Stay the Course
If you have your Bible, please open it to Hebrews Chapter 12. A man died and went to heaven. St. Peter asked him, “Why should I let you into heaven?” The guy said, “Well, I tried to help other people.” “Can you give me an example?” “Sure. Once I was in a roadside diner and a group of Hell’s Angels were in there bothering a little old lady. They had knives and guns and were scaring everyone in the place. So, I stepped up to the leader and spun him around and punched him in the face and said, ‘Hey! Why don’t you leave that little lady alone? And while you are at it, you and your filthy friends clear out of here and get on your bikes and ride away.” Peter was astonished and said “Wow, that was pretty brave, when did that happen?” The man looked at him and said, “About five minutes ago!”
As I mentioned earlier, we will be in Hebrews Chapter 12 today. When praying over what to preach this week, this is a passage of scripture that God laid on my heart. Two weeks ago, we talked about the need for us and for the church to return to the Lord. Last week, we talked about our 2-minute drill that we need to run with the time that we have left. Today is part 3 and we will look at the need to endure until the end. That is where the title “Stay the Course” comes from. In our Christian walk, we must stay the course. Let us look at Hebrews Chapter 12 starting in verse 1.
READ HEBREWS 12:1-4
Here, we see three things that we are to do.
1. Run Without the Encumbrance
Look at verse 1.
“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”
We are to run without encumbrance. Encumbrance can be defined as this:
“A burden or impediment.”
We are to run without burden. We are to run without the burden of our sin. Y`all know that I am a football coach, but I am also a track coach. Before you get any ideas, I coach the field events. Things like shot put, javelin, and disk. All the throwing events. I do not fool with the running part. I tell them all the time that if they see me running, they better run too. In track meets, all the runners have tight clothes and shoes. Anything extra like bracelets, necklaces, watches, or anything else comes off. Why? Because they do not want anything to weigh them down as they run. Yes, those things are light, but y`all do not know how much it could matter during the race. In a state championship race, I have seen someone win the championship by a thousandth of a second. The runners do not want anything to weigh them down. In the race that we must run, we do not need to be holding onto stuff that weighs us down either. The more stuff and the more bondage that you hold on to, the harder it will be to run the race. Isaiah 43:18-19 says this:
“Remember not the former things,
nor consider the things of old.
Behold, I am doing a new thing;
now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
I will make a way in the wilderness
and rivers in the desert.”
Here, God is telling Isaiah to forget the things of the past and start looking to what God is doing now and what God is planning to do in the future. We must do the same thing. How can you focus on what God is telling you to do if you are so caught up in your past mistakes and regrets? You cannot. Philippians 3:13-14 says this:
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
In a track meet, the runner has their eyes aimed at the finish line. They are focused on doing everything they can to be the first one to cross it. Michele Cox said this about Philippians 3:13-14:
“When I forget about those things that are behind me, then I can reach forward to the prize God has waiting. It would be such a shame to miss that.
It’s time to quit wallowing in what’s over and done and to look ahead to what I can do for Him in the future. And I suspect it sure will help that spiritual crick in my neck if I’ll just keep looking forward.”
You cannot reach towards God`s prize and reward for you if you are so focused on your past. Paul is a prime example of this. He went from being a man who killed Christians because of their faith to being one of the best Christians that this world has ever seen. Can you imagine if instead of looking to what God had called him to do, he just focused on his past and did not step into his calling? We would not have a majority of the New Testament today. We must put our shame and sin down in order to run this race.
2. Run With Endurance
Look again at verse 1.
“Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”
We need to run our race with endurance. When talking about running with endurance, my mind goes to the children's story about the turtle and the hare. The hare should have demolished the turtle in the race. It should not have even been close. A hare is a lot faster than a turtle, but the hare did not endure until the end. He ran, but he did not run with endurance, and he quit along the way. We must endure until the end. We looked at this a lot last week when we talked about persevering. When you begin to run the race that is set before you, it will require you to persevere and endure. As we begin this new era, we must have persevere and we must endure. With the new church year and a new pastor, we continue to run our race with perseverance and endurance. Galatians 6:9-10 says this:
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
We must endure until the end. Last week, we looked at a 2-minute football drill and the importance of it. Listen folks, if the offense does not persevere and endure until the end and see it through, everything will fall apart and before you know it, the game is over. Folks, it is evident that we are in the last days. The end will soon be here. That does not mean that we need to take a step back and just wait until it gets here. That means that all hands need to be on deck proclaiming the name and love of Christ. Enduring until the end means to continue serving until the end. We must serve through the pain, the hardships, and the headaches.
