John K. Jenkins Sr - Keep On Running

The reality is that it is through trials and troubles that you mature; it's where you grow up . It helps you recognize what your values and priorities are in life . We have to recognize in our faith in the Lord that we don't come to Jesus, nor do we accept Christ , to have everything fixed in our lives. We come because we are broken and troubled internally . If nothing externally changes, just knowing Jesus gives you the ability to cope with everything that doesn't work externally. The writer makes some very significant points . He starts off-this is not one of my points, but he begins in verse one by saying something significant: " we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses." Right off the bat , he tells us something very important. He says that in the Christian race, we need to understand that from the balconies, from the grandstands of glory, sitting in the stands of eternity are saints who have already run the race and finished their course. They are surrounding us on the track of life that we are running, cheering us on . Yes, thank those 17 people for that rousing applause! That 's a significant thing-that there are people who have already lived their lives, gone through the course of life , and passed on ; they are now in glory. By virtue of the lives they lived and the testimony they left , they cheer us on from the portals of glory, telling us to keep running.

Now, why is that important? It's important because when I was jogging during my brief jogging career, one of the reasons I didn't continue jogging was that I had nobody to cheer me on. If I had had someone in the gym or on the track encouraging me-"Keep on running , Jens! Don 't stop! Come on, one more lap! You can do it! You can make it! Push, push, push! Keep going!"-I think I would have kept on going . If I had someone to tell me, "You can do it, just one more time! Just give me one more lap , J, one more lap," I would have pushed myself to make that last lap and probably would still be in the race today. But I didn't have anyone. I was there by myself, talking to myself, and when I did, I wasn't encouraging myself . I was saying stuff like , "You fool! What are you doing out here? Why are you trying to keep up with these other people? These guys can run ; what are you doing? You can't do this! Are you crazy ? Your legs are hurting , you're tired , and you're hungry ." I was saying all kinds of things to myself that were not encouraging. But if I had had someone to walk alongside me, to jog with me , I think I would have done better .

This is why some of you will never reach the place that God wants you to be in your life because you don't have any partners. You lack someone running alongside you . You don't have a prayer partner or anyone to encourage you . The truth is, I never adopted certain disciplines in my life until I found some partners - somebody to be a prayer partner, someone to call me, and someone to pray with me. That is when I got it worked into my life. I cannot depend on myself to do it alone. All of us need someone to encourage us along the way. When I got prayer partners, when I did work out , and when I had workout partners - people who would call me and say, "Are you working out this morning, Pastor? Are you going to work out today ?"- they brought me to a point of decision . Left to myself , I wouldn't make a decision; I'd keep putting it off.

When I work out and they call me , I get up at 7 o'clock, and if they call and say, "Pastor, are you working out at 8:00 today?" I have to decide right then and there if I'm going to get up and work out because someone is depending on me or expecting me to come and work out with them. If I don't have anyone to work alongside, I might wake up at 7:00 and tell myself, "I'm going to work out at 8:00 ." But when 8:00 rolls around, I might say, "You know, I got in late last night . I'll work out at 8:30." When 8:30 comes, I might think, " I'm a little hungry; let me grab something to eat first, then I'll work out ." Then 9:00 comes , and I realize I have to be at the office by 9:30 and won 't have time today , so I'll just do it tomorrow. How many know that pattern will repeat itself over and over?