Race To Your Crown

Thank you very much, ladies. God sure is great. Thank you so much. Well, it is officially July, which means camp is just around the corner. I'm up to my eyeballs in camp prep, camper t-shirts, literally, camper t-shirts. I was trying to leave to go do something the other day, and there's a UPS guy on my front porch with, like, 11 boxes of t-shirts that, when stacked up, were taller than me.

They're now at camp. We drove them over this week and got them set. I'm working on calendars. I'm trying to make sure the trains run on time. Literally, in our case, we have a train, so we're making sure that everything's working like it's supposed to do. As we come into July, one of the things that I've tried to do over the past few years, and I hope that it's something that's been appreciated, is to provide as much as possible kind of a brief 30,000-foot overview of our camp theme. To be able to provide those of you that don't have an opportunity to go to camp the chance to experience what it is that we're working to instill in our youth this year. As you require, or as you recall from prior times when we've done this, we have a setup where we have a overarching camp theme. We have this primary theme that we work on, and then we break that down into five daily themes. And those five daily themes are taught to each dorm throughout the day. They wake up in the morning. The counselors have a dorm meeting. They talk about the theme of the day. They come to breakfast. We go over the memory scripture. They go in. They have breakfast. They do Christian living. They go to the activities. That's reinforced all day long at those activities in various ways. They come back at dinner. We talk about it even more, you know, and then they get it one more time before they go to bed with their dorm parents. So they're getting these themes throughout the day in a number of ways. And ultimately, the end result is a strong focus on God and each other. From the moment that they wake up and they meet with their counselors through that Christian living, through the activities, into the evening dorm meetings and dorm parent conversations. And it's a powerful thing. The system is a powerful thing. It works well. And as chaotic as the planning can be at times, once the schedule kicks in as directors, we get a chance to just kind of breathe, you know, because everything's gotten started. The schedule gets going and the camp largely runs itself at that point. You can focus more on those themes and the spiritual instruction that's taking place. The United Youth Camp theme for this year is Race to Your Crown. It's Race to Your Crown, and it's built primarily off of Hebrews 12 verses 1 and 2 and a number of the athletic metaphors and concepts that Paul uses in his writings to describe our calling throughout his epistles. Again, we break that down into five sub-themes, digestible concepts that are able to kind of move us forward from start to finish, so to speak, in the race. And then each of those themes has a memory scripture to internalize it for our teams. I'm going to go through those themes today. We're going to have five points that are those five themes, and we're going to kind of work our way through this week's theme, or this camp week's theme, so to speak. So the first of those themes, the first of those sub-themes, is Called to Race. Called to Race. The second of those themes is Train for Victory.

The third of those themes is Run with Purpose. The fourth one is Stay in the Race.

And the fifth one, and the final one for the week, is Receive Your Crown. And again, these build on each other. They build forward, and they spiral back, and they connect and work it forward to make sure that it builds this nice package all the way through. Again, Called to Race. Train for Victory. Run with Purpose. Stay in the race. And Receive Your Crown. So I'm going to title the message today the same as our overall theme. The title for the split sermon today here is Race to Your Crown. Race to Your Crown. I very much appreciated Mr. Griswold's split sermon, because many of those concepts are present in what we're going to talk about today. And a number of the various things, like the kind of nuts and bolts of this calling, and what it really entails as we make this course and make this race that we've all been called to be a part of. So we'll go ahead and jump in here today with our first theme, which is Called to Race. And brethren, each and every one of us are runners. Did you know that? Did you know that each and every one of us are runners? You are on a course. You're on a race course, along with the folks that are sitting next to you in this room, each competing ultimately against the course and competing against yourself for an incorruptible prize. You, personally, have been called to race. You have been called to this course and to this race that is our calling. If you turn over to Matthew 4, we're going to begin there today as we see Jesus Christ call his disciples. And this calling is a similar calling to that which we've received. Matthew 4, we'll pick it up in verse 18. Matthew 4 and verse 18, we see Jesus here walking along the Sea of Galilee and coming across four men. Four men from Galilee, men who were fishermen by trade. Matthew 4 and verse 18, it says, Jesus walking by the Sea of Galilee saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea, for they were fishermen. So for those that aren't aware of Galilean fishing setup, they'd have a big old boat. They'd be out there in the water. They'd toss the net. They'd let it settle. They'd draw it in, see if they had fish in the net. Occasionally, they'd toss it back out, you know, check to see if they managed to catch it. These nets with these big weights on the outside, they throw it out. The weights sink down, capture the fish in the bottom of it. They pull the string, tighten it up, bring it in. That's what these guys are doing. They're in that process as he's walking by. It says in verse 19, it says, He said to them, Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. What do we see of their response? Verse 20, it says, They immediately left their nets, and they followed him. They immediately left their nets, and they followed him. Going on from there, he saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee and John his brother, in the boat, with Zebedee, their father, mending their nets. So these guys are doing the other part of fishing, which is fixing your gear. Because, you know, you're either fishing or you're fixing your gear. Those are the only two things that take place when you're a fisherman. Similar to farming, you're either farming or you're fixing your farm stuff. That's kind of the way it goes. But it says, He called them, similar, I'm assuming, to the calling that He gave Simon and Andrew. And it says, Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed him. So we see Christ call the disciples to follow him. And what do we see as their response? They left their nets.

