Run the Race So Others May Win

On December 2, 2012, Spanish athlete Iván Fernández Anaya was competing in a cross-country race in Burlada, Navarre. He was running second, some distance behind race leader Abel Mutai - bronze medalist in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the London Olympics. As they entered the finishing straight, he saw the Kenyan runner - the certain winner of the race - mistakenly pull up about 10 meters before the finish, thinking he had already crossed the line. Fernández Anaya quickly caught up with him, but instead of exploiting Mutai's mistake to speed past and claim an unlikely victory, he stayed behind and, using gestures, guided the Kenyan to the line and let him cross first.

Scripture uses 'running a race' terminology several times. "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." (1 Cor. 9:24). "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you?" (Gal. 5:7). "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." (2 Tim. 4:7). These three passages speak of 'running to win' the race in our Christ journey. In our culture, this mentality appeals to us. We all want to win. We all want to be the one lifted on the shoulders of others and hailed as victor. But as Christians, this is not the race we are called to run.

Our race is the one where we run faithful to our life calling for Jesus' sake. Paul said in Acts 20:24, "I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me-- the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace." In Christ, the race we are to run is not so that we may win, but that others may win -- for them to hear and receive free message of salvation through Jesus' death and resurrection so that THEY may be exalted. This is our race! "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:20-21). 

Our race is to be faithful messengers of His grace. Just as Fernández Anaya sacrificed his own victory by staying behind Abel Mutai pointing and guiding him the way to the finish line, we are called to offer our lives to others in that same way. Why? Because this is what Jesus did for us -- for me. I am saved unto eternal life because my Savior died for my sin and guilt. He suffered eternal's torment in my place so that I may receive eternal joy in the presence of God. Jesus 'came in second' so that I may be the first son before our heavenly Father. Hear Jesus' second prayer in the garden the night before He died on the cross for me (re-worded just for me), "Father, if it is not possible for [David's guilt] to be taken away unless I drink it, may Your will be done." (Matt. 26:42). Jesus ran His race unto death so that I may win my race unto life. How could I live in this life running any other race but the one where I may point the way of victory in Christ to others.

The writer of Hebrews encourages us in this life race by saying, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:1-3).

A Church That Matters

40 Days of Prayer 

A Church That Matters

"While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, "What is this babbler trying to say?" Others remarked, "He seems to be advocating foreign gods." They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, "May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? ....   Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you." 

Acts 17:16-23 NIV

"People tend to think things will stay the same if nothing is changed. They underestimate the pervasive presence of change in the world. Keeping things externally "the same" hardly prevents change. The church may keep doing what it has always done before, but the effectiveness and meaning of those practices will probably be radically altered. If we want to maintain the same allegiance to the truth, the same effectiveness in communication, and the same faithfulness to our purpose, we must continually change." Randy Pope, The Intentional Church

Tim Keller states that this passage in Acts in an example of knowing and speaking into the culture God has placed one's church to minister. Paul observed and took note of what was going on in Athens (the city was full of idols) and 'day by day' he spoke boldly about the good news of Jesus' resurrection. Paul found a unique and winsome way to speak God's truth into their lives. This is the mission of Grace Redeemer: not to be yet another church, but to first observe and know the people of Crestview and then winsomely reveal the grace of Christ. We desire to be, as Randy Pope describes, "a church that matters, a church that influences, and a church that impacts people and her community....a transformational church." As we come to an end of our 40 days of prayer and seeking God's wisdom and guidance for the future of Grace Redeemer, we end (or rather begin) with this challenge. Do we know our community? Are we a church that matters?

We have spent 40 days in prayer and seeking the Lord's guidance as go forward into this new location of ministry. Once we are approved and begin the physical work, it can become all too easy to be distracted from ministry and focus solely on the many details of construction - when do we pour the concrete? - who is going to build the wall? - are we going to paint? - what color is the carpet going to be? So, as we begin the necessary work let's not stop praying for the Lord's ministry through us. Pray that God will transform Grace Redeemer into a church that matters to Crestview. Here is a guide that Randy Pope suggests from his book, The Intentional Church:

• Who are the people of our community? Are they churched with some understanding of God or are they outside the church with no concept of God? What do they believe about God?
• What are the needs of the people in our community?
• What is the turnover rate of people in our community? How does this affect their needs?
• What percentage of the people in our community are young, old, married, single?
• Does our community have a large percentage of single parents, working moms?
• What successful ministries or volunteer organizations in our community can we or should we come alongside?

It is not necessarily our call to be ALL these things to this community, but may we prayerfully seek that unique and winsome ministry that enables us to effectively speak the Good News of His grace. May we become to Crestview a church that matters.

