1 Corinthians: Win! Running the Race and Fighting the Fight

I mean listen if you got a Bible you can turn to first Corinthians chapter 9 and before you accuse me of milking this elbow thing all right hold on unfortunately it didn't heal correctly and once they removed staples then they remove stitches they had to go back in clean it out and then close it up again and then put me in a cast like thing to immobilize me we probably should have started there I'll be honest with you but the hand talker deal so I in the words of Forrest Gump that's all I got to say about that all right so we're gonna next time you see me we ain't gonna talk about this no more you might also notice man I'm a little bit farther away from you than normal is that we didn't move you back okay we actually moved I and our team worked so hard to reconfigure our stage it looks great for this reason this week two more rows of seats are gonna go in here in this room come on give him praise and man if you can notice in the summer time to just see the amount of people that God's drawing to better position and prepare us for this fall and here's the truth because you're praying because you're reaching people because you're inviting people into the presence of Jesus to just see what he might want to do so way to go we're making more room for more people thank you as Brad said earlier thank you for your faithfulness and your firstfruits giving that allows us to do ministry to reach people to have big moments like Freedom Fest man to engage our Crossgates community thank you for your faithfulness and things like now for next giving that now for next that's beyond our first fruits man that's when we give an offering to the Lord and that we make strategic financial investments now for the future generations and that's what we're doing man we're making the decision to make more room for future generations so thank you for those that give that way and encourage you to pray about that now to all the fathers in the house I almost say Padres to all the dads granddads spiritual fathers man so grateful for the role that God has given you in our community in our church family in the faith and I know a lot of different men land across the spiritual map I know a lot of people in our faith family that have different feelings around father there's great delight and then there's

great pain there's great things to be grateful for and then there's been big misses and moments and this is what I know about the Lord he meets us in every expression there's a lot of dudes that walk in here with your head held high by God's grace and then there's those that might walk in the room with disappointment and shame and this is what I feel like God's gonna do today he's gonna minister to all of us that he's gonna take his word and apply it so no matter where you are on the spiritual map we are so grateful that you are here we always like to take a moment and to welcome those from the men's and women's correctional facilities all over the nation that are joining us for this message can we let them know how grateful we are for the chance to minister to them it's the best man so many great testimonies what's happened so you've got a Bible first Corinthians chapter 9 I'm gonna jump in verse 19 here there's a lot of great stuff the first 19 verses a lot of that around people in ministry and how God makes provision for them go read that but I'm jumping in verse 19 today and I got to move real real quick so God has a lot to say to us I believe for though I am free from all I've made myself here's Paul saying a servant to all that I might win more of them to the Jews I became as a Jew in order to win Jews to those under the law I became as one under the law to those outside the law I became as one outside the law that I might win those outside of the law to the weak I became weak that I might win the weak I have become all things to all people that by all means I might save some Paul starting this thought really in this moment says I want you to know that though I am free in Jesus Christ by the power of the Spirit I've made a decision to give my life as a servant to whoever God sovereignly places me in their life whoever God puts in front of me and whatever city and whatever context and whatever moment if God walks me into the life of a Jewish person I will sit with them in their religious belief and hope that God might allow me that opportunity to tell them the bigger story the fuller story of the finished work of Jesus Christ then Paul says I don't stop there though I give time I give energy I give space that I might share the gospel with people that know

religion but haven't really met Christ yet I also will sit with those outside of the law meaning that when I walk into Corinth that I am quite comfortable with the idol worshiper I'm quite comfortable with the rebel and the reprobate I'm quite comfortable with them I'll sit with them long enough to build a relationship that the gospel of Jesus might get to him. Paul's saying, I don't care what it takes, whatever it takes to see people won to the kingdom of God, that I'll sit with the religious, I'll sit with the reprobate, the rebel, I'll sit with those that are weak, that if you're in hardship and suffering, man, I will sit and I will serve you, I'll care for you, I'll be there with you in your worst moments. He would say the opposite of that. I will sit with you if you're pompous and arrogant and believe that you've got it made in yourself, no matter where you are. Paul's saying, I will give myself fully that you might get one step closer to coming to know Jesus Christ. You say, Kyle, what does that mean today for us? Well, specifically, and listen, this message is for men, women, children, at all ages and stages, but I unashamedly approached this this week thinking about the men of this house, thinking about the men in this church family, and here's what I think every man's looking for, a greater mission. I think every person is looking for purpose, but I think specifically men are looking for a life that matters. So here's what Paul's sharing with us from Jump Street right here in 1st Corinthians 9. Life was intended to have a bigger mission. Life was intended, that's the principle, life was intended to have a bigger mission. If the sole mission of any man's life is merely personal success, hear me, it'll never be enough. If the sole purpose in life is things to be acquired, goals to be accomplished, titles to be established, it might even be noteworthy. Hear me, guys, it may even in moments be noble, but it'll never be enough. Hear me, specifically men in the house, even if you fulfill those things, it doesn't mean it'll fill that void. I love this about God. God made us for more. That God made every one of his children for more than merely stuff acquired, things accomplished. God made us for a mission, and I believe this specific to men in the house to believe this. No matter where you are, no shame today. We're not

