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Several years ago, Shannon Faulkner became an instant celebrity as she crusaded to become the first female cadet at The Citadel, an all-male military academy.

"The Heritage of Faithfulness" Cicero United Methodist Church

July 5, 2009. Jack Keating Text: Hebrews 12: 1-3, 28-29

Several years ago, Shannon Faulkner became an instant celebrity as she crusaded to become the first female cadet at The Citadel, an all-male military academy. After a lengthy court battle, you might remember, she finally won the right to enroll. But, unfortunately, she couldn't endure the exercise program required of all cadets. So a few days later she dropped out of the academy and we've heard almost nothing of her since.

By contrast there is the professional tennis player Monica Seles. A few years ago she was stabbed when a crazed man jumped out of the stands and plunged a knife into her back. It was certainly a terrifying experience, but she would not allow that to stop her. Once her wound healed, she started a rigorous exercise program, regained all of her strength (and then some), and returned to win the British Open and come in second at the US Open.

Now like most people I like to hear stories about people who refuse to give up. Quitters aren't much of an inspiration, but those people who stay with a commitment even though the going gets tough are a great source of inspiration to us all.

Do you remember the man who came to Jesus and said, "I'll follow you wherever you go?" Jesus said, "Before you make that kind of commitment, you need to realize that foxes have holes and the birds of the air have their nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head."

In other words, if you follow me, realize there will be difficulties. There will be times when you will not know where you'll sleep, or where your next meal is coming from. There will be difficult and discouraging times. But after you realize that, and then put your hands to the plow," he said, "Don't look back".

I think when people decide to live the Christian life and then quit when the going gets tough, they can certainly become an object of ridicule to some and a source of discouragement to others. And that's the reason this scripture lesson from Hebrews 12: 1-3 is so important.

"Therefore, 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 f~ 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 passage and way we lead the Christian life is not to be compared to a wind sprint, but to a marathon. In a wind sprint you run as fast as you can for a short distance and speed is the critical factor. But in a marathon, endurance is the critical factor. Will you make it all the way to the end?

Paul said, "I've kept the faith. I've finished the course. Therefore there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness. And not only for me .... "

Finishing the race is critically important for all of us who would be followers of Jesus. And this scripture lesson gives us three words of advice to help us run the race faithfully.

WE ARE INSPIRED BY THOSE WHO HAVE GONE BEFORE

The first is to remember that we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses and that we can be inspired by those who have gone before.

I noticed that chapter 12 begins with the word, "Therefore". That connects it with the previous chapter. And in chapter 11 the writer gives a long list of people who have been found faithful.

   For instance, in verse 7 he mentions Noah. Remember Noah? He spent 120 years of his life building an ark---- 120 years! Now I must admit to you all that patience is not one of my finer virtues. And every once in a while, when something I'm concerned about seems to be moving too slowly, I'll complain, "Why is it taking so long?"

And then I can feel Noah whispering in my ear, "Kid" he says, "how long do you say you've been waiting? It took me 120 years to build the ark and it was never easy. People ridiculed me and said, 'are you sure you really heard God?' Maybe you heard someone else.' I tried to warn them of the judgment that was coming, but no one would listen. So I kept on building and when the floods came the ark became the vehicle of our salvation. You need to keep on, keeping on, too."

Next in verse 8 is Abraham. Abraham, called from his home to a place that God would lead him; Abraham, who in his old age was told that He and Sarah would conceive and bear a son; Abraham, who was told to take his precious son to the top of a mountain and offer him as a sacrifice to God. This Abraham passed every test.

So when you become discouraged, here is Abraham whispering in your ear. "Listen: he says, "If you follow God, the world will probably think you're crazy because God's ways are not their ways. But listen carefully to what God tells you, follow in His steps, and be true to God's will."

Or go on the verse 22 and the story of Joseph. Remember, Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers. In Egypt he was accused of crimes he didn't commit and thrown into prison. He was down about as low as a person can get. Yet he remained true to God. But then the tables are turned and suddenly he is very powerful, the Prime Minister of Egypt. He has control of money and grain and food and people. And yet, when he is at the top, he is still faithful to God.

