Lighten the Load

Good afternoon from the Panhandle. As we continue in the "Becoming A Champion" series we look at unconfessed sin and how it weights us down. I've got to admit this is a hard one for me. No, not confessing my sins, but having the tendency of finding myself drawn back to a sin. I know none of y'all have that problem, do you? We want to be the kind of Christian God calls us to be, but Satan know just how to trip us up and soon we have messed up again. And then Satan rubs our nose in it and keeps on. But praise be to God, through Christ Jesus we have a way to loosen the weight of sin. Because of Christ Jesus' redemptive work on the cross we can tell Satan to leave us alone. 

 
Suffering from terminal spinal cancer at the age or 47, former North Carolina State basketball coach Jim Valvano spoke with a reporter earlier this year. He looked back on his life and told a story about himself as a 23-year-old coach of a small college team. "Why is winning so important to you?" the players asked Valvano.

"Because the final score defines you," he said, "You lose, ergo, you’re a loser. You win, ergo, you’re a winner."

"No," the players insisted. "Participation is what matters. Trying your best, regardless of whether you win or lose – that’s what defines you."

It took 24 more years of living. It took the coach bolting up from the mattress three or four times a night with his T-shirt soaked with sweat and his teeth rattling from the fever chill of chemotherapy and the terror of seeing himself die repeatedly in his dreams. It took all that for him to say it: "Those kids were right. It’s effort, not result. It’s trying. God, what a great human being I could have been if I’d had this awareness back then." - Gary Smith in Sports Illustrated, quoted in Reader’s Digest.

Everyone in a contest wants to win: whether it is a political race, a game of HORSE, or first-place in the fair. In athletic contests, like the Olympics, competitors will do whatever it takes to win—enduring countless hours of training, employing the best coaches, removing all distractions, discarding any excess, and seeking any avenue to gain an advantage. While most compete within the rules, some athletes resort to illegal and illegitimate means to better their chances.

In becoming spiritual champions we want to win, too. A spiritual champion is one sold out to Christ Jesus, straining to become more like Him. The finish line of faith is a life that is more Christ like today than yesterday. The goal is not perfection, but progress. Consequently, the Christian life is not like a tourist strolling in the park or a vacationer meandering along a beach. The Christian life is more like a marathon

By the way, are you any farther along toward that goal today than you were yesterday? This is not a question of longevity but of likeness. How long you’ve been on the track matters little; what matters greatly is how far you’ve progressed from the starting line.

If you aren’t making progress what is holding you back? What is tripping you up in your spiritual journey? What is slowing your progress toward Christ-likeness? In other words, in the race set before you, what would God say is presently keeping you from being the champion He would like you to be?

The writer of Hebrews says, Heb 12:1: Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

Hebrews 12 begins with the word “Therefore.” When you see the word therefore in the Bible you ask what’s it there for? The “therefore” of Hebrews 12:1 is a reference back to Hebrews 11, the great hall of fame of faith. The champions of Hebrews 11 have run the race victoriously and now encourage us to become spiritual champions, too.

The men and women of faith listed in Hebrews 11 were not perfect people. Look at the list. Noah was the first man to ever get drunk. Abraham, a liar. Samson, a person of passion. Rahab, a prostitute. Moses had a temper problem. Gideon was distraught with fear. David, an adulterer and murderer. Not only were these people not perfect, they weren’t even close to perfect. But they progressed toward the finish line of Christ-likeness.

These champions of old testify to us today. Noah is telling every drunk you can stop. Abraham reminds every liar that you can tell the truth. Samson acknowledges that God’s power can enable you to win over your passion. Rahab informs you that you can break the chains of promiscuity. Moses jogs your memory that with God’s help you can control anger. Gideon testifies that you can face your fears. And, David beckons that you can overcome the worst things a human being can do.

Heb 12:1-3
12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

1. The Weights that Slows Us Down - Like the champions who have gone before us, we aren’t perfect either, we all carry a lot of weight with us throughout life that tends to impede our spiritual progress.

The Weight of Outright Sin. Sometimes we are weighed down by outright sin—things that we know are wrong but we have simply been unwilling to let go of them.

