Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.
If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.
Thank you for joining us today.
Everybody doing good? Everybody ready for Christmas? Everybody got your shopping done?
No, I got to figure some things out this week, people. I'm really excited for this message,
this passage. My dad let me cherry pick it, so thank you. This is one of my favorites. He's
like, hey, do you want to teach soon? I'm flipping through the pages. I'm like, that might be
difficult. There's a lot to that one. This one seems nice and easy. Thank you for letting me
choose this. I'm really excited, but like my dad said, I'm on some beta blockers,
some little heart medication that chills you out. While on the outside, I'm sitting,
the inside, I'm jumping up and down. Give me some grace there. I need some people to carry
some excitement for me. If you feel the Lord, don't worry. You can shout out, Gordon,
where you at, man? Yeah, all right. I'm trusting you this morning, all right?
Let's start with some prayer, and then we're going to jump into the race of faith, Hebrews 11.
Jesus, we thank you so much, Lord, that you're here. We thank you, God,
just the fact that you set a race before us, Lord. Thank you that you accept us, Lord,
into the beloved, into your family, into you, Lord, through faith, Lord, grace through faith.
Lord, that is what it is. The ministry, Lord, of reconciliation is through you, Lord. You reconcile
the world to yourself, and I pray, Jesus, that this morning, Lord, you would open our eyes,
Lord, that you would just give us perspective, Lord. Give me perspective, God. Give all of us
perspective for this life, that we would know what we're a part of, Lord, that we would see
the race set up before us, God, and that we would fix our eyes on you and run, Lord, with endurance.
We love you, in Jesus' name, amen. So, we've been looking at a lot of giants of the faith
in the last few weeks. So, Dad, thank you, you've been doing an amazing job. And I gotta say, he's
like, you know, I obviously know him pretty well. He is seriously the most humble guy I know. Like,
when all of us teachers on Wednesday nights get together, he's like asking us what we think and
kind of like, what do you, yeah, wow, that's great. Like, you know, he's telling, he's saying
a kid was coming up with good insight. I'm sure, you know, that's just his humility. But,
you know, like really super humble guy, and that's why I really feel, you know, the Lord
reveals so much to you through the Scripture. So, thank you for just teaching us the last few weeks.
But we see faith, right? We see faith in these people, these giants of the faith. It just keeps
talking about faith, faith, faith. And we read earlier in the previous chapter, what is faith?
It is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen.
Sounds like a riddle, doesn't it? You're like, wait, that clears things up. No. So,
the terminology that's used here is like a title deed. It's like a, like, you know,
you have a title that you own your car, that you own your property, that you own your house.
It is proof. It is something tangible that proves something intangible, right? All these people
were holding on to their faith that showed they had ownership and part of the promises of God.
That's why faith is so important. If you don't have faith, you have no part in the promises.
You have faith in Jesus Christ. You have part, you have ownership of salvation. Your name is
written in heaven and that's your final destination. Can I get an amen? Hold on to your faith. It says
we need to run the race with endurance and it says we need to hold fast our confession till the end.
So, all these people had faith. They ran this race and their lives were radically changed. While
the world was doing one thing, they were doing another. While the course of the world was taking
everyone else over here, they were doing this. They looked weird. They looked different. But
they were running a different race. They were looking to the promise and holding on to it
through faith. And what I want to unpack this morning is what is this race? What is this race
of faith? What does it look like and how do we run it? So, let's look at Hebrews 11 verse 30
through 12 too. I'm going to read all the verses up front and we're not a church that apologizes for
reading a lot of the Bible. Aren't you glad you're here? Sometimes you'll hear, I'm sorry, I know this
is like a lot. This is like five verses we have to read on a Sunday. No, we're going to read a
lot of Bible this morning because this is life right here. So, let's read it. Verse 30.
By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they were encircled for seven days.
By faith the harlot Rahab did not perish with those who did not believe when she had received
the spies with peace. And what more shall I say? For the time would fail me to tell of Gideon
and Barak, Samson and Jephthah, of David, Samuel, and the prophets, who through faith subdued
kingdoms, worked righteousness, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the violence
of fire, escaped the edge of the sword. Out of weakness were made strong, became valiant in battle,
turned to flight the armies of the aliens. Women received their dead race to life again.
Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection.
Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned,
they were sawn in two, they were tempted, were slain, and with the sword. They wandered about
in sheepskins and goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, tormented, and of whom the world
was not worthy. They wandered in deserts and mountains, in dens and caves of the earth.
And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise yet.
God, having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.
Therefore, we also, therefore, we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance
the race that is set out before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith,
who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Can I get some amens this morning?
I don't need to preach. Coffee and pretzels are in the back. Have a great Sunday.
Anybody else pumped up? Does that instill some like zeal in you? Do you want to run a race
this morning? Do you want to go to battle? Man, this is amazing. And I am going to preach. Don't
worry. I'm not going to stop there, but I have three points this morning. I'm going to tell you
up front so I look organized. And if you're bored of the point I'm on, you can yell out
the next one. I'll get the picture. Know your team. Number one is know your team.
Run your race and fix your eyes. Okay? Know your team. Run your race. Fix your eyes.
Can you say it with me? Don't forget this. Know your team. Run your race. Fix your eyes. One more
time. Know your team. Run your race and fix your eyes. Know your team's first one. You got it.
So, on a Wednesday, maybe like six months ago, George, where you at, George? Carrie?
In here? There you are. Man, he told an amazing story. And I'm like, I need to use this. This
was awesome. So, he was telling this story one time about how he was at a baseball game,
and he was hanging out, had pretty good seats, and his feet were up on the seats in front of him.
And then an usher brought down this guy. And this guy was blind. And then the usher said,
hey, can you sit here? And great seats brought him right in. They moved their feet for him,
and he sat down. And he was just hanging out part of the game, right? He was sitting there.
He couldn't watch the game, but he could hear the game, and he was right there just enjoying himself.
And then the batter slammed a ball under the stands, and it went right at them,
like flying at them. And then it hit the seat, started bouncing around all over the place,
like a pinball, like just going crazy. And then it bounced up, landed on his chest gently,
rolled down into his lap, right into his hands. The blind guy's hands.
And as he realized what it was, he felt it, looked at it, held it up, and the entire stadium goes
wild, guys. They're losing it, because here he is. He's holding the ball. He caught a game ball.
And as he's holding it up and everyone's cheering, he just starts bawling his eyes out,
bawling his eyes out. And I'm telling you guys when I heard that story,
I thought that's like us, right? We were just welcomed into a seat we didn't deserve.
We're sitting there blind, unaware of what's going on around us,
and there the grace of God just lands in our laps. And as it hits our hands,
we realize what we found, this treasure we just found, and we lay hold of it. And as we pick it
up, all of heaven rejoices and goes wild. It says that when one sinner repents, all of heaven
rejoices. There's a party in heaven when one person repents. And I just want to remind us
this morning, know your team. What are you a part of? The fact that when you turn to Jesus
in the cosmic reality of heaven and across generations and all the angels in the Lord
are applauding that you turned to him and are now part of something so much bigger than yourself.
We need to maintain this outlook and perspective to truly know what this life is all about.
You are part of the body of Christ. You are part of the family of God. You are a part of his kingdom.
You're a son and a daughter. And as we read this, all these things these people did,
they were martyrs. They made armies flee. Dead were raised to life. The mouths of the lions
were closed, and they had suffered persecution and had a way out, and they said, no, I'm not going
to turn back. I am going to die for my faith. You belong to this team. You belong to these people.
Your name, though the writer of Hebrews stopped writing at that point in time, the list keeps
growing because every generation and every person that turns to Jesus, their name is written in the
Lamb's Book of Life. You have faith to lay hold of the promises of God, and this is your lineage.
This is what you're a part of. You're not just some lone person trying to find their way out
and what to do in this world. You are a part of something so much bigger than you could possibly
imagine. Can I get an amen? Thank you. You're not. It changes everything when you know what
you're a part of. You're not just an employee. You're an ambassador of Christ.
You're not just a mom or a dad. You're raising the next generation of Jesus followers.
You're not just a husband or a spouse. You're an example to the world of Jesus loving the
church, right? There's so much more to everything we do when we realize what we're a part of.
You are a Christian. That means little Christ. That means disciple, follower of Christ,
and that is the greatest possible thing you could ever be. Let our highest expectation for our life
not be something in our career, not be some money that we can make, not be some earthly achievement,
but it could would it be a Christian? Could we just be a Christian and look like him?
Could we walk like him? That should be our highest aim. You are rooted and grounded in his love.
