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Turn in your Bibles, please, 
to Hebrews 11. Hebrews chapter 11. I planned on preaching something 
else midweek, but then a brother brought up one of my favorite 
verses and on Wednesday night, so I thought I'd shift gears 
and preach, preach from that you will be getting from the 
pulpits of this morning, another sermon from Pastor Cam about 
Jesus Christ. So I hope everybody will be OK 
with that. But there's much to discuss in 
this verse that we'll get to. It's a verse in Hebrews 12, Hebrews 
12, verse two and three. We're going to look at this morning 
and Lord willing, this evening also. But we're going to start 
reading in Hebrews 11, chapter 30 or sorry, Hebrews chapter 
11, verse 30. As we move to the text of focus 
this morning, just to set something of the context, the close context 
for the verse we're going to be looking at. So this is Hebrews 
11, beginning at verse 30. By faith, the walls of Jericho 
fell down after they were encircled for seven days. By faith, the 
harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when 
she had received the spies with peace. And what more shall I 
say? For the time would fail me to 
tell of Gideon and Barak and Samson and Jephthah, also of 
David and Samuel and the prophets, who through faith subdued kingdoms, 
worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths 
of lions, quenched the violence of fire, escaped the edge of 
the sword, out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in 
battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received 
their dead raised to life again. Others were tortured, not accepting 
deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. 
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains 
and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn 
in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword. They wandered 
about in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, 
of whom the world was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and 
mountains, in dens and caves of the earth. And all these, 
having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive 
the promise, God having provided something better for us, that 
they should not be made perfect apart from us. Therefore, we 
also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, 
let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares 
us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. 
Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who 
for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising 
the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne 
of God. For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners 
against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your 
souls. Amen. Well, let us pray. God, 
we thank you now that we can engage in this act of worship 
the preaching of the word. We do pray that you would help 
preacher to expound and to speak rightly by your spirit. And also, 
Lord God, that that same spirit would work by and with your word 
to affect change in this in this congregation, that saints again 
would be girded up that they would be encouraged by the word, 
all the more strengthened and instructed. And Lord God, by 
that self-same spirit, sinners would be saved to the praise 
of your glorious grace. And it's in Christ's name that 
we pray. Amen. Well, just again, so that you 
can hear it again, because it's good to understand what books 
are about, what the theme of a book is. One man has described 
the theme of Hebrews This way, the superiority of Christianity 
over Judaism, the passing away of the old covenant order and 
the establishment of the new covenant order. Now, that is 
a fine and simple and general definition or explanation of 
the theme of the book of Hebrews. But a more a better one, I find, 
that brings out the aspect of Hebrews being crystal centric 
in its thrust and in its force is this quote from A.W. Pink on the theme of the book 
of Hebrews. Again, just to set the stage 
and to understand what the book is about. Hebrews is about to 
introduce the quote, the super abounding excellence of Christianity 
over Judaism, the sum and substance, the center and circumference, 
the light and life of Christianity is Christ. Therefore, the method, 
the method followed by the Holy Spirit in this epistle in developing 
its dominant theme is to show the immeasurable superiority 
of Christ over all that had gone before. One by one, the various 
objects in which the Jews boasted are taken up, and in the presence 
of the superlative glory of the Son of God, they fail into utter 
insignificance. We are shown first his superiority 
over the angels, second, his superiority over Moses, fourth, 
his superiority over Joshua, Fifth, his superiority over Aaron. Sixth, his superiority over the 
whole ritual of Judaism, which is developed by showing the surpassing 
excellency of the new covenant over the old. And seventh, his 
superiority over each and all of the Old Testament saints in 
chapter 11, 1 to 12, 3. In the Lord Jesus, Christians 
have the substance and reality of which Judaism contained but 
the shadows and figures." And I think this sentence, brethren, 
brings out Hebrews greatly. One by one, the various objects 
in which the Jews boasted are taken up, and in the presence 
of the superlative glory of the Son of God, they pale into utter 
insignificance. And this meaning of the book 
of Hebrews will come up when we focus on what it means to 
look unto Jesus. Some of the details in the immediate 
context contemporary to the audience will come out. And that quote 
by Pink ought to be in the back of our minds, the superlative 
glory of the Son of God over the articles of Old Covenant 
religion. Well, we're going to look at 
Hebrews 12, 2 and 3 again, morning and evening. Hebrews 12 to we 
find this language looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher 
of our faith. And we need to note here in the 
context what's going on in Hebrews 11. The author is setting forth 
these great heroes of faith. He's setting them forth, I think, 
in a way that Pink identified here, setting them forth to then 
bring out the superlative glory of Jesus Christ. He's better 
than the angels. He's better than the old than 
the Old Covenant implements of religion, and he's better than 
the Old Testament saints. He's not setting them, the author 
isn't setting them against Old Covenant religion, the articles 
of it and the saints as if they are bad and worthless, but rather 
that all of these pointed to the superior Christ. All of these 
were of a designed inferiority pointing forward to the superior 
one who would come in the fullness of the times born of a woman 
born under the law to perfectly redeem guilty sinners. But these 
examples of Old Testament saints are also brought forth in order 
to show the recipients of the letter of Hebrews examples of 
endurance. Those who look to Jesus Christ 
before he had even come. These were looking forward in 
an anticipatory manner. Jesus had not yet come. The gospel 
promises had not yet arrived in time in history, and yet these 
marched along in their Christian faith. Now, the point being is, 
is that if these Old Testament states looking afar off could 
march with strength of faith. How much more ought you, Jesus, 
now having come, accomplished, revealed, and borne witness to 
the glories of his sacrificial work? How much more ought not 
you to endure in the faith? And that is the exhortation that's 
given in Hebrews 12 at verse 1. Notice. Therefore, we also, 
since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let 
us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares 
us And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. So the exhortation comes, let 
us endure, just like these Old Testament saints looking far 
off at Christ. Those of us now near, having 
come out this side of the accomplished work of Jesus, let us run the 
race, let us endure, let us march steadfast. for the cause of God 
and truth. And then we come to verse two, 
and this is the means by which or the disposition by which the 
saints are to run, by which the saints are to endure, by which 
the saints are to cast off weights and the sin which ensnares. They 
are to do this by looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher 
of their faith. You see, they don't engage or 
they don't engage in the battle against sin by looking unto anything 
else, save for the living, dying, rising again, savior of man. 
