Finishing the Race, Conquering the Walls…..
1 Corinthians 9:24 “Do you not know that all the runners in a race compete, but not all receive the prize? So run to win. Each competitor must exercise self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one. So I do not run uncertainly as one who has no clear objective. Instead I subdue my body and make it my slave, so that after preaching to others I myself will not be disqualified and unable to finish”.
Speaking of running, running shoes have become more and more technologically advanced. There are shoes for jelling and shoes with coil springs to give you more shock absorbancy. They have heated shoes for cold weather and cooling shoes for the heat. A guy went in a shoe store and they told him this new model of running shoes can even predict the weather! He asked how and the salesperson told him:
"Leave your shoes outside for a little while if they are wet it's raining, if they are dry it's sunny, if you can’t see them it's foggy."
When you have made the decision that you are going to begin running, it’s not your ability that matters as much as your expandability. It’s not how well you can run, but are you willing to stretch yourself a little bit more every day that you get up and put your shoes on.
Jesus is looking for stretchable people.
He said in Mark 2:22 “No one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else the new wine bursts the wineskins, the wine is spilled, and the wineskins are ruined. But new wine must be put into new wineskins”. When new wine continues to cure or ferment, it will expand, and old wineskins have no more stretch left in them, so a wineskin that will stretch in the curing process is necessary.
Satan speaks into our lives with the language of the lid. The language of the lid speaks of our performances that didn’t measure up, our lack of opportunity, our lack of natural endowments. It is about comparing ourselves to others and we all have lids in our vocabulary.
Moses spoke the language of the lid when he said I am not a good speaker. Gideon spoke the language of the lid, when he said my family is the least in Israel. David was the shortest and he was overlooked, while Saul was the tallest and best looking.
Satan is a capacity thief and he recognizes that we will not rise above voices of the lid in our heads. What are you privately agreeing with him about?
Where are the places that you keep hitting the wall? Maybe it’s your capacity to handle stress, or your relational capacity, is it a forgiveness capacity, a common sense capacity, or a lid that keeps you from physical activity….Did you hit the wall when someone betrayed you…or in a relationship, in a confidence, or in a business dealing, and you found out quick where your limits were…. Life has a way of showing us all where our limits are, and It’s important to everyone who has decided to run a race, to know where these walls are in every area, so that you can expand beyond them….and stretch to the next level…
Now let me tell you a revealing secret about all of us. When we reach our limits we usually don't pray for increased capacity, but for our troubles to be matched to our present capacity. We pray, “God, only give me what I can handle…we pray, Lord, please reduce all of this to a manageable level that I can handle.
But Sometimes that won't fit with God's plan because He is taking us to a new level that will stretch us in some very uncomfortable ways.
Listen to the Apostle’s prayer when they hit the lid of their limitations….
Act 4:29 “And now, Lord, behold their threatenings and grant unto your servants, that with all boldness we may speak your word, v30 By stretching forth Your hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of the holy child Jesus. v31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spoke the word of God with boldness”.
Hitting the wall....is something every runner has encountered. It takes place when the body uses up its stockpile of glycogen, a form of glucose that's stored in the liver and muscles. Glycogen is the main fuel used during sustained exercise and largely comes from carbohydrates such as pasta, bread, fruits and vegetables.
Dr. Robert Sallis, president of the American College of Sports Medicine says, “When the glycogen stockpile is gone, the body begins to feed on itself. The brain needs sugar to work as well," he says, "and actually it's more sensitive to low sugar than the muscles are. The Symptoms are dizziness, nausea and exhaustion. After prolonged, extended, exertion, this depletion can happen at any time”.
He says “When hitting the wall, runners should slow their pace and replenish their glycogen level. Some are still able to finish. some are just slowed way down, but many drop out of the race and cannot finish”.
Writers call it writer’s block, dieters call it plateauing, boxers call it the slump, runners call it bonking, to athletes it’s being off their game.
Race drivers call it losing the edge, investors call it an off market, gamblers call it bad luck, and Christians call it backsliding….
It could be the results of financial stress, marriage problems, a derailed career, a crises, a disappointment, prolonged bad health problems, or dreams and hopes delayed or deferred... the wall has many faces, and many names….
There are folks that will be under a bridge tonight, or declaring bankruptcy, or beginning a journey into drugs, maybe they’re in a mental institution, or maybe contemplating suicide, because they didn't know what to do when they hit the wall. what to do when they hit the wall.…
The wall can bring you to a place where you have trouble believing and receiving like you once could. The voice of pain, disappointment, discouragement, loneliness, broken dreams, detours, and spoiled, unfulfilled plans, can be a barrier to your faith, and harden your heart. It can happen before you even realize it.
