May 11, 2025 • 34 mins
In this theologically rich and pastorally grounded sermon on Hebrews 12:1–17, Rev. Dr. Michael Allen explores the discipline of the Lord as a key marker of our identity as beloved children of God. Drawing from the great “cloud of witnesses” in Hebrews 11 and the example of Jesus, Dr. Allen calls the church to run the race of faith with perseverance, eyes fixed on Christ, who endured the cross for the joy set before Him. He unpacks how God’s discipline is not punishment but a fatherly training that forms us in holiness, shaping us to share in His righteousness and peace.
Throughout the message, Dr. Allen urges believers to resist discouragement and spiritual complacency, reminding us that our trials are not meaningless—they are signs of divine sonship. With pastoral clarity, he challenges us to lift our drooping hands and strengthen weak knees, pressing forward in grace and striving for peace and holiness in community.
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Damein Schitter (00:07):
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Gina Fickett (00:25):
Please join me in the prayer of illumination.
Heavenly Father, we wish to seeJesus.
By your Spirit's power, give useyes to see his glory.
Through Christ, we pray Amen.
Today's scripture reading isfrom Hebrews 12, beginning in
verse 1.
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Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and sin which
clings so closely and let usrun with endurance the race that
is set before us, looking toJesus, the founder and perfecter
of our faith, who, for the joythat was set before him, endured
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the cross, despising the shame,and is seated at the right hand
of the throne of God.
Consider him, who endured fromsinners such hostility against
himself, so that you may notgrow weary or faint-hearted In
your struggle against sin.
You have not yet resisted tothe point of shedding your blood
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.
And have you forgotten theexhortation that addresses you
as sons?
My son, do not regard lightlythe discipline of the Lord, nor
be weary when reproved by him,for the Lord disciplines the
Lord.
Nor be weary when reproved byhim, for the Lord disciplines
the one he loves and chastisesevery son whom he receives.
It is for discipline that youhave to endure.
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God is treating you as sons,for what son is there whom his
father does not discipline?
If you are left withoutdiscipline, in which all have
participated, then you areillegitimate children and not
sons.
Besides this, we have earthlyfathers who disciplined us and
we respected them.
Shall we not much more besubject to the Father of spirits
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and live For?
They disciplined us for a shorttime as it seemed best to them,
but he disciplines us for ourgood, that we may share his
holiness.
For the moment, all disciplineseems painful rather than
pleasant, but later it yieldsthe peaceful fruit of
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righteousness to those who havebeen trained by it, who have
been trained by it.
Therefore, lift your droopinghands and strengthen your weak
knees and make straight pathsfor your feet so that what is
lame may not be put out of jointbut rather be healed.
Strive for peace with everyoneand for the holiness without
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which no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one fails toobtain the grace of God, that no
root of bitterness springs upand causes trouble and by it
many become defiled.
That no one is sexually immoralor unholy like Esau, who sold
his birthright for a single meal, for you know that afterward,
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when he desired to inherit theblessing.
He was rejected for.
He found no chance to repent,though he sought it with tears.
This is God's word.
Rev. Dr. Mike Allen (03:34):
Thanks be to God.
Gina Fickett (03:35):
Please be seated.
Rev. Dr. Mike Allen (03:43):
Well, we all know the saying life's a
journey, not a destination.
True, but getting to thedestination matters, doesn't it?
I suspect all of us, in sometime and in some way, have
experienced that feeling whereyou set off heading home from a
long road trip, feeling whereyou set off heading home from a
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long road trip.
You're coming south down theinterstate and all is as you
might pray it would be, thechildren are happy and peaceful,
there are clouds but no rain,the road seems to move along
smoothly, there are no crashes,no officers stopping you here or
there, and you're ahead of time.
And then you find yourselfreaching Ocala and for some
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reason I know not where, I knownot when the interstate has been
cursed, and what was anefficient, a speedy, a smooth
trek home has become a parkinglot, no bathroom in sight, no
food to be had, no destinationto be reached anytime soon.
Or perhaps you like to fly andyou find that everyone boards
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the plane returning home.
It goes smoothly, you're ableto take off quickly.
The book you're reading, themovie you're watching, it goes
by fast, or better, you'venapped, and suddenly you're
being told prepare for descentand you're going to pull in,
arriving early, so early, myfriends, that when you reach the
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ground, they tell you I'm sorry, there's not a gate for us.
Tell you, I'm sorry, there'snot a gate for us.
And so, with your newfoundfriends surrounding you, you're
able to spend a little whilewaiting, watching, taking in the
best of Central Florida.
There, on the tarmac, we canstart.
Well, it doesn't really matterunless we endure to the end.
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It doesn't really matter unlesswe endure to the end, until we
see a journey through to itsfinish.
Life is a journey, not adestination.
But it really does matter thatyou reach that destination,
doesn't it?
And let's be honest, we live ina world where we hear often of
deaths, of despair.
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We live in a state where thereare twice as many pain clinics
as hospitals.
We live in an age, and as humanbeings, where we so often can
grow cynical in ourdisappointment, bitter in the
way in which our ideals havebeen taken from us At some point
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we know not when in years past.
And we can turn to many things.
We can turn to this or thatbenign distraction, or we can
turn to those death-dealingtools that promise a way out.
Endurance matters greatly inlife, doesn't it?
Life's not only a journey, nota destination.
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It's a marathon, not a sprint,and Christianity offers a
different way.
And Hebrews chapter 12 offers usa map, a map of understanding
the challenge of endurance, amap of understanding how God
longs to see you through to thevery end.
Consider the number of times injust the first few verses that
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idea of endurance is raised.
In verse one we read let us runwith endurance the race that's
set before us.
In verse two, we hear it saidof Jesus that he endured the
cross.
