We had a blessed meeting with
the folks at Sovereign Grace Church in Newcastle, a Sunday
evening. But as we gathered for the meeting
and I stood to preach to the congregation there, I looked
over congregation I've been preaching to almost as long as I've been
preaching to you. I first went to preach to them
when they had no place to meet, just here and there. I had no
pastor. Brother Bruce was just one of
the men in the congregation. And I saw a lot of faces missing. Look over this congregation,
see a lot of folks missing. How many people I have watched
over the years who make a good start run well for a season,
but after a while, the care of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, the sun of opposition, do their work, choke out the
word, and they're gone. Usually not all at once. Matter
of fact, very seldom all at once. Usually not because of some vile,
horrid offense. Not because a woman's found her
another man or a man's found him another woman. Not because
of drunkenness or any of those things. Not usually. Sometimes,
but not usually. Usually because something else
gets their attention. Something else is more important
than worshiping God. Something else is more important
than the calls of Christ. Something else is more important
than meeting with God's saints. Something else is more important
than singing God's praise. Something else is more important
than the glory of God. Normally, you'll see them stop
attending services like this in the middle of the week. Stop
attending Sunday evening service. Stop attending with irregularity
because you've got to go here and go there. You've got to do
this and do that. And just tired, you know. I hear folks say, I'm
too tired to come to church. Follow me tomorrow. Let's see
how tired you are. It's silly. It's silly. Absurd. But folks have their excuses.
They have their excuses. And they're perfectly justified
in their own minds. Brother Paul Hibb down in Madisonville
once said to me, he said, God, leave us to ourselves just a
little while. There's nothing we wouldn't do
and justify ourselves in it. And he was right. Most of the
folks I have in my mind right now who once were part of this
congregation or others, some stood where I stand now preaching
to you. If you were to go talk to them, they'll give you a very
good reason why they neglect the worship of God, why they're
no longer here. And they're perfectly just in
their minds. But the fact is, something turned them out of
the way. Something made them give up the
race. They went out from us because they were not of us. For if they
had been of us, They would no doubt have remained with us unto
this day. So I've got a question for you
to consider. I've been trying to honestly
consider it with regard to myself. I want you to honestly consider
it, every one of you. How goes the race? How goes the race? The book of
Hebrews, from beginning to end, is an admonition to perseverance. It is an inspired motivation
to faith, constantly holding before us both the example of
Christ as our guide and our inspiration and the accomplishments of Christ
as our inspiration and motivation. in the face of trials and temptations. And we have them. We have them.
And usually, the greater trials are trials we don't even think
are trials. When real heartache comes, we're
kind of forced to hold on to it. When real trouble comes,
we just, when we can't do anything else, we've got to hold to it.
But the great trials of faith are usually trials folks mistake
for blessings. The great trials of faith are usually things that
folks look at and say, well, oh, this is such a great blessing.
Pretty soon that blessing takes them away from God. But in the
face of trials and temptations on every hand, we are called
upon by God the Holy Spirit to endure to the end, to persevere
in the faith, to go on following Christ. We must not quit. We must not give up. We must
not go back, no matter how heresies may abound, no matter what temptations
may allure us away from our Savior, no matter what trials may come
one on the heels of another. Now, there are many, many pictures
of the believer's life in the scriptures showing us something
of our struggles. The life of faith is a warfare. It's a warfare. a warfare with
the world, the flesh, and the devil, a warfare waged in our
souls. And it is a warfare that commences
the moment you begin believing the Son of God and only increases
until at last you lay down your life in this world and enter
into glory. The life of faith is also compared
in Scripture as a work, a labor in which we are engaged, a cause
from which there is no rest until our work is done. And in Hebrews
chapter 12, in our text this evening, the life of faith in
this world is compared to a race, a race with a starting point.
The starting point is when first you look away to Christ, a race
with a finish line. And the finish line is when you
cease to live in this world. And it's a race with a prize.
The prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus, the prize
is Christ himself, eternal life. Now, contrary to what most seem
to think, the prize is not obtained when the race is begun. The prize is obtained when the
race is done. It is not he who begins the race
and runs well for a season that wins the prize, but he who finishes
the race. It's not he who runs fast or
even he who runs well, but he who runs to the end. Isn't it
amazing, even in this analogy, all spiritual things are exactly
opposite to carnal things. In a physical race, The fellow
who gets to the finish line first, he's the one who wins. In this
race, everybody who gets to the finish line wins. The race is
not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. Those are the
words of scripture. The book of God teaches us the
necessity of persevering to the end. Now, we understand that
this book teaches preservation. Yes, sir. You're fully convinced
of that. I know you are. The Word of God
tells us plainly the Lord Jesus Christ gives his sheep eternal
life, and they shall never perish. There is no possibility of failure
with our God. Every sinner chosen by God the
Father, redeemed by God the Son, and called by God the Holy Spirit
shall enter into glory with Christ, one with Christ forever. There's
no possibility that any of God's elect will miss heavenly glory,
none whatsoever. Wherever there is true faith,
faith continues to the end. But the scriptures still require
perseverance. We are preserved and kept by
the power of God, but perseverance implies effort. Perseverance
is not a passive thing. Running a race is not a passive
thing. Engaged in a warfare is not a passive thing. This matter
of laboring in the cause of Christ is not a passive thing. We must
persevere to the end. We must follow Christ. We'll
follow Him because He directs and leads us. We'll follow Him
because He guides us and causes us to follow Him. But follow
Him we must. And if we do not follow Him to
the end, it's because we were not chosen of God to begin with.
It's because we were not redeemed to begin with, because we were
not called by grace to begin with. So that those who fall
away do not prove that men can be saved and then lost, but rather
declare plainly that men can be deceived and commonly are. And they are convinced they have
faith when they have none. Because they made a profession.
Because they gave up some bad habits. Because they changed
their way of life. And now everything's all right.
Because I believe in Jesus, everything's okay. The Lord saved my soul. I wish we'd get over that. God
never saved anybody's soul. He saves all of you or none of
you. He takes possession of your life.
Or He doesn't take possession of anything. We recognize that
faith is a heart matter, but it's also a life matter, buddy.
Faith is that which dominates the life of God's elect and guides
them in the way. This book teaches plainly, the
righteous shall hold on his way and he shall continue in that
way. The Lord tells us, he that endures
to the end shall be saved. Now, you can make what you want
to of that. This is what the book makes of it. He that endures
to the end shall be saved. This is what that means. Bob
Estes has been sitting here for a while, following Christ, worshipping
him. If that's where you die, that's
evidence of faith. Lindsay Campbell has been here
a little longer. If that's where he dies, that's evidence of faith. Folks who leave, left because
they never had anything to leave. Folks who quit, quit because
they never had anything to start with. He that endures to the
end shall be saved. Turn over to Hebrews chapter
3. Let me show you two or three places in the very passage here
we're dealing with. I said this whole book is talking
about perseverance. Hebrews 3 verse 14. We are made
partakers of Christ. What a statement. Rex Bartley,
partaker of Christ. One with Christ. One with Him.
One with Him. Partakers of Christ. What does it say? If we hold
the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. Hebrews
chapter 10 verse 35. Cast not away, therefore, your
confidence, which hath great recompense of reward. For you
have need of patience, that after you have done the will of God,
you might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he
that shall come will come and will not tarry. Now the just
shall live by faith, but if any man draw back, my soul shall
have no pleasure in him. Man puts his hand to the plow
and looks back, not fit for the kingdom of God. But we, we who
truly are gods, we are not of them that draw back into perdition.
We're not of them that draw back into hell, but of them that believe
unto the saving of the soul. Now the purpose of this passage,
The intent of the Holy Spirit in these verses, Hebrews 12,
1 through 4, is to show us the necessity and the way of perseverance. Let's read together. Hebrews chapter 12. Wherefore,
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth
so easily beset us, And let us run with patience, with perseverance,
with endurance, 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 set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For
consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against
himself, Lest you be wearied and faint in your minds, you
have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Now, be
sure you get the connection. Go to the first word in the text,
wherefore. Wherefore. This connects Hebrews
12 with Hebrews chapter 10. We read it just a little bit
ago. In Hebrews 10, verse 35, look at it. Paul says, cast not
away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great recompense of
reward. For you have need of patience,
that after you have done the will of God, you might receive
the promise. And then he gives us the examples
of patience in chapter 11. Now, pick up in verse 1 of chapter
12. Wherefore, since you have need
of patience, and since we are not of them that draw back unto
perdition, wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with
this great cloud of witnesses I've been describing to you,
let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily
beset us, and let us run with patience the race that sit before
us. Now this cloud of witnesses,
who are they? What's he talking about? The
allusion is to the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games in our day,
I started to say they're not what they were, but they really
probably are what they originally were. They're really games to
the gods. That's how they were started.
