Chester Williams - "That Special Race" (July 10, 1988)

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	(organ music)	0:00
-	Praise and peace to you on this	2:47
	seventh Sunday after Pentecost.	2:49
	We welcome each of you to this service of worship	2:51
	here at Duke University Chapel.	2:53
	And pray that you will receive a blessing during this hour.	2:55
	We extend special greetings to our many visitors	2:58
	who come to us from across the country at this time of year.	3:01
	And if we may offer you any special assistance	3:04
	here at the chapel, please do not hesitate to let us know.	3:06
	We also extend greetings to those of you in our	3:10
	radio and television audiences.	3:12
	Our guest preacher for this morning	3:15
	is the Reverend Doctor Chester Williams, associate professor	3:17
	at the Boston University School of Theology.	3:20
	Dr. Williams has a wide range of experience,	3:23
	both as professor and preacher.	3:25
	And he is also well known as a community activist,	3:28
	having received numerous awards for his involvements	3:31
	in a variety of cities.	3:34
	We welcome Dr. Williams to our pulpit this morning.	3:36
	We also welcome our summer choir	3:39
	back to the chapel services after a brief holiday.	3:41
	And we remind all interested singers that you are	3:44
	invited to join the choir, no audition is required.	3:47
	Please note the remaining announcements	3:51
	as they are printed in your bulletins.	3:53
	And now let us continue our worship.	3:55
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	4:02
	♪ Hallelujah ♪	4:12
	(singing hymns)	4:39
	(organ music)	5:52
	("Come, ye that love the Lord")	6:34
-	Let us pray.	10:47
	Almighty God unto whom our hearts are open,	10:50
	all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hid.	10:53
	Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration	10:59
	of thy holy spirit that we may perfectly love thee	11:02
	and worthily magnify thy holy name through Christ our Lord.	11:07
	Amen.	11:13
-	Let us pray.	11:24
	Open our hearts and minds oh God	11:27
	by the power of your holy spirit	11:30
	so that as the word is read and proclaimed	11:33
	we might hear with joy what you say to us this day, amen.	11:37
	The first lesson is taken from the book of Ecclesiastes.	11:44
	But all this I laid to heart, examining it all,	11:50
	how the righteous and the wise and their deeds	11:55
	are in the hand of God.	12:00
	Whether it is love or hate, man does not know.	12:03
	Everything before them is vanity since one fate	12:09
	comes to all, to the righteous and the wicked,	12:13
	to the good and the evil, to the clean and the unclean,	12:17
	to him who sacrifices and to him who does not sacrifice.	12:23
	As is the good man, so is the sinner.	12:29
	And he who swears is as he who shuns an oath.	12:33
	This is an evil and all that is done under the sun,	12:39
	that one fate comes to all.	12:44
	Also the hearts of men are full of evil,	12:48
	and madness is in their hearts while they live.	12:51
	And after that they go to the dead.	12:55
	But he who is joined with the living has hope	12:59
	for a living dog is better than a dead lion.	13:04
	For the living know that they will die,	13:09
	but the dead know nothing, and they have no more reward,	13:13
	but the memory of them is lost.	13:18
	Their love and their hate and their envy	13:22
	have already perished, and they have no more forever	13:26
	in any share in all that is done under the sun.	13:31
	Go, eat your bread with enjoyment,	13:36
	and drink your wine with a merry heart,	13:40
	for God has already approved what you do.	13:43
	Let your garments be always white,	13:48
	let not oil be lacking on your head.	13:51
	Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your	13:55
	vain life which he has given you under the sun.	14:00
	Because it is your portion in life, and in your toil	14:05
	at which you toil under the sun.	14:10
	Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might.	14:14
	For there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom	14:20
	in Sheol, to which you are going.	14:26
	Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift,	14:30
	nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise,	14:36
	nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to men of skill,	14:41
	but time and chance happen to them all.	14:48
	This ends the reading of the first lesson.	14:53
-	Let us rise and read responsibly Psalm 138	15:06
	number 599 in the hymnal.	15:11
	I give thee thanks oh Lord with my whole heart.	15:19
Crowd	Before the gods I sing thy praise.	15:23
-	I bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks	15:26
	to thy name for your steadfast love and thy faithfulness.	15:30
Crowd	For God has exalted above everything.	15:35
-	On the day I called, thou didst answer me.	15:40
Crowd	My strength of soul thou has increased.	15:43
-	All the kings of the earth shall praise thee, oh Lord.	15:47
Crowd	For they have heard the words of God.	15:51