And in the next verse, versethree, we're told that he
endured the cross.
And in the next verse, versethree, we're told that he
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endured such hostility fromsinners against himself.
This is a passage aboutenduring to the very end, and
this is a sermon or a letter,this book of Hebrews.
That is about endurance frombeginning to end.
We can think back to chapter 3,verse 14, which told us we have
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come to share in Christ, ifindeed we hold firm our
confidence to the end.
Or in chapter 4, verse 11,where we read let's strive to
enter God's rest so that no onemay fall short.
Or in chapter 10, verse 23,let's hold fast to the
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confession of our hope.
And perhaps most pointedly, atthe end of chapter 10, verses 35
and 36, we read don't throwaway your confidence, which has
a great reward, for you haveneed of endurance so that, when
you've done the will of God, youmay receive what is promised.
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It is a hard journey and thereare many trials and occasions to
grow bitter cold, cynical, butChristianity, cynical but
Christianity, more specifically,jesus offers promise and hope.
Let's dig into Hebrews 12, 1through 17, seeking to gain a
map, a map through the pain andthe trial, a map where God
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carries us and calls us toendure to the end.
The first thing we see hereendure to the end.
The first thing we see here, aswe consider how Hebrews 12
frames this journey, is thatpain is a threat.
Let's begin at the end, if wecould.
The strange mention of Esau.
Esau does not get a lot of lovein the Bible, but this is a
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brief reference to a famousstory from Genesis 25.
You know it Jacob and Esau arethese two brothers.
Esau is the older, he's themanly man of the fields who
hunts and provides, and he'sgone out.
And you've got to know Esau heis the heir to the birthright.
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And you've got to know Esau heis the heir to the birthright.
He's going to be the next greatpatriarch and yet here, at the
end of Hebrews 12, we read ofhow a single error costs him all
.
Esau, for a bowl of stew orporridge, sells his birthright
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to his brother, jacob.
Why?
Well, we're told that he'sexhausted.
He says that in Genesis 25 inhis own voice, that he is
famished or exhausted and helongs for the stew which he
smells the aroma coming from.
They had brown bags back in theday, hunters carried food with
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them.
Unstated in Genesis 25 is thatEsau did what I'm sure no child
at New City would ever do, andthat is went to school without
his lunch bag, went off on thehunt unprepared, didn't attend
to the fact that he grows weak,that he has a feeble frame, that
he demands calories throughoutthe course of, I'm sure, a
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trying hunt, a busy and full day.
And in that moment of weakness,in that experience of hunger
pains, he makes one of the moreabsurd trades in human history.
He sells his birthright, hesells the promise for a bowl of
soup.
I love a good bowl of soup, butthat's a high price.
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And he is here an example, awarning to us all.
We ought not overlook the powerof pain.
Pain is a real threat.
Reminded of another verse in theNew Testament, paul, writing to
the Ephesians in chapter 5,verse 18, says don't get drunk
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with wine, for that's debauchery.
Okay, not shocking.
Christians aren't supposed toget hammered.
Paul tells the Ephesians thatit's a little bit surprising
that he follows up don't gettrashed with, be filled with the
spirit.
Like don't get loaded, do get.
Charismatic.
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Seems a strange pairing, untilyou realize what's going on
underneath.
Paul's not merely concerned andnot predominantly concerned
about external behavior.
Why would one of the Ephesiansget drunk with wine?
Why do most people get drunk?
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They want to check out, theywant to get rid of the pain,
they want to forget what hasotherwise led them to despair
and disappointment.
And notice Paul isn't contentthere to say don't go to the
booze, but he offers a positivepath to deal with the pain.
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Because pain is a real threat.
If we don't listen to it, if wedon't attend to what it
communicates, we will find thateventually we give in, like Esau
or the Ephesian drunks, tosomething that can cause
detrimental harm, lasting painand loss.
Pain is a threat we dare notignore and that's why Christians
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, like Jews before us haveattended to the significance of
naming our hurt, of lamentingour loss, of praying before God,
of all the ways in which weexperience disappointment and
frustration, both from what'soutside us and, so often, what
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we harbor within.
Pain is a threat we dare notignore.
That's the first thing we learnas we look at the way Esau is
invoked here at the end of ourpassage.
There's a second thing we seeFear is a killer.
Here at New City, we come fromthe Presbyterian and Protestant
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tradition.
We look back to the great 16thcentury pastors who reminded us
of the importance of God's grace, of Christ's all-sufficient
love and mercy, of the fact that, as Hebrews said once for all,
he has satisfied God's demandsand he has sat down at the very
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right hand of God, having madesacrifice and atonement for sins
.
It's important to know thoseweren't cliches and bumper
sticker slogans.
In the abstract they matteredgreatly because of a real human
problem.
Like us, and even more so inthe 16th century, life was hard.
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There were famines, there wereplagues, they didn't have
antibiotics, they didn't evenhave essential oils, my friends,
it could get dire and one mightbe led to despair, thinking
that if it's so hard and it's sodifficult, I must be cursed of
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God.
This must be a sign that I'mdue to experience hell and
judgment, curse and condemnation.
How could you not interpret itthat way?
The cards are all dealt againstyou.
Life is a long and ploddingexperience of what eventually
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will be overwhelming and eternal.
That was what Christians in the16th century were tempted to
believe, and against that wehave the remarkable witness of
pastors reading and preachingHebrews.
John Calvin, looking at thispassage, said God offers himself
as father to all who endure hiscorrection.
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Martin Luther, looking at thispassage, said the life of
suffering is the way and directpath to salvation.
There are those persons who,having suffered infirmity or
poverty or violence, complainthat they're not able to serve
God.
Yet God says here that truerighteousness is made perfect by
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suffering of this kind.
What do we see here?
