WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:07.000 And the main exhortation for us this evening is there in verse 1, Hebrews 12 verse 1, 00:00:07.000 --> 00:00:13.000 ! Let us run with endurance the race marked out for us. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:22.000 But the race in question isn't parkrun, nor is it one of those amazing ultra-marathons. 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:28.000 It is the arduous course of the Christian life. 00:00:28.000 --> 00:00:32.000 Now the imagery works well as a parallel, doesn't it, when you think about it? 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:42.000 Because when you think about the comparison, like any race, the Christian life, it has a start, it begins. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:47.000 There are challenges along the way. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.000 There is a time lapse between the start and the finish. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:55.000 And then there is a reward, a great reward at the end. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:01:02.000 And of course, it all requires endurance, perseverance, not giving up. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:09.000 Now in the previous chapter, Hebrews 11, if you were here last week, we were told of the faithful endurance of the men and women of old. 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:19.000 By faith, we were told that these Old Testament saints who had experienced great hardship for their devotion to God, they endured. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:27.000 And that great list that we went through in chapter 11, they're not just there so that we can celebrate those people, 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:33.000 that we can remember them fondly and think how well they did, but they provide for us an example to follow. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:34.000 Look again at verse one. 00:01:34.000 --> 00:01:42.000 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also. 00:01:42.000 --> 00:01:55.000 These examples of the past are held out to us to motivate the same kind of faith-filled obedience and endurance in the Christian lives of this present generation. 00:01:55.000 --> 00:02:03.000 And it's true, isn't it, that in any sport, those who have gone before motivate us to perform. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:08.000 The British Lions squad was announced this week after much anticipation, the squad was announced. 00:02:08.000 --> 00:02:14.000 The night before the squad was announced, the captain went to a special dinner with a number of the past captains. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:27.000 Then the players who were selected, they will have received texts from previous British Lions congratulating them on being selected and reminding them of the honor that it is. 00:02:27.000 --> 00:02:34.000 Before the first test, and probably the second and the third as well, you can be sure they'll wheel in some hero from years gone by. 00:02:34.000 --> 00:02:41.000 If he can still get on a plane, they'll probably get Willie John McBride out there, and he will give one of his inspiring talks. 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:50.000 That, having presented them with their jerseys, he will tell them of the honor that it is to play for this team. 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:55.000 The connection with those who have gone before gives you a sense of responsibility then, you see, to step up. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:02:59.000 He'll say something like, we did it in our day, now it's your turn. 00:02:59.000 --> 00:03:02.000 You've got to do the same. 00:03:02.000 --> 00:03:11.000 These are the great cloud of witnesses, if you like, whose faithfulness to the cause motivates this current generation to go and do the same. 00:03:11.000 --> 00:03:19.000 It's the same kind of motivation in Hebrews chapter 12, as the author is calling his hearers weary with hardship, weary because they face persecution, 00:03:19.000 --> 00:03:28.000 weary because they're being opposed for naming the name of Jesus to join him and to run with endurance the race that is set before us. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:31.000 The author brings himself into it with him. 00:03:31.000 --> 00:03:33.000 He uses the plural. 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:37.000 Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:41.000 And so it is for every generation of Christians who follow. 00:03:41.000 --> 00:03:44.000 The question for us, though, is how do we do it? 00:03:44.000 --> 00:03:46.000 We can see the motivation. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:53.000 We can see that all of those who have gone before us, all the greats of the Old Testament that are listed in chapter 11, they've done great things. 00:03:53.000 --> 00:03:55.000 It's now our turn to step up. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:59.000 We can see that we're going to follow in line, but how do we do it? 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:04.000 How do you actually endure when following Christ is costly and painful? 