doing that. No shame shaming dads today. No shaming men. Instead, believing for. Men were made with a need. Listen, this is so true. Men remember, don't worry about my arm. I can't move it. We're good, right? They immobilized it this time, baby, all right? I said, every time I lift my arm, everybody's like, eh. Men were made with a need, and this is true of women as well, but we were made with a need to find our place in the story of God, which starts at coming to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, but it doesn't stop there. It moves from being one that's been changed by the gospel, listen to me, to being someone that helps see change come through the gospel to others. There's nothing more powerful than a man with a clarified mission. There's nothing more impactful than a man that, by the Spirit's power, by the clarity of God's Word, sees his future through the Scripture, that sees his family as his first mission field, that sees his workplace as an opportunity, listen to me, not merely to earn a living, which is noble, but to make a difference, that sees his recreational sports, and I hope you have them. I hope you have hobbies that you love, but that you would leverage it for the sake of getting good news to somebody else. There's nothing like a man whose passion is consumed, listen to me, with the mission of God. To know this, eyes for a second, that God intended, and this is a crazy thought that most men in this room do not believe, that God intended for you to be used to see other people one to Christ. Come on, right? That God intended every one of us, every space that he's placed you, every relationship that you would encounter, to be a part of moving the spiritual needle, seeing people's lives impacted, and listen to me, and when a man finds that mission, listen to me, he's found his purpose. He goes on in verse 23, why, what motivates this? I love this now, God, I've been waiting for you all week, I'm so excited you're here. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessing. Paul said, what's the motivating factor? What moves his heart? What moves the needle in him to be used of God, to see other people one into the kingdom of God? Listen to me, he said, I do it all for the sake of the gospel. What he's saying is, let me simplify it, I do it that Jesus might be glorified. I don't do it because I have to, it's because I

want you to get to know him. That Paul's saying he's actually consumed with the passion for the name and fame of Christ and I'll gladly serve anyone anywhere so that he might be known everywhere. Come on, right? That I'm gonna show up in my family because I want Jesus to be the center point of my family. I'm gonna show up in my workplace because the way I work, I want the gospel to get out. The manner and the message that I carry, I want people to go, man, who is this guy you're following? And then he builds in a little selfish statement, which is awesome, which God is not opposed to so that I might share in his blessing with them. Isn't that awesome? Let me tell you what the Lord knows is to be hardwired, hardwired in giving your life to kingdom advancement is real joy. Come on, right? What God is looking to men specifically, I would say in this room, hardwired to showing up in your family and being a man that would pray, showing up in your family to be a man that would spiritually lead just a step, just a movement, to be the kind of man that would show up in your workplace to make a difference. This being hardwired there, listen to me, is joy in here. Hardwired out there in the mission is blessing that you get to share in the significance

of something that will matter a million years from now. Here's an awesome statement, you ready? Or at least I think it is. Y'all let me know what you think, okay? Life was intended to have a better why. Listen to me, a better why behind the what? Life was intended to have a better why behind the what? Let me tell you, listen, when you give yourself to the kingdom of God, you got the ultimate why. Then, listen to me, then what you do, where you do it, how you do it, listen to me, all falls in line with a better why, with a better why. I do it all for the sake of the gospel and you go, Kyle, this is all great, I hear you, how do I actually get involved? I'm glad you asked, okay? Practically speaking, how do you do that? How do you do it all for the sake of the gospel? How do you become, I'm speaking specifically to men, it lands with everybody, but men, hear me, how do I give my life so that we might see others one into the kingdom of God? Well, that's where Paul shows us how life is intended to be embraced and engaged. Here you go, verse 24. Do you not know that in a race all runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things, they do it to receive a perishable wreath,

