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welcome to everyone if you would take your Bibles and turn to Psalm 145 for our call to worship Psalm 145 I'll begin reading in verse 1 a praise of David I will extol you my god o King and I will bless your name forever and ever every day I will bless you and I will praise your name forever and ever great is the Lord and greatly to be praised and his greatness is unsearchable one generation shall praise your works to another and shall declare your mighty acts I will meditate on the glorious splendor of your majesty and on your wondrous works men shall speak of the might of your awesome acts and I will declare your greatness they shall utter the memory of your great goodness and shall sing of Your righteousness the Lord is gracious and full of compassion slow to anger and great and mercy the Lord is good to all and his tender mercies are over all his works all your works shall praise you O Lord and your Saints shall bless you they shall speak of the glory of your kingdom and talk of your power to make known to the sons of men his mighty acts and the glorious majesty of his kingdom your kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom and your Dominion endures throughout all generations the Lord upholds all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down the eyes of all look expectantly to you and you give them their food in due season you open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing the Lord is righteous and all his works gracious or rather the Lord is righteous in all his ways gracious and all his works the Lord is near to all who call upon him to all who call upon him in truth he will fulfill the desires of those who fear him he also will hear their cry and save them the Lord preserves all who love him but all the wicked he will destroy my mouth shall speak the praise of the Lord and all flesh shall bless His Holy Name forever and ever amen well please turn with me in your Trinity hymnal to number 35 hymn number 35 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] let us pray O God Almighty we thank you again for this privilege to gather in your house to praise you in song to call upon you in prayer and to look to the Holy Scriptures we praise you for your works we praise you for who you are you are infinite eternal and unchangeable and your being wisdom power holiness justice and truth you are God who does good to his creatures the God who has made this world for his own glory and for the good of his creatures the God who governs us the God who watches over us and provides for us as the psalmist said and as well you are the God who has sent your son into this world sinners to save and in this we greatly rejoice we know father were not here tonight because of our goodness we are here to because of your graciousness and your kindness and your mercy we ask that you would bless us and encourage our hearts tonight as we gather together to sing hymn to to pray and to look to the Word of God help us to know the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit that we may approach you in a manner that is fitting in a manner that is consistent with it with what is revealed of you in the Holy Scriptures as a great God we ought to humble ourselves under your mighty hand we ought to recognize and acknowledge your majesty and as well may we see the mediator even Jesus Christ our Lord the one through whom we come how we thank you that he is our great high priest how we thank you that he sits enthroned at your right hand that he is our advocate with the father and that he always lives to make intercession for us may these things encourage and strengthen us may it provoke in us and promote in us pursuit of holiness and righteousness and when we do fall God as that will be inevitable we pray that we would come to him again seeking forgiveness and seeking that grace and mercy we ask even now that you would forgive us for our sins and transgressions you have commanded your creatures obey your law you have commanded in specific 10 words things that ought to define and shape and and keep us and yet Father we transgress those laws we have forsaken them we have rejected them and father we confess that as sin and in wickedness and pray for cleansing in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ certainly apart from the cross of our Lord Jesus there would be no hope for any man woman boy or girl in this world but with that cross with the grace of God in the power of the Christian gospel there is great hope and great encouragement and even tonight father as we look to scripture may these things spur us on as we leave this place tonight as we enter in to a new week may you conform us evermore under the image of your beloved son even our Lord Jesus Christ we ask thee would look with favor upon those in our myths that are suffering physically we know there are the the trials associated with life in this world we know that coming to Christ does not mean the the absence of difficulty or hardship we know just the opposite that in this world we will have tribulation but we're encouraged by the Savior to be be encouraged because he has overcome the world may you bless and encourage our brothers and sisters that are unable to be with us due to illness we ask that you would watch over them and that you would strengthen their bodies that you would continue to renew their souls that you would cause them father to to call upon you in the midst of affliction and trial and may they know the nearness of God as their good we pray for our city and we pray for the other churches here in this community thanking you that we're not alone here thanking you for those places where the gospel of Jesus Christ is preached accurately we pray that you would prosper them and that you would bless them we pray for this city that more and more people would come to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior we know we live in a sinful generation we know God that there's all manner of lawlessness that that is all around us we live in days much like the Prophet Isaiah's time when men call good wicked and and wicked good and so we pray to you that in your wrath you would remember me see that you would send forth your word in this country and that more and more people would come to know Christ as Lord and Savior we ask that you would be with brothers and sisters that are suffering for the cause of God in other parts of the world we know that they have great Opposition in countries that are steeped in false religion in countries that are opposed to the Lord Christ we pray for them that you would surround them that you would bless them to it offer or grant them grace rather that they may indeed continue to testify concerning the goodness and the graciousness of God Almighty even to their persecutors and we would pray now that you would continue with us help us father to worship you in spirit and in truth and we pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord amen well you may turn with me again in your Trinity hymnals to him number 505 hymn number 505 we'll stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] we can turn in your Bibles to the prophet Micah Micah chapter three Micah chapter three remember that