Yes, Lord,

You’re Fat!

Well, well, well. This is a new twist on an old theme. I had never thought of God as being fat. Had you?

Well, He is. When the Word of God says: "I am in Christ and Christ is in me" what do you think that means? It simply means we become ‘one with Christ’. We begin to have access to His love and peace and power and wisdom and all that He is. But, He also becomes one with us and is saddled with our weaknesses, our hates, and our inferiority. He takes upon Himself our infirmities, our poverty and our fat.

When a poor, wretched prostitute marries a rich, church going man - guess what? They become "one flesh". His bank account is now joined with her overdrawn account. Her reputation is now his problem too. Any disease she has contracted also belongs to him. Her foul mouth and sordid memories will play havoc with his life for a while - because she can’t just change into one ‘holy Jane’ overnight.

When Jesus comes into someone’s heart, their heart problems become his problems. When the Holy Spirit comes into us and we become a ‘temple of the Holy Ghost’, guess what? The condition of that temple becomes of some concern to the one who has to live there.

When Jesus came into your heart, didn’t He know it was in a big body? When the Holy Spirit consented to make you a ‘temple of the Holy Ghost’, wasn’t He aware of how big a temple He was getting? Did someone blindfold Him, handcuff him and dump Him into your life? Or did He walk in with both eyes open, knowing ahead of time what He was getting into? Did He suddenly wake up one morning and say, "Oh my God, I’m in a fat body!"

I don’t think any of those things happened. I think Jesus knew what He was getting into when He consented to become your Savior and your Lord and your God. In fact, the Bible says, "You are not your own. You have been bought with a price." You are the property of God.

We are His:

By Creation. Everything that God created belongs to Him. The devil did not create the world. He did not create your body or your spirit. Everything that God made still belongs to Him, whether it is good or bad. Before you were saved, you belonged to God, because you did not Create yourself.

By Calvary: The devil comes into people’s lives and seduces them away from God or kidnaps them and holds them in his power and in great bondage. But, a father’s children do not belong to any kidnapper just because the kidnapper has power over them. The devil has taken control of people’s minds and lives and bodies at times, but when Jesus paid for our sins, He paid a ransom price to get us back. A Father should never have to ‘buy’ his daughter back to Himself. But, when that becomes necessary to save her life, then he buys back that which is already his own, because He loves His child.

By consent: When people become willing to go back to the father and to accept the ransom price that was paid for them, then they become the property of God in a new and very meaningful way.

By choice: When we make deliberate choices to put ourselves back into the hands of God and choose to be in His house and to worship with His people, then we are truly the property of God in a way that makes a difference to Him.

By consecration: Consent speaks of a willingness. Choice is more deliberate and speaks of actions that are taken. But, consecration implies a more total yieldedness and pliability in the hands of God. It speaks of a devotion to Him and a great expression of love and trust and voluntary servitude to His needs and desires. It speaks of a giving up of our own interests to please Him. It is one way of being more solidly His than ever before.

But, in all of this, from step one to step five, the fact remains that we are the property of God. If God created all of the laws whereby you have been made fat, whether those laws are physical, chemical, emotional or spiritual - then your fat belongs to God.

When God bought you back to Himself, did He just buy your bones and muscles or did He also buy the fat? Did He just make a deal to buy back 150 pounds of you, or did He purchase the whole 275 pounds? When Jesus redeemed us unto Himself, did He just redeem our talents and our good points or did He get a package deal? Did He get the pretty lady’s nice cheek bones without getting her pimples? Did he get her nice flowing blond hair and not purchase the hair over her lip also? Did God just buy the good or did He get the bad also? Did He get just our bank account and not our bills?

I wrote an article about the hundred dollar horse. It is a horse that was bought at auction. When the farmer got home, he discovered that the horse had ticks in his ears, worms in his stomach, pus and infection in a cut on the flank and broken hooves to boot. Now, the question is: "Who do those ticks belong to? Who owns those worms? Who is responsible for that pus and infection? And at what point and time is the horse going to fix his own hooves?

You see, God knew what we were like when He sent Jesus to save us. He knew what we were like when we came to Him and applied for our own personal salvation. He knew what He was getting into when He consented to save you and He still went along with the transaction.

