357: Shawn Moynihan - Exhortation: So Great a Cloud of Witnesses

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   Welcome to good Christophian talks. I’m Levi. I’m Chris. I’m Jason. And I’m Brian, thank you for joining us this week. On this podcast, we select one talk a week to help us get the Bible in our Daily News feed. Each week we post a talk that we previewed. From suggestions sent in by listeners from around the world.

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   Hello and welcome back. This is brother Chris Howard. With a excellent excitation to share with you. This excitation was given near the end of June just earlier this year at the Cambridge Ecclesia and is given by Brother Sean Monahan. With the title so great A. Cloud of Witnesses. Now this exhortation came in as a recommendation that I actually got to listen to with the suggester as we were doing a road trip for the Idlewild Bible School and driving around with some dear brothers and sisters that were staying with my wife and I.

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   After the Bible school, so this. Exhortation was an excellent and encouraging reminder looking at who is in your cloud of witnesses. Now I won’t go into more detail than that, I’ll let Brother Sean do that, But I found this to be a super encouraging one, one that was great to listen to and to remind me of. Who do you look to, both scripturally and in your daily life as the reminder of who are we looking to be inspired by and who do we inspire with our actions? So I hope you find this encouraging to listen to and reminds you of just how many amazing people we have both in the Bible to look to, both big and small, and also the people that in our lives that encourage us and inspire us on our walk to the Kingdom.

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   So I hope you find this to be an uplifting excitation that will encourage you along your walk. So now I’ll turn it over to her brother Sean Monahan for his excitation entitled. So. Great. A cloud of witnesses. So who is in your cloud? Who is in your cloud? Now, I’m not talking about cloud computing. I’m talking about, biblically speaking, who is in your cloud. If you can’t answer that question right now, it’s hoped that by the end of the expectation you’ll have a firm idea of who is in your cloud.

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   Our key verse is really a biblical cloud. It’s Hebrews 12/1 and two. Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking out to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

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   So the writer to the Hebrews is painting a picture for us, isn’t he? It’s painting a picture. So how should we understand this picture? Let’s break it down. Well, what’s the setting of this picture in Hebrew? Swell 1 and 2. So we’ll run with endurance the race that is set before us. And this word that’s translated race, doesn’t really mean race.

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   It means any kind of competition. In the Greco Roman world, it was the agon. It was the IT was the the the competition that created excellence, created arete and agon is used throughout the New Testament to describe our struggle as spiritual athletes. It’s used to describe Jesus struggle and the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s where we get our word agony from. And we know that Paul especially loved to use this metaphor of spiritual athletes competing, demonstrating excellence through the strength of Jesus Christ and the God of Israel demonstrating excellence in this competition, in this agon. It occurs in Romans 9.

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   It occurs in Galatians 2 and Philippians 2 and Philippians 3 and Second Timothy 4. Of course, he’s talking about I’ve fought the good fight, I’ve finished the course, I’ve kept the faith. Henceforth it laid up for me a crown of righteousness. That crown, of course, is the Stefanos. It’s the Laurel wreath awarded to the winners, the victors, and the agon.

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    He uses it in particular in First Corinthians 9. So if you want to turn there, he really breaks out this metaphor. First Corinthians 9 starting verse 24. Do not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize. Run in such a way as to get the prize Everyone who competes in the games.

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    This is the the verb form of that noun agon. Everyone who competes goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like a man running aimlessly. I do not box like a man beating the air.

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    No, I beat my body and make it my slave, so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. So this is a common picture that had great resonance for those Jewish readers that were the first readers of this epistle that lived in this Greco Roman world. So we have a picture of the scene. It’s a competition in a stadium.

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    So who’s in that picture? Well, there’s three characters. There’s the competitor, there’s the athlete in the arena. And the writer to the Hebrews exhorts that to be us. There are the witnesses compassed about, surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. And the last part of this picture is the most important one, and it’s Jesus.

