Running with Endurance, Part 2 (Hebrews 12:1-3) | Worship Service

Good morning and welcome to Kootenai Church. We're glad that you're all here today. Would you please stand as we sing A Mighty Fortress.

A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing. Our helper He amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing. For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe. His craft and power are great and armed with cruel hate.

On earth is not His equal. Did we in our own strength confide our striving would be losing? Were not the right man on our side, the man of God's own choosing? Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus it is He, the Lord of hosts His name.

From age to age the same and He must win the battle. And through this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us. We will not fear for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us. The prince of darkness grim, we tremble not for Him.

His rage we can endure for lo His doom is sure. One little word shall fell Him. That word above all earthly powers no thanks to them abideth. The spirit and the gifts are ours through Him who with us sideth.

Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill, God's truth abideth still. His kingdom is forever.

And of love His faith I sought. By faith our fathers drove the earth. With the power of His promise in their holy city built. A place where peace and justice reign. Eyes on Him till the end of work is done.

We'll walk by faith and not by sin. Faith the prophets salivate. All for Messiah would. With the power to break the chains of sin and rise triumphant from the grave. By faith the church was called to go.

In the power of the Spirit to the Lord. And to preach good news in every court. We will stand as children until the rain. By faith the mountains shall be fruitful,.

Shall prevail.

For we know in Christ the things are possible on His name. We will stand. Our soul is His fist up.

So in celebrating Reformation Sunday next week, we are going to be learning a new song today called Reformation Song.

Word alone is all we build. In every line the truth is found. And every pain through faith alone we place our hope. Glory to God. Justified His righteousness is.

His home our plea.

Your laws demands are satisfied. His perfect work has set us free. Glory to God. Grace alone and save has come. Hearts that were once by sin enslave. Glory to God. Glory to God.

There are a number of events coming up in the next few weeks that you need to be aware of and those are in your bulletin so I would just point you to that. Just one announcement is more pressing and that is that our Reformation conference is next weekend.

That's next Friday night and Saturday. And during Sunday school and the worship service, the speaker Don Kistler will be speaking for both of those services. The Sunday school I think is about the Puritans, meeting the Puritans, who were they, what was their influence, what role did they have, and then in the worship service he'll be preaching from Ephesians chapter 2.

There will be no cost for that conference or the cessationist conference coming up in the middle of November but we will be taking up an offering to cover the food and there will be some books available next weekend as well, even on Sunday morning.

So if you plan on taking advantage of buying any of those Puritan titles that he will have here, you'll need to bring cash or a check. Just need to make you aware of that. So turn in your Bibles please, if you will, to the book of Ephesians, to chapter 4.

The scripture reading this morning is a little bit longer so I'll let you remain seated for that and for the prayer. Ephesians chapter 4. We're going to read into chapter 5 so just hang on and follow with me.

Ephesians 4 beginning at verse 17. So this I say and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart.

And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. But you did not learn Christ in this way, if indeed you have heard him and have been taught in him just as truth is in Jesus, that in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lust of deceit, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Therefore, laying aside falsehoods, speak truth, each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry and yet do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your anger. And do not give the devil an opportunity.

He who steals must steal no longer, but rather he must labor, performing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need. Let no unwholesome word proceed out of your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification, according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.

Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearting, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.

Therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, and offering a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you as is proper among saints.

And there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting which are not fitting,.

But rather giving of thanks.

For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man who is an idolater has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.

Therefore, do not be partakers with them, for you were formerly darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of the light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth, trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.

Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them, for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light.

For this reason it says, Awake, sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you. Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil.

Let's pray together. Our Father, what we have read here is not possible for us, apart from the work of your Spirit in our lives. This is the holiness which should befit.

All of your children.

And should characterize our day-to-day lives. And yet, Lord, we live in this world and we are shackled to these bodies of death, and though we have a yearning in our hearts for holiness and righteousness and truth, there is the pull each and every day away from those things into our old manner of life,.

Our old way of life,.

And yet we have been warned that the end of those things is death. And so we pray that you would accomplish in our lives by your Spirit and through your Word every good and perfect thing that you intend for us.