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:06.000 The witnesses can't run for you. 00:04:06.000 --> 00:04:07.000 It's great hearing their names. 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:10.000 It's great motivation, but they can't run the race for us. 00:04:10.000 --> 00:04:13.000 So how do you press on to the finish line? 00:04:13.000 --> 00:04:15.000 That's the question before us this evening. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.000 And the author gives us three things. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:20.000 First of all, he gives us something to do. 00:04:20.000 --> 00:04:22.000 Secondly, he gives us somewhere to look. 00:04:22.000 --> 00:04:24.000 And thirdly, something to remember. 00:04:24.000 --> 00:04:27.000 Something to do. 00:04:27.000 --> 00:04:28.000 Somewhere to look. 00:04:28.000 --> 00:04:30.000 And something to remember. 00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:39.000 And if we put those together, we have all that we need to be able to endure and run with endurance in the face of difficulty, in the face of struggles and persecution. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:42.000 So point number one, let's get into it. 00:04:42.000 --> 00:04:43.000 Something to do. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:44.000 Verse one. 00:04:44.000 --> 00:04:45.000 Here is something to do. 00:04:45.000 --> 00:05:15.000 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:18.000 And then, let's get into your kit to run if you're going to run. 00:05:18.000 --> 00:05:20.000 Now, I know some of you are into running. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:25.000 You don't, when you go running and want to get a good time, run with a pocket full of change, do you? 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:27.000 Or with a bunch of keys in your pocket. 00:05:27.000 --> 00:05:34.000 If you're going to run and you need your key, you'll take it off the ring and you'll put it in one of those nice, neat little key pockets that they give you in the shorts. 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:41.000 Or if you're not, if you don't have one of those pockets, you'll maybe tie it to the drawstring around your waist or something like that. 00:05:41.000 --> 00:05:46.000 Yet, don't fill your pockets with heavy things if you're going to try and run and get your personal best. 00:05:46.000 --> 00:05:57.000 When Keely Hodgkinson is introduced at the stadium, when she comes in for her race and she's waving to everybody, she's usually taking her tracksuit off, isn't she? 00:05:57.000 --> 00:06:04.000 Because any kind of hindrance is removed to give the best chance of success in the race. 00:06:04.000 --> 00:06:07.000 It's the same in the Christian life. 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:11.000 And the possible hindrances come in two categories. 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:13.000 He gives us two categories. 00:06:13.000 --> 00:06:16.000 Every weight and sin. 00:06:16.000 --> 00:06:18.000 Every weight. 00:06:18.000 --> 00:06:24.000 Well, that's a bit like wearing a duffel coat to run a marathon. 00:06:24.000 --> 00:06:28.000 Or as some people did in the London Marathon, a superhero costume. 00:06:28.000 --> 00:06:30.000 You know that they're not taking it seriously, are they? 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:34.000 They're not trying to get a personal best and finish the race in good nick. 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:37.000 Now, those things, they're not bad in themselves. 00:06:37.000 --> 00:06:40.000 If you want to run the marathon in a duffel coat, knock yourself out. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.000 You want to wear a superhero costume. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:44.000 Well, there was a guy for years who ran the Belfast Marathon. 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:46.000 He owned a French restaurant. 00:06:46.000 --> 00:06:50.000 He ran it with a tray with a bottle of wine and a couple of glasses on it. 00:06:50.000 --> 00:06:52.000 Every year it was his thing. 00:06:52.000 --> 00:06:55.000 Nothing morally wrong with that. 00:06:55.000 --> 00:06:59.000 But it hinders your progress if you're going to finish the race. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:02.000 And in the Christian race, those things need to be laid aside. 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:07.000 So what are the things that might be holding you back from running the race of faith? 00:07:07.000 --> 00:07:10.000 Petty distractions. 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:12.000 Petty distractions. 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:15.000 It is the nemesis, the preacher's nemesis of choice these days. 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:18.000 But what is top of the list of petty distractions? 00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:20.000 What is it you tell me? 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:22.000 Your phone. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:24.000 Our phones. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:29.000 We set out to pray or we set out to do anything worthwhile, but then notifications. 