my, what a wonderful audience we have this afternoon, as we Come
together again on the Lord's day.
And, and also, to the final service of this gospel meeting
seems like, we just got started and now it's time to stop.
So, now, you know, Preachers Wives are just special special
women and they have to have a great deal of courage.
And they have to have courage to tell the preacher, what he needs
to hear. When others, Probably would not
and Cassie knows that. It's not unusual for preachers
to get a lot of praise and compliments along the way.
And and so she has to Humble me a little bit.
Here's what she reminded me of, just a little bit ago.
She said, no one Minds, a short sermon, the last Sunday night of
the meeting. Not a single one of you had the
courage to come up and tell me that.
So you can thank Cassie for that.
After the, after the service is over.
And while nobody came up and asked for a short sermon, nobody
came up and asked for a long one either.
So I guess, I guess that's alright.
You know, the very final verses that I read in this morning's
sermon, were Hebrews chapter 12 and this afternoon, I want to go
to Hebrews chapter 12 and look at some things there that are in
those first few verses of Hebrews chapter 12.
These are these are very special words that I think can apply to
us. And can helpful, hopefully help
us and encourage us in our Christian walk.
Now, the concept of Hebrews chapter 12 prepares us for a
race and that's mentioned in the latter part of verse 1.
There's a race that is set before us racing is something we
forget to do. As we get older.
It's something that our children just naturally do when they are
playing as youngsters. I doubt that any of us,
seriously. I remember the first time we
said, ready, get set go or somebody did and we had a little
race of one kind or another. Those are fun things that we do
but as we get older, we forget about these things.
But actually we are in a race. You might say we're in the race
of life and we have a lot of things to accomplish.
We have a lot of goals that we want to that.
We want to fulfill. If we are blessed with life, Now
this life can get so cluttered with all of the things that we
have going on and if we stop and think for just a moment about
all the things that we have to do in the coming days, that can
be a pretty overwhelming, pretty overwhelming list.
Now, having raised that topic, I know that's what you're dwelling
on. You know, when somebody says
don't think about an orange, I can't do that.
I don't think I'm alone. So if I say you know if we just
stop for a second and think about all of the things that we
have to do, all of a sudden is like a flood gate has been
lifted in. Our mind is just filled with all
of those things. Just kind of makes you tired,
doesn't it? Now.
There are some folks that put more on their plate than others
and most things that we have on our plate of life to get done
are self-inflicted. Okay, I'll acknowledge that.
But it's very, very easy to get lives.
So full of this or that or the other That we end up neglecting
those things that are most important.
Now when I was meddling the other night about finances,
personal finances, I said, it's so easy to get into dead and to
have this, and that, and this, and that, that we pay for that.
We neglect, the Lord that we neglect.
Our ability to give, we abuse our ability to give when we do
that. It's also so easy to get our
lives. So filled with things that we
are caught up in, in doing that. We forget the things that are
most important to us. Those things that are most
important to us, are those things of a spiritual nature.
Those things that will enable us to have a home in heaven, are
absolutely the most important things that we could ever
consider in our life. But sometimes we lose sight of
that. Sometimes we take that for
granted now, we're told work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling. So that means we start with me,
you start with you, it has to be very personal if we're going to
have a right relationship with God.
That means I need to pay attention to this myself and
make this a priority. You need to do that for you.
Your spouse cannot do that for you.
Your in-laws cannot do that for you.
Your parents cannot do that for you.
Children cannot do that for you. You're in this first by
yourself. Every one of us shall give an
account before God of the life that we individually and
personally have lived. And so, we're going to have to
stand there with, no one beside us to hold our hand of our
family. and we're going to have to face God as we are and for
who we have been We cannot depend upon someone else to be
there in our place. And so that means things of God
become very, very important, don't they?
Things of a spiritual and eternal nature become very, very
important. But now having said that, yes, I
want to be saved myself, but, you know, when we, when we are
privileged to be married, when we are honored to be married and
we pledge our life to a spouse. Remember First Corinthians 7
talks about our service to God. And in that respect, it relates
being married to a care of the world, not in a wrong sense, but
that our service to God first go sideways.
It is how we serve our spouse that determines how God sees
that we serve him and so husbands are to serve their
wives. And in that way, they are two
together than to serve God, wives are to serve their
husbands. And in that way, they together
are to serve the Lord. And so when we are married, our
service, go sideways first. Before it ascends to the throne
of God, you might say, And so it is, if we are saved and in a
right relationship with God, who do we want to be in that?
Same save relationship with us more than anyone else in the
world? Of course our spouse.