They walked away from their livelihood. They walked away from their boats, which in that case was a significant investment. I mean, that you had your whole life's work wrapped up in your fleet of boats that you fished from. They left their own family, although we see Zebedee and Mama Zebedee involved as time goes on, you know, in that, in the work, as Christ continued His ministry. But in fact, this calling and this response to the calling was so stark that Peter wrote in Mark 8, verse 10, he says, We left all and followed Him. We left all and followed Him. From that moment forward, those disciples took the first steps into a race that would last them the remainder of their lives. They set foot onto a course that they would then run one step, one foot after another, until their dying breath. There would be times in that race where they stumbled. There would be times where they struggled. And there would be other times where the race was easy, where the race was easy. The miles felt easy. But for each one of us, our individual calling started out on this very same course. And that calling that each of us had been afforded is a call to salvation. It's a call to salvation. It's a rescue from the consequences of sin and an opportunity for us to receive the gift of eternal life. And God has put a very specific process in place. Those who accept His calling, those who are willing to become a part of His family, those who repent of their sins, who are baptized and receive His Spirit, and then faithfully live in obedience to Him, seeking His will as they build an ongoing relationship with Him. God says, if and when they do that, that they will receive the prize that is promised at the end of the race. And it's not a free banana. You know, most races these days, it's a free banana.

It's definitely much better than a free banana. Paul understood this concept. And so when we see Paul write, one of the amazing things about Paul and the way that Paul wrote, Paul talked about how he could be all things to all men. Like, he could connect the Word of God in many different ways. And so one of the things that we see in Paul's writings is a connection here with several historical and contextual references to the Greek games. You know, in this case, something along the lines of the Olympics for us, I mean, that would be our closest thing that we could consider. But the Greek games were more than just the Olympics. They had a number of them in various ways. But he took this concept of competition, this concept of athletics and a race, and he connected that metaphor to this Christian life that we've been called to lead. Now, in these scenarios, presiding over these games typically would be a very important official. Depending on the games, if it were something like the Olympics or it were something bigger like that, it might be the emperor himself. You know, it might be the Roman emperor himself, or in the case of the Greeks, it might be an official that was over that city-state. But from this royal box, he would be perched high above these tiered seats in the stadium, watching the competition, watching these contests take place.

And when the games were complete, that official would distribute the awards. These individuals would be announced. A herald would announce their name. It would call them forward to receive their prize to the applause of the spectators, the individuals who watched the contest. That person at that time had successfully won the crown. They had won the crown. They had received the top prize for that particular event. And in that sense, when we look at this calling we've been provided, God will do the same to his whom he has called who have run this race well. Those who have persevered, those who have endured to the end, they will receive the prize, the crown of eternal life. Let's go to 2 Timothy 4 and verse 7 as we kind of see Paul build this analogy a little bit. 2 Timothy 4 and verse 7. You know, contextually, as we look at when Paul wrote this, you know, we're nearing the end of Paul's life. Paul was captive in Rome for the latter portion of his life. You know, as Nero's reign began in full, really, in the persecution of Christians in Rome began kind of in the late 50s, AD, early 60s, into the mid 60s, Nero's focus began more and more on persecution of Christians, more and more on the various things that he could do to upend that movement. And Paul knew, as he's watching these things take place, that his time was coming to a close.

You know, Paul was a known entity. Peter was a known entity. You know, these were individuals that Rome knew and knew well. And so there was a price, so to speak, on their heads. Paul knew that his time was coming to a close and that the finish line was drawing even nearer. 2 Timothy 4, we see him kind of build this idea. He says, I fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not only to me, or not to me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. This prize, this prize of eternal life, this crown of righteousness, or as we see it described in other places as different crowns, there's actually four descriptions of this crown. They're all the same crown. It's ultimately the prize that God provides to those who have run well and finished the race. But this is the prize, brethren, that we're competing for, so to speak. As we're on this course and as we're working against ourselves and as we're working against the course and as we're working against all of those things, this is the prize that has been offered if we finish the race. What does it take to run well? Can you run badly? Oh yeah. Oh yeah, definitely. Yeah, you can have rough runs. You know, you can have runs that did not feel good at all. You can rough... you can run badly. It does happen.