That's where you are. You are a part of the loved family of God.
Man, my mouth's getting dry right now. You're good. So when I was, I have some coffee.
I think I'm good with coffee on beta blockers. A little bit of caffeine is all right.
Oh, that's good. A little bit of cinnamon. So I wrestled for a lot of my life. I started
when I was six and wrestled till I got to college. I stopped at college. It was too much for me,
but I was pretty good at it. And you know, I wrestled on a travel team all the way up
until I got to high school and the level of wrestling was really difficult. And you know,
it, it trained me. It got me better and better. And it wasn't easy. It wasn't like, you know,
I was killing everybody and I was like, you know, just pinning everyone first period.
You know, it was a struggle, but it made me better. And then I switched in high school. I'm
like, okay, I want to have a little bit more of a life. Let me just do the high school team. And
we were a small Christian school. And so there wasn't a lot of competition. And there I was,
you know, like having a great record, maybe losing one or two matches in the whole season.
And so I went to districts. Thank you, Deb. Thank you. One districts. I go to regionals. Let me tell
you, I met a different kind of wrestler at regionals. One I was not encountering in my league.
And when I got there, me, I'm used to, you know, I had a lot of pins first period. I get there.
And literally like I felt like a train hit me when the first guy came out in the mat.
I was dizzy and all of a sudden I'm on the ground and I'm pinned first period.
And I was like, what just happened? You know, I thought I was good,
you know, like what is going on? And I realized my team mattered. What I belong to mattered.
And I lowered my bar to become part of the team that I was on because I just wanted it easy.
And real and forgetting the fact that if I kept my bar higher and I was on the harder team,
I would have been a better wrestler. And you need to know that the team you surround yourself
with, what you think you're a part of, that determines kind of like what the race you're
going to run, right? The level of skill you surround yourself with is the level of skill
you'll develop. And when you are a Christian, if you think you are more part of the world,
if you think you are more part of just the normal things of this life that you almost
feel like the people of God, the calling of God, all this stuff is a little foreign.
You're starting to slowly join the wrong team. You're joining the lower team and not the higher
team. The one that's calling you up. This team is calling you down. The fact that you're the
body of Christ, it calls you up. Going down is easy. When you go to a lower level, it's easy,
but it goes nowhere. If you realize there's a higher calling, it costs something,
and it is harder. But you need to know what you're a part of because you will live a different life.
Amen. Think about it. When you go into your job, realize what you're a part of.
You have heaven cheering you on. When you go into the grocery store, the gym,
realize you are a part of God's plan. Heaven, your Savior is cheering you on in your family,
in your home, in the little things and the big things. Heaven is cheering you on. Realize what
you're a part of in the highs and the lows of your life, in your failings and your victories
all the time. Heaven is cheering you on. Keep that perspective. I'm telling you,
you will run a different race. Amen. Run your race. Know your team and run your race.
So Zach and I, a few years ago, we were going to run a half marathon, the Philly half marathon,
and he had already run some full marathons, so he was kind of doing me a favor to run the
half with me. And then Christmas came up, or Thanksgiving was coming up, and I was like,
I don't even feel like going all the way down to Philly, buying our ticket, waiting there,
spending the whole day to run this race. Let's just run around here, which immediately is less cool,
right? You're like, yeah, I was gonna run the Philly half marathon, but then I just ran in my
backyard. That's not that cool. So we went down to the Delaware River, and there's the canal you
can run on. And as we got there, you know, there's whipping winds off the Delaware River.
It is freezing. So windy, coldy, coldy, coldy and windy. Sorry, I talked to my kids.
Windy and cold, and we start running this race, and then we get like a mile down, and the canal
is blocked off. And we're like, what? So we got to run these 13 miles, but now we're like
blocked in a cage, and we just run back and forth and back and forth for 13 miles.
So like things just were not, it just kept coming down to like these things were kind of getting in
the way. And then Zach's running, and he's like, my knee's starting to feel weird. And then his
knee gets worse and worse, and he's like running slower, and then I'm like, yeah, finally, I'm
gonna win this race. I mean, we weren't running against each other, but then my lower back starts
hurting, and you're like, you're getting old. And so he has his knee, I got my back, we got
the race cut short, so it's a short little back and forth thing, and it's freezing and windy.