That is what they are to look unto as they fight the worldly 
battles that surround them, as they seek to endure. marching 
in the Christian faith. Now, I want to look at three 
things under this particular portion of the text, looking 
unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. And the 
first thing that I want to look at is the means of our gazing, 
the second, the direction of our gazing, and thirdly, the 
object of our gazing. So firstly, the means of our 
gazing. What does it mean to look unto 
Jesus? Well, this is a simple explanation 
of looking is what we're probably familiar with, looking with physical 
and literal eyes upon a physical and literal object. The preacher 
looked up at the balcony and saw people looking back at him. 
There is that definition of looking unto someone or something. And 
with this meaning, we have this in our Bibles. People who looked 
unto Jesus in this manner, Joshua and Joshua five cast his eyes 
upon that sword wielding son of God, that captain of the host 
of the Lord. And he took off his sandals because 
of his holiness. Isaiah six, you're well familiar 
with Isaiah cast his eyes upon the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord 
of hosts. And he saw the train of his rope 
filling the temple, the Lord Christ high and lifted up. We 
see John using those words in his gospel that regarding he 
and his fellow disciples, that we beheld his glory as of the 
only begotten of the father. full of grace and truth. Peter 
uses similar language in his epistle that we we did not declare 
to you or we did not believe cunningly devised fables when 
we made known to you the power and the majesty or the power 
and the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. But we're eyewitnesses 
of his majesty. And of course, we could look 
at Thomas. We could look at Stephen. Stephen saw the heavens open 
and the son of God standing at his right hand. People physically 
laid their eyes upon Jesus Christ and beheld his glory. That's 
not what the author here is wanting us to understand, or that's not 
the looking that the author here is trying to engage us in. Our looking is a different type 
of looking. The looking that we engage in 
is looking with eyes of faith. We engage our minds. We think, 
we contemplate, we meditate, we consider. We're not this side 
of the resurrected and ascended Lord to march into a papist temple 
or a Christian bookstore to buy figurines and images of the Lord 
Jesus Christ to cast our eyes upon. We're not to to engage 
in vain imaginings of what Jesus Christ looked like. We're not 
to cast our eyes upon symbolic representations or pictures that 
we make of the Lord Jesus Christ. We are to look with eyes of faith 
upon the Lamb of God who took away the sins of the world and 
contemplate his riches, his excellencies and his majesty. Just to see 
this definition in the Bible of what faith is, you can turn 
to Ephesians for a moment. that this looking that the author 
of Hebrews is talking about is not a physical gazing, but a 
faith looking, a faith gazing, a by faith meditation dwelling 
upon contemplation. Ephesians 1 and verse 15. Ephesians 
1 and verse 15. Therefore, I also, after I heard 
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 
do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in 
my prayers. that the God of our Lord Jesus 
Christ, the father of glory, may give to you the spirit of 
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him. Now notice 
verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened that you may 
know what is the hope of his calling. What are the riches 
of the glory of his inheritance in the saints and what is the 
exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe that or 
that the eyes of your understanding might be enlightened. That is, 
that looking that Paul is calling us unto. Jesus Christ has this 
in mind, or the thrust of Christ's words to Nicodemus bear out this 
meaning in John chapter 3. In John, chapter three, there 
is an analogous comparison between physical looking and spiritual 
looking or faith looking. John, chapter three, says Jesus 
dealing with Nicodemus, verse 13. No one has ascended. This 
is John 3, 13. No one has ascended to heaven, but he who came down 
from heaven, that is the son of man who is in heaven. And 
as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must 
the son of man be lifted up that whoever believes in him should 
not perish, but have eternal life. You see this comparison, 
the physical to the spiritual. In the wilderness, the Israelites 
physically gazed upon the raised serpent and received healing. Spiritually, with regards to 
Jesus Christ and saving faith, we don't physically look upon 
Jesus with eyes of faith and eyes of understanding open. We 
look upon Jesus Christ in belief and we are saved. So looking 
unto Jesus Christ and again, this brings to the fore the understanding 
of what faith is, is that faith is the using of our minds. Faith 
demands the using of our minds. When we ask you to exercise your 
faith, we're not calling upon you to come in and to check your 
brain at the door. The Bible everywhere argues for 
the functional and proper use of the mind. Come, let us reason 
together. Be transformed by the renewing 
of your mind. No longer walk as the rest of 
the Gentiles walk in the futility of their mind. So faith demands 
the right exercise, the right use of the faculties of thinking 
and reason, the right use of the mind in order to contemplate 
the glories and the riches of Jesus Christ. Now, going back 
to the book of Hebrews again, the direction now, the direction 
of our gazing, the direction of our faith is Christ's word. And it is Christ's word only. 
