Hebrews 12, and we just want to read a short reading this morning. There's maybe a reason why the Lord has changed the message today. I know the children normally go out and the children are not going out today, so maybe it's a message that's maybe more suited and more structured for them to listen in this morning. But Hebrews 12, and we're going to read please at verse number 1. Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about, with so great a cloud of witnesses. Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which does so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking on to 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 sat down at the right hand of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." And we do indeed trust that God will bless the public reading of his word. You know, Nigel was up with us on Thursday night this week because of the holiday and he had been up for or midweeks for the last month or so. And as I was sitting listening to him on Thursday night, I still was struggling and turning things over in my mind what it would be that I would speak about this morning. But you know, we have a message together today. And those of you who know me at all know that Sunday mornings aren't really my thing. It's not that I'm not an early riser. I'm up from six o'clock of at least at this stage four cups of tea in me, but Sunday evening preaching the gospel is more my sort of thing. But we're here for the ministry of God's word this morning, and we trust that as we look at God's word together that we might be blessed today. We've read some verses this morning from, as you've seen from Hebrews chapter 12, that I hope, once again, I've nothing else really to do today but to make much of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know within this amazing book we see the Lord Jesus Christ referred to as we do throughout the whole of scripture with many different titles. In chapter 2 in verse 10 we see him as the captain of our salvation. And in the reading that we've made this morning we see him named as the author and the finisher of our faith. If you still have your Bible open we read verse 2 You know, as you make our way home to glory, surely we all should be spending time, as our brother has instructed the boys and girls this morning, we should be spending time in the Word of God, seeking to increase our knowledge of this One who has done so much for us. You know, from salvation's day until now, we should have been constantly feasting upon the Word of God. As Peter says in his first epistle, we should have been as newborn babes that we've heard of this morning, a newborn babe desiring the sincere milk of the Word that ye might grow thereby. You know it's John that remains us at the end of his gospel about actually how much the Lord Jesus Christ did while here upon earth. In John 21 and 25 we read these words, As we consider even this verse it shows us that no matter how deep our knowledge or our studies in the Word of God concerning Him, we're really only scratching the surface, as even the Bible itself is limited to the amount it tells us concerning Him and the work that He did while here. Surely, you know when we come to spend time studying any of the books of our Bible or this epistle to the Hebrews, you know there are ways and means whereby we can study them. And I'm by no means, we had Martin Thompson for a few weeks a wee while back, and he went through a series on how to study the Word of God. And I'm not going to go into the depth and detail that Martin would go into. But you know there are some very simple questions that we can ask when we start to look at a book, and I just very quickly want to run through them this morning. Some questions we could ask. Written when? Written where? Written why? And written by whom? You know we've read a few verses from Hebrews this morning, and we're just going to apply that very quickly this morning. Firstly, written when? Well the epistle to the Hebrews was It was definitely written before AD 70, with a strong possibility that it falls in between AD 63 and AD 68. Written where? Again, we can't be certain. There's a possibility it was written at Ephesus. Some have even thought Jerusalem. Others have thought Antioch. Written why? Something definite at last. Again, we can't. Or when we think about written why, we see that there were a group of believers that were coming under extreme pressure to return back to their old ways, back to the ritual of Judaism. Written by whom? Well, I think I probably have said it from this pulpit. I think I've said it from any pulpit I've stood on. It will not be hard to know who I think wrote it, but it's commonly known that the writer is indeed unknown. It's thought that it's Possible it could have been Barnabas. Some have thought Apollos. Some think Dr. Luke. But maybe you're here this morning and you're right. Like me, you think it's Paul. And I'm not being controversial on that at all. But as I've looked into it, Dr. Charles Finber has said concerning this book of the Hebrews that it cannot be understood unless we have an understanding of the book of Leviticus. Because this book of the Hebrews It's based on many of the principles of the Levitical priesthood that we read about in the third book of our Bible. Hebrews is considered as a book of division. Some people find it a book of difficulty. To Gentiles it's hard to understand all of these things that have so much of a Jewish background. On the other hand some people class this as an incredible book of delight. This is maybe for several reasons, but one of which is maybe as we get to the end of the book. In chapter 11, we read down through that amazing catalogue of faith. This amazing chapter, chapter 11, it's very easily divided in two. The first three verses, they give us the description of faith. And then from verse 4, right down to the end of the chapter, we see not the description of faith, but the demonstration of faith. Surely in this amazing catalogue we read of so many amazing people. We read about Abel. What could we say about Abel? Well, Abel, that was faith worshipping. When we move on and we think of Enoch, we don't think of faith worshipping, but