The Biggest Battle to Running Your Race
Sermon notes from John Stickl at Valley Creek Church on playing the long game, fueling your fire, and overcoming coveting to run the race God has marked out for you.
Celebrating Faithfulness
Coming out of 60 days of enjoying God and the life he has given us, we are practicing paying attention and calling attention to God's goodness.
Pastor Ben Moreno's 25th year on staff is worth celebrating. Ben and Rachel have loved, served, given, and laid down their lives to create a future we now enjoy as the present.
They are pure in heart. Their faith is worth imitating, and the outcome of their way of life is worth considering.
A blessing uses our will to release God's goodness in someone else's life. As a church, we bless their marriage, children, health, finances, spiritual journey, dreams, and destiny.
25 may the LORD cause His face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
26 may the LORD lift up His countenance toward you and give you peace.’
Are You Playing the Long Game?
We want to be a church for generations, not just a generation. Not a firecracker that briefly lights up the sky, but a long-burning flame that withstands the test of time.
That means becoming deeply rooted in Jesus, his kingdom, and his church, rather than living with a disposable, convenient, transactional faith.
Twenty-five years of faithfulness includes forgiveness, getting over offenses, saying yes to Jesus, and taking obedient next steps.
You can't become what you haven't seen. Faithful leaders give us a picture of what is possible.
The best time to plant a tree was 25 years ago. The second-best time is today.
How's Your Fire?
We want radiant faces, burning hearts, and holy, powerful lives, not apathetic hearts and worldly lives.
What was your fire like before vacation, during vacation, and after vacation? Have you tended it through the secret place, godly relationships, prayer, the Word, and obedience?
Peter was more focused on his commitment to Jesus than Jesus' commitment to him. After denying Jesus, he was left with shame, defeat, and discouragement. But the resurrected Jesus invited him to breakfast beside a fire.
Whose fire was it? Jesus' fire. He invites us to be warmed, healed, fed, and restored, then to rebuild with him.
No matter how small your fire is, Jesus will not put it out. The Father can gather the coals and breathe life into them again.
Fire gives light so we can see God's goodness and the goodness of the life he has given us.
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus declared, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.”
35 Peter replied, “Even if I have to die with You, I will never deny You.” And all the other disciples said the same thing.
8 The other disciples came ashore in the boat. They dragged in the net full of fish, for they were not far from land, only about a hundred yards.
9 When they landed, they saw a charcoal fire there with fish on it, and some bread.
10 Jesus told them, “Bring some of the fish you have just caught.”
11 So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.
12 “Come, have breakfast,” Jesus said to them. None of the disciples dared to ask Him, “Who are You?” They knew it was the Lord.
13 Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and He did the same with the fish.
7 maintaining loving devotion to a thousand generations, forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin. Yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished; He will visit the iniquity of the fathers on their children and grandchildren to the third and fourth generations.”
Enjoying God Is More Than a Suggestion
The tenth commandment tells us not to covet. John describes its meaning this way: enjoy God and the life he has given you.
Coveting is a fleshly, lustful longing for that which does not belong to me.
It says, “God was good to them, but he is not good to me. If I had their life, then I could enjoy mine.”
John contrasts the outward expressions of the first nine commandments with the heart issue exposed by the tenth. God cares deeply about our hearts.
Coveting is a gateway sin. It can lead to lying, stealing, adultery, destructive anger, dishonoring leadership, abandoning Sabbath, misrepresenting God's character, and making an idol of what we want.
Enjoying God and the life he has given us matters. We cannot help our neighbors enjoy their lives while refusing to enjoy our own.
7 You shall have no other gods before Me.
8 You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in the heavens above, on the earth below, or in the waters beneath.
9 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on their children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me,
10 but showing loving devotion to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commandments.
11 You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not leave anyone unpunished who takes His name in vain.
12 Observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy, as the LORD your God has commanded you.
13 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
14 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God, on which you must not do any work—neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your manservant or maidservant, nor your ox or donkey or any of your livestock, nor the foreigner within your gates, so that your manservant and maidservant may rest as you do.
15 Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and that the LORD your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. That is why the LORD your God has commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.
16 Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that your days may be long and that it may go well with you in the land that the LORD your God is giving you.
17 You shall not murder.
18 You shall not commit adultery.
19 You shall not steal.
20 You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
21 You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house or field, or his manservant or maidservant, or his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”
31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
Stop Coveting and Run Your Race
John shares what he sensed God saying to him over the summer: “Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Stop coveting someone else's life and run your race.”
He did not recognize a longing for someone else's marriage, children, or possessions. But he recognized coveting other people's perceived results, from hunting food plots to ministry fruitfulness.
“I know how hard I work. I know how much I put in.” Yet comparing results kept him from running his own race.
Coveting is one of the biggest barriers to running the race God has called you to run.
You cannot compare a 4.7-second 40-yard dash with a 10-hour Ironman. They are different races.
Fix your eyes on Jesus. Throw off what entangles you. Run with perseverance the race marked out for you.
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
3 Consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Coveting Is Not Without Consequences
Coveting can grow into scheming, judging, and gossip. Speaking against someone who has what you want can steal their reputation.
