Hebrews 12, verse 1, the Apostle
says, seeing that we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses. Who are these witnesses? They
are the Old Testament believers that he wrote about in chapter
11. When we studied chapter 11, he talked about Abel, by faith
Abel, offered a more excellent sacrifice than Cain. Enoch, by
faith Enoch, walked with God. Noah, being warned of things
not seen, moved with fear and built an ark. Abraham, whom God
commanded to leave his father's house and go to land he was showing,
went out, not knowing where he was going. when she was old,
conceived, and bear a child, Moses, Isaac, Jacob. That's who we're talking about
here. That's the cloud of witnesses. People, these men who died in
faith, these men who died believing God, believing God's word, not
having received the fulfillment of the promises, but having seen
them afar off and were persuaded of them and embraced and confessed
that they were strangers and pilgrims looking for a city.
They died in faith, believing God, believing the fulfillment
of his promise in Christ the Messiah. They finished their
courses, they kept the faith, and they received the crown. And their witnesses, that's what
he calls them, a cloud of witnesses. Now what is a witness? The witness is one who has seen
something. Actually, a witness, he witnessed
it. I saw it. A witness is a person
who has heard. He didn't hear about it, he heard
him who spoke from heaven. Now, second-hand, a witness is
first-hand, for he has experienced the fact. Let me show you. Our
Lord gives us a definition of witnesses over here in Luke 24.
his disciples, Luke 24. Turn over there and let's read
this. This is just before he went back to the Father. He died
on the cross and rose from the dead and appeared to these disciples. Verse 45 of Luke 24, the last
few verses of Luke. Then opened he their understanding,
that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them,
Thus it is written, And thus it behooved Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third day, and that repentance
and remission of sins should be preached in his name among
all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these
things." They saw him. John said, I saw him. John said,
I heard him. John said, I touched him. I'm
a witness of the fellowship of the Redeemer. Christ said, you
are witnesses. Now then, back to the text, Hebrews
12. Wherefore, seeing that we, you
and I, are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses,
a lot of folks take this and say, and teach, now they're watching
you from heaven. Don't you believe a word of this.
When they can look at him, they're not going to look at me. When they can hear and see things
Paul said it's not possible to describe, why in the world would
they mess around with us? They're not witnesses of what's
going on down here. They're witnesses of what went
on down here when he came. They're his witnesses. That's what Christ, he said,
you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, the
uttermost parts of the earth. These people that he's talking
about here. or in the presence of the Lord. And I read to you,
don't turn to this, I can quickly turn to it and read it to you,
in Isaiah 65. Listen to this. He said, Behold,
I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former shall not
be remembered or even come to mind. So these witnesses are
not concerned about what's going on here. They are his witnesses. And they stand in his presence
because of his faithfulness, not theirs, because of the fullness
of his love, not theirs, because of the sufficiency of his blood,
not their sacrifices or works. And they have experienced a victory
of faith which he gave them, thanks be unto God, who giveth
us the victory. in our Lord Jesus Christ. You know something interesting
here? Paul calls it a cloud of witnesses. He calls it a great
cloud. Seeing that we are compassed
about was so great a cloud of witnesses. It's a great cloud. I would warn all of us, never
think in small numbers in regard to our God. John talked about
in the book of Revelation A number which no man can number. An innumerable
company of angels. Innumerable. So great a cloud
of witnesses. I know we had the story of Abel
and of Noah and Enoch and Moses. They weren't the only believers.
You remember Elijah sat up there on the side of a hill and said,
Lord, why don't you kill me? I'm the only one you've got left.
