Gold, Silver or Bronze Hebrew 12:1-4
- In chapter 11 we see the super heroes of our faith, how they endured and stayed steadfast no matter what they faced
- Let not call them Hero’s in a sense that they had super powers, unattainable super powers
- Peter and John – Crippled from Birth
- James 5:17(nkjv) – Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
- Ethan preached on Faith last week – That our faith should not change depending on the situation
- Our God is the same yesterday, today and forever
- That even though we walk through the shadow of death, we will fear no evil for He is with us
- Whether He is walking us through it
- Or shielding us while we are in it
- Or allowing us to suffer for His cause, He will not leave us or forsake us
- Pastor Matt on Sunday spoke on the cost for salvation
- Learn to endure, you have been called to a life of endurance
- And be of good cheer, that others may desire God
- There is no disclaimer in the Christian walk, #allin
- Hebrews 12:1-4 (Nkjv) (Our Main Text)
- Drop the extra weight
- Vs 1 is saying, you have seen/read and heard about those that have gone before you, you need to lay down any weight that easily trips you up
- We carry lots of things with us, and it’s all good until we have to run
- The Bible use the word “run” because it’s easy to walk carrying stuff
- Let us run with endurance – This is not a splint, it’s a marathon
- Videos of someone being chased by a dog or an animal, they drop what they are carrying
- The examples we get, they left everything behind
- We all feel like we have left everything back until we have to run.
- A great example is the young ruler
- Matthew 19:18-22(nkjv) -He said to Him, “Which ones?” Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ” The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept [a]from my youth.( all this I need in my journey) What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
- Let’s us lay aside every weight that entangles us – Something that makes it difficult for us to move, we get caught up
- We are aware of the bad things (Poison Ivy, blackberry bushes,) it’s the things that we don’t see coming that really do ties us up
- I am reminded of David, when he was about to fight Goliath, only to realize that Saul’s comfortable gear was too much to bear
- Stop going to places others do – you will be entangled
- Stop trying pray the way you see others pray, seek God first and his righteousness and everything else will be added to you
- Be yourself – the best version of who God has created you to be
- Run with endurance
- Numbers 22 Baraam, –
- Balak sends for Balaam to come and curse the Israelites
- Numbers 22:12 (Nkjv)- And God said, to Balaam, you shall not go with them, you shall not curse the people for they are blessed
- He kept going back to the Lord even though God has said no
- And God eventually allowed him to have his way and almost killed him if it wasn’t for the donkey
- Extra weight will stop us from hearing God and being obedient
- We have to aim higher, allow God to search our hearts and reveal those areas where we are not aware of
- This is a race and we have to train on high elevation – Here we only bring the necessary stuff
- There is a cost of endurance
- Kenyan’s training on High elevation, allows for large lung capacity
- Thinner air, more endurance, when you come to the lower level, the battle – running is not as bad
- This evening, my question for all of us, is where are we training
- In the middle of the Chaos (pop in the Bible App while working)
- Consecrate ourselves and set time apart to train away from the noise, otherwise we will caught unaware like Balaam
- Consider Him
Hebrews 12:3(NKJV) – For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls
- Consider -Think carefully about (something), typically before making a decision
- Before you, go our running, before you become weary, before you become discourage
- Count the cost
- And don’t just think about it, or look at your buddies walk with Christ, CONSIDER HIM!
- He endured the shame and the painful process towards the Cross
- He has Victory- an encouragement, yet a caution, that we too can but it will costly
- He Overcame shame and everything that anyone can every put on you
- Toughen up and let nothing hold you back
- Learn from Him – Consider Him
- Focus on Him – Whatever you focus on expands
- And lose all the extra things we are holding on – no matter the cost
- Jesus did not have extras
- Luke 9:55-60 – 57(Nkjv)Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.” Then He said to another, “Follow Me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”
- Jesus didn’t care about pleasing others
- Some of us can’t run because we are so weighted down by things that will please others
- You can’t run while looking back or sideways
- Pack light, we going up the mountain, that pack will weigh you own
- It’s time to shed the Extra stuff – Extra is anything that slows you down.
- Consider Him and also consider those that you are walking with (who is on your team- check their motive)
- Example considering camping- I pick to go with Alex Young
- Are they helping you along the way or are they adding stones to you backpack?
- Check your back pack, are you carrying other people’s weight?
- Stay in your lane
- Old tales -Don’t be like the Hyena
- One leg in one place and the other in a different place
- Have you given it all?
- Hebrews 12:1-4 (ampc) You have not yet struggled and fought agonizingly against sin, nor have you yet resisted and withstood to the point of pouring out your [own] blood.
- Here is the litmus paper
- 2 Samuel 23:8-10(Nkjv) – These are the names of the mighty men whom David had: [a]Josheb-Basshebeth the Tachmonite, chief among [b]the captains. He was called Adino the Eznite, because he had killed eight hundred men at one time. 9 And after him was Eleazar the son of [c]Dodo, the Ahohite, one of the three mighty men with David when they defied the Philistines who were gathered there for battle, and the men of Israel had retreated. 10 He arose and attacked the Philistines until his hand was weary, and his hand stuck to the sword.
- You may say you have fought and you are in the fight, are you fighting against sin, the way these men did? – Be like the son of Dodo
- You all have seen the Olympics and everyone strives for Gold
- I have never heard of an Olympian who said, I am here for silver
- If you are going into this race thinking that you will get a bronze or silver, then you are not a competitor, you are a groupie – Just want the mention and honestly the changes of getting a medal are next to zero
- I know that C’s get degrees but, A’s shows effort, determination, dedication, discipline, overcoming, and victory
- If the race ended today, right now, I know that your hope is to get the Gold Medal, but the real question is, have you trained and endured enough to the point of earning a gold medal?
- In your Christian walk, have you been striving for a Bronze, Silver and Gold?
- The three metals used in the Olympic medals are located in the same periodic table. This means they share many of the same characteristics that make them good materials to create the medals from. Remember BRONZE is made up of mostly copper. Copper is at the top of the column, so it is the least rare—THIRD PLACE. Silver is one level down, rarer that copper—SECOND PLACE). Finally, GOLD is one step below silver on the column, so it is the rarest of the three—FIRST PLACE
- Active Persistence, strive for Gold least you may miss all three– the race that set before you
- Hebrews 12:3 (NKJV) For Consider Him who endured such Hostility from Sinners
- The same people He came to save – Bitter Hostility
- Yet He still died for us
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