WEBVTT 00:00:05.290 --> 00:00:09.929 camp sacrifice. The infamous Donner Party set 00:00:09.929 --> 00:00:14.570 out for California in 1846 with about 20 wagons 00:00:14.570 --> 00:00:19.629 with numerous possessions. After taking the untested 00:00:19.629 --> 00:00:23.289 Hastings Cut -Off in Utah, which promised a shortcut 00:00:23.289 --> 00:00:26.629 but provided much longer and much more difficult. 00:00:27.530 --> 00:00:29.910 The group lost time, they lost many of their 00:00:29.910 --> 00:00:34.409 animals. And on the Great Lake Salt Desert, And 00:00:34.409 --> 00:00:36.750 later in the Sierra Nevada mountains, they had 00:00:36.750 --> 00:00:39.509 to get rid of nearly all of their possessions 00:00:39.509 --> 00:00:47.049 except for the bare essentials. Many wagons and 00:00:47.049 --> 00:00:50.149 valuable supplies were left behind as the harsh 00:00:50.149 --> 00:00:55.030 winter descended. This was not necessarily a 00:00:55.030 --> 00:00:58.869 sentimental choice, but it was a desperate necessity. 00:01:00.210 --> 00:01:03.390 Even well intentions. pioneers who wanted to 00:01:03.390 --> 00:01:06.909 bring bulky or large household items found that 00:01:06.909 --> 00:01:09.689 they could not transport them all the way west. 00:01:10.170 --> 00:01:13.469 Many immigrants sold or abandoned items like 00:01:13.469 --> 00:01:17.209 furniture or larger tools and surplus goods at 00:01:17.209 --> 00:01:21.230 trailheads and early waypoints because covered 00:01:21.230 --> 00:01:25.609 wagons only offered about 80 square feet of storage 00:01:25.609 --> 00:01:28.969 and they could only bring the bare essentials 00:01:28.969 --> 00:01:32.420 and if they were gonna have any hope. of traversing 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:35.439 the rugged mountains during the brutal winter 00:01:35.439 --> 00:01:38.420 months, then they would have to lay some of these 00:01:38.420 --> 00:01:42.900 things aside. On the Mormon trail, particularly 00:01:42.900 --> 00:01:46.319 in the Willie and Martin Handcart Company in 00:01:46.319 --> 00:01:50.719 1856, the immigrants pulled their entire possessions 00:01:50.719 --> 00:01:55.409 and hand -pulled carts. But because the carts 00:01:55.409 --> 00:01:59.409 couldn't carry heavy loads and winter many times 00:01:59.409 --> 00:02:02.069 came earlier than what they thought it would, 00:02:02.170 --> 00:02:06.269 many families had to discard supplies and heavy 00:02:06.269 --> 00:02:09.469 coats or bedding to lighten the burden in an 00:02:09.469 --> 00:02:15.710 attempt to keep forging ahead. During these trips, 00:02:16.009 --> 00:02:19.629 overpacking was common, but often it had to be 00:02:19.629 --> 00:02:23.030 reversed as reality began to set in quickly. 00:02:24.330 --> 00:02:28.409 An entry in one of the pioneers diaries reads 00:02:28.409 --> 00:02:32.050 like this. He said, we took our crackers out 00:02:32.050 --> 00:02:35.110 of the barrels and put them in sacks to save 00:02:35.110 --> 00:02:38.969 weight. Perkins listed 300 pounds of supplies 00:02:38.969 --> 00:02:43.030 that we were leaving behind, selling it all for 00:02:43.030 --> 00:02:47.830 $5 to a ferryman. We shall have to do without 00:02:47.830 --> 00:02:50.710 most of the little comforts and luxuries on which 00:02:50.710 --> 00:02:54.460 we thought were so necessary. Another traveler 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:57.460 wrote, we had two wagons loaded with provisions. 00:02:58.280 --> 00:03:04.620 Everything in that line was brought that we could 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:07.539 think of. We even took a cooking stove which 00:03:07.539 --> 00:03:10.919 never had a fire in it and was destined to never 00:03:10.919 --> 00:03:15.569 have one. As we discarded it in the desert. Certainly 00:03:15.569 --> 00:03:17.990 no family ever started across the plane with 00:03:17.990 --> 00:03:20.789 more provisions, and yet we reached California 00:03:20.789 --> 00:03:24.009 almost destitute and nearly out of clothing. 00:03:25.469 --> 00:03:27.889 Archaeological and narrative records confirm 00:03:27.889 --> 00:03:31.770 that these jettisoned good piles became so common 00:03:31.770 --> 00:03:34.889 that fellow travelers could navigate the route 00:03:34.889 --> 00:03:39.590 west simply by following the string of old dumps 00:03:39.590 --> 00:03:45.680 just by sight, one by one down the trail. One 00:03:45.680 --> 00:03:49.219 interesting discovery came after a massive avalanche 00:03:49.219 --> 00:03:53.300 on a high mountain pass. After the snow started 00:03:53.300 --> 00:03:55.879 to thaw in the warmth of the lower altitude, 00:03:56.400 --> 00:03:59.319 the remains of an old upright piano began to 00:03:59.319 --> 00:04:02.240 appear amongst the snow and the ice and the rubble 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:05.800 and rocks. Somewhere high on the mountain pass, 00:04:05.960 --> 00:04:09.620 somebody was faced with the decision is carrying 00:04:09.620 --> 00:04:14.139 the weight of what seems so