The Baton is in Our Hands

All right, well, I'm so glad that you're here. My name is Dan. I have the great honor and privilege of serving as the lead pastor. If we've never had a chance to get to connect before, and I wanna say welcome to all of our guests. Welcome to all those that are online in Calvary Church like you never have before. Would you help me give your best welcome now to the men and women watching from a correctional facility? I am so, so, so glad you are online with us today. You're not a project to us. You are family. We are closing out our series, Walking Through the Book of Hebrews. Next week, we're kicking off a series. I'm excited about this series. Next week, you're not gonna wanna miss it. Labor Day weekend, still be here because we're starting off a series called Lord Send Revival. Come on, how many believe that our church, our nation needs revival? And I'm gonna teach you how to pray in that series. I'm gonna teach you how to worship. I'm gonna teach you how to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and it's gonna be right in conjunction with our week of prayer and fasting, September 13th through 20th, all church play. You're not gonna wanna miss all four weeks

of what God wants to do in that series. But let's finish our series right now. Hebrews chapter 12, one through two, if you have your Bibles, all right? There was a couple celebrating their 60th birthday together, and it just so happens that an angel of the Lord appears and tells them that he's going to grant each of them one special request. The wife immediately gets those big doe eyes and says, my request is that my husband and I would travel the world together in our old age. Poof. As soon as she says that, smoke clears, and she has tickets in her hand to travel around the world. The husband sort of hangs his head in shame. He looks at his wife. He looks back at the angel. He doesn't say anything for a couple minutes. And then finally he says, my special request is that I'd, and he pauses. He says, it's that I'd be married to someone 30 years younger than me. Poof. As soon as the smoke clears, he is now 90 years old. Come on, someone that's funny. And all the ladies said amen right there. Now here's why I say that. Someday, poof, the smoke is going to clear

and you will be 90 years old. And in that moment, if you have a heart for the things of God at all, there's gonna be some things that seem incredibly important right now that when you're 90 years old, they're not gonna matter one bit. And there are some things that maybe don't feel so urgent right now that you're gonna realize mattered a whole lot more than you put thought and attention to when you were younger. And so I wanna make something crystal, crystal clear to you today. If you have your Bibles, Hebrews chapter 12, just two verses today. We're in the book of Hebrews. I'm a coffee lover, so Hebrews is one of my favorite books. You ready? I'm so sorry, dad jokes. That's just where I'm at right now, okay? Hebrews chapter 12, verses one and two, our text for today. It says, therefore, everyone say therefore. Therefore, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also, someone say me too. In other words, you and me, we're involved in this race. Let us lay aside every weight

and the sin which clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and the perfecter of our faith who for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross. Now, side note right there. Do you know what part of the joy set before him was? It was you and it was me. In other words, when Jesus looked at a bloody death on the cross, when he looked at the suffering that lie ahead of him, when he looked at what he was going to endure, when he looked at the stripes that were gonna be placed on his back, when he looked at the crown that was gonna be placed on his head, part of the joy set before him was the possibility of redeeming you. It was the possibility of forgiving you and restoring you and bringing you back into relationship with him. It was the possibility of spending eternity with you while the world looks at you and says, you're a junk or you're a mess. Our God and savior says, no, no, no, no, no. That's my pearl of great price. You were the joy set before him. The writer continues, despising the shame and is now seated at the right hand

of the throne room of God. And all of God's people said, amen. Hebrews chapter 12 begins with the word therefore. And if you've ever been around Bible teaching for any amount of time, if the word therefore is used in scripture, you have to ask yourself the question, what in the world therefore is actually there for? Hebrews chapter 12, this is gonna blow your mind. It's preceded by Hebrews chapter 11. Amazing. And Hebrews 11 is one of the most famous chapters in the entire Bible. It's what we call the hall of faith. And it gives a story after story of men and women who walked by faith. By faith, they conquered kingdoms. By faith, they administered justice. By faith, they shut the mouths of lions. By faith, they parted the Red Sea. By faith, they believed God, even though they couldn't see yet what God had promised. But it also says some of them suffered. Some of them were persecuted. Some of them were imprisoned. Some of them were killed. filled for their faith. Some of them went to the grave still believing for something that they never got to see in that life with their own two eyes.

