When We Move Out, God Moves In Part 4
“Moving Out In Endurance” (All my sermons use illustrations from sermoncentral.com and the Scripture is NIV unless otherwise noted.)
As Easter approaches we are wrapping up this series of sermons about giving God room to work in our lives. John the Baptist said, “He must become greater, I must become less.” This series is entitled, “When We Move Out, God Moves In.” When we empty ourselves, we are then capable of being filled with the Holy Spirit of God. These past weeks we have spent time looking at ways we can MOVE OUT. Moving out in humility, acknowledging that we don’t have all the answers, we are not in control, GOD is. We looked at Luke 15 and talked about moving out of our comfort zone. The Bible is clear that it is NOT about us, it is about the lost, sick and hurting of this world. And last week we looked at moving out and trusting God. Next week we will finish the series talking about moving out in influence, BUT this week, I want to look at moving out in endurance. Commitment, enduring tough times - - something most all of us lack in.
A lack of commitment has begun to plague our churches as well as our communities. People are not volunteering the way they did years ago, and others are leaving churches in search of something that will keep them happy. One key to having God move in our lives, and in our church, is simply to endure, to persevere, to get past the obstacles that Satan places in our path. Giving God room to work involves continuing on with the race that our God has marked out for us. It truly is much easier to quit, then it is to fight the good fight. I know from personal experience that Satan works at having us consider quitting as much as he possibly can. BUT, scripture calls us to run the race and to finish what God has designed for us to accomplish. If you have your Bible with you this morning, please turn with me to PHP 3:12-14 “ Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. 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. PRAYER
Three pastors got together for coffee one day and found all their churches had bat-infestation problems. “I got so mad” said one, “I took a shotgun and fired at them. I missed and it made holes in the ceiling. The leaders are still upset with me.” Another pastor said, “Well, I tried trapping them alive. Then I drove them 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church.” The third pastor said, “I haven’t had any more problems since I took action.” “What did you do?” the others asked, amazed. “I simply baptized them and made them members of the church. I haven’t seen them since.”
This is humorous, and yet, in an unfortunate kind of way, it is true. So many people give up. So many are unwilling to stay the course, to make a commitment that means something, to boldly go where No man has gone before . . . . OK, that might be pushing it. But Paul tells us a different story.
I. RUNNING THE RACE I press on toward the goal . . . A. WHO ARE THE RUNNERS?
Now, notice who the runners are in this race, verse 13 starts out with the word, “Brothers” or “Brethren.” This tells us plainly, that the race mentioned here is for Christians, it is for those that have accepted Jesus as Lord of their lives and been baptized into a committed relationship with him. God is calling us to become committed to running the race, to training and staying in spiritual shape. IF, you do not have a personal relationship with Jesus, you are not even at the starting line yet. BUT, all that can change, when you make a personal decision to accept Jesus as Lord of your life. Here, however, Paul is speaking to all Christians, and I honestly feel that this is sound advice on how to step out in endurance and commitment.
B. WHAT IS THE RACE? It is Christian life! Have you ever felt that you have been caught up in the hurried pace of our world? Ever wondered when it is going to slow down? Ever felt like quitting, just giving up on some of the things that are stressing you? I know I have, I know that Satan will work on the person who is losing focus. He works on those that do not see the big picture through the eyes of our all-knowing God. Everlasting life with God through Jesus Christ, and the fact that God wants that NO ONE should perish, not even ONE, means we must run the race.
C. IF YOU ARE NOT A CHRISTIAN, YOU ARE BEING CALLED!
God wants everyone in this race; He wants all of us to be a part of this battle. Life can be such a battle sometimes, BUT to endure we must accept Jesus as Lord, we must confess Him to the world and turn our lives back to God where they belong. Travel the Roman Road, we are ALL sinners falling short of the glory of God, the price for that sin is death, but God’s gift is eternal life, He shows His love for us by dying for us while we were still sinners and if we confess Him we can be saved.
If we are willing to repent of our sin and be baptized into that relationship with Jesus the Holy Spirit will be our guide for the race ahead. What is behind us, is behind us. The old is GONE, the new has come. We may not have been in the race, perhaps we were lagging behind, BUT, now is the time to get committed and start running the race the way that God intended us to run.
II. LOOK AT THE COMMITEMENT THAT IS NEEDED
A. PHP 3:12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Paul tells us, “I’m not there, I have not obtained this, I have not arrived or crossed the finish line - - BUT - - I PRESS ON!!!!