we think of faith walking. When we consider Noah, it's not faith worshipping or faith walking, but for Noah it was faith working. We think of the patriarchs. That was faith waiting. Moses, we could consider as faith warring. And then we see Joshua and Rahab, we see their faith winning. You know, some have classed this as being the fifth gospel. As we turn into the New Testament and our studies of the word of God, as we enter into Matthew's gospel, we see the gospel of the king. As we move on through and we come to Mark, we see there the gospel of the perfect servant. Luke would tell us of the perfect man, and then John reminds us that it's the gospel of the Son. You know if these four gospels at the start of our New Testament remind us of our Lord Jesus Christ and of his work while down here on earth, surely as we move forward and as we read into the book of the Hebrews, It's not telling us what he did in the past while he was here on earth. But surely the word of God is telling us what he's doing now for us in heaven itself. You know as we look through this book, there's some words that are repeated time and time again. We could think of the word great. It appears seven times. We read of great salvation in that well-known verse in Hebrews 2 and 3. How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? We could read concerning a great high priest, and there's a great recompensive reward. Not only does the word great appear several times, but the word perfect, it appears some nine times. We see a perfect captain. We see a perfect tabernacle. The word eternal appears five times. There's eternal salvation, eternal judgment, Eternal Spirit. The book speaks many times about things that are better. The word better appears 13 times. We can read concerning a better hope, a better covenant, better promises among others. It has a little phrase, more excellent, which is repeated three times. We can see in chapter 1 verse 4 that there's a more excellent name. Then we can see in chapter 8 verse 6 that there's more excellent ministry. And in chapter 11 verse 4, we can see more excellent sacrifice. But you know, as we look at this book, we see that not only are there words that are repeated, but there are warnings that are given. Warnings concerning God's Word itself. In chapter 2, we're warned about disregarding God's Word. Chapter 3, we're warned about doubting God's Word. we're warned about departing from God's word. In chapter 10, it's mentioned regarding despising God's word. And then in chapter 12, down at the end of the chapter where we've read from this morning, we see that we're warned about disagreeing with God's word. This epistle, it easily divides into three parts. Chapters one to four, we speak, or we read concerning a superior person. Chapters 5-10 it's a superior priesthood, and then from chapter 11-13 we see a superior principle. When we come to chapter 12 itself that we've read from this morning, it divides easily into three. We've read most of the first section this morning, verses 1-4, we have the example of the Son of God. Then from verses 5-13 we could have read on down, we'd have seen the assurance of the love of God. And then from verse 14 to the end of the chapter, we read about the enablement of the grace of God. We've read a couple of little phrases this morning, even in our reading, and surely it's possibly maybe something that's maybe the best known fact about the book of the Hebrews. It has this little phrase, let us, and as I've said, we read it a few times this morning. In chapter four, we read, Let us therefore fear. We read, let us labor. Let us hold fast. And we also read about letting us come boldly to the throne of grace. In chapter six, we read, let us go on. Chapter 10, we read about let us draw near. Let us hold fast. Let us consider. Chapter 12, we read it this morning. Let us lay aside. Let us run. And in chapter 13, we see Let us go forth and let us offer the sacrifice of praise. So it's an amazing book in so many different ways. But you know as we consider this book, it speaks about greater things and it speaks about better things. In chapters 1 and 2 it says that the Lord Jesus Christ himself, he's greater than the angels. Chapters 3 and 4 we see that he's greater than Moses. In chapter 5, we see that he's greater than the high priest. Then we move on to better things in chapter 8. We're told that it's the better covenant. In chapter 9, it's the superior sanctuary. And we see a superior sacrifice in chapter 10. But you know this morning, I just want to leave three simple points with you today, apologies that The introduction was a little bit long and drawn out. But this morning, as I came to think about the meeting over the last few days, as I've come this morning to speak to you, I was torn during the week as to what I should come to speak about. At one point during the week I was going to come and I was going to read from Luke's Gospel in Chapter 24, and I was going to speak to you concerning the two on the road to Emmaus. You know sometimes I think that we as the people of God, we spend our time throughout the week from Monday morning through maybe to Sunday morning or at least Saturday night and we're living in the fact that we think that the Lord Jesus Christ is still in the tomb. We're trailing our feet. Our heads are down. We're producing a double chin. But dear friends this morning, can I come to remind you today, and I know it's not resurrection Sunday, but I've come today to remind you that he is not dead. Or as it was said, he is not here, but he is risen. He is risen. Dear friends, today I have three simple points. I'll be honest, I'm not sure where these three points came from. But as sometimes I sit in the meeting when I'm enjoying myself down there where you are, Sometimes you know you flick your Bible and you're looking for a place and all of a sudden a piece of paper just flies out with some bits and pieces jotted down on it on handwriting that you'd need to be, well I don't know who you'd need to be to try to figure out what it means. But dear friends I want to leave three points in your hearing today and I'm not going to keep you long. Three points. You see we've read our reading this