We see that fear is a killer,but not for sons and daughters.
If we read on through Hebrews 12, we encounter two remarkable
words about the difficulty andthe trial that faces each and
every one of us.
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In verses five through seven wehear this have you forgotten
the exhortation that addressesyou as sons?
My son, don't regard lightlythe discipline of the Lord, nor
be weary when reproved by him,for the Lord disciplines the one
he loves and chastises everyson whom he receives.
(16:43):
It's for discipline you have toendure.
God is treating you as sons.
However much we might receivethe trial and the suffering of
this day, the frustrations andthe aches of this world, we need
to remember they're notforetastes of judgment.
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They're fatherly provision thatwe might grow.
And if we read on, there's asecond remarkable reframing of
how we experience, how weperceive, how we imagine the
difficulties of the journey.
We see in verses 11 and 13 thatwhat we're undergoing is not
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bare suffering or challenge,trial or frustration.
No, it's God's training andGod's healing.
In verse 11, we read for themoment, all discipline seems
painful rather than pleasant,but later it yields the
peaceable fruit of righteousnessin those who have been trained
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by it.
We read in verse 13, makestraight paths for your feet so
that what's lame may not be putout of joint but rather be
healed.
There's a remarkable differencebetween a bully and a coach,
between a parent and a sadistichuman.
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What we see here is that Godleads us on this journey with,
yes, its challenges and trials,but he does so as father and he
does so for our good, our growthin grace and unto glory, not to
punish us, not to curse us.
And you and I can know why,because we are now 12 chapters
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deep in Hebrews and thisanonymous author has said so
very much about all that Jesusis and has done on your behalf.
We are long past him being putforward as a propitiation and
sitting down, having madeatonement for our sins.
We are long past him being thecaptain of our salvation, having
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come and born flesh and blood,all the aches and pains that he
might sympathize with you.
We are long past all the manyways in which Hebrews 10 reminds
us that, once for all, god'swrath and judgment, his curse
and condemnation, were dealtwith.
We are long past all of that,and so we can experience the
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challenge of today and we canweather the harms of tomorrow,
knowing they are not a sign ofGod's scowl, but they're the
demonstration of God'scommitment to you.
They're the provision of afather who wants to discipline
you.
They're the training of a coachwho wants to see you flourish.
They're the gift of a physicianwho is in the business of
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healing you from all thestruggles you bear within.
Fear is a killer, but not forsons and daughters.
We might expect it to end here.
Life stinks.
Jesus is a savior, let's gohave some dessert.
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But the text goes on andHebrews isn't content simply to
say he died once for all, thathe's the final sacrifice that
the great high priest can sit.
Hebrews takes you and yourhumanity so very seriously, more
seriously than Esau and Isuspect you and I do.
Hebrews wants to communicateways in which God not only
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provides a savior, but acommunity and an example, a
captain and an encouragementthat you might know this, that
you might remember this, thatyou might live in light of this.
And so we see still furtherprovision in these verses.
Third, we see community is forencouragement, and in two ways.
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Where does our text begin?
But talking about community,looking back, you'll remember at
chapter 11, which we spent acouple weeks on, looking back at
what here is named as a greatcloud of witnesses.
Notice what we're told.
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Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and sin which
clings so closely and let usrun with endurance the race set
before us.
It's calling you to be mindfulof all that's just been said,
all that you've just beenreminded of by faith Enoch and
Noah, by faith Abram and Sarah,by faith Rahab and so many
anonymous followers of God.
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They obeyed, they followed,they risked, they endured, and
what we learned was that God wasfaithful.
What we saw was that God'sgoodness was steadfast.
We're those who go through fitsand starts, and Hebrews 11 has
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showed us that God is faithfuland steadfast again and again.
Here you have witnesses invoked, those who might testify in a
trial in a courtroom, those whomight speak on behalf of another
.
These are references, these arewitnesses.
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These are those who, in theirlives and often in their deaths,
could attest not their meritand know-how, not their genius
and their cunning, but God'sfaithfulness and his steadfast
love exist for you, not that youmight imitate their
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idiosyncrasies, not that youmight dress or speak as they do,
but that you too might run therace set before you.
I've not been called to build aboat or to leave or to let
spies in through the city walls,but I have been called in my
own life, in my own vocation, tobe mindful, to remember and to
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be encouraged, knowing that theGod who did call Rahab and Abram
and Noah is the same God whocalls me and that the God who
made good on those promises thenis the God who remains faithful
today and preview of comingattractions.
We're not done with stories.
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Hebrews 13, which we'll get tosoon in verses seven to eight,
brings it much more close.
It says remember your leaders,those who taught you the word of
God.
Consider the outcome of theirway of life.
Imitate their faith.
Remember your leaders, peopleof just the last generation, not
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the famous old people, theNoahs and the Abrams.
Remember the grandfather,remember the elder, remember the
last pastor.
Consider what they've done.
Don't imitate every detail.
You're not them and your raceisn't the race they were called
to run.
Imitate their faith.
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And the next verse tells us why.
Jesus Christ is the sameyesterday and today and forever.
Living by faith in Christ madesense then and it makes sense
tomorrow.
And I assure you it makes sensenow because the same Christ who
was steadfast, the same Christwho is faithful a generation ago
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, is the same Christ who, forsuch blessing as we've sung of,
will be steadfast and faithfulto you and me and our children
and our children's children to athousandth generation.
What we see here is a reminderthat, because God is faithful
and because his love issteadfast.
We can learn from the communityof the past and be encouraged
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for the future.
But we also see communities forencouragement not only then but
also now.
If we look to the end of ourpassage, we see here in verse 14
, strive for peace with everyone, for the holiness without which
no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one fails toobtain the grace of God, that no
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root of bitterness springs upand causes trouble and by it
many become defiled.
