Why Christians should be like NASCAR drivers

Good morning! If you are a first time guest of ours today I’d like to welcome you. My name is Charlie and I am the Student Ministries Pastor. Back in February I had the opportunity to enjoy watching my favorite sport. You see I'm a NASCAR fan. The bad thing about NASCAR is the races are typically held on Sunday afternoon so I really don't get the chance to watch that many races. The Daytona 500 is the race of races for the year. The Daytona 500 is the championship race, what is unique about this is it's also the first race of the year. If you're not a NASCAR fan let me tell you just a little bit about the Daytona 500. It originally was raced right on the beach there in Daytona instead of the track it is now run on. In 2006 the race attracted over 20 million viewers worldwide. From 1971 - 2011 it was generally associated with Presidents' Day week end. This year's Daytona was the 54th running of the great race. Because of the weather conditions during the scheduled 2012 race the Daytona 500 was rescheduled from Sunday to Monday night. It was the first time in 54 years of the Daytona 500 that the race was not only postponed but ran as a night race. Due to the race starting at 7 PM on Monday and a 2 hour red flag the race finally ended Tuesday, February 28 at 1 AM. Richard Petty has won the race 7 times (more than any other competitor), Cale Yarborough has had 4 victories, and Bobby Allison, Dale Jarrett, and Jeff Gordon all share 3 victories each at Daytona 500. When I lived in Columbus, TX I always enjoyed going out to I-10 on Monday night or early Tuesday morning to see all of the tractor-trailers that had stopped at the rest area that were transporting the NASCAR race cars to the next race in Arizona. As I remembered this while watching the Daytona 500 I began to think that Christians should be like NASCAR drivers. The Daytona 500 this year was plagued with delay after delay for the first time in its history it began on a Monday night and through rain delays and a 2 hour red flag delay due to a fiery crash where over 200 gallons of jet fuel had spilled onto the race track and was burning. I noticed these drivers, with chaos all around them, were focused on the prize at hand. Knowing they would run another race the next weekend in Arizona they were not packing up their cars and moving to the next race. Even during that delay that caused the race to go into Tuesday morning these drivers were on the track encouraging each other laughing and having a good time. As I began to look at the race in other areas I noticed that NASCAR has one of the largest fan bases in the USA. Then I began to think about what kind of shape these drivers have to be in to run this race, the endurance they have to have. Typically it's a three-hour race consisting of 500 miles. How many of us in this room today think that we can do 500 miles in three hours? I will tell you I'm not cut out for it. Like me, there are many types of NASCAR fans. There are the ones that can tell you all of the stats of all of the drivers, that's not me. Some can tell you what race is held in what city and when, that's not me. I am the kind of fan that watches for one reason, I watch for the wrecks, to see 10 cars spin out on the straightaway with all the smoke, flying sparks, metal crushing, watching for someone to drive through the middle of it without being touched! To me it is fascinating! Yes, I even like it when the cars come off of the track to the infield, hit the grass and speed up like a rocket, and sometimes they even go airborne! To me that brings NASCAR alive! So I began to think about all the similarities between NASCAR drivers and Christians and the more I thought about them the more I thought Christians should be like NASCAR drivers. They have one of the largest fan bases in this country. They stay focused on the task at hand they keep the prize before them not allowing any delays or distractions to keep them from finishing the race. Some drivers will even have to go behind the wall to remove sheet metal from their car so that they can go out and finish the race because there is value in finishing the race. NASCAR drivers are disciplined they're not only disciplined in their physical being in order to drive 500 miles in three hours but they are disciplined in the way that they run the race. NASCAR drivers are constantly in contact with two people one is their spotter that has a vantage point where they can see the whole track. The spotter is able to tell the driver where hazards are on the track. The other person is the crew chief. They’re constantly talking about how the car is running, how it's handling, what kind of adjustments need to be made, always looking to see how they can finish better in the race. So what do you think? Should Christians be more like NASCAR drivers? This morning, if you have your Bibles with you, I would like for you to turn to Hebrews chapter 12 where we're going to look at verses 1 - 4. So if you will turn with me to Hebrews chapter 12 we’ll begin with verse 1. “Therefore since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is been set before us looking to Jesus the founder and perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross despising the shame and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God consider him who endures for sinners such hostility against Himself so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted in your struggles against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.” Why Christians should be like NASCAR drivers Avoiding Hazards That Can Spin Your Relationship with God out of Control This morning I would like for you to look with me at 4 hazardous areas that we as Christians need to steer away from as we run the race God has set before us. The main reason that I am a NASCAR fan and one of the things that brings the race alive for me is when cars are spinning out. I love seeing the smoke from the tires, the sparks from the sheet metal as the cars spin all over the track, cars going in different directions, smacking into the wall, shooting across the infield, like a rocket, and some cars even going airborne. There are many hazards to avoid as you drive through the middle of all the chaos and then to be able to do that and come out on the other side without a scratch on your car is something that seldom happens. Our first