with me this morning to Matthew
chapter 7. Matthew chapter 7. I'm not going
to preach from here, but I want to read from here. James has
requested prayer for his niece. She just was 19 months pregnant
and lost her baby last night. And that's just, that's very
hard. So, down Erlanger. And of course, we want to remember
Patsy and Joe. all right i'm going to start
reading here in verse 13 and read down to verse 23 enter ye
in at the straight gate for wide is the gate and broad is the
way that leadeth to destruction and many there be which go in
there at because straight is the gate and narrow is the way
which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it. Beware
of false prophets which come to you in sheep's clothing but
inwardly they are ravening wolves. You know he put that right there
where you go in the gate right where you go in the gate warning
about false prophets because that's where they're going to
try to keep you from going in at the right gate. That's where
they hang, that's where they're at. You're at the gate. God's
bringing you to that place. And a false prophet's standing
there, trying to tell you, go this way. Don't go that way.
Go this way over here. This is the right way. And then
he says, you shall know them by their fruit. You'll know the
false prophets by their fruit. Do men gather grapes or thorns
or figs or stythos? That's where you know a false
prophet, he has no fruit. Even so, ever good fruit, ever
good tree. bringeth forth good fruit, but
a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot
bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth
good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not
good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire. Wherefore, by
their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. But he
that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven, many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? And in thy name have cast out
devils, and in thy name done many wonderful works. Then will
I profess unto them, I never knew ye, depart from me, ye that
work iniquity. I want you, if you will, turn
with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians 9. And I want you to look at verse
24 with me. Let's see what the Lord would
say for us today, speak to us today and do for us today. Know
ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth
the prize? So run that ye may obtain, and
every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly,
so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. But I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when
I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. There in
verse 24, it said, Run the race, and one receives the prize. There's
a prize in a race, and that's what I want to talk about, receiving
the prize. Receiving the prize. You know,
people talk about rewards in heaven. And our Lord talked about,
our Lord mentioned rewards. Rewards. Abraham, God said he
was Abraham's reward. And he didn't need any other
reward than God. Now I'm gonna say three things
here that I know this sure. I know that salvation is of the
Lord. I know that. It's by grace. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. It's the gift of God, not of
works, lest any man should boast. It's not of him that willeth.
It's not of him that runneth. But it's of God that shows mercy. And I also know this, that salvation
is a race. It's a race. The Bible talks
much about a race. It talks about a course. We're
on a course. And this course has to be finished. If you don't finish the course,
you don't get the prize. And there's a battle. We're in
a war. And there's no discharge from this war. There's a battle
that we're going to fight until we get to the end of the war.
Until we get to the end. And here's another thing I know.
We are sure that a man will not be saved by his works. We're
positive of that. There's no doubt about that.
A man will not be saved by his works. God will not reward a
man for what he does. But we're also sure of this,
that a man won't be saved without having works. He won't be saved
without them. I just read to you that you'll
know a tree by its fruits and that you have to enter in at
the straight gate. When a man has the new birth,
when God creates in man the new heart, a new spirit, a new mind,
and makes him a new creature, it changes everything about him
radically. And he lives by a different motive.
He lives for a different reason. He lives by different principles. And he doesn't glory in works
whatsoever. And he wouldn't brag about or
say that he's done anything for the glory of God in and of himself,
that he has never had the purest motive in anything that he'd
done. But it's his purpose, it's his desire to honor Christ by
how he lives in this world, by how he conducts himself in this
world, by the character that he has and how he deals with
other people. I know that. But when we talk
about receiving the prize, beloved, I want to win Christ. I want
to win Christ. That's the prize. Want to win
Christ Paul said I want to be found in Christ. I want to win
Christ. I want to know Christ I want
to know him. I want one of these days to see
his blessed face I want one of these days to hear his blessed
glorious voice I want one of these days to worship him without
a sinning heart But yet I must run the race Before I'll ever
receive the price And that's what the apostle says here in
verse 24. You know you're not that they
which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize,
so run that you may obtain. And every man that striveth for
the mastery, the mastery is tempered in all things. Now they do it,
they run a race to obtain a corruptible crown, but we're in this race
for an incorruptible crown. And this word run, means an effort
to attain an end. An effort to attain an end. There's
a starting place and a finishing place. And what it also means
is persevering activity in the Christian course with a view
to obtaining the reward. Look what the Apostle said. You
keep this and look over in 2 Timothy. Just go to your right until you
come to 2 Timothy. And look what the Apostle said
over here. that we run this race with a view to obtaining the
reward, to getting to the end of it. We're not to the end yet. And I often think about how my
end's gonna be. When what day will I get up?
