Bible Study

Good to have you here with us for our Wednesday evening Bible study. I'd like to welcome all of you who are watching on the web as well. We're going to continue our Bible study in the book of Hebrews tonight. So if you'll go ahead and bow your heads, we'll ask God's blessing on our study tonight. Great loving Heavenly Father, God Almighty, thank You so much for Your wonderful blessings. We are so thrilled, Father, for Your great calling that You've opened our minds to Your truth and Your love and Your way. Father, we're just thankful that You are our great God and that You have an awesome plan for us. We just are so appreciative of that, God, and we just thank You for that. We ask now, God, as we go into the book of Hebrews once more tonight, we pray for Your presence and blessing. We pray that You would open our minds to deeper understanding of Your truth and that You would help us to understand the things that You want us to, God, so that we could apply them to our lives and we can begin to grow and become even more like Jesus Christ and more like You as well. So we thank You for this opportunity. We pray for Your inspiration and guidance, and certainly, Father, we just pray Your blessing on all of this. And so we ask this in and by and through the authority of our Savior, Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen.

Okay, well, we're going to pick up our study once again in the book of Hebrews. We made it all the way to chapter 12. So we're down to the last two chapters. Two chapters to go. I'm not giving any guarantees tonight how far we'll get, but we'll see how far it goes. So if we get through a chapter, that would really be nice. I thought at first, maybe we get through two chapters. And then I looked over the first couple of verses a little more closely and thought, wow, there's a lot of interesting things that are right here. So we'll try to make it interesting and bring out a couple of those points as we look at chapter 12. Now, remember in the book of Hebrews, one of the things that Paul, I believe, who wrote the book was emphasizing is this whole concept of faith, how we trust God, how we have our confidence in Him. And if you think back, in fact, if you want to just turn back a couple of chapters, look back to Hebrews 3, verse 12, just to give us a little bit of a reminder, a little bit of background in what he says about our faith and how important having the kind of living faith that we should have, exemplifying the fact that Jesus Christ is in us and with us. So over here in Hebrews chapter 3, look at verse 12, it says, Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God. So exhorting the fact of having a lack of faith, he points to the fact that we need that faith, that faith of Jesus Christ in us. So he says, exhort one another daily while it's called today. Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, for we become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.

So he's emphasizing that importance of faith and how we've got to be careful that we don't want to develop this concept of unbelief. And on the opposite side of things, that there's a need for enduring faith, faith that will last, a trust and a confidence in God that won't end. In fact, just a couple of pages later in my Bible, look at Hebrews 6. Hebrews 6 in verse 11, he contrasts that kind of faith where he says, we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope till the end.

So we're going to endure to the end, that you don't become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promise. And of course, he goes down and then he refers to Abraham a little bit later. So it's so important as Paul emphasizes this steadfast, unchanging confidence that we need to have in God because God's going to follow through on His promises.

So he emphasizes the kind of faith that we're supposed to have. And he puts it in an interesting metaphor as we get into chapter 12. In chapter 12, he begins to describe this life of faith that we're supposed to have as a race. And he uses that metaphor of a race to bring home the point of the kind of faith that we're supposed to have. So let's take a look at the beginning of chapter 12 and notice the way that Paul uses this concept of the race involved in portraying the kind of faith that we need.

So chapter 12, right at the very beginning, he says, therefore we also, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let's lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let's run with endurance the race that's set before us. Let's get the concept here and the whole flavor of this thought. He says, looking to Jesus, verse 2, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

And he continues, consider him who endured such hostility from sinners, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. And so he throws this metaphor of the race right at us at the beginning of chapter 12, and he reminds us to remember some things. We just got done with chapter 11 in our last study, and he talks about, remember, well, you could say the winners of the race, right?

Because if we're going to use this concept of a race, it's the, we could say the race that we've been called to is, well, I guess we could say it's amazing. Is it an amazing race? Well, maybe we should put, well, that's probably not the best.

How about the most amazing race? That's kind of been our calling. The amazing is better than any TV program or reality show. I mean, this is our spiritual calling, and we've been called to the most amazing race. And the first thing he tells us that we need to get a handle on is, how about some of the winners of that race?

Because he reminds us right here at the beginning of chapter 12, we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. Well, that is the winners, isn't it? I mean, they haven't got the prize yet, but they have won the race. And you look back at this amazing list here of all those characters from the Old Testament who set an amazing example, who went through their lives and exhibited the kind of faith that we want to have. They exhibited the faith of Jesus Christ.

And so that's the kind of faith that He's comparing that we should have. We should have that kind of faith. And so those that are mentioned back there in chapter 11, I think we could call them the winners, the men, the women, who lived godly lives. You know, what are descriptions of the way that they ran their race?

