It is not that I did choose thee,
Lord, O Lord, that could not be. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Neiber. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Mattawar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com.
Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In the book of Hebrews, chapter
12, verse 1, we read, 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, looking unto
Jesus." Now, how do we run this race that is set before us? Looking unto Jesus. How does our spiritual life begin
in our experience? Looking unto Jesus. The race is run with patience,
looking unto Jesus. And oh, it's my prayer that when
I die, I will die looking unto Jesus. This phrase can be the
summary of the believer's life. Someone who is looking unto Jesus. Now, we read of a race that is
set before us. We all have a race to run. A
course to finish. And this race is to be run looking
unto Jesus. In verse one, the writer to the
Hebrews said, wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with
so great a cloud of witnesses. Now, he's talking about everybody
that he'd mentioned in Hebrews chapter 11, all the Old Testament
saints, Abel and Enoch and Noah and Abraham and Sarah. and Moses,
and all these Old Testament witnesses. They bore witness, and that's
where we get the word martyr from. They were willing to die
for what they believed. They bore witness to Christ being
all in salvation. Abel, what's your testimony? The blood of Christ. Enoch, what's
your testimony? Without faith, it's impossible
to please God. Noah, what's your testimony?
Salvation is only in the ark, in the Lord Jesus Christ, nowhere
else. Abraham, what's your testimony?
They all had the same testimony. They bore witness to the same
thing, that Christ is salvation. If you would look at the book
of Hebrews, I believe one of the key words is the word better.
It's found Many times in the book of Hebrews, Christ is better. He's better than angels. In Him,
there's a better covenant, there are better promises, there's
a better resurrection, a better country. Christ is better. The key to this 11th chapter
of Hebrews, before we get into chapter 12, is the word faith.
Now what is meant by faith? Faith is believing God. Faith is trusting Christ only. Now, when I'm talking about faith,
when the Bible talks about faith, it's not talking about Peter
Pan faith. It's not saying if you believe it, it'll happen.
No. God's purpose is going to happen whether you believe or
not. Faith is not believing that it'll happen if I believe. Faith
is believing it's accomplished by what Christ has done. It's
not believing what might be, it's believing what is. It's
believing what has been done by Christ. That's faith. Faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ. By faith, Abel offered unto God
that more excellent sacrifice. Now, these Old Testament saints,
they bear witness to Christ. They bear witness to the way
of faith as opposed to the way of works. Now, seeing we're compassed
about, he says, with this great cloud of witnesses, and they're
speaking even now, the writer says, let us lay aside every
weight, everything that would hinder us in the pursuit of the
Lord Jesus Christ, everything that would hinder us in the way
of faith, lay it aside. And that sin which does so easily
beset us. Now, when he's talking about
a besetting sin, he's not really referring to some particular
sin you have problems with, although we ought to lay those aside.
Somebody says, well, my besetting sin is anger or lust or pride. Well, those ought to be laid
aside. But the besetting sin he's speaking of is unbelief,
because it is the sin from which all other sins come from. This
is the besetting. See, we've been talking about
faith in Hebrews chapter 11. Now, let us lay aside every weight
and the sin and unbelief which does so easily beset us and let
us run with patience. The race that's set before us. Patience, cheerful, hopeful endurance. The fruit of faith. Believing
there's a prize at the end of the race. Believing there is
free grace that will enable us to run the race. Believing that
God is, that God is in control and the outcome has already been
determined. We're not hoping we'll win. We know we already have won.
I think patience can be like watching a ball game that you've
taped and you already know the outcome. The determinate, who's
won, it's already been determined. So when you see what's going
on, you don't get upset because you already know the outcome. In running this race that God
has given us, we already know the outcome. We're more than
conquerors through Him that loved us. Therefore, we can run with
patience the race that is set before us. And then he says in
verse two, looking unto Jesus. Now, this is the summary of the
life of the Christian. Now, here the word looking is
used only twice in the New Testament, the word that's translated looking
here. It means literally to look away from something so as to
see something else. You will not see that something
else unless you look away from what it is your eye is fixed
upon. Now the great scriptural illustration
of looking to Christ is found in the story of the grazing serpent. I'd like to read that story to
you. It's found in Numbers chapter 21. We read beginning in verse
4. This is talking about the children
of Israel. And they journeyed from Mathor by the way of the
Red Sea to compass the land of Eden. And the soul of the people
was much discouraged because of the way. Now God had brought
them through so much, yet they succumbed to unbelief. Their
soul was much discouraged because of the way, verse 5, and the
people spake against God and against Moses. Wherefore have
you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For
there is no bread. Now wait a minute, manna had
fallen down that very day. Yes, there was bread. Neither
is there any water. That, too, is a lie. Water was
coming from thy rock. And then they said, Our soul
loatheth, loatheth this light bread. The manna that came down
from heaven, they were sick of it. They wanted something else.
Verse 6, And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and
they bit the people. And much people of Israel died.