We pray that you would give us strength to mortify sin, to cast it away from us, to walk in holiness and in purity. We pray that you would accomplish this by your grace and for your glory and for our good, and that by doing so, you would preserve us everlastingly to our eternal reward.

We thank you for the salvation that is in Jesus Christ, in which you have laid all of our sin.

And iniquity,.

All of our former manner of life, all of our immoralities,.

All of our idolatries,.

All of our lusts, all of our deceit and our lies upon your Son. And you have granted us grace and forgiveness in Him because His sacrifice was sufficient to pay the price.

For all who will believe.

And so it is to your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, that we gladly look and turn our hearts and our affections and our attention this morning, that we may focus upon Him and see Him and His sacrifice and His work, and that we may trust afresh and anew in your grace and in the strength that you provide to live lives that are worthy.

Of the high calling.

With which we have been called, so that you may be honored and glorified in and through us and that Christ may be magnified in and through His people for the glory of our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,.

We pray.

Amen.

Please stand and let's sing How Deep the Father's Love for Us.

How deep the Father's love for us. How deep the Father's love for us.

In Romans 3, 21 to 24, it says,. But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe.

For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. Being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption, which is in Christ Jesus. Let's end our music service this morning by singing Before the Throne of God Above.

Before the throne I have a strong and perfect plea. A great high priest whose name is love. Who ever lives and pleads for me. My name is graven on his hands. My name is written on his heart. In heaven he stands.

No tongue can bid me. His deep heart No tongue. Satan tempts me to despair And tells me of the guilt within. Upward I look and see him. There I do all my sin Because the sinless Savior died. My sinful soul is counted free For God the just is satisfied.

To look on him and pause. Risen son of righteousness. The great unchangeable. The king of glory Of grace. One with himself I cannot die. My soul is purchased with his blood. My life is hid with Christ on high.

With Christ my Savior and my God. With Christ my Savior. Risen son of righteousness. God's perfect son. Make me righteous in God's eyes. This river's depth's high But I am its flood. The Lord most high Has bowed down low on me His glorious love And poured on me His risen son.

You may be seated.

Running the Race with Endurance in Hebrews 12

Please turn in your copy of God's Word to Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. We will be at the same passage that we were looking at last week, and we will pray, and then we will read together verses 1 through 3 of Hebrews 12.

Let's bow our heads. Our Father, it is our desire that you would strengthen us according to your Word, that you would rebuke and reprove our hearts as necessary, that you would comfort us when we are discouraged, and that you would strengthen us for every good work.

Accomplish these things through your Word, by your Spirit, as you do your work in us. We pray that your blessing and your grace might rest upon not only our understanding of your Word, but that you would give us grace and enable us to obey it, that you would make the truth clear to us and strengthen us by it, we ask in Christ's name.

Amen.

Hebrews 12, 1 through 3. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand.

Of the throne of God.

For consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against himself, so that ye will not grow weary and lose heart. Every part of running a race.

Is easy except one, running.

That's the most difficult part of it. Everything else about it is very easy. It is easy to plan the race. It is easy to intend on running the race. It is very simple to schedule the race and even schedule events in your life around the race.

It is very easy to announce the race to other people and to put out a PR campaign and invite other people to come and watch you run the race. That's very simple. It's easy to show up for the race. It's easy to dress for the race.

The stretching for the race is easy. Taking your place at the starting blocks is easy. And even starting the race is easy. All of that is easy. But once the signal goes off and the runners begin to run, everything that is easy is behind you.

Everything simple is in the past and everything difficult lies ahead because from the point that the gun goes off and the runners begin to run, that is when all of the difficulties come into the race.

And that is why if we are to run the race, we must run the race with endurance. Because everything about running a race is simple except actually running the race. It's the most difficult part of it. To finish the race and to finish well, to run the race and to run well, and to receive the prize at the end of the race requires that you and I be willing and able, equipped, and understand what it means to run our race with endurance because we are not commanded to simply start the race.

We're not commanded to prepare for the race. We're not just commanded to train for the race. We are commanded to run the race. We are expected to finish the race. And we must do all of that so that having run well and having finished well, you and I might be rewarded well.

