Now, if you will, I invite you
to take your Bibles, turn back with me to the book of Hebrews,
chapter 12. Place your bookmark there or
something to mark your place. I have some things to say to
you before we get into this study. My subject, this morning is going
to be along the lines of faith. We've been looking at this in
Genesis and looking at it in the book of John. And faith is
defined, declared, exampled, and commanded throughout the
Scriptures. You're not going to find any
Scriptures anywhere that does not deal with this thing of faith
or example it or command it or exhort you to it. Faith is absolutely
necessary to the saving of a man's soul. By grace, he said, are
you saved through faith? You're not going to be saved
any other way. Without faith, he said, it's impossible. It's
not hard. It's not difficult. It's impossible
to please God. The church is given this great
commission before the Lord ascended and went up into glory. He said, All power is given unto
me in heaven and earth. Go ye therefore into all nations,
unto all people, into all kingdoms. Go ye therefore into all the
world and preach my gospel. He that believeth, didn't say he that considered,
didn't say he that learned, said he that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved. And he that believeth not shall
be damned. There's nothing more important
to you and I this morning than faith. Here in Hebrews chapter
12, the faith of God's elect is set before us as a man running
a race. A runner has the prize, sees the prize
at the end of the track. He's preparing to run. He's preparing
to go for the prize. And this text is just full of
instruction and full of the glory of God and full of inspiration
to any man who has an interest in spiritual things. And before we get into this text,
I want to say some things concerning these analogies and pictures
of these spiritual things like this runner. I think it's absolutely
necessary that you understand these things. If you truly desire
to understand the Word of God, if you have a sincere interest
to know, to enter into spiritual truth, not an interest to know
something like you know geography. You know, I've noticed I meet
a lot of men in the ministry. People come to visit, people
who know God, people who don't know God, I meet a lot of people.
And almost always, if you'll just sit down in the conversation
and keep talking to them and don't push them this way or that
way, they'll go to wherever it is they have the most knowledge.
If this man works on a whatever, if he's a scientist, he's going
to go to science and that's what the subject is going to be. And
if he's a pilot, he's going to start talking about airplanes.
Whatever it is, that's where he's going to go. He's going
to take off and go over there. And I'm not talking about people
who just know things so when they get in a conversation, they
can hold their own in the conversation. That's not wanting to know the
things of God. I'm talking about spiritual things,
eternal things, heavenly things, salvation, redemption, eternal
life, the gospel, faith, regeneration. Heaven and hell, the judgment.
If you truly want to know about these things, they must be considered
in the light of the whole testimony of God. The whole testimony. I'm not
talking about folks who are still arguing over doctrine and defending
their traditional ideas or trying to figure out God with natural
reasoning and logic. I'm talking about those of you
who have been awakened by the Spirit of God and given an interest
A sincere interest to know the living God, to understand what
this book says. To have an attitude and spirit. He said, I'll tell you when you'll
find me, when you seek for me with all your heart, I'll make
myself known to you. I'll make myself known to you.
God has a treasure laid up reserved for all those who sincerely and
with all their hearts seek to know Him. And the gospel of His
Son is the treasure. It's the treasure. But there's
a problem. Eye hath not seen nor ear heard,
neither have entered into the heart of man, any man, mankind
in general, the things which God hath prepared for them that
love Him. But God hath revealed them unto
us by His Spirit. Now listen. For His Spirit searcheth
all things. You see what I'm saying? His
Spirit don't just search Acts 2.38. His Spirit searches all
things. All things. When His Spirit teaches,
it teaches with a consideration of all things. When it goes back
to Genesis, it doesn't just consider creation, but it considers creation
in the light of all things. In the light of everything that's
been said. You can't study the Bible by
going over and reading Genesis chapter 1 and just camping there.
You have to read Genesis through Revelations and then go back
to Genesis 1. And then consider it in the light
of everything else you've read. We say, I can't retain all that,
I can't remember all that. That's why you have to keep reading.
You keep reading. And the more you read, and the
more He gives you to know, and the more you retain what you've
read, the more you begin to understand what this book's all about. What
it's all about. God has a treasure laid up, but
there's a problem. It has to be revealed to me.
