On the road of life, we are all very similar to the cars that you see on the road today. We must drive on it every day. We will have ‘good’ trips and we will have ‘bad’ trips. The most important thing is where you are going when you reach the end of your journey. If you are saved and have given your life to Jesus, you are guaranteed eternal life with Him in Heaven. If you are lost today, you won’t receive this gift of eternal life, but it’s not too late ‘to get your car fixed’.
On the Christian road of life, we are in a race and we are the cars or trucks. Our goal is to get to the finish line to receive our prize. First thing we need to do ‘as cars or trucks’, is figure out what kind of vehicle we are. This is determined by what we think of ourselves, our personality, strength, our looks, etc.
Task 1: Pick a car or truck that best describes you.
1. If you are full of pride, you will probably pick something better than what you really are.
2. If you have low self esteem, you will pick something ‘less’.
3. In God’s eyes, we are all the same.
4. To God, it’s what’s on the inside that really counts.
Note: Create a visual in your mind of what kind of vehicle you are (the color, make, model, etc.). Just think about it for moment.
Task 2: Let’s discuss the parts that make up your car or truck.
1. Your motor – This is your heart. As Christians, we must keep our hearts pure and clean. Impurities in our heart will make our motor run sluggish.
2. The transmission – This is the part of you that puts you into motion and it’s controlled by how you think. It’s your ‘drive’. Your transmission has about 5 different gears:
・ Park – This is when you sit. Your car has everything it needs to run, but you choose to sit. Turn the key on; put it in Drive, and go!
・ Reverse – This is when you go backwards. The finish line is ahead of you – not behind you! If you’re constantly going back to sin, you’ll have a hard time running the race! When you ask Jesus to forgive you for your sins, they are forgiven. Leave them alone and go forward.
・ Neutral – Your motor is running but you’re not going anywhere! It’s like going to church, hearing the Word, and not applying it to your life. Stop sitting! Get up and go!
・ Drive – The best gear to be in. You are going forward to finish the race. It won’t be easy and watch out for sinful temptations. Satan wants to steer you off course. There will be mountains and hills to overcome in the race. These are obstacles that the Lord gives us and they will make us stronger. That’s why we have…
・ Four Wheel Drive – You rednecks will understand this. This gear is for climbing mountains. Using this gear is when you apply the Word of God and you use your faith in Him to overcome obstacles. You can use it to get out of ditches and valleys you may get into.
3. Starter – The starter sends the ‘spark’ that starts your car. This is the Holy Spirit living within us. You receive the Holy Spirit when you become saved.
4. Alternator – Represents a person reading the Bible and going to church. It restores and builds energy into the battery.
5. Battery – This is the life source of the car. When a person becomes saved, Jesus gives them a new battery. He replaces your old one with a new one that never dies. This battery symbolizes your salvation (eternal life). Have you ever heard of a Die Hard battery? Your new one is called a Die Never battery. I made that up.
6. Radiator – Represents the ‘living water’ that Jesus gives. It keeps our heart running smoothly.
7. Oil – Represents the blood of Christ. It keeps our motor (heart) running. It’s the new life as Christians and it will never need changing!
8. Key – This is the power and control of your life and of you. In a car, it’s what makes it happen. It all starts with the key. For a Christian, our key is Jesus.
Task 3: Here are some additional parts that make up your car. These relate to your body’s senses:
1. Tires – These are your hands and feet. As you are running down the road, the devil will throw nails in your path. These nails represent temptation. You have two choices. Recognize that the temptation is there and steer around it or roll over it and flatten your tires. This becomes sin and you have to park your car. You will then have to pray for forgiveness and Jesus will fix your flat tire. Road side service!
2. Gas Tank – This is your mouth, ears, and nose. If you allow ‘bad’ gas to enter your car, it goes straight to your heart (motor) and it won’t run right. You’ll start backfiring out of your tail pipe and start running sluggish. If you allow ‘good’ gas to enter, just like high octane fuel, you’ll run a lot better and smoother.
3. Windshield and Glass Windows – These represent your eyes. If your windshield is dirty, you can’t see where you are going. You’ll end up in a ditch and wreck your car. Be careful of what you look at and keep your windshield clean.
Task 4: What is the objective? What’s the race all about?
“Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset [us], and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,” – Hebrews 12:1
To put it simpler:
1) We are in a race – prepare for it!
・ As Christians, we are in a race. This race is our Christian walk and how we live our lives. In NASCAR, when they prepare for a race, they work hard to build endurance and strength into their car. We do this by praying, having Christian fellowship, and by going to church. This strengthens us as believers.
・ The NASCAR folks remove any excess weight that slows their car down. In a Christian life, we must remove anything that keeps us from living for Jesus; the friends we choose, the activities we’re involved in, and the junk we allow into our minds and bodies.
2) The goal is reaching the finish line and receiving the prize.
・ This is our heavenly reward. I Corinthians 9: 24 says, “Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.”
3) The prize is the crown of eternal life.
・ I Corinthians 9: 25 says, “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.”
Note (summary): We are in a race to reach the finish line. When we reach the end, we will receive the crown of life that Jesus has promised us. But, be aware of the enemy.
4) The enemy
・ Our enemy is Satan. He is there on race day. He is there to make you stumble. He puts temptations in your way to cause you to sin. He doesn’t want you in the race at all! He throws the nails, oil slicks, clouds the windshield with dirt, and will give you ‘bad’ gas. If he can’t take you out of the race, he’ll try slowing you down or cause you to run off the road.
・ For the cars on the side line (the people that don’t know Jesus as Lord and Savior), he clouds their eyes with sin and keeps them from entering the race. We, as Christians, need to be careful of how we run the race. We are being watched and we need to be ready and willing to ‘jump start’ the cars on the side line. Use what the Lord has given you to ‘jump start’ the lost folks around you and get them into the race.
5) The purpose, the plan, and the prize (Repeat)
・ The purpose – Drive straight on the path of life to the finish line and receive the prize.
・ The plan – Build your car for endurance and strength by focusing on Jesus, reading the Bible, and going to church. Start hanging out with Christian friends.
・ The prize – When your race is over, you will receive a crown of eternal life.
Task 5: Race Day – Are You In It?
If you are saved, your race has already begun. Keep your cars running strong so that you can endure the race.
1. Don’t allow your eyes (windshield) to become dirty with sin. The devil wants to steer you off the road and crash.
2. Don’t use bad gas! Use only ‘high octane’ that the Lord gives. Stay in church, read the Bible and stay away from junk.
3. Keep your tires checked! Where are your hands and feet going? Look out for the nails (the temptation) that the devil throws in front of you. Drive around it or your tires will become flat. Praise God for road side service! Your sins will be forgiven.
If you are lost and don’t know Jesus, you are basically a car on the side lines. You may be running, but you’re not in the race! You are constantly searching for parts to keep yourself going. Eventually your car will die and it will be sent to the crusher. Come to Jesus and receive a Die Never battery. Allow Jesus to work in your life and make you into the car He wants you to be.
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