The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.
00:06 I too would like to wish all of you a happy new year. Just three weeks ago, I stood here at
00:12 this pull pit and wished you happy new year then. But this time it's happy Chinese New Year. Now, last time when I
00:20 wished you a happy new year at the beginning of 2020, I also wished you that the joy of the Lord would be your
00:27 strength in this coming year because that was part of the text for the sermon that day.
00:34 Today, I chose a blessing I want to leave with you related to Chinese New Year that I think fits fairly closely
00:41 with one of the themes of Chinese New Year. From third John, we see, "Beloved,
00:46 I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health as it
00:53 goes with your soul." Now, why do I say that might fit in with Chinese New Year? Well, look at the
01:00 translation from the King James where here it says, "As it goes well with your soul." In the King James, it says, "Even
01:08 as thy soul prospereth." Now, I don't know a lot about Chinese
01:13 culture, but when you can go to McDonald's during Chinese New Year and get a prosperity burger,
01:20 which I must admit I have not tried. But seems like prosperity and prosper
01:26 prosperous are key words at the Chinese New Year time. And so, I'd like us to
01:32 think of a way that we may not normally think related to prosperous and prosperity.
01:38 Like our text here says, "May this year your soul prosper. May this year be a
01:45 time of spiritual growth. May this year be a time of walking closely and humbly
01:51 with your God. May your soul prosper in this year.
01:58 And may the words of the scripture that was just read also be a reality in our lives today.
02:04 May we put aside the the weight and the sin that so easily ens snares us and let
02:11 us run with patient endurance the race that has been set before us as we fix
02:17 our eyes firmly on Jesus. Our scripture passage today compares
02:23 living the Christian life to running a race. And a race is definitely a big
02:29 challenge. There's a lot of effort, a lot of time, a lot of preparation and
02:35 training put in to get ready for the race. And sometimes this preparation is
02:41 accompanied with pain, sore muscles, that feeling of being out of breath. But
02:48 nevertheless, we willingly train if we're wanting to enter into a race. And it's an exciting time, an exhilarating
02:55 time for those involved. The contestants as well as the spectators are looking
03:00 forward to the event. Excitement, expectation is already
03:06 beginning to build for the 2020 Olympics, especially in Tokyo.
03:12 Just a little over a week ago, the Olympic rings arrived in Tokyo Bay. And
03:19 just two days ago, there was a big celebration to celebrate the fact that the Olympics start six months from two
03:26 days ago. And even though they may not have been celebrating Chinese New Year, they had a
03:32 good part by having a firework celebration to go with that.
03:39 So, one helpful way about thinking of the Christian life is to view life with
03:44 the excitement and anticipation that we would have as if we were running a race
03:50 because we are running a race. We're running the race that God has placed
03:55 before us. Now, although our scripture passage covered scripture reading covered many
04:01 verses from both chapter 11 and 12, this morning we're going to focus primarily
04:06 on two verses. Hebrews 12:es 1 and two. And I'd like to read those once again.
04:14 Therefore, since we are al since we also have such a great cloud of witnesses
04:19 surrounding us, putting aside every weight and the sin that so easily ens
04:25 snares us, let us run with patient endurance the race that has been set
04:30 before us. fixing our eyes on Jesus, the originator and perfector of faith, who
04:38 for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, disregarding the
04:43 shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
04:50 This morning, in looking at the Christian life as a race, we're going to see could we have the
04:57 back screen on, please? this morning looking at the Christian
05:02 life as running a race. We're going to see first of all the qualification
05:08 for running in the race. Then we're going to look at the motivation for running.
05:15 Then we're going to see the preparation that we need to take before we run the race.
05:21 Then we'll look at the actual running of the race itself. and then we'll close with looking at the
05:27 inspiration for our running. So, first of all, let's look at the
05:33 qualification for running the race of faith. Now, suppose in July of this year, a
05:40 group of us decided, hey, let's go run in the Olympics and we went to Tokyo and
05:45 we showed up at the Olympic Stadium there and we said, hey, we're here to run. Well, they'd think we were crazy.
05:55 We might try to give some reasons why we think we qualify. Some of us might say, "Yeah, but I come from a long line of
06:02 athletes." I've attended athletic events. I've competed in races.
06:08 I could honestly say, "My father was a coach." We might say, "Well, I've read a
06:13 lot about athletics. I've attended lectures by leading athletes.
06:20 I should be allowed to participate in the race. But no, no, we know that would be
06:27 ridiculous. Nobody would try that. We know we don't qualify.
06:32 But yet, it seems like there are some people who want to try to live the Christian life,
06:39 but they don't because they're really not qualified because they do not yet have a relationship of personal faith
06:46 and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. Some might say, "Oh, well, I've been a
06:52 Christian all my life. I was born a Christian. My parents were Christians."
06:58 Well, even in my passport or on my governmentissued ID, it identifies me as
07:03 being a Christian. I'm not a Buddhist, not a Hindu, not a Muslim, don't belong to some other
07:09 religion. I must be a Christian. Others might say, "Well, I attend
07:14 church. I've been to the Alpha course. I go to a life group. Well, that's all
07:21 fine and good, but that's not what makes a person a follower of Jesus.
