World Cup and Successful Living

     Gospel News

I have followed the World Cup soccer tournament from a distance.  I have watched very little, but I am aware of the scores and I find the patriotism interesting to observe. 

A great part of living in the New York City area is that we have people from around the world as neighbors.  This week I ate at a restaurant where the cook was from the Ivory Coast.  We talked World Cup soccer.  People in our church have ties to many of the nations in the tournament. 

In sports, there are winners and losers  - but mostly losers.  Take the World Cup as an example.  There are about 200 countries in the world, but only 32 nations were able to send a team to South Africa.  Many great nations, like Canada, are not represented.  Of the 32 teams, half are eliminated after playing three games.  A few teams are happy just to be in the tournament, but most go home dejected at the failure to advance. 

The rest of the World Cup will be played in such a way that winners keep playing, while the losing club is sent home.  On July 11th, one team will be declared the champion.  There will be only one successful team, and all the others will fall short.

Thankfully our Christian faith is not like sports.  As we follow Christ, we can all be successful.  Hebrews 12:1-3 puts it this way,

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 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. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

The image that this passage brings to mind, is that we have a great crowd of witnesses cheering us on in the faith.  This crowd are people of faith who have completed the race.  They speak to us by their example of a life

well lived.

The writer of Hebrews knows that Christians are prone to weariness in their journey of faith.  He says that we are to look to Jesus, the ultimate example of endurance as He went to a cross for our salvation.  As we look to Jesus we are less likely to ‘grow weary and lose heart.’ 

Our passage tells us that we have a ‘race marked out for us.’  We need not be a world class athlete to be successful.  We need not have a list of celebrities in our social network to have meaningful relationships.  Our family life need not look like a Hallmark card for us to leave a legacy on this earth.  As long as we focus on Jesus, we will follow the race marked out for us.

As a pastor, I know many of us go through seasons of discouragement.  Life sends us many challenges and there are times when our faith is more of an effort than a joy.  These times call for us to find encouragement in what God has done in the past. 

The crowd of witnesses in Hebrews 12 refer to the people of faith in the previous chapter.  Hebrew 11 has been called the Hall of Faith, referring to the men and women of faith from the Old Testament.  We have added stories today with the 2000 years of church history.

If you are the kind of person who likes to read books in the summer, consider reading stories of great people of faith from the history of the church.  Their story will encourage you in your story of faith.

It is my prayer that you will be encouraged in your faith this summer.  God has a race marked out for you.  Only you can run your race.  We share in the joys of others and we seek to encourage one another in the unique calling that God has upon our lives. 

Let us run our race well.  In the words of Ephesians 3:20, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”  May God give us the strength we need to run the race marked out for us.

-Pastor Rick

Fort Lee Gospel Church

1625 Palisade Ave.                     Fort Lee, NJ 07024           (201)947-1465   

Pastor:

Rev. Rick Spenst                       

Web site: www.fortleegospel.org

E-mail:

fortleegospel@juno.com