The Person Driven Life
Hebrews 12:1-3
When Lloyd Douglas, author of “The Robe”, attended college, he lived in a boardinghouse. A retired, wheelchair-bound music professor resided on the first floor.
Each morning Douglas would stick his head in the door of the teacher’s apartment and ask the same question, “Well, what’s the good news?”
The old man would pick up his tuning fork, tap it on the side of his wheelchair and say, “That’s middle C! It was middle C yesterday; it will be middle C tomorrow; and it will be middle C a thousand years from now. The lady upstairs sings flat. The piano across the hall is out of tune, but, this will always be middle C.”
Brothers and sisters, hurricanes come and go. Gas prices will continue to rise. Our bodies will get worn out and eventually we will die. But Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. He never changes! HE IS OUR MIDDLE C! He is the stable rock upon which we can build our lives, and the finish line upon which we should focus this race called life.
Several years ago Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Community Church in California, wrote one of the most popular books of our time called “The Purpose Driven Life”. It is an excellent book. It addresses the fact that we all are created for a purpose and that our lives have meaning when we live out that purpose.
But my friends I believe a book needs to be written on the real purpose of life. I believe the book should be called: “The Person Driven Life.” Because our real purpose in life is to know, love, serve, and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
My theme this morning is this: Develop a person driven life: a life lived in pursuit of knowing, loving, serving, and glorifying the Lord Jesus Christ.
Let’s look at this morning’s text: Hebrews 12:1-3
1. A person driven life is a life that is unencumbered.
Look again at verse 1
“Therefore” The writer has been talking to us about Jesus. His readers where in danger of quitting the Christian race. They started to follow Jesus, but when persecution began to affect them personally, they began to think about going back to Judaism. He has convinced them that Jesus is greater than the Angels, greater than the law, and greater than Moses and the prophets. He has challenged them to realize what a great High Priest we have who has made a way for us through His own blood. And He has put before them the challenge to live by faith. He has described the men and women of old who walked by faith and not be sight: Noah, Abraham, Rahab, and Sarah to name just a few.
“Witness” These witnesses of truth who have now entered into heaven and have seen the King of Glory for themselves are like a cloud surrounding us. The writer pictures them as in an Arena where the marathon race is being completed. They stand for the runners, cheering them on, encouraging them with their applause and their shouts of approval. “You can make it. The finish line is in sight. The victory is yours!”
They understand that the race is hard. The Greek word for race is the word “Agon” from which we get our English word “agony”. It is hard work. It is difficult and strenuous, and requires every bit of strength we have to finish.
Therefore, if you want to finish you must strip away everything that slows you down and taxes your strength. Like a runner who is fat, you must undergo training and remove excess flesh from your body in order to make the finish line.
Throw off everything that hinders you. The encumbrances are not evil in themselves, but they keep you from running the race well.
To his readers these encumbrances may have been old customs, lingering Jewish prejudices, ties to a religion and not a relationship with the living God, old habits and thoughts that keep you from living a life of faith.
Some encumbrances are not bad things in themselves, but they slow you down from reaching the goal.
Some encumbrances are sin. Sin entangles, it trips a person up. Sin may start as a small act of rebellion or neglect, but it can snowball and grow into an avalanche of disobedience and despair.
Notice that the word sin is preceded by the word “The”. In the Greek a definite article is there indicating that the writer had in mind one specific sin. Perhaps it is a besetting sin that continues to crop up in a person’s life. Most likely he is referring to the sin of unbelief. As James put it no one who doubts is stable. They are tossed to and fro by every wind and wave in life. They are buffeted by the storms of life and like the houses in Mississippi, they can collapse under the weight of those waves.
Throw off these encumbrances.
I have a back-pack. It is full of rocks. For me to run a race with these weights will slow me down, discourage me, and perhaps cause me to give up because it is just too difficult.
I need an assistant to come and help me remove these rocks. Like the Holy Spirit who comes to shed light on the encumbrances in our lives, and who challenges us to give them up and over, we are to put off the things that entangle us so that we can put on the power of Christ. We are to confess our sins, so that the Holy Spirit can fill us and release us to live a life of victory and of power.
Possible Rocks:
Worry (Be anxious for nothing, but in everything pray with thanksgiving, and God will give you His peace.)
Discouragement (What ever is right, whatever is noble, whatever is good and excellent, think on these things. Meditate on his works and consider all his ways.)
Lust (Confess your sins to one another.)
Covetousness/ envy / jealousy (You have not, because you ask not, you ask with wrong motives. Seek first His kingdom and all these things shall be added unto you.)
Bitterness (I was bitter until I stepped into the house of the Lord. Whom have I in heaven but thee, and besides thee I desire nothing on earth.)
Fear (Perfect love casts out fear.)
Tongue (Be slow to speak, quick to listen, and slow to get angry.)
There are many more rocks that we carry. We must remove them one at a time. And in the course of life sometimes we lay the rocks down, but the next day we take them up again. We need the daily cleansing from sin, and the constant reminder to run the race unencumbered.
The key is to live a person driven life. Is my life centered upon Jesus Christ? Am I driven to know Him, to love Him, to serve Him and to glorify only Him? Is He the first person I think of the morning and the last person I think of at night? Am I seeking first the kingdom of God? Do I love anyone or anything above Him? If not, then I am living an encumbered life that is slowing me down. I am dragging around a bag full of baggage. It’s time to unload.
