1 CORINTHIANS 9:24-27 RUN A PRIZE WORTHY CHRISTIAN RACE2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Run A Prize Worthy Christian Race

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017. As we get into the word this morning, looking at 1 Corinthians chapter 9, it is very clear that God has orchestrated something special for us this morning.

We planned this week to have the time of communion immediately following the time of worship so that I could have an opportunity to go and share a few words with the Spanish ministry and minister to them and then come back and be able to teach the word. So I asked Richard to...

prepare and be ready to share for communion. But we didn't communicate about what he was going to share or what I was going to share. But it's amazing how many times the Lord just intertwines things together. And he has brought forth a single message to us, even though there's a couple different messengers that you are hearing from in Richard, as well as myself.

Here in 1 Corinthians 9, we have Paul using the illustration of a race. And so I've titled the message this morning, Run a Prizeworthy Christian Race. And I want to encourage you this morning to really think about your spiritual life, your walk with God, and is it worthy of a medal?

Is it worthy of a prize? Is your walk with God so amazing that you should have a trophy for it? That's essentially what Paul is saying here. Do you have an award-winning prayer life or an award-winning worship life or devotional life and time with God in his word? Do you have award-winning knowledge of God that you just know God so well it's worthy of a prize?

And in order to bring this point to us, Paul uses this illustration of a race. And it is a great illustration. It's really helpful to give us ideas about how we are to live the life that God has set before us.

But as we get into this illustration, I also want to make sure it's clear. It's not an illustration that, you know, carries every element of the race is, you know, directly corresponding with the Christian life. There's some pretty clear differences. And let me just highlight a couple of those very briefly before we get into this. Number one, I would say that Paul is using the picture of a race to demonstrate the deliberate effort that's required to compete. Right?

The reason why Paul's using this picture of a race is not to say, this is a competition between us, and your goal is to be a better Christian than Ronnie, or your goal is to be a better Christian than Jonathan, or, you know, that it's some kind of competition that you have to do better, be better, do more, you know, any of that compared to somebody else.

Now, the reason why Paul is using this illustration is to say, look at the deliberate effort that is required, and that is the kind of effort that you need to apply to your Christian life, to your walk with God.

Secondly, I would point out that God is the one who's evaluating and giving out the prizes. And so as we talk about a prize-worthy Christian race, we're not talking about prizes from your fellow believers that you're just so impressed, you know, here's a medal because you pray so well. I just can't believe how good you pray. It's so amazing. And so you get an award and you get an award for knowing the most verses or, you know, that it's not us who are giving the prizes. It's not even yourself. Right?

who is giving the prizes, but it's God who is evaluating our walk with him, our spiritual life, and he gives the prizes according to all the truth and what he knows about who we are, who he called us to be, and the opportunities that he gave us.

Thirdly, I'd like to just point out right off the bat that salvation is not the prize that Paul is talking about. Salvation is a free gift of God. It's not something that we earn or deserve or win in that way. And so Paul is talking about this race as a picture. It's a good picture, but don't misunderstand and think that we're competing with each other.

understand Paul is challenging us to consider and evaluate how much effort am I putting into my spiritual life? And recognizing that it's God who's the one who's giving out the prizes, and He is the perfect judge of how well we do with all that He gave us. And recognizing as well that it's about, not about salvation, it's not about earning our way to heaven, it's a free gift that

But there is prizes and rewards that go along with it. The commentator H.A. Ironside says it this way.

He says, there are two lines of truth running parallel through the word of God. Salvation, which is by grace alone, and reward for devoted service. Both of these are consistently taught all throughout the scriptures that God does the saving work by grace. It's a free gift by believing in Jesus Christ. You and I are born again. We have salvation. We can partake of communion. We have the hope of everlasting life. But in addition to that,

The Lord also throughout the scriptures teaches us that we are to serve him. And that if we are faithful in serving him and faithful in living the life that he's called us to live, that, well, there's reward for that. There's eternal value attached to that and things that we will enjoy in eternity as a result of our devoted service to God here in this life. And so that's what Paul is talking about here, those rewards, right?

that God has in store for us. Now, I can imagine some people saying, you know, Jerry, I could see you wanting a prize because, you know, you're a pastor and you kind of devoted your life to ministry and stuff. And so it makes sense, you know, that people like you, you are thinking about the prize, you want the prize, but me, I'm good with just heaven, you know, like all I need is heaven. I don't need prizes. You know, I'm okay with that. And so it's not a big deal if I don't get any prizes. But I would ask you to pay attention to who Paul is addressing here in this passage.

