4 R (The Relay Race for Relationship Restoration)

                                                 

(Revelation 21:1-8)

5/17/26

< The Relay Race >

Dear children of God, do you like relay races? Lately, my three oldest children have been participating in track and field. Watching their relay races brought so many thoughts to my mind. I realized that a relay race is a wonderful team sport; it’s not about just one person running well. Success requires the right posture to pass the baton, a ready posture to receive it, and perfect synchronization between runners. Even if one runner falls behind a bit, the next runner can make up the distance. Reflecting on this, I realized that we, too, are running a spiritual relay race.

 

< Creation, Fall, Redemption, Recreation >

  • Creation: Almighty God created us. It wasn't because He needed us to do His work; rather, because God is love—pure, perfect love—He created objects to love. The only thing God truly desires from us is to be in fellowship with Him.
  • Fall: However, because of human sin, we became separated from God. In our spiritual relay race, we dropped the baton we were initially given. Yet, God continuously sent numerous prophets, telling us to pick up the baton and run again, urging us never to let go of our connection with Him. But time and again, we kept dropping it.

A wonderful Old Testament example of this spiritual race is Daniel. While reading the writings of the prophet Jeremiah, Daniel understood God's promise that He would bring the people of Israel back after 70 years of exile:

"In the first year of his reign, I, Daniel, understood from the Scriptures, according to the word of the Lord given to Jeremiah the prophet, that the desolation of Jerusalem would last seventy years." (Daniel 9:2, NIV)

Holding onto this promise, he wept, fasted, and prayed for his nation:

"So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes." (Daniel 9:3, NIV)

Daniel then became part of the remnant that helped the first exiles return. Through his prayers and fasting, he saw God’s vision. He prophesied not only the return of Israel but also the birth of Jesus—the descendant of David who would save all humanity from their sins. He passed his understanding down to the next generation through the Scriptures, sharing the baton he received from Jeremiah.

  • Redemption: Many scholars believe the Magi (Wise Men) came from Mesopotamia. If you trace their lineage back, Daniel served as the chief of the magicians and wise men there. Six hundred years later, because there were Gentiles in a foreign land who inherited not just knowledge but a legacy of faith through Daniel, they were able to see the star and come to worship God.

"After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, 'Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.'" (Matthew 2:1–2, NIV)

The baton of Daniel’s legacy of faith was passed down to the Magi. Their worship of the baby Jesus proved that this humble birth in a stable—noticed by no one else—was the grand fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. This became a magnificent relay leg that impressed upon Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary, that a great history for all mankind had just begun.

Ultimately, God sent His beloved Son, Jesus, and lifted that dropped baton with powerful, irresistible grace so it could never be dropped again. Only through Jesus can we enjoy perfect fellowship with God. Jesus then passed this baton to His disciples. The disciples took the baton, preached the Gospel, and that Gospel has flowed all the way down to us. This relay, which began with the birth of Jesus, passes through the disciples and reaches us today. I realize that our given mission is to live a life reading and obeying the Word—a life that continues this relay of faith.

"Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction." (2 Timothy 4:2, NIV)

I am so incredibly grateful for the wave of Scripture reading sweeping through our church. Those who hadn't been reading the Bible have been joining in one by one. Last week, when more than half of the congregation raised their hands to show they are reading through the Bible in a month, tears came to my eyes.

"Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near." (Revelation 1:3, NIV)

  • Recreation: Today’s scripture from Revelation shows us how we will finally cross the finish line with that baton in hand. In heaven, our perfect relationship with God will be fully restored. God will dwell within us, and we will enter the home of God. In that place, there will be no more tears, no more pain, and no more death. God will declare, "You are my child." We will be free to love God with all our hearts. Once we cross that final finish line, we will no longer need to run a relay.



Jeanie Goode, Sheila Giles, Madi & Haven Giles


< Our Spiritual Relay Race >

Today, as we celebrate Children’s Sunday, God is showing us exactly how this spiritual relay race is being run right here in our church.

