02 11 03 12-14 - Press On
Press On
Php 3:12-14
Intro:
· @ Ask the average person who Greg Lemond is – most won’t know.
o Some may remember him in sports 20 years ago
o Some may know — a cyclist who won the Tour de France 3x
o second is perhaps one of the greatest sporting events in history
· First American to win the race in 1986. He looked poised to dominate the race for the next 5 or more years.
o But in April, 1987- just three months before the ’87 Tour, while turkey hunting, he was accidently hit by a shotgun blast.
§ Pellets removed from liver, kidney, and intestines
§ Fought to get back in shape
§ Just before Tour, had a complicated appendectomy
§ The ’87 season was over
· 1988, slow start. — Out of shape, people were calling him finished.
o Began improving – critics were starting to change their tune
o Crashed in a minor race in Belgium —injured a tendon in his leg. season was over — would miss the Tour for the 2nd year in a row.
· For most people, missing the better part of two racing seasons in such a demanding sport would have given them enough reason to skip the 3,225 km Tour de France in 1989.——But not Greg Lemond.
o On July 1st, he joined 197 other professional cyclists and began what people still call the most exciting Tour ever raced
· Lemond placed well in the first stage – 4th. People started talking
· won the 5th stage – a 74 km race in the rain – by a 24 second margin.
o From that point, the race became a two-man duel between Lemond and the favoured Frenchman, Laurent Fignon
o They traded the lead 3 times over the next 8 days.
· Final stage of the tour – 24.5 km time trial
o Individual races started two minutes apart — raced against clock
§ These races are severe tests of the will and fitness
o Lemond was in second place – 50 seconds behind Fignon
o Lemond was the 2nd to the last to start – only Fignon remained
o Lemond would have to ride every km 2 seconds faster than the leader to win. – Experts said it was impossible.
o He later stated that his strategy was simple – ride as fast as you can the entire race all the way to the finish.
§ He never one time looked over his shoulder to see where the leader was
§ He never let up—he pushed himself beyond what anyone else had ever done.
· At the end of the course, Lemond collapsed in utter exhaustion.
o Not only gone as fast as he could, but faster than anyone else had ever gone. He covered the 24 km course at a blistering average speed of 55 kms per hour!
o Fignon, sensing danger, rode as hard as he could, but he was still 50 metres from the finish line when the clock ticked past the time needed for Lemond to win.
o The crowd went crazy! Lemond pumped his fists in the air in triumph. He had won by the slimmest margin ever in the history of the race – a mere 8 seconds!
· With the setbacks that Lemond had faced, no one would have blamed him if he had stayed out of the ’89 Tour de France
o Even coming in second place would have been an absolute triumph, given the obstacles he had overcome
· But Lemond was focussed on one thing – winning the Tour de France – and he would do everything he could to accomplish that goal.
· As a believer, you are in a race as well. Although yours is much more impt
o Every day, you must overcome obstacles
§ You face critics
§ You must push yourself beyond your comfort zone
o And in the end, you will win a prize as well
§ Except it will not be temporary
§ It will be a reward you take into eternity with you as you hear the Lord say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
· Lemond had a simple strategy – it was the simplicity that helped him on that day
o Php 3:12-14 give us a simple strategy in our life race
I. RAce For Completion
A. The Start of the Race
1. If you are a believer today, you are in this spiritual race
2. What do I mean by “believer?”
a. Someone who has committed their life to Christ and is trusting in Him for their security of eternity with God
b. Some think good works make them right
(1) Ephesians 2:8-9 - 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
c. Faith in Christ
(1) John 14:6 - Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
(2) Acts 16:31 - “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved...”
(a) Turn from – turn to
3. Without faith in Christ, you are a spectator
B. The Completion of the Race
1. @ No race ends at the same moment it starts
2. you started the moment of salvation –you are still in the race now
a. And will be until you leave this earth
3. THEREFORE – Don’t stop!!!!!
a. There is never a point where you can say, “I’ve done enough.”
b. As long as you are in the race, keep moving!
II. Race With intensity
A. Press On
1. Hunting and racing term – chase with intense effort
2. @ Not – sitting down hoping something comes your way
3. @ Not — sneaking around in the woods hoping you find something
4. @ Running through the bush – jumping over fallen trees, crashing through the underbrush – splashing through the riverbeds with the intense desire to catch up to what you are chasing
B. Application
1. Does that describe your spiritual life?
2. @ Christmas time – end of the year – easy to give up – to slow down
3. That’s not an option for believers!
4. No obstacle will stop us—No tiredness — no crisis — nothing should stop our intensity
III. Race With Passion
A. A Mouthful of Words
1. Emotional words—I want to grab onto Christ in the same way He has grabbed onto me
a. John 6:37 - ...whoever comes to me I will never cast out.
b. John 10:28 - I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.
c. Christ is NOT letting go!