We're going to consider, though, the context that the audience 
of Hebrews found themselves in and why this this. command or 
this exhortation to look unto Jesus has more of a meaning than 
simply looking unto Jesus. Not to say that simply looking 
unto Jesus is a way to describe it. But the context of Hebrews 
is that they found themselves as Jewish Christians being persecuted 
by those who were Jewish unbelievers. There were great pressure or 
there was great pressure and there were great temptations 
to return back to temple worship, to return back to the temple, 
the priests, with all of the multitudinous sacrifices and 
ceremonies. In fact, historically, we know 
that these Christians were pressured to the point. In fact, we looked 
at that in the book of Luke. And when we read from Luke 21, 
you will be hated by your families and your brothers. and you'll 
be hated by your family because you believe in the Lord Jesus 
Christ and your Jewish compatriots are not believers, you will be 
dead to them. They will hate you. They will 
despise you. They will think of you as dead and cast you off 
from community, from synagogue and from temple religion. And 
so the exhortation of Paul here gains so much strength. Look 
unto Jesus. The temple is still standing 
in all of its so-called splendor and its glory. It is still there. The priests. And their vestments 
are there. The glorious various accoutrements 
and instruments of the temple are there, shiny and fresh. But 
you're not to look at that. You're to look at Jesus Christ. And we see this in here, and 
we need to understand this, that Paul, in the back of his mind 
here, is seeking to set aside all of those articles of old 
covenant religion. He holds them up one by one and 
he shoots them down one by one, not in their inherent evil or 
anything like that, but because Christ has now fulfilled that. 
Christ has now come and put all those things aside in his fulfillment, 
in his completion and in his perfection. But we see the temple 
is beautiful according to the account of the Bible. We read 
that in Luke chapter 21. There was great temptation in 
the temple because of its history, because of its splendor, because 
of its physical glory. We read this in Luke 21 at verse 
five. Then, as some spoke of the temple, 
how it was adorned with beautiful stones and donations. The temple was not just it was 
not just this fabrication, this ugly monstrosity of architecture. 
It was a marvel of architecture. In fact, this is Josephus speaking 
simply of the temple gates, Josephus speaking just of the temple gates. 
Now, nine of these gates were on every side covered over with 
gold and silver, as were the jams of the doors and their lintels. 
But there was one gate that was without the inward court of the 
Holy House, which was of Corinthian brass and greatly excelled those 
that were only covered over with silver and gold. Each gate had 
two doors whose height was severally 30 cubits and their breadth 15. However, they had large spaces 
with within of 30 cubits and had on each side rooms, and those 
both in breadth and length, built like towers, and their height 
was above 40 cubits. Two pillars did also support 
these rooms and were in circumference 12 cubits. Now the magnitudes 
of the other gates were equal one to another. But that over 
the Corinthian gate, which opened on the east over against the 
gate of the Holy House itself was much larger for its height 
was 50 cubits and its doors were 40 cubits. And it was adorned 
after a most costly manner as having much richer and thicker 
plates of silver and gold upon them than the other. And you're 
telling us Christians that were to look away from that and look 
upon a bloody Jesus. Yes, that's what we're saying. 
You see, the marvel of the temple to eyes unbelieving was much 
greater than this bloodied Messiah who died upon a Roman cross. 
Paul is exhorting them as Christians saved by grace through faith 
that they are to look away from those old compliments, old implements 
of old covenant religion over those things that are now worthless. 
