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For one reason or another, they die with unfulfilled dreams, with unrealized potential and without ever becoming what God intended their life to become. That is a tragedy.
Acts 20:24 “I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task that the Lord Jesus has given me.”
1 Timothy 4:7 “I have finished the race.”
Are you going to be able to say that about your life? That you did what God made you to do? That you fulfilled the purpose for which you were put on this earth?
This morning as we approach the conclusion of our series I want to give you the Rules of the Race. If you want to make it to the finish line, if you want to make your life count, if you want to get into the winners box and stand before God one day and say, “God, I did what You made me to do,” you’ve got to keep these five rules of the race.
1. I MUST REMOVE ALL DISTRACTIONS
Hebrews 12:1 (Living Bible) “Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us.”
What is it that can distract you from your life mission? What can keep you from being what God wants you to be?
- The opinions of other people can distract you
- The desire to get rich could distract you
- A good hobby can distract you from God’s life mission
- The wrong kind of friends could distract you from your life mission
- I have come to the conclusion that the number one thing that keeps people from becoming what God wants them to become is your past. Frankly, many of you are stuck. You’re stuck in your past - there are two things that make you stuck in your past – guilt and bitterness.
Isaiah 43:18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past.
Paul had every reason to be filled with regrets. Prior to becoming a believer, he was a religious terrorist. He admits that he even participated in one man’s murder. Yet he says…
Philippians 3:13 “Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race.”
I’ve got to remove all distractions.
2. I must REMEMBER THE REASON AND REWARD
All the things that we’ve talked about in the last 9 weeks – establishing your value system, SHAPE, setting some goals, organizing your schedule around that and building the relationships and skills to supplement and support that life mission. That’s hard work men and women!
It’s very hard and it takes a lot of energy to do that. If you don’t know why you do what you do, you’ll never stick with it.
The “why” always determines “how long” in life.
The reason always determines your motivation.
This is one of the reasons why we have so many discouraged, depressed people today. They have no reason for living. You have to remember the reason why you do what you do.
When I get discouraged, I’ve often thought, “I don’t have enough smarts to do this. Somebody else ought to be the senior minister of a church this size.” Whenever I get discouraged, whenever I feel like giving up, I remember two wonderful truths. And they’re the truths you should remember:
1. Remember your life mission comes from CHRIST
I didn’t just make this thing up. He assigned it to me and He has a life mission for you. That goes to say that if God gives you something to do; He’s going to give you the power to do it.
2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
2. Remember Your’e going to be rewarded BY Christ some day
1 Corinthians 9:25, 26 (Living Bible) “To win the contest, you must deny yourselves many things that would keep you from doing your best… but we do it for a heavenly reward that never disappears. So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step.”
Internal Motivation…
External Motivation…
Eternal Motivation…
3. I MUST RENEW MYSELF DAILY
2 Corinthians 4:16 “We do not become discouraged because our spiritual being is renewed day by day.”
The US Strategic Air Command is our nation’s defence system that flies 24 hours. At any point in the day there are airplanes in the air carrying nuclear warheads to be a shield of protection for our nation. If they’re always in the air, how do they keep them full of gas? In the military, they do what’s called mid-flight refuelling.
You need to learn how to do that in your life. Mid-flight refuelling.
The fact is it takes energy to do God’s will. So what do you do when you run out of energy?
Psalm 94:19 “Lord, when doubts fill my mind, and when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer.”
Take little mini breaks during the day
How do you defeat doubt? When you begin to doubt yourself, you remember three things:
1. Remember God’s goodness yesterday
Praise file. The attitude of gratitude is the healthiest emotion that you can have. Doctors have proven this. Gratitude is the healthiest emotion there is. You make a list of things you can be grateful for.
2. Remember God’s presence today
He’s with me right now. I’m not alone. I may feel like I’m alone but I’m not. I’ve just forgotten that He’s there with me. He says, “I’ve promised I’ll never leave you or forsake you. I’m with you right now in this crisis.”
3. Remember God’s promises for tomorrow
Over 7000 of them in the Bible…
That’s the positive side of finishing the race. There’s a negative side too. There’s something you have to resist. You have to fight. At the same time you’re doing the positive, you have to fight the negative.
