Running the Race
This is the text of the 'sermon' I gave on 5/6/06. I thought it was pretty good :)
In my job, I get to stand up in front of folks and present materials all the time. But it is boring work stuff and not the Word of God. And not only that, but I’m speaking to believers! I don’t have to worry about offending someone by telling them the truth. Right?
When I was asked to speak, I was told that our theme for today is “the Race”. The Race, I thought, great! I’ll dress up in a cute sweat suit and I’ll wear my new Reeboks and those little footie socks with the pompom balls on the back! And then I thought, Wait a minute. The kind of race we’re talking about doesn’t have a dress code. See, you thought I was dressed up in this suit because I was the featured speaker. The new pastor’s wife has to make a good impression. Nope, I’m way past that. It’s been nine months now that we’ve been at Trinity. I don’t dress like this for church. Do I? Today, I’m in a suit and heels because I wanted to make the point that how I look doesn’t matter. God can use me whether I’m in a suit or sweats or my pajamas. Aw, man, I shoulda wore my PAJAMAS! And my fuzzy slippers!
Now when I think of a race, I know that you don’t just jump in and start running. You have to prepare first. When you’re running in a race, you have to train. You stretch your muscles; you build your endurance; you are changing your body. You change your diet. You get to eat lots of carbs – mmmm, Fazoli’s! -- and you drink lots of water. You take vitamins to replace the minerals and nutrients you lose. You get to buy new clothes, and new SHOES. But you can do all of that and you still won’t make it unless you also change your attitude. If I said, "Right now, everybody get up and lets run three laps around the sanctuary," you would probably not have a good attitude. But have you ever seen the runners in a Komen race, the Race for the Cure? Some of these women’s bodies have been ravaged by surgery, by chemotherapy and by radiation treatments, and they are running. Special Olympians. They run with everything they’ve got. Some of them race in wheelchairs. They have FOCUS, they have a good attitude.
So how is this our theme? What race are we talking about here? Is she really going to make us run around the church? No, let’s look in Philippians Chapter 3. Philippians Chapter 3. In the first part of this chapter, Paul talks about his past. He makes the point here that if anyone has a right to trust in the flesh, it was him. If anyone could make it on his own, he could. He was a Jew, a Pharisee. He persecuted others; he was a righteous man who followed the law. But, he says, he’d toss it all out to be like Jesus. Here’s our race. In chapter 3, in the second half of verse 13, and on to verse 14, in the NIV,
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The prize. Ah, the race for the prize. What prize? Jesus. To be like Jesus. Okay, we get to be like Jesus! So what do we do? Stretch out? Eat vitamins? Suit up? No. Paul says we FOCUS.
First, forget what is behind. I’m not known for my motor coordination. I have been known to trip and fall when I’m looking straight ahead and I’m walking on level ground. I have broken the bones in my feet so many times that the last radiologist I visited wanted to award me a prize himself. Now, imagine if I’m looking behind me. Ugh. Forget what is behind. We’ve been studying on Wednesday nights, the book of Ecclesiastes. This week we read in Ch 7 v10, “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.” It is not wise. Why are we dwelling on the past? Are you stuck thinking about the good old days? Back when you managed the bake sale and led the youth group. You used to plant the spring flowers and help fold the bulletins. Are you using the past as an excuse? It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a Christian for 50 years or for 5 minutes. There is no time limit on serving the Lord. Forget the past and PRESS ON. Take action! And when I say action, I’m not talking about jogging around the sanctuary. Think of those racers in wheelchairs. They find a way to participate. At the very least, what every one of us can do is pray. Shake a visitor’s hand. Call a church member during the week. Invite your family & friends & neighbors to a service. Those are actions. Those are HUGE actions! Now, in case you are thinking up excuses about how this might not apply to you, let’s move on….
Next, Paul says, strain toward what is ahead. In the KJV it says “reaching forth”. That is showing some action. Can you see the runner leaning out to cross the finish line? Are you stretching out? Are you pushing yourself? Or are you plodding along the same way you have been for the past year, or 2 years or 5 years? Are you different from 10 years ago? GOOD. Are you different from last week? You should be. You should be pushing for change every single day. In an endurance race, a marathon, you can’t push the whole way. You’ll wear out in the first mile and you’ll never finish. “Slow and steady wins the race”, right? The tortoise and the hare? Not here!! This is a marathon. It lasts your whole life. But Paul says strain ahead, reach forth. He doesn’t say “just keep moving”. He says DO SOMETHING. How can we continually push on? You know those people on the side of the marathon that hold out the little cups of water to the runners? We’ve got those. They are your fellow Christians. Your Sunday School teacher. Your Pastor. Your neighbor that calls you to say ‘I just prayed for you’. And what are they holding out? Water? Oh, yes, LIVING WATER. That’ll keep you going for a lifetime. You have the Holy Spirit. You have the Word of God. You have Eternal Life. Can THAT keep you going? So, now, why can’t you welcome a visitor? You are shy? Why don’t you invite people to a service? You’ve done it before and it didn’t work? Well, do it again. Strain. Press ON.