Jesus told the story of a man who hit the wall in the book of Luke... He lets us know how we too can handle "hitting the wall......
Luke 11:5 “And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves; For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing (the language of the lid) to set before him”. And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, (the wall) and I and my children are in bed. I cannot rise (language of the lid) and give unto you. I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity (persistence) he will rise and give him as much as he needs”. “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asks receives and he that seeks finds and to him that knocks it shall be opened”.
Don’t quit and don’t give up, because as a believer in Christ, you can take Him at his word, that He is the door, when all you see is a wall! We are going to look at five doors to the walls we encounter in our lives.
The first wall we will look at is the wall of Encumbrances. Paul says in Hebrews 12:1 “we must lay aside every encumbrance”. What is an encumbrance? The Greek word (og kos… literally means a bulk, a weight, a burden) It is anything which will slow you down or limit your potential. So where is the door to this wall of encumbrance?
It is found in 1 Corinthians 6:12 “All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient, (soom-fer'-o.. for the best, that which contributes to the desired end, that which is profitable) there are many things that are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power (weight) of any but Christ”. If it doesn’t glorify Christ, and if it is not part of the calling on your life, or won’t get you where Christ is bringing you, pass that one by!!!! So stop crashing into the wall of encumberance and use the door of Divine expediency!
The Second wall is Entanglements. The English word here pretty well defines what the Greek word means. However, the Greek word (euper is ta tov…means to take another path or trail that leads us further away from our goal) We must avoid that which slows us down, and that which trips us up.
The door to this wall is found in Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart, don't try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go. He's the one who will keep you on track."
The third wall is Exhaustion. Running with endurance reflects the understanding that we are in this for the long haul and will experience times when we've exhausted our strength, ability, resources and even our will to go on. But God has a door for you when you run into this wall…The door He provides for us (you may not want to hear this) but it’s
2 Timothy 4:5 “But be prepared in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of your ministry”. The Greek word, endurance is (hupo mones… a steady determination, a commitment for the long haul, applying pressure over a span of time) Sometimes your faith and your confession have to put pressure on the problem and keep pressing in to inherit the promise!
You can’t see air, but this invisible force, in the form of wind, has transformed pyramids, mountains, and turned boulders into desert sand…. water has very little solid form, but over the centuries, it has carved out the Grand Canyon, and transformed continents! With steady commitment and consistant faith, you and I can change the world we live in! Paul calls it pressing in!!!! God is looking for those who are in it to win it….in it for the long haul, the "whatever it takes team" (Use the endurance door!!)
The fourth Wall, is “The way you see it”…..In 2nd Kings 6, Elisha’s servant saw the King’s army, but Elisha saw the army of the Lord. What the servant saw gave him a sense of defeat, but what Elisha saw, gave him confidence for the victory. When the servant’s eyes were opened, it put a door in the wall of his view point!
The way you see it will help or hinder you. If you're looking at the wrong goals, you'll never finish. If you’re going to win the race, you must keep your eyes on the goal. We are running this race for souls, for changed lives, for eternal rewards, for God's glory, for Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven!
Matthew 17:19-20 Then came the disciples to Jesus privately, and said, Why did this happen? And Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief, for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, remove to a far place and it shall remove and nothing shall be impossible unto you”. How you see, is how you will speak, what you see is what you will say!!!
Another wall we face is “The Examples That We Follow”....you become what you are around the most. television, movies, social groups, our jobs, even family, etc. can be a barrier or they can be stepping stones. We are the example that someone will follow. Is our marriage, our work ethic, our faithfulness in ministry, our honesty, our ability to walk in forgiveness, the kind of example that God can promote? Let’s use God’s door and get on through this wall…..
Hebrews 12:1 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that compromises and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us”. The attitude that Scripture tells us, is to motivate us in all the situations of our life.....to allow the life in us to conquer the death that is all around us!
John 5:24 He that hears my word, and believes on him that sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into (kat-ak'-ree-mah.. a negative outcome, controlled by adverse circumstances, under the dominion of negative things, ruled by the curse, subjected to judgment.) but is passed from death unto life”.
The life of God in you, is not subject to the power of death that is
around you. When you hit the wall, you still have a choice, you can get up on the wall and make your declaration…go ahead, get up on that wall and make your declaration!!!
