A Race We Can Win

Well, excitement is really building, if you're a football fan right now.

Just think about it.

High school games begin this Friday night.

Y'all are at Easley, right?

Okay.

Three weeks from yesterday, college games begin.

And I think the NFL begins on Thursday night, September the 7th.

But I know everybody does not get into football.

There's millions of people who love basketball, baseball, soccer throughout the world, volleyball.

Here it begins big.

A lot of people throughout this world, throughout this country, they're big into sports.

Now today, we can know more about our favorite team and favorite athlete than in any other time in history

because there's so much media coverage.

But I want everybody to understand, ESPN is not responsible for all the great interest there is in sports.

For centuries, people have really gotten into athletic games of all kinds.

Even the Apostle Paul in the first century.

He was either a sports fan himself or he knew that a lot of people were because in several of his letters,

he uses sports terminology, sports analogies.

For example, look on the screen.

In his letter to the Corinthians, his first letter, he says,

Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.

I do not run aimlessly.

I do not box as one beating the air.

He's writing to Christians and talking to them about living the Christian life.

And it takes discipline.

It takes a lot of self-control.

And he compared it to athletics, especially a runner, a boxer.

He says in 2 Timothy 2.5,

An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules.

That was his way of saying it matters how you live.

It matters how you do everything in life.

It matters how you do your job.

It matters how you play the game.

The worst thing that could happen on Friday night,

one of the worst things,

is y'all are behind,

last minute of the game,

somebody breaks free,

runs 50 yards for a touchdown for the winning score,

and you look back up,

and there's a yellow flag on the field.

Somebody blocked somebody in the back.

It matters how you play the game.

It matters how you play the game of life.

And that was Paul's way of stressing,

it matters.

Now, the writer of the Hebrews,

he is unknown,

but he was aware of how people were interested in sports.

And he writes in Hebrews chapter 12,

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 1,

about the need for us to live a faithful Christian life,

just like a runner,

must discipline himself or herself,

stay focused to run and win their race.

I want you to look at it with me.

Hebrews chapter 12.

Hebrews 12 · chapter mention

We're going to read verses 1 and 2,

and please keep your Bible open to that,

because there will be times when it will not all be on the screen.

Hebrews chapter 12,

Hebrews 12:1

verses 1 and 2.

Look at it with me.

Therefore,

since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,

let us also lay aside every weight,

and sin which clings so closely,

and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

looking to Jesus,

the founder and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,

despising the shame,

and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

As we go through this message,

I want you to think about living the Christian life

in terms of a long-distance race.

Living a Christian life is not a sprint.

It's a long-distance race.

It's like a marathon.

But in this passage this morning,

let's think more of a long-distance race,

5,000 meters, 10,000,

something that could take place on a track with spectators.

We are instructed in these two verses

to be disciplined,

to be focused on the goal,

to stay faithful no matter what.

No matter what it costs,

and finish the race.

Just like an Olympic athlete

running a long-distance race would have to do.

Now the first thing I want us to notice

about running the race of Christian living

deals with some motivation.

Look at it.

We should be motivated by the example of people

who have successfully completed the race.

Look at verse 1 in that first word,

therefore.

The writer is pointing back to a long list

of men and women

in chapter 11

that he was telling the Hebrew Christians about,

men and women from the Old Testament,

who were faithful.

Now let me give you a little background of this letter.

This letter to Hebrew Christians,

Jewish Christians,

who were having a hard time

because they were being persecuted.

You can read toward the end of chapter 10 of Hebrews,

some of these people had been put in prison,

or they knew people,

Christians,

who had been put in prison

just because they were Christians.

Some of them had had their property

taken away from them

just because they were followers of Jesus.

And so he's writing to people

who are really struggling

because it's costing them something

to let everybody know they're Christians

and to live like it.

Some of them are being tempted

to just forget it all.

As you read through this letter,

it's obvious.

He is trying to encourage them,

don't quit.

Don't turn around and walk away from Christ

as if you no longer believe in Him

or want to have anything to do with Him.

