|
 |
Run For the
Border
Hebrews 12:1-4
In March on 1962
Glenn Bell, traded in his hot dog stand to market fast food Mexican
style. The first menu consisted of just Tacos and Burritos but it was so
popular in San Bernardino, California that two years later the first
franchised Taco Bell was opened.
Taco Bell has continued to meet the need for people living in a fast
food world, tired of hamburgers. They have had several famous campaigns
over the year, but tonight I want us to look at the one that put them on
the map. In the early 1980’s Taco Bell was struggling against the big
three burger shops and found themselves at a crossroads. Then a
marketing genius challenged us to “Run For The Border.” And the company
has held their own ever since.
“Run for the border”, can you think of a better image to describe the
lives that we are living? As a matter of fact running has always been a
powerful image. When you think of a runner, you imagine someone who is
strong and powerful running in a race. Or you think of the dedicated few
that run up and down your streets every morning or evening. But the
reason that the imagery of a runner is so profound is because it is so
simple. Whether we realize it or not, the images that we remember are
the ones that we can relate to.
Not all of us can relate to the imagery of flying a plane, or diving to
the depths of the sea and finding a buried treasure, they are just not a
good imagery. But running is a great metaphor, it doesn’t matter if you
are 2 or 82 there has been a time that you ran. It is an image that
everyone can relate to. That’s why the Apostle Paul used the image so
much.
Someone once said “If the Apostle Paul were alive today, he would
probably read the sports pages of the newspaper.” But it wasn’t just the
Apostle Paul who was so interested in the sporting games; both the
Greeks and the Romans were fanatics about athletic contests, not only
for their physical well-being, but also for the honor of their towns and
countries. It was a patriotic thing to be a good athlete and to bring
glory to your country.
All of the original readers would have been familiar with the Isthmian
Games that were held every two years ten miles outside the city of
Corinth. They were similar to the Greek Olympic Games and people from
every part of the Mediterranean came to compete or just watch. It was
the biggest event of the year and the empire’s best talent came to
compete.
Athletes would compete in foot races, broad jumping, discus throwing,
wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, and equestrian contests. Winners received
a lifetime exemption from paying taxes and serving in the military. They
would also receive free tuition at one of their universities. And their
statutes would be placed along the road that led to the site of the
games. But the real prize was the wreath, awarded to the winner at the
end of the games.
That’s why the running image appears so much. You see the image of
running is not just a powerful advertising tool, long before we were
encouraged to run for the border the Apostle Paul used the image to make
us think about something more important than a 7 layer burrito.
It is important to note here that only Greek citizens were al¬lowed to
participate in the games. In the same way we who are Christians don’t
run the race in order to get to heaven. We are in the race because we
have been saved through faith in Jesus Christ. But as we run we must be
aware of the perils in the way.
Tonight I want us to look at two different passages that address the
race that we are in. The first of those passages is found in Galatians
5:7-12. (Read Text)
Loss of Direction
"You did run well." When Paul first came on the scene, they welcomed
him, they accepted the Word, trusted in Christ, and received the Holy
Spirit. They had a deep joy, and were willing to make any sacrifice to
accommodate Paul. But now, something had happened and Paul was their
enemy.
A literal translation of Galatians 5: 7 says: "You were running well.
Who cut in on you so that you stopped obeying the truth?"
In a race, each runner has to stay in his assigned lane, but some
runners would cut in on their competitors to try to get them off course.
This is what the Judaizers had done to the Galatian believers: they cut
in on them and forced them to change direction and go on a "spiritual
detour." God had called them to run faithfully in the lane marked
"Grace." But they had left their lane to go back to the tradition of
circumcision.
Traditionalism is the act of doing things because that is the way it has
always been done or expected. It does not suddenly overpower a church,
like the leaven, Paul mentions, after it is introduced then it grows
slowly, and before long poi¬sons the whole assembly. In most cases, the
motives that encourage legalistic tendencies are good, "We want to have
a more spiritual church" “We want to love God deeper,” but the methods
are not scriptural.
It is not wrong to have traditions and standards in a church, but we
should never think that they will make anybody spiritual, or that the
keeping of the traditions is an evidence of spirituality. The yeast
grows and before long, we become proud of our spirituality, and then
critical of every¬body else's lack of spirituality. This, of course,
only feeds the flesh and grieves the Spirit, but we go on our way
thinking we are glorifying God.
I often wonder if I am still on track. And I often wonder if New Hope is
still on track. There are so many things that we feel compelled to do,
Second Sunday Meals, Gospel Meetings, Vacation Bible School, Singing at
the nursing home, and Bible Bowl. And these are great things but I
wonder if I do them to be involved in ministry or if I do them because
traditionally I know that I am supposed to.
You see in Matthew 25: 31-46 Jesus describes the ministry that we are to
be involved in: Here He tells those welcomed into heaven, “I was hungry
and you fed me, I was thirsty and you gave me a drink, I was homeless
and you gave me a room, I was shivering and you gave me clothes, I was
sick and you stopped to visit, I was in prison and you came to me.’”
I wonder if in our business of running are we running for the right
reason, are we actively involved in ministry, or have we allowed our
traditions to get us off course?
While you ponder that I want you to turn to Hebrews 12:1-4 and lets look
at the next text:
Stay in the Running!
