The Marathon of Faith

The one thing that is required of us, like those of the first-century Christians, is our unwavering loyalty to the Lord. Today, I want to encourage you to keep fighting the faith as we study Hebrews 12:1-3, "...Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith..."

Gospel in the Air is a podcast ministry of Cornerstone Christian Church. We are located in Maui, Hawaii, USA. Our number is (808) 463-8859. You can also visit our website at www.cornerstonemaui.org or you can send your email to danibanggo@gmail.com.

Transcript

Episode 12
The Marathon of Faith 
Hebrews 12: 1-3
© Dani Banggo 01/26/2024 

Hello everyone! From the beautiful island of Maui, I want to greet you with a warm Aloha! I invite you to listen to “Gospel in the Air,” a short devotional lesson that will inspire and encourage your daily walk with Jesus.  May you be enlightened with new insights for living as the Holy Spirit reveals His passion for humankind to be saved, that is, that no one should perish but all will come to repentance. But before we begin our devotion, may we have a word of prayer. Let us pray.

Heavenly Father, bless be your Holy name! You alone are worthy of our praise. Thank you for your daily provisions not only with the bread we eat but most especially by your living Word that nourishes our spiritual hunger and quench our spiritual thirst. Today, I come and humbly ask of your anointing for the airing of this podcast, Gospel in the Air, as your instrument to speak well of your grace and mercy so that anyone who listens to your message will be convicted and surrender their lives by faith to your Son, Jesus Christ. In His name I pray, amen.

Our devotional lesson is taken from the book of Heb.12: 1-3. I will read to you the following verses:

1 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 for us, 
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 
3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

 Our devotional lesson is entitled, “The Marathon of Faith.”

The one thing that is required of us like those of the first century Christians is no other than our unwavering loyalty to the Lord. The issue here is our faithfulness to Him not how successful we are. This is also true in many of the churches today who wrongly emphasize too much on success-oriented mentality. We do not mean to disregard success. We value its significance. However, faithfulness should be the paramount consideration of any Christian, man or woman or any congregation for that matter. Faithfulness defines the authenticity of our devotion to the Lord. God is a spirit and those that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth. When we worship God, we must worship Him not from our lips but from our hearts. He wants holy hands lifted before His throne of grace. He is the only Lord in our life and there is no other else beside Him.  He wants our faithfulness untarnished. 

Our faithfulness to him is summed up in the book of Matthew chapter 7 verses 21 through 23 saying, “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers!’ 

Note of the subject being mentioned in this text, they are very successful Christians. They are indeed successful Christians in the eyes of other people because they are, in fact, being admired and recognized for their good deeds. They prophesy in the name of the Lord. In other words, they regularly go to church and never miss out on any Sunday for that matter. They sing, they praise, and they worship together with the community of faith. Others are gifted too at driving out demons and they perform many miracles. In other words, these are Christians we usually look up to because of their successful ministries. As a result, many have come to faith in the Lord. How great to see and hear such wonderful testimonies. And we praise the Lord for that. But is this only what the Lord wants - only a successful ministry, a successful Christian or successful Christian businessman, a successful church for its beautiful building and great amenities, a successful choir for having men and women who sing beautifully, a successful cell groups for catering the needs of their members, successful church leaders who think big like CEOs. The list goes on as far as success-oriented mentality is concerned. And we do appreciate them and admire them for that; and how we wish that every Christian, every church for that matter have that same concern, to be successful. However, one should be very cautious lest the temptation is so great because as we have witnessed and heard many including successful Christians and known televangelist and preachers that have fallen from grace. 

One should never equate success with faithfulness. These are two different words having two different meanings. And this is the context of the scripture we just read a while. The response of Jesus was very chilling and frightening and should serve as a warning to every professing Christian not to take His words for granted when he said, “I never knew you. Away from me, you evil doers! Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.” And what is the will of our heavenly Father? John chapter 6 verse 40 says, “For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son (meaning Jesus Christ) and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.” Now these same people who claim to be Christians will argue with him by saying, Indeed Lord we believe in you and have in fact never missed out going to church every Sunday; we shared in the communion and the breaking of bread; we gave our tithes and offerings regularly, not only that we were perfect in our attendance for our weekly Bible Study; we also served as leaders in different committees; we were actively involved in all the planning and in all the activities of the church; we even tried once or thrice invited friends to come and join our fellowship; we preached your name and in your name we did wonderful things. In your name many people have come to faith in you. 