but we, an imperishable wreath. What Paul is trying to do, man, to the church in Corinth is to set a mindset that would move them. Here's the mindset, I want you to write this down and I want you to ask the spirit of God to do something in you with it. If you wanna live the kind of life that matters for others being one into the kingdom of God, listen, you gotta embrace life as a race. Not a sprint, to the sprinters out there that can get us, all right, listen, we in a marathon, yo, all right? To embrace life as a race. Paul's encouraging each follower of Christ to embrace, listen to me, specific the matters of faith as a race. And look at me, see what I love about this? I got a little competitive nature in me. I love that he says, and don't just run merely to make it, run to win. Come on, where's the dudes at, huh? All right, don't merely just, don't run to just get there, run to win. Run to win, listen to me, to get before God and know I ran for something that matters. And that culture in Corinth, man, Olympic mindset, they understood what it meant to receive a prize. What Paul is saying, you're gonna stand before God one day. Run your faith race to win. You're not competing against other Christians, listen to me, you're competing against your own tendency to settle.

Come on now. You're competing against our own tendency to stall. Competing against our own tendency, listen to me, to get sidelined at some point. So here's the question I wanna answer in the next couple minutes, you ready? How do you run well for the rest of your life? I don't care if you got one year left or if you got 50 years left. How do you run, listen to me, let's do this. Let's not go back in shame over laps missed, over legs of the race missed. The enemy wants to condemn you over moments missed. How about this? Let's run well into the future. So how? How do you run well for the rest of your life? One, let God's word become your running trail. Let God's word become your running trail. I love what Psalm 119, 105 says. Your word is a lamp to my feet, it's a light to my path. Let me tell you, the Bible's only boring if you never intend to obey it. Come on now. But if you, listen to me, if you let God's word become a running trail, let me tell you what this is not. Come on, do this at work out. It ain't a treadmill. Praise God, right?

You can run three miles and have leaked all over that thing and you're like, I didn't get nowhere, right? God's word is not a hamster wheel. God's word, listen to me, is a running trail through the mountains. God's word is a running trail, listen to me, through enemy territory. God's word, look at me and listen to me now. God's word is a running trail. At every turn it says, go this way. Speed up here, slow down there. Pace yourself in this moment, run. God's word is saying, no, no, no, it's for this, it's for that, it's not about you. God's word is a lamp into our feet. It's a roadmap and I'm gonna say this to men in the house. This is a roadmap to real manhood. It's what it is. Man, if you'll pick it up to obey it, get ready for the greatest adventure ever. It's gonna call you to die a million times to self. That's just the first one, I have five of those points. All right, here we go, the next one. How do you run well for the rest of your life? And then I have a whole nother question we gotta answer, all right, here we go. How do you run well for the rest of your life? So let God's word become your running trail. For a second, run in the power of the Holy Spirit. Run in the strength of the Holy Spirit.

Tethered to God's word, empowered by God's spirit. Ephesians 3.16 says, that according to the riches of his glory that he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his spirit in your inner being. Let me tell you what God never intended any believer ever, man or woman, I say specifically to the men in the house, God never intended for you to run your race in your power. God never intended for you to buckle up or pull yourself up by your bootstraps and just make it on your own. What God did intend for us is to be reliant. To be strengthened, Zechariah 4.6, not by might, not by power, but by your spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Let me tell you guys, listen to me. The Holy Spirit wants to give you your second breath. Anybody ever need to catch a wind? You know what I'm talking about, right? Man, I need to catch the wind here. Anybody need to listen to me? Anybody need a second, third, anybody need like a 3,000th breath? To keep running, listen to me, if you wanna make it through the marathon of this thing called the Christian life, you're gonna have to get to know God, the Holy Spirit. And I say this a lot because I love him. He ain't weird. He's also not normal. He's God. And there ain't nothing like a man filled

