This month the 2004 Olympics in Athens gave us both the "thrill of victory and the agony of defeat". One example of both thrill and agony occurred in the women’s marathon. Paula Radcliffe of Great Britain was expected to not only do well in the race but to win the gold. Two years before this race she had set the world record at 2:15:25. Yet in the 90 degree heat and only four miles go, she couldn’t go any farther, sat down on the curb and wept uncontrollably. In the same race American, Deena Kastor, not only reached the finish but also took third place winning the bronze medal. Eight years ago she finished her career at the University of Arkansas and had decided to open a bagel shop. Yet at 31 years old she became the first American woman to win a medal in the marathon since 1984. She finished the race with her arms reaching up, displaying tears of joy for all to see. (Sports Illustrated, 8/30/04, p. 40-44)

The Bible teaches very clearly that life is a race. Unfortunately, most people never finish it. They get waylaid, sidetracked, distracted. For one reason or another, they die with unfulfilled dreams, with unrealized potential and without ever becoming what God intended their life to become. The Apostle Paul wrote about this more than anybody else. In Acts 20:24 he says, "I consider my life worth nothing to me if only I may finish the race and complete the task that the Lord Jesus has given me." At the end of Paul’s life he writes another letter, a letter to a man named Timothy. In the last chapter of the last letter Paul wrote before he died he said (4:7), "I have finished the race."

Are you going to be able to say that about your life? That you did what God made you to do? That you fulfilled the purpose for which you were put on this earth? In 1 Corinthians 9:24, "Run in such a way as to get the prize." That tells us that there is a right way and a wrong way to run a race. So this morning I want to give you the Rules of the Race. If you want to make it to the finish line, make your life count, get into the winners box and stand before God one day and say, "God, I did what You made me to do," you’ve got to keep these five rules of the race.

I. If I want to finish the race of life I must remove all distractions. Hebrews 12:1 says this "Let us strip off anything that slows us down or holds us back and let us run with patience the particular race that God has set before us." The Bible says strip off anything that slows you down, eliminate the unnecessary baggage, simplify your life and only do what really counts. Don’t get distracted.

What is it that can distract you from being what God wants you to be? There are lots of things that can distract us. Yet the number one thing that keeps people from becoming what God wants them to become is their past. There are two things that make you stuck in your past – guilt and bitterness. Guilt from things that you’ve done wrong, still feel bad over, you’ve never forgiven yourself over. Resentment or bitterness from things that people have done to you. Either one you’re dead in the water! If you want to get on with the future, if you want to finish the race of life, you’ve got to stop rehearsing your past, you’ve got to stop being manipulated by memories, and you’ve got to release the past. You have to give up your guilt – forgive yourself because God’s forgiven you if you’ve come to Christ. You’ve got to give up your grudges – forgive other people. You’ve got to give up your grief. You’ve got to get on with the future because that’s where you’re going to spend the rest of your life. Paul had every reason to be filled with regrets. Yet he says in Philippians 3:13, "Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race."

By now I’m sure you have heard of the bizarre finish to the men’s marathon on the last dayof the Athens Games. Vanderlei Lima of Brazil was in the lead with two miles to go when a man came out of the crowd and pushed him to the side. The incident so distracted him that he lost his focus and finished third, winning the bronze instead of the gold. So don’t let the past distract you. It’s a brand new day. You have stumbled. You have fallen. You’ve gotten knocked out of the race probably dozens of times, but winners get back up and they get in it and they keep on going. They don’t give up and they don’t allow distractions to bother them. The crowd doesn’t distract them whether they’re cheering or booing. They’re running for the finish line. They’re focused. I’ve got to remove all distractions.

II. Another rule for the race is to remember the reason and the reward for the race. It’s very hard and it takes a lot of energy to do that. If you don’t know why you do what you do, you’ll never stick with it. The "why" always determines "how long" in life. The reason always determines your motivation. That’s why we have so many discouraged, depressed people today. They have no reason for living. They get up in the morning and they go to work, they come home, they watch TV and go to bed and they go, "Why am I doing this?" If you have no reason, no meaning, no purpose in life but just trying to get ahead and you don’t know that there is more to this life then you’re going to give up, get discouraged, quit and you won’t make it to the end of the race. You have to remember the reason why you do what you do.

Whenever I get discouraged, whenever I feel like giving up, I remember two wonderful truths:

I’m doing what I’m doing because God called me to do it! He assigned it to me and He has a life mission for me. That goes to say that if God gives you something to do, He’s going to give you the power to do it. God doesn’t ask you to do something He won’t give you the energy, the brains, the intelligence to get it done. So if He tells you, "This is your life mission," it’s going to actually end up being easier than if you don’t do your life mission. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 4, "God has given us this work to do. So we don’t become discouraged." I remember, "Why am I doing this? Because it’s assigned to me by God."

