Sermon Tone Analysis

Every Christian is to run the race with the joy set before them.

Hebrews 12:1-2

11-11-07

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*Introduction:*

*Illustration:*

During World War II, the Royal Air Force psychologists observed that pilots made the most errors as they flew their planes in for a landing on returning to their base from hazardous raids.

The cause, said the analysts, was an “almost irresistible tendency to relax.”

*Our Christians lives cannot be or remain in a relaxed Christian State.

We must fight, we must endure, and we must persevere toward godliness and all the more as the day of our Lord is approaching.*

Last week we looked at *Hebrews 11:1* which says “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”

We then looked at the entire chapter of Hebrews 11 and saw that when God calls a man in return the man places his faith in God, that faith gives assurance and produces convictions in our lives that prove to this world we are God’s disciples.

Today we are going to move forward one chapter and look at *Hebrews 12:1-2 (NASB):*

1     Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

         2     fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

*Body:*

*Every Christian is to run the race with the joy set before them, we do this when we:*

*1.       **Realize we are not alone*

Hebrews 11 is a great chapter that gives us as believer’s assurance and strength for whatever trials we may be facing.

They are looking at us, rooting for us, and we need to look at God.  

 

God gave strength for Noah to build the ark

God gave strength for Abraham to leave his family and go to an unknown land

God gave strength for Moses to bring the Israelites out of Egypt.

God gave strength to those who were sawn in two, put to death by sword and become martyrs for God.

 

*He will give you strength also!!! *

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*Application:*

Are you discouraged because you have been trying to live life without God?

Do you feel like there is no one around you that understands?

Do you need some encouragement to stand firm and endure?

God does not desire for you to be alone.

In fact Christian fellowship is one of the most important things we as Christians have.

We cannot take fellowship with other Christians for granted.

*John 17:22* “the glory which you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as we are one.”

As believers, we are called to be one Body, so that we might help our brother and sister in need.

We need and I need to actively pursue loving my brothers and sisters so that we might be one and that we might encourage each other in our walk with God.

We cannot bicker and quarrel over little things; we hinder other Christians when we are not one body.

*Every Christian is to run the race with the joy set before them, we do this when we:*

*2.       **Remove the weight in our lives*

 

The race being mentioned here is not some easy laid back race but one that is grueling and will take its toil on all who participate.

*Illustration:*

An athlete cannot go to McDonalds every day or Burger King and still hope to win in his event.

He will get slow, sluggish, and not be able to compete because he has not given it his all.

There was a test done on someone that was to eat fast food 3 times a day for a month and they had to supersize ever meal.

During week two they were told to stop or they would die of a heart attack!

If we are going to run this race we are going to have to become spiritually fit.

* The means we don’t read this Bible to finish but we read it to change!*

We don’t come to church for amusement but so that we can fellowship, learn about God, and encourage one another.

We as Christians cannot become lazy, God’s army is never standing at ease. 

*Application:*

The word encumbrance is not necessarily bad, it may be completely innocent or harmless, but it can eventually begin to weigh us down.

What kind of encumbrances have you been carrying around?

·         T.V.

o   (what do you watch that God would consider abhorrent?)

·         Movies

o   *Illus*

§  I still remember running to my bed and jumping when I was about 5 feet away so that my feet would nowhere be near the bottom of bed where it was scary.

·         Friends

o   (friends can be a wonderful blessing but we all have those friendships that take their toil on us, they are unhealthy and they can bring you down.

Maybe God is asking you to step back from certain people for a certain amount of time or maybe he is saying you need to spend more time with the friends you do have.)

·         Sports

o   Playing

o   watching

·         Band

o   I believe band is a good thing but it is also a pretty bad thing.

Students commit themselves to band and push God away every year.

o   Parents you must set the precedence, and show your family that God is the foremost priority in your lives.

o   If you cannot remain committed to God while in band, then do not do band!

·         Work

o   So many of our high school students are working now.

It’s great, I understand they need money.

But work is getting in the way of them growing in Christ.

If they cannot do both get another job.

God will provide, to say that He won’t provide is to deny the love and power that God has.

·         Blame

o   (Who or what are we blaming when we should be examining ourselves?)

o   We must take responsibility for our own actions and our alone.

*Every Christian is to run the race with the joy set before them, we do this when we:*

*3.       **Run the race with endurance*

 

The first thing we need to do is rid ourselves of the mindset that our lives are to be easy:

*Illustration:*

When I am the gym I cannot run or bike without my I pod, I give up to easily.

I began to focus on the pain and want to stop.

We are easily hurt.

We pout and mope easily.

We blame easily.

We break easily.

Our marriages break easily.

Our faith breaks easily.

Our happiness breaks easily.

We are easily disheartened

We give up too easily

 

*We are characterized at WIMPS!!*

 

*Illustration:*

Ie.

A typical emotional response in the church is, “if that’s the way they feel about me, then I’ll just find another church.”

Where is the perseverance????

If we run every time something difficult comes into our lives then we will always be running.

We are called to stand firm, to endure, to persevere, not to run away and give up.

Endurance is not an option, God doesn’t say if you can try and endure, He says ENDURE!!!

*James 1:2-3*

Consider it pure joy my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.

We need to realize every trial that comes our way is meant to produce endurance not disappointment.