with the Spirit of God running for the glory of Jesus Christ. Watch out, world. Watch out, world. So if you wanna run your faith race well, listen to me, tomorrow morning say, Spirit of God, fill me, use me, strengthen me, empower me, help me to make the turn here, help me bust through this wall here. So how do you run well for the rest of your life? That's the first two things. Third thing, lay anything down that hinders how you run. Lay anything down that hinders how you run. One of my favorite passages of Scripture, ministering to anybody, but I love to see God minister to men is this passage, Hebrews 12, when therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, meaning you ain't the first person that's ever run the faith race. Since many have went before you and made it, bust through the finish line, hallelujah, right? Since they've went ahead of us, let us also lay aside every weight and sin that clings so closely. Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Every man, and I'm gonna say this to the men specific, true for everybody, to the dudes in the house, listen to me, this is funny, you know it's true. We have a tendency to pick up weight. Can I get a witness, right?

And I ain't talking merely at the supper table, listen to me, I'm talking about the table of life. This world is heavy. And sometimes disappointment, discouragement, you walk through this world long enough you'll pick up weight you were never intended to carry. Let me tell you what I've learned in my walk and run is I gotta make a conscious spiritual decision to either carry it or cast it. So when I'm hurt, I can either hold on to it or I can put it on the shoulders of one that can carry it. I love that Jesus' shoulders are broad. So some men in the house, listen to me, you stopped running because you got tired of carrying the weight of everything. I wanna encourage you this morning, cast it. You say, well, Kyle, if it comes back, what if that feeling, what if that thought comes back tomorrow, cast it again. Shed some weight. Second thing he says, which are two distinct things, and lay aside every sin that clings so closely. Guys, eyes for a second, eyes for a second. Over a cup of coffee, if we were having it, I have a bunch of cups of coffee with people, I have a bunch of lunches with people, but if we were having it right now and if you and I got honest and I were to ask you, what's the one sin that's keeping you from running well, what would it be?

Let me tell you what I love about the Holy Spirit. He don't need my help. Most everybody thought of it like that. What's the one thing that's hindering how you run? How about come and confess it? How about get clean, listen to me, get free? Too many of us in the room are trying to run our faith race shackled in bondage. I never met a believer that didn't need a moment of deliverance in some way, shape, form, or fashion. I never met a believer that didn't need a season of discipleship where they learn how to run free. But that only starts when you confess it. When you say, Lord, I gotta get this shackle off my feet. I gotta get this mindset. I gotta break it. I need some help in it. Lay down anything that hinders how you run. That's the third way, man, if you wanna run your faith race well. Is this helping anybody? Come on, right? Man, I hope so. It was fun for me all week, right? I feel great about what God's saying. I hope you do. I'm in a great mood. I want you to join me so bad, all right? How do you run well for the rest of your life? How do you run well for the rest of your life?

Showed you, man, you let God's word be your running trail. Let the Holy Spirit be the strength and empowers how you run. Lay down anything that might hinder, and here's something that's non-negotiable, and men were terrible at. Need to find you some running buddies. It's true for everybody. Men in the house, and I'm not talking about just the dude you hang out with, talk about the dogs or the rebels or, what's the Southern Miss Golden Eagles or whatever they're at? They're right. It's not true, it's not. I'm talking about the guys that looks at you and loves Jesus more than he loves you. But what's the difference? I'm talking about the guys that look at you and love Jesus more than he loves you. I'm talking about the guys that look at you and love Jesus more than he loves you. But because he loves Jesus, he loves you. Hebrews 10, 24 says, and let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. I need some guys that will spur me along. You do too. I've never met a man that didn't wanna quit at some point. Never met one.

There ain't one. They didn't wanna quit in matters of faith. They didn't wanna quit in matters of marriage. Didn't wanna quit in the fray of raising kids. Didn't wanna quit with frustrations over the workplace. They didn't wanna, there's a tendency inside of humanity to wanna quit. It gets too hard. You know what you need? You need a lot of things. You need the help of the Holy Spirit. You need the word of God to keep calling you to endurance. But you need to know, listen to me, if you wanna keep from quitting, you need to know that there's another man that's gonna meet you on the running trail. Because if I know that dude's gonna be there in the cold when I don't wanna get up, it beckons me out of bed. Come on, right? It demands of me, don't quit now. Don't give up now. I remember I had a season, we were in Arkansas where I had a goal before I was 40 to run a marathon. It's a terrible goal. It's a terrible goal. I don't know what moment promoted that terrible thought, but we ended up doing it.

