Speaker 1: We're so glad that you've joined us today on the relevant church podcasts.
Speaker 1: There's so much God wants to do in and through you as you listen to today's message.
Speaker 1: If you want to learn more about relevant church, visit us online at this is relevant dot.
Speaker 1: CC,
Speaker 2: you guys ready to get into this message?
Speaker 2: I got a lot of ground to cover, so let us pray.
Speaker 2: God, we thank you so much for today.
Speaker 2: Thank you so much for your word.
Speaker 2: I pray that you may speak to your people.
Speaker 2: Open up our hearts, open up our minds to be able to receive all that you have for us in this word.
Speaker 2: In Jesus' name we pray.
Speaker 2: Amen.
Speaker 2: So we're in this series called the amazing race and it's been really fun.
Speaker 2: We've got awesome teams that we've, we've broken up into.
Speaker 2: And if you're not part of a team, I see you black teams.
Speaker 2: Y'all see my youth?
Speaker 2: Come on, I'm on team black.
Speaker 2: The only team.
Speaker 2: Hey listen, we just won the last one.
Speaker 2: So don't even say nothing.
Speaker 2: We don't trip.
Speaker 2: Don't trip.
Speaker 2: We're in it to win it.
Speaker 2: What, uh, Tiffany was wearing that tee shirt last week.
Speaker 2: We're killing it.
Speaker 2: Earth day.
Speaker 2: Not everyday.
Speaker 2: See if when you kill it, every day you're like, this is a possibility.
Speaker 2: But when you kill an earth day, you know you bought the wind.
Speaker 2: So we killing that earth day.
Speaker 2: So we're in this series and it's a series really about life because here's the, here's the discovery that we made last week.
Speaker 2: Everybody is on a journey.
Speaker 2: Everybody is in a race, whether they choose it or by default.
Speaker 2: The simple fact that you were born on this earth proves the fact that you are in a race.
Speaker 2: Every race has a beginning.
Speaker 2: Every race has an end.
Speaker 2: Every race has contenders.
Speaker 2: And to win the race you've got to run.
Speaker 2: You can't be caught slipping.
Speaker 2: You can't be caught sleeping.
Speaker 2: You can't be caught walking.
Speaker 2: You will not win.
Speaker 2: And so we jumped into this text and first Corinthians chapter nine.
Speaker 2: So if you don't have a Bible, go ahead and shoot your hand up.
Speaker 2: Our house crew would get a Bible to you because I want you to follow along in this text.
Speaker 2: We're now only going to be on the text that we're studying, but there's another key text in it that we're going to look at that's going to help us understand where God is taking us on this journey of the amazing race.
Speaker 2: First Corinthians chapter nine, we've been camping out in verse 24 through 27.
Speaker 2: Paul, the writer is writing it to a church that he planted.
Speaker 2: Now he's writing some letters of encouragement.
Speaker 2: He's writing some letters of instruction, and we discover that there's a message in this letter for us because just like Paul, we're on a race.
Speaker 2: We're on a race.
Speaker 2: And what we discovered last week is that the algorithm of this world, the algorithm of this life is not for us to win.
Speaker 2: The algorithm of this life is set for us to lose the race.
Speaker 2: Uh, if, if you want to know, just stop moving, lay in bed for a couple of weeks.
Speaker 2: In a couple of months, your body will begin to start decaying.
Speaker 2: Muscular atrophy will begin to take place.
Speaker 2: Your bones will get brittle, your muscles will fade away because whenever you stop moving, you start dying.
Speaker 2: The algorithm of this world.
Speaker 2: It's set for us to lose what we discovered last week that in Jesus Christ, our DNA is designed to win, our DNAs designed to win.
Speaker 2: How do we know that?
Speaker 2: Because scripture tells us that when somebody says yes to Jesus, when somebody gives their heart to Jesus, it says, therefore, if anyone be in Christ, he is a new creation.
Speaker 2: The old has passed away.
Speaker 2: The new has come.
Speaker 2: So you've got a new DNA, you've got a new blood flowing through your veins.
Speaker 2: You are designed to win.
Speaker 2: So if I'm designed to win, if you're designed to win, if we're designed to win, then we've got to get in the race.
Speaker 2: And the bottom line last week was this.
Speaker 2: You got to compete and not concede.
Speaker 2: You already designed to win.
Speaker 2: You're already on the winning team.
Speaker 2: You already have the same Holy spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead living inside of you.
Speaker 2: You're designed to win.
Speaker 2: Any area that seems dead can be resurrected.
Speaker 2: Any place where you're facing a loss, you can begin to win any place where you are a loser.
Speaker 2: You can become a Victor, but let's be honest, what happens when you've been running in everything around you, all the signs, all the cues are that you are in a losing race.
Speaker 2: You've been running, but you're losing, you've been running, but you're falling behind.
Speaker 2: You've been running.
Speaker 2: But it doesn't seem like you're getting ahead.
Speaker 2: What happens when you're running, but you feel like you're losing
Speaker 3: or
Speaker 2: what happens when you've been running for so long that you forgot even why you were running in the first place?
Speaker 2: What happens when you've been running and and you've been in the race and you've been hustling, and at one point in time you asked yourself, why am I even doing this?
Speaker 2: Oh, why am I re I feel like I'm running for absolutely no reason.
Speaker 2: I'm just out here just running aimlessly.
Speaker 2: I don't even know what I'm running for at this point.
Speaker 2: I'm running.
Speaker 2: I'm tired.
Speaker 2: Ever been there in your life?
Speaker 2: I'm running, but it feel like it's a rat race.
Speaker 2: I feel like I'm on this hamster wheel and it just keeps going and going and going and I'm not getting anywhere that I don't even know why I'm running anymore.
