Pastor Cammie and I both preached little bit
I was in Petersburg and she was here and I I
preached a little bit of a different message
there and I preached out of Philippians chapter
3 and if you weren't here last week and didn't
get to hear that message go on our YouTube channel
or go on Facebook listen to the word that pastor
Cami brought about running after God and about
the practical ways to to run after him amen And
Paul had a passion to run after God with his
whole heart. The week before that, I preached
a message out of Habakkuk. I preached two points
of that message, and today I want to preach the
third point. And so I want you to go with me
again to Habakkuk chapter 2 in the Old Testament,
and we are going to pick up kind of where we
left off. The title of my last message was, write
it down. the prophet Habakkuk prophesying during
a time when the Israelites were not being blessed
by God but they were under they were under persecution
and it seemed like the enemies of the kingdom
of God were being blessed while the people of
God were not being blessed and Habakkuk in chapter
1 had a complaint and just said why is it like
this God? And in chapter two, God began to speak
to Habakkuk. And he says in verse two of Habakkuk
two, then the Lord replied, write down the revelation
and make it plain on tablets so that a herald
may run with it. And so that's from the New International.
Version write down the Revelation and make it
plain on tablets so that a herald may run With
it. I want to read that this morning from the
New King James Version as well and so the New
King James says write the vision Make it plain
on tablets That he may run who reads it That
he may run Who reads it? Thank you, Lord. And
so the first two points that I talked about was
paying about paying attention to what God says
When God speaks we need to listen, right? So
shake your neighbor and say, when God speaks,
you better listen. Especially if it's your husband
or wife. When God speaks, you better listen.
We write it down. And so it's important when
God speaks to remember what He said. How many
of you even remember that I preached out of Habakkuk
chapter 2? A couple of you. When I asked Cami,
because I listened to about two -thirds of her
message from last Sunday, I asked her, how did
you end your sermon last week? And she said,
I don't know. She said, I don't know. I'll have
to look. I'm telling on her. She said she threw
me under the bus last week. I'm throwing her
under the bus this week. We have a tendency to
forget things that are important, right? We have
a tendency to forget and I'm not immune to that.
My wife is laughing, she knows. I forget things.
How many of you have experienced me forgetting
things? Lift up your hand. That's true. That's
true. Some of you have your hands up that I don't
remember why. I'm just glancing around thinking,
what is that one? I don't even know. I forgot.
I forgot. But it is important when God speaks,
right? And so he declared to Habakkuk, don't
just listen to what I'm going to say, write it
down. And then as you write it down, Habakkuk,
make it plain. Aren't you glad that the message
of the gospel is simple and it is plain? You
do not have to have a doctorate to understand
the gospel. In fact, a child can understand the
message of the gospel. Jesus, the Son of God,
came as a perfect sacrifice and gave himself
on a cross in place so that we can be forgiven
and free hallelujah it is plain and it is simple
now that does not mean that the message of the
gospel is easy but it is simple and he told Habakkuk
make it plain make it plain So the vision that
God gave to Habakkuk for the rest of the book
was one of calling people to repentance and It
was simple You've strayed from God You need to
come back And that's the message of repentance
have you ever been there in your life where you've
strayed from God? Have you ever been there in
your life where you have just kind of come to
yourself spiritually thinking, you know what,
I have not been doing the things I need to be
doing. Am I alone in that this morning? Am I
alone in the need to repent and to come back
to God? There is a simple message that God gave
in fact, it's all through the scriptures and
it's simply this turn back to me and God is calling
America right now God is calling out to young
men in America right now. I Believe he's speaking
to all of America, but I believe he's specifically
speaking to young men calling young men to be
wholehearted in their relationship with God.
To be unashamed of what their friends think about
them. To be unashamed to declare, you know what,
I am a believer in Jesus Christ. That's what
I love. I have listened this past week to hours
of Charlie Kirk videos, debating, and you know
the debating I can kind of get into because I
like, you know, the clashing and this and that
and I think, wow. But you know what? In those
same campuses where he was debating politics
or he was debating issues, he was also naming
unashamedly the name of Jesus. And he was he
was laying his life down saying I am a follower
of Jesus Christ and I am not ashamed to talk
about it. Hallelujah and friends God is calling
out to America right now to not be ashamed. It
doesn't mean that you have that you're perfect
It doesn't mean you're declaring that you are
inerrant and never make any mistakes and never
never fail and never fall but you are a follower
of Jesus Christ and you are not ashamed of it
Hallelujah write it down Make it plain So that
others Can run So that others can run Your life
is not just for you Did you know that? God is
going to speak to you things that enable others
to run My study of this One commentary Jamison
Fawcett Brown want to read this quote the true
sense of this passage is this The true sense
is make it so legible that whoever reads it May
run to tell all whom he can the good news of
that the foes have coming doom and Judah will
be delivered Isn't that awesome I kind of translated
that because that that commentary writes in King
James language Make it so legible that whoever
reads it may run to tell all they can the good
news that our enemies are losing and that Judah
will be delivered. That was what Jameson Fawcett
Brown says the true sense of this passage is.