07:27 Some might say, "Well, I read the Bible. I attend various courses. I've
07:34 participated in some Christian rituals, being baptized as a baby, participated
07:39 in communion or the Lord's supper. And while a lot of what I said is good and
07:45 helpful, essential for our growth, that's not what qualifies us or enters us in to the
07:53 race of faith. What is the qualification?
07:59 How do we qualify to run the race of faith?
08:04 I'll give two answers. And the first answer, how do I qualify?
08:09 I don't and you don't. None of us can qualify on
08:15 our own good deeds, our own actions. None of us can enter into God's presence
08:22 based on who we are, what we've done, what our heritage is.
08:29 The first 10 chapters of the book of Hebrews which we of course did not read today but these chapters in point out
08:36 again and again and again the essential role of Jesus. Jesus is the visible
08:43 expression of God. He is the ultimate revelation of God. He is the only
08:50 sacrifice for sin that paid the penalty for our sin once for all. Jesus is the
08:58 ultimate high priest. He's the only one that can bring us into the presence of God the father. And we see Jesus is the
09:06 one who intercedes for us and pleads for us before the throne of God. So it's
09:12 because of Jesus his death for our disobedience and rebellion against God and his
09:19 resurrection can we enter into the life of faith.
09:25 trusting God for our future and for the overall direction of our life. So, how
09:31 do we qualify for running the race? First of all, we don't. It's Jesus that
09:38 qualifies us. But a second answer, as we realize it's
09:43 only Jesus that qualifies us, we need to remember that God does not force anybody
09:51 into a life of faith. Nobody will be forced against their will to respond in
09:57 faith and repentance to the Lord, asking him to take control of their lives. We
10:02 need to each personally respond to God in repentance and faith, giving him our
10:09 life in faith and trust. So this qualification for running the
10:14 race of faith is not mentioned specifically in chapter 12 verse 1 and two but it was alluded to at the
10:21 beginning of chapter 11 as we heard that read. Going back to that we see how
10:26 faith is emphasized again and again in chapter 11. Faith makes us sure of what
10:33 we hope for. Gives us proof of what we cannot see. It was the faith that the
10:39 men of old, our forefathers had that was pleasing to God. And
10:45 because of our faith, we know, and then the text continues and continues to talk again and again about faith. So this
10:53 long list of faithful people, which we just read a part of, all the people in
10:59 this list have one thing in common. They had responded to God in faith. And their
11:06 faith was more than just head knowledge, more than just knowing facts.
11:13 Their faith moved them to action. Their faith affected their entire being.
11:19 Their faith caused their lives to be oriented around God, his will, his
11:25 purposes. So the first readers of Hebrews, the original audience that received this
11:31 letter, they had heard the good news of the gospel about Jesus. They knew that
11:36 Christ had died for their sins according to the scripture, that he had been buried. They knew that Jesus had been
11:43 raised on the third day according to scripture, and that he appeared to many witnesses.
11:50 So they responded to this good news in repentance and faith.
11:55 When they heard the news of what Jesus had done and when God's Holy Spirit was
12:00 working in their life, then they allowed God to change them on the inside.
12:08 And with the changes on the inside, then gradually changes on the outside become
12:14 evident. And that's what repentance is. We ask God to and we allow God to change
12:21 our thinking, to change our heart. And then when he changes us on the inside,
12:27 there will be evidence in our daily life. And the readers that first got the
12:32 book of Hebrews, they were trusting God with their lives. They were allowing him
12:38 to lead them. And as they pressed on in life, confident of the eternal future
12:44 that God had prepared for him, they were running the race of faith, following God
12:50 and trust. So we too respond to God in faith. A
12:56 faith that will move us to action. A faith that will give us strength and courage to endure difficulties that we
13:03 may face as we go along the way. So that's the qualification.
13:09 The qualification for the race is what Jesus has done and then the response of
13:15 faith that we make to what Jesus has done. And then once you respond to Jesus
13:21 in faith, you are automatically entered into the race. There are no bystanders
13:27 among the people of God. The race of faith is not just for a super spiritual
13:33 team because nothing such as that exists.
13:38 The race of faith is not just for elders or pastors or missionaries or lifeg group leaders or other church leaders.
13:46 All believers are part of the race of faith. Whether
13:51 you know it or not, you've already been put on the racetrack and you are now involved in the race of faith. So since
13:60 that's the case, since we as believers are involved in this race, running the race, let's do as Paul exhorted us in
14:08 first Corinthians 9. Run so that you may obtain the prize.
14:14 And the good news is unlike the Olympics, we can all receive the prize.
14:22 The race of faith is not a competition like other races where only one person wins.
14:29 All of us who run, we can win. And what is the prize?
14:35 The crown of life. Life abundant and fellowship with God here on earth. Life
14:42 eternal with God forever in heaven. The crown of life that can give us hope
14:49 that can keep our eyes focused on the finish line as we run this race of
14:54 faith. So realizing that all of us who have
15:00 placed our faith in Christ are in this race. Now let's look at what the text
15:06 says about the motivation for running. Chapter 12:1 we see the motivation.
