Go the Distance Part II
2 Timothy 3:10-4:8
June 7, 1998
Morning Service
Introduction
I. Review
A. Passion - The Holy want to: Genuine love, desire to serve & prioirty of focus
B. Preparation - Paying the price for growth: Prayer & petition of God, study of the Word, & faith
II. Where are we going?
A. We decide where we go: The future of this church is being decided now, we are currently making the decisions that produce our future, in the constant of the present is where the future is forged,
B. What kind of Christian do you want to be?: Life is like a taxi. The meter keeps ticking whether you are getting somewhere or just standing still. - Lou Erickson,
We will become what we desire to become, if we have no desire we will become nothing, we must place a central focus on becoming what God wants for us to become
Read Text
Main Points
III. Perspiration - Working hard
“If you’re not doing something with your life, it doesn’t matter how long it is.” Peace Corps Commercial
A. Works of Faith - James 2:20-24
You foolish man, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our ancestor Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Issac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. you see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone.
1. We are called to serve God: Faith is essential to salvation, works and deeds do not save, they are the example and proof of salvation, faith without works is dead we can not say that we love God and do nothing to serve him
2. We are called to serve others: Our love for God is the key motivation to serve others, our love for others is proven by how we serve them, if we are serving no one do we really love them or God for that matter?
B. Servants are Active
“The harder you work, the harder it is to surrender” - Vince Lombardi
1. They serve out of love: Love helps keep our motives right and pure, love keeps our focus on God and others, it keeps us from being selfish, love creates the desire to serve
2. They are not inactive: Servants who do not serve are not servants, it is complete ignorance or arrogance to believe that you can be a Christian and not serve, it is impossible, some people are trying to do this in the church, servants work hard for God, the goal is to please God, do whatever it takes to serve God, we cannot serve God by doing nothing
3. They are not destructive: Servants are more concerned about God’s agenda than their agenda, God’s will is a chief motivation, longing to obedient - if we are more focused on gossip, slander and malicious talk it is destructive - our focus should be God not talk, If you talk the talk; you must walk the walk
IV. Perspective - Willingness of the Mind
A. Why we serve
1. The Right reasons: Proper motivation, we do things because it is what God wants, we are not to do things to keep a good image, keep our positions and titles
2. Correct Attitude:“Your attitude is either your best friend or your worst enemy; your greatest asset or your greatest liability.” - J. Maxwell, The need for correct attitude is vital, our influence can be positive or negative, we need to be positive, see the glass as half full rather than half empty,
B. What we can do and will do
1. With God all things are possible: God is all powerful and can do anything, we just don’t believe it, can God renew this church? Absolutely!, Can we lead 40 people to Christ in the next 6 months? Yes!, Can we become all that God wants us to be, Yes! the key is allowing God to do His work in us and through us
2. Be obedient to God: the church will not be blessed when people refuse to obey God, look at Jeremiah - he was faithful and worked his tail off but he was not blessed because of the people around him,
We have similar problems
* the bickering or arguing spirit
* gossip that destroys lives
* lies that are like poison
* lack of tithing
* angry and selfish spirits
pray that God either changes and convicts peoples hearts or removes them from the body, God can not and will not bless us as individuals or a corporate body if we tolerate disobedience
C. What we are gifted in
1. God has given everyone a gift: We all have been given abilities, God has blessed everyone with gifts, to whom much is given - much is required, we can not squander what God has given, we are gifted to serve and build the Kingdom
2. We need to develop those gifts: “The richest soil uncultivated produces the rankest weeds” - Plutarch We all have special abilities, underdeveloped gifts will never reach their potential, if we do not work to develop our gifts we will never be all we can be for God, This is a two fold process 1.) Discover what gifts you have, 2.) choose your strongest gift and begin to study to develop it farther, all of this hinges on service, if we do not use our gifts we will lose them
V. Persistence - Refusal to give up hope
A. Hold on in tough times - “A determined person is one who, when they get to the end of their rope, ties a knot and hangs on.” Joe L. Griffith