And then Hebrews 12 opens up and it says therefore. In other words, Calvary Church, it's now your turn and my turn. The same race that they were running 2,000 years ago has now reached you and me for our generation and our time right now. And here's the thought of today's message. I wanna just give it to you up front. Everything is gonna hinge on this theme today that that faith that they had 2,000 years ago is the same faith that's passed to us today. The faith today that we have, Calvary Church, didn't start with us and it isn't supposed to stop with us. The faith that you and I have today as a church, it didn't start with you and me and it isn't supposed to stop with us. Hebrews is showing us that we're a part of something much bigger than ourselves. We're a part of an eternal divine relay race. The New Testament repeatedly compares the Christian life to a race. That when you first become a Christian, it oftentimes can feel like you're running this sprint, like you're fired up. Like I wanna know God and I wanna spend time with God and I wanna come to church every Sunday and I wanna get in my Bible every single day. And when I get in my Bible, I wanna take a picture of it and I just gotta post it to my story because I want everyone to know

that I spent five minutes in the word of God, but it took me 15 minutes to make this post. You're just excited about everything that it has to do with God. 6 a.m. prayer, I'll be there. All church serve event, I'll be there. You're excited about the things of God when you first get saved. It can often feel like a sprint, but a sprint is all about energy. And the thing about energy is this, energy evaporates. Anyone over 35 wanna say amen this morning? Amen. Just turned 35 last week and I'm telling you, I slept on my shoulder wrong and I was injured for three days, all right? Energy evaporates. Eventually you realize following Jesus is actually more like a marathon because a marathon is not about a sprint. A marathon's all about rhythm. In other words, can you keep taking step after step, mile after mile for 26.2 miles? Oh, there's some of you here today, you need to hear this today. Can you keep following Jesus day after day? Can you keep following Jesus month after month? Can you keep following Jesus year after year? Can you pray when you feel something? And can you pray when you don't feel anything?

Can you worship him on the mountain? And can you still praise him in the valley? Can you be here for that week of prayer and fasting and 6 a.m. prayer and fast for your kids to come back to know Jesus, that prodigal son and daughter, even though you've been to the last 20 years of prayer and fasting? Or will you give up? See, Hebrews gives us an even bigger picture. It's not just about a sprint and it isn't only a marathon. The writer of Hebrews tells us it's a relay race. So a sprint is about energy, a marathon's about rhythm, but a relay race, it's all about the baton pass. Jude tells us that this faith was once and for all, it was delivered to the saints. In other words, for 2,000 years, one generation has carried the faith and has now passed it to another and now Calvary Church, tag, we're it. The baton is in our hands for this generation in this time period. Here, I'll illustrate it to you this way. I love watching the Olympics. Anyone else like watching the Olympics? I love tuning into the Olympics when they're going on the Winter Olympics or the Summer Olympics and I love checking every morning, opening up my phone, seeing where the medal count is at and I always gotta see America at the top,

not just for medal count. Come on, gold medals, baby. I wanna see that they're winning, right? But my favorite, favorite, favorite event to watch is the men's four by 100 relay race because there's always drama. Someone's always getting disqualified. Somebody's always messing up. There's always issues that are happening and what I've noticed about a relay race is that it doesn't matter how fast every runner is, what actually that whole race comes down to is 1.4 seconds, this moment where they pass the baton and it's called the exchange zone. We saw this happen with America, their men's relay race back in Tokyo in 2004. Now, this team was loaded on paper. Of the top 10 men's runners in the world, four of the top 10 were Americans on this team. They were the top four and so on paper, it should not even have been a contest yet the American team was disqualified. They lost this race. They have a picture of it on the screen because the baton got dropped in the moment of exchange. Doesn't it look like that guy's just kind of choke slamming him a little bit? He didn't get the baton passed cleanly and they lost the race, lost the race. You can run incredibly fast and still lose a relay race

if you don't pass the baton cleanly. The writer of James says, this life is the one life that you have and it's like a mist, it's like a vapor. It's here for a moment and it's gone tomorrow. Like, just think about this right now, Calvary Church, God plucked you out of eternity and he positioned you to be here on this day and at this time at the 9.30 service, and he proportioned your gifts, your talents, your resources. He planted you in this family, in this community for such a time as this. In other words, you are not an accident or a mistake. God understood everything that was happening in society. He understood everything that would be going on in the world today. A perk of being God is that you know everything. Come on, someone. And he said, I'm placing you here for this moment, for this generation, for this assignment, for this time. Maybe you're here this morning and you're 70 years old or 80 years old or 90 years old. I'm telling you, whatever window of time you have left in this life, the baton is in your hands. The baton is in your hands. So what do we do with the baton that's in our hand? Three things I wanna give you according to this text. Very, very quickly with the time that we have. Number one, you've gotta honor the faith that came before you.

