Sunday Morning Service 8:30 AM - Run the Race pt. 2 - Hebrews 12:5-17 - Pastor Ryan Nichols

liar, I shall praise you. O God, my God. And read verse 5 with me. Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise him, the help of my countenance and my God. So, Father, we do praise you for being our help. And Lord, I pray that you would continue that work in our hearts and lives. And Father, I pray that as we get into your word this

morning, that your Holy Spirit would minister to us as you see fit. Father, in the world that we live in today, we more than ever need the direction of your Holy Spirit and the teaching of your Holy Spirit. So, Lord, lead us and guide us in your word. In Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated. If you would open up to the book of Hebrews chapter 12. Hebrews chapter 12. Last week, we started into a

series called Run the Race. Ultimately, that's sort of the theme of chapter 12 is running the race of faith. And we said that there was a handful of different things that we would look at. Last week, we looked at the first, which is that we were to run with endurance. And if we were to run with endurance, there were certain things we had to lay aside. The weight and the sin, which so easily ensnares us.

And then we had to fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. And then he said to consider Jesus, who endured such hostility from sinners so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Because you have not yet struggled against sin to the point of bloodshed. And so he paints this picture for us of Jesus, who has struggled so greatly against not only the hostility of the world, but the sin of the world. And he did so to the point of bloodshed.

And as he tells us that, he's going to now continue to draw on this idea. And what he's going to do in this next section, and what I've entitled it, is that we are to run with direction. We are to run with direction. And so starting in verse 5, it says this, And you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons. My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you

are reproved by him. For those whom the Lord loves, he disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives. It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore,

we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them. Shall we not much rather be subject to the father of spirits and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good so that we may share his holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful but sorrowful. Yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit

of righteousness. Therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble and make straight paths for your feet so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint but rather healed. Pursue peace with all men and sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. And see to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled, that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even

afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected. For he now found no place for repentance, though he sought it with tears." And so, as we look at this aspect of running with direction, there's four things that we're going to look at. We're going to look at embracing discipline. We're going to look at strengthening the hands, pursuing peace, and seeing to it. I promise there's a little more to it than just see to it

there towards the end. But let's take them in order, shall we? Embrace discipline. He starts off by saying, and you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons. Those three words, you have forgotten, cause more problems in the life of a believer than just about anything else. Because usually when we find ourselves falling into problems, it is because we have forgotten some aspect of who God is

or what God says or what God has commanded us. We have somehow forgotten the command of God, or we've forgotten the character of God, or we have forgotten what God has done for us in the past. He says, for you have forgotten. And what he does next is he actually quotes out of Proverbs. Proverbs 3, verses 11 and 12. He says, my son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you

are reproved by him. For whom the Lord loves, he disciplines, and he scourges every son whom he receives. Whom the Lord loves, he disciplines. He says, you have forgotten what was exhorted to you in the book of Proverbs, that whom the Lord loves, he disciplines. And if you are going to be a true child of God, then you must also deal with the discipline of God.

Now, I found it important that we describe and define what this word discipline means. Lest we think that God is some cosmic angry father who is just chasing us around with a paddle, trying to deal with us all the time. I think it's important that we look at what this word discipline means. And so I leaned heavily upon the Wiest word studies in this, and this is what he has to say. The word which is used is a word that speaks

of the whole training and education of a child. It also speaks of whatever in adults would cultivate the soul by correcting mistakes and by curbing the passions. It speaks of instruction which aims at the increase of virtue. This word does not have in it the idea of punishment, but of corrective measures which will eliminate evil in the life and encourage the good.

So if we look at this word discipline as it's truly intended in the Greek language that's used here, the idea is the whole training of the person. In other words, all discipline is necessary for the training of the individual. Sometimes that discipline has a teaching aspect to it. Sometimes that discipline has a corrective aspect to it. But God is not some angry father who is yelling at us all the time.

God is a patient, instructive father who is using everything in our lives to teach us. And there is nothing in our lives that is not necessary that God wastes for the education of our whole being. I point that out because one of the things I've become aware of as a pastor over the years is that for some of us, when you mention father, it brings about an incredibly good image in our minds. Because we think of the wonderful loving man that raised us and the wonderful patient individual who taught us and we love to sometimes make fun of, but more often than not, because they're really good individuals. But that's not the case for everyone.