valuable. to me carrying 00:04:14.139 --> 00:04:17.819 the weight of what seems of so much worth in 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:22.800 my life this important or am I just gonna have 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:27.319 to leave it behind? Someone on their way to their 00:04:27.319 --> 00:04:31.120 new life, a new beginning, a new frontier had 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:33.899 decided that there were some things that were 00:04:33.899 --> 00:04:39.680 just not worth carrying anymore. In the beginning, 00:04:39.740 --> 00:04:43.040 those things seemed so important. When they started 00:04:43.040 --> 00:04:46.060 out, those things seemed so precious to them 00:04:46.060 --> 00:04:49.079 and then they thought that they could make it 00:04:49.079 --> 00:04:51.899 to their destination while carrying the weight 00:04:51.899 --> 00:04:55.420 of everything that they deemed valuable or maybe 00:04:55.420 --> 00:04:59.060 even profitable. But finally, they had to decide 00:04:59.060 --> 00:05:04.540 to just let some things go. My prayer today is 00:05:04.540 --> 00:05:08.160 that somewhere along the rows of these pews or 00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:11.879 maybe in a few minutes up in this altar or possibly 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:15.180 in the next few days in the secrecy of a prayer 00:05:15.180 --> 00:05:18.560 closet, there will be another upright avalanche 00:05:18.560 --> 00:05:21.879 and those that are making their way to a new 00:05:21.879 --> 00:05:25.939 frontier in God, those that have set out to a 00:05:25.939 --> 00:05:28.819 higher calling, those that are in search of a 00:05:28.819 --> 00:05:32.529 destination of purpose and of power. and a new 00:05:32.529 --> 00:05:35.810 place of anointing will begin to realize that 00:05:35.810 --> 00:05:39.110 there are going to be some things that I'm carrying 00:05:39.110 --> 00:05:43.110 that seem so important to me right now. They're 00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:48.649 gonna keep me from reaching my goal. They're 00:05:48.649 --> 00:05:52.110 gonna delay me or they're gonna distract me from 00:05:52.110 --> 00:05:55.670 arriving at the destination that God has intended 00:05:55.670 --> 00:06:02.449 for me. Mark 8, verse 36 says, what does it profit 00:06:02.449 --> 00:06:06.629 a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul? 00:06:07.889 --> 00:06:11.430 It's a rhetorical question from Jesus, meaning 00:06:11.430 --> 00:06:14.670 that gaining all earthly treasures and power 00:06:14.670 --> 00:06:17.990 and fame is worth it if it cost a person their 00:06:17.990 --> 00:06:21.089 eternal life or their spiritual connection with 00:06:21.089 --> 00:06:26.180 God. No amount of wealth, no amount of fame or 00:06:26.180 --> 00:06:30.540 pleasure or power is worth falling short of that 00:06:30.540 --> 00:06:34.800 new frontier in him. No hobby, no relationship, 00:06:35.100 --> 00:06:37.439 whatever it is that you're carrying, you better 00:06:37.439 --> 00:06:41.240 lay it down today or you'll never reach the goal 00:06:41.240 --> 00:06:47.459 that God has placed in front of you. Hebrews 00:06:47.459 --> 00:06:50.800 12 and one says, wherefore, seeing that we are 00:06:50.800 --> 00:06:53.680 also compassed about with so great a cloud of 00:06:53.680 --> 00:06:56.500 witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and 00:06:56.500 --> 00:06:59.680 the sin which does so easily beset us and let 00:06:59.680 --> 00:07:03.500 us run with patience the race that is set before 00:07:03.500 --> 00:07:09.360 us. The opening of Hebrews chapter 12. is pointing 00:07:09.360 --> 00:07:13.220 back to the previous chapter, Hebrews 11, a chapter 00:07:13.220 --> 00:07:16.759 listing the Old Testament figures who lived by 00:07:16.759 --> 00:07:20.060 faith, who endured hardships and persecution 00:07:20.060 --> 00:07:23.879 and yet contending and continuing in the faith. 00:07:24.970 --> 00:07:29.509 This great crowd of witnesses refers to the countless 00:07:29.509 --> 00:07:32.829 faithful individuals like Abel, like Abraham 00:07:32.829 --> 00:07:36.410 and Sarah and all the others who by their lives 00:07:36.410 --> 00:07:40.069 testify to the power and the reality of faith 00:07:40.069 --> 00:07:44.209 and they encourage believers to persevere in 00:07:44.209 --> 00:07:48.949 this Christian race. The Greek word here for 00:07:48.949 --> 00:07:52.610 witnesses can also be translated into testifiers. 00:07:53.729 --> 00:07:57.209 Those that have gone before would testify that 00:07:57.209 --> 00:08:01.589 the promise is worth the price I've come to tell 00:08:01.589 --> 00:08:04.990 somebody today Just like these these lists of 00:08:04.990 --> 00:08:07.389 the heroes of the faith that that the promise 00:08:07.389 --> 00:08:10.370 that God has intended For our lives is worth 00:08:10.370 --> 00:08:13.149 the price that we're gonna have to pay so keep 00:08:13.149 --> 00:08:16.709 pressing it and keep pushing Don't stop short 00:08:16.709 --> 00:08:25.360 of the goal I appreciate the remarks that Brother 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:28.160 Mike McBride made at the very onset of this service. 