Sermon Tone Analysis

Message

Recently, I finished my first half marathon in 13 years.

I finished in 8,800th place at the Disney World Half Marathon - thank you very much - out of 18,420.

I finished in the top half, but I got first place in waddling.

I waddled that half marathon like a beast!

Along the route, as an encouragement, about every half a mile, there stood a group of people cheering on the runners to finish the race, and part of the fun included these people holding up humorous signs… which by the way, after ten miles, nothing is funny.

If you ever find yourself standing in one of these cheer squads, then don’t expect anyone to laugh at your jokes after ten miles.

Some of the signs read:

“You run better than the government.”

“You look hot when you sweat.”

“Don’t trust a fart after mile 9.”

One of the signs, however, that appeared quite frequently along the route read this:

HOLD UP SIGN

0.0

A number of people held up variations of this sign.

By far, this was the most popular sign I saw.

To this very day, I even see this ‘0.0’

slogan on car bumper stickers around town.

SHOW PIC

Perhaps, you have one on your car, celebrating the fact that you don’t run.

While all of these signs, though, did put a smile on my face and temporarily gave me a good feeling of relief, quite honestly, I felt mixed emotions about the 0.0 signs, in particular.

I felt sad for those who feel proud of standing on the sidelines.

Perhaps you may never run a half marathon, but let’s lift our sights above sports and into life in general.

Are you holding a 0.0 sign for some area of your life in which you need to participate?

I think sometimes we too easily give up on those areas of our life that feel too tough or raise anxiety within us.

I remember once talking with a young man who told me that he wanted to give up on dating because his recent dates ended poorly, so we talked about the situation, and at the end of our conversation, I asked him: are you willing to trade in your dream of a family one day - your dream of marriage, raising children, experiencing intimacy, building a family, and so forth - because your last two dates ended poorly and caused you some amount of pain and grief?

My heart grieved for this young man.

How often do we trade our dreams for something far less satisfying because of fear, anxiety, or the effort required to complete it?

Far too often, I have sat on the other side of individuals who have traded their dreams for a 0.0 sign, and my charge for us to consider today is simple, yet profound: “Get back in the race.”

Get back in the race.

Have you chosen a 0.0 lifestyle when Jesus called you to an abundant lifestyle?

Your life was never intended to sit on the sidelines, holding a 0.0 sign, content in your complacency.

That’s no life for you or anyone.

David, one of the early kings of Israel, author of many of the Psalms recorded in the Bible, a man who made a lot of poor decisions but was called a man after God’s own heart, wrote:

I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.

Psalm 139:14

God wonderfully and fearfully made you.

Wonderfully means you are a masterpiece.

You have been made with awe and complexity.

Fearfully means the Creator himself was in awe of you.

You are not a mistake or a blip on the radar.

You are the pinnacle of creation!

God knit you in your mother’s womb.

God breathed life into you.

God is in awe of you.

God crossed the boundaries of heaven and earth to find you.

Nothing about you is a mistake, and Jesus promised you satisfaction and abundant joy.

Have you chosen a 0.0 lifestyle when Jesus has called you to live an abundant lifestyle?

Somewhere along the way, all of us, including you and me and everyone, have fallen for sin lies that have distorted these good truths for whispers that tell us:

‘Give up.’

‘You’re not worth it.’

‘You don’t have what it takes.’

‘You’re all alone.’

‘If people really knew you, then…’

Do any of these whispers sound familiar to you?

And when these whispered lies come to us, then how often do we fall for them and choose:

‘Avoidance’

‘Self-preservation’

‘Disengagement’

‘Isolation’

‘Hatred’

These choices are just another way to say 0.0.

[[[HOLD UP SIGN]]]

For these choices lead us away from our true identity, our true God, our true self, and drive us to the sidelines.

During my teenage years into my early twenties, these same whispers drove me to the sidelines away from those who loved me.

During this season, unresolved emotions from my parent’s divorce began to surface in my life  through inexplicable anger.

In many instances, which did not did not warrant a major response, I lost control of my emotions and spilled out my anger all over those closest to me.

I distinctly remember knowing that my anger was connected to my deep hurt from my father’s absence.

I also knew that my path forward into healing required giving attention to that wound, but I felt afraid to feel those deep emotions and admit my own weaknesses to overcome that pain on my own, so much to my own demise, I avoided it believing that if people really knew me, then maybe they might leave me, too.

Thus, effectively, I traded my God-given healing, which I did later receive, for 0.0 sign on the sidelines.

Now reflecting upon those years, if I could tell myself anything, then I would say:

‘Ryan, you are fearfully and wonderfully made.’

‘God created you and knows you.’

‘Don’t fall for the sin distorted lies that seek to separate you from your Heavenly Father and from those who love you.’

‘You have nothing to fear.’

If my story resonates with you, if you right now you are trading your God-given identity for some distorted lie about yourself to cover a gash with a bandaid, or to numb your pain with some kind of temporary sense of relief, then friend, may I tell you:

‘You are fearfully and wonderfully made.’

‘God created you, knows you… and loves you just the same’

‘Don’t fall for the sin distorted lies that seek to separate you from your Heavenly Father and from those who love you.’

‘You have nothing to fear.’

Get back in the race.

You are not meant for the sidelines.

You are not a 0.0.

The Apostle Paul wrote one of his many letters collected in the New Testament to a church in a city called Philippi about 20 years after Jesus’ resurrection.

In his letter to the church, Paul addressed a group of first century believers, who faced all kinds of persecution at the hands of Roman citizens.

As a result, many of them left the church, choosing to preserve their own life rather than advance the good news salvation of Jesus.

These men and women chose to stop racing for fear and stand off to the safe sidelines, but Jesus didn’t call us to safety.

In fact, Jesus didn’t call us to self-preservation, either, although many of us choose it.

Rather, Jesus said:

If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.

If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.

But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.

Matthew 16:24-25 NLT

Paul lived this passage.

He understood the pain and challenge of persecution, which filled his words with great meaning when he called out these early believers on their behavior.

In fact, Paul wrote this letter in a Roman prison cell and would never again taste freedom… because he stayed in the race, and do you know how he did it?!

He stayed in the race by:

Focusing on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.

Philippians 3:13-14 NLT

In every joy and hardship, Paul maintained his focus on one thing and one thing only: ‘to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize.

He never wavered from the heavenly vision, and he beckons all of those who follow Christ to do the same: Focus and stay in the race!