Running On Faith
Hebrews 11:32-12:3
Introduction:
Believe it or not, for the past four months, this preacher has been working out in a gym on the average of 1 ½ hours a day, five days a week. Most of the routine was bearable at the beginning, except for the cardio-vascular machines. I hated anything that seemed like running! To add to the hatred, I found out that unless I maintained 20 minutes or more, the exercise was not working. I would set the timer and glance every 30 seconds. Those seemed to be the longest and most grueling 20 minutes of my life!
Sometimes living a Christian life in a strong soul-winning church is much like my initial experience with the cardio-vascular machines. We become exhausted and there is a stitch in our sides, as we suck spiritual air and we wonder how we can go on. Some quit the race in their minds. They are saved… but are going through the motions – no longer running to win.
In our passage tonight, we will find the secret to spiritual endurance. We will see that it is not a program, a method, a movement, or even the following of a particular spiritual leader. Tonight we will find that the secret to spiritual endurance is for the believer to be running on faith.
I. We are surrounded by a cloud of faithful witnesses!
Hebrews 11:32-40
32 And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets: 33 Who through faith subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 Quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, waxed valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured, not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain a better resurrection: 36 And others had trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover of bonds and imprisonment: 37 They were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were tempted, were slain with the sword: they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins; being destitute, afflicted, tormented; 38 (Of whom the world was not worthy:) they wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: 40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.
Look at verse 33. This great multitude of people that are so numerous they resemble the appearance of a cloud, all obtained their victories through faith! My friend, the reason that the saints of old withstood the attacks of the forces of darkness was because they were able to access God’s grace through faith. Most folks reading this letter have already accessed God’s saving Grace through faith. That is just the beginning.
Romans 3:19-22 - 1
9 Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. 20 Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:
Not only did the saints obtain salvation by accessing God’s grace through faith, they also obtained the ability to stand and to gain victory through their faith. Listen, my friend, raw determination will not keep you on the firing line. Some new program or method that you bring home from the latest conference will not be enough to keep you from fainting in your minds. It is faith or taking God at His word, that will sustain you.
Romans 5:1-2
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Look with me please at verses 33-35. We will see that these witnesses that the saints of old were able to do great things because the pipe line to God’s Grace, faith, was clear of any obstruction. Kingdoms were subdued, righteous works were accomplished, divine promises were obtained, the lion’s mouths were shut, the fire of the furnace was ineffective, the sword was dull, strength rose out of weakness, armies were turned to retreat, and mothers received their dead alive again all because the saints of old accessed the mighty power of God through faith!
Now look at verses 35-38. Not only were the saints able to claim victory as God willed it, but they had the ability to stand when any other person would run, or faint. The forces of darkness have always violently opposed the truth of the Gospel and will do all that they can to silence the message. Some were tortured, some mocked in a kangaroo court, some imprisoned, some stoned, some sawn to pieces, some wondered in exile, all because they would not turn from the God they served! These saints now rise as a cloud of witnesses cheering the born again Christian on! You can make it! We did! We are just as human as you are! You can access God’s grace through the same faith that we did! Run on!!!
II. We must unclog the pipeline of faith
Hebrews 12:1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
The crowd of victorious saints is gathered in the arena watching you as you run the race of life. The noise is deafening. These folks have not fainted they cheer you to run on!
In order for you to run effectively, you must remove any hindrances from your life that would slow you down. A weight is literally "that which is hooked" to a person, thus dragging him down. The Holy Spirit can convict you personally as to what is acting as a weight in your life, but I will site just a few specific scriptural examples:
1. Anything that slows you from running the race in faith
2. Fear of man
Proverbs 29:25 - The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the LORD shall be safe.
3. Misplaced allegiance
Matthew 10:37-38 - He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
4. Pleasures of this life
Luke 8:14 - And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection.
5. Party life
Romans 13:11-13 - And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying.
6. Riches
1 Timothy 6:9 - But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
We must not only lay aside our weights, but also the sins that entangle us and bring us to peril. Here is the key. Sin clogs the pipe line of faith by which you can access grace in which to stand. Without a fresh supply of grace, it will be impossible for you to run with patience and endurance. You will faint in your mind.
III. We must keep our eyes fixed upon the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Hebrews 12:2-3 – 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, wrote the plan of Salvation. God informed the serpent at the very time of the fall of man that there was already a plan in place of how sin would be paid for and how man would be redeemed. Jesus planned it, and finished that plan.
Genesis 3:15 - And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Fix your eyes upon Jesus, he endured all for you! God’s Word here in Hebrews 12:3 tells us to consider or contemplate what Jesus already endured for you.
Notice the warning. We are not warned that if we do not do these things, we will quit, but rather that we will faint in our minds! Many preachers get up to preach Sunday after Sunday, having already fainted. No longer are they running the race, but merely walking to the finish line. Sunday School teachers, deacons, and other believers are no longer running with the aggressive passion that they once did. You must resist the temptation to faint in your mind!
Conclusion:
The ancient arena is full as you enter to run the marathon. The shouts echo throughout the stadium. They are the voices of those millions who have already run this long and grueling race. If you wish to run well, consider the millions who have successfully finished – you can too. Get rid of all those things tangled around your life that will slow you down and drain your energy. Keep your eyes on the finish line. Jesus, your Savior is waiting for you there! So, run on faith!
