Turn with me to Hebrews 12. I'd
like to read verses 1 and 2. Wherefore, seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset
us. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising the shame, is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God. Beginning back in chapter 10
of Romans, verse 35, and coming all the way through the 11th
chapter of the book of Hebrews. I said Romans, but I meant Hebrews.
Starting in Hebrews 10, 35, and all the way through. Now, I won't
read that, but basically what that record in Scriptures sets
forth is the efficacy. That word means the power to
produce the intended results. It proves the efficacy, the efficacious
work of the Lord Jesus Christ to keep His people, to cause
them by His grace and mercy to do that which he commands, to
endure that which he appoints, and to obtain what he has promised
they shall have." The witnesses, the writer to
the Hebrews starts off saying, we are compassed about with a
great cloud of witnesses. Now, I have read where some have
said that that is angels. That's different, you know, things,
men that watch us. And I'm sure that those things
are so. I know that there are ministering spirits, I know,
from the Lord to minister to the heirs of promise. I know
that. But the witnesses that he's talking about are these
men and women starting in Chapter 10, verse 35, and coming all
the way through in the 11th chapter of the book of Hebrews, just
looking in Hebrews 11, verse 4, by faith, Abel offered unto
God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. By faith, verse 5,
Enoch was translated that he should not see death. By faith, verse 7, being warned
of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear." Verse
8, "...by faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into
a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed." Through faith, verse 11, "...Sarah
herself received strength." And the Scripture says, verse 13,
"...all of these, they died in the faith." by faith. Faith is the evidence of life. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this life of faith is intensely practical. We talk about, or
men talk about, blind faith, blind faith. According to Scripture, is evidence of things it has
not seen. Verse 1 of chapter 11 says, Faith
is the substance of things hoped for. It is the evidence of things
not seen. Faith grasps hold of Christ. It beholds Him by
faith. Those things the Scripture is
talking about in these witnesses, we are accomplished about, verse
1 of chapter 12, with a great cloud of witnesses. The writer
is saying there have been those that have gone before us and
are alive today, and we are accomplished about with a great cloud of witnesses
by faith. We behold them. We see them.
Almighty God, by His power and grace and mercy, kept some folks. And by faith, they did, the Scripture
says, what they did. By faith. By faith. Now, I know that people look
and they say, well, I tell you, I realize that I'm just, I'm
doing so and so, I'm doing this, that and the other, I'm coming
because I want to come. By faith, a believer does what he does.
By faith. The writer says in that last
part of that first verse, let us run with patience the race
that's set before us. Now, these all died in the faith,
by faith. Adam by faith, Noah by faith,
Abraham by faith, Sarah by faith, this one by faith, by faith.
Let us run, therefore, with patience the race that's set before us.
The life of a believer is referred to as a race. When I was in high school, I
ran cross-country races. That meant that it could be anywhere
from two and a half to four miles, cross-country. It just depends
on what it was. And it had something to do with
continuance. I mean, starting off was one
thing, but there was a finish line that you were aiming at. So a race has got something to
do with continual. Let us run with patience the
race that's set before us. Paul said in 1 Timothy 6, 12,
fight the good fight of faith. and lay hold on eternal life,
whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession
before many witnesses." It's a race of obedience. A believer
is in a race. Now, perish the thought that
a believer is not in a race. The writer says, let us run with
patience the race that's set before us. It's a race that begins at the
new birth and doesn't end until we're summoned to leave this
world. It's a race. If you know Him, you're in a
race. And this race, the Scripture
said, is set before us. Let us run with patience the
race that is set before us, marked out. by God's providence, God's
purpose, to bring His own unto Himself. The steps of a good
man are ordered by the Lord. It's a race. We race, we run with patience. And that word patience has got
not so much to do with speed as it does with endurance. Let
us run the race that is set before us. They that endure to the end
shall be saved. I tell you this, they that endure
to the end are kept by the power of God unto salvation. That is
why they run. Now, we refer to this life as
a believer in whatever way we can, you know, relating our words.
The Scripture refers to it, Gary, as a race. It is a race. with continuance. It has to do
with obedience. It has to do with endurance.
