think. But there will be a finish line. And at that finish line stands our Savior, Jesus.

The writer of Hebrews describes Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith. As one commentator puts it, “The word translated ‘author’ is rich with meaning and can communicate variously the idea of a champion, leader, forerunner, or initiator.”

He is also the perfecter of our faith, which describes how Jesus brings our faith to its intended goal. That is why we need to look to Him, throw off the things of this world that hinder us, the sin that we have become tangled in.

Similar to the heroes of faith from Hebrews 11, Jesus is also One we look to for endurance in faith, yet He is the supreme example. As one writer puts it, “Jesus is able to strengthen His followers to endure because He is the one who sits at the right hand of the throne of God and awaits their cry for help.”

Jesus is our ultimate example for endurance of faith as He endured the cross. His sacrificial death on our behalf on the cross clears the roadblocks from our race. The cross was one of the most shameful forms of execution, saved for slaves and criminals. As He hung on the cross, Jesus was mocked and ridiculed. Yet He scorned the shame of the cross because of the joy set before Him. The joy of fulfilling the plan of redemption and Jesus’ exaltation.

And so look to Jesus. He is the finish line. Throw off everything that hinders you from reaching Him. Get untangled from sin, from whatever is keeping you separated from God. Run your race well, fix your eyes on Jesus.

Prayer

Elder Ordination - 2nd Service

Today is another special day in our church body. Today we appoint and ordain two new elders in Jeff Carson and Austin Tucker.

In the New Testament book of Acts, we see elders being appointed to lead the early churches and so we seek to follow this model. The elders provide oversight of the body of Christ as shepherds of the congregation.

The task of leading the church as an elder and deacon is a big one. It should not be taken lightly. The Bible gives a clear imperative of the person who will serve in this capacity.

1 Timothy 3:1–7 NIV84

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

As an elder, you are called to a higher calling than others in the church. Live up to that calling. Remember, you are leading the church that Christ loved and died for. This leadership, though, begins in your own homes. As a reminder, your families need to remain high on your list of priorities.

To the congregation: as we appoint these new leaders, we continue to need your prayers for us as we lead this church. Leadership in the church can be a heavy burden and it can suffer many attacks from the enemy. So please, continue to keep the elders, pastors, and staff in your prayers. Especially our elder candidates as they join us.

And so, we now ask our elder candidates, Jeff and Austin, to please stand. I’m going to ask you some questions:

Christian Minister’s Manual Formal Ordination of Leaders in the Church

Leader: Do you men wish to be set apart as elders in this church?

Candidates: We do.

Leader: Do you promise to be faithful to God’s Word?

Candidates: We do.

Leader: Do you promise to encourage the people, follow the leadership of the other elders and ministers in this church?

Candidates: We do.

Now I’ll read to you the charge given by the apostle Peter to his fellow elders in 1 Peter 5:1-4.

1 Peter 5:1–4 NIV84

To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.

Have them come forward and kneel and elders to come and lay hands

Father, you know our hearts and the needs of our congregation. We believe that you have guided us in our selection of these men, and we ask that your Spirit empower them for the ministries you have assigned to them. Work through them to do your will, to shepherd and lead this congregation. Be their constant companion. We commit them to Your service as elders in this church. Lord, give us wisdom to determine what should be done, courage to begin, and strength to finish. Protect us from division and strife, but grant harmony and peace. May repetition not make us indifferent, nor habit tempt us to offer you less than our best. Rather may our sacrifice of time and effort be worthy of Him who sacrificed His all for His church. Thank you, Father, for considering us faithful and calling us to this service. In Christ’s name we pray, amen.

We welcome our new elders into our leadership, Jeff and Austin. Please continue to pray for them and all the leadership and staff here at Maple Grove.

Jeff and Austin will be out in the foyer after the service if you’d like to take some time to talk and encourage them.

Invite David to stage