“Hitting the Wall”

Introduction

Thank you, Brother Sean, for doing a wonderful job leading us this, leading us in those songs. And thank you to all of you who are here this morning to worship God. Good morning to you. It’s so good to see you this morning. I want to invite you to go ahead and get your Bible out, please, and go into your New Testament to the book of 2 Corinthians. To 2 Corinthians chapter 11. We’re going to be reading some verses from there a few minutes from now. So go ahead and just park yourself there. We’ll read some verses from 2 Corinthians 11 in a few minutes. Hitting the wall. Have you ever heard that expression before? If you are a runner, you’ve heard that expression before, right? If you’re a runner, you know exactly what that means.

You know that hitting the wall is something that every runner fears. It is a runner’s worst nightmare. It is when a runner is competing in a race, but he can’t finish.

He feels that his legs or his back or his hip or his calves or his feet or experiencing too much pain to keep going.

As a runner, and there are many different things that can cause that. The question, though, is can that happen to us? Can that happen to me? Can that happen to you? Can that happen to Christians or disciples of Jesus Christ as we run and compete in this spiritual journey to heaven? Can we hit a wall? Can we suffer fatigue and burnout? Can we fail to make it to the spiritual finish line? I submit to you that we can. We can as Christians. We can hit the spiritual wall. In fact, how many times have you seen that happen before? How many times have you seen that happen to Christians before? How many times have you seen it happen even to Christians who have been part of this church before?

I mean, think about it. For those of you here who’ve been part of this church for a very long time, I want you to think about some Christians who were at one time part of this church, but they quit running. They’ve dropped out.

Can you see those people in your mind right now? Can you see their faces? Can you see where they at one time sat in this building? Do you remember the various things they they did in this church? Do you remember some of the comments they made in Bible classes? Do you remember how at one time they were on fire and they were zealous and they were excited about the Lord? Do you see those people in your mind right now? What happened to them? Why did they quit? Well, why did they stop running the spiritual race? Why does any Christian stop running the spiritual race? I want to suggest that, like that, like any race going on in the world today, the reason why some Christians stop running in the spiritual race to heaven is because they lack what Peter is talking about in the scripture reading we had earlier.

They lack perseverance. They lack perseverance. That word perseverance that Peter uses there in 2 Peter 1 and verse 6 is a word that means endurance. It means steadfastness and patience. It means that no matter what obstacles come our way, we are not going to quit. We’re not going to stop running. We’re not going to give up. We’re not going to drop out and throw in the spiritual towel instead we’re going to keep going. We’re going to keep moving. We’re going to press on. We’re going to make sure that we cross that finish line. That’s what that word perseverance means in the context of 2 Peter 1 and verse 6. And as we as a church family continue talking about our theme of being transformed this year.

1. Why We Need Perseverance

And as we continue going through this list of spiritual qualities that Peter talks about here in 2 Peter chapter 1, for a few minutes this morning, I want to dig into that more. For a few minutes this morning, I want us to study and consider some more of what Peter has to say about this. I want us to understand why Peter says here that perseverance is an important part of the spiritual transformation process. And one reason why, one reason why perseverance is so important in this process of spiritual transformation. It’s because, number one, being a Christian isn’t always easy. Being a Christian isn’t always easy. Now, it’s easy today, right? Oh, yes, we need to be honest about that. It’s easy to be a to be a Christian today on the first day of the week as we gather in this place.

I mean, as we gather in this nice church building on Sunday morning, there are no real challenges to us being Christians. There are no real obstacles to being a Christian right now in this place. I mean, just look around. We’re all together and we believe the same stuff. We believe the same things. We believe the same things about God. We believe the same things about Jesus. We believe the same things about the Bible and the Bible being the inspired word of God. We believe the same things about worship. I mean, we’re here worshiping God together for the last hour. We’ve been singing spiritual songs. And we ate the Lord’s Supper together, and we’re giving together, and we’re praying together, and we are encouraging each other as a spiritual family right now on this day in this place.

