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Be a Big Loser, Part 1

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Be a Big Loser, Part 1

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Be a Big Loser, Part 1

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The theme found in the popular TV show, "The Biggest Loser," offers a good series of examples in overcoming. Christians are called to lose the pounds, figuratively, by casting aside all weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us. We need to be big losers and shed the sin. The first of seven intended points for being a successful big loser is shared in this scheduled three part series in preparation for Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread.   Point #1 - We need to rely on a well-trained coach!

Transcript

Well brethren, I have a very important question to ask of you as I begin this sermon. So listen carefully. The question is, “Are you a big loser?” That's right, “Are you a big loser with a capital ‘L’?” Now some of you may have seen or heard of a reality show on TV called “The Biggest Loser”. How many of you have heard of this show? How many of you have watched this show? Okay, a few of you have. Now I don't care if any of you are the biggest loser, but I want every one of you to be a big loser. Now, I'm obviously not talking about physical weight, but I am talking about something a lot more important.

This show, “The Biggest Loser,” began in October of 2004 on NBC, and it has had an extraordinary two hundred and seventeen brand new episodes over nine years. So it's been very, very popular and successful. It is a show where fifteen seriously obese people compete for a cash prize (I think it's a quarter of a million dollars). It's a lot of money, but in reality the largest and most valuable prize of all is simply this: It's all the weight that the winner loses and all the weight that every one of the contestants loses on that program. Because, you see, everyone is a winner because they're all big losers. It's amazing how much weight is lost in just a three to four month period. One began at the weight of over four hundred pounds. They all lost an amazing amount of weight. There were several others that weighed over three hundred pounds. Many of them lost well over 100 pounds. And it was really quite extraordinary. I'd heard about this program, but I thought, “Oh, I don't want to watch that show.” But my wife watched it a few times and said I really ought to watch this because there are some good analogies here when it comes to spiritual things.

The overall winner of the contest is the one who loses the biggest percentage of weight, relative to his or her initial weight. In the beginning the fifteen people are placed in one of three teams and each team has its own coach. The coach's job is to see that his or her team has the highest percentage of weight loss each week. Generally the person who has the lowest percentage of weight loss on the losing team is eliminated and sent home. So, first they start out by teams, so it's good to be on a good team, but you still have to do your part individually or you'll end up getting eliminated eventually anyway, because near the end of the game it goes to individuals, no longer teams. There is a time when some individuals have a lot to thank their teams for, because they are holding them up and keeping them in the game.

The contestants have put their lives on hold to dedicate themselves to the serious job of losing weight for the good of their health and also for the overall good of their families. They leave their jobs, their homes, their families, and their friends. They basically leave their comfort zone, their comfort zone, which probably helped them gain a lot of weight in the first place and sacrifice all of this to come to ‘The Ranch’. They call it ‘The Ranch’ because it is basically a boot camp. They bring them to ‘The Ranch’ and so each person is there with fourteen people they've never met before. They have one thing in common, they are all obese, they all have a lot of weight to lose and in just about every case, they are miserable when they get there because they have such a serious weight problem. They know it is slowly killing them. They know it is really devastating to their health, so they all have the common desire to feel better about themselves and to shed the excess weight, and to live a longer and healthier life. They commit themselves to over three months of rigorous training and serious diet changes, but no matter how much they lose at ‘The Ranch’, they know that when they go back home those killer pounds are going to come right back on if they go back to the lifestyle that they came out of. There must be a total change, not only for three months, but a complete change of their mindset, their heart, their attitude, their focus, and their habits; and it's going to have to last for the rest of their lives.

