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Fit To Run A Marathon · Stornoway Free Church of Scotland - Sermons

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Let's begin our worship now. We're singing firstly tonight in Psalm 95.
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Psalm 95, that's the Scottish Psalter version on page 357. The tune is Gainsborough,
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and we're singing verses 1 to 6. Come, let us sing to the Lord. Come, let us, everyone,
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a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation. Psalm 95 and verses 1 to 6. If you're able to
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stand, please stand for the singing.
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O come, let us sing to the Lord. Come, let us, everyone, a joyful noise make to the rock of our salvation.
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Let us, before his presence come, with praise and thankful voice,
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let us sing songs to him with praise, and make a joyful noise.
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For God, a great, God, a great King, above all God's genius.
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Depth of the earth, a great King, above all God's genius.
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The world's greatest已經 is.
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But heaven is true.
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And earth Deusnen, though he cannot share,
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the earth is themost hope for our salvation.
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The Lord is good.
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Ma Spirit is one of us who Ruth is also the full cultivate,
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of her happiness is the highest Solomon's treasure.
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In the spacious sea he longs, for he the same day they make.
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The dry land also from his hands is warm and worshiping.
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O come and let us worship him, let us dwell down with all.
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And on our knees before the Lord, our Mater, let us whole.
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Let's unite now in prayer. Let's call upon the Lord together.
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Amen.
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Your greatness, your majesty, your power.
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The fact that you are our creator, the creator of the universe.
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The way that we owe to you that worship that we owe to none other but to you.
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And we thank you tonight, Lord, that we come together in this way to praise the Lord,
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to come together to hear his voice in the scriptures speaking to us.
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We pray that that will be a reality for us.
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That your Holy Spirit, Lord, will speak to us through your word.
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That our minds and our hearts may be further enlightened and moved.
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That we may be furthered in our knowledge of you, in our commitment to you, and deepened in our love for you.
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We ask, O Lord, that as we come into your presence, we may know that you are with us, that you are with your people as you have promised to be.
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We give thanks, Lord, that you have made a dwelling place for yourself in the hearts of your people.
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And we ask, Lord, that we may be conscious of your inward presence.
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That we may be conscious of that working of your Spirit in our hearts.
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So that we may be furthered in our knowledge of you.
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And that we will know that we are on that path that is heavenwards.
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We pray, gracious one, that you would give us then at the close of this year in our experience.
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To know that your years do not fail.
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That you are indeed the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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And that you are the great God who presides over the passing of what we know of as time.
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You dwell in heaven.
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You dwell upon your throne.
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You rule over all that you have created.
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Nothing happens without your will.
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And we give thanks, O Lord, that that extends to all the things that affect us from day to day.
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And even over the workings of evil and of darkness, too.
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O Lord, our God, we come once again humbly before you.
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And pray that you would enable us to exalt your holy name.
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Bless us here, each one of us and each of the homes and families we represent.
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We ask, Lord, tonight that we will know your blessing as we enter into a new year.
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We thank you, Lord, as we look back over the year that has now passed.
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We thank you for your goodness to us.
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We thank you for the mercies that you have shown toward us.
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For the many ways, Lord, in which you have dealt with us, not according to our sins,
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but in your grace and mercy.
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And we pray, gracious one, that these will follow us into this new year as we shortly anticipate entering into it.
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We ask that your gospel will be blessed.
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And blessed increasingly to us.
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Lord, we long for days when not only will we ourselves be revived in our inward soul,
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but when our community around us will come to know the voice of God,
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the voice of the Son of God speaking to us and bringing many souls to life,
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bringing people to know you and to follow you and to love you and to serve you in this world.
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O Lord, our God, we lament the way in which we find our generation to be so much in denial of the things of your truth
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and so much given to elevate those things which we know are offensive to you.
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Lord, be merciful to us, we pray, as a people.
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Be merciful to us as we confess our sinfulness before you,
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our need of your acceptance and forgiveness and cleansing and our being established in your ways.
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Lord, we pray for a heart that will prize your truth as we meet with people from day to day.
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Help us to communicate to them how we love the Lord and how we value his grace and his salvation.
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And enable us, we pray, Lord, to continue to bear before you the world in which we live,
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in all its need, in all its darkness, in all its departure from God.
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O Lord God, we pray that we ourselves will, in this year that is before us,
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come to develop increasingly as a people who will be known as a people who love the Lord.
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Grant your blessing, Lord, to each one of us.
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We thank you that whatever our need is tonight, you are able to deal with us powerfully and efficaciously
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and in a way that will enable us to marvel at the work of your hand.
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We bless you for your manifold grace that is designed, Lord, to meet us in all the variety of our need.
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And we pray that as we express these concerns and prayers and petitions before you,
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Lord, we pray that as we go on in life that we will be all the more determined to be your people
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and to be known as your people in the world.
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Remember, we pray tonight those who have different problems in their own experience,
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different providences that cause them distress and pain.
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We remember those who come to the end of this year, O Lord,
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thinking back over the loss of loved ones in the year that's gone by,
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or even in previous times.
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We know that this time of year is very poignant for those who look back upon such circumstances.
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We pray for those who presently mourn the passing of loved ones too.
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Lord, we remember those tonight who will look forward to having funerals in these days to come.
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Lord, we pray that you would bless them as they anticipate this,
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and we pray that you would strengthen them and encourage them during this time.
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We pray for those who are ill at this time.
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We pray, Lord, for those who are seriously ill.
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We remember them before you.
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We pray that all our illnesses, whatever magnitude they may be of,
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may be a reminder to us, O Lord,
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that we are closer to eternity tonight than we have ever been,
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and that we will leave this world at some point of your own appointment
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and come to face you as our judge.
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And we ask, Lord, that our hearts may be solemnized,
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and yet that we may rejoice in your salvation as we think of these great issues.
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Bless, we pray then, those who are laid aside in illness at this time,
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those who have received and are receiving treatment,
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those who are in hospital, those in our care homes,
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those who tend to their needs.
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We thank you, Lord, for all who have, over this past year,
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and continue to deal with us in our times of illness,
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times of bereavement and sorrow,
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and all other types of need as well.
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Lord, we give thanks for your goodness
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in continuing to provide us with these resources,
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and we pray that they will continue with us into this new year also.
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Bless us, we pray, as a congregation.
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We thank you for all that you enable us to do,
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for all that you have enabled us to take part in this year that has passed.
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And over the past year, Lord,
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we ask your blessing to accompany everything that has been done
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with regard to our young people and our children
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and all who have come to various activities and courses,
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as well as attend the worship services of the congregation.
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Remember then, we pray.
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Grant that your own blessing will come in days to come
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to be seen as a blessing upon your word,
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a blessing of the gospel to our souls.
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Hear us now, we pray.
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Continue to bless the world in which we live with all its troubles.
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And we pray, Lord, that tonight we see violence and war
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and deprivation and famine,
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so many things that trouble people from day to day,
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so many things that people have to live with,
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the trauma in their lives compared relatively to ours.
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Lord, be merciful to us as human beings.
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Oh, Lord, send forth your light and your truth.
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And may your gospel advance throughout the world
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and create peace, we pray, where there is war.
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And create, we pray, for yourself a people
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who will reflect and glorify your great name.
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Hear us now, we pray, for we ask it all,
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seeking pardon and cleansing from all our sins.
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For Jesus' sake, amen.
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Let's continue to sing praise to God.
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We're singing this time in Psalm 119.
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Psalm 119.
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You'll find that on page 167 of the psalm books.
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Psalm 167, the verses marked 161 to 168.
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The tune this time is rocking him.
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Psalm is throughout this.
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Psalm, as you know, is in very different ways
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speaking about his appreciation for God's Word
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and how he applies that Word of God
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to his own circumstances.
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Sometimes circumstances like in these verses
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where he's facing falsehood
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and people misrepresenting him and so on.
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So he's saying here that he nevertheless
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has found and finds great peace
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with those who love God's law.
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So Psalm 119 at verse 161.
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Though rulers hound me without cause,
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my heart fears nothing but your word.
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For in your promise I rejoice
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like one who finds great spoil, O Lord.
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And so on down to verse 160 to God's praise.
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The rulers hound me with a ghost.
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My heart fears nothing but your word.
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For in your promise I rejoice
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for in your promise I rejoice
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like one who finds great spoil, O Lord.
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All falls to die upon a day.
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With all my heart I love you, Lord.
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I praise you seven times and eight.
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For your commands I hold it all.
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For in peace of those who love you, Lord.
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They will not stumble in the way.
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I wait for your salvation, Lord, and your commands I will obey.
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I will, O say, your standards, Lord, my love for them is great and true.
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Your laws and reasons I obey, for all I wait are known to you.
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I'm going to read now from God's Word.
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The reading this evening is from the letter to the Hebrews.
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The letter to the Hebrews, beginning at chapter 11 and verse 32.
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And we'll go on reading into chapter 12, down as far as verse 11.
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So that's Hebrews chapter 11, beginning at verse 32.
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As you know, this has been a great list in this chapter of those who have lived by faith.
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And the chapter lists some of the activities that they engaged in through faith, how they came to know the blessing of God as they came to trust in him.
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And in verse 32, he comes towards the end of his list, where he says,
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What more shall I say?
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Some were told?
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Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life.
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Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.
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They were stoned.
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They were sawn in two.
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They were killed with a sword.
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They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated, of whom the world was not worthy, wandering about in deserts and mountains and in dens and caves of the earth.
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And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.
