Run the Race of Faith

so chunky it also doesn't use hdmi it doesn't have sound it comes through the hdmi which is not fun when your monitor only takes You ready for Coffee and Devotions? Yes. Instead of geeking out on tech? Yes. Okay. Well, good morning, good morning, good morning. Welcome to Coffee and Devotions. This morning, we're going to be at Hebrews chapter 12, just two verses, verses one and two. Dan Dan, the Kaia man, kind of came in here begging. He wanted to spend time with Nathan and me this morning.
So the three boys, the three amigos are going to do this. So we're going to be talking about the shame of the cross and looking to Jesus. Yeah, but Judah's not here. Yeah, we can't have the quattro amigos. Yeah. Well, let's have some coffee. We'll pray and maybe Judah will join us some other day. Okay, let's pray. Father, thank you so much for the joy of getting to read your word. Father, it is a blessing. Lord, we pray that we would Understand it. We pray that you would teach us help us Lord to love you in Jesus's name. We pray.
Amen Alright, so Hebrews chapter 12. Oh I got kind of hard to get my arms around you lately, man. You're getting into a big dude Alright Hebrews chapter 12 Nathan. I'll let you go ahead and read those Yeah, all of them all verse 1 and Do you need some glasses are you good? Ice skating and Nathan is sore everywhere he says All right I'm gonna start reading you catch up Therefore we also since we are surrounded by such a so great a cloud of witnesses Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." Looking under Jesus, the author and finisher of all faith, who from the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the Son of God.
Okay, so we got three questions to ask ourselves, boys. A, what is this? About. B, what's the? Best for semis. And C, what are we? Called to do. Called to do. Dana is going to be all sad and grumpy now. No. Alright, so A, what is this about? So the therefore. The therefore is all these different people. We had Abraham, and we had Noah, and we had Moses, and Joshua, and they talked about all these different people who had walked by faith. So that's what the therefore in verse 1 is talking about. All these other people who had faith.
Therefore, who's this talking to now? Well, what's it say right we we we just had a huge grammar lesson about we Therefore we also we also have what what what do we have in similar to them? What did what did those people back then they the author of Heber's is writing to I Well, they had faith, right? A similar type faith, the same type of faith, right? Therefore, we also since we are surrounded by such a great, great cloud of witnesses, right?
It's like all those different people who are all around us in the Bible and, and all those different stories we've heard and learned about. What do we have in common with them? What do you think, Nathan? What do we have in common with them? What do we have in common with Noah and with Abraham and Moses, Samson and Gideon? They believed in the same God? Yeah. Right?
So we have all these different witnesses around us. So since we have this similar faith and all these people have gone before us, what should we do? This is after the comma, after witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight. Alright, so first thing, let us lay aside every weight. What's the second thing we should lay aside? The sin which easily ensnares us. What that easily ensnares us? Sin that easily ensnares us. Sin that easily ensnares us.
Okay, so there's two things we're to put away. Lay aside Lay aside weights, whatever's holding us down, and lay aside sin, because we know that sin, it's like when you're trying to run on a boat and there's a whole bunch of rope that's strewn around, nobody's cleaned it up.
What happens if you're trying to run on a boat and there's rope that's thrown around? You get tangled up in your feet and you fall down, you trip and you bust your lip, right? Yeah. So that's what, that's what's right. So there's weights and sin that easily ensnares us. And so if that's what we're to put away, what are we to do? Let us...
Run. Yeah. Well yeah, you gotta cut off the sin, you gotta untangle yourself, you gotta get the burden off and you gotta start running. Run, run, run, run, run. And run real fast like it's a quick sprint. So the Christian life is just like a 10 meter dash. No, it's more like 500, it's more like a 10,000 mile race. Oh, what's it called? 10,000 mile race. It's more like It's more like rag bite, right? You gotta have a lot of endurance. No, a bit farther than rag bite. Around the world. Well, the point is you gotta have endurance, right? Run with endurance.
The race that is set before us, right? This is the race of faith, right? The race of faith. The author of Hebrews doesn't want them to give up. To grow tired, to grow weary as they're running this race of faith. And then verse 2, how do we not grow weary? How do we run with endurance? By focusing on the goal. And who's setting the pace for us? Who's going in front of us?
Jesus. Man you I thought you got a good night's sleep last night Yeah, well Jesus ran the race of faith perfectly didn't he Yeah, did he get the crown Yep. Is he the victor? He's already won. Yeah, he's already won. And so we're following in his footsteps, right? We look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him. Oh, how do we know he? What was his finish line? The cross. The cross. He endured the cross. Because he came back to the earth after the cross.
Well yeah, but the cross was, right, that was the final challenge, right? Was he actually going to submit to the Father's will? Would he die the substitutionary death? Would he take our sins upon himself? Could he finish that race? And yes, he did. And so he did it for joy, despising the shame. And now we know he's conquered because he has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Man, I got a bunch of little tired boys in my office this morning. Right now Jesus has sat down. He is victorious, right? Jesus is victorious! is the author and perfecter of our faith. Jesus is the one that we need to fix our eyes on, right?
I'm gonna just go ahead and say, look at my Bible. I got verse one and two underlined. Yeah, I know the perfect two verses to underline. You know the perfect two verses to underline? I underline one and two, one and two verses. Okay, yeah. I would underline one. So in your life, in your life, what do you think you should do? What are you called to do? How does this show us the covenant of Jesus Christ? Run the race or Daniel thinks for him. He's being called to run the race of faith.
I think There's this things that it reminds me of like The point isn't like it wasn't the 10-meter dash it was There's so many times like you can You do really good and then you stop. For one week, let's say you read your devotions, you read five chapters a day in your devotions for like a week. You do really good and then you stop for four weeks. But then you do one giant week and then you stop for four weeks. So you think to be a Christian you need to do your devotions every day?
No, but it's not it's it's not we try to be as good as we possibly can and We try to because if we walk ourselves too hard, that's not what Jesus did Jesus rested You're right. Jesus did rest, right? So he rested on the Sabbath and then sometimes right when the crowds are pressing around him and they wanted him.
What did he do? walked away Yeah. All right, boys, we're going to go. We're going to leave. Right. And he'd take his disciples to a solitary place so he could teach them and he could pray. Yeah. So there are times that even Jesus rested. Right. But but you're right.
It's not a race. We got to run with endure. It is a race, but it's not a sprint. It's more like a marathon. We need to run with endurance. And it's also like you don't have to run super fast you can take steps along and try to get that one you need to Yeah, yeah, right. So run the race with endurance. Good. Run the race with endurance.
For me, it's the fixing my eyes on Jesus, who endured the cross and the shame of the cross. I need to look to Jesus. Because guess what? I've looked to men before and guess what has happened even to men in my life? Womp, womp, womp. They fail, they stumble, they fall. Come to find out they weren't the best or the perfect pace setters. They hadn't won the race.
But Jesus had. And so I could listen to Jesus. I could follow after Jesus. I know that if I'm going after his footsteps, it's okay. It's okay. Look to Jesus. All right, let's pray. You guys are tired. We need to get you guys from jumping Jackson. Father, we thank you so much for the joy of faith in Jesus Christ. Lord, we pray that you would please help us to walk in your ways and to follow in your paths. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Well, may God bless you as you run the race with endurance. May you look to Jesus Christ and may you cast off All those snares, the sins that so easily entangle you. And may you look forward to that great day when you get to celebrate with Jesus. We'll see you next time. You guys want to say bye? Bye.