A Winning Church Play-Book

A WINNING CHURCH PLAY-BOOK Spring Valley Mennonite; May 10, 2020; Hebrews 12:12-17 There are many things during these last 8 weeks we have learned we can live without. One of those things is live sports. We have suffered through the absence of March Madness, the beginning of Major League Baseball, and the NBA playoffs. Some football fans would cheer that this shutdown at least did not happen during the NFL season! To help those who are suffering from sports withdrawal syndrome, I will introduce my message with a football illustration! One of the most closely guarded resources of a football team is what is called the “playbook.” The playbook is filled with detailed information about techniques and vocabulary relating to every game play that an individual team will run as well as information about team formations. Different formations require different combinations of players depending on a number of variable factors. If one of these playbooks would happen to fall into the hands of an opposing team, it would give that team a great advantage as they know what their opponent will do. For example, whether a certain formation would signal whether the play would be a pass or run. Likewise, the quarterback could see a certain defensive setup and call an audible, changing his play accordingly. These passbooks are closely guarded to prevent them getting into the wrong hands. In one sense God has given the church and we individuals within the church a “playbook” on how to be successful in “this race that is set before us” as verse 1 of this chapter introduces. Our playbook is the Bible. Today’s passage from Hebrews 12 gives instructions for running the race. We will begin at verse 12, which picks up the metaphor of “racing with endurance.” The verses we covered last week which dealt with God’s loving discipline fits the racing idea also, for any athlete must train and live a disciplined lifestyle. If he “goes off training” and violates the rules of his coach, he will face the consequences, as well as being strongly encouraged by the coach to get him back on the program. After the crucially important explanation about how God uses of discipline in training us to deal with our sins, further instructions are given, positive things to do and negative things to avoid. The connection to the introductory verses in chapter 12 is again seen in the connective word “therefore.” Because we are in a race, and because God uses discipline to train us, THEREFORE follow these additional rules about running. These instructions can be viewed as part of God’s playbook for believers and for the church. Read Hebrews 12:12-17\ We are first told: I. HELP THOSE LAGGING BEHIND TO CATCH UP The hands and arms are particularly important in running. Proper arm and hand position can help maintain momentum and rhythm of the runner’s body. One article on running put it like this: “By balancing the body as it moves, arm swing helps reduce overall energy expenditure, propels you forward and improves overall running rhythm by helping to lift the body off the ground with each stride. This helps relieve stress from the lower body and improve pelvic rotation, making things easier on your legs, too.” One study showed that “swinging your arms when you run versus running with restricted arm movement can save you 3–13% in energy expenditure.” Coaches will instruct runners to use “big arms” when going uphill, meaning to swing their arms aggressively. Proper arm swing is especially crucial for long-distance runners. The Christian’s race is certainly long and tiring. Our natural tendency is to grow weary and slow down, and even stop for a while. In observing long races, it is easy to spot those runners who are fatigued and out of energy by observing their arms and hands flopping. This loss of rhythm soon affects the whole body, including the knees. This portion of the playbook for the Christian race tells us that we are to “strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble.” The sense of the Greek word for strengthen tells us that this strengthening is not only a personal thing, like “strengthen yourself” but “you all strengthen the hands and knees.” This gives us the picture of a group of people running together, which is exactly what the church is like. “Church” is a team endeavor! We see this in the other ways the church is described, such as a body or a house built up of individual bricks. We are to help each other as we grow weary, keeping an eye on one another and encouraging or exhorting. This demonstrates how difficult it is for a believer to exist outside a Christian fellowship. This is the point of Ecclesiastes 4:12: “Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him. And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” We also are to make straight footpaths. Isn’t it instructive that we are not told to “follow” straight footpaths? We are to make straight paths. Now, we are to follow the examples of those who have successfully run the race before us. Those ones are the great cloud of witnesses spoken of earlier. But the Holy Spirit is speaking of how we help one another by setting an example. I can draw inspiration from Abraham, but personally observing someone makes an even greater impression. To create a straight path, one focuses on a point, and then walks or runs straight for it, never taking your eyes off that point. I have a rather large back yard. I vary the direction of mowing for a couple of reasons: first, I get bored mowing it the same way every time, and I think it is better in maintaining a healthy lawn. When I climb on my riding mower in beginning to mow, I make the first cut by focusing on a point on the far side of the lawn. I never take my eyes off that point. I make a straight cut this way (usually!) In this race, our focus is to be where?--as verse 2 states, we are to be “fixing our eyes on Jesus.” We make straight paths for others to follow as we keep our focus on Jesus. When we run this race, others are following, especially our family members and younger believers. We are to run straight, creating a path, blazing a trail for others to follow. It is a blessing to me as I hear of past members of Spring Valley church now in heaven, saints who passed on before I became part of this fellowship. They made straight paths for us to follow, just as we are making straight paths for those coming after us. Today is Mother’s Day, and we honor our Mothers in heaven. Blessed are we who had mothers who made straight paths for us as they focused their lives on Jesus. When we or our fellow believers get distracted or weary from focusing their lives on Jesus, we are to gently help them to regain their eternal perspective. This is so important when trials like this Corona virus affect us. We all have been inconvenienced; our financial status may have drastically changed; many of we seniors are dependent on investment income which has taken a hit; others have family members who have been laid off or furloughed—who knows if the economy will recover and those jobs will be there. For all of us, we must encourage one another to keep our focus on the Lord Jesus Who is our source and our strength. Our security lies not in how the economy is