The writer is encouraging these people

to stay faithful

by pointing out how men and women

in the Old Testament

endured hard times

and they remained faithful.

Some of them,

they were even killed,

but they would not renounce their faith.

They ran their race,

however long it was,

to the very end and never quit.

And now in verse 1,

these Old Testament believers

are what he calls

a great cloud of witnesses.

It's like these people

who've gone before you

and they've been faithful,

well, they're in the stands

and they're watching you

as you run your race.

Think about it.

He's saying these people

are watching you.

He's not saying these people

who never played,

people who were never in the race.

This writer is saying

to these Christians

who are struggling,

there's people in the stands,

they have struggled

and they persevered.

They hung in there.

They didn't quit

and now they are watching you.

And the idea is

if God enabled these people

to be successful,

he'll do the same for me.

Let me ask you guys,

would it make a difference

in how you practiced tomorrow

if somehow or another

last year's Clemson

national championship team,

Kane,

circled the field

and they watched you?

I bet there'd be less loafing.

I bet there'd be more people

just sucking it up

and not talking about

something hurting.

You would do the best

you've ever done

because you know

those guys are there

and they know all about it.

They have practiced

and played

in a lot more difficult circumstances

than I have,

longer than I have.

they've endured the pain,

the suffering

that you do in practice

and they've been successful.

They won the national championship.

Same thing

if South Carolina's

women's basketball team

came and watched you

who are on Pickens High School's

women's basketball team.

If North Carolina's players

came to the guys' practice

in basketball,

you would sit up

and take notice.

You would do your best

because that great cloud

that's watching you,

they've been there,

they've done that,

they've been successful

and so you want to

be successful

in their eyes

as well.

No matter what kind

of hardships

we experience

as we seek to live

an obedient Christian life,

we can always be certain

that there's a lot of people

who've gone before us,

not just in the Old Testament,

maybe some of your parents

or grandparents

or somebody you just

admired in your church

in a day gone by,

they had a hard life

but they never quit,

they never gave up,

they never blamed God

for what was going on.

They persevered,

they were faithful

and if you can look at them

for some inspiration,

that's what this writer's

trying to say to us.

No matter what we go through,

others have been through worse.

For example,

back in chapter 11,

Abraham was called

to leave his home,

his family

and everything he ever had

and go to a place

that he didn't know

where he was going to go

and it says in chapter 11

that Abraham was sent

to a place

where he lived in tents

and the idea is

he never had a home.

God's call

to Abraham's life

was you leave home,

you leave security,

you leave everything

you've ever known

and I'm going to send you

to a place

and you're never going

to have anything.

You're always going

to be an alien

in that place.

But that's my plan

for you.

It was costly.

Moses,

look back in chapter 11,

Moses actually grew up

in a place of privilege.

He was the adopted grandson

of Pharaoh,

the king of Egypt.

But it tells us

in that passage

that Moses gave all that up.

He renounced

that place of position,

that life of ease

in order to identify

with his own people,

the Hebrew people

who were slaves

and eventually

God used him

to lead them out

of slavery

into the promised land.

The point is

there's people

around us,

some in the Bible,

some you know.

They've been faithful.

They were successful

in doing what God

called them to do

because they were faithful.

These in the Old Testament,

Abraham and Moses

for example.

It's been thousands

of years

since they walked

the face of this earth

but we're talking

about them this morning.

they are remembered.

And one day,

every Christian

in this room,

you will actually see

those men and women

listed in Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

You'll get to talk to them

and hear their stories

firsthand

about how life was hard

but God gave me

what I needed

and I was able

to be faithful.

That's why they're in

what some people call

the hall of faith

there in Hebrews chapter 11.

Hebrews 11 · chapter mention

The next thing

I want us to look at

is also in verse 1.

As important as it is

to look around

and find some inspiration

from people

who've been there

and done that,

it's more important now

to understand

if we're going to run

this race of Christian living

and be successful,

we've got to be

personally disciplined.

Look at it.

We must discipline ourselves

if we want to run well.

Every successful runner,

that's what he's talking

about here,

a track athlete.

Every successful runner

must train for their race.

