Choices – Part 2
Choose Victory
Scriptures: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 15:57; Ecclesiastes 9:11
Introduction
This is part two of my series “Choices” and I’ve titled this message “Choose Victory.” In part one I shared with you an overview of 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 which is our foundational Scripture. It says, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus; not with uncertainty. Thus I fight; not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27) In part one I asked you to join me and make a choice to win – not just compete, but to win. I told you in part one that our abilities are tied directly to our choices. If we choose to believe that we can, we then take the necessary steps to do it. As an example I told you the story of George Dawson who studied for his GED at the age of 98. His father had instilled in him a belief that life was good regardless of what you had to contend with. He lived his life choosing to believe life was good. His life was good because he chose to believe that it was – a lesson for each of us!
This morning as we examine 1 Corinthians 9:24 more closely, I want you to consider if you’re choosing to succeed or are you choosing victory.
I. Success Vs. Victory
This morning I want to return to my analogy of running in a race. Every race when it is established has parameters and guidelines that must be adhered to in order to compete for the prize. If you’re signing up for a race, you know in advance the distance, location and prize to be obtained. No one signs up for a race without knowing this basic information. Now, if you recall from last week, I shared with you that there are Christians who are happy just being a spectator of the race or competing in the race with no expectation of winning the prize. Paul writes in verse twenty-four, “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” Paul says that many run in the race but there will only be one winner. We should run so that we can be the winner. When it comes to our Christian race, it’s not enough to just compete - we should be winning our individual races!
I want to pause here and share something with you that we briefly discussed in Bible study this week. For years I heard and believed the following statement was in the Bible: “the race is not given to the swift but to the one that endures unto the end.” Years ago when I heard someone quote this, I believed it. It sounded Scriptural and it sounded “right.” The message was focused on not giving up – staying in the race. It was a motivating message that led many to believe that being in the race was enough – just continue hanging in there! I want you to know and understand that this statement, as given, is not in the Bible. When we understand this, our expectations concerning the race we’re individually running will change. Let me explain this statement and the truth behind the words. The first part, “The race is not given to the swift” is in the Bible and is found in Ecclesiastes 9:11. The full verse reads: “The race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to men of understanding, nor favor to men of skill; but time and chance happen to them all.” When you read the verse in its entirety we find that it too is talking about winning, but it is talking about how the person who is “expected” to win does not always win. This is a sermon in and of itself. He was writing about wisdom and the uncertainty of life. Just because someone has all the talent, ability, wisdom and skill it does not guarantee that they will win their race in life. Many times the one least likely to win takes the prize. Let me continue. The second part of the statement “but to the one that endures to the end” is found in Hebrews 3:14. Paul here was talking about our not giving up in our Christian walk – finishing the race. There are several Scriptures in the New Testament that speaks to our winning if we do not give up. I am pointing this out so that you understand that the goal that God has before one is one of victory – His ultimate victory! I stress this so that you know that God’s expectation of us is not that we will just compete, but that we compete to win and that we expect to win. When we make the choice to win how we run in our race will change.
Paul writes “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it.” Consider again the marathon runner that I mentioned last week as I want to use the marathon runner as an example of success versus victory. Understand that God has given us victory but many of us are settling for success because that is what we are focusing on.
As I mentioned last week, when a person chooses to run a marathon, they begin months in advance training their bodies. Many download a specific training schedule that guides you through what needs to happen when. The training schedule is 5-6 months in duration and can include both exercise and diet change requirements. A person must focus on the daily requirements and maintain their training schedules if their body is going to be ready for the race. Now this is what I want you to see, in any marathon there is only one overall winner. Knowing this, for many runners, success is completing the race or beating their previous time. For others it is attaining a personal best demonstrating improvement in each race. While they do not “win” the race, they walk away with personal success because they have achieved their own personal goal. They competed, finished and possibly beat their best time so for that individual, they have success. They were successful even though they were not victorious! You see, victory, as defined by the rules of the race, was not just competing and finishing, it was winning the race. That was victory! If a person competes and were happy with their performance, for them personally they achieved success. However, you don’t get awarded the prize because of your personal success. Why am I stressing this? Many of us are living “successful” lives without achieving victory. What Paul referenced in verse twenty-four was the idea of victory, not success. He said we should run the race in such a way as to obtain the prize – to win it. You train to win, not just compete! You run to win, not just compete! God wants us to be victorious in every area of our lives! I know this seems like an impossible goal, but it starts with our mindset change. Let me share with you the definitions of success and victory so you can see the difference.
• Success: The degree or measure of succeeding; favorable or desired outcome; the attainment in wealth, favor or eminence. The idea of success if fluid. Success for one person might mean failure to someone else. Consider the marathon runner again. They could be successful in beating their best time but still not be victorious in winning the race. For many, a favorable outcome is success versus fighting through for total victory. Consider our Christian walk. If I am dealing with a personal struggle and pray to God for an answer and God answers, that is success. I struggled, I prayed, God answered, and I had success (by most people standards) because my prayer was answered. The next week I am dealing with a similar struggle and once again I pray and once again God answers my prayer. Once again I have success. I am deliberately being vague about whatever the struggle and prayer request is so that you can reflect on your own “successes.” Based on God answering my prayers when I was struggling with similar struggles, I experienced success – would you agree? Now let’s look at the definition of victory.
