THE GOODNESS OF GOD: “OUR ENCOURAGEMENT & HIS LOVE”
THESIS: Give Your Best
TEXT: Hebrews 12:1-11
OPEN: (Memorable Summer Olympiad moments)
Memorable Summer Olympiad Moments
The Summer Olympics are in London, England this year. What is your favorite Summer
Olympics moment? Perhaps it’s 1996 gymnast Kerri Strug sticking her landing on one
leg due to a severe ankle injury giving the American women their only gymnastics team
gold…How about 2000 when Wyoming’s Rulon Gardner stunned the world by beating
the greatest Greco-Roman wrestler of all-time—a Russian…Maybe it’s swimmer
Michael Phelps capturing a record 8 gold medals in 2008…There’s Romanian gymnast
Nadia Comaneci’s perfect 10s and American boxer Sugar Ray Leonard for gold in the
1976 Montreal Olympics and 1992 Dream Team basketball in Barcelona with
Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson & Larry Bird in 1992. The greatest Olympic moment of
all-time for me is one that went from heart-wrenching to heart-warming. Stay tuned—
video footage coming at the conclusion of this message.
What makes these Olympic moments so memorable is not only the gold medal performances, but
persevering obstacles to attain a nearly life-long goal of being the best in the world. Persevering
obstacles—“no pain, no gain”—is a part of their rewarding regimen.
As we live for the reward of Heaven—how should we regard hardship as Christians? Is it a sign God’s an
“absentee Heavenly Father” or is it evidence of His helping hand? In Hebrews 12:1-11 let’s discover how
the Lord encourages us to give our best for Him—especially in trying times.
1.
GIVE YOUR BEST FOR GOD BECAUSE HEAVEN IS THE ETERNAL REWARD.
A. Hebrews 12:1 “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.”
1. Give your best for God by throwing off everything that hinders you from it.
a. Historical Insight #1:
#1 In Greco-Roman times, athletes would prepare for action by
losing excess body weight and unnecessary clothing (Linguistic Key Greek NT, p. 713).
1. Colossians 3:5-6 “Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature:
sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because
of these, the wrath of God is coming.”
2. Give your best for God by persevering in His word and ways—“the race marked out for us.”
a. Perseverance (Greek: hypomone) means endurance, patience, or an abiding under trials.
1. Hebrews 10:35-36 “So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly
rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you
will receive what He has promised.”
a. What I said earlier bears repeating: What makes some Olympic moments
memorable is not only the performances, but persevering obstacles to attain a
nearly life-long goal. Persevering is a part of their rewarding regimen and ours.
1. James 1:2-4 “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of
many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops
perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work, so that you may be mature
and complete, not lacking anything.”
a. Historical Insight #2
#2: Athletes would subject themselves to
supervision. A passage from an author of that day (Epictetus): “You
must then live by rule, refrain from delicacies; oblige yourself to
constant exercises; in a word, you must be as submissive to all the
directions of your master as to those of a physician.”
b. God is our Master. He uses hardship as “training equipment” in exercising our
“perseverance muscles” to develop strong character so we may look like Him.
1. Hebrews 12:6-7, 10 “The Lord disciplines those He loves—endure
hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons…(He) disciplines us for
our good, that we may share in His holiness.”
a. You can probably tell of a time when hardship hurt, but you now value
what that “discipline” or experience does for you today. Right?
2. Hebrews 12:2-3 “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.”
a. Perfecter (teleiotes) means finisher or one who brings to the goal.
1. Jesus is a finisher. As followers, let’s be finishers of the faith, too.
CONCLUSION: Our Heavenly Father is going to help us be a finisher of the faith—if we want to. The
Apostle Paul experienced persecution and other problems of epic proportions. It would be tempting to give
up and go away from God. Yet, he was a finisher of the faith. He wants you to know you can, too:
2 Timothy 4:7-8 “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there
is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that
day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for His appearing.”
Illustration: Years of sacrifice and strict training are a part of every Olympic competitor’s quest for the
gold—whether they win it or not. Giving one’s best and finishing is paramount, but obstacles make it
difficult: (1992 Olympics—England’s Derek Redmond: youtube.com/watch?v=rCAwXb9n7EY&feature=fvwrel).
Hardships come our way in the race for eternal life. Is it evidence of an “absentee Heavenly Father” or of
One whose arm’s around us through it all—making sure we finish?
1 Thessalonians 5:24 (CEV) “May your spirit, soul, and body be kept (blameless) until our Lord Jesus
Christ returns. The One who chose you can be trusted, and He will do this.”
CLOSE: Give your best to God because of His encouragement and love to you.