For some people, you bring up a father and a really bad image comes into their mind. Oftentimes an abusive image comes to mind, or perhaps just an absent image comes to mind. So when I bring this up, I want you to understand the father that I'm painting for you here, the picture that's being painted for you here is that of a good and loving father who uses everything in our lives, both good and bad, for the complete instruction of the child of God. And so as we look at this, he says, you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons whom the Lord loves, he disciplines. And so we look at verse 7, it says this,

it is for discipline that you endure. It is for discipline that you endure. In other words, this discipline is why you're enduring the hardships just like Jesus did. It is for the aspect of your complete training. It is for the aspect of the complete forming of who you are intended to be. And you have a choice oftentimes. You can either embrace the discipline and let God's work be done in your life,

or you can run from the discipline and never really grow from it. Let me give you a little bit of an illustration. Several years back, one of my former students, a really good friend of mine, went through Navy SEAL training. He's now actively a Navy SEAL. I don't want to give his name because I don't even know if that's allowed anymore. But he's an active Navy SEAL right now. And I remember when he went through Hell Week,

right? So if you don't know anything about Navy SEALs, they go through all of the basic training that anyone else in the Navy would go through. And then they go through BUDS training, which is an incredibly intense training. But there is one week of that training that they call Hell Week. And it is everything that it sounds like. He sent me a couple of videos

after he was done of the start of Hell Week. And I mean, I don't want any part of it, right? Praise God that there are warriors like him in the world, but I don't want to be one of them. And so after he finished his SEAL training and had graduated from BUDS and was kind of in between locations, he came back here to Ark City. And he and several other of the young men

that were a part of my youth group at the same time, they all came over to my house one Saturday morning. And we sat out on my back patio and we drank coffee, straight black coffee like men, right? We all sat on my back patio and we drank coffee. And we just asked him questions and he told us stories. And the stories were fascinating to me, the things that he went through and how

difficult they make it on them. He said, but we all knew the reason they were doing this was so that we would be the ultimate warriors and that we would never bail out on each other. Because if you bail out on someone in the middle of training, you can guarantee you'll bail out on someone in the middle of battle. And so we struggled together so that we would be brothers together. He said, but we all knew one thing. We all knew that there was a bell that you could

ring at any point in time that you wanted to. As a matter of fact, they all encouraged you to ring the bell. Every instructor, every drill sergeant, everyone said, go ahead, ring the bell anytime you want to. And all of this ends. All of the hell that you're going through ends the minute that you ring the bell. It can all be done. He said they encouraged you the whole time. And he said,

every fiber of my being wanted to go ring the bell. You know what the one thing he said? And moms, I'm going to tell you this right now. You know the one thing he said that kept him from ringing the bell? Because he knew his mom was coming at the end of the week and he didn't want to have to face her knowing that he quit. You moms play a really important role, right? But he never rang the bell. You know why? Because at any point in time,

he could have quit the discipline. He could have quit the training. He could have quit the teaching, but he never would have gained what was necessary through it. He would have just gone and been any other part of the Navy. I asked him, I said, so you have to be completely kicked out of the Navy if you ring the bell? He goes, no, you just go back and you have a different station. You're

just not a Navy SEAL. You're just not elite at that point in time. You're just another member of the Navy. But you see, he embraced the discipline and it ultimately has made him who he is today. That's what he's telling us here. It is for discipline that you endure. Why do we endure the hardships of life? Because all of them are being used in our life to shape us into who God

wants for us to be. It is all being used in our lives to shape us into who he wants us to be. And we can either embrace the discipline and endure it and learn the lessons that God wants us to learn, or we can run from the discipline and never ultimately grow as God would want for us to grow. And we would be stunted as not only children of God, but as sons of God. And so he

says, it is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as sons for what son is there whom his father does not discipline. But if you are without discipline, of which you have all become partakers, then you're illegitimate children and not sons. He continues to say, furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us and we respected them. Shall we not much rather be subject to the father of spirits and live? I can only really speak from

the perspective of having a very good father, a good father who was very loving and patient, but who meant business. And when he said to do something, he meant to do something. And if I did not follow through with what he wanted me to do, he let me know why that was a bad idea. And from that, I learned really important things because from the discipline of my father, not just the correction of my father, but the discipline of my father, I learned what it was to be respectful of people. I learned what it was to be compassionate towards other people that are

around me. I learned what it was to put myself under subjection to leaders that I had. I remember when I was working for a boss that I really didn't like that much and really irritated me. My dad would say, but Ryan, at the end of the day, you're answering to God, not just him. And I didn't like to hear that. What I wanted him to tell me is, you're right, he's a jerk, quit the job. But

