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Bro. Bill Nichols
Ill this morning with Hebrews 12, verse 1. I'm going to read it and then we'll pray. Wherefore, seeing we are all so compassed about, with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.
Let us pray. Most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you and we praise you. We praise you because you are God and you're the holy God and you're the only God. We love you. We love you because you first loved us.
We thank you for all the things that you have given us, not the least of which, in fact, the greatest of which is your Son, who gave us an opportunity for a way to you. Bless us and keep us as we go through the services today.
In Jesus name we pray. Amen. So we'll begin. And wherefore, seeing we are all so compassed about, with so great a cloud of witnesses. The first thing I'd like to do is clear up a common misunderstanding of this phrase.
This is not a collection of Old Testament saints sitting in heaven witnessing us as we conduct our lives. Instead, they serve as witnesses to us of faith and endurance and serve as examples as how we should conduct our lives, especially in the stressful times such as we live in today.
As I was driving into work to church this morning, I saw or listened to the, oh, I can't think of his name now, Jeffers Bible study. And he happens to be on Hebrews chapter 12, verse 1. And he, as he was commenting on this, said that that's a call for remembrance, remembering the past, remembering what was just told us in chapter 11.
Chapter 11 is a litany of people, each with flaws, each with major flaws. David, who committed adultery and had the husband of the person with whom he committed adultery, had him killed. Noah, the first thing he did after he got off the boat was get drunk.
All the people had flaws, but every one of them had something in common. They all possessed faith given to them by God. So what we are to do is to call to remembrance all of these Old Testament saints that we have been dealing with in the last chapter and use them as patterns and role models as to how to behave ourselves.
Not that we should live perfectly, but that we should live faithfully. But now that begs the question, can people on heaven, in heaven, see what's happening on the earth? What do you think? Can people in heaven see what's happening on the earth?
You think so and Otis says no. Your dad thinks so. I'll tell you some other people that think so. Dr. Jeffers thinks so. He told me this morning on the radio show that he thinks so. My best understanding, this is me, this is not Brother David, this is not Jeffers, this is not anyone else, this is just me.
My best understanding is that those in heaven sometimes are allowed to see or know things that are happening on the earth. But only those things that God, for his good purposes, allows them to know. So I guess I'm more in the camp with Brother Otis, maybe.
I'm not 100 sure if I'm even with him. He knows now, I guess. Now, here's the example that I chose. This is one example of a person in the Old Testament that communicated with a person on the earth.
That was Samuel. Samuel was allowed to communicate with Saul. But we're not told that Samuel was able to see Paul while he was still in heaven or to communicate with him while he was still in heaven. You'll see that in a minute.
After all, he was summoned, and apparently he was on the earth when he and Saul spoke to one another. If you want to, you can turn to Samuel, 1 Samuel, chapter 28, verses 7 through 19, and we'll read something.
This is always a good Halloween scripture. Then said Saul to his servants, Seek me a woman that hath a familiar spirit, that I may go to her and inquire of her. And his servants said to him, Behold, there is a woman that hath a familiar spirit at Endor.
This is the classical witch of Endor story. And Saul disguised himself and put on other raiment, and he went, and two men with him. And they came unto the woman by night, and said, I pray thee, divine unto me by the familiar spirit, and bring me him up, whom I shall name unto thee.
And the woman said unto him, Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done. Now remember, Saul is in disguise. She doesn't know it's Saul at this particular point. Behold, thou knowest what Saul hath done, how he has cut off those that have familiar spirits and the wizards out of the land.
He's put them to death. Wherefore then layest thou a snare for my life, to cause me to die? And Saul swore to her by the Lord, saying, As the Lord liveth, there shall be no punishment happened to thee for this thing.
Then said the woman, Whom shall I bring up to thee? And he said, Bring me up Samuel. And when the woman saw Samuel, she cried out with a loud voice. And the woman spake to Saul, saying, Why hast thou deceived me?
For thou art Saul. And the king said unto her, Be not afraid, for what sawest thou? And the woman said unto Saul, I saw gods ascending out of the earth. And he said unto her, What form is he of? And she said, An old man cometh up, and he is covered with a mantle.
