Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, May 29th. Has your connection with God been drifting? Learn five powerful principles from Hebrews 12 to refocus your life and experience God's best to the fullest. All of us go through different seasons in our life, and so sometimes if the season lasts too long, We just have the idea that that's what life's all about, just one big heavy burden. But that's not really true because all of us go through those seasons.
Sometimes there are more clouds than there is sunshine, and we're often prone to think, well, is this what life is all about? No, that's not what life is all about. Life really is all about something very, very exciting. And that's what I want to talk about in this message today, no matter where you are. and what you're feeling and how down you may be or how up you are.
The issue is what is life really and truly all about? And I want you to turn, if you will, to Hebrews chapter 12. And there are two verses here that I want us to look at primarily. Because I believe in these two verses, God gives us not necessarily some formula, but He gives us an insight, an understanding of what life is all about and why we can live it to the very fullest, no matter what's going on. And so when we think about living life to the fullest, First of all, according to this passage, it involves the encouragement of others.
It's very significant how the writer begins this chapter. Look what he says. Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses, then let us run this race. If you'll notice in the latter part, Of the first verse, he says, the race that is set before us, what he's doing here. Is comparing the Christian life to this race.
Now, think about it for a moment. He says, in this race, and he puts it in those terms: in this race, he says, we have encourages. And one of the things that is so vital to living life to the fullest. Is fulfilling the will of God for our life and being conformed to likeness, and that is fulfilling the purpose for which God created us. And until a person does that, until in the process of doing it, they'll never be any real fulfillment in life.
You can have all the money you want, you'll never be able to fill up that vacuum with anything else in life than walking in the will of God. One of the very important things in fulfilling life. and living a fulfilling life is that you and I have good encourages. And so I want you to think for just a moment in your life: who is the person when you think about them, you just feel good on the inside, just thinking about them. He says, well, I don't have anybody like that.
Then you're missing something in life. Every one of God's children need encourages like that. That's part of living life to the fullest because it's not going to be easy oftentimes. But if I have encourages those who are here encouraging me, that whole vast witness up there in heaven, which I can read about in the Word of God, I am certainly going to understand and begin to live life to the fullest with all those people who are cheering me on. And cheering you on, wishing the best for you, wanting the best for you, and the greatest cheer of all is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
Well, there's a second thing involved, I think, in living life to the fullest, and I think it's found in this passage. Notice what he says now. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, Let us also lay aside every encumbrance.
Now The runa is going to dress down. because he doesn't want anything to deter him with speed and reaching the goal. In the Christian life, we also have those encumbrances, those things that impede, those things that hinder us on our walk. Because as we are moving in the will of God, anything that hinders our keeping the pace with God and His will and His timing, which is so very important, anything that distracts my attention, gets me off course, is an encumbrance. He says, Lay it aside, put it aside, deal with it, turn away from it, and make it right between you and God.
Now, you would think that this next phrase, he'd have put them all together. Look at this. He says, Let us also lay aside. Every encumbrance And the sin which so easily entangles us.
Now, to entangle means to get tripped up by something.
Well, would not Encumbrances and sins be the same? Not necessarily. An encumbrance is something that's more subtle. You have to sort of look for that because, as we say, you may have lived with it a long time. It may have been the way you've been thinking all of your life.
And so when he says, and the sin which so easily entangles us, what is he referring to? First of all, If you'll notice, he doesn't say S-I-N-S sins, but the sin which so easily entangles us. More than likely, and I wouldn't say this is true of everybody, but probably for most of us it's true. That is, Satan has one tool that is the most effective of all. It is the one that he usually at least can get a little leeway in our life if we're not careful.
He says Dealing with this sin, laying aside this sin which so easily besets us, that is, there may be some particular weakness in your life. It may be doubt, it may be this issue of finances, it may be greed, it may be lust, whatever it might be, but it is an area. in life in which we have to keep struggling with. And fighting against. It's the one that somehow Satan, no matter what we do, he seems to be able to get a little toehole, a little edge every once in a while.
He says we have to deal not only with these encumbrances, these things that are sort of subtle, that may not be quite so evident, but he says sin, those things that we know to be deliberate, willful choices of disobedience to God. And he says it's the sin, if you'll notice, that so easily besets us. It's the one thing we seemingly can falter and fall to the most frequently or the most easily. If we're going to live our life to the fullest, we must deal with those things we have to struggle with. because it is those kind of things that will causes to stumble and to fall and to fall off the track.
It is those kind of things that cause us to begin to look out yonder instead of keeping our eye on the goal. and we want to get detoured and sometimes it's things in a person's life. Their desire to have things because things gives them a sense of worth and value. Things gives them a sense of acceptance. If they get enough things, they can make a big enough impression, then they'll be more accepted, and feeling more accepted, they'll feel more loved.
Feeling more love, they'll feel better about themselves when all of that is a trap.
