Let us therefore read together the Word of God from Hebrews chapter 12 and reading from verse 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 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. He hath not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children. My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. For whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourges every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. For what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, wherefore all are partakers, then are ye bastards and not sons. Furthermore, we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we give them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure, but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous. Nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore, lift up the hands which hung down and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way, but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord. Look indeligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness bringing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled. Lest there be any fornicator or profane person as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears. For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, nor darkness and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words, which voice they that heard entreated, that the word should not be spoken to them any more. For they could not endure that which was commanded, and if so much as a beast touched the mountain, it shall be stoned or thrust through with a dart. And so terrible was the sight that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake. But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels. to the General Assembly and Church of the Firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaketh better things than that of Abel. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that speak on earth, much more shall not we escape if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven. Whose voice then shook the earth? But now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. And this word yet once more signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore, we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire. Amen. May the Lord follow with his own blessing upon the public reading of his word. Let us sing together now from Psalm 89 from verse 13. Psalm 89 from verse 13. Thou hast an arm that's full of power, thy hand is great in might, and thy right hand exceedingly exalted. is in height. Justice and judgment of thy throne are made the dwelling place. Mercy accompanied with truth shall go before thy face." And let us sing to verse 18, Psalm 89, at verse 13, thou hast an arm that's full of power. Aroused an arm that's full of fire Thy hand is great in might, and Thy right hand exceedingly exalted is in height. Justice and judgment on thy throne, Arm in unwavering faith, Mercy accompanied with truth shall go before thy face. O greatly blessed the people are the joyful sound that now in brightness of thy face, O Lord, there ever on shall go. In thy name shall all the day rejoice exceedingly. And in thy righteousness shall live, and exalted be on high. Because the glory of the strength And in Thy pilgrimage, O Lord, our power exalted be. Our God is our defense, and he to us a savior. The Holy One of Israel, this our almighty King. We shall return then to that reading from Hebrews chapter 12, and we'll isolate one text there, verse 2, which will be their text for meditation. Hebrews chapter 12 then and verse 2 for our text, 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. And we seek God's blessing as we would meditate upon these familiar words this evening. And I would like to remind you of some of the things that we find in this verse in context. Very briefly, why was the book of Hebrews written? Well, it was written to Jewish Christians, and they had gone through a period of persecution. But they were about to face a fresh bout of persecution, and it may have been more intense than the previous. And as you might well imagine, some of the Hebrews were saying to themselves, well, we didn't have this problem when we followed Judaism. We were able to go to the synagogue. We were able to go to the temple. We were able to partake in public worship. But now, since we've embraced the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, things have changed and we're experiencing this persecution that we never had before. And some of them, some of them were inclined to go back and to apostatize. Well, this book was written to them in order that they might appreciate what they have in the Savior, who far excels everything in Judaism. And indeed, if they had properly observed Judaism, It would lead them to Christianity. It would lead them to the Savior. And throughout this book, there are a number of warnings to these persons that they would not apostatize, but there are also encouragements. And this verse that we have chosen this evening is a verse to encourage them. 