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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely.
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Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who, for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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Consider him, who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or faint-hearted.
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In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood, and you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons.
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My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him, for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.
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It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons.
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But what son is there whom his father does not discipline?
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If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
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Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them.
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Shall we not much more be subject to the father of spirits and live?
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For they disciplined us for a short time, as it seemed best to them.
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But he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness.
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For the moment, all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant.
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But later, it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
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And so on, may the Lord follow with this blessing, that reading of his word.
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Before we turn to words at the beginning of chapter 12 there, let's sing again in Psalm 34.
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Psalm number 34.
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And that's again in the Sing Psalms version on page 41.
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To tune Evan.
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The tune is Evan.
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We'll sing verses 12 to the end of the Psalm, 12 to 22.
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Does anyone delight in life and long to see good days?
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Then keep your tongue from evil speech, your lips from lying ways.
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Depart and turn from evil's paths and practice what is right.
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Desire to know the way of peace.
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Pursue it with your might.
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The Lord's eyes are upon the just.
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He listens to their plea.
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The wicked he rejects and blots from earth their memory.
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The righteous cry.
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The Lord responds and frees them when distressed.
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The Lord draws near the broken heart and rescues the depressed.
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And so on through to the end of the Psalm.
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From verse 12.
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Does anyone delight in life?
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Does anyone delight in life?
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And long to see good days?
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Then keep your tongue from evil speech,
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Your lips from lying ways.
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Depart and turn from evil past and practice what is right.
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He's tired to know the way of peace.
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Persuive it with your might.
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The Lord's eyes are upon the just.
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He listens to their plea.
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The wicked he rejects and blots from earth their memory.
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The righteous cry.
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The Lord responds and frees them when distressed.
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The Lord draws near the broken heart and rescues the depressed.
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From all that happens and blots of the just.
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The Lord will set him free.
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The Lord's eyes are upon the broken heart and broken down well in.
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The wicked are condemned today.
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All those who make the just.
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God saves his soul.
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The wicked are not broken.
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The wicked are not broken.
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For in the Lord may trust.
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God saves his soul.
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Amen.
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Amen.
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Please turn with me now to Hebrews chapter 12.
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Hebrews 12.
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Hebrews 12.
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We'll read again from the beginning.
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Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
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let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely.
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And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfection of our faith,
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who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
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and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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And then verse 3 begins,
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Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself.
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Well, we're very familiar in our day with various kinds of stadia.
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A stadium where certain activities, sporting activities usually take place.
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We're familiar with spectators crowded round the sides of the stadium.
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And with the activity, whether it's a game of football or athletics or whatever taking place in the stadium,
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where the competitors take place and the crowd, the surrounding crowd,
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is involved in some way or other, supportively or otherwise, with those who are actually taking part.
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We're all familiar with that as we see it very often on our TV screens and maybe even attend as well.
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And that's the kind of imagery, as you know, that's behind these verses and other verses in the New Testament,
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especially Paul uses the same kind of imagery,
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which seems that he and the writer to the Hebrews here borrowed from what they saw happening in their own day
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with regard to athletic contests of various kinds in various stadia.
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And borrowing from that and using that imagery to present us with aspects of the Christian life,
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both the individual Christian and also the collective life of the church,
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and how in the likes of this passage, we are ourselves encouraged to actually run a particular course of life
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in a particular kind of way, running the race that is set before us
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and doing it looking unto Jesus, running the race with endurance, looking unto Jesus.
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Now, if we take it that the crowd of witnesses here refers to,
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especially those who are mentioned in the previous chapter,
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he's gone through the list there of individuals that are named at different points in history
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and how they lived by faith in God and how through faith they were enabled by faith to do certain things
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for their own benefit, but sometimes very often for the benefit of many others besides.
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And that as he uses here the imagery of the stadium,
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the imagery includes those in chapter 11 as the surrounding crowd, if you like,
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who have gone before those who are participating and now sit as watching and coming to be spectators
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of those who continue to actually are involved in, let's say, in the races.
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They're talking about a race, so let's just leave it at that.
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They're engaged in a race of some kind.
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And the practice in those days in the Greek games, we're told, by those who look into these things,
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we're told that the practice was that if you are running races,
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certainly in the major competitions of the day,
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that once you finished your race, you didn't disappear from the stadium,
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you actually then went and took your place amongst the crowd of spectators.
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And that happened all the way through the various races that were being followed through in the stadium
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until the final race was over and those who finished that race then took their part
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to have placed with the spectators as well.
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And then when it was all finished, the prizes would be given out
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to those who had actually won these competitions.
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And if you bear that imagery in mind, it helps us, I think,
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to understand some of the phraseology and some of what's being said here
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and helps us then to apply that to our lives as well as individuals
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and to the Christian life in particular.
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And if you look at verse 2 here, it's much more to do, I think,
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with what you would call a marathon rather than short sprints.
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There would be all types of races in those games, of course, like there is today.
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But the language here is really a language that suits a marathon.
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And a marathon really suits as an image of the Christian life more so than a short sprint,
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because that's really what the Christian life very often is like and very often feels like as well.
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It's the kind of race in which you have a long distance to travel before you reach the end.
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Of course, our lives vary in terms of how many years we live and all that sort of stuff.
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But nevertheless, the kind of thing a marathon is really fits the imagery that he has here of running the race that's set before us.
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So if we keep these points in mind, there are two things especially that are brought out in the passage for our attention.
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The first is a laying aside.
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There are certain things he mentions as laying aside.
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Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely.
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Things which are to be laid aside or put off in order to run effectively and efficiently with a view to winning the race.
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That's in the ordinary sense.
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But in a spiritual sense, we'll see that's also important.
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That's the first thing, a laying aside.
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And then secondly, he speaks of a looking ahead.
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Let us run with endurance looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith,
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who is now seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
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So there is a laying aside and a looking ahead as part of the Christian race,
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of the race that we're engaged in as believers in this life.
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And of course, as we come to the end of a year,
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we're very conscious of events that have taken place in the year that's gone by.
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People who belong to our families, to the congregation, who are no longer with us,
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passed away over the course of that year.
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And you can say in a sense that all of those whom we've known in life,
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and especially those who were known and known by us as Christians,
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committed to God and witnesses to Him in this life,
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they are for us in a sense a crowd of witnesses.
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They are spectators of our race as we run it,
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because they've gone before us.
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They've taken their place now in the spectators, as it were.
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And they're now, we're at least mentally conscious or spiritually conscious,
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that we've seen them running their race.
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And we're following them.
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And we're seeking to follow in the same way as they did the Lord Jesus Christ.
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So he says, let us lay aside.
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Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
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as we think of those who've run their race, who've gone before us,
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who lived a consistent Christian life,
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and as they were people that we looked forward to meeting with,
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and shared fellowship with, and admired, and looked to,
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and saw as our examples,
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seeing we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,
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let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely.
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When you think of an athlete, especially an athlete in serious competition,
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you can't imagine at any time, let alone nowadays,
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an athlete seriously entering into a marathon or any other type of race
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and not being prepared before for it.
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Preparing beforehand and preparing even at that day itself on the occasion.
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You don't find them actually coming to take part in a race
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without laying aside their outer clothing,
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anything that's going to be too heavy,
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and clothing themselves with the lightest possible fabrics,
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including running shoes and everything else as they are nowadays,
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and so that you would find every advantage possible in doing that
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in order to actually try and make sure, as far as possible,
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that you were giving everything to winning this race if you could.
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And that's important for us spiritually, as we'll see, as well.
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It would be absolutely futile for an athlete to come to face a marathon
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or any other race,
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and to think that they could neglect the basics of preparation,
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and hope meaningfully to take part in that race.
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Because the basics of preparation mean training in a proper way,
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being sure to actually have the right sort of diet
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so that they weren't encumbering themselves with problems
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when they began the race.
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And, of course, the clothing, as we've said, important as well.
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So he really is saying, let us lay aside every weight.
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In other words, every impediment,
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everything possible that we can know of
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that would prevent us effectively running the Christian race.
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Let us lay aside every weight,
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whatever it is that's a weight, that's a hindrance to us.
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And remember, there are hindrances for all of us,
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not just outwardly, but also inwardly as well in our own soul.
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Every weight, every impediment, including our minds.
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Remember 1 Peter 1, verse 13,
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uses the kind of phrase,
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then, gird up the loins of your mind
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in the old translation of it.
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And that goes back, indeed, to the days in which Peter lived,
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where long garments were commonplace.
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And if you're running a race,
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and if you're running quickly,
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think of Elijah, for example,
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running after the contest on Mount Carmel,
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he girded up his garments,
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and he ran with his full might.
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And so, if you really wanted to run
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and not be tripped up in the process,
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you gathered up your garments,
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you tied them under your belt or something,
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not in professional races,
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or races such as envisaged here,
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but even in the ordinary course of life,
36:23
running effectively meant,
36:25
don't let your garments hang loose.
36:27
Tie them up.
36:28
Be sure they're effectively bound.
36:30
And he's using that language with regard to the mind.
36:35
Peter is,
36:35
gird up the loins of your mind.
36:39
Prepare your mind properly for action.
36:42
And that's the same idea that you've got here.
36:44
Let us lay aside every weight.
36:48
Have we prepared our minds aright
36:50
to run the Christian race?
36:52
Are we engaged in the Christian race meaningfully
36:56
with a view to actually running effectively
36:58
in following Jesus,
37:01
in being servants of Jesus?
