We Are Runners In Our Own Race - Part 1

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Paul said, I'll be rewarded because I'm going to win, but I'm not the only one that could win. You see, when Paul calls us runners, there's something different about the race you and I run than a typical race. Normally, if there's a race, you're running against other people and only one of them can win.

But that's not the case here. Each one of us are going to run our own race. Each one of us are going to go over our own course.

Each one of us have the capacity to win our race. As Paul said, I finished the course, I kept the faith, and I'm going to be rewarded because of it. Thank you for joining us today on this edition of Fellowship in the Word with Pastor Bill Gebhardt. Fellowship in the Word is the radio ministry of Fellowship Bible Church located in Metairie, Louisiana.

Let's join Pastor Bill Gebhardt now as once again he shows us how God's Word meets our world. As many of you already know this, but I love sports. And it doesn't even matter if it's a Super Bowl in New Orleans or a badminton tournament in Malaysia.

You know, I'm watching. I've just always been that way. And for some unknown reason, I have a capacity to remember useless facts that just stick in my mind. I can remember when I was in high school, I was a pole vaulter in track and field in our high school. And I read about, I think, the greatest pole vaulter who ever lived.

His name's Bob Richards. Bob Richards won the gold medal in 1952 and 1958. He pole vaulted 15 feet, six inches with a steel pole.

No fiberglass, just steel. I think he's the greatest pole vaulter who ever lived. When I was a little boy, I was a Yankee fan. I mean, as a young boy, 1958, I love the Yankees. Mickey Mantle's my favorite player. Roger Maris, Moose, Skyran, Yogi Bear, Elston hired, Bob Turley, Whitey Ford.

I can just go on and on. But the team that finished second to the Yankees in the American League was the Chicago White Sox. And I didn't care at all about them. But I remember this, that Luis Aparicio was their shortstop. And he hit.266 that year.

And Nellie Fox played second base for them and he hit.300. And I can't remember your name. I don't know why it works like that. But I'm not apologizing. We live in a sports culture and I was raised in a sports culture home, no doubt about that. But, you know, that's not a new thing. Sports is not a new thing. The Greeks and Romans were crazy about sports.

In fact, J.S. Howson in his book, The Metaphors of St. Paul, he said that sporting events actually became a religion among the Greeks. That's how they thought. How modern is that thought? In fact, every boy in Greece, every free boy was enrolled in a gymnasium. And he would learn the basics of running and wrestling, boxing, swimming and even weightlifting in ancient Greece. The Jews, on the other hand, maybe like a lot of women today, but the Jews had no interest in sports at all.

None. There's nothing in history talking about Jews ever playing sports, no interest in sports. And yet the irony of all this is that the Jew of Jews, the Pharisee of Pharisees, Saul of Tarsus, who becomes the apostle Paul, he uses sports because he's the apostle to the Gentiles, to the Greeks and the Romans. And he uses sports and a metaphor for sports to describe you and me.

I'm in a series that I call I Am Who You Say I Am. And I said that what we have to realize is what has God said about us? He said that we're children of God and all of those privileges. He said that we're a new creation in Christ. He said that we're living stones all in the same house, that we're royal priests in the same temple, that we're a holy nation, a group, a people for God's own possession. And last week we said we're sheep in his same fold.

All those different ways. And now Paul wants to tell us there's something else about us and that we are all runners in our own race. Open your Bibles to Acts chapter 13. Acts chapter 13. We're just going to drop in on two verses to start this. This is the first time the apostle Paul and the first missionary journey uses a metaphor for the idea that you and I or all believers are runners. In Acts 13 and verse 16, it says, Paul stood up and motioning with his hand, he said, men of Israel, he said, and you who fear God, listen to what I'm going to say.

And he goes on with his message. We're not looking at that this morning, but I want to go down to verse 25. And at 25, he describes John the Baptist and he says this. And while John was completing his course, he kept saying, what do you suppose that I am?

