The Race of Faith - 82

Well, having completed a Careful study of Hebrews chapter 11. The great chapter on faith that is filled with a gallery of heroes of faith. We come now to chapter twelve, and we might pause long enough to ask the question. To what purpose did we study the lives of all of these Old Testament saints? who were Exemplifiers of God-honoring faith.

Was the purpose to honor them? And to admire them? These men and women. And of course the answer is yes, but far more. Our purpose is to learn from them.

and to emulate them. to exercise the kind of faith that they exercised. and to achieve the rewards of faith which they achieved. And so there is a doctrinal side and there is a practical side to Hebrews chapter 11. Doctrine is teaching, and we are taught about the lives of these people and what they did.

and how they honored God, that is instruction, that is doctrine. But there's also an application of that to us, and we see that as we move into chapter 12. Others have believed God. before we came along. And let us take note.

of how they trusted God and how they honored God. and let us follow in their train. We can do the same thing they did with God's help. And so we come, therefore, to Hebrews 12. Verse 1, and it begins with a therefore.

That's the link. Chapter 11. Therefore, based upon what we have studied over Many weeks and months in chapter 11. Therefore, We also Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The Race of Faith, I think, is a good title for these two verses. And in it, I trust we will see three things.

First, our main responsibility Second, our twin impediments And third, our many examples. I'm not taking these things in the order in which they are found, but I'm taking them. in an order I think that will help us to understand and apply them.

So, first of all, what is our main responsibility as Christians? And according to our text, our main responsibility is to run the race that is set before us. Therefore we also seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Lawlessly aside every weight in the sin, which so easily ensnares us and then We come to this and let us run. with endurance. The race.

that is set before us. That's our responsibility. to run Our race.

Now what does that mean? Let's consider some things. It's evident that the writer of Hebrews, by the direction of the Holy Spirit, likens the Christian life to a race. Greek word A gona. We get an English word from that.

It's not an exact. Synonym to the Greek word, but we get our English word agony. And that indicates the the effort and the difficulty that it takes to successfully run A race. A race. It is not.

A picnic. It is a race. It is not a time of leisure. It is a time of effort and expenditure. of energy and of Purpose.

The Christian life is like a race.

Now, there are other similar... analogies in the scriptures to help us understand the Christian life.

Sometimes we're told the Christian life is like warfare. And the Christian, therefore, is like a soldier.

Sometimes we're told that the Christian life is like a field, a a farm, agriculture. And the Christian Believer is like a farmer. But in this case, we're told that the Christian life is like a race. And every Christian believer is like an athlete. who is running in a re race.

So, number one, the Christian life is like a race. Number two, The Christian race is like a marathon. This is not a sprint. This is not something that we can do quickly, be done with it, sit down and rest now that we have accomplished our purpose in running this race bang, bang, bang. No.

It's like a marathon. It goes on. And on. And on. I used to run for exercise.

I never ran a marathon. Anyone here ever run a marathon? Wow, I'm impressed. Good for you. Anyone else ever run a marathon?

A marathon is 27 miles, I think, something like that. Pardon? Twenty six miles through at sea, five yards. Twenty-six miles. 385 yards.

Twenty-six miles, three hundred and eighty-five yards.

So if you think about running 27 miles, It's shorter. That should make you feel real good when you get to the end. That's a long ways. That's a long ways. And it takes most people several hours.

Well, it takes everybody at least a couple of hours, even the fastest runners. I think the best time is is somewhere in the area of Two hours, am I right about that? That the best runners, marathon runners, can run it in that time. I may be all wrong. Maybe it's four hours.

I don't pay close enough attention. But it is a long, long run, and obviously If you take off like a jackrabbit and sprint from the beginning, you aren't going to get very far. You'll be lucky if you get one mile. You just aren't going to make it that way. You're going to have to take it slow and steady, slow and steady, slow and steady, slow and steady.

But don't quit. You're keeping moving forward all the time. That's the way a marathon is, and that's the way the Christian life is. It's a long-distance race, not a sprint. It takes the analogy of this race from the Greek Olympic Games.

that were performed every four years. in the town of Olympia in Greece. The town, the basically, that's was the whole purpose of it. There's a big stadium there. There were lots of buildings that related to athletic endeavors, as well as a number of.

Pagan temples, because those races were all dedicated to Zeus and other pagan gods. And every four years the best athletes from all over Greece and even beyond would come and compete and the biggest event of all was that marathon. The Olympic Games, the Olympic races. The Christian life is like that, a marathon. How long does it last?

all life long.

