Introduction:
Why I Am Not Motivated to Run the Faith Race As I Should (Hebrews 12:1-3):
- I Sabotage myself. (Heb 12:1)
- I'm too Near Sighted . (Heb 12:2)
Romans 8:18 - For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
- People have worn me out. (Heb 12:3)
Luke 23:34 - And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”
Jesus Endured Hostility from Sinners By:
- Understanding their condition.
- Praying for them.
- Loving them.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
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00:48-01:13
Hebrews, chapter 12. Let's just pause for a second. I know Pastor Taylor prayed for me, but I'm going to ask you to pray for me right now so that I would be faithful to clearly and accurately communicate God's Word. And I'll pray for you to receive it, all right?
01:13-01:14
Let's pray.
01:16-01:19
Father, your word tells us that you have exalted your word even above your name.
01:20-01:24
This is a big deal to you and it should be to us.
01:26-01:34
And Father, we've all come in here tired at times, distracted at times, not ready.
01:36-01:44
I pray, Father, just now that you would do a supernatural work to prepare us to hear what your word has to say.
01:47-01:48
Nothing for show.
01:50-01:51
Father, we wanna sincerely follow you.
01:53-01:54
We wanna know you.
01:56-01:57
We wanna live lives of worship.
01:59-02:04
So may your word equip us to do that just now, Father, we pray in Jesus' name, amen.
02:05-02:07
Hebrews chapter 12, we're gonna be looking at the first three verses.
02:08-02:08
Are you there?
02:11-02:46
It says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded "by so great a cloud of witnesses, "let us also lay aside every weight "and sin which clings so closely "and let us run with endurance "the race that is set before us." Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
02:48-02:59
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.
03:02-03:08
Today, we are going to talk about running.
03:11-03:12
Who are my runners here?
03:12-03:15
Raise your hand if you enjoy running.
03:16-03:17
One of you.
03:18-03:19
Exactly one.
03:22-03:26
Sorry to put you on the spot, but that's, Doug, that's one more than we should have in this room.
03:29-03:31
Because I hate running.
03:35-03:38
I hate running.
03:41-03:42
How much do I hate running?
03:42-03:43
I'll give you a couple examples.
03:43-03:44
I got new shoes.
03:45-03:46
Do you see these bad boys?
03:48-03:52
I'm like, I won't lose those in the dark or miles away or anything.
03:53-03:55
And I'm like, boy, those are really bright.
03:56-03:57
Somehow I missed it.
03:57-04:01
I got them home, looked at the box and the box said running across the top.
04:02-04:03
I'm like, well, I'm a hypocrite.
04:05-04:06
Like guess what you guys won't be doing?
04:07-04:07
Running.
04:08-04:10
So now I kind of view them as rescues, right?
04:11-04:13
You're a rescue dog, I rescued your shoes.
04:13-04:17
You're never gonna have to run, ever.
04:18-04:19
How much do I hate running?
04:20-04:26
My wife knows because she got me this shirt and she saw this, she goes, this is you.
04:27-04:29
Not this one, this one.
04:30-04:35
If you're listening on the podcast or way back there, It says, ready, set, nope.
04:43-04:45
Look, to be fair, I used to run.
04:46-04:50
I used to be an athlete a couple of decades ago.
04:52-04:57
So I used to run and I hated every step of it.
04:58-05:04
Every step, even when I was in shape and 40 pounds lighter and I hated every step.
05:05-05:08
I was attacked over the course of my running career.
05:08-05:11
I was attacked by so many dogs.
05:11-05:23
So many dogs came after me out of their yard, out of breath, every joint in my body, excruciating.
05:25-05:31
Have you ever seen somebody running like you're driving down the road and you see, have you ever seen somebody running?
05:32-05:33
Have you ever looked at their face?
05:36-05:47
Because I've met people that they're like, "I love running." I'm like, "I've never seen that guy." Every single person that I see running looks like they're being tortured.
05:47-05:51
They're like, right?
05:52-05:53
Nobody enjoys running, okay?
05:53-05:54
So stop pretending.
05:57-06:03
Just say you're being nebby about what's going on in the neighborhood or something, but nobody loves running.
06:05-06:09
But, but, spiritually.
