Running the Faith Race

Title- Running the Race by Faith

We will be in Hebrews Ch 12 Verses 1-2

How many of you like to run ?

Is anyone in cross country?

does anyone enjoy running?

As I was preparing

I was wondering why would anyone run a marathon

they literally choose to run 26 miles

it sounds hard, and painful

it is mentally and physically exhausting...

and it simply seems impossible

but if you asked any one of the runners at the end if it was worth it

they would surely tell you yes....

the runner has a purpouse

He has a goal

and today we are going to take the imagery

of a runner running a race

and apply it to your walk with Jesus

This weekend we have been encouraged by the simplicity of

walking with Jesus

salvation is by grace through faith

and the invitation to walk with Him, is on the table

for everyone

Romans 10:13 NKJV

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.”

This life in Christ is followed by repentance

but this is not just changing your behavior

it is changing your mind first

The Holy spirit changes your heart and your mind about sin

As you continue to walk with Him

you will start to be sanctified

this means you will grow into loving what God loves

and hating what God hates

now dont be discouraged because this is a life long process…

STORY- I remember when I first got saved I was like …

this christian thing is really easy

and now that I have been walking with the Lord for many years

I have come to realize that it is not easy

the gospel is simple

Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin

He was raised from the grave 3 days later

If you repent from your sin and trust in Him

you will be saved....

that is as simple

as recieving a gift

but

the life we live as christians in this world

is not so simple

now

once we have made the decision to walk with Him

we have made a decision to start a relationship with Him

we have entered into a race

did you know that ...

if you have put your faith in Jesus

you have entered a race

this Race is called the Christian life

and the only way to successfully run it , is by Faith

turn your bibles to Hebrews Ch 12

this book was written to Jewish believers ,,

many people believe paul wrote this book but it is uncertain because his name is not written in it

this was written to the church around 35 years after Christ was risen

in the previous chapter the author

writes about many heroes of the faith

from the old testemant

CH 11 is the faith Chapter

and He makes the point to explain,

that every hero of the faith were heroes because of their faith in God

faith- trusting in God and relying on Him

if I have faith in God

I trust Him

just like you trust a parachute

if you go skydiving

you trust the parachute so you jump and then pull the chord

Q. Do you trust God?

do you trust that He knows you,

do you trust that He loves you,

do you trust that He has called you to something more important than yourself…

The heroes of our faith did

as it says

by faith Abel offered God an excellent sacrafice

by faith abraham obeyed God and went into a foreign land

by faith Sarah concieved Isaac

by faith Noah prepared the ark

by faith Moses led Israel out of Egypt

There is a list of 18 Examples

as God demonstrates that it was by trusting in Him

that His people were able to live a godly life

and please Him

for without faith it is impossible to please God

as He makes this point

He sets us up for these next verses

so lets read verses 1-2

Hebrews 12:1–2 NKJV

Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

in verse 1

the author uses the imagery of a cloud of witnesses

The cloud refers to a large number

for instance

we may be refered to as a cloud of calvary chapel saints…

in this passage the cloud is of witnesses are

the heroes of the faith…

the scripture is not saying that we are literally surrounded by the heroes of the faith

as they watch us live our lives from the arena of heaven

What He is saying is that

we are surrounded by men and women who have passed away

but their life has witnessed to us

How to run the race

We are to look to them

for encouragment and as an example of Godly living

We then get the encouragment to

lay aside every weight and sin that ensnares us

so that we can run the race that is set before us

Here is where we get our first point

if you want to run the race of faith well

you will need to

Put the weight of sin to the side

we see that there are two things mentioned here

heavy weights that hold you down

and sin that captures you

The hebrews struggled with the sin of legalism

trying to earn Gods love through adherence to the mosaic law

paul was urging them to leave legalism

but for you those weights and sins may be different

We want to identify what it is that is hindering you from running the race

1. Weights--- these things may not be sin

but they may be a hinderence to running the race well

imagine trying to run a race with a 50 lb weight vest

these are what those hinderences willd o to you

2. sin- disobedience to Gods commands

disobedience to God will trap you…

imagine running with your shoe laces tied together

you could do it but you would certainly struggle

many of you are struggling to run the race because sin is distracting you

or heavy burdens are holding you back.

Q. What do you need to lay to the side?

I know that I have a friend who was bad news for me.

I started following Jesus

and he was always wanting to get into trouble

and talk about evil things....