00:08:28.959 --> 00:08:31.560 He said, we're in a new year. We're at a new 00:08:31.560 --> 00:08:34.620 time. For whatever reason, I guess it just makes 00:08:34.620 --> 00:08:37.720 sense. It's the year starting new, so we make 00:08:37.720 --> 00:08:41.179 those resolutions. We decide now's a good time 00:08:41.179 --> 00:08:44.860 to make a new start, and that's cool, and it 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:47.419 makes sense. I mean, why do it in October? I 00:08:47.419 --> 00:08:52.769 don't know. So we got this. this new year ahead 00:08:52.769 --> 00:08:57.110 of us. And the whole world decides, okay, I'm 00:08:57.110 --> 00:08:59.370 gonna make a change. I'm gonna go for it. I'm 00:08:59.370 --> 00:09:02.570 gonna jumpstart things. And you know, God didn't 00:09:02.570 --> 00:09:06.509 intend for you to just sit still. I've come to 00:09:06.509 --> 00:09:09.370 tell somebody today, God did not intend for you 00:09:09.370 --> 00:09:12.710 to just stay where you are. But God called you 00:09:12.710 --> 00:09:15.549 to run. God called you to move forward. He's 00:09:15.549 --> 00:09:19.289 called you to reach a higher destination. Can 00:09:19.289 --> 00:09:23.019 somebody say amen? I said, God is calling somebody 00:09:23.019 --> 00:09:26.419 to step into a new anointing. Can somebody say 00:09:26.419 --> 00:09:29.740 amen? God is calling somebody to step into a 00:09:29.740 --> 00:09:34.519 new ministry. God didn't call for you to just 00:09:34.519 --> 00:09:38.480 stay put, stay where you're at. We're in a moment 00:09:38.480 --> 00:09:41.820 at the turn of the new year that is pivotal to 00:09:41.820 --> 00:09:45.639 our personal progress. And it is pivotal to the 00:09:45.639 --> 00:09:48.440 advancement of even this church. as a whole, 00:09:48.659 --> 00:09:51.980 this church's spiritual influence in our city 00:09:51.980 --> 00:09:55.740 and around the world. But Hebrews tells us something 00:09:55.740 --> 00:09:59.779 crucial. It says, you cannot travel effectively 00:09:59.779 --> 00:10:05.000 if you're carrying too much. Hear me today, Paul 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:08.220 doesn't simply assert that we should lay aside 00:10:08.220 --> 00:10:12.340 sin only, but he says, lay aside every weight 00:10:12.340 --> 00:10:17.720 and sin. We know it, but I... I feel like God 00:10:17.720 --> 00:10:21.120 is wanting to remind us today that not everything 00:10:21.120 --> 00:10:25.000 that weighs us down is sinful, but everything 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:28.740 that weighs you down will eventually slow you 00:10:28.740 --> 00:10:33.179 down and strain you and stop you from being what 00:10:33.179 --> 00:10:42.259 God has called you to be. I didn't come to beat 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:44.779 anybody up today but I've come to try to encourage 00:10:44.779 --> 00:10:48.330 you. I didn't come to just preach to the sinner, 00:10:48.690 --> 00:10:51.509 but I've come to preach to somebody and let you 00:10:51.509 --> 00:10:53.990 know that you're not stuck where you are because 00:10:53.990 --> 00:10:57.649 you don't love God enough. God's trying to remind 00:10:57.649 --> 00:11:00.129 us today that we're stuck where we are because 00:11:00.129 --> 00:11:06.190 we're just carrying too much. One particular 00:11:06.190 --> 00:11:09.210 theme that we find repeated throughout the Bible 00:11:09.210 --> 00:11:15.549 is that before God elevates, he separates. You 00:11:15.549 --> 00:11:18.970 find it over and over in the scripture. In Genesis 00:11:18.970 --> 00:11:21.950 chapter 12, verse one, God tells Abraham, get 00:11:21.950 --> 00:11:27.110 thee out of thy country and away from thy kindred 00:11:27.110 --> 00:11:31.370 and out of your father's house. He said, you 00:11:31.370 --> 00:11:34.289 need to separate. I'm gonna elevate you. I've 00:11:34.289 --> 00:11:36.690 got something for you. I've got something greater. 00:11:36.769 --> 00:11:40.200 I've got a destination for you. If you keep reading, 00:11:40.299 --> 00:11:43.240 you find out and you see what God is doing, but 00:11:43.240 --> 00:11:45.740 before it happens, he says, you need to get out 00:11:45.740 --> 00:11:48.080 from where you are if I'm gonna do something 00:11:48.080 --> 00:11:52.580 with you. God couldn't take Abraham into the 00:11:52.580 --> 00:11:57.360 promise while Abraham was sitting in the familiar. 