-	And they shall sing of the ways of the Lord.	15:55
Crowd	For great is the glory of the Lord.	15:58
-	For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,	16:01
Crowd	But the haughty he knows from afar.	16:05
-	Though I walk in the midst of trouble,	16:08
	thou didst preserve my life.	16:11
Crowd	Thou hast stretched out thy hand	16:14
	against the wrath of my enemies,	16:16
	and thy right hand delivers me.	16:18
-	The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.	16:21
Crowd	Thy steadfast love, oh Lord, endures forever.	16:24
	(organ music)	16:29
	♪ Glory be to the father ♪	16:38
	♪ Praise to glory ♪	16:44
	♪ Glory be to the father ♪	16:51
	♪ As it was in the beginning ♪	17:07
	♪ Now and evermore shall be ♪	17:13
-	The second lesson is taken	17:36
	from Paul's letter to the Hebrews.	17:39
	Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great	17:43
	a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight,	17:47
	and sin which clings so closely.	17:53
	And let us run with perseverance	17:56
	the race that is set before us.	17:59
	Looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.	18:03
	Who for the joy that was set before him	18:09
	endured the cross, despising the shame,	18:13
	and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.	18:17
	Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against	18:23
	himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.	18:29
	In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted	18:36
	to the point of shedding your blood.	18:40
	And have you forgotten the exhortation	18:44
	which addresses you as son?	18:47
	My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,	18:50
	nor lose courage when are punished by him.	18:57
	For the Lord disciplines him whom he loves,	19:02
	and chastises every son whom he receives.	19:06
	It is for discipline that you have to endure.	19:13
	God is treating you as sons.	19:18
	For what son is there whom his father does not discipline?	19:22
	If you are left without discipline,	19:27
	in which all have participated,	19:30
	then you are illegitimate children and not sons.	19:33
	Besides this, we have had earthly fathers to discipline us	19:38
	and we respected them.	19:42
	Shall we not much more be subject	19:46
	to the father of spirits and live?	19:49
	For they disciplined us for a short time at their pleasure,	19:54
	but he disciplines us for our good,	19:59
	that we may share his holiness.	20:04
	For the moment all discipline seems painful	20:08
	rather than pleasant, later it yields the peaceful fruit	20:12
	of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.	20:17
	This ends the reading of the second lesson.	20:23
	(singing hymn)	21:00
-	The gospel is taken from the book of Matthew.	24:42
	Jesus left the temple and was going away.	24:48
	When his disciples came to point out to him	24:52
	the buildings of the temple.	24:56
	But he answered them.	24:59
	You see all these, do you not?	25:01
	Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here	25:04
	one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.	25:10
	As he sat on the Mount of Olives,	25:16
	the disciples came to him privately, saying,	25:19
	tell us, when will this be?	25:23
	And what will be the sign of your coming?	25:26
	And of the close of the age?	25:30
	And Jesus answered them, take heed that	25:34
	no one leads you astray.	25:38
	For many will come in my name, saying,	25:41
	I am the Christ, and they will lead many astray.	25:44
	And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars.	25:50
	See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place.	25:56
	But the end is not yet.	26:01
	For nation will rise against nation,	26:04
	and kingdom against kingdom,	26:08
	and there will be famines and earthquakes in various places.	26:11
	All this are but the beginning of the birth pains.	26:16
	Then they will deliver you up to tribulation	26:22
	and put you to death, and you will be hated	26:25
	by all nations for my name's sake.	26:29
	And then many will fall away, and betray one another,	26:33
	and hate one another, and many false prophets	26:38
	will arise and lead many astray.	26:42
	And because wickedness is multiplied,	26:46
	most men's love will grow cold.	26:49
	But he who endures to the end will be saved.	26:53
	This ends the reading of the gospel.	27:00
-	Therefore since we are surrounded by so great	27:14
	a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside	27:16
	every weight and sin which clings so closely.	27:20
	And run this race with perseverance that was set before us	27:25
	looking to Jesus, the author and finisher	27:30
	of our faith.	27:35
	It is a real honor for me to be here at this historic	27:39
	center of righteousness today.	27:43
	Not only because of those great preachers and scholars	27:46
	and have stood in this pulpit, but because this chapel	27:50
	may be the sacred place in which new prophetic	27:54
	and apostolic voices will be born.	27:58
	Voices that will proclaim the good news of our savior	28:01
