Carnell A Smith III Preaching at Strong Tower

Sports.

Y'all like my jersey?

Yeah, I would have came in here with a Cowboys jersey, but this Eagles church, so hey, look, look, look, look, look, I chilled out for a little bit. I was going to come stunting.

I was going to be in here like this. I'm going to preach just like this.

Oh God, oh God, oh God.

Y'all know I got a toque so I can feel comfortable up here. All right, I'mma pray and then I'mma get into it. Lord, I just pray that you speak through me and let the words, let everything that I write and have written move somebody today. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. Amen. Okay, so my My title is "Run the Race, Win the Prize." And our scripture was Philippians 3:12-14. I'm reading the NIV version because I know the King James sound like wah wah wah wah wah wah to me, so I'm not going to do that to the youth. So it reads, not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do: forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I have pressed on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Amen. Okay.

So I'm no preacher, so I got a whole script right here. So if y'all see me looking down—

That's all right.

Cool. All right. So I'mma tell— I'mma ask y'all this. Have you ever watched a race? Not just your friends running down the block, but a real intense race? There's a moment at the starting line when the runners completely lock in.

Yeah.

The outside noise goes away, and the runner's eyes fixed on the track ahead. There's only one goal in mind. The finish line? Or have you been watching a football or basketball game and the one player just turns on one switch that just becomes super focused with tunnel vision? Paul in Philippians 3:12-14 speaks to us from the track of faith. He says, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me." He's not writing from a place of comfort or success. He's writing from prison, yet he still speaks of pursuit. All right, he reminds us this walk with God isn't a sprint. I just said that, right? Just said that today. It's not a sprint, but it's a marathon. It's not about quick wins or emotional highs. It's about pressing on, about moving forward, about running with purpose. So the question I have today is not are you in the race, but how are you running the All right, come on now. There's a prize at stake, not a trophy, not applause, but the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. All right, so today I want to talk to you about what it takes to run well, not to just show up but to finish strong. All right, there are 3 essential— essential— essentials every runner in the race of faith must have.

Discipline, all right, dedication, all right, and discernment, all right, of course.

Because in this race, it's not being— it's not about being the fastest, but it's about being faithful. All right, so my first point is discipline. This is training for this race. 1 Corinthians 9:25 says, everyone who competes in the game goes into strength Training. Discipline is about preparation. Behind every visible victory is invisible discipline. Yeah. So I'm gonna tell y'all the story, okay? When I was coming up playing sports, I learned discipline very early. I don't know when this time was. I think I was like 13, 14, going into 8th grade, and I wanted to play football again. And my mom was like, you should just go back to your regular team. I was going to switch because they was waiting. So I'm like, I'm like, I'm like 140 lbs trying to play 120 with my age group. And I got there, my coach was like, Carnell— he said it in front of my mom— he said, you weigh too much, okay? And we need you to lose 20+ lbs in a matter of a week in order for you to play. And I looked at my mom, I'm like, did he not know I'm 13? Like That's a lot to do for a kid. And I was like, you know, you know what, I got discouraged a little bit. My mom was like, you know, just try it. Change your routine, change how you eat. So I changed my routine. I started running every day. I started eating right and training. What I didn't know was my discipline would pay off. Let's take the Olympic athletes for an example. They trained for years for one moment of glory. They live with restrictions and sacrifice to compete. Did you hear that? Olympic runners, yeah, train all year for years for one moment. Devin, you heard that, right? You said you want to run track and stuff. You said you're nice. Olympic runners train for years. Look, the Olympics like every 4 years.

Yep.

So for 4 years They're training, training, training, training for one moment. As believers, spiritual discipline means daily prayer, regular study of the word, fasting, and accountability in community. You can't win a spiritual race with lazy faith.

Come on, say that again.

You can't win a spiritual race with lazy faith. Spiritual discipline forms Christ in us, but even the most disciplined person won't last without heart. That's where my next point comes in: dedication. This is committing to the cause, committing to whatever you're training for. Philippians 3:12 says, I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Dedication is the commitment to keep running even when it's tough. So I'll continue to use myself again. Fast forward, high school, sophomore year, I get to high school. Mind you, in Little League I was nice. I mean, I was nice.

You was nice. Tell your story.

I played running back, so that mean I was in the end zone the majority of You feel me? Like, I was there. I've hit the Heisman, all that. I was there. But that wasn't what my coach wanted from me. So I'm like, he's like, yo, you gonna play defense, you're gonna play outside linebacker. I'm like, me? I'm 165 pounds soaking wet. Like, I'm not— I'm, I'm small. So I'm like, okay, I'm going through the motions. I got discouraged. I'm like, yo, I'm nice. He not better than me. I asked my coach, I said, why am I not getting no touches at running back? I'm not getting nothing. He like, you're not ready. I'm like, I'm not ready?

You know me.