As Jeanie shared in her testimony, when she came here 50 years ago, she joined the children's ministry so she could bring her own children to Sunday School. She went on to teach Sheila; then she taught Sheila’s children, Katelyn and Caleb; and now, she is teaching Katelyn’s daughters, Madi and Haven. For 50 years, she has been teaching three generations! To ensure that a family's faith keeps flowing, she has consistently guarded her post, passing down the love of God to the next generation just like Daniel did. Knowing Jeanie's precious heart, God has blessed her with five more beautiful, co-laboring teachers.

                                           

Penny and Ross pour their time, energy, and resources into bringing the next generation to life through every Friday night and Sunday school. Chrissy is fully dedicated to hugging the kids, patiently caring for them, dancing with them, and teaching them the Word. Marjorie joined the Sunday School team this year, teaching the children both the Word and the piano, and Audrey always generously shares her cooking and art talents with the kids. Because of them, this year we have 6 teachers and helpers, 5 youth, and 10 children participating together in Sunday School, family karaoke, after-school programs, cooking classes, and various other activities. Hallelujah!

 

< The Spider Plant >

A few years ago, a teacher shared a spider plant with me. Back then, I received just one tiny pot, but it grew so well and put down new roots so quickly that now, every year, I gather the baby plants and share them with others. Looking at the spider plants this year, I thought a lot about Jeanie.

Jeanie, who has nurtured countless disciples over the past 50 years, feels just like our "Mother Spider Plant." And the teachers here—along with all of you saints who raise our children together through your hearts and prayers—feel like spider plants as well.


<Spiritual Relay Race>



In 1858, in a small church in Boston, a Sunday School teacher passionately taught God’s Word to a group of boys. Among the children in his class was a boy from a very poor family who worked in a shoe store. This boy listened intently to his teacher's words. That boy grew up to become a world-renowned evangelist who shook America and Europe in the late 19th century—the Great D.L. Moody.

Years later, Moody preached at a revival meeting in London, England. Moved by his message, a man repented and turned to the Lord. His name was F.B. Meyer. Meyer soon received God's calling and threw himself into evangelistic ministry alongside Moody. Later, a man named J. Wilbur Chapman heard Meyer preach, was deeply moved, and became a minister himself. Chapman eventually shared the Gospel with a Major League Baseball player. That ballplayer went on to preach the Gospel to millions of people; his name was Billy Sunday.

In 1924, Billy Sunday held a massive revival campaign in the city of Charlotte, North Carolina. His fiery preaching sparked a deep spiritual awakening among the local citizens. Inspired by Billy Sunday's meetings, a group of local Christian businessmen formed a dedicated prayer group. They began meeting regularly on a pasture just outside of town to pray for another great revival, specifically asking God to raise up a powerful new evangelist from their own region. Incredibly, the farm they gathered on to pray belonged to Billy Graham’s father!

Ten years later, in the fall of 1934, those exact same businessmen invited a fiery traveling evangelist named Mordecai Ham to Charlotte for a tent revival. At the time, Billy Graham was just a 15-year-old boy who was highly reluctant to go hear the evangelist preach. However, a family friend managed to persuade him to attend.

It was during that 1934 Mordecai Ham crusade—on the very soil that had been soaked in the prayers of those faithful businessmen a decade earlier—that young Billy Graham walked down the aisle and gave his life to Jesus Christ. That farm boy went on to carry the baton of faith to over 200 million people worldwide!

We see how incredibly precious just one person is. Large numbers are nice, but a large crowd does not always guarantee great fruit. The power of a single person is immense. I confess that we are called to be those "Mother Spider Plants" who pass the Gospel to that one single person.

To our children and youth: You are the athletes running this race right now, holding the relay baton. You don't have to know everything else. My earnest prayer is that you never let go of the words written on your baton: "Relationship with God." I pray that you will love God, grow up healthy and strong under the abundance of His love, and become beautiful new spider plants for Him. Amen.

 

UNISON PRAYER

Loving God, thank you for making us fearfully and wonderfully in your image. You created us for a deep relationship with you, but we repent for the times we have forgotten it. Help us to run this relay race for relationship restoration until we face you in our heavenly home. Strengthen us to faithfully pass the baton to the next generation. We pray in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

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