Hebrews 10:23-25 (NASB)) 23Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; 24and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, 25not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.
Hebrews 12-1-3 (NIV) 1Therefore, 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. 2Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Our life is pictured as a contest against powers and pressures that distract us, that discourage us, that keep us from sensing our connectedness to God. And in this contest there are some spectators, cheering us on, raising a roar of encouragement for us to keep fixing our eyes on Jesus.
We are being cheered on by a crowd of men and women who know all the difficulties and discouragements we will encounter, who felt the temptation to quit, who have heard the tempter’s whisper. Their life is a witness that says endurance is possible. The life of faithfulness to God is worth it. And, more importantly, that God is far more faithful to us than we dared to imagine in our discouraging moments. The roar of the crowd is there. Have you heard it? Have you sensed the energy and the encouragement that the cloud of witnesses is giving you? The main place to hear the roar of the crowd and to feel the encouragement of the cloud is in a Christian community. It is no accident that the One who calls us to hear the roar of the crowd also says let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another.
When we look at the crowd we see that it is not a group of idle spectators. They are witnesses. When it comes to living faithfully to God, they have been there, done that. The crowd includes people like Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, Samson, and David. We are called to persevere, but we do not persevere alone.
From a sermon preached by Henry Dobbs Pope October 27, 1996
© Rhonda Hinkle Mitchell Broyles
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