The Joy Set Before Him
The Joy Set Before Him
"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, 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. For CONSIDER HIM who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls" (Heb. 12:1-3).
After examining the lives of the various men and women of faith in Hebrews 11, our attention and our confidence must not remain on the people of faith but rather to the OBJECT of our faith -- namely JESUS HIMSELF!
We must lay aside whatever would hinder us or turn our hearts away from the Lord, whether they are weights that slow us down or sins that sever our fellowship. We, who are of the new and living way, belong to Jesus now. Therefore, OUR EARS must be readily attentive to hear His voice, OUR EYES must be singularly focused to see only Him, and OUR FEET must be obediently moving in the direction that our faith in Him is leading.
We are engaged in a race, a fight, a conflict. The Greek word for "race" is the word "agon", which is where we get the word "agony". Sometimes, we hit the times in our race where we feel like giving up or sitting out the next lap but we must not miss the significance of what God is able to do in the moments in life when the race is most difficult or the battle is most fierce...even when the next steps may feel agonizing.
When the going gets rough, we must ask what motivates us to keep going?
FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN OF FAITH of old in Hebrews 11, we can see that they dug down deep and considered their blessed hope and the good that would one day be theirs.
Their hope allowed them to move forward in faith...
Even though their flesh and our flesh may gravitate toward ease and comfort or we may consider the applause and recognition of men, there is only one thing that should keep us moving forward in this race of faith -- the GOAL of the glory of God and His purpose to unify a people after Himself.
FOR JESUS, we know that what motivated Him above all things was to glorify His Father and to ensure that He would have THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM, which is you and I in the presence of God forever in glory!
Wow! Just think...we were actually a part of the joy that was set before Jesus to endure all of His agony, sufferings, hardships, false accusations, betrayal, rejection, beatings, and hostility from sinners against Himself. This is why the Apostle John would say:
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 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. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3)
We have been exhorted in Hebrews to "go on to perfection (full maturity)" (Heb. 6:1), so that we "do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:12). Therefore, we must GET RID OF WHATEVER HINDERS US or is leading us away from Christ. Paul put it this way, "You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Gal. 5:7)
The enemy is always looking to trip us up and to rob us of the blessing of what God desires to give and accomplish in and through our lives. He is always lying and trying to get us to be enticed with his deceitful invitations to sin, known as temptations. But the temptation is always a deviation from finishing our race and receiving the joy that is awaiting us when we see Jesus face to face.
Consider the Top Reasons Why People Sin Against God:
Instead, let us run our race with endurance and LOOK UNTO JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith. For when we are beholding His beauty and the glory to come, we will not need to look elsewhere to satisfy our flesh with temporal fixes because our souls will already be fully satisfied with the JOY and ENJOYMENT that is fellowship with HIM.
This Week’s New Covenant Exhortation:
LOOK TO JESUS and CONSIDER what motivated Him to endure the suffering and to FINISH HIS WORK,
Let us get rid of every weight and sin that hinders us and ask for A FRESH VISION of what awaits us JUST BEYOND THE FINISH LINE!
"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, 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. For CONSIDER HIM who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls" (Heb. 12:1-3).
After examining the lives of the various men and women of faith in Hebrews 11, our attention and our confidence must not remain on the people of faith but rather to the OBJECT of our faith -- namely JESUS HIMSELF!
We must lay aside whatever would hinder us or turn our hearts away from the Lord, whether they are weights that slow us down or sins that sever our fellowship. We, who are of the new and living way, belong to Jesus now. Therefore, OUR EARS must be readily attentive to hear His voice, OUR EYES must be singularly focused to see only Him, and OUR FEET must be obediently moving in the direction that our faith in Him is leading.
We are engaged in a race, a fight, a conflict. The Greek word for "race" is the word "agon", which is where we get the word "agony". Sometimes, we hit the times in our race where we feel like giving up or sitting out the next lap but we must not miss the significance of what God is able to do in the moments in life when the race is most difficult or the battle is most fierce...even when the next steps may feel agonizing.
When the going gets rough, we must ask what motivates us to keep going?
FOR THE MEN AND WOMEN OF FAITH of old in Hebrews 11, we can see that they dug down deep and considered their blessed hope and the good that would one day be theirs.
Their hope allowed them to move forward in faith...
- To please God and be rewarded by Him (v.6)
- To become an heir of righteousness (v.7)
- To receive God’s promised inheritance (v.8)
- To wait for a city that comes from God (v.10)
- To see God’s faithful promises fulfilled (v.11)
- To arrive at a better heavenly country (v.16)
- To obtain a better resurrection (v.35)
Even though their flesh and our flesh may gravitate toward ease and comfort or we may consider the applause and recognition of men, there is only one thing that should keep us moving forward in this race of faith -- the GOAL of the glory of God and His purpose to unify a people after Himself.
FOR JESUS, we know that what motivated Him above all things was to glorify His Father and to ensure that He would have THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM, which is you and I in the presence of God forever in glory!
Wow! Just think...we were actually a part of the joy that was set before Jesus to endure all of His agony, sufferings, hardships, false accusations, betrayal, rejection, beatings, and hostility from sinners against Himself. This is why the Apostle John would say:
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 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. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure" (1 John 3:1-3)
We have been exhorted in Hebrews to "go on to perfection (full maturity)" (Heb. 6:1), so that we "do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises" (Heb. 6:12). Therefore, we must GET RID OF WHATEVER HINDERS US or is leading us away from Christ. Paul put it this way, "You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?" (Gal. 5:7)
The enemy is always looking to trip us up and to rob us of the blessing of what God desires to give and accomplish in and through our lives. He is always lying and trying to get us to be enticed with his deceitful invitations to sin, known as temptations. But the temptation is always a deviation from finishing our race and receiving the joy that is awaiting us when we see Jesus face to face.
Consider the Top Reasons Why People Sin Against God:
- They love the darkness MORE than the light
- Their flesh is WEAK and they LACK DISCIPLINE
- They are NOT walking in the Spirit nor yielding to God
- They are NOT weighing the consequences of sin
- They STOP LOOKING toward Christ and His beauty.
Instead, let us run our race with endurance and LOOK UNTO JESUS, the author and finisher of our faith. For when we are beholding His beauty and the glory to come, we will not need to look elsewhere to satisfy our flesh with temporal fixes because our souls will already be fully satisfied with the JOY and ENJOYMENT that is fellowship with HIM.
This Week’s New Covenant Exhortation:
LOOK TO JESUS and CONSIDER what motivated Him to endure the suffering and to FINISH HIS WORK,
Let us get rid of every weight and sin that hinders us and ask for A FRESH VISION of what awaits us JUST BEYOND THE FINISH LINE!
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