Every successful athlete

must train,

must discipline themselves.

Well, that also applies

to living a faithful

and obedient Christian life.

Notice what it involves

in verse 1.

He says,

we must lay aside

every weight.

Another way to translate that

is or throw off

everything that hinders.

That literally refers

to the bulk of the body.

Eliminate excess pounds

is what he's talking about.

Olympic runners,

they don't carry

any extra weight.

They have any extra fat.

Their skin, bone, and muscle.

You think what it takes

to be that.

Think up of the discipline

in what you eat

and how you work out,

how you even rest.

I want you to think

and make this real personal now.

What hinders you?

What causes you sometimes

to fall

as you seek to live

a faithful Christian life?

We're not talking about

sinful things yet.

It doesn't have to be

anything bad.

But we who are Christians,

we want to,

we want to be faithful.

We want to know God's will.

We want to do God's will.

We want to do what we know

God wants us to do.

But we don't

a lot of times.

We let things,

we let people,

we let a lot of things

sort of pull us down.

And this writer is saying here,

in writing to these people,

writing to us today,

let us also lay aside

every weight.

What's weighing

or pulling you down?

It could be something good,

but it's not good

in what it's doing to you.

For example,

it could be a hobby

that takes too much

of your time.

It could be a particular person

that's in your life,

and they're just a bad influence.

They make you worse,

not better.

This is sort of an aside now.

When you're dating someone,

when you're looking for someone

you really want to get serious about,

you think about marrying,

ask yourself the question,

am I a better person

by being around them,

by being influenced by them?

Are they helping,

if you're a Christian,

are they helping me to walk

and follow Christ?

Or,

do they pull me down?

Could be the kind of music

you listen to,

the movies,

TV shows you watch,

that for you,

it just,

you don't have the right

kind of thoughts.

It just doesn't affect you

in a positive way.

Anything that drags us down

spiritually is a hindrance

that we've got to get rid of.

You know,

a lot of Christians say

they don't have time

to spend with the Lord

in prayer and Bible reading.

Fact is,

no one,

me,

you,

no one in this room,

no one you know

can live a faithful Christian life

without having a real relationship

with God.

And the only way

we can have a relationship

with Him

or anyone

is to spend time with Him,

talking to Him in prayer,

listening to Him

as He speaks

from His Word.

A lot of people say,

I know that's true,

but I just don't have the time

to do that

on a daily basis.

Let me ask you this.

Do you have time

for Facebook

and other forms

of social media?

If you do,

then your problem

about the Bible

and prayer

is not a time problem.

It's a priority problem.

And I'm saying this

because today,

social media,

it can be a great thing,

it can be a positive thing,

form of communication,

smartphones,

you can learn a lot,

it's a lot of good

that can come from it,

but social media

is a weight

that is hindering

many people's

relationship with God

and their actual

real relationships

with other people.

The main reason

I'm bringing this one up

as an example today,

some of you saw this

toward the end

of last week.

There was a house fire

in Anderson County.

Three people were inside.

They got out,

but a 22-year-old man

went back inside

to retrieve his cell phone.

And he didn't make it back out.

He died.

He died.

He died

for a stupid cell phone.

He was that addicted.

It was that much

of his life.

I talked to someone

after the first service

this morning,

after preaching this message.

And they were telling me

about a situation

where a person

was going to have to

do a particular thing.

I don't want to give it away.

A person told me

they were going to have

to be doing something.

And they were instructed

in order to do this test,

do this thing

you've got to do,

you cannot have a cell phone.

You must leave it at home.

Leave it with your parents.

Leave it somewhere.

And this person said,

I can't do that.

I cannot go anywhere

in this world

without my cell phone.

My cell phone

is my lifeline.

That's an addiction, folks.

A smartphone can be a tool

or it can be an addiction

that is interfering

in your own relationship

with the Lord

and your relationship

with other human beings.

It's been a long time

since I dated.

But I can tell you this.

If I went out with a girl

and we sat down at a meal

ordered,

looking at the menu

and she whips out that phone,

I'm leaving.

You can do what you want to.

