New Year is always an exciting time. It’s a time for celebration. After Christmas, a lot of people look forward to celebrating New Year with lots of noise. Most of the celebration methods associated with New Year are usually of pagan origins so we must be very careful. People wear polka dots for luck… people light firecrackers for drive away evil spirits, some displays round fruits all around the house… some keep all their windows open so luck with be able to come in, along with Akyat Bahay gang or thieves. This is one reason why WCCC as a church, gathers its flock together on New Year’s Eve. This is one way to keep us away from the temptation of this festivity. Please do not think that we are taking time away from your family. If you consider the church as a family, then we are just expanding the family by spending New Year together.
The Apostle Paul said Romans 13:12-14
The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armour of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarrelling and jealousy.
Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
If you go to places like New York or Las Vegas or Paris → celebration of New Year’s eve is characterized by wild parties and drinking and that is specifically what the Bible reminds us of. This is the reason why WCCC tends to gather its families and we welcome the New Year in a well-controlled environment where we probably drink, at most is a sip of a sparkling wine or pop. Then we hold a worship service and we sing songs that glorify the Lord and of course, listen to God’s Word. Sometimes, even in simple family gatherings – you will see a lot of drinking, coarse jokes, wild parties.
Remember what CS Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures” – we can barely hear the voice of God if everything around us is noisy, right?
There is a debate as to who wrote the book of Hebrews. Tradition dictates that it was the Apostle Paul because of the familiarity of the closing phrases of the book similar to the epistles that Paul has written. The Apostle Peter also wrote: "...just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him (2 Peter 3:15). He was talking to the Hebrews. In that last verse, Peter is confirming that Paul had also written a letter to the Hebrews!
But the more important point is that the book of Hebrews is an inspired book by God and no other book in the Bible has eloquently described the role of Christ as our High Priest superior to the priesthood line of Aaron and as the fulfillment of the law and the prophets.
I have told you in the past that when a passage starts with the word “therefore”, it is a signal for you to read the immediate context. If it is a verse, then read the preceding verses. If it is the start of the chapter, then read the previous chapter.
Chapter 12:1 says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”
Remember that the chapter and verse divisions of the Bible were not present until 1551. They were not in the original manuscript.
There has been a debate as to what the “great cloud of witnesses” really meant. Some people think that these “great cloud of witnesses” are angels. Some think they are spirits of dead people mingling among us. But if you study the context,
If you read verse 11 – you will see a list of people who have boldly demonstrated their faith – Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, Rahab, David, Samuel, etc. etc. The Bible says in verse 39 that they were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
The ultimate fulfillment of what has been promised to them was actually not realizable here on Earth but in their life after.
These are the “great cloud of witnesses” that chapter 12 is talking about. They are the great men and women of faith who have died before us. The author of Hebrews wants us to picture our life as a RACE and we are running towards the prize and all these great men faith are looking at us, cheering for us that we too, may be able to reach the finish line. We should also be inspired by what these men have gone through and use them as role models and follow their examples.
Sometimes, we look up to other people as our role models. Our parents. Our pastor. But sometimes we get frustrated because we see their imperfections and flaws. But you know what, if we look at the example of Jesus Christ, we will not be frustrated. If we emulate His humility, if we follow His example, if we love the way He loved, if we care they way He cared, if we followed God the way He obeyed the Father, then we shall be able to finish the race that He has set before us.
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2a).
FIX – Greek word “aphorao” means turn the eyes away from other things and fix them on something.
I can picture a child, a lost child, walking alone down a busy hallway in a mall, enthralled by all the lights and sounds and busyness of her surroundings. Her eyes looking around not even realizing that she is lost. Suddenly in the midst of all the noise and flickering lights around her, she hears her mother’s voice. Looking up, she sees her mother waving her hand and calling for her to come. With her eyes now fixed only on her mother, she walks straight ahead, ignoring everything else. She cannot afford to be distracted by any other thing around her or she might lose sight of her mother. So she just kept on walking towards her. Soon she will be safe by her mother’s side.
What or who are you focused now? Is it Christ? Or is it something or someone else?
When I was still a pastor in Surrey Church, I would sometimes go out biking with the boys. We would go mountain biking on the trails of the Delta Watershed in 64th Avenue near Scott Road. When you’re biking on forest trails, especially if you are not familiar with the trails, we would just rely on our guide. You don’t know what lies ahead. He would be biking ahead of us and he will shout whenever we are up against some potential problems along our paths. Because you’re biking fast, especially when you’re downhill, you cant afford to even look at your left or right – you just focus on your leader or the person in front of you and just follow what he is doing. If he jumps, you jump. If he bends low, you bend low. If he stops, you stop. You just fix your eyes on him. I remember one time, I made the mistake of taking a quick glance at the biker behind me and the next thing I know, a branch of tree hit my forehead and I fell of my bike and three other bikers behind me… we’re like dominoes falling one by one.