And it'll be the end of the day. That that'll be my last day.
What time will be my last hour? What will my last few minutes
of earth be? And I'm not afraid of it. I don't know what God's got in
store for me, but I do know what He's got in store for me after
I leave this world. And that's why I'm not afraid.
That's why I long to see His face. long to hear his voice
and what we rejoice in here oh how we will rejoice if we rejoice
so greatly in christ here how will we rejoice in christ there
huh and look what he said here in second timothy chapter four
verse seven i fought a good fight i told you we was in a war was
in a battle listen to this i finished my course I finished my course. I have kept the faith. I kept
believing the gospel. I kept believing Christ. I kept
looking to Christ. I kept what God taught me. I
kept it close to my heart, my soul. I kept Christ in my view. And look what he said, ìHenceforth
there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and listen to
this now, and not to me only, but all to all those, all them
also that love when he appears. And he gonna appear one of these
days for all of us. Now look back over here with
me in 1 Corinthians 9. Look what he says here. Verse 24, ìKnow ye not that they
which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize?î
And what heís talking about here, you know the rules of the game.
You know that everybody's got to run the race. And these people,
you see, these were Grecians that he's writing to. And that's
where the Olympics started. The Olympics started in Greece.
The first marathon was ever run, was run from one city over to
the city of Marathon. That's why they called it Marathon.
And so these Grecians, they knew the Olympics and they knew all
the other games. And all run in the race, all
of them run in the race. But there's only going to be
one that's going to cross that finish line first. When he crossed
that finish line first, he's the one that they crowned. He's
the one that they put the log on him, you know, they put everything
around his neck and he's the one that's run the, he's outrun
everybody else. And he's beat everybody else
and he receives the prize, just one. And look what he says, so
run that you may obtain. And he goes from what they say
to laying that to us, talking about us. Everybody's got to
run the race. If you're a believer in this
building this morning, you're on a race and everybody's got
to run the race. Everybody's got to run it. Look
what he said over here in Hebrews chapter 12. Look what the apostle
said, Hebrews 12, you know, And he said, run that you may obtain
the prize. We'll get to it here in a minute.
But look what he said here in Hebrews 12, 1. And Paul, when
he went to Jerusalem, he went up there by revelation, it said.
And he says that he got with everybody that had a reputation.
He got with them privately, John and James and Peter and the other
apostles. He got with them privately. to
so that he could tell them the gospel that christ had taught
him concerning the gentiles and how that christ had taught him
by revelation the gospel of the grace of god and was going to
save gentiles and he said i did this privately, lest I had run
in vain. And if I told, if I went to Jerusalem
and told everybody what I was doing to the Gentiles, they would
have attacked me because it was the wrong thing to do to preach
to a Gentile. So he got these fellows apart
and said, this is the gospel. And he said, and I've done this
to them privately, lest I had run in vain. These men need to
understand why God's saving Gentiles. And they're the gospel that God
taught me. But look, and he said, And I didn't want to run in vain.
I didn't want to go up there and lose everything. And look
what he says, Hebrews 12, verse 1, Wherefore, seeing we also
are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. You know,
we are in a stadium, and the stadium is full, and we got all
these witnesses watching us, watching us. And he says, When
you are running in this race, let us lay aside every weight
and the sin which doeth so easily beset us. And listen to this,
and let us run, run with patience the race that sits before us.