Number one, if you're taking notes, and I sure hope you are, you gotta honor that faith that came before you. The writer says, therefore, since we're surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses. Who's the cloud of witnesses? You have to look back to Hebrews chapter 11. Everybody who ran before us. This was Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Moses and Rahab and David. These were people who trusted God even before we got here. In other words, church, you need to understand this today. We didn't start the race. We didn't invent Christianity. Calvary Church, last time I checked, no one in this room started Calvary Church 41 years ago. That's here today. And here's what I've learned in my life. If we forget that there are people who came before us, we might just forget that there are people who are supposed to come behind us. The verse of Galatians 6.9, it rings so true to me today. Calvary Church, do not grow weary in doing good. For at the proper time, you're gonna reap a harvest if you do not give up. And I wanna say this to every person here today that number starts with a five, six, seven, eight, or nine. You need to hear this today at Calvary Church. I know that we've been growing as a church. I know that we have four services as a church.

I know that life might be escalating and moving quickly. Sometimes you might feel overwhelmed with what's going on. I need you to hear me today. If you are five, six, seven, or eight in age, you need to hear this today. We need you here at Calvary Church in this time and this season. The next generation needs you. Don't believe for one second that you're in a later season of life. Your contribution to the kingdom of God is not finished yet. I love the story of D.L. Moody. Moody was an uneducated sales shoesman who became one of the greatest evangelists in history. But there were two older women who heard him preach and began praying for him. They told him that they were praying that he would have a radical encounter with the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. And God answered those prayers. Think about that. History remembers the preacher. Heaven remembers the people who prayed. Listen to me today. Some of you may never stand on a platform and preach a message. Some of you may never have influence like some of the next generation have on social media, but you can pray for someone who will. You can disciple someone who will go and be a missionary.

You can encourage someone who's gonna be the next worship leader. You can speak life into somebody that's gonna impact their business or impact their community. If you are old in age today, listen to me today, there is no retirement from the kingdom of God. I heard David Jeremiah once point this out in a message. He outlined every place in scripture where the phrase old and advanced was used in describing someone. Like Elizabeth was old and advanced in years, or Abraham was old and advanced in years. And they were discouraged and surely they thought the most significant part of their life was behind them. But he actually studied their lives and found out that every time that phrase old and advanced in years was used in scripture, God's most significant work in their lives was still ahead of them. Maybe you feel old and advanced in years today. Maybe you feel like you missed an opportunity. Maybe you feel like you failed in that marriage. Maybe you feel like you don't have a purpose today. God is not done with you yet. Your role may change, your pace may change, but as long as you're still breathing, come on someone,

God has a purpose and a plan for your life. Come on, is there anyone thankful today that God knows the hairs on your head, that God knows the sand that's in the sea, and God knows your name and story, and he's not done with you yet? Someone say thank God for that. So you gotta honor the faith that came before you. None of us received this faith on our own. Someone sacrificed, someone gave, someone shared so we could be where we are today. Number two, now you have to receive that baton and you've gotta run faithfully with what's in your hands. In other words, you gotta do something with your life. You gotta do the work. Hebrews 12, second half of verse one says, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us. Notice the phrase, the race. set before us. In other words, you got a race, and I got a race. And my race is not your race, and your race is not my race. But our responsibility is to take care of the race that's allotted in front of us, to run our race. Not to wish that we were running somebody else's race. Not to compare our race to someone else's highlight reel on social media while we know our behind-the-scenes. See, many of us, we're trying to run a race, and we're doing a poor job doing it, because we're looking to the lane of everybody else's race, and seeing the race that they're running, and wish we had their race, or their life, or their job, or their money, or their family, when we're not running the race that God has placed before us. I'll illustrate it to you this way. Anyone like running on the treadmill?