Reveling in the Hope

40 Days of Prayer

Reveling in the Hope

"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, and he began by saying to them, "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing." Luke 4:16-21 NIV

"Christ is not only a remedy for your weariness and trouble, but he will give you an abundance of the contrary, joy and delight. They, who come to Christ, do not only come to a resting place after they have been wandering in a wilderness, but they come to a banqueting house where they may rest, and where they may feast. They may cease from their former troubles and toils, and may enter upon a course of delights and spiritual joys. Christ not only delivers from fears of hell and of wrath, but he gives hopes of heaven, and the enjoyment of God's love." Jonathon Edwards, Safety, Fulness and Sweet Refreshment in Christ.

Many times our sole focus of our worship and discipleship is upon Christ as the remedy to sin. Remedy is an old-fashioned word which means treatment for a disease or a way of making something right. Jonathon Edwards uses the word 'remedy' because Christ is not just medicine which treats symptom for the human condition of sin, but rather he is the solution, the cure, and the restoration. Sin enslaves, corrupts, impoverishes, oppresses and separates us from God, but Jesus is the answer to our sickened state and the sacrificial fulfillment of the promises of God as prophesied by Isaiah.

However, Edwards' point does not stop there. Yes, Jesus' death and resurrection is the remedy that takes away our guilt and just deserved wrath, but He is also the reward through whom God gives in abundance - joy, delight, feasting, and reveling in the hope of our eternal enjoyment of His unfailing love. Jesus is not just the cure, He is the healer. He is not just the good shepherd who cares for the prisoner, He is the redeemer -- the One who sets us free!

May our daily discipleship in Christ be marked by the fruit of joy and delight in His amazing grace. May the display of our hope not just be as an answer from the torment of Hell, but as an invitation to His banquet feast.

The Unchangeable Promise of God

40 Days of Prayer 

The Unchangeable Promise of God

"Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged."  Hebrews 6:16-18

"Faith in God is not a blind step into the dark. It always involves believing a specific promise of God. In Abraham's case, this meant believing a promise that defied every logical human basis for hope. Humanly speaking, it was ridiculous for Abraham to think that he and Sarah could have a child when she was more than ninety years old. Yet he believed, beyond all possible hope, because he believed in God's power to keep His promise." Francis Schaeffer, The Finished Work of Christ

In the 1580's, Spain's king Philip II planned to conquer England. He placed his hope in the large ships of what he deemed 'The Invincible Armada.' Pope Sixtus V gave his blessing hopeful that England's defeat would bring this rebel protestant isle back into the Roman Catholic fold. In May of 1588, Spain set out to destroy the British naval fleet. They sent out 130 ships carrying 2,500 guns, 8,000 seamen and 20,000 soldiers. Their hope for victory was in these skilled soldiers. If they could get broadside the British ships and grapple them, then these soldiers would board and overwhelm the sailors.

All hope for victory seemed assured -- an invincible armada, the pope's blessing, the world's most elite soldiers and a good plan. BUT, the weather was unpredictable that time of year and several storms forced them to return to port. Once good weather did come it was now July and the British had time to install long-range cannons on their ships and bombard the Spanish ships outside the range of their smaller guns. Then the British lured the Spanish ships into a narrow straight and sailed into them eight ships on fire filled with a flammable oily substance that floated fire on top of the water. The Spanish ships panicked, cut their anchors, rammed into each other, caught on fire, moved out of formation and then one by one the smaller British ships shot them to smithereens. The 'Invincible' Spanish Armada limped back to their port with less than half their fleet and the loss of over 15,000 lives. Hope for victory gone forever.

Praise God that our hope in the gospel's power does not depend on how great our strategy, how numerous our membership or how mighty our faith. Our hope is secure in the unchangeable promise of our God. This hope is 'an anchor for the soul, firm and secure' (Heb. 6:19), for 'Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and He will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for Him' (Heb. 9:28).  God has promised; and he will do it!

God's Unfailing Pursuit

40 Days of Prayer

God's Unfailing Pursuit

"At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of His mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life."  Titus 3:3-7 NIV

In his 182 line poem, The Hound of Heaven, Francis Thompson describes God's relentless pursuit of him despite his running from Him.

I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

   I fled Him, down the arches of the years;

I fled Him, down the labyrinthine ways

   Of my own mind; and in the midst of tears

I hid from Him, and under running laughter.