And you know, I realized in that, like as we're running, like he was better at going up the hills,
he was faster. And then on the straightaways, I had my strengths, and you know, maybe he
waited up for me. But for this analogy, I need to have a strength too. So we each had our own
strengths. We each had things that we were struggling against, but we were both running
the same exact race. We had our start and our finish line. We were both in it together.
We were not racing against each other, but we're running it together. And I thought of,
isn't that the race of faith? Isn't that this life? Every single Christian, though we might have
different struggles and trials, the knee, the back, you know, there's some common struggles,
the wind and the path, all that, there are struggles and unique aspects of our life.
We might have our own giftings, the straightaways and the hills and all that stuff.
Like there are different giftings, there are different callings,
there are different struggles, but we are all running the same race. Your race is not just
about you and your life. Your race is a common race between all Christians. It is the race of
faith that starts when you are saved and ends when you see Jesus in glory. And we need faith the
entire way. You need faith all the way to the end. All the way to the end. And there is one goal.
We know the start, salvation, the end, we see Jesus in glory, but then what's in between?
What is the actual goal of all this? Let me tell you, Romans 8, 29,
for those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son.
He predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son. Second Corinthians 3, 18,
we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same
image from one degree of glory to another, for this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
That's what we're here for. That's the goal. That is the race. From here to heaven,
it is to look like Jesus. It is to become more like Him. And you know, that's something you can do
anywhere, everywhere, all the time. The primary goal is not just share the gospel. You need
to look like Jesus to truly share the gospel. The primary goal is not just missions. It's not
just doing good things. You need to actually look like Jesus to truly represent Him and do
those things for Him. We can't separate looking like Jesus from the things that we have to do.
That's what the Pharisees did. They said, let me do all the things of the law, but inside I'm evil
and I actually don't love God at all. We need to look like Him first, and then we can do the
things He did. We can look like Him, talk like Him, do those things, and become like Him.
And that's amazing. That's a race I want to run. I don't want to run a race of a bunch of works that
I have to do. I want to run a race where I'm transformed. Anybody else want to run that race
this morning? Anybody else want to look like Jesus? That is the greatest thing we could
ever do with our lives. That's close to Him, and that's something that's not on you. We read
that this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit. It comes from abiding in Him. Jesus says,
abide in me and I in you and you will bear much fruit. Apart from me, you can do nothing.
It comes from living with Him. Galatians 5 says, since we live by the Spirit,
let us keep in step with the Spirit. Think of that. You're running a race and your steps
are completely in sync with Jesus. That's what it looks like. That's the race we're supposed to
run, and it encompasses everything. If you just got a little nervous when I was saying the
good works and the gospel and all that, did Jesus share the gospel? Did Jesus do amazing things?
Did Jesus do good works? Yes, all of this. So when we look like Jesus, we do all those things,
but first and foremost, our eyes are fixed on Him, and we aim to be like Him.
And when I look at all the people who ran this race, all those amazing things,
that's what they did, right? They pleased God through faith. They did amazing things,
and they suffered and did not turn back. That sounds like Jesus, and that's what you're a part of.
Now race, why does it have to be a race? Why does it have to be hard,
right? Race means, the Greek word is agona. You like that little accent and flexion I got?
Agona. I think that's Greek. But it is a word used for conflict or struggle of many kinds.
There's a reason it doesn't say sit on the couch of faith. That'd be pretty nice though.
Sit on the couch. No, it says run the race that is set before you, and there are forces against you.
There are things that want to keep you from running the race and sit still.
There are things that want to hold you back, and that shouldn't get you sad or feeling bad or
being a victim. That should fire you up. That should get you excited. In Romans 12, it says,
do not be conformed to the world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
And Ephesians 6, 12 says, we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
This race has forces against you. The whole world in its fallen state wants to keep you from running
this race and wants you to look nothing like Jesus, and there is spiritual warfare against you.
We encounter trials, persecutions, temptation, distractions, doubt, discouragement,
spiritual warfare, and all these things are at play against you, and they want to take
you out of the race. The race won't be easy. Has the race for you been super easy or have you
come against some stuff? You don't run a race because it's easy. You run it because it's worth
it. You run a race because it's hard, but it's worth it. There's something at the end.
And we have Jesus. He's worth it. Like, I would do anything for Jesus. I would run the hardest race
if it means I can look like Him and know Him. If it means I can see Him in glory.