Jesus said: "They that come to me, I will in no wise cast out." He was saying, no matter what’s wrong with you when you come to me, I will not reject you. If He doesn’t reject you and cast you out, then what does He do? You are so right. He takes you in - just like you are. From then on - He has a problem. If He doesn’t like you as you are - He is the one who has to come up with a way to change you. And if He doesn’t know how to get rid of ___ pounds of unnecessary fat, that’s His problem.

Whatever you do, don’t get Jesus and people mixed up. Even Christians can reject people because they smoke or drink or cuss or don’t measure up to their 4-square standards of living. Don’t let that throw you for a loop. People are not your savior. There is only one Savior and it is Jesus.

If a dog trainer went out and picked up a hundred stray dogs and bought 200 more from the dog pound - that’s great. He may love dogs and he may know how to feed dogs, fix dogs and train dogs. And he may never throw a dog away because it is difficult to train. But, that doesn’t mean all the other dogs in the kennel are going to have a halo around their head. Some of them are mean and nasty. Some of them bark all night and fight every new dog they see.

If the head dog in the kennel bites you, don’t turn around and try to bite the dog trainer. The trainer didn’t bite you. Don’t become hateful and mean just because you are locked up with a bunch of imperfect dogs who haven’t yet become refined and disciplined dogs.

It’s one thing for Christians to offend you, but Jesus has never, ever sinned against you yet. You know that. And if you ever think He has, then let me know what He has done and maybe I can go to court with you and see if we can get him punished for His sin.

Otherwise, you have no valid reason for not continuing to love Jesus, no matter who is wrong and bad and not measuring up to the principles and spirit of Jesus Christ. Your contract is with Jesus. He did not say, take up your fat and follow Christians. He said, "Take up your cross and follow me."

Develop a right relationship with Jesus no matter what anyone else does. If your enemies don’t love you - so what? You follow Jesus and you decide to love your enemies. If someone hates you, do good to them, so that you can please Jesus not them. If they won’t forgive you and show you mercy, you still need to forgive them and show them mercy, because of Jesus and His teachings and His desires for your life.

In due time, God will judge everyone in the church. They will be judged by the deeds done in their own bodies. And you will be judged by your reactions to them and by your responses to the Lord of Lords and the King of Kings.

We are not here to play games with God or people. If the Bible says we are bought with a price, then we are no longer our own. And if God wants to own us - then He is going to have to ‘own’ our weaknesses as well as our strengths. He is going to have to be saddled with our liabilities as well as our assets. He can’t just have our talents. He has to take our sins as well.

If He paid for our sins - then they are His. If He doesn’t know how to get those sins out of our mind and body - then HE HAS A PROBLEM.

I’M SAYING ALL OF THIS FOR A REASON AND A PURPOSE! You can’t be accepting all of the responsibility for yourself anymore. If you belong to somebody, then they have some responsibilities also. The Bible tells us to ‘cast all our care on Him for He cares for us’. So, cast all your fat on Christ and ask Him to take care of it in anyway that He can. Cast all our anxieties about it on the Lord. Let Him worry about your heart and your energy level and the opinions of others.

I’m Fat!

How many of us have tried to quit smoking for others - thinking it should be so easy? Wives would love to quit drinking for their husbands. Our government spent millions of dollars trying to tell teenagers to "Just say ‘NO’ to drugs. But, our intelligent leaders didn’t know that it’s not that easy to break habits, exercise self control and walk away from hellish addictions.

Ten thousand well meaning Christians can judge a cripple who is on welfare. They can tell him he ought to ‘stand up like a man and go out and get a job’, but they just can’t seem to get his feet to cooperate.

What they don’t realize is that many people have some inner crippling problems which will not allow them to be drug free, nicotine free or slim and trim. They understand why a six foot tall runner can run faster than a midget, but they can’t seem to understand that people are also different on the inside. There are also a great variety of differences in people’s thinking patterns, in their emotional make-up, in their backgrounds and brain chemistry. One mold does not fit all.

I have seen people with Olympic style bodies and yet they are helplessly locked inside their homes because of extreme depression. I have seen beautiful women who think of themselves as ugly. Their self-esteem has been beaten down and squashed flat. They dare not even lift their heads to look people in the eyes. I’ve also seen ugly people who are the most outgoing people you could ever meet. They are vivacious, intelligent and fun to be around,. What’s the difference?