2. A person driven life is a life that sticks to the course.
In the Tour de France, Lance Arnold has learned how to train well. He has lightened up his life so that he can race unencumbered. The race is extremely grueling. It isn’t over in a day, but it is day in and day out. Some days are easy. Some days are hard. Some days there are steep mountains to climb. Some days there are mountains to descend. Some days are fast and some days are slow.
But Lance Arnold has learned a couple of things. You can only win the Tour de France if you enter. You have to be in the race to win. Secondly, you don’t beat yourself up on the days you don’t finish first. It’s the full race that matters. The point isn’t about any one particular day. It is about making it to the finish line.
When we were in Mexico we climbed the rock to Rio Chico. There were times I needed help, like when I had to cross over a stream on rocks. I didn’t want to fall in, so someone needed to help me across. At times the climb was very steep. At times it was a gradual climb. Sometimes I needed to slow down and catch my breath. Other times I needed to press on. There was always the fear of slipping and falling to the bottom. But as long as I kept my eyes on the cross up ahead, I was fine.
Paul once wrote:
“Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win. All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.” (I Cor 9:24-27)
Here in Hebrews the writer encourages us to “run the race with perseverance.”
Notice that he says it is a race “marked out for us”. Your course is not the same as my course. We all have been given different tracks to run in. I am not to run your race, and you are not to run my race. God has called us to different paths.
I need to run the race God has given to me to run. You need to run the race God has given to you.
We must run with perseverance or some translations say ‘endurance’. The Greek word is “hupomone” and it means steady determination to keep going. Why run if you don’t intend to win? Why climb Rio Chico if I didn’t intend to reach the top?
Some people start out hard in the Christian Life. They are full of enthusiasm and joy. They get involved in bible studies and start witnessing to their friends and neighbors. But after 6 months or a year they back away and eventually leave the church.
Other people start out slow. They aren’t sure about this “Christianity” thing. But they keep coming faithfully. Slowly they get involved. Slowly they start to use their gifts for the kingdom. Slowly they become leaders and workers in the church. They finish strong and well.
It’s not how you start that matters. It’s how you finish. Will you finish well? Perhaps you are half-way through your life. Will the second half of your life be a life lived with Jesus as Lord, or will you continue to live for your agenda, your purpose? Maybe you are nearing the end of your life? Do you think now is the time to just coast along, or is there more that God has for you to do? Moses was 80 when he led the children out of Egypt. Noah was 500 when he started to build the ark.
God is looking for long-distance runners who endure.
A man was hitchhiking across America. He was interviewed what was the most difficult part of the journey. Was it climbing over the massive Colorado Mountains? Was it persevering through the scorching Mojave Desert? What gave you the most trouble? The hitchhiker surprising answer was this. “It wasn’t the mountains or the desert. It was the sand that would get stuck in my shoe.”
It’s not just the big things that can trip us up and cause us to want to give in. It can be the little things in life, the day to day struggles to survive.
How do you keep going? How do you make it to the finish line? How do you stick to the course marked out for you?
3. A person driven life is a life focused on Jesus Christ.
Fix your eyes on Jesus. To be fixed on an object is to stare at it. (To turn your eyes away from everything on the periphery and to gaze only at the center.)
Consider Him (This means to count on, to reckon, to meditate upon Him.)
I remember the first time I drove to California. I had never seen the Colorado Rocky Mountains. As soon as I crossed the Nebraska - Colorado border I began to see off in the horizon a faint hint of something. At first it just appeared to be a cloud. After all I was a hundred miles from the Rocky Mountain Range. But I kept my eyes straight ahead. I stared and stared at that horizon. Slowly the mountains began to grow. At first they just barely stood out above the horizon, but 10, 20, 50 miles and eventually 100 miles later they loomed above me.
Who is this Jesus we are to fix our eyes upon?
He is the author (the archegos) of our faith. He is the first, the pioneer, the chief leader and example of what it means to live by faith. Jesus persevered under constant criticism and abuse. He kept His eyes fixed upon the Father. He said I only speak what the Father wants me to say, and I only do what the Father wants me to do. When Satan tried to trip Him up and push Him off course, Jesus withstood the test. And in the Garden of Gethsemanee, when His heart was ready to break from the pressure, He said: “Not my will, but thy will be done.”
This Jesus finished His race well. While on the cross, His last words were: “It is finished.” This Jesus is the one we are to fix our eyes upon.
He is the perfector (the teleiotes) of our faith. He carries it through to completion. He who began a good work in you, Will be faithful to complete it.
He is the one we are to focus upon. He is the one we are to fix our eyes upon, and not take them off. And when we do, the promise is that we will not grow weary or lose heart.
Are you weary? Is your heart for serving the Lord waning? Are you growing tired of doing good? Then the problem may be that you have stopped gazing into the face of Jesus. You need a fresh encounter with the Living Lord.
The prize we are running toward in this race is not heaven. We have already been given heaven. God has promised life everlasting to us through His Son. The crown we seek is not the end of life on this planet. The goal is Jesus.
Jesus is the one we are running towards. He is the finish line. He is the crown awaiting us. To know Him, to love Him, to serve Him, and to glorify Him – that is our course.
So friends it is time to change. It is time to shift from purpose to person. We need to become person driven people. We need a fresh vision of Jesus Christ. We need to fall in love with Him. We need to throw aside those things which slow us down from knowing Jesus. We need to push through and persevere over those obstacles that are in place trying to keep us from Jesus. We need to take our eyes off of ourselves and off of other people, and off of our circumstances and this world and become fixed upon Jesus.
Will you ask God to help you become a person driven person? Will you ask God to help you follow hard after Jesus? Will you come to this communion table and seek the Living Lord with all your heart, mind, and strength. He waits for you here.