Achan coveted what belonged to God, and the army suffered. Israel wanted a king like other nations. David coveted another man's wife, and his family and nation suffered.
Even in the garden, with everything except one tree, Eve desired what she could not have. Perfect circumstances did not prevent coveting.
John describes coveting as the orphan spirit at work: “You had a good father who was good to you. I am alone, so I have to take what is yours.” This needs healing through the Father's love.
It is better to have little and enjoy God than to have everything and a hollow soul.
2 Meanwhile, Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth-aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, “Go up and spy out the land.” So the men went up and spied out Ai.
3 On returning to Joshua, they reported, “There is no need to send all the people; two or three thousand men are enough to go up and attack Ai. Since the people of Ai are so few, you need not wear out all our people there.”
4 So about three thousand men went up, but they fled before the men of Ai.
5 And the men of Ai struck down about thirty-six of them, chasing them from the gate as far as the quarries and striking them down on the slopes. So the hearts of the people melted and became like water.
6 Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown before the ark of the LORD until evening, as did the elders of Israel; and they all sprinkled dust on their heads.
7 “O, Lord GOD,” Joshua said, “why did You ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites to be destroyed? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan!
8 O Lord, what can I say, now that Israel has turned its back and run from its enemies?
9 When the Canaanites and all who live in the land hear about this, they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. Then what will You do for Your great name?”
10 But the LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! Why have you fallen on your face?
11 Israel has sinned; they have transgressed My covenant that I commanded them, and they have taken some of what was devoted to destruction. Indeed, they have stolen and lied, and they have put these things with their own possessions.
12 This is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies. They will turn their backs and run from their enemies, because they themselves have been set apart for destruction. I will no longer be with you unless you remove from among you whatever is devoted to destruction.
13 Get up and consecrate the people, saying, ‘Consecrate yourselves for tomorrow, for this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Among you, O Israel, there are things devoted to destruction. You cannot stand against your enemies until you remove them.
14 In the morning you must present yourselves tribe by tribe. The tribe that the LORD selects shall come forward clan by clan, and the clan that the LORD selects shall come forward family by family, and the family that the LORD selects shall come forward man by man.
15 The one who is caught with the things devoted to destruction must be burned, along with all that belongs to him, because he has transgressed the covenant of the LORD and committed an outrage in Israel.’”
16 So Joshua arose early the next morning and had Israel come forward tribe by tribe, and the tribe of Judah was selected.
17 He had the clans of Judah come forward, and the clan of the Zerahites was selected. He had the clan of the Zerahites come forward, and the family of Zabdi was selected.
18 And he had the family of Zabdi come forward man by man, and Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, was selected.
19 So Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and make a confession to Him. I urge you to tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
20 “It is true,” Achan replied, “I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I did:
21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful cloak from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers who ran to the tent, and there it all was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath.
23 They took the things from inside the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites, and spread them out before the LORD.
24 Then Joshua, together with all Israel, took Achan son of Zerah, the silver, the cloak, the bar of gold, his sons and daughters, his oxen and donkeys and sheep, his tent, and everything else he owned, and brought them to the Valley of Achor.
25 “Why have you brought this trouble upon us?” said Joshua. “Today the LORD will bring trouble upon you!” And all Israel stoned him to death. Then they stoned the others and burned their bodies.
26 And they heaped over Achan a large pile of rocks that remains to this day. So the LORD turned from His burning anger. Therefore that place is called the Valley of Achor to this day.
2 The name of his firstborn son was Joel, and the name of his second was Abijah. They were judges in Beersheba.
3 But his sons did not walk in his ways; they turned aside toward dishonest gain, accepting bribes and perverting justice.
4 So all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah.
5 “Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”
6 But when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” their demand was displeasing in the sight of Samuel; so he prayed to the LORD.
7 And the LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in all that they say to you. For it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected Me as their king.
8 Just as they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking Me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.
9 Now listen to them, but you must solemnly warn them and show them the manner of the king who will reign over them.”
10 So Samuel spoke all the words of the LORD to the people who were asking him for a king.
11 He said, “This will be the manner of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them to his own chariots and horses, to run in front of his chariots.
12 He will appoint some for himself as commanders of thousands and of fifties, and others to plow his ground, to reap his harvest, to make his weapons of war, and to equip his chariots.
13 And he will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.
14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his servants.
15 He will take a tenth of your grain and grape harvest and give it to his officials and servants.
16 And he will take your menservants and maidservants and your best cattle and donkeys and put them to his own use.
17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves.
18 When that day comes, you will beg for relief from the king you have chosen, but the LORD will not answer you on that day.”
19 Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to Samuel. “No!” they said. “We must have a king over us.
20 Then we will be like all the other nations, with a king to judge us, to go out before us, and to fight our battles.”
21 Samuel listened to all the words of the people and repeated them in the hearing of the LORD.
22 “Listen to their voice,” the LORD said to Samuel. “Appoint a king for them.” Then Samuel told the men of Israel, “Everyone must go back to his city.”
2 One evening David got up from his bed and strolled around on the roof of the palace. And from the roof he saw a woman bathing—a very beautiful woman.