Who knows? There are just as many personality differences as their are fingerprints. No two people are exactly alike. I have counseled people who complain about psychiatrists and other counselors who have tried to make them out to be like some previous patients they have treated. Just yesterday I talked with a girl that was troubled because her counselors were trying to convince her that her father had molested her early on in life. They had looked at a couple symptoms in her marriage and had prejudged her past. Sure, some people have blocked out painful memories only to have them come back in the middle of their therapy sessions. But, it is an atrocious and ungodly act to persist in believing that every symptom is an accurate portrayal of a particular root cause.

If these counselors were mechanics, they would forever be replacing batteries, alternators, and starters for cars which won’t start. Eventually, they would have to check out the coil or some other hidden cause and hang their head in shame for the unnecessary trouble and expense they had caused the car owners.

I can identify with thousands of people because of all the sins, and habits and problems I’ve had in my life, but an exceptional weight problem was not one of them. I didn’t hear the teasing, the cruel remarks and the ongoing prejudice in the job market and among the general public as well. Who can really know about the low self-esteem, the frustration, the self-condemnation, the hopelessness, the anger, the envy, the defensiveness and all the other mental and emotional side effects of being fat, unless they have been there?

Let’s Give God All That Unwanted Fat!

"The Case of The Crooked Legs" is about a young woman who had been confined to a nursing home bed for 2 years. She was paralyzed from the neck down. She had lost weight and had skinny, skinny arms. Her legs had slowly curled up into a fetal position. She had crooked, crooked legs.

God sent me to that lady with a message on ‘giving’. It seemed like a ludicrous sermon for someone who had nothing to give. But, the concept he wanted me to get across to her was: "We cannot give God what we don’t have.

That woman couldn’t give God beautiful legs and nice looking arms. All she had was crooked legs and skinny arms. So after my sermon, we took up an offering and I asked her to give her crooked legs and skinny arms to God. We gave him all the other liabilities she had also. And from that one life, God has been blessing thousands and thousands of people every year.

So, I say to you, "You can’t give God what you don’t have." You don’t have a slender body and an appealing figure. But, that is no excuse to keep back from Him what you do have.

A preacher came to a farmer and said, "Farmer Jones, if you had a million dollars would you give it to God?" And the farmer quickly answered, "I sure would, preacher, I sure would." The next question was, "Farmer Jones, if you had 500 cows would you be willing to give them to God?" And farmer Jones was quick to declare that he would gladly give God 500 cows if he had them. The preacher then asked, "Farmer Jones, if you had one hog, would you give it to God?" The farmer immediately became irate and shouted, "That’s not fair! You know I have one hog!"

You see, the farmer couldn’t give God the million dollars or the 500 cows, because he didn’t have them to give. But, he did have one dirty, nasty old hog which could be butchered and used to make lots of breakfast bacon and lots of ham sandwiches.

So, what I’m asking of you now, is that you will quit looking at what you don’t have to offer to God. Quit looking at the talents and opportunities which are not yours. If you don’t have it - you can’t give it. But, what are you doing with the one thing you do have to give to God - like ____ pounds of unwanted fat?

Why are you hoarding all that fat for yourself? Why don’t you give it to God? And once you give it to Him, let Him decide what He wants to do with HIS FAT!

Anyway, what I’m trying to say is: "I don’t know why you are overweight." I don’t even know for sure what you can do about it. I’m not an expert on weight control. I never will be. My only claim to fame is that I care.

Helplessness and hopelessness have never been useful ingredients in any self-help diet. They are not part of the requirements to obtain a degree in counseling. Helplessness has never helped an old lady cross the street. It has never pulled quills out of a dog’s nose. It has never been sold over the counter at the pharmacy, nor dispensed as a prescription drug. Honestly, I can’t think of a single, solitary use for helplessness. That’s why I refuse to let it hang around my house, around my cat or around my neck. It only weighs people down and stands in the way, blocking our vision, so that we can’t see the true remedies and possible options which are in front of us.

I can’t staple up your stomach to make it smaller or perform liposuction surgery on your fat cells. I can’t get you up at 5:00 a.m. every day to jog for 20 miles. And who in the world wants to stand around snatching food out of your spoon before it reaches your mouth?

