Introduction
A. Today we are going to finish our sermon series “Winner’s Code.” People who win a lot, teams that win a lot and people who succeed in life all have a lot in common. There are certain things they do and certain things they don’t do that somehow they all figure out. This is called the Winner’s code.
B. We are reading in Hebrews chapter 12. This follows the Hall of Fame list in chapter 11. The writer is listing off all of these AVERAGE people who learned the ‘winner’s code.’
C. We have looked at five specific things over the past two weeks that winner’s do.
1. They lay aside things that hold them back. Not necessarily sinful things but also things that they realize will not help them get into the winner’s circle. There are things that maybe somebody else can do but will not work for you, and if you want to make it into God’s Hall of Fame you have to be willing to let them go.
2. We also looked playing by the rules. In sports cheaters eventually get caught. Sometimes they ‘kind of play by the rules’ or some play ‘dirty.’ A lot of talk still going around about that Steelers and Bengals game and for sure there were some things that happened that should not have happened. They may get away with it for a while but eventually they get caught and lose everything. Sin for a Christian is breaking the rules, and if we want to win the gold we have to obey God’s rules. We may get away with breaking His rules for a while but eventually our sins will find us out. God’s rules are not given to burden us but to help us succeed in life.
3. Then last week we looked at the importance of getting in the race and not sitting on the sidelines. It may be scary and it can be challenging but you will never cross the finish line if you don’t get in the race. God’s team is not like sports teams. With God we all get to play. We all get to pray for people. We all get to talk to people about God and open the Bible up to people to help them understand it.
4. We talked about the importance of making sure you are running ‘YOUR’ race, finding out what your purpose is and learning how to use your gifts and talents to help advance the Kingdom of God.
5. And last we talked about ‘running with endurance.’ That means YOU DON’T GIVE UP. Even if you get knocked down, you get up and keep running.
D. Today we are going to look at three more things that you will find all winners have learned, staying focused so you can finish strong, expecting opposition and believing you can do more.
Stay focused (This is the WHY?)
A. We are told something very interesting here. We are told that Jesus had to focus on the finish line to endure the cross. He had to STAY FOCUSED. When you read about His struggles in the garden this really brings out how He made it through. We are told that He was really struggling. He was praying, “Father if it be Your will, let this cup pass from Me.” Like, “I really do not want to go through with this. Isn’t there any other way. But then we read that He prayed, “But not My will but Yours be done.”
B. What got Him to that point of full surrender, so that He would be willing to go through with the horror of the crucifixion? We are told right here, “Who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross.”
C. What did He stay focused on? The finish line! Focus on the finish line. This is the “why” answer to everything we do. Why are we doing this? Jesus saw what would be gained if He went through with this. He stayed focused on the ‘why.’ It almost seems as if He was somewhat losing His focus in the garden and then as He prayed something happened. He got focused on the joy that would be His if He went through with this. This is the ‘why.’ He was focused on the joy that would be His when He successfully provided a way of salvation for all who would believe in Him. He saw the incredible benefit of what He was about to do.
D. So often people quit something they have started because they lose focus. They forget THE WHY they are doing this. They don’t see the benefits at the end. Winners do not lose focus. Winner’s keep their eyes on the finish line. This is a vital part of the winner’s code, staying focused. This is what helps us break through the barriers that will so often rise up to hinder us from pressing on.
E. Ask yourself, ‘Why are you doing what you are doing?” This can be a threatening question and yet it can change everything. It is possible that you might be doing something that you should not be doing and by asking this question you may get the realization you are on the wrong path. But also asking this question can help mobilize your forces and revitalize your energy.
F. Why are you losing weight? Because you have to? Well that is not enough. Why are you losing weight? Because you want to live a great life and losing weight will surely help you to do that.
G. Why are you going to college? Because you have to? Well that is not enough. Why are you going to college? Because it will help you to learn self-discipline. It will give you some knowledge and skills and allow you to be more marketable so that you can get a good job and provide for your family.
H. But ultimately you need to be able to see that you are doing what you are doing so that you can make it to God’s finish line. Everything needs to be brought under the banner of working to bring glory to God and to advance God’s kingdom.
I. Look at what Paul wrote to the Philippians. “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 (that’s focus, circle that): Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal, the finish line, to win the prize for which God has called me heaven ward in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:12-14).
J. If Jesus Christ needed to focus on the finish, if the apostle Paul needed to focus on the finish, then you and I certainly need to be focused on the finish. So get focused. What is distracting you? What is stealing your attention? You can’t focus on your career five or six days out of the week and then focus on God on Sunday morning. Does that mean that you shouldn’t have a career? No! Does that mean that you shouldn’t focus on doing a good job at work? No!
K. It means that you must focus your career upon God. That doesn’t mean that you need to have a career like mine in full time Christian ministry. It means that you should be pursuing the career that God has called you to do. It means that you should be pursuing the career that God has called you to in a godly way. You don’t lie to your customers to make a sale or steal from your boss because you are underpaid. You bring your Christian values to work with you on Monday morning rather than leaving them at church when you exit the building on Sunday morning.
L. Focusing your career upon God also means that you look for ways to minister to those whom you come in contact with through your work. Instead of allowing your career to distract you from God use it to focus on God.
