It may be a little rough at the water cooler, and you may get hassle in the philosophy class,

but you haven't been crucified yet.

And I know one who has.

You see where his exhortation comes from?

When you start feeling like it's too tough to live the Christian life,

considered the one who endured such a contradiction of sinners against himself,

who went even to blood and to death, and realize you haven't gone that far yet. Welcome to Grace to you with John MacArthur.

I'm your host Phil Johnson.

What is it that pushes a world-class athlete

to spend years hitting the weight room,

running countless miles,

doing untold numbers of drills, and constantly refining his or her skills?

The answer is dedication. Now if a person trains that hard for athletic glory that is fleeting, how much more dedicated

should you be in striving for the ultimate spiritual prize for the eternal spiritual rewards that come from pursuing Christ-likeness.

Well today, John MacArthur is going to take you to the gym, so to speak, and show you how to make great strides in your spiritual training.

He's continuing his study called the Power of Faith.

And so with the lesson now, here's John.

Hebrews chapter 12 versus 1 to 4.

One of the great texts in the Bible, one of the most familiar, one of the simplest really,

and yet one of the most profound. I want to give you several items here. I'm going to give you just

some points in sequence to help open the passage to you. Number one in Hebrew 12 verse one,

the event. Now what is the event the event is a race

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