15:14 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also
15:20 lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely to us. and let us run
15:26 with endurance the race that is set before us. The very beginning part that I've
15:33 highlighted therefore since we are surrounded by so great cloud of
15:38 witnesses that's our motivation. Therefore refers back to what has just
15:44 been read in chapter 11. The great cloud of witnesses also refers back to the
15:50 great host of witnesses that we see in chapter 11. Many of the people in chapter 11 are
15:58 mentioned by name. Others are mentioned anonymously. But all of them are there to encourage
16:04 us, to show us by their example that the race of faith can be successfully
16:11 completed. We can win the prize. We can receive the crown of life. So these
16:18 faithful witnesses that we read about in chapter 11 can motivate us to run the
16:24 race of faith with patient endurance. And we'll notice that all of the
16:30 witnesses 11:39 they were all commended
16:35 for their faith. Now the faith of those mentioned in chapter 11 is more than just head
16:42 knowledge. These men had such a strong assurance, such a strong inner
16:48 conviction that what God had said was true that that moved them to obedience. It moved
16:56 them to action. I'll give a few examples including some that we did not read but
17:02 that are in chapter 11. Enoch is mentioned. He obeyed God. He walked with God. He
17:11 lived a life that was pleasing to God in close fellowship with God. And the scripture says he didn't die in earthly
17:19 death. He was taken up. No big spectacular act of faith like we
17:25 might see later. Just a daily simple walk with God,
17:32 obedient life, a life of faith. Abel is also mentioned. He too just did
17:40 a simple act of obedience. God said, "Bring a sacrifice." Abel
17:46 brought a sacrifice. But that simple act of obedience ended up costing him his life because his
17:53 brother who did not offer an acceptable sacrifice ended up killing him.
17:59 But nevertheless, a simple act of obedience and Abel is listed as a man of
18:05 faith. Daniel was mentioned in our text. Again, a simple act of obedience of just
18:12 praying to God, praying regularly, but yet that ended up getting him thrown
18:19 into a den of lions. Why would praying throw you into a den of lions? Well, because the government
18:27 said, "You cannot do that." And Daniel listened to God rather than to the
18:32 government and did what he knew God wanted him to do. He was thrown into the den of lions, but
18:39 God delivered him. So, some acts of faith might be
18:44 considered to be just simple acts of obedience, walking with God, bringing a
18:49 sacrifice, praying. Other acts, at least from a human viewpoint, we would see
18:55 them as more daring or requiring more courage. For example, Gideon,
19:02 remember the story of Gideon? He faced an army of thousands of men
19:07 with only 300. Moses, he was asked by God to go to the
19:14 most powerful person in the world at that time, the Pharaoh in Egypt, and
19:20 tell him to let the Hebrew slaves go free, knowing that if his labor pool was
19:28 depleted, the economy of Egypt would be greatly damaged.
19:33 and little Moses going to the most powerful man in the world telling him to do something that he knows might ruin
19:39 the economy of the country. That takes some faith.
19:44 So when we look at these men and also women of God that are listed in Hebrews
19:49 11, we see faith led to action. Sometimes just simple acts of obedience.
19:57 sometimes things that we might consider to be great steps of faith that involved a lot of courage going up against
20:03 insurmountable odds. But yet faith in God brought the victory
20:09 or should I say God brought the victory when the people trusted him, followed
20:16 him in faith. In the lives of the people in chapter 11 of Hebrews, we see also that faith was
20:24 expressed in a confident trust in God even through extremely difficult
20:31 circumstances where the future was very uncertain or
20:36 where there might not have been a foreseeable future. But faith, we'll see
20:41 enabled them to faithfully endure, to persevere, and to be true even in the
20:47 face of persecution and death. In just a moment, I'll put up some
20:53 verses on the screen. And I want us to note two things about the verses I'll put up.
20:59 one. Notice that all of the verses I'll put up speak about people who lived
21:05 lives of faith, people who were true to God. But we'll also note there is a big
21:12 contrast in the outcome of their obedience.
21:19 Look at verses 33 and 34. Encouraging, inspiring words. Men of
21:25 faith who through faith conquered kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions,
21:31 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out
21:38 of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.
21:46 Yes, all of these were people of faith, and we see mighty victories, tremendous
21:51 success. But now notice the contrast coming up.
21:57 But remember that the people you're going to look at next are also people of
22:02 faith. Verse 36 and 7. Others suffered mocking and flogging
22:10 and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned.
22:16 They were sawn in. Possibly a reference to Isaiah.
22:22 It's not in the Bible, but an extra biblical material. There's the account of Isaiah the prophet being sawn
22:31 at the order of King Manasseh. So they were stoned, they were sawn,
22:38 they were killed with the sword. Now notice in both sets of verses 33 and
22:45 4 and also 36 and 7, all of the people are people of faith.
22:51 All of these people followed God. Yet the result was different.
22:58 Notice the text does not say that everybody who has faith will
23:05 conquer armies and win mighty victories. And it also does not say
23:13 that people with no faith or little faith they are the ones who are going to face problems and trials and
23:20 difficulties and suffering in life. It does not say that those mentioned in 36
23:26 and 37 could have escaped all of these problems if only they had had enough
23:31 faith. Have you heard that line before? If only
23:36 you have enough faith, then these verses alone should put to death
23:44 the prosperity gospel, which is no gospel at all.
