Hebrews 12 verse 1 reads, 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, and let us run with patience the race that
is set before us. Now the writer of Hebrews here,
who I believe is the Apostle Paul, is talking to believers
about running a race. The Greek word used for race
here though means a great deal more than just a race as we think
of it, a foot race or a horse race or a car race. The word race in this verse is
a word that implies a contest, a goal, a goal of ambition, desire,
and hope, a course requiring some effort, an anxiety or a
conflict, a fight. It takes and implies all those
things. It actually represents the believer's
journey in this life to eternal life. And the stadium in which we run
or in which we travel is this world. Now, today folks run for
many reasons. Some run for hobby, others run
for health, but in a general sense, folks run only when they're
anxious to get to a certain place. I'm not the kind of person that
normally gets in a hurry, except if I'm running late, unless I'm
anxious or excited to get somewhere, or unless I'm spurred by some
attraction that may soon be gone. I about broke my neck the other
day because Teresa said, oh, come look, we've got a hummingbird
at the feeder. And that was almost detrimental,
getting there in time. Run. It usually presupposes the
attitude or heart of one who eagerly sets their mind upon
a certain course. When I have to travel, a far
distance or what I think to be a far distance. I often tell
Teresa, well, we need to hurry up and get on the road. And in
other words, I'm anxious to get there. I want to get the traveling
behind me. In our text, this race, this
goal, this contest, this ambition, which is sure to have conflict,
is the desire to find complete deliverance from the power of
indwelling sin. That's what Paul's talking about. It's a desire to find perfect
conformity to the Lord Jesus Christ. To be like Him. It's to desire a safe entrance
and to the promised rest of eternal communion and fellowship with
our Lord and Savior. It's important to understand
that this race, this contest, this fight is not a race of speed,
but it's a race of endurance. That's very important. It's a
race of endurance. If this was a race that rewarded
the fastest runner, it certainly would not be a race that is said
to be run with patience. Though we might lay aside every
weight in a race of speed, we most certainly would lay aside
every weight in a contest of endurance. We'd only hurt ourselves
by carrying unnecessary weight along with us. And in this race
of which the writer is speaking of, this course of life, the
weight of sin, oh my, what a burdensome weight that so easily besets,
and that word means afflicts and plagues us. We must lay it
aside. Recently, Our son Andrew came
to visit, as most of you know, and when he did, he showed us
pictures and told us about his recent climb to the 16,000 foot
summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa. And we learned
that he took great precaution and went to considerable length
and expense to purchase the right gear and the right clothing in
order to backpack with nothing more than what he absolutely
needed. No need to carry any more than
he needed. Andrew and three friends, acquaintances, required at least
15 other trained and experienced natives of Africa to carry their
food and other necessities, tents and all that. They were trained to do so. We
saw pictures where they're just passing Andrew and his friends
with carrying so much stuff you wouldn't believe that they could
carry it on their hands. And this was an undertaking,
this was a journey, this was a course that took great patience. It took them six days to climb
to the summit. And they had to climb and hike
patiently to daily acclimate to the altitude in order to breathe. Great patience it took. Six days
to get up and just one to get down. It wasn't a journey of speed.
It was a journey of endurance. That's the kind of race that
Hebrews 12 is talking about. Again, verse 1, 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, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us." Who are these witnesses that are spoken of here? Well,
it's all of those who are mentioned in what we refer to as the Hall
of Faith found in Hebrews chapter 11. These are the Old Testament
saints who witnessed faith in Christ before Christ ever came.
Did you know that God saved Old Testament saints the same way
that He saved New Testament saints? The same way He saved sinners
today? He pointed them to Christ. The Scriptures pointed them to
Christ. The prophets of old. The law
of God. Pictures and types that pointed
sinners to Christ. He that was to come to take away
the sin of His people. If you, in your leisure, look
at Hebrews chapter 11, you'll see a lot of names mentioned
in that chapter. And it speaks of the faith of
Abel. who believed that the blood of Christ was the only remission
of sin. Abel brought a blood sacrifice
to the altar. Cain brought the fruit and works
of his own hands. God accepted Abel's sacrifice
and rejected Cain's. It speaks of Enoch who walked
with God. Enoch knew that without faith
it was impossible to please God. Has God shown you that? That
without faith in Christ, it's impossible to be pleasing to
God? Then we're told of Noah, who
believed that salvation was only in Christ, the ark of safety. Only those who were found in
the ark were safe from the outpouring of wrath and judgment. It fell
on them too. But they were in the ark. And it speaks of Abraham who
believed God and it was counted unto him for righteousness. On
down the line in Hebrews chapter 11, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph,
Moses, even Rahab the harlot. They'd all tell you the same
thing, that salvation is by faith believing and looking to Christ
alone. Salvation is about looking unto
Jesus. That's where salvation is found,
looking to Christ. And don't think for a minute
that your looking to Christ deserves or carries any merit. It doesn't. Because chosen sinners are saved
by grace through faith and that's not of themselves. It's a gift
of God, not by works. lest any man should boast. Sinners, by God's omnipotent
grace, are made to look. Made to look. Made to believe. Made to trust in Christ alone.
