Just Like Jesus...Finishing Strong

This weekend we're wrapping up our little series just like Jesus, and if you are following the devotions, you still have one more week. I hope you finish that up and you enjoy that. I can't believe we're actually four weekends into the new year. It's amazing that's long enough for us to complete the cycle, many of us to actually start and then quit our latest exercise routine, right? Any of you? Some of you? Some of you are sticking with it, that's good, good. If you are, you might be interested in a couple fun competitions. You know, because it's always good to have a goal. As you're getting more physically fit, there are a couple things you might want to think about. For instance, if you really want to go for it, there's the North Pole Marathon. The cool thing about this race—and there's no pun intended—is that you don't actually race on land; you're actually just running on frozen water. It's a standard 26.2 miles. Okay, 26.2 because, let's face it, anyone can run 26. It's that point two that makes it a true marathon. Because of the sub-zero temperatures, the North Pole Marathon is considered the fifth most grueling race in the entire world right now.

But perhaps it sounds too easy for you. I mean, you're really going for it here. Coming in at number four is the Antarctic 100k ultra race. It's 62 miles long, and at night, it's so cold that the runners have to huddle together like those Emperor penguins just to keep from freezing to death. My goodness, check out the turnout of this year's race; pretty much assured a top 10 finish in that one. So you go, if you need a little boost. If you're still looking for an even greater challenge, well, the third most grueling race is the Namibian 24-hour ultra marathon. In this race, you have 24 hours to run 78 miles through the Namibian desert, and you also have to carry your food, water, GPS, and clothing on your back the entire way. When it comes to clothing, you're gonna want options because during the day, it hits about a hundred and thirteen degrees and then plummets down to 32 at night. Good times, huh? I think so.

But for some, you know, that's really just still not enough for you. You really want a greater challenge than that. Well, the second most grueling race in the world is conveniently right here in California. Isn't that good news? It's called the Badwater Ultra Marathon, and the name pretty much says it all. I mean, this is insane. The race begins at the bottom of Death Valley, 282 feet below sea level, and then you run 135 miles, climbing 8,600 feet to the trailhead of Mount Whitney. You can expect the temperatures to hit a hundred and twenty degrees in the shade, which you're not going to see any of, by the way. Surprisingly, very few people on the planet can actually compete in this race without dying. So it's really up there.

But seriously, I mean, if you're gonna go for it, why stop at number two? I mean, just might as well go for number one. The most grueling race in the world is simply called the Spartathlon. The Spartathlon—no desert, no insane changes in elevation or temperature. The Spartathlon was invented to answer that burning question: can a human being really run from Athens to Sparta? That's a hundred and fifty-five miles in a day and a half because apparently some old Greek historian claims that a guy named Pheidippides actually did this. So if you want to follow in Pheidippides' footsteps—and who wouldn't? I mean, my wife and I have already discussed this. If we have another child, we're going to name it Pheidippides. All you have to do is run a hundred and fifty-five miles; that's a 250k race in 36 hours or less. What could be simpler than that?

The great thing about this race is they have 75 checkpoints along the way—not to check on your welfare, but to make sure that you're on time. Because if you're late, they kick you out. Now, really, you could have competed 95% of the race. You show up a second late at the next checkpoint, you're gone. It's really kind of sadistic because they actually are more tolerant on the early going. They might give you a pass on a couple seconds, but they're not gonna later on because, you know, they don't want to kick you out after you've only run like 30 or 40 miles. They want to kick you out after you've run like 145 miles, right? It's like, go home, loser. You have disgraced the name of Pheidippides. You're out of here. I mean, it's like that amazing ratio on steroids. At the end, many of these racers literally kiss the foot of that bronze Spartan, just so happy to have survived the whole thing.

