I am about to go the way of all the earth,” he said. “So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the lord requires: Walk in His ways, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and requirements, as written in the Law of Moses, so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep His promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their hearts and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.”
 

Before moving to Milltown I thought car racing was the sport of rednecks from the south and I even questioned if it should be consider a sport.  I have come to realize that for a good number of people in Milltown Sunday is race day. This means that later today a good number of you will be watching either the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 or 46th running of NASCAR Coca Cola 600.

If watching cars go around in circles for 2 – 3 hours doesn’t excite you, then try and time it so that you turn on the race with just a few laps to go if you are interested in seeing who wins. Last years Coca Cola 600 was won on the last turn of the last lap as Jimmie Johnson overtook leader Bobby LaBonte for the win. In 1999 Robby Gordon led for 199 of the 200 laps of the Indianapolis 500 only to lose the race because he had to pit for fuel.

In 1912 Ralph DePalma had an 8 lap lead with 1 lap to go when he ran out of fuel on the back straight of the race track. Ralph and his riding mechanic climbed out of the car and pushed for over a mile until they managed to shove it across the finish line unfortunately not before the second place had passed him to win.

Ralph DePalma’s effort was indeed remarkable but it did not matter because he was disqualified. His disqualification did not deter the fans from giving him a standing ovation. Perhaps you might remember seeing a similar scene at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games when a sprinter pulled up lame and collapsed on the track. Determined to finish the race he got up and fell several more times until his father jumped the barrier ran to his son’s aide. Being supported by his Dad he finished the race to the thunderous standing ovation of the crowd.

Memorial Day is a weekend when we remember those who have crossed the finish line, particular the men and women of the armed forces who were pushed across the finish line during a time of war. Memorial Day provides us time to remember all our loved ones who have passed away to a thunderous ovation of praise to God for their strength, their courage and their faithfulness.

It is those qualities that King David is encouraging his son Solomon to make the center of his life and government.

“So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the lord requires: Walk in His ways, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and requirements… so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep His promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their hearts and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.”

You don’t need me to tell you that life often resembles a car race. There are times when we seem like we are going around and around in circles. There are times when we break down. There are times when we feel we have crashed into a wall. There are times when we are in desperate need of help to get through the day. In this R rated, bordering on X rated 24/7 fast paced world of unbelief, hostility and anger we live in we need to heed David’s advice just as Solomon did.

Be strong. If you think life is going to carry you through life on easy street think again. Leadership requires strength. It doesn’t matter if you're a leader of a country, a community, a family, a church. Strength requires character, certainty, integrity, ability to listen, willingness to admit mistakes.

Be courageous. Mark Twain said, “Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting in spite of it.”

A rape victim wrote the following acronym for courage

C is for Confronting the dragons
O is for Overcoming obstacles
U is for Understanding the risks
R is for Really Living
A is for Always believing
G is for Going the distance
E is for Expecting the best.

Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak, courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen.

Sports writer Larry Schwartz wrote an article about Jackie Robinson entitled Jackie Changed Face of Sports. In that article he summed up Jackie Robinson’s life in one sentence he said, "A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives."

It could be argued that no athlete has impacted more lives. Robinson didn't make a nation color blind, he at least made it more color friendly.

He accomplished this feat by going against his natural instincts. He was an aggressive man, outraged at injustice, and quick to stand up for his rights. He had the guts to say no when ordered to the back of the bus in the army, and was court-martialed for his courage. His instinct wasn't to turn the other cheek, but to face problems head on. He was more prone to fighting back than holding back.

When Dodgers president Branch Rickey selected him to become the first African-American to play in the majors this century, Rickey wanted a man who could restrain himself from responding to the ugliness of the racial hatred that was certain to come.

Rickey said to Robinson, "I know you're a good ballplayer. What I don't know is whether you have the guts."
Robinson answered, "Mr. Rickey, are you looking for a Negro who is afraid to fight back?"
Rickey responded, "Robinson, I'm looking for a ballplayer with guts enough not to fight back."

Robinson learned how to exercise self-control -- to answer insults, violence and injustice with silence. A model of unselfish team play, he earned the respect of his teammates and, eventually, the opposition.

“So be strong, show yourself a man, and observe what the lord requires: Walk in His ways, and keep His decrees and commands, His laws and requirements… so that you may prosper in all you do and wherever you go and that the Lord may keep His promise to me: ‘If your descendants watch how they live, and if they walk faithfully before me with all their hearts and soul, you will never fail to have a man on the throne of Israel.”

Be faithful – Observe what the Lord requires: Walk in His ways ad Keep His commands, His laws and requirements.

Being strong and courageous without being faithful to the Word of God only means that our strength and courage are likely to be misplaced and misdirected. David’s point strength and courage should be fortified by the Word of God.

David stressed to Solomon the need to make God and His laws the center of personal life and government in order to preserve the kingdom, as God promised to do.

David gives us a To Do list. I am sure we are all familiar with daily To Do lists. What husband doesn’t have a Honey Do Lists. In our house we had a to do list on the refrigerator listing who did what that day.

Be courageous. Walk in God’s ways. Keep God’s commandments.  Our boys knew if they had completed the list they would get an allowance. In other words they would be rewarded.

David promised his son Solomon a reward if he completed all his chores. God would keep Solomon’s family on the throne of Israel for ever. Nothing has changed God still wants us to be strong and courageous and He promises to give us help and support when we walk in His ways and keep His commandments.

Be strong in such a world. Be courageous in life. Be faithful. If you are, you will make it to the finish line, you will cross the finish line and there a cloud of witnesses will rise up in thunderous applause.