00:11:58.860 --> 00:12:01.559 Can I tell somebody today that you can't carry 00:12:01.559 --> 00:12:05.700 your old life into your new calling? Oh, you're 00:12:05.700 --> 00:12:09.870 not hearing me. I said, you can't carry the old 00:12:09.870 --> 00:12:12.889 things of your life to that place that God has 00:12:12.889 --> 00:12:15.990 wanted to bring you. There is something new on 00:12:15.990 --> 00:12:18.710 the horizon for heaven view. There is something 00:12:18.710 --> 00:12:21.889 new on the horizon for every individual that 00:12:21.889 --> 00:12:24.830 is in this place today. Or maybe you're watching 00:12:24.830 --> 00:12:28.049 online and I've come to tell you in the Holy 00:12:28.049 --> 00:12:31.649 Ghost that you can't carry your old life into 00:12:31.649 --> 00:12:38.250 your new calling. In Genesis chapter 19, God 00:12:38.250 --> 00:12:41.669 sent angels to pull a lot out of Sodom before 00:12:41.669 --> 00:12:46.750 judgment fell. Why? Because God won't bless what 00:12:46.750 --> 00:12:53.169 he's about to burn. Some places, some habits, 00:12:53.330 --> 00:12:57.029 some relationships, some influences, they must 00:12:57.029 --> 00:13:00.190 be left behind, not because God is cruel, but 00:13:00.190 --> 00:13:04.000 because God is protective. And he knows if I'm 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:06.960 gonna burn those things up if I'm gonna unroot 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:09.100 some of those things Then I want to give you 00:13:09.100 --> 00:13:12.519 a chance to separate them because I'm protective 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:15.779 of you And I don't want you to be destroyed and 00:13:15.779 --> 00:13:18.679 if I'm gonna burn these things up, then I need 00:13:18.679 --> 00:13:24.419 you to separate yourself If I'm gonna purge sin 00:13:24.419 --> 00:13:27.639 and I'm gonna purge destruction and I'm gonna 00:13:27.639 --> 00:13:30.620 purge what's gonna destroy you then I need you 00:13:30.620 --> 00:13:38.220 to step away God tells us you gotta leave some 00:13:38.220 --> 00:13:40.360 of those things behind because they're gonna 00:13:40.360 --> 00:13:47.139 destroy you. Some things are just too heavy to 00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:52.240 carry where he's taking us. There's gonna have 00:13:52.240 --> 00:13:56.240 to be some idols in our lives. They're gonna 00:13:56.240 --> 00:14:00.179 have to be broken down. Pastors begun a series 00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:02.360 in our midweek Bible study. Wednesday nights, 00:14:02.919 --> 00:14:05.919 if you missed it, go back and listen. I urge 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:08.139 you, do everything you gotta do to be here Wednesday 00:14:08.139 --> 00:14:11.019 night to hear it. God's propelling us, God is 00:14:11.019 --> 00:14:16.639 launching us to a new place. It's obvious that 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:18.600 the Holy Ghost is trying to get our attention. 00:14:19.620 --> 00:14:22.539 God's trying to warn us that these idols that 00:14:22.539 --> 00:14:25.019 we're trying to travel with, they're just too 00:14:25.019 --> 00:14:29.559 heavy. You can't take them with you. They're 00:14:29.559 --> 00:14:34.529 not gonna fit in that wagon of anointing. There's 00:14:34.529 --> 00:14:37.549 no place for them in that wagon of ministry and 00:14:37.549 --> 00:14:42.649 calling. In Judges chapter six, before Gideon 00:14:42.649 --> 00:14:46.389 fought Midian, God told him, throw down the altar 00:14:46.389 --> 00:14:50.110 of Baal and cut down the grove that's by it. 00:14:51.250 --> 00:14:55.649 Gideon wanted victory, but God said, first, you 00:14:55.649 --> 00:15:01.840 need to tear down what competes with me. It may 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:04.600 not always be sin. It just might be in competition 00:15:04.600 --> 00:15:09.940 with the Spirit of God. It may not always just 00:15:09.940 --> 00:15:14.679 be some kind of, some crazy sin, but it just 00:15:14.679 --> 00:15:18.820 might be a weight that is competing for our attention. 00:15:18.960 --> 00:15:21.879 It's competing for our time. And God is saying, 00:15:21.940 --> 00:15:24.139 I'm trying to do something in you. I'm trying 00:15:24.139 --> 00:15:27.220 to anoint you. I'm trying to bless you. I'm trying 00:15:27.220 --> 00:15:30.379 to elevate you. And he said, I need some time 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:33.000 with you. I need you to focus on me, but we're 00:15:33.000 --> 00:15:36.840 so focused on this other stuff. Not always sin. 00:15:37.759 --> 00:15:41.679 It's not always some major issue. It could just 00:15:41.679 --> 00:15:45.700 be a distraction. God tells Gideon, I want you 00:15:45.700 --> 00:15:51.100 to remove what is competing with me. Some people 00:15:51.100 --> 00:15:55.379 want deliverance, but they still have alters 00:15:55.379 --> 00:15:59.669 to these idols in their heart. Some wanna break 00:15:59.669 --> 00:16:03.070 through, but they won't break down what God hates. 00:16:04.870 --> 00:16:07.149 And you've gotta know today that before you have 00:16:07.149 --> 00:16:09.870 a breakthrough, you're gonna have to have a breakdown. 