	here in Durham, and in the nation, and throughout the world.	28:05
	That is my prayer.	28:10
	To William Wilomen and Nancy Ferry Clark,	28:14
	and to William Joseph II and his lovely wife Rebecca who	28:19
	invited me here and have made my stay comfortable	28:24
	the last 24 hours, and to those of you	28:27
	who are gathered today in the name of the Lord.	28:30
	Two weeks today in Dakar, Senegal	28:35
	I'd taken 18 North Americans to share the gospel in	28:39
	Banjul and Basse, Gambia.	28:44
	We stood outside of our hotel, there in Dakar,	28:47
	and I said to that gathering that	28:51
	we will now go to that place, Banjul and Basse,	28:54
	to magnify the Lord and to worship him.	28:59
	It is so clear to me today,	29:04
	hearing the powerful singing of this great choir and	29:07
	to feel God's presence here that we have come	29:10
	into this place to magnify the Lord and to worship him.	29:14
	Because I'm on the road about 80% of the time,	29:21
	I have a good chance to do some cross regional	29:25
	and cross cultural, indeed cross racial comparisons	29:29
	with respect to our particular theology	29:35
	on evangelism and missions.	29:37
	And of course I can also index how I'm personally received	29:41
	when on the circuit, let that not sound egocentric.	29:44
	I taught at BU for the last three and a half years	29:49
	and moving throughout southern New England,	29:52
	Maine and New Hampshire,	29:55
	I've oftentimes felt when going into these	29:57
	mostly United Methodist churches that	30:00
	Sidney Poitier must've felt when Katherine Hepburn	30:03
	told Spencer Tracy guess who came to eat.	30:07
	I have sometimes felt like when there in New England,	30:11
	those saying guess who came to preach.	30:14
	But my experiences have not only been somewhat cryptic	30:18
	in New England, I've had some in the South as well.	30:22
	About a year ago I was riding down in the Romney district	30:26
	there in West Virginia, I'd been invited to come	30:29
	and share Evangelism dialogue with some United Methodist	30:33
	churches in the Romney district.	30:36
	And I'm from that part of the world originally, I was born	30:39
	in the mountains down around Bluefield, West Virginia.	30:41
	And I saw this sign on the road which said	30:45
	welcome to the friendliest city in America.	30:48
	So being from West Virginia and seeing that sign,	30:52
	I really felt at home.	30:54
	So I'm driving my little rented car down the road,	30:57
	and in back of me there was a man in a pickup truck.	31:01
	This was a very large man, about 300 pounds.	31:05
	Had a big hat on his head, and he had no shirt on,	31:10
	and he had a six pack in one hand,	31:14
	I'm sure every can was open.	31:15
	And he said to me in this friendly city in America,	31:18
	"Move on."	31:23
	And of course, you might imagine he used one of those	31:25
	epithets, so I was sitting thinking,	31:29
	should I now get out of my car and in the name of Christ	31:33
	go back and challenge him saying to me, "Move on."	31:37
	So I looked in my rear view mirror and saw that this was	31:42
	one big man, you all.	31:45
	So I did not wanna be a Joshua or Moses that day,	31:49
	so you all know what I did?	31:52
	I just moved on.	31:54
	So I've had some experiences throughout North America,	31:57
	but glad to be here in Durham here at this	32:00
	great chapel here today.	32:03
	There are many metaphors in God's word	32:06
	that used to describe our pilgrimage, our Christian journey.	32:08
	One of those is concept race.	32:14
	It's used an awful lot in the New Testament.	32:17
	Paul said in Acts 20:24, that I consider my life nothing	32:21
	if only I may finish the race.	32:27
	To those deceived Christians there in Galitia,	32:31
	Paul said to them who had been lured	32:36
	back into some old habits, and to a maladaptive theology	32:38
	that you did at one time run well.	32:43
	In 1 Timothy 4, Paul says again	32:48
	that I have finished the race,	32:52
	and I have kept the faith.	32:56
	What I wanna suggest to you today is that we are in a race.	32:59
	It's a shared race in struggle.	33:04
	For those persons that want to be sweet talked all the way	33:08
	to glory land, this is really not the race for you.	33:11
	I'm reminded when I'm in Basse, Gambia,	33:16
	or when I'm in Boston, even when in Brooklyn, New York,	33:19
	that we Christians are called to a special kind of race.	33:24
	We sing a song in my own church tradition which goes like	33:29
	this, that when the battle is over, we shall wear a crown.	33:33
	But in Basse and Brooklyn, it is clear to me that the battle	33:37
	is not over yet, and the race has not been completed.	33:42
	The race for New Testament justice among all believers	33:47
	is not over yet, in international missions there in Senegal	33:52
	where I've had a chance to do some observation,	33:56
	it is clear to me that the race there isn't over.	34:00
	For I'm sad to report to you that there are	34:04
	those missionaries for whom I pray everyday there.	34:07
