RUNNING THE RACE TO THE FINISH LINE
Hebrews 12:1-2
Good Morning Greater Macedonia
Let's Give God some praise
If He has done anything for you, why don't you clap your
hands and say
thank you Jesus.
Let's go to God in prayer.
Our text this morning comes from Hebrews 12:1-2
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,
2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
KJV
I want talk this morning on the subject, " Running The
Christian Race, To The Finish Line"
When you look around, you will discover that you are
involved in may races.
Usually it a race against time.
It could be a race to get to work on time. A race to get
home and out of the
traffic. A race to finish a project. We have auto races,
horse races and dog races
and athletic races, all to see who will cross the finish
line first.
All your life you will be involved in some kind of race. The
most important race
is the Christian race, Like any race, there is a
starting line and a finish line.
the objective is to get to the finish line.
The starting line of the Christian race is your relationship
with
Jesus Christ .
And the finish line is your home in heaven with Jesus. That
day when
you lay down and close your eyes for the last time.
The reason we are here, is to give God Glory
It is through our Christian race that God get the glory.
God starts us in this Christian Race fresh and new.
2 Corinthians 5:17
states
Therefore, if anyone
is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
NIV
What you do between your new birth in Jesus Christ and your
death on earth
is the RACE.
1.YOU WERE SELECTED FOR THE RACE
Ephesians 1:4-5
For he chose us in
him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his
sight. In love
he predestined us
to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his
pleasure and will—
That's GOOD NEWS .
You were chosen for
this race before you were worthy to be in the race
2. YOU WERE PLACED AT THE STARTING LINE
You were placed in
the race by God
In John 6:44,
Jesus says:
"No one can
come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise
him up at the
last day. "
It was God who
gave you a measure of faith to accept Him as you Savior.
I want you to
know God did not do that for everyone.
To the world,
this thing call church is foolishness.
God made it
possible for you to hear His Word and be convicted in your heart.
Not only that, but
He made inward change in an old vessel.
I can only
imagine, that while God was drawing us to Himself, he
forcing a change in
our mind to cause us to accept His son.
Once you accepted
Jesus as your personal savior, you were placed at the starting line
of the Christian race.
Some of us take
off immediately from the starting line like a sprinter.
But there are some
after several years of being in church are still posed at the starting
line as if they are waiting on a green light.
3. YOU ARE QUALIFIED FOR THE RACE
In any athletic sport, weather it be baseball, basketball or
football, it takes
years of training and competition to qualify for the few
slots on the team.
Unlike an athletic race ,you don't train to get qualified
for this eternal race,
You are qualified at the staring line. God himself give you,
your qualifications.
To each is given a
measure of faith. Rom 12:3
God gave each us , certain
spiritual gifts .
1 Corinthians 12:7
But the manifestation of the Spirit is given
to every man to profit withal.
1 Corinthians
12:28
And God hath set some in the church, first
apostles, secondarily prophets, thirdly
teachers, after that
miracles, then gifts of healings, helps, governments, diversities of
tongues.
God, because of His
great love, qualified you to be in this Christian race.
4. YOU HAVE A SPONSOR FOR THE CHRISTIAN RACE
In every athletic
competition, those who have shown themselves
excellent in their field will have sponsors.
Players in
football, basket ball, base ball and any major sport will have
companies pursuing
them to advertise their products.
In this Christian
race before we have stepped on the field and proven
our worth, we have
the highest sponsor in Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
being confident of
this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until
the day of Christ Jesus.
5. YOU HAVE A CHEERING SQUAD
To promote the race
and encourage us doing the race,
we have a cloud of
witnesses who have finished the race
This cloud of witnesses
are presented to us in chapter 11 of
this book.
This cheering squad
are men and women of faith who have
pass on into
heaven.
Chapter 11 is all
about faith.
It is in Chapter
11 that God gives us a definition of faith
Hebrews 11:1-2
Now faith is the substance of things hoped
for, the evidence of things not seen.