I didn't come to talk to you.

I didn't come to look at you

with your face down

in that stupid phone.

I challenge you guys,

do that.

Do that.

Leave them.

Tell them to take that phone

and call their mom and daddy

to come get them.

But let's reverse it now.

I believe in equality.

Ladies,

if you go out with a guy,

he's got his face in that,

sneak out if you can

before he even looks up.

Don't let him hear you.

Just don't say a word.

Go out and call somebody

to come and get you.

I'm making a lot of this

because it is a serious problem

that's interfering

in people's actual human interaction

and it is interfering

in a lot of people's relationship

with the Lord

because they've got time for this

but they don't have time for Him.

It is a hindrance

to a lot of people's spiritual growth

and a lot of people's social,

real growth

with other people face to face.

We also see in verse 1

that we must discipline ourselves

to throw off the sin

which clings so closely

or the sin that so easily entangles

or the New Living Translation says

the sin that so easily trips us up.

The idea here is

of a runner stripping off

as the Greek runners would do

so that there would be nothing

to hinder them in any way,

to slow them down a step.

Obviously all sin causes us to fall.

Which sins do you find

or you're a real stumbling block?

And we all have them.

Every one of us,

the most committed Christian in here,

there's certain sins

that appeal to you more than others.

There's certain ways you are tempted.

And I want you to stop for a moment now

and identify what sin

or sins is tripping you up.

Is it interfering

in your running this race

of faithful Christian living?

Could it be gossip?

Anger?

Impatience?

Lust?

Lying?

Laziness?

Alcohol or drug abuse?

Just not trusting God

in the details of your life.

Whatever your particular sin is,

you know what it is.

It's tripping you up.

It's causing you to fall

more times than you want to admit.

If you're serious about

wanting to be faithful to God

and live the kind of life

He's calling you to live,

if you're serious about it,

you've got to get rid of the things

that are hindering you.

You've got to confess

and turn from the sin

that's tripping you up.

You can do that

and God will forgive you.

He'll give you a fresh start

if there's a problem right now

that you're dealing with.

1 John chapter 1 and verse 9

1 John 1 · chapter mention

tells us this.

If we confess our sins,

He is faithful and just

to forgive us of our sins

and to cleanse us

from all unrighteousness.

God forgives.

God is a God of grace.

And if we'll be honest with Him

about what our problem is,

what our sin is,

truly confess it,

turn from it,

change your mind about it,

hate it,

and seek His forgiveness,

He will forgive us

just like that verse is saying.

It's a promise.

It's a promise.

What is it that,

what is it that really

you are battling

is a temptation in your life.

I want you to understand

no matter how powerful,

how strong it may be

in some temptations,

sort of like sometimes

they just grab us,

shake us,

demand that we give in.

But we don't have to.

God always provides

a way of escape

if we want it,

if we'll look for it.

I want you to look at

what Paul said

to the Corinthians

about temptation.

No temptation

has overtaken you

that is not common to man.

You've experienced,

I've experienced

no unique temptation.

God is faithful.

He will not let you

be tempted

beyond your ability,

but with the temptation

He will also provide

the way of escape

that you may be able

to endure it.

We can endure temptation.

We can resist it.

We can overcome it.

God always provides

a way of escape

if we'll look for it,

if we'll take it.

Notice one other aspect

of discipline found

in verse 1.

He talks about running

with endurance.

The runner's got to have

the attitude,

I'm going to finish.

I'm going to complete

the race.

It doesn't matter

how good a start he gets.

In this analogy here,

a long distance runner

on the track,

say it's 5,000 meters.

That's what?

About 12 and a half laps.

It doesn't matter

how strong he starts,

how, if he even laps

the field,

the first few,

if he quits

in the 11th lap,

he won't finish.

He has no possibility

to win.

You've got to finish.

You've got to stay the course

is what he's saying.

This is true

in our relationship

with Christ.

There's a lot of people,

a lot of people,

as children,

as teenagers,

even as adults,

they make a profession

of faith.

They may even be baptized.

But they don't continue

to trust Christ,

to follow Christ.

