Running a Good Race
Notes
Transcript
I have often said that when my time comes and I breathe my last breath, the words I desire to hear from Jesus are “Well done my good and faithful servant.” My desire is to serve the Lord with all my heart throughout the days I have in this world. Anyone else share this same desire today?
When Paul’s time was coming to an end, he spoke of his service for the Lord. he summed up his ministry in just a few words by declaring in 2 Timothy 4:7
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
That is a powerful declaration! With all that Paul went through he never wavered in His service for the Lord. He was not side tracked, or distracted… he kept the faith. He finished the race. he ran the course set out before him by God. And he did so as one running in such a way as to get the prize.
Paul used the illustration of running a race often in his writings when talking about the believers service and dedication to the Lord. Athleticism was a big deal in the culture of his day… it was a language that many people would understand.
If a person desires to win a race… a footrace that is… such a desire must be accompanied with the appropriate training in order to get their body in shape for the event. It also must be accompanied with the right mindset and motivation. Paul lays all of this out in 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 someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
And what of this crown that will last forever? Paul speaks of that back in 2 Timothy 4:8
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.
Today we are talking about what it takes to run a good race. Today we are going to talk about the race itself… what it looks like and how it is different from any other “race” or way of life found in this world.
God has a good race for all believers to run… a race that must be ran by His STANDARDS and His PLAN.
We are back in Galatians this morning and we are going to look at a passage of Scripture that describes to us what running a good race looks like.
Remember… the Galatians were being influenced to go the wrong direction. How many know that if you’re running a race, probably the most important thing to do is run in the right direction?
In the movie “Ready Player One,” a race takes place in which all the drivers lose because they end up going forward… which in this case is the wrong direction. The programmer of this race made it winnable by going backwards… but the participants had missed out on that instruction. So… they tried to win the race by their standards instead of how it was created to be won.
Paul is warning these believers of running in the wrong direction… he is warning them of the dangers in adopting false conditions of salvation - specifically circumcision - and he is really upset with the folks who are spreading the lies. In fact, if you look at Galatians 5:12 you can see how he feels about the false teachers!
Instead of falling for these false teachings, Paul desires for the believers in Galatia to understand this teaching right here. Galatians 5:13 (MAIN VERSE)
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
Although there is no mention of the word race in this passage, Paul lays out the specifics for believers in this one verse.
First, he points out the call to freedom. As we will see in a moment, God’s race is a race of freedom
Second, he uses the word “called” meaning the call to come to the track came from outside ourselves - it’s a call we must choose to believer. God’s race is a race of faith.
Third, he points out that the freedom is not given that we might indulge the flesh… he then says what believers are supposed to indulge... God’s race is a race of serving.
God has laid out the race for all of us. The course laid out for you… the call He has on your life… it might look a little different from my calling, but these truths remain the same for all who take to the track. As we break down the first 15 verses of Galatians 5… I pray we will take these truths to heart as we aim to run a good race for God.
A Race of Freedom
A Race of Freedom
Remember from our main verse today that Paul reminds us that we were called to be free! That, my friends, is truly an amazing calling! In fact, Paul begins chapter 5 with a verse that tells us why we were called to be free. Galatians 5:1-2; 4
It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all.
You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace.
We looked at this truth last week and we are going to review it again today. IT IS FOR FREEDOM that Jesus has set us free! Jesus gave His life on the cross that whoever would cal on His name would BE SET FREE! What is it that we are being set free from? The wages of our sin and consequences of our wrong doings! OUR FREEDOM IS FOUND IN HIS FORGIVENESS!
Church, this freedom cannot be found in anything outside of Jesus. He is the only source of such freedom! There is no other resource that can break the chains that bind us - the power is ONLY found in the blood of the Lamb.
Once the blood has been applied, a person is set free - they no longer need to fear the wages of their sin… they no longer need to be concerned with the idea of perishing. Jesus, through grace, has delivered the believer from certain death to eternal life!
God’s race is a race of freedom! And this freedom is given so that we might run away from the things that once had us bound and run toward the goodness and presence of our God. Galatians 5:1 says that the believer needs to “stand firm” in this freedom… stand firm in this forgiveness. Do not be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.
God, through the blood of His Son, did not set us free so we could run right back to the sin that once bound us. God set us free so that we could be free!
For the Galatians, certain practices were being held over their heads as conditions to their salvation. This was wrong then… and church, such practices are wrong today as well. THE BLOOD OF CHRIST WAS AND STILL IS ENOUGH!
Our justification - our being made righteous in the eyes of God - did not come by way of anything we did… it comes only through the cross. It comes through what Christ did.
There are two things that I want to look at very quickly that can cause a believer to run in bondage instead of running in freedom.
One, the freedom given by Jesus is used to “indulge the flesh.”
What does it mean to indulge? It means to “allow oneself to enjoy the pleasures of _____________.” So in this case, it means to entertain whatever brings pleasure to the flesh.
We know today that our flesh is sinful. We know today that human nature is sinful nature. And should a person chose to indulge this nature, it will lead them right back to sin.
Sin is NEVER a part of the race God lays out before us! Such action alienates us from Christ. Abusing our freedom to sun back to sin devalues the grace that Christ has extended toward us.
Two, and this one might seem a bit different, a believer runs back into bondage through the adoption of legalism.
