Sunday Service
I want this to reach your full spirited potential. He has full potential for everyone in this room. We don't want to miss it. So don't story about the Smith house in Georgia that's been sitting on a goldmine for more than a century during renovation The Landmark The Landmark hotel which is in that property in server 2006 workers discovered in the entrance a 4 ft wide hole under the concrete floor in the main dining room. The whole went straight down 19 feet to an entrance to a gold mine under the building. Captain Frank Hall built the house in 1884 and its Legend has it he was not permitted in the city wouldn't permit him to dig for gold on his property because it was too close to downtown square and probably also because he was a Yankee and it would appear that he built this house to cover up his mining operation to his health failed and he sold the land. The hotel owner said we would never have known if we hadn't shipped up the concrete for many years. The owners have joked with patrons that were at they were sitting on a gold mine. They had no idea how true that statement really was. You are sitting on a spiritual gold mine. God loves you. It is called you out of Darkness into his wonderful light and he has amazing things planned for you. Look at 1st, Peter 2 verses 9 and 10 to start it says but God shows you he chose you to be as people. You are royal priest. You are a holy nation. You are God special treasure. You are all these things so that you can give him praise God brought you out of Darkness into his wonderful light once you are not a people but now you are the people of God wants you would not receive Mercy, but now you have received Mercy. We are people of Mercy, let's put them together what spray?
father I think of all the great stories that have to do with treasure people trying to hide hide it people who are trying to find it Lord all of the the ins-and-outs of the inner workings that go into these things all the stories that are told about it. And yet Lord, there's one real treasure that we all have opportunity to grab easily. It's a treasure that is freely given and that is the gift of Salvation the gift of Jesus giving it all giving it all came his very life to take on the punishment for our sin so that we can be reconciled. We can break right back in line meant with God. It's so today we want to keep that as our Focus heat Jesus. You're the x that marks the spot in life. You're the one that we need an order took to go out and have that power you are Focus. Sword. I just ask that you would help us or we can speak to us today. Holy Spirit help us each to hear from you or did I share thoughts that help me gather and Lord. I pray that you help us all to hear what you have for each of us individuals. I think you got for the amazing things that you have planned for the day. I thank you God for the joy that you freely give and I thank you Lord for this amazing gift of eternal life that comes through Jesus Lord help us to keep that keep him and focus and keep our lives focus in the way that you want so we can have the most impact possible or we look forward to all the things you're going to do in our lives in Jesus name. Amen. You look great today. Especially great. You're a treasure.
Don't say it was sarcasm. Come on be nice.
Well our first point today as we start unpacking there are a segment scripture where to look at the first part of Hebrews chapter 12 this morning when I go to the first section of that and that's give your text. So if you have your Bible, you'd like to follow a log in your Bible. You're welcome to do that. Every otherwise things are beyond the screen today. We're going to look at that in the first part of that verse says such a large crowd of witnesses all around us. Let me start with what that's about Hebrews 11 is the faith chapter of the Bible. It's a chapter where it talks over and over again these people from the Old Testament times that did amazing things out of Faith. They trusted God in spite of difficulties. They trusted God in spite of things looking like they were going to come together well and yet they trusted him and God always pulls through it doesn't pull through the way we want but he pulls through the way that we need and he's helped them and so today.
Look at these guys these these these great Witnesses these figures serve as powerful examples of people who expressed great faith on this Earth while Desiring a better country a better Heavenly life. Then it goes on to say we must get rid of everything that slows us down. Especially the sin that just won't let go this and that and there's a sin that entangles us. We must be be determined to run the race that is ahead of us. What athletes prepare for a event sometimes not all but some will carry heavy packs on their backs to build up strength and energy against against up against when they're training in a practicing to give them the strength to build endurance, but for the actual race, they don't run with any way to the extra weight at all. But far too many Christians try to run their spiritual race while carrying all kinds of extra heavy baggage. What is sin? That's slowing us down. What is the sin that's weighing us down getting away getting in the way constricting our movement. The Greek word hear properly means obstructing or constraining. What is the Senate's obstructing your spiritual life? That's it's constricting your impact. I packed today.
an object lesson Brianna and I went last night to the Home Depot cuz I decided I wanted to do this and I do want to do this so. For today that was going to share. A scripture with you that kind of sucks or what is what are the sins that could have snake ensnare us now Commandments write thank you ma'am. You know that's that's a list of things that God wants us to a way from Galatians 5:19 has a whole list of sins. And so let me just unpack some of these.
The results are very clear you end up with sexual immorality.
It starts when you down or maybe what weighs you down is impurity.
I said I'm here. We'll see what happens. I got high hopes on here. idolatry Story 3
your sorcery
And we've got a hostility and quarreling.