I want you to understand

that is an indication

that a person

wasn't really a Christian

to start with.

Because when God

really and truly

does a work in us

to save us,

he changes us,

he puts his spirit

in us,

and God will never

leave us alone.

Look at how Paul

describes this

in Philippians 1,

Philippians 1:6

verse 6.

And I am sure of this,

that he who began

a good work in you

will bring it to completion

at the day of Christ Jesus.

What God starts in us,

he's going to continue.

There may be times

that we fail him,

as we're talking

about how I go,

that we fall.

We give in

to the temptation.

But if the spirit

of God lives within us,

he will convict us,

he'll cause us

to want to confess

our sin,

to come back

to the Lord

and start all over again.

I want you to look

at something else

Paul said.

It's not easy

to live a Christian life.

If anybody ever

tells you it is,

they don't know

what they're talking about.

There's a lot of verses

I showed you

at the beginning.

We're looking at one here.

The Christian life

requires discipline.

It requires self-control.

We have to work at it.

It's not going

to just happen.

But I want you

to see how

we can be confident

that we can work at it.

Look at what he says

in Philippians 2.13.

For it is God

who works in you

both to will

and to work

for his good pleasure.

When God saves us,

he puts his spirit in us

and he will never leave us.

God will give us

the desire

to be faithful,

to resist temptation,

to obey him.

God will enable us

to do that,

but we've got to

cooperate with him.

We've got to eliminate

the hindrances.

We've got to turn

from the sin.

We've got to do

the acts of obedience

that he calls us to do.

You may have to

close your mouth.

He's telling you

to quit saying things

you're saying

that you're not

supposed to say.

You may have to

open your mouth

and say some things

he's wanting you

to say to certain people.

God will enable us

to be faithful.

He will enable us

to discipline ourselves

and stay the course.

Let's look at

one more thing.

One more thing

about being faithful.

We must stay focused

on our goal

as we run.

The Olympic runner

runs with his eyes

fixed ahead of him

on the goal,

on the finish line.

He may be aware

of people in the stands,

but he's not looking.

He may be aware

of other runners.

He can sort of

sense their presence,

maybe see them

out of the side

of his eye.

But he's not going

to be turning

and always just

looking around.

He's going to be

focused on his goal.

His goal is going

to be the finish line.

What this writer

is telling us

is we need to run

with a clear focus

and our focus

is simple.

It's Jesus himself.

Why would he say this?

Because of who he is.

Look at what it says.

Verse 2,

looking to Jesus,

the founder

and perfecter

of our faith.

Everything in the

Christian life,

everything in the

Christian faith

begins, continues,

and ends

with Jesus.

Specifically,

his death

on the cross

for our sins.

See,

when Jesus

died on the cross,

he died

in your place.

He died

to pay the penalty

for my sins.

It's like God

took my sin

and placed it on Jesus

as he hung on the cross

and Jesus cried out,

my God, my God,

why have you forsaken me?

God had turned away

from him in that moment

and it's because

he was bearing

the full weight

of our sin

and experiencing

the pain of hell,

not going to the place,

but experiencing

the pain of hell

because God

was turning away from him.

He was experiencing

the wrath of God.

He died for our sins.

Just before he died,

one of the last things

he says was,

it is finished.

The penalty for sin

had been paid.

He was buried.

Three days later,

he arose from the grave

because God

wanted everybody

to understand,

I've accepted

his sacrifice.

He arose from the grave

and was seen

over a period

of 40 days

by a lot of different people,

different places.

That was God's way

of verifying.

My son,

he's died on the cross,

paid the penalty

for your sins.

He's risen from the grave.

He is my son.

He is the son of God.

The penalty's been paid.

And the good news

of the gospel is

if we will admit our sin,

put our trust in Jesus,

call upon him

to save us,

he will.

Now in keeping

with this race imagery,

think about Jesus.

He has cleared

the path

that we need to run

to stay in our lane

and be faithful

in the race of life.

Because of what he's done,

look at it,

he endured the cross

despising the shame

and is seated

at the right hand

of the throne of God.