But the Lord is dismayed and very disappointed with them and in response he reminds them of his words through the writing of the Apostle Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4: 3-6, saying, “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified (holy): that you should avoid sexual immorality; that each of you should learn to live with his own wife, or learn to acquire a wife in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men of such sin.” Or in the words of Paul in 1 Corinthians 6: 9, “They will not inherit the kingdom of God.” And the Lord goes further by saying, “Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them” (Matthew 7: 19, 20). But the good news is this despite all the warnings and the horrifying judgment there is still hope and a glorious expectation awaiting for those that will repent and turn from their wicked ways. In First John chapter 2, verse 17, says, “The man who does the will of God lives forever.” 

In short, the writer of the Hebrew Christians calls on the new converts not to be entangled again with the strict adherents of the Old Testament ordinances and regulations of temple worship, ceremonies, and many rituals. Their present suffering and persecution have nothing to do with their newfound faith in the Lord. Instead, they are encouraged to stay strong in their faith by fixing their eyes unto Jesus.  A life in Christ is not an outward performance; or simply observing set of rules during worship or for a certain date. What matters most is faith in Jesus Christ and a heart of undivided loyalty, which is the real and genuine relationship with the Lord. Jesus said that the Father is looking for true worshipers who worship him in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23). In the gospel of Mark, the apostle resoundingly echoed what the prophet Isaiah had warned about the counterfeit worshipers saying, “Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you hypocrites…These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is made up only of rules taught by men” (Mk. 7:6, 7). 

It is not a guarantee that once saved always saved if one will not continue to hold on to his faith in Jesus Christ. The Bible is very explicit in its warning in singling out every one of us who profess to be Christian without exception when it said in 2 Peter chapter 3, verse 17, “be on guard so that you may not be carried away by error of lawless men and fall from your secure position.” In other words, there is still a possibility that our names may be blotted out in the book of life. Psalms 69: 28 says, “Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,and not be written with the righteous.” This is echoed by Matthew in chapter 24, verse 13 saying, “He who stands firm to the end will be saved.”

Again, the writer of the Hebrew Christians reminded them that their religion (Judaism) cannot save them. Salvation can only be found in Jesus Christ.  Their present suffering and persecution should not be a reason for them to renounce their faith in Jesus Christ and to return to the old covenant by observing strictly the Law of Moses, which cannot offer any salvation at all. They have been told that the Old Testament has been repealed and replaced by the New Covenant, which was sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ. Paul affirmed this truth in his letter to the Christians in Philippi saying, “… I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith.” (Phil. 2:9)

In other words, the writer of the book of Hebrews is telling the early Christians that their eternal hope is in the Lord and that should be their inspiration to be steadfast in their faith.  He encouraged them not to give up but to continue with the race, the marathon of faith, until they reached the finish line and received their eternal reward which is the crown of life (cf. Jas. 1:12).

Start the race.
The word race is taken from the Greek word agon (G), where we derive the English word for “agony,” which simply means anxiety, conflict, or struggle.[1] The writer of the Hebrews uses this term as an analogy to illustrate a point regarding our understanding of what real faith in Jesus Christ is all about. This kind of race involves a long-distance competition, a marathon, which requires a spirit of determination because of the long and agonizing distance one must endure and suffer. It needs proper training and rigorous preparation. One must be self-willed, well disciplined, and determined. These are the kinds of Christians the Lord expects in the race. They are courageous and not easily disappointed but lead the way for others to follow. They reach out to others and extend a helping hand, especially to those who are spiritually weak.

If you have been a Christian for a long time, but you have not started yet running the race then it is high time for you to start today and make a difference. You must put your life in order no matter the cost you have to pay. You need to unload unnecessary burdens you are carrying right now. No wonder you cannot run the race. You are too heavy. You need to trim it down a little bit. Once you unload them it will be lighter for you to run. Consider Satan before he sinned. His name was Lucifer, meaning “morning star” or “bearer of light. It was a beautiful name incomparable to all the angels in heaven. The Bible says that he was the model of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty (Eze.  12-13). But selfish ambition consumed his lust for power and pride made him to rebel against God. He wanted to become like the Most High God (Isa. 14:14). He became Satan, an enemy of God. Knowing that his days are almost over he does everything possible to deceive people away from God especially among Christians. Jesus calls his name as the father of lies: “…He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies” (Jn.8:44). Therefore, always be on the alert and do not allow him to take advantage of your situation, especially in times of discouragement or disappointment. Join the race with faithful Christians who are determined to stay on the course until they reach the finish line. The prophet Amos resoundingly warns the nation of Israel for their complacency saying, “Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mt. Samaria” (Amos 6:1). In other words, the race of faith is a joint marathon among believers. We pull others stand at their feet once they stumble. We are a community of faith, and we belong together. Each one of us is a part of it - if one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it (1 Cor. 12:26, 27) 