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    Is it the finish line? And the writer exhorts us to keep our eyes focused on Jesus. So we have the scene. We have the characters and now the athlete is acting. What are we exhorted to do in this competition? Well, we’re exhorted to lay aside every weight. And what that really means is that in the Greco Roman world, athletes compete competed without any clothes.

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    In fact, gymnasium originally meant from gumnatsuo means to exercise without clothes. So I’m not going to belabor this point for obvious reasons, but the the metaphor really is, is that you remove everything that’s going to get in the way of your performance and we’re to lay aside everything that besets or ensnares. That’s a really cool Greek word.

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    This word actually means to kind of move people out of the way so that you can accomplish what you need to to do. You can picture an athlete preparing to compete and there’s people milling around this excuse me, excuse me, I’ve got a place to go. That’s what we’re to do.

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    And then there’s this weird phrase, run with patience. So most races, especially at this time, we’re not very long. We’re not talking about a marathon. We’re not talking about a 10K, I’m talking about 5K. Actually, for me a 3K would be long too, but we’re not talking about that. These races were at most 400 meters. So run with patients.

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    Well, patients is a bad translation. This Greek word Hoopa Monet really means with with spirit. If I could use an Ontario hockey analogy, it means to compete with grit, with grit. And the last action for the athlete in the arena is to look to Jesus. And again, this is an interesting word it it doesn’t mean to kind of look just at Jesus, but it means to remove everything else from your field of vision.

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    So this idea of getting rid of all these distractions and focusing on Jesus. So let’s take a look at the people that are the cloud of witnesses. Well, witnesses is interesting. It it’s where we get our word martyr from and it and it really it doesn’t mean something passive. We’re going to see that it’s related to the the words that are used in Hebrews 11 obtained a good report and testify and things like that.

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    So who are the witnesses? The witnesses are examples. They are examples. They’re the examples that we’re in Hebrews 11. And then the example that Jesus sets. We have to stop brothers and sisters and friends and recognize that there is nothing more powerful than the power of example. My favorite quote about that is someone wrote to the Victorian philosopher Thomas Carlyle. And so Doctor Carlyle, you’re an amazing teacher. What you know, what do you do?

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    How come you’re such a great teacher? What’s your secret? He said there’s no secret. Simply be what you would have your students become. Simply be what you would have your students become. So this cloud of witnesses, there’s the examples, the powerful examples of faith. Now let’s put it in the context. So one of the things that you have to understand about competing at this time is that you would go up to the arena to compete and as you would go up, you would see statues of champion athletes in the past. So if you were a discus thrower, you would go up to your event and you would go by on your way up and you would see statues of famous discus throwers in the past, examples that would inspire you to do your best.

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    So this is how we should understand witness in this context. They are examples for us, and the example is important because the writer to the Hebrews talks about cause and effect, right? He says because we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, then we should act this way. Their example motivates us.

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    Now let’s take a step back. Why cloud? Why cloud? What resonance would cloud have for the original Hebrew readers of this text? Well, we know that in the Old Testament, cloud meant many things. We’re just going to focus on one thing, and that is the cloud referred to God’s presence in his community, in his family, and specifically his example that motivated his family. The cloud was in God’s presence, leading the way, providing direction in the wilderness.

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    The cloud by day, right? We know that it demonstrated his presence at Mount Sinai. We know that it demonstrated his presence in the Tabernacle. And later on, when we had the introduction of the First Temple, God’s presence was indicated on all these examples by a cloud.

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    Now most specifically, we read about the cloud in Exodus 34, and here we have the cloud demonstrating God’s character attributes. We read in Exodus 34 starting verse 5. Now the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord, And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed the Lord.

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    The Lord God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children’s children to the third and 4th generation. This is such an important passage for us, right? The use of the divine name.

