Touré Roberts - Don't Miss

Let me just tell you the word that I want you to leave here with: it’s an instruction, and it is «don’t miss it.» Don’t miss it. Don’t miss it. In 1 Corinthians 9:24, it says, «Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?» Where are my Champions at? I sense that there are some champions in this room right now. You’re not just in the race; you’re called to win it. I feel the presence of God so strongly. I’m going to say it again: you’re not just called to be in the race; you’re called to win it. Now here’s the thing: you’re not racing against somebody else. No, no, no, no, no. You’re not racing against someone else’s race; you’re racing against your own race. This means there is no excuse for not winning, for not winning your own race. It’s your lane; it’s your race. You’ve been anointed, predestined, and ordained to win. Doesn’t that make sense? God has set each and every one of us in a lane. When you were born, as soon as you came out, boom! There was a lane. There’s a lane. It says, «Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize?» Why does one receive the prize at the end of their race? Because they run in a particular way. Some people run their race in randomness, letting life happen to them and taking whatever comes their way. They do not put real thought into it and just wake up in the morning and do whatever; they have no agenda.

Listen, let me tell you something: I was the guy who always drove when we went out. I didn’t have the nicest car; it didn’t matter—I was driving! I’ll meet you there. Why? Because when it was time to go, it was time to go. If you weren’t ready to go, you might as well dance all night. I’d swing by in the morning to pick you up because I am going home. I had to be at the wheel of my own life; you know what I’m talking about? That’s why I bought my daughter a car. «Okay, you’re 18 years old; y’all are going to be driving your own vehicle.» And she drives every time. That’s too much information, I’m sorry, but do you find what I’m saying? You have to be at the wheel of the vehicle of your life and be connected with the One who has ordered your steps at all times. Otherwise, random stuff will happen. It’s your race; nobody else can run it for you. God’s not going to be speaking to everybody else about your race. You have to take your race seriously. This is my life, my race, and there is a prize at the end of it, and I am running. There are a lot of people running their races who don’t care whether they win or not; that is not me. A lot of people run; I am running to win the prize, and I will do whatever I have to do to win it.

See, the context of Paul— and we’ll get to this in a second—Paul is basically talking about his purpose and his destiny. If you read that whole ninth chapter of 1 Corinthians, he starts by saying that he was pastoring or being an apostle and overseer over a church; it was a young church, the church in Corinth. They were questioning whether or not he was the man of God that he claimed to be. He said, «I don’t have to brag; I don’t have to prove that I’m a man of God. All you have to do is look in the mirror because if I hadn’t come into your life, you wouldn’t be who you are.» So, if you want my credentials validated, all you have to do is look inside your own spirit, right? Then he goes on to say—it’s beautiful—he says, «Furthermore, if you really want to know the truth, I am a tent maker.» Paul was a tent maker; literally, he didn’t receive much from the church or anything because he wanted to build tents. But he said, «If I did receive it, it would be fair.» Then he references the Torah and shows them, from the Torah, that he was actually entitled to prosper off of them because of his service. He says, «But I don’t even use that because I am more concerned about fulfilling the calling and the mandate that’s on my life than prospering.» Oh, it was beautiful! Then he talks about how he wasn’t married, saying, «I have a right to be married; I could have a family and children and all these things, but I’ve given up all of that because my purpose and my destiny is the most important thing to me, and I don’t want anything—or even the potential of anything—to get in the way.» He’s talking about being passionate about purpose and destiny. Then he goes on and says, «Let me tell you something: for the sake of winning somebody, I’ll be like them.» He says, «To the Jew, I became as a Jew; to the Greek, I became…»