Sermon - Crossroads Cowboy Church - Leave It All On The Field!

I have been praying about what to speak to you about this morning. Part of me thought about sharing what I call ‘my story’ about how Jesus saw me through a very challenging time in my life and the impact it had on me. But, I kept coming back to, if I only have this one opportunity what does God want me to share with you this morning. Needless to say, my usual walk through Colossians chapter 1 has been tabled for another time, if the opportunity arises. 

If you have your Bible, please open it to Hebrews chapter 12. This message has been something that has been stirring in me for a couple of months. I have written bits and pieces of it on my blog, but this is the first time it has all come together.

Hebrews 12:1-3

“12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, ² keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne. ³ For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.”

Some Christians seem to have this vision of an easy life once they are saved. They see themselves strolling gracefully from this life into the next one. They seem to think that the goal is to get to the finish line with this earthly body being as pristine as possible, risking little, and doing even less. From looking at these verses I don’t think that is the expectation God has for us.

When our oldest, Chris, was in middle school he ran cross country. Before each of his meets, I would tell him to leave it all on the field. In other words, I was encouraging him to give every ounce of effort he had so that he could be proud of his effort regardless of the results. I believe that is exactly what the author of Hebrews wants us to do. To leave it all on the field. During this life we are not to coast to the end, we are supposed to put ourselves out there and do the Lord’s work.

Let’s dig into these verses a little deeper.

Hebrews 12:1

“12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us”

When we hear the word ‘race’ we tend to think of a competition amongst people, horses, cars, you name it. The goal of those races is to see who has the fastest time, to see who is number one. That is what society expects and what many of us push ourselves to do. When we compete, we give it our all. We tend to like winning.

In this verse the author of Hebrews is reminding us that we are not sprinting for a race that will be over quickly. Instead we are running a race that requires endurance. Most of the people who run marathons are not interested in competing for first, second,  third, or heck even the top 100. They are running the grueling 26.2-mile race focused simply on having the endurance to complete the marathon and improve on their personal time if they have run one before. Most marathon runners are focused on their personal race that lies before them.

Each one of us has a race that lies before us. A unique race that God has laid out specifically for us. Your race is going to be different than mine, it is going to have different peaks and valleys, it is going to challenge you in different ways than I am challenged. You and I will complete our races at different times and in different ways. God has created a race for you that is just as unique as you are. A race that only you can complete, a race that requires you to endure to the very end, especially when it gets tough.

Matthew 10:22

“²² You will be hated by everyone because of My name. But the one who endures to the end will be delivered.”

Jesus is telling us that following Him will require us to endure to the very end.

Do you think Jesus knew anything about enduring during difficult times?

He performed miracles, cast out demons, healed the sick, and still He was hated. He knew what his future held, yet He endured. He stayed the course, He ran the race laid before Him. He knew beatings were coming, He knew the cross was going to be painful, He knew that His body was going to be beaten, bruised, and broken. Yet He Endured.

He ran the race set before Him. A race that was full of peaks and valleys unique for Him. A race that only He could run. Jesus left it all on the Field!

2 Timothy 4:7

“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”

Paul is stating that as his life drew to an end, he could safely say that he ran the race that God had put before him. He kept the faith. He endured beatings, prison on more than one occasion, shipwrecked three times, and bit by a poisonous snake. He endured to the very end. He ran his marathon with all he had, it took its toll, but he endured. It is safe to say Paul left it all on the field!

How did he do it?

Hebrews 12:2

“keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.”

Sounds simple, Keep your eyes on Jesus and everything will be ok.

Now I would be willing to bet most of us can do that on a good day, and we probably have a good shot at it on those so-so days.

How about on those days that you really just want to scream? Or when you have those days when life seems to overwhelm you? Bad news from the doctor, the loss of a loved one, chronic pain, depression, loss of a job, a spouse who seems to be drifting away, to name just a few. It can be really hard to keep your eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of your faith on those days. Those are the days that you don’t know where the endurance to stand up right will come from, let alone to keep running. Those are the days, where you could easily collapse, quit, and choose to walk leisurely to the finish line instead of running and enduring. Those are the days you wonder how you can leave it all on the field.

Let’s look at Hebrews 12:2 again.

“keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that lay before Him endured a cross and despised the shame and has sat down at the right hand of God’s throne.”

Jesus knew the cross was going to be painful. He knew it was going to be the worst day of His life, but He remembered the joy that was coming. Pain today, joy tomorrow and for all eternity. After the cross, after His death, and after His resurrection He knew joy was coming and He knew He would be waiting to greet us when we finish our race.

I want you to think about that for a moment. Jesus Christ, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, endured the humiliation, the beatings, and the cross so that He could spend time with you. When He was going through the worst of it, He was looking forward to spending time with you. He looked forward to the future and the joy it would bring.

Jesus endured it all, and still saw the joy.

