Run Your Race By Faith: Hebrews 11:23-12:2
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. —Hebrews 12:1–2
5 Steps to Run Your Race By Faith
1 .
Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses… —Hebrews 12:1a
2 . Repent of
let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. —Hebrews 12:1b
3 .
…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles… —Hebrews 12:1b
The good is often the enemy of the
3 Trades To Remove Hinderances and Sin
1 . Trade Fear for Faith
Hebrews 11:23 - By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
Hebrews 11:27–28 - By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel.
Proverbs 29:25 - Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is kept safe.
Fear
By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. —Hebrews 11:29
By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. —Hebrews 11:30
By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient. —Hebrews 11:31
And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again… —Hebrews 11:32–35a
- Trade the Pursuit of Pleasure for
By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. —Hebrews 11:24–25
You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand. —Psalm 16:11
- Trade Earthly Treasure for Eternal Treasure
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. —Hebrews 11:26
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. —Matthew 13:44
- Run With Endurance
And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, —Hebrews 12:1c
There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection. Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. —Hebrews 11:35b–40
- Refocus On
Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. —Hebrews 12:2
He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. —Hebrews 11:26–27