that's not what he said. Why? Because his discipline was good in my life, even as a man in my early twenties. From my father, I learned the love of the word of God. And from my father, I learned the love of worship. Why? Because he disciplined me, because he corrected me. And if I respected him for that correction, how much more so the father of spirits. For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed

best to them, but he disciplines us for our good. Now we get down to the purpose of discipline. They disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good so that we may share in his holiness. All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful. Yet those who have been trained by it, afterwards, it yields the peaceful

fruit of righteousness. There's three purposes he gives us there for God's discipline in our lives. Number one is that it is ultimately for our good. It's ultimately for our good. I want to remind you of what we're told in the book of Romans chapter eight, verse 28. And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who are called by him, to those who love him, to those who

are called according to his purpose. That means that as we've mentioned before, there is nothing that comes into your life that has not first been filtered through the hands of a loving God, and that is not ultimately for your best. And those of us that have embraced the discipline of God, going through the difficult things that we have been through, understand how God has used that in our lives. Understand how God has used that ultimately...

to shape us into who He wants for us to be. We can either look at discipline as something that is difficult to deal with or something that is making us better. And it is ultimately for our good. The second purpose of discipline is that it is so that we can share in His holiness, so that we can share in His holiness. If we are never corrected, then we never know what holiness is supposed to look like.

And if we are never corrected, we never ultimately walk in the holiness that in just a moment we will find is actually the key to our life in Christ. But the third thing is that discipline yields the fruit of righteousness. Discipline yields the fruit of righteousness. My good friend, Levi Lusko, wrote a book at one point in time called Through the Eyes of a Lion.

And that book chronicles what he went through in the loss of his daughter, his five-year-old daughter. And as he went through that book and as he told his story, ultimately he tells you through all of the, for lack of better terms, discipline that he went through, all of the training that he went through, and that entire process, he actually saw God more clearly. One of the best lines in the entire book is the last one that you read. And he said, I had no idea that when my daughter closed her eyes for the very last time, mine would truly be opened to who God is.

You see, it's not enjoyable in the moment, but it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness in our lives. There are many things that we can look back on and go, I would never ever choose that again in my life. I would never choose to go through that in my life. But if I didn't go through that in my life, then I wouldn't see this in my life. Then I wouldn't know God in this way.

Then I wouldn't have this aspect of righteousness in my life. I wouldn't have the relationship with God that I have now because once you embrace the discipline of God, you ultimately embrace greater righteousness in your life. Well, he goes on from there to say, not only do we embrace the discipline, but number two, he tells us to strengthen the hands. He says in verse 12, says, therefore, strengthen the hands that are weak and the knees that are feeble and make straight paths for your feet so that the limb which is lame may not be put out of joint, but rather healed.

Therefore, strengthen the hands. He shares this with us with therefore. In other words, in light of the fact that we are to consider Jesus who endured such hostility from sinners that we would not lose heart and grow weary in our pursuit of Christ and the difficulties that we go through, in light of the fact that sometimes we forget the exhortation that we are to embrace discipline as sons of God because discipline ultimately produces righteousness in our lives. Therefore, since you are in the process of some of the disciplines, since you are in the midst of some of the hardship, strengthen the hands that hang down.

The word strengthen there means to set straight or to reinvigorate, to set straight or to reinvigorate. It actually is a medical term in the Greek that talks about resetting a joint that has been put out, resetting a joint that has been dislocated. And the idea is get everything back in position so that you can actually live as you are supposed to live. Strengthen the hands.

And he describes the hands this way, the hands that are weak. And I prefer, I think it's the ESV translation. No, it could have been the New Living Translation. It was a different translation. It said strengthen the drooping hands, right? Strengthen the drooping hands. You ever seen somebody at the end of a practice or the end of a game or the end of a really hard workday

and their hands are just kind of hanging down, right? Like you're worn out. You're worn out from everything that you've done. And so he says, reinvigorate, set everything back in order, strengthen the hands that hang down and the feeble knees. This speaks of readiness to work and to move for Jesus because readiness is the first thing to go in the midst of discouragement.

When discouragement from difficulty, when discouragement from being tired, when discouragement in general hits your life, the first thing to go is your readiness to move forward. The first thing to go is your readiness to move forward. You're still standing, you just ain't moving, right? You ever been in that situation where you're really discouraged and you're like, I just don't know if I can keep moving forward because it's just so hard.

