[Mike Phelps] 26 years ago, British sprinter, Derek Redmond, and his father provided audiences with one of the most heart-wrenching, goose-bump inducing moments in Olympic history. As I read this, I think many of you will recall this event.  At the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, Redman had qualified for the semi-final of the 400 meter with the fastest time in his heat. He was looking strong when he suddenly pulled up. His hamstring had torn leaving him on his knees, doubled over in pain on the track. But determined to finish, Derek got back up and began to limp his way to the finish line, all the while being applauded and encouraged by the 65,000 people in the stadium. Surprisingly, he didn’t have to finish the race alone. Redmond’s father, Jim, ran from the stands and brushed off security to join his son. With tears in both of their eyes, the Redmonds finished the race together.

Derek Redmond is now a motivational speaker and he has a Barak Obama quote on the home page of his website. President Obama quoted this about Derek. He said, “Derek Redmond bravely making it through with little help – moments of euphoria after years of hard work, moments when the human spirit triumphs over injury that should have been impossible to overcome.”

This incredible moment has since been ackonowledged over the world as an example of how the human spirit can triumph over adversity. There is much more to this story. If you have never seen the video, I encourage you to go YouTube Derek Redmond and look at it on YouTube. The video is heart wrenching, because you see the hurt, and you know what is going through his mind and the desires that he has. Yet then, to see his father come out of the audience to offer him assistance. It is extrememly moving. The words of me reading the account just simply don’t do it justice.

You and I, we are not immune to adversity and challenges in our lives. We didn’t become baptized and then all of a sudden all adversities and challenges were removed from our lives.  God never promised to mankind an easy life, free of challenges in this physical world. Therefore, you and I don’t have this promise either. Some of you are living with adversity and challenge here today, right now. For some of us, it wasn’t that long ago that we battled through challenges – and the thoughts and memories are still fresh in our minds. And for most of us here, we will have to again battle challenges in the future as we continue to live our lives – whether it is a job loss,whether it is an illness that is out of your control. No matter what it is in life, we have challenges that come up. So what do we do when adversity strikes? Where do we go when challenges arise?

Charles Kettering was an American inventor and the holder of 186 patents. He was a founder of Delco and was head of research at General Motors from 1920-1947. He was on the cover of Time maganzine in 1933. In his spare time,  He appears to be one who gave thought about his future and has been quoted saying these things about the future and his thoughts towards it. These are some of his quotes, he says, “My interest is in the future, because I’m going to spend the rest of my life there.”  He has also been quoted to say, “You can’t have a better tomorrow if you are thinking about yesterday all the time.” He was also quoted saying, “No one would have crossed the ocean if he could have gotten off the ship in the storm.” This last one, I like, “Every time you tear a leaf off of the calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress.”

In the remainder of the time that I have with you this afternoon, I would like us to consider the Christian responsibility to go forward, because we have been called to go forward. The Christian responsibility to go forward because we have been called to go forward. For those who like titles, this message is titled, The Forward Looking Christian.

As believers, as the body of Christ, we have so much going for us. We could sit here all afternoon discusing everything that we have in Christ. and counting the blessings that we have been able to walk in newness of life. You and I have been able to walk in the newness off life.  We have a common faith. We have the same Savior. We have had our sins forgiven and we have instructions for living a full life. And we have right in front of us eternal life, as children, as heirs of our amazing God and Father. As we open our Bibles this afternoon, let’s turn to Ephesians 4 and verse 1. Ephesians 4, and verse 1 – I’ve shared this passage with you before. It is one of my favoirtes. And don’t worry, I will share this with you, probably, many other times.  There is so much power that is packed into this section here, and it’s one that we should never lose sight of. Ephesians 4, and verse 1 – here the apostle Paul says:

Ephesians 4:1-6 – “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.  There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called in one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.”