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. And there are one or two things that I would like to draw to your attention this evening, with the help of God, to remind you that you are to press on. And that's the title Press on, Christian. Press on, Christian. I don't know how you feel. You keep your feelings to yourself, and there's no harm in that. But all of us will get times and occasions when we feel like throwing the towel in. Things get too much for us. whether it be personal circumstances with relationship problems, problems with family, problems in our workplace, problems in the community. We get problems because we belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. It comes with the territory. And we are human. And sometimes we can be overwhelmed. It could be also because we're maybe not physically as well as we should be, and one thing can come upon another thing, and it can bring us down, and we could feel like, well, what's the point? And the psalmist knew something of this. I don't want to digress, but the psalmist knew something about this in Psalm 73. It's a psalm that tells us about how he looked at the wicked and how they seemed to prosper, yet he was a godly man and things were not easy in his life. And he began to somewhat falter until he went to the house of God, when things became much clearer for him. And that's the way it is for us. And the Bible recognizes these things, and therefore we have encouragements. to remind us and to refresh us and to make sure that when we go out of this building and when we enter into the first working day of the week, that we truly take up the cross and we follow Jesus Christ. And in some sense, humanly speaking, we might have our batteries recharged. And this is what happens here. This book is written to encourage them. not to turn their backs, but to encourage them. Well, one or two things I'd like to say from this. First of all, we have an example. Now, the prime example here is Christ Jesus, the Lord. We'll look at that. And there's no greater, better example for us to look at than the Lord Jesus Christ. But here, friends, in this book, There are a multitude of examples. Chapter 11 is full of examples. They are the Old Testament heroes. We read about that. Wherefore seeing ye, we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. In other words, Paul is saying to them, look, look at the Old Testament. You know the Old Testament. You're Jews, you're familiar with it, look at it, see in the Old Testament, see all these worthies, see how they managed, see how they fought the good fight of faith. They were looking forward to that day when the Messiah would come and they had to overcome difficulties and trials and temptations and all kinds of persecutions. Did they falter? Well, some did. But they were brought back up again, and they did fight the good fight of faith. And these Old Testament worthies are there to encourage them, and they're there to encourage us also. And in fact, we could well say that we have more encouragement than the people that Paul was initially writing to. They had the Old Testament, yes. But we have the New Testament. We have the New Testament worthies. We have the apostles. Now, we're not following the apostles. We're following the Lord Jesus Christ. But we can take encouragement from the apostles. What were they, friends? With reverence and with respect to the apostles, they were nobody's. Fishermen. hard-working, working-class individuals who were not highly trained, who were not highly educated, but they were filled with the Spirit of the living God, and they went about and they preached Christ and the resurrection, and they knew wonderful success. Is that not an encouragement for us? Some of the people that Paul was writing to might have known something of the work of the apostles, but they didn't know all that we know about the apostles. And do we not have encouragements in, as we look at church history? Is it not a marvel? Is it not a miracle that there is still a church today Is it not a marvel that we gather here in Glasgow, and we gather in that name that's above every name, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, when you consider all the persecution that the church has encountered from its formation in the New Testament times, how every religion is against us, every government is against us, the devil's against us, yet there's a church. Yet the gospel is proclaimed, yet Jesus Christ is still building his church, and the church is going on and going on and going on. Is that not a great sense of encouragement for us? Are you feeling down? Look up, friends, look up. It's a marvel, it's a wonder. It's only because Jesus Christ is the head of the church, and he's building his church, and it will never, ever be overthrown. I hope I'm quoting this accurately, not perfectly I'm sure, but there was an incident when Lord Reith was Was he the Director General of the BBC? I can't remember exactly, but he was there at the very beginning. And he had a meeting with the executives about programs that were going to be on the radio. And this young executive came in and said something like this, well, we don't need any more of this religion in our broadcasting. We've had enough of it. No more of it. And Lord Reith, what did he say? He says, young man, the church shall stand at the grave of the BBC. And how true that is. The BBC and the media are very strong and powerful, and they are swaying millions. But friends, the day will come when the BBC and all of these other media outlets that are anti-Christian, the church will stand at their grave. Why? Because the church belongs to the Lord Jesus Christ, and it can never be overthrown. Well, we have Old Testament, we have New Testament, we have church history to encourage us. We also have present-day saints. What? Yes, we have present-day saints. I'm speaking here maybe to youngsters who have godly