"Today, I encourage you as you face the stormy winds, earthquakes, and chaos of life that you not try to survive it in your own strength. Your strength won’t be enough. But His will be. Rely on Him. Let Him be your harmonic balancer, the tuned mass damper of your heart."
Monday, December 24, 2018
Balanced in the Lord
"Today, I encourage you as you face the stormy winds, earthquakes, and chaos of life that you not try to survive it in your own strength. Your strength won’t be enough. But His will be. Rely on Him. Let Him be your harmonic balancer, the tuned mass damper of your heart."
Saturday, December 22, 2018
An Unkempt Christian
Let us not be unkempt, unfaithful, disheveled Christians. Let us diligently pursue godliness and the disciplined Christian walk. Let us practice what we preach and live our faith.
Thursday, December 20, 2018
Encouraged in the Lord
Honestly, it seemed a little trite: “Yeah yeah, David encouraged himself in the Lord…that’s nice. I don’t feel like encouraging myself in the Lord. I am not in a worshipful mood here. I don’t feel like singing. I don’t have the energy to sit and meditate on high and lofty things. All I can think about is what am I going to do now?!”
Listen as Pastor Rick transparently shares a message of encouragement based on the story of David and Ziklag from 1 Samuel chapter 30.
Monday, December 17, 2018
Biblical Principles of Giving
Pastor Rick wrestles with and carefully addresses the important concept of Biblical Giving. Pastor Rick discusses firstfruits, offerings, and tithes. We profoundly hope this message will help you with your perspective and your stewardship of the resources with which you are blessed.
Sunday, December 16, 2018
2018 Christmas Variety Show - Joy to the World!
Today, several of our children shared their Christmas Perspectives in word and song. I hope you enjoy it!
Saturday, October 20, 2018
Our Priority Toward God
"God’s number one priority toward us is to restore us into proper relationship with Him. This is so that we can then fulfill our top priorities toward Him which are to love Him entirely and then love others. When we do these things, we not only keep the commandments, but we fulfill the original intent of our design to rejoice in one another and be good stewards of everything entrusted to us." Listen as Pastor Rick explains this today.
Friday, October 19, 2018
God's Priority for Us
Does God want us to be happy? Is our happiness God's priority? Listen as Pastor Rick considers this.
Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Nothing Can Separate Us
"I am persuaded and convinced today without any uncertainty that you are secure in the love of Jesus. If you have repented and confessed your sins – you have been born again – adopted into the family of God. If you are walking in obedience to the gentle guidance of the Holy Spirit serving Him as Lord of your heart and life, then you are His child and NOTHING NOTHING NOTHING can separate you from His love! You can rest in His love. You can relax in His love. You can let go and float in His love! You can completely let go of all your fear and worry and concern. His love is wrapped tightly around you! His grace will keep you! His strength will sustain you. He will KEEP you in His love! And in that place of trust and faith, you can remain and know that not only will you not be separated from His love, but you will win a resounding victory through that love – you will be more than a conqueror!"
Monday, October 8, 2018
YIELDED
Pastor Rick's notes on the idea of "letting go" are shared here for your review and study.
Today I am going to walk you through a little bit of a mind journey to help you understand how I got to where I am today in this message. For many days I have had one word in my mind around which I expected to build a sermon. That word is “Let.”
Now the word, “let” has several definitions or modes of use in the English language, but the primary meaning is the meaning that my mind was fixed on: “To permit; to allow; to suffer; to give leave or power by a positive act, or negatively, to withhold restraint; not to prevent.” The idea is to permit someone to do something or to give them permission to do something. I was thinking of it in terms of the scripture, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5).” But when I went to that passage to look at the Greek word for “let” I discovered that there was no Greek word for it. It was simply an English word necessary to translate the idea of the Greek words. I thought, well, maybe I’m missing something. Maybe there is another place where the word “let” is used in the New Testament where I can find the idea I am looking for. But in the 300+ instances where the word appears in the King James New Testament, I did not find a Greek word that communicated the idea of “letting” or “letting go.”
I thought, Lord, I know you’ve had this thought in my mind and heart. I know I am supposed to preach on this idea. What now? I turned to Google. I typed, “Letting God have control.” That led me to an article on Christianity.com that tried to answer the question, “How do I let God take control of my life?”
One of the first scriptures referenced by the author there was the familiar passage from Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
I felt prompted to go look at that Scripture. I did. And as I looked at cross references for that Scripture, I came to Romans chapter 6 which we will read in a moment. But in Romans chapter 6, I discovered the word I was looking for: that word is “Yield.”
Now before we read our Scripture, I want you to understand the meaning of the English word “yield.” After we read our Scripture, we will talk about the Greek word that is translated as “yield.”
Per Mr. Webster, the word yield has a lot of depth but for our purposes here today the word yield means,
To allow; to concede; to admit to be true; as, to yield the point in debate
To give, as claimed of right; as, to yield due honors;
To permit; to grant
To resign; to give up
To surrender
To give up the contest; to submit
To comply with
To give way
Not to oppose
To give place as inferior in rank or excellence
Now, LET us look to our scripture passage in Romans Chapter 6. Please read aloud with me the verses in Bold.