All of what we have as Christians – all of what is described here – is that oneness that binds all of us together as family. This oneness provides the glue that keep you and me as a unified the body of Jesus Christ. We are that body. We are unified through the oneness that is described here in Ephesians 4. So the questions for today: Do we just get to sit back and enjoy this oneness that is described here by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 4? Do we just sit back in our Lazy-Boy recliner, or in our beach chair basking in the glow of the sun, and enjoy this oneness? Or are we called to take this oneness that we have and then do something with it. Is there a requirement that we take all that we have been given, and all that is in our possession as God’s people, and to go forward? Again, looking at Ephesians 4, verse 1 we read, “I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”

Here is the key action word for today: to walk. To walk. There isn’t anything cryptic or unsual in how this word walk is used here in the passage. Simply it means to make ones way, to progress, to make due use of opportunities. Unity doesn’t just happen automatically. It takes work to be unified. It takes work to be one. Therefore, Paul admonishes us to walk worthy – to be active in our faith. Instead of focusing and concentrating on our differences and what can divide us, we should remember and work at what unifies each one of us. This oneness of body – you and me here today – the body of Christ, we are the church.  The oneness of Spirit – the Holy Spirit – that gift that can’t be purchased – but that gift that there is no greater that you and I share. The oneness of hope – our amazing future to be children of God. I still can’t ever wrap my mind just around the fullness of what that means – to be children of God.  The oneness of Lord – of Jesus Christ who died for our sins. The oneness of faith – our belief and our commitment to each other.  Oneness of baptism – that moment each of us accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. That oneness of God the Father – our heavenly Father, who called each one of us to him – each one of us to Him. He individually called us.

None of us will be perfect in this life. We each have personal challenges, we have events that happen to us and shape our lives. We lose jobs, we get fired, our car breaks down, health trials come upon us. This is why we are called to be patient and longsuffering with one another. This is why we are to find the good in one another. This is why we work through our differences, instead of dwelling on them – because our calling is not a passive calling. We must then walk.
The concept of walking or running is one that is used multiple times in the apostle’s writings – the apostle Paul’s writings. It is a concept we must work to internalize. Walking and running carries with it an aspect of going forward, of moving forward, of moving ahead. As I outlined earlier, it’s important that we remember that we are called by God to go forward, to move forward in our lives. I would like to look at another passage in Roman 8, and verse 1, as we continue to look at the call that we have in the face of challenges and the face of trials to go forward. Romans 8, and verse 1 – here we read:

Romans 8:1-5 –“There is, therefore, no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Again, this is the same Greek word we looked at in the previous passage – to make one’s way, to progress, to make due use of one’s opportunities. Continuing in verse 2: For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.  For those who live” – another action word, another forward looking word – the word live here – “for those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.”

In another one of Paul’s letters – this one to the church in Phillipi – Paul again addressed the responsibility for Christians to go forward. This one is in Phillipians 3, and verse 12. Phillipians 3, and verse 12 – the apostle Paul says:

Philippians 3:12 – “Not that I have already attained….” Actually, that’s breaking into the thought a little bit. Let’s start in verse 8. 

V-8-12 – “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. And now here in verse 12: Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected, but I press on” – again, that forward movement – “but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.” The word here for press on is the Greek word dioko, which means to run swiftly in order to catch a person or thing, to seek after eagerly or to earnestly endeavor to acquire. This is what Paul is saying here – that he seeks after eagerly, or earnestly to acquire of that which is what Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me. Continuing on in verse 13, Paul says:

V-13 – “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do” – this is the key from Paul himself – from inspired scripture – “forgetting those things which are behind – because we have challenges. We can stare at the rear view mirror of our life and look at the things that didn’t go right – the job that I lost, the health trial that’s unfair, the weakness that I have in the flesh – of things that maybe I even created myself, but are challenges that I have. And here the apostle Paul is saying;  here, “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things that are ahead.” The Greek word for reaching forward here is epictonomi. It conveys the thought of stretching out or towards something or to stretch onesself forward.  Paul is saying he is stretching forward to those things which are ahead, like that runner striving for the finish line – trying to reach forward. And as God’s people, we are called to do the same – to continue to strive forward for unity, for peace – strive forward for Christ. Verse 14 – continuing on in the writing by Paul:

V-14-16 – “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”Again, the same Greek word, dioko, as we read in verse 12. Paul is saying that he is seeking after eagerly the goal for the prize of the upward call in Christ. Continuing on in verse 15, he says: “Therefore let us, as many as are mature, have this mind. And if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal even this to you. Nevertheless, to the degree that we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule. Let us be of the same mind.  Brethren” – it goes on to say – “join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern.”

