Unloading Your Baggage

The intent contact maternal family for Wednesday, August 31 carrying around extra emotional length can seriously impact your ability to do just about everything.

Today's program takes you to Hebrews chapter 12 to help in unloading your baggage when you fly most of the place of the your baggage is an issue they want to know how to make you have but will know how much their way and the then they want you to know how much is going to cost you extra for having those bags then the whole issue is will they get there. When you do.

Secondly, if not, will they finally catch up with you on thirdly you just lose them all to go and so what I want to talk about in this message is a different kind of baggage, but the title of this message is unloading your baggage and I want you to turn if you will to Hebrews chapter 12 and also read these first three verses together because we are talking about baggage and the truth is, all of us have it so like if you will. In this 12th chapter of Hebrews and the first three verses. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us 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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. And so I want us to look at the baggage that all of us have to deal with and I like because all of us have and sometimes his baggage came with us. We were very early in life. For example, many parents put baggage into the lives of their little children. Very early in life baggage that damages them in such a fashion that they live with that. The rest of their life unless someone helps them to identify and then to deal with.

I watch this, you can be a fine Christian.

You can read your Bible every day.

You can pray you can go to church.

You can type your income. You can do all those things. And in spite of that, you can have an encumbrance in your life that is having a very negative painful and sometimes destructive effect in your life so Moses will do you have encumbrances in your life. I had a very damaging encumbrance in my life that I was not even aware of and it told me something about looking at other areas of my life to see what was there and I looked around at this particular point in my life and everything was right except on the inside of me something that I could not identify was not right. I didn't know what it was. I pray I look around I could blame anything on anybody.

Churches grow everything was fantastic except on the inside of me. So finally I called for my friends and I said you know God's trying to tell me something I don't know what it is and I need some help not only been a pastor for a number of years to call these four men we all met in Colorado. They all came different place in the country in the sense that he is willing to do.

I don't know what God is trying to say to me, but I've got to find out please.

I like to do. I would like to tell you everything that I know about me, good, bad and indifferent. I like you listen and then whatever you four men agree because they were godly men. Whatever you four minute reaction to that's what I'll do. Is that okay so resort about 2 o'clock that afternoon and we talked on till about 10 o'clock that night had little dinner and the during the night I wrote I wrote 17 pages legal size pages long hand of things that I wanted to say to them that I want to be sure I didn't forget next morning we talked on the about 10 o'clock in one of these men said Charles put your head on the table and close your eyes, so I did. He said no and I told him everything on the one of the things I told about is my father died when I was nine months of age and I never thought about having a dad really and so he said to me, but you have on the table, close your eyes. He said your father just picked you up in his arms and held you. What do you feel and I burst out crying and cried and cried and cried and I did know why sky's asked me that again. I kept on crying.

Finally, when I finish crying. He said to me you said or did you feel I said I felt hugged and I felt warm and I felt secure and I broke out crying again. I had a big encumbrance in my life is what it was. Up until that day. I never experienced God loving me. I preached it until other people about it, but personally I have never experienced that say two things here. The power of a father and its influence upon the child is tremendous.

I don't think I would ever have discovered that about myself. If I had not been willing to say the four men tell me everything you see. I'll do whatever you say. I never understood emotionally.

God loving me. Was it a hindrance. Yes it was and I'll take something.

When I came back home of the first things I did as I went to my sermon file. The found that how many sermons I've ever preached of love one hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds and hundreds only one I looked at my outline. I thought that wasn't even worth listening to because it was so shallow. You know why because I wasn't experiencing what I was talking about. I'm telling you all that to say this that day. That morning changed my whole life changed the ministry changed everything I felt about the Christian life because all of a sudden you're just stripped me of something that had been a part of my life all those years knocking on banks at gunpoint to take my father but that was the issue. The issue was his absence. Listen carefully day for you walk out on your family. My father's absence by death it when the Miller Nims what the reason was by death left me with this gaping hole in my emotional be left me damaged until that day when I understood that God loves me unconditionally and for the first time in my life I experienced you think walking away from your family is nobody's business but yours. Oh yes it is. There millions of kids today who was suffering and who have an encumbrance upon them that you father. Don't think you had any responsibility for yes you do, you will pay a price for that sin of walking away from your children to do your own thing.

We all have encumbrances. I just named you one of mine, think about how many people who are carrying a load in their life they don't even understand why, but this he says the Christian life is a race. And Paul said it's a walk in order to do it well.

We must get rid of encumbrances now. Secondly he says not only encumbrances but he said watch this. These sin which easily entangles us. He didn't say encumbrances, and since he says encumbrances and lease them and he uses the word being in front of it to make an emphasis that what is the sin well I want to describe what these sin is about describing the sin itself. So here are the characteristics of one of those three cents number one, it's the primary area of weakness in your life. Every single one of us no matter who you are.

We all have at least one area of weakness in their life. We have to deal because we came in this world with an old sinful nature and God forgives and he cleanses yet there's one sent above all others that everybody has to deal with it. It's different every person's life. So first of all, it's the primary every secondly it's the one that you most tempted by whatever it may be, it may be gossypol.