1 ¶ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)
Now we are going to focus on verses 12-19 in a moment, but you can see that the word “yield” appears 4 times in that passage. Now if you just plug in some of those meanings for the word “yield” into those verses, they look something like this.
“13 Don’t resign your body as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin…Don’t surrender or submit your body as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin… but permit yourself to be surrendered unto God to comply with His ways”
“16 Know ye not that to who you give yourself, surrender yourself, submit yourself to obey, his servants you are…?”
“19 Even so now allow your body, permit your body, resign your body, surrender your body as a servant to righteousness unto holiness.”
That sounds pretty good. That seems like we are getting at the meaning of things. And we are, but we are not quite there yet. Why? because the Bible was not originally written in English. The King James Translation in all its beauty is not the original language. So while the word “yield” has a lot of depth and meaning and teaches us a lot about the concept, we are not quite there. We need to go one step further. We need to look at the Greek word that is translated to the English word “yield.”
That word is the word I posted on Facebook last night: “Paristemi” – not pastrami! (How many of you looked it up?) The word means “to bring, to present, to stand by.”
Now let’s read our text passage with that in mind:
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield [bring, present, or stand by with] your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield [bring, present, or stand by] your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Interestingly, if you go back to Romans 12:1 where it says “present your bodies a living sacrifice” guess what word it uses? Yes! Paristemi! “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present [bring, present, or stand by] (or you could say “yield”) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Pastor Rick, you have bored us to tears with your word study what is the point? It is simply this: The Apostle Paul is urging us to completely yield our bodies and souls unto God – to surrender utterly to His will, His life, and His commands. He is saying that we must present ourselves to God in submission to stand before Him in obedience. We are LET Him reign over us. We are to PERMIT Him to have our bodies and all that they do. A fundamentally key element of this is obedience.
See, a lot of people get the wrong idea of surrender. They think they can make a brief confession, acknowledge Jesus as Lord and move on with their lives. They think it is simply some sort of ceremonial action and that is all. A thousand times no! This is a full blown surrender of enemy forces to a conqueror and then an occupation of the property by the conqueror. Let me try to illustrate.
There are several famous surrenders in history, but what some believe is the most famous is the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces at the end of WWII.
Likely the most famous surrender ceremony in history, the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, was meant to reinforce the might of the Allies and celebrate the end of the war.
Held in Tokyo Bay on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri, it featured an original flag from the ship of Commodore Perry, the naval officer who opened Japan to the West. Representatives from Japan and all the Allied nations signed a formal document of surrender. Then thousands of Allied planes flew overhead in formation, and Japan's occupation formally began.
After years of chaos, violence, and the deaths of tens of thousands of human beings, the war came to an end with an unconditional surrender of the Japanese nation. At this point, the nation of Japan was occupied by Allied forces who took control and totally re-shaped the nation.
That is exactly what we are talking about here in Romans chapter 6: unconditional surrender of ourselves to God, and a full on occupation of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And under this benevolent occupation we must obey His will. We must keep His commands.
When an enemy land is occupied by an invading force, the invading force imposes their own laws & requirements. The populace must obey or suffer consequences. This includes curfews, yielding to military vehicles to have right of way, and often a suspension of their previous customs, norms, and laws. In the case of Japan it meant a complete re-writing of their constitution and a remaking of their way of thinking and way of life.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
You have now surrendered yourself to Christ. You CANNOT allow sin to reign in you anymore. You cannot let it have control. Sin is dethroned, superseded, kicked out. In this earthly, dying body, you are not allowed to obey it anymore. You cannot continue in sin. It is not permitted. You cannot obey the lusts and desires of sin.
13 Neither yield [bring, present, or stand by with] your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
You are not unconditionally surrendering your body to be the tool of unrighteousness to sin. No. You are unconditionally surrendering yourself, yielding yourself, presenting yourself unto God. You are surrendering your sword of resistance against His rule. You are no longer walking the path of death eternal. Instead you are now walking in the path of peace and life as one alive from the dead and you are yielding your body as tools and weapons of righteousness unto God. You no longer are on the side of sin. You are no longer its soldier. You are now on God’s side and are to be His tool, His vessel, His soldier.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
For sin SHALL NOT have dominion over you anymore. You are no longer under the consequences of the law or penalties of sin. You have surrendered to God and are now in receipt of grace! When the Japanese government surrendered to the Allies, the government told its people that they needed to brace themselves for total chaos when the occupation came. They expected their nation to be ravaged not rebuilt. Instead, the Allies came to rebuild their nation. The people did not need to fear. They were no longer the enemy. They had been conquered. They were no longer under the impending doom of attack and assault and punishment by the violence of war. They were now under the benevolent rebuilding hand of restoration. You might say they were no longer under the law but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Was the expectation now that since Japan had surrendered they could do whatever they wanted? Could they say, “Oh yeah…we signed the paper but we are going to keep doing our own thing”? Of course not! Now that they surrendered to the invading force, they had to submit to it in every way. Why do we think any differently in our regard to surrender to God? Shall we continue in sin…God Forbid!