We want them to be saved as well.
Now, they may choose not to, but we want them to with all of our
heart and if we're blessed with children, then, of course, we
want them to be saved as well. And as I've learned the last 11
years, when your breasts with grandchildren, You want them to
be saved too and so it is what I think of heaven and who's going
to be there. I'll be the first to admit, I
don't know. Now here's what I do know.
God has guaranteed happiness. Remember, there's no sorrow in
heaven. None.
So what about that old question of?
Well, what if my mother is not there?
What if my dad he's not there? What if my wife or my husband,
or my children or my grandchildren of they're not
there? It's not that we won't care, but
God has taken that knowledge and no longer allowed us to be
sorrowful if he allows To know that because he's guaranteed no
sorrow in heaven, none. Well, that makes Heaven an
amazing place, doesn't it? I can't imagine Heaven from this
side of Eternity without my wife there, too.
I can't imagine that. I don't want to.
I cannot imagine heaven without my three children there.
I just can't. I cannot imagine heaven without
my for soon to be five grandchildren there I just can't
and I don't want to. and now, I can't imagine heaven without all
of you there, either. You see.
Terry showed us some video of when Galen and Paul went back to
Africa, 50 years after they went for the first time.
And we got to see some of those Brethren there, and where they
worshipped and our brothers and sisters in Africa.
I've never met them. But I hope to spend eternity
with them and Heaven couldn't understand a thing.
They were saying but you know, we'll be able to converse just
fine. All they love to saying?
We've got that in common, we couldn't keep up with them in
their singing, they couldn't slow down, the handle ours.
We just shouldn't try to imagine heaven without them.
But we have to start here. We have to start with ourselves
and heaven, and its destination has to mean more to us than
anything else in this life and that then is the race along the
way, who are we? Well, we're a spouse were, we're
a child of our parents? We're a grandparent, we're a
grandchild, were a worker where a student, where a neighbor.
We're citizen on. And on you go with roles that we
have to fulfill. All of those can be wonderful
roles. But God has to be first.
We can't. You lose sight of God being
first. Now, Hebrews chapter 12, says
wherefore seeing. We also are compassed about with
so great. A cloud of witnesses.
Let us lay aside every weight and the sin, which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience.
The race that is set before us, the witnesses that are referred
to in verse 1. Are actually those anxious from
that chapter regarding the Hall of Fame of Faith from Hebrews
chapter 11. It's saying here that these
individuals are there to witness this race this race and Hebrews.
12 verse 1 is likened unto a race that's about to be held in
a stadium and all of us are they're getting ready to run and
as we stretch and as we find our starting blocks.
And as we find our Lane, Then which we're going to run.
We are able to look around at the stands and they're just full
of folks. They're just full of all kinds
of people who are these. Folks, they're the ones named
in. Hebrews chapter 11 they are the
Ancients or the elders those that lived long long, long ago
in the ensuing Generations after Adam, they are those Those of
the generation of able who's also named and Enoch who's also
named as an individual, that was translated so that he should not
see death, Hebrews 11 and verse 5.
Also, those stadiums are filled with the likes of Noah and those
of his family who were faithful to God and preserved by him in
the ark. Also, we have pictured in this
Stadium stands a Ham that wonderful man.
That was a friend of God and his son of Promise Isaac and his
son, Jacob who was named Israel from whom the tribes of Israel,
come and also Joseph, and also Moses, and Moses parents and all
of the Israelites and Rahab The Prostitute and all of those
individuals who did so many things plus verse 32 of Hebrews,
11 mentions Gideon and Brew. Iraq and Sampson of jeptha of
David and Samuel in the prophets who through faith subdued
kingdoms wrought. Righteousness obtained promises
stopped, the mouths of lions, quenched, the violence of fire
escaped, the edge of the sword out of weakness were made.
Strong waxed Valiant in fight, turned to flight the armies of
the aliens. Women received their dead raised
to life again and others were tortured.
Not accepting Deliverance that they might obtain a better.
Resurrection. And others had trial of cruel,
mockings, and scourgings. A moreover of bonds and
imprisonments. They were stoned.
They were sawn. Sunday 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 in mountains and dens and caves of
the earth and these all having obtained, a good report through
faith received, not the promise God having provided some better
thing for us that they, without us should not be made perfect.
These individuals are that cloud of witnesses that surround us in
this race we are about to run, figuratively.
Speaking of course, Course. What a great crowd.
Now as you know, a race can be run without any Watchers but,
you know, you always perform just a little bit better when
there are folks there to cheer you on.
