"Get Ready; Get Set; GO!"

Starting the Race!

As I was flipping through the channels I came across a channel that was televising the Olympic BMX bike races. There were young men and women from all over the world in this competition and even though they all spoke different languages and grew up in totally different cultures, they all had one thing in common. They had spent many hours on the bike and had practiced for one common race. You could see that they must have gone over a course just like this one many times before. They seemed to know exactly when to stay on the ground and when to hit the jump hard as they flew through the air!

The entire race was over in less than a minute but the announcers would show the winners in slow motion after the race was finished. They showed the moves that had made the difference. The jump that they had hit a little harder and that had taken them over one more obstacle than their competitors; when they pulled out of the curve with a little more speed or the way that they landed coming out of a jump that made the difference in their speed by just a second or two in crossing the finish line ahead of the other competitors.

Then the announcer said something that was very interesting to me. He said that BMX was a mind and body sport and that the riders must have their bodies conditioned for the race but their mind being conditioned is even more important. He said that even if their body is in top condition and their mind is not fully prepared for the race, they will not do well. Then he said that they could have a body not totally conditioned but if their mind was prepared for the race, they still had a chance to win because BMX is much more of a mental sport when it comes to making the right decisions and winning the race.

They showed the racers in the starting line up as they were just moments away from the start. They were checking their helmets, gloves, handles,pedals very quickly one last time and then getting into position for the race. It was interesting that even though they came from all parts of the world, they still all positioned themselves exactly the same on their bikes right before the race started! They knew that any other way wouldn't give them the same advantage as their competitors. They had most assuredly watched videos in the past and saw how the winners had positioned themselves and then they would also have watched the highlights of the race that we too saw many times during the race. The difference would be that these competitors probably had a remote in hand as they would pause their recordings at each jump or landing and study how the winners were doing so that they too could gain the knowledge held by the leader; improving and winning this race one day!

The announcer of this race talked briefly of the accidents and there was almost always an accident or two when the riders would bump each other or someone would land wrong and wipe out, taking one or two more down with them. Sometimes they would show the accidents happening but their emphasis was always on how the riders that won were able to maneuver past the crashing bikes. The announcers never interviewed or showed any sympathy for the loss of the competitors who wrecked their bikes and went crashing to the pavement as the others tried to avoid running over them as they were tumbling across the pavement! Many times though, some of the others would wreck their bikes and sustain injury because of another competitors accident.

As far as the judges and announcers were concerned, all of the emphasis and attention remained on the riders that started the race well; made their way past the obstacles; mastered the jumps and finished the race in good timing.

When it comes to life, we also are running a race? How well would we rank if we were evaluated today? Would we be among the ones who are running the race well?

I can't answer this question for you, but I can answer this question for myself, that is, if I know how to start the race; how to run the race and how to finish the race. One more very important thing that I need to know is, what the prize is that I am competing for in my life. The reason that the prize is so important is because it reminds us to do our very best! We receive our reward when a race is complete and in our life we too will receive a reward for doing our best.

In chapter three of Philippians, Paul talks about this reward and how we should run our race. Let's read verse thirteen,

Philippians 3:13 Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

Paul is talking about reaching forward in this verse but what is he reaching forward to attain?

When I read this verse, I'll be honest with you and tell you that I had to go back a few verses to understand what he was talking about, so I'll fill you in on his meaning here in verse thirteen.

Paul has been talking about his life and how that he had lived his life in the past. He says that he had trusted in his flesh more than any other man at one time in his life. He says that he had persecuted the church with zeal and had been blameless in keeping the law. Paul had done what he had in his life in trying to do his very best and in doing this he had developed a strong confidence in his ability to do it on his own. That was before his conversion on the road to Damascus when Christ had come to him and enlightened him in the ways of God while at the same time took his physical sight away temporarily. The next thing that I'd like to point out is that Paul says that he values all of his gains as a loss for Christ. He says that he had lost all things and that he valued them as scraps for the dogs or dung because it was through this that he had gained the knowledge of Christ. You see, the less that we have of this world to distract us, the more we are able to focus on the finish line.

The time we will be called by our Messiah to join Him in His glory before God!

Paul had realized that it was all of his accomplishments and his possessions that had kept him distracted from the goal that he was focused on; that was winning with Christ. He said in verse eight, "I have no doubt that I value or inventory all things lost for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. "

The key thing I'd like for us to see today is "How we are to start the race!" I believe Paul tells us clearly in this passage that he put all things behind him and got his focus set on his goal!

It is the goal that we must keep in mind when we start the race, not the many obstacles in between. If we focus on the things that must be overcome we will surely start out with a defeated attitude. Don't get me wrong though! We must be prepared for the challenges and the possibility of an accident in the course but our minds must remain focused on what we have learned and the goal that we must reach if we are ever to accomplish what we have prepared mentally to do physically. You see, it starts in the mind or you might say, the minds eye! What we envision is always what we end up with! If you envision crossing the finish line, you will! If you envision receiving the reward and are willing to sacrifice what it takes to reach the finish line, you will receive the reward!

Do we know clearly what our focus is in life? Does it glorify us or does it glorify God? Picture yourself in that BMX Bike competition in the Olympics and all of the spectators are watching you at the starting line getting ready! You're checking your helmet, peddles and focusing on something! What is your goal? What reward do you expect to receive when you reach the finish line?

Our spouse, children, friends and coworkers are the spectators and they are wondering what our goal is also! If they could see our finish line before we even start the race, what would it look like? Remember the saying,"Get ready, get set, go!", used for centuries when starting the race?

Let's get ready and get set; before we "GO!"

I pray that you will set your goal high and be prepared for anything, as Paul puts it in this passage,

Philippians 3:8 Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
Php 3:9 And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:

In the next few posts we will look at "How to run the race"; "What to do if you crash"; "How to finish the race" and "What the reward is for running well". I am looking forward to sharing these with you as we press forward this week!

Let's pray,

My anointed Messiah on High, I come before you laying down the things of this world that I may be able to focus on the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. I haven't lost all things as Paul had in today's passage but I do not want them to be in the way of having my focus on you, my Lord and Savior, so that I also will receive your reward when the race is finished. As I prepare for the course, I need your coaching and guidance that I may be prepared for any of the possibilities that can come my way! I thank you for your grace and mercy and your reward. In Jesus name I pray, amen.