Gold Medal Christians

Some of the:

• Fastest swimmers

• Fastest runners

• Best boxers

• Best Basketball players

• Best Volleyball players

• Best weight lifters

… all will gather at one place and compete.

We all enjoy watching these amazing athletes. We have nothing but admiration and respect for them. However, we do not have any admiration and respect for the quitters.

Illus: Remember when Shannon Faulkner made headlines as she crusaded to become the first female cadet at The Citadel, an all-male military academy? After a prolonged court battle, you’ll remember, she finally won the right to enroll. But she couldn’t endure the exercise program required of all cadets. So a few days later she dropped out and we’ve heard nothing of her since.

Illus: In contrast, there is the professional tennis player, Monica Seles. You may remember that a few years ago a crazy man jumped out of the stands and plunged a knife into her back. It was a terrifying experience, but she did not allow that to stop her.

Once her wound healed, she began a rigorous exercise program, regained her strength, and a short time later she won the British Open and placed 2nd in the U.S. Open.

We all like people that KNOW HOW TO ENDURE AND SUCCEED!

Illus: Do you remember the man that came to Jesus and said, "I’ll follow you wherever you go"? Jesus said, "Before you make that kind of decision, you need to realize that foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

The Lord was telling him that there would be difficulties.

• There will be times when you will not know where you’ll sleep

• There will be times when you will not know where your next meal is coming from

• But after you realize that, and then put your hands to the plow, He said, "Don’t look back."

Illus: Can you imagine if you were going to buy a new car and the salesman started pointing out all the bad feature of that car? If such a thing happened, you would be asking yourself, “DOES THIS SALESMAN KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT SELLING A CAR?”

A good salesman would not do that. He would tell you all the good things about the car, and omit the bad and let you find these things out for yourself.

The Lord Jesus does not operate like this! He wants you to know that even though the Christian life is the greatest life a person can have on this earth, it also comes with some dents and scratches!

This is why Hebrews 12 tells us that living the Christian life is going to require some things of us that some are not willing to give.

In this passage, the Christian life is not compared to a wind sprint, but to a marathon.

• In a wind sprint, you run as fast as you can for a short distance, and speed is the critical factor

• In a marathon, endurance is the critical factor. Will you make it all the way to the end?

Paul said, "I’ve kept the faith. I’ve finished the course. Therefore there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. And not for me only..."

The Scripture brings out three things to help us run the race of life faithfully. For example, we are-

I. INSPIRED BY THOSE THAT HAVE GONE BEFORE US

The first thing that inspires us is to remember that a great cloud of witnesses surrounds us.

• Notice that chapter 12 begins with the word "Therefore."

• The word “therefore” connects it with the previous chapter.

And what do we read in chapter 11? The writer of Hebrews gives a long list of people that have run the race faithfully.

For example:

• Hebrews 11: 7, “By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”

• Hebrews 11:8, “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.”

• Hebrews 11: 22, “By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.”

The list goes on. There’s Moses, Samson, Samuel, David and many more victorious Saints of God.

WHY DOES GOD GIVE US THIS LIST OF SPIRITUAL HEROES?

(1) God does it for a very specific reason. God wants us to see how He helped them as they were running the race. If He helped them, HE CAN ALSO HELP YOU AS YOU RUN THE RACE!