Never Give Up (24 of 29)
Series: Once and For All
Bob Ingle
Hebrews 12:1-13
Open your bibles to Hebrews 12. How many of you made one or more new year resolutions? We're about a month and a half into the new year. How many of you have already either broken or given up your new year resolutions? I think all of us would agree that it is much easier to start something than to finish anything.
Someone said: 'Great people are ordinary people who just refuse to quit.' I like that. Often, the smartest thing you can do in life is also the hardest thing to do in life, and that is just keep going when the going gets tough. One of the major themes throughout the book of Hebrews is perseverance. Perseverance is the ability and commitment to continue to love God, trust God, serve God, and obey God no matter how difficult or challenging your circumstances may be. People who persevere hang in there when they want to get out of there. Life doesn't get tough when you say you're a Christian, but when you live like one.
The reason the writer of Hebrews hits the topic of endurance and perseverance repeatedly is because he knows his audience. Remember they are struggling because the Christian life had gotten difficult for them-they were being persecuted on the outside which brought a lot of angst & confusion on the inside. Many were barely hanging on. The writer is imploring them to endure and persevere in their faith. Don't give up. The reality and durability of our faith is most clearly evident in seasons of suffering not seasons of celebration.
As we begin ch12, the author compares the Christian life to a race. In particular, to a grueling marathon. In V1, he says, 'let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.' That word 'race' here is the Greek word 'agon'. We get our word 'agony' from it. It's a word they used to refer to a race called the pentathlon. The pentathlon was a 5-event sporting match that ended essentially with a boxing ...
Series: Once and For All
Bob Ingle
Hebrews 12:1-13
Open your bibles to Hebrews 12. How many of you made one or more new year resolutions? We're about a month and a half into the new year. How many of you have already either broken or given up your new year resolutions? I think all of us would agree that it is much easier to start something than to finish anything.
Someone said: 'Great people are ordinary people who just refuse to quit.' I like that. Often, the smartest thing you can do in life is also the hardest thing to do in life, and that is just keep going when the going gets tough. One of the major themes throughout the book of Hebrews is perseverance. Perseverance is the ability and commitment to continue to love God, trust God, serve God, and obey God no matter how difficult or challenging your circumstances may be. People who persevere hang in there when they want to get out of there. Life doesn't get tough when you say you're a Christian, but when you live like one.
The reason the writer of Hebrews hits the topic of endurance and perseverance repeatedly is because he knows his audience. Remember they are struggling because the Christian life had gotten difficult for them-they were being persecuted on the outside which brought a lot of angst & confusion on the inside. Many were barely hanging on. The writer is imploring them to endure and persevere in their faith. Don't give up. The reality and durability of our faith is most clearly evident in seasons of suffering not seasons of celebration.
As we begin ch12, the author compares the Christian life to a race. In particular, to a grueling marathon. In V1, he says, 'let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.' That word 'race' here is the Greek word 'agon'. We get our word 'agony' from it. It's a word they used to refer to a race called the pentathlon. The pentathlon was a 5-event sporting match that ended essentially with a boxing ...
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