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Turn in your Bibles to the book 
of Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12, I thought 
this might be a helpful sort of supplement to what we looked 
at this morning in John 15, our Lord Jesus' emphasis on us as 
branches being connected to the vine and seeking by God's grace 
to bear much fruit. Well, the emphasis here in the 
first part of chapter 12 is on the necessity for the people 
of God to persevere, to endure, to go forward in the fear of 
the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit. So our text 
is going to be chapter 12, only verse 1, but I want to read beginning 
in verse 1 all the way to verse 11. So Hebrews 12, 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 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 
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. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, we thank you again for the written word. We pray 
now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us that word 
to guide us, to encourage us, to strengthen us, and help us 
to endure, to run with endurance the race that is set before us. 
Help us to do so, always being mindful of that great cloud of 
witnesses. Help us do so, always looking 
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, and help us to do so, 
understanding the the fatherly love and care and even discipline 
that you give to us. Lord, be glorified in this time 
again, fill us with the Spirit, forgive us for all of our sin, 
and we pray through Jesus Christ the Lord. Amen. Well, in this 
particular chapter, as a whole, we see this emphasis on running 
the race of faith, specifically in verses 1 to 11. He then calls 
them to renew their vitality in verses 12 to 17. Thirdly, 
he calls them to be reminded that they have come to Mount 
Zion according to verses 18 to 24, and then not to refuse the 
God who speaks from heaven in verses 25 to 29. I assume Pauline 
authorship. I think Paul wrote this epistle. 
I think he wrote it prior to the destruction of the temple 
in Jerusalem in AD 70. And as a result, he is writing 
to Christians, believers that are being tempted, that are being 
tested, that are being pressured to turn back from Jesus and the 
New Covenant, to go back to the Old Covenant, to Moses, to the 
Levites, to the Temple, and to the sacrificial system. it was 
still standing. Certainly the pressure would 
have been strong for the people of God to hear that from others, 
from friends, family, business associates. You need to stop 
with Jesus. You need to come back to Moses. 
You need to come back to the sacrifices. So this letter as 
a whole is written to exhort them, to encourage them, to strengthen 
them, and to help them in their resolve to go forward with our 
Lord Jesus Christ. As I said, our focus is brief 
tonight. It's only on verse 1. And I want 
to look first at the believer's race, and then secondly, the 
believer's help. We're kind of going to kind of 
dive into the middle of the verse for the believer's race, and 
then take up the first part of the verse in the believer's help. 
First, though, note the believer's race, dropping down a couple 
of lines in verse 1. Notice it says, let us run with 
endurance the race that is set before us. Now this is common 
parlance in the hand of the apostle Paul in terms of the Christian 
life looking like a race. He says this in 2 Timothy chapter 
4 when he says he has fought the good fight, he has finished 
the race, he has kept the faith, and he's confident that the Lord 
of righteousness has a crown of righteousness waiting for 
him. But it's a recurring theme in 
the book of Hebrews as well. Again, the apostasy passages 
in chapters 6 and 10 suggest that there's pressure being placed 
upon the professing people of God. And the apostle does not 
want them to apostatize. He doesn't want them to depart 
from or defect from New Covenant religion. And so let's look at 
several of those passages which highlight the need to persevere 
and endure. Go back to chapter 2, specifically 
at verse 1. Therefore, we must give the more 
earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. The apostle doesn't want them 
to drift away. What's the antidote to drifting 
away? Giving more heed. giving more earnest heed to the 
things we have heard. Notice in chapter 3, specifically 
at verse 14. For we have become partakers 
of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to 
the end, while it is said today, if you will hear his voice, do 
not harden your hearts as in the rebellion. Notice in chapter 
4 at verse 1. Therefore, since a promise remains 
of entering his rest, let us fear, lest any of you seem to 
have come short of it. And then in 414, seeing then 
that we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, 
Jesus, the son of God, let us hold fast our confession. It's 
hard to miss the emphasis along the way in the book of Hebrews 
on Paul's insistence that the people of God who have professed 
saving faith in Jesus Christ persevere, that they endure, 
that they continue steadfast, that they go forward. Notice 
in chapter 10, specifically at verse 23. Summarizing, or rather 
applying, what he has said doctrinally concerning the high priesthood 
of our Lord Jesus, we'll just pick up in verse 19. Therefore, 
brethren, having boldness to enter the holiest by the blood 
of Jesus, by a new and living way which he consecrated for 
us, through the veil, that is his flesh, and having a high 
priest over the house of God. He then gives three exhortations. Notice in verse 22. Let us draw 
near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our 
hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed 
with pure water. Notice in verse 23, let us hold 
fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who 
promised is faithful. There's that emphasis, perseverance. 
