Hebrews 12:1-2
"1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God."
Hitting the wall - a point late in a long race when a runner experiences a sudden and overwhelming increase in fatigue forcing the runner to deal with the temptation to stop.
The runner hasn't necessarily lost their destination. The finish line is still exactly where it was when they began running. What has changed is how difficult the journey has become.
We run honestly
An honest run is where we bring God our whole life.
1) We can run honestly because that's how Jesus ran.
2) We run honestly to Jesus by giving Jesus our whole life
Jeremiah kept bringing Jeremiah to God
Matthew 5:45
"He makes his sun rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust."
Jeremiah 15:15,17
"15 O God, You know, remember me and visit me, and take vengeance for me on my persecutors. In your enduring patience, do not take me away. Know that for your sake I have suffered rebuke…. 17 I did not sit in the assembly of the mockers, nor did I rejoice; I sat alone because of your hand…"
Genesis 2:25
"They were naked and not ashamed."
Genesis 3:7-8
"They knew they were naked…they made coverings… and they hid themselves from the presence of God."
When Jeremiah brought his whole self to God, God brought his whole self to Jeremiah.
Jeremiah 15:20
"I will make you to this people a fortified bronze wall; they will fight against you. But I am with you to save you and deliver you."
Jeremiah 20:1
"Pashhur the son of Immer, the priest who was also chief governor in the house of the LORD, heard that J prophesized these things."
Magor-Missabib - terror on every side
Jeremiah 20:10
"For I heard many mocking, fear on every side!"
He runs honestly. Jeremiah keeps bringing Jeremiah to God.
Jeremiah brings his:
- Embarrassment
Jeremiah 20:7
"I am in derision daily. Everyone mocks me"
- Quit
Jeremiah 20:9
"I will not make mention of Him, nor speak anymore in this name."
- Resolve
Jeremiah 20:9
"I could not hold it in"
- Desire
Jeremiah 20:12
"Let me see your vengeance on them."
Jeremiah 20:14,18
"14 Cursed be the day I was born! ... 18 Why did I come forth from the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?"
David Guzik Jeremiah thought his problems could be over if he was never born. The problem was God called him before he was born or even conceived.
Bringing his whole life to God gave Jeremiah access to the truth of his whole life with God.
Jeremiah 1:5
"Before I formed you…I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart. I called you to be a prophet to the nations,"
1 Corinthians 9:24
"Run in such a way as to get the prize."
How to run to get the prize:
- with endurance (don't stop at the wall) by
- looking to Jesus (honest running).
We can run with endurance by looking to Jesus:
1) We can run honestly because that's how Jesus ran.
2) We run honestly to Jesus by giving Jesus our whole life
Jeremiah was willing to let God have access to his life which gave Jeremiah access to the life of Christ.
None of us ever go through something that Christ himself did not willingly face and go through to completion.
We were made to run. That doesn't mean our run won't come with hurdles and weights and walls. But we can have hope that those hurdles don't have to stop our run. We can run honestly! We can run because the same power that conquered the cross and the grave lives in us and we therefore are not alone in our race.
Christ is in you, the hope of glory! Run!!
Hebrews 12:1-2
"1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God."