I mean, they were godly people. They put in the practice these spiritual ways of life, no matter what their circumstances were. And part of the interesting aspect of these winners is they set an example. You know, they run on that track of life and we can follow their example. We can look at what they did. We can see the situations that they endured. And noticing those examples, we realize, well, we can do that too. We can do that too. In a way, they set the pace, we might say. They set the pace for us. So following that example, we can have success in this most amazing spiritual race that God's called us to as well. In fact, there's a passage that comes to mind over in Philippians. It's in Philippians chapter 3. Look at what it says right at the beginning of Philippians chapter 3. Here Paul's using a similar example. He's talking about maybe not running this time, but he is talking about how we walk. So maybe we're speedwalkers in this case. But over in Philippians chapter 3, he says in verse 14, Philippians 3, 14, he says, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. So he's seeing the race that's ahead of him, and he's pressing on. He's not just jogging around the track. He's taking it seriously, right? He's pressing on. He says, nevertheless, to the degree that we've already attained, let's walk by the same rule. Let's be of the same mind. Let's follow the examples that went before us, especially the ultimate, Jesus Christ. And so he says in verse 17, brethren, join in following my example, and note those who walk so, as you have us for a pattern. So just like we have in Hebrews chapter 11, here's this whole list of people who were a pattern. They were an example. They set the tone for us so we can look at their example, we can learn from their example. And Paul describes them as witnesses. They're a great cloud of witnesses. Well, what are they witnessing?

Well, some people will look at this and say, well, we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. That must be all the saints that went before that are looking down on us from heaven. There's great cloud that's looking down on us. Well, can that be true? No, I don't think so. You look to Ecclesiastes 9.5, we know the dead know nothing. That can't be the case at all. So why would he use an example like a cloud of witnesses? You know, what does this word for witness have to do with running this race? Well, some might think of it as like a spectator. You know, spectators out in the stands watch this race going on. And the word could be translated that way. But it doesn't seem to fit very well because then it looks like, well, these dead people are gazing down, which we know that's not true. But there is another way that the word is used. And the word is used to bear witness, to be an example. And that seems to fit so much better, as in a court case. What does a witness do? He gives testimony. A witness gives testimony to the case. And that's kind of what's going on here, isn't it? People, when we look at Abraham or Sarah, we look at the great figures of faith that are mentioned in chapter 11. They were giving testimony that God's way works. And living His way, when you apply it in your life, brings success. It helps us on that spiritual journey. And so he uses this example to point out the fact that their life was a witness to the fact that faith works. That a life of faith is the best race to run. And so he uses that example here. So they had lives that were exemplary, just fantastic lives. And by looking at their lives, by examining their lives, by reading about their lives, we can see that. And hopefully, what Paul is saying here, it will encourage us to run a better race, run a better spiritual race, and the most amazing race, this race of faith that we've been called to. And so Paul wants us to run that kind of faith, that race. Now, he also begins to point to something else. So he says, consider that great cloud of witnesses, the witnesses that are examples for us. But then, he doesn't want us to get stuck just looking at those that went before. We also have to look at ourselves. So when we look at ourselves, we get a little bit different perspective. So we take a look at what it says here. We're surrounded by this great cloud of witnesses. He gives us instruction to consider ourselves. Think about yourself. And what does he say? Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us. So because of their example, because of their witness, it should motivate us and move us to want to be like them. As they imitate Christ, we want to imitate them. And so he uses that example to say, all right, we are weighed down at times in our lives and we are ensnared by sin.

And that is kind of an interesting word, that word for ensnare, because it's almost like a rope or some type of, I guess you could say, almost like a hurdle in some ways that wants to trip us up. So while we're running our race, this hurdle is so high that we just can't seem to get over it, and it wants to trip us up. And it ensnares us, it encircles us and knocks us down so that we're thrown out of the race. And so he says, that's the perspective sometimes of this world. We're up against this great spiritual host of wickedness that wants to kind of stick out its foot and trip us up and make us fall, throw us out of the race. And so Paul reminds us that we want to get rid of that. We've got to make sure that we lay aside, which really means to cast off or to take it off.

Almost the opposite of put on, when you put on tender mercies or you put on faith, we clothe ourselves in those wonderful attributes of God. Here it says we're supposed to cast off. We're supposed to lay aside those wrong aspects, those wrong character traits. And so he says, the first thing we do is the sin. The sin. Cast it off. Lay it aside. Well, we generally know what that means. If we're going to cast off the sin, I suppose there's a lot of different passages we could turn to to remind us of those kinds of things. I think of... How about Luke 21?