00:07:29.000 --> 00:07:30.000 Bing! 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:31.000 Bing! 00:07:31.000 --> 00:07:32.000 Bzz! 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:35.000 They drag us into the vortex of our phones. 00:07:35.000 --> 00:07:36.000 Might be social media. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.000 Might be something else. 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:39.000 But our time is gone. 00:07:39.000 --> 00:07:43.000 How much value in life is slashed by Instagram? 00:07:43.000 --> 00:07:46.000 Or by YouTube jolly shorts? 00:07:46.000 --> 00:07:49.000 Let's be honest. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:51.000 We're hindered, aren't we? 00:07:51.000 --> 00:07:55.000 It might not be morally bad in themselves. 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:59.000 But we're hindered rather than spurred on in the race. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.000 What about life goals? 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:06.000 We put our career or our personal success as the top priority in the list. 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:13.000 We want to be serious about Jesus, but we're putting actually our success and our career goals at the top. 00:08:13.000 --> 00:08:14.000 What does that do? 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:21.000 It makes us, it leads us to make decisions that will inevitably hinder our progress, like overworking at the expense of our soul. 00:08:21.000 --> 00:08:23.000 Or chasing promotion. 00:08:23.000 --> 00:08:26.000 And what that does, it means in order to get the promotion you need to keep moving. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:29.000 You need to keep going to the next job, even if it's in another place. 00:08:29.000 --> 00:08:32.000 Even if it's nowhere near a good church. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:36.000 You never really settle and put roots into a church. 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.000 Hard work is a good thing. 00:08:37.000 --> 00:08:40.000 Ambition is not necessarily a bad thing. 00:08:40.000 --> 00:08:47.000 But when those things are pursued as a priority, they will stunt our progress in the Christian life. 00:08:47.000 --> 00:08:50.000 Another thing might be a particular vision of life. 00:08:50.000 --> 00:08:53.000 So we want to travel while we're single. 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:55.000 It takes us away from church. 00:08:55.000 --> 00:09:00.000 Later on, we want to move in order to get the dream house or to be in a school catchment area, 00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:03.000 regardless of whether there's a good church in the area. 00:09:03.000 --> 00:09:06.000 Making our lives revolve around our children's interests. 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:14.000 Even if that takes you away from worship or being together with God's people on the Lord's Day or time with the family in the Bible. 00:09:14.000 --> 00:09:18.000 Later still, a retirement plan that does the same. 00:09:18.000 --> 00:09:22.000 You think, well, I've done my bit and I'm not going to be always on the move now. 00:09:22.000 --> 00:09:28.000 I make life all about me rather than passing on my wisdom to the coming generation. 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:32.000 Still serving in the life of the church. 00:09:32.000 --> 00:09:36.000 While we have breath in our bodies, we are in the race. 00:09:36.000 --> 00:09:41.000 You will run differently when you're older, but you keep going. 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:46.000 One of the encouraging things about being part of this church over the last few years, I should say, 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:50.000 is that so many older people faithfully serving. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.000 So many older people doing just that. 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:54.000 Using their retirement well. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:10:01.000 Now, travelling, moving house, children having hobbies, rest and retirement, they're not bad things. 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:03.000 Not bad things at all. 00:10:03.000 --> 00:10:05.000 In many ways, good things. 00:10:05.000 --> 00:10:11.000 But I know plenty of people for whom these have been weights that have held them back in running the race. 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:19.000 They've remained at a level of maturity in the Christian life that they should have exceeded many years ago. 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:25.000 And in some cases, more than a few cases, those things have caused people to stop running altogether. 00:10:28.000 --> 00:10:29.000 Every weight. 00:10:29.000 --> 00:10:32.000 Well, what about sin? 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:34.000 That's the second category, sin. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:36.000 It's obviously more obvious that sin is going to hinder you. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:43.000 But when we persist in sin, when we play around with it, when we don't repent of it, it feels... 