For by it the
elders obtained a good report.
These elders are our cloud of witnesses who ran their race
on faith
We picture them sitting on the sideline cheering us on.
1. We have Noah who
labored for 120 years to build the Ark
finished the
race.
2.We have Abraham
the father of faith who finished the race,
3. We got Moses who
lead the Israelites out of Egypt
4. We have Rahab the
harlot who by faith hid the spies of Israel
in Jericho
5. We have Kings
David and Solomon who finished the race
6. We have Jesus our
Lord and Savior for the joy of the Cross
was crucified
for our sins who finished the race.
The race of each one of these witnesses was different.
Each one had a staring point that was based on the
circumstances of their
lives. They were men and women no different than us.
Moses was 80 years old before he move from the starting line.
Abraham was over 100 years old before God considered him
righteous
Rehab was not a believer until she hid the spies of Israel
own people.
Like those in the cheering squad, your race will be
different than
any other race. You
race depends on God and His plan for your life.
NOW THAT WAS ALL GOD'S PART, THIS IS YOUR PART
THIS IS YOUR PART
The text says lay aside
every weight and sin
6. YOU HAVE HENDRENCES
TO THE RACE
Athletes in
any race have very light clothing on.
They have nothing
on to weigh them down
To run the race
effectively, we have get rid of some stuff.
We have to Unload some old habits.
We came into this
relationship with Jesus with weights
that will keep us from
moving off the
starting line.
a. We came into
this relationship with Jesus with hatred
in our hearts.
b. We came with an
unforgiving spirit
c, We came with intolerance
d. We came with envy
e. We came with
all kind of excuses
f. We came with
ignorance of the Word of God.
These are the devices that Satan will use to keep at the
starting line.
With time all of these weight that keep us from
pursuing fellowship
with Christ ought to be eliminated.
That is part of work we ought to be doing. Cleaning
ourselves up for God use.
Nothing will give Satan more satisfaction than to see a
believer stuck
at the starting line.
7. YOU HAVE TO GROW YOUR FAITH AND DROP OFF SIN.
Look at the
text again, lay aside every weight and sin
Not only do we
have some weights that are keeping us at
the starting
line, but we have sin in our members.
I suggest that the sin, that author is taking
about is unbelief, a lack of
faith.
The word sin in
this verse is hamartia which means an offense to God.
The greatest
offence to God is our unbelief.
When we look at
the Word of God and don't see that it applies to us.
That is an
offense to God.
When we live our
lives without the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit.
it is an
offence to God.
Hebrews 11:6
says "It is impossible to please God with out faith "
The "therefore" in this
verse, draws our attention back to Chapter 11.
of Hebrews which
is all about faith
God defines
faith as
Hebrews 11:1
Now faith is
the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
KJV
Now faith is
being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
NIV
Chapter 11
gives us a run down of patriarchs who completed the race because
their FAITH. They could not have completed the race
without faith.
The sin of
unbelief keeps you at the starting line.
Our unbelief
is an ignorance to the Word.
Faith come by
hearing and hearing by the Word of God
The Bible preaches faith from beginning to
end. From Genesis to
Revelations
We are
commanded to follow God's commands by faith.
No matter where
you open the Bible you will find
an application
to your life by faith.
Romans 1:17
states:
For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:
"The righteous will live by faith."
NIV
8. RUN THE RACE WITH ENDURANCE
That word endurance is from a Greek word which
means to; START
RUN
ON
KEEP
ON RUNNING
The text says run the race with endurance
The word endurance also implies that there is going to be
some trouble in the race.
The trouble we face during our Christian race will workout
for our good.
Romans 5:3-4
And not only so, but
we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience,
hope:
KJV
How do you run with endurance;?
Keep your focus on
the Jesus
Isa 40:30 says: those
who wait or those who are twisted up in
the Lord
will renew their strength
The race was designed for you
You did not select the race, it was selected for you
Every Christian runs a different race
Go back to Chapter 11.
