From Greenville, South Carolina, we present Let the Bible Speak. Let the Bible Speak is the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America, preaching Christ in all His fullness. We're delighted that you've joined us for another broadcast of Let the Bible Speak, featuring the recorded messages of Dr. Alan Cairns, Minister Emeritus of Faith Free Presbyterian Church in Greenville, South Carolina. As he continues this series of studies in the 11th chapter of Hebrews, Dr. Cairns has taken us into the opening verses of chapter 12. Today he will bring the opening portion of a message entitled, Jesus, the Supreme Object of Faith. We'll hear from Dr. Cairns shortly. First, please enjoy this devotional thought taken from C.H. Spurgeon's collection called Faith's Checkbook. Today's devotional is called The Reason for Singing. The text is Zephaniah chapter 3 and verse 17. The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty. He will save. He will rejoice over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing. What a word is this! Jehovah God in the center of His people, in all the majesty of His power. This presence alone suffices to inspire us with peace and hope. Treasures of boundless might are stored in our Jehovah, and He dwells in His church. Therefore may His people shout for joy. We not only have His presence, but He is engaged upon His choice work of salvation. He will save. He is always saving. He takes His name of Jesus from it. Let us not fear any danger, for He is mighty to save. Nor is this all. He abides evermore the same. He loves. He finds rest in loving. He will not cease to love. His love gives him joy. He even finds a theme for song in his beloved. This is exceedingly wonderful. When God wrought creation, He did not sing, but simply said, It is very good. But when he came to redemption, then the sacred Trinity felt a joy to be expressed in song. Think of it and be astonished. Jehovah Jesus sings a marriage song over his chosen bride. She is to him his love, his joy, his rest, his song. O Lord Jesus, by Thine immeasurable love to us, teach us to love Thee, to rejoice in Thee, and to sing unto Thee our life psalm. I was lost, but Jesus found me. ♪ And the sheep that went astray ♪ ♪ Through his loving arms of Mary ♪ ♪ To me broke into his way ♪ ♪ I was bruised, but Jesus healed me ♪ ♪ Faint was I from any affliction ♪ Sight was gone and my fears possessed me, but He freed me from them all. I will sing the wondrous story to die for me. Sing it, faithful saints in glory, gathered by the crystal sea. Ever save the one Christ loves me, I'll not bow my eyes to die for me. How he left his home in glory, For the cross of Calvary. He will keep me till the river Roses waters at my feet. Then will there be safely another, where the land of joy shall live. Yes, I'll sing the loved one's song. to die for thee. Sing in strength of saints in glory. God the God of Israel. ♪ By a crystal sea ♪ ♪ A crystal sea ♪ Among the great classics of Christian literature, A.W. Tozer's The Pursuit of God is remarkable for its impact on the lives of countless believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. The product of a lifelong passion for knowing God in an intimate, soul-refreshing relationship, this small volume exposes the roadblocks that keep us from fully knowing God, reveals our responsibility of the pursuit, and ultimately leads us into the very presence of God himself. Some of the chapter titles include Following Hard After God, Restoring the Creator-Creature Relation, and The Sacrament of Living. As you read and study Tozer's penetrating insights, you will learn the meaning of Paul's words in Philippians 3 verse 10, that I may know him. Let the Bible Speak is pleased to offer complete reprints of this timeless devotional help free of charge. For your copy of The Pursuit of God, simply email info at faithfpc.org. That's info at faithfpc.org. If you wish, you may call us toll free at 866-877-LTBS. That's 866-877-5827. If you prefer regular mail, simply write to LetTheBibleSpeak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. That's LetTheBibleSpeak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. Just ask for your free copy of The Pursuit of God, and we'll be glad to provide it. Dr. Cairns now continues his series of studies in the 11th chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Although he has finished his exposition of Hebrews 11, the spirit of the passage carries over into chapter 12. In verses 1 and 2 we see that believers are called to run a race for God. This is the nature of our calling, and the thought of the great cloud of heavenly witnesses ought to inspire us to run our best. so that we may obtain what Paul spoke of as the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Unlike earthly races, the Christian strength comes not from within himself, but from Christ. We are to run looking unto Jesus, as Dr. Cairns will demonstrate in the course of this message called, Jesus the Supreme Object of Faith. Now returning again to Hebrews 12 this morning, having gone through the 11th chapter of Hebrews, we come in the Opening verses of chapter 12 to the full application, we read the first four verses together. 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. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. Amen. The Lord will add His own blessing to this very brief reading from His Word. This morning, we come to look at the words of verse 2. Of course, to get the full meaning, we have got to read at the end of verse 1. 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. A great Scottish preacher, actually a member of the Scottish church, but a converted European Jew by the name of Adolf Safar, commenting on these words made a very important and, I think, insightful statement. He said, the cloud of witnesses is not the object on which our heart is fixed. They testify of faith, and we cherish their memory with gratitude. Our eye, however, is not fixed on many, but on one, not on the army, but on the leader, not on the servants, but on the Lord. We see Jesus only, and from him we derive our true strength. The more you understand those words of the great converted Jew, the more you will understand the drift of Paul's meaning here in Hebrews 11 and 12. The testimony and the example of saints has a very important place in the Bible and in the experience of the people of God. But as I have noted as we have gone through Hebrews 11, all too often the example of great and outstanding saints of God discourages rather than encourages us. Too often when preachers focus their attention on the great character marks of great men of God, we conclude, yes, they had a wonderful character. Isn't it sad that I can't reach those heights? Isn't it sad that I can't have that character? Or else we focus our attention on the marks of their character and we are so busy trying to conform our character to the pattern of their character that we miss the entire secret of the motive force that changes us to be what the Lord wants us to be. You see, the point that both Paul and Sapphire were making is that the testimony and the example of the Old Testament heroes of the faith encourages us only as it points us to Christ. Christ was the object of their faith. You will find that throughout Hebrews 11 we read, by faith, by faith, by faith. Remember