Reaching your final destination
Title: Primary Lessons
Text: I Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12:1-2
Thesis: Like a Political Primary race that is aimed at a term in the White House, the Christian life is a race aimed at eternity with God.
Introduction
On Thursday the front page of the Denver Post featured a “Campaign 2012 Analysis” with the headline “A race far from finish line.” The GOP Tracker noted that Mitt Romney currently has 94 delegates, Rick Santorum – 71; Newt Gingrich – 29 and Ron Paul – 8. The column weighed the two front-runners: “Still in front but potholes won’t go away” Mitt Romney and “Colorado supporters value his values Rick Santorum.
Dan Balz of the Washington Post states, “In the aftermath of Rick Santorum’s clean sweep of Colorado, Minnesota and Missouri, Mitt Romney is still, in fact, the front runner for the Republican presidential nomination. But the lack of enthusiasm for his candidacy among conservatives foreshadows a potentially ugly road ahead to the national convention…” (However, his advisors are quick to point out that the Romney campaign did not spend any money in these three states, he did not spend much time campaigning in them and Missouri was essentially a beauty contest in which the delegates do not count (yet).)
In any case, the race is on and the finish line for winning the Presidency of the United States and the White House is November 6, 2012. November 6th is when the candidates cross the finish line.
Like a Political Primary race that is aimed at a term in the White House, the Christ life is a race aimed at eternity with God. Certainly as in a political primary a serious candidate runs to win… and I would hope that the person who is serious about his eternal destiny runs to win that eternal destiny.
And the followers of Christ who is serious about the Christian life, runs to win.
I. Run to Win
Do you not know that in a race everyone runs? You must run in such a way as to get the prize. All athletes practice strict self-control to win a prize that will fade away. But we do it for an eternal prize. I Corinthians 9:24-25
This verse begins with what appears to be a rhetorical question. It is asked in such a way as to suggest that this is something they already know. For the people who whom Paul was writing, it was common knowledge that runners compete to win when they run a race. Apparently, though it would seem that running to win would be understood, it apparently was not. (. It was a curious thing to me to read that on his way to running in the Primary race Newt Gingrich decided to just skip running through the states of Missouri, Colorado and Minnesota. It is common knowledge that if you wish to win a race you must run the race and finish the race.)
Over the years I have observed two extremes in the way Christians live out their faith… note I specified extremes. There is a healthy in between.
As Christians we really do straddle two worlds, so to speak. We live with one foot firmly planted in the present and the other firmly planted in the future. We may think of the present as temporal in nature and passing and the other as eternal in nature.
While truth us almost always found between extreme positions… the first extreme:
• The first extreme is to live in the present with little thought of the eternal. You might say these folks are so earthly minded they are no heavenly good.
Yesterday in the Denver Post there was an article on the op-ed page that asked the question, “How much is enough?” Among the many things the columnist wrote is that, “a certain amount of a finite resource should satisfy even the gluttons among us.” David Sirota, Embracing Enough, The Denver Post, 20120209)
Jesus told the story of the rich fool who laid up treasure on earth... and warned of the danger of neglecting the eternal.
It all began with a man asking Jesus to arbitrate a legal dispute he had with his brother over the disposition of their father’s estate. True to form, I often say, “Wherever there is a will, there will be a war.”
Jesus deferred instead told a story about a man who became greedy and pointed out that Real life is not measured by how much we own.” Luke 12:13-21 The story is about a farmer who came into a series of bumper crops and decided that he would build even bigger barns so he could accumulate even more and more wealth so that in time he could just kick back and as he said, “Eat, drink and be merry.!” But in the story Jesus said God said to the man, “You fool! You will die this very night. Then who will get it all?”
And then Jesus concluded, “[Enough is enough!”] Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.”
The wise person lives his life giving thought to the eternal.
• The second extreme is to live in the eternal with little thought of the present. We say of these people, “They are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.”
The flip side is that a person can foolishly give so much attention to the eternal that they neglect their responsibility to the present. Such people may be said to be “so heavenly minded that they are no earthly good.”
C. S. Lewis was absolutely right in his book Mere Christianity: If you read history you will find that the Christians who did most for the present world were precisely those who thought most of the next. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this. The Apostles themselves, who set on foot the conversion of the Roman Empire, the great men who built up the Middle Ages, the English Evangelicals who abolished the Slave Trade, all left their mark on Earth, precisely because their minds were occupied with Heaven. It is since Christians have largely ceased to think of the other world that they have become so ineffective in this.
In Matthew 25 Jesus told a stunning story depicting the final judgment in which Jesus makes it clear that the people who are most likely to inherit or inhabit heaven are those who do good in this life.
Those to whom Jesus said, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundations of the world… you righteous, go into eternal life” were those who had fed the hungry, given a cup of cold water to the thirsty, provided hospitality to the stranger, clothed the naked, visited and cared for the sick and imprisoned. In other words, Jesus is concerned about the eternal souls of people for then but Jesus is also concerned about the lives of people now. Any gospel that does not seek to save the soul for then and nurture the body and mind for now is an incomplete gospel. To be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good is an affront to what God has called us to be.