The Greek word that's used for run in the various scriptures that talk about running in this context and references spiritual race is trecho. T-R-E-C-H-O, it's a transliteration. And it translates to run, to rush, to advance, to exert oneself, or to progress. You'll be able to move forward, essentially, as we look at that. It's a verb, and it's a verb that implies action. It is not a passive word. It is a word that implies action. It implies an active work taking place. And I don't know if this analogy will help you, but this is the way I thought about it, so I'll describe it as best I can. How many of you have used a people mover at the airport? You know what that means? Those are the horizontal escalators that you'll see, right? People movers. I don't know what else they call them. Horizontal escalators. I'm sure many of you have experienced those in the airports. When we fly to Cincinnati for the various reasons that take us out to CVG, as you come into the gates, you walk out, you go downstairs, there's four of these people movers just in a row. It's a really long tunnel. They have a tram, too, but after being crammed in a metal tube with 300 of your closest friends for five hours, it's kind of nice to stretch your legs rather than get on the tram. And so, oftentimes, if I'm in a hurry, if I know there's somebody there picking me up and I need to get there quick, I'll hop on the people movers because they can help you get from point A to point B faster. But, you know, I've learned over the years, and for those of you that have experienced these as well, you'll know what I mean. There are two kinds of people on a people mover. There are two kinds of people. And interestingly, those two kinds of people are very much diametric opposites, and inevitably they will impact one another. And what I mean by that is that some people get on them and use them as they were intended to be used, which is you step on them and you continue to walk at a normal human pace, and it propels you forward at a slightly more accelerated rate so that you can reach your destination smidge quicker.

There are others who use the people mover, and they step onto it, and they just stand.

And they let the people mover move them at point one miles per hour all the way to the end. Right? There's two different ways to use the people mover, obviously.

But the difference in those two things is active and passive. Active and passive. That's the difference between these two things. As you step onto the people mover, when you're using it the way that it was intended to be used, you're doing work as is the people mover. When you step on it in your passive, the people mover is doing the work. You're doing no work whatsoever. And that's very similar to our calling in the sense that, yes, we rely on God. Yes, we have God as a critical aspect of this process, but God asks us to be an active participant in the process too.

This race that we've been called to, it is not a people mover that we just jump on and stand there and let the course take us to the finish line. There is an expectation that God gives us in how we are to live this way of life and how we are to progress in this. So I don't know if it helps you to understand the concept or not. It kind of made sense to me. But this Christianity, this course that we've been put on and we've been asked to run, we have effort to do in this. There's training that takes place for us to be able to run it and run it well. Runners that train for endurance races in particular, you know, you're thinking 26 miles or more, you know, marathon or better, some of these big ultra marathons and things, these guys put on incredible miles as they train themselves to be able to do these runs. They discipline their bodies to operate in challenging conditions so they can press forward to the goal ultimately that is provided. I'll reference, I won't turn there, but I'll reference Philippians 3 verse 14. We've turned there quite a bit actually in messages over the last little bit and with various speakers. But Paul talks about this idea of not turning to what's behind but instead focusing on what's ahead. Have you ever tried to run when someone's chasing you and looked behind you to see where they are? What happens? You either slow down or you trip or something happens, right? I mean, you're not able to run with the kind of energy and activeness that you need if you're looking backward, right? When we coach kids for track, we told them don't worry about the person behind you. Run! Don't worry about the one. Don't sit there and get in the stretch and turn around and go, where is he? Doesn't matter. Run. You know, don't worry about it. Just go. Just go. Run your heart out and get there. So we have to be focused on what's ahead. Philippians 3 verse 14 talks about that idea that we are focused on what's ahead, not looking at what's behind, because we are pressing onward to the upward goal of our calling that God has provided for us. And so these, the training that takes place, these athletes train for victory. That's point number two. They train for victory. They are not going out to just sort of compete.

They're not going out to just kind of, I guess I'll compete a little. No, they're going out to either beat the field of competitors that they're up against, to beat the course itself, to be able to successfully say, I finished x race, or they're going out to beat their own personal best. They've set a time at a marathon rate or whatever, and they're out there now to beat that time. When I was in college, I went to school with a young lady that was pretty athletic, if I recall correctly, and it's been a number of years. I believe she was at Western on a soccer scholarship, and she was incredibly, incredibly athletic. I mean, she just was a very athletic person. She lived in Portland. She actually drove down to Monmouth every day. It was actually cheaper for her at the time to live with her parents in Portland and drive down to Monmouth than it was to live on campus. And so, she lived up in Portland. One Sunday morning in October, she woke up and she realized the Portland Marathon was taking place, just outside of her parents' apartment in Portland, was part of the route, and it was close to the starting line. And so, Jana, being Jana, without having trained at all for the marathon, just slipped out her parents' front door and blended in with the crowd and ran 25 miles. Because why not? Why not? So, no training at all. No bib. Nothing. She just hopped on the course, decided to go run a marathon with everybody else, and run to the finish line. No bib. Nothing. You know, just, I did it! Yay! Which is great. That's awesome. She finished the 25 or so miles of that marathon, not quite the full marathon, but with no problem and no training whatsoever. She put in no work, aside from her general athletic prowess, which, mind you, soccer players run a lot. I mean, you know, they do run a lot. They're very much peak physical condition. But it was, she thought it might be fun. Folks, that's not normal. It's just not. It's not normal. In fact, it's quite abnormal, to be honest, to be able to go out and just put in 25 miles like it's nothing and just shrug it off. Most people cannot do that. Most people. Jana was not normal.