And it's revealed in a certain way. Now listen to me. Listen
to what he says. Listen to the language of Scripture.
All Scripture. All of it. Not part of it. I've known people and talked
to people and you start to tell them about these things in the
Old Testament and show them how these are the very foundations
of the things that we believe in the New Testament. Well, those
are just stories. To you, They're not stories to
me. It's the very foundation of what
I believe. He said all Scripture is given by inspiration of God
and is profitable for doctrine. You mean I can go back and study
Abraham for doctrine? That's what he says. You mean I can go back and look
at that ceremonial law for doctrine? That's what he says. All Scripture
is given by inspiration of God and there was no other Scripture
at this time except the Old Testament. when he wrote that, and it's
profitable for doctrine, it's profitable for reproof, for correction
and instruction in righteousness. I'm not confined strictly to
the New Testament to understand the will and way of God. And
everything that I read has to be read in the light of everything
else that's already been said. The record and testimony contained
in the Scripture have a purpose and a goal. Turn with me to 2
Peter chapter 1. These are not just the random
thoughts and reactions of men to circumstance and time and
different ages and different governments. They are not just
general instructions and warnings compiled over time and sent to
whoever. The writers of Scripture were
divinely inspired. Divinely inspired. Now watch
this here in 2 Peter 1, verse 19. We, now he's talking about
himself and the other writers of Scripture, the other apostles,
have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto you do well
to take heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place. That dark place is you and I. This light is the Scripture,
the Gospel of Christ, the testimony of God. And when you read it,
keep that in mind. Keep that in mind. You're not
the light that interprets the Scripture, you're the darkness.
And you're going to stay in darkness unless God shines this light
in your heart. That's how you're to read that.
That's how you're to consider this book. You do well to take
heed as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day
dawn, until the light bulb lights up, until the sun comes up in
its brightness and its glory, until the day dawn and the day
star arise in your heart. Alright? Now watch this. Verse
20. Knowing this first, Here's the
first principle of the Word of God. Now listen to it. No prophecy
of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. What on earth
is he talking about? Does that mean I'm not trying
to understand what the Scriptures are saying? Not at all. Not at
all. Does that mean I'm not to read
the Word of God? No, sir. No, sir. That's not
what that says. Is this telling me that no man
has a right to stand before me and declare truth dogmatically
and without apology and say, this is it and this ain't? Is
that what he's saying? No, sir, that's not what he's
saying. Well, then what on earth is he talking about? Well, here's
what he's saying. It's telling us that no writings,
no prophecy of the Scripture is to be considered apart from
the testimony of the rest of it. It's not to be isolated and
privately interpreted. That's what he's saying. You
don't isolate a passage over here and build a church on it. What's he saying? He's saying
I can't go to Acts 2.38 and preach baptismal regeneration because
it don't fit the rest of the Bible. I can't go to John 3.16
and preach universal redemption because it doesn't fit the rest
of the Bible. I can't go to a passage and separate
it from the rest of the teaching of Holy Scripture and then justify
some ungodly idea of a man. Can't do it. Look at this next
verse here in 2 Peter 1 verse 21. Here's why you can't do it. Prophecy came not in old time
by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were
moved by the Holy Ghost." You see that? It tells one story. God didn't change stories. God
set out to do something, and He set out to say something,
and He set out to reveal something, and it doesn't change. It stays
the same. He said, I'm the same yesterday,
Today and forever I'm the same. I change not. That's why you're
not consumed, because God doesn't change. He doesn't change. And I feel impressed of God this
morning to speak to you about this running of this race. This running He talks about over
here in Hebrews chapter 12, but you're not really going to get
much out of it if you don't understand what He said in the first 11
chapters. Years ago, back in religion,
I used to listen and watch the TV evangelists and listen to
the radios and go into all these churches and fancied myself a
singer and took my little guitar with me and went out there and
played music and did this and that. And I've heard this verse
preached time and time again and they set the prize out there
as salvation and man's works trying to reach the prize and
if he does enough works And if he's faithful enough and good
enough, he can get the prize. That's not what this is about
at all. Not what it's about at all. That pot of gold that lays at
the end of the track. They say, well, that pot of gold,
if you're worthy, you can get it. You're not worthy. You're not worthy. that it's given as some kind
of a reward. Now the problem with that kind
of preaching is that this kind of preaching totally disregards
the rest of the Word of God. That's why I refuse to argue
with religious people. It's a waste of time. They totally
disregard everything else the Bible says because of this one
little pet doctrine they have. I'm plainly told over in Romans
chapter 9, it's not of him that willeth, it's not of him that
runneth. So this race can't be about that.
