Finishing the Race 2

well I pointed out last week that one of
the differences between the Old Covenant
that God made with Israel in the Old
Testament and the New Covenant that God
makes with a church in the New Testament
is that the Old Testament Saints did not
have the privilege of an indwelling Holy
Spirit
the Holy Spirit was given to prophets
priests and kings but the average
believer did not share in the benefits
of the Holy Spirit they were left on
their own to try to live a life that was
pleasing to God all of that changes when
you get to the New Testament because in
the New Testament God Institute's a new
covenant and under the terms of that new
covenant God not only tells us what to
do through the law he not only tells us
what to do through other people the
prophets but he also tells us what to do
and then helps us do it by the Holy
Spirit who comes to live with him
Jeremiah you will recall spoke about
that in the words that we quoted at the
beginning of the service in the book of
Hebrews here is what Jeremiah said many
years ago looking forward with the eye
of faith this is the Covenant that will
make with the house of Israel after that
time declares the Lord now notice these
words I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts I will be
their God and they will be my people no
longer will a man teach his neighbor or
a man his brother saying know the Lord
because they will all know me from the
least of them to the greatest declares
the Lord and I might add that there lies
the secret to keeping our children in
faith as they grow up it's not enough
for them
- no out there who God is or what God
wants them to do it's not enough for
them to be taught by parents and
teachers this is the way walk in it they
need to come to faith in Jesus receive
the Holy Spirit implanted in their
hearts and then from the inside out
please hear me from the inside out there
will be a longing to get to know God to
walk with Him and to obey Him and an
ability that flows out of that to
connect with their neighbors that is the
genius of the Christian life
and that's what Paul is talking about as
we saw last week in the passage before
us when he says in verse 22 of Acts
chapter 20 and now compelled by the
Spirit I am going to Jerusalem not
knowing what will happen to me they are
compelled by the spirit bound in the
spirit even though all his friends are
saying Paul don't do this you're gonna
get hurt we don't want you to go we
don't want you to be in pain he knows
inside there is a pressure from the Holy
Spirit that says Paul I want you to go
to Jerusalem and yes you're going to get
into trouble you won't understand
why it will not become clear until many
years later but this is what I want you
to do that is New Covenant New Testament
Christianity and you and I will have
those moments when on the inside there
is that little voice and it isn't just
the voice of your conscience it is the
voice of the Holy Spirit working deep
inside your own spirit that says this is
the way walk in it this is what I want
you to do this is what I don't want you
to do how successful you and I are the
Christian life is determined to a very
large degree by our ability not only to
discern that voice of the Holy
spirit but to obey it that is New
Covenant Christianity and that is
available to all of us by faith in Jesus
you don't have to be super Christian you
don't have to be a super holy Christian
if you're in Christ the Holy Spirit is
yours and he will direct you if you will
let him a lot more people here from the
Holy Spirit then realize it because they
confuse the voice of the Holy Spirit
just with their own internal wishes or
not listen for the whispers and the Holy
Spirit will lead and direct and guide
our lives that brings us then to the
second thing in this particular the
second point in this particular passage
that I want for us to ponder I
introduced it very briefly last week and
that is that Paul wants to finish well
he wants to finish well verse 23 and 24
I only know he says in every city the
Holy Spirit wants warns me that prison
and hardships are facing me however I
consider my life worth nothing to me
if only I may finish the race complete
the task the Lord Jesus has given me the
task of testifying to the gospel of
God's grace and I mentioned last week
that finishing well for Paul meant two
things finishing the race and completing
the task let's try to look at those two
this morning we'll see how far we can
get in the time that we have left
available to us first of all there is
finishing the race throughout the New
Testament and you will know this there
is a comparison made between athletics
and the Christian life particularly
running the race let me give you a
number of verses that I'm sure you're
familiar with Hebrews 12 verse 1 since
we are so
goodbye such a great cloud of witnesses
let us throw off everything that hinders
and the sin that so easily entangles and
let us run with perseverance the race
marked out for us the picture here is of
a stadium full of witnesses in this
context these are the Saints that have
gone before us these are the people that
are watching us from heaven as we live
life and we struggle with temptation and
we we seek to overcome the obstacles and
we try to walk faithfully before God
they are encouraging us in the race this
is part of what we confess as the
communion of saints they have completed
their journey they're cheering you on
because of the race that we find
ourselves in 1 Corinthians 9:24 do you
not know that in a race all the runners