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    You know, Brother Thomas really asserted that that this meant I will be manifest in a multitude of mighty ones. And what God’s really saying here is my character will be manifest in men and women who I will make part of my family during their lives and who will partake of my divine nature in the Kingdom. So the cloud would have would have resonated as the the example provided by God’s presence. And it’s really understanding that God’s example is at the heart of God manifestation.

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    Jesus himself says this in John five. He says, most assuredly, I say to you, I can do nothing of of myself, but what I see the Father do for whatever he does, the Son also does. In like manner, the power of example and the cloud is at a special resonance as we saw in Exodus 34 for the character attributes of God.

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    And we see that in 2nd Corinthians 3 that Paul takes this account in Exodus 34 and breaks it down and he says in verse 18. And we all with unveiled faces, beholding as in a mirror the glory of God, are being transformed into the same image, the Greek word icon, the same image from 1° of glory to another, just as from the Lord.

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    And that’s our purpose, right? It’s our purpose is to manifest God’s character. Our purpose is to manifest the character attributes that we saw so fully demonstrated in his Son. In Colossians one we read that Jesus is the image, the icon of the invisible God. And in Romans 8, Paul tells us that that is our job.

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    He says in verse 29 for those whom he foreknew, he also pre predestined to be conformed to the image, to the ikonos of his son, in order that he might be the first born among many brothers. So we have these cloud of witnesses in Hebrews 11. And these are examples of faith. They’re not examples of perfection, which personally I find very comforting. I had the example of Gideon when we read in in Judges 6, because let’s be honest, Gideon tried faith after every other option didn’t work out right.

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    The Angel comes to him and says you’re going to deliver Israel, you mighty man of valor. And he said, I don’t see any evidence that that God is with me. And the next step, well, it’s, it’s going to happen. Well, you know, I need a sign. And then he gets the sign and then it’s still not enough. Because did you notice the the little detail is that he was still too scared to do stuff during the daytime. So this is encouraging, right?

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    These examples in Hebrews 11 are not perfect. They’re men and women like we are who make mistakes. And isn’t it awesome that we have a God that is so forgiving? So who’s in my cloud? I’m going to pick 3 examples. From Hebrews 11. Gideon’s in my cloud because I can really empathize with his faithfulness and God’s patience with his evolving faithfulness. Who else is in my cloud?

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    From Hebrews 11, Sarah is in my cloud because she laughed when she heard of the promise of Isaac. And yet we know in Hebrews 11 that by faith Sarah herself receives strength to conceive seed. And she bore a child when she was past age because he she judged him faithful who had promised.

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    It’s never too late to have faith. And the last example that I’ll pick for the sake of time in Hebrews 11 is David. What really resonates for me right now in this point in my life from David is his faithfulness despite great family pain.

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    In Second Samuel 18, we read after he gets news that Absalom was killed. O Absalom, my son, Absalom would. I had died for thee, O Absalom, my son. It resonates for me because we recognize that we have hopes for our children, and those hopes don’t always become realized as part of the plan of, of God.

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    And yet, you know, the anguish here from David leaps off the page, doesn’t it? It leaps off the page. And yet David was faithful because he knew that whatever God had done was right. So those are three examples from my cloud in Hebrews 11. Now the writer to the Hebrews tells us that it’s not just Hebrews 11 because he says we’re compassed about, we’re surrounded, they’re all around us. These examples, they’re not just in the Faith Hall of Fame in Hebrews 11.

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    Paul says this over and over again in Philippians 317. He writes, Imitate me, brothers and sisters, and look around to those already following the example that we have said famously, he exhorts, Timothy, let no man despise thy youth, but be an example. And then in writing to the ecclesia at Thessalonica, he says, And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much affliction with joy, and with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all. And Macedonia and Akaia who believe examples, we’re surrounded by examples and examples. Of course, Paul is demonstrating that can come from our ecclesia. It’s not just Hebrews 11.