Two people. Fantastic. Let's do it together. Come on. I'm ready. After the 1230, let's go over to the gym. Let's go. All right? A couple years ago, I joined this gym. It was called Orange Theory Fitness. Anyone heard of Orange Theory Fitness before? So, Orange Theory Fitness, you've got to schedule in the app. You've got to book your appointment, and it's kind of like a group session that you go. 30 people will book a time slot. And so, you could be on the treadmills for a couple minutes. Then you could be on the water rowers for a couple minutes. Then you'll be in the gym for a couple minutes, and you rotate. And they have you wear a heart monitor that's on the screen, and everybody can see how many calories you're burning, and what your heart rate's at. It's an amazing thing, right? And I started at Orange Theory Fitness, and I was really out of shape. And I was really embarrassed when I barely could run at a five speed on the treadmill. How many of you start going for a couple months? You start getting in shape a little bit, right? And finally, what I started to notice about myself, I'm pretty competitive, if you can't tell. I'm an Enneagram type three. Played some college soccer, right? So nobody's beating me, right, after I start getting into stuff. Very, very quickly, I started realizing that I was having a hard time running on the treadmill, because I was at the fastest speed. But I was looking to left to right, seeing if they were running as fast as I was. And looking at the screen, making sure that I was burning the most calories, burning more calories than everyone else. How many know that's not a good way to run on a treadmill? Yet, that's how some of you are running your life. You're looking to the lane of how everyone else is living, how everyone else is spending, how everyone else is working. You have to run the race that God has marked out for you, not look to anyone else's lane. So the writer is saying, what has gotten in the way? Is it sin? Is it comparison? Is it comfort? Is it complacency? Is it distraction? You know what I found? If the devil can't destroy you by sin, he'll just distract you. And that's why I'm calling us all to a week of prayer and fasting, September 13th through 20th. Because some of you have gotten distracted in this season. You've gotten distracted. You've let the cares and the comforts and the things of this world and the things of summer weigh more heavenly on your heart.

And it's weighing you down from the purpose and the plan that God has called you to run. And I'm inviting you, September 13th through 20th, to join me for a week of prayer and fasting, and let's seek God together for this church. Let's seek God together for a fresh wind and revival of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Let's seek God for more salvations than ever before in this fall season. Let's be at 6 a.m. prayer. Could you join me for one hour, 6 a.m. on Tuesday and Friday, September 13th through 20th? Could you join me for a family worship night, kids, youth, and adults? And let's blow the roof off this place and say, God, heal and restore and revive here at Calvary Church. Move in a fresh way like never before. Because sometimes if we're not careful, we get distracted by the things of this world. And that's why the writer says you have to lay aside the sin that so easily entangles. Dare I say this, that we trade our calling for our comfort. Oh, I just don't feel like serving. They're asking me to serve twice a month. I'd rather go to the beach. Oh, I just don't feel like tithing. There's so many other things I'd rather buy with my stuff. I don't want to be obedient to what God calls me to do. I don't want to be obedient to the scripture. And you don't even realize that you've done it. You've just traded the things of God for comforts. You're still carrying the baton. You're just not running anymore. But the writer says you can't walk. The writer says you have to run. Run with endurance the race that God marked out for you. Listen to me today. You can't faithfully carry your baton while constantly looking in someone else's lane. You got to run the race God has marked out for you. Let me show you the saddest verse to me in the Bible. Judges chapter 2. Judges chapter 2. It says these words. It says, Notice the word seen. They had seen God move. They had seen the Red Sea part. They had seen God provide in the wilderness. They had seen the walls of Jericho fall down. They had seen God bring his people in the promised land. They saw it physically with their own two eyes. But then Judges says after that, Think about that. That's one of the scariest verses in in the Bible, one generation saw the hand of God,

the next generation didn't even know God. Calvary Church, may it never be said of us on our watch that we did not pass the baton to the next generation. That's why I wanted our kids on the stage this morning, leading you in praise, because I want you to see it's not babysitting that's heading back there. We're raising up a next generation. Listen, I don't know about you, Calvary Church, but I want my kids, I want my two kids to know how to pray better than I pray. I want my two kids to know how to fast better than I fast. I want my two kids to follow long and hard after the things of God, and I want our church to have that same posture, whether you have kids or not, whether you're invested in youth ministry or kids ministry or not. I want us to have this posture at Calvary Church that if this is your church that you're planted in, we're not just spiritual consumers, we're also spiritual contributors. We're gonna give, we're gonna serve, we're gonna share. Because come on, someone, what's our mission here? What did we say, we want every person to know God, find freedom, discover purpose, make a difference. Why, so that, what, shout it out, no one is without Jesus. And so, in other words, we can't stop running, we can't stop racing, it's not gonna slow down here at Calvary Church, I'm just gonna be honest with you. Because as long as there's still one lost person in Burlington County that doesn't know Jesus,

as long as there's still one person that's far from God within Burlington County, we've still got work to do. So run your race. If you're 18 today, run your race. These are not your throwaway years, don't waste them. These are not the years for you to spend three hours on TikTok, scrolling, don't waste them. These are not the years for you to be caught up looking at pornography, don't waste them. Get a job, find out what God has called you to do, and run your race. If you're 38, run your race. Raise your family, build something for the kingdom of God. Serve, give, lead, disciple somebody, lead a small group. Run your race. If you're 58, run your race. If you're 78, run your race. If you're 98, run your race. Your race might look different than it did 40 years ago, but you're still in it. And as long as you're in it, God's got a plan for you. Paul didn't say, I watched the race. He said, I have run and I have finished the race. Run the race that's marked out for you. You're not competing with one another, we're running together. For this moment, Calvary Church, and it's gonna go quickly, it's like a vapor, this moment is in our hands. Will we steward it well as a church?

