(Disclaimer: This transcript is auto-generated and may contain mistakes.)

As a result of David's sin that he committed with Bathsheba where he committed adultery and murder, he's reaping a lot of consequences for that in the subsequent years. And one of those things that he reaps as a result is that Absalom, his son, rebels against him, takes over his kingdom. He actually has to flee from Jerusalem, flee from his own kingdom. Absalom takes over and is reigning in his stead. And this is the battle that culminates between Absalom's armies and David's armies. And if you remember David, even though he's fighting against his son Absalom, trying to get his kingdom back, he tells his generals and captains to deal kindly with his son Absalom for his sake. Not to kill him, but to keep him alive. Even though they're fighting against their armies, he did not want him to be slain. Well, of course, in chapter 18 we see that Joab, David's main general, he shows no mercy on Absalom. He kills him and he's going to send the message now to King David that that has taken place. Now go to verse 19 if you would. It said, Then said Ahima has, the son of Zadok, let me now run and bear the king tidings, how that the Lord hath avenged him of his enemies. And Joab said unto him, thou shalt not bear tidings this day, but thou shalt bear tidings another day. But this day thou shalt bear no tidings, because the king's son is dead. Then said Joab to Cushai, go tell the king what thou has seen. And Cushai bowed himself unto Joab and ran. So they've won the battle, they've defeated Absalom's army, but also Absalom has been killed. And remember they all heard how that David had said it was really important to him that Absalom would not be killed. Well he has been killed. So Ahimaaz wants to go run and bring the message unto David saying, you know, we've won the battle. We've been victorious. And Joab tells him, no don't go because the king's son is dead. You don't want to bring that bad news basically. And so he chooses another man instead and he says, Cushai I'm going to send you to bring this bad news and to tell the king what has happened. So he sends Cushai and Cushai takes off running with the message. Well then Ahimaaz says in verse 22, then said Ahimaaz the son of Zadok yet again to Joab, but howsoever let me I pray thee also run after Cushai. And Joab said, wherefore, meaning why, wilt thou run my son seeing that thou has no tidings ready. But howsoever said he let me run. And he said unto him run. Then Ahimaaz ran by the way of the plane and overran Cushai, meaning that he ran faster. So even though Ahimaaz left second, he actually beats him to David. And when he gets to David, he brings him the good news only. He brings him the good message, the positive message. He outruns Cushai and he says, you know what, we've won the battle. He says in verse number 28, all is well. And he fell down to the earth before the king and said, blessed be the Lord thy God, which hath delivered up the men that lifted up their hand against my lord the king. Verse 29, and the king said, is the young man Absalom safe? That was what was important to him. And Ahimaaz answered, when Joab sent the king's servant and me thy servant, I saw a great tumult but I knew not what it was. Now that is just a bold faced lie. Because if you remember when Ahimaaz first wanted to run, Joab specifically told him, the king's son is dead. You don't want to bring that message. David asked him point blank, is Absalom alive or dead? And he says, oh well, there was a lot of commotion. I don't really know what happened. But hey, we won the battle. Everything's great. So they wait because Cushai is right behind him, the man whom he outrun. And it says in verse number 31, behold Cushai came and Cushai said, tidings my lord the king, for the Lord avenged thee this day of all them that rose up against thee. And the king said unto Cushai, is the young man Absalom safe? And Cushai answered, the enemies of my lord the king and all the rise up against thee to do thee herpes as that young man is. So he's indirectly answering the question, basically saying, you know what, he's dead. And of course, David's very upset and he wishes that he had died instead of his son Absalom. But what I want to preach about tonight is the subject of running. Now the Bible actually talks a lot about running. It's interesting, as I was studying this subject on running, just well over a hundred times the Bible specifically mentions people running. And there are a lot of different reasons why they ran. I'm going to get into a little bit of that tonight. But first of all, we see in this story that these men are running as messengers. This is a form of communication back then. They didn't have, you know, a walkie talkie. They didn't have a radio system. I mean, if they're going to get a message across a long distance, they would send a man running on foot with that message to carry the message. And that's what we see taking place here. Now God often likens preachers or prophets unto these type of running messengers. Go if you would to Jeremiah chapter 23. In Jeremiah 23, he uses this illustration in a negative way about preachers. But all throughout the Bible, you'll find where God compares a prophet or a preacher to one of these running messengers of old that would bring messages in battle. And in Jeremiah 23, we see an example of that. While you're turning to Jeremiah 23, I'll give you a quote from Habakkuk chapter 2 where the Bible reads, write the vision and make it plain upon tables that he may run that readeth it. Basically referring to Habakkuk as a messenger, bringing the news, running. The Bible says how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring glad tidings of good things. Talking about them running forth with the message of the gospel. But look at Jeremiah chapter 23 verse 21. The Bible says, I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. Now stop and think about this. Isn't this a little bit similar to what we saw in 2 Samuel 18? Because in 2 Samuel 18, we see a man running with a message who was not sent to carry that message. I mean, he was told, you're not going to carry a message today. You're not supposed to run. Cushai is going to run. He's going to bring a negative message. He's going to go and he's going to tell the king that his son's dead. Ahimeyaz wants to run. He wants to carry this message. And Joab, the one who's sending him, says, no, there's no reason for you to run. You don't have any tidings. You don't have any news to tell. And he says, let me run anyway. And he says, okay, you can run. And he says, he's going to run behind Cushai. Is that what he did? No, he outran Cushai and brought a message that he was not authorized to bring, that he was not told to give. So that's similar to what we see here of these prophets. They bring a message and they haven't been sent by God. They're running, but he didn't send him to run. Kind of like Ahimeyaz ran, not sent by Joab. He says, I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. Let's see what these prophets are like that were not sent by God. And we'll see their similarities with Ahimeyaz. Go back, if you would, to verse 14. It says, I have seen also in the prophets of Jerusalem a horrible thing. They commit adultery and walk in lies. And let me tell you something. There are a lot of prophets out there and preachers out there today that live in this kind of sin. The Bible talks about in 2 Peter chapter 2 that there would be false prophets having eyes full of adultery and that cannot cease from sin. And the Bible says they walk in lies. They strengthen also the hand of the evildoers. We're going to come back to that. That none doth return from his wickedness. They are all of them unto me as Sodom and the inhabitants thereof as Gomorrah. Therefore, thus saith the Lord of hosts concerning the prophets. Behold, I will feed them with wormwood and make them drink the water of gall. For from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land. Thus saith the Lord of hosts, hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you. They make you vain. They speak a vision of their own heart and not out of the mouth of the Lord. Watch verse 17. They say still unto them that despise me, the Lord hath said, you shall have peace. So they're basically saying unto people that hate God, right? They're saying to the people that despise the Lord, you're going to have peace. They're strengthening the hands of the evildoers. Do you see that? And it says they say unto everyone that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, no evil shall come upon you. Now that's a pretty positive message, isn't it? That's not, hey, peace be unto you. No evil shall come upon you. Your best life now. You know, and it's just this positive only message that says, you know, just love. We just love every, you hate the Lord. We, that's okay. We love you. Peace be unto you. You will be blessed. God bless you all and have a wonderful day. For who has stood in the council of the Lord and perceived and heard his word? Who has marked his word and heard it? Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury. But they're not going to tell you that. Even a grievous whirlwind. It shall grievously fall upon the head of the wicked. They're not going to preach that though. They're all preaching sweetness and light. The anger of the Lord shall not return until he have executed, until he performed the thoughts of his heart. In the latter days, he shall consider it perfectly. I've not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I've not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in my council and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned from their evil way and from the evil of their doings. And God's saying, look, the reason that people are living such a wicked life is because the prophets are not preaching to them that they need to change. And God's blaming the preachers and saying, look, these guys are preaching a positive only message. They're strengthening the hands of the evildoers. Therefore, people get worse and worse and worse because nobody's warning them that they're making God furious, that they're making God angry, and that there's a whirlwind of anger that's going to come down on their head. They don't even know about it because God's trying to warn them and the prophets are not bringing the message. Look, compare that with Ahimeyaz. He was not sent. He was not the one that was sent with the message. Cushai was sent and he had the real message. Ahimeyaz brought a positive only message. He brought half the message. He didn't tell the truth. In fact, he boldfaced lied to him and just told the good part. Yeah, we won the battle. I want to bring the good news. Now ask yourself, why did Ahimeyaz demand to run? Did he just enjoy running? I'll tell you why. He wanted the glory. That's why Ahimeyaz ran. He didn't run to perform a service unto his master Joab. He was not trying to perform a service unto his Lord by bringing the message that his boss wanted him to bring. Instead, he just was looking for personal aggrandizement. He just wanted to get there and be the hero. And it's funny because, you know, hopefully you picked this up as we were reading the chapter at the beginning of the service. But when Ahimeyaz is running, they see him coming a far off. And they say, who is that guy that's running? And they're kind of examining his running style. And they're saying, you know, that looks like Ahimeyaz. And he said, you know, oh, he's a good man. And he's bringing good news. And what did he bring? Good news. And what does that make him? A good man. Because he brought good news, right? And isn't this the mentality that people have today? You know, somebody brings them good news, they're a good guy. Somebody brings me bad news, I'm gonna shoot the messenger. You know, because I, you know, I don't want to hear bad news. Don't tell me bad news. Oh, but it's the truth. I don't want to hear it. Tell me good things. So look, at the end of the day, Ahimeyaz walked away basically when everybody likes him, right? Kushai, on the other hand, is the bearer of bad news. And nobody likes the bearer of bad news. But you know what the Bible teaches here? That our job as preachers is to preach both the good news and the bad news. And that's what Kushai did. He brought both. He brought the message. We've won the battle, but Absalom's dead. He brought the good news and the bad news. And that's what a real preacher does. You see, those who preach a positive only message, they're trying to please man, not trying to please the one who sent them to run. And they're preaching lies. And they weren't sent by God. Those three things. Because the Bible says in Galatians 1 10, for do I now persuade men or God? Or do I seek to please men? Watch this. For if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. So what the Bible is saying here is if you're going to go out to please man, it's better that you just don't run at all. Then if you're going to run to please man, if you're going to run to make yourself look good and glorify yourself, instead of bringing glory unto him that sent you, instead of doing the job that he sent you to do, it'd be better to just not run at all. But what can we learn about running from the Bible? The Bible talks a lot about running. Well, I marked a lot of different reasons why people run in the Bible. And some of the things that kept coming up were, of course, the messengers that we talked about that would run very long distances, bringing a message. And then I also saw a lot of warriors running in the Bible, running to battle. The Bible talks about footmen that would run ahead of the horsemen and run into battle on foot. Also, I think of David and Goliath. When David faced off with Goliath, if you remember, when he had the sling in his hand, he actually ran toward Goliath as he swung the sling, which makes the accuracy of hitting him right between the eyes even more impressive that he was running. You know, God guided that whole battle. Of course, it wasn't David's skill alone. So I saw warriors, and then I saw other people that were running in flight. They're running to escape. You know, they're running in a retreat throughout battles. And then I saw a lot of times that Jesus was preaching. People would run to get there. They would just run to hear Jesus preach. And you remember the rich young ruler, he ran to Jesus to try to get there and talk to him. And people would run and just all throughout the Bible, just lots and lots of running in the Bible. But another reason that people run in the Bible, and this is the one I want to focus on tonight, is they run to race. They basically run in a race. Now, if you would go to Hebrews chapter 12. This is the most famous passage on the subject of running in a race. But one of the types of running that we see in the Bible is that of running a race. And that's what I want to talk about tonight. But the Bible reads in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1, Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. And the cloud of witnesses that he's referring to there are all the great men of faith that he listed in Hebrews chapter 11 that have gone before us. You know, he talked about Abel and Noah and Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and Moses. And, you know, he didn't have time to tell us about Barak and Jephthah and Gideon and Samson and Samuel, David, all of them. But he lists off all these great men of God who did all these great acts by faith in Hebrews chapter 11. And in Hebrews chapter 12, wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses. Basically, these guys are looking on, he says. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. So here God is comparing our Christian life, the life that's lived by faith, to being like a race, and particularly a running race. And he says let's run with patience the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For considering that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your mind. So look at the language of these three verses. We see the word patience in verse one. In verse two we see endured. In verse three we see again endured. And then he talks about being wearied or fainting, basically being tired, quitting is the terminology there. So let me ask you this. What kind of a race do you think life is? If life is likened unto a running race, what kind of a race is this that we are running in our lives? Now there are all different types of races in running, right? I remember when I was a kid it was all measured in yards. Now it seems like everything's a meter, right? But when I was a kid it was the, you know, the hundred yard dash and the 400 yards and the 1500 yards and, you know, there'd be the hurdles and the, you know, there'd be the mile and then there'd be the these different races. And now I hear a lot about, you know, the 5k and the 10k. I guess that's 5,000 meters, is that right? 5, 5k meters, 10k meters, the half marathon, you know. And you ask yourself, you know, which of these races would be most like the Christian life? Is the Christian life a sprint? I mean is it just a sprint that just, you know, it's over like, I mean the Bible does say our life's like a vapor, you know, that appeared for a little time in the van. I mean is it just a sprint? Do we just bolt off the starting block and just, you know, give it everything we got and it says, oh it's over, we won. Obviously not. I mean we can look at this language and see endure, patience, you know, weariness, fainting, and we can realize, you know, this is more of a long distance event here because our life is is lasting more than just a few seconds or a few minutes. So this race that we run in our Christian life is an endurance event. It's a long race. It's a distance running thing, okay. And so out of all these different lengths, you know, is it a sprint? Is it the half marathon? Is it the marathon? How long is a marathon? 26.2 miles, right? Now who's ever run a marathon? Now I've never run a marathon. Nobody in the room has. Now my wife told me a joke. She said, how can you tell a person who's run a marathon? Don't worry, they'll tell you, you know. So, you know, they got the sticker on the back of the car or whatever, you know, because very few people have run a marathon. Nobody in the auditorium tonight, myself included, has run that type of a distance because obviously that's a really long way to run, you know, 26 miles. So you say, Pastor Anderson, I think that the the Christian life is like a marathon, you know. You know, it's long. It's a long winded long distance endurance thing. But, you know, there's even races that are beyond a marathon. I just learned about this recently. There's what's called the ultra marathon and there are people who run in ultra marathons that are over a hundred miles. And as I was thinking about this, I decided that life is not a marathon. It's an ultra marathon, okay. And there's a lot that we can learn from this. And I've got seven things tonight that are required if you're going to be a great endurance runner. And these are the things that we need in our lives. If we're going to run with patience, the race that is set before us. If we as preachers are going to be able to run and bring that message, I mean, look, I may as in QShy, they weren't just running a short distance to bring that message. I mean, they could have just waved the flag or something if they're just trying to get a message over a short distance. I mean, they're trying to get a message far away and they're running long distance. If we as preachers are going to go the long haul and carry that message all the way to the finish line and run with patience, you know, we're going to need these attributes of an endurance runner that the Bible teaches us. And even just as a Christian, even if you're not a preacher, the Bible tells all of us that we're in a race, that we're trying to finish our course that God has set before us. And it's amazing how much Paul talks about, you know, finishing the course. And he said that the Galatian church, he said, you did run well. Who with hindered you that you should not obey the truth? He used a lot of references to running in a lot of his epistles. But did you know this? Turn to Isaiah chapter 40 before I get into the seven attributes that we need to have in our lives in order to run the race that God has set before us. Did you know that human beings are basically the greatest runners on earth? Like, you know, you might think of an animal like, you know, a cheetah or a cougar, you know, or a panther, you know, these really fast animals that can run really fast. But see, here's the thing about those animals. They can't run for a long time. They can't really run a long distance. You know, they can run really fast. I mean, they run speeds that are, you know, it would be impossible for you to get away. I mean, you couldn't even begin to get away. I don't have the exact figures in front of me of how fast these animals go. Does anybody know? I'm sure my children, my homeschooled children probably know, you know. Give me some speeds of some cats. What goes 70? Okay, so a tiger goes 52 miles an hour. A cheetah goes 70 miles an hour. Okay, I mean, that's just off the charts, you know. I don't know what the speed record is for a human being, but I know that, you know, if you were on a four-minute mile, you're running pretty fast. Well, that's what, 15 miles an hour? Okay, well, you know, these cats are running, you know, 70 miles an hour, a cheetah. That's really fast, but here's the thing. The cheetah cannot maintain that for as long as a human can run. Now, don't try it because, you know, it's going to catch up to you so fast it's not going to matter, okay? That's not my point. Now, the only animal, the only animal that can even begin, you know, to match a human being for endurance, because you say, what about horses? You know, but horses, they, you know, they have to keep switching horses, you know, when they would, back in the old days, when they would carry messages with postilions and they'd carry the mail and so forth. They had to keep switching to a fresh horse because horses can't really run as long as a human being can run, believe it or not, and there are even races. I've read about races where human beings face off with horses. Who's ever heard of that? And they actually race against, and the people win. If it's a long enough race, you know, if it's now, if it's a sprint, okay, the horse is going to win, but in a long distance, the only animal that can come close to a human being for just the sheer distance that they can run is a dog. Now, dogs can run a long ways, but only when it's cold, only if it's cool out. So, in cold weather, the dog will beat the human in endurance running, but in hot weather, a human being can outrun a dog as far as distance, okay? Now, I'm not saying you can. I'm not saying I can. I'm saying a human being who's in the right shape can, okay? So, it is possible, believe it or not, for a human being to run an ultra marathon. You know, there are people who run 100 miles. There are people who've run over 100 miles without even taking a break, and there are people who regularly run 100 mile distances and even, you know, more than that. So, look at Isaiah chapter 40 verse 29. So, basically, what I'm saying is just because you and I might not be in that kind of shape or be able to run like that, you know, our bodies are capable of that. If we ran every day, if we practiced, if we, you know, eventually, we would be able to do it. In fact, almost anybody can do it. I'll get to that in a moment, but look at Isaiah 40 verse 29. It says, He giveth power to the faint, talking about God, and to them that have no might, basically, those that have no power, no strength. He says, those that have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall. If you notice how children, it seems, just run, and they just have so much energy, and they just don't get tired. They just run around, run around. You think, well, where do they get all this energy? He said, but even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall, but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with eight wings as eagles. They shall run and not be weary. Basically, he's saying they're going to run and not get tired, and they shall