You hear from God, you write it down, you make
it plain so that people will understand their
enemies have been defeated on the cross. Jesus
is winning, hallelujah. He has won the victory
and he has provided for your deliverance and
your freedom in the name of Jesus. It was all
about encouragement. And so keep your ear to
the ground. Write down the things the Holy Spirit
says because it will be useful to liberate people
that before could not run, but now will be able
to stand up on their own two feet. Now they will
find strength to move forward in Jesus' name.
What does it take for a church to stand up in
a culture that is forgot about God? It takes
one person to stand up It takes somebody else
to stand to see them and say you know what I'm
not gonna let them stand alone I'm gonna stand
up to and then another one stands up and then
they begin to run and then then they begin to
move like God wants them to move For many years
because of health conditions in my life, I have
not been able to run. But this year, for the
first time, I started running again. The beginning
of me running, I was texting Doug because Doug
likes to run and walk. He was accountability
for me. He didn't know that, but that's what
he was. It's a physical thing, but in my life
running accomplishes something spiritual. Something
spiritual happens inside of me when I am physically
running. It's not a stretch for me to say that
I feel connected with God in a unique way. Some
of my prayer time happens when I am running.
There's others that I share that with and they
say, how does that happen? I just feel like death
when I run. Chariots of Fire was a movie about
Eric Little. Now, Eric Little was an amazing
man of God that ran as an Olympian. It's a movie
worth watching. The quote that they ascribed
to him in chariots of fire was not a quote that
he said it was specific to the movie but it shook
me because it described how I feel and Eric little
says in the movie he says I know that God has
a plan for my life a purpose But he also made
me fast And when I run, I feel His pleasure.
When I heard that in the movie, it gripped my
heart because that's how I feel. When I run,
I feel the pleasure of the Lord. Recently, somebody
well -meaning told me that I'm over 50 and therefore
I should not run because it's detracting from
my health. that it wasn't good for me and I have
not studied the science of that to know and I
thanked him for caring about me but when I run
I Feel like I'm fulfilling something that God
created me to do something that he planted in
my life and Small percentage of you that are
hearing me talk about this understand it You
can connect with what I'm saying But in the spirit
realm God created all of us to run When I was
in my 20s I would watch the Rocky movies, which
my daughter just blessed me with a new set of
Rocky movies for Father's Day. Oh, hallelujah.
You know? Never mind. Okay. And in my 20s when
I would watch those movies... Oh yeah, here we
go. I can tell who has watched Rocky and who
hasn't. Scanning the audience. And at the end...
of the movie, especially in Rocky IV, when he
says, and if I can change, and if you can change,
then the whole world can change. Well, in my
20s, when I would watch that, I would get up
off of my chair, and it didn't matter if it was
10 o 'clock, 11 o 'clock at night, I would run
five or six miles through the city, and... It
was like that movie liberated something inside
of me to run. And God said to Habakkuk, write
it down, make it plain so that others can take
the message that I give to you and run. Friends,
this message of the kingdom, this message of
the gospel is no ordinary message. It isn't meant
to put people to sleep. It isn't meant to bore
people. It isn't meant, the kingdom of God is
not meant to just keep... people status quo and
to form religion so that you just come to church
on Sunday and do your little thing and then go
back. No, the message of the kingdom is meant
to instill life inside of you, to do something
in your life, to impact you, to motivate you
by God's Spirit, to change, to get up off of
your feet and to say, I'm not gonna be satisfied
anymore living in this place of weakness. I'm
not gonna be satisfied. satisfied anymore living
according to the status quo, just being sucked
into all the conversation of my friends and addictions
that I know are wrong. I am not going to be satisfied
just coasting in life knowing that I'm missing
God's purpose. No, the gospel message is supposed
to touch you in such a way that it changes the
course of your life, causes you to get up off
of your spiritual laziness and begin to walk
and begin to move and begin to run again hallelujah
that's what the gospel does it changes lives
it causes people to run but those who wait on
the Lord she'll get bored Those who wait upon
the Lord Shall wish they were with their friends
Those who wait upon the Lord know what does it
say They shall renew their strength. They shall
mount up with wings like Eagles They shall run
and not be weary they shall walk and not faint.
