The Christian’s Olympiad: Hebrews 12:1-2

Text: Hebrews 12:1-2

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Introduction:

There are two philosophies about being a winner. One is based on the statement “It matters not whether you win or lose, but how you run the race”.

The other is based on Vince Lombardi’s statement “Winning isn’t everything–it’s the only thing!” The latter is the prevailing philosophy of our times. (What is going on in college football illustrates this truth.)

Is winning everything?  It depends on how you define a winner. Is the winner the person or team who walks away with the trophy or is the real winner the competitor who can say at the end of the race, “I ran the race to the best of my ability.”  I believe it is the latter.  In our better moments I think we all know that winning has more to do with the character and conduct of the competitor than with the conclusion to the competition.

In the final analysis, it is true that what really matters is not whether you win or lose, but how you run the race. What is true of the athletic world is true of the spiritual world as well. God is not looking for people with bulging trophy cases, but for people who are willing to do their very best with what opportunities and gifts they have.  Look at the eleventh chapter of the Book of Hebrews. Someone has called it “God’s Hall of Fame”.  But, if you look closely the persons listed there are hardly extraordinary by any worldly standard.  Abraham who at 75 decided to leave his homeland on a journey to who knows where.  Can you imagine what his neighbors thought?

• Jacob is there, and he was a man whole life was characterized by deceit.
• Joseph was despised and rejected by his brothers.
• Moses, whose level of self-confidence would qualify him for a course of study with Dale Carnegie, is in the Hall of winners.
• There’s Rahab the harlot.
• There is Gideon Samson, David, and on and on.

I hope you get the point.  God is not looking for outstanding people, but people who are willing to stand out from the normal flow of the crowd and deposit their best efforts and gifts at His disposal.

Run the race of your life with God’s help, to the best of your ability. God asks for no more, but He expects no less. In 12:1 the writer links us to the list of persons in God’s Hall of Fame, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us. . .” . Why?  Because the writer wants to motivate us to desire to be listed among those whom God calls the real winners in the race of life.

You can be a real winner.  You can run the race set before you and run it well.  However, there are several things you must know and commit to do.  The writer of Hebrews describes what you must know and do to be listed among those in God’s Hall of Fame.  Let’s think about these requirements.

I. To Run Your Race the Best that You Can You Must know that you are Not Alone.

• We are the home team!
  • It is important to know that none of us is left alone.
  • We are surrounded by spectators and sympathetic supporters v.1.
  • Picture yourself poised on the starting line of a running track and a stadium filled with loyal, supportive fans, and you’ve caught something of the metaphor used by the writer to describe our experience in Christ.
• No believer runs the race of life in isolation.
  • God has no LONE Rangers.
  • At time you may feel alone like Elijah who felt like he was the only one who was faithful to the LORD.
  • I’m sure we have all felt like the boy whose mommy sent him after the broom which was out on the dark porch.
    • He panicked; “But mommy it’s dark out there and you know how I’m scared of the dark!”
    • Wanting to teach the boy about the omnipresence of God she instructed, “Nonsense, son, don’t you know God is everywhere? Now, march out there right now and fetch the broom!”
    • Walking reluctantly to the door, he cracked it just enough to peer into the darkness, and said ” “Say, Lord, if you’re out there, would you mind handing me the broom?”
  • What that lad was feeling. I have felt.  And, so have you.
  • The writer, however, wants us to know the same thing the mother wanted her son to know.
    • We are never anywhere that God isn’t there beside us.
    • God is like an encouraging coach who gives instructions, offers advice, and more than anything else, simply reminds us by His presence that we are not alone in the race.
• In addition to God’s presence, there is a stadium full of our fans.
  • Who are the “cloud of witnesses”?
  • I think he is referring to all God’s saints who have finished life’s race and now fill the grandstands to encourage the rest of us.

Transition: As you run the race of life God has set before you and look with look with the eyes of faith toward the grandstands, you will see all of God’s saints waving their arms wildly in your support.  If you will, you’ll find yourself running your race more effectively, efficiently, and energetically because you are not alone.

