January 14, 2012 by

Fix Our Eyes on Jesus

Hebrews 12:2

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

 

The Prayer of Jabez

This little book of Bruce Wilkinson is all about a forgotten man of the Bible named Jabez and his amazing prayer. In a very few pages Bruce Wilkinson explains how to pray this prayer and unleash the power of God’s blessing in your life. I can testify that no book I’ve read in recent years has been so helpful in my own prayer life. I believe every person in our congregation would benefit by reading it. I believe it because I started to pray that prayer in the 90s and you all can see what is now to our congregation: a beautiful facility here and many churches in Cambodia.

 

I also believe that God has important things for us to do in the days ahead. As I have sought the Lord on behalf of our church, I have felt impressed that we should expand our ministry in the coming years.

 

I. Our Focus

“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2a). The word “fix” comes from a Greek word that has the idea of concentrating your gaze. It means to look away from other things so that you can focus all your attention on one object. It is the picture of a lost child walking alone down a carnival midway, enthralled by the lights and sounds and smells. Her eyes flit this way and that. She doesn’t even realize that she is danger. Suddenly through the din she hears her mother’s voice. Looking up, she sees her mother calling for her to come. With her eyes now fixed on her mother, she walks straight ahead, ignoring everything else. Soon she is safe by her mother’s side. In the same way a coach will tell his runners, “When the gun sounds, start running as hard as you can. Don’t look back. Don’t look around. Keep your eyes on the finish line and keep on running.”

 

To fix our eyes on Jesus requires a holy habit of soul. It demands a continuous and sustained action, like a mariner in rough seas watching his compass to make sure he stays on course. This touches all that we do and asks us to consider how we use our time. What fills your gaze? Is it Jesus? How could it be anything else?

 

Illustration: Many years ago a woman climbed to the top of Angkor Wat. When she tried to come down she realized the stair way is too steep and she got scared. Looking down, she felt her head growing faint and her knees beginning to buckle. At that moment, I walked in front of her asked her hold the rail and climbed down backward. I told her, “Do not look down. Keep your eyes on the step and know that I am right ahead of you to catch you in case when you fall.” The woman did as she was instructed and soon she got down all the way safe. This is good advice for the beginning of a new year. No one knows what lies ahead for any of us. We all have our plans and dreams but the times and seasons of life are in God’s hands. Sooner or later we will all come to a dangerous pass where the way ahead seems to be washed out. At that moment we can panic and fall into terrible trouble. Or we can fix our eyes on the Lord Jesus Christ and mark carefully his steps before us. If we will follow him, we will find at the end of this year that we have been kept safe by his amazing grace.

 

Our text gives us wonderful motivation when it says that Christ is the “author and perfecter of our faith.” This means at least three things:

1. First, he laid the foundation for our faith by his death and resurrection. He made our salvation possible.

2. Second, he provided the perfect example to follow in that he trusted God perfectly. Even when he was sorely tempted in the wilderness, he did not give in. And in the Garden of Gethsemane, he yielded up his human will to the perfect will of his Heavenly Father. No one was ever tested like Jesus and no one ever passed the test like he did.

3. Third, he gives us the faith we need when we feel like quitting. All true faith comes from him because faith itself is a gift from God. In Christ we find everything we need, always.

 

II. Our Example

“Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame” (Hebrews 12:2b). Mark two words in this phrase: “joy” and “cross.” Those two words don’t seem to go together. The cross speaks of pain, suffering, shame, ridicule, rejection, and ultimate public humiliation. Crucifixion meant a slow, agonizing death that often lasted for several days. There was nothing beautiful or humane about death on a cross. It was the worst kind of torture, reserved for the very worst criminals. Where is the joy in that kind of death? The answer is that there is no joy in death by crucifixion, but Jesus went to the cross and endured the pain and despised the shame that he might obtain the joy that would be his afterward.

 

Did Jesus enjoy the cross? No, but he endured it for what would come later. Did Jesus enjoy the shame? No, but he scorned it for what would come from it. In this phrase there is a reference to the joy of obedience to his Father’s will and the joy of completing the work of redemption and the joy of bringing great glory to his Father and the joy of triumphing over death and hell. These joys were his but they came at the cost of a cruel Roman cross.