Now my question for you is, “How much excess weight and ungodly baggage, otherwise known as sin, have you put on because of being a spiritual couch potato over the years?” Now, I'm going to be the first to admit that there have been times in my spiritual life when I've been a couch potato. I haven't been as diligent; I haven't been as faithful as I know I need to be. And I think as human beings, if you've been in the Church a long time, you've probably gone through these phases yourself. You know the Bible says we're not to become weary with well doing. The reason it says that is because it's easy to become weary in well doing. So, you have to continually stay close to God, and put a prod on yourself; do certain things to keep you spiritually fit. So this is all about losing spiritual weight, it's not about losing physical weight, although that would be helpful in certain cases. I know I have a few pounds that I'd like to lose. But this is primarily about losing the spiritual weight that so easily besets us. In fact there's a scripture, the theme scripture for this sermon (don't usually have theme scriptures for my sermons), but this is the theme scripture. Let's go to Hebrews chapter 12 and let's read verse one. Again, ask yourself. “What spiritual junk food and decadent desserts, otherwise known as sins have you been indulging in that have added harmful weight to your body and have threatened your spiritual existence?”

 Hebrews chapter 12 and verse one: “Wherefore seeing we are also compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses...” it's talking about those clouds of witnesses who are mentioned in Hebrews 11, those men and women of faith who have fought the good fight. They've run the race and they've WON the race. They're in the graves; they're awaiting the promises, the promise of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life in God's Kingdom. So we're all compassed about with a great cloud of witnesses. When you look at the Bible, and read it, there are many, many people in here that have been faithful and will be in God's Kingdom. “...Let us therefore lay aside every weight...” Notice the wordage of what it says here, “lay aside the weight and the sin that does so easily beset us” or “ensnare us”, “and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”

We have a race that we have to run. It is a marathon. We have to run it, and we have to run it with patience, and we have to be diligent in running. So, brethren are you determined to lose the weight? Are you determined to lose the weight, the sin that pulls you down spiritually? What can you do to help you lose the weight, the sin and become spiritually lean and fit? Do you want to be spiritually lean and fit? I know I do. What also will God do for you if you do your part? If you do your part, you know you can count on God. Do you have faith in that? You know, we really do have to do our part. God is waiting to see what we will do. He's not going to do it all for us. There's something that we all need to do.

In Romans 14:17, it says, “For the Kingdom of God is not meat and drink,” but it's about righteousness. It's not about food; it's not about physical weight, or various foods. However, it is important to take care of your body because it is the temple of God's Holy Spirit. So we should be careful what we eat. We should be moderate in certain things we eat, very moderate. So the Kingdom of God is not about meat and drink, but it is about righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

I have no doubt there will be people who have struggled with weight all their lives, people who were obese in this physical life who will be changed in a moment in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet, or obese people who will come out of the grave and they'll be changed into spirit and they'll no longer be obese. There will be people who have struggled with weight physically who will definitely be in God's Kingdom.

But what we want to focus on today is to stop being spiritually obese because that will kill you, and that will keep you out of God's Kingdom if you are enslaved and ensnared by the weight of sin. So, I'm going to begin a series of three sermons to cover seven principles of “Losing the Weight”, the sin that so easily ensnares and enslaves us. Today we're only going to cover one principle, the most important one, and the one we have to get right first.

By the way, it's not too early to start thinking about Passover. These three sermons should help you to begin to prepare for the Passover. It's coming in April, so we need to be thinking about that, and we need to begin examining ourselves. We need to consider the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ and we need to consider the Days of Unleavened Bread. What do the Days of Unleavened Bread picture? They picture putting sin out, putting the “weight” out, getting the “weight” off. If you are thinking about being baptized, this will also help counsel you for baptism because these are important principles everyone thinking about being baptized needs to consider.

So, what is the first principle? WE ALL NEED TO TRUST, LISTEN TO AND FOLLOW OUR COACHES. And ultimately our Coaches are God the Father and Jesus Christ. If we follow them, follow their example, do what they tell us to do, submit ourselves to them, surrender to them, we don't have a thing to worry about. That's really all that needs to be said. We do have Coaches, but they are much more than coaches. But we need to look at them as Who will coach us through life and give us eternal life.

