 Good evening. I like it. Good enthusiasm already. Is this sermon series that we've been going through an encouragement to you? Has it given you an encouragement to stand firm for the faith? Has it encouraged your evangelism? Has it encouraged you to be bold in preaching the gospel? We're starting this now and we're getting around to the second roundabout of these of us guys that are coming up. And I pray that in the power of the Spirit that you will be encouraged. I pray that you will be edified. I pray that sinners where they are in sin, they will repent and turn to Christ. I pray that we would be like the saints of old, that we would endure affliction, that we would endure persecution. And the last time I was up here, we spoke, I preached from the book of John. And the book of John in chapter 10, the thrust of the argument of the perseverance was the sovereignty of God and him when he called you, he has got you in his hand. That should give us such great encouragement, such great peace that the God of all gods, the God of creation has held you in his hand when he called you. And that nothing and no one can snatch you from that hand. But as in all scripture, there's a tension. There's the sovereignty of God and there's a responsibility of man. There is God grants you faith and repentance and yet commands you to believe and repent. There's this tension that goes on. And it's the same thing with the doctrine of perseverance. The doctrine of perseverance is there so that Christ's sovereignty has you, guarantees your perseverance, but nevertheless, he commands you to persevere. When you're called unto Christ, you're called to run a race. You're called to run a race and to win a prize. And to run that race in such a way that you would win. And you're looking at it as a bright new convert. And you're thinking, this is Christianity. I'm going to run this race. I'm going to finish. This is going to be for the glory of God. And you start preaching Christ. You start talking to your friends, your family. And persecution starts coming. People start hurling insults at you. People start mocking you. And he began to wonder, what is this race about? This is what was going on in the book of Hebrews. The book of Hebrews is written to professing Christians who through persecution, they had faced it and were continually faced it day after day. And in that face of that persecution, they were tempted to shrink back. They were tempted to shrink back to that which they have known. They tempted to shrink back to the law and the upholding of the law, to the rituals, to the traditions of men so that they would have their inheritance with their family, so that they would have their family. And yet the writer of Hebrews, all the way through, gives strong exhortations. He gives warning against that apostasy. He gives warning against that shrinking back. The shrinking back from their profession that they once had. The shrinking back of the potential of compromising the faith. The potential, the shrinking back, the compromising of their message. And this brings us up in the chapter 10. In chapter 10, the writer of Hebrews begins to provide us some examples. A great cloud of witnesses to encourage believers to continue to endure, to persevere in the faith, to run the race with endurance to glory and for the glory of Christ, not for the praise of men. So with that in mind, that backdrop, let us dive into our text. And when we preach tonight from the book of Hebrews, chapter 12, verses one and two. So let's read this. Therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Let us pray. Our gracious God, Lord, you are the author and the finisher. You're the author and perfecter of faith, of the faith. Lord, in you who grant men repentance and faith unto life, you who hold them up in your right hand. There were nothing to snatch. Lord, you give us a strong exhortation, song encouragement that we should continue to run this race with endurance under glory. I prayed that tonight, that this body that is here, that it hears this message, that they hear a message from Christ and not from Mike. That they hear the message that would encourage them from your word to stand steadfast, to persevere, to endure unto glory. Lord, as I stand up here, I am but a mere man. I'm a man that's an earthen vessel that has the treasure of Christ and salvation in him. I pray, Lord, that you would speak through this earthen vessel in a way that would bring glory to yourself and that sinners would finish the race. We pray these things in your name, Jesus. Amen. You've been called to a race, and this race has already been run by many people. You've been called to a race, and as you approach up to the starting line, you're looking around. There's people that have finished the race. There's people that are in the race with you, and there's people behind you as you look behind that are going to run this race after you. And as I said before, this race is going to be filled with steep hills, with obstacles, and you're called to endure and persevere. Our text talks about that, therefore, we're surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses that we should continue to run this race. The author of Hebrews is telling us, look back to the Old Testament and says, this right here in chapter 12 is on the heels of what we call the great hall of faith, right? Where it says, by faith Abraham was justified, by faith Noah was justified, by faith, and in about chapters, in about verse 30, it says, by faith the walls of Jericho came down, and after