Oh, I'll actually begin reading in chapter 11, verse 39 through chapter 12, verse 3. Speaking with regard to the great saints of faith from the Old Testament economy, the writer of Hebrew says in verse 39, these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. 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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfector 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. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Praise be to God for His Word. Would you be seated for love? Perhaps the most ineffective way to begin a sermon is by reading an extended quotation. But to set our minds in the direction that I want us to head this morning, I'm going to do this very thing and so you listen carefully and I'll try and read it clearly. It comes to us this morning from the pen of J.I. Packer. The other day, I was one of a crowd who spent much of a wet Saturday afternoon in a hot tub. My student advisees who formed the crowd had advised me to try it. You'll like it, they said. Previously, I had thought of hot tubs as reserved for hedonists in Hollywood and cyberites in San Francisco, but now I know that under certain circumstances, members of Regent College's teaching faculty may also use them. Every day it seems one learns something new. As I sat there savoring hot tub-ness, cracking small jokes and adjusting to the feel of being bubbled over from all angles, it struck me that the hot tub is the perfect symbol of the modern route in religion. The hot tub experience is sensuous, relaxing, floppy, laid back. Not in any way demanding whether intellectually or otherwise, but very, very nice even to the point of being great fun. Many today want Christianity to be like that and labor to make it so. The ultimate step, of course, would be to clear church auditoriums of seats and install hot tubs in their place. Then there would never be an attendance problems. Meantime, many churches, evangelists and electronic religionists are already offering occasions which we are meant to feel are the next best thing to a hot tub. Namely, happy gatherings free from care, real fun times for all. Happiness has been defined as a warm puppy. This kind of religion projects happiness in the form of a warm welcome to all her tune or drop in. A warm choir with a schmalcy swing, a warm back scratching use of words in prayer and preaching, and a warm cheerful after glow, another hot tub touch. To the question, where is God, the answer which these occasions actually project, never mind what is said is in the preacher's pocket. Soothing for sure. But is it faith, worship, service of God? Is godliness the real name of this game? As I hot tubbed on, slumbering deeper into uninhibited floppiness, I saw why the chromium plated folk religion of which I am speaking has gained such a hold. Modern life strains us. We get stimulated till we are dizzy, relationships are brittle, marriages break, families fly apart, businesses a cutthroat rat race, and those not at the top feel themselves mere cogs in another's machine. Automation and commuter technology have made life faster and denser since we no longer have to do the time consuming routine jobs over which our grandparents used to relax their minds. We have to run more quickly than any generation before us simply to stay where we are. No wonder, then, that when modern Western man turns to religion, if he does, most don't. What he wants is total tickling relaxation, the sense of it once being sued, supported, and effortlessly invigorated. In short, hot tub religion. He asks for it, and up folk jump to provide it. What hot tub religion illustrates most clearly is the law of demand and supply. What then should we say of hot tub religion? Certainly, a rhythm of life that includes relaxation is right. The fourth commandment shows that. Alternating hard labor with fun times is right too. All work in no play makes Jack a dull boy, and Jesus so often went to banquets, the fun times of the ancient world that he got called glutton and drunkard. Enjoying our bodies while we can as opposed to despising them, which is plightenism at best, manachism at worst, and super spiritual conceit either way, is a part of the discipline of gratitude to our creator. An uninhibited exuberance is like clapping, dancing, shouting praise, and crying out in prayer can be approved too, provided we do not hear by stumble others. Without these hot tub factors, as we may call them, our Christianity would be less godly and less lively for it would be less human. Amen to that. But if there were no more to our Christianity than hot tub factors, if that is, we embraced a self-absorbed hedonism of relaxation and happy feelings while dodging tough tasks on popular stances and exhausting relationships. We should fall short of biblical god-centeredness and of the crossbearing life to which Jesus calls us and advertise to the world nothing better than our own decadence. And yet, that is the predominant flavor of American evangelical Christianity in our day, soothing, luxurious, prosperous, relaxing, sophisticated, satisfying, convenient. I think Dr. Packer is exactly right. The image of the hot tub is a fitting symbol to illustrate the kind of Christianity that so pervades