It's of God that showeth mercy. Over in Luke chapter 24. See,
here's the problem. These apostles, they followed
the Lord and listened to the Lord and they believed Him to
be the Messiah, but the Messiah to them, their whole concept
of the Messiah was set by their traditional ideas of religion.
And they thought that the Messiah was altogether like David or
Solomon, and that when He came, they were going to restore this
Jewish kingdom, and they were going to restore their rights
and glory and country and power. Well, He went to a cross and
died. They don't give up their living.
They don't give up their friends. They don't set themselves apart
from the whole religious community. They were isolated. Now here
they were, they were outlaws. They couldn't go back and he's
dying. Dead. Rolled a stone up over his tomb.
And there they sit. You see what I'm talking about? They didn't view these things
in the light of the Word of God. They just viewed them in this
little traditional idea that had been passed down to them
that they were raised in. The same problem I have. Everybody comes in here. I have
to somehow overcome your religious traditions and get you back focused
on the Word of God. Over here in Luke 24, the Lord
He didn't reveal Himself to them, He just came up there and started
talking to them and walked along the way and He said, O fools
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written
about Him. You didn't believe everything,
you didn't read everything, you didn't consider everything. And beginning with Moses, now
listen to this, and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in the
Scriptures all these things that pertain unto Him. Then, it says,
opened he their understanding that they might understand the
Scriptures. That's how they have to be viewed. And that's what the book of Hebrews
is all about. It ties the old to the new. It ties the old to the new. He
begins by saying that God in sundry times and in divers manners,
these various and different times and manners, He spoke to your
fathers through the prophets. But now, He speaks through His
Son. He spoke then in figures and
types and allegories and men's lives and kingdoms and all this
type of thing. He spoke to them through the
prophets back then. Now he speaks clearly in the
manifestation of his Son. He ties the old to the new. He
begins by telling them that the woman's seed, the slain lamb,
the promised redeemer, the ark of Noah, the tabernacle, priesthood,
ark of the covenant, the scapegoat, the mercy seat, on and on. But
in these days, these days of apostasy and pretense and deception,
in these last days, days of darkness and spiritual wickedness in high
places, And these last days before the God of glory calls all men
before the presence of His glory. That Lamb. God speaks to us about
that Lamb. That Lamb that Abraham told Isaac
would be provided by God now comes into the world as a man,
the God-man. And his forerunner sees him coming
down that path and he said, Behold, the Lamb. That great shepherd of the sheep
whom David wrote in the Psalms and said, Leadeth him beside
the still waters. Prepareth a table before him
in the presence of his enemies. Restoreth his soul. He now stands
as a man, as the God-man in this world. before the great porter
to claim what rightfully belongs to him. You see what he's saying? See Solomon of old standing over
the kingdom in glory and in the wisdom of God. And that old queen
looking at all these things and saying, the half has never been
told. Just astounded by his wisdom
and the glory of that kingdom. But now see Him personified in
a man called Jesus, made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. The very personification of God
in a man. That's what I read to you in
Hebrews 10 a while ago. The volume of the book is written
of me. I come to do thy will, O God." This man, this fulfillment of
all the Old Testament high priests, this man made a priest after
the order of Melchizedek, this man by whom God speaks one last
time after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat
down on the right hand of God expecting his enemies to be made
his footstool. And this, my friend, is what
the Holy Ghost is sent to establish in the hearts of seeking sinners.