Guess he ain't know me. But that hit me kind of hard, but I didn't give up that summer. I got one of my close friends, my homie Corey, if you watching this, shout out to you, my boy. Uh, we trained every chance we got. My mom would attest. I'd be like, Mom, can I go with Corey? We about to go train. We'll train for hours. We'll go run, lift weights, all that. Oh my God, I lost my train of thought trying to talk. Ooh, my dedication got me to my goal I was pursuing. If that doesn't move you, marathon runners hit the wall. It's something called the wall at mile 20. Everything in them wants to quit, but they press on because they know the finish line is worth it. Paul endured imprisonment and beatings, yet he still stood. He never stopped pursuing Christ. Your why has to be bigger than your Your why has to be bigger than your what. Somebody, did you catch that? Your why has to be bigger than your what. What is your why? Let your love for Christ be the reason you keep running. Dedication keeps us moving, but discernment gives us direction. Now we're at point 3: knowing what to let go and what to reach for. Philippians 3:13 says, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. Discernment is the spiritual wisdom to release what hinders and reach for what matters. All right, in life we'd rather stay with what is comfortable, you know, like, oh, like me, I'm up here preaching. Who would have thought? Little old me.

I would have thought All right, Mom, thanks.

All seriously, my goofy self up here preaching, that's crazy. I said, so I said, one thing for me, everybody knew I love God from elementary school to high school to leaving. I used to pack my drum stuff with me to school because I knew I had church. My friend's like, what is that? It's a stick bag. Mind your business. Don't worry, you want to come? My momma tell you, my friends come to church with me. You stay at my house, bring some clothes because you're going to church.

That's right.

Now they be calling me like, bro, I had a dream. I'm like, don't call me, I'm not the dream man. I have a dream, I go to bed. Yeah, look, this happened. What do that mean? Really?

I ain't—

look, I ain't about to tell you nothing. Let me say it the way, 'cause you want to be black. I said we can't get caught up on what our friends think. Maybe God is trying to get you to see that they might be the reason you aren't being as successful in your walk or even in your daily life. Yeah. So keeping my sports analogy, runners don't carry unnecessary weight. So let's look at the military. When you look at your military people, they carry only what is necessary to get the job done.

That's right.

If they carry a bunch of stuff, they'd be weighed down and couldn't react properly in the time of crisis. Hebrews 12:1 says— it tells us to lay aside every weight and the sin that entangles. Yes, discernment helps us to recognize what season we're in, hear the voice of God, make wise decision in pursuit of purpose. All right, discernment isn't just knowing right from wrong, it's knowing right from almost right.

Oh, say that again! Say it again! Say it again!

Discernment isn't just knowing right from wrong, it's knowing right from almost right.

Almost right! Come on! I say it one more time. Yeah, almost right!

Discernment isn't just knowing right from wrong, it's knowing right from almost right.

Yeah!

That's why I don't do preaching, I'm too giggly. All right, all right. So how do we apply this? Ask God what you're— ask God what you're still carrying that needs to be dropped.

Uh-huh.

I know it may be scary at what his answer may be, because we know God is very blunt. He's going to tell you tell you exactly what you want to know. He's not gonna sugarcoat it. You'd be like, God, what's happening to me? Now your girlfriend gone, now your friends gone.

Hey, hey, hey, what were you doing?

And he just like, well, you asked. Don't ask if you don't want it. That's why I'm telling you, when you pray, make sure you be very specific, because don't be— don't beat around the bush. Don't be like, God, I don't know what I'm supposed to do with my life, there's so much stuff going on. And when the stuff going on is the people, and he start taking everything, you like, oh man, I ain't Joe. I'm not Joe. I'm not Joe. Oh God, okay.

Knowing right from almost right.

Okay, so to wrap this up, in pursuit you may not feel fast or strong, but you're still in the race. So got some questions. And that answer. Haven't been disciplined enough? Start today, whatever that is. If that's, okay God, I'm going to pray when I wake up and I'm going to pray when I go to sleep, that's discipline. That's showing some sort of discipline in your walk, right? Or I'm going to read one scripture a week and I'mma just keep reading until something jumps out at me and it It just helps me, you know, because that's what I'll be doing sometimes. Two, two, feeling tired in your dedication, refocus on Christ. Ask God, say, you know, I'm feeling kind of— I don't know, I don't feel dedicated enough. Like I tell the youth, I tell them all the time, find something that's captivating during church. That will make you keep coming. Because that's what I did. I played music, but that's what captivated me at a young age. So find something. Unsure of direction? Ask God for discernment. He'll tell you. He'll tell you exactly where you need to go. He might show it to you. I know— I'll be real with y'all— don't ask me what the Lord is saying to me right now. Because I'mma say nothing, because he don't speak to me in my ears. He shows me, like, in through things that I'm doing. Like, I'll use my wife for example. Sorry. So she recently just graduated, right? We just graduated, but the road wasn't easy. Our race was not easy. We still running this marathon. So when things would get hard, Mia would be like, oh my God, why is this happening to us? And I'm like, Mia, maybe this is a sign from God telling us that we need to slow down. I'll be like, Mia, and I always tell her, you're at the finish line. Just keep going, keep going. You have to finish that. Every time something would happen, Mia, going to school tomorrow, you have to finish mine. Done. Y'all are making me cringe.

All right, Prophet, I'm cringing.

Stop. Now she's graduated. Why she's talking about—

you know what I'm saying?

Boom. Cool. All right, so 2 Timothy 4:8. So says, now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness. So I'll leave you with this: run with discipline, stay dedicated, walk in discernment. The prize is worth it at the end. Come on, let's shake this.