Hidden Figures Pt 1

[Music] every hindrance and a sin that so easily ensnares us let us run with endurance the race that lies before us keeping our eyes on Jesus the source and perfecter of our faith for the joy that lay before him he endured the cross despising the shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God you may be seated Lord bless the reading the hearing and doing of His Holy Word talked this morning about hidden figures wherefore seeing that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every hindrance every weight and the sin which does so easily entangle us and let us run with patience with endurance the race that is set before us looking unto Jesus who is the author the source the finisher the perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising and he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God on February 20th 1962 John Glenn set atop a 90-foot night five foot tall intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral after eleven delays capsule communicator scott Carpenter finally uttered the famous phrase god speed John Glenn and the mercury at least six blasted off from Lunt launch complex 14 it reached a velocity of 17,500 44 miles per hour orbited the earth three times and splashed down for hours 55 minutes and 23 seconds later 800 miles southeast of Bermuda John Glenn was an instant hero the first American to orbit Earth but even heroes need help and epic stories often have even better backstories the greatest challenge facing NASA was not getting a man into space it was returning him safely to earth and that's where Katherine Coleman Goble Johnson enters the equation calculating Glenn's re-entry into Earth's atmosphere required the brightest mathematical minds and catherine was chief among them but she had to come she had to overcome two significant challenges racism evidenced by the bathrooms designated for black employee at Langley Research Center and in 1962 it was a white man's world but you can't keep a good black woman down when it came to calculating trajectories and computing launch windows no one was better than Katherine Johnson NASA had just purchased their first IBM computer but John Glenn didn't trust it in fact he was unwilling to take off until Katherine checked the numbers if Katherine didn't do what she did John Glenn wouldn't have done what he did and if he had not orbited the earth we wouldn't have made it to the moon and if we had not landed a man on the moon the Soviet Union would have and if the Soviet Union had won the space race they might have won the Cold War and if she hadn't been awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Barack Obama at the age of 97 with an oscar-nominated film to her credit I'm not sure any of us would have ever heard the name of the smartest black woman who has ever nailed Katherine Coleman go bold Johnson brothers and sisters hear me all of us in lily Grove this morning have in our lives our hidden figure some grandmother some Sunday School teachers some elementary school principal some old woman in our neighborhood some old man sitting on the porch some hidden figure somebody behind the scenes who has made us into the individuals that we are today no one of us here is self-made because anybody who is self-made is half made Moses wouldn't be Moses without Aaron David would not have been David without benaiah Esther would not have been Esther without Mordechai we're not for Elijah we never would have heard of Elijah every Timothy needs a Paul every Ruth needs a Naomi each one of us is a link in a chain of hidden figures there are some people in my life you will never know by name until we get to heaven who prayed for me who encouraged me who pushed me who was the wind at my back that I might be pastor at Linda Grove this morning our brothers and sisters the scripture says therefore and whenever you see the word therefore in the scripture you ought to want to know what is there for therefore seeing that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of of witness as a great cloud of hidden figures letters and lay aside every weight every hindrance that so easily ensnares us and let us run with endurance with patience the race that is set before us and looking not to the characters in chapter 11 not to able not to Enoch not the Moses not to rehab not to Joshua not to David but to Jesus who is the author the finisher the perfecter of our faith the metaphor of the cloud of witnesses is perhaps intended to express multitudes of witnesses and where they are in elevation they are not witnesses of us but witnesses to us that people don't know what living people are doing those who have departed those who have gone on I'm not speaking to us that's that's black magic that's a seance that's that's witchcraft to think that those who are departed speak to us no they are not speaking to us they are not speaking of us they are not in the grand stands cheering for us they are in the pantheon of witnesses as examples of how you can live a life of faith and make it to where God is the author's focus in the Hebrews is on the importance of current believers learning from those who have gone before us that on those who have gone before they are not watching us but we are watching them it is what we see in them and not what they see in us that is the office point this morning these bright names when you read a chapter 11 of the book of Hebrews it sounds like a hall of faith it's what would be called in Washington DC statuary hall all of these names these bright names in the statuary hall of faith in chapter 11 of Hebrews that shined in the heaven of God's Word proclaim his tender pity and his rewarding love to all who like them fight the good fight of faith their tears have been turned into