	Missionaries whose children ride bicycles and skateboards.	34:11
	And the children of those Senegalese converts	34:17
	walk around with no shoes on their feet,	34:20
	and no food in their bellies.	34:23
	I come back to North America and say then that	34:26
	the race really isn't over.	34:29
	It's a race of continued struggle.	34:31
	In some respects, I'm clear on this fact as well,	34:34
	that the African Christian is in some ways	34:37
	under cultural and theological siege there in Gambia.	34:41
	Just four weeks ago, I went there to do some	34:46
	bilateral conversation with the Gambian church	34:50
	around what for them was the first African-American	34:55
	gospel preaching event in that part of the world.	34:58
	Not only was I snubbed by the Southern Baptists there,	35:03
	snubbed religiously and I also think racially,	35:08
	I was bothered by some other things, saints of God.	35:12
	For there on that small church wall,	35:16
	I saw a very large picture.	35:19
	A picture of the Lord Jesus.	35:22
	And I share with you as God's people	35:25
	my trouble about the picture.	35:28
	About five feet high, it was indeed a picture	35:30
	which depicted Christ with longer hair	35:34
	than I've ever seen depicted before.	35:37
	His eyes were bluer than I've ever seen him	35:40
	painted here in North America,	35:42
	and his features were more Nordic than I've ever observed.	35:45
	And then I was told that a young African boy	35:51
	painted that picture.	35:54
	I suggest to you friends of Christ that	35:58
	we church women and church men are still	36:00
	in a race of struggle, both here and abroad.	36:04
	The race isn't over yet.	36:07
	We are still engaging the enemy on every front.	36:10
	When power brokers and multinational corporations	36:14
	continue to commit transgressions by polluting	36:18
	our air and our water,	36:22
	when their accounts are fattened and those of the poor	36:25
	and the disenfranchised are not fattened,	36:29
	then I'm convinced the race is not over.	36:33
	We are in a race, but it's not just any kind of race	36:36
	God has called us to, it's a special race.	36:40
	It's one that's not given to the swift, nor to the strong.	36:44
	This race is given to those that will endure to the end.	36:48
	When I hear modern theologies oversimplify our faith journey	36:54
	by telling us to just be internally holy	36:59
	with unholiness externalized all around us, I cringe.	37:03
	The name it and claim it religion may work in North America,	37:09
	indeed for North America success oriented theology.	37:14
	But it doesn't work when I'm going through	37:19
	muddy waters in Gambia, it doesn't work when I'm	37:21
	moving across desert plains there in Senegal.	37:23
	For there, thousands of the poor are planting	37:28
	their seeds in the ground, and waiting and praying	37:31
	that when harvest time comes, they'll get just a little bit	37:34
	to feed their families for the year.	37:37
	These theologies don't work there in Africa.	37:40
	They may work for us here in some small	37:44
	psychological battles, but the war against global poverty	37:47
	will not just go away because we name it and claim it.	37:51
	The race to save the planet from poverty and disease	37:57
	in Jesus name is one of shared struggle.	38:00
	It's a swift theology that promises the overnight	38:04
	analgesic to make things right just for the cultural asking.	38:08
	It's a naive theology that seeks to name it and claim it	38:13
	in troubled lands in the Middle East, in South Africa,	38:16
	in Latin America, and in Central America.	38:20
	But it's an endurance theology that will make la difference,	38:23
	that will make the difference.	38:28
	We are in a special race.	38:29
	It's a race for those who know the joys and sorrows	38:32
	of sanctified struggle, of pain and heartache,	38:36
	and of rejection and sometimes dismissal.	38:40
	That's the race we are in Duke family.	38:43
	It's a race that those persons who want to be	38:47
	petted and pampered, sashed and stroked all the way	38:50
	to Canaan land are really in the wrong race.	38:55
	That's not our race.	38:58
	It's not a race where Jesus must bear the cross alone,	39:00
	and all the world go free, that's not our race.	39:05
	It's a race where there is a cross for everyone.	39:09
	And there is a cross for me.	39:14
	Secondly, while this is a shared race in struggle,	39:17
	it is one that we must run our particular,	39:22
	our singular lapse for the Lord Jesus.	39:25
	So let us run this ran cannot take the place	39:29
	of my running my own particular race, and you running yours.	39:33
	So much of my own theology these last few years	39:39
	had been geared toward trying to organize families and	39:42
	communities to address the issues of poverty and disease.	39:46
	I know when I go to Washington that I cannot go alone	39:51
	and lobby on behalf of those increasing numbers	39:55
	of the malnourished in our inner cities,	39:59
	I cannot do that alone.	40:01
	When I try to address the issue	40:03