Noah ran a different race from Abraham. Abraham ran a different
race from
Moses. Moses ran a different race from David
By the same token, every race has a different starting time.
Every race has a different duration in time.
Every race has different circumstances.
Your race is different from
mind.
Your race will be unique to you.
As you run your race, Jesus will complete the good work He
started in you.
Every race has the same finish line, heaven
Every race must be run by faith.
Every race has one perfect role model; Jesus
Jesus is the author an finisher of our faith
You can run at your own pace.
You are not in competition with anyone else
Ecclesiastes 9:11
I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to
the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet
riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and
chance happeneth to them all.
In Verse 2 That we
find the source of our faith
Hebrews 12:2
Let us fix our
eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter 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.
You cannot run
the Christian race without faith.
The sin of
unbelief is where we all begin
Unbelief is reliance on self or the world
Jesus gives us
a measure of faith that we have at the staring line
It is when we
move off the starting line that our faith began to be perfected
Each one of the
patriarchs listed in chapter 11, developed their faith
on the run.
While they were in the race serving God.
Faith does not
grow at the starting line. Faith grows in race
9. PREPARATIONS FOR THE RACE TAKE PLACE DOING THE RACE
To get off the
staring line, there first has to be a commitment.
A commitment to
Study the Word,
A commitment to
Meditate on the Word,
A commitment to
develop a prayer life
A, commitment
to worship the Lord.
A commitment to
get involved the proclaiming the Gospel
A commitment to
follow God's commands.
Notice this preparation takes place during the race
10. YOU ARE A WINNER IN THE RACE
In any human race, one person will be the winner. Only one
person will receive a crown.
In this eternal race, everyone in the race is a winner.
Everyone
in the race will cross the finish line
James 1:12
Blessed is the man
who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive
the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
NIV
11. EVERYONE IN THE RACE WILL GET A REWARD
It is what you do in the race that determines you reward at
the end of the race.
It is what we are doing now that determines our reward in
heaven
Only what you do for Christ counts
Matthew 16:27
states:
For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father's glory
with his angels, and then he will reward everyone according to what they have
done.
12. RUN THE RACE BY LOOKING TO JESUS
Hebrews 12:2
Looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for
the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and has sat
down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus is the reason we are in the race.
It is His blood shed on the cross that covers our sins.
It is that covering that allows us to be in the Christian Race
If it had not been for the Lord, we would still be bound by
Satan and
head to hell.
Whenever we get discourage, all we have to do is look to
Jesus.
Consider what He endured on the cross for you and me.
He is at the starting line, He is with us doing the race. He
is at the finish line.
He finished the race and is waiting for us to cross the
finish line.
I don't know about you, but I can tell you what He did for
me.
He picked me up from the red dirt hills of Alabama
I was sinking deep in sin, seeking to rise no more
He Set my feet on solid ground
He set faith in my heart
He Started me on my way
That's what He did, let me tell you what He is doing.
He is bread when I am hungry
He is water when I am thirsty
He is the air that I breath
He is a comfort when I am lonely
He is encouragement when I am discouraged
He is strength when I am weak
He is a way maker when I can't see my way.
He is my doctor at my sick bed
He is my lawyer in the court room
I found out that Jesus is everything I need Him to be.
I found out for myself that He will never leave me or
forsake me
Greater Macedonia';
Don't Get Stuck at the staring line, move off with faith
START WITH FAITH
RUN WITH FAITH
CONTINUE ON WITH FAITH
The finish line is in
sight. You are already a winner
Verse 2 says " looking to Jesus, the author and
perfecter of faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God."
I heard a preacher say He died, didn't He die
But that not how the story ends.
On the third day He rose from the dead
That still not how the story ends.
He is seat at he right Hand of the Father making
intercessions for you and I
That still not how the story ends
He is in that crowd of witnesses cheering me on to the
finish line.
Is there anyone who don't know Jesus as Your personal Savior
The doors of the Church is open
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