Endurance, holding fast, being steadfast. The third is in verse 
24, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and 
good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together 
as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another in so much 
the more as you see the day approaching. look over at chapter 10, specifically 
at 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. So by the time we get to chapter 
12 and verse 1, and the apostle emphasized, let us run with endurance 
the race that is set before us, that doesn't come out of left 
field. We're already prepped. We're already expecting. We already 
understand. This is a significant and major 
theme in the book of Hebrews. Obviously, the overarching theme 
is the superiority of Christ and new covenant religion. But 
a central theme or another theme alongside that central one is 
for the people of God to press onward, to run with endurance 
the race that is set before us. Notice as well in the book of 
1 Corinthians, you can turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 9, 1 Corinthians 
chapter 9, just to see that this is not an isolated use of the 
running metaphor or the race metaphor with the apostle Paul. 
1 Corinthians chapter 9, specifically at verses 24 to 27. 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. 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. 
Last, when I have preached to others, I myself should become 
disqualified. And then Philippians chapter 
3, a similar use of the race metaphor. Philippians chapter 
3, specifically at verses 12 to 14. He 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, 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. So back to our text, specifically 
the believer's race, we have a duty stated. That is simple. Let us run the race that is set 
before us. But as well, we have obstacles 
identified. If you're going out to run a 
race, it was on a flat track, this wouldn't be much of a big 
deal. But if you were going to run a race in some rocky terrain, 
you'd want to know what the obstacles were. You'd want to know what 
possible threat there was to your wellbeing with reference 
to that course. And so Paul identifies two. Notice 
again in verse one, let us lay aside every weight and the sin 
which so easily ensnares us. Now, I think that what he's doing 
is showing us that there are those things that may not necessarily 
be sin, but they're not necessarily helpful for us in the running 
of a race. I suppose some could read it 
this way, let us lay aside every weight, that is the sin which 
so easily ensnares us, but I don't think that's what he's doing. 
I think he's making a differentiation. I think that there is a weight 
that is certainly cumbersome and one that you wouldn't want 
to take on a running race, but might be appropriate in another 
situation. The fact is, is that not every 
weight is necessarily a sin. The fact that some things are, 
though not sinful, a challenge with reference to running the 
Christian race. It's not wrong to have non-Christian 
friends. But if those non-Christian friends 
are constantly weighing you down and keeping you from running 
the race with endurance, then it might be time to cut bait. 
It's nothing wrong with having a certain activity perhaps on 
a Monday through Saturday that you shouldn't necessarily engage 
in with reference to the Lord's Day. As well, money, for instance. I'm going to invoke a text in 
just a moment. Money's not bad. Money's amoral. It's not that 
money goes out or causes you to go out and sin. It's the love 
of money that's the root of all kinds of evil. But consider our 
Lord in Matthew 13, 22. He says, now he who receives 
seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and the cares 
of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word and 
he becomes unfruitful. We cannot escape the cares of 
this world. We cannot get our minds away 
from the cares of this world. But we take Jesus' admonition 
in Matthew chapter 6 to deal with them accordingly and properly 
so that we don't get weighed down by it, so that we don't 
get to the place where we're crushed and we can't run with 
endurance the race that is set before us. And then he moves 
on with reference to sin. Let us lay aside every weight 
and the sin which so easily ensnares us. The fact is, is that all 
sin does ensnare us. There might be some weights, 
not necessarily sinful in and of themselves, that nevertheless 
are cumbersome. But all sin definitely has that 
rotting effect upon the soul, wherein it does kill to some 
degree that running with endurance the race that is set before us. 