But, there’s nothing in the world that says I can’t let you know that I understand just a little bit of what you have been going through for years. Nothing can keep me from caring and from letting you know I care. I’m not helpless. NO way! I have the power of words at my disposal; encouraging words, healing words, comforting words, and words that touch the inner cords of your heart and soul. I have words that will make you feel loved and blessed. My words will cause you to cry, but the tears they produce will be the welcomed tears which melt the hardened walls of your soul. It will be such a relief to be free from the guilt and self-condemnation which has plagued you for years. Those tears will soak through all your defensiveness and make you so vulnerable. Yes, you will be vulnerable to love, God’s kind of love. You will give in to it gladly, just like a person in the desert who hungrily gulps down thirst quenching drops of precious water.

No. I’m not going to try to get you to understand God. I’m not going to explain why some people can eat like pigs and still remain skinny, skinny. There’s no way that I can tell you why your bones act like magnets, attracting every calorie within five miles around and gluing them all together onto your particular skeleton.

I don’t understand atoms and molecules and white blood cells - I just know they are in my body doing something or other. But, that doesn’t keep me from using what I’ve got to help others. I don’t have to understand the function of my spleen in order to type these words to you. There are a hundred billion bits of earthly trivia that I am totally unaware of. There is no way that I can understand even a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of all the mysteries of God among humanity. But, that doesn’t mean I can’t use that little bit of understanding that I do have to make a difference in one person’s life.

I’m limited. Sure, I am. And so are you. But, we are not helpless or hopeless. We are going to move within the realm of our limitations and still fulfill a good purpose in the earth. We are going to do the will of God as we see it right now and do more as he reveals more. We are going to accomplish something worthwhile in the earth and within the kingdom of God. We are going to be blessed by the exceeding great mercies of a loving God. And those blessings are going to abound to the benefit of many before God is through with us down here.

Oh my, doesn’t that sound marvelous? Well, don’t get carried away with my excitement yet. I happen to know that you will go through 17 dark tunnels where these words will seem to mean nothing. You will probably fall over the cliff once and roll down 3 mountainsides and none of this will make any sense then. But, in the end, my words will win out. They will be vindicated and fulfilled. They will make a difference in the earth, not only in your life, but in the lives of many others. It is destined to be. Praise God from whom all blessings flow. It is only in His goodness and mercy that I am allowed to be the one to share this measure of His grace with you. To God be all the glory. Amen!

You and I are going to make a great team. You’ve got the problem and I know how to make it work for the good of many. God will be included on the team and He knows more tricks and schemes than I do. He can really make your problem abound to the Glory of God, the benefit of many and even to the increase of the kingdom of God in the earth.

We are not going to waste your fat cells. We are going to make every one of them produce fruit in the kingdom of God. You are going to be compensated for your pain and suffering - without suing anybody. We are going to make your life count for good in the earth. We are going to create a usefulness for you! Hallelujah! This is just the beginning. Gird up your mind and get ready for the ride of your life. You are going to start enjoying life now, more than you ever have. A dozen good side effects are going to plop down in the living room of your soul and bless your socks off. Begin waking up each morning with enthusiasm in your heart and praises to God on your lips.

Depression is going to be a thing of the past. Hope and expectations of good are going to be your ‘present’ from God. And blessings are going to be your future. Praise the Lord.

I’m Fat!

Part Two

Admit The Truth

Jesus once said: "You shall know the TRUTH and THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE!" There is never anything wrong with truth. Jesus is truth. He is light. The light reveals that which is. There is no sin in admitting the truth. That’s the same as admitting Christ into your life. Is there anything wrong in letting Jesus come into your life?

Ahhhhh, but there is one catch. No one said anything about admitting condemnation into your life. Too many times we link truth and condemnation together? Why? Jesus came ‘not to condemn the world’ but that the world through Him might be saved. The world can only be saved by the truth. The devil is a liar and the father of lies. Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil. He came to reveal our hidden sinfulness, but he also came to reveal the pathway of salvation. When the devil reveals our sinfulness, he brings condemnation with that revelation. He brings accusations. He brings fear of judgment, fear of rejection and fear of what people will think. All of these things are traps and snares. They are designed to keep us in bondage.

