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Follow Jesus' Example

Hebrews 12:1 - 29 (ESV) Chapter 12Jesus, Founder and Perfecter of Our Faith 12 1Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and wSee Eph. 4:22sin which clings so closely, and xSee 1 Cor. 9:24let us run ySee ch. 10:36with endurance the race that is zch. 6:18set before us, 2looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, aLuke 24:26; Phil. 2:8; [Isa. 53:11]who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising bPs. 22:6, 7; 69:19; Isa. 53:3the shame, and cch. 1:3is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Do Not Grow Weary   3d[Matt. 10:24; Rev. 2:3]Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or eGal. 6:9fainthearted. 4In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. 5And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?   fCited from Prov. 3:11, 12“My son, gJob 5:17do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. 6For hPs. 94:12; 119:67, 75; Rev. 3:19the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.”   7It is for discipline that you have to endure. iDeut. 8:5; 2 Sam. 7:14; [Prov. 13:24; 19:18; 23:13]God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8If you are left without discipline, j[1 Pet. 5:9]in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to kSee Num. 16:22the Father of spirits l[Isa. 38:16]and live? 10For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, m[2 Pet. 1:4]; See Lev. 11:44that we may share his holiness. 11n[1 Pet. 1:6]For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields oJames 3:17, 18the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. 12Therefore pCited from Isa. 35:3; [Job 4:3, 4]lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees, 13and qProv. 4:26, 27make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be put out of joint rJames 5:16; [Gal. 6:1]but rather be healed. 14sSee Rom. 14:19Strive for peace with everyone, and for the t1 Thess. 4:7holiness uMatt. 5:8; [2 Cor. 7:1; Eph. 5:5; Rev. 21:27; 22:4]without which no one will see the Lord. 15See to it that no one vch. 4:1; [2 Cor. 6:1; Gal. 5:4]fails to obtain the grace of God; that no wDeut. 29:18“root of bitterness” springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled; 16that no one is xch. 13:4; Gen. 25:33sexually immoral or unholy like Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal. 17For you know that yGen. 27:34, 36, 38afterward, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no chance to repent, though he sought it with tears. A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken   18For you have not come to zEx. 19:18; 20:18; Deut. 4:11; 5:22; [2 Cor. 3:9]what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest 19and aEx. 19:16, 19the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words bEx. 20:19; Deut. 5:5; 18:16made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. 20For they could not endure the order that was given, cCited from Ex. 19:12, 13“If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned.” 21Indeed, d[Ex. 19:16; Deut. 9:19]so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” 22But you have come to eRev. 14:1Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, fSee Gal. 4:26the heavenly Jerusalem, and to gJude 14innumerable angels in festal gathering, 23and to h[Ex. 4:22]the assembly[D]Or church of the firstborn who are iLuke 10:20enrolled in heaven, and to jGen. 18:25God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24and to Jesus, kch. 8:6; 9:15the mediator of a new covenant, and to lSee ch. 10:22the sprinkled blood mch. 11:4; Gen. 4:10that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25See that you do not refuse him who is speaking. For nSee ch. 2:3if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven. 26At that time oEx. 19:18his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, pCited from Hag. 2:6; [Hag. 2:21]“Yet once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27This phrase, “Yet once more,” indicates qSee Ps. 102:26the removal of things that are shaken—that is, things that have been made—in order that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. 28Therefore let us be grateful for receiving rDan. 2:44a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus sch. 13:15let us offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, 29for our tCited from Deut. 4:24; See 2 Thess. 1:8God is a consuming fire.   Hebrews 12:1 - 29 (ESV)