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Don’t you understand that whomever you are standing by and whom you are obeying, you are his servants? When you are picked for a team to play sports, what do you do? You go stand by them, right? Then when the game begins, you are supposed to follow the leadership of the captain of the team. You obey them. You yield yourself to them. Somehow, many “Christians” think they can be on God’s side and still play for the sin team. You cannot do that! “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Please notice the tense of this phrase: you WERE the servants of sin – not any more. If you are still serving sin, then I need to break some news to you: you are a sinner. You cannot serve sin and serve Jesus. They are incompatible with one another – they are like oil and water – ice and fire. They do not mix. If you are sinning, then you are a sinner. If you are a sinner, you need to humble yourself, you need to repent, seek forgiveness, and surrender yourself unconditionally to God. You need to let Him take over. You need to walk away from sin unto God. You need to obey Him from the heart! “…ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Hallelujah! We can be made free from sin. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not reading and interpreting the message of this book accurately. Jesus died that we might be made free from sin! COMPLETELY! What does it mean to be free? Does it mean that you have no rules or laws to follow? No. But it does mean that you are out from under the bondage of slavery and coercion and no choice. It means you have the opportunity to fulfill your design – to live within the boundaries of your design – to fly within the envelope you were created for. Being made free from sin – you became the servants of righteousness! You were set free from involuntary slavery to voluntary servitude: very different things!
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield [bring, present, or stand by] your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
In other words, I speak plainly and simply so you can understand – Just like you yielded yourselves with abandon to the things of the flesh and sin, uncleanness and iniquity, now abandon yourself to God. Let Him have you completely. Present yourself to Him. Stand on His side. Yield to His ways. Obey His rules. Become His servant. Do not hesitate to fling yourself upon His mercy and capitulate to His will. Then, serve Him with love and walk in complete obedience.
How were you a sinner? Did you resist sin? No. You yielded to it. You followed the impulses of anger and lust and pride and hatred and unforgiveness and self-loathing. You committed sin recklessly and did what you wanted to do because you wanted to do it. Now serve God the same way. Let the impulses of His Spirit now drive your actions. Yield no longer to sin, but to righteousness. Let the anger be replaced by balance and self-control. Let the lust be replaced by devotion, purity, and faithfulness. Let the hatred be replaced by selfless love. Let the unforgiveness go and be replaced by forgiveness and humility. No longer wallow in self-loathing or self-pity, but discover the self-esteem of understanding you are designed by God, you have eternal purpose and meaning, you are loved madly by Him, and He wants to unlock all of your intended potential through your obedience to His Word and ways and by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you. God wants you to be an obedient servant to righteousness and in so doing you will discover holiness – purity and sanctification.
So I present you the question today: Are you “Letting” God have you and your ways? Are you yielded to His Lordship and ruling over your heart? Are you presenting yourself before Him for His disposition and use? Are you on the Lord’s side – on His team? Are you unconditionally surrendered to Him? Have you let Him occupy your heart? Have you committed to obey Him completely and yield to His grace? Are you still living in sin or have you forsaken sin to walk in righteousness?
12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
6:13 Neither yield [bring, present, or stand by with] your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Today I am going to walk you through a little bit of a mind journey to help you understand how I got to where I am today in this message. For many days I have had one word in my mind around which I expected to build a sermon. That word is “Let.”
Now the word, “let” has several definitions or modes of use in the English language, but the primary meaning is the meaning that my mind was fixed on: “To permit; to allow; to suffer; to give leave or power by a positive act, or negatively, to withhold restraint; not to prevent.” The idea is to permit someone to do something or to give them permission to do something. I was thinking of it in terms of the scripture, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus: (Philippians 2:5).” But when I went to that passage to look at the Greek word for “let” I discovered that there was no Greek word for it. It was simply an English word necessary to translate the idea of the Greek words. I thought, well, maybe I’m missing something. Maybe there is another place where the word “let” is used in the New Testament where I can find the idea I am looking for. But in the 300+ instances where the word appears in the King James New Testament, I did not find a Greek word that communicated the idea of “letting” or “letting go.”
I thought, Lord, I know you’ve had this thought in my mind and heart. I know I am supposed to preach on this idea. What now? I turned to Google. I typed, “Letting God have control.” That led me to an article on Christianity.com that tried to answer the question, “How do I let God take control of my life?”
One of the first scriptures referenced by the author there was the familiar passage from Romans 12:1-2, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
I felt prompted to go look at that Scripture. I did. And as I looked at cross references for that Scripture, I came to Romans chapter 6 which we will read in a moment. But in Romans chapter 6, I discovered the word I was looking for: that word is “Yield.”
