The "Let Us" Series From The Book Of Hebrews
#9
"LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERENCE!"
TEXT: Hebrews
12:1b
INTRO: I am always
amazed at the athletes during the winter and summer Olympics. I am amazed because they have perfected
their bodies to push the envelope of human endurance to set new world records
and to be the best in the world in their particular
sport.
How do they get there? I have exercised at times, run a little
here and a little there, but there is no way I could run in a race with those
guys and gals. They got there by
constant and persistent training.
They have to learn to persevere through pain, through hardships, through
long hours of training, and only then can they even begin to think of competing
for the highest honor among athletic endeavors. If you want to be the best, you must
persevere!
ILLUS: The job of a football coach is to make men
do what they don't want to do, in order to achieve what they've always wanted to
be. -- Tom Landry,
Leadership, Vol. 7, no. 3.
It is precisely this concept that the writer of Hebrews
has in mind in this one kick off verse to chapter 12. In fact, it is likely the writer has in
mind the Olympics which were a reality back in his own day. The verse starts by talking about a
great crowd of witnesses, like at an Olympic event, and the discipline training
that an Olympic athlete would have to endure to achieve his or her goal. He is specific in his use of analogy
here to those who ran races.
As in our own day of the Olympics, races were set up
and the course decided by the Olympic committee, all the runner had to do was
run the race marked out faster and better than any other runner to win the
gold. The writer of Hebrews likens
this to the race God has marked out for each of us, and encourages us to run it
with perseverance.
PROP. SENT: The Bible teaches us that God has established
a course and race for every one of His followers. To achieve what He has in mind for our
lives we will need to run with perseverance, even when it gets tough in
life.
I. PERSEVERENCE! Heb.
12:1b
A.
Discipline! Heb.
12:1b
1. With the writer of Hebrews use of
running a race he is clearly indicating that life will at times be difficult and
challenging – all races were in the Olympics.
a. There has never been an “easy” race
in world competition!
b. Living the life of faith is going
to be tough at times!
c. Like any Olympic runner, there are
days when you simply have to push through to stay in the
game.
d. Yes, it can be hard to be a
Christian, but it is also going to be worth the crown at the
end.
ILLUS: Lord Joseph Duveen, American head of the art
firm that bore his name, planned in 1915 to send one of his experts to
"I can't take the
risk of your being killed," he said to his young employee. "Don't worry," said the man, "I'm a
strong swimmer, and when I read what was happening in the
Naturally, Duveen
laughed. It sounded
preposterous. But his expert
sailed, and the
2. The context of Chapter 11 included
a long list of names of God’s people who were delivered from difficulties, AND
some who were not, but still had faith.
This is the challenge of living by faith, sometimes we have to have the
discipline to believe and trust God when things don’t work out like we would
like. And, in such tough times we
have to have the discipline when this happens of continuing to press on in our
walk with God, trusting in the ultimate
prize.
a. The athlete who competed sometimes
had painful experiences and setbacks during the race, but the only thing they
had in mind when these things happened was the goal
line!
b. As God’s people we will at times
encounter setbacks, painful experiences that would otherwise take us out of the
race, but the true athlete just doesn’t stop, he/she perseveres through the pain
with the goal line in mind, and the ultimate
prize.
c. The only way to do this is to
simply persevere, to keep going.
d. Notice that is precisely what the
writer in Heb. 12:1b states, “…let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for
us.”
e. To do that requires a stubborn but
positive discipline.
3. Runners understand that there is a
place during a long race when you have to push through the pain to catch a
second wind. There is a place while
running where you simply want to quit, your body screams in pain and says,
“Enough already!” It is at this
point that all the discipline of preparation and perseverance in training has to
kick in order to finish and win!
ILLUS: Have you ever noticed that world-class
runners have a "kick?" A kick is a technical runner's term that means when they
get to that last one hundred yards or so, the runner can still sprint. No matter
how much he's run before, he can sprint that last leg to the finish line and win
that race. God wants you to have a kick. No matter what your circumstance, God
wants you to finish strong.