On “The Biggest Loser”, the contestants have a coach whose main goal is to help them lose weight. And, certainly, God has a goal, He wants you to lose the “weight” that so easily ensnares you and besets you. The trainers can be hard-nosed on this program. If you've heard of Jillian Michaels, she's just a small, slim gal but she's pretty ripped, and healthy. She'll get right in their faces and yell. Sometimes she'll scream, “Just one more rep!” They exercise about four hours a day. The coaches will get in the contestants faces and holler if they think it will do them any good. The coaches do seem to genuinely care; they want their teams to succeed and even the people on the other teams. You can see a bond that is building between the coaches and the contestants. It seems to be a real bond, but nothing like we can have with God and Christ. We can have a bond with Jesus Christ and God the Father that will help us through anything, literally ANYTHING. God will never leave us. He will never forsake us. When we have faith in that and believe that, God will help us through cancer, heart disease, through any kind of trial that comes along. If we'll keep our eyes on the Coach and follow Him, we can know we'll be okay. It is important to develop a strong bond with God the Father and with Jesus Christ.

Although the trainers on the show are not lifestyle models, they are pretty good models when it comes to losing the physical weight. But God is the perfect example when it comes to losing the spiritual weight. Look at Jesus Christ, our Savior. What is it about Him that is so unique? He was perfect! He was without sin! I have the utmost respect for my Savior, Jesus Christ because I have struggled with sin all my life. I have given in to sin; I have fallen short of the glory of God. Christ did come in the flesh, He was conceived of the Holy Spirit but He still had to fight against the flesh. He shows us how to overcome. He was tempted in every point as we are; yet He was without sin. So, I have the utmost respect for my Coach, my elder brother, Jesus Christ.

The coaches on “The Biggest Loser” model the habits and attitudes that the contestants must emulate in order to achieve their goal of losing physical weight. The contestants will most likely never look exactly like their trainers who have always stayed slim and trim and fit. But the beauty about our calling is that we can become just like Jesus Christ and our Father, spiritually. They are not jealous or envious; they want us to become just like them. They want to share with us their glory. We will have new, glorious bodies when we enter God's Kingdom. We will no longer sin when we are changed to spirit and born into God's family. It doesn't get any better than that. We'll become God; we are created beings, so we'll never become like God the Father and Christ in one sense because they are not created beings. They are the Ones who created time. That is hard for us to fathom. They lived eternally in the past, we can't do that, but we can live eternally from this time forward.

“The Biggest Loser” contestants’ lifestyle has taken a toll on them, but they will think and look more like their coaches when they follow their lead and example and when they respond to their training. When they leave ‘The Ranch’ they will be well on their way to a new life, a new beginning, a better life physically and mentally. They will be better equipped to continue the process of losing the physical weight and keeping it off. Again, we must recognize that God and Christ are the perfect ultimate coaches. First it is God the Father who draws us to His Son, John 6:44, “No man can come to me unless God the Father draws him.” We can't know the Messiah unless the Father has called us, has drawn us to Jesus Christ. So, that's where it begins. Then Jesus reveals to us the Father by simply being Himself. That's how we know the Father. Christ said, “I and my Father are one and if you've seen me, you have seen the Father.” Christ was totally unified with his Father. They have the same mind, heart, purpose and goals. They worked on the wonderful plan of salvation together. It is really amazing the example They set for us, of oneness. We are to become one even as our Christ and Father are one.

Another analogy the scripture uses is of Christ being our elder brother. I don't know if you have an elder brother, but I do. I love my elder brother, his name is Mike and he's two years older than I am. He really set a good example for me, as a teenager, one that I didn't follow as well as I should have. I was probably the least likely to become a minister in my family. I was very selfish as a teenager; I wanted to do my own thing when I wanted to do my own thing. So, I really respect my brother a lot, I've loved him over the years. He hasn't always set the perfect example. He has made some compromises over the years that I know have hurt him spiritually. Nevertheless, he has been a wonderful big brother for me. But, Christ is the very best big brother, the perfect big brother. So, if you don't have a physical big brother, you do have a spiritual big brother. You can go to him, He will protect you; He will do everything a big brother would do and a whole lot more.