And Saul perceived that it was Samuel. And he stooped with his face to the ground and bowed himself. So now Samuel and Saul are going to exchange comments. But you understand, Samuel is now on the earth with Saul, speaking to Saul and Saul to him.
And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou quieted me to bring me up? To bring him up from where? From heaven, from paradise. This is Old Testament, so it's not the final heaven. It's the heaven that's going to be called up later.
Okay, so we know that Samuel spoke to Saul. And we know that Saul spoke to Samuel. So we might infer that they saw one another when they spoke, or at least they did communicate with one another. That we know for sure.
Well, that was my word. That was my word. The scripture says this. And Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? So he was somewhere, and he's now somewhere else. And Saul answered, I am sore distressed.
For the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me. I'm going to go back to my comment. So I said, Okay, we might presume or infer that they saw one another. But the scripture doesn't say that they did, nor does it say where they were when they saw.
So we're left with the uncertainty of our presumption. That's what I wanted to say. There is a supposition there that we make a presumption, but that's not scriptural. That was just me. Okay. All we know for sure is he was brought up, and he talked to Saul, and Saul spoke back to him.
Samuel said to Saul, Why hast thou disquieted me to bring me up? And Saul said to Samuel, I am sore distressed. For the Philistines make war against me, and God is departed from me, and answereth me no more, neither by prophets, nor by dreams.
Therefore I have called thee, that thou mayest make known unto me what I shall do. And brother Otis would say, Do what you want to do. That's what you're going to do anyhow. But then he said, but then Samuel said, Wherefore then dost thou ask of me, seeing the Lord is departed from you, and this is thine enemy?
And the Lord hath done to him as he spake by me. For the Lord hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand, and given it to thy neighbor, even to David. So he's telling Saul that the kingdom was going to be taken from him and given to David.
Now Samuel's known this for ever since David was a little boy, and this is years, years later after Samuel is dead and gone. Because thou obeyest not the voice of the Lord, nor executeth his fierce wrath upon Amalek.
Therefore hath the Lord done this thing unto thee. Moreover, I guess he wished Samuel had stopped talking now, but he didn't. Moreover, the Lord will also deliver Israel with thee into the hand of the Philistines.
And tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. Be with him where? In the grave. Kind of like in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, where Lazarus was in one side and the rich man was in the other side.
That's the situation here. Samuel will be on one side of that great divide and Saul will be on the other side. And thy sons with thee. I suspect that Jonathan was on the side with Samuel, and I don't know about the other sons.
And tomorrow shalt thou and thy sons be with me. And the Lord shall deliver the host of Israel into the hands of the Philistines. So that's an example of a communication between a person that is dead and a person still alive on the earth.
So we know they can have communications. But again, I think in those occasions when God sees fit to let us know, it would be difficult to us to look back at all the people that we know and see them doing things that's going to take them directly to hell and still be happy and blissful in paradise.
So I don't know. Either we've got to either we've got to understand that we will have a better picture and know what's more of the truth when we're in heaven, which that will be the case. Or maybe he will show some of that from our eyes.
But in any case, the answer is I don't know whether people in heaven can see people on the earth and communicate with them on a regular basis. Occasionally, we know for sure they are. Okay, back to Hebrews.
Wherefore, seeing we're encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, not a group of people watching us, but us looking back and remembering them. This is the witness here, us looking back and remembering the great things that they did and why they were able to do them.
Not because they were great people, not because they were powerful people, but because they had great faith. And we'll get to that in a minute. Let us lay aside every weight. Now, that's different than sin.
Sin will be mentioned next. So it's weight and sin. This weight refers to the main encumbrance facing the Hebrews. And what would that be? What was the main encumbrance, the main thing that kept the Hebrews, the Hebrews that did not accept Christ?
What's the main hindrance for the Hebrews that did not accept Christ? The law, the Levitical system, the Levitical system with its legalism kept them from accepting Christ. That is the main encumbrance.