II. To Run Your Race the Best the You Can You Must Scrap unnecessary weight.

• Listen to the call from God’s word.
  • “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,”
  • This idea is in the imperative mood. It is a must!
• The sense of this call.
  • Every runner knows that he must get rid of extra weight.
  • Do you see people running dressed in a three-piece suit? No! but you see them running in T-shirts, shorts and shoes.
• What are the weights which hinder us? What are the sins to which you cling or that cling to you that need to be scraped?
  • We must scrap negativism.
    • Few things hinder Christians more than a critical, negative spirit.
    • I heard about a man who approached the new pastor of his church and said, “Preacher, I want you to know I don’t like much of what goes on around here, and I’ll always be sure to let you know about it.” “But why would you want to be so critical?” asked the pastor. “Because that’ the one and only talent I have!” “If that’s the case then I have but one suggestion to make to you.  Remember in the parable of the talents, one man who went out and buried this talent in the ground?’ “Yes?” “Go thou and do likewise!”
  • Second, we must scrap the spirit of unforgiveness.
    • Most Christians seem blind to the stumbling effects of unforgiveness and how it hinders progress in the race.
    • Immanuel Kant, hired a man whose name was Lampe to keep his books. One day Kant discovered Lampe had been juggling the books and stealing from him.  When he confronted Lampe with it, Kant said, “I have chosen not to prosecute you, but to forgive you.”  That night, and every night thereafter, Kant wrote in his diary just before retiring to bed, “Don’t forget to forgive Lampe!”
    • Forgiveness is a choice we make.
      • People say, “But I can’t forgive!”
      • Sure, we can! It would be more honest to say, “I refuse to forgive.
    • Those who withhold forgiveness are crippled in life’s race.
  • We must also scrap apathy and indifference.
    • We live in a world full of apathy.
    • Walter Cronkite, in a commentary about ecology, said, “In a recent survey, public apathy was identified as the most serious culprit in the ecological crisis faced by our nation.”
    • Unfortunately, this attitude is even found among Christians.
      • It is little wonder the church runs poorly in the race God has set before her.  The typical church today has far too many team members who seem content to sit on the bench and avoid involvement in the race,.  It is not that they don’t have any interest in the game.  They simply refuse to become involved.
      • They remind me of the little creatures in the children’s story of the Little Red Hen:

One day a hen found a grain of wheat and said to her friends, “Who’ll help me plant the wheat?”
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the pig.
“All right I’ll do it myself.” And so, she did.
When the wheat had grown into a plant, she asked, “Who’ll help me cut the wheat, grind it into flour, and bake a loaf of bread?”
“Not I,” said the duck.
“Not I,” said the cat.
“Not I,” said the pig.
“All right I’ll do it myself.”  And so, she did.
When the loaf of bread had been baked, she asked, “Who’ll help me eat the bread?”
“I will,” said the duck.
“I will,” said the cat.
“I will,” said the pig.
“Oh no, you won’t!  You did not help me plant, cut, thresh, or carry the wheat to the mill.  Nor did you help me bake the bread.  So, you won’t help me eat it, either.  I’ll eat it all by myself.”  And so, she did.

Transition: I’m not suggesting we be stingy like the Little Red Hen.  I am suggesting we get involved and refuse to be like the duck, cat, and pig. To run the race in a winning way, know that you are not alone, and scrap negativism, unforgiveness, and apathy.

