Looking Unto Jesus - Gabriel Swaggart

hebrews chapter 12 we're gonna finish up Lord willing where we left off a few weeks ago Hebrews chapter 12 beginning in verse number one Paul would write and he would say wherefore seeing we also are competent a 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 unto Jesus the author and the 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 and I want to use for a subject ministering just for a few moments here today looking unto Jesus the author the finisher of the faith that's what we're supposed to do look unto Jesus exclusively the author and the finisher of our faith let us pray Heavenly Father we come before you in the name of Jesus and Lord we thank you for your presence we thank you for your grace and for your mercy lord I pray for your anointing and I pray for your strength here today anoint us to minister your word anoint us to hear what you would have us to sing give us strength today to speak with authority and we ask it all in the name of Jesus asking that you would ever increase as we would ever decrease in hottest behind Calvary's cross we ask it in the name of Jesus Christ and everybody said amen and amen if we fail to present to you and to preach to you Jesus Christ and him crucified then we are doing you a tremendous disservice the cross of Christ is the most important part of the plan of God it is the most vital part of God's Redemption plan for you for you see without the cross there is no redemption without the cross there is no blessing without the cross there is no healing without the cross there is no deliverance without the cross there is no baptism with the Holy Spirit I want you to understand that the cross is everything it is the center of God's Redemption plan and if we fail at any time to preach to you Jesus Christ and him crucified not just for salvation but for everything then we are giving you a disservice we are providing you with nothing regarding the means to live and overcoming Christian life I made a statement just a few weeks ago that I can tell whenever I made it that many of you were scratching your heads as to the statement that I made but as I concluded that statement I believe that we all begin to see what we were trying to say I made that statement it was this God can work with failures but he can't work with quitters failure in the life of the believer is not pleasant to deal with failure in the life of a Christian it's difficult to endure I heard brother Larson say many years ago that it's not a matter of if you fail but it's when you fail our lives have been littered with ups with downs but I hope that you would understand that as long as you never give up that as long as you never lose your faith that God can work in spite of what is I want to say that again if you don't quit if you don't lose hope if you don't lose faith then God can work in spite of your failures he can pick you up whenever you're down but it's when you cease to believe God cannot work I know that some of us here this morning and many watching and listening by radio by television by internet that you have failed God you have looked away from the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ because I believe that all failure is a result of misplaced faith taking your eyes away from the finished work of Christ and placing it on something else but I know that many of you here and many watching by television radio and internet that you have experienced failure in your life and you feel as if you cannot go on any further that God has so upset with you that you cannot ask for forgiveness because you feel that God may not forgive you because of your failure but I want to leave you with the words of a song written nearly 100 years ago by an african-american Holiness pastor out of Indiana who would write these words and say when gloom and sadness whisper you've sinned no need to pray but I look away to Jesus I look away from my problems and I look away to Jesus for he tells me what to say I see a crimson stream of blood I see that crimson stream of blood I see that crimson stream of blood look away from your faults and failures and turn your eyes to Christ and that streaming blood blow me to go I don't care what you've done just turn away from your failures and turn to Christ turn to that streaming fountain of blood I see that crimson stream of blood that flows from Calvary it's waves they reach the throne of God and they're sweeping sweeping over me I want you to understand that I want to say that again when swin glue and sadness whispered you've sinned no need to pray I turn away to Jesus for he tells me what to say you see that's the key for you and I that in this Christian experience that when we mess up and we make a fool of ourselves that we look away from our faults we look away from our 10,000 failures and we fix our eyes on Christ we fix our eyes on the shed blood of the lamp I see that crimson stream of plight that flows from Calvary it's waves they reach the throne of God and are sweeping thank God they're sweeping thank God they're still sweeping over me as Paul would write and verse 1 as we read it to you just a moment ago laying aside every weight and sin that does easily beset us and run this race with patience he's telling us what to do but in verse 2 from the way I look at it he tells us how to do it you see I want to focus our attention just for a few moments on that word looking that we're looking there in that particular verse verse 2 where it says looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith that word looking signifies this turning your eyes away from something and placing them on something turning your eyes away from something and fixing them upon something else but it also