diamonds and their wounded brows are now crowned with light and glory they witness to us of the faithfulness of God who has led them upheld them and has brought them to his side there on the other side not looking at us we are on this side looking at them to remind ourselves that if we remain faithful God will bring us to the other side I want you this morning to hear me as I ask us as believers as lily Grove Church to commit to a life of faith therefore considering seeing that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses let us lay aside every hindrance every weight there are some weights that are not sinners there are some things that are perfectly good but if they get in the way of serving God you got to strip yourself of it somebody help me preacher this moment nothing is wrong with Jack and Jill nothing is wrong with your fraternity by your sorority nothing is wrong with social involvement but if it precludes Bible study if it makes you too tired to come to choir rehearsal if it gets in the way of you serving God on Sunday morning something you gotta go see I quad you got right there I say this often especially the young adults who always complaining about how much they got to do that's why they can't come to church and and that's why they can't get involved and that's why they can't do what they have to do at church because they got jobs and they got families and they got bills and they got responsibilities and go here and they got to go there whenever they said that to me my answer is always the same and what age do you thought we were when we started working in church everybody here who is of age who works who works in the church all have worked in the church you had a job you had children you had bills you had responsibilities but you know you couldn't do what you could do for your family if you didn't put God first and if you seek first the kingdom of heaven and its righteousness all these other things come on you can help me preach it don't put anything in front of serving God because if God has been good to you then your response to God's goodness is a life of faith there have been many times that we couldn't see how we were gonna make it but we put our trust in God have a got a witness here there were times when we did not know how our situation was going to work out but when we got to the door God just opened it and just before our back was all the way against the wall God just provided enough space for us to do what it is that we needed to do if you remain faithful God will take care of you here's the picture here's the picture here's the image and maybe this will help you to get it quickly here's the picture in the first century when they participated in the it's meum and Olympic Games they entered the stadium or the arena clad in brightly covered long flowing robes because they wanted to impress the Emperor and so they had brightly covered long flowing robes but if they were gonna run in a race they'd have to undress they have to get rid of the encumbrance they have to get rid of anything that would trip them up because they knew if you're gonna run well you've got to run light somehow don't help me preach it and anything that isn't angling you anything that is keeping you from being faithful to God you gotta take it off I wish I had one or two more witnesses in I know we don't like to take anything off we like to add stuff to our agenda and add stuff to our business but if you're gonna do God's work that's some stuff you don't have to leave alone you have to get off social media get yourself off of Facebook and put your face in a book stop trying to be popular stop worrying about who's on your side and who's not on your side come on talk back to me if you can get away from some people in your life because everybody's smiling and laughing with you and and and talking with your own Facebook is not your friend come on talk back to me if you can because the higher God pushes you up listen to me the higher God pushes you up the smaller your circle got to become because a whole lot of folk don't want to see you prosper they don't want to see God lift you up and if you hang around with them you'll get entangled in their drama they are miserable and they want you to be miserable they mad at everybody and they want you to be mad at everybody they don't like anything and they don't want you to like anything get them off of your Pew and if they don't move you move find you a sectional people to sit with that will not bring you down the to heaven they to heaven there to heaven and if you're gonna run well you gotta run light they had to get rid of entanglement and brothers and sisters that takes faith because often the devil will think you make you think you can't make it without them people or the devil will make you think you can't make it without that job oh you can't make it without that circle of friends but but whenever God closes a door he's getting ready to open a window or another door somebody ought to help me here if you stay faithful to God God will always see you through the way you got to run with endurance now hear me the word in the text endurance does not mean passive sitting down taking everything the word endurance in the race is from the word igon which gives us our english word agony which means you got to struggle you got to fight you got to stand up for yourself you got to put them up if somebody want to go one-on-one with you about what you know is right you've got to get in the race and stay in it if you got to do it by yourself I was at home over the Christmas holidays and I saw something I watched something that I hadn't seen in a long time and it reminded me of some people who come to church i watch my little nephews and nieces and i haven't done it in so long