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Would it be profitable, brethren, to take up the Hebrews, chapter 12?
Have that on my heart.
That is suitable with my brother and I haven't heard from many of them.
Hebrews, chapter 12.
Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and it sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself.
Lest she be wearied and faint in your mind ye have not resisted unto blood striving against sin, and ye have forgotten the expectation which speaks unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, and nor be faint when thou art rebuked of Him. For whom the Lord loveth He chasing us, and scourgeth every son whom He receiveth. If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. What son is he whom the Father chasing us not?
But if you be without chastisement, we're of all our partakers, then you're a ******** and not sons. Furthermore.
We are fathers of our flesh, who have had fathers of our flesh, which corrected us, We gave them reverence. So we not much rather be in subjection under the Father of spirits, and live were they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but He for our Prophet, that we might be partakers of His Holiness.
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I know chastening for the present seems to be joyous, but grievous nevertheless afterwards.
The yield at the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them that are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet. What's that which is lame? Be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed.
Follow peace with all men, and holiness which no, without which no man shall see. The Lord looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up, trouble you, and thereby many be defiled.
Lester Beanie, fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
For you know how that afterwards Winnie would have inherited the blessing he was rejected. For he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye not come into the mount which might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto the blackness and darkness, and temptness, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they heard and treated. That word should not be spoken unto them anymore, where they could not endure that which was commanded. And it's so much as a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through the dark.
And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. But ye, ye are coming to a Mount Zion, unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and unto an innumerable company.
Of angels to the General Assembly and Church of the first born, which are written in heaven as a God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect unto Jesus the Mediator of the new Covenant, and to the blood of the sprinkling, and speaketh better things than that of Abel.
See that you refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escape nought He refused Him that spake on earth. Much more shall we? Shall not we escape, if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven? Whose voice then shook the earth. But now He had promised, saying Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word yet once more signifies the removing of those things that are shaken as things that are made, and those things which that those things which cannot be shaken.
May remain.
Wherefore we're receiving a Kingdom which cannot be moved. Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire.
Where, Wherefore, at the beginning of our chapter.
The 11Th chapter.
Where we have the list of.
The catalog of those that live by faith. It's interesting to go over that list and to see.
How different each one manifested faith in different circumstances.
We two brethren are.
As in Second Corinthians chapter 5, we walk by faith, not by sight. Doesn't mean we close our eyes, but it does mean that the principles that guide us in life are not visible to the human eye. They're apprehended by faith. And that's what guides us, the precious Word of God, because faith comes.
By hearing and hearing by the Word of God and each of these in Chapter 11 That acted in faith, they had some communication from God upon which they acted. Very interesting to go over the list in that way. You and I are living in 2013 and it's not exactly the same circumstances of these people.
In Chapter 11, but our God is the same. The principles of his word are the same for you and me. It is the exercise of heart that God allows us to pass through circumstances in which you yourself, young person or older one too, you have to figure it out with God, you have to act accordingly. So the.
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Word at the beginning of this chapter wherefore.
Since we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, the.
Ones of faith in the 11Th chapter let us lay aside every weight and the sin which says so easily be set us and let us run with patience, endurance, the race that is set before us in a race you don't just sit down and wait a while it's.
A constant thing. It's a long distance race, brethren. It's the race that lasts the whole life, our Christian life down here, and it's not easy.
All the traveling I do, I don't find people that have it easy anywhere. Even though you might have a lot of material possessions, it's not easy. It's a race and we're not to the finish line yet, but we have someone to look to who has finished the race and that's the beautiful thing in verse 2.
Lord, encourage us to run with endurance.
Patience to keep on. Don't give up even though you might feel like you're not up to it. Keep on your eyes on that one who is now in the glory.
Brother Bob, you're saying that when one had a raise, he has to be prepared, he has to exercise himself?
And so that he can run that race. Just don't run a race without being prepared and exercised for it. And that's a daily thing. It's the same thing with our Christian life. The race that we're talking about here has to be exercised daily.
All right. And when we do that, then we have that tangerine to run that race through God's Word and the Holy Spirit.
When we were running that race, we don't take anything with us that we don't need for the race doing.
I noticed that Mister Darby's, uh, translation. Umm, it says.
Laying aside every weight of sin which so easily entangles us.
Run the race. Run with the endurance.
Tangles. That's a stronger word than you said, I think.
