Keeping Fixed on Jesus—Part One
--Hebrews 12:1-3
Today we begin a two part series on one of my favorite passages of Scripture. Effective disciples and relevant Churches in the twenty-first century must always “keep their eyes fixed on Jesus.” My hobby is running. I began running in the summer of 1968 between my sophomore and junior years at Asbury College by training on the original Kenneth Cooper Aerobics Program. During the fall of my sophomore year at Asbury, I had to take physical education for the first time since the seventh grade. That was the only year I ever had to take PE until College. By participating in either the school band or chorus, I had always been exempted from the dreaded physical education classes in the Marion, Illinois, Community Unit School District beginning in eighth grade and continuing throughout high school. At Asbury I quickly discovered I was a physical wreck. I could not do a single pull up and could not complete one lap around the quarter mile track without walking. I had absolutely no endurance.
Returning home for summer vacation in 1968, I was determined to change my lifestyle and get in shape. By the end of the summer I could easily run four miles non stop. I felt great, and my self-esteem received a tremendous boost. On September 18, 1978, I set a goal to accomplish the same feat as my hero Jim Fixx, author of THE COMPLETE BOOK OF RUNNING, running the distance around the equator or a total of 24, 902 miles, and I was determined to do so before I reached age 50. I accomplished my goal on Pearl Harbor Day, Saturday, 07 December 1996, seventy-three days before my forty-ninth birthday. It took me a total of 6,656 days to achieve my ambition.
Running has always stimulated me and been a source of spiritual inspiration as well as physical healing and fortitude. While living in Decatur, I admired and respected Jerry Lambert, news anchor at WICS TV in Springfield. Jerry was a passionate runner for over twenty years; but due to a medical condition, he had to switch his routine to daily five-mile power walks. On the WICS web site, he shared his passion for running, “It is my stepping stone to fitness and a longer life. Plus, it helps organize my thoughts and gives me a sense of purpose and direction.”
I unconditionally share Jerry’s enthusiasm! Running has not only helped me “organize my thoughts and given me a sense of purpose and direction,” but my personal communion with Jesus often occurs during a run. On many such occasions the Holy Spirit has even given me inspiration for a sermon.
The New Testament often uses the imagery of running and racing to describe the goals and purposes for both the individual Christian Disciple and the Church as the Body of Christ. Our text this morning is one of my personal favorites, and I often include it in my signature at the close of a letter. I can intimately relate to its message. If the Church is to be relevant in the twenty-first century, as individual disciples and as the body of Christ, we all must “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.”
To be effective disciples and a dynamic Church, we must “throw off everything that hinders us.” Weights may be either a help or a hinderance to a runner, mostly a hindrance. I have never been able to run well when I am overweight, as I am now. At times when I have been heavy, the first thing I have had to do before entering a race is to “throw off the weight that hinders.” Weights are sometimes used in training for a race. A runner will often strengthen muscles by using weights during training runs, either by carrying them or by anchoring them around the ankles. While building up muscles, the weights slow the runner’s time during training. When they are discarded on race day, the strengthened muscles are ready to respond and perform at top speed.
As individual disciples and cooperatively as the Body of Christ we must “throw off the sin that so easily entangles” and hinders us in our spiritual race. J. B. Phillips puts it this way: “. . . Let us strip off everything that hinders us, as well as the sin which dogs our feet.” Even friendly dogs hinder a runner. Several times a sweet, little dog has lovingly nipped at my feet, even getting a grip on my ankle as a kindhearted gesture. There have even been times a dog has caused me to trip and fall. Oftentimes I have had to gently “shake him off” in order to continue my run. Sin “dogs our feet” and “trips us up.” Sin only hinders the disciple and the Church. In obedience to the Holy Spirit we must “shake off the sin that so easily entangles” by confessing, leaving it at the altar, and forsaking it in genuine repentance.
This includes any and all sin the Holy spirit may reveal to us, but Peter speaks specifically to this point in I Peter 2:1, “Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.” The disciple and the Church by the power of the Holy Spirit must live the vision of Abraham Lincoln in his “Second Inaugural Address” : “With malice toward none; with charity for all; with firmness in the right, as God gives us the right. . .” [--http://www.bartleby.com/124/pres32.html]. A Christian or a Church will never influence and impact our world; we will never win people to Christ if we backbite each other, are jealous of one another, or are less than honest in our dealings with each other and with the world. “Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus” means we not only “talk the talk,” we “walk the walk.” This is the only way we can be effective witnesses that are God’s instruments in winning the lost for His Kingdom.
