Running the Christian Race (Part 2)

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry coming to you from Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. No Compromise Radio is a program dedicated to the ongoing proclamation of Jesus Christ, based on the theme in Galatians 2, verse 5, where the Apostle Paul said, �But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.

In short, if you like smooth, watered-down words to make you simply feel good, this show isn�t for you. By purpose, we are first biblical, but we can also be controversial. Stay tuned for the next 25 minutes as we�re called by the Divine Trumpet to summon the troops for the honor and glory of her King.

Here�s our host, Pastor Mike Abendroth.

Welcome to No Compromise Radio, a ministry. My name is Mike Abendroth, and just try to change the camera angle. If you�re listening over the radio, God bless you. If you�re on Facebook, get a job. Well, on No Compromise Radio, I just try to tell you what the Bible teaches about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Sometimes we have a little bit of fun. Where�s my drink today? I don�t know. It�s a sad day when the only thing you have here for food is peanut butter. That�s all we�ve got here is peanut butter in the studio, and sadly, it�s creamy.

Anyway, probably hard to get. I mean, toilet paper, Purell, and peanut butter. If you�ve got a question, you can always write me, mike at nocompromiseradio .com, or you can write Spencer, and that would be info at nocompromiseradio .com, or I bet if you just wrote Spencer at nocompromiseradio .com, that would help too.

Lots of people helping get the show on, from the tech guys to Spencer and everything else. I�m very thankful for those guys. Running the Christian life. It�s difficult. Trials, temptations, things happen, and of course, you could probably think of your situation today, and you say, �Well, why is all this happening?

What�s happening? I don�t understand it. How do I analyze it On a side note, there are all kinds of pastors out there who want to give all their input and updates on COVID -19 and economy versus people and all these other things.

I�m just sticking to what�I�m not necessarily great at it, but I�m thankful that I can teach the Bible, and so I�m just trying to stick to teaching the Bible, because these truths that are found in the Bible, I don�t have to dig up stuff about COVID to teach the Bible.

I can just keep teaching. One of the things I used to do when I would travel is I wanted to make sure that the sermon that I preached would be able to be preached at any culture at any time. Now, once in a while, you might find a current event that popped up that was in the news and you think, �Oh, some sporting event or something like that.

But when you think of I mean, even somebody maybe you don�t agree with theologically, per se, like J. Vernon McGee, he�s on the radio today, even though he�s been dead for how long, 40 years or something like that, and his messages are still relevant.

Why? Because the Bible is always relevant. It�s transchronological. I identify as transchronological. Oh, well, did you notice these days, when it comes to the stimulus checks, people, they�re either male or female, right?

A lot of this kind of gender identity stuff has kind of gone by the wayside, as people have to make sure they�re healthy and taking care of other folks and other things. Anyway, I�m just trying to stick to the text because it�s always relevant.

If I say the trial you�re in today, then if this is nobody will listen to me in a hundred years, I know, but in 20 years, let�s say, then you could say, �Oh, yeah, that�s true, the trial that I�m in now.

Anyway, the book of Hebrews is written to tell everyone that Jesus is superior, that He�s great, that no matter what you think about other people, Jesus, this high priest who offers Himself as a sacrifice, is raised from the dead by the Father, and then makes intercession now for His people, He�s worth following.

And don�t turn your back just because there�s trials. And so today, if you want a very simple outline, how do you endure dangers, toils, and snares, to use John Bunyan�s words. Remember Paul Bunyan and his ox, Babe?

I remember going to Minnesota one time, and they had the big statue of John Bunyan. No, Paul Bunyan. But by the way, if you�re ever in Bedford, England, not New Bedford, Massachusetts, but Bedford, England, go to the John Bunyan Museum.

And probably the coolest thing there is there was an anvil, and it says J .B. on it. And that anvil was John Bunyan�s, allegedly. And he would go to different places to fix their pots and pans. Remember he was a tinker, and he would bring that anvil and put the anvil down and then do the pot work, the hammering.