And they're to cast their eyes upon Jesus Christ. The true completion, 
the true perfection, the true finisher of that old covenant 
religion. And, you know, we need to we 
can't traffic and I really believe that we can't understand, of 
course, since we're not Jewish Christians, we're not in the 
first century prior to the destruction of the temple. What the pressure 
was like for these who had mother, father, brother, sister, uncle 
and cousin. Counting them as dead and saying, 
putting them under pressure to return to temple religion. Paul 
is saying, no, steadfast, remain steadfast, endure, run the race, 
because the prize of Jesus Christ, to which all these pointed, are 
so much greater. Look unto Jesus, look away from 
these earthly and now retired implements and look upon the 
one who came to redeem you. If we look at, turn to Exodus 
28 for a moment. Exodus 28. When we think about 
who they are to look on to and what and who they are to look 
away from. Exodus 28, beginning at verse 
one, now take Aaron, your brother and his sons with him from among 
the children of Israel, that he may minister to me as priest 
Aaron and Aaron's sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar and Ithamar. And you shall make holy garments 
for Aaron, your brother, for glory and for beauty. So you 
shall speak to all who are gifted artisans, whom I have filled 
with the spirit of wisdom, that they may make Aaron's garments 
to consecrate him, that he may minister to me as a priest. And 
these are the garments which they shall make, a breastplate, 
an ephod, a robe, a skillfully woven tunic, a turban, and a 
sash. So they shall make holy garments 
for Aaron, your brother, and his sons, that he may minister 
to me as priest." Okay, so not only do we have to look away 
from this temple in all of its glory and all of its implements 
of jewels and various items of silver and gold and Corinthian 
brass, But we have to look away from this priest designed and 
decked out in these wonderful garments of splendor that the 
text calls made for glory and for beauty. And we're to cast 
our eyes and keep our eyes fixed upon this Jesus bloodied upon 
a Roman cross. Yes. You see, that was the stumbling 
block. That was the rock of offense. 
That was the thing that was of the utmost offense to these Jews. Spurgeon said, Jews could not 
endure a crucified Messiah. All of these washings and all 
of these ceremonies and all of these glorious and beauteous 
things were all of these to be set aside and nothing remain 
but a bleeding Savior. Yes. And Paul says, look unto 
him. Look unto him. The eyes of the 
direction of our gazing is to be priced word. They are not 
and they were not not only temple and priest and all the implements 
of that old covenant religion, but they certainly were not to 
look to themselves. They were certainly not to look 
to pedigree. They were not to look to family. They were not to look to blood, 
to ethnicity. They were not to look certainly 
to their own works. They were to look to the Lord 
Jesus Christ. We looked at this on Wednesday 
night. Paul, Paul rehearses his pre-conversion self, his pre-conversion 
boasting self. He says that he was a Hebrew 
of the Hebrews. He was circumcised the eighth 
day. He was of the tribe of Benjamin. 
He was, you know, according to zeal, he persecuted the church. 
And as for the righteousness, which is in the law, he called 
himself blameless. You see, they had a boasting. 
The Jews had a boasting in themselves and in their accomplishments. 
And don't all unbelievers of every variety have that same 
boasting? It's all about me and what I've done. The Pharisee 
is standing beside the tax collector. Thank God I'm not like this man. 
They were to look away from self. They were to look away from pedigree. 
They were to look only at the Lord Jesus Christ. And this certainly, 
brethren, is not only something that's limited to the first century 
audience before the destruction of the temple, to believing Jews, 
but this is extended to us. The eyes of our faith We are 
to fix the eyes of our faith upon nothing else save for Jesus 
Christ. Now, you might be saying, well, 
of course, preacher, could we move on to something else that 
I don't know? Well, we need to very often and 
very often and very often return on to this first principle that 
we look on to Jesus Christ with our eyes of faith. You see, because 
it's very easy to say, oh, I look at Jesus with my eyes of faith 
and him alone. But sometimes you are fixing 
your eyes of faith upon your faith and your faithfulness. 
You look away from that, you look away from that, because 
the grounds of your assurance, the grounds of your security, 
the grounds of your salvation are fixed solely and alone upon 
that one who died on Calvary's tree. You look away from faith 
and your faithfulness. Very often you can say, oh, yes, 
I fix my eyes solely and alone upon Jesus. But you're really 
fixing your eyes upon the lack of faithfulness in a brother 
or a sister and finding your assurance and your strength in 
that finding self-validation and self-vindication in the fact 
that you're faithful and more faithful than a brother or a 
sister. You look away from that. And you fix your eyes upon Jesus, 
the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world. You very 
often the eyes of our faith can be fixed upon the ratio between 
pews filled and pews empty. You see, we fix our eyes of faith 
upon the pragmatic, what works. Oh, churches, churches empty. I'm going to pack it in. Maybe 
we fix our eyes of faith in a similar way like these Jewish first century 
Jewish Christians or the unbelieving Jews. We are fixed upon the physical, 
the splendor of a church and what the church engages in as 
far as worship goes. Do they have this program? Do 
they have that program? Do they have this screen? Do 
they have this computer generated image or video? Do they have 
this music? Do they have this? Do they have that? Do they have 
this? Do they have that? Fix your eyes upon Jesus. Fix the 