23:50 The prosperity gospel saying that if you have enough faith, you can get
23:56 everything you want. All the wishes of Chinese New Year come
24:02 true. prosperity, success, wealth, happiness.
24:07 And it's not only if you have enough faith. It's usually and also if you give
24:13 enough money to the one who is proclaiming this false gospel.
24:18 But our texts should put to death the prosperity gospel because notice again
24:24 in these verses in verse 34, people of faith escaped the edge of the
24:29 sword. Verse 37, people of faith were killed with the sword.
24:36 What's the difference? It's not their lack of faith or their extreme faith.
24:42 They were both filled with great faith. I'll give some examples of what the
24:48 author of Hebrews might be talking about. In the book of First Kings, we see the prophet Elijah escaped the edge
24:55 of the sword. He was delivered from the fury of the wicked queen Jezebel who was
25:01 killing the prophets of the Lord. But yet, even though Isaiah, even though Elijah escaped the sword, we see that
25:10 many other true faithful prophets of the Lord were killed by the sword during
25:16 that very same time frame. In the book of Jeremiah, we see that Jeremiah escaped the edge of the sword.
25:25 But a contemporary prophet of his, a true prophet of God named Uriah was
25:31 killed by an evil king, even though he was true and faithful to the Lord. And
25:37 even though Isaiah escaped the sword in the book of I'm sorry, even though Jeremiah escaped the sword in the book
25:46 of Jeremiah, extra biblical material tells us that after the fall of Jerusalem, Jeremiah was probably carried
25:54 as a captive into exile in Egypt. And the tradition goes is there he was
26:01 stoned to death. So the same prophet of God with faith
26:06 once escapes the edge of the sword then ends up being stoned.
26:13 So these passages in Hebrew they point out that we can follow God in faith. We
26:20 can take great steps for God and sometimes God will lead us to a victory
26:26 over armies. Other times we can be true to God and follow God faithfully
26:34 and because we're following him and because others around us are evil, we'll
26:39 end up suffering the same death that some of the martyrs and prophets have
26:45 that have gone before us. But we see that faith in all the situations
26:51 brought the people to obedient action. It produced a faithfulness that resulted
26:57 in a confident trust in God, even against insurmountable odds, even
27:04 in terrible circumstances, even to the point of being faithful in
27:09 persecution and unto death. So all of the faithful witnesses in chapter 11
27:16 successfully ran the race of faith and they were commended for their faith.
27:23 As verse 39 says, these were all commended for their faith.
27:30 It's remarkable to me that all of these people in chapter 11
27:35 had such great faith in God even though the scripture says they did not live to
27:43 see the promises that God had made.
27:48 Now, some of them had experienced or heard promises from God. Abraham is
27:53 mentioned in chapter 11. God promised him he would have many descendants. He would become a great nation and that
28:00 through one of his descendants, blessing would come to all peoples of the earth.
28:06 Abraham believed God. And God counted that as righteousness.
28:11 But yet at the time of Abram's death, he still had very few descendants,
28:17 just a little bit of land. And the one through whom blessing would come to all people had not yet arrived.
28:25 But yet Abram remained faithful to God even though he had not yet received what
28:30 had been promised. Another example given is David. David
28:36 was promised by God that he would have an eternal kingdom. That there would be one that would come that would reign on
28:42 his throne forever. But yet that one who would reign forever
28:47 had not yet come. Yet David remained faithful to God even
28:52 though he had not yet received the fulfillment of the promise. Now of course we know the one that was
28:59 promised to Abraham to blink to bring blessing to all people and the one who will reign on the throne of David
29:05 forever. That's Jesus. Verse 39 text where it talks about what
29:11 had been promised. It'd really be better to say who had been promised. Because
29:16 what had been promised was the coming of the Messiah, the promised one, the
29:22 savior, Jesus, who would save his people from their sin. So it's remarkable
29:29 remarkable to me that these heroes of faith in the Old Testament that are
29:34 illustrated in Hebrews chap 11 that they all lived lives of great faith even
29:41 before God fulfilled his promise to send the savior.
29:46 So with that example, with that motivation, how much more can we today live a life
29:53 of faith? Because we have seen the fulfillment of this promise, the coming
29:59 of Jesus. We have experienced the reality of Jesus and his work in our
30:04 lives. The Old Testament people remained faithful. Yet there's so much more we
30:13 have. We have many more advantages. Not only has Jesus come, we have the entire
30:19 Old Testament which Abraham didn't have. We have the entire New Testament which
30:26 none of the people had. We also have God's Holy Spirit working within our
30:32 life to help us remain faithful to give us strength and encouragement.
