Fully Committed

Introduction-Hebrews 12:1-3

Today as we approach the conclusion of one year and look toward the beginning of another, let us look to the scriptures with a renewed desire to yield to God.

Today I would like to challenge you to a new level of commitment to Christ.

There are a great many professing Christians today whose level of commitment to Christ is not what it ought to be.

This is evidenced by the fact that for many Christianity is something they do on Sunday, but which has little recognizable impact upon the rest of their lives.

This passage will challenge each of us to be fully committed to Christ and to living for Him each day.

The Cloud of Witnesses (Vs. 1a)

This passage begins with a reference to what has come before in the previous chapter.

The previous chapter is a record of many of the characters of scripture and their faith in God.

It contains references to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses, and many others.

Each of these characters followed God by faith and though they faced suffering, opposition, and difficulty, they persevered by faith.

We cannot physically see these witnesses today and we cannot be certain that they can see us at this moment, but this is not the point of the passage.

The point being made is that each of the characters named in this record could give testimony to the fact that living by faith was not a mistake.

These who once believed in God in spite of having never seen Him are now in His presence and can provide witness to the reality and the reward of their faith.

If these men could stand before us today, they would earnestly exhort us each to follow God in faith no matter the cost.

Philippians 2:5 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:” There are many more since the time this scripture was penned who have lived by faith and who have faced persecution, suffering, opposition, and pain who would also agree with their witness.

The point here is that there is a great cloud of many witnesses who could give testimony to the truth of the Word of God and to the reward of living by faith!

The Preparation for the Race Ahead (Vs 1b)

The testimony of these witnesses should motivate us to prepare ourselves for the race which is before us.

The second part of this verse illustrates the Christian life as a race in which you and I are participants.

Anyone who has ever competed in a race understands the importance of proper preparation for the race and the next phrase describes the nature of our responsibility in preparing to run the race.

The first responsibility is that you and I must “lay aside every weight” in preparation for this race.

No runner chooses to run with excess weight laid upon him for he understands that it will hinder him in running and will serve to slow him down significantly.

A runner who intends to compete at the highest level will rid himself of every possible weight to ensure that nothing slows his progress in the race.

There are a great many “weights” which may hinder you and I as we attempt to run the race that is set before each of us.

The weight spoken of here is anything that serves to slow us in the race, that weighs us down as we attempt to follow Christ.

It may be a relationship with someone which is keeping you from truly committing yourself to Christ.

It may be a hobby which has stolen away too much of your time and attention from following the Lord.

It may be a career which has taken you away from following the Lord in pursuit of personal achievement.

The point is simply this—you and I must identify those things which are weights in our lives and then we must lay them aside so that we may run the race effectively.

Next the scripture speaks of “the sin which doth so easily beset us” and that we must lay this aside as well.

You and I are well aware that there are certain sins which seem to trip us up with regularity.

The words easily beset have the idea of ensnaring or trapping someone and this is exactly what sin does.

Returning to the analogy of the race—the runner would strive to avoid any snare or trap that is set for him so that he is able to run the race effectively.

You and I must identify these sins in our lives and recognize the tendencies we have to be ensnared by them.

We must then lay aside these sins so that they do not hinder us as we run our race.

Running the Race (Vs. 1c-2)

Now that preparation has been made the runner must actually begin to run the race that is set before him.

The nature of each of the race that each of us must run will vary in its twists and turns and its difficulty and length.

God has laid out a course that is suitable to each of us and we run not against one another, but rather to reach the finished line of our own race.

We must each run with patience which in this context speaks of a steadfast endurance.

You can be sure that the race which is set for you will not always be easy and will at times be incredibly challenging to the point that you will want to give up and quit.

Yet you must endure in the race if you are ultimately to reach the finish line.

There are times when every elite athlete faces the moment when he/she is tempted to quit because the pain is too great and they feel that they cannot endure the suffering any longer.

It is in these moments that many great athletes would tell you that they look to something or someone for strength—for some maybe they consider their mother of father who has invested so much in them, maybe they consider someone that they have lost and are driven to go on to honor them, maybe they look to a coach who has trained and motivated them to endure.

The Christian who runs his race will undoubtedly face a similar moment of crisis—when he feels he cannot go on—and it is in this moment that he must look to Jesus!

Jesus is to the believer, the author (originator) and the finisher of our faith.

In Jesus we will find the strength that we need to continue to run the race all the way to the finish line.

Jesus faced suffering and pain unlike anything we can imagine and yet endured the cross and finished His course and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

We do not have the strength in ourselves to run this race, but in Jesus we shall find all the strength that we need to reach the finish line.

When You are Tempted to Faint (Vs. 3)

As you run your race, there will certainly be times when the race seems too difficult and you begin to feel that you cannot reach the finish line.

It is in these moments that you must consider Christ and the endurance which He demonstrated for you.

It is this consideration which will serve to prevent us from growing weary and fainting as we continue to run.

Whatever we may be called upon to endure, it is not to be compared to what He endured for us.

When we consider the fact that He endured much greater difficulty than we are presently facing and that in spite of it all He finished His race, we will find strength and energy to continue in the race which is set before us.

We must learn that when the race grows difficult we must not turn our thoughts away from Him, but rather we must turn out thoughts to Him that in Him we may find a source of strength which will enable us to continue in the race.

Conclusion

2 Timothy 4:6–8 “For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

This morning my question for you is simply this—Are you fully committed to following Christ?

Have you laid aside every weight or are you attempting to run your race with a load of extra baggage burdening you down?

Have you laid aside the sin that so easily besets you or are you still struggling with the same old sin having failed to identify and avoid it?

Will you run with endurance or will you like so many only run as long as the race is easy dropping out at the first sign of difficulty?

Will you learn to look to Jesus as the source of the strength that you need to run the race all the way to the finish line?

When the race seems long and you feel yourself growing increasingly weaker, will you turn your thoughts to Christ that you may be motivated to finish the course?