hazard is DISTRACTIONS We have the lust of the flesh, or the lust of the eye, or pride of life. These hazards can get our relationship with God spinning out of control. I’d like for us to contemplate a few common activities that most of us participate in that sets us up for spin outs in these areas. What you watch on TV or at the movies is something to really evaluate. Think about your favorite TV show. Is it one that makes fun of the Savior, or mocks Him and what Christianity is about? If it does then this is a hazard that needs to be avoided because once you find yourself laughing at jokes about your Savior, about Almighty God you have just found a hazard that will be causing your relationship with God to spin out of control. What about the music you listen to? Is it music that is encouraging and uplifting or is it music with words that tears down marriage relationships or goes against Biblical standards? If you have even a moment of hesitation this is a hazard that could cause your relationship with God to spin out of control. Teenagers, does your music glorify sex, drinking, or drugs? If it does then you just hit a hazard that will begin spinning your relationship with God out of control. Here's a big one for married men and women; how much time do you spend alone with the opposite sex, someone that is not your spouse? I'm telling you this is a hazard just like the one I described that happens in the race where there is smoke, sparks, sheet metal and all kinds of hazards that you cannot maneuver your way through because this is one that not only affects you but this is a hazard that can cause your spouse or your children to have their relationship with God spin out of control. The other night after doing a little study on this message I was sitting there watching TV and I saw a commercial that I'd seen 1000 times. I’m sure you have seen one similar to it. It’s the first time I've seen this particular commercial but the message was the same as others. It was a beer commercial and the tagline was; drink responsibly and get a designated driver. In my opinion this is not drinking responsibly. It is driving responsibly but it's not drinking responsibly. If you drink so much that you have to have someone drive you home or that you don’t make a wise choice where to be then you are in a hazard and your relationship with God has begun spinning out of control. Now don't get me wrong I'm not saying that you should or shouldn't drink. What I am saying is if you do it, do it responsibly and keep your faculties about yourself. Because once you start losing your faculties you just opened yourself up for so many hazards to come your way. (Read article) Some other distractions that you need to avoid are wandering eyes, laziness, gluttony, greed, telling little white lies or stretching the truth just a little bit are hazards too and they will cause your relationship with God to spin out of control. All of these hazards are what I believe verse 1 is referring to when it says, “let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us.” If we aren’t careful the lust of our flesh, our eye, or the pride of life-“we got this Lord, you don’t have to worry”-will create drag in our lives and keep us from leaning on Christ’s strength for the endurance to complete the race set before us. Our second hazard is DEVOTION You are probably trying to figure out how devotion can be hazardous. Well it all depends on what you are devoted to. We need to let go of our hazardous activities and take them to the Savior to deal with. There's a verse in John chapter 4 that used to drive me crazy. I know that God has put every word in this book for a reason. I know that He has purposefully placed every word in this book. So I read every commentary I could find trying to find out the full meaning of the verse. I could never find one that addresses John chapter 4 verse 28. I would like you to turn there with me. John chapter 4 verse 28 says, “So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people”… this is the part that puzzled me. Why did she leave her water pot? After much prayer and a lot of time with God I believe He revealed the answer He had for me. That water pot was heavy and cumbersome. That reminds me of our sins, the hazards that we collide with. The ones we don't give up to God that we keep a hold on. Like the water pot they are heavy and cumbersome and they slow us down. The Samaritan woman left her water pot at the feet of Jesus; which is the second thing that God showed me and I think we need to realize is we need to leave our sins at the feet of Jesus so that we can go quickly. We need to stay in the race and the only way is to continue to keep our eyes focused on the prize. Just like those NASCAR drivers leave the things that slow them down in the pits so they can keep their eyes focused on the prize and finishing the race. Looking back to the 500, typically on Tuesday morning is when the cars are already in Texas headed towards their next race in Arizona. But this time the drivers had their eyes focused on the prize and you know some of those drivers took their cars behind the wall and stripped off damaged sheet metal so that they could go out and finish the race. There is great value in finishing the race even if you don't finish first. You don't want to give up halfway through even when you feel you can't make it anymore. If you feel like giving up on God then those hazards have already put you into the wall and your relationship with Him has crashed. You need to determine what you will choose to give your whole heart to. You can’t drive down the middle of the road. You have to decide which side you will be driving on. Get on the wrong side and you will be driving head on into hazardous paths. To what or whom are your eyes focused on? Verse 2 of our passage tells us to keep our eyes on Jesus. He is our source and is the one who will help us finish the race we are in. Our third hazard is LACK OF DISCIPLINE AND DETERMINATION When the NASCAR driver pulls out on the track he's disciplined, he's in shape. If you are not growing in your relationship with Christ then you’ve spun out and hit a brick wall. It’s not enough to just sign up for the race; you have to participate, to prepare. Without the discipline to answer the call of God and without the determination to follow through with what He has given you then you will get to the end