And you just wanna quit because not moving forward is the first thing, quitting is the next thing. And we wanna quit because it's hard. Therefore, he says, strengthen the hands that hang down. Now I have struggled with this verse because I wanted to be able to look up in the Greek or read some sort of a word study that indicated how you do that. How do you strengthen the hands that hang down?

I was looking for that right little spot in the definition of the word that it's like, oh, and this is how you do it. Because you know me, I like to put shoes on it and make it walk. I don't wanna just tell you something, I wanna tell you how to do something. And I realized something, there's no how to. You know what that means? That means there's no secret to this.

We are all looking for that one little secret, that one little thing that this is the thing that's going to invigorate me. You know what's gonna invigorate you? You just gotta do it. Nike might've been onto something there. Sometimes you just gotta do it. Even when you don't want to. Even when you're ready to quit, you just have to decide you're gonna move forward.

I usually do my workouts or my runs in the middle of the day, because I'm a moron and that's what I do. I'm like, hey, it's 92 degrees outside, feels like the right time to go run three miles. And so, you know, it's one of the many times in my life when the brain cells don't operate like they're supposed to, but it's what I do. And sometimes the last thing in the world I want to do at 11 o'clock in the morning is go run.

Because I'm like, man, it's hot outside, I'm tired, I don't want to do it. Now, this is a little more difficulty older than I get. It used to be if I didn't want to go run, I'd just go put the shoes on and I'd go, and the minute I'd start, I would be invigorated. The invigorating takes a little longer than it used to. I think that's because I'm not 25 anymore.

But sometimes you just got to do it. Sometimes there's no secret sauce. Sometimes there's nowhere to pull from, you just have to keep putting one foot in front of the other. And you can ask anybody, whether they're in ministry, non-administering, anybody that's been walking with Jesus for any amount of time, and they will tell you there is no secret to moving forward, you just have to do it.

There is no secret to continuing on, you just have to do it. Because once you start to do it, then you gain the invigoration that you need. I believe, I'll state it wrong, but some of you science people will be able to tell me what scientific law this is. An object in motion tends to stay in motion, right? An object not in motion tends to stay not in motion.

It's just the way that we're made. So if you want to reinvigorate yourself in your life, then you just have to do it. You have to set a plan and you have to do it. The Holy Spirit will empower you. The minute you decide to surrender that to the Lord, he will give you everything that you need. But sometimes you just have to. That's why some mornings you wake up

and you are ready to get into God's word and learn as much as you possibly can. And some mornings you are ready to just keep sleeping. And on those mornings when you want to just keep sleeping, it's more important than ever that you get up and get into God's word. And there's no secret to it, you just have to do it. And you may not feel it, you may not feel like it,

but you just have to do it. Another lesson I learned from my father goes much along those lines. Many don't know this, but my dad battled depression at a point in time in his life, pretty severely. And I was in Bible college at the time. It started somewhere around probably my junior or senior year of high school and probably lasted until shortly after I got out of college.

And I remember watching God heal him. And I said, so dad, how did you do it? Because I was battling it at that point in time too. He said, I said, so how'd you do it? He said, I determined every morning I was going to be in God's word, whether I felt like it or not, whether I got anything out of it or not, whether I even understood what I was reading or not.

I determined every day I was going to be in God's word. And I made a commitment and God was faithful to his word. That's the discipline that you'll learn from really good fathers, right? Is that sometimes it's not the discipline of them correcting you. Sometimes it's the example of the discipline that they live in their lives. And so he says, strengthen the hands that hang down

and the feeble knees. Those of us that know the song know that next, it says, and make straight paths for your feet. It says, and make straight paths for your feet so that the limb, which is lame, it may not be put out of joint, but rather healed. The idea of straight paths for your feet means straight, meaning the right path. In other words, keep walking on the right path.

Strengthen your hands, strengthen your knees, invigorate yourself and stay on the right path. Why? So that the joints that are wanting to be dislocated may be healed. Because healing comes from staying on the right path. Healing comes from staying and walking true as God has told you to walk. And so number one, he tells us that we are to embrace discipline.

Number two, he tells us that we are to strengthen the hands. Number three, he tells us to pursue peace. Verse 14, pursue peace with all men and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. Pursue peace with all men. Let's first of all describe who all we're supposed to be pursuing peace with and then we'll discuss that pursuing of peace in just a moment.

