Remember Those Who Have
Gone Before Us
Hebrews 12:1-2
May 25, 2008
NOTE: THE ME/WE/GOD/YOU/WE FORMAT USED IN MY MESSAGES IS BORROWED FROM ANDY STANLEY’S BOOK, "COMMUNICATING FOR A CHANGE."
Introduction
I got ahead of myself in my preaching schedule. I had thought I was going to preach about what Jesus did and taught at the temple after His triumphal entry.
But then I remembered that I wanted to address the Memorial Day holiday, at least in a way that helps us honor all who have gone before us.
Anybody here know what Memorial Day used to be called? Remembrance Day. And it was initially a time to remember those who have fallen in combat fighting for our country.
It’s evolved to become a general holiday meant to honor all those who have passed away, and I think that’s a good thing.
Not to take away from remembering those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, but I think it’s fine to think about all those who have preceded us into eternity.
I’m taking a bit of a different tack in approaching this, and I want to focus especially on those who have had an impact on our lives in living for Christ.
We: If you’re a believer in Jesus, I can guarantee that someone in your life had something to do with that.
It’s a very rare circumstance where someone comes to Christ on their own.
In almost every case, someone had an influence on the person in any number of ways.
And if they have gone on to be with the Lord already, then my hope is that this message will give you some ideas as to how to honor the work they’ve done in your life.
And if they’re still alive, then this might give you some ways to honor them while they can still see it.
God: Our passage today is one of the more familiar passages you’ll come across nowadays, and there have been any number of messages given based on it.
It’s one of those “classic” passages, kinda like John 3:16, although this one deals more with living for Christ after one puts their faith in Him. Let’s take a look at it.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (p. 852) –
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
There is a question as to just what is meant by this great cloud of witnesses.
The two main thoughts among the commentators are that it could mean that it refers to those who have witnessed to the faith – in other words, those who have lived and testified about it while on earth, or it refers to something like a stadium full of spectators watching the believers of today.
It may even be both ideas, kind of like a relay race where those who have finished their course and handed over their baton are watching and encouraging those behind them. (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
But there really is no denying the imagery here of running a race in the presence of those who have gone before us.
And I kinda like that imagery. It’s easy for us to imagine in our minds as we talk about those who have gone before us.
Today I’d like to spend some time discussing some of who make up this cloud of witnesses, and then talk about how we can honor their legacy in our own lives.
The cloud of witnesses might include:
> Those who have given their lives for our country.
Many of them, anyway.
This isn’t the main intent of the passage, but the fact of the matter is that we can meet here today and worship because others gave their lives for our freedom.
Brave men and women laid down their lives so you and I can worship Christ as we see fit, without the threat of arrest, imprisonment, death, or torture.
Many of these people were believers and followers of Jesus when they went to serve and died following Christ.
And some who died for that freedom didn’t even necessarily agree with our beliefs in Christ and the Scripture.
It’s important that we honor their memory as well as those who did share our bond in Christ.
Memorial Day started out as a specific holiday of remembrance for those who have died defending our country, and I think it would be right for us to continue to remember their sacrifice – not only during the Memorial Day weekend, but throughout the year.
Another part of that cloud of witnesses would be…
> Those who have given their lives for the faith.
Hebrews 11 describes a bunch of people, but there are also plenty of people who have given their lives since then.
Average of 400 people who identify themselves as Christians die every day, for no other reason than that they call themselves Christians.
Christian workers around the world work tirelessly to bring the good news of Jesus to those who either haven’t heard it yet or to those who have heard it but haven’t yet believed it.
They spend their lives for the sake of Christ. Pastors, missionaries, volunteers, evangelists, all making it their mission to bring glory to Christ by doing their part to advance the Kingdom of God.
These are worthy of our respect and honor.
Here’s a third possibility as to who might be part of that cloud of witnesses:
> Those who have given of their lives for your faith.
These are those people who have invested themselves in you for the sake of Christ.
They prayed for you. They prayed with you. They shared God’s Word with you and showed you how to make it real in your life.
They lived a life that set a godly example in good times and bad.
They gave of themselves in any number of ways – time, counsel, maybe even money – because they believed in you and believed that you could be someone for Christ.
In my own life, five people really stand out: Stuart Schreur, who led me to Christ, then Joe Bernardy, Randy Raysbrook, Sam Crabtree, and Pastor Tim Purcell.
I mention them specifically because if they ever hear this message, they’ll know that I recognize their investment in my life.
I’m not the most perfect Christian, but if I’m anything for Christ, it has to do with what these guys have invested in me.
My hope is that they will be able to see me finish the race well.
I’m guessing that as I say these things, many of you are thinking of some who have done the same for you. Some of them may be in heaven now, watching and cheering for you.
Some of you in here have invested in the lives of others, whether they’re here today or somewhere else. You know the blessing of seeing lives changed for Christ, and you hope that this will get passed on to other generations so that as you join that cloud, you can cheer on those who continue for Christ.
Well those are some ideas as to who might be sitting in that great cloud of witnesses, but what does that have to do with us today?
Well, the idea is that we should live our lives in such a way that we can give them something to cheer about!
This would honor Jesus and those who have gone before us.
“Sons of Katie Elder” – not a stone memorial, but Bud making something of himself. “That’s the kind of memorial Katie would want!”