00:16:11.060 --> 00:16:14.519 I've come to preach to somebody today and say 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:16.440 God is showing you some things that he wants 00:16:16.440 --> 00:16:18.820 you to break down in your life. God is showing 00:16:18.820 --> 00:16:21.279 you some things that he wants you to separate 00:16:21.279 --> 00:16:24.159 from in your life because he's calling you to 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:26.419 greater things. He's calling you to a higher 00:16:26.419 --> 00:16:29.019 place than you are at right now. He's calling 00:16:29.019 --> 00:16:32.460 you to a mighty anointing. He's wanting you to 00:16:32.460 --> 00:16:34.759 step into great ministry and he's saying you 00:16:34.759 --> 00:16:37.759 gotta break some stuff down if I'm gonna get 00:16:37.759 --> 00:16:40.559 you where I want you to go. I wish somebody would. 00:16:40.519 --> 00:16:49.919 I worship him right now. God says, I've got anointing 00:16:49.919 --> 00:16:52.639 for you. But we look around and we just don't 00:16:52.639 --> 00:16:57.000 have room in our wagons for the mic for anointing. 00:16:58.120 --> 00:17:00.840 God, I don't have any room in my wagon for ministry. 00:17:02.379 --> 00:17:06.079 I don't have any room in my wagon for this calling. 00:17:07.700 --> 00:17:09.700 God said, you better break some things down. 00:17:10.750 --> 00:17:13.170 You better break some things down. In 2 Kings 00:17:13.170 --> 00:17:16.730 18, three and four, it tells us that Hezekiah 00:17:16.730 --> 00:17:20.589 removed the high places and he broke the images 00:17:20.589 --> 00:17:29.230 and he cut down the groves. 2 Kings chapter 23, 00:17:30.549 --> 00:17:34.210 we see that Josiah didn't just preach against 00:17:34.210 --> 00:17:38.950 idols. I said, he didn't just say, well, I believe 00:17:38.950 --> 00:17:44.769 it. I believe what the prophet said. Pastor, 00:17:45.309 --> 00:17:49.289 I'm in full agreement. But then we don't empty 00:17:49.289 --> 00:17:52.630 anything out of our wagon. But we find that in 00:17:52.630 --> 00:17:56.789 chapter 23, he didn't just take them down, but 00:17:56.789 --> 00:18:00.009 he crushed them. He burned them and he ground 00:18:00.009 --> 00:18:03.369 them to powder. You know, the Bible calls some 00:18:03.369 --> 00:18:06.569 of these idols weights and sin, but sometimes 00:18:06.569 --> 00:18:11.170 we call them relationships. The Bible kind of 00:18:11.170 --> 00:18:13.930 puts it in this category of weight and sin, but 00:18:13.930 --> 00:18:16.829 sometimes we call it promotions, opportunities. 00:18:17.309 --> 00:18:19.349 You can call it whatever you want, but weight 00:18:19.349 --> 00:18:23.990 is weight and sin is sin. You know, I can call 00:18:23.990 --> 00:18:29.630 myself big bone. I can say, well, I'm a little 00:18:29.630 --> 00:18:36.349 husky, but weight is weight and sin is sin. and 00:18:36.349 --> 00:18:38.569 you can call it anything you want, but God is 00:18:38.569 --> 00:18:40.430 saying it's time that you empty some of these 00:18:40.430 --> 00:18:42.390 things out of your wagon because you're gonna 00:18:42.390 --> 00:18:45.230 be left behind and you're gonna die on this mountain 00:18:45.230 --> 00:18:47.849 pass and you're never gonna get to the place 00:18:47.849 --> 00:18:51.150 that I've called you to be. Come on, I'm talking 00:18:51.150 --> 00:18:53.750 to every seasoned saint and I'm talking to every 00:18:53.750 --> 00:18:56.849 vile sinner that may be a step foot in this place 00:18:56.849 --> 00:19:00.029 Today it may be the first time you ever came 00:19:00.029 --> 00:19:02.930 into a church service And I don't care what level 00:19:02.930 --> 00:19:06.089 you're at God isn't calling us all to the same 00:19:06.089 --> 00:19:09.109 level, but he's saying wherever you are I'm trying 00:19:09.109 --> 00:19:12.450 to take you up whatever level you're at I'm trying 00:19:12.450 --> 00:19:15.329 to push you to the next level and there's gonna 00:19:15.329 --> 00:19:18.309 be some things that you're just gonna have to 00:19:18.309 --> 00:19:24.849 lay down You can dress it up. You can clean it 00:19:24.849 --> 00:19:27.829 up. You can make it sound good But revival doesn't 00:19:27.829 --> 00:19:31.430 happen when sin is renamed revival happens when 00:19:31.430 --> 00:19:37.089 sin is removed God doesn't want us to decorate 00:19:37.089 --> 00:19:43.890 our sin. He wants us to destroy our sin Hebrews 00:19:43.890 --> 00:19:47.569 12 one makes a clear distinction weights are 00:19:47.569 --> 00:19:52.549 the things that slow you down and sin is the 00:19:52.549 --> 00:19:57.690 stuff that traps you. Some of you aren't in bondage 00:19:57.690 --> 00:20:03.710 today. You're just overloaded. These pioneers 00:20:03.710 --> 00:20:06.990 on the trail had to abandon furniture, trunks, 00:20:07.630 --> 00:20:10.710 even family heirlooms, not because those items 00:20:10.710 --> 00:20:13.809 were evil. It was just because they were too 00:20:13.809 --> 00:20:19.490 heavy. They were just too heavy. Some of us are 00:20:19.490 --> 00:20:24.579 carrying offences, regrets, relationships, identities, 00:20:24.960 --> 00:20:29.960 habits, mindsets. None of this fits in where 00:20:29.960 --> 00:20:33.519 God's trying to take you. None of this fits in 00:20:33.519 --> 00:20:36.400 the wagon that God's trying to fill with anointing 00:20:36.400 --> 00:20:41.339 and burden and calling. Let me tell you something. 