If I am doing what I’m doing because God called me to do it then it means I’m going to be rewarded some day. 1 Corinthians 9:25, "All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize." We don’t like the self-control part. What we want to do is do what God wants us to do, plus have everything else the world offers. God says that’s not possible. If you’re going to win a race, you’re going to have to go through some discipline, some self-denial. You don’t have time for everything. 1 Cor. 9:26 says, "So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step."

There are rewards here on earth but they don’t last. You can fill a whole trophy case with trophies but who cares about them? Given enough time, somebody’s going to throw away your trophies. Did you know there are people who collect Olympic medals? It’s true. The only way someone could get a medal legitimately is if the person who won it or the family who owned it wanted to sell it! So don’t live for the rewards, applause, acclaim or fame of people because you’re going to be a hero one day and the next day your medals are on eBay!

There are three kinds of motivation for reward. There is internal motivation where I do things because I’m internally motivated and sometimes those internal motivations are wrong. Then there are external motivations. That’s when you get the gold watch, the pin, the trophy, your picture on the cover of some magazine. But neither internal nor external motivations last. If you’re going to make it to the finish line in the race of life, you need eternal motivation. That’s where he says we keep our eye not on the things around us. We keep our eye on the goal in heaven. You’re going to spend far more of your life in eternity – thousands and thousands of years in eternity and maybe 100 at the most on this planet. Don’t build your life around just the here and now. You’ve got to have eternal perspective.

So keep your eyes on the reason you’re doing it – God is helping me. He gave me this job so He’s helping me. Also keep your eyes on the reward, which is, I’m going to get it in heaven. I’m going to enjoy that reward for eternity. Focus on my purpose, not my problems.

III. To last over the long haul, you have to know how to renew yourself daily– spiritually, emotionally, physically, and mentally. That’s also a rule for the race: renew yourself daily. 2 Corinthians 4:16 says, "We do not become discouraged because our spiritual being is renewed day by day." That means every 24-hours – daily. You need to know what renews you and then you need to do it over and over.

You need to learn how to do that in your life. Every time you get tired and discouraged you can’t just hop off to somewhere else. I don’t know if you’ve figured that out yet but you can’t just call up and say, "Boss, I’m not really feeling motivated today. I think I’ll take a couple of weeks off." No, you have to keep going. You have to know, how do I recharge myself in the middle of this hectic lifestyle, in the middle of this stress, in the middle of life as it really is lived. Learn how to recharge yourself during the day. Know what relaxes, what recharges you spiritually, physically, and mentally and do it.

I don’t know how Michael Phelps kept himself going in his quest for 6 gold and 2 bronze medals in the swimming competition. He swam 17 races and logged the equivalent of 43 miles for the Olympics. Yet before each race he had his headphones on listening to music to recharge and focus himself. One morning when he just couldn’t get out of bed his roommate said, "Only one more dude."

In the same way it takes energy to do God’s will. So what do you do when you run out of energy? Psalm 94:19, "Lord, when doubts fill my mind, and when my heart is in turmoil, quiet me and give me renewed hope and cheer." Are you ever quiet? God says, if you want to lower your stress, simply be quite. Be silent. When you feel your pressure going up just stop and say, "God, I just want to tune in on You again. I just want to focus in on you." Why am I saying this? Because the race of life is tough. Inevitably it’s tough to live God’s plan for your life. You start getting distracted. You start having discouragement then you start to doubt. You start wondering, "Maybe it’s not such a good idea. Maybe I should not try to live for God. Maybe I should just cruise for the next couple of months. Maybe I should just coast." When you’re coasting, you’re always heading downhill.

How do you defeat doubt? When you begin to doubt yourself, you remember three things: Remind yourself of God’s goodness yesterday, God’s presence is with me today, and remember God’s promises for tomorrow. God’s goodness yesterday, God’s presence today, God’s promises tomorrow. Those are the things that can renew me daily.

IV. I must resist discouragement, if I’m going to make it to the end of the race. Galatians 6:9 says this: "So don't get tired of doing what is good. Don't get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time." Do you ever do that? Do you ever get tired of doing what’s right? Sure. Because it’s easier to do the wrong thing.

Discouragement is a deadly enemy of your life mission. It is Satan’s favorite tool because it works so well. If he can get you discouraged, he’s neutralized you. You are ineffective. Why? Because discouraged people are the opposite of people of faith. God uses people who have faith. When I am discouraged I’m saying, "It can’t be done." That’s the exact opposite of saying, "I know God can do it because He’s said…" Satan wants to discourage you.

The Bible says you need to resist discouragement. Don’t give in without a fight. Nothing worthwhile ever happens without endurance and energy. It always takes persistence. Great people are really just ordinary people with an extraordinary amount of determination. They don’t know how to quit.