The beauty of our calling is that we can become exactly like our Father and like Christ. We can actually have the same glory that they enjoy in God's kingdom. It's something to look forward to, something that should forever excite us and keep us motivated. Again, we are flesh, we're physical, so it's easy to let down at times and to not be as focused as we need to be. It is the greatest thing ever to know the truth of God! What else can compare? There's nothing else! You can search high and low. You can go to every religion there is: Buddhism, Shintoism, all the eastern religions, but there isn't anything better than being born into the God family where we can live forever perfectly. That is what's revealed in the Bible and it's all because we have a Savior. This physical flesh doesn't ‘cut it’, there's no way this physical flesh can live forever. We're getting older as I speak. We really need to consider what God has revealed to us. It really is an awesome plan. We really need to get to know our Coaches better.

Let's go to Psalm 34:8. We need to get to know God and Christ better so we can have that bond with them that will get us through every problem and trial in the future. In Psalm 34:8, David tells us something about the relationship he had with God. He was called ‘a man after God's own heart’, he was certainly no perfect man; he was a sinner like we all are. He said in Psalm 34:8, “Oh taste and see that the Lord is good.” That's what we need to do to taste the Lord and see that He is good, experience Him. We all like to taste things that are good. God is good for us. Taste Him and see that He is good. “Blessed is the man (and woman) that trusts in Him”. You are greatly blessed if you will put your trust in God. Let us all learn to trust Him. Notice verse 9, it says “Oh fear the Lord.” There is a right kind of fear that we should all have. God does hold our lives in the balance; He's the One who gets to set the rules. He's the One who gets to say, “This is how you make it into my Kingdom, and this is what you need to do.” We need to respect that. We need to respect our Coach and follow His rules. “Oh fear the Lord, all you saints,” and you are all saints here today, those who have the Spirit of God dwelling in them. “For there is no want to those that fear Him,” there is no lack. God will provide everything to those who truly fear Him and love Him.

In I John 3: 4-5, “Whoever commits sin transgresses also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.” Sin is the breaking of God's law, He's the One who gets to set the rules and when we break His rules, His law, we have sinned. The wages of sin is what? It is death. That's what God tells us, and that is what we deserve. If anyone in here has sinned and I believe we all have, then death is what we deserve. The answer is in Christ Jesus, accepting Him as our Savior and having our sins forgiven. The Passover is all about the sacrifice of Christ, the sacrifice for us. That's how we really get rid of the sin; there's really no other way. Sin has to be forgiven. That is the ultimate way to get rid of sin. The only way we can do that is to follow the example of God the Father and Jesus Christ and keep the laws of God and do those things that are pleasing in God's sight. Notice verse 5. We don't think about verse 5 so much. “And you know that He was manifested…” That means He became flesh. He gave up his divine nature; He was with God Most High in the very beginning. He was composed of spirit and perfect in every way. But he was manifested to take away our sins; that's why Christ came, to take away my sins and your sins, it wasn't for his own health. He came here and suffered as a human being for us, so that He could pay the penalty for our sins. He laid his life down for us and became the perfect sacrifice. The sin, the “weight” that ensnares us and pulls us down, it is taken away by Christ our Savior. In Him is no sin, He is perfect and always has been and always will be. He is the perfect example for us to follow.

So, we are to become no longer spiritually ‘obese’. The key is you have to come to know Christ. When I was eighteen years old the Father began to draw me to Jesus Christ, He began to reveal Christ to me. I was only a teenager, but I had to answer that call. I had a lot of life ahead of me and I didn't necessarily want to go this direction. There was a part of me pulling me in a different direction, trying to pull me away. Some of you came into the church in your youth, some later. It doesn't really matter because we all had to give up certain things to become a part of the church. Then we had to start to begin a relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ. When we come to know them, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Christ will strengthen us if we know Him, if we get to know Him.

