Jesus is Watching You
July 24, 2011 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: Keep your eyes on Jesus; He’s got His eyes on you.
Focus Passage: Hebrews 12:1-6
Introduction: Two gas company service men, a senior training Supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters and parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked their way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter. As they finished the meter check the older supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race down the alley back to the truck.
As they came running up to the truck, they realized that the lady from the last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong. Gasping for breath she said, "When I see two gas men running full speed away from my house, I figured I had better run too."
Contributed by: Stan Martin to sermoncentral.com
I. Lighten the Load
a. What’s weighing you down?
i. every encumbrance
b. What’s holding you back?
i. sin that entangles
II. Run the Race
a. Keep running.
i. "You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. (Matthew 10:22 NASB)
b. Don’t quit.
i. too often, people just give up
ii. Illustration: In the 1986 New York City Marathon, almost 20,000 runners entered the race. What is memorable is not who won, but who finished last. His name was Bob Wieland. He finished 19,413th—dead last. Bob completed the New York marathon in 4 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 17 seconds. It was unquestionably the slowest marathon in history—ever. So, what is it that made Bob Wieland’s marathon so special? Bob ran with his arms. 17 years earlier while in Vietnam, Bob’s legs were blown off in battle. He sits on a 15 pound saddle and covers his fists with pads. He uses his arms to catapult himself forward one arm-length at a time. He can run a mile in an hour. That is real endurance in the face of adversity.
Contributed by: Ed Wood
iii. The race isn’t over until you hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant"
iv. The cloud of witnesses includes Jesus.
1. Therefore He is able also to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them. (Hebrews 7:25 NASB)
III. Focus on the Finish
a. Don’t get distracted.
i. you can’t stop and play along the way (with the world)
ii. But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62 NASB)
b. Keep focused.
i. keep your eyes on Jesus
IV. Delight in Discipline
a. Working out creates a fit body.
i. exercise the spiritual disciplines (prayer, Bible study, evangelism, giving, etc)
b. Discipline creates character.
i. rejoice when you are corrected by God!
Invitation: What is holding you back? What is weighing you down? Jesus, who has already run the race, is waiting for you, cheering you on.
