Faith's Patience (Hebrews #46) - Bible Baptist Church

Text: hebrews 12:1-4

Testimony of previous winners

…so great a cloud of witnesses…
Faith is not about you getting what you want. “Well, you just gotta have faith.” Faith is about getting what God wants. Faith is not about getting what I want like rubbing a magic lamp. Faith is about people getting in line with what God wants.

…let us lay aside every weight…
The race will be impossible if you carry more than God wants you to carry.
Like Moses who could’ve been Pharaoh, king of Egypt. Moses could’ve said just imagine what I can do for God when I become Pharaoh. Reality was he couldn’t do anything for God as the king of Egypt. Like people who stopped sitting under preaching, who stopped being a part of a church family so they could pursue a bigger bank account with that reasoning, just imagine what I’ll be able to do for God. You aren’t going to do anything for God. You aren’t doing anything for God now and you won’t in the future. They say, God has put me in this position so I can do bigger and better things for God. No, you’re faith has hit a brick wall that your pursuit of bigger and better things has built. You abandoned what God wanted to do with you. They say God’s given me this opportunity so I can do bigger things for God. No the devil gave you this opportunity so you can fully check out on God’s will and God’s work.
You think you’re going to leave the race and buy your way back into it later down the line?
Faith is not a means to get what others have. Faith is a means to not need what others have.
Build on your faith, not burden your faith. So without faith you can’t progress. You know why you don’t speak up for the Lord? No faith. You know why prayer isn’t important to you? No faith. You know why preaching is not important to you? No faith.

…and the sin which doth so easily beset us…
So easily, boy isn’t that a good description of sin. Sin comes easy. It’s the easy way out of the race.

…and run with patience the race that is set before us.
In it for the long haul.
Can you imagine in the middle of the race you stop and say you don’t need to run anymore because way back at the beginning you had a good start. That’s a Christian that says they were a part of some big things earlier in their life. And based on the past they don’t need to go on with any intensity with any discipline.

…looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.
Look to Jesus who himself looked unto the finish line.
This is not an eternal security verse though it is often used that way. This is not a verse that says Jesus is the author and finisher of your faith while you be disobedient and live your own life thinking he’ll get you through. This is how you faithfully live this life with Jesus Christ as the model of someone who endured suffering and despised the social stigma of obedience to God.
…lest ye be wearied in your minds.
Mentally give up before you physically give up.