RUNNING WITH VIGOR

Introduction

-With the various selections of passages that the video used, we can see that running a race is a picture often used to depict the Christian life. We have a Savior who purchased us with His death, and raised us up with Him in His resurrection, not so that we can be pew-sitting spectators, but so we would run the Christian race.

-Today I am finishing the series on Running the Christian Race. Two weeks ago, I talked about Running towards Victory, meaning we want to run this race in order to win, not merely to participate or spectate.

~Last week I spoke about Running with Vision, where we find that the divine revelation of God in the Bible sets the path for our running.

-Today I want to talk about Running with Vigor. That word “vigor” might not be a word we use much nowadays (but sometimes us Baptist pastors can’t help ourselves, so we even alliterate the sermon titles in a series).

~The word vigor means “intensity of action or effect;” it means “active strength or force”

-So, there is a picture here of actively straining oneself toward something; there is rigorous effort on our part to do or accomplish something

~This is the opposite of laziness, lethargy, and just plain sitting around twiddling our thumbs

-A picture that pops up in my mind is the different ways little kids play T-ball. You just never know what you’re going to get with little kids playing T-ball. Out in the field you have some kids who start playing in the dirt, and if the ball is hit somewhere near them, they look at it like some kind of intruder on their playtime and then choose to ignore it and keep playing with dirt.

~But on the opposite end of the spectrum there’s the kid that is going to run after the ball and get it even if it’s on the complete opposite end of the field. He may be in right field, and the ball may be hit along the third-base line, but, by golly, he’s going to get that ball. That’s vigor.

-But, to stay with the theme of running a race, imagine a runner in the 400m dash of the Olympics, after hearing the starting pistol go off, just kind of stands up for a minute, looks around, stretches a little bit, and then starts a leisurely walk. That’s not vigor.

~On the other hand, there’s the girl who, once that starting pistol goes off, pushes off the starting blocks as hard as she can, stretches her legs to get the best pace she can, and even when her legs and lungs are burning up with pain, and her stomach feels like it wants to give up all its contents, she does not stop or slow down, because she is there to win the race. That’s vigor.

-In the passage we are looking at today, Paul recognized that in this life he hadn’t reached a point in his Christian race where he perfectly knew Christ and His resurrection power, nor had he reached perfect maturity. Nevertheless, Paul we going to vigorously pursue growth and holiness with all the energy and might he could muster.

-And what we can learn is that, although we know we will never perfectly know Christ or be perfectly mature or even perfectly run the Christian race we nonetheless pursue spiritual growth and holiness with all the vigor we can come up with.

-Now, I want to say this at the outset. This does not mean in any way that we somehow have to work toward salvation from sin. To go to heaven (to have a relationship with God) is completely by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. Repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. Period.

-But, once you are a Christian, that does not mean you start living the spiritual equivalent of sitting on the couch, watching TV, eating bon-bons. The Christian life is a race meant to be run in the power of the Holy Spirit, but we vigorously cooperate with the Holy Spirit in our growth.

-Let’s see what Paul had to say:

Philippians 3:12–16 ESV

12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 15 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to you. 16 Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Let’s consider 4 lessons on running with vigor:

I) Apply yourself toward spiritual growth

-In the verses immediately before our passage Paul had reminded people that having a right standing before God did not happen through worldly/fleshly means.

~If being right with God depended on the flesh, Paul would have had everybody beat because he (not to be irreverent) was Super-Jew—nobody kept all the rules and regulations and laws like he did.

-Yet, he admits that he gave all of that up so that he would know Christ and His resurrection power, andto just keep going strong until the end when he would be glorified and eventually be resurrected.

-But then, in our passage, in v. 12, Paul says he hadn’t obtained all of that yet—meaning that he hadn’t made it all completely his own. He didn’t fully know Christ yet. He didn’t know that resurrection power working perfectly in him yet.

~And he goes on to admit that he isn’t perfect, meaning he hadn’t reached full maturity, nor had he reached the goal toward which he was striving.

-But, what does it say? That he then just lounges around waiting for God to do something to fix that? Is he sitting on his laurels, thinking that he has grown enough or matured enough or gotten to know enough, so he’s just going to bide his time until he dies and goes to heaven?

-Absolutely not. Paul says that he presses on to get closer to obtaining it because he has been obtained by Christ—that is, Christ took possession of him, so Paul is going to strive to take possession of the knowledge of Christ and become mature in Him.

-That word for pressing on means to pursue and run swiftly after some goal. It is vigor. Paul is saying he is going to apply himself with all the energy he has to keep going and growing.