We not only need examples fromthe past to encourage us to
testify to God's goodness.
We need a cohort, we need acommunity today those who are
with us in the valley, those whoare alongside us as we face
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difficulties and trials,overwhelmedness and indwelling
sin.
That's why bitterness is sodangerous.
Did you catch that?
The root of bitterness whichsplinters communities, the root
of bitterness which splinterscommunities, which inhibits our
ability to be honest and candidwith each other, is such a
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threat Equal to sexualimmorality here.
Why?
Because we need each other,because we're meant to be
vulnerable and intimate with oneanother, that we might be
encouraging and hopeful for oneanother.
We need not only examples ofGod's provision in the past, but
we need people who remind us ofGod's commitment to us in the
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present.
Think of those road trips again.
How often have we journeyedlong and far and found ourselves
still on the way home, even aswe go through the middle of the
night.
And what is more lonely andperhaps more dangerous than the
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solo driver trying to keepthemselves awake?
Late, late, early, early.
Staying alert as one drivesthrough the middle of the night
is a task made for a wingman,someone who will keep you alert,
awake, attentive, alive,someone who will keep the music
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going or the conversationflowing, someone who will make
sure that you do not grow dulland tired, weary and overwhelmed
with the long day past.
And if that's true, for theroad trip, how much more for the
journey of faithfulness toChrist?
For the journey of faithfulnessto Christ, how much more do we
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need?
Not a solo effort, but awingman, a community, those who
will encourage us, those whowill keep us attentive.
That's why, so often and sofrequently, and with such energy
, we communicate the importanceof community here.
That being a Christian is notan individual act, though it is
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a personal commitment.
Being a Christian, a followerof Jesus, is about finding a
family, a community, those whowill keep you alert, those who
will encourage you no matter thecircumstance.
Fourth and finally, we see notonly that we are given community
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for encouragement, but we aregiven an example.
Christ is the example of faithand endurance.
You want to see what life ismeant to be and you want to see
how death and difficulty aremeant to be experienced.
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Read the first verses of ourpassage.
We are surrounded by so great acloud of witnesses.
Yes, we are called to run therace set before us.
Yes, but notice, the authorleads us to one more thing.
Look to Jesus, we're told inverse three.
Look to Jesus, the author andperfecter of faith, who, for the
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joy set before him, endured thecross, despising its shame, and
is seated at the right hand ofthe throne of God.
And is seated at the right handof the throne of God, right
there in verse two, we see Jesusis not oblivious, jesus is not
out of touch.
Jesus is being ostracized asJesus is being tortured and he's
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not unaware.
It's not that his being Godsomehow renders him incapable of
pain.
He was long known as the man ofsorrows and we've already read
in chapter 5 that it was withloud cries and tears that he
went before his father in prayerthat night.
Here we're told he despised theshame of the cross.
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Jesus is not a masochist andJesus is not a stoic.
He's aware of the pain and thedifficulty of the trial and of
the death that is imminent.
He's aware of the physicalextremities his body's about to
be taken to.
And he's not indifferent eitherto the fact that this is a
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shameful act meant to humiliatesomebody before everyone.
And yet he endured.
He endured that in the face ofsuch difficulties.
Why?
For the joy set before him, heendured the cross, hearkening
back to the great words of theservant song of Isaiah 53, where
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, in verse 10, isaiah prophesiedof one who would see the fruit
of his travails and would takejoy.
He would see you.
He would see you.
He would see his delight, hispeople his redeemed, and he
would be heartened.
He would see you, whom hepoured his life out for, and he
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would endure.
He would see you, for whom he'dcome from heaven on high and he
would persevere.
Jesus here is not merely thegreat sacrifice and priest who
is once for all made atonementfor our sins but, sisters and
brothers, we're reminded, he isthe great model, he is the
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example of faith par excellence.
He is the true Adam, the onlyhuman fully alive in this world,
unencumbered by sin, unhinderedby all of our corruption,
living a life fully dependentupon his father's grace,
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entrusting his very life to hisfather's resurrection power,
father's resurrection power.
And he does that such that wemight look to him.
Looking to him not only tostand in the gap and to serve as
our substitute, looking to himto be, as we've read earlier,
the captain of our salvation,the leader at the head of the
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pack, the one whom we follow.
We so frequently talk about howwe're meant, in discipling
others, to say follow me as Ifollow Christ.
And we can say that becauseJesus, in the way he walked
about this earth, he said followme as I follow our father.
He showed us what it is to liveby hope, to walk by faith, to
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bear trial and pain anddifficulty and to endure to the
very end, knowing God'slife-giving promise.
And he longs for you not onlyto rest in all that he's done on
your behalf, but to put on yourshoes and to go walk another
day, to stand up yet again andlook forward and to follow the
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captain of our salvation, thatwe too may walk by faith, for
God remains faithful and hislove it, is still steadfast.
Let's pray, god.
We thank you for the richabundance of your word, for the
fullness of your grace, and wepray even now that you might
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remind us of the all-sufficientmercy you give us in Jesus and
of the way in which you long forus to live, no longer marked by
fear, but that we mightexperience the joy of walking by
faith.
We have need for our weak kneesto be strengthened, and we pray
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, oh Holy Spirit, that you wouldcome, that you would be Lord by
being life giver, that youwould reign and rule by
strengthening and renewing eachof us who grow so weak and weary
.
We turn to you with open handsand hearts, praying for your
provision now, in Christ's risenname, amen.
Hello everyone.
This is Pastor Damian.
You're listening to SermonAudio from New City, orlando.
At New City, we believe all ofus need all of Jesus for all of
life.
For more resources, visit ourwebsite at newcityorlandocom.
Thanks for listening.
