If you have your Bibles, I would
like you to open them, please, to the book of Hebrews. I'm going
to be speaking today from the 12th chapter of Hebrews, verse
1 and 2. Hebrews 12, 1 and 2. Now, my
subject is entitled, Looking Unto Jesus. Looking Unto Jesus. And the writer of Hebrews says,
wherefore seeing that we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the
sin that doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience
the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus. 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 one of the dangers of emphasizing
our experiences and sharing our experiences and telling others
of the way that God brought us to faith in Christ is that all
believers do not have the same experience. If you read the 16th
chapter of Acts, you'll find that three different people were
genuinely brought to a saving interest in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know that these three people came to know the Redeemer. There
was Lydia, there was the demon-possessed woman, and there was the Philippian
jailer. But all of them had a different
experience. It is said of Lydia that she met with some people
down by the river where prayer was made and where the teaching
of the Word took place. And Paul came down and spoke
to these people by the riverside and it said, God opened Lydia's
heart to receive the Word of God. She attended unto the things
spoken by the Apostle Paul. God quietly opened her heart
and she believed the Gospel. But a few days or hours later,
the Apostle Paul encountered a woman who was demon possessed. And she began to cry out all
kind of things as she followed Paul and Silas down the street. And Paul, weary of her harassment,
turned and commanded the demons to come out of her. And the demons
were cast out of her and she followed Paul. Now Lydia's experience
and this young woman's experience was totally different. And then
sometime later Paul was in prison and God literally shook the prison
with an earthquake and opened the doors of the prison. And
the jailer, thinking that the prisoners had escaped, took out
his sword to kill himself. And Paul called out to him and
said, do thyself no harm, we're all here. And he came in trembling
and fell before Paul and says, sirs, what must I do to be saved?
And Paul went to his house and he washed and dressed his wounds
and he taught him the gospel and he came to know Christ and
was baptized that night. Now here are three different
people with three different experiences, but all came to knowledge of
Christ. And I say that God will deal
with his own. He'll deal with his people when
he will, as he will, using the means that he's pleased to use.
However, now notice this, however, we have a common salvation. And we have a common faith. And
we have a common family. And there are some things, several
things, which are common to everyone whom the Lord saves, every person
who genuinely comes to know God in Christ. There are some things,
though they don't have the same experiences, though they're not
under the same amount of conviction, They may not even be brought
to the same degree of faith. But they do have many things
in common, and I'm going to give you a few of those. Now, first
of all, this. They all experience, every person
whom God saves, it doesn't matter who it is, old or young, learned
or ignorant, white or black, rich or poor, every person whom
God saves, The Spirit of God brings that individual to a genuine
sense of sin. He is convicted of sin. He is convinced of sin by the
Spirit of God. As Paul said in Romans 3.19,
all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. And Paul
wrote again in 1 Timothy 1.15, this is a certain saying, a faithful
saying. And it's worthy of acceptation
by all men that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. Christ came to save sinners. The Son of Man is come to seek
and to save the lost. So one thing that every believer
has in common God finds him when he's lost. God saves him when
he's a sinner. As the scripture says, God committed
his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us. Our Lord said this, I came not
to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. And Paul wrote
in Romans 5, Christ died for the ungodly. So I can faithfully
say, If you've never been lost, you've certainly never been found.
If you've never been convinced of sin, you've certainly never
been brought to rely on and depend upon and believe in a savior
from sin, a redeemer. So that's the first thing that
every person, every believer has in common. All of them have
a tremendous burden and guilt because of sin. David said, my
sins are ever before me. Isaiah said, I'm cut off, I'm
undone. Job said, I hate myself. Paul
said, I'm the chief of sinners. I'm less than the least of all
the saints. I'm not worthy to be called an apostle. Every believer
has a deep sense of his own sin. And then secondly, another thing
that we all have in common who come to know Christ, all believers
are made aware of convinced of their own inability to please
God Almighty, or to obey God Almighty, or to know God, or
even to come to God by their own strength, their own merit,
or their own efforts. It's like David said in Psalm
130, If thou shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? Who
among us shall stand? In Romans 3, 20, Paul said, by
the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in God's
sight. In the flesh, no man can please
God. We're convinced of that. As Paul
said, in my flesh dwelleth no commendable thing, no good thing.