contemporary American culture. And yet, beloved, wouldn't you agree with me that even a cursory reading of the New Testament scriptures sets forth a vision of Christianity that is radically and profoundly different? Honey, after all, the inspired writers of the New Testament have likened the Christian life to warfare. The Christian himself as a soldier preparing for inevitable engagement with the enemy. They have likened the Christian life to a boxing match. They have likened the Christian life to bond slavery. They have referred to Christians as sheep who must expect to encounter the vicious attacks of savage wolves. The Christian minister has been compared to a farmer who must work long hours to the point of exhaustion. Christians have been likened to branches in need of being pruning children in need of chastisement and a bride in need of purification. It goes without saying brothers and sisters that the image of the hot tub is far from anything like that kind of image. Those kinds of images convey the essence of a Christianity that is defined by an altogether different set of words, terms like diligence, perseverance, sacrifice, rigor, regimen, pain, self-denial, discipline, violence. And all of these kinds of terms are graphically illustrated in the vision of the Christian life that is now before us in Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1, 2 and 3. It is here that the Christian life is likened to a race. One of the most common metaphors in the New Testament to speak about authentic Christianity and this is no accident, beloved. The Spirit of God returns to this metaphor again and again and again because of all it inherently conveys because of all that is wrapped up in this metaphor. For one thing it reminds us that authentic Christianity must be characterized by forward moving progress. It reminds us that authentic Christianity aims toward a goal. It reminds us that as is the case in all races there are forces of resistance both within and without that will seek to frustrate our every advance. The writer of Hebrews here exhorts us to run the race of faith. And as we told you last Lord's day, everything else in these three verses supports this one principle command. The end of verse 1 let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. That's the heart of what he wants to say. And as we discovered last Lord's day such a thing this idea of running a race will first of all as we discovered involve strenuous exertion. It will involve strenuous exertion and we talked about this significantly last time. It's the concept that's inherent in a very word that's used here. It is a race to be run. The Christian life beloved despite what is being said to us from all corners of the evangelical world. The Christian life is not to be thought of as a royal Caribbean cruise. It's the great agon, the fight, the struggle, the labor, the endeavor, an athletic contest as it were that calls for vigorous exertion against various forces of resistance. I find it very interesting that of all the words in his mental arsenal, this is the one selected by the inspired author to characterize the Christian life. And in so doing, he makes clear to us that the race of faith will involve strenuous exertion. Secondly, we learned that if the Christian life is a race to be run, then such a thing will necessitate steady perseverance. He says, let us run, watch this prepositional phrase, with perseverance, the race marked out for us. It will necessitate steady perseverance. It's as we said last time, beloved, the overarching demand for this race is not speed, but stamina. And the reason why this is an issue of such importance you see is because there are no prizes for those who start the race. Only for those who finish. I've fought the fight, finished the race, kept the faith. Now there is laid up for me the crown, Paul says. Moreover, this race is not a wind sprint. It's a long-distance marathon that spans the totality of our earthly existence as Christians. Therefore, to finish this race will necessitate steady perseverance. Thirdly, if the Christian life is a race to be run, then such a thing can assume divine providence. Beloved, the race of the Christian life is not something that we mark out for ourselves. It is the prerogative of God Himself to determine the course best suited us. So for some of us you see, the race of faith may include great bodily illness and suffering. It may include cancer. It may include a down syndrome baby. It may include a wayward teenager. Financial hardship. The loss of a business. 