Focus on the Finish

Introduction

It was Mexico City, 1968. John Steven Akhwari of Tanzania had started the Olympic marathon with all the other runners hours before, but he finished it alone. When he finally arrived at the stadium there were only a few spectators remaining in the stands. The winner of the marathon had crossed the finish line over an hour earlier. It was getting dark; his right leg was bandaged and heavily bleeding. He was obviously in great pain, but he crossed the finish line suffering from fatigue, leg cramps, dehydration and disorientation. A reporter asked him why he didn't just quit. He thought for a moment and said, "My country did not send me here to start the race; my country sent me here to finish it."

If you are a Christian, you are in a race. This passage in Hebrews 12 refers to running a race. The word for race is the Greek word agon from which we get the English word agony. The Christian life calls for the discipline of an athlete, the endurance of a marathon runner, and the determination of a champion. This message is about a race--your race. There are two things you need to understand right up front about the race we are going to talk about today. First of all, your race is a personal race. The author of Hebrews says, "Let us run the race that is set before us." God has given you a race to run and God has given me a race to run. You cannot run my race and I cannot run your race. But we are to each run our own race. But it is also a permanent race. Once you get onto this track you're in it for life. Every Christian will finish his race. That is, every Christian will go to heaven, but not every Christian will win his race. That's why Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it." Now the Lord is not just looking for runners in this race, He is looking for winners. Every day He wants you to strap on your running shoes; put on your running clothes; toe the mark and run your race to win. We learn in this passage of scripture exactly how to do it.

I. Lay Beside Whatever Weighs You Down

"Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight..." (Heb. 12:1a).

Now the picture here is that of a coliseum where the great races were run back in Bible days. There is a great crowd in the stands. They're called "a cloud of witnesses." Now the word "witnesses" does not mean "spectators" as though these are people watching us from heaven. The word witness literally means "someone who bears witness to a truth." Now who are these witnesses that the author is talking about? Well he is talking about those runners who have already crossed the finish line and are now in heaven waiting for us. Specifically he is referring to all of those great heroes of the faith that he just talked about in chapter 11; our spiritual forefathers, who have run the same race that we are running now.

These witnesses are encouragers to us who come along after them. They encourage us because they ran their race and they won their race, and if they could do it we could do it. You need to understand that every one of those heroes in the bible that you read about in the Old Testament were men and women just like you and me.

Did you know that some of the greatest encouragement for living the Christian life is found in the Old Testament? It is found in the lives of the saints who have gone before us. It is a tragedy that so many Christians neglect the Old Testament in their bible study. Because some of the greatest lessons of the Christian life, and some of the most inspiring stories in the entire world, and some of the greatest encouragement you will ever find, is found in the Old Testament. As a matter of fact, do you even know why the Old Testament was written? The bible says in Romans 15:4, "For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of         the scriptures might have hope."

These people we read about in the Old Testament were meant to give us encouragement and to be our examples. For example: you may be thinking of dropping out of the race; you may be thinking about quitting altogether. Maybe you have lost your family, or your health, or your job. Well, job stands up and says, "I've been there. I know what it is to lose everything. But God is faithful-hang in the battle. "Perhaps you are saying, "I'm thinking about quitting because life hasn't been fair to me. I've been treated so unjustly." Well, Joseph stands up and says, "I know what it's like to be treated unfairly. I know what it's like when life deals you a bad hand. I was thrown in prison for something I didn't even do; left abandoned in a pit by my brothers. But I learned that god is good even when life is not-hang in there."

You may be saying, "I'm so discouraged. I feel like quitting. I'm facing the biggest problem in my life and I just don't believe I can overcome it." Well David says, "I have been there. I faced the biggest giant who ever lived, and by the power of God I knocked his head off-hang in there."

Yes, we are to be encouraged by those who have gone before us, but they teach us some things about how to run the race. First of all, we must "Lay aside every weight..." (12:1b) I was interested to find in my study that in the days of the early Olympics, the marathon runners ran practically naked because they did not want anything to hinder their running in any way. They wanted to be able to run their best and their fastest, and so basically they stripped down to nothing. That's why they call the winner "the streak."

If you are going to run to win, you must lay aside every weight. Nobody runs a race in an overcoat with a suitcase in both hands. When you run a race you get as light as you can. If you're going to be a winner in the race you are running, you've got to literally "lighten up."