In Luke 21, it gives a whole list of different aspects of sin that we need to cast off, that we need to get rid of. We need to lay it aside. And in Luke 21, look at the near the end of that chapter. Luke 21, verse 34 was reminded of this passage because of the way it's worded here about being weighed down and encumbered, hopefully tripped up by evil forces, at least by their point of view, and how that fits with our lives. So he says, verse 34, Luke 21, take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and the cares of this life that the day will come on you unexpectedly. And then he goes and uses similar kind of thinking here, as Paul said, for it will come as a snare. You see that sin that so easily ensnares us. Same word, same base word used there. Sin that snares us, it says, it will come as a snare on those who dwell on the face of the whole earth. So watch therefore. Pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape these things that will come to pass and to stand before the Son of Man. So perhaps Paul had this little section of Scripture in mind, you know, with the words of Christ here, that he says, don't be weighed down with sin. Don't be weighed down. And then he focuses on the cares of this world. And boy, it seems these days, maybe that's the biggest snare that tries to encircle us.

The cares of this life, the worries of this life, the concerns, maybe the distractions of this life that take us off course, that want to get us out of the race, that want to get us off the track. That's what Paul wants to warn us about. Watch out for this.

We talk about Colossians where it talks about anger and bitterness and clamor and all of those kinds of things we're supposed to put away. And so I think we know those things. We know we're supposed to cast those things off. And so that's part of the goal as we're running this race, to stay on track. And he says we can look to the example of so many that went before us to help us stay on task, stay on track. And so as we consider ourselves, that's one thing, the sin. But then he also says, lay aside every weight. Now what's the difference between the sin that so easily ensnares us? And then on the other hand, he also mentions this weight. It says, lay aside every weight.

I know some of our ABC students this year are lifting weights between classes. So this is now my favorite scripture, lay aside every weight, because then when they try to get convincing me that I need to go lift those weights, I'll refer to this passage. No, I don't want to do that. That's unscriptural. We can't do that. We want to lay that aside. No, that's not what it's talking about here. Not that kind of weight. But remember the analogy. We're running the most amazing race, right? The most amazing race of faith. That's the race that we're running.

And if you're going to run a race, what do you have to do? I mean, if you're serious about it, you're not just going to jog around the track kind of thing. But if you are going to be in a real race, what do you have to do? You got to train. You got to get ready for the race. You got to be prepared. I know some of our members from Cincinnati East last Sunday, I think it was, we're running the... what was the official name of the race? I know it's Mudder or something like that. The Tough Mudder? Wow! Yeah, it was tough. They'll have to explain it to you sometime. But I think electricity was involved at some points, like ox goads and different things and crawling through mud. All kinds of crazy. If you don't train for that sort of thing, you're going to be in trouble. You're going to be in trouble. So what's he getting at here when he says, all right, lay aside every weight. If you're going to run a race, you got to get in shape. And so if there's a few extra pounds, that's part of what he's talking about here. Every weight, that word for weight is kind of the word for being heavy, for being heavy like overweight, because it can mean bulky. So lay aside the extra pounds, the extra bulk you might have.

I think it's Thayer's Greek dictionary says something like swelling superfluousness.

That sounds like really big, really. So it says, lay all of that aside. Lay all of that aside, because that's the weight. That's the extra pounds that are going to slow us down. So we're supposed to put that away. And not only the extra weight, but think about these Olympic runners, the ones that are in track in the Olympics. I mean, do they put on their big overcoats because it might be a little chilly out there, or they pull on those big bulky pants and they're going to run their race like that? No, they don't. They get down to the bare minimum, just what they need, and that's it. So they're not running with their bathrobes on or anything like that. Nothing can trip them up. They don't want any of that. So they get rid of all of that. They get as light as possible. And the same thing goes for their body weight. They get as light as possible without affecting their performance. Because if they get too skinny, and they're not able, and metabolism can't keep up with the job at task, if they can't do it, then they're not going to have the energy to finish and compete. So they got to be at the ultimate weight for them so that they can run this race. And it's not going to affect their performance, in fact, it's going to enhance their performance because they'll be right at the ideal size and weight for their body. And so they can hit that mark. And so Paul's using that as an example, that just the weight can make the difference between success and failure. I don't know if you've ever thought of it like that. I was thinking about this point the other day, and it reminded me of a book I read a long time ago. It was a book by Jules Verne. He was kind of a science fiction writer in the 1800s or so. Maybe you can think of some of the titles. He wrote some really famous books that turned into Walt Disney movies, I think, most often. He wrote the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. And what else did he write? The Journey to the Center of the Earth. Some of those old movies that Disney turned. The Time Machine, right? The Time Machine. And one goes to the moon. I can't think of the name of that one. From Here to the Moon? Yeah, that might be it. But the one that came to mind when I read that particular passage was one that was called Mysterious Island.

And I don't know if you've ever read the book Mysterious Island.

