Hebrews 12:1-2
Christ The Perfect One
1 All these many people who have had faith in God are around us like a cloud. Let us put every thing out of our lives that keeps us from doing what we should. Let us keep running in the race that God has planned for us. 2 Let us keep looking to Jesus. Our faith comes from Him and He is the One Who makes it perfect. He did not give up when He had to suffer shame and die on a cross. He knew of the joy that would be His later. Now He is sitting at the right side of God
I want you to know how awesome the Holy Ghost is. On the second Sunday, while the trio preached, God dropped in my spirit I would be doing a three week series. I didn’t think anymore about it because He had already prepared the following week’s sermon, and figured it would be most likely coming from it. That Friday, when I was meditating and talking to God, He led me to Hebrew 12:1-2. When I looked at it I heard the Holy Spirit say “persevere” and knew immediately that would be the series sermon. That Sunday after church, the Sunday school met and decided they would teach perseverance in Sunday School Class. I immediately began rejoicing in God. So if you would be so kind as to write these three sermon titles down….
Number I What You Looking At? Hebrews 12:1-1
Number II You Got to go through it to get to it 1 Corinthians 9:24-25
Number III Finish Well. 2 Timothy 4:6-8
When you were younger, and some of us even now, get offended when someone is looking at us in what see as an ugly or negative way. And our response is “what you looking at”
Even today, you could be in a crowded room, supposed to be listening to a speaker, your mind begins to wander and you begin to gaze around the room. The person across the room appears to be looking at you. You try to avoid eye contact, but keep glancing over to see if they are still watching you. If you are with someone, you eventually lean over and mention that the person is looking at you. Depending on their own level of maturity, they will either feed into the frenzy, or they will tell you that you are nuts… either way it is bugging you… to the point in some cases some of us will stroll over to the person and actually ask them what you looking at! But you know what, if you had remained focused on what you were supposed to be looking at… number one you would not have seen somebody “staring” at you… and number two, that person probably wasn’t even looking at you, but had just become bored like you and lost focus and was glancing around the room like you.
Turn to your neighbor and ask them… What you looking at?
In order to understand the importance of persevering you must know what it means… well the dictionary says… Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness.
This week we are going to touch on the first three things of the nine points God has given me on this three part series on perseverance. In this first segment we are going to talk about the first three steps in order for you to persevere, to endure, to hang on, to last - focus, fearless, and faithful.
Reading the chosen text, we find the author is giving instruction to folk who evidently have considered giving up and letting go. He has heard rumors or rumors of rumors that some are tired, some have been discouraged, some have become dismayed and he has come to offer a word to remind them exactly what they should be looking at. Many of us have been there, and some of us are there now. But God has a formula that will allow us a break through this morning.
First of all you must have a Focus….
Focus definition
A center of interest or activity. Close or narrow attention; concentration To concentrate attention or energy to one particular thing.
The scripture writer tells us in order to persevere in this race God, we must focus on Jesus. Why, because when we are looking around, we become distracted by what is going on around us. We become discouraged by the situation at hand. Our problems, our circumstances, our trials and troubles become the center of our attention. But the word let’s us know the only way we can overcome or endure is by focusing on Jesus. So, when we struggle with why we are going through God is asking “What You Looking At”
There are benefits to focussing Jesus and not on what is going on all around you.
(Isaiah 26:3-4) You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You. {4} Trust in the LORD forever, For in YAH, the LORD, is everlasting strength
(Deuteronomy 4:29) But, from there you will seek the LORD your God, and you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
(Matthew 7:7-8 ) "Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. {8} "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.
But the main reason to focus, to watch, to look at Jesus is it is the only way you will know where to go. How can we follow Jesus and look behind us. Have you ever followed someone to a destination that you had never gone… They are driving the speed limit and you are in your car fiddling with stuff and next thing you know you have lost sight of the person you are following… and thusly you either have to call them or you get lost and have to get directions or worse yet you are in the middle of nowhere and have to turn around and go back home. Well the same thing applies to your focus point in your Christian walk. You have to keep looking toward him, or you will be distracted by things around you and lose your way. In some of our cases, we have looked away, got left, and returned to situations that are detrimental – the very thing Jesus was leading us out of – because of NO FOCUS – we find ourselves back in mess.
But fortunately you can call out and He will come back and get us… but being lost or left is a terrible thing… so why put yourself through it… just keep focused
Wow, well we already know why we mess up… we could just stop here and celebrate and ask God to do something to change our focal point.