I'm not he, but behold, one is coming after me who sandals whose feet I am not worthy to untie. It's all in that one phrase. It says when John was completing his course. Now, in English, it doesn't look like much, but in Greek, it looks like a very different thing.

In Greek, it would say this. When John was finished running his race. When John the Baptist was finished running his race.

Even then, one Jewish man describing another Jewish man as a runner. The thing that is amazing is the people would have viewed John the Baptist ministry as a failure. They thought the Messiah would come, he'd be king, he'd be the son of David, and he'd set a rule over the whole earth from Israel. He didn't. Not only that, John the Baptist was put in prison.

And you know that whole story. And John himself, I don't think, would have viewed himself as very successful because he knew when he was in prison, he was waiting then to be beheaded, which he was. But you know, it's interesting that from God's point of view, John was a success. He had finished his course. He had completed the race. You see, John had a race to run and he was complete with it.

It was done. And even though John didn't think he was successful and the people didn't think he was successful. God said he is successful. In Acts Chapter 20, Paul's describing himself and he said, Here's my one. Here's one of my great motives. I want to finish my race. Paul said, I want to finish my race. And that was in the second missionary journey.

I want to finish my race. And that's exactly what he does. Go with me to 2 Timothy 4, 2 Timothy Chapter 4. These are the last words that Paul ever wrote. As most of you know, Paul was arrested twice. The first time he was arrested, he was under house arrest in Rome. But he was freed and was able to go out on his own.

The second time he knows now he's not going to be free. They're going to keep him in Rome. And then he he understands as a Roman citizen, he'll be executed.

And in his case, he will also be beheaded. And so Paul is speaking. And down in verse six of Chapter four, he said, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering.

That's his that's viewing the end of his life, giving it to God. He said, I'm already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of my departure has come. Now, there's one thing that Paul knows that you and I didn't usually don't know. He knows the time of his departure. He knows it.

It's time. He knows he's in his last days. He understands this completely. And then he says this. I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the course. I have kept the faith. Now, that looks like almost a mixed metaphor in verse seven, but it's not when he says I have fought the good fight and I have finished the course. He's describing one thing, completing the race. Fought the good fight doesn't mean boxing.

He uses that analogy in another part, but not here. I fought the good fight is a Greek idiom, and it means that I plowed through, no matter how difficult the consequences were. Any of you that have ever run a marathon or a long distance race, you'll hear every marathon runner talk about running into the wall.

It's usually around 20 miles. You know, you hit the wall. And if you're going to finish the marathon, you have to fight the good fight.

You have to run through the wall. That's what Paul's alluding to here. He said, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith, he said. And therefore, in the future, there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day.

And not only, he said to me, but also all who have loved his appearing. Paul said, I'll be rewarded because I'm going to win, but I'm not the only one that could win. You see, when Paul calls us runners, there's something different about the race you and I run than a typical race. Normally, if there's a race, you're running against other people and only one of them can win.

But that's not the case here. Each one of us are going to run our own race. Each one of us are going to go over our own course. Each one of us have the capacity, have the capacity to win our race. As Paul said, I finished the course, I kept the faith, and I'm going to be rewarded because of it. Now, I want you to go with me to see what it takes to win to Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1, Hebrews 12.

And this is a really strong verse for us. One of the problems we have of being a runner and running a race is we want to quit. We want to just sit down. We want to stop. We want to lay down. We want to stop running, especially when it gets really hard for us. You see, we just don't want to do it anymore. Or as I've said in the past with myself, every once in a while, I just go into a personal pity party and I just want to stop.

I don't want to run anymore. The book of Hebrews is written to a whole group of people that wanted to do that on a large scale. The whole group of people were believers in Christ. They were Jewish believers. And they decided that it's not worth it.

We don't want to run anymore. They said, maybe what we ought to do is just slip back into Judaism and then our friends and family will like us better and we'll do OK. The writer of Hebrews is like, no, no, no, no, no, whatever you do, don't do that. Because if you do that, you'll be just like the exodus generation. You'll be saved coming out of Egypt, but you'll die in the wilderness and you'll never get into the land flowing with milk and honey.