Now the race laid before you is going to be tough. You are going to have good days, bad days, and then those days that the only thing you can do is fall to your knees and pray. When it feels like you can’t endure any longer, I want you to remember something.

I want you to remember that Jesus has already paid the price for you to spend eternity with Him. It does not matter what you have done in this life. You cannot be too broken, too messed up, or too sinful for Jesus to want to spend eternity with you. The price has been paid. If He is your Lord, you will be with Him. If He is your Savior, there is joy in your future, no matter how dark it looks today there is hope.

How do you keep your eyes on Jesus when life seems to be kicking you in the gut? By remembering that Jesus has already paid the price and is looking forward to spending eternity with you.

Colossians 2:12-14

“¹² Having been buried with Him in baptism, you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. ¹³ And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him and forgave us all our trespasses. ¹⁴ He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the cross.”

Jesus took your sin and nailed it to the cross. He paid the price. Your debt has been erased, it has been obliterated, your sin is not keeping you out of Heaven. Jesus paved the way, all you have to do is Follow Him. If Jesus is your Lord and Savior, nothing will stand in your way. Yes, your life is going to hard, but there is joy just around the corner.

John 15:11

“I have spoken these things to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be complete.”

When Jesus said these words, He had just finished telling His disciples that He is the vine and they are the branches and that they are dependent on Him. If they depend on Him, abide in Him, they will be filled with His joy. In other words, as His followers, if we spend time talking to our Lord, if we spend time reading our Bibles, if we go about doing the Lord’s business, we will be filled with His Joy. Now, His joy is greater than the darkness we face. It is greater than any challenge we are confronted with. The joy of our Lord will breakthrough anything, if we are keeping our eyes on Him.

No matter what is going on in our lives, we need to remember that Jesus paid the price and if we keep Him in His rightful place as the Lord of our lives, His joy will triumph over anything else.

Hebrews 12:3

“For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, so that you won’t grow weary and lose heart.”

Jesus gave His all for you. He gave up everything for you. Not only to pay for your sins, but also to be an example for you. He knew life was not going to be easy, He knew you were going to face some pretty tough challenges. He endured all that He did, to show you it could be done. If he went through everything He did and did not grow weary and did not lose heart, we should be able to endure through our trials.

In Genesis we see that us humans were created to rule over the world. God gave us everything our eyes can see. He has not held anything back from us. He gave us all of creation, He gave us His Son, and He gave us His heart.

John 3:16

“For God loved the world in this way: He gave His One and Only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life.

God held absolutely nothing back. We know Jesus was tired in the garden before He was arrested, but He remembered the plan and did grow weary and did not lose heart. He gave up everything for you.

The question we need to ask is, if God gave up so much for us, how much are we giving Him?

Have you given God every part of your life or are you only giving Him the pieces you are comfortable with?

Do you give Jesus every hour of every day or only when you go to church or pray at meals?

Are you honoring Him when you are with your ‘church’ friends and your ‘other’ friends?

How about when you are alone, is that a piece of your life that you are giving to God?

Do you come to Him when you are sick but not when you are healthy?

How about when all your needs are met, is that time you spend with Jesus or do you keep that part to yourself?

Colossians 3:17

“And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.”

Our words, every single word we say needs to honor God. Our deeds and actions, every deed and action regardless of who we are with need to be done in the name of Jesus. If every word and every action is done in honor of Him and in His name, then we are giving Him our all.

You need to give God every piece of your life, don’t hold any of it back, and you will not grow weary and you will not lose heart. No matter how long the race is and how hard it is to endure. If you keep focused on Jesus, He will see you through to the end.

We have two options when it comes to running our individual races. We can head down the road walking day by day, never risking much, never letting anything take a toll or we can give it our all. We can leave it all on the field.

My desire is to run the race that has been laid before me. No matter how tired I am, no matter how sore I feel, no matter what hill I need to climb, I am here on this earth to do the Lord’s will. This body is going to be worn out when I cross the finish line, not due to a wild life, but because I plan on serving my Lord until the day He calls me home. I will leave it all on the field.

How about you? Are you going to run the race that God has laid before you or take a leisurely stroll? Are you going to leave it all on the field?

It won’t be easy, the Bible promises us that, but if you keep your eyes on Jesus you can endure until the very end.

Earlier I said that Jesus has paid the ultimate price to wipe away your sin. Jesus died to give you the gift of eternal life. All you have to do is ask Him to forgive you of your sins and choose to spend your life following Him. It does not matter what you have done or how bad you think you are, you may think you are so bad that you are still waiting of the lightening to strike while sitting there in your seat. The blood that Jesus shed and the Grace He is offering you is greater than anything you have ever done.

If you do not have a relationship with Jesus, If you feel Him pulling at you this morning, I want to give you an opportunity to change that. He loves you and wants you to join His family. If you are ready to make that decision, please come forward I would love to pray with you. 

God Bless,

Robert