The Christian Life Is A Marathon

“God is a person, and in the deep of His mighty nature He thinks, wills, enjoys, feels, loves, desires and suffers as any other person may. In making Himself known to us He stays by the familiar pattern of personality. He com- municates with us through the avenues of our minds, our wills and our emotions. The continuous and unembarrassed interchange of love and thought between God and the soul of the redeemed man is the throbbing heart of New Testament religion. This intercourse between God and the soul is known to us in conscious personal awareness. It is personal: it does not come through the body of believers, as such, but is known to the individual, and to the body through the individuals who compose it. It is conscious: it does not stay below the threshold of consciousness and work there unknown to the soul (as, for instance, infant baptism is thought by some to do), but comes within the field of awareness where the man can know it as he knows any other fact of experience.

The Christian life is not a sprint. It is a lifelong marathon where persistence, dedication, and endurance are key factors to reaching the finish line successfully. Pastor Jack explains in today’s Real Life TV episode.

Well, friends, listen, the Christian life is not a sprint.
I used to sprint, by the way, when I was in high school, loved it.
I was very, very quick off the start and very, very, uh, quick at, uh, to about the the 100 mark.
And then after that, I just fell apart.
I mean, if I was a car fenders, we’d be flying off, and wheels would be flying off, and I would just go to pieces.
Cannot do a marathon. And yet, lo and behold, as a Christian, the Christian experience is not a sprint.
It’s a marathon. We begin our walks with the lord and he takes us through life.
And sometimes ever so patiently on his side while you and I are going through this, sometimes we feel like we’re never gonna finish.
Well, listen, my friends, keep your eye on the finish line because Jesus Christ is the one who will guarantee our finish.
Take a deep breath and relax, my friends, you don’t do it on your own.
You do it by the power of god.
So how is this possible for you and I to be conditioned, trained? To run the spiritual marathon.
It is god’s business that works in you both to do and to will of his good pleasure.
Christ will see to it you finish. So let’s grab our bibles and dive into the study right now.
I’m gonna give you ring of verses.
You guys are ready. Right? Small. Ephysians 222. Watch this. Listen up.
In whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of god in the spirit.
What does that mean? Announcing to them that you mere mortals, humans, can become the dwelling place of almighty god by the Holy Spirit it’s called being a follower of Christ or what Jesus again said being born again.
And you wanna ask yourself, do I know that to be true in my life? Just very simple.
Do I know that that verse is actually true in my life?
There are a lot of us who can say, absolutely.
Second thing is 1st Corinthians 3 verse 16.
Do you not know that you are the temple of god and that the spirit of god dwells in you?
You say, Jack, no. Come on.
If the spirit of god dwells in you, then I wanna see you jump 45 feet.
Or I wanna see you, you know, shoot lightning bolts out of your fingertips.
This is not a circus, and god is not a clown.
And he’s not some sideshow. That would accomplish nothing whatsoever of meaning.
Listen, what will accomplish something of eternal meaning is that when the Holy spirit goes to work in the life of a believer, it is a marathon.
And some of us, when we give our lives to Jesus, some things changed instantly.
Some of you cussed like a sailor, and then you came to Christ, and it ended it instantly.
Or some of you had this pursuit or that desire, or this And there’s some things that got him.
You know that right in our lives. He took care of instantly.
And then there’s some things he took care later, and there’s some of the things he’s still working on.
And here’s the amazing thing. It’s not the flash in the pan that proves anything.
It’s who comes across the finish line at the marathon, you know?
And this thing called Christianity is a life.
And it’s done by the spirit of god dwelling in you.
Secondly, under this, you guys, is the spirit of comfort within you? Is this?
Is he the spirit who possesses? He said possesses. I don’t like that word.
Why don’t you like the word? I think of the extra cyst. Possesses. Like, possession. Totally.
Possession. I don’t know if you should use that word. No. No.
I wanna use that word. You wanna know why?
Everyone who knows that the lord has saved them, know something, and that is our lives are possessed by god.
The Bible tells us he owns us, he bought us at a great price.
