1 Cor 9:24-27.doc
GOOD ADVICE TO A GROWING CHURCH _____________________________________________
Seven Keys to Running Your Race Well- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
1 John 5:4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith.
The word victory is the Greek word “Nike” – it means victory or success.
Every four years, an event takes place that captures the attention of the whole world - The International Olympics.
People watch their favorite athlete or team compete for the gold medal.
We all look with pride as our team stands up to receive their honors.
I especially am moved as our flag is raised during the playing of the national anthem.
All of us like to see our team win… but few of us understand the price that these athletes pay to get there - the years of rigorous training and discipline.
The same goes for each of us in the Christian Arena. Without the right training and discipline - victory will always be out of reach.
This passage gives us the formula for running our race well.
Remember last week as we studied chapter 9? Paul gave us his dugout speech.
Now he tells them how to be winners.
1 Cor 9:24 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.
1 Cor 9:25 . Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
1 Cor 9:26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
1 Cor 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
1 Cor 9:24 Remember that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize. You also must run in such a way that you will win.
1 Cor 9:25 All athletes practice strict self-control. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
1 Cor 9:26 So I run straight to the goal with purpose in every step. I am not like a boxer who misses his punches.
1 Cor 9:27 I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.
This passage is written with the backdrop of the Isthmian games - the equivalent of our Olympics.
This event was held every two years ten miles outside the city of Corinth.
These games brought people from every part of the Mediterranean to compete or just watch.
It was the sporting event of the year - drawing the empire’s best talent.
Athletes would compete in foot races, broad jumping, discus throwing, wrestling, boxing, gymnastics, and equestrian contests.
They would compete fiercely, each striving for the Isthmian crown - a wreath of wild celery.
Winners received a lifetime exemption from paying taxes and serving in the military.
They would also receive free tuition at one of their universities.
Statutes of themselves would be erected along the road that led to the site of the games.
But the real prize was the celery wreath, awarded to the winner at the end of the games.
SEVEN KEYS TO RUNNIG YOUR RACE WELL
1. Proceed – Get Going
1 Cor 9:24 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.
Notice Vs. 24 – “All the runners run”
In order to run the race we must first begin.
· The great Nike slogan fits here – “Just Do It”
There is no way to win a race if you aren’t running. To win the race requires that you get in the race.
We cannot serve God from the starting blocks
Winning starts when the daring to begins. It is impossible to be victorious without doing.
WE CANNOT EXPECT GOD TO SAY “WELL DONE” IF WE WILL NOT FIRST “WELL DO.”
2. Pursue – Keep Moving
V. 24 -Run in such a way as to get the prize
This race isn’t over until we cross the finish line.
If we want to win the prize we must pursue excellence in everything that we do.
Paul is telling us that we cannot settle to watch from the sidelines but that we must be involved.
· We must be willing to take action
· We must be willing to change our attitude
· We must be willing to keep moving – even when we feel like giving up
The value of the prize was not monetary but symbolic.
The prize for Paul was a sense of satisfaction that God was using him in ministry.
…that he had used all his energies and talents and gifts for God’s glory, for the good of the kingdom.
That’s what Paul lived for. He described that prize in…
Philippians 3:14 - “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
When we run our race …whatever it may be, let us put on our faith or our NIKE gear, and strive for the prize.
We run to receive a crown of righteousness.
It is not a crown of riches, but a crown that will carry a message to all who see it.
2. Prepare – Get Ready
V.25 - And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things
An athlete who wants to win goes into strict training.
KEY WORD - temperate/ self-control. This gives the idea of inner strength - strength
not to indulge or act on impulse.
The word ‘compete’ that he uses is the Greek word for agony. It points to the tremendous effort that was put forth to win.
Although the presence of our self-control is from the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23), the practice of our self-control is our responsibility (2 Peter 1:4-7).
The point here is not necessarily abstinence, but having a strong control of our appetites and passions.
If we want to win, we must prepare
Life is full of unexpected events and we must be ready at a moments notice.
If you want to excel as an athlete you must go into training.
The same is true of Christianity. We need spiritual workouts – Time in prayer, time in the Word, time in worship
To win the race requires that we are ready.
· We must be in a state of constant readiness
· We must be ready when God calls us to serve
· We must be ready for when we cross the finish line
“The secret to success in life is for a man to be ready for his time when it comes.” – Benjamin Disraeli.
The key is “self-discipline.”
The athletes that competed in this competition had to provide proof that they had been in training for at least 10 months before the contest.
They had to prove that they had spent the last 30 days doing exercises in the gymnasium.
In the Greek games - only one received the prize. But for the Christian - the prize is available to all who run the disciplined race.
The Christian should run as the winner runs.
Phil 3:13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
Heb 12:1 Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
Rev 3:11 ""Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. (NKJ)
In 1976 the University of Indiana won NCAA National Title. When interviewed about their success, coach Knight said, “the will to succeed is important but what is more important is the will to prepare”
We must prepare ourselves for the race.
4. Perceive – Get Focused
1 Cor 9:25 … Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.
We do this to receive a crown that will last forever”
If we want to run the race you must know where we are going.
Our finish line is heaven. Heaven is our goal and we must be heavenly minded.
All of us have heard the phrase “They are so heavenly minded they are no earthly good.” That should not pertain to any of us in this room.
Our goal is heaven but we continue to live balanced lives here on earth.
To win the race requires us to be focused on the goal.
The prize we seek is not temporal or earthly.
The things of this earth will pass away. Our focus should be on that which will remain – the imperishable crown.
The winner who received the crown did so after much endurance.
His crown was a perishable crown - BUT OURS IS IMPERISHABLE. It will last forever.