That is what is set before you. It's going to be hard, but it's worth it. And you might feel a
maybe discouraged by all that stuff that's coming against you, but Jesus says, and John,
these things I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In Him you're going to have peace.
In the world you'll have tribulation, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world. I
have overcome the world. You could be in the midst of the hardest trial of your life.
Maybe some of you are there right now. And you could be in the midst of that and realize,
Jesus, I'm in you. And you have supernatural peace that passes understanding.
And when you're in it, you can actually be of good cheer. You can be joyful.
And you can realize that He's already overcome the world. Everything coming against you.
In your race, Jesus has already overcome. Amen. Thank you, Gordon. And you might say,
well, it's good that Jesus has overcome, but then what about me? First John 5-4. Write this down.
For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. Are you born of God this morning?
Whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this, this is the victory that has overcome
the world. Our faith. Our faith overcomes everything in this life. And you know,
there are things that need to happen for you to run this race, to experience that victory.
And let's look at that verse again. One more time.
Verse 12. I mean, chapter 12, verse 1. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily
ensnares us. Isn't that interesting? There's two different things. Weights and sins.
Let's speak something deep there. A weight might not be a sin. It's not. It's something separate.
A weight on its own is not immoral. A weight on its own, you know, other people can handle this.
You know, it's not like I'm sinning or anything. It's not directly against God.
But it's a weight. It's slowing you down. And there are things in our lives that are
laid aside. There might be responsibilities. There might be ways you spend your time.
There can be things that make you slow down. They steal your joy. They make you distracted.
They make you less disciplined. They ultimately make you less like Jesus.
Right? That is a weight. And maybe some of those things aren't just as straightforward as like,
oh, you know, I sleep in because I stay up late doing this thing and then I never read
my Bible and then now I'm feeling insecure. Like, that is a weight you got to lay aside.
You need to be in the Word and close to the Lord. But there are other things that are weights
that sometimes are harder to let go of than just an action or something you do.
And those are regrets. That's guilt, fear, insecurities, pain. But do you realize
the Bible is telling you to lay it aside? That means it's a choice. That means you actually
have the ability through Jesus Christ to lay those things down. Weights are hard to carry.
Putting a weight down is easy, right? Like, to actually lay the weight down, you are free.
And we need to lay them aside. We need to put those things down and realize that all
is forgiven in Jesus. Right? We need to know, like, don't look back on your life with guilt
and shame all the time. Jesus has set you free from it. Paul says,
I forget what is behind and I look forward to the goal of the upward call of Christ Jesus.
You need to forget it. You need to lay it to the side. Lay them down.
Jesus says in Matthew 11, come to me. Come to me if you are weary and heavily laden,
if you are burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am gentle and humble in heart. You will find rest for your souls,
for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The way of Jesus is freedom.
Even in the midst of the trials of your journey and your race,
you have peace in him and you can be of good cheer.
But sin, sin easily entangles. Can anybody relate to that?
If you leave the foot hole, the door open to sin, it will wrap you up like that.
We need to be diligent in kicking sin out of our lives and laying it down at the cross in front
of Jesus. Because sin, if you give it permission, will tangle you up and entrap you and you won't
be moving anywhere on your race. It will get you so far off track that you even forget,
what am I even doing in this life? My life is hopeless. It's worthless. It's meaningless.
Depression sets in. All this stuff happens when you allow sin to come in
and hijack your race and take over your life. But praise God, he's come to save sinners,
right? He's come to set you free. He has come to break the chains that tangle you up.
In a moment, that is the power of the cross. In a moment, he can set you free from everything.
But he's telling you, you need to lay it aside. You need to lay it aside. I need to lay it aside.
My weight and my sins, I need to lay aside if I truly want to run this race.
And don't say it's too hard. I mean, look at your God and look at the people who ran this race.
They went through the same things as you. They might have had worse things than you.
They probably did. Yeah, I've never been sawn in two. So my issues don't seem as bad,
right? These people have gone through hard stuff. They've done some sins and had some regrets,
things they wish they could take back. But did it hold them back? They ran their race.
They ran their race and fixed their eyes on Jesus. And that's what you're called to.
That is what you're a part of. And if you haven't ran a perfect race,
shocker, nobody has. No one has ran a perfect race but one, one. And his name is Jesus.