The Word says: "There is therefore ‘NO’ CONDEMNATION TO THOSE WHO ARE IN CHRIST JESUS!" Why not? Because there is no condemnation in Christ. Condemnation must come from ourselves, from the world, or from the devil.

Jesus has never and will never condemn you because you are fat. Jesus has never given you feelings of shame and unworthiness. He has never tried to make you feel insecure, inferior or unacceptable. Did He ever say to anyone, "I am come that you might have shame and that more abundantly?" Did He say, "I have come that you might have condemnation and that more abundantly?"

If you are going to come to a knowledge of the truth about yourself, you must begin to know that the extra garbage which hurts you so much is not coming from Jesus, no matter how much you weigh. Did Jesus say, "I have come to give skinny people life and fat people shame?" Then, there is no reason for us to accept or give in to anything that is not coming from Jesus.

The devil has programmed society to cooperate with him in a diabolical plan of deception. His plan is designed to trap people and lead them into the bondage which comes with guilt and condemnation. He wraps cords of insecurity, rejection, and inferiority all through their mind and then manipulates them downward into depression, dejection, despair and hopelessness. None of these things are from God.

The world may have come up with what is called, "Christian Rock Music", but there is no such thing as "Christian Condemnation - Christian Inferiority - or Christian despair."

Just because you admit you are fat is no reason to admit these other things into your life. Truth has rightful place in your life. These other things are party crashers and trespassers. You have been redeemed by God. You are His - just like you are.

Some people can be overweight. Some people may be pleasingly plump. But, when a person is _____ pounds overweight, they are just plain ‘fat’. Why try to minimize the truth. The truth is going to set you free. Why try to avoid the truth or evade the truth. Why try to skirt around the truth. Some people can skirt around the truth by wearing larger clothes. But, there is no way you can hide what you’ve got.

Why not simply ‘admit the truth’ on a daily basis. Some people say, ‘But the truth hurts!" Is that so? Jesus is truth and I don’t recall any story about Him hurting anyone.

When you shine the light on a burglar who is creeping along the outside ledge of a tall building, he may react suddenly and fall a hundred feet to the ground. I’m sure that will hurt him. But, it was his reaction to the light that hurt him, not the light. You can’t say ‘the light broke his bones and fractured his skull’. The light didn’t do a thing accept reveal what was causing the noise on the ledge.

Accept the truth!

There are tens of millions of people who have learned to accept the truth about their size. They have learned to live with it and still make a go of it in life. They have quit struggling to fit into a size 10 dress or a size 40 suit.

Somewhere along the way they have quit hating the fact that they are fat. They have accepted it. They have quit trying to diet it all away. They have quit struggling. They know they will be fat until they die. They’ve learned to laugh about it. They have allowed others to laugh at them. They have also accepted society and all the barbs that can come from the cruel and the unthinking. They have gotten used to the fact that the world is not going to make chairs and benches designed for them. They know that if they want a more sturdy bed they are going to have to go to a bit of trouble to get one. But, they live with it just like the tall man learns to duck when he goes through a door. Life is life. We all have to make some adjustments in order to live in this world.

If Jesus has consented to live in a fat person, then He has chosen to live in a fat body. And the best part is that He is not going to jump ship even if you gain another 10 pounds or 25 pounds or even a hundred pounds. Jesus said: "They that come to me, I will in no wise cast out." He will never reject you because of your weight. He will never reject anyone because of color, blemishes, faults and failures. He said, "In no wise". That means, "In no way".

If you are truly coming to the truth and not fighting against it - then THE TRUTH WILL NEVER CAST YOU ASIDE. If He doesn’t cast you out, what does He do? He takes you in. He accepts you - just like you are.

The point of this particular message is: "Admit the truth, accept the truth." Don’t fight against the truth. Don’t add condemnation, shame, insecurity, resentment and anger and depression to the truth. Those are the things which are hurting you - not the truth.

PUT FIRST THINGS FIRST

Before you ever try to lose another pound, start getting rid of the things which are hurting you the most - those inside reactions which are not good for anyone.

Make a list of all the things you want to lose and put "weight" at the bottom of the list. The reason so many people fail in their strenuous efforts to lose weight is because they have the cart before the horse. They are trying to remove the railroad ties before they take the heavy rails off of the ties. They are trying to put a roof on the house, before the walls are up. Remember, let’s get it right. Let’s put first things first.

