Finishing Our Race

Finishing Our Race

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect, to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.” Heb. 12:22-24.

How did they get there? They got there by receiving the Word and by being obedient to it.

They also fought against sin and were exhorted to accept chastening, for the Lord chastens whom He loves. “It is for chastening that you endure. God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten?” Heb. 12:5-7.

“Looking diligently lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled . . . .” Heb. 12:15.

“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” Matt. 5:8.

This inner purity is manifested by acknowledging sin, and you cannot preserve this inner purity without a consistent, deeper acknowledgment of sin. We must conquer the “land”; we must finish the race. Therefore it is important that we always advance on the way of life. We need to have faith in God’s Word and in what He speaks to our inner man. We must fight against sin which is our enemy, intent on destroying us if we do not overcome it.

We also wage war against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Everything and everyone shall be overcome, and after we have overcome everything, we shall stand. Eph. 6:13. Jesus came to deliver us from the hand of our enemies, that we might serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life. Luke 1:74-75.

By always keeping to God’s Word and to the leading of His Spirit, we gradually learn what this means to us in the school of life.

We read the following in 1 Corinthians 10:13: “No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.” This means that we must be prepared for all kinds of trials, and God, who knows how much we can bear, will not permit the trial to exceed our ability to bear it, and so we can stand after we have overcome all. In this way we are delivered from the hand of our enemies so that we can freely serve God.

There is nothing that can deliver you from the sufferings you have to endure when your neighbor sins against you. Now it is vital to endure in faith, and bear and love the other person. We read in the Sermon on the Mount: “But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.” Matt. 5:39. Here it is not a question of who does it, but that you keep God’s commandment so that you do not bear a grudge against that individual. In that way you gain complete mastery over yourself, the sin that dwells in you dies, and you partake of a deeper life in Christ.

Our real enemy—sin—is within us. Jesus came to deliver us from that enemy to make it possible for us to serve Him without fear. Everything that other people do to us is for our good, when we love God. On this point there is many a “yes—but” from the flesh, but only an “Amen” will remain standing. In 2 Kings, Chapter 6, we read that the king of Syria came to the prophet Elisha with horses and chariots that all eyes could see, but God had chariots that only the eye of faith could see. The prophet’s servant could see all the chariots of the king of Syria, but he did not see the Lord’s chariots and therefore he cried out, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” The prophet, who was completely at rest, sat quietly and prayed: “Lord, I pray, open his eyes that he may see.”

Let us all pray this prayer: “Lord, open our eyes so we can see!” For the world around us is filled with God’s horses and chariots waiting to lead us on to glorious victory.

It is a tried faith that is precious to God and to us. Though it may appear as if the trials would crush us, the reality is that we by faith can step into these chariots that lead us into the heavenly realm.

Jesus says, “Have faith in God.” Mark 11:22.