parents, grannies, uncles. You've come from godly stock. You've seen them live their Christian lives. You've seen their imperfections, but you've seen them fight the good fight of faith. You've seen them go through difficult and hard providences. They haven't turned their backs upon the Savior. They haven't turned their backs upon the Bible and the Word of God. It has sustained them through all kinds of difficulties, and they're still fighting the good fight of faith. And you have evidence of present-day saints living out this Christian life What a wealth of witnesses is before you! But here, friends, we have the ultimate witness. We have the ultimate encouragement, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. This is the one we are ultimately to look at. All the others that we've mentioned, yes, we can get encouragement from them, the Old Testament, the New Testament saints, the saints from church history, present-day saints. Yes, we can get encouragement from them, but all of them were frail, and all of them failed in some certain way, but not so the Savior. not so Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate example. He is the one who has lived a sinless and a perfect life of faith, living as God would have him to live, and ultimately going to the cross and undertaking everything that was required of him in order to purchase this glorious, this eternal salvation for all his people. There's no greater example. There's no greater encouragement for us then, friends, to take up the cross, look at Jesus, look what he did, look at the opposition he overcame, look at all that he achieved, See Him going about there doing good. Hear Him preaching like no one ever preached. See Him performing miracles, demonstrating that He was the Son of God and that He came with heaven's approval to do all that He did. see him friends in his poverty see him in his condescension see him in the cross see him there with his arms spread there nailed to the cross hear his words father forgive them for they know not what they do it is finished oh is it not wonderful when you think of this glorious example are you going to turn your back on him this is what he's saying to them This is what Paul is saying to these Hebrew Christians. Are you going to turn your back on this wonderful Savior, on this glorious example of faith that's before you? No. The answer, of course, is no. No matter how much difficulties you're going through, no matter how much persecution you're going through, you're not going to turn your back upon Him. And so it is with you, Christian, tonight. You're not going to throw in the towel. Others can throw in the towel, but not you, Christian. You're going to hold on to Christ because you are like Peter. To whom else shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life. Where are you going to go? Are you going to jump on the bandwagon with Allah? No. Are you going to be an atheist? No. Are you going to be agnostic? No. You know there is a God. You're not going to turn your back upon this, surely. You're going to fight that good fight of faith and you're going to lay hold on eternal life. That's what Paul is telling them and exhorting them and encouraging them. And that's the glorious example that's before them and before us. There's no better. We have said it before, and we'll say it again, and we'll say it tonight. Christ is our righteousness. He has fulfilled the law of God for us, and we delight in that, and we cannot add to it, nor do we want to add to it. It's perfect. His work is perfect, but he's also our example, and we're to follow him. This is one of the definitions of a Christian. to be a follower of Jesus Christ, to walk in his footsteps. Therefore, look unto Jesus. Did he suffer persecution? Yes, he did. Was he despised and rejected? Yes. By his brethren? Yes. Are you finding it difficult in your family? Jesus knows exactly what that's like. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. What an example. Is it not a pleasure? Is it not a privilege? Is it not an honor to have his name upon us, to be called Christians? We know that that was a derogatory name when they were first called Christians in Antioch. But it's an honor to be called a Christian. And we're going to take it. We're going to love it. For he is the ultimate example. Secondly, we have here experience. Christ was the ultimate believer. And all others who followed him in New Testament times and Old Testament times, they experienced all kinds of difficulties, all kinds of temptations, all kinds of trials. They experienced them. And maybe that's where you are tonight. You're going through a trial. You're going through a temptation. The Christian life you've just found out is not that easy. Maybe you have thought that when you became a Christian that everything was going to be well and rosy. Well, that's not biblical. And biblical Christianity will tell you that there is a cross before the crown, as it was for Jesus, as it was for all those who followed him in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. That's the way of faith. Well, these Old Testament heroes, they had temptations, they had trials. So had the Lord Jesus Christ. He was tempted. Now, this is quite difficult for us to fully grasp and understand, but as the God-man, he was tempted. He was tried by the devil himself. We find it in the Word of God, and we find instances where that temptations were recorded. But there were more temptations that have not been recorded. And therefore, the