Hebrews 12
It was England’s greatest nightmare. The German army was taking over Europe and the British were being bombed regularly as they advanced toward them. Winston Churchill addressed the people with these words: Never, never, never, never, never, never, never give up! This could be our finest hour!
Quitters are a dime a dozen, but those that never say die… They are the chosen few.
Jesus made it clear. He who endures to the end will be saved. Listen to Matthew 24: 9 "Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations on account of My name. 10 "And at that time many will fall away and will deliver up one another and hate one another. 11 "And many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many. 12 "And because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. 13 "But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved. 14 "And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world for a witness to all the nations, and then the end shall come.
Christians who start down the path toward heaven and then drop out make hell rejoice and heaven weep. There are few things in life more encouraging than a Christian who faithfully endures struggle and pain and difficulty and keeps on keeping on for Jesus. There are few things in life more discouraging than having a brother or sister in Christ give in to the world and give up their walk with the Lord. Today we look at another chapter in the book of Hebrews that exhorts us to be faithful no matter what.
He gives us several instructions that are practical and extremely important for maintaining and building up our walk in the Lord. Let’s look at this together and make observations as we go… Today we look at the A’s of Endurance:
12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.
The first A is Attention on Jesus:
What kind of people do you surround yourself with? That’s the first point here. Chapter 11 gives us the kind of people we need to be surrounding ourselves with. Men and women of faith seek out fellowship and encouragement from other men and women of faith. If your closest friendships are made up of people who are not pursuing Christ, watch out! Quitters surround themselves with excuses, and other quitters who compare quitter stories. Those who excel in their lives look up to others who excel. This leads us to the next point in this text: Jesus. Looking unto Jesus! He’s simply the best. He’s the author and finisher of our faith! Jesus wrote the book on faith! More than that, Jesus walked the road of faith, cut the trail of faith, crossed the finish line of faith, and he invites you and me to join him!
What does the road of faith look like? Ask Jesus. It’s not a road for wimps and quitters. The road of faith is tough. The climb is steep and the way is rough. But listen to me now… there is joy at the end of the path that outshines the sun. There may be tears on the trail, but there’s eternal glory at the end. Never, never, never, give up!
Whenever you become discouraged, look at Jesus. Think about the opposition he endured for you. Jesus endured the cross; he endured the shame, the pain, the betrayal, the mockery, the abandonment of his disciples, the false accusations, the condemnation to die a horrible death, the guilt of our sins, and the punishment we deserved. Jesus paid the price. Now look at him! Exalted to the throne of glory, he reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords. And he’s coming back some day. Jesus, our Lord will return. Look to him now and listen to him. Learn from him. Lean on him. Jesus is pulling for you!
So why do I have to go through all this hard stuff? Why is life so hard? What is it with the struggles in life? Hey! Don’t think you are above difficulty. Besides, when you suffer God is up to something. And if God is involve in it, it will ultimately be good.
Listen to the next important ingredient of a faithful life. The next A of endurance:
4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
5 And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: "My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son."
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?
8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.
9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live!
10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.
12 Therefore, strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.
13 "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed.
This is the Attitude toward suffering: Where is God when I hurt? He’s involved in improving your faith life!
What a great text! Next time you are having a hard time in your life because of your faith, remember, God is loving you! He’s treating you as one of his children! Someone says, well, if that’s the way he treats his kids, I don’t know if I want to be one! Wait a minute, do you know what happens to those who reject God as their father? Again we need to look at Jesus attitude toward his suffering and follow his example. Not my will, but thine be done. So many people see suffering as only from the devil or at least as God looking somewhere else. The more painful the suffering the more tempting it is to believe God surely can’t be in on this! This attitude is dangerous for many reasons. First it puts God outside of the picture. Second it means you are on you own here and there can be nothing redeeming about the pain. Third, it can produce bitterness toward God for either allowing it or not making it better. But if I see and accept God’s hand in my hardship and look with trust that he will use even this to bring about my good and his glory, there is something to be thankful for even in the midst of pain.
The point is, God allows hardships for just about everyone. But for his children who receive it as discipline, there is a pay off that makes it worthwhile! Quitters never enjoy the benefits! Those who endure and submit to God’s discipline humbly and patiently end up with a harvest that more than makes it worth the trouble!
Most kids who play sports go to practice for hours and hours before the first game. Hard practice can be tough. In the movie, Remember the Titians, the coach was mean and tough, but he created a disciplined and undefeated team. One of the things he had to work on the most was prejudice among the players. The most difficult things to overcome for them took the most painful work to accomplish. They succeeded partly because even when the going was toughest they never quit.
The Bible is loaded with examples and instruction about dealing with hardship and struggle and suffering because of our relationship with God. We must be willing to trust God, no matter what. Come what may, we can make it if we believe God is our Father and Father knows best. We have to look past the moment of pain and trial and look up into the eyes of the Father. Humility, submission and expectation of blessing. These we hold onto in hardship. God treats us as sons.
Next is a timely warning. This A of endurance is Avoidance of immorality and ungodliness.
Here Hebrews gives us a case of a classic quitter. Esau.
Look at verses 14-17
He is called godless and immoral. He traded what was precious in God’s sight to satisfy his hunger. He gave his birth right for a bowl of beans! Don’t miss the point here. If you give up your faith for anything, and I mean anything, you are godless and immoral. So Jacob got the blessing and when Esau came to get it, he couldn’t.
Esau illustrates the person who is driven by passions of the flesh instead of lead by the Spirit of God. The Christian who quits trades the glory of the cross for the crumbs of the flesh. Don’t do it! Don’t give in to hardship, submit to it as discipline from God. You’ll be so glad you did.
I love the song that says: God moves in a mysterious way, his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the sea, and rides upon the storm.
Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take, the clouds ye so much dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessings on your head.
Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, but trust him for his grace. Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face.
His purposes will ripen fast, unfolding every hour. The bud may have a bitter taste, but sweet will be the flower.
Blind unbelief is sure to fail, and scan his works in vain. God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain.
In order to endure we need a constant dose of avoidance of godlessness and immorality.
The next encouragement to endure and not quit involves knowing where you are.
This A of endurance is awareness of God’s joyful presence. It is pictured in two mountains: Sinai and Zion.
Look at verses 18-24
Are you aware of where you are before God?
Which mountain have you arrived at? There are two possibilities with God. There is a mountain where God speaks judgment from the Law and there is a mountain of rejoicing where God speaks a better word, a word of grace. Abel’s blood cried out for vengeance. Christ’s blood cries out mercy and grace because of the new covenant it establishes for us. Those who walk in the faith have come to the mountain of rejoicing before the very presence of God! The blood of Jesus speaks to us to come!
And finally, we are see our last A of endurance: The Assurance of an unshakable kingdom!
Verses 25-29
The association of those that faithfully endure are those that:
1. Keep their attention of Jesus
2. Have his attitude toward suffering
3. Avoid immorality and ungodliness
4. Are aware of God’s joyful presence
5. Have assurance of an unshakable kingdom.
