Hebrews 12:1-3

Well, folks, maybe you want to turn to Hebrews chapter 12 now.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

This is where we've got to in our little series that we've been in.

Since we've been back in the building in the evenings,

looking at the Christian life as it's been described to us

by the author of Hebrews,

who's encouraging his generation to keep on keeping on for Jesus Christ.

So we took in 40 verses last week,

which was a big task, but I think we got there.

What we're going to do maybe mercifully this week

is we're going to hone in on just two verses.

We're just maybe going to slow the pace down,

which is ironic given what we're looking at,

but we're going to slow the pace down a little bit

and just focus on these couple of verses,

which are so key to the letter.

So let's just read them.

This is verses one and two of Hebrews chapter 12.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,

let us throw off everything.

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

fixing our eyes on Jesus,

the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

For the joy set before him,

he endured the cross,

scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand

of the throne of God.

Amen.

And I'm sure God will bless the reading of his words

and it will not return to him without accomplishing the purposes

which he has for it.

So,

if anybody sees me ever going near a boat again,

you've got my permission to shoot me.

You said that?

Steve Redgrave.

Sorry, I shouldn't have asked you to speak.

Steve Redgrave said it, right?

Steve Redgrave, the roar.

Do you know when he said it?

He said it rhetorical.

He said it seconds after winning the gold medal

at the Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia in 1992, right?

Guy was in absolute agony.

You feel that in his words.

Every bone in his body aching,

every muscle aching.

I always love it how reporters

just put the microphone straight in an athlete's face

straight after they finished the race,

which is probably why they get the lines that they do,

don't they?

But this is what he did.

And here's the reality behind his words, right?

Sprinting.

I used to do it all the time at school.

Sprinting is easy.

Right?

Easy.

It's why you watch UC and Bolton

doing the 100 meters back in the day.

Hardly ever broke a sweat, did he?

Right?

Sprinting is easy.

But endurance running,

endurance racing,

is unbelievably hard.

Some of you might know that

if you've done any kind of marathons in your time.

Unbelievably hard.

And here is what we're being told

about the Christian life tonight.

Right?

It's an endurance race.

Now let me just pause for a second, right?

And just ask you the question

I was asking myself all week.

Do you think of your Christian life like that?

Right?

Do you see it in the context of it being a race?

Because here's what I was thinking this week.

How often I view my life

as almost a series of many, many sprints.

Right?

I think to myself,

if I can get from one holiday

to the next holiday,

if I can get from one weekend

to the next weekend,

if I can get from the morning

to the evening,

then I'll be okay.

Right?

Hardly do I ever stop

and think about my life

as a race?

And as I said,

ironically,

this passage really helped me

slow down this week

and regain something

of the bigger picture

of the Christian life.

think about it.

Okay?

This,

this,

this,

this,

this,

I hope tonight

will be extremely freeing

to think of our lives like this.

What does being in a race tell you?

It tells you two things.

First of all,

that you can expect

periods of pain.

Okay?

If you've ever done

any running in Edinburgh,

you'll know

what that's like.

Because what is Edinburgh not?

It is not flat.

Okay?

One minute you're going downhill

and you're thinking,

I'm loving this.

I could do this all day.

Sign me up for the Berlin Marathon.

And the next minute

before you know it,

you're going uphill.

Your calves are tightening.

Your thighs are burning.

And you're thinking to yourself,

I just want this to end.

Now,

how often is that

the Christian experience

in the Christian life?

Okay?

Some of us will be here tonight

and we're flying

with the Lord.

Right?

Every conversation you have

with somebody

somehow gets to the God.

You're on fire for the Lord.

And some of us will be here

and we're in really tough

periods of our lives.

Okay?

We're dealing with

some really painful stuff.

We're asking some

really big questions.

And if truth be told,

we are thinking about

tapping out.

Or in some kind of way,

just dropping the pace

a little bit.

Can expect periods of pain

in the race?

And secondly,

there's a prize at the end.

Okay?

We're not running aimlessly.

We're not,

we're running somewhere.

There's a goal.

There's an end.

There's a heavenly city.

There's a resurrection future.

There's a risen savior.

That's the prize.

Him.

And so verse one,

here's what our author writes.

Let us run with perseverance

the race which is marked out for us.