You'll never be in the promised land. That's what the whole book of Hebrews is about. So in Chapter 10, he says, look, I know what you need. And he uses the race metaphor again. He said you need endurance. You see, if you're going to run a race for a lifetime, you need to have endurance.

That's the point. If you're going to live the Christian life, you need to have endurance. And I say I've said this many times in the past, endurance is the way you measure your faith. How much faith you have, how much will you endure? And so Chapter 11 that we call the Hall of Fame of faith is simply a chapter that deals with those who endured.

That's the point there. Example after example, people who endured. Think how long Abraham and Sarah waited for Isaac. Think how long Moses was in the land of Midian. 40 years. What's he doing? Enduring.

He said so when he finishes Chapter 11, he says this. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us. Sounds like a stadium.

It sounds just like a stadium. All the witnesses are surrounding us. These are all the people who ran their race before us. Since we have this great surrounding us, let us lay aside every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles us. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

Wow. So look, we've got to run and we have to do this with endurance. He said, I know there's two things that are hampering you. One is encumbrance.

And when I've taught on this before, I've said that it's very likely that the encumbrance are the wrong priorities. I live my life with the wrong kind of priorities and they weigh me down. I don't run spiritually. And the other one is the sin that so easily entangles us. And my view of that is I have my sin that so easily entangles me. You have your sin that so easily entangles you. You know it because you repeat it over and over again.

He said, look, you've got to lay aside the encumbrance and you've got to get rid of that sin that entangles you and put you down on the ground. And you've got to run with endurance the race that is set before us. I have my race, you have your race. They're very different races.

Each person has a different race. Then he says this. Let me help you. Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of faith. If you want to know the example, how do you endure?

What does that take? He said, Jesus. You want to see someone who ran his race perfectly? Jesus. He's the author. He's the perfecter of our faith.

Notice. He said, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame. And he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who has endured such hostility by sinners against themselves so that you will not grow weary and lose heart and stop running. So look at Jesus.

Wow. Think of that race, the most difficult race anyone has ever run ever. And he knew what it would take to run his race. He he knew that at the end of his life, which is not very long, only about 33 years of age, he's going to go to the cross. He knows that.

And yet Luke writes to us and Luke says on more than one occasion, Luke says that Jesus had set his face to go to Jerusalem. I've got he keeps saying I must go to Jerusalem. I must be arrested. I must be crucified.

I know what I have to do. He knew the agony of this. He's in the Garden of Gethsemane and he's sweating droplets of blood. Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. He's on the cross hanging and screaming out.

Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He knows how horrible it is. But here it says, who for the joy set before him, he endured it. How did he endure the cross?

See, what motivated him to endure the cross? You. And me. You're the reason he endured it. For the joy set before him, there are people that I can redeem who are separated from God by sin, who will now become the children of God. And I will spend forever with them.

I'll endure this. You see, the joy is out in front. The joy is comes at the end.

And he says, that's what you have to have. You have to have endurance to do this. In his race that he won, he won for all of us. So my question this morning is, what do people who do well? What do good runners do? What is it like to be a really good runner in your own life?

The first thing is pretty obvious, just in this passage. They run with joy. And I don't mean they're happy. There's nothing worse than pseudo happiness. You go through some terrible languishing, you know, you say just keep smiling.

Some. There's a time to laugh, by the way, but there's a time to cry. There's a time to celebrate. There's a time to mourn. So you can't make it.

Don't be phony and try to make it like it's everything's just great. It's not. You see, the joy comes at the end for us. I mean, if you think about this, if you fight your life's final battle with a long bout of cancer. There's not a lot of joy in that. But there is at the end. You see, there is at the end, just like with Jesus, there's not a lot of joy on the cross.

He's bearing the sins of the world. But there is at the end. You see, it's the same idea. If someone you love seems to be in perfect health and you're planning your life together and you're also happy about the way it is. And then all of a sudden you get the phone call and find out a drunk driver cross lanes and they're dead. There's nothing joyful about that. All praise the Lord. This is mourning is a sorrow. But there's joy in the end. You see, the joy that they have is the joy that when it's all over. I can't even remember how many times I say these things over and over to you, but I'm determined to keep trying. And that is that, you know, the worst thing that can happen to you can't happen to you.

