Keep The Pace

[OPEN ILL] Crossing the Pipe to Valley Creek Park {OR} Running Track and Cross Country

As a kid there was a large pipe that we had to cross in the woods to cross from our neighborhood tot he park. My friends would walk across while I stayed back because i was afraid. They would call from the other side saying “you can do it. Just do what we did”

—> this is the scene we walk in on in Hebrews 12 called the “Great Cloud of Witnesses. It the people of faith that have gone before us and ran the race God laid before them and was faithful and are now used an encourager for us to run the race.

Considerations: we do not communicate with the dead in any way

S&R Hebrews 12:1-2

Look Around to the Witnesses (v.1a)

[SHOW IT] Hebrews 12:1 “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses…”

[STATE IT] God has placed you and I in the stadium of faith, to be encouraged by the faith of the saints to run the race God has laid out for us.

[EXPLAIN] The writer connects the current journey of the Christian faith and walk with those who have come before them. All of Hebrews 11 talks about the great people of faith who have already died but have one thing in common - they finished the race of the Christian race.

The Bible call these people witnesses not because they are watching you but because they have ran the race themselves and have finished well. The idea is that they know what it’s like to be in your shoes. They would understand the struggle.

They we are witnesses in the sense that they have struggled and endured themselves. Their lives have born witness to their faith. The life they life is a witness or testament to the faith they have.

James 2:18 says “Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” and also James 2:20 says “that faith apart from works is useless?”

The great cloud of witnesses that the author is talking about are people who have ran the race and finished well.

[ILLUSTRATE] growing up people would have posters of famous people they loved. I didn’t have a posters but but people I looked up to for basketball were guys like Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, Chris Paul. My cousin had posters on his wall and they were of one person - Michael Jackson. He could quote any lyric of his song.

He drew life inspiration from Michael Jackson and I drew inspiration in that we wanted to be like those men when were growing up.

What the writer is communicating is that we can walk down the hall of faith and see different ment and women who have lived a faithful life in Christ and if we look at them as examples the scriptures teach us that we can gain inspiration in our tough times or when trying to live the Christian walk.

Hebrews 13:7 says “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” There are people that God has placed around us that are able the be seen as goodly examples in what it looks like to follow Jesus. Paul

We can look to the men and women who have finished well as an example but our ultimate example is found in Christ.

[APPLY] Who are people we can model our life after? I want you to consider

Heb 11 Saints - The Bible list 17 people total who walked faithfully with Jesus that we can look to as an example of how to live the Christian life when we struggle to see the results of God’s promise.

We’d do well to read about them and notice the ways they walked in faith when it was hard.

Notice though, the type of people that the Bible places on the Hall of faith - ALL OF THESE PEOPLE ARE DEAD. You should ask the question…WHY!

I believe one the reasons is that those who are alive now have see a faithful man or women that was tempted by sin, to give up and yet still remain faithful.

The world we live in today celebrates and loves it when a celebrity says their a Christian or a famous athlete or someone we want to respect. my suspicion is that we want to see ourselves in them getting the fame, the notoriety, and significance and still be a follower of Christ. Im no saying that can’t happen but we need to wait and exercise patience and allow the Spirits work to sanctify them.

We should pay more attention to the dead saints who finished well before we magnify and place a pedestal on the people who just made a profession of faith.

Make a habit of being well acquainted with the saints who have died and were faithful until their dying breath. These are not only the people that we can learn from but the same people who can serve as earthly examples to follow.

Be like…

Abel, who sacrificed his very best to God

Noah, who believed and trusted God in the face of immense social pressure for others.

Rahab, who risked her life to accept Christian spies only on the word of what she heard about God

We have great examples of people of faith that have FINISHED the race we’re called to run. The best part os that none of these people in the hall of faith that were NOT perfect.

Rahab, a prostitute (Joshua 2). Moses, a murderer (Exodus 2), doubter (Exodus 4). David, a adulterer and murderer (2 Samuel 11). Jacob, a liar and manipulator (Genesis 27). Gideon, a fearful and insecure (Judges 6).

They ran their race and finished victoriously and we can see them as a example to finish well, too.

Here’s what I want you to know - God has placed dead Saints in scripture for current believers to follow.

Lay Aside the Baggage (v. 1b)

[SHOW IT] Hebrews 12:1 “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,”

[STATE IT] To keep the pace the pace that God has laid out for us we can’t allow anything or anyone to keep us from a pure and holy life!

[EXPLAIN] Here’s what I mean. From the example that was laid before us in the saints who have lived a faithful life we should be encouraged to do the same in not allowing the things of this world and our own sinfulness hinder or distract from a good and faithful Christian walk and witness.

Two things that are mentioned for how we are to run this race. First, we must shed of the distractions or weight that keeps us or slows us down from walking with Jesus. Second, we must kill sin in our life.

Notice though, these are two separate things! Distractions are sinful but all sin distracts.

Distractions are anything that hinders your progression in the walk with Christ.

What the author of Hebrews had in mind here was likely a Pentathlon during the Panhellic games. In the first century AD, runners ran in the stadium virtually naked. They would enter wearing long flowing, colorful robes. At the start of the race, these would be discarded to least amount of those they could wear. This is what it would have looked like - [show Image_1 and image_2, here]. The race would include 5 events (pente); discus, javelin, long jump, running (stadion), and wrestling. The race was won when an athlete could not only be the first to finish but be able to endure long amounts pain while doing these events. Among many things in our world, this is where we get the inspiration of track and field.

The reason this is important is becasue In a similar way in our Christian race, the author is exhorting believers to discard anything that would inhibit or make it hard and hinder them from running the Christian race.

