Sunday Sermon Run THE Race Last night down at Richmond…there was a BIG SHOW! The Chase to the 2014 Nationwide Cup began last night, and 13 different drivers (including Dale Jr.) entered last night’s race knowing (for sure) they had already won a place in the final 16 who would run for NASCAR gold. Matt Kenseth (for some reason) had qualified on his points, leaving 2 spots open for somebody to get in. Four drivers had the best chance…BUT... In the end, it didn’t matter who qualified fastest. It didn’t make any difference who had the best pit crew; the shiniest car or who led the most laps; all those things helped…but all that mattered….was who finished first. Who endured to the end…. Shannon Faulkner made headlines a few years ago as she crusaded to become THE first female cadet at The Citadel, an all-male military academy. After a prolonged court battle, you’ll remember, she finally won the right to enroll. But she couldn’t endure the exercise program required of all cadets. So a few days later she dropped out & we’ve heard almost nothing of her since. • Stories of winners are inspiring! Everybody loves a winner….I like to hear stories about people who won’t give up. • Quitters aren’t much of an inspiration, but people who stay with a commitment even though the going gets tough are a source of great inspiration to all. • Do you remember the man who came to Jesus & said, I’ll follow you wherever you go? Jesus said, Before you make that kind of commitment, you need to realize that foxes have holes & the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head. • In other words, if you follow me, realize that there will be difficulties. There will be times when you will not know where you’ll sleep, or where your next meal is coming from. There will be difficult & discouraging times. But after you realize that, & then put your hands to the plow, He said, don’t look back. When people start the Christian life, & then quit when the going gets tough, they can become an object of ridicule to some & a source of discouragement to others. That’s the reason Hebrews 12:1-3 is so important. Read Hebrews 12: 1-3 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Without a doubt…patience is NOT one of my virtues. I get distracted very easily. I’m driving somewhere and my favorite song comes on the radio, and I’m talking on the phone…and I’m eating and drinking… (Geri says I’m the only person she knows who can drive and direct a choir….and read my bible at the same time). But we all (sometimes) tend to try to do too much….and we become easily distracted. Remember Peter was walking on water? And he had his eyes fixed on Jesus. He was doing THE impossible, but it didn’t matter…because God was in control. But Peter got distracted, he looked down at the water, and he began to sink.. Some of us today, we get so easily distracted; we try to do too many things at one time; and we lose sight of the race we’re call to run. For years sailors navigated using something called The Polaris Principle. That means that they would follow the North Star to cross the seas, because it was always a constant. It was always in THE SAME PLACE! So maybe that’s what we need to keep from becoming distracted? A constant…a GPS to help us always find our way! Notice that chapter 12 begins with the word Wherefore. That connects it with the previous chapter. And in chapter 11 the writer gives a long list of people who have been found faithful before us….a constant reminder to all us Christians in the race! An inspiration for us to keep on keeping on! Verse 7, he mentions Noah. Remember Noah? He spent 120 years of his life building an ark - 120 years! Verse 8 its Abraham, called from his home to a place that God would lead him; Abraham, who in his old age was told that he & his wife Sarah would conceive & bear a son; Abraham, who was told to take this precious son to the top of the mountain & offer him as a sacrifice. This Abraham passed every test. Then He mentions Joseph All these saints seem to be saying….Look, it doesn’t take much to be faithful when things are going your way. But when you are at the bottom, & everything seems to be falling apart, make sure that you’re still faithful. The list goes on. There’s Moses & Samson & Samuel & David & more…. There is a great cloud of witnesses who gather to cheer us on. They whisper in our ear when we become discouraged, & they say to us, Don’t give up! Don’t lose heart. Don’t quit, whatever you do. • When I get discouraged, I think not only of the great saints in Scripture, but also of people who have crossed my path, & who have inspired me. • I think of the folks at Bedford Baptist, and Bedford Christian Church…I think of my first Sunday school teacher, Mrs. Burnette. • I think of one of the greatest Christian men I ever knew…Calvin Wilson…how he would call me and encourage me…when I’d get down there was Calvin always cheering me on…. • I think of Thomas Milton…. Up at The Rescue Mission, it’s easy to get discouraged. You look at what this one is doing, or that one is doing....They have a saying up there…just work YOUR program! The writer reminds us of all those who fought for the cross before us…and lay aside every weight and sin that holds us back! Then run YOUR race!!! With patience…dont try to be someone else... I have a great big ole top coat that I wear from time to time. It fits great! And I love how when you’re