Well, I just wondered if it would not speak to a lot of them. We are members of the same body rather and we're not to do this alone. We have one another to help us. I'm sure you might have seen on the Internet there was an Olympic break from the man who's running and he pulled his leg muscle and he could hardly walk. His father jumped out of the crowd and ran through aside and helped him win the race.
They can help one another in this race that doesn't, that I have to run it alone. I have my brother to help me and we can help one another because it's LED up and I'm sure I'll know that the Hebrews, that's not us expression, uh, and Curtis and humor and time. But sometimes when you're from a small medium, you tend to think you're all alone. But it's so important you realize that we are members of the same body forever to put kids in the head.
For the hand I will need to be.
So as we're running this break, we do it together. Some has suggested that the similar stuff to either silence and unbelief. My goodness is in the heart of God. So let's run together, brother.
Gaston Dutronquoy But to go on together the things of Christ, and before us the options. We have the same options, but if we see ourselves, I believe, as a body working and functioning together and helping one another to make the race and put toils.
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A runner might drain with weights, as we see they do often today, but when it comes down to the race, they they take the weights off. So here we have the race that's been brought out our whole life's path as believers before us. And before setting out on that race, the weights are set aside. And so it's not going part way through the race and then laying aside to wait and then a little ways further laying a side of weight. It's having done with them.
Right from the outset, as a as a fixed principle in our lives, we've done with weights around the race, laying them aside.
And you'll notice Mr. Darby's translation doesn't say thus. Then it just says sin, because all sin entangles us.
We're so easily entangled by all sin. It's true. There are sins that may be for me are a little more of a particular concern than for you and for you than our perhaps a concern for me. But the force of it is we're easily entangled by sin, period.
Easily so how we need dependence upon the Lord as we run that race to not be entangled, but it's a thought of just you're on a race, you're done with it. I go run.
We have so they have plenty of.
Verse 28 it says.
Matthew, 1128.
Come unto me, all ye that labor, and our heavy laden, and will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me from meat and loading art, and you shall find rest for your soul.
Do you give us some stockings on 20?
Oh, I was just about to ask you that, Steve.
What are we?
Anything that would slow us down in the Christian path, anything that would distract us, we, if not laid aside, I think can become sin.
Does not necessarily send them themselves, are they? Nothing wrong with sports themselves and music in itself but.
They can be waits and you need to evaluate. Does this help me?
In my Christian pathway? Or is this something that burdens me down and we need to evaluate in the Lord's presence each thing that comes along?
Remember, uh.
I don't know if, uh, some have heard me tell about a man that got saved in Bolivia. He, uh, he was in race car driving and I met him at a mechanic shop and he got saved and through the word and.
He loved to race in the car, the race cars in Bolivia and it's kind of a challenge over the Bolivian roads.
Anyhow, he one day I visited him and he was a little bit upset at me. I think he realized that I wasn't so much in favor of him racing, although I never said that to him.
And, uh, so I said to him, when I realized he was a bit upset at me, I said, tell me, uh, if I was racing over the Bolivian roads, uh, would it be all right for me to stop and take some pictures along the way? Is this beautiful scenery in Bolivia? Oh, no, no, no, you don't do that. I said, is there something wrong with taking pictures? No, there's not anything wrong with doing that. But you don't do that when you're on a race.
I said that's exactly the point I'm getting to. There are things in the Christian life that are not wrong in themselves, but when you're on a race, you evaluate them as to how they're helping you get along in the race. Brethren, material things are not wrong in themselves, But traveling from country to country, I can see that in this country material things have become.
Waste, not wronging themselves, nothing morally wrong with them, but we need to be challenged. And I think the Lord is allowing circumstances in life so that we need to challenge what is really, truly necessary in the Christian race. We're going on to eternal glory. We've been called to eternal glory, but we've lost sight of it.
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And here we have the example of the Lord Jesus in verse 2.
Looking unto Jesus.
I think of the Lord Jesus, the glorious, eternal Son of God.
When he came into the world, how?
In have inhibited that he was in the course of life by material things he passed through it. Was there anything wrong with having a house to live in? No. Why didn't he have a place to lay his head?
Brethren, it's not a matter of being wrong, but I like to think that he came from the Father's house and there was nothing that could compare with that down here, so he wasn't really interested in having those material things.
The Lord help us, brethren in in culture where we have been prospered materially, to know how to deal.