Those who believe that Paul was the writer of Hebrews turn to this
passage as evidence. Here he combines the themes of athletics and
citizenship. Can you see the runners laying aside their training weights
and striving to run their races successfully. Some get weary and faint,
while others en¬dure to the end and win the prize.
The one theme that runs through this chap¬ter is endurance. The Jew¬ish
believers who received this letter were getting weary and wanted to give
up; but the writer encouraged them to keep moving for¬ward in their
Christian lives, like runners on a track. He pointed out three divine
resources that encourage a Christian to keep going when the situation is
difficult.
As a freshman in High School, I joined the Cross Country and Track
teams. The first day on the track I met Coach Bunn, who was probably 5
foot tall and 5 ½ feet wide. He was not the best example of a runner, as
a matter of fact, I never saw him run, and that first year I really
doubted his coaching style.
The first week of practice, he kept yelling at the freshmen to watch how
the seniors were doing it, and then do what they did. When I think back
on that experience, I am amazed to discover that his approach was
biblical.
Look around at the winners! (1a)
The "great ... cloud of witnesses" was introduced to us in Hebrews 11.
They’re the heroes of the faith. Now I don’t believe that these men and
women now in heaven are watching us as we run the race, like people
seated in a stadium. The word "witnesses" does not mean "specta¬tors."
These people are not witnessing what we are doing; but they are bearing
witness to us that God can see us through. God bore witness to them and
they are bearing witness now to us.
One of the best ways to develop endurance and encouragement is to get to
know the godly men and women of the Old Testament who ran the race and
won.
If you are having problems with your family, read about Joseph.
If you think your job is too big for you, study the life of Moses.
If you are tempted to retaliate, see how David handled this problem.
Look at yourself! (1b)
Athletes often use weights to help them prepare and train. In High
School often we would have to run pulling a sled, or leg weights. But
when it came time to run the race it would be silly to keep the weights
on. It’s kind of like the doughnut weight that you put on your bat as
you are warming up in the batters box. You know to take the doughnut off
before you step to the plate if you ever want to hit the ball.
Too much weight strain’s your endurance. But the longer we have been a
Christian the more baggage we carry with us.
History records that the greatest Military mind of all time Alexander
the Great and his army were advancing on Persia. At one critical point
in the battle Alexander noticed that his troops were about to be
defeated. As he sat with his generals to decide what plan of action to
take next Alexander made the decision for the armies to burn their
possessions. He had noticed that the soldiers had taken so much plunder
from their previous campaigns that they had become weighted down and
were losing their effectiveness in combat.
The men complained bitterly but soon came to see the wisdom of the
order. The now lighter army quickly prevailed against the Persians and
continued their conquest of the world.
Wilbur Chapman said, “The rule of my life is this: Anything that dims my
vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my
prayer life or makes Christian word difficult, it is wrong for me, and
as a Christian I must turn from it!”
What are the "weights" that we should re¬move so that we might win the
race? Every¬thing that hinders our progress. They might even be "good
things" in the eyes of others. A winning athlete does not choose between
the good and the bad; he chooses between the better and the best.
We should also get rid of "the sin that so easily entangles". You will
notice that the inspired writer doesn’t name any specific sin. That’s
why this passage is so far reaching. You and I struggle with different
sins but the passage applies equally to you and me. It is only our faith
in Christ that en¬ables us to endure. So we must throw off anything that
hinders that faith.
Look at Jesus Christ! (2-4)
In verse 2, the writer says “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus.” It is by
looking to Him, trusting Him that we were saved. Remember in the book of
Numbers when God sends the snakes into the camp and those who are bitten
are dying. How does God deliver them?
He has Moses put a golden snake on a pole, all they have to do is look,
and they are healed. This is a foreshadowing of our salvation through
faith in Christ. Looking unto Jesus describes an attitude of faith and
not just a single act. When our Lord was here on earth, He lived by
faith. The fact that Jesus prayed is evidence that He lived by faith.
Our Lord endured far more than any of the heroes named in Hebrews 11.
That’s why He is a perfect example for us to follow. He endured the
cross! This involved shame, suffering, and even temporary rejec¬tion by
the Father. On the cross, He suffered for all the sins of all the world!
Yet He en¬dured and finished the work the Father gave Him to do. Though
the readers of Hebrews had suffered persecution, none of them had
suffered martyrdom, yet. But in Jesus' battle against sin, He shed His
own blood.
Throughout this letter, the writer empha¬sized the importance of the
future hope. We are to prone to look back and want to go back, but the
writer encourages us to follow Christ's example and look ahead by faith.
The heroes of faith named in chapter 11 lived for the future, and this
enabled them to endure. Like Peter, when we get our eyes of faith off
the Savior, we start to sink.
Two gas company service men, a senior training Supervisor and a young
trainee were out checking meters and parked their truck at the end of
the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house a
woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked
her gas meter. As they finished the meter check the older supervisor
challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race down the alley back to
the truck.
As they came running up to the truck, they realized that the lady from
the last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped
and asked her what was wrong. Gasping for breath she said, "When I see
two gas men running full speed away from my house, I figured I had
better run too.
Many of us as Christians understand that we should be running the race
but I wonder if we are a lot like this woman, we are running but we
don’t know why!
Tonight “If you are not a Christian, get in the race, because you cannot
win if you don’t enter!”
“If you’re a Christian, run with endurance and don’t give up!”
|