outside, and the wind is blowing, it keeps you warm. But you know, if you were going to run a race, it probably wouldn’t be a real good idea to run it wearing that top coat; because even though it looks great, it weighs about 600 lbs! And it certainly wouldn’t be conducive to speed. That’s what the writer is saying. Those things that hinder us, whatever they might be, throw them off! It might be an addiction, or a relationship…maybe a bad habit.. whatever that stuff is, that hinders your mission for Christ, get rid of that stuff, and walk on! Then the writer says that we also need to get rid of the sin that so easily entangles us. Now that is probably the best word we can find for sin. It’s entangling. Sin wraps itself inside us, and causes us to do things we really don’t want to do… Remember the old science fiction movies? The star would get in a tussle with something…and he’d shoot it. Just when he thought he was safe….here came a tentacle or an arm…he’d fight it off, and here would come another one…until finally, he’d take a knife (he had conveniently located) and cut himself to freedom.. Sin is like that…..it starts simple enough, but literally sin wraps itself around our very being. So the writer says that we need to throw aside all those things that hinder us & all those things that entangle. Then he says, Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Now I’m obviously not a marathon runner. But marathon runners tell us that there are two critical times in the race. The first one is at the beginning. When you begin to run you feel SO good, & the temptation is to run too fast too soon. So you expend all your energy & don’t have enough left for the end of the race. Even ole 5-time last night at Richmond ran out of gas last night... Some Christians have done that, too, haven’t they? They started out with great promise but didn’t finish the race, they ran out of gas before the end of the race. The second critical time in a marathon is at the half-way point. You suddenly realize that you still have as far to go as you’ve already run & you’re already very tired. Runners call it hitting the wall. You’ve come to the end of your endurance & you’re not sure you can put one foot in front of the other anymore. I’ve seen it happen in the Christian life, too. You’ve been around for a while & you’ve fought the battles, but you’re not sure there is enough energy left to make it to the end, & the temptation is to quit. You hear that in churches a lot these days....we USED to do this, or we USED to do that...but now, were just tired. So how do we go on???? Verse 3 The final word is this, we must focus our attention on Jesus. Notice what he says, Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author & perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, & sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary & lose heart. If you take the tour in Williamsburg, VA they will explain to you why, even to this day, we hold up our hand & swear that we will tell the truth, the whole truth, & nothing but the truth, so help me God whenever we give testimony in court. The story goes all the way back to medieval times. When someone was being tried for a crime & the evidence seemed overwhelmingly against him, there was a way out. He could stand up & say, I plead the benefit of clergy. Now when he pleaded the benefit of clergy everyone was aghast because that was the same as an admission of guilt. But it was his last hope, his last chance. So a clergyman would come in with a selected passage of Scripture, usually from Psalms 51, the confession of David for all the sins that he had committed. He would hand it to the accused & say, Here, read this. It was kind of a forerunner of the lie-detector test. The law said that if he could read it without stammering or stuttering he would be set free even though the evidence against him was overwhelming. But if he stumbled or stammered just one time he was judged guilty. Usually a guilty person could not read that passage without struggle. So they were found guilty. But when someone read it perfectly & was set free, they branded the palm of his hand with the brand of the cross. You see, you could only claim the benefit of clergy one time. So whenever anyone testified in court he would have to hold up his hand so that all could see if the brand of the cross was there. One of these days, folks, we’re all going to stand before the judge of the universe, as guilty as we can be. The evidence is overwhelmingly against us. The accuser will be there to accuse us of all the sins we have committed. Our only hope is to claim the benefit of the cross. Paul said, God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of Jesus Christ. So the writer of Hebrews says, Focus on Jesus because the only hope we have is our hope in Him. 1. So run the race with patience. Work YOUR program! 2. Don’t lose heart. Don’t become discouraged. 3. Don’t quit. Keep on running the race that has been set before us. Father God, Bless those who grow weary in doing good. Help them to find endurance when they remember a Christian brother or sister who stayed their course. Whenever we lose sight of our call, remind us Lord of who and what we are. May we always follow You. Amen. Portions of this sermon borrowed from sermoncentral
Posted on: Sun, 07 Sep 2014 12:36:17 +0000
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