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    It’s from our ecclesia and from our personal history. So I’m going to share one example from my personal history of someone who’s in my cloud. And I’m going to share 3 examples of folks in our collegia that are in my cloud. Don’t worry, no names will be used except my wife Kathy. Goes without saying that Kathy’s in my cloud as an inspiring example to me. But from my personal history, my grandfather’s in my cloud. So my grandmother and grandfather raised me and my grandfather died when I was 9.

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    And his example of loving God’s Word sticks with me to this day. And I’m just going to use an example, sorry, brother Paul. So brother Paul carries this briefcase. My grandfather carried A briefcase just like that and it was, it was chock full of books. He had like 8 different concordances. He had the companion Bible, he had the diaglot. He had help as Israel.

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    I can remember being like 5 or 6 and trying to pick it up and I was like staple to the floor. I can remember him listening to to exhortations. And you know what you had to do to listen to an exhortation in 1971? You had to get a reel to reel tape and this tape recorder that was like the size of this table and listened to it.

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    He loved God’s word. So my grandfather’s in my cloud. OK, 3 examples from our ecclesia that inspire me. First, the parents that are working so hard to raise children and the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I know you probably don’t feel inspiring. In fact, probably the dominant feeling that you have right now is exhaustion. It’s OK, but you’re in my cloud.

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    You’re in my cloud. The second example are folks who are facing serious and ongoing health challenges and yet meet those challenges with faith and with gratitude and with thankfulness and with optimism. You’re in my cloud and older folks, now I’m going to stop here because right now all the teenagers thinking, but you’re pretty old.

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    Uncle Sean, are you talking about yourself? Like, no little tip, once you get to be 20 years old, an old person is 20 years older than you. But older folks who are facing the significant challenges of age, yet are so faithful and so optimistic and such an example of that thing, that grit, that perseverance over time.

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    You’re in my cloud. So brothers and sisters, I’d invite you to look around. Look around. Who’s in your cloud? Whose example inspires you the best? The most important example, of course, is Jesus, and he is the most important person in our cloud, Paul states. This clearly says be imitators of me, even as I also am of Christ, Peter writes.

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    For to this you’ve been called because Christ also suffered for you leaving an example so that you might follow in his steps. And Jesus himself said I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.

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    So Jesus example is a powerful one. He says after washing the the disciples feet. I have given you an example that you should do just as I have done to you an example of humble service.

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    And we live out Jesus example in two sets of interrelated relationships, right? And he talks about the two great commandments, loving God and loving your brother.

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    That is how we enact our manifesting of the characters of God with our relationship with God and with our relationship with each other. One’s kind of a vertical relationship, one’s horizontal, but they’re interrelated.

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    You know, our relationship with each other is the demonstration of our relationship with God. It’s the mark of our discipleship. Jesus says that in in John 13. By this will all men know that ye are my disciples. If you have love one for another, and John takes it even further in first John 4, if someone says I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this is the commandment that we have from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also. So let’s go back to the scene.

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    We’re exhorted to compete, we’re exhorted to lay everything else aside, and we’re exhorted to look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. Jesus is our finish line. He’s our example. And and we have the key for running the race. We have the motivation for running the race for the joy that was set before him.

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    I think that there are many occasions when the joy was set before him, but I think of one in particular, and that’s the transfiguration. And what’s interesting, one of the many interesting things about the transfiguration is that we read this in Luke 9 starting verse 34. While he was saying this, a cloud came and overshadowed them and they were fearful as they entered the cloud and a voice came out of the cloud saying this is my beloved son, hear him. So like us Jesus support comes out of the cloud. So as we take of the bread and wine, brothers and sisters, ask yourself who is in your cloud?

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    We have all these examples from scripture. Choose people that resonate with you, that provide an example that you can relate to and be inspired by. Think about your personal history and your ecclesial family, the people in this room. Think about people that resonate with you, that provide an example that you can relate to and be inspired by. And most important, think about Jesus and the power of His example, because as we compete, He is helping us every step of our race.

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    We know this because in Hebrews 7 we read He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through him, because He continually lives to intercede for them.

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