Speaker 2: First Corinthians chapter nine verse 24 through 27 Paul has been talking to the Corinthian church and he's been telling him, listen, I've, I've been running this race, I've been fighting the good fight, I've been serving the church, I've been giving, I've been sacrificing, I've given 100 he is being passionate in this moment.
Speaker 2: He says, I've done everything I possibly can.
Speaker 2: I've sacrificed all I've given all I've been spent for the sake of the gospel.
Speaker 2: I am doing what I need to do.
Speaker 2: And have you ever been in a text message conversation that starts getting heated and it's just like, and somebody answers you and you're like I'm going to answer you later.
Speaker 2: And you said you got all the emojis in there cause you're passionate and on any of your answer you right now because I've got things that I need to say.
Speaker 2: If Paul was texting the Corinthian church, boy his fingers will be strong.
Speaker 2: Army Morgie explosion mean face.
Speaker 2: Paul is writing to this church and then he gets to this point in the text.
Speaker 2: Well, it's kind of like a refrain.
Speaker 2: It's kinda like a, uh, man.
Speaker 2: The bottom line is he gets to this place that's like verse 24 do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but one receives the prize, so run that you may obtain it.
Speaker 2: Every athlete exercises, self-control and all things.
Speaker 2: They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.
Speaker 2: So I do not run aimlessly.
Speaker 2: I do not boxes one beating the air, but I discipline my body and keep it under control less after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified emoji.
Speaker 2: Drop the mic.
Speaker 2: He says in verse 26 he says, listen, I do not run aimlessly.
Speaker 2: I'm not running for no purpose.
Speaker 2: My running is purposeful.
Speaker 2: I'm not running because I'm just out here just running for no, because let's be honest, who actually likes running for no reason.
Speaker 2: You ally
Speaker 4: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: you run because there's a purpose for you to run.
Speaker 2: Everybody here runs because there's a reason you're running.
Speaker 2: You're running.
Speaker 2: Some people run for therapy.
Speaker 2: I remember when I used to run, I used to do, sometimes I would just go outside and run because that's where I got my best thoughts going.
Speaker 2: I listened to podcasts.
Speaker 2: I, I heard from God it was beautiful.
Speaker 2: I ran, but it was for a purpose.
Speaker 2: Some people run because they're competing in a race and so they're trying to run and make sure that they win the race.
Speaker 2: Some people run because a dog is chasing them.
Speaker 2: Let's be honest, when adults say something here, I'm not standing, I'm running.
Speaker 2: We run with purpose.
Speaker 2: Some people run because they just want to become physically fit.
Speaker 2: No one runs just to run.
Speaker 2: Cause if you did we would all think you're crazy.
Speaker 2: Like my kids taking a walk outside, my eight year old is just antsy.
Speaker 2: What's wrong with you?
Speaker 2: Can I run daddy?
Speaker 2: Why?
Speaker 2: Because it's fun.
Speaker 2: You crazy like so you're not going to like, you're not going to race your brothers.
Speaker 2: No, you're not going to like, Hey I got, my goal is to get to that spot the fastest.
Speaker 2: Nope.
Speaker 2: So why are you running?
Speaker 2: Cause I like it unless you're the crazy passes, kids, you don't run for no reason.
Speaker 2: Every one of us runs for reason.
Speaker 2: Listen, even the Bible talks about the people who run and it's like, no people got problems.
Speaker 2: Watch Proverbs 28 one the wicked run away when no one is chasing them.
Speaker 2: Boom.
Speaker 4: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: if you're running for no darn reason, it's on wicked going on inside of you.
Speaker 2: Nobody runs just because they feel like it.
Speaker 2: Paul says, listen, I'm out.
Speaker 2: I'm not out here running aimlessly.
Speaker 2: I'm not out here just running for absolutely no reason.
Speaker 2: There's a purpose to my run and then in the next part he says, I do not box as one beating the air.
Speaker 2: Another translation says, I do not fight.
Speaker 2: In the Greek it says, I do not fight as if I'm out here just shadowboxing.
Speaker 2: I'm not out here a shadowboxing expecting to hit something.
Speaker 2: If you're driving into Walmart parking lot and you see somebody out there just like, and you walk by him like, Hey, are you okay man?
Speaker 2: I'm just, I'm just hoping it hits something.
Speaker 2: You're like, man, I've got to get away from you.
Speaker 2: Security.
Speaker 2: We don't sit there and just box for no reason.
Speaker 2: If I'm, if I'm boxing, if I'm hitting something, I'm either training for a fight or I'm training myself.
Speaker 2: I'm getting ready to do something.
Speaker 2: I'm amping myself up.
Speaker 2: I don't box this one.
Speaker 2: Just beating the air.
Speaker 2: He's saying, have you ever walked into a spot as well?
Speaker 2: Hey Ben, just the worst business.
Speaker 2: You're walking outside.
Speaker 2: There's nothing around you.
Speaker 2: I dunno how Spiderman through that net and I'm just walking minding my business and just like, you're like, you're getting ready to fight somebody.
Speaker 2: People.
Speaker 2: Have you ever watched somebody walk into a spiderweb and have no reason, no idea why they just start throwing hands, but like in the name of Jesus, I rebuke whatever demon is inside of that person.
Speaker 2: Lord cast it out right now in the name of Jesus.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: All right.
Speaker 2: They're just fighting the wind.
Speaker 2: He's like, listen, I'm not out here boxing the wind.
Speaker 2: Listen, I may look foolish, but I may be looking foolish.
Speaker 2: I'm looking foolish for a purpose.