And this is what he says to you. This is, Paul says in Hebrews, or no, the writer of Hebrews,
we don't know if it's Paul. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness.
He knows our weakness because in all points he was tempted as we are. When he was on this
earth, he was tempted in every way and he's aware of the weaknesses of our bodies. And yet,
he was without sin. Let us therefore come boldly, not fill the shame, but come boldly to the throne
of grace, that we might obtain mercy, which is the forgiveness from God. And we might obtain
grace, which is the power and ability to overcome in any time we have need. That is what he invites
you into. When you are in the book of life, when you are part of the family of God,
when this is your team, you have direct access to Jesus who forgives and empowers so you can run
your race. But this all comes down to one thing.
Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. This all comes down to him.
And this all comes down to you fixing your eyes on Jesus. If you don't do that, you won't know
what you're a part of, you won't know your team, you won't run your race, and you will be tangled
up by the cares of this life and the sin that so easily entangles. But if you fix your eyes,
you will be transformed into the image of the Son. You will look more like him and you will run with
endurance. A few years ago in Nashville, where we used to live for like seven years, I was weighed
down. I had a lot of weights. I just had a ton going on, a lot of stress, a lot of work stuff,
and business stuff, and I was just feeling like really down and confused. And I felt like all my
concentration and attention was on the things of this life. And I was feeling then guilty that I
wasn't aware of this heavenly calling, right? Like the race of faith. I wasn't stewarding my faith
and growing to look more like him. So I was just in this place where I was feeling down.
So I go outside, I give my Bible, and I'm reading, and I'm praying, and I'm talking to Jesus about
all this. And then I hear this squawking just loud and obnoxious. And I look up from my front door,
and I see this blue jay just freaking out on the grass across the street from me.
And it was screaming at this dove over and over again. I'm like, what is going on? I just see
this little dove pecking at the ground in front of it, just trying to find some food, just trying
to mind his own business, doing his thing. And he has this blue jay just screaming in his ear
non-stop. And I'm like, what? I feel bad for him. He's just trying to do his thing, and he's so
focused on all that he has to do, just pecking the ground and screaming in his ear. And then
I just kind of looked up, and I see two other doves sitting at the top of a branch, super
peaceful, hanging out and resting in the sun, just loving life. And I felt like in that moment,
God said to me, do you want to be this bird or do you want to be that bird?
Do you want to have your eyes so fixed on the things you have to do, pecking at the ground,
only thinking on what is right in front of you and having these cares of life scream at you,
weighed down by the weights of this life? Or do you want to be like this bird,
sitting up in the sun, in the presence of God, enjoying their lives, having perspective?
And of course I said that one, right? I want to be like that one, but I was being like this one.
And I just think about that all the time. When I find myself slipping into this bird,
I want to be that bird. It's fixing my eyes off of what's in front of me,
and fixing my gaze and everything in me towards Jesus. He changes everything.
And the word fix doesn't look, it can also be translated fix your eyes,
because it's not just occasional looking at Jesus. It's not like I'm looking at this
and I'm looking at that. It is actually looking away from everything else,
everything else you look away from, and you look at one thing, one person, Jesus Christ.
To run this race, you need to fix your soul, attention, and focus on Him.
Now I'm not saying you can't do anything other than read your Bible and pray all day,
right? It means to walk with Him, live with Him. When you go into a room,
you're praying and just talking to Him. When you come up against challenges of this life,
you immediately turn to faith, and you are just in communion with Him.
That is what fixing your eyes looks like. And everything, everything hinges on this,
and the worship team can come up. Everything rests on this. If you don't do this right,
everything else falls apart. If you don't look at Him, you will not run your race.
If you don't look at Him, you will not be free. And if you don't look at Him,
you will not even know what you're a part of, and life will seem pretty purposeless.
But in Him, life is filled with purpose. In Him, you matter. In Him, all of your choices
are leading towards a common goal. And in Him, eternal impacts are being made through
the choices of your life and how you live, how you run your race.
He is the author and the finisher. He is the author of your faith and the finisher of your faith.
Another version says pioneer and perfecter. It's pretty cool. He actually made the way
for you to be saved. He is the image of what we should be like. He is the way,
the truth, and the life. He is everything, and He made you and made you to know Him.
He is the author of your salvation. Don't you want to know Him? Don't you want to be like Him?