The fact is, is that all sin does easily hinder us from running 
the race. That's why when we consider sin, 
we need to deal radically with it. And this is why Jesus taught 
us, cut off your right hand if it causes you to stumble. Pluck 
out the right eye if it causes you to stumble. It's better to 
enter a life maimed than hell whole. It's better to go into 
heaven and glory as having dealt radically with sin. Now, it's 
just here that I should say we're not saved by the way that we 
deal with sin. We're not saved based on how 
well we run the race. We're saved by God's grace through 
faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, who lived for us, who died for 
us, and was raised again for us. But as we saw this morning, 
there is an inextricable connection between regeneration and justification, 
and then subsequent to that, sanctification. The God of heaven 
and earth, who has saved us by grace through faith in Jesus 
Christ, has called us to live in a particular way. He has made 
provision when we don't. If we confess our sins, He is 
faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all 
unrighteousness. But, John says, my little children, 
I write these things so that you may not sin. But when you 
do sin, remember you have an advocate with the Father, even 
Jesus Christ the righteous. We're to let our conduct be worthy 
of the gospel. We're to understand that weights 
that weigh us down and keep us from running that race with endurance 
or those sins that we indulge or those sins that we're not 
killing, they're going to kill us with reference to running 
the race with endurance. As Owen says, be killing sin 
or sin will be killing you. Philip Hughes says, one of the 
chief problems with the Hebrew Christians, to whom 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 or purpose, to shake off the 
sluggish mood into which they have fallen, to regain their 
confidence and their competitive spirit. But then notice under 
the believer's race, we've got a duty, we've got the obstacles, 
we've got the manner. Notice, let us lay aside every 
weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us and let us run with 
endurance. Endurance or perseverance. In other words, the Christian 
life and the race that we have to run is going to be hard. It's not a walk in the park. 
It's not without its problems. It's not a Disney movie. There aren't bluebirds coming 
down and filling our pathway with rose petals so that we can 
skip our way into heaven. The Christian race demands on 
the part of the people of God the recognition that it may be 
tough, that more often than not, it is tough, and that we are 
going to run it with endurance, with perseverance. But I want 
to make this observation. We're not supposed to divorce 
this from the rest of the Bible. This running with endurance isn't 
just a gritting and bearing it sort of a thing. We still find 
ourselves in the orbit of the apostle Paul's writings to rejoice 
always. In other words, this running 
with endurance isn't a grin and bear it. It isn't a knuckle under. It's with that joy and that thanksgiving 
and that gratitude expressed to God most high for the goodness 
that he has bestowed upon us in saving us from our sins. So 
the Christian race must be run with endurance. Now, interestingly, 
that's what the apostle demonstrates in chapter 11, and we're going 
to look at that in just a moment. In chapter 11, what do you see 
the emphasis on? Faith. But faith in a myriad 
of circumstances. I always try to encourage people 
to read your Old Testaments. Read the Old Testament, it's 
the Christian life lived. I'm not suggesting that the New 
Testament isn't, but the various narratives, the various stories, 
the various persons, the various places, the various things going 
on in the Old Testament, all of us can connect with, and I 
hope to show that to you or demonstrate that to you in just a moment. 
So you've got endurance manifested by the saints in chapter 11. 
By faith, they ran the race with endurance. They laid aside the 
weights, they laid aside the sins. Again, not always, not 
in every instance, we see. their stumblings, we see their 
difficulties, we see their sins, we see the fact that they have 
blemishes and warts and they don't always do the things that 
they should have done, but God is faithful. And as well, this 
endurance is manifested by the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at verse 
2, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who 
for the joy that was set before him, same word, endured the cross, 
despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the 
throne of God. Look at verse 3, for consider him who endured 
such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary 
and discouraged in your souls. And then dropping down to verse 
7, if you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons. 
What does this suggest? This suggests that when the tough 
times come, we don't have the warrant from God to abandon ship. When the tough times come, we 
don't have the warrant from God to say, well, these are tough 
times, I'd rather not. I'll just go take a vacation. 
I'll go sit on the beach, and hopefully all those things will 
pass by, and when I return, I'll be able to get right back into 
my smooth, comfortable, well-fitted shoes, no obstacle race, and 
just run. That is absolutely unacceptable. God Most High calls us to run 
with endurance, put off the weights, that'll bring you down, put off 
the sin that is always calculated to bring you down, and run that 
race with endurance. And when you're running that 
race with endurance, do it with the joy that is characteristic 
of the people of God. Do it with the gratitude and 
the thankfulness that is characteristic of the people of God. when it's 
always the case that we're miserable and that everything is bad and 
we're always sorrowful and we're always down. Brethren, I think 
there are times for that. As I've said before, I think 
there's a doctrine of bad days in scripture. I think there's 
a doctrine that, you know, depression or sorrow. Now, I'm not suggesting 
again, if you've got a 38 up to your head, you may need some 
help beyond what I'm telling you now, but sorrow and depression 
and melancholy in the life of the people of God, It's to be 
expected. We live in a sin-cursed world. 
As we move our way through the Upper Room discourse in John 
15, when we get there, Jesus basically, well he does, he says, 
if the world hates you, know that it hated me first. We live 
in a society, we live in a country, we live in a world, that is antithetical 
to God and His Messiah. It's a Psalm 2 situation. Why 
do the nations rage? Why do the people plot vain things? 