walk and not faint. Now, if you're running a really long distance like that, you know, you're going to get tired. You're going to get faint. You're going to become weary, but the Bible says in this race of life that if we wait on the Lord, he'll renew our strength, and we will run and not be weary. You know, this makes me think of the proverbial second wind, right? You know, you're running, and you're tired, and you feel like you can't go anymore, and then all of a sudden something kicks in, and you can you can keep going. The second wind. Go if you would to Exodus chapter 15. You see, this is how life is. Life is an ultramarathon. Life is a long distance running event where you get tired. You get weary. You feel like quitting, but you keep on going. You wait. You continue. You patiently run the race. You endure, and what the Bible teaches us over and over again is that if we just wait, God will renew our strength. What I'm saying is sometimes you're going to come to points in your life where you feel like you can't go on anymore. I mean, you get to a point where you just realize, I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I'm out of energy. I'm out of strength. I can't, you know, I'm going to quit the race. I'm just going to bow out of the race, but God says if we wait on the Lord, he'll renew our strength, and what I think he means there by waiting on him means just keep going and wait for him to renew our strength. Don't stop. Don't quit, because often in our lives the darkest hour is just before dawn, and the Bible says, for his anger endureth but a moment in his favor his life weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning, and so God uses that illustration, but look at Exodus 15. This is a great example of this. It says, so Moses, verse 22, so Moses brought Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur, and they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. That's a pretty bad situation. You're three days out in the wilderness, and you have no water, and when they came to Merah, they could not drink of the waters of Merah, for they were bitter. Therefore, the name of it was called Merah, and the people murmured against Moses saying, what shall we drink? They complained, and he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a tree, which when he had cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There he made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there he proved them. Now this event is referred to in Hebrews chapter 3, and it's not very favorable. When God talks about him proving them at these various stages, he's pretty clear that they failed the test. You know, they complained. They murmured against Moses. Later on, they're going to say, oh man, we wish we never even left Egypt. We wish we would have just stayed there and remained in bondage, and so forth. They failed the test, but look what it says right after this hopeless situation. Three days in the wilderness. There's no water. They're complaining to Moses. He performs a miracle and produces water. Look at verse 27. They came to Elam, where were 12 wells of water and three score and ten at palm trees, and they encamped there by the waters. So basically, if they would have just gone a little further without giving up, without murmuring, without complaining, without failing the test, God had already provided the watering hole. He was leading up to a certain destination. He wasn't bringing him out to die in the wilderness. I mean, what do they think God is doing? Yeah, he's just going to lead out millions of people out of Egypt and just kill them all in the wilderness. What would be the point? But they lacked the faith to realize that God knows what he's doing. God knows where he's leading us, and God was pushing them to their limits a little bit. You know, taking them days without water, pushing them, and that's how our life's going to be. It's not going to be any different. Sometimes God's going to push us to our limits, but the Bible says we will not be tempted above that. We are able, and so God will give us the strength. He'll renew our strength, and we just think, I just can't take it anymore, but if we just take it a little longer, God will show us the light at the end of the tunnel. God will show us the 12 wells of water of Elam and, you know, the three score and ten palm trees. You know, it makes for nice scenery, and he's saying, look, hang in there, and I've got something for you that's going to renew your strength. I'm going to get you out of this mess. You know, I'm going to help you to keep going, and you know, sometimes when you're running, you know, in an ultramarathon, not that I've done it before, but you know, when you're running an ultramarathon, there's probably going to be some times where you have to walk. You know, these guys that run these, I mean, most of the time they're running because, I mean, you know, they're trying to win. They're trying to compete, so they're running the vast majority of time, but sometimes when they come to a very steep hill, because, oh, by the way, these 100-mile ultramarathons, they're not on flat ground. They're up and down hills. They'll go up sometimes 6,000 feet of elevation. I mean, you know, there's rocks and trees and hills and rivers to cross. You know, it's even harder than it sounds, okay, with just being 100 miles. Well, you know, sometimes they have to just walk, but you know what? Just because you have to do a little walking doesn't mean you're going to lose, because this is an endurance race. It's a very long-distance race, and so the Bible says they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. So here's a little advice in your Christian life. You know, if you're running through the Christian life and you're running your heart and you just feel like, I just can't take this anymore. I'm just going to quit. I'm done with it. You know, I'm done soul winning. I'm done with church. I'm done trying to do right. You know, nothing's working out for me. I just can't handle it anymore. You know what the advice is? Instead of just quitting, instead of getting out of the race, why don't you just slow down a little? Why don't you just walk a little bit? Don't quit. Whatever you do, don't quit, and the Bible says they shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint, and look, I'm not saying slow down for the sake of slowing down, but I'm saying, you know what? Sometimes you might need to just slow down a little bit as opposed to quitting. Don't quit. Realize you've got to be in it for the long haul. Go, if you would, to 2 Timothy chapter 2, and we'll talk about the first attribute that's required to be an endurance runner. First of all, number one, you must have patience. Patience. Now, think about it. You're gonna have to be patient. This isn't something that's gonna provide instant gratification. You know, if you're running these kind of ultra distances, you're gonna have to be very patient of a person. You're not gonna be a person that's impatient, that wants everything right now, that's always in a hurry. No, you're gonna have to be very, very patient to go through a race like that, but secondly, you're gonna need endurance. Look at 2 Timothy chapter 2 verse 3. So number one, you need patience. Number two, you need endurance. He said in verse 3 of 2 Timothy 2, thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. So God's commanding us to endure hardness. Basically, he's saying, you know, it's not gonna be easy. Don't expect this race to be something easy, just a little fun run. No, this is gonna be painful. This is gonna be hard. This is gonna hurt. You know, your life is gonna be filled with suffering. The Bible says, for unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake. And that is spoken to every believer at the end of Philippians chapter 1. I believe it's verse 28. He said, it is your job not to just believe on Christ, but also to suffer for his sake. That's what God has ordained us to do, is to suffer for him. You know, of course there's joy. I'm sure that if you're running an ultra marathon, you probably like running. You probably