06:13-06:19
In this passage, we see there is a striving that follows faith.
06:20-06:29
There is spiritually an intense effort on our part, which is why a common metaphor for the Christian life in the New Testament is running a race.
06:30-06:37
And did you know the Greek word for race is the word agona, which is where we get the word appropriately, agony.
06:43-06:44
That is true.
06:46-06:50
But listen, when we talk about running the race, we're not talking about competing against one another.
06:52-06:52
Like, well, what is it about?
06:52-06:54
Listen, you're gonna wanna write this down.
06:55-06:58
It's striving through suffering to get to the finish line.
06:58-06:59
That's the metaphor.
06:59-07:04
It's striving through suffering to get to the finish line.
07:06-07:07
That's why it's called a race.
07:07-07:10
I am striving through suffering to get to the finish line.
07:14-07:30
And here's the problem, church, especially in our culture and even in this church, Too many Christians have reduced the definition of faith to mean that I intellectually agree with a doctrinal statement.
07:32-07:34
And for some people, that's what faith is.
07:35-07:39
I just agree with a doctrinal statement.
07:42-07:44
That is not what faith is.
07:45-07:53
Many years ago, about the time of my life that I did run, But many years ago, I ran a senior high boys' wilderness camp.
07:53-07:57
And in this wilderness camp, I would take, oh, it was, some of you guys would love this.
07:57-08:02
We went rappelling and rock climbing and hiking and canoeing and all that stuff.
08:02-08:04
It was a blast.
08:04-08:09
But I remember there was this one kid in particular, we were on one of our hikes, and he was just the whole time,
08:10-08:10
(imitates dog barking)
08:10-08:12
just complaining about everything.
08:13-08:15
And I'm like, what is the matter?
08:16-08:17
Like on the trail, I turn around, I'm like, what's the matter?
08:18-08:31
He goes, "Why are we doing so much (beep)?" And I said, "What did you think was gonna happen "when you signed up for wilderness camp?" And I had a moment I'm not proud of.
08:33-08:35
I was frustrated because hiking's kind of like running.
08:38-08:39
A pain.
08:39-08:49
But I had this moment I wasn't proud of that I said to this senior high kid, I said, "You know what, how about this?
08:49-09:11
"Next year, we'll have beanbag camp "and we'll just get beanbags and Nintendos "and we'll just lay around and play video games all week." And as soon as those words came out of my mouth, I'm like, "You are such a jerk." And I'm like, now I'm thinking I get to apologize to this kid and in this moment of my brain processing, he goes, "That would be so cool."
09:12-09:13
(congregation laughing)
09:14-09:15
And that became a thing for years.
09:16-09:25
People are like, "When can we do beanbag camp?" But listen, that's the kind of Christianity that people want.
09:30-09:32
But that is not in the brochure.
09:35-09:50
Listen to me, if you find your faith to be convenient and easy and always making you feel good, You don't have faith by any biblical definition.
09:52-09:55
Because Hebrews 11 showed us what faith is.
09:55-10:01
It's a belief in God's word that shapes every decision of your life.
10:03-10:09
It moves you to work hard for God's kingdom while you wait on his promises.
10:09-10:19
And that's why after he gives this whole list of people, a plethora of Old Testament saints and what faith looked like in their lives.
10:20-10:34
Now the exhortation to the church, to us, he says, "Because of these witnesses," he goes, "Now run." Because real faith is striving through suffering to get to the finish line.
10:34-10:35
That's what real faith is.
10:37-10:42
I have to ask you, does that describe your Christian journey right now?
10:48-10:49
How's your run?
10:50-10:52
Are you running hard right now?
10:57-11:01
Are you running hard in your Christian race right now?
11:01-11:02
Running like you want to win?
11:05-11:09
Are you running right now like you wanna finish strong?
11:16-11:17
Or have you slowed down?
11:21-11:34
Has the agony and the dogs and the breathlessness and the sweat, has it made you just wanna quit?
11:37-11:38
Is that where you are?
11:41-11:53
Do you notice three times, we just looked at three verses and in each verse, the same word shows up, some variation of the same word, the word endurance, endure, enduring.
11:56-12:01
That literally means to remain under the challenge.
12:01-12:02
That's what that means.
12:04-12:05
In other words, it means to suffer.
