Hebrews 12:3-11

When I was a youth pastor in Indiana, our church required me to have a AAA membership because of the significant discounts on hotels and rental vehicles. Some of those years, the discounts saved the membership cost, but not much more. I complied with the requirement, but it didn’t really understand the need for it. In 2009, I was driving the church van full of high school students to Reynosa, Mexico ~ a border city across from McAllen, Texas ~ for a week-long mission trip. The trip was great for many reasons. I think it was a Sunday that we were driving home, it appeared we were ahead of schedule. Just east of Little Rock, Arkansas, the serpentine belt broke. We pulled alongside the interstate as safely as possible and I pulled out that unneeded card in my wallet and called AAA for help. I may never forget what happened next.

The AAA lady called a tow truck for the church van and made arrangements with a mechanic to make the repairs. I kind of expected that part. After she told me the tow truck was on the way, she also told me about our hotel reservations she made on our behalf. After the hotel reservations, she told me about the phone calls she made to area baptist churches so she could find a bus to take our group to the hotel. After we got to the hotel, the bus driver brought me to Kroger because our group needed to eat.

Even though I didn’t want that unneeded card taking up space in my wallet, somebody else knew I needed its benefit and it provided life at a time when I needed it the most.

Today’s text walks through two life-changing opportunities that we don’t always want or don’t think we need. Without considering the opportunities of verses 3-11, implementing the rest of the chapter will be difficult.

Hebrews 12:2–4 ESV

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. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

What encourages me to run the race through spiritually hard days?

Many scholars believe Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians that were working through significant struggles. There was internal tension between ‘life after Christ’ and ‘life before Christ.’ The Jewish temple traditions weighed heavily upon them. They were not wrestling against flesh and blood. They were not forced to pay 3% for using a card instead of cash. They did not have an automatic gratuity put on their restaurant bill. This was not about spending another $6 for free shipping. This was not about disagreements with somebody in your home. Nor was this about parts of life they could no longer control. These significant struggles were spiritual struggles. Spiritual struggles that were revealing gaps in their holiness. They were wrestling against the rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over this present darkness and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Could they live in their old life simultaneously with their new life? Was the persecution of orthodox Judaism greater than the persecution from Gentiles? How was it possible to run the race that was set before them while they endured spiritual hardship from every direction? From chapter 10, it seems these Jewish Christians were complainers and possibly wanted all the benefits of Jesus without any effort on their part. They needed the great cloud of witnesses in the same way you and I need the great cloud of witnesses.

Verse 2 told them look to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. We have faith because the gospel of Jesus Christ is a gift that we did not deserve and could never earn. We are able to walk in small amounts of holiness because of Jesus. He considered enduring the cross a joyful privilege because that was the race set before him. He endured the shame of being arrested and tortured as a joyful privilege. Verse 3 reminds us to consider Jesus and his time on earth, so that we may continue to be encouraged and not become spiritually fatigued . Keeping in the context of verse 3, the sin mentioned in verse 4 is not sin personally commited, but rather sin committed against us. Jesus endured sinners who came at him with such hostility, such hatred, and such preservation of their own agenda and religious system that they could never see Jesus as the founder and perfecter of their faith. Those sinners were being encouraged to run a race driven by their own selfishness and pride. The writer of Hebrews reminds his readers that none of us have faced the spiritual hardship and suffering that Jesus endured.

I don’t want to be insensitive and glaze over the spiritually hard days that are in this room, but the answer to this question is a choice that is personal and unique to each of us.

I want to remind us that our example, our life-source, our encouragement is Jesus Christ, the founder and perfecter of our faith. We can be encouraged because he has chosen us as dear sons and daughters of the Almighty King. Since we are sons and daughters, and the nut doesn’t fall far from the tree, we also have the opportunity to consider our spiritual sufferings a joyful privilege of running the race set before us. When the spiritually hard days run us into the ground, when the gaps in our holiness are shining brightly, when the walls might be closing in around us, when joy is difficult to find, be careful that spiritual fatigue does not begin to rule your heart and take you out of the race.

Do you remember this from last week? Become relationally connected with one another and invite others into a connection that matters deeply. These next verses remind us this is the type of relationship Jesus has invited us into and it matters deeply.

Hebrews 12:5–11 ESV

5 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

What encourages me to run the race when I’m being disciplined?

Some hardships are not our own doing and do not come from other people. The Lord uses hardship as a form of discipline to grow our maturity and bring us into deeper holiness. You can see on the screen, we read DISCIPLINE nine times in theses eight verses. The wide meaning of this word is to train, correct, cultivate and educate a child. Here are six reasons to be encouraged today.

Look at verses 5-6. Discipline proves the Lord loves me. Because the Lord loves me, he will correct me and chastise me when necessary. John 15 tells us this also. I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” The writer of Hebrews reminds the readers of Proverbs 3, don’t get tired of the Lord refining our lives. Anticipate that greater fruit will come as a result of the correction we receive out of the Father’s love.

Look at verses 7-8. Discipline proves my identity as a son or daughter. Discipline pushes us toward become better followers of Jesus. Thus, the world becomes a better place when you and I are better humans. If verses 5 and 6 never happen in our lives, verse 8 tells us there is no relationship that matters deeply. It is impossible to be a son or daughter and never have discipline in our lives.

Look at verse 9. Discipline strengthens my submission to the Lord. The more we see the Lord intimately involved in our daily lives, the more we want the Lord to be involved in our lives. The more transformation that we see when we look in the mirror, the more reverence and submission we are likely to offer to the Lord.

Look at verse 10. Discipline reinforces the race set before me. I have three brothers. I remember a few times growing up that somebody did something stupid, but nobody did it. The punishment was “everybody is grounded until we find out who did it” because justice seemed best. When the Lord gives training, correction, cultivation or education, it is always in our best interest to run the race and experience a greater portion of holiness in our life.

Look at verse 10. Discipline unites my heart with God’s heart. Knowing that God has my best interest in mind, according to his perfect holiness, is encouraging. Being aligned to experience his goodness in my life is encouraging. My sanctification being united with the Lord’s holiness is the only way I would want to run the race set before me.

Look at verse 11. Discipline yields righteousness in my life. “I would never wish those circumstances on another person, but I learned so much by going through them.” Progress always lead to more progress. We know our progress is the right type of progress when the peaceful fruit of righteousness is present. If you cannot see righteousness in your progress, discipline is probably around the corner.

Our points are questions because I have asked the Holy Spirit to provide individual application for each of us today.