Lord Jesus Christ knows what it is like to live the life of faith. And therefore, he is able to sympathize with us. He knows our experience. And Paul mentions this. He mentions this to the Corinthians. about temptation to encourage them. In 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13 we read, There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape. that you may be able to bear it." Whatever difficulty, whatever trial you're going through, and I'm not going to make any light of it or dismiss it at all, because these things are contrary to flesh and blood, and we don't like it. We would rather they weren't there, but they are there. And we ultimately believe that they're there because God has put them there. But there's nothing unique, there's nothing special about it. No temptation taking you, but such as is common to man. Whatever your trial, whatever your difficulty, whatever your hard providence is, we're not going to make light of it, but it's common. It happens to all the children of God. And therefore, we are to look at the Lord Jesus Christ. Again, this great example. He knew this. He knew all you're experiencing. He's not remote. He's not detached. He knows and he sympathizes. And that is Your experience, his experience, and the experience of all believers. Old Testament and New Testament, no difference. Third thing I want us to notice here is emotion. Emotion. Now, we are human. And when we become Christians, we're not superhuman. We have emotions. We're made in the image of God, and we have emotions. We can have sinful emotions, that's true, but we could also have emotions that are godly. And this is what we want to notice here. It's interesting, this verse here, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross. What we really want to notice here is the sense of joy. The life of faith for the Lord Jesus was a life of joy. Now that might contradict what we read in the Bible, or we might say it does contradict what we see and read in the Bible, because Isaiah chapter 53 tells us concerning the Messiah, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And of course, that was true of the Lord Jesus, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. But he also knew joy, wonderful, divine joy, because he was one who carried out the will of God. And this is what undergirded his life, his obedience, his willing submission to the will of God. And it is true to say that he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. That is true. But it does not contradict the fact that underneath that sorrow, there was a joy. There was a wonderful joy and a lightness about him because he was obedient to Almighty God. This is the way it must be for the Christian. This is the way it should be. There should be a certain amount of joy in our Christian life and in our Christian profession. Who should be so joyful as the Christian? Have we not got plenty of encouragement to be joyful? Do we not know in our experience that our sins are forgiven. We haven't gone to a priest. We haven't called upon an archbishop or a cardinal. We haven't had an audience with the Pope. We haven't gone to a minister of religion. We haven't gone before the Kirk session. Friends, our sins have been forgiven because we've gone to the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can forgive sins. This is his right. This is his prerogative because he's the one who has suffered and died in our room and in our place. And is it not true, Christian, that you know something of this? Have you forgotten that wonderful, glorious experience when you were united to Christ and you were justified by faith and you had peace with God? Do you not know that? Have you forgotten it? Is it in the back of your mind? You need to live in the light of this. All the ministers not talking about being light, about joking all the time and being like the world. These are serious matters. But when you know that your sins are forgiven and When you know that you have the gift of eternal life as is promised to us in the Word of God, when you know these things in your experience, does it not fill you with a sense of joy? Oh yes, you'll have troubles, you'll have trials, you'll have tribulations, you will have things that will bring you down, but underneath, are you not girded by this wonderful joy? And do you not have emotions? We might be known as ones with a stiff upper lip. Well, I don't know if that's biblical. We recognize the sovereignty of God. We recognize his will. We recognize that whatever comes to us ultimately is by the will of God. And therefore we believe that God is good and can only do that which is good, even when he might send evil upon us, as he talks about chastisement. But nevertheless, underneath all of that, even chastisement, when God chastises his son or his daughter, There is that sense of joy. It is the Lord. Let him do what seems good to him. That's the submissive spirit. That is what brings joy. That's what brought joy to the Savior. Not my will, but thine be done. Do we know anything therefore of joy? This is something we should know, and this is something we should seek to cultivate. We know ultimately that the Lord Jesus will draw his people to himself. We know that, but nevertheless, he does use instruments. And if we have that joy, if we have that peace, if we have that security, Even although difficult things may be happening to us or to our family, causing us care and concern, it's a wonderful magnet. It does attract. Because what