It says pursue peace with all men. Now there's two different ways commentators have taken this. Number one, they say all men, of course, speaks to all believers in Jesus Christ. That we are to pursue peace with all of the believers in Jesus Christ. And that's one way to look at it, but that's not actually what it says. It doesn't in its plain reading say, pursue peace with all who are in the body.

It says pursue peace with all men. And this is where the second interpretation of this comes. It means that our goal is to pursue peace with all. Now, the word pursue means to run swiftly after in order to catch. To run swiftly after in order to catch. And what we are to run swiftly after is peace. Peace simply means tranquility. In other words, you should make it your pursuit in life

to live at peace with as many people as you possibly can. That should be our goal. Our goal is to live at peace with the people of the world even. Definitely within the body of Christ, but even with the people of the world. We're told in the book of Romans that we are to do all that is within our power to live at peace with all men. What did Jesus say in the Sermon on the Mount?

Blessed are the peacemakers, for you shall be called the children of God. And so he says that we are to pursue peace with all men. Now, what he does not say is at the expense of truth. He does not say pursue peace at the expense of truth. I think we as believers in Jesus Christ should do everything within our power to live at peace with people. I do not think we should go out of our way

to go and irritate the world that is around us, to go and be a thorn in the side of the world that is around us, unless it's in the way that you stand for truth. You see, there's two different ways that you can present truth to people. You can present truth to people and be a jerk to them, or you can present truth to people and pursue peace with them. One looks to prove yourself right.

The other looks to lead toward reconciliation. And that is what we are to do. We are instruments of reconciliation. We're told that in the book of 2 Corinthians, that we are doing everything we can to reconcile the world back to God, because Christ was in God reconciling the world to himself. So reconciliation is our goal. Pursuing peace is what we should do,

but never at the expense of truth. Sometimes you need to make peace. Sometimes you need to get a stone, and you gotta have discernment to know the difference between the two, right? And so he says, pursue peace with all men, and, and this is probably gonna get left out if we're not careful, and holiness. Let me read it to you again. Pursue peace with all men, verse 14,

and the sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. This is why I don't think that the pursuit of peace is at the expense of truth, because we are also to pursue sanctification without which no one will see the Lord. That word sanctification is the Greek word hagios, which means set apart. In other words, our pursuit is to live a life that is set apart from the world.

And can I just go ahead and say, brothers and sisters, this is one of the things that's lacking in Western culture church today. We have lost our pursuit of holiness. And in so doing, we have simply called it grace. But Paul would have called it cheap grace, because that's exactly what it is. If our grace is not leading us to holiness, then it's not grace, it's license.

Grace should be leading us to a place of holiness in our lives, because the restoration of holiness is part of the restoration of our purpose. Have you ever thought about the fact that holiness was part of our purpose? If you don't believe me, what was the, what was one of the first things God told Adam? He said, tend the garden and you can eat from every tree in the garden except for one.

Because the purpose was holiness. Why did God present a choice? Because he wanted him to live out holiness. He wanted to live out a life that was set apart unto God by his own will, by the will of man, so there would not be a robotic love. That's why he gave him a choice, so that his holiness would be a choice. But holiness was the purpose nonetheless. Which is why the moment that Adam sinned,

what did they realize? We're naked, right? Holiness was gone, they had lost their purpose. That's why when we are washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, we are clothed once again with what? The righteousness of Christ, so that now we can pursue holiness, because that is our purpose. The problem we have in the Western culture church is we wanna know how much sin can I get away with

and still be saved, instead of how close can I get to my Father, because that means I have to leave behind sin. He said it is in a pursuit of holiness, and I think it's really important that we throw the last part in there, without which no one will see the Lord. You are made holy by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and your faith in that sacrifice, but we pursue holiness because that's now who we are. So he says, pursue peace.

But the last thing he says is this, he says, see to it, verse 15, see to it that no one comes short of the grace of God, that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it, many be defiled, that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears. See to it. That phrase literally means to maintain oversight, to maintain oversight.

And it's interesting because I believe it was Warren Wears, no, it was not Warren Wears. Yeah, I think it was Warren Wears who pointed this out in his commentary. He said that this phrase is also used of bishops and their oversight, and ultimately what this speaks to is a certain amount of accountability within the body of Christ. So let's look at it both ways.