Well preacher, I never hear you give any credit to the sinner. That's because God doesn't give
any credit to the sinner. None. He never has and He never
will. He will not share His glory with
another. Not even His people. No, sir. You see, the God we believe,
the Christ that we trust in, the Holy Spirit that teaches
us will not. share their glory with another. To be made to see Christ is a
great act. Believe me when I say it's a
great act of love, mercy, and grace by God. We must continually
and constantly remind ourselves who God has mercy on, on whom
He wills. Who does God have compassion
on? On whomever He wants to. Who does God have mercy on? On
whom He will have mercy. That's who. Whom will God hardeneth? Oh, He does. He leaves men and
women to themselves. And in doing so, they're hardened. Who does He harden? Whom He will
harden. And that's the God with whom
you and I have to do. And that's what these great cloud
of witnesses testify of. Each of their lives point to
the blessed revelation that salvation is of the Lord. Now I hear a
lot of people say that, salvation is of the Lord. People say it a lot, but I don't
believe they believe it for a second. You don't have to listen to a
man or a woman long to see that they really don't believe that
at all. They say that salvation is of the Lord, but then they
add, with a little help from me, they say that Jesus is Lord,
then they add, because I made Him Lord. Then you don't believe it at
all. Salvation is of the Lord. Period. Dot. Nothing follows
that. Salvation is of the Lord. These
witnesses are witnesses of what it means to have faith in God,
have faith in Christ. These witnesses are men and women
of faith. They are ones who lived by faith.
They are ones who died in faith. They are ones who ran a successful
race in faith. They are ones who obtained a
good report through faith. And this race, this course, this
journey, this conflict, this fight, whatever you want to call
it, that we find ourselves in is one of faith. Notice that
this race is set before us. Who set it before us? That's
a good question. Who set it before us? God in
mercy and grace set it before us. He should have sent us to hell.
That's what he should have done. That's what we deserve. This is speaking of the God whom
we have offended. This is speaking of the God with
whom we have to do. This speaks of the God who demands
perfection in and from us. The same God who sent His Son
into the world to die for His people's sin. The same God who
gives the gift of faith and has determined to have mercy on the
Son. You know, there's only one way.
We say this all the time. I pray that it really pierces
into our hearts and that we truly see it and hear it. There's only
one way that any sinner can obtain the perfect righteousness and
holiness, and that is by looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith. Do you see that in verse 2? Looking
unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. Did you notice that the emphasis
is put on Christ here? You'll miss that if you don't
look close. Even the word hour used before
faith is italicized. That means it was added. It wasn't
in the original translation. Our faith is not mentioned here.
Our faith is weak faith at best. Christ is the author and the
finisher of faith. No emphasis at all put on our
faith. It has nothing to do with our
faith. Our belief in God. The Scriptures
talk about the faith of Christ. We are justified by the faith
of Christ. Galatians 2.18. Our righteousness
is through the faith of Christ. His faithfulness, not ours. Philippians
3.9. We have boldness and access to
God with confidence by the faith of Him. It's the faith of Christ,
Ephesians 3. There's no doubt from reading
Scripture that Jesus Christ is salvation. He's the object of
our faith, is He not? He's the object of salvation.