37:05
Have we geared up the loins of our mind today
37:07
in coming to worship him?
37:09
Have we stopped to prepare
37:11
so that we can benefit from
37:14
being together as worshipers of God?
37:17
Are we preparing for this new year,
37:20
God willing,
37:20
that will shortly be entered
37:22
in a few hours' time
37:23
by girding up our minds,
37:27
by actually stopping to take stock
37:29
of what is it in my thought processes?
37:31
What is it in my attitude?
37:34
What is it in the way that I think
37:36
or not think?
37:38
Have I become flabby in my thinking?
37:41
Have I actually stopped concentrating
37:43
to the extent I should
37:44
on the things of God?
37:47
Let us lay aside every weight.
37:50
And then he goes on,
37:51
and the sin,
37:52
the sin or sin
37:55
which clings so closely.
37:56
Now this has given rise
37:58
to very many different kinds of opinions.
38:01
If you consult commentaries,
38:02
you'll find there's all sorts of opinions
38:05
over the years
38:05
as to what's meant by sin
38:08
which clings so closely to us.
38:11
Some people think of this
38:12
as a particular sin
38:14
which is individual
38:16
to every person.
38:18
We all, I'm sure,
38:19
have a sin or sins
38:21
that we find ourselves
38:22
more prone to
38:23
than other sins
38:25
or than other people even.
38:27
And some commentators say
38:28
that you take this as being
38:30
whatever sin
38:31
you're most liable to fall into,
38:34
what sin you're more prone to,
38:37
that you would actually use it
38:38
in that sense.
38:39
And that would make sense
38:41
in the context as well.
38:42
But I think it's better
38:43
just to take it.
38:45
You notice here in translation,
38:46
it doesn't have the definite article.
38:48
It's not the sin.
38:50
It's sin which clings so closely.
38:52
And I think it's better saying
38:53
if you think of laying aside
38:56
every weight
38:57
as a reference in general
38:58
to the principle of the thing,
39:00
he's now coming to the more specific
39:02
and he's saying
39:03
whatever is a weight
39:04
or a hindrance to us
39:05
will always have sin behind it,
39:08
will always be based upon
39:09
the workings of sin,
39:11
the sin that's so very much
39:14
with us still in this life.
39:17
Lay aside every weight
39:18
and you might say
39:19
and particularly give attention
39:21
to sin which clings so closely.
39:25
You think of your TV monitor
39:28
or your computer monitor
39:30
and so often you've got to wipe it
39:32
because dust clings to it.
39:37
You have to cling it.
39:39
It's got that static attraction
39:41
which attracts dust to it
39:43
and you've got to actually
39:44
clean it from time to time
39:46
or at least we're meant to clean
39:47
from time to time.
39:49
And sin is like that.
39:51
Sin clings so closely to us.
39:54
It's just such a part of our frame
39:57
as fallen sinners.
39:58
It's with us every day.
40:00
It's there.
40:01
Even forgiven sin,
40:02
even forgiven sinners,
40:04
people who are Christians
40:05
who know that their sin
40:06
has been forgiven,
40:07
they're still very conscious
40:08
of going through life
40:09
and running this race
40:11
and still they find this sin
40:12
at times clings so closely to them.
40:15
It's something that's attached to them
40:16
just like cling film attaches itself
40:18
to a bowl or to a plate.
40:22
And you've got to lay aside
40:24
sin which clings so closely.
40:27
You've got to have that kind of mindset.
40:30
That's where the mindset comes in as well
40:32
that we don't neglect looking inwardly
40:35
and stop and ask ourselves,
40:38
am I really taking account of sin properly
40:42
in my life?
40:44
Am I coming with it to God
40:46
in such a way that seeks grace from God
40:50
to just detach this sin and myself
40:53
from this sin as I go on?
40:56
So the task is to lay aside this daily.
41:02
That's what you find
41:03
throughout the New Testament
41:04
you're very much aware of the fact that
41:07
as doctrine is set out by Paul
41:10
and by Peter
41:11
and the writer to the Hebrews here,
41:13
it's always followed by imperatives
41:15
for our behavior.
41:18
In other words,
41:19
Paul would be saying,
41:20
seeing such and such has happened,
41:22
seeing you are justified now
41:24
by faith in Jesus Christ,
41:26
seeing you have been renewed
41:27
by the Spirit of God
41:28
or language like that,
41:30
therefore,
41:31
don't give your bodies to sin.
41:33
Don't give yourselves over
41:35
to the service of sin.
41:37
And that's the pattern all the way
41:38
through the New Testament.
41:40
And that's what is before us
41:42
in this verse as well.
41:43
Because we are surrounded
41:45
by so great a cloud of witnesses,
41:46
because we're running seriously
41:49
this Christian race,
41:51
this race that's going on
41:52
until we enter into eternity.
41:56
Therefore,
41:56
lay aside every weight
41:58
and sin which clings so closely.
42:03
And then he says,
42:04
let us run with endurance
42:06
the race that is set before us.
42:10
Now here's the positive
42:12
perseverance side of it,
42:14
if you like.
42:15
Perseverance is one of the great doctrines
42:18
that the Bible teaches us of.
42:22
Perseverance in terms of
42:24
depending on God's grace,
42:25
certainly to work through us,
42:27
but nevertheless,
42:28
there's a responsibility
42:29
laid upon ourselves
42:31
to persevere in the life
42:34
that we follow as the life of faith.
42:36
Life of trusting in the Lord,
42:38
the life of serving the Lord.
42:41
It's not a very easy exercise necessarily
42:44
to just find out
42:46
where the side that God is involved in
42:49
in terms of the grace
42:50
that He gives us
42:51
and the responsibility that's ours
42:53
to carry forward
42:54
our life and our actions
42:56
and so on,
42:57
but it's there.
42:58
And the two things fit together.
43:00
It's not one or the other.
43:03
And so,
43:03
he's saying,
43:05
let us run with endurance,
43:07
with perseverance.
43:09
Endurance,
43:10
you could sometimes,
43:11
in the meaning of the word nowadays,
43:14
you could think that
43:15
what he's saying
43:16
is just to have a sort of
43:17
passive, stoic kind of approach
43:19
to your problems
43:20
or to your difficulties
43:22
or your challenges
43:23
and just sit and endure them
43:25
and have to put up with them.
43:27
Well, that's not what the word is saying.
43:28
It's a very positive word.
43:30
It's an active word.
43:31
A word that means
43:32
we actively persevere.
43:35
We actively persevere
43:36
in the race
43:37
in which we are now running.
43:39
Remember how Paul
43:40
wrote to the Philippians
43:43
where in his testimony
43:46
of his own life
43:48
as he set out
43:49
before the Philippians
43:50
in the Philippians
43:51
in chapter 3
43:52
verses 13 and 14 especially.
43:57
He's saying,
43:57
well, from verse 12,
43:58
not that I've already obtained
44:00
or I'm already perfect,
44:02
but I press on
44:03
to make it my own
44:04
because Christ Jesus
44:06
has made me his own.
44:07
Brothers,
44:08
I do not consider
44:09
that I have made it my own.
44:11
He doesn't mean by that
44:12
that he hasn't yet accepted Christ,
44:15
but since he accepted Christ
44:17
or Christ came into his life,
44:19
he's been reaching forward,
44:21
as he says in the following verses,
44:22
to the prize of this
44:24
high calling of God in Christ
44:26
to finally obtain
44:28
that wonderful terminus
44:32
of glory with Christ,
44:33
of heaven.
44:34
So he's saying,
44:35
brothers,
44:36
I do not consider
44:37
that I have made it my own.
44:39
In other words,
44:40
I'm not yet there,
44:41
but one thing I do,
44:43
forgetting what lies behind
44:44
and straining forward
44:46
to what lies ahead,
44:48
I press on towards
44:50
the goal for the prize
44:52
of the upward call
44:53
of God in Christ Jesus.
44:55
Now the language
44:56
he's using there
44:57
is the language
44:58
of athletics.
44:59
I press on,
45:01
and you can see in athletics
45:03
just especially
45:04
in the final lap of a race,
45:06
even a marathon
45:07
after all of these miles,
45:09
those who are participating,
45:11
especially as they're coming
45:12
near the finishing tape
45:13
and especially
45:14
if they're in the prospect
45:15
of winning the race,
45:17
they'll stretch themselves forward,
45:18
they'll strive forward,
45:20
just put everything into
45:21
these last few strides
45:23
to reach the tape.
45:25
And Paul is saying,
45:26
that's what I'm doing.
45:28
Even at this stage of his life,
45:29
it's been over 20 years
45:31
since the Lord came
45:32
into his life,
45:34
but he says,
45:34
this is what I do.
45:36
I'm pressing on
45:37
toward the mark.
45:38
I'm stretching forward
45:40
to the finishing tape.
45:42
I'm making sure
45:43
that as far as I can
45:45
in dependence on God,
45:46
I'm nevertheless
45:47
putting every effort I can
45:49
into this race
45:51
that I'm involved in.
45:53
And what he's saying here,
45:54
what the writer here
45:55
is saying in Hebrews,
45:57
is saying,
45:58
let us run
45:59
with perseverance,
46:00
with endurance.
46:03
You know,
46:03
athletes speak about,
46:04
especially athletes
46:05
who do long distance running
46:06
and marathons especially,
46:08
they use phrases
46:09
such as hitting the wall.
46:13
And I often wondered
46:14
what that meant.