Gina Fickett (00:25):
Please join me in the prayer of illumination.
Heavenly Father, we wish to seeJesus.
By your Spirit's power, give useyes to see his glory.
Through Christ, we pray Amen.
Today's scripture reading isfrom Hebrews 12, beginning in
verse 1.
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Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and sin which
clings so closely and let usrun with endurance the race that
is set before us, looking toJesus, the founder and perfecter
of our faith, who, for the joythat was set before him, endured
(01:10):
the cross, despising the shame,and is seated at the right hand
of the throne of God.
Consider him, who endured fromsinners such hostility against
himself, so that you may notgrow weary or faint-hearted In
your struggle against sin.
You have not yet resisted tothe point of shedding your blood
(01:31):
.
And have you forgotten theexhortation that addresses you
as sons?
My son, do not regard lightlythe discipline of the Lord, nor
be weary when reproved by him,for the Lord disciplines the
Lord.
Nor be weary when reproved byhim, for the Lord disciplines
the one he loves and chastisesevery son whom he receives.
It is for discipline that youhave to endure.
(01:55):
God is treating you as sons,for what son is there whom his
father does not discipline?
If you are left withoutdiscipline, in which all have
participated, then you areillegitimate children and not
sons.
Besides this, we have earthlyfathers who disciplined us and
we respected them.
Shall we not much more besubject to the Father of spirits
(02:17):
and live For?
They disciplined us for a shorttime as it seemed best to them,
but he disciplines us for ourgood, that we may share his
holiness.
For the moment, all disciplineseems painful rather than
pleasant, but later it yieldsthe peaceful fruit of
(02:38):
righteousness to those who havebeen trained by it, who have
been trained by it.
Therefore, lift your droopinghands and strengthen your weak
knees and make straight pathsfor your feet so that what is
lame may not be put out of jointbut rather be healed.
Strive for peace with everyoneand for the holiness without
(02:59):
which no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one fails toobtain the grace of God, that no
root of bitterness springs upand causes trouble and by it
many become defiled.
That no one is sexually immoralor unholy like Esau, who sold
his birthright for a single meal, for you know that afterward,
(03:22):
when he desired to inherit theblessing.
He was rejected for.
He found no chance to repent,though he sought it with tears.
This is God's word.
Rev. Dr. Mike Allen (03:34):
Thanks be to God.
Gina Fickett (03:35):
Please be seated.
Rev. Dr. Mike Allen (03:43):
Well, we all know the saying life's a
journey, not a destination.
True, but getting to thedestination matters, doesn't it?
I suspect all of us, in sometime and in some way, have
experienced that feeling whereyou set off heading home from a
long road trip, feeling whereyou set off heading home from a
(04:06):
long road trip.
You're coming south down theinterstate and all is as you
might pray it would be, thechildren are happy and peaceful,
there are clouds but no rain,the road seems to move along
smoothly, there are no crashes,no officers stopping you here or
there, and you're ahead of time.
And then you find yourselfreaching Ocala and for some
(04:32):
reason I know not where, I knownot when the interstate has been
cursed, and what was anefficient, a speedy, a smooth
trek home has become a parkinglot, no bathroom in sight, no
food to be had, no destinationto be reached anytime soon.
Or perhaps you like to fly andyou find that everyone boards
(04:56):
the plane returning home.
It goes smoothly, you're ableto take off quickly.
The book you're reading, themovie you're watching, it goes
by fast, or better, you'venapped, and suddenly you're
being told prepare for descentand you're going to pull in,
arriving early, so early, myfriends, that when you reach the
(05:19):
ground, they tell you I'm sorry, there's not a gate for us.
Tell you, I'm sorry, there'snot a gate for us.
And so, with your newfoundfriends surrounding you, you're
able to spend a little whilewaiting, watching, taking in the
best of Central Florida.
There, on the tarmac, we canstart.
Well, it doesn't really matterunless we endure to the end.
(05:40):
It doesn't really matter unlesswe endure to the end, until we
see a journey through to itsfinish.
Life is a journey, not adestination.
But it really does matter thatyou reach that destination,
doesn't it?
And let's be honest, we live ina world where we hear often of
deaths, of despair.
(06:01):
We live in a state where thereare twice as many pain clinics
as hospitals.
We live in an age, and as humanbeings, where we so often can
grow cynical in ourdisappointment, bitter in the
way in which our ideals havebeen taken from us At some point
(06:21):
we know not when in years past.
And we can turn to many things.
We can turn to this or thatbenign distraction, or we can
turn to those death-dealingtools that promise a way out.
Endurance matters greatly inlife, doesn't it?
Life's not only a journey, nota destination.
(06:45):
It's a marathon, not a sprint,and Christianity offers a
different way.
And Hebrews chapter 12 offers usa map, a map of understanding
the challenge of endurance, amap of understanding how God
longs to see you through to thevery end.
Consider the number of times injust the first few verses that
(07:07):
idea of endurance is raised.
In verse one we read let us runwith endurance the race that's
set before us.
In verse two, we hear it saidof Jesus that he endured the
cross.
And in the next verse, versethree, we're told that he
endured the cross.
And in the next verse, versethree, we're told that he
(07:27):
endured such hostility fromsinners against himself.
This is a passage aboutenduring to the very end, and
this is a sermon or a letter,this book of Hebrews.
That is about endurance frombeginning to end.
We can think back to chapter 3,verse 14, which told us we have
(07:49):
come to share in Christ, ifindeed we hold firm our
confidence to the end.
Or in chapter 4, verse 11,where we read let's strive to
enter God's rest so that no onemay fall short.
Or in chapter 10, verse 23,let's hold fast to the
(08:11):
confession of our hope.
