Message Eleven

Taking Grace to Run the Race
for the Kingdom Reward

Scripture Reading: Heb. 4:16; 12:1, 15, 28-29;
1 Cor. 9:24-27; Phil. 3:12-14; 2 Tim. 4:7-8

1. The Christian life is a race, and we must run this race to receive the prize, the incorruptible crown, which the Lord will award to His overcoming saints who win the race—Heb. 12:1; 1 Cor. 9:24-25:
   1. All the saved Christians must run the race to win the prize (1 Cor. 9:24), which is not salvation in the common sense (Eph. 2:8; 1 Cor. 3:15) but a reward in a special sense (Heb. 10:35; 1 Cor. 3:14).
   2. The apostle Paul ran the race, finished his course, and won the prize, the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord will also reward all those who have loved His appearing—1 Cor. 9:26-27; Phil. 3:12-14; Acts 20:24; 2 Tim. 4:7-8.
   3. As His believers, we have all received salvation and eternal life through faith in Christ, and we will not suffer eternal perdition (John 3:16, 36; 10:28-29), but our being rewarded by Him and escaping dispensational punishment depends on how we run the race—Matt. 25:30:
      1. We need to subdue our body and make it a conquered captive to serve us as a slave for fulfilling our holy purpose—1 Cor. 9:27; Col. 3:5; Rom. 8:13.
      2. We must be very much on the alert to run our course so that we might not be disapproved and rejected at the judgment seat of Christ (2 Cor. 5:10) and be found unworthy of the reward of the coming kingdom—Matt. 24:42-46; Mark 13:33-37; Luke 12:37; Matt. 7:21-23; 25:11-12.
      3. We must pursue toward the goal, the fullest enjoyment and gaining of Christ, for the prize, the uttermost enjoyment of Christ in the millennial kingdom as a reward to the victorious runners of the New Testament race—Phil. 3:12-14:
         1. In order to gain Christ to the fullest extent, we need to forget the past, not even lingering in our past experiences of Christ.
         2. Lingering in our past experiences, however genuine they are, frustrates our further pursuing of Christ.
         3. We must stretch forward day by day to gain more of the vast unexplored territory of the Christ before us.
      4. We must be the wise virgins, redeeming the time to be filled with the Spirit, and the faithful slaves, using the Lord’s gift to the fullest extent, so that we can participate in the Lord’s joy in the coming kingdom—Matt. 25:2-4, 22-23.
      5. To remain in the Holy of Holies, our spirit, is to continue the running of the race—Acts 17:16; 19:21; 20:22; Rom. 1:9; 2 Cor. 2:13:
         1. The more we run, the larger the Holy of Holies becomes, expanding from the tabernacle to the temple and ultimately to the New Jerusalem—Exo. 26:8, 16; 1 Kings 6:20.
         2. Eventually, the entire New Jerusalem will be the enlarged Holy of Holies—Rev. 21:16.
      6. We must live in the reality of the kingdom today (Matt. 5—7) so that we can be rewarded with manifestation of the kingdom at the Lord’s coming back (Matt. 24—25):
         1. The kingdom of the heavens is the highest demand, and the divine life of the Father is the highest supply to meet that demand—Matt. 5:48; Luke 6:35.
         2. To live in the reality of the kingdom, we must exercise to be poor in spirit, to be pure in heart, and to have the righteousness which exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees—Matt. 5:3, 8, 20.
         3. To live in the reality of the kingdom, we must forgive others (Matt. 18:21-22, 35; Eph. 4:32; 5:2) and seek forgiveness from others (Matt. 5:23-24).
         4. We need to live out righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which are the reality of the kingdom of God—Rom. 14:17.
2. We must take grace to finish our course for the kingdom reward—Heb. 12:28, 15; 13:25:
   1. Grace is God in Christ as the Spirit dispensed into our being for our experiential enjoyment— John 1:17; Heb. 10:29b; Phil. 4:23; 2 Tim. 4:22; 1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 2:20.
   2. To realize and participate in all the things unveiled in Hebrews, we need grace:
      1. To take grace, to have grace, we must come forward to the throne of grace that we may find grace for timely help—Heb. 4:16.
      2. When we touch the throne of grace in the Holy of Holies through the exercise of our spirit, we enjoy the Spirit of grace (Heb. 10:29) and our heart is confirmed by grace (13:9):
         1. The grace of God in His economy is rich, multiplying, and abounding—Eph. 2:7; 1 Pet. 1:2b; 2 Pet. 1:2; Eph. 1:6-8.
         2. In Ezekiel the eagle’s wings typify the grace of God in Christ applied to us as the strength and power for our move and for our protection, our hiding place—Ezek. 1:6b, 9a; Exo. 19:4; Isa. 40:31; 2 Cor. 12:9; 1 Cor. 15:10; Psa. 17:8; 57:1; 63:7; 91:4.
         3. We can receive grace by loving the Lord in incorruptibility—Eph. 6:24.
         4. We can receive grace by being one with the Lord in His humility—1 Pet. 5:5-6.
         5. We can enjoy the word of His grace—Acts 20:32; Jer. 15:16.
         6. We can enjoy the grace of life, typified by the descending dew of Hermon on the mountains of Zion, in the church life on the genuine ground of oneness—Psa. 133.
         7. Our experience of the processed Triune God as grace enables us to be good stewards of the varied grace of God, those who are one with our great High Priest in His heavenly ministering of the processed God into people for their enjoyment— 1 Pet. 4:10; Heb. 7:1; Gen. 14:18-20.
      3. By such an enjoyment of grace, we run the race set before us (Heb. 12:1) that we may reach the goal of God’s economy.