Get on your Mission

Run the Race

Running the Race: Our Missional Mandate

The Great Cloud of Witnesses: Our Missional Heritage

Hebrews 12:1-2(MEV)

Hebrews 12:1–2 MEV

Therefore, since we are encompassed with such a great cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Let us look to Jesus, the author and finisher 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.

Let me ask this question this morning before we get started.

Who here likes to exercise?

Who here likes the idea of exercise but not the act of it?

You know, when you exercise you tend to feel good afterward. Like yeah, I did that. I lifted those weights, I pumped that Iron. I look good. Everyone looks at themselves in the mirror after because they’re happy with what they just did and they think that progress is happening.

The hardest thing about exercise is getting started. It’s not too hard during it, it’s hard getting your mindset right to get over that hump and keep going and get started.

You know what my worse and most hated exercise is? It’s running.

Listen, I know I am not the only person in this room that does not like running. There’s just something about moving your legs all fast and being out of breath and heartrate up that I do not like. However, it is a necessary evil for exercising and exercising properly. So we do it right, but here’s the thing once I start on that treadmill and I start running, If I feel like people are looking at me, Ima keep running.

My legs be turning to Jell-o because I’m like they ain’t gonna see no weakness from me.

There is a huge problem with this mentality though, when we compare ourselves to how we feel another person is expecting us to run the race, we’re going to always fail.

My pace may not be your pace, and your pace may not be my pace, we are running different races we cannot compare our race with someone else’s.

We’ve got to learn to run the race that is set before us, not before other people.

My thoughts before a big race are usually pretty simple. I tell myself: “Get out of the blocks, run your race, stay relaxed. If you run your race, you’ll win … Channel your energy. Focus.

Carl Lewis

This morning for just a moment I want us to imagine ourselves in a vast stadium. The stands are filled with countless believers who have gone before us—Abraham who left his homeland to follow God's call, Moses who confronted Pharaoh, Esther who risked everything to save her people, Paul who traveled across the known world sharing the gospel. They aren't just passive observers; they are witnesses who testify through their lives that the mission is worth it.

They were living testimonies that Missions work is worth it.

These spiritual ancestors form what Scripture calls 'a great cloud of witnesses'—those who have faithfully carried the gospel torch before passing it to us.

Their lives declare that the call to mission isn't new; it's woven into the very fabric of our faith heritage.

And they’re all looking at you, they’re all cheering you on.

It may seem and feel like inadequate when you compare the greats of Bible, the Heroes of the Scripture and little ole me and you in that Auditorium. Here’s the thing they’re not cheering you on hoping that you are going to do something great like they did, no, they’re just cheering you on expecting you to simply run the race that is set before you.

Running with Purpose: The Biblical Call to Evangelism

The metaphor of running a race in Hebrews 12 reminds us that our Christian life isn't a casual stroll—it's a purposeful journey with a clear mission.

Throughout Scripture, we see this mandate for personal evangelism: In Matthew 28:19-20

Matthew 28:19–20 MEV

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

This wasn’t a suggestion, it was a commandment.

This Great Commission wasn't given to a select few but to all followers of Christ.

This command was given to you, and to me. It was given to brother and sister so and so, and to the lady in the front row on 2 chairs in.

Consider the example of Andrew in John 1:41-42

John 1:41–42 MEV

He first found his own brother Simon, and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means the Christ). Then he brought him to Jesus. When Jesus saw him, He said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter).

Or look at the Samaritan woman in John 4, who after meeting Jesus, left her water jar, went back to town and said to the people, "Come, see a Man who told me all that I ever did. Could this be the Christ?"

Her personal testimony led many in her village to believe.

Paul declares in Romans 10:14-15

Romans 10:14–15 MEV

How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring good news of good things!”

The biblical pattern is clear: those who encounter Christ become His messengers. This isn't an optional add-on to our faith—it's central to our identity as believers. We are called to be about missions, to carry the good news wherever we go.

Imagine you are wandering through a desert and you find a well of water that refreshes you and you have been so thirsty, after sitting down you start to hear others grumble and cry out for some water. What do you do? Do you say well I found mine I am good, no you go and you find those people and bring them to the water that gives life.

This is your mission, this is you rmandate. This is what every believer is called to do and be.

Laying Aside Weights: Overcoming Evangelism Fears

Hebrews 12:1 instructs us to "throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles."

When it comes to personal evangelism, many things can hinder us from running our race effectively.

Fear of rejection often weighs us down.

We worry about what others might think or how they might respond.

Yet consider Jeremiah, who faced constant rejection but continued to proclaim God's message.

God told him in Jeremiah 1:8, "Do not be afraid of their faces, for I am with you to deliver you."

Some of us carry the weight of feeling inadequate or unprepared.

Moses felt this way when God called him at the burning bush, saying, "O my Lord, I am not eloquent... I am slow of speech and slow of tongue" (Exodus 4:10).

Yet God used him powerfully, providing Aaron as help and empowering Moses's words.

Others struggle with the burden of busyness and distraction. Like Martha in Luke 10, we become "worried and troubled about many things" while missing the "one thing needed."

Our schedules fill with good activities, but we neglect the best—sharing the hope within us.