Effective disciples and relevant Churches “run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” It takes perseverance to even finish a race much less win it. Perseverance is endurance. I love the way Eugene Peterson renders this portion of the text in his paraphrase THE MESSAGE: “Start running—and never quit.” This reminds me of the Chinese proverb, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.” That’s the way I learned to run, I simply started and kept putting “one foot in front of the other” without stopping until I crossed the finish line. It took us eight weeks in 1968 to originally get into shape. My best friend and I began Kenneth Cooper’s Aerobics program by modestly walking a mile a day the first week; the second week we ran an eighth of a mile and walked the remaining distance. Gradually the running length increased and the walking distance diminished until we were able to readily run a mile non-stop. Then it was an effortless step to run two miles. By the end of the summer, this fellow who one year earlier could not run a quarter of a mile non-stop was doing four miles a day. Just like “the little engine that could,” I persevered and built endurance by saying, “I think I can, I think I can.”
In our text perseverance means “endurance over things or circumstances.” It describes a character trait that does not surrender to circumstance or give up under pressure. It is the endurance that Paul appreciated in the lives of the Thessalonian Christians as he notes in I Thessalonians 1:3, “We continually remember before our God and Father . . . your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.” We can endure in our race only as we put our hope, our faith, our trust, our confidence in Jesus Christ. No matter how difficult the circumstances become in our personal lives or in the life of our Church, Jesus is our source of power to endure, to get “over the hill,” “to cross the finish line.” Confident that He gives us the strength to endure, we can sing and testify with Andrea Crouch:
“I’ve had many tears and sorrows,
I’ve had questions about tomorrow;
There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong,
But in every situation God gave added consolation
That my trials come to only make me strong.
Through it all,
Through it all,
I’ve learned to trust in Jesus,
I’ve learned to trust in God;
Through it all,
Through it all,
I’ve learned to depend upon His Word.
Christian disciples and relevant Churches always stand in every situation on God’s promise in Isaiah 43:2-3:
“When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you,
And when you pass through the rivers,
They will not sweep over you.
“When you walk through the fire,
You will not be burned;
The flames will not set you ablaze.”
Keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, never give up, grow weary, loose heart, because we know this same Jesus who “endured the cross” and “scorned its shame” is with us always and that He “will never leave us nor forsake us.” With Him leading us we shall be victorious over all whatever pain, setbacks, troubles, delays, discouragements, or obstacles may come our way each day.
If the Church is not the Church we once were, we do not become discouraged. In surrender and obedience to the control and power of the Holy Spirit, we minister to anybody beyond these sanctuary walls and lovingly show care and concern to whomever He sends our way; and we totally depend on Him for any increase tomorrow.
Jack Kaley, long time evangelist in the former Central Illinois Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, is a personal friend of mine. I have often had him as the preacher for revivals in churches I have served. Jack would always say before preaching each evening, “Nothing is going to happen here tonight unless the Spirit of God makes it happen.” I ask that we never forget these words. There is nothing you nor I as pastor can do to make things happen at Trinity United Methodist Church. We must totally rely on the Holy Spirit to do what He wants to do through us and keep our eyes fixed on Jesus.
As individual disciples and as a Church, you and I must “run the race marked out for us.” I’ve run many races and won some trophies, but I have thus far only accomplished one marathon. My favorite races have always been the 5K and 10K events; distances of 3.1 and 6.2 miles respectfully. Another runner once asked me about my marathon experience, and he was less than impressed that I was not a marathoner. “Hogwash!”
You and I are only asked to run the race that Jesus “marks out for us” as individuals and as Trinity United Methodist Church. Jim Ryan was a miler; Billy Mills a 10K champion; Frank Shorter conquered the marathon. They all were champions in their own right and at their respective distances. Likewise, Jesus marks out our own individual races for each disciple and every individual congregation. My race is not the same distance and does not contain the same obstacles as yours. God’s purpose and plan for Trinity United Methodist Church is not the one He charts for St. Mark, Asbury or any other congregation. It is His unique mission and calling to us alone.
As effective disciples and as a relevant Church for the twenty-first century let everyone of us: “Throw off everything that hinders our witness and ministry for Jesus Christ and the sin that so easily entangles us. Let us: “Run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” May everyone of us be such disciple of Jesus Christ as His Spirit empowers us, and may Trinity United Methodist Church always be Spirit controlled while we continue to seek His vision for our ministry and obey Him in reaching our neighborhood, our city, our nation, and our world.