They were games performed by the finest athletes in the Greek
society, gathered from all parts of the Greek world. And they
would go and run these races and perform these great feats,
sometimes at risk of life and limb. They would perform these
things in order to please the gods they worshiped. And they
would be cheered on. And the ones who won their particular
category of race would be rewarded with great promotion in society. And so Paul takes an illusion
here from the Greek games that were so common and so familiar
in that part of the world, even among the Jews who had been dominated
by the Romans for so long. And he says, now, we have a great
cloud of witnesses. compassed about with a great
cloud of witnesses. You try to get a picture. Here's
a cloud of witnesses ahead of us, surrounding us. And we're running a course. And
this cloud of witnesses is before us. The word witness here does
not imply just a spectator. Oh, no. Most folks have the idea
somehow that Christianity is a spectator sport. We stand on
the sidelines and root for the preacher. Oh, no. No, this cloud
of witnesses, these are martyrs. That's the word. That's the word.
The very word translated witnesses is the word we would always translate
martyrs anywhere else. Martyrs, people who laid down
their lives in the cause. Some laid down their lives because
they were put to death by men. They would not deny the faith.
But all laid down their lives by their own hands. That's what
it is to believe Christ. Would to God we'd hear this.
That's what it is to believe Christ. It is to lay down my
life in His cause. to lay it all down, the totality
of it, to give it up. The witnesses are not only those
who voluntarily laid down their lives for Christ, but there are
men and women, these Old Testament saints, but it includes more
than that. It includes all who have gone before us into glory.
They are witnesses to us. of God's grace, of God's sufficiency,
of Christ's precious blood and its sufficiency, of His righteousness
and its sufficiency. They're witnesses to us that
indeed God is faithful who has called us and we have come into
glory because He's faithful. Come on, follow us. They're witnesses. I don't believe there's any stretching
of the text or the teaching of Scripture to say, they're witnesses
of those still running the race. That's certainly implied in the
Word. And we recognize that God's saints in heaven do not become
little gods. They are not omniscient, they're
not omnipresent. We don't pray to the saints and
we don't seek mercy of God through the saints, but we recognize
that God's saints in heaven look down upon the earth and observe
and see. They observe and see that which
is going on at present. Now look at the charge that's
given to us. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses, 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." Now, the charge here
is threefold. First, Paul calls for us to join
him in laying aside every weight that hinders us in our race. Let us, my brothers and sisters,
he says, like those who've gone before us into heaven, lay aside
every weight that would hinder us. Obviously, he's talking about
those things that weigh heavily upon us. Those things that press
us down. Those things that hinder us from
running the race. Lay aside the terrible burden
of God's law that you can't bear. Certainly that's what he's talking
about to these Hebrews. He's been telling them, come away
from the ceremonies and the rites and requirements of the law.
God has laid aside the law. You lay it aside. Take the weight
and the burden of your sin and lay it down. Nothing on this earth, nothing
on this earth will keep a man bogged down in misery and more
likely ultimately to turn him aside than constantly carrying
the weight of his sin and his guilt before God. That which
men imagine to be Somehow a sign of spirituality is a sign of
anything but spirituality. That which men imagine to be
a sign of faith is a sign of anything but faith. Oh, I have
such a weight of guilt and sin. How come? How come? In fact, the words would be better
translated this way, having laid aside the weight. having laid
aside the weight, coming to Jesus Christ our Lord, looking to Him. Cease to carry that burden that
He has carried. Cease to carry what God has put
away and lay aside on Him your sin and run the race. But preacher,
I see it all the time. I know. Me too. And don't take it lightly. Don't
make it a something trivial and insignificant by no means, but
reckon yourselves to be dead to the law. Christ has borne
my sin. That's one thing I don't have
to be concerned with anymore. Christ put it away. He put it
away. He tells us to lay aside the
burden of our heart's care. I don't know which is greater,
the greater difficulty. to lay all my sin on my Savior and leave it on Him, or to lay
all my care on Him. But we must lay aside the weight,
the care, that which is too great for you to bear. Cast it on Him. Oh, cast your care on his broad,
omnipotent shoulders. Cast all your care on him because
he cares for you. It is both foolish and evil for
us to spend our time and our energies dwelling on things over
which we have absolutely no control, about which we can do nothing.