Here's coraleen. hostility
Hannah we got Let's see. We got outbursts of anger outbursts of anger that happens. We'll see where that at Outburst fingers there. It is outburst of anger. Another thing that can wait. Facenda can just tear you apart to her or maybe it's selfish ambition. Maybe you are fighting against yourself ambition or another thing that could be in v
More I know you're saying could be drunkenness. Maybe alcohol or some other addiction is grabbing a hold of your life for wild parties may be at your party to Hardy. There you go.
The ladies reference. All right, here we go.
division
dissension
Not tell you I could barely lift that thing and get it up there without fumbling over.
But when you're free. You don't carry the weight. So you can say all that way. I like I know I tell you I'm a man who likes to party. I'm keeping that one. Play may not seem like much was just slow you down, you know, it wasn't going to be a problem. I just need one more little step. I heard that enough times that it just one more. All of a sudden drunk till they sounded like I'm telling you. Or maybe what's going to ride out there? I don't have any items in my home or you don't maybe it's a computer that you spend your life with where that TV. Or maybe it's a car in the garage, or I don't know maybe maybe there's something in your life that you put into a place. It's more important than God. It's become more important. If it is, it's that bad to have good things. It's bad to have good things about God. God bless the bless us, but I'll tell you what when the blessing becomes a curse because you make a focus on it instead of the Lord got a problem that I don't bother it is around anymore. I got only got three things but things on that list. I'll tell you what I'm hearing it around. So we grabbed all 16 of those things that's going to carry his down. But even one of us is a weight that is causing us to lose that send that just won't let go.
Send keeps pulling us in over and over and over again. I want you to watch this video clip of these kids like this house in it sometimes.
Why are you? I want some more.
Big like that with us. We just get it out of her system and some cuddling poop pimp smack this again. Threats of her do we learn our lesson? I hope so it's mostly naked.
Freddy crabs you and it shakes Living Daylights out of your life.
Send was to get you over and over and over again. It was the way you down.
I want you to pray in sink in your life. Is there an area of your life that you need God to help you overcome? Is there one of these or another sin one of those other sins that's causing you to struggle. Maybe it's not on this particular list, but you know what the problem maybe it's because that's out a list of sins.
They need to put up some safeguards. Maybe it'll start some accountability the moment I start the gas if I want you to stop me if you hear me whenever you're saying is cuz this is just a partial list. There's a lot of sense.
Whatever it is explore all means of resistance take joy and repenting and focus on Jesus who never send us by obeying God through greater suffering than we will ever know. We can't keep doing the same things and not putting up any safeguards and expect we're going to get different results. fight against your sinful nature So after we taking we drop our sin, then went tells us to mean to stay focused. That's Point number to stay focused.
We must keep our eyes on Jesus says start of the thing keep our eyes on Jesus. We say everybody is somebody and Jesus is our Focus you come here regularly, you'll hear me say to Everybody Somebody But she is his our Focus. That's why we're somebody it changes everything and take us home and everybody and then become part of God's family and we become a somebody
keep our eyes on Jesus. One of my favorite all-time Disney movies has the movie up as this clip makes me laugh every time but this helps those right my point watch this.
Where you at? Whatever you belongs to.
Hi there. Dog. Just say hi there.
Play Master is good and smart and smart master of all the amazing Savior Jesus Christ and all the sudden.
lady flashes across the TV with 9 close on Square Rachael Ray's man pouch your eyes. I know that sometimes women walk around with late little bit less than what they should be wearing. It's your job to bounce your own eyes. You can't control what they're doing. You can draw what you're doing. You can control where you go. You can control where you put yourself. Are you putting yourself in places where you're looking at things in attempted would think you shouldn't be tempted with stop it? Give me like a kids hitting their head over over the trash. Can we got to stay focused? Where do we have to keep her eyes with a bounce them off of that and back onto Jesus keep our eyes on Jesus who leads us complete. He endured the shame of being nailed to the cross. I tell you what that was that not a definite that they gave to regular citizens. They they gave it to other people who weren't citizens and it was a terrible awful degrading death by the Romans. Hinder the shame of being nailed to a cross because he knew that later on. He would be glad he did now. You see that the right hand of God's Throne. So keep your mind on Jesus who put up with Minnie and salts from Sinners, then you won't get discouraged and give up.
Let's keep our focus in the right place and keep it on Jesus. When did treat life like a 10 mile race a big race where we're going to go to quickly? We really exhausted after two or three miles out of the gate were going to be exhausted and sadly many of us know Christians who are like that they're keen and eager in the early days are excited. They're going to run but they're going to run out of steam before they reach maturity because they get they get along in their face and they lose all their energy or they start focusing on other things and they get their focus off at Gina's they ran off full-blown after Jesus, but then they acted like they had that teenagers and they just went off in their own way and they got cynical. We have to keep our Focus if you want any of that happens is going to focus is not Jesus. You know, anybody who's been hurt their focus isn't on Jesus when it comes to you know, what people are going to hurt you. Jesus was insulted he put up with many insults from sinners.