You run with patience because you're going to take you a while
to get to the end. And now look back over here in
Hebrews, I mean 1 Corinthians 9. So know you're not, you got
to know the rules of the game. And then look what he says here
in verse 26. I therefore so run. I run. They're running to obtain
a corruptible crown, but we're running to obtain an incorruptible
crown. I therefore so run. I'm running. Not as uncertainly. I'm not out
just for a little job. I'm not out just to let everybody
know that I'm doing something for Jesus. I'm not out here running
uncertainly. I'm not, I don't have, I've got
a purpose in my run. I've got a goal in my run. And
he said, I'm not, I'm not, I therefore shall run as not uncertainly.
I don't know where I'm going to go. I don't know how I'm going
to get there. That's not what he's saying. He said, when I'm
in this race, I know exactly where I'm going and I know exactly
what my goal is and I know what the prize is when I get to the
end of it. and then look what he says and I fight I fight he
said I fought a good fight he said I fight I fight not as one
that beats the air he said I'm not a shadow box I'm not a shadow
boxer I'm not just beating the air I'm not just thrashing at
the air I'm in a warfare the weapons of our warfare are not
carnal but mighty through God for the pulling down of strongholds
and every imagination that raises itself against the righteousness
of God And we're not out for a jog with no purpose or destination. But I tell you what, the first
thing about a race is you got to enter it. You got to enter
it. And that's why I read over there, there ain't but one place
you can enter. He said, enter ye in at the straight
gate, for wide is the great, and broad is the way that leadeth
unto destruction. But straight is the gate. That
word straight means narrow, narrow. Straight is the gate. Narrow
is the way. And listen to this, that leads
to life, that leads to Christ. Now let me, Shirley and I was
talking about this the other day. She was just telling me
about remembering Maurice Montgomery preaching a message 30 years
ago or longer. And he was preaching about that
straight gate and that narrow way. He says, when you go through
that straight gate, you ain't got room to take anything else
with you. You got to come through it absolutely
naked. You can't, you ain't got room
to take, that thing is so narrow and so straight, you can't take
anything through with you. you've got to come through it
naked and when you get through that gate it takes you to Christ
and then Christ he closes you with his righteousness you I
mean that you can't get nothing through you can't get a work
through there you can't get your goodness through there you can't
get your good intentions through there you can't get you can't
get your Profession that's old as the heels that you made when
you was 12 years old, you can't get that through there. When
you go through that straight gate, you're going through there
naked. Oh, and you know what? Look in John 10. This is what
our Master said. We're talking about what our
Lord Jesus Christ said. John 10. I won't take my time
this morning because this is, you know, you see folks that
start out, they start running a good race. There was a lady
one time, the first time, New York City Marathon. And I've
been running for over 20 years, myself, been running over 20
years. And I always have a goal in it. If it's for nothing else,
just to keep my weight under control. But here's the thing. In this city, first, they're
running the New York City Marathon, and there's hundreds of thousands
of dollars that the winner receives. Oh, they win piles of money,
endorsements and all this stuff. Well, there's this lady named
Rosie Lopez. She waited till the last two
or three miles, and she jumped on the course. And away she went,
and she crossed the finish line first. And oh, they met her there,
and oh, everybody went to scream and holler and come to find out. And that's why a lot of folks
want to do they want to jump in the race Jump in the race
as you know in plunges pilgrims progress Christian and faithful
was on their way on the straight, and they was on that they was
on their path They was going on their journey, and when they
was on their journey for a while There was this fella that jumped
that you know There's walking along and this guy this man jumped
over the wall and landed right down beside him jumped over the
wall and landed beside him And they said, oh my, where'd you
come from? He said, well, I found an easier way in. He said, we're
going to end up at the same place. And the old Christian said, no,
no, no. No, we're not. He said, you've
got to go all the way back there and start where we started. He
said, oh, no, no, no. This is a much easier way and
a much quicker way. And we're going to all end up
at the same place. And that's the way a lot of folks do. They
want to jump in another way. But this is what our master said.