Justin Gatlin didn’t know how to quit. Two times before the Athens games he encountered things that could have made him quit track and field in Athens. He was competing in the men’s 100 meters and was not expected to win a medal. He told himself this past spring that he had to find something within himself to compete. So he had this statement tattooed on his arm: "live to fight, fight to live." Before the race he trotted up and down the track saying, "Got to run…got to run…got to run until my heart explodes." He ran and his heart didn’t explode and he won the gold in 9.85 seconds. (Sports Illustrated, 8/30/04)

In a crowd this size I’m sure many of you are discouraged this morning. I want to say something to you. It may sound mean. It’s not mean, it’s the truth. I say this in love. If you’re discouraged this morning, that’s your choice. It’s because you’re choosing to be discouraged. Because discouragement is always a choice. You don’t have to be discouraged. Discouragement comes from thinking discouraging thoughts and you can change your thoughts any time. It’s what you choose to focus on – my purpose or my problems, God’s power or my weakness, Christ or my circumstances. What am I going to focus on? It’s your choice. You can choose instead of looking at the problem, looking at the impossible situation, looking at the disappointment, you can choose to look at God’s goodness yesterday, God’s presence today and God’s promises tomorrow. You don’t have to be discouraged. It’s a choice.

Great people fight discouragement. When you get discouraged, ignore it. "Sorry, I don’t have time to be discouraged right now. I’m too busy fulfilling my life mission." You are realistic but you’re also optimistic because you are a Christian. And, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." And, "Lo, I am with you always," God says. He will help you and He will strengthen you. You are realistic but you’re also optimistic. Because that’s what faith is all about.

Some of you are going through some difficult times right now and you feel like dropping out of the race. The situation may seem unmanageable. It may seem unfair what you’re going through right now. It may seem unreasonable. Honestly it may seem unbearable. Inside you’re basically saying, "God, I can’t take it any more. I just can’t take it any more!" But you can. You can take it some more because God is with you. You are never a failure until you quit. If you quit you won’t make it to the finish line.

V. The last rule for the race is you must rely on Christ. Your life mission cannot be completed by human power alone. Colossians 1:29 says, "I work very hard at this, as I depend on Christ's mighty power that works within me." 1 Peter 4:11 says, "Are you called to help others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then God will be given glory in everything through Jesus Christ." Where God guides, He provides. What He calls you to do, He equips you to do. He can take a talent, an opportunity, a skill, a hobby and use it as part of your life mission to help other people. But you’ve got to rely on Christ.

As I’ve said earlier, you have stumbled, yes. You have gotten knocked out of the race. Other people may have even pushed you to the curb. But the race is not over. It’s not over. I heard Coach Guy Kochel say last week that it’s not how you start the race of life that matters. You probably blew that part. But it’s how you finish it that matters. The Christian race is not a competition of who can get to the end first. The Christian race is one of endurance and the issue is how well do you finish. The Bible says in Philippians 1, "God who began the good work with you will keep right on helping you grow in His grace until His task within you is finally finished." You are never a failure until you quit.

Hebrews 12 (Message translation): "Do you see what all this means? All of these pioneers who blazed the way of faith before you, all of these veterans cheering us on. It means we’d better get on with it. Strip down, start running, and never quit. No excess spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Keep your eyes on Jesus who both began and finished this race that we’re in. So study how He did it. Because He never lost sight of where He was headed. That exhilarating finish in and with God. He could put up with anything along the way. The cross, shame, whatever. And now He’s there in that place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourself dragging your faith, go over that story again item by item, that long litany of hostilities that He plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls."

Of all the stories from the Olympics that captured our attention none was greater than the story of the U.S. Woman’s Softball Team. Team USA outscored its opponents 51-1, four games were stopped because of the mercy rule and they batted .343, .107 higher than their opponents, on their way to winning the gold medal. Yet their victory was balanced by something far more real. Five weeks before winning the gold, Sue Candrea, the wife of their coach Mike Candrea, died of a brain aneurysm. Michael Farber writes in Sports Illustrated, "You cannot offer to trade one for the other; there is a mercy rule in softball, none in life. But his wife of almost 28 years was the spirit that wreathed this team as much as the laurels that ultimately wreathed their heads. Certainly she never strayed from her grieving husband’s thoughts. After the second game of the Olympics, Candrea handed a reporter a laminated card. There was a picture of Sue on the front and, this passage, from First Corinthians 9:24-25 on the back: ‘Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who goes into the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.’" Mike and the girls won the gold but Sue received the crown.

Finish the race. For some of you, get back in the race. For some of you, start the race today. What’s holding you back? What’s distracting you? What’s keeping you from giving it all? Are you going to be able to stand at the end of your life and stand before your Savior and say, "I finished the race. I did what You put me on earth to do. I wasn’t selfish.` I gave my life away. I helped other people. I didn’t just think about me. I did what You put me here to do." I hope you’ll be able to say that. I really do.

Sunday, September 5, 2004

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

btippit@fbcjonesboro.org