You see in the text?

Let us run with perseverance.

Here's what's going on

in Hebrews 11.

Background to Hebrews here.

When these folks,

this generation of Christians,

when they first came to know Jesus,

they came flying out the traps.

Okay?

What did Linford Christie used to say?

He used to go in the B of the bank,

didn't he?

Right?

That was these guys flying out the traps for Jesus.

If you want to flick back to verse 32 of chapter 10,

if you've got it there,

you'll see this.

Our author writes,

verse 32 of chapter 10,

he says,

recall the former days.

Right?

Verse 32 of chapter 10,

recall the former days.

In other words,

remember back to what it was like

when you first came to know Jesus.

Right?

You were standing with those

fellow brothers and sisters

who were going to prison.

Right?

You were standing with,

I'm with them.

That's what you were saying.

You were looking out for those

who were struggling in the fight

and to get them back on their feet again.

Some of you might know what that was like.

Remember back when you first came to know Jesus.

Right?

Boom.

Flying out the traps.

That was these guys.

But now,

the pace has dropped

massively.

Right?

They've been rejected

probably by their

Jewish community

that used to be part of.

Ridiculed by a world

that thinks Jesus is offensive.

All of a sudden,

they began to drop

the pace.

And he writes,

you're in an endurance race.

Why does that come as a surprise?

This stuff is happening to you.

You've got to see.

You've got to keep going.

You've got to keep going.

You're in an endurance race.

Do you see the word,

therefore,

at verse 1?

Right?

Every time you see a therefore,

we've got to ask,

what is it there for?

And it connects this invitation

back to everything

that's come before

in chapter 11.

This great cloud

that he's talking about here

is every single person

that has been mentioned

in chapter 11.

As if to say,

these guys were in the same race

that you're in.

Right?

What does he call them?

He calls them witnesses.

Love that word.

Witnesses.

Two meanings here probably.

Firstly,

their lives.

Everyone in Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

Their lives are testifying

to the fact

that the race

is worth persevering in.

Right?

First image.

Second image.

These people,

as it were,

they finished the race.

They're now either

watching on from the stands

or maybe they've even

made it down the side

of the track

and they're cheering you on

saying,

keep on going.

Keep on going.

You know,

I loved a bit this week

hanging out with Abraham.

Right?

As I read about him,

remember we met him

in chapter 11

hanging out with Abraham

this week.

You could feel him.

Keep on going.

Keep on going.

Keep on going.

Friends,

we're in a race.

We're in a race,

an endurance race.

Now,

the what of that race,

what we encounter

is going to look different

for each of us.

Right?

The unique things

that we'll

come up against

while we're on this race,

the things that the Lord

knows about

that he's sovereignly put there

and the where

will be different

for each of us.

Where we are

in this race.

Right?

We've got no idea

where we are

in this race

for all I know

I was thinking about

I could hit the finishing line

tonight

when I go home.

Right?

But make no mistake

of what might be different,

the where might be different,

but the race is exactly

the same

and the goal is

exactly the same

and the goal is

to finish the race.

Finish the race.

And so just

in the time we have remaining

let me just ask us

two questions

from this text

to help us

think about

our race.

Okay?

Here's the first one.

Friends,

what might be

slowing us down?

Okay?

What might be

slowing us down?

You see this

halfway through verse 1.

What does he say?

Let us throw off

everything that hinders

and the sin

that so easily

entangles.

And here's the cultural image

that the author's tapping into.

One that every single reader

of this

would have been

very familiar with.

So what you did

if you were an athlete

in the day,

if you were serious

about competing,

serious about winning,

what you used to do

is to run stark naked.

That's what you did.

So that nothing

held you back.

Now don't dwell

on the visual for too long,

okay?

Except to make,

see the two

spiritual realities

that I think that image

is actually really helpful for.

Okay?

Is there anything,

friends,

that we need to

strip back

from our life

so that we can run better

in the Christian life,

in the Christian race?

Okay?

Stuff that's

getting in the way.

Okay?

That's just clogging up

our

spiritual life.

You know,

I found out this week

did it with our Hoover,

right?

It was Hoover

and all of a sudden

the thing cut out

wasn't working anymore.

