I enjoy listening to stories about people who will not give up; ...... stories of those who stay the course ... even though ... the "going ...gets tough".
They are a source of great inspiration ... to all.
Remember the man who came to Jesus and said, ..."I will follow you wherever you go"?
Jesus responds, Hear God's Word: BIBLE "Before you make that kind of commitment; ... 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." END (Matthew 8:20)
"In other words, ... if you decide to follow me, ... there will be difficult and discouraging times.
But after you except that ... then put your hands to the plow," ... and "don't look back." (Luke 9:62)
When people begin their Christian walk, ...and then later quit when the... "going gets tough", ...... they can become an object of ridicule to some; ... and a source of discouragement ... to others.
That "Is" the reason Hebrews 12:1-2 is so important.
Listen as I read it again, BIBLE "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. 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." END (Hebrews 12:1-2)
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.
But in a marathon, ... stamina... endurance ... is the critical factor.
Paul proclaimed, "I have kept the faith. I have finished the race. Therefore, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. And not for me only..." (2 Timothy 4:7)
Finishing the race ...... Finishing the race is critically important ... for all of us who would call themselves ... followers of the Christ.
We are Inspired, ...... Inspired by those saints, ...those believers ... that have gone on before us.
And praise God ...... we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses...
That we can be inspired by, ... those who have finished the race, ...... those that have gone on before.
Notice that chapter 12 begins with the word ...... "Therefore."
That connects it with the previous chapter.
And in chapter 11 of Hebrews the writer gives an extended list of those people ... who have been found faithful.
For instance, in vs. 7, the writer mentions Noah. Remember Noah? (Hebrews 11:7)
He spent 120 years of his life building an ark ... 120 years!
Now I must confess ... that patience is probably not ...one of my finer virtues.
I can almost hear my wife Lee saying ... Amen!
And every once in a while, ......when something I am concerned about seems to be moving too slowly,
... I will become a little anxious, ... and vocally complain: ..."Why is this taking so long?"
Then I can almost feel Noah whispering in my ear, "Son,", "how long did you say you have been waiting?
The list in Hebrews 11 goes on.
There is Abraham, ... Joseph, Moses, Samson, David.
There is a great cloud of witnesses.
You can almost hear their voices... "Don't give up!
Do not lose heart!
They are (Slow) Cheering Us, ... they are cheering us on.
They do not ridicule ... they do not judge ... for they know how difficult ... this race can be.
Now when I get discouraged, ... I think not only of the great saints of the Scriptures,
...... but also, ... the men and women of God ... who have had an impact on my life ...who have inspired me......
who also ... have finished this race ... called life.
I cannot help but remember those friends and family ... that have gone on before:
My great grandmother Parmly ... who sold bibles door to door ... on the streets of Cleveland Ohio.
My father in law, a fellow Gideon ...... the memory of passing out hundreds of bibles together over the years ... sweeps through my very soul.
How he led others to our Lord ... Even as he laid suffering with liver cancer at the veteran's hospital in Cleveland.
One of my greatest cheerleaders, was my mother ... who while dying from Leukemia would call me ...... and ask how (Slow) she could pray for me.
God gave me the honor at the end...to hold her in my arms ... "and while" singing to her one of her favorite Christians songs...Jesus name above all names ... she took her final breath ... on this side of eternity. (Long Pause)
Beloved, ...... it is not easy out there on the marathon race... we call Life.
When we feel like giving up, ... we must press on.
We must persevere.
To help us persevere, ... we need at times to plant a stake ... or to look back at an event that declares:
Yes, ... that's where God touched me ...... that is where God used me.
Early in my walk ... I planted such a stake on a Faith Alive weekend.
Faith Alive ... is a lay person organization that sends a group of men, ... women and youth to a church ... to share their relationship with their Lord.
But, the weekend does far more than that.
It helps the parish to really begin communicating at a deeper level with each other... at a spiritual level.
During these weekends, ... there is a program not only for adults ... but for youth ... and for small children.
I had been involved with Faith Alive for approximately two years working with Adults; ......when some friends, CC and Linda Watson ...... who were Children Coordinators, ...called me.
They had both come down with the flu ... and they asked me if I would lead the Children's program next week in NY.