This is the kind of life we have in common in the body of our Lord. No one should think highly of him/herself but rather serve one another in love (Gal. 5:13).  We can take Moses as our example here. He is a model of great faith and humility and known as the meekest man on earth. Against all odds, he stood his ground well-founded and well-settled and was not afraid or threatened by the grumbling crowds because he understood well his calling from God. He did not allow himself to be controlled by pride or to react against all his detractors, but instead committed his faith unto God. By faith he waited upon the Lord. He knew too well that God was in control. The God who spoke to him at the burning bush was the same God who showed to him miracles upon miracles. That was enough for him to put his faith in God whom he trusted and believed. 

Each one of us has been gifted by the Holy Spirit for the common good of the church. We should serve one another with humility and dignity and find ways of reaching out to others.  By throwing off loads that are too heavy and burdensome to carry we can run the race much easier and lighter and even faster. Together we will be motivated to grow and thrive as a community of faith. Together we will be encouraged to continue loving each other and our bond stronger. Together we can face any challenge and move forward with the pace of time. This is the kind of race we are running together. The writer of the Hebrews continues by saying, “But my righteous one will live by faith… We are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved” (Heb. 10:38, 39). This is the assurance to those who will continue to run the race of faith. They can make it and finish it victoriously because they have the Lord with them who will guide and show them the way to eternal life. 

Finish the race. 
The Bible says: “But many who are first will be last, and the last first” (Mat. 19:30). Indeed, there are those who start very fast at the starting line as we watched in many racing competitions, especially in the Olympics and we thought they would make it first. Unluckily they got tired and finished last; some never made at all. They failed miserably. Our race is a marathon thus we expect exhaustion and weariness along the way and in fact we even expect obstacles. But through it all it is our aim to finish the race and not to give up. 

We are encouraged to run with perseverance and not to give up because of the promise of a reward. And how can we win the race if we don’t join in the race? The early Christians were excited at the start of their faith because of the signs and wonders they saw and experienced (Heb.2: 4) but due to heavy persecutions and their incessant sufferings they became discouraged and wore down. They wanted to give up and go back to their old religion, the way of Judaism. In other words, they were not yet matured in their faith in dealing with their present situation. They eventually lost their enthusiasm and became discouraged.  God is no longer pleased with their doubtful attitude. Unbelief is a great sin (Heb. 3:12). Our motivation is seeking the will and purpose of God in our lives. We can endure and overcome obstacles by the power of the Holy Spirit and surely, we can make it unto the end. Our race of faith is against “principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12). And surely if we commit upon the Lord our load then we can finish the race victoriously.

Are you suffering? Are you hurting? Are you threatened with a lingering illness?  Problems come one after the other and it is as if there is no end to them. You almost want to give up and say quit. Be encouraged and be motivated. Don’t be sidetracked by the cares of life but continue to run the race. 

Jesus is the author of our faith. In other words, he is the bedrock and foundation of our faith. He is not only the author but also the finisher. He completed our salvation, and nothing is left to be done. Thus, the apostle Paul can rightly say, “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” (Gal. 2:20). 

I want to introduce to you Jesus Christ, God’s Son. He is the only hope you have right now to overcome the world. Would you be willing to accept his offer of grace? The Lord is knocking at the door of your heart to commune with you. Why don’t you welcome Him? This is now your moment to surrender your life to Him by faith. Make Jesus as your Lord and Savior.  

It is my prayer that you have been blessed today. Listen to this podcast, Gospel in the Air, and be encouraged in your daily walk with Jesus. Gospel in the Air is a podcast ministry of Cornerstone Christian Church. We are located in Maui, Hawaii, USA. Our number is (808) 463-8859. You can also visit our website at www.cornerstonemaui.org or you can send your email to danibanggo@gmail.com. This is your host, Brother Dani Marantan Banggo saying, keep punching the good fight of faith. Mahalo!

[1] James Strong, The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Thomas Nelson Publishers: Nashville, TN, 1996), Greek Appendix, 2. No. 73, 74.