Kind of a slow read, but I remember reading it a long time ago. There's an interesting story that reminded me of that passage in Hebrews 12. And in Mysterious Island, in this one section of the book, there's, I think it's five prisoners. They were prisoners of the Civil War. So the story set in that time. And they're in prisoner. They're prisoners in prisoner's camp. And so here they are trying to escape and get away. Well, the circumstances come up that as they're trying to escape, there's a hot air balloon that is just conveniently available. Well, anyway, they hijack this hot air balloon, these five guys, and they get into it. And they just take off from this Civil War camp, trying to escape from the prisoner's camp. Well, they get out there and it drifts over the ocean. And as it's drifting, they're hours and hours up over this ocean. And all of a sudden, they start to realize, we're not going up anymore. And they're starting to come down. And of course, one thing they didn't have with them was any way to heat up the air again to make them rise anymore. So the balloon just keeps coming down and down, and they're getting closer to the ocean waters. And none of them could swim very well. So they're really worried about this. So they keep coming down and saying, all right, what can we do? Well, we're going to cast off some weight. So the first thing they start to do is they throw off their coats, and they throw them over, and watch them fall into the ocean. And then they threw their packs off. They took everything they thought they need out of their packs, and they threw those over. So anything that they could get a little bit of weight, they threw it over. Sure enough, the balloon started to go up again. But it didn't last for very long. That balloon started sinking again. So they're looking around in this little basket, thinking, okay, now what can we do? Well, so they took off their shoes, and they threw their shoes overboard. They took even their weapons. That's what they were hoping to, you know, defend themselves. But they threw those overboard. And they threw next food. They had taken some food with them. They threw that over. And sure enough, it started coming back up again. But it didn't last. And so they started sinking again. And it was like, okay, now what are we going to do? They looked around. There really wasn't anything else to throw overboard. So you know what they did? They took out the one thing they kept, their knife, and they cut the basket that they were standing on, retied the ropes, and dropped the basket off the balloon. So if you can imagine these five guys balancing on the ropes with everything else thrown overboard. And guess what? Just as they started coming down again, which seemed like maybe for the last time, just off in the distance they could see mysterious island. And there it was.

As they came down, they were just so excited to see the land, they jumped out and ran as quick as they could through the water for the island. So just an interesting little story there that I think makes a good point. It makes a good point that how much extra baggage do we have? I mean, between the things that maybe we think we need or the things we want and the things that we really, truly do need. Is there something maybe in our life that we ought to throw overboard?

Things that we would get rid of? And I think that's a good question. How much extra weight am I carrying? How much extra weight am I carrying? Is this something that helps me to pick up the pace? Because I'm in a race. I'm in this race of faith. Does this help me to pick up the pace? Does this help me to move closer to Jesus Christ in His character, in His perspective? Or is this something that drags me down? Is it like I'm wearing those weights that some of these runners have to try to strengthen their legs a little bit? They put these weights on and then, yeah, it might build a little muscle, but you're not going to win any races, you know, carrying those weights around. And so is this something that's going to help me on this race of faith? Or is this something that's going to drag me down? I think as we look at our lives, that's the kind of question I think that Paul wants us to answer or ask ourselves. What's the weight that's dragging me down? The thing that's really not neat. I mean, if you got a hot air balloon and somebody said to you, oh, you don't need this basket, what would you say? Yeah, I need this basket. What do you mean, I don't need this basket? Well, that's when you're first taking off. But if you think you're going to crash, suddenly you're going to realize, oh, maybe I don't need this basket. So are there things like that in our lives that maybe have gotten in the way of our perspective that we really don't need? Because I think that is what Paul is saying here, that it can really impact us of whether or not we're going to successfully compete. And now you might think, well, wait a second. I needed that gun that I threw over, or I needed those clothes. I needed that extra coat, or I needed the food.

I needed that food to survive. As you think about those things, maybe not so physical things that we hang on to in our life, will we be provided for? You see, these characters in the mysterious island, in the end, they were taken care of. They made it. They made it to the island. They made it to land.

But see, we've been promised so much better things than just that.

There's a passage that's over in 2 Peter 1, verse 3. If you take a look at 2 Peter, it was a passage that certainly reminded me of the wonderful blessings that we have, as we are given this wonderful race to compete in. But when you look at 2 Peter, it's a good reminder. It says, His divine power has given to us... Oh, I'm sorry, verse 3. 2 Peter 1, 3. Here we are, 2 Peter 1, verse 3. His divine power has given to us...

Oh, not too much, just a little bit. No, he says, all things that pertain to life and to godliness. All things that pertain to life and godliness. So if it comes to a point in our life where we're casting off the extra weight, is God going to take care of us? Is God going to see us through? Is God going to make sure that we can survive? I think there's so many other passages that we can turn to to say that very thing that Peter reminded us. Absolutely. There's no way that he's going to leave us alone.

And so he wants us to consider our own life, consider ourselves. Now, it's also interesting as we look at the beginning of Hebrews 12, in this comparison to the race, this race of faith, our life, he also tells us that we should think about what we're doing. What about this race we're in? Have we thought about the race? Have we considered this calling that we have, this faith that God's called us to, opened our minds to? Because that is something I think that we also have to consider when we think about the race that we're running.

