INVINCIBLE CHURCH 9-8-24

Invincible Church Sermon Notes
9/8/2024
Walk by Faith- Part 2- Hebrews 12:1-3
Dedication: Run “The Race” Well
World-class athletes will spend years refining the skills they need to succeed. They are dedicated and diligent. They hit the weight room, do endless cardio training, and complete thousands of repetitions of drills and techniques—all to get better at a game.
A lot of people are highly dedicated to achieving athletic glory, which is here today and gone tomorrow. The question is, how much more dedicated should a true follower of Jesus be to walking by faith, which is the only way to accomplish the ultimate spiritual goal of bringing glory to God? The Bible tells us how to be dedicated to Jesus and walk by faith in:
Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV): 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 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
To walk by faith is a metaphysical thing because it is a word from God describing a spiritual thing that takes place inside a physical body. So sometimes, the Bible uses analogies, allegories, illustrations, similes, metaphors, or other common figures of speech to give us a kind of physical identity to a spiritual principle, which helps us understand it better. In this passage, it compares the process of walking by faith in Jesus to a race. Last week, we looked at five principles of faith that please God. This week, we’re going to look at:
6 Keys to Running “The Race of Faith” with Dedication
1. The Process
In verse 1, the process of following Jesus in the New Covenant is described as a race. Hebrews was originally written to Jewish Christians of that day, telling them not to fall back into their old patterns of Jewish ceremony, ritual, and custom. It’s saying to all true believers that we should take a stand for Jesus, and to do it, we have to get in the race and run it well. It’s the major theme of Hebrews. It says we have a New Covenant with a perfect and complete sacrifice in Jesus. He is a perfect priest who is building a righteous priesthood, which yields a better ministry of sacrifice and service. The New Covenant produces more and better fruit for the glory of God than the Old Covenant. It’s the focal point of the whole book of Hebrews.
God is inviting people to make a dedicated commitment of faith in Jesus Christ. But a lot of people come to church and just sit and listen. They hear the word of God and maybe are even intellectually convinced that it’s true. But it’s easy for them to just sit on the fence.
The more they hear God’s word, the less they doubt it. They might even casually talk to their family, friends, or coworkers about it because deep down, they really believe it’s right and true. But for some reason, they won’t fully commit to the race or decide to work hard at being truly dedicated to running it well.
There are a lot of reasons that lost people are hesitant to submit to Jesus and get in the race. And there are a lot of reasons professing Christians are hesitant or afraid to commit to becoming a dedicated follower of Jesus. Some are afraid of peer pressure, and they might lose some friends. Others don’t want to give up the sin that controls their life. Some couples decide to live together before getting married, or never intend to get married, and they don’t want to give up their "arranged benefits."
Some may be Orthodox Jews, and they are afraid they’ll be excommunicated from their family. The worst extreme is people who are part of a religious belief like Islam, where they could be killed for submitting to Jesus and converting to Christianity. Obviously, none of these reasons ever lead to true peace and joy, but still, whatever the reason, they’re lost.
Jesus is calling them to come home to God. He’s not mad because He knows the power of the enemy that’s against them. He’s calling softly and tenderly. Jesus loves them because God loves them, and we’re supposed to love them too. They’re sitting on the fence between heaven and hell, and the Holy Spirit is inviting them to get in the right race! Get the process started!
Then, He’s saying to the believer, “Run the race with perseverance!” Once we’re in the race, we don’t just sit and soak in self-righteous sanctimony, waiting for the rapture! The process of running the race well demands endurance, strength, and a willingness to train. That’s why God wants true followers of Jesus who are committed and dedicated.
2. Motivation
Also in verse 1, it tells us, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses..."
Most people misunderstand this part of the verse. Like a lot of things, people tend to think the "cloud of witnesses" is cheering them on for doing good Christian works. But it doesn’t mean there’s a group of spectators watching to see how we’re doing in the process of following Jesus. People in heaven aren’t interested in watching what people on earth are doing. They’re busy taking in the presence of Jesus and the wonders of heaven! This part of the verse is supposed to be motivating us to stay committed and dedicated to the faith because we know the great number of believers who’ve gone before us would testify that running the race of faith is awesome!
