Looking unto Jesus isn't just an individual command | Clip from Looking Unto Jesus

I think one application of this passage that we mentioned as we were talking before the podcast is that this is not just a thing you do as an individual.

And that, to me, is actually quite shocking. You know, because you think, no, no, no, I mean, serve, witness, attend worship with, but when it comes to looking to Jesus, it's just me and Jesus, and that's the end of the story.

But happily, it's not. Yeah, yeah. I'm so thankful that it's not. Yeah, sanctification is a community project, and we look to Christ together.

So just for example, you know, what is it, 12 or 13 of the New Testament epistles are written to entire churches.

The book of Hebrews is written to an entire church, not written to an individual believer. So there's a lot of we, us, our.

Even in this passage, not to mention the whole book of Hebrews, since we have been surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside, let us run with endurance, fixing our eyes on the author and perfecter.

So there's a lot of corporate. And if you understand that this is a sermon, a letter written to a congregation, it completely informs the way we look unto

Jesus. And the overall thrust of the letter carries that same, let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together.

There's so much of that in Hebrews. But right here, the looking unto Jesus is a together look.

And I think that's why local churches have often been described as embassies of heaven. What are we going to do in glory?

Well, the book of Revelation is one protracted look at the most beautiful person in the universe.

And you see this enthroned king, redeemer, receiving worship and being adored and extolled.

Well, that's what these embassies, local churches, people said the dress rehearsal for eternity is coming together in congregations and looking to Christ together.

That's what is happening in chapter 12, verse 1 and 2. The author of the letter is saying, let us all congregationally, corporately together, fix our gaze on him.

I mean, we could say a lot about practically what that looks like for you and for me. How can I help others do that? I'll just mention one passage,

Colossians 1, proclaim him. You don't preach about him, you actually proclaim him, all of his wonder, all of his beauty, the facets of his glory, so that we can present one another complete in Christ.

So the way we complete and mature in Christ is proclaiming him. That's what looking to him is.

It's looking at the particular biblical aspects of his person and his work,

Christ and him crucified. Yeah. Another passage that comes to mind for that, in Ephesians 4, the motif of the body.

So each part working together. And how? By speaking truth to one another, we are coming to that full measure of the stature of Christ, which is a baffling statement.

What a verse. Yeah. So we each have a part, not just the pastor or pastors, but we each have a part to play.

If we're connected vitally to Christ, then we must be part of the channel of bringing the great truths of Christ to other believers in a way that helps them do exactly what we've been talking about, looking unto

Jesus, transformed from glory unto glory, looking away from, looking toward.

Think how easy it is in our conversations. Both of our churches have lunches together often as a church.

And it's so easy to leave the sermon and then sit beside someone at lunch.

And I have done it so many times. And you just kind of, you know, the sermon is a pretty heavy thing and you just kind of go into the light things of life.

Instead of, and I'm not talking about being preachy or artificial, but instead of out of an organic delight in Christ and God's in your own heart, but also an intentionality turning to the friend and in the way you talk to each other, helping each other not be preoccupied with secondary issues, whatever the political thing is that's happening today, whatever the, you know, we're talking right now and we're looking at issues with COVID rising again.

It is so easy to get to church and say, what you read this week on COVID. Well, who cares?

It's so temporal. We could help each other to lay aside secondary things and embrace

Christ. Yeah. Yeah. I'd like to just say one thing, especially to, let's say there's, you know, a discouraged believer who stumbles upon this episode and says, you know,

I don't feel like I'm part of a church where we're helping each other look to Christ. Instead of giving up on your congregation,

I would like to say to such a person that you have a role to play and you are called by the

King to help others look to him. And like you said, it's not preachy at everybody, not speak the truth as love, but speaking the truth in love where to grow up in all aspects into him who is the head, even

Christ. Well, how can my speech as one little believer in a congregation help others mature in Christ?

Well, it does include speaking of him in any Christian, in any congregation, young, old, male, or female has ample opportunity to help one another do that.

In fact, I would say God has put us in our respective congregations precisely for that purpose, that we could help one another be built up in Christ and look to him together in interpersonal conversations or, you know, prayer time, small group

Bible studies. I mean, we could think of lots and lots of ways that this could be applied from any believer in any congregation.

And the father would take great delight in his children, helping his children look to his son.

That's what I think Hebrews 12 is about. And you mentioned it in our previous podcast, to spend so much time with Christ that we walk away with the smell of his perfume, his cologne.

So one of my favorite quotes by John Newton, as a pastor, he had a favorite prayer, help me to preach as I ought and live as I preach.

But we can adapt that to any believer. Help me to live, to speak as I ought about Christ, but to live as I speak.

Amen. Thanks for watching the clip. We hope it was spiritually beneficial for you. We really do appreciate being able to interact with you through the comments.

So if you have questions or just comments you'd like to leave, leave them below and we'll get back to them as we have a chance.