The Great Race Of Faith Series

THE GREAT RACE OF FAITH

Please open your Bible to Hebrews 12 and 2 Timothy 4:7 as we begin a new series of sermons regarding your journey through life. All of us are on a journey called the great race of life.

What you do on this journey, and how well you run your race will greatly impact your final standing in eternity. My goal is to give you the knowledge and the tools of how you not only can run a great race for eternity, but to also have a strong, powerful finish in fulfilling your God given purpose.

I pray that what you hear in this series will inspire you with godly wisdom and heavenly direction to complete your journey through life and finish the race.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith… NKJV

2 Timothy 4:7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. NKJV

STARTING A JOURNEY

Paul said… I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith… That should be the goal of every believer, to run and finish the great race of faith.

There is an old saying that says, “The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.”

To start your journey and to finish the race, begin with a first step. Every journey, and every race has a beginning and an end, and what you do between those two points has the potential to greatly impact eternity.

God considers the value of your race to be so great that it can only be measured by eternity. The eternal value of your life is so great that God promises those who finish the great race of faith will receive great rewards.

Your journey is a lifetime journey, because it will take a lifetime to complete. Where you end up, and what you accomplish in this journey of life, is entirely up to you. Your life can either be a huge eternal success, or a big, terrible mess. Its entirely up to you…

In your race through life, you will be tested with trials and tribulations; there will be mountains to climb, storms to overcome, mighty rivers to cross and fierce battles to fight; but those who stay in the race… those finish the race and fight the good fight of faith, and fulfill their God given purpose will receive the great treasures of heaven.

THE JOURNEY TOWARD YOUR DESTINATION

Every race, and every journey begins with a first step. The most important step you will take on your journey toward eternity is to make sure your first step in the right direction. It is absolutely vital that your first move is in the right direction. What good is it, if you walk all day toward a destination, but it’s in the wrong direction? It’s vital that your first step is in the right direction. To help you with this, I want to give you four steps that will keep you on course in the right direction, so that you can run your race and have a strong finish.

First, just as the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step; even so, the journey that leads to eternity begins with a single decision. God’s design for your life, is an eternal plan, that begins with an eternal decision.

Now, there are two decisions in taking your first step that will determine the whole outcome of your

journey through life. The first decision will determine when your journey will begin, and the second decision will determine the success of your journey. The ultimate success of your journey through life to run this great race completely rest on these two decisions.

SAVIOR

First, your eternal journey does not begin the moment you are born, but the moment you are born again in Jesus Christ as your eternal Savior. Your lifetime journey for eternity cannot begin until you make that life changing decision.

There will be many decisions you will be called upon to make during your lifetime, but no decision can match the importance of believing in Jesus Christ. This is the first and most important decision of your entire life. Your decision regarding Jesus Christ will determine the outcome of your eternal destiny. Your race for eternity begins and ends with Jesus Christ because you cannot run the race of faith without Jesus Christ. That’s why this decision is the first step.