It is good to think about these things this new year. No one knows what lies ahead for any of us. The Chinese say that this coming year is the Year of the Monkey. I was born in the year of the Monkey but I think even if I am a monkey or even if I am the smartest monkey, or even if they say I am the luckiest this coming year, I cannot tell you what lies ahead. We all have our plans and dreams and expectations but the times and seasons of life are solely in God’s hands.
Sooner or later we will all come to a dangerous trail where the way ahead seems to be blocked or entangled with branches. At that moment we can panic and fall into terrible trouble. Or we can fix our eyes on the person ahead of us, the Lord Jesus Christ because He marks carefully his steps before us. If we stoop low when He stoops low, if we stop when He stops, if we follow whatever He does – we will not fall because you know why? Jesus knows the way. Even if the road is difficult and dangerous – He’s been there, done that. Christ has undergone the most serious persecution that any man can ever handle and yet, He did not fail. He does not only see the way ahead of us, in fact, He IS the way!
This life we have is not always easy. It’s like a forest trail that has lots of bumps and curves and holes and branches block our clear path. As we run our life’s race, as we bike through the forest trails of life, we should keep calm and focus on Christ. (v2)
The Bible says that Jesus sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
It is not easy to comprehend, especially when most of us are struggling through our daily battles in life. Sometimes we feel like losing our battles but from God’s point of view, we are already winners and the victory is already ours. And someday we shall be with Christ, and we can experience what He has experienced.
CONCLUSION
Christ is the “author and perfecter of our faith.” He is the author of our faith because He laid the foundation of our faith by his death and resurrection. He made our salvation possible. Jesus provided the perfect example to follow because He trusted God perfectly.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to run with patience the race that is set before us. We have everything we need to help us along the way. We have the testimony of the saints who have gone before us, we have the example of the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have the promise of coming glory when we finish our earthly course. So keep your eyes on Jesus. Don’t be turned aside or distracted by the things of the world. Keep running. Don’t look back. Fix your eyes on Jesus and run with all your might for the finish line.
When hard times come, don’t start with your problems and try to find Jesus. Start with Jesus and then go back to your problems. This is the reason why when the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He started with “Our Father In Heaven” because He knows if we start our focus here on Earth, with all the problems and imperfections of this fallen world, we’ll definitely lose focus.
Let me end this sermon with an invitation for you to join the race this New Year:
This race is not a 100-meter sprint. This race is like the Boston marathon. We need to prepare. We need to condition ourselves – build our strength and endurance. We need to fully understand what kind of race are we getting into. We should get rid of anything that may hinder us from running fast. The Bible says that SIN can entangle us and it can slow us down so let us avoid SIN at all cost. We should also let GO of any baggage that we may have been holding on for a long time and again, it slows us down. You don’t see a runner carrying a heavy backpack, right? You don’t see a marathon runner wearing jeans!
It is important to remember that we are not the first ones to run. There were people who ran ahead of us… and they have finished the race, they have reached the finish line and they are now cheering for us because it is our turn to run. It is our turn to race. Let us remember them, our “great cloud of witnesses” and may their lives inspire us and encourage us to keep on running.
Remember also that we are not running alone. The Bible says “Let US” fix our eyes on Jesus. We run together. We depend on each other – the body of Christ – we run side by side and strengthen each other. We can’t do it alone. If you think you can run alone in this life, you are gravely mistaken my friend. We can grow tired and weary and we need somebody to carry us through. No man is an island. The Bible says “Two are better than one, if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. Sometimes, the road is not smooth and paved. Sometimes it goes uphill or we run through trails with curves and rough spots and quick turns. There may be puddles and mud and broken branches and even wild animals that will come across our way and these obstacles are trying to slow us down or even discourage us from going through the race but remember, we may just be running the race now and we feel defeated and tired but in God’s eyes we are already winners…we are victors. In God’s eyes the outcome has already been determined. Even though the odds may be against us, if you know Jesus, his victory is yours. And one day you will openly share in his triumph. Sometimes, when we run, we look at the left or we look at the right and we again, slow down. We need to focus on JESUS, the author and perfecter of our faith.When things get rough, KEEP CALM and focus on JESUS. God bless you and let us pray!
Prayer
Wherever you are, whatever you situation you may be -- you need the love of Jesus in your life. Please say this prayer sincerely from your heart:
Father God, I confess all my sins to you today. Please forgive me. Today, I open my heart to your Son Jesus Christ. I accept Him in my life as my Saviour and as my Lord. May the Holy Spirit come to my life and make me the kind of person you want me to be. In Jesus Name, I pray. Amen.
The above article is an excerpt from a sermon delivered at WCCC Richmond during its service on
Sunday, January 3, 2016
I apologize if there are grammatical and spelling errors. I also apologize if I have missed acknowledging or making proper references to my sources, if any. as it is purely unintentional.
If you are looking for a church in British Columbia, Canada please visit our website at:
www.wordchristiancommunity.com
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