They hate God and they hate His Christ. Do you think they're 
going to love you as one who has allegiance to God and His 
Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? So you see the connection, you 
see the emphasis, you see the duty, the obstacles and the manner. Now let's then look secondly 
at the believer's help or incentives to running the race with endurance. 
God not only gives us commands, but he gives us incentives or 
helps or reasons why we ought to fulfill or seek to fulfill 
those commands. Now there are three in the context, 
but as I said, we're only gonna look at the first one. First, 
the cloud of witnesses in verse 1. Secondly, the example of Christ 
in verses 2 to 4. And then thirdly, the purpose 
of the Father in verses 5 to 11. Run with endurance the race 
that is set before you because of this cloud of witnesses. because 
of the paradigm that was set forth by our Lord Jesus, and 
because of the purpose of the Father in dealing with you as 
a father, which includes and oftentimes necessitates parental 
discipline for us when we go waywardly. So I want to look 
first at, or only at, this great cloud of witnesses. First of 
all, the imagery. Notice in verse one of chapter 
12, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great 
a cloud of witnesses, the witnesses surround the runners on earth, 
sort of like an amphitheater. You've probably seen an amphitheater 
and we've got this amphitheater sort of surrounding us. And then 
all of these witnesses, this cloud of witnesses up in the 
amphitheater. I hope you're not wondering who 
the witnesses are, because they're the people mentioned in chapter 
11. Notice how verse 1 starts, therefore there is a close and 
inextricable connection between chapters 11 and 12. The great 
hall of faith is populated with the witnesses that are described 
by the apostle in chapter 11. So when he comes to get practical 
with us and tell us to run with endurance the race that is set 
before us, he wants us to look and to see that great cloud of 
witnesses. So that's the metaphor, the imagery 
that's employed. Secondly, what is their function? 
When we look at the fellows and the ladies in chapter 11, what 
is their function in that amphitheater? What is it that they are doing 
that the apostle is able to call them witnesses? Well, some suggest 
that we are on the track and doing field or doing track on 
the field. Track and field is what I was 
trying to get at. So we've got this amphitheater and there's 
Abraham and there's Moses and there's Sarah. and they're watching 
us and witnessing the way that we run the race with endurance 
that is set before us. I don't think that's what the 
apostle is talking about. I don't think that for a few 
reasons. I would suggest that the witnesses 
witness to us concerning the faithfulness of God. So instead 
of us running on the track and the witnesses looking at us, 
we're running on the track and we're looking at the witnesses. 
The particular word here does not mean spectator. So Moses 
and Abraham and Sarah and and Samson, they're not watching 
us as spectators watch a race. This isn't the Olympics, where 
they're just populating this amphitheater, and they're watching 
the likes of you and I. I'd like to think that Abraham 
in glory, and Moses in glory, and Abel in glory, and Sarah 
in glory, ain't wasting their time looking at me. They are 
beholding the face of the Son of God most high. They are in 
Emmanuel's land. Why would they look at a slob 
like me fumbling around on the track below? They are witnesses 
to witness about God. That's the imagery that the apostle 
employs. The witnesses serve on our behalf, 
to manifest the faithfulness of God, and to show that God 
upholds faithful runners, whatever their circumstances may be. So 
they're not watching us, we're running the race with endurance, 
and all the while, out of our periphery, we're looking at these 
several brothers and sisters. And when we're looking at these 
several brothers and sisters, they all have a constant theme, 
and that is simple, God is faithful. Run with endurance the race that 
is set before you. Why? Because God is faithful. Now, when we consider the various 
persons in Hebrews chapter 11, those witnesses, we then understand 
that there are several persons in several circumstances that 
imitate, or parallel rather, the things that we go through. 
If I were to come to you and I were to say, look, I know that 
what's happened to you is bad. I know that what you're going 
through is difficult. I know that this is a tough pill to 
swallow. You need to run with endurance the race that is set 
before you. What might you respond? If it's 
a good day, you might say, yeah, you're right, Pastor, I'm going 
to do that. If it's not a good day, you might say, but you really 
don't understand. You really don't know what I'm 
going through. You all look shocked. Okay, I 
guess it's all the other people I've ever talked to that have 
that response. It's only everybody out there. 