Micah was a contemporary of the prophet Isaiah both men prophesied to the southern kingdom of Judah close to the time will actually Micah's about a hundred years from the time that Jerusalem would ultimately fall to the Babylonians remember Jerusalem fell to the Babylonians for their continual rebellion against God this was not capricious on the part of God but rather God had said in the book of Deuteronomy specifically the book of the curses in Deuteronomy chapter 28 if they went into the land if they obeyed God then they would have long tenure in the land but if they disobeyed God then God would indeed expel them from the land and he does that via the Babylonians interestingly interestingly it's the prophet Micah specifically in chapter 3 at verse 12 this is a verse that helps Jeremiah about a hundred years later Jeremiah as well prophesies concerning the destruction of Jerusalem and Judah via the Babylonians and one of the men on Jeremiah's behalf said but this is what Micah of Morisot said previously and they didn't execute him they didn't kill him so that was a bit of a help to Jeremiah later on but I want to read beginning in chapter 3 at verse one and this is a condemnation of the contemporary leaders in Judah who are guilty and then as well an indictment of the prophets and leaders as a whole in terms of their rule over Judah beginning in verse one and I said here now O heads of Jacob and you rulers of the house of Israel is it not for you to know justice you who hate good and love evil who strip the skin from my people and the flesh from their bones who also eat the flesh of my people Flay their skin from them break their bones and chop them in pieces like meat for the pot like flesh and the caldron then they will cry to the Lord but he will not hear them he will even hide his face from them at that time because they have been evil in their deeds thus says the Lord concerning the prophets who make my people stray who chant peace while they chew with their teeth but who prepare war against him who puts nothing into their mouths therefore you shall have night without vision you shall have darkness without divination the Sun shall go down on the prophets and the day shall be dark for them so the seer shall be ashamed and the diviners abashed indeed they shall all cover their lips but there is no answer from God but truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord and of justice and might to declare to Jacob his transgression into Israel his sin now hear this you heads of the house of Jacob and rulers of the house of Israel who abort justice and pervert all equity who build up Zion with bloodshed and Jerusalem within it iniquity her heads judge for a bribe her priests teach for pay and her prophets divine for money yet they lean on the Lord and say is not the Lord among us no harm can come upon us therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest amen well notice specifically the prophet in Deitz them verse 8 he highlights his own position his own calling his own vocation under God truly I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord and of justice and might to declare to Jacob his transgression and to Israel his sin then he sets forth specific sins committed by the leadership there in Judah and then notice they are completely oblivious to this fact according to verse 11 says yet they lean on the Lord and say is not the Lord among us no harm can come upon us it's the most dangerous thing when men are engaged in abject wickedness and all the while thinking they do service to god almighty Jesus speaks to that in John's Gospel in John 16 they'll think they're doing service to God when they persecute you and that's precisely sort of the emphasis here and then in verse 13 as I mentioned earlier rather verse 12 therefore because of you Zion shall be plowed like a field Jerusalem shall become heaps of ruins and the mountain of the temple like the bare hills of the forest Jeremiah 26 18 referenced as references this or quotes this in other words Micah prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem and he wasn't imprisoned or executed they wanted to execute Jeremiah but it's that particular passage in the precedent that had been set in the life of Micah of Moorish F that freed or capped Jeremiah from execution at least at that particular time but as we move through these prophetic books a big thing is coming on the horizon the south is going to fall the southern kingdom of Judah as I mentioned violated the Covenant of God they rebelled they rejected his law according to Deuteronomy 28 and they would in fact receive or inherit all of the things written there and we as the people of God in the 21st century especially in light not only of the Old Testament prophets but the seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor in Revelation 2 and 3 ought to take heed the Lord God does engage in corporate sanctions corporate judgment and we need to be faithful we need to do what God has called us to do always by His grace by the power of His Holy Spirit and for his own glory well let us pray God we thank you for the written word we pray that you'd seal it to our hearts that you'd help us to learn the lessons not to read as disinterested observers but as those who who see the thrust of biblical history in terms of God's glory and the salvation of his people through Jesus Christ and the setting apart of a people that they may indeed be a holy people the righteous people a people who shine as lights and whatever crooked perverse generation they find themselves in and a people that do indeed hold forth the word of truth and speak and seek to win sinners to the Lord Jesus Christ and we pray in his most blessed name amen well for our final hymn will turn to number 580 hymn number 580 will stand as we sing together [Music] [Music] well please turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Hebrews Hebrews chapter 12 Hebrews chapter 12 our focus this evening will be on verse 1 but I do want to read Hebrews 12 verses 1 to 11 beginning in verse 1 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 for consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls you have not yet resisted to bloodshed striving against sin and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as two sons my son do not despise the chastening of the Lord nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by him for whom the Lord loves he chastens and scourges every son whom he receives if you endure chastening God deals with you as with sons for what son is there whom a father does not Chasen but if you are without chastening of which all have become partakers then you are all in you are illegitimate and not sons furthermore we have had human fathers who corrected us and we paid them respect shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the father of spirits and live for they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present but painful nevertheless afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness by to those who have been trained by it amen again let us pray and God's help as we look to this passage while there send the Holy Spirit now and guide us as we look at this chapter the section we thank you for these calls to endurance and