enjoy running. You probably enjoy the scenery. You probably have a lot of fun moments where you see some nice scenery or wildlife or maybe the downhill part might be kind of nice. But, you know, there's also a lot of hardness, a lot of pain. It's not all pain. It's not all hardness, but you better be able to endure the hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. I mean, you're never going to be in endurance running unless you don't have patience and endurance to be able to handle those type of distances. Go to Psalm 19. Psalm 19, I'll show you the next thing you're going to need to be an endurance runner. And again, this isn't about, you know, this isn't a fitness class. You know, this is about living the Christian life. You're going to need patience to endure the Christian life. The Bible says in James 5 verse 11, you're turning to Psalm 19, Behold, we count them which endure. The Bible says if you endure, that's the true happiness. And he says, you've heard of the patience of Job and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful and of tender mercy. You see, Job was running his own race and he had to endure suffering and he had to do it patiently. And if you remember Job's famous quote when he was at the worst moment, at the worst point, he said, though he slay me, yet will I trust him. I mean, he just wasn't going to quit. He said, he know it the way that I take and when I am tried, I shall come forth as gold. He didn't quit. He endured. Now look, don't you think that Job could have quit at some point and sinned foolishly, charged God foolishly, sinned with his lips, just, you know, quit doing right, you know, whatever. Just thrown in the towel. But if you remember, he stayed with it all the way to the end and God blessed the latter end of Job even more than the first. So not only are you going to need patience, are you going to need endurance, you're also going to need strength. Look at Psalm 19 verse 5. The Bible reads, which is as a bridegroom, talking about the sun, this is a poetic psalm about how the sun and the moon and all the stars declare the glory of and he talks about the sun rising and he says that the sun rising is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. Now, if you're rejoicing about running a race, you're probably pretty well prepared for that race, right? Now, if you're going to run a race and you're not confident in your preparation, you're not rejoicing. You're not happy about it. You're not looking forward to it. You're not excited about it. But you know, if you're prepared and you know that you've trained hard, you know that you have the ability to finish the race and you're going to do a good job, you're shooting to win the race, you know, you're excited. You're looking forward to it. You're rejoicing. You're counting down to the time when you can get out there and do what you've been training to do and he says that rejoicing has a strong man to run a race. That shows that in order to run a race effectively, you must be a strong man. See, you're going to need not just patience and endurance. That's not enough. You see, we could find somebody in here in this room today that's maybe not a runner, but maybe they have great patience and great endurance, right? But they're not that strong. They're not going to finish the 100-mile race, are they? Because it's going to take great muscular strength just to perform that type of a race. I mean, just to perform the action of running for 100 miles. I mean, you're going to need tremendous strength. I mean, you're going to need a lot of muscle, right? And the Bible tells us over and over again as believers, because we're making a spiritual application to this, he says to us, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. Be strong in the Lord. And see, over and over again, the Bible tells us that we need strength. And he also says the joy of the Lord is your strength. And he talks about renewing our strength. And so you're going to need patience. You're going to need endurance. You're going to need strength. And you say, well, it says like a bridegroom or a strong man to run a race. Is this sermon only applicable to men? Well, I believe that this sermon applies to male and female, okay? And this is really interesting because obviously we know that men are stronger than women. Does anybody dispute that? Men are stronger than women. Anybody who disputes that can come arm wrestle me right now. And I've issued this challenge many times for any woman to come arm wrestle me. I promise I will win. And it's not because I'm that strong or a bodybuilder or anything. It's just because men are stronger than women. And I've had, so far I've had one, two, three, I've had four women take me up on that and they went down. And I'm, and I have the confidence to say that I will win. So no takers tonight? All right, good. Then I can hurry up and get through my sermon. But you know, you say, well, what about, what about, you know, how does this apply to women? Now here's what's interesting. Men are a lot stronger than women. I mean, there's just no question about that. That's why usually in these type of, you know, whenever you have any kind of a running event, there are always different rules for the men and for the women. You know, it's not the same standards as, you know, like, you know, if you're going to run in the Olympics or, you know, you're going to run a marathon, you know, there are different qualifying times or certain times that you need. It's not going to be the same for men and women because men are stronger than women. It takes a lot of strength to run a race. But what's interesting is that when you're in the slow speeds, you know, when we're talking about a really short sprint, that's where the difference between men and women is very great. I mean, huge difference. Okay. And even in the mile, you know, there's a pretty big difference between the way men and women run. You know, even looking at a marathon, which is a pretty long race, you know, 26.2 miles, there's a pretty big difference between the times that, you know, the fastest men and the fastest women. There's a big gap there because of a strength differential between men and women. But, you know, what's interesting is when you get to a 100-mile race, there's very little difference between the men and the women. Isn't that interesting? So when you get into just a really long race of endurance, there's not as much difference. There's not that much difference. Okay. But still, you're going to need strength to run this race. But, well, I'll get to that later. But anyway, go if you would to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. 1 Corinthians 9. So what do we need so far? First of all, we better make sure that we're running with the right message. I mean, that's what Ahime has taught us. If you're running with the right message, you can smoke kushai and leave them in the dust. But you know what? You're nothing. You're nobody. Because you're bringing the wrong message. You're a liar. God did not send you. You're accomplishing nothing. So first of all, you better make sure that you're signed up for the right race, number one. You better make sure that you're bringing the right message, that you're on the right course, that you're not, you know, taking a sidetrack, you know, and getting disqualified from the race. Because you're not even on the right track. You know, you're not even going where God told you to go. You're not even bringing the message. You know, what's the point? It's vanity. What did Ahime has accomplished? Nothing. All he did was make himself look good. And what's that worth in the end? He's getting preached against thousands of years later in a Baptist church. You know, he might have had a little glory right then and there, but I've heard preachers preach against him many times. I've heard several sermons against Ahime for, you know, bringing a lying message. So get on the right race, but then you're going to need patience. I mean, it's a long race. Life is a long way. And look, let me tell you this. Christianity is not measured in months or years. It's measured in decades. You