00:20:41.940 --> 00:20:47.779 I've been there before. And you know, God, he 00:20:47.779 --> 00:20:51.619 kind of keeps me in a, in a place where he deals 00:20:51.619 --> 00:20:54.279 with me pretty regular. I wish this was just 00:20:54.279 --> 00:20:57.960 a one and done, but unfortunately, I'm too thick 00:20:57.960 --> 00:21:01.339 -headed to realize it, and I lay stuff down, 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:05.019 but then I pick other stuff back up. I'm a little 00:21:05.019 --> 00:21:10.000 bit of a hoarder. You know, I'm just picking 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:11.740 stuff up all the time, and God say, no, I want 00:21:11.740 --> 00:21:13.920 you to lay that down. I say, but God, look how 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:17.200 nice this is. I could use this. Like my father 00:21:17.200 --> 00:21:19.690 had a garage full of stuff that. that he never 00:21:19.690 --> 00:21:22.789 touched, but every bit of it was important. Every 00:21:22.789 --> 00:21:26.529 piece of cardboard, every one of those 490 screwdrivers 00:21:26.529 --> 00:21:28.450 that were all the same size, every one of them 00:21:28.450 --> 00:21:31.650 were gonna have a purpose. You know, sometimes 00:21:31.650 --> 00:21:34.690 I do that in my walk with God. And God said, 00:21:34.769 --> 00:21:36.210 no, you need to lay it down. I said, well, God, 00:21:36.490 --> 00:21:40.390 what is this hurting? This isn't a sin. Who is 00:21:40.390 --> 00:21:42.490 this hurting? And God said, you just don't have 00:21:42.490 --> 00:21:44.190 room for this where I'm wanting to take you. 00:21:45.089 --> 00:21:47.529 You're just not gonna be able to carry this and 00:21:47.529 --> 00:21:49.450 carry the burden that I'm gonna place on your 00:21:49.450 --> 00:21:52.470 life for a specific calling and for a specific 00:21:52.470 --> 00:21:54.950 whatever it is. You plug it in, whatever shoe 00:21:54.950 --> 00:22:01.369 fits, you put it on today. You know, some of 00:22:01.369 --> 00:22:04.289 you, some of you are struggling because there's 00:22:04.289 --> 00:22:08.990 things that you don't wanna let go and you've 00:22:08.990 --> 00:22:11.509 convinced yourself that it's okay because you're 00:22:11.509 --> 00:22:16.009 right. You've convinced yourself that that you 00:22:16.009 --> 00:22:19.869 can bear this weight because you're right and 00:22:19.869 --> 00:22:24.089 I've been there before I Have literally almost 00:22:24.089 --> 00:22:30.390 lost out on my calling because I was absolutely 00:22:30.390 --> 00:22:37.930 Sure That I was right and they were wrong and 00:22:37.930 --> 00:22:40.349 I wasn't willing to lay it down because I was 00:22:40.349 --> 00:22:44.660 convinced I'm right And God said, you better 00:22:44.660 --> 00:22:48.299 lay it down. I said, but God, lay it down, I'm 00:22:48.299 --> 00:22:53.500 right. God, I'm right, they're wrong. And God 00:22:53.500 --> 00:22:57.220 began to show me that the reason why that it 00:22:57.220 --> 00:23:01.200 was destroying me is not because, now be careful, 00:23:01.339 --> 00:23:05.220 hear me, hear me today. There's one of these 00:23:05.220 --> 00:23:09.940 weights that it destroys us not because we want 00:23:09.940 --> 00:23:12.500 so much for everybody to know that I'm right. 00:23:13.460 --> 00:23:16.039 It was because I wanted everybody to know that 00:23:16.039 --> 00:23:20.799 they were wrong And God said you better lay that 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:23.619 down Because I can't use it. That's too much 00:23:23.619 --> 00:23:25.660 of a weight. That's too much of a burden It's 00:23:25.660 --> 00:23:27.980 it's a waste of space and it's a waste of time 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:31.630 even though you may be right You're not willing 00:23:31.630 --> 00:23:33.809 to let it go and you're carrying this weight 00:23:33.809 --> 00:23:36.009 and you're carrying this bitterness and you're 00:23:36.009 --> 00:23:37.890 carrying this anger and you're carrying this 00:23:37.890 --> 00:23:40.769 frustration you plug in the blank whatever it 00:23:40.769 --> 00:23:42.950 is you're carrying it and you have convinced 00:23:42.950 --> 00:23:46.470 yourself that this is so valuable to your identity 00:23:46.470 --> 00:23:49.529 and this is so valuable to your future and this 00:23:49.529 --> 00:23:52.609 is so valuable to what is happening in your life 00:23:52.609 --> 00:23:55.450 right now and God is saying there's no room for 00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:57.950 it and you'll never make it if you keep carrying 00:23:57.950 --> 00:24:03.759 this So lay it down, lay it down. It's time to 00:24:03.759 --> 00:24:07.720 lay some things down today. Let me say this. 00:24:12.119 --> 00:24:14.799 One of the heaviest things