	in Gambia of massive unemployment,	40:05
	I know that I cannot address those issues alone.	40:08
	That I must come back and say to those who are nourished,	40:11
	those whom God has blessed, we must share God's justice	40:15
	and God's love throughout the world.	40:20
	But having said that, I also know that I've got to run	40:22
	my own particular race, one that's indeed	40:27
	based on struggle and often conflict.	40:30
	And so saints of God, whether you are a long distance runner	40:33
	or 100 dash woman or man, whether you are a walker	40:38
	or a disabled runner, I say to you today run your own race.	40:42
	Don't be lured by the enemy to run his or her race.	40:48
	Run your own race.	40:52
	When I do my jogging around a local track there in New York,	40:55
	I get so disturbed when I'm running one way around the track	40:59
	and there are those who are running the opposite way,	41:03
	trying to throw off my rhythm, especially when I see	41:06
	95 year old men outrunning me backwards.	41:08
	But I cannot be lured into running their race.	41:12
	When there are those joggers that are running ahead of me	41:16
	and I know my body can't do it anymore,	41:18
	I cannot be deceived into trying to run their race.	41:21
	The text says lay aside everything that holds you back,	41:26
	especially so satan that claims so easily.	41:30
	And so then we say to you today to keep running steadily	41:34
	in the race that God has called you to.	41:37
	If our sin is the accumulation of false joys and of wealth,	41:41
	let us lay aside that saying individually,	41:46
	and run the race God has called us to.	41:50
	If there is the sin of family abuse and power abuse today,	41:53
	we as individuals must throw off that sin,	41:59
	and run the race of righteousness, of redemption,	42:03
	and of love, we must run our particular race.	42:07
	Men who have traditionally abused women	42:13
	must now lay aside that abuse, and run a new race.	42:16
	Not just to stop abusing our women,	42:22
	but to tell other men that there is a better way,	42:25
	there is a more redemptive way to live their lives.	42:27
	Men then must run to men, and tell men that	42:31
	this is indeed a sin before Yahweh,	42:36
	before God almighty.	42:40
	I tell my dear white brothers and sisters	42:43
	that they have a special race to run.	42:46
	And I tell them in love that those whites	42:49
	in the body of Christ that still may practice the sins	42:54
	of racism, we say that you must run the different race	42:58
	brothers and sisters, for those who believe that our	43:02
	history that is the African-American history	43:06
	began in 1619, that's the wrong race, that's not true.	43:09
	You must run the race to your community.	43:14
	And you must tell your brothers and sisters	43:18
	that we didn't start in 1619 on the coasts of Virginia.	43:20
	When I now go into suburbia, I am stopped often by the	43:25
	police, and I'm attacked by gangs in the New York area.	43:29
	And so I come back to the church, to those that I love,	43:35
	those that are part of my family,	43:40
	and I say you must go and run the race ahead of me.	43:42
	Tell your comrades and your friends that we don't	43:47
	just shoot basketballs and footballs and dance.	43:50
	But we produce architects, and doctors, and lawyers.	43:53
	You must go and tell them that story.	43:56
	You must run ahead and let them know	43:59
	that God don't like ugly, excuse my English.	44:02
	And then I must run my race.	44:06
	Let me run through the interior or Durham,	44:08
	and to Roxbury, and to Bedford, Stuyvesant.	44:12
	Let me go and run that race.	44:15
	Let me go and snatch those young boys and young girls that	44:18
	are drugged out on narcotics, young scholars, if you will.	44:22
	And pick them up and tell them that God	44:27
	can change their lives, let me go and run that race.	44:29
	Saints of God we must run our particular races.	44:34
	James Brown sang a song this way some years ago.	44:38
	I don't want nobody to give me nothing,	44:42
	again not good English.	44:44
	Just open the door and I'll get it myself.	44:46
	And so brothers and sisters we ask you those	44:51
	who may have the keys to some economic doors,	44:54
	run ahead of us and open those doors,	44:57
	and we'll get education ourselves, we'll get jobs ourselves.	45:00
	I must run my race and you must run your race.	45:06
	Then we can join our hands together.	45:11
	We can run the race in the name of the Lord together.	45:15
	We will not get weary in our well doing.	45:19
	We will form together new lines of righteousness	45:22
	around Jericho walls in America.	45:26
	Where drugs are coming in by the millions of tons every year	45:29
	we can run that race together.	45:35
	We can in this century declare a new ethic,	45:38
	a new righteousness, indeed solving	45:42
	poverty versus Star Wars can be our race to run together.	45:45
	We can kick the drug problem.	45:50
	Those of us who name the name of the Lord,	45:53
	if we will now just run our race together.	45:55