eyes of the faith of your faith upon Jesus Christ, not to the 
splendor or non splendor of the place of worship yourself or 
your brothers and your sisters. And it's very important for for 
your own spiritual walk and for the certainty and the strength 
and the integrity of your spiritual walk. for you to fix your eyes 
solely and alone upon Jesus and to fix your eyes away from anyone 
in the congregation. Very often we can get discouraged 
or if so-and-so brother falls, if so-and-so brother apostatizes. Let's say for a horrible example 
that Pastor Butler and I apostatize. May it never be. But if that 
happens, Free Grace Baptist Church is here and the congregation 
of the believers of Free Grace Baptist Church fix their eyes 
upon Jesus the author and the finisher of their faith. The 
end of the world has not come, if one of your like-minded brothers 
and sisters that you like to spend a lot of time with disappoints 
you or sins against you. Why? Because the eyes of faith 
are fixed upon Jesus. the author and the finisher of 
our faith. We don't hinge the trains of 
our faith to anyone sitting in the pew. We hinge the trains 
of our faith to the one seated at the right hand of the majesty 
on high. Brethren, often return to this 
principle, to this first principle of biblical Christianity, that 
Christians look unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our 
faith. Turn to the text for a moment, 
because I think I've done this before, but in Matthew chapter 
in Matthew 17, turn there for a moment. The design focus of biblical 
religion historically and always is unto Jesus Christ. A.W. Pink, in his commentary on the 
book of Hebrews, brings this out from Matthew chapter 17, 
verses verse one and following. Now, after six days, Jesus took 
Peter, James and John, his brother, led them up on a high mountain 
by themselves, and he was transfigured before them. His face shone like 
the sun and his clothes became as white as the light. And behold, 
Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him. Then 
Peter answered and said to Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be 
here. If you wish, let us make here 
three tabernacles, one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. While he was still speaking, 
behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and suddenly a voice came 
out of the cloud saying, this is my beloved son in whom I am 
well pleased. Hear him. And when the disciples 
heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 
But Jesus came and touched them and said, Arise and do not be 
afraid. When they had lifted up their 
eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only. You might say, well, yeah, 
that's just a historical narrative of what happened. They saw Jesus 
only. But keep in mind, first off, what we noted first in casting 
our gaze upon Jesus Christ is that the unbelieving Jews had 
the temptation to look at those articles of Old Covenant religion. 
Two major figures of Old Covenant religion are in this scene, Moses 
and Elijah. But who remains at the end? When 
they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one. But Jesus only 
when our eyes are lifted up, we are to see Jesus Christ, because 
from first to last, our assurance, our security, our salvation is 
rooted in his doing his dying and his glorious rising again. And brethren, you know, it's 
the one thing which is a means by which we can ensure that we 
look upon Jesus only is when we consider God's holiness in 
our sin. You see, God's holiness or God 
looks upon us and he cannot look upon us and find find undealt 
with sin and transgression. He has dealt with that not through 
our performance, not through our repentance, not through our 
faith. He has dealt with that not through 
us exercising righteous acts, falling away, but then doing 
them again. He has dealt with that through punishing and crushing 
and bruising the son of his love on Calvary's tree. He has dealt 
with that by commissioning the Lord Jesus Christ to live a life 
of perfection unto his holy statutes and law. And he has accomplished 
that by rising this victorious Jesus who fulfilled the law victoriously, 
who died victoriously, rising him again. as that as that divine 
validation of his messianic perfection. Jesus Christ, we look upon sin, 
not in some sick and horrible and twisted way to relish and 
revel in it, but so that our gaze can very, very quickly turn 
to Jesus Christ, who came to die for sin. Wonderful, wonderful 
picture and imagery in the Pilgrim's Progress. where Christian realizes 
his sin and realizes that the burden that he's carrying upon 
his back and it terminates the scene ends with him casting his 
eyes upon Jesus. He says something to the effect 
of how far have I come loaded up with sin and nothing could 
ease the grief that I was in till I came here to the cross 
and to the tomb that he looked upon till I came here. What a 
place is this must here be the beginning of my bliss must hear 
this burden. fall from off my back, must hear 
the chains that tied it to me crack. Blessed cross, blessed 
tomb, blessed rather be the one who there was put to shame for 
me. You see, even a cross beam of horizontal and vertical wood, 
we're not to cast our eyes upon that, not the physical cross, 
but the one who died there on. We're not to look at the darkness 
of an empty tomb and a stone rolled past as just those physical 
representations. We're to look at the man who, 
in great power and great victory, walked from out of that tomb. 
The victor, our Lord Jesus Christ. Fix your eyes upon Jesus and 
he alone. And thirdly, the object. of our 
gaze. Now, it's very clear from the 
direction of our gaze that this is Jesus Christ, the object. 
You see, faith, and this is very important, faith always has an 
object. It's in the modern realm of spiritual 
ambiguity, even within the realm of professing Christianity, Jesus 
Christ has been sort of ripped from the equation. And we have 
this spiritual, ambiguous notion of just faith, hope and love. 
