DROP THE WEIGHT

Intro

(ME)

Hey guys my name is Tj &

I’m from Branson, MO

My beautiful amazing wife and I have been married for 15 years.

Together we have 2 children one that’s went on to be w/ the lord another who’s 13 years old.

We also have another 8 children 1 by marriage the others by adoption Or love.

and we have 2 Grandkids! Our Grandkids are so amazing! One was just born 3 weeks ago! He was born early but I can’t wait to do all the grandpa stuff w/ him while I’m still young! Miley is our granddaughter and she’s so smart and social, and full of confidence!

I coached all accept my older kids little league teams at one point. Most of my kids are very athletic and Izzy isn’t any different. There was a baseball game where we were up by one point 2 on base and the other team hit the ball out to centerfield where izzy was. It dropped right in front of Izzy he grabbed a hold of the ball and runs it in. Now in little league at the end of the play we teach them to get the ball to the pitcher if the players are safe and the play is dead. Well one of the other team players ran through second to third and home right in front of izzy and the second player ran to third right behind izzy as izzy was passing by second base. He was completely oblivious to the goal of the play at that time. All he knew is that he was supposed to get the ball to the pitcher no matter what. By the time he realized what had happened the play was dead and one player had ran home to tie up the game. One of the reasons he made the error was because he didn’t understand the assignment. He didn’t realize that in a defensive position the point is to use the tools & tips given to stop the other team from scoring. He just listened to 1 part of the instructions given.

(We)

We live in a time in history where meme’s can tell you more about a person, than a persons outward expression of relationship w/ Jesus speaks to their purpose. A few weeks ago I preached a sermon called “Scammers be scamming ” for my youth group. We were talking about how from the beginning satan has been trying to convince us that we know best on how to navigate in this world that he created. And for all of of us, at one point, we’ve fallen for the scam, tell the person next to/ behind you “I’ve fallen for the scam!” We’ve read bits and pieces of scripture, heard people talk about God, seen the pastors have a moral failure and allowed that to be something that slows us down or stops us from pursuing who God truely has for us to be. When we’re truly living for God there’s nothing that will stop us from coming back to him everytime! Nothing that will stop the race he’s set before us!

(God)

What is the race of a Christian?

Mutiple times in scripture we see were Paul is writing to different churches, helping them to understand, walking in “The way” is better. He uses the example of one 2 things. One is a race/ fight. The reason we see those examples several times in scripture and by many preachers across the world is because of a couple reasons. The opposition is real! In a race there is conditioning of the body.

**A race is an extension of a person’s prep work.

No discipline, its only a matter of time before you get smoked by somebody.

Same w/ fighting. Have you ever heard of a an average person untrained off the street, squaring up w/ Floyd Mayweather and beating the breaks off him? Absolutely not!

Someone in his weight class would have to train just to keep up. Otherwise it’ll be a violent beating.

There are certain limitations that you would have. Certain things that would hold you back from being in a fight. Running full speed fast enough to beat a fast opponent.

The point of a race isnt just to participate, it’s to do everything in your power and developed skill to win.

Once you become a Christian, you may not have known but you started your own race. It’s not against Other Christians. It’s you against your sinful part of you. That one that wants to do the opposite of almost everything God requires of him/her. That race is a race to finish this life as much like Christ as possible. Building your faith stronger by the leading of the Holy spirit. In

2 Timothy 4:7-8 it says “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.”

In this verse to the top of 2 Timothy 4 we’re witnessing Paul discipling Timothy through encouragement, telling him do the work God has empowered you to do! Even when people don’t want to receive it, DO IT ANYWAY! Be consistent! Don’t give up. Walk through life w/ the gift of the truth he’s blessed you w/ NO MATTER WHAT! Fulfill the call! The Message translates it like this, “, so proclaim the message w/ intensity! .... Don’t ever quite! “ Verse 7-8 are saying fight in such a way you can say I fought my sinful desires! I kept my faith through the end of this life!

The race is your track to holiness & service to God!

What’s the WEIGHT?

That race is challenge! We know that any competition and fight as we were talking about before, is going to have its challenges.

When I was in High School I was in an advanced weights class. It was in my Junior year of High School. They do something called maxing out when you’re lifting during the class to test if your strength has increased during different times of the year. We were maxing on squat, the last time I had maxed at 475lbs. This time I bumped it up to 525lbs. I only had to hit it once. I get it off the bar and it’s bouncing on my shoulder. I drop down slowly and began to push up! As I’m coming up, I was thinking all kinds of words. The ones I can repeat were, come on TJ! The homies are going to clown you if you start this and drop the weight! Come on! You’ll never be the strongest! etc. I almost got it completely up and psyched myself out and drop the weight on the bars.. That failure hit hard! Next time I went back it at 500lbs. Then 510lbs then not only did I hit 525lbs. But my last lifting in school it I hit 535lbs! The whole time there were some of the guys that had lifted what I was trying to lift and more that were cheering me on! Go Tj! You’ve got it! Go GO GO!! DON’T QUIT! YOU GOT IT!

