God knows us better than we know ourselves. There are some people who want to put on a brave front. Some people are renegades and they think they can stand alone. Yet, God knows none of us can truly stand alone, nor does God want us to stand alone. God wants us to know Him and trust in Him.
Hebrews chapter 11 gave us a number of people by name, that trusted in God. None of them stood alone. They all trusted in God. They followed God and they believed in His promise of a Messiah. They looked beyond their local circumstances and they looked into the future through the Word of God. Unlike the psychics who look into the crystal ball, or their tea leaves, those in chapter 11 looked to the truth. They looked to the true God.
The first century Christians had a “great cloud of witnesses.” It is interesting that they are referred to as a “cloud”. These witnesses were not on earth at that time, but they were real. They had been delivered from this earth and were safe in their resting place. They showed that it is possible to trust God. He is always true to us, and we can serve Him faithfully. They had received their reward. They were awaiting the resurrection of their bodies, but their souls were safe.
We, those who are saved in that first century and every century since, need to lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us. We are frail. We need to be reminded of the need to run the race set before us by faith. We are easily side-tracked. Thus we, those who are saved, need to take stock of our lives daily. We need to look at what sin there is that is interfering with our run. There are weights that need to be removed. A runner cannot carry a bunch of baggage. He needs to be stripped down to the absolute necessities. In a race there are people posted along the way to give water. The runner cannot carry his own water. He needs his energy for the race.
Jesus Christ is the Living Water. We need Him to satisfy our thirst. We need God’s people to help us along the way. We need to guard against the lust of the flesh which will hinder us from following the truth. Born again Christians need other born again Christians to pray for them and encourage them. We need the true local church to help us to serve God faithfully.
We need to run with patience. We cannot give up because the road may be hard. We need to remain faithful to Him that is faithful. As noted, there is a race set before every true child of God. Peter wanted to know what Jesus had in store for John. Jesus told him not to concern himself with John’s calling but to run the race set before him. Peter and John worked together in the book of Acts. Peter’s life ended differently than John’s. Both needed to run their race faithfully. They needed each other and they did support one another. From what we understand, both of them served God faithfully. Both of them are resting now.
As saints, we need to look to our Saviour — the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Author and Finisher of our faith. We need fellow saints to encourage us to keep looking in the right place. We have been reminded throughout this book that Jesus is better. He truly is the Author of our faith. He is the only Saviour. He is the Lord of every true child of God. He is the only One in Whom we can and must trust. He will never fail us. He is also the Finisher of our faith. There is nothing that we can add to our faith. True faith is found only in Jesus Christ. He suffered and died on the cross of Calvary. He shed His blood on that cross. He was taken off that cross dead and laid in a tomb. He did not faint on that cross as the Seventh Day Adventists want us to believe. He died on that cross. He was taken off that cross and laid in a tomb. His body lay in that tomb for three days and three nights. After that, He arose, proving His deity once again. He paid the penalty for our sin. He showed Himself alive and He is seated on the right hand of His Father in glory today.
He endured the cross because He knew that was our only hope. That was God’s plan from eternity past. God began to reveal that plan to man in Genesis 3:15. However, God did not come up with that plan in Genesis 3:15. It was always His plan. Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Godhead was involved in the plan and He willingly left Heaven’s glory to come as a servant obedient unto death on the cross.
It was a shameful thing to die on a cross. That was the penalty for the worst of criminals. Jesus Christ was no criminal. He never sinned. The Jews had no legitimate accusation against Him. Even wicked Pilate knew that. He went to the cross and He laid down His life on that cross because He was the only One Who could pay the penalty that we deserve. He knew beforehand what He would face at the hands of cruel humanity. His own people despised Him. They cried out “crucify Him, crucify Him.” They led Him to the “place of the skull”, outside the city of Jerusalem. The Jews mocked Him and the Roman soldiers joined in that mockery. Jesus Christ knew all that and yet He was willing to endure the cross. Jesus could look beyond that cross. He knew what was beyond that cross. He knew that Job and Abraham and Sarah and Noah and David and many others were counting on Him going to that cross for them. He knew that they would be set free to enter Heaven because He was willing to shed His blood and die on that cross. He also knew that every New Testament saint would be dependent on the same sacrifice. He welcomes every saint into heaven.
There are people who like to keep track of how many people they “think” they have “led to Christ”. That is really a futile venture. We cannot look into the heart of others. We do not even fully know our own hearts. We should be looking unto Jesus, rather than trying to make a name for ourselves.
Jesus Christ finished His Work. He is seated on the right hand of the throne of God. He is interceding for the saints. We, those who are saved, can come boldly unto that throne of grace because Jesus Christ made the way possible for us to come there. We can find grace to help in time of need.
We have been granted a great privilege to run that race that is set before us. We know that we will never be called upon to do what Jesus did. We know there are other saints who faced bigger challenges than we will face. They remained faithful because they had their faith in the right place. We need to be sure we have our faith in the right place as well.
Pastor Bartel