Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, in case you are wondering about the title of this sermon, I want you to know that we are in no way promoting illegal activities such as speeding.
A few days ago I went for my early evening walk when I heard the wroom, wroom – two young men in a dark gray car were going up Fairgrounds Avenue at about 70 or 80 miles an hour. Fortunately, there were no kids around. You wish dangerous drivers like that would get caught. Well, I recall meeting somebody in Hawaii who did get caught. He told the judge that the reason why he was going 90 in a residential area was his gas pedal was stuck. “Too thin!” said the judge and confined the man to a perpetual use on the public transit system.
In most cases it doesn’t pay to put the pedal to the metal. There can be dire consequences to having a lead foot. There are times, however, when putting the pedal to the metal can save a day. If you are ever chased by a bear or an angry moose, you don’t want to hang around. You jump in the truck and those wheels better be spinning fast! I can give you another example where stepping on the gas is helpful. There is a hill on Highway 57 north of Priest River, Idaho. When it is snowing, the last thing you want to do is to take your foot off the gas pedal and slow down half way up the hill. Then, trying to pick up speed again, you would be slipping and sliding and probably end up in a ditch. Experienced drivers, before they get to the bottom of that hill, put the pedal to the metal. Then the force will carry them to the top and they can continue on their journey.
Now, you may never be chased by a bear or drive up a snowy road, but I can guarantee you there will be times in your life when you will need to put the pedal to the metal – to escape from temptations and other attacks of the devil, or to get past some challenges of illness, relationship problems, losses, changes, or times of uncertainty. Perhaps you are going through such a time right now. You don’t want to stall. You want to put the faith pedal to the metal and press on.
The Apostle Paul knew about challenges in life. He was in prison when he wrote the letter to Christians in Philippi. In the third chapter where he talks about his goal to grow in faith and become more like Christ, he says, Not that I have already obtained this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Two verses later, and let’s read this together: I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
The Apostle Paul fixed his focus on the goal that was before him and he put the pedal to the metal. If he lived in today’s times, he would have made a terrific Nascar driver. “I press on!” What a great encourager he was for the Philippians and for us.
When facing challenges in life, what do you want? To be encouraged or discouraged? If you were traveling on a plane through a storm, which would you find more helpful? To hear the captain’s voice calmly saying, “Ladies and gentlemen, please fasten your seat belts, we will be experiencing some turbulence.” Or, the flight attendant running up and down the isle screaming, “We gonna crash! We gonna crash!”?
When a runner comes up to a hurdle, he doesn’t say, “Oh my, I will never be able to jump over that!” No. He says, “Let’s see how others are doing it. I can do it too.”
Yet, how often when we human beings are faced with serious challenges, by nature we tend to react with fear, panic, and feeling sorry for ourselves. But that like driving a car that only has a brake! God gave us something much better that that! Remember the days when the coolest car on the block was your white Ford Mustang? O brother! You just tapped the gas pedal and you moved!
Well, our heavenly Father has given us the gift of faith – shiny, in tip top shape, ready to go, this vehicle of faith is so powerful, it can move mountains.
When we were led to say yes to Christ and follow Him as our Savior and Lord, God bestowed His Holy Spirit upon us and gave us the power to become the children of God. By faith in Christ, God has made us His children with the power of the Holy Spirit at our disposal. We don’t react to challenging situations the way the world does – with fear, panic, and pity parties, we have been empowered to respond to them with faith.
Just before our Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, He promised to His disciples, You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And in Ephesians 3: 16 Paul prays that God would strengthen us with power through His Spirit in our inner being.
My dear brothers and sisters, we do not live power-less lives! With Christ in our hearts, with faith overflowing with hope and confidence, with a prayer on our lips and the gift of the Holy Spirit ready to turn the starter, we are called to live power-filled lives! Let us not leave that power dormant. What good is a fine engine in our car if we don’t rev it up?
Listen again to what Paul says in Philippians 3: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal. I press on, I put the pedal to the metal!
Notice what accompanies the power to step on it: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. You cannot move forward very well if you are chained to a garbage can full of guilt, past failures, bitterness, and anything that hinders faith. Try to go up the hill pulling behind such a load! If we want to burn rubber (spiritually speaking), we have to get rid of bitterness, take our guilt to the foot of the cross, and don’t let the devil discourage us by smearing our faces in our past mistakes and failures.
It seams to be the rule whenever we embrace something innovating, exciting, and God-pleasing, the devil starts whispering in our ear, “It won’t work, you will fail.” We need to say, “Get away from me, Satan! I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!” Amen?
On the other hand, there are things in the past that we should remember – God’s acts of deliverance; His faithfulness, prayers answered, those little and big victories. Join me in reading two verses from Psalm 77: I will remember the deeds of the Lord; I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will meditate on all your works and consider all your mighty deeds.
Many of you know the poem by Mary Stevenson “Footprints in the Sand.” In it she talks about seeing sometimes two sometimes one set of footprints. She said to the Lord, “You promised me, Lord, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I have noticed that during the most trying periods of my life there have been only one set of footprints in the sand. Why, when I needed you most, you have not been there for me?” The Lord answered, “The times when you have seen only one set of footprints in the sand, is when I carried you."
Do you remember the time in your life when God carried you and helped you in a tough situation? How many times I hear things like, “I couldn’t have made without God’s help.” Every one of us here has a testimony of God’s deliverance. So we can ask, “Since God helped me in the past, why shouldn’t He help me now? I believe He will help me, He will be with me, He will deliver me because my God is a faithful God whose love and mercy endure forever. Remembering God’s acts of deliverance in the past strengthens our faith and increases our confidence to meet the challenges of today.
In order to press on, we need to know and believe that we are not alone, that our God is with us, and that nothing, absolutely nothing will be able to separate us from His love that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
In order to press on, we also have to know what our goal is. We don’t want to wander aimlessly. We need to know where we are going and have the confidence that we will get there.
In all our days, in all that we do, in all that we experience, our goal is to grow closer to God, to love Him more and more, and to become a little more like Jesus with each new day. This is our destiny as God’s beloved children. And our destination is heaven where we will collect the prize that Jesus our Lord ahs won for us.
The Bible teaches that He who began this good work in us will bring it to completion. We have nothing to fear.
Therefore, let us press on. Forgetting what weaknesses and failures are behind us and striving forward, let us press on toward the goal. Being patient in our suffering, rising above our present circumstances, overcoming difficulties and conquering our challenges, let us press on! God’s help is only a prayer’s length away. He bestowed the power of the Holy Spirit upon us. We have a tank full of God’s promises. Let us put the pedal to the metal and go forward with trust and confidence! Amen.