However long you live, that's how long this race will be. You don't finish it this side of eternity. You finish it when you are called home by the Lord to your heavenly rest. And until then, You don't rest. You may alter your Your activities, we have to as we age.

I've learned that. Many of you have learned that. I used to run for exercise and then my knees gave out. I started swimming laps for exercise and then my heart gave out. I had to move to something else.

I have some exercise equipment in my basement, and I have a bicycle. I do what I can do.

So I don't do what I used to do, but.

So far, I haven't quit. I hope I don't have to. The day may come when I can't do anything. By way of exercise. But the Christian life is like that: you keep doing whatever God enables you to do.

With persevering effort. Until he says, you're done, come on up. Come on home. Come up hither. That's what the Christian life is like.

It is like a race. The race is like a marathon. And the race, we are told here, is divinely directed. Run with patience, the race. That you choose, no, that is set before you.

That means God Sets the course. God directs your path. God tells you what to do and how to run. It's his privilege to do that. And we have to acknowledge that he's the one who does that.

God determines our course. Everyone's course is not the same. In a marathon, I think everybody's running the same course. But in the race of life, not everyone is running the same course. Because there are differences in our lives and circumstances according to the will of God.

Now, we all run by the same rules. The Bible gives us our instructions. We have a rule book. We don't make up the rules. We don't say, well, I think This would be the right way to do it.

Someone else would say, no, I think that's the right way to do it.

Now, we get into the Bible, the Word of God, and we learn what is the right way to do it, what are the commands, the rules, the instructions, the requirements that apply to all of us alike. But God divinely determines the circumstances of our lives. And so, one person he sends in this direction, another person he sends in that direction, one person he sends to preach the gospel to some faraway country, another person he directs to settle down in your community and work a public job, but witness on your job and be active in your church and serve the Lord in that way. God sets before us the particulars of each of our races. And mine's not exactly like yours, and yours isn't exactly like mine, but all of us can be sure of this.

God sets my course. Let us run with endurance. The race The course That is set. before us. Providence determines our circumstances.

And then, fourthly, the Christian race requires perseverance. Let us run, the Bible tells us, with endurance. with perseverance, with patience, some translations say, but that means with Steadfast patience with perseverance. It's the same idea. Let us run with perseverance, with endurance, the race that is set before us.

And that reinforces what I've already said. This race requires steadfast persistence Endurance. Steadiness Continuation. We do have to pace ourselves, but we must continue onward until the Lord says, Finish. You reach the finish line.

And that means heaven. We are in heaven at that point. In other words, our main responsibility is to run the race of life. the race that God sets before us, the race that God defines for us in His Word. the race that God calls upon each of us to run.

We are his servants, and we run according to his design and plan. There is no reward for a fast sprint followed by lagging and quitting. Not in God's. Work. There's no credit for a flashy beginning followed by dropping out.

I was talking to Mark Webb this week. in one of our many conversations. about how many Seemingly godly Christian leaders, solid men doctrinally and theologically, that we have known. who have dropped out of the Area of Christian service. Because of some great Downfall.

moral failure or something else that forced them as it were out of the race.

Now it doesn't mean that they're excused from From continuing to serve the Lord. But isn't it sad when you see someone who has run? Seemingly, faithfully and perseveringly for sometimes several decades, and then before the end of life, they. Blow it. They Shame the Lord.

They Shame themselves? They hurt many other people who've been looking to them. for help and for guidance and for inspiration. How many pastors we have known? who have failed to finish the course.

How many Christian leaders of large, influential ministries have all of us observed who have failed to finish the course. How many missionaries have we known and supported in some cases have we seen who have dropped out and failed to finish the course? I won't mention any names, but... We have had several in our own missionary family that we have supported over the years who stumbled and fell and are no longer involved. in the work of missions, in fact in many cases no longer involved in Christian service at all.

and in some cases have become very caustic and bitter. I'm glad God prepared me for that, taught me that lesson early in my life. I have mentioned this before, but I'm sure it's been several years. When I was in school training for ministry, the Lord gave me the opportunity to work. in a church on weekends as weekend youth pastor and Music director, believe it or not.

And um It was a little church. They didn't have much help. They were happy to have anything. And uh That was a wonderful opportunity for me. I was so excited.