Some are hindered by the weight of comfort and complacency. I am good where I am, someone else will tell them about Jesus, it doesn’t have to be me.

Jonah initially refused God's call to preach to Nineveh—not from fear, but from reluctance to see God's mercy extended to those he considered enemies. Luckily like Jonah God doesn’t give up on us when this happens, but your enemies need to hear about Jesus too!

And yes, there is the sin that entangles—pride that keeps us from humbling ourselves to engage with others,

Selfishness that makes us unwilling to invest in others' eternal destiny, or unbelief that questions whether our witness really matters.

To run effectively, we must identify these hindrances and, through the power of the Holy Spirit, cast them aside. You might ask yourself how do we cast those aside? I admit that I have dealt with these items at times, they are truly hinderances.

However Remember Peter, who once denied Christ out of fear, yet after Pentecost boldly proclaimed the gospel in the same city where Jesus was crucified. The same Spirit that empowered him empowers us today. Acts 1:8 says You shall receive power to be my witness… That same power that awaked Peter when he was scared alone and ran from the call. That same power that gave Moses boldness to declare Let my people go!

That same power that Jeremiah had come upon him that gave him boldness. It can and does live in us today too. There are hinderances that pull us away from spreading the Gospel, but with the power and presence of the Holy Spirit we can tear down those hinderances, we can tear down those strongholds and we can boldly proclaim the Gospel message!

Running with Endurance: Perseverance in Personal Witness

Hebrews 12:1 calls us to "run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

That is the way many people live the Christian life. They start out fast, but as the race goes on they slow down, give up, or just collapse. The Christian race is a marathon, a long-distance race, not a sprint.

John F. MacArthur

Personal evangelism likewise isn't a sprint; it's a marathon requiring endurance.

It's about consistent witness over time, not just occasional outbursts of missionary zeal as you so often see on youtube and tiktok.

This is not effective witnessing.

Jeremiah prophesied for over 40 years with little visible result.

Isaiah was told at the beginning of his ministry that the people wouldn't listen (Isaiah 6:9-10

Isaiah 6:9–10 MEV

He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’ Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and turn and be healed.”

Yet both remained faithful to their call.

Noah preached righteousness for decades while building the ark, facing mockery and disbelief, yet he persevered.

Paul encountered beatings, imprisonment, shipwrecks, and constant opposition, yet he wrote from prison: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2 Timothy 4:7).

Endurance in evangelism means continuing to share Christ when results aren't immediate. It means loving people enough to invest in relationships over time. It means sowing seeds faithfully, knowing that while one plants and another waters, God gives the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-7).

It means understanding that some, like the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8, will respond quickly to the gospel, while others, like Paul's jailer in Philippi, may need to witness our praise in the midst of suffering before they ask, "What must I do to be saved?"

Endurance means not falling to the wayside when the path gets difficult.

It means continuing to invite others to church even after many rejections.

It means sharing your testimony again and again.

It means praying persistently for the salvation of loved ones, colleagues, and neighbors.

Looking to Jesus: The Ultimate Model and Motivation

Hebrews 12:2 gives us the key to maintaining our missional focus: "fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith."

Jesus is both our model for evangelism and our motivation.

As our model, Jesus demonstrated what missional living looks like.

He intentionally engaged with those society rejected—tax collectors, sinners, Samaritans, lepers.

He met physical needs while addressing spiritual ones.

He told stories that connected eternal truths to everyday life.

He invested deeply in a few while ministering broadly to many.

Jesus crossed cultural, social, and religious barriers to reach people.

Think of His conversation with the Samaritan woman,

His healing of the Roman centurion's servant,

His touching of those deemed unclean.

He modeled for us a missional mindset that values every person as made in God's image.

Jesus is our model, he is also our motivation.

Hebrews says that "for the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame."

What was this joy?

This Joy he had was because He was redeeming His lost people back to Him!

Jesus was mission-driven to the point of death because of His great love.

When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we're reminded of what He endured for us.

We remember the lengths to which He went to reach us.

And we should be motivated by gratitude to share this good news with others.

I want to challenge each of us to embrace our missional mandate with renewed commitment.

Let us throw off the hindrances of fear, inadequacy, busyness, and complacency.

Let us run with perseverance the race of personal evangelism that God has marked out for us.

And let us keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, who both shows us how to run and gives us the strength to finish.

Remember, we don't run alone. We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses who testify that the mission is worth it.

We're empowered by the same Spirit that emboldened the early church.

And we're fixing our eyes on Jesus, who promises to be with us always, even to the end of the age.

Here is my challenge to you today. We need to Missionally minded, do not let this month just flash by and not know what we did or how we did it or why we did it. Let’s let our heart for Missions start today.

Here are 3 practical applications that we can use to start living Missionally minded.

I will pray for one specific non-believing friend or family member of mine. Write and call their name out in prayer.

I will invite someone to church for a church event within the next month.

I will share my testimony with someone this week.

We can get in our services like this today and we can exclaim and claim that we are all about missions until the rubber meets the road. The challenge that we have done of giving, giving above and beyond normal for missions, has been a great thing to do. However, it does not have to stop here. You can continue this missional living by simply running that race that is set before you.