Most runners that participate in endurance races, especially those that are 26 miles and up, they train for months leading up to that particular race. And they do that because they want to be competitive and they want to finish. Most of the time, they're not competing to win, as the average or even above average runner typically is on no kind of pace with elite marathon runners out there. You know, you've got folks that can sustain a solid four and a half minute pace for 26.2 miles. Most folks aren't touching that. They're just not. And so, they're really out there to compete against themselves. They're out there to compete against the course. I did some quick stats. 1.1 million people participate in marathon races around the world each year. That's from 2022 statistics. And each year, it said, on average, 95% of those runners actually finish their race. So, of the 1.1 million that go out, only 5% of those individuals, roughly 55,000 DNF or do not finish. Somewhere in those 55,000, somewhere along that course, as either a result of mental breakdown or physical breakdown, they decide, you know what? I'm done. I'm good. I don't need to worry about finishing this. I'll get the next one. Right? And 55,000 of them each year do not finish. The training and the sacrifice, the mental, the physical discipline necessary to be able to maintain a consistent pace is not something that just happens. It's not something that just happens. It's intentional. It's intentional and purposeful work, and it takes effort to make it happen. Let's go to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9, another spot where the Apostle Paul talks of the level of discipline necessary for these types of races physically. And of course, there's an analogy here to the spiritual as he references our efforts and the kind of training necessary to take on this particular spiritual life. 1 Corinthians 9, and picking it up in verse 24, under a section here, it says, striving for a crown, it says, do you not know that those who run in a race all run? You know, they're all out there competing for this prize. He says, but only one receives the prize. Now, in our spiritual race that we're talking about, that's not the case, right? That's not the situation spiritually. Those who finish, we see, have that opportunity for that crown. In fact, we're running a race that's already been won. Christ has already crossed that finish line in that sense. The first one's already through. But it says, run in such a way that you may obtain it. He's saying, get out there and make sure and actually compete. Put in the work necessary. Train well enough to be able to go out and compete. Says everyone who competes for the prize, speaking here of the physical prize, but also the analogy to the spiritual, is temperate in all things. Says, now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Paul goes on to write, therefore I run thus, not with uncertainties. Like, I don't run hesitantly. Says, thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. I'm not just practicing here. He says, I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I preach to others, I myself should become disqualified.

When it comes to a race like this, there's only one winner of the race. Really, I mean, there's one first place winner. But when your goal is to finish, there can be a lot of finishers. There can be a lot of finishers. Paul's point to those in Corinth is they need to ensure that they run in such a way that they can obtain it, that they can compete for that crown. Not only is this calling in this race a very active calling that requires effort, it requires focus, diligence, and a goal of nothing less than victory. In order to be victorious, Paul says, those that competed in these games, they were tempered in all things. Tempered in all things. They watched what they ate, they trained, they built muscle, they built cardiovascular endurance. You know, even today, when you look at athletes and how they go about their sport, the things that they do to shave milliseconds off of their time. You know, they train in Colorado at altitude so that when they come back down, their blood will carry more oxygen. Gives them a greater cardiovascular edge over somebody else. They're wearing performance fabrics and materials that reduce the wind resistance and give them a millisecond edge over the guy next to them. They're doing everything that they can to shave that time off to get that edge over the other athletes, and they do that because they desire nothing short of victory. Brethren, when it comes to our spiritual training, are we putting in that sort of effort? Are we looking for those edges? Are we really focused on the training that we're putting in? What, for that matter, do we have a spiritual training plan? Or is it haphazard? Do we have a plan? Romans 15 in verse 4 talks about the patience and comfort. Or, as that Greek is translated, the endurance and encouragement of the Scripture. The endurance that we can gain and the encouragement of the Scripture. And it talks about how that word of God strengthens our hope, and it strengthens our vision of that finish, of that goal in the distance. And because of that vision, because we have our eyes focused in the right place, as Mr. Griswold talked about today as we consider the world around us, when we have that vision, we can train ourselves accordingly because we're looking in the right place. You know, in this life, physically building muscle, building endurance, it happens little by little with repeat effort. Right? You go into the gym, you bench press, you put the weight up. Go in there, you do your work, right? Then the next day, you're sore. Right? You put in the work, you're sore. You're sore because your muscle is being broken down, and your body is taking the time with protein and other things to rebuild that muscle, and it rebuilds it stronger. You know, you've got that lactic acid from that process of breaking down your muscle that's causing the soreness. The act of breaking down and rebuilding spiritual muscle, rebuilding endurance, strengthening endurance is a process that God helps us to become more like Him in Christ. It's a process He uses.

It's challenging. Sometimes it's downright hard. But God strengthens us, each in this race, through adversity. We become stronger through adversity. Little bits of breaking down and building up and breaking down and building up, and it doesn't look like much. You can look in the mirror every day and not notice a change, but boy, you look in a mirror six months later. It's a big difference.