	I sometimes want to run my race after the race	46:00
	of Martin Luther King Jr.	46:03
	But I know that I cannot run Martin's race.	46:06
	I've got to run my own race.	46:09
	I think of Fannie Lou Hamer,	46:12
	that great woman from Mississippi, who because she	46:14
	walked there, others can now stand tall in righteousness.	46:16
	I cannot run Fannie Lou's race, I must run my own race.	46:22
	And though how I love to dig into the intellect of John	46:27
	Wesley, but I cannot run John Wesley's race nor can you.	46:31
	God has called us to run our particular race.	46:36
	Not only is this race one of shared struggle,	46:41
	and one in which we must run our singular laps.	46:44
	It is a race that has been run already	46:49
	by the saints of God and by Jesus, our savior.	46:53
	For the text says we are surrounded by so great a cloud	46:59
	of witnesses, even in this place,	47:05
	in that cloud surely there is Moses and there is Isaiah.	47:08
	Surely there, there is Sarah and there is Rebekah.	47:13
	That great cloud is standing there telling us we can	47:17
	finish our race, we can come across the finishing line.	47:22
	There are those in that cloud like Mahalia and Martin.	47:28
	They're telling us don't get weary,	47:32
	you can finish your race.	47:35
	So I exhort you today, my friends in Christ,	47:38
	around the theme that you can finish your race.	47:41
	Not only are the saints of God,	47:45
	they're telling us to move on, we can finish.	47:47
	But even Jesus our Lord has already run the race before us.	47:50
	For he himself stands are the finishing line.	47:56
	And he says to us that I have endured the sting of the cross	48:00
	you can finish your race.	48:04
	Pilate could not stop me.	48:06
	They put me in Joseph's tomb, but that could not hold me.	48:09
	I finished the race.	48:14
	And so those of you who may be beaten and battered,	48:16
	who may be weary and worn, our Lord and master	48:19
	stands there saying you can stay in the race.	48:23
	And that's the way the song goes in my tradition.	48:26
	It is to stay in the race.	48:29
	One lyric says that I've been running for Jesus	48:31
	for a long time, and I'm not tired yet.	48:34
	Sometimes persecuted and rejected, in my own family,	48:38
	in my own community, but I'm not tired yet.	48:42
	I'm gonna stay in the race.	48:46
	For those Christians who share who Jesus is,	48:48
	who are not ashamed of that.	48:52
	And others criticize you and say	48:54
	don't give me all that Jesus talk, you all stay in the race.	48:56
	For God stands in Jesus saying that on the third day	49:01
	I got up out of the grave and I conquered death,	49:05
	I have won the race.	49:09
	There's an urban preacher, I try to talk	49:13
	low but I just can't you all will forgive me.	49:16
	Stay in the race my dear brothers and sisters.	49:21
	Stay in the race.	49:24
	(organ music)	49:31
	♪ God moves in a mysterious way ♪	49:54
	♪ His wonders to perform ♪	50:00
	♪ He plants his footsteps in the sea ♪	50:05
	♪ And rides upon the storm ♪	50:11
	♪ Deep in unfathomable mines of never-failing skill ♪	50:18
	♪ He treasures up his bright designs ♪	50:30
	♪ And works his sovereign will ♪	50:36
	♪ Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take ♪	50:42
	♪ The clouds ye so much dread ♪	50:49
	♪ Are big with mercy and shall break ♪	50:56
	♪ In blessings on your head ♪	51:01
	♪ Judge not the Lord by feeble sense ♪	51:08
	♪ But trust him for his grace ♪	51:15
	♪ Behind a frowning providence, he hides a smiling face ♪	51:21
	♪ Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan his work in vain ♪	51:35
	♪ God is his own interpreter, and he will make it plain ♪	51:46
-	With you.	52:02
	(crowd murmurs)	52:04
	Let us pray.	52:05
	Oh eternal God, maker of the universe,	52:17
	ruler of all things in heaven and earth.	52:21
	You have called us to follow you saying	52:24
	take nothing for the journey.	52:27
	Recognizing the power of your word in our lives,	52:30
	we forsake all that would inhibit us in our race	52:35
	of discipleship, in its place we offer our prayers	52:40
	and concern for our sisters and brothers around the world.	52:45
	Let us pray for all those in times of trouble or distress.	52:50
	For the sick and the dying, the hungry,	52:56
	the unemployed, the refugee, the victim of violence,	53:00
	the grief stricken, especially those families	53:07
	of the victims of the Air Iran A320 Airbus tragedy.	53:10
	Grant them the strength and consolation	53:15
	in their time of need.	53:19
	Let us pray for those who seek to lighten to burdens of	53:22
	others, for doctors, nurses, and other medical workers.	53:25
	For teachers, counselors, and social workers everywhere.	53:30
	For artists, dancers, and musicians,	53:36
	as they seek to create beauty out of chaos.	53:39
	May they not only heal the body and expand the mind,	53:44
	but enrich the spirit.	53:47
	Let us pray for all those who seek to bring peace and	53:50
	justice into the world, for all prisoners of conscience.	53:54