The best way to give a memorial to those folks who have gone to be with Jesus is to live a life of love and loyalty to Him.
You: What can you and I do to honor Christ and those who have gone before us?
Our passage gives us some ideas:
1. Lay aside the stuff that holds you back:
…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles…
Let’s look at these in reverse order –
* Sin
We pretty much know what sin is – acting in ways that go against the Scriptures.
The Bible says don’t do it and you do it, or the Bible says to do it and you don’t do it.
We’ve all done it and we all do it. And no amount of rationalization is going to make it any better.
We set aside that sin by submitting ourselves completely to Christ, allowing the Holy Spirit to fill us completely – this allows Him to transform our minds and change our hearts to want to be obedient and to have the power to be obedient.
* Hindrances
These are those things that the Bible doesn’t necessarily call sin, but that can get in the way.
Let me give you an example:
It’s not illegal to run the 100-yard dash wearing snow-mobile suit and snow boots. But you’re not going to win. In fact, you’ll probably pass out half-way into the race.
So you actually wear clothes that are conducive to running the race well.
In the context of what we’re talking about here, these hindrances are anything that might get in the way of you living for Christ fully.
It might be a relationship, it might be what you allow into your life in terms of entertainment, it might be the scramble for money, it might be any number of things.
But you know that you can probably live for Christ better without these things.
And the counsel from Scripture is to get rid of them for the sake of running well.
2. Be intentional about the race.
“Run with perseverance…”
The idea here is to run with purpose, not aimlessly.
When you run aimlessly, you just end up wasting a lot of energy but not really get anywhere.
And you need to be intentional about it because there will be times you’ll want to just give up.
We all hit those walls from time to time. We find ourselves in a circumstance when all the pat answers and bumper-sticker theology falls flat.
And we wonder if living for Christ is really worth it.
Our friends can tell us it’s worth it, and our own experience from the past can tell us the same thing.
But let me tell you something: Jesus Himself demonstrated that it is worth it.
Verse 2 continues –
…who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus understands more than you can imagine.
He knew what was coming and still went through with it.
Why? Because He saw what the results would be.
“The joy set before Him” wasn’t the cross. The joy was what the cross would accomplish – the redemption of sinful people.
The prospect of spending eternity with you and me brings Him joy, and He was willing to put up with death to see it happen.
Yes, it was tough – unspeakably tough. But it was worth it for Him.
It was worth it for Him to die, so that you and I might live – and live through the hard times.
It takes perseverance – but because of Christ we can do it.
The third way we can honor Christ and those who have gone before us is to…
3. Focus on Jesus.
Verse 2 –
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith…
This is actually the main point of this passage, by the way. The issue here isn’t really to honor those who have gone before, but to run the race with our eyes fixed on Christ.
He is the author and perfecter. In other words, if you want to make sure you’re running the race correctly, we need to focus on Him.
He stands at the finish line, waiting to welcome us as we cross over, waiting to bring us into His glorious heaven where we’ll be in His presence forever and ever, where there’ll be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more death, no more disappointment, no more getting let down by others or letting others down.
Only perfect wonderful happiness.
As we focus on Christ, we can make it through the pain and distractions of life because we know that someday it’ll all be behind us. And because we know that He’s been through it all before us.
And in the meantime we continue to run, getting help from God Himself to run well in spite of the obstacles.
Focus on Christ.
But just how do we do that?
We do that primarily through getting into His Word. That’s where we learn not just what He said, but how He lived –how He interacted with different kinds of people and how He responded to temptation, suffering, and rejection.
Anyway, His Word helps us to focus on Him, and as we focus on Him and live for Him, we give that cloud of witnesses something for to cheer about.
Let’s look at the fourth idea for honoring Christ and those who have gone before us:
4. Remember the legacy you are leaving.
Whether you know it or not, and whether you want to or not, you are leaving a legacy for those behind you.
Will they see a person who talked a good race but didn’t really run it, or will they see someone who followed Jesus through thick and thin, living for Him in every circumstance?
I mentioned earlier that this cloud of witnesses might be a picture of how as some finish their part of the race, they join that great crowd.
Will you be one of those who has finished your part of the course well? Finished it in a way that brings honor to Christ and gives others something to emulate in their own lives?
Be intentional about running in a way that blesses those behind you.
Be intentional about running in a way that as others follow your tracks they’ll find Christ.
Be intentional about running in a way that shows others that you are anticipating being part of that cloud someday yourself.
My greatest hope for myself in regard to my children is that I will not cause them to stumble as they go through life, and that they will see in me that living for Christ is the best thing they can do.
When you look back, do you see the ways you have helped your children or others find Christ and live for Him, or do you cringe as you see things in your life that have impacted your children negatively for Christ?
No matter what the case, you can go forward from this moment on, intent upon running well for the sake of those who follow behind you.
We: Folks, we have a lot on our plates.
Graduations, vacations, summer jobs, gardens, severe weather, weddings, and all sorts of things.
Let me encourage you to really take some time this weekend to remember those who have left this earth, and to especially thank God for those who put their lives into you for the sake of Christ in you.
And take a moment to ask the Lord to help you be the same kind of person for those who come behind you.
Let’s pray.