Number one, you are to maintain oversight over your life. Have you ever thought about the fact that your life is something that you should maintain that oversight over, that this life is yours to steward in the best way that you possibly can, and everything about your life is a stewardship, including the way you handle the things that God has given you, i.e. the physical body that you have, and you are to maintain oversight over it. That means every now and then, you need to take some time for self-checkups.

You need to ask yourself the really hard questions. Am I living in a loving sort of way? Am I living a holy life? Am I allowing humility to be what guides me, or is pride what's always the greatest thing in my life? Am I maintaining that oversight and taking that time for introspection and self-inspection so that I know what's going on in me? But if it's true what Warren Wears said,

then it's interesting to think about the fact that there's also an aspect of oversight in the body of Christ. Let's call it accountability, that we are accountable to each other. And when we see things in the body of Christ, we need to address things in the body of Christ, always in love, first through prayer, then if necessary, through confrontation. But there's a certain aspect of accountability within the body of Christ.

And there's three things he tells us that we need to maintain oversight over. Number one, that no one comes short of the grace of God. That no one falls short of the grace of God. Why does he tell us that? Well, because what were these people about to do if they're not careful? They were about to return to a legalistic system. They were about to return to a legalistic system

because they thought that would be easier than the persecution that they're facing in following Jesus. And quite frankly, that legalistic system allows them something tangible to hold on to, to say, look at what I've done. They were about to fall short of the grace of God. I'm watching this happen a lot in the body of Christ right now. There is a massive return to legalism in Christianity.

They want the form, they want the liturgy. Listen, there's nothing wrong with liturgy until it becomes a work. So many people want something tangible it what I did because it makes them feel really good on the inside to know that they're a part of something big and that they're actually doing something. I've actually heard people say this, but it feels good to know that I've done something.

Well, that's the opposite of grace. You know that, right? It feels good to know that I'm a part of it. Well, you're not. All you had to do was believe what Jesus did. No, there's got to be more. So he says, beware of falling short of the grace of God. And then he tells us a second thing that I think massively ties to this falling short of grace. He said, beware that no root of bitterness springs up.

No root of bitterness that causes trouble and by it many are defiled. What does that have to do with falling short of the grace of God? Well, oftentimes a root of bitterness comes from a life of legalism. What do you mean? Why would you follow me on this, right? Legalism ultimately brings bitter pride into my life. I've got this bitter pride that looks at everybody else and says, why aren't they doing what

I'm doing? Why isn't everyone working as hard as I am? Why isn't everyone serving like I am serving? Why isn't everyone being more like me? You've probably never said those words, but I wonder if those thoughts have gone through your mind. And it usually springs from legalism. Because I've now held myself to a standard that I expect everybody else to hold themselves

to as well that's actually a standard God never actually set for anyone. And I'm really angry that nobody else has that same standard in their life when that's a standard God never set. And I become bitter in my pride. That's why he says beware of a root of bitterness because legalism ultimately leads to that root of bitterness. And I do have a question for you.

How many of you have looked at other people and said, why don't they serve like me? Why don't they walk like me? Why isn't their race like mine? Remember we talked about this last week. Why is it important to know that your race is your race and not somebody else's? Because it prevents you from judging somebody else in their race. It prevents that bitter pride from building up inside of you.

But the second thing that bitter pride does is it again springs into bitter judgment. We'll look at them. I can't believe they would act that way. I can't believe they would be that way. They're not good enough to be a part of the body of Christ. Again, maybe you've never said those words, but I would venture to say that sometimes they run through our minds.

We can have that judgment that runs through our minds where we begin to look down on other people because they don't love God like I do, because they don't serve God like I do. And so we have to be aware of that bitter root that often comes about because of legalism. And then he warns us about a third thing. He says we must maintain oversight so that no immorality or godlessness creeps into our lives.

Notice what it says in verse 16, that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal, for you know that even afterwards when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he'd found no place of repentance, though he sought for it with tears. Let's tell the story, and then we'll bring his application. The story goes like this. Of course, two brothers were born, Jacob and Esau.

We've talked about this. Jacob was technically the younger, even though they were twins, and they were told that the older will serve the younger. So they're born. Esau comes out the womb, and he's covered in hair. That's why they named him Esau, which means hairy. And then Jacob comes out afterwards, and he was named Jacob because he was holding onto his heel.

Jacob, heel catcher, supplanter, right? And so they're born, and they grow up, and they grow up two very different personalities, right? We know you can have two kids, and they come from the same person. They even look a lot alike, but they are nothing alike, right? Totally different people. And so Esau is this man of the field. Dude just wants to be at a tree stand all the time, right?