Speaker 5: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: I'm not just out here shadowboxing.
Speaker 2: You guys may look at me and think I'm crazy.
Speaker 2: You guys may think, why the heck am I running?
Speaker 2: There's a reason to my run.
Speaker 2: There's a reason to my boxing.
Speaker 2: Why would Paul write that?
Speaker 2: People thought Paul had lost his mind.
Speaker 5: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: Paul was educated.
Speaker 5: Okay.
Speaker 2: By the most elite and university in that
Speaker 5: area.
Speaker 2: Paul was a tentmaker, but yet he was out doing missionary work.
Speaker 2: So, so many have said that pod wasn't just a tent makeup cause he didn't have time to, so tent pole had a tent making business.
Speaker 2: He was an entrepreneur.
Speaker 2: That's what was funding his missionary admissions.
Speaker 2: And people were like, you own the successful tent making business.
Speaker 2: You are out here educated by the best schools.
Speaker 2: You have a cultural influence.
Speaker 2: You've got faith influence in the faith community.
Speaker 2: You got political influence.
Speaker 2: Why the heck would you give it all up to become a foolish Christian?
Speaker 2: See Christians in this
Speaker 5: arrow,
Speaker 2: dare I say even in 2019 look delusional.
Speaker 2: You following this figment of an imagination.
Speaker 2: This guy named Jesus, he was nothing but a mere man.
Speaker 2: Yeah, well we'll give that to you.
Speaker 2: He was somebody.
Speaker 2: We saw him.
Speaker 2: He walked around.
Speaker 2: He was a nice guy, but he's your savior.
Speaker 2: He's your Messiah.
Speaker 2: He's the beginning.
Speaker 2: He's the end.
Speaker 2: He's the alpha.
Speaker 2: The you must be crazy.
Speaker 2: You're running after this guy.
Speaker 2: You, you're running after somebody who's going to cause you to lose the clout that you have.
Speaker 2: In this day and age, people were losing their jobs because of their faith.
Speaker 2: When they found out you were a Christian, you were an enemy of the state.
Speaker 2: So people were being cast out of their homes, cast out of their jobs.
Speaker 2: They were just being cast out of the community and they're saying, Paul, you must be crazy.
Speaker 2: Why would you run aimlessly after this Jesus and flat out, they were just like, Christians are weird.
Speaker 2: Oh, weird, but can I challenge you with something?
Speaker 2: Just because your run, it's an offense to somebody doesn't mean it's meaningless.
Speaker 6: No.
Speaker 2: Just because the race that you're running is offensive to someone else.
Speaker 2: Does it mean that there's not value in the race that you're running[inaudible] building the business and people say, I don't know why you're wasting your time, Rhonda.
Speaker 2: I don't know why you're jet setting to LA.
Speaker 2: Why you jet setting to North Carolina?
Speaker 2: Why don't you just go get a real job?
Speaker 2: Are you out here trying to save a relationship that's going on?
Speaker 2: Why don't you just quit?
Speaker 2: Eh, you're sitting here praying for your kids.
Speaker 2: Listen, your kids are a lost cause.
Speaker 2: You might as well just let them go.
Speaker 2: Listen, the algorithm of this world is going to try to pull you to settle for average.
Speaker 2: Why don't you just remain status quo?
Speaker 2: Why don't you just remain where you're at?
Speaker 2: Just because your race is offensive to someone else does not mean it makes it meaninglessly.
Speaker 2: What happens though when your race becomes offensive to yourself?
Speaker 2: When I'm so frustrated with my situation where I'm so tired of the hopes and the dreams that keep failing when I'm so tired when my kids don't listen to what I say, when I'm so tired that I'm, I'm studying in school every single day.
Speaker 2: I'm still not getting the grades.
Speaker 2: I'm so tired that the Ritz relationship is not going anywhere.
Speaker 2: I'm so tired that I'm not getting the opportunities that I want to get.
Speaker 2: And I get to the point where my, my, my race becomes an offense to myself.
Speaker 2: Why am I running?
Speaker 2: I don't even like this in the first place.
Speaker 2: I don't want to do it anyway.
Speaker 2: Why did I even start?
Speaker 2: I remember, man, I used to be in the gym.
Speaker 2: I once upon a time, not long ago, but long ago.
Speaker 2: Nice to be in the gym.
Speaker 2: Five 30 in the morning and hitting weights.
Speaker 2: I look good, right, baby?
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Don't get too excited.
Speaker 2: I'm not where I used to be better.
Speaker 2: You know, I'm going to get back.
Speaker 2: Maybe I just be in the gym five 30 in the morning.
Speaker 2: I used to, I used to work.
Speaker 2: I used to run Denae.
Speaker 2: I used to run three to five miles a day.
Speaker 3: Hmm.
Speaker 2: But I remember crazy.
Speaker 2: Right?
Speaker 2: I remember the first time I started going to the gym, got in there, got to work out partner were the right clothes, walked in there smelling good.
Speaker 2: Well, why don't you put cologne going into the gym?
Speaker 2: I don't know.
Speaker 2: I just, I just want it to smell good.
Speaker 2: I hit the weights every time you go by a mirror winking at myself.
Speaker 2: That was day one.
Speaker 2: Day two, I went in there Pismo Louis, I got this leg.
Speaker 2: I didn't skip leg day.
Speaker 2: That damn, I'm going to do leg day too.
Speaker 3: Hello?
Speaker 2: And then day three I can get out of bed and my body was like, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.
Speaker 2: You will sleep.
Speaker 7: Look, but I got to go to the gym.
Speaker 7: My body was like, the devil is a lie.
Speaker 7: You're not going anywhere.
Speaker 7: I'm trying to get out of bed.
