We believers in Christ are those who are daily, even moment-by-moment looking away unto Jesus, who is the Author and Perfecter of our faith, for we look away from all the things in our environment and of our background and unto Jesus to enjoy Him and be infused with Him!
Amen, Lord, we look away unto You right now! Hallelujah, looking away unto Jesus! We do not look at the things around us or at our problems: we turn our eyes and look unto Jesus! Infuse us more with Yourself today! Grant us grace to run the race! Amen!
This week in our morning revival we come to Hebrews chapter 12 where we see a wonderful aspect of the Lord Jesus for our experience, enjoyment, and expression.
We want to focus mainly on, Looking Away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of Our Faith. How much we love the Lord! How much we want to look away from anything and anyone else unto Him!
We want to experience Him, enjoy Him, and express Him, so that we may be His testimony on the earth.
As we prayerfully consider the Word of God to see the many wonderful aspects of Christ in the New Testament, we pray short and living prayers over God’s word so that He may make all these aspects real to us in our experience.
Especially in the matter of our faith, Christ is the Author and Perfecter of our faith, and we need to look away unto Him.
The book of Hebrews was written mainly to the Jewish believers who were in a situation at that time in which they were under persecution.
In the early days of the early church, the early believers were under the persecution and opposition, and most of it was coming from the Judaizers, from those in the Jewish religion.
The believers had come out from this religion and have turned their heart to Christ, having been regenerated, and now they were in the church life.
Their going on, however, was a battle, and Paul, who most likely was the writer of this book, was fighting the warfare to rescue the Jewish believers from the old ways, the old covenant, the ordinances, and the law to bring them into the reality of God’s New Testament economy.
The word Hebrews means river-crossers. All of us, whether Jewish or Gentile believers, need to be the river crossers, those who keep crossing any river until we reach our destination, God Himself.
We need to leave the old things behind, look away unto Jesus, and enter into the new and vast territory of Christ before us for our experience and enjoyment so that we may express Him! Amen!
Looking Away unto Jesus with Undivided Attention by Turning Away from Anything unto Him!
We can never overemphasise or stress this matter of looking away unto Jesus, as seen in the first part of Hebrews 12:2.
As we consider the race of our Christian faith, as we consider our Christian life and church life, we need to look away unto Jesus. We need to be those who are always looking away unto Jesus.
To look away is different from just looking; the word away gives it a special meaning. Away means that we need to get away from all the things, all the problems, all the matters and look unto Jesus.
We need to look away from our problems, our shortcomings, our failures, and our environment unto Jesus. We all know our problems and mistakes. Well, we need to look away unto Jesus, looking away from anything else unto Him!
The Greek word translated “looking away unto” actually means “to look with undivided attention by turning away from every other object.”
When someone runs in a race, he is not looking at the people on the left and the right, nor is he looking at who is behind him; he is simply looking away toward the goal and he keeps running the race!
We need to be those who do not look to the left or the right, do not look back, but simply look away unto Jesus! We need to be those looking away unto Jesus with undivided attention by turning away from every other object.
In the case of the Hebrew believers, they had to look away from all the things in their environment, their old religion, Judaism, persecution, and all the earthly things.
They had to look away from all these things unto Jesus, who is now seated on the right hand of the throne of God in the heavens (Heb. 1:3).
May we be those who today are looking away unto Jesus with undivided attention. We need to look away from so many things that trouble us both outwardly and inwardly.
It is so easy for us to be encumbered and troubled with things in our environment, in our being, and in our family life and work life.
One of the things which troubles us very much is our self; we spend a lot of time looking at ourselves.
Especially as we love the Lord, pursue Him, and enjoy Him in the word, being under the Lord’s speaking in the meetings and conferences, it is easy for us look inwardly and check with us where we are, how far along we are, and how we are advancing.
Introspection is something where you look at yourself; you look at your own spiritual progress, and you want to see how you are doing.
We are all introspective to a certain degree, and introspection is something that hinders us in our growth in life and going on with the Lord.
We may hear that we need to look away unto Jesus, for example, and we turn inwardly and check with ourselves how much do we actually turn away unto Jesus. Oh Lord!
We may want to measure our own progress. On the one hand, it is good to confess before the Lord the shortcomings, mistakes, and failures He exposes under His shining; on the other hand, for us to be introspective is for us to go too far.
We may overcare for our condition before the Lord, thus falling into introspection and not advancing with Him but rather, losing the presence of Christ.
The Bible tells us to look away unto Jesus; introspection, however, directs us to look into ourselves. Introspection is an inward inspection of our inner condition; it is actually a spiritual sickness.
All kinds of introspection, self-analysis of our own feelings, self-consideration of our own progress, or excessive concern about our own spirituality will hinder our progress. Oh Lord!
One of the greatest dangers in running the Christian race lies in a subconscious introspection due to our anxiety over progress.
It is good to desire to progress with the Lord, and we need to advance with Him; however, being introspective about it and analysing ourselves to see where we are and how far we have been going so far is not helpful.