And he didn�t solder then, but however they affix things, attach things. And then he used that as the burden on his back, because he would carry it in a knapsack, the anvil. And then he would put that down when he got to someone�s home, and it was such a relief walking so far having that anvil.

And that was a good description of sin on his back, a burden that�s lifted. Anyway, if you go, you can see the anvil, and I thought that was pretty fascinating. I just got on the website today, just for fun, typed in John Bunyan Museum, Bedford, England.

And it�s also closed because of all the COVID stuff, so there you have it. How do you endure trials? Hebrews says it�s simple. We�re going to look at verses 3 through 11 in Hebrews chapter 12. It�s simple.

Pastors should make things simple. Sometimes I�m guilty of not doing that, and so it�s you stop looking at Jesus, that�d be the wrong thing to do, and you think that God is mad at you, that�d be the wrong thing to do.

So, when you�re in a trial, let me tell you two things you don�t do. Don�t stop looking at Jesus. No, wait, how do I say this the right way? Alright, let�s just scrap all this. Don�t stop looking at Jesus in a trial, and make sure you realize that the discipline is from the Father who loves you.

So accept it. It�s like a trainer, right? If you have a trainer, that trainer is making you do things that are difficult for a reason. So, let�s take a look at Hebrews chapter 12, verse 3, as you need to endure many dangerous toils and snares, and how do you go about that?

Eyes on Jesus, and make sure you understand that this trial is from a loving Father. You don�t even need to know anything else. Why is this happening to me? How long will it happen to me? What are the ramifications?

As long as you know from Scripture, and you should, especially after today, this is from the Father. He�s disciplining me and helping me understand how do I endure trials. And so, this trial I�m in now is helping mold me and shape me because the Father loves me.

So, the first verse, verse 3 of Hebrews 12, �Consider him who endured from sinners such himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted. So, you�re in a trial, and you could tell what was going on back in the original context, and that is a lot of these Jews are following Jesus, there�s a lot of trouble, and they think maybe I should go back to the temple.

The temple�s up. It�s still there with the marble and the gold and the smells and the bells and everything else. It was spectacular. If I go back there, then there�s no more trouble for me. And the writer is saying, �No, you need to endure.

And how do you endure? Keep your eyes on Jesus, and you can see what the author�s trying to do. If Jesus suffered on the way to the cross and on the cross, then whatever your suffering is, it�s less than that.

If he, the author and perfecter, the trailblazer, the hero, the captain, and the completer of your salvation, if he did that, well, can�t you remember the human Jesus? Consider him. He�s talking about looking to Jesus, the human name for Jesus.

He was a real human, and he endured. Therefore, don�t be discouraged. Say, �Well, you know, I can�t even think about marriage now and other issues in life without being persecuted, and if I say anything, everybody�s after me.

Yes, the world will be hostile against you. The world was hostile against Jesus, and he endured. So take a good, long look at Jesus. Think about him. Contemplate. The word is to just have something go over in your mind, over and over and over.

It is an imperative. It means to think about, to carefully deliberate. So I could just stop there for a second, and I�m preaching to you, but I�m also preaching to me. When�s the last time you just sat and thought about Jesus for a long time?

And, of course, you�re going to have to be informed by Scripture. I just don�t mean go outside to the beach and clear your mind. No, but informed by Scripture, that�s the only way we know about Jesus.

You can�t know about Jesus, particularly unless you go to divine special revelation, i .e., the Bible, but you just think about him and what he had to endure and what he did. Chrysostom, the great preacher, said, �An allusion to the full range of abuses that befell Jesus in his passion.

If he went to the extent of going through all those things, well, what about us? So, you have to kind of think. You say, �Well, I�m exhausted physically. Emotionally, I�m exhausted. I�m even exhausted spiritually.