It was during COVID year, probably saved my sanity, right? But I'll never forget one of the runs was a 19 mile run. It's a training run. You don't get no prize after that training run, right? It's sleeting outside. And the dude that was my running buddy, He showed up, and I was like, man, of all the days, you show up, right? And listen to me, and we went and ran 19 miles. I hated every mile of it. But about the time I wanted to quit, he wouldn't quit. And then the times I was willing to push through and he wanted to quit, I was like, let's don't quit now. I remember we wanted to quit at mile nine, we wanted to quit at mile 10, we wanted to quit at mile 13. We had a really good reason to turn back around 15. It's the best time, if we don't turn back now, we gotta do it all. Everybody needs a running buddy. If you're running alone, you're in trouble. If you wanna run well for the rest of your life, here's one more thing, listen to me. That doesn't mean I'm even close to being done, so just know that. You need to focus on the finish line. The only man that, listen to me, that never thought about quitting was the perfect God, man. It says in Hebrews 12, two,

for the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross. When Jesus looked through the crown of thorns, when he looked through the scourging, when he looked through the spitting on him, when he looked through the mockery, when he looked through the cross, scorning it's shame, knowing it was gonna cost him, that he was gonna be laid bare before humanity, the perfect God, man. And he sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Let me tell you what Jesus could see on the other side of the sacrifice is that he was gonna be seated at the right hand of the Father. Come on, right? He knew the finish line in that aspect of what he was accomplishing for all of humanity. I wanna say to us, and I'm gonna say, guys, in the room, guys, in the room, hear me. You're gonna stand before God one day. Come on. You're gonna stand before God one day, and you're gonna stand in Jesus' righteousness alone, the only way we can stand, but in that, we will also give an account for what we did with what we received. How'd you run? I came across and I'm reminded of a story, Eric Liddell, he was a, I got a picture of him, I think. It's from 1924, gold medalist in the 400 meter.

Pretty awesome, right? Won it for his country, Great Britain. He's the one that said when he runs, he feels God's pleasure. He also said in a quote, after winning the 400 meter, as a passionate follower of Jesus Christ, he said, the secret of my success over the 400 meter is that I run the first 200 meters as fast as I can, then for the second 200 meters, with God's help, I run faster. It's a heck of a strategy, right? Let me tell you what's cool about this guy that's a runner. He had a bigger race. After winning the gold medal, surrendered to the mission of God and went as a missionary to China to get the gospel of Jesus Christ to as many people as possible. Once he gets there, he meets another missionary who would become his wife. They serve faithfully, man, in many different ways in China, getting the gospel out to as many people as possible. Have a couple daughters in the course of life in China. And then the war starts to ramp up and Japan is being aggressive toward China right in the World War II era. And he can see that it's soon not gonna be safe for his wife and his children. And so he sends his wife and his children to Canada

so that they'll be safe. He remains to continue to preach the gospel. Later to find out that his wife was also pregnant with their third daughter. Not long after sending them away to safety, he was captured, put in a Japanese prison camp and would be there for several years. In the war camp, in that prison camp, you know what they called him? They called him Jesus in running shoes. To the 500 plus kids that were in that camp, he was Uncle Eric who preached the gospel, preached the gospel, preached the gospel. He got sick, unfortunately, and was dying in that Japanese prison camp. And one of his friends that was caring for him said the last words that Eric Little said to them was this, is complete surrender. That's the Christian life. Complete surrender. I'm here for him, and that's gonna be a blessing to them. He ran his race. Can you imagine when he came through, listen, winning a gold medal was awesome. Can you imagine when he came into the throne room of grace and mercy, and that he had run? Now I'm gonna finish with a few more things. For those that running doesn't resonate with you, you're like, Kyle, listen to me, man,

if I'm running, somebody's chasing me, okay? Let me give you another illustration. So I do not run aimlessly. I do not box as one beating the air, but I discipline my body, and I keep it under control, lest after preaching to others, I myself should be disqualified. Listen to me, embrace life as a race. Here's the next one, okay? Engage life as a fight, because it is. My answer, I'm gonna ask one more question and give you a couple rapid fire things, because I think God's speaking to us in multiple ways. If it's true that life's a race and life's a fight, how do you fight well to the finish? How do you fight well to the finish? One, you gotta take training seriously. You're in training. You say, Kyle, when does that stop? When you breathe your last breath. 2 Timothy 3.16 says, all scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. Listen to me, you and I should be training for a fight. I don't care what your personality type is. I don't care what your demeanor is. Man and woman, this is true, but men in the house, you're training for a fight. You're in if you're engaging in it or not. Now, you might be training poorly, but you're in one.