40 years married to an unsaved partner. We are not given the sovereignty to determine the course that we think best suits us. Our Heavenly Father prescribes the course we are to run. But at one in the same time, beloved, you see, this is the thing that brings us the greatest possible comfort because having marked out our race, it is our Father who knows perfectly the grace we need for each lap He has appointed us to run. Let us run with perseverance, the race prescribed for us. Beloved, we must never deceive ourselves by indulging in the idea that the Christian life is an afternoon in a hot tub. It is a race that demands nothing less than the whole of our attention and effort for the totality of our lives until we break the tape and cross into heaven. But all of that then begs the obvious question, doesn't it? How do we do this? How do we run this race? I mean, given all of the difficulty, if this race is so strenuous, if this race to be sure cause for such a long obedience, a long perseverance, even in the face of violent resistance at times, how do we run in such a way to finish and thus win the prize? How do we put to death the radical inconsistencies that seem to characterize so many of God's people today? Well, beloved, the author calls us to three specific actions, and you can remember them very easily by impressing upon your mind three simple words. Listen, divest, focus. This morning we'll give ourselves to the first two and next Lord's day will devote the entire time to the last of these three. Now, the author here is painting a picture, a picture with which his readers would be well acquainted in the Greek world athletic competition was not merely a matter of entertainment, I assure you. Much less a matter for amusement. Athletic competition was regarded as a vital part of their religious life, and the most imposing form of this expressed itself every five years in a city called Olympia, where athletic gains were celebrated in honor of the Greek God Jupiter. And on such occasions an incredible multitude of people would gather from all of the Greek states and the surrounding countries, and they would sit in the multi-tiered rows of the vast amphitheater that encircled the competitors down below. At the place marked out at the end of the Great Race, there would sit a tribunal of judges, men who themselves had in former years been successful competitors in the Olympic Games. They were given the honor of placing the wreath of victory on the head of those who triumphed in their respective events, but this would only take place after all of the competitions had been completed so that in the event that an athlete was victorious, he would sit with the spectators and wait until the conclusion of the Games to be crowned with all of the rest of the other victors. Now you see this is the imagery that is shaping the mind and the thinking of the author as he exhorts us to run the race. First and foremost watch now he reminds us of the scene, the context, the environment, verse 1. Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, who are these witnesses? It's amazing to see the things that people come up with. You just read the verse in its context and there's not even a question. The answer to the question who are these witnesses is found in the very first word in the verse. Therefore which connects us to what immediately precedes. Verse 39, these were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, who are these witnesses? Those, verse 39, who have been commended for their faith. Those, verse 40, who have been made perfect together with us. In other words, all of those referred to in Hebrews chapter 11. The men and women of faith from the Old Testament era, and here they are brothers and sisters, pictured as athletes who have already finished their respective races, and they're now a part of this great throng of people who are surrounding us. And the purpose they serve? Don't miss this. It's really important. We are told that they are witnesses. Not in the sense that they are spectators who from the galleries of heaven observe us as we run our races. In the New Testament, the word witness never refers, never refers to a passive onlooker, but always refers to an active participant who testifies to the truth. That is to say, witnesses are never silent spectators. Witnesses speak. I would remind you that the English word from, that grows out of the Greek term, Martire, all the term in English we use, Martire tells you something about these witnesses. They get killed. Not because they were silent observers, but because they speak. And that is the case right here. These are witnesses, testifiers to God, or perhaps even better witnesses to us about God. The point here, beloved, is not to emphasize what they see in us, but on what we steadily hear from them. We are surrounded, the writer says, by this vast multitude of people who are testifying to us about God. The faithfulness he steadily displays to the people who are loyal to him in faith. They testify to us from their lives as they have been recorded for us on the pages of Scripture. What did the writer of Hebrews say about righteous able, earlier in chapter 11, though dead he still talks to us? He still speaks. And you see, that very same thing is true for the likes of Noah and Abraham and Moses and David and Daniel, though dead they still speak. And what did they communicate to us through the pages of God's word? Everything we learned in Hebrews chapter 11, that the life of faith will never be disappointed because God always keeps his promises. Their lives, you see, are a living testimony to God's faithfulness toward those who place their trust in him. And so, beloved, as you've heard me say time and time again, that whenever we read all Testament narratives, all Testament stories, if we close our Bibles and say, now here's 10 steps for how to be a good employee from the life of Moses, we have all together missed the point of why his