And perhaps most pointedly, atthe end of chapter 10, verses 35
and 36, we read don't throwaway your confidence, which has
a great reward, for you haveneed of endurance so that, when
you've done the will of God, youmay receive what is promised.
(08:33):
It is a hard journey and thereare many trials and occasions to
grow bitter cold, cynical, butChristianity, cynical but
Christianity, more specifically,jesus offers promise and hope.
Let's dig into Hebrews 12, 1through 17, seeking to gain a
map, a map through the pain andthe trial, a map where God
(08:58):
carries us and calls us toendure to the end.
The first thing we see hereendure to the end.
The first thing we see here, aswe consider how Hebrews 12
frames this journey, is thatpain is a threat.
Let's begin at the end, if wecould.
The strange mention of Esau.
Esau does not get a lot of lovein the Bible, but this is a
(09:22):
brief reference to a famousstory from Genesis 25.
You know it Jacob and Esau arethese two brothers.
Esau is the older, he's themanly man of the fields who
hunts and provides, and he'sgone out.
And you've got to know Esau heis the heir to the birthright.
(09:43):
And you've got to know Esau heis the heir to the birthright.
He's going to be the next greatpatriarch and yet here, at the
end of Hebrews 12, we read ofhow a single error costs him all
.
Esau, for a bowl of stew orporridge, sells his birthright
(10:04):
to his brother, jacob.
Why?
Well, we're told that he'sexhausted.
He says that in Genesis 25 inhis own voice, that he is
famished or exhausted and helongs for the stew which he
smells the aroma coming from.
They had brown bags back in theday, hunters carried food with
(10:24):
them.
Unstated in Genesis 25 is thatEsau did what I'm sure no child
at New City would ever do, andthat is went to school without
his lunch bag, went off on thehunt unprepared, didn't attend
to the fact that he grows weak,that he has a feeble frame, that
he demands calories throughoutthe course of, I'm sure, a
(10:47):
trying hunt, a busy and full day.
And in that moment of weakness,in that experience of hunger
pains, he makes one of the moreabsurd trades in human history.
He sells his birthright, hesells the promise for a bowl of
soup.
I love a good bowl of soup, butthat's a high price.
(11:11):
And he is here an example, awarning to us all.
We ought not overlook the powerof pain.
Pain is a real threat.
Reminded of another verse in theNew Testament, paul, writing to
the Ephesians in chapter 5,verse 18, says don't get drunk
(11:31):
with wine, for that's debauchery.
Okay, not shocking.
Christians aren't supposed toget hammered.
Paul tells the Ephesians thatit's a little bit surprising
that he follows up don't gettrashed with, be filled with the
spirit.
Like don't get loaded, do get.
Charismatic.
(11:52):
Seems a strange pairing, untilyou realize what's going on
underneath.
Paul's not merely concerned andnot predominantly concerned
about external behavior.
Why would one of the Ephesiansget drunk with wine?
Why do most people get drunk?
(12:12):
They want to check out, theywant to get rid of the pain,
they want to forget what hasotherwise led them to despair
and disappointment.
And notice Paul isn't contentthere to say don't go to the
booze, but he offers a positivepath to deal with the pain.
(12:36):
Because pain is a real threat.
If we don't listen to it, if wedon't attend to what it
communicates, we will find thateventually we give in, like Esau
or the Ephesian drunks, tosomething that can cause
detrimental harm, lasting painand loss.
Pain is a threat we dare notignore and that's why Christians
(13:01):
, like Jews before us haveattended to the significance of
naming our hurt, of lamentingour loss, of praying before God,
of all the ways in which weexperience disappointment and
frustration, both from what'soutside us and, so often, what
(13:21):
we harbor within.
Pain is a threat we dare notignore.
That's the first thing we learnas we look at the way Esau is
invoked here at the end of ourpassage.
There's a second thing we seeFear is a killer.
Here at New City, we come fromthe Presbyterian and Protestant
(13:44):
tradition.
We look back to the great 16thcentury pastors who reminded us
of the importance of God's grace, of Christ's all-sufficient
love and mercy, of the fact that, as Hebrews said once for all,
he has satisfied God's demandsand he has sat down at the very
(14:05):
right hand of God, having madesacrifice and atonement for sins
.
It's important to know thoseweren't cliches and bumper
sticker slogans.
In the abstract they matteredgreatly because of a real human
problem.
Like us, and even more so inthe 16th century, life was hard.
(14:26):
There were famines, there wereplagues, they didn't have
antibiotics, they didn't evenhave essential oils, my friends,
it could get dire and one mightbe led to despair, thinking
that if it's so hard and it's sodifficult, I must be cursed of
(14:46):
God.
This must be a sign that I'mdue to experience hell and
judgment, curse and condemnation.
How could you not interpret itthat way?
The cards are all dealt againstyou.
Life is a long and ploddingexperience of what eventually
(15:08):
will be overwhelming and eternal.
That was what Christians in the16th century were tempted to
believe, and against that wehave the remarkable witness of
pastors reading and preachingHebrews.
John Calvin, looking at thispassage, said God offers himself
as father to all who endure hiscorrection.
(15:32):
Martin Luther, looking at thispassage, said the life of
suffering is the way and directpath to salvation.
There are those persons who,having suffered infirmity or
poverty or violence, complainthat they're not able to serve
God.
Yet God says here that truerighteousness is made perfect by
(15:59):
suffering of this kind.
What do we see here?
We see that fear is a killer,but not for sons and daughters.
If we read on through Hebrews 12, we encounter two remarkable
words about the difficulty andthe trial that faces each and
every one of us.
(16:19):
In verses five through seven wehear this have you forgotten
the exhortation that addressesyou as sons?
My son, don't regard lightlythe discipline of the Lord, nor
be weary when reproved by him,for the Lord disciplines the one
he loves and chastises everyson whom he receives.