46:15
And if you look up
46:16
what that means,
46:17
of course,
46:17
if you Google it,
46:18
like everything else,
46:19
nowadays you'll find
46:20
an answer to it.
46:21
Hitting the wall
46:22
is the expression
46:23
that athletes use
46:25
for a stage in the race,
46:27
usually around
46:28
the 20 mile mark,
46:30
it seems.
46:30
I've never done it,
46:31
so I don't know.
46:33
But around 20 miles,
46:35
they begin to feel
46:36
this tremendous
46:37
strain on their body.
46:40
Their energy
46:40
is just being sapped.
46:43
And that's why it's called,
46:44
it's just like hitting a wall.
46:45
They just,
46:46
even your brain
46:46
just wants to give up.
46:48
And you've then got to just
46:49
adjust yourself
46:50
in a different way
46:52
so as to try and get through
46:54
the moments,
46:55
the minutes in which
46:56
that's happening
46:56
and then just continue
46:57
with your race.
46:58
So when you hit the wall,
47:00
you remember your training,
47:02
you slow down for a bit perhaps,
47:04
because the problem is
47:05
that the stuff
47:07
in your muscles,
47:10
glycogen I think it's called,
47:12
which is stored
47:13
in your muscles,
47:14
it's being used up
47:15
as you run a marathon.
47:17
And you come to a point
47:18
where it's almost depleted
47:19
and that's when you begin
47:20
to really hit the wall.
47:23
And you have to spend
47:24
a bit of time
47:24
adjusting to that
47:25
so that you then begin
47:27
to draw energy
47:28
from fat reserves.
47:29
I'm just going by
47:30
what I'm told.
47:31
I have no idea
47:31
myself personally,
47:33
but this is what
47:33
apparently is the case.
47:35
And so,
47:37
in the Christian life,
47:39
there are some times
47:40
when you just hit the wall.
47:44
When your mind
47:45
wants to give up.
47:48
When you say,
47:49
I didn't realize
47:49
the hill was going to be
47:50
this difficult to climb.
47:53
I didn't realize
47:54
the route was going
47:54
to take me
47:55
in this direction.
47:58
Why is it so difficult
47:59
in my life
48:00
as I see it
48:01
compared to what
48:02
I see others?
48:03
Their race seems
48:04
to be much easier.
48:06
And now I'm beginning
48:06
to find that
48:07
this is so challenging,
48:09
more than I expected,
48:11
that really
48:13
you feel like
48:14
just
48:15
your energy
48:17
is being sapped.
48:18
and you begin
48:20
to think,
48:20
well,
48:20
should I just
48:21
give up at this point?
48:23
And it's vital then
48:24
that you've done
48:26
the training beforehand.
48:28
I'm talking here
48:28
about athletics again.
48:30
When you hit the wall,
48:32
it's comforting to know
48:33
you've done all the training,
48:34
you've taken all
48:35
the right nutrients,
48:36
you've actually made sure
48:37
from that point of view
48:38
that you're ready
48:39
for the moment
48:40
when you hit the wall.
48:42
And so it is
48:43
in the Christian life.
48:44
Because when you come
48:45
to hit the wall,
48:46
it'll be really comforting
48:47
to know
48:48
that you have followed
48:49
the Lord,
48:50
that you've been
48:51
using His Word,
48:52
that you've been
48:53
praying to Him,
48:54
that you've been
48:54
in the company
48:55
of other Christians,
48:56
that you've taken
48:56
their counsel,
48:57
that you love to be
48:58
in their fellowship,
48:59
that all of that
49:00
is behind you
49:00
and undergirding you
49:02
as you come
49:02
to hit the wall.
49:05
Because it'll strengthen you,
49:06
and especially
49:07
the grace of God,
49:09
to go through
49:09
those moments
49:10
and on into
49:11
the rest of the race.
49:12
Let's run,
49:14
he says,
49:14
with endurance,
49:16
the race that is
49:17
set before us.
49:19
And when he says
49:20
set before us,
49:21
I think he means
49:22
by that the race
49:23
has been set for us.
49:26
We haven't chosen
49:27
the course ourselves.
49:29
Those who run
49:30
in a marathon
49:31
don't get to choose
49:32
which course
49:33
they actually
49:34
take part in.
49:35
They don't choose
49:36
which direction
49:37
the course takes.
49:39
They don't determine
49:40
how many hills
49:41
and how many hills
49:44
they have to climb,
49:44
how many they have
49:45
to come back down again,
49:47
how many straights
49:48
they're beyond.
49:49
They don't get to choose.
49:50
That's all chosen
49:50
for them.
49:52
There's the map.
49:53
Get on with it.
49:54
That's your race.
49:55
You have to keep
49:56
to the course
49:57
set out for you.
49:59
And it's difficult
50:00
in the Christian life
50:02
to accept
50:04
that the race
50:05
course
50:05
has been set
50:06
for us by God.
50:07
sometimes
50:09
it's not easy
50:10
to accept
50:11
why certain things
50:13
take place
50:13
in our experience.
50:15
But you've got to
50:16
come back again
50:17
as an athlete
50:18
comes back
50:18
to the training
50:19
and to the preparation
50:20
for the race.
50:21
So you come back
50:22
to thinking,
50:23
well,
50:23
who is in charge
50:24
of my race?
50:25
Who has set
50:26
the course?
50:28
What wisdom
50:29
has devised
50:30
this course
50:31
for me?
50:32
What strength
50:34
do I rely on
50:35
to go through
50:37
with the rest
50:38
of the course?
50:39
And of course
50:39
that takes you
50:40
back to God
50:41
and takes you
50:41
back especially
50:42
to Jesus
50:43
as we'll see
50:44
in a minute.
50:45
You lay aside
50:45
every weight
50:46
and sin
50:47
which clings
50:48
so closely
50:49
and you run
50:50
with endurance
50:50
the race
50:51
that is set
50:52
before us.
50:53
So tonight
50:54
and as we enter
50:55
into a new year
50:56
we each have
50:57
our race
50:58
set out for us.
51:00
It's not for us
51:01
to say,
51:01
why don't I have
51:02
the same course
51:03
set for me
51:04
as others have?
51:07
The wisdom
51:07
of God,
51:08
friends,
51:09
has set
51:10
the course
51:10
of life
51:11
and it is faith
51:14
that accepts that
51:15
and trust
51:17
in the Lord
51:18
accepts that
51:19
and goes on
51:20
with the race
51:22
that He has
51:22
set out for us
51:23
because His grace
51:25
will always be
51:26
sufficient for us
51:28
to finish
51:29
that race.
51:31
But not only
51:32
is there laying aside
51:33
there is also
51:34
looking ahead
51:35
and as soon
51:36
as He said that
51:37
the race
51:38
that is set
51:38
before us
51:39
let's run it
51:40
with endurance
51:41
looking to Jesus.
51:44
Looking to Jesus
51:45
the founder
51:46
and perfecter
51:47
of our faith.
51:49
And what He means
51:49
of course
51:50
is looking
51:50
while we're running
51:51
the race
51:52
we're looking
51:53
to Jesus
51:53
we're looking
51:54
up to Jesus
51:55
we're looking
51:55
to the one
51:56
who's at the end
51:57
of our course
51:58
waiting to meet us.
51:59
And what do we
52:03
look for?
52:04
What kind of look
52:05
does He mean
52:06
here looking
52:07
to Jesus?
52:08
Well I think
52:09
He explains
52:11
that or enlarges
52:12
on that
52:12
in verse 3
52:13
Consider Him
52:15
who endured
52:16
from sinners
52:17
such hostility
52:18
against Himself.
52:21
Consider
52:21
is a very
52:22
significant word
52:23
in the context
52:24
and in the letter
52:25
to the Hebrews
52:26
in fact
52:26
it really means
52:27
to study
52:28
carefully
52:28
means to give
52:30
all your attention
52:31
to
52:31
means to give
52:33
your mind
52:33
this where the mind
52:34
again comes in
52:35
be mindful
52:36
of this
52:36
give all your mind
52:38
as far as possible
52:38
to this
52:39
consider Him
52:41
looking unto Him
52:43
looking considerately
52:44
unto Him
52:45
looking studiously
52:46
to Him
52:47
looking in a way
52:49
that really
52:49
seriously reckons
52:50
with who He is
52:52
and where
52:54
as well as
52:54
what He has done.