perseverance that certainly imply that our life on Earth will not always be easy we know from the gospel records Jesus Christ in the boat with the disciples nevertheless there was a storm that beat upon the ship we know father that being in Christ does not mean the absence of any hardship grant us help and strength and grace and may we be encouraged by this great cloud of witnesses that we are surrounded by help us we pray again forgive us for our sins and we ask in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ amen well here specifically the people of God are exhorted to run the race that is set before that and the Apostle here not only gives them that charge or that command or that exhortation but he gives them incentives in other words he's not just saying I want you to run the race with endurance and then leaves it up to them on how they ought to do it but rather he tells them he gives them specific direction but he gives them certain enticements or incentives and that first incentive is found in verse 1 we are surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses and will sort of unfold that as the time proceeds tonight the second is the example of Jesus in verses 2 to 4 we are to run the race looking unto Jesus we are to run the race with an eye obviously upon the Son of God who lived for us and who died for us and was raised for us and then we are to run the race considering the purpose of the Father according to verses 5 to 11 so one to eleven highlights or indicates or demonstrates for us the necessity of Christian perseverance that's what we find here as well the chapter also rehearses the need for the people of God to renew their vitality in verses 12 to 17 to remind them that they have in fact come to Mount Zion in verses 18 to 24 and to not refuse the God who speaks to them from heaven according to verses 25 1 9 so this is a practical section in the book of Hebrews the book of Hebrews taken up largely with the priestly office of Jesus Christ the fact that Christ came into this world he was a priest according to the order of Melchizedek both King and priests who laid his life down for the sins of his people so that they might have everlasting life and now the Apostle comes to apply that to encourage the people of God to exhort them on how to live in light of those truths or those realities I want to do two things tonight first look at the believers race in verse 1 and then the believers incentives and as I said there are three but we'll only focus on this cloud of witnesses tonight in verse 1 but note the text in verse 2 verse 1 in Chapter 12 therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses we'll get to that in just a moment let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and here it is here's the exhortation the command let us run with endurance the race that is set before us in other words what we are supposed to do as God's people or to live as God's people in this world we are called by grace we are brought out of darkness in the marvelous light because of grace we are cleansed we're washed we are we are justified we're being sanctified will ultimately be glorified and as God's people were to let our conduct be worthy of the gospel we are to be a persevering Bunch we are to be a group of runners we're not to be a group of sinners of those who twine or those who moan are those who grumble but rather were supposed to man up and take charge and run the race that is set before us this is something repeated in the book of Hebrews go back to chapter 2 at verse 1 just to see these several exhortations from the author I believe it's the Apostle Paul exhorting the people of God to perseverance now there's a specific reason why this context are in this context essentially the book of Hebrews is written to Jews Hebrews those who had professed faith in Jesus Christ and Jews that having professed faith in Jesus Christ are being pressured there persecuted other unbelieving Jews want them to forsake this Lord Jesus they want them to reject his claims to Messiahship and they want them to come back to the temple come back to the Levitical priesthood come back to Moses and the prophets of the author Paul sets forth the superiority and the supremacy of Jesus Christ and shows that all of the Old Testament Scriptures find their fulfillment in that person in that Lord Jesus Christ and so the author is encouraging the people of God not to turn back you've made a profession of faith you need to be consistent you need to run the race with endurance notice in chapter 2 verse 1 therefore we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away you see we don't want to drift away we want to persevere we want to run we want to finish the race that is set before us notice in 314 314 for we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end notice in chapter 4 verse 1 therefore since a promise remains of entering his rest let us fear lest any of you seem to have calm short of it chapter 4 at verse 14 seeing that that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens Jesus the Son of God notice the next words let us hold fast our confession we are saved by grace we are capped by grace but God in His keeping us by grace tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling for his God who was at work in us both to will and to do according to his good pleasure notice in chapter 10 verse 23 chapter 10 verse 23 let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering for he who promised is faithful and then chapter 10 verses 35 and 36 therefore do not cast away your confidence which has great reward for you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God you may receive the promise I want you to turn to Revelation chapter 21 for just a moment Revelation chapter 21 just to sort of illustrate the point is being made in these various passages in the book of Hebrews now I'm sure that you've heard me say this before but I think it bears repeating at this particular juncture notice in Revelation 21 verse a but the Cowardly unbelieving abominable murderers sexually immoral sorcerers idolaters and all Liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone which is the second death now most of that list is pretty evident pretty obvious we would certainly see those who do not believe the gospel those who are abominable those who are murderers those who are sexually immoral those who are sorcerers those who are idolaters those who are liars we see those as opposed to God those having rejected God those living according to themselves but that first statement says the Cowardly when we read the Cowardly we think of our own fears we might be afraid of the dark we might be afraid of spiders we might be afraid of snakes we might be afraid of you know who knows what it is is that what John is saying if you're afraid of spiders you're gonna go to the lake of fire if you're afraid to meet a bear in the woods are you a are you therefore gonna find your part in the lake of fire no the Cowardly in this particular description are those who did it persevere those who did it overcome the seven letters to the churches in Asia Minor each one of them has an exhortation to the people of God to overcome in other words persevere run the race with endurance do what