Persevering in Faith: Focus on Your God-Given Race

when something is not going right when you start to get discouraged when you feel like you've stopped making progress It's time for a little personal evaluation what do I need to eliminate what do I need to streamline what do I need to declutter in my life even some good things some weights that are holding me back then number three I must run God's race for me not other people's race for me I must run God's race for me not others race you see God loves you and everybody else has a wonderful plan for your life and they would love for you to run their race the only thing is God doesn't give you energy to run other people's races he only gives you the energy to do what he put you on Earth to do [00:00:00]

now the third part of verse one says this let us strip off every weight and all the things that hinder us the sin and let us run with endurance the race that God has set before us Circle the phrase God has set God hasn't promised to bless your plan for your life he's promised to bless his plan for your life what he put you on this planet to do now let me just tell you if you try to run somebody else's race you're going to fail you're going to lose you're not going to make it to the Finish Line you're going to tire and give up because God doesn't give you the strength to run other people's race you are to run the race God meant for you to run and you got to stop caring so much about the approval of others and living for their approval and you've got to be who God made you to be [00:56:32]

I must focus on Jesus not my circumstances if I'm going to make it to the end of the race if I want to to to uh make it to the end I I want to be all that God wants be and I don't want to get discouraged give up in the middle of the race I need to focus on Jesus not my circumstances we are to run with endurance the race god Set before us and how do we run it it says next verse we do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus not the road on Jesus not the crowd on Jesus not the critics on Jesus in whom our faith depends from start to finish [00:28:00]

you can't be looking at your bank book balance you can't be looking at the fact that you haven't had a job in a year or that some your marriage is falling apart you cannot simply look at the situation you've got to look at the saving avor you can't look at the as a victim you've got to look at the Victor you can't look at the problem you've got to look at the problem solver you must keep your eye on Jesus you say Rick you don't know what I'm going through what I'm going through right now is unendurable friend the only way you will be able to endure the unendurable is to keep your eye on the invisible [00:57:36]

Corey tinboom said it like this Corey and her sister Betsy were incarcerated in owitz because they were Christians in Holland and then she wrote a book about this the hiding place and they hid Jews in their home to protect the Jews during the World War II from the Nazis and one day they found the Jews and they not only took the people they were hiding but they took the Corey and her entire family and took them to oswit too Betsy died there in the death camp Corey later wrote if you look at the world you'll be distressed if you look within you'll be depressed if you look at Christ you'll be at rest it all depends on what you've got your eyes on it's all a matter of perspective you can only do the impossible if you see the invisible [00:50:36]

I must minimize the pain and maximize The Profit I must minimize the pain and maximize The Profit the future reward the benefit of keeping on keeping on everything that's worth doing has some pain to it getting in shape has some pain to it getting in spiritual shape has some pain to it getting out of debt has some pain to it getting an education has some pain to it anything worthwhile has some temporary pain in order for there to be long-term benefit reward or payoff the Bible says this about Jesus dying on the cross verse two the second part he was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward circle the word afterward he's looking past the pain to the payoff and what would that payoff be your salvation you could have your sins forgiven I could have my sins forgiven we could go to heaven because of what Jesus would do on the cross for us he knew he could handle the death because of the joy that would be his afterwards and now he is seated in the place of highest joy and highest honor besides God's throne in heaven [00:08:01]

Paul lists all the pain he went through in order to do his race to follow the plan God has for his life and it's not a happy list listen to this 2 Corinthians 11 Paul says I've worked hard I've put been put in jail more often I've been whipped times without number I faced death again and again and again five times I was given 39 lashes imagine that if you've been whipped 39 times and five five time 39 would be the number of lash marks on your back can you imagine the scars in his back five times I was given 39 lashes three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times I was Shipwrecked once I spent a whole night in the day a drift at Sea I've traveled many weary miles I've faced dangers from flooded rivers and from robbers and I've I've faced dangers for my own people as well as the Gentiles I've faced dangers in the cities and in the deserts and on stormy seas I've faced dangers from men who claim to be Christians but aren't I've lived with weariness I've lived with pain and I've lived with sleepless nights I've often been hungry and thirsty and Gone without food and I've often shivered without cold without enough clothing to keep me warm Paul said I went through all of this in order to be a missionary to the entire Roman Empire [00:10:08]

in light of all this we do not lose heart we don't give up though outwardly we're wasting away yet inwardly we're being renewed day by day for our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all now he calls all that he went through light and momentary troubles would you call that light and momentary troubles I'd call that life a disaster if I'd been in prison that many times been beaten that many times whipped that many times Shipwrecked cold thirsty hungry robbed beaten up bruised stoned and he goes now these light and momentary afflictions what that is a matter of perspective he said this stuff is Small Potatoes compared to the reward I'm going to get in heaven [00:11:57]

remember what Jesus did for me remember the suffering he went through when I'm suffering remember what he endured not for his own sake but what he endured for my sake on the cross and he says when you are enduring a tough time you need to think about the attacks and the criticisms Jesus experienced think about the abuse and the cruelty Jesus went through think about the meanness and the torture and the painful death he went through not for his benefit but for you verses 3 and 4 think about all he endured when sinful people did such terrible things to him say that's what you think about what he endured so that you don't become weary and give up after all you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin you need to think about what Jesus has done for you when you're going through a tough time [00:19:58]

my question is will you endure will you finish the race will you finish well my question is this what have you started that you need to finish what is it that you've started that you need to finish and not give up in the middle of it you know a year before Paul wrote the book to the Corinthians Church the Corinthian Church did basically like a decade of Destiny offering where they did an offering they said we're going to take up an offering for the church at Jerusalem now in those days no church was going through good times it was all tough times but they said we're going to take up an offering to help the church at Jerusalem and a year later they had made the commitment but they still hadn't given it and Paul wrote this to them 2 Corinthians 8 finish what you started a year ago what did you start a year ago for you were first to begin doing something about it now you should carry this project to completion just as enthusiastically as you began it give whatever you can according to what you have so I ask you again what commitments have you made that you need to complete [00:22:17]

help me to declutter my life to eliminate what doesn't matter to focus on what matters most help me to lay aside the weights and the sins that are slowing me down holding me back and causing me to want to feel like giving up I want to run your race for me not somebody else's race I want to be exactly what you intend for me to be now what other people expect me to be help me to focus Jesus on you not my problems not my debts not my circumstances not my pain help me to focus on on you Jesus keeping our eyes on him whom our faith depends from start to finish I want to minimize the pain and maximize The Profit help me to play it down and pray it up to not become weary in doing good but to wait for the right season when I see the Harvest Jesus most of all I want to thank you for what you did for me how you suffered and what you endured so that I could be forgiven and I could be saved and I could go to heaven and I could be in your family [00:23:41]