12:07-12:12
In other words, it means this, church, listen, you gotta keep running when you don't feel like running.
12:13-12:14
That's what that means.
12:17-12:22
We need endurance in this Christian race.
12:23-12:27
And I have to ask you, church, are you wearing out?
12:30-12:31
Like, well, how do I know?
12:33-12:34
How do I know that I'm wearing out?
12:34-12:35
Well, there's signs.
12:36-12:37
There's signs that you're wearing out.
12:39-12:41
A big one is this, how's your prayer life?
12:42-12:46
When was the last time you got on your face and actually prayed instead of just saying your prayers?
12:47-12:48
Because there's a huge difference.
12:48-12:53
And I would also say, when was the last time that you saw a prayer answered?
12:53-12:57
That you're like, I prayed for this and I saw exactly how God answered.
12:58-12:59
When was the last time you saw that?
13:04-13:05
Are you slowing down?
13:08-13:09
When was the last time you were in the Word?
13:11-13:14
And I don't just mean reading the one little verse at the top of your devotional.
13:14-13:23
I mean like in God's Word, studying, meditating, and memorizing, and praying it back to God.
13:23-13:28
When was the last time you really got into the word like you wanted it?
13:32-13:39
When was the last time that you shared the gospel with someone because you had a burden for their spiritual condition?
13:39-13:42
Or you invited them to come to Harvest to hear the gospel?
13:43-13:45
When was the last time you've done that?
13:46-13:47
Are you slowing down?
13:51-13:57
Here's a big one, 'cause there's a lot of people in this church who serve in so many capacities.
13:58-14:07
Let me ask you this, right now in your service, whatever capacity you serve, are you serving out of obligation?
14:09-14:16
Or like, you know what, I'm doing this, but deep down, if we're gonna be honest, I really don't want to.
14:17-14:19
I don't feel like doing this anymore.
14:20-14:26
I'm doing it just because they're expecting me and they're kind of counting on me, but I really don't wanna do this.
14:27-14:28
That's a sign that you're running out of endurance.
14:30-14:36
All of these are signs that you're running out of endurance and that's why he tells us, endure, endure, endure.
14:36-14:39
You gotta keep running when you don't feel like running.
14:41-14:50
And listen, I can tell you how to run and I can give you some reasons why, but I can't give you the want to.
14:51-14:52
I can't give you the heart.
14:53-14:54
I can't do that.
14:56-15:14
You see, I can't come beside you and say, "Hey, you should run the race." You're like, "I know, I should." And I'm like, "Well, what's the problem?" And you're like, "I just don't want to." I'm overwhelmed right now in my life and I feel beat down.
15:15-15:18
And look, I know I need to run, I just don't wanna run.
15:21-15:29
Well, like a doctor today, I just, I wanna properly diagnose your problem.
15:31-15:32
The word of God will do that.
15:33-15:39
Because only when you properly diagnose your problem, why am I not motivated?
15:39-15:40
Why am I not enduring?
15:41-15:43
Why am I slowing down and wearing out on my race?
15:43-15:52
If we can diagnose why, then we can seek the remedy, and then we can get motivated.
15:54-15:58
So let's get real and see why I'm not motivated to run.
16:01-16:07
Why I'm not motivated to run the race of faith as I should, number one, write this down, I sabotage myself.
16:08-16:11
Here's a reason maybe you're not enduring in your race.
16:11-16:13
I sabotage myself.
16:13-16:14
Look at verse one again.
16:14-16:40
It says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." So one reason that some of you, some of you are not running the race as you should is because you sabotaged yourself.
16:41-16:48
You believe in Christ, you're in the race, but you've weighed yourself down.
16:49-16:51
It's a pretty obvious picture, isn't it?
16:52-16:55
Like if I called you up and I said, "Hey, you wanna go for a run?
16:55-16:57
"Don't worry, that's never gonna happen.
16:57-17:08
"You will never get that phone call, but we can pretend." But if I called you up and said, "Hey, do you wanna go for a run?" And you're like, "I got my fluorescent shoes, Pastor Jeff.
17:08-17:14
"I am there." and you come to my house, I'm like, okay, first I'm gonna need you to carry this on your run.
17:15-17:18
You're like, what am I gonna do with this?