Number two, you gotta run your race. Number three, lastly today is this. Number three, you gotta pass on a faith worth following. You gotta pass on a faith worth following. Go back to Hebrews 11 and notice three names. It says Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Say that with me. Say Abraham, say Isaac, say Jacob. You know what that is? That's generations right there. That's a grandfather, that's a father, and a son. I'm gonna say that again so I'll sink in. That's a grandfather, that's a father, and that's a son. That's three successive generations. In other words, the faith kept moving from the grandfather to the father to the son. A grandfather, a father, and a son. And when you read Genesis, there's this phrase that keeps showing up. It's the spine of the book of Genesis. It says, these are the generations of. In Genesis two it says, these are the generations of the earth. 10 times through the book of Genesis it says, these are the generations of. And then these are the generations of. It's part of the spine of Genesis because when God wants to generate something, he often does it through generations. Look at Abraham.

Abraham's the first believer in his family. And what's so fascinating is this, is that Abraham wasn't handed a great baton. His family worshiped pagan gods. Abraham becomes the first believer in his family and his journey with God is messy. He lies, he gets impatient, God promises him a son, and Abraham tries to accomplish God's promise his own way. Here, let me say it this way. Abraham's a blessed mess, but he did something incredibly important. He changed the baton. What had been handed to him wasn't going to be determined what was going to go through his life. Some of you need to hear that today. Maybe you weren't handed a great baton. Maybe faith wasn't modeled for you. Maybe nobody taught you how to pray. Maybe nobody taught you the importance of coming to a week of prayer and fasting. Maybe nobody brought you to church. Maybe nobody showed you what following Jesus looked like. Okay, that might've been what was handed to you, but that does not have to be what gets handed through you. You can be the first one in my family that says, you know what, I'm gonna do things differently, and as for me and my house, we're gonna serve the Lord. So Abraham passes that faith then to Isaac. And here's what I love about Isaac, is that Isaac eventually faces almost the exact same

situation that Abraham faced. His wife can't have children. Abraham struggles to trust God and tries to manufacture the promise. He disobeys God, but Genesis 25, that's your homework this week. Don't have time to preach it, but Genesis 25, go ahead and just read that this week. You can see the story illustrated. Genesis 25, 21 says, Isaac prayed to the Lord on behalf of his wife because she was childless. Did you see that? Abraham struggled, Isaac prayed. Abraham passed enough faith to Isaac that Isaac could start where Abraham finished. Let me say it this way. Abraham's ceiling became Isaac's floor. Then Isaac then passes the baton on to Jacob, and Jacob encounters God in this amazing name. And God says, Jacob, I have such a plan for you that while your name means deceiver or liar, I'm changing your name now to Israel, and I'm going to form 12 tribes through you because I've got such a great plan that from one generation to the next, the baton is passed, and one generation's ceiling becomes the next generation's floor. Calvary Church, look around. I want that so bad for us. I want that so bad for us. None of us were around when Calvary Church started 41 years ago. But here we are. We're benefits and recipients of the sacrifice and the giving and the prayer and the investment of our founding pastor and a team that started. Twelve people started in a funeral home 41 years ago. Come on, they counted everybody living and dead.

And here we are today, two years after a pastoral transition, and look at what the Lord has done here at Calvary Church. And look at what the Lord's doing. But you know what? You know what I'm saying? I'm not happy with where we're at. I want more of God. Does anyone want more of God? I'm not happy with only four services. I won't be happy until all of Burlington County is reached for Jesus' name. Someone say amen right there. I'm not happy with just giving away $700,000. I want to give $1 million to world changers one year. I'm not happy with where we're at spiritually. I want us to grow and look more like Jesus. As long as I'm still the pastor of this church, we will not stop short of the calling that God has for us. We will not stop running the race. Why? Because 25 years from now, when I pass the baton to the next lead pastor at Calvary Church, I hope that my ceiling becomes their floor for what God wants to continue to do in Burlington County. And I hope the same is true for your life and your family. That so long as the Lord carries generations after generations, we'll know the goodness of God in Burlington County so that one more person will know Jesus. This is the heart of the Father. We will receive the baton when we run the race that the Lord has marked out for us today.