This book in your hand, listen to me. The Holy Spirit in your heart is teaching you how to prepare for the fight. Hey, the reason why you read this, listen to me, is because you're training. The reason why you pray, listen to me, is you're coming to know the voice of, listen to me, your coach that's your corner man. So that he can say, listen to me, you need to slip a jab, you need to, listen to me, you need to block, you need to move, he's cutting you off in the ring because you're in a fight. You don't have to make up your mind to be in one, you're already in one. So how do you fight well to the finish, take training seriously? Second thing, listen to me, become aware of your enemy. In this, listen to me, in this moment, I pray often for this room, for moments, that this will be a war room for the kingdom of God, that we come in here and the enemy doesn't get to lie in here, he doesn't get to deceive in here, he doesn't get to lure our minds away in here. Let me tell you what's gonna happen when you walk out of those doors in a moment, you're gonna be back in the war in a different way. First Peter 5.8 says, be sober minded, be watchful, your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. The scripture never calls us to be in awe of our enemy,

the scripture never calls us to be afraid of our enemy, the scripture never calls us to be enamored with our enemy, but the Bible does say you need to be aware of him. So I ask for a second, men, how is he gonna attack you? What's the soft spot that the enemy could easily, listen to me, find an angle? Ms. Laura, you can go ahead and come back and play. You need to know how he fights, you need to know how he lies, you need to know how he deceives, you need to know how he attacks, you need to know how he lures, you need to know how he schemes, you need to know how he works, because you're in a war and I sit with too many families that were never aware. Sit with too many people that wake up one day like, well, how did this happen? You have an enemy. How do you fight well to the finish? You take training seriously, you become aware of your enemy, and I love this, man, and then you get into the ring. Come on. I love this. I'm telling you, my misinterpretation or misunderstanding of the kingdom of God, and one of the reasons it took a while for me to come into it is I thought

this thing was like a weak man's crutch. What I didn't realize was, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Come into the kingdom through Jesus Christ and then welcome to the war. Welcome to the fray, welcome to the fight. And I say this to men, many of you listen to me. You gotta get back into the ring. Ephesians 6, 10, 11, finally be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Not yours. Be strong in the Lord and the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be strong. you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. Too many warriors have just become watchers. Watching a few make war that was intended for the many. I'm just gonna say this. Some of us need to stop merely listening to podcasts and actually get into the lives of people. Stop just merely having discussions about stuff. Move toward actually making a dent, a difference in the world. Get into the fight. You say, I don't know how to get started. Just get started, man. Start with those closest to you. Start praying. Start seeking Lord. Start talking about Jesus. Get into a group of other running buddies that you might have that might sharpen you, encourage you. Get into the fight for your family. Get into the fight for this city, this community. Get in the fight for your school. Get into the ring. You say, Kyle, what if I get hit? You're gonna get hit. I'm telling you, man, the Lord, this is, I gotta watch the masculine part in some ways here, but I love this about the kingdom of God. The truth is this. If you're gonna be a part of what God intends, you got to learn how to take a punch. Come on, man. I'm looking in the eyes of some spiritual warriors and they're like, that's a word. Because if you intend, listen to me, to live for the kingdom of God and make a difference through your family, you're gonna take

