Please e-mail me with any comments or if you use any part of this at your church at Mail4ChrisR@aol.com. I would love to hear about it. God Bless! - Chris
Series: “What To Do”
But I Just Can’t Win (See also I Don’t Know What To Do; But I Disappointed; But Life is Too Hard; What You Need, God Has)
Intro: God knows the pains of life because as a human God endured those pains. God knows how to comfort and encourage us. The author of Hebrews encourages us as he or she would advise an athlete preparing for a contest so that we might win.
I. Turn your eyes to the Saints in Heaven (v. 1)
A. Hebrews 11 lists examples of people who accomplished many things by faith
B. We should emulate these pillars of faith
II. Let go of the things that hinder advancement (v. 1)
A. Don’t be fooled by possessions and illusions of power
B. Confess our sins before they make us fall
III. Stick to the task that is before you (v. 1)
A. The details of our race are listed out in our Bibles
B. Don’t give up until you win
IV. Look to Jesus whom you are to follow (v. 2-3)
A. Jesus did all of the above
B. Jesus is the pioneer and we get to take advantage of all that He did for us
Conclusion: Because of Jesus, the hardship we face will discipline us to be great children of a Heavenly Father.
Sermon:
When I was a child I loved to read the comics page. With Garfield being so popular in his hometown of Muncie, I imagine many of you still read the comics. Well, one of my favorites was and still is Peanuts. In one particular one, Charlie Brown in the Peanuts cartoon strip complains that his baseball team always loses. Lucy, who was always wise with advice, consoles him by saying, "Remember, Charlie Brown, you learn more from your defeats than your victories." Charlie Brown replies, "That makes me the smartest guy in the world!"
How many of us are the smartest men and women in the world? I know I am working on it.
Lucy’s advice is pretty good though. You learn more from your defeats than your victories. That’s about right isn’t it?
Today we conclude our series on “What to do.” And well I suppose on the topic of what to do when you feel like you just can’t win, I could repeat Lucy’s advice one more time and sit down. But I won’t do that.
God has given us some wisdom about What to do when you don’t know what else to do, and when your disappointed, and last week we looked at what to do when life becomes too hard. And as I looked back on these past three sermons I discovered that the suggestions had many consistencies. In all three God stresses in the passages we looked at to “know.” Know God has what we need when the storm comes. He has all the power and ability to help us overcome. And the other consistent idea is that God will keep His word. God has told us many things, he has promised us many things and He will keep His promises.
Today is no different. When you feel like you just can’t win, I would say that knowing God’s ability and knowing God’s truth and honesty is a great place to start. But in our passage God gives us some more advice on what to do when you’re on the losing side of life.
God never was nor never has been on the losing side of life. God is always victorious. But God does know what it is like to stand in the face of opposition. God knows it first hand and experienced it as he hung on the cross. The human side of Jesus is a very comforting concept because I know that he knows first hand all of the same things that I experience. He knows my pain because he has felt pain. He knows my anger because he has felt anger. He knows my sorrow because he has felt sorrow. And he doesn’t just know them as some God who says, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Have you ever said that to someone when they are explaining their pain to you, “Yeah Bob, I know what you mean.” Jesus, our God, our savior, knows our pain, anger, sorrow and more because he was human and dealt with these emotions and feelings. He dealt with life, as we know. And he cares about our lives. So when you feel like you just can’t win, know that God feels your pain with you, and when you know pain you can know how to comfort those who feel the pain you once felt. This is what God saying to us through the author of Hebrews.
The very first word of our passage can tell us this, Look at verse 1 of chapter 12.
Therefore
This is a transitional word. Therefore implies something just said was important. Well Chapter 11 of Hebrews is arguably one of the greatest books in the entire Bible. Chapter 11 encourages us to have faith like those that came before us had faith. By faith Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, so many did great things. And therefore you can do great things. By faith Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph, so many had problems to overcome therefore you will have problems to overcome. By faith Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joseph and so many more overcame their problems with God’s help therefore you can overcome your problems with God’s help.
Look at the rest of verse 1 of chapter 12, Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.
Therefore, when you’re on the losing side of life, when you cry out to God I just can’t win, First turn your eyes to the Saints in Heaven.
Yes, Noah, Abraham, Moses Joseph, Joshua, Jacob, Isaac, Daniel, David, Samson, Samuel, and all the prophets, so many. And that is just the Old Testament. And the New Testament offers us that many more. We are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. What does that mean though a great cloud of witnesses.
First, what is a witness. In a courtroom a witness will testify to some situation or some facts being presented. In chapter 11, you can read about the heroes of the Christian faith. It lists off the many great things actual people have done by faith in God. These people testify that by faith you can do great things. They testify that With God all things are possible.
The writer in calling these witnesses a great cloud alludes to the pillar of cloud used by God to guide the Israelites through the wilderness. In other words you should follow this great cloud, this cloud of people that will testify about the power of God. And that in the end you will be safe as the Israelites were safe.
And I would not end this list with chapter 11. Perhaps at the end of chapter 11 you can pencil in your own story. What have you done by faith. By faith, you have overcome adversity. By faith, you have praised God when times were difficult. By faith maybe you lifted up your family from troubles or hardships of life.
Or perhaps you can write in your Bibles at the end of verse 11 some names that have joined this great cloud of witnesses in heaven. Perhaps, someone you knew, someone who inspired you by faith. Someone who helped you by faith. Perhaps a family member or friend. Perhaps a pastor or Sunday school teacher. Perhaps a stranger you met for a brief moment of time that encouraged you by faith.
That is what the writer is telling us. Hey when you feel like you just can’t win, recall those people who also faced the challenges of life and overcame them. Turn your eyes to the saints who set the example and emulate them.