 

Illustration: There is a higher level of delayed gratification that involves enduring pain to receive a reward. This is why high school athletes lift weights at 6:00 a.m. when their friends are still in bed. They give up sleep in order to win the championship next year. And this is why aspiring pianists practice for hours when they might be watching TV or playing video games. They put in the hours in the hope that some day they may play for thousands. And in a different way this is why cancer patients endure the rigors of chemotherapy. They take the potent chemicals into their body hoping that one day the cancer will be gone. And this is why our young people keep themselves pure. They want to enter marriage someday with joy and with no regrets. And in yet another realm, this is why families leave their loved ones and travel to the ends of the earth. They want the joy of seeing the nations come to Christ. In all these things there is pain involved, but it is pain endured for the sake of the joy that comes when the goal is finally reached.

 

Jesus said, “Follow me” and he went to the cross. Are you willing to follow him even to the cross? Are you willing to endure pain and difficulty in order to know the joy of fulfilling God’s will for your life?

 

If we take this phrase and put it in words that Jesus might have said, it looks something like this: “I want the joy of seeing my Father’s house in heaven filled with his redeemed children. Therefore, I am willing to suffer the pain and shame of a brutal death on a cross.”

 

No pain, no gain.

No suffering, no glory.

No cross, no crown.

No tears, no joy.

Keep your eye on the prize. We all like the empty tomb. But you have to die before you can rise again.

 

III. Our Hope

“And sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2c). Jesus sat down because his work was finished. In the Old Testament the priests on duty could never sit down because their work of offering sacrifices for sin was never done. But once Christ had offered himself as the final sacrifice for sin, no other offering could be made and no other offering would be accepted. That’s why theologians speak of the “finished work” of Jesus Christ. It means that the work of redemption is now complete.

 

He sat down at God’s right hand, the place of supreme honor in the universe. There was no higher place or position for the Lord Jesus Christ in all the universe. Therefore, to him belongs all praise and majesty. He must have the preeminence in our lives because God has given him a name that is above every name. And when we pray to him, we are praying to One who has been exalted to the highest place of honor, which means that we have a Friend in high places who can help us in our time of need.

 

IV. Running the Race

 

Let’s stand back for a moment and ask how this great text can help us in the coming year. Three simple thoughts come to mind:

 

1) The only way to win the race is to keep your eyes on Jesus. Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run with patience the race that is set before us. We have everything we need to help us along the way. We have the testimony of the saints who have gone before us, we have the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have the promise of coming glory when we finish our earthly course. So keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t be turned aside or distracted by the things of the world. Keep running. Don’t look back. Fix your eyes on Jesus and run with all your might for the finish line.

 

2) When hard times come, don’t start with your circumstances and try to find Jesus. Start with Jesus and then go back to your circumstances. This is a profoundly important principle. Hard times often trip us up because we can’t understand how or why God would allow certain things to happen to us. But you will never find Jesus by rummaging around in your tattered circumstances. If you start with your problems, it will be nearly impossible to find the Lord. Start with Jesus. Go back to the Bible. Review what you know about our Lord—his mercy, his grace, his kindness, his power, and his wisdom.

 

3) When you feel like giving up, remember that in God’s eyes you are already a winner. Recall that even now you are seated with Christ in heaven. In God’s eyes the outcome has already been determined. Even though the score may seem stacked against you, if you know Jesus, his victory is yours. And one day you will openly share in his triumph. Let those who name the name of the Lord rejoice in him. Remember who you are and whose you are. God has not given us a spirit of fear but of love and power and a sound mind (II Timothy 1:7). Let that truth of God give you strength when you feel like you cannot go on.

 

Conclusion:

A Christian man was asked a few hours before his death, “Is your faith strong,”. “No, but my Jesus is.” It does not matter whether your faith is strong or weak today. During the year to come your faith will rise and fall according to the varying seasons and tides of life. But do not worry if your faith does not seem strong. We are not saved by faith in Christ but by Christ who saves by faith. Even faith like a mustard seed is honored by God.