GOOD MORNING BACKJE PHILIPPINES!

FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS!

Hebrews 12:1-3
JOHN STEPHEN AKHWARI
1968 Olympian

My country did not

send me 5,000
miles to start the
race, but to finish
the race.
- Akhwari
Hebrews 12:1-3
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, 2 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.
 One of the common dangers in Christian life is
“SETBACK”

John 6:66-67
66 From this time many of his disciples turned back
and no longer followed him.
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus
asked the Twelve.
The early Christian were at the verge of a setback,
they were discouraged and wanted to give up for
two main reasons:
1. Severe Persecution

2. Delay in the fulfillment of the Divine Promises*

- The delayed promises were: Jesus’ immediate return

- Resurrection of believers
- New Jerusalem
 The writer to Hebrews is encouraging
the church and Christians to hold on and
not to give up hope.

Hebrews 10:23;36
23 Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for
he who promised is faithful.

36 You need to persevere so that when you have done

the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.
NOW, WHY AND HOW SHOULD WE RUN?
 1. WE ARE BEING
WATCHED BY WITNESSES

Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us…
Hebrews 11:1-10
1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2
This is what the ancients were commended for. 3 By faith we understand that the
universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what
was visible. 4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was
commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still
speaks, even though he is dead. 5 By faith Enoch was taken from this life, so that he did
not experience death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For
before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God. 6 And without faith it
is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he
exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. 7 By faith Noah, when warned
about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he
condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that is in keeping with faith.
8 By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance,
obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. 9 By faith he made
his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did
Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. 10 For he was looking
forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.
Hebrews 11:11-21
11 And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children
because she[b] considered him faithful who had made the promise. 12 And so from this
one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky
and as countless as the sand on the seashore. 13 All these people were still living by faith
when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and
welcomed them from a distance, admitting that they were foreigners and strangers on
earth. 14 People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their
own. 15 If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had
opportunity to return. 16 Instead, they were longing for a better country—a heavenly
one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for
them. 17 By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had
embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son, 18 even though God
had said to him, “It is through Isaac that your offspring will be reckoned.” 19 Abraham
reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did
receive Isaac back from death. 20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their
future. 21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and
worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
Hebrews 11:22-31
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from
Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.23 By faith Moses’ parents
hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child,
and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. 24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up,
refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated
along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He
regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt,
because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the
king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the
Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not
touch the firstborn of Israel. 29 By faith the people passed through the Red Sea as on dry
land; but when the Egyptians tried to do so, they were drowned. 30 By faith the walls of
Jericho fell, after the army had marched around them for seven days. 31 By faith the
prostitute Rahab, because she welcomed the spies, was not killed with those who were
disobedient.
Hebrews 11:32-40
32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson
and Jephthah, about David and Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith
conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut
the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the
sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle
and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again.
There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain
an even better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and
imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning;[e] they were sawed in two; they
were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute,
persecuted and mistreated— 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in
deserts and mountains, living in caves and in holes in the ground. 39 These were all
commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40
since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would
they be made perfect.
We are surrounded by the saints of the past in a unique
way. It’s not that the faithful who have gone before us are
spectators to the race we run. Rather, it is a figurative
representation and means that we ought to act as if they
were in sight and cheering us on to the same victory in the
life of faith that they obtained. We are to be inspired by
the godly examples these saints set during their lives.
What is funny in Hebrew 11, it only
mentions the victories of the so-called
heroes of faith and not their mistakes.
That is because God sees in us is what we
can be and not who we are now.
- Abraham, the father of faith and of the Jewish people, lied about his wife twice.
- His son Isaac did the same thing
- Sarah, Abraham’s wife, laughed at the promise of God and then denied that she
laughed.
- Jacob lied and connived.
- Noah got drunk.
- Samson was immoral.
- Gideon was fearful.
- Rahab was a prostitute.
- David had an affair and then had someone murdered to cover it up.
- Elijah was deeply depressed and didn’t want to live.
- And Jonah ran from God.
- The disciples fell asleep when they should have been praying.
- Simon Peter openly denied the Lord.
- Then there was Moses, who killed a guy.
 2. WE ARE TO LAY ASIDE
THE WEIGHTS

Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us…
THINGS THAT DISTRACTS
The word for hindrance or an impediment–literally something bulky.
These are things that would slow a runner down. A sweatshirt, a
pair of baggy pants, boots, a backpack–items no athlete would ever
wear in a race.

Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us…
THINGS THAT DESTROYS
Sin is anything contrary to the will and law of God. And according to
this text sin entangles us–that is to say, it exerts tight control or
easily trips us up. Sin encircles us. It baits us, traps us, and causes us
to forget that we are even in a race.

Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us…
1 Peter 2:24
“He himself bore our sins” in his body on
the cross, so that we might die to sins and
live for righteousness; “by his wounds you
have been healed.”
 3. WE ARE TO RUN WITH
WILLPOWER

Hebrews 12:1
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great
cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with
perseverance the race marked out for us…
There is no promise that this will be easy, that the
race is downhill with the wind at your back. On the
contrary, we are confronted with trials and
difficulties on a daily basis—health concerns, conflict
at work, family issues, the losing of a loved one, the
list goes on.
Our inspiration in running this race is Jesus Christ! We are
encouraged to look unto Him and run. Turn away from our
past failures, past sins, past life, past successes , past glory,
and look unto Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 12:2a
2 fixing our eyes on Jesus,
the pioneer and perfecter
of faith.
WE LOOK TO JESUS FOR THREE REASONS:

1. We look to Him because of WHO HE IS. He is the

author and finisher of our faith! Before you and me,
Jesus ran this race successfully! He knows everything
about this race!

Hebrews 12:2
2 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.
WE LOOK TO JESUS FOR THREE REASONS:

2. We look to Him because of WHAT HE DID. He endured

the Cross! Despising its shame! He did it for you and me.

Hebrews 12:2
2 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.
WE LOOK TO JESUS FOR THREE REASONS:

3. We look to Him because of WHERE HE REIGNS. He

reigns at the right hand of the Father, He is on the
Throne of the Universe!

Hebrews 12:2
2 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.
FINAL WORDS
Some people play games for the joy of playing. Other people,
like myself, enjoy playing but we play to win. Playing is fun,
but winning is best! When it comes to living the Christian
life, each and every one of us who knows the Lord should
strive to win. We should be able to say with Paul "I have
fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith." (2 Timothy 4:7)
Our inspiration is the Lord Jesus. All we have to do is look at
him the AUTHOR and the FINISHER of our race in this life.
FINAL WORDS
Just like Akhwari, we are called not just to start a race, but also to FINISH the race!

However, our Christian race is different from what Akhwari had. We don’t run for a
perishable medal or flattering recognition from other people. We are running to obtain an
incorruptible price, and that price is to have eternal life and be part of God’s kingdom.

It is never easy to run the Christian race. Sometimes we fall, injure ourselves, and even be
tempted to give up. But in all these trials and difficulties, we need to look to JESUS, the
Author and Finisher of our faith. He too has suffered beyond our wildest imagination, and
He can sympathize with our pain and struggles in life. Thus, we can come boldly to the
Throne of Grace to obtain our needed help.

So let us run the race. We have come this far, and we should never give up. Surrender is
never an option and the only way is to move forward!
THE END