Faith for the Race
Hebrews 12:1-2
The life of a Christian can be described in one of four ways:
1 a journey,
2 a battle,
3 a pilgrimage,
4 a race.
Select your own metaphor, but the necessity to finish is always the same.
1 For if life is a journey, it must be completed.
2 If life is a battle, it must be finished.
3 If life is a pilgrimage, it must be concluded.
4 And if it is a race, it must be won.
Obstacle: The Age of Anxiety
A wife called the doctor one morning, saying, “Doctor, come quick! It’s my husband!”
“What’s the matter?” he calmly replied.
“Well, he got up this morning and took his vitamin pill. Then he took his appetite suppressant, his anti-depressant, and his tranquilizer. He also took an antihistamine and some Benzedrine. Then he lit a cigarette, and there was this explosion!”
Heb 12:1-2 KJV
12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Running the race
Two attorneys, Cary Babcock and Gordon Lee, took a safari vacation in the African backcountry. One day, they took a rest, removed their packs, and leaned their rifles against a tree. They were startled when a large, hungry-looking lion emerged from the jungle and began eyeing them with anticipation.
It was clear that the attorneys’ rifles were too far away to do them any good. Babcock began to remove his shoes, and Lee asked him why he was doing that.
Babcock replied, "Because I can run faster without them."
Lee declared, "I don’t care how fast you can run. You’ll never out race that lion."
The now barefoot Babcock told him, "I don’t have to outrun the lion. I just have to outrun you."
Faith for running the race
Faith is wonderful to talk about, but sometimes we just can’t seem to believe the promises of God, that are given to us. There have been so many disappointments in our lives, that nothing can change our reasoning. We believe that God will provides for other people, but not us. We convince ourselves that their prayers will be answered, and not ours.
As Satan seeks to defeat us, he will remind you of your past failures, over, and over, again. If you listen to him, with weak faith, you will surrender the power of a faithful life. With a lack of courage the past will equal the present, or even the future. The race will be lost.
Fear or Faith
To withstand Satan’s attacks, we equip our soul with the armor God provides. He outfits us completely for our task. Having every weapon and piece of armor available, God orders us to stand and contest the evil one. Satan counts on us to be afraid—Jesus counts on us to have courage.
Most prefer to take the easy way out
In his book, Fuzzy Memories, Jack Handey writes, "There used to be this bully who would demand my lunch money every day. Since I was smaller, I would give it to him.
"Then I decided to fight back. I started taking karate lessons, but the instructor wanted $5 a lesson. It was cheaper to pay the bully, so I gave up karate."
Too many Christians believe it’s easier to pay the bully than learn how to defeat him.
Satan’s strategy is to stop the race.
Satan is not warring over those who are in the world, for he already has them in his grasp. His war is to conquer those who are sitting in the pew. Those who have been reconciled, he longs to take hostage once again. His strategy is deceptive, because he uses them to hinder the work of the church.
First, he deludes them with other goals in life which soon take priority over the work of the church and personal involvement. They become members of the body which become dysfunctional.
Hands that will not work.
Feet that will not travel to God’s appointed place.
A mouth that will not confess Jesus to others.
Ears that soon fail to listen.
A brain that refuses to think and dwell on things above.
Lame, blind and deaf, the church struggles to fulfill its purpose.
Second, he lures them into complacency. Having become satisfied with less than God’s desire for their lives.
1. They settle for adolescence rather than maturing to adulthood, while at the same time believing they are adults.
2. They fail to meditate upon God’s Word, except while sitting in the pew.
3. They give token gifts instead of a sacrifice.
4. They listen to lessons with change or repentance far from mind.
Maturity is not even in view, because their eyes have been blinded. Eventually, they find themselves attending but not involved.
Third, he tantalizes their sense with false teachings with the purpose of taking others off course. Having become numb, new sensations must fill the void.
1. Having not understood God’s purpose they change their attitude from not wanting to go beyond what is written to stretching the limits as far as they can. Deluded themselves, they delude others to a false sense of security.
2. They now must seek bigger, greater sensational things to keep the momentum going so their individual spirits can feel fulfilled.
The appearance of great things happening blinds their eyes to the fact they have been taken hostage, and pride keeps them from being set free.
Fourth, He stalemates vision.
They fail to dream of God’s use of their lives and God’s vision for the church.
Fifth imagined barriers
At a coastal aquarium, a savage barracuda quickly tried to attack the mackerel but was stopped by the partition. After bumping his nose repeatedly, he finally quit trying. Later, the partition was removed, but the barracuda would swim only to the point where the barrier had been and stop. He thought it was still there!
Many people are like this. They move forward until they reach an imaginary barrier, but then stop because of a self-imposed attitude of limitation.
Sixth Fear
Ann Landers receives an average of ten thousand letters each month-nearly all of them from people with problems. She was asked if there was one predominant theme in the letters she receives. She said, "The one problem above all others seems to be fear. People are afraid of losing their health, their wealth, and their loved ones. People are afraid of life itself."
Needless Fear God is always with us
The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy’s thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods, and he was terrified. Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of a path. Then to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long.
Strong or weak Faith
We sometimes think that we have strong faith when our faith is weak. How are we to know if it is weak or strong until it is tried?
If you were to lie in bed week after week and perhaps get the idea that you were strong, you would certainly be mistaken.
Faith enables you and me.
Faith enabled Enoch (11:5-6). He "walked with God"
With faith we have a daily, consistent walk with the Lord, for faith enables us to please Him and walk with God also.
Faith enabled Noah (11:7). Faith enabled Noah to accept the warning of impending disaster as fact.
And faith enables us to withstand social pressures and respond with reverence, obeying the command to build.
Faith enabled Sarah (11:11-12). To believe the impossible
Often we’re overcome by first doubts. Parts of our personalities seem deadened and withered. But faith can be restored.
Faith enabled Abraham (11:8-10). Faith enabled Abraham to take an uncertain journey, not knowing where he was going.
Faith can enable you and me to take risks as well. We can even stand long periods of uncertainty (v. 9), for faith assures us that God’s summons rests on His eternal purposes.
Faith enabled Moses (11:23-29). Almost every difficulty, every challenging experience, every danger, every decision in Moses’ life was faced on the basis of faith’s obedient response.
As we live by faith, we will progressively become the persons God wants us to be.
Faith is a living trust in the Lord, which leads to a whole new way of life.
What can make the difference in how we face our everyday trials, even our little ones, is our attitude.
Remember: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:13).
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28).
Don’t be afraid to fail
1. The highest reward for a man’s toil is not what he gets for it … but what he becomes by it.
2. "Success seems largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go."
Heb 12:1 and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
Remember: in the confrontation between the stream and the rock, the stream always wins, not through strength, but by perseverance.
--Harold Keown
So Go
Emerson said, "People are always getting ready to live but never living." Do you remember when you were a kid and you would race your friends on the playground? You would say, "On your mark, get set, GO!" Then you became an adult, and all you’ve been saying since is, "On your mark, get set . . ." The hearse will soon be here, so "GO!"
"Changes that Change You," John Maxwell, July 1993
Go with
Hands that work.
Feet that travel to God’s appointed place.
A mouth that confess Jesus to others.
Ears that will listen.
A brain that thinks and dwells on things above.
Go with Maternity, adulthood, and sacrifice.
Go and stretch the limits of service.
Go with a dream and a vision for Gods church.
Heb 12:1-2 KJV
12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
