(Enter room with backpack full of heavy items.) I apologize for being late. I had every intention of getting here on time, but something slowed me down. I don’t know what it is that slowed me down. [Raise TV] What is that? I didn’t realize I still had this with me. I guess that would slow me down a bit, wouldn’t it? I’ll set it down. That feels better. But now this pain in my back is greater—sort of a cutting feeling across my shoulders right where these straps are. But they sure don’t seem very heavy. It shouldn’t slow me down, should it? Maybe you can help. Any ideas? Thanks. I guess that could be a big chunk of the reason for being tired. That thing weighs a ton.

Hebrews 12:1 says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Last week we began a four-part series: Go for the Goal: Becoming a Spiritual Champion.

The Olympics have begun. And what can you say about that Michael Phelps? Now do you think that he would have won the run with all of this excess baggage on his back? No way! He knows the importance of being stripped down and not weighed down by all the excess that gets in the way to victory.

What interesting stories I’m already reading in magazines and newspapers—for example, Ingimar Yars is from Sweden—Stockholm. His specialty is the 100 meters. Some say he’s the fastest human in the world. You can’t miss him: he runs with a shopping bag. Likes to pick up souvenirs from the various cities he visits. His ambition is to stand on that middle pedestal with the gold medallion around his neck while the Swedish National Anthem is being played.

Kip Kandae from Kenya is interesting. Kenyans always are strong in the marathon. He’s single. No wife. No kids. Dedicated runner and nature lover. Has a number of pets. Is especially close to a boa constrictor. Had it since it was small. Ran with it while he was training. Kept it in his jacket. Unfortunately, over the years, it’s grown. Almost six feet long now! Kip has to carry it on his shoulders. Because of the snake he usually runs all alone. He’s one of the gold contenders—maybe.

Today we are going to discuss the same scripture we looked at last Sunday, Hebrews 12:1. As you turn to that passage I want to remind you of last Sunday’s emphasis. Believers with a "go for the gold" mindset Remember the Witnesses. This scripture says that we are surrounded by a huge crowd of witnesses. These are past champions of the faith who are watching how we’re doing. This past week, did you get better acquainted with someone of spiritual status who’s already gone to be with the Lord? I trust so. That was your assignment. My hope is that by reading about his or her walk of faith you would be encouraged in yours. Too often we remain ignorant about spiritual champions who have gone before us.

Hebrews 12:1. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress. And let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us."

This Week’s Response

Then believers with a "go for the gold" mindset also Remove Any Hindrances. They don’t run with a briefcase, or shopping bag, or pet boa constrictor!

In the race set before you, what would God say is presently keeping you from being the champion he would like you to be? Want me to ask that again? In the race set before you, what would God say is presently keeping you from being the champion he would like you to be? Most of us know the answer to that question.

In some cases it’s what I sense these verses refer to as "weights that slow us down." These are not bad things per se. They’re choices we make that repeatedly infringe on spiritual priorities.

By the way, all of us have sins. I do. I struggle with some of the very same things you struggle with: anger, trouble listening, fear and so on. You do, too. Right? Read a biography about a hero of past years, and if there’s nothing but good reported, you don’t really know that man or woman all that well. Everyone in the race of faith is a sinner.

Here’s one of the marvels of Scripture. You get the whole story. Abraham lies. Jacob is a cheat. Moses loses his temper. Gideon is afraid to act. David commits adultery and murder. Solomon is both incredibly smart and amazingly dumb. Elijah struggles with self-pity. James and John connive for favors from Jesus. Mary Magdalene has a checkered past. Peter denies his Lord. Timothy is timid. Paul says he is the chief of sinners—and in many ways he was. It’s all there—name your hero.

So welcome to the club of flawed people. There’s no excuse for us not being holy, but the truth remains that we’re not! I’m certainly not. You for sure aren’t either. Thank God for his mercy and grace, because without that we’re all in deep weeds!

The truth is, most of us are struggling right now with what I’d call a signature sin. I mean that God would say this particular sin is one that has my name on it . . . or your name on it. It’s not hard to know which one it is. It’s that sin God would name as the core problem in your life or mine. You need to name it.

We all carry a lot of baggage with us throughout life that tends to impede our spiritual progress. Sometimes that baggage is outright sin—things that we know are wrong but we have simply been unwilling to let go of them. Sometimes that baggage is besetting sin—things that we have tried to get rid of, but they keep coming back time and again. And then sometimes that baggage is things that are not necessarily sinful, but they are definitely distractions that keep us from progressing spiritually.

The Response

The writer of Hebrews says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us" (12:1). Notice that he says there are two things that the runner must get rid of. One of them is called sin, a word which in the original language means, "to miss the mark." Just as an archer aims his arrow at a bull’s-eye, so the Christian’s target should be nothing less than holiness, for "without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews12:14). But unfortunately sin constantly keeps him from hitting the mark. It tangles his feet so that he is unable to make it to the finish line. How many people have you seen get tripped up in their Christian walk over anger, bitterness, lying, envy, idolatry, and sexual sins, etc…?

But sin is not the only thing that keeps us from being spiritual champions. The Bible also speaks of throwing off "everything that hinders." Some versions translate this as "every weight" or "every encumbrance." There are many things in life that are not particularly sinful in and of themselves, but they have the potential to become weights that can encumber us in our quest to live the Christian life.