that you can carry 00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:20.119 is yesterday. Your yesterdays will weigh you 00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:24.680 down like hardly anything else. That's why Paul 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:27.740 wrote to those believers in Philippians, forget 00:24:27.740 --> 00:24:31.599 the things that are behind. and press toward 00:24:31.599 --> 00:24:36.960 the mark. Why? Because yesterday is heavy. Yesterday 00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:41.000 will keep you from tomorrow. Yesterday will keep 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:44.000 you from the future. He said, forget the things 00:24:44.000 --> 00:24:46.420 that are behind and push toward the place of 00:24:46.420 --> 00:24:49.420 promise and persist until you obtain the prize. 00:24:49.539 --> 00:24:52.680 In fact, Jesus took it so seriously that he said 00:24:52.680 --> 00:24:56.059 in Mark 9 43, if your hand offends you, cut it 00:24:56.059 --> 00:25:01.190 off. Well, preacher, that's pretty heavy duty. 00:25:01.990 --> 00:25:04.910 I'm just reading the Bible. The Bible's pretty 00:25:04.910 --> 00:25:09.970 heavy duty. He said, if it offends you, if it's 00:25:09.970 --> 00:25:12.390 keeping you from being saved, if it's keeping 00:25:12.390 --> 00:25:14.710 you from being used, if it's keeping you from 00:25:14.710 --> 00:25:17.269 being anointed, if it's keeping you from progressing, 00:25:17.490 --> 00:25:22.509 then cut it off. Lay it down, lay it aside. Because 00:25:22.509 --> 00:25:25.890 it's better to lose what slows you than to lose 00:25:25.890 --> 00:25:28.920 where you're going. Hear me today, heaven view. 00:25:29.220 --> 00:25:32.900 It's better to lose what you deem so valuable 00:25:32.900 --> 00:25:37.000 in your life and trade it in for what God deems 00:25:37.000 --> 00:25:41.660 valuable in his kingdom and accomplish everything 00:25:41.660 --> 00:25:44.200 that he's called you to accomplish and achieve 00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:47.579 the ministries and the callings that he has called 00:25:47.579 --> 00:25:53.039 for to place on your life. The musicians would 00:25:53.039 --> 00:25:57.779 come and stand with me. I'm gonna hurry to a 00:25:57.779 --> 00:26:02.900 close. The saints in the early church made this 00:26:02.900 --> 00:26:07.940 kind of bold declaration. In Acts 19, 19, we 00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:11.319 find the people in Ephesus, it says they burned 00:26:11.319 --> 00:26:14.519 the books of magic and sorcery as a public and 00:26:14.519 --> 00:26:16.779 a radical demonstration of their new faith in 00:26:16.779 --> 00:26:20.640 Jesus, showing that they renounced their sinful 00:26:20.640 --> 00:26:26.339 past. They didn't sell them. They didn't keep 00:26:26.339 --> 00:26:33.140 them, but they burned them. Because many times 00:26:33.140 --> 00:26:42.220 revival requires removal. Revival requires removal. 00:26:44.559 --> 00:26:47.779 First we must remove the weight and the sin. 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:52.160 Then we've got to remove ourselves from that 00:26:52.160 --> 00:26:57.289 place and move forward. Paul didn't say that 00:26:57.289 --> 00:26:59.849 it was enough to just set aside every weight 00:26:59.849 --> 00:27:04.390 and sin. It wasn't enough to just lay it down. 00:27:06.049 --> 00:27:12.089 He said lay it down and run. After you set it 00:27:12.089 --> 00:27:16.089 aside, run. Do you know how many times I've laid 00:27:16.089 --> 00:27:19.789 things at this altar? Do you know how many times 00:27:19.789 --> 00:27:22.829 I've laid the same exact thing at this altar? 00:27:23.400 --> 00:27:25.799 Do you know how many times brother mark that 00:27:25.799 --> 00:27:29.539 I have laid the same things down in a prayer 00:27:29.539 --> 00:27:37.220 room the same thing Then I pick it up again I 00:27:37.220 --> 00:27:41.660 Put it down then I pick it up and a couple weeks 00:27:41.660 --> 00:27:47.500 later God begins to Condemn some of those things 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:51.000 I begin to feel convicted again and I get in 00:27:51.000 --> 00:27:54.079 a red -hot service or I get in a powerful prayer 00:27:54.079 --> 00:27:56.720 meeting and I come back and say, I'm putting 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.519 it down, God, I'm laying it down at your feet, 00:27:58.579 --> 00:28:02.880 God. Then things cool off a little bit, I pick 00:28:02.880 --> 00:28:05.920 it back up again. And then I lay them down and 00:28:05.920 --> 00:28:09.900 then I pick them up. And then pastor preaches 00:28:09.900 --> 00:28:12.420 about distractions and priorities and I lay them 00:28:12.420 --> 00:28:15.539 down and then a few days later, a few weeks later, 00:28:15.619 --> 00:28:20.650 a few months later, I pick them up again. We 00:28:20.650 --> 00:28:25.970 find Paul saying it in Philippians 13, 14. He 00:28:25.970 --> 00:28:29.130 said, first I leave the things of yesterday behind. 