that faith is always predicated upon a prior revelation of God. And that revelation of God is always in and through and in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ. All that God has ever said to fallen men, He has said in and through the mediation of Jesus Christ. And in one way or another, right throughout the Old Testament, God was pointing His people to Christ. And it was as they looked upon Him, their faith was stimulated. And as their faith grasped the truth of God, and sometimes dimly, but nonetheless really, as it grasped the great fulfillment of his truth in the person and the coming of his son, they were enabled to do great things. So that when you read about Moses, the great thing is not that Moses had such great personal characteristics. such great traits of character. That's not the wonderful thing about Moses. The wonderful thing about Moses is that by faith in Christ, he was enabled to forsake Egypt. He was enabled to endure affliction. He was enabled to face the enemy. He was enabled to lead out the people of God. He was enabled to change history by faith in Christ. You see, some of the people in the Old Testament didn't have very great characters at all. You think of Jacob, a twister, a man of weak character in many, many ways, but by faith, that's the thing. He did great things for God. You think of some of the people that are mentioned, Samson, We'll come to him in due course in our studies and Sunday evenings and judges. Samson, strong in body, but weak in character. But yet, when the Spirit of God came on Samson, Samson by faith did works that defy human reason and defeated the enemies of God. Look at others. You'll find that we're not being asked to focus on their personal character traits. We're being asked to focus on the Christ on whom their faith was set. He was the object of their faith and he must be the object of our faith. And that is the key to our successful running of the race that is set before us. We are to run, therefore, looking unto Jesus. Now in verse one, you're told what you have to do. I call this the what to do section. What to do? Run. As I preached in that to you, I made it clear that there is effort there. There is pursuit there. There is the bending of all your energies there. Like an athlete, you lay aside every weight. Someone has well said, when an athlete's running a race, a bag of gold is just as much a hindrance as a bag of lead. There are things that have to be let aside, whether they are good in themselves, acceptable in themselves, or reprehensible in themselves. Anything that hinders our running the race has got to be set aside, and particularly that thing which would so easily wrap itself around us, particularly our own personal weakness, and most particularly our unbelief that besets us so easily. We are to put it aside. What are we to do? What is your life all about? What is your purpose on earth? That's a question, you know, that people are asking more and more. What is the purpose of life? The purpose of your life, if you're a Christian, is to run with patience the race that is set before you. Whether you make money along the way or whether you don't is beside the point. Whether you get famous or whether you don't is in the providence of God. But wherever God has placed you, whatever he has put in your hand, His expectation of you and of me as Christians is run with persevering patience the race along the course that He has mapped out for us. That's what to do. Now verse 2 is the how to do it section. How to do what we're supposed to do. We run looking unto Jesus. I drew many parallels last week between the race that we are called to run and the race that an athlete runs. Paul is drawing such a parallel and it had to be drawn. But you know, there is one really major basic difference. I have pointed out any time I have dealt with these athletic portions of Paul's epistles. I am an expert on athletics. I have watched more people running. I know exactly how they ought to do it. Me watching a runner reminds me of my father and mother watching tennis. They could not have told you one end of a tennis racket from another. But when they came to the Wimbledon week, they would watch it on television at home, hours and hours of uninterrupted coverage of people battering a tennis ball back and forth across the net. And they could give them the most erudite advice. They could tell them exactly what to do and tell them how stupid they were when they couldn't do it. That's the kind of expertise I have when it comes to running. However, I have, despite my lack of practical experience here, I have followed it closely for many years and I've listened to great athletes because I find that I can learn a lot as I listen to them, things to avoid and things to do. The one thing I have found in every great athlete is that when he's running the race, there comes the breaking point. There comes the point when pain threatens to wipe him out. And you hear an athlete talk about running through the pain. I don't know how you do that. I saw one finish a race with a fractured foot. running, not hobbling, running. I saw one waif of a girl who, after about 20 miles of a marathon race, developed a severe stitch, as it's called, and absolutely crippling, but yet gritting the teeth and running through the pain. And as they do that, I've heard them again and again say one thing, that when that happens, when you reach the place where your body is saying quit, you have got to reach deep down inside. You've got to look into what you really are. And as you look to the depths of what you are and dredge from the very bottom of your existence, you get the guts to go on. That's true in athletics, but it's not true in the Christian race. Here's the difference when you are to run, when the pain gets so much that the body and the soul cry out, quit. When in this Christian race you find all the furies of hell against you, you can't look into yourself because your greatest enemy in doing the will of God is self. Paul says you are to look up. You are to run looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher. of our faith. Only the sight of Christ can beget faith. Only the sight of Christ can sustain faith and enable us to finish the course. You've been listening to Let the Bible Speak, the radio ministry of the Free Presbyterian Church of North America. We hope you've enjoyed and benefited from today's program. We're here as your servants for Christ's sake. If we can be of any further help to you in the things of the Lord, we invite you to contact us. If you would like to receive our booklet, Separated Unto the Gospel, a booklet that sets forth the beliefs and standards of the Free Presbyterian Church, You may have a copy free of charge simply for the asking. Our mailing address is Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. That's Let the Bible Speak, 1207 Haywood Road, Greenville, SC 29615. Our email address is info at faithfpc.org. That's info at f-a-i-t-h f-p-c dot o-r-g. If you would like to learn more about the Free Presbyterian Church of North America, or if you'd like to see if there is a free church in your area, we invite you to visit our website, www.fpcna.org. That's www.fpcna.org. On behalf of Dr. Alan Cairns, this is Charles Kelsch saying, thank you for listening and inviting you to join us again as we Let the Bible Speak.