This is the remedy. Jesus has conquered death. He sits at the right hand of the throne of God. And when you�re stumbling and bumbling, then you need to think about who Jesus is. Now, when I used to run, they always warned me not to bonk.

When you hit the 20-mile mark when you were running a marathon, be careful. Sometimes cyclists bonk as well because they�re not hydrated, but especially they don�t have enough food or carbohydrates in their system.

You have a depletion of glycogen stores in your liver and muscles, and pretty soon you�re just fatigued and you can�t hardly ride at all. People call that hitting the wall or bonking. I did learn today that �bonk� originally came from a film produced by British Transport Films in the mid -50s, where cyclists noted that if they didn�t rest and eat, they would bonk.

They would hit the wall, the 20-mile wall, when you are in Boston running the marathon at Heartbreak Hill. You need glycogen. You need to, well, as a matter of fact, as I looked at how do you prevent bonking, enough carbs, enough calories, replenish glycogen after you�ve worked out, and eat before training.

Okay. Sounds good. You say, �Well, I�m about ready to bonk, and I just don�t know if I can do this any longer. I�m tempted in light of this trial just to give up. What Scripture says, I want you to sit and think about Jesus.

You say, �Well, that�s like, you know, give me a Bible verse and call me in the morning. No. First of all, it has to be true, because it�s in the Scriptures. But this is not just, �Oh, I just, oh yeah, Jesus.

This is a calculation. Here�s what Jesus went through, and it�s like you�re studying the life of Christ. This is not the time for the sermon here, but I could preach another sermon to you. People that worship false idols begin to look like them.

They begin to be inspired by them. They begin to act like them. And similarly, too, the object of your faith, the one that you think about a lot, you begin to be like. In the sense here, you became like in terms of trying to endure till the end, enduring till the end.

And this is where we get the word analogy. It�s got the word logos in there, logos, logizimi, and then it�s to think or to reckon. Excuse me. I stand corrected. I just looked at it. It�s not logos. It�s logizimi, where we get the word to impute or reckon as righteous.

And then you think about it again and again. You put an again in front of reckon, to reckon again, to think again. I thought though, just because the word logos in there, I was going to, maybe it�s a word about reckoning.

Carefully estimating what�s going on with Jesus, because you may forget. I forget all the time. Spurgeon, he carried his heavy cross, but we carry a sliver or two of it. He drank his cup to the dregs, and we, oh, sip a drop or two at the very most.

Consider how he suffered far more than you can ever suffer, and how he is now crowned with glory and honor. And as you are to be like him, descend like him into the depths of agony, that with him you may rise to the heights of glory.

The believer under persecution should remember that he is suffering no strange thing. Hey, who�s on no-compromise radio electric bicycle? Is that Ben? Are you hijacking this? But is only enduring that which fell upon his master before him.

Should the disciple expect to be above his Lord? So when you�re growing weary, when you�re bonking, when you�re hitting the wall, when you�re discouraged, when you want to turn back, when you want to throw in the towel, here�s what we�re supposed to do.

I mean, isn�t this the Christian life anyway? Isn�t this a good all-purpose remedy for anything you�re going through in life? To sit and think about Jesus, to consider, to reckon, to reckon again, to fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

That�s Hebrews chapter, 1 Peter chapter 1. That is excellent advice. This is the cure for a discouraged, weary heart. And you say, �Well, I tried it and it didn�t work. Well, you know what? Your pragmatism doesn�t sway me.

Then I�d like you to think again. And you say, �Well, where do I start in the Bible Well, you could read the book of Revelation. That�s an unveiling of who Jesus is. You could read the epistles. That shows you the doctrinal application and the doctrinal ramifications of Jesus� death on the cross.

You could read the gospels where it would show you the Jesus who preached, the Jesus who did miracles, the Jesus who forgives, the Jesus who heals, walks on waters, walks on water, raises people from the dead.