Being a Christian is easy. It’s a breeze. It’s full of joy and smiles and hugs and sunshine and celebration. It is easy being a Christian today, but you and I both know that every day is not like today. Every day is not like the first day of the week. Every day is not like Sunday. Every day we’re not around people who believe the same things we believe. And they love us. And they care about us. And they want to encourage us and help us go to heaven. Every day is not like this day. Some days we’re outnumbered. Some days we’re outnumbered by the world. Some days being a Christian isn’t easy because we’re being persecuted by the world. Some days we got people on our jobs or in our school or on our sports team or even in our family who call us all kinds of ugly names.

Some of them call us hateful bigots. Some of them call us too old-fashioned and outdated and primitive and behind with the times with the way that we think. Being a Christian isn’t easy on some days because we’re being persecuted by the world, and it’s also isn’t easy because some days we’re feeling pain.

Some of us got pain in our bodies. Some of us have some pain that makes it hard to do anything. Some of you got some pain that’s so severe that it’s hard to eat.

For some Christians, being a Christian isn’t easy because they’re feeling all kind of pain in their bodies. And then for some of us, we feel pain brought to us by people. People bring us pain. Children who leave the Lord, prodigal children. That brings us pain. Having a spouse who’s not a Christian. And that Christian, that Christian has to deal with a spouse constantly mocking their faith and blaspheming Jesus. That brings pain. And then don’t forget about the pain brought by some brethren. Brethren who, in some cases, are just plain mean. And they’re rude and they say hurtful things and they hit us with friendly fire, and they don’t display the kind of love that we can read about in the Bible. Being a Christian isn’t always easy, it’s because we face persecution.

And we got to deal with pain in this life. And let’s not forget to talk about the struggles we have against temptation. And let’s not forget to mention the devil. And how the devil is real. And he is alive and he hates us. And his influence is everywhere we go. It’s on television. It’s on YouTube. It’s on Netflix. It’s on Hulu and Disney Plus. It’s wherever we decide to go on vacation. It’s on our jobs. It’s at the gym. It’s at the ball games. In some cases, his influence is even among people in our family. There are many other things we could put on the slide, but you get the point. The point is it’s not always being, it’s not always easy being a Christian. It’s not always easy following the way, the truth, and the life.

It’s not easy being a Christian in 2025, but it’s not just 2025. It wasn’t easy 2,000 years ago in the time of the Apostle Paul. Are you there in 2 Corinthians chapter 11? Listen to what the Apostle Paul says, starting with verse number 23, as the Apostle Paul here is talking about his enemies, those who wanted to discredit him as a legitimate apostle. And 2 Corinthians chapter 11 and in verse number 23, he says this about his enemies. Are they servants of Christ? I speak as if insane. I’m more so. And far more labors and far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. Five times I received from the Jews 39 lashes, three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked.

A night and a day I have spent in the deep. I have been on frequent journeys and dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren. I have been in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights and hunger and thirst, often without food and cold and exposure apart from such external things. There’s daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches. I want you to really think about what Paul is saying there.

Soak themselves, immerse themselves in your heart. After reading those verses, do you get the impression that Paul, the great apostle Paul, lived an easy life as a Christian? Do you get the impression that every single day practicing Christianity for the Apostle Paul, I mean, it was full of roses and sunshine, and Paul never had any problems as a Christian. Do you get that impression when you read those verses? Because I don’t. I don’t get that impression. Instead, when I read what Paul has to say here, I see that Paul has some hard days as a Christian. He had some challenging days. He had some days when the persecution was intense and the suffering was severe, and he could have easily lost heart. Being a Christian wasn’t always easy for the apostle Paul.

And it’s not always going to be easy for us. And if we don’t have the quality, the spiritual quality of perseverance, you know what’s going to happen? We’re going to quit. We’re going to drop out. We’re going to throw in the spiritual towel and we’re going to fail to cross the spiritual finish line. We need perseverance because being a Christian isn’t always easy. In fact, one of the things that makes it difficult at times is we often get discouraged. We need perseverance because we get discouraged. I mean, let me just ask you do you ever get discouraged? You ever get discouraged? You ever been discouraged as a Christian? If so, what caused you to be discouraged? Was it because you you fell back into some sin?

