“RUNNING THE RACE”

(Hebrews 12:1-3)

This is the time of year when those who follow Major league Baseball have all turned in their votes for the All-Star teams of the American League and the National League. In spite of the statistics individual players have accomplished this year, an amazing thing has occurred in 2009. It is the same phenomenon we see each year. The ones doing the best at playing baseball are usually ignored, when the public votes, while the famous heroes get all the votes (in spite of them having horrible stats). Rather than voting for who is doing well it is more about name recognition. This year, in particular, a man from the L.A. Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, has been on a 50 games suspension. He has played in 30 of the 80 games the team has played and yet the fans voted him onto the National League All-Star team. The player filling in for him, through the 50 games he was gone, has far better statistics than Manny does. What a travesty!

I have found the same kind of inconsistency in Christianity; at least from the human point of view. Human beings gravitate toward the celebrities in any area of endeavor. Thus, quite regularly, the most victorious believers in Jesus are not in the limelight or at center stage. Those heading the listing on the promotional brochures have a ministry. Yet, the ones impacting their world for Christ are in the background quietly going about the Lord’s work with hardly any notice at all. These folk are All-Stars in the Lord’s eyes though they might get no recognition from the public.

It appears the author of Hebrews had an awareness of such a reality after giving readers an incredible list of “FAITH WARRIORS” in Chapter 11. In fact, most on the list are not the Bible characters Christians would put on the list. Which of us would include Samson, Rahab, Barak, or even Jephthah on a roster of faith giants? I have never preached a message on Barak or Jephthah. Yet, God’s Word puts them right at the top of the pile.  This information is preparatory to our delving into the three verses before us in Chapter 12. To summarize; God’s list of All-Stars in faith is completely different than the roster we would put together. But look at what the book says next.

Verse 1 of Chapter 12 tells us “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses…” This verse is not saying that the saints in heaven, who have gone before us are sitting in the bleacher section watching us as we live life today. You won’t find such a doctrine in the Bible anywhere! It is telling us that since God has given us such an awesome gallery of people as examples of how to live faith, we are to throw off everything that hinders, including the sin that so easily entangles, and run with stick-to-itiveness the race marked out for us. Now, that’s my paraphrase but it is really what is being communicated here. When you think of Samson, do you think of a man who threw off the sin that so easily entangles? Or when you think of Rahab, do you think of one who throws off everything that hinders? From the biblical text we have, we think of a womanizer in Samson and a prostitute in Rahab.

God called Samson to be one of the judges who delivered Israel from the Philistines. God, who looks on the heart, saw faith in this man all the way to his demise at the hands of the Philistines. God even granted Samson’s prayer as he was being executed so that he could bring down over 3000 Philistines at the very end. (Judges 16) This man clearly had faith as the central part of his life so that even in time of need he called upon God to save him, rather than depending on his own strength. (And he had plenty of that, given to him by God.)

In Rahab, God placed a woman in Jericho to be available to house two spies in town overnight. Please understand that visitors were never allowed to spend nighttime in a town of which they were not normal citizens. Strangers tented in oases outside of town and the gates were closed each evening until day break the next day. This happened in all Biblical towns during both Old Testament and New Testament times. There were no Motel 6’s in Biblical towns then. So, God provided a woman who had a sinful profession to be in place to provide housing for outsiders whom God had sent to spy out Jericho. Only her kind of house would be permitted to provide overnights. And such places were monitored by the military presence of that town regularly. This woman exhibited knowledge of the Israelite God that had already prepared her heart to believe He was the one true God. Amazing isn’t it? Yet, she believed enough in this God to hide the spies, to lie about their whereabouts and send them safely off the following day. She risked death if she was discovered in order to fit into God’s plan. (Joshua 2) That’s only two of the “Great cloud of witnesses” whom God counts as being people demonstrating how faith can work in life. I do believe such information probably takes our breath away. Now you know why I said previously it is not the Christians who are center stage, or on a pedestal in their status, who are the best examples of a lifestyle of faith. In fact, center stage usually brings more baggage that hinders and entangles. When a Christian grows from Stage Five to Stage Six in their “Spiritual Journey” they have learned to make it a daily practice “To throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”. They have grown enough “To run with perseverance the race marked out for them.” They have made the discovery that a life of faith (The Spiritual Journey, if you please) is like a marathon race. They have learned “To fix their eyes on Jesus, the author (Initiator) and perfecter (completer) of their faith”. Did you notice what these verses are saying? A mature life of faith is not about fixing our focus on what we can do, what we can accomplish through our own efforts. It is about transfixing our inner sight on the Lord (and Him alone) to see how life is to be lived. Notice, also, that the race we are running today is said to be “marked out for us”. Life is not your possession. It is a gift from God. If you are a child of God’s, He determines what your life will look like. Whether it is like Samson or the Apostle Paul, Rahab or Deborah, God assigns each of His children to a specific life experience. It is all about God’s sovereignty. We have no voice in the matter. Keep in mind that we have already discovered that “God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose”. (Romans 8:28)