life is recorded for us in the Bible. God is always the hero of every Old Testament story. And if he is not the hero at the end of the day, we've not read it in the way it was intended to be read. Lessons of leadership from the life of Nehemiah, that's not why that's there. God is always the hero of every Old Testament story. Their lives are testimonies of God's faithfulness toward those who place their trust in him. Moreover, dear friends, please notice two things about this testimony. It's abundance and its consistency. Notice he refers to a great cloud of witnesses. Now, that doesn't resonate with us. I can appreciate that fact, but you need to understand that in the ancient world, it was very common for writers, particularly poets, to use the image of a cloud to refer to a vast number of people. A vast host of people, it was a common literary device to refer to a vast group of people as a cloud. And that's what's going on here. But to stress the enormity of this host of people even farther, he adds this redundant modifier. Since we are surrounded by such a great host of people, such a vast throng of people, what's he trying to say to us, friends? This testimony to God's faithfulness is not merely the testimony of a few isolated radical irrelevant zealots, but the testimony of a great vast, expansive throng of people. As you run the race that God has marked out for you, there is surrounding you at every turn an overwhelmingly abundant testimony that sets forth the faithfulness of our God. But know that it's also a consistent testimony. You see, he doesn't refer to great clouds of witnesses. He chooses his word very carefully here, beloved, a cloud, a cloud, a unified mass of witnesses. In other words, not only is this incredible testimony to us about God forthcoming from many, the substance of everything they have to say is of one piece. They're all unified in it. This abundant testimony to the faithfulness of our God is consistent through and through. His faithfulness is what we see through them. Now, what is this saying to us about the race of faith given to us? This race with all of its demands to persevere through difficulties and disappointments and sufferings and hardships and trials and pains, what is he saying to us about running the race? Listen. Listen. Listen to the testimony of those who finished the race. Listen to the testimony of those who finished the race. Hear them. Immerse yourself in them with all of the voices calling you away from the race, alluring you away from the race. Both voices internal to yourself and external to yourself. Listen. He says to the testimony that surrounds you. Hear them. Their lives supply us with an abundant and consistent testimony regarding the faithfulness of our God to reward those, to take care of those who in faith run the race. He has marked out for them. In other words, beloved, you know what he's telling them to do, what he's telling us to do, he's telling us to do the very thing we've been doing over the last six months. Has your faith been strengthened as we've worked through Hebrews chapter 11? Mine has been. And do you know why that's the case, beloved? It's because we've been listening to the testimony for six months we've been listening to the testimony of those who finished the race. And what does it do for us? I can finish mine. Do you realize, beloved, that this is one of the reasons why God did not give to us pocket new testaments? Do you realize that this is why you have the first two thirds of your Bible? The Old Testament is a living testimony to us from them about God's loyal love to his people. And so when I read of the race, God gave Abraham to run and how about the grace of God he persevered, he persevered to the end of it, it encourages me when I don't want to run. When it feels though, I will never make it to the end of my race when it seems that God has asked me for one too many sacrifices this time around. When I read of the ministry, God gave to Moses and how about the grace of God for all of those years, you know, beloved, it's the same for me as it is for you. There ought not to be any surprises between us at that point. There are mornings I wake up when the temptation to forsake the race seems overwhelming when the sentiment of the hymn writer reflects my own heart. Is that your sentiment? It's mine from time to time, prone to wonder Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love, and then I pick up the scriptures and read of the life of David. And if I hear his testimony right, if I hear it the way it is intended to be heard, then when I close up my Bible and walk away from that place what I realize is this, his God is my God. The God of yesterday is the God of today. God has not lost interest in his covenantal people. God's love has not lessened. God will give me the grace as he has given David grace. I must not then forsake the course he has given me to run. How do we run this race of faith, beloved? How do we finish the course that has been appointed to us? How do we ensure that this race will not be just a wind sprint that we fall away from after a hundred blazing yards?
We listen to the testimony of those who finish the race.