Big difference. Turn with me to 1 Peter 2. 1 Peter 2, Peter talks about some of these different things that we need to break down, some of these things that we actually need to remove from our life, and the things that we can ultimately grow in as we remove these things from our life. 1 Peter 2, and we'll pick it up in verses 1 through 3, you know, whether it's building muscle, whether it's building cardiovascular endurance, the principle is the same. Little by little, you get stronger, you get more endurance as a result, and it's little by little those gains add up over time. 1 Peter 2, verse 1... oops, I'm in second, Peter. That's not what I want. 1 Peter 2, verse 1, it says, therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, evil speaking, as newborn babes, says, desire the pure milk of the word, why? That you may grow thereby, if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. You know, the breaking down of these negative character flaws, the breaking down of deceit, malice, and hypocrisy, envy, evil speaking, the breaking down of these things results in a building up of those things which are godly. And it's exercising those spiritual muscles. It's exercising those spiritual lungs, little by little by little, each and every day, as we go through this calling, and as we yield ourselves to God. And that incremental change over a lifetime hopefully results in a person that is very different than when they set foot on that course, and it results in incredible spiritual growth. You know, much of the race that we're a part of, much of the physical races that people participate in today, is mental. You know, much of it is mental. The importance of our vision, the importance of the purpose of why we're doing what we're doing is critical because when it does get hard, you got to make sure your focus is on that purpose and on that vision of what you're after and what you're really doing. And so our third point is that we have to run with purpose. That'll be our focus for the for the third day of camp, but we have to run with purpose. Because without purpose, without vision, we lose motivation, and we run the risk of losing sight of the goal. And when that happens, you know, look at the passage it talks about, without vision, the people perish, right? If we don't have vision, if we don't have purpose, if we're not focused on why we're doing what we're doing, then ultimately we lose sight of the goal, and our choices and our decisions and our actions become incredibly haphazard. They become very random because they're not being directed in a certain way or in a certain focus. Suddenly we begin to do things that don't bring us closer to the goal. You know, if you stop in the middle of a race course, and the finish line's that way, and you start running the other way, are you gonna finish the race? Not until you turn back around. There's only one direction the race goes. The finish line's over here. If we're literally running in the other direction or walking in the other direction, we're not gonna get there. Keeping the vision in place, keeping the purpose in place, is critical. Again, running's largely mental. For those that have done this, if you've run marathons or you've run long-distance races, as the miles come on, it becomes even more of a mental game.

I've read a number of runners talk about their strategy when they get into this slog of like mile after mile, and their minds start to wander. You know, they start to... lungs start screaming at them, their feet start screaming at them, their calves start screaming at them, muscles start screaming. And in order to be able to get through what they're dealing with in that moment, they have to put their focus in a different place. And what they'll often do is they'll choose a point in the distance and they'll run towards it.

That's the only thing they're focused on is what's out here. They're not worried about anything right here. Their eyes are up and they're focused on what's off in the distance. And when they get there, they pick a next spot and they do it again. And they pick the next spot and they do it again. And pretty soon, that spot's the finish line. And they just keep going until eventually they cross that line. Because what that does is it breaks up this almost impossible distance into digestible chunks. Helps them kind of realize, okay, cross that chunk off, cross the next chunk off, and just be able to keep going.

Matthew 6 is one of the places in Scripture that gives us our focus. Again, as I mentioned before, Mr. Griswold's split today really kind of helped open this concept up and this importance of ensuring that we are focused on the right things in life and what it takes to be able to do that. Matthew 6. Christ is going through and talking to his disciples and instructing his disciples and those gathered on what really are the important things in life. What really are the things that are critical? What are the... what is the goal? What's the purpose? What's the vision?

And he's trying to help frame their perspective when it comes to challenges, when it comes to the difficult times. And in some ways, to be honest, is helping them also see their place in creation and how special as part of God's family, you know, future part of his family, we really are. Matthew 6. We're going to pick it up in verse 24.

Matthew 6, 24. He says, no one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he'll be loyal to the one and despise the other. He says, you cannot serve God and mammon or riches in this case. Therefore, he says, verse 25, I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you'll eat, what you'll drink, nor about your body, what you'll put on.

And this is the line that helps give us the perspective. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Christ almost telling his disciples, isn't there something bigger than this? Isn't there something bigger than this? He says, look at the birds of the air, for they don't sow or reap or gather into barns.

Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. He says, are you not of more value than they? 27, which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature? You know, you're worrying about your height, can't add inches to your height if you're worried about any of those things, right?

You know, I wish it was a little bit taller as the song used to go. 28, so why do you worry, it says, about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, the things which God has created, how they grow. It says, they neither toil nor spin. And yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all of his glory, was not a raid like one of these.

Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown in the oven, will he not much more clothe you, oh you of little faith? Therefore do not worry, verse 31, saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? Or what shall we wear? For after all these things the Gentiles seek, for your heavenly Father knows that you need all of these things.

Verse 33 gives us our marching orders. Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Keeping this perspective is critical for the race that we're a part of.

Because just like runners in endurance races feel every complaint of their feet, the musculature, they're feeling their labored and ragged breathing as they're struggling, as they get into those miles. We run this spiritual race, brethren, and if we are not careful, there are times that our focus can shift from the goal and the perspective of what's ahead to the immediate circumstances that we're in. And that's only natural. That's only natural.

