Hebrews 12:1-3 revisited

Next Saturday, I’m going to be up early. I’m going to hand out pop tarts, load my bible bowl team into the corps van, and head off to DHQ for a scrimmage. You’ve probably never heard of the Flemington Bible bowl team – we’ve never set any scoring records or even won any tournaments – to be honest, we’ve only ever been to three scrimmages, and we’ve placed last in two out of three of those – but there’s something about the Flemington team that makes me strangely proud of them [and it’s not the fact that I’m their coach either!]

We’re studying the book of Matthew this year for bible bowl, but if I had to choose a theme verse for my team, it wouldn’t be from Matthew at all. It would be right here. Hebrews 12: 1-3. Our bible bowl team may not win tournaments or set records, but they DO do something that I respect SO much – they Get up there and get in the game. They never just give up and go home. These kids personify Hebrews 12:1-3. They prepare their information, they participate in their competition, and they persevere to the end – despite their underdog status.

There’s a lot that we as Christ followers can learn from this little bible bowl team. If WE prepare, participate, and persevere, we’ll be all set for our part to play in the game of life. Now you might be sitting there thinking “life’s no game captain” – and I’d have to agree – it’s not a game – it’s more of a RACE. At least that’s what the writer of Hebrews likened it to.

Here we go – the mysterious “writer of Hebrews” – who was it? No one’s really sure, but the one thing we do know is that whoever this person was, they had a heart to tell GOD’S story to the 1st century Jewish Christ-followers….this writer was IN IT…in the race…in the game…..and if we’re going to be good stewards of the life that’s been given to us, we need to get up off our butts and get in the game.

Before we an get in the game, we have to take care of a few things. An average, middle aged, less than active person can’t just wake up one morning and decide to run the Boston marathon – that would be incredibly stupid [and would most likely result in injury to that out of shape body!]. As Christ followers, we can’t just wake up one morning and decide “oh, today I think I’ll live a holy life” and just go at it full speed! We have to prepare our hearts, our lives, for this race of holiness. Verse one says “therefore, since we are surrounded by such a HUGE crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily hinders our progress.” Folks, that is PREPERATION FOR HOLINESS. We can’t tell God’s story unless we KNOW the story ourselves!

Our text this morning is not the beginning of the story! ON the contrary – it’s the END! See, it starts with one of my favourite words in the bible – THEREFORE. THEREFORE. It’s a cause and effect statement – something has been said, so THEREFORE you should react this way – our therefore starts all the way back in chapter 11 with some wonderful examples of Faithfulness – and I want you to realize that they were all focused on MERE MEN AND WOMEN who, through their lives, TOLD GOD’S STORY! [ READ 11:4-5]. Understanding what our THEREFORE is based on is only the first step in preparation for our own races. When we get into 12:1&2, we are reminded of those wonderful examples from the old testament – the examples of faith, the CLOUD OF WITTNESSES. Isn’t it a great comfort to know that our trials are not unique to us….We read the same thing in Phillippians 1: 29-30 – For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ, but also the privilege of suffering for him. We are in this fight together! You have seen me suffer for him in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of this great struggle!” And also in 1 Corinthians “ But remember that the temptations that come into your life are no different from what others experience. AND GOD IS FAITHFUL.”

So many people naturally assume that the cloud of witnesses are a bunch of Old Testiment saints who are sitting in the grandstand up in heaven looking down on us and passing the popcorn and soda…..but that is SOOOOOOO not the case!!! The word “witness” in the new testament NEVER means observer. These people who have been there done that in the race of holiness are witnesses in what they show us, not in what they observe us doing! They witness to us the reality of a lifetime of faithfulness!!! God is pleased with them.

But having a cloud of witnesses around us isn’t the only thing that prepares us for the life of holiness Nossir. We have to do something else – the second part of verse one says that we have to throw off anything that holds us back, especially the sin that so easily distracts us. And isn’t it easy to become distracted! I’m sure it was just as easy for the original readers of the Hebrews to be distracted too….it requires discipline on our part in order for us to become a prepared, dedicated runner! This life we’re in is not a novel, freaky, soon to be forgotten sideshow – we are called to strip off everything that hinders us [and those things that hinder aren’t always bad things, but that’s another sermon!] strip of everything that hinders us and become part of a huge enterprise of God that involves a MULTITUDE of runners. God encourages us to strip down and get ourselves prepared to run and join in that multitude when he said in Revelation 7:9 – After this, I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the lamb. They were clothed in white, and held palm branches in their hands.” John saw this with his own eyes – we don’t have that luxury, so we need spiritual discipline to prepare for this gathering just like athletes need discipline for their races.

Now I just spent two years stationed in rural northern maine, and every spring there’s a phenomenon known as the “trek across maine”. To the locals, it’s simply known as “THE BIG BIKE RACE”. Literally hundreds of people will spend three days traveling from one end of the state to the other….on bicycle. It’s a three day marathon, and at the end of every day, the numbers grow smaller and smaller. By the end of the race, it’s easy to see who has spent time preparing and who hasn’t. Those who prepare finish strong, and those who don’t….well, they spend a lot of time in the first aide stations along the way. But there’s a secret that the people who DO finish have learned…..they don’t carry anything unnecessary along with them. They strip down and get in the race uninhibited. As Christ followers, it’s our responsibility to prepare – to look at the testimony of those who have been there done that, and then to get rid of all the ‘junk’ that holds us back from a life of holiness. Once we’ve done that, THEN we’re prepared to get in the game ourselves.

