Gaining Grit
Jeffery Anselmi / General Adult
Core 52 / Perseverance / Hebrews 12:1–2
To gain grit, the grit to persevere, we need to do some things
INTRODUCTION
- How does a person persevere when it is not easy to do so?
- How does an athlete push hard as their body is hurting and it does not look like they can win?
- In our walk with Jesus, how do we not quit when the road gets difficult?
- Life is easy when things are easy, and the opponent takes little effort to defeat.
- What happens when life is tough, and the opponent seems insurmountable?
- That is where gaining grit comes into the picture.
- Another word we can use instead of grit is perseverance.
- Perseverance is defined as DETERMINED CONTINUATION WITH SOMETHING, steady and continued action or belief, usually over a long period and especially despite difficulties or setbacks.
- Grit separates the good from the great; grit is the difference between success and failure.
- How do you develop grit in your life?
- It almost seems like some are born with it, but grit can be nurtured in our lives.
- There are some things we can do so that we can develop grit.
- One thing is we can not always take the easy route in life; we can look for challenges.
- When I coached ASA Girls Softball, we played our 14 and under team played in a 16-18 year league so we would get better.
- The writer of Hebrews knows that we will need grit to face the challenges we face in our Christian walk.
- It can be so easy to walk away when things do not go as we want them to, when things get difficult, or when we just do not have the answers to why things happening around us do not understand us.
- As we look at Hebrews 12:1-2 we need to understand that this passage is connected to chapter 11 of Hebrews, called the Hebrews Hall of Faith chapter.
- After extolling the virtues of some of the great men and women of the faith, the Hebrew writer follows it up with the words found in today's text.
- No matter what I am dealing with in life, the real question is, will I stay faithful to Jesus no matter what I face?
- Am I going to be faithful to His will for my life?
- Am I willing to trust Him when trusting Him in a particular area of struggle makes no human sense?
- I am going to do the right thing; I am going to stay faithful.
- Do I have the grit to sometimes gut it out despite what is happening?
- Today, as we dig into our passage, I hope we see ways to develop the grit we need to keep our faith on track.
Hebrews 12:1 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,
SERMON
Gaining grit requires one to:
I. Look around you.
- The passage sets up a backdrop of a race that is being run.
- This race has the contestants and the crowd surrounding the track watching the race.
- Who are these witnesses, and what does it mean that they surround us?
- When you look at the 11th chapter of Hebrews, you see the greats of the faith like Abel, Noah, Enoch, Rahab, Abraham, and Moses, to name a few.
- These men and women were the personification of grit and determination as they ran their race of faith.
- Their lives stand as a testimony to what pleases God.
- The word WITNESS can mean “people who have demonstrated their faith.”
- The point is that these Old Testament heroes in chapter 11 were approved for their faith by the testimony of God, and their experience now stands as a testimony to us as to what pleases God.
- So, they may or may not be “watching”.
- The other plausible explanation, which I currently subscribe to personally, is this:
- At the minimum, the cloud of witnesses includes those in Chapter 11, and these “witnesses” have lived their lives; they have run their race, and their lives stand as witnesses to us to encourage us to run in like manner.
- The word for “WITNESS” also does not mean a passive spectator (although in 1 Timothy 6:12 and Hebrews 10:28 it seems to lean that way), but rather to be an active witness to something.
- The word denotes someone who sees an event and reports what happens.
- Their lives encourage us, and they are cheering for us.
- I am not sure we should limit the witness to only Hebrews 11 since our passage says, we have a LARGE cloud of witnesses!
- Nonetheless, to be in that cloud (a metaphor denoting a large number), one must have lived in such a way that their life was a testimony of their faithfulness to God.
- Looking around and knowing we are being encouraged and cheered for inspires us to keep going!
- If you have been an athlete or have been in some competition, you know how the cheers and encouragement of the crowd can impact you.
- When I pitched, and my arm felt like it would fall off in the 8th inning, the crowd helped keep me wanting to finish.
- Basketball is a charge to play and coach because the fans are on top of you, cheering you on.
- Have you ever experienced the roar of the crowd?
- There is nothing like it.
- I played ball games when college scouts were in the crowd to look at other players. NOT AT ME!
- It made me want to play harder.
- When you know there is greatness in the stands watching you, you cannot help but step it up a notch.
- I want you to picture the saints of old looking down from the stands in heaven, cheering you on, and encouraging you to finish when it looks like all may be lost.
- As we run the race of life, we are not alone; we have a great cloud of witnesses cheering us onward to victory!
- The way they are their race should inspire us to develop the grit to grind it out when life gets tough.
- Are you inspired, and is your race inspiring to others?
- Let’s look at verse one again
Hebrews 12:1 (NET 2nd ed.)
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, we must get rid of every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and run with endurance the race set out for us,
Gaining grit requires one to:
II. Look inside of yourself.
- As we look around us and are inspired by the great cloud of witnesses, we then must look deep inside of ourselves to rid ourselves of everything that would hamper our ability to finish and win the race.
