The Walk is a Run
CENTRAL TEXT: Hebrews 11:29-12:3
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days. 31 By faith Rahab the prostitute did not perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a friendly welcome to the spies.
32 And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets— 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. 35 Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. 36 Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated— 38 of whom the world was not worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.
39 And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
Heb. 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
CALL TO WORSHIP: Isaiah 40:28-31
LEADER: Have you not known? Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
his understanding is unsearchable.
ALL: He gives power to the faint,
and to him who has no might he increases strength.
Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
LEADER: but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
ALL: they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
PRAYER/SCRIPTURE READING/CONFESSION OF FAITH: 2 Timothy 2:1-6; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
LEADER: You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, 2 and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. 3 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4 No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 5 An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. 6 It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops.
1 Cor. 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25 Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26 So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
The Word of the Lord
ALL: Thanks be to God
BENEDICTION: 1 Peter 5:6-11
LEADER: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
ALL: To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Discussion Questions
This passage offers a cloud of witnesses to the life of faith in the Lord. Who would make your list of folks you’d pay homage to for that example?
Illustrations
Quotes
He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how.
- Friedrich Nietzsche
The closer I get to death, the more urgently I feel the need to share the love of God and the saving grace that comes from Jesus Christ, the Son of God and my personal Lord and Savior. I’m getting very close to the end of a battle that I have fought my whole life. I have lost nearly every strength that a body can lose. It has been gradual, but consistent. I have lost ability after ability after ability. (to run, to walk, to jump, to bathe, to do anything on my own) I have gradually lost every independence, every hobby, every dream. I used to be a textile artist and a songwriter and a novel writer and a poet. I used to have a career and I used to go to parties and I used to travel and I used to go camping and boating and more. Now, if most people saw how I live, they would say I have no quality of life. I am stuck in a wheelchair or in a bed. I have very little use of my arms and hands so I can read and listen to audiobooks, and with the little energy that I have, I can share the love of God. That is all I want to do because, even though it makes no sense, even though I feel so terrible in my body, I can be nothing but grateful. That is because my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ has been beside me since I was five years old and I began to recognize that I was different from the other kids. He was beside me when I was diagnosed at the age of 15 with an illness that would never get better, only ever worse. He was beside me when I became a mom and felt such inadequacy because of the things I couldn’t do as a mother. He was beside me when I had to give up driving. When I had to quit my job because I physically couldn’t do it anymore. He was beside me through every risky surgery, every broken bone, every fall, every loss. And not just present through every loss, he didn’t just sustain me. He blessed me hugely. Abundantly. With joy, with peace, and with hope that I could never understand. He has replaced every loss with more of himself and more of his joy, and I can’t count the number of times that I have been struggling and suffering, physically, I mean in the nittiest grittiest kind of suffering, in the fight for my life, and I have just smiled because he has filed me with such joy that it doesn’t make sense. And it isn’t just for me. The blessings he has given me have blessed my loved ones too. It’s hard for them to see me like this. It’s been hard for them to witness my decades long decline. It’s to the point where they are praying for my fight to be over, because it would absolutely be a mercy. I’ve never shared a lot of details about my life, because I hate the pity. I hate pity more than just about anything, and I’m certainly not looking for validation. But I think it’s important for me to share some of these very ugly details because a lot of people are suffering and I want them to know how good God is, even in the terrible. Especially in the terrible. I’ve been on my deathbed before and God graciously gave me a few extra years. But I was recently given the prognosis of congestive heart failure and I’m growing weaker by the day. But God! In the strangest way, in this most trying period of my life (which is really saying something!) I have felt the presence of God like never before. I have felt his goodness and love and peace so intensely that I would not trade this suffering for health if it meant I would have to give up this intimacy with Jesus. This is the peace that surpasses understanding and I want to encourage anyone who is in the midst of a trial (and who isn’t?) to do the simplest and easiest thing in the world: turn to Jesus. Right now, as you are, call on the Lord. His grace will cover you. He will renew your strength. He will comfort you with his spirit. He will uphold you with his righteous right hand. He will show you the truth. He will save you from eternity in hell. He will guard you, guide you, and bless you. He will help you in very present, very real ways. Call on him and be saved.
- Shelly
Books / Docs
“Time to Rediscover Hebrews,” Sinclair Ferguson
Worthy: Living in Light of the Gospel, Sinclair Ferguson