That is the great weight. The great weight was legalism. They need to lay that aside. In fact, he says, lay aside every weight. And the metaphor that he's using here, I think it's a metaphor, you can correct me if I'm wrong.
It's life as a race. And in the race, before the race began, the athlete would strip away every piece of unnecessary clothing before competing in the race. The outward things emphasized by the Levitical system were the great weight.
They were the encumbrances. They not only impede, but they also ensnare. And now we get to the next item and the sin. Okay, that's different than the weight, the weight and the sin, which does so easily beset us.
In this context, the focus is first upon the particular sin of unbelief. That's the sin that Hebrews consistently talks about, refusing to turn away from the Levitical sacrifices to the more perfect sacrifice that of Jesus.
And then it focuses on other sins. But the main sin is the sin of unbelief. That's the sin he's talking about, the sin of unbelief. And I, at this point, went to John chapter 16, verse 8, and just stuck this in.
And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment, of sin, because they believe not on me. That's the unbelief. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and you will see me no more.
Of judgment, because the prince of the world is judged. That's what John said. I would like to add, the world will be judged along with the prince of the world. And then going on, and let us run with patience.
Now, the Greek word that's translated patience could have been translated endurance. And if you translate it as endurance, it'll better fit the metaphor that we're dealing with the race. The race is not a sprint.
The race is not a 50-yard dash, a 40-yard dash that football players run and time themselves to see how fast they're going. And when you say a runner can do 40 yards in 4 .4 seconds, that's pretty fast.
But it's not speed. It's not blinding speed out of the gate that we're looking for. It's running with endurance. The race is not a 40-yard dash. It's not a 100-yard sprint. It's not a 100-meter sprint.
It's not a 200-meter sprint. It's not a kilometer sprint. It's a marathon. It's a long race. And the hindrance in a long race is endurance. So, this word might better have been translated endurance. Endurance is the determination to keep going, regardless of the temptation to slow down or to give up.
And we know this, 1 Corinthians 9, 24 through 26, know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize, no participation trophies. So, run that you might obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things.
Now, they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we, an incorruptible one. So, the race that we're running in is much more important than the race that they're running in. They're running for a corruptible crown, something that is temporary.
We are running for an incorruptible crown. And let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Now, here's why I know or I am sure or I feel sure that this is a marathon, not a sprint. The word race, do you have any idea the Greek word that was translated race here?
It's agona. I'll spell that so you can understand what I'm trying to say. A-G-O-N-A. Now, you have any idea what English word we have that is derived from that word? Agony. So, we might read that if we're reading in current English, and let us run with endurance the agony which is set before us.
Now, I'm going to again jump around and go to Matthew chapter 7 verses 12 through 14. Therefore, all things whatsoever that you would that men should do to you, do you even so to them? For this is the law and the prophets.
Now, Jesus is summing up the Sermon on the Mount, and he goes on to say, Enter ye in at the straight gate. For wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction. And many there be which go in thereat.
Because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way that leadeth to life, and few there be that find it. Now, this is John MacArthur's comment on that passage. This, the closing section of the Sermon on the Mount is an application of the gospel, the good news.
What's the good news? There are two gates. There are two ways. There are two destinations. There's two groups of people. There's two groups of people at the judgment. There are two kinds of builders building on two kinds of foundation.
And Christ is drawing a line as clearly as possible between the two ways. The way that leads to destruction and the way that leads to life. He goes on to say, both the narrow gate and the wide gate are assumed, and I felt compelled to tag this in, assumed by many people to provide entrance to God's kingdom.
And I probably, I would say now, I would almost agree with Dr. MacArthur. Both the narrow way and the, both the narrow gate and the wide gate are assumed to provide entrance to God's kingdom. But I think maybe we'll say most people believe that.
Here's what he said. Two ways are offered to the people. The narrow gate is by faith. Only through Christ, constricted and precise, it represents true salvation in God's way that leads to life eternal.
The wide gate includes all religions of works and self-righteousness. That is to say all other religions. All other religions except Christianity is a work of, is a religion of works and self-righteousness.