30:38 So if the witnesses in the Old Testament can remain faithful to the Lord, that
30:45 will surely be a strong motivation for us. They're a motivation for us because they
30:53 testify to God's faithfulness and they witness to the fact that it is possible
30:59 to remain true to God, follow him in faith. The great cloud of witnesses that we see
31:06 in chapter 12:1 could be seen as a great crowd in the
31:11 stadium. We're running a race in the stadium and these are the people in the
31:17 stands cheering us on, giving us encouraging, giving us the motivation we need, but they're not ordinary
31:24 spectators that you would find at many games because these are all past
31:30 participants. They know what it's like to live a life of faith. And now through
31:36 their lives, they're encouraging us. Yes, you can do it. Yes, you can live a life of faith. Yes, you can stay true to
31:44 the Lord. And there are even more witnesses that are not even listed in chapter 11 of
31:51 Hebrews, more from the Old Testament, many from the New Testament, such as
31:56 Peter, Paul, James, John, Barnabas,
32:01 Timothy, still more witnesses throughout the history of the church,
32:07 even witnesses in our lifetime, witnesses from the 20th century and now the 21st century. And I'm sure many of
32:15 you can probably think of some people, faithful witnesses to God, who have had
32:21 a very important impact on your life. People who have motivated you,
32:28 encouraged you in your Christian race of faith.
32:33 And one day when we have completed our race,
32:39 we too will become a part of that great cloud of witnesses.
32:46 Steve Green has written and recorded a very thoughtprovoking song
32:52 about verse one from Hebrews 12 and about the fact that not only are we running the race surrounded by the great
32:60 cloud of witnesses, but one day we're going to be part of those witnesses.
33:06 What kind of a witness? What kind of an impact will we have? The
33:12 song goes like this. I won't sing it. I'll just read the text. We're pilgrims on the journey of the
33:18 narrow road. And those who've gone before us line the way, cheering on the
33:25 faithful, encouraging the weary. Their lives a stirring testament to God's
33:32 sustaining grace. The first part talking about the others who are encouraging us. But then when we
33:38 get to the chorus, he's going to change and remind us that one day we will be in
33:45 those witnesses. Here's the prayer. Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
33:54 May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave
33:60 lead them to believe and the lies we live inspire them to obey.
34:06 Oh, may all who come behind us find us faithful.
34:12 The next verse continues with the cloud of witnesses that surround us, surrounded by so great a cloud of
34:18 witnesses. Let us run the race not only for the prize, but as those who've gone
34:26 before us, let us leave to those behind us the heritage of faithfulness passed
34:32 on through godly lives. The third verse I won't read but it
34:38 talks about the impact that we will have on our children
34:44 and then concludes again with the chorus. This prayer may all who come behind us
34:50 find us faithful. May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the
34:56 footprints that we leave lead them to believe and the lies we live inspire
35:01 them to obey. Oh, may all who come behind us find us
35:07 faithful. Very thoughtprovoking
35:12 as we realize not only are we surrounded by others
35:18 whose lives and examples have impacted us, but we too have a role in that great
35:26 cloud of witnesses as we will impact others.
35:33 So far we've seen from our text, so far we've seen that in running the race of
35:38 faith, what qualifies us for the race is what Jesus has done. So we respond in
35:44 faith and repentance to him. And we've looked at the motivation for the race,
35:50 which is the lives of the faithful witnesses, that great cloud of witnesses
35:55 who are now cheering us on through their example, through their life of faith.
36:01 So now let's look at the preparation for running the race.
36:07 All athletes must prepare. They must train. Just recently, our son-in-law ran
36:14 a marathon in Chicago. He participated in the Chicago Marathon.
36:20 He trained for months. He worked so hard I thought he was going to kill himself.
36:25 Not really, but he was really putting in the time and the energy, the effort,
36:31 just day after day, hour after hour, putting in so much training to get ready
36:38 for that race. But all that hard work paid off. He completed the marathon and
36:45 it didn't kill him. In the race of faith, there are some
36:50 things that we can do to help us successfully run. Just like if we were
36:56 going to run a marathon, we would watch our diet. We would get exercise. We get
37:02 needed rest. Well, there are things spiritually to do to prepare. And we
37:08 find that also in verse one of chapter 12. We're told to throw off everything
37:14 that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us so that we can run with
37:21 perseverance the race that's marked out for us.
37:27 Tells us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.
37:33 This is not just a suggestion. You know, here's one thing you might want to
37:38 consider. you know, get rid of this and that. That's not the way he is saying
37:43 this. It's really more of a command. This is essential. We need to do it. Get
37:49 rid of the hindernesses. Get rid of the sin. Get rid of the weights that are
37:55 slowing us down. What are some of these weights that are slowing us down? Well, I begin with the
38:03 one that's listed specifically where it says the sin that so easily entangles
38:09 us. Yes, it's true that if we're running in the race, we have repented of our sin.
38:16 We've accepted Christ as our Lord. But the reality is that was just the
38:22 beginning and we still sin. Yes, we've seen changes for the good in our life,
38:30 but we will never live without sin until we're with God in heaven. Repentance is
38:35 not just one thing that happens one time at the beginning of our race of faith. Repentance is a daily thing as we
38:42 continue running the race of faith. So look at your life.
38:49 What sins might be slowing you down? What sins might be hindering you from
38:57 leading a life, a faith that will have a positive impact on those around you and
39:02 on your family. Some of us might be filled with jealousy
39:08 and envy. Jealous of somebody else's success, their fame, their money, their
39:14 lifestyle, their good looks, their house, their car.
39:19 Some of us might be under the control sometimes of just an uncontrollable
39:25 anger or a hot temper or we're filled with a desire for
39:30 revenge. We harbor bitterness in our heart,
39:36 ill feelings, even hatred. Some of us express that by incessant
39:44 gossiping or talking badly about others, slandering others, saying hateful or
39:50 hurtful things either about others or directly to their face. Some of us
39:56 struggle with dishonesty, deceit. Some of us struggle with lust.