because when you get up here where I am and where most of you are in age it's a whole lot of racket you can't put up with a whole lot of outside stuff you just don't feel like doing so I'm glad I got some younger nieces and nephews to take my little nieces and nephews outside to do a whole lot of stuff that I would have had to do if they were now and I saw them do something I haven't seen it in years and years they were playing with roman candles and you know something by roman candles yeah they light up and make a lot of sparks and then they shoot and it's over like like like some Christians who come milligram lot of sparks that annoys and it's over come to church maybe once a month used to be in the choir used to be a Sunday school teacher fizzled out God is not looking for roman candle christians this morning he's looking for christians who are on fire when nobody else is on fire you giving God praise when nobody else is giving God praise you show up even when you're not being paid you give God your best hallelujah your best thank you Jesus you give God all you have because God gave you all he for anybody who has fizzled out let me encourage you this morning to catch on fire because God will do something with you when you got faced have a got a witness here some of the things you possess right now you wouldn't have it if you didn't have a life of faith where you are in your Christian journey you would not be there now without a life of faith now faith is the substance of things hoped for and it's the evidence of things that are not seen I don't even have it yet but I'm praising God for I don't have what he promised but I believe what he said I've got a witness here because when you read chapter 11 the Bible says they died not having received the promise yet God counted it as faith and you and I have the promise that God made to them in Jesus Christ and I dare you not have faith in God who's already showed you the evidence he walks with me he talks with me he tells me I'm his own and the joy we share not when I get to heaven but right now some folks here are so full of faith that all you got to do is mention the name Jesus you don't even happen to be Sunday Mon we can just be talking on the phone and we start talking about the goodness of Jesus and how marvelous all his works how wondrous is his name how good is his favor and we just can't hardly get out of the conversation without shouting because when your life is full of faith you just trust God no matter what the day brings you trust God no matter what circumstance you're in you trust God no matter what your physical condition you trust God no matter what your financial status you trust God even when people say you crazy it don't make sense for you to keep going to their church it don't make sense for you to keep loving those people but if you trust God he'll bring you out where's one deals with a commitment to a life of faith but then first two is a commitment to a life of focus you need to focus your faith because your faith is only as good as its focus and when your faith is in Jesus Christ some things are gonna happen for you looking not to the heroes in chapter 11 because hear me brothers and sisters even as it relates to us who are believers now nothing is wrong at looking at somebody else's life as an example but that example could also be a warning their example could also be a warning because of every example of faith in this church this morning their sudden crook I wish I had my 7:30 crime I wish I had some folk in here who know that all your righteousness is as a filthy rag and as good as you try to be that's something crooked about you there's something off about you that's something wrong in you there's a there's a tear there's a rupture in your testimony but God uses you anyway because he put a trash in an earthen vessel Church is not about folk who are perfect we don't have a perfect faith we got a perfect God and even when I'm myself I got to look to Jesus here is the imagery looking to Jesus that we're looking is an emphatic compound which means look nowhere else fix your eyes on Jesus don't look at the pastor because you are looking at a rich undone CI quad you got right there I hate to disappoint you I hate to hurt your feelings I hate to I hate to make you feel bad that you do not have a perfect pastor you might want to go join a church where you can find one but if you're a member of this church you are looking at a crook a rich and we're not for God's righteous covering if we were not for God's grace and mercy I would be in jail this morning because I did enough I thought enough and I said enough just yesterday that God should have erased my name from the Lamb's Book of Life but I'm not in the family of God because I'm perfect I have somebody who is the author and the finisher of my faith I'm trying to keep myself from shouting right here but when you read that second verse it says looking to Jesus who is the originator he is both the source and the finish he's the even and the Advent he's the subject and the predicate he's the sitter and the circumference he's Alpha and Omega he's the beginning and the end he's the first and the last everything I need to make my faith perfect is in him he's the author finisher of my faith here's the show who for the joy that was set before him endured my suffering when I think about the cross and the agony that Jesus suffered on the cross it should have been me but he took my place I said he took my place he became sin for us who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God the just for the unjust the righteous for the unrighteous God put on Jesus my suffering he was wounded I wish I had a Bible reader from my transgressions he was bruised from my iniquities the chastisement of my peace