that they were circled for seven days. By faith the harlot of Arabia did not perish with those who did not believe when she had finished and when she received the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah and David and of Samuel and the prophets who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked 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, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens, women receive their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had a trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and of imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were tempted, they were slain with a sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and in goat skins being destitute, afflicted, tormented, of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in the deserts and in the mountains and in the dens and the caves of the earth. And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise. God having provided something better for us that they should not be made perfect apart from us. You're in this race and you're facing persecution because of your following of Jesus Christ. You're proclaiming his name. Might you be tempted as the Hebrews to be shrink back, to quiet your mouth, to stop being so bold to proclaim his name? Would you be tempted to start compromising your message so that you would fit in with your family and your family would love you and speak with you and not shun you? The author of Hebrews starts off here and says, look back to the Old Testament saints. Look at them. Look at what happened. And as they breathe their last, they've crossed the finish line. As they were persecuted unto death, they crossed the finish line. We in the States, we get a little bit of mocking. We get a little bit of slander and we start fearing, we start trembling. We start shrinking back. And yet the author of Hebrews tells the professing Hebrews to look back to those who had died for the faith. Use them as an example to continue to endure, to persevere. We have other clouds of witnesses, which isn't right in the meeting context, but we can look to the New Testament saints. We look down to Paul, who in 2 Corinthians chapter 11 says that for five times, for him proclaiming the gospel, five times from the Jews, he received 40 minus one lashes. He endured five times the scourging that Christ did before he was going to the cross. Three times he was beaten with rods. Once he was stoned. Three times he was shipwrecked. A day and a night he has been in the deep and the journeys often in the perils of the waters, in the perils of robbers, in the perils of his own countrymen, and of the Gentiles, in the city, in the perils of the wilderness, in the perils of the sea, in the perils of the false brethren, in weariness and in toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst and fastings often, in cold and necklace. Besides other things, what comes upon me daily, my deep concerns for all the churches. For the glory of Christ, Paul endured the afflictions, the persecutions because he had a great love for the church and he had a great love for the people of Christ. The body of Christ built up. His gospel proclaimed fully, accurately, so that he would be innocent of the blood of all men. We have other clouds of witnesses. Perhaps look at your own trials and persecutions that you've had. The author in chapter 10 of Hebrews, in verse 32, calls to mind where he sits there and tells them that they should be living by faith, calls to mind the Hebrews, the persecutions that they've gone through in the past and have endured already. He says, but we call the formal days in verse 32 of chapter 10. We call the formal days in which, after you were illuminated, you endured a great struggle with sufferings, partly while you were made a spectacle by both reproaches and tribulations, and partly by those companions of those who were so treated. For you had a compassion on me and my chains and joyfully accepted the plundering of your goods, knowing that you have a better and enduring possession for yourselves in heaven. Therefore, do not cast away your confidence, which you has greatly awarded, for you have need of endurance. You have need of endurance. Don't stop persevering. Don't stop running this race with endurance to glory. Don't stop shrinking back. So after that, you have done the will of God. You may receive the promise. You shrink back. You stop persevering. There is no promise of eternity for you. There is no promise of glory. It is those who finish the race, those who endure to the end that will receive the promise, that will run the race with endurance to glory, that will inherit glory, that will sit and be coheirs with Christ, that will be rulers of this world with Christ. You shrink back. You shrink back to perdition. This should gain us great encouragement. You can see the faith in the endurance of the Old Testament saints, the New Testament saints, your own life, the people in the church, the people that you know. You know the trials. You know the persecutions that the people around you have gone through. We've got brothers who have been out preaching, who have been had citations and threatened to be arrested and thrown into jail for preaching the gospel, for having the compassion of sinners to sinners. We've got brethren in another land, in another continent, who have been kicked out of churches for the sake of the gospel. Look to them as an example to be an encouragement to you. Look at how they endured and continue to run