With that weight of materialism, I confess, brethren, I fail in it, but I really believe that it is a hindrance in our running properly the Christian race.
My brother Alan Hadway one time.
Up in the Utah who had struck a threat and was about ready to start back to town, uh, cash in and sell some of the gold Nuggets that he had found.
So he had sewed these Nuggets in a a coat so that no one would see them or rob them and.
In in passage to town he came across.
A swift flowing river.
And he had a a decision to make. When he reached that river, he knew it would be difficult to swim across, so he pondered.
He said. Do I try to swim across with this heavy vest on or do I take it off and leave it on the shore and perhaps we try to recover it later?
And he decided that he would take the choice. He would try to swim across with, uh, those gold Nuggets going into that heavy jacket. And he made it halfway across that river, but the weight of those Nuggets, uh, the jacket, pull them down under and he lost his light. And what a solemn, uh, story that was.
First Corinthians Chapter 9, verse 24.
10/25.
No, you're not the day which runs in a race. Run all but one to see the surprise, so run that ye may attain.
And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain an in a corruptible ground, but we an incorruptible heat. These verses confirm the fact that we are the body of Christ. Each one of us must run this race. There's no exception. We're all one in Christ. We're all following Him.
There's individual exercise that we must be tempered in all things, things of this life. So many things are competing for our attention. There are so many potential ways that can slow us down, and we must not allow any one of them to occupy too much time and space in our hearts and minds because otherwise we cannot let go of the corruptible to receive the incorruptible price.
Broaden the discussion a little bit. Umm, we're talking about weights of things that we can see. And yet if we go through this chapter, we see some things that could be weight, which are not what we can see, but what we feel and what comes upon us. Umm, and, uh, we see just a little bit farther down the our chapter and, and we can, we wanna relate these weights to sin also and the Co, the, the Contra distinction that's, that's in there those that.
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The the things that come into our lives because of these weights, we find that the Lord Jesus, he said he despised the shame.
Could shame be a weight in our Christian life? Are we ashamed of Christ? Are we ashamed of the Gospel? Are we ashamed of taking a stand? Is that a weight to us? We find contradiction of sinners. Is there contradiction in our life? Has Satan brought a contradiction into our life?
That so disposes us that we cannot think of the things of price that we cannot go forward.
These are real weights too, and we have to deal with them in a very spiritual, umm, I I I and connection to Christ. We have to find our resources in him, find our affection in Him so that we can overcome these contradictions. This shame, uh, farther on it says the Lord chasing us, umm, those he loves. Has God chastening come into your life? Has it made you better?
We find bitterness farther down. Are we bitter? Are we against God in that, in that sense, is that a weight that's holding us away from pursuing, uh, the, the pursuing Christ, pursuing a relationship with him. As our relationship grows with him, as our character grows with him, as our heart is attached to him, then we're going to have a, a victory in this life. But these are all weights.
Roots of bitterness can be a very definite way that needs to be let go. But it's also sin, isn't it?
See that the idea of what a weight is and they answered in the example of what we have in verse 2 where it says the Lord Jesus for the joy that was set before him.
Tears across, advising the shame. I often think about that in terms of the fruit of the travel of his soul. It says in Isaiah 53, and there's no doubt that is true. That was some of the joy that was set before him, and we have that as well. What's at the end of the journey? But the Lord had another choice, perhaps a deeper, fuller joy that was with him in his life. And we had that back in chapter 10 where it tells us there that coming into the world, he says sacrifice and offering.
Not it's not desire, but a body is self prepared me and then he says, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. And he found his delight in that the will of God his father and.
To me, that's the key in it, when our focus and our joy is in what Northwell is for us, it it makes us very makes it very clear what a weight is and what a weight may not take.
Umm, you know, it's easy to think. What is it that I want?
And then it gets very confusing and I can say, well, it's OK for me to do this or it's not OK to do that because when the reference point is myself, there's no clarity in it. But when it's instead the will of God in my life.
Then it makes it very clear as to what is a weight and what is not a weight.
Let us that has been mentioned is characterised Hebrews, umm, it's not a case of human effort. It becomes a case of human effort. We will fail. If I have a New Year's resolution that I'm going to lay aside a weight, I will fail.
Instead, it's a case of let the Holy Spirit work through the new nature and the weights will drop off.
