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. Hebrews 12:1

We are marathon runners, not short-term sprinters. Like the early church, we must choose to continually devote ourselves to a life of pursuing God (Acts 2:42). Endurance has decisional aspects. In the 1968 Olympics, marathon runner John Stephen Akhwari chose to finish his race despite injury. His response when asked why he didn’t quit: “My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race; they sent me 5,000 miles to finish the race.” In the Word, God has provided powerful examples of people who ran with endurance—Esther, Noah, Abraham, Martha, Ruth, Moses. We are standing on the shoulders of these people who endured.

Your life is with Christ, and you are an ambassador for Him. Serving Jesus isn’t a weekend thing that we accessorize with a little religion. Jesus is front and center—our all in all. And He wants us to impact our world. We’ve been given the life-changing message of the Gospel, and we have a responsibility to carry it to the people around us. Those in the early church saw results by enduring and continually devoting themselves. I want results too. I want to see my generation come to Jesus.

The early church had a mission to go into the whole world and make disciples. Since Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever, we still have that same ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18; Hebrews 13:8). We have the same Jesus, the same Holy Spirit, the same potential, and therefore the same responsibility to continually devote ourselves. We can’t wait around for someone else to do it. We strengthen our resolve and say “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15b).

We run the race for an imperishable prize (1 Corinthians 9:25). We run with endurance so that at the end of our lives we can say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7). Our endurance will resound through all eternity.

Continue,
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2007 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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. Hebrews 12:1

God has called us out of darkness and into this wonderful life (1 Peter 2:9). The Christian life is one of victory and supernatural strength. God wants us to succeed and to win the race He’s set before us. “Run in such a way that you may win” (1 Corinthians 9:24b).

You came to see a race today. To see someone win . . . But how long does that last? You go home. Maybe your dinner’s burnt. Maybe you haven’t got a job. So who am I to say, “Believe, have faith,” in the face of life’s realities? . . . I have no formula for winning the race. Everyone runs in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the race to its end? From within. Jesus said, “Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek Me, you shall ever surely find Me.” If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you run a straight race. –Eric Liddell, “Chariots of Fire”

We serve a God Who fed Elijah during times of famine; Who first gave the power of the Holy Spirit to the early church, and those people revolutionized the world. “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). We can glory in tribulation because we have the answer that “in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us” (Romans 8:37).

Your life is not over. The future is more flexible than some have tried to tell you. Get out of a fatalistic attitude and call out to God. Remember God’s faithfulness and speak out what the Word says about your life. The God who rescued people in the Bible is the same God who wants to help you in your situation today.

Finish the Race!
Pastor Jeff Perry
St. Louis Family Church®

Copyright © 2009 St. Louis Family Church. All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.