This generic theism that's out there because, oh, Christ and 
the cross, that's too offensive. We need to pull that out and 
we just need to have faith. God promises God with no definition 
of who he is, what his character is, his his triunity, his unity 
and his triunity. Nothing to do with sovereignty, 
holiness, all of these things. Just this general idea, notion 
of a deity and faith, hope and love with no object. Faith, hope, 
and love with no object are damnable. You see, faith has as its object 
the Lord Jesus Christ. We have faith in him. Hope has 
as its object the Lord Jesus Christ. Hope is that certain 
expectation that all the promises of the victorious Christ of the 
gospel will come to pass. And love, we have love because 
Christ first loved us. And so it's very important we 
understand that we always have an object to our faith. We don't 
just exercise faith, ambiguously speaking. We exercise faith by 
looking, by gazing upon with eyes of understanding the Lord 
of glory and all of his truths and in all of his promises. But 
first off, generally, the object of our gaze is Jesus Christ, 
and this is contrary to the unbelieving world. It's contrary to their 
so-called wisdom, and it is to them foolishness. To the Jews, 
it was madness, again, that they should not look upon the temple, 
the priest in his vestments, the various instruments of old 
covenant religion, and look to this one who just 30 years ago 
was crucified upon a Roman cross. Madness. Madness. To us today, or to the unbelieving 
world today, We're to believe these antiquated notions of blood 
atonement, blood redemption, a man who's crucified, who rises 
again three days later. And what's lovely about him? 
The refrain is similar to the Jewish refrain in Isaiah 53. It's a man of sorrows and acquainted 
with grief. We esteem him stricken by God, 
cursed of God, afflicted. And we're supposed to cast our 
eyes upon this one. You see, the world, the world, 
the worldling loves or wants their heroes sparkling, golden, 
heroic, strong. Jesus crucified on Calvary's 
tree. You see, the the unbeliever, 
the worldling, he comes to that scene in first Samuel 17. They 
cast their eyes. He cast his eyes upon the Valley 
of Elah and the two men engaged in single combat. And he sides 
with the giant of Gath. He looks upon him and says, oh, 
you see, he has sword and spear and javelin. That's my hero. 
But you see, the Christian comes to that valley of Elah, can look 
past that nine foot six giant, however high he was, some say 
even higher, taller. We look past that and we see 
the little cheese delivery boy, the little shepherd with the 
sling and the stone. And we say, in that case, that's 
our hero. David's our hero in that example. 
Why? Because he's there for the vindication of the name of Yahweh. 
All the world will know that there is a God in Israel. But 
you see, the unbeliever comes just like he comes to that valley 
of Elah and sides with the Philistine giant. He comes to Christ and 
Christianity, and he does not find a hero. It's because he 
needs his eyes of his understanding opened up to behold the glories 
and the riches of Jesus Christ. We were there once, each and 
every one of us. There's not a one of us who can 
say that we always esteemed him. You see, that's Isaiah's declaration 
in Isaiah 53, and we esteemed him not. But now we esteem him, 
and what's the difference maker? The difference maker is that 
in divine, free, sovereign, amazing and victorious grace, God opened 
up our eyes. He opened up the eyes of our 
understanding. He tore out that stony, wicked 
heart, replaced it with the fleshly heart that beats and beats and 
beats for Jesus Christ. The object of our faith is this 
one who the worldling cast his eyes away from, laughing and 
mocking. And it's an amazing thing, again, 
going back to the immediate recipients of this particular letter. Or 
rather, the unbelieving audience that were persecuting them. They 
were only, let's say, about 30 years removed from the crucifixion 
of Jesus Christ. And they're being asked to fix 
their eyes upon a Jewish carpenter who was full of his own blood, 
who was full of other people's spit. who was bloodied, dirtied 
and massacred upon a Roman implement of execution. And Paul says, 
that's the wisdom and the power of God. That is the wisdom and 
the power of God. And it is a blessed thing and 
it is an amazing thing that by his grace we can cast our eyes 
upon this Jesus and find that wisdom. And not see foolishness, 
not laugh and mock like the worldling and the unbeliever, but glory 
in our King. We see Jesus, the crown of thorns 
embedded in his scalp. We don't mock and say, let God 
deliver him, let himself deliver him from this cross if he truly 
is who he is. We say there's our King. My King 
bears a crown of thorns. And I'll bend in need to that 
Jesus. I'll bend in need. And brethren, it's very important for us to 
return often again to this principle. We look to Jesus. How often, 
or why is it so easy for our eyes to, or rather for the eyes 
of our affections to latch on to so many other things? And 
to find ourselves by either self-rebuke, or maybe it's the rebuke of someone 
else, Are you looking at Jesus? You know, maybe for whatever 
reason, you enter into this time of, you know, where the rains 
and the clouds come, you know, a frowning providence comes, 
whatever happens, you miss some church, you miss some Bible reading, 
continues, continues. So you need to fix your eyes 
upon Jesus. Very often, the way that we deal 
And this is a letter written against not against two people 
dealing with trial and tribulation and affliction. Very often we 
cast our eyes upon other things. We'll get a little bit to that 
tonight. But instead of fixing our eyes upon Jesus, we fix our 
eyes upon ten thousand other physical implements to satisfy, 
to meet the need in order to in order to cause our pain to 
go away. Looking unto Jesus, the author 
and the finisher of our faith. Our eyes can be carried off in 
languor and coldness to multitudinous things that in and of themselves 
are indifferent to the things of sin and repentance from it. 
