Fix Our Eyes on Jesus and Run Your Race

Hebrews 12 calls God’s people to fix their eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. The call comes as home churches celebrate five years of God’s faithfulness, while refusing to treat past faithfulness as a place to stop. Jesus is the one who keeps His people running, strengthens them for the journey, and brings them to the finish line.

The race marked out for each believer and each home church is specific. God gives a purpose, an assignment, people to reach, disciples to make, families to strengthen, broken lives to restore, and communities to serve. The question is not what another home church is doing, but, “Lord, what is the race You have marked out for us?” The image of a runner looking into other lanes warns against comparison, because constant attention to others causes a runner to lose rhythm and focus.

Hebrews also calls believers to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that easily entangles. The contrast between weights and sin matters, because not every burden is openly sinful, yet some things still make it hard to run. Old disappointments, offences, expectations, fear of failure, the need to impress, and the mindset of “this is what we have always done” can become weights from yesterday. God calls His people to lay them down and run free, weightless, with enthusiasm and excitement for the new thing He may be doing.

Perseverance keeps believers on course when the race becomes hard. The pressure of loss, changing circumstances, broken relationships, and personal weariness can tempt someone to abandon their position. Yet steadfast endurance means continuing to run, because the greatest threat is not always the enemy stopping the race, but becoming tired of running.

Fixing the eyes on Jesus involves two movements: looking away from distractions and concentrating attention on Him. The noise of opinions, social media, fame, fortune, lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and pride of life can all pull the gaze away from the Master. Peter walking on water shows that the storm was already there, but Peter began to sink when his focus moved from Jesus to the wind. Hebrews calls the believer to look away from the storm and back to Jesus, who gives grace, strength, and power to keep going.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Run the race God marked out God gives each believer and each home church a particular assignment. Comparison with another lane cannot reveal that assignment and will only break the rhythm of faithful obedience. The right question remains, “Lord, what is the race You have marked out for us?” [43:26]
• 2. Lay down every unnecessary weight Weights are not always sinful, but they can still slow down the race. Old offences, disappointments, expectations, and fear can tie yesterday to the runner’s back. God calls His people to release what is not helpful so they can move forward freely. [47:34]
• 3. Persevere when the race gets hard Endurance means remaining steady under pressure rather than giving up when circumstances change. Loss, pain, and weariness can make the road feel impossible, but they do not cancel God’s call. The race is finished by those who keep pressing forward with their eyes on Jesus. [49:31]
• 4. Look away and fix your eyes Fixing the eyes on Jesus requires turning away from distractions as much as looking toward Him. Opinions, comments, applause, and worldly desires become dangerous when they capture the attention. Jesus must remain the centre, because He is the author and finisher of faith. [50:55]
• 5. Turn from the storm to Jesus Peter did not sink because the wind suddenly appeared, but because his focus shifted from Jesus to the storm. Circumstances may remain difficult, yet Christ remains present and able to sustain His people. Faith returns to strength when the gaze returns to the Master.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [39:52] - Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus
• [40:31] - Run With Perseverance
• [42:38] - The Race Marked Out for You
• [45:12] - Throw Off What Slows You Down
• [48:25] - Running With Steadfast Endurance
• [50:23] - Looking Away From Distractions
• [52:12] - Peter, the Wind, and the Waves
• [53:49] - Jesus Sustains the Race
• [54:29] - Invitation to Surrender to Jesus
• [55:46] - Prayer and Blessing

Bible Reading

Hebrews 12:1-3
“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.” [40:31]

Matthew 14:28-31
“And Peter answered him, ‘Lord, if it is you, command me to come to you on the water.’ He said, ‘Come.’ So Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink he cried out, ‘Lord, save me.’ Jesus immediately reached out his hand and took hold of him, saying to him, ‘O you of little faith, why did you doubt?’” [52:25] [53:14]

1 John 2:16
“For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world.” [51:31]

Observation questions

1. In Hebrews 12:1-3, what are believers told to lay aside, how are they told to run, and where are they told to look?
2. What difference is made between a “weight” that hinders and sin that entangles? What examples of weights are named? [45:30]
3. What particular purposes are described as part of a home church’s race, and what question helps a group seek its own assignment from God? [43:26]
4. In Peter’s story, what was already present while he was walking toward Jesus, and what changed just before he began to sink? [52:48]

Interpretation questions

1. Hebrews says that Jesus is the founder and perfecter of faith. How does this truth change the way a believer understands strength, success, and finishing the race?
2. Why can an old disappointment, offence, fear of failure, or expectation be a serious hindrance even when it is not clearly sinful? [46:20]
3. Why is comparison with another believer or home church likely to cause a person or group to lose focus on the race God has given them? [44:33]
4. Peter’s storm did not disappear before he walked on the water. What does this show about the relationship between difficult circumstances, faith, and fixing attention on Jesus? [53:17]

Application questions

1. What may be the particular race God has marked out for you in this present season—at home, in your relationships, at work, or in serving others? What is one faithful next step you can take? [43:45]
2. Is there an area where comparison has been affecting your peace, joy, or obedience? What would it look like to stop watching another person’s lane and focus again on what God has asked of you? [44:33]
3. What weight from a previous season might you be carrying: disappointment, offence, an unhealthy expectation, fear, a habit, or the thought, “This is what we have always done”? What would laying it down before God look like in a practical way this week? [47:34]
4. Where are you most tempted to become tired of running—through loss, pressure, changing circumstances, or personal weariness? How can the group support you in persevering rather than quietly giving up? [50:12]
5. What distractions most easily pull your attention away from Jesus—social media, other people’s opinions, the need for approval, money, comfort, or something else? What boundary or habit could help you turn away from that distraction? [50:55]
6. When you feel overwhelmed by a “storm” in your life, what are you usually looking at first? How can you intentionally turn your gaze back to Jesus and ask Him for the grace and strength you need? [53:35]
7. Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him. What hope in Christ helps you keep going when obedience is costly or the road is difficult?