means this turning your mind away from something and focusing your mind on something specific what Paul is saying is this look away from your works because works cannot guarantee sanctification works cannot earn you anything from God your performance doesn't matter in the mind of God when it comes to your works but he's saying turn away from all of that turn away from your works turn away from your performance and your eyes on Christ and fix your mind on the cross it speaks of placing your faith in Jesus Christ who he is and what he's done it means this that on this race in this race that we're own that we are to have spiritual blinders placed upon our eyes one covering the right side one covering the left that we are not to look to the right or look to the left be distracted by the right or what's happening on the left but our eyes and minds should be focused on Christ and what he did at Calvary you see a very moment that we as believers take our eyes off of what Christ is accomplished and we place them on something else no matter what it is then as you know that in a race wherever your eyes are your body is going to follow that if your eyes in a normal race in a race that we run just in the natural that if our eyes are turned then our body is going to turn to where our eyes are and we will lose our concentration that in the spiritual that if our eyes are turned away from Christ then our concentration is broken we veer off paths and we will soon falter and fail you see Church there is a right way to live for God and there's a wrong way to live for God I want to look at that just for a moment they're gonna put it up on the screen I want to show you for a moment the wrong way on how to live for God which is all of us have been through at one point in our life if we have not as we have understood and come out of that every one of us has experienced this it's this you can see it right there on those monitors look around you can see it our focus when our focus is on works and our object of faith is on performance on how we do these work and the power sources then ourselves it will ultimately lead to failure the very moment that you begin to place your faith on your works and your performance you have no other alternative but to trust in yourself which will lead to failure you will lead to failure I can remember as a teenager 16 15 16 17 years of age not knowing how to live for God telling God and struggling with certain things in my life and I would say God I'm never going to do that again and to show you I mean business I'm going to pray every day I'm going to read your word every day nothing wrong with those things what we should do those things but my faith was in that my faith was in the doing of those religious disciplines Christian disciplines which did not it led me toward failure because my faith and focus was on doing something and not what was already accomplished I'm gonna be a little humorous now I can remember I can take you back to where I was in my bedroom 16 years of age in high school once again it was one of those moments where I was struggling and I told the Lord that I'm going to do this and this and this and this and this and I mean I listed it out and the day came it was the first day of it all and I said Lord I'm gonna do it I got down on my knees and I mean I started to pray and I mean I was really praying and I looked up at the clock had been two minutes and I'm thinking good lord I thought I'd been interceding for at least fifteen minutes it was two minutes and I said well I'm not sure if I'm over Mitch 30 minutes or not let's bring it down to 25 minutes and I mean I kept going I looked at the clock it only been seven minutes I got the 15 minutes I said God I think you're good enough with that I'm okay i sat down and I grabbed my Bible and I opened it up to Genesis and I started reading and all the sudden I told God I was gonna read 15 chapters a day in the Bible I was gonna go through it quickly and my mind started wandering when I got on page 4 I didn't realize what I was reading but as the day's begin to go and went by I found myself it can't became more difficult to continue that regimen because my faith was in the doing of something and I was thinking that that was going to earn me something with God that if I did these things that God would be pleased with me God cannot really be pleased with us he can only be pleased in his son Jesus Christ that's salvation when we are baptized into Christ then as we are in Christ God is pleased with him therefore he's pleased with me because I'm in Christ I my faith was in the wrong thing my faith was in my works my performance my self no matter what I tried to do that those things which I told God I would never do again I found myself still struggling if not more because of my faith was misplaced I can take you to the moments where I would be weeping and night saying God please don't come back because I don't know if I'm ready I'm struggling and I don't know what to do I know that I know that victory is there but I just don't know how to obtain it most of the Christian world is following this formula right here their focus is on works their object of faith is in their performance look what I can do in the very moment that your object of faith is in your performance self-righteousness as a result of that look what I can do you're not doing what I'm doing but look what I can do but mind you the ones that are most self-righteous or probably the ones that are mostly struggling the result is going to be fill you but there is a right way to live there is a right way to live and that's what Paul is saying here that if we look away from our works we look away from our performance and we put our focus on Christ our