Speaker 7: I mean, I can't even lift my arms.
Speaker 7: I'm trying to get into the shower.
Speaker 7: I got got to help my leg up to lift.
Speaker 7: I'm like, what is going on?
Speaker 7: My buddy calls me and says, Hey, you come to the gym.
Speaker 7: I said, no,
Speaker 2: my body hurts.
Speaker 7: I want it to grow.
Speaker 3: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: sometimes your race is an offense to yourself.
Speaker 2: Why am I doing this?
Speaker 2: It hurts.
Speaker 2: See, people were opposing Paul,
Speaker 7: are you out there running aimlessly?
Speaker 7: Why are you running after this false guy named Jesus?
Speaker 7: Why are you wasting your time?
Speaker 7: You could've had everything else.
Speaker 7: Why don't you just stay say average?
Speaker 7: Why don't you be like everybody else?
Speaker 7: Paul said, no, I've got a reason why I'm going.
Speaker 7: And then Paul started facing internal difficulties and you see this all through the book of Romans.
Speaker 7: Now his competition is rising up and last week we talked about our competition isn't people.
Speaker 7: It's as intangible forces.
Speaker 7: It's the doubt.
Speaker 7: It's the fear.
Speaker 7: It's the wanting to quit.
Speaker 7: It's the complacency and he's fighting all these things.
Speaker 7: But Paul says, I don't run aimlessly.
Speaker 5: Yeah,
Speaker 7: I don't fight as one beating the wind.
Speaker 8: He knows his why.
Speaker 7: He knows why he's running.
Speaker 7: What is the why?
Speaker 7: Go to the scripture, grab your Bible.
Speaker 8: Just look up a few verses.
Speaker 8: Look up upwards.
Speaker 8: A few verses we've been reading verse 24 and 26 go to verse 19 this is what Paul is saying,
Speaker 7: this is Paul's wise for though I am free from all I have made myself a servant to all that I may what?
Speaker 8: Win more of them.
Speaker 7: I'm trying to, when there's people out there who need the name of Jesus in their life so they can declare it and have all the chains break off, they need a breakthrough to the Jews.
Speaker 7: I became as a Jew in order to what?
Speaker 7: Win Jews to those under the law.
Speaker 7: I became as under the law though not being myself under the law that I might what?
Speaker 7: When those under the law to those outside of the law, I became as one outside the law not because of the law of God but under the law of Christ that I might what?
Speaker 7: When those outside of the law to the weak, I became weak that I might win the weak.
Speaker 7: I became all things to all people.
Speaker 7: That by means I might save one.
Speaker 7: I do it all for the sake of the gospel that I may share with them in its blessing.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I know why I'm doing it because I might win son.
Speaker 5: Yeah,
Speaker 7: to the Jew.
Speaker 7: I became a Jew so I can win Jews to the Greek.
Speaker 7: I became a Greek cycle, went to the list.
Speaker 7: I became lawless not to fall into sin, but to others.
Speaker 7: I looked like I was lawless, but I wanted to win, sir.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Some people are going to be offended by your race.
Speaker 8: Oh, why are you hanging out over there?
Speaker 8: So I might win some.
Speaker 8: Why are you talking to that person in school that I might win some?
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Oh, why are you on your job obeying the the the boss that is Tyron nickel that I might win some.
Speaker 7: Why are you dealing with your kids?
Speaker 7: Why don't you just kick them out of the house?
Speaker 7: Why don't you cut them off?
Speaker 7: No, because I might win some.
Speaker 8: Why are you continuing down a faith journey of a delusional savior?
Speaker 8: Shoot that I might win me.
Speaker 8: Leave me to my own device.
Speaker 8: I need to win.
Speaker 8: He's got a clear vision and if there's something that we need to remember in this room right now, everybody is on a race by choice or by default.
Speaker 8: So you've got to run, but let me tell you something, you will not be able to run if you don't start with the vision.
Speaker 8: Start with
Speaker 2: the why.
Speaker 2: Know why you're running.
Speaker 2: Why are you in this race when you enter a race?
Speaker 2: Oh, when you discover that your, Oh your, your honor raised before you do anything else.
Speaker 2: Start with the why.
Speaker 2: Start with the vision.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Have a clear vision.
Speaker 2: Habakkuk was a profit back in the day.
Speaker 2: God had sent him on mission.
Speaker 2: He had a race that he needed to run for God and he was seeing everything that was happening around him and the algorithm of this world seemed to be falling all around him and and was dragging him down and dragging him down and discouragement.
Speaker 2: And he was frustrated.
Speaker 2: He was frustrated in his own heart.
Speaker 2: He was frustrated with the world around him.
Speaker 2: The algorithm said, no, you can't run that race.
Speaker 2: You're going to lose.
Speaker 2: So he starts writing this diary in is having a conversation with God and says, God, why?
Speaker 2: Why am I on this race?
Speaker 2: Why is this happening?
Speaker 2: What's really going on?
Speaker 2: And we get a window into the response that God gives it.
Speaker 2: God says, why do you need to keep running?
Speaker 2: How?
Speaker 2: How do you need to keep running?
Speaker 2: You need, you need to know how you're going to stay in the game.
Speaker 2: And every single one of us in here needs to know how to stay in the game.
Speaker 2: Number one in this verse, he says this, write the vision and make it plain on tablets.
Speaker 2: Write the vision down and make it plain on tablets.
Speaker 2: All of us in here have got a goal that we're striving for.
Speaker 2: We've got a mission that we're trying to follow.
Speaker 2: We've got a vision in our heart.
Speaker 2: Write it down, right the vision.
Speaker 2: Damn.
