MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Revised: 2011)
ILL. The 1992 Summer Olympics featured two tremendously heart-rending moments. American sprinter Gail Devers, the clear leader in the 100 meter hurdles, tripped over the last barrier. She agonizingly pulled herself to her knees & crawled the last five meters, finishing fifth - but finishing, nevertheless.
Even more emotional was the 400 meter semifinal in which British runner Derek Redmond tore a hamstring & fell hard on the track. He struggled to his feet & began to hobble, determined to complete the race.
His father ran from the stands to help him off the track, but Derek refused to quit. He leaned on his father, & the two limped to the finish line together, accom-panied by the deafening applause of the thousands assembled there that day. (John E. Anderson, "What Makes Olympic Champions?" Reader’s Digest, February 1994, p. 120)
A. I like to hear stories about people who won't give up. Quitters aren't much of an inspiration, but people who stay with a commitment even though the going gets tough are a source of inspiration to us all.
Do you remember the man who came to Jesus & said, "I'll follow you wherever you go"? Jesus told him, "Before you make that kind of commitment, you need to realize that foxes have holes & the birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
"In other words, if you follow me, realize that there will be difficulties. There will be times when you will not know where you'll sleep, or where your next meal is coming from. There will be difficult & discouraging times. But after you realize that, & then put your hands to the plow," He said, "don't look back."
B. When people start the Christian life, & then quit when the going gets tough, they can become an object of ridicule to some, & a source of discouragement to others. That's the reason Hebrews 12:1 3 is so important.
As some of you know, the apostle Paul often compared the Christian life to athletic events. And he is doing so in this passage. Listen as I read it to you.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders & the sin that so easily entangles, & let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
"Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author & perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, & sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
“Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary & lose heart."
Now in this passage Paul is not comparing the Christian life to a wind sprint, but to a marathon. In a wind sprint you run as fast as you can for a short distance, & speed is the critical factor. But in a marathon, endurance is the critical factor, & the concern is that over the long run the runner will not “grow weary & lose heart.”
The Apostle Paul was faithful. In his last letter to Timothy he wrote, "I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day – and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.” (2 Tim. 4:7-8)
PROP. Finishing the race is critically important to all of us who would be followers of Jesus. And I believe that Hebrews 12:1-3 contains at least 3 pieces of advice that will help each of us faithfully run the race that is before us.
I. INSPIRED BY THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE
The first piece of advice is to remember that you are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, & that you can be inspired by those who have gone before.
A. Notice that chapter 12 begins with the word "Therefore." That connects it with the previous chapter. And in chapter 11 the writer of Hebrews gives a long list of people who have been found faithful.
1. For instance, in vs. 7 he mentions Noah. Now I confess that patience is not one of my finer virtues. And every once in a while, when something I'm concerned about seems to be moving too slowly, I'll complain, "Why is it taking so long?"
Then I can hear Noah whispering in my ear, "How long do you say you've been waiting? It took me 100 years to build the ark, & it was never easy. I tried to warn the people, but no one would listen. Yet I kept on building, & when the floods came the ark was the vehicle of our salvation. You need to keep on, keeping on, too."
2. Next, in vs. 8, is Abraham. Abraham, called from his home in Ur to a place where God would lead him; Abraham, who in his old age was told that his wife, Sara, would bear a son; Abraham, who was told to take this precious son & offer him as a sacrifice. It wasn’t easy, but Abraham passed every test!
So when you become discouraged, here is Abraham whispering in your ear. "Listen," he says, "if you obey God, the world will think you’re crazy because God's ways are not their ways. But listen carefully, & be true to His will."
3. Then go to vs. 22 & the story of Joseph. Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. In Egypt he was accused of crimes he didn't commit, & thrown into prison. He was about as low as a person can get. Yet he remained faithful to God.
Then everything changes, & suddenly he is very powerful, Prime Minister of Egypt. He has control of money & grain & food & people. And yet, when he is at the top, he is still faithful to God.
So listen to Joseph, "Look, it doesn't take much to be faithful when things are going your way. But when you are at the bottom, & everything seems to be falling apart, make sure that you're still faithful."
4. The list goes on. There's Moses & Samson & Samuel & David & more besides. There is a great cloud of witnesses to cheer us on. They whisper in our ear when we become discouraged, saying, "Don't lose heart! Don't give up. Don't quit, whatever you do."
B. Now when I get discouraged, I think not only of the great saints in Scripture, but also of others who have inspired me.
ILL. I think of my father who was still going strong even after he retired. His ministries were always pioneer type ministries that didn't pay very much. He served in two foreign mission fields. He started 5 Christian colleges & established at least 36 churches I know of.
He wore clothes that probably should have been given to Goodwill, & sometimes traveled with an old suitcase held together by a belt. Often money was in very short supply. But he always stayed the course.
He had a motto in his office that read, "You can get anything done IF you don't care who gets the credit." And in the very last sermon he preached before his death he challenged us with these words, "If you're ever going to do anything for God, do it now!"
APPL. So when I’m discouraged, I hear their voices saying, "If we can do it, then you can do it, too."