17:18-17:19
Are we building a house when we get there?
17:19-17:20
No, I just need you to carry that.
17:22-17:23
Oh, here, carry this too.
17:27-17:29
Who wants to go running with me carrying these things?
17:30-17:30
Anybody?
17:32-17:32
Doug?
17:33-17:35
Doug still says yes.
17:37-17:38
I love you brother, but you are a maniac.
17:41-17:42
He probably would.
17:44-17:48
But even he would admit, it suddenly just got a lot harder, didn't it?
17:49-17:49
To run?
17:49-17:52
How many steps do you think you'd make it running with these?
17:55-17:58
You're like, I'm not sure that I'd wanna run carrying these things.
17:59-18:00
He said, that's the point.
18:00-18:01
That's what he's saying here.
18:01-18:10
He's saying some of you are not enduring in your Christian race because you're carrying all this extra stuff you don't need to be carrying.
18:10-18:11
And you're like, well, what is that?
18:12-18:13
I'm like sweating just holding this.
18:15-18:16
You're like, well, what is that?
18:16-18:22
Well, for the Jews that he was writing to, it was like the Judaism, dead works kind of thing.
18:24-18:27
But for us, you know, it can be religion.
18:28-18:32
For some people it's carrying this burden of, I gotta make God happy.
18:32-18:38
I gotta do all these things to try to, Please God, and you're not running as you should because that's weight that you don't need to be carrying.
18:40-18:44
And for a lot of you also, it could be shame.
18:46-18:47
It could be shame.
18:50-18:57
You're hesitant to run because you don't have confidence that maybe the weight is like your past mistakes.
18:58-19:02
You're like, I know I need to run, but I've never really done things the way I should.
19:02-19:04
And you don't know some of the things I've done in my past.
19:04-19:34
and you're carrying this past shame, and I really can put this stuff down, but you're carrying this stuff, and you're like, "Why am I not running as I should?" And that's why the Hebrew writer says, "Look, you gotta get rid of this stuff, because it's a lot easier to run when you're not carrying all this unnecessary stuff." You gotta drop the burdens.
19:34-19:35
You're like, well, what are they?
19:37-19:38
Well, he says the weight, right?
19:38-19:39
We talked about that.
19:39-19:44
It's former Judaism, shame, religion.
19:46-19:51
But the next thing he says that we do to sabotage ourselves is sin.
19:53-19:57
Notice the Bible says it clings, it entangles.
19:59-20:01
The word literally means to gather around.
20:01-20:07
And there, I guess, using our running metaphor, the picture is this, you're going for a run and somebody tied your shoelaces together.
20:08-20:10
That makes it hard to run too, doesn't it?
20:15-20:20
Listen, some of you can't run your race confidently because of a pornography addiction.
20:23-20:25
Why am I not running like I should?
20:28-20:30
You've tied your shoelaces together with pornography.
20:31-20:33
That's why you're not running like you should.
20:36-20:41
For others, maybe it's a drug and alcohol addiction, drug or alcohol addiction.
20:44-20:50
Man, I wanna run, I just don't, why am I not, why is my thing with Jesus, why does it seem so?
20:50-20:52
You're sabotaging yourself, that's why.
20:55-20:56
Put the bottle down and run.
20:59-21:02
For some people it's worrying about everything.
21:02-21:03
And that's a sin, by the way.
21:04-21:08
We almost make it look as a virtue, like, "I'm just kind of a worrier.
21:08-21:09
I'm just kind of a worry." That's a sin.
21:11-21:20
And for some people, that's why they're not running as they should because the sin of worry has them tangled up and they're not running like they should.
21:26-21:29
You're never gonna have endurance if you sabotage yourself.
21:35-21:36
You gotta drop the weight.
21:38-21:39
You want some inspiration?
21:40-21:42
He gives it to us right here, the cloud of witnesses.
21:44-21:51
All the people that he mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, they demonstrated a life of faith.
21:51-21:52
We went through all that.
21:53-21:54
We saw the highs and lows.
21:56-21:58
We saw the victory and the agony.
21:58-22:03
We saw the God showed up and we saw the, I'm waiting for God to show up.
22:05-22:13
And all of these people that we've studied over these past several weeks testify to the greatness of running the race.
