The mark of a Winner, by Rev Steven R Mitchell, based on Hebrews 11 &12, Mountain View United, CO 8-18-2013

The mark of a Winner

By Rev Steven R Mitchell

Mountain View United, Aurora, CO 8-18-2013

Based on Hebrews 11:29-34 & 12:1-2

 

        In the Spring of 1945 the musical Carousel debuted on Broadway with a song that was so powerful that it was sung for almost three decades by pop recording artists to church choirs for inspiration as one moves  into a new chapter of life.   The words of this particular song are so poignant, its like a knife plunging deep into the heart. 

When you walk through a storm hold your head up high
And don't be afraid of the dark.  At the end of a storm is a golden sky
And the sweet silver song of a lark. Walk on through the wind, Walk on through the rain, Tho' your dreams be tossed and blown.

Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart And you'll never walk alone,
You'll never, ever walk alone. Walk on, walk on with hope in your heart
And you'll never walk alone, You'll never, ever walk alone.

 

In the twelfth chapter of Hebrews the writer puts it this way:  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…  The book of Hebrews is a book that recognizes the hardships that come with living.  In the midst of many early Christians being killed, tortured, expelled from community, because of their faith in Jesus,  the author encourages the reader to take heart and stand firm in their struggles and in their faith; to persevere in faith and know that they are not going through this alone, but that many before them had gone through similar trials.  Surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, you’ll never walk alone!

        At the beginning of Hebrews chapter eleven a long list of who’s who in the Hebrew lineage is given as examples of the lineage the church comes from.  People such as Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, and Moses are all examples of continual faith in God and in verse 13 we are told a great reality:  ¹³ All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on earth.   Through this marvelous listing of “faith” heroes, we can pick up on a theme of “intergenerational mystery” of the church, as Kathy Huey puts it.  Rev Huey states, “How their lives count depends on our lives.  How well they did is determined by how well we do.”

        As a faith community, we do not walk alone!  We are products of those who have walked before us.  Their work, their struggles will be remembered by how well we hold true to our calling, our faith.  Note - (hold up the books of the Nossaman family tree as well as the bible for comparisons)   In my hand I am holding the completed volumes as of the year 2000 of one portion of my family tree.  In these pages are the names of not only those who have come before me but also those who are present, a list of over 1,700 names.  Through these pages, I have a sense of who I am, of where I come from, and by these peoples accomplishments, receive assurances of what I am capable of accomplishing myself.  I know I am not alone.  When my children were young and feeling overwhelmed at the task of growing up, I would sit down with them and remind them of who they are, by pointing out those matriarchs and patriarchs who have preceded them.

        In doing this am I saying that my family is without it’s share of misfits and scoundrels?  Not at all, in fact I can guarantee that no one in my family dead or alive is without character flaws.  The same truth goes for what we read about our ancestors of faith.  The Bible shares many of our most beloved stories that include their character flaws.  Moses, committed murder, Rahab was a prostitute, David was not only a murderer but a liar and an adulterer, although Ruth isn’t mentioned, she was a Moabite (the lowest of people in the Jewish mind.)  In fact, Jesus’ family blood line includes Rahab the prostitute and Ruth the Moabite.  Yet Jesus, through his faith and holding true to his calling sits on the right hand of God.

        There’s a sentence in this morning’s reading that is a challenge to us as people of faith.  It reads; let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  As we learn through the stories of the biblical patriarchs and matriarchs, they too had to throw off those things that hindered them and the sin that so easily entangled them in order to live out their faith.  In the book of Hebrews the ongoing theme is “faith” and although Faith is defined in a multiple of ways, in the book of Hebrew, faith is defined as “the courage to endure.”

        Taking this definition, as a society, we are obsessed with the idea of winning!  As a society we are told that in a competition, there is only one winner.  We are conditioned to view everyone who doesn’t finish first as non-winners.  Yet scripture challenges this big time in verse 13, “They did not receive the things promised” but, “All these people were still living by faith when they died.”  I titled this morning’s reflection, “The mark of a winner” which comes from a piece written by Dr Rev Bob Schuller, which I would like to share with you:

 Hebrews 12:1 encourages us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.”  The running of a race provides an exciting illustration of faith.  The runner jumps at the starting gun, even though he cannot be sure he will win.  But one thing is certain.  The person who does not start can never win!

This means that another truth becomes markedly evident:  Every starter is a winner.  The losers are those who never tried.  If you need to be sure that you will win, if you need to be confident of success before you make a commitment, then you are not walking the walk of faith!

So the person who walks the walk of faith is alive and is keeping others alive, speculation on his success.  He is news, because he has entered the race before he is positive that he can win.

God’s promises are not offered to the “play-it-safe” spectator in the stands, but to the “lets-take-a chance” player in the middle of the game! Possibility Thinkers Bible.

         So if Schuller says that a winner is the one who enters the race, what does that look like individually?  Only you can answer that for yourself.  If you were to read my profile, it speaks heavily to “growth”.  I so believe in the idea of growth that I am the lead person at a conference level growth team.  Most of the time when we use the word “growth” we talk about increase of numbers; numbers of members or numbers in attendance, but my interest isn’t in increased numbers, but growth spiritually by individuals, for when that happens then the numerical growth follows.

        From my perspective, I think of “entering the race” as the challenge for my spiritual growth.  What do I do personally to continue to nurture my faith?  As we have grown into a society of consumers, our faith is so challenged to be as the Apostle Paul puts it, “spoon fed.”  You see, there is nothing new today about the natural desire to not work at developing our holistic self. 

        In our faith journey what do we do individually to grow or to run the race as it were?  Do we read our bibles regularly, and then spend time discussing what we’ve read with another individual?  How fully do we participate in the life of a faith community? 

Starting this last January, this church has been providing a Saturday morning Hot Cakes and Hot Topics, focusing on educational awareness of Social Justice Issues that impact our lives.  Over all we have had very good turn outs, but not by the congregation at large, but rather by other churches and secular social justice communities.  What started out to be a ministry to our church has not been successful – as Bob Schuller would say, the greater part of this community is not joining in the race, yet we are becoming widely known in the Metro area as a teaching church because of this ministry.

        For a congregation to grow numerically, we need to grow individually.  The old saying about the strenght of a chain is its weakest link.  I know that there are many things that we tell ourselves which keep us from actually entering into the race of our faith development, but as scripture says, we have to lay aside every weight that distracts us or weighs us down.   As a community of faith here at Mountain View, we are not alone, we have two generations that have preceded us, and not only them but generations of three specific denominations, and also from those saints that are both spoken about in scripture and those that have not been recorded.  We are not alone but walk with a great cloud of witnesses.

        I invite you to take this challenge as spoken by Dr Schuller with you as you leave today: Take this positive plunge:  Today double – check your life.  Don’t be a spectator in the stands, but a contestant!  Today commit yourself to continue to grow in your faith and in the work of Mountain View, knowing that sacrifice is needed and that you do not walk alone but with those who have lived by faith before you.   Amen