Or was it because you caved into some temptation or some temptations? Was it because you got frustrated by all the sinful things you see being promoted in the world right now? You got frustrated by the widespread acceptance of the LGBTQ movement. You got frustrated because so many people on your job dress immodestly. Or you got a lot of people in your job who curse all the time. Or you got a lot of people on your job who gossip or constantly talk about how they’re gonna go to the bar this weekend and they’re gonna spend all day Saturday drinking. Maybe you got frustrated with your evangelism efforts. Maybe you find yourself frustrated by the fact that the people you’re trying to reach with the gospel, the people you love and you’re trying to help go to heaven, they won’t give you the time of day.

They won’t accept your invitation to come here and worship God. They won’t talk with you about Jesus, they won’t give you 30 minutes to sit down and study the Bible with them. You show them a simple passage like Mark 16 and verse 16, where Jesus says he’ll believe and is baptized, will be saved, and they don’t care what that verse is, they don’t care what Jesus says there in that verse, they’re gonna continue believing what they want to believe and doing what they want to do. People we love who reject the gospel. That can be discouraging. But let’s not fail to mention some of the brethren again. Let’s not fail to mention how sometimes, and many of you know this. Sometimes, some of the most discouraging people we meet in our lives are not people outside of the family of God, but instead they’re people inside the family of God.

We can read about that in the Bible. We can read about that with people like Demas. And people like Diotrophes and Ananias and Sapphira, and don’t forget about Judas. There’s so many different things that can discourage us. As we run this spiritual race, and if we don’t have perseverance as Christians, you know what’s going to happen? We’re going to quit. We’re going to drop out. We’re going to fail to reach the spiritual finish line. We need perseverance because being a Christian isn’t always easy. And there are times when we get discouraged in this life. And then thirdly, we need perseverance because this journey we’re on, this race we’re running. It’s long. It’s a marathon, it’s not a sprint. It’s a journey for some Christians that can go on for decades and decades and decades and decades.

Many of you know firsthand exactly what I’m talking about, right? Many of the folks in this room. Good Christian folks. And you remember when you first obeyed the gospel, right? You remember that day when you did what Yarish did a few days ago, what Amaya did a few days ago. You remember when you did that. You remember when you were immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins. And when you came up out of that water, you had so many people who were happy for you, and they’re waiting to hug you and welcome you to the family of God, and you were excited. You were passionate, you were full of zeal and enthusiasm about your decision. But eventually, what happened? Eventually, that newness wore off. Eventually, that new car, that new spiritual car smell wore off.

Ten years went by. Then 20 years went by. Then 30, 40, 50, maybe 60 years went by. And you’ve been a Christian a long time, and along the way, you’ve seen a lot, haven’t you? You’ve seen a lot of good and you’ve seen a lot of bad. You’ve seen a lot of people obey the gospel and become Christians. And you’ve also seen a lot of people who flat out rejected the gospel. You’ve seen a lot of people grow and thrive in the kingdom of God. And they became preachers and deacons and elders and elders’ wives and preachers’ wives and great song leaders and Bible class teachers. And you’ve also seen a lot of people leave the Lord. And they’ve left the family of God and they needed to be spiritually disciplined.

You’ve seen changing times. You’ve seen more and more people in our culture and society begin calling evil things good and good things evil. Many of you in this room, you’ve been through a lot as a Christian. You’ve been through a lot, you’ve seen a lot. You’ve been through many years of pain and tears and trials and moments of discouragement. And yet, look at where you are this morning. You’re here. You’re still serving Jesus. You still love your brethren. You’re still worshiping the Lord. You’re still running the spiritual race that you began so long ago. You can testify firsthand that perseverance is needed in the spiritual race, not just because being a Christian isn’t always easy, and because we get discouraged at times, but also because that journey is long.

It’s a long journey for many Christians. Now, these are just three of many reasons why we need what Peter’s talking about. These are just three of many reasons why we need perseverance and why that is necessary in the spiritual transformation process. But now we need to get to an even more important question, and that is how do we get this? We know it’s important. We know we need it. We know it should be a part of our lives, but how do we get this? How do we get this perseverance that Peter is talking about? Well, I’m going to suggest to you a few practical things that we got to do. We’re going to get the kind of perseverance the Bible says we need as transformed people.

