Run With Endurance

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, 2 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.

We don’t have time this morning, but this segment of scripture begins by looking back to the previous chapter. The previous chapter goes through an extensive list of men and women who lived thousands of years ago, but they were just like you guys. They put their clothes on in similar fashion. They had friends like you do, they played games, they laughed, they cried, they had jobs, many of them started families, they sinned, they triumphed, but they made the segment of the Bible that we dub “the faith chapter” because they remained faithful.

I want to set the setting a little bit. Imagine you are a runner. You have your appropriate track shoes on, you’re fit with the best uniform possible to insure that you run as fast as you can, and crouch down into your starting position. You are kneeling in a massive arena, thousands upon thousands of people have filled the stands, and all of a sudden you hear your very own name being chanted from the seats. The chants are so loud it’s deafening. It’s a loud roar of nothing other than your name being cheered as you prepare to run your race.

Now how well do you think you would run in that race knowing that you have thousands of your biggest fans encouraging you to do your best as you run? It’s pretty hard to get down when we know we have that many people on our side.

This is what it is like in our spiritual lives. Our life

Being faithful does not mean your life is perfect. Being faithful does not mean you will not fail. Life will have its ups and downs. But

Endurance does not come overnight. It is built over time by pushing yourself, handling criticism, succeeding, falling and getting back up, but always remaining consistent.

Now how many of you are in shape? How did you get that way

So as you continue throughout this year, keep in mind that the Christian walk will not always be easy, but it is worth it and you are not alone.