You know, some of you are runners, and you're doing the math: how fast would I have to run to cover a hundred and fifty-five miles in 36 hours or less? I'm thinking it's pretty fast. Just thinking about it makes me tired, exhausted. But whether you consider yourself a runner or not, guess what? The Bible says that life is a lot like a race. It's not a sprint; it's a marathon. In the race of life, in fact, the most important thing is not how fast you run, but how well you run. You run the race because someday you and I are gonna cross that finish line, aren't we? In those last moments, the thing that is gonna matter to us most is probably not the thing that maybe matters to you now, like the kind of car that you drive. It ain't gonna matter to you in those last moments. The outcome of today's game between the Giants and the 49ers? Not gonna matter to you in those moments. Okay, well, maybe just a little bit. But you know, seriously, the thing that's been stressing you out this week or perhaps keeping you awake at night may not even matter to you when you're right there at the finish line. You might not even remember it.

The thing that's gonna matter most when you're in your final moments is that you ran the race well, that you had deep, loving, and a Christ-like impact on other people in this world, and that you finish strong. So much so, you're ready—not just ready, you're eager to meet your Maker. And that moment is gonna come. That's why we're wrapping up our series today, just like Jesus, finishing strong. If there's one key ingredient to running the race well and finishing strong, it's wrapped up in this verse right here in Hebrews 12:2, where it says, "Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in." Just like those ultra marathon runners often will use a GPS to keep themselves on course, this verse says make Jesus your GPS. Keep your eyes fixed on Him because, you know what? He began the race. Not only that, He made it possible for us to run this life of faith that we're in. He's finished it; He's shown us the way, and He's gonna make sure that we finish. Better still, He's going to be standing there at the finish line, cheering us on as we break the tape.

The writer of Hebrews uses a sports analogy here because, just like today, there were a lot of guys in his church that were really into sports. This is really not far off at all because sports were huge in the Greco-Roman world when Hebrews was written. In fact, the Greeks and the Romans were so crazy about sports that it really took on religious significance for them. Seriously, the Olympics were founded to honor Zeus. Literally, the Romans followed suit by holding games in honor of Jupiter and Apollo and other gods and goddesses. I know it's crazy that people would give that much significance to their sports, like, you know, it's like religious or something. I mean, it's nuts. But good thing we're so much more sophisticated than these ancient people. Almost every one of their towns had an amphitheater so they could have their sporting events, and in their big cities, they built stadiums—very impressive stadiums, I might add.

In fact, anyone care to guess where the world's largest stadium is today? Anyone care to guess? Someone actually got this last service; I could not believe it. Yeah, Coliseum in Rome? No, but thank you for playing. Anyone else? No, I'm just gonna tell you because you're never gonna guess. It totally surprised me. It's in North Korea. Yes, this stadium is called Rungnado May Day Stadium, and it seats a hundred and fifty thousand people. Now, technically, the Indianapolis Speedway seats more people, but in terms of a true stadium, the biggest one in the world right now is this one right here in North Korea. But get this: Circus Maximus in Rome seated 150 to 180 thousand people. Okay, this was before steel and all the kind of fancy engineering. Amazing! But these guys were nuts about sports.

So the writer of Hebrews says, "Well, you know what? Whether you realize it or not, you're in a race. You're not a spectator. In fact, you don't even have that option. You're in a race; I'm in a race." It begs the question: how do we run it well? In other words, how do I finish strong in this life? Let me suggest you a couple ways, and we're gonna camp out on the first one the longest. Number one: if I want to finish strong, I've got to embrace the race. You might want to write that down: I've got to embrace the race. You know, we have a couple options here. You can believe that your existence is simply based on millions of random cosmic accidents, and if that's the case, then good luck finding some kind of purpose in it all. Or you can embrace the idea that you are part of what God is doing throughout all of history, that you're actually part of a procession of His people. Many of them have come before us, and only God knows how many are gonna come after us. But this is our lifetime right now, our brief moment in history, our one race.