And David said, man at his best state, considered at his best
time, at his best state, is altogether vanity. The hymn writer said,
in my hands no price I bring, simply to the cross of Christ
I cling. Could my tears forever flow?
Could my zeal and enthusiasm no longer? No, these for sin
could never atone. Never, never, never. So every believer knows that.
These for sin could never atone. Christ must save and Christ alone. Are you with me? While we don't
have the same experiences, while we don't have the same degree
of conviction or even faith, But I know this for sure, every
person whom God saves is a sinner, and he knows it, and he confesses
it, and he knows that there's no possible way for God to accept
him on the basis of his merit, righteousness, or goodness, for
he has none. And then thirdly, all believers,
we have this in common, all believers have a genuine desire to be saved. They want above all things to
know God. They want desperately and sincerely
and truthfully to be reconciled to God. They want to be accepted
in the beloved. Our Lord said this in Jeremiah
29 13, ye shall seek me and ye shall find me. When? When will
a man find God? When you search for me with all
your heart. Not half a heart, not a half-hearted
manner, but when you search for me with all your heart. That's
what you desperately want more than anything else. Like Peter
sinking beneath the wave, Lord save me or I perish. I perish. And in Matthew 6.33, our Lord
said, Seek ye first the kingdom of God, not second or thirdly
or fourthly. Seek ye first the kingdom of
God and all these things will be added unto you. What I'm saying
is this, that to the person whom God genuinely, truthfully saves,
His religion, and I hate to use that word, but his relationship
with God is not a game. It's not a form. It's not an
insurance policy. His relationship with God is
his life. It comes before all things, and
for it is all things. Paul said in Philippians 3, He
lays everything on the line. He considers his heritage, his
religion, his background, his family, his influence, his accomplishments,
all of these things. And he says, I count these things
but dumb, garbage, that I may win Christ and be found in him. Oh, that I may know him and the
power of his resurrection. That's very simple, isn't it?
But I have one more. One thing every believer has
in common, he's a sinner. One thing every believer has
in common, he has no power or ability or merit or works with
which to appease or satisfy a holy God. If it's left up to him,
he'll perish in eternal hell. He has nothing good about him.
And thirdly, he wants to know God. Above all things, he wants
to know God. He doesn't want to know religion.
He wants to know God. He doesn't want to have a farm
or play a game or be a part of an organization. He wants to
know the living God. And fourthly, and this is my
topic, every true believer, every person who's redeemed, I don't
care who they are, where they are, what religion they hold
to, whatever, every believer, Every person who's redeemed looks
to Christ, looks to Jesus Christ, looks to Him, believes on Him,
trusts in Him, rests in Him, looks to Christ for everything,
everything pertaining to God. Everything. Wherefore, the writer
of Hebrews said, seeing we're compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, he's talking about Abel and Abraham, and Enoch,
and Noah, and Moses, and David, and all these giants of the faith.
Seeing we're 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 look unto Jesus Christ, the author and finisher
of our faith. What is it to look to Christ?
It's looking away from myself. It's looking away from my feelings.
It's looking away from my experiences. It's looking away from my works.
It's looking away from my deeds. It's looking away from my decisions.
It's looking away from my thoughts and my ways and it's looking
unto Jesus. Unto Jesus who was appointed
of the Father. who was sent of the Father to
be our prophet, priest, and king, to be our surety, our sanctification,
our sacrifice, and our security, is looking unto Jesus. Is looking
unto Jesus Christ, who is the author of our faith. Yea, it
is not even in us to believe. For faith is the gift of God.
Faith is a work of His grace. Faith is a product of His mercy.