So here is Joseph saying, "Look, it doesn't take much to be faithful when things are going your way.

But when you're at the bottom and everything seems to be falling apart, make sure that you're still faithful."

And the list goes on and on. There's Moses, Samson, Samuel, and David and many, many more. There is a great cloud of witnesses who gather to cheer us on. They whisper in our ear when we become discouraged and they say to us, "Don't give up! Don't lose heart. Don't quit, whatever you do."

Now when I get discouraged, I think not only of the great saints in Scripture, but also of people who have crossed my path and who have inspired me.

I think of a tireless saint who served his congregation through a time of great uncertainty following a time of pastoral misconduct. This saint stood firm in his faith and continues to this day, some 17 years later, to serve and strengthen the congregation. Because he stayed the course.

I think also of a pastor who has served for more than half a century in Christian ministry. A pastor who has served many congregations, has served the Annual Conference, and continues now, even in retirement, to visit, minister, preach, and guide those that admire and respect his leadership and ministry. And that pastor remains an inspiration to me today and as I watch the ministry still being done by this saint.

So when I think about quitting, I feel their hands on my shoulder. I hear them saying, "If we can do it, then you can do it, too."

We need to be inspired by those who have gone before us, and to realize that at the same time we're looking to others for inspiration, we are the inspiration for someone else. Someone is watching us and if we stumble and fall then they, too, will be discouraged.

BE PREPARED FOR THE STRUGGLES THAT WILL COME

The second thing the writer of Hebrews says is that we need to be prepared for the struggles that we inevitably have to face, and he begins by saying,  "... throw off everything that hinders."

This past week I looked at some wedding pictures and I remembered that I wore shoes with high heels so that I would be a taller groom all those years ago. With my powder blue tux, wide sideburns and disco shoes I made quite a dashing groom.

And while I was writing this sermon I noticed a group of joggers running past my house. They have put aside everything that hinders them because they don't want anything to keep them from reaching their goal. Then I thought, "Imagine trying to run a race wearing my tall-healed shoes. I wouldn't last long at all." That's what the writer of Hebrews is saying. Those things that might hinder us, whatever they might be, throw them off!

It might be previous relationships. Now we shouldn't give up all those relationships that are outside of Christ when we become Christians, because if we do we'll never be able to win the lost. So maintain those relationships unless they drag you down and pull you away from your walk with the Lord.

Do you remember when Jesus came to the house of Zachaeus and Zachaeus looked into the face of Christ? Some of his wealth he had gained dishonestly and he said, "I'm going to give it back fourfold because I can't look into the eyes of Jesus and keep this dishonest money at the same time."

Maybe you have some possessions that are hindering your witness for Christ or are distracting you from serving Him. Maybe you need to get rid of some habits that may, in and of themselves, not be sins, but they're so time-consuming, or distracting that you can't focus on Jesus. So you need to get rid of them, too.

Then the writer says that we also need to get rid of "the sin that so easily entangles" us. Now, I think, that may be the best word we could ever find for sin. It's so entangling.

As I read this passage I think back to those old Tarzan movies. When I was a young man I remember watching the old movies where Johnny Weismueller played Tarzan and in every Tarzan movie there was always an underwater scene where Tarzan, with his knife between "is teeth, jumped into the water and swam to rescue Jane or Boy or Cheetah or whoever was in the water. And you just knew something was going to happen.

The music would intensify and you knew at some point that something was going to reach out and grab him. It seemed like it was almost always an enormous octopus. You could just see its eye at first. And then a tentacle would suddenly reach out and wrap around his ankle. You'd think, "Tarzan, you can get away from that." Then, just as he was about to escape, here came a second tentacle. It would grab the other ankle. The there came another tentacle and another one and pretty soon he was all entangled and couldn't get loose.

And you'd think, "Oh man, this is the end of Tarzan." But thank God for the knife between his teeth. He grabs it and starts cutting off tentacles and soon an inky cloud comes out of the octopus. And Tarzan was free.

