Take a Seat

Hebrews 11:29-12:2New International Version (NIV)

29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned.

30 By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days.

31 By faith the prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were disobedient.

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak,Samson and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus,the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The theme of this morning’s scripture is similar to the theme we have been discussing over the past couple of weeks where we have been talking about those who have accomplished the impossible through faith.  Of course the writer of this letter to the Hebrews is appealing to the Israelite traditions and its biggest heroes but are there any modern heroes of faith?  Are events like similar to walls of Jericho falling because an army had marched around its perimeter for 7 days and yelled at the top of their lungs only to see the wall come tumbling down? (Joshua 6:1-20)  Are there any modern day stories similar to the parting of the Red Sea?  (Exodus 14:1-31)  Are there any modern day stories similar to Daniel taming the mouths of lions? (Daniel 6:18&23)  The writer of this letter to the Hebrews is using the stories of the Old Testament to appeal to their audience.  This morning I am attempting to do the same.  These stories seem so long ago, some a little far fetched.  These acts of faith seem far removed from us today... but they don’t have to.  

Our idea of a hero is that they have to have a certain characteristic that makes them unique.  This attribute allows them to do things that others can’t.  It often takes them a while to find, to perfect and to use this hidden attribute.  Most of the time the temptation to do evil instead of good is a temptation but our favorite heroes perfectly resist this temptation.  Spiderman can climb walls and shoot webbing to swing from building to building.  Batman has a lot of cool toys and sweet cars that allow him to fight crime.  Superman is from another planet and he can shoot lasers from his eyes, stop bullets and he can fly.  The Hulk has unparalleled strength and size.  The list of superheroes and their powers can go on and on but the point is that they each have something that makes them special and unique.  The heroes mentioned over the past couple weeks in our scriptures from this letter to the Hebrews also have a super power.  And the great thing about this power is that you don’t have to be from a different planet, get bitten from a radioactive spider, have a medical mishap or be wealthy to achieve this power.  

Spiderman would have just been a struggling reporter if it weren’t for that spider that bit him.  Batman would just have been a wealthy business man with a bad attitude if it weren’t for his handler helping him to see the good he could do with his wealth.  Superman’s weakness is kryptonite.  The Hulk has anger issues and cannot really control himself.  Of course, these people are fictional.  They are the figment of someone’s imagination.  And yet we can identify with them through both their strengths and their flaws.  The reason I am drawing the comparison between these superheroes and the heroes mentioned in Hebrews is this: those mentioned by the writer of Hebrews all faced incredible odds for God.  They courageously and confidently accepted God-given tasks that seem impossible on human terms.  They were the people who weren’t afraid to stand against the majority and face immeasurable odds for the sake of their loyalty to God.  It is that same God who turned a stuttering and impoverished orphan boy into a savior of a nation, it is that same God that gave these Israelite heroes their strength and it is that same God we are gathered here to worship today.  We may not wear capes or have mutated DNA but we are special, we are unique.  We are loved.  We have the strength of the army that marched around Jericho.  We have the courage of Daniel in the lion’s den.  We have the support and love of the God who did the impossible at the Red Sea.  

You see, we are more like our favorite superhero than we thought.  We can tear down the walls of injustice.  We can empower the weak and offer direction.  We can tame the mouths of lions by squelching hatred and division.  We can be those people that the annals of history write about.  Each one of us has that strength through the love and grace of God.  We just struggle to find it, to perfect it, and use it.  And just our favorite superhero whose vice sometimes get in the way of their ability to help those in need, our sin keeps us from achieving this greatness.  We sometimes downplay the role of sin in our lives but Charles Spurgeon had this great quote: “A little sin, like a pebble in the shoe, will make a traveler to heaven walk very wearily.”  We have this great strength and power waiting for us so what is holding us back?  Sin.  Whether directly or indirectly, sin can derail us from this path of greatness God has laid out before us.  That is why it is so important for us to take these sins and place them at the feet of Christ.  That is why we must shed ourselves from whatever is holding us back.  The walls have been broken down, we just have make our way through the cloud of dust.  The Red Sea has been parted, we just have to walk across the dry land.  The mouths of the lions have been tamed, we just have to trust in the Lord.  

I know this is sometimes easier said than done and the writer of this letter to the Hebrews knew this too and that is why they said this, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  We are engulfed and enveloped by a “great cloud of witnesses...”  We have the impossibilities of the past conquered and set before us so let us “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.”  I posed the question earlier asking if there were any modern day heroes of faith.  I see a lot of them sitting before me this morning.  Through the pages of history to this very moment there are countless heroes of faith and each one of you has their example, their witness, surrounding you.  All that is left for us to do is to fix our eyes on Jesus and “run with perseverance the race marked out before us.”  Shred the sin, fix our eyes on Christ and sprint towards our seat at the right hand of God.  Your church family, your community, and the heroes of days past will cheer loudly as we witness the greatness of one another reach its pinnacle.  Amen.