December 4, 2022
Morning Service

Hebrews 12:1-2 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, (2) 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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

            This chapter in Hebrews again begins with the word “therefore” so we must automatically look back and see what he is referring to.  Chapter 11 is often called the “faith chapter” of the Bible as it defines it (v 1) and shows the importance of it (v 6).  What the writer refers to here is the list of people who displayed great faith in their life allowing it to define them.  Noah is one of those people who was obedient to God to build a boat on dry land where it had never rained before.  It took him 120 years, but he did it by faith and was saved from the flood through his faith.  The writer tells us to use these as examples for us to follow as we are on our journey of faith.  “Let us lay aside every weight, and sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance, the race that is set before us.”  They held their faith tightly and trusted God in some very difficult and confusing times, to be greatly rewarded for it.  These witnesses of faith to us were not “conformed” to this world’s standards, but were “transformed” into men and women who put God first, above everything else, in their lives.  We are challenged to do the same.  Follow faithfully when no one else will walk with us.  Follow faithfully when we don’t understand or see where He is leading us.  We are simply called to follow faithfully trusting Jesus to lead us where He desires us to go.

  Verse 1 challenges us to lay everything aside and run the race before us with endurance.  We are in it to win it!  This is not a sprint of a 100-yard dash and we are done, it is a marathon that goes beyond 26 miles lasting our entire lifetime.  WE must run with endurance and not carry with us anything that would slow us down or detour us. That brings us to verse 2 which is what I want to build on this morning.  This verse gives us the “how” to achieve this challenge.  “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 has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  Think about the race Jesus had to run.  Being arrested, forsaken, mocked, beaten and eventually giving up His life upon the cross.  He did it all by keeping His mind set upon what it was He was accomplishing not the hardship of the moment.  He kept His eyes on the prize.  One of the most powerful scenes in “The Passion of Christ” is as Jesus is carrying His cross and falls exhausted, beaten, and bloody onto the ground.  At that moment His mother runs up to Him and He looks at her and says; “I make all things new!”  He was not focused on the pain that he was enduring or the cross that lie ahead of Him; He had His eye on the prize; reconciling the relationship between God and man.  The writer instructs us where we should have our eyes set as we run our race, complete our journey.  He instructs us to keep “looking unto Jesus!”  The NIV translates this instruction like this: “Let us fix our eyes upon Jesus.”

It is one thing to “see” something or notice it, but it is different when we “fix our eyes” upon it, observing it, studying it, and giving it our full attention.  That is “how” we will complete our journey with Jesus successfully, by keeping our eyes “fixed” upon the One we are following.  When we lose sight of Him is when we struggle in our faith.  Let’s tie this thought into this time of year by going to the story of the shepherds.  It was a quiet night in the fields when suddenly the stillness and darkness were broken into a wonderful revelation from God sent to them.

 

 Luke 2:8-15 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night.  (9)  And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid.  (10)  Then the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people.  (11)  For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.  (12)  And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."  (13)  And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: (14) "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!"  (15)  So it was, when the angels had gone away from them into heaven, that the shepherds said to one another, "Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us."

 

 

            The shepherds were visited by a “multitude of the heavenly host praising God” as they announced the arrival of the Savior to them.  They were in no way satisfied to simply see the angels, but they wanted to “fix their eyes upon Jesus.”  “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us!”  Jeremy can still quote that line when he played the shepherd in the Christmas play we used to put on at the little church.  The shepherds would not be satisfied until they saw the One the angels spoke of; Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.

            Think of the wise men in the same perspective.  They observed the marvelous star that lay above Bethlehem, but they wanted to see more.

 

Mat 2:1-2 Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, (2) saying, "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him."

            Commentaries can’t really pin down where these men came from, perhaps Egypt or Babylonia, but either way it was a very long and difficult trip to arrive in Bethlehem.  They were not satisfied in observing only the great star, but they wanted to “fix their eyes upon Jesus,” born King of the Jews.  They wanted to see Him and worship the One that they had read so much about in the prophecy most likely in Daniel.

            The third and final example of “fixing our eyes upon Jesus” comes from an old man who must have found favor in the Lord for the Lord had promised him that “he would not die until he saw the Christ.”  His name was Simeon and Luke tells us his story at the temple when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to be circumcised.

 

Luke 2:25-32 And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him.  (26)  And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ.  (27)  So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the Child Jesus, to do for Him according to the custom of the law, (28) he took Him up in his arms and blessed God and said: (29) "Lord, now You are letting Your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; (30) For my eyes have seen Your salvation (31) Which You have prepared before the face of all peoples, (32) A light to bring revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel."

            Simeon is one of my favorite characters in the Christmas story.  God had promised him to see the “Lord’s Christ” before he died.  I can picture him every morning making his way to the temple wondering; “is today the day I will see Him?”  His faith in the promise of God kept him “looking for Jesus” that he might “fix his eyes” upon the Lord’s salvation; the light to bring revelation to all people.  Can you picture him on that day as he gazed the crowd, but somehow KNEW Jesus was the One!  Once he saw Him, he declared, “now You are letting your servant depart in peace!”  His eyes being “fixed upon Jesus” was his reason for living and now it was fulfilled.  What joy and thankfulness had to be flowing from his heart that day!  I am sure it is much like the day we “fixed our eyes upon Jesus” and accepted His salvation for ourselves.  Nothing else in the world mattered at that moment and we felt the burden of our sin roll away from us onto Him.  We began that day a life long journey to follow Jesus to one day see Him with our own eyes.

 

1Jn 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

            As we head into to this wonderful Christmas season, let’s not get caught up (conformed) to all that the world makes this time to be.  Let’s fix our eyes on Jesus who is the “Reason for the Season.”  This is the time we have set aside to celebrate His birth and wonderful gift of salvation He brought to each of us.  Don’t get caught up in the craziness, but slow down and focus on what this holiday is really about.  Linus knows the true meaning of Christmas and he will tell us in the Christmas program in a couple of weeks.

 

Heavenly Father, may our view of this world begin to become shadows in the room as we are able to truly fix our eyes upon You.  Give us the courage and endurance to run this race with our eyes always “fixed upon You!”