Thinking to myself,

get me that guarantee,

get me that customer service

number,

I'm going to give them

a piece of my mind.

Do you know what it was?

The thing was just clogged up.

Right?

Just spent ages

just trying to,

pulling out hairs

and bits of couscous,

that's always nice,

isn't it?

Pulling things out

of the Hoover

and all of a sudden

once I got everything out,

put it back together,

hey Presto,

it was working again.

Friends,

stuff that's

clogging us up,

right?

It could be anything.

So many good things

can do this,

right?

I uninstalled Twitter

on my phone last night

because I realised

it's just eating up my time.

It's just eating up my time.

Right?

It could be anything.

A DVD box set,

a place and a committee,

a do-it-up house,

a job that's demanding

all your hours,

a relationship that you're in

that's just not helpful.

Friends,

what is clogging up

your walk with

and your love for Jesus?

I remember a good friend

of mine

phoning me

and telling me

that he just stopped

going to the gym.

Because he realised

that it was eating up

all his time

and it was doing more

than that.

Actually,

it was obsessing him

with how he was looking

and he thought,

do you know what?

It's nonsense.

And here's the other

spiritual truth

about the athlete,

right?

I was trying to think

about it this week.

To run naked

is to open yourself up,

isn't it,

in the eyes

of the watching world

and to make yourself

very vulnerable.

And let's just give you

an example

of what I mean here.

Remember,

we were on holiday

down in Cornwall

a few years ago

and we went to

just Google churches.

The first one

that came up

with a New Frontiers one,

which was a couple

of miles away,

so we went there.

They gave us

a wonderful welcome.

But the thing

that struck me

when I was there

struck me most,

it was the notices,

right?

Hear me out,

it was the notices.

because the pastor

stood up

and he gave out

the notices

for the week

and he talked

about the guys

who meet

at the Tesco Cafe

on Tuesday mornings.

I thought,

what on earth

is that notice about?

So I got chatting

to him after the service

and what it was,

it was a group

of people in the church

who met up regularly

with one another

to help one another

in their battle

with pornography,

right?

And this is what they did.

They just met up

in Tesco Cafe

on a Tuesday morning,

right?

Committed

to sharing struggles,

right?

Determined to help

one another

in their Christian race,

right?

Committed to speaking

the gospel to one another,

right?

You've fallen this week,

get back up,

remember,

we're saved by grace,

keep your eyes on Jesus,

right?

No condemnation

because of his blood.

Okay, okay, okay.

And they start going again,

right?

This is what they did.

They met up in this cafe

to talk this stuff out.

Get the stuff on the computer,

anything you need to do

to just to cut it out.

This is a sin

that so easily entangles

and they did this

in front of the church.

The church didn't need

to know who went.

Okay, it was a kind of

what happens in Tesco Club,

stays in Tesco Club

kind of thing.

But everyone in the church

knew this went on

and it was inspiring them

to take the action

that they needed

in their lives

to deal with a sin

that so easily entangles.

And I remember thinking,

how great is that?

My friends,

maybe some of us today

it will be Tesco Club,

right?

Right?

And let's make that happen.

Let's get in touch

and see if we can meet up

to chat things out,

to help one of us.

But whatever that looks like

in your life,

that is the call

of this passage

to make yourself vulnerable,

right?

Whatever it is, friends,

in our lives

that we struggle with

to come forward

and say,

Lord Jesus,

I need you.

Right?

Think of it like this.

What is the first thing

that we read happens

when Adam and Eve sin?

Right?

What do they do

after they sin?

They hide their nakedness.

Right?

Think about it.

They hide their nakedness.

But here's what the gospel does.

It frees us

from having to pretend

and live a life

of empty religion

and covering up

and pretending

that we're sorted.

Right?

Because if we were sorted,

then Jesus would not need to,

would not have needed

to die on the cross

for us.

Okay?

Jesus bore our shame.

He bore it all.

He paid every penny

of the ransom

to buy us.

And you see how

this invites us

to admit our struggles

and to run to him

for fresh grace.

I know I read somebody

on the internet this week.

They put up,

I think it was on Facebook,

they said,

what is your favorite line

from a hymn?

Right?

And just boom, boom, boom,

all these comments.

It was wonderful to read.

Do you know what my favorite line

from a hymn is?