James wrote, “I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.” James 2:18
The first Primary Lesson is run to win! Don’t treat the Christian life with light regard. It is a serious race with a serious conclusion.
Our text speaks of Isthmian Games Athletes that were held in Corinth the year before and the year after the Olympics, i.e., the second and fourth years of the Olympiad. And those who competed in those games ran to win a floral wreath which was very temporary. Our text speaks of the awards as prizes that fade away.
I the early 70’s Bonnie and I were living in Lincoln, NE. At that time the city of Lincoln had what was known as The Lincoln Housing Authority which was formed to go into declining neighborhoods, condemn and remove distressed properties and rebuild new homes in their place. We were living in one of those new homes built by the Housing Authority. One night there was a heavy rainstorm and the next morning we found that our basement had three feet of standing water that had come in up through the drain. The contractor had failed to put a foot-valve in our drain so any water from the storm sewer could back up into our basement. Everything in our basement was soaked with sewer water. Among the things soaked and ruined was a box I had been toting around for years that held my high school athletic clippings, ribbons and medals. That box of memories and awards was carried out of the basement and left at the curb to he hauled to the landfill. They are gone…
However, in stark contrast, Christians run to win heaven which is very eternal.
A second Primary Lesson is that when we run the Christian life race we run it with intent, i.e., we keep our eyes on the prize.
II. Run with Intent
So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I Corinthians 9:26-27
(Set up the clip of Heather Dorniden, an 8 time All-American Big Ten runner.) Last week I came across an inspiring clip of a race she ran at the University of Minnesota. It was the final heat of the 600 meter on the Big Ten Indoor Track Meet Championship.
Watch what it means to run with purpose. Play Clip – The Race
I don’t know if you have ever ran track but in a dash race like the 100 meter the sprinters get into the starting blocks and get set and when they get set they look straight down the track at the finish line. The finish line is clearly visible and when the starter fires the starter pistol they literally explode out of the blocks and hurl themselves down the track toward the prize.
However in our clip the race was a 600 meter indoor race and the runners had to sprint for three laps and it was only in the last forty or fifty meters of the race that the runners could see the finish line. When the runner in the clip stumbled and fell, she could not see the finish line but she leapt to her feet and ran straight for that yet unseen but very real goal line.
Life is very much like such a race. We stumble and fall. We may get distracted. We may collapse from exhaustion. We may get clipped or shoved along the way. We may get passed. There are any number of things in life that may slow or even stop us along the way but when we run the Christian life with intent and purpose we always get back up and race toward the finish line.
The third Primary Lesson is to run the Christian life with Jesus.
III. Run with Jesus
Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. Hebrews 12:1-2
The text in Hebrews 12:1-2 gives us three helpful reminders for living out the Christian life as a Primary race.
1. We are reminded that we have the support of all those who have gone before us, having run their own races, who are now cheering us on.
2. We are responsible to do what we can to reinforce our ability to live the Christian life well. That means we do not get so weighed down with the things of this world or entangled in sinful practices that we cannot make progress.
3. We would be remiss to not keep our eyes on Christ. The bible teaches us that “we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.” Philippians 4:13 and Jesus taught us that “apart from him, we can do nothing.” John 15:5
It is our ongoing connection with Jesus Christ that ultimately sustains us to the end… “Keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. Hebrews 12:1-2
Conclusion
I am no fan of works righteousness. I am no fan of do’s and don’ts that don’t do for others. I am a fan of grace. I believe God means it when God says, “it is by grace you are saved, through faith – and this faith is not for yourselves, it is the gift of God – not of works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2:8-10
However, while grace is opposed to merit, it is not opposed to effort. (Adapted from a quote by Bradley Nassif, “The Poverty of Love,” ChristianityToday.com) Paul explicitly counsels the followers of Christ to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his purpose.” Philippians 2:12-13
Grace may be opposed to merit but it is not opposed to effort… heaven is not earned but living the Christian life is not without effort.
Charlie Engle, Ray Zahab and Kevin Lin crossed the Sahara Desert in 111 days on foot. They ran the equivalent of two marathons a day. They touched the waters at Senegal and then made their way across Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya and Egypt to the Red Sea in an amazing triumph over extremes in heat and cold, sandstorms, aches and pains, tendonitis, violent stomach sicknesses and thirst and they did it by never, never, never giving up.
(Anna Johnson, “3 ultra-athletes run across Sahara,” USA Today, 2/20/07)
You’ve heard the old adage, “Never bring a knife to a gun fight?” There is another adage about the nature of the Christian life, “Train to persevere. It doesn’t matter if you can sprint 100 yards if the race is 400 yards.” You will not be successful if you bring a 100 yard dash to a 400 yard race… much less the marathon that is the Christian life.
Be it a political race or a foot race, be it a race for the White House or a race for heaven, the Primary Lessons to keep in mind are:
1. Run to win.
2. Run with intent.
3. Run with Jesus.
So…Let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us… keeping our eyes on Jesus, on whom our faith depends from start to finish. Remember, we do not run to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize! Hebrews 12:1-2 and I Corinthians 9:25