III. To Run Your Race the Best that You Can You Must have Stick-to-it-Ness

• The imperative is to have patience.
  • V.1 “let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
  • The word means to endure.
  • The best paraphrase of the word might be “Stick-to-it-ness”. Stay with the job! Stay in the race! Don’t give up or give out!
  • Everyone runs the race at a different pace, but the important thing is that we keep growing and going, even when it gets the race gets tough.
• Here is a philosophy to adopt.
  • A recent documentary, “Destined to Live” was a report about how several women in our society, some of whom are well-known actresses, have handled the shattering news that they have cancer.
  • One woman said, “My philosophy now is that, when life kicks you, you should let it kick you forward.”
  • God has not promised that our race will be easy.  He has promised, however, that when our race is finished, there is a reward awaiting those who have stayed with the race and have refuse to give up.
• There are two things to remember that will keep you in the race.
  • When life gets tough, don’t forget that God can use your difficulties to make you a better person.
    • It is not that God is the author of trouble, but God is the architect who, through trouble, can design a new you.
    • I read about an articulate minister from Dallas, Frederick Haynes, who had an imaginary conversation with a tea bag. As he dropped the tea bag in and out of the cup of hot water, the tea bag spoke out, “Frederick, do you know what tea bags and Christians have in common?”  “No” “Neither of us is of much use until we’re passed through some hot water.”
    • That makes sense doesn’t it? Our usefulness in life is somehow strangely attached to our struggles through life.
    • Calvin Miller once wrote, “Most of those who care about the fallen have known the pain of falling!”
  • The second thing to remember is, keep life’s nobler purposes in perspective.
    • When life presses upon you, the temptation is to see only the immediate and to forget the ultimate.
    • We are easy to lose sight of the possibilities which lie just beyond the problems.
    • Keeping life’s nobler purposes in perspective will help you, when life gets tough, to maintain a farsightedness.
    • The problems before you will be held in check by the grander purposes beyond you.
    • In short, knowing “why” you’re in the race will keep you in the race. Richard Bach, author of Jonathan Livingston Seagull, once wrote, “Here’s a test to find whether your mission on earth is finished: If you’re alive, it isn’t.”

Transition: Keeping life’s mission in mind will always keep your problems manageable.  Run with the knowledge that you are not alone, scrap the extra weight and stay with it.

IV. To Run Your Race the Best that You Can You must Never look back.

• Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus and never look back.
  • “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,” This is the Biblical imperative.
  • In track and field, if a runner is to win the race, he or she must keep his or her eyes firmly fixed on the finish line. If not, the race may be lost.  So, keep going.  Don’t get sidetracked or distracted.  Keep looking unto Jesus who stands at the end of life’s race waiting to crown you with victory and honor.
• Illustrate.
  • In William Johnson’s commentary on Hebrews, there is a true story of the times when two great milers met in the British Empire Games in Vancouver, British Columbia, on August 7, 1954.
  • In what was hailed as the famous “Miracle mile,” two of the world’s fastest runners met to compete.  The first was Roger Bannister, a 25-year-old medical student who had previously shattered the world record by running a mile in under 4 minutes.  The other was John Landy, a 24-year-old Australian who was the second man in recorded history to crack the 4-minute mile.  And in Vancouver, these two were competing before a crowd of 35,000 people. Bannister let Landy set the pace throughout most of the race.  Sports analysts commented on the athletic shrewdness of Bannister because, while Landy knew he had the lead, he did not know the extent of his lead. Curiosity got the best of him.  During the last 100 yards of the race, Landy turned his head, momentarily, to look back. Then Bannister, with a tremendous burst of speed, passed him to win the race by just five yards.
  • You get the point? So, stay in the race.  Keep your eyes glued upon Christ who is the author and finisher of your race.

Conclusion:

1. You want to be a winner? Here are the rules; remember you are the home team, scrap the extra weight, stick to it, and fix your eyes of Jesus.
2. How have you been running the race? Did you forget the Lord is with you and the saints are cheering you on? Have you let the weight of negativism, unforgiveness, and apathy slow you down?  Are you sticking with it or are you giving up?  Where do you have your eyes?  Are they on the competition or are they on Jesus?
3. You might need to join the race this morning by accepting Jesus? You might need to rededicate your life to the LORD so that you might run the race.  Remember, while it is true, “It matters not whether you win or lose, but how you run the race.”  If you will follow the rules of the race set forth by the writer of Hebrews, you will not only run the race well, but you’ll be a real winner in the best sense of the word.

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  Big idea: The Christian life is like a race—what matters most isn’t “winning” by worldly standards, but running faithfully and giving your best (Hebrews 12:1–2).

  You’re not alone: God is with you, and you’re encouraged by a “great cloud of witnesses” (the faithful who’ve gone before).

  Drop what slows you down: Throw off hindrances and sin—the message highlights “weights” like negativity, unforgiveness, and apathy/indifference.

  Keep going with perseverance: The race requires endurance (“stick-to-it-ness”), especially when life is hard; hardships can shape you for good.

  Stay focused: Fix your eyes on Jesus and don’t look back—distraction and backward-looking can cost you momentum and faithfulness.

  Closing challenge: Examine how you’re running—are you relying on God’s presence, shedding the weights, persevering, and keeping your focus on Christ?