God put it on him because all we like sheep have gone astray but God has laid on him the iniquity of us all if you're not the worst sinner you know you don't know yourself very well all of us in here this morning got some closet sins some sins that nobody knows about but us and God have a God a witness here but he still lets you teach his word he still lets you preach his gospel he still lets you sing songs to his name he still lets you I sure in his sanctuary he still lets you live and for that reason you ought to tell God thank you thank you bet you suffered in my place but as I go to my seat he did more than that for me not only did he endure my suffering but he raced my shame he erased my shame my sin oh the Bliss of that glorious thought my sin not in part but the whole they were nailed to the cross and I bear them no more raise the Lord praise the Lord Oh myself so I can get to that fourth verse that says now Lord haste the day when my faith shall be sight and the clouds be rolled back like a scroll then the Trump shall resound and the Lord showed the sin even so it is well with myself the shame that's in my past he erased it I wish I had somebody here who's got some shame from your past some stuff that not even your fault other folk did to you and you need you a shame and you carry that with you for years but Jesus erased it that's why you shout so much that's why you have such a good time in church because the stuff that used to hold you back God erased it now you are free to give God your best hallelu I'm through now but that's not all of that verse he didn't do it the cross he despised the shame and then he took a seat at the right hand of the throne of God somebody ought to help me shout here not taking a seat at the right hand of God it's worthy of us getting happy about it because in the Old Testament sacrificial economy the priests had to make sacrifices 24 hours a day and then on the Day of Atonement the high priest would go behind the veil that separated the Holy of Holies from the most holy and put on his ceremonial ephod and put bells on his tassels and a rope around his waist so that when he went behind the veil if he died the bells would stop ringing and they could drag him out by that rope because nobody could go behind the veil but the high priest on the Day of Atonement and then they had to do it once a year in that sacrificial system and the priests made a sacrifice for the sins of the people every day they never sat down but one Friday on a hill called Calvary Jesus died for me and when he died he never has to die again because his death is sufficient for my salvation have I got a witness here his death was once and forever and so now we don't need a high priest because we already have one seated at the right hand of God and that seat means another sacrifice never has to be made so I don't have to come before God with bullocks on the altar I don't have to come before God with Rams of consecration and lambs without spot or blemish I can come now as a living sacrifice holy and acceptable under God which is my reasonable act of service sometimes people wonder why you cry during the worship ain't nothing wrong with you he just took your shame they wonder why you get so happy during the preaching it's not because you just got out of jail he took your shame they wonder why you get so excited when you had church music it's not because you just left the club he took your shame is there anybody here know something about shame some stuff you did that you should have been judged for but he had mercy on you he did not let you get discovered he did not let you get found out he just looked beyond are your faults and so all you need that's why you love him so much that's why you praise him so much because he endured his suffering he erase you shame and he wrote your name in Lamb's Book of Life is there anybody here know your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life if the Lord save you this morning and you're not embarrassed to testify if the Lord wrote your name in the Lamb's Book of Life and you know you're going to heaven when you die if the Lord open doors for you and you're not embarrassed to testify if the Lord pick you up turn you around place your feet on solid ground if you know who you are if you know who it was that kept you come on help me tell them thank you thank you for the cross at the cross at the cross where I first saw the light my heart rolled away it was there by faith I receive my sight is there anybody here happy all the day why don't you grab somebody why don't you shake somebody's hand you can't [Music] can't know about it to me like Jesus can't nobody do me like the Lord he walks with me he talks with me he tell tell me I am his own and the ja ja ja ja ja sure this joy that I have the world didn't give it the world can't take it away thank you for my job thank you for my peace thank you for my salvation thank you for the Holy Ghost thank you Jesus your life my life ought to be committed to faith and committed to focus let nobody make you take your eyes of Jesus because he is the author and the finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured my cross erased my shame and he's now seated at the right hand of God and listen whenever I get in trouble the only time that seat at the right hand of God is empty is when I get in trouble cuz when I get in trouble he stands up at the right hand of God when the devil has come in to accuse me Jesus said wait a minute hold that I paid for that on the cross what can wash away my nothing but the blood of Jesus [Music] [Applause] [Music]

Channel: lillygrovembc

Views: 29,951

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Id: NAyKHEKnDJw

Length: 42min 12sec (2532 seconds)

Published: Mon Jan 28 2019