And the Lord said, Elijah, I have 7,000. You don't even know that
haven't bowed their knee to Baal. Elijah is the only one we read
about. God had 7,000 more that hadn't bowed their knee to this
particular God. So this is a great cloud of witnesses,
a great cloud of witnesses. Another thing, they're called
a cloud for their comfort. I'll tell you a hot A sunny day
without a cloud is a dreary day. The cloud shades us and shadows
us and comforts us and holds back the heat of the sun. And
this cloud of witnesses ought to be a comfort to us as we read
about these people who are people like us. Men and women, just
like we are saying, Elijah was a man of like passions, and yet
they believed God. there in his presence. What a
comfort! And then I'll tell you another
thing about a cloud. Usually it brings a refreshing rain. And God spoke to our fathers
his word. He spoke to the fathers by these
prophets. These were men who brought a
word in season. They brought the word of God
and refreshed the people. And I read their words now. I
read the words of these who have gone on to be with the Lord,
and their words are like, he said, my word is like the rain
from heaven, which comes down and brings forth fruit, seed
for the sower and meat for the eater. I'm surrounded with a
great cloud of witnesses, a comforting cloud of witnesses, an encouraging
cloud of witnesses, a refreshing cloud of witnesses who teach
me by their writings. Let me show you something else. Turn to Exodus 13. How did God
lead Israel when they were going across the desert? How did he
lead them by day and by night? How did God lead them? It's in
the book of Exodus 13, verse 21. Listen to this. And the Lord
went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud to lead them the way, and by
night in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day
and night. He took not away the pillar of
the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before
the people." How are we guided and led by God's word? I'm a
debtor, Paul said. I'm a debtor. I'm a debtor to
those who have gone before. I'm a debtor to a lot of people
in this day, but I'm much more in debt to those who gave their
lives to preserve this gospel and to write this. We're surrounded. Their course is finished, their
race is run, their victory is complete. But their influence
and example guide me, comfort me, refresh me, give me encouragement
and shade in a dark and dreary day. But we're still in the world,
so let's read on here. Wherefore, seeing that we who
are still in the world are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us, we run in a race, let us lay aside every
weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us
run with patience the race set before us. Paul uses an example
of runners in a race. And men who run a race run all. They all run. is a crowd of runners,
and they run for a prize. And the only one who wins is
the one who crosses the finish line, not the one who starts
or labors for a while, but the one who finishes the race. So
let us run the race that's set before us with patience, perseverance. A runner in a race lays aside
the things that he wouldn't run a race in a raincoat. and Galatians,
and all of these encumbering things. He lays them aside. So
he says, let us lay aside every weight, every unnecessary, every
commitment and companion and association and interest which
would hinder us, which would hinder us in running this race. Paul talked about that to the
Galatians. Over here in Galatians 5, he
said to them, he said, Galatians 5, verse 7, he said, You did
run well. Who hindered you? You did run
well. Who hindered you that you should
not obey the truth? Somebody hindered you. Something
or somebody burdens you down and weighted you down and hindered
you from running this race. I told my class this morning,
a man who would avoid the flu this winter shouldn't hang around
with people who have the flu. You don't want to be hindered
in your spiritual life and the race which God has given you
to run. Don't hang around with people who would hinder you.
Let us lay aside every weight, their weight, their dead weight.
These companions and commitments and associations and their language
and their interests, their music, their clothing, their attitude,
their amusements, their entertainment, their literature does nothing
in the world but hinder me, hinder me, hinder me from running the
race. And he said, let's lay aside
these things, these weights that hinder us, and the sin, be sin.
He didn't say a sin, but be sin, which doth so easily beset us,
every one of us. What would this be? I'm totally
convinced it's unbelief. And I'll tell you why I'm totally
convinced that this sin is unbelief. It's a sin that plagues every
person in here, unbelief. Well, the preceding chapter,
that's what the chapter is all about, faith. By faith Abel,
by faith Enoch, by faith Noah, by faith Moses, by faith Abraham,
the whole chapter is about faith. And one characteristic fits every
one of these men and women. No matter their strengths or
weaknesses, no matter their successes or failures, no matter whether
it's Lot or Abraham, one characteristic, faith. They believe God. We've got one thing in common
here. We're different in so many ways, but we all believe God. And that's the thing that united
these people. That's one characteristic God praises. What brought them
to victory? They died in faith. Some died
old, some died young, but they died in faith. And what kept
the others out? only thing. What kept the others
out? Unbelief. So let us, the last
line in verse 1, run with patience the race that sat before us.
It's my course, it's my race. That's right. Paul, when he bid
farewell to the elders of Ephesus in Acts chapter 20, Let's look
at that. I want you to hear something
that Paul said. This is the last time they saw him or heard him
preach, these elders of Ephesus. He said in Acts 20, verse 22,
And now, behold, I go, bound in the Spirit unto Jerusalem,
not knowing the things that shall befall me there. except that
the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying that bonds
and afflictions await me. But none of these things move
me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might
finish my course," my course, my ministry, with joy, the ministry
which I have received of the Lord, which the Lord gave me.
That's what Paul is telling us. Let's run with patience the race
set before us. Who set it there? God set it
there. It's my course. It's my race. It's my ministry. It's my stewardship that God
set before me. With patience, run that race.
