minds. As the Lord helps this evening
I want to just look for a little a little time really a particularly
focusing on this thought here in verse 1. Let us run with patience
the race that is set before us. The writer to the Hebrews is
encouraging the Hebrew Christians not to give up You see, he talks
about the difficulties in chapter 10 and the troubles that they're
walking through. But then in verse 35, he says,
cast not away, therefore, your confidence. This is Hebrews 10,
verse 35. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence, which hath great recompense of rewards. You're
walking through troubles. You're walking through difficulties.
But don't give up. For ye have need of patience,
that after ye have done the will of God ye might receive the promise. But doing the will of God and
receiving the promise, receiving the blessing does not always
follow immediately. You think of Joseph as he resisted
that temptation from Potiphar's wife. He did the will of God
in resisting that temptation, but in the short term he was
sent to prison. But you see there was a time when he did receive
the promise he did he did have the blessing in due time but
it wasn't immediately and therefore Joseph needed patience. For you
have need of patience that after you've done the will of God you
might receive the promise and ultimately we need to therefore
and that's why the writer to the Hebrews is coming to that
point where faith is so vital. faith, believing what God has
said. We had that set before us Sunday
evening so much with the resurrection and the believing these things
and laying hold of them and then walking them out in our lives. In verse 37 it says, for yet
a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarry. You see God is faithful what
he said he will do. and therefore we need to have
patience to continue and not to give up, not to say well it's
too difficult, but to have that endurance. For the just shall
live by faith. To live by faith is to do things
and act in a way which we only make sense if we believe those
things that God has said. And then chapter 11, of course,
goes through a list of so many in the Old Testament who did
things which were very different than they would have done because
God told them to and because they believe what God said. So
Noah was told to build an ark. Only Noah was told to build an
ark. Nobody else was. Noah was told to build an ark.
He was told to build it, and we understand he was possibly
building it for the best part of a hundred years. Tremendous
time. No rain at all during that time. No evidence, naturally, of a
flood coming. It wasn't more and more rainfall
each year until a point at which he said, we must build a boat,
we're soon going to get sunk. No, there was no rain at all.
And yet he built that ark in obedience to God. And you see
that then in due time God honored Noah and showed that it was truly
what God had told him to do and it truly was the salvation of
those people at that time. Abraham, he was called to go
out to a place, a different place where he was living before. Each
of these people did things which were different than they would
have done because God told them, because they believed what God
said. And so we have a whole chapter
given over to examples of that in the Old Testament. But the
writers of the Hebrews doesn't want us just to say, well, that's
very interesting to think about these people and what they did.
In chapter 12 then, it comes right back to us. Wherefore,
seeing we also, encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.
We've got, we've had those that have gone before that have left
an example of how they've walked out their faith, their God-given
faith, and they've done things which the world mocked them and
ridiculed them for, and yet they did things which were right,
and they were seen to be right in the end, that God honoured
them and blessed them. Wherefore, seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, all the things that stop us in the journey,
and the sin which doth so easily beset us. And what great sin,
as it were, can we think here? Well, surely Faith, the opposite
of faith is unbelief, isn't it? The sin of unbelief. Let us lay
aside that sin of unbelief. You see, unbelief would say,
well, it's not going to happen, there's nothing in it really,
and there's no real God. Unbelief, questions and doubts,
everything that God has said. But faith lays hold upon it and
acts upon it. Wherefore, seeing we also encompassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, a whole the church
of God that has gone before us, who's trusted in the Lord, and
they've not been disappointed, let us lay aside every weight,
and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us. You see, if you look at what
happened in Hebrews 11, each of those people had different
pathways to walk. Each one had different ways of
manifesting that faith, as God worked differently in each of
their hearts. But they each had a separate
path to run, but they each had a path to run in taking up their
cross and following the Lord. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us. Here we see that there is a individual
pathway that God has worked out for each of his people to walk. We're each in a unique opportunity
to reach people, each of us. We each have contacts and people
that we deal with, each of us differently. We each have different
sets of people that we deal with. We each have a unique pathway
to walk, but God has given us that pathway and we are to walk
out the truths of God's word in that pathway. Let us run with
patience. not with frustration, not with
