August 21, 2016
Lanier Christian Church
David Simpson
Run With Perseverance
Hebrews 11:1-2 and 12:1-3
There were over 10,000 athletes housed in the Olympic village apartments in Rio these past two weeks. There were a number of restaurants in the village to provide food for the athletes at no cost to them. Do you know the most popular restaurant? McDonalds. It was so popular that the restaurant limited each customer to a maximum of 20 items per person.
These athletes are BIG eaters! One of the rowers, named Seth Weil, rows 200 kilometers a week…or 124 miles a week. To power through these 2 hour practices he said: “We eat so much food it would be disgusting if we listed all of it.”
So here’s all of it—according to Time.com – when Weil was interviewed recently. He was asked to give his typical meal.
6:00 a.m.: Two 10-oz cups of coffee; peanut butter and jelly in a flour tortilla.
6:30-9:00 a.m.: 50oz of water; 30oz of Gatorade before, during and after practice. Right after practice, a bacon, egg and cheese sandwich with avocado on an everything bagel and a side of fruit salad — strawberries, pineapples, blueberries, cantaloupe, and another 15-16 ounces of coffee.
Mid-Morning Snacks: Dried cranberries, pretzel chips and about 5 ounces of Sabra’s Supremely Spicy Hummus, with another 30-40 ounces of water.
11:30 a.m: A vegetable snack, such as arugula salad with cucumbers, red bell pepper, olive oil, salt and pepper.
Noon: Lunch fare includes three carne asada tacos with cilantro, onion, lime and 20 ounces of water.
2:00 p.m: Before his second practice, Weil has a Cliff Builder Bar, usually mint chocolate. Before, during, after the second practice he consumes 60-80 oz of water and 20 ounces of Gatorade.
4:00 p.m.: Right after practice, a protein shake (about 24 ounces), about 20 ounces of water; and a bowl of cereal such as Cinnamon Toast Crunch and granola with 8 ounces of 2% milk.
6:30 p.m.: Dinner consists of a shredded kale salad with chick peas, carrots, red onion, lemon olive oil and vinegar dressing, salt and pepper; along with a bowl of bowtie pasta topped with two chicken breasts and another 20 ounces of water. Dessert is Graeter’s Ice Cream, mocha chip flavor.
9:00 p.m.: Right before bed, Weill has some Trader Joe’s 3-layer hummus. During the day, he also eats around 10 Altoids arctic mints
(How to eat like an Olympian – by Alice Park, Time.com, August 8, 2016)
What is the fuel we need to enable us to endure as Christians? Faith! Faith is the fuel…the energy that should drive our lives as believers. Hebrews chapter 11 lists numerous Old Testament heroes who lived by faith. Characters such as Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Rahab and others. 21 times the phrase “by faith” is used. How do you think God wants us to power up for the race of following him? With faith! Faith is the fuel that powers the Christian’s life.
As Christians, we need faith in Almighty God to persevere in the race of life as much as Olympic athletes need food and energy drinks to enable them to compete.
So what is this faith anyway?
Hebrews 11:1 (NIV) Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
Faith is Confidence…that’s what faith is. Confidence that God will do what He says He’s going to do. Confidence that God will always be there. Confidence that God will provide. Confidence that God will be our strength no matter what. Confidence that there really is a heaven to come.
Faith is confidence in what we hope for – the reward of heaven; and assurance about what we do not see – knowing that God is there, that Jesus is alive, that he has gone to prepare a place for us, that he is with us always.
I love the story about the kid who was at the doctors office. The doctor is listening to his heart to and just to make small talk said: “Is that batman I hear in there?” “No,” the kid said. “Batman is on my underwear. Jesus is in my heart.”
Are you that confident? If we are going to persevere in the race of life, then we must have a confident faith.
How do Olympic athletes achieve such high levels of success? Confidence. They have confidence in their abilities. Just before competing on the balance beam in the gymnastics team competition, the camera caught 16 year old Laurie Hernandez of the USA team saying to herself: “I got this.” She sure did. Her score helped propel her team to the gold medal. Confidence is the key in sports. We learn it as children from the book “The Little Engine that Could”: I think I can….I think I can…
The only difference for the Christian is to realize that it’s not “I got this…but HE’S got this! Faith is confidence in the power of Almighty God to see us through to victory in every situation IF we depend on Him.