Runner’s World (8/91) told the story of Beth DeGiantis’s attempt to qualify for the 1992 Olympic Trials marathon. A female runner must complete the 26 mile, 385 yard race in less than two hours, forty five minutes in order to compete in the Olympic Trials. Beth started strong but began having problems around mile 23. She reached the final straightway at 2:43, with just two minutes left to qualify. Two hundred yards from the finish, she stumbled and fell. Dazed, she stayed down for twenty seconds. The crowd yelled, “Get up!” The clock was ticking - - 2:44, less than a minute to go. Beth Anne staggered to her feet and began walking. Five yards short of the finish, with ten seconds to go, she fell again. She began to crawl, the crowd cheering her on, and crossed the finish line on her hands and knees. He time? Two hours, 44 minutes and 57 seconds. But she finished!
And we too have a crowd cheering for us, telling us to finish, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great crowd of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (HEB 12:1)
Anyone that is going to make it in their walk with Christ and any church that is going to fulfill the great commission of Matthew 28, will HAVE TO have commitment and endurance. Lack of commitment is what keeps so many from finishing the race, from pressing on. We as humans, know the things that we should do in life and we understand the amount of commitment necessary to see these things get done, BUT many times we are so busy looking for a short cut that we do not do what needs to be done. For example, losing weight takes commitment to diet and exercise, one I obviously have not done very well at. Raising children, takes a great deal of commitment to discipline and consistency, and today we are seeing that there is less and less commitment to either. Following Jesus and building His church, takes a great deal of commitment that many people are drifting away from as well, and the church is suffering from it. Commitment is much more then knowing about someone, it is companionship and communion. Ravi Zacharias says it this way, “What is the difference between companionship and communion? In companionship with God we come to Him recognizing our limit of strength. In communion with God we stay with Him, recognizing our depth of spirit. In companionship with God we long to see and understand. In communion with God we long to feel and belong. Those who seek companionship without communion seek power without commitment, a display without dedication, and proof without love.”
So many want the miracles and the blessings that our Almighty God is ready to give, BUT they do not want the commitment to Him. It is like having the “American Express Card” they won’t leave home without Him, BUT He stays in their back pocket unless they need something.
Our scripture this morning shows what real commitment is, it shows who is in the race, what the race is and it shows the REAL challenge of the race.
B. THE CHALLENGE - “Forgetting what is behind . . .
Paul tells us that he has not finished the race, he is not at the goal, BUT ONE THING I DO – FORGET THE PAST! Paul is not going to let the things he has done in the past, or the things that he has failed to do in the past, hinder him from keeping the direction and commitment that it will take to finish the race. We too, must never allow these things of the past to hinder our walk with Christ.
GRUDGES - One thing I have seen Satan use to keep God’s people from running the race is grudges. Paul addressed this in COL 3:13-14 Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
God is challenging us to give up our grudges! A grudge is simply a deep ongoing resentment that we allow to grow in our hearts against someone else. I know that I have dealt with this, I am sure many of us in this room this morning have dealt with this at some time in our lives. A grudge is an unforgiving spirit that leads to unforgiving attitudes and unforgiving actions. This happens in the church and in our lives and it MUST STOP. FORGETTING THE PAST. Pressing on.
FAILURES - are another thing that keeps us from being where God wants us to be. So many times Satan takes the wind out of our sails by simply placing an obstacle or a disappointment in our way. When this happens, we do not enjoy the success we would like too and many times we just give up. I have heard this time and time again, “That won’t work, we have tried it before and it did not work.” Can you imagine if the 12 Apostles gave up trying every time that met a failure?
In the Old Testament, Joshua fought for a long time with the kings. As we read accounts of the wars it may seem short, but in reality, it took Joshua seven years to complete his final conquest. There must have been times during those seven years of fighting that Joshua felt like quitting. BUT, he clung on to God and endured with unfaltering perseverance. The spiritual battle here on earth is long and can be very tiring. We have to persevere and keep fighting until the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. By perseverance the snail reached the ark. (C.H. Spurgeon)
We too must persevere because there is a prize awaiting us at the end of the race. We CAN persevere because God has given us His power through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. God has also given us companions in this race (from Benjamin Chew’s Sermon “The Final Conquest.”) Do not allow failures from the PAST keep you from trying hard in the future.
III. WE MUST FIGHT IN THE PRESENT
And straining toward what is ahead, I press on! NIV
Reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on NASB
Reaching forth unto those things which are before KJV
We have already seen that it takes a great deal of commitment to run the race, and the challenge to forget what is behind us, the past. Now Paul pushes us harder by saying, “reach for the future.” It really is not enough to just let go of the past, we must also look ahead. If grudges and failures are the things that keep us buried in the past, then it is reconciliation and repentance that will push is ahead. Forgiveness is essential, but it is not enough. We must work hard to restore broken relationships. ROMANS tells us “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” This is not always easy, as a matter of fact it is down right difficult.