And it was then and is now the message of those inspired men
of God who wrote this book. And this is the message when
applied to the heart causes a man to know that his sins have been
put away. Purges that dead conscience from
dead works to serve the living God. This is that message that causes
that man who sees himself a stranger, sees himself a son, adopted,
chosen of God unto salvation, set apart by His Spirit and called
by His gospel. And He sees a new and living
way consecrated through His Son, consecrated by His perfect obedience
and righteousness, consecrated by His shed blood, consecrated
by His ascension into glory and His intercession for us to the
Father. And that we have a high priest
over the house of God who opened a way, giving us a boldness to
enter into the very presence and fellowship of God. And if
you benefit from these passages, you must know what led to the
passage. You see what I'm saying? You
can't just run over here and start talking about a runner
and just start making things up that fit a runner. Because
we totally disregard everything else that's been said. You've
got to consider it in the light of what's already been said. And then in Hebrews chapter 11,
Paul talks about these people that have been justified, these
people that have been called to believe, and he gives us a
verbal cloud of witnesses, just a cloud of witnesses, men called
of God to believe, example throughout their lives. And he goes all
the way back to the first son of Adam and starts showing us
about that altar of Abel and that blood that was shed on it.
Talks about Enoch being translated that he should not see death.
Talks about Noah being warned of God. Talks about Abraham called
out of idolatry. Talks about his sons and his
wife, pilgrims in the earth, giving testimony that they sought
out a city whose builder and maker was God. They didn't look
for an earthly kingdom. They looked for a heavenly kingdom. Listen to this, Hebrews 12, verse
1, "...wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin
which doth so easily beset us, and 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, and is set down at
the right hand of the throne of God. Now this race that is
set before us is the faith of God's elect. That's what he's
talking about. It's faith. It's set before us as a race
because there are others who would claim the prize. We have in our day I don't even
know how to give a comparison. I don't even know how to declare
to you how much of a multitude there is of men and women who've
made professions of faith, walked down aisles, was baptized, made
commitments, signed a pledge book, joined a church, was baptized,
sprinkled, whatever. I have no way of even giving
you a number of the multitude of people in our day that said,
I'm going for the prize. What Paul's doing here in Hebrews
is telling you there's only one person going to get the prize. That's that man who runs this
race by faith. He's going to get the prize. Because he runs this race looking
unto Jesus. He runs this race. There are
just virtually millions of people in our day who have made professions
of faith and say, we are going to claim the prize, but only
one is going to win it. Not one as an individual, but
one type of faith is what he is talking about. There is true God-given, Miraculous
faith. Persevering faith. Preserving faith. Gracious faith. Reigning faith. And there is
a false faith. An empty profession. A hollow
form of godliness. No power. It cannot submit. Cannot pass through the fire.
Cannot finish the race. No power to produce heavenly
fruit. And this race Paul sets before
us is the faith of God's elect, and the place where we run this
race is this world. We run it in this world, filled
with pitfalls, hurdles, snares, trouble, filled with temptations,
intimidations, lusts, and desires. Traps on every side. There's
mountains and valleys and oceans and rivers. There's a wilderness
to traverse. Go back to the pictures. What's
the first thing he did when he crossed the sea? He entered into
a wilderness. There's a wilderness to traverse. A desert to cross. And this world
is filled with those who would fix the race. They'd hinder you
so they could have the prize. That's what our Lord said to
the Pharisees. He said, you won't enter in. You won't let them
who want to enter in go. You won't even let them. You
hinder them. There's enemies of God and enemies of the Gospel
and enemies of your soul. In Ephesians 4, verse 14, listen
to this. He said, Be no more children
tossed to and fro, carried about with every wind
of doctrine by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, listen,
who lie in wait to deceive. The runner runs, but all along
the way there are little bushes and hedges, little embankments,
and these men are crouched down hiding. Hiding. They don't know
what to do. They're just pawns. Satan just used them. They're
his ministers. Ain't that what he calls them over in the Corinthians? They lie in wait to deceive.
Sneak in. Wolves in sheep's clothing. Though natural men, they're ready
to run for the prize. They're ready to snatch the prize,
but there's rules and regulations to the race. You can't have the
prize and avoid the rules. There's standards set up. God
set up standards to this race. You're going to run this race
His way, or you ain't going to have the prize. This race is set before us in
the Word of God set before us. is the place to run, all of its
dangers, all of its snares, all of its enemies. This race is set before us as
one officiated by the God of glory, by His standards, His rules, His authority. And the prize, what's the prize?
