Four More Yards!

Micah 7:8

8 Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy: when I fall, I shall arise; when I sit in darkness, the LORD shall be a light unto me. [i]

Walter Payton ran for nine miles in his career.

§  When they figured up his stats, they realized that he was knocked down every four yards!

How would you like to run 4 yards and get knocked down?

If that would have been the recruiting slogan, I doubt there would have been many takers!

But, the secret to his success was that he didn’t stay down!

He got up and ran 4 more yards. It didn’t seem like much, but at the end of his career he discovered he’d ran 9 miles, 4 yards at a time!

Walter Payton went down in history as one of the greatest running backs in the NFL, not because he never got knocked down, but because when he did get knocked down, he didn’t stay there!

He got up and ran four more yards!

Was he bruised? YES

Was he hurting? YES

Was he discouraged? YES

But in spite of the pain, in spite of the discouragement, he determined, “Mr. Opponent, you might knock me down, but I’ll get up and run again! I’ll be your worst nightmare! I’ll be the one who’s tapping you on the shoulder with a big grin on my face as you celebrate your victory!”

I.)                TOUCHDOWNS ARE OFTEN SCORED FOUR YARDS AT A TIME!

 

Many of us are waiting for the big break, the glory run, the 98 yard run back, but most of the game is played 4 yards at a time!

Nothing fancy, nothing glamorous, just grinding away, a little bit at a time.

The great players are not the ones who come out, and the first time they get knocked down, walk off the field and say,

§  “I’m bored, I’m going to another game where things will be easier!”

§  “This is too rough for me, I’m out of here!”

§  “There is too much opposition, I quit”

The great players are the ones who jump up, get back in the huddle, and go run another 4 yards!

§  Plugging away,

§  Getting muddy,

§  Getting dirty,

§  Getting bruised,

§  Busted lips

§  Black eyes

But, not giving up! Just going 4 more yards!

I might get knocked down again, but once again, I’ll get right back up!

When I stand before the great judgment seat, and my life is reviewed, let it be said that I ran 9 miles, even if I did it 4 yards at a time!

I didn’t give up the first time I got knocked down!

I might have been knocked down 4000 times, but the key is I got back up 4001 times!

The race is not to the swift, but to he that endureth to the end!

Paul said, “I’ve looked back over my life, and determined that I’ve fought a good fight, I’ve kept the faith, I’ve finished the course!”

 

§  I didn’t do it glamorously, I just did it 4 yards at a time!

§  I didn’t do it without stumbling a few times, but I got back up and kept running!

§  It was a fight, the enemy didn’t lay down and let me run over him!

But, I did it! I finished! I made heaven my home, 4 yards at a time!

II.)              LET ME SHARE TWO THINGS THIS MORNING ABOUT RUNNING FOUR YARDS AT A TIME.

A.)     It’s not glamorous! In fact, it’s rather boring!

 

Most of us have a problem with boredom.

We can handle enemies, we can handle adversity, but often times, pure old boredom brings us down!

§  Israel’s greatest test was in enduring the monotony of eating manna for 40 years!

§  David was anointed King over Israel, but then had to go back to the pastures to tend sheep.

§  Jesus was baptized and then had to go into the wilderness.

Many people want the glory, but don’t want to pay the price of just grinding away in anonymity to reach the goal.

Many people want the glory, but don’t want to work for it!

§  Too many saints want to dance, but don’t want to spend the hours in intercessory prayer!

§  Too many people want to operate in the gifts of the Spirit, but don’t want to go into the highways and byways to witness to lost souls!

§  Too many singers want to sing, but don’t want to push the plate away to fast for a move of God!

§  Too many preachers want to preach, but don’t want to spend the hours in the Word that it takes to preach with anointing!

§  Victory seldom comes with glory, but more often with unseen intercession!

More often than not, we move into our destiny 4 yards at a time!

No one is broadcasting our exploits, we’re laboring in anonymity, just grinding away!

It’s boring, it’s uneventful, it’s not flashy, but it’s the way to victory!

