The Cloud of Witnesses: Running the Race

It is good to be with you here this week. We are wrapping up our summer teaching series, so if you have your Bibles, please turn to Hebrews chapter 12. If you are new to the Bible, remember the table of contents is your friend. We are going to cover verses one through three as we bring this series to a close.

For those who may be new to The Well, my name is Brad, and I have the privilege of handling the Word of God with us this week. We are doing some video teaching as well, and I am so thankful that technology allows the Word of God to be in multiple places at once. It is either use technology or find a way to clone a communicator!

We have been in an eight-week series because here at The Well, we are a bit like a teaching hospital. We raise up young pastors to come alongside those with more experience, giving them repetitions to exercise their gifting. Over this series, we have had thirteen different communicators in two different languages covering seven different heroes of the faith from Hebrews 11. I hope you have found that the Word of God is what is important, not who is teaching. We are just monkeys up here doing our thing, but the real hero is Jesus.

A Legacy of Faith

In this series, we have covered seven lowercase “h” heroes. I call them that because they are not necessarily characters where I would say, “Whatever they did, do that.” Some of them were pretty shady! But they modeled a life of faith. We looked at Noah, a faith that stands out; Abraham, a faith that matures; Joseph, a faith in God’s plan despite difficulty; Moses, a faith in life’s desert; Rahab, a faith that sets you free from your past; Gideon, a faith in the midst of doubt; and David, a faith to believe God for the impossible.

When we talk about biblical faith, we are talking about believing to the extent of complete trust and reliance. It is not a feeble, small faith; it is being utterly committed to God. The word “faith” is used 250 times in the New Testament. We are called to believe by faith, live by faith, and be justified by faith. The author of Hebrews lays out exactly what this looks like.

Hebrews 11:1-2 (NASB)

Now faith is the assurance of [things] hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval.

This issue of faith is essential because the Bible tells us that without it, we cannot have a relationship with God.

Hebrews 11:6 (NASB)

And without faith it is impossible to please [Him], for he who comes to God must believe that He is and [that] He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

The goal of reading these stories is not to get lost in the characters themselves, but to see how they help us raise our sights to see Jesus better. The theme of the entire book of Hebrews is simple: Jesus is better. Chapter 12 now shows us how that reality plays out in our own lives.

The Race Set Before Us

Because of the influence of these witnesses and what has been captured about their lives in the Word of God, we are called to a specific action.

Hebrews 12:1-2 (NASB)

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The “cloud of witnesses” refers to the names mentioned in the previous chapter. These are not passive spectators; they were active participants. Because of their example, we are encouraged to run with endurance the race set before us. The Bible uses this imagery of a race often. Paul, at the end of his life, looked back with a sense of completion.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 (NASB)

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.

Paul understood that God had a specific race for him to run. He also challenged the church in Corinth to run with the same intensity as an athlete competing for a prize.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NASB)

Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but [only] one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. Everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They then [do it] to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

There is a race that God has for each of us. It is your race, not mine. You cannot run your neighbor’s race or your friend’s race. Each of us has a calling to be faithful to who God made us to be and where He has placed us. But as we all know, running is not easy.

The Fall and the Recovery

I was reminded of a story from the 2008 Big Ten indoor track championships involving a runner named Heather Dorniden. It is one of the most incredible things I have ever seen. She was running the 600 meters, a three-lap race. She was in the lead pack, looking strong, and then, as she made a move to take the lead on the final lap, she got tripped up.

She didn’t just stumble; she took a full-on header. She hit the track hard, arms flailing, and the runner behind her actually stepped on her head. The other runners sped away, and she was left half a turn behind with only one lap to go. In that moment, you would think it was over. Everything she worked for was gone.

But she popped right back up. There was no panic, just an intense focus. She didn’t look for a trainer or start crying; she just got back in the race with a visible passion. One by one, she started reeling them in. On the final straightaway, the crowd was going crazy. She surged forward and won the race by four-hundredths of a second. She ran with endurance the race set before her.

Our spiritual lives are very similar. Very few people have a story where they started running with Jesus and everything was just awesome with no issues. If you have that story, I might actually hate you a little bit in my heart because I’m so jealous! Most of us lick the track sometimes. We get tripped up, we get weighed down, and we fall. The question is: do we stay down, or do we pop back up and keep running?

Laying Aside the Weight

To run this race well, the author of Hebrews gives us some instructions. We have to lay aside every encumbrance—anything that weighs us down or holds us back. We also have to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles and traps us.

Often, these entanglements are like tattoos; once they are there, they are hard to get rid of. Maybe it’s alcohol, or sexual immorality, or anger, or resentment. If we are gut-level honest, we all have issues that trip us up. If you think you don’t, you are in the best case of denial I’ve ever seen. The author is saying, “I want you to do something difficult: run with endurance. But to do that, you have to lay these things aside.”

We do this by raising our sights. We fix our eyes on Jesus because He is the only one who can handle those encumbrances.

Hebrews 12:2 (NASB)

fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He is the Author and the Perfecter. He started your faith, and He will finish it. Instead of obsessing over your sobriety or your immorality, walk intimately with Jesus. When you raise your sights to Him, those other things become “lesser things” because He is the “greater thing.”

Consider Him

The actual command in this passage doesn’t come until verse three: “Consider Him.”

Hebrews 12:3 (NASB)

For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

To “consider” means to reason or to think out carefully. It’s not complicated, but it’s not easy. It means putting strategic thought into what Christ did for you—how He adopted you, filled you with His Spirit, and set you free from the mastery of sin. We run the race with Him in mind so that we do not grow weary and lose heart.

Noah dealt with ridicule. Joseph dealt with bad circumstances. Moses dealt with failure. Rahab dealt with her past. Gideon dealt with insecurity, and David dealt with fear. Can you relate? We all struggle with these things, which is why we must fix our eyes on Jesus.

Practical Reflections

As we close, I want to ask you three practical questions.

First, who are the heroes in your life? If you wrote your own Hebrews 11, who would be in it? I thought about this recently and called the men who were the “cloud of witnesses” for me—guys who called me out of drunkenness and immorality into intimacy with Christ. I just called to say, “Thank you for being a hero.” To a man, they all said, “Who am I? I didn’t do anything.” They were just walking by faith.

Second, who is looking to you as a hero? You teach what you know, but you reproduce what you are. Who is going to call you one day and thank you for your example? You might think, “I’m not doing anything special,” but that’s the point. You just need to keep getting up off the track and running for Jesus.

Finally, what are the things you need to lay aside? Have you named them? Have you confessed them?

2 Timothy 2:22 (NASB)

Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love [and] peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

You have to turn and pursue. You have to name your besetting sins and invite the Gospel and your community to help you remove them. If you think your issues will magically go away if you just close your eyes, you’re crazy. They go away when we acknowledge them and say, “By the grace of God, I am not who I used to be.”

We are a community that lifts our sights to Jesus. We treat setbacks as temporary. We hop back up and get back in the race because we have a Savior who has provided the way.

Isaiah 40:31 (NASB)

Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up [with] wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary.

Those who wait upon the Lord have the strength to run and not grow weary. My prayer is that we would be a people of faith who lift up Christ and walk with Him every single day.

Closing Prayer

Father in heaven, I am thankful that You have given us these great pictures of the heroes of old. They didn’t always model perfection, but they exemplified biblical faith. We want to follow in their footsteps, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith. We want to consider Him who endured such hostility so that we would not grow weary or lose heart. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.