But we have to keep perspective. We have to recognize what it is that God is calling us to.

Sometimes we can become concerned about material circumstances. Sometimes we have a desire to keep up with the Joneses. I don't know who they are, but they got all the coolest stuff. Sounds like the Joneses were always trying to keep up with them. God's point to His people is they shouldn't let those worries distract them from their ultimate goal. Life is more than food, the body more than clothing. Sparrows of the air don't worry. God takes care of them. The lilies of the field grow. They don't toil. They don't spin. God takes care of their finery. God says for us, we need to do two things. Seek first His kingdom, number one, and then second, seek His righteousness. Those two things seek first His kingdom and seek His righteousness. And in doing that, in seeking those two things, we're able to keep a focus on the purpose for which we've been called.

You know, what are some of the distractions that take us away from our focus? What are some of the different things that come up in life that pull us away from the focus on what is to come? What kind of things can cause us to run in such a way that we would not obtain the prize?

You know, we can have distractions in our life that impact our Sabbath observance. You know, we can have distractions that come in that impact how we keep God's holy time, whether it's the Sabbath or the holy days. We can deal with financial issues. We can have negative relationships that cause issues, social media and expectations of what life, quote unquote, should look like. We can become too focused on other things that dominate our time and dominate our thoughts. Every one of these things can distract us from our ultimate purpose and our ultimate goal of finishing the race. You know, our purpose, the reason for our calling, is to answer the call of God, to transform our life through the renewing of our minds and to maintain our focus on that which is above and not the pleasures of this life. Turn with me to Hebrews 11.

Hebrews 11. We'll see an example here of Moses. Hebrews 11. It's a great example.

It's Hebrews 11.24. Oops, would be before 3rd John.

Just a little. Hebrews 11.24. I'm talking again about Moses's example and what Moses experienced and how Moses lived. Hebrews 11 verse 24 says, by faith, Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. So he reached a point where he realized, you know what, this palace life is not for me. It's not for me. He says, choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ's greater riches than the treasures in Egypt. Why?

Well, the end of verse 26. Because he looked at the reward. Moses's eyes were in the distance, was on the focus and on the perspective and on the goal of what God had promised, that city with foundations. That so many of these individuals in Hebrews 11 were looking forward to, hadn't received it yet, but they saw the promise of far off and knew that God was faithful. And so they understood. They kept their eyes in the right place. They stayed focused on the right thing.

He wasn't focused on the sinful things of this life. He wasn't focused on the distractions of the pleasures of palace life. You know, he was the son, quote-unquote, of Pharaoh's daughter, but instead he chose to suffer affliction with his own people than to enjoy those passing pleasures of sin. His focus was elsewhere. It wasn't on the here and now. It wasn't on the right now. He was looking to the reward. You know, most of these individuals in Hebrews 11, again, they experienced similar things because they had a vision of what was coming. They had a vision of what God was providing. And it's the same with each of us in our spiritual race as we are on this course. It's that focus and that perseverance that helps us be able to stay in the race. Our fourth point is to stay in the race. Marathon runners enter a race knowing that it's going to be a challenge. They do not go in and get ready to run 26 miles and think, ah, this shouldn't be a problem. It'll be easy. You know, some of them, you know, obviously some of the more elite runners, they do this regularly, and so they're accustomed to the pain and the suffering. But that doesn't mean it's easy. It's still painful. It's still suffering, but they've just learned to be accustomed to it. They've learned to embrace the challenge. It's not a nice leisurely stroll. It's not a nice leisurely stroll. As we mentioned before, very few people outside of Jana are able to do, you know, 26 miles or so without training and getting ready for something like that. Many of you have heard of the wall, are familiar. Some of you may be very personally familiar with the wall. But around mile 18 to mile 23, many runners hit this, what has been known and become known as the wall. And as you well know, before many races, runners will load up on carbohydrates, and the goal is to stack carbs everywhere they can possibly stack carbs. It fills the liver up with glycogen. It fills up every possible storage area, and the goal is to eat enough of it that you actually have free carbs in your bloodstream. Because not only do you want to then pack up the storage spots, you want to be able to burn what's just drifting around, even in the bloodstream. But what ends up happening based on caloric output, you know, carbs are our fuel for our human furnace. You know, that's what our body burns primarily, is carbohydrates. And based on caloric expenditure by mile 18 to 23, unless a runner is fueling strategically throughout the race, which many do, they have burned all of their stored, they have burned all of their free carbohydrates, and quite frankly, that runner literally runs out of gas. There is no fuel in the tank. And you can see it. You can see it when people are running when they hit that wall.