God has called you to do there is simply no quick no resignation no stopping when it comes to the Christian life we need to go forward we need to be persevering so back to Hebrews chapter 12 we notice that this imagery is used in other places in the scripture by the Apostle Paul he says in first Corinthians 9 do you not know that those who run in a race all run but what one receives the prize run in such a way that you may obtain it and everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things now they do it to obtain a perishable crown but we for an imperishable crown I love it's logic there you know the men the gymnasts in that particular day would be very acquainted with this I I suspect that Paul often uses athletic imagery because Paul's other trade not his apostolic ministry his other trade was that of tentmaker where do you think a tentmaker would need to sell his wares where a tentmaker would need to engage in his craft probably at the games probably at the Athletics sporting events probably in places where these sorts of things took ways so he appeals to athletic imagery very often and he says these men get up early they push their bodies they regulate their diet they don't go out and party they live temperate lives and they do it for a perishable crowd they get a garland wreath for their head and tickets to the theater that's what they do this for that's how they Buffett their bodies that's how they regulate their diets simply for that little garland wreath and for the seats to the to the next play and he goes on and he says therefore I run thus not with uncertainty thus I fight not as one who beats the air but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection lest when I have preached to others i myself should become disqualified you see Paul wants the people of God to follow his example and to run with endurance the race that is set before them Philippians 3 Paul says not that I've already attained or I'm already perfected but I press on that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me brethren I do not count myself to have apprehended but one thing I do forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus you see that imagery is something that is replete in the New Testament so back to II Bruce 12:1 he says we are to run this race with endurance and he also counsels us that there certain certain things hindrances that we need to lay aside and he speaks specifically to these in verse 1 he says let us lay aside every weight now the every weight there may not necessarily be something that sinful but something that will hinder you and running it's not necessarily sinful like the next phrase and the sin which so easily entangles us but there are things that can sort of attach themselves to Christians that aren't sin in and of themselves but it may hinder effective running it may hinder the ability for one to engage themselves in that long haul run and there are several things in fact I think be a matha Matthew chapter 13 speaks to this Jesus speaks to the types of errors with reference to the Word of God he says now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares of this world that that's not necessarily a sin the cares of this world I don't think that that's something that we ought to identify as a sin I think that every single one of us has some at least mind toward the various cares of this world what are we going to eat tomorrow where are we going to lay our head tonight Jesus tells us not to engage in carnal anxiety he tells us not to be paralyzed with worry but at the same time he points us to the birds with reference to the fact that God will feed us the birds don't just lay in their nest with their beaks open waiting for God to pour food in them the birds actually fly around in fact most of a birds day is spending the energy - that they're eating there they're out eating and flying and out eating and flying and there is not indolence or a lack of diligence to be had in the Christian life so the cares of the world he says the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and he becomes unfruitful again riches in and of themselves now hear me carefully aren't necessarily wicked there is this mindset that somehow attaches itself to Christianity that riches are necessarily evil riches are challenging riches are difficult but in and of themselves they're not necessarily evil I would point you if we had time to first Timothy chapter 6 where Paul tells Timothy to command those who are rich in this present age not to get rid of their money not to sell everything they have shaved their heads and wear orange sheets and you know wander around airports that's not what he counsels that they're not to be haughty they're not to trust in uncertain riches and they are to be filled with charity toward others you see that might be a weight that does keep us from the run there might be things in the lives of God's people that hinder them from effectively running and the Apostles exhortation is you need to lay it aside in other words you need to be honest with yourself in your life whether it comes to acquaintances whether it comes to entertainment whether it comes to certain places or whether it comes to certain things are these things calculated to help me in my run to heaven if they are not calculated to help me in my run to heaven then I may need to lay them aside these weights these things that that aren't necessarily in and of themselves sinful but those things that will hold me down and then notice he says to lay aside sin let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us now that's obvious isn't it we can't run the Christian race with endurance while we're engaging and said those things are contrary to one another in fact when we are occupied with sin guess what we're not doing we're not running the Christian race we're not doing it with endurance we are being entangled we are being caught up we are being held down from the rod and so the Apostles council is absolutely crucial lay aside the weights lay aside every sin which easily ensnares us Philip Hughes says one of the chief problems with the Hebrew Christians to who this letter is addressed is that they have set out on the race but after a good start are now slackening in the will to persevere their effort is decreasing sin is holding them back they need to recover their intensity of purpose to shake off the sluggish a sluggish mood into which they have fallen to regain their confidence and their a competitive spirit now isn't this one of the things that is absolutely crucial in the Christian life a lot of people can start well but it's finishing well that's in view and there's only one way to finish well think about the Apostle Paul when he says for I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith most people everywhere see second Timothy is the last letter of the Apostle Paul he says the time of my departure is at hand he knew he was going to die and he did die you know history tells us under Nero he was beheaded so Paul says I have fought the good fight I have finished the race I have kept the faith now the only way that a man can say that in the eleventh hour of his life is if he's been faithful in hours one to ten you and I will never be able to say that