Chapel Service
ISM Raceway (Phoenix Int’l Raceway)
November 9, 2019
“Ending 2019 as a Winner”
Bob Butcher
Hello NASCAR Family! Welcome to ISM Raceway and the Phoenix, AZ area. For us northerners the weather is already a treat!
This is a little bit different since this is our last race event at a track for this 2019 year. It is also our last ever K&N Pro Series race as K&N goes away as our Title Sponsor. What a wonderful treat to have had them over ten years! As 2020 arrives everything is new and likely in question. Therefore, I really felt that I needed to bring both these messages as we enter the holiday season and sort of hiatus for a couple months. Both are essential questions and subject matter.
1.
Kathy & I invite you to look into this series online. This is part one, but also can be a stand-alone message. As I listen to people everywhere I go, and not just at the track, I have never seen or felt people feeling so anxious as these days. With 2020 coming ahead it’s not only our K&N Series that brings up questions about our future. I have felt this is how I want to close our 2019 season out and give opportunity to dwell in renewed peace as the future of 2020 comes upon us. We can deal in depth with this live series far better than I can at our brief church times together at the track. Please watch this one first and hopefully the next few in this series and call, text, message or come talk at the Awards Ceremonies in Charlotte, NC with Kathy or me.
If you go to our website and to the Chapel Service page, this will be posted to click upon and go directly to the live message.
Anxiety is a part of human life, but God made a provision for us so that we would not be overcome with fear and worry. Every day we get up, we decide if He is still worthy to be trusted and able to keep us from falling. I hope you take time to watch this and rest in it.
2.
Secondly, this race at ISM ends our season together as a NASCAR K&N Pro Series and it has been an interesting year in a number of different ways. Please allow me here to focus on just one of the areas that I would feel neglectful if I did not speak into; and that is due to being both a Pastor and a former Driver. Both bring memories to my mind at this time of year and I hope I can help you make some life-changing sense out of this area as God certainly is very specific in this area for our own good.
So, what am I referring too here ladies and gentlemen? No matter whether you are the driver or crew member the run-ins with another driver or team this year are serious events and can also be negative forever, for your career, or even come up to mind in the middle of a wonderful holiday season and just ruin your day. I know, because I have been there and experienced it personally.
As racers, we often say “we never forget” that on track incident or pit encounter and paybacks will happen when least expected. As true as this may be in our sport, the negative input it has within our personal life is no way worth it in life’s scheme of things. Let me explain why God has warned us about such a mindset.
There is lots more to be said on this so here is the live video on this message:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8GDAMtLuXc
Lets’ look together at why God is so adamant that this is harmful to us personally. He pretty well says it very explicitly in His Word, …the Bible. It starts with what everyone calls “The Lord’s Prayer” in Matthew 6: 9-15: “Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy. 10 May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today the food (our daily bread) we need, 12 and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who have sinned against us.13 And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.”
Note here in verse 12 the word “as” because it’s the only word Jesus expounds upon. He goes on to say in verse 14-15: 14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Did you catch that statement??? I don’t know about you, but that’s pretty good reason to forgive that other driver, team member(s) and whoever! That ends stewing on it over the winter months and it certainly overrides all this payback idea because our lives are FAR MORE Important. He is not just talking about that incident we are angry about. It takes in ALL we ask, covers ALL the things WE are guilty of, and if you are anything like me then you need a whole bunch of forgiveness sometimes daily!
But, …There is more! In Matthew 18, Jesus says this: 21 ” Then Peter came to Him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! Whoa! There is a direct reason for His answer but for time’s sake here, and in light of Jesus’ statement, if you wonder about how long must you take another’s on-track abuse, come talk with me.
“Forgiveness is my personal act to release the one who sinned against me from my right to collect on the moral debt (the right to pay him back) for his offense(s), giving it over to God for His justice and mercy.” – Gerry Breshears
In closing let me add a bit about forgetting the sin against you but then bring them back up next time; In Isaiah 43:25 God says this: “I—yes, I alone—will blot out your sins for My own sake and will never think of them again.” God says He will not bring our sins up again in His Mercy, but it doesn’t mean He doesn’t remember them, but He chooses to never bring them up again and throw them into our face. It’s a perfect lesson and guideline to us also!
All of this is to simply say don’t let someone else’s actions ruin your life and place you into bondage in your heart and mind. Either let it go or come talk with Kathy or me and we will work through the whole deal together, anytime or any method you choose whether face to face or cell phone, or…?
Until Charlotte at our 2019 Awards Ceremony…
Or until 2020 or the next time we are together,
Kathy and I wish you a wonderful Holiday Season and New Year and send you our Love & Hugs!