RUN THAT YE MAY OBTAIN | How To Run Significantly Better

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Marita. Marita. If you're watching this today, I want you to understand that you are a prized possession of God. You are meticulously crafted and every single thing, my leader, that you've been doing, it matters. God chose you. And not only did he chose you, he reserved a spot for you. Heavenly Father, in Jesus mighty name, I want to speak about this right now about this race in which we're running.

And Father, as I'm speaking this message, I pray that this leader understands that they are specially meticulously made, that there is no competition, that they only need to run the race that you set before them. Father, let them know that nothing that they're doing is in vain. the way that they serve you, the way that they love you, the stuff that they're doing when they're going out into the world. Father, help them see that the race that they're running is not in vain. Father, I ask that you will lead me. I ask that you will guide me. In Jesus mighty name we pray. Amen. Amen.

My leaders, I want you to open up your Bibles and I want you to open up to 1 Corinthians chapter 9 verse 24. And I'm going to read this. Know you not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize. So run that ye may obain. 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 beatth the air, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I may self should be a cast away. This is good. This is good. This is good. This is good. One of the things that the Lord has me doing this season, and I shared this before, is being disciplined. And when I think about running a race, the first thing that I think about is the individuals who are doing competitive sports, professional athletes. athletes.

And the individuals that are playing professional sports, they just train different. They got a different mentality. They have a different discipline. It's like their brain is wired different. And I told myself this season, if I'm going to run the race that God has for me, I'm going to choose to discipline myself myself just like how they discipline. I'm going to take my workout seriously. I'm going to take my discipline seriously. I'm going to choose not to be slotful this season. And I'm going to realize that the disciplines that I'm doing right now, they're not just carnal. They're for this eternal space that God has reserved for me.

I'm in a parking garage where every single spot has one of these. It's been reserved. reserved. And my heavenly father tells me that he's preparing the mansions for me. There's things and rewards that I'm going to be receiving when I get to heaven that are reserved for me. And as I kept reading, I'm asking the Lord, "Okay, God, what race am I running?" And the race that I'm running is how effectively can I surrender my life to Jesus Christ and crucify my flesh daily? How How can I bring my desires and put them under the authority of Jesus Christ?

How as my heart is changing and I'm trying to become as pure as I can be, how can I serve those who God is calling me to serve? One thing that the Lord showed me the other day, he said, "Michael, if you love me, according to his scripture, he said, "Feed my sheep. And I almost told him, I said, "Okay, God, I'mma do it. I'mma do. I'm I'mma get around to it. I'mma get around to it when I finish doing this. I'mma get around to it, Lord. When I finish doing this, I'm going to get around to it, God.

When I finish doing this, and I realized I had got into the space of trying to do so much things on my own. And I was running my own race versus running the race that God has me. I was running a race of trying to get my bills paid. I was getting running the race of trying to accumulate more money. Nothing wrong with it, but that's the race that I'm running. I was running the race of being so blinded by the fact that although I feel like I'm in first place right now, when I think about the assignment that God has called me to, I'm actually in last place. place.

I ain't been as effective as I'm supposed to be. I've been looking around too much. I've been seeing all the things I don't have. I've been looking at all the gifts that I don't have. I've been looking at all the talents that I don't have. I've been looking at all the things that been missing. And the Holy Spirit had to remind me, Mike, what do you have? What do you have right now that I've told you to keep using? Michael, if you love me, I want you to feed my sheep. So the Lord reminded me in Matthews 25, it speaks very vividly about feeding his sheep, clothing his sheep.

And I want to read this. Matthews 25 verse 35. For I was and hungered and you gave me meat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. Naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came unto me. Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee, and hungered, hungered, and fed thee, or thirsty, and gave thee drink? When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in, or naked, and clothed thee? Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

And the king shall answer and say unto them, verily I say unto you, in as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, you have done it unto me. What I'm reminded very vividly is that no matter if I don't believe that there's people out there for me to serve. There's always people out there for me to serve. And I've come to realize as I'm reading these scriptures that all the individuals that I've ever been called to serve on a day-to-day basis, it's like I've been tested. with the homeless person on the side of the street.

Do I give the resources that I barely have or do I keep it? I've been tested with having to give the clothes away. Do I give the clothes that I that I love to wear away or do I do I clothe this person, the individual that's on the corner, and they're thirsty. They don't even want food. They're just thirsty. This week, I've been tested with having to give the last of my drink away. And it's so beautiful because as I'm reading this scripture, I'm seeing more ways for me to surrender, more ways to give up my resources.

And when I'm first thinking about running this race, my biggest thing was, hey man, how can I how can I create the biggest platform? How can I create the biggest platform? How can I grow my YouTube videos to where it reaches the masses? And I realize as noble as and as mighty as that is, the fact that I want to reach everybody, God is saying, "Hey, my that's not the race I'm calling you to run. run. I want you to be chief amongst the people. And if you're going to be chief amongst the people according to scripture, that means I must become a servant.

My race is to become a servant. I need to serve better. And lately, I found that I've been a little more selfish with my time. And God has shown me, Michael, you need to you need to be more selfless. If you're going to serve like how I've called you to serve, you got to lay your life down for your brethren. And the only way to lay your life down for your brethren is to give up your desires, to give up your needs for behalf of the next man, to sacrifice the things that you want to do. That's what he's showing me.

I need to learn how to sacrifice the things that I want to do for myself so that I can really serve and I can really when I come back to the parking lot in heaven of the space that's been reserved for me. I want all my gifts. I want all my rewards. But the greatest of my rewards is to be at the feet of Jesus Christ. And I want to hear him say, "Well done." And I'm challenging myself more to say, "Hey, Mike." Even as I'm doing this video, I'm speaking to myself. Hey, hey, hey, Mike. Where can you shift?

Where can you surrender yourself more and love on your wife? Where can you surrender yourself more and love on your brother? Where can you surrender yourself more and be a better friend? Where can you surrender yourself more and be a better son? Where can you crucify your flesh, Lay your own wants and desires down, and just simply be a better servant? How can I listen more? How can I listen longer? How can I listen to somebody deeper? Laying my life down. The desire I have to talk. This the desire that I have to be boastful.

The desire I have to want to brag about everything that I'm doing behind closed doors. Let God be the one that sees the things you're doing behind closed doors to serve his people. One thing I realize about this race, the race is not for me to be viewed by the world. world. The race is for me to make sure that I'm pleasing pleasing Aba, Aba, my father who's in heaven. And so my challenge today is how am I running my race? And am I running it in the flesh or am I running it with the spirit of Jesus Christ? Am I feeding the hungry?

Am I giving water to those that are thirsty? thirsty? Am I entertaining strangers that need help? help? H am I visiting those who are in bondage, who are shackled, who are in prison? prison? Am I inviting the homeless or those who are without shelter into my home? Because Because those who can't do anything for me that I'm able to do something for without a need of anything in return without knowing those are the people who the Bible says in as much as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren you have done it unto me.

And the question is, how well are we running the race?