Speaker 2: Pull up your smart phone.
Speaker 2: Open up Evernote.
Speaker 2: Open up your notes.
Speaker 2: Write the vision down.
Speaker 2: Put up your journal.
Speaker 2: Write it down.
Speaker 2: Get it somewhere.
Speaker 2: Why should you write the vision and put it plain on tablets?
Speaker 2: It says, so he may run.
Speaker 2: Who reads it.
Speaker 5: Yeah,
Speaker 2: but who was the vision for?
Speaker 2: It was for Habakkuk.
Speaker 2: And so as you read this, he's writing this down and he says, listen, write the vision down Habakkuk, because you will need to read it when you want to give up so that you can keep running.
Speaker 2: Write it down.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Write the vision down.
Speaker 2: Make it plain on tablets so you may run when you read it, there's going to be come time in your life where you want to quit on this vision.
Speaker 2: There's gonna be times in your life where you're going to want to quit the race.
Speaker 2: You're going to want to quit school.
Speaker 2: You want to quit your relationship.
Speaker 2: You want to quit striving,
Speaker 7: you're going to want to quit.
Speaker 7: Whatever it is in your life.
Speaker 7: You want to quit your faith.
Speaker 8: Write down the why.
Speaker 8: Why are you doing what you're doing?
Speaker 8: And he goes on.
Speaker 8: It says this for still the vision awaits its appointed time.
Speaker 8: Every vision has a bamboo season.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 8: What you now sees, not what will be.
Speaker 8: It's coming.
Speaker 8: Somebody say it's coming.
Speaker 8: It's coming
Speaker 7: for still.
Speaker 7: The vision awaits as a point in time.
Speaker 7: It's hastens to the end.
Speaker 7: It will not lie.
Speaker 8: Listen, if this vision is from God,
Speaker 7: if that desire that God has placed on your heart is from him, and how do you know it's from him?
Speaker 7: You get on your knees and you pray and say, God, tell me what,
Speaker 8: what to do,
Speaker 7: what would you like for me?
Speaker 7: Then you start listening to people.
Speaker 7: You start listening to the word priest.
Speaker 7: You start listening.
Speaker 7: As God speaks through his word, you start listening to the internal impression.
Speaker 7: When you're praying, all of a sudden your praise start going a different way and you're like, okay, Oh God, I know what you're telling me to do.
Speaker 7: I need to write this down, and if it's from God, it will not lie.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 7: If it seems slow,
Speaker 8: wait for it.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Wait for it.
Speaker 7: Not one of those passive waiting like like Zach did last time.
Speaker 7: I really love, I've never gotten the image out of my head of Zach son none.
Speaker 7: He's just, Ooh, just going, wait.
Speaker 7: Oh Lord.
Speaker 8: God's going to come through for me.
Speaker 8: I'm just going to sit right here.
Speaker 8: I believe in you.
Speaker 8: Jesus.
Speaker 8: Breakthrough's coming, but I'm just gonna sit and wait.
Speaker 8: This is active waiting.
Speaker 8: Okay, God, if this vision is coming, what do I need to do?
Speaker 8: How do I need to train?
Speaker 8: How do I need to get ready?
Speaker 8: I'm going to be out here.
Speaker 8: I'm going to buy.
Speaker 7: I'm not boxing the wind.
Speaker 7: I'm just getting ready for the fight.
Speaker 7: I'm going to go out.
Speaker 7: I'm going to start jogging.
Speaker 7: I'm running for a person.
Speaker 7: Why?
Speaker 7: Because if it seems slow, wait for it, it will surely come.
Speaker 7: It will not
Speaker 8: delay.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 8: Here's the deal.
Speaker 8: God's timing is not our time.
Speaker 8: You think the vision is delayed and what God is doing is he's protecting it because if you get it too soon, you won't know what to do with it.
Speaker 8: If you get it too late, you won't.
Speaker 8: You will forget it.
Speaker 8: So it's going to come at the appointed time.
Speaker 8: God's timing is perfect.
Speaker 8: He may not come when you want him, but he'll be right on time.
Speaker 5: Okay,
Speaker 8: so four reasons to have a clear vision for reasons to start with.
Speaker 8: The vision.
Speaker 7: We all going to have a vision.
Speaker 8: Point number one, a clear vision keeps me running in the right race.
Speaker 8: You've been built for a race.
Speaker 8: Here's the thing, if we can just keep it one hunted and keep it real, some, some of us are[inaudible] running somebody else's race and wonder why we keep getting out of breath.
Speaker 7: Some of us are too busy looking at the person over there and the situation over there and you're beginning to try to run their race and you're wondering why you're not getting the same results.
Speaker 7: Stop chasing somebody else's identity.
Speaker 5: Yeah.
Speaker 7: Don't be an identity feed because listen, it's good to be influenced by people.
Speaker 7: It's good to be motivated by people, but listen, you can copy methods, but you cannot copy an anointing.
Speaker 8: Yeah, we can clap on that.
Speaker 8: That was good too.
Speaker 8: Many of us are so caught up looking at everybody else trying to parent our kids.
Speaker 8: Exactly like they parent their kids and we wonder why our kids aren't turning out the way we want them to turn out.
Speaker 8: We're out here trying to copy somebody else's career path and wondering why
Speaker 7: we're not having to say, listen, stop trying to steal somebody else's identity and then wondering why you can't get the same access.
Speaker 8: If you have a clear vision, if you have a clear vision, it'll keep you running the right race.
Speaker 8: Write the vision.
Speaker 8: Make it plain that you can run your race.
Speaker 5: Yeah,
Speaker 8: you were built to run your race.
Speaker 8: Point number two, a clear vision keeps me from getting distracted.
Speaker 8: Anybody in here got squirrel syndrome?
Speaker 8: Man, I'm telling you, I can be in full on deep conversation with you.
Speaker 8: If I see something shiny over there, I'd be like,
Speaker 5: [inaudible]
Speaker 8: my bad.
Speaker 8: What?
Speaker 8: Who knows?
Speaker 8: People who just get distracted so easily.
Speaker 7: Everything that comes, every idea that comes, every opportunity that comes, I want to jump.
Speaker 7: I want to jump.
Speaker 7: I want to do this.
Speaker 7: I want to do that.
Speaker 7: I want to do this.
Speaker 7: I want to do that.
Speaker 7: I want to do this.
Speaker 7: Having a clear vision will keep you from getting distracted.
Speaker 7: I get distracted.
Speaker 7: Easy.
Speaker 5: Okay.
Speaker 8: My wife makes it known.
Speaker 8: I'll be driving a car.
Speaker 8: I'm one of those people from driving and I look over there, the car stopped going over there and my dear wife, she's so loving.
Speaker 8: She's so kind.
Speaker 8: She so gracious.
Speaker 8: This is all she'll say, you're drifting, you're drifting.
Speaker 8: It's like she's getting ready to sing a song.
Speaker 8: You're drifting.
Speaker 8: [inaudible][inaudible] you're drifting.
Speaker 8: She's like to drifting.
Speaker 8: And for some of us who wonder why we can never make it in the race that we're running.
Speaker 8: Why?
Speaker 8: Because we're drifting.
Speaker 8: Everything that looks good.
Speaker 8: I gotta look over here.
Speaker 8: Everything that's tempting.
Speaker 8: I gotta look over here.
Speaker 8: Every opportunity that got to look over here.
Speaker 8: I remember my pastor once told me one time, he was like, listen, if I was the enemy, you know what I would do to Christians?
Speaker 8: I would open every single door and get them confused.
Speaker 8: Cause all the rooms
Speaker 7: is this.
Speaker 7: Jesus is this Jesus, is this God?
Speaker 7: I believe this is God.
Speaker 7: Oh my gosh, this is a sign.
Speaker 7: This has gotta be a sign.
Speaker 7: This gotta be a sign.
Speaker 7: There's gotta be a sign and all the, wow, we're drifting.
Speaker 3: No,
Speaker 8: a clear vision.
Speaker 8: Well keep us from getting distracted.
Speaker 8: Number three, a clear vision keeps me from quitting too soon.
Speaker 8: Remember how we said, listen, I get to choose the race.
Speaker 8: I get to choose a competition, but I don't get to choose my competition.
Speaker 7: And there's a time in everybody's race.
Speaker 7: Everybody knows the race is not easy.
Speaker 7: Whenever you raise this journey called life is not easy.
Speaker 7: There's Hills and there's valleys, there's high times and there's low times.
Speaker 7: There's dry times and there's times of plenty.
Speaker 7: But let's be honest, sometimes the race and the run just gets hard.
Speaker 3: Yeah,
Speaker 7: I want to run this race, but I'm tired.
Speaker 7: I want to run this race, but there's always a roadblock in my way.
Speaker 7: I want to run this race, but the rain keeps falling down.
Speaker 7: I want to run this race, but I don't know if I can make it.
Speaker 7: I want to quit.
Speaker 8: I remember years back, well, I was preparing for an event.
Speaker 8: They'd given me a great opportunity to run this amazing event.
Speaker 8: I had all the tools that I needed.
Speaker 8: I had all the volunteers, I had all of the resources, I had the finance.
Speaker 8: I had everything to run this event, and so we opened up this online signup and we're super
Speaker 9: excited.
Speaker 9: We planned it out[inaudible]
Speaker 8: but the numbers for the signups weren't coming in as fast as I anticipated.
Speaker 8: I was so
Speaker 7: excited about this upcoming event, but I was getting so discouraged because all of the signs were telling me that it would be a bust.
Speaker 7: And so as time got closer and time got closer and time got closer, I started getting nervous and I started getting frustrated.
Speaker 7: And those inner
Speaker 2: competition,
Speaker 8: the competition of doubt, you're not going to make it.
Speaker 8: Nobody's going to show up.
Speaker 8: It's going to be stupid fear.
Speaker 8: You're going to look like a failure.
Speaker 8: Everybody's going to know that you're not capable.
Speaker 7: Complacency, I shouldn't even try anyway.
Speaker 7: I'm not good enough.
Speaker 7: And so I might as well just quit.
Speaker 7: I should just shut this whole thing down.
Speaker 7: So it came up to the last night.
Speaker 7: I had everybody ready to get there early in the morning and set up and get everything ready and the fears got so deep inside of me.
Speaker 7: The distractions got so deep inside of me.
Speaker 7: The complacency got so deep inside of me that I called every single person who was supposed to volunteer at this event and said, I'm canceling it.
Speaker 2: We're not doing it.
Speaker 8: And then the next morning came, my phone started getting blown up.
Speaker 8: Hey, when's the event going to start?
Speaker 8: There's people showing up.
Speaker 8: There's nobody here.
Speaker 8: What's going on?
Speaker 8: Phone call after phone call, text message after text message now started getting pictures
Speaker 7: of people waiting.
Speaker 7: Droves of people there.
Speaker 7: This event would have been an outright incredible success, but I quit
Speaker 2: too soon
Speaker 7: rather than following the vision that I had set before me.
Speaker 7: I believe this is going to happen, whether it's two people or 200 people or 2000 people.
Speaker 7: The vision is set before.
Speaker 7: This is just the beginning.
Speaker 7: Don't despise small beginnings.
Speaker 7: Just keep going.
Speaker 7: Just keep flowing.
Speaker 7: Make it happen.
Speaker 7: No matter what happens, leave it in God's hands.
Speaker 7: But I quit too soon.
Speaker 7: And does that mean that's all over Facebook?
Speaker 7: That's all over the internet.
Speaker 7: But this guy digging
Speaker 2: for diamonds, he's digging for diamonds, and then in the next picture he's dragging his pick and he's discouraged because he has not found the diamonds.
Speaker 7: But what you see in the picture that if he were to hit it just one more time, he would have discovered that the diamonds were behind.
Speaker 7: Just one more time.
Speaker 7: And many of us in this room are quitting way too soon.
Speaker 7: The diamond is right behind the wall, but we're getting so discouraged.
Speaker 7: We're becoming so fearful.
Speaker 7: We're becoming so disheartened and God is saying, don't quit.
Speaker 7: Right?
Speaker 7: The vision so that you may run.
Speaker 7: Keep going back to the vision.
Speaker 8: How about good said, write the vision, make it plain.
Speaker 8: Last point.
Speaker 8: Point number four, clear vision will help me recognize the small wins.
Speaker 9: [inaudible]
Speaker 8: your vision becomes a rubric.
Speaker 9: [inaudible]
Speaker 8: not your circumstance.
Speaker 8: Your vision becomes the rubric and not your circumstance.
Speaker 8: I want this relationship to work and this is what I want it to look like and listen, I may not be where I want to be, but I'm not where I was because I'm starting to see these little things change.
Speaker 8: I'm starting to see some things getting a little better and the vision becomes my rubric, not my current circumstance.
Speaker 8: Yeah.
Speaker 8: This person isn't where I thought they were going to be.
Speaker 8: No, I don't think I'm the person that I'm at, but guess what?
Speaker 8: I'm better than I was yesterday and I just want to be better than yesterday.
Speaker 8: The vision becomes the rubric.
Speaker 8: This is where I'm going.
Speaker 8: Do I see a little sign of that?
Speaker 8: Do I see it?
Speaker 8: A little sign of that.
Speaker 8: I remember when this church was a dream and a hope and we were averaging about 35 45 people.
Speaker 8: Remember that Rhonda Remini Lewis, when the, when the people in the seats where the people who were the volunteers house crew set themselves, they gave themselves their own Bible.
Speaker 8: First impresses parked themselves.
Speaker 8: I was getting so discouraged as God had given me such a big vision.
Speaker 8: God called.
Speaker 8: He said, behold, I'm doing a new thing and now it Springs forth.
Speaker 8: Don't you perceive it?
Speaker 8: I will make a way in the wilderness and I'll make rivers in the desert.
Speaker 8: I've got this thing for you that you have never seen before.
Speaker 8: It's going to be beyond your wildest expectation.
Speaker 8: And there was
Speaker 2: 35 to 45 people sitting in the audience.
Speaker 2: I was preaching my best sermons and I was rallying the team.
Speaker 2: And I remember going to this conference so discouraged and so disheartened.
Speaker 2: Cause I'm hearing people like, yeah, I planted my church three weeks ago and I got 750,000 people at church.
Speaker 7: That's what it sounded like to me, man.
Speaker 7: We planted last weekend and a million people showed up.
Speaker 7: We got our own zip code as a church.
Speaker 7: That's what I was hearing.
Speaker 2: And I remember the guy was saying, uh, the, the facilitator would say, Hey, listen, you know what?
Speaker 2: Make sure you've got your vision written mixer.
Speaker 2: You're going back to the vision, make sure you keep it in front of you so you can keep running.
Speaker 2: And I remember after the conference, uh, after that session again, just being so disheartened and watching everybody else seemingly win around me, I came up to him and I said, you know, I hear what you're saying,
Speaker 7: but I'm discouraged.
Speaker 7: These people are planting churches and they got seven, 800 people.
Speaker 7: I got 35 40.
Speaker 7: I love these people, but I'm not really called to this because I thought the vision that God had given me was much bigger than what I have.
Speaker 7: And he says, what's the vision?
Speaker 7: I said, well, I want to help people discover that Jesus relevant.
Speaker 7: I want to see a community of faith raised up that passionately follows Jesus, that loves across the boundaries and, and makes a tangible difference in our community, region and world.
Speaker 7: And he turned and he asked me, he says, well, is Jesus relevant?
Speaker 9: Yes.
Speaker 7: The 35 to 40 people know that?
Speaker 9: Yes.
Speaker 7: Are they showing up to church each week passionately following Jesus?
Speaker 9: Yes.
Speaker 7: Is your church diverse?
Speaker 7: Is there diversity in age and race and economics?
Speaker 7: I said, yes.
Speaker 7: He says, well, are you guys going out and making a tangible difference?
Speaker 7: Yeah.
Speaker 7: I mean we did serve the city.
Speaker 7: We had like 30 people there.
Speaker 7: Then he was like, so what you whining about?
Speaker 7: Keep running.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 7: He said, are people being safe?
Speaker 7: Yes.
Speaker 7: Keep running.
Speaker 3: [inaudible]
Speaker 7: he says, the vision that you're written down is happening.
Speaker 7: It doesn't look like it right now, but what's coming is none.
Speaker 7: What you now see, keep running
Speaker 2: a clear visual will help me recognize the small wins.
Speaker 2: Listen, if you want to run the race, you are running whatever that race is on, whether the race is your relationships, whether your race is your education, maybe your race is your career.
Speaker 2: Maybe your race
Speaker 7: is your retirement.
Speaker 7: Maybe your raise is, is whatever.
Speaker 7: Maybe it's your faith.
Speaker 7: If you want to run this race and keep running,
Speaker 10: got to know your why.
Speaker 10: Keep your why in front of you.
Speaker 10: Start with the vision.
Speaker 2: I know.
Speaker 10: Yeah,
Speaker 2: that it may not be with a L.
Speaker 2: it may not be what it looks like now.
Speaker 2: Paul says, I don't run aimlessly.
Speaker 2: Listen, it may not look like it now.
Speaker 2: It may not feel like it now.
Speaker 2: The people around you maybe chastising you down.
Speaker 7: But this is what you gotta tell them.
Speaker 7: I'm not running aimlessly because what you now see won't be what will be bamboo season is coming.
Speaker 7: So I'm just going to keep jogging.
Speaker 7: I'm going to keep throwing blows and you're going to think I'm crazy, but I'm gonna keep fighting and you think I'm fighting the wind, but I'm going to keep throwing up punches.
Speaker 7: I'm going to keep running.
Speaker 7: And you can say what you want or what you now see won't be what will be bamboo season is coming.
Speaker 2: So I'll look around in this audience
Speaker 10: and I see a church that is large,
Speaker 2: an influential
Speaker 10: [inaudible]
Speaker 2: that is multiethnic, that is multigenerational, that is trans economic, that raises up the next generation to passionately follow Jesus to love across boundaries
Speaker 7: and to make a tangible difference in our community, region and world.
Speaker 7: So whatever comes, I'm gonna run my race, whatever it looks like.
Speaker 7: I'm gonna run my race.
Speaker 7: Whatever they say, I'm gonna run my race.
Speaker 7: I'm going to keep running.
Speaker 7: I'm going to keep running because I've written the vision and the revision will come to pass and will not delay
Speaker 2: and God told us the beginning of this year, it's bamboo season, baby, so I'm sticking in the race and if you are with me, whatever the your race, it's whatever race you're running.
Speaker 10: [inaudible] start with the vision
Speaker 2: because Jesus said this is what he says in this world, you may have tryouts, you may have afflictions,
Speaker 7: but be of good cheer because I have overcome the world.
Speaker 7: Keep writing, keep running.
Speaker 7: Write the vision.
Speaker 7: Make it plain.
Speaker 7: I know a breakthrough is coming.
Speaker 2: My God is faithful.
Speaker 10: Start with the vision.
Speaker 2: I don't know what your race is, but maybe you're in here and you don't even know why you're running.
Speaker 2: I wake up, it's morning and I don't know what gets me up in the morning.
Speaker 2: Sometimes I feel like I'm just beating the wind and you're saying, God, I need a vision.
Speaker 10: I got nothing.
Speaker 2: And you're saying today, God, I need a vision that does not come from me.
Speaker 2: I need a vision that's bigger than me, that I know that it's not me who birthed this thing inside of me.
Speaker 2: And then maybe you're in here and and you have a vision, but squirrel syndrome has been coming into play and you're looking at everything and everyone except for the race that you're running.
Speaker 2: Some of you may have started assuming the identity of somebody else and wondering why you're not getting the same results.
Speaker 2: And God is saying, listen, you already have the vision.
Speaker 2: You need to start running your race.
Speaker 2: You already have your race.
Speaker 2: Start running your race and maybe you're in here and you've heard this talk about Jesus and you're like, you know what?
Speaker 2: I thought following Jesus was foolish.
Speaker 2: I thought it was running aimlessly.
Speaker 2: I've thought I needed to pull myself up by my bootstraps and I needed to do this on my own.
Speaker 2: And Jesus is saying, listen, I am the way, the truth and the life.
Speaker 2: You cannot run this race unless you run it through me.
Speaker 2: I am the alpha and Omega.
Speaker 2: I am the beginning of the end.
Speaker 2: I am the one who's going to carry you in this race.
Speaker 2: If you fall into any one of those categories, I pray that you would stand to your feet right now and that you would declare that God, you have a vision for me and I want to run my race and I'm with you.
Speaker 2: I'm not.
Speaker 2: I'm tired of being distracted.
Speaker 2: I'm tired of looking at everybody else.
Speaker 2: I'm making a commitment today that I'm going to keep running.
Speaker 2: I'm going to run after you more than anything.
Speaker 2: I'm going to run after you.
Speaker 2: Jesus.
Speaker 2: God, we thank you for your faithfulness.
Speaker 2: We thank you God that you are the vision giver.
Speaker 2: You are the vision author.
Speaker 2: We thank you God that in our, in our lives that the things that we think, Oh, we can conjure up those things have no they, they're not even a fraction of what you would desire to birth through us.
Speaker 2: God, I pray that we will keep the vision in front of us.
Speaker 2: I pray that we'll write it down and make it plain.
Speaker 2: I pray God that when we feel like we're getting tired and we want to quit, we will go back to the vision and more than anything, Jesus, I pray that we will seek first the kingdom of heaven in this righteousness, seek first the kingdom and his righteousness and then all these things would be gathered on to us.
Speaker 2: So if somebody here needs to say yes to Jesus and you say, listen, I've been running this race by myself and I'm going to say yes to Jesus today.
Speaker 2: Wherever you had, just throw your hand up wherever you're at SAP and running this race by myself and I want to run in with Jesus.
Speaker 2: Throw your hand up right where you are.
Speaker 2: I see your hand and I see your hand.
Speaker 2: Praise God.
Speaker 2: God, we know that in you.
Speaker 2: We've got a new DNA, we give you glory and we give you honor that in Jesus Christ we are renewed, we are made new, we are restored into relationship.
Speaker 2: It's his name.
Speaker 2: We pray.
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