- This point deals with determination.
- It means we are determined to do what we need to do to succeed in our race.
- If you have ever watched swimmers or runners, whether they run long distances or are sprinters, they do not carry unnecessary weight with them.
- Looking inside of ourselves means that we are looking to rid ourselves of anything that will slow us down or weigh us down.
- To “get rid of” was sometimes used for the extra body weight that an athlete would shed during training.
- When this was written, the Greeks ran races naked. LOL
- Imagine trying to run a race carrying suitcases, your computers, your lunch…
- You would get tired and quit.
- This part of the verse encourages us to lay aside EVERY WEIGHT AND SIN.
- Notice that we are to eliminate every weight and SIN that clings to us so closely.
- This metaphor describes the effect that sin (as well as the feelings of guilt which accompany it, cf. 9:9, 14; 10:2) has on the Christian’s ability to persevere or endure until the end of the “race.”
- Sin will cling to you like a donut and will add extra weight.
- The phrase WEIGHT denotes something immaterial that interferes with or delays action or progress.
- It is understood as a large, weighty mass.
- Physical activity like running was a lot easier when I was 30 pounds lighter.
- The sin spoken of here is no sin in particular, although some commentators feel it speaks of the sin of unbelief.
- This statement speaks of anything that distracts from our faith.
- Living a spiritually healthy life is very similar to a physically healthy one.
- If you want to have a physically healthy life, you need to watch what you put into your body.
- If you want to live a spiritually healthy life, you need to watch what you put into your head, what you allow into your ears, and what you allow to be placed before your eyes.
- To live a physically healthy life, you need to exercise.
- To live a spiritually healthy life, you need to do spiritual exercises.
- Those things we tell you about in church, pray, read and study your bible, come to church.
- Those things may not always seem exciting, but when you take the time to get into the habit, they become exciting.
- Getting up early to go to the gym is not always easy and fun, but the work and discipline are worth it when you look in the mirror.
- When we carry all life's burdens with us, our race will be hard to run.
- We will tire and give up.
- Sometimes some of the things we need to lay aside are not bad things, but they are things that get in the way of our faith growing.
- Some things that are not necessarily sinful get in the way because we place them ahead of our relationship with Jesus.
- We are called to run with endurance the race set before us.
- Endurance means to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo, to bear without resistance or with patience; tolerate.
- Endurance means continuing even when everything in you wants to slow down or give up.
- When I had to run a timed mile, my body wanted to quit; my spirit would not allow me to quit.
- Let’s turn to verse 2.
Hebrews 12:2 (NET 2nd ed.)
2 keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set out for him he endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.
Gaining grit requires one to:
III. Look toward the finish line.
- This verse speaks to FOCUS.
- Where is your focus?
- Verse 2 tells us to fix our eyes on Jesus.
- When you are driving, where you fix your eyes is where you will drive.
- If you fix your eyes on the ditch, you will eventually end up in the ditch.
- If you fix your eyes on your cell phone, you will ultimately meet your maker.
- Our focus can help us stay inspired to run and be disciplined to run the race.
- Our focus can help us to remain determined not to let anything get in the way of our faith.
- We live for what Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:6-8
2 Timothy 4:6–8 (NET 2nd ed.)
6 For I am already being poured out as an offering, and the time for me to depart is at hand.
7 I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith!
8 Finally the crown of righteousness is reserved for me. The Lord, the righteous Judge, will award it to me in that day—and not to me only, but also to all who have set their affection on his appearing.
- Keep your eyes on the prize.
- It was much easier to work out and stay in shape when competing in various sports because my focus was not on sitting on the bench.
- I wanted to compete, and I wanted to get the most out of my talent.
- That determination kept me going.
- When we struggle, we must somehow take our eyes off the struggle and place them on Jesus!
- This verse tells us fixing our eye on Him is required.
- Keeping our eyes on Him allows us to be encouraged by His love, kindness, mercy, and perseverance.
- We fail when we fail to stay fixed on Him.
- Jesus is the source and perfecter of our faith.
- Because HE blazed the trail for us.
- A PERFECTER is one who brings something to its goal or completion.
- At the second coming, Jesus will bring everything to completion!
- Jesus endured the cross.
- How did He do that?
- Jesus was able to look past the pain to see the gain!
- Jesus’ faithfulness to God required the same ENDURANCE we are called to exhibit in the face of struggles.
- Despite the shame of the cross, Jesus was not dissuaded from His calling!
CONCLUSION
- Where is your inspiration to run and finish the race?
- Are you so determined to finish the race that you are willing to look inside of yourself to rid yourself of anything that is slowing you down?
- Where is your focus?
- Are you looking toward the finish line with your eyes fixed on Jesus?
- Living for Jesus is not for wimps; we are called to run the race no matter what life throws at us.