Through this passage, the apostle Paul is saying that – all through this passage he is saying – that, his goal in life was to know Christ, to be like Christ, to become all that Christ desired for him to become. The apostle poured all of his thoughts and all of his energy into this goal that he sought after. And then the apostle continually worked to go forward – to seek after eagerly the things that are of Christ. He said himself that he forgot those things which were behind him, and he reached forward to those things which were ahead. The example that Paul patterns should encourage us to do the same – to keep our eyes on the goal of knowing Christ and becoming more like Him.

The writer of Hebrews, which may have also been the apostle Paul, uses a similar analogy to what we just read here in Hebrews 12, and verse 1. You can begin turning there – Hebrews 12, and verse 1. Here the writer of Hebrews  details out many of those prior to this – in chapter 11 – who were faithful to the ends of their lives. So following that, in chapter 12, he says what our focus should be as we continue forward in our lives – striving for the Kingdom of God. Hebrews 12, and verse 1:

Hebrew 12:1-2 – “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 before us – in front of us, out there that we can strive for, that we can reach for. This is not backward looking for you and I, but going forward – striving forward. And in verse 2 – 12, verse 2: “… looking unto Jesus,” – he is saying this is the focus – the focus is spiritual, 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.” Again, we see here the single-minded focus of reaching towards Christ and emulating His example in all that we do and what is described throughout this passage.

Athlethes in training discipline their thoughts and they discipline their bodies. They understand the goals they desire to achieve and are working toward. As Paul described in the passage from Philippians 3, this is the mindset of desiring to be more like Christ  in our thoughts, actions, and in our words. This is the desiring after the oneness that Paul outlined in Ephesians 4. As an athlete in training, it’s not just about desiring the goal, but then we must work towards achieving it – the doing part, the going forward part. This is the action part of trying our best to of emulate Christ in our conduct. We must lay aside everything that conflicts with our goal of reaching towards and striving to be more like Christ.

 Many times, in order to reach forward, we have to forget our past. We have to forget about that job we lost. We have to forget about the health trial we are going through. An athlete can dwell on the missed shot, the failed attempt, the blocked field goal. They can dwell on this so long they never take steps to move forward and become better. We, as Christians, have to forget about our past mistakes, and the mistakes of others that have affected us. It is kind of like driving your car.  You don’t drive your car by staring into the rear view mirror. That rear view mirror is to see what we have passed, to see what we have gone by. It’s used as a tool to make it safe for me to move over into the other lane again. We look at it to see what is happening behind us – to see if an ambulance is approaching from behind, so that we are aware of our surroundings. But in front of us, we don’t have a little mirror. But we have a whole windshield to look out of, so that we can see where we are going. 

The apostle Paul had a lot of reasons to forget his past. Remember when Stephen was stoned and killed? Those who performed the stoning laid down his clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. And then after that, Saul who would later be named Paul, made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, commiting them to prison. That is in Acts, chapter 8, verse 3. You and I also have to let go of the past and then focus on the future. Each of us has a relationship with Jeusus Christ. And that relationship propels us forward when we open our lives to live by His truth. We must remember, if we have committed a sin and repented of it, then we must move on, seeking to continue running our race and growing more like Christ. If we do this, we are not stuck looking through the rear-view mirror of our life, but through the fullness of that huge windshield right in front of us, in which we can see our future and we can see where we are going. As we move toward the end of this message, there is a key that I hope has become clear through this message. And that is to keep your eye on Christ. Keep your eye on Christ.