We want not just to run the race, but we want to finish the race and then having finished the race, to be able to take our place in the stands, in the stadium, with all of the saints who have gone before to testify to the grace and effectiveness of faith and grace of God in our lives.

That's the goal of running the race. So this racing analogy that the author gives us in Hebrews 12, one through three, you will notice. You will notice that he is not concerned just that we start the race.

That's easy. A lot of people start the race that never finish it. A lot of people run a race and they're not even running the right race. A lot of people run the race and at least look like they're running, but they're very encumbered.

They're very slowed down. They're very entangled. And then headlines every month are filled with people who have started the race and run for a period of time and then they make an absolute train wreck of the faith before they get across.

The finish line.

I hope it is your desire not just to run well, but to finish well, and then to be rewarded well for having run and finished well. What is required of that? Four things in our passage, Hebrews 12, one through three.

We looked at the first one last week that we must consider the others who have finished the race before us. That is in verse one. Since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, this is a group of people who testify, bear witness to us, as to the power of faith, the effectiveness of it, the need for it, what it means to run, what it means to finish well.

There are others who have gone before. There are others who have gone before from the Old Testament, from the New Testament era, since the New Testament era, men and women even in our own time who have finished the race well and passed on.

And now they take their place in the stands and they witness to us as to the need for faith. And they are sharing something. Their example is encouraging and shouting and cheering us on as we run our race here.

And our job is to look to them and to consider the example.

That they have laid out.

And then to say, okay, given that example, having considered them, I can run my race as well. That's the first thing. We looked at that last week. We are surrounded by the legacies and the examples of men and women.

Who have kept the faith.

And finished the course, got all the way to the end, crossed the finish line, finished well, and they will be rewarded well. There's a second thing. Actually, there are three more in Hebrews 12, 1 through 3.

We must cast off the entanglements that threaten to hinder us. We must continue in the course that is set for us. Those are in verse 1. And then in verses 2 and 3, we have to concentrate on the one who will reward us.

So we're looking at this second one today. We have to cast off the entanglements that threaten to hinder us. Consider those who have gone before. We're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses. Having done that, we are to let us lay aside, the author says in verse 1, every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

I want you to notice just a couple of things. We're just going to be camping on this idea of casting off the things that hinder us in our race or encumber us in our race today. But I want you to notice a couple of things before we jump into the details of the text.

Notice, first of all, that we are to lay aside two separate things. We're to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. There are two things. One of these is a moral thing, the sin.

It's not difficult to see how that is a moral issue. The sin which so easily entangles us. And one of them is not necessarily a moral or immoral issue at all, the encumbrances. There are things that slow us down that are not necessarily sinful things.

And then there are sinful things. And you and I are called to lay off, to put aside, to cast aside both of those kinds of things. So there are encumbrances and there are entanglements. Notice also the order of these things.

We are to cast these things off before we run the race. This only makes sense. Who would want to begin the race burdened down by all of these things? And there is a sense in which having started the race, we soon find out what things encumber us from running well.

And so this idea of laying aside something is not just what we do before we begin our race. I pick a few things, I'm gonna set aside, deny myself these things, and then I'm gonna run the race for the rest of my life.

Oh no. Once you begin to race, then as you're running, you will begin to find all kinds of things that are encumbrances to you. All kinds of sins that lie at the door around your feet.

Which will trip you up.

And so our life is to be spent laying aside these things. There's an order to it. We lay these things aside before we run and as we are running and as we continue to run all the way until the end of our life.

And third, I want you to notice how the author includes himself with the audience. Let us. Let us lay aside the race. The man writing the book of Hebrews, he's not like a spiritual coach sitting along the sidelines considering himself as one who has finished the race and now he's shouting out instructions to the other runners on the course.

This is the danger that spiritual leaders often fall into. Thinking that they have somehow arrived that they're no longer running the race and so that their job is to prepare the race for others. Their job is to organize the race.

For other people.

Their job is to stand along the sidelines and to shout the instructions to the runners who are actually on the course. That's the danger that spiritual leaders fall into. And you and I have to remember that no matter what we have achieved in this life, no matter what office you have attained to, no matter how far you have run to this point, and no matter what leadership position.