Faith is not a flower that blooms in the garden of human depravity. It's the gift of God. Yea, even
our faith, even Jesus, who's the author of our faith, and
He's the finisher of our faith. We not only have the power, have
no power to believe, we have no power to continue. It is Christ
that brings us to maturity. It is Christ that keeps us by
his power. We're kept by the power of God. And I'm persuaded, Paul said,
I'm confident that he that hath begun a good work in you shall
perform it, shall perfect it, shall complete it in the day
of our Lord Jesus Christ. looking unto Jesus. Three words. Just three words. And yet I say
unto you, in these three simple words, looking unto Jesus, in
these three words you have the whole of faith. The whole of
faith. You could read a dozen books
on faith. You could hear a thousand sermons
on faith and it would still come down to one thing. Looking unto
Jesus. That's where faith is. That's
what faith is. Christ is the only object of faith. It is totally,
completely, fully relying on Christ, looking to Christ, depending
on Christ. That's the whole of faith. People
make millions of dollars selling books on how to do this and how
to do that and how to do the other in regard to faith. Faith
is believing God. and looking unto Christ. These
three words, looking unto Jesus, you have here the whole of acceptance
with God. How can God love us? Only in
Christ. How can God look with favor upon
me? Only in Christ. How can God accept
me, a guilty sinner? Only in Christ. So if I'm to
have acceptance with God, or the love of God, or the favor
of God, I'm going to have to look to Jesus. And looking unto
Jesus is the whole of life. He said, I am the life. I am
the way, truth. I am the life. I am life. There's
no life out of Christ. There's death. He that hath the
Son of God hath life. He that hath not the Son of God
hath not life. So, to whom shall I look for
life? To the source of life, to the
fountain of life, to the giver of life. Jesus Christ. Spiritual
life is only in Christ. That's right. When Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye appear with him in glory.
He said, I am come that they might have life. That they might
have life. For life, look to Christ. Three
words, and in these three words is the whole of hope. What kind
of hope do you have? There's no hope except in Christ.
Everybody's got some kind of hope, but there's got to be a
reason for hope. Hope is not just a wish that's
picked out of the air somewhere. In order for us to have a good
hope, a sound hope, then there's got to be a foundation. And so
our hope is Christ. Christ in you, that's the hope
of glory. Our hope is a hope based on expectation
and that expectation is based on his promise. Either cometh
to me, I'll in no wise cast out. Christ is our hope. And then
Christ looking to Jesus, that's the whole of heaven. I have a
desire, Paul said, to depart. To depart? No, not just to depart.
I don't just have a desire to depart. That's what people feel
that commit suicide. They have a desire to depart.
But Paul didn't just have a desire to depart. He wanted to depart
and be with Christ. For that's what heaven is. Heaven
is his kingdom. Heaven is his glory. And so a
hope of heaven is in Christ. Looking to Jesus brings a man
to God, brings a man to life, brings a man to hope, brings
a man to heaven. Peter said in 1 Peter 3, 18,
for Christ hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God. Would you come to God? Would
you know God? Then you're going to have to
look to Jesus. For he that hath the Son hath the Father. Now
let me sound a clear warning, and I want you to listen carefully.
There's so many temptations. to be drawn to look to something
else or someone else or get involved in something else. I want you
to listen to me now. Looking to Jesus. What does it
mean to look to Jesus Christ? Well, first of all, to look to
Christ. Look to Christ with a full look
and a full confidence and rest and trust and faith. Looking
to Christ is not looking to my faith. It's not faith in my faith. It's not looking to the look.
It is actually looking to Christ. I'm not talking about with physical
eyes, I'm talking about with eyes of faith. It's not faith
that saves us, it's Christ that saves us. Faith is not the source
of mercy, Christ is the source of mercy. It is not faith that
atones, it is Christ that atones. So I must not have faith in my
faith. Or look to my faith, or look to my look. I'm looking
to Jesus. The hymn writer said it this
way, Come thy fount, a fount, a fountain of every blessing. Tune my heart to sing thy praise. Streams of mercy, never ceasing,
call for songs of loudest praise. It's looking to Jesus, not to
my faith. Looking to Christ is looking
to Christ and not to my meditations or my devotions or my prayers
or my worship For all of these things now listen to me. Don't
let me offend you But all of these things devotions and prayers
and meditations and even my worship Without Christ to make them holy
by his intercession and by his blood all of them in themselves
Would be just so much sin That's what Isaiah says. He said we
all do faith as the leaf. Our unrighteousness is Our righteousness
is a filthy rags in God's sight. So it's not looking to my meditations,
devotions, and prayers. It's looking to Christ. That's
where salvation is. And then it's looking to Christ
and not to the name I bear. I know a lot of people who put
a great deal of stock in the name. Church of God or Church
of Christ or Baptist Church or Catholic or something like. It's
not the name I bear or the doctrine I hold. It's the Savior who intercedes
for me, who redeems me. It's looking to Christ. Many
people who claim to do great things in His name at the judgment,
you remember they said, well, wait a minute. Lord said, we
preached in your name. We had the right name. And we
prophesied in your name. And we cast out devils in your
name. And we did many wonderful works
in your name. We used the name Christ. And
then he said, I never knew you. So it's not looking to the name
I wear, Christian. Somebody says, you're Christian?
