November 18, 2018
Heb 13:15 By him thereforelet us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
We have much for which to be thankful and we should give thanks, 1Th 5:18 In every thinggive thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Most moral sins come from being unthankful, Rom 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Are you grateful enough to be thankful?
Thankful means to express gratitude, to give thanks, to be thankful. It is to be thankful to the LORD, and it is to recognize others in their contribution to your life and to the plan and purpose of God. Wise is the person who understands and makes adjustments because of the needs of others. Be careful fornothing;but in every thingby prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. Phil. 4:6
- Living in the conscious presence of Christ will give you a grateful spirit. Eph 4:20 But ye have not so learned Christ; Eph 4:21 If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:
- A grateful spirit will give you grateful language.
- For you to display a grateful spirit is an act of worship toward the LORD. Psa_19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.
We can be thankful because God is our refuge, Heb 6:18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: Strong means inner strength, the Holy Spirit, It is His power, Eph 3:30 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, "Fled for refuge" means to a definite person, Christ.
Psalm 46:1-2. The LORD is our place of security and safety. Everything else mayfall away at one time or another: health, wealth, job security, family, and friends; but not God. All else may forsake but God will not. All else may collapse but our LORD and Saviour won't.
He said, "I am the LORD, I change not,…." Mal.3:6
Christ is the same, Heb 13:5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. Heb 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Heb 13:7 Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation. Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
1Pe 2:6 Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. "Confounded" means "ashamed" – you will never be embarrassed that you put your faith in Christ. If you wait on Him, you will never regret you had faith in Him.
Isa_28:16 Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste. That means in the time of crisis you will not need to find another Saviour or another plan. You will find Christ sufficient.
We can be thankful because of the people the LORD has sent into our life, there is more to this verse than we first think, Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
"are compassed about—Greek, "have so great a cloud (a numberless multitude above us, like a cloud, 'holy and ……of witnesses surrounding us." The image is from a "race," an image common even in Palestine from the time of the Greco-Macedonian empire, which introduced such Greek usages as national games. The "witnesses" answer to the spectators pressing round to see the competitors in their contest for the prize (Php 3:14). Those "witnessed of" (Greek, Heb 11:5, 39) become in their turn "witnesses" in a twofold way: (1) attesting by their own case the faithfulness of God to His people [ALFORD] (Heb 6:12), some of them martyrs in the modern sense; (2) witnessing our struggle of faith; however, this second sense of "witnesses," though agreeing with the image here if it is to be pressed, is not positively, unequivocally, and directly sustained by Scripture. It gives vividness to the image; as the crowd of spectators gave additional spirit to the combatants, so the cloud of witnesses who have themselves been in the same contest, ought to increase our earnestness, testifying, as they do, to God's faithfulness."Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 475). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
I am not sure if the cloud of witnesses are watching from heaven as those mention in Chapter 11 or those we know who have gone on before us or those around us now. My opinion is all the aforementioned. This Cloud of Witnesses should inspire us to run the race to the finish line – It should inspire us to live in the Word of God, to study His Word, to understand His Word
We can be thankful because of LORD and His Love for us that gave us Christ, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. His gift is unspeakable, 2Co_9:15 Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.
It is unspeakable because of what Christ did for us, Rom 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Our salvation was won by Christ Himself, Heb 1:3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; This was all by himself, we had no part in the payment for our sin. Salvation, the born-again experience, is without the deed of the law, Romans 4:1-8. Our part is to believe the gospel.
sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high He was seated from the work of redemption – "sat down indicates that work needs never to be redone. You should see Christ today as your Saviour, you should know Christ as your Saviour, you should understand Christ as your Saviour, 1Jn 5:20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
Don't lose the Prize …for the Pleasures of Sin for a Season Hebrews 3:7-19
Today we should have a spirit of gratitude because of Christ. In exchange for what Christ has done for us, we should give Him our life. Illustration: In my childhood, during the time of snow we would get together and let one have a 10-minutestart (Now we lived in the country) and then the rest us would try to track them down in the snow. It got a little difficult tracking through the cow pastures and crossing the creeks – you had to follow the tracks. If you are going to capture the prize you must follow His steps. If you are going to capture then you must run the race.
The prize is the reward at the end of the race. The prize is not eternal life. Eternal life is the gift of God it is not a prize to be won. You are in the race because you have eternal life! Christ won Salvation for you at the Cross and has offered it to you. Heb. 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.
Heb 9:24 For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
That is quite a promise to believe but none the less it is true for it is God's Word, Believe it! Christ is there in the presence of God for you, after obtaining salvation for you, Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; Heb. 1:3
The Book of Hebrews is about our faithfulness, as a believer to Christ. The Prize is the reward at the end of the race. The reward is about us hearing from Christ," Well done thou good and faithful servant".
Most Christians never move in their life! They never leave the starting line When you were saved, you were entered in the race by Christ. Let me say the race is about your life; the LORD left you here for a purpose. Race implies a contest – competing. May I say, it is a spiritual contest. Your adversaries in the world are competing for your life: 1) the devil, 1Pe_5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: 2) the flesh = self, the fallen nature (why you must be born from above) you are in a contest and the stakes could not be higher. Col. 3:1-10. 3) The world, Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. What does it mean by: know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? It is explained in the next phrase and it means just this: whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. What is meant by Ye adulterers and adulteresses? He is comparing a saved man or woman who in their life has left their first love and is living in friendship with this world. How quickly we forget our Saviour and what He has done for us. How easy to become complacent in our lives and no longer are running the race. How soon are we to say there is no reason to live a crucified life, Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
I often wonder: "Are we grateful enough to be thankful? Are we thankful enough to made a difference in this world by our life that we live?
The Race is run by growing up in Christ, by maturing in the Faith.
"…..let us go on unto perfection;…." Perfection means completeness. We are to go on, to grow up in that completeness in which we have been placed by grace through faith. We are complete in Him, Col_2:10 And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power: We are to realize the benefits of that completeness in our daily life. It is all about the person who is our Saviour, Christ Jesus.
Keep your eyes on Him, 12:2 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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
He is able to do, Eph 3:20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,
Spiritual understanding, Col_1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
Value the reward. Rev 22:12 And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. Heb 11:26 Esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt: for he had respect unto the recompence of the reward.
o The race is run by the power of Christ, by the knowledge of Christ, by obedience to the Word: these are some scriptures that are synonymous in their meaning:
- Hebrews 12:1-3 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, 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 is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Eph_4:15 But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ:1Pe_2:2 As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby: 2Pe_3:18 But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.
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