run but only one gets the prize
run in such a way as to get the prize
and that of course Galatians 5 7 a very
graphic word picture I think you were
running a good race who cut in on you
and kept you from obeying of the truth
see there's that parallel between
running the race and living the
Christian life as I've been pondering
that a little bit these past couple of
weeks it occurs to me there are at least
four parallels between running and
athletic race and living the Christian
life let me run them by you really
quickly number one the let me just
reference it here number one both have a
fixed course that is to say in a foot
race there is a fixed distance that you
are to cover
maybe 100 meter maybe 200 meter maybe
500 meter maybe you know a kilometer
all the way up to a marathon there is a
fixed distance that you are racing well
the same thing is true in the Christian
life the Christian life has a fixed span
from the moment of our birth to the
moment of our death is the race of life
and it's very similar to a race in
athletics the second area of comparison
is that both courses must be completed
satisfactorily in a footrace you don't
want to stumble you don't want to fall
you want to be able to complete the race
in a satisfactory fashion and in the
Christian life you want to walk in a way
you want to complete the race in a way
that is satisfactorily the set of
satisfactory to our Father who is in
heaven and the Apostle Paul talks about
this in Philippians chapter 3 the verses
12 to 14 and I don't know if you may
have noticed earlier one of the songs
that we sang there's a reference to this
particular passage but let me read you
these verses you'll know them well
because they're familiar Paul writing
again in the context of a sports analogy
because that was the culture in which
they lived sports was as big in the
Greek and Roman Empire as it is in the
Western world today he says 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 forgetting what
is behind and straining towards what is
ahead I press on toward the goal to win
the prize for which God has called me
heavenward in Christ Jesus ponder that
with me for a moment I press on towards
the goal to win the prize
for which God has called me heavenward
in Christ Jesus Paul says I'm running
this race and I want to finish it
satisfactorily so here's the question
what does running the race of life
satisfactorily before God look like for
you would me well it is living and
walking faithfully before God in the
face of all temptation and obstacles
that come to the contrary and allowing
him to conform us to the image of the
Lord Jesus Christ that is God's purpose
in life for you and for me
Paul echoes that same thought in Romans
chapter 8 verse 29 when he says those
whom God foreknew he also predestined to
be conformed to the likeness of his son
that he might be the firstborn among
many brothers you and I are supposed to
be growing in Christ's likeness and how
well we do in the race of life from
God's perspective isn't determined first
and foremost by you know how well we do
materially or how much we have prospered
socially or politically or economically
or any of the things that the world
calls assigns of greatness greatness
before God is do we love God with our
heart soul strength in mind
do we love our neighbor as we love
ourselves on those two said Jesus hangs
all the law and all the commandments so
there is a course that has said before
us that is fixed that course God wants
us to complete to his satisfaction that
completion takes discipline
and perseverance if ever you've watched
professional sports then you will know
that the top athletes in the world
spared no time effort or energy to
accomplish what they need to accomplish
every so often my wife and I on a Monday
night we will watch American Ninja
Warrior any of you here sinful enough to
watch that with us for those of you that
haven't watched the show it's it's
really an athletic course where I if I
had time I would have found a picture to
show you but they have all these
obstacles that they have to overcome and
then you know the challenge is to get to
the end to hit the buzzer faster than
anybody else and it requires an
incredible amount of body strengthen and
OH
what these people go through to try to
compete in this is astonishing too but
that's true for every sport I mean a
good athlete will spend hours training
they are fussy about their nutrition and
in this day and age they're really
high-level athletes they're surrounded
by all kinds of coaches not only those
who train them in their field but even
psychologists so that they keep their
head on straight because half the battle
is to keep the positive attitude when
everything is falling apart now as we'll
see in a moment they do it for a prize
that tomorrow you know I've got to
remember we've got a whole other price
to contend with but I'm getting into
myself they discipline with perseverance
well all through the New Testament and
you find it in the Old Testament too
there is an emphasis that if the race is
to become like Jesus then there are
obstacles in the way that have to be
overcome
what are those obstacles is your own
flesh that seeks self comfort that
doesn't want to pay the price that
doesn't want to obey God if the flesh
weren't enough then there are all kinds
of people around
Jew who don't want you to put God first
who want you to put them first in their
lives and who will do everything they
can to make your life miserable because
you're not giving them what they want