It's these words

from Horatius Bonar.

I penned these

all these years ago.

He said,

I heard the voice

of Jesus say,

come unto me

and rest.

Lay down,

thou weary one,

lay down,

thy head upon my breast.

I came to Jesus

as I was,

weary,

worn,

and sad,

and I found in him

a resting place,

and he has made me glad.

You know,

so thankful

that that is the Jesus

that we encounter

day after day after day.

Friends,

what is

holding us back?

What is slowing us down?

It's a great question

to ask ourselves.

Here's the second question then.

What's slowing us down?

Second question,

just really simply,

are we looking

to Jesus?

Okay,

tell you about

something Alex and I found

happened a few weeks ago

with our girls.

we would ask them

to do something,

right,

just wash your hands

before dinner,

or just put your knife

and fork away

at the end of the meal,

something like that,

and every time

we used to ask this,

right,

they would just go,

huh,

huh,

right?

Somebody told me

this is like living

with a three-nager,

that's what it is,

but huh,

every time we asked,

huh,

I would look to each other

thinking,

where did they learn

this from?

Right,

I don't think they've

learned it from others,

but I don't know,

right?

Do you know where

they'd learned it from?

They'd seen it

in this little cute,

innocent little TV program

that they watched

just before dinner,

and they picked it up

from one of the characters,

right?

The character would just go,

huh,

huh,

anytime she had to do

something,

so this is what they do.

Here's the real simple

truth of life,

friends,

that what we look at

affects the way we live,

right?

What we look at

affects the way we live.

So do you see

where we're invited

to look here,

right?

Do you see

as we run the race,

verse 3,

fixing

our eyes

on Jesus.

That's how we're to run,

by looking at Him,

looking at Him.

What is it about Him?

Let me just give you

three quick things,

okay?

Here's the plea,

in the race,

never stop looking at Christ,

never stop gazing at Him,

breathe Him in,

savour Him,

take hold of Him.

What do you need to take in

and hold of?

Three quick things.

Firstly,

that He's our Saviour,

okay?

Follow with me in the language here,

the pioneer

and the perfecter

of our faith,

right?

Notice that those two

are both perfect words,

okay?

In terms of Jesus being

our perfect Saviour,

that He has ran the race

perfectly,

that His righteousness

is ours,

it is done,

okay?

Those words,

it is done,

not it will be done.

It's not like the

John Lewis crane,

right?

Down near the Omniscientor

that says this will be done

and what's it say,

like summer 2022,

just bear with us

while this work goes on.

It's not like that

with Jesus,

right?

His work is done.

It's done.

These are perfect,

finished words.

That's why we get

at the beginning

of this letter,

we're thinking about

this morning as well,

weren't we?

What is Jesus doing

in heaven?

He is sitting.

He's sitting.

This is done.

We are His,

His perfect life,

His righteousness,

we claim as ours,

which means that

when we stumble

in the race

and we stumble

all the time,

friends,

what gets us back

on our feet

is not legalism,

right?

It's not,

I want to do better.

What gets us back

on our feet

is who Jesus is for us,

His grace.

Right?

When sin does

entangle us

and we trip,

we always come back

to who He is

for us

and He is the pioneer

and the perfecter

of our faith

and that's who we are.

Right?

I love what

Scottish minister

Robert Murray McShane

used to say

to his congregation

and he would have said

it in the city here.

He said,

for every one look

at your sin,

I want you to take

ten looks at Christ.

Right?

Just do that

next time in your head.

You fall,

look to Jesus,

look to Jesus,

look to Jesus,

look to Jesus,

look to Jesus,

look to Jesus,

look to Jesus.

I look at Jesus,

look to Jesus,

look to Jesus

and our eyes

are fixed on Him.

He's our Savior.

What is He secondly?

He's our example.

Do you see in the text,

for the joy set before Him,

He endured the cross,

scorning its shame.

So the question is,

what made Jesus

endure the cross?

Answer,

it was the joy

set before Him.

What was that joy?

Going back to being

in the very presence

of His Father

that He'd left

to take on our flesh.

And because of His work,

the presence

that He will one day

bring all His ransomed

people into

that we might enter into

and share

in the joy

of the Father,

the Son,

and the Spirit.

