Run Your Life’s Race
Hebrews 11:29-40, 12:1-2
Dr. William S. Epps, Senior Pastor
|
|
29By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies. 32And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth. 39And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Hebrews 11:29-40 (ESV)
1Therefore, 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, 2 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.
Hebrews 12:1-2 (ESV)
Introduction
From whom or what do you received inspiration, insight and initiative?
Today's reading spans two sections of Hebrews: the end of the litany of praise for the faithful in chapter 11 and the section focusing on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. As the faithful were steadfast in their faith in spite of persecution and suffering (11:32-38), so Jesus endured the cross (12:2) so may we not grow weary or lose heart.
This reading first celebrates the faith of the exodus generation, beginning with Moses' parents and Moses (vv. 23-28) and then turns to the whole people Israel
(v. 29). By faith people passed through the Red Sea as if it were dry land. These two words “as if” provide a clue that the crossing wasn’t without peril. After all, when the Egyptians attempted to do so, they were drowned.
Faith is, in part, courage, and Hebrews wants to encourage its readers to be courageous. By faith the walls of Jericho fell, appealing to a story that still stirred the hearts of Jews in the first century. Then Hebrews strikingly list Rahab the prostitute as one of the great exemplars of faith who did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she received the spies in peace, (Joshua 2:1-20). A woman, a Gentile, and hardly reputable by conventional morals standards, then or now, Rahab the foreigner is included in the people of God because she practices the classic Israelite virtue of hospitality. The most frequently repeated commandment in the
First Testament, "You shall love the stranger as yourself," Deuteronomy 10:19.
“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 19:34 (English Standard Version).
Consider what it means to be inspired by the examples
of those who have preceded you in life.
|
|
The next few verses (32-39) shift the topic and celebrate the faith of Israelites who endured persecution listing the names of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David and Samuel and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong in weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. We could add Deborah as a judge in Israel who ruled in righteousness, justice and truth 40 years.
Yet these staunch heroes, though they were commended for their faith, did not receive what was promised (v. 39). Note that none will be fully saved until all are saved because each and all of us are essentially related to the rest of us. We are not made perfect apart from each other.
Our endurance through difficulty is made possible not only by so great a cloud of witnesses, but ultimately by Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Now you have in this text a figure of speech. "Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us." The writer of Hebrews is calling on the reader to get in the race and run it. Notice the two words, “let us.”
Consider what it means to have a cloud of witnesses
cheering you on as you run your life’s race.
|
|
Firstly, be encouraged and inspired by a great cloud of witnesses. The record of their lives reassure us that endurance is possible, that hardship at its worst is but for a season, that the grace of God will sustain us, and that the joys of faith's rewards are enduring. They show us how to greet the promised fulfillment from afar, how to run with perseverance the race that is set before us. The gallery about which we are encompassed are not just spectators but witnesses to the faithfulness of God's promises. Specific ones such as Enoch, Noah and Abraham, Isaac, Jacob Sarah, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Samson Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets are mentioned as examples.
There are those whose names we know and many more unsung heroes and heroines in our history who form the cloud of witnesses to inspire us to get in the race and to do our part on our watch. There is an immense resource in biography, not only in the bible, but a long list of Christian persons that we too often neglect to acknowledge. The victories of those of old ought not be forgotten; they offer a convincing argument and a constant source of strength.
We have a great cloud of witnesses. Our history is replete with those who have run their races before us.
Crispus Attucks, the first person killed in the Boston Massacre and thus the first American to be killed in the American Revolution.
Gabriel Prosser (Black Samson),
Denmark Vesey,
Nat Turner,
W. E. B Dubois,
Shirley Chisholm, (first black woman elected to Congress in 1972).
Jane Bolin (first black Judge in the US as well as the first black to graduate from Yale Law School). In 1939, Bolin became the first Black woman to serve as a judge in the United States and, for 20 years, was the only Black female judge in the whole country.
Mae C. Jemison is the first African American female astronaut. On June 4, 1987, Jemison became the first African American woman to be admitted into NASA’s astronaut training program. In 1992, she finally became the first African American woman in space, serving as a mission specialist aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour.
This list includes other notables such as Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, Benjamin Hooks and Bill Russell to name a few.