The cross was the lowest

form of execution

in the Roman Empire.

In the Roman Empire,

only slaves

and criminals

were crucified.

A Roman citizen

could not be executed

that way.

It was a torturous,

humiliating way to die.

But Jesus endured that.

He disregarded the shame

because he was fulfilling

the plan of God.

He was fulfilling

the way for us

to be forgiven

and made right with God.

He did that,

it says in verse 2,

for the joy

that was set

before him.

He looked beyond

everything,

everything that was

terrible about that cross

for the joy

on the other side.

I know that you guys

playing ball

practices,

a lot of times,

it's just awful.

Sometimes you just think

the coaches,

they got their training

in a torture chamber,

all the things

they make us do.

But you hang in there.

You do what you've got to do

because you want to play

on Friday night.

You want to wear

that uniform.

You want to go out

in front of all the people

that's going to be

in those stands.

And you want to play football

in that game

so you endure

whatever it has to do.

There is joy

before you

on the other side

of practice.

There was joy

on the other side

of the cross

for Jesus.

That's why

he endured that.

That's our example

for enduring pain

and hardship,

suffering for the short time

because we're going

to experience

an eternal reward

waiting for us

at the end.

You know,

we're never going to live

a faithful life

that honors God

and brings joy

and satisfaction

to ourselves

if we just focus

on the circumstances

of today.

If we just focus

on how life bad

is at various times.

we've got to learn

to follow the example

of Jesus

and look beyond

our circumstances.

Look beyond

how we feel

and just think about

what God,

how God will reward us

for being faithful

as his son

or daughter.

That's the attitude

we've got to have

in order to endure

throughout this race

of life,

of Christian living.

And I encourage you

to look beyond

the hardship,

those of you

who are going

through hardship.

There is more,

there is better

to come

and it'll be yours

for all eternity.

If we want to live

faithful Christian lives

and please God,

we need to look around

and see

success stories.

Look at some of the people

in the Bible.

Hopefully there's some people

in your life

who've been before you,

they've been faithful

and God is blessed

in their life.

Be inspired by that.

But inspiration

is just going to carry you

so far.

In order to really

and truly live

the Christian life

as God's called you to do

and deep down

you want to do

if you're a Christian,

you've got to learn

to discipline yourself,

to eliminate hindrances

and distractions

and any form of sin

in your life.

Take the responsibility

to discipline yourself,

to cooperate with God

as He works

to change you

and enable you

to develop

Christ-like character.

If we'll run the race

of Christian living

like this,

we can be faithful.

It doesn't mean

it'll be easy.

It doesn't mean

that everything will happen

the way you want it

to happen in your life.

But faithfulness

is what pleases God.

Faithfulness

is how God

determines success.

Faithfulness

is what makes us

in this race

of Christian living

victorious.

Faithfulness

by God's grace

is what will enable us

to experience

an eternal reward

at the end of this race.

let's pray together.

Dear God,

help us to see

right now

how we should respond

in light of what

you've said

through your word

and through your spirit

to us individually.

Father,

if there are people

in this room

who are not Christians,

but they want to be,

dear God,

make it clear to them

that if they will

admit their sin

and truly turn from it,

change their mind

about how they're living

and put their trust

in Jesus

that He has taken

their punishment,

He paid the penalty

for their sin

when He died on the cross.

Help that person

right now,

dear God,

to call upon Jesus

to save them.

Help that man,

woman,

young person

to surrender control

of their lives

right now

to Jesus

as their Lord,

as their ultimate leader.

Father,

if there are Christians

in this room

right now,

you have identified

things that are

hindering them

from faithfully

living the life

that God's called

them to live.

Dear God,

show them

what they need to do.

If there's sin

to confess,

if there are priorities

to rearrange,

if there are some

changes in their lifestyle,

in their relationships

that need to be made,

make it clear.

Help them,

dear God,

to make that kind

of commitment.

Not just right now,

but every day.

In an attitude

of prayer,

let's just all

listen to the Lord

and respond to Him.

If I could pray

with you during this time,

I'll be here

at the front

and would be happy

to do that.

Thank you.