Look in chapter 10, verse 1. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
that he that entereth in by the door of the sheepfold, but climbeth
up, you notice that? Climbs. He works. He's struggling
to get in the wall. Climbeth up some other way. What
does our Lord say about it? He's a thief and he's a robber. What does he steal? He steals
God's glory. He robs God of his glory. of
his righteousness and truth and justice. He robs him. Now look
what our Master said down here in verse 7. Our Lord makes it
very plain. Then said Jesus unto them, Verily,
verily, truly, truly I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. I am the door of the sheep. Everybody
that ever came before me saying that I'm the Messiah, all that
ever came before me are thieves and robbers. But listen to this,
the sheep did not hear them. I am the door, I am the door,
by me, by me. Did you see that? By me, I'm
the door. It's not what the door is, it's
who the door is. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture, find
pasture. So you see, you got to enter
in and make sure you're on the right course. If you get into
Broadway, you'd be on the wrong course. And then you must start
right. You got to start right. You know,
you can't lorder around. You can't start before God calls
you, before God saves you, before God in his grace does something
for you. You can't start it. You can't
start before God does something for you. You can't get in a race
that you don't even know where it's going to go. And that's
what he says. You can't lorder. You can't start
before the time. it's like those it's like that
man he had an unclean spirit this is what happens to a lot
of people he had an unclean spirit he said i'll tell you what i'm
gonna do said i'm gonna leave this house and i'm gonna go out
and he said and that man you know he the unclean spirit went
out of a man somebody come in swept it somebody come in garnished
it somebody dressed it all up didn't talk about washing it
in the blood didn't talk about the rise of christ he got in
there and took a broom went to cleaning up And all a broom will
do is just move, you know, it'll get down to where the crevices
are. And then they've garnished it. You've heard me say this
before, they get crosses, they get pictures, they give them
some statues, anything that makes them feel religious. Get some
sentimentality, go to a funeral and get scared. And he says,
oh, listen, he went through dry places, that unclean deer spit.
Everywhere he went was dry. Wasn't nothing. He said, I'll
tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to enter back into
my house. And that's what happens. Folks start out. They look good. Everybody says, oh, my, I'm so
grateful. Oh, listen, we rejoice over nothing. And the next thing you know,
That unclean spirit said, he can't find no rest. He said,
I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to go right back in
that house that was cleaned up. That house that was garnished,
I'm going to go right back in it. And you know what he said
when he went back in? He took seven other spirits worse
than he was. That's what our Lord meant when
he says, a dog returns to its vomit, a sow to her wallet in
the mire. Been better never to have known.
I'll tell you what, I've said this before. If I end up in hell,
I'd rather go to hell off a barstool never having heard the name of
Jesus Christ than go to hell from this pulpit right here.
Do you know what the judgment would be for people that stand
in a pulpit and tell people something that they're not supposed to
hear? That's frightening. That's why Paul says, so fought
I, not as one that be sad. He said, I'm going to keep my
body under subjection lest I prove myself to be thrown away. And oh, listen, he says, you've
got to start right. It's like that stony ground here.
He heard the word. He heard the word and he said,
whoo, I love that gospel. I love grace. I've never heard
it before. I love that truth of imputed
righteousness. Oh, that's glorious. He'll come
three or four weeks. Next thing you know, you don't
never see him again. It's not what you believe, it's
who you believe. There's a lot of what's to believe.
How to live is a what? What to drink is a what? Where
to go is a what? But who? Paul said, I know who
I have believed. You can believe a lot of what's,
but a what don't save you. Christ saves you. Oh my. And I'll tell you, and here's
another thing. If you're gonna run this race,
somebody's gotta teach you where the course is at, how to get
on the course, and teach you what it is to run. Well, who's
gonna teach you? Well, look in John 6, 44. Look
in John 6, 44. I'll tell you who's gonna teach
you. I love this. Somebody's gotta teach you. You can hear me preach, but I
can't teach you anything. Unless you're already converted,
God will bless a man to people learn from him and learn through
him. But like I have from so many preachers over the years
and still do, still do. But look what he says, you got
to enter the race, you got to start right, you can't Lord her,
start before the time. Our master said this, John 6,
44, no man, can come to me except the Father
which hath sent me draw him, and I will raise him up at the
last day. First God's got to draw you.
And it is written in the prophets, they shall be all taught of God. What's God going to teach you?
