Looking Unto Jesus

Scripture Text

Hebrews 12:2

Intro: If we are to live the Christian life effectively, we must keep our eyes on Jesus. We will stumble if we look away from him to stare at ourselves or at the circumstances surrounding us. We should be looking to Christ, not ourselves, and we must always keep him in sight. Let's appreciate what Jesus has done for us.

A. Jesus is our supreme example: (v.2)

The supreme example of the Christian race of faith is the Lord Jesus Christ.

  1. He is the author and finisher of our faith. (v.2a)

Believers who have trusted God and endured in their faith are great examples for us. But as great as these examples are, there is one supreme example of faith, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ. We may and should look at the example of other believers, but we must always be looking to Jesus. The word "looking" means to fix your eyes upon Jesus. It also means to fix your mind upon Him. We are to focus our eyes and mind upon Jesus Christ. Why?

1. Because Jesus Christ is the Author of our faith and He finished the race of faith.

Þ The Author means that He began, originated, created, the Christian race of faith.

Þ The Finisher means that He perfected, completed, and consummated the race. He ran the race to the finish successfully. He is our perfect example of how to run the race of faith. Jesus ran the course of life perfectly, so we look to Him as our example.

He was sinless, perfectly righteous, always obeying God in everything. He was utterly obedient and trusted in God all through His life upon earth. He finished His course living a perfect and righteous life upon earth. Therefore, He authored and completed the Christian race for all believers. He is the blazing example of faith in God—of utter dependence, obedience and righteousness—for us who believe.

B. His inspiration: (v.2b)

 Jesus Christ had a great inspiration and divine guidance.

It was the joy that was set before Him.

What was that joy? What caused His emotion of great delight.

1. The joy of redemption, the glorious day when He would be united and exalted with all believers of all ages. We are the reason He left the glories of Heaven!

2. The joy of all the glory for which He had died and God had purposed in His death, which was The joy of when the heavens and earth would be recreated and all the redeemed would be worshiping and serving God perfectly and in unison forever.

3. The joy when the salvation of all believers of all generations would be completely and perfectly fulfilled, and He and all those of us who love Him would be ruling and reigning with Him forever and ever.

4. There was the joy of the fulfillment of God's very purpose for the world being carried out. That is what stirred and motivated Christ to come to earth to author and finish salvation for all mankind.

Christ our Lord is our supreme example in being stirred by the joy that lies before us.
The joy of our redemption and knowing we are going to be with our Lord in Heaven should stir and motivate us as well to give our love and all we are for Him.
C.  His discipline: He endured the Cross. (v.2c)
 Jesus Christ ignored and despised the shame of the cross in order to finish the race of perfect obedience to God. And because He was perfectly obedient, He has blazed the path of perfect righteousness for us by His death on the cross, which makes us acceptable to God. The Christian race exists because Jesus Christ disciplined Himself; He obeyed God perfectly, even to the extent of dying for us. This He willingly did, and because He did, He is the supreme example of sacrifice for us. We should endure in believing and obeying God no matter the cost or price we have to pay, even if it means martyrdom.

 D. His reward: He is exalted above all. (v.2d)

Jesus Christ is the supreme example of receiving the reward of faith. He was exalted to the right hand of the throne of God. Believers witnessed His ascension and one day we Christians will see Him in all His majestic glory when He returns for His church, the dead in Christ shall rise first and be given their glorified bodies, then we who are alive and remain shall be changed, and we shall be caught up together with the Lord and so shall we ever be with Him.

Invitation: Have you looked to Jesus Christ for your salvation? Have you confessed that you are a sinner and you want to be forgiven of your sins. Tell Him you desire a home in Heaven with Him and the Father God. He will not turn you away!

Praying in Faith!

Scripture Text 

Matt. 17:14-20

Matthew 17:14-20 (NKJV) ¹⁴ And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ¹⁵ "Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him." ¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, "O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me." ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

I. Praying in faith means belief God will grant my prayer request. Matthew 17:19-20 (NKJV) ¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, "Why could we not cast it out?" ²⁰ So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

The Lord's disciples could not cure the man's boy. They had no power against the demons. The clear reason for no power against the demons was unbelief. What is unbelief? Why does faith weaken and turn into unbelief? The disciples had been given and promised unusual power earlier and they had ministered effectively (Matthew 10:1; Luke 10:17). But now the power seemed to be gone and they were unable to minister. "Why?" they asked. Do you and I believe God will grant our prayer request?

Jesus answered, "Because of your unbelief." "What is unbelief?"

1.  Unbelief is doubting God Himself, the object of one's faith. It is also questioning the power of God. Is He really strong enough to do what is needed: to save, deliver, heal, and help with my situation or problem I am praying about? Our faith is to be in God, not in our prayers or anything else. In Mark 11:22 Jesus said to His disciples, “Have faith in God”!

2.  Unbelief is doubting the power of the Lord within my heart and mind. Our hearts and minds must be in tune with God for our prayers to have power. If you think you can solve everything on your own you will never pray. If you are too proud you won't ask God for help. Pride leads to prayerlessness. We should examine our faith, making sure we are trusting not in our own abilities to produce results but in God’s.

3.  Unbelief is doubting one's own faith. It is questioning the strength of one's own dependence and confidence in Christ. May we do a faith check to see where we are!

4.  Unbelief is doubting if the thing needed is God's will. It is questioning if one should be seeking such a thing or if God is willing to do what is needed. That's when we Ask the Holy Spirit to help us pray. Romans 8:26 (NKJV) Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. The answer to unbelief is hungering and thirsting after God so much that we spend a great deal of time in God's presence reading His word and praying so that even food is forgotten. We do without in order to meet God when we are serious about prayer.

II. Our faith in God releases His great power. [Matt. 17:20] So Jesus said to them, "Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

As we put our trust in God, His great power is released. The Jews clearly understood what Jesus meant by "removing mountains." The phrase was a Jewish expression or proverb meaning "to remove difficulties.” The greatest difficulties in human life can be removed only by faith in God. Jesus said we only need mustard seed faith to move our mountains of difficulty. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Rom. [10:17] Prayer is an acknowledgment of God's power and love. Prayer and faith in God can do anything. Working together they can release God's power to remove all kinds of mountains: fear, disappointment, depression, despair, sickness, temptation, guilt, weariness, loneliness, persecution, heartache. Prayer is an acknowledgment of our helplessness. If we are facing problems that seem as big and immovable as mountains, we must turn our eyes from the mountain and look to Christ for more faith.

Then, as Jesus promised, nothing will be impossible.

We must be people of faith to please God. Hebrews 11:6 (NKJV) 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.

Invitation: A person is also saved by faith in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. He paid for our sins by His shed blood on the cross of Calvary. When one confesses their sin and asks Jesus for His forgiveness, they are saved that moment for Heaven and from Hell!