But they can become idols. They can become replacements 
for the Lord Jesus Christ. Let us always look unto Jesus, 
the author and the finisher of our faith. And that's what Paul 
says here, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of 
our faith. That's what Jesus is. He's the 
author. He is the author first in the sense that it is Christ's 
divine prerogative to make known to us the riches and the glories 
of his truth and his gospel. Can you say that to a Jewish 
audience in John 8? If you are to be free, the son 
will make you free. If there is any freedom to be 
had, it is Jesus Christ who in divine sovereignty and with all 
the divine prerogatives that the father has will reveal that 
truth unto you. He is the author of our faith. He's the author of our faith 
also in the sense that he came into this world in God manifested 
in the flesh and he died upon Calvary's tree and rose again 
in order that we might receive by the spirit that gift of faith. You see, Jesus Christ is the 
divine author in that sovereign sense, and he is the divine author 
in that sacrificial and substitutionary sense, whereby his perfect atoning 
work we are given, his people are given the faith to embrace, 
the faith to contemplate, the faith to to consider, the faith, 
the faith to think. The faith to intellectually glory 
by faith in the in the promises of the gospel, in the riches 
and in the excellencies of Jesus Christ. He is the author. He 
is the first. He is the alpha. He is the beginning 
of our faith. He is the finisher of our faith. And this is perfect. This is 
great. You know, those of us and I've 
said it before and I'll say it again. Those of us who are very 
proud or who are very who rejoice in Calvinism and reformed theology, 
not because because, oh, that's the position that is just the 
way to be. No, we glory in it because this 
is what the Bible says when it speaks of divine sovereignty. 
When it speaks of the fact that from first to last, midst and 
throughout, salvation is from the triune God who saves without 
a helper. We glory in those truths. We 
absolutely glory in those truths. And when we read this, the author 
and the finisher of our faith, we see that. We see Jesus upon 
the cross and he doesn't cry out. It has been partially completed. 
His cry of victory isn't, OK, now you get to your responsibilities. His cry of victory isn't, OK, 
I've completed ninety nine percent. Now you do the one. No, Jesus 
cried out, it is finished. And as there is so much wrapped 
up in that one word, it is finished. It's absolutely glorious. We 
noticed some of it by noting the theme of the book of Hebrews. 
The author holds up all of these articles of old covenant religion, 
which are types and shadows. And then he brings Christ along 
and he casts them all away by the superior and superlative 
glory of the Son of God. Jesus Christ has come and all 
of those things that pointed forward are now finished. What's 
been finished also, of course, is what Daniel brings out in 
the ninth chapter of his of his book. Righteousness is brought 
in. The forgiveness of sins is brought in. The promised Messiah 
has now come and he has perfectly completed the work of redemption. And also Christ is the finisher 
in this sense, brethren, that he keeps us to the end. Don't 
you, doesn't your heart warm when you see, and this is, this 
is very important. Again, looking unto Jesus, looking 
only unto him, looking away from us, looking away from others 
as the assurance, as the, you know, the pinnacles, the monoliths 
of our faith and of our assurance and of our salvation, but looking 
wholly unto Jesus. When you come under trial, when 
you come under doubts, when you sin, when you whatever, doesn't 
it warm your heart to go to the John 10s of the Bible, where 
Jesus Christ keeps his sheep locked in his sovereign and divine 
grip? Isn't that glorious? We have 
a Jesus who not only authors our faith, who not only begins 
it, who not only perfects it, But Sable, that is included in 
this, but keeps us on to the end. Keeps us on to the end, 
we very, very simply and very quickly in introductions to epistles, 
we have glorious theology. You see, the writers of the New 
Testament never just come to the pages, you know, never just 
start their epistle. They're inspired by God. Remember, 
they never just come to the Jude, a bond servant of Jesus Christ, 
grace and mercy and peace. You know, it's not just this, 
you know, this machine like approach. OK, I got to get the salutation 
out of the way and we'll get on to the meat and potatoes of 
the letter. Jude, a bond servant of Jesus Christ and brother of 
James to those who are called, sanctified by God, the father 
and preserved in Jesus Christ. See, the salutations in these 
epistles, the greetings are full of theology and full of encouragement 
to the audience. You're called. You're sanctified 
by God, the Father, and you're preserved in Jesus Christ. He 
is the author and the finisher of your faith. Brethren, just 
in closing, two quick things, and then we close in prayer. 
First off, looking. Never thumb your nose or ignore 
the use of the mind to understand and to know the Word of God. See, Christianity, shame upon 
those so-called defenders of Christianity who say that we 
need to pit faith against reason or faith against thinking. Very often faith is seen as just 
this thing you do in the absence of evidence, in the absence of 
anything. You just have this faith in whatever, 
just have faith. No, faith is what John brings 
out in John in his in chapter 20 of his gospel. These things 
I have written to you revealed propositional truths that you 
may believe in Jesus Christ, that he is the Christ, the son 
of the living God, the object of our faith, and that believing 
you may have life in his name. You see, we are to use our minds. 
We are to read our Bibles. We are to read glorious propositional 
truth concerning Jesus. This is a faithful saying and 
worthy of all acceptation that Jesus Christ came into this world. 