We simply need to look away unto Jesus! We need to call on the name of the Lord and pay the price today to enjoy Him!
May we forget all the things which are behind and stretch forward to the Christ before to enjoy Him (Phil. 3:13-14).
If we would enjoy the heavenly Christ, we need to look away from all things on earth unto Him.
May we simply call on His name and spend time with Him, refusing to be introspective, so that we may look away unto Jesus today!
Lord Jesus, we exercise our spirit and turn our heart to You so that we may look away unto Jesus! Amen, Lord, we do not look at our environment or our failures; we look away unto You. We look away from our mistakes, failures, and sins, and we simply focus on You. You are the unique object we want to look at. Draw us, Lord, so that we may look away from anything else unto Jesus! Amen, Lord, we love You and we look intently to You, forgetting about everything and everyone else! We do not want to introspect, looking into ourselves to see where we are in our spiritual progress. We simply look away from our self unto Jesus! Hallelujah, Jesus Christ is the heavenly One, the most wonderful One, and we love Him and look away unto Him! Amen, Lord, we forget the things which are behind and we stretch forward to gain more of You! We stretch forward unto You to gain You in a fresh way as we look away from any other object unto Jesus! Lord Jesus, we love You and we focus on You!
Look Away unto the Wonderful Jesus who is enthroned in Heaven and Crowned with Glory and Honour, the Greatest Attraction in the Universe!
In many of the Epistles in the New Testament, we see that Christ dwells in our spirit (Rom. 8:10; 2 Tim. 4:22) and that He is the life-giving Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45) to be our life and our everything.
However, in the book of Hebrews we see the heavenly Christ, the Christ who has done everything, has accomplished everything, and now He sits down in heaven, having many wonderful aspects for our enjoyment and experience.
The wonderful Jesus, who is enthroned in heaven and crowned with glory and honour (Heb. 2:1) is the greatest attraction in the universe.
When we see Him, when we turn our heart to Him and exercise our spirit to contact Him, we are simply drawn to Him.
Who is like Jesus? He’s all that we desire. His love draws us near, and He sets our spirit on fire!
The wonderful Jesus, who is enthroned in heaven, and crowned with glory and honour, this One is the greatest attraction in the universe. He’s like an immense magnet drawing all the seeking ones to Himself.
On the one hand, He is the One dwelling in our spirit; on the other hand, He is the wonderful Jesus enthroned in heaven, and we need to look away unto Jesus all the time!
For us to experience the indwelling Christ, we simply need to turn to our spirit and contact Him.
For us to enjoy the heavenly Christ, the most wonderful One enthroned in heaven, we need to look away from all things unto Him!
He has done everything. He went through incarnation, human living, death, and resurrection, and now He is both God and man, and He is sitting in the heavens, enthroned far above all!
Now in His ascension He is sitting in the heavens, in the person of the Son of God (1:5) and the Son of Man (2:6), in the person of God (1:8) and man (2:6), as the appointed Heir of all things (1:2), the anointed One of God (v. 9), the Author of our salvation (2:10), the Sanctifier (v. 11), the constant Succor (v. 16), the instant Helper (4:16), the Apostle from God (3:1), the High Priest (2:17; 4:14; 7:26), the Minister of the true tabernacle (8:2) with a more excellent ministry (v. 6), the surety and the Mediator of a better covenant (7:22; 8:6; 12:24), the Executor of the new testament (9:16-17), the Forerunner (6:20), the Author and Perfecter of our faith (12:2), and the great Shepherd of the sheep (13:20).
What a Christ we have! If we simply look away unto this wonderful One, this all-inclusive One, He will minister life, heaven, and strength into us, and He infuses and transfuses all that He is into us so that we may be able to run the heavenly race and live a heavenly life on the earth.
Only by looking away unto Him can we live the Christian life and run the Christian race. It is by being attracted by His charming beauty that we look away from all things other than Him so that we may run wth endurance the race which is set before us (Heb. 12:1).
Without such a charming object, how can we look away from so many distracting and attractive things on the earth?
This is what the early disciples did; they saw the wonderful Jesus, they were charmed by Him, and they left everything and followed Him.
He was like an immense magnet, drawing all people to Himself. We are the same today. We love Him and appreciate Him.
He is the wonderful Jesus, who is enthroned in heaven and crowned with glory and honour, and we are drawn to Him.
He cut the way into glory, suffered the cross and despised the shame, and now He’s enthroned far above all. We simply look away unto Jesus, the most wonderful One, and we run the Christian race today.
Lord Jesus, we look away unto Jesus, the most wonderful One in the universe! Oh, the wonderful Jesus is now enthroned in heaven and crowned with glory and honour, and He is the greatest attraction in the universe! Amen, Lord, strengthen us into our inner man and unveil us to see the heavenly Jesus so that we may be those who are looking away unto Jesus! We are attracted by You, dear Lord, and we are charmed by Your beauty. We look away from all things other than You because You have charmed us! Dear Lord, we are attracted by Your charming beauty. We simply look away from all things other than You. Infuse us with Yourself as our faith. We open to You to receive heaven, life, and strength being ministered into us. Infuse us and transfuse us with all that You are so that we may be able to run the heavenly race and live the heavenly life on earth! Dear Lord Jesus, we look away unto You so that You may carry us through all the lifelong pathway and lead and bring us into glory! Amen!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brother Ray Mulligan on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of Hebrews, msg. 50, by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Experiencing, Enjoying, and Expressing Christ (part 3 – 2025 Summer Training), week 32, Looking Away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of Our Faith – day 1.