when we're nine unto death if we haven't been faithful tomorrow yesterday we're not being faithful today consistency faithfulness and discipline are all necessary when it comes to Rennick running the Christian race it's not glamorous there's no prizes people don't say wow you're just running the race so wonderfully people who have been here for a long time will have remembered that the middle mile one man is well observed that typically with reference to a race the starting line is very well attended everybody wants to see the start of a race everybody wants to see the end of the race also that's where the pomp and the show and the the accolades are poured out upon the competitor who wins it's the middle mile I mean who in a marathon goes and camps out at Mile 13 to watch everybody sort of dying as they they they they run by you don't do that you start at Mile one or you go to mile 26 because you want to see them start and you want to see them at Mile fifteen might not be pretty you're gonna see people dry heaving and you know losing bodily functions and all that we don't want to see that it's not glamorous the Christian life is not glamorous the Christian life is to be faithfulness the Christian life is to be consistency the Christian life is to be marked by discipline Paul tells Timothy discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness or exercise yourself toward godliness this isn't glamorous this is faithfulness and this is what the people of God are supposed to be about so he says 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 endurance again it's not just a quick start and then to fizzle out but it's to run with endurance if it's a marathon you're gonna run with endurance through mile you know ten to twenty four and then you know probably at 25 you're thinking okay this is almost going to end finally but it's that endurance that is here specified now I want us to transition into this incentive because he says therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses this endurance has been demonstrated in the lives of the people in Hebrews chapter 11 this endurance is been demonstrated by Jesus Christ who is alluded to here in verses 2 to 4 in fact notice that second incentive looking unto Jesus verse 2 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 he see endurance is the name of the game it was that way for Jesus and it was that way for those Old Testament Saints that Paul has rehearsed in Hebrews chapter 11 so let's look at this cloud of witnesses notice therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses how does this incentivize us running the race with endurance how does this cause us to get up tomorrow morning to resolve by the grace of God to live lives of faithfulness unto our God how do they this cloud of witnesses incentivize us we see how looking unto Jesus does we certainly see how considering the purpose of our Father in verses 5 to 11 Dodge but how does this cloud of witnesses well I want to notice first the imagery he says we aren't surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses again I think that in that time frame that the Athletics were big you know we think that our our culture and it is it's saturated with sports and athletics and you know big money being spent on you know guys who you know do incredible things but in the grand scheme of things come on I mean you know six million dollars a year that that's just incredible to me to play a game now I realize they work hard and all that sort of thing but this particular time frame was filled with sports as well and amphitheaters they had these sorts of things they had arenas remember that that Nero fed Christians to lions in the amphitheater in in the Coliseum well that's the imagery we have this sort of an amphitheater thing and we have all these these Old Covenant Saints sort of sitting up in the stands now I used to think and I've shared this with you before that those Old Covenant Saints the ones mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 were sort of up in that amphitheater watching or witnessing us on the run but as time went on as I consider that and as I heard a very helpful sermon by dr. Dale Ralph Davis that's not what witnesses do the word isn't spectators they're not up in the amphitheater watching us run the Saints that have gone before us those Hebrews 11 men and women they're not beholding us they are beholding Jesus they are in the presence of God most high why would they want to look at me running on a Thursday to make sure I'm sort of doing my thing that's not what they're doing the witnesses here are not witnessing to us or rather witnessing us what run but rather they are witnessing to us of something concerning God that's the function of a witness they're not spectators viewing us rather they're witnesses testifying to us and we need to listen to their testimony and their testimony according to Hebrews chapter 11 and the various Old Testament context that we find these men and women in their testimony is consistent in chore run because God is faithful run because God is with you run because God will sustain you whatever your lot whatever your trial whatever your difficulty whatever your hardship run with endurance the race that is set before you you need to listen to Abel you need to listen to Enoch you need to listen to the various man up there testifying to us concerning again not their greatness not their sterling abilities on the running course but on the faithfulness of God that's the point of this passage therefore we also since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us run with endurance the race that is set before us the witness's function on our behalf to manifest the faithfulness of God and to show that God upholds faithful runners whatever their circumstances now if we just refresh ourselves or remind ourselves of the various characters in Hebrews chapter 11 their testimony ought to be received now it's typical for us when we get into a funk or we get into a low spot and our Christian lives or we have trials or we have difficulties or we have hardships to say you know I'm just going through things that nobody can understand I'm going through things that are so difficult I'm going through things that that I just don't think I can manage in terms of the Christian race now I don't want to minimize anyone suffering I don't want to minimize anyone's hardship I don't want to minimize anyone's difficulties but I do want us to remind ourselves of the faithful men and women in Hebrews chapter 11 and the various circumstances they found themselves in and when we run this race with endurance we ought to do it with an eye obviously looking unto Jesus but listening to the faithful testimony of these witnesses who have gone on before us consider able we actually considered able these are all persons mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 but remember able from our study on Wednesday night it was probably hard to be holy if you were able wasn't it you know I don't think that the Kanes antithesis or animosity rather toward Abel was only manifested when he invited him out to the field Cain probably had an ongoing problem with Abel so Abel's got very difficult family life we might say oh it's you might