Now before we read our Scripture, I want you to understand the meaning of the English word “yield.” After we read our Scripture, we will talk about the Greek word that is translated as “yield.”
Per Mr. Webster, the word yield has a lot of depth but for our purposes here today the word yield means,
To allow; to concede; to admit to be true; as, to yield the point in debate
To give, as claimed of right; as, to yield due honors;
To permit; to grant
To resign; to give up
To surrender
To give up the contest; to submit
To comply with
To give way
Not to oppose
To give place as inferior in rank or excellence
Now, LET us look to our scripture passage in Romans Chapter 6. Please read aloud with me the verses in Bold.
1 ¶ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound?
2 God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
3 Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?
4 Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
5 For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
6 Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.
7 For he that is dead is freed from sin.
8 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him:
9 Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him.
10 For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God.
11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
20 For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death.
22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life.
23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. (KJV)
Now we are going to focus on verses 12-19 in a moment, but you can see that the word “yield” appears 4 times in that passage. Now if you just plug in some of those meanings for the word “yield” into those verses, they look something like this.
“13 Don’t resign your body as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin…Don’t surrender or submit your body as an instrument of unrighteousness unto sin… but permit yourself to be surrendered unto God to comply with His ways”
“16 Know ye not that to who you give yourself, surrender yourself, submit yourself to obey, his servants you are…?”
“19 Even so now allow your body, permit your body, resign your body, surrender your body as a servant to righteousness unto holiness.”
That sounds pretty good. That seems like we are getting at the meaning of things. And we are, but we are not quite there yet. Why? because the Bible was not originally written in English. The King James Translation in all its beauty is not the original language. So while the word “yield” has a lot of depth and meaning and teaches us a lot about the concept, we are not quite there. We need to go one step further. We need to look at the Greek word that is translated to the English word “yield.”
That word is the word I posted on Facebook last night: “Paristemi” – not pastrami! (How many of you looked it up?) The word means “to bring, to present, to stand by.”
Now let’s read our text passage with that in mind:
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
13 Neither yield [bring, present, or stand by with] your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield [bring, present, or stand by] your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
Interestingly, if you go back to Romans 12:1 where it says “present your bodies a living sacrifice” guess what word it uses? Yes! Paristemi! “I beseech you therefore brethren by the mercies of God, that ye present [bring, present, or stand by] (or you could say “yield”) your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.”
Pastor Rick, you have bored us to tears with your word study what is the point? It is simply this: The Apostle Paul is urging us to completely yield our bodies and souls unto God – to surrender utterly to His will, His life, and His commands. He is saying that we must present ourselves to God in submission to stand before Him in obedience. We are LET Him reign over us. We are to PERMIT Him to have our bodies and all that they do. A fundamentally key element of this is obedience.
See, a lot of people get the wrong idea of surrender. They think they can make a brief confession, acknowledge Jesus as Lord and move on with their lives. They think it is simply some sort of ceremonial action and that is all. A thousand times no! This is a full blown surrender of enemy forces to a conqueror and then an occupation of the property by the conqueror. Let me try to illustrate.
There are several famous surrenders in history, but what some believe is the most famous is the surrender of Japan to the Allied forces at the end of WWII.
Likely the most famous surrender ceremony in history, the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945, was meant to reinforce the might of the Allies and celebrate the end of the war.
Held in Tokyo Bay on the deck of the battleship USS Missouri, it featured an original flag from the ship of Commodore Perry, the naval officer who opened Japan to the West. Representatives from Japan and all the Allied nations signed a formal document of surrender. Then thousands of Allied planes flew overhead in formation, and Japan's occupation formally began.
After years of chaos, violence, and the deaths of tens of thousands of human beings, the war came to an end with an unconditional surrender of the Japanese nation. At this point, the nation of Japan was occupied by Allied forces who took control and totally re-shaped the nation.
That is exactly what we are talking about here in Romans chapter 6: unconditional surrender of ourselves to God, and a full on occupation of our hearts by the Holy Spirit. And under this benevolent occupation we must obey His will. We must keep His commands.
When an enemy land is occupied by an invading force, the invading force imposes their own laws & requirements. The populace must obey or suffer consequences. This includes curfews, yielding to military vehicles to have right of way, and often a suspension of their previous customs, norms, and laws. In the case of Japan it meant a complete re-writing of their constitution and a remaking of their way of thinking and way of life.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof.
You have now surrendered yourself to Christ. You CANNOT allow sin to reign in you anymore. You cannot let it have control. Sin is dethroned, superseded, kicked out. In this earthly, dying body, you are not allowed to obey it anymore. You cannot continue in sin. It is not permitted. You cannot obey the lusts and desires of sin.
13 Neither yield [bring, present, or stand by with] your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
You are not unconditionally surrendering your body to be the tool of unrighteousness to sin. No. You are unconditionally surrendering yourself, yielding yourself, presenting yourself unto God. You are surrendering your sword of resistance against His rule. You are no longer walking the path of death eternal. Instead you are now walking in the path of peace and life as one alive from the dead and you are yielding your body as tools and weapons of righteousness unto God. You no longer are on the side of sin. You are no longer its soldier. You are now on God’s side and are to be His tool, His vessel, His soldier.