Believe me, ... the last thing I wanted to do as a 28-year-old single young man ... was to be with a bunch of little children. Yet I agreed go.
I contacted a friend of mine ... to see if she would join me in this great adventure, ... which she did.
This Faith Alive happened to be at a Congregational Church in Lancaster NY, ... which is near Buffalo.
The 3-hour drive gave us plenty of time to panic ... before we got there.
When we arrived ... we were not disappointed at all.
There they were ... 30 little Children ranging in age between 5 and 12 years old. (Pause)
I do not remember ever having that much energy when I was a Child.
We had a wonderful time together.
I brought my guitar and we sang together, ... we cut out snowflakes ... to show how God makes each of us different and special.
We talked about how much Jesus loves us and watches over ... each of us.
Now... during the whole weekend the love of Christ is brought into focus ... through a story called ... "Warm Fuzzies ".
You see, ... Warm Fuzzies may look like a Fuzzy ball of yarn, ... but it really is a symbol ... of God's Love.
Near the end of the weekend ... the Children tell the Warm Fuzzy story to the whole Congregation ... and pass out literally hundreds of warm fuzzies ... that they made.
It is a very touching moment, ... not only for the Children, ... but for the Adults as well.
Well...We got together with the children one more time ... to say goodbye.
Yet God had something more in mind.
The Children wanted to know how to receive Jesus into their hearts.
I did not remember that happening very often ... with the Adults.
I guess that's why Christ says ... to come as little Children.
Well, ... the manual clearly states ... "Do not have a prayer circle with little children they will not stay still".
But a pray circle still sounded like a good idea to me ... so we did it anyway.
I turned down the lights ... and we sat in a circle on the floor.
As I took the hand of the little girl next to me, ...I felt the presence and the power of Christ ... in a way I had never experienced before.
We prayed a short prayer of repentance together ... and I know that Jesus was there...... that Jesus touched everyone of those little Children.
The story didn't end there.
Two years later my wife Lee and I were on a Faith Alive weekend in Michigan, ... working with Children of course.
A lady from the Congregational church in Lancaster NY happened to be part of the team.
She came over to me and said: "Jeff, ... do you remember the little girl from our church with the learning disability"
Yes, I remember ... "well, she had to go into the Hospital to have a heart operation; ... do you know what she asked her mother?
Mommy... if I die ... will you bury me with my warm fuzzy?" (Long Pause)
Well, that little girl from Lancaster NY died in the hospital.
And in her casket, ... she held her warm fuzzy, a symbol of God's Love. (Long Pause)
O' Beloved, ... we must persevere; ... we must fight the good fight.
We must be mature men and woman ... of the Faith.
Whenever I feel like giving up, ... I look back at that stake that is planted in Lancaster NY ...... and I remember that little girl.
And, I can say, My Lord used me there.... My Lord touched me there....
And if I persevere ... He will use me again.
At times I can almost picture her waving her warm fuzzy high above her head ... and hear her voice cheering me on.
Do not forget those ... who have gone before to be with the Lord, ... They have not forgotten you.
They are cheering you on.
Beloved...Give all that you can give, ... fight the good fight.
Be ...mature in the Faith... walk in the way of the Lord.
Never be satisfied ...... but continually seek to be transformed into the image of Christ.
May we all finish this race ... this marathon of life ... And may we finish it well.
And when we cross over to the other side of eternity ... collapse into our Saviors arms knowing ...... we had no more to give.
And May we hear our Saviors voice; ...
"Well done good and faithful servant.
You ... have fought the good fight, ...
You have finished the race.
Enter into your rest."
Amen!
Help: I retired in November 2017 and am attempting to supplement my income by sharing on Sermoncentral. If this Message has been helpful to you, please consider a nominal gift: Send to The Rev. Jeff Smead 11725 Regent Park Drive Chardon Ohio 44024. Blessed To Be A Blessing.
Much of the first 25% of the Message was from a Sermon by Melvin Newland titled "Run the Race" I commend it to you .
Dear Reader: So I can better help you, if this Homily was not helpful and you rated it low, Please let me know what it lacked or why it was not helpful. You can search by contributor Smead" (Constructive Criticism is very helpful) and contact me there. Blessings.