Hallelujah. Oh, praise the Lord. Hallelujah.
This is a gospel of running. Hallelujah. First
Corinthians 9 24. Do you not know that those
who run in a race all run, but only one receives
the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain
the prize. Hallelujah. everyone who competes
for the prize is temperate in all things they
do it to obtain a perishable crown but we for
an imperishable crown glory to God And so your
life friend is not just about the temporal, about
what you can gain in this life. It's not about
how much you can acquire. It's not about how
nice you can make your home to be. It is about
eternity. And we are running in such a way as
to gain the prize of heaven. Hallelujah. Somebody
excited about that? It is a kingdom of running.
I want to I want to close this morning with Hebrews
chapter 12 verse 1 Therefore we also since we
are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses
Let us lay aside every weight I was running the
other day at Kickapoo Park. I like to run the
trails. The back trail behind that bridge is
my favorite place in Kickapoo Park. There's a
bunch of pine trees on the one side. It's gorgeous.
I was running there and there was a gentleman
also running. He was carrying his water bottle.
His water bottle wasn't just like a little glass
of water. It was this massive thing, and he had
it in one hand. And I'm sure, you know, he was
out there running. He needs to be commended for
being out there, right? Because how many of us
were out there besides me? Him. And as I passed
by him, I was thinking of this verse. He was
carrying a weight. How many of you have ever
seen runners in the Olympics that carry dumbbells
while they're running? You've never seen it because
they don't do it. When you carry a weight, it
hinders you. If you want to run an effective
race, you have to lay down the weights. You think
about your life right now and I I was tempted
to write a list of things that are weights in
our lives things that are stealing your ability
to run for Jesus in the kingdom to live for him
and I was tempted to write down lists of things
that hinder us But you think about your life
You already know because the Holy Spirit has
revealed it to you The things that you have going
on in your life the addictions that you're carrying
But the things that you know well this this is
a lot of fun But it's stealing my resources and
my time and my money it's stealing from everything
that I'm supposed to be giving myself to. You
know what it's robbing? It's robbing your affection
for Christ. Your affection that is supposed to
be for God and is supposed to be for Jesus is
going towards this thing. And nobody else might
say, oh, that thing is wrong. But you know in
your life it is a weight and it is hindering
me You need to lay that thing down Child of God
You need to say you know what I'm gonna forfeit
this temporary thing So that I can run I'm gonna
focus my eyes on the prize. The world has trinkets.
The world has trinkets. They dangle in front
of you. But the prize is our heavenward call
in Christ. It's our prize. And then he goes on.
He says, don't just lay things that are heavy,
that get in the way, but the sin that so easily
entangles, ensnares, and the sin which so easily
ensnares us. If we're going to run this race
with endurance to the end, we've got to lay down
the weights, quit being distracted, and get rid
of the sin in our life which entangles us and
snares us. Why, pastor, is sin So bad Well, I
said this was going to be the last verse that
I read I'm gonna read one more Maybe this is
the one that Dale should memorize before next
Sunday. He could win the thousand dollar gift
card to Walmart. Ephesians chapter 2 and verse
1. alive Who were dead in trespasses and sins
You see trespasses and sins is what kept you
dead But when you came to Christ He made you
alive That's what this baptism tank represents
Did you know that you're looking here not just
at a little spa that people use in their backyards
but you are you were looking at a tomb and When
our candidates go down into the water They are
being buried in the same tomb that Jesus was
buried in and they are dying to self When they
come up out of the water, I've assured them I'm
not going to hold them in there for three days.
When they come up out of the water, they are
rising again from the dead, hallelujah, just
like Jesus did. I am not living in death any
longer. I am not living for sin any longer, but
I am walking in newness of life. I've been raised
from the dead, just like Jesus was. And you,
He made alive. That's what happened in your spirit
who were dead in your trespasses and sins This
is what sin does it leads to death and before
you came to Christ it held you there In which
you once walked verse 2 according to the course
of this world according to the prince the power
of the air the spirit who now works in the sons
of disobedience Why is it so important that I
obey God Pastor Cammie's message last week was
on obedience Well here we see what happens when
we walk in disobedience You have something that
you know that God called you to do. You have
an aspect of your life that God has brought conviction
to. You've realized this is sin in my life. Your
flesh will still crave it. Your flesh will always
crave sin. It's why Jesus said, daily take up
your cross. You've got to crucify it. You've
got to crucify it. How often? Daily. Daily, daily,
daily, you will never, Christian, you will never
get to the point where your flesh does not want
to sin. It is attracted to sin. Because you're
on this side of eternity. And so you daily take
up your cross and put your flesh back up on the
cross. And you say, I am not gonna live for you.
