Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
January 6, 2002 - W0201

ìRun in such a way that you may winî (1 Cor. 9:24)

When you come out of the blocks in 2002, you need to have a heart to win.  It doesnít matter what challenges lie before you.  Even a runner who has lost his last six races needs to charge out of the blocks with the belief that he will win.  In our lives, this belief will set our hearts.  If you think youíre going to lose, what are you going to do?  Youíre going to lose.  However, it honors the coach, even if you stumble to run in such a way that youíll win.

God gives us a chance to set ourselves to win in 2002.  He could have had eternity as just one fell swoop of time, but He knew that mankind needs many, many new beginnings.  So he took eternity and broke it up into 24-hour chunks called days.  He set the sun to fall each night and rise every morning.  Every seventh day, we start with the Sabbath and enter a new week.  And each year, the way He created the stars and seas is such that they cycle every 365 days.  Every day, every week, and every year, God gives us many, many new beginnings.  So receive this gift, and come out of every new beginning with a heart to win.

The book of Hebrews gives us three clear steps on how to win in this new year.  It uses the sport of running as a metaphor and speaks of a ìcloud of witnessesî as a grandstand watching this race that we run.  They consist of the people and saints who have gone before us, leading the way and paving our paths.

Question 1: Take a glance back at 2001.  Was it a success or could you have run a better race?

Steps to Winning

ìSince we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faithÖî (Heb. 12:1,2)

If you are going to come out of the blocks with a heart to win, youíve got to:

CHOOSE WHAT YOUíLL LEAVE BEHIND!

Before you can run, youíve got to choose what youíll leave behind.  When I had first received Christ, at nineteen years old, I had come out of a rock and roll background, and was playing music full-time for this band.  Consequently, I had all types of things stashed around the house.  So the Lord clearly spoke to me and said, ìYou need to prune those things out of your life, and if you donít, they will encumber you and weigh you down.î

I took all the dope, tarot cards, I Ching, and girly magazines, and put them in a huge plastic bag.  I knew that I couldnít just leave them in the garbage can outside of the house, because late at night, I would get fidgety and dig out the marijuana.  So instead I put the bag in the trunk of my car and drove down to the dump.  I placed it in this long chute to make sure that it got out of my reach. 

It was one of the best things that Iíve ever done because I had to choose that I was going to leave those things behind and get them out of my life once and for all.  But I left a little stash for a rainy day, and three months later, I was going through a tough time with lots of doubts about my calling.  I was ready to bail out and return to what I used to do.  So I prayed to God and said, ìGod!  Why am I going through such attacks?î  Then He reminded me about the stash that I had put away.  And as I hemmed and hawed, he told me, ìWayne, thatís not my property, that stuff belongs to the enemy.  If you have his possessions in your house, then youíve given him permission to trespass.  If you want to have authority over the enemy, to keep him out of your house, then you have to make sure that you are retaining none of his possessions.î

That night, I even when through my music, took out all of the heavy metal albums and took those to the dump as well because I wanted to clean out all of the influences which were not of God.  And I heard God tell me to take a year off of rock and roll, and listen only to Christian music.  Now, at that time, in 1972, the Christian music scene was really bad to my ears.  I remember myself switching to a heavy metal station and telling God, ìListen to this God, now thatís music!î  And in a nano-second, God replied, ìWayne, do you want to listen to lies, if it is wrapped in velvet?  Or would you rather listen to the truth, even if it comes wrapped in a plain brown paper bag?î 

So the Lord showed me that I had to lay aside certain things.  But in addition to physical things, there are also character traits that I had to lay aside:

ìSo get rid of your feelings of hatred.  Donít just pretend to be good!  Be done with dishonesty and jealousy and talking about others behind their backs.î  (1 Pt. 2:1 LB)

There are character traits that we have carried with us from 2001 to 2002, and God is telling us, ìLay aside those traits that entangled you before or youíll only be known as a rumor monger or for talking behind peopleís backs.î  Maybe itís a tendency to get jealous or to get defensive.  Many times, people will justify themselves by saying something like, ìI get angry and defensive because thatís just in my Irish blood.î  But God is asking us to stop hiding behind ethnicities and quit using it as an excuse to keep old encumbrances.  In fact, God tells us that if any man is in God, he is a new creation.  Before you are red, black, blue, white, green, or brown, you are a child of God.  Choose what you will leave behind.

So how will we find out what we need to leave behind?

• These will only be revealed as we run.

If a runner doesnít run, but stands still, he doesnít realize the encumbrances that he needs to trim off.  But, when he trains, he can recognize the areas in which he is deficient.  In the same way, as we start to get involved in serving or ministry, things will pop up ñ a moodiness, a quickness to blame others, a punctuality problem ñ and when they do, donít be ashamed.  What God is doing is revealing these things as you are running, so that you may cooperate with Him in pruning them out and getting them right.  But, you will never know what those things are if you donít want them to surface.  If God shows you these things, thank God for it, because that means that He is working in your life.

Question 2: How do you respond in the face of adversity?  Why?

Sometimes as Christians, we think that equilibrium means that God is blessing us, and if something pops up, then we back off from the challenge.  But instead of shrinking back, we need to rejoice in it, because we now can see what we need to work on in order to grow.

So when these things surface, how do we respond?

• Follow the faith of those gone before us.

ìNow these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.î  (1 Cor. 10:11)

There are many, many people who have gone through the same things that youíve gone through.  Whatever youíre struggling with, there are others who have experienced the very same thing, and have won.  Moses was a murderer, Elijah suffered deep depression, Gideon had a bad family, Samson had a recurring lust, Jacob was a deceiver, Rahab was a prostitute, David was an adulterer, Joseph was imprisoned.  However, every name just mentioned, made it into the Hall of Faith in Hebrews 11 as people that God wanted us to model.  These are people in the great cloud of witnesses cheering us on saying, ìYou can do it!  You can win!î  All of their past wrongs were cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.

So as things pop up when we are running, we need to follow the faith of those who have gone before us, and have won.  In addition, God tells us, ìIím going to run with you.  I will never leave you nor forsake you.  Furthermore, whatever you have gone through, I understand.î

Question 3: Do you believe that God is big enough to overcome the struggles you are going through?

ìFor since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.î  (Heb. 2:18)

Jesus felt the pain of everything that weíve gone through.  When Jesus took our sins on the cross, He took the sins of the world.  Not 50%, 60%, or 90%, He took on 100% of all the sins that mankind would go through.  Past, present, and in the future, there is forgiveness for our sins.  What a precious Savior we have.

RUN YOUR OWN RACE AND REFUSE TO GIVE UP!

There is a race set before you, but one of our problems is that we donít want to run our own race!  It might be a marriage situation or a relationship situation.  Perhaps it is a vocational situation where you might not make nearly as much money as the next person, but it is the vocation chosen for you by God.  It is easy to compare and ask God, ìWell, what about him or her?î  But that is their race!  What is Godís race for you?  Whatever it might be, it might not be the easiest, but it is the path that youíve been given.  And whatever race God has set before you, He will give you the grace to win.

ìFor you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised.î (Heb. 10.36)

Perhaps youíve been given a race that youíre finding impossible to run and you just want to give up.  The Lord says, ìDonít do that.  The only way that the enemy wins is if you drop out.  If you stay with it, you will win.î  Even if you donít believe that you have the skills or talents to run the race before you, donít give up.  Run with endurance the race that is set before you and trust Him to fill in the blanks.

Question 4: What is the race that God has set before you?  Take a moment to write down where your finish line is.

CHOOSE WHERE YOU ARE HEADED.

In Hebrews 12:1-2, which we discussed earlier, it ends with the advice, ìfixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith.î  What the scripture is actually asking us is, ìWhat do you want as the final outcome of your life?  When you are ready to die, what do you want as your legacy?  Where do you want to end up?î 

I think all of us can agree that Matthew 25:21 answers these questions for us:

ìHis master replied, ëWell done, good and faithful servant! ÖCome and share your masterís happiness!íî  (Matt. 25:21 NIV)

What do you think would really make the master happy?  How much we accumulate?  How high we get on the applause meter or in public polls?  It has a lot more to do with your faith than youíll ever realize.  Your faith includes your character, your influence, your reputation, your testimony, and your encouragement of others.  Always remember that the measure of a saint is not determined by what you do, but what others do because of what youíve done.

Itís the contagion factor.  Have you caused others to be closer to the Lord because youíve passed this way?  Or have you lived for only yourself? 

Often I will go to my journal and ask myself, ìIf in the end, Lord, my life stood for anything, let it stand for this,î and I will start writing from my heart.  So when I start to want to run another personís race where I want this or I want that, the Lord will remind me to look at what Iíve written.  And I will remember the finish line that I am racing toward.  Thatís what gives me a heart to win.

We each have only one finish line that we can cross, and it is different for every other person you will encounter.  So fix your eyes on Jesus, the author and the perfecter of your faith.  If you lose your way, just follow Him.  He will lead you home.  If you run with Him, you too will end up in the Hall of Faith, with a heart to win, and come out of the blocks clean in 2002. 

Question 5: How will you be different from what you have learned today?

Summarized by: Bryan Fujioka