WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.259 So we've been walking through Hebrews, and two 00:00:04.259 --> 00:00:07.660 weeks ago I preached a message, we are not of 00:00:07.660 --> 00:00:13.199 those who shrink back, right? Let's just say 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:16.839 that again, we are not of those who shrink back, 00:00:16.879 --> 00:00:21.480 right? So we began that in Hebrews 10. We walked 00:00:21.480 --> 00:00:25.000 through Hebrews 11, the ancients, right? The 00:00:25.000 --> 00:00:28.859 great men and women of faith. And we landed in 00:00:28.859 --> 00:00:33.679 Hebrews chapter 10. Oh, I pulled up the wrong 00:00:33.679 --> 00:00:36.920 sermon here. Sorry. I pulled up that sermon. 00:00:38.560 --> 00:00:45.640 We're in chapter 12, yes. Now I have to find 00:00:45.640 --> 00:00:52.039 the sermon. See, this is why printing your sermons 00:00:52.039 --> 00:00:54.520 is better. I might have to have Nick run me up 00:00:54.520 --> 00:00:58.380 the sermon from back there. Oh, there it is. 00:00:58.460 --> 00:01:02.979 I got it. I got it. Okay. Hebrews 12 is where 00:01:02.979 --> 00:01:05.459 we landed in that sermon. So if you were not 00:01:05.459 --> 00:01:07.140 here for that, I want to encourage you to get 00:01:07.140 --> 00:01:10.040 online and listen to it because it's setting 00:01:10.040 --> 00:01:14.159 us up for Hebrews 12. Now, my goal had been to... 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:18.049 take us further into Hebrews 12 and talking about 00:01:18.049 --> 00:01:22.209 the correction of the Lord. I know this is so 00:01:22.209 --> 00:01:24.950 exciting, the correction of the Lord. We will 00:01:24.950 --> 00:01:28.349 be there in two weeks. But I wanted us to come 00:01:28.349 --> 00:01:31.849 back to where we finished two weeks ago to set 00:01:31.849 --> 00:01:35.090 us up for that, because it's actually a very 00:01:35.090 --> 00:01:38.590 exciting and empowering thing in our lives. And 00:01:38.590 --> 00:01:44.700 so in Hebrews 12, verse 3, We sang it this morning. 00:01:44.920 --> 00:01:50.540 For consider him who endured such hostility from 00:01:50.540 --> 00:01:55.439 sinners against himself, lest you become weary 00:01:55.439 --> 00:02:00.840 and discouraged in your souls. How many of you 00:02:00.840 --> 00:02:03.420 have ever been weary and discouraged in your 00:02:03.420 --> 00:02:08.360 soul? Right? There's that deep weariness that 00:02:08.360 --> 00:02:12.370 can come on us. And it's interesting that it 00:02:12.370 --> 00:02:16.990 is in the context of faith, being great men and 00:02:16.990 --> 00:02:20.229 women of faith that don't shrink back, that he 00:02:20.229 --> 00:02:23.689 talks about the weariness and the discouragement 00:02:23.689 --> 00:02:27.689 of the soul. But we are not of those that shrink 00:02:27.689 --> 00:02:30.030 back, right? We have a great cloud of witnesses 00:02:30.030 --> 00:02:35.469 that have gone before us. And so let's read from 00:02:35.469 --> 00:02:38.889 the beginning of Hebrews, chapter 12, verse 1, 00:02:39.050 --> 00:02:43.629 the context. Therefore, we also, we love this 00:02:43.629 --> 00:02:47.509 passage, since we are surrounded by so great 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:52.210 a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every 00:02:52.210 --> 00:02:56.930 weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, 00:02:57.050 --> 00:03:02.650 and let us run with endurance the race that is 00:03:02.650 --> 00:03:07.370 set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author 00:03:07.370 --> 00:03:11.650 and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that 00:03:11.650 --> 00:03:16.909 was set before him endured the cross, despising 00:03:16.909 --> 00:03:21.110 the shame, and has sat down at the right hand 00:03:21.110 --> 00:03:28.750 of the throne of God. Every one of you has a 00:03:28.750 --> 00:03:33.120 race that belongs to you. Some of you are just 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:37.340 starting on your race. You've just put on your 00:03:37.340 --> 00:03:40.099 tennis shoes when you received Jesus and set 00:03:40.099 --> 00:03:44.620 out onto the course. Some of you have been running 00:03:44.620 --> 00:03:50.680 this race for 50 years. Every part of this journey 00:03:50.680 --> 00:03:54.400 is wonderful. The beginning, the middle, the 00:03:54.400 --> 00:04:00.699 end. We're all on a race. We are all on this 