object of faith is now the cross this gives the opening of the Holy Spirit the opportunity to begin to work in my life to take out the bad putting the good that will relieve that will lead me to my result which is victory for sin shall not have dominion over me from not under what I do I'm not under law and focusing on what I do but I'm under grace focusing on what Christ has already done you got to understand that church that as they believer in this life our eyes must be turned away from what we do your works will not amount to anything in the eyes of God there's only one work that matters and that's the finished work of Jesus Christ that's the only work that matters you've heard me say this you can depend upon works all you want to but works will never cease or you can depend on one work completed work finished work don''t Calvary never to be repeated ever again you can depend on that and experience the victory that you need that's why I say that everything that we need is found in the cross without the cross I want to say it again without the cross there is no victory without the cross there is no Holy Spirit without the cross there is no deliverance without the cross there is no salvation that's the most important part of the plan of God for we were not redeemed by corruptible things as silver and gold or the vain traditions of our fathers but by the shed blood of Jesus Christ the shed blood of the Lamb that was for gain before the foundations of the world the cross the cross the cross every one of you I should say hopefully every single one of you understand what we're saying here our focus must be on Christ get him off of yourself you can't earn anything from God put it onto Christ fix your eyes on Christ fix your eyes on what he did lets her object of faith being the cross the power source then is the Holy Spirit who works through the means of the finished work of Christ to bring about what is needed in that's victory you see we can't have victory it's obtainable victory is not something that's out there far in the distance it's obtainable to us right now but we've got to do it God's Way we've got to look under Jesus we have to look to Jesus we have to look and depend on Christ and what he did at Calvary then he said this looking unto Jesus the author and the finisher of our faith that word author let's look at that for a moment that word author means that through his death through the death of Jesus Christ he bridged the gap between heaven and earth between God and man man there was no way that man could ever hope to get to God based on his own righteousness there was never a chance that man could ever approach God because man was a sinner and God could not abide sin at any shape form of fashion and so Jesus Christ would leave the splendors of glory and he would come down to a sin filled world for the for this one reason and that is to redeem mankind to bridge that gap between heaven and earth between God and man as you know and you've heard Minister doe many times before that there was a partition a curtain it separated the Holy of Holies the most holy place and man could not go in only the great high priest could go in once a year and through the shedding blood but the very moment that Jesus Christ died on Calvary's cross at that very moment the veil was torn from top to bottom signifying that anybody can now called into the Holy of Holies through the shed blood of Jesus he's the one that offered this when you think of the word author what do you think of I know some people call it Arthur no it's not a name it's not Arthur author when you think of an author who do you think of you think of somebody that penned a work that started a work and completed a work and pinned a work that hopefully scores of people would purchase and follow Jesus Christ is the author he started this work he forged this path he was the only one that could Forge this path man couldn't do it but God could and he did so through the means of his son Jesus Christ he started this path he authored this path we the path that we're now owned in this Christian life was forged by Jesus Christ it was started by Jesus Christ as I have said in the past many many many years ago that as that chasm was there between God and man man could not hope to cross that chasm so God did something he laid down the cross that man can now walk that was man's walking plank from death to life the cross was God's walking plank from death to life where man can walk and cross that chasm but it was forged by Jesus Christ offered by Christ offered by Christ through what he did at Calvary the finisher author and finish what does that word finisher mean come on help me church come on somebody say it complete what is finished mean finish finish means what done completed he started the work but he didn't just leave it for somebody else to complete he started it and he finished it he started it and he finished it about six or seven years ago I heard a preacher with television make this statement he said when Jesus was hanging on the cross and he cried out it is finished that he didn't really mean what he said there that he really didn't finish the work he said angels had to finish it for him I'm sitting here thinking to myself brother what do you think finish means I don't think finish you don't have the same definition as finished as what I do when somebody says I'm finished what does that mean I'm done there's nothing else left to be done I'll break it down like this how many there's a television show I like to watch how many watch that show forged in fire one person that's me me I saw one hand over here brother I guess it's just you and I together man forged in fire it speaks that it's a competition where guys and girls they