Bulletins - HOPE BIBLE FELLOWSHIP

Introduction:

Good morning once again. I'm so glad to get to open the Word of God with you. Go ahead and turn to Hebrews chapter 12.

Rick was born in 1962 to Dick and Judy Hoyt. As a result of oxygen deprivation to Rick's brain at the time of his birth, Rick was diagnosed as a spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Dick and Judy were advised to institutionalize Rick because there was no chance of him recovering, and little hope for Rick to live a "normal" life. It seemed an almost impossible mountain to climb – to raise this son who could not walk, could not talk, could not eat on his own. Discouragement set in. Their hopes were dashed. The life they had planned was suddenly changed forever. The race they were running seemed impossible to finish. I am sure you have had moments like this in your life as well. Moments where it all seemed too much. Too much effort, too many challenges, too little energy.

Some of you have dragged in here today and you’re just absolutely exhausted. You’ve come in from a week in the world and you feel like you’re banged up, your ear is hanging off, you’ve got a broken arm, and you feel like you have completely failed as a believer.

There’s good news today for you. The author of Hebrews spends chapter 11 running through a list of faithful people from the Old Testament and then here in chapter 12 he goes on to use that to encourage the believers to run the race of faith without ceasing.

Read Hebrews 12:1-11
Hebrews 12:1–11 ESV
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, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 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. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.

I. The Race Set Before Us (V 1-2)

Who do we look to to figure out how to live faithful lives in this world of temptation and trial?

- Because of the vast history of men and women who have been sustained in their faith by God and have remained faithful through various trials and sufferings,

A. Cloud of Witnesses to the Race
Because we have the example of those in the hall of faith - a great cloud of witnesses
Because we have seen their example of faith and trusting God and acting like they take Him at His Word

Cloud of witnesses like spectators in an athletic arena watching or witnessing...
B. Let Us Run Unhindered

The seated high priest means the work is done. Sin has been atoned for.

What was the race set before them? (Context)
What is the race set before us?
The Christian life

- Lay aside anything that holds us back. (Biggest Loser illustration)
- What are the things that are hindering you?
- There may be nothing wrong with them but they may be hindering you.
-
- and the sin with clings so closely…
- Be serious about putting sin to death in us.

- As C. S. Lewis put it in his sermon, “The Weight of Glory,” “…if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.”
We play around too much. We go where everyone else goes and we get involved in what they get involved with and then we look up and notice that our lives are starting to look like the world. That could be a sign that you never truly knew Jesus in the first place. It could be that you just haven’t been taking your growth seriously. It’s too late in the game for us to be playing around. This is war. Some of you would say, well Jesus hung out with sinners all of the time. I’m not suggesting that you aren’t around sinners. We should be around people who don’t know Jesus for the reason of helping them know Jesus and loving on them in that way. But some say that about Jesus and who He spent time with and I want to suggest that you’re a little confused about who you are in that story. You’re not Jesus. You’re the sinner deserving of hell who He came to earth to dwell among and give His perfect life for on the cross. We can’t play around with sin. John Owen said, “be killing sin or sin will be killing you.”

Romans 8:13 ESV
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

C. Looking to Jesus as We Run
-the way we should run
Without our eyes fixed firmly on Jesus, we will fail. It is only God who enables us in our running.

- Look to Jesus - even moreso than the others
- The author and perfecter of our faith
- Christ’s perfection leads to the perfection of His people
- for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross despising the shame
- the cross of Christ represents the greatest suffering in history
- physical suffering plus the wrath of God
- the promise of future reward and joy gave Jesus the strength to suffer
- crucifixion was naked and in public and inflicting prolonged pain on the victim meant to shame as well as kill them
- Now seated at the right hand of God
- Consider Him (perseverance)
- endured hostility that was not due Him
- some of them could identify with being shown hostility, though to a lesser degree than shown to Jesus
- This helps us not grow weary or fainthearted
- You haven’t resisted sin to the point of shedding your blood.
- Seems like today most people want to resist sin by shedding someone else’s blood…
- contrasts with Jesus shedding of His own blood on the cross

- Though they were suffering persecution but not quite martyrdom… Their greatest struggle was against their own sinful nature.