And that joy

saw Him endure

the most horrific

of deaths.

And I hope that encourages us

wherever we're at

right now

that when we feel

the pain of suffering

in this life,

right,

whether it's suffering

in general

or suffering

because we stand

for Jesus

and something in us

in that moment

longs for that day,

friends,

in a really profound way,

we are sharing

in something

of the life

and the death

of our Savior.

And I often think

what often gets me

through a run

and I run home

from the office

during the week

and did it this week.

When you're running

in the rain,

what gets me

to the other side,

right,

the joy that's set

before me

so often

is a warm shower.

Right,

we'll go through anything

because I know

the warm shower is there.

And this challenged me,

how much more

should the joy

set before me

eternally

cause me

to keep running

the race

with my eyes

fixed on Christ.

Friends,

he's our Savior,

he's our example

and thirdly,

he's our helper.

He's our helper

and sat down

at the right hand

of the throne of God.

See,

the author here

brings the attention

to where Jesus is.

He's seated

at the right hand

of the throne of God.

What's he doing there?

Is he twiddling his thumbs

wondering what time

am I coming back?

No,

he ever lives

to plead for us.

He's praying for us.

Isn't that a magnificent thought?

He's praying for us.

We thought this morning

if you tuned into that

how often our prayer lives

are substandards,

they're up and they're down.

Christ's prayer life

for us

is people

that never falters.

He's given us

the spirit,

the very presence

of God

living and working

in us

and he promises

to equip us

with everything

that we need

to live

a life

for his glory.

But friends,

just as we finish here,

we're in a race.

We're in a race.

You know,

there were two other guys

in the boat

with Steve Redgrave

when he won his race.

Right?

You had Matthew Pinson,

he was the other guy.

The two of them

got all the limelight.

Right?

Fast forward a little bit

and there's a knighthood

in there as well

as gold medals.

The third guy

that was in the boat

was the cocks.

Right?

His job

is just to know

his roars inside out,

is to know

what they need to hear

and to know

when they need

to hear it

and keep them going

right to the finish line.

Right?

And that's what

the author

to the Hebrews

is doing

right here

to a tired

and to a battered

generation

who are on the verge

of giving up.

He's saying,

come on guys.

Come on,

we can do this.

Come on.

Let's keep going.

Let's keep running.

Oh,

that you would know

what's at the other side

of the finish line

and you would know

that that is worth

enduring

every single strain,

every single insult,

every single sleepless night,

every single hardship

because that prize,

oh,

it's so good.

one thing to do

practically

just as we finish this.

Friends,

I want us to think about,

maybe some of us

know right now,

those in the race

who are really struggling

at the minute.

Right?

It's one of the beauties

of being a church family.

Right?

Those in the race

who are really struggling

to keep going

at the minute.

You know,

I love those scenes

in the marathon,

you know,

when somebody's struggling

and somebody comes in

from the crowd

or whatnot

and they just go

under the shoulder,

don't they?

Just take them around

and they just carry them,

help them keep going,

carry them on.

Well,

maybe that's something

that all of us

could do this evening

as we go home,

as we leave here.

Maybe it's even somebody

that's sitting here,

you know what they're

going through.

Friends,

could you be the cocks

in their life?

Could you be

Hebrews chapter 12,

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

the one who just

helps lift our eyes

to who Jesus is?

So if anyone sees me

going anywhere near

a boat again,

you've got my permission

to shoot me.

Friends,

in all the pain

that's in that quote,

don't miss the fact

that the context of it

is that the guy

who's just won

the gold medal.

Christian,

you're in a race,

we're in a race,

let's fix our eyes

on Jesus

and let's run it

with perseverance.

Let me pray.

And Father,

in the silence now,

we would just maybe

bring to you

our own prayers.

Father,

of the ways

that where we know

we are struggling

right now

and Father,

thank you for that promise

that in Christ Jesus,

Lord,

you promised to give us

the power to live

a life of godliness

and so Lord,

I pray,

Lord,

wherever we're at

that the grace

of the Lord Jesus Christ

would be so precious

to each of us

and that your spirit

would be at work

in each of our lives.

Father,

help us fix our eyes

on Jesus,

the founder

and the perfecter

of our faith.

And we pray

in his precious name.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.