Run After

 Exeter Temple Message notes
Vision and Commitment Sunday   11^th January 2015
Bible Reading: Hebrews 12:1-3

We are introduced here to a powerful athletic metaphor in which the Christian life is compared to a race.  There is also a connection to vision because to run this race well, the runners need to have their eyes open and fixed on the goal which is Jesus Christ himself. 
We do not just run around in circles, but we run with direction, following after Jesus, who has run the race ahead of us, always keeping him in sight.
Races usually begin with a starting pistol, or a signal from a flag.  The starting of participation in the race for this Corps began almost 135 years ago and we are still in it but we still need to start running. 
Some races, such as the Tour de France is one huge race, but there are stages within it. Participants ride and rest, then move to a new place and start riding again, using tactics and skills that match the climate and terrain that they are passing through.  They may have responded to a starting pistol at the very beginning but along the way they listen for it again and respond to it in the new place they find themselves. 
Today, we are still running the race that our forefathers began and yes we are still in Exeter but in many ways we are in a new place as we meet the challenge to follow Jesus in our day and in our times. 
We have, sought the Lord. We have asked “Lord we want to see” and he has guided us we believe to adapt the way we run according to the vision he has given us.  Part of that vision was to set up Purpose teams, alongside our Music Ministry, AFM and CYM teams supported by the resource teams of Finance, Administration, Communications and Building teams.
On this Vision and Commitment Sunday, we remind ourselves of the vision but it is a day to also start the race and commission our teams to action.
1. Run as disciples
 We are called to do is run as disciples.  Discipleship is about living the life of Christ.  The clue is in the word, it is a disciplined life. 
The writer of the Hebrews says, "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles us and let us run………”
The image that this translation evokes is of something which must be thrown off like a garment.  In the London marathon people deliberately dress in unsuitable outfits for running, just for fun but the serious runners wear as little as they can without being indecent. In fact these days athletic clothing is a matter of science and technology so special fabric wear can be worn that fits so tightly that the body is completely streamlined.

What is it that we need to throw off in order to not only keep going but also to run effectively and keep up with Jesus?  

It is quite obvious that we need to remove anything from our lives that is immoral, that is contrary to the standard of living that the word of God reveals to us. We know it is wrong to steal, to lie, to gossip, to hold on to resentment, to refuse to forgive etc; all things that can so easily trip us up.

We need to take a radical attitude towards sin.  However it must also be said that a winning runner does not just choose between the good and the bad but between the better and the best. 

 “The rule of my life is this: Anything that dims my vision of Christ, or takes away my taste for Bible study, or cramps my prayer life or makes Christian word difficult, it is wrong for me, and as a Christian I must turn from it!”

Wilbur Chapman

For example, our success can be our failure. Our strength can be our weakness. We can be tempted to sit back and relax.

Whilst an athlete might remove unnecessary clothing and lifestyle habits it is not enough; the runner must know how to run a race. 

The runner has to grow in understanding of how to train and how to run.  And that applies to our Christian life.  If we are going to run, then we need to keep on learning.   

 2. Run out into the world

“……the race set before us.” 

Competitors in a race don't usually pick their own course.  If they want their run to count they have to follow the route   laid out for them but the organizers.  If we want to win the race that really matters it is important we run the race that God lays out for us.

Training, for all disciples of Jesus is meant to take us out into the world.  The Christian life is not a race in a stadium but a marathon through local neighbourhoods. 

If we made the connection with discipleship earlier now I see a link to our purpose of mission and of serving our community.

 “You will be my witnesses in all Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria and o the ends of the earth.”  Acts 1:8  

The London Marathon is a great illustration of people who are running with the purpose of serving others and often proclaiming their mission, telling their story as they are stopped by the BBC along the way to tell their story.

3. Run with focus

 “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus”  

This connects totally with our purpose of worship.

Robert Street writing about the Spiritual Life Commission that the Salvation Army produced a number of years ago said this,

“The Commission acknowledges that in our meetings we celebrate and experience the promised presence of Christ with his people. Christ crucified, risen, and glorified is the focal point, the epicentre of our worship. We worship Christ. He is the reason for our meeting. He has reconciled us to God. Because of this we offer worship to the Father, through the Son, in the Spirit.” 

4. Run in partnership with others

"……….surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.”
Who are these witnesses? Firstly they are the people who have gone before us, who have run the race, and have completed it! They are examples to us as to how to successfully and victoriously run this race!
We find many of them listed in Hebrews 11.
We all need inspiration and encouragement. One of the greatest inspirations and comforts should be all the believers from the past who have gone before us.  The same God who was their God is our God. The God of yesterday is the God of today and tomorrow.

Let’s remember that not all of these witnesses are in heaven, as we run the race, we run it side by side, helping one another along. 

One of the nominees for Sports personality of the Year 2014 was not a single person by the partnership of Kelly Gallagher and Charlotte Evans. Their sport is not running but Alpine skiing. They participated in the Winter Paralympics and won a gold medal as they won the visually impaired Super-G in Sochi.  The pair communicate on their way down the slopes via blue-tooth headsets, as they travel at speeds of up to 100km/h.                               

Dame Mary Peters said of them, “They are amazing - an absolute team."

We run in partnership with one another. 

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests but also to the interests of others.”  Philippians 2:4 

This connects with our purpose of pastoral care and community service but also shows us how our resource teams play their part in helping us all run the race.  

What marathon or fun run can take place without the resources of administration, practical provisions like water, toilet facilities, stewards and communication?  Who can forget the volunteers at the Olympics, whose encouragement and care made the London games such a success. In fact they were called Games makers.   “Clear the path for the long distance so no one will trip up and fall so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it! Work at getting along with each other and with God. Otherwise you’ll never get so much as a glimpse of God. Make sure on one gets left out of God’s generosity.”  (Hebrews 12:12-14 The Message)

 

This is a word I believe God has for us for 2015

It is a year of decision making, a time to stop putting off facing difficult questions.  It is time to run.

It is a year for taking some risks in terms of trying new things. It’s time to get off any fences we are sitting on.  It is time to run. 

It should be a year when we go into battle for God and when we get to grips with what we mean by spiritual warfare if our title Salvation Army is going to mean something in 2015.

It is a year to go into battle for God but a year when we each need to make sure that in our hearts we are not in a battle against him.

We can’t afford to mess about with sin and compromise. We need to line our lives up with his word not with the opinions of the world. It has to be a year when we re-affirm our holiness heritage. It is time to run after the holy life of a radical disciple of Jesus.

God Bless You

Carol Young