Scriptures: Hebrews 12:1-3
The Christian life is a race. The writer of Hebrews said if we are going to run the Christian life with no distractions and not get off track, we must keep our eyes carefully focused on Jesus.
I. Start well
Since the Christian life is a race, let us examine the racecourse. We know how it starts and how it finishes. For all of us, it starts when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior and commit ourselves to the person of Jesus Christ. It's like getting married to Christ. That's the starting line. Before you can run the race of life, you must start well.
Of course in between, the Bible says God has a racecourse for every one of that is planned out. Your course is different from mine, and mine is different from yours - different experiences, different places to go and things to do. But they had the same starting point - submission to Christ
I. Run well
Your encouragement is to run well. You can run well because that is God's intention for all of us. How do you run well?
A. Run well with endurance
"Let us . . . run with endurance the race that lies before us." Great racers develop endurance. Christianity is not a hundred-yard dash. It is a marathon of endurance.
B. Run well with a team
"Therefore since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us." The ideas in Hebrews 11 do not culminate at the chapter division. The Bible was written in unmarked paragraphs instead of chapters and verses. Hebrews 11 begins in chapter 10 and culminates in chapter 12.
In chapter 10, the writer is addressing a group of Christians under unbelievable persecution. They had given up houses; many had had their property confiscated. Many had actually suffered physical persecution, some death. So as he draws near the end of chapter 10, he is encouraging the believers to "hang on." He encourages them by telling them about marvelous women and men of faith.
In their lives, we see the lifestyles that please God, lifestyles that revolve around faith. He says these are our examples. If these folks can do it, then we can do it too. They are on our team.
The great saints of faith in Hebrews 11 demonstrate that the life of faith really works. We have before us a great cloud of witnesses who are willing to testify that they had lived the life of faith, committed to Christ, and it worked for them.
C. Run with your eyes on Jesus
Hebrews 12 gives one of the most glorious looks at Jesus Christ in all of Scripture. As we run the race of our lives, we must run with our heads up and our eyes focused on Christ. If we are to run the life of faith, we resist the distractions and look deeply into His eyes.
"Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of God's throne. For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won't grow weary and lose heart (vs. 2-3)."
Jesus made Himself nothing and became a servant. He became human. Then He experienced death - not any death but death on a cross. The writer of the Hebrews said in effect, If Jesus Christ can do it, you can too because He didn't do this as God; He was doing this in His humanity. For the joy of saving us, He endured the cross, despising the shame.
Paul tells us the same in Philippians 2:5-8 "Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death - even to death on a cross. (HCSB)"
Jesus shows us the course, He demonstrates the proper attitude, He sets the pace, He leads us to victory!
III. End well
One of the basic teachings of Christianity is so simple: It is not how you start that matters; it is how you finish. Jesus made clear that those who endure to the end will be saved (see Matthew 24:13).
The finish line of the race is Christlikeness. He is growing us and maturing us on this racecourse to look like Jesus Christ. And of course, ultimately the finish line is out there in eternity, in heaven.
How can we end well?
A. End well with a great legacy
Not everyone in the Bible made it into the Hall of Faith. We could say that the Bible also has a Hall of Shame - men and women who ought to be in Hebrews 11 but are conspicuous by their absence. At the final judgment, some Christians will be weeping tears of shame because of what they didn't do for Christ on the racecourse.
The first King of Israel, Saul, should be there, but he is not. He focused more on pleasing the people than on pleasing God.
The wisest man who ever lived, Solomon, should be there, but he is not. He focused more on foreign women and their gods.
Balaam was a good prophet, but he had his eyes on the money. His eyes were so out of focus and distracted that he could not see an angel in front of his face. His donkey was more focused on God than he was.