Sermon - Things We Need... Perseverance - Littleby Baptist Church - March 14, 2021
"12 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance 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 pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.” – Hebrews 12:1-3
Sometimes people think that once they are saved life goes from hard to easy. They may envision that they will stroll gracefully from this life into the next one. It as if they feel that the goal is to cross the finish line with this earthly body being as pristine as possible, risking little, and doing the minimum. When I read these verses in Hebrews that is not the impression I get.
Chris ran cross country in Junior High. 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. I wanted him to be proud of his effort regardless of the results. I wanted our son to Persevere no matter how hard it got. I believe that is exactly what the author of Hebrews wants us to do. He wants us to leave it all on the field. He wants us to run with endurance. He is encouraging us to Persevere no matter how hard it is. We are not to live this life coasting peacefully to the end, we are supposed to pursue God regardless of the challenges before us.
Christian life will not be a bed of roses, which is why the Things We Need… Perseverance is so important.
In verse 1, when we read the word ‘race’ we tend to think of a competition between people, horses, cars, boats, you name it. The goal of these races is to see who has the fastest time, to find out who is number one. This world drives us to compare ourselves against each other, to race each other. Our tendency is to give it our all when we compete. After all who does not like winning.
In this verse the author of Hebrews is reminding us that we are not sprinting a race that will be over quickly. We are running a race that will require endurance and Perseverance. Take a marathon runner for example. Most of them are not interested in competing for first, second, third, or maybe even the top one hundred. Most of them are running the grueling 26.2-mile race focused simply on having the endurance to complete the marathon. If they have run one before, they may be pushing themselves to improve on their fastest time. Most marathon runners are focused on their personal race.
Each of us are running a race. A race that God has specifically laid before us. Your race is going to be different than mine. You will have different peaks and valleys than I will. We will each face different challenges and we will complete our individual races in different ways and at different times. The race that God has laid before you is just as unique as you are. It is a race that only you can complete, a race that will require endurance to run to the end, a race that will need Perseverance to finish.
“22 You will be hated by everyone because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” – Matthew 10:22
Jesus is telling us that following Him will require us to endure to the very end, it will require the Things We Need… Perseverance.
I think Jesus knows a thing or two about Persevering. He performed miracles, cast out demons, healed the sick, and still He was hated. He knew what His future held, yet He Persevered. He stayed the course, and He ran the race that was laid before Him. Jesus knew the beatings were coming, He knew the cross was going to hurt, He knew that His body was going to be beaten, bruised, and broken. Yet He Persevered.
Jesus ran the race set before Him. A race full of peaks and valleys that were unique for Him. A race that only He could run. Jesus is a perfect example of the Things We Need… Perseverance.
“7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” – 2 Timothy 4:7
In his letter to Timothy, Paul is stating that he could safely say that he ran the race that God had put before Him. He kept the faith, he endured beatings, prison, shipwrecks, and a poisonous snake. Paul ran the marathon with all he had, and it took a toll on him. Paul embraced the Things We Need… Perseverance.
How can we run that marathon; how can we Persevere?
“2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2
This sounds simple enough. If we keep our eyes on Jesus, then we will be able to Persevere through the struggles we face. It is probably a safe bet that most of us can keep our eyes on Jesus during those good days, we probably have a good shot at it on those so-so days, but what about those days that really just make you want to scream?
Bad news from the doctor, loss of a loved one, chronic pain, depression, rough day at work, loss of a job, spouse who is drifting away, a child who is making bad choices, and the list goes on. It can be hard to keep our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith during those days. Those are the days that you do not know how you can Persevere, how you can have the strength to stand up right, let alone the endurance 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 with all that you have.
Read this verse again.
“2 keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” – Hebrews 12:2 (emphasis added by author)
Our Savior, Jesus, knew the cross was going to be painful. He knew it was going to be the worst day of his life on earth, but He remembered the Joy that was coming. Pain today, Joy tomorrow and for all of eternity. After the cross, after His death, after His resurrection, He knew that Joy was coming. He knew that He would be there to greet us when we finish our race. Our Lord was looking forward to seeing us as we receive our inheritance.
The race before us it going to be tough. We are going to have good days, bad days, and then there will be those days that the only thing we can do is fall to our knees and pray. When it feels like you cannot endure any longer, when you feel like you will not be able to Persevere until the end, I want you to remember something.
I want you to remember the Hope you have in Jesus. Remember that Jesus has already paid the price for you to spend eternity with Him. It does not matter what you have done, 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 you are a follower of Jesus, you will be with Him forever. If He is your Savior, there is Joy in your future. No matter how dark it looks today, there is Hope.
The obvious question at this point, is how do we keep our eyes on Jesus when life is punching us in the gut? By remembering that Jesus has already paid the price and is ready to spend an eternity with us. The Things We Need… Perseverance comes from remembering who Jesus is and what He has done for us.
“12 when you were buried with him in baptism, in which 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 away by nailing it to the cross.” – Colossians 2:12-14
Our Lord took our sin and nailed it to that cross. He paid the price! Our debt has been completely erased; it has been obliterated. Life is going to be hard but knowing that there is nothing stopping us from spending an eternity with our King. Knowing that Joy is truly just around the corner, the Things We Need… Perseverance is easier to hold on to.
“3 For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.” – Hebrews 12:3
Jesus has given you His all. He gave up everything for you! Yes, Jesus gave His all to pay for our sins and to provide a path to eternity in Glory, but there was more to it. Jesus walked the path He walked, He endured the pain, He Persevered until the very end, to be an example for each of us. Jesus knew that our lives were not going to be a casual stroll down easy street and He knew that we are going to face some tough challenges. Jesus endured all that He went through to show us that it could be done. Jesus showed us that if we keep our eyes on God and the plan He has for us, we can endure. He never says it will be easy, but He does tell us that He will never leave us or forsake us. We need to keep our Eyes on Jesus as we walk the path before us.
The Things We Need… Perseverance may be the hardest thing for us to do, but we absolutely need it. Without it we might just throw in the towel, we may not give the mission before us our all, we might take a leisurely stroll instead of charging ahead.
In the Book of Genesis, we are told that humans were created to rule over the world. God essentially gave humankind everything our eyes can see. He did not hold anything back from us. Scripture shows us that He gave us all of creation, He has given us His Son, which both show us that our Father in Heaven has also given us His heart.
“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.” – John 3:16
God held nothing back!
Jesus was tired in the garden before He was arrested, but even though He was weary He remembered the plan and did not lose heart. Jesus willingly gave up His life for us! He Persevered until the end.
“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.” – Colossians 3:17
Every single word we say needs to honor our God. Our deeds and actions, every one of them regardless of who we are hanging out with need to be done in honor of our Lord Jesus. If every word and every action is done in honor of Him and in His name, then we are giving Jesus our all.
The Things We Need… Perseverance is seen when we give God every piece of our lives. Do not hold any of it back. Yes, we may grow weary, we will be tired, we will struggle, but if we are giving our God everything we have, if He is who we are depending on, we will have His Joy! No matter how long the race is and how hard it is to endure, if we are focused on Jesus, He will help us to Persevere until the end.
We have a choice to make when it comes to running our individual marathons. We can head down the road walking day by day, never risking much, never letting anything take a toll, or we can give our Lord everything we have. We can give Him our all, we can leave it all on the field, we can Persevere until the very end.
The question we need to ask ourselves, is how are we going to run our race?
My hope is that I will run the race that is before me, no matter how tired I am, no matter how much it hurts, and not matter what hills I have to climb. When I cross the finish line, I want to leave every ounce of strength I have on this field, I want to persevere until the very end.
God Bless,
Robert
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