Well, the definition of that word is something my generation
doesn't know a whole lot about. Let's just say I'm looking to
Christ. Looking to Christ. Because wearing the name Christian
is not much help if you don't know him. So it's not looking
to the name, or even the doctors looking to the person. Salvation
is not a profession. It's a person. And then it's
looking to Christ and not to the law. You know, the law commands,
but the law gives no strength to perform. The law condemns
and the law never pardons. The law wounds, but never heals.
The law slays, but it never gives life. Only Christ can give life. So salvation, this thing of redemption,
not looking to the law, looking as one fellow said to the big
ten, no, looking to Christ. Christ. For Christ is the end
of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. And
then it's not looking to his mother. It's looking to Christ. Not to Mary. Not to his mother. To Christ. They're not equal
mediators or equal redeemers. She's a sinner saved by the grace
of God through the blood of Christ. It's not looking to his apostles,
St. James and St. Jude and St. Mark and St. Peter
and St. Paul. It's not looking to his
people. The scripture says when he had
by himself purged our sins, he walked the winepress of God's
wrath alone. The Bible says there's one mediator
between God and men. There's none other name unto
heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. No problem
there. I don't know why we have a problem
with it. Looking to Christ, not Christ and someone or something,
but Christ, Christ alone. It's looking to Christ and not
to our brethren. Not even the best, not even the
most beloved among us. If you follow a man, you'll always
go wrong. If you follow a man, when that
man's gone, your religion's gone. Christ must always be between
us and every human being. For he that loveth father, mother,
brother, sister, husband, wife, more than these not worthy of
me, Christ said. It's looking to Christ, not to
my strength. If I have any strength, it's
by his grace. It's looking to Christ and not
to my weakness. For even when I'm weak in Christ,
I'm strong. Without him, I can do nothing.
Through Christ, I can do all things. So it's not me at all,
strength or weakness, strong or weak, it's Christ, it's looking
to Christ. It's looking to Christ and not
to my sins. Not gonna do me any good to look
to my sins. It's not looking to the wounds
that brought healing to the snake-bitten Israelites, it was looking to
the serpent on the pole. Moses didn't go out to them and
say, look at your wounds. He says, look to the serpent
lifted up. Even so, it's not looking to
my sins, but to Christ, my sin offering. It's looking to Christ
and not looking to my work for Jesus. You know, a man may have
his hands full and his heart empty. But I'll tell you, if
your heart's full of Christ, your hands will be busy in His
service and in His ministry. But there's only one true motivation
for any kind of service for the glory of God. It's not rules
and threats and rewards and regulations. It's love for Christ. It's looking
to Christ. What is this thing of salvation? It's looking to
Christ and not to my success or my failure. You know, it's
not required of a steward that he be successful. It's required
of a steward that he be found faithful. It's my business to
plant. He's the Lord of the harvest.
It's my business to be faithful to his word. It's his business
to gather the fruit, even in my lifetime, either in my lifetime
or the lifetime of another. It really doesn't matter. But
people say, but folks don't see what I do. He does. But people
don't appreciate what I give. He does. But people don't know
my loneliness. He does. But people don't know
my needs. He does. And people can't supply
your needs. And people can't meet your needs
and your loneliness. And people can't reward you.
It's He does and He will. It's looking to Jesus and not
to the Holy Spirit. or to his guilts. The Holy Spirit
does not magnify himself. He glorifies Christ. He reveals
Christ. He came to reveal Christ. He
said, Christ said, He'll take the things of mine and show them
to you. He won't speak of himself. I'm not looking to the Holy Ghost.
I'm looking to Jesus. I'm looking to the Christ of
the covenant. I'm looking to the Christ of the scriptures.
I'm looking to the Christ of incarnation and obedience. I'm
looking to the Christ of Calvary, and the Christ of resurrection,
the Christ of exaltation, and the Christ of intercession, and
the Christ of glory. And when clouds of death around
me roll, when his angels come for my soul, no need to tell
me then to look to grace. I'll be looking at Jesus face
to face. Look to him now, and you'll see
him then.