some punches. I love when 1st Peter 4 12 says, Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you. Anybody ever felt that? Come on. That's the moment we go, what is going on? Why is the fog rolled in? Why is things just distracting? Why, listen to me, why am I discouraged right now? Why am I beat up right now? Why am I being opposed right now in this thing? It might be that you're actually part of something that matters, and you're gonna have to learn how to take a punch. You're gonna have to have a timex moment, man, where you take a licking and keep on ticking, right? Spiritually. In the words of the great theologian, Rocky Balboa, it ain't about how hard you hit. It's about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. It's about how much you can take and keep moving forward. That's winning is done. Take them, keep moving, keep moving, keep moving. And let me encourage you this last truth, and remember that the last round's coming. Last round's coming. Man, when Paul wrote this, I just can't imagine how his spirit soared, because that dude had fought. 2nd Timothy 4 7, he says, I have fought the good fight. I finished the race. I've kept the faith. He said, I kept punching, I kept running, I kept believing. And the truth is, there's many a man in this room specific, that at some point you had a bad leg in the run, and you stopped racing. You had a bad round in the fight, you stopped fighting. Maybe you tripped and fell, maybe you found yourself punching yourself, and you quit. I was talking to Brother David this week, I was thinking about this. You know, the truth is this, none of us would be here, not one of us would be here, if somebody before us wouldn't have passed the baton. That's a fact. Our faith moves from person to person. Hallelujah, right? So what I'm just, I'm begging you, is to believe again. Maybe you dropped the baton, maybe you stumbled, you've been sidelined, would you pick it up again? I know you've maybe been hurt, maybe you've been disappointed, maybe you've been heartbroken, maybe you can't believe what you've done, maybe you can't believe how you got to where you are. Let me tell you what I love about the Lord. He ain't trying to take you back, he's trying to move you forward. Would you pick it back up again?

Dudes would resonate. Listen to me, we wouldn't be here if somebody wouldn't have put the gloves on and fought. And for too many of us, listen to me, that ain't an age, a stage, and it's not bravado, but morning by morning, put them on again. Say, I'm willing to fight the good fight. God, show me how to throw a punch. Show me how to take a punch, Lord. Show me how to believe again. Show me how to move forward. Listen to me, because that's how winning's done. Round after round, leg after leg, listen to me, until we stand before him. Bow your heads for a moment. Prayer leaders are gonna come. If you need prayer for anything this morning, we got more than enough room up here for you. We'd love to pray with you about anything, but here's the truth. Until you have come to believe that Jesus lived perfectly, died sacrificially, defeated death on your behalf, until you've come into the kingdom, all these other things are truths that you can't cooperate with yet. So some of you in specific, I would say this, some men need the war to be won on your behalf through the finished work of Christ. You need to put faith in Jesus today. Love to help you do that. Love to help you do that. To many of us in the room, this is true for anybody, but specifically dudes. You need to get running again. You need to tighten down the running shoes. You need to ask the Spirit of God to put breath in your lungs for another leg. Say, God, I want to run with you again. Some of you need to be willing to put your hands out there and say, God, would you put the gloves back on me? I'll fight for my family. I'll fight in the workplace for the advancement of the kingdom that people might be won, because it matters. Whatever He's saying to you, you respond in your heart, and if you want to, we'd love to pray with you about anything. But nobody else looking around, I'd ask this question. Anybody need Jesus to make you a part of His forever family today? Anybody need Jesus to save you this morning? Anybody ready to turn from your sin and put trust in His work on your behalf? When nobody else looking around, if you need that to happen in you today, to be a part of His forever family, I'm gonna ask you to be bold for a second. I want you to merely do this. Look up at me and raise your hands. Say, Kyle, that's me this morning. I need that. But you got to be bold to do it. You're responding to

Him. Kyle, I need that. Come on. Just say, Kyle, I need that. I need Jesus to save me this morning. Raise your hands so I know you're looking at me. Got it. Simplicity of the gospel is this, looking to no man can save you, raising your hand can't, but it was a great first move. Now would you take the next step? Simply say this, if you know that's you this morning, Jesus, here I am. I turn from my sin. I'm gonna put trust in your work on my behalf. Save me, Jesus. I want to follow you. If that was you this morning and you meant it, calls for courage, calls for courage. The one courageous step we ask you to make, if you mean it and you want to follow Him, man or woman, when you walk out of this room, you got to go past the next step center. Got to go past it. If you just made a decision to fall across, look at me for a second. Nobody else is looking. You come by that next step center. We got some people that got these, that have the boxes in their hand, and all they're waiting to hear from you say is this, hey, I need a box. If you'll say that, we'll help you take next steps. We'll help you take next steps. Man, we had so many people last week walk through, walk across the starting line. Be one of those today to be a bold witness and make that move. I'm gonna pray for us, and then we're gonna worship for a second, pray for you, and we'll be done. Father, thank you for your Word this morning. Thank you for your presence in this room. I ask now that you would help us to run, teach us how to fight. I pray in Jesus' name, amen. Let's stand together. We'd love to pray with you.