So the first aspect is you have to listen to your coaches, you have to follow them. You have to do what they say. They say you shall have no other gods besides Me, They mean it. Don't put anything ahead of them. Don't bow before graven images or you'll lose sight of God. Don't take God's name in vain, but instead learn to honor and respect Him. Remember his Sabbath day, because when we do we honor Him; it's a day He sanctified and set apart and made holy. Certainly we are to honor our parents, those who have given us life on this earth. There's a blessing that comes with honoring them. God says don't murder, He says don't even harbor hatred or resentment. These are obviously the commandments, the Ten Commandments. Don't commit adultery, don't even look at a woman to lust for her or you've committed adultery with her in your heart. These are not easy rules for human beings. They are very difficult; especially to not only learn to walk in the letter of the law, but also in the spirit of God's law. This is a life-long process. It is so easy to be beset by sin because the works of the flesh are strong: envy, jealousy, greed, lust. These are strong pulls of the flesh. There's a monumental struggle that goes on, if you are fighting the fight. I have been fighting for 40 years now, I continue to have to struggle and fight the fight. We cannot give up; we have to continue to ‘fight the good fight’.

We have all been called to a spiritual ‘ranch’ so to speak, right here in this room. In many respects, this is your ‘ranch’. There's a bigger ranch out there, those who have God's Spirit, whether of this organization or not. I believe the United Church of God is a wonderful place to be. It has helped me to stay on track, it has given me the right motivation, and it has helped me. I believe associating with people like you is a good thing. I'm glad to come here and be a part of this group because it is healthy. It's good for my health spiritually to come here and speak to you and to listen to you. We had our dance in Tulsa after the Sabbath last week, and Ralph Redline spent the night at our house. I was going to get up early and finish my sermon but he volunteered to speak so I thought, “Why shouldn't I just let him speak?” It was nice to just sit back for a change and listen to a sermon, but I can't do that very often because I am supposed to be the pastor. Since I make it here only once a month, I don't know that I'd ever do that here. This is our spiritual ‘ranch'; this is a good place to be.

When God called us we were all in a sense, obese. I know I was. I was beset with sin; I had to make some changes. Habits of indulging in sin have taken a toll on every one of us. We were stuck in a cycle; we were too close to this world. We loved the ways of this world too much. It was too much a part of us. We may have even loved the sin that was slowly killing us, because sin can be enticing. Wasn't it Moses who talked about the pleasures of sin for a season? He gave all that up. He was in Egypt where he had all the glitter and glamour of being a part of Pharaoh's household, but he gave it all up because he saw something much more beautiful: God's Kingdom. We've all had to come out and leave those lifestyles behind us. But we all still struggle; it's not all peaches and cream when you come into God's Church; when you get baptized. It's not all smooth sledding after that, you still have to fight the good fight, and Satan will try to pull you down. He would love to get you off the right track; he has been too successful with a lot of people over the years. Many people are not staying the course; many have given up. Many no longer keep God's Sabbath. Many are deceived and Satan is always out there trying to deceive us.

