The Fight You Were Born Again to Win

Hebrews 11:32–12:13

Some roads in life feel like they were built to break you. You get bruised. You get disappointed. You get tired of fighting battles you didn’t ask for. Hebrews steps right into that struggle and says, “Look again.” Faith is not a museum piece you admire from a distance. Faith is a force that moves when the ground shakes under your feet.

Scripture walks us through the lives of people who refused to quit when everything in them screamed to give up. Gideon stood with nothing but fear in his bones, yet God told him, “I will be with thee” ~Judges 6:16. Barak stepped out trembling, but he stepped anyway. Samson was flawed, but when he turned back to God, strength filled his soul. Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets all show the same thing. They did not stand because they were strong. They stood because God is faithful. Hebrews says they “subdued kingdoms,” “obtained promises,” and “out of weakness were made strong” ~Hebrews 11:33-34.

Then the chapter turns a corner. Some believers triumphed, but others suffered. Some “were tortured” and refused to give up their faith ~Hebrews 11:35. Others “wandered in deserts and in mountains” ~Hebrews 11:38. Life did not treat them gently. Heaven did. The world did not applaud them. God did. Their stories tell us something we do not like to hear but desperately need: faith is not proven on the mountaintop. Faith is proven when you hurt and trust God anyway.

That is why Hebrews shifts our eyes from the heroes to the greatest example of all. “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” ~Hebrews 12:2. He stepped into a world that hated Him. He carried a cross that belonged to us. He endured the shame because He saw the joy set before Him. That joy was the salvation of sinners, the gathering of a people redeemed by His blood. If Christ endured the cross for you, then you can endure whatever cross you are carrying with Him.

The writer tells us to “lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us” and run with endurance ~Hebrews 12:1. In other words, stop letting the things that drain your soul ride shotgun in your life. You cannot run God’s race while clutching the things He told you to drop. Let go of the habits that choke your devotion. Let go of the bitterness that eats your peace. Let go of the distractions that rob your strength. You were not saved to stand still. You were saved to run.

Then, Hebrews gets personal. It speaks into the pain no one else sees. “My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him” ~Hebrews 12:5. God disciplines His children because He loves His children. Discipline is not rejection. It is refinement. It is the Father shaping you into the image of His Son. If you did not feel His correction, that would be a sign you do not belong to Him. But you do. So He trains you. He molds you. He cuts away what does not belong.

“For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth” ~Hebrews 12:6. That changes how you see hardship. Your trial is not proof God abandoned you. Your trial is proof God is working on you. Earthly fathers discipline as best they can, but God disciplines “for our profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness” ~Hebrews 12:10. Holiness is the goal. Christlikeness is the finish line. Your pain is not pointless. Your struggle is not wasted. It yields “the peaceable fruit of righteousness” in those who submit to God’s hand ~Hebrews 12:11.

So Scripture gives the final charge: “Lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees” ~Hebrews 12:12. Strengthen your walk. Stay in the race. Set your feet back on the path God laid out for you. Make “straight paths” so your life pulls you toward Him, not away from Him ~Hebrews 12:13. You are not running alone. Jesus ran this road first, and He walks it with you now.

The call of Hebrews is clear. Faith is not for the calm days. Faith is for the storms. Faith does not back down. Faith does not fold. Faith keeps running because Jesus did, and Jesus is worth it.

When the road is rough, keep your eyes on Him. When your heart is tired, remember the cloud of witnesses cheering you on. When your soul aches, remember the Father is shaping you, not abandoning you. And when you feel like quitting, look again at the cross and keep moving.

The finish line is closer than it feels.

 

Ezekiel 29:1-30:26
Hebrews 11:32-12:13
Psalm 112:1-10
Proverbs 27:17

Read Today’s Scripture – Click Here

Click on the Play Button below to Listen to Today’s Scripture

 


New Testament: Hebrews 11:32-12:13

Summary: Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith. Do Not Grow Weary

 

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, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. ~ Hebrews 12:1-2

 

 

A Christian’s battle

 

Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. ~ Hebrews 12:3

It is very wrong to pretend that Christians will have no real difficulties in this world. Sometimes people do give that impression when they urge someone to become a Christian. But it is very wrong.

 

When a person becomes a Christian, they join in a battle. It is a battle between God, and the evil forces that control this world. Although we do not see that war, it is real. It is the most important war that exists anywhere. And we do see its effects.

 

For clear evidence of that fight, we only have to think about Jesus’ life. Jesus was completely good, so there was no proper reason for anyone to oppose him. But evil people were constantly opposing him. And on many occasions, they tried to kill him (for example, Mark 3:6; Luke 4:29; John 7:19 and Matthew 26:4).

 

Christians are in that same battle. So of course evil forces oppose them. Of course they will have problems and difficulties. They have the problems and difficulties that everyone suffers. And in addition, they may have extra problems and difficulties because of their relationship with God.

 

But Christians do not need to be afraid of their difficulties. God is stronger then the devil; and he makes Christians strong during their troubles, too (1 John 4:4). As they think about Jesus, God will give them the courage to stand firm. As they trust him, he will give them the power to go on (Isaiah 40:31).

 

The battle is not their battle, but God’s battle. They are on God’s side, so God supports them. Nobody can overcome God. And nobody will separate them from the love of God, their father (Romans 8:31-39).

 

From: usefulbible.com  – by Keith Simons

 

Overview: Hebrews –  Click Here

 

Listen to John MacArthur on today’s scripture below

 
Run for Your Life
 Hebrews 12:1–4

  

The Christian life is pictured as warfare. In 2 Timothy 2, verse 3, it talks about enduring hardness as a good soldier. And in Ephesians 6, it talks about the armor. And then the Holy Spirit speaks of the Christian life like a wrestling match. Ephesians 6, we wrestle not against flesh and blood but principalities and powers and so forth. And even the Holy Spirit speaks of the Christian life like a boxing match, as if it were a prize fight. Paul says, “I fight not as one who beats the air,” and he pictures the boxing there in 2 Timothy 4, verse 7 (a), may perhaps also have the same reference. 
 
 

 

 
 

We tend to run away from trouble when it knocks. However, hindsight shows us that each painful experience grows us and reveals more about God’s goodness. Could this be a story you can relate to? Find out how pain can bring you peace by watching this video.

Views: 37