Legalism places the emphasis on what a person is able to do. It places the emphasis on the motions or behaviors of the individuals. Legalism… takes the emphasis away from what Christ did for us on the cross.
Jesus desires for His followers to leave legalism behind and embrace a lifestyle that honors God. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus encouraged the listeners to not stop at the outward behavior but look to the heart of the matter.
Legalism is the way of the world… but freedom is the way of the Lord. When we try to require certain “rules” to be followed, we are heaping on the yoke of slavery and truly… falling from the grace offered to us by Christ.
God’s race is a race of freedom! And if we desire to run our race in such a way… then we must also understand that our freedom came through placing our faith in Jesus!
A Race of Faith
A Race of Faith
Through FAITH we find… freedom and forgiveness! Paul goes on to make this truth clear. Galatians 5:6-8
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth? That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.
Paul makes it clear. In Christ, what counts is faith. In Christ, what matters most is faith. And how is that faith to be expressed? Faith is to be expressed through love.
First off, what is faith? Hebrews 11:1 defines faith as
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
Faith is confidence and hope in what we do not see… Faith is KNOWING God and TRUSTING in His ways. Faith is placing God above everything else in our lives.
The believers of Galatia had a problem. By listening to whoever was working to persuade them with false teachings, the Galatians began to indulge the flesh instead of listening by faith to the One who had called them.
The Spirit had called them and led them to freedom in Jesus. But the people who “knew better” were working to place them back into man’s ways of doing things.
Really, this point comes down to this question? Who are you going to trust? Where are you going to place your faith?
God’s race can only be ran with faith. As He lays out His plan for your life, you can expect there will be revelations of things that are bigger than you and your resources ahead! But so long as our faith remains in Jesus… as long as each step of the race is an expression of His love… you can expect and believe to overcome every obstacle in Jesus’ name!
And the great part of it is… those obstacles, once overcome, make for great testimonies of God’s goodness and grace!
Think of the moment that Peter stepped out of the boat and walked on water. None of that was possible under his own power… it was accomplished through faith in the One he was walking to. The only time he struggled was when he took his eyes off Jesus.
We WILL struggle in our race if we take our eyes off the Lord. That is something you can take to the bank. We cannot expect for God’s supernatural help if all we do is look to natural resources to get the job done. It will ONLY happen through faith expressed in love.
Running the race by faith is the direct opposite of running the race our way. It means we trust God in all things. It means when the Word tells us our justification comes by way of faith… WE BELIEVE IT!
Faith in the Lord will ALWAYS lead us away from the things and ways of this world and into the presence and promises of God. If we desire to run a good race… it is a race that must be ran by faith. Sometimes the turns won’t make sense. Sometimes the obstacles might seem impossible. Sometimes the distance might seem unreachable… but with Christ and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, WE CAN AND WILL MAKE IT TO THE FINISH LINE!
There is one more truth regarding running a good race that Paul points out in Galatians 5.
A Race of Service
A Race of Service
We go back to our main verse as we wrap up on this last point. Galatians 5:13-15
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
This teaching from Scripture wraps up with a final truth regarding the race we run for God… this race is a race of service or serving others. God’s race is not a race that serves our personal self interest… it is a service of that which interests God.
Look at the command again… serve one another humbly in love. Another way of saying this is… we are ALL in this race together. As we run with excellence, we need to help others on the track to do the same.
Although each person has an individual call on their lives, we are ALL called to the track… to the track of freedom, faith, and service. We are saved to serve.
Our first priority in serving is God. We are to serve the Lord with everything. This can only be accomplished when our self is placed on the shelf. This can only be done when Christ is placed at the center of our lives.
Secondly, we are to serve others as Christ served others - humbly in love.
Jesus set the bar high on this one. Recall that He washed the feet of the disciples while taking on the very appearance of a servant. he came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:45)
Here’s the deal, if we desire to run a good race for God… it will NOT be a race we run for ourselves. It is a race that will bring honor and glory to His name by serving others… by loving our neighbor as ourselves.
God’s desire is to see all people come to know Him. He has given us new life, not to be squandered and wasted in sin and legalism, but to be lived to the full in freedom, faith, and service.
The world is hungry for these things! The world is hungry for freedom, hungry for something real to believe in, hungry for purpose and direction!
Let’s choose to serve instead of slander, to be humble instead of haughty. Let’s not bite and devour… let’s bless and display the love of God to all!
As we bring this to the conclusion, there is one thing that is prevalent in all three points… that thing is love.
God so loved the world… He gave His Son Jesus to set us free. The redemptive work that Christ did for us was a work of love.
The faith we are to express is to be expressed through love. Every step of faith we take on the track is a step motivated by love.
When we serve others it is an act of humbleness and love. It is clear that love is to be the center of our race.
Why is that? Because 1 John 4:8 declares
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
So consider this… if love is NOT at the center of your race… then is it possible you are running the wrong race today? If God is not at the center of your life… is your life, your way and your direction, really about the things of God?
Getting on the right track means answering the call of God today - that call is the call to spiritual freedom found only in Jesus.
PRAYER - Salvation
Secondly, maybe you find yourself distracted. Maybe someone has cut in our your race and has distracted you from obeying the truth. Today is a day of reset. Today is a day of getting back on course.
PRAYER - Getting back to running a good race.