August 19, 2007 Sermon Synopsis

“What are you looking at?” Hebrews 11:29 – 2:2

Last week we began Hebrews Chapter 11, the faith chapter.
The story of faith continues …

Perhaps you’ve heard the story about …
The pastor announced, “There will be a meeting of the Board immediately after the service."
After the close of the service, the Church Board gathered at the back of the auditorium for the announced meeting. But there was a stranger in their midst -- a visitor who had never attended their church before.

"My friend," said the pastor, "Didn't you understand that this is a meeting of the Board?"

"Yes," said the visitor, "and after today's sermon, I suppose I'm just about as bored as anyone else who came to this meeting."

According to Hebrews 11, the life of faith is anything but boring. There is an excitement to a life lived by faith. And ultimately they were “commended for their faith,” they had a good testimony.

It's an impressive list of Old Testament believers and their amazing accomplishments. However, the writer kept interspersing the words "by faith," for his emphasis was strictly faith, not fame. Through faith these people obtained a good testimony (v.39), but was there always a good outcome?

By faith they subdued kingdoms, stopped the mouths of lions, and escaped the edge of the sword. Others were tortured and killed. Did they obtain a bad testimony? No! Verse 39 says that "all these" – both the delivered and the undelivered – had a good testimony, they all acted in faith.

Faith does not automatically mean good things will happen to you.

I'm certain that all had asked the Lord for help. But some received deliverance, and others received an answer similar to the one given to Paul when he pleaded for his "thorn" to be removed: "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Whenever you act in faith and in God's strength, you are obtaining a good testimony before Him—no matter what the outcome. Just the same, none of them received the full promise. The author tells us that this is reserved for us. All of these had faith that God would bring a messiah, a savior, etc., but they never saw Jesus. We are very privileged.

THEREFORE
Chapter 12:1 begins with this word; it’s an indicator of a practical application.

There are three things we should do to keep our lives guided “by faith.”
Three things to obtain a good testimony and be commended for our faith.

FIRST: LET US THROW OFF EVERYTHING THAT HINDERS AND THE SIN THAT SO EASLIY ENGANGLES

Once, in Bolivia, I drove behind a loaded truck climbing the mountain road from Cochabamba to Oruro. It was loaded with produce destined for the highlands. The truck couldn’t handle the road, he had a compression problem. He had to get to Oruro, so he started to sell and give his produce to the people along the way. Some he just had to leave by the road. Why? He wouldn’t make it to the destination otherwise; stranded on a mountain road is not a good thing. It arrived with very little produce. It was painful for the owner of the truck to lose his load. He lost plenty of pesos on that trip, but he arrived.

It’s not an easy thing to do. Sometimes we really love the stuff we carry around.

It reminds me of the story of the Franklin Expedition.
In 1845, the ill-fated Franklin Expedition sailed from England to find a passage across the Arctic Ocean. The crew loaded their two sailing ships with a lot of things they didn't need: a 1,200-volume library, fine china, crystal goblets, and sterling silverware for each officer with his initials engraved on the handles. Amazingly, each ship took only a 12-day supply of coal for their auxiliary steam engines.

The ships became trapped in vast frozen plains of ice. After several months, Lord Franklin died. The men decided to trek to safety in small groups, but none of them survived. One story is especially heartbreaking. Two officers pulled a large sled more than 65 miles across the treacherous ice. When their bodies were found, they discovered that the sled was filled with table silver. Those men contributed to their own demise by carrying what they didn't need

But don't we sometimes do the same? Don't we drag baggage through life that we don't need? Evil thoughts that hinder us. Bad habits that drag us down. Grudges that we won't let go.Let's determine to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us"

When God told Joshua to take control of Jericho, and other cities in Palestine, they were told “not” to take plunder. Why? It would slow them down. It would divert their attention from the task. It would keep them from being effective in establishing the Kingdom of God.

What about the power of sin?
King David’s eyes were diverted and led him into sin. He needed to get rid of the sin that hindered his ability to rule God’s Kingdom. How did he get rid of that sin? By confronting the sin, confessing the sin and receiving forgiveness. There was no other way.

What is hindering your walk of faith? What is entangling your life?
What do you need to get rid of? You can’t get rid of it yourself.
Jesus said, “Come to me all who are burdened and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

Give it to Jesus.

SECOND: LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET OUT BEFORE US

Verb tense in the Greek language indicates a daily action, we continually run the race.

I used to climb mountains. I needed to pace myself. Newcomers to our group might race to the top, but they expend all their energy getting there. They forget that it’s a round trip. Others help carry them down, to complete the journey. Perseverance is pacing yourself for the long haul.

Heb 10:36 “You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”

James tells us something about perseverance.
James 1:3 – the testing of your faith develops perseverance.
James 1:4 – perseverance is necessary for us to be mature and complete.
James 5:11 – using the example of Job we learn that those who persevere are blessed.

Whatever comes, whatever happens, we need to keep going forward in the Christian life.

THIRD: LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS

Years ago there was a farmer teaching his son to plow with a horse: “To make a straight furrow you need to fix your eyes on something in front of you and follow it. He got his son started and went off to work in the barn. When he came back the furrows went in every direction.

The father asked, “Didn’t you follow my directions?”
The son replied, “ I sure did, I set my eyes on that cow over there.”

It’s important what we keep our eyes on something firm – Jesus.

We must keep our eyes on the master.
I remember teaching my dog to “stay.” I put meat or cheese (something tempting) on the floor in front of her and I said “stay.” Eventually the dog learned to stay (treat or no treat). How did the dog keep its concentration? She couldn’t look at the treat, which was too much of a temptation. She kept her eyes on me.

Ultimately, the puppy was more interested in keeping the master happy than in satisfying itself. Somehow the puppy learns that the master is trusted. The master is the one who may reward us. The master is the source of the food.

We are so much more important than a puppy; shouldn’t we keep our eyes on our master?

We need to learn to fix our eyes on Jesus.
Not on the pastor, the elders, parents, conference leaders, or anyone else.
All of these are going to let you down (pastor included), but Jesus will never let you down.

What do we look at? There are many things to choose from.
Leaders
Sins / temptations
Fears
The world and things of the world
Ourselves
You can think of many other things to divert our attention.

In the long run, none of these things are going to help us successfully complete the course.

To live the life of faith we need to
1. Get rid of sin and burdens
2. Persevere
3. Keep our eyes on Jesus

What are you looking at?