II. Consider Him

A. Do not grow wearing in your struggle against sin.

B. Addresses You as Sons
- Sons
- citation of Proverbs 3:11-12
- God’s discipline proves that He sees believers as his sons/children.

III. The Assurance of the Love of God (V. 7-11)

A. God’s discipline of his children.
- Discipline - not punitive, the way we think of it…
- character training
- don’t reject the character training
- Calls for a response of respect and submission
- As a loving father, the Lord disciplines His children for their good.
- Strengthen and endure

Conclusion - So what do we do here?

Identify:
The weights that slows us down
The weight of outright sin
The weight of besetting sin
The weight of distractions
Decide: How to lose the weight
Identify the sins and weights
Confess and repent of your sins
Rely on God’s Spirit to guide you as you study the Word and grow and run. You will have to keep watch over your life and your doctrine and shake off anything that tries to entangle you and hold you back from running the race set before you.

I want to challenge you with a challenge shared by another pastor with his church that would be very beneficial for you:

Between now and Thanksgiving, pick a day or a half day and get away by yourself — away from the house, the phone, the TV, the radio and all other people. Take a Bible and a pad of paper and plan your fall and winter run with Jesus.
On that pad of paper note the entangling sins. Note the seemingly innocent weights and encumbrances that are not condemned explicitly in the Bible, but which you know are holding you back in the race for faith and love and strength and holiness and courage and freedom.
Note the ways you subtly make provision for these hindrances (Romans 13:14): the computer games, the hidden alcohol or candy, the television, the videos, the pull-tab stop on the way home, the magazines, the novels. In addition, note the people that weaken you. Note the times that are wasted, thrown away.
When you have made all these notations, pray your way through to a resolve and a pattern of dismantling these encumbrances, and resisting these sins, and breaking old, old habits. And don’t rise up against the Bible at this point and say, “I can’t change.” It is an assault on God if you read Hebrews 12:1 and go away saying: “It can’t happen. Hindrances can’t be removed. Sins can’t be laid aside.” God has not spoken this command for nothing. And this entire book is written to undergird these practical commands. So go back and read the book and ask God to take all the glorious truth that is here (about the superiority of Christ, and the power of his death and resurrection, and the effectiveness of his intercession for you) and make this truth explosive with life-changing power. Carry some of the story to a friend and get them to pray for you. Find someone you trust and ask them to check in with you and support you. That is what Hebrews 3:12–13 says we should do. Don’t drift from this moment into this Sunday afternoon. Before this day is over make your running plan.

I started by talking about the Hoyt family. Let me tell you the rest of the story.
When Rick Hoyt was a teenager he received a computer which enabled him to begin to communicate with his family through head movements. When he was in high school, Rick learned about a 5 mile run to raise money for another child with a disability. He asked his dad if he would run the race with him. Now Rick’s father Dick was no runner, and had heart trouble. But how could he say no? And so they ran together – Dick pushing Rick’s wheelchair every step of the way. That night after the race, Dick remembers, "Rick told us he just didn’t feel handicapped when we were competing."
Rick’s realization turned into a whole new set of horizons that opened up for him and his family, as "Team Hoyt" began to compete in more and more events together. Now they compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — a combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America. For some twenty five years Dick, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines. When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing. When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike. When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick. Through March 2016, the Hoyts had competed in 1,130 endurance events, including 72 marathons and six Ironman Triathlons.

You can actually watch their story on Youtube in several videos. Sadly, Dick passed away on March 17, 2021. He was 80 years old.

And that image is as close as we can find to what God is doing with and for us. We who think so highly of ourselves are no stronger than Rick in this spiritual race. But we have a Father who loves us, a Savior who died for us, and his Spirit empowering us. Because of them, we can run our race each and every day with confidence and hope. Therefore, run – for the witnesses, for the joy, for Jesus.

You don’t run alone.

Pray and response time
- - Hebrews 12:1–11ESV
- - Romans 8:13ESV

I. The Race Set Before Us (V 1-2)

A. Cloud of Witnesses to the Race

B. Let Us Run Unhindered

C. Looking to Jesus as We Run

II. Consider Him

A. Do not grow wearing in your struggle against sin.

B. Addresses You as Sons

III. The Assurance of the Love of God (V. 7-11)

A. God’s discipline of his children.

Hebrews 12:1–11ESV

Romans 8:13ESV