So Hebrews 12 begins, "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." A couple things I want you to notice. First of all, that word "therefore," you might want to circle that or something because obviously the writer is looking back—looking back to chapter 11. If you read chapter 11, you'll see that it's kind of a summary of the notable figures in the Old Testament—a kind of who's who of the Old Testament. You know, guys like Abraham and Moses and David and so on, they're all in there. The point is that they all lived by faith. Now, some of them, like Samson, just barely. There's not even a perfect person in the lot. Now, again, they're being commended for their faith, but in actuality, they had some really low moments too. I mean, Noah got drunk out of his gourd, and that led to a really ugly episode in his life. Abraham lied not once but twice about the identity of his wife, Sarah, and then afterwards, he was only too happy to sleep with her maid because, you know, he kind of felt like it was for the family. Moses was a murderer. Jacob, a cheat. David, an adulterer and a murderer. So, you know, I have to conclude in the final analysis that it wasn't the quality of their faith that ultimately made the difference because, quite frankly, the quality of their faith was quite shaky at times. But it was the object of their faith—the one true God—that's the consistent thread in their stories. That's what made the difference: not that they were always so great, but that their God was great and is great. That gives me a lot of hope because I'm no perfect person either.

Please don't give an amen over here, Valerie, my co-worker who's known me for a long time. I have the same faith; you have the same faith in that same God. But these folks that have gone before us, you know, their race has been run. Now they're all part of that great cloud of witnesses, it says. I personally don't take this to mean that they're like peering down through the clouds watching us. I think the intention of the writer here is to say that they're part of a great host whose lives bear witness to the reality of God. They bear witness to God's grace, to God's faithfulness, to God's promises. Our faith in Him makes all the difference in this life. So embrace the race because it's your time now.

You know those ultra marathoners that I mentioned at the beginning? Can you imagine trying to run one of those races with street clothes and a backpack? I mean, no way. It'd be crazy because the more baggage you carry, the slower you go, right? I'll never forget before we had children, my wife, Laura, and I went to Italy and then up into Switzerland. We were riding the trains, and we experienced this. You've heard about how the Swiss run their train schedules. I mean, it was amazing. As soon as we crossed the border, the Swiss conductor comes on the train, pulls out his pocket watch, and counts down to the second. Then the doors closed, and off they go. Ever been on these trains? It's incredible. We had made the decision that we were gonna carry everything that we needed—or at least, you know, the essentials—in one backpack apiece. That was it. It seemed pretty confining at the time, but as soon as we started jumping from one train to the next and the next, man, it really paid off because they do not give you a lot of time to go from one to the other.

I'll never forget this poor guy. He looked every bit the American tourist, and he gets on with his wife and calls one, two, three, four, seven big suitcases onto this train. It was kind of entertaining because she just kind of sits down, and she's reading the magazine. This guy, he's just kind of slogging all these things on. There's no place to put them; he just puts them right on the aisle on the floor there, and he's huffing and puffing. I thought, well, maybe they're going to the North Pole or something, you know? They got a lot of provisions to carry. Turns out they were going to the same place we were, which involved having to transfer to another train at the next terminal. What do you think the odds are that they made that next train? Not a chance. We never saw them again. I think that perhaps the Swiss do this, you know, they run their train schedule so tightly as a way of torturing Americans for bringing too much luggage into their country, right? They don't like too much clutter. You know, the Swiss are very particular people. Okay, I happen to know this firsthand, René. Anyway, whatever the case, it's not the easiest way to travel Europe, and it's obviously not the easiest way to run a race.

So our passage continues: "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles." That means I'm going to have to take an honest look at my life from time to time, and not just once. Repentance is an ongoing thing when we ask ourselves the questions: do I really want to keep carrying this baggage with me? Do I really need this? For some of us, the baggage is shame from our past. We travel through with this big burden on our back, and yet Jesus wants to know that if you've embraced the race, that if you've placed your faith in Him, you're forgiven. You're in His grace. I know that sometimes it takes a long time to sink in. I hope it sinks in a little bit deeper this morning and that you literally walk out of here a little bit lighter.