It's foolish. It's foolish. Oh, but preacher,
I have this great burden. You don't know what I'm going
through. No, but he does. He does. Now, I've lost my wife. I've lost my husband. I've lost
my son. I've lost my daughter. Oh, you don't know what I'm going
through. Let me ask you something. Let me ask you something. Is
there anything you can do about it? Is there anything you can
do about it? Did God do it? Be honest. Whatever comes, whatever
is done, is there anything you can do about it? Did God do it? Then cast your care on Him. No
point in you dwelling on it. No point in you beating yourself
to death with it. God and His good providence has
brought to pass as it is this day. Now walk with Him and continue
to run the race. Let us also, with deliberate
purpose, lay aside every earthly care that would keep us from
running the race that's set before us. Our Lord calls it the care of
this world, the deceitfulness of riches, the care of raising
a family. Sammy and Ruth back there were
two babies. You babies, forgive me. Babies to mom and dad still. Got some care. Got to clothe
them, raise them, educate them, feed them. That's from care. Got to provide for them. Seek to it that taking care of
them don't keep you from Christ. Don't keep you from following
Christ. Don't keep you from worshiping Christ. Now, preacher, that's, you just
can't expect that from people. I don't. I expect it from grace. I expect it from God, and I expect
it from God's people. He says, let us lay aside the
sin which doth so easily beset us. Now, I looked at that carefully,
very carefully. And no doubt those words may
be applied to many, many things, many besetting sins. Indeed,
we must not let sin have dominion over us. Please don't mistake
what I'm saying. We must say no to the flesh,
to worldly lust, to those things that are evil concerning ourselves,
about ourselves, and in ourselves. But read the words of scripture
as they are given. You'll see that Paul uses a definite
article and refers to the sin that so easily besets every one
of us in our race. In other words, he says, the
sin that besets Sammy Wall and besets Diane Campbell and besets
Shelby Fortner and Larry Brown and Don Fortner is the same sin.
The sin, not the sins that so easily beset us. Most of the
commentators said, well, this is talking about that particular
thing that's your constitutional makeup, that to which you're
most likely bent in your constitutional makeup. No, sir. That's not it. That's not it. The sin that easily
besets us all. If you were running, I'm not
a runner. You fellows can correct me if
I'm mistaken, but I suspect when you're out there running a race
and you Running and suddenly particularly if you're running
cross-country and you you got tangled up with stuff They just
wrapped around your feet. It'd be a little bit difficult
to run and that's exactly what it's talking about Jeremiah put
it this way. He said the yoke of my transgression is bound
by his hand They are wreathed and come up upon my neck. He's
made my strength to fall the sin that besets us that wraps
around us, and entangles us, and trips us, brings us down
so easily, is one thing. It is that to which we are most
commonly prone, and that which is most dishonoring to our God.
It is that which causes us to carry weights we have no business
carrying, and carry burdens we have no business carrying. It
is that which causes us to have cares we have no business having.
It's unbelief. Now you can make more polite
words if you want to, but it's just unbelief. That's all. Just unbelief. Unbelief caused
those disciples when they were in the ship with
the master. Is that where we are? That's
where we are, everybody. We're in his ship with him. Unbelief
caused them to cry with him on board. Master, carest thou not
that we perish? Unbelief caused Martha and Mary
to question his wisdom and his goodness because their brother
had died. Unbelief. Cause Peter, as he
was walking across the water, walking across the storm to his
master. That's where I am right now.
