The Amazing Race
Hebrews 12:1-3
Have any of you ever watched the Amazing Race? It’s a reality game show in which teams of two people race around the world in competition with other teams. Contestants strive to arrive first at the end of each leg of the race to win prizes and to avoid coming in last, which carries the possibility of elimination or a significant disadvantage in the following leg. Contestants travel to and within multiple countries in a variety of transportation modes, including planes, taxis, rental cars, trains, buses, boats, and by foot. There are clues in each leg which point the teams to the next destination or direct them to perform a task. Teams are progressively eliminated until 3 are left; at that point, the team that arrives first in the final leg is awarded a grand prize of $1 million.
We’re starting a new series this New Year called the “Amazing Race.” Throughout his writings, Paul compares the journey of faith with running a race. “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27 Paul says we are in the Amazing Race of faith with the goal being: doing the will of God, saving the lost and building the kingdom of God.
This past year, we have preached and learned about: God’s vision for our church, “Connecting diverse communities to a lifestyle devoted to Jesus”, our values which are at the heart of this congregation: Building Family, Extending Love, Influencing Communities, Living Mission and finally, Deepening Faith and our Strategy: Celebrate, Discover, Grow, Engage and Connect. If we are going to be able to take the next steps in our Mission, then we need to grow in our faith to strengthen us for the challenges which lie ahead. This year is about serious training in spiritual discipleship and becoming more like Jesus.
A lot of people are just stuck in life and their spiritual journey. Their lives resemble the U2 song which says, “You got stuck in a moment, and you can’t get out.” They’re hanging out with the same people, laughing at the same jokes, thinking the same things, believing the same things and doing the same things you’ve done for the last 5, 10 or 20 years. Let me ask you a question this morning: how have you have grown in your faith in the last year, the last 5 years or even the last 10 years? What signs or evidence is there of growth, change or transformation? The Bible says so many Christians are living under the saving grace of Jesus, but they’re missing the abundance of his life and power. The problem is that too many Christians are still children in the faith and have not grown up. The author of Hebrews puts it this way: “By this time you ought to be teaching others.” Hebrews 5:12 You ought to be spiritual trainers and coaches. But you’re still stuck spiritually and have stopped growing in your faith. You’re still living off of bottled milk, when you should have graduated to solid food.
This is why Paul calls us to intense training. The challenge which lies before us is nothing short of reaching the world for Christ and building God’s kingdom here on earth with a multi ethnic church. It is far beyond our current ability and it will not happen overnight. It’s like running a marathon. I would never think I could just go out and run a marathon, and I’ve been to the gym 6 times this week. There are no shortcuts to running a marathon, even if you’re in shape. It takes months of serious training to be able to accomplish that. The key to running a marathon isn’t to have extraordinary ability or strength. Average people run marathons all the time! But what it take for them to accomplish that is regimented, disciplined training because the challenge is so great. This is why 1 Timothy 4:7 calls us to “train….to be godly.” Notice the word “train.” Training is different than learning. Learning never leads to transformation. You do need some information, but information doesn’t enable anyone to run a marathon. The way you’re going to be godly is the same way you’re going to equip yourself to run a marathon - not through learning but through training and that’s by doing.
Paul writes, “Physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come. This is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance (and for this we labor and strive), that we have put our hope in the living God, who is the Savior of all men, and especially of those who believe.” 1 Timothy 4:8-10 Paul uses the words “labor” and “strive.” That means pain. Any change is painful to certain extent. And most of us avoid pain as much as we avoid change. It’s painful because we don’t like to change. But that is exactly what God calls us to. It doesn’t start working until it hurts. You know the saying, “No pain, no gain.”
Training is a commitment to discipline. There’s no better word to use at the beginning of the New Year than the word discipline. Training is also about the word disciple. Jesus doesn’t call us to be churchgoers; he calls us to be disciples. Disciple - discipline. Disciples live a life of discipline. Discipline is a daily commitment to do what is not easy or natural. If it is natural or easy, it’s not discipline. We don’t like discipline because it’s hard! It hurts! And we like our freedom! Most people who start exercising after the New Year quit within three months. Fitness expert Jeffery Rice says that if you are like most of the promise makers, your fitness and health related resolutions are well intended, however, the unfortunate side of it is that most people fail at keeping them. According to one survey, 55% make a promise to exercise, and 38% to lsoe weight. Eventually what happens is we start or intend to do it but instead find all kind of excuses to put it off. And then he says, “The reality is, it was an empty promise in most cases that was never taken seriously. The end result is they set themselves up for failure. Improving your health is a serious matter and should not be taken lightly or put off until there is a convenient time. Illnesses from years of unhealthy living don’t wait for a convenient time to appear.” Neither does spiritual issues and our spiritual health either.