I heard about a man that was trying to lose weight, and he went to a drug store and was weighing himself. He turned to a buddy of his and said, "I'm so discouraged. I started this diet the other day, but the scale says I am heavier than when I started." He said, "Here, John, hold my jacket." He weighed again and said, "I don't understand it. It still says I'm heavier." He said, "Here, John, hold my shoes." He weighed again and said, "I can't believe it, I'm still heavier than when I got started." Finally, he reached in his pocket and said, "Here, John, hold my Twinkies." Well, if you are going to win you have got to lay aside every weight. Now a weight is anything that keeps you from becoming everything that god would have you to be. A weight can be something that, in and of itself, is harmless and a good thing. But it can become a bad thing if it keeps you from the best thing.

For example: some people like to fish. I heard a man say one time: "The reason 2/3 of the earth is water, and 1/3 is land is because the Lord expects us to fish about 2/3 of the time." Now there is nothing wrong with fishing, but if fishing keeps you from church, if fishing keeps you from spending time with your family, if fishing keeps you from doing what God wants you to do, and being what God wants you to be, it's a weight.

If you're a Christian you've got a very unique problem. Your problem is not generally choosing between good and bad; we all know how to do that. Our problem is choosing between what is good and what is best. You see, there are many things that are good things, but they are not necessarily the best things, and good things become bad things when they keep you from the best things.

For example, take television. There is nothing wrong, in and of itself, with television. But there are so many people who get up in the morning and watch TV all day until their brains are as small as peas and their eyes are as big as coconuts, and never crack open their bible; never read anything that is edifying. What could have been a good thing becomes a bad thing. A few years ago the Christian medical society said: "The primary danger of television lies not so much in the behavior it produces as in the behavior it prevents."

Let me help you at this point determine whether or not something in your life is a weight that you need to lay beside you so that you can run in such a way that you win. I'm going to give you four questions to ask yourself about anything or any activity you might be involved in. Your answers will tell you whether or not something is a weight.

Does it build me up spiritually? Is what I'm doing, what I'm watching, what I'm listening to increasing and enhancing my spiritual walk with the Lord; bringing me closer to God or further away?

Does it bring me under its power? It could be excess food. It could be alcohol or tobacco or television.

Does it burden my conscience? If whatever you're doing, for whatever the reason, causes you to have guilt and you feel like you cannot do it and honor the Lord, then you should lay it beside you.

Could it block someone from Jesus? Simply put, is this activity possibly a stumbling block to someone else who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ.

That's the "weight test" and if it's weighing you down, you must lay it beside you.

II. Leave Behind Whatever Tires You Out

We are also to "lay aside the sin which so easily ensnares us..." (12:1c)

Now it is one thing to be slowed down, but it is disastrous to be either tripped up or tired out. It's one thing to run with suitcases under each arm, but imagine running with chains around your ankles.

That is exactly what sin does to you. First, sin trips you up. It breaks my heart to know of some wonderful men who had wonderful marriages and wonderful ministries who have lost either, or both, because they let sin trip them up.

The word for "ensnare" is a word that refers to a vine that wraps itself around a tree. You see that is exactly what sin will do. It will trip you and make you fall flat on your face.

Years ago I remember the great runner, Mary Deckers. She was poised to win her first gold medal ever; and is probably the greatest female runner never to win a gold medal. But just as she was about to pass the runner in front of her and take the lead and win the gold, she stepped on her heel and tripped and was forced out of the race. I will never forget what Mary Decker said at the news conference. She said, "I was right where I wanted to be in the race until I tripped."

You see Satan has a threefold strategy for you as you run your race. First, he will try to tempt you to quit running or get off the track. But if you fall for his temptation, then he will trip you and make you fall flat on your face. If you stay in that position he will trap you where you won't get up and run anymore.

I remember a pastor in another state. He was one of the up-and-coming young pastors in our convention. He was pastoring a fast growing church. One day a woman came to him for counseling, and the counseling turned into e-mail, and the e-mail turned into phone calls, and the phone calls turned into lunch engagements, and the lunch engagements turned into full blown adultery. He left his wife and two beautiful children. She left her husband and they got married. Today he works for a computer company. Now thank God they both have repented, they both have gotten right with God, and they're both back running the race. But they will always run with a limp because they tripped.

