Jesus: Pioneer and Perfecter of Faith
Heroes of the Faith • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Most of you know that my hobby is golf. Golf is a strange sport. It is an game of opposites. You swing to the right to make the ball spin to the left, you swing to the left to make the ball go right. It is a game of concentration. You must not dwell on the bad shots and have total focus on the next shot. As someone who has a million thoughts running through his head at one time, it is a welcome relief to focus in on one thing. The next swing. I have to put all my thoughts to one side and focus and concentrate.
Focus. Having delved deeply into the lives of seventeen men and women of faith, the author of Hebrews tells us that each one of their examples was intended to focus our attention in one single direction.
Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every hindrance and the sin that so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that lies before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer 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.
For consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, so that you won’t grow weary and give up.
Focus. Focus. Focus. How do we live a life of faith? How do we emulate all the examples of those who’ve gone before us? How do we become a hero of faith ourselves? The answer is—focus. The author of Hebrews prompts us to put everything else aside and then to focus only on Jesus, to “keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith”
Today we have but one point:
Focus on Jesus Christ
First and foremost, we are obligated to focus our eyes on Jesus because he alone deserves to be the center of our attention. True biblical faith, as we’ve already discovered, means believing in God, believing God, and being willing to act on those beliefs—in other words, it’s a matter of the mind, heart and will. But biblical faith is also rooted firmly in the person and work of Jesus Christ from beginning to end. That is to say, Jesus himself planted the initial seed of faith within your heart by his Spirit and he will nurture and cultivate it your whole life through. What we need to understand is that it’s all about him!
The purpose of your life is far greater than your own personal fulfillment, your peace of mind, or even your happiness. It’s far greater than your family, your career, or even your wildest dreams and ambitions. If you want to know why you were placed on this planet, you must begin with [Jesus].
For everything was created by him,
in heaven and on earth,
the visible and the invisible,
whether thrones or dominions
or rulers or authorities—
all things have been created through him and for him.
In other words, it’s all about Jesus! We look to Jesus because he is the pioneer of our faith. He set the course of faith, plotted its path, and now he waits for us at the finish line encouraging us along the way and helping us to reach the goal.
One Sunday morning, a moonstruck young man shared a church pew with a beautiful brown-eyed girl. Memorized by her beauty, his attention was clearly focused on her rather than the minister’s message. In the stillness of the sanctuary, he leafed through the hymnal until he found the song he was looking for. Finding himself cute and clever, he placed the songbook in the young ladies lap and pointed to the hymn title—I Need Thee Every Hour it read. She smiled a little and then started flipping pages until she could find an appropriate response. Settling on a page and returning the hymnal, she pointed to the song I’d Rather Have Jesus.
Everything in Christ astonishes me. His spirit awes me and his will confounds me. Between him and whoever else in the world, there is no possible comparison. He is truly a being by himself. One can absolutely find nowhere but in him alone the imitation or example of his life. Napoleon Bonaparte
Nothing and no one even comes close to demanding or deserving our attention the way that Jesus does. In him, our faith finds both its commencement and culmination.
Furthermore, we look only to Jesus because he alone keeps us on course. When we lose our focus on Jesus, that’s when we start having trouble.
So if you have been raised with Christ, seek the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.
How many of you remember learning something that you have passed down to your kids. It could be something as simple as mowing the lawn. I remember learning to cut the yard with an old snapper. You remember the red and white machine that would rattle your teeth so bad that your jaw hurt. I remember learning to cut a straight line I had to put that right front wheel on the edge of where I just cut. Now, my girls have learned to mow on a zero turn, but when they first started, I forgot to teach them to place that front wheel, so the first cuts they did looked like a zig zag.
Jesus does the same for us. He is the North Star of our faith. If you align your life with him, fixing your eyes on Jesus, then you can find the Way home—you can stay on the straight and narrow path. No one demonstrates this reality in a tangible way better than Peter.
Remember when Peter and his fishing buddies were out on Lake Galilee and Jesus came to them walking on the water? Peter was astounded by what Jesus was doing and he wanted so badly to be just like him that he called out
“Lord, if it’s you,” Peter answered him, “command me to come to you on the water.”
Peter’s faith was firmly rooted in the words of his Master. He genuinely believed that if Jesus commanded him to walk on water, then he could do it. Peter’s faith was more than a said-faith; it was a sure-faith. And although he may have been afraid, he was more than willing to get out of the boat and into the proverbial wheelbarrow.
Motioning for Peter to climb out of the boat, Jesus said simply, “Come.”
Then, the Bible says, “Peter went over the side of the boat and walked on the water toward Jesus. But when he saw the strong wind and the waves, he was terrified and began to sink. ‘Save me, Lord!’ he shouted. Jesus immediately reached out and grabbed him.”
A million thoughts probably rushed through Peter’s mind as stepped onto the crashing waves, but they were all drowned out by a single all-consuming desire to be where Jesus was, to do what Jesus did. As long as Peter kept his focus on Jesus, and along as he was looking to the Lord, he did the impossible. One step at a time—closer and closer—Peter walked on the water toward Jesus. But when everything began to rage and billows started tossing high, he lost his focus. He took his eyes off Jesus and was terrified by the wind and the waves. Peter must have looked something like Wiley Coyote chasing the Road Runner off the side of a cliff—he was just fine until he looked down and realized there was no ground beneath his feet; only then did gravity get the better of him.
Peter’s experience teaches two things though. First, so long as we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus we can do the impossible. Second, if you want to walk on water, you’ve got to get out of the boat! Haven’t you ever wished you had the kind of faith it takes to climb out the boat you’re in? To step out of your comfort zone? To venture out onto the crashing waves where Jesus is?
Peter not only believed, but he trusted in Jesus and was willing to act on his faith. What about you?
Commit your activities to the Lord,
and your plans will be established.
We all stand at the edge of a great chasm—a vast gulf called sin that separated us from a holy and loving God.
But your iniquities are separating you
from your God,
and your sins have hidden his face from you
so that he does not listen.
We certainly don’t possess the ability to cross that chasm , but Jesus does and he did. As the only truly perfect human being who ever lived, free from the sin that so easily entangles us, Jesus was able to cross that great divide. And, from the opposite, he has sent his Spirit to carry each one of us across—to bring us home. The question is—do you believe he can do it? Do you trust him enough to get out of the boat? To place your faith in the pioneer and perfecter of faith?
Trust in him at all times, you people;
pour out your hearts before him.
God is our refuge.
Selah
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.
A life of faith begins with a single decision, a single step. Make that decision today. Don’t let another opportunity pass you by. Focus your faith on Jesus. Trust him. Put your life in his hands and let him carry you safely to other side.