know, there are a lot of what we call Roman candle Christians, you know, who basically they get all whoa and then they're just gone. It's like, where are they? You're going to do a lot more for God if you're in it for the long haul. If you're running the race with endurance and patience, you need to serve God for a lifetime, not just, oh man, one big soul winning day. You're going to do a lot more just consistently getting out every week, over and over again, in season, out of season. You're going to get more done over the decades. You're going to need patience. You're going to need endurance. You're going to need strength. But number four, you're going to need motivation. You're going to need to be motivated. Look at 1 Corinthians 9 23. Here's Paul's motivation. And this I do for the gospel's sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. And this is where it comes in, in Hebrews 12, when he said, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. You know, we're looking to Jesus in this race to give us motivation to keep going, because I'm sure in a long running race, you're going to constantly be thinking to yourself, why am I doing this? Why keep going? Why not quit now? I mean, I'm in so much pain. I'm in so much suffering. This is crazy. This is brutal. And you know what, there's going to have to be some strong motivation that keeps you from quitting. And that's why he says you've got to keep looking unto Jesus and thinking about the fact that he endured the cross. It's our love of Christ that constraineth us to keep running. When we love him who first loved us, and think about the endurance that he had when he endured the cross, despising the shame. We're going to need motivation. That's why Paul said I'd do it for the gospel's sake. But not only that, Paul had another motivation. It says in verse 24, know ye not that they which run in a race, run all, but one receiveth the prize, so run that ye may obtain. He says, you know what my other motivation is? I'm doing it for the gospel's sake, but I have another motivation. I want to win. I want to earn the prize. I want to be crowned. He says a little bit further down, he says in verse 25, halfway through, now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown. He's saying that their motivation is a corruptible crown, you know, an olive leaf crown or a gold medal or a silver medal. It's all going to be burned up. It's meaningless. He says they do it to earn a corruptible crown, but we do it to earn an incorruptible crown is what he's saying. So basically, Paul had two motivations. He said, number one, I'm looking at Jesus. I'm doing it for the gospel's sake. But he said, number two, I'm doing it because I want to win the crown. I want to earn the reward. See, the Bible says in Colossians 3, 1, you have to turn there. If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. You know, we all in our lives want to achieve things on this earth, don't we? We might want to achieve a certain level of financial success or we want to achieve some kind of a status or we want to make money or we want to, you know, be strong or we want to have friends or we want to be popular or, you know, we want to accomplish goals that we've set. And I'm talking about humanly speaking. I'm talking about carnal man. Maybe it's an educational goal or maybe it's, you know, something that we want to be good at or, you know, we want to produce artwork or we want, you know, just whatever we want to accomplish on this earth. But he says, you know what, our affection should really be on accomplishing something above for the kingdom of God. He says, lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through nor steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. And so he says, you know, lay out the treasures in heaven. He said, let that motivate you. You know, the disciples said to Jesus, Lord, we forsaken all and followed you. What shall we have? He says, you will be paid back a hundred fold. He said, you're going to be sitting on 12 thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel. He said, you're going to inherit everlasting life and a perfect place. You're going to be ruling and reigning. The Bible says, if we suffer, we shall also reign with him. And you say, well, that's not a good reason to run. You shouldn't be trying to get the rewards. You should just try to just do it because it's the right thing to do. Yeah, but God says that is a legitimate motivation to earn rewards. I mean, there are a lot of reasons to do what's right. Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. That's a pretty good reason to run the race because we love him. Because he did it for us. He did more for us than we'll ever do for him. We love him because he first loved us. So, number one, that's a good motivation. Number two, a good motivation to go out soul winning is to get people saved so that they don't go to hell. Our love of people should motivate us. But number three, we should be motivated by the desire to earn rewards, to earn crowns, to lay up treasure in heaven. And also, we're motivated by the fact that if we disobey the Lord, he's going to chasten and chastise us. That's another motivation, a negative motivation. But there are a lot of motivations to do what's right. But you know, the motivations that Paul brings up here in regard to racing is I'm doing it for the gospel. And I'm doing it because I want to win. I want to get that prize. I want to get that crown of glory. So, not only are you going to need patience, endurance, strength, you're going to need motivation. When things get tough, something's got to keep driving you. You have to have a goal. You have to have a vision. I mean, if you just say, well, why are you running today? Why are you running this hundred mile run? Oh, just because I feel like it. You're going to quit. You know, when the blisters come. When the dehydration comes. When the pain comes. When the joints begin to ache and burn. You know, you're going to give up if you're just doing it for fun. If you're just doing it because you feel like it. If you're, well, I just had nothing else to do today. And I heard this event was going on. So, I just figured out, you know, you're not going to finish it. You're going to have to have a very strong motivation and a goal that says, I will finish. In fact, I don't just want to finish. I want to win. That's what's going to keep you going at your fastest. Oh, there might be times that you walk, but you're going as fast as you can because you want to win. But number five, you're going to need temperance. The Bible says in verse 25, are you still in 1 Corinthians 9? Look at verse 25. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. So fight I, not as one that beat at the air. He said, I'm not shadow boxing. My punches are making contact. He says, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest by any means when I preach to others, I myself should be a castaway. Temperance is necessary. And he says, you know what? He that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. What does temperance mean? I think the best definition for it is probably just self-control. Self-control. He talks about keeping your body under control. Basically not letting your body and your body's cravings and the lust of your flesh be the boss. You're the boss. The mind is controlling the body, not vice versa. And there are many people who let their body make the decisions. If they're hungry, they're going to eat no matter what. If they're thirsty, they're going to drink. If they want to commit fornication, they're going to commit fornication because they're just going to gratify the lust of the flesh. You know, and if McDonald's tastes good, they're going to eat McDonald's. And if beer tastes good, they're going to drink beer. You know, and if it feels good to do drugs, they're going to do drugs. And if smoking a cigarette makes them feel good, they're going to smoke that cigarette. Their mind is not telling them, you know, smoking's really good for you. This is really going to enhance your life. This is really going to be good for you. This is going