Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus
Hebrews 12:1-3

Recap:
• “The First Sacrifice: Love that Covers” (Genesis 3:21)
• “Not My Will” (Luke 22:39-46)
• “A Life on the Altar: Living Sacrifices for God (Romans 12:1-2)
o Worship is a lifestyle: every decision, action, and thought honors God.
o Living Sacrifices are ongoing, daily surrender, not one-time offerings.
o Transformation is not behavior modification but spiritual metamorphosis.

Introduction
• Hebrews 12:1-3
• Today we gather around one of the most stirring exhortations in Scripture, a call to run the race of faith with endurance, focus, and courage. Hebrews 12:1-3 lifts our eyes from the distractions and discouragements of life and fixes them on Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.
• The passage begins with a powerful image: a great cloud of witnesses surrounding us. There are heroes of the faith from Hebrews 11, men and women who ran their race with perseverance, despite trials, temptations, and suffering. Their lives echo through eternity, urging us to lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely.
• But this race is not about speed, it is about endurance. And the key to enduring is not found in our own strength. It is found in looking to Jesus. He endured the cross, despised the shame, and now sits at the right hand of God. When we grow weary, when we want to give up, we are invited to consider Him, to reflect deeply on His journey, His sacrifice, and His victory.
• So today, as we open this passage, let us ask ourselves: What is weighing us down? What sins are entangling our steps? And most importantly, where are our eyes fixed? Let us prepare to run, not aimlessly, not alone, but with purpose, with community, and with our gaze locked on Jesus.