going but upon the Lord who has promised to meet our every need. Our Need, not necessarily our wants. One big issue with living in a prosperous culture is that we begin to assume it is God’s will for us to enjoy a comfortable, healthy, crisis-free lifestyle. When our pleasant lifestyle is interrupted, we start asking, “Why, God?” When we begin questioning God, it is a short step to begin doubting His goodness. “If God is good, why did He let this happen to me?” we ask. The problem is we have the wrong perspective on life in this fallen world. We live in a sinful world where things go wrong. Christians catch the Corona virus and may even die. God is still in control. We are to praise Him in the storms, as He is with us. He will carry us through, perhaps calming the waves, but perhaps giving us calmness to endure the storm. One of the challenges of being apart is knowing when someone is getting weary or is struggling in the race. We need to keep communicating with one another. What the playbook tells us is that we all are running together. II. WE ALSO ARE TO STRIVE TO AVOID PETTY CONFLICTS WITH OTHERS Verse 14 (Read) There are many minor differences among any group of believers, differences which our enemy loves to exploit to try and create divisions. We are to pursue peace, avoiding minor conflicts that might distract in running the race. Romans 14:19 adds to the issue of peacekeeping when it tells us, “So then let us pursue the things which make for peace and the building up of one another.” We are to gladly give up our rights for the greater good, like the right to come out on top in an argument. Thinking of the situation these initial readers were facing persecution which could intensify, it might not be possible to have peace with their persecutors. We must balance peacemaking with the realization that it might not be possible to have absence of conflict with everyone as that would require both parties to agree. Romans 12:18 says “As far as possible, be at peace with all men.” On our part, we are to pursue peace, making it our goal. There is a balance to be maintained, as we cannot sacrifice holiness or our convictions for the sake of avoiding conflict. There are times when we must stand up for what is right, avoiding compromise regarding God’s clearly stated standards. We also are to: III. PURSUE SANCTIFICATION “Seeing God” means truly comprehending with spiritual perception. Jesus taught that the pure in heart are blessed for they will be able to “see God.” In one way this is saying we should be involved in sharing the gospel message, realizing that unless a person has a saving relationship with Jesus Christ, the only way they will “see God” is as the Judge who condemns them for eternity. Sanctification is the ongoing process by which the Holy Spirit works in our lives to conform our behavior—our condition-- to match our position having been given the righteousness of Christ. Sanctification deals with our daily walk with God, and we are to “Pursue holiness.” This again speaks of the marathon race of the Christian life. Personal holiness neither comes naturally nor without effort. We are to make it our goal. We struggle against the world, the devil and against perhaps our greatest adversary, our sinful flesh, or the principle of sin within us. We must daily be engaged in this battle. It takes a daily determination to pursue God’s will instead of our own. And His will is our sanctification. Take courage in that God desires this even more than you do, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to keep us engaged in the race. IV. WE ARE TO DEAL WITH THE CONTAMINATION OF BITTERNESS, BOTH PERSONALLY AND WITHIN THE CHURCH A person can “come short of the grace of God” if they resist the Gospel message and turn away. Unfortunately, there are those who attend church, hearing the good news of salvation, but never making the decision to follow Christ. These can become like a hidden reef in the ocean which can cause great damage. They can become like a hidden rotten root on a tree which can spread its rottenness to other healthy roots. But bitterness can be found in the lives of believers also. It is true that the trials and discipline of the Lord will either make us better or bitter. Bitterness is one of the most devastating issues, one of the most likely things to sidetrack a Christian and a church in our pursuit of godliness. This bitterness comes out as negativity which is highly contagious. It causes trouble within families: the spouse and children, relatives and acquaintances all are affected. And often, the work of God within churches is affected. Bitterness begins when someone fails to rightly process a trial or an act of God’s discipline. The person takes offense and lets that offense simmer. He rejects any thought of forgiving the offense, and is filled with anger and resentment. He becomes negative and carries his woundedness with him. He justifies his sinful, unforgiving attitude and often his health is negatively affected; certainly his spiritual health is! His relationships with others suffer, for who wants to be around such a bitter negative person? This isolation only serves to increase his negativity, as he perceives that everyone is against him. What a pitiful situation is the person eaten up by bitterness! It is very difficult to help someone caught up in this trap of Satan. Our instruction from God is to avoid letting this root of bitterness “spring up” or allow it to trip up others, like a root exposing itself in the forest tripping up the unaware. Leaders must watch out for such people. V. GUARD AGAINST THE “ESAU” IN THE FLOCK Esau, brother of Jacob, is given as an example of a godless and spiritually immoral person. As far as we know, Esau wasn’t involved in sexual immorality, although one whose focus is purely on personal and immediate satisfaction could easily fall into such practices. Esau saw no value in spiritual things, living purely for the moment. He sold his future blessings for a bowl of stew, trading his birthright, the first-born double portion of inheritance. The consequence of his actions could not be undone, even when he realized his error. There was no “going back” and starting over. In life, there are certain things which are non-reversible, decisions which change things forever. Criminal acts may be forgiven, but prison awaits. Virginity, once sacrificed in a moment of passion, cannot be regained. Divorce leaves scars which remain. God forgives, but consequences linger. Grace triumphs, but sin takes its toll upon lives. To successfully run the race set before us we must heed the rules of the game. We must keep our focus on Jesus. We must help those who struggle, those who are running with poor technique. We are to create straight paths for others to follow, realizing we are setting an example with our choices. We are to pursue peace, as far as possible, forgiving and not holding grudges. We are to carefully guard against bitter people, for they can affect many others with a spirit of negativity. And we should watch out for those profane and godless ones who live only for themselves and resolve to learn from their negative examples. God has graciously given us His playbook. May we take heed and follow it.