00:04:00.699 --> 00:04:09.759 journey, and how we run it is important. Now, 00:04:09.759 --> 00:04:12.560 we've talked about this, that I'm not a runner, 00:04:12.759 --> 00:04:16.480 right? We know Darren was a runner. They don't 00:04:16.480 --> 00:04:18.660 just decide to sign up for cross -country, throw 00:04:18.660 --> 00:04:21.759 them on the team, and that's it. They're very 00:04:21.759 --> 00:04:26.060 intentional. Any team, you're intentional in 00:04:26.060 --> 00:04:28.860 your training. You're intentional in learning 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:31.959 how to do it the best way that you can. You're 00:04:31.959 --> 00:04:35.379 intentional even about the clothing that you 00:04:35.379 --> 00:04:38.259 wear. Sometimes you watch them and you're like, 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:40.399 maybe they need a little more clothes. What are 00:04:40.399 --> 00:04:43.300 they doing? They're putting off anything that's 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:48.480 hindering them in their racing, right? Yes, I 00:04:48.480 --> 00:04:52.300 saw Darren in little shorty shorts. Yes, you 00:04:52.300 --> 00:04:55.540 did. Yes, you did. You'll never see that again, 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:59.740 but when he's running, we're going for it, right? 00:05:01.519 --> 00:05:07.959 I know. Darren is just my primary fodder for 00:05:07.959 --> 00:05:15.899 sermons. So let's talk for a moment about your 00:05:15.899 --> 00:05:20.689 race. Because in this passage, he's down here 00:05:20.689 --> 00:05:23.569 groaning still. Oh, and by the way, if anybody 00:05:23.569 --> 00:05:26.009 thinks you can do the announcements better than 00:05:26.009 --> 00:05:28.449 Darren, you can see me after church and I will 00:05:28.449 --> 00:05:31.670 get you up here. All right? I'm not kidding. 00:05:33.449 --> 00:05:39.769 Sign up today with me. Okay. I'm getting distracted 00:05:39.769 --> 00:05:46.069 in my race with this sermon. Okay. Let's see 00:05:46.069 --> 00:05:49.230 what this writer is saying. Let us lay aside 00:05:49.230 --> 00:05:54.250 every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares. 00:05:54.310 --> 00:05:59.509 Key one in running your race. Lay it aside. Get 00:05:59.509 --> 00:06:03.009 rid of anything that is in the way of the running. 00:06:06.129 --> 00:06:11.329 We get sin. We know, how many of you know there 00:06:11.329 --> 00:06:15.370 are things you shouldn't be doing? Right? We 00:06:15.370 --> 00:06:20.649 know we shouldn't do that. So the sin that so 00:06:20.649 --> 00:06:27.889 easily entangles, we get that. I think the first 00:06:27.889 --> 00:06:32.449 part of this, though, for many of us is interesting. 00:06:32.750 --> 00:06:37.730 Laying aside every weight. Anything that you 00:06:37.730 --> 00:06:44.389 are carrying that is hindering. Every weight. 00:06:44.449 --> 00:06:50.149 This can be good things. It doesn't have to be 00:06:50.149 --> 00:06:54.449 some sin that has you captive, although that 00:06:54.449 --> 00:06:58.790 might be it. But anything that is a weight that 00:06:58.790 --> 00:07:04.389 is pulling you back in your race. There are many 00:07:04.389 --> 00:07:07.370 things I would love to do in life or be in life 00:07:07.370 --> 00:07:12.209 that I laid aside when I answered the call of 00:07:12.209 --> 00:07:17.100 God. Because they would be weights to me in the 00:07:17.100 --> 00:07:21.379 race he has set for me. And for some of us in 00:07:21.379 --> 00:07:25.259 this place, there are things that aren't necessarily 00:07:25.259 --> 00:07:28.899 bad that can be good. When I was reading this, 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:33.600 I was thinking of the Netflix show, Tidying Up, 00:07:33.740 --> 00:07:39.319 Marie Kondo. Anybody know Marie Kondo? Yes, my 00:07:39.319 --> 00:07:41.379 kids are raising their hands because I forced 00:07:41.379 --> 00:07:46.540 them to Marie Kondo their laundry. Marie comes 00:07:46.540 --> 00:07:50.459 in, she's from Japan, and she teaches you how 00:07:50.459 --> 00:07:56.060 to tidy up your house. It is great. I re -watch 00:07:56.060 --> 00:07:59.620 it every January for inspiration as I struggle 00:07:59.620 --> 00:08:04.379 to do that. But she has this thing, and when 00:08:04.379 --> 00:08:06.779 you're tidying up your home and organizing it, 00:08:06.819 --> 00:08:11.860 she makes you touch every piece of it. And she 00:08:11.860 --> 00:08:18.800 wants to know, does it spark joy for you? I'm 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.339 about to make Darren go through his closet. Does 00:08:21.339 --> 00:08:24.420 this flannel spark joy? What about this flannel? 