The prize, my friend, If the multitude knew what the prize
was, they wouldn't enter the race. The prize is heavenly glory. The prize is to be perfectly
conformed to the image of Christ. The multitude runs for pie in
the sky and a sweet by and by. They run so the circle won't
be unbroken. They run to meet mom in heaven.
They run to meet some lost sister who died in childbirth and who
knows what else they run for. It's pie in the sky and a sweet
by and by. The believer runs because he
sees the prize. The prize is to be perfectly
conformed to the image of Christ. It's eternal life, heavenly life,
glorious life. It's to be like Him, to be His
Son, to be in the company of God. The multitude can't stand
to come in here for 45 minutes and listen to me preach. What
in the world would you do in heaven? You'd be miserable. Heaven would be hell to you.
I'm telling you, if the multitude knew what they were running for,
they wouldn't even enter the race. They wouldn't even enter
the race. Oh, the prize is heavenly glory. Deliverance from this body of
death. Deliverance from hell and condemnation. Everlasting fellowship with God
as His Son. Joint heirs with Christ. And
the length of this race is my lifetime. There's a place where
I begin this race and I'm not going to be finished until they
put me in the box. That's the end. That's the end. So clear is this race laid out
in the Word of God that if a man fails to finish, he has no one
to blame but himself. But so difficult is this race
that if a man reaches the prize, he has no right to claim the
glory. He'll give all the glory to God. A race. You see the difference? Faith is like a race. It's the
only way we can run this race, finish this course, and claim
the prizes by looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith. Faith translates here. Now, I want you to listen to
me. When he says this, the author and finisher of our faith, here's
what that word faith translates. Conviction of truth. Looking unto Jesus for conviction
of truth. It means assurance of the promise.
Where can I get my assurance? How can I get assurance? Looking
unto Jesus. He can't fail. He said, this is my beloved Son,
hear ye Him. He that hath the Son hath life.
You see what I'm saying? It's my reason for hope. What reason do I, a sinner, have
to hope in such glory? Looking unto Jesus, I find my
reason. An unshaken foundation. And it means the whole system
of my religion. Looking unto Jesus. He's the
author and finisher of our faith. Faith runs. You know, when a man runs, doesn't
it presuppose an eye to the prize? He's not going to run. I've been
in many races in my life when I was going to high school. Just an ignorant kid, I didn't
think the prize was worth doing all that. I didn't think it was
worth running. But an eye to the prize. That's presupposed
if you're going to get into the race. That's presupposed. He sees the glory. He sees the
end. He sees the purpose. He sees
the way. How come? Because he's looking
at the prize. He never takes his eye off the
prize. He's looking under Jesus. He's the author and finisher
of it. Faith runs. It exerts energy. It goes after. It competes. It competes. I don't look at the world and
just go, what am I going to do? There ain't no need for me preaching.
Huh? Oh, no. That's not what faith
does. Faith competes. It competes. Faith will preach. It don't care
how many multitudes. It don't care what the odds are. It preaches. Preaches. It competes. It runs. Faith runs. He don't sit over here and say,
well, you know, that guy there, he last year stayed at camp.
I don't think I'm going to get in the race. Oh, no. I'm going to run. I'm going to
run. And then it says faith runs looking. It don't run working. It runs
looking. Looking. Israel's back there. They were
trying to run working. It wasn't doing them any good.
God rained down serpents on them. He took that serpent, made it
out of brass, fashioned it just like those fiery serpents. He
raised it up. Now he said, look. Look and live. Look. Faith runs looking. It don't
run working. It don't run blindfolded. It
don't run all directions. It runs looking. straight, fashions
its eyes on Christ, and like a beeline it goes for Christ.