They're easy to find. They're easy to follow, but all other ways lead to hell, not to heaven. And just in case that wasn't clear enough, Acts chapter 4 verse 12 says it, even so that I can understand it.
Neither is there any salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given among men whereby we might be saved. So how can we be saved? Through Christ and Christ alone. No other way.
Any other way is a way, but it's the broad way, it's the wide way, it's the easy way, and it leads to hell. Okay. Now we're to verse 2 of Hebrews chapter 12. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Now if you are in your Bible or on your machine, and you're in King James, you'll notice that hour, the word hour is in italics. That indicates that hour was not in the original text. So the phrase might have better been translated leaving the hour out.
And just see what it says. God, the author and finisher of faith. Not calling it our faith. After all, whose faith is it? It's his faith. How did we get it? If we got it, how did we get it? He gave it to us.
Jesus is the originator and the preeminent example of faith. When it says looking unto Jesus, the author, the author is the originator and the preeminent example. Not only is he the author, what else is he?
The finisher. And that's the beginning and the end. That's right. And that says he carries on this faith. He gives us this faith and we can carry it with us to what? To a perfect completion. Now here is a difficult part of the passage.
Who for the joy that was set before him? What was set before Christ? Okay. In the long view was the plan for salvation. I'll give you that. In the short view, it was the cross. And even before the cross was rejection.
He was rejected even before he was crucified. So who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down on the right hand of God. And so what is this joy that he has?
It's the anticipation of the ultimate conclusion. And I went to Psalms and quoted something. And I'm going to do three or four quotes now. This is Psalm 16, starting with verse 9. And part of this is probably David and part of it is Christ.
And you can sort it out. Therefore, my heart is glad and my glory rejoices. My flesh also sheds hope. That part, I think, is David. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. That part is still David. And but this part is no longer David, I don't believe.
Neither wilt thou allow thine holy one to see corruption. Now who is he talking about? He's talking about Jesus. For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell. Neither wilt thou suffer thine holy one to see corruption.
That will show me the path of life in the presence, in thy presence, in whose presence? In God's presence through Jesus. The path of life in thy presence is fullness of joy and in thy right hand are pleasures forevermore.
So we're all to see the joy at the end of our race as well. Oh, it's agony. It is an agonizing race. No one that has ever run a marathon or ran a long distance will fail to understand the agony of the race.
And now Luke chapter 10, this is a little bit different kind of a story, but it deals with joy again. And it deals with misplaced joy and correctly placed joy. Let's look at it. Jesus has just sent 70 disciples out giving them authority to speak in his name.
And now they've returned and they are delighted. So here we go. Luke 10 verse 17. And the 70 returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name. And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.
Behold, I give you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all power of the enemy and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not. You shouldn't be joyful because you have authority over the devils.
You shouldn't be joyful because you can step on scorpions and serpents and have power over the enemies and nothing can hurt you. Notwithstanding in this, rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.
So what's the joy? The joy is that your destination is heaven. Your joy is that your destination is heaven. And in that hour, Jesus rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and of earth.
Thou hast hid these things from the wise and the prudent and has to reveal them unto babes. Even so, Father, for it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered to me of my father and no man knoweth who the son is but the father and who the father is but the son and he to whom the son will reveal him.
So who can know the father? Those that know the son. Who can know the son? Those to whom the son reveals himself. To whom does the son reveal himself? To those that were foreordained, that were called.
That's who can see him. Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see. For I tell you that many prophets and kings have desired to see those things which you see and have not seen them and to hear those things which you hear and have not heard them.
Now we're to verse 3 and I think we'll get through verse 3 and that'll be about it. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Now John MacArthur says this, Jesus is the supreme example of willingness to suffer in obedience to God. Jesus is the supreme example of willingness to suffer in obedience to God. He faced hostility. Now the word hostility is the same word that in other places is defined as, translated as spoken against.
The first person during Christ's lifetime to talk about this was Simeon. Remember Simeon who came to visit Jesus and Mary and Joseph and they saw the babe and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, behold this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel.
