LIFE IS A MARATHON… THE TOWEL…
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com ( Two parts)
SUGAR RAY LEONARD VS ROBERTO DURAN… NO MAS, NO MAS… THE TOWEL?
For the Middleweight Champion Crown in Boxing there were three matches between SUGAR RAY LEAONARD III and ROBERTO DURAN… In the last match, Duran turned his back on Sugar and cried out… NO MAS, NO MAS. In Spanish that means no more, no more. Duran quit! Duran was disgusted and waved his glove… he walked away. Duran claimed he had stomach cramps… Duran became associated with quitting.
DO WE UNDERSTAND WHAT THROWING THE TOWEL IN THE RING MEANS?
STANDING ON THE PROMISES… WE HAVE SOME VERY SURE PROMISES FROM GOD TO US…
Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
We have some God guarantees you can bank on… THERE IS A PROMISE FOR THOSE THAT ENDURE TO THE END… We need to be loyal…
**ENDURE: to hold out, to not give up, never give in, to suffer something painful or difficult patiently, bear, stand, tolerate, to make hard, to not give up, to continue.
**PERSEVERE: to continue in the course of action even in the face of difficulty or with little or no prospect of success, to overcome discouragement, to stick with the task, journey or mission, overcoming the distractions, obstacles or discouragement.
MANY WILL LIVE THEIR DAILY LIVES STUMBLING AND BEING OFFENDED AND THROW IN THE TOWEL…
Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. 13 But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.
Matthew 24:12 (MSG) For many others, the overwhelming spread of evil will do them in—nothing left of their love but a mound of ashes. 13 "Staying with it—that's what God requires. Stay with it to the end. You won't be sorry, and you'll be saved.
Matthew 24:12 (Passion) There will be such an increase in sin of lawlessness that those whose hearts once burned with passion for God and others will grow cold. 13. But hold your hope firmly to the end and you will experience life and deliverance.
LIFE IS NOT A 100 YARD DASH… REAL LIFE IS A MARATHON…
Ecclesiastes 9:11 I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.
THE 100 YARD DASH IS SLANG FOR THE FASTEST GUY… IT IS RUN WITH YOUR LEGS… The hundred yard dash is a short, very fast race. A 100 yard dash is liken unto something that can be accomplished very quickly. The average person can run the 100 yard dash in about 30 seconds. A good runner can run the dash in 13-14 seconds. A very good runner can do it in under 10 seconds.
Hebrews 12:1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,
When I was in high school we had a very talented basketball player. The coach told him he was lazy. They would tie weights to his shoes. All week long he ran, he practiced, he wore weights… Right before the game, the trainer would take off his weights. He ran faster and jumped higher. TAKE OF THE WEIGHT…
THE MARATHON IS A LONG DISTANCE FOOT RACE… 26 MILES… A MARATHON IS RUN WITH YOUR HEAD, NOT YOUR LEGS… The race is so long it must be run with the mental aspect coming into play. The runner feels fatigue and extreme tiredness. There are at least 40,000 steps in a race. There is a term called SPLAT… where the body desires to quit. All marathon runners say the hardest point is to have to overcome the mental splat. You will face high heart rates. Sweat flows. One tends to dehydrate.
WE LIVE AND DIE WITH THE CHOICES WE MAKE…
Deuteronomy 30:19 I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live:
Deuteronomy 30:19 (NLT2) “Today I have given you the choice between life and death, between blessings and curses. Now I call on heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Oh, that you would choose life, so that you and your descendants might live!
WE DO NOT SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE… WE SEE LIFE AS WE ARE… OUR SPIRITUAL VISION IS BLURRED AND DISTORTED… BUT SOME DAY, THE SON WILL SHINE BRIGHTLY AND WE SHALL SEE CLEARLY…
1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.
I heard a story of a couple that built a new house. Across the alley was another house. The woman of the house always admired how clean the neighbor’s wash was. Over the fall and into the winter, the new house had a pot-bellied stove and two fireplaces. The whole area burned coal to heat with… The couple also burned coal. They used several tons of coal that winter. As the lady would do her dishes she would observe her neighbor’s washing on the clothes line. Midway through the winter the lady noticed that her neighbor’s washing was not nearly as bright and clean as it had been when they moved. Almost weekly the bright clean close faded. The neighbor must be out of TIDE, the new improved detergent. Several times she started to ask the poor lady about the dingy washing. Before too long winter was over and spring came around. It was time for spring cleaning. The lady’s sons borrowed a ladder and washed the outside windows, while her and the daughters cleaned the inside windows. The burning coal left a tar like film on the windows. The next day the neighbor hung her wash and there was a strange miracle. The neighbors washing was once again bright and so clean. It was not dirty clothes, the issue was dirty windows dimming the view.