Because we're not running against others. We're running... well, what's the competition? Who are we running against? It's interesting that in some of these races, especially in the Olympics, when they run the shorter races, everybody lines up on the track and they're given their track number, right? And on the shorter races, they have to stay in that lane for the entire race.

And what happens if they step out of their lane? Disqualified. You're disqualified because they've measured it all out and with the curve of the track, they're all exactly the same distance. And so that makes it fair. And so I think that's something that we consider as we think about this race. God's placed us in our lane and my lane isn't your lane. My race is my race and your race is your race. And so we each have a race to run, but we've got to run that race in the lane that God's put us in. We don't get the pick our race either. Well, God, I'd rather have the 50-yard walk.

I don't want that 5,000 meters. No, I don't want that. Forget it. We don't get to pick our race, do we? God calls us. He opens our minds. He places us. Well, for the sake of the analogy, He places us on the track. He puts us where He wants us. He puts us right where He wants us. So when you consider that, we've got to run that race the way He puts us. So our goal is not, we're not trying to outrun each other. We're trying to reach the finish line. We're trying to reach the goal. And so God's placed us right there. If we get too concerned about other things, are we worried about who's ahead of us or who's behind us or who we're running next to? I think if we get sidetracked like that, we could end up into some trouble if we do that.

And so He tells us that we need to keep track of our race. God has not called us to run somebody else's race. So He makes that really clear here in Hebrews 12. In fact, He uses the same kind of thinking over in 1 Corinthians. If you look over at 1 Corinthians 9, 1 Corinthians 9, verse 24, is where He begins to show how important this right perspective is. Take a look at 1 Corinthians and over in chapter 9, verse 24, He says, Don't you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize. He says, Run in such a way that you may obtain it.

So we're not in the race just to, you know, go around the track a few times. He says, We're supposed to run to win. Run that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown, an imperishable crown. And so He says, Therefore I run thus. So He's running on that track. He's not just lollygagging around. He's going for the gold, right? He's going for the win. And so we see that connection then. We're running for the prize. We're running for the prize. So God's called us to this race and He's put us on the track and now He's called us to run that own race. Kind of reminds me of the fact that we're supposed to be there running, maybe put a little bit differently over in Philippians where He talks about the fact that we've got to work out our own salvation. Work out our own... I can't run somebody else's race. Philippians 2.12 certainly reminds us of that, doesn't it? Work out your own salvation. Work it out. Run your own race and compete. Run that race that's set before you. So whatever that might entail, that's the track that He's put us on. And so we can think about that race. Is this race a marathon or is it a sprint? What kind of race is this? Well, a sprint? How do you run that race? Well, you get down in the blocks and you go. It's all out, burst of energy. Get the thing done. It's over. That's probably not the best description of the race we've been called to because we're not sure exactly how long our race might be. It's only going to last the rest of our life, right? The rest of our life. So probably better compared to a marathon. Now this is a long race. Is it going to be a race that's going to be over a long period of time for the rest of our life? So if you have to run a really long race, what's it going to take to finish that race? A lot of energy, right? A lot of endurance. It's going to take a lot of training and a lot of endurance, a lot of practice, a lot of testing and working and striving to finish that race, to compete in that race. And so we see that's something that Christ talked about many times. And He said, you know, if He that endures to the end, the same will be saved. And that thought is repeated over and over again throughout Scripture. So Christ said it in Matthew. We hear it in the book of Revelation as well. You know, endure to the end. He who endures. We need that kind of endurance. And when we look at the examples of faith that we see in chapter 11, can we have the kind of endurance that they had? Well, they're there to remind us, yeah, we can. We can have that kind of faith. It's possible because we have that same faith because it's Christ living in us. And so it's possible to do that. And we understand that because the Scripture was given for us, we can understand we can be like that too. It's going to take that kind of endurance. Romans 2, verse 7 is one that I had written down that reminds us that kind of perspective that we should have. The kind of perspective that, okay, it is going to be a marathon.

It's not going to be over immediately. It's going to take some time. It's going to take some time. So if you look at Romans 2, look at verse 7. Romans 2, verse 7, it says, to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for glory, honor, and immortality. That patient continuance, kind of another word for endurance. Romans chapter 2, verse 7. Is that it? Did I write it down wrong? Uh-oh. Let me check it out. Whoops, there goes some of my notes there. Yeah. Yeah, I'm probably reading from the New Revised, the New Revised there. So this patient continuance is certainly something that we've got to keep in mind, that we've got to endure. And that endurance is something that is, it's the nature of the race. It's the nature of the race, that that endurance is something we've got to have. So how are we going to have that kind of endurance? Well, God's got to give it to us, doesn't He? He's got to give it to us. We've got to pray for that, or we've got to train for that, and we've got to have the faith and the confidence and trust. If He said, I'm going to give you everything you need, I've got to have the faith that He's going to do what He says He's going to do. And that should help me to have the kind of endurance that I need to face whatever the situations are in the race that I'm given.