Sin is like that. Just a puff. Just a drink. Then pretty soon out comes another tentacle. Just a thought. Just a lustful look. But then comes another tentacle. Just a little lie, a slight rearrangement of the truth and out comes another tentacle and soon we're completely entangled.

So the writer says that we need to throw aside all those things that hinder us and all those things that entangle. Then the writer says, "Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."

Now I'm obviously not a marathon runner. But marathon runners tell us that there are two critical times in the race. The first one is at the beginning. When you begin to run you feel so good and the temptation is to run too fast too soon. So you expend all your energy and don't have enough left for the end of the race.

And we know Christians who have done that too, don't we? They start out with great promise but don't ever seem to finish the race.

The second critical time in a marathon is the halfway point. You suddenly realize that you still have as far to go as you've already run and you're already very tired. Runners call it "hitting the wall." You've come to the end of your endurance and you're not sure you can put one foot in front of another anymore.

And we've seen that happen in Christian life, too. You've been around for a while and you've fought the battles, but you're not sure there is enough energy left to make it to the end and the temptation is to quit.

But the writer says that we are to "run with perseverance the race that's marked out for us." Don't grow weary and don't lose heart.

FOCUS YOUR ATTENTION ON JESUS

The final word is this; we must focus our attention on Jesus. Notice what he says, "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 the 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."

Jesus was opposed. Jesus was persecuted. People made fun of him. And yet he stayed the course.

He ran the race. He paid the price. So the writer says that when we get weary and tired we are to "fix our eyes on Jesus."

I think, every Christian, every church needs to hear this because it's so easy to quit. It's so easy to say, "I don't have to do this anymore." But the writer says, "Focus on Jesus. He's the author and the finisher and the perfecter of our faith" and one day we're going to stand before Him as our judge.

Romans 3: 23 reminds us that "there is no difference, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God."

You will stand before that judge. I will stand before that judge. And we will have to give and account of everything that we have done. Now what is the judge going to say? "Guilty" or "Innocent".

I've read that if you take a tour of colonial Williamsburg, VA they will explain to you why, even to this day, we hold up our hand and swear to that we "will tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, so help me God" whenever we are called to give testimony in court.

The story goes all the way back to the medieval times. When someone was being tried for a crime and the evidence seemed overwhelmingly against him, there was one way out. He could stand up and say, "I plead the benefit of clergy."

And when he pleaded "the benefit of clergy" everyone was aghast because that was the same as an admission of guilt. But it was his last hope, his last chance. So a clergyman would come in with a selected passage of Scripture, usually from Psalm 51... the confession of David for all the sins that he had committed. The clergyman would hand it to the accused and say, "Here, read this". It was, I guess, a kind of fore-runner to the lie detector test.

The law said that if the person could read it without stammering or stuttering he would be set free, even though the evidence against him was overwhelming. But if the person stumbled or stammered, just one time, he was judged guilty. Usually a guilty person could not read that passage without stammering or stuttering. So they were found guilty. But when someone read it perfectly and was set free, they branded the palm of his hand with the sign of the cross.

You see, you could only claim the benefit of clergy one time. So whenever anyone testified in court he would have to hold up his hand so that all could see if the brand of the cross was there.

And one of these days, folks, we're all going to stand before the judge of the universe, as guilty as can be. The evidence is overwhelmingly against us. The accuser will be there to remind us of all the sins we have committed.

Our only hope is to claim the benefit of the cross. Paul said, "God forbid that I should glory, except in the cross of Jesus Christ." So the writer of Hebrews says, "Focus on Jesus because the only hope we have is our hope in Him."

So run the race with patience. Don't lose heart. Don't become discouraged. Don't quit. Keep on running the race that has been set before us.

This morning, when you come to the Table, you will be invited to come and accept Jesus and His mercy, His Love, His grace, and His sacrifice on the cross. And you will find an opportunity to begin a whole new life in Jesus. And an opportunity to commit once again to joining the heritage of faithfulness as you continue to run the race Christ sets before you.

The course awaits. Are you ready to join the great cloud of witnesses? I pray that you are and will forever be.

AMEN.