00:10:43.000 --> 00:10:48.000 Well, the image here, it's so accurate, it feels like it coats us with glue. 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.000 So when we're running, our feet are stuck. 00:10:51.000 --> 00:10:54.000 And eventually, we spiritually grind to a halt. 00:10:54.000 --> 00:11:03.000 You can't expect, none of us can expect to make real progress in the race of the Christian life if you don't persistently lay aside sin. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:07.000 And don't we know how closely it clings? 00:11:07.000 --> 00:11:09.000 It's always there. 00:11:09.000 --> 00:11:11.000 It's always there. 00:11:11.000 --> 00:11:15.000 We need to be ruthless in constantly laying it aside. 00:11:15.000 --> 00:11:24.000 There is always a direct line between unconfessed sin and some lack of progress in the Christian life. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:32.000 Whether it is a coolness to the things of Christ, or a lack of joy in your own experience, or a sense of distance in your relationship with God. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:40.000 If you are harboring unconfessed sin, by which I mean things in your life that you know are sinful, but you persist in doing them anyway, 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:44.000 you will not be able to finish the race marked out for you. 00:11:44.000 --> 00:11:46.000 Lay it aside. 00:11:46.000 --> 00:11:47.000 Confess it. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:52.000 Some of us, we find ourselves in this situation and we don't know how to get out. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:11:55.000 The way that you get out is that you confess it. 00:11:55.000 --> 00:12:02.000 You bring it into the light and receive the forgiveness and restoration that comes in the gospel. 00:12:02.000 --> 00:12:04.000 When you do that, what will happen? 00:12:04.000 --> 00:12:06.000 You'll feel able to run again. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.000 When you confess your sin, when we confess our sin, it is an unburdening. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.000 That's what we're doing. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:14.000 We're not coming to Christ again. 00:12:14.000 --> 00:12:17.000 We're not becoming a Christian all over again. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:22.000 What we're doing is taking the burden of sin off our shoulders, leaving it at the cross of Christ, 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:25.000 and running again in the race marked out for us. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:33.000 Confessing sin is painful in the moment, but it is an unburdening. 00:12:33.000 --> 00:12:42.000 When you let it go, your feet move swiftly, and your progress will go up and up and up. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:44.000 Something to do. 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:48.000 Lay aside anything that will hold you back. 00:12:48.000 --> 00:12:55.000 Now, whether it's the finish line or the podium, every athlete that succeeds needs to fix their sights on something up ahead, 00:12:55.000 --> 00:12:57.000 and it's no different than this race. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:12:58.000 So here's the second point. 00:12:58.000 --> 00:13:00.000 Somewhere to look. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:02.000 We've been told what the something to do is. 00:13:02.000 --> 00:13:03.000 Now we need somewhere to look. 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:04.000 That's verses 2 and 3. 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:11.000 Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, 00:13:11.000 --> 00:13:18.000 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. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:28.000 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint hearted. 00:13:29.000 --> 00:13:37.000 Sprinters typically talk about having a point at the end of the track that when they get down into the blocks and they get themselves ready and they look up, 00:13:37.000 --> 00:13:46.000 they fix their gaze on that point and they hold it there the whole way from gun to tape. 00:13:46.000 --> 00:13:51.000 We're to run our race with a similar kind of focus. 00:13:51.000 --> 00:13:55.000 And the object of our gaze is to be the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:13:55.000 --> 00:13:57.000 And we look to him for a number of reasons. 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:00.000 We look to him as the founder and perfecter of our faith. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:07.000 As founder, through running the race of faith perfectly himself, he has opened the way to God. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:11.000 He has made the life of faith that saves and reconciles us to the Father possible. 00:14:11.000 --> 00:14:15.000 And this message about him is what stirs faith in us. 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:18.000 He is the founder of our faith. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:21.000 He has enabled us to be reconciled to God. 00:14:21.000 --> 00:14:26.000 And when we fix our eyes on that reality, it motivates us to keep going. 