Stay in the Race
Author: Pastor H. Bill Coker
December 29, 2020
Scripture:
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1-2; KJV).
- A race has a starting point and a finished point.
- What happens between these two points to a great degree, determines how we end the race.
- A wise man said that it is not so much how we start the race, or what happens during the race, but it is how we finish the race, that is what really matters.
- To run well is to be disciplined well.
- So, run with endurance or patience the race that is set before you and you will finish well.
- We will be blessed if we stay the course; we will be blessed when we follow the set directions; and we will be blessed if we persevere in faith!
Staying in the race must be your decision!
Take Action:
We are called to stay in the race to finish well:
1. We have to stay in the race to finish the race: Do you not know that those who run in a race all run…, (1 Cor. 9:24).
2. You must maintain your pace to run the race well: “Run in such a way that you may obtain it…” (1 Cor. 9:24).
3. God will give you grace for the race: “…my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – The task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace” (Acts 20:24).
4. Raise your praise while you are in the race: “I will bless the Lord at all times, His praise shall continually be in my mouth” (Psa. 34:1).
5. Stay in the race all the way: “Run in such a way that you may obtain it” (1 Cor. 9:24).
Points of Reflection:
1. Be grounded in grace to stay in the race.
2. Be filled with faith to stay in the race.
3. Be still and know that God is in the race with you.
4. Be strong in the strength of the Lord and endure till the end.
When you run alone, it is called a race! When God runs with you, it is called grace!
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for giving me sufficient grace to stay in the race. Direct my gaze to Jesus, the Author and Finisher of my faith. Then give me the wherewithal to endure till the end. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.
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