-- Craig Brian Larson, "Strong to the Finish," Preaching Today, Tape No. 155.
a. Ironically, when the running hits
this “wall” of pain and does not
stop, the body kicks into another mode and they catch what is known as the “second
wind.”
b. When your body realizes that all
its screaming won’t stop your run, it reorganizes to burn other kinds of energy
off in order to give you the final
push.
c. Sometimes this includes the release
of hormones in the brain called endorphins which actually give the runner a
sense of exuberance and a sense of well being – it is the bodies natural way of
controlling pain, they are natural narcotics that help diminish the
pain.
d. There are similar spiritual
parallels to this, sometimes in our race in life we hit tough places, it is then
when all the spiritual disciplines in our lives kick in and help us find God’s
peace even when circumstances would dictate contrary
wise.
e. There is a “peace that
passes understanding” – our spiritual endorphins that allow us to
press through in painful times. (Philip.
4:7)
B.
Determination! Heb.
12:1b
1. When everything says, “stop” our perseverance says, “keep
going!”
a. There are times when you would like
to quit!
b. Pain is always the natural way to
get us to stop something.
(1.
But a true athlete knows that pain has to be evaluated and if it is just
the pain from the run and not some broken part, you have to simply use
determination or perseverance to push through the pain to
victory.
(2.
We must learn this as God’s people
too!
(3.
The writer is indicating that God has a race for each one of us, in order
to achieve the goal line we will have times we will have to push through the
pain and trust the strength of God to get us to the finish line where the prize
awaits us.
2. World class athletes are determined
people. World class believers are
too!
3. God help us as His people to show
the world that we are not quitters, that we will endure the race with
perseverance and show others what the power of faith can do!
ILLUS: An explorer named Fridtjof Nansen was lost
with one companion in the Arctic wastes. By miscalculation they ran out of all
their supplies. They ate their
dogs, the dog's harnesses, the whale oil for their lamps. Nansen's companion gave up and lay down
to die. But Nansen did not give up. He told himself, "I can take one step
more." As he plodded heavily
through the bitter cold, step after step, suddenly across an ice hill he
stumbled upon an American expedition that had been sent out to find him.
-- James S. Hewett,
Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988) p.
160.
4. This world does everything it can
to live easy, and our bodies today tell the story of a life that is so sedentary
that our bodies could hardly endure a small trial of
pain.
5. I wonder if this is true in many of
our churches as well, a little pain and many believers are ready to quit, they
no longer feel they can trust God who has disappointed their
expectations.
6. The problem may be the false
expectations! There is not a world
class runner on this planet that assumes running their race is going to be
without difficulties or pain!
a. But they are not focused on the
pain or difficulties!
b. They are focused on the
prize!
c. And if an earthly medal of gold, or
a wreath as it was in the first century was enough to make them endure through
endless hours of pain and struggle, how much more for us who know that at the
finish line there awaits us the crown of life for eternity with
God!
d. This life is not just about getting
more stuff, more money, more ease, it is about running the race that God has
marked out for us and not quitting, persevering to the very
end!
(1.
This is what the writer in Hebrews is trying to
convey.
(2.
If earthly runners will discipline and endure their race for a simple
wreath, or even a gold medal today – how much more should we endure for the
crown of life?
(3.
We need believers today that simply don’t
quit!
(4.
We need believers today who will persevere through the trials of pain and
setbacks, to keep running and running well to the very
end.
II. PATH Heb.
12:1b
A.
Destiny! Heb.
12:1b
1. God marked out a race for each one
of us, we all have a destiny to fulfill.
Notice his statement: “…let us run with perseverance THE RACE MARKED OUT FOR
US.” (emphasis mine)
2. We are not just stumbling through
life with no road to follow. God
has for each one of us a race to endure, a path to follow, a destiny to
fulfill.
a. We are here with purpose in this
life!
b. We will have to discover the path
He has created for us to fulfill, and then pursue that with all our
hearts.
ILLUS: Following the path of least resistance is
what makes people and rivers crooked.
People seldom drift to success.
-- James S. Hewett,
Illustrations Unlimited (Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc, 1988), p.
468.