It would seem pretty pointless to get rid of all that extra junk, work out extra hard, and then show up only to sit on the sidelines of our lives, wouldn’t it? If we’re going to do all the preparation, we have to actually get IN the game and participate! In verse Two, we’re told run with endurance the race that god has set before us. The writer of Hebrews used a very interesting Greek Phrase here – and I apologize because I’m about to mangle it’s pronounciation, but it’s important that we take a look at it – “Ton prokeimenon Hmin Agwna” – the way this is phrased in Greek tells us that this ‘race’ he’s talking about is NOT an abstract concept, but something OF PERSONAL INTEREST. Of a something close to the heart of the runner – and investment. The lord hasn’t called us to run someone else’s race…..to live the life that someone else sets up for us and Thinks we should live. He desires for each of us to live out the specific purpose, the specific calling that he designed us to live. He desires for each one of us to uniquely tell HIS story thorough our unique and beautiful lives. He also doesn’t want us to sit on the sidelines of life and be afraid to live, to run, either! A runner doesn’t get very far by hanging out in the starting blocks! We can’t rely on that ‘cloud of witnesses’ to tell the story of God for us….we can’t be satisfied with past faithfulness and allow it to become a reason for us to become lazy or dull in our own race. We have to run the race that it marked out for us – obviously marked out by God – it is our OBLIGATION to participate. Anything less is rebellion against god – and that’s sin…so we must continue to run with perseverance.

After an athlete has been running for a while, fatigue starts to set in and begins to take a toll on the body. The same thing is true for Christ followers who are running the race of life! That’s where verse three comes in – it tells us to think about Jesus, who endured opposition from sinners, so that we don’t become tired and give up. Folks, living life is not an easy thing! We can become spiritually fatigued as easily as we can become physically exausted. It’s so easy to run when the ground is smooth and flad and things are going well……not so easy though when troubles come…when we’re slapped with things we don’t understand.
But verse three tells us to consider Jesus….the author and finisher of our faith. We fix our eyes on Jesus in the sense of Completing HIS mission – in Christ, we have eternal life. But for now, in this brief time between our being born and dying….this is our only opportunity to run for him……he has finished HIS race – his ATTONING race…now he is getting us through ours. The word “finisher” is not found anywhere else in the entire bible, or in any other greek writings from the time of the Hebrews. It is a form of the word “perfect’..perhaps coined specifically for that one verse. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, we should remember that many things have already been accomplished. The incarnation, offering, resurrection, and assension are history. We are called to persevere through our race with the clear sense that much has already been done. So when we consider what he’s done, we think of the great mystery of faith….that Christ CAME…that he Died…and that he lives again. Considering the kind of race he ran and at it’s conclusion it will encourage us. When we become fatigued and discouraged by life’s troubles, consider what Christ suffered for sinners. If we’re still breathing, then he’s still in control… and THAT”S where our focus needs to be! He is our focus – our motivation – our encouragement, or inspiration. He endured to the end, even through death on a cross. He never gave up, and neither should we! We CAN persevere!!!!!

Garth brooks sings a song called “standing outside the fire”. And I absolutely love that song. [see, my ohio roots are coming out now!] It tells the story of a boy who joins the track team. This was no ordinary boy though. He has downs syndrome, and he wanted to join the regular team, even though his father was worried that he might get hurt or made fun of. Nothing would stop him from trying, and wouldn’t you know, he made it on the team. Finally, after all his training and hard work, the day for him to get in the game had arrived. He got all set up in the starting blocks, the pistol went off, and that boy took off. He wasn’t fantastic, but he was keeping up…..but all of a sudden, he tripped and fell face first on the track. The coach ran up to help him get off the pavement, but the boy’s father stopped him. The boy was bruised and bloody from the fall, but that determined young man got up and finished the race. And at the finish line stood his father, arms outstretched, to receive his son….the boy’s eyes had been fixed on his dad the entire time…..and he psersevered….and ran straight into his father’s open arms. He persevered through his limitations and setbacks so that he could reach his goal.

Thee’s a wonderful old chorus in our songbook that says “turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in his wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of his glory and grace”. What a way to describe God’s story….

Friends, this race of life is not easy. We don’t all start at the same time, we won’t all finish at the same time – but it’s not finishing first that matters. We don’t have to be the fastest, the best ,the most graceful in this race … thank GOD….we just have to finish the race. This race isn’t given to the swift of the battles of life to the strong…but to the ones who endure to the end. Maybe this morning you’re sitting here thinking, Captain, I just don’t think I can do it….there’s just too much junk….to much baggage there…..too much confusion….well, perhaps there is. All of us have garbage that we’re still hauling around with us. It’s like a little part of our mind is a backpack, and in it are all of our life’s setbacks, our failures, disappointments, struggles, mishaps, rejection…..Maybe you can sit there and pull out the exact name of the man who broke your heart….the name, date, time and phone number of that girl who used you and threw you away…..that time you blew it big time at work….that friendship you ruined over something stupid. It’s easy to remember the worst things that happen because we tend to hold on to them. ….and if we’re not careful, we’ll end up sitting on the sidelines of our own lives, holding our bags of junk, unprepared to get in the game….unable to tell god’s story because all we see is the confusion of our own lives.

I have a little bible….and it’s not really conducive to carrying a lot in it….but there is one thing that I’ve had for a very long time, and it never leaves my bible…..it’s this little bookmark…..a dear friend [who is sitting in this congregation today] gave it to me at a time in my life when I was trapped…..sitting on the sidelines of my own life holding my bags of junk……it says this – {read bookmark} Turn your eyes upon jesus…the author and perfector of our faith…..the one who can take the junk off you and liberate you to tell HIS story…..

Turn your eyes upon jesus…look full in this wonderful face…and the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of his glory and grace…….let go of that bag of junk. It’s never too late to get in the game. Just focus your eyes – whether it’s for the first time or the 2 thousandth time…….look back at that real target……and if the lord is speaking to your heart this morning…..don’t be afraid to listen and respond to what he has to say…..

[sing turn your eyes]