Ask somebody – what you looking at
Next you must be fearless!
Fear means - timidity or a cowardly
Fearless would be the opposite courageous, brave, trusting
When your eye is on Christ and not the stuff that is all around you – you can be fearless… because we embrace the fact that no weapons formed against us will prosper! For the scripture states For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love and of a sound mind (2 Tim. 1:7) The Holy Spirit has promised to infuse a power into the believer’s spirit. However, the infusion of the power does not come until action is taken to step out and use the gift that God has given. Sooooo the only thing we ought to be scared of is not looking at Him. So the reason we experience the fear of things and stuff and situations, and commotion, and trials, and people, and what they think is because we have not become fearless enough, trusting enough to step out on Gods promise. Because our focus is off so fear can reside rest and rule. This causes us to begin to glance around and look for an alternative to fix our mess. Drugs, gambling, men, women, any old thing will do.. all out of fear. We jump into get rich quick fixes, chase wishes, pine for past glory all because we are to scared to follow the direction of God. Fear of being alone, fear of being broke, fear of feeling pain and heartache all exist because of no focus. But instead of fretting, make up in our mind that God is a god who has guaranteed to those of us who don’t lose focus the ability to withstand. We can be fearless because in the 6th chapter of Ephesians he has given us the weapons to fight off everything that may come our way…. And even after all is said and done… we still will stand!!!! What are you looking at
Lastly
Faithfulness
Faithful, to be diligent and true to something….
In Lamentations 3:22-33 Jeremiah is singing the praises of how faithful God is, stating that He has never failed or faltered. This is the same thing many of us say, but for some reason we have the inability to remain faithful to God. The only way we can keep our eyes on the Lord, the only way we won’t be scared about what God can’t do, is if we become faithful to God.
How can we be faithful pastor?
Well your faithfulness comes out of your obedience!
Deuteronomy 30:17 17 But if your heart turns away and you are not obedient, and if you are drawn away to bow down to other gods and worship them
Now somebody in here is saying I may be disobedient but I still only serve one God… that is not true… because disobedience comes out of a defiant heart… defiance leads to more disobedience until we get to the point where we are blatantly living in sin, knowing we do, but not caring…and we become rebellious, and this is a spirit of satan, not of God.
Someone is saying, well I’m only disobedient in some things… but
2 Corinthians 2:9
The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.
Some say well some things I don’t know about, and so it’s not being disobedient… it’s being ignorant
But God desires His children to know His word, so he can communicate with you… and failure to communicate is a form of disobedience, for the word of God says in 2 Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth – that means you have to know the word, and the only way to know the word is to get in the word… and the only way this will happen is if you focus on God, and fearlessly seek him, and become faithful…. What you looking at?
There is a cost to disobedience
Ephesians 5:6
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
Colossians 3:6
For which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience:
If you are faithful to God
Psalm 18:25
To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
Psalm 37:28
For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. They will be protected forever, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off;
Proverbs 2:8
for he guards the course of the just and protects the way of his faithful ones.
Matthew 25:21
"His master replied, ’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’
There are distractions
There are heartaches
There are troubles and trials
There are hard times
There are people that hurt
There are people who disappoint
There are things we don’t understand
There is just stuff out there cuz stuff happens
But there is something greater
His name is Jesus, and God has asked us to look at Him…..
And I will look to the heavens from where my help comes, and remain focused
I know the Lord is my light and my salvation, so whom will I fear, the Lord is the strength of my life, so why should I be scared
I embrace the faithfulness of God, and therefore I will be faithful to Him.
He was so faithful He gave us Jesus… the perfect eye catcher. Stop looking around… Stop focusing on stuff….. Stop making excuses for why we don’t and just begin to do…. If you begin to look toward the one who is the lily of the valley, the bright and morning star, the transformer and the redeemer when God ask what you looking at you will respond… Jesus… When somebody ask you why you rejoicing in time of struggles… you can say Jesus…. When satan comes to attack you – you can say Jesus. When the bills are due.. and you don’t know what to do … Jesus…. When you wake up…. Jesus… all through the day… Jesus….. You will learn to look to the one whose eye is on the sparrow, and the one that watches over you….. And you to will begin to sing Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord…because I am focused. He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored…so I’m not scared. He hath loosed the fateful lightning of His terrible swift sword; His truth is marching
So I’m going to remain faithful
Glory Glory Hallelujah….
What you looking at