Behold this child is set for the fall and the rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against. Now that's not a message that a mother wants to hear about her son, her baby son.
She doesn't want to think of her son as being a sign that will be spoken against. Jesus faced hostility. He was spoken against as predicted by Simeon and endured even the cross and this same opposition is faced by all who follow him.
Now that was John MacArthur that said that. I'm going to read just what he said and then I'm going to say what I wish he had said and then I'm going to say what Paul said which will confirm what MacArthur said, not what I wish he had said.
So here we go. Jesus is the supreme example of willingness to suffer in obedience to God. He faced hostility, the same word as spoken against, and endured even the cruel cross and that same opposition is faced by all who follow him.
What I would like for him to have said was once we accept Christ everything is a bed of roses. No pain, no suffering, no persecution can ever come to God's children. That's what I wish he had said but unfortunately both MacArthur and more importantly Paul disagree with me.
Timothy, 2nd Timothy chapter 3 verse 12. Yea and all again. The word all. I wish he just said many or some but he says all. Yea and all that will live godly in Christ shall suffer persecution. Well that's I think I'm going to get one more verse.
Verse 4. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood striving against sin. So they haven't been the Hebrews that he's talking to have not yet been martyred and you have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as children.
My son despise not the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou are rebuked of him for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Well where was it spoken to you in Psalms not Psalms Proverbs 3 11 and 12.
My son despise not the chastening of the Lord neither be wary of his correction for whom the Lord loveth he correcteth even as a father the son in whom he delighted. If you endure chastening God will deal with you as with sons.
This is back to Hebrews. For what son is he whom the father chasteneth not because we are all imperfect every one of us everybody in here and everyone listening and everyone in the world except Jesus was imperfect because we are all imperfect even the true children of God are imperfect and because we're imperfect we need correction we get that correction by discipline and as a result it's my understanding that every true child of God will be chastened at one time or another so you're not going to get through life without chastisement but if you be without chastisement whereof all are partakers then you are bastards and not sons.
Now what's he saying we can even go so far as to say if we're not chastened then we're not truly children of God. James chapter 1 verses 2 and through 4 my brethren count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations knowing this that you're that the trying of your faith worketh patience and what other word could that be.
That could be endurance but let endurance have her perfect word work that you may be perfect and entire wanting nothing furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh that is earthly fathers which corrected us and we gave them reverence.
Shall we not much rather be in subjugation to the father of spirits and live the father of spirits that's the heavenly father respect for God demand submission to his will and his law. And those who willingly receive the Lord's chastening will have a richer and more abundant life.
Psalms 119 165. Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them. For verily for a few days. For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure but he for our profit that we may be partakers of his holiness.
Human fathers being imperfect. Discipline imperfectly. But God is perfect and therefore his discipline is perfect and always for the spiritual good of his children. Now i know there's some fathers out here and this is a good place to stop since this is after all father's day.
And one of your main roles if you're a father is to correct and guide your children. Sometimes that leads to punishing them. And my dad used to always say this hurts me more than it hurts you. And i never could see how.
But then people but then people that are fathers assure me that he was correct. We do our best but our best is not perfect. You guys do your best to be the fathers that you ought to be. But your best is not good enough.
Your best is just your best. But here's what we do. Know we all have a father whose best is the very best and who will always give us just exactly as much discipline just exactly as much punishment just exactly as much correction as we need.
And he will always do it for the spiritual good of his children. Any comments or questions if not let us pray. Most gracious heavenly father. Thank you for bringing us together this morning that we can study your word and that we may understand that life is not necessarily a bed of roses that into our life hardships will come suffering will come even maybe so much as to be described as agony that this race set before us can be an agony.
But give us the faith and the comfort to know that you will see through to the end and you will guide us and you will protect us. And that everything that you do will be for our spiritual good even though chastisement is never pleasant when it's being received.
But sometimes it's necessary. Bless you. Bless us. Thank you for all that you've done in jesus name. We pray. Amen.