Teaching - Hebrews 12

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Hebrews 12: 1-3 - Pete Hillman

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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The party’s over!
So that’s it then. Summer’s pretty much over, Soul Survivor and Momentum has been and gone for another year and we’ve had an amazing time. For some of you it’s been a summer that’s changed your life forever. Maybe you’ve become a Christian, probably you’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit, perhaps you now speak in tongues or maybe you have been used to pray for someone’s healing or had a prophetic word for someone. Yes, it’s been an incredible time. But now, what now?

Maybe the bubbles already burst. Maybe 10,000 young people worshipping Jesus in a tent in Somerset is now a distant memory for you. Perhaps as soon as you got home you started to get it in the neck from parents who didn’t understand. Did you have a row the first few days you were back and screw it up more or less on day one? Does it feel as though everything was just a dream and now reality has come crashing in? Do you have this feeling that, though everything felt great while we were there now the prospect of finding a job or getting on a college course seems more daunting than ever. Perhaps the reality that the pastor you love and rely on so much is going to be away until Christmas has just started to hit home!

You see, inevitably as soon as we are back into normal life the Devil seems to have a go and mess things up for us. He tells us that nothing has really changed, that the feelings and experiences we had whilst we were away were just that, feelings. They were not real and, actually, they don’t mean anything in the context of where we now find ourselves back in the real world. The mountaintop was great but life is lived in the valley and life in the valley is a bit darker and harder than it was up there in the sunshine.

And all this is exactly what the writer of the letter to the Hebrews in the New Testament is addressing in the passage above. Let’s start with loneliness.

You are not alone

First of all the thing I miss most about the summer, and the thing I am dreading most about being away for 3 months, is that I am not living with you! Now I know this sounds surprising as living in a massive field with 11,000 young people may not be everyone’s idea of heaven, but the thing I always notice most of all after Soul Survivor or Momentum is that I am not seeing all of you all of the time. Seeing Dean emerge from his tent and wish me good morning is a great sight – not because Dean is particularly attractive or good company in the morning - but because he’s my friend and my brother and it’s cool to see him! It’s cool to see everyone. But the reason it’s cool is not just because you are all cool. It’s good because it reminds me why I am here, that I am a Christian and that I am the pastor of a church. I’m aware of it from moment one of the day and it feels good to be surrounded by my family.

The writer of Hebrews knows this so he reminds us that even when we feel alone “we are surrounded by…a great cloud of witnesses”. He knows that being reminded that you have a Christian family around you will make it easier for you to live the life you are called to live. He knows that when we feel alone sin will begin to creep in and become an easier trap to fall into. “You are not alone” says the writer, you are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses. So in light of this throw off everything that is likely to trip you up and run the race set before us. And he then goes on to say “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith”. Because not only are we surrounded by brothers and sisters we also have Jesus with us and the only time we feel alone is when we take our eyes off that fact. In the race of life we do not run alone but in company with others and most of all in company with Jesus.

This is a marathon not a sprint

As you all now I am not built for running. I have people like Matt to do the running for me (for which I am very grateful) so for me to use a metaphor of a race is a bit of a cheek. But I think that what is being said in this passage is that the Christian life, the race we are called to run, is not a sprint where we psyche ourselves up for one big burst of energy but instead it’s a marathon where we need to pace ourselves and encourage each other to keep on going. That means that we should not be surprised when we hit the odd wall or come across the odd bit of rough surface on which we have to run. How many of us have had times when after have been away together or when we have been on holiday with our mates when we wanted to give up. At times like that we need our Christian friends to encourage us. But a marathon also means that we have to keep up our concentration. If we are not careful sin can tangle us up so that we trip and fall. But the answer is not to keep looking at our feet so make sure we dodge the tangled mess we make for ourselves but rather to keep our eyes up and fixed on Jesus.

When the going gets tough
But as well as sin we also have the challenge of all that life throws at us whether it takes the shape of opposition that comes through friends, family or even enemies who want to see us fall and fail. For some of us living with non-Christians will be the biggest challenge. For others our friends at school, college or work or even the mates we hang out with will prove the toughest test. Many people will not be happy with your faith, especially where it challenges them or their lifestyle. And when this happens what is the writer’s advice? “Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” When we reflect on Jesus and his example we can take heart and find the strength in him to keep on keeping on.

So how do we do this?

Get into the Word. If you want to keep going in this race you need to keep your strength up. We need to feed on the word of God to keep us going. If we starve ourselves of the energy we need for the race then we will not be able to keep going. We will starve ourselves of the life giving word and run ourselves into the ground before we know where we are. How you do it is up to you. There are small groups to join and they will all have an element of bible study in them. Make sure you join one and get yourself fed. Perhaps you should think about reading a bit of the bible every day using some notes to guide you. If you want to give this a try you can use one of the online services through someone like Soul Survivor or we can order notes for you (just ask Jon). Maybe you should read through a book at the same time as a friend and compare notes with each other about what you read? However you do it, just do it. Get fed!

Meet up with your friends. “Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another”. Come to Legacy on a Sunday, not just as and when you feel like it but all the more when you don’t feel like it, that’s probably when you need to be with your Christian friends the most! Have some strength of character and some backbone. Sociologists say you are a generation who don’t understand about commitment – prove them wrong! Make a promise to yourself to write your essays and do your revision earlier in the weekend so you don’t have to miss a Sunday evening. Join a small group, meet with your mates to pray together at school or college once a week – don’t make a big thing about it just do it. 15 mins in the corner of the playground or the common room – call down the Spirit and ask him to meet with your non-Christian friends and see what happens. I dare you! Sign on to MSN or use Myspace and share your journey with you friends near and far. I can’t believe the number of your myspace areas I have looked at which don’t mention once that you are a Christian! Send texts, talk, pray! Whatever it takes to keep on going.

Pray like it is going out of fashion! Make the new bi-monthly Legacy prayer meetings a priority on a Tuesday evening. There will be no small groups that week so it’s not another evening out during the week, just a different one. Pray for your friends on the way to school, work or college every day. Use a list if you are a list person. Use the rosary beads lots of you have taken to wearing to pray the Jesus prayer and learn to listen for his voice, “Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner”. Get some mates of the same gender together, have a men’s or women’s prayer night and if you need help organising it then ask one of the leaders. Don’t wait for it to be done for you, just do it – start the revolution and make your lives count! Prayer walk around the Centre or around the Borough some time. Pray in the Spirit in all occasions! Pray and believe with all your heart that prayer changes things, because it does.

You see if we become a people who get into the Word, who meet together regularly and who pray like there’s no tomorrow I know that by the time I return from Canada at Christmas this will be a community of people who are stronger and healthier than ever. My challenge to you is not just to keep things ticking over until the New Year whilst I am away but instead to press on with the race. This is not time for a rest and to put our feet up but time to shift up a gear and push on taking up new challenges.

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

All my love and prayers,
Pete

Legacy Youth Congregation meets at the Legacy XS Centre, Richmond Park, Benfleet, Essex
The Legacy Trust (Benfleet) is a Registered Charity no. 1102987.
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