Hebrews 12:1-3
The Phone Call That Tested Everything I Believed
Hebrews 12:1-3 calls believers to throw off what hinders and the sin that entangles, fix their eyes on Jesus and consider him so they will not grow weary and lose heart. Fixing our eyes means intentionally turning our attention to Jesus through Scripture, prayer and worship, and when we do, he changes how we see things and strengthens us to endure.
Message notes
Ka’ana Aki introduces himself as Pastor Carl’s son-in-law, raised on Kauai, who moved to Oahu in 2016 to attend Bible college and has served at New Hope Hawaii Kai for nine years. He introduces his wife, whom he married last October, and shares that this Sunday marks 16 years since his first encounter with the Lord, when he told God there was nothing better for him to do than whatever God asked.
Given the freedom to choose his topic, he asked himself what he would say if this were his only chance to speak. The answer was Hebrews 12:1-3. He reads it and leads the church in acknowledging the Lord’s presence, praying, “If we come here on Sunday and we don’t see you, then we’ve really come for nothing.”
Hebrews was written to Jewish believers facing heavy persecution and ready to fall away. Chapter 11 walks through Israel’s history of faith, and chapter 12 says that, surrounded by that great cloud of witnesses, they should run with perseverance.
His first point: throw off what hinders and the sin that entangles. Hindrances can be good things. His example is his phone, and he admits that during COVID he once spent nine hours scrolling in bed on a day off. Sin is different. It is a snare we cannot untie, and no amount of earning or getting it together fixes it: “There is only one remedy for sin and that’s Jesus.”
His second point: fix your eyes on Jesus, which means intentionally turning your attention to him. He pictures a party thrown in your honor, your name on the banner, where no one talks to you. We often treat the Lord that way. We fix our eyes through Scripture, prayer and worship, which exist to turn our hearts back to the Lord, not to make us feel good.
His third point: consider him. Two or three weeks into Bible college, his mom called. His dad had died in his sleep without warning. Ka’ana went outside to pray, and the first thing he sensed from the Lord was a question: “What are you going to do now?” He chose to believe God is everything he says he is, opened his Bible to Revelation and read of the creatures crying, “Holy, holy, holy.” Fixing our eyes on Jesus changes how we see and strengthens us to endure.
He closes by inviting believers to repent and refocus, and anyone who doesn’t know Jesus to say yes to him.
From the message
If we come here on Sunday and we don’t see you, then we’ve really come for nothing.
There is only one remedy for sin and that’s Jesus.
The primary function for prayer and for worship is actually to turn our hearts back to the Lord.
Lord, you are everything you say you are, and I’m choosing to believe it right now.
Life Group discussion guide
The Phone Call That Tested Everything I Believed, Hebrews 12:1-3. July 19, 2026.
Start here
What is one thing on your phone that steals more of your time than you would like to admit?
Read Hebrews 12:1-3
Open your Bibles and read it out loud together before you start.
What does it say?
In Hebrews 12:1, what two things does the writer tell us to throw off, and what are we told to do instead?
According to verse 2, what did Jesus endure, and what was set before him that carried him through it?
What reason does verse 3 give for considering Jesus?
What does it mean?
Ka’ana explained that Hebrews was written to Jewish believers who were ready to quit under persecution. How does the “great cloud of witnesses” from Hebrews 11 speak to people in that place?
Why might good things, and not just bad things, hinder us from running our race well (1 Corinthians 10:23)?
Ka’ana said the first part of the Lord’s Prayer is about God, not us (Matthew 6:9-10). What does that suggest about the main purpose of prayer and worship?
What do we do with it?
Ka’ana described a party thrown in your honor where nobody talks to you. Where in your week do you invite Jesus in but fail to acknowledge him?
What is one hindrance in your schedule, phone or habits that you need to throw off so you can spend time with Jesus?
When suffering hits, what would it look like for you to say, “Lord, you are everything you say you are, and I’m choosing to believe it right now”?
Pray
Ask Jesus to search your heart for what hinders and entangles you, to forgive you for being distracted, and to give you a fresh vision of who he is so you will not grow weary and lose heart.
New Hope Hawaii Kai. Watch the message and read the notes at newhopehk.org/sermons/fix-our-eyes/