It's the Hivites and the Hittites and the Canaanites and all those 
ites. Well, you see the wisdom of the apostle in Hebrews chapter 
11. We're gonna just take a quick 
tour through Hebrews chapter 11 in the hall of faith. And 
remember the theme, it's by faith they did what they did. And on 
the heels of that, therefore, since we have this cloud of witnesses, 
we need to lay aside the weights, we need to lay aside the sin, 
and we need to run with endurance the race that is set before us. 
And he's saying, use those witnesses, listen to their testimony, see 
them in their circumstances, see them in their life experience, 
See them in the ebb and flow of their Christian life. See 
them with the difficulties and the trials associated with life 
in this present evil age. And then ponder, maybe God does 
know what I'm going through. First of all, there's Abel. Hebrews chapter 11, specifically 
at verse four. By faith, Abel offered to God 
a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained 
witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, 
and through it, he being dead, still speaks. I think Abel is 
a key circumstance that does connect with a lot of people. 
You don't know what my family's like. You don't know how difficult 
they can be. You don't know what it's like 
to run the race with endurance when you're surrounded by the 
kinds of people that I call brother, sister, mom, or dad. Brethren, 
I would just take a bet here and say it's probably not as 
bad as Abel's. He had a vicious, murderous brother 
that ultimately terminated his existence. Abel's a great example 
for anybody going through difficulties in their family situation. What 
about Enoch? Enoch is in chapter 11, verses 
five to six. I would suggest though that we 
turn back to Genesis, Genesis chapter five, because I think 
Enoch illustrates something in a way that perhaps we may not 
typically really, well, we may not typically appreciate. Notice Enoch in Genesis chapter 
five, specifically at verses 21 to 24. Enoch lived 65 years 
and begot Methuselah. After he begot Methuselah, Enoch 
walked with God 300 years and had sons and daughters. So all 
the days of Enoch were 365 years and Enoch walked with God and 
he was not, for God took him. Now Abel had a difficult, family 
situation. The rest of the people that we 
look at in the Hall of Faith had difficult situations. Nothing 
jumps out from chapter 5, 21 to 24 about a difficult situation. But I think what we ought to 
appreciate is that in the normal ebb and flow of life, The normal 
ebb and flow of being a husband and being a father, you can walk 
with God. Enoch walked with God 300 years 
and had sons and daughters. And so all the days of Enoch 
were 365 years and Enoch walked with God and he was not for God 
took him. It may be a mercy of God that 
he takes some of us long before we hit 365. because if it were possible, 
we would get ourselves out of this arrangement in any way we 
could. In the ebb and flow of having 
sons and daughters, what was Enoch known for? By faith, he 
walked with God. You don't understand how bad 
my life, it's so ordinary. It's so normal. Praise God for 
ordinary and normal. probably a whole lot of people 
out there that would happily trade you for ordinary and normal. Enoch walked with God and then 
he was not. Noah, Noah, look at Genesis 6 
while we're there. Genesis 6, this is another one. It's hard to be a believer in 
communist Canada. It's hard to believe a believer 
in a society that is just oppressive and persecutorial and after us. It's hard to be a believer in 
a society that celebrates violence, that celebrates perversion, that 
celebrates lawlessness and viciousness and godlessness. What about Noah? Look at Genesis 6, 12. So God 
looked upon the earth, and indeed it was corrupt, for all flesh 
had corrupted their way on the earth. We learned that in this 
particular narrative, the earth is corrupt and it's exceedingly 
violent. And yet Noah, by faith, ran with 
endurance the race that was set before him. Consider Abraham. He's mentioned in Hebrews 11, 
but we know his story in Genesis, sections of Genesis. Genesis 
12, he's called out of Ur the Chaldeans, called away from his 
father, called away from his family, called by God to come 
to God. What does he do? He does it. 
What about Abraham when he's called to take his son, his only 
son, the son whom he loves, up to Mount Moriah and sacrifice 
him? Again, we have 22-1 in our Bibles. Abraham didn't have that. Abraham didn't have a nice Cambridge 
goatskin leather Bible that told him, oh, God's testing me on 
this morning. He didn't know that. God simply 
spoke and said, take your son, your only son, the son whom you 
love, up to Moriah and sacrifice him. And yet Abraham does that. So for those who say, well, you 
don't know how God is testing me. You don't know how bad it 
is and severe these trials. Brethren, I sympathize. I'm not 
condemning. I've probably said a lot of these 
things myself, truth be told, but there's been no test like 
that. So all of these heroes of faith, 
this cloud of witnesses are testifying God's faithfulness in the midst 
of a horrible family situation, in the midst of a normal family 
situation, in the midst of a corrupt society, in the midst of corrupt 
or difficult tests. Sarah is mentioned in chapter 
11, 11 and 12. Remember when they're told they're 
gonna have a lot of children? You're gonna have a lot of seed? 