In 2018, Georgia and Alabama were playing in the football national championship. Georgia was up 13-0 and then was up 20-10 and they had a good lead, and everything appeared to be going Georgia`s way when the third quarter ended. In the 4th quarter, Georgia collapsed, and Alabama took the game into overtime and Alabama eventually won the championship. Georgia had a great start to the game. Georgia played the first 3 quarters well, but like the hare we mentioned earlier, they did not finish well. They did not preserve and endure until the end, and it cost them the game and it cost them a national championship. It does not matter how you start if you do not finish well. In this race that we must run, I cannot describe how important it is that we endure until the end. Endure and persevere until the end. During this new season at Central, persevere and have endurance.
3. Run With Focus on God`s Son
Look at verse 2.
“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.”
The writer of Hebrews tells us that in this race we must run, we are to do so with our eyes focused on Jesus. Listen folks, you cannot run this race if your eyes are focused on anything but Jesus. Peter showed us that. Matthew 14:22-33 says this:
“Immediately he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up on the mountain by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, but the boat by this time was a long way from the land, beaten by the waves, for the wind was against them. And in the fourth watch of the night, he came to them, walking on the sea. But when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, “It is a ghost!” and they cried out in fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered him, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.” He said, “Come.” So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, “Lord, save me.” Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased. And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”
Peter did keep his focus on God`s son. He was more focused on the storms raging around him than he was focused on the Son of God. In our race, we must keep our eyes focused on Jesus. This church must keep its eyes on Jesus. If we or if the church have our eyes focused on anything else, I can guarantee you that you will fail and you will sink. This church will crumble and fall apart if we focus on anything besides Jesus. We cannot foucs on our wants. We cannot focus on our desires. We cannot focus on our own opinions. We must stay focused on Jesus. In this new church year, do not focus on you, but instead focus on Jesus. When we focus on us, we fail every time. Through Jesus and Jesus alone can we make it.
Last week, we talked about a 2-minute drill. In a 2-minute drill, one of the things we stress to the players is playing for the person beside them. We tell them to play for the name on the front of the jersey and not the name on the back. Their last name is on the back of the jersey, but the school's name is on the front of the jersey. So, the message is, do not be selfish and play for yourself, but play for your teammates beside you. In our 2-minute drill and in this race that we must run, it is important that we do not focus on ourselves, and we focus on Jesus, and we focus on others. It is hard to do the work that Jesus has called us to do when we are focused on ourselves. It is hard to minister to others when all you are concerned about is yourself. We must be focused on Christ. When we are completely focused on Christ, everything else begins to come together.
In this new church year with a new pastor, we must continue to run our race. We must continue to do what God has called us to do and what God has told us to do. To start the service this morning, Johnny and Connie sang “Eye of the Storm.” It is a great and powerful song. It is actually a song that has helped me get through these past 8 months. The chorus says this:
“In the eye of the storm
You remain in control
And in the middle of the war
You guard my soul
You alone are the anchor
When my sails are torn
Your love surrounds me
In the eye of the storm”
Folks, even when the storm is raging, God is still in control and God still has a plan. Even when the storms are raging and everything seems desperate, God still has a plan, and His plan is still greater than anything we could ever imagine. Run your race. Stay the course even if that course drags you through the middle of a storm. There is a song that I love that says:
“For the God on the mountain
Is still God in the valley”
God has a plan, and it is a plan that cannot fail. You cannot stop it. Your worst enemies cannot stop it. Democrats and Republicans cannot stop it. The devil cannot stop it. God`s plan will prevail. You do not have to understand, you just need to trust it. As we come to a close this morning, I want to ask you a question. Have you been running your race? Have you been running the race that God has laid out before you? If you have not, you still have time to fix that. Lay down your sin that is weighing you down and endure the race with your eyes pointed toward Jesus and nothing else. You cannot have your eyes pointed toward Jesus if you do not know Jesus at all. He loves you and wants a relationship with you. Let today be the day of salvation. In my final words to you as the Interim Pastor, I will say this:
Be strong in the Lord and
Never give up hope
You're gonna do great things
I already know
God's got his hand on you so
Don't live life in fear
Forgive and forget
But don't forget why you're here
Take your time and pray
Thank God for each day
His love will find a way
These are the words I would say
Let us pray.