00:08:24.500 --> 00:08:27.879 We've got 10 flannels in here. Are they all sparking 00:08:27.879 --> 00:08:32.940 joy? Do we need all of them? There's some I haven't 00:08:32.940 --> 00:08:34.860 seen you wear. I bought him a Christmas one. 00:08:34.940 --> 00:08:37.059 I don't think it's sparking joy it's been sitting 00:08:37.059 --> 00:08:42.340 there. Every couple years, Linda makes Dennis. 00:08:44.919 --> 00:08:49.220 Oh, he finally, it's not sparking joy. It's taking 00:08:49.220 --> 00:08:52.480 up closet space that could be used for other 00:08:52.480 --> 00:08:56.759 things, right? So why is this important? Because 00:08:56.759 --> 00:09:03.230 there are things in your life That are not joy 00:09:03.230 --> 00:09:08.309 sparkers. And when I say this, I'm applying this 00:09:08.309 --> 00:09:12.669 to the things that God wants in your life. Because 00:09:12.669 --> 00:09:17.529 the truly joyful things that spark in our life 00:09:17.529 --> 00:09:21.750 are things that God wants in our life. Not the 00:09:21.750 --> 00:09:25.429 things we necessarily want. Our flesh might like 00:09:25.429 --> 00:09:31.490 them. They might spark joy for our flesh. But 00:09:31.490 --> 00:09:33.690 they're not sparking joy for our spirit man. 00:09:35.809 --> 00:09:39.909 And we cannot run our races weighted down with 00:09:39.909 --> 00:09:42.610 things that are only sparking joy for our flesh 00:09:42.610 --> 00:09:52.000 man and not our spirit man. This is why I'm so 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.940 excited. If you saw at the beginning our Lent 00:09:55.940 --> 00:09:59.700 graphic that Nick just put out, this Wednesday 00:09:59.700 --> 00:10:03.899 we begin our celebration of Lent, my favorite 00:10:03.899 --> 00:10:08.820 season of the year. The season Lent, which means 00:10:08.820 --> 00:10:12.639 springtime, which means that we are setting aside 00:10:12.639 --> 00:10:16.080 the 40 days representing the temptation of Christ, 00:10:16.360 --> 00:10:21.250 of getting rid of all the winter clutter. I was 00:10:21.250 --> 00:10:24.049 just looking in my yard thinking there's so much 00:10:24.049 --> 00:10:29.190 winter clutter that needs to be gone. Lent for 00:10:29.190 --> 00:10:35.409 us is the season of laying aside the weights, 00:10:35.590 --> 00:10:40.169 the things that ensnare us, of saying, Holy Spirit, 00:10:40.289 --> 00:10:44.049 come and walk through the garden of my soul, 00:10:44.289 --> 00:10:50.320 of my life. And so as you leave today, our Lent 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:52.700 resource table, I want to encourage you to stop 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:57.360 there and take advantage of it, that you would 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:02.139 lean into Lent, lean in to the season of fasting, 00:11:02.240 --> 00:11:05.080 of giving up. I've been drinking coffee like 00:11:05.080 --> 00:11:07.879 nobody's business this week because I know Wednesday 00:11:07.879 --> 00:11:11.159 is coming and I won't be drinking coffee for 00:11:11.159 --> 00:11:20.559 40 days. Whatever, you don't even drink it. Let's 00:11:20.559 --> 00:11:28.440 give up Thorntons for 40 days. They all know 00:11:28.440 --> 00:11:30.200 the things you should be giving up, don't they, 00:11:30.259 --> 00:11:39.480 Darren? That's right. You shouldn't be eating 00:11:39.480 --> 00:11:46.730 them anyway. We have one time on this race. It 00:11:46.730 --> 00:11:51.129 is a one race. We're not getting another chance 00:11:51.129 --> 00:11:55.909 at our race. This is a one and done. We start 00:11:55.909 --> 00:12:00.149 the race and we finish the race. And so anything 00:12:00.149 --> 00:12:03.210 that gets in the way of the race, we must become 00:12:03.210 --> 00:12:08.470 ruthless in elimination. Sometimes tolerance, 00:12:08.610 --> 00:12:11.970 we tolerate. Well, it's not really an entangling 00:12:11.970 --> 00:12:16.889 sin. And so we will tolerate some of these weights. 00:12:17.789 --> 00:12:22.149 It can be something good. It could be an unforgiveness, 00:12:22.149 --> 00:12:27.250 an offense with somebody. That is a weight that 00:12:27.250 --> 00:12:34.230 will hinder you in your race. It can be unforgiveness 00:12:34.230 --> 00:12:37.409 toward God. You're offended with God because 00:12:37.409 --> 00:12:40.830 something didn't go right for you. It's a weight. 