• Victory: The overcoming of an enemy or antagonist; achievement of mastery or success in a struggle or endeavor against odds or difficulties. Victory is an achievement of mastery; overcoming an enemy. Now let me take you back to my example of success as a measurement of getting my prayers answered. In that example, I struggled and God answered, but was I victorious? God’s deliverance of me was to aid me in my growth, but it was still my responsibility to grow. Since I kept dealing with the same struggles, I was experiencing success when God answered my prayers and bailed me out, but I should have been seeking victory – God wanted me delivered from the struggle! You see, having victory would have ended the struggle. Now I might experience other struggles, but I would have had victory over this one and should something similar arise, I would know how to handle it and more importantly, how to recognize the signs that would lead to the struggle in the first place. There is a difference between success and victory. The Bible speaks of our having victory which comes as we experience successes. We do not often go from struggles to victory – but our victory comes as our faith grows because we are experiencing successes. We have to stop being comfortable with just having success.
We have been conditioned to accept success rather than victory. We are comfortable struggling in life and experiencing some successes when we have periods of rest. We expect to struggle and we expect to have successes every now and then. But do we really expect to have victory in any given situation? When someone describes their job performance, they do not use terms like “this individual is victorious in money management!” or “this person has been victorious in managing that company.” No! We say, “This person is a successful money manager” or “This person successfully managed that company.” We do not use the word victorious in our lives unless we are competing in a sporting event and we actually win and thus become the “victor.”
Victory is a way of thinking. We can choose to live in victory or in success – it’s a choice. The one thing that separates success from victory is the repeatability. In the example I used of me struggling with something and repeatedly getting my prayers answered – that’s success being repeated. However, when I was delivered, I was no longer struggling with it so it was victory. If you’re continuing in the same fight and you win some battles and lose some others, you are experiencing success. However, when you win the fight and move on, that is victory! If you have the victory, you won! You saw the prize and you won it. You were in the battle and you defeated the foe – you won! When you win it’s over!
Let me give you a couple of examples we can all relate to. If you purchase a new car and you finance it for 48 months, every month you make that car payment you experience success. You get to keep the car! Some months you may have struggled making the payment, but you made the payment and you kept the car. When you made your 48th payment, you owned the car. You now experience Victory. It was yours and you could do with it what you wished. You no longer had to make payments; you no longer had the monthly success leading up to the final victory – you had it. When our kids are in school and they bring home a report cards with “As” and “Bs” they experience success (and so do we.) However, when we see those “Ds” and “Fs” every now and then, we have to refocus our kids on what “success” looks like to make sure they have the right definition. All 12 years of schools they experience success and sometimes maybe a few failures. But, when they walk across that stage and get their diploma, they now are victorious. They have graduated! Now they can go to college and/or straight into the work force, but the day will come when we can say “You are an adult now so please remove your hands from my pocket!!!” That is the day when we as parents are really victorious!!! My point is that our successful moments should lead us to victory. Success is good, but victory is so much better!!!
Years ago when I was in Junior High School there was a kid names Tony who always harassed me. After weeks of his harassment, he and some friends of his caught me in the restroom. In our previous confrontations we would exchange words and I would walk away sometimes with some minor successes. However, on this morning, fueled by his friends, he wanted to fight. So we fought right there in that restroom until the first bell sounded. When his friends broke us up and told us the bell had rung, it was over. Now here is what happened afterwards, as we walked out of the restroom he whispered to me, “You’re tougher that I thought.” He never harassed me again after that. While I had experienced success in the verbal confrontations I had had with him, true victory came after the final fight.
When we read the Gospels we see that Jesus walked in victory, He never failed! He was not successful, He was victorious! He conquered. He ruled. He dominated! Jesus had the final say in every circumstance and situation He faced in life and we are supposed to walk the same path! When He died on the cross, He paved the way for us to live victorious lives. Does this mean that we will not struggle? No! Does it mean that we will not have pains? No! What it does mean is that we have a new way of thinking. We see our situations through the eyes of a “victor” versus a “victim” and with that mentality we win! I know believing this will take something but it is a choice to believe it or disbelieve it. At some point we must choose to understand the race that we are in and we compete for the actual prize as stated by our Father. The race we are in is win or lose. God has defined the race and the parameters for which we victoriously compete. He has also defined the individual prize for each of us. We cannot change His rules to fit our desires for the race we want to run. We must run His race as He has defined it and we are to run it to win! Are you willing to run in such a way as you truly win the prize? Next week I will continue with this series examining verse twenty-five. Please stand with me.
1 Corinthians 15:57 says “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Please repeat after me: In 2016, I accept the victory that my Father has given me through my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!