But there is something else to see about this sin here. This sin does not refer just to wickedness, it refers to weariness. That's why the author of Hebrews goes on to say in verse 3: "For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls." You see the greatest enemy to a marathon runner is fatigue. Sin will not only trip you up, it will tire you out. It will sap your spiritual strength and your spiritual energy. That's why I want to give you a piece of advice. When you see sin crawling across your racetrack, don't step on it, jump over it, run around it, but get away from it. Never pity sin, never laugh at sin, and never become familiar with sin. You treat sin like sin would treat you. Sin will have no mercy on you; you have no mercy on sin.

Leave behind whatever tires you out.

III. Look Beyond to the One Who Picks You Up

The author goes on to tell us, "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us." (12:1b)

Now the word endurance literally means determination. You should run your race with determination. You should run your race with endurance. The Christian life is not a 100 yard dash; it is a marathon.

Dr. Kenneth Cooper, the famous founder of the Cooper Clinic, once said: "Passive fitness, the mere absence of any illness is a losing battle. Without activity, the body begins to deteriorate and appears to become more vulnerable to certain chronic illnesses and diseases. Muscular fitness is of some value but it, too, is limited. It concentrates on only one system in the body; one of the least important ones, and has limited beneficial effect on the essential organs or overall health. It is like putting a lovely new coat of paint on an automobile that really needs a new engine overall. Endurance fitness should be your goal. It will ensure all the benefits of the training effect improving not just your muscles, but your lungs, your heart, and your blood vessels. It is the foundation on which all forms of fitness should be built." 1

I have said to you before, it's not how you start your race it's how you finish it that counts. Jesus is not timing you with a stopwatch; He is measuring you with a yardstick. It's really not how fast you run, it's how far you run that really counts with the Lord. You must run with determination.

But the secret to winning the race is to focus on the finish. That's why we continue to read, "Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2) In any race the most important thing is to keep your eyes fixed on the goal, focused on the finish. The word "looking unto" in the Greek language is a word that literally means "to look away from." That is, you are to take your eyes off of everything else except the goal.

Years ago I saw a race between Roger Bannister, the man who first ran a sub-four-minute mile, and an Australian. They were running a challenge race. The Australian was leading the entire race. They were coming up on the last 100 yards of the race, and just as Roger Bannister made his move to go around the Australian, the Australian took his eyes off the finish line and looked over his left shoulder to see where Bannister was. As he was looking over his left shoulder, Bannister passed him on his right side and beat him in the race. The Australian only made one mistake; he took his eyes off of the goal.

You see, you must not only run your race with determination, you must run it with concentration. You've got to fix your focus on the finish. You've got to put on spiritual blinders. You've got to take your eyes off of others, take your eyes off yourself, and keep your eyes on Jesus. Corrie Ten Boom, the famous Christian once said:

"Look within and be depressed; Look without and be distressed; Look at Jesus and be at rest."

We are to look at Jesus because He is "the author and finisher of our faith."

What does that mean? He is the author of our faith. He is the one that puts us into the race. But He is also the finisher of our faith, and He will be waiting on us at the end. That's exactly what the bible means when it says in Philippians 1:6, "He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ."

Can I tell you what is so exciting about this race? When you come to the finish you don't find a tape, you find Jesus. He is watching you and He is waiting for you.

Have you ever thought about the fact that not every race allows the competitors to see the finish line? If you've ever watched sculling in the Olympics you've seen those long sleek beautiful shells and those men who are synchronizing their rowing as they pull those long oars through the water propelling that boat in the race.

Now think about it. Those men have their backs to the finish line. So how do they finish so strong? How do they pace themselves? How do they know when they've hit the tape? Well, the answer is, they focus on the coxswain. He's the guy with the megaphone sitting at the end of the boat facing the crew. He is the only one who knows where the finish line is. So the men at the oars look to him, listen to him, obey his commands and count on him to coach them to the finish. They trust him completely and totally to get them across the finish line in the strongest possible way.

You see, the way you win the race is not by focusing on the finish line, because we don't know where the finish line is. The way you run and the way you win is by focusing on Jesus.

Salvation is not a reward you get at the end of the race. Salvation is the gift that puts you into the race.  I encourage you today, if you're not in the race, give your life to Jesus. He's got the shoes and the uniform waiting for you. If you are in race, run it for the glory of God, keeping your eyes on Jesus who will make you a winner.

1. Steve Farrar, Point Man, p. 136.