Hallelujah. but when that gnawing feeling from
the Holy Spirit comes on you because you're caught
and you're trapped in the wrong thing and you
refuse to obey at first and You don't listen
to the conviction of the Holy Spirit and you
say no to God and You do it again and you do
it again and you do it again Guess what that
pattern of disobedience invites into your life
It becomes an open door for the prince of the
power of the air Which is Satan and his imps?
To work in your life you sing the song in the
mighty name of Jesus I'm free but you know what
you're not free because singing the song isn't
what makes you free but actually resisting the
devil through obedience and surrender to God
is what makes you free So this doesn't mean that
every time you fail that the devil has complete
authority in your life. That's not what I'm saying
Because we're all in those places where we have
to Repent, you know, we do something wrong and
we repent I don't want people to leave here afraid
that every time you do something wrong The devil
is gonna have authority over your life. That's
just not the truth But if you are carrying something
friend where God has been convicting you and
you have continually said no to God and You have
set a pattern in your life of disobedience and
You have said God you can't touch this area of
my life. I Want you to know friend that you are
playing with fire You are opening up the door
to the enemy and God is trying to protect you
from that. The spirit of the air works in the
sons of disobedience. But the spirit of God works
in those that have been liberated. God, I say
yes to you. Hallelujah. the sin which so easily
entangles That secret sin sir That nobody knows
about That secret coveting ma 'am That you haven't
shared with anybody The lust of the flesh Lust
of the eyes the pride of life Tangle you and
keep you from running How many here would say
I want to fulfill God's purpose for my life I
want I want to be one that in the spirit realm
Runs I Want to sign up today to be to be in God's
marathon and To say yes to him praise God I Want
to ask every head here to bow and every eye closed
in this place Because you might be here For the
first time or for decades But you might say you
know what pastor I have never surrendered my
life to Jesus And many in this room have Been
in your shoes right where you are including me
Where there came a moment of decision? Where
I had to say yes to Jesus And if you're here
this morning and for the first time you are saying
yes to Jesus You're receiving the sacrifice that
he made for you and Turning your life around
to become a follower of Christ If that is you
I just want you to lift up your hand as I scan
across this sanctuary Is there anybody here this
morning that would say, yes, that's me. Thank
you. Is there anybody else that would just in
honesty say, yes, that's me. I want to surrender
my life to Jesus and say yes to him. Church,
we're going to pray right now. And I want the
whole church to pray even for the sake of one.
And others, perhaps I missed your hand up, but
God saw. And you're gonna pray right now with
sincerity. And make this your confession. Let's
all pray together, pray this after me. Lord Jesus,
thank you for the cross. Thank you for shedding
your blood on Calvary for me. I receive your
free gift. I turn away from my own living and
I turn my heart towards you. You are my Lord.
You're my Savior. I confess that in Jesus' name.
Amen. Hallelujah, can we give the Lord praise
right now? He is good. He is good. He is good
and Secondly friend you're here, and you're you're
a believer But you would freely confess I've
been weighed down. I've been distracted I've
had stuff in my life and Today I just want to
shed that stuff And I want to I want to be able
to run again after God If that's you Would you
stand up all over this place right now and just
say yes, that's me I want to run after him this
takes some boldness, but Thank you. Come on.
Come on. Come on around this place Come on. Don't
be ashamed. Don't be afraid Just say yes, I've
had weights in my life There are people standing
that are brand new believers. There are people
standing that have been serving God for a long
time. But they're just in a place where they're
recognizing this morning, I've got things to
shed so that I can run after God. And so the
rest of us, can you just stretch your hand? Yeah,
you might need to stand while we're praying.
God might be speaking to you. Come on, if you're
wrestling with God, just stand up. Come on, just
give in. Just make that confession hallelujah
and right now I'm gonna ask Brianna to come and
just play on the keyboard But right now what
you need is a moment with God And so I just want
to encourage you close your eyes The rest of
it you you can stretch your hand towards somebody
you can pray, but let's all participate Just
talk to the Lord right now Confess that thing
Just say God I just lay it down Right here Right
now I Make room for you To move In my life Make
room for you Lord right now you're setting people
free Even when they stood up and they they just
it was hard to stand up But when they did that
act of standing up You saw that prayer And they
said God I want to be free Want to be free And
so right now even in their mind and in their
heart they set you apart as Lord And I say God
Have your way Have your way Have your way Set
your people free from status quo and mediocrity
In Jesus' name. In Jesus' name. Hallelujah. Hallelujah.
Hallelujah. Go ahead, lead us in the song. Thank
you, Father.