I had to drive 80 miles. On Saturday afternoon, to get to the church to hold a youth meeting on Saturday night, and then I slept in the church building. Sunday or Saturday night and got up and taught the Teen Sunday school and led the choir and the congregational singing in the morning and then uh again at night had another youth youth session at uh An hour before the evening service. It was a busy, busy weekend. And I drove home Sunday night and got home late, exhausted, but thrilled with the opportunity to serve and to develop.

My gifts and talents, whatever they were. in the area of Christian ministry. And rolled out of bed on Monday morning at 5 o'clock to deliver morning newspapers. I did that for several years. But one day, one summer, I had made arrangements to take an internship in a church in Memphis, Tennessee, just to get some A variety of opportunities and exposure to areas of ministry.

That's where um I didn't I didn't meet Mark Webb at that time, but we met some of the same people we know because That's basically where he is ministered in Memphis, Tennessee. And there were people that I learned, that I met at that time, that he now knows today. But anyway, I hadn't been in Memphis more than a couple of weeks till my dad called me one day and said, Greg, sit down.

Okay. What's going on? Pastor so-and-so, the pastor of this church, about eighty miles from Greenville. is in jail. What?

And I won't go into the details, but he was in jail and he deserved to be in jail. And he'd been living a double life, a hypocritical life. and that now came to the surface and it was exposed. And boy, you talk about a torn up church. You talk about a torn up youth group.

And my dad wanted to tell me and be able to talk to me about it on the phone. Until I heard it from somebody else. He thought I might read about it in the newspaper. I said, no, he said it's in the newspapers here in Greenville. I said, no, it's not, I haven't seen it in the newspapers in Memphis, Tennessee.

But uh What a shock, what a blow. But that prepared me early on to remember, keep my eyes upon Jesus, not upon men. We can learn from men. We do. And that's what this passage is about.

This Heroes of faith, this gallery of faithful men and women in chapter 11. And therefore we should learn from them, and we should run as they ran. And it's appropriate, it's proper to learn from those who have gone before us and set examples to us. But we must also always remember that there are no perfect human beings, and some of them fail. Terribly, and it's a warning.

It's a lesson to us. If you don't keep persevering faithfully and steadily, then this can happen to you. And it's not just pastors and Christian leaders that sometimes fail in this way. Many Christian members. Ordinary Christians.

who used to be engaged in the work of the Lord. Have fallen aside. Where are they now? I see some around town who used to sit in these pews, but they do no longer, and as far as I can tell, are. Are engaged in church nowhere.

They're not sitting on any pews anywhere. They've dropped out. I see some of them on Facebook critical of churches and Christians and self-justifying of their. the course which they have taken, no longer engaged in the Christian race. You say, what about somebody like that?

Who served the Lord faithfully for 20 years and then Dropped out. Does he get rewarded for the 20 years? Evidently not. When you drop out, you blow the whole thing. The person who drops out of a marathon doesn't get anything if he doesn't cross the finish line, not even a.

Not even a participation. Uh rubbed. You've got to finish. You've got to finish. Finish well.

Finish all the way to the end. And so we notice, therefore, our main responsibility is to run the race, the Christian life that God has set before us faithfully all the way to the end. That's our main responsibility. And our text reminds us of that. But number two, we see that there are two.

primary impediments to our successfully running this race. And what are they? Back to verse 1. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, Let us Lay aside every weight. And let us lay aside the sin.

which so easily ensnares us. Two impediments, and I'm going to take them in reverse order to which they are listed. But the two impediments are number one, sin, and number two, waits. Sin. Singular.

Definite article. The sin. But it's not easy to tell exactly how we are to understand that singularity and that definite article. Sin. Many commentators believe this is talking about sin in general.

Not a particular sin, but sin in general. Any sin, all sin, will be a great impediment to our successfully running the race. Others think it is a particular sin which applies to everyone. A destructive sin such as pride. We all wrestle with that.

Covetousness, we all have some measure of that. Unbelief, we all wrestle with unbelief at times. Is that the sin? which so easily ensnares us. But I think the majority of commentators, and I tend to agree with this.

Think this is a besetting sin that is not necessarily the same for every Christian. But Every Christian generally has one or two sins that are the ones they wrestle with the most. And mine not may not be yours, and yours may not be mine, but if you aren't. Successful with the help and grace of God in. Mastering that sin.

In Dying to self in Mortifying that sin in your life. Then eventually it's going to rise up and bite you seriously. And it can be all kinds of things.