He's the author of faith. Faith was initiated by Him. He's the finisher of our faith. And that word finisher there
means perfecter. He's the perfecter of our faith. Our faith is perfected in Him. He's the initiator of our believing. Faith is His gift to whom He
wills to give it. He's the reason for our looking
to Him. How do I know that? He tells us that we love Him
because He first loved us. He's the One whom we put our
faith in. How are we saved? We believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. You do so and you shall be saved. And as the finisher of our faith,
He'll keep us by the power perfect our faith in Him. Isn't that
so comforting to know that it's not dependent upon my faithfulness,
but His? These cloud of witnesses are
not the objects of our faith. They simply believe in the sacrifice
of the Lord Jesus Christ, just as you and I do. You see, the
just, they shall live by faith. by faith in Christ. And if any
of them draw back, the Scripture says, his soul shall have no
pleasure in them. Hebrews 10.38. The justified
of God, the just, that's who I'm talking about, have eternal
life because they believe that Christ died for the putting away
of their sin. Now do you believe that? That's
the issue. That's the issue. What is a life
of faith? Well, what is it to run this
race? What is it to finish this course? What is it to endure this spiritual
conflict and warfare? How do we finish this fight with
sin, self, and Satan? A life of faith is a life that
is lived in complete dependence upon God for everything. Now,
did you hear that? A life of faith is total, complete
dependence upon God for everything. I mean everything. I'm dependent
upon Him for my next breath. My next heartbeat has to come
from Him. Resting in His sole provision
for everything I must do. Depending on Him for health. trusting Him to save us and keep
us and receive us in glory. It's all dependent on Him and
His faithfulness. A life of faith is a life lived
in communion with God. A man or a woman, any sinner,
that doesn't commune with God doesn't know God. I'll tell you this, as one old
friend of mine used to say, just between us girls, I'm going to
tell you something. I'll make a little confession
to you. You might find it hard to believe, but I don't get in
a closet and pray for an hour every day. Actually, I don't know that I
ever have. I don't know that I've ever prayed in a closet.
And I know that I've never prayed for an hour. But that's not communion
with God. There are not many days and many
times a day, though, that I don't ask the Lord to help me. I need help. I desperately need help. Every
day. Every hour. I need Thee every
hour. There are not many days that
I don't thank the Lord for saving me. calling me by His grace,
showing me Christ and Him crucified. There's not a minute goes by,
it seems, that I'm not conscious of my need of Him. Oh, I need
Him. I need Him. There's not many days that I
don't ask Him to save and help others. Lord, save my children. Save my friends. It hasn't always been like that,
but by the grace of God, it's that way now. You see, a life
of faith is having communion with God. Being ever conscious
of Him. A life of faith is a life lived
in obedience to God. Please understand that when I
talk about obedience to God and how it's mentioned in the Scriptures,
it's not talking about obedience to the law. even though it may
include that. It's talking about the obedience
of faith. The obedience of faith is the
obedience of believing in Christ. If you want to be obedient to
God, be obedient and believe in Christ to be all that you
need. Be obedient and always remembering
how Christ saved sinners. By the sacrifice of Himself on
the cursed tree. And again in verse 2, looking
unto Jesus, the Author and the Finisher of our faith, who for
the joy that was set before Him. Now here we have the motive of
Christ. I'm confident this will bless
you if the Lord shows it to you. We have the motive of Christ,
who for the joy that was set before Him. And remember, our
redemption is not what we know, it's who we know. There's an
article in the Bulletin by Gabe Stoniker that's worth reading. I encourage you to do so. You
and I and no one else will ever understand that statement, who
for the joy that was set before Him, when you see what it was
that was set before Him. What did God set before our Lord
and Savior? The death of the cross. The death
of the cross. And not just the death of the
cross, but the enduring death of the cross. Read on in verse
2, "...who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross."
The death on the cross was no quick death. No. It was an enduring death of pain
and agony. The word endured here in verse
2 means to stay under. Christ stayed under. He endured. He bore our sins in His own body
on the tree. Our Lord endured the cross it
says. He stayed under the curse of
the law until every single sin of His elect throughout time
was paid for. He endured the cross. And what an enduring of suffering
it was. Our suffering couldn't pay for
one single sin. Did you know that? Our death
was justifiable. Our death was the wages of sin.
Christ's suffering paid for all the sins of all His people throughout
all time. The law could not justify what
it did to Christ, but it justified us in what Christ did. And that's
the gospel. What did Christ do? He died the
just for the unjust to bring us to God. It's going to have
to be brought. you're going to have to be brought.
And again, verse 2, "...who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame." You see, Christ's
enduring of the cross takes on even more meaning when we consider
the shame that He suffered and that He despised. I'm talking
about the shame of dying on the cross. Only the most hated died
that way. Only the worst criminals met
with this punishment. It was the most disgraceful way
there was to die. Stripped naked, beaten beyond
recognition, whipped and scourged, blood running down his eyes from
the throne of the crown of thorns that were on His head, railroad
spikes driven through His hands and His feet, a spear pierced
at His side, and all the while they mocked Him and they ridiculed
Him, they taunted Him, and they laughed at Him. The Scriptures
say they pulled up seats and sat and watched Him like it was
some kind of an entertainment. And it was to them. And He hung
there on that cross until He died. And I was thinking the
other day here a lot about the big eclipse that's coming up. Better get your groceries early.