Now, wait a second. Are you listening to me? Are you listening to me? Are you making an excuse? Are you focused on the past? Do you think I’m not talking to you?
I work for a consulting firm, and my current project is with the Veteran’s Administration. Do we have any veterans here, or wives of veterans, or parents of veterans? God bless you and your families for your service to our country.
I am teaching the VA how to bill insurance claim forms, and when they enter all the codes in the system, if they make a mistake, it comes back and someone has to fix it – it’s not always the person who makes the mistake. So, I get a report that tells me how many times each different code was wrong for each different hospital. Now, every week on Thursday we have a conference call with all the VA Medical Centers across the whole nation – hundreds of folks -- and I tell them, this week the top error was “XYZ” – and, here is how you fix it, AND here is how you do it right the first time so you don’t have to re-work it. And you know, every week for the past year, I’ve told them the exact same thing. For all 52 weeks that I have been Project Manager (this week was my one year anniversary as PM), it has been the same error every single time. Now, how can this keep happening? Every week?! Because they all think I’m not talking to them. Now you can see how silly that is. My message is meant for the people who are on the call. But they all think, we’ve heard this for 52 weeks, I know she doesn’t mean me. Guess what? My message today is to YOU. YOU!!
Still don’t believe me? Well, just in case you think this doesn’t apply to you, let’s go just a little further in Philippians chapter 3 and take a look at verse 15,
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
Whoa. Have you ever had one of THOSE conversations with God? Have you ever WON one of those conversations with God? I didn’t think so.
You think you’ve done enough? Let’s find out. Ask Him. Open your heart and ask God, what should I be stretching for? Maybe it is missions. Maybe you are a prayer warrior. Maybe it is children’s ministry. Maybe you are just the smiling face our visitors see when they walk in. Step outside of your comfort zone and strain. Press on.
If it isn’t hard to serve the Lord, then you’re not doing it right. Paul wrote to Timothy (2Tim 3:12) “… everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” In the book of Mark (13:13), Jesus says it himself, “All men will hate you because of me….” It isn’t supposed to be easy. You don’t get to retire from this service. There are no drop outs. You cross the finish line when you see Jesus. When He says “well done, my good and faithful servant”. Your prize is to be with Him, to be like Him. In Corinthians (1Cor 9:25), Paul writes, “Everyone who competes in the games … get[s] a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
That’s the prize I want. I want to be able to stand in front of Jesus and KNOW that I pushed. That I stretched. That I did everything I could to be like Him right up until the last second of my life on Earth. And that is my challenge to you today.
Forget what is behind. Strain toward what is ahead. Press on.
In my job, I get to stand up in front of folks and present materials all the time. But it is boring work stuff and not the Word of God. And not only that, but I’m speaking to believers! I don’t have to worry about offending someone by telling them the truth. Right?
When I was asked to speak, I was told that our theme for today is “the Race”. The Race, I thought, great! I’ll dress up in a cute sweat suit and I’ll wear my new Reeboks and those little footie socks with the pompom balls on the back! And then I thought, Wait a minute. The kind of race we’re talking about doesn’t have a dress code. See, you thought I was dressed up in this suit because I was the featured speaker. The new pastor’s wife has to make a good impression. Nope, I’m way past that. It’s been nine months now that we’ve been at Trinity. I don’t dress like this for church. Do I? Today, I’m in a suit and heels because I wanted to make the point that how I look doesn’t matter. God can use me whether I’m in a suit or sweats or my pajamas. Aw, man, I shoulda wore my PAJAMAS! And my fuzzy slippers!
Now when I think of a race, I know that you don’t just jump in and start running. You have to prepare first. When you’re running in a race, you have to train. You stretch your muscles; you build your endurance; you are changing your body. You change your diet. You get to eat lots of carbs – mmmm, Fazoli’s! -- and you drink lots of water. You take vitamins to replace the minerals and nutrients you lose. You get to buy new clothes, and new SHOES. But you can do all of that and you still won’t make it unless you also change your attitude. If I said, "Right now, everybody get up and lets run three laps around the sanctuary," you would probably not have a good attitude. But have you ever seen the runners in a Komen race, the Race for the Cure? Some of these women’s bodies have been ravaged by surgery, by chemotherapy and by radiation treatments, and they are running. Special Olympians. They run with everything they’ve got. Some of them race in wheelchairs. They have FOCUS, they have a good attitude.
So how is this our theme? What race are we talking about here? Is she really going to make us run around the church? No, let’s look in Philippians Chapter 3. Philippians Chapter 3. In the first part of this chapter, Paul talks about his past. He makes the point here that if anyone has a right to trust in the flesh, it was him. If anyone could make it on his own, he could. He was a Jew, a Pharisee. He persecuted others; he was a righteous man who followed the law. But, he says, he’d toss it all out to be like Jesus. Here’s our race. In chapter 3, in the second half of verse 13, and on to verse 14, in the NIV,
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The prize. Ah, the race for the prize. What prize? Jesus. To be like Jesus. Okay, we get to be like Jesus! So what do we do? Stretch out? Eat vitamins? Suit up? No. Paul says we FOCUS.