-Paul is correcting some wrong thinking. There may be some who think that they can be perfect and once there they can just sit back and let it happen. And we know that not true because even Paul said that he had not yet obtained it.

~On the other hand, there may be some who think that since they will never be perfect on this earth, and will never reach full maturity, then why waste the effort in trying. Paul says in spite of the fact you haven’t gotten there yet and won’t on this earth, you still press on, you still keep running with vigor. You apply yourself, because if you don’t apply yourself you won’t grow.

-Because Christ grabbed a hold of him and is working in Him, Paul is going to join Christ in the work of His sanctification=his growth in holiness and Christlikeness. Christ’s work precedes our work, but that doesn’t mean that we don’t work. To be a maturing Christian takes work and effort. You have to apply yourself.

The reason that I am not a marathon runner is because I have never applied myself to grow in that. The reason I am not a bodybuilder is because I have never applied myself to grow in that. The reason I don’t have 20 doctorates is because I have never applied myself in that.

~The person who is not spiritually mature is still an infant in Christ because they have not applied themselves to grow in that.

-Run with vigor—apply yourself for your own spiritual growth

II) Absolve yourself of worldly distractions

-In v. 13 Paul reiterates that he hasn’t obtained the knowledge and maturity yet, but he talks about another layer of his pursuit. Paul says that he forgets the things that lie behind him, he strains forward (literally he exerts himself) toward what is ahead.

-With eyes that are fixed ahead, Paul is saying that he is not going to allow distractions to keep him from the forward pursuit of growing in Christ.

-If you have ever watched an Olympic race, you notice that the runners keep their eyes ahead of them. They aren’t concerned about what the guy or gal in the next lane is doing. They aren’t concerned about what runners are behind him or her. Their eyes are straight ahead, they are going to get to the finish line, and nothing will stop them from pursuing that.

~If they were to look behind them to see who’s back there, they would mess up the pacing of their stride, they would slow down, and they could potentially lose the race because of it.

~And if you notice, even in relay races, the person who is receiving the baton never looks back. They start running with their hand behind them, and it’s up to the person behind them to get the baton into their hand.

~If they look behind they lose pace, they slow down, and they could even trip and fall. They always look ahead.

-What do Christians look back at that mess up their race?

~One, Christians need to stop looking back at their past spiritual accomplishments as if they would somehow ingratiate you to God or bring you closer to God. The heyday of yesterday, the mountaintop experience from years ago, is not able to sustain you spiritually right now. Are you pursuing Christ with your everything right now? Today! At this moment!

-Paul had the first and literal Damascus Road moment where the resurrected Christ spoke directly to him and gave him his charge. That’s a pretty big spiritual deal. But Paul was not looking back at that.

~And if I understand Galatians correctly, Paul had other learning moments with the Lord during some time in the wilderness. It’s like he went to seminary with Jesus as the teacher. And still, Paul was not looking back at that.

~And Paul planted a lot of successful churches, and Paul was persecuted for the faith, and on and on Paul had spiritual accomplishment after spiritual accomplishment. But Paul never looked back at those. He looked ahead. He pursued more of Christ and more of His power and more spiritual growth at that present time.

-But it’s not just past spiritual accomplishments we need to stop looking at, it is also letting go of past problems and past failures and past disappointments and past hurts. When you keep looking back at those, your race is going to slow down tremendously.

-And I think this is one of Satan’s biggest weapons. Satan will whisper in your mind: Hey, you remember when you did {fill in the blank}? Or, hey, you remember when so and so did this and that to you? And then we start dwelling on the past and it trips us up.

~We dwell on the past, but that doesn’t change the past. No one can change their past. You can learn from the past, but you can’t change your past. There is no time machine or TARDIS so you can go back in time and smack yourself over the head to stop doing whatever, or whatever it is that is tripping you up.

~The past is in the past. Leave it there. Nothing you can do about it. Paul says that you strain ahead to what is before you.

-So, today is a new day that gives you a chance to pursue Christ. Stop looking back and start looking forward.

III) Aim yourself toward heavenly pursuits

-In v. 14 Paul again says that he is pressing on, but not just toward some generic future—he is pursuing a goal

-This is the runner whose mind is fixed on the finish line. They are in the race for one reason, to be the first to cross that finish line. While they’re running their mind isn’t on what was on the news that day. Their mind is not on what they saw on social media that day. They’re mind is not on what they’re going to have for lunch after the race (unlike most Baptist during a sermon)

~They’re mind is on pursuing the goal—they are going to cross the finish line. And, so, it is a focus. There is purpose behind their running. They aren’t running just to run—there’s a goal to be crossed.

