Sermon Transcript Tone Analysis

Jesus name, amen.

I thought I was determined to go to ax and then invite determined, I mean like spent the last 45 days on it in a row until yesterday, I just I gave up the fight and it was a fight.

It was me doing it, not the Lord.

And this is, this is a passage.

What has a lot of history.

First of all, you may not know this, but this is 9 years that you've lived with me, 9 years ago.

We started together.

I can't believe you're still around.

Honestly, really can't believe I'm still around but I am.

I just feel so blessed to have been doing this for 49 years.

I went and look my ordination certificate is from 2009 and it was I'd been at Cherokee about four years before that before they ordained me.

So I did finally figure it out.

I've been in Ministry the longest that I've ever done anything officially

Morley construction North.

All the things God did to get me to where I am now.

Is this passage?

Is one that is like really close to my heart.

So like when we were in seminary, you have to preach it.

Preach in front of your The students and the professor, and this was the passes that I had spent Hebrews 12:1 + 2. I had spent like a month on it.

Like I was, I've been in this thing.

I was cuz I mean, I was a little nervous and then somebody preached it two weeks before, I was supposed to preach and then another guy priest it, the next week, I'm like I can't preach it.

The third time, like I had to change everything but so this passage is connected to my brain that way but it's also connected my brain that way because well Hebrews 12:1.

+ 2 talks about being in about a cloud of witnesses is what it speaks about a cuz it says therefore is it starts this as we since we are surrounded by so great.

A cloud of witnesses which goes back to chapter 11.

Now I don't know about you but sometimes I'm when you're doing something that you could even have done a long time and you add 1 /.

Into the equation.

All of a sudden you think a different way.

So like when preaching, I was that the time that I preached in front of my fellow students and my professor, it was probably like, I don't know, like the third time that I appreciate it was it was it was horrid and in my opinion at the time they didn't think so.

Which I was very thankful for and felt just blessed by God that cuz they they sit there and critique you the whole time literally have a piece of paper and they're writing down.

So you're saying stuff and you can see them writing.

I'm one guy told me told me to but my jacket, I showed him.

I don't wear a jacket anymore, so that way, I don't get that wrong.

But that was one of the critiques that I had.

My, my jacket was Button then, and I'm like, I was inviting, I can't read what it was.

And I, and I thought me and work when you prepare a sermon, it doesn't matter if you're preaching to one of your preaching to 10,000, if it's not supposed to change, because Well, it's it's it's God's word.

But there could be people in the room that, I remember the first time that I ever had to preach.

I'm in front of my own pastor at Cherokee, I was so nervous.

He's like, John is just me.

And, you know, we were, you know, really truly bad.

This, we had two chairs here and two chairs there, and he sat there in the chair right there, while I preached, you know, it so I couldn't see his face or anything.

It was horrible and he said, I was okay.

But it was horrible cuz I couldn't, you know, I can just look at him and find out whether anything was actually working or not.

The scripture tells us in these verses that there's this cloud of witnesses.

Listen to the verse that says, therefore since we are surrounded by so great.

A cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside.

Let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clean so closely.

Let us run with endurance, the race that is set.

Before us looking to Jesus verse to look into Jesus, the founder of the Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy, that was set before him endure the cross despising, the same, the shame and is seated at the right hand of the Throne of God, Now, there is a lot here so buckle up again.

If you can imagine I had a month to study at back then and it has been listed few years since the Seminary.

Let's just say But as we go into this, we want to remind ourselves a few things about Hebrews even though we have preached to the whole set book of Hebrews, which I know you remember if you were here and have it memorized.

But anyway, Hebrews 6:1 and 2 is really kind of the summary of the book of Hebrews.

It says therefore let us leave behind the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity not laying.

Again I found a sheet of repentance from dead work works or a faith towards God and obstruction about washing the laying on of hands.

The resurrection of the dead and eternal judgement Beloved.

The whole book of Hebrews about pressing them on to maturity.

Pressing them on to maturity.

Beloved, that is the challenge of our lives every single day.

Every challenge of your life.

As a Christian walking in faith is the Press on in maturity of faith.

So we're going to start with questions right now for the very get-go.

So this is meant to encourage you and to kick you off the same time.

So I'm just being honest on the front end and encouraged and a little kick.

Here's the very first question today, on January 1st 2023.

Would you look back at the last year and say that you've matured?

And I'm not talking about just getting old or getting more wrinkles.

When I talk about that that comes with a naturally.

I'm talking about maturing in the faith.

I'm talking about.

Have you pursued Christ?

Have you been in this race?

Maturing in the faith daily?

Cuz what I find is that it, well, it takes some time.

And from these scriptures, that plainly clear that it, it takes endurance, it takes endurance in a daily habit of seeking the face of God and seeking after the Lord.

Cuz I don't know about you, but I don't grow by Leaps and Bounds in a moment.

It takes time.

Usually, usually takes a little little knocking in the back of the head sometimes.

or we just realizing where I am in a situation that the Lord has placed me in Understanding that my life is not my own and that the Lord is in control of and then he'll do as he wills.

And and as I walk through this life, there will be ups and they'll be downs.

But whether it up or down, my faith is in him.

love and we have a responsibility each and every believer in this room to be in this race.

It is not optional.

You can't say yes, I'm a Believer in the Lord.

Jesus Christ and I follow him when I please.

You can't say?

Yes, I mature in the face when I want to.

Could you help me cheer yourself anyway?

I mean, honestly, it's that daily pursuit of who the Lord is, and what he's doing in your life.

It's understanding that.

There is a cloud of witnesses that have gone before you that have shown the endurance in the faith that they needed to get to the end.

That's what this passage is looking at, it's looking back at chapter 11, where this Hall of Faith, so to speak in chapter 11 goes through names, like Moses and Abraham Rahab Samuel, David Samson, men, and women who had believed in God, by faith, and God was able to use them in a mighty way.

11, these are not a list of Perfect People.

If you look at that list, Moses Moses killed the guy, Abraham live multiple times.

Rahab was a prostitute, David, my goodness, a man after God's Own Heart.

But yet chose to kill a man.

Mary's wife.

Samson.

The list goes on and on of Old Testament Saints who followed after God, but yet, well, they weren't perfect.

And I thank God for that.

I think God that we look at these people.

And we don't have to think that we have to get all cleaned up for the Lord.