First, forget what is behind. I’m not known for my motor coordination. I have been known to trip and fall when I’m looking straight ahead and I’m walking on level ground. I have broken the bones in my feet so many times that the last radiologist I visited wanted to award me a prize himself. Now, imagine if I’m looking behind me. Ugh. Forget what is behind. We’ve been studying on Wednesday nights, the book of Ecclesiastes. This week we read in Ch 7 v10, “Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions.” It is not wise. Why are we dwelling on the past? Are you stuck thinking about the good old days? Back when you managed the bake sale and led the youth group. You used to plant the spring flowers and help fold the bulletins. Are you using the past as an excuse? It doesn’t matter if you’ve been a Christian for 50 years or for 5 minutes. There is no time limit on serving the Lord. Forget the past and PRESS ON. Take action! And when I say action, I’m not talking about jogging around the sanctuary. Think of those racers in wheelchairs. They find a way to participate. At the very least, what every one of us can do is pray. Shake a visitor’s hand. Call a church member during the week. Invite your family & friends & neighbors to a service. Those are actions. Those are HUGE actions! Now, in case you are thinking up excuses about how this might not apply to you, let’s move on….
Next, Paul says, strain toward what is ahead. In the KJV it says “reaching forth”. That is showing some action. Can you see the runner leaning out to cross the finish line? Are you stretching out? Are you pushing yourself? Or are you plodding along the same way you have been for the past year, or 2 years or 5 years? Are you different from 10 years ago? GOOD. Are you different from last week? You should be. You should be pushing for change every single day. In an endurance race, a marathon, you can’t push the whole way. You’ll wear out in the first mile and you’ll never finish. “Slow and steady wins the race”, right? The tortoise and the hare? Not here!! This is a marathon. It lasts your whole life. But Paul says strain ahead, reach forth. He doesn’t say “just keep moving”. He says DO SOMETHING. How can we continually push on? You know those people on the side of the marathon that hold out the little cups of water to the runners? We’ve got those. They are your fellow Christians. Your Sunday School teacher. Your Pastor. Your neighbor that calls you to say ‘I just prayed for you’. And what are they holding out? Water? Oh, yes, LIVING WATER. That’ll keep you going for a lifetime. You have the Holy Spirit. You have the Word of God. You have Eternal Life. Can THAT keep you going? So, now, why can’t you welcome a visitor? You are shy? Why don’t you invite people to a service? You’ve done it before and it didn’t work? Well, do it again. Strain. Press ON.
Now, wait a second. Are you listening to me? Are you listening to me? Are you making an excuse? Are you focused on the past? Do you think I’m not talking to you?
I work for a consulting firm, and my current project is with the Veteran’s Administration. Do we have any veterans here, or wives of veterans, or parents of veterans? God bless you and your families for your service to our country.
I am teaching the VA how to bill insurance claim forms, and when they enter all the codes in the system, if they make a mistake, it comes back and someone has to fix it – it’s not always the person who makes the mistake. So, I get a report that tells me how many times each different code was wrong for each different hospital. Now, every week on Thursday we have a conference call with all the VA Medical Centers across the whole nation – hundreds of folks -- and I tell them, this week the top error was “XYZ” – and, here is how you fix it, AND here is how you do it right the first time so you don’t have to re-work it. And you know, every week for the past year, I’ve told them the exact same thing. For all 52 weeks that I have been Project Manager (this week was my one year anniversary as PM), it has been the same error every single time. Now, how can this keep happening? Every week?! Because they all think I’m not talking to them. Now you can see how silly that is. My message is meant for the people who are on the call. But they all think, we’ve heard this for 52 weeks, I know she doesn’t mean me. Guess what? My message today is to YOU. YOU!!
Still don’t believe me? Well, just in case you think this doesn’t apply to you, let’s go just a little further in Philippians chapter 3 and take a look at verse 15,
All of us who are mature should take such a view of things. And if on some point you think differently, that too God will make clear to you.
Whoa. Have you ever had one of THOSE conversations with God? Have you ever WON one of those conversations with God? I didn’t think so.
You think you’ve done enough? Let’s find out. Ask Him. Open your heart and ask God, what should I be stretching for? Maybe it is missions. Maybe you are a prayer warrior. Maybe it is children’s ministry. Maybe you are just the smiling face our visitors see when they walk in. Step outside of your comfort zone and strain. Press on.
If it isn’t hard to serve the Lord, then you’re not doing it right. Paul wrote to Timothy (2Tim 3:12) “… everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” In the book of Mark (13:13), Jesus says it himself, “All men will hate you because of me….” It isn’t supposed to be easy. You don’t get to retire from this service. There are no drop outs. You cross the finish line when you see Jesus. When He says “well done, my good and faithful servant”. Your prize is to be with Him, to be like Him. In Corinthians (1Cor 9:25), Paul writes, “Everyone who competes in the games … get[s] a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
That’s the prize I want. I want to be able to stand in front of Jesus and KNOW that I pushed. That I stretched. That I did everything I could to be like Him right up until the last second of my life on Earth. And that is my challenge to you today.
Forget what is behind. Strain toward what is ahead. Press on.
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