00:12:42.539 --> 00:12:46.139 We've only got one race. There's got to be this 00:12:46.139 --> 00:12:50.899 sense of ruthlessness in us that says my eyes 00:12:50.899 --> 00:12:56.039 are on the prize. And when we see the prize, 00:12:56.200 --> 00:13:01.759 because listen, the second key in running our 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:07.539 race, according to this passage, is to run with 00:13:07.539 --> 00:13:14.259 endurance. The race that is set before us. It's 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:16.679 interesting, isn't it, that he says to run this 00:13:16.679 --> 00:13:21.720 race will require, what? The one thing he says 00:13:21.720 --> 00:13:29.840 is required, endurance. Endurance. I was just 00:13:29.840 --> 00:13:32.279 watching last night, Alexandra showed me the 00:13:32.279 --> 00:13:37.740 opening of the Olympics. With Mr. Bean. Did anybody 00:13:37.740 --> 00:13:42.899 see that with Mr. Bean? Oh my goodness. They 00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:46.500 have the full orchestra playing Chariots of Fire, 00:13:46.580 --> 00:13:49.080 and he's just sitting there doing the one note 00:13:49.080 --> 00:13:53.620 on the keyboard, being Mr. Bean. So he finally 00:13:53.620 --> 00:13:56.139 gets bored playing his one note while the whole 00:13:56.139 --> 00:13:59.639 orchestra is playing, and he falls asleep and 00:13:59.639 --> 00:14:02.759 begins to dream of the scene from the movie when 00:14:02.759 --> 00:14:05.000 they're running on the beach, right? So he's 00:14:05.000 --> 00:14:08.539 got the Olympic team, and he's trying to beat 00:14:08.539 --> 00:14:12.179 the Olympic runners on the beach, and he realizes 00:14:12.179 --> 00:14:16.639 he can't, and so he cheats. He gets into a car 00:14:16.639 --> 00:14:19.440 that drives him around to the front to get out 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:23.450 and win the race. Listen, there is no cheating 00:14:23.450 --> 00:14:28.669 on our race. There is no, like, shortcut to the 00:14:28.669 --> 00:14:32.549 end. We need endurance to run in this life the 00:14:32.549 --> 00:14:36.090 race of which he's called us, what is set before 00:14:36.090 --> 00:14:45.409 us. Endurance, which is what? Patience. There's 00:14:45.409 --> 00:14:48.289 not one person I've ever met that says I have 00:14:48.289 --> 00:14:54.080 the gift of patience. Never. And as a homeschooling 00:14:54.080 --> 00:14:56.519 mom, I would get so irritated when they would 00:14:56.519 --> 00:14:58.600 say, oh, well, I don't just have the patience 00:14:58.600 --> 00:15:02.779 to do that. I'm like, like, I do? I don't either. 00:15:03.019 --> 00:15:05.600 There were days I wanted to bang my head on the 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:09.759 table, right? Patience is not usually something 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:14.250 that is just naturally given to people. And yet 00:15:14.250 --> 00:15:17.549 here it is required for the race, the descent. 00:15:17.830 --> 00:15:23.110 Not having patience is not an excuse. Because 00:15:23.110 --> 00:15:26.850 we have the Holy Spirit. And what is the fruit 00:15:26.850 --> 00:15:33.950 of the Holy Spirit? I like Linda's word, long 00:15:33.950 --> 00:15:38.289 -suffering. You got to be able to suffer long 00:15:38.289 --> 00:15:42.980 on this race. That is what endurance is. And 00:15:42.980 --> 00:15:45.799 it's interesting that in the definition of endurance, 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:52.840 it says cheerfully. Oh, yeah. Cheerfully suffer 00:15:52.840 --> 00:15:58.659 long. Do you know why it says cheerfully? Because 00:15:58.659 --> 00:16:04.340 it says hopefully. You can suffer long when you 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:10.379 have hope. You can suffer long cheerfully. When 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:19.620 you have hope. How many of you have ever seen 00:16:19.620 --> 00:16:23.460 Fiddler on the Roof? Yeah? If you haven't, you 00:16:23.460 --> 00:16:29.179 should watch it. It is a wonderful musical. And 00:16:29.179 --> 00:16:35.000 Tevye says this. He's a poor milkman. Jewish 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:40.279 man. And he says, I know, I know. If you want 00:16:40.279 --> 00:16:42.600 to see Darren