Introduction

It won’t be long before the eyes of the world will be focused on the ancient city of Beijing as the summer Olympics take place in China.

As far back as the 1400s bc, religious festivals honoring the gods with accompanying athletic contests were held every four years in Greece. To give you a sense of perspective, that’s as long ago as the time of Joshua in the Old Testament book of Judges.

The first known Olympic contest dates back to 776 bc. It took place in a stadium that seated some 40,000 spectators in Olympia, in western Greece. Originally only one race was run during the religious celebration, a sprint of less than 200 meters. In time, however, other events were added, such as wrestling and even chariot races. Winners were crowned with olive wreaths.

Well over a thousand years later (in 394 ad), the Roman Emperor Theodosius ordered an end to the Olympics. He said the celebrations, with their religious overtones, were "too pagan." The games would not be held again for 1500 years.

Although previous attempts at Olympic revival had been made, it was in the late 19^th century that a team of German archeologists began excavating the site of the old stadium in Olympia that had been destroyed by an earthquake. This dig gave a French educator, Baron Pierre de Coubertin, an idea. Why couldn’t the Olympian, or Olympic, games be revived as a way of promoting world peace? The idea captured the imagination of many countries and in 1896 the first modern games were held—where else—in Greece, in the city of Athens.

Now, 108 years later, it’s back to Beijing for the 2008 summer games.

As news of the Olympics is more and more on people’s minds, I thought it would be fun and helpful to spend this month of August in Hebrews, chapter 12, verses 1 through 13. It’s here that the writer of this epistle to Jewish or Hebrew readers draws on a sporting picture that would be quite familiar to people in New Testament times.

This 5-Sunday series is called Go for the Goal. By that title I’m not suggesting that you can become a spiritual champion in 5 weeks. That would be as foolish as expecting to win a medal in the upcoming Olympics after only 5 weeks of training. Instead, what I’m doing is laying out some basic truths that will be important to make a part of your life if you have any aspiration whatsoever of becoming a spiritual champion.

Here is the well known first verse of Hebrews 12:1

Response

This is as far as I want to go today: making you aware of who’s in the stands watching what you do. That’s because believers with a "go for the gold" mindset remember the witnesses. So, tell yourself that yes, Samson is up there, so is Joseph. Moses made it. Abraham and Sarah did also. Queen Esther came.

"Wait a minute," you interject. "Was Esther mentioned in Hebrews 11?"

Not explicitly—but implicitly. The author implies that if it’s a hero of the faith, he or she is there! New Testament people too? Sure, Peter, James and John, Mary the mother of our Lord. Paul, Timothy, Luke, Mark, Barnabas, plus—lots of others whose names we don’t even know. They’re special people, though. I’m reading now from Hebrews 11:33–38.

Think of it—people too good for this world are watching those of us still in the world, and observing how we’re doing spiritually. As individuals, they remind themselves that "even though nobody in my world seems to be paying all that much attention to how I’m doing spiritually speaking, the truth is there’s a vast stadium full of spiritual somebodies keenly involved in what’s going on."

Look at it this way. Do you think any of the athletes soon to be competing in Beijing will be aware of what previous champions have done?

For example, will gymnasts know that at 14 years of age Nadia Comaneci of the Soviet team in 1976 in Montreal scored seven perfect tens? Sure they will!

Are long jumpers aware that an American Bob Beamon leaped an amazing 29 feet 2 1/2 inches in Mexico City in 1968, breaking the broad jump record by—would you believe—22 inches? That’s almost 2 feet. Of course they know.

What boxer isn’t cognizant of the fact that as a light heavyweight Cassius Clay (later known to the world as Muhammad Ali) easily won a gold medal in the Rome Olympics in 1960?

A star in track and field would know of Jesse Owens, who won multiple gold medals in Berlin, 1936, while breaking down racial barriers.

These and other champions, many now dead, remain heroes even to modern-day competitors. They know about Michael Johnson winning both the 200 and 400 meters in Atlanta in 1996. You better believe these Go for the Goal hopefuls in 2008 remember the heroes from the past!

Similar stories are held onto tightly by the athletes competing in the lesser known events. Oarsmen can tell you that Benjamin Spock, later the author of the Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care, had been a member of the victorious American crew in the eight-oared-shell-with-coxswain rowing event in 1924 in Paris.

They know Jack Kelly won a gold medal in Antwerp, Belgium in the 1920 single sculls and double sculls rowing events. And twenty-six years later his son, John, won a bronze medal in single sculls in Melbourne. His daughter Grace won honors in a different field. She became an Academy Award–winning actress and later married Prince Rainier of Monaco.

One more story. It was back in 1912 in Stockholm that the pentathlon was dominated by the host country Sweden. The exception was an American Army lieutenant who, in the shooting event, completely missed the target on one of his shots. He claimed the bullet had actually gone through a hole made by an earlier shot. If that was true, George Patton would have won the event and gone home with a gold metal. The judges said no, so he ended in fifth place. Of course, Patton later commanded the third Army and helped achieve victory for the Allies in Europe in World War II.

My point is that Olympic hopefuls know all about past performances in their event. They hold up these past champions as heroes and almost feel their presence as they participate.

What I’m saying, along with the backing of the writer of Hebrews, is that believers with a "go for the gold" mindset remember the witnesses. Yes, the whole world will soon be watching what’s going on in Beijing. But today, the whole unseen world is watching what’s going on where you live out your life!

So, who’s the hero you’re especially pleased about having in the stadium anxious to see how you do this week?

How-to

This month, the first exercise I would encourage all of you to take part in is to search for and get to know a spiritual hero from among that cloud of witnesses watching your life of faith and the race God has set before you. The person could be someone from the Bible; it might be someone from history; and it might even be a person who was a former member of this church or another that has gone on to heaven and is now part of that cloud of witnesses in your life. I know that one of the persons I’d have to include is my Grandma Mitchell. She was such an influential person in my Christian life. She lived to be almost 100 years old. As a matter of fact, she died my second year here at Simpson. She always called me her "little preacher"—long before I sensed a call to the ministry. She is one of the important witnesses in my life that I know is cheering me on as well as looking down when I am having troubles or failing at what I am doing. I can feel her encouragement at times when I need it.

Start this week working on developing a "go for the gold" mindset. The Bulletin insert for this week takes you back in the Scriptures to explore the lives of a few of the outstanding people mentioned in Hebrews 11.

Conclusion

The truth is—people need heroes. That’s why the story of someone like Wilma Rudolph still inspires so many. As a child she suffered a number of illnesses. These included double pneumonia, scarlet fever, and polio. Most of her growing up years she wore a brace on her left leg. But she went on to win gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter dashes in the 1960 games in Rome, plus a third gold medal as a part of the American 4x100-meter relay team.

I believe Christians need spiritual heroes as well. Unfortunately, not all that many believers have outstanding performers they look up to. That needs to change. It’s one of the reasons many don’t aspire to greater heights. If we are going to be the kind of spiritual champions I believe we have the potential to become, we need to remember the witnesses—that huge crowd of earlier greats who are even now watching us perform. Don’t pretend they’re not there. Instead, tap into the energy God gives to all believers. It’s a part of going for the gold.