People who love the most even heard him Peter denied him three times, didn't believe it was him. Made the people who loved him you're going to get hurt, but stop putting your focus on your hurt. And on what those people did wrong in those Hypocrites and then that focus on Jesus, he won't let you down but you don't forgive them build a bridge and get over it. I know it's hard. I'm not saying it's easy. It's terrible. But if you focus on Jesus keep that Focus their he's going to help you build that bridge when brick at a time you going to peel it off this junk you're going to getting rid of your own selfish ambition it when I am not having any more of that not even that little bit not even a little bit not a bit. I'm not putting up with any of it and I'm building a bridge towards freedom. I'm building a bridge for the life of change radical change.
Says here says Jesus makes our faith complete.
Temporary can say he's the author and finisher of our faith the founder and Perfecter of our faith the champion who initiates and perfect our faith are different versions. This champion of ours will make us Champions. We must not give up keep our eyes on him. If you follow the champion you're going to win with him.
1st Corinthians 9 24 through 27 says don't you realize it and erase everyone wins? But only one person gets the prize so run away in athletes are disappointing their training. They do it with a prize of a fade away. But we do it with an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step every step every step of the Run. He's running with purpose. He's focusing right? He's focusing on Jesus because he's not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete training to do with it should otherwise I fear that after preaching to others. I myself might be disqualified. No luck. If a guy who wrote most of the most of the books of the New Testament was worried about losing his own faith because he wasn't going to keep his eyes and focus. I think we ought to be a little bit moved by this. Right should be a challenge to us. We got to limit. We got to be at we can embrace it. Jesus patiently instructors. He loves as he cares for us. And so we're looking the next one number three accept discipline accept discipline. To take out the Whispers forever for this. None of you have yet been hurt in your battle against sin shutting your blood what it means. But you have forgotten that I put that prayer medical statement to some versions kind of spell it out. But you do have been forgotten that the scripture say to God's children when the Lord punishes you you don't make light of it and when he corrects you don't be discouraged the Lord corrects the people he loves and disciples those he calls his own be patient when you're being corrected. This is how God treats children doing all parents. Correct their children. Earthly fathers correct this we still respect them isn't even better to be given to be given True Life by letting our spiritual father. Correct us first 10 says our human fathers. Correct is for a short time and they do it as a think Beth but God corrects us for our own good because he wants us to be holy as he is is it is never fun to be corrected in fact. At the time it's always painful. But if we learn to obey by being corrected we will do what is right and live at peace.
God wants to instruct if she wants to encourage us. She just wants to cheer us on our faith, but he also needs to correct this like a loving parent would want to help their children. Imagine a mother who is teaching her child that her daughter to driving imagine to that that daughter is really nervous about driving. In fact, it was up to the daughter. She'd rather chauffeur, you know taking her top soccer practice and take her to school and maybe we'll take her to work and just take her to her friend's house. But the mother won't give in so easily cuz the mother loves her and said that the mother instill confidence in the daughter by encouraging her and comforting her and tell her it's okay. You don't have to be nervous. Her mom says I know you can do it and maybe she reminds her daughter the time that she learn to ride a bike and she was really almost a paralyzed with fear because of when we're going to take the training wheels off did the daughter just panicked over it but then the daughter that if she said but you made it look we took the training wheels off and you learn and you're great at riding a bike now and a daughter begins to believe her mom and soon she see the behind the wheel of the car and then what the weather's not done yet. She still working. She has to give her daughter the confidence to start the car and get moving just get her safely out of the parking lot onto the road back into the parking lot. Again. She instructs her daughter. She demonstrates good practices reminds her of the steps that are easy to forget and corrects her when she starts to drift out of her lane and then all of a sudden soon the car is parked again, they get out safe and sound. Even more so than a mother and a daughter Jesus not only furnishes us with the faith we need but it make sure that we don't lose faith and he keeps following helping us follow him the rest of our lives if we allow him.
I know being disciplined is hard. I don't know about you, but sometimes when it comes to obeying God, I become a moron. I do stupid things from time to time. Am I the only one? No, we're all flawed. We all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.
We need to be encouraged by the discipline of God as disciples. His discipline is proof that we are his children. That's what it says in verse 7. It's a Denver 7. It says be patient when you're being corrected. This is how God treats his children don't all parents correct their children or we can look at what it says in 1st 10 God disciplines us for our own good that we can share in his holy he wants us to be. Holy as he is. He corrects us for our good. With this in mind we can move on to the next in the final Point Hebrews 12 12 through 13.