He's going to teach you. I'm going to show you some things
He's going to teach you in a minute. Every man therefore that hath
heard and hath learned of the Father, he comes to me. He comes
to me. And so, beloved, we must be taught
by the Holy Spirit. God's got to teach us. And what
are some of the things He teaches? First thing He teaches us is
something about ourselves. He teaches us our inability,
our sinfulness. impotence, if I could say it
that way. Ain't that what he said back
over here in I Corinthians 9, I keep unto my body and bring
it unto subjection. You look at the people in the,
you got to know yourself, you got to know your, you know, and
that's what God Job said, I heard about you with the hearing of
the ear, my eye sees you. Well, what did you see, Job?
When I saw him, I abhorred myself and repented in dust and ashes. And Isaiah said, I saw the Lord
high and lifted up, and everybody went to running to hells and
shouting. Everybody went to stomping their feet and said, hallelujah,
praise the Lord. No, he said, when I saw the Lord
high and lifted up and his glory filled the temple, he said, woe
is me. I'm a man of unclean lips. That's
what God teaches us. He teaches us. And I'll tell
you something, the older you get, the worse you get. I asked
old Scott that one time when he was up in the years. I said,
Scott, does it get any better? And he said, no, it gets harder
because you know more about yourself. Oh, listen, Peter said this.
He said, Oh, Lord. And here's a here's an apostle.
And he said, Oh, Lord, depart from me. I'm so sinful. How can you stand to let me into
your presence? I'll tell you, that's one thing
that that God teaches you. And then when he teaches you
that, you know what? You got to know Christ. He teaches
everyone had heard and learned to the father. What does he do?
Comes to me. You got to know Christ. Whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How shall
they call on Him in whom they've never heard? And how shall they
believe in Him of whom they've never heard? And how shall they
hear without a preacher? You've got to know who Christ
is. Simon Peter, our Lord Jesus, is talking to His disciples one
day, and He said, Who do men say that I am? And I tell you,
you can hear. In fact, I've told you this before. I know you listen to the radio
too. And you hear all these fellas on there advertising their churches.
Everybody's got something to say about their church. But I
know of three around here that's on the radio every day advertising
their churches and not one of them, not one of them mentions
Christ. Not one of them mentions, come
hear the truth. Not one of them says, come and
we'll tell you how you'll know Christ and you got to, how the
gospel. They don't talk about the gospel.
They don't talk about Christ. Nobody wants to go where Christ
is preached. They want to go where they talk
about how you're supposed to deal with your marriage, how
you're supposed to deal with your weight, how you're supposed
to deal with drug addiction, how you're supposed to deal with
alcoholism. And how are you supposed to deal with pornography? And
how are you supposed to deal with this? And how are you supposed
to deal with that? How in the world can you deal with anything
if you don't know Christ? You're just, like you said in
that song, you're just two-fold more the child of hell than what
he was when you started. And oh, who do men say that I
am? Oh, some say you're John the Baptist, some say you're
a prophet, others say that you're Jeremiah's. He said, but who
do you, what do you think about Christ? Who do you say that I
am? Old Simon said, Thou art the
Christ, the Son of the living God. He said, you, Simon, you're
so blessed. Flesh and blood didn't teach
you that, but my Father, my Father, which is in heaven. Oh my, like
we said last week, that old blind man said, when he asked Saul
Christ, and he said, who is he? I ask, speak unto them. He said,
Lord, I believe. I believe. Oh, I believe. Oh, I believe. And let me tell
you something else. You've got to enter right. You've
got to know the rules. You've got to enter right. You've
got to start right. And you've got to know some things. And
only God can teach you. And here's another thing about
running this race. If you can't carry it, you can't
carry too much weight. Too much weight. Ain't that what
I just read to you over there in Hebrews 12? Let us lay aside
every weight. And then he says this, the sin
which doth so easily beset us. You know, that rich young ruler,
here's a fella that had weight that he couldn't even get in
the race. The rich young ruler came to our Lord Jesus Christ
in Matthew 19, and this is the first thing he said, good master,
you're a good man, you're a good master, you're a good rabbi. That's what he was saying. What
good thing, what good thing must I do to inherit, inherit eternal
life? And the first thing our Savior
said to him, why callest thou me good? Why are you calling
me good? You don't understand what good is. You don't have
a clue what good is. He said, only God is good. And
he said, if you want eternal life, I'll tell you what you
do. Sell everything you got. Sell everything you got. I mean,
don't keep nothing for yourself. Sell everything you got. And
then you go out and you give it to all the poor people. Just
give it to the poor folks. He said, oh my, can't do that.