52:55
And so you'll find
52:57
the same thing
52:58
you see in the
52:58
previous runners
52:59
in verse 11
53:00
if we can call them
53:01
chapter 11
53:02
call them that
53:03
look at verse 10
53:05
there in chapter 11
53:06
you'll find there
53:07
that Abraham
53:08
is mentioned
53:09
as a man
53:09
who lived by faith
53:10
he was looking
53:12
forward
53:12
to the city
53:14
that has foundations
53:15
whose designer
53:16
and builder
53:17
is God
53:17
and then Sarah
53:18
she herself
53:20
received power
53:20
to conceive
53:21
when she was
53:22
past age
53:23
since she
53:24
considered
53:25
Him
53:26
faithful
53:27
she gave
53:28
her mind
53:29
carefully
53:29
to who God
53:31
was
53:31
and what her
53:33
relation to Him
53:33
was
53:34
verse 11
53:35
you'll find
53:37
that emphasis
53:38
there
53:38
she considered
53:40
Him
53:40
faithful
53:41
and then
53:42
verse 15
53:43
if you go
53:43
forward to
53:44
verse 15
53:44
you'll find
53:45
a similar
53:46
emphasis
53:46
there
53:46
if they had
53:48
been thinking
53:49
these people
53:49
who had
53:50
left their
53:51
homeland
53:51
had left
53:53
the place
53:53
where they
53:53
were living
53:54
if they'd
53:55
been thinking
53:55
of that land
53:57
from where
53:58
they had
53:58
gone out
53:58
they would
53:59
have had
53:59
opportunity
54:00
to return
54:01
but as it
54:02
is they
54:03
desire
54:03
a better
54:04
country
54:04
that is
54:05
a heavenly
54:06
one
54:06
they make
54:07
it clear
54:08
that they
54:08
are seeking
54:09
a homeland
54:10
they're
54:11
considering
54:11
carefully
54:13
where they're
54:14
going as well
54:15
as where
54:15
they've come
54:15
from
54:16
and then you
54:17
go forward
54:17
to verse
54:18
19
54:18
whereas
54:20
Abraham
54:21
having been
54:22
commanded
54:23
by God
54:23
to offer
54:24
up his
54:24
son Isaac
54:25
says
54:27
he considered
54:28
that God
54:29
was able
54:30
even to
54:30
raise him
54:31
from the
54:31
dead
54:31
same word
54:32
again
54:32
he considered
54:33
he studied
54:34
carefully
54:35
he gave
54:35
a mind
54:36
to it
54:36
and then
54:37
finally
54:38
verse 26
54:38
speaking of
54:39
Moses
54:39
and all
54:41
of this
54:41
is of course
54:41
within the
54:42
workings
54:42
of faith
54:43
he considered
54:44
the reproach
54:45
of Christ
54:46
greater wealth
54:47
than the
54:48
treasures
54:48
of Egypt
54:49
for he was
54:50
looking to
54:50
the reward
54:51
this is what
54:52
he said
54:52
by faith
54:53
he chose
54:53
rather to be
54:54
mistreated
54:55
with the
54:55
people of
54:56
God
54:56
than to
54:56
enjoy
54:57
the fleeting
54:58
pleasure
54:58
of sin
54:59
how
54:59
why could
55:00
he
55:00
how could
55:01
he
55:01
for he
55:02
considered
55:02
the reproach
55:03
of Christ
55:03
he thought
55:04
upon the
55:05
reproach
55:06
of Christ
55:06
his mind
55:07
was on
55:08
what it
55:08
was to
55:08
suffer
55:09
for Christ
55:09
and he
55:10
said
55:10
this is
55:10
actually
55:11
especially
55:11
in the
55:12
outcome
55:12
of it
55:12
it's a
55:13
far
55:13
greater
55:14
treasure
55:14
than I
55:15
would ever
55:15
have had
55:15
if I'd
55:16
stayed in
55:16
Egypt
55:16
as a
55:17
Egypt
55:18
he
55:19
considered
55:19
it
55:20
you see
55:23
faith
55:24
and the
55:25
way that
55:25
this chapter
55:26
11 runs
55:27
into or
55:27
flows into
55:28
chapter 12
55:29
where we're
55:30
thinking about
55:30
running this
55:31
race
55:31
take all of
55:33
that with
55:33
you and
55:35
it means
55:35
that faith
55:37
faith that's
55:39
mentioned up
55:40
through this
55:40
chapter
55:40
faith that
55:42
flows into
55:43
the race
55:43
in chapter
55:44
12
55:44
what is
55:46
faith
55:46
is it
55:48
just a
55:48
leap in
55:49
the dark
55:49
as some
55:51
people accuse
55:53
us of
55:53
doing
55:53
as Christians
55:54
nowadays
55:55
people will
55:56
say
55:56
why don't
55:57
you start
55:57
using your
55:58
minds
55:58
why don't
56:00
you just
56:00
accept the
56:01
science
56:01
why don't
56:03
you keep
56:03
not that there's
56:03
anything wrong
56:04
with much
56:05
of the
56:06
science
56:06
but the
56:07
accusation of
56:08
those who
56:09
reject the
56:10
gospel and
56:10
reject living a
56:12
life of faith
56:12
why don't you
56:13
actually open
56:13
your mind
56:14
to reality
56:15
why don't
56:15
you give
56:16
your mind
56:16
why don't
56:16
you think
56:17
properly
56:17
why don't
56:18
you actually
56:18
give your
56:19
mind to
56:20
things other
56:21
than just
56:21
the
56:21
the
56:23
unlikelihood
56:24
of the
56:25
things that
56:26
are mentioned
56:26
in the
56:27
bible
56:27
the miraculous
56:28
the
56:29
supernatural
56:29
the
56:30
incarnation
56:31
the
56:32
resurrection
56:32
of christ
56:33
just
56:35
just put
56:35
that aside
56:36
and open
56:37
your mind
56:37
to the
56:38
other
56:38
possibilities
56:38
how do
56:40
you respond
56:40
to that
56:41
you respond
56:43
to it
56:43
in the
56:43
way that
56:44
hebrews 11
56:45
responds to
56:45
it in
56:45
chapter 11
56:46
verse 3
56:47
by faith
56:48
we
56:49
understand
56:50
it doesn't
56:52
say by
56:53
understanding
56:54
we come
56:54
to believe
56:55
it says by
56:56
faith
56:56
we understand
56:58
that the
56:58
world was
56:59
created by
57:00
the word
57:01
of god
57:01
it wasn't
57:04
by chance
57:05
it wasn't
57:06
through a
57:06
process of
57:07
evolution
57:07
it wasn't
57:08
from the
57:09
beginning of
57:10
a speck
57:10
in which
57:11
there was
57:11
a massive
57:12
amount
57:12
of power
57:13
which then
57:13
exploded
57:14
of its
57:15
own accord
57:16
god
57:17
created
57:18
the universe
57:19
god
57:20
created
57:20
all that
57:21
exists
57:21
and by
57:24
faith
57:25
we
57:26
understand
57:26
these
57:27
things
57:27
to be
57:28
so
57:28
faith
57:30
isn't
57:30
a leap
57:31
in the
57:32
dark
57:32
faith
57:34
isn't
57:34
just
57:34
launching
57:35
out
57:35
not
57:35
knowing
57:36
what
57:36
to
57:37
expect
57:37
or
57:37
where
57:37
you're
57:38
going
57:38
I
57:39
know
57:40
faith
57:40
is
57:40
running
57:41
a race
57:42
that's
57:42
been set
57:43
for us
57:43
by god
57:44
looking
57:45
unto
57:46
jesus
57:48
considering
57:49
jesus
57:51
studying
57:52
jesus
57:53
living
57:54
in fellowship
57:54
with jesus
57:55
praying
57:56
to jesus
57:57
speaking
57:58
to him
57:59
daily
57:59
trusting
58:00
in him
58:01
having
58:02
him as
58:02
your
58:02
friend
58:03
knowing
58:04
him as
58:05
your
58:05
companion
58:05
that's
58:07
what
58:07
faith
58:08
is
58:08
that's
58:09
the
58:09
kind
58:09
of
58:09
life
58:10
that
58:10
faith
58:10
sets
58:11
about
58:12
and
58:13
what
58:13
do
58:14
we