The restraint is my old nature that will put some value on those weights. It's let us. It's, it's, it's, it's the work of the Spirit of God in my heart, working through my new nature that will cause me to lay aside the weights, not my effort.
You had mentioned burdens, Brother Tony, and a weight could be a burden of soul and.
When we have a burden of soul, it's very important that we leave that burden of the feet of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, and leave it there.
He also mentioned this brother who's, uh, race car driver and he said, Oh no, you don't stop to take pictures when you're on a race. And what he was trying to tell you, you're supposed to be focused on focused on the goal. And that's what we have in the beginning of verse two, looking at the Jesus, the author and finished her face. And I like the way Mr. Darby renders that umm, he says, looking steadfastly on Jesus.
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The leader.
The completed faith again, the stronger, you know, a stronger rendering there.
You know, focusing on our Savior, the Lord Jesus.
Connection with the 12:10.
Very significant struck me as I drove through the upper part of New York State yesterday.
And every 10 miles or so, there were signs trying to keep people focused on their driving. And those were big signs. And the sign said it can wait texting area 5 miles. And so there were places that you could pull off of tax and.
That's become a real problem, keeping people focused on their driving.
So much so that the state of New York has actually constructed texting areas along the highway. And I just thought of that, as our brother said, keeping our focus on the Lord Jesus Christ.
We're in, uh, Mercedes 5 is casting all your care upon him, for he cares for you.
So we have two.
That have care.
In that purse we have ourselves.
We have cares.
And the Lord, I think, refers to him as the cares of this life.
You know, and sometimes these things can become a burden to us.
And truly hinder our effectiveness in testimony for Christ.
You know these cares that we have are to be cast upon the Lord.
And we find out that He has care, and that's wonderful to contemplate His care for us, to meet us in every need.
And it's that which we enjoy by faith.
You know, and it speaks here in the first verse about a great cloud of witnesses referring to these people of faith in the previous chapter.
Well, it's not the thought here. These ones they witnessed.
What God would do for them?
Because of their confidence in him and his worth, You think Noah now?
No, I was told to build an ark.
It would seem like utter folly to build a boat on a mountain.
When there had not been rain before.
But no one was a man of faith. He takes God in his word.
He builds the ark and it it tells us here that by faith being warned of God in Chapter 11 verse 7.
Of things not seen as yet. Move with fear. Prepared an arc for the saving of his house.
And so on.
Well, God came in in a miraculous way for Noah and his family because of faith. That was key.
And so I believe that as we go through this 11Th chapter, we see how these people of faith, they did things that would seem to the world very foolish.
But they took God at this word, and they found out how their faith was.
Rewarded. And as we contemplate these folks in Chapter 11, it should be an encouragement to us today to realize that God will reward your faith.
You're still 46 verse one says Isaiah 46.
Make a call or Caroline when they trust them for that.
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Verswanza Bell. Bow down. Nibble children.
There are no words upon the beach and upon the cattle. Their carriages were heavy loaded. They are a burden to the weary in these two. They fall down together.
Because of the divers, a burden of themselves are gone into captivity.
Verse four and even to your old age I am a an even to the whole haired will I carry you? I've made and will bear even I will carry and will deliver you.
So those Old Testament believers were a real encouragement and they're put there for encouragement, aren't they? But like has been mentioned in verse two, looking steadfastly. And I understand the thought is looking our way unto Jesus, looking away from ourselves. And brethren, I really believe that is something that needs to be, uh, meditated because.
We live in a culture that is self-centered and man centered. What do you want, What do you like? That's the way the whole advertising business is run and it is not Christianity.
It is looking away from ourselves, looking unto Jesus, and we all learn by examples. And so we have a perfect example here, the Lord Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. In other words, he's ran that race through this world. He met every circumstance and complete perfection, so we can look to him.
How did he meet those circumstances? And that is where we are to look. That is the focus of our faith. And then it says, who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross? Was it easy?
Oh brethren, it is a challenge to our hearts to go back and to think of how He went through it all.
When he came in his life's pathway to Gethsemane.
To think of what was before him, and how he bowed, how he swept great drops of blood, as it were to falling to the ground, and yet in the perfection of his submission to God in God's will, he says, not my will, but thine be done, and he goes forward. What a example for us brethren. I know their brethren here who have.
Tough circumstances, hard times, I don't think anybody hasn't really easy.
But can we go on, brethren, look away from yourself. Don't get occupied with your circumstances so much. Look away to Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself. Was there shame to that?