to help you do a better job at running. No, it's just their body has these cravings and they just fulfill the lust of the flesh all the time. Paul is saying that, you know, somebody who's running a race, they have to make self-control type decisions of saying, you know what, I'm not just going to eat what I feel like. I'm going to eat the things that are going to fuel my body best for this race. You know, I'm not just going to do whatever I feel like because I might just feel like sitting around a lot and watching TV, but I can't do that. I have to be constantly running in order to, you know, get stronger. I might have to lift some weights. I might have to do other types of training. I might not feel like it, but I need the self-control to do it anyway. Okay, let's apply that to the Christian life. You know, the Christian life is a life of temperance. It's a life of saying no to the lust of the flesh, saying no to the lust of the eyes. You know, some dirty image is on a billboard or a magazine. We say no, I'm not going to look at that. The temptation is there to, you know, watch TV, to watch Hollywood movies, to fill our minds with garbage, and we tell ourselves no, no, no. You know, we don't feel like reading our Bible, right, but we do it anyway. Now, sometimes we feel like it, but sometimes we don't, but we do it anyway. Why? Temperance, self-control. You might feel like smoking a cigarette, but you don't do it. Why? Because you know that it's not like that ad that my dad found when he was riding a dirt bike out in the desert, and he came upon a lonely cabin, and he walked in that cabin. It was filled with old newspapers from decades and decades ago. He opened up one of them, and it had an ad for cigarettes, and it showed a runner on a racetrack smoking a cigarette, saying it helps my wind. Now, this is before, you know, back then, there was a lot of, you know, lying and advertising about cigarettes because, you know, they hadn't really studied it, and people hadn't figured out the fact, hey, these cigarettes are really bad for you. So, back then, they promoted it and said this helps your wind, and my dad saw that ad in a newspaper of a guy, a racer, smoking a cigarette saying this helps my wind. Well, you know, anybody with a brain today in 2013 knows it's not going to help your wind, but you know what, it's not going to help your Christian life either. Throwing away, you know, five, six, seven bucks on a pack of cigarettes every day, wasting the money that God has given you, wasting the blessings that he's given you, destroying the temple of the Lord that God has given you, you know, hurting your body and making yourself unhealthy, shaving years off your life that you could have been serving him. You know, temperance is when you control yourself, and you keep your body under subjection, as the Bible says here, and keep it under control. You're also number six. You're going to need training. Go if you would to Isaiah chapter six. Isaiah chapter six. So, first of all, you need what? Patience. Number two, what do you need? Endurance. What else do you need? Strength. You need to be strong in the Lord, and the power is mighty, and we have too much weakness today amongst God's people. Weak preaching makes weak Christians. That's the problem. You've got this weak, watered-down, sorry preaching that's not strong enough, and that, you know, it's going to make a weak Christian. So, you're going to need number three, strength. Number four, you're going to need some really serious motivation, because that's what's going to keep you going during the tough times. That's what's going to cause you to endure with patience, motivation. Number five, you're going to need temperance. You're going to need self-control. Number six, you're going to need training. You're going to need practice. Say, well, how does this apply? Well, you know, just like anything else, if you want to be an effective preacher, you're gonna have to get practice preaching. If you're going to want to be a great soul winner, you're going to have to get practice soul winning. If you're going to want to be able to lead the singing, you've got to practice. If you're going to want to play piano, you're going to have to practice. I mean, anything that you do is going to take work, and practice, and dedication. And you know what? There are people who get up every morning, and go to the gym, but you know what? There are people who get up every morning, and read the Bible and pray and the Bible says bodily exercise profited a little exercise thyself rather unto godliness not that there's anything wrong with bodily exercise and I think bodily exercise is actually a good thing but let me tell you something godliness needs to take precedence and you know more important you know if I had to skip a day of exercising or skipping a day of reading the Bible and praying what do you think I ought to skip you know because the soul is more important than the body keeping the soul right keeping the spirit right and so you're gonna need training you're gonna need discipline but seventhly and this is last but definitely not least you're gonna need to be willing to run you're gonna need willingness now this is actually a pretty important point of the sermon we already got you know endurance patience strength motivation temperance training you know that stuff all makes sense right for running but not only that you're just gonna need the willingness to do it you're just gonna need to be willing to do it now look what the Bible says in Isaiah 6 verse 8 and this is the Lord sending out a messenger he's sending out a runner to bring the message unto the people and he says in verse 8 also I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and who will go for us then said I here am I send me here am I send me see he was looking for someone who was just willing to go who's just willing to do it now let me ask you this do you think that most people are willing to run an ultra marathon or do you think the average person is willing if I said hey let's train together for this event you know are you willing to work on this with me but you know let's run this hundred mile race I mean it probably pretty tough to find somebody who's willing to do that because it's not gonna be fun it's not I mean okay it might be fun but it's not gonna be easy it's gonna be hard it's gonna be painful it's gonna be brutal it's gonna be dangerous but you know serving God can be dangerous too many people have been killed for the cause of Christ have they not but the Bible says here you know who will go for us he's just looking for somebody who's willing now one thing that's interesting about this type of long distance running is that honestly more people are capable of doing it and winning probably than even the shorter distance stuff and here's why because if you think about this when you're when you're running at these short distances you know does anybody know a lot about running they could tell me what are those short distance events they're really short a hundred meters okay so what type of times do they come in at on a hundred meters nine and a half is that like the record it's pretty close to the record something like nine nine and a half seconds now think about this if you're running a race where the best guys in the world are doing this thing in nine and a half seconds do you think there's a lot of room for error I mean we're talking about guys are competing based on hundredths of a second tenths of a second I mean these are gonna be some really close races don't you think when you get into a longer race there's gonna be a more of a spread between you know the first place second place third place fourth but man with this kind of a hundred meter sprint it's gonna be just little hair of a difference between these runners right so that means everything's gonna have to be perfect about these runners right there's probably certain body types where you could just look at that body type and say this guy will never set that he's never gonna win that race he will never set the record for the sprint just because of his body type there's gonna be a certain