58:14
see
58:14
when
58:15
we
58:15
look
58:15
to
58:16
jesus
58:17
by
58:17
faith
58:18
well we
58:18
see
58:19
who
58:19
he
58:19
is
58:19
you
58:20
could
58:20
say
58:20
three
58:21
facts
58:21
i'm
58:21
going
58:21
to
58:21
just
58:22
finish
58:22
by
58:22
mentioning
58:22
them
58:23
i've
58:23
got
58:23
time
58:24
to
58:24
really
58:24
enlarge
58:25
on
58:25
them
58:25
but
58:26
what
58:27
do
58:27
we
58:27
see
58:27
when
58:28
we
58:28
look
58:28
to
58:29
jesus
58:29
when
58:30
we
58:30
look
58:30
at
58:30
himself
58:31
especially
58:31
when
58:32
we
58:32
consider
58:32
him
58:33
we'll
58:33
see
58:33
who
58:34
he
58:34
is
58:34
he
58:34
is
58:35
the
58:35
founder
58:35
and
58:35
perfecter
58:36
of
58:37
our
58:37
faith
58:38
he's
58:39
the
58:39
one
58:39
who
58:40
sets
58:40
it
58:40
the
58:41
one
58:41
who
58:41
finishes
58:41
it
58:42
he's
58:43
the
58:43
pioneer
58:43
the
58:44
word
58:44
is
58:44
as
58:45
he
58:45
went
58:45
out
58:45
in
58:45
chapter
58:46
2
58:46
verse
58:46
10
58:47
he's
58:47
the
58:47
pioneer
58:48
of
58:48
our
58:48
faith
58:48
he
58:50
went
58:50
out
58:50
and
58:50
opened
58:51
this
58:51
course
58:51
for
58:52
us
58:52
he
58:53
devised
58:54
this
58:54
course
58:54
he
58:55
set
58:55
this
58:55
course
58:56
and
58:57
he
58:57
did
58:57
it
58:57
at
58:57
the
58:57
cost
58:58
of
58:58
his
59:03
to
59:03
have
59:03
gone
59:03
into
59:04
this
59:04
course
59:05
and
59:06
we
59:06
follow
59:06
him
59:07
and
59:07
he's
59:08
the
59:08
finisher
59:08
he's
59:10
the
59:10
one
59:10
we
59:10
meet
59:10
at
59:10
the
59:11
end
59:11
of
59:11
the
59:11
course
59:11
he's
59:13
the
59:13
one
59:13
who
59:13
comes
59:13
to
59:14
us
59:14
and
59:14
says
59:14
either
59:15
well
59:15
done
59:16
good
59:16
and
59:16
faithful
59:16
friend
59:17
or
59:18
God
59:19
forbid
59:19
for
59:19
you
59:20
and
59:20
for
59:20
me
59:20
that
59:21
he
59:21
should
59:21
say
59:21
depart
59:22
from
59:22
me
59:22
I
59:22
never
59:22
knew
59:23
you
59:23
but
59:25
he's
59:25
the
59:25
author
59:25
and
59:25
finisher
59:26
he
59:26
is
59:26
the
59:26
beginning
59:27
and
59:27
the
59:33
of
59:33
our
59:33
faith
59:34
who
59:34
he
59:34
is
59:35
then
59:36
how
59:36
he
59:36
ran
59:36
his
59:37
race
59:37
who
59:38
for
59:38
the
59:38
joy
59:38
that
59:39
was
59:39
set
59:39
before
59:39
him
59:40
he
59:40
endured
59:41
the
59:41
cross
59:41
despising
59:42
the
59:42
shame
59:43
he
59:44
had
59:44
a
59:44
race
59:44
to
59:44
run
59:45
a
59:46
race
59:46
set
59:46
him
59:46
by
59:46
God
59:47
the
59:47
father
59:47
a
59:48
course
59:48
which
59:48
took
59:49
him
59:49
through
59:50
to
59:51
the
59:51
cross
59:51
of
59:52
Calvary
59:52
and
59:53
to
59:53
the
59:53
grave
59:54
followed
59:55
by
59:55
his
59:55
resurrection
59:56
from
59:56
the
59:56
dead
59:57
that
59:58
was
59:58
the
59:58
course
59:58
that
59:59
was
59:59
set
59:59
for
1:00:00
our
1:00:03
he
1:00:04
ran
1:00:04
that
1:00:05
race
1:00:05
and
1:00:06
for
1:00:06
the
1:00:06
joy
1:00:06
that
1:00:07
was
1:00:07
set
1:00:07
before
1:00:07
him
1:00:08
for
1:00:09
that
1:00:09
which
1:00:09
awaited
1:00:10
him
1:00:10
at
1:00:10
the
1:00:11
end
1:00:11
of
1:00:11
his
1:00:11
course
1:00:11
especially
1:00:12
that
1:00:13
doesn't
1:00:13
mean
1:00:13
there
1:00:14
was
1:00:14
no
1:00:14
joy
1:00:14
in
1:00:14
the
1:00:15
course
1:00:15
as
1:00:16
he
1:00:16
went
1:00:17
through
1:00:17
with
1:00:17
it
1:00:18
in
1:00:18
this
1:00:18
life
1:00:18
remember
1:00:20
he
1:00:21
psalm
1:00:23
40
1:00:23
mentions
1:00:25
words
1:00:26
that are
1:00:26
prophetic
1:00:26
of
1:00:27
Jesus
1:00:27
then
1:00:28
I
1:00:28
said
1:00:29
to
1:00:30
do
1:00:30
your
1:00:31
will
1:00:31
I
1:00:32
have
1:00:32
come
1:00:32
it's
1:00:33
written
1:00:33
of
1:00:33
me
1:00:33
in
1:00:33
the
1:00:34
scroll
1:00:34
I
1:00:35
have
1:00:35
come
1:00:35
to
1:00:35
do
1:00:35
your
1:00:36
will
1:00:36
oh
1:00:37
my
1:00:37
God
1:00:37
and
1:00:39
it's
1:00:39
mentioned
1:00:40
here
1:00:40
in
1:00:40
Hebrews
1:00:40
as well
1:00:41
as it's
1:00:42
quoted
1:00:42
in
1:00:42
Hebrews
1:00:43
in
1:00:43
chapter
1:00:43
10
1:00:44
and
1:00:44
verse
1:00:44
7
1:00:45
where
1:00:45
the
1:00:45
quotation
1:00:46
is
1:00:46
that
1:00:47
he
1:00:47
has
1:00:47
come
1:00:47
to
1:00:48
do
1:00:48
his
1:00:48
will
1:00:48
that
1:00:48
he's
1:00:49
taken
1:00:49
delight
1:00:49
in
1:00:50
doing
1:00:50
the
1:00:50
will
1:00:51
life
1:00:51
you
1:00:53
have
1:00:53
taken
1:00:53
no
1:00:53
pleasure
1:00:53
in
1:00:54
burnt
1:00:54
offerings
1:00:54
and
1:00:55
sin
1:00:55
offering
1:00:55
then
1:00:56
I
1:00:56
said
1:00:56
behold
1:00:56
I
1:01:02
the
1:01:32
we
1:01:32
can't
1:01:32
anyway
1:01:33
the
1:01:38
devil
1:01:38
did
1:01:38
his
1:01:38
utmost
1:01:39
to
1:01:41
deflect
1:01:41
him
1:01:42
to
1:01:44
make
1:01:44
him
1:01:44
leave
1:01:45
that
1:01:45
path
1:01:46
that
1:01:46
route
1:01:46
that
1:01:47
God
1:01:47
has
1:01:47
set
1:01:47
out
1:01:48
for
1:01:48
him
1:01:48
you
1:01:49
remember
1:01:50
in
1:01:50
the
1:01:50
temptations
1:01:51
I
1:01:52
know
1:01:52
the
1:01:52
time
1:01:52
is
1:01:52
gone
1:01:52
but
1:01:53
let
1:01:53
me
1:01:53
just
1:01:54
again
1:01:55
remind
1:01:55
you
1:01:55
of
1:01:55
this
1:01:55
when
1:01:56
the
1:01:56
devil
1:01:56
came
1:01:57
to
1:01:57
tempt
1:01:57
him
1:01:57
in
1:01:57
the
1:01:57
wilderness
1:01:58
he
1:01:58
was
1:01:58
tempted
1:01:59
for
1:01:59
these
1:01:59
40
1:02:00
days
1:02:00
or
1:02:01
fasting
1:02:01
for
1:02:02
these
1:02:02
days
1:02:02
at
1:02:02
the
1:02:03
end
1:02:03
of
1:02:03
which
1:02:03
the
1:02:04
temptations
1:02:04
came
1:02:05
with
1:02:05
all
1:02:05
the
1:02:05
power
1:02:06
that
1:02:06
Satan
1:02:07
could
1:02:07
muster
1:02:07
if
1:02:08
you
1:02:08
are
1:02:09
the
1:02:09
son
1:02:09
of
1:02:09
God
1:02:10
command
1:02:10
these
1:02:11
stones
1:02:11
to
1:02:11
be
1:02:11
made
1:02:12
bread
1:02:12
he
1:02:13
wasn't
1:02:13
suggesting
1:02:13
to
1:02:14
Jesus
1:02:14
that
1:02:15
he
1:02:15
wasn't
1:02:15
really
1:02:16
the
1:02:16
son
1:02:16
of
1:02:16
God
1:02:16
or
1:02:17
trying
1:02:17
to
1:02:17
get
1:02:18
him
1:02:18
to
1:02:18
believe
1:02:18
that
1:02:18
actually
1:02:19
he
1:02:19
wasn't
1:02:19
the
1:02:19
son
1:02:20
of
1:02:20
God
1:02:20
after
1:02:20
all
1:02:20
there
1:02:21
may
1:02:21
have
1:02:21
been
1:02:21
an
1:02:21
element
1:02:21
of
1:02:22
that
1:02:22
what
1:02:22
he
1:02:22
was
1:02:22
getting
1:02:23
at
1:02:23
especially
1:02:23
as
1:02:24
the
1:02:24
son
1:02:25
of
1:02:25
God
1:02:25
saying
1:02:26
you're
1:02:26
the
1:02:26
son
1:02:26
of
1:02:26