You study the life of David, which I do regularly, and you’ll find that before he entered the stage of the valley of Elah, with the eyes of thousands of spectators focused intently on his performance, that he won two battles when no one was watching!

David’s first victory didn’t happen in front of thousands, his first victories came in private.

§  He killed a lion, simply because it was the right thing to do!

 

§  He killed a bear, simply because it was the right thing to do!

 

§  There was no fanfare, no audience, no cheerleaders on the sideline shouting “David, David, he’s our man, if he can’t do it, nobody can!”

It was just him, his enemy, and His God!

(WAR VETERAN)

§  I’ll tell you, when you’re fighting your fight, most of the time the band ain’t playing!

 

§  When you’re pressing to your victory, the band ain’t always playing!

 

§  But, we need to learn to press on, even though it’s not glamorous, even though it’s not flashy, even though no one’s singing your praises!

 

I am a soldier in the army of my God! The Lord Jesus Christ is my Commanding Officer! The Holy Bible is my code of conduct! Faith, prayer and the word are my weapons of warfare! I have been taught by the Holy Spirit, trained by experience, tried by adversity and tested by fire! I am a volunteer in this army, and I am enlisted for eternity! I will either retire in this army at the rapture or die in this Army; but I will not get out, sell out, be talked out or pushed out! I am faithful, reliable, capable and dependable!

If my God needs me, I am there! If He needs me in Sunday School, to teach children, work with youth, help adults or just sit and learn, He can use me, because I am there! I am a soldier! I am not a baby! I do not need to be pampered, petted, primed up, pumped up, picked up or pepped up!

I am a soldier! No one has to call me, remind me, write me, visit me, entice me or lure me! I am a soldier! I am not a wimp! I am in place, saluting my King, obeying His orders, praising His name and building His kingdom!

I am committed! I cannot have my feelings hurt bad enough to turn me around! I cannot be discouraged enough to turn me aside! I cannot lose enough to cause me to quit! When Jesus called me into this army, I had nothing! If I end up with nothing, I will still come out even! I will win! My God will supply all my needs!

I am more than a conqueror! I will always triumph! I can do all things through Christ! Devils cannot defeat me! People cannot disillusion me! Weather cannot weary me! Sickness cannot stop me! Battles cannot beat me! Money cannot buy me! Governments cannot silence me and HELL CANNOT HANDLE ME!

I’m a soldier, and I’m gonna fight even if no one else notices! Hell will notice! My enemy will notice!

Fight on!

B.)      It’s discouraging to run 4 yards and get knocked down.

We have to fight the battle of discouragement.

When it seems like:

 

§  we have an open running lane,

§  and we look up and see an ocean of daylight pouring thru a hole in the line,

§  and we head toward it, excited about moving on in the Lord,

§  and then when out of nowhere, like a freight train loaded with lead, moving 120 mph the devil hits you and knocks you down

IT’S DISCOURAGING!

We are tempted to lay there and say:

§  What’s the use?

§  Everytime it seems that I’m making progress my enemy knocks me down

§  I can’t take this much longer

§  I can’t handle the disappointment of getting my hopes up, only to have them dashed

§  I’m just going to lay here

But, remember the words of the prophet that ring down thru the corridors of history and burst from the pages of God’s word to encourage us today:

REJOICE NOT AGAINST ME, O MY ENEMY, WHEN I FALL I SHALL ARISE!

§  I’m going to run 4 more yards!

 

§  And if you knock me down, I’ll get up and run another 4 yards!

 

§  And if you knock me down again, I’ll get up and run another 4 yards!

When we decide that we’re going to keep going, even though we get knocked down every 4 yards, when we decide that we are going to get back up and run again, then we’ve entered into that realm of determination that will bring victory into our lives!

I don’t care how many times I’ve failed in the past, I’m going to get up and run another 4 yards today!

I don’t care how many times I’ve been knocked down in the past, I’m getting up today to run another 4 yards!

Heaven is my home, and I’ll get there 4 yards at a time!