and if that's not enough there's a devil
out there and if you've ever tried
running the race and if you've ever
tried being like Jesus then you will
know the devil is not merely a figment
of your imagination
he loves to find your weaknesses he
loves to find other people to trip you
up and it takes did I say it discipline
it takes perseverance to run that race
and I cannot tell you how many people I
have known over the years even in this
congregation that started that race oh
yes you know Tina was talking about it
earlier first love for Jesus right boy
there's nobody greater than Jesus and
there's nobody greater than the church
and there's nobody greater than well you
give that a couple years and you know
what happens I've often said the road to
the Promised Land is littered with the
carcasses of those who are unable or
unwilling to pay the price to run the
race that is set before us isn't that
true takes discipline takes perseverance
that's why Hebrews 12 verse 1 is worded
the way that it is since we're
surrounded by so great a cloud of
witnesses remember these are the people
that were in the race before us I don't
know how that works and it kind of
freaks me out sometimes when when the
Saints of old seem to be watching me
there are some things that I might not
want to be seen in just for the record
but you can worry about that yourself
we're surrounded by these great a cloud
of witnesses they're watching us run the
race and then he goes on to say let us
throw off everything that hinders and
the sin that so easily entangles and let
us run with perseverance the race that
is marked out for us and have you ever
seen an athlete compete or a swimmer
compete you know that they do everything
that they can to be
unencumbered I mean in the swimming
business having the right kind of fabric
for your swimsuit is the key to that
fraction of a second that you need to
beat out the competition and in running
the race the picture here in Greek
athletics a lot of races were done naked
so that the clothes would not hinder the
impact of their journey
the Apostle Paul certainly no coward in
terms of his own walk describes his own
journey in 1 Corinthians 9 26 and 27
when he says I do not run like a man
running aimlessly I do not fight like a
man beating the air No I beat my body
and I make it my slave so that after I
have preached to others i myself will
not be disqualified for the prize I beat
my body I make it my slave so that after
I have preached to others i myself will
not be disqualified for the price it
takes discipline and it takes
perseverance to remain faithful to the
race that the Lord has us running in
life and then of course you say to
yourself well who why bother
I mean life was a lot easier before I
came to Christ and I could just do what
I wanted to do go where I wanted to go
and life was a cinch now I got a second
guess myself and now I got a fight my
sinful urges and I why bother
well Paul alludes to it in his verse
that we just talked about he talks about
a what a prize why do assets put in the
kind of training that they put out and
spend the kind of money that they spend
to become the best in their field it's
because there is a prize and that prize
may be nothing more than a trophy it may
be nothing more than your picture in the
paper it may be nothing more than the
satisfaction of knowing that for this
moment at least you happen to be the
best in the world at what you just did
and that satisfaction is enough to keep
people moving forward well Paul has
things to say about their prize and our
prize when he compares it to the eternal
Kingdom prize that awaits you and me do
you not know that in a race all the
runners run but only one gets the prize
run in such a way as to get the prize
everyone who competes in the games goes
into strict training they do it to get a
crown that will not last but we do it to
get a crown that will last forever three
times in the New Testament there is
reference to a crown or three different
kinds of crowns kind of righteousness
the crown of life and the crown of glory
I have a chapter on that in my new book
on the book of James the crown of life
is the reward that God promises to his
children when they run the race and they
run it faithfully to the end and what do
you suppose that crown is well it is to
share in the glory of God given to the
Lord Jesus here's the best way to
describe it
Romans 8:17 if we are children then we
are heirs heirs of God co-heirs with
Christ if indeed we share in his
sufferings in order that we may also
share
air in his glory a couple of things
there for you to not notice we're
destined to be heirs of God and co-heirs
with Christ I want you to think about
that for a moment what does it mean to
be an heir of God or a khole heir with
Christ
why bother running this race when most
of the world around you doesn't give a
bit of care about running the race
before the face of God there awaits you
a crown of life which means you become
an heir of God and a co-heir with the
Lord Jesus and what that means is this
when God originally created Adam and Eve
he gave them dominion over all the works
of his hands we've often talked about
that think of your most you know favored
longing about the meaning and the
purpose of life Adam and Eve had it not
because they worked for it but because
God gave it to them out of relationship
with himself life was in Paradise you
know what happened they turned their
back on God they fell into sin and they
have become enslaved to the very
