PERSEVERE HANG ON, THE SHARKS ARE HUNGRY

PERSEVERE HANG ON, THE SHARKS ARE HUNGRY 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 February 24,  2002 Given by: Pastor Bob Claus [Index of Past Messages] One pastor who overdid the number of points in his sermon made the following apology to the congregation. "Last week my sermon had eleven points. This past week my wife helped me understand that eleven points is way too many, so to make up for it, today's sermon will be pointless." 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 - " Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." Jan and I received a call from a very dear friend New Years Eve. We have known him for 32 years and even worked with him in California. He told us he was leaving his wife of 42 years and his ministry of 34 years. He said he and his wife have never been compatible and he wanted to have some fun in his life. He is 65 years old. He was on his way to California to get a job in the movies or work for a radio station. We are still in shock over this. I got to thinking, "What would cause anyone who had known the Lord and had worked in ministry seeing the power of God work in the lives of many, people being saved; people being healed; divorces being canceled; God working in the lives of so many people, walk away from the Lord. This was a man who taught the Word of God. Paul wrote in verse 24, "...Run in such away as to get the prize." Everyone knows you have to finish the race to get the prize. We train so we can finish the race. Praise God, if we finish the race we get a prize. In Christianity how you run the race and finish it determines you getting the prize. I am told a runner running in a 26-mile marathon hits a wall about 13-miles into the race and this is the most critical time for the runner. He or she really has to push them selves through the wall to continue. If they do, the running seems to become easier for them. We all hit those walls in our Christian walk. There are times when we ask ourselves, is there really a God? I remember when I started an exercise program when I worked for the police department. I had to qualify for the physical fitness program. The physical fitness test was coming up in about 3 months. It was recommended I get a check-up from my doctor, first to make certain I was healthy. Then I went out and bought a special type of running shoe. You have to take good care of your feet and 'look good'. Right? I bought a Walkman tape player so I would have music to run by and I bought a stopwatch to keep time. I then had to decide what course I would run and the distance I planned to go. I started out walking at a brisk pace for a couple of days, then I would run for a time until I started getting tired, then I would walk the rest of the course. It took about a week or 10 days until I was able to run the whole distance. Then I started to check my time and get it down to a reasonable time. I wasn't trying to break any records, but I wanted a quick time. The day of the physical fitness test I ran and came in fourth. I thought I did a good job because I was running against people 20 years younger then me. The officer in charge of the fitness test told me how pleased he was with me because I had lost about 15 lbs. and did the course in a very good time for my age. I believe there are some things we have to do in order to complete the race as Christians. 1. Prayer! We have to be in contact with our Coach, Jesus Christ. In prayer we need to make sure we are healthy, we need to make sure we have no un-confessed sin in our life. 2. We have to rely on the Holy Spirit to stay healthy and He ministers to our sore body when we fall or strain our muscles. 3. We need to have other believers around us to encourage us to continue our running. 4. We have to have determined within our selves we are never going to quit. I believe one of the reasons Jan and I have been married for 44 years, it will be 45 June 4th, is we decided divorce was not an option. There have been times both of us have thought about quitting, but we didn't. Originally I had entitled this 'Hang On'. I though of the cartoon with Popeye, Olive Oil, and Bluto. I remembered in one cartoon, Olive Oil is dangling on the end of a rope over a pool of sharks. She is just out of reach of these hungry sharks that are leaping up and trying to get her. Of course the rope is ready to break. She is screaming at the top of her lungs for Popeye to save her. He and Bluto are fighting of course and Bluto is getting the best of Popeye. And when Popeye is just about to go down for the count, he breaks out his can of spinach, downs it, they always have that special music at that point, his fists become like hammers and knocks Bluto into the next county. He comes to the rescue of Olive Oil and saves her from the sharks. But I changed it to 'Persevere' after I read Oswald Chambers and got to thinking about what it meant to hang on. The Discipline of Spiritual Perseverance by Oswald Chambers Perseverance is more than endurance. It is endurance combined with absolute assurance and certainty that what we are looking for is going to happen. Perseverance means more than just hanging on, which may be only exposing our fear of letting go and falling. Perseverance is our supreme effort of refusing to believe that our hero is going to be conquered. Our greatest fear is not that we will be damned, but that somehow Jesus Christ will be defeated. Also, our fear is that the very things our Lord stood for-love, justice, forgiveness, and kindness among men-will not win out in the end and will represent an unattainable goal for us. Then there is the call to spiritual perseverance. A call not to hang on and do nothing, but to work deliberately, knowing with certainty that God will never be defeated. If our hopes seem to be experiencing disappointment right now, it simply means that they are being purified. Every hope or dream of the human mind will be fulfilled if it is noble and of God. But one of the greatest stresses in life is the stress of waiting for God. Continue to persevere spiritually. Definition: Hang On - To continue doing something. Endurance. "Let's try to hang on a little longer. We're nearly finished with the job." Definition: Perseverance - Continual steady effort made to fulfill some purpose. "Because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." James 1:3-4 We are not alone in our Christian walk. Listen to what Paul writes in Hebrews 12:1-3 "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. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." There is a great cloud of witnesses watching us. I have heard from teachers these 'witnesses' could be angels, or believers who are with the Lord, or both. I'm not sure. Whatever Paul means, I want to do my best in serving the Lord. I believe this is one of the very important reasons to be attached to a church body. We have family around us to encourage us, to stand with us when we go through a difficult time or trial. Prayers of the saints on our behalf when we were in Jericho this last time were so important to Jan and me. We got there and it seemed like the devil was working over time to stop what we were doing. You could actually feel the forces of hell operating around us. We stood fast, but you were also praying for us. In situations like that, you can feel the prayers of the saints on your behalf. The Bible says, resist the devil and he will flee from you. Guess what? He did. I have met people who have not been connected to a local church. I heard them say, "All the church wants is my money." "They're nothing but a bunch of hypocrites at that church." "The people are not friendly." "I don't like the pastor or elders." Here's one, "They are not spiritual enough for me." It would be funny if it were not true. How sad it is for a person to think they are better then someone else. If they were truly spiritual, they would be helping the weaker brother or sister. You can make up many reasons. But it has been my experience, after 38 years of being a Christian, 5 or 10 years later you see that same person has no growth in their life or they are no longer serving the Lord. You will walk away if you are not committed to a local body. I do not want to be in that place at the end of my life. Listen to what Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:7-8 "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day-and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing." This morning, are you longing for His appearing? Or, are you one who is just 'hanging on, hoping?   [Back to Top]