40:02 Some of us struggle with greed. Almost everybody I know, maybe everybody
40:09 struggles with pride and committed Christians sometimes
40:14 struggle especially with a spiritual pride. So these and other sins entangle us.
40:20 They trip us up. They cause us to stumble. So we're advised, we're told,
40:26 throw them off. Get rid of them. Repent. Turn away from them. turn again to
40:32 focusing on Jesus and walking in a close relationship with him.
40:38 Other sins that might hinder us would include a lack of faith, a lack of
40:43 trust, unbelief. That did seem to be a problem for the original readers of the book of Hebrews.
40:51 Other sins would include not doing the good things that we know God wants us to
40:56 do. Disobeying God, not doing things he has specifically instructed us to do,
41:05 saying, "God, I want to do my will, not listen to your will." So, we're told to
41:11 throw off everything that hinders us. Yes, get rid of the sin.
41:16 But there are also other things that hinder us in faith in the life of faith
41:22 that we may not look at as sin. For example, one thing that hinders many of us is a fear.
41:31 Fear to trust, fear to obey,
41:36 fear to give in support of God's work, a fear to witness of our faith to others,
41:42 a fear to face God's direction, a fear to step out in faith, the step that God
41:49 is showing us. Another thing that can hinder us would be a lack of spiritual disciplines, a
41:56 lack of prayer, lack of Bible study, lack of Christian fellowship. All of these can hinder us in our life of
42:02 faith. So do something about it, our author is telling us. What else might
42:08 hinder us in running the race of faith? Well, there's some things that aren't
42:14 sin, but they can end up being a hinderness. Do you remember the parable of Jesus?
42:20 The parable of the sewer or the parable of the soils talked about a sewer who is
42:26 throwing seed out and it lands on four types of soil. And the third type of
42:32 soil was the soil that was filled with thorns. And it said when the seed fell
42:38 on that soil, then the seed sprang up, but the thorns
42:46 choked it out. What are some of those thorns? Well, let's look at the words of Jesus.
42:53 Jesus said, "Those thorns are the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of
42:59 riches, the desires for other things."
43:05 So here it appears that things that are not sin can sometimes choke out the word
43:13 of God. There are a lot of good things in life that if we're not careful,
43:20 they can become worries of life or they can become gods in our life. We get so
43:27 caught up in just living and surviving, making an making an honest living. We're
43:33 so concerned about getting a good education, getting a good job, so concerned about normal everyday
43:39 activities that sometimes we lose our focus and we forget to focus on God. Oh
43:48 yes, Sunday morning we remember. Maybe if we go to a life group, we remember then, but on a daily basis throughout
43:56 the day, often times we get so preoccupied with other things.
44:03 So again, our scripture is telling us to do something about this. Get rid of
44:08 things that hinder. Bring things back into proper perspective. Get priorities
44:14 straight. Throw off everything that might hinder us, including, of course, the sin that
44:21 so easily entangles us. Another translation says, "Throw off
44:27 every weight, every weight that would slow us down."
44:32 Can you imagine running a marathon being 20 kilos overweight?
44:40 Even 10 kilos overweight. Can you imagine running a marathon and
44:45 carrying a heavy suitcase weighing about 25 or 30 kilos? Ridiculous.
44:52 Nobody would do that. But yet we think in the Christian life sometimes
44:59 we can run through successfully with all of these weights. No, we can't get rid of the things that
45:07 are hindering us. Lay aside every weight that will slow us down.
45:14 So we prepare for the race by setting aside hindrances and sin. And the fourth
45:21 thing we want to look at is the actual running of the race itself.
45:26 Let's go back to chapter 12 verse one where it says, "Let us run with
45:32 perseverance the race that is marked out for us."
45:37 Says, "Let us run." How do we run? We run with perseverance,
45:42 with faith, with faithful endurance. And we run the race that has been set
45:48 before us. the plan, the path that God gives to us. So when he says let us run
45:55 the race just talking about let us live the Christian life as we walk with God
46:01 as we pray as we study his word as we want to live in close fellowship and harmony with him as we live by faith a
46:09 faith that brings action a faith that brings obedience and perseverance.
46:14 And we are to run with this perseverance with the faithful endurance.
46:20 The Christian life is not a sprint. It's not like a 100meter dash.
46:26 It's more like a marathon and really even longer than a marathon. It's days
46:31 and weeks and months and years. At least I hope your Christian life is
46:37 not just a sprint. I hope we all have time left.
46:42 So when we approach the Christian life, we need to realize it's not just the sprint because some people they approach
46:50 the Christian life to begin with and they do well for the first 100 meters or
46:56 so for this short period. They have spiritual disciplines. They read the Bible. They pray. They're able to
47:02 abstain from some sins at least most of the time. They'll serve faithfully God
47:08 for a while for a few months. They might share the gospel with one or two people,
47:14 but then when they get some kickback, they stop. They might even be willing to
47:19 put up with a little bit of minor persecution for a while, but then
47:24 there's a tendency to get tired, to get weary, to want to stop, to want to give
47:31 up, to quit the race. And that's the exact problem that the
47:36 original audience that received the book of Hebrews was facing.