2. We Get Perseverance by Suffering

The first thing we got to do, the first way we get perseverance as Christians is according to the Bible, we get it by suffering. You read that right. We get perseverance by suffering. I know that because the Bible says so. Go in your Bible, please, to James chapter one. Look at how James begins this wonderful epistle here. Here’s James’ writing to Christians. He were being persecuted for their faith at this time. They’re scattered all over the place. They’re suffering for the cause of the gospel. And James says this in James chapter 1 and verse 1. James, bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ to the 12 tribes who are dispersed. They’re scattered all over the place because of persecution. They’re dispersed abroad. He sends a greeting.

Now look at verse number two. This is radical here in our minds. Consider it all joy. Consider it joy. My brethren, when you what? Encounter various trials. There’s joy and going through trials. Why? Verse 3. Knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience, perseverance, endurance, and that endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect. The word perfect here is being used to talk about reach a full level of spiritual maturity. Full level of spiritual maturity, transformation, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. You see what James is saying there. Notice how while going through periods of trials and sufferings can make life hard for us. While they can be painful, while they can hurt and wear us out and wear us down and be an uphill battle for us, the Bible says trials can also bless us.

They can help us. They can grow us spiritually and help us develop perseverance or endurance or patience. That’s what James is saying there. And brothers and sisters, we need to remember that. We need to remember that. We need to remember this when we start suffering in our lives. When we start suffering in our lives, we need to remember that those periods of suffering are opportunities. They’re actually opportunities. There are opportunities to grow. There are opportunities to stretch. There are opportunities to grow in perseverance and refine and solidify and pass the test of faith.

There are opportunities to turn to God more and to read our Bibles more and trust in the Bible more and pray more and push ourselves to still come here and worship God even on those days when we don’t feel like getting out of bed. There are opportunities. There are opportunities to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ and His promises and become more useful and helping other hurting people in the family of God. And there are opportunities to tell the devil, you’re not going to stop me. I know you’re trying to stop me. I know you’re trying to stop my progress. I know you’re trying to use this moment to destroy my faith, but I choose not to let you.

3. Being Inspired by Those Who’ve Already Finished the Race

Suffering helps us grow if we endure it. And if we persevere, but not only do we gain perseverance by suffering, secondly, another way we do it is by being inspired by those who’ve already finished the race. Being inspired by those who’ve already finished the race. The Hebrew writer talks about this in Hebrews the 12th chapter. In Hebrews the 12th chapter, and in verse number one. In Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 1. The Hebrew writer says this. Hebrews 12 and verse 1. Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Now notice how this verse begins by talking about the great cloud of witnesses.

Who is that? Who is this great cloud of witnesses surrounding us? All the people mentioned in the previous chapter. Abraham, Moses, David, Noah, Sarah, Rahab, Jacob, Joseph, all these people. All these people included in what we so commonly call the Hall of Faith, which, and I’ve told you before, and I’ll say it again. I have never been a fan of that language. Never been a fan of that language. I know we like to call it that at times. I know commentaries call it that. But when you’re a sports guy like me, you don’t like that language. Because if you’re a sports guy like me, a sports fanatic, you’ve been to sports hall of fame before. And I’ve been to many.

No, I can’t. Especially now at 42. No, I can’t. I can’t. There’s a reason why you and I are not in there. You can’t be Michael Jordan. You can’t be LeBron James. You can’t be Magic Johnson, Larry Byrd, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Lawrence Taylor. When you walk into a sports hall of fame, the message is not, hey, you can be like these guys. Instead, the message is these guys are elite. They have elite athletic ability. They are the best of the best of the best. That’s the message of a sports hall of fame. That’s not the message of Hebrews 11. The message of Hebrews 11 is not, hey, you can’t be like those people because those are super disciples. No, the message of Hebrews 11 is you can be like those people.

You can be like those ordinary people who, despite making a ton of mistakes in their lives, they trusted God, they had faith, they persevered, and they completed the spiritual race. Hebrews 11 is not giving us a list of super Christians or super disciples or super followers of God. Instead, that list is there to inspire us.