14 For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace.
For sin SHALL NOT have dominion over you anymore. You are no longer under the consequences of the law or penalties of sin. You have surrendered to God and are now in receipt of grace! When the Japanese government surrendered to the Allies, the government told its people that they needed to brace themselves for total chaos when the occupation came. They expected their nation to be ravaged not rebuilt. Instead, the Allies came to rebuild their nation. The people did not need to fear. They were no longer the enemy. They had been conquered. They were no longer under the impending doom of attack and assault and punishment by the violence of war. They were now under the benevolent rebuilding hand of restoration. You might say they were no longer under the law but under grace.
15 What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Was the expectation now that since Japan had surrendered they could do whatever they wanted? Could they say, “Oh yeah…we signed the paper but we are going to keep doing our own thing”? Of course not! Now that they surrendered to the invading force, they had to submit to it in every way. Why do we think any differently in our regard to surrender to God? Shall we continue in sin…God Forbid!
16 Know ye not, that to whom ye yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Don’t you understand that whomever you are standing by and whom you are obeying, you are his servants? When you are picked for a team to play sports, what do you do? You go stand by them, right? Then when the game begins, you are supposed to follow the leadership of the captain of the team. You obey them. You yield yourself to them. Somehow, many “Christians” think they can be on God’s side and still play for the sin team. You cannot do that! “Know ye not, that to whom ye yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?”
17 But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Please notice the tense of this phrase: you WERE the servants of sin – not any more. If you are still serving sin, then I need to break some news to you: you are a sinner. You cannot serve sin and serve Jesus. They are incompatible with one another – they are like oil and water – ice and fire. They do not mix. If you are sinning, then you are a sinner. If you are a sinner, you need to humble yourself, you need to repent, seek forgiveness, and surrender yourself unconditionally to God. You need to let Him take over. You need to walk away from sin unto God. You need to obey Him from the heart! “…ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”
18 Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness.
Hallelujah! We can be made free from sin. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not reading and interpreting the message of this book accurately. Jesus died that we might be made free from sin! COMPLETELY! What does it mean to be free? Does it mean that you have no rules or laws to follow? No. But it does mean that you are out from under the bondage of slavery and coercion and no choice. It means you have the opportunity to fulfill your design – to live within the boundaries of your design – to fly within the envelope you were created for. Being made free from sin – you became the servants of righteousness! You were set free from involuntary slavery to voluntary servitude: very different things!
19 I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield [bring, present, or stand by] your members servants to righteousness unto holiness.
In other words, I speak plainly and simply so you can understand – Just like you yielded yourselves with abandon to the things of the flesh and sin, uncleanness and iniquity, now abandon yourself to God. Let Him have you completely. Present yourself to Him. Stand on His side. Yield to His ways. Obey His rules. Become His servant. Do not hesitate to fling yourself upon His mercy and capitulate to His will. Then, serve Him with love and walk in complete obedience.
How were you a sinner? Did you resist sin? No. You yielded to it. You followed the impulses of anger and lust and pride and hatred and unforgiveness and self-loathing. You committed sin recklessly and did what you wanted to do because you wanted to do it. Now serve God the same way. Let the impulses of His Spirit now drive your actions. Yield no longer to sin, but to righteousness. Let the anger be replaced by balance and self-control. Let the lust be replaced by devotion, purity, and faithfulness. Let the hatred be replaced by selfless love. Let the unforgiveness go and be replaced by forgiveness and humility. No longer wallow in self-loathing or self-pity, but discover the self-esteem of understanding you are designed by God, you have eternal purpose and meaning, you are loved madly by Him, and He wants to unlock all of your intended potential through your obedience to His Word and ways and by the power of the Holy Spirit at work in you. God wants you to be an obedient servant to righteousness and in so doing you will discover holiness – purity and sanctification.
So I present you the question today: Are you “Letting” God have you and your ways? Are you yielded to His Lordship and ruling over your heart? Are you presenting yourself before Him for His disposition and use? Are you on the Lord’s side – on His team? Are you unconditionally surrendered to Him? Have you let Him occupy your heart? Have you committed to obey Him completely and yield to His grace? Are you still living in sin or have you forsaken sin to walk in righteousness?
12:1 ¶ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
6:13 Neither yield [bring, present, or stand by with] your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield [bring, present, or stand by] yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
Sunday, October 7, 2018
What Hinders You?
Today's Message was not recorded so here are Pastor Rick's notes for your perusal:
Today’s sermon is not a Father’s Day Sermon. I would have liked to preach on our “Abba” Father today or to talk about the attributes of God’s Fatherhood as I have in the past or admonished us to be godly fathers ourselves. But that is not what I feel on my heart. Instead, today, I feel on my heart this question: What Hinders You?