The main thing

is to keep the main thing

the main thing!

People say they can’t be happy because they are overweight. That is not true. They are unhappy because they want to be. They are unhappy because they want to revel in self-pity. They are unhappy because they want to be angry at inconsiderate jerks who are so insensitive. They are unhappy because they want to resent and hate. They are unhappy because they choose to be unhappy in a hundred different ways.

Happiness is a choice. If you are unhappy and depressed, don’t blame it all on extra fat cells. You can wake up in the morning and choose to sing. You can choose to forgive people for unkind remarks. You can choose to let go of resentments. You can choose to enjoy the same things many skinny people enjoy - a fresh breeze, a beautiful flower, the laughter of children, and a thousand other simple pleasures which cannot be denied to anyone.

You and I are no different. I wake up feeling bad and I have to force myself to sing a song in my mind before I even get out of bed. During the day I have to choose to reject depressing attitudes. I have to shun resentment. I have to forgive the same person over and over again. I have to cheer myself up. I have to reject the shame of embarrassment if I’ve been walking around all day with a piece of gravy on my tie. I have to say, "So what?" And I have to learn to rejoice no matter what anyone thinks of me.

There is one Christian lady that I absolutely love. She is a fat lady. But, I hardly even notice. She is always so full of the love of Jesus. She has a rejoicing heart. She cares more about the hurts and pains of others than she does about her own problems. She is not self-centered. She is a joy to be around. I would never ask her to lose weight. I think she is a great lady just like she is.

Even if she dies an early death because of being fat, she will have lived a more productive life than 8, 562, 175 skinny people who hang onto their bad attitudes. I would never want to live for even one day in the same house with any one of 30,000 physically beautiful women, because of the deformities of their heart and attitudes.

Don’t ever envy anyone for what they have or don’t have. Just make the most of the one life that God has given you and you will be blessed forever and ever.

So, it all boils down to this. Calmly and joyfully look in the mirror each day for 30 days, saying, "Yes, Lord, I’m fat"! And then smile!

I’m serious. If you will really and truly do that - by the end of the 30 days you will begin to have a different attitude about yourself. And "attitude is what it’s all about".

If you will ‘do what you can do’ to make yourself a better person, God can kick in and give you the power to do what you have never been able to do for yourself before. You can look in the mirror. You can talk to yourself. You can say the words, "Yes, Lord, I’m fat." And you can smile. So, what’s so hard about putting all those things together in one experiment for Jesus?

You see, people keep dwelling on what they can’t do until they make themselves miserable. I promise you that if you will begin to do what you can do to help yourself, God will begin to do what you can’t do.

I dare you to try. When you have trouble getting up off the couch, say, "Yes, Lord, I’m fat! And then laugh about it! Yes, laugh about it.

Link laughter and smiling and total joyful acceptance with that statement of truth!

Do it over and over and over again for 30 days!

Just ‘do it’!

If The Word says: "All things work together for good to those who love God and who are called according to His purpose." Then your fat situation can be used ‘together’ with my words and God’s Holy Spirit to accomplish much good for thousands of people around the world.

God is not going to waste your life. We are not going to waste one fat cell on your body. Every last cell is going to be used in the process of reaching thousands of people with the power of the gospel.

WE are going to use the ‘fat principle’ to reach people who need to be free from resentment, bitterness, hatred, self-pity, depression, despair, helplessness, hopelessness, doubt, unbelief, insecurity, inferiority, envy, jealousy, shame and a lots of other detrimental attitudes and feelings.

Some of those people are going to read OUR WORDS and actually be delivered from demons who are manipulating their lives with those negative feelings and attitudes. They are going to find release and joy and peace - and all because of you and what I said to THE YOUNG CHAMPIONS that afternoon at the Pizza place.

The creativity I spoke about is going to begin with you. I am going to lead the way. I am going to be creative with what has seemed to be a liability to you and we are going to turn it into an asset. You are going to learn from me - and the Holy Spirit will keep leading and guiding you into new and endless ways to be creative with limitations, loss, sorrow or any other bad thing that dares to poke it’s ugly head into your life. Halleleujah!