God's Spirit is leading us to a brand new lifestyle and a brand new attitude and heart that will help us to shed the spiritual ‘weight’. We will continue to become a ‘new creation’, a new person. We had to be willing to leave everything in this world behind. We have to, but the world still creeps back in. Satan is the god of this world. The entertainment of this world is laced with sin. It is difficult to pull away from these things, but we need to learn to do that and say, “NO!” We must say no to the bad influences out there. Satan would love to cause us grief, so we have to be circumspect, to be careful what we choose to take into our minds. We must make the right choices and do the right thing. It is difficult and if Satan has a hold on you, it is hard to pull back. If you've gotten into some bad habits, it is difficult to break those shackles off. But that is exactly what has to happen. Satan is trying to enslave you with sin and he knows your weaknesses, he knows where he can get to you. He knows where to make in-roads, and, trust me; he will attack you in those areas. He went to Christ, he tried to tempt Christ but Christ was ready for him. Jesus had fasted forty days and forty nights, He didn't take it lightly, did He? He was ready. Satan tried to tempt him in so many different ways, and yet Christ did not sin. He didn't give in; He didn't give up. Christ prayed all night long sometimes, because He needed to be spiritually strong. Sometimes we, too, have to make decisions that will make us grow strong spiritually. We need to stop being spiritual couch potatoes. It's easy to just sit back on the couch and watch TV when we are tired and just let ourselves be bombarded with whatever is on, but spiritually being a couch potato is dangerous. We have to make good choices and decisions.

Let's go to Mark 10:28.

This speaks to what we all need to do as Christ's disciples. “Peter began to say to Christ, ‘Lo we have left all, we have followed you,’ and Jesus answered and said, ‘Verily, verily I say unto you there is no man who has left house or brethren or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands for my sake and the gospel's, but he shall receive a hundredfold now in this time---houses and brethren and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions and in the world to come eternal life.’” Christ is saying there will be great blessings for those who make the choice to come and follow Him. It is a blessing to be a part of this group, we have brothers and sisters in Christ; we have mothers in Christ. We have examples here we can draw close to. I've been in this area for eighteen and a half years now, there are strong bonds built between people. It will be difficult to ever leave here if I'm asked; I may be asked, I don't know. I know that if I'm asked to go, I'll go.

Turn to Hebrews 12.

Reflecting on what Peter just said, we have to leave all and follow Christ. Like the disciples of old who followed Christ, we also need a total lifestyle change. They came out of their professions to follow Christ. We also need a change of heart. Peter changed a lot; there was a time when he betrayed Christ three times in the same night. But then he later on was martyred, because of his faithfulness in changing his lifestyle and having a changed heart and mind. If we're going to be committed to getting rid of the weight of sin that so easily ensnares us, we'll have to be committed to a total lifestyle change. That begins by following our coaches, by following their example, by doing what they tell us to do. In Hebrews chapter 12, it shows us that God really does love us, but at the same time He corrects us. That is a proof that He really does love us. Some of the trainers on “The Biggest Loser” are a little bit hard-nosed and they can go a little bit overboard. They can reduce people to tears when they scream at them to ‘do just one more rep’. They can get pretty intense. Some of us wouldn't appreciate that approach, but people are different, they are motivated differently. Some people like for me to give ‘fire and brimstone’ sermons, but not everyone likes to be screamed at. Many like a more gentle caring approach. Let's read Hebrews chapter 12 and let's consider what God is doing in our lives; verse 5 “And you have forgotten the exhortation that speaks unto you as children. My son despise not you the chastening of the Lord nor faint when you are rebuked of Him, for whom the Lord loves He chastens and scourges every son whom He receives.” I've always liked that scripture, because I know there are times I need to be scourged and chastened and God will do it. God has a way of getting your attention. “If you endure chastening, God deals with you as sons for what son is he whom the father chastens not?” I can remember when my kids were smaller, and we were training them and working with them, there were times when we had to discipline them for their sake because we loved them. We did sometimes use a little paddle. Sometimes nothing gets their attention except a little pain. If you do it lovingly, they will comprehend that. We all need discipline; our children need discipline or they will likely run amok.

Notice verse 8, “But if you be without chastisement whereof all are partakers, then are you illegitimate, you are not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh who corrected us and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be under the subjection to the Father of spirits and live?”