Can't do that. And he went away sad. Ah, too
much weight. And that covetous man, we've
heard about in Luke 12 so many times. Oh my, he just gained
so much stuff and he said, I don't know what I'm going to do with
all of it. I just don't know what I'm going to do. I'm just
going to have to tear down that little bitty barn over there
and that little barn. I've been storing all this little
bit in here. Now I've got so much stuff. I'm going to tear
down all the barns. I'm going to build me such a big barn that
it'll all fit in one place. And then I'm going to sit back
and I'm going to lean back and I'm going to say, Take thine
ease, you have many goods laid up for many years. And you know
what the Lord said to him that night? You fool, you fool. If God calls you a fool, you
reckon you're a fool. He said, thou fool, this night,
this night, your soul is required. Oh my. He said of a man, the
love of money, people say money, Money is not the root of all
evil. No, it ain't. The love of it is. The love of
it is. The love of it is. And he says,
which many have coveted after, have pissed themselves through
with many sorrows. You know, How many people do
we know that's left this life and went into the next one? Everything
they ever did, everything they ever owned, they left every bit
of it behind. Only thing they took into the
grave with them was the clothes they had on their back. That's
all they took in there with them. They left their houses, they
left their lands, they left their cars, they left their money,
they left their jewelry. They left their farms, they left
their cattle, they left everything that they ever owned and worked
for, left it all behind. If you got it, if you got any
weight, if you got any weight on you, God help you to drive
that, don't, oh my, it's like those fellas, I've told you this
before, like I call them two fools and a henpecked husband.
You know that this man made a great supper for them, great, great
supper. And the first one went and told
them, said, come on, the supper's ready. Oh, we got a great big
meal for you. We're going to have a wonderful time. Have some
good fellowship. One fellow said, oh, listen,
I bought five yoke of oxen. I can't come. I got to go see
if they'll pull. I got to go see if they'll be
yoked together. And another said, listen, I can't come. I bought
a piece of ground. I got to go look it over, sight
unseen. I got to go look it over. And
another one, this is the one that absolutely This can't get
on my brain. But anyway, he says, and another
one said, I married a wife and I can't come. I married a wife. I married a wife. And that's
the most wonderful time in the world to come. Bring your wife
to this great feast with you. And I tell you, watch the runners.
You watch runners. And one lays aside the weight.
He lays off everything that you know would hinder him from running
in this race. The other, you watch this other
runner. He's got a heavy load on his back. He's got lots of
things. He's covered with many things.
He's got some things on his back. He's got some gold on his back.
Don't let that gold go. He's got that silver on his back. He's got that worry for the future
on his back. He's got this needing security. I need security for my old age
on his back. He's got his family on his back
that I tell you what, if I believe what you do and I attend the
gospel all the time, I'll lose my family, I'll lose my mother,
I'll lose my daddy. I've got all this weight on your
back. And then you wonder why people won't run the race, why
they don't continue in the gospel. Too much weight. But our Lord
Jesus said this, God said this, cast all your care, cast it all
on me. Instead of carrying all that
weight around, carrying all that care, calling all that worry
around, calling all that anxiety around, he said, take them things
and cast them on me. You know why? Because I care
for you, I care for you. Oh my, and our Lord said it like
this, said, see all them beautiful lilies, I love lilies. We've
got lots of lilies. Got a magic lily blooming right
now. Lilies. I love lilies. Our Lord said,
look at all them lilies out there, nephew. He said, they, neither
one of them ever done a thing to be dressed so pretty. He says,
my father dressed him up like that. So they didn't do nothing
to be like that. And he said, look at that birds,
look at them birds going through there. He says, they don't do
anything. What are they good for? Just
birds. He said, if my heavenly father
careth for the fowls of the air, how much more does he care for
you? And oh my. And you know the sins, the scripture
says, you know, lay aside the weight and the sin. It didn't
say sins, sin, which does so easily beset us. I think, I think
the greatest sin, the greatest sin that I think we have is pride. I think pride's the greatest
sin we have, which leads to so many other things. You say, well,
I'm not proud. Well, the very fact you said
that tells me that you are. I don't want to be proud. I don't
want to be proud, but oh my. And that pride leads to self-righteousness,
leads to fault-finding, leads to criticism, leads to judging
and unbelief. We all know we got unbelief.