Don't you want to fix your eyes on Him? And we can have so much rest and just peace,
and so much hope to know that He's not just the author. He's not the one who starts it and says,
now it's up to you. He finishes it. He finishes it. Philippians 1, 6,
He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ when He returns.
We just need to yield to Jesus and He will finish the good work that He is doing in you.
I want to read this. Philippians 3, 12.
Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal,
but I press on, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
There's a reason He took hold of you. There's a reason that ball landed in your lap.
There's a reason you were brought to that seat. There's a reason those people talk to you.
There's a reason you just stumbled upon that track.
There's a reason you heard the gospel at that point in time when you turned.
And all the heaven rejoiced. There is a reason for everything.
He took hold of you for a purpose, that He would make you like Him and that you would see Him in
glory. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it,
but one thing I do, one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining towards what is ahead,
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.
Don't look at what you laid aside. Look to Him.
Look to your high priest.
Look to the one who knows you and loves you, even in your failures, but offers a way out.
Look to the one who died for you, who rose again for you, who is seated in authority
in the heavens and has given good gifts to you. Set your eyes on Him.
All the things of this life will just start to vanish. All the things we worry about
and are concerned by, and we'll see one race set before us. One thing will matter most, and it's
Him. Know your team. Run your race. Fix your eyes.
And I want to give an opportunity right now. I don't know everybody in the room.
Maybe you feel the Holy Spirit tugging on your heart and saying, hey, it's time to run your race.
You never started. You may have heard these things before, but you've never actually started
to run. You're not saved. You don't belong yet, but you want to. And with your eyes closed,
if there's someone in this room that says, yes, I want Jesus, I want forgiveness,
I want to be free from the weight and the sin of my life, I want to run the race.
Would you raise your hand right now? Amen. Amen. I just want to pray with you right now.
You can say this in your heart or out loud if you want. Dear Jesus,
thank you for dying on the cross for my sin. Thank you for washing me clean by your blood.
Thank you for accepting me into your family. Thank you for giving me heaven to look forward to.
Thank you for saving me. I want to be saved.
If you confess with your mouth and believe in your heart, you're saved.
And there's some other people in the room I want to
speak to, and maybe there's some weights. Maybe there's some sin, and you just want to be set
free. You want to lay them down. Now's your chance. Don't walk away from this moment because
you might not want to later, and you'll still be trapped. Now's the chance. Do you want to
lay them down and be light? Do you want to be free to run? Lay them at the feet of Jesus.
And if that's you, would you raise your hand? There is no shame. There is no fear. There's
nothing, guys. Come on. I've had so many sins of weights to lay down. There's freedom in Jesus'
name, and he makes you light. He makes you whiter than snow. He can transform everything in a
moment. So Lord Jesus, we pray right now every single weight and every single sin has no place
in a believer. I pray in the name of Jesus that they would be set free now, God. We pray
against every single thing that comes against them in this race of faith. Lord, the spiritual
warfare out in the name of Jesus, we come against you by the power of the blood of the lamb,
and by the word of our testimony, God, we overcome. Because you are Lord, you are seated at the
right hand of the Father. You hold the victory. You overcome the world, and we overcome the
world by our faith in you, God. So I pray right now freedom from sin, freedom from the weights,
freedom, God, from the shame and the guilt, freedom in Jesus' name. I pray that these
brothers and sisters of Christ would walk out of here, God, in victory, in joy, in peace, God,
and they would run this race with patience and endurance in your holy name.
One other person. I want to talk to you. And this should be everybody in the room,
including myself. Do you want to run this race with renewed focus? Do you want to run the race
with one thing before you? Do you want to run the race with one goal in mind,
that you would see him, and that you would be like him?
Jesus, I pray that your church would run this race, that live this life with one goal in mind,
that it's you, God. I pray that every single thing else, Lord, everything else
would fall away as we focus on you, Jesus. And I pray that we would see amazing things happen,
God. I pray that we would look like you, that we would be like you, that we would do things
like you, God, and the world would wonder, what is this? Who are these people? They're
running a different race. So, Lord Jesus, I just pray for a blessing, God, over your church,
a blessing over us, God, as we fix our eyes. Would we be changed, God? Would we be transformed,
Lord, from one degree of glory to another into what you want us to be? We love you so much,
God. We love you so much in your holy name. Amen.
Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His word.
Don't forget to join us for worship live Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube.
Be blessed and have a great day!