-A Christian’s mind is on the goal. We press forward toward a purpose. Our aim is to cross the goal, knowing that crossing the goal will bring us the prize.

-And what is the prize—according to Paul it is the upward calling of God that is found in Christ Jesus. Upward is not just some kid’s sports programs that some churches run. Upward is the direction of our focus. Upward is where our mind lies. Upward is where our Savior is. Upward is where our perspective comes from. We aim and focus toward the heavenly.

Paul said in Colossians 3:

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. (Col. 3:1-2 ESV)

-My prize of my upward calling in Christ, my knowing Him and His resurrection power, my growing in Christ comes when I am aimed toward something that is not of this world. I press on toward the goal, knowing that on this earth I will never perfectly know or never perfectly grow on this earth, but I am running toward that goal anyway because the prize of seeing my Lord will eventually be mine.

-I guess, in a sense, this lesson is connected to the previous lesson in that you can’t aim for heavenly pursuits if you are being distracted by other things.

-I think the writer of Hebrews caught this when he wrote in Hebrews 12—

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:1-2 ESV)

-If you eyes are transfixed by worldly, earthly stuff, and if what we pursue after is fleshly—if our vigor is aimed toward money and pleasure and ease and comfort—we aren’t running with purpose or focus. The writer of Hebrews says our eye is on the goal, Jesus Christ. And the more we run toward Him, the more we grow, the more we know, and the aim of our life if directed rightly.

IV) Ally yourself with like-minded believers

-In v. 15 Paul says that mature Christians realize that they are not perfectly mature. It’s ironic, immature Christians are often the ones that think they got it all right and got it all together, and they are very boastful and proud.

~Mature Christians realize that they are not as mature in Christ as they want to be, so they are more likely the ones who will vigorously run after Christ all the more.

-I think it was John Newton who once confessed:

I am not what I should be. I am not what I want to be. I am not what I will be. But praise God I am not what I used to be.

-But Paul says that if anyone thinks any differently about this, God will reveal that to them. Figuring out you are still not mature is part of the growth process. You don’t expect babies to be able to run laps, so you don’t expect baby Christians to get it right all the time.

-Then Paul says in v. 16 that together we hold true to what we have attained. It literally says to walk in the same thing. We Christians stick together living in the light of Christ, and then together we pursue more light.

-We need each other to encourage each other to keep racing, to keep our eyes ahead on the goal, and to finish strong. And we all need that mindset. It is a tough race when you are yoked with someone who is immature and has no desire to grow any more.

-We need to ally ourselves with fellow believers that are mature enough to realize they need more maturing, so you can run the race together and press on vigorously.

Conclusion

-Neal Bascomb wrote a book called THE PERFECT MILE which recounted the story of 3 men in the 1950’s who vigorously pursued getting to the point where they could run a 4-minute mile. The men—Roger Bannister, Wes Santee and John Landy—vigorously pursued their goal. As Bascomb wrote, he said:

“All three runners endured thousands of hours of training to shape their bodies and minds. They ran more miles in a year than many of us walk in a lifetime. They spent a large part of their youth struggling for breath. They trained week after week to the point of collapse, all to shave off a second, maybe two, during a mile race—the time it takes to snap one’s fingers and register the sound. There were sleepless nights and training sessions in rain, sleet, snow and scorching heat. There were times when they wanted to go out … yet knew they couldn’t. They understood life was somehow different for them, that idle happiness eluded them. If they weren’t training or racing or gathering the will required for these efforts, they were trying not to think about training and racing at all.

-I guess you could say that these men did what they had to do to vigorously run that race. They applied themselves. They got rid of any distractions. They pursued the goal, and they did it together with like-minded men.

-If people will go through all that for earthly matters, why would we who know the love and grace of Jesus Christ give any less? Is Christ somehow below all our earthly pursuits?

-Christian, if you want to commit yourself to running the Christian race vigorously, why don’t you come to the altar and commit that to the Lord. Tell the Lord that you are ready to put the effort to pursue Him, to pursue His power, and to pursue spiritual growth to become more like Him.

-Maybe you need to come forward this morning and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved. There is one goal with one prize, belief in Jesus gives eternal life. He died for you, He rose for you, now commit your life to Him.

-Maybe you are looking for a church that preaches Christ and has a desire to pursue Him with all we have. Come forward and join yourself with this family of believers…