FINISHING WELL – PART 2- James MacLellan

On my blog, i've always put my stuff on, and other people's but never my own daddy's =] And his sermon today was perfect for some of my friends out there, so i thought i'd share :) enjoy.
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FINISHING WELL – PART 2
What are the good things that are bad for me?

Introduction

Some time ago in the devotional book, Our Daily Bread, the writer told this story:

The army of Alexander the Great was advancing on Persia. At one critical point, it appeared that his troops might be defeated. The soldiers had taken so much plunder from their previous campaigns that they had become weighted down and were losing their effectiveness in combat.

Alexander commanded that all the spoils be thrown into a heap and burned. The men complained bitterly but soon saw the wisdom of the order. Someone wrote, "It was as if wings had been given to them—they walked lightly again." Victory was assured.

Richard DeHaan went on to say, “Yes, if we are to fight the good fight of faith and run the spiritual race with endurance, the watchword must be: Off with the weight!”

Then in their own unique way, the author added this little maxim:

If your Christian life is a drag,
worldly weights may be holding you back.

Exposition

This truth comes from the 12th chapter of Hebrews and provides the first area that we must consider if we are going to finish well. Let’s read the text:

“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.”

The key phrase is this: “let us also lay aside every encumbrance . . ..” Notice these 5 observations:

#1. We must understand that the phrase, “let us,” is a command. No options here. It is an apostolic, Spirit-inspired imperative. A command.
#2. The writer says, “Let us.” That means he as an apostle included himself in this. That means that this includes every believer. No one is exempt. “Let us all (so to speak) . . ..”
#3. The writer uses the word “every”. This means he means “every”. This means that there are no exceptions. This means that we are to be absolutely inclusive about this.
#4. The writer calls them “encumbrances”. An encumbrance is a legal, real estate term. It refers to anything that might affect of hold back the sale of the property. It refers to anything that might have a claim against the property. It is an impediment – something that impedes its sale. The most of the other versions call it a “weight”. The Greek word describes an encumbrance as a weight, a burden, and so on. So how do we define “encumbrance” in this context? Answer?

It is anything (short of sin) that stops you
from “running the race with endurance
through to the finish line.”

#5. What are we to do with these weights? Answer? “Lay them aside.” That is a compound Greek word: apotithemi from apo = away from + tithemi = put. So these are things we are to “put away”. Figuratively apotithemi means to cease doing what one is doing, to throw it off, be done with it or put it away. Stop doing it, “throw it off” and be done with it. In this verse lay aside is in the aorist tense which speaks of an effective, once for all action. The middle voice speaks of the subject initiating the action to lay aside and participating in the action. The middle voice conveys the “reflexive” sense, and so the idea is “you yourself lay aside”. Why do I give this Greek grammar lesson?

1) So we all understand this morning that the action we take must be initiated by us.
2) So we all understand that it must be ruthless, complete. That whatever it is that is weighing us done must be put away, once and for all.

So I think we must all, by this time understand what the Holy Spirit is saying. We are to once and for all put away anything that will impede our run to the finish line.

Richard Baxter, the great Puritan theologian, writes that “it is a most lamentable thing to see how most people spend their time and their energy for trifles, while God is cast aside.” Do you see the point? It is a sad thing that we spend our time on custard, fruit, jelly, whipped cream kind-of-stuff and fail to put our energy into the stuff that matters. Rather than laying aside stuff that doesn’t count, we lay aside God.

Encumbrances might be “good things”. A serious athlete does not choose between the good and the bad; he chooses between the better and the best. Many decisions we make in the Christian life are like that. The questions we pose should not be “what is wrong with that”; but better, “is this the most excellent choice?” If something is going to hinder our progress, distract your attention, saps your energy; or dampens your enthusiasm for Christ we are called to ruthlessly get rid of it.

What Are The Encumbrances?

Ray Stedman gives us some helpful advice here:

The race of the Christian life is not fought well or run well by asking, "What’s wrong with this or that?" but by asking . . .: Does it help me run . . . Don't ask about your music, your movies, your parties, your habits: What's wrong with it? Ask: Does it help me RUN the race!?

It becomes absolutely impossible for me to answer that question for you as an individual. But the primary question that we must face as we make choices in this life is clear: Does this help me run the Christian race? At this point I can be very negative. I doubt if it takes rocket-science to figure out what slows down most of us. The point is that anything in your day can potentially hinder you Christian life. If we were all honest, we spend a lot of time and energy on things that don’t help us run the race. Any honest person would admit that. So let me turn this around and ask this question: “What helps me run the race?” What are some things that I need to be doing constantly that will enable me to finish well?

3 Habits of People Who Will Finish Well?

Now I intend these to be very “earthy” and practical. I do not know anyone who is finishing well who doesn’t do these things:

#1. Trusting God by meeting with Him in the morning. Psalm 143:8, says, “Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.” So many of us learn that our morning devotions ought to rigorously done. “Have you done your devotions,” is a question we ask one another? Here’s a better question, “Who are you trusting in this morning?” Starting your day, trusting in your self is a very poor choice. Are you consistently meeting with the Lord, getting your morning teaching – your orders for the day? Are you consistently worshipping (lifting up your soul) to Him? Are you starting the day hearing “I love you” from the King of Kings? What are you doing when you are not doing that? That is a weight!

#2. Training through regular Bible Study. The characteristic of the true believer is one who is "like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation," (1 Peter 2:2) That word for long could be translated “lust”. It’s the same word. It is written in the aorist, active, imperative tense meaning that this is an on-going command. Let’s look back to a verse in Hebrews that we studied previously. Hebrews 5:11-14,

11 Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is not accustomed to the word of righteousness, for he is an infant. 14 But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil.

The key word there is “time”. For the amount of time you’ve been a believer you ought to be teaching others! Your not, why? Because you’re not digesting solid food. Are you involved in personal; or small group Bible Study? Do you long to be under the preaching and teaching of God’s Word? Whatever you’re doing instead of that -- is a weight. It is an encumbrance.

#3. Expressing Care through Fellowship. We are instructed in God’s Word “as each one has received a special gift, employ it in serving one another as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” Peter tells us that this service glorifies God in verse 11. You cannot speak of the gifts of the Spirit without correlating this to fellowship. Just like there can be no leadership without follower-ship; there can be no service without fellowship. Now we understand through God’s Word that are families are to be the prime recipients of this ministry (1 Timothy 5:8). We also know that a close priority to this service is the Body of Christ (Galatians 6:10). You will notice that the weight of biblical evidence is that we need fellowship – not so much to receive care but as an opportunity to give. For example we are to:

a. Build one another up (1 Thess 5:11)
b. Bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2)
c. Pray for one another (Jam 5:16)
d. Confess our sins to one another (Jam 5:16)
e. Be kind to one another (Eph 4:32)
f. Show hospitality to one another (1 Pe 4:9)
g. Teach one another (Col 3:16)
h. And so on.

So here’s the catch that you are now familiar with. The things that we do rather than that …. are encumbrances. They are weights holding us back from finishing well.

Application

I have gleaned this outline from the model of Jesus. Listen to what it says: “And Jesus kept increasing in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” Here’s my contention: Anything that deadens or inhibits are growth in grace; anything that inhibits our relationship with Jesus Christ; anything that interferes with our priority ministries (family and church) is an encumbrance – a weight. We are called to “lay them aside”, get rid of them.