47:41 Some of them were wanting to give up. Yes, it's true. They had come to faith
47:47 and they had been faithful for a period of time in following Christ. They had already endured difficulties, including
47:55 persecution, but they had stayed firm in their faith
47:60 for a period of time already. But now, as we read this book of Hebrews, we see that they're beginning
48:07 to grow weary, beginning to become faint. And some were considering turning
48:12 away from God, turning their back on the faith. And so, we're reminded,
48:19 if you turn away from God, there is no other way to life eternal, no other way
48:27 to abundant life in fellowship with God now. And so we are encouraged, they were
48:34 encouraged, we're encouraged to not give up, to persevere, to run with faithfulness
48:40 just like all of those who have gone before us. And in just a moment, we'll see an even greater example as we're
48:47 encouraged and inspired by the example of Jesus. So, as we run the race of faith, we know
48:54 we will come upon obstacles. There are going to be difficulties. They're going
48:60 to be problems, sometimes even suffering because of our faith. But our text
49:06 encourages us to look at these sufferings and difficulties in a
49:11 positive light. Because persecution, problems, troubles can serve a valuable
49:18 purpose. The purpose of discipline. And here I think discipline is used
49:25 primarily in a positive sense. discipline,
49:30 for guiding, for training, for instruction, to help us learn, to help
49:36 us grow, to help us mature. The author reminds us in verse five of a word of
49:43 encouragement from the book of Proverbs where the author of Proverbs is saying, "Do not
49:49 make light of the Lord's discipline. Do not lose heart."
49:55 These are words of encouragement talking about the Lord's discipline.
50:01 Why? Because the Lord disciplines the one he loves.
50:07 And he continues to encourage us. Endure hardships as discipline because God is
50:12 treating you as his children. We all encounter difficulties for a wide
50:18 variety of reasons. But God can use these difficulties in our lives. He can
50:24 use these difficulties to help us grow, to learn more about him, and to
50:30 experience his love and his great faithfulness in ways we have not yet
50:35 experienced. Godly discipline can give us a more godly perspective on life. It can help
50:43 us to live a more victorious life as a Christian. We can be assured of God's love and we
50:50 can be assured that he has a plan for us when we experience his discipline, his
50:55 training, his guidance, his correction. So part of the race that is set before
51:03 us is being conformed to the image of God's
51:08 son. The race that is set before us, while that might differ and it will
51:14 differ from person to person in some areas, it's going to be the same in many
51:19 areas. And one purpose of discipline and one thing that is in the path of all of
51:25 us, the race marked out for all of us, is our events that will help us to then
51:31 become conformed to the image of God's son. The race marked out for us also includes
51:38 the fact that we are God's workmanship. As it says in Ephesians 2, we're created
51:44 in Christ Jesus to do the good works that he has prepared in advance for us
51:49 to do. What are these good works? Well, the Bible mentions many. What
51:55 specifically for you? You need to talk to God and find out because we are to
52:01 live for the praise and the glory of God. Hebrews 12:11 says that when we run
52:11 faithfully the the race marked for us and when we are guided by God's
52:17 discipline, then we will experience the peaceful fruit of righteousness. So
52:23 let's run with perseverance the race marked out for us. And even though it's not explicitly
52:30 stated, I would be amiss if I did not mention when we run, we need to run
52:37 confident in faith that God's Holy Spirit is there
52:42 to give us strength and endurance. There's a song sung by Hill Song titled
52:49 I will run to you that includes this text. Not by might, not by power, but by the
52:57 spirit of God. Yes, I will run the race till I see your face.
53:05 Now, this text is not original with hillsong. Not by might, not by power,
53:10 but by my spirit, says the Lord is from the prophet Zechariah
53:16 4:6. So when we're running the race, we can be assured when we're running in faith,
53:23 God's spirit is there. The last and really the most important
53:30 thing I want to mention is the inspiration for running and we'll find
53:36 that again in chapter 12 verse two. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer
53:42 and perfector of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured
53:48 the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of
53:54 God. When it says we fix our eyes on Jesus, this is not just an occasional glance.
54:00 It's not look there on Sunday morning and look elsewhere the rest of the week. And the word in the Greek looking at
54:09 fixing our eyes on implies that first of all we turn our view away in order that
54:17 we can fix our eyes on Jesus. A runner is not going to run the race looking all
54:23 around him or looking behind him. He's going to keep his eye on the goal going
54:29 straight ahead. So we fix our eyes on Jesus who the text says is the pioneer
54:34 and perfector of our faith or other translation the author and finisher of
54:39 our faith. In other words, faith begins and ends with Jesus. Everything in the
54:45 race of faith from the starting line to the finish line centers around Jesus.
54:51 Jesus is the pioneer, the trailblazer. Earlier we sang all the way my savior
54:58 leads me. He shows us the path to go because he himself has run the race. So
55:06 he can not only encourage us, he will also enable us. He will give us the
55:12 power as he shows us the way. Jesus is also the perfector of faith. His race
55:18 ended in triumphant completion. Jesus helped the saints of old. Jesus
55:24 enables us today. He will bring our race to completion, to triumphant completion.