With patience. Continue. David said, and I don't
know when he wrote this. I just do not know when he wrote
it. But it must have been a down time, must have been a time of
defeat and depression. He said, I would have quit, I
would have fainted, I would have quit, had I not believed to see
the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait, I say,
on the Lord. Be of good courage, and he'll
strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord. And that's what we're talking
about here. Let's lay aside these weights. Let's lay aside the
sin of unbelief. God help my unbelief. Let's run
with patience the race that's set before us. Does the wait
seem long? Does it seem long? Weeping will
endure for the night. Joy comes in the morning. Does
the wait seem mysterious? Why does God do what he does? Well, he moves in mysterious
ways. He has wonders to perform. He
plants his footsteps on the sea. He rides on the storm. He fearful
saints fresh courage take. The clouds you so much dread
are full of mercy and will break with blessings on your head. Does the way seem hard? His grace
is sufficient. Does the way seem lonely? He
said, I'll never leave you. My mother and father, David,
said, might forsake me, but the Lord will take me up. He'll take me up. He'll take me up. I'll never
leave you. I'll never forsake you. Does the way bring trial
and tears and sorrows? And I know that all things work
together for good to them who love God, to them who are called
according to his purpose. I've got a grandson, the youngest
one, when he was just a little fellow, no matter what happened,
he'd say, It's all right. He came in one day with chocolate
all over his face, and he knew he was going to get scolded,
but as he walked through the door, he said, It's all right! It's all right! It was with him. And it is with me, how about
you? It's all right. But here is the whole of the
matter, verse 2, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Looking to whom? To Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set
before him endured the cross, despised the shame, sat down
on the right hand of God. He thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, took upon himself
the form of a serpent, and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted
him, giving him a name above every name. That's who he is. That's the one to whom we look.
Let's read about him in Hebrews 1. To whom do we look? Hebrews 1. God, who at sundry times and
in different manners spake in time past unto the fathers of
the prophets, hath in these last days spoken to us by his Son,
his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, his Son,
by whom he made the worlds, his Son, who being the brightness
of his glory, his Son, and the exact image of his person, his
who upholds all things by the word of his power, his son, who
by himself purged our sins, his son, sat down at the right hand
of the majesty in the heavens, looking to Jesus. How do I look to him? One old
writer said this, for salvation, for life, for strength, for help,
for sanctification, As though my eyes saw no other. As though my ears hear no other. As though my heart love no other. As though my hands embrace no
other. As though my mind regarded no
other. As though my lips praise no other. As though my feet walk with no
other. That's how I look to him. Looking unto Jesus and not to
ourselves, not to our strength or weakness, not to our failure
or successes, not to our gifts or lack of them, not to our feeling
or depression, just looking to Him. Looking to Jesus and not
the law of works, either before or after conversion. The law
condemns, never forgives. The law requires but gives no
strength to obey. Looking to Christ Jesus and not
to our brethren, not the best of them or the worst of them, not the most loved among them. All flesh is as grass. The best
man is altogether vanity without Christ. Our Lord stands between
us and our dearest friends and our worst enemies. We look to him, he stands between
us and our dearest friends and our worst enemies, and enables
us to regard both of them in the light of his fellowship. Both of them, our best friends
and our worst enemies. Paul said, I know no man after
the flesh. I knew Christ that way one time,
but not that way anymore. So I regard my best friends and
my worst enemy. in the light of their relationship
with Christ. It has to be that way. Or I'll
be won by the flattery of one and afraid by the attacks of
the other. But if he's there, neither will
harm me. Look into Jesus and not to my
faith. This is perhaps the most deceptive
tactic in Satan's arsenal. attacking us on this particular
place, bringing us to trust our faith, our experience, our profession,
our baptism. Faith is the hand which takes
the food. It's not the food. Faith is the
eye that beholds the Redeemer. It's not the Redeemer. Faith
didn't die for me. Faith didn't intercede for me.
Faith is not my advocate. Christ is. By grace are you saved
through faith, not by faith, through faith. When do we look to Christ? At
the beginning, look unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of
the earth. At all times in between, we never
stop coming to Christ, we never stop looking to Christ, we never
stop trusting Christ, we never stop believing Christ. And looking
to him in that day. For John said, we shall see him
as he is, and we'll be like him. And he that hath this hope in
him purifieth himself. Looking to Jesus. encompassed about with such a
great cloud of witnesses. Let's lay aside every weight,
and that sin of unbelief which does so easily beset us, and
let's run with perseverance and patience and determination to
finish this race that God set before us, our eyes on one object,
one goal, one person, that's Christ Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith, looking to no other but Christ. And then
he says in verse 3 and 4, Consider him, lest ye grow weary, and
tired of the trials, and the disappointments, and the sorrows,
and all of these things. What's to be done? Here's what's
to be done. Listen. Consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners, such blasphemy against himself. Consider him, lest ye be wearied
and faint in your minds and your hearts. You know, our way is
easy compared to his. Our conflicts are minor compared
to his. Our persecution is nothing compared
to his. He says in verse 4, you've never
shed any blood for what you believe. You've shed a few unpleasant
companions, but you've never shed any blood for what you believe. You've shed some errors, but
never any blood. You shed some traditions of religion,
but you've never shed any blood. We've never resisted unto blood,
striving against sin. Our Lord did. Let me read you
just a part of Isaiah 53 concerning our Master. He shall grow up
before him as a tender plant, as a root out of a dry ground.