Or maybe that entanglement is bitterness, and that'll tie us up every time. That'll entangle us so quickly. For others of us, maybe it's pride or greed or lust or self-sufficiency. But whatever it is, if you find yourself unable to repent of it—and again, it's not like an overnight thing, but over time, the process—you find yourself in the same rut you've been for years and years. Please, you know, send up a flare. Get help. Get help through a trusted Christian friend or our recovery programs, or call one of the pastors here. We would love to help you. But don't spend your entire race either being hindered or entangled because, you know what? As it is, it's not that easy of a race, is it? There are times when it's really tough, and the extra weight doesn't help because of that.

This verse continues: "And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." Perseverance—not a real popular concept these days, is it? I mean, who wants to persevere? But yet sometimes that's exactly what we're called to do: to persevere through circumstances that we would not have chosen for ourselves. Christian author and brilliant guy Dallas Willard says that God's address is at the end of your rope. I like that. Can you relate to that? God's address is at the end of your rope because it's at the end of that rope that we experience God in ways that we never would experience Him otherwise. Yes, that's part of the race that's been marked out for us. So since we're called to run this race, we may as well embrace it and run it well, you know what I'm saying?

The second thing—and this is perhaps the most important aspect to finishing strong, to running well—and it's this: to refocus often. Let me ask you, how easy is it to get off focus and distracted away from just about anything in life? It's really easy. It's like way too easy. In fact, case in point, watch this guy on this bicycle race. He's about to win. Oh man, I hate when that happens. You know, missed it by that much. I love the guy that passes, and he kind of looks back like, "Hey, sorry dude. Somebody's gotta do it. You know, may as well be me." He just lost focus a second early. It's so easy to do. I'm more sobering. No doubt you've seen the images of the Costa Concordia, the cruise ship that hit the rocks off the island of Giglio in Italy. What a sad, tragic story. This week I'm watching the news, and my son Luke says, "Daddy, I feel sad for that captain." I feel sad for him too. I feel even more sad for the victims. You know, not to pile on, but when the guy, the captain, said that he tripped and fell into the lifeboat and couldn't get out, and that's why he had to leave people behind, it's not going well for this guy. But listen, but for the grace of God, there go I. There go you because we've all lost focus. I mean, clearly he lost focus on what his job was, and it wasn't to see how close he could bring that ship to the rocks.

But again, we all lose focus, and we may even have the best of intentions. Hey, he just wanted to do one of his staff members a favor. You know, "Here, your parents on the island, check it out. We'll just do a little flyby." Okay, great intentions can sometimes blow up in our face, and sometimes we wake up in a world we never imagined we would be living in. While the shipwreck may happen in a moment, almost always it's the product of many, many moments in the making. Lose a little focus here, a little focus there, a little focus there, and suddenly we find our lives foundering on the rocks. Again, that's why this next line is so important: "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith." Fix your eyes on Jesus. Focus. Refocus. He's your true north. You can always count on Him to point you in the right direction.

This is not so important just so that we have an accurate moral compass, which is very important. It's huge. But it goes beyond that because Jesus is the supreme example of how to live when you're suffering for something that's not even your fault. You know, someone or something has intruded into your life, and you're on the receiving end. I mean, think about it. On the night that Jesus was betrayed, He knows that He's about to be arrested, abused, crucified, and the gospel says that His soul is grieved to the point of death. That's pretty low. What does He do? He literally falls on His face and prays, "Father, please, if you're willing, make this cup pass from me." That's a valid prayer to say, "Lord, I don't like this. If there's another way, please provide it." But then He surrenders His willingness: "But not my will, but your will be done." Shortly after, Judas, one of His own disciples, shows up with this angry mob, and they're there to arrest Him. Some of the very same people that cheered for Him when He entered into Jerusalem now want His head. The world has turned against Him. It's total rejection. And to make matters worse, the other 11 disciples? What have they done? They desert Him. He's facing unbearable stress, total rejection, complete abandonment. How did Jesus stay on course in that moment? It says right here, "It was for the joy set before Him that He endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." Despite everything He was facing, He kept His eyes on the prize. You, me, we were the prize. We're the joy that was set before Him. That's what gave Him the strength.