What was their response? Basically, are you kidding? He's 
100 and I'm 99. This just ain't gonna work. I'm 
not a spring chicken anymore. This is not the way things go. And yet she's up there and what 
is she saying? God is faithful, keep running. 
You've got Isaac and Jacob and Joseph, we call them the patriarchs 
along with Abraham. Again, chapter 11 in Genesis 
20 to 22. One specific instance in the 
life of Jacob in Genesis 35, 3. It says, 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. Tried to pray, but it doesn't 
seem to deliver me from this distress." You need to look at 
Jacob. As Jacob is up there in that cloud of witnesses, he is 
saying, God is faithful, God hears prayer, and God answers 
prayer in the day of your distress. You've got Moses and the Exodus, 
again, highlighted in Hebrews chapter 11, but we see it in 
the book of Exodus. And then commenting on that particular 
scene on the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy chapter one, the 
people of Israel were complaining about the wilderness era. They 
didn't like it. They did not like it. Remember, 
in the wilderness, they said, we want to go back to Egypt. 
We had leeks and garlic and melons and all kinds of stuff. We'd 
like to go back. But notice what God says through 
Moses on the plains of Moab in Deuteronomy 131. 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. They interpreted it one way that 
was bad. And that was wrong. That was 
a misinterpretation. And then they ordered their lives 
based on that misinterpretation. So God through Moses says, no, 
it was just the opposite. It was like a father carrying 
his son. It's like a father picking up his son and taking him to 
that place of safety. So again, brethren, hear Moses. 
God is faithful. He will deliver you from your 
distress. Rahab the harlot. It's funny to me how we get hung 
up on our lie. The woman commits treason against her city-state 
of Jericho and deserved the, you know, death penalty. But 
with reference to Rahab, what did she do? By faith, she testifies 
to us now that the Lord is faithful. Remember, we've seen the reading 
over the last couple of weeks and in our reading through the 
book of Joshua, she asks to be spared. What do the spies tell 
her? Yep, you're gonna be spared. 
When we get to Joshua 6 in a couple of weeks, you'll see precisely 
that she was spared. So what do you think she has 
to say when she's up in that cloud of witnesses to us? She's 
gonna say to us, God is faithful. Notice the text in Hebrews 11 
continues. You've got the judges, Gideon, 
Barak, Samson, and Japheth. Let's just drop into a few of 
those particular men. Over in Judges 6. Judges 6. Judges 6 begins the Gideon cycle 
and it continues to chapter 8 at verse 35. Actually, there's not 
going to be a specific text that I want to direct us to, but just 
consider Gideon. What do you think Gideon would 
say in that cloud of witnesses to us as we peer up when we're 
running the race with endurance? He'd say, God is faithful. Remember 
the fleece? God answers specifically and 
gives him the answer that he wants, and Gideon says, oh, but 
I wanna do it again. I gotta say, brethren, if I was 
God, I'd be like, once is enough. I've answered the particular 
request. You've got enough data now. Go ahead and proceed and 
go beat up the Midianites. But God gives him that second 
one. What about when God says to Gideon, 
I want you to whittle away all those troops, and I want you 
to bring it down to a manageable 300? I just want a handful of 
men that are gonna go into battle. What do you think Gideon's going 
to say? Gideon's going to say, God is faithful. Turn specifically 
to Judges 4 with reference to Beric. Beric is misunderstood 
here. I'd argue that Deborah, as she 
is called in verse four, is a prophetess, and then it says in verse five 
that Deborah engaged in judgment. She's not a judge in Israel the 
way that Barak was. She's not a judge in Israel the 
way that Othniel was, the way that Ehud was. She's not a judge 
in Israel the way that Samson was or Jephthah was. She is a 
judge more like what we are akin to with reference to judging. 
She's the prophetess. That's the emphasis. Person's 
trying to make her a co-judge alongside of Beric, and they 
give short shrift to Beric. I don't think she was a judge 
at all in terms of the judges of Israel. But notice what Beric 
says when he's going to go into battle to fight the enemies of 
Yahweh. Verse eight, chapter four, Beric 
said to her, if you will go with me, then I will, if you will 
go with me, then I will go. But if you will not go with me, 
I will not go. Again, persons read the Book 
of Judges very weirdly. There's actually feminists that 
do serious damage in their interpretation of the Book of Judges. But here 
specifically, Barak's got cowardice. Barak lacks courage. Barak needs 
the prophetess, woman power. No, he needs the Word of the 
Lord. What's the function of the prophetess? 