It has been said no mortal person has ever seen as they really are. We tend to focus on the temporal and seem to never grasp eternal values. Our eyes will focus on our own prejudices.
WHO IS RIGHT… ? THE WAY WE SEE THINGS REFLECTS THE WAY WE ARE. DO WE SEE PROBLEMS, TRIALS, FEAR AND DEPRESSION AS HUGE PROBLEMS OR DO WE SAY THIS IS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY?
Our preconceptions have a cause and effect on how we perceive the surroundings around us…
1 Corinthians 13:10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known. 13 And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
THE PARABLE OF THE ELEPHANTS…
Remember THE PARABLE of the 6 blind people gathered around an elephant FOR THE FIRST TIME. Each blind person feels a different part of the elephant. One blind person was asked to touch the tusks, then describe what he had touched. IT IS A SPEAR! Another person said: THIS IS A LARGE WALL. One blind person grabbed a hold of the elephant’s tail and guessed what the tail was? It was grape vine. One touched the trunk and jumped back it was a large snake. One touched the side and it was a wrinkly leather blanket. One blind person touched the leg and described he was touching a tree stump.
EACH PERSON HAD A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. They started calling each other LIARS. The argument soon got louder and louder and the group started swinging blows at each other. GUESS HUMANS ALWAYS WANT TO CLAIM THEY ARE RIGHT. WE HAVE A GREAT TENDENCY TO CLAIM WE CARRY THE ABSOLUTE TRUTH AND EVERYONE ELSE IS WRONG. WHO IS RIGHT? EVERYONE TENDS TO ACCEPT THEIR PERSPECTIVE AS THE RIGHT ONE SO TRIVIAL PURSUIT LEADS TO ARGUMENTS AND DISAGREEMENTS. Could they have all been right? Could they have all been partially wrong?
Each person is right in their own eyes. I am telling the truth and you must be mistaken? THERE IS A HIDDEN TRUTH ABOUT COMMUNICATION AND RESPECTING OTHER PEOPLES’ OBSERVATIONS… LISTEN? WE KNOW TO TALK? FEW LEARN TO LISTEN?
COULD WE BE LOOKING AT ONE PIECE OF THE PUZZLE? My vision at best is imperfect, I just know life in fragments or in part. It is kind of like driving in a heavy fog?
LIFE IS NOT A 100 YARD DASH… REAL LIFE IS A LONG MARATHON…
HEY MY FRIEND, TRY WALKING IN MY SHOES ON THE ROAD WHERE I HAVE BEEN. IF YOU TRAVEL AS FAR AS I HAVE, YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THAT MY STRENGTH HAS COME FROM A MIGHTY GOD.
Be honest… when life gives 100 reasons to throw up your hands to worry, to live in fear and be depressed--- show the enemy you have 1,000 reasons to lift your hands in praise, to stay strong and to laugh.
2 Chronicles 20:15 And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God's.
FEAR IS A BIG LIAR… FEAR DISTORTS OUR VISION… FEAR SAYS YOU CAN’T DO IT… FEAR SAYS I AM TOO WEAK…
Galatians 6:9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
So let's not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good. At the right time we will harvest a good crop if we don't give up, or quit.
DO YOU KNOW THERE IS A MIGHTY OAK TREE INSIDE THIS ACORN? WE MUST FOCUS ON ETERNITY. WE MUST RECOGNIZE SPIRITUAL FATGUE IS PART OF THIS RACE… WE CAN’T GIVE UP, WE CAN’T QUIT.
CONCLUSION: CAN WE DREAM OF THE FINISH LINE BEFORE US? HAVE YOU EVER EVALUATED WHAT IS HINDERING ME? YOU CAN IF YOU WANT TO…??? DO I HAVE A COMPELLING DESIRE TO FOCUS ON ETERNAL VALUES.
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
Please understand we are not in this race alone. GOD IS WITH US… WE CAN’T ALLOW LIFE TO WORRY US AND INTIMIDATE US INTO FEAR….
Deuteronomy 31:8 And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed.
THE THINGS THAT WERE ONCE IMPORTANT AND BEAUTIFUL HAVE GRADUALLY FADED AWAY… GOD OPEN THE EYES OF MY HEART TO BE MORE UNDERSTANDING, MORE CARING, MORE LOVING, MORE PATIENT, MORE JOYFUL…
2 Corinthians 4:16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.
THERE ARE GREAT OPPORTUNITIES BEFORE US… THE OPPORTUNITIES OFTEN COME DISGUISED AS OBSTACLES AND PROBLEMS. REMEMBER LIFE IS A MARATHON NOT A SPRINT. BE READY.
Colossians 3:23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men; 24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com
Check out my YOUTUBE? (Two part lesson)