When they hung him on that cross, they said he said he was the Son of God. If God is his Father, let God deliver him.
And God didn't deliver him, says Reproach has broken my heart. He went through what it means to have a broken heart. And he went on brother, and he went on. He never gave up. And where is he now? He is at the pinnacle.
Uh, glory. That is the example that's set before us. Is it worthwhile? Is there something here in this world that attracts your heart that is more valuable than that?
Brethren, if I was about to start on a 50 yard dash, that's not a very long race, But if somebody stepped up to me with an ingot of gold and said here, take this, it's worth a lot of money. If I was really interested in winning that race, I would throw the gold ingot down just as fast as I would anything else.
Rather than what is it that challenges the?
Goal is set before us. Eternal glory with Christ. What is it that attracts us so that we don't run with endurance? The race that's set before us?
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N.
Joy that was set before him. And uh, the joy is the price. And this price, it's us. He gave his life for us. We are His joy. It says that in this bird. It says that you will find joy in the sons of men.
And our salvation.
Was dispoken the whole humanity the closer to him that redeemed so we could, uh, enjoy them.
With him as president, we have enrollment 14.
Uh verse 17/14/17 and Roman says the Kingdom of God is not eat and drink, but justice, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.
They had to be, and there's first is justice.
Justice has to be made, the price has to be paid, and then there's peace with God. There's no no darkness between US and God. Everything is light, everything is set up and then there's joy. Jesus did that in order. We are his joy now.
It's nice to think of that. We are his joy brother and I think that's true. I would suggest one further thought that.
His joy was to go back into the presence of His Father and to say, Father, I have finished the work that Thou gavest me to do. We don't know what it was when the Lord Jesus went back into the glory and presented Himself with the work completely finished. That was the joy that was spent before Him as well. I'm sure it includes us too.
But I suggest that as well.
When you saw the sun, that was uh, that went away with half of his, uh.
Half of the Apple widow is good and when he came back he saw him from far. There was joy for his father to see his son's back. Same for us. The father has joined to have us in his presence too.
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
A lack of faith and trust in our Lord can be a serious weight that will slow us down.
And have we learnt to walk by faith, not by sight, have we?
That faith the Lord gave us to.
Receive the gift of eternal life. Are we now exercising it to lay hold of eternal life, to walk with Him, to trust in Him with childlike faith, to cast all our cares upon Him, To have complete confidence?
And His provision for us in all circumstances that He allows in our life if we can.
Trust him unconditionally, unreservedly. This would be a great wait that we are relieved of, which will be replaced by joy in trusting him and having complete confidence in him no matter what.
I think the thought is right in connection with the true joy of the Lord was doing the Father's will.
And I think there's many applications we can have in connection with this.
When you think of the Lord Jesus when he was here.
The verse that comes to my mind is back in Isaiah chapter 50. It says that.
God gave him the tumble alert that he might know how to speak a word in season.
Then it says he openeth mine ear morning by morning.
So as the Lord walked his path in this world, here he got His guidance, His instruction, His joy was in doing the Father's will day by day, in spite of all of the the.
Sorrows that He faced along the way, and our eyes are taken off of the examples of the Old Testament in the first verse of the chapter, and our turn to the Lord Himself.
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It's lovely for us to be encouraged in when one another as we see others that go on in the path of faith, but that won't drive me on. What I need is my eye on the Lord, because that's where they got theirs from the Lord Himself. I think of Abraham and it says in that 11Th chapter he went out not knowing whether he went. Think of the hundreds of miles that he traveled.
He left there where he was because God had called him. So that is the vision that the Lord would bring before us to God would bring before us and then tell about His Son and His life here as He walked through this world and very and then into the presence of God. And that verse, Bob, you quoted John 17 before even going to the cross.
Where He had that cross before him, he could say, I have glorified thee on the earth. I have finished the work which Thou gave us me to do. May God give you and me to have that as our true object.
I think it's good for each one of us to be continually reminded that God wants us to have His joy. We read here who for the joy that was set before him, there was a joy set before our Savior. And so He endured the cross and illustrations helped me to understand certain truths. And if we have a cup and we take it to a place where we can fill it with refreshment.
What if it was filled with stones or dirt? We wouldn't get much refreshment. And I think sometimes our cups are full of stones and dirt and so we have these weights that we need to lay aside and God would seek to pour His joy into us.