And I read the end of the book and you win. That's so important for you to understand. You see, sometimes we have a lot of joy in our lives because the circumstances are wonderful. And it's joyful. But there are other times when it's anguish, it's difficult. But don't worry about that, because because you win in the end, the joy is yours forever.

That's why it's such an important thing. Secondly, they not only run with joy, but they evidence discipline in their lives. Go with me to First Timothy, Chapter four, First Timothy, Chapter four. Verse seven, Paul's writing to young Timothy, and he's trying to explain to him that if you're going to be a runner, you're going to have to have a certain amount of discipline in your life. This is kind of convicting to us.

I hope it does anyway. He says that Timothy, verse seven, but have nothing to do, he said, with worldly fables fit for only old women. I won't even talk about that today, so I'll save myself that. And you are all young women anyway.

OK, so we don't even apply to you. He said, on the other hand, he says, discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness. For bodily discipline is only of a little profit, but godliness is profitable for all things, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

People who run well have discipline in their life. That word discipline in Hebrews, you know the word. The Greek words gymnasium. The same word we use for gymnasium. That's where the discipline comes from. Very athletic word.

He said, bodily discipline is only for a little bit of profit. What amazes me is some of you have a capacity to be enormously disciplined in your physical life. Boy, I mean, you got it down. I mean, you only eat things that are really, really good for you. Nothing but the best for you.

You make sure you get a certain amount of cardio in every day. You really got it down. And there's nothing wrong with that.

It's profitable, but only a little bit. And I don't want to burst your bubble, but no matter how disciplined you are physically, in the end, you're dead. You're just dead.

Whether you've been healthy or not, you're dead. You see, and that's what Paul's perspective is. There's nothing wrong with it. It's profitable in its own little way. But what amazes me is we have this capacity to discipline ourselves.

Every day, it doesn't matter how hot it is or it's raining, you'll see the runners out running. I'm disciplining myself. The question is, though, do you discipline yourself from a spiritual point of view?

See, that's the real race you're running. Are you disciplined? The scripture says we are to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. Do you feed on the word of God? You see, do you have good nutrition? You see, is your life spiritually disciplined? And so far, so often it's not.

And we can run amok this way. Think of somebody like Samson. How privileged was he? He's one of the great judges of Israel. God supernaturally empowered him to become a judge of Israel.

How'd it turn out for him? Let me ask you, do you think he was disciplined spiritually at all? Do you think he tried to deal with the sin that so easily entangles him? Or did he allow that sin to easily entangle him?

That's Samson. You see, we can be children of God, but we can run a very poor race if we don't have any discipline in it at all. Surely they can only run with joy and evidence discipline.

They stick with it. And you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online. At that website, you will find not only today's broadcast, but also many of our previous audio programs as well. At Fellowship in the Word, we are thankful for those who financially support our ministry and make this broadcast possible. We ask all of our listeners to prayerfully consider how you might help this radio ministry continue its broadcast on this radio station by supporting us monthly or with just a one-time gift. Support for our ministry can be sent to Fellowship in the Word, 4600 Clearview Parkway, Metairie, Louisiana 7006. If you would be interested in hearing today's message in its original format, that is as a sermon that Pastor Bill delivered during a Sunday morning service at Fellowship Bible Church, then you should visit our website, fbcnola.org.

That's fbcnola.org. At our website, you will find hundreds of Pastor Bill's sermons. You can browse through our sermon archives to find the sermon series you are looking for, or you can search by title. Once you find the message you are looking for, you can listen online. Or if you prefer, you can download the sermon and listen at your own convenience. And remember, you can do all of this absolutely free of charge. Once again, our website is fbcnola.org. For Pastor Bill Gebhardt, I'm Jason Gebhardt thanking you for listening to Fellowship in the Word.