Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction:

Good morning once again.

I'm so glad to get to open the Word of God with you.

Go ahead and turn to Hebrews chapter 12.

Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt.

As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy.

Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life.

It seemed an almost impossible mountain to climb – to raise this son who could not walk, could not talk, could not eat on his own.

Discouragement set in.

Their hopes were dashed.

The life they had planned was suddenly changed forever.

The race they were running seemed impossible to finish.

I am sure you have had moments like this in your life as well.

Moments where it all seemed too much.

Too much effort, too many challenges, too little energy.

Some of you have dragged in here today and you’re just absolutely exhausted.

You’ve come in from a week in the world and you feel like you’re banged up, your ear is hanging off, you’ve got a broken arm, and you feel like you have completely failed as a believer.

There’s good news today for you.

The author of Hebrews spends chapter 11 running through a list of faithful people from the Old Testament and then here in chapter 12 he goes on to use that to encourage the believers to run the race of faith without ceasing.

Read Hebrews 12:1-11

I.

The Race Set Before Us (V 1-2)

Who do we look to to figure out how to live faithful lives in this world of temptation and trial?

- Because of the vast history of men and women who have been sustained in their faith by God and have remained faithful through various trials and sufferings,

A. Cloud of Witnesses to the Race

Because we have the example of those in the hall of faith - a great cloud of witnesses

Because we have seen their example of faith and trusting God and acting like they take Him at His Word

Cloud of witnesses like spectators in an athletic arena watching or witnessing...

B. Let Us Run Unhindered

The seated high priest means the work is done.

Sin has been atoned for.

What was the race set before them?

(Context)

What is the race set before us?

The Christian life

- Lay aside anything that holds us back.

(Biggest Loser illustration)

- What are the things that are hindering you?

- There may be nothing wrong with them but they may be hindering you.

-

- and the sin with clings so closely…

- Be serious about putting sin to death in us.

- As C. S. Lewis put it in his sermon, “The Weight of Glory,” “…if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak.

We are half hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea.

We are far too easily pleased.”

We play around too much.

We go where everyone else goes and we get involved in what they get involved with and then we look up and notice that our lives are starting to look like the world.

That could be a sign that you never truly knew Jesus in the first place.

It could be that you just haven’t been taking your growth seriously.

It’s too late in the game for us to be playing around.

This is war.

Some of you would say, well Jesus hung out with sinners all of the time.

I’m not suggesting that you aren’t around sinners.

We should be around people who don’t know Jesus for the reason of helping them know Jesus and loving on them in that way.

But some say that about Jesus and who He spent time with and I want to suggest that you’re a little confused about who you are in that story.

You’re not Jesus.

You’re the sinner deserving of hell who He came to earth to dwell among and give His perfect life for on the cross.

We can’t play around with sin.

John Owen said, “be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

C. Looking to Jesus as We Run

-the way we should run

Without our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, we will fail.

It is only God who enables us in our running.

- Look to Jesus - even moreso than the others

- The author and perfecter of our faith

- Christ’s perfection leads to the perfection of His people

- for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross despising the shame

- the cross of Christ represents the greatest suffering in history

- physical suffering plus the wrath of God

- the promise of future reward and joy gave Jesus the strength to suffer

- crucifixion was naked and in public and inflicting prolonged pain on the victim meant to shame as well as kill them

- Now seated at the right hand of God

- Consider Him (perseverance)

- endured hostility that was not due Him

- some of them could identify with being shown hostility, though to a lesser degree than shown to Jesus

- This helps us not grow weary or fainthearted

- You haven’t resisted sin to the point of shedding your blood.

- Seems like today most people want to resist sin by shedding someone else’s blood…

- contrasts with Jesus shedding of His own blood on the cross

- Though they were suffering persecution but not quite martyrdom… Their greatest struggle was against their own sinful nature.

II.

Consider Him

A. Do not grow wearing in your struggle against sin.

B. Addresses You as Sons

- Sons

- citation of Proverbs 3:11-12

- God’s discipline proves that He sees believers as his sons/children.

III.

The Assurance of the Love of God (V.

7-11)

A. God’s discipline of his children.

- Discipline - not punitive, the way we think of it…

- character training

- don’t reject the character training

- Calls for a response of respect and submission

- As a loving father, the Lord disciplines His children for their good.

- Strengthen and endure

Conclusion - So what do we do here?

Identify:

The weights that slows us down

The weight of outright sin

The weight of besetting sin