Sure - I believe it is possible for you to lose some weight. But, right now, that is not the question. We are going to lead you into an abundantly fruitful life whether you lose one pound or not!

Please, try to do some of the things I suggest. We will never know if they do any good unless someone actually tries to put them into practice. O.K.? Thanks! I appreciate you!

I will be looking forward to seeing you walking in all the blessings of God, forever! Praise the Lord!

to God!

Jesus said: "Come unto me all you who labor and are ‘heavy laden’ - and I will give you rest." At ____ pounds, would you consider yourself ‘Heavy Laden".

Well, who in the world do you think He is talking to then? It is work and labor to carry all those extra pounds around 24 hours a day. If I had all your extra pounds in a wheelbarrow and had to take that wheelbarrow with me all day long, everywhere I went, don’t you know I would be tired by the end of the day? Can anyone truly blame you for being too tired to do some things? I know a few of those people who would get ‘Lazy’ real quick like if they had that kind of a load to haul around while they took the trash out and swept the floor and picked up litter off of the lawn.

Why in the world would you condemn yourself for not wanting to move faster and for not getting more done in a day’s time? You don’t just have an ‘excuse’ for being lazy once in a while - you have a real good reason! Who can deny that?

I would be a fool to let you feel bad about being lazy! Ten million of us jokers out here have our own times of ‘laziness’ and we don’t even have a tenth of the burden you have to carry around.

We are like the ‘lawyers’ of Jesus day - the people who lay heavy demands on others and then are not willing to lift one finger to help them carry out those demands. There is a ‘warning of woe’ upon people like that. Only in the final judgment will they find out why Jesus warned them against being like that. But then, it will be too late. Who are we to make heavy demands of you when we are not willing to do our part to help you? Shame on us! Shame, shame, shame!

But, don’t use my words as an excuse to let blame and accusations and bitterness creep into your life. It’s none of your business what the ‘clods’ of this world do with their lives. It’s none of your business that they don’t help you. When they die, they will not appear before you and bow down to be judged by you. They don’t have to give account to you about what they do against you or what they don’t do for you. That’s between them and God!

Your job is to forgive them for how they offend you and to forgive them for not being a part of the solution to your needs. Your job is to love them and to pray for them. Your job is to try to understand the burdens that they are carrying and to care for their souls. Some of the weights and pressures on their minds and emotional systems are much heavier than _____ pounds of extra fat! I’m telling you the truth! Pay attention to me! You have no idea how hard it is for some of them to get out of bed in the mornings! They feel like a ten-ton weight has been sitting on their head all night long, all week long, all month long. Maybe even for years. They are tired, tired, tired!

They don’t understand you and you don’t understand them - but that does not give either one of you the right to judge and condemn each other. If you do - you both fall in the ditch!

Why do skinny people have nervous breakdowns? Why do skinny kids run away from home? Why do skinny people get hooked on drugs? Why do skinny people commit suicide?

Why? I’ll tell you why! It’s because they are carrying around some burdens which are much heavier than yours. Your weight is out where everyone can see it, but their’s has been hidden for years. They have cried themselves to sleep more times than you can ever know. They have struggled with helplessness and hopelessness for longer than they care to admit. You cannot even imagine the intensity of the torment that sometimes plagues their souls. They want to smash their heads open just to get the torment to stop for even a little while.

So you want to envy the slim, pretty figure. Well, just yesterday I heard from the mother of a teenager. Her daughter is pretty and has a great figure. They are the all-American, church-going family. But, the truth has finally come out. That girl which you would have envied again and again has been having severe depression for the past couple of years. Lately, she has been seriously considering suicide. Why? Because she can’t take it anymore. She says it has been ‘all she can do’ to drag herself out of bed every morning.

You want to feel sorry for yourself because you are not like her? Do you also feel sorry for yourself because you haven’t been one of those who have overdosed on drugs? Do you know how many sexy figures end up in the morgue every day of every year? Do you know how many beautiful bodies are senselessly destroyed because the people in those bodies couldn’t take it anymore?

A beautiful, full-figured teenager wept and wept while she told me what a curse her beautiful body was to her. She actually wished that her face was not as pretty as it was. She had thought about mutilating herself and getting rid of the full-figure look which kept attracting the sensual attention she did not want for herself everyday. She hated it when ugly and vile strangers stared at her and made lewd comments.