really dance, you just put on Fiddler 00:16:42.600 --> 00:16:46.500 on the Roof. If I were a rich man and he'll really 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:53.500 start dancing. Tevye says, I know, I know. We 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:58.039 are your chosen people. But once in a while, 00:16:58.240 --> 00:17:02.799 can't you choose someone else? Has anybody ever 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:06.299 felt that way? Come on, God. If we're really 00:17:06.299 --> 00:17:11.220 honest, can't you choose someone else? Would 00:17:11.220 --> 00:17:18.500 it be so bad if I were a little richer? How often, 00:17:18.539 --> 00:17:23.420 though, do we despise our race? We despise the 00:17:23.420 --> 00:17:27.819 race that we're on. And it's in that moment that 00:17:27.819 --> 00:17:32.019 we choose, we have the choice of running our 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:39.910 race. Of enduring in our race. And there's not 00:17:39.910 --> 00:17:43.789 one of us that can run this race in our own strength 00:17:43.789 --> 00:17:49.430 and ability. There's only one way that we have 00:17:49.430 --> 00:17:54.190 the power to run this race. And it's in verse 00:17:54.190 --> 00:18:00.809 2. Looking unto Jesus, who is the author of your 00:18:00.809 --> 00:18:08.039 race. And the finisher of your race. Who set 00:18:08.039 --> 00:18:14.299 the example for us on his own race. Who for the 00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:20.740 joy set before him. That's you and I. You were 00:18:20.740 --> 00:18:27.500 the joy set before Jesus. That enabled him to 00:18:27.500 --> 00:18:33.690 run his own race of enduring the cross. And so 00:18:33.690 --> 00:18:38.849 we look to Jesus as we're running our race, who 00:18:38.849 --> 00:18:41.210 is our author, who is our finisher. And here's 00:18:41.210 --> 00:18:43.710 where we get into trouble when we think we are 00:18:43.710 --> 00:18:48.009 the ones that are the authors of our race. We 00:18:48.009 --> 00:18:50.289 get into trouble when we think we're the finishers. 00:18:50.289 --> 00:18:52.309 We get in trouble when we think we're the ones 00:18:52.309 --> 00:18:59.150 that get to set the course. No, Jesus. Jesus 00:18:59.150 --> 00:19:03.900 is in charge of our race. And so we look to him 00:19:03.900 --> 00:19:09.980 as the author and the finisher. He endured the 00:19:09.980 --> 00:19:14.160 cross. He despised the shame of it and has sat 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:18.519 down at the right hand of the throne of God. 00:19:18.599 --> 00:19:25.140 He finished well. He crossed his finish line 00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:30.880 well. And you know that this word here, as the 00:19:30.880 --> 00:19:33.859 author of our faith, really means the captain. 00:19:35.019 --> 00:19:40.920 That's what that word means, captain. Any of 00:19:40.920 --> 00:19:43.859 you ever a team captain on your sports teams? 00:19:44.759 --> 00:19:48.980 Every team usually has a captain. We are not 00:19:48.980 --> 00:19:54.720 our own captains. Your best friend is not your 00:19:54.720 --> 00:19:58.930 captain. Social media is not your captain. You 00:19:58.930 --> 00:20:04.950 have one captain, Jesus. And so how do we run 00:20:04.950 --> 00:20:10.490 a race? By looking to our captain. Looking to 00:20:10.490 --> 00:20:19.829 our captain. Who died as a man. When Jesus endured 00:20:19.829 --> 00:20:27.349 the cross, he did it as a man. He did it as... 00:20:27.660 --> 00:20:32.859 you and I would have done it. And so how did 00:20:32.859 --> 00:20:38.640 Jesus, in his humanness, how did he endure and 00:20:38.640 --> 00:20:44.259 run the race for the joy set before him? And 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:48.500 so when I think about our races, I think about 00:20:48.500 --> 00:20:54.339 the joy that is set before us. That we are running 00:20:54.339 --> 00:21:01.269 after our prize. who is Jesus. There will come 00:21:01.269 --> 00:21:04.250 the day when we are face to face with him, when 00:21:04.250 --> 00:21:08.569 we have completed our race. And in that moment, 00:21:08.630 --> 00:21:13.750 everything will fade. The struggles we had here 00:21:13.750 --> 00:21:20.829 on earth will be some distant memory in light 00:21:20.829 --> 00:21:28.960 of knowing him in fullness. There is no better 00:21:28.960 --> 00:21:35.799 prize. And when we have that prize before