Some people Our guilty of the sin of being more concerned about pleasing people than they are in pleasing God. That may not sound like a serious sin, but it is. It'll derail you from an effective Christian life. For some, it's sexual sin. the enticements of sexual Sexual Perversion or sexual indiscretion, and any kind of sexual activity that is not approved by God's Word, back to the rule book of the Bible.

And the Bible is very clear. A marriage is honorable and all, and the marriage bed undefiled, but outside of that, Whether we're talking about whoremongers, fornicators, or adulterers Whether we're talking about Unfaithfulness of a marriage partner or of sexual activity of a single person. Whoremongers or fornicators and adulterers, the Bible says God will judge. There is a God Ordained, God designed, God approved, God encouraged area of sexual activity, God designed it for marriage. for the good of men and women in marriage.

But outside of that It is sinful. And Jesus made it clear that even Looking at things and And um Fantasizing about things that are immoral. constitute Immorality. He said, if a man looks upon a woman for the purpose of lusting after her, never touches her. Never does anything wrong with her.

but allows himself to look and gaze and consider and think and lust. That's sin.

So many of them. people that I made reference to that have who have ruined uh Many years of Christian service have fallen in this very area. It seems to be. one of the greatest, one of the most prevailing sins of our generation. There is so much Sex sexual activity, sexual Um Sexual Entertainment.

All around us. It's very difficult to escape it completely. You have to commit it to the Lord. You have to be willing to put it aside. You have to be willing to not succumb.

To sexual sins, because that may be the sin which so easily. besets you. But it may not be someone else's. There's so many different things. Materialism, substance abuse.

Procrastination and sloth, those Things tend to go together.

Some people are just sort of generally lazy. They don't. want to apply themselves to anything. But others are Our uh slothful in this way. They would rather be busy doing the things that they enjoy doing, but never disciplining themselves to do the things that have to be done that they don't enjoy so much.

They procrastinate those and stay busy doing the enjoyable things so that they can say, I'm busy, I'm sorry, I ran out of time and I didn't do that. And so if you develop that kind of a lifestyle, you're not going to progress very, very effectively in your Christian life. The Christian life requires some Focus and discipline.

Some Some scheduling, some sacrificing Some putting aside. Things that are legitimate, but If you spend too much time on them, they'll take you away from what is important. You say, get back to talking about drunkenness and. And uh Thavery and adultery, I'm not guilty of those things. I know, but there are other things.

And we need to consider all of these, don't we? Lay aside The sin which so easily Besides You. Telephones and computers, though Neutral or even helpful in the right place. Can easily become a sin, but that really gets us moving more in the direction of the second thing, which is weights. One Imperament is sin.

Another impediment something called a weight. And here it's in the plural, every weight. Be sin, it's the sin. But here it is every weight, every kind of weight. Every encumbrance might be a better translation.

meaning anything that impedes performance, anything that impedes running the race.

Something other than an outright sin. But if you Allow it. to impede your walk as a Christian. then it becomes it it can become a sin even though In and of itself, it may not be one. It's something other than a specific sin.

We can go to the Bible and pick out the sins that are clearly defined for us. We know that lying is a sin, stealing is a sin, adultery is a sin. that blaspheming God is a sin and so forth. But there are a lot of things that We couldn't say that is A sin. Whenever it's committed by whoever it's committed by, as we can, the things I just named.

There are things that are not always a sin. A sin is a violation of God's specific command, and it's the same for all. A weight is not a violation of a specific command. It differs from person to person, but it can keep us from running the race of life successfully. It's something, a weight of something that's legitimate in some circumstances.

but not in others. It is something that impedes performance. in some circumstances, but perhaps not in others. It's similar to Christian Liberty, another subject, but a related subject, very closely related here, actually. It's something that is a hindrance for one person that may not be a hindrance for another person, or it's a hindrance in one circumstance, but it may not be a hindrance in another circumstance.

And because it's not such a clearly defined sin, sometimes this is more difficult. to acknowledge and identify and to deal with.

Okay. Let me give you some examples that I hope will be helpful.

Sometimes these examples are not helpful because they get people. thinking in areas that maybe are are not as helpful. But let's take the subject of of going to the movies. When I grew up in in the Christian circles that I grew up in, just attending a theater was considered to be a sin. Why?

Well, because some movies were sinful. And Even if they were good ones, you didn't want to. Um You didn't want to buy your by your association, by your identification. I have people thinking you were going to a bad one and hurt your testimony that way. You didn't want to pay your money.

to the industry that produces the bad movies. And so it was generally considered that that The Christians just didn't go to movies. Was that a correct evaluation? I would say no. That's not a correct evaluation.

