the Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Seventeen - C Sep 15, 2019 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T001_20190915.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses………… Today we will look at what it means for Christians to be surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday September 15th 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 17C ‘What More Shall I Say?’ 1). Da 4:26b after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. [KJV] Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. Power Point – Slides 1-4 We have seen in past weeks the extraordinary patient endurance exhibited by a great many OT saints as they looked towards the heavenly inheritance to which they had been called. An inheritance that they regarded to be of such value that they were prepared to sacrifice all for it – Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them………………..35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And having established the value of the heavenly inheritance and the extraordinary lengths these OT saints went to in order to secure it, we are then told – Heb 11:39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Again, we will note that faith is at the heart of these OT saints’ accomplishment and through their faith they ‘obtained a good testimony’ – Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony……………… 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We cannot escape seeing that faith is the key. And the faith spoken of here is the same faith we have previously seen in Hebrews, ‘faith to the saving of the soul’ – without this faith it is impossible to please God and it will only be those ‘who diligently seek Him’, because of having faith to the saving of the soul, who will be rewarded. a). Conducting their lives after this fashion is exactly what these OT saints did which is why they ‘obtained a good testimony’. b). But they will not be rewarded, they will not receive the promise of God, apart from us. Nor can they because the fulfillment of God’s promise with respect to rulership will be realized in the Millennial Kingdom. c). Even though the faithful Christian will be adopted as a firstborn son as a result of the events at the Judgment Seat, the rights of the firstborn will not be exercised immediately. The 7 years of the Tribulation and the 75 days that come after it must be played out first. Only then will the Millennial Kingdom begin, and only then will the new order of rulers begin their rule as joint heirs with Christ. d). Faithful Christians must receive the reward of the inheritance as this is the ‘something better’ that God has provided for us. Now, this is not to say that the substance of what faithful Christians will receive is more excellent than that to be received by the OT saints, rather the ‘better thing’ provided for us parallels that provided for the OT saints. e). And we can see this by drawing the parallel with the ‘better resurrection’. We will remember that the ‘better resurrection’ is the removal of certain OT saints from the earthly land of their inheritance into the heavenly land where they will receive their heavenly inheritance. f). So, from among all those eternally saved and faithful who are returned to the land of Israel at the end of the Tribulation to receive that land as their inheritance, these OT saints will be taken up into heaven – the ‘better resurrection’. g). At the end of this dispensation all the eternally saved from this dispensation, all Christians, will be removed from the earth into the heavens, both faithful and unfaithful. From among this complete group the faithful Christians will be removed experiencing the ‘out-resurrection’ – Php 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. The ‘out-resurrection’ to be experienced by faithful Christians ends in exactly the same place as the ‘better resurrection’ to be experienced by certain faithful OT saints – the reward of the inheritance, a position of rulership with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom. Rulership over Israel for the OT saints and rulership over the nations for faithful Christians. h). The better thing God had provided for the OT saints, a heavenly inheritance, is the same better thing He has provided for us. i). What we will see to be different though is that only faithful Christians will make up the Bride of Christ. The OT saints cannot be a part of the Bride as this is a privilege peculiar to the Church during this dispensation. Power Point – Slides 5-8 2). Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses………… Hebrews Chapter 12 brings us to the conclusion of the whole matter and as we begin to read let’s not gloss over the word translated ‘therefore’, but pause for a moment and let it sink in because this word doesn’t just take us back to the previous Chapter but to the complete revelation given in the Book, beginning with the first Chapter – Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. So then, because of everything that has gone before beginning with God’s plans and purposes for His Son in the 7th Day; because of the revelation given to us through the types seen through Israel in relation to this there is a determination that every Christian needs to make. a). We need to determine to live our lives after exactly the same fashion as the faithful OT saints given to us as examples in Hebrews Chapter 11. b). These faithful OT saints are the ‘so great a cloud of witnesses.’ Not only have they completed their race of the faith, but they have completed it successfully and are assured of the better resurrection. And this great cloud of witnesses is not watching us, rather the reverse is to be true, we are to be looking to them to see how they conducted their lives so that they would be guaranteed of their heavenly inheritance. c). And the one thing repeated over and over again throughout Chapter 11 is, ‘by faith…’ ‘by faith…’ ‘by faith…’ There is no other means by which our own heavenly inheritance can be assured. And faith, believing God to the saving of the soul, cannot be accomplished through the flesh, only through the spirit will it be realized. d). Our plans, our ideas, our agendas with regards to this life are worthless in the realm of faith. It is always our faith that is to determine our actions never our actions that determine our faith. e). And in Hebrews Chapter 11 we saw two contrasting groups of faithful OT saints with respect to the exercise of faith to the saving of the soul Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. And then the second group – Heb 35b…..Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, And of course, the common denominator is faith. ‘All these’, those who performed extraordinary exploits and those who suffered abominable affliction ‘obtained a good testimony through FAITH’. f). Those who performed exploits didn’t do so in their flesh. It wasn’t through their own skill, or prowess or courage – Jg 6:27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father's household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night. It was entirely through faith, believing that which God had said, and nothing else, with the heavenly inheritance in view. g). And those in our second group who suffered did not choose to do so out of some vain notion of self-righteousness, but because they refused to compromise on the promise of God to make their lives easier, understanding and embracing the fact that their physical life was insignificant when compared to life in the age to come. h). And so, whatever God requires of us, whether we may find ourselves associated with the first group or the second, we are to conduct ourselves entirely as these OT saints did, by faith. i). But let’s note one thing and note it well, this cannot happen apart from receiving proper instruction from the Word and this doesn’t come by osmosis or wishful thinking or even good intentions, but through continuous diligence – 2 Ti 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. Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 3). And with all this in mind Hebrews Chapter 12 continues in v1 with – Heb 12:1 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, We are admonished to run with patient endurance the race that is set before us. This is the race of the faith – 1 Cor 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. We see here in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9 that we are running our race of the faith to receive an imperishable crown. And we are instructed to ‘Run in such a way that you may obtain it.’ a). And if we compare this with 2 Timothy we find – 2 Ti 2:5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. This is a verse we should take very seriously. We will not be crowned with our imperishable crown unless we compete in the race of the faith ‘according to the rules.’ b). Now, if we then take this back to Hebrews 12:1 we see that we must ‘lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us’, and having done that we are to run with patient endurance. c). To lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us and run with patient endurance would be to compete according to the rules. d). Clearly then there are no exceptions, every weight must be laid aside. And why would we choose to do this? Because we have believed what God has said about it, and we believe that if we do so He will be faithful to give us the imperishable crown. We do it ‘by faith’ knowing that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. e). And in this we can gain insight into THE sin which so easily ensnares us. This sin is singular and articular. It is one particular sin. And contextually this one sin is the antithesis of faith, it is unfaithfulness, unbelief. f). And it is this sin and this sin alone that will prevent us from receiving that imperishable crown – Heb 3:17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. If we choose to lay aside every weight, then we will act by faith and the sin of unbelief will also be laid aside and we will run with patient endurance looking to receive the reward of the inheritance. But if we choose not to lay aside every weight then the sin of unbelief will have ensnared us, and our inheritance will be lost. g). That said, it would be good to understand what these weights are that we must lay aside. h). So, let’s begin with the parable of the sower – Mt 13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches [the pleasures of this life – Lk 8:14] choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. The weights then that we are to lay aside will be found within the categories of the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life and within a more general sense we should understand these weights as anything that impedes our progress to spiritual maturity, anything that prevents us from maintaining our focus on the inheritance set before us. i). Therefore, the nature of these weights is not necessarily something that is of itself sinful, in fact they could well be perceived as ‘good’, and the weights will be different for each individual Christian. What may be an impediment for me is not necessarily what would be an impediment for you. j). This does of course make laying aside these weights a little more challenging, because we would prefer to have a check list and as there is no prescribed list as such, that we can check off, we must allow for the possibility of self-deception – choosing to justify what impedes us because we don’t want to lay it aside. k). This in the end comes down to our own individual responsibility and again, this is something that cannot be separated from proper instruction from the Word. l). And so, if we don’t want to deal with that which impedes us in our race, and we are all carrying weights even now, then we can easily choose not to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard; we can choose not to be diligent in showing ourselves approved. We can become lazy and casual in our handling of the Word so as not to rightly divide it. We can choose to neglect the gathering of ourselves together finding really good reasons to justify these actions– and so the list could go on. m). But wait a minute. Haven’t we just seen the lives of these OT saints and what they did to secure their heavenly inheritance? Haven’t we just seen those who laid down their lives rather than give it up? And haven’t we seen our Lord do the same? To motivate and inspire us? Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our [the] 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. Why then would we possibly choose not to follow these inspiring examples knowing what we know about the heavenly inheritance? n). Well, according to the Scriptures – Heb 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. Esau gave up his birthright for one morsel of food. What would we give up ours for? The correct answer of course would be ‘Nothing’. But we are at a place where we must move beyond the religiously correct response to serious introspection in conjunction with the Word to see where and how we are weighted down in our race of the faith. And then trust God and make the choice to remove those weights while we still have time. o). And this same idea of laying aside every weight is presented again from a slightly different perspective at the beginning of Hebrews 12:2. Let’s read it again - Heb 12:2 looking [from] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our [the] 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. The word translated ‘looking’ carries the idea of looking away from something to something else. The something else we are to look to is Jesus and we are to look away from something to do so. o). Now, we could say we are to look away from the world, which would not by any means be incorrect, but this can be a somewhat nebulous concept. So, concretely, what does this look like? Let’s understand it this way – we are to look away from everything that distracts us from looking to Jesus. Anything that would divert us from focusing on Christ’s rule in the age to come, the joy for which He endured the cross and despised the shame. p). Jesus Himself said it this way – Lk 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Looking back is something we are told the OT saints didn’t do – Heb 11:15 And truly if they had called to mind [looked back to] that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. And this is the very same thing that Paul talks about – Php 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind [not looking back] and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We can of course sum all of these up this way – Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness………… We will need to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing. the Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Seventeen - C Sep 15, 2019 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T001_20190915.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses………… Today we will look at what it means for Christians to be surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday September 15th 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 17C ‘What More Shall I Say?’ 1). Da 4:26b after that thou shalt have known that the heavens do rule. [KJV] Heb 2:5 For He has not put the world to come, of which we speak, in subjection to angels. 6 But one testified in a certain place, saying: “What is man that You are mindful of him, Or the son of man that You take care of him? 7 You have made him a little lower than the angels; You have crowned him with glory and honor, And set him over the works of Your hands. 8 You have put all things in subjection under his feet.” For in that He put all in subjection under him, He left nothing that is not put under him. But now we do not yet see all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone. Power Point – Slides 1-4 We have seen in past weeks the extraordinary patient endurance exhibited by a great many OT saints as they looked towards the heavenly inheritance to which they had been called. An inheritance that they regarded to be of such value that they were prepared to sacrifice all for it – Heb 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. 14 For those who say such things declare plainly that they seek a homeland. 15 And truly if they had called to mind that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them………………..35 Women received their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And having established the value of the heavenly inheritance and the extraordinary lengths these OT saints went to in order to secure it, we are then told – Heb 11:39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, 40 God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us. Again, we will note that faith is at the heart of these OT saints’ accomplishment and through their faith they ‘obtained a good testimony’ – Heb 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. 2 For by it the elders obtained a good testimony……………… 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. We cannot escape seeing that faith is the key. And the faith spoken of here is the same faith we have previously seen in Hebrews, ‘faith to the saving of the soul’ – without this faith it is impossible to please God and it will only be those ‘who diligently seek Him’, because of having faith to the saving of the soul, who will be rewarded. a). Conducting their lives after this fashion is exactly what these OT saints did which is why they ‘obtained a good testimony’. b). But they will not be rewarded, they will not receive the promise of God, apart from us. Nor can they because the fulfillment of God’s promise with respect to rulership will be realized in the Millennial Kingdom. c). Even though the faithful Christian will be adopted as a firstborn son as a result of the events at the Judgment Seat, the rights of the firstborn will not be exercised immediately. The 7 years of the Tribulation and the 75 days that come after it must be played out first. Only then will the Millennial Kingdom begin, and only then will the new order of rulers begin their rule as joint heirs with Christ. d). Faithful Christians must receive the reward of the inheritance as this is the ‘something better’ that God has provided for us. Now, this is not to say that the substance of what faithful Christians will receive is more excellent than that to be received by the OT saints, rather the ‘better thing’ provided for us parallels that provided for the OT saints. e). And we can see this by drawing the parallel with the ‘better resurrection’. We will remember that the ‘better resurrection’ is the removal of certain OT saints from the earthly land of their inheritance