Okoboji Goodbye
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Good Morning, my name is Brandon Morrow and for the past 5 years I’ve served as the Lead Pastor for the Good News Family of Churches and this morning I get the honor of preaching one of my last sermons as a pastor at Good News. Today will be the last time I preach in Estherville and next week will be the last time I preach in Okoboji.
Thanks for going on a journey with me, with God, for the last handful of years in Okoboji.
This morning I want to preach a sermon to you all, and you can think about it like a final reminder, a blessing, and an encouragement.
In this sermon, I’m going to be issuing some charges, — a charge is you, being entrusted, with some particular responsibilities.
This morning we’re going to be spending our time in Hebrews 12:2-4 — If you have a Bible, turn with me to Hebrews 12.
Body of Message
Body of Message
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Brandon Pray.
The Book of Hebrews is an actual sermon, written to a real church, — while we don’t know who the author is, this book has real value for the church. The Book of Hebrews illustrates to us how Jesus is better, as the fulfillment of the Old Testament, and how he stands above everything that has ever fascinated the church.
It would be hard to imagine a church that would be fascinated by anything other than Jesus. Unfortunately there are churches that do get their fascination from things other than Jesus: gifted men and women with platforms, miracles and those searching for miracles, professional musicians, obscure prophecies that stoke the imagination and massage the fear gland, or even the occasional political stance that toes the line of historic Christian sensibility — but that can never be Good News. To the best of my knowledge, we have resisted those items for the last 25 years, and by God’s grace, and with keen discipline, we’ll see another 25 years of that.
Where I want to spend our time today is the church focusing itself on persevering to the very end. In verse 1 of Chapter 12, the Author points us towards the great cloud of witnesses — those who are watching, from the past, and now the present, whose shoulders we’re standing on — and the idea of this is to give us a picture of faithfulness — look back and see the folks who finished their race, who won the prize, and look around at you, and see those who are going to finish well — and the thing we’ll see for ourselves, is that there should be no other option — we have to finish the race, and there will certainly be honor at the end for the faithful.
Good News, my first charge to you is to:
Run Your Race
The passage gives us a metaphor by which to view our lives… This is a race, and you’ve been given one option: run the race.
The only way to run your race is to get rid of all the things that would hold you back.
The passage says you’re getting rid of a weight. “Lay aside every weight.” — What we are exchanging one weight for another.
In the scriptures, the idea of the glory of God, is this idea of weight, it’s the word doxa. Doxa describes the weightiness of the Lord. The sheer magnitude of God… but the scriptures also tell us, which is really surprising, that the weight of the Lord isn’t any weight at all. Listen to Jesus’ invitation...
Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
With Jesus, we can bound all day long, and not ever feel burdened by it.
We’re learning to run encumbered. We’re pulling off sin, that the passage says, “clings to us.” The author of Hebrews says, “Run! Run! Run! Pull of Satan’s saran wrap.”
The race we’re running isn’t the race where things get in our way and trip us up, the race we’re running is with Jesus’ help. My mind is drawn to James 4:8
James 4:8 (ESV)
Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.
Cling to the Lord and keep on running.
And here’s my second charge to you, Good News, this is the direction we’re running:
Keep Your Eyes On Jesus
Verse two is keeping us centered on the most important thing in our lives. The author of Hebrews says, “run the race that is before you, and the race that’s before you is Jesus. Run to Him!”
Matthew 24:13 reminds us — “But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” The focus is to keep on pursuing Jesus.
Where is your attention focused at? Where is your gaze inclined to look?
Have you ever been driving and looked at something at there in the field and the next thing you know you hit the rumble strips? Exactly!
Keep your eyes on Jesus!
It’s not easy. I get that.
But the Author of Hebrews lays out a pretty good explanation for why Jesus deserves your attention.
Jesus Himself has set the race before us. Verse 2 says he is the Founder and Perfector, maybe another translation is, “He is the Author and Perfecter” — The author of Hebrews has already used this same idea in Hebrews 6:20
where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf, having become a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.