Hebrews chapter 11 is the Biblical Hall of Fame or Hall of Faith as some have called it. Beginning in Genesis and continuing down through the time of the prophets, many are listed who had great faith. Toward the end of the chapter the writer says,
Hebrews 11:32 ¶ And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens [invaders].
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Then turn the page: Let us read together Hebrews 12:1-3
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Here in Hebrews, Paul is using the metaphor of the games held in the great Roman amphitheaters. Surrounded by the spectators, the runners would strip naked, laying aside every burden, removing anything that would cause resistance, so that they could run at their very best without any encumbrance. They wanted nothing in the way of victory.
Paul also uses this metaphor in another place as he addresses the Christians of Galatia. Into their church had come strong influences that were leading them astray. Paul questions them with our text today:
Galatians 5:7 – “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?”
Let us consider today: What hinders you from obeying God? What weight is holding you back in the race? What sin besets you? What hinders you from obeying the truth? What is going to keep you from winning the race?
I want to share with you a few metaphors as well and use them to apply this thought to our hearts.
What are some other words for hinder or hindrance? Block, Blockage, Hamper, Impede, Impediment, Weight, Encumbrance, Burden, Problem, Resistance, Obstruction, Prevent, Delay, Interference, Slow Down, Set Back, Hold Back, Barrier, Restraint, Limitation.
As I thought on this a few pictures/things came to my mind:
Barbed Wire/Fencing
Jersey Wall
Cones/Barrels
Ball & Chain / Ankle Weights
A Plumbing Blockage – Hinders things from working properly. (Parking Lot/Objects/Tree Roots)
A Hearing Blockage – Hinders communication (Birth or Situational)
An Airway Blockage – Hinders Life! (Sudden & Emergency)
A Heart Blockage – Hinders Life! (Brought on by diet/lifestyle)
A Heavy Burden
Light Pollution
Of these, I want to take 3 of them and apply them.
Heart Blockage
Plumbing Blockage
Light Pollution
Heart Blockage – When I think of heart blockage, what I am really thinking of is coronary artery disease. (There is “heart block” which is a different medical condition involving the electrical impulses of the heart – I am not thinking of that.) “CAD is caused by plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart (called coronary arteries) and other parts of the body. Plaque is made up of deposits of cholesterol and other substances in the artery. Plaque buildup causes the inside of the arteries to narrow over time, which could partially or totally block the blood flow. This process is called atherosclerosis. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart muscle.” How you reduce your risk for CAD is by eating less sodium and less fat, increasing physical activity, avoiding obesity, and reducing high cholesterol and high blood pressure. While not entire, most of the cause of CAD is poor diet and exercise. Over time, these bad habits result in serious damage to the body. As the blockages build, they can literally result in discomfort, pain, and even death. Spiritually I would ask you today, what hinders your heart? What is your spiritual diet and exercise like? Are you feeding yourself a constant diet of spiritual junk food? Are you avoiding or skimping on healthy reading and meditation on God’s Word? Are you spiritually exercising your muscles? Are you walking in humility, loving your neighbor, putting God’s priorities first? Are you exercising the spiritual disciplines of reading and meditation, fasting and prayer? Or, are you building all the wrong spiritual habits of neglect, laziness, apathy, and carelessness? Are you committing sin and letting it leave its debris in your heart? If so, you are setting yourself up for a spiritual heart attack – spiritual death! Are you following Christ closely on your way to being a spiritual athlete or are you lagging behind to become a spiritual couch potato? What hinders you?
Plumbing Blockage – A plumbing blockage usually occurs in only a few ways. One, something is flushed or inserted into the pipe that doesn’t belong there. Two, a slow buildup of grease/minerals/debris can eventually clog the pipe. Three, a slow creeping of tree roots into the pipe to constrict and obstruct the flow. I want you to think of this in terms of the Holy Spirit in your heart. The Holy Spirit is often thought of as oil that flows. It is like oil in a lamp…particularly think of an oil menorah: In each of the menorah branches, olive oil flows into the wick. But imagine if one of the branches had an obstruction or blockage? The oil eventually would cease to flow to the wick through that tube and that flame would go out. We want nothing to obstruct the spiritual plumbing of our heart that would hinder the work and movement of the Holy Spirit in us. We don’t want this to happen quickly with an action or spoken word that blocks the pipe. We don’t want it to happen over time because we don’t maintain the pipe and it becomes greasy and obstructed by the buildup of various things. Hebrews 12 also talks about roots of bitterness springing up (15). We don’t want anything to creep in and begin to obstruct or hinder the flow in our spiritual plumbing. What hinders you?
Light Pollution – Thursday night, Emma and I went grocery shopping. It was after dark when we got to Wal-Mart. As we left the van, we noticed the planet Venus shining brightly in the sky. Emma asked why we couldn’t see other stars. I told her it was because we had too many other lights around us that were hindering us from being able to see them. It’s known as “light pollution.” That immediately struck my heart. Think about it: the brilliance of our spectacular universe obscured by pitiful man-made electrified night. Immediately I made the connection spiritually. How often is our view of the holiness and brilliance of God obstructed by the dimmer lights of earth? What is obstructing my view of Him? Is it media, politics, entertainment? Is it my own dreams and ambition? Is it someone else who is more important to me and outshines God in my mind? What earthly person or thing keeps me from seeing Jesus as I ought? What hinders you?
