Message for THE LORD S DAY MORNING, October 16, 2011 Christian Hope Church of Christ, Plymouth, NC by Reggie A. Braziel, Minister Are You Running to Win? HEBREWS 12: 1-3 Please turn with me in your Bibles to HEBREWS the twelfth chapter. P R A Y E R READ: HEBREWS 12:1-3 ******************** Introduction The Christian life is illustrated in the New Testament in a variety of ways. -It is referred to as A WALK. -It is pictured as WARFARE. -It is also compared to FARMING and FISHING. But perhaps the image that is used most often in the New Testament to describe the Christian life is that of A RACE. This especially true in the writings of the Apostle Paul. I CORINTHIANS 9: 24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. GALATIANS 5: 7 II TIMOTHY 4:7 You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth? I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. In these first three verses of Hebrews 12, the Apostle Paul gives
us FIVE KEYS to winning the RACE OF LIFE. -------------------- KEY # 1: STAY ON COURSE vs. 1d Look at the last part of verse 1: Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ---Hebrews 12: 1d 1. The Hebrew writer is reminding us that as Christians there is a particular course we are to run. He says the race course has been marked out for us. ILLUSTRATION: When I was in High School we were required to run on the Cross Country team if we wanted to play basketball or baseball, because it conditioned our body for those other sports. For those of you who may not be familiar with Cross Country Racing.the RACE is three miles long. In Cross Country you don t run around an oval shaped track over and over again, but rather you run a COURSE that has been marked off with little flags stuck in the ground or some other kind of marker on the trees. We ran through WOODS...UP HILLS...DOWN HILLS...ACROSS BRIDGES...through SHALLOW STREAMS OF WATER...and at one school we even got to RUN alongside the EIGHTH and NINTH fairways on a golf course. The important thing was that we had to CONSTANTLY watch for those MARKERS otherwise we would get off course and be disqualified. 2. Verse 1 tells us that one of the keys to WINNING LIFE S RACE is to STAY ON THE COURSE that has been marked out for us. 3. What is this course that has been marked out for us? Jesus tells us in Matthew 7: 14... But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
4. Everybody is involved in the Race of Life...but sadly most of the participants are way off course. Rather than running the course that God has marked out that will lead to eternal victory...they are running the course that leads to eternal disqualification. 5. Christians...If you want to RUN TO WIN LIFE S RACE...the first thing you ve got to do is STAY ON COURSE! ------------------------- KEY #2: STICK WITH YOUR COMMITMENT vs.1d Look at the last part of VERSE 1 again... let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. ---Hebrews 12: 1d 1. It takes a life-time COMMITMENT to win life s race. Revelation 2: 10b Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. 2. The Greek word that is used for the word RUN in this verse implies a continued action. It literally means KEEP ON RUNNING AND DON T STOP RUNNING UNTIL YOU GET TO THE FINISH LINE. 3. If you have ever watched a MARATHON run on TV, you ve noticed how THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE start the MARATHON...but after an HOUR or TWO into the race...the NUMBER of runners still running has drastically dwindled down and by the end of the race only a fraction of those who began will actually finish the race. 4. Isn t that the way it is in the Christian life. Think of the MULTITUDES of people who STARTED the Christian life...and for a time they were determined to stick with their commitment. But then they dropped out of the race...they didn t persevere! THEY DIDN T KEEP THEIR COMMITMENT.
5. CHRISTIANS...don t become one of those people. You keep RUNNING the RACE and DON T STOP RUNNING UNTIL YOU HAVE CROSSED THE FINISH LINE! STAY ON COURSE.. STICK WITH YOUR COMMITMENT. KEY # 3: SUMMONS STRENGTH FROM THE CROWD vs. 1a Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses... 1. Any time you compete in a race, or play a sport, THE CROWD plays a critical role. ILLUSTRATION: In football they call the crowd THE TWELFTH MAN because their cheering for the eleven players on the field can have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the game. 2. The Hebrew writer reminds us that in this RACE OF LIFE we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. We are being CHEERED on by a huge crowd! Who are these witnesses? Well just one chapter earlier, in Hebrews chapter 11, we find out that this HUGE CROWD is comprised of the Great Men and Women of Faith, who have already finished this race we are now running. And their great stories of faith are recorded in the scriptures to encourage you and me in our race. - Perhaps you re thinking, Everything is going wrong in my life. I am so discouraged I just don t think I can go on. Then JOB stand up to CHEER US ON. He says I lost everything I own, but I didn t give up! I stayed in the race! DON T QUIT! - Perhaps you re thinking, But I ve been treated so unfairly...life just hasn t been good to me at all. Then JOSEPH stands up and says, I was abandoned by my brothers and left for dead then