Some of you might say, I don’t like that word because I’m I’m free to live my own life.
I’m free. I’m a free spirit. Yeah. I mean, I used to be a free spirit.
And it doesn’t go well.
What you wanna do is you wanna say lord, here’s here’s here’s what you wanna know.
Dear god? I’m gonna read your book and find out what you’re all about.
As you read this book, you know, uh, this is his love letter to you.
As you read it, supernatural.
You know, somebody wrote you a letter in the 8th grade, and you went, oh my goodness.
This is a forever love. You called them up after school, talk all night. Hang up.
No. You hang up.
No. You hang up first. I am never hang up
on you ever. No. No. You go ahead. You hang up. No. You know that?
And then you get a new basketball, and it’s, like, all over.
See this book? God says, Jack. Yes.
I have loved you with an everlasting love.
Therefore, it is with my loving kindness that I’ve drawn you to me.
Jesus, you keep talking like that to me, and I just might fall in love with this whole person of who you are.
Oh, Jack, that’s not that’s not anything. Listen to this.
You let me in to your life, and I will never leave you or forsake you.
And and and Remember this and never forget this.
I am with you always in even to the end of the world.
Listen, You start reading his book, his love letter to us, and it’s like, okay. Alright. This is amazing.
What happens? You wind up yielding yourself to this love and the more you do that, the more free you become so much so friends that if the world comes along and says, hey.
How about a snort of this or a shot of that or a a drink of this?
Technically, according to biblical theology, you could do a snort, a sniff, a s what did I say?
A drink, a drop, You could do it.
I think you don’t lose your salvation, but you wind up realizing, I don’t need to do that.
You’d watch watch my back. Right? Think of it.
Do you listen, if Christ is in you, you’ve got the power to walk away from stuff.
Hey. I know I know your wife’s away on a on a business trip.
Why don’t you come on over? The Christian starts laughing at that.
It’s like Satan, really. Can you like could you be a little bit discreet? This is ridiculous.
Are you hearing me? You walk away. How free is that?
Can you walk away from temptations? Listen, if Christ is in you, you can.
But if the world is in you, Then, listen, you’re being set up.
And Satan knows, by the way, he’s for real. The Bible says he’s real.
Jesus says he’s real, and he’s plotting. The Bible says that he’s like a lion hunting you down.
But I like the fact that the Bible says in Romans 9 here that if indeed the spirit of god dwells in you, Some of your bibles have a correct translation where it says, since the spirit of god dwells in you, that’s the actual translation.
Since to statement of fact. How do we know he’s speaking to the Romans?
He just earned the earlier part of the verse, gave them the endorsement of the spirit of god is in you.
And since the spirit of god is in you? How does he do that? He dwells within you.
He sets up his home Isn’t it amazing that? Well, god is so esoteric.
He’s so, uh, removed from us. Uh, we could never know him. Well, is he our creator? Oh, yeah.
Yeah. He created us, but we could never know him. Then what kind of a creator is that?
Yeah. Are you hearing me? Don’t you think for a moment? I’m just guessing. I don’t know.
But years ago, we were starting church in Stuttgart, Germany.
I had no idea that down the street was the Mercedes Benz Museum.
I would imagine that some guy Mercedes and some guy Benz I’m thinking that they got together, and they probably drove the car first.
Can you imagine designing a car and finding some guy off the street? Excuse us.
You wanna try that thing out? No. No. Nobody does that. Okay.
The designer is intimately involved. The creator is intimately involved. If you invent something, you’re gonna be involved.
Listen. God created you. And he’s involved.
But you and I have to invite him into our lives.
Alright. Hang on. Here we go.
This is Jesus speaking. If you’d love me, keep my commandments. Don’t worry about that. That’s an easy lift.
When he’s inside of you, you delight in his commandments. He does it.
And I will pray the father, and he will give you another helper.
The word in Greek is paracletos or paraclete.
Para, one who comes alongside you, Clit or Clitos to comfort you. Isn’t that beautiful Jesus said?
I’m gonna send the Holy Spirit to you. He’s gonna come alongside you to comfort you all along the marathon.