We are realizing that hitting the wall can actually make us better and stronger to face what is in the future. We are now learning where our limits and boundaries are. We’re gaining confidence and we’re stretching! We’re seeing opportunity for progress instead of exercises in frustration and failure. We’re coming to grips with the truth that, "Trying to change our outer world without adjusting our inner beliefs and attitudes, is like believing that a merry go round is actually going somewhere."
Hebrews 10:35 Cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense (an-tap-od-ee'-do-mee.. to bring or give back, restoration, repayment, compensation, payment) of reward.
Truth is bringing us out of denial that has held us hostage to deception. We are engaging in honest self-confrontation that is inspiring and motivating change where it is needed.
Someone said, true repentance is not just crying about it, true repentance is about making a change!
Television psychologist, Dr. Phil says that when he has a hard time making change decisions, he writes two lists,
“why is this something I need to do?”
“Why is this something I don’t need to do?”
"Whether you think that you can, or think that you can't, you are usually right" And We all have blind spots.
Our attitude can make the difference in accepting the change we need or rejecting it…."If the only tool you have is a hammer, you tend to treat everything like it was a nail, and if all you have is a butter knife, you tend to patty cake around with every issue."
Galatians 6:7 Do not be deceived. God’s word will be shown to be true. For a person will reap what he sows. Everyone who sows to the Spirit will reap eternal life from the Spirit. So we must not faint or grow weary in doing good, for in due time we will reap, if we do not give up”.
Two of the greatest qualities to have in life are Wisdom and Patience. You need to picture a dog waiting for a skunk to finish eating from it’s dish….that’s wisdom and patience! My greatest challenge is waiting, I have a hard time with it…(anyone else) But we will find that we will only get over what we have put under us.
Joshua 1:3 Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, I have given it to you…God gave the city to Joshua, so he knew he could walk right in over the crumbled walls….what wall has He given to you today?
We can tap into the redemptive work of God that is the tipping point between life and death, sickness or wholeness, bondage or deliverance, doubt or faith and grasp the message of the angel of the Lord, declaring that Jesus who died is very much alive!
Those Words instantly change our whole outlook and` our Divinely destined outcome…If God be for us, what can stand against us!?
Love is bigger than hate, forgiveness is bigger than every wrong, kindness is bigger than jealously or spite, honesty is bigger than the lie, charity is bigger than stinginess and greed, faith is bigger than fear and doubt.)
Let’s transform our walls….every wall that is around very long, gets covered with graffiti…. So we’re going to put some graffite on the very walls that have tried to stop us….we need to speak to our walls and write on them so that We turn them into our self-help walls!
Let’s write, shall we… “What I perceive is not always the greater reality”…. “I'll never accomplish what I never attempt” … “The journey is as important as getting there” ….. “What I don’t confront I give authority to rule over me” …. “What I don’t like in you is what I’m blind to in me” …. We are all under construction, none of us are finished yet!” ...
The “Wall can make you stronger or steal you blind” Your response to the wall is what will make all the difference.
President Reagan stood before the Berlin wall and Challenged The ruling powers of corrupt Germany.. “TEAR DOWN THIS WALL!” Because he would not play their game of intimidation and threats, and would not back down, the wall came down.
God said to Israel, this wall that blocks the way to the promised land called “Jericho”, will come down if you will take a stand against it. Do your part and God will do His part and the wall will crumble before you!
When I look beyond the wall through the perfect word of God, I see the future and it's fantastic! And we can boldly say….Come on, everyone, lets declare it together!
“I am a brand new creation in Christ. I am not who I used to be! I am destined to spend eternity with God and eternity is NOW. I have already been delivered from all the powers of darkness.
Christ died for total forgiveness of my past and present sins through the unlimited love of God. I am a joint-heir with Christ. Jesus died to restore me to dominion authority in every area of my life. I am now seated in heavenly places with Christ.
I am made alive together with Him.
I am partner with God in His covenant plan concerning the earth and all that is in it. I am a part of Christ's body today on the earth. I have access to total provision for my body, soul, and spirit. I can live in wholeness, for every day is holy, set apart, and designed for God's best in me. I am appointed as God's representative on earth.
I put on His love and walk in absolute trust and confidence of His power, wisdom, and goodness. My body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. The fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily with me. I am in the world but not of this world. I am a ROYAL PRIEST, ministering before God. I overcome evil with good for I was created for God's glory and Honor.
TODAY is the tomorrow I was blessed in yesterday
