Lay Aside Every Weight
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We are used to fog on this part of the island hey?
When the fog rolls in there is no chance of seeing things far off. We are lucky if we can see a hand before us at times.
The book of Hebrews talks about faith heros. Celebrity heros, those who are well known and seen for what they have contributed and made it through. Others have no names mentioned but they have carried out lives of unknown greatness.
When the fog rolls in and things get harder in our lives we think our lives are tough but Hebrews 11 reminds us that there were countless others who faced way worse . When we think our life is unfair think about those who:
faced jeers
flogging
chains
imprisonment
stoning
sawed in half
These people too are heros of faith even through there is no name mentioned in scripture.
Friends we need to find our faith in these foggy times and keep going.
Keep Perspective
Keep Perspective
We need to keep perspective and have the one day at a time mentality.
Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated—the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.
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 cloud of witnesses that this verse is referencing here talks about those in the Old and New testaments that have endured in their faith. Those who were strongest in their faith. They stayed focused and let their faith help them through when things got hard.
Life is hard, pain is painful, hurting hurts, and trials are trying but they don’t last forever.
Do not spend your life playing victim or feeling sorry for yourself. As long as you are the victim you will not taste the victory!
Pity causes the victim mentality. It leads to whining and complaining, where we lament in curcumstances. We need to focus on what is wrong and ignore what is right. When the pity party takes place exhaustive lists of whats been done surface, causing complaints to rise up, then blame and criticism and refusal to take responsibility. This leads to quitting.
When we start blaming each other the fog moves in and we cannot see the shore!
When the fog rolls in we can begin to become cynical and pessimistic. When there is encouragement there is insistance of being wrong. Pessimism is the next block from self pity and self pity is the last stop before giving up.
Change Perspective
Change Perspective
Hebrews 11 is not an exhaustive list when it comes to faith heros.
Take these stories and those of the persecuted church and let them inspire you and fill your heart with courage to keep going and don’t give up.
Look around this church. There are many stories in these seats and those in the history of the church - those God has healed, saved and radically changed. Let it challenge you to reach out to others.
Just say yes to what he has for you and don’t give up hope!
Our thought life is so important. How you think has to reflect hope not hate or hopelessness!
Take every thought captive!
Let that be your perspective!
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.
Self talk we need to control it.
I was chatting with a friend this week and heard a story about a dream he had of when he was going through a rough time and things were foggy in his life. He was recalling all the bad things that were being said. These things have a way of repeating over and over in your head in the quiet moments and then it gets into your heart and make you feel worthless, hopeless and loose faith.
In the dream this friend felt a helmet being put on his head and all those pessimistic comments, those words were like bullets hitting off his head and was now protected by that helmet.
How powerful this dream as an illustration of how to take captive our thoughts. Not allowing them to get into our head and hurt where we need to be.
Let the self talk be encouraging and life giving!
Why, my soul, are you downcast?
Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
for I will yet praise him,
my Savior and my God.
Here we see David giving an example of positive self talk. This is David’s personal mantra. David speaks to himself in v. 5, v. 11 and then again Ps. 43:5.
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and
Why am I discouraged?
Why is my heart so sad?
I will put my hope in God!
I will praise him again—
my Savior and my God!
Why does he keep saying the same thing to himself?
We know lots about David in scripture - He had good reason to be tempted and downcast and discouraged but refused to throw a pity party but instead he talked words of encouragement to himself to keep from quitting.
Self talk like this is speaking courage and truth to yourself.
Trade pity for Praise!
Trade pity for Praise!
Realize how much we have to be thankful for!
Look at Paul’s life
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
We need to scrape away every trace of self pity and replace it with a fresh coat of praise!
illustration:
Let me share a testimony of a woman who returned from a mission trip. She had gone to the island of Tobago, where she worked with a leper colony.
On the last day of her trip, she was leading worship for the colony when she asked if anyone had a favorite song. She saw a woman toward the back raise her hand. The woman’s face was completely disfigured. She had no ears and no nose; her lips were gone.
But she smiled, raised a fingerless hand and asked “Could we sing the hymn ‘Count your Blessings please’?
(Taken from pg. 74 Kyle Idleman “Don’t Give Up)
We often get discouraged by our circumstances and loose perspective but remember this - you don’t really know what God is up to in your life!
Faith gives us confidence in what we cannot see so that we can accept that life is difficult. But faith understands that our best life is not now but yet to come. Do not grow weary and loose heart!
Overcome and use what is happening as a springboard to propell you to greatness!
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms.
The power that overcame death can help us overcome our circumstances. This is no walk in the park talk but absolute supernatural power!
Our confidence to overcome is not a confidence in ourselves but in the power of the Holy Spirit who is in us!
Life is difficult for everyone, some choose to be defeated and others choose to overcome!
“People who have to overcome adversity are forced to learn more, work harder and actually have an advantage over those who have it easier”. - Malcom Gladwell
“Challenges are opportunities in disguise” - R. Callahan
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Speak these words to your soul when you feel like giving up.
But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
Throw off the weight
Throw off the weight
This is the part where we need to get serious!
Heb. 12 is the challenge for us not to quit.
We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses.
The faith and faithfulness of our heros gives confidence to keep believing and courage to keep going.
Are you weary? Think of those who have gone before us.
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.
Throw off - cast off ballast which is a Greek compound word which is translated “to lay something down and push it beyond reach”.
This verse is speaking to those who feel worn down and ready to give up.
Identify what is weighing on them, set it down, and kick it away.
Candy bowl - There are things in life that are hard to give up. Some of us find it easier than others. But I want to use this simple illustration to try to help clarify the picture here.
Picture your favorite food. Picture it sitting next to you. Could be chips, candy, ice cream etc. That bowl is not to you testing you and making you want to indulge over and over again.
You can’t stop indulging. So you push it away but that’s not enough. You have to move it to a place where you cannot reach it!
We need to examine our lives.
Look deep.
Identify what is tripping you up, slowing you down and move it out of reach!
“Let us throw off” - this is not a mild suggestion it is a direct charge to use your strength, whether physical, emotional or affecting your will, depending on the situation and throw them away.
Get up!
Grab Hold!
Throw it to the otherside of the room! Get rid of it!
Throwing off implies something is on you.
You can only know that something is on you if you feel it, experience it or see the effects of it!
Identify these things that weigh you down and take action so you won’t grow weary or loose heart!
There are two things identified in Hebrews that describe our entaglements that cause us to quit:
Everything that hinders
The sin that easily entangles
Conclusion:
This morning I close with an illustration of a runner. Greeks are athletic, there are many illustrations of runners in scripture.
Runners use leg weights to build strength, this builds strength and endurance. Once the runner has put themself through the heavy weight training they cast off all weight, anything that weighs them down. They don’t want any additional weight. They want light clothing, shoes, even shoe laces. This is the mark of a serious runner.
Are you serious in your walk?
Are you willing to get more serious?
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 hinders here is a noun that means any kind of weight.
Anything that weighs you down throw it off!
Don’t be carrying it around. It is doing you no good!
Get rid of any kind of sin, any kind of weight that holds you back.
Carrying anything extra slows you down.
If you carry a weight long enough you will reach the point where you cannot keep going.
Examine your life, cast off the weight that hinders!