SUM. So be inspired by those who have gone before, & realize that at the same time there will be others watching you. You will be their inspiration, their example, & their guide.
II. BE PREPARED FOR THE STRUGGLES THAT WILL COME
The second piece of advice from the writer of Hebrews is to prepare for the struggles you will face. He says, "...let us throw off everything that hinders & the sin that so easily entangles, & let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
ILL. As I read the words, “…the sin that so easily entangles…” I think of the old Tarzan movies. When I was a boy Johnny Weismueller was Tarzan, & in almost every movie there was a scene where Tarzan, with his knife between his teeth, jumped into the water & swam to the rescue of Jane or boy or whoever was in the water.
Then the music would intensify & you knew that at some point something bad was going to grab him. Oftentimes it was an enormous octopus. At first you could just see its eye. Then a tentacle would suddenly reach out & wrap around his ankle.
But that’s no problem. Tarzan can get loose from that. But then here comes a second tentacle. It would grab the other ankle. Then another tentacle & another one, & soon he is all entangled & can’t get loose.
Is this the end of Tarzan? Oh no. Remember that knife in his teeth. Somehow he is able to grab it & start cutting off the tentacles, & soon an inky cloud comes out of the octopus. And Tarzan is free!
The writer of Hebrews says that sin is just like those tentacles, & that we must throw off "...the sin that so easily entangles, & …run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
ILL. Now I'm obviously not a marathon runner. But marathon runners tell us that there are two critical times in the race. The first one is at the beginning. When you begin to run you feel so good, & the temptation is to run too fast too soon, depending upon your own strength & skill to pull you through.
The second critical time in a marathon is at the half way point. You suddenly realize that you still have as far to go as you've already run & your strength is giving out. Runners call it "hitting the wall." You've come to the end of your endurance & you're not sure you can put one foot in front of the other anymore.
To keep that from happening in your life remember this promise, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, & lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, & He shall direct your paths.” (Proverbs 3:5-6)
If you’ll trust Him, He will be the source of all you need to finish your race.
III. FIX YOUR EYES UPON JESUS
A. The final piece of advice is this, Fix your eyes on Jesus. Listen again to a part of vs’s 2 & 3, "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author & perfecter of our faith… Consider Him… so that you will not grow weary & lose heart."
Jesus was opposed. Jesus was persecuted. And yet He stayed the course. He ran the race. He paid the price for our sins.
Every Christian needs to hear this because it's so easy to quit. It's so easy to say, "I don't have to do this anymore." But the writer of Hebrews says, "Fix your eyes on Jesus. He's the author & the perfecter of our faith," & one day each one of us will stand before Him as our judge.
ILL. A number of years ago the world stopped & waited for the jury to announce its verdict in the O.J. Simpson trial. When the decision was finally given & O.J. was found “not guilty” some people cheered because they thought that an innocent man had been set free. Others stomped their feet & pounded the furniture because they thought that a travesty of justice had taken place.
I do not know whether you thought that he was innocent or guilty. But we all need to remember two things. #1, O.J. Simpson will someday stand before another judge, a judge much greater than Judge Ito. #2. And there he will have to give an account of everything he has done, whether good or bad.
Romans 3:23 says, "There is no difference, for all have sinned & fallen short of the glory of God."
ILL. If you ever take the tour in historic Williamsburg, VA they will explain to you why, even to this day, we hold up our hand & swear that we will “tell the truth, the whole truth, & nothing but the truth, so help me God" whenever we give testimony in court.
The story goes all the way back to medieval times. When someone was being tried for a crime & the evidence seemed overwhelmingly against him, there was a way out. He could stand up & say, "I plead the benefit of clergy."
Now when he pled "the benefit of clergy" everyone was aghast because that was the same as an admission of guilt. But it was his last hope, his last chance.
So a clergyman would come in with a selected passage of Scripture, usually from Psalms 51, the confession of David for all the sins that he had committed. He would hand it to the accused & say, "Here, read this." It was kind of a fore-runner of the lie detector test.
The law said that if he could read it without stammering or stuttering he would be set free even though the evidence against him was overwhelming. But if he stumbled or stammered just one time he was judged guilty.
Usually a guilty person could not read that passage without stammering or stuttering. So they were found guilty. But when someone read it perfectly & was set free, they branded the palm of his hand with the brand of the cross.
You see, you could only claim the benefit of clergy one time. So whenever anyone testified in court he would have to hold up his hand so that all could see if the brand of the cross was there.
CONCL. One day, folks, we're all going to stand before the judge of the universe, as guilty as we can be. The evidence is overwhelmingly against us. Satan, the accuser, will be there to accuse us of all the sins we have committed.
Our only hope is to claim the benefit of the cross.
So the writer of Hebrews says, "Fix your eyes upon Jesus because the only hope we have is our hope in Him."
So run the race with patience. Don't lose heart. Don't become discouraged. Don't quit. Keep on running the race that has been set before us.
This morning if you're not a Christian, we invite you to come to Jesus & accept His mercy, His love, His grace, & His sacrifice on the cross. We offer you the opportunity to begin a whole new life in Him. Will you come as we stand & as we sing together?