Francis was a tortured soul and lived a tragic life. He battled sickness, kicked out of divinity school for drug addiction, failed three times at medical school, disowned by his family, and spent much of his adult life living on the streets of London. In spite of this, he possessed a world-class talent for writing poetry His work touched a couple and after learning of his whereabouts rescued him off the streets. He spent the last decade of his life as an invalid living in their home. It was in this setting that he wrote the above mentioned poem.

As Christians, we truly are like Francis -- desperately needing rescue. But unlike Francis, there was nothing good or valuable within us worth redeeming except that we were loved by God. Our hope is not predicated on how well we perform, but on the eternal and unfailing love of our God. Paul stated in Romans 3:10-11, "There is no one righteous ... no one who seeks God." But thanks be to God, that He pursued us! Jesus said, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit-- fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name" (John 15:16).

It is the strength of God within us that enables us to face an unknown future unafraid and with secure hope. Our planting efforts are exactly that -- efforts. But anything we may accomplish are produced only by the powerful hand of God as he unrelentingly pursues His people -- even through us.

Hope That Does Not Disappoint

40 Days of Prayer

Hope That Does Not Disappoint

"And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." Romans 5:2-5 NIV

"...there is a detrimental feeling of which so many patients complain today, namely, the feeling of the total and ultimate meaninglessness of their lives. They lack the awareness of a meaning worth living for. They are haunted by the experience of the inner emptiness, a void within themselves; they are caught in that situation which I have called the "existential vacuum." ... Among American students 60 percent showed a marked degree of existential vacuum...which manifests itself mainly in a state of boredom... depression, aggression and addiction." Viktor E. Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning

In his book Viktor Frankl writes about the importance of hope in surviving his concentration camp experience during World War II. It was those people in the camp who found meaning and a higher purpose in their suffering that survived the longest. As Christians, we know that our 'higher purpose' is the glory of God in whose image we are created and given a purpose (Genesis 1:27-28). Everything in our lives works for the good of that purpose for which God has created us (Romans 8:28-ff). This is our hope. This is the hope that does not disappoint.

Consider Joseph's response to his brothers who had once so mistreated him, but now were groveling before him for mercy. Joseph said, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives" (Gen. 50:20). Consider Jesus who in His last gasp for breath said, "Father, into YOUR hands I commit my Spirit" (Luke 23:46).  It was the hope of saving lives that gave even our Savior courage in His final moment. And today, through the power of His resurrection and the indwelling of His Spirit within us, does that very same hope reside in us. The events surrounding our lives, even the latest struggles of Grace Redeemer, are being used for the Lord's good purpose and glory. May many lives (souls) be saved as we continue forward to the glory of His Name. This is the hope which propels us. This is the hope that never disappoints.

Hope - A Close 2nd to the Greatest Spiritual Gift

40 Days of Prayer

Hope - A Close 2nd to the Greatest Spiritual Gift

"Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God." Psalm 42:5 & 11

"Here there are two evils specified, which, however apparently different, yet assail our hearts at the same time; the one is discouragement, and the other is disquietude. When we are quite downcast, we are not free of a feeling of disquietude, which leads us to murmur and complain. The remedy to both of them is here added, 'hope in God,' which alone inspires our minds, in the first place, with confidence in the midst of the greatest troubles; and, secondly, by the exercise of patience, preserves them in peace. In what follows, the Psalmist very well expresses the power and nature of hope by these words, 'I shall yet praise Him;' for it has the effect of elevating our thoughts to the contemplation of the grace of God, when it is hidden from our view." John Calvin, Heart Aflame

As Paul taught in 1 Corinthians about spiritual gifts, he spoke about the visible gifts (healing, prophecy, speaking in tongues, etc) giving way to the invisible gifts of faith, hope and love. He said, "The greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13). Although love is the greatest invisible spiritual gift of any and every Christian, hope is indeed a very close second. Calvin says that the power of hope elevates our thoughts to ponder His grace and inspires our hearts to praise Him with worship. Isaiah says that hope renews our strength and that in it we will 'soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint' (Isaiah 40:31). Peter says that in Christ we have been given birth into a living hope through His resurrection from the dead (1 Peter 1:3). The writer of Hebrews says that this hope is an anchor for the soul (Heb. 6:19).

This is why the Psalmist twice questions the mindset of his own soul here in Psalm 42, "Why are you downcast? Why so disturbed?" He knew God's nearness and the preciousness of His love. He knew of His strength and provision, but yet his soul was sad. His question to his soul was actually a call to remember. Satan's greatest arrow is the deceiving emotion of feeling abandoned. But, like a parent to frightened child in the dark whispering, "I am right here." So is the power of hope when all seems lost. Put your hope in God and be reminded, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-- how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" (Romans 8:32).