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Hebrews chapter 12, our focus 
this evening will be on verse one, but I do want to read Hebrews 
12, verses one to 11. Beginning in verse one, 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 is 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 the bloodshed, striving against 
sin, and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you 
as to 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 chasten? But if you are without chastening, 
of which all have become partakers, then 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 prophet, 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 peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained 
by it. Amen. Again, let us pray and ask God's 
help as we look to this passage. Father, send the Holy Spirit 
now and guide us as we look at this chapter, this 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 them. 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 we'll 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 1 to 11 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 to 29. 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 priest, 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. So 
I want to do two things tonight. First, look at the believer's 
race. in verse 1, and then the believer's 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 
1 of 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 lie 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 are to live as God's people in this 
world. We are called by grace. We are brought out of darkness 
into marvelous light because of grace. We are cleansed. We 
are washed. We are justified. We are being 
sanctified. We'll ultimately be glorified. 
And as God's people, we're 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 whine or those who 
moan or those who grumble, but rather we're 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 
two at verse one, 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 or 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. They're being 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. So 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 two, verse 
one, 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 3.14. 3.14, for we 
have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our 
confidence steadfast to the end. Notice in chapter four, verse 
one, therefore, since a promise remains of entering his rest, 
let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. Chapter 
four at verse 14, seeing then 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 kept by grace, but God in his keeping us by 
grace tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling, 
for it is God who is 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 that 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 
8. 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 going to go to the lake of fire. If you're afraid to 
meet a bear in the woods, are you therefore going to find your 
part in the lake of fire? No, the cowardly in this particular 
description are those who didn't persevere. Those who didn't 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 quit, 
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 1 Corinthians 9, Do you not know that those who run in a 
race all run? but 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 his logic there. You know, the men, the gymnasts 
in that particular day, Paul would be very acquainted with 
this. 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 athletic sporting events, probably in places where these 
sorts of things took place. 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 crown. They get a garland wreath for 
their head and tickets to the theater. That's what they do 
this for. That's how they buffet their 
bodies. That's how they regulate their diets, simply for that 
little garland wreath and four seats 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 preach 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 am 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, for getting 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 Hebrews 12.1, he says 
we are to run this race with endurance. And he also counsels 
us that there are 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's sinful, but it's something 
that will hinder you in 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 Matthew chapter 
13 speaks to this. Jesus speaks to the types of 
hearers with reference to the Word of God. He says, 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. Well, the birds don't just lay 
in their nests with their beaks open, waiting for God to pour 
food in them. The birds actually fly around. 
In fact, most of a bird's day is spending the energy that they're 
eating. 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 1 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, shave their heads and wear orange sheets 
and, you know, wander around airports. That's not what he 
counsels them. 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 
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 in sin. 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 run. 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 
mood into which they have fallen, to regain their confidence and 
their 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 2 Timothy as 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 11th hour 
of his life is if he's been faithful in hours 1 to 10. You and I will 
never be able to say that when we're nigh unto death if we haven't 
been faithful tomorrow, yesterday, if we're not being faithful today. 
Consistency, faithfulness, and discipline are all necessary 
when it comes to 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 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 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 
run by? You don't do that. You start 
at mile 1 or you go to mile 26 because you want to see them 
start and you want to see them end. Mile 15 might not be pretty. You're going to see people driving 
and 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 going to run with endurance through 
mile 10 to 24. And then probably at 25, you're 
thinking, OK, 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 has 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 is sat 
down at the right hand of the throne of God. You 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 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 does. But how 
does this cloud of witnesses? Well, I want to notice first 
the imagery. He says, we are surrounded by so great a cloud 
of witnesses. Again, I think that in that time 
frame, the athletics were big. We think that our culture, and 
it is, it's saturated with sports and athletics and big money being 
spent on guys who do incredible things. But in the grand scheme 
of things, come on. I mean, $6 million a year, 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. They had amphitheaters, they 
had these sorts of things, they had arenas. Remember that Nero 
fed Christians to lions in the amphitheater in the Colosseum? Well, that's the imagery. We 
have this sort of amphitheater thing, and we have all 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 considered 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, 
Ron, 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 are 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 contexts that we find these men and women 
in, their testimony is consistent and sure. 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 men 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 witnesses 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 in 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 
I just don't think I can manage in terms of the Christian race. 
Now, I don't want to minimize anyone's 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 Abel. We actually considered Abel. 
These are all persons mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11. But remember 
Abel from our study on Wednesday night. It was probably hard to 
be holy if you were Abel, wasn't it? You know, I don't think that 
Cain's 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 this very difficult 
family life, we might say. In other words, 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've got a brother 
named Cain, who's about murder and vengeance and animosity, 
God is faithful. We have a man mentioned in Hebrews 
11, that interestingly, according to Genesis 5, didn't die. He's a man by the name of Enoch. 