You could look at the gospels there who raised Himself from the dead. You could look at the Old Testament and as Jesus Himself would say in John chapter 5, everything in the Old Testament is pointed to Him.

You could see the types and shadows and everything else. There�s plenty of hope for you. But you, along with me, need to consider Jesus. Jesus, I mean, think about it. Here�s how I would walk through it.

And I don�t know if I wrote this or somebody else did because I don�t have it in my notes. They�re so old. So, I�ll just read this. If it�s not mine, fine. I�ll tell you if you find out who I took it from.

He died in your place. You deserve to die. He died in your place. Jesus bore the punishment that you earned. Your guilt was credited to His account, and He representatively bore your punishment. Consider Christ.

He redeemed you. Did you know Jesus purchased you from the slave market, from the marketplace of sin? You, listener, were enslaved and held in prison, and you were released by the virtue of the payment of the Lord Jesus Christ, and He satisfied the wrath of God.

The purchase price for your freedom of sin and release from sin was the death of the Lord Jesus. Do you know you now belong to Jesus and you�re Christ alone? You don�t have another slave master. Do you know you have been bought by God at a terrible cost, and you�ve become now God�s slave to do His will?

So run with endurance. Christian, do you know Christ reconciled you to God? He made peace with God for you. You, Christian, were God�s enemy and brought into communion with God by the Lord Jesus. Sin created a barrier between you and God and rendered you hostile to God.

But through Christ, that enmity and the wrath of God was removed for you because God loves sinners like you. Are you still tired? Are you still weary? This is what it means to consider Christ. Did you know Christ satisfied the wrath of God for you?

God is holy and righteous and cannot overlook even one sin. He was angry with you by virtue of your sins as an unbeliever, and He poured out His anger on His Son called propitiation and never violated His justice just to give you mercy and to provide you things like adoption as children.

Christian, did you know Jesus�s work is what makes you forgiven? Did you know God removed the charges that were held against you? The debts that you committed were nailed to the cross and that Christ�s atonement freely gave you forgiveness forever.

Past sins forgiven. Your present sins forgiven. Your future sins forgiven. Do you know, Christian, that Jesus Christ justified you? God declared you righteous based on the work of the Lord Jesus by perfectly keeping the law, dying for all your broken laws, and then was raised from the dead.

That's what it means to consider Christ. It doesn't mean, oh yeah, Jesus. Jesus loves me. This I know for the Bible tells me so. I think that's probably a good start. Since Jesus did all this for you, aren't you willing to run the Christian life for His honor, for His glory?

Aren't you willing to exhaust yourself sweating and toiling and dealing with this? You say, well, the trials have come my way. It's just too hard. Well, then you go back to verse 3 and you say, I need to consider Christ.

Some of you probably aren't even in the starting blocks yet. You're not even Christians. And I want to tell you, if God didn't spare His own Son because of sin, He's not going to spare you. So the only way you can have any hope is to trust in the Lord Jesus.

This passage calls for calculation, for time. Why don't you take your Bible sometime when you're discouraged and just start reading the Gospels and write down everything you see about Jesus that is wonderful and praiseworthy and just beyond your mind to comprehend.

And you begin to write those things down and you begin to ponder. There's something about writing those things down and thinking and pondering, going over and over and over. And one thing I will know, at least for you who are watching and for me as well, it says in verse 4, in your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

As some would say, it's time to kind of get over yourself because I don't see any dead bodies laying around. It's not to that point yet. Now, some people, of course, have been martyred for the Lord Jesus.

I don't want to distract from that at all. But the writer here knows that these people, while their homes have been taken, some of them, and some have been put in prison, they're not dying yet. And so, therefore, he moves from a kind of a running metaphor to a war metaphor, striving against sin.

You are in a great battle. And that battle, somebody just tried to call me, that battle means it's time to battle. You don't stand around in World War II if you were the Americans at Bastogne. And you don't go to the Battle of Bulge, or if you're out in the Pacific Ocean, the Battle of Midway.