come and they take random objects mix them together and forge a blade a knife a fully functioning weapon to be tested to be proven and it's amazing to me as they go through the competition phase one phase two phase one that starts with four competitors and they have to fix and and have the beginnings of a knife that has to be between a certain parameters it has to look like a knife it can't be just a piece of metal it has to look like a knife it may not be shot but it has to look like a knife it has to have a tang with it which is the metal part that goes out where the wood is placed or the metal or whatever it is to hold that weapon learn something from that I didn't know what that was until I started watching it but it's amazing as I was watching the program that there was they said that the competition was on and it was fierce and then at one part of the competition a man completed his his knife he made it while everybody else was working and doing this and doing that and doing that one gentleman just sat down he just put it onthis on the thing and sat down and was watching and all the hosts and although that the judges were saying what does he do and he should be doing this this this and this and this and he's just sitting there looking at his knife admiring how sharp it is how beautiful a work it was and three hours or six hours or nine hours time making a blade and everybody else was still scrambling trying to finish something the host was shouting down ten nine eight seven six and they're scrambling and scrambling and there's that dude just sitting there looking around five four three two one he just stands up and says okay it's cool done and so they went through testing it and all the other competitors they failed and then looked at this one knife he state all said they they couldn't be finished that quickly but as they went through the test it it performed perfectly and he got one I'm sitting there thinking to myself that's exactly what Christ did everybody else was working doing this doing that doing that when Christ he finished it sat down sat down sat down sat down or we should get that he seated by the right hand of the Father signifying the work is complete completes complete finished finished finished and on top of that it works perfectly it works perfectly it works flawlessly hallelujah glory to God you can't I'll do the cross you can't outdo the cross you can't I'll do the cross the finisher he completed it he completed it nothing else needed to be added the author he's the one that started it the finisher he's the one who completed it and Paul tells us that's how to look that's how to do this that's how to run this race that's also how to lay aside the sin and the weight that does easily beset us to look to the one who finished how many ever and then in just your normal life you have somebody that you look up to somebody that you are you admire I'm not talking about an idol I'm just saying somebody that you look up to that has gone through things that you haven't yet gone through and it's come out on the other side you look at that individual like that and say if they can get through it I can get through it but it's that that's one thing to look to somebody that you admire that has gone through some issues has gone through the ups and downs of life and has come through on the other side but yet it's another thing altogether to look under Jesus who was the author and the finisher of our faith the one that started it and the one that completed it it signifies the development if you will of our faith the beginning of our faith the development of our faith the ending of our faith where it should be where should never leave and that is Jesus Christ and what he did a Calvary the author and the finisher I want to go back to what that Joker said they said that what Jesus said it is finished he didn't really mean it that angels had to complete the work for him show me that in the Bible show me please please show me I may be missing something but somebody showed me where angels had to finish this work if that was the case Paul would have said the author but not the finisher angels were the finisher no no Jesus is the author and Jesus is the finisher no other finisher I remember in college listening to some individual he's older he's he's I don't know if he's still alive or not to be honest he was up up in years back then and that was almost 20 years ago and I heard him say in a chapel service one morning is we're sitting there about 5,000 students in college and he he made the statement that he said if you just look in the crevices in the corners of where you are you'll see angels so what if you squint your eyes real tight and you look in the distance and you look at the corners of the buildings you'll see a much larger focus on angels her focus should be on Christ on Christ in Christ not demeaning angels no but they didn't pay the price for me it was Christ they paid the price I'm almost through I'm almost through he said who for the joy was set before him endured the cross endured across the Smit the cross had to be there was no other way the cross had to be you know I can't I can't really comprehend what Christ left to come here the splendor of glory to come here to a sinful world to leave a perfect place to come to a place that is so imperfect but yet it was because man's sin was so horrible but man was left in a position that where he could not get to God in and of himself but he endured the cross meaning the cross had to be yeah you know I you look at in the Gospels when it talks about the crucifixion of Christ what he had to endure the pain suffering his beard ripped from his face lashes on his back a crown of thorns placed on his head carrying a part of that