22:13-22:16
And I promise you, you track them down in heaven.
22:17-22:26
Keep this list, you track them down in heaven and you grab them and you say, Tell me about the stuff that I read about you in God's word.
22:26-22:29
Every single one of them are going to say it was worth it.
22:31-22:36
Everything that I endured was worth it.
22:39-22:44
And see, we're encouraged by people who went before us.
22:46-22:49
And there's a real sense in which we should draw inspiration from them.
22:51-22:52
And this is a whole nother sermon.
22:54-23:03
I didn't want to really bark up this tree, but I was thinking a lot this week about the people that God's put in my life, past and present, who inspire me.
23:04-23:11
Part of the witnesses, so to speak, who inspire me to run, I think of Pastor Bob, who went to be with the Lord.
23:14-23:19
He taught me everything I know about being a pastor, and I am not 1% of the pastor that he was.
23:21-23:25
And I think of my friend Mike Singer, who died in a motorcycle accident years ago.
23:26-23:29
Just what an influence he had on me, the way he loved his family.
23:31-23:38
Just his trust in the Lord and the joy that he just constantly seemed to be ringing through his life.
23:41-23:46
I think of Barnabas, who's going to be coming over here and preaching in October.
23:47-23:49
and the work that he does for the Lord.
23:49-23:57
You see, I look at these guys and I could go on and on, but my point is I look at these guys and I say, I wanna run the race like they did.
24:01-24:08
But then I think also, I should be motivated by the fact that I'm a witness too.
24:10-24:10
Right?
24:12-24:13
And there are people that are watching me.
24:15-24:31
And you know how motivated I am knowing that there is this enormous herd of little people back there that are evaluating the Christian race based on how I'm running it.
24:34-24:40
And if you're a leader in this church, serving in any capacity, they're watching you too.
24:43-24:45
How do they see us running the race?
24:47-24:48
So do you want endurance for your race?
24:50-24:52
Now you go, it's so hard to run the race.
24:52-24:55
Well, stop sabotaging yourself and it'll get a lot easier, all right?
24:57-25:00
Number two, why am I not motivated to run the race as I should?
25:02-25:03
Why sabotage myself?
25:03-25:04
That's a problem.
25:05-25:05
Here's number two.
25:06-25:07
I'm too nearsighted.
25:08-25:09
Look at verse two.
25:12-25:24
It says, "Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
25:27-25:37
You see, for some of you, your problem is this, you don't live like you really believe that there is a finish line.
25:41-25:48
Maybe you have a health issue, or worse yet, somebody you love very much, that's very close to you has a health issue.
25:49-25:51
And you're like, you know what?
25:51-25:52
Nothing's ever gonna change.
25:53-25:54
Nothing's ever gonna change.
25:54-25:58
Well, that kind of attitude results in no motivation to run.
26:00-26:04
Or maybe you have a spouse that doesn't know Jesus and you're like, my marriage stinks.
26:07-26:08
Nothing's ever gonna change.
26:09-26:11
And you've just resolved yourself to that.
26:11-26:12
Nothing's ever gonna change.
26:12-26:16
And when you resolve yourself to that, And that results in no motivation.
26:21-26:33
You see, like a real race, if you don't think there's a finish line, you're not going to be motivated to run very long, are you?
26:36-26:39
Like, who's going to sign up to run endlessly?
26:40-26:41
Nobody.
26:44-26:46
The problem is some of you are just too nearsighted.
26:47-26:54
You're too focused on the here and now because today's problem was also yesterday's problem and it's gonna be tomorrow's problem.
26:55-26:57
So why bother running?
26:57-26:58
But look at what he says here.
26:59-26:59
Here's the game changer.
27:00-27:04
He says, "Looking to Jesus." Don't miss this.
27:05-27:06
This will change your life.
27:06-27:10
It says that Jesus was able to endure the cross.
27:13-27:17
because of the joy that was set before him.
27:17-27:18
You're like, well, what joy?
27:18-27:20
He tells us right here.
27:20-27:24
He says he's seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
27:24-27:26
Like, what's the point?
27:26-27:26
Here's the point.
27:27-27:33
Jesus was able to endure suffering because he knew what was on the other side of the cross.