And may I say that I am talking to all of us today wherever we are on our spiritual pathway.
If you are not a believer, then I ask, “What hinders you?” What prevents you from taking hold of faith? Lay it aside. Do not be like King Agrippa who was “almost persuaded” to be a Christian.
If you are a believer, but not yet sanctified, I ask, “What hinders you?” What prevents you from making a full and complete surrender? What prevents you from receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit and His purging fire?
If you are a believer, born of God, washed and cleansed, and filled with the Holy Spirit, I ask, “What Hinders You?” What is holding you back from fulfilling His perfect will? What tempts you, what causes you to stumble? What is in your way to prevent you from walking in complete obedience? What battle are you facing in which you need the victory?
This brings me back to our Scripture texts. In the first, Paul says, “Lay aside everything that obstructs your ability to run the race. And set aside the besetting sin – that is the all-encompassing sin – the sin that surrounds you: whether this is external in your environment or internal from a carnal heart. Lay it all aside, and run…run the race that is set before you patiently, persistently, and without faltering. Fix your eyes of faith on Jesus Christ who is the example. He ran His race with the greatest endurance – even embracing the cross, despising its shame. He did not even let the cross slow Him down or hinder Him from completing the course that had been set before him. He ran without wavering. We are to follow in His footsteps and run the race. What hinders you?
Finally in the second text, Paul makes it clear that it is possible to lose sight, lose faith, lose hope, lose perspective, lose momentum, and lose the race: “You did run well…who hindered you?” Don’t take your eyes off Christ. Don’t give in to the tempter. Don’t hold onto your carnal selfishness. Don’t listen to the voices of earth. Don’t let your spiritual heart get CAD. Don’t let your spiritual plumbing get blocked from allowing the free flow of the Holy Spirit within. Don’t let the things of earth block the light of His glory in your life. Don’t let anything hinder you!
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Today’s sermon is not a Father’s Day Sermon. I would have liked to preach on our “Abba” Father today or to talk about the attributes of God’s Fatherhood as I have in the past or admonished us to be godly fathers ourselves. But that is not what I feel on my heart. Instead, today, I feel on my heart this question: What Hinders You?
Hebrews chapter 11 is the Biblical Hall of Fame or Hall of Faith as some have called it. Beginning in Genesis and continuing down through the time of the prophets, many are listed who had great faith. Toward the end of the chapter the writer says,
Hebrews 11:32 ¶ And what shall I more say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions,
34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens [invaders].
35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection:
36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment:
37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented;
38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Then turn the page: Let us read together Hebrews 12:1-3
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Here in Hebrews, Paul is using the metaphor of the games held in the great Roman amphitheaters. Surrounded by the spectators, the runners would strip naked, laying aside every burden, removing anything that would cause resistance, so that they could run at their very best without any encumbrance. They wanted nothing in the way of victory.
Paul also uses this metaphor in another place as he addresses the Christians of Galatia. Into their church had come strong influences that were leading them astray. Paul questions them with our text today:
Galatians 5:7 – “Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?”
Let us consider today: What hinders you from obeying God? What weight is holding you back in the race? What sin besets you? What hinders you from obeying the truth? What is going to keep you from winning the race?
I want to share with you a few metaphors as well and use them to apply this thought to our hearts.
What are some other words for hinder or hindrance? Block, Blockage, Hamper, Impede, Impediment, Weight, Encumbrance, Burden, Problem, Resistance, Obstruction, Prevent, Delay, Interference, Slow Down, Set Back, Hold Back, Barrier, Restraint, Limitation.
As I thought on this a few pictures/things came to my mind:
Barbed Wire/Fencing
Jersey Wall
Cones/Barrels
Ball & Chain / Ankle Weights
A Plumbing Blockage – Hinders things from working properly. (Parking Lot/Objects/Tree Roots)
A Hearing Blockage – Hinders communication (Birth or Situational)
An Airway Blockage – Hinders Life! (Sudden & Emergency)
A Heart Blockage – Hinders Life! (Brought on by diet/lifestyle)
A Heavy Burden
Light Pollution
Of these, I want to take 3 of them and apply them.