He hath no form, nor comeliness. When we see him, there is no
beauty we should desire him. He despised despised, rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, not a man with sorrows, a man of
sorrows, acquainted with grief. We hear it as it were our faces
from him, he's despised. Everybody that was anybody turned
thumbs down on him. We esteemed him not, gave him
no esteem or respect. And when he walked the winepress
of God's wrath, he walked it alone. So when you feel down
and depressed and troubled and weary of trials, consider him
who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself for
us, lest you be wearied and faint in your minds. Talk about our
hard way. You've not resisted unto blood,
striving against sin. Have you forgotten, when we have
trials and troubles, and everybody here has them, verse 5, have
you forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto
children? Have you forgotten what was written
in the book of Proverbs? Let's turn back there and read
it, what he's talking about here. Proverbs 3. He asked those Hebrews, he said,
have you forgotten What's written in the scriptures? Proverbs 3,
verse 11. This was written so many, many,
many years before Paul wrote the Hebrews. He said in Proverbs
3, verse 11, My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord,
neither be weary of his correction. For whom the Lord loveth, he
correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth."
He said, have you forgotten that? Verse 6, Whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth, scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. We are children of God who must
be taught, we must be corrected, we must be disciplined, we must
be humbled. We must, God has to send things
in our lives that mature us, that we may know him better. Now, watch verse 7. So when our
heavenly Father is pleased to chasten us and correct us and
send us trials, he's dealing with us as sons. Listen to verse
7. If you endure chastening, if
you experience chastening, this is a comfort. God deals with
you as with a son. But what son is he whom his father
does not correct, does not chasten? Is there a son here this morning
that his father doesn't correct him or chasten him? The scripture
says, if there is, he doesn't love him. He says, whom the father loveth,
he chasteneth. He deals with you as a son. Verse
8, if you be without chastisement, then you're not sons. All are
partakers of these chastisements. Let's read over here in the book
of James, chapter 1. James, the first chapter, verse
2 and 3. My brethren, he says, count it
all joy when you fall into divers trials and temptations, knowing
this, that the trying of your faith worketh patiently. Over
here in 1 Peter 1, verse 6, wherein ye
greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are
in heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of
your faith, being much more precious than a gold that perisheth, though
it be tried with fire, might be found to the praise and honor
and glory at the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ. This religion of health and wealth
and prosperity and carefree happiness is not the path of God's sons.
It's just not. Believe me, it's not. Not according
to this scripture. In the world you'll have tribulation,
our Lord says, I've overcome the world. He told Ananias, he
said, you go show Saul this. I will show Saul how great things
he must suffer. for my name's sake. Acts 14,
Paul says, Exhort them to continue in the faith, because we, through
much tribulation, we must, through much tribulation, enter the kingdom
of God. Now, that's just so. Whom the
Lord loveth, he chasteneth. He correcteth, verse 6, every
son whom he receiveth. If you endure, if you experience
and endure chastening, God deals with you as a son. He's dealing
with you as a son. For what son is he whom the father
chastened not? If you be without, if you be
without trial and trouble and sorrows and chastening and God
dealing with you, you're just not a son. You don't correct
other people's children. You correct your own. Now here are three things in
verse 9 and 10 that I see. Let me read them and then I'll
show you the three things. Furthermore, we've had fathers
of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much more rather
be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? I see this,
our earthly fathers, my father corrected me and he disciplined
me. He gave me a time to be home, he gave me things to do. He corrected
me when I disobeyed him, and I thank him for it. Now that I've matured and got
a little understanding and children of my own, I understand a little
bit more of why he did what he did. Well, shall I not much more
reverence and respect and be in subjection to my Heavenly
Father and live in peace? And the second thing is verse
10. These fathers in the flesh, they verily for a few days, they
didn't have us long, but for a few days they chastened us
after their own pleasure, according to their own wisdom. They disciplined
us according to their own wisdom and limited understanding. My
father was a good man in raising his children, but he was a human
and made mistakes. And I did, and you did. And a
lot of us would like to raise our children over again. We'd
change some things. But we did what we thought was
right. In our limited wisdom and understanding, we did what
we thought was right. But God does what is right. He does what is right. We chasten
them to make them good citizens. God chastens us to make us like
Christ. And everything he does is for
our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. So
whatever comes, bitter or sweet, difficult or easy, whatever trial
comes, is to make me like Christ. It's for my profit, for your
profit, for his glory, and for our good. And that was the aim
of the parents when they corrected us. It was to keep us from being
little devils. That's why they're doing it. Then verse 11, Now no chastening
for the present seems to be joyous. It wasn't then, it isn't now.