We never know we had unbelief until we had belief, until we
had faith. And oh, let me say something
else. Don't carry too much weight. Don't carry too much weight.
Don't carry too much weight. You know, runners even find the
lightest weight shoes they can wear. They even weigh their shoes
to make sure their shoes are real light. You know, when I
was in the Marine Corps, when we'd go out running, when I was
in boot camp, They'd be at us out running and we had to run
in all of our clothes and in boots, in boots. And then when
you got back, you had to make sure them boots were shined up
before the next morning. And you was running out there
in boots and I'll tell you what, running in the high desert and
running with all your clothes on and running with boots, It's
not a good way to run. That's not a good way to run.
But that's the way they taught you to run. But now when I run,
if I can get rid of my shirt, I take it off. And I ride the
smallest socks I can fit in them shoes. That's what you do. You lay aside of it, everything. And here's another thing about
it now. Don't hinder other runners. Hindering other runners is not
allowed in a race. Hindering other runners. Ain't
that what he says there in verse 24, 1 Corinthians 9? So run that
you, you may obtain. So run that you may obtain. And this is, I've noticed this
over the years and I'm sure you have too. This is what I mean
by that. So many people when they come
in here, they're here for somebody else. They're here for somebody
else. And yet never here for themselves. They'll say, boy,
that would have fit so-and-so. It's a shame they wasn't here
to hear that. Oh, that was just, that was perfect. Listen, they should have been
here and heard that. That would have helped them more
than you could ever imagine. And they hear for somebody else.
That just, that just. And people said, boy, the preacher
got all over my toes today. If that's all we ever get on
is your toes, we've missed the whole mark. Christ ain't after
our toes, he's after our heart. And old John Bunyan said this,
by picking holes in their neighbor's coats, they think they mend their
own. By picking holes in their neighbor's
coats, they think they mend their own. And going around picking
at other people, every little thing they say, every little
thing they do. every little old critiquing every word they say,
critiquing where they went, what they've done, and you know, just
pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, pick, and you think it's
going to make your coat good, picking holes in the other. I
tell you what, beloved, a man has enough to do to run the race
by himself without hindering somebody else, and certainly
you don't want nobody to hinder you. How can you hinder somebody? Well, You can hinder them by
not being encouraging to them, by not being kind to them, by
not being gracious to them, by setting in judgment on them,
by not manifesting love. And here's another thing that
people running in a race, they have so little light of their
own, they want everybody else to have a little bit, just very
little also. They don't have no light, so
they want to try to dim everybody else's light. But here's what
our master said, to our own master, we stand or we fall. You run,
you run. I can't run the race for you
and you can't run it for me. You're the ones got to do it.
You're the ones got to do it. And you got to, and I tell you
something, beloved, let others run the way they do. You run
that you may obtain. And he said, you keep your body
under subjection. Keep your body under subjection.
And there's no competition. We're not in competition with
one another, are we? Are believers in competition with one another?
Huh? Ain't we all got the same goal?
Ain't we all got the same purpose? Ain't we all got the same desires?
Huh? And oh my, no competition. You
know what the competition you have, the only competition you
have is yourself. That's the only one that'll keep
you from in this ring. Just you. Just your old flesh.
That's the only competitor you've got to deal with. And you deal
with him and you'll have a lifetime job to do, won't you? You'll
have a lifetime to do. And I'll tell you, John, it says
in Acts 13, 20, 25, it says, John, having finished his course,
you know what he said when he finished his course? He said,
there's one that cometh after me, whose shoe latched I'm not
worthy to unloose. But he finished his course. How
did he finish it? Herod had his head took off.