Several years ago at a passion play an incident took place during Jesus carrying the cross scene. A man in the audience was heckling the character playing Jesus, throwing our jeers, taunts and dares. Finally the character could no longer tolerate the heckler, he dropped the cross and went over and punched out the man. The director was aghast and after play pulled the actor aside and told him in no uncertain terms that he was to never to that again. But the next night the same heckler was back again and he was doing the same thing, this time Jesus had to be restrained. The director called the young actor in and gave him an ultimatum of wither quitting or keeping himself under control. The third night, the heckler was present again and taunted even stronger than he had the previous two nights. The man playing Jesus rose to his full stature, gritted his teeth and told the heckler, “I’ll see you right after the resurrection!”
The truth is that Jesus will see ALL of us again, our treasure should be in heaven and leave vengeance to the Lord, for it belongs to Him and not us.
With repentance we push forward by pushing sin aside. Romans 6 plainly states, “Do not let sin control you, do not give into its lustful desires, we are no longer slaves to sin.” But many act as if they are still slaves to sin, as if they cannot help themselves. And many are unwilling to admit that there is sin in their lives. This does nothing to allow God room to work in our lives. God wants to have room to work in and through us, but He can only do so if we admit to Him and ourselves that we are sinners in need of a Savior. Most of us would not want to offend our brother or sister by telling them they are on the wrong path, that they are running the wrong race.
A famous Methodist evangelist named Peter Cartwright was known for his uncompromising preaching. However, one day when the President of the United States, Andrew Jackson, “Old Rough and Ready,” came to Cartwright’s church, the elders warned the Pastor not to offend the President. In those days, the President had great power to influence a denomination for good or for bad. . Content, that their Pastor would not say anything to discredit their church, the elders retired to the back of the sanctuary. When Cartwright got up to speak, the first words from his mouth were, “I understand that President Jackson is with us here this morning. I have been requested to be very guarded in my remarks. Let me say this: “Andrew Jackson will go to hell if he doesn’t repent of his sin!” The entire congregation gasped in shock at Cartwright’s boldness. How, could this young preacher dare to offend the tough old general in a public setting, they wondered. After the service, everyone wondered how the President would respond to the preacher. When Andrew Jackson met the preacher at the door he looked him in the eye and said, “Sir, if I had a regiment of men like you, I could conquer the world!”
When we appreciate the power of the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit speaking from the lips of people with conviction, we will make eternal differences. THAT’S STEPPING OUT IN COMMITMENT!
We must train as athletes would, to finish the race that has been marked out for us. To run half the race will do us NO GOOD. We can not just follow Jesus when things are going good, or cling to Him when things are bad. We must learn to run with Him from the time we accept Him as Lord of our lives. Our goal is to finish the race in the best possible fashion, running hard the whole time, and placing Him first in our lives. We must fix our eyes on the author and perfecter of our faith, we must see the goal ahead and keep our drive and motivation alive.
THERE WILL, be times when we are tired and want quit, there will be times when other runners will make us so mad that we will want to give up, and there will be times when we can not see HOW we could possibly finish the race and we will want to quit. Don’t quit! Don’t give up. Keep on keeping on. Move out in endurance and finish the race.
IV. WE MUST FINISH WITH THE PRIZE
14 I press on toward the goal to WIN THE PRIZE for which God called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Now many may think that the prize Paul is speaking of here is salvation, BUT remember that he started this passage with the word, Brothers. I believe that this passage of scripture truly lends an understanding that the age old lie of; “Once saved, always saved” is just that, a lie. I believe that the calling of God heavenward is speaking of the rapture of God’s church. Mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 “For the Lord Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.”
One preacher tells this story: “There is generally a staff of three in our building, our secretary Patsy, youth and children’s minister Randy, and the Pastor, me. One day this week, at a particularly still and quiet moment, there was an incredible BOOM that shook the building. Randy and I hit the hallway at the same time – we looked like to deer in the headlights. Patsy was no where to be found. We called her name, checked her office, went upstairs to seek her in the sanctuary or anywhere – nothing! I never admitted it to Randy, but as we continued to frantically search, I remember thinking to myself as I descended the stairs, Man, the rapture’s come and the only one who made it is the church secretary! We later found her outside, gazing over to the far reaches of the church property where they were probably excavating with dynamite; she was just taking a break.
If the call heavenward happens today, will you go? Have you Moved out in endurance and commitment to win the prize?
As the musicians come forward this morning, I ask you, are you in the race? Have you gotten of the starting line? Have you stayed the course and stayed in the race? Are you ready to Move out and forget the past? Are you ready to Move out into the future? Forgetting the grudges and failures of life and reaching toward the goal? Are you working on reconciliation and repentance?
INVITATION