	For those who work within our justice system,	54:00
	for those communities dedicated to simple living	54:03
	in the name of peace, may they grant us a renewed vision	54:07
	of what it means to live in harmony with one another.	54:12
	Let us pray for those charged with the responsibilities	54:16
	of governing, especially the governor of this state,	54:20
	and the president of the United States.	54:24
	Grant to all those in authority the wisdom and strength	54:28
	to know and to do thy will.	54:30
	Let us pray for all who feel unloved or unwanted.	54:34
	For those who seek to harm themselves or others.	54:40
	For those who indulge in material excess	54:44
	to fill an interior void.	54:47
	For those who live within institutions surrounded by people	54:51
	yet lonely beyond words.	54:55
	May they find strength and	54:58
	renewed conviction in thy word oh Lord.	55:00
	These prayers we offer with the knowledge	55:04
	of your saving power oh God which is	55:07
	ever present in our lives.	55:09
	Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray, amen.	55:13
	And now in thanksgiving for the mighty acts of God,	55:19
	let us offer our gifts	55:23
	and ourselves to the one who saves us.	55:24
	(organ music)	55:57
	♪ The spirit of the Lord is upon me ♪	57:11
	♪ Because he has anointed me ♪	57:24
	♪ To preach the gospel to the poor ♪	57:37
	♪ He hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted ♪	57:49
	♪ To preach deliverance to the captives ♪	58:00
	♪ And recovering of sight to the blind ♪	58:08
	♪ To preach the acceptable year of the Lord ♪	58:23
	♪ To give unto them that mourn a garland for ashes ♪	58:44
	♪ The oil of joy for mourning, ♪	58:58
	♪ The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness ♪	59:06
	♪ That they might be called the trees of righteousness ♪	59:14
	♪ The planting of the Lord that he might be glorified ♪	59:29
	♪ For as the earth bringeth forth her bud, ♪	59:54
	♪ And as the garden causeth ♪	1:00:13
	♪ The things that are sown in it ♪	1:00:20
	♪ To spring it forth ♪	1:00:29
	♪ So the Lord God will cause righteousness ♪	1:00:36
	♪ And praise to spring forth before all the nations ♪	1:00:48
	♪ The Spirit of the Lord is upon me ♪	1:01:35
	♪ Because he hath anointed me ♪	1:01:49
	♪ To preach the gospel to the poor ♪	1:02:03
	(organ music)	1:02:15
	(singing hymn)	1:03:01
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	1:03:13
	♪ Praise God ♪	1:03:20
	♪ Praise God ♪	1:03:26
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	1:03:32
	♪ Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah ♪	1:03:37
	♪ Amen ♪	1:03:54
-	Let us pray.	1:04:05
	Accept oh Lord our thanks and praise	1:04:12
	for all that you have done for us.	1:04:15
	We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation,	1:04:17
	for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life,	1:04:21
	and for the mystery of love.	1:04:26
	We thank you for the blessing of family and friends,	1:04:28
	and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side.	1:04:33
	We thank you for setting us a task which demand	1:04:38
	our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments	1:04:42
	which satisfy and delight us.	1:04:45
	We thank you for those disappointments and failures	1:04:49
	that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone.	1:04:54
	Above all, we thank you for your son Jesus Christ,	1:04:58
	for the truth of his word, and the example of his life.	1:05:03
	For his steadfast obedience by which he overcame temptation,	1:05:08
	for his dying through which he overcame death,	1:05:14
	and for his rising to life again,	1:05:17
	in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom.	1:05:20
	Grant us the gift of your spirit,	1:05:24
	that we may know him and make him known,	1:05:27
	and through him at all times and at all places,	1:05:30
	may give thanks to you in all things, amen.	1:05:34
	And now as our savior Christ has taught us, let us pray.	1:05:40
	Our father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.	1:05:44
	Thy kingdom come, thy will be done,	1:05:49
	on earth as it is in heaven.	1:05:52
	Give us this day our daily bread	1:05:55
	and forgive us our trespasses,	1:05:58
	as we forgive those who trespass against us.	1:06:00
	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.	1:06:04
	For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory,	1:06:08
	for ever and ever, amen.	1:06:12
	(organ music)	1:06:17
-	Now may the Lord bless you and keep you.	1:09:51
	May the Lord make his face to shine upon you	1:09:54
	and be gracious unto you.	1:09:57
	May the Lord lift up his	1:09:59
	countenance upon you and give you peace.	1:10:00
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:08
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:13
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:19
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:28
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:35
	♪ Amen ♪	1:10:45
	♪ Amen ♪	1:11:00
	(organ music)	1:11:21