I would like to look at an account in Matthew 14, and verse 22.  Matthew 14, and verse 22. Just prior to this, other events had happened. John the Baptist was beheaded. The disciples were fearful, not knowing what was going to happen with them, but they stayed with Christ. They continued learn and yield to Him. In Matthew 14, and verse 22, we have this account of Peter eventually walking on the water. It says:

Matthew 14:22-33 – “Immediately Jesus made His disciples get into the boat and go before Him to the other side, while He sent the multitudes away. And when He had sent the multitudes away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. Now when evening came, He was alone there. But the boat was now in the middle of the sea, tossed by the waves, for the wind was contrary. Now in the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went to them, walking on the sea. And when the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, “It is a ghost!” And they cried out for fear. But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, “Be of good cheer! It is I. Do not be afraid.” And Peter answered Him, and said, “Lord, if it is you, command me to come to You on the water.”  So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him, and said to him, “O you of little faith, why did you doubt?” And when they got into the boat, the wind ceased.  Then those who were in the boat came and worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God.”

There is so much depth to this passage and there isn’t only one way that it applies. But in the context of this message today, this is one way that this message can apply. How can it relate to us today? In this passage, we see Peter and the other apostles active in doing what Christ asked them to do. They were rowing across the sea of Galilee. They were active in their faith. We have each been called out of our lives – those past lives we once lived – into the body here – the body of Jesus christ. We have received God’s calling and accepted it to follow His will for our lives. Like the disciples in the boat, we were aware of the risks and potential challenges we might face  being a disciple of Christ. And yet, being aware, we still placed our hand to the plow and have committed ourselves to this way of life. So because of this commitment, we follow His instructions and we gather together each week, as His people are commanded to do, and we have become a new family together by His calling us out from our old past into this family that we have with us today – striving together, praying together, serving together. Just as those disciples gathered together in that boat because Christ instructed them to do, we gather here together as His holy and set apart people.

And as the disciples were following Christ’s instructions, what happened? Challenges arose. Have you ever been on a body of water at night in a boat? To me, it’s a bit unsettling, because of the vastness of that body of water and the darkness of that sky. And you are just sitting out there, alone in a boat, out in this dark open area. It may have been a little unsettling to the disciples.  And then add in that there was a storm and waves crashing in against their boat, they were probably unable to see the direction that they were wanting to go. They obviously couldn’t see Christ, because when they walked to them, they thought He was a ghost. So they couldn’t make out clearly who He was. As a body of believers, the same happens to us. Events occur in our midst that may buffet us around. We get knocked on one side, only moments later to get knocked again on the other. Our direction, our path – it may not seem clear to us. We may ask ourselves the question, “What do I do? Where do I go for help?” But the facts remain. We are God’s chosen and set apart people. Jesus is the captain of our salvation. That is from Hebrews 2, verse 10. He is the one leading our lives and He is very aware when the path He has allowed us to be on becomes challenging – just as it was for the disciples in the boat on the sea. Jesus knew there would be challenges in Galilee for those discples, but He told them to go anyway. God knew that we would face challenges as we live this life, yet He has called us to this way of life anyway.
But in the midst of this challenge the disciples were facing, Christ came to them. Christ came to them. Jesus, with all His might and power, overcame the physics of this world to walk out to them on water.

The challenges that we go through in life, at times, seem more than we can handle. And because of the weight at times, it may slip our minds that the challenge is not too much, though, for God. It takes faith to trust God when we can’t see Him. Because of the storms and because it was at night, the disciples lost sight of Christ on the shore. All they could see were the challenges that were all around them. But Christ came to them. Our elder brother is with us in the challenges of life. He’s right along side of us. We may not be able to see Him, but He’s right there. He’s right here with us now. Christ made Himself known to the disciples as He makes himself known to us when we seek Him and our Father. In the midst of challenge, the disciple Peter did a supernatual thing though. He walked on water. Again Matthew 14:28:

Matthew 14:18 – And Peter answered Him and said, “Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water.” So He said, “Come.” And when Peter had come down out of the boat, he walked on the water to go to Jesus. 