We remember who surrounds us and we listen to what they tell us about the goodness and faithfulness and mercy of God to all those who run his course. He the encouragement that is to be found in their testimony. There is a second action that we need to take in the running of this race and beloved it is stated much more emphatically. And as you will see much more personally and pendant trading Lee look at it. It too can be summarized in one word. The word is divest divest divest your self of everything that impedes your progress. Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangle. Now, before we unpack what this means, it's important for you to understand what is in view here and that is not so much the running of the race, beloved, but preparation for it. To be more specific, the rigorous process the athlete goes through to rid himself of all impediments before he ever begins to run. And this included two things. It included the shedding of all excess body weight and it included the removal of all unnecessary clothing. So that the very least we can see that all on the priority list of the runner are the ideas of ease and appearance. Those are concepts that have no place in his thinking. The name of this game is self denial because the goal of this game is finishing the race at all costs. Now, how does this relate to us in particular? Well, notice beloved that this phrase is made up of two parts. Look at it carefully. Everything that hinders the sin that so easily entangles and that right between these two parts is the little word and now more often than not, that word end serves to connect to complementary ideas. But sometimes as is the case here, the word end is used in an explanatory sense or for our Greek students, it is an epexagetical end. I know that blesses your heart. So that the second clause, very important here, so that the second clause is designed to more carefully define the first. That's what this is. And so it reads like this, beloved, let us throw off everything that hinders namely the sin that so easily entangles, like the successful athlete who spares himself no pain but ruthlessly sheds all excess weight. The competitive athlete who divests himself of all clothing except that for which modesty demands let us he is telling us run the race of faith by rigorously ridding ourselves of everything that would impede our spiritual progress. The sin that can so easily entangle the sin, not a specific sin, beloved, the fact of the matter is it doesn't make a difference what kind of sin it is any sin to understand this a bit more fully a better translation of this. Well, what the NIV has said easily entangling sin a better translation really might be the sin that so easily surrounds us. The sin that so easily encircles us imagine in your mind a person in the jungle sitting around a campfire at night suddenly realizing that he is surrounded by hungry lions that on cue will converge on the center of that circle and devour that helpless victim. This is the very thing that happens to us when we become lazy in dealing with our sin when we are less than ruthless in the cutting away of anything that distracts us from the pursuit of heaven. It doesn't make a difference beloved what kind of sin it is bitterness jealousy pornography materialism laziness gluttony pride but by and by you see tolerated sin has a way of encircling us. And then hedging us in so it seems that we countered escape it and then it begins to move in on us like the coils of a constrictor wrapping the body of its victim at that point needless to say all progress in the race comes to a standstill. The fact of the matter is there is no such thing as neutrality the recession begins the regression begins listen to what one one writer has said sin inner poses a barrier between us and the goal of our Christians striving. It does not merely prevent further progress but it throws him who commits it back to a position less advanced than he had reached before. Now listen this why this these these couple of phases are incredible it obscures the vision of the heavenly state it weakens the desire for its enjoyment it breaks the energy of the will in pursuing it. In other words not only do we not progress the very intensity of our desire to do so is neutralize now brothers and sisters it is very important for us to realize at this point not only that all sin impedes our ability to run the race. But the things which are not sinful in and of themselves can become sin to us if by definition they compromise the rate of our progress in the race. Same author has said we may say that the things here called hindrances embrace everything that might in any sense turn away the heart from the pursuit of heaven even though these things might in the abstract be unobjectionable or even cumbly. Now practical level beloved you realize what this means is this what is a hindrance to you in your race may not be a hindrance to another Christian. Moreover none of us is ever given the freedom to prescribe what these hindrances are for anyone else. Legalism is never ever the answer to dealing with sin beloved I'll tell you it's the exchange of one problem for another the exchange of one problem for a far greater problem. You say well art how then can I identify these hindrances in my life if you or someone else doesn't tell me what