So verse 3 says, "Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinful men so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." Consider Him. Ponder Him. Refocus on Him. For you, refocusing on Jesus this week may be as simple as picking up that Just Like Jesus devotional and just finishing the course this week. You know, spending a few minutes each morning in the devotions with your Bible open, refocusing on Jesus. If you're like me, you probably need to do that more than once a day. I'm not saying this is something you have to do, but I just need to refocus to find ways often. And listen, refocusing on Jesus will not only show you how to live; refocusing on Jesus will give you the power to live through His Spirit, His strength, His joy.

If you want to run the race well and finish strong, first of all, embrace the race. You're in it. Whether you like it or not, you're in it. Refocus often, and third, run in groups. Let's face it, there's strength in numbers, isn't there? By the way, did you catch in the news here locally about the two hikers that saw the two mountain lions in the Pogonip by UCSC this week? Yeah, this was in the paper on Monday or Tuesday. It says around 6 a.m., a pair of hikers said they saw the two big cats near the upper meadows of Pogonip Park. I'm not going to the upper meadows there again. The hikers were not injured, but it appeared the mountain lions were interested in their off-leash dog, according to police. Yikes! Now, if that was one hiker and no dog, it might have been a very different story, you know what I'm saying?

I'm not trying to encourage fear when it comes to running the race—far from it—but let's face it, we don't do so well on our own. We're so much more vulnerable when we are alone. Unfortunately, our culture kind of glorifies this lone ranger myth, like it's just me in the world, and I will blaze the trail all by myself. But you know what? That's not the biblical ideal. Look what it says here in Hebrews 10, where this part of this overall discussion on persevering and finishing strong is. In 10:23–25, it says, "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. And let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the day approaching." That is a rallying cry for us to run in groups right there—small groups, big groups, any groups. Just, you know, be part of a group.

Like I said last week, stay in fellowship. People will say, "Well, I can worship just as well all by myself." Well, you know what? That's not what the Bible says here at all, is it? It's totally at odds with "Let us not give up meeting together," as is the habit of some. Notice that isolation, that lack of fellowship, becomes a habit, doesn't it? But again, look at the emphasis here. Look at all the times it says, "Let us"—plural. "Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, and let us consider how we may spur one another toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, but let us encourage one another." All the more as you see the day approaching. This is a race we run together because, you know, there are gonna be times when I'm wounded, when I'm discouraged, when I'm struck down. You know what? I'm gonna need you in those moments.

I know this firsthand. Years ago, when we had a stillborn child, you loved us. You encouraged us. You wrapped your arms around us. I can't imagine going through that experience without your support. There are gonna be times in your race—you’re gonna find yourself, if you haven't already, flat on your face. The time to build a supportive relational network is not gonna be in that crisis. You're not gonna have the strength, the resources to do it then. So the time to be building a meaningful relational community is now, while you have the opportunity. I understand this can be difficult in a church this size. I understand that. But don't give up. In fact, we have a pastor on staff, Jim Jocelyn, our pastor of community life. It's like his mission on our staff to help you find meaningful community in this church. This weekend, he and his wife happen to be leading a Retrouvaille weekend, but most every weekend, he's right out by the information desk, making himself easy to find. So call or email Jim or any one of us, and we will do everything we can. In fact, this is a great week to just take a little step of faith. There are so many things going on this week—exciting things, fun things. Come on out Wednesday night and be a part. It may be the rich fair; you may be dining with a missionary. But at least, you know, you'll be together with other people with a tri-tip and ice cream. This is a great week to step out in this area.