And just in a brief section in Genesis 5, it tells us that Enoch 
walked with God, and then he was not. I mean, 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 in, 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 a 
365-year run. That right in of itself 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 in and 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 unto 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 situation of Noah. How many times have you or I 
thought or perhaps said, it's hard to be godly and consistent 
and faithful in our society? I mean, our society is horrific. It is horrendous. It is terrible. 
Now, 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 ungodliness. 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 
test. 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 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. Well, 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 Jacob and 
Joseph, the patriarchs. Their lives were not marked by 
pleasantry and joy. Their 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 joyous. 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, 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 interpretative framework by which we approach the difficult 
providences 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 5, 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 no, the Son of God learned 
obedience through suffering. He was a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief. Why is that? So that we'll 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 He'll govern over me, 
and that He'll work this out for good. Paul goes on in Hebrews 
11 to mention Rahab the harlot, the shady lady of Jericho, as 
Davis calls her. And there was a woman of great 
faith, a woman who risked her neck Well, you 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 would have been executed. But 
you know what? She knew that God was faithful, and she knew 
that God would deliver her. So you need to listen to Rahab 
the harlot, and therefore go out in 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 Japheth. 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 amphitheater. 
As we run the race, we're looking unto Jesus, and we got in the 
periphery, Abel. We got in the periphery, Jacob. 
We've got in the periphery, Samson. We've got in the periphery, Japheth. 
We've got in the periphery, Barak 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 two 
times. I mean, David wrote Psalms. 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 2 Samuel 4, 9, David answered 
Rechab and Baanah, his brother, the sons of Rimmon the Barathite, 
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 1 Kings 1. Now, it's intriguing because 
you know there's a big disconnect between 2 Samuel 4 and 1 Kings 
1. In other words, David does some 
incredibly horrible things in 2 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 throne. But David, 
nevertheless, at the end of his life, is able to say the same 
thing. 1 Kings 1 29, and the king took 
an oath 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 is nevertheless able 
to say that God is faithful even in this. See, brethren, this 
is where we need to be. It's far too easy for us to stop 
running or to get sidetracked and 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, verses 
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 fight 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 35b, others were 
tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better 
resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, 
yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned. They were sawn 
in two. 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. Could 
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 unto 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. The next time you 
say, well, I've got it really bad, so I'm just going to put 
this Jesus thing on hold and try to get things fixed up, 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. That might 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 three. Daniel 
chapter three. Just filling up the amphitheater 
with some additional brothers for our encouragement. Daniel 
chapter three. 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, if 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, O king, that we do not serve your gods, 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 gonna bow to your 
gold image. 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 seven, we see that Micah is isolated. Micah is alone. Micah is lamenting 
in Micah chapter seven, and yet he finds his hope, he finds his 
trust, he finds his help in God Almighty. Turn to the prophet 
Habakkuk, or Habakkuk if you prefer. Habakkuk chapter three. Now this is on the verge of the 
destruction of the Southern kingdom. It's about 20 years prior to the actual destruction 
and the prophecies are sure. And yet notice what Habakkuk 
does in Habakkuk 3.17. Though the fig tree may not blossom, 
nor fruit beyond the vines, though the labor of the olive may fail 
and 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 shut down and Superstore 
no longer be stocked and 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 birds singing around you and everything just going 
your way, you may be what the devil accused Job of having been. He only serves you because he 
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 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 say, oh, 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 told them it's slow. So if there's a disparity, 
don't think it was me that went up there and set it back a little 
just to keep everybody thinking that I was within the confines 
of reasonable preachingness. 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." Isn't that beautiful? There was 
a hope of the resurrection of the dead in the Old Testament. 
In fact, Job's hope of the resurrection of the dead affixed 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. It's a blessed and a wonderful 
thing. You have the testimony of the Apostle Paul, I already 
cited before, 2 Timothy chapter 4, where he says, I have fought 
the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. And he 
goes on in verse 8, 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, 
in A.D. 155. Eighty and six years I have 
served him. He was asked to renounce, to 
recant his commitment to the Lord Jesus Christ. You disown 
Christ and we won't murder you, Polycarp. You disown Christ and 
you will get to keep your life. Eighty and six years I have served 
him and he has done me no wrong. How then can I blaspheme my King 
and Savior? You threaten me with a fire that 
burns for a season and after a little while is quenched, but 
you are 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 die 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 in the fire, give 
us a sign so we know how long you can bear it. I mean, you 
think that's legit? 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 maintain when you're 
in the fire. So Thomas Hawks has marched off, 
he is burned, and he is melting, and out of 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, end. 
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 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 and the Old Covenant 
Scriptures that testify with unanimous consent that Yahweh 
is faithful. Brethren, run. Well, 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 in the Lord Jesus Christ will have everlasting 
life. Give us help, give us 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 honour 
and praise you. And we ask in Jesus' name, amen. We'll close with a brief time 
of meditation and then be dismissed.