Running With Endurance

RUNNING WITH ENDURANCE Spring Valley Mennonite; May 26, 2019; Hebrews 12:1-2 This is Memorial Day weekend, which brings to mind the Memorial Day programs in my home church in Missouri. We always had a carry-in dinner, followed by a special program in the afternoon. Then everyone went to the cemetery to visit the graves of their loved ones. There were always lots of visitors on Decoration Day, as we called the holiday. It is natural and good to remember and honor those who have passed. I began thinking about preaching a message about remembering those who have died and made a significant contribution to our lives. As I began to think about a message about the value of remembering such ones, I looked for scriptures about remembering our ancestors. Ancestry was of vital importance to the Hebrew people because God had specifically chosen the family of Abraham and made a covenant with him which would pass to all his descendants. Abraham’s grandson Jacob had 12 sons which formed the twelve tribes of Israel. Actually, there are 13 tribes, as Joseph’s two sons Ephraim and Manasseh were included in the inheritance of the land. The priestly tribe of Levi did not inherit any territory except certain cities within each tribe’s land. They were to be supported by the offerings and tithes of these other tribes. So, in Israel, one’s genealogy was very important and carefully preserved, as evidenced by the various recorded genealogies in scripture. Your family determined where you lived and what parcel of land was your inheritance. While to us the reading of these genealogies is rather tedious, they were of vital importance to the Hebrews. Such ancestry became much less important in New Testament times, as one’s Jewish ancestry meant little in regards to belief in Jesus Christ. The New Testament records the spread of the Gospel from the Jews to the Gentiles, and in the Church Jew and Gentile have become one. The wall of separation between Jew and Gentile has been broken down in Christ. However, God still has a plan for the Jew which will begin with the complete regathering of Israel to the land during the Tribulation Period. All the Old Testament promises made to Israel of world-wide prominence will be fulfilled as the Lord Jesus will rule from an earthly throne during the Millennium. Back to the subject of honoring those who have died, other than the scriptures which tell us to honor our parents, I pretty much drew a blank! That doesn’t mean such a practice is wrong, but just that scripture doesn’t particularly mention it. Perhaps that is because it was common in pagan religions to worship and pray to ancestors. We are never told to pray to anyone other than God. There are many passages which tell us to remember the great works of God, as well as the many verses dealing with the Lord’s Supper, which is a ceremony of remembrance of the death and sacrifice of Jesus. But then, as I was having trouble finding verses about remembering people, I thought of Hebrews 11, the Bible’s Hall of Fame about people of faith. It is the faith of our fathers (and mothers) that should make them stand out in our memories, and to praise and glorify God for a godly heritage. While we remember God has no grandchildren, and the faith of our parents does not save us, it is right to remember the faith of our fathers and strive to worship and serve God as they did, if in fact they did. This led me to focus on the summary verses for chapter 11, which are the first two verses of chapter 12. And verse 2 tells us Who to remember: The Lord Jesus Christ. Read Hebrews 12:1-2. I. WHO COMPRISES THIS “CLOUD OF WITNESSES?” Who are these “witnesses”? I will admit that for a long time I thought this verse described people peering over the balcony of heaven watching us down here on earth—kind of like cheerleaders--but, if we really consider this, that idea is not particularly comforting, for if they can see the good things I do, they can also see the bad things, and the trials and sorrows of my life. I can’t imagine this would be very pleasant for them either! There have been times when my actions would have been a great disappointment to my parents! Surely, there are better things to do in heaven than keep up on the doings of earth! In addition to being illogical, we are never told that there are watchers in heaven who observe our actions—with the possible exception of angels. No, these witnesses are those spoken of in Hebrews 11—men and women of old who triumphed in faith. People like Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Isaac and Jacob, those who through faith fulfilled God’s purposes in their lives. The “therefore” which begins verse 1 points us backward to the cloud of witnesses, those who were forerunners in trusting God, men and women of faith. They provide examples and encouragement to us to endure and persevere in faith. In 1954, an Englishman by the name of Roger Bannister set a world record as he ran the first sub-four-minute mile. Before he accomplished that feat, it was thought impossible for a runner to break the four-minute barrier. But in the last 65 years, over 1400 male runners have broken that barrier, which has now been lowered 17 seconds to 3 minutes 43 seconds. It was a Kansan, Jim Ryan who ran the first four-minute mile in high school. He did it in Wichita’s Cessna Stadium in 1965. Ryan changed the way high school runners thought. As of yet, the four-minute mile (or 1600 meters) barrier has not been broken by a woman. The best time for the distance was set in 1996 by a Russian, Svetlana Masterkova, who ran it in 