Well As we look and examine our lives, some things may not quite so easy to walk away from and to deal with as others. And he says, there's sin that so easily besets you. That may require strong self-discipline on our part. Just like the runner. It has to practice and practice and practice and practice and watch what they eat.
And the self-discipline in order to win the race is extremely important. The same thing is during the Christian life. And even though we say when you receive the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and he's living his life in and through you, that doesn't mean that we do not have to bring every area of our life under discipline, under the will and purpose and plan of God. And sometimes that's not easy to do. That's why he says, lay these things aside.
We have to rely upon him and trust in him. And that's why you have to stay in the word of God. What does God say about this? How did this work in someone else's life in the New Testament? How's it working in other people's lives?
How does God give them victory? in their life. And so there are things we have to bring under discipline in our life in order to live life to the fullest. But notice what else he says. He says Laying aside these encumbrances and the sin which so easily besets us, and let us run with endurance.
the race that is set before us.
Now, To run with endurance implies that there are going to be hardships. trials, difficulties, adversities, and suffering. To endure means I must be steadfast. and strong. and be willing to stand against and in the face of all kinds of opposition or objects along the way that would trip us up or that would hinder us.
And so he says, let us run this race with endurance. When it comes to being a person of endurance, What does it say to us?
Well, it says that you and I are willing to keep moving in the direction that God is leading us no matter what we face. We're not going to give up and quit because all of a sudden we're looking at something so steep and thinking, how can I ever climb this? Or when it looks so deserted and empty, and we think, why do I ever want to walk through this? Or when it becomes so dark that we don't see our way clear.
Well, the person who is weak says, forget it. I give up. I quit. And this is why oftentimes you'll find people who used to come to church and Used to be involved and used to serve the Lord and no longer do. And you say, well, whatever happened.
Well, I don't know.
Somehow it just wasn't working out for me and it didn't work for me. Listen, don't let anybody tell you it doesn't work. If they're talking about the Christian life not working, yes, it does. But we are the ones who don't work. And we're the ones who want to give up and quit.
Surely it's going to be difficult. Surely it's going to be tough. But listen, when you and I learn to endure, we don't quit. No matter how dark, we keep moving. We'll have just enough light to keep us going.
But we don't give up, and we don't quit, and we don't sit down and have a pity party, and we don't turn around and want to go home because it's easier where we came from. And that is exactly what happens to a lot of people. That's why they are living in a backslidden condition, because they gave up when the going got tough. And they decided it was too tough and too rough. And therefore, they're just going to quit, just forget it, just decide they're just going to live their life the way they want to.
They tried the Christian life, and it didn't work.
Well, maybe they didn't have enough encouragers. Maybe they didn't listen to their encouragers. They certainly didn't listen to those and those in the scriptures. And you see, no matter how well someone does, someone else will do better. That's not the issue.
I'm not running a race against someone else, I'm not in competition with somebody else's Christian life. The issue is Have I set my heart and mind to do the will of God? Am I walking in the will of God? Am I moving on the Christian life? Am I growing in the Christian life?
Every falter, every failure, every stumble, when you fall off the track, You get up and get going and keep moving. What happens? We learn to watch for those areas that can entangle us and those things that could cause us to be detoured. We learn to watch. We learn as we move along.
For example, if you'll go back to this 36th verse in the 10th chapter, he says, For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. What is he talking about? He's talking about what he knows is going to be absolutely essential in your life and my life. That we will go through difficult times.
Now, listen carefully. There are always going to be hard times, tough times, difficult times. Always going to be those kind of times, whether it's in your vocation, your relationships, your family, your finances, that doesn't make any difference. We're living in a sinful world. We've got three enemies: the flesh, the world, and the devil.
It's not going to be easy. It will never be easy. But here's the difference: the difference in the people that God uses and the people somehow that seem to end up on the shelf are those who are willing to endure when everything in them says quit. Give up and forget it. Suppose the Apostle Paul had said, After he got beaten and stoned and listed, he said, Well, suppose he'd have said, This is it, God.
I mean, Father, thank you very much. No thanks. And suppose the Apostle Paul had decided to go home and just settle down and just relax and live life. And after all, I mean, he was saved, he knew he was saved, he'd had done his part. And suppose he'd have said, That's it.
That's all I'm doing. I mean, enough beatens is enough, enough being sown is enough. I mean, after all, God, you don't expect me just to lay down my life. Oh yes, he does. And you know what he hadn't changed?
You see, the people who've made a difference in your life and my life are the people who have endured, not people who floated along with everything going their way. It's the people who've been through the storms and got soaking, sopping wet in the desert and burned. and in the streams where they almost drowned. In the difficult and the hardship, he says, He says, this Christian life, if you want to live life to the fullest, you learn to endure hardship. Then he says one other thing, and I want to close with this one.