55:32 And look at the next sentence. It's a strange combination of words, I think,
55:37 to put the word joy and cross in the same sentence.
55:44 How can joy and cross go together?
55:49 For the joy that was set before him, Jesus endured the cross,
55:56 scorning at shame. Well, it doesn't mean that it was fun to
56:02 go to the cross. There was tremendous pain. Physical pain was terrible. There
56:09 was also the shame. Only the lowest of criminals were crucified
56:15 and crucified naked. And Jesus did not enjoy that moment of
56:21 separation from God as he cried out, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" as the
56:26 sin of the world was placed upon him. But he was willing to endure that
56:32 because he saw the joy that awaited him, the joy of bringing
56:39 forgiveness and salvation for all people. the joy of being true to God,
56:45 completing the mission. We were speaking with a family from
56:51 another religious background over a period of several weeks, sharing stories from the Bible. And when we got to the
56:58 story about the crucifixion of Jesus, the lady from another religious background made the observation,
57:05 you know, Jesus could have come down off that cross and saved himself.
57:10 After all, he had raised a man from the dead. that would have been no problem. But he stayed on the cross because he
57:18 wanted to complete the mission that God had given him.
57:24 That brought him joy bring being faithful to complete the mission. Being
57:29 faithful to God knowing that his mission would then bring reconciliation of
57:34 millions and millions of people to God. And also the joy knowing that then he
57:41 would be seated at the right hand of God. There seated shows that he is
57:49 accomplished triumphantly what he wanted to do, what he intended to do, the reason he came to earth. And at the
57:56 right hand of God shows his power, his authority. And in that position and
58:01 power and authority, now he's interceding for us. So, not only is
58:07 Jesus inspiring us, he is enabling us, he's showing us the way to run the race
58:13 of faith. So, today looking at the race of faith, we've seen the qualification.
58:21 All of us who have responded to what Jesus has done in faith, we're in the race. We can be motivated by the lives
58:27 of others who have been true. We can get more prepared to run
58:32 successfully the race by laying aside things that hinder. And so run the race with patient
58:39 endurance, being inspired and enabled and empowered
58:44 by Jesus. The Christian race, the Christian life is really an amazing race. Yes, we've
58:54 just recently spoken about problems we face. We saw the problems some of the saints face. see the problems Jesus
58:59 faced. But it's also tremendous adventure. It's a wonderful experience.
59:05 It's an amazing race. Do you remember the television show a few years ago, The Amazing Race? There was even The Amazing
59:13 Race Asia, five seasons. The most recent one was aired the end of 2016, so just a
59:20 little over three years ago. Each year there were contestants from Malaysia.
59:25 The very first year, Malaysians won. the very last year and the Malaysians came in second. Each year they did a good
59:32 job. But in advertising for participants to participate in this race about three and
59:39 a half years ago, there were auditions or interviews at the Sunway Pyramid here in Sububong.
59:45 And some of their advertisement was like this. We're seeking people that have an
59:50 attitude that is smart, tenacious, determined, strong.
59:57 We're going to offer the world's most thrilling adventure where drama,
60:02 surprise, intensity all come together in a highly dramatic edge of your seat
60:07 experience. This is a once-ina-lifetime experience.
60:14 But then they also said you will be competing in a series of challenges,
60:19 physical challenges, mental challenges, emotional challenges. But if you win, there's a $100,000 US,
60:28 $400,000 ringit split two ways. There are always two in a team. So 200,000 ringit, not bad pocket change.
60:37 People from many countries trained and trained and trained to enter this amazing race. The obstacles were no
60:44 hindrance. That just motivated them to even try harder.
60:50 The amazing race of running with God, running in faith, offers so much bigger
60:57 a reward than just a couple hundred thousand ringots per person.
61:03 The amazing race running with God offers us the crown of life.
61:10 May it be said of each one of us when we come to the end of our life, the end of our race, what the apostle Paul said
61:18 when he said at the end of his race, I have fought the fa fight. I have
61:23 finished the race. I have kept the faith and henceforth there is laid up for me
61:30 the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to
61:35 me on that day. and not only to me but also to all who have loved his
61:41 appearing. Let's pray together.
61:47 Almighty God, as we come before you, we want to give you thanks and give you
61:53 praise. We acknowledge that only through Jesus
61:59 can we receive forgiveness, reconciliation with you. We thank you that you have made it
62:04 possible for us to come into your presence when we respond to you in repentance and faith. And Father, I pray
62:10 if there's anyone here this morning who has never given their lives to you in faith that today they would do that. And
62:17 Father, for all of us who have responded in faith as we're living our Christian life, running this race of faith, I pray
62:24 that you will continue to motivate us by the examples of others. pray that you
62:29 would help us to see areas of our life that could be improved, that could be changed, that would help prepare us to
62:35 better run the race. I pray that you will give us the faith, the strength, the power of your spirit as we run
62:42 patiently, enduring with a positive view, the discipline, the difficulties
62:47 that come, knowing that these will make us more like you. And father, I pray that you'll help us to keep our eyes
62:54 fixed firmly on Jesus as we want to follow Jesus day after day after day. In
63:01 the name of Christ, I pray. Amen.