creation that they were supposed to have
dominion over God could have left us
there but he chose not to do that he
sent his son the Lord Jesus so that we
could be delivered from our bondage to
sin and and Satan and a world that was
lost in brokenness and we could be
re-established in a relationship with
God and what that means is that when
Jesus comes back when the curtain falls
in history to be an heir of God means
that we inherit everything that God has
for his children and to be a co heir
with Christ means that what
ever God the Father gave to Jesus upon
his ascension into heaven when he sat
down at his right hand gave him the name
that is above every name that glory is
for you and me I has not seen ear has
not heard the heart of man hasn't
imagined what God has prepared for those
who love him
but God has revealed it to us through
the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit
we get little glimpses every so often of
what the promised land looks like
remember back in the Old Testament when
Israel was about ready to go into the
into the promised land you know they
sent spies into the promised land and
they came back here will recall burying
the fruit of the promised land now
that's kind of what the Holy Spirit is
like he is the foretaste of the life
that is to come every so often through
the indwelling Holy Spirit God blows our
minds he opens up our hearts and he
shows us the prize that he has prepared
for us in Christ Jesus our Lord were
destined for glory
we're destined for glory but in order to
share that glory we need to share in his
sufferings that is to say we've got to
do the discipline we've got to do the
perseverance we've got to do the
struggling so that we can remain as
faithful as we know how to remain to the
Lord to be awarded the inheritance
that's why Hebrews chapter 212 goes on
to say in verse 2 these words we cannot
do this ourselves we need Jesus for it
here is the verse let us fix our eyes on
Jesus the author and perfecter of our
faith who for the joy set before him
endured the cross scorning a chain and
sat down at the right hand of the throne
of God Jesus is off
some translations have Pioneer and
perfecter some translations have
finishers this means that on the one
hand Jesus is the one who completed the
course he encountered every obstacle
that you and I can ever encounter and he
did it successfully that's why God gave
him the name that is above every name
Jesus has paved the way and you and I
won by faith we are joined to him we
share in his victory we share in his
victory he grants us the Holy Spirit he
helps us to live life to the full so
that we can be worthy of the inheritance
that we have in Christ Jesus but we have
to run the race means every time we fall
down we need to get back up means we
need to keep our eye on the prize means
we can't let ourselves be deflected by
things of less importance we need to be
able to accomplish what God calls us to
accomplish in the purposes and in the
areas of life and it's astonishing to me
that the Apostle Paul when he gets to
the end of his journey after everything
that he has gone through when you need
to only read the book of Acts or or the
epistles that he writes to see the price
that he had to pay to run this journey
successfully he is able to say at the
end of his life in 2nd Timothy 4 7 and 8
I have fought the good fight I have
finished the race I have kept the faith
now there is in store for me the crown
of righteousness which the Lord the
righteous judge will award to me on that
day and not only to me but also to all
who have longed for his appearing I
think that's where we'll leave it this
morning
we need to continue looking at what
completing the task means
but let me ask you to do some
self-reflection as the week goes on
particularly if you're joining us
tonight for the celebration of communion
what is your race look like what is
finishing well look like where are the
obstacles that trip you up where are the
areas that that you find it's simply too
hard to run the race own them be honest
with God and with each other lay hold of
the fact that God in Christ is the
author and the finisher what he has
called us to he will enable us to
accomplish because we stand in the
shoulders of many who have gone before
us who have walked by faith and who have
claimed the prize and painful and
difficult - sometimes the journey is and
surely will be nobody who puts their
hope in God it's gonna be disappointed
because if you think all the things we
strive for in this world that give us
pleasure and satisfaction
multiply that by infinity what it is
that God has promised to those who love
him there isn't anything that we Paul
says the brief and momentary sufferings
of this life are not worthy to be
compared to the glory that is going to
be revealed ask God to show you the
glory ask him to show you the prize
whenever you want to flake out whenever
you want to give up whatever it's too
difficult
whenever the costs are too high ask God
to show you Jesus at the right hand of
God the Father and ask him to show you
what being a co heir with Christ looks
like and what glory will look like
forever and ever
and ever and then tell me that it's not
worth your while because when all the
rest of the world suffers under the
eternal judgment of God you'll sit at
his right hand and you will share his
glory and you will rule over creation
whatever that looks like forever and
ever and ever I wish I could pour that
into each heart and each mind here
because that is the Christian hope of
glory