morning And really I don't want to leave very much from the reading with you this morning other than three words. I want you to go out through the door today and to go into your week, no matter what lies ahead of you this week. As I often say when I'm praying, you know, our needs differ just like our faces. But dear friend, today I want to give you three words to take with you into the week. Three words and three points. The three words are these. We read it at the start of verse 2, looking on to Jesus. Looking on to Jesus. The three points are these. Looking on to Jesus, how the Christian life begins. That's our first point. Our second point is looking on to Jesus, how the Christian life will end. looking onto Jesus, how the Christian life is to be lived. You know, for each of us here in the meeting this morning, saved by the grace of God, surely we can testify that for us, it did start by looking onto Jesus. Isaiah 45 and 22, it says, look onto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God. And there is none else. It all started with a look. You know, the story is told how an obscure man preached one snowy Sunday morning to a few people in a Methodist chapel in the south of England. Among them was a lad of 15 years. He had been driven in to get out of the snow. He was in the midst of a snowstorm. As he made his way into the building, all he heard coming from the pulpit was, look on to me and be ye saved. The preacher said, young man, you look miserable, only look. The young man looked and was saved, received eternal life. That young man was Charles Haddon Spurgeon. This man became known as the Prince of Preachers. He was born in Essex on the 19th of June, 1834. His father and grandfather were known conformist ministers, and his earliest memories were looking at pictures in the Pilgrim's Progress. You know, when he died on the 31st of January, 1892, London was plunged into mourning. 60,000 people had paid homage to his body as it lay in state in the metropolitan tabernacle, with over 100,000 people lining the streets as his funeral cortege headed for the cemetery. You know, so often we try to preach the gospel. We tell people that salvation isn't found in a church denomination. We try to tell them that it's not in a church creed. Indeed, it's not found in any man, only the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know, this is why we often sing in the Gospel that there's life for a look at the crucified one. There is life at this moment for thee. Then look, sinner, look unto him and be saved. Unto him who was kneeled to the tree. Is there any in our gathering this morning? Or maybe someone that's listening in online today who's maybe like Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Maybe you haven't come in out of the snow, but maybe you've just stumbled into the building this morning, or maybe you've just come across this meeting on Facebook or some other way on the internet. I wonder, dear friend, are you interested to find out more about this amazing person? that we present this morning the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. You know the text that I have quoted, it contains the little phrase, be ye saved. You might say, I'm not trapped in a house fire. I'm not adrift at sea. I don't need to be saved by the Fire and Rescue Service or by the RNLA. But my friend, this morning, can I remind you today that concerning that problem of your sin and the great need for it to be forgiven if you ever want to be in heaven, the verse tells us, look unto Him. We must, by the eye of faith, see the Lord Jesus Christ suffering and dying in our state upon Calvary. And if we do, we'll be saved. All the ends of the earth, it just remains us of the amazing work that the Savior finished upon Calvary. And that's why he cried in triumph that it is finished. The work of redemption is complete. It's been driven home this morning, even in our children's talk already. But I wonder, dear friend, today, will you have your sins forgiven? Will you be made ready for heaven and for home today? Because, dear friend, today, through that look, you could escape the punishment of hell if you had your sins forgiven. Peter reminds us that Christ also once suffered for sins. The just for the unjust that he might bring us to God. Looking on to Jesus. That's where the Christian life begins. Looking on to Jesus is how the Christian life will end. Paul reminds us in 1 Thessalonians 4, Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so shall we ever be with the Lord. You know, for those listening today, let's hope to avoid death. You know, I'm one of these boys, I'm going to do my best to avoid the undertaker. Because dear friends, this morning I'm looking for the uptaker. What will it be? You know, I can remember one sunny day, we've just come out of it. One sunny day, I don't know how many years ago it would be now, possibly 20. I remember standing in work, and within a very short space of time, I was mounting a helicopter and was getting flown to the top of a mountain that was burning like Billy-o. We've just come out of that season. You know, as I got onto that helicopter and as it lifted off, it was the first time I ever was in a helicopter in my life. As I was dropped off on the top of that mountain, and as I started to try to beat out this gorse fire, I thought to myself, what will it be like when we rise to meet the Lord in the air? Amazing. But dear friends, today, it's how the Christian life How amazing will it be, as I've already said, for us all it started with that look, where we saw the Saviour upon the cross, we saw Him held by the hands and by the feet, by those nails to the cross, as He endured so much. But dear friend, one day we'll see Him by the eye Not by the eye of faith. We've already seen him by the eye of faith. But faith will give way to sight. What will it be to behold him? You know, we'll be like Thomas that we read of in John's gospel. We'll not be doubting like him. But we'll be able to see the Neil Prince in his hands. to be able to see those nail prints on his feet, that spear wound in his side. How amazing that will be. In Titus chapter two, verses 13 and 14, we read these words, for looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us. that he might redeem us from all iniquity. You know, this verse talks about hope. You know, dear friends, this morning, it's not the hope that you read about in the chamber's dictionary. It talks about the feeling of wanting something to happen. You know this word, hope, in the Greek? It shines a completely different light on things. It's the thought of anticipating an expectation or confidence. Hope is especially relevant to any who suffer. Maybe you're here this morning. There are many in the fellowship, as Nigel has been mentioning, that are sick, some in hospital. You know what's really relevant to those of us who are suffering? To suffer and to think that there's no hope can lead to all sorts of concerns in our minds. It could even lead to despair. God knows that in order for us to endure the present stresses of life, that we needed hope and a hope for the future. Of course, in the word of God and in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, those of us who are saved have a wonderful hope. Paul said to the church at Colossae, as he wrote in Colossians 1 and 27, Christ in you, the hope. of glory. Dear friend, this morning as you have come in, I don't know what's weighing heavy on your heart today. Maybe this week that we've entered upon, maybe there's a hospital appointment. The day is circled on the calendar, and it's aging ever closer. Maybe there are other things going on, problems in the family, Problems with that wayward child. Dear friend, today, he knows all about it. And dear friend, today, I trust that as we start to look at our last point, and as I close, I trust that as you go out of the meeting today, that you might feel encouraged as we seek to remind you that we should be looking onto Jesus. But looking onto Jesus is how the Christian life Looking on to Jesus is how the Christian life is to be lived. You know, you'll remember that we said in our introduction concerning the supremacy of our Lord Jesus Christ, as is mentioned in this epistle to the Hebrews. You know, every difficulty, there's a solution. We needed consolation in perplexing circumstances at times. But dear friend, today, I trust that we'll spend every day just looking onto Jesus. When we consider again the well-known story of Peter, Nigel has reminded us concerning Peter over his four studies during the month of April. But dear friend, can I remind you this morning concerning Peter? As he was found on the sea that day, You know, just as he threw his leg out over the boat, as he started to walk on the water, you need to remember that the problems only started when he took his eyes off the Lord. Surely we're like Peter. Surely we can allow the storm to dull our vision of the Lord. We can only see our problems like the rolling waves. and the boisterous winds, but we lose sight of the Lord. Surely we should be going to the one in the storms of life. It says with him that what manner of man is this that even the winds and the waves, they obey him. We don't take the benefit of the presence of one with us every day who is able to speak into our circumstances. Peace be still. You'll remember, previously when I was here, one Lord's Day morning, we spoke concerning the God of all. Jeremiah 32 and 27, we thought of the God of all flesh and we asked the question, is there anything too hard for thee? We thought of the God of all comfort and 1 Corinthians 1 and 3, And we drew solace that we had one that is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, our great high priest, who knows what it is to suffer, both mentally and physically. And then we finished and we considered the God of all grace in 1 Peter 5 and 10. You know, we were left on that occasion counting our blessings concerning the mercy and grace of our God. that mercy that spares us from what we deserve, that grace that gives us what we don't deserve. Surely, oftentimes, we sing wonderful grace that gives what I don't deserve, pays me what Christ has earned, then lets me go free. Wonderful grace that gives me the time to change, washes away the stain that once covered me. And all that I am, I lay at the feet of the wonderful Savior who loves me. You know, we can also see from the verses we read that the believers are encompassed about, not only by the great cloud of witnesses, but also by the ever-present possibility of being entangled with that which would hinder or impede us. We're told to lay aside the sin and let us run. You know, I'm not built for the running, as you can see. And the problem would be that there's too many things tied on. In our spiritual journey, there are so many things that seem to close in amongst us. And you know, dear friends, today, a lot of those things are legitimate things. family ties, family commitments, work commitments, and other things. But dear friends, today, I wonder, could we lay them aside? And could we get taken up? Could we become occupied with the supreme example, the Savior himself? You know, it's ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self and to Jesus. But Satan's work is just exactly the opposite, as he tries to fill our minds full of doubt, full of desires for things that are of no benefit to us. But dear friends, this morning, I wonder would we be able to overcome Satan today just by simply looking onto Jesus? And then, not only just taking that glimpse, but then as we read on down into the next verse in verse three, I wonder then, would we stay a little while? Looking on to Jesus, would we stop and then consider Him? You know, as I draw my remarks to a close today, as we have thought of these three looks together, may the unsaved, In our meeting today, may they get that first look to Him, because that's where the Christian life will begin. May the people of God today, may they live their lives constantly, day by day, looking unto Him. Dear friends, today, when the time comes, and none of us know when that might be, You know, life can change very quickly. It only takes a phone call. Best laid plans can be dashed, as you well know. Dear friends, today I trust that as we have considered our Savior today, that we might go out into the week, that we might be constantly looking On to Jesus.