Madisonville's going to turn into a madhouse. For I don't know how long we're
going to have this eclipse, but on that day, three hours of darkness
when the Lord Jesus gave up the ghost. Oh my. And all of this occurred without
retaliation. He suffered their taunts without
any emotion. Their mistreatment and abuse,
He patiently endured. Shame on those who are ashamed
of Christ. Shame on those who are ashamed
of Christ. The shame He experienced was
the same that you and I should have felt. How could I be ashamed
of Him? I'm telling you folks, it would
have been more than we could have taken for any amount of
time. But our Lord took it in the highest
and the most noblest way. And verse 2 again, who for the
joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. His
work's finished. Oh, His work's finished. The
race is run. And he sat down. He has all power
and dominion. He sits at the right hand of
the throne of God. That's the place of power and
authority. He occupies the place of supreme
sovereignty. He sat down. He's entrusted with
all judgment. He Himself said, as thou hast
given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given Him. John 17, 2. Eternal rest is found in Him
alone. He sat down. I hope that it is
here that the unbeliever asks, what must I do to inherit eternal
life? If you have any interest, then
there's hope that the Lord's already done a work of grace
in your heart, or you wouldn't ask. Look at verse 3. What must you do to inherit eternal
life? For consider Him. Oh, will you
this day consider Him? Consider who He is. He is God
the Son and the Man, Christ Jesus. He's the God-Man. Consider what
He did. He died the just for the unjust,
as we said, to bring us to God. Consider what He became. He was
the sacrifice and substitute for His elect. He put away sin
by the sacrifice of Himself. Consider what He was made. He
was made to be sin for His people. Consider what He accomplished.
Eternal redemption for His own. Consider where He is now. He's
at the right hand of God. At the right hand of the throne
of God. Consider what He endured. He endured the holy wrath, judgment,
and justice of God for you, His people. Consider what He will
yet do. He's coming again. He's going
to receive you unto Himself that where He is, you will be also. Will you consider these things?
Oh, if you do and God shows you these things, you'll be convinced
that you can't live without Him. Friends, this is a race of endurance. Christ is our example, for consider
Him that endured. Verse 3, for consider Him that
endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself. Now
I have to finish, but listen carefully. Our Lord endured the
contradiction of sinners. Contradiction means disobedience. Christ endured the disobedience
of sinners. Who was this disobedience, contradiction
of sinners against? It says against Himself. The word against in this verse
means opposed to, in opposition with, at odds with, resistant
to. You and I, by nature, are against
Christ, opposed to Him, in opposition with Him. We are against the
very One who died to justify sinners. It was against the Author and
the Finisher of the One who gave us the faith to believe in Him.
Our sin was against Him and Him only. The Scriptures say, the
kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered
together against the Lord and against His Christ. And did you
know that the term Antichrist? Oh, that's a word that people
will perk up their ears when you talk about the Antichrist.
But do you know that that term means against Christ? John, the
beloved disciple, wrote, little children, it's the last time,
and you've heard that Antichrist shall come even now. There are
many Antichrist, whereby we know that it's the last time. There
are many who are against Christ, Antichrist. He went on to say,
who is a liar, but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ. He
is Antichrist. that denieth the Father and the
Son. You don't have to be an atheist. Now listen, I'm almost
done. You don't have to be an atheist
to deny God the Father and God the Son. You don't. To believe and to worship a false
god, another Jesus, is to deny both the true Father and the
Son. We are encouraged here to consider the Lord Jesus Christ
and to always look unto Him. And verse 3 ends with these words,
Lest, all consider Him, look unto Him, lest, unless ye be
wearied and faint in your minds. Now to be wearied means to be
discouraged. It implies exhaustion. Are you wearied and discouraged? Are you exhausted? Are you faint
in your mind? Do you sometimes feel like giving
up and quitting? Are you tired of running this
race that leads to eternal life? If you are, keep looking unto
Jesus. Keep considering Him. and what He's done for sinners. Remember that He's the finisher,
the perfecter of your faith in Him. Remember that those who
endure till the end shall be saved. How do we endure to the
end? Well, we endure to the end because
our Lord Jesus, having loved His own which were in the world,
loved them unto the end. That's how we endure to the end.
By His love for us unto the end. There used to be an old saying,
don't hear it much anymore, which said, keep on keeping on. Well,
I'm just going to keep on keeping on. God's people keep on keeping
on because they're kept by the power of God. That's the only
reason. The only reason. Oh, God, keep us. Save us and
keep us. OK.