I mean, real tree camo was his outfit for the day. And so he's just always out. And then you've got Jacob, right? Jacob's this guy who's sort of a renaissance man, and like he's always, the outfit is always good. It always fits, and he's got the matching apron to go with it because he kind of hangs out in the tents. Although, as I've said before, I think Esau gets a bad rap, or Jacob gets a bad rap.

I think he was literally just like the renaissance man because the guy could take care of the flocks in the field, but he could also cook a good meal, right? And so two very different people. Jacob, as much as he was a mess, always had his eye on the promise, Esau was focused on one thing. Esau was focused on his flesh. How can I fulfill my flesh today? And the perfect example of that is given to us in the story that's presented to us here

about the birthright. One day, Jacob has this wonderful pot of stew that is brewing. Red stew. Oh man, it smelled so good. You could smell it all over the camp, right? Everybody knew Jacob's cooking, and that's a good thing, right? And so Esau comes in from the field, and Esau is exhausted. He's been out in the tree stand all day, cleaning animals and all the things that he's doing,

and he comes in and he's just absolutely starving to death. And Jacob, being the smart guy that he is, says, you know, fresh pot of stew here. And Esau goes, man, I could really go for a pot of stew. He goes, I bet you could. What will you give me for it? He goes, what do you mean? What am I going to give you for it? He says, yeah, I'll give it to you, but I need something in return.

Why don't you sell me your birthright for a pot of stew? Now, we don't think very much about a birthright in our culture today, because it's not like it was at that point in time. The birthright meant that you got a double portion of the inheritance, and it meant that you were the one in charge of the family. Like you were the one, it was the family business, and you were in charge, right?

I mean, that's what it meant. Like there's great power that goes with the birthright. And so what Esau does here is not a simple, okay, I'll call you the firstborn. Who cares? It meant the handing over of the control of the family when Isaac died. So what he did is a really, really, really big deal. He says, give me your birthright for this pot of stew. And Esau goes, I'm going to die anyway.

You may as well have it. And so he gives away his birthright for one bowl of stew, and the stew was red, which is also what Esau means, red. He had this red stew that he ate. If we look at that, we go, what a moron. Like how do you give away the rights that you had as the firstborn, all so that you could have one pot of stew? I don't know. Why do you give away all of the blessings that you have in Christ for one moment of

pleasure in the flesh? Same reason. Same reason. So he says, to watch yourself that there may be no immoral or godless person like Esau. In other words, don't be like Esau who could only think about how to satisfy his flesh and didn't have any sort of an eye on eternal things. He had no eye for anything beyond the right here and the right now. Think of a little kid who the moment they get $5, the first thing they want to do is

go to Walmart and buy candy, right? And you're like, oh man, if you just wait three more weeks, I'll give you $5 a week, you'll have $15. You can do that much more with it. If you wait, you know, two months, you can actually go buy yourself something. All they can think about is the fact that there's a bag of Skittles at Walmart and I got $5, right? I want to go get the bag of Skittles.

In maturity, you hope changes people. But what I'm learning in the culture today is no, it doesn't. The bag of Skittles just looks different than it did when you were five. But we're still willing to sacrifice what God wants to do in our lives for a moment of fleshly pleasure. He says, watch yourself, maintain a watch, maintain oversight over yourself and hold

the body accountable that there may be no godless person who lives just for the fulfilling of the flesh and not for the eternal rewards of Christ. Because did you notice what it said next about Esau? Who sought repentance with tears, but it was not found. You ever been in that place where you made a mistake, really big mistake, a really bad choice and you go, I can't go back and undo it.

I'm just going to have to live with the consequences of it. I want you to know something. If you have been that person in the past, this is the beauty of God's grace. If you have been that person who lives after the flesh and lives after the temporary pleasures of the world, this is where God's grace comes in. But it begins with repentance. You have to get back on track.

You have to strengthen the hands that hang down and make straight paths for your feet and be healed. And it starts with you confessing to the Lord the areas where you are not setting your mind on things above, but instead are living according to the things of the earth. You have stopped running with direction. And then God is able to restore you and you can hopefully live that way from here on out.

But as we wrap up here, I want to remind you of the theme that we're dealing with, and that's to run the race, but specifically to run with direction. You see, the things that he gave us here, the things that he gave us here are marching orders, right? Like embrace the discipline that comes into your life. Embrace the hardships of life, knowing that they are producing in you something better than you could have ever imagined.