4. I MUST RESIST DISCOURAGEMENT
Galatians 6:9 “Let us not get tired of doing what is right for after a we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”
There’s a big “if” there.
The Bible says you need to resist discouragement. Don’t give in without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy. Nothing worthwhile is ever easy. It always takes persistence.
When a stone sculptor is trying to sculpt a masterpiece, do you think the first time they hit the chisel with their hammer that everything’s going to fall off and it will be a beautiful sculpture? No they have to keep hitting it and hitting it, chipping away. And that’s the way life is. Nothing really worthwhile ever comes easy in life. It’s like you keep hitting it, going after it and little by little your life becomes a masterpiece.
You’ve heard me say this before: Great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. They don’t know how to quit.
In a crowd this size I’m sure many of you came today discouraged! Some of you came in here and you’re discouraged about a child, your marriage, your job, your finances, your health or about a prayer you’ve been praying but the answer hasn’t come yet.
I want to say something to you. It may sound mean. It’s not mean, it’s the truth. I say this in love. If you’re discouraged this morning, that’s your choice. It’s because you’re choosing to be discouraged. You don’t have to be discouraged. Di scouragement comes from thinking discouraging thoughts and you can change your thoughts any time you choose.
It’s what you choose to focus on – my purpose or my problems, God’s power or my weakness, Christ or my circumstances. What am I going to focus on? You resist it. Great people fight discouragement.
Tip: When you get discouraged, ignore it.
Galatians 6:9 (Living Bible) “Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up.”
Habakkuk 2:3 (Living Bible) “These things I plan [for your life] won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass.
Just be patient. They will not be overdue a single day.” God’s timing is perfect.
Many of you recognize this verse as the verse we have basically claimed as a church for 15 years. Why did the Lord put us on 9½ acres of land? He had a bigger plan. God had a plan and slowly, steadily, surely the vision was being fulfilled. And it continues to be.
The same is true in your life. God’s delay is not a denial.
5. I Must RELY ON CHRIST
Your life mission cannot be completed by human power alone.
Colossians 1:29 (Living Bible) “This is my work and I can do it only because Christ’s mighty energy is at work within me.”
1 Peter 4:11 (Living Bible) “Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies and God will be glorified.”
Where God guides, He provides. What He calls you to do, He equips you to do.
He can take a talent, an opportunity, a skill, a hobby and use it as part of your life mission to help other people. But you’ve got to rely on Christ.
Some of you think, “John, it’s too late for me. I’d do it the first half of my life but I wasted it. My race is half over and so I’m not even going to try getting back in the race.”
As I’ve said earlier, you have stumbled, yes. You have gotten knocked out of the race. You may have even been pushed out by other people. But the race is not over. It’s not over. And it’s not how you start the race of life that matters! If you are like me you probably blew that part! It’s about how you finish it that matters.
Philippians 1:6 (Living Bible) “God who began the good work with you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished.”
Hebrews 12:1-3 (Message) Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!
Finish the race. For some of you, get back in the race. For some of you, start the race today.
Acts 13:36 “David served God’s purpose in his generation, and then he died.”
I don’t know a finer epitaph to have on a tombstone that you served God’s purpose in your generation. That is my prayer for you.
Let me ask you a very frank question. What are you going to do about the rest of your life? This series is almost over. What’s next?” Maybe you need to go out and buy the whole set of tapes and listen to them again and work through the assignments and take it seriously. What’s holding you back? What’s distracting you? What’s keeping you from giving it all?
Prayer
Would you pray this prayer in your mind? “Dear God, I realize that You made me for a purpose and that You have a race for me to run. Please help me to focus on the finish line. Lord, make the rest of my life count. Forgive me for all those times I’ve gotten distracted. Help me to resist discouragement. Help me to renew myself daily by spending time with You and just being quiet. Help me to rely on Your power to do what You want me to accomplish with my life. Most of all help me to remember how much Jesus loves me and that because of the sacrifice He made for me that anything I’d do would be small in comparison. I want You to lead my life, God. In Jesus’ name I pray.