this race with endurance to glory. We're told that our endurance is at risk. Our endurance is, we have to lay aside every weight and the sin that would so easily ensnare us. We've got to put it aside. We've got to cast it off. The sin that comes out is like crabgrass that would reach out to you or the catchems that, and as you're walking through the woods, that would reach out. Whereas you're biking through the trails, they would reach out and try to pull you back. The sin that would entangle you are not just outright fornication, adulteries, murders. These are sins that you're facing in the midst of persecution. These are the sins of complaining. You are complained when you've gone through a trial in persecution. That's a sin that's reaching out and trying to drag you back to stop you from enduring. You have been discouraged. It's very easy to be discouraged, isn't it? The persecutions, the afflictions are coming. Your family won't speak to you anymore. You have church conferences coming at you with lies, slander, gossip. You have people who you've called friends, who you've done work to the ministry with that are now against you. And discouragement can start to set in, which leads to apathy, which leads to discontentment, which leads to unbelief, which leads to bitterness towards God. Why, God, are you doing this to me? It leads to cowardness and fear of men. You are told that you should lay aside, continue to put those things aside. Don't let those things come up and reach and grab you. Be aware for them. You know that you're going to endure persecution. Look out for them, where they might jump out and where they surprise you. Swat it away. Get it rid of it. Run the race with endurance. Don't let that sin hold you back. When a runner runs a race, they look for the lightest clothing and equipment they can have. I was listening to a sermon on this, and I was listening to the pastor talk about that running shoes are sold by ounce weight. And runners who run long distances in marathons and triathletes, they look for the lightest shoe that they can wear with the most secure fittings. The lightest shoe so that the weight doesn't slow down, it doesn't hinder their endurance. The security, the tightness of the shoe, the strength of the shoe so that it doesn't unravel and cause them to trip. They look for these things so that they can run the race to finish. You blow out a shoe, that race is almost over for a marathon runner. But we're not in a marathon. We're in like the Tour de France. This is a stages over several, Tour de France is in stages over several weeks. There's sprints. There's long arduous uphill climbs. There's down the mountains, around the cliffs, narrowing on the hairpin corners. You have people running along the race that are trying to knock you off. They're wanting to reach out and touch you. And what they do is they want to grab you back. But those who finish the race will inherit the prize. You must run with endurance to glory. You cannot stop. You can't sit there and go, as you're pedaling up that hill, up that mountain, and go, this is too tough. And you start shrinking back. The pedals start going backwards. You've got perdition behind you. Run, keep going, keep fighting, keep going after it, laying aside everything that's going to sit there and hinder your endurance. We're told that we need to run with endurance. Not just run the race in such a way to win a prize where people think that it's a dead-on sprint for 100 meters and I'm done. There's times in your Christian walk that you're going to be on a dead-on sprint. You have to go that way. The pace of what's going on will force you to be that way. But this is a long, long race, if Christ chooses to tarry. Are you going to run with endurance unto glory? Or are you going to run as a sprinter and then stop? Understand that you are in need of endurance. When we read in Hebrews chapter 10 and in verse 36, the writer of Hebrews makes it very clear, for you have need of endurance so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise. You see, here we go again. You can't trust in yourself for your endurance. We've got this tension going on. I've got the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man. You have a need to cry out to the living God to give you that endurance, this race that you're running. There are those who have jumped in over the fence and are running on that race course along with you. Turn with me if you would quickly to Matthew chapter 13. And in this, we have the parable of the sower and the seed. And specifically, we're going to talk about the explanation of that. And I'm going to start in verse 18, where Christ explains to the parable of the sower and the seed. In verse 18 of Matthew 13, he says, therefore hear the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the one who received the seed by the wayside. This is the ones who are running along, who are on the outskirts of the race course that are pretending to be running along. They're catching a drought. They might run a little bit, but they're snatched up. But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word, immediately receives it with joy. You hear that? This is the greatest news. I have salvation. Christ is God. They receive it with joy. There's joy in the heart. Yet, he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation and persecution arises because of the word, because of preaching the word, because of being in a church where Christ's word is preached, and they're receiving slanders and persecutions, and