3. We can stray off course if we are
not obedient to the one who has set that path for
us!
a. A runner listens to his coach – the
coach knows the best route, and the proper pacing for the runner. If for some reason the runner chooses
not to obey his/her coach he invites possible defeat in his
run.
b. God has given us the path – it is
in His Word. Obedience to the Word
of God is the best way to ensure that we stay on the path of righteousness,
which is the path that brings us to the finish
line.
4. Jesus declared that He Himself is
the PATH. Jesus said, “I am the way,
the truth, and the life: no man comes to the Father, but by me.” (Jn.
14:6)
a. The only path God has ordained for
men to follow is Jesus Himself!
b. All other roads lead away from the
finish line where awaits the prize.
c. Tragically, there will be many who
will run their own race throughout their lifetime and fail to arrive at the
proper finish line.
d. It was a tragic thing when a runner
went off the proper path and had to be disqualified from the race – any other
race except the one God has laid out for us all will lead to
failure.
5. It is truly sad when world class
runners who had run so well their race discovered at the end that they had taken
a wrong turn somewhere and because of that were disqualified by the officials
and removed from becoming a winner.
It wouldn’t matter that they finished first if they took a wrong turn on
the course, they still would be disqualified for failing to stay on the proper
course!
B.
Destination! Heb.
12:1b
1. The whole point of running with
perseverance is to WIN!
2. Yes, there actually is a
destination for living our lives, it is not just about having a good time during
this lifetime, although that is not wrong in and of
itself.
ILLUS: If you ever get the opportunity to visit
The answer is that the Egyptians
understood full well they would spend a lot more time in the afterlife than they
would spend in this life. Granted, some of their conceptions of what would
happen in the afterlife were a little skewed. But the point is, they understood
to the core of their being that the afterlife was a whole lot more important
than this life, and so they prepared for the afterlife during this life. God had
placed eternity in their hearts. -- Bill Hybels, "Your Ever After:
Heaven," Preaching Today, Tape 34.
3. There is a real point to living and
living correctly. The person who
refuses to believe in God or eternity simply has no other destination in life
than to please themselves.
a. Thus it shouldn’t surprise us that
the goals for those who don’t know Christ are self-centered, or simply are
geared toward finding happiness instead of finding
holiness.
b. Yet, at the end of their lives
there will be no point to having lived if they don’t realize that this life is
all preparation for the next.
c. Someone once said, “if you don’t
want God in your life here, do not expect to have Him in your life
there!”
4. What are you living
for?
a. Actually, the disciplines in your
life will tell that story!
b. What you strive for ultimately is
what you believe in.
c. A runner can truly believe they are
winning the race while they are running, but tragically discover at the end that
they lose because they ran the wrong race, or ran on the wrong
path!
5. In such cases the sadness is
profound, because they ran hard, they were disciplined, they pushed through
difficulties, but only at the end discovered they were disqualified for failure
to run the right race!
6. But oh the joy when we discover at
the end that all the pain we pushed through, all the disciplines during life,
all the training we endured pays off at the end and the crown of life is given
to us!
a. A crown that never fades away like
the old wreaths given during the Olympics in antiquity, or even the gold medals
given today. There will come a day
when gold will mean nothing.
b. It will all be worth it one day, we
just need to stay on course, push through the times of pain, trust the
disciplines of spiritual exercises, and trust the path (Jesus) Who has
guaranteed the race will be won!
c. The destination is eternity with
God, and joy forever more.
CONCLUSION:
Will it be worth all
the spiritual exercises at the end of life, will it be worth pushing through all
the painful events in life, the discouragement of struggles, the difficulties of
hard work to stay on the path of righteousness? You better believe it will be worth it
all! Christ has marked out a race
for each one of us, and when we run with perseverance we will discover at the
end of the race the crown of victory, the crown of life, and joy for evermore
with God Himself.
As the old chorus by Esther Kerr Rusthoi states, “It will be
worth it all, when we see Jesus.
Life’s trials will seem so small when we see Christ; One glimpse of His dear face all sorrow
will erase, So bravely run the race till we see
Christ.”
WHAT’S YOUR DESTINATION IN
LIFE?