00:14:26.000 --> 00:14:28.000 He is also perfecter. 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:30.000 He is the perfecter. 00:14:30.000 --> 00:14:33.000 Hebrews, we've seen, uses this language of perfection a lot. 00:14:33.000 --> 00:14:37.000 And what we know is that Jesus was himself perfected through suffering. 00:14:37.000 --> 00:14:38.000 Chapter 2, verse 10. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:43.000 And so he obtained perfection for all who believe in and obey him. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:45.000 That's chapter 5, verse 9. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:46.000 It says this, 00:14:46.000 --> 00:14:52.000 And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation to all who obey him. 00:14:52.000 --> 00:15:04.000 But what's in view here is that through the shame of the cross and the subsequent victory of resurrection and ascension that we've just heard about, we've just confessed, 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:11.000 Jesus has fulfilled God's promises and given our faith a perfect foundation on which to stand. 00:15:11.000 --> 00:15:18.000 Your faith is grounded in those realities. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:23.000 And it is real and it is based on solid ground. 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.000 And so we can stand. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:32.000 And can you see, actually, this puts us in a better place than the great rule call of Old Testament witnesses. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:35.000 We have seen the perfection of Christ's finished work. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:38.000 We have seen what they look forward to. 00:15:38.000 --> 00:15:45.000 And so we have an even bigger reason, even better grounds for our faith. 00:15:45.000 --> 00:15:49.000 He is the founder and perfecter of our faith. 00:15:49.000 --> 00:15:50.000 We look to him for that reason. 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.000 But we also look to him as the forerunner to victory. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.000 He is our forerunner to victory. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:57.000 The author uses this name. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:58.000 Here do you see? 00:15:58.000 --> 00:15:59.000 Jesus. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:00.000 Not Christ. 00:16:00.000 --> 00:16:02.000 Not Lord. 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:09.000 He does that to emphasize his humanity and so highlight the solidarity that he has with those of us who follow him. 00:16:09.000 --> 00:16:17.000 And just as Jesus was faithful and has now triumphed, so he will bring all who are joined to him through to glory as well. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:23.000 The conclusion of our race is to be in the presence of God for eternity. 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:31.000 And because Jesus, our forerunner, is now at the right hand of the Father in heaven, we can be sure that we will one day follow. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:38.000 You fix your eyes on Jesus as the one who has gone ahead of us into glory and is bringing us with him. 00:16:38.000 --> 00:16:46.000 And then we also fix our eyes on him as an example of suffering. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:56.000 In his earthly life, Jesus was a perfect example of faith, perfect example of trust in God, and yet his life was marked by suffering. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:00.000 At every turn, his life was marked by suffering. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:08.000 The first hearers of this were on the cusp of giving up because they were experiencing suffering and hardship for Christ's sake. 00:17:08.000 --> 00:17:18.000 And the author here, in pointing them and in pointing us to Christ here, he is saying that the path to glory necessarily involves suffering. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Christ endured the cross for the joy set before him. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:27.000 The joy of the completion of his work of redemption. 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:31.000 The triumph of his finished work and his return to glory and the Father's presence. 00:17:31.000 --> 00:17:36.000 He endured the cross in order to accomplish that. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:44.000 So if Christ, our forerunner, had to endure the cross, verse 3, he had to endure the hostility of others. 00:17:44.000 --> 00:17:52.000 And if, as we saw last week, some of the Old Testament saints were sawn in two for their faith, 1138, 00:17:52.000 --> 00:17:59.000 then we must expect that we have to walk the same path. 00:17:59.000 --> 00:18:04.000 There is only one path that leads to glory. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:14.000 And it is the cross-shaped path that Christ walked ahead of us as an example for us to follow. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:24.000 If anyone will come after me, Jesus says, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:31.000 Suffering for the sake of Christ is inevitable. 