- Hymns on this topic:
– There’s a race for us to run—Hallelujah, / And a way for us the race to win. / To all those who have begun—Hallelujah, / God has spoken, “Look away to Him!” / Look away! O look away! / Look to Jesus now today! / Look away from everything unto Jesus, / Look away from everything to Him! (Hymns #1206 stanza 1 and chorus)
– Look away to Jesus, / Look away from all! / Then we need not stumble, / Then we shall not fall. / From each snare that lureth, / Foe or phantom grim, / Safety this ensureth, / Look away to Him. (Hymns #644 stanza 2)
– The wonderful Jesus, who is enthroned in heaven, / And crowned with glory and honor, is the greatest / Attraction in the universe. / He is like an immense magnet, drawing all His / Seekers to Him. / It is by being attracted / By His charming beauty that we look away, / From all things other than Him. / Without such a charming object, how could we look away / From so many distracting things / On this earth? (Song on, The Wonderful Jesus)
About aGodMan
Life-study of Hebrews, p. 550, by Witness Lee
The wonderful Jesus who is enthroned in heaven and crowned with glory and honor, is the greatest attraction in the universe.
We need to look away unto Him from everything else, focusing only on Him and enjoying only Him! Amen, He’s an immense magnet drawing all His seekers to Himself!
Amen! May we look away unto Jesus!
Praise the Lord, in the book of Hebrews we are presented with the heavenly Christ, who indwells us!
To experience Him we need to turn to our spirit and contact Him!
To enjoy Him we need to look away from all things on earth unto Him, who has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God!
He has accomplished everything that is needed by both God and man! Hallelujah!! He is the wonderful, all-inclusive One!
No longer camping in our mind but turning to our spirit, turning to Christ in everything who dispenses the glory of the Triune God into our being for the building up of the church.
We all, like the Hebrew believers, need to be river crossers, to cross the river to the other side & leave all things in the environment, the persecution, the old religion, sin, the self, the flesh, the old man, deadness, the world behind and enter into the good land, Christ!
We need to look away unto Jesus, seated on the throne of God! He is the indwelling Christ in our spirit to turn to! He’s the greatest attraction in the universe! (Heb.12:2; 10 38-39).
And, we have a cloud of witnesses surrounding us urging us on (12:1).
We need to run with endurance the heavenly race set before us and live the heavenly life on earth! He will bring us thru to glory! (2:10).
A very good hymn on this topic is, Hymns 1206, There’s a Race for Us to Run—Hallelujah
1. There’s a race for us to run—Hallelujah,
And a way for us the race to win.
To all those who have begun—Hallelujah,
God has spoken, “Look away to Him!”
Look away! O look away!
Look to Jesus now today!
Look away from everything unto Jesus,
Look away from everything to Him!
2. Look away from all around—Hallelujah,
Look away from all the strife and din;
Look away where peace is found—Hallelujah,
Look away from everything to Him.
https://www.hymnal.net/en/hymn/h/1206
To experience the indwelling Christ we need to turn to our spirit, but to enjoy the heavenly Christ we need to look away – with undivided attention – from all earthly things, including religion – unto Him.
Only His charming beauty can attract us to look away unto this wonderful, all-inclusive Christ to be transfused and infused with Him to run the heavenly race with endurance!
As we running the Christian race may you infuse us with faith to strengthen us to look away from everything unto Jesus.
Heb. 12:2 footnote 2 on, Jesus, Recovery Version Bible
Ameeen!!!
https://soundcloud.com/hymnstream/the-wonderful-jesus?ref=clipboard&p=i&c=0&si=21027AF07C63454DB76BCE403D166E95&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
We look at Him with undivided attention by turning away from every other object just as the runners in a race turn away from everything else and look at the goal with undivided attention. The very Christ seated in heaven crowned with glory and majesty with so many aspects cares for us in every way. But He is not just in the heavens. He is also the Christ who dwells in our spirit as the life-giving Spirit to be our life and our everything. To experience the indwelling Christ we need to turn to our spirit and contact Him. To enjoy the heavenly Christ we need to look away from all things on earth unto Him who is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Thank You O Magnet of our soul. Keep drawing us to You. Cause our eyes to be fixed on You. 🙏🙏🙏
Oh Lord Jesus, You are most attractive Person in the whole universe, the giant magnet that attracts all genuine seekers! Infuse us, transfuse us with Your wonderful Life-giving Spirit mingled with our spirit. Oh Lord accomplish Your Divine economy through us, have mercy on us to run the race with Your faith growing in us, looking away unto Jesus the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Oh Lord Jesus we love You with all our undivided heart!