4:12:56. No one has come close since that time. My point is that we humans benefit and are encouraged from the example of someone who has paved the way and proven that something is possible. As believers, we are surrounded by examples of those who have successfully completed the race; and many of those are now in heaven. This is the value of an example, those who have done it before. II. THE CHRISTIAN LIFE IS A RACE The author of Hebrews compares the life of faith to a race others have successfully run. But the race is not a sprint, but a marathon; and it is not only a marathon, but more like a steeplechase! You may be familiar with the 26- mile marathon, but do you know about the steeplechase? The standard steeplechase is a distance obstacle race 2000 meters in length, with 18 barriers the runners must hurtle and five water jumps. The Christian life is not smooth sailing but beset with all types of challenges and situations we must work through. Paul uses the illustration of a race in 2 Corinthians 9:24: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win.” This race we run is won not by defeating everyone else. It is not a competition of works, but of faith; and it is not a competition against the faith of others, to see who does the best, but it a race against ourselves. In running terms, we are constantly striving for a PR, a Personal Record, a Personal Best. But there are constantly things which slow us down, things which might even cause us to stop running. It is sad that so many Christians enter the race, but then seem to leisurely “poke along”, not really striving to win. To go back to running, there are many things which create resistance, things which try to hold us back from running efficiently. What are some of these hindrances? III. HINDRANCES TO RUNNING EFFECTIVELY The verse talks of two things that hinder our running: “encumbrances and sin”. We all realize the effect of sin on how we run the race. Sin is seen as something which easily entangles us. At one time or another in their high school careers, all my kids competed in track or cross country. I don’t know how many times I told them to double tie their shoelaces, for if shoes become untied during a race the laces can become an “entanglement” and trip them up. I remember several times they didn’t heed my warning, running with shoelaces flopping, in danger of falling or having another runner step on them. Several times I remember my sons finishing the race wearing only one shoe! They never did very well when their shoe was lost or when it caused them to stumble. Sin is like a loose shoelace or a thorny vine which easily tangles our feet. Speaking of encumbrances; we don’t see runners competing in heavy boots or high heels or dressed in formal wear or wearing heavy overcoats! The runner wears the lightest and most unrestrictive clothing possible. Often, he or she wears special shoes with spikes which give extra traction. As a runner in high school, I believed that carbonated drinks would hinder my speed, as certainly would eating junk foods. I tried to get plenty of rest and trained hard in preparation for races. I believed all these things would help me, and voluntarily gave up certain things or practices, believing them to be an encumbrance. Transferring these principles to the Christian life, we find that what may be an encumbrance to one person may not encumber another. Usually the difference comes down to the issue of excess. For example, social media is an effective way to keep up with family and friends, but it can also be addictive and a prime waste of time. Even good things like sports can become a hindrance when they interfere with being involved in church or ministry. Encumbrances are not necessarily sinful, but they are things which hold us back from being fully engaged in the pursuit of being Christlike. A few other hindrances I identified are things like becoming weary or tired of the battle, discouragement at lack of results, focusing on others and losing sight of the goal. There is one thing which will do more than anything to help us in this race, and we see it in verse 2: IV. WE MUST KEEP OUR EYES ON THE GOAL What is the goal for which we strive? It isn’t heaven, although that is our final destination; our aim in life is more immediate, our aim in life is Christlikeness. I found this quote from Alexander MacClaren, a famous British Baptist minister for over 65 years in the 19th and early 20th century: “The only aim that is worthy of a man to live for, as his supreme and dominant one is that he shall be completely molded in character, disposition, nature, heart and will into the likeness of Jess Christ…” To be like Christ is the prize we strive for in this life. We are to fix our eyes on Jesus, Who has saved us by His sacrificial death, and Who will bring our spiritual journey to completion as the perfecter of our faith. He is out there running with us, encouraging us and telling us “keep running, you can do it, others have done it before, don’t give up, lean on Me, keep striving!” He is the foremost of examples, the One who completely fulfilled the will of God. He set the example in saying, “not my will but the will of my father”. Our Christian character, disposition, nature and heart are developed as we say “Yes, Lord!” to His will. Take encouragement from the words of Paul in Philippians 1:6: “For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” So, fellow runner, don’t give up, run to win, put off anything that is slowing you down, be encouraged and keep running, eyes on Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith.