Win That Race? - Loyal Evangelical Church, Loyal OK

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." ~Jesus Christ, in Matthew 28:18-20

Pastor Leon Seaton

Win That Race!

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord. On the contrary: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head."

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-21

There are a lot of problems in the world…and in our nation. We have three choices. We can be proactive and do something about it; live in fear and frustration, or just ignore it and hope it will go away.

We have tried fear, frustration and ignoring the problem and that is not working! It is time for the church, the body of Christ, to get serious about our role and calling of God to become world-changers.

Jesus wept when He entered Jerusalem the Sunday before He was crucified. He wept because He knew what sin would take place in that city when He was put to death. He wept because they would not allow the love of God to minister to them. Jesus stayed the course because He knew that He would be purchasing our salvation.

The disciples scattered in fear when Jesus was arrested…but because of the power of the Holy Spirit which was poured out on Pentecost they were able to “turn the world upside down.”

Consider what Christianity – true, life-changing Christianity – has done for the world through the 2,000 years since Jesus returned to heaven and you will be able to understand what we can do if we are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to put God first in our lives.

It all starts with prayer!

The United States has enjoyed several revivals or spiritual awakenings in its history. If my memory serves me correctly, at least two of them were started by laymen that had a burden for things to change…they began simple prayer meetings that God used to stir a nation.

It is time for that to happen again, and there is no reason that it cannot happen again, starting with the people in this congregation today.

There certainly is a need! Recently I received a newsletter from a liberal church that is seeking a new pastor. One of the requirements said, “Encourages dialogue and deconstruction of traditional church theories.” Wow! You will be interested to know that the item just prior to this said, “Practices the principles of unconditional love and compassion.”

Sounds confusing to me… as a believer of “traditional church theories” I sensed a serious lack of “unconditional love and compassion.”

We have a high and holy calling to win men and women and young people to Jesus Christ, God’s Son and our Redeemer!

“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 competes in 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. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

As we work for the Lord we need to realize that we have our own distinctive personalities and gifts. God did that for a reason. Consider the following:

Maxie Dunnam wrote that one of the most effective and colorful congressmen that ever served in Washington was a crusty old gentleman from Texas named Sam Rayburn. Mr. Rayburn served Congress for over 50 years -- the last ten of those years, he was Speaker of the House.

Sam’s real greatness was not in the public positions he held. It was in his common touch.

One day he heard that the teenage daughter of a Washington reporter had died. Early the next morning he went over to the reporter's house and knocked on the door. "I just came by to see what I could do to help," he said. The reporter was obviously touched. "Well, thank you, Mr. Speaker, but I don't think there's anything you can do. We're handling all the arrangements."

Sam Rayburn said to him, "Let me ask you -- have you had your coffee yet this morning." “Well, no,” the reporter said. Mr. Sam said, "Well, I'll make it for you." The stunned reporter let the Speaker of the House of Representatives in so he could prepare the coffee. "Mr. Speaker," he said, "I thought you were having breakfast this morning at the White House with the President."

Mr. Rayburn responded, "Well, I was, but I called the President and told him that I had a friend who was having some trouble, and that I wouldn't be in today."

God give everyone gifts for ministry. These gifts should be developed and used for the glory of God. We can have confidence that those gifts will glorify God. However, if we become self reliant rather than God reliant then we have rejected God’s guidance and counsel. We must always walk in humility. (I cannot tell you how many times I have failed at this point!)

Mark 16:15-18 Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well.”

Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Ephesians 4:8-14 “It was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.”

As spiritual leaders we are to introduce men and women to the gospel – the Good News that God loves them and wants them to be saved. As the new converts mature in Christ we are called to empower them to fulfill God’s call on their lives. Sometimes we judge people by their clothes, their physical appearance or their past mistakes.

On Christmas Eve, 1988, a congregation of United Methodists in Nebraska had a wonderful opportunity to empower another human being. Their pastor, Rev. Jean Samuelson told the story. A transient had moved into their community. His appearance and life frightened many persons, especially children. He was poorly dressed, smelled badly, and was usually drunk. He was also crippled and had a scarred and contorted face. People avoided him, but not Rev. Samuelson. She tried to visit with him and always invited him to attend church. If she saw him on the street or in a store, she would invite him, but he always declined. In time she managed to discover why he was so badly crippled. He had been stabbed many times when he was a small boy by his father!

During the Christmas Eve service, the man stumbled into the church, drunk. He found a seat in the back of the sanctuary. When Rev. Samuelson offered the invitation for persons to come forward for Communion, this man managed to get to his feet and waving a piece of paper in his hand cried out, "Stop Rev. Samuelson. I want you to read this poem.” Jean Samuelson is a very kind and compassionate person. She knew that this man had been hurt many times in life, so in kindness she suggested that perhaps they go on with the service and she would read the poem later. That would not do. He cried out again, "Stop. I want you to read this poem." With that he began to come down the aisle. Because of his drunken condition, he tripped and fell, hitting and cutting his head on the end of one of the pews. It was then she noticed that not only was his head bleeding, but his hand and arm were also badly bleeding because he had fallen on the step coming into the church.

She took the poem and tried to read it. She said it did not seem to make much sense. "Like the snow, I am falling, falling, falling. Like the night, I am falling, falling, falling." Then she said, there were some lines that made no sense at all. Something about his dog. She was trying to think quickly on her feet. She knew she could not go on reading the poem. Yet something told her that she must.

She came to the end of the poem which went something like this: "Like the snow, falling, falling, falling. Like the night, falling, falling, falling, I think that I am falling, falling, falling in love with Jesus Christ."

Rev. Samuelson said that a powerful silence fell over the church. People were deeply moved. Some of the people helped the man to the communion rail. As the people knelt, tears of love, sorrow and joy were streaming down their face. (Dr. Rodney E. Wilmoth, "From Declaration to Demonstration," St. Paul United Methodist Church of Omaha, January 8, 1989) from www.esermons.com

What is the race we want to win? Paul writes, “We do it to get a crown that will last forever.” Revelation 2:10 calls it “the crown of life.” Revelation 3:11, “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” We are not saved by works, but we are saved with the expectation that we will do the work/works that God has called us to do.

Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

April 26, 2009