You know my kids would give me reverence because they knew it was a time of reckoning. They'd straighten up in a hurry; they'd wish they hadn't done what they had. They'd show reverence once they knew they were about to be paddled or spanked, but it's so much better to show reverence in the first place, then there's no need to be spanked. If we'll listen to our ‘Coach’, our heavenly Father, we can avoid the chastening, the scourging. God only chastens when we've been bad when we've done something we shouldn't have done. God may also allow trials and tests to come along not because we've sinned, but just to strengthen us. There are times we bring the trials on ourselves because of our sin, and then God will get our attention in order to help us repent.

Verse 10, “For they verily for a few days chasten us after their own pleasure, but He for our profit that we may be partakers of His holiness.” It's all about becoming holy.

“Be you holy for I am holy.” (I Peter 1:15-16)

God wants you to become just like Him, so that's why He allows us to be tested and tried. When we do sin, He corrects us for it, so we might be partakers of his holiness by repenting and stopping sinning.

Hebrews 12:11, “Now no chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous, nevertheless afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness.”

In other words, it helps us change our behavior. Then we start doing what we should do when God corrects us for doing evil. Sometimes a little punishment goes a long way to help us change our behavior.

So this first point is primarily about God and Christ and allowing them to be our ‘Coaches’, but I would be remiss if I didn't go to a couple of scriptures. The fact is God does use human beings; He doesn't say it's all between you and Him. There are some other people that have to get involved in here, too, according to God's Word.

Ephesians 4:11, “And He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers, for the perfecting of the saints.”

The whole goal is to perfect the saints, to help all of us to become like Christ. Some are apostles, Peter was an apostle, and so were Paul and James. Some were prophets like Elijah and Elisha. Some were evangelists like Phillip. I believe we have some evangelists today, the ones who are on the “Beyond Today” telecast. It goes out to the whole world. They are evangelizing, speaking the truth about God's Kingdom. I am a pastor here in this congregation; anyone who gets up and speaks is a teacher and it's all for the perfecting of the saints. The work of the ministry is for the edifying of the body of Christ until we all come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God into a perfect man and unto the measure and stature of the fullness of Christ. We all want to become like Christ. He is our elder brother. We want to become just like Him and to do that we have to come into the unity of the faith.

That's why God gives us teachers so that we are no longer children tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine by the sleight of men. So men can be faithful or unfaithful. They can be pastors, teachers or evangelists who do an honorable job or they can do otherwise and become wolves that can hurt us. We have to be on guard. God does use people, but we have to be circumspect about who we follow. Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ” that is the criteria. Don't follow me if I'm telling you to do something that is against God's Word.

In Hebrews 13 it does say to remember them that have the rule over you, in other words, those who lead you in the faith.

Hebrews 13:7, “Remember them that have rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God whose faith follow considering the end of their conduct.” this is saying to look at a person's conduct. What kind of an example do they set? Are they telling you to do the right thing? Are they leading you in the path that leads to eternal life? If they are, then follow them.

In verse 17, “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves.” This is King James language and I suppose the king was big on ruling; nevertheless it does show that there is authority in the church. God does give authority to His elders and His ministers. He also says, “Submit to one another in the Lord,” so we all have a certain amount of authority. If I go astray and you come and tell me, I would be wise to submit to you, to listen to you and to do what you're telling me. In fact I want you to come to me if ever I misspeak or if I set a bad example because I really do want to do the right thing.

God really wants us to humble ourselves and to work together as a team.

Gideon says in Judges 8:23, “I will not rule over you and my sons shall not rule over you, but God shall rule over you.” This was the time of the judges. God didn't want a king to rule over the people. They chose that. What we all want is for God to rule over us. I have no desire to rule over you, it is my desire to lead you and guide you because that is my job as the pastor.

So, brethren as we have now had the first sermon in a series of three about becoming ‘big losers’, you need to become ‘big losers’ and lose the sin that so easily besets you because sin will destroy you, eventually, if you allow it to continue, and you don't repent. Sin you don't repent of will take you out. You will become so obese, spiritually, that God will have to cast you into the Lake of Fire because you will have become incorrigibly wicked.

Let's all be ‘BIG LOSERS’!