Come over here, we got music. I'm going for the prize. Come
over here, we got this, we got that, we got gymnasiums and basketball,
we got this, we got that. I'm looking. Now you run blindfolded,
I'm telling you, you're going to fall in the ditch. What you
going to do? We run looking. Looking. No man can run and finish this
race who does not desire what lies at the end. Listen to this, Paul said, Though
our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by
day. For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding weight
of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but
at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen
are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
For we know this, that if our earthly house and this tabernacle
were dissolved, we have a building of God in the heavens. Rock this body. Kill this body. Let this body die. I've got a
body in glory. I've got a home in glory. Seated
there with the Son of God. Let disease have it. Let the
cancer take it. All it can do is promote me into
the presence of God with whom I want to be anyway. Paul got to the point where he
said, I'd rather be there. The only reason I'm here is for
your benefit. Other than that, I'd just as
soon go on. What have I got down here except
lashings and scourgings and mockings and trials? What have I got down
here? I'll tell you this, when you
see that glory in him, the earthly glory fades away. You go out
here at night and you look up in that sky and it's, especially
down in Yucatan or up in Canada, somewhere where we're out of
all this smog and smoke and pollution, and you get up there and the
skies are just literally filled with stars, just filled with
them. Do you know what happens when the sun comes out? You don't
see none of them. You don't see none of them. In
the night time of this old natural flesh and understanding, we see
all kinds of light, see all kinds of glory until the sun comes
up. When that day star comes up, when that day dawn, all them
stars disappear. You just see one star, Christ. Christ. Oh, this race presupposes
a heart desire for the prize. You'll finish this race when
the prize becomes the object of your inmost desire. As I said before, if an unbeliever,
if he knew what the prize was, he wouldn't even run. Not even worth his consideration
now? Absolute nonsense. Foolishness
to him. And the only reason he'd even
bother to run the race is because they think the prize is something
it's not. The prize is Christ. To be like
Him. To be found in agreement with
Him. To be one with Him and the Father. We run this race seeing
Him who's already finished the race. Here's your assurance.
This race has already been run. It's already been run. And the
runner finished the course. And he sat down. He sat down. Now he said, all you got to do,
look to me. Don't look away, look to me. Don't look this way and that
way, look to me. Look to me. Now, Paul said, would you run
this race? Would you run this race? Get shed everything. Ain't that
what he said? Get shed of everything that's
going to hinder you in this race. Get rid of it. I tell you, these runners I see
running, they just got on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. That's
all they got on. Little old lightweight tennis
shoes. They aim to win. They came there to race. They
came there to win. They came there to claim the
prize. We come out here in our old self-righteous robes of righteousness,
dragging on the ground with our broad phylacteries, and you can't
run that way. Get rid of it. We come out dressed
in all the desires and lust of this world and of this old man
and of this old nature. You can't run that way. Get rid
of it. Get rid of it. Want to build
big homes and big castles and big names for ourselves. Get rid of it. You can't run
that way. That's what Paul said. This world's
not the prize. Earthly fortunes and treasures
are not the prize. You're going to be disappointed.
The moth and the rust are going to consume them. Fix your eyes
on the prize. Lay these things aside and run. Run. Run. Our feet must be shod with the
preparation of the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6. Let me tell
you something. You can't run a heavenly race
encumbered with a robe of religion. Get shed of it. and gird yourself
about, Paul said, with the truth. Put on the girdle of truth. Passion
them eyes on Christ. Get your feet shod with the preparation
of the gospel of peace and run. Run. Every runner I ever seen,
when he goes, he goes. I mean, he goes. Unless something
happens to him, he's going for the prize. God help us to lay aside. I've
been a help to you. I hope you can see these things
and see that prize and see what this race is all about. This
is the race of faith. Faith just has one object, Christ. But in Christ they see the glory
of God. The glory of God. It's not hidden
from them. They see it. And to see it is to want it,
to desire it. And that's what faith does. We studied Wednesday night. It
rearranges your life. You sit down and you consider
these things. These things don't just pop in your head. You come
and you sit and you listen. This dear lady has been here
now three or four weeks in a row listening, listening, listening.
That's how it comes. That's how faith comes, by hearing,
hearing by the Word of God. The more you hear, You reorchestrate. Change things around. Move things
around. Get ready. Run this race. Run this race. That's what it's
all about.