no hope, but with patience, believing that God is able to appear and
God will appear. God will be faithful to his word. He will come and bless his people. You see, we had that in chapter
10, Now the just, sorry, verse 37 of chapter 10, for yet a little
while and he that shall come will come. God will come, you
see, there will be a time when the Lord will come and Stephen
Rose, he was encouraging us to think about these things, think
about the coming of the Lord, the day of the resurrection,
the day when we shall be caught up forever with the Lord, to
really make these things affect the way we daily live, that we
may be men and women, boys and girls, that walk by faith, not
by just what our eyes tell us, because our eyes don't tell us
anything about the resurrection, but faith does. Faith lays hold
upon it. Christ rose from the dead and
so his church shall rise the sin which does so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us. And you see, when you are in
a race, you don't just look around to this side and that side, you
look, if you want to win the race, you look straight ahead
and you keep focused on the end goal. And what is the end goal
and what is the focus of a Christian? Verse two tells us, looking,
unto Jesus that's the focus that's the that's what we look towards
and that's the one who gives us the strength to continue running
and that is our hope is in God look looking unto Jesus the author
and finisher of our faith And then it says what he did, who
for the joy that was set before him. So you see, he walked this
valley of tears. He walked, his way was much rougher
and darker than ours. He had to go through Gethsemane.
He had to go through Calvary. He had to go through the mockings
and the scourgings. And what kept him going? Who for the joy that was set
before him. The faith that there would be
a marriage supper of the Lamb. Faith that there would be a time
when his name that was so despised and rejected and set at naught
would ultimately be exhorted. When he would be, there would
be that place where every knee shall bow and every tongue should
confess that he is God to the glory of God. who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross. And we're encouraged,
you see, to take up our cross. The difficulties that we walk
through, take up our cross. Not say, well, it's too difficult.
I'm giving up. Let us run with patience. Patience. And so often we are
not impatient, but let us run with patience. the race that
is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher,
the beginning and the end of our faith. Christ is everything.
Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God. So we have an example of one
that has passed through all those difficulties and now is exhorted. And as he is exhorted, so his
entire church will come through their troubles and ultimately
be exhorted to. Let us lay aside every weight
and the sin, the sin of unbelief, the sin which just so easily
besets us, and let us run with patience, with faith, with with
expectation, with patience, the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is now set down at the right hand of the throne of God. And
then we read, for consider him. If you think you've got a difficult
path, consider him. Consider him that endured such
contradiction of sinners against himself. He had so much opposition. We read in Isaiah, his visage
was marred more than any man. And yet, you see, he set his
face toward Jerusalem. He had a baptism to be baptized
with, and how was he straightened? He was not going to turn back.
He was going to continue out of love for his people. Because
he wanted to redeem them from the curse of the Lord. Because
he needed to bring them to that marriage supper of the Lamb.
And so we, in our little way today, in our pathway, in our
difficulties, with Satan trying to cause us to be filled with unbelief,
may we be encouraged tonight. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. what it says back
in chapter 10, for we have need of patience, that after ye have
done the will of God. And it's a great blessing to
do the will of God and we need to seek grace to do that will
of God. But you might say, well, I've done that honorably, but
I'm still in difficulties. After you've done the will of
God you might receive the promise might might receive the the fulfillment
of that promise For yet a little while and he
that shall come will come and will not tarry You see we are
to walk by faith. That's what these the then Hebrews
11 that well-known chapter is full with how they walk by faith
and But that's what we've got to do. It's not just looking
at what they did, it's what we've got to do today in our lives.
To run with patience the race that is set before us, looking
unto Jesus. Not looking at everybody else.
Not getting distracted with all that this world calls good or
great. Looking unto Jesus, the author, the beginner. The one
that called us by his grace. And the one that will complete
the whole work. Not on who should be left behind
as the whole of Israel was brought out of Egypt, so the whole of
the church should be brought safe to glory. All of them brought
through that red sea of his own blood. looking unto Jesus the
author and finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set
before him he had that expectation of hope he had that faith to
believe that there would be that marriage supper of the Lamb and
may we then be looking forward have that faith as we were encouraged
to on Sunday night to really believe these great truths to
walk them out in our lives and therefore to run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. Amen.