It is to speak and communicate the Word of the Lord. In essence, 
what Barak is saying, I'm not going to face the enemy without 
the Word of Yahweh. If the Word of Yahweh is with 
me, I will go out and conquer. And conquer he does. And then 
you've got Samson. We've considered Samson many 
times. Just remember chapter 13, the 
birth narrative, we have it described what he's supposed to do. He 
shall begin to deliver Israel out of the hand of the Philistines, 
a true type of our Lord Jesus Christ. Judges 14, we've got 
Samson and the lion. We've got Samson and the Philistines. 
We've got Judges 15, Samson and the cowardly Judahites that deliver 
him over to the Philistines so that he can be executed by them. 
And then in Judges 16, we have Samson and Delilah, and then 
Samson ultimately defeating the Philistines through his own death. Samson, up in that cloud, is 
going to tell us God is faithful. And then turn to 11, Judges 11, 
with Jephthah. Note something interesting about 
Jephthah. I was musing on this recently, there was that event 
that happened with former President Trump and you saw that Secret 
Service sort of team surround him. I gotta say, brethren, I'd 
want dudes twice my size with scars on their faces and 20-inch 
biceps to be my sort of guards. Well, these men of Israel were 
kind of like that. Look at Judges 11, 1. Now Jephthah, 
the Gileadite, was a mighty man of valor, but he was the son 
of a harlot, and Gilead begot Jephthah. Gilead's wife bore 
sons, and when his wife's sons grew up, they drove Jephthah 
out and said to him, you shall have no inheritance in our father's 
house, for you are the son of another woman. And Jephthah fled 
from his brothers and dwelt in the land of Taw. And worthless 
men banded together with Jephthah and went out raiding with him." 
You see that? They want nothing to do with 
Jephthah. He's got bad genes. He's got bad stock. His mother's 
a harlot. They drive him out. Until they're 
faced with the enemy, notice in verse 4, it came to pass after 
a time that the people of Ammon made war against Israel. And 
so it was when the people of Ammon made war against Israel 
that the elders of Gilead went to get Jephthah from the land 
of Tob. Then they said to Jephthah, come and be our commander, that 
we may fight against the people of Ammon. They wanted guys twice 
their size with scars all over their face and 20-inch biceps 
as well. Jephthah was a bad dude when it came to killing the enemies 
of Yahweh. What do you think Jephthah is saying up in that 
cloud of witnesses? Keep running. God is faithful. 
You see, that's the point of the apostle with this cloud of 
witnesses. He then invokes David, Samuel, 
the prophets. Specifically with reference to 
David, consider that twice David affirms, David confesses, David 
celebrates the goodness of God to him. 2 Samuel 4, 9, but David 
answered Rachab and Baanah, his brother, the sons of Rimon, the 
Barathite, and said to them, as the Lord lives, who has redeemed 
my life from all adversity, He says that before the Bathsheba 
incident. After the Bathsheba incident, 
remember, the sword never departed from his house. There were consequences 
appended to that sin with Bathsheba that involved Uriah the Hittite. 
But at the end of his life, in 1 Kings 1.29, the king took an 
oath and said, So whatever the situation was, 
whatever the difficulty was, whatever the hardship was for 
David, this much he understood, the Lord is faithful. You see 
the apostle's point, you're running with endurance the race that 
is set before you. Read the Bible, read Genesis, 
read Exodus, read Leviticus, read Numbers, read Deuteronomy, 
read the former prophets, read the latter prophets, read all 
of scripture so that you can hear with one unified voice, 
the common consent of God's people through all the ages. God is 
faithful. And remember, at the end of Hebrews 
chapter 11, it speaks of the suffering saints, and it gives 
us what they endured. 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. 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. Isn't that interesting? Therefore, since we have this 
cloud of witnesses, run with endurance the race that is set 
before you. Don't complain, don't grumble, 
don't murmur, but rather understand that God's people throughout 
the ages, whatever their circumstances, whatever the situation, nevertheless 
found it to be the case that when they ran with endurance 
the race that was set before them, God was faithful. God was faithful. You've got 
the three men in the book of Daniel. A couple passages outside 
of Hebrews 11 that I think are helpful, then we'll close. Daniel 
chapter 3. Daniel chapter 3. A very important 
passage, I think, in many respects, but I think it certainly makes 
our point here. Shadrach, 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. Talk 
about faith. He's able, he can, we'd like 
him to, but if not, it's not gonna shake us from our foundation. 
