Lifting Weights Series

BETTER BODY BUILDING Part 6

all my illustrations come from Sermon Central and scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted.

LIFTING WEIGHTS

It is almost hard to believe that we are 5 weeks into this year already and at the end of this series of sermons on Building a Better Body. I think it is important to note that there are many other things that we have not discussed that would improve our church, the BODY of Christ and make it a Better Body. Yet we have seen the importance of listening, (an action word) to Jesus our Trainer, the author and perfecter of our faith, we have looked at dining on the solid food, that is the God’s Word instead of spiritual milk being fed to us, or trying to re-learn the elementary truths of God’s Word, We have got on some of the exercise machines, working the Prayer Master by showing God Adoration, Confession and Thanksgiving before we go to Him in Supplication or Intercession. And last week we looked at Rowing the Growing Machine or the importance of evangelism, using Bill Hybels formula for “Becoming a Contagious Christian.” High Potency, Close Proximity, Clear Communication = Maximum Impact.

This morning is my favorite part of working out. Actually this is something I have done for most of my adult life and even as a teenager, and that is lifting weights. Now, in the physical sense, I truly enjoy lifting weights, it is a great workout and leaves you with a true sense of accomplishment, not to mention a burn that tells you muscle is growing. This morning, however, I am speaking of lifting weight off one another, carrying one another’s burdens. Gal 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Now I think that ALL of us here know that we are to help each other out when possible, BUT Paul is making this something else, he is saying that we MUST carry each other’s burden’s to fulfill the law of Christ. We have spoken about the Law of Christ before, Jesus came to earth and made the Law, as it was, very simple. When asked about the greatest commandment He answered by saying that we should love God with all we are, but the second greatest command was :Matt 22:39 And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ Once again, this kind of love we speak of here is one that requires ACTION, not just lip service and Jesus told us, Matt 25:40 "The King will reply, ’I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’

These words were spoken by Jesus as He described the judgement, on His right were those that saw a need and fulfilled it, on His left were those that saw the need BUT chose to do nothing. This morning in order to Build up the Body and make it a Better Body we are going to look at some things that can make us be in the group on the right of our Holy judge. I think there are some things we can ALL do to be better at lifting the weight off of those that suffer from burden, Jesus Himself offers to do this for us Matt 11:28 "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. And this morning I want to find ways to come to this Body for rest.

AWARENESS - I think the first thing we need to have is awareness. I am certain that there are hurting people right here in Fort Gibson, I am sure that each of us in this room can think of someone that could use the love of Jesus and the peace that only He can provide. I know that we can show the love of Jesus in practical ways that would draw people into a relationship with the true Son of God our Lord and Savior Jesus. I sincerely believe that God wants us to have vision, to see the big picture and not look only to our own interests, Phil 2:4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Birds of all kinds can see where they are going. They pick and choose their direction and path. As birds fly by instinct they head where they are directed. But they can only see what is in front of them. As I have mentioned in sermon past, Eagles are known to have vision. An eagle can see up to five miles and often times is able to see well beyond normal sight. The eagle knows where it is going and determines how it is going to get there. While other birds migrate by instinct the eagle stays in its territory throughout the year, season after season. The eagle is dependable and will hold its place in its territory. When a storm approaches, other birds fly in fear while the eagle is energized by the challenge of the storm. The eagle catches the wind and rises above the storm. The eagle glides through its territory during the storm and will only leave its post if it is badly hurt and must leave to repair its injuries. I believe God is looking for men and women of vision “who can see” with their spiritual eyes and catch the wind of God’s Spirit. These men and women like the eagle are dependable, focused and fearless when it comes to their God given assignments.