1. Resist outside pressures: The world creates pressures and stress on us and our lives, the world will press us into its mold - if we allow it, the world will press us out of our faith, we can resist the stress and pressure and persist in our faith
2. Remain faithful through difficulties: God wants us to be “in the world but not of the world.”, our influence on the world should be stronger than the world’s influence on us, we can never finish the race if we fail to overcome the obstacles of life, Persistence is stubborness with a purpose, we can not persist if we don’t know what our purpose in life truly is, we must pursue the Christian life with all we are and all we have
B. Resist the feeling to give up: “Winners never quit and quiters never win”
1. Don’t give in to yourself: We all feel like giving up from time to time, if we give up every time we meet a new challenge or difficulty - we will never prevail, don’t allow personal discouragement, disapointment allow you to give up the good fight, “It is not the mountain that we conquer, but ourselves” - Sir Edmund Hillary
2. Don’t give in to others: Many times other people will make us or break us, “One fifth of people are against everything all the time” - Robert Kennedy, we tend to listen to those around us, we must stop listening to people who are negative, we need to listen to God
3. Press on
Press on. Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are important - Hal Sherbeck
VI. Power
“Where there is no hope in the future; there is no power in the present” - Maxwell
A. God supplies the strength
1 Paul’s Attitude: I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me, God empowers us to fight the good fight, we can not fight on our own, we will lose every time, where God guides he will provide, our strength does not come from ourselves but from God, thus we are not alone in the fight,
2. God stands with us: If God is for us who can stand against us, we all have people who are against us, I have them and you have them, I take comfort in knowing that God stands with me - only way to beat me is to kill me, no one can beat me with God with me, I can wait out anyone for anything, God is our ally, no enemy is stronger than Him, I fear no one save God
3. God puts His ability in us: With God all things are possible and I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me, Nothing can stop us unless we allow it to, we must become all that we can be - reaching our full potential for God because he has BIG PLANS for this place, Do you want to go the distance or live a medocre Christian life? We can go the distance, God has given us the ability to reach our potential and do great things for Him
B. We supply the Will
The only person who can stop you from becoming what God intends you to become is you.
1. We must be willing to finish the race: We must do what God wants us to do, we need to be obedient, it is easy to start a race but is entirely something else to finish it, the only thing keeping you from becoming what God wants is your will, if you are not willing - you will never get to where God wants you to be, Do whatever it takes to finish the race!, continue to fight the good fight,
2. We need to keep fighting the good fight: “You must have long range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short range failures.” Charles C. Nobel, We have to keep up the fight,
* some have not entered the fight - fear of what it might cost
* some have lost sight of the goal - you fight for your own religious rights rather than God’s truth
* some jsut don’t have any fight left - enthusiasm and energy is gone
We cannot give up because the fight is not over, the battle is yet to be finished but we already know who will win, now is the time to choose what side you will be on,
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go. Joshua 1:8
Conclusion
I. Aslan the Lion
A. The chronicles of Narnia: Aslan is one of the main characters, he is the personification of Jesus, he is the great King, He leads the children,
B. One situation: The children were on the way to a specific place, they were hacking their way through the jungles, they were getting nowhere fast, they were lost, Lucy - the youngest- was awake late at night and she saw Aslan in the jungle, she went to Aslan and was crying about the situation they were in, they couldn’t find their way, Aslan then points out the path they need to travel, Lucy returns to the group and in the morning she tells everyone about Aslan, they would not go down the right path and they wandered for another daty and ended up at the same place, again that night Lucy sees Aslan and she was crying, Aslan asks what is wrong, Lucy explains the problem, Aslan says I showed you the way you should go, You don’t expect me to go alone, do you? Aslan said yes
II. Go where God wants you Go
A. Where does God want you to go?
