Open Heavens August 28, 2008

BIBLE IN A YEAR: John 11:13-31

CHECK THESE WEIGHTS

MEMORIZE: "Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it"(Hebrews 4:1)

READ: Hebrews 3:12-19

“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1). Another tare in the life of a Christian is a weight. This is an unnecessary load, yoke or burden that is carried on oneself during the course of the Christian race. The race we run is a marathon, not a dash. No athlete would successfully do a marathon with a load on the head or back. Any weight on the Christian impedes speed, diverts attention and possibly terminates the race before the finishing line. Unbelief and doubts are weights that can grind the wheel of progress to a halt (Mark 6:1-6). Unbelief is a rope which ties the hands of God over a situation. It hinders God’s move in your life. It is a very heavy weight. Doubt is only a little lighter yet offensive enough to cause dumbness to Zacharias the priest (Luke 1:1122). If there are problems you think God cannot solve, you are planting the tare of unbelief. Any believer who habors unbelief or doubt cannot enter the promised land (Hebrews 3:12-19).

The weight impeding the Christian race of some is uncontrolled appetite and eating habits. A glutton or someone who cannot tame his appetite will not find it easy living the life of the spirit. Taking heavy meals late at night could turn your prayer life into a drab event. Becoming obese will slow you down in service and Christian life in general. Watch your appetite! A Christian pilgrim is highly disciplined when it comes to eating. Besides this, some Christians cannot control comfort and pleasure and as a result become their victims. If the arrival of a car has made you to stop evangelism, it has become a tare. If your bed is becoming too comfortable and tempting to sustain a healthy prayer life, it has become a tare. If prosperity is making you to cultivate the habit of arguing with God, or your leader on spiritual issues, it has become a tare. The weight that will hinder many leaders from a fruitful, rewardable service, and even from making it to Heaven is position. If you are fighting, scheming, bribing or manipulating to get to the next level, you are planting tares that will derail your Heaven-bound journey. Today, legitimate things such as pressure from work is increasingly becoming a weight. Any job that does not allow for regular fellowship with God and the brethren is a tare. Unhealthy association of old friends, town meetings, old boys associations, etc. where the flesh is glorified can become a tare. Watch out!

ACTIONPOINT:This may sound funny but it is true. One reason God has not released the cars of some who are faithfully winning souls in buses is because He does not want to stop them from winning more souls. But if such a fellow can enter into a concrete plan to continue soul winning, the car will come.