natural born ability that's going to be needed just certain physical attributes certain muscle fibers you know some people are born with more of the the short twitch muscle fiber the long twitch buzz you know it's gonna be certain attributes that are just gonna have to be in born in you to even make you even have the possibility of winning that kind of a sprint and you're probably not gonna see a bunch of guys I'll bet you and I can I don't have a lot of experience with this but I have common sense if we were to line up ten guys that were very good sprinters very good at this hundred meter race I bet you we're not gonna see a lot of difference in style because there's probably just one right way to do it you know because it's just such a science down to the hundredth of a second or 10th of a second I mean they're probably all gonna have similar type footwear similar type of a physical build similar type of technique because it is such an exact science and it's just down to the littlest variation that somebody can win okay but think about this when you're getting into a race that's much longer than that when you getting into a hundred mile ultra marathon you know what you're gonna find a much bigger variation because here's the thing it's not really a science it's not an exact time because people I mean people might the first place might be a half hour before the second place or you know there might be 15 minutes apart two hours apart because it's so crazy and and there's so many variables there's so many things that could happen on the 100 miles there's up hills down there's people that are gonna be hurting themselves and overheating and and you know didn't dehydrated and hyper neutremia you know or whatever hypo neutremia all these different things that could happen so basically it's really a lot more of a free-for-all and really your average guy I'm not saying the average guy is gonna do it but really your average even a woman remember I told you earlier that that even women can can run these things in a similar time as a man why and and look aren't men and women having very different body types I mean men and women's bodies are completely different yet this hundred mile race is like a great equalizer that even a man and a woman could run across the finish line around the same time so I mean it's an equalizer it's not you know oh you're this certain body type you can do it I mean it's really the type of race that theoretically could be for everybody I mean you know man woman tall short you know big small whatever I mean just are you willing to do it I mean are you willing to subject yourself to this type of brutal race and probably very few are willing but I find that interesting when we think about the Christian life as an ultra marathon because the Christian life is also one that's a great equalizer as it were because you know what God's not looking for a certain body type he's not looking for somebody that runs with a certain exact style it's got you got to do exactly like this the only way to get under nine and a half seconds he's not looking for a certain race or color he's not looking for a certain you know physical type he's not looking for one that's outgoing necessarily shy male female you know there's all different I mean look I bet you that there are all types of personalities and all types of running styles and a great variation about what type of foods they're eating going into these hundred-mile things more so than among these sprinters they probably are all eating the same thing practically you know they're all doing the same thing because it's the proven formula to win but let me tell you something when it comes to Christian life this is a race that pretty much anybody can enter I mean it's not gonna be easy it's gonna take patience it's gonna take endurance strength training persistence it's gonna take you know motivation temperance but you know what God is just looking for you to get on the starting block and start running because honestly any of us can run this race say well I'm not as talented as so it's not about talent there's nothing to do with talent it's just about endurance it's about patience it's about wanting it it's about being motivated it's about being willing to suffer I like what the Bible says about pastors he said if any man desire the office of a bishop he desire at the good work if any be blameless the husband of one wife you know he gives qualifications for being a pastor doesn't he he says you know you gotta be the husband of one wife you know by the way that means you have to be a man be the husband of one wife but you know you have to be the husband of one wife and then you know you have to be you know not giving the wine no striker not greedy a filthy lucre on and on not a novice novices means beginner you know you obviously you don't want to put somebody's a beginner as the pastor nothing wrong with being a beginner everybody starts as a beginner right but you know what he says any any I mean you have to meet the qualifications he gives you you know hey here's the you know just like probably to get into some of these races I'm sure you have to show them a certain qualifying time you know in order to get into this race you know you okay I ran over here and did this you know there's a qualification but it's just open to any anyone who desires the office of a bishop yeah they have to meet the qualifications but it's opening you know the Christian life is like that you know anybody can be a soul winner anybody can be a great church member anybody can can know their Bible anybody can be used by God not everybody's gonna be a pastor not everybody's even gonna be a preacher you know obviously ladies have different roles not not every lady is gonna be a mother other ladies are gonna fulfill other roles you know but but whatever God has called us to do basically there's there's a there's a place for us in the race if we're just willing if we just want to and if we're willing to pay the price and sacrifice and be motivated and train and suffer he says you know what who can I send who wants to run for me who wants to take the word of life and run the race and he's just looking for anybody who will say here am I send me male female boy man woman boy girl young old what's interesting about these ultra marathons some of the people who run them are in their 50s and 60s did you know that now probably the sprinting is it like 100 meter 100 meter are you gonna see a 60 year old from the hundred meter not gonna happen but they say that these ultra marathoners that that the ones oh you know they looked at all these ultra marathons they looked at people who ran when they were 19 and they looked at when they were 20 and 21 22 and they figured out that somebody who's a really dedicated runner and runs these ultra marathons they're gonna peak at age 27 at 27 they hit their peak right you know starting at 19 and then they slowly get better and better and better 27 is when they peak and then they start to go back downhill again do you know what age they get back down to where they were when they were 19 start when they're 19 they get better and better until they're 27 then they start to slowly decline it's not until they're 64 that they're to where they were when they were 90 basically in these hundred mile things theoretically a 64 year old could cross the finish line with a 19 year old isn't that interesting it's an equal and you know what that's the way the Christian life is young and old you know God can use the old use Moses when he was 80 he used Caleb when he was 85 to do the greatest works of their life and so this message is for man woman boy girl the elderly and the young run let's bow our heads and have a word of prayer father we thank you so much for giving us a race to run that's worth something you know there there are a lot of running races that are out there but they do it for a corruptible crown help us to run for the incorruptible crown help us to give it everything we've got help us to get these seven attributes in our lives help us to bring the right message the truth to a lost and dying world in Jesus name we pray amen