Now put yourself in their position. All these snakes coming into
the camp. And when a snake would bite you, you would die. How
scary that must have been. Therefore, verse 7, the people
came to Moses and said, We sinned. For we have spoken against the
Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take
away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent. That's a likeness of the serpents
that were coming in and biting them. You take brass and make,
form a fiery serpent and set it upon a pole and it shall come
to pass that everyone that's bitten when he looketh upon it
shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass
and put it upon a pole And it came to pass that if a serpent
had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. All he was called upon to do
was look. Now, notice, they were not told
to look at the serpents that had bitten them. They were not
told to look at their wounds and examine them. They were not
told to look to Moses, who was holding the pole with the serpent
on the pole. They were to look to that serpent
on a pole and everybody that simply looked lived. Now, the Lord speaks of this
in John chapter three. Actually, the gospel is in this
John chapter three, verse 14. These are the words of the Lord
Jesus. And as Moses lifted up the serpent
in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted up that
whosoever believeth in him should not perish. but have eternal
life. If you look to Christ, you will
be whole. Now, if there was a race to run,
and there was a certain point that you had to reach to win
this race, how would you run the race? Would you run looking
down at your feet, looking at your walk? No, you'd veer off.
Would you turn your head and look at others? No, you'd veer
off. Would you turn around and see
how you'd ran up to that point? No, you would run in circles
that way. No, you keep your eye fixed upon the finish line, upon
the point where you had to reach. Looking unto Jesus. This is how this life is carried
out, looking unto the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's consider this
thing of looking to Christ. What's it mean? Well, the word
in itself means you quit looking at something so as to see something
else. You quit looking to yourself.
You quit looking to your works. You quit looking to your experience.
You quit looking to your ability. You quit looking to your religion.
You quit looking to your past. You throw it all away. You stop
looking at those things so as to look to the Lord Jesus Christ. I look to Him in His person. He's God. He's man. He's the God-man, and because
of who He is, He is able to save me. I look to Him in His life. You see, His life tells me what
God requires. Perfect likeness to Christ. And
His life is my life before God. I'm looking to His life as my
personal righteousness before God. You want to know the truth
about me? You read Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. The life of Christ is my life
before God. He said, I am the way, the truth,
and the life. No man comes to the Father but
by me. His life is my life before God. His righteousness is my righteousness
before God. I looked at Him in His death.
Now why did He die? There's only one reason for death.
Sin. My sin became His sin and He
made complete payment for my sin. His death caused my justification
because my sin was removed by what He did. I looked at His
death as my sin payment. I look to His resurrection as
my justification before God. When the Lord Jesus Christ went
into the tomb after being crucified, He went into the tomb with something,
my sin. But when he was raised from the
dead and came out of the tomb, he came without something, my
sin, and I now stand justified before God. I look to him in his intercession. Hebrews 7.25 says, Wherefore,
he is able to save them to the uttermost. that come to God by
him, seeing he ever liveth to make an intercession for them. I think of what he said to Peter,
Peter, I have prayed for you, that your faith fail not And
I am right now depending upon Him to represent me before the
Father, even right now. And that prayer I offer up, He
takes and presents before the Father, and it smells good to
God because of His intercession. I'm looking to Him for His return. You know, things are such a mess
right now, but He's going to write every wrong, and we're
going to see Him as He is when He returns. And that's what's
going to make every believer just like Him. Oh, how we look
for Him in His return, and we... I tell you what, I'm really going
to look to Him. I hope I'm looking to Him now.
As a matter of fact, I know I am. But I'll really know what it
means to look to Him when my name is called on Judgment Day.
And I'm going to look to Him to answer for me. Present and
accounted for. Looking unto Jesus. Now, I'd like to go on reading
in verse 2 of Hebrews chapter 12, because in that passage of
Scripture, He gives us five ways we look to Him. He says, looking
unto Jesus, the author and the 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 Majesty
on high. Now, here are five ways We're
to look to Him. Looking unto Jesus, the author
and the finisher of our faith. First, I look to the Lord Jesus
Christ as the author, as the source of my faith. Now, I have
faith. I believe God. Right now, I believe
That although I know in and of myself right now while I speak
to you, I'm a sinful man, I believe that through Christ I stand before
God without sin. I believe that who Christ is
and what he did is enough to make me perfect before God. I believe that and I know where
that faith came from. It didn't come from me. It wasn't
a decision I made. The source of my faith is not
an act of my free will. There's no such thing. No, my
faith came from Him. He's the author of my faith.