So we can do that. And so I think that's why He comes to this... well, He comes down to, if you flip back to chapter 12 once again. Look at chapter 12 when He says, as we're looking at this race, it's almost another thing that we've got to keep in mind as we rehearse this. And we think about this most erasing race of faith. He also says that we've got to consider Jesus Christ. We've got to consider Christ. He says, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, that if we're going to run this race, we've got to keep our eyes on the goal. Ultimately, the goal is to be like Christ. It's to be like Christ. We want to follow Him. He paved the way into the kingdom. He reached the goal. That's what I want to do. And so we look unto Jesus, it says. Our focus has to be on Him. And so throughout the book of Hebrews, Paul keeps visiting that same concept, doesn't he? He talked about Christ, considering our apostle and high priest. A couple of chapters ago, he talked about that. And the problem is, if we don't keep our eyes on the goal, if we don't keep our eyes on Christ, our eyes are going to get distracted.

And how much easier will it be to fall down or to fall short, not rise to the expectations that God has for us? Because if we look to people, people let us down. People fall short. People at times hurt us. So we look to people, we're going to lose our focus. We look to the circumstances around us. Sometimes that's tough. It's difficult. Rough circumstances. And at times, the circumstances will trip us up just because of the difficulty of things we have to face in our lives.

We can't look there. And we can't count on our feelings. We count on our feelings.

Feelings come and go. You know, our feelings, is that what rules the day? Well, it can't be. I think all of those things are aspects that divert us from what God would have us focus on. And if you want to be diverted, you know, just start looking around. We don't keep our eyes fixed on Christ and the goal that He set before us in the race. We'll be diverted if we begin to look around.

It doesn't take much to be diverted. Even looking too far ahead. Yeah, we can look around and get diverted. We look too far ahead. We can get distracted. We can get distracted if we look too far ahead. Of course, if we look to our own power, if we look to our own strength, that's also going to be a distraction. And of course, if we look back, and what happens in the race if you start looking back? Well, you're going to trip. You're going to trip and you're going to fall. And so I think if we're going to succeed, if we're going to be successful, if we're going to be delivered ultimately to the finish line, we've got to look to Christ. We've got to look to Christ. And he points that out so clearly because Christ was there. Christ ran this race. He understands the race. He's there as our mediator. He's there as a high priest. He's there as one who set the example for us. He's there to help us all along the way. He's saying, you can finish this race. You can do this. I'm here with you. I will never leave you or forsake you. I'm there. Let's do it. And so he's urging us on in that way. And so we keep his aspect, his goal in mind so that he's always our focus. And I think Paul was always such an amazing example in that, wasn't he? How he focused on Christ. You know, if you think of Galatians 2.20, where he talked about how focused he was on Jesus Christ. He said there that he's dead. Paul was a dead man. He was a walking dead man. He says, I am crucified with Christ. I'm dead. But he said, nevertheless, I live. Well, how can he be living if he's dead? He says, well, not I, but Christ in me. Christ, was he focused on Christ? Was Christ his goal? I mean, there was no doubt. In fact, he said, to live is Christ. To live is Christ.

And so I think that gives us an implication of how important it is to live as Christ. I think it's Philippians 1. I'm not sure where. Beginning of the book of Philippians somewhere. Maybe verse 20 or 21, 22, somewhere in there, I think. To live is Christ. So how focused are we on Christ? How focused are we that our life is surrounded with the goal that I want to live to the measure and the stature and the fullness of Christ in every aspect of my life? You see, that's what Paul was focused on. If we're going to win that race, who's the only one that can give us that purpose and that drive and that meaning for what this crazy human race is all about? You see, we've been called out of the rat race and we've been put in this race of faith. And so we have meaning. We have hope. We have a purpose. And all of that begins to focus the fact that if Christ is the goal, then we're on the right track. Then we're on the right track.

And so that's what Paul is getting at here, that he is the ultimate because, as he says here, he's the author and the finisher of our faith. He's the beginning. He's the beginning of our faith. And he's the end of our faith. He's the goal. In fact, the word for the finisher is the goal. The taillio is the Greek word there. And it means to the end of the line. He's going to take us to the finish line. He's going to help us all the way there. He's going to complete us or perfect us. That word can mean as well. It's interesting how it ties into making the goal, reaching that finish line, getting to the getting to the tape, in other words. And that's what Paul begins to talk about here, to complete us. So we focus on Christ because that's where our hope is. And he's living his life in us. And as we submit to him, then we can be more like him. And so that's the kind of spiritual race that God's called us to. And in fact, he puts it in an interesting way when he refers to Christ. If you look back to chapter 12, look at verse 2 once again, where he says that focus and that guide that we have in our mind and our heart has to be set on Christ. And so he says, look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Then he says, for who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Now, he gets into another thought that oftentimes when you think about Christ's life, think about what he went through. You know, as he mentions here, the shame he endured, the beating, the scourging, the crucifixion. He endured all those types of things. And he says, well, why did he do that? Why did he do that?

