Catch me if you can

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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 12: 1 - 2

Every baton change was secure and it was with great cheers that the British men’s 4 x 100m relay team brought home the gold medal. It had been a rather disappointing week of athletics for Britain but on the final weekend all four relay teams won medals.

Watching relays always reminds me of the analogy of handing the spiritual baton on as an inheritance to the next generation.

An inheritance is something passed on that we get for nothing from someone else who has paid for it. It can catapult us up to the next level. For instance – getting a financial inheritance can help us buy a house we couldn’t possible afford otherwise. Spiritual inheritances work in the same way. We inherit a grace for something, for instance healing, that others have laboured for and may have paid a high price in terms of commitment and even criticism but it makes us more effective for the kingdom.

A natural inheritance gives us something we did not have before but a spiritual inheritance reveals to us something that was there all along but which we had never seen or grasped before. When we realise the inheritance we have, we receive all the knowledge and experience gained by the previous generation. We don’t have to find it, earn it, dig for it, battle for it but just receive and walk in it.

Bill Johnson says that one of the saddest things in the Church is that one generation has never been able to pass on revival to the next generation. Revival has become the boost that the Church receives every few years instead of being the norm. What should be normal is that ‘of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end’ Isaiah 9: 7.

Going back to the analogy of passing on the baton it is as if the next runner takes the baton, looks at it and decides that running the next leg is too hard, demands too much and anyway they are too busy with work and family. Worse still it when the baton is put in a place of honour and revered as ‘the baton from the GB and NI team who won the gold medal in 2017.’ This is like honouring Smith Wigglesworth or John G Lake but not trying to run past them and push into God for the next revelation or grace he wants to impart.

For me the saddest thing is when the next generation take the baton and then goes back to the starting blocks and starts the race all over again, running the same lap as the previous generation. Instead once the baton has been passed, the next generation must take their inheritance and run hard their own race into fresh new things of God.

Jesus ran the first lap and he promised we would do greater things than he did (John 14: 12). That’s the norm. Our forefathers are our example and they are cheering us on the greater deeds, to greater revelation that the Kingdom of God would advance not stagnate or repeat.

Have you ever seen how the previous runner at the hand over, shouts at the next runner exhorting them to run their fastest? May it be the same in the kingdom. As we pass on all we have laboured and fought for, may we urge the next generation to catch hold of everything and then run into a fresh season of revelation with faith and anointing to increase the Kingdom and see Jesus revealed in ever greater measure.

Running the race with perseverance

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, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith.

I was playing a bowls match in South Africa to decide the winner of the ladies competition at our small club.  It was not an important fixture except for the two of us involved.  It was a hot day and I just about had the edge and was slightly in the lead but my opponent would not give up. She was hot, desperately wanted a drink but just kept persevering.

When she did not do well, she just said, ‘Well I must try harder and do better’ and she did. She would not give in and in the end her perseverance paid off and she won the match.  I kept thinking why don’t you just let me win but no, she was not going to be defeated.

The analogy is obvious but I know, too often, I just want to give up and give in to temptation, disappointment, hurt and rejection. It is sometimes easier to listen to the lies of the enemy and feel sorry for myself instead of persevering, standing firm and just keep trying. It is hard to do better when you feel like you are failing.  The key of course is to fix our eyes on the prize and better still the prize giving and the person who is handing out the prizes.

The prize giver is not just a celebrity who has little to be proud of other than the fame they have acquired. Our prize giver is the pre-eminent overcomer; the man who never gave in or gave up. The person who persevered and won the ultimate prize and we share in the benefits that he won for us because his race was not for his benefit but ours. Yes Jesus victory on the cross meant his glorification and exaltation to the highest place but we are the chief beneficiaries.

It can be hard when we are being tested and everything in us just wants to give up but the writer of Hebrews says in verse 3 of chapter 12 ‘Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.’ The answer is always Jesus and fixing our eyes on him and considering what he did for us, will give us the boost we need to persevere and do better.

We will see victory if we do not give up but even if we fail, God’s loving arms are there to pick us up, dust us down and help us start all over again. There is a great cloud of witnesses cheering us on who have been there before us and encouraging us to succeed. With their support and Jesus’ we have all the encouragement we need to persevere and win our race. 

Games Pastors

How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Isaiah 52:7

The Olympic Games are almost over; just two days to go and I have enjoyed watching just some of the action. There has been such joy for the athletes who have won medals and such disappointment for the many who may not have even qualified for a final.  Yet all of them have displayed such dedication and determination. They have trained for years sometimes for a few seconds of a race and behind every athlete is a team of just as dedicated and determined coaches, physiotherapists, psychologists, dieticians and so on.

All of them will have been there during the years of training through the cold, dark winter months, the early mornings, the hours in the gym or pool and though they may not have been running, swimming, rowing or participating in the actual race, they have played a vital part in the success of the athlete.  Only one person may have actually won the medal but the support team made it all possible.

For the last two weeks I have been a Games Pastor working on some of London stations.  Every day we walk for hours round the station talking to people, helping them on their way, encouraging them and talking about faith when appropriate. We have even been able to pray with people.  Behind me though has been my support team of encouragers, prayers and intercessors supporting me on my journey. 

I have met so many interesting people and talked to many from travellers to the police who have come to London from all over the UK, the Network Rail people who normally work in offices around the country who for two weeks are supplying vital information to travellers, to the security staff who have made sure everyone gets on their way safely.  Everyone has served with good humour and kindness. I have met those eager to find a greater depth of meaning to their lives and those whose lives are in a mess. I have met those who profess no belief to born again Christians happy to talk about their faith.

Behind all of my endeavours and the work of Games Pastors is the support team whose sterling work has made it all possible. I am sure many Games Pastors would have given up weary beyond measure and discouraged if it had not been for the dedicated prayers and encouragement of those at home faithfully praying.

In the Olympics only the athlete gets the medal. The support team do not.  In the Kingdom we all get the medal, we all get to share in the success of the one on the front line.  You may not be called to be out there but your support in prayers, finances and encouragement is vital and your reward assured. Do not believe the lie that your prayers are insignificant; they are the vital lifeline to give strength, faith and encouragement to the one who is bringing the Kingdom to others.

Today ‘let us not become weary in doing good’ (Galatians 6: 9) but be encouraged that your prayers make such a difference and your reward in the work is assured. God sees and knows and he is so proud of every one of us involved in the business of the Kingdom bringing good news, life and hope to the poor.