do you get in the world? See the world today? How much do you listen to the news? Well, it's good to listen to the news, to see what's going on, to see what's happening. Is there not a great deal of fear in our own country and throughout the world? Things are happening. Things seem to be out of control. Wars here, there, everywhere. People concerned about the climate. People concerned about the rising cost of living. Many things. What's a Christian? What's he going to do? What's his reaction to these things? Well, the reaction of the Savior. Who for the joy that was set before him. What was that joy? He was going to go to the cross. He was going to suffer like no one else has ever suffered. But by his sufferings, by his death, he was going to do something wonderful. He was going to make a complete and utter fool of the devil. And he was going to deliver his people, his sons and daughters from the fear of death. And he was going to give unto them eternal life. And they were going to know this in their own experience, and this is what enabled him to go and to suffer for the wonderful reward that awaited him and his people. Who for the joy? And should we not share in that joy? Of course. Is it not true that we share in his shame? We share in his reproach? Shall we not share in his joy? That he has accomplished something? Of course. What else then can we notice quickly in this verse? Well, it's encouragement. who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. He kept going. The Christians here, they were urged to keep going. Don't turn your backs. Keep going. Press on. He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. That's what Jesus said, talking about end times. He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. You see, it's him who endures proves that he is saved. And those who don't endure were never saved. But they have to be exhorted to see these things. And so it is for us today. We have to be encouraged to overcome all of these difficulties. And you'll have difficulties and more difficulties will come. They'll not go away. You'll overcome one and others will come. And it's all a character building exercise. But you are to be encouraged because he that endures to the end shall be saved. Not he who endures for a decade or two and then turns his back, proving that he was never saved in the beginning. Finally, we have the end. And is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. There on the cross, what did they say? If you be the Christ, come down, save us, save yourself, if you really are the Christ. He didn't, because he was the Christ. He stayed on the cross. He suffered and died. He was put into a tomb, but arose on the third day. He ascended up. He has been exalted and glorified. He sits at God's right hand. He has now entered into his state of glorification, and he's waiting for that day when he shall return, when his glorification shall be complete. and every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that he is Lord and will come before that great white throne and will give account to him there as he sits in all his glory. That's what awaits him. The end. A glorious end for the Saviour. Well, we can share in that glory because at the end, friends, All that salvation involves shall be revealed. At the moment, as a Christian, we have, if you like, eternal life in bud form. We haven't received the full salvation that is ours. We're waiting for the resurrection morning. We're waiting for the new heavens and the new earth. We're waiting for glory. That's what awaits us. That's the end. And that's what we must encourage ourselves with. That's what Jesus was encouraged with. Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross because he was looking forward to his reward and for the prosperity of his people that they would share in his reward. Therefore, will that not therefore help us to look at our trials and tribulations somewhat differently? Paul says, for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. Christian, are you suffering? physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually. Are you suffering? You'll know something about it. Maybe not now. You've done it in the past, and you'll certainly know it maybe in the future. Well, Paul says the inspired apostle writes to the Romans, and he writes to us this evening, and he tells us, I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us. That's not the words of the minister. That's the word of God. That's what the Holy Spirit would pass on to you tonight. Your sufferings, great as they are, are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in you. And he goes on on another occasion. for our light affliction, which is but for a moment." Oh, Paul, I'm suffering. My affliction's not a light affliction. Ah, but it will be when you compare it with the glory that awaits you and your light affliction. It is but for a decade or two decades or three decades. But what is that in comparison to eternity? For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. This is the God we serve, that your afflictions are working ultimately for your good. We could never say that, but it's the Word of God, and it will be proved true You will look at your afflictions, you will see them differently. For there worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Christ on the cross suffered. Look at the fruit. Look at the results. He is our example. Press on, Christian. Amen. May God be pleased to bless his word to us. Let us pray together.