Sinners to say we are to engage our minds. We are to latch latch 
our concentration in the eyes of our understanding upon the 
scriptures, which reveal a glorious price and be strengthened and 
be girded up in the things of our precious Redeemer. And remember, 
secondly, that the object of your gaze is Christ. This is going to help you with 
your self-gazing, and it's going to help you eliminate your self-gazing, 
and it's going to help you eliminate your others-gazing, because the 
eyes of your faith are fixed upon the Redeemer of men. Upon 
the Redeemer of men. Albert Martin once said, A.N. 
Martin once said, that one of the problems that believers can 
have is that they can be focusing a little too much on themselves 
and not wholly on Jesus Christ. And he says, just as if the Israelites 
in the wilderness did not look with one eye upon the raised 
serpent and with the other upon their malady, So to the Christian 
is not to look with one eye upon the risen Christ and with one 
eye upon their own hearts. You see, our assurance, our assurance 
is fixed to not our performance. Our assurance is fixed to not 
our sanctification. Our assurance is fixed to not 
our doing and not our and not what we don't do. Our assurance 
is fixed to the perfect and glorious work of Jesus Christ. The perfect 
doing, the perfect dying, the glorious rising again of the 
Son of God. And in light of that, we live 
and we walk in a manner worthy of our calling and we glorify 
him in all that we do. If you're here this morning and 
you're not looking unto Jesus, why not? Why not? Oh, we can traffic in the realm 
of, yeah, we esteemed him not. We esteemed him not. We've all 
been there. Those of us so far removed from the day of our conversion 
sometimes need to, with greater strength, return unto the Lord 
Jesus Christ, return unto that first principle. But those of 
us who have come a long way from our conversion, we can remember 
back. We were there with you. We esteemed 
him not. The Scourge in one said that those whose hair is whitened 
by the sunlight of heaven need to remember, need to remember. They once were sinners. They're 
now saved by grace and they cast their eyes upon the Redeemer. 
But if you're here with us this morning and you don't know Jesus, 
we were once in this position, but he's so glorious. Why would 
you not want to look upon Jesus Christ? Why would you want to 
keep casting your eyes upon vainglorious things? Why are your eyes fixed 
to a certain bow or a certain lass? Why are your eyes fixed 
to a certain sports hero? Why are your eyes fixed to whoever 
else is out there on the screens or on the radio or wherever else? 
Why are your eyes fixed to all of those things? Again, those 
things, relationships, things aren't evil in and of themselves, 
but why in unbelief do you want everything else save for Jesus 
Christ? Because this Christ is so glorious, 
he came into this world to save sinners. I don't know why. I 
don't know why. I know why people are so anti 
Christ. But, you know, on the other side 
of that coin, why are people so anti Christ? He came not to 
be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. 
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, because if you don't, The wrath 
of God abides on you, according to John chapter 3, verse 36. He who believes the Son has life. 
He who does not believe shall not see life, but the wrath of 
God abides on him. But in Jesus Christ, you find 
your everything. The author and the finisher of 
our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the 
cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand 
of God. Believe in him and you shall not be ashamed, but you 
will have everlasting life. Let us pray. God, we thank you 
for your word. We thank you for the Lord Jesus 
Christ. God, we do just pray that we 
would be about him chiefly and mostly. And Lord God, we just 
ask that we would not have a disposition that would be looking upon him 
and other things, certainly not looking away from him upon other 
things, but that our gaze of faith would be fixed upon our 
perfect Jesus Christ. And we do pray that you'd help 
us, Lord God, to do this each and every day. We do pray that 
we would not become detached that we would not become distanced 
from a gaze and casting our eyes of faith upon Jesus Christ. But 
daily, Lord God, you would cause us to be stirred up in the things 
of our Christianity, that we would walk in such a manner that 
daily we would wake up and remember Jesus Christ and his perfect 
sacrifice for sin. And we pray that we would constantly 
remember that he is seated at your right hand where he ever 
lives to make intercession for his people. And we do pray, Lord 
God, that you would help us to speak to others concerning this 
blessed Jesus. We long to hear, Lord God, perhaps 
family members, friends or other acquaintances, people that we 
know that that, Lord God, they've been saved by the preaching of 
the word that they even, Lord God, have been saved by the use 
of earthly vessels such as ourselves, that you would, by your spirit 
and by your word, save many and that it would be to the rejoicing 
of your amazing grace. We pray, Lord God, that you would 
help us as a church to have our eyes fixed upon Jesus, that not 
only individually would we fix our eyes upon the Savior, but 
as a church, he would be the main thing that he would be chief 
in our affections, that he would be the Lord of our corporate 
and collective heart, and that we would march forward according 
to the beating of his gospel drums and that we would set aside 
all rabbit trails and trivialities and embrace the high things of 
gospel truth. We pray that you go with us now 
help us to continue to own this day for your glory sake and that 
we would own each and every day giving praise to you and being 
laid humble before your amazing grace and your amazing eternal 
love. And it's in Christ Jesus name 
that we pray. Amen.