We Are Runners In Our Own Race - Part 2

Today on Fellowship in the Word, Pastor Bill Gebhardt challenges you to become a fully functioning follower of Jesus Christ. Paul says, look, these people exercise so much, they have so much self-control and so much discipline, and at the end of it someone gives them a little wreath and that advantages. That's it.

You're yesterday's news. But your race, you get a wreath that's in perishable. Jesus rewards you forever. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Your wreath makes a big difference. Something to remind yourself in Scripture with. So many people have started out pretty well and looked like they were running well, and then they sat down and stopped and ended poorly. You see, it doesn't matter how old you are, how long you've been a Christian, you have to keep running.

That's his point. You have to keep running. You have to keep the race going. 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. 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. 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 that 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 what 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. Oh, praise the Lord. This is mourning. It's 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 gets kind of convicting to us.

I hope it does anyway. He says to Timothy, verse seven, but have nothing to do, he said, with worldly fables fit for only old women. I won't even have to talk about that today, so 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 word is 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. 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 did 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 do you 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. Thirdly, they only run with joy and the evidence discipline.

They stick with it. Go with me to Philippians Chapter three, Philippians Chapter three. They press forward in verse 12 of Philippians three. Paul's talking about himself and he says this. Not that I've already obtained it or have already become perfect is the English word.

It's teleos in Greek. It'd be better to call it mature or complete. He said, I haven't completed yet. I'm not complete yet. It's another way of saying I haven't finished the course yet.

I haven't finished my race yet. He does in Timothy, but not here. He said, not that I've already obtained it or have already become complete, but I press on so that I may laid hold of that which I also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet. But one thing I do, I forget what lies behind and I reach forward for what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul said, if you're going to run the race, there's only one perspective you can have forward.

I got to go forward. Or some of us are terrible at this. Some of us and I end up in counseling situations like this where people in their past have been so bad. They've let the sin entangle them. They've had the wrong priorities or the encumbrances. They've sat down in the race and then they feel guilty. And then all they want to tell you is how badly they used to run the race.

And Paul says, well, that's just nonsense. You see, I don't care how you used to run the race. I only go I forget what lies behind. I only look at what's ahead. I can't change anything that's behind me.

But I have a great capacity to be in an element of change in what lies ahead of me. Paul said, that's the way I see my life. I just keep running. You don't see somebody running in a race in the Olympics. You know, and as he turns the final bend on 400 meters, he turns around to look or see where everyone's coming. No, he's running. You see, he's going to the goal. You've got to run to the finish line.

You've got to run to the tape. Paul said, that's what I do. I stick with this no matter what. And notice, I'm not running. I don't compete with anyone else. I'm not running against you. What you'll see in Scripture is I'm running with you. I have my race.

You have your race. How long is your race? I don't know.

How long is my race? I don't know. I don't know that God knows that, but I just got to keep running. And I'm also not running so I can get to heaven. Notice verse 20 of chapter 3, the same chapter in Philippians. He said, for our citizenship is in heaven. He said, from which also we eagerly wait for our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't say our citizenship will one day be in heaven. He said, our citizenship is in heaven.

You and I are citizens of heaven now. I don't run to get to heaven. I run because I'm going to heaven.

You see, it's a different thing, the race that is set before me. So they stick with it. And they keep this goal in mind. Go with me now to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9.

I want to reinforce this idea of keeping the goal in mind. Verse 24 of 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Hear Paul again with the race and runner metaphor. He says, do you not know that those who run in a race all run?

I think everyone in Corinth said I know that. If I said to how many of you people know that if you run in a race, you have to run? Got it. Then he says this, but only one receives the prize. That's a typical physical race. No matter who it is, even if it's a photo finish, only one gets to receive the prize. Now, he says to all of them, run in such a way that you may win.

You see, that's the difference. We can all win if we run in such a way. We're not competing against each other at all here.

We're running our own course. He said, and notice the same elements. Everyone, he said, who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things.

Then they do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. Therefore, run in such a way as not without aim. He said, I box in such a way, but I don't beat the air. I discipline my body. I make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. Paul says, look, these people exercise so much.

They have so much self-control and so much discipline. At the end of it, someone gives them a little wreath, and that advantages. That's it.

You're yesterday's news. But your race, you get a wreath that's imperishable. Jesus rewards you forever. Well done, good and faithful servant.

Your wreath makes a big difference. He said, you have to run in such a way. And he said, notice, nobody is a champion. No one is a champion at racing without self-discipline.

No one. No one does that. Everyone exercises self-discipline. It's just the way this works. He said, you have to too. So you have to keep the goal in mind.

Something to remind yourself in scripture with. So many people have started out pretty well and look like they were running well. And then they sat down and stopped and ended poorly. Lot started well, ended poorly. Samson, who I mentioned, started well, ended. Gideon started well, ended poorly. How about King Saul? Started well, ended poorly. King Uzziah started well, was great in the middle, and ended poorly. Demas, who Paul says loved this world too much.

Started well, spent time with Paul, and ended poorly. You see, it doesn't matter how old you are or how long you've been a Christian. You have to keep running. That's his point. You have to keep running. You have to keep the race going.

You can't do that. We live in a culture that sort of tells you in one way or another that when you become, from a physical point of view, a certain age, you lose value. You don't have any value. And so the retirement years, the golden years, whatever it is, and basically that's a way of saying I don't really have anything to offer anybody anymore, so I'm just going to wait until I die. But God never says that.

He never says that. God says as long as you're alive, you're in the race. You see, as long as you're alive, you're in the race. You just keep running. It's your race. And by the way, I'll let you know when it's over.

You see, I'll let you know then when it's over. That's the point. We don't ever want to slow down or stop and say we don't have anything left to do.

