The Race

Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 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, 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. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

The book of Hebrews is written to a group of confessing Christians who where tempted to ditch there faith in Jesus due to persecution, and return to a relatively safe haven of traditional Judaisim.

Through out the book of Hebrews the auther proclaims the superiority of Jesus, in his person and work until you get to chapter 11 the hall of faith.

These are men and women of faith that have came before us that looked to something greater than themselves to the promise of God.

The opening of chapter 12 starts out with a race metaphor and tansitions chapter 11 and 12 with therefore

The race

Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

Who are these witnesses?

I believe that these witnesses are rooting us on from the word of God

Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the rest of Old testament believers that look forward with faith to the coming of messiah.

They are the ones that believed what God had promised in faith.

hebrews 11:13 “These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.”

Jesus said in John 8:56 “Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.””

John 1:1-2 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God.”

These men and women of the faith saw something greater and believed What God has said in faith.

We have a cloud of witnesses that have gone on before us. we have 66 books that point to something greater.

They bare witness to the race that was set before them to God’s faithfulness.

They are the example of encouragment for us as we run our race.

Not only are they examples that encourage us as we run our race but we are examples to others as we race ourselves.

talk about being an encouragement to brian and what he said at ordination

let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely

The weight

Weight can mean Mass, weight, heaviness, or bodily fat.

in the race imagery could refer to the runner striping off burdensome clothing or losing excess bodily fat.

for success the runner had to get rid of anything that restricted breathing or movement

So the follower of Christ must also lay aside everything that is hindering the race that God has set Befroe them

What was the weight that hendered these Jewish believes in running their race?

What was draging them down?

It was the weight of Judisum.

It wasn’t easy for them to let go of it was ingrained in them.

They were still holding to food and drink and festivals and the Sabbath.

They were holding on to the temple, preist and the rituals and cerimonies.

the writer is telling them there is something grater and that is Christ and his finished work

Colossians 2:16-17 “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

You can’t run buy faith if your hanging on to works

He’s telling them to lay down the weight of religon

What weight is hindering you in running your race?

We can fill our lives full of good things that become weights in the race that God has called us to run.

Those good things rob us of the great things God has for our lives.

It can be work

TV or Social Media

Family

Children

Hobbies

Anything Good can be perverted and become a weight that will hender us in our race.

The sin

Here there is no paticular sin it’s just sin in general

Sin is unbelife. It’s Beleiving the lie that God is holding out on us. That He’s keeping good from us.

So we believe the lie that we are right and Gods word is wrong.

This lie trips us up in our attempt to run the race God has set before us. it’s the same lie that started in the garden.

Genesis 3:1-6 “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden, but God said, ‘You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the midst of the garden, neither shall you touch it, lest you die.’ ” But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate.”

Nothing will derail the race God has set before you more than sin.

Somethings in life must be rejected if we are to run effectivly.

so how do we lay aside the weight and sin?

identify the weight and sin that’s triping you up that’s holding you back.

Psalm 139:23-24 “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting!”

once you identify it

Confess and repent of your sin.

Psalm 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

The LORD is faithfull to forgive sin

Know the word of God!

Psalm 119:11 “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”

look at the witnesses we have in the word of God and the truth about sin and what it does to the believer.

There are many examples of people in the Bible that didn’t run there race well

that help us in our race.

, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”

This is a long distance race not a sprint. one of endurance

It’s one that the runner sees the finish line and knows the distance they know what it takes to finish

Talk about keyla and the diffrence in a long distance and short distance.

The Christian life like a long distance run is difficult. it takes effort. Its full of ups and down and not fully understanding why things happen sometimes. But in faith we keep our eyes on Jesus and the finsished work of the cross.

I’m to look at the race God has set before me.

I’m not to compaire my race to others that are running their race.

God designed all of us to run our own race in our own lane focused on him.

God didn’t build me to run in someone elses lane.

The only way we can finish the race that God has set before us is to look to Jesus.

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

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.

Just as we look to Jesus who has perfected our faith.

Jesus saw the cross and trusted the fathers plan.

he looked past the pain of the cross and the shame and endured all of it so that you and i could be free to run the race that has been set before us and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

Jesus is the fisnish line. He is the beginnig and the end and just like the cloud of witnesses that believed the promise of God.

We to have the promise that one day when our race is done we will hear

well done my good and faithful servent.

When my race is finished I want to be as Paul said in

2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight

, I have finished the race,

I have kept the faith.

Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.”

Hebrews 12:3 “Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

In this race are there going to be trouble? yes are there going to be things that try and trip us up? yes

Maybe today you need to get in the race you need to accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior and begin to run the race he has for you

Maybe your here today and you say you have recgonized weight or sin in your life thats keeping you from running the race effectivly.