Are all movies always wrong? No. Are all movies always right?

Well, clearly no. We know there are movies that are deplorable. in their sexuality and perversion of various kinds. And so in the subject of A Christian in movies. The answer is it depends.

It depends. And God expects us to have enough. Yeah. Sanctifying common sense. At maturity.

to be able to tell which is which and to regulate ourselves accordingly. any movie that will be an encumbrance to our Testimony before the Lord and are running the race of life successfully. needs to be laid aside. It's a weight. I'll give you another example.

What about wearing a swimsuit? Is that always wrong? I would say no. Is it always right? No.

Don't wear one to church, please. You see what I'm saying? In in its rightful place. An appropriate swimsuit for the purpose of swimming. I think is entirely Justifiable and honoring to the Lord.

But there are a lot of places where a swimsuit would certainly not be appropriate. and would definitely become a weight. that easily besets us. Let me give you another illustration that pertains exactly to the idea of a race. Here comes a man up to the starting line of a race.

And he's got two bottles in his hands, one in each hand. One of them is a big bottle of whiskey, and the other one is a two-liter Coke bottle. He gets ready to run the race, and somebody runs up to him and says, Wait a minute, you can't successfully run the race carrying those. Those bottles got to get rid of that. All right, I'll admit this whiskey It's probably a sin.

I'm going to lay that one down. But don't you tell me that Coca-Cola is a sin. I'm going to hold on to that one. Yeah. And you're going to come in last if you even finish the race.

In some situations that Bottle of Coke becomes a weight, an encumbrance, a hindrance. There may not be anything. inherently sinful in it. But in certain circumstances, it becomes a sin. If you drink too much of it, it may become a sin in your situation.

I read about a first world-class runner. who had achieved great acclaim and and came to the United States for some great meat. And One just to qualify for the race. Instead of coming in first as he had in his home country, And in other races internationally, he didn't even qualify. And they said and they talked to him, what happened?

Well, I ate too much pizza and drank too much Coke. and put on too much, too many pounds.

Now, there's nothing sinful about pizza that I know of. I eat it with a clear conscience. There's nothing sinful about Coke that I know of. I drink it with a clear conscience, though I try to keep it to maybe. you know, not more than s probably six or eight times total in a year.

And but that's me. I'm not saying you have to follow that pattern. I'm just Trying to regulate how I try to enjoy it appropriately, but not make it. become a problem in my my life. But This guy didn't discipline himself.

He allowed something that For those who are not Running a race, those who are just spectators in the race, pizza and Coke is not. A problem, but for somebody who wants to compete in the race, it became a serious problem. he failed to lay aside the weight, and it beset him. And he made the trip to the United States in vain and had to go home without even entering the race because he blew it. by adding weight that shouldn't have been there.

So our twin impediments to running the race. Sim? And Wait. Be wise, be disciplined. B Careful.

Then we come thirdly to our many examples, and there are two categories of examples. There are the many heroes of faith. Of chapter 11 that are referred to in verse 1 by the therefore. We also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. And I would call these secondary examples.

The heroes of faith, there are many of them. They are clearly referred to by the link of the word therefore. And furthermore, this cloud of witnesses is another reference to them. A cloud means a great many. And witnesses, in this case, means testifiers.

The Greek word for witness is sometimes used of a Well, somebody who liked witnesses in a trial. They saw something. that happened and they're called upon to tell what they saw. They are a witness to something that took place. We use it.

in in that sense, from time to time. A spectator, somebody who saw something. But then testifiers, those who testify of what they know. And in this case, it's used to testifiers. We are compassed about With such a great cloud of witnesses.

Some have misunderstood this to mean that all these heroes of faith are like in the grandstands watching us as we run our race. I don't think, you certainly can't prove it from this verse. That's um I think a misunderstanding of what the verse is saying, and I don't know any place else in the Bible. that clearly says that people in heaven can see us and know what's going on on earth. I can't say dogmatically that they don't, but I certainly can't affirm dogmatically that they do.

And this verse isn't saying that. What it's saying is We have been surrounded by such a large number of people who have testified to the faithfulness of God. and the rewards of serving God faithfully and perseveringly over their lifetime. They've testified to that. We read about them here.