And he will and I will, uh, give you another helper that he may abide with you forever.
Excuse me, but isn’t that kind of like, let’s fall in love with guide words?
He may abide with you forever. Don’t you like that?
The spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you know him for he dwells with you and shall be in you.
Listen to this. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. That’s Jesus speaking.
Did you get that? Everybody? You guys awake? Yes. Jesus is saying, I gotta go. I’m going back to heaven.
I’m gonna send the Holy Spirit to you.
Notice what he says at the end. I’m not gonna leave you orphaned.
I’m coming to you. Well, he said, which one is it? Holy Spirit or Jesus? Yes.
Jesus dwells within you by the person of the Holy Spirit. Listen.
For that matter, when you choose to obey god. Your mind is submitting to god the father.
If you think about it, the spirits at work in you. Jesus is at work in you.
The father’s at work in you, all through the word of god.
That’s why the Bible is a living breathing book.
Next verse, John 14 23, Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Talking about the human existence. Oh my goodness, people. Please know this to be true in your life.
Can you look at that and say, I am so grateful. God is so awesome.
Are you looking at saying, those are very powerful words? What time’s lunch?
This is eternal truth, but what spirit is in you?
Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid.
You have heard me say to you, I’m going away and coming back to you, If you left me, you would rejoice because they said I’m going to my father or going to the father for my father is greater than I That’s awesome.
See, why does it say it that way if they’re co equal co eternal? Because Jesus became a man forever.
To represent you and I. Isn’t that amazing? He was our prototype.
Next first, John 15 verse 7, if you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
By this, my father is glorified that you bear much fruit. So you will be my disciples.
Let me qualify this because people I lost them halfway through this verse because they started saying, honey, that’s how we’re gonna get our new house right there, baby.
Or that’s how we’re going to win the lotto or that’s how we’re going to get the the whatever.
No, no, no, no, no, no, If you abide in me, personal relationship, and my word, the Bible, abides in you.
Okay. So now you’re programmed by the Bible.
You’re gonna you’re gonna can I put it this way? You’re gonna bleed Bible.
How’s that? You will ask what you desire.
Oh, You mean, I’m gonna I’m gonna actually start desiring the things that god desires.
Yep. And god will answer those prayers. Always pray.
That’s why, by the way, the model, the thing that sums it up perfectly when Jesus cries out to his father, it’s his father.
If there’s really if there’s any other way this this cup can pass from me before I go to the cross.
If there’s some other way man can be saved, let’s do it. And then what did Jesus say?
Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done. That’s exactly what that means.
I’ve prayed my prayer god, but what’s not of your word, take it out.
And I tell you, friend, you can pray with confidence.
Next verse, you did not choose me, but I chose you.
And appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should remain that whatever you ask the father in my name, he will give you.
Beautiful. Why would he do that? Fruit bearing, a godly, holy, powerful, awesome dynamic Christian life.
Next verse, John 1526, but when the helper comes whom I shall send to you from the father, the spirit of truth who proceeds from the father He, that is the spirit, will testify of me, isn’t that amazing?
John 165. But now I go away to him who sent me And none of you asked me where are you going?
But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart, nevertheless, I tell you the truth.
It is to your advantage that I go away. Can you imagine Jesus saying that to you?
It’s gonna be really good for you if I leave.
For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send him to you.
And when he comes, he will convict the world of sin. Did you know that? Conscious.
The Holy Spirit’s job all around the world is to tell people you shouldn’t be doing that.
You need my you need Jesus.
And he says of righteousness and of judgment, of sin because that they do not believe in me and of righteousness because I go to my father, and you will see me no more of judgment because the ruler, this is Satan, of this world is judged.
Amen. Right? I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
However, when he, the spirit of truth has come, here’s what he’s doing right now here in this building.
He will guide you into all truth.
For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will tell you things to come.
He will glorify me for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you. Bible. Wow.
In John chapter 14 verse 17, it starts out by saying, you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you verse 18.
Will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. What assurance? God is so good.
How does he reveal himself to us in all kinds of ways? Depends on where you’re at in life.
Do you believe or are you not a believer? There’s a different way that he speaks?