There are no shortcuts to spiritual growth. You can’t get there without serious training. There are five disciplines which enable us to grow in maturity in our Christian life and keep us faithful to God’s will. For the month of January and into February, Pastor Kaseem and I are going to be teaching five spiritual disciplines that Jesus practiced in his life. The first one is the daily discipline of the word. The second is the discipline of prayer. The third is the discipline of community or fellowship. The fourth is the discipline of service. And the fifth is the discipline of stewardship. We’ll see how these were continual practices in Jesus’life. If I’m not actively participating in those five practices, we become a slave to our body, our appetite and our emotions. Any of you ever been there before? You’ve got the “want to” but the “want to” is not strong enough for the temptations we face. These five practices, which are physical practices in my life, are essential to make my body, my appetite and my passions a slave of my spirit. As disciples, we’re not called to just believe in Jesus or believe the right things about Jesus; we’re called to live his lifestyle. It’s following Jesus and doing the things that Jesus did.
So what will it take to live a life of discipline and continual training? First is time. If we are going to become deeply personal disciples of Jesus, it is going to take some investment in time. Time is at a premium. We invest it where we hope for returns. Jesus wants us to train at His feet, but it will take intentional times for Him to teach us His presence. We often try to fit our familiarity with Jesus into an hour on Sunday. Many of us need to approach our discipleship in a new and revitalized way. We need to enter into a more intentional approach to becoming disciples of Jesus and that takes a daily commitment. For some of us that means we’re going to have to decide what we are going to give up or de-prioritize. But the first step is to make the time and we do that by having designated times set aside in your calendar or day before you schedule anything else. That way, everything else revolves around it.
Second is encouragement.The writer of Hebrews says, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” 12:1 Witnesses are not the spectators rather, they are the examples put before us...we are to look to them! Who are the people of faith who spur you on? They are meant to be a source of encouragement. Their example convinces us that we can and should be fervent and faithful. We are literally surrounded by these examples, both Old Testament and New Testament as well as contemporary examples of faith and they are standing before us with their medals (or wreathes) on spurring us on to dream of winning too...thus encouraging us to strive by their examples. These people are also meant to hold us accountable. We need accountability in our lives, people who lovingly can challenge us and sometimes even correct us when we have strayed from the path of discipline. Who have you made yourself accountable to in your faith journey? Who are the encouragers you can share and talk to about your faith journey, the joys as well as the struggles?
Third, avoid drag. The writer of Hebrews tells us to "throw off everything that hinders..." The idea here is to encourage those who wish to win the race to get rid of those things that will slow us down or prevent us from competing seriously! The phrase for "throw off" implies in Greek excess body bulk! It may also refer to the heavy garments one wears that must be "thrown off" as one prepares to make the run or may mean bad habits which can undermine your training. It also includes the sin which so easily entangles us. No serious runner would ever consider carrying around extra baggage when they are competing to win. So we are called before God to cast aside those things that become serious extra baggage.
Fourth, keep your focus. "Let us fix our eyes on Jesus..." Here is where our focus should be! Good runners never look around them while they are running, this distracts them and causes them to lose their own pacing! We must always be looking at Christ...He is the "author" (starting point) and "finisher" (goal line) of our faith, not people! He must be our focus! Many times a runner will keep a single focus on something at the goal line to keep their path straight...make sure you are fixing your eyes on the right source (Christ) or you might run the wrong way!
Unlike most competitions however, running the race in spiritual terms is not to try to be first, but to be faithful and finish! The Christian race is not a competitive event to see who comes in first, but an endurance run to see who finishes faithfully. It’s like the experience of Bill Broadhurst, who entered the Pepsi Challenge 10,000-meter road race in Omaha, Nebraska. Ten years earlier, surgery for an aneurysm is the brain had left him paralyzed on his left side. But on a misty July morning in 1981, he stood with 1,200 lithe- looking men and women at the starting line. The gun cracks! The crowd surges forward. Bill throws his stiff left leg forward, pivots on it as his right foot hits the ground. His slow plop-plop-plop rhythm seems to mock him as the pack fades into the distance. Sweat rolls down his face, pain pierces his ankle, but he keeps going. Six miles and two hours and twenty-nine minutes later, Bill reaches the finish line. A man approaches from a small group of bystanders. Bill recognizes him from pictures in the newspaper. He’s Bill Rodgers, the famous marathon runner. "Here," says Rodgers, putting his newly won medal around Bill’s neck. "You’ve worked harder for this than I have." Broadhurst had also been a winner. He didn’t win but he was faithful and finished the race.
Scott Hamilton Olympic skater, shortly after winning his Gold medal was quoted as saying when asked why he was looking at the medal so intently: "It was a moment to be shared……What I was doing was looking at 16 years of my life." May we when we look at the prize of eternal life be able to look back at our lives filled with training, discipline and obedience knowing that we have run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
