On Your Mark, Get Set

Intro

We’ve been talking about this race called life

God has a plan for you and it is not for tomorrow

We need to stretch so we don’t get hurt

Look to those that have gone before and learn from their faith how to grow our faith

Chris graduated from Bible college in May and the next week we moved to GC Kansas to become youth pastors.

We were getting to know the kids and they were getting to know us. To be honest, they, especially the girls, were very stand-offish and it was a bit frustrating.

Of course camp was in June so off we went

Finally getting alone with the girls, 1 young lady (Daleah) blurted out “Please don’t have kids right now!”

I was perplexed but she went on to say that she wanted to know I was giving my full attention, unlike previous people in her life.

This was internally hard. I had this overwhelming desire, to have kids, we were indeed trying to get pregnant, but here was this raw request.

I had a choice to make.

I was tempted to keep doing what I could to get pregnant, ie start researching why we weren’t pregnant yet, go to the doctor...

My family was already beginning to make comments about why we hadn’t got pregnant like maybe something was wrong, again tempting me to worry and pursue answers

Even church members were asking when we were going to have kids.

I believed that God was going to give me children so shouldn’t I pursue it with all my energy?

I had another option

I prayed

I told God that I believed He would give me all the desires of my heart in HIS TIME

I told God that I believed He brought me to lead these teens, including Daleah, and I wanted to be used. I wanted to be trusted and counted on my these teens

I asked God to help me trust him and help me not get caught up in anything that would get in the way of the race God put before me, even getting my desires but not in His time. Finally I asked for courage not to be hurt or influenced by those around me that meant well, but didn’t know God’s plan

I waited for God’s perfect will and in the meantime, had the most incredible time growing a youth group from 7 kids to 100 and counting many of them as best friends and watching God do amazing things in all the kids that I loved so very much!

Body

Tonight we are going to talk about some of the things that hinder or entangle us to keep us from running our race

Scripture

Hebrews 12:1 NIV

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by 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,

Observation

What do you observe here? “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”

I see 2 statements

everything that hinders

Sin that easily entangles

I don’t see it as a repeat but as 2 separate things

Sin that entangles

Obviously sin keeps us from doing God’s will

What sin would this be?

Entangle

Stop in your tracks, not just slow down, fall on your face, out of the race

Everything that Hinders

What could this mean? a thing that provides resistance, delay or obstruction to something or someone.

something that slows us down - like drinking soda when we are running kind of slow down

Not necessarily a sin, but not helpful in your race

If I had fixated on getting pregnant on my own terms that would have been an terrible hindrance to what God was trying to do

Now I am not saying that God doesn’t want you to have hobbies or things that you enjoy or video games, unless they affect your run...

Application

So how does this apply to your life?

Are you willing to evaluate if there is sin that is stopping you from your race?

Are you willing to evaluate if there is a hindrance slowing you down

The race is starting, are you ready? On your mark, get set....

Prayer