In fact, tens of thousands of women have purposely gotten fat, just so they wouldn’t be so appealing to the opposite sex. Many of them had been cruelly molested because of their sexuality - or so they thought. That was their way of mutilating themselves to solve an inner problem which seemed much greater than the problem of being overweight.

Besides all of that, do you know how many average, ordinary women go to psychiatrists every day? Do you know how many counselors it takes to keep these enviable people going on a day to day basis? If you were a little mouse who could listen in on all the complaints that these normal people have, you would probably be glad you were a mouse. So, instead of that, why not try being glad that you are fat! Why not? What’s wrong with trying to be glad? Nothing - right? But, it’s that bit about ‘because you are fat’ which messes up the whole scenario.

Don’t you know that billions of people give themselves 75 excuses not to be glad. They refuse to TRY TO BE GLAD - just because they have financial problems or because they have pimples or because their mother-in-law is a nag.

Sure, I know how hard it is to try to be glad when bad things are happening in one’s life. But, I’m going to slowly lead you to the place where you can find a greater gladness and joy in your life - long before you lose all that extra weight. Wouldn’t that be wonderful? Well, let’s go for the wonderful then.

If He wants to keep it on your bones - then let Him be responsible for it’s effect on your mind and your heart and your energy level. If He doesn’t want it on your body, then let Him decide HOW TO TAKE IT OFF! After all, it will be His fat - no matter what He does or doesn’t do with it. Right?

Every time you have a problem with His fat, let Him know about it. Tell Him that you accept the burden of carrying around something that belongs to Him. And then do just that.

Accept His burden joyfully. Thank Him for His fat and every inconvenience that it is causing you. Make sure that this transaction is as complete as possible. God forbids us to be double-minded. It is either going to be YOUR FAT or HIS FAT! Now, which is it going to be? Are you really giving it to Him, or are you deceiving yourself with nice, fancy sounding religious words?

If you don’t get this part down pat, then the rest of the words I have to share with you will be meaningless also. Are you going to give God the fat or are you going to hang onto it for yourself? Nobody is forced to give anything to God. If it’s a forced gift then it’s called robbery! God is not going to force anyone to give Him a hundred dollars or even 200 pounds of fat. If it’s given, it must be given willingly. And once it is given, it is no longer ours.

Many people want to give their tithes to God and then complain when the pastor uses ‘their tithes’ in a way that they don’t approve of. They haven’t given their tithes to God! They have just made a show of giving to God, but they know it is still their money - at least in their minds.

If you are not going to give your fat to God then tell Him that explicitly. A lady once gave someone a dress and then became very angry when she found out what the other woman had done with that dress. She wanted to give it away and still control what was to be done with it. She hadn’t given it to the other woman at all. She made a pretense of giving it away. If you give God your burden, are you going to get mad at God if He doesn’t do what you want Him to do with that gift?

We are not giving it to God so that He can burn it off your bones. We are giving it to God - no matter what! But, we are giving it in such a way that for the rest of your life you will know that it does not belong to you. It will no longer be yours. Is that understood? So, what are you going to do? Are you going to give in this offering or not? Are you going to give willingly and joyfully and completely? Then do it!

Don’t get discouraged and don’t even think of giving up.

You already have??? L Well, forget that noise! We’ve got things to do, people to see, and places to go. We’ve got a spiritual inheritance waiting to be picked up. We’ve got eternal rewards to go after. C’mon! C’mon! C’mon! There are good things ahead of us. There are many blessings in store for you.

Let’s endure and persevere - but not grudgingly or with a bad attitude. Let’s do it in joy. Let’s sing while we struggle. Singing takes half of the pain out of the problem! It does. It really does. So, choose to sing even when you feel like it the least. And keep it up until you enjoy singing.

We are to come before His presence with singing and we are to enter into His courts with praise. And in the presence of the Lord, there is ‘fullness of Joy’ and that Joy, the Joy of the Lord, is your strength. Do you need strength to make it? Then, lets go to the One from whom that strength is going to flow and know that it comes in the form of ‘THE JOY OF THE LORD’ WHICH WE CULTIVATE BY BEING THANKFUL EVEN IN THE DAY OF BATTLE.