They've done that. In spite of great difficulty, They are imperfect men and women like us. who believed the revelation of God like we should. the promises of God, the provisions of God. And in spite of impediments and discouragements, like all of us have, They believed God.

They followed his word, they kept the faith, they They believed the promises. They received the provisions. And they achieved what God had set before them to do. They endured. They persevered in the faith, and they persevered by faith.

and they are an example to us. They have testified to the possibility of doing that and to the rewards of doing that. They were rewarded for their faith. They pleased God. And they have testified this to us, and we are to run as they did.

Always trusting God, never giving up no matter the obstacles and hardships are caused. They are The many Witnesses. What did I call them? The many examples. But then there is a supreme example, and that's found in verse 2.

Looking unto Jesus. We look at these other men and women. And we learn from them and we are motivated by them and encouraged by them. But primarily we look to Jesus. The author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand.

of the throne of God. are supreme. Example. Jesus, the perfect example, the only perfect example. the author of our faith.

R. K. Gond. Archaegon, an English word that is derived from that, is architect. The Originator of our faith.

The pioneer of our faith. Is the idea really author, but more in the sense of the one who has gone before? He goes before that others may follow. He shows the way. He demonstrates the path.

He demonstrates The the What's necessary to perform properly, namely to believe God and obey God and do what God says, and to finish his course in that way. He did that perfectly. The author of our faith and the finisher of our faith, that means the perfecter. of our faith. He carried Faith Two, it's Final, perfect completion.

He did. He's the great chief example. And why did he do that? It even tells us his goal in doing this. who for the joy that was set before him.

What joy was that?

Well, I think twofold. They they blend together. First of all, for the joy of the redemption of his people. The prize. The reward.

For his incarnation and death upon the cross. That's the joy that was set before him, that he kept his mind upon that even when he was going through the agonies of the cross. The joy that was set before him But the second area was the fulfillment of the Father's will. He found great joy in being able to say, I have done your will. I came to do the Father's will and I did it.

That brought him great joy. And it should us as well. That's what we want to hear. When we get to heaven, what do we want more than anything else?

Well, I want lots of rewards, I want lots of crowns, I want lots of this or that. I think more than anything else, we should say. I want to hear his.

Well done. Thou good and faithful servant.

Well done. Not that any of us are perfect. But well done. Believe my word. You obeyed my My will.

and acknowledged when you didn't and confessed it and were cleansed. But you lived a life of obedience. You kept it up to the end.

Well done. thou good and faithful servant. Enter thou. into the joy of thy Lord.

Okay. Did Christ have impediments to finishing his course? Oh, yes. The cross. Who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross?

despising the shame. His impediments, obstacles, Discouragements were greater than any of ours. They were similar to ours, but to a greater degree than ours. Think of the humiliation of the cross. We sh we shirk and shun humiliation sometimes almost more than anything.

Why?

Because we're proud? He embraced it. For the joy. that was set before him. And the pain, the agony, the agony of the cross physically is beyond.

Description The agony that he felt in his soul because of the weight of sin, the agony he felt in his soul by being separated for a time from his heavenly father. These things are great agonies, greater than we'll ever experience. But he embraced them for the joy that was set before him: the redemption of a people, the acquiring of a bride, and an obedient life. to please his heavenly father perfectly. And he was rewarded for that.

He is rewarded a bride. He is Rewarded to in having an accomplished record of perfect obedience. That was great satisfaction. He was rewarded by enthronement On The throne of God. Set down at the right hand of the throne of God is the last part of verse 2.

He endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. He who once suffered on earth now reigns in heaven. He who reigned in heaven before he came to earth had the satisfaction of returning to heaven and now sitting upon the throne of God. in a way that he had not before, because now he sits there not simply as the Son of God, but as the God-man. He has Elevated Humanity To the highest position, because his redeemed people, we are told, will.

rule and reign with Him, that's astonishing. If the Bible didn't say it, I would not dare to suggest it. It's astonishing. But there is reward. for running well and finishing well.

And thus, the faith to do whatever God commands, however difficult. is what we must have. To endure whatever God appoints, however severe, to obtain whatever God promises.

however great, glorious, and seemingly impossible. That's the life of faith. And that's the example that is set before us in Hebrews 11. And that's the perfect example that's set before us. in the Lord Jesus Christ.

And we too. must believe and persevere in the Christian race. And those who do so Will reign with Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Father, seal these truths to our soul, and may they keep us.

Running. Persevering. In the faith. until we are called home. We pray.

Amen.