Since these athletes did so much training for a perishable crown - how much more should we strive for an imperishable crown.
2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. (NKJ)
1 Cor 3:13-15 13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward. 15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (NKJ)
V. Purpose – Get Energized
1 Cor 9:26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
Verse 26 makes the point that we should not practice for an event without a goal. Paul said that he did not run without having a reason.
Many people today run for fitness, which is a goal.
Have you ever noticed that many professional athletes give up running, biking, or whatever sport they were doing when there are no more prizes to win?
Why run if you cannot obtain a prize?
Paul asked why in the world would someone fight if they are just going to swing at the air? What is the point of shadow boxing if you are never going to fight?
Whatever sport we choose to participate in, or whatever resolution we chose to make… we must not just go through the motions.
We need to set a goal before us. Any race that we run, we should aim for the finish line. Do not enter an event; do not enter a resolution, without having the goal of finishing.
Another thing to point out is that too many times we focus more on the task than the outcome.
There’s a true story of a man who approached a laborer who was laying bricks and asked him, “What are you doing?”
The laborer said, “Can’t you see I’m laying bricks?”
The man then walked over to another bricklayer and asked, “What are you doing?” And the workman answered with pride, “I’m building a cathedral.”
Both were physically doing the same thing, but the first laborer was occupied with the present task, and the other was concerned with the ultimate goal.
If we forget the outcome of our task, we will become bogged down in what we are doing.
One translation of verse 25 is… “do not run like a man running aimlessly”
If we want to win in life we must strive towards our purpose.
A life without purpose is like a race without a finish line.
Understanding the need for purpose is easy. Defining purpose is difficult.
To win the race requires knowing our purpose.
Paul tells the Corinthian church that they are to run this race with divine aims and purposes.
We are to move through life with purpose and direction. When we know our purpose in life it creates energy for us.
“If you’re not doing something with your life, it doesn’t matter how long it is” – Peace Corps Commercial.
Paul knew where the finish line was. He isn’t shadowboxing. His opponent is real and he fights “not as one who beats the air.”
He stops using the phrase “we” and now uses the first person “I.”
James 1:12 Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. (NKJ)
6. Produce – Get Fruitful
1 Cor 9:26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air.
“Do not fight like a man beating the air.”
If our race is to be successful we must be fruitful.
Our race is the real things… not just beating the air.
7. Persist – Never Quit
1 Cor 9:27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.
“discipline” - The verb “hupopiazo literally means “to strike under the eye” and gives the connotation of giving someone a “black eye.”
We need to literally have the Self-Control that makes us black and blue on our bodies.
Without discipline, one is sure to fail. An athlete’s strength comes from discipline.
I want to tell you a story about the strength of the first marathon runners, which is where the NIKE company gets is name.
The battle of Marathon was fought around 490 B.C. when king Darius launched an attack on Athens. Since the surrounding city-states would offer little support to the Athenians, the Athenians were outnumbered by the Persians.
Although the Athenians were outnumbered, they caught the Persians by surprise by running the full length of the plain and catching the Persians unorganized.
The Athenians were able to defeat the Persians by not only striking from the front, but they also flanked the Persian army from the sides.
Because of this sudden attack the Persian troops broke ranks and fled back to their ships.
Since the Athenians won they wanted to send word back to Athens to tell of victory so the city could prepare for the Persian fleet attack from the sea.
So Miltiades sent his best runner Pheidippides to take word to Athens. He ran the whole distance, about 26 miles, and when he arrived he was able to say one word . . . and then he died.
What was the one word that Pheidippides was able to say before he died? It was “Nike!” He cried “victory!”
The Athenians ran the whole distance of the plain of Marathon, which is some 26 miles. This could not have been accomplished without hard training and discipline.
What Aspects of Our Lives Do We Need to Discipline?
1. We need to discipline our minds
· to train ourselves to think.
2 Tim 2:15 Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. (KJV)
2. We also need to discipline our bodies.
3. We need a disciplined moral character.
Many leaders with much talent have been “disqualified” because they didn’t discipline their moral character.
“Disqualified” - rejected.
4. We need to discipline our appetites.
Say after me… “moderation…”
5. We also need to discipline our speech.
James 1:26 If anyone among you thinks he is religious, and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this one’s religion is useless.
No matter how self-controlled you are, if you haven’t bridled your tongue, you’ve still got a way to go.
You may have a disciplined mind, a disciplined body, a disciplined will, even disciplined appetites, but a loose tongue will get you in a lot of trouble.
6. We need discipline in arranging our priorities.
There are a lot of things that pull at you every day. You must decide what is important.
God has given us victory over sin. However… We must not let our guard down on sin. We must use the strategies of God to defeat the power of Satan.
2 Cor 10:4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not mere worldly weapons, to knock down the Devil’s strongholds.
Romans 6:13,19 - The body has two masters - righteousness or unrighteousness. Which one do you yield to?
If we stay on course we will finish the race.
I believe that persistence is stubbornness with a purpose.
We must be consistent to win the race. We can never quit striving to do more and be more for God.
To win the race requires that we never give up.
Paul is calling Christians to remain steady no matter what the cost
The goal we have is heaven and we can never give up on it
Winston Churchill – never, never, never give up!
Or as I heard one preacher say…. Neva, Neva, Neva, give up!
We need to be a winner so we can echo Paul’s words:
2 Timothy 4:7 “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.”
A number of people have approached me the last few weeks that they come to church and just start crying.
It is the spirit of God moving on and breaking our heart.
Psa 34:18 The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.
Psa 51:17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart; These, O God, You will not despise.