You are in,.

You are always running the race and you never finish it. This is why Paul at the end of his life in Philippians. Chapter three.

Said,.

I press on toward the goal of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. That was his first imprisonment. He's probably four, five, six years away from passing on and dying and there in his imprisonment, writing from prison,.

He says,.

I continue to press on. That's an athletic metaphor, an athletic word that describes the agony and the effort and the running of that race.

Toward the goal.

Which is Christ Jesus. That he says at the end of his life. But then as he gets to the very end of his life and he is sitting in a prison cell, now not in a rented quarters like we find him at the end of the book of Acts but instead now in an actual prison cell at the end of his life.

Awaiting his execution, having stood before Nero and proclaimed the gospel to the highest authority that he was ever tried in front of, the apostle Paul could say, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course.

I have kept the faith.

Then it's in the past. Then the apostle Paul knows, I'm about ready to lay down my life and I'm going to die for this. Now I can say that I have finished my course but at no point prior to that, in spite of all of the miraculous and incredible and supernatural wonderful things that God did through the apostle Paul, at no point did he ever consider himself to have finished his race until it was at the very end.

Then he could say, I have finished my course. How do you know when you have finished your course? When you're sitting in that room and you can hear the executioner in the room down the hall putting that finishing touch on the edge of that blade.

Then you know.

You have finished your course but until then, you still run and I still run and we run together. Let us lay aside every weight. See those who would be our spiritual mentors, those who would be our spiritual leaders, they're not our coaches,.

They're fellow runners.

And the encouragement that we shout to one another, we shout from the course as we run the course. The author says, we are to lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us. That word lay aside refers to something that a runner would do that every reader of this letter, every hearer of this message would have understood this,.

He would have gotten.

The imagery here. It is to take something off and set it aside so that it does not encumber you. It's the idea of putting it off, to putting it away, to stowing it away. When it refers to laying off an action or an activity, it means to stop it, to cease it, and to give it up.

You take it off, you stop doing this thing, you cease it, and you set it aside and you don't return back to it. That's the idea. It is used in Scripture both literally and figuratively. The word is used literally in describing those who were the witnesses surrounding Stephen who stoned him in Acts 7, taking off their garments and laying them at the feet of a young man named Saul.

They laid aside their robes at the feet of Saul.

They took them off,.

They set them aside, and then they did. What?

Then they picked up stones.

Because the last thing you want if you're going to stone a righteous man is to be somehow encumbered by that bulky outer garment, a robe on the outside of you, and to make sure that you can wind up and swing well and throw the rock well.

So you lay aside the garments. Those are something.

That would hinder them.

From stoning a righteous man. So they laid aside their garments and then they stoned Stephen. It's also used figuratively in Scripture of putting aside or laying aside sinful activities and proclivities.

James 1, 21, therefore putting aside.

All filthiness.

And all that remains of wickedness and humility receive the word implanted which is able to save your souls. There it's in reference to a moral act and we'll get to this.

More in a moment.

Because we're called to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles us. This is a deliberate act. It's intentional. It's thoughtful. You have to be aware of what it is that either encumbers you from running your race or entangles you to slow you down or to stop you that threatens your soul.

You have to be aware of what that thing is and then you have to go to war against it and deliberately cast that thing aside so that it does not entangle you or encumber you. So this is a deliberate act.

Something, you have something in your mind that you are going to shed that you are going to go to war with and you set that aside lest it encumber you or entangle you. And the two things that we are to put off,.

Notice it,.

Every encumbrance, that's the first and the sin which so easily entangles us. The word encumbrance is an interesting word. It is only used once in the New Testament. It's used here. It's used nowhere else in the New Testament.

It describes something that was a bulk,.

A weight,.

A bulge, a mass, or a burden, or a swelling. Something, as one dictionary said, a prominent protuberance. Protuberance is not a word that you and I drop in casual conversation with one another, typically day to day, but it is the word that you can drop into the middle of a sermon if you want people to think you're smart.