3 So David sent and inquired about the woman, and he was told, “This is Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite.”
4 Then David sent messengers to get her, and when she came to him, he slept with her. (Now she had just purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she returned home.
5 And the woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, “I am pregnant.”
6 At this, David sent orders to Joab: “Send me Uriah the Hittite.” So Joab sent him to David.
7 When Uriah came to him, David asked how Joab and the troops were doing with the war.
8 Then he said to Uriah, “Go down to your house and wash your feet.” So Uriah left the palace, and a gift from the king followed him.
9 But Uriah slept at the door of the palace with all his master’s servants; he did not go down to his house.
10 And David was told, “Uriah did not go home.” “Haven’t you just arrived from a journey?” David asked Uriah. “Why didn’t you go home?”
11 Uriah answered, “The ark and Israel and Judah are dwelling in tents, and my master Joab and his soldiers are camped in the open field. How can I go to my house to eat and drink and sleep with my wife? As surely as you live, and as your soul lives, I will not do such a thing!”
12 “Stay here one more day,” David said to Uriah, “and tomorrow I will send you back.” So Uriah stayed in Jerusalem that day and the next.
13 Then David invited Uriah to eat and drink with him, and he got Uriah drunk. And in the evening Uriah went out to lie down on his cot with his master’s servants, but he did not go home.
14 The next morning David wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah.
15 In the letter he wrote: “Put Uriah at the front of the fiercest battle; then withdraw from him, so that he may be struck down and killed.”
16 So as Joab besieged the city, he assigned Uriah to a place where he saw the strongest enemy soldiers.
17 And when the men of the city came out and fought against Joab, some of David’s servants fell, and Uriah the Hittite also died.
18 Joab sent to David a full account of the battle
19 and instructed the messenger, “When you have finished giving the king all the details of the battle,
20 if the king’s anger flares, he may ask you, ‘Why did you get so close to the city to fight? Did you not realize they would shoot from atop the wall?
21 Who was the one to strike Abimelech son of Jerubbesheth? Was it not a woman who dropped an upper millstone on him from the wall, so that he died in Thebez? Why did you get so close to the wall?’ If so, then you are to say, ‘Your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead as well.’”
22 So the messenger set out and reported to David all that Joab had sent him to say.
23 The messenger said to David, “The men overpowered us and came out against us in the field, but we drove them back to the entrance of the gate.
24 Then the archers shot at your servants from the wall, and some of the king’s servants were killed. And your servant Uriah the Hittite is dead as well.”
25 Then David told the messenger, “Say this to Joab: ‘Do not let this matter upset you, for the sword devours one as well as another. Strengthen your attack against the city and demolish it.’ Encourage him with these words.”
26 When Uriah’s wife heard that her husband was dead, she mourned for him.
27 And when the time of mourning was over, David had her brought to his house, and she became his wife and bore him a son. But the thing that David had done was evil in the sight of the LORD.
16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world.
Desire Is Not the Problem
God invites us to ask, seek, knock, pursue wisdom, and desire spiritual gifts.
Our problem is not that we desire too much, but that we desire too little. We settle for temporary things when God invites us to desire Jesus, his kingdom, his Word, his ways, his Spirit, and his glory.
What God gives your neighbor is an instrument for their song of worship. He has given you instruments for yours.
Use the relationships, responsibilities, and resources he has entrusted to you to worship him. You do not have their calling to play their song. You have yours.
4 if you seek it like silver and search it out like hidden treasure,
A Different Mindset
- Delight in the Lord. Turn your attention and affection toward him through worship, meditation, and time with him. Delighting in the world leaves you chasing the desires of the flesh.
- Practice gratitude. It is hard to celebrate and covet at the same time. Keep the celebration journal going. Fill your life with thanksgiving.
- Tend your garden. Stop trying to move your fence onto your neighbor's lot. Wholeheartedly tend the time, place, season, and calling God has given you. Let him move the boundary lines.
- Trust his timing. John applies God's promise to withhold no good thing this way: if he is not giving it to me now, I can trust that it is not good for me now. That does not mean it will never come.
Do not jump the guardrail into someone else's lane. Keep running your race with perseverance.
6 The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.
7 I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me.
8 I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
Can You Trust That He Is Good?
Enjoying God and the life he has given you is a heart posture, a mindset, a perspective, and a commandment.
Can you trust that he made you, placed you, prepared good works for you, and has given you what you need for life and godliness?
Can you trust that he is working for your good, forming you into the likeness of Jesus, and can use for good what was intended for harm?
Even when you are not enjoying him or your life, he is enjoying you. He delights in you and rejoices over you.
Maybe his enjoyment of you will create your enjoyment of him.
29 For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
What Does the Holy Spirit Want to Say to You?
Maybe he wants to speak about the long game, your fire, or running your race and enjoying the life he has given you.
Come with the expectation that God is speaking and has something to say to you.
Holy Spirit, speak to us, show us, lead us, and guide us. May we be deeply rooted. May we have fires that burn. May we enjoy you and be free from the lustful longing for someone else's life.
You made us, breathed life into us, redeemed us, and marked out a good and beautiful race for us. May we run it. In Jesus' name, amen.
