Hebrews 12:1-2

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The first step is assessment, we need to have the right preparation. The second step is:

• Attitude

We need the right determination. Hebrews 12:1 says: “and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” “Let us run” is a command to “keep on running” and to do it with perseverance. That means we “run the race that is before us and never give up.” Attitude affects action, so often we tie our attitude to results instead of the race. When things are going well and we see results we keep going but when things become rough we quit. We must remember that this is a marathon with mountains and moments when we want to quit but you can’t pursue Christ without going through the problems. We are also called to run “the race marked out for us” this is not a pointless pursuit but one designed by our Maker.  In Ephesians 2:10 we are told that “we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Before we were born or even before creation began God marked out our race. Many of us are on the wrong track trying to please self instead of pursuing the Savior.  Where the rat race is exhausting the Redeemers is exhilarating, today too many Christians have made this jog a job instead of a joy.  What if we made the point running to the redeemer, what if our priority was His presence? This race isn’t about trudging along on a treadmill going nowhere, its trusting Jesus no matter where we are.  The third step is:

• Aspiration

We should have the right motivation. Hebrews 12:2 says: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” Fix your eyes on Jesus not your job, it is so easy in this race to focus on self instead of the Savior. Paul is reminding us that it is about the Master not me or your reputation. This is a race for the Redeemer not my reputation or some personal record. In one of the classic Rose Bowl football games back in 1929, Roy Riegels desperately wanted his team to win. In the second quarter Roy Riegels scooped up a loose ball cutting in and out of traffic, eluding tacklers with breath-taking athleticism. He sprinted the distance of the field running 69 yards and was finally tackled one yard shy of the goal line by his own teammate. Roy lost his bearings and had been running the wrong way. For the rest of his life he was not known for his remarkable athletic abilities but his blunder and was called Roy “Wrong Way” Riegels. We are to run with purpose and power but ultimately what really matters is the right destination. That is why we must focus on Jesus, the source and goal of our faith, the Savior should be the sole reason why we run. May be today you have a determined run but it’s just in the wrong direction and you feel like you have blown the game. At half time Riegels was so distraught he just sat in the corner hanging his head in shame. But then the coach did the unthinkable, he called for the same team to take the field for the second half including Riegels. Roy protested telling the coach, I can’t do it, I’ve ruined you, I’ve ruined myself, I’ve ruined the University of California and I couldn’t face that crowd to save my life.” Coach Price responded by saying “Roy, get up and go back out there the game is only half over.” So you’ve lost your bearings and blown it, you’ve been running the wrong way, well grace says the race isn’t over so get back out there and focus on the Father not your fumble. Looking to Jesus brings into focus the cross with its suffering and shame but it also brings into focus the finish, Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne. Jesus endured and so must we, there will be problems along the path but in in the end there will be peace. Focusing on Jesus means focusing on the finish, are you tired of waffling and wavering, then today why not answer the call to journey with Jesus?

Hebrews 12:1-2

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Life is filled with decisions and it’s our day to day decisions that draw us closer or farther from God. In Hebrews 12 Paul reveals three decisions that determine a life of depth and significance. Paul starts by reminding us that we are following in the footsteps of the faithful not forging our own path. It is so easy to forget about those who have faithfully gone before us, people who lived life trusting God with every step they took. Their walk is a witness to what works, and if we want to win we need to remember that we are not alone. As Paul pictures life he presents us with a race, not a mad dash but a determined marathon. Today in our world we see the rat race with its relentless running and striving without arriving. But Paul was pointing to a race of purpose not perspiring. The world’s race is about sweat for self to please me where the faith race is about the Father and pleasing the Master. Success is not about climbing the corporate ladder but co laboring with Christ. These pivotal and directional decisions are found in the three “Let us” of Hebrews 12:1-2. “let us throw off everything“ “let us run with perseverance the race” and “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus” The first decision has to do with our preparation as we make an

• Assessment

In the ancient Olympics an athlete would first have to prove that he was a Greek citizen before he could compete. Our first assessment has to do with our nationality, are we a citizen of heaven, have we accepted Jesus as our Savior. You can’t run the race if you don’t know the Redeemer. Without faith you’re born dead and you die dead. It’s better to be born twice and die once than to be born once and die twice. The first assessment has to do with are you a child of God the second what do you carry? Verse 1 says “let us throw off…” That means to remove things that hinder and hold us back. We live in a world that is comfortable with sin, where it is celebrated, a world that encourages people to be engaged in sin, to carry and even care for it. Yet in contrast to our culture Paul calls us to follow the truth and throw off the things that entangle and ensnare. Today we don’t talk about the seriousness of sin and the scares that are unseen. Sin is fun for a season until we suffer. Part of the assessment process involves a period of preparation and preparation involves sacrifice. Paul is calling us to get serious and strip off everything that would cause us to succumb to sin. We all have weights that we seem willing to carry, for some it’s the silent sins or those slight sins that we seem to think are not that bad so we bundle them up and try to run with our baggage.  We are all tempted to take shortcuts, to skip the assessment and just start running. Yet when we do we run to ruin because before long the weight wears us down. What is your sin struggle? Life is not meant to be a cycle of repent and repeat, God wants us to have victory over our sins. When Paul calls us to throw off everything that hinders he doesn’t intend for us to jog around the block and pick it back up. Sin doesn’t just slow us down it takes us down. Preparation not only requires sacrifice but it also requires discipline. There are things that are not necessarily sins but they can still keep us from becoming what God intended us to become. They hinders and slows us down, sometimes they simply side track us from the real race.  One of the biggest hurdles that hold people back are their hurts. It’s easy to get hung up by hurt which hinders our focus and drains our determination. On the other side of the scale our success can become our failure, instead of running we start relaxing. Our strength becomes our weakness as we are tempted to stop and sit back. Pride can become a pit but Paul gives us the antidote in Philippians 3:3:12-13 when he declared: “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect… Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.” When he wrote this he had already finished three missionary journeys. In his first trip, Paul went to Galatia where he spent 2 years and after wrote the book of Galatians. In his second trip, he went to Macedonia, Achaia and Greece, that took him three years. After which he wrote two letters to the Thessalonians. In his third trip, he went to Asia and spent four years there writing two letters to the Corinthians. Then Paul wrote his masterpiece, the letter to the Romans and yet he said that he have not arrived so he keep running. Today as you assess, are there any adjustments you need to make? In order to go on is there anything you need to let go of?