I mean, think of it: when you want to kindle a fire or you want the briquettes to burn a little hotter in your grill, what do you do? Do you push them together or do you spread them apart? Gather them together. The same thing is true for us. When we gather together, the fire of faith burns hotter. The passion to run the race intensifies as we encourage one another. So run in groups. And finally, remember there's a finish line. Amen for that! There is a finish line. Someday, you are gonna break that tape, and you are gonna look into the face of God, who is the author and perfecter of your faith. The Bible says about that moment that no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him. Wow! Glory beyond your imagination, beyond your imagination.

You know, maybe later this afternoon, I'm hoping that all of us that are rooting for the Niners are gonna have reason to stand up and cheer and get all excited. That's all fine and well. But church, if we had just one glimpse of what God has prepared for us, we would jump up and we would cheer, and we would yell with such abandonment like we've never done before, ever. And that day is coming. Remember that there is a finish line—a finish line where you will be reunited with people who have run the race, people you long to see. There'll be no more pain, no more tears, no more death, no more disease.

Last week, I mentioned this remarkable woman, Lillian Dixon, who spent a significant portion of her time with her husband reaching out, caring for lepers in Taiwan. They built churches for them, and they built homes for them. In fact, this is actual footage of one of the churches that they planted. Even though a cure for leprosy had been developed in their lifetime, by the time the cure reached them, the disease had already ravaged their bodies. Because of that, it made it impossible for them to return to their communities, to their families, because there was still the stigma of the disease and still the fear that somehow they might still be contagious. So they stayed together, they huddled together, and lived in communities where they were loved and accepted, and their faith grew really, really deep.

In fact, every time Lillian and her husband would travel to America, they would say, "Lillian, we're gonna be praying for you guys, praying that your faith stays strong because we know you're going to a country where there are so many distractions." From time to time, invariably, there would be pastors and missionaries that would come and visit them at this very place, and they would ask Lillian, "Well, what should we preach to these people? What should we share with them?" She would always tell them the same thing. She would say, "Preach about heaven. Tell them about heaven." Because these people, they long to have fingers and hands and toes again. Remind them of the joy that is set before them, where they'll be fully restored and healed—not just physically, I might add.

Look at this amazing promise from 1 John 3:2: "We know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." That's how the race ends for all those who place their faith in Christ, the author and perfecter of our faith. Someday, we will be just like Jesus—not that we'll be gods, but that our hearts will be pure, perfect, holy, just like Jesus is. That's your destiny, church. That's your destiny. So run towards it and run well. Give it all you've got so that someday, in your last breaths, you can say, "By God's grace, I fought the good fight. I have run the race. I have kept the faith." Amen? Amen.

Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank You for the real privilege it is to be able to gather together here. It was so easily, Lord. Thank You for the health and for the transportation and all the things that make that possible. Father, I pray for every one of us that whatever we need this morning in this moment to run the race that You set before us, I pray that You would provide that. There are some here, Lord, maybe they're frankly—they don't even know if they're, you know, kind of in Your family. They're just kind of checking it out. I pray that You would continue to reveal Yourself to them and that they'd come to a point in their life where they would go, "I believe that Jesus Christ came and died on a cross for my sins. I believe that. I believe that He's alive, that He is Lord, and so I want to place my trust in Him. I want to give my life to Him and receive the forgiveness that He has for me." I pray that that happens even now.

I pray for those who feel, Lord, that they've been sidelined. It's for some mistake they've made; they lost focus. Whatever it is, Lord, I pray that You would remove the hindrance of shame or needless guilt because You took that to the cross. Help them to run with freedom. I love, Lord, how You picked up Peter after he denied You, and You dusted him off and You said, "Now you get back into the race. You run." Peter's best days were after his failure. So again, Lord, whatever it is—whether it's encouragement or a fresh sense of Your grace, or if it's repentance, Lord, and by Your Spirit we need to lay aside and turn away from something that's weighing us down and entangling us—would You do a work in our lives? We want to offer ourselves to You, Lord. We don't look like much of a track team, but we give You ourselves, and we thank You for Your grace and Your love, how You embrace us. We want to run the race for You. We want to run it well. We want to finish strong. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.