Secretariat was one of the greatest race horses in history.  Sometimes referred to as “Big Red”, he stood 16.2 hands (66 inches) and weighed 1,175 lbs.

He won the triple crown in 1973 (the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years)

In the Belmont Stakes he ran the 1-1/2 mile race in 2 minutes 24 seconds (a record that has not been broken to date).

What made this horse so great?

At the time of his death in 1989 an autopsy was performed on Secretariat and it was found that his heart weighed 22 lbs.  A normal horse’s heart weighs around 9 lbs.  The heart was in perfect condition and the vet performing the autopsy said he was stunned to see such a large massive machine.

People said he had a heart to race.  He wanted to win and was very determined to be in first place and stay there.

As Christians I want you to ask yourself two questions. What holds you back from being a winner and what kind of heart do you have?

Even though Secretariat was a great horse there was at least one race he did not win.  He tried so hard to win this race and failed.  He pushed himself and you could tell he wanted to win, but something was holding him back.

What was it? It was an abscess!

In our race as Christians we can have abscesses in our lives that hold us back and keep us from winning our race.

I asked God what was the most deadly abscesses we can have as Christians that will cause us to lose our race every time.

Abscesses hurt, they are filled with pus and they stink.

I believe God showed me two. They can literally make you sick.  Researchers have found that these two spiritual abscesses actually cause physical sicknesses in your bodies, arthritis, ulcers, headaches, high blood pressure and many more.  When you are sick, you can’t run and you definitely can’t win a race.

The first one is unforgiveness. This deadly abscess can keep you from winning your race. Usually the person you are holding unforgiveness toward is running their race galloping along having a jolly good time.  Why? Because they probably don’t even realize you have a problem with them or they just don’t care. They are not upset at all. You are the one with the abscess.  Instead of treating it, you allow the abscess to grow and fester until you can’t function any longer, just like Secretariat. Galatians 5:7 says “You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?”

You need to forgive that person that has wronged you. You are not forgiving them for their benefit, you are forgiving for yours. Let God deal with them, get your healing today.  I understand that it will be challenging. You may be running your race and feeling good, you forgave that person and you are gaining ground and guess who pulls up beside you and grins?  The person you forgave and then all the hurt comes flooding back to you.  What do you do? Do you back up?  Do you pull back and stop running?  NO, smile back and keep running. You need to realize that forgiveness is not based on your feelings, but It’s an act of faith in God and trusting that He will bring you through it.

Lance that abscess of unforgiveness today!

Make a confession today that you have forgiven those that hurt you. Give your unforgiveness to God and choose life for yourself.  Keep standing on that confession every day until you are free and the devil knows you are not giving up and that you are determined to win your race.

The second abscess is bitterness. It carries all kinds of pus pockets in it.  It carries anger, jealousy, envy and many other abscesses.  How do these things keep you from running your race? They take your focus off the prize.  You lose focus on what is ahead of you. Did you ever wonder why race horses wear blinders?

Things go on around you all the time that you need to discard or not focus on. A lot of these things come on you gradually.  You get angry and you stew on it and you go to bed angry and you get up the next day angry and the process continues until it has become a stronghold of bitterness. Maybe one of your friends gets a new car, you decide they shouldn’t have it.  You begin to feel sorry for yourself because you don’t have a new car.  You just lost focus of the race your running. Jealousy sets in and if not dealt with, a stronghold of bitterness develops.  The bible says in Romans 12:15 that we should rejoice with those that rejoice. What about envy?  Someone walks into your church that has a great gift of teaching, but you want to teach. What about me? You begin to envy their gift. You just lost your focus. Different people have different gifts and you need to learn to find yours and use it for the Kingdom of God.

Our church has many gifted people and I get something different from each one of them.  You need to recognize the traps that the enemy puts in your path to trip you up.  Have you ever seen a race horse trip and fall?  It’s not very pretty.

If you will stay alert and see these things as they happen, you will keep them from becoming strongholds in your life.

Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

What made Secretariat so special?  It was his heart.

What kind of heart do you have?  When you accept Jesus as your Savior, He changes your heart.  A change takes place in your spirit man or what we call our heart. The longer you walk with Him, study His Word, and listen to His voice, the larger your heart grows, and the more endurance you have.  You are able to run and not become weary, face all kinds of trials and still keep going. You learn to brush off every stronghold the enemy sends your way.  You know why? You  have your eye on the prize.  You have learned to look at every mountain that gets in your way and tell it to move.

Look at every day as a race.  Strip off everything that holds you back and keep running.