There are pioneers in every aspect of life from whom we can derive inspiration; those who have successfully run their race as they faced the challenges of their day who are part of that great cloud of witnesses. Pick and choose those who foster your faith, inspire your involvement to put weight in your witness.
Profiles in Courage by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Alan Steinberg shares an ideal introduction to Black History, examining the lives of heroic African Americans and offers their stories as inspiring examples for young people, who too rarely encounter positive black role models in history books or in the media; there are remarkable African American heroes and heroines whose stories we may not know. We also have familial and everyday kinds of examples to inspire us.
Consider the cloud of witnesses that have inspired you on your life’s race.
|
|
Wednesday, August 17, 2022 |
|
Secondly, lay aside every weight and the sin that does so easily beset us. The word translated weight means excess and extra which will impede your running. And sin which clings so closely. This likens sin to a flowing garment which tangles the runner's legs. Or, that which detracts or diverts us from the course.
What are those weights and sins? The author does not specify, and it is good that he does not. To list the things that hinder the runner might sound unduly severe, for they would include for some, at any rate, things that are innocent in themselves and might not impede others in the race. But we know what hinders us from being patient in running our race. Let me name a few: Anxiety; bitterness; distractions; greed; jealously; paralysis of analysis; selfish attitudes; worldly cares, etc.
You name what hinders you.
Consider what it means to get rid of the excess weight
you carry as your run your race.
|
|
Thursday, August 18, 2022 |
|
It has been said that sin makes you stupid.
The price of sin is very high /
Though now it may seem low
And if we let it go unchecked
It’s crippling power will grow.
Sin will take you farther than we want to go
keep you longer than you want to stay
cost you more than you want to pay.
What prevents you in your time from doing what those who form the cloud of witnesses did in their time. It’s your turn to run your part of the race as courageously as those who came before. What are the weights that keep you from doing your part? Apathy, disappointment, discouragement and distress? Frustration, faithlessness, or lack of fortitude? Indifference indolence or insensitivity. You name it. Lay it aside. The poet in a psalm of life challenges us with the following words.
Lives of great people all remind us / We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us / Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another, Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked person, / Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing, / With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing, / Learn to labor and to wait.
Consider what it means to get rid of the extra that
prevents you from running your life’s race well.
|
|
Lastly, run with patience the race that is set before you looking to Jesus the author and finisher of our salvation. Here lies the danger against which the author constantly warns his readers. People begin in joyous devotion. But the early vision fades; the race is long; obstacles block the way; we notice the diversions at the side; and the race slows to a walk, then to a careless saunter. The Galatians were warned in Galatians 5:7, "you were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion comes not from him that called you!"
But this danger can be escaped only if we rely on an aid greater than present comrades, stronger than the cloud of witnesses, by looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. This does not mean that Jesus instills faith in us, nurtures it and brings it to perfection. We are to look to Jesus as one who has led the way, who as a person of faith far surpassed all the other heroes of the faith, and who completed, "perfected" his faith.
Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame and is now seated at the right hand of God. This was a joy that could only be fulfilled by doing the Father's will, by enduring the cross, by providing full salvation for people whom He loved, and by welcoming them into the Father's presence. According to Aristotle, the key to a person's character is that in which he takes joy.
We read these words glibly. In retrospect the Cross shines in grace and power. But seen ahead, a cross is a thing of horror. Despising the shame is not a light thing;
not for a person who loves others and whose love makes him sensitive.
Consider what it means to bear your cross despising the
shame for the joy that comes after.
|
|
Saturday, August 20, 2022 |
|
Run the straight race thru God's good grace
lift up thine eyes and seek His face / Life with its way before us lies
Christ is the path and Christ the prize.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus / O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior, And life more abundant and free.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus / Look full in His wonderful face
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
Through death into life everlasting / He passed, and we follow Him there
O’er us sin no more hath dominion / For more than conquerors we are!
His Word shall not fail you, He promised; / Believe Him and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying, / His perfect salvation to tell.
Consider what it means to look at Jesus to see the light even in the dark.
|
|
2412 Griffith Ave
Los Angeles, CA 90011
Phone: (213) 748-0318
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