Do you know what a major part of building muscle and strength is? It’s not the weight itself. It’s the small tears as you lift and the rest while you heal! How crazy is that?!

Swipe w/ me over to Hebrews 12:1-3 These verses are so important on what to do w/ the weight that would slow us down in the race!

Hebrews 12:1–3 (ESV)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

In chapter 12 it says Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let US ALSO lay aside every weight. That begs a few questions; Who are the cloud of witnesses? & what weight is the church supposed to lay aside?

Let’s slide back one more chapter to Hebrews 11:1-15

Hebrews 11:1–15 (NKJV)

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible.

By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.

By faith Enoch was taken away so that he did not see death, “and was not found, because God had taken him”; for before he was taken he had this testimony, that he pleased God. But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith.

By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to the place which he would receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he dwelt in the land of promise as in a foreign country, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise; for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

By faith Sarah herself also received strength to conceive seed, and she bore a child when she was past the age, because she judged Him faithful who had promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born as many as the stars of the sky in multitude—innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return.

Bbile scholars believe that these guys in hebrews 11:1-15 are the cloud of witnesses. They each had different types of weights. For Abraham it was leaving everything he knew in order to obey God. Scripture tells us that all nations would be traced back to him. For Noah it was fear of the warning God prophesied that ended up saving him and his family along w/ future provision, For Sarah it was the notion that she couldn’t couldn’t have a baby because she was old! And ended up giving birth to a promise Isaac who ended up being part of a prophecy that would bring Jesus through his bloodline, who of course save the world!

You’re weight might be being born into a family where all the women in your family end up in unhealthy abusive relationships, most of the people in your family are broke, most the kids in your family are in and out of trouble at school and w/ the law, or everyone is in your family is successful so they don’t make it a priority to pursue relationship w/ Jesus. According to Hebrews the church is told to lay aside ALL WEIGHTS! Kick that sin off that’s clinging to you so you can RUN THE RACE!

Can I take a guess at what your thinking? Tj how do I pry that sin off that’s been clinging to my family for generations? How do I lay aside that fear, addiction to bad relationships in order to run the race well!? Submit to the lordship of Jesus A.k.a. The authority of YHWH in every part of your life!

Psalm 119:9 “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.”

When you submit, you begin to see & feel the holy spirit working in your heart like crazy! When you submit yourself to the work God wants to do in your life, the cloud of witnesses are cheering you on & before you know it your teaching others how to do the same thing and when you pass on, guess what, YOU GET A PRIZE!

Who doesn’t like prizes? A MONSTER THAT’S WHO!

What’s the prize?

Jesus and all those throughout scripture and outside of scripture that point back and forward to Jesus testify that he came as our our savior that we didn’t realize we needed, Died the death we should’ve died, rose from the dead, & went to be on the righthand of the father. All of that so that we could end in the same place. We know that eternity away from him his more miserable, more horrific than anything we could imagine because of the gruesome death he died so that we had a chance to follow in his footsteps. People aren’t murdered in one of the most embarrassing, painful, permanent deaths ever in existence unless they have the power to come back and give you that same ability! Our prize is that we get to resurrect in him!! The only other option is spending eternity w/o him. We don’t want that smoke!

When I was a kid, they had like this book full of what they called cheatcodes. It was for Nintendo, supernintendo, sega gensis, etc. You would type in this combo of buttons, and you would get free extra lives, money, skip levels, etc. w/o working for it. Jesus is literally the cheatcode to your eternity! Cause we can’t work enough to deserve heaven. There’s a whole lot of things we deserve, eternity w/ yhwh ain’t one of em’!

Conclusion

This morning we talked about what the race is as a christian? what the weight might be for you and how to drop off the weight? and what the prize is? If you don’t know Jesus, you haven’t started you’re race toward heaven, I want to invite you to switch races. Repent from your race toward hell and whip that bad boy around. Maybe today you’ve started your race but you’ve got so much weight on you that you’ve slowed down the race to a slower or stagnent pace! Maybe it’s being to busy or sin thats got you complacent. I wanna encourage you to be intense in your pursuit for him and come up let us pray w/ you!

Goal:

What do they need to know? Info-Define the race he’s called us to run. Define the weight that distracts us from running the race. Give the weight to Jesus to win the race he’s called us to run.

Why do they need to know it? Motivation-The cost of not running the race Jesus called us to is detrimental. We spend eternity w/o him.

What do they need to do? Application-

Why do they need to do it? Inspiration-To honor God, for our good, for others good

What can I do to help them remember? Reiteration-Have a foot race w/ one other person. Have different weight to put on me, w/ different names of things in life that weigh us down.