Heart Blockage
Plumbing Blockage
Light Pollution
Heart Blockage – When I think of heart blockage, what I am really thinking of is coronary artery disease. (There is “heart block” which is a different medical condition involving the electrical impulses of the heart – I am not thinking of that.) “CAD is caused by plaque buildup in the walls of the arteries that supply blood to the heart (called coronary arteries) and other parts of the body. Plaque is made up of deposits of cholesterol and other substances in the artery. Plaque buildup causes the inside of the arteries to narrow over time, which could partially or totally block the blood flow. This process is called atherosclerosis. Over time, CAD can weaken the heart muscle.” How you reduce your risk for CAD is by eating less sodium and less fat, increasing physical activity, avoiding obesity, and reducing high cholesterol and high blood pressure. While not entire, most of the cause of CAD is poor diet and exercise. Over time, these bad habits result in serious damage to the body. As the blockages build, they can literally result in discomfort, pain, and even death. Spiritually I would ask you today, what hinders your heart? What is your spiritual diet and exercise like? Are you feeding yourself a constant diet of spiritual junk food? Are you avoiding or skimping on healthy reading and meditation on God’s Word? Are you spiritually exercising your muscles? Are you walking in humility, loving your neighbor, putting God’s priorities first? Are you exercising the spiritual disciplines of reading and meditation, fasting and prayer? Or, are you building all the wrong spiritual habits of neglect, laziness, apathy, and carelessness? Are you committing sin and letting it leave its debris in your heart? If so, you are setting yourself up for a spiritual heart attack – spiritual death! Are you following Christ closely on your way to being a spiritual athlete or are you lagging behind to become a spiritual couch potato? What hinders you?
Plumbing Blockage – A plumbing blockage usually occurs in only a few ways. One, something is flushed or inserted into the pipe that doesn’t belong there. Two, a slow buildup of grease/minerals/debris can eventually clog the pipe. Three, a slow creeping of tree roots into the pipe to constrict and obstruct the flow. I want you to think of this in terms of the Holy Spirit in your heart. The Holy Spirit is often thought of as oil that flows. It is like oil in a lamp…particularly think of an oil menorah: In each of the menorah branches, olive oil flows into the wick. But imagine if one of the branches had an obstruction or blockage? The oil eventually would cease to flow to the wick through that tube and that flame would go out. We want nothing to obstruct the spiritual plumbing of our heart that would hinder the work and movement of the Holy Spirit in us. We don’t want this to happen quickly with an action or spoken word that blocks the pipe. We don’t want it to happen over time because we don’t maintain the pipe and it becomes greasy and obstructed by the buildup of various things. Hebrews 12 also talks about roots of bitterness springing up (15). We don’t want anything to creep in and begin to obstruct or hinder the flow in our spiritual plumbing. What hinders you?
Light Pollution – Thursday night, Emma and I went grocery shopping. It was after dark when we got to Wal-Mart. As we left the van, we noticed the planet Venus shining brightly in the sky. Emma asked why we couldn’t see other stars. I told her it was because we had too many other lights around us that were hindering us from being able to see them. It’s known as “light pollution.” That immediately struck my heart. Think about it: the brilliance of our spectacular universe obscured by pitiful man-made electrified night. Immediately I made the connection spiritually. How often is our view of the holiness and brilliance of God obstructed by the dimmer lights of earth? What is obstructing my view of Him? Is it media, politics, entertainment? Is it my own dreams and ambition? Is it someone else who is more important to me and outshines God in my mind? What earthly person or thing keeps me from seeing Jesus as I ought? What hinders you?
And may I say that I am talking to all of us today wherever we are on our spiritual pathway.
If you are not a believer, then I ask, “What hinders you?” What prevents you from taking hold of faith? Lay it aside. Do not be like King Agrippa who was “almost persuaded” to be a Christian.
If you are a believer, but not yet sanctified, I ask, “What hinders you?” What prevents you from making a full and complete surrender? What prevents you from receiving the infilling of the Holy Spirit and His purging fire?
If you are a believer, born of God, washed and cleansed, and filled with the Holy Spirit, I ask, “What Hinders You?” What is holding you back from fulfilling His perfect will? What tempts you, what causes you to stumble? What is in your way to prevent you from walking in complete obedience? What battle are you facing in which you need the victory?
This brings me back to our Scripture texts. In the first, Paul says, “Lay aside everything that obstructs your ability to run the race. And set aside the besetting sin – that is the all-encompassing sin – the sin that surrounds you: whether this is external in your environment or internal from a carnal heart. Lay it all aside, and run…run the race that is set before you patiently, persistently, and without faltering. Fix your eyes of faith on Jesus Christ who is the example. He ran His race with the greatest endurance – even embracing the cross, despising its shame. He did not even let the cross slow Him down or hinder Him from completing the course that had been set before him. He ran without wavering. We are to follow in His footsteps and run the race. What hinders you?
Finally in the second text, Paul makes it clear that it is possible to lose sight, lose faith, lose hope, lose perspective, lose momentum, and lose the race: “You did run well…who hindered you?” Don’t take your eyes off Christ. Don’t give in to the tempter. Don’t hold onto your carnal selfishness. Don’t listen to the voices of earth. Don’t let your spiritual heart get CAD. Don’t let your spiritual plumbing get blocked from allowing the free flow of the Holy Spirit within. Don’t let the things of earth block the light of His glory in your life. Don’t let anything hinder you!
1 ¶ Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
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