Go For the Gold: Becoming a Spiritual Champion
A great stadium is filled with earlier spiritual champions is the scene the writer of Hebrews paints to encourage you in your efforts. His challenge to “Remember the Crowd” is effective if you know something about who these spectators are. This Sunday we’ll remember many people of faith that have gone before us are part of a great crowd watching us. You are part of a rich tradition with many heroes of the faith.
Remember the Great Crowd of Witnesses
Hebrews 12:1 (NIV)
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,…”
There were the Ancients
What we see is a moving sea of people – of which a few are mentioned in the previous chapter – Hebrews 11
There were the ancients like Abel who worshiped God from his heart. There was Enoch who walked with God in such intimate fellowship that he never died he just went home with God one day.
There was Noah who worked for God to build a way for humanity to be saved.
There was Abraham who obeyed God and Sarah who laughed and then faithfully submitted herself to God.
There was Isaac who followed in his father’s footsteps and lived faithfully before God.
There was Jacob, the cheater, who wrestled with God, and was both crippled and changed by God from a slippery conniver to a prince among men.
There was Joseph who trusted God even when falsely accused rape and left in jail to rot away.
There was Moses who represented God and shepherded his people even when he considered himself unworthy to stand in His presense.
There was Rahab, a prostitute, who stood up for God and protected his people in spite of the dangers.
There were many, many more
Hebrews 11:32
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies.
There were many, many others the Others
Hebrews 11:35-38
“…Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.”
Some were great. Some were not. Some shouldn’t be on this list with the others.
When we think of their names, we think of lives filled with power and faith. It’s easy to see why they were spiritual champions. It’s not so easy with some of the others like Sarah, who laughed in God’s face when he answered her prayer for a child or Jacob, whose name means "deceiver".
Rahab was a prostitute – That’s like saying a Las Vegas showgirl was a great woman of faith!
And what about Gideon who couldn’t find the courage to follow God’s leading until it was proved again and again?
Barak is mentioned and here is a man who was afraid to go to battle unless Deborah – a godly woman judge – stood by his side.
In the surface, it’s hard for me to understand why God would lead Paul to point them out to us as a great crowd of witnesses to encourage and inspire.
They sure don’t look like champions to me! But then again let us consider…
It isn’t how much faith you have…
God doesn’t grade your faith by objective standards. God doesn’t say, "Everyone has to make an "A" in "Faith 101" in order to be included in the book.”
God doesn’t say to Barak, "David will such a greater man than you...He was a king, you were a coward…you’re off the list!"
God doesn’t say, “I’m going to compare you to every other believer here this morning, and call 2 or 3 of you faithful.”
God doesn’t grade our faith by objective standards. Now, I’m not talking about obedience to His Word. Sin is sin…right is right…wrong is wrong! I’m talking about how much faith we have, not how moral our habits are.
The reason that Abraham and David appear on the same list as Rahab and Barak is that God judges our faith individually.
• He looks at where we began our walk of faith.
• He looks at what obstacles each one of us has faced.
• He looks at what advantages each one of us has enjoyed.
• He looks at how far we’ve come in our spiritual walk.
He’s an individual God who looks at each of us individually.
For some of you here today, your faith has never been much of a struggle for you. It’s natural because you were taught to trust God from birth. You were born with a spiritual “silver spoon” in your mouth. This is the heritage of a Christian home and it is a wonderful gift. You never had to choose whether to go to church or not…it was a habit ingrained in you from an early age.
Prayer, faithfulness, and reading your Bible daily are not struggles for you. Your faith is strong and comfortable to you. You’ve been doing the same thing for 40 years…Your spiritual life is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
The danger is that it can become empty and lifeless. You do what you do out of habit or even ritual.
For others of you here today, your faith is a minute-by-minute, daily struggle. Some of you struggle just to believe the basic concepts of God’s Word.
• You struggle to believe that God could love you enough to send His son to die for you.
• You struggle to believe that God will help you through the trials of this life.
• You struggle to find the faith to put that bottle down.
• You struggle to find the faith to stay away from that harmful relationship.
• You struggle to find the faith to just hang on the Jesus for one more day.
Who ever you are this morning, there is good news – you can be a spiritual champion!
If Barak, Gideon and Rahab can be counted faithful in God’s eyes, so can you!
They weren’t judged by objective standards of faithfulness.
God took them where they were, watched their faith stretch and grow, and counted them faithful.
It’s how much you live by your faith.
Living by Faith is not easy. Like exercise – it’s not comfortable. It’s not a habit. It’s not ever "old hat".
If it’s easy, you’re not exercising your faith!
Remember the landscape project yesterday. Some gave offerings. Some gave plants. Some gave time and effort. I’m sore today. Not as bad as I thought it might be! But to get results you have to expend energy and that means effort.
Friends, the same principle holds true for our spiritual muscles.
Each one of us has the ability to become a spiritual champion of faith.
Stop Comparing Yourself to Others
Romans 12:3
3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.
We need to quit faith comparing in the kingdom of God.
We need to realize that God we run this race of life with different gifts, abilities, and liabilities.
The first thing we’ve got to do is stop comparing yourself to others…
God made you the way you are! And that is just fine. Our God is a zero error God! You are not a mistake.
2nd…
Keep Moving in the Right Direction.
Romans 10:17
“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
Wherever you are on your spiritual journey, ask yourself this question…“Is my faith stronger than is was a year ago, a month ago, a week ago?”
If the answer is yes, then you’re moving in the right direction But preacher, How do I keep moving in the right direction?
The Apostle says that our faith grows when we hear God, and we hear God by hearing His Word. If we want our faith to grow, then we need to feed it from God’s Word.
Doctors have said it for years…. “You ARE what you eat”. If you eat greasy food, you’ll be a greasy dude!
The size/health of our bodies is determined by what we eat.
The same is true of our spiritual bodies. The reason that too many people don’t see their faith grow is that they’re spiritual anorexics. They just don’t hear God’s voice because they won’t hear God’s word.
Every one say: Wow- this is good stuff!
3rd…
Don’t Let Setbacks Become Roadblocks
Hebrews 12:1-2
“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,...”
I don’t care where you are in your spiritual walk, you will have setbacks!
You’re not perfect…you will fail.
You will sin… You will doubt… You will fret… You will fail… You will fall… You will run…
The question isn’t whether you’ll fail. The question is how you’ll handle failure.
Keep Your Eyes on the Goal
Hebrews 12:1-2
“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,...”
What is your goal in life?
Our goal as a Christian should be to grow in Christ, get to Heaven, and take as many people with us as we can!
We need to keep our eyes on the goal….Jesus!
This great crowd of witnesses never saw the end of the race!
Hebrews 11:39-40
39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
If they can do it – you can do it.