That's not the way it should work with us at all. One last element, and that's finding Philippians chapter 1. Philippians chapter 1. They run with joy. They evidence discipline. They stick to it.

They always keep the goal in mind. And we're going to see in Philippians 1 the final thing. Verse 27. Paul says to the church of Philippi, he says, Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, that I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind, striving together for the faith of the gospel. The athleticism is in that word, striving together.

It's interesting. That word, striving, athleteo. English word, athlete. Striving together, soon, athleteo, is the prefix of soon. It means we do this together. This is teamwork. In other words, we're all running our own races, but we're all here to help each other run.

There are 39 different one anothers in the New Testament. Love one another, forgive one another, encourage one another, exhort one another, admonish one another, forgive one another. One another, one another, one another.

What do you mean? Because we're all running our race. We have to strive together.

You see, whenever you have that encumbrance too big, I need to tell you the reason you're not running well is your encumbrance is your priorities are wrong. Whenever I've got a sin that so easily entangles me, you've got to say, you've got to get rid of that sin and get up. Let's go, kid. We need to encourage one another. Keep going, keep going. In this metaphor, we're all in it together.

We're all doing it. This is one race where we all can win, but we have to strive together in order to do that. So my question to you this morning is, how are you running your race?

I mean, you ought to know, but how are you running your race? Do you run with joy? You see, not because the race is joyful, as I said earlier. The race may or may not give you joy, but the finish line always will. You see, I don't mean this in a morbid way, but I've said it for a long time that whether you realize it or not, the very best day of your life will be your last day if you're a child of God.

No day will ever compare to that day. We view it here as, boy, this is tragic. You view it there as, wow, this is what I was created for, absent from the body, present with the Lord, unspeakable joy. Secondly, do you have spiritual discipline in your life? See, do you feed on the word of God?

Maybe even more importantly, James said this. Don't be a hearer only, but what? A doer of the word. If you don't practice the word of God, you're not running. You've sat down somewhere.

You've got to keep running. You see, you've got to practice the word. We have to be doers of the word of God because that changes us.

That matures us. The other thing Paul said was interesting. He said to the Thessalonians, you need to pray without ceasing. Now, for some of you with your background, it's like, well, I can't do that. I'll wreck my car.

I won't be able to do my work. I can't talk to anyone else because the Bible says that. That's not what he means. He doesn't mean formal prayers. He means that mentally, I talk to God all the time, all the time. And because I've spent my time in the word of God, he speaks to me all the time. You see, Bill Bright, the founder of Campus Crusade for Christ, used to call that spiritual breathing. I inhale the word of God.

I exhale my prayers to him. That's a wonderful way to live. That's true spiritual discipline in your life. Thirdly, do you stick with it? Are you not easily detoured, not easily discouraged?

Hmm. Boy, this can happen so fast. And I find temptation to fight this all the time. Some days I wake up and I feel really invigorated and good, and other days I wake up and say, boy, what am I doing?

Why this or why that? Start that pity party thing again. I want to stop racing. Thirdly, do I keep the goal in mind?

Do I stay focused on Christ? You see, the point is I have no idea when my race is going to end. I can't postpone it and say I'll run better later. I may not have a later.

This may be it. This may be my last day. That's the point.

I don't know when it ends. He said, look, I'll take care of that part. You just run your race. Lastly, do I practice teamwork? Do I help other people? That's the goal.

Here's the neatest part about that. If I invest myself in you guys and I encourage and exhort you and admonish you and all those things to keep you running your race, that's me running my race. So I actually get the benefit of running my race by helping others and encourage them to run their race. And that's the same for you and for me.

Do we practice teamwork to help all of us do better? So in this series, I want you to think about this. I am who you say I am. You're a child of God.

Wow. Join air with everything. You inherit everything there is. You're God's child.

You cry out Abba, Papa, Father. You're a new creation in Christ. All the old things have passed away. All things have come that are new. You can't say this the way it used to be.

It doesn't matter anymore. You're a new creation. You're living stones in the same house, Christ being the chief cornerstone. You're a royal priest, each and every one of us. That's what Peter said after the order of Melchizedek.

Not a Levite, but a Melchizedekian priest. We have access to God to go boldly to the throne of grace whenever we want. We're a holy nation, a separate group of people, a people for God's own possession. He says you're mine, each and every one of you. Last time we said, and you're sheep of God's fold.

We have this wonderful shepherd. He says, I will give you everything you possibly need in life. Now today, Paul says, we're all runners in our own race, each and every one of us.

We run our own race. I don't know about you, but when the time of my departure, as Paul says, comes, when the finish line comes for me, and the course that God has given me is complete, wouldn't you want to say what Paul said? I finished the course. You see, I fought the good fight.

I finished the course. I kept the faith. I kept on running.

Let's pray. Father, I'm afraid that so often when we use this term, we have this capacity to think that certain people have to run as Christians. Billy Graham has to run.

Martin Luther had to run. These great people in the faith, they're the runners. But the word of God makes it clear we're all runners. We all have our own course. We all run our own race.

We all have the potential for the same victory, and we all have the threat of the same kind of defeat. Father, I pray that we use what Paul has told us and dedicate ourselves to running the race that's before us, dealing with our encumbrances and the sin that so easily entangles us, and allowing our fuel to be the word of God, allowing our power to be the spirit of God, and allow our encouragement to be the people of God, as each and every one of us run our race for our good and for your glory. In Christ's name, amen. You've been listening to Pastor Bill Gebhardt on the Radio Ministry of Fellowship in the Word. If you ever miss one of our broadcasts, or maybe you would just like to listen to the message one more time, remember that you can go to a great website called OnePlace.com. That's OnePlace.com, and you can listen to Fellowship in the Word online.

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