I can not say that I have ever walked on water, but I can say that in the midst of  extreme challenge, I was enabled to do supernatural things. Have you ever witnessed someone going through a severe trial, but then be in awe of the way that they handled it? To be in awe of the words they expressed to you? To be shocked at the peace or of the faith that person exhibited? And often when we see this supernatual expressions in a person, we tell them what an example they are to us and to others! But often, the person immediately gives the glory to God. They express they are not doing the thing by their own power and might, but through the power of God working in their life.

Every step that Peter took away from the support that that boat provided, every step was a supernatural step of faith. Every volunatary step took him farther from that physical boat. Every single step took him farther from what he knew to be comfort in this world – that physical boat – farther from what this world offers. Because of the faith that Peter had in Jesus, in the midst of challenge, he was able to walk on water towards Christ. 

You and I may never walk on water, but we can do things in our life that surpasses the physical limitations that this earth provides. We can demonstrate the faith we have in God the Father and Jesus Christ. When people around us are grasping for things to believe in – our friends at school, our colleagues at work, our neighbors next door, they are grasping for things to believe in – you and I have something so powerful to believe in. We have things to have faith in. We can be that true example of belief and faith as we live our Christian life moving forward in the midst of challenge.

But Peter walking on water isn’t the end of the story here. As Peter was walking, what happened? He began to sink. Because Peter was human and because we are all subject to the physical elements happening in life, Peter became fearful and distracted with the things going on around him. I invision that as he walked with his eyes on Christ, in the midst of the storm, that maybe a big wave hit him from one side and all of a sudden it knocked him a little bit off. His path he was walking right towards Christ maybe got knocked off a little bit. Maybe that water got splashed up into his eyes and drew his attention away from Chrst for a moment.

I believe that the moment the reality of what exactly he was doing – he was walking on water, away from the boat, in the midst of a storm! – I believe that reality probably came to his mind and he lost his focus on Christ. Just like Peter, sometimes, in the midst of having a strong and powerful connection with God, we get blindsided by something big. It knocks us off balance. Our faith in God is tested. This isn’t necessarily because of anything we did. Sometimes these things just happen in life. But in the midst of Peter taking his eyes off God – and what I believe is the most powerful part of this passage – occurred. Christ did not take his eyes off Peter. Christ never took his eyes off Peter. Christ knew exactly what was going on with Peter at the exact moment Peter’s faith began to weaken. Again, Matthew 14, verse 30 says:

Matthew 14:30 – “But when he saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink he cried out, saying, “Lord, save me!” And immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and caught him.”

When we sense our physical limitations and we feel our physical weakness, God is not far from us. When we struggle with complete faith in God, God is not far from us. When we struggle to understand why something is happening in our life that doesn’t make sense, God is not far from us. We lose sight of this so many times because we can’t see God standing right beside us. We can’t reach out and feel his physical touch, but God is right there extending His hand to us, just as Christ reached out and caught Peter. Christ did not allow Peter to slip completely under the waves of the storm and be lost forever. He stretched out his hand and He caught him. Our loving father and our God will do the same for us. In our moments of severe trials and challenge, God will not allow us to be destoryed by what is happening around us. We will be saved by the mighty hand of God.

Just like Derek Redmond, the Olympic runner from Great Britain, we too can triumph over adversity. The Olympian had a goal that was still in front of him on the track that he was kneeling on in pain. He dreamed about that moment. He trained for this moment. He was living this moment!  In the face of adversity, Derek Redmond stood back up and started limping toward the finish line, and with the help of his father, he made it.

Each of us here, we are on a path to greatness. God has called each of us to His truth and to live His way of life today because of his great love for you and me. God has called us to go forward in the face of challenge – to keep our eyes on the end goal and to continue to endure as a family to the end. Yeah, life hits us squarely between the eyes sometimes, and it can cause us to see stars and to become disoriented for a bit. But we haven’t been called to spend time staring at the past. We have been called to go forward. One last passage in Colossians 1, verse 9:

Colossians 1:9 – “For this reason we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you may walk worthy of the Lord – forward movement – not past, not another direction – that you may walk worthy of the Lord , fully pleasing Him, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power for all patience and longsuffering with joy, giving thanks to the Father who has qualified us to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in the light.”