Legs will turn to jelly, they'll kind of stumble. They start making weird decisions, they'll walk off the course, they'll turn around and go the other way. And what's happening is all of that remaining energy that's present in their body is being rerouted to their lungs and their muscle to keep them moving, and it's being routed away from their brain. The executive function suffers. You're not able to make solid sound decisions. And so what ends up happening is they get de-assoriented. They can pass out, they can start to stumble, they can look in confusion. Again, some have turned and run the other direction because they did not understand where they were or where they were going in that moment. They lose the focus on the vision because the immediate focus is on the now in the moment. And it's usually in this place, in this wall area between about miles 18 to 23, that most of your DNFs take place. There's a few that kind of peter out after the first, you know, couple of miles and decide, yeah, not today. But by 18 to 23, when they hit that wall, it's like, no, I am done. I'm done. No more. What's interesting is that every runner in a race really burns calories in much the same way. Some are more efficient than others. Some have a better way of doing it with training. But miles 18 to 23 challenges everyone. The difference in those that are successful versus those that are not comes down to training, comes down to fueling strategies, and it comes down to a willingness to embrace the challenge and embrace what they're feeling in that moment. To give it a big old hug rather than fight against it. To realize it's going to happen, give it a big hug and move on and just be able to go forward in what you're experiencing. Let's go to Hebrews. I'm sorry, 1 Peter 4. Check my time. I think I can get this done. 1 Peter 4. You guys, some of you guys have been through Waterhouse. You'll be fine. You've been through some... we'll be done. I won't keep you along. I don't think. 1 Peter 4. It's been a while since we've had a two-hour, huh? Some of you might be going, yes, thankfully.

1 Peter 4. You know, Peter wrote these particular words during a really challenging time period for the church. You know, this particular time period was a time, you know, largely from the Day of Pentecost on. For the most part, folks enjoyed a pretty relatively quiet period when it came to specific persecution. You know, while the Roman emperors were not necessarily supportive of Christianity, they also weren't necessarily super antagonistic against it until we start getting into about the 50s AD. You know, there was actually Claudius, even though it was illegal, had some protections in place for Christians that are kind of interesting. But once you get to Nero, that all changed. You know, that all changed very much once you get to Nero. To some degree with Caligula as well, earlier before Claudius, but with Nero especially. By the late 50s, early 60s AD, as we mentioned before, there was open disdain for Christianity. There was very specific persecution of Christians in Rome. You know, this is where we get the the concept of the Christians being burnt in in Nero's gardens, being lit on fire in Nero's gardens, because Nero was just that sadistic. He was that sadistic and had that big of an axe to grind at that time. But it's during that time period, ultimately, that we see Peter write what we see him write in 1 Peter 4, verse 12. He says, Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though something strange has happened to you. Peter says, don't be surprised. Don't be surprised with these challenges that take place, but rejoice, be thankful to the extent, express gratitude to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, and that when his glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. Can you imagine being glad about a situation like that and rejoicing in that situation? Talk about challenging. It says, if you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you for the spirit of glory, and of God rest upon you. On their part, he is blasphemed, but on your part, he is glorified. So as we look at this, the way that they are treating Christians is blasphemy. The way that they are treating Christians is blasphemy. It is against God. He's saying, on their part, it is blasphemy, but on your part, God here, he is glorified. You know, Peter is writing to scattered brethren throughout Asia Minor and its surrounding territories. He's trying to encourage them and comfort them as they experience these things. Really, he's telling them, expect these challenges. Expect these difficulties. Don't be surprised. Don't wonder why it's taking place. Instead, rejoice to the extent that you can be partakers of Christ's suffering. Embrace the challenge. Plan and strategize for the times that they come our way.

You know, along most roads of road races these days, there's throngs of spectators. You know, the walls of a race, typically the sides of a race course, they're full of people. And, you know, they've all got signs. They're all cheering people on. One of my favorites that I saw one time was, no time for walking, and it was giant face of Christopher Walken. I said, no time for walking. And it's just up there. And they're shaking it around, and they're cheering people on as they go by. You know, people all of a sudden, the music, there's a variety of things that people do. But what's interesting is the effect of these individuals has been studied and been found that they're actually a big part of the race for most people. They actually don't call them spectators anymore. They call them spectacular athletes. Because... I love the name. But because they are a big part of somebody getting through these races. That encouragement and that comfort that they provide in those moments when the miles are hard, it's those individuals and those signs and their encouragement and cheering the runners on that keep them going. I don't know if Caleb Janisis remembers this or not, but we ran an 8k. The bridge to brew is 8k at one point. I remember slogging out the final few miles. We're crossing this bridge. I'm dying. I'm struggling. And behind me, I hear this person with a little portable boombox. And they're carrying it as they're running. And it's just blaring like late 80s rap, whatever it was. And they're coming along and she's just bouncing along, just having a great old time. She's like, it keeps on going. That was enough to energize me to finish up that race. It's just crazy how those little things can happen. How those little... Caleb and I were both right there when that when that went down. So it's a neat, neat thing how that's there. But brethren, we have got to recognize we're as much a part of one another's support in this race as the runner that's out there on that field. We are keeping each other together. We're supporting one another in this race as well. When times get tough, the impact of that encouragement, it can't be overstated. In fact, in 2 Corinthians 1 verses 3 to 5, Paul talks about how God the Father is the God of all comfort. That he is a God of all comfort. That word, comfort, in Greek, as we've looked at before, it's periclesis. And it's translated frequently as encouragement. We are comforted and encouraged in our tribulation and trials by God, and why? So that we can extend that same comfort, that same tribulation, or that same tribulation, the same comfort and encouragement. Hopefully we're not extending tribulation to others.