God
1:02:26
why
1:02:27
are
1:02:27
you
1:02:27
here
1:02:28
why
1:02:30
are
1:02:30
you
1:02:30
putting
1:02:30
yourself
1:02:30
willingly
1:02:31
through
1:02:31
all of
1:02:32
this
1:02:32
deprivation
1:02:33
through
1:02:33
all
1:02:33
of
1:02:33
this
1:02:33
suffering
1:02:34
why
1:02:34
don't
1:02:35
you
1:02:35
command
1:02:35
these
1:02:35
stones
1:02:36
that
1:02:36
they
1:02:36
be
1:02:36
made
1:02:37
bread
1:02:37
and
1:02:38
feed
1:02:38
yourself
1:02:38
and
1:02:38
finish
1:02:39
your
1:02:39
hunger
1:02:39
of
1:02:41
course
1:02:41
what
1:02:41
he
1:02:41
was
1:02:41
trying
1:02:42
to
1:02:42
do
1:02:42
was
1:02:42
to
1:02:43
get
1:02:43
Jesus
1:02:44
to
1:02:44
move
1:02:44
out
1:02:45
of
1:02:45
that
1:02:45
route
1:02:45
that
1:02:46
God
1:02:46
had
1:02:46
set
1:02:46
him
1:02:46
that
1:02:47
led
1:02:47
to
1:02:47
the
1:02:47
cross
1:02:47
the
1:02:48
root
1:02:48
of
1:02:48
suffering
1:02:48
and
1:02:49
shame
1:02:49
and
1:02:51
that's
1:02:51
why
1:02:51
he
1:02:51
came
1:02:51
to
1:02:51
him
1:02:52
in
1:02:53
the
1:02:53
third
1:02:53
of
1:02:53
the
1:02:53
temptations
1:02:54
to
1:02:54
say
1:02:54
showing
1:02:56
him
1:02:56
all
1:02:56
the
1:02:56
kingdoms
1:02:56
of
1:02:57
the
1:02:57
world
1:02:57
all
1:02:58
of
1:02:58
these
1:02:59
I
1:02:59
will
1:02:59
give
1:02:59
you
1:02:59
and
1:03:00
the
1:03:00
glory
1:03:00
of
1:03:00
them
1:03:00
if
1:03:01
you
1:03:01
will
1:03:02
fall
1:03:02
down
1:03:02
and
1:03:03
worship
1:03:03
me
1:03:03
what
1:03:05
was
1:03:05
that
1:03:05
saying
1:03:06
to
1:03:06
Jesus
1:03:06
it
1:03:08
was
1:03:08
the
1:03:08
devil
1:03:08
saying
1:03:08
to
1:03:09
him
1:03:09
look
1:03:09
you
1:03:09
don't
1:03:10
have
1:03:16
yourself
1:03:17
over
1:03:17
to
1:03:17
that
1:03:18
death
1:03:18
that
1:03:18
awaits
1:03:19
you
1:03:19
at
1:03:19
Calvary
1:03:20
I
1:03:20
can
1:03:20
give
1:03:21
you
1:03:21
all
1:03:21
the
1:03:21
glory
1:03:22
of
1:03:22
these
1:03:22
kingdoms
1:03:22
and
1:03:23
all
1:03:23
you
1:03:23
have
1:03:23
to
1:03:23
do
1:03:24
is
1:03:24
go
1:03:24
on
1:03:24
your
1:03:24
knees
1:03:24
and
1:03:25
worship
1:03:25
me
1:03:26
many
1:03:29
people
1:03:29
have
1:03:29
gone
1:03:29
to
1:03:30
a
1:03:30
lost
1:03:30
eternity
1:03:31
on
1:03:32
the
1:03:32
basis
1:03:32
of
1:03:33
that
1:03:33
lie
1:03:33
don't
1:03:37
you
1:03:37
be
1:03:37
one
1:03:37
of
1:03:38
them
1:03:38
that's
1:03:40
what
1:03:40
he
1:03:41
will
1:03:41
suggest
1:03:41
to
1:03:41
you
1:03:42
you
1:03:43
can
1:03:43
have
1:03:44
it
1:03:44
just
1:03:44
as
1:03:44
good
1:03:44
without
1:03:45
living
1:03:45
a
1:03:46
full
1:03:46
Christian
1:03:46
life
1:03:47
you
1:03:49
don't
1:03:49
need
1:03:50
to
1:03:50
actually
1:03:50
have
1:03:50
sufferings
1:03:51
in the
1:03:51
way
1:03:52
the
1:03:52
Bible
1:03:52
describes
1:03:53
the
1:03:53
sufferings
1:03:53
as
1:03:54
meaningful
1:03:54
in a
1:03:55
human
1:03:55
life
1:03:56
let
1:03:59
us
1:03:59
run
1:04:00
with
1:04:00
endurance
1:04:01
looking
1:04:02
unto
1:04:03
Jesus
1:04:03
who
1:04:05
for
1:04:06
the
1:04:06
joy
1:04:06
that
1:04:07
was
1:04:07
set
1:04:07
before
1:04:07
him
1:04:08
endured
1:04:08
the
1:04:09
cross
1:04:09
despising
1:04:11
the
1:04:11
shame
1:04:12
and
1:04:13
is
1:04:13
set
1:04:13
down
1:04:14
at
1:04:14
the
1:04:15
right
1:04:15
hand
1:04:15
of
1:04:15
the
1:04:15
throne
1:04:16
of
1:04:17
God
1:04:17
these
1:04:20
Hebrews
1:04:20
were
1:04:21
faltering
1:04:21
they
1:04:23
were
1:04:23
beginning
1:04:24
to
1:04:24
slacken
1:04:25
they
1:04:25
were
1:04:25
giving
1:04:25
over
1:04:25
to
1:04:26
doubts
1:04:26
they
1:04:28
were
1:04:28
thinking
1:04:28
maybe
1:04:29
this
1:04:29
Christian
1:04:29
life
1:04:30
isn't
1:04:30
such a
1:04:30
good
1:04:30
thing
1:04:30
after
1:04:31
all
1:04:31
how
1:04:33
does
1:04:33
the
1:04:33
writer
1:04:34
address
1:04:34
that
1:04:35
well
1:04:36
in
1:04:37
different
1:04:37
ways
1:04:37
but
1:04:39
in
1:04:39
this
1:04:39
particular
1:04:39
passage
1:04:40
he
1:04:40
addresses
1:04:41
it
1:04:41
by
1:04:41
drawing
1:04:42
their
1:04:42
minds
1:04:43
to
1:04:43
the
1:04:43
Saviour
1:04:44
himself
1:04:44
and
1:04:46
when
1:04:47
you
1:04:47
feel
1:04:47
like
1:04:47
giving
1:04:47
up
1:04:48
or
1:04:49
even
1:04:49
if
1:04:50
you
1:04:50
feel
1:04:50
that
1:04:50
you're
1:04:50
drawing
1:04:51
near
1:04:51
to
1:04:52
that
1:04:52
stage
1:04:52
if
1:04:53
not
1:04:53
quite
1:04:53
there
1:04:53
go to
1:04:58
Jesus
1:04:58
think
1:05:01
of
1:05:01
Jesus
1:05:02
study
1:05:03
Jesus
1:05:04
consider
1:05:05
him
1:05:06
let
1:05:07
your
1:05:07
mind
1:05:08
dwell
1:05:08
on
1:05:08
him
1:05:09
and
1:05:09
ask
1:05:09
yourself
1:05:10
am
1:05:12
I
1:05:12
going
1:05:12
to
1:05:13
give
1:05:13
up
1:05:13
when
1:05:16
I
1:05:16
know
1:05:16
what
1:05:16
he
1:05:17
went
1:05:17
through
1:05:17
am
1:05:20
I
1:05:20
going
1:05:20
to
1:05:20
step
1:05:20
out
1:05:21
of
1:05:21
my
1:05:21
lane
1:05:21
when
1:05:23
I
1:05:23
know
1:05:23
he
1:05:24
didn't
1:05:24
do
1:05:24
such
1:05:24
a
1:05:24
thing
1:05:25
even
1:05:27
though
1:05:27
the
1:05:27
suffering
1:05:27
for
1:05:28
him
1:05:28
was
1:05:29
much
1:05:30
greater
1:05:30
than
1:05:30
mine
1:05:30
will
1:05:31
ever
1:05:31
be
1:05:31
laying
1:05:34
aside
1:05:35
and
1:05:36
looking
1:05:37
forward
1:05:37
and
1:05:39
as
1:05:39
we
1:05:39
enter
1:05:39
into
1:05:40
this
1:05:40
new
1:05:40
year
1:05:40
God
1:05:41
willing
1:05:41
in
1:05:41
a
1:05:41
few
1:05:41
hours
1:05:42
may
1:05:43
that
1:05:44
be
1:05:44
our
1:05:44
mindset
1:05:45
may
1:05:46
that
1:05:47
be
1:05:47
how
1:05:47
we
1:05:47
approach
1:05:48
a
1:05:48
new
1:05:48
year
1:05:48
that
1:05:50
we
1:05:50
lay
1:05:51
aside
1:05:51
every
1:05:51
hindrance
1:05:52
to
1:05:52
running
1:05:53
the
1:05:53
Christian
1:05:54
life
1:05:54
and
1:05:56
that
1:05:56
we
1:05:56
also
1:05:56
keep
1:05:57
looking
1:05:57
to
1:05:57
Jesus
1:05:58
that
1:05:58
especially
1:05:59
we
1:05:59
keep
1:05:59
looking
1:06:00
to
1:06:01
Jesus
1:06:01
the
1:06:03
author
1:06:04
and
1:06:04
finisher
1:06:05
the
1:06:05
founder
1:06:06
and
1:06:07
perfecter
1:06:07
of
1:06:08
our
1:06:08
faith
1:06:09
let me
1:06:12
say a
1:06:12
word to
1:06:12
anyone
1:06:12
who's
1:06:13
not
1:06:13
yet
1:06:13
in
1:06:13
this
1:06:13
race
1:06:14
I've
1:06:18
been
1:06:18
in a
1:06:18
way
1:06:18
assuming
1:06:19
that
1:06:19
everyone
1:06:20
here
1:06:20
is
1:06:21
taking
1:06:21
part
1:06:21
in
1:06:21
this
1:06:23
Christian
1:06:23
marathon
1:06:24
race
1:06:24
but
1:06:25
maybe
1:06:26
you're
1:06:26
not
1:06:26
on
1:06:26
the
1:06:26
route
1:06:27
yet
1:06:27
maybe