Well, he says because of the joy set before him. Well, crucifixions and beatings and scourgings don't sound like too much joy that's set before someone. So why would Paul use that kind of wording to say that, well, because of the joy set before Christ, he went through all that for us? You know, why would he use that kind of meaning? Well, one of the things that came to mind for me was just a couple of pages back in chapter 9. If you look at Hebrews chapter 9, verse 15 was one of those things that came to my mind about this joy, a joy that was set before him.

I can do this. With the joy that was set before him, we see in chapter 9, verse 15, it says, for this reason he is the mediator of the new covenant by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of eternal inheritance. So he's pointing out the fact that Christ as our mediator, what has he done? Well, he paid the penalty for our sins. We have redemption. We have forgiveness. And so we've got sin is paid, the penalty of sin. Was that something that Christ would consider joy set before him? I think so. The fact that he was willing and able to lay down his life was a joy to pay the penalty of our sin. In fact, I think Scripture puts it a lot of different ways, whether we're talking about forgiveness or redemption, the penalty that's paid. I think oftentimes it's referred to as making peace between God and man, making peace between God and man, because there's a battle between God and man in the sense that we're sinners. We're sinners, and that doesn't fit with the perfect God. But because of Jesus Christ, because of the joy that was set before Him, there is a way. There is a way that we can be with God. We can be part of His family. And that's, I think, part of the joy that was in Christ's mind, that joy that was set before Him. In fact, just the fact that He made a way. He made a way. And that kind of fits with this track analogy, this running this race. He's made the path. He made the track. He made the track possible. So there is a way to salvation. There is a way to the kingdom of God. And that track that God has set us on is the path. That is the way. And that happens through Jesus Christ. And the joy that was set before Him was that He was able to make a way that that would be possible for you and I. So that's a pretty cool race that He's called us to. And in fact, here in Hebrews 9, it also refers to that, you probably noticed here, that not only that sin was paid, but that He's a mediator as well. He's a mediator. And as a mediator, He's the mediator of the new covenant. So there's a new agreement. It's a spiritual agreement. So it's not just a physical agreement. So Christ, it was a joyful thing for Him to do, to offer a different covenant, a better covenant. And Hebrews has talked a little about that along the way as well, hasn't it? It's a better covenant. It's a better agreement. And so was Christ anxious to do that? Was He willing to do that? Was He able to do that? Was He joyful to do that? He says yes. So He made that way to be the mediator of the new covenant. In fact, I think just a little farther down here, look down in chapter 12, verse 24 talks about that as well. Kind of jumping in the middle of the thought, it says, to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. And so He's saying, you've come to Mount Zion, and we've come to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel. Verse 25, see that you don't refuse Him who speaks.

And so we've been called to that race, and Christ was fulfilling that joy that was set before Him.

And I'm sure that that's a part of the aspect of those things. In fact, just the other aspect here that comes to mind as well is just the fact that He's Savior. Savior, it kind of ties into each one of those, but He became the Savior of His people.

And Scripture certainly reminds us of that over and over and over again.

There's a passage in 1 Timothy, and I don't have room to write it down, 1 Timothy 4, verse 10. Maybe we can take a look over there for just a moment. 1 Timothy 4, verse 10, is a good reminder of that. 1 Timothy 4, Notice the way that it puts it here as Paul writes to Timothy. He says, For this end, to this end, we both labor and suffer reproach. Now, I like the idea of this end because we're looking to the goal in this race that we've been called to. So to this end, he says, he says that we are laboring and we're suffering reproach because we trust in the living God who is the Savior of all men, especially of those who believe.

And so it becomes pretty clear then that there's no way you're going to win this race. There's no way you can finish and reach the goal without Christ. In fact, without that joy that was set before Him. Because before becoming Jesus Christ, when the Word was with the Father, there wasn't the joy of this aspect of being Savior. That didn't come about until Christ was sacrificed. And so would that bring joy that you could, by your actions, create a bigger family, make a bigger family possible, make eternity with many brethren, a huge family? That'd be a great thing. I think that's part of the joy that he's getting at here, that he would become Savior of us, our Savior, of His people. And of course, He would be then, not only that He paid the penalty for sin or was the media of the Savior, but then as a living Savior, not just a dying Savior, but as a living Savior, He was resurrected. And I think that's part of the joy that's here as well, is that we've got a resurrected Savior. So He was... I can't fit resurrection there. So let's see. I could say He's firstborn. That fits. He was firstborn. He was resurrected. That sounds a whole lot more joyful than crucifixions and beatings and death. But I think that's part of the joy that was set before Christ as well, that He became the firstborn of many brethren. And in a sense, what did that do? Through all of these things, I think it comes down to the fact that there's security. There's security in the fact that Christ led the way. He completed the task. He ran His race. He sacrificed His life for us. Is God's plan set? Is God's plan sure? Will God's plan be completed?