And you're like, well, you know, it's just time to play tennis and to fly a kite. You're in a battle. And therefore, you have to think that way, striving against sin, struggle against sin. It's serious.

To what lengths do you go to mortify sin? Martin Luther said, let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also. The body they may kill, God's truth abideth still. And so, whether you're in a race, or whether you're in a boxing match, or war, you have to be thinking about who Jesus is.

James Moffat said, to endure rightly, one must endure intelligently. And then we move to verse five, and here's the fascinating thing. How do you get through trials? You think about Jesus, and you realize the trials come from a father who loves you.

Here's what people do. I know they do this. I'm in a trial. God doesn't love me. That's exactly how we think. We might not say it, but that's what we think. And it's the opposite. In verses five through 11, here's what the text essentially says.

God loves his sons, therefore he disciplines them in order that they might endure the trials. The trial that he's put you in has a purpose. And you might not know all the details, but you know the Father loves you.

Here's a passage about discipline. Sons get disciplined. I remember when I was disciplining my children when they were little, and I would say to them, does Daddy discipline the children down the street?

Does Daddy discipline them? And I would name the names. No, of course not. I don't discipline them. Why? I generally love them, but I love you. I love you, and I want to try to discipline you to train you.

Now think about it. If you're running a race, you have to keep your eye on the finish line, consider Christ, and you have to train, right? You need to train for this race. And part of this training we'll see here comes from discipline.

And if you read this section, verses 5 through 11, discipline of the Lord, verse 5, discipline, verse 6, discipline, verse 7, times 2, verse 8, discipline, verse 9, discipline, verse 10, disciplined, and disciplines, verse 11, discipline.

Want to know what this is all about? I'll tell you. There's another key word that goes through this. Sons, verse 5, son, verse 5, son, verse 6, sons and son, verse 7, sons, verse 8. You say, well, I'm a daughter.

Okay, good. You get the point, too. Discipline and sons, they go together, don't they? I know some of you are probably thinking about your sons probably get more discipline than your daughters do. I don't know.

I don't know if that was the case in our family. Well, I'll never tell, but here's the point. God disciplines his sons because he loves them. Oh, God doesn't love me. I'm in this trial. I'm in this struggle.

God doesn't love me. Well, we're going to be corrected mentally when we think about this. Don't fall for the trap. By the way, the son of God suffered. Did God the Father love him? The suffering son, capital S, makes it so that we, sons, small s slash daughters.

So we aren't too surprised, I guess, when we suffer. Sons get discipline. Now, Jesus didn't get disciplined because he disobeyed. And we can't even tell when we're in a trial, is this the chasing of God or is this just a trial that's trying to discipline me to teach me?

We don't know, but we know from whom it comes. That's the key. The Father is in charge. He's doing these things. So you could tell with the original audience, don't go back to Judaism. The Lord knows what he's doing and he's trying to teach you to help you endure through trials.

And the same thing's happening here. You're in a bad spot and you think, you know what, I don't know if I can bear the suffering. It would be easier if I told you, bear the suffering, it has meaning, right?

Okay, so I'll tell you because I have the authority, the word of God to do it. Your suffering has meaning because God the Father loves you and he, the same one who loved you enough to send the son to rescue you, has an idea to discipline you, to have you endure as you run the Christian life.

That's the Father. That's the Father of lights. And so we'll look at that maybe next time on No Compromise Radio. My name is Mike Abendroth. You can write me, Mike at NoCompromiseRadio .com.

No Compromise Radio with Pastor Mike Abendroth is a production of Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston. Bethlehem Bible Church is a Bible teaching church firmly committed to unleashing the life transforming power of God's word through verse by verse exposition of the sacred text.

Please come and join us. Our service times are Sunday morning at 1015 and in the evening at 6. We're right on route 110 in West Boylston. You can check us out online at bbchurch .org or by phone at 508 -835 -3400.