turmoil are coming in. When you're out in the parks, you're out in the streets, and you're preaching the word, and you have people spite you, spit at you, run at you, cursate you. Because of those kind of tribulations and persecutions, they immediately stumble. Now, he who received the seed among the thorns is he who hears the word and cares, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choked the word and become unfruitful. But he, but he who receives the seed on good ground is he who hears the word and understands it. And indeed, bears fruit and produces some a hundred fold, some sixty, and some thirty. To produce fruit takes time. Time would necessitate patience. Patience would necessitate endurance. Endurance shows that you have perseverance. Are you going to run this race with endurance? Be instead fast and immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord? Or are you going to be like the one who the seed fell on the stony ground? And in the midst of trials and persecutions, I would tell you, look to the Old Testament saints. Look back to the New Testament saints. Look to the persecutions of the people that have gone on around you and how they've endured the persecutions, the afflictions. But the writer of Hebrews doesn't stop there. The writer of Hebrews says, look away from these afflictions. Look away from your circumstances. Look away from the persecutions, the trials, those things that are coming up. And look unto Jesus Christ. Look unto him. Why would we look unto him? He says, he's the author and the finisher of our faith. Of the faith. It literally means he is the captain. He is the leader. He's the one that sets the race course out in front of you. He's the one that calls those to run the race. He is the finisher and the perfecter of that, of the faith. He's also run that race when he was in, in, as God-man. He ran that race. He, looking forward to that joy, the salvation, to being back in glory with the Father, he endured the cross. Do you hear what I'm saying? He went to the death of the cross. And we want to shrink back because we're mocked. Run with endurance to glory, as Christ did. He despised the shame that he was put upon him. And he looked unto the glory to the, to the, the prize, the inheritance, the redeeming of men, the payment of salvation for men. Look to him. He's the captain of our salvation, right? He's the captain of your salvation. He's the one that gives you life. He's the one that guides your life. He's the one that holds you in his hand. What we face in our life today, the afflictions we face are by just momentary and they're light afflictions according to 2 Corinthians 4. Oh, it doesn't feel like it when you're going through it, does it? You feel like you're being kicked around. You feel like you're being beat down. And even if you're, you have some joy, it's very difficult at times to have that discouragement. You have that like the Eor complex. How are you doing? Oh, well, I think I'm going to be okay today. I have salvation in Christ. I'm looking to glory. I will rejoice and be exceedingly glad when I'm persecuted because my Christ was persecuted the same way. And when Christ had done this, he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. You remember the story of the martyr, Stephen, the first martyr in the New Testament, who on the heels of preaching the gospel to the Pharisees and the scribes and the Sadducees, they took up stones. They took up stones and stoned him, right? And he lifted his eyes up. And he said, look, I see the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God. It was finished. He is standing in the position of authority. He has redeemed salvation. Stephen had run his race with endurance and was now entering into glory. Let's bring this back to you. Are you going to endure afflictions? Are you going to have your mind transformed and renewed to see that the afflictions, the persecutions are going, no matter how hard it is, no matter if there's physical, no matter it costs you your life, you're going to see them as momentary light afflictions in the sight of the external weight of glory? I pray that we would do. I pray that you would sit there and you would look to these witnesses. There's a great cloud. There's a numerous amounts. You're listed right here in Scripture right before this. You've seen the, you've read the New Testament. You've heard of what happened to James. You've heard what traditions said about Peter. You've seen your brothers and sisters endure affliction. Now, I, like the writer of Heavars, want to encourage you and exhort you, run the race of salvation, the great race of faith with endurance, perseverance, so that you will have the prize of glory. Let us pray. Our Father and our God, Lord, glory be unto you for you are seated at the right hand of the throne of God. You have set out the course that we are to run. You have given us the strength and endurance, but yet tell us to do it. You've given us the witnesses, the examples of who we should look to. Now, Lord, I pray that all those who hear this message, to hear your word, will run that race, run that race with endurance so they may see glory, that they would not shrink back in the midst of persecutions, that they would continue to fight the good fight, that they would continue to pursue you and won't run a long heart after you. May we turn our eyes away from our sin and our circumstances and turn them on to Jesus Christ. We pray these things for your glory in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.