Sanctification
Running the Race to Win
Hebrews 12:1-4
Introduction
· Our text this morning is Hebrews 12:1-4
· I will be using the NIV84
·
God
is calling us to pursue Him and He uses the analogy of a race
·
Big
picture, there are two ways to run:
o
Equipped and passionate pursuing
Jesus
§ Marathon not a sprint
§ A long haul
o Unequipped and poorly loving self
§ They’re running the same July
marathon
·
And
if equipped and running well:
o
Don’t expect to run any differently than Jesus did
·
3 points
o
Equipped
and passionately pursuing Jesus
o
Fix our eyes Jesus, the author and perfecter of our
faith
o
Don’t
expect to run different than Jesus did
TEXT
Equipped and passionately pursuing
Jesus
· First, why the analogy of a race?
o
Because
God knows our nature
o
He
knows we need to be exhorted to be passionate and faithful
· That’s why this analogy is actually all
though the NT
· Most importantly, we need to
understand the prize, why do we run?
· The end and goal of the race is a
person – Jesus = joy
o
We’re
running because joy is at stake
o
If
we miss this, we’ll wander off the race track into the concessions stand
o
That’s
where the spectators are
o
We’ll
likely look more like those spectators [are they ever in shape] than those
participating
o
We
really have to ask: is my goal Jesus
§ Or doing enough for God?
§ Or, how I look to others?
§ Am I pressing forward in knowing
Christ, or mastering Christianity?
· The implication of “crowd of
witnesses” is that we are considered athletes in an arena
o
“Therefore”
= means the goal was the same for them as it is for us. It’s Jesus
o
The
crowd is those who have gone before, looking into the arena
o
This
is unique, because it is a crowd who has run the race well and finished.
o
Many
resisted (v:4) to the point of shedding blood
o (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.”
o
Does
that sound familiar? It ought to because…
o (1 Peter 2:9 & 11) “…you are a
chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own
possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of
darkness into His marvelous light… 11 Beloved,
I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh,
which wage war against your soul.”
o
Exiles
o
They
ran looking ahead, we look behind, but we’re ALL exiles…our hope resides in
another place
o
That’s
the key to running well
o
Think
about that, are you happiest when you’re serving Jesus [someone], Or, wanting
something that would make you happy?
o
The
more we fix our eyes on Jesus the less we’ll be tempted to fixate on worldly
things
· That’s what the crowd does, the crowd
assures us the race can be run, and run well
· That’s why we are called to run with
perseverance
o
It
says the way to do that is to throw off Things that hinder, and lay aside sin
§ Everything that hinders
ð Things that in and of themselves are not
necessarily sinful
ð good things but not best things
ð video games, TV, Candy Crush,
Facebook
ð Greek: impediment
ð Remember the runners earlier
ð If you have plenty of time for these
but can’t find time to be in the Word, do really care?
à I find that I lie a lot to myself
à That by hearing myself say it, it’s
action
ð We’ll get to assessing these
§ And actual sin that entangles
§ Entangles
ð ensnare or obstruct
ð constricts
§ We’re to lay it aside
ð Put away
ð To stow it
ð To lay it down
ð (Ephesians 4:31) “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and
clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”
ð Sometimes, that looks like:
§ Cutting it off
ð Jesus’ words – not mine
ð Matthew 5:29-30 “ ‘If your right eye causes you to sin, tear
it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members
than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it
off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than
that your whole body go into hell.’ ”
ð Are we treating sin seriously, or
casually?
ð If your leg was full of gangrene
would you put a band aid on it, or cut it off to save your life?
o
Several
months ago, I asked [and I quote]: “For
the glory of God, what one area of your marriage (or if you’re single a
relationship)…what one area will you seek to prayerfully change today? – For
the glory of God”
§ Did you do that?
§ What got in the way?
§ What was the impediment?
§ And then most importantly, Why?
o
You
see the WHY is so important because it gets to the real nature of the problem.
The idolatry. The ugly stuff
§ I love myself much more than Jesus
§ Which means I don’t really care about
my marriage
§ This is what I meant when I said I’m
a good liar
o
How
in the world will I move forward in running the race?
Fix our eyes Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith
· Jesus ran
the race perfectly, and He ran for joy
· He is the
goal and end of my race
o
When my eyes are fixed on Jesus they’re not on me
o
Things do not get in the way
o
Like Peter, I take my eyes off Jesus and I sink into
the mire of sin and self
o
That’s why I want to be in the Word, I want to see
Jesus
§ Not master
Christianity
§ I want real
fellowship
· Fix my eyes on His race
o
He
ran perfectly
o
He
weathered all the hostility
o
He
endured the cross
o
He
endured it’s shame
o
Then
He sat down at the right hand of God completely victorious
o
So
there’s real hope!
o
My
victory is rooted in His victory
o
Which
means my joy should be His joy
· Have you really thought about what
“the joy set before Him” means?
o
“for
the joy set before Him” seems to point to the future. It relates to Jesus’
exaltation when He was glorified after His death on the cross.
o
Jesus’
joy was directly linked to God’s glory
o
(John 15:8) ‘ “By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove
to be My disciples.’ ”
o
The witnesses had the same joy;
o(Hebrews 11:26) “He [Moses] considered
the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was
looking to the reward.”
o
Moses was fixed on Jesus
o (John 5:46) ‘ “For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote of Me.’
”
o It also
means my victory is another place – exile – a person, and a distant place.
§ The now and
the not yet
§ This
worship service is a taste of the reality
o This is not
my home
o Brothers
and sisters, this is not your home
o That’s why:
Don’t
expect to run different than Jesus did
· To obtain the joy God had planned for
Him, Jesus obediently suffered the agony of death.
o
The hostility you endure is a perfecting of your
faith
o
It is a promise of Scripture – Ryan = not strange
· Consider
Jesus’ opposition, so that we don’t grow weary
o
We don’t grit our teeth to get through it
o
Fix your eyes on Jesus, we consider…
o
Consider His response
o [slide#15]
(Acts 8:32) “Like a sheep he was led to
the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opens not His
mouth.”
o
Who suffered without malice, or slander or bitterness
o
We’re frail people who weary easily – Jesus gets
that
· You haven’t
shed blood in your struggle against sin
o
This again comes from the sports area
o
Games like boxing, etc.] where we’re bloodied
o
How hard have you honestly fought against sin?
o
Scripture is saying it’s a real opponent
· How are you running?
· Andrew preached a while ago about 3
types of people
o
#1
– Those running really well
o
#2
– Those struggling= up & down
o
#3
– Those who don’t know there’s a race
Conclusion
· Three action points to close:
o
I’d
encourage you to prayerfully ask where you are
o
Find
what keeps you from pursuing Jesus
o
Laying
those things aside
· Your joy’s at stake
· Your Father is calling to you in this
text this morning because He loves you greatly.
· Enjoy that love.