1:06:29
you
1:06:29
know
1:06:29
about
1:06:29
it
1:06:29
maybe
1:06:31
you've
1:06:31
heard
1:06:31
much
1:06:32
about
1:06:32
it
1:06:32
maybe
1:06:33
you know
1:06:34
many of
1:06:34
its
1:06:34
features
1:06:35
maybe
1:06:36
you
1:06:37
learned
1:06:37
about
1:06:37
it
1:06:37
since
1:06:37
you
1:06:37
were
1:06:37
a
1:06:38
child
1:06:38
but
1:06:40
are
1:06:40
you
1:06:40
running
1:06:40
it
1:06:41
are
1:06:42
you
1:06:43
in
1:06:43
it
1:06:43
have
1:06:45
you
1:06:45
accepted
1:06:46
him
1:06:46
have
1:06:48
you
1:06:48
come
1:06:48
to
1:06:48
him
1:06:48
with
1:06:48
your
1:06:49
sins
1:06:49
have
1:06:51
you
1:06:51
realized
1:06:51
your
1:06:52
deep
1:06:52
need
1:06:52
of
1:06:53
having
1:06:53
Jesus
1:06:54
as
1:06:54
your
1:06:54
savior
1:06:55
and
1:06:56
turning
1:06:56
to
1:06:56
him
1:06:57
and
1:06:57
accepting
1:06:57
him
1:06:58
as
1:06:58
he's
1:06:59
offered
1:06:59
to
1:06:59
you
1:06:59
freely
1:07:00
in
1:07:00
the
1:07:00
gospel
1:07:00
are
1:07:02
you
1:07:03
really
1:07:03
meaningfully
1:07:03
in
1:07:04
this
1:07:04
Christian
1:07:05
race
1:07:05
well
1:07:07
if
1:07:07
not
1:07:07
friend
1:07:08
why
1:07:09
should
1:07:10
you
1:07:10
enter
1:07:10
another
1:07:11
year
1:07:11
and
1:07:13
still
1:07:13
be
1:07:13
unsaved
1:07:14
why
1:07:17
there's
1:07:19
no logic
1:07:20
to that
1:07:20
is there
1:07:21
the only
1:07:23
logic
1:07:23
there is
1:07:23
to that
1:07:24
is the
1:07:24
illogicalness
1:07:26
of our
1:07:27
own
1:07:27
sinful
1:07:28
thinking
1:07:28
that we
1:07:30
can manage
1:07:30
without
1:07:31
him
1:07:31
we
1:07:33
can't
1:07:34
and
1:07:35
because
1:07:36
we
1:07:36
can't
1:07:36
let's
1:07:37
give
1:07:38
over
1:07:38
our
1:07:38
life
1:07:39
to
1:07:40
him
1:07:40
as
1:07:41
the
1:07:41
founder
1:07:42
and
1:07:42
perfecter
1:07:43
of
1:07:44
our
1:07:44
faith
1:07:45
let's
1:07:45
pray
1:07:45
eternal
1:07:48
God
1:07:49
we
1:07:49
do
1:07:49
give
1:07:50
thanks
1:07:50
for
1:07:52
every
1:07:52
way
1:07:52
in
1:07:52
which
1:07:52
your
1:07:53
word
1:07:53
directs
1:07:53
us
1:07:54
to
1:07:54
yourself
1:07:54
and
1:07:56
as
1:07:56
we
1:07:56
do
1:07:56
so
1:07:56
Lord
1:07:57
we
1:07:57
come
1:07:57
to
1:07:57
be
1:07:58
conscious
1:07:58
more
1:07:58
and
1:07:59
more
1:07:59
of
1:07:59
our
1:07:59
need
1:07:59
of
1:07:59
you
1:08:00
more
1:08:01
and
1:08:01
more
1:08:01
of
1:08:01
the
1:08:02
need
1:08:02
we
1:08:02
have
1:08:02
of
1:08:02
your
1:08:02
grace
1:08:03
to
1:08:03
run
1:08:03
throughout
1:08:04
the
1:08:04
course
1:08:04
of
1:08:04
our
1:08:05
life
1:08:05
and
1:08:06
we
1:08:06
pray
1:08:07
oh
1:08:07
Lord
1:08:07
that
1:08:07
you
1:08:07
would
1:08:08
enable
1:08:08
us
1:08:08
to
1:08:09
run
1:08:09
this
1:08:09
race
1:08:10
of
1:08:10
faith
1:08:10
to
1:08:10
do
1:08:11
so
1:08:11
perseveringly
1:08:12
to
1:08:13
do
1:08:13
so
1:08:13
believing
1:08:14
in
1:08:14
Jesus
1:08:14
and
1:08:15
looking
1:08:15
to
1:08:15
him
1:08:15
and
1:08:17
to
1:08:17
do
1:08:17
so
1:08:17
Lord
1:08:17
as
1:08:17
we
1:08:18
come
1:08:18
to
1:08:18
end
1:08:19
one
1:08:19
year
1:08:19
and
1:08:19
enter
1:08:20
another
1:08:20
with
1:08:21
a
1:08:21
greater
1:08:21
resolve
1:08:22
to
1:08:23
be
1:08:23
faithful
1:08:24
to
1:08:24
the
1:08:24
one
1:08:24
who
1:08:24
calls
1:08:25
us
1:08:25
bless
1:08:26
any
1:08:27
here
1:08:27
oh
1:08:27
Lord
1:08:27
who
1:08:28
are
1:08:28
not
1:08:29
yet
1:08:29
meaningfully
1:08:29
running
1:08:30
this
1:08:30
race
1:08:30
for
1:08:30
themselves
1:08:31
we
1:08:32
thank
1:08:32
you
1:08:32
that
1:08:33
they
1:08:33
are
1:08:33
here
1:08:33
we
1:08:34
thank
1:08:34
you
1:08:34
that
1:08:34
they
1:08:35
are
1:08:35
under
1:08:35
the
1:08:35
gospel
1:08:35
we
1:08:36
thank
1:08:37
you
1:08:37
that
1:08:37
they
1:08:37
know
1:08:37
of
1:08:38
the
1:08:38
way
1:08:38
that
1:08:39
that
1:08:39
route
1:08:39
is
1:08:39
set
1:08:39
out
1:08:40
in
1:08:41
your
1:08:41
own
1:08:41
word
1:08:41
bless
1:08:43
them
1:08:43
we
1:08:43
pray
1:08:43
draw
1:08:44
them
1:08:44
into
1:08:45
your
1:08:45
kingdom
1:08:45
be
1:08:46
merciful
1:08:47
to
1:08:47
them
1:08:47
and
1:08:48
in
1:08:48
all
1:08:48
of
1:08:49
these
1:08:49
things
1:08:49
glorify
1:08:50
your
1:08:50
great
1:08:50
name
1:08:50
for
1:08:51
Jesus
1:08:51
sake
1:08:52
Amen
1:08:52
let's
1:08:56
conclude
1:08:56
now this
1:08:57
evening
1:08:57
singing
1:08:57
in
1:08:57
Psalm
1:08:58
84
1:08:58
and
1:09:02
we're
1:09:02
singing
1:09:02
from
1:09:02
the
1:09:03
sing
1:09:03
psalms
1:09:04
version
1:09:04
that's
1:09:04
page
1:09:05
112
1:09:06
we'll
1:09:09
sing
1:09:09
verses
1:09:09
1 to
1:09:10
7
1:09:10
verses
1:09:13
that
1:09:13
speak
1:09:13
verses
1:09:13
5 to
1:09:14
7
1:09:14
especially
1:09:15
of
1:09:15
the
1:09:16
strength
1:09:16
that
1:09:16
God
1:09:16
gives
1:09:17
to
1:09:17
his
1:09:17
people
1:09:17
to
1:09:18
run
1:09:18
or
1:09:19
to
1:09:19
continue
1:09:20
in
1:09:20
the
1:09:20
way
1:09:21
that
1:09:21
they
1:09:21
are
1:09:21
going
1:09:22
onwards
1:09:23
towards
1:09:23
God
1:09:24
in
1:09:24
Zion
1:09:24
how
1:09:24
delightful
1:09:25
are
1:09:25
your
1:09:25
dwellings
1:09:26
O
1:09:26
almighty
1:09:27
Lord
1:09:27
to
1:09:27
me
1:09:28
for
1:09:28
your
1:09:28
courts
1:09:29
my
1:09:29
soul
1:09:30
is
1:09:30
yearning
1:09:30
in
1:09:31
your
1:09:31
house
1:09:31
I
1:09:32
long
1:09:32
to
1:09:32
be
1:09:32
heart
1:09:33
and
1:09:33
flesh
1:09:33
cry
1:09:34
out
1:09:34
aloud
1:09:35
for
1:09:35
the
1:09:35
true
1:09:36
and
1:09:36
living
1:09:37
God
1:09:37
singing
1:09:37
to
1:09:37
the
1:09:37
tune
1:09:38
Ottawa
1:09:38
these
1:09:39
verses
1:09:39
Russ
1:09:41
How delightful are your queries, O almighty are to thee.
1:09:59
On your course my soul is journeying, In your house I long to thee.
1:10:14
Heart and flesh my love, O'er the true and living God.
1:10:30
Even swallows find their dwelling, And the swallows find their dwelling,
1:10:45
Hear your altar, Lord Almighty, Where thy offspring may harvest.
1:11:00
Bless those who are born, They are ever praising God.
1:11:17
Bless thy, those who stand this in you, Those who have a children's mind.
1:11:32
Those of autumn rains we crash there, Swings in make us hail divine.
1:11:46
Strength and pleasing, Sigh on fire, They go on their way to God.
1:12:03
I'll go to the door to my left this evening after the benediction.
1:12:09
Now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, The love of God the Father,
1:12:13
And the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you, Now and evermore. Amen.
1:12:18
Amen.
1:12:24
Amen.
1:12:29
.
1:12:33
.
1:12:33
.
1:12:35
.
1:12:36
.