Now we're these individuals in the stands Victorious because
they all live long healthy lives.
Not really, as we read many of them died, horrible deaths.
But in their death, their faith was intact.
Can you see that is the point that even though they had all
kinds of adversity, their faith in God was still intact.
Even if their faith in God meant, they had to give up their
life. It says there in verse 35 that
they did not accept Deliverance. Even in the face of torture,
individuals were tortured to give up their faith in God, and
they would not why, for the promise of a better
Resurrection. Section for the promise of being
saved. If you've ever watched a boxing
match of any kind, usually, there will be introductions of
previous Champions before the boxing match actually begins and
they will let her Deuce this. This person that may or may not
still be agile at all, and they will come up and they will, they
won't walk underneath the ropes and they'll go around the the
ring and they'll everybody will see them.
They'll praise them and cheer for them for just a moment.
And that is a reminder to the combatants.
This can be one, you can win. You Can Be A Champion.
You too. Can be victorious in this battle
that you're about to have this race that you're about to have.
Now if you've ever spent the time to watch like a Miss
America Pageant or something like that, I don't advise that.
I'm just saying if you have you Probably noticed that along the
way they start about the time of the Civil War saying this was
Miss America, 9 1864, and they start with everyone that has
ever won that contest in one fashion or another to say you
too. Can be a winner.
That's an encouragement to all of the contestants we can do
this. Well in this race, this
spiritual race to get from this life to heaven.
We want in those stands is encouraging us to say, we can do
this, we can do this. It is as though they are
shouting. Don't ever give up, give it your
best, you can, you can make it. You see, After All In This
Crowd, there's not a single person who's against us.
Every one of them are on our side.
Now, that is a great crowd. Have you ever been in a sporting
An event where the opposing team was introduced and you stood up
with everybody else and said be, that's not going to happen in
this Stadium. They're all.
They're all on your side, they're all on our side.
I remember believe it or not playing basketball in high
school. Now, I went to a very small
school We're mediocre Talent, could be on the varsity team,
that was me. I got to play varsity
basketball, and I still remember when my name was announced and I
ran out to the appropriate line and the basketball court, and
the crowd cheered for me. I'll have to tell you That felt
good. It still does just remembering
it and that's been. Hmm, 37 years.
We like it, when somebody's cheering us on it, feels great.
When somebody says you can do this, you can do this, you can
make this happen. Well that's what that crowd of
Witnesses are saying to us, you can do this.
But you know, in our congregations, we need
individuals who will be encouragers as well.
We need individuals who will have the strength and courage of
their convictions to be able to look beyond their own life and
look to others to be encouraging to them to lift them up.
When they may be fallen to help them understand how important
they are to the body of Christ. You see, because we need each
other in every possible way. And when Paul discussed our
part, each of our part in the body of Christ, he talked about
comely parts and uncomely parts. You know, that beauty pageant
would never be anything, I would be invited to as a contestant.
I understand that that would just never happen.
But you know, we need everyone in the Lord's Church, who will
come together and be serious about doing his will.
We need everyone who will give it the old College, try, who
will be willing to not only work out their own salvation with
fear and trembling. But also be Ready and willing to
help someone else to also be faithful to God.
Jesus said in John 13, verse 35, by this shall all men.
Know that ye are my disciples. If you have love one to another,
that is who we are to be individuals.
That love one another enough to do because Allah of only of
words doesn't get very far that love of words must be backed by
the actions that we are willing. To make it's fine for us to say
that we love the Lord and we should be ready and willing to
say that but our feet should walk where our word say were
trying to go. And we need to put action to our
words. So that all may know beyond a
shadow of a doubt that we are doing our best to serve the
Lord. So we stand there today, in the
presence of these Witnesses and we are about to run a race.
And we are as verse 1 says, to lay aside every Every wait.
Now this is not about dieting, let's but we can talk about that
for just a my happen to notice. I have a spoon and a knife still
in my pocket. So I've only got one utensil
down and I've got to go go. Oh what a wonderful meal we had
today and all of you who contributed to that in any way,
what a wonderful example of service that is to be willing to
share your talent, your god-given talents, and preparing
food or in Making money with which to purchase food so that
you might share with everyone. What a wonderful wonderful thing
it is. Now if we, if we are going to
have extra weight as far as life's burdens are concerned,
then we're going to have trouble running a spiritual race.
We're going to have a lot of trouble with a spiritual race
and so if we're in this Stadium, getting ready to run.
And we see somebody come up to the starting line with heavy
heavy boots, heavy clothing a big Overcoat carrying something
in each hand, what would we think about them?
