Go the Distance Part 1
2 Timothy 3:10-4:8
May 23, 1999
Morning Service
Introduction
I. Story of Jean - Dominique Bauby
A, Work: French journalist, age of 45 was editor of fashion magazine Elle, very successful, December of 1995, he suffered a stroke
B. After the stroke: Buaby was completely paralyzed, all he could move was his left eyelid, with the help of a therapist he learned how to communicate yes and no, with the therapist he wrote a book by saying yes or no to letters to compose words and sentences, he finished with the book shortly before he died, Bauby spent his time well, Should we not put forth the same kind of effort for God?
II. The Human Race - Steven Curtis Chapman
Q - How are we to run the Human Race?
III. A Central Truth - Jesus finishes what He starts!
A. Scripture: “He who began a good work in you will see it through to completion”
B. Jesus never gives up: Jesus will never give up on you, He will constantly work in your life, even on a daily basis - If you allow Him to do so, we must be willing to allow Jesus to work in our lives, we must be willing to follow His direction for the human race, we must go where He sends us and run at His pace, we must be willing to go the distance
Q - How can we go the distance?
Read Text
Body - What does it take to God the Distance?
I. Passion - The Holy want to
A Child’s plea - “I don’t want to ...”
A. Passion is the driving force of life: We are all passionate about something,
* Work, * Family * Leisure time * God
passion helps us live our lives for Christ, passion is the Holy want to of life, passion drives us to become more than we already are, passion drives us to great things for God
B. Passion for God
1. Love
a.) We are to love God
1. Love for God is motivation for life
2. Love God with all of your heart, mind and soul
3. Love for God will create a deep and central passion within us
b.) We are to love others
1. Every person is valuable to God - He loves them and we should love them
2. God’s love gives us the ability to love other people
3. Jesus commanded - “love one another”
2. Service
a,) We are called to serve God
1. Jesus came to serve
2. We are to follow Jesus wherever He leads
b.) We can do all things in Christ
1. God has given us gifts
2. God will give us the passion
3. God will give us the power
II. Preparation - Growth in God
People stop growing when the price gets too high - J. Maxwell
A. Prayer - Petition of the King
1. Communication with God:
a.) No relationship exists in a vacuum
1. We must maintain constant communication with God
2. We have the ultimate relationship in the universe
3. We can talk with the God who created everything
b.) We have the most powerful weapon for change the world
1. The power of God flows through prayer
2. We have the power to change ourselves and the world, to change the world may mean to first change ourselves
3. We must be willing to take the time to grow with God
2. A Civil War Request: Civil War - Union soldier was upset, father had died and mother needed him at home, he requested to go home but none of his senior officers would listen, now he was sobbing in the camp. a young boy happened to see him and asked what was wrong, the soldier explained and the young boy said that they needed to see his father, father would help, the two walk through the camp to the command tent, the boy walks in and beckons the soldier to follow, he watched the young boy get into the lap of his father, now the soldier was face to face with Abraham Lincoln, he went home the next day, We are God’s children and He wants us go to Him with requests and concerns, by the sacrifice and blood of Jesus we can enter the fathers presence
B. Study
1. Bible story
2. Meditate:
a.) God wants us to meditate
1. God commanded Joshua to meditate on the Word
2. We need to meditate and focus on God
b.) Meditation has fallen away
1. Meditation has fallen out of Christian practice
2. We have allowed the eastern religions and the new age movement to steal that aspect of Christianity away from us
3. Meditation is the focus on god’s word to allow Him to speak to you, it is an opening of the heart and mind to the will of God,
C. Faith
1. Believe in God
a.) God is worthy of our trust
b.) We must believe God will do what He says he will do
c.)God never brakes a promise - He has promised to be with us and never leave d.) God never fails
2. Believe in yourself
a.)You are the workmanship of God
b.)God has promised to work through his children
c.) you can be a mighty instrument of God - Do your best and he’ll do the rest, Maxwell’s Law - Nothing is as hard as it looks; everything is more rewarding than you expect; and if anything can go right it will and at the best possible moment
Conclusion
Some key questions
1. Do you want to do a great work for God? It starts in the heart and works its way out, Where is your passion?
2. If you want to do a great work for God, are you willing to give what it takes? You have to give up to go up, Are you willing to prepare to meet the challenges ahead head on?