Item Info

Title:

Chester Williams - "That Special Race" (July 10, 1988)

Description:

The Christian life is often depicted in Scripture as a race. This is a particular race we are called to, one of common struggle that necessitates we pick up our crosses and follow Jesus. Each of us also has our own particular laps to run in this race, so we must not get distracted by the races others are running. And, finally, in order to run this race with endurance, we must lay aside the heavy burdens of sin that weigh us down. We have this example in Jesus and all the saints of the ages. (Abstract created by Duke Divinity School staff.)
Sermon start time: (Part 1) 27:14. Sermon end time: (Part 1) 49:28.
Key quotation: “It’s not a race where Jesus must bear the cross alone, and all the world go free. That’s not our race. It’s a race where there is a cross for everyone, and there is a cross for me.”

Permalink:

https://idn.duke.edu/ark:/87924/r4tt4g82n

Date:

July 10, 1988

Speaker:

Williams, Chester

Biblical Book:

Chapter and Verse:

Subject:

Contributor:

Duke University. Chapel

Identifier:

UA.17.01.0003 VHS-0087
ref8485_qyt
uachapelsermaud
duke:321580
dcrmv001087
ark:/87924/r4tt4g82n
a89ba20a-88fd-4378-a2f7-139576967026

Digital Collection:

Duke Chapel Recordings

Source Collection:

Duke University Chapel recordings

Language:

English

Location:

United States
North Carolina
Durham (N.C.)

Format:

Provenance:

The Duke University Chapel Recordings were transferred to the Duke University Archives beginning in 1970.

Rights:

Limited Re-Use

Unknown Rights-Holder

Rights Note:

This material is made available for research, scholarship, and private study. Copyright in this material has not been transferred to Duke University. For reuses of this material beyond those permitted by fair use or otherwise allowed under the Copyright Act, please see our page on copyright and citations: https://library.duke.edu/rubenstein/research/citations-and-permissions.

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