Running Our Lap
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
It is not every year that we get to have church on New Year’s Eve. This time of the year, we prepare to turn the calendar and begin a new chapter. We can debate the merits and philosophy behind this phenomenon, but at the end of the day, it is something that do experience…just maybe to varying degrees.
As we end one year and begin another, it is worth reminding ourselves that the whole of our lives is one chapter—or one lap—in an ongoing enterprise—or race—that we are a part of.
Transition
Transition
The author of Hebrews utilized the analogy of a great relay race, a familiar element of the Olympics and other Greek and Roman athletic competitions, to encourage and motivate us.
Illumination
Illumination
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Before Our Team
Before Our Team
“Therefore…”
“Therefore…”
When you see the word “therefore” you need to see what it’s there for.
Why is this here? It links back to chapter 11: the so-called Faith Hall of Fame
32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented—38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
As impressive as the details of chapter 11 and its closing summary sounds, it’s not really the therefor.
We Complete Them
We Complete Them
39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
They finished their lap, but they did not finish the race. They did not receive the promise. They are not complete or finished apart from us.
This is the therefor.
They Compel Us
They Compel Us
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
The giants of the faith that we read about and whose lives we study stand as a “great cloud of witnesses”. They have run their lap and now stand track-side watching as we run our lap. They cheer us by their presence and they challenge us by their performance.
By Our Selves
By Our Selves
Ultimately, we each run our lap of the race by ourselves. Their is a requirement of fortitude and an expectation of commitment.
Lay Aside the Weights
Lay Aside the Weights
If we are to focus on running our lap, there are elements in our life that will weigh us down and slow us down. They are not sinful or wrong, they are just not helpful. Here again, the expectation is that a mindful runner will understand what they need and voluntarily eliminate what they do not need.
23 All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.
Avoid the Traps
Avoid the Traps
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
We typically think of “sin” as missing the target of what God desire for us. Here, though, the author of Hebrews portrays sin as a snare: a trap that is laid, maybe hidden (but not always), baited, and waiting for us to fall in…and he states that we are easily ensnared!
What does a snare look like? Glad you asked. Here’s an example. (Quail Trap Video)
It is hard to run when we are trapped. If we are to run well, we are going to need to avoid the traps even though they have the advantage.
Run with Endurance
Run with Endurance
1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
sometimes translated as “patience” or “longsuffering”, the implication is that our lap of the race is probably not short, and probably not entirely easy. But is is our lap to run.
Behind Our Captain
Behind Our Captain
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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
What can we say about our Captain?
He ran the first lap, blazing a trail for us to follow
He will run the final lap, ensuring the race’s completion
His lap was not pleasant; it involved a literal cross, not the metaphorical crosses we bear
He approached The cross with joy, not complaint
He despised the shame, literally looked down or dismissively on the shame that he endured
His joy came from His focus on the reward—us—and the value He placed on us exceeded the shame and the pain He experienced
Conclusion
Conclusion
As we naturally turn our attention to the new year and all of the potential that lies before us, we need to remember what is really at stake. As believers, we run our lap in a great, ongoing relay race. If we run well, we will be rewarded. If we run poorly, we will bear our shame. When we think about our race, let us echo the commitment of the Apostle Paul who ran before us:
24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.