In the next verse. He says In this Christian life, if we're to live life to the fullest, we're to fix our eyes on Jesus. the author and perfecter of faith. who for the joy set before him Endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Now why does he say if we're going to live life to the fullest, we've got to fix our eyes on Jesus?
Now, let me say this and listen carefully. I don't care how low down you get. How despairing things look, how depressed, I mean, it doesn't make any difference how deep, dark, down in the gorges of life you find yourself. If you will focus your eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ. I'm not going to say that always instantly.
It's all over and everything is wonderful. And you may go through a season that God allows you. To be able to sense what it means to be down and discouraged and depressed and beaten down. in order to make us sensitive to people who live that way. But if you get your focus on Him, It won't take long until something happens in your thinking.
When you focus your attention upon Him, what happens is you begin to think the way He thinks. You begin to see Him as He is. You are reminded of this loving, unconditional, loving Savior, this Lord, this Christ, this Jesus. Who not only is in heaven, he's always there, running with us. He is our traveling companion.
He's our running companion, and he will never allow you and me to take a single step from the moment you received Jesus Christ as your Savior, when you were on the starting line the moment you were saved. I was 12 years of age. Not one single step have I ever taken that he was not living on the inside of me, standing by my side, moving ahead, moving behind, there to protect and to provide and to keep. If you and I are going to live this life to the fullest, I mean if we're going to live to the fullest and enjoy it no matter what we're going through and whatever we're facing in life. You see, it has nothing to do with my external circumstances.
If you and I are living in the center of God's will, that is if we are committed to doing the will of God, we are committed for Him to working and molding in our life, then whatever storm He sends us through will be to His glory ultimately. Whatever difficulty and hardship and adversity and suffering He takes us through, what's He doing? He is building something within our life. What is he doing? He's building endurance.
Now listen to this. Why does he build endurance in this storm? I'll tell you why, because he knows he's going to allow another storm. And endurance here equips me for the endurance later. And that endurance has not only built and working in our life to equip us for the next storm and the next trial and the next heartache, but it is also preparing us for more effective ministry, more effective ministry in other people's lives, more expanded ministry in someone else's life.
And it makes no difference who you are. God has gifted you and God has talented you. And He has equipped you and He's in the process of equipping you to be a blessing to other people. And as you and I walk through the storms, And we face the hardships. and we get up after we have fallen.
But we keep moving toward the goal, and we do not allow anything nor anyone to divert our attention long from the goal that God has set for us. And so he says, fix your eyes on Jesus. You'll stumble and falter and fall, and you'll feel so unworthy and so guilty. Fix your eyes on him. And when you fix your eyes on him, you understand.
This loving Jesus, who is your running companion, just picked you up. He's the one who's whispering in your ear. You'll make it. Just keep going. It doesn't make any difference how tough it looks right now.
You keep your focus on me. I am your Savior, your Lord, your life. And all that you need in these moments in your life, I will be that to you with no exception. Think about this. Running a race.
and running in the energy of Almighty God. The psalmist said, I will go in the strength of the Lord my God. The 68th Psalm says, God commands our strength. He says, You'll mount up with wings like eagles. You'll run and not be weary.
You'll walk and not grow faint, or lose heart. What is this Christian life all about? that Christian life is all about. living and doing the will of my Father. The Christian life is all about being conformed to the likeness of his Son.
Everything else about the Christian life is secondary to that. The area you serve How God works in your life and how He uses you in someone else's life, all that's secondary. If I'm going to live life to the fullest. I must get on the track that He has set for me. And set is my goal.
Not achievement and accomplishment in the eyes of the world, but to do the will of my Father. And to be confirmed to the likeness of his Son.
Now, how does it all begin? His hat starts. It starts with your recognition that apart from God, Your life has no sense of real genuine purpose or meaning. It means you're not going anywhere. Once you receive Jesus Christ as your Savior, here's what he does.
He not only forgives you of all of your sin, but he sets you in the right direction. You say, but you know, suppose I'm 40 years old. He takes you right where you are. Suppose I'm 70 years of age, he takes you right where you are. You just don't have as long to run.
That's all. You don't have as long to run. You won't have as many battles to face. It may be a little tougher on you than someone who's been a Christian a long time. It doesn't make any difference.
Now, the ideal will of God is that you be saved early in life. But suppose you aren't, does that mean that God doesn't care? No. It means He'll take you anywhere you are, my friend. And if you will surrender your life to Him and tell Him, God, I've blown it, I've had it my way, I am coming to the cross, I'm trusting Jesus Christ to forgive me for my sins by His death at Calvary, I'm just turning my life over to you.
He puts you on the track. The Spirit of God comes into your life to enable you, to guide you, to show you. The Lord Jesus Christ becomes your running companion. It starts. with trusting Him as your Savior.
Thank you for listening to part two of Living Life to the Fullest. For more inspirational messages like this one, visit our online 24-7 station. And if you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or In Touch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