Absolutely. And so I think part of this joy that Christ had set before Him was the fact that God's plan would be cemented and it is unchangeable. God will bring many sons to glory, and His crucifixion and resurrection secured that very fact. And so there is a security, I think, in that. And in fact, it brings a security even to the way things will run in the future, because this world we live in is in a very secure place. And the governments of this world got all of their own rules and regulations that are far from anything that you feel secure about. And yet, what about the government of God? All of these things, this joy that was set before God, can you imagine what He must be feeling and thinking, yearning and looking forward to that time when He's finally going to return, set this world right, and will be under His perfect government? Wow! That's a pretty amazing thing. And so I think that's part of this amazing example of the joy that was set before Him. With all He had to endure, the other aspect of that is the fact that what a joyful thing to be able to contribute to that plan and secure that plan and have a way that we can be a part of that plan as well. So when we look at that, I think that is such an awesome thing. And so He despised the shame because it was a shameful thing to be hung on a tree, right? A shameful thing. And yet, it says He endured all of those things. Think He had us in mind?

I think so. Certainly He had His people in mind as He was crucified and gave His life for us. And yet He endured it. He took that race that was set before Him, and He ran that race. He ran that race. And so the results now being resurrected, He sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. So consider Him. Think about those things. That word consider really means to ponder it, to rehearse it in our mind, to recite it, to take those things to heart. And so oftentimes, we'll read over these passages just so quickly. We gloss over it, and we don't see some of the depth of meaning that's in just a couple of little verses. Because maybe sometimes we're racing along trying to get through it. But here He's saying that, to that very thing. Think about it. Ponder about it. Consider it and think about it. Because we have such an awesome Savior. We have such an awesome God. And He endured us. He says He endured such hostility. This is verse 3 of chapter 12. He endured such hostility from sinners against Himself.

Lest you become weary and discouraged in your soul. So when we think about the amazing race, we think about maybe tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off and we go, oh, I don't want to get into the rat race. I don't want to get into it. Well, think about the amazing race instead. Think about this amazing race itself. In fact, I think that's what He says here. Don't become weary some. Don't become weary, He says. If you do, if you just had it, I'm discouraged, I'm down, I don't want to... Well, He says, what are we to do?

Consider Him. Think about what He went through for us. Think about the sacrifice that He paid for us. Consider Him who endured that hostility. And we think about that. Does that put our life in a little bit different perspective? Maybe that puts a different impact on our weariness and our discouragement when we think of what Christ went through. Imagine having your 12 best friends run away when you get in trouble and totally desert you. So He experienced those things. And so He goes on in verse 4, you haven't yet resisted the bloodshed striving against sin.

So we haven't been taken to that level yet. And so we're reminded about that. We're reminded about that race. We're reminded that Christ set the example. And through Him, we can ultimately have the success of winning that race. And so He encourages us, have you forgotten the exhortation that speaks to you as sons, which fits back into this whole aspect of the joy that was set before Christ. That we're not lonely little stepchildren. That's not us. We're not the Cinderella's of the God family or anything like that. You see, we are sons and daughters. We are full-fledged members of His family. And in fact, that's where He's going to go with this. He's going to talk about how does a Godly family work? How does a father, the Godly father, treat his children? How much does he care about his children? How much does he want them to stay in the race? And how much does a Godly father, a Godly parent want their kids to do the best that they can? You see, that's the kind of perspective that God starts out chapter 12 with. That as His children, He wants us not just to finish that race, but He wants us to fly there with... go there with flying colors. He wants us to hit that finish line and hit that tape and receive the ultimate prize. That's what God's got in mind. So as we think about the beginning of Hebrews chapter 12, I think that's what we should remember.

God's called us to that most amazing race of faith. So let's remember that calling and well, let's run. Let's run. Well, I didn't quite get as far as I thought I might tonight. I thought I might get a little bit farther. Yeah, two chapters. Two verses good enough rather than two chapters. Well, sorry about that. Well, maybe we'll finish chapter 12 next time. I'm not sure exactly how far we'll get, but I guess we'll call it a night for that. Glad that you were able to join us for the Bible study tonight. We'll be up again in two weeks. And I'm not sure. Am I up again, Mr. McNeely? I'm not sure. It might be me. I'm not really sure. It might be Gary Petty, though. Are we recording then? I don't really remember. But we'll, nevertheless, there will be another exciting Bible study in about two weeks. So we'll see you next time. It is Gary Petty. Okay, great. Thanks.