It could be stealing again be lying or give me luster could be whatever the one you most tempted with thirdly it's the one you must be continually on guard against whatever that may be. That's the nature of that one sent. It's the one that troubled you the most in resisting difficult to resist.

It's the one that most frequently ensnares you, whatever it may be frequently ensnares. You it's a wonder divides your mind the most frequently because it is a sin, and once you begin to think about that. It divides your mind what is told someone else or not it hinders your relationship. A lot of people whatever that sin is anybody's life is going to hinder their relationship about you several months in the secret know it's not come out it surfaces when you pray when you pray for example your reading the Scriptures are you talking to God about your life. These sand that is besetting or entangling. It's going to crop up for the spirit of God's going to bring it up. Likewise, it strikes at your self-respect, whatever it may be for excessive say for example in stealing that somehow you just want to take advantage of people and then get whatever you can get in life and think about what that does to a person self-respect and the that sin. Whatever it might be is going to hinder your relationship to God because it's is hanging in there. You, you keep committing it is going to hinder your relationship to other people because it's bear and he comes out ways you're not even aware so that's the nature of that sin that easily processes something about it. Everybody has one of those areas of weakness. However, it may be expressed or not, expresses their either we deal with them or we go through life hindered down the big question is how do we handle this excess baggage in our life that God does not intend for us to have number one, we admit Lord. This is an encumbrance in my life. Second, I have to admit that here is one of those entangling sentence in my life, admit Lord is here number three is a decision to take responsibility for no matter where it came from, how you got it. What happened, had developed in your life.

I take responsibility for this in my life, Lord, number four making definite decision to deal with it. Lord, you have identified this thing in my life.

I have a poor self-image. I'm I'm I admitted I take responsibility for no matter who fitted into my life about the sources I take responsibility for and I choose to deal with it knows what he says in this passage, he says, for example, letters 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. So what is the say the let us know what it was me laying aside that word means to strip off for for the runner to take off all the excess close the lid aside that doesn't fit me for this race.

What is it that does not fit us in the Christian race that you are not living.

None of those encumbrances.

None of those since that who we are with followers of Jesus, loved by God unconditionally releases, let us out what is at me is what it means all of us know the Philippians 413, Paul said can do all things through Christ who strengthens me watch this. I see this encumbrance in my life I have identified that sin in my life. It's entangling me continuously. Now I'm doing exactly what he says not only he says I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I will do. I will do what is necessary.

Christ who strengthens me. And what is that I choose to lay it down. I choose to walk away from it and watch this is about done it so many times and follow-up appointment. You can do in your own strength I can do all things through Christ.

Now, the Holy Spirit indwells every single one of us as believers.

He is the one who will empower you who will enable you to lay it aside and walk away.

Yes, you can. Not in your strength, but in his strength. Think about this. First of all, God doesn't want in your life. So he's on your side. He's got the Holy Spirit living inside of you to empower you listen you and God are in absolute agreement about encumbrances and sins in your life that they don't fit their hindrance to you. You don't want him in your life you want to be what God would you be he's 100% on your side when you choose by faith I choose to lay it down. I'm getting ready to run the next phase of this race that does not fit here I am, and I can't win this race fulfill God's purpose and plan until every encumbrance.

This sin is, I choose to confess it, I choose to strip myself of it by the power of the Holy Spirit. I choose to walk away from this and to follow you in the race. If God would not help you have a picture of that he is not the God. He says he is. He will enable you but you got to be willing identified to acknowledge it. Take responsibility for. You can't blame your parents, you say well if my parents had done this or my brother says no, no, that's issue. The issue is.

I take full responsibility at this point my life is where I am.

This is not what God wants. I choose by faith in the power of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ to lay it down later side. It's the same phrase that Paul used in the Ephesians about laying aside other things in life. If you want victory you can have victory. My primary purpose in this message is to help you identify what is there.

That's hindering you from running well. The race that God want you to run. He's got the best race for he has the best plan and he is listen. By his own nature, and his own word. He's obligated to help you doing exactly what he wants you to do you can say I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me candor is one thing, but I will do. I will do what Christ wants me to do desires we do in this situation I will do it. Remember it is discipline not desire that determines the outcome of our decisions. Discipline not desire determines our destiny. It is the willingness to choose the lid aside gal set you free. Now if you're not saved. Please listen to me it's just going to get worse until you surrender your life to Jesus Christ who is the only one who can change your life. Bring these things to the surface and help you deal with it is the blood of Jesus at Calvary that takes care of all of our sins.

All of our heartaches and problems in their burdens. He does it in different ways but he's the one who does is my prayer, you'd be wise enough to say Lord I acknowledge my sinfulness.

I desperately need you I'm asking you to forgive me. I'm surrendering my life to you and I'm trusting that what you did in Calgary when you.you paid my send that info. I want to be the person you want me to be and father how grateful we are that you love is enough. The surface these things in our lives and help us to understand and I pray that every person who hears this message will be honest enough to search out what is that easily entangling center. What are these encumbrances in my life cheating me out of God's. Father, I thank you that you are willing to give victory wherever it is desired. We bless you for through the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior. Thank you for listening to today's not Unloading your bag and if you like to know more about child family more intense ministry that my intense data lighting this podcast for the presentation of intense ministry in Atlanta, Georgia