God speaks sometimes through circumstances. Not always, but sometimes.
You gotta ask him, lord, are you in this?
Is this is this what you want, or is this what Your word says, and but he reveals himself.
I blew it, by the way, this week. I should have known that god was revealing his goodness to me.
God’s been very good to me. That’s an understatement.
Um, but it was my annual visit to my doctor, and he’s amazing.
It’s a great he’s he’s he’s just amazing. He’s a nice guy. He’s not my genius. He’s a nice guy.
And, um, he’s way up in LA, and it just takes you, you know, forever to get there and forever to get home.
But you know what? Just like once a year, maybe twice a year.
So I go and it’s amazing. It’s just an amazing place. Everything’s done right there. You do this.
You put that there. You do this thing. They grab this. They pull on this.
They’ve they’ve put you upside down the inside out. They do this. There’s people in line with their machines.
It’s, I mean, it’s amazing. I was in and out in less than an hour.
And and how do I come And the last thing was this.
The last thing was when my doctor comes.
And, uh, he’s got all the data that these machines have spit out.
And the technicians bring them and he comes and he walks in. And this is so cool.
Thank you for praying, by the way. Thank you for praying. Watch this. He comes in and he goes, okay.
So here’s here’s what we have. So you came to me a year and a half ago.
Here’s your numbers in these categories. So he’s showing me the numbers of my chemistry.
Then 6 months after that, this is your chemistry.
6 months after that, this was your chemistry. And here’s your chemistry today right now.
Just moments ago, And I go, okay. And he goes, I know how old you are.
He said, chemically, you’ve gotten younger.
He said, your your whole chart is reversing. And I said, what’s this?
I felt. But then I go, it’s because I have a great doctor.
And he goes. Now, look, this guy is a renowned. He’s he’s very well known.
He’s a big deal. He went. He goes, you have a great god.
And I exactly. I went, Yeah.
That’s what I meant to say.
He said You should have said what I said, and I should have said what you said.
I got busted. But god reveals himself to you.
He’s not a private god. He takes up residence.
And of all things he says, I’ll live inside of you. Try to listen.
Search all the cults in the world. Search all of the world religions.
And not one of them claim that their god will move inside of you.
And the bible tells us that he marks us down and seals us onto the day of redemption. Wow.
If you trust Christ today, that’s how saved you are from hell and from the power of the For us, the believer, death is just a release.
The Bible tells us in the book of Hebrews men have worried and lamented about death for all these 1000 years until Christ came.
Because he took death on, and he broke the grave.
And Jesus said, if somebody were to die, believing in me, yet shall he live forever.
What an Awesome. God, we have. Okay.
So recently, I’ve been looking into the events that led up to not only the conclusion of World War 2, but the plan to end the war, and it was actually a a plan that they believed would end all wars.
And that was the incredibly exhaustive, super top secret development of the atomic bomb.
And it was it was absolutely wrapped in secrecy.
They worked day in, day out, around the clock, uh, but they didn’t know how it was gonna turn out, but what turned out to be a power unleashed in such a way that the world had never seen.
They believed it was a power so destructive that it would cause all other nations in the history of man going forward to never war again.
Of course, that didn’t happen, but let me tell you this.
There is a methodical long term plan to instill within you a power that doesn’t blow up.
It is a power that actually recreates you in the image of Jesus Christ.
It is a power that even if a nuclear bomb went off, would not change the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.
Think of that. There is a power far greater than whatever we could manage in this physical realm of humanity.
There is a power that god has given us, and that power is not an it that power is the Holy Spirit.
And so the Christian life your Christian life is to be marked with power.
The Holy Spirit’s business to empower you. That’s why we are here.
We wanna bring you more and more teachings, more and more studies.
I hope you’ve been watching by now and realize that this is our ministry to you.
We’re not baking for money, and we’re not throwing out this plea and this tactic and the other.
With the resources we have, we’re trying to reach you. We’re making time to do this.
We can’t see who you are on the other side, but we wanna lead you to Christ.
God bless you, my friend, jackhibbs.com. There’s a whole lot more there.
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