4. Leave Behind What Weighs Us Down

We can be just like them. They’re there to help us get perseverance. We get perseverance by suffering and by being inspired by those who’ve already completed the race before us. We can be just like them. But then thirdly, another thing we got to do to get perseverance is we got to leave behind what weighs us down. And every runner knows about that, don’t you? Can’t have waiters on. You can’t have things holding you back when you’re running. You got to leave behind what’s going to weigh you down. The Hebrew writer talks about that. Remember, going back to Hebrews 12. Look at verse 1 again. Look at verse 1. Therefore, after giving us this list of all these people, these ordinary people who had great faith in God and completed the race.

Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, this is what we need to do. Let us lay aside every encumbrance. Some translations say every weight and the sin. There it is. The sin which so easily entangles us. And let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, verse 2, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the awesome perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. There it is. When it comes to running this spiritual race we’re running right now, the Bible says we got to leave behind what’s weighing us down. What’s weighing us down? The Hebrew writer says sin weighs us down.

We got to leave behind the sin. We got to stop dabbling in sin, flirting with sin, justifying our sins, sitting on Saturday night with our friends, but then trying to show up on Sunday morning, pretend like we’re great Christians. Hebrew writer says you got to stop that. We got to stop that nonsense if we’re involved in that.

It will trip us up. It will eat our spiritual energy and focus. We got to lay aside sin because sin weighs us down, and then we need to focus on Jesus. We got to focus on Jesus. We got to fix our eyes on Jesus. Why do we got to fix our eyes on Jesus? Well, because Jesus had exactly what we’re trying to get. Jesus had perseverance. Jesus had perseverance at the highest level. He endured trials and problems in life. He endured hatred. He endured hostility. He endured moments of discouragement and betrayal and disappointment. He endured the cross and accomplished the will of God. Jesus persevered at the highest level. And as disciples, our goal should be to be like him, as Wayne said this morning. We want to be like Jesus.

5. Stay Focused on the Prize

We want to be motivated by the life of Jesus. In fact, throughout the Bible, Jesus promises to help us. He hasn’t left us alone. He promises to help us as we run this spiritual race. He’s promised to be with us even to the end of the world. He’s promised to never abandon us nor forsake us. He’s promised to never give up on us as long as we choose not to ever give up on Him. We get perseverance by leaving behind. What weighs us down, and that’s sin. And then another thing we got to do to get perseverance, we’ve got to stay focused. Stay focused, not just on our Lord Jesus, but also on the prize that we’re going to get the finish line. And the Bible talks about that.

Bible talks about it. Let me show you some verses, please. Look in your Bible, please in Philippians chapter 3. Look at Philippians chapter 3. In Philippians chapter 3, the apostle Paul, as he pins this from a Roman jail cell, he’s imprisoned at this time because it is of his faith. And yet notice his optimism. In Philippians chapter 3, verse 12, the apostle Paul says, Not that I’ve already obtained it or have already become perfect. The word perfect there again is not talking about sinless perfection. It’s talking about reaching a level of spiritual, full, spiritual maturity. Paul, an apostle? A man who saw the risen Savior? He says, I haven’t reached that yet. I got room to grow. He says, but I press on, so that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus.

Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet. But one thing I do, notice that word one. One thing I do, forgetting what lies behind, and reaching forward to what lies ahead. I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Paul says, I’m not gonna stop because I’m focused on the prize. The prize. I’m gonna keep growing, I’m gonna keep running because I want the prize at the end of the race. What’s the prize? You know what it is, it’s heaven. Paul trying to get to heaven, full salvation. This is echoed in 2 Corinthians, please. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. And 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 17. And 2 Corinthians chapter 4 and verse 17, Paul says, for a momentary light affliction.

So remember all that stuff he told us in chapter 11, all that bad stuff he went through. Notice what he calls it here. Momentary light affliction. Are you kidding me? Light affliction. That’s how he viewed it. Why? He says, for momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory, far beyond all comparison, while we look not at things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. That’s why it’s just momentary light affliction. He’s focused on the prize. He’s focused not on what he can see, but what he can’t see, being with God in the next life. That’s what’s keeping him going. He makes it very clear in 2 Timothy chapter 4, please.

And 2 Timothy chapter 4, as Paul gets ready to close his contribution to the New Testament. And 2 Timothy 4, 2 Timothy is the last epistle that Paul penned. Very soon he’s about to be executed by the government for his faith. And he says in 2 Timothy chapter 4, and in verse number 6, verse 6, for I’m already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith in the future. There is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge will award to me on that day, not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearance.

