Fix Your Eyes Andy Stanley Scripture: Hebrews 11:1 2, 13, 36 40; 12:1 4 Idea: Fix your eyes on Jesus. Be the generation the world is not worthy of. Introduction 1. When people hear the term Christian, what should they think? If you aren t one, what do you think? 2. Christian guy. She s a Christian. I work with a Christian. My sister is dating a Christian. Christians moved in next door. My boss is a Christian. 3. For sure: Those people are fearless! They aren t afraid of anything: death, poverty, illness... nothing. 4. They don t fear loss; consequently, they are selfless. Confident. Like their confidence comes from something other than them. 5. But not arrogant. Not self- confident. Humble. Like their confidence comes from something other than them. 6. Christian is a Christ follower. Jesus follower. So, Christians should look like Jesus. 7. Last week, we discovered Jesus looked nothing like this: [Show picture of Jesus artwork.] 8. Jesus was not fragile. 9. Christianity isn t fragile. His followers shouldn t be either. 10. Jesus was tough as nails. Peter was solid as a rock. Paul was stronger than steel. 11. What s wrong with us? What went wrong with us? First- century Christians: Irresistible. Fearless when there was much to fear. Introduced others first, one another one another, power for the powerless, work as unto Hebrews 11 [Speaks directly to Christians wondering: Worth it? Working? Now faith is ] [The writer of Hebrews left us with some clues...] [Looking back at Old Testament saints...] Hebrews 11:1 2, 13, 36 40 1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for. Faith is confidence God will do what he promised to do, not a power. 1
If someone you trust makes you a promise, you behave as if he or she will keep that promise although you haven t seen it yet. First two weeks at work: You worked by faith. You had confidence in what you hoped for. Assurance, based on the character of your employer of what you had not seen. Your first week at work, you worked by faith. Author lists OT characters Noah, Sarah, Abraham behaved as if God would keep... 13 All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. 37 They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated 38 the world was not worthy of them. There was once a version of faithfulness to God that elicited heroic living. It was awe- inspiring. Who are these people? These were 39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, 40 since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. [God s plan was fulfilled/perfected through them and us.] Teleiow : to complete an activity, complete, finish, accomplish, bring to an end, bring to its goal/accomplishment, fulfill, make perfect We received God s promise to them. They hoped. We received! They were looking They were looking forward and were faithful. We are looking back and are fearful? So what should we do? How do we respond? Hebrews 12:1 4 2
1 Therefore [So what should we do? How do we respond? Now he/she addresses us, the receivers of the promise who know the rest of the story.] since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, [People who paid an extraordinary price for their faith to ensure we would know the story of faith... who paid a high price in the hopes a Messiah would come... that is/wasn t all a fairy tale...] Let us hide, whine, complain, hoard our resources (just in case), put our Bibles in a drawer, build bomb shelters, purchase ammunition, blame the cops, blame the president, blame the teachers, blame our mommas, demand our rights, build a wall, tax the rich, play it safe, find somebody to sue, take back our country, pray Jesus returns so we won t have to suffer! Hebrews 12:1 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, [Did I miss anybody? Imagine how we sound to those who came before, Christians in Iraq and Syria, refugee camps, missing daughters.] let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles [us]. [Take off clothing: peel off layers. Hinders: encumbers. Gets in the way. Entangles: obstructs, ensnares.] [We must first look in mirror. Ask, What s holding me back? Why am I not all- in? Fearful? What am I afraid of... really?] [There is a relationship between our ability to follow Christ and our willingness to deal with our personal encumbrances and sins.] Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, [This generation of American Christians has a specific race to run, a specific role to play, a difference to make in our culture/world.] 2 fixing our eyes on [What are your eyes fixed on? Focused on? This is the problem. Safety? Security? Who s to blame?] fixing our eyes on Jesus, [Fill in blank.] 3
[Point of reference: What would Jesus do? What would Jesus say? How would Jesus respond? Imagine that? It changed the world once.] the pioneer [author: archgos. Translated Prince in Acts. Leader, originator, ruler, founder] and perfecter of faith. [Finisher: finished the race we run; teleiwths, only time in NT, perfecter one who brings something through to final attainment; implied faithfulness through to the end - personal involvement] [Then the author gets gritty. Gets up in our faces. Nose- to- nose.] For the joy set before him he endured the cross [upomenow - aor. act. ind. - stay behind; hold out; endure affliction], scorning its shame, [Saw it coming. Had seen it done. Needed no imagination. Knew exactly what to expect. Didn t back down. katafronew- aor. act. ptc. look down on/disregard. He didn t let the shame drive him away. Spit on it. Not intimidated by it.] 2 and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. [Finished it. Saw it through to completion. For you.] 3 Consider him [Fix your eyes on him.] who endured such opposition from sinners, [analogizomai - aor. mid. imper. pause to consider. Only time in NT.] so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. [To 45+: You ve grown weary and lost heart. You ve taken your eyes off Jesus and put them on national leaders. Would you shut up already with all the Woe is us? Blame, blame, blame.] [You re scaring the children. You re teaching the next generation to fix their eyes on government the very thing you oppose. Government matters. Policy matters. But not as much as this: behavior.] Once upon a time, a handful of Jesus followers behaved differently. It caught on. 4
The Behave Yourself Movement. Don t grow weary and lose heart. Don't fix your eyes on social media. Washington. My generation. Once upon a time a handful of Jesus followers your age behaved differently. Changed the world. Then he takes a jab... taunts us... besides... In your struggle... 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. Imagine a generation of Christians of whom it was said: The world... Conclusion Hebrews 11:38 The world was not worthy of them. They were the most fantastic, selfless, faith- filled, fearless people. Odd at times. But so secure. So fearless. Some of em were Republicans, Democrats, Independents. But above all of that, they were Christians. 1. This gives us a lot to think about. 2. I ve given you a lot to argue with me about. 3. Is your version of Christianity worth the price somebody paid for it? Cheap? 4. Is your version worth shedding blood over? 5. The world was not worthy of them. 6. What would that look like for you and me? 7. What would that look like for us? 5