00:28:29.950 --> 00:28:34.470 He said, and then I press. I'm telling somebody 00:28:34.470 --> 00:28:37.730 today, it's not enough to just lay it down, but 00:28:37.730 --> 00:28:40.289 then you've got to press forward. You've got 00:28:40.289 --> 00:28:44.069 to move on. You've got to move forward. You've 00:28:44.069 --> 00:28:47.210 got to progress under the power of the Holy Ghost. 00:28:48.259 --> 00:28:51.740 Forget the things that are behind and then press 00:28:51.740 --> 00:28:58.519 Lay down weight and sin and then run It's time 00:28:58.519 --> 00:29:01.579 we start leaving piles of discarded weights and 00:29:01.579 --> 00:29:06.759 sins behind us But it's also time for us to press 00:29:06.759 --> 00:29:11.259 forward to move forward I'm urging somebody today. 00:29:11.420 --> 00:29:15.039 I'm urging somebody today. This isn't just about 00:29:15.039 --> 00:29:18.259 making our lives difficult This isn't a sermon 00:29:18.259 --> 00:29:22.220 just about sacrifice. I'll preach about that 00:29:22.220 --> 00:29:23.900 another Sunday, but that's not what I'm talking 00:29:23.900 --> 00:29:26.720 about today. I'm talking about reaching the goal 00:29:26.720 --> 00:29:31.500 that God has set before us. It's not enough to 00:29:31.500 --> 00:29:37.299 stay where we're at. Because if you stay by that 00:29:37.299 --> 00:29:41.039 pile of discarded goods, if you sit by that pile 00:29:41.039 --> 00:29:43.359 of distractions, you'll just pick it right back 00:29:43.359 --> 00:29:47.450 up again. And so God is calling us at the beginning 00:29:47.450 --> 00:29:50.910 of this new year to push forward. Don't just 00:29:50.910 --> 00:29:53.910 lay it down, but push forward. Don't just set 00:29:53.910 --> 00:29:56.569 it aside. Don't just forget about it, but run 00:29:56.569 --> 00:30:06.950 into his presence. Let's leave a trail of weights 00:30:06.950 --> 00:30:12.690 and sins. So those that are following behind 00:30:12.690 --> 00:30:16.269 us can follow it. They can find their way to 00:30:16.269 --> 00:30:19.829 a new frontier of blessing, a new place of power, 00:30:20.589 --> 00:30:24.990 a new place of anointing. Let today be the day 00:30:24.990 --> 00:30:27.369 that someone has the realization that they're 00:30:27.369 --> 00:30:30.509 never gonna get their old life over that mountain. 00:30:32.069 --> 00:30:34.490 Never gonna get those old habits over that hill. 00:30:35.750 --> 00:30:38.589 Never gonna get those old idols and those old 00:30:38.589 --> 00:30:41.859 hangups and those old weights. to that place 00:30:41.859 --> 00:30:44.339 of anointing, that place of power, that place 00:30:44.339 --> 00:30:50.559 of strength that God is calling us to. The Bible 00:30:50.559 --> 00:30:54.720 says in Acts chapter two, verse 38, you need 00:30:54.720 --> 00:30:56.980 to repent of your sins, be baptized in the name 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:59.160 of Jesus Christ for the mission of those sins 00:30:59.160 --> 00:31:01.420 and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 00:31:03.740 --> 00:31:06.579 Repentance is laying down that weight and sin. 00:31:06.680 --> 00:31:08.849 It literally means to turn around. to turn away, 00:31:09.089 --> 00:31:14.470 to have a complete change of direction. And baptism 00:31:14.470 --> 00:31:19.009 is having those sins washed away like that upright 00:31:19.009 --> 00:31:22.589 avalanche. And then he promised that he would 00:31:22.589 --> 00:31:27.210 fill you with the Holy Ghost. Is there anybody 00:31:27.210 --> 00:31:30.190 here today that is ready to lay something down? 00:31:31.000 --> 00:31:34.119 Is there anybody here today that is ready to 00:31:34.119 --> 00:31:36.700 put some things aside and move forward in this 00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:39.519 new year, move forward into anointing, move forward 00:31:39.519 --> 00:31:44.470 into power, move forward into calling? This altar 00:31:44.470 --> 00:31:46.890 isn't a place of shame today, but it's a place 00:31:46.890 --> 00:31:49.630 of freedom. It's a it's a launching pad So why 00:31:49.630 --> 00:31:51.769 don't you come as they begin to sing as they 00:31:51.769 --> 00:31:54.730 begin to play come in and lay down some weights 00:31:54.730 --> 00:31:57.710 Come in come and tear down some idols come and 00:31:57.710 --> 00:32:00.730 release the past so that you can experience your 00:32:00.730 --> 00:32:07.829 future in him But then don't stop there So once 00:32:07.829 --> 00:32:10.549 you lay it down don't stop there but but begin 00:32:10.549 --> 00:32:14.089 to run begin to run and to His presence, begin 00:32:14.089 --> 00:32:17.369 to run towards His anointing, begin to run toward 00:32:17.369 --> 00:32:22.710 His power. Let's run with power of the Holy Ghost 00:32:22.710 --> 00:32:26.329 until we're so far from those burdens that will 00:32:26.329 --> 00:32:29.049 never pick them up again. Come on, let's lay 00:32:29.049 --> 00:32:32.410 them down. And then let's press. Let's repent.