think you have difficult family life as of yet your brother hasn't invited you out to a field and murdered you so thankfully that hasn't happened hopefully that will never occur but you understand that Abel testifies from that amphitheater that God is faithful even when you got a brother named Cain who's about murder and vengeance and animosity God is faithful we have a man mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11 that interestingly according to Genesis chapter 5 didn't die he's a man by the name of Enoch and just in a brief section in in Genesis chapter 5 it tells us that that Enoch walked with God and then he was not this man was faithful now in that few verse description of Enoch it doesn't tell us that he had a terrible brother it doesn't tell us that he engaged and you know all sorts of difficulties in his life but it does tell us something intriguing he lived for 365 years and it said he had sons and daughters you know what he did for 365 years he was faithful he was consistent he was disciplined I would imagine you'd have a lot of sons and daughters after you know a 365 year run that right and of itself is a is a is a challenge almost a difficulty it can be a difficulty to be sure but it's certainly a challenge but Enoch maintained faithfulness in the day and in the day out that's what I love about Hebrews chapter 11 yeah you have the mighty exploits of a Samson but you've got the faithful consistency of an enoch 365 years he had sons and daughters he maintained fidelity on to Yahweh in a world that was on the precipice of destruction because it was filled with violence and exceedingly corrupt God Almighty blessed that man you've got the kiss situation of Noah how many times have your I thought or perhaps said it's hard to be godly inconsistent and faithful in our society I mean our society terrific it is horrendous it is terrible No you'll get no argument from me or very little argument from me on that but Noah lived at a time when society was really bad the earth was filled with violence and it was exceedingly corrupt this is why God sent the flood it wasn't some capricious act of judgment it wasn't arbitrary it was because the people of that day and age rejected Yahweh the God who made them the God who governed them they raised their fists at him and so God sends the flood Noah was faithful in the midst of absolute on godliness you've got Abraham sometimes people say boy I'm just going through this test right now and it's just so hard it's hard to be holy in the midst of a test it's hard to be holy in the midst of these sorts of things that are just so difficult for me to undergo again I don't want to minimize anybody's pain and suffering but I want us to remember Abraham's tests Abraham is told to take your son your only son the son whom you love take him up to Mount Moriah and sacrifice him to Yahweh what does Abraham do Abraham gathers the gear Abraham gets Isaac and he mouth marches up to Mount Moriah Isaac says father we have the fire we have all the makings for the sacrifice but we don't actually have a sacrifice and what's Abraham say he says the Lord will provide Hebrews 11 tells us that even if Abraham was to carry out this particular task he believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead you see he's running the race with endurance in the midst of great difficulty and hardship you have his wife Sarah Sarah is told that she is going to have a child oh this old doll doesn't think it's going to happen biology isn't on her side things like this aren't typical it just doesn't transpire this way and yet by the grace of God she does you've got Isaac and Jay and Joseph the patriarchs their lives were not marked by pleasantry and joy they're marked lives were marked by hardship and difficult and trial and sorrow you see that's why I think this great cloud of witnesses are so instructive for us because when we sign up by the grace of God to follow Jesus Christ I think somehow it gets into our heads that it's only ever going to be rosy it's only ever going to be joy s it's only ever going to be without any suffering or hardship that's simply not the case the master promises in the Upper Room in this world you will have tribulation but be of good cheer for I have overcome the world you have this statement from Jacob in Genesis 35 3 then let us arise and go up to Bethel and I will make an altar there to God who answered me in the day of my distress and has been with me in the way which I have gone he has been with me you see that's what Jacob testifies to concerning God in the midst of trial consider Joseph again another difficult family right his brothers are jealous of him his brothers want to kill him but they end up throwing him into a pit and selling him off as a slave at the end of it all Joseph is in a position of prestige wherein he is able to provide for the children of Israel and Joseph interprets his lot in this way he says you meant it for evil but God overruled it for good you see you need to listen to Joseph's brethren while you're running with endurance the race that is set before you you need to listen to the other faithful servants Moses and the exodus again highlighted in the book of Hebrews chapter 11 there's one specimen text that always encourages my heart in the book of Deuteronomy Moses makes this statement concerning the children of Israel and God's care and protection for them now remember the children of Israel did not interpret the Exodus in the same way that we have been taught to interpret it yes they came out of bondage and yes they ended up in the promised land but there was a lot of trial on the way there was a lot of hardship and a lot of difficulty and more often than not you know what the children of Israel did in response to God they grumbled they complained they murmured they whined they continually second-guessed him and yet Moses comes on the plains of Moab to tell the people what the reality of it was in Deuteronomy 1 he says and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son in all the way that you went until you came to this place don't you love that imagery they whining they grumbling they complaining and yet all the while Yahweh had borne them up under his arms as a father carries his son right through the wilderness you see it's a question of perception you know if we assume God is against us then we'll interpret the data that way if we assume that God is going to get us then we'll interpret the data that way but the Bible tells us that God works all things for good to those who love God to those who are the called according to his purpose that's to be the interpretive framework by which we approach the difficult Providence's in our lives we're not supposed to whine grumble or complain we're supposed to pray God help me bear me up strengthen me so that I may indeed persevere because this is the means by which you conform me unto the image of your son in Hebrews five the Lord God Most High through the Apostle tells us that his son Jesus learned obedience through what he learned obedience through suffering now that doesn't mean God has some sick fascination with suffering doesn't mean that we ought to you know flagellate ourselves and put ashes in our soup and wear hair shirts because