Well ever might say we might think that there are fire person
you know but but really we wouldn't think they're going to
be able to run very fast. Would we?
They're just not going to be able to run very well, a lot of
times and you know, in our spiritual lives, if we're not
careful, we will have a lot of stuff on us that just Weighs us
down, it is possible to be so hindered by our own selves that
we just really can't get started in this spiritual race.
Sometimes our lives are filled with our own problems to the
point that we are unable to look beyond our own issues.
And I know that could happen and I think that that can be
appropriate for a little while and whenever something happens
to overwhelm me and my life, I expect my brothers and sisters.
To Rally around a lift me up but I also expect me to be one that
needs to go to where they are sometime when they're surrounded
by problems to Rally around them to lift them up.
But you know when individuals are only caught up in their own
life's problems then they are just weighed down by that and
they're not able to help anybody else.
So we need to do our best to to be able to look Beyond ourselves
and to help others. We hinder our Selves, when we do
not trust in God. God says, trust me, believe in
me. That's what walking by faith is
all about. There's a lot of problems in
this life. We cannot handle a lot of
issues. We cannot solve.
What do we do? We turn those over to God.
That's one of the one of the reasons we pray so that we can
just say, Lord here is my life bless me as you will within your
will. And we turn those things over to
God, we hinder ourselves when we don't trust God, you know, we
need to trust God to keep his word because he always have, we
met Not be able to always keep our word, but God always has, he
promises to save us? If we will obey him, he will
save us. He promises.
If we will obey the gospel, he will forgive us of our sins.
And if we step back and say, well, I just don't know about
God, God can't help us. He cannot help us if we will not
trust in him. But there's ample evidence
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John are all written, so that we might
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the Living,
God, all of those things are there.
Clearly written easy to understand.
And if we end up reading through all of that, and we say, I just
don't know about God. Well, we can understand, we can
understand individuals who can get through any degree of school
individuals, who can drive a car individuals, who can manage the
financing to rent or own, a home individuals who can manage to
pick out clothing and where it etcetera, Etc individuals, who
can recognize the difference between right and wrong and
rules and laws have everything. They need to be able to believe
in almighty God. And you see what God does is
say, I'm here, it's up to you. He gives us all the evidence
anybody needs and we hinder ourselves when we don't trust
God, we also hinder ourselves. When we're not, able to forgive
others and to work with them as best we can, we hinder
ourselves. When we do not use the talents,
God has blessed with, with blessed us.
With, in his service, we hinder ourselves.
When we attempt to bring worldly practices into our lives and
justify them as being part of Christianity, we Or ourselves
when we attempt to justify sin in our own life by pointing out
problems that other people happen to have.
We can hinder ourselves really, really well.
Can't we we can really slow ourselves down.
We really can ever have any slugs in your yard and he slugs
and snails. You know, they just kind of Eco
long, they leave a trail everywhere they go.
They're not really attempting to contribute much, are they?
And you know, we can really hinder ourselves if we're not
careful. The verse also says, we're to
lay aside. The sin that doth so easily,
beset us, or is one translation says the Sin that so easily
entangles us. You know, it is not hard to get
entangled to end up falling to just lose our sense of balance,
our sense of purpose and end up falling down.
Now, some years ago, I was working on a little crown
molding project in a living room and you'll be glad to know that
I didn't continue throughout the rest of the house.
I was working away, and I'm not very good.
No, I am not at all good at stuff like this.
I'm really not, but I knew I could do it, and I was bound and
determined to get it. On.
And at one particular point, we have this ladder that, you know,
you step up onto kind of a platform and I was working away
up there and I just forgot I was on a ladder.
And I stepped back. just as Cassie happened to be walking by
all of those things were not a good combination.
They really weren't. I hit the couch.
Thankfully, the couch is okay, you were worried about the couch
first, weren't you You know, that was really, really a shock
to me to fall. It really was, I'll tell you
about one more of Mine Falls before I tell you about one of
Cassie's. Now I have told you earlier in
the week that I retired from golf and I meant that sincerely
but I have played quite a bit of golf through the years.
Never, well, in fact always horribly.
We had lost one of the balls that I had hit predictably and
so I was with another fellow in a Art.
And I'm the passenger because I was never trusted to drive on
the golf course because I couldn't play.
Why would they trust me to dry? And so we're looking for my ball
and I am going like this peering peering out in the tall
bulrushes to see if we could find my ball and just as I went
like this, the driver went like this.
