As you can see, the sanctuary is decked out in a “beach theme.” During our brainstorming session this year we came up with the idea of “Forward Steps” for our stewardship drive. Now, can anyone guess how we got from “Forward Steps” to the beach theme?
The center theme of it all this year is that classic Christian poem “Footprints in the Sand.” During one of our talks in visioning team, we talked about the obstacles people have to stewardship… and we discovered that the biggest hurdle that most people feel is fear. We all would LOVE to give 10% to the church… but c’mon… right. There’s no way we can do it. We would love to start out every morning with an hour of reading the bible and praying… but c’mon… where would I find the time for that. We would all love to give the most of ourselves serving as deacons, as elders, as committee representatives… but c’mon… our nights are already too full! The thing that we need to remember, is that every step along the way… we have a God who walks with us. The challenge becomes to step out in FAITH, and trust the God who sustains us. With that said… let us turn to this weeks lesson and turn your bibles to:
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 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. 25 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. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
“Building a Relationship with God” (Running the Race)
It was the summer before my Senior year at Jamestown College. I had taken up riding my bike several times a week and had gotten up to riding 10-20 miles in a single go. Needless to say… I was feeling pretty good about myself. So when school resumed and they began advertising for the “Fall Team Triathlon” my friends and I thought we would sign up, and win it! Glory would be ours.
My friend Ken volunteered to swim the 20 laps… I volunteered to ride the 8 miles… Bill volunteered to finish us up with the 2 mile sprint. Now, one thing you should know about us three… is that we were not what you would call… highly trained and toned college athletes. I know that it’s not easy to believe looking at me now… but I was not a Herculian Athletic God in college. We were, the three average Joes… racing against 10 teams of the college’s best athletes. Don’t start laughing just yet.
Well… Ken swam his 20 laps… finishing about in the middle… and when he was done he hit the pool deck gasping for oxygen… he didn’t move for the next four hours or so. But for me… the race was on. It was now my job to make my way to the head of the pack on my bike. Now… my bike was this beautiful grey mountain bike, and I had taken great pride in achieving speeds of 20… even 25 miles per hour on that bike… so I was utterly confident that I would be able to overtake the lead in no time. The thing that I hadn’t accounted for… was that Mountain Bikes are like the SUV’s of bikes… the guys on the 1 pound racing bikes soared past me like I was standing still. You notice how I manage to blame it all on the bike right there? Well, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it… it was all the bike’s fault.
So what did I do? Slow and steady wins the race? No… I sprinted as fast as I could and as long as I could on my mountain bike to try to keep up with the racing bikes. Now… keep in mind I had done no special training… had not practiced much… had not built up my endurance… nor was I in particularly fantastic athletic shape… so it would be amazing for me to tell you I overtook the racing bikes. Yes… that would indeed be amazing for me to tell you that… however… it absolutely did not happen. No… a few hundred yards down the path I was at a dead stop doing that thing that athletes do when they work too hard for too long. And I came in at last place.
By the time I got back to the College, Bill refused to run since it was such a hopeless cause, and we… were the only team with a DNF (Did Not Finish). It was sad and pathetic… and we really hoped that they wouldn’t publish the results in the newspaper. You know… the thing that sticks out in my mind wasn’t about how out of our league we were… no, I firmly believe that the race was winnable… we just were utterly and hopelessly unprepared for race ahead of us… and we utterly and hopelessly failed. Now, it may be easy to say that we should have known better and we should have done a better job getting ready for such a big athletic competition… but the more I think about it… none of us is in a place to say anything, because we all live our lives much like Ken, Bill and Myself.
We daily take for granted how hard it is to run the race that is life, and we don’t do near enough preparation and training before venturing out to supposedly win the race. By preparation and training… I’m talking about getting into contact with the God that both gives and sustains life… I’m talking about relying on the God that pours out blessings and sustains us with HIS strength, I’m talking about praying, reading scripture, and living our lives in line with God’s plan. You know… the sort of things that can turn a bad mood into a good mood, a bad day into a good day.
But far too often… like Ken, Bill, and Myself… we throw ourselves in… assuming our natural talent, grit, and tenacity will make up for lack of work and preparation. To steal a line from Dr. Phil… how’s that working out for you? We just can’t do it, and if we THINK we can do it… we are fooling ourselves. No matter how hard we try or how lucky we get… it just doesn’t work. We need more…
It begins for us… with a commitment to begin training seriously… to take a step forward in our personal lives with God. This is the building block for everything else that is to come the next three weeks… because your personal relationship with God effects EVERYTHING you do. The more time you spend praying, reading, meditating, attending church classes… the more you will see your lives changing… the more you will see God working in your life. If you still aren’t convinced… if you think it’s REALLY not important… if you think you’ve done just fine huffing and puffing on your own… well Paul has something to say to you! In his letter to the Corinthians… remember our dear friends from Corinth, good old “What happens in Corinth stays in Corinth…” Paul says, you think it doesn’t matter how you live? You think it doesn’t matter if you go to God or not?
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
24 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. 25 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. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
He takes the analogy of how much work it takes a runner to prepare for a race and applies it to our Christian lives. He says… look, any good runner knows that if you are going to run a race you are going to run it to win it. And if you really want to win it you have to train and work hard and prepare your body so it will be ready to endure the race. And just think, runners do all that work for such a silly thing that doesn’t last very long… a crown that fades away. BUT US! Our race is so much more important… our consequences are so much more crucial… our prize is a prize that is worth so much more.
And we shouldn’t be afraid to make such a commitment… because scripture reminds us time and time again… that we do not run the race alone. Or at least… we do not have to run the race alone.
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. 29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. 30 Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; 31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Relying on God is going to be a big part of our stewardship drive this year, trusting in him… reaching out to him… and risking a little… knowing that, just like in the poem “Footprints in the Sand,” he will be there for us.
I would like to close today, with a version of “Footprints” that I found… it is not the traditional one that you all know but I think it is very appropriate for today’s message.
One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, "What have we here?"
Those prints are large and round and neat,
"But Lord they are too big for feet."
"My child," He said in somber tones,
"For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait."
"You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know.
You went alone, got in a rut,
and there you fell upon on your butt."
“Instead of reaching out to me,
You fought alone the treacherous sea.
So when you see those prints so grand,
they are your butt prints in the sand!”
The Challenge:
Take a step up in your personal life with God. Prepare each day as if you were planning on running a marathon… and planning to win that marathon. Equip yourself to run the race of life in the power and Glory of our God instead of all alone with no preparation or assistance.
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