into the heavenly land where they will receive their heavenly inheritance. f). So, from among all those eternally saved and faithful who are returned to the land of Israel at the end of the Tribulation to receive that land as their inheritance, these OT saints will be taken up into heaven – the ‘better resurrection’. g). At the end of this dispensation all the eternally saved from this dispensation, all Christians, will be removed from the earth into the heavens, both faithful and unfaithful. From among this complete group the faithful Christians will be removed experiencing the ‘out-resurrection’ – Php 3:10 that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, 11 if, by any means, I may attain to the out-resurrection from the dead. The ‘out-resurrection’ to be experienced by faithful Christians ends in exactly the same place as the ‘better resurrection’ to be experienced by certain faithful OT saints – the reward of the inheritance, a position of rulership with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom. Rulership over Israel for the OT saints and rulership over the nations for faithful Christians. h). The better thing God had provided for the OT saints, a heavenly inheritance, is the same better thing He has provided for us. i). What we will see to be different though is that only faithful Christians will make up the Bride of Christ. The OT saints cannot be a part of the Bride as this is a privilege peculiar to the Church during this dispensation. Power Point – Slides 5-8 2). Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses………… Hebrews Chapter 12 brings us to the conclusion of the whole matter and as we begin to read let’s not gloss over the word translated ‘therefore’, but pause for a moment and let it sink in because this word doesn’t just take us back to the previous Chapter but to the complete revelation given in the Book, beginning with the first Chapter – Heb 1:1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. So then, because of everything that has gone before beginning with God’s plans and purposes for His Son in the 7th Day; because of the revelation given to us through the types seen through Israel in relation to this there is a determination that every Christian needs to make. a). We need to determine to live our lives after exactly the same fashion as the faithful OT saints given to us as examples in Hebrews Chapter 11. b). These faithful OT saints are the ‘so great a cloud of witnesses.’ Not only have they completed their race of the faith, but they have completed it successfully and are assured of the better resurrection. And this great cloud of witnesses is not watching us, rather the reverse is to be true, we are to be looking to them to see how they conducted their lives so that they would be guaranteed of their heavenly inheritance. c). And the one thing repeated over and over again throughout Chapter 11 is, ‘by faith…’ ‘by faith…’ ‘by faith…’ There is no other means by which our own heavenly inheritance can be assured. And faith, believing God to the saving of the soul, cannot be accomplished through the flesh, only through the spirit will it be realized. d). Our plans, our ideas, our agendas with regards to this life are worthless in the realm of faith. It is always our faith that is to determine our actions never our actions that determine our faith. e). And in Hebrews Chapter 11 we saw two contrasting groups of faithful OT saints with respect to the exercise of faith to the saving of the soul Heb 11:32 And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of David and Samuel and the prophets: 33 who through faith subdued kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. 35 Women received their dead raised to life again. And then the second group – Heb 35b…..Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 36 Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. 37 They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented— 38 of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. 39 And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, And of course, the common denominator is faith. ‘All these’, those who performed extraordinary exploits and those who suffered abominable affliction ‘obtained a good testimony through FAITH’. f). Those who performed exploits didn’t do so in their flesh. It wasn’t through their own skill, or prowess or courage – Jg 6:27 So Gideon took ten men from among his servants and did as the Lord had said to him. But because he feared his father's household and the men of the city too much to do it by day, he did it by night. It was entirely through faith, believing that which God had said, and nothing else, with the heavenly inheritance in view. g). And those in our second group who suffered did not choose to do so out of some vain notion of self-righteousness, but because they refused to compromise on the promise of God to make their lives easier, understanding and embracing the fact that their physical life was insignificant when compared to life in the age to come. h). And so, whatever God requires of us, whether we may find ourselves associated with the first group or the second, we are to conduct ourselves entirely as these OT saints did, by faith. i). But let’s note one thing and note it well, this cannot happen apart from receiving proper instruction from the Word and this doesn’t come by osmosis or wishful thinking or even good intentions, but through continuous diligence – 2 Ti 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. Ro 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. 3). And with all this in mind Hebrews Chapter 12 continues in v1 with – Heb 12:1 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, We are admonished to run with patient endurance the race that is set before us. This is the race of the faith – 1 Cor 9:24 Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. We see here in 1 Corinthians Chapter 9 that we are running our race of the faith to receive an imperishable crown. And we are instructed to ‘Run in such a way that you may obtain it.’ a). And if we compare this with 2 Timothy we find – 2 Ti 2:5 And also if anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. This is a verse we should take very seriously. We will not be crowned with our imperishable crown unless we compete in the race of the faith ‘according to the rules.’ b). Now, if we then take this back to Hebrews 12:1 we see that we must ‘lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us’, and having done that we are to run with patient endurance. c). To lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us and run with patient endurance would be to compete according to the rules. d). Clearly then there are no exceptions, every weight must be laid aside. And why would we choose to do this? Because we have believed what God has said about it, and we believe that if we do so He will be faithful to give us the imperishable crown. We do it ‘by faith’ knowing that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. e). And in this we can gain insight into THE sin which so easily ensnares us. This sin is singular and articular. It is one particular sin. And contextually this one sin is the antithesis of faith, it is unfaithfulness, unbelief. f). And it is this sin and this sin alone that will prevent us from receiving that imperishable crown – Heb 3:17 Now with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. If we choose to lay aside every weight, then we will act by faith and the sin of unbelief will also be laid aside and we will run with patient endurance looking to receive the reward of the inheritance. But if we choose not to lay aside every weight then the sin of unbelief will have ensnared us, and our inheritance will be lost. g). That said, it would be good to understand what these weights are that we must lay aside. h). So, let’s begin with the parable of the sower – Mt 13:22 Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches [the pleasures of this life – Lk 8:14] choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. The weights then that we are to lay aside will be found within the categories of the cares of this world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of this life and within a more general sense we should understand these weights as anything that impedes our progress to spiritual maturity, anything that prevents us from maintaining our focus on the inheritance set before us. i). Therefore, the nature of these weights is not necessarily something that is of itself sinful, in fact they could well be perceived as ‘good’, and the weights will be different for each individual Christian. What may be an impediment for me is not necessarily what would be an impediment for you. j). This does of course make laying aside these weights a little more challenging, because we would prefer to have a check list and as there is no prescribed list as such, that we can check off, we must allow for the possibility of self-deception – choosing to justify what impedes us because we don’t want to lay it aside. k). This in the end comes down to our own individual responsibility and again, this is something that cannot be separated from proper instruction from the Word. l). And so, if we don’t want to deal with that which impedes us in our race, and we are all carrying weights even now, then we can easily choose not to give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard; we can choose not to be diligent in showing ourselves approved. We can become lazy and casual in our handling of the Word so as not to rightly divide it. We can choose to neglect the gathering of ourselves together finding really good reasons to justify these actions– and so the list could go on. m). But wait a minute. Haven’t we just seen the lives of these OT saints and what they did to secure their heavenly inheritance? Haven’t we just seen those who laid down their lives rather than give it up? And haven’t we seen our Lord do the same? To motivate and inspire us? Heb 12:2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our [the] 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. Why then would we possibly choose not to follow these inspiring examples knowing what we know about the heavenly inheritance? n). Well, according to the Scriptures – Heb 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. Esau gave up his birthright for one morsel of food. What would we give up ours for? The correct answer of course would be ‘Nothing’. But we are at a place where we must move beyond the religiously correct response to serious introspection in conjunction with the Word to see where and how we are weighted down in our race of the faith. And then trust God and make the choice to remove those weights while we still have time. o). And this same idea of laying aside every weight is presented again from a slightly different perspective at the beginning of Hebrews 12:2. Let’s read it again - Heb 12:2 looking [from] unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our [the] 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. The word translated ‘looking’ carries the idea of looking away from something to something else. The something else we are to look to is Jesus and we are to look away from something to do so. o). Now, we could say we are to look away from the world, which would not by any means be incorrect, but this can be a somewhat nebulous concept. So, concretely, what does this look like? Let’s understand it this way – we are to look away from everything that distracts us from looking to Jesus. Anything that would divert us from focusing on Christ’s rule in the age to come, the joy for which He endured the cross and despised the shame. p). Jesus Himself said it this way – Lk 9:62 But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Looking back is something we are told the OT saints didn’t do – Heb 11:15 And truly if they had called to mind [looked back to] that country from which they had come out, they would have had opportunity to return. 16 But now they desire a better, that is, a heavenly country. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them. And this is the very same thing that Paul talks about – Php 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind [not looking back] and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. We can of course sum all of these up this way – Mt 6:33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness………… We will need to continue with this next time though – if the Lord is willing.