they are. And the answer is really simple get off your backside and get into the race and at that point everything that impedes you will become obvious I guarantee it. The love of the people who are running the race know very clearly what their hindrances are and the more diligent they get in running the race the more evident the hindrances appear to them. You see I'm never mindful of my own excess weight or the weight of my clothing while reclining in my lazy boy chair at home. I don't feel the heaviness of the keys in my pocket while I'm sitting down. Oh but when I get on that exercise machine at the health club each morning anything that in any way impedes me encumbers me becomes obvious. You want to know what the hindrances are get in the race no one will have to prescribe those for you. Let me ask you have you been encircled surrounded by tolerated sin these days caught in what feels to be the vice grip of sin that has gone on unchecked. Beloved have the lions begin to surround you have they turned in on you each day seeming to be one step closer to devouring you all together. Are there things in your life that though in and of themselves not evil have become in fact simple hindrances do you this can be true of recreational pursuits fishing boating skiing camping golfing exercising it can be true of music regardless of the style. It can be true of television it can be true of the cyclops in your bedroom that internet it can be true of career advancement it can be true of financial prosperity it can be true of your family are you a Christian this morning then you are in the race. How's your rate of progress are you moving forward I hope that you are praise be to God if that is true in your life this morning might it be that you've become impeded by sin slowed by sinful hindrances cut them away brothers and sisters be ruthless with yourself take the pain. It's always connected with that initial divest yourself of anything that impedes your progress Spurgeon said it best we cannot win heaven and where sin how do we run the course that God has marked out for us remember three words listen. Listen to the testimony of those who have finished the race divest divest yourself of everything that impedes your progress. You say like this is the very heart of my problem I've been sitting so long I've come to love my sin what do I do to replace it I cut it away but with what do I replace it and we'll see the answer to that beloved next Lord's day you replace it with a more glorious vision of Jesus Christ. So that Jesus becomes better than sex Jesus becomes better than power Jesus becomes better than money Jesus becomes better than everything we will never finish our race without focusing our attention on the greatest of all runners let us fix our eyes on Jesus. The third word we'll see it next time focus on him I appeal to you beloved as God has appealed to my own heart repent of your sin today and renew your commitment to the race. The promise of God is that he will meet you with his renewing strength listen to this as we finish do you not know have you not heard the Lord is the everlasting God the creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary and is understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak even youths grow tired and weary and young men stumble and fall but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles they will run and not grow weary they will walk and not be faint 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 would you bow your heads with me please gracious Lord you know what lies in my soul. Oh the wickedness I hold within there's no place to hide though at times I've tried you uncover all my sin how I long to stay close to you each day spirit use your word to purify thank you for the sting it will help me cling to the hand of Jesus Christ. Our father we do not doubt this morning that you have visited with us we are reminded that your word when animated by the spirit of God is like no other thing it strengthens us it lifts us up and it times lays us bare. We who are Christians can say without a equivocation I long to stay close to you each day and yet in the midst of our fallenness we are thankful O Lord and God that you through the person of your spirit using the instrument of the word of God purifies and so we thank you for the sting because it compels us to turn from our sin and cling to the hand of Jesus Christ. We love you father I pray for my brothers and sisters O Lord and God we are together a fallen people so easily distracted from the race we are thank you for thankful for your grace and for your mercy to us that you renew our strength that you help weak legs to stand and even to run we confess our sins to you father. We thank you for the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that has been sufficient to pay the penalty for our sins. We pray that you would take them from us that you would remove them that you would cast them deep into the sea and that you would meet us afresh today father strengthen us to throw aside every impediment and to listen to the testimony of those who finish the race. We love you and thank you for your great mercy and love to us it's in the great name of Jesus Christ our Savior and King we pray amen.