Looking back at Hebrews 11, we see a whole list of people who’ve walked by faith. Verse 4: By faith - Abel; Verse 5: By faith - Enoch; Verse 7: By faith - Noah; Verse 8: By faith - Abraham; Verse 20: By faith - Isaac; Verse 21: By faith - Jacob; Verse 22: By faith - Joseph; Verse 23: By faith - The parents of Moses; Verse 24: By faith - Moses; Verse 29: By faith - The Israelites; Verse 30: By the faith of Joshua, the walls of Jericho fell down; Verse 31: By faith - Rahab. In verse 32, it says there’s not even enough time to talk about the faith of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets, who all served God by running the race of faith well.
Let alone all the people who’ve run the “race of faith” well for the last 2000 years! They’ve run through fire, the lion’s dens, and swords. They’ve been stoned, mocked, and scorned. They’ve been thrown off buildings, sawn in half, and beheaded!
They’ve fought in wars, faced false trials, and endured cruel and unusual punishment. They’ve been mocked, scourged, bound in chains, impaled on spears, burned as torches, and falsely imprisoned. But they kept the faith right through the endless persecution and oppression! [But man, do we have it so bad in the U.S. today!]
Through crisis after crisis, these brothers and sisters put their faith and trust in God, and God came through! So, this ought to be more than enough to prove that the life of faith is still the only way to go because the life of faith always wins! The point is, they ran the race well, and they’re witnesses to the victory!
So, we ought to be motivated to run the “race of faith” based on the testimony of these witnesses. When we do, we become the “living witnesses,” because people see us running the race with commitment, dedication, and endurance!
3. Remove Hindrances
In verse 1, the phrase “throw off everything that hinders” means to get rid of mass or bulk. Before runners start a race, they get rid of as much unnecessary weight as possible so they can get to the perfect balance of endurance, power, and speed. Successful runners train to keep that equilibrium!
So, we’ve got to strip off anything that’s going to hold us back. The hindrances mentioned in verse 1 could be materialism, worldly ambition, sexual immorality, jealousy, etc. But the biggest hindrance that kept a Jew from following Jesus was, and is, probably legalism!
Legalism is really just dead works! Then and now, there are piles and piles of legalistic mandates on the Jewish people. He was telling them to “get in the race and run!” But they were trying to run with all these legalistic ceremonies, rituals, rites, and rules from the old covenant of Judaism. And he says, get rid of all that and run by faith, not by works!
A lot of Christians also base their faith on works! Catholics and Protestants have their own versions of ceremonies, rituals, rites, and rules. They think there’s a set of boxes they have to check to be “right with God.” But that’s not true!
A lot of these things are good things, and if they’re done in faith, as an overflow of love, devotion, dedication, and commitment for Jesus, and people feel led to do them, then so be it! But we have to guard against replacing God’s perfect plan with man-made religion, rules, regulations, and requirements. Jesus said it like this:
Matthew 15:9 (NIV) – They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules!
He’s saying, get rid of all these dead works! Stop trying to honor God and earn His favor by doing things that man made up! Then he adds, “and the sin that so easily entangles!” That’s a singular sin. So, the most common hindrance to the life of faith is the sin of doubt!
Everything God says is true, and if we are a true follower of Jesus, we believe that wholeheartedly! So, when we pray for God to supply all our needs, and something doesn’t go the way we think it should, or it starts taking longer than we think it should, and we get nervous—that’s doubting.
Also, Satan is a liar, so he’ll try to get us to doubt God. But the instructions from Jesus are, "Do things God’s way, and you’ll be blessed by God!" And all the great cloud of witnesses and all the true followers of Jesus will testify that it’s true. Always has been, and always will be!
Satan, the deceiver, doesn’t always tempt people to directly disobey God. A lot of times, he just tries to get people to "add on" to what God says. Satan says, "Yes, do that, but you can make it better by doing this other thing too!" He says, "You’ll enjoy it more... it’ll feel better... you’ll be more fulfilled!" Every time we do what Satan says, we believe him and doubt God.