Outright sin entangles the feet so that the runner trips and falls, often repeatedly. How many people have you seen get tripped up in their Christian walk over bitterness, lying, envy, idolatry, and sexual sins?

The Weight of Besetting Sin: Sometimes the weight we carry is besetting sin—things that we have tried to get rid of, but they keep coming back time and again, like a cancer. Memories of past mistakes, bouts with addictions, wrongful habits that we can’t break are among the many besetting sins that encumber our advancement

The Weight of Distractions: Sin is not the only thing that keeps you from being a spiritual champion. Sometimes the weights are things that are not necessarily sinful, but they are distractions that keep us from progressing spiritually.

The author of Hebrews also speaks of “laying aside every weight . . . that so easily ensnares us.” These are the many things in life that are not particularly sinful in and of themselves, but they have the potential to become weights that slow you down, hold you back, and impede your progress. They are pursuits like ambition, socializing, decorating, golf, tennis, surfing the web, movies, music, talking on the phone too much, playing too many video games etc... I ask you again, in the race set before you, what would God say is presently keeping you from being the champion He would like you to be?

Is your weight addiction? What do you think you can’t get along without? We may condemn or pity the alcoholic and the drug abuser, but the truth is that we all tend to form addictions of some sort. How jealously do we guard certain little habits? Our paper in the morning, coffee on the way to work or uninterrupted time watching your favorite television show.

Addictions, large and small, gross or petty, can be overcome. God says lose the extra weight. Past mistakes and sins are a painful weight. God says lose the extra weight. Is your weight getting drunk? Is your weight lying? Maybe you struggle with issues of your heart. Or how about promiscuity, sex sin is a razor sharp trap that will ensnare and wound you. Could it be you have a temper? Fear, maybe your weight is fear. Is it possible that you are letting your past weigh you down? God says, “confess” and lose the extra weight. Do you want to start the process of losing that extra weight today? You can, just ask God to help.

2. How to Lose the Weight - How do you go about losing the extra weight? Admittedly, it will not be easy because most sins are stubborn, and many weights involve years of habit. It’s like training for an Olympic event that takes years of practice, work, discipline, and dedication. However following these steps will help.

Identify the sins and weights: The first step is to identify the sins and weights that are tripping you up. We are very aware of our outright sins and besetting sins. The distractions, however, are sometimes a little more difficult to identify.

Confess and repent of your sins: The next step is to confess and repent of what is weighing you down. Confess means “to speak the same.” In other words, it means to call it like God sees it. Confession accepts the responsibility for our actions and acknowledges what God already knows. Our holy God also demands that, in addition to confessing our sins, we repent of it, or forsake it. Repentance says that we turn our backs on the ways of sin and turn instead to God.

The farther we progress toward being a spiritual champion the more sin does not look good. We turn from sin not only for what it does to us, but also because of what it does to our Holy Father.

Be filled with the Holy Spirit: Once sin has been confessed and forsaken, God forgives and gives us the Holy Spirit to enable us to live victoriously over it. So the next step for you is to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Trying to live above sin without God’s power is like trying to drive a car without gasoline. When you come to faith in Christ Jesus, God gives you His Spirit to

empower you spiritually.

Through the Holy Spirit’s power you are given the resources that break the chains of your sin and remove the weights that hold you back so you can run the race to become a spiritual champion. Your part is to identify the sin, confess it, repent of it, and then seek the controlling influence of God’s Spirit. Once you do this then God can do miraculous work. Now this process may take but a moment or it may take many years.

Conclusion: Remember the movie Forrest Gump? Forrest was a mentally slow and physically challenged child. While wearing braces on his legs he moved painfully slow until one day a miracle occurred. As he was walking home from school with his friend Jennie a group of bullies road up on their bicycles and began throwing rocks at Forrest. Jeannie instructs Forrest to run. As he runs away his braces come off and he runs so fast that the boys on bikes can’t catch him.

In the race set before you, what would God say is presently keeping you from being the champion He would like you to be? Do you feel like Forrest Gump before his braces came off? Are you trying to run your spiritual race with leg braces? Is sin tying you down? Are distractions holding you back? What sin have you identified? Will you confess it and repent of it? Will you allow the Holy Spirit to control you so God can do a miracle in your life? When you do this then you can run unencumbered the race God has set before you.