When we run, we've got a goal in mind. What's the goal of a
believer? It is that perfect conformity
to the image of his Lord. Be like Him. See Him as He is. What a goal! But in this race,
We're given some instruction. Wherefore, seeing we are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses, those that we read
about just a moment ago, he says, let us lay aside every weight
and the sin which doth so easily beset us. Now, I looked up where
he's talking about let us lay aside that weight. And what he's talking about is
things that we would have or maintain or keep or hold on to
that would just be a hindrance to us. Let us lay aside every weight. The word weight means something
that we are at liberty to cast aside but choose to retain, something
that we're just bound and determined, I'm going to hold on to. You
know, it's wise to know something about yourself. It's wise to
know something about your foes and to guard against both. It's
wise to know something about your own weakness and to know
something of those that oppose you. Put off, Paul says, seeing you,
put off the old man with his deeds. Put on, therefore, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved vows of mercies, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one another and forgiving
one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Someone offends you. Someone says something and kind
of rubs you the wrong way. You're just bound and determined,
I'm just not going to let it go. They've offended me. These
things ought not be. It's weight. It's lay aside every
weight. Something that you're bound and
determined you're going to hold on to. The sign of life is that certain
things that didn't bother me before now do. Things that are offensive, offensive
to my Lord, offensive to His people, hindrances, Someone says,
well, give me an example. I don't have to. Every man, every woman's got
some things. We just, by nature, we are just prone to have things
that we're just going to hold on to. And I'm not going to let
it go. Well, time will tell. The Spirit of God has created
a new man in the image of Christ. New principles, new desires,
new attitudes. And a believer hates the old
man of the flesh and strives continually to put him off. And he will strive until he leaves
this world. Philippians chapter 3 and verse 8. Let me just start. Verse 7, Paul
says, What things were gained to me? Those I counted lost for
Christ, yea, doubtless, and I count all things but lost for the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered
the loss of all things, and do count them but none, that I may
win Christ. and be found, verse 9, in him,
not having mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that
which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which
is of God by faith." Let me ask you something. Things
that await to us. I'll just throw something out
here. Envy. Envy. Resentment. Just jealousness. Just jealous. You see what I'm saying? Paul
says, put them off. We're in a race. We're compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Consider these that
the Scripture says, by faith, Noah, he moved with fear. God told him, this is the way
it's going to be. By faith, Abraham, when told
to go into another country, he left. By faith, Enoch walked
with God. By faith, Moses would not stay
in Egypt. Oh, but you don't understand,
preacher. I got stuff. I got things and
mess. I don't mind going, you know,
as far as I feel I need to. I had a fellow when I was in
Tennessee. And I, well, I said something
that offended him. And I went to him and I told
him, I said, listen, I'm going to apologize to you. And he said,
well, that's fine, I'll accept it, but I'm not coming back anymore.
He said, I believe what you're saying, but I'm not coming back.
I said, well, then why don't you go over there and worship
Donny Bell? Well, I can't do that. I've got
a big business here I've got to take care of. I just don't
have time. A believer is in a race. Lay
aside every weight. Lay aside worldly cares, worldly
companions, worldly involvements that take our interest and our
concern from Christ. A believer will. This is a work
that is wrought within us by the Spirit of God, but it's a
work, and it's a daily work. We strive daily. Every sin is
a weight to the believer. The body of sin is a sore burden
and is therefore to be put off. David, when he was a young boy,
went to... There was a giant. His name was
Goliath. And David went into the camp,
and Goliath had stood up, and he just taunted the people of
God, the nation of Israel, the army of the Israelites. Send
out a man, he said, and let him take me on. If he beats me, I'll
army come to you. If I beat him, your army come
to me. David comes in and asks this
question. Who is this uncircumcised Gentile? that speaks against the army
of God. And the king heard him, and he
said, I'll tell you, king, I'll take him on. And the king said,
let me do this. Here, let me put a helmet on
you and a coat of mail, and let me give you a sword, and let
me put some brass shoes on you, and let me put this big old this
and this big old that. And David stood there, and he
said, I have not proved thee. I don't feel comfortable with
