Reaching the Checkered Flag

PPHC 3/18/07 Text: Heb. 12:1-3

Opening Illustration
Two gas company service men, a senior training Supervisor and a young trainee were out checking meters and parked their truck at the end of the alley and worked there way to the other end. At the last house a woman looking out her kitchen window watched the two men as they checked her gas meter. As they finished the meter check the older supervisor challenged his younger co-worker to a foot race down the alley back to the truck.
As they came running up to the truck, they realized that the lady from the last house was huffing and puffing right behind them. They stopped and asked her what was wrong. Gasping for breath she said, "When I see two gas men running full speed away from my house, I figured I had better run too." - Stan Martin

That lady was running, wasn’t she? Now, she wasn’t exactly sure why she was running, but she seemed to think that her life depended on it.

But, sadly, many Christian folk aren’t really even in this race of faith. Oh, they may have been saved … they have come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord … but that’s it. They’re not growing, they’re not serving, and they’re not sharing their faith. It’s like they jumped across the starting line … and then they laid down to rest. They have taken themselves out of the race before it even really started.

Today, friends, I want us to learn how we can finish the Christian race. I want us to talk about Reaching the Checkered Flag. You know, in a NSACAR race, it doesn’t matter how well dressed the driver is or how pretty the car is. It doesn’t matter how much money their sponsors gave them. And it really doesn’t matter how fast they run … unless they actually cross that finish line. Really, it is all for naught unless they cross that line and see that checkered flag waved over the track.

I. For the Runner (Driver) - How To Stay Focused On the “Finish Line?”
A. Know that there are others who have successfully completed this race of life and faith. (v. 1a)
1. The “great cloud of witnesses…” –“therefore” is referencing chpt. 11

a. Chapter 11 is a list of heroes of the faith from the Old Testament.

1. Noah - spent 120 years building the ark.

a. Some of us in this room are some of the most impatient people on the planet.

b. We get upset because the microwave takes 2:30 to pop the popcorn instead of 2:00.

c. Some get impatient when we think that God doesn’t move fast enough to suit us…then we remember a man like Noah who worked on the same boat 120 years.

2. Joseph – who sold into slavery by his own brothers.

a. Convicted of crimes he didn’t commit & thrown into prison…remained faithful.

b. God restored him to a position of power greater than what he had known before.

· Lesson: It’s easy to be faithful when life is good…but the real test of your faith is when you’ve hit rock bottom.

Many others are mentioned...Abraham, Moses, Samson, Samuel, and David … just to name a few. But together, these heroes of the Bible form a great cloud of witnesses…they are shouting tonight…“Keep on, we made it…so can you!”

3. Personal: There are the heroes of the faith in your own life. People who’ve had an impact on you.

Transition Illustration: In the 1986 New York City Marathon, almost 20,000 runners entered the race. What is memorable is not who won, but who finished last. His name was Bob Wieland. He finished 19,413th—dead last. Bob completed the New York marathon in 4 days, 2 hours, 47 minutes, and 17 seconds. It was unquestionably the slowest marathon in history—ever. So, what is it that made Bob Wieland’s marathon so special? Bob ran with his arms. 17 years earlier while in Vietnam, Bob’s legs were blown off in battle. He sits on a 15 pound saddle and covers his fists with pads. He uses his arms to catapult himself forward one arm-length at a time. He can run a mile in an hour. That is real endurance in the face of adversity. - Ed Wood

· Bridge: We need to learn the lesson of endurance.

2. Keep Your focus by remembering that it’s a lifelong race. (v. 1b)

a. Perseverance and endurance mean that, even when you don’t feel like you can go on … you keep going anyway.

1. How can you effectively run this lifelong race? (“lay aside every weight”)

· It’s okay to train with weights…but when you enter a race, you take the weights off.

a. Get rid of anything that will distract you from running the race effectively.

1. Distractions do not necessarily have to be bad.

a. It is more often things that are fundamentally good that keep Christians on the sidelines and out of the race of faith. (Lk. 21:34) “…the cares of this life…”

· 2 Tim. 2:4 - “No man that warreth entangleth (empleko) himself with the affairs (pragmateia – the business) of [this] life; that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier.” (Compare to Amplified)

b. The devil gets a lot more accomplished by keeping us occupied with good stuff than he does by attacking us with bad stuff.

b. Avoid getting tangled in a web of sin. (flesh, [Hebrews] unbelief, etc…)

c. Don’t burn out … run with perseverance. (the temper which doesn’t easily succumb to the trial – hupomone’)

1. One of the reasons people burn out is that there is no sense of accomplishment. Set goals in your Christian walk.

a. Spreadsheet of my workouts…times, distances, weight lifted, # of crunches…where I am and where I want to be…have a graph that assures me that I am meeting my goals.

· Winston Churchhill – “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never--in nothing, great or small, large or petty--never give in…”

2. Finally … don’t quit. Don’t give up. A new day and a new opportunity stands before you.

3. Keep your focus on Jesus, not upon yourself. (vv. 2-3)

a. If we are to effective in this race, we can’t afford to keep our attention on ourselves.

4. Stay strong…do not give up…finish the race! (v. 3b)

a. Do all that you can to not grow weary and lose heart.

b. Let me remind you of a couple of important points about our race of faith.
1. If you follow Jesus, the world will be against you.

2. Always remember, this is just a temporary stop on the way to real life!

3. The true finish line is when we step out of this life and into eternity with Jesus Christ.

Closing Illustration
A few years ago, at the 2002 Winter Olympics, there were five finalists for the Men’s 1000 Meter Speed Skating Race. During the final lap, the American and Chinese were out front with the Canadian and Korean skaters hot on their heels. Australia trailed behind obviously destined for last place. As they came around the last curve for the final straightaway stretch, everyone gathered around our television were on the edge of their seats cheering for America to pull out in front. The winner would receive the Olympic Gold medal.
Suddenly, the Chinese skater slightly bumped the American and sent both of them careening into the wall as they spun out of control. With no time or space to get out of their way, the tangled mess caused the Canadian and Korean skaters to also spin out of control and join them in a tangled heap of arms and legs. The Australian skater pushed by the heap and shouted to the top of his lungs as he crossed the finish line, “Gold! I won the Gold!”
This was so great! You see, he won the Gold for no other reason than he crossed the finish line! He finished the race! He was not the fastest. He did not set any records. He just simply didn’t quit or get tangled up in the mess around him. - Phillip Williamson

Remember … the race isn’t over until you cross the finish line.

Reaching the Checkered Flag - PPHC