Satan tempted Eve, and she believed him, which brought sin into the world. Satan tempted Jesus, but Jesus believed God, and Jesus was without sin! The reality is, that every sin is an act of unbelief, but the sin that messes up the "life of faith" more than anything else is the sin of doubt. So, get rid of it! This leads us right into the 4th key
4, Follow the example of our mentor
In verse 2: "...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith!" When we run the "race of faith," we keep our eyes on Jesus and do what He does! Jesus is the greatest mentor for the "life of faith" that ever lived. He’s the perfect example of faith! Paul says this about Jesus in:
Philippians 2:6-8 (NIV): "6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; 7 rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness; 8 and being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!"
Jesus voluntarily became a servant, and He believed the Father! His "act of faith" is the greatest "act of faith" there will ever be because He had the most to lose! So, Paul says, "If we need a model of faith, look to Jesus!" He went through an incredible crisis, and because of His "dedicated and committed" faith in God, He was victorious! We have to focus on Him.
Our eyes are the focal point of everything! To stay "on track," we have to watch a point "far beyond" ourselves! He’s the model of faith! He even said about His life, "I didn’t come to do My will; I came to do the will of God," because He humbly believed in God!
5. Remember the guaranteed hope
Also in verse 2: "For the joy set before Him, He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God!" The guaranteed hope we have for running a strong race is the "joy and victory" we receive at the finish line!
One is the incredible feeling that we win, and the other is the actual reward that God gives us for our obedience to Him! For an athlete, there’s nothing like the thrill of winning! It’s just something that God put inside of us! It isn’t the medal, trophy, or whatever else. It’s just the winning—the "thrill and exhilaration" of victory!
The reward for Jesus is that He’s seated at the right hand of God! For us, there are five crowns.
The Lord offers in heaven what can be ours! I don’t know about you, but I want to win them for His glory! This means the “race of faith” ends with guaranteed “victory and joy” in Jesus. So, run with dedication and endurance!
We have covered the process, motivation, hindrances, mentor, and hope, and the final key today for running the “race of faith” with dedication is to…
6.Value the exhortation
This means to "urge on" somebody we work closely with in trying to accomplish the same goal. It’s "building up" running mates who need strength, supporting those who lead, and rallying the “Body of Christ” to advance God’s kingdom!
It’s a lot like coaching! We offered people the opportunity to get in the race. Now, we have to help them run it well so we can win a lot! But some people are gonna say, "Well, it’s not easy being a Christian because the people I’m around don’t agree with Christian values!" or "It’s really hard because my husband is opposed to it," or "It’s not easy in our society to run to win, to really be bold, because of all the persecution!" Here’s the answer to all that! And it’s to be taken as encouragement.
Verse 3: "Consider Him [Jesus] who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." He says when you start feeling like it’s too hard to live the Christian life, consider the One who endured so much opposition from sinners that He was tortured and executed, even though He’d never done anything wrong.
We haven’t been "burned at the stake," beheaded for the "cause of Christ," put in a sheepskin and thrown to the lions, shoved in a wood chipper, and shot out into the Nile River! We haven’t been sawed in half like Isaiah. We don’t have to hide in mountains, dens, and caves!
We haven’t had our eyes "plucked out" like Samson! So, when we start feeling weak and getting tired of the same old "bad circumstances" we think we are unjustly enduring, think about Jesus and the great clouds of witnesses who’ve gone before us, running the race well!
Romans 12:3 (NLT): "Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us!"
Faith in Jesus operates in us through the power of the Holy Spirit at the instant of our salvation. Then we’re supposed to continually "walk by faith" to maintain the strength we’ll need to endure every situation, circumstance, and challenge of life—all the way through the "sanctification/discipleship" process until Jesus comes back, or God calls us home!
It’s by God’s design that every true follower of Jesus becomes dedicated to the "role and responsibility" of developing our faith! The primary ways we do it are by trusting in God’s providence, believing in God’s promises, being obedient in every circumstance, having courage in the midst of trials, and enduring the hardships that come our way until the end of life!