us, 00:21:36.099 --> 00:21:41.019 it's like, I was never a ballerina, but I know 00:21:41.019 --> 00:21:44.240 enough to know that when they are spinning around, 00:21:44.640 --> 00:21:49.839 what do they do? They fix their eyes on an object, 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:55.839 and it keeps them centered, right? And so... 00:21:56.140 --> 00:21:58.799 Here's where I think we start spinning out of 00:21:58.799 --> 00:22:01.880 control. We start all of the things in life, 00:22:01.920 --> 00:22:04.859 our family, our jobs, our finances, all of the 00:22:04.859 --> 00:22:08.339 chaos of life has us spinning. And we begin to 00:22:08.339 --> 00:22:12.220 spin out of control when we've lost our fixed 00:22:12.220 --> 00:22:16.740 gaze. When we've lost the object that keeps us 00:22:16.740 --> 00:22:20.579 centered and spinning is when things spin out 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:24.390 of control. We've got to lock ourselves. We've 00:22:24.390 --> 00:22:30.130 got to lock our eyes on Jesus, our prize, the 00:22:30.130 --> 00:22:34.650 one that we are running the race towards. When 00:22:34.650 --> 00:22:38.430 we cross the finish line, he's waiting. He's 00:22:38.430 --> 00:22:41.529 just waiting. He's at the end saying, come on. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:44.819 Come on, don't give up. Come on, you're almost 00:22:44.819 --> 00:22:48.400 there. Come on, I'm waiting for you. Come on, 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:51.680 let's do this. Come on, keep going. Come on, 00:22:51.700 --> 00:22:55.920 I'm worth it. Come on, I'm worth it. My joy being 00:22:55.920 --> 00:23:00.660 with me is worth it. Come on. We've lost it. 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:04.039 We've lost, we've taken our eyes off of the prize. 00:23:10.029 --> 00:23:13.250 We read it back in Hebrews 10 a couple of weeks 00:23:13.250 --> 00:23:18.809 ago. Verse 35, do not cast away your confidence 00:23:18.809 --> 00:23:25.190 which has great reward for you have need of endurance 00:23:25.190 --> 00:23:30.250 so that after you have done the will of God you 00:23:30.250 --> 00:23:34.980 may receive the promise. Listen, he's not going 00:23:34.980 --> 00:23:38.220 to snatch the promise away. He's going to give 00:23:38.220 --> 00:23:42.740 you his promise. For yet a little while, and 00:23:42.740 --> 00:23:46.099 he who is coming will come and will not tarry. 00:23:46.460 --> 00:23:49.240 We got to keep our eyes on the prize, my friends. 00:23:53.640 --> 00:23:56.180 We talked about the great cloud of witnesses 00:23:56.180 --> 00:24:00.480 that are cheering us, right? They've gone before. 00:24:03.529 --> 00:24:07.829 However, there is one who is above every other 00:24:07.829 --> 00:24:13.430 who has gone before. There is one who is above 00:24:13.430 --> 00:24:19.910 every other, and he's already gone before. Consider 00:24:19.910 --> 00:24:25.869 him who endured. He's not calling you to do anything 00:24:25.869 --> 00:24:30.269 that he has not done himself. Consider him who 00:24:30.269 --> 00:24:34.549 endured such hostility. from sinners against 00:24:34.549 --> 00:24:39.349 himself, lest you become weary and discouraged. 00:24:41.750 --> 00:24:47.410 I would say this, running a race is tiring. Running 00:24:47.410 --> 00:24:53.450 a race is exhausting. And there are seasons of 00:24:53.450 --> 00:24:58.670 weariness and discouragement that probably if 00:24:58.670 --> 00:25:03.809 you just got back to taking Sabbath rest, That 00:25:03.809 --> 00:25:09.289 that would cure. However, there is a weariness 00:25:09.289 --> 00:25:16.089 and a discouragement that arises out of something 00:25:16.089 --> 00:25:19.250 much deeper than can be solved by just taking 00:25:19.250 --> 00:25:23.410 rest. And that is we've gotten our eyes off of 00:25:23.410 --> 00:25:30.380 Jesus. The moment we cease to look upon him, 00:25:30.519 --> 00:25:35.220 the moment we cease to consider him, is the moment 00:25:35.220 --> 00:25:38.559 we open ourselves to weariness and discouragement. 