But that same comfort and encouragement to others who are experiencing difficult times as well. We're able to take that encouragement we received and provide it to others. Brethren, we are in this together. We are all on this race course together. And if you haven't been listening to anything else I've said today, please listen to this. It is not weakness to lean on support and ask for help.

It is not weakness. What's truly weak is going at it alone and refusing support and help.

Truly, we need each other. We absolutely need each other. We cannot get through this without one another and without God's support. One of the most beautiful and necessary and commanded aspects of what God has given us are these holy assemblies. The Sabbath, the holy days, are opportunities to get together and support and encourage one another. We cannot do this calling in isolation. We cannot. It's critical that we support one another in this process and encourage one another when it gets challenging. We need one another. We need that encouragement. We need that support to keep one foot in front of the other. Because, brethren, on this race, quitting is not an option. Well, it's an option. It's not a good option. Let's put it that way. Quitting is not an option. We need to be able to go forward on this. We need to put one foot in front of the other. Let's go over to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 verse 1, that's the passage that really kind of spurred this particular theme for us as we kind of wrap things up here today. Hebrews 12 verse 1 says, therefore we also, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, referencing these individuals that are enumerated here in Hebrews 11, says, let us lay aside every weight in the sin which so easily ensnares us. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, the one who started us on this road and the one who will finish us on this road, the one who will provide for us as we finish this race, 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. You know, you take a look at Hebrews 11. Man, we are in good company. We're in good company. There have been so many people of God through the centuries that faced insurmountable challenges. They embraced those challenges knowing they were strangers in pilgrims, knowing they had something else to look forward to, lay aside the weights, lay aside the impediments, put one foot in front of the other until they finish the race, and they receive their crown. You know, their example is one that's incredible and one that ultimately should encourage and strengthen us as we individually go forward to receive our crowns, and that's our final point today is receive your crown. You know, this past year, this isn't running, but this past year in the NBA, we witnessed a 40-year all-time scoring record fall. Many of you may know Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, or are familiar, at least, with him as a player. He scored 38,387 points in regular season games throughout his career. On February 7, 2023, LeBron James surpassed that record and, as he's not yet retired, has extended it. That record stood for 40 years. 40 years! 2022, Maximus Williamson—I love his name—Maximus Williamson, 17-year-old kid from Texas, broke a 20-year-old swimming record set by Michael Phelps in the 400 individual medley at 17. Michael Phelps has so many gold medals, I'm not sure he could stand if he had them all in his head. Even that NBA scoring record that LeBron set will likely fall in the future. Records are set, records fall. Brethren, these are perishable crowns. These are perishable crowns. They will fall at some point in time.

The crown that we're competing for is imperishable. Unlike the laurel wreaths that are given as prizes in the Greek games, this crown will not wither. It will not lose its value. It will remain, and it will exist for eternity. And that is the crown that's being offered to each and every one of us.

But the expectation is that we will finish our race to receive it, that we will endure to the end, not passively, but actively. Revelation 3, verse 11, jot it in your notes if you'd like, Christ writes to the church in Philadelphia, says, Behold, I'm coming quickly. Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. Brethren, what is in this physical life that has the kind of value that we would be willing to trade eternity for?

What in this temporary world that is passing away is worth that crown and worth eternity? This race that we've been called to run, it's a race of endurance. And once we've accepted that calling, we started down the road. It is one foot in front of the other until we reach our finish line. Through the process, God is working with us. He's breaking us down. He's strengthening us. He's helping us to become more like Him and more like our elder brother, you know, the first place finisher here of our race. Okay, ultimately, the first one through in that sense. This is done little by little as we put on these miles spiritually, and we need to run these miles. We need to run this race with intentionality. We need to keep our focus. We need to keep the vision. We need to run with purpose. We can't let ourselves be distracted by the things that ultimately don't matter in the long run. We need to embrace the challenge. We need to lean into one another with support when the miles get tough and keep putting one foot in front of the other until we get to that finish line. And as we, you know, come into that shoot, so to speak, with the throngs of witnesses surrounding us in that sense, kind of, you know, as Paul writes here, we cross that finish line. Brethren, if we've run well letting God work in our lives, we will receive the crown that's been set up for us, and we'll hear the words, well done, good and faithful servant. You know, we're all in different places in this race. All of us are in different places. Some of us are just now setting foot on this path. Some of us are just now beginning this race. Some are still tying their shoes and hydrating. You know, we've got a lot of kids. Some are still tying their shoes and they're hydrating. They're getting ready to get out there and run, too. Some of you may be in the thick of the wall. Some of you may be right in the middle of miles 18 to 23. Some of you may have just cleared the wall and you're in the home stretch. Some of you are nearing the finish line. A number of others have already finished, victoriously. Brethren, we're all in this together. Let's continue to encourage one another, let's cheer one another on, let's support and love one another as you race to your crown.