somehow that you know appeals to God but know the Son of God learned obedience through suffering he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief why is that so that will follow in his train so that we will do likewise so that we'll realize that whatever my God ordains is right and I know that he'll sustain me and that'll govern over me and that it worked this out for good Paul goes on in Hebrews 11 to mention Rahab the harlot the Shady Lady of Jericho as Davis calls her I mean there was a woman of great faith a woman who risked her neck we know people come to Rahab in Joshua chapter 2 and they say wow she lied yeah she also committed treason against the city-state of Jericho and had she been caught she'd have been executed you know what she knew that God was faithful and she knew that God would deliver her so you need to listen to rehab the harlot not and therefore go out line commit treason I'm not suggesting that don't make that connection and then he goes on with the judges gideon barak samson and jephthah i mean you know he even says time would fail to sort of go through all of the exploits of these mighty men of god these are the ones in the amphitheatre as we run the race we're looking unto Jesus and we got in the periphery able we got in the periphery Jacob we've got in the periphery Samson we've got in the periphery Jeff that we've got in the periphery beric and get and Gideon we are seeing Sarah we are seeing Abraham we are understanding their consistent testimony that God is faithful he sustains runners and he will bring them through to the end that's why this cloud of witnesses is so crucial and so important he mentions David Samuel and the prophets there are two times in David's history where he mentions the faithfulness of God not not not two times I mean David wrote songs David always speaks and rehearses concerning the faithfulness of God but there are two instances where he describes to others Yahweh's relationship to him in second Samuel 4/9 David answered rec AB and banna his brother the sons of rim on the bear fight and said to them as the Lord lives who has redeemed my life from all adversity isn't that beautiful when you're running and you're looking unto Jesus make sure you see David there he has redeemed my life from all adversity the other one is in first Kings chapter 1 now it's intriguing because you know there's a big disconnect between 2nd Samuel for and first Kings chapter 1 in other words Dave does some incredibly horrible things in second Samuel chapters 11 and 12 David actually commits the sin of adultery and he covers it up with murder and then there is usurpation by his son Absalom such that David is actually exiled from his own kingdom and his son takes the crown takes the throne a David nevertheless at the end of his life is able to say the same thing first Kings 1:29 and the King took it off and said as the Lord lives who has redeemed my life from every distress this after the Bathsheba and Absalom incidents this after the great consequences of his sin this after the trials and the afflictions and the hardships and the woes that he faced this after he's nevertheless able to say that God is faithful even in this sea brethren this is where we need to be it's far too easy for us to stop running or to get sidetracked or to say well you know life isn't great I've tried serving Jesus and it just doesn't it doesn't seem to work I've tried to pray I've tried to read scripture and I've tried to go to church and it just didn't work out for me no we need to run with endurance the race that is set before us laying aside weights laying aside sin and seeking by the grace of God to look unto Jesus and in our peripheral vision to see these great Saints of the faith we see triumphant heroes vs. 33 to 35 triumphant heroes in verses 33 to 35 notice that for a moment chapter 11 who through faith he mentions all these people subdued kingdoms worked righteousness obtained promises stopped the mouths of lions quenched the violence of fire escaped the edge of the sword out of weakness were made strong became valiant in battle turned to flight the armies of the aliens women received their dead raised to life again you want to think about that as you're looking unto Jesus as you're running with endurance the race that is set before you you need to think about those this cloud of witnesses that is in the amphitheater you need to understand the mighty exploits of the faithful of God but he doesn't stop there he mentions the suffering Saints notice in verse 35 be others were tortured not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection still others had trial of mockings and scourgings yes chains and imprisonment they were stoned they were sawn into now as I've said before history tells us this is Isaiah Isaiah the prophet is the one spoken of here by the Apostle in Hebrews chapter 11 did you imagine somebody actually having the wherewithal to saw into the man who wrote the book of Isaiah I mean that's just absolutely terrible but you need to keep Isaiah in your mind you need to keep him in your periphery you need to see him as you're looking under Jesus because he's faithful and that's his consistent testimony concerning God God is faithful God does sustain he goes on to say they were tempted were slain with the sword they wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins being destitute afflicted tormented of whom the world was not worthy they wandered in deserts and mountains and dens and caves of the earth so next time you say well you know I've got it really bad so I'm just gonna you know with this Jesus thing on hold and try to get things fixed up and and then I'll come back to Jesus brethren it's been the consistent testimony of the people of God throughout the ages that there's hardship associated with the Christian life you know that may come as a bit of a shock to us in the 21st century but this is the consistent testimony Jesus was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief now there are certainly others you think of the three young men Hananiah Mishael and Azariah better known to us as Shadrach Meshach and Abednego in fact let's look at that Daniel chapter 3 Daniel chapter 3 just filling up the amphitheater with some additional brothers for our encouragement Daniel chapter 3 beginning in verse 16 Shadrach Meshach and Abednego answered and said to the king o Nebuchadnezzar we have no need to answer you in this matter if that is the case our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace and he will deliver us from your hand O king but if not listen to this this just isn't the way we operate we've been tutored by the health wealth prosperity guys that say every time God's always going to deliver you no he's not he may not it may be his purpose is for you not to be delivered but we ought to have the attitude of these young men but if not not if he does not deliver us if he does not free us if he does not liberate us if he does not bring us out of this trial but if not let it be known to you okay that we do not serve your gods nor will we will nor will we worship the gold image which you have set up Yahweh is our God whether he delivers us or not we're not going to bow to your gold Emmitt we need to hear those men we