A mass, a burden, a swelling, a prominent protuberance. That's the word encumbrance. It refers to a weight. Describes a runner who is shedding unnecessary weights and burdens that keep him from running and finishing the race.

You take off anything that might make running the race or finishing the race difficult or impossible. And the imagery comes right out of the first century.

With the idea.

Of the community games, for instance, that they would have in the city of Corinth where runners and running.

Would compete with one another.

And before they entered into the race, they would shed everything, and I mean everything that might hinder them from running the race. According to some sources, ancients ran the race naked. I think our athletes are getting very close to going back in time to doing something like that themselves sometimes.

So they would take off every weight, every burden, every mass. You didn't run a race with shekels in your pocket. You didn't run a race with your coat on. You didn't run a race in a shirt and tie. You didn't run a race.

In a shirt.

You shed everything. You shed everything that would slow you down,.

A backpack, your wallet,.

Your cell phone, using modern ideas here, but you take off everything that might prove to be an encumbrance.

Or a weight,.

An unnecessary drag. Have you ever seen Olympic swimmers with hairy chests and hairy backs and hairy legs? Do you know why that is? They shave the hair.

Off of them.

Why? Because that means that they can shave a hundredth of a second or two hundredths of a second off of their time. Apparently, I didn't know this because I've never noticed my hair slowing me down when I swim, but apparently hair creates a certain drag on a swimmer that keeps them from being competitive at the highest level.

So they shave.

Their entire bodies unless they have anything that drags them or slows them down.

That's the idea.

You cast off any encumbrance. Now this word encumbrance is not a moral term. It's not describing necessarily a sin. It may describe things which are sinful. It may also describe things that are not sinful.

There are things in our lives which are not necessarily sinful that prove to be encumbrances or weights upon our spiritual progress. They're not sinful things. They're not mortal things. They're not necessarily the things that we read in the scripture reading in Ephesians 4, sinful activities.

These things can be burdens or weights that we don't need to carry. They could be activities.

Or commitments.

Or traditions. Anything that slows you down in your spiritual progress. They come in all shapes and sizes. Some are small. Some are large.

They're picked up.

On a number of different occasions in a number of different ways. Some of these prominent protuberances grow here and there slowly. Some of them almost.

Imperceptibly.

Some of them suddenly appear. Some of these weights are placed on you.

By other people.

Some of them you pick up.

Thinking that.

It will be temporary but then you find that this weight, this protuberance is something that you're.

Going to be carrying around.

For a long and extended period of time. And we are to shed and cast off and set aside every single encumbrance. There are all kinds of encumbrances in all kinds of different categories. And at this point, I know what you're thinking.

You're thinking,.

Jim, give me an example of an encumbrance. Tell me the thing in my life that I'm doing that's slowing me down.

Spiritually.

Does the author name the encumbrances or did he just say cast off the encumbrances? He just says cast off the encumbrances. I think if he were to name the encumbrances, there would be far too many for him to name.

He would start naming them.

And say,.

What more shall I say for time will fail me if I tell of, and he would go on and list a whole bunch of things that can slow us down. I think that the author may have in mind certain things in regards to his own immediate audience in the first century.

The people to whom the author is writing were people who were still involved in some way in some of the festivities and the formal exercises, outward expressions of Judaism that had come out of the temple worship, the synagogue, the Judaistic practices with all of the feasts and the festivals.

They had come out of that and embraced the Messiah. And then there is things in that system that they had come out of that I think that the author has in mind when he is saying you are to lay aside every, not necessarily sinful, but every encumbrance which might slow you down.

I think that the author has in mind some of those things.

That were wooing.

The hearts of his hearers back toward that old system. If it is true that for those people celebrating the Passover with their family in the synagogue or at the temple, though that may not have been a sinful thing in and of itself, if it was something that prohibited them from running well and testifying well to Christ, if it was something that wooed them back to their old way of life and to their old religious system, that was something they would have to set aside.

All the cultural pressure that would come from their family and their friends and their neighbors who lived with them who were shunning them because now they have embraced Christ and they have rejected at least in terms that they would say all of the Old Testament, Old Covenant forms and features, and there would be pressure upon them to come back, to return, societal pressure, economic pressure, cultural pressure,.