(16:43):
It's for discipline you have toendure.
God is treating you as sons.
However much we might receivethe trial and the suffering of
this day, the frustrations andthe aches of this world, we need
to remember they're notforetastes of judgment.
(17:03):
They're fatherly provision thatwe might grow.
And if we read on, there's asecond remarkable reframing of
how we experience, how weperceive, how we imagine the
difficulties of the journey.
We see in verses 11 and 13 thatwhat we're undergoing is not
(17:24):
bare suffering or challenge,trial or frustration.
No, it's God's training andGod's healing.
In verse 11, we read for themoment, all discipline seems
painful rather than pleasant,but later it yields the
peaceable fruit of righteousnessin those who have been trained
(17:48):
by it.
We read in verse 13, makestraight paths for your feet so
that what's lame may not be putout of joint but rather be
healed.
There's a remarkable differencebetween a bully and a coach,
between a parent and a sadistichuman.
(18:10):
What we see here is that Godleads us on this journey with,
yes, its challenges and trials,but he does so as father and he
does so for our good, our growthin grace and unto glory, not to
punish us, not to curse us.
And you and I can know why,because we are now 12 chapters
(18:35):
deep in Hebrews and thisanonymous author has said so
very much about all that Jesusis and has done on your behalf.
We are long past him being putforward as a propitiation and
sitting down, having madeatonement for our sins.
We are long past him being thecaptain of our salvation, having
(19:00):
come and born flesh and blood,all the aches and pains that he
might sympathize with you.
We are long past all the manyways in which Hebrews 10 reminds
us that, once for all, god'swrath and judgment, his curse
and condemnation, were dealtwith.
We are long past all of that,and so we can experience the
(19:21):
challenge of today and we canweather the harms of tomorrow,
knowing they are not a sign ofGod's scowl, but they're the
demonstration of God'scommitment to you.
They're the provision of afather who wants to discipline
you.
They're the training of a coachwho wants to see you flourish.
They're the gift of a physicianwho is in the business of
(19:45):
healing you from all thestruggles you bear within.
Fear is a killer, but not forsons and daughters.
We might expect it to end here.
Life stinks.
Jesus is a savior, let's gohave some dessert.
(20:13):
But the text goes on andHebrews isn't content simply to
say he died once for all, thathe's the final sacrifice that
the great high priest can sit.
Hebrews takes you and yourhumanity so very seriously, more
seriously than Esau and Isuspect you and I do.
Hebrews wants to communicateways in which God not only
(20:33):
provides a savior, but acommunity and an example, a
captain and an encouragementthat you might know this, that
you might remember this, thatyou might live in light of this.
And so we see still furtherprovision in these verses.
Third, we see community is forencouragement, and in two ways.
(20:58):
Where does our text begin?
But talking about community,looking back, you'll remember at
chapter 11, which we spent acouple weeks on, looking back at
what here is named as a greatcloud of witnesses.
Notice what we're told.
(21:31):
Therefore, since we aresurrounded by so great a cloud
of witnesses, let us also layaside every weight and sin which
clings so closely and let usrun with endurance the race set
before us.
It's calling you to be mindfulof all that's just been said,
all that you've just beenreminded of by faith Enoch and
Noah, by faith Abram and Sarah,by faith Rahab and so many
anonymous followers of God.
(21:51):
They obeyed, they followed,they risked, they endured, and
what we learned was that God wasfaithful.
What we saw was that God'sgoodness was steadfast.
We're those who go through fitsand starts, and Hebrews 11 has
(22:14):
showed us that God is faithfuland steadfast again and again.
Here you have witnesses invoked, those who might testify in a
trial in a courtroom, those whomight speak on behalf of another
.
These are references, these arewitnesses.
(22:35):
These are those who, in theirlives and often in their deaths,
could attest not their meritand know-how, not their genius
and their cunning, but God'sfaithfulness and his steadfast
love exist for you, not that youmight imitate their
(23:02):
idiosyncrasies, not that youmight dress or speak as they do,
but that you too might run therace set before you.
I've not been called to build aboat or to leave or to let
spies in through the city walls,but I have been called in my
own life, in my own vocation, tobe mindful, to remember and to
(23:25):
be encouraged, knowing that theGod who did call Rahab and Abram
and Noah is the same God whocalls me and that the God who
made good on those promises thenis the God who remains faithful
today and preview of comingattractions.
We're not done with stories.
(23:47):
Hebrews 13, which we'll get tosoon in verses seven to eight,
brings it much more close.
It says remember your leaders,those who taught you the word of
God.
Consider the outcome of theirway of life.
Imitate their faith.
Remember your leaders, peopleof just the last generation, not
(24:07):
the famous old people, theNoahs and the Abrams.
Remember the grandfather,remember the elder, remember the
last pastor.
Consider what they've done.
Don't imitate every detail.
You're not them and your raceisn't the race they were called
to run.
Imitate their faith.
(24:30):
And the next verse tells us why.
Jesus Christ is the sameyesterday and today and forever.
Living by faith in Christ madesense then and it makes sense
tomorrow.
And I assure you it makes sensenow because the same Christ who
was steadfast, the same Christwho is faithful a generation ago
(24:52):
, is the same Christ who, forsuch blessing as we've sung of,
will be steadfast and faithfulto you and me and our children
and our children's children to athousandth generation.
What we see here is a reminderthat, because God is faithful
and because his love issteadfast.
We can learn from the communityof the past and be encouraged
(25:15):
for the future.
But we also see communities forencouragement not only then but
also now.
If we look to the end of ourpassage, we see here in verse 14
, strive for peace with everyone, for the holiness without which
no one will see the Lord.
See to it that no one fails toobtain the grace of God, that no
(25:39):
root of bitterness springs upand causes trouble and by it
many become defiled.