cross up to Mount Calvary only to have nails pierced through his flesh that cross erected where everyone would ridicule him everyone would make fun of him which spit upon him if you be the Son of God release yourself from that cross my opinion that's why the religious leaders wanted him dead they wanted him crucified because in Deuteronomy they read and it's there for you to read that anybody who goes to the cross that's hung on a tree is cursed by God and maybe they would say that this is the son of God if this is the Messiah then God would not allow his son to be cursed by hanging on a tree but it had to because the sin debt of man had to be paid the sin debt had to be paid and there was no other way to pay it except through death and death on a cruel rugged cross he endured all of that so you and I would not have to he endured all of the suffering so that you and I would not have to he endured all of that so we would not have to despising the shame shame left there on that cross was not a stitch of clothing on him the whole world to see see it was Roman custom no Roman citizen they've ever been hung on a cross that reserved that was reserved for the most vile and the most wicked imaginable he was reserved for the one that was the crimes were so heinous so evil so vile but yet here's a man that did nothing but he was crucified nailed between two thieves why why did he have to suffer that shame because of us he loved us so much that he sent His only begotten Son that whosoever believes on him should not perish but have everlasting life he suffered the guilt that he suffered the shame he was made a curse for us so that you and I could have life but I want to end with this this morning as horrific as the cross was as horrific that's what his screen was his victory was that much greater his victory was that much greater because Paul did not leave it right there to say he just suffered on Calvary's gross but he said he's now seated by the right hand of the Father he's seated right there by the throne of God he seated signified once again that the work was completed in Hebrews 10 you'll see it there for yourself that Paul would say that the priest stood daily ministering in the temple constantly working their work was never completed but he said this one who sanctified who was who sanctified us through the giving of his body on Calvary's cross that this one is now seated by the right hand of the Father with his feet his feet on the earth was made his footstool signifying that his work on Calvary's cross was a finished completed work that now his victory becomes my victory Christ did not suffer just to give you a partial victory but he suffered and died to give you a complete victory over the world the flesh and the devil his victory was won Calvary's cross so that you and I can say that sin does not have dominion over me that I can lay aside the weight and the sin that does easily beset me as I look to Jesus Christ the author and the finisher of my faith through what he did at Calvary cross that I can stand to say I am the aureus because he is victorious he is victorious he has won the victory thank God listen to this that old song that says hallelujah what a thought Jesus for salvation brought victory victory that the powers of sin assail heavens grace can never fail victory Oh victory His grace can never fail which means the cross can never fail the cross can never fail no matter what happens in your life the failure and mistakes get your eyes off of the problem stand up and put your eyes back on Christ and what he did at Calvary and let the Holy Spirit work through you to help put you back on the right path to where your eyes are focused straight ahead put those blinders on don't take them off don't move away from the finished work of Christ stand your feet stand your feet Heavenly Father we come before you in the name of Jesus we thank you for Calvary lord I thank you for Calvary's cross I thank you that I can stay the because of what you've done and my faith in that finished work that not only have you redeemed me but you've sanctified me as well god I pray for every man woman born girl that is under the sound of our voice that whatever the problem is that God you would help us to keep our eyes on you on Christ the author and the finisher of our faith we ask in the name of Jesus Christ amen and amen whatever they feel led to sing just for a few moments I want us to just put our hands in the air and let's just thank him right now for his victory let's thank him right now for his victory hallelujah Jesus rectory [Music] [Music] to me come on one more time sing it now [Music] victory sweet [Music] [Music] be back with us tonight 6a car we love that godless [Music] [Music] trusting the Lord standing on this word victory [Music] since my love is crimson [Music] [Music] [Music] we hope you were blessed and enjoyed this live service from Family Worship Center Family Worship Center located in Baton Rouge Louisiana at Jimmy Swaggart ministries holds three services weekly Sunday morning at 10 a.m. Sunday evening at 6 p.m. and Wednesday at 7 p.m. all Central Time all services are broadcast live on the sonlife broadcasting network including Sun Life radio online worldwide at Sun Life tv.com and on the free ESPN now app to join the Family Worship Center Media Church call 1-800 to eight eight 8350 or join at jsm org live services are produced by the sonlife broadcasting network

Channel: Sonshine Bright

Views: 14,554

Rating: 4.8165135 out of 5

Keywords: CyberLink, PowerDirector12, Gabriel Swaggart, SBN, Sonlife Broadcasting Network, Hebrews 12:1-2, author and Finisher, victory over sin, bondage breaker

Id: MQWnR9AkoLI

Length: 45min 52sec (2752 seconds)

Published: Thu Sep 28 2017