27:37-27:50
You see, if Jesus was nearsighted like we are often, if Jesus was that nearsighted like I am, Jesus would say, "What, you mean to be humiliated "and executed by these people?
27:52-27:57
"Hard pass, I'm not doing that." Like, well, why did you do it, Jesus?
27:58-28:00
Because he knew what was on the other side of it.
28:00-28:02
He wasn't so nearsighted, you see?
28:03-28:04
He saw the finish line.
28:06-28:09
Jesus was like, "Hey, the cross isn't forever.
28:11-28:48
"The shame isn't forever, but the glory "that is on the other side of being seated "at the right hand of God, that is forever." And I would be remiss not to quote awesome verse, Romans 8, 18, says, "For I consider that the sufferings "of this present time are not worth comparing "to the glory that is to be revealed to us." Look, I would never run a marathon.
28:49-28:50
You're like, yeah, I think you made that clear.
28:52-28:53
I would never run a marathon.
28:55-28:57
You're like, yeah, and I can tell by looking at you that you never have.
28:58-28:59
Look, I would never run a marathon.
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But, if you told me for sure, promise, reality, if you told me that there is a cure for autism at the finish line of this marathon, I promise you, I will run and I will crawl and I will puke and I will claw my way to that finish line and I will have a smile on my face the whole way if there's such a glorious thing at the finish line.
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Do you see the motivation?
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Do you get it?
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Paul got it.
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Heaven's gonna be awesome.
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So can we just, please people, can we suffer for 15 minutes until we get there?
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Can you take your eyes off of yourself for a minute?
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Can you take your eyes off of the obstacles?
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And can you take your eyes off of the other runners?
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And can you put your eyes on Jesus and everything that he's promised?
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Because he is, he tells us here, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
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Well, that's huge because he began our faith and he will complete it.
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and there's an eternal glory on the other side of suffering.
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So, do you want endurance for your race?
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Stop being so nearsighted.
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I have it on good authority that things will not always be as they are now.
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And then finally, why I'm not motivated to run the race of faith as I should.
30:58-31:00
Number three, people have worn me out.
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People have worn me out.
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Look at verse three.
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It says, "Consider him who," look at this, "endured from sinners such hostility against himself so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted." Nothing saps your motivation to endure like dealing with hard people, nothing.
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I've been in pastor ministry now for like two and a half decades or so.
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And I can tell you this emphatically, mission trips, sermon prep, administrative work, hospital visits, small group meetings, No one ever quits running the race because of those things.
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But deal with people who are against you.
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And that is brutal.
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Deal with people making accusations against you.
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Deal with people who are gossiping about you.
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Deal with people who are slandering you.
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Or how about this one?
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Get the email from people that say, "Hey, we're gonna have a meeting "because I didn't like "what you said, what you did, what you wore, "insert thing here.
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"And I'm gonna have a meeting because I didn't like this." People wear you out.
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They just do, right?
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Look at the verse again, look at verse three.
32:51-33:09
It says, "Consider him." "Consider him." You know, I did a lot of reading this week, studying this, "Consider him." You know what, like, the consensus was about that?
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Everybody was like, It was like, Jesus had it worse than you did.
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That's what he's saying here.
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You're going through some hard stuff.
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Jesus had it worse than you did.
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Do you think that's the point here?
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When it says consider him, does that really help anybody?
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I worked with this guy many years ago.
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He was what you call a story topper.
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Do you know a story topper?
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Don't point at anybody in the room.
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Do you know what I'm talking about by a story topper?
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It's obnoxious.
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But here's how a conversation with this guy would go.
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He'd be like, "Man, I'm really tired today." He'd say, "Oh, you think you're tired?
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"I haven't slept in 75 hours." I'd be like, "Well, I guess the reason I'm tired "is I've just been working a lot." "Oh, you think you've been working a lot?
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"I just got done with six doubles."
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(congregation laughing)
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And I had four triples before that.
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Like, I don't think a triple's a thing.
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(congregation laughing)
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Like, well, I guess I've been working a lot.
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I've needed the overtime because I'm broke.
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Oh, you think you're broke?
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(congregation laughing)
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I got negative 750 in my bank account.
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(congregation laughing)
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And at that point, I'm like, do you think you're helping?