00:18:31.000 --> 00:18:33.000 It is normal. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.000 It is the regular Christian life. 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.000 And Jesus has gone ahead of us. 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:44.000 We fix our eyes on him because he gives us an example of how to live in that way. 00:18:44.000 --> 00:18:46.000 Well, things aren't as bad as they could be. 00:18:46.000 --> 00:18:48.000 Verse 4, do you see? 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:53.000 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 00:18:53.000 --> 00:18:59.000 Like us, these first hearers haven't yet gone to the stake for their faith. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:04.000 So they and us can crack on. 00:19:04.000 --> 00:19:05.000 Keep running. 00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:12.000 While we still have breath in our bodies, we can keep running. 00:19:12.000 --> 00:19:14.000 So consider Jesus. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:16.000 Look to him. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:19.000 Look to Jesus as you run. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:26.000 You can trust him as the founder and perfecter of your faith. 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:33.000 You will draw confidence that as your forerunner, he has completed the race and he enjoys his father's pleasure. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:36.000 And that means that that day is coming for you. 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:41.000 And in his faithful suffering, you see suffering isn't a surprise. 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:43.000 You have an example to follow. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:48.000 When you look to him in this light, it will keep you going. 00:19:48.000 --> 00:19:54.000 If you're on the cusp of giving up because you think it's not worth it, look to Jesus. 00:19:54.000 --> 00:20:00.000 And for all of those reasons, that will motivate you and that will keep you going. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.000 You won't grow weary and give up. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:08.000 Your experience might be weary, but you won't grow weary to the point of giving up. 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:11.000 Somewhere to look. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:14.000 Jesus, our redeemer and our guide. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:24.000 And finally, the author tells us that in running the race of faith, there is thirdly something to remember. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.000 Something to remember. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:28.000 Verses 5 to 11. 00:20:28.000 --> 00:20:29.000 Verse 5, 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:33.000 And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:40.000 My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:46.000 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.000 It is for discipline that you have to endure. 00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.000 God is treating you as sons. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:55.000 God is treating you as sons. 00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.000 The author here feels the need to jog his hearer's memory. 00:20:59.000 --> 00:21:05.000 It's like he's saying, have you forgotten what was promised in the Old Testament? 00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:08.000 Have you forgotten Proverbs chapter 3? 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:11.000 The Lord disciplines his children. 00:21:11.000 --> 00:21:14.000 And therefore, this is a mark of his love. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.000 These struggles that you're going through are not pointless. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:23.000 They are an expression of the loving discipline of your loving Heavenly Father, 00:21:23.000 --> 00:21:28.000 who knows what you need in order that you persevere to glory. 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:36.000 Good earthly fathers discipline their children to help them learn right and wrong. 00:21:36.000 --> 00:21:40.000 Proverbs said, if you don't do that as a father, it's a disaster. 00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:43.000 You're storing up all kinds of trouble for your children. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:47.000 It's a mark of your love that you would discipline them to train them in the ways of life 00:21:47.000 --> 00:21:50.000 that will help them grow and flourish. 00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:52.000 That's verses 7 and 8. 00:21:52.000 --> 00:21:56.000 It's no different with God, except he does it perfectly. 00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:02.000 It's important that we see the link in the letter more widely. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:07.000 Back in chapter 2, we were told that God's plan was not just to perfect Jesus as Son through his suffering, 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:12.000 but that he would be the pioneer of many sons whom God would lead to glory. 