And when Jesus was facing the cross with his disciples, he said in John chapter 15.
John chapter 15 and verse 11. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full.
That was the desire of the Savior for his disciples. And then in chapter 16 it says, verse 20. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep in the meant, but the world shall rejoice, and ye shall be sorrowful.
But your sorrow shall be turned into joy. A woman, when she is in travail, has sorrow because her hour has come. But as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembers no more the anguish.
For joy that a man is born into the world, and he now therefore have sorrow. But I will see you again.
In your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you. And then in chapter 17.
Chapter 17 and verse 13. And now come I to thee, and these things I speak in the world.
That they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.
God's desire is for our joy and for our happiness.
But we often have our cups so full of these weights, these dirt and stones, that he's unable, as it were, for his joy and to fill it to overflowing. He had a joy that we set before him. And we find, as has been said.
Let us lay aside and there's many lettuces in the book of Hebrews. Let's just briefly for our consideration of meditation. Read a few or read some very briefly.
There's two in Hebrews 4.
There's three, actually, I'll just read two of them.
There's one in verse one that won't read that, but Hebrews 4 and verse 11. Let us labor, therefore to enter into that rest. Hebrews 4 and 11 Let us labor, therefore to enter into that rest. He restored. 16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, do we may attain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. And then in chapter.
9.
Chapter 10.
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Caesars chapter 10 and verse 22 Through 24. Let us draw near with a true heart and full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering, for He is faithful the promise. And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good work.
And then in the 13th chapter, there's two more, and I'm sure there's others.
Hebrews 13.
In verse 13 Let us go forth therefore unto him, without the camp, bearing his reproach.
Verse 15 by him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually that is the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name. So there's things that we need in Hebrews 4 we need energy. We let us.
We need that energy, we need prayer, we need to be in the presence of God, we need with be with God's people, we need to have perseverance, we need to come to our Savior and we need to offer praise. So there's many things that we need, but God would pour His joy into us if we would allow Him to do a work in our souls and to bless us with the joy which He had with His Father and would love to share and work in each of our lives.
And there was joy in the Lord Jesus, wasn't he, even when he was rejected. But as he passed through this world, he was known as the Man of Sorrows, brethren.
The pathway to that joy is sometimes heavy, and so that's why we are told in verse three. Consider him that endures such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your mind.
We get weary sometimes and faint. What is the remedy for that? Consider him.
The old version of the Spanish translation, I like the way it reads, says reduce your thoughts to Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against Himself. So often our minds, our thoughts are so centered on ourselves. It's easy, brethren. I find it constantly in me that I tend in that direction. Reduce your thoughts to Him.
How did he handle the contradiction of sinners against himself?
There ever came a time when he gave up, never went straight on. O brethren, what an example. And that will help us when we get weary, when we get faint in our minds, help us to go on, to run with endurance.
Not give up, reduce your thoughts to Him that endures such contradiction of sinners against himself. Think of it the cross he was in.
Abandoned by his disciples, all turned against him.
The ones that he had come to be such a blessing to cried for his crucifixion.
And then on the cross, when he was there in that awful, awful agony, God turned his face from him. Did he give up? Never. Never, brethren, He went straight on. Where is he now? He's at the pinnacle of glory and power there at God's right hand. That's the course that you and I are called to run now.
Let's not give up. Let's continue. Let's run with endurance, the race that's set before us.
To our face and as they mentioned that he is the goal.
That we look towards and when you run a race, you have a goal in mind and you run towards that bowl, you get your eye off the goal and you start to go to the left, to the right to wander. When I was, I heard an interview with an author of a work of fiction that I had taken a particular interest in and he mentioned how he had killed off a particular main character that worked and I wondered as to why he had done that.
But as he was Speaking of that as the author and Speaking of how he had control to manipulate the characters in his work, it struck me that here in this verse, the Lord Jesus.
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Speaks to be the author to watch. We have in the margin. It's, it's the, uh, reference says beginner of our faith. But it struck me as, as I thought about that he, he wants to have complete control of our life as a, as the author of a of a book has control over the characters in the book and puts them in the situations that he being spent for the story that he's telling. The Lord wants to have control in our lives.
He wants us to be independent on him and have control and to put us in the situation that he needs fit.
In our race and as much as he's the beginning of, of the, uh, of our faith that we have here, I think also that thought of being in control, putting us in the situation.
