...When I got home, I heard the sad and shocking news that Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty had died and moved on to Heaven that morning. I was not a member of Victory Church, but have been several times and love the spiritual atmosphere and the power and presence of God there. I have always admired Pastor Daugherty’s integrity, the way he never sidestepped the tough issues, but did an excellent job of speaking the truth in love. He was a bold man of God who valued his family and lived with faith, courage, peace, and passion! He and his family prayed for physical healing (he had lymphoma), but God had other plans. Everyone who knew him can say that he absolutely fought the good fight, kept the faith, and finished his race!
Ron Luce spoke at Victory last night, and it was one of the greatest sermons I’ve ever heard.
He had also run the Route 66 Half-Marathon that morning, which was why he’d chosen this particular weekend to come speak at Victory. (It’s awesome how God directs and times things so perfectly.) He talked a lot about the verses in Hebrews where God tells us to “run with endurance the race marked out for us!” To “run to get the prize.” That we are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses.” He talked about keeping the faith…standing strong and trusting God even when we don’t understand what He is doing. Trusting Him when things are tough and continuing to pray and worship Him.
Ron Luce used the verses where Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say, “The God we serve is able to save us, but even if He doesn’t, know that we will never bow…” I want to be an “even if” Christian! I want to trust in the goodness and faithfulness of God, and to be faithful to Him even when I’m confused and hurting deeply. God is good, ALL the time. Even if things don’t go according to our wonderful plan, even if our worst fears come true, we press on and we continue running our race.
Ron ended the sermon talking about crossing the finish line... how even though some finished way ahead of him and some were far behind, every person that finished the half-marathon received a medal. They finally got to rest and grab some good food, then cheer on the other runners as they came through the finish line!
I knew it was coming, but I cried when he said that Pastor Daugherty crossed the true finish line yesterday. That Abraham, Peter, Paul, Daniel, and David were all there to greet him!! And Jesus Himself was there to present him with his crown and say, “Well done, My good and faithful servant!” The whole crowd at Victory was on their feet and cheering at this point! We lost someone who inspired us and meant a lot to us, and we didn’t expect his race to be over so quickly. But we can rejoice in knowing that he is resting and celebrating with the other finishers, and cheering us on! And our task now is to keep running… yes, running. Not halfheartedly walking our race, not limping along because we were unprepared for vicious spiritual attacks, not letting apathy or passivity stop us, not letting fear and confusion make us turn back, but RUNNING toward Jesus with all our hearts, focused and determined to overcome every obstacle and to finish with VICTORY!
Many of us live as spiritual cheerleaders right now… cheering on those with pastoral positions, those whom we view as “called by God,” and sitting on the sidelines as they run with awesome passion. Someday sooner than we think, our race will be over and we will get to cheer others on from heaven, but right here, right now, God is calling us to GET UP, GET OFF THE SIDELINES, RUN, and FINISH STRONG! Our race is certainly not over, and our time here is short. We have to grab the baton and pick up where other great men and women of faith left off, to do all we can to bring others to Christ. To run the race God lays out for us with passion and endurance, keeping our eyes and hearts completely focused on the true reward when we cross the finish line… on our Lord and Deliverer, Jesus Christ!
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