Faith is persevering. Hebrews 11 is often called, not the “Hall of Fame” but the “Hall of FAITH.” All of these great characters named in that chapter persevered in their faith. That is one of the hallmarks of a dynamic faith. Perseverance. So, if you read all of Hebrews 11, you then come to a new chapter, Hebrews 12, and it reads this way:
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV)
12 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 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith….
The Hebrew writer uses an interesting phrase: “cloud of witnesses.”
That’s another way of saying…a big crowd. And the word witness is really the word “martyr,” describing those who died faithful to Christ to the very end. So put it together this way: Since we are surrounded with examples of faithful to the end believers…we too should follow their lead. We too should persevere. We too should RUN the race!
One of the more moving stories of the Olympics was one involving two track and field athletes participating in the 5,000 meter race. One was New Zealand runner Nikki Hamblin and the other was Abbey D’Agostino of the USA. It started when D’Agostino clipped Hamblin from behind and they both went sprawling with about 2,000 meters to go. Hamblin fell heavily on her right shoulder. D’Agostino got up, but Hamblin was just lying there. She appeared to be crying. Instead of running in pursuit of the others, D’Agostino crouched down and put her hand on the New Zealander’s shoulder, then under her arms to help her up, and softly urged her not to quit. Abbey said: “Get up. We have to finish this!”
“That girl is the Olympic spirit right there,” Hamblin said of D’Agostino. “I’ve never met her before. Like I never met this girl before. And isn’t that just so amazing. Such an amazing woman.”
As it turned out, D’Agostino probably needed more help. She soon realized she’d hurt her ankle in the fall. And, then Hamblin returned the favor and helped her. Though injured, she hobbled across the finish line completing the race. (Nytimes.com – The Associated Press – Aug. 16, 2016 – “Runners help each other after fall)
At the end of the race they shared their bond as athletes, finishing the race no matter what!
My friend, if you want a dynamic faith as a Christian then you must persevere. And if you know a fellow believer who has fallen, don’t abandon them. Help them up. Encourage them. Cheer them on. Tell them, “Get up…find your strength again in Christ…we’ve got to finish this!” And, if you are struggling in your faith, then heed the advice of this passage: throw off anything that hinders your commitment to Christ and get rid of any sin that entangles you.
No one can run the race of faith with such weights.
Jesse Owens, one of the all time greats and a pioneer in Olympic track and field winning four gold medals once said:
“The battles that count aren’t the ones for gold medals. The struggles within yourself – the invisible, inevitable battles inside all of us – that’s where it’s at.”
Persevere in your faith, with God’s help, no matter what you may face in life. But, by all means, release from your life those things that are hindering you and tripping you up from giving all you have to reach the finish line of heaven.
Faith is focusing…on Jesus.
Hebrews 12:2 reminds us to: fix our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith….
A strong faith requires a keen focus. If this had been written today the writer may have said: “Have a laser beam-like focus on Jesus.” Jesus is cheering us on. Over and over again you will hear preachers like me say that “You need to believe. You need to believe in Jesus.” Yes, that’s absolutely true. But, equally true is…that Jesus believes in you! He is cheering us on. His Holy Spirit encourages us. His strength enables us. His peace sustains us. His joy revives us. His blood saves us. Jesus endured the horrors of the cross for you and me. He endured opposition from those who hated him and what he stood for…but he finished the race. In fact, when he died on the cross, his final words were: “It is finished.” In the Aramaic language that Jesus spoke, he really said only one word: Tetelestai…finished! And he said it, not with a whisper but with a shout!
Hebrews 12:3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Running a race is hard. It’s easy to get weary and want to give up. Endurance in life sometimes is hard. It’s easy to get weary and give up on our faith. But the example of Jesus is before us. Victory awaits. Focus on Jesus and Run!
Notice the Hebrew writer didn’t say focus on the finish line. Our focus must be on Jesus. Why? Because, HE is waiting for us at the finish line. He is waiting to embrace you, to celebrate with you, to rejoice with you, to reward you. He is the one that will crown you with life. He is the one that will say: ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness! (Matthew 25:21)
We have seen a lot of happiness, smiles and joy at the Olympic games the last two weeks. The thrill of victory has provided many delightful joyful pictures. But, there will be no greater thrill, no greater joy, no greater victory that the happiness that awaits when we finish the race of life and behold our Savior face to face. I can’t wait! But, in the meantime, don’t grow weary and don’t lose heart. Grow in your faith and finish the race! RUN with perseverance. There is victory for those in Christ.