He's the source of my faith. And I know that is so. He is
the author of faith. Not only is He the author of
faith, He's the object of faith. I'm looking to Him. He's the
subject of faith. He's everything in faith. He
is the author of the faith that every believer has. So first
of all, when I look to Him, I'm looking to Him as the source,
as the author of my faith. You know, I even come to Him
for faith. I don't come to Him with my faith. I come to Him
for faith. Lord, give me faith. I know that
if You don't give it to me, I won't have it. He's the author of faith. But not only is He the author
of faith, He is the finisher. the perfecter, the completer
of faith. I know this, the reason I'm going
to persevere in the faith and continue in the faith is because
He causes me to. He's the completer of faith and
he's the completion of faith. I'll tell you when you believe,
when you see you're complete in him and you don't need anything
else. He is the completion of faith
and every believer will persevere all the way to the end because
they look to him as the finisher of their faith. Now right now,
I'm looking unto Jesus as the author the source and the finisher,
the completer of faith. That is how I look to him. Now
let's go on reading in our text. It says, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before him. Now here we're looking to Christ's
motive for what he did. looking unto Jesus who, for the
joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising
the shame. I love to think about this. The
Lord looked at the cross and He endured it. Oh, the horrible
pain of the cross. He thought of the shame experienced
in being the sinner's substitute, and he despised it. He counted
it as nothing because of the joy that was set before him. And what was the joy that was
set before him? glorifying His Father, obeying
His Father, doing His Father's will. For that joy, He'd endure
the cross and count as nothing the shame. Do you know the cross
glorifies God? All of God's attributes, who
God is, is seen in the cross. Oh, we see the wisdom of God,
how He's made a way to be just and yet justify sinful men and
women. We see the power of God, His
ability to put away sin. We see the mercy of God and the
love of God, His love for sinners. We see the holiness of God, how
He will not let sin go unpunished. Every attribute of God is completely
displayed and glorified in the cross. So the Lord saw this as
the joy that was set before Him in glorifying His Father, and
the joy of saving His people. When the Lord went to the cross,
He wasn't doing so generically. He had the names of all of his
elect written on his breast. And he went there knowing he
was having the joy of saving them. When he said, Father, forgive
them, they know not what they do. Everybody he prayed for was
forgiven. Oh, the joy that was set before
him in saving his people. Now, that's his motive. Looking
unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy
that was set before him, what did he do? He endured the cross. Now, the cross. The cross that our Lord was nailed
on. The physical pain. You and I can't have any understanding
of. But He endured it. Now why is their death sin? The sin of His people became
His. And that's why He was nailed
to a cross. He was made sin. Now what all that means, I do
not know. But it also says He despised
the shame. He felt all of the shame and
the humiliation of the sins of His people. Shame is a very powerful thing.
But my sin so truly became His that He experienced the shame
of it before His Father. Looking unto Jesus, The author
and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before
him, endured the cross, despising, counting as nothing the shame,
and look what it says last, and is set down. Is set down. I look to him as having set down
at the right hand of God. Now why did he sit down? Because
his work was finished. Now in the Old Testament, In
the tabernacle, one piece of furniture that was conspicuously
absent was a chair. There was no chair for the priest
because his work was never done. He never sat down. Now listen
to this scripture, Hebrews chapter 1 verse 3, speaking of the Lord
Jesus Christ, it said, When he had by himself, with no help
from me or you, no contribution from me or you, When he had by
himself purged, put away, blotted out our sins, the sins of all
for whom he died, he sat down at the right hand of God from
henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. Now, the reason he sat down is
because the sins were purged. They were put away. There was
nothing left. In Hebrews chapter 10, verse
11, we read, And every priest standing, daily ministering,
offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take
away sins. But this man, after he had offered
one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down. on the right hand of
God, from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his
footstool, for by one offering he hath perfected forever them
that are sanctified." Now this is how I look to him. I look
to him having sat down, finished his work And that means, beloved,
that there is nothing for me to do. It's all been done. I look to Him as my complete
Savior. All that God requires of me,
He looks to His Son for, and His Son did it, and sat down,
and I am complete. I'm lacking nothing in Him. He hath made us. accepted in
the Beloved. So I look to Him as the author
and the finisher of my faith. I look to His motive, the joy
that was set before Him. I look to what He did. He endured
the cross, despising the shame, and I look to Him as having sat
down, finished the work, there's nothing for me to do. And that
gives me such joy. to know that there's nothing
for me to do. He did it all. I rest in Him. And the life that I live, I'm
to live looking unto Him, the author and finisher of my faith. Now, there's somebody thinking,
how can I look when I don't see? Well, it doesn't say whosoever
sees. It doesn't say seeing. It says
looking. And if there would have been
a blind Israelite who would have had his blind eyes pointed toward
that circle on the pole, he'd live. Anybody who looks lives. And what you're called upon to
do, what I'm called upon to do, it's not even see. Somebody says,
I can't see. Well, then you're not looking. You look, you'll
see. And if you don't see, it's because you've never looked.
You've never looked to Him. You've looked to yourself. You've looked
to something you do or something you intend to do. And as long
as you look that way, you'll never see Him. But when you look
to Him, you'll see that He's the author and the finisher of
faith. You'll see that He did what He
did for the joy that was set before Him, and He finished the
work looking unto Jesus. May God enable you and I to look
unto Him. Now we have this message on cassette
tape, CD and DVD. If you call the church, write
or email, we'll send you a copy. This is Todd Nyberg praying that
God will be pleased to make Himself known to you. That's our prayer. To request a copy of the sermon
you have just heard, send your request to messages at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Or you may write or call the
church at the information provided on the screen.