Ep. 174 — Hello From Rome + “The Roar From the Stands”
Download the handwritten version of “The Roar From the Stands” here.
Download Ep. 174 — Hello From Rome + “The Roar From the Stands” audio/episode here.
The Roar From the Stands.
Last night, we watched a few races from the Olympics. And while I'm not even a sports fan, I could not help but get choked up. On the last race or two, I cried, hearing the deafening roar of the fans and the bleachers as they cheered on those representing their country.
I could not help but think of Hebrews 11 and 12: 1-2: “Wherefore, seeing we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience or endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”
There is a great cloud of witnesses, Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Abraham and Jacob, Amram and Jochebed, Moses, Rahab, Gideon, Barak, Sampson, David, Jephthah, Samuel and the prophets, all listed in Hebrews 11, who are lining the stands in the race course of our lives.
They are joined by a host of other nameless saints who have gone before us. Those who, as the writer of Hebrews says, “obtained the promises,” and another innumerable company of those souls who “received not the promises” in this lifetime. The bleachers are full of saints, cheering with a deafening roar as we run our leg of this race.
Let us run with endurance, remembering that we carry the baton once held by Paul, by Peter and by the early church. With ears of faith, let's hear the sound coming from the stands, from that great cloud of witnesses.
*And one quick note on the baton. Let us make sure it is the same baton once carried by Paul, Peter and the other disciples. Doctrine matters. A recognition of how the early church operated in the Book of Acts, and what the apostles taught is imperative. The message they carried must be the message we carry. The right baton matters. Paul wrote to the Galatian Church and said, “Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you, then that which we have preached, let him be accursed.” Paul is saying very emphatically, keep carrying the same baton.
Not only does the correct baton matter, but the handoff matters. The other day, Andrew was telling me how a team in the men's 4x4 relay could not get the handoff right. They obviously got it together to win gold. But we must do our best to not simply love truth and the apostolic message to our children, the next generation, and those God brings across our paths.
The stands are full of cheering, applauding saints, urging us on to the finish line.
They've crossed with the baton they once carried. The roar from the bleachers is a thundering, deafening vote of confidence that we can make it. We can run with patience the race set before us.
I am listening to the sound of those fans.
Thank you for joining me for this journey!
Go grab your Bible and your journal!
I look forward to the power of this habit in your life. This is Unedited.