Paul says it over and over again. Paul wants us to know that the thing that helped him endure and persevere and keep going was the reward waiting for him at the finish line. It was heaven. It was eternal life. It was a crown of life. It was being able to live with God forever. The prize at the end of the race. Help Paul persevere. And brothers and sisters, it should also do the same for me and you.

6. Pray and Not Lose Heart

When we get discouraged and we’re weary of battling the devil and we don’t feel like we can go any further, we need to pause, take a deep breath, and remind ourselves of these verses. We need to remind ourselves of what’s waiting for us at the finish line. Being with God forever. That’s what’s waiting for us if we finish this race strong. We get perseverance by staying focused on the prize. And one of the things that can help us do that is prayer. We gotta pray. Let me show you that in one more place in your Bible before we close. Look at Luke the 18th chapter. Because in Luke 18, Jesus tells a well-known parable. And it says this in Luke 18 and verse 1. In Luke 18 and verse 1, now he was telling them a parable to show them that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart.

That’s the key verse right there. This is a key verse because it sets up context. Everything Jesus is about to go on and talk about is about that. It’s about prayer. It’s about not losing heart as you face trials in life. That’s what this parable he’s about to tell is about. Verse 1 is critical. He says, In a certain city, there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him saying, Give me legal protection for my opponent. For a while he was unwilling. But afterward he said to himself, Even though I do not fear God, this is a bad guy here. He didn’t fear God, nor respect man. Yet, because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection.

Otherwise, by continually coming, she will wear me out. And the Lord said, Hear what the unrighteous judge said. Now will not God, now will not God bring about justice for his elect who cry to him day and night, and will he delay long over them? I tell you that he will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth? This is a misunderstood parable, a lot of folks today. A lot of folks just totally misrepresent what this parable is about. And so, what is it about? What is Jesus talking about in this parable of the unrighteous judge, or if some people call it the parable of the grumpy judge? Well, before I tell you what it is about, let me first tell you what it is not about.

This parable is not here to suggest that we need to be persistent in prayer for selfish reasons. It is not saying that we need to be persistent in prayer so we can just wear God out and anoint him and force him to give us what we want. That is not what this prayer is about. Instead, this parable is here to offer a contrast. This parable about prayer is here to offer a contrast. It is a how much more parable. If this person did this, how much more will that person do that? That’s what this parable is. It is here to help us understand that if this bad judge here, if this bad guy will listen to and bless this widow, how much more will God, who is a loving father, do the same for us?

How much more will God act in our best interest and our time and in his way and according to his will when we pray? This parable, my dear friends, it’s about prayer and endurance. It ties them both together. It is about understanding that one of the keys to endurance is prayer according to Jesus. While we have to suffer at times in this life. While we got to go through trials, why we got to go through hardships, why we got to face all kinds of injustices and wait on the Lord to do something about that stuff while we wait. We need to pray. We need to pray and have faith that God is good. And He’s listening. We need to pray and hold on to God’s unchanging hand.

Conclusion

We need to pray and get the spiritual energy we need from that tool to keep going. This parable is about prayer, praying, and developing endurance from that. We got to get endurance. We got to finish this race no matter what, because the consequences for failing to finish this race, they’re too great. You see, if we don’t persevere and make it across that finish line, we’re not going to get a consolation prize. We’re not going to get a consolation trophy. We’re not going to get some for a ribbon for just participating in the race for a while. No, if we don’t finish this race, we’re going to lose everything. We’re going to lose our souls. We’re going to fail to be with God forever. And so, as we get ready to go into our invitation, I have to just ask you Are you doing that?

Are you persevering? Are you persevering in the cause of the gospel? Have you even begun that process? If not, you can begin that process today. Today you can do it. You can do it by obeying the gospel, by believing in Jesus. Repenting of your sins, confessing them as Lord and being baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins. And if you’ve done those things in the past, maybe you’ve dropped out of the race. You can get back in it. You can start running with the Lord again if you repent. And maybe you need us to pray with you and pray for you. Is there anyone here this morning who needs to respond to the Lord’s invitation so that you can persevere, finish this race, and gain the crown of life?

We can help you with that. You come to the front as we stand and we sing.