need to look unto Jesus we need to receive their testimony think of the prophet Micah the very man that we're reading the prophecy that we're reading in our evening worship by the time we get to chapter 7 we see that Micah is isolated Micah is alone Micah is lamenting in Micah chapter 7 and yet he finds his hope he finds his trust he finds his help in God Almighty turn to the prophet a back ik Habakkuk or Habakkuk if you prefer Habakkuk chapter 3 now this is on the verge of the destruction of the southern kingdom it's about 20 years on this or on the prior to the actual destruction and the prophecies are sure and yet notice what a back it does in Habakkuk 3:17 though the fig tree may not blossom nor fruit be on the vines though the labor of the olive may fail in the fields yield no food though the flock may be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation if I could sort of paraphrase that or bring it into modern 21st century English though costco be shot down and super store no longer be stocked at walmart go the way of the dodo bird though all those things happen yet I will rejoice in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation brethren if you are not prepared to run the Christian race with endurance understanding that there are trials and afflictions and hardships and sorrows if you are only running that Christian race because you think it's blessing and roses and bird singing you know around you and and everything just going your way you may be what the devil accused job of having been he only serves you because gets good things isn't that what the devil says to God he only serves you because he gets good things so what does God say take his good things and let's see what happens I'm greatly paraphrasing but that's precisely what happens he is stripped of everything and yet what does job say job 13 a guy you ought to put in your amphitheater though he slay me yet will I trust him see that's the essence of Christianity we don't serve God because of what God gives us we serve God because he's God we serve God because he's altogether lovely because he's chief among 10,000 because he is worthy of our praise and adoration one more text in the put in the book of Job job chapter 19 job chapter 19 we're almost done I don't want to keep you here on a hot night too long I kind of like that clock it's like 10 minutes slow so I look at my watch and I hasten on and I look at that clock and I saw we got plenty of time so when you get home and it's later you'll say that clock in the sanctuary is slow I've told the Deacons just so you know I've I've told them it's slow so if there is a disparity don't think it was me that went up there and you know set it back a little just to keep everybody thinking that I was within the confines of reasonable preaching nests but notice in job 19:25 for I know that my redeemer lives and he shall stand at last on the earth and after my skin is destroyed this I know that in my flesh I shall see God that beautiful there was a hope of the resurrection of the Dead in the Old Testament fact job's hope of the resurrection of the data fix it fixed itself to the Redeemer to the Lord Jesus to the Messiah promised in genesis 3:15 revealed in farther steps until the full discovery in the new testament to bless it and a wonderful thing you have the testimony the apostle paul i already cited before second timothy chapter 4 he says i have fought the good fight I have finished I have finished the race I have kept the faith he goes on in verse eight and he says finally there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord the righteous judge will give to me on that day and not to me only but also to all who have loved his appearing these are the Brethren in this amphitheater this is the great cloud of witnesses and the constant refrain is that God is faithful so run with endurance the race that is set before you don't stop don't quit don't rest but rather persevere the martyr Polycarp an ad 155 80 and six years I have served him he was asked to renounce to recant his commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ you disowned price and we won't murder you Polycarp you disowned Christ and you will get to keep your life 80 in six years I have served him and he has done me no wrong how then can I blaspheme my king and Savior you threatened me with a fire that burns for a season and after a little while is quenched but you were ignorant to the fire of everlasting punishment that is prepared for the wicked Polycarp was burned at the stake and was pierced with a spear for refusing to burn incense to the Roman Emperor on his farewell he said I bless you Father for judging me worthy of this hour so that in the company of the martyrs I may share the cup of Christ that's how Christ's people die they cry like Thomas Hawks that martyr who prior to his death by fire his death by burning his friends were also going to be executed because of their crime believing the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ so his buddies essentially say to Thomas when you're when you're in the fire give us a sign so we know how long you can bear it I mean I think that's what jet you're on your way to the fire you ask your buddy hey let us know how long you're able to sustain or how long you're able to to maintain when you're in the fire so Thomas Hawkes is marched off he is burnt and he is melting and out of the the flames comes his stumps and he slaps his stumps together three times Christ is Lord of the fire that's how God's people who have ran with endurance the race that is set before them and they end by God's grace entering into his presence and that is something we need to be reminded of concerning these Saints they all ended ultimately in heaven this was the impetus for Moses Moses chose rather to suffer the the reproach of Christ and enjoy the passing pleasures of sin why because he saw that suffering was somehow virtuous no because he looked to the reward he saw that whatever it was that Egypt offered paled in significance to what Yahweh offers the presence of God is the great motivator for the people of God to run the race with endurance remember it's a marathon it's not a hundred yard dash remember to lay aside every weight remember to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles us and remember to run with endurance looking unto Jesus verse 2 but having a mind for those martyrs those Saints those persons in Hebrews 11 in the Old Covenant scriptures that testify with unanimous consent that Yahweh is faithful brethren run will let us pray our Father we thank you for your word and we thank you for your grace and we thank you for your loving kindness and your mercy that is the consistent testimony of the scriptures the consistent testimony of the People of God throughout the ages and how we thank you for the gospel the gospel of our salvation the fact that those who believe by grace and the in the Lord Jesus Christ will have everlasting life give us help your the strength give us fresh resolve to run with endurance the race that is set before us go with us now we pray and grant us grace to have a week wherein we may glorify and honor and praise you and we ask in Jesus name Amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you