I refer you to one more observation from the verses we have been looking at. We refer to Jesus as “The author and perfecter of our faith”. Think about the two titles that are used. If you are a Christian your faith was initiated (authored) by Jesus becoming your Savior. But, that is not the end of the story, as we have been uncovering through our study of the journey. He is currently bringing about a maturity (perfecting) to our faith. This facet of the Christian life is changing, altering and transforming our lives to make Jesus our Lord. The Greek word for perfect is “mature”. But, as Jesus desires to bring about such a change in your life and in mine, (through the Holy Spirit’s work in our inner being), we relinquish ownership of all we are, all we have and all we do, to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

Now; for a word of caution! It, too, is found in these verses. If we don’t experience the change, the growth, the progress, the maturity of Stage 5 and Stage 6, look at verse 3. It tells us that if Jesus is not “perfecting” our lives, we will “grow weary and lose heart”. As we stressed early on, in our teaching pilgrimage of the journey, most Christians abort the growth process before Stages 4-6. When we delete God’s growing work within us we find the Christian life to be done in our own strength and energy. That brings us quickly to “growing weary”. If we stymie the Holy Spirit’s altering of our lives to conform to the “image of the Son”, we get discouraged, lose heart and quit. To live the Christian life, without God being able to actively grow us beyond where we are at the present time, means discouragement, disenchantment and loss of heart. One does not live the Christian life on adrenalin, determination or stubbornness.

When we, as Christians, walk through Stage Five and into Stage Six, we no longer strive to walk by faith. It happens naturally because our dependence on the Lord has become a way of life. Many times this transition is barely discernable from the outside. But inside, it feels like there is just more of God and less of us. Our craving for God increases. The less we acknowledge this change the more likely it is to happen. The focus of our life is no longer us at all. Total dependence on God is the key. In short: WE GROW AND CHANGE!

When we walk through Stage Five and into Stage Six, all things, all events, all circumstances, all people, all illnesses, all joys and all successes “smack” of God. We have a close personal awareness of God in all things. We provide no control or agenda in life. God does that in every incident and circumstance we experience. Everything in life simplifies and love shines through all of our life. In short: WE SEE GOD IN ALL OF LIFE!

When we walk through Stage Five and into Stage Six, we actually develop into a representation of the Christ who is making us into the person He created us to be. As such, we own our weaknesses and let them become an occasion for strength to develop. God uses us to touch others even when we are unaware of the connection. In short: WE BECOME GOD’S REPRESENTATIVES!

Lastly, when we, as Christians, walk through Stage Five and into Stage Six, ministry is satisfying. We are now content to know God is working in and through us. We get our energy from God and feel renewed and satisfied. We want to continue our calling. We discover, by being open to God’s work and healing, that we have been made whole. In short: WE ARE EXTREMELY SATISFIED WITH LIFE!

So, where are you today? Is it where you want to be? The journey is yours for the taking! The Bible is loaded with examples of how it works!

Perhaps there are some here today who have not yet begun their journey. I want to encourage you to take that first step. Take the hand of Jesus and journey with the one who created you and loves you.  It is an amazing journey; a journey of a lifetime!