Tuesday, June 06, 2006

Getting Free From What Ensnares Us



Life really about being free to serve Jesus. If there was ever a time when we needed to be free, it's today. How many times have you wanted to do something important and found you couldn't because you were ensnared by weights you brought upon yourself? Many of us understand the consequences of sin well enough to avoid sin. It's weights like idols and bad attitudes that ensnare us.


Hebrews 12:1


Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

I would like to make this an open message to anybody who would love to comment. Take a few moments to comment on the words listed below. I'll lead with some short explanations. This is an interactive study. Your comments could be the very thing that helps someone else get free from what ensnares them.

Weight - Anything in our lives that hinder us from being all that God wants us to be.

Give examples:

Sin - Missing the mark. Doing wrong in the sight of God. Plain old disobedience.

Give examples:

Ensnares - Being tangled up or trapped.

Give examples:

Endurance - Fighting until the end with a full expectation of winning.

Give examples:

Race - The course the Lord has established for our lives.

Scriptural References:

Ecclesiastes 9:11
"The race is not to the swift,
Nor the battle to the strong,
Nor bread to the wise,
Nor riches to men of understanding,
Nor favor to men of skill;
But time and chance happen to them all"

I Corinthians 9:24-27
"Do you know those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you my obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified."

II Timothy 4:7
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

Here's a final question for you. Please answer it as best you can using Acts 2:19-21 as a reference scripture.

How can a person do the following:
(give a brief description with each answer)

1. Serve the Lord with all humility?

2. Hold nothing back that is helpful?

3. Proclaim and teach the gospel of Christ publicly and from house to house?

4. Testify to all repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ?


Stay blessed,

Pastor Cedric
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Special Announcements:

Boundaries in Marriage Couples Barbeque - June 17th (call 909-591-7555 for details)

Church Family Night with FHL, CentrePoint Fullerton, Rock of Faith and Claremont Foursquare James deMelo special guest speaker - June 25th 6:00 pm @ CentrePoint

July 4th Church Picnic (call 909-591-7555 for details)

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