Embrace them because it means that you're a child of God, but embrace them because they are producing the peaceable fruits of righteousness in your life. And then strengthen the hands and keep moving forward. This is an action command. We have work that needs to be done. There's work that needs to be done for the kingdom and the world that's around us today.

So pursue peace and holiness and maintain an oversight over your life so that you can do what God has called for you to do. This week we celebrated, we grieved some milestones. We grieved the milestone of 9-11, but the one that actually sinks in the most with me is we grieved the milestone of the loss of Charlie Kirk. Listen, I didn't always agree with everything that he had to say, but I'd say most of it I agreed with, and I applauded his courage.

It's because my algorithm has picked up on the fact that I enjoy watching. I was a debater in high school, so I enjoy watching debates, real debates, not the presidential debates like we have today. Those aren't real debates, but what were real debates where real ideas are exchanged, and I love listening to him address things because his ability to think on his feet was second to none. And I'm reminded that the work that he began had a whole lot less to do with politics and had a whole lot more to do with Jesus.

The work that he began had a whole lot less to do with whether or not you voted the right way, although he was important, he was big on that, but it had a whole lot more to do with living the right way. And brothers and sisters, we have in front of us every single day the opportunity to live boldly. We have before us every single day the opportunity to take action. The question is, will you?

You see, if you choose not to embrace the discipline, but run from it, if you choose to ring the bell, if you choose to not strengthen those hands and just take the steps that are necessary, if you choose to not pursue peace and holiness, and if you stop having oversight over your life, will you still be a Christian? I mean, I believe once you put your faith in Jesus, your faith is in Jesus, but you will be rendered useless for the kingdom of heaven, and you will stand before God and give account of the fact that you had the opportunity and you didn't. I would rather live much differently. I would rather live with my hair on fire.

I'd rather wear myself out for the gospel than to somehow eventually just be worn out. I'd rather my life be completely consumed with the work of the kingdom than my life to be completely consumed with the things of this world. Because at the end of the day, as we've mentioned before, we only have one life, and if I've learned anything over the past 10 years, it's that it goes really, really fast, and the only things that remain are what we do for Christ. The only things that remain are what we do for the kingdom, and those will remain forever.

So brothers and sisters, run with direction. Amen? Let's all stand. And if you'd bow with me. Father, we come before you, and I want to lift up everyone that's in this place this morning, everyone watching online, and I just ask that you would move in their hearts and lives. Father, your word is very specific, that it's time to run with that direction, and so Lord,

I pray that if we have been running aimlessly or simply beating against the air, Lord, that we would begin to run with that purpose and direction that you have for us. Father, that you would give us the grace that we need to strengthen those hands, that you would give us the grace that we need to make straight paths for our feet, and Lord, that you would give us the wisdom that we need to know when it's time to pursue peace and know when it's time to make a stand. So Father, move in our hearts and our lives, we pray, and I ask now that we would just simply respond to your word with wholehearted worship unto you. Thank you, Father, in Jesus' name, amen.

Be blessed.

I have a future, and it's worth the living. Cause I wasn't made to be tending a grave. I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. Why would I make the dead in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way? I know I am yours, and I was made for more. I know who I am, cause I know who you are. The cross of salvation is only a start.

Now I am chosen, free and forgiven. I have a future, and it's worth the living. Cause I wasn't made to be tending a grave. I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. So why would I make the dead in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way? I know I am yours, and I was made for more. Hallelujah. You called out my name, so I'll sing out your praise.

Hallelujah. You buried my past, I'm not going back. Hallelujah. You called out my name, so I'll sing out your praise. Hallelujah. You buried my past, I'm not going back. Cause I wasn't made to be tending a grave. I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. So why would I make the dead in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way?

I know I am yours, and I was made for more. Cause I wasn't made to be tending a grave. I was called by name, born and raised back to life again. I was made for more. So why would I make the dead in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way? I know I am yours, and I was made for more. So why would I make the dead in my shame when a fountain of grace is running my way?

I know I am yours, and I was made for more. Father, I thank you for your word this morning, Lord. I just pray that you would just continue to move in our life, Lord. God, change us. Lord, help us to surrender to you. God, if there are any unsurrendered areas of our life... Let's pray that today would be the day of surrender Lord God We love you Lord. We thank you and we praise you in Jesus name all our guys people said amen. Amen. Love you guys

Have a wonderful week