I found myself floating and didn't last too long and that
really Hurt me. We are in Walmart, just a few
weeks ago. And as I went to the restrooms
before, I'd let Cassie out, went to the restrooms.
And along the way, as I was walking there, I looked over by
one of the registers and there was a chicken bone.
Well, that's kind of bad. I went, I went on and then I
went and found Cassie and she said well, why don't you take
the basket? And I'm going to run to the
restroom for a minute. She was gone forever forever.
She finally came back and she said, you'll never believe this.
I Fell on a chicken bone. It was bad.
Now I will say my dear sweet wife can fall when there's
nothing and has proven that through the years, but every one
of us can physically fall. Can't we what?
About spiritually falling? Can we do that?
The Apostle Peter long ago said. I'll never do that.
That's an apostle. He said, I will never, I will
never leave you. I will never forsake you, I will
never deny you, Jesus. Jesus said, yes, you will and
even when Jesus told him, Peter said I will not And before very
many hours were passed Peter had denied him again and again and
again and was even willing to take Oaths that he didn't know
him. If we look at our lives and we
say, well, I'm never going to be bothered by sin.
Never is a pride filled dangerous, word, we are all
capable of falling, we're all capable of falling hard.
We're all capable of falling when we least expect it.
And we need to be humble. And always watchful those who
are the leaders of the congregations are to watch for
The Souls of the flock. That implies a Sleepless group
who are willing to lose sleep. So that the flock might be
protected, any kind of a doctrinal attack that might come
to a congregation. The leaders are ready to say
that is not the direction. We're going to go anything that
threatens a family. The leaders of that family in
the leaders of the congregation need to be ready.
And willing to say, we just can't allow that to get started
because of where it might end up and it's just not going to be a
good thing because it could cause us to fall.
And a lot of times we stand back and say, well who are you to
tell me? I should be careful with this or
that of the other. That's kind of what the Apostle
Peter did said, you don't know what you're talking about.
Jesus, Jesus says, you're going to have trouble and he did, you
know, if we Arch saying we're never going to have trouble.
We've already got trouble. We've already got trouble in our
lives and so if we are blessed to live as long as Methuselah
we're still going to be dealing with temptation in that 960
ninth year and we're not going to be blessed with that long, a
life. But we do need to know that we
can fall. And so if something is going to
entangle us, we need to be on guard against whatever it might
be. B and we need to be ready to
help others to get up and we need to always be willing to
reach out a hand. So somebody can help us up too
because we all need everybody's help and none of us can do this
alone. And we're also told that we are
to run with patience that's hard for us.
You know, it's hard for us to be patient with others.
It's hard for us to be patient with ourselves and being patient
with some He doesn't mean we take the holy book, and we just
want it up and throw it away. Being patient, means, we always
look for a direction of righteousness.
Yes, someone may fall. But when they get up, are they
more in the direction of righteousness than they were the
day before? That's what we always want in
ourselves when we attain Perfection immediately.
When we but obey the gospel. No, it's a daily struggle.
It's a daily race. It's a date.
Early time of putting one foot in front of the other to run.
As the verse says that race that is set before us, you see, we
don't choose the course God does.
God says, here's who I want you to be as you work your way
through life. And so we are, if we are
Christians, we are on this course that the Lord has set and
we are to do our very best. To remember the encouragement of
the crowd of witnesses of Faith. But then we also are to look
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 is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God,
for consider him. That endured such contradiction
of Sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your
minds. Are we going to get weary in
this Christian Walk of Life. Oh yes.
Are we going to get faint in our minds?
We're we're just weak sometimes. Yes, we are.
But all together we can look to Jesus and we can consider what
he has done and we can be encouraged by others around us
and encouragers of faith of old to keep doing exactly what we
know the Lord wants us to do tonight.
If you're not a Christian, then you're just kind of looking on
from the sides. Not yet in that race where all
of the people who have had faith in God and been willing to die
for it, are ready to encourage you on, but you can do that, you
can obey the gospel on this side of Eternity, if you know the
gospel well, enough to understand it to know what it
means. When I say those steps of
Salvation, our faith and repentance confession and
baptism, if you understand the gospel, well enough to know what
those things mean, then you can also make up your mind whether
or not you're ready to do them. And If you are all we'd love to
assist you to become a child of God if you are a child of God
and your life is not right, why don't you make?
Now the time when you asked for the prayers of the Brethren that
you might be acceptable in your life in the sight of God,
there's one to obey the gospel order.
Repent of wrong. Won't you please come forward
while we stand while we sleep? We thank you for listening to
our podcast, put on by the Church of Christ at 22:15 plans.
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