Look again at verse 1, next the writer of Hebrews gives us some more practical advice.
When you just can’t win let go of the things that hinder advancement. I taught the youth group one evening how to catch a monkey. Native hunter in the jungles of Africa have a cleaver way of trapping monkeys.
They slice a coconut in two, hollow it out and in one half of the shell cut a hole just big enough for the monkey to stick its hand through. Then they place an orange in the other half before fastening 0the two halves of the coconut shell. Finally they secure the coconut to a tree with a rope and hide in the jungle and wait.
Sooner or later an unsuspecting money swings by, smells the delicious orange and discovers it inside the coconut. The monkey then slips his hand through the small hole, grasps the orange, and tries to pull it through the hole. Of course, the orange won’t come out; it’s too big for the hole. To no avail the persistent monkey tries and tries to pull, never realizing the danger he is in.
While the monkey struggles with the orange, the hunters simply stroll in and capture the monkey by throwing a net over him. As long as the monkey keep his fist wrapped around the orange, the monkey is trapped. And it is too bad, because all the monkey has to do is let go. It can save its own life if only it would let go of the orange.
Let us lay aside every weight, let us throw off everything that hinders. What are you hanging onto? The world sets traps for us like the monkey trap. You hear constantly that if you just had enough money, enough power, enough prestige, enough stuff then you’ll be happy. That is an illusion that traps people and people spend their whole lives trying to pull the orange out of the coconut. These are things that hinder us. And what the world claims is delicious, is the very thing that will steal away our freedom, our happiness and eventually our lives.
Don’t be fooled, lay those things aside. And confess your sin. That’s what the writer of Hebrews tells us to do. Throw off the sin that easily entangles us, which clings to us so closely. We get tied up in these struggles of the world, in traps, that we cause harm and sin, perhaps against other, maybe someone close to us, or even ourselves. We have to overcome that. One way is through confession. First confess your sins to God. God will forgive you. But also confess your sins to one another. James 5:16 says therefore, “confess you sins to each other and pray for each other that you might be healed.”
Confession will purify your mind and heart. This is how you throw off the sin that will entangle your life. This is how you get on the winning side of life.
(pause)
Next, you are encouraged to Stick to the task that is before you. I like the way Josh Billings, the renowned humorist, said it, "Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there"
Read the rest of verse 1.
Our one thing that we need to stick to is the race marked out for us. Every year hundreds of athletes from around the world converge on Muncie, Indiana for the Endurathon. I had the privilege of watching some of these runners pass through our little community this summer. But one thing that I did notice is that the race was well prepared. I mean people had set up port o potties, people waited for runners to pass by with water and sports drinks, Our church even let the organization plug in an ice cooler in our front yard. And the route was set well in advance. All the residents in the area received notice of the details of the route the race was going to go.
They started here at the reservoir and swam through it, ran up and down Burlington Drive and bicycled some, even out on 35 I believe. The point is that the course was clearly marked. That morning when those athletes woke up they had one task before them and that was to begin at the starting point and end at the finish line.
The same is true for Christians. Our race is set before us. The details of that race are listed out in our Bibles. And we have to run with perseverance, like those athletes do each year. Run and don’t give up until you get there. That is our endurathon, especially when you feel like you just can’t win. I learned along time ago that you never win by giving up.
In fact this whole section is athletic imagery. Imagine yourself in a coliseum in 1st century AD surrounded by fans – this great cloud of witnesses. You have to get rid of all the heavy weight, the things that hinder your progress. And you have to get rid of the things that may cause you to fall. And run! Run with perseverance. And make sure you stick to the task that is set before you. Overcome all the obstacles on the course. And endure.
The author of Hebrews tells us to look to Jesus whom you are to follow. Look at verse 2.
You see, Jesus sets the ultimate example. Sure the cloud of witnesses set before us a good example, but what we really ought to know is that Jesus overcame adversity, he won. God hanging on the cross did not grow weary. He did not loss heart. He won the race. He blazed the path. In fact, we can be assured that everything that the author of Hebrews has told us so far is exactly what Jesus did in those final days.
Jesus looked to the cloud of witnesses. Jesus let go of the things that hindered him. Jesus ran the race with perseverance. His course was marked before the creation. His plan was to die for the forgiveness of our sins. He died so that we who are wounded can be healed. And he endured the cross, and all its shame.
I like the way that King James’ translators wrote this passage: looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfector of our faith. Christopher Columbus was pioneer. Lewis and Clark were pioneers. The Wright Brothers were pioneers. John Wesley was a pioneer. We get to take advantage of all that they did and accomplished. And Jesus is the pioneer. We get to take advantage of all that He did for us. Jesus is the one who marks our path like Lewis and Clark marked the path to the Pacific Northwest in their expedition. So If you want to find the Pacific Ocean you had better go west, the way Lewis and Clark went. And if you want to find salvation, you had better go the way of Jesus of Nazareth. That involves sacrifice. It involves commitment. It involves hardship.
Jesus endured hardship so that we can perfect our faith. And he did it so we will not grow weary and lose heart as it says in verse 3. So not mater how hard life gets, no matter how many times you are on the losing side you don’t have to grow weary but you can endure because of Jesus.
Look down at verse 7 and follow along as I read to verse 11.
No discipline seems pleasurable at the time, but painful. But because of Jesus the perfector of our faith, we know that the hardships we face are disciplining us so that we will have a harvest of righteousness and peace.
In other words, the discipline God gives us should work like Lucy explained it to Charlie Brown, “you learn more from your defeats than your victories." And while that might not make you the smartest person in the world. Being disciplined by our heavenly father makes you a son or daughter of the creator of the universe. And I would rather be that than smart any day.
Let us pray.