That word softer.
And then it's your architect and builder.
He's the only one who ever ran that path of faith to imperfection and holy for God's glory, and he's the only one worthy as an object for us in that past. Encompass with a great cloud of witnesses. No, they're encouraging, but there's only one to put your eyes upon. He's the leader, he's the architect, he's the builder, and he finished it.
He alone can say it is finished, Paul says I've finished my course, but he could not say it is finished. There's only one.
Who could say that? And you and I could hardly even say I finished my course. But, uh, there's only one worthy to set our eyes upon, and that's him. And so in this chapter we get the things that God uses to keep us in the path of faith. And here is the primary one. An object for our hearts we cannot do without. Man cannot do without an object for his heart. He has to have something.
He follows something that he's occupied with and God says here, I'm going to set before you that which is first one is perfect. One who did it all the way for my glory. He's the one to follow.
In John's Gospel.
He speaks to his disciples how they're going to be persecuted.
Upon his departure and even unto death, a severe persecution. But at the end of uh 16th chapter, it says in the world he shall suffer tribulation.
Right, be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.
So that's a comfort for the disciples and ought to be for us as well. Lord Jesus overcame, and so we can too.
Because he truly is the object of our faith. And the apostle Paul, he could say I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So the Lord Jesus Christ was the object of Paul's faith and he found strength in that. And you know, this is very important faith. I think of how John could speak about this is the victory.
That overcometh the world, even our faith.
So apart from state, we're not gonna succeed.
But I believe faith in the Lord Jesus Christ keeping focused on Him.
Realizing that.
He successfully completed.
The pathways here, in spite of such adverse circumstances, Severe opposition.
I think in Proverbs 2 it speaks about if you faint in the day of adversity.
Your strength is small.
And the truth is, if we rely on ourselves and our own strength, when we face the enemy, we're gonna faint. We're gonna throw a person's hands in despair. But the point is, we need to recognize that his strength is working on our behalf.
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And it's by keeping him as the option, keeping our focus on him.
Considering, well, him.
Puts you.
Endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest he be wearied and faint in the minds.
How do we focus our eyes with the eyes of faith?
Umm the teeth I leave rescue IPI give up to you. That will be 8 and our daily lives in our circumstances.
Think I'm looking forward to the joy of seeing Christ and glory, but it's going to be the peace that I have in my heart that doesn't matter what the obstacles are in the way. I may speak about it because it was brought up the author of my life.
The flight has peace, the very peace of the Lord Jesus had when he went to the cross, given it to us, brother and then brother sow in his prairies and greater integers and youth. There's no reason that we need to fall in this regimen. We have the power we have as you brought out. Rather it's the Spirit of God with us, and the greater is he that is in you. Do you really believe that brother? Do you really believe that young person?
There is some power in you that's greater than anything in this world.
Noreek Frost find herself with these plate other than the fact that they brought out. We got our eyes off the crust, but what's going to sustain us through it is peace that he gets.
We drove up from Toronto, which threatened staying with the players all the way in Toronto's truck after truck after truck, and then we get to Montreal truck after truck after truck. That didn't discourage us because.
We had peace, we didn't care what's going on in the road and the joy that was before us was seeing her brother has seen her brother from Montreal who invited us and we need to realize this very peace of the Lord Jesus had to walk through the team going to the cross is the very peace.
Then she peed up Steve Smith. God, who's a very piece of the Lord. Hazel pass, and he wants you, and I turn her into it.
Still, still my soul, but I guess throw this out as a suggestion. You know, I just asked what's the large case that's perhaps, uh, reception he got and he returned home. I wonder if there's an insight for us. And I say I'm 51.
Isaiah 51.
When you think about the garden we went through and it's hard to read this first, peers come into your eyes and you think it's what you really went through for us. But in Isaiah 5142.
Thus saith thy Lord, the Lord, and thy God that leadeth the cause of his people. Behold, I have taken out of thy half the cup of trembling.
Even the drags of a cup of my purse. Thou shalt no more trade back again.
Is there not a thought there that no more James was recurrent the problem?
Same hand #42 in the.
Z is our redemption and salvation.
Nothings need our souls disheartened, but forgetfulness of thee not can stay our steady progress.
More than conquerors we shall be, if our I, whatever the danger, looks to thee a nun, but thee M42 in the back of the book.
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Dial Darlington.
5/21.
Crown was great.