He was hindering me from walking with the Lord and I had to lay that relationship to the side ....

you may have some friends that need to go

you may have some habits that need to go

you may have some ideas that need to go

Identify what they are and put them to the side…

God tells we need to do this in order to run the race

and now He reminds us in the second half of verse 1

to run the race with endurance...

endurance means the ability to withstand hardship or adversity.

the race your in, is the Christian life

and the christian life must be run with endurance

because there will be hardship and adversity

it is not a sprint, it is not a short stroll in the park

it is a long and hard journey

filled with love joy and trials and pain

it is difficult yet rewarding

Jesus says this in

Matthew 10:22 NKJV

And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved.

If you are running the race you will face trials, temptations, and persecution

So someone may ask

why would you want to sign up for that?…

we will answer that shortly ..

Q. So How do we run with endurance

lets look at verse 2

as the apostle writes

looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our faith

He is stating that Jesus is the one who is the author of your faith

and the one who sustains it.

He has the power in Himself

through His work on the cross

to empower you to run the race

so How is it that we run the race of Faith

it is our next point … We

Look to Jesus

How often do we look everywhere else for answers to our problems

If we have a problem we will probably look to ourselves first to figure it out

if we cant get it we will ask our friends and then our parents…

When we get those bad thoughts in our heads

or temptations to stop running the race

we will be tempted to try to reason in our own strength

or look for answers in all the wrong places

but what we need to do is look unto Jesus

Q. Is Jesus the steering wheel of your life

or is He your spare tire?

When it says look to Jesus

it means fixing your eyes upon Him

We fix our eyes on Him

because He is God Who took on human flesh

He is the author of our faith

and the author of life

in Him is salvation

Isaiah 45:22 NKJV

“Look to Me, and be saved, All you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.

sometimes we need that reminder by looking to Jesus

that we are Loved by Him and seen by Him

In Him we also see mercy, forgiveness, Love, and truth

In Him we see our purpouse for living

closing the chapter

the apostle writes

The New King James Version Chapter 12

who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

as we look to Jesus

we see the example of endurance

as He took on the shame of the cross...

WHy did He do this?

Why did He continue to run His race ?

Anticipate the Joy of Eternity

He continued to run His race because

of the Joy set before Him

He didnt think of the agony and pain and trial that came with the race

He had is mind set on the victory

If you want to run this race

with any type of success

you need to get your mind off of this world and put it on eternity

if you dont you will have a very sleepy christian life.

one of the greatest tragedies is a man that comes to church on sunday morning and lives like the world monday through Saturday....

This type of person is not running the race

they are going through the motions...

Is that you?

Ask yourself…

Q. are you even running ?

or are you just going through the motions?

Jesus saw the reality of where He was going

He had His eyes on eternity

and thats where I want your eyes too.

Ephesians 2:5–6 NKJV

even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,

We are going to be seated with Jesus in the heavenly places

this is the destiny of all who have saving faith in Jesus

When you understand this your life changes

STORY - guy at shop asking if someone came in here and robbed and shot me

I told Him it would be the best day of my life…

my eyes were on eternity

There is Joy set before you

at the end of your race there is a prize

and that prize is Jesus Christ Himself

So run for as someone who is eager to win the prize

1 Corinthians 9:24 NKJV

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

The prize is eternal life

and eternal life is a person

John 17:3 NKJV

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

the only way you will be able to run this race is if you Love Jesus Christ

and anticipate eternal life with Him

This will increase your faith

and encourage your desire to serve Him

Anticipate means to look forward too

if I am looking forward to going to disney world

I am going to start packing early

I am going to be thinking of that mickey mouse ice cream

I am going to get my hotel ready and

map out my days at the park

and most of all I am going to be excited

If you are looking forward to eternity with Jesus

your life is going to reflect it

So when you Go home

I want you to get serious about your relationship with Jesus

I dont want you to just go through the motions,

but I want you to get in the race

When you are running the race of faith

it should encourage you to want to obey the great commission

Matthew 28:19 NKJV

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

part of running the race means that you are serving the Lord on mission

Q. What are we doing to serve the Lord

How are you going out and making disciples

for my older students,

how are you looking at the jr high kids

or are you looking at them as annoying

or are they kids that you should be influencing for the gospel

Are we getting into our communities and evangelising ?

Are we serving in our churches?

Lets start running the race with a little more enthusiasm

yet always remembering the race is a matter of faith

Christ already ran it for you perfectly

There is no condemnation if you are in Christ

for He is not waving His hand at you and demanding you run faster

no

He has His hand out to you

calling you to look up and run with Him

lets put everything to the side that is slowing us down

lets fix our eyes upon Jesus

and anticipate The joy of being with Him for eternity

Maybe you are sitting here and you have never entered into this race

today can be your day

lets pray