but what have you done while in the race? How have you run? You don’t want to get to the end and not have the reward of hearing your Savior say, “Well done thou good and faithful servant.” You don’t want to get there and not have any jewels on your crowns to lay at Jesus’ feet. Lack of discipline and determination to run the race well will not cost you your citizenship in heaven but it will cost you your reward. There is a reason the windshield is bigger than the rearview mirror. Keep your eyes straight ahead. What Christ has for your future is more important than what is behind you. We need to focus on our future not our past. We should look at our future then our present, and our past last. The things in our past should compel us to focus on the prize of Christ. Verses 3 &4 remind us why we need to be determined and devoted. (Read verses) Christ shed His blood for us. Have you struggled in your race to be faithful to the point of shedding your blood? Be devoted-none of us have given our all yet. Stay determined –no matter what. Christ faced more in the 3 years of His ministry than we can imagine even facing in out lifetime. HE did it so that we won’t grow weary or lose heart (give up). Stay determined –stay in the race and run it well Our final hazard is SATISFACTION One of the most dangerous hazards in the Christian’s life is being satisfied with where they are in their walk. We compare ourselves with other Christians and think we are farther along in our spirituality than they are. You think that since you are so “mature” that you can forego your quiet time for a few days. After all you get plenty of time in God’s Word on Sunday morning. God understands that you need to sleep in every other Sunday, or that you’ve had a really hard week and can skip Bible Study this week so you can catch up. You don’t need to stretch your muscles too hard you know. Think too highly of yourself and you have just begun another spin out, one that will land you in a pile of mangled metal. Just know that the sign of a mature Christian is that they can honestly evaluate themselves and strive to do better. They understand that to keep from spinning out they need a support team. The NASCAR drivers have one of the largest fan bases in the country. We can see that we as Christians have a fan base as well. NASCAR’s fan base has, only sat in the stands. Our fan base, they've run the good race and won it. Where or to whom do you get your advice from? Is it someone that doesn't go to church or doesn't have a relationship with God? If so you're already spinning out of control. Being in a community that's not authentic you will get advice that is very worldly and self-serving. If you want your relationship with God to spin out of control and crash then at all cost avoid authentic community. Not investing in a community of believers, being in a group where you build trust and develop good relationships with other Christians sets you on a dangerous track. When you are in an authentic community you have fellow Christians who can lovingly encourage you to stay on the right track and help you avoid the crashes. The best way to avoid distractions, be devoted to your relationship with Christ, be more disciplined and stay in the race and run it with determination to gain the prize, and never being satisfied with where you are in Christ is to be part of an authentic community of believers. The Christian who is focused on the prize at hand will not let anything stop him from finishing that race not even when everything around them collapses. Let’s look back at our passage. We see God gives us a word of encouragement in telling us we have a cloud of witnesses that are in heaven right now encouraging us on, watching us run this race. We need to spend time in His Word and learn about the race people like Noah, Abraham, Sarah, Joshua, any and all that are mentioned in Hebrews 11 so that we can understand why they cheer so passionately for us to complete the same race they have already run. If we look back at Nehemiah, who we’ve been studying about the past several weeks we see that he kept his eyes on the goal. He was devoted to his calling. He did not give into the distracting invitations and stayed focused on getting the wall built. What we will learn from these Old Testament characters is that staying focused on the prize is wholly a matter of values and priorities, living for that which matters most. Not ever being satisfied with our relationship shows we are focused on the prize because as we run this race there are changes at every turn and things that try to cause us to spin out. That each time we resist we sharpen our focus. The more focused we are on the prize the more we see things that try to entangle and ensnare us. We are able to quickly move past them. Do you quench for a thirsting that can only be satisfied by Christ/ IN CLOSING…An authentic community will cheer you on and encourage you to keep going while everything around you collapses. They will go wild as you run to claim the prize. Are you in an authentic community? It is more than just being here on Sunday mornings for church. Being a part of authentic community is being involved in the ministries that take place within this body, being plugged in serving somewhere. You don’t have to be a member of the church to serve in the ministries here. You need to be investing in a small group so that they can in turn invest in you. We have a fan base of an authentic community of believers that have gone on before us and others that are in this room today. We have the best tool ever to complete the race and it's called the Holy Bible we have a support team that is second to none. The NASCAR driver has a crew chief and spotter he depends on to get him through his race as safe as possible and an owner to provide for his needs in the race. Our crew chief is Jesus Christ and our spotter is the Holy Spirit. Our owner and manager is God, Yahweh. Christians should be like NASCAR drivers we should not take our eyes off the prize ladies and gentlemen. If you don't know what the prize is I’ll tell you right now, it's Jesus Christ our Savior and He is seated at the right hand of God. There is no one else, there is nothing else that has the position, the authority, and the ability other Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit to keep us from spinning out and crashing our relationship with God.