00:25:41.480 --> 00:25:49.680 It's the fruit of losing sight of Jesus. And 00:25:49.680 --> 00:25:52.619 so today I want to call us back. I want to call 00:25:52.619 --> 00:25:56.880 us to come back. to the place of being centered 00:25:56.880 --> 00:26:01.480 in Christ, to keeping our eyes fixed upon him. 00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:08.720 I love the passage in 1 Kings 19. Elijah had 00:26:08.720 --> 00:26:12.160 done all of this amazing stuff, right? He had 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:17.119 called down fire against the prophets of Baal, 00:26:17.160 --> 00:26:20.200 done amazing things. We've talked about him quite 00:26:20.200 --> 00:26:25.549 a bit, because to me, he's kind of a hero. So 00:26:25.549 --> 00:26:29.410 after all of his great encounters in verse 4 00:26:29.410 --> 00:26:33.309 of chapter 1 Kings 19, he says, but he himself 00:26:33.309 --> 00:26:36.890 went a day's journey into the wilderness. And 00:26:36.890 --> 00:26:39.490 what it is, is he came and sat under a tree. 00:26:41.069 --> 00:26:46.890 And he prayed that he would die. Can you imagine? 00:26:46.970 --> 00:26:50.029 All the great spiritual victories. And now we 00:26:50.029 --> 00:26:54.670 find him, after being chased by Jezebel, Wanting 00:26:54.670 --> 00:27:00.529 his life to be ended. God, it's enough. Take 00:27:00.529 --> 00:27:07.150 my life. This is the level of weariness and discouragement 00:27:07.150 --> 00:27:14.609 in which we find him. I just want to die. He 00:27:14.609 --> 00:27:18.670 wanted his race to end. He was saying, it's time, 00:27:18.710 --> 00:27:21.170 Lord. I want the finish line now. I'm tired of 00:27:21.170 --> 00:27:26.980 running this race. I'm done. And he fell asleep 00:27:26.980 --> 00:27:32.079 and an angel came along and touched him. And 00:27:32.079 --> 00:27:36.660 said to him, what? Go and pray some more? Go 00:27:36.660 --> 00:27:42.559 and fast some more? No, he said, arise and eat. 00:27:45.640 --> 00:27:49.599 And he looked and there provided by heaven was 00:27:49.599 --> 00:27:54.019 a cake. Baked on coals and a jar of water. And 00:27:54.019 --> 00:27:57.460 it says, so he ate and drank and lay down again. 00:27:58.680 --> 00:28:00.980 And the angel of the Lord came back a second 00:28:00.980 --> 00:28:06.839 time and touched him. And said, arise and eat. 00:28:09.930 --> 00:28:13.150 For the journey is too great for you. So he arose 00:28:13.150 --> 00:28:16.490 and he ate and drank and went in the strength 00:28:16.490 --> 00:28:20.130 of that food. He was traveling for 40 days and 00:28:20.130 --> 00:28:25.369 40 nights to the mountain of God. Listen. He 00:28:25.369 --> 00:28:30.910 was partaking and eating of food that could not 00:28:30.910 --> 00:28:34.130 be provided by any man. It came from heaven. 00:28:34.730 --> 00:28:39.289 And it was this. food that sustained him to continue 00:28:39.289 --> 00:28:43.589 his race. Listen, he went on to anoint a couple 00:28:43.589 --> 00:28:47.069 of more kings. He went on to raise up the prophet 00:28:47.069 --> 00:28:51.430 Elisha that would replace him. What if he had 00:28:51.430 --> 00:28:54.769 died? What if he had taken matters in his own 00:28:54.769 --> 00:28:58.769 hands and said, I'm done. I'm done on this race. 00:29:02.990 --> 00:29:07.700 Two kings. And a prophet. Because of his life. 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:15.140 Two kings and a prophet. Because he finished 00:29:15.140 --> 00:29:22.859 his race. He partook of the food. Listen. There's 00:29:22.859 --> 00:29:26.099 one source of strength. And in a few moments 00:29:26.099 --> 00:29:30.160 here, we're going to finish with communion. Because 00:29:30.160 --> 00:29:33.799 it's not enough to run this race in our own strength. 00:29:34.990 --> 00:29:39.460 We have to partake. of the bread of life. We 00:29:39.460 --> 00:29:42.880 have to partake of the living water. And if you're 00:29:42.880 --> 00:29:45.960 finding yourself discouraged, if you're finding 00:29:45.960 --> 00:29:49.460 yourself weary, I would just offer this solution. 00:29:49.819 --> 00:29:55.299 Consider him who endured. Look to Jesus. Partake 00:29:55.299 --> 00:29:58.279 of the bread of life that he has offered in his 00:29:58.279 --> 00:30:02.900 body. Partake of the living waters that he gives 00:30:02.900 --> 00:30:06.500 to us of salvation. Maybe, just maybe, need a 00:30:06.539 --> 00:30:13.839 a fresh drink and a fresh substance of him. And 00:30:13.839 --> 00:30:16.160 so this morning I'm going to ask if the worship 00:30:16.160 --> 00:30:20.440 team will come and our ushers prepare for communion. 