this." And he took it all off and went forth with that which
God had prepared him and slew that giant. He put it off. It
just doesn't feel comfortable to me. Have you ever been in
that position? Ever been in that position? Now,
you think about this. This is how it works. This just
doesn't feel comfortable to me. There's just something about
this that just, this is dishonoring to my Lord. I don't feel comfortable
here. Put it off. Joseph, when confronted
with Potiphar's wife, she said, lay with me. Lay with me. Joseph, he fled. This just doesn't
feel comfortable to me. Lay aside, Almighty God, the
Scripture's promises. The Lord will not allow His people
to be tempted above that which they're able to escape. Don't
use sin and say, Well, I'm just a sinner. I just can't help it. Lay aside, Scripture says, every
weight. And the sin, and the sin, You
notice that. And the sin lay aside every weight
and the sin which doth so easily beset us. You know what that
word beset means? Attack us from all sides. Surround or him of the sin which
doth so easily, the sin which doth so easily beset us. We have a besetting sin, every
believer, the source and spring of all other manifestations of
sin. Here is the sin that all men
are not exempt. The monster of iniquity. You know what it is? Unbelief. Unbelief. It is the nature of unbelief
to deny the substance of things that are hoped for and to oppose
the evidence of things that are not seen. Unbelief tends to make
our hearts faint, but for the fact of Christ's prayer for us
that our faith fail not, we give up and we quit and we would not
finish the race. And I mean especially one who
has met with great difficulties and has been called upon by God's
grace and providence to suffer for the sake of Christ, one that
has gone through some stuff. Ask him, ask him, what is your
greatest enemy? What has disturbed you most? What has disheartened you most?"
Asked, what is it? I promise you, you will hear
without exception those that know Him. I am talking about
those that know Him. He will say this, the evil of
my own unbelief. Peter in the water. This is exactly
what the Scripture says. When he saw the wind boisterous,
he was afraid and began to sink, he cried, Lord, save me. And the Lord caught him and said,
O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?" Why did you
doubt? I had something happen today.
I was sitting in that chair right over there, and I had just gotten
through writing these notes, I ask God. Got a call from one
of my children, and one of them told me something. And I'm telling
you, like, it's that quick. I thought, you've got to be kidding
me. Man, I went through a hundred miles an hour. Jeff in my mind
trying to figure out, now, okay, now, all right, now, this is
how I'll handle it. This is what I'll do. I'll make this phone
call, and I'll do this, I'll do that. And I'm telling you,
all of a sudden, I stopped. And I thought, I have just finished
preparing this message. Doubt. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are called. What's the remedy? What's the
hope? Verse 2, looking unto Jesus. finisher of our faith, who for
the joy that was set before Him, as a race set before us, joy
was set before Him. He endured the cross, despising
the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne
of God, looking unto Him The cloud of witnesses is not the
object of our faith. They are examples of the sufficiency
of God's grace. We are encompassed with a great
cloud of witnesses. But the object of our faith is
Christ. Our eye is not fixed on many.
It is fixed on Him. Men will disappoint you. It is
not on the army. leader, the captain of our salvation. He is the one who has begun and
completed the course of unfailing faith. Looking unto Him, He endured the cross and made
a shame. That word, despising the shame,
it means He made a shame of shame. And he is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God. He is our Savior, appointed and
sent by the Father to be our Redeemer, our Representative,
our Ransom and our Mediator. He is the author of our faith.
It is not in us by nature to believe He is the author of it.
And He is the finisher of it, the completer of it, the profector
of it. That is what that means. And
this he does by his grace to us. He dwells in us by faith. He leads us by drawing our hearts
away from the things of this world and fixes our heart upon
him. I tell you what he does to a
believer. He makes him lonesome for his fellowship, lonesome
for him, longing for him. hunger after him, thirst after
him, a great cloud of witnesses. We are in a race. Run with patience,
the race that is set before you. The path is ordered. Run with,
lay aside, lay aside. Do you have a desire to? You that know Him, you do. You do. This excess baggage that
I'm so, by nature, I'm just grabbing after all the time. Put it aside. Lord, grant me the grace to keep
me from that. Keep me from that. Lord, let
me hunger after You, not the things of this world, this world
passing away. And the sin that doth so easily
beset me, unbelief. Oh, God forgive me for that unbelief. And you know, I think the older
a believer gets, the more he sees of that. The more he sees,
Lord, I need you every hour. This is the Lord that we remember
tonight.