M. Family can also distract us from God. It shouldn’t, but it can. You need to focus your family on God. Instead of allowing your family to distract you from God use your family to focus on God.
N. There are many areas of life, recreation, hobbies, that can cause us to lose our focus upon God. But for the Christian there should be no distinction between the secular and the sacred. All of life should be sacred. If we will take the various areas of our lives and focus them upon God, then we will experience true success and true blessing.
Expect opposition!
A. “Consider him who endured such hostility from sinners (NIV: opposition from sinful men,)”
B. We are to take into consideration that Jesus didn’t have a cakewalk to victory. He faced opposition, but He ran to win.
C. Winners know it won’t be easy BEFORE THEY START. They are not surprised by opposition. They are not surprised by illnesses and injuries.
D. Could a team be considered Super Bowl Champions if they won only because the other team never showed up or because everyone else was somehow disqualified? I don’t think so. World-class status comes from facing the competition. It comes from facing the opposition and overcoming the way Jesus faced opposition from sinful men and overcame.
E. That Jesus faced opposition from sinful men reminds us of whom we are competing against. It reminds us that as Christians we are not competing with other Christians. We, as a church, are not in competition with the other churches in town. Nor are you as individual Christians in this church in competition with one another, trying to outdo one another. Our goal is not to overcome each other, but to overcome the world, to overcome the devil. And that is how you run to win. Some people get so caught up talking bad about some church or some TV preacher they forget who the real enemy is. Now there are some bad preachers and there are some cultic churches out there, but that cannot be our focus. We need to remember that we have an enemy that Peter said is like a ‘roaring lion who is going around seeking whom he may devour.” Keep your eyes open and when difficulty comes, don’t cave in.
F. I get kind of tired hearing people talk about how some Christian has done them wrong, or some church has done them wrong. They make it sound as if they are the only person in the entire world who has ever been let down. We all face difficulties and they can come from many different places, but winners don’t give up when that happens, they press on.
Believe you can do more first read Heb 11:11, 30
A. All of these people in Chapter 11, (read some of them) went way beyond what they even thought they were capable of.
Vs. 11. Sarah conceived when she was almost 100.
Vs. 30. People brought the walls of Jericho down by marching!
B. Amazing things these people did. Average people performing at way above average level. Because they were focused and kept their eyes on God.
C. So many of us have settled for what others have told us we were designed for:
1. You are just an average person
2. You are so ordinary.
3. You are not that smart.
4. You will never make it.
5. Your dream is dead, give it up.
6. You did what you could, now it is time to call it quits!
D. Don’t listen to them. Keep going. Push past the limits others put on you. Go beyond other people’s expectations and you just might find that you are capable of doing a lot more.
Read from II Samuel 23: 8, 18-21 about David’s men.
A. These men did amazing things. Things they themselves could never have dreamed of doing. How? They were hanging with the right people and they were keeping their eyes on what God could do with them, rather than what others said was possible. This is why the writer is reminding us that we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses. When you hang around people who go beyond themselves you are more likely to give it a try yourself. Check out who are your role models, who you are hanging with.
B. You were built by the Creator of the Universe for a lifetime of excellence and to have the opportunity to spend an eternity in His presence. It does not matter where they say you should stop. It does not matter if they think you will never make it. It does not matter what others say about your dream. It does not matter how young or old you are, or what your past looks like or their definition of your success. It only matters where you are headed.
C. The Bible tells us that Jesus said, “With God ALL things are possible.” Matthew 19:26. Don’t limit what God can do with your life.
Conclusion
A. Are you tempted to think that you have put in your time and that your race is over? If you are still alive this morning and obviously you are, then there still remains another leg of the race to be run. Rather than letting up, go for it. Determine this morning that you are going to finish strong. You just might accomplish more for God than you ever dreamed possible.
B. In 1972 NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. The satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph the planet and its moons, and beam data to earth about Jupiter’s magnetic field and atmosphere. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan for at that time no earth satellite had ever gone beyond Mars and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it could reach its target.
C. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. It reached Jupiter about 1 year after it was launched, but it kept going after that. It passed Jupiter which was about 400 million miles from earth. It passed Saturn at 1 billion miles, Uranus at 2 billion miles, Neptune at 3 billion miles. It continued to send back data for 30 years traveling over 7 billion miles.
D. This satellite was not supposed to do what it did. It was built to last 3 years. It went over 30 years. Its small transmitter continued sending signals and data back to earth at an unexpected rate. Tiny power yet big results. This is truly the Little Satellite That Could. If it had disintegrated after its expected 3 years, we would have lamented its demise but applauded its efforts. After all, that’s what it was supposed to do. Send back Jupiter data, done! But it didn’t. It kept going, never quitting, always pushing ahead.
E. Let that be said of you. Don’t let people hold you back. Don’t listen to them. Keep going, stay focused on God. Push past the limits others put on you. Go beyond other people’s expectations and you just might find that you are capable of doing a lot more. The engineers at NASA built Pioneer 10 for 3 years of usefulness. It went 31!
F. Maybe you came to church this morning feeling like you don’t have much to offer to God or to the church or to the world around you. But if you will focus on the finish, don’t get distracted, God will use the average Christians of this world to do the impossible. You might not be able to make a difference, but God can make a difference through you. Focus on the finish. Run to win. Don’t let up.