00:22:12.000 --> 00:22:14.000 Chapter 2, verse 10. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:21.000 So here, when he describes his hearers as sons whom he is disciplining, whom he is training towards holiness, 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:27.000 verse 10, he disciplines us for our good that we may share in his holiness, share his holiness. 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:36.000 We see that he isn't just treating his children like the way a father does their child, but he is treating us as his own sons. 00:22:39.000 --> 00:22:46.000 In the midst of our struggles, remember that these trials are the loving discipline of our Father who is treating us like Jesus. 00:22:46.000 --> 00:22:49.000 One commentator says this, 00:22:49.000 --> 00:22:50.000 One commentator says this, 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:59.000 The sufferings experienced by these discouraged and dispirited Christians are the very means by which they are now to be educated, disciplined, 00:22:59.000 --> 00:23:04.000 into the status of sons like the Son of God, Jesus. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:14.000 Struggles for us under the hand of God are his loving discipline. 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:17.000 And he disciplines us because he loves us. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:22.000 And his discipline is making us like his son. 00:23:22.000 --> 00:23:27.000 It's so important to remember this when things are tough. 00:23:27.000 --> 00:23:31.000 And I know that some of you are really going through it at the minute. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:37.000 Because in that case, the temptation is often to think that God is punishing you. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:40.000 Or to think that he doesn't love you. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:46.000 Or to think that he's busy doing something else and he's forgotten little old you down here. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:49.000 Do you not see what I'm going through, Lord? 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:54.000 Have you kind of busied yourself elsewhere? 00:23:57.000 --> 00:23:59.000 I was listening to a song this week. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:09.000 And the song, Colin Hay, who you might remember from Men at Work, Down Under was their big hit. 00:24:09.000 --> 00:24:13.000 But as a solo artist, he's written a song and he talks about, 00:24:13.000 --> 00:24:17.000 I tried speaking to Jesus, but he put me on hold. 00:24:18.000 --> 00:24:22.000 He says he's been swamped by calls this week and he couldn't shake his cold. 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:33.000 I think some of us know how wrong that is, but in our experience, we kind of think that that's what's going on. 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:36.000 That God's too busy doing other things to be bothered with us. 00:24:36.000 --> 00:24:38.000 That cannot be the case. 00:24:38.000 --> 00:24:42.000 Discipline is not punishment. 00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:48.000 All the punishment the believer deserves was taken on Christ. 00:24:49.000 --> 00:24:50.000 All of it. 00:24:51.000 --> 00:24:55.000 It says that he drained the cup of God's wrath. 00:24:55.000 --> 00:25:00.000 If you were to be able to see the cup of God's wrath and look in, you would see that it is empty for the believer. 00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:01.000 There's nothing there. 00:25:01.000 --> 00:25:04.000 Which means it can't be God's anger at you. 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.000 Because that's all gone. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:07.000 That's taken on Jesus. 00:25:07.000 --> 00:25:19.000 So whatever you're enduring, whatever opposition you're facing, whatever hardships, whatever losses, whatever griefs, whatever heartaches, whatever pains, whatever crises, 00:25:19.000 --> 00:25:23.000 if you are enduring those as a Christian, they are not punishment. 00:25:23.000 --> 00:25:34.000 They are the discipline that your Father in heaven, who loves you deeply, deems that you need in order to make you like his son and get you to glory. 00:25:34.000 --> 00:25:42.000 In the same way that he hadn't forgotten Jesus in his trials, he hasn't forgotten you in yours. 00:25:46.000 --> 00:25:47.000 You might say, well, I don't like it. 00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:52.000 You can say what you like, Reuben, but I don't like it. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:53.000 Why me? 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:56.000 I want it to stop. 00:25:56.000 --> 00:25:57.000 I've had enough. 00:25:57.000 --> 00:26:01.000 In some cases that's natural. 00:26:01.000 --> 00:26:04.000 I suppose none of us enjoy things that are hard or painful. 00:26:04.000 --> 00:26:11.000 But a world without friction means nothing can move forward. 00:26:12.000 --> 00:26:18.000 We need friction in order to move forward, in order to grow. 00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:22.000 A world without burdens means no one gets stronger. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:27.000 If you don't have to carry anything, you're not going to get strong. 00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:31.000 So look at verse 5. 00:26:31.000 --> 00:26:35.000 As we run the race, we need to remember not to take discipline lightly. 00:26:36.000 --> 00:26:37.000 Don't despise it. 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:40.000 Don't think it's a bad thing. 00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:41.000 Don't look down on it. 00:26:41.000 --> 00:26:42.000 That's the sense of lightly. 00:26:42.000 --> 00:26:48.000 Because it is both how we grow and it's how we show that we are true sons of God. 00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:58.000 Always, always, always remember the Lord's discipline is a sign that you are his child. 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.000 And he is treating you like his son. 00:27:06.000 --> 00:27:10.000 And if we will receive that discipline in faith, look how things work out. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:11.000 Verse 11. 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:14.000 For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. 00:27:14.000 --> 00:27:15.000 You're telling me it does. 00:27:17.000 --> 00:27:24.000 But later, it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:32.000 When we receive trials from the Lord as his loving discipline, that is, if we receive them for our good. 00:27:32.000 --> 00:27:35.000 Now, we wouldn't have chosen this state of affairs ourselves. 00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:38.000 But rather than resent it, we trust the Lord's providence in it all. 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:42.000 It will cultivate in us the fruit of righteousness. 00:27:42.000 --> 00:27:52.000 It will grow in us the beautiful fruit of contentment and peace and faith that endures to the end of the race. 00:27:52.000 --> 00:27:54.000 Even when things are hard. 00:27:54.000 --> 00:27:55.000 Even when things are hard. 00:27:55.000 --> 00:28:00.000 Some of you are struggling for all kinds of reasons. 00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:01.000 For all kinds of reasons. 00:28:01.000 --> 00:28:03.000 We can struggle because we won't give up a particular sin. 00:28:03.000 --> 00:28:05.000 That sin that clings so closely. 00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:11.000 If you profess to follow Christ, but you just love your sin too much to give it up. 00:28:11.000 --> 00:28:15.000 Well, the Lord loves you too much to let you find contentment in that sin. 00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:23.000 And so, in your misery in that situation, you can go one of two ways. 00:28:23.000 --> 00:28:27.000 You can blame God that your Christian faith makes you unhappy and you can walk away. 00:28:27.000 --> 00:28:29.000 Or receive it as his discipline. 00:28:29.000 --> 00:28:33.000 Repent of the sin and see it lead to that fruit of righteousness. 00:28:33.000 --> 00:28:40.000 Some of you are experiencing hardships and there's no direct connection to sin. 00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:46.000 But the truth is, let's be honest, in that situation, there's still the same temptation. 00:28:46.000 --> 00:28:51.000 You can resent the fact that he hasn't given you the life that you want and harden yourself to him. 00:28:51.000 --> 00:28:58.000 Or you can receive these circumstances as the discipline of a father who loves you more than you could know. 00:28:58.000 --> 00:29:00.000 And who is wiser than you could ever be. 00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:02.000 And trust him. 00:29:02.000 --> 00:29:09.000 That this, whatever it is in your life, is what you need in order that you could be trained in righteousness. 00:29:09.000 --> 00:29:19.000 The righteousness that befits one of his children who is on their way to glory and running the race marked out for them. 00:29:22.000 --> 00:29:28.000 So, when we come into the arena with all of those who have gone ahead of us, they are cheering us on. 00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.000 This is how we run. 00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:31.000 Something to do. 00:29:31.000 --> 00:29:34.000 Get rid of that sin that slows you down. 00:29:34.000 --> 00:29:36.000 Get rid of the hindrances. 00:29:36.000 --> 00:29:40.000 Live a life of deep, ongoing repentance. 00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:42.000 Somewhere to look. 00:29:42.000 --> 00:29:44.000 We look to Jesus who has paved the way ahead of us. 00:29:44.000 --> 00:29:46.000 And then something to remember. 00:29:46.000 --> 00:29:48.000 Your trials have a purpose. 00:29:48.000 --> 00:29:50.000 Even when you can't see what that purpose is. 00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:52.000 They are the loving discipline of your heavenly father. 00:29:52.000 --> 00:29:57.000 And they are the thing that marks you out as one of his children. 00:29:57.000 --> 00:29:59.000 So friends, keep on. 00:29:59.000 --> 00:30:00.000 Keep on. 00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:02.000 Let's pray.