00:30:24.240 --> 00:30:36.240 This is simple, but this is so important. Because 00:30:36.240 --> 00:30:39.079 you have an enemy that would seek to discourage 00:30:39.079 --> 00:30:42.500 you. You have an enemy that would seek to wear 00:30:42.500 --> 00:30:46.880 you down and take you out of your race. And you 00:30:46.880 --> 00:30:51.859 just don't know what the future holds. Like Elijah, 00:30:52.240 --> 00:30:55.299 he had a couple of kings and a prophet to take 00:30:55.299 --> 00:30:59.920 care of business with. You just don't know. what 00:30:59.920 --> 00:31:03.640 God has on your race ahead of you. You don't 00:31:03.640 --> 00:31:07.500 know. We can't see it always. You can't see beyond 00:31:07.500 --> 00:31:10.099 that hill, that mountain you've got to climb. 00:31:12.140 --> 00:31:15.819 That's faith, right? That's the place of faith. 00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:19.440 But you have an enemy that wants to get you off 00:31:19.440 --> 00:31:24.269 of your race. He's trying to take you out. He 00:31:24.269 --> 00:31:27.509 does not want you finishing your race. And he 00:31:27.509 --> 00:31:30.890 will do everything he can to go against you, 00:31:30.990 --> 00:31:38.009 to say, I'm done. I quit. This is too hard. If 00:31:38.009 --> 00:31:39.829 you want to just be a Sunday Christian, show 00:31:39.829 --> 00:31:42.910 up and you did your business and now you're going 00:31:42.910 --> 00:31:45.250 to go live however you want, that's fine. He'll 00:31:45.250 --> 00:31:49.009 leave you alone. But if you want to fulfill the 00:31:49.009 --> 00:31:52.480 race that he has set for you, You've got an enemy 00:31:52.480 --> 00:31:54.660 that's going to come against you, to take you 00:31:54.660 --> 00:32:01.700 out. Don't worry about him. Don't get your eyes 00:32:01.700 --> 00:32:07.079 on him. You just say, my eyes are fixed. My eyes 00:32:07.079 --> 00:32:11.819 are fixed on Jesus. I'm considering him who endured. 00:32:12.920 --> 00:32:17.279 I'm looking to the author and the finisher. Can't 00:32:17.279 --> 00:32:23.400 let our eyes wander. We can get so easily distracted. 00:32:23.400 --> 00:32:26.539 I get so annoyed at restaurants by televisions 00:32:26.539 --> 00:32:28.619 that are up. I'm like, why do you have to have 00:32:28.619 --> 00:32:31.880 televisions up? I always try to seat myself so 00:32:31.880 --> 00:32:35.059 Darren can't see the television because I want 00:32:35.059 --> 00:32:39.700 sole attention on me, right? It's so easy for 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:43.680 our eyes to wander. to be distracted. And we 00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:45.799 begin to look at other things and we begin to 00:32:45.799 --> 00:32:48.099 look at other people. We begin to think that 00:32:48.099 --> 00:32:50.259 other people have a better race than what we 00:32:50.259 --> 00:32:53.099 have. We begin to think, well, how come they're 00:32:53.099 --> 00:32:56.319 running so well? Why is their race seems so easy? 00:32:56.440 --> 00:32:58.359 They don't have all the obstacles. They don't 00:32:58.359 --> 00:33:01.000 have all the stuff in their path that I have. 00:33:01.299 --> 00:33:04.799 Our eyes have wandered. We got to get our eyes 00:33:04.799 --> 00:33:11.579 fixed back on Jesus. We're not the authors, Jesus 00:33:11.579 --> 00:33:17.740 is. And so in this moment of communion, as you 00:33:17.740 --> 00:33:23.460 take the communion, I want you to do an exchange. 00:33:24.839 --> 00:33:27.819 I want you, first of all, if you have sin that 00:33:27.819 --> 00:33:30.940 has been easily entangling you, listen, this 00:33:30.940 --> 00:33:35.579 is the table of the Lord. This is the place of 00:33:35.579 --> 00:33:41.529 victory. As you take... the blood, the cup, and 00:33:41.529 --> 00:33:46.730 the bread. I want you in exchange to let go of 00:33:46.730 --> 00:33:50.069 the sin. I want you to let go of the weights 00:33:50.069 --> 00:33:53.369 that you've been giving yourself to. As you take 00:33:53.369 --> 00:33:57.509 up the elements, I want you to look at it, and 00:33:57.509 --> 00:34:00.650 I want you to get your wandering gaze back on 00:34:00.650 --> 00:34:08.480 Jesus today, fixing your eyes on him. And so 00:34:08.480 --> 00:34:10.599 in a moment, the team is going to lead us. But 00:34:10.599 --> 00:34:13.420 I just want us, the ushers can begin to distribute 00:34:13.420 --> 00:34:18.900 the elements. And I want us just for a moment, 00:34:18.940 --> 00:34:22.579 I don't want us to worship yet. As you receive 00:34:22.579 --> 00:34:27.940 the elements from them, I want you to do an exchange 00:34:27.940 --> 00:34:31.639 in your heart. And I want you to refix your gaze.