Old Sheet Sermon from Flavil Nichols

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Old Sheet Sermon from Flavil Nichols
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Introductory Thoughts
The writer of Hebrews encouraged his readers to
remain faithful to ChristHe encouraged them to
be loyal to Christ in view of the blessings they
had receivedHe reminded them that God is to be
served with reverence and godly fearThe final
section of Hebrews is designed to encourage
wavering Christians to be more firmly
established in the faith
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Introductory Thoughts
The writer likens the Christian life to the
running of a raceHow is life like a
race? Life like a race has a challenging
course Life like a race has a judge or
judges Life like a race has a finish lineWhat
does it take to be a winner? Mans Perspective
Intelligence Wealth Gods Perspective
Running as described in Hebrews 12How do we
win the race?
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Run with Confidence
Until we see ourselves as winners, we will never
be a winnerWe are winners already because God
created us Genesis 126-27 Our soul is more
valuable than anything Matthew 1626 God
provided the victory 1 Corinthians 1557 We
are children of God 1 John 31 There are many
other passages we could look atUnfortunately,
though, some people walk around looking and
acting like failures
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Proper Attitude
Attitude is important when running a race The
individual who says, "I can't," won't. We must
have a can do attitude In order to run the race
we must be determined Not only to run, but to
finishBefore we can run the Christian race, we
must have a can do attitude We must be willing
to hear the gospel with a view toward
obedience - Matthew 724-27 We must be willing
to count the cost - Luke 1426-33 We must be
willing to hear the Lord and do his will in our
life - John 717
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Proper Nutrition
A runner isn't going to get very far if he hasn't
fed his body the right things Runners need
carbohydrates for energy They need protein for
strong bones and muscles They need water for
lubrication and coolingWe need the proper
nutrition to run the Christian race Bread of
Life - John 635 Milk and Meat - 1 Peter
22 Water of the life - John 413-14 We must
hunger and thirst after righteousness
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Proper Training
A runner isn't going to last very long if he
doesn't train properly One must purge bad
habits and develop good habits To do this
one needs patience, steadfastness, and
discipline One must be willing to endure
painWe need proper training to run the
Christian race Self-discipline Endurance Patie
nce We must be penitent of our sins and change
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Proper Attire
A runner won't last very long without the proper
attire He needs good clothing He needs good
shoesWe need the proper attire to begin the
Christian race Clothing - Matthew
2211-13 Right shoes Ephesians 615 We must
confess Christ and be baptized
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Concluding Thoughts
Are you prepared to run the Christian
race? Have the proper attitude Hear with a
view toward obedience Take the proper
nutrition Believing in Jesus and His
teaching Engage in the proper training Repent
of our sins and change our lives Wear the
proper attire Put on Christ in baptism