Distractions look different for each of you but most common are your phone time, friends, sports, and leisure and relaxation over godly things that would spur you on in your journey.

For my athletes in the room - think about this. You have a 100% chance of standing before God and giving an account for your life and how you lived and a .37% chance of going pro in your sport and yet we give 99% of our time to sports and the remaining 1% to the everything else, including our faith.

The second way we can run the race well is by laying aside sin. In the context of Hebrews 11 and 12, here is what we can know the authors intent and what type of sin - it’s the sin of faithlessness. the main driving force behind ALL SIN is a faithlessness in trusting in God. One pastor says it this way…

“Faithlessness is a failure to trust God, which is reflected by our refusal to act on what He has said”

Pastor Tony Evans

Faithlessness deals with how we follow, obey, and act on the words and teaching of Christ. There are many people who can come to the conclusion that God is real, Jesus was a real man, and even that Jesus is the Son of God but until it affects where we go and the decisions we make we are living in faithlessness towards God that the Bible says is sin.

It’s knowing we’re to share the gospel and allowing fear to hold us back. It’s knowing that we’re called to be baptized and allowing fear to hold us back and not trusting God to help us overcome that. It’s knowing we need to speak up the faith and not trusting God to give us the words.

James 4:17 says “So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

When we’re aware of how we’re to live and we don’t, it’s a matter of faithlessness and not trusting that God’s Word is true and good for us. Laying din and distractions involves the killing of sin and self-denial for lesser things to pursue the better prize of Christ!

Here’s what i want us to see - running the Christian race is being willing to add to your holiness by subtracting from the baggage that holds you back.

Look Ahead to Christ (v.2)

[SHOW IT] Hebrews 12:2 “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”

[STATE IT] When we look to Jesus as the ultimate example we’ll find the encouragement and hope needed to endure the race God has laid out for us.

[ILLUSTRATE] “The Pace-setter in Marathons”

If you’ve ever watched professional track athletes and people who run marathons, you’ll notice that there is a runner that starts the race but doesn't finish it. This person is called the “pace-setter” for the runners. Their only job is to help you set the pace you for the race and once you get going they will drop off so that you can keep the pace. There are also times when

In a similar way, Christ has not only finished the race but he is the pace setter. This is language used here that Jesus is our “forerunner” indicating that others would follow later on the trail he blazed for believer today. He is the perfect example and the one who perfects believers.

[EXPLAIN] There are a few things you should notice about Jesus and who he is described and what he does.

First, Jesus is the author, originator, author and perfecter of your faith. The faith that you have is because God gave it to you. It’s not a result of your own intellect but a result of the perfect will and plan of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:8 “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,” and 1 John 4:19 “We love because he first loved us.” all point to the truth that faith in Jesus is given by God to His people.

Not only is Jesus the author of our faith but He is the perfecter of your faith. Jesus is JUST an example but the very person who brings your faith to perfect completion. God is walking you through your life teaching you how to follow him and be made christlike - this is the part that we’re called to endure, because in each situation Jesus is telling you to shed of your sin, shed of your anger, your pride, your faithlessness, your own will and that’s hard and the reason it’s hard. Through every stage of life and each situation you’re navigating God is perfecting your faith.

He’s perfecting your faith when you pray, when you obey, when you swallow your pride, when you bite your tongue, when on the inside your feel like doing one thing but you know Christ would want you to do the opposite.

In all of your Christian race Jesus is perfecting your faith to bring it full completion.

Secondly, we see that we’re to follow the example of enduring the suffering for Christ in similar ways Christ suffered for us. Notice that Jesus doesn’t downplay the suffering. The cross that Christ bore brought shame and yet the Bible tells us that even Jesus, the God-Man submitted himself to that shame.

[APPLY] Here’s how I think this could look in our life - Just like Jesus didn't seek the pleasure of himself when going to the cross but sought the pleasure and will of God the father is the same that we must live for the pleasure of Jesus Christ. I think what we’ll notice is that as we look to the glory and joy of Jesus we’ll find joy in the life we live.

Here’s what I want us to see - Looking to Jesus makes the Christian race worth the worldly shame.

CONCLUSION:

Im reminded of the times that I ran track in HS and remember my coach, his name was coach Mac and he’ll say ‘find your wind-splitter”. It sound weird but it’s genius. A wind-splitter, as he called it, is when you stay behind another runner to break the wind for you so that you don’t have to feel the pressure of the wind that works against you.

Spiritually, Jesus is the wind-splitter that take the weight of sin for us so that we can live the life that he has when we believe the gospel and turn to Christ for the forgiveness of sin.

For many of you, Summit Echo was when you began or even recommitted your life to Jesus Christ and it’s been over a month and you may feel like your spiritually gasping for air. Hear this - only run the race set before you.

Each time we read God’s word we all have a response to it. Either we say yes and amen and walk out or faith in godly obedience or we tell God, my will be done and not your will be done. So, each week we gather I want us to practice responding to God’s Word so that when you go home your respond in faithful and joyful obedience to God’s Word.

Tonight, we’re going to respond a bit different. I want each person to grab something to write on and write with and answer the question

What is distracting your from faithfully running the Christian race.

Are you willing to lay it aside and be faithful?

If you are, in a moment, I want you to boldly bring it and symbolically lay it to death and place it in the dirt.

Then take a baton as a reminder that you will run the race Christ has set before you as you continue what the saints before you in Heb. 11 have victoriously finished.

In a moment, I’m going to pray and the band is going to lead us in worship and while they’re doing that you will take that piece of paper lay in this bucket of dirt to symbolize you placing the sin or distraction to death then continuing you race by taking a baton.