B. Application
1. How easily do you get distracted in your spiritual race?
2. @ I’ve seen children race who start off great, but once they see they are not in the led anymore, they quit.
a. It’s too hard—I won’t win—I’m no good
3. Our goal should be so important to us, that nothing will distract us
a. Not busyness – not callous remarks from fellow racers – not trials – nothing
4. Do you have the same passion to grab onto Christ as He has demonstrated in grabbing onto you?
a. That passion must grow!
b. The more you learn of Christ, the more passion you will have!
5. Passionately Following Jesus!
IV. Race With Humility
A. Paul
1. The apostle whom God used to write much of the NT
a. Church planter—Sufferer for Christ—Intellect
b. Understood deep theological truths
2. “I haven’t reached the goal yet.”
B. Application
1. Humility is so important in our spiritual race
a. “I’m better off than he is, so I can relax.”
(1) But you’re not racing against other believers
b. “I’ve done so well, I can coast in from here.”
(1) You will have done well because of God’s grace
2. Pride is a dangerous place for us to be
a. Proverbs 16:18 - Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall.
3. Humility keeps us thankful
a. ...Dependent
b. ...Observant
c. ...Learning
d. ...Successful
(1) James 4:6 - God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.
V. Race with direction
A. Illustration
1. @ In racing, one of the first basic rules they tell you is keep looking forward – don’t look over your shoulder
a. You lose your stride or cadence
b. You lose your balance
c. You lose your momentum
2. The reality is, it’s not what is behind you that matters, it’s what is out in front.
B. Forget What Is Behind
1. All of us have had spiritual highs in the past
a. Examples
(1) The greatest answers to prayer
(2) The first time you led someone to Christ
(3) The realization that you had changed a bad habit into good
b. But you cannot rest on those accomplishments
(1) “I’m so far ahead, I’ll wait for everyone else to catch up.”
(2) You’ve had great moments in the past, but in the PAST!
c. There’s still so much more to do!
2. All of us have had spiritual lows in the past
a. Examples
(1) Big, black, hairy sins
(2) Broken promises to God and others
(3) Words, actions, thoughts we’d like to forget
b. Those things can become like an anchor weighing you down and holding you still
(1) 1 John 1:9 - If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
(2) Psalm 103:12 - as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
(3) Isaiah 38:17 - ...for you have cast all my sins behind your back.
(4) Isaiah 43:25 - I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.
(5) In the race, when you stumble and fall. Get back up, ask God’s forgiveness, and get moving again. Leave it behind!
c. One more thing
(1) You may have had horrible things done to you
(a) Examples – abuse, lied to, huge disappointment
(2) Support groups who keep rehashing the issues do not do you any good.
(3) 2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
(4) You may not be able to forget – but you can refuse to bring it up or dwell on it when it does come crashing back to your memory
C. Reach for What Is Ahead
1. “This one thing I do”
a. @ “Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look.”
(1) What do you want to do?
b. @ “Look here, look here, look here.”
c. What do you want to do?
2. IOW — you avoid looking backwards by focussing on what’s ahead
3. Intense, ceaseless, personal exertion toward to goal
a. If you are racing the race with the strategy put forth in these verses, you won’t have time to look backwards
VI. Race with Focus
A. Press Toward the Goal
1. Same hunting and racing term – intensity
2. BUT you must have a goal
a. Energy without focus is wasted energy
b. @ Sunlight – floating around all over
(1) But focus through a magnifying lens and you can start a fire
B. The Goal
1. The Prize of the upward Call
a. IOW — to hear Christ say, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
2. Is that your goal?
a. “I do what I do so I can stay out of trouble.”
b. “...so I’ll be well-liked.”
c. “...so I can be different.”
3. Or — “...so I can make the Lord happy.”
4. “Will this action, word, or thought bring a smile to my Lord?”
Conc:
· @ Commencement at high school graduation
o I always thought it referred to the end
o Actually – it means the beginning
· A good way of looking at this year
o We’re not at the end — we’re at the beginning of a new year
· Press On!
o Use the right strategy.