I'm walking across this troubled sea of time to him who is my
savior on the other side. He's bid me come to him. And
unbelief caused Peter to sink. Until he cried, Lord, save me,
I perish. Unbelief. keeps us from seeing
the glory of God in His grace and in His providence. Said I
not unto thee, if thou wouldst believe, thou shouldst see the
glory of God. Unbelief causes these hands to
hang down. All the race is so long. It's
been so difficult. The obstacles are so great. Unbelief
makes the knees weak. Unbelief turns our feet out of
the way. Unbelief is that sin which so
easily besets us. And then third, the apostle calls
for us laying aside every weight and the sin that so easily besets
us, trips us up, to run with patience, the race. Run with endurance. The Amplified
Version gives a great paraphrase of this. This first verse. Therefore, then, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses who have borne testimony
to the truth, let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance,
unnecessary weight, and that sin which so readily, deftly,
and cleverly clings to and entangles us. And let us run with patient
endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course
of the race that's set before us. Now, the race set before us. I'm pausing because I want your
attention. I want you to hear me. The race set before us is
the appointed course of your life personally. The appointed course of my life
personally. The arena is in this world here,
in this wicked, ungodly, reprobate world. Here we are. The course
is the course set before us by God our Father, Christ our Savior. The course set before us in His
Word, yes, the course of faith. But the course set before us
in His good providence. I have a course to finish. You too. And whatever the course
of my race is, all the obstacles, all the terrors, all the fears,
all the hills, all the valleys, All the dark places, all the
light places, all the rivers, all the storms are appointed
and set by my God. It is the race set before us
by which we're to honor and serve our God. The race is a race that
must be run. But Isaiah speaks of us. Run
and not be weary, then walk and not faint. Here, Paul's talking
about running a race. Isaiah's talking about the blessed,
confident walk of faith. Paul's talking about the necessary
perseverance. A race requires effort, constant
strain, constant strain. A man running a race has no opportunity
to take a break. He has no opportunity to refresh
himself. He has no opportunity to pay
much attention to his pains. He has no opportunity to do anything
except run the race. That's all. It requires constant
effort. It requires constant strain.
It requires relentless endurance, perseverance, patience, and determination. Well, I believe in eternal security.
So did Joshua. But he said, as for me and my
house, we'll serve the Lord. I believe once saved always. So did Paul. But he said, I have
finished my course. I have kept the faith. He said,
I keep unto my body bringing in subjection, lest when I preach
to others, I prove to be a reprobate. The prize? The prize is Christ. The prize is Christ. Here it
is. Christ and everything else. Everything else. Everybody else. Everything. Choose you this day whom you
will serve. What are you going to seek? What? I believe. I will drop everything
else and follow Him. Everything else. Turn to Philippians
3. What things were gained to me,
Paul says in verse 7, those I count but loss for Christ, verse 8.
Yea, doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. for whom I suffered
the loss of all things and do count them but done, that I may
win Christ and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I may
know him and the power of his resurrection
and the fellowship of his sufferings being made conformable unto his
death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection
of the dead. Not as though I had already attained. I hadn't got
it yet. I just started to race. Either we're already perfect,
but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also
I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended, but this one thing I do, forgetting, laying
aside those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto
those things that are before. I press toward the mark for the
prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Well, how
on earth can we run this race posture? Look at verse 2. If you've got some place in your
margin, you can write this. Write this. Looking away unto
Jesus. That's exactly how it will be
translated. Not just looking unto Jesus. Looking away. Looking away from me to Him.
Looking away from my sin to Him. Looking away from my troubles
to Him. Looking away from my sorrows to Him. Looking away
from my heartache to Him. Looking away from my darkness
to Him. Looking to Him. Looking into Him. Jesus, my Savior,
my Redeemer, my Master, my Mediator, my High Priest, my Advocate,
my Strength, my Salvation, my All. Looking away to Him. Jesus, the Author. He's the one
who gave it to me. And the finisher. He's the one
who's going to bring me to Him of our faith. Looking unto Jesus,
the author and the finisher of our faith. Read on. For consider Him. Consider Him. Keep looking away to Christ. What? Pastor? You know, you know
what I'm going through. Keep looking away to Him. You
see, because of His great love for you, He never quit on you. Don't you quit on Him. For consider Him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against Himself. That'll keep
you from being weary and faint in your minds, won't it? Lest you be weary and faint in
your minds. You have not yet resisted unto
blood, striving against sin. In other words, Don Fortner, you haven't been through anything
yet. not compared to what he'd gone
through, because he loved you. Oh, God, give me grace not to
quit on him. The race is not to the swift. What does God require of us? Perseverance. I read something this morning,
I thought, that's a pretty good description of what I'm trying
to say. Mr. Spurgeon said, the snail, through
perseverance, got on board the ark. No strength, no speed, no talent,
nothing, nothing to make anybody even want him there. Except God
said, come on board. And through perseverance, he
got on to the ark. And through perseverance, we
shall at last enter into glory. Wherefore, seeing we are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us. Amen.