ARE YOU RUNNING THE RACE? (Hebrews 12:1-2)

ARE YOU RUNNING THE RACE? (Hebrews 12:1-2)

When you think of an athlete who is a runner on a track team, what do you think about?  Dedication, training, conditioning, and a sense of complete focus on being prepared to run the race.  Then, when that person is running a race, they are singularly focused on completing that race to the best of their ability, right?  Imagine that there is a young man who is getting set in the starting blocks. Every muscle is tense in anticipation of the start.  The starting gun goes off and he explodes out of the starting blocks. He’s looking straight ahead with complete, total concentration. Every inch, every ounce, every nerve, every fiber, he’s pressing to the goal. He stays in his lane. He’s not moving to the right. He’s not moving to the left, and in this example, he is not running against anybody else. He’s running against himself. He’s running against the clock, and he’s headed toward the finish line. 

But, in this life, if you are a child of God, then you are in the race. I don’t care how old you are. I don’t care how feeble you are. I don’t care how rich, or how poor, you are. There is a race for you to run, and God wants you to run that race like a champion. 

The truth is that most of the people in our churches today are not active soul winners. That’s tragic. You say, “But, I give my money.” I don’t care how much money you give, if you’re not endeavoring to bring souls to Christ, then you are not right with God. You say, “Well, I teach.” I don’t care how eloquently you teach, if you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus, then you’re not right with God. You say, “Well, I attend faithfully.” I don’t care how much you attend, if you’re not trying to bring souls to Jesus Christ, then you are not right with God. Well, you say, “I live a clean, moral life.” I don’t care how circumspectly you walk, if you’re not endeavoring to bring souls to Jesus Christ, then you are not right with God. Andrew Murray said, “There are two classes of Christians: soul winners and backsliders.” You’re one or the other.

Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can learn to run the race of faith that God has put before you just like the champions in God’s Hall of Fame.

This is a live recording of The Master’s Class Bible Study at LifeChange Church Wichita, KS.

Amen.