Says this now stand up straight. Stop your knees from shaking and walk a straight path. Then the lame will be healed instead of getting worse. Your prayers will have power when you do this. If you stop living letting all of these things your life you clear the table of send your prayer will be powerful and effective. I locked my tree.
I'll tell you what being pruned by God is hard and painful.
But he'll come in and help you off. You're getting a little out of line their son. Come on, Jeff pull yourself together. It's a all that you're getting a little too proud of yourself up here. You're supposed to be this is pointing up right now.
You're looking the wrong way you're getting too prideful. You're getting out of luck. You trying to tell everybody everybody how great you are and what you're about you're wearing it. Like fried can't have pride get rid of that get rid of that. You got strings attached to your life when it comes to me get rid of these strings that are causing you problems and they won't come off easy. I'll tell you a price not easy to get rid of we all want to be seen and heard. Nobody who was the singer that somebody walking around like this after you. Go to bring joy to God. He wants that he's doing it for your benefit. He's rounding us out as Christians. He's trimming us. He's making us better. He's making more beautiful in his sight because it's getting rid of all the sin that causes us to Be an Effective that coffee's I can taste as good as it did earlier.
What's the make a spider? He's not doing it fast. He doesn't slow and it doesn't important to the what we can handle at the moment. He's not trying to knock the wind out of you. Make some people walk around and think God's trying to punish them. That's not trying to punish you was trying to fix you. Stop blaming them for your problems. Evil is in this world. It's here. Was it God's plan? No. You want to be able to be taking over this world? He had made this beautiful garden to put these beautiful people in it. They're beautiful.
And yet they send it so he couldn't have the same relationship anymore. You can just go over. Cuz they were sinful he still love them but there was something in their way and so he couldn't it was a barrier between him and them.
He's trying to break down that barrier in your life to make you closer to him. So you get ready for heaven cuz there's no sin there. There's no impact of sin. There's no pain. It's all that's all Earth problems matter fact. He's making a new Heaven and a new Earth. He's gotten the place is gone. Get ready and then I'll tell you what, I don't want to have people look me in the eye when I get up there. They're standing in line for their judgment and see why don't you tell me what is wrong with you if you know this. Why are you keeping this a secret? I tell you that you put your weight on you and puts weight on me.
The people we love that are going to miss this if we aren't careful, we can't force their hand if I could forward people's hair done for Sirhan. That's how God works. We just have to love them and love them in spite of them. Sometimes when they're grown way out to here and they got all kinds of stuff to drive us crazy. Just smile and love them. Doesn't mean you have to get caught up in all their branches and go all that closing your stuck me a sample over you you got to get in there business. We have to love them. You're not called to fix them. That's not your job. Stop trying to fix people. You're not the trimmer. I know Christians to go around they got there a little snippy. Cheers to the smaller. Surprise is obvious, but they're trying to sniff people around trying to get them there trying to fix them. You are not the fixer. I'm not to fix her. We can't fix people we can pray for people to the God who loves them the holy spirit that can reach out to them holding shake their heart, but that's all we can do and that what we can do is live Jesus in front of them. And don't give them reason to go see I told you weren't that much of a Christian. Look you're doing this you're looking at 4 and you're doing this you're doing that. You're you're you're a thief. You're a liar. You're an addict. Whatever it is. It just take me to throw it at all. Those darts take us down yet. We need to be people with the armor of God. Living with him protecting us. He wants to protect us. Jesus is our Focus. Stand up straight.
Stop stop your knees from shaking. walking straight path
need to walk a straight path walk the straight and narrow. We need to be peacemakers. It says in there. How do we do this what you know where we're going. We got to get our character straightened out. So there's nothing that says here walk a straight path live a clean life. It says right here verse 14, try these peace there and live a clean life. Watch out for each other. It says hey, make sure no one misses out on God's wonderful kindness towards my people getting bitter. Don't let bitterness settle in your heart, you know, you can help people's bitterness settle in their hearts as much as you can be a part of removing it. If you're a good friend, you don't say yeah, they're a jerk. You say let's pray. You're a good friend. You don't add friction to their Madness and start wrapping them up and making them more mad at that person. You say let's pray. Let's see what the Lord can do. I'm going to believe with you for healing. I'm going to leave with you. I'm I'm struggling with this. I understand it's not fair what they did was wrong. However, let's pray. Try to help them out of their business bitterness. Don't let them cause trouble in the church One Bad. Apple will spoil the whole bunch of the old phrase, right? Don't take long for that being part of a disciple of Jesus is making disciples of Jesus. We are to replicate ourselves. When we think of our mission to make this Cycles part of our job is to other believers to stay the course to grow in their faith knowing that Jesus is the one who ultimately found his grace and in our hearts and he can