We not only need examples fromthe past to encourage us to
testify to God's goodness.
We need a cohort, we need acommunity today those who are
with us in the valley, those whoare alongside us as we face
(26:03):
difficulties and trials,overwhelmedness and indwelling
sin.
That's why bitterness is sodangerous.
Did you catch that?
The root of bitterness whichsplinters communities, the root
of bitterness which splinterscommunities, which inhibits our
ability to be honest and candidwith each other, is such a
(26:24):
threat Equal to sexualimmorality here.
Why?
Because we need each other,because we're meant to be
vulnerable and intimate with oneanother, that we might be
encouraging and hopeful for oneanother.
We need not only examples ofGod's provision in the past, but
we need people who remind us ofGod's commitment to us in the
(26:46):
present.
Think of those road trips again.
How often have we journeyedlong and far and found ourselves
still on the way home, even aswe go through the middle of the
night.
And what is more lonely andperhaps more dangerous than the
(27:06):
solo driver trying to keepthemselves awake?
Late, late, early, early.
Staying alert as one drivesthrough the middle of the night
is a task made for a wingman,someone who will keep you alert,
awake, attentive, alive,someone who will keep the music
(27:32):
going or the conversationflowing, someone who will make
sure that you do not grow dulland tired, weary and overwhelmed
with the long day past.
And if that's true, for theroad trip, how much more for the
journey of faithfulness toChrist?
For the journey of faithfulnessto Christ, how much more do we
(27:52):
need?
Not a solo effort, but awingman, a community, those who
will encourage us, those whowill keep us attentive.
That's why, so often and sofrequently, and with such energy
, we communicate the importanceof community here.
That being a Christian is notan individual act, though it is
(28:14):
a personal commitment.
Being a Christian, a followerof Jesus, is about finding a
family, a community, those whowill keep you alert, those who
will encourage you no matter thecircumstance.
Fourth and finally, we see notonly that we are given community
(28:38):
for encouragement, but we aregiven an example.
Christ is the example of faithand endurance.
You want to see what life ismeant to be and you want to see
how death and difficulty aremeant to be experienced.
(28:58):
Read the first verses of ourpassage.
We are surrounded by so great acloud of witnesses.
Yes, we are called to run therace set before us.
Yes, but notice, the authorleads us to one more thing.
Look to Jesus, we're told inverse three.
Look to Jesus, the author andperfecter of faith, who, for the
(29:21):
joy set before him, endured thecross, despising its shame, and
is seated at the right hand ofthe throne of God.
And is seated at the right handof the throne of God, right
there in verse two, we see Jesusis not oblivious, jesus is not
out of touch.
Jesus is being ostracized asJesus is being tortured and he's
(29:48):
not unaware.
It's not that his being Godsomehow renders him incapable of
pain.
He was long known as the man ofsorrows and we've already read
in chapter 5 that it was withloud cries and tears that he
went before his father in prayerthat night.
Here we're told he despised theshame of the cross.
(30:12):
Jesus is not a masochist andJesus is not a stoic.
He's aware of the pain and thedifficulty of the trial and of
the death that is imminent.
He's aware of the physicalextremities his body's about to
be taken to.
And he's not indifferent eitherto the fact that this is a
(30:33):
shameful act meant to humiliatesomebody before everyone.
And yet he endured.
He endured that in the face ofsuch difficulties.
Why?
For the joy set before him, heendured the cross, hearkening
back to the great words of theservant song of Isaiah 53, where
(30:58):
, in verse 10, isaiah prophesiedof one who would see the fruit
of his travails and would takejoy.
He would see you.
He would see you.
He would see his delight, hispeople his redeemed, and he
would be heartened.
He would see you, whom hepoured his life out for, and he
(31:23):
would endure.
He would see you, for whom he'dcome from heaven on high and he
would persevere.
Jesus here is not merely thegreat sacrifice and priest who
is once for all made atonementfor our sins but, sisters and
brothers, we're reminded, he isthe great model, he is the
(31:45):
example of faith par excellence.
He is the true Adam, the onlyhuman fully alive in this world,
unencumbered by sin, unhinderedby all of our corruption,
living a life fully dependentupon his father's grace,
(32:05):
entrusting his very life to hisfather's resurrection power,
father's resurrection power.
And he does that such that wemight look to him.
Looking to him not only tostand in the gap and to serve as
our substitute, looking to himto be, as we've read earlier,
the captain of our salvation,the leader at the head of the
(32:26):
pack, the one whom we follow.
We so frequently talk about howwe're meant, in discipling
others, to say follow me as Ifollow Christ.
And we can say that becauseJesus, in the way he walked
about this earth, he said followme as I follow our father.
He showed us what it is to liveby hope, to walk by faith, to
(32:52):
bear trial and pain anddifficulty and to endure to the
very end, knowing God'slife-giving promise.
And he longs for you not onlyto rest in all that he's done on
your behalf, but to put on yourshoes and to go walk another
day, to stand up yet again andlook forward and to follow the
(33:18):
captain of our salvation, thatwe too may walk by faith, for
God remains faithful and hislove it, is still steadfast.
Let's pray, god.
We thank you for the richabundance of your word, for the
fullness of your grace, and wepray even now that you might
(33:40):
remind us of the all-sufficientmercy you give us in Jesus and
of the way in which you long forus to live, no longer marked by
fear, but that we mightexperience the joy of walking by
faith.
We have need for our weak kneesto be strengthened, and we pray
(34:00):
, oh Holy Spirit, that you wouldcome, that you would be Lord by
being life giver, that youwould reign and rule by
strengthening and renewing eachof us who grow so weak and weary
.
We turn to you with open handsand hearts, praying for your
provision now, in Christ's risenname, amen.
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