No child's going to understand the parable when he says, When
I've deprived you and chastened you and corrected you, it hurts
me. They don't believe that, do they? They don't believe that. It's not joyous to them, it's
not joyous to us. It's not joyous, it's grievous.
Our earthly parents corrected us and disciplined us, and it
wasn't joyful. We'd sit over in a corner and
pout. You remember? Couldn't go somewhere, couldn't
do something. And now we pout. Don't we? We pout now. But let me tell
you something. After it's over, we're going
to see. that it yieldeth the peaceable
fruits of righteousness, after these trials are over, and make
us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of saints and partakers
of his holiness, it's going to be a wonderful time. Whatever
it involves, it's worth it. If it makes me like Christ, it's
worth it. Lift up the hands that hang down.
This comes from that passage I read Isaiah 35. Why are they
hanging down? Our hands are hanging down, despaired,
doubt. Lift up the hands that hang down.
Praise him, praise God. The knees that tremble, tremble
out of fear. Fear not, trust God. And listen,
make straight paths for your feet. Hold these straight paths,
make straight paths for your feet. Would you be patient, let
me give you another minute or two and read Jeremiah chapter
6. Straight path, Jeremiah chapter
6. This explains it right here.
Jeremiah chapter 6. Straight paths for your feet.
Jeremiah 6 verse 16. Thus saith the Lord, Stand ye
in the ways, the old ways, the proven ways, the way of holiness,
the way of God, the way of truth, the way of creation, the way
of Christ, the way of the cross. Stand in the old ways. See and
ask for the old paths. We don't need any new doctrines.
We don't need any new revelations. We need the old paths, the old
paths of everlasting covenant of mercy. The old powers of God's
elective grace, the old powers of the Holy Spirit calling supernaturally,
invincibly, the old powers of God's redemptive work on Calvary,
the old powers of righteousness and truth and honesty and cleanliness
and purity and marriage and faithfulness and keeping vows, the old powers. Ask for the old powers. It's a new generation. No, it's
not. It's just a continuation of the
old rebellion against God. That's what it is. Just taking
a new direction, that's all. And it's not really a new direction,
just out in the open now. Ask for the old paths. Where's
the good way? The proven way? The godly way?
Ask the old paths. Where's the good way? And walk
in it. Walk in it. Young people, you can't improve.
on what the Apostle Paul preached. You can't improve on what the
Reformers preached. You can't improve. And I'll tell
you this, you'll find rest for your souls. But they said, we'll
not walk therein. All right, that's okay. I've
sent watchmen, he said, over you, saying, hearken to the sound
of the trumpet. But they said, we'll not hear the trumpet, we'll
not hearken to the trumpet. Well, pay attention to God's
warnings. But some people will. Some will. And so verse 12 of
our text, let me close with this. Wherefore lift up the hands that
hang down, the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your
feet. Don't wander in the wilderness of intellectualism. It hasn't profited those who
have. Don't wander in the wilderness of humanism, materialism, feeling
and form and tradition. Come to the word of God. Come
to the old way, the old paths. The proven way. And here's why. Lest that which is lame be turned
out of the way. What is the lame? The weak person. A lame person is handicapped
and is weak. And who is that? Our children. That's right. Our children are
weak. They're weak. They're immature. They're babies. They're infants. And they're
going to be turned out of the way if we don't show them the
way. That's right. They're going to be turned out
of the way if we don't give them the right path, the truth of
God. And the weak, weak believers,
older people who just come to the knowledge of Christ, they've
got to hear the truth, lest they be turned out of the way. But
if you take them to the old paths and the old ways and the old
truth, They'll be healed. Praise God, trust God, and believe
God. The old paths. Can't improve on it. The old
songs and the old gospel and the old paths. It's his way.