Bend your whole soul submissively to Him in this matter. How frequently you who are coming to Christ look to your-selves. (Gaebelein, F, Editor: Expositor's Bible Commentary 6-Volume New Testament. She saw some of the most inhumane acts man can do to man. The secret of a vigorous, powerful, everyday Christianity Fix your eyes firmly on Him if you would so run as to obtain. (He 7:25-note). Now, we are to run towards Him, looking unto Him. I don't look forward, God sees all the future, Praying through Hebrews 12:2 Praise Your Holy name that Jesus went to the cross and endured its suffering and separation for my sake, May I forever and forever and forever keep Jesus as the centre and circumference of my life and faith, in Whose name I pray, AMEN. That is why Jesus said to count the cost (Luke 14:25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33) before you sign on. Hebrews 2:12, Unto My brethren. For more than conquerors we are! This involves continually looking "away from all else" that would turn us aside. Spurgeon - We must fix our eye on “the originator of our faith.” If we do not begin by looking to Him, however quickly we may hurry along, we shall run in vain and labor in vain. He is the Mediator of a new and a better covenant and by example and position, He is the Alpha and Omega of or our faith. It is a portrait which, even to this day, is one of the cardinal difficulties of infidelity, for there never lived the infidel who could face the question, "Tell us, if you refuse to believe the Divine origin of Christianity, tell us who and what Christ was?". We are filled with thoughts of His passion: "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame" (He 12:2c). Young's Literal: looking to the author and perfecter of faith—Jesus, who, over-against the joy set before him—did endure a cross, shame having despised, on the right hand also of the throne of God did sit down. A sight of the exalted Leader fires the zeal of each believer, and makes him run like a roe or a young hart. What thought more cheering than the thought that Jesus is ever looking at you and watching over you! Surely this should urge you to quicken your pace, and never to become weary or faint. He has run the race to its triumphant finish. The first is the secret of peace of conscience: no peace unless we look backward at the cross of Christ!--the second is the secret of real daily strength and comfort in our walk with God: little solid comfort unless we look upward to Christ's intercession!--The third is the secret of bright and cheerful hope in a dark world: no bright prospect unless we look forward to Christ coming again! “I can do nothing on My own initiative. Then we are called upon to rest in His assurance, to have fellowship with His sufferings, and so to hasten the coming of the Day of God. I times of temptation and difficult. See how in every company and position, by the Sea of Galilee, and in the Temple courts of Jerusalem, by the well of Samaria, in the house Bethany, amidst the sneering Sadducees, or the despised publicans, alone with His faithful disciples, or surrounded by bitter enemies—He is always the same—always holy, harmless, undefiled; always perfect in word and deed. Octavius Winslow - Morning Thoughts - FEBRUARY 18. Peter learned the lesson of not keeping his gaze on Jesus in Matthew 14... 26 And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were frightened, saying, "It is a ghost!" So, my brethren, let us live in the joy of heaven, let us live in the joy of ultimate victory, and this will enable us to bear all the toils and trials of our present life. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the Garden of Gethsemane, just before His arrest, trial, and crucifixion, Jesus said to His Father, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt” (Matt. It is so with the Christian. He was basically saying: “God, You created the heavens and the earth. Precious as is the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart, and essential as it is to the salvation of the soul, yet he who places it where the work of Jesus ought only to be, deranges the order of the covenant, closes up the legitimate source of evidence, and will assuredly bring distress and uncertainty into his soul. All salvation is in Him. Beggared princes and despised monarchs are among the most miserable of men; but here was our glorious Redeemer, in Whose face was the nobility of Godhead itself, despised and spit upon, and mocked. The Heart of the Cross Wheaton, Ill.: Crossway, 1999). They "looked to Jesus" and realized intensely their personal relationship to Jesus. As believers, our life of faith begins when we look to the Lord and trust Him for salvation (Is 45:22KJV), continues as we keep our eyes of faith fixed on Him, and climaxes with faith becoming sight as see Him in all His glory (1Jn 3:1-note, 1Jn 3:2-note). The person of the Saviour is to be the “mark” (Ed note: the Greek word for "mark" is skopos = that on which the eye is fixed, the distant mark looked at, the goal or end that one has in view) on which the eyes of those who are pressing forward for the prize of the high calling of God, are to be fixed. Just walk where I walk, do what I do, and you'll be okay - oh, and tell me if you get too hot, I'll walk you back off the battery. A weekly round of forms and ceremonies within consecrated buildings, is not enough. (Barnes, A: Notes on the NT), John Piper writes regarding "joy" that " It is not a morally defective thing to be sustained in the marathon of life by the joy of triumph at the end. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all.". Bible teacher Tony Evans tells of a farmer who was teaching his son to plow with a mule. You can't make spiritual progress Piper observes that this passage makes the point "that the fight of faith is not done in our own strength. Oh, press on after a life of faith in Jesus, for it is next in blessedness to a life of glory with Jesus. Whatever the prospect of hardship or suffering, He trusted His Father. They had little money, no church endowments, no universities. He "is seated at the right hand of the throne of God," because He faithfully endured suffering and did not fear the world's contempt. Let us look to him. And when she came out of it all, she said this: "If you look at the world, you'll be distressed. —Sper In the army or in the navy, at the public school or at college, in the hospital-room or at the bar, on the farm or in the shop—true heaven-born Christianity will live and not die. (1Co 11:1). Don't look at any great Christian that you admire. If Christians during the last eighteen centuries had been more like Christ, the Church would certainly have been far more beautiful, and probably have done far more good to the world. In order to increase the prestige of the apostate ecclesiastical system pagans were received into the churches apart from regeneration by faith, and were permitted largely to retain their pagan signs and symbols. Hebrews 12:12 This passage seems to be a reflection of Isaiah 35:3 which says: “Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way….” Thus, we are to lift drooping hands and strengthen weak knees. Back then, it took several days to go from New York to Philadelphia. If you look at Abraham, you see failure. (a) And now let me wind up all by offering a word of friendly advice to all into whose hands this paper may fall. She survived to tell her story of unfaltering faith and tight-fisted hope in God. Kathizo is in the perfect tense indicating the permanence of His position. In the Savior’s case, shame would be peculiarly shameful. ", 31 And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "O you of little faith, why did you doubt?". Their theological definitions were scanty and few. The sea of my life around me may roar, Many Christians find themselves in a similar state. He is the very image of cross-bearing. (He 11:24, 25, 26, 27-see notes He 11:24;25; 26; 27). And, "My meat is to do the will of Him that sent Me, and to accomplish His work." “Looking to Jesus” furnishes all needful strength for running well our Christian race. When to look? But the encouragement doesn’t stop there. Whether you're plowing a field or running the race called the Christian life, it's critical that you keep your eyes on the right target. leaves, to them the organs of assimilation, imbibe the light and dew, and distribute sustenance through their entire structure, so we, by “ looking to Jesus,” receive those communications of a spiritual kind, upon which the life of our souls and the vigor of our Christian walk depend. Thou art enough for me! Surely, if we have been satisfied with half the truth about Jesus hitherto, we ought to say, 'I will live in such fashion no more.' His Father’s will was what He lived by and died by. Hebrews 12 also takes the lesson of faith one step further by offering the ultimate example of faithfulness: Jesus Christ in His suffering on the cross (Heb 12:2-3). Let us beware of this error in these latter days. Comfort and strength in all the daily battle of life. Despite all the great men and women of faith the Hebrews had just read about, only Jesus Himself was worthy of their undivided loyalty and attention. God is sure! If worldly and fleshly desires are harbored in our heart, they will obscure our moral vision and our ability to see Jesus as we should. It is a cheerful heart that leads to cheerful behavior. --Taylor All rights reserved). Joy is a feeling of inner gladness, delight or rejoicing. The reward of seeing God and being free from all sin is the greatest incentive of all. How many Jacobs in the world, vexed by their children, and refusing to be comforted! When Jesus carried your sin to the cross, He also carried your shame. What does Perfecter mean pragmatically? The prefix apo emphasizes the "separation" from what lies behind that we might focus on what lies ahead. The corresponding verb (teleioo) has been used of Christ in Heb 2:10; 5:9; 7:28. III. the older we grow, and the nearer we draw to death, the more we see our own great darkness and multitudinous defilements, and the more disposed we feel to cry, "Unclean! Yes—what indeed! One day McNeil thought he would teach this bird how, so he tried throwing it up in the air. Hebrews 12:2, CSB: "keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. may He cause you to come out of self continually, and find your all in Jesus! Our Lord did not falter once, of course, even though His suffering was beyond imagination. When the minds of others are cast down with perplexity, you will feel able to lift up your head and rejoice; when all around seems dark and gloomy, you will see light, and be able to wait patiently for better days. Paul says he is there "Because He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet” (1Corinthians 15:25). But the grand question which rises out of the text is this: What is that we are to look at in Jesus? We miss much by this forgetfulness of the whole truth as it is in Jesus. Oh, trust him, soul: and dare to let go, that thou mayest take; to be stripped, that thou mayest become clothed! Fixing your eyes on Jesus, blocking out all distractions, running to win the race of your life! He that looks at the cross is a wise man; he that looks at the cross and the intercession also, is wiser still; but he that looks at all three,--the cross, the intercession, and the coming of Jesus,--he is the wisest of all. But what are we doing? Through death into life everlasting It ought to be the consolation of Christians in these latter days, as much as it was in primitive times. Because God had power to save Him from death and give Him all-satisfying glory at His right hand forever. Posted by 4 hours ago what 's the meaning of Hebrews ) ( dexios from dechomai = to ). Him and won I press on, Christ 's example should be so little remembered or looked at the use... 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