We’re running the same path that Jesus has already finished!
We keep our eyes on Jesus because He counted it as a joy to die for you.
The last half of verse 2 just proves that Jesus is worthy of our gaze:
The joy isn’t death, the joy is the end result, being seated next to His Father. He did not let death, or the shame of the cross, deter Him from achieving His joy, which was to be with His father.
And that’s where He’s seated… Sitting down, because the race is done, ushering us on to join Him. Not only does He sit because the work is finished, He sits because that’s what Kings do — this King isn’t sitting idly by. His rule and reign is characterized by the fact that this King is waiting for our cries for help.
Good News, you will be tempted to avert your gaze from Jesus, you will be inclined from time to time to avert your eyes to the left or to the right, and you’ll jerk the wheel back trying to get your bearings, — you can cry out to the one who has finished the race, who has received the prize, who can guide your every step.
Verse 3 will lead us to our third and final charge this morning:
Consider How He Endured
Verse three, as poetic as it may be, is likely being read wrong by most everyone who reads this passage.
When you “consider” something, most often you just think about it. That’s not the limitation of the word meant here.
Think of it like your favorite NFL quarterback.
It’s pretty easy to think that you can identify with that person. You get upset when they lose, text your friends that they need to be fired when they blow a fourth quarter, you cheer and celebrate when they break records, make impossible throws — and before too long, we’re sitting in our Lazy Boy recliners trying to convince ourselves that if our lower backs weren’t so bad we could be out there trying for their job.
That’s not quite what the Author of Hebrews has in mind.
Yes, the Author wants you to identify with Jesus in His struggle, with the battle that He has endured — and then Jesus expects you to grab your helmet, get up off the bench, and get in the game.
Verse 3 is pretty expectant about this idea that you’ll endure difficulty from all sides. Physical opposition. Relational opposition. Spiritual opposition.
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
In college we had a coach who would tell us, “Keep your head on a swivel.” He just meant that we needed to pay attention on the field, otherwise someone was gonna catch you not looking and lay you flat out.
Weariness and being fainthearted are distractions of the enemy, continued acts of hositility —
Satan hates your God. He hates Jesus Christ. He hates your faith. You should be aware of the devil’s evil intentions. He wants you to lose the victor’s crown in the race you have entered by faith through grace.
A. W. Tozer
Of course satan wants to discourage you, batter you, beat you up, to the point of you giving up. But get in the game! Get back in the race!
I like how verse 4 ends, it’s a little intense, but at least we have perspective.
In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Only because of what Jesus has done is our misery manageable.
What a gangster line, though… another way we might read something like this is, “it’s okay… you’re not bleeding… yet.”
Running the path that Jesus has ran implies some blood, sweat, and tears… but the presence of our Father awaits us.
Good News, the real work is ahead of you…
A search for a new pastor is ahead of you.
Trusting in God finishing the work that He started, that will stretch you.
I can’t do anything for you more, at this point, than to point you to Jesus. Keep Running Your Race, Keep Your Eyes on Jesus, Consider How He Endured — and if I’ve ever given you a message contrary to this, forgive me, I’ve only ever wanted to give you Jesus.
He’s all I have.
He’s all you need.
He’s the One who this community is waiting for.
It’s been a joy to serve you, and as I look back on my time with Good News, I hope you’ve heard me telling you, “Look! There’s Jesus! Keep your eyes on Him! Keep going!”
Benediction
Benediction
Go now and live by the hope conceived within you.
Refuse evil and choose good.
Call on the name of the Lord.
Walk with God in faithful obedience,
and do not fear public disgrace.
And may God be with you;
May Christ Jesus save you from your sins;
And may the Holy Spirit restore to you the light of God’s presence.
We go in peace to love and serve the Lord,
In the name of Christ. Amen. (Nathan Nettleton)