That's how he finished his course. And all beloved, you have to
stay on the course. And then we're compassed about
with so many witnesses. Look in Hebrews 11 again and
I... Hebrews 11. Excuse me, Hebrews
12. I'm sorry. Hebrews 12. What are
these witnesses? Do you know the commentators,
almost every one of them, say that the commentate, that they
mention these great cloud of witnesses are the people, that's
in Hebrews 11. It's in Hebrews 12.1, it says
this. We're formed, we are so, so also
encompassed about with so many, so great cloud of witnesses.
Now who's some of the witnesses? Who's some of the witnesses?
Well, Abel. is a witness. He offered unto
God a more excellent sacrifice and God testified. He's a witness. He was translated. And look what
it says in Hebrews 11, 6. But without faith it is impossible
to please Him. For he that cometh to God must
believe that He is, and listen to this, and that He is a rewarder
of them that diligently seek Him. He'll keep His promise to
us. That's what He's saying. And oh beloved, all these saints,
all these people in Hebrews 11, they all are witness to the race.
They all went to the race. All of them finished the course.
They all know what's involved in running and obtaining the
prize. And that's why it says, let us
lay aside every weight in the sin which doth so easily beset
us. Let us run with patience the race that's set before us.
Abraham is a witness, Noah is a witness, Joseph is a witness. And look what Moses did in verse
24 of Hebrews 11. Look what Moses, here's a man
who knew something about running the race. By faith Moses, when
he was come to years, when he became grown, refused to be called
the son of Pharaoh's daughter, listen to this, choosing rather
to suffer affliction with the people of God. than to enjoy
the pleasures of sin for a season. This is what I want you to listen
to. Esteeming the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the
treasures in Egypt, and had respect unto the recompense of the reward.
They got old King Tut, King Tut, they take him all over the world
and show how wealthy he was and how he's preserved and all the
wealth he had when he was Pharaoh. But he's dead. He's been dead
thousands of years. He ain't got nothing. He ain't
got nothing. And Moses said, listen, look
at all he's got. I've got Christ. I've got Christ. And then look what it says in
Hebrews 12 to run with patience to sit before you. Oh, and it's
a run race. It's a race run by faith. Look
what he says. looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. We run this race by faith. We
run it looking unto Jesus. And when you obtain the prize,
faith absolutely ceases. Faith ceases. And ain't you grateful? And I'm going to close with something
back over here in Philippians. Philippians 3. I want to close
with this and show you what the prize is. Look at the prize. Oh my! John said, Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God. And it doth not yet appear what
we shall be. But we do know that when He appears,
we shall see Him as He is. And we'll be just like Him, just
like Him. Look what Paul said here in verse
14. Philippians 3. I press toward
the mark. The mark. And let me tell you
something. There's a mark where you start. He said I'm the way.
He's the mark. And then there's a mark when
you finish the race that you get over. I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Christ himself will be the prize. What a prize. What a prize. When
we go to a believer's to lay a believer to rest, put their
body in the grave, and oh, sadness in one way, but oh, such joy
in another. They've received their prize.
Their race is done. Faith don't exist anymore. They've
got the prize. And what could you want more
than Christ? Receive the prize. And oh, when
you receive this prize, what eternal joy. What eternal enjoyment
of what we enjoy in Christ here only in part, but oh, when we
get there, the eternal joy and enjoyment. You know what David
said? He said, you know when I'll be
satisfied, Lord? Do you know when I'll be satisfied?
When I wake in your likeness, I'll be satisfied then. I won't
be satisfied until that happens. And we won't either, will we?
We will not be satisfied until that happens. We're all looking
through a glass darkly right now, but one of these days, face
to face, face to face with Christ, face to face. Girls, do me a
favor. You all come saying, what a day
that'll be. Would you do that for us? What a day that'll be. Receiving the prize. What's the
prize? Christ's prize. But you ain't going to have him
if you don't run, if you don't enter in the race.