So how do we go about doing this? Admittedly, it will not be easy because most sins are stubborn, and many weights involve years of habit. That’s one reason I identify with the analogy of sports. In training to be champions most athletes have to overcome a host of obstacles and wrong habits along the way. Today I want to share with you some steps from God’s failsafe training guide that, if you continue to follow them, will guarantee that in the end you will be on your way to being a spiritual champion.

Centuries ago, before the games began, athletes had to swear an oath that they had trained honestly for 10 months before the games. They also had to promise that they would not cheat during the competition. As the years passed, athletes began competing in the nude. It was not always that way. According to legend, a runner in 720 bc lost his shorts while sprinting but still won the race. That sparked the idea of getting rid of all the excess that slowed the runners down. Stories of a different event say that another runner tripped over his shorts and lost. This gave runners the idea of running without clothes so that nothing would cause them to stumble. ". . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles . . . "

Our Lord gives us some training steps that will help us compete and win this race.

How-to (Step 1)

The first step in our training plan is to Identify the sins and weights that are tripping us up. For most of us, this will not be all that difficult. You already know what it is. You’ve known what it is for a long time. Every time a preacher mentions the word "sin," you have this haunting, sinking feeling of defeat, because this sin has nagged at your soul for years. You may have even tried many times to get rid of it, only to find yourself echoing Paul’s words from Romans 7—"For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it" (18b–20). But just in case you need a little help in identifying a particular sin that is tripping you up, the Bible actually contains a number of lists of things that Christians are told to rid themselves of, beginning with the "Big 10" the Lord gave to the Israelites when they were coming out of Egypt. The Apostle Paul also includes several lists in some of his letters to New Testament churches (Galatians 5:19–21; Ephesians 5:3–6; Colossians 3:5–9).

However, the "weights" that hinder us are sometimes a little more difficult to identify. While the Bible does not specifically condemn the possession of wealth, it does warn against the dangers of materialism, and many a Christian has been tripped up through the enamor of the world’s charms. The Bible has nothing to say about television, yet watching TV occupies an inordinate amount of some people’s time. The Bible says nothing about "workaholism" either, but this too has tripped up many a believer and kept them from being a spiritual champion.

You may have more than one of these sins or weights that nags at you—most people do. If that is the case, don’t plan to conquer all of them at once. If you do, you may very likely become overwhelmed and give up. Instead, identify just one of them. Athletes know this principle. In order to improve their performance, they have to concentrate on one aspect of the game at a time. Then, when that part becomes mastered, they can move on to other challenges. You will not likely become a spiritual champion overnight. Instead, it will probably involve a long series of many small victories.

How-to (Step 2)

Once you have identified the sin or weight that is holding you back, the next step is to confess it and repent from it. The Apostle John says in his first epistle, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). That word "confess" means "to speak the same." In other words, it means to call it like God calls it. But that’s hard to do. Our old self-defense mechanism kicks in and instead we often find ourselves rationalizing our behavior, or even putting the blame on someone else. "It’s not all that bad," we reason. "Everybody does it. Who does it hurt?" Confession, on the other hand, accepts the responsibility for our actions, and acknowledges what God already knows.

Our holy God also demands that, in addition to confessing our sin, we repent of it, or forsake it. We must reach the place in our lives where we want to be done with it, not only because "the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23), but also because the love of God calls us to something much better. Certainly sin is alluring, but its allure is deceiving, and its promises are hollow. Repentance, however, says that we turn our backs on the way of sin, and turn instead to God.

If sin were something that was up to us to get rid of, we’d really be in trouble. Our basic nature is bent toward sin. No matter how good we try to be, somewhere along the way we are going to mess up. Fortunately, though, God is loving and merciful and has done everything necessary to help us be free of sin. In fact, he sent his only Son into the world to actually atone for our sins through his death on a cross. Through faith in him we can be completely forgiven for every wrong deed we’ve ever done. That is great news! But that’s also not the end of the story. By sending his Holy Spirit to live within us God has also made it possible that we can be set free from sin’s power as well. That’s glorious news!

How-to (Step 3)

The next step for us in our training manual is to be filled with God’s Spirit. I call this the let go and let God. If you have accepted Christ as your savior then you are promised that God’s Spirit lives in you. God has already given us his Spirit who wants to empower us spiritually. But the bad news is that the Spirit does not automatically have all of us. We have to learn to relinquish control of our lives to God’s Spirit in order to be filled by him. That means that we have to be willing to let go of all the control in order for God to take control of our lives. And for most of us, yours truly included, this is hard.

Conclusion

What should we do if we happen to mess up and sin along the way? The better question should be, "What happens when we sin along the way?"

How many of you saw the young South Korean, Parke, who won goal in one of the swimming competitions? His story was great. He was in the Athens games at only age 14 and was disqualified right at the start of the race for a false start. He was so humiliated that he did out in the men’s restroom until the excitement had died down. His mistake was caught on camera for the entire world to see. How many of us can say that about our mistakes?

But the great part of his story is that this was not the end. He came back to Beijing. And in four years he had "grown up" and was back to face the cameras again. And this time he won the gold! You had to be happy for him no matter what country you are from, right?

I believe the words of John the apostle are an encouragement to us when he says, "My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense—Jesus Christ the Righteous One" (1 John 2:1). The training manual says, "Don’t give up—God hasn’t given up on you! He has invested a great deal in you—the blood of his very own Son. He wants to see you succeed, so don’t give up in the race. You can still be a spiritual champion."