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'Cause it isn't.
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You see, that's how a lot of people treat this passage.
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You're like, consider Jesus.
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Like, man, my life is hard, but not as hard as Jesus, so that's okay.
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I don't think that's the point at all.
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Listen, here's the point, 'cause this is game changer stuff.
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I say that a lot, but it kind of all is, all right?
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Jesus dealt with so much ugliness and nastiness from people so much.
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How did Jesus endure?
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How did Jesus persevere under the hostility of sinners?
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There are so many passages we could look at, so many.
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But for today, there's one thing that Jesus said more than anything else that shows us how he endured.
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This one statement showed us how he endured such hostility from sinners.
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And this statement came when Jesus was on the cross, when he was mocked, humiliated and brutally executed.
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Luke 23, 34, look at his statement.
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And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, "for they know not what they do." Look at this.
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This was the ultimate display of Jesus' endurance of hostility from sinners, because this was the ultimate hostility.
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And in this one statement, in this one statement, We learn a lot about how Jesus endured hostility from sinners, all right?
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I'm gonna go through this very quickly.
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Jesus endured hostility from sinners by, letter A, right this time, understanding their condition.
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Do you see that?
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Jesus said, "For they know not what they do." He understood their condition.
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And I know somebody would say, "Oh, they knew exactly what they were doing.
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"They were crying out for his death." They knew exactly what he was doing.
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And I would say, did they understand the full weight and impact of the choices they were making?
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According to Jesus, no.
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Jesus said they didn't fully understand what they were doing.
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So yes, they were guilty.
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Yes, they were responsible.
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Yes, absolutely.
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But according to Jesus, They didn't understand the gravity of all of this.
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They were blind.
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They were so blinded by sin.
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Second way Jesus endured hostility from sinners was by praying for them.
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Do you notice that?
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He cried out, "Father, Father." He's praying here for them, right?
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His dying breaths could have been spent cursing them.
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Right?
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They're standing down there mocking Him.
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He could have been cursing them.
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To hell with you people!
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But instead, through the agony of the cross, Jesus used what energy He had left to pray for them.
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And finally, how did Jesus endure hostility from sinners?
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It was by loving them.
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Father, forgive them.
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Did you see that?
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He cried out for their forgiveness.
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The people who mocked him as he died, I can't think of anything more loving than that.
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I tried this week.
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Is there a scenario where you could demonstrate a greater amount of love and grace?
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I could not think of one than this statement right here.
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So everybody look up here, look up here, take a page.
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Yes, it's hard.
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Yes, this is counter intuitive.
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But when he says consider Jesus, this is exactly what he's talking about.
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Consider and emulate Jesus Christ, Because listen, you're going to faithfully endure when you truly understand that the people who hate you are broken people.
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And yeah, there's one level I'm sure where they do know and understand and are guilty and responsible for the choices that they're making.
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But deep down, they are broken and blind people.
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And you need to remember that.
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The people that hate you and mistreat you and gossip and slander and accuse you, they're broken people.
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You're not gonna be worn out with them if instead of complaining about them or slandering them back, try this, try loving them.
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Try praying God's grace upon them.
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(congregation laughing)
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So do you want endurance for your race?
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Stop letting people wear you out.
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I'm gonna ask if our elders would come forward in our worship team.
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We're going to close with communion.
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And I love this, this passage says, "Look to Christ, consider Christ." And I would say, "There's no better way to do that "than to gather around his table." Jesus Christ endured the worst that man could do to him, and yet remained perfect and sinless.
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And Jesus finished his race all the way to the finish line.
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His victory is your victory.
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Your sin and shame are taken away and you can run your race to win, knowing that because of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, You've already won.
Small Group Discussion
Read Hebrews 12:1-3
What was your big take-away from this passage / message?
Which of these 3 do you think hinders your race the most…?
- Self-Sabotage
- Near-Sightedness
- Dealing with Difficult People
How do the “cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1) inspire you to endure in your race? Who have you known personally that has inspired you?
How did Jesus endure hostility from sinners (Hebrews 12:3 - and see Luke 23:34)? How does Jesus inspire and empower you to do the same?
Bonus: Would you say that you “hate” running or that you “despise” running?
Breakout
Pray for one another.