sold as a slave and taken to a foreign country far away from my family. But I stayed in the race and won! - Perhaps you re thinking, Well I have failed miserably in life, I have committed terrible sins and I don t see anyway God could possibly forgive me, I might as well just quit. Then DAVID stands up in the crowd and says, I failed too, I committed a horrible sin with Bathsheba, and even arranged to have her husband murdered...but I repented of my sins and stayed in the race and won! 3. You see...as you and I run this race called life...we are surrounded by this GREAT CROWD OF WITNESSES who persevered through...terrible PAIN and TRAGIC LOSSES...and...UNFAIR TREATMENT... and MISERABLE FAILURE...and yet they didn t give up...they didn t throw in the towel...but continued to RUN THE RACE until they crossed the finish line. 4. One of the KEYS to our VICTORY is to SUMMONS STRENGTH from this GREAT CLOUD OF WITNESSES who are cheering us on. STAY ON COURSE..STICK WITH YOUR COMMITMENT.. SUMMONS STRENGTH FROM THE CROWD KEY #4: SEVER THE CORDS OF SIN vs. 1 a,b,c 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... --Hebrews 12: 1 a, b, c Illustration: The army of Alexander the Great was advancing on Persia. At one point in the battle it appeared his troops might be defeated. The Soldiers had collected so much plunder from their previous battles they were weighed down and losing their effectiveness in battle. Alexander issued the command that all the spoils from the previous
battles be thrown into a pile and burned. His soldiers complained bitterly, but soon realized the wisdom of his order. Someone wrote, After casting aside the spoils of war, it was as if wings had been given to Alexander s army.they walked lightly.and victory was assured. 1. The Hebrew writer admonishes us to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. Obviously all SIN is a hindrance to Christian living and should be thrown off. But the Hebrew writer speaks specifically about the sin. THE SIN that so easily entangles us. This seems to indicate there is a particular sin in each of our lives that wraps itself around us so that we trip and stumble every time we try to move forward for the LORD. The sin that so easily entangles us is that sin to which we are most vulnerable. In most cases it the SIN we were most prone to before we accepted Christ. And it has continued to rear its ugly head time after time after time. 2. Do you realize that sin will hound you the rest of your life until you decide once and for all to sever the cord. You will never overcome it so long as you make allowances or provisions to continue to do it. You will never overcome it by will power or sheer determination or by making promise after promise to God only to break them. The only way to overcome that SIN that so easily entangles you is to YIELD THAT AREA OF SINFUL WEAKNESS TO THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! 6. Charles Spurgeon once aid, All it takes is one crack in the lantern to allow the wind in and blow out the candle. Likewise all it takes is one persistent, nagging, entangling sin to blow out the candle of our spiritual passion and keep us from running VICTORIOUSLY in the race of life. 7. This is why we must SEVER THE CORDS OF SIN! STAY ON COURSE! STICK WITH YOUR COMMITMENT! SUMMONS STRENGTH FROM THE CROWD
SEVER THE CORDS OF SIN And finally KEY #5: STAY FOCUSED ON THE COACH vs. 2, 3 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector 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. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. ILLUSTRATION: Back in the mid-1960 s I played third base for the PINNELL ELEMENTARY SCHOOL Little League Team in rural Boone County Indiana. PHIL MARSHALL was our coach. And before every game COACH MARSHALL would give us the same speech in the dugout. And one part of that speech I ll never forget was the part about HOW IMPORTANT IT WAS TO KEEP OUR EYES FIXED ON HIM WHEN WE WERE RUNNING THE BASES. COACH MARSHALL said, When you re out there running the bases watch for me in the third base coaches box. Don t be looking where the ball is.don t be watching what the other players are doing.. YOU KEEP YOUR EYES FIXED ON ME! If I do my arm like this (waving motion) you keep running on HOME. If I do this (STOP MOTION) you stop at third. 2. The Hebrew writer says, Let us keep our eyes fixed on JESUS. STAY FOCUSED ON THE COACH! Jesus is not like a lot of those hard-nosed coaches you see standing on the sidelines at a football game or basketball game barking out orders and hollering at the officials. 3. Jesus is the kind of coach who WALKS beside us in life s race.he encourages us when we are discouraged He lifts us up when we have fallen.he forgives us when
we sin and fall short of His glory.he comforts us when we are down. 4. CHRIST HIMSELF has set the example for us by enduring the cross and scorning its shame, and after completing His race He sat down at the right hand of the throne of GOD. He was tempted in every way you and I are tempted, and yet He was without sin. He was mistreated He was opposed He was rejected..he was despised.he was ridiculed and mocked and cursed..and YET HE STAYED IN THE RACE UNTIL HE WON THE VICTORY! 5. May the example of CHRIST inspire us every day to STAY IN THE RACE AND NEVER LOSE HEART! 6. STAY FOCUSED ON THE COACH! CONCLUSION Years ago, many of you can probably remember a wonderful movie that came out called, CHARIOTS OF FIRE. The movie was based on the true life story of Eric Liddell, the Scottish Presbyterian Missionary who ran for Great Britain in the 1924 Olympic games. Those of you who saw the movie may recall that when his British team arrived in Paris, Eric found out that his race was scheduled for Sunday. Out of his deep spiritual conviction, Liddell absolutely refused to run his race on Sunday. He was willing to throw away four years of training and conditioning to remain faithful to his convictions. After a meeting of the race officials, the race was moved from Sunday to Monday, and Eric Liddell won the gold medal in his event. But the part of the story we probably don t remember occurred before the Olympics. One day while he was training, Eric
and his sister stood on top of a mountain. His sister asked, Eric, why do you run? You re supposed to be a missionary, why do you run? Eric responded, Ah, sister, God made me fast, I run for God. Christians, you and I run for God! We run for God! Let us RUN TO WIN!