It's not gonna cause us to apostatize from Yahweh and go seek out Baal. 
It's not gonna cause us to flee into the arms of the Canaanite 
deities, or in this particular instance, the Babylonian deities. 
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. Look at the prophet Micah in Micah chapter 7. Micah chapter 
7, specifically at verse 1. Woe is me. This is lamentation. 
Micah is lamenting here. Woe is me, for I'm like those 
who gather summer fruits, like those who glean vintage grapes. 
There's no cluster to eat of the first ripe fruit which my 
soul desires. The faithful man has perished from the earth, 
and there is no one upright among men. They all lie in wait for 
blood. Every man hunts his brother with a net. If that's what you 
think in terms of society, look up at Micah in that great cloud 
of witnesses and say, brother, what do you have for me? God's 
faithful, even in the midst of it. So no godly fellowship, but 
as well, the corruption of society. Notice in verse three to six. that they may successfully do 
evil with both hands. The prince asks for gifts, the 
judge seeks a bride, and the great man utters his evil desires. 
So they scheme together. The best of them is like a briar, 
the most upright is sharper than a thorn-edge. The day of your 
watchmen and your punishment comes, now shall be their perplexity. But as well, marriage and family 
have disintegrated. You've got no godly fellowship 
in terms of friends. You've got corruption all throughout 
society. And even in your own home, there's 
nothing but a sort of division. Do not trust in a friend. Do 
not put your confidence in a companion. Guard the doors of your mouth 
from her who lies in your bosom. For son dishonors father. Daughter 
rises against her mother. Daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 
Man's enemies are the men of his own household. But notice, 
therefore I will look to the Lord, I will wait for the God 
of my salvation, my God will hear me. I think the point in 
Hebrews 12, one, with that cloud of witnesses as we run with endurance 
the race that is set before us, if we're musing about how bad 
it is that we can't find good Christian friends, we're musing 
how bad it is that we live in a corrupt and godless society, 
we're musing on the fact that even in our own home there is 
division. There's not peace, there's not 
unity, there's not harmony. There needs to be that, therefore, 
I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my 
salvation. My God will hear me. One final 
prophet is Habakkuk. Habakkuk chapter three. Habakkuk 
chapter three, who basically tells us that everything's going 
to be miserable. I don't know how better to sort 
of encapsulate that, but this is prior to the destruction of 
Jerusalem or the Southern Kingdom in 586-ish, 587. Habakkuk writes around 608, 605. 
So we're moving in redemptive history at this point up to that 
time when Nebuchadnezzar, the servant of God, by the way, is 
going to come in and decimate the Southern Kingdom of Judah. 
So basically chapters one, two, and much of three are about, 
yep, We're facing some hard times, some rough days ahead. Notice how he ends the book. 
Verse 17, though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be 
on 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. The Lord God is my strength. 
He will make my feet like deer's feet. He will make me walk on 
my high hills. You've got the Apostle Paul's 
testimony in Acts chapter 20. You've got the Apostle Paul's 
testimony in 2 Timothy chapter 4. You've got Polycarp of Smyrna. One of the blessings that we 
had in Smyrna was our guide said, I think that Polycarp died probably 
over up in that region. You know, there's all houses 
and everything there now. They don't have the specific 
place marked out, but remember Polycarp in 8155 as he's about 
to be burned. at the stake and then stabbed 
because apparently his body didn't die during the burning, so they 
had to stab him. 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 of the fire of everlasting punishment that 
is prepared for the wicked. Polycarp was pierced at rather 
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 then in the 
company of the martyrs, I may share the cup of Christ. So in conclusion, as you run 
the race with endurance, As you do so by laying aside weights 
and laying aside sins, do it with the eye of faith upon these 
heroes of the faith that with common consent confess that our 
God is faithful. And if this isn't an argument 
for us to read our Bibles and to know the men and the women 
that have gone before us, I don't know what is. And of course, 
we can't run with endurance the race that is set before us if 
we have not been saved by God's grace through faith in Jesus 
Christ. So the appeal to the non-believer 
isn't, now start running the race. The appeal to the non-believer 
is to come to Jesus in faith, to believe the gospel of the 
one who lived and died and was raised again. And when you by 
grace are justified, when you by grace enter into that life 
of sanctification, then run with endurance and look at that great 
cloud of witnesses. Well, let us pray. Our Father 
in heaven, we thank you for your word.