He's writing to the Corinthian church. This is not a letter to Timothy. Timothy, a young pastor left behind in Ephesus and called to set up leadership within the church and lead the church in Ephesus. It's not a letter to Titus who was left behind in Crete to establish the churches there and appoint elders. It's not a letter to leaders. It's a letter to

The Corinthian church. And as we've been reading through the book of Corinthians this week, going through the Bible in three years, we've seen that the Corinthian church was not like the stellar model of a church. They were confused doctrinally. They were celebrating sin instead of dealing with sin. They were overusing the gifts and out of control in their services and confused on a lot of issues. They had a lot of problems.

They were a carnal church in many ways. They were a fleshly church. They weren't mature as believers in many ways. And yet Paul, in writing to them, says, here's how you should live. And so I make that point just to say, this is not for a select group of people, but God expects every one of us

to run a prizeworthy Christian race. And so there's four points I'd like to walk us through as we look at these four verses, learning how to have this prizeworthy Christian race that God wants us to have. Point number one is found in verse 24. It is, run to become the best Christian you can be. Run to become the best Christian you can be. Give your best effort to

To become all that God has called you to be. Verse 24 again 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.

Paul asked the Corinthians to think about a race. Now, this would be something that they were very familiar with because, well, right next to Corinth was a famous stadium for them where every three years there was kind of like the Olympic Games. The Olympic Games were happening then as well, but they were happening in Athens.

But this was second to the Olympic Games, the most important, prominent games in the known world at that time. And Corinth was right there next to this stadium, right next to that place. And so every three years, they would have this competition that would go on.

And the contest would include horse racing, foot racing, chariot racing, as well as wrestling, as well as boxing, and then also musical and poetic trials. And so just so you know, rap battles, that wasn't something new in the 80s that they invented, right? It was been going on for a long time. They would flow and everything. It was anyways...

But so they would have this competition every few years. And you can imagine, you know, the Olympics today rotate, right? They go, they're in different locations each time and they're rotating in different regions and different countries and such. But if you could imagine if the Olympics were always in Los Angeles, how that would become such a...

a part of our culture. If, you know, every four years that the Summer Olympics were here, that we would have this culture and we would know and it would become part of, you know, who we are as a Southern California society in a similar way. This was deeply entrenched in who the Corinthians were. They knew the games. This happened every three years their whole life as they've lived here. They knew the races. They knew the competitions. They understood these things that Paul was discussing here.

And so he says, I want you to think about that. Think about how when you have a race, all the runners run, but only one receives the prize. So you have the lineup. There's a bunch of people on the starting lineup. The gun is fired or however it's marched that you begin the race and everybody begins to run. And they're all participating in the race. They're all running in the race. You don't have runners in the race who are not running.

Everybody in the race is running. They're all participating. But even though they're participating and even though they're running, only one of them gets the prize. Only one of them crosses the finish line first. And which one is that that crosses the finish line first? Well, it's the one who puts forth the effort first.

If there's someone in there who's just kind of half-heartedly, you know, just running, just kind of, you know, going through the motions, just not that focused, not that concentrated, didn't train very well, didn't prepare for this, you know, ate a Big Mac right before the meal or right before the race, you know, that they're not going to be the ones who wins the race, but it's the one who's giving themselves completely and entirely. And that's the one that wins the race. Now, again, the Christian life is a little bit different in that we're not racing against each other.

But Paul's calling attention to the effort that the winner puts in to winning the race. Think about the effort that that runner put in, the training that went in, the energy that's being expended, the focus and dedication that was required. And then he says, put that kind of effort into your Christian life. He says, run in such a way that you may obtain it.

The prize is not limited to one person. It's not a competition in that way. Everyone gets a prize if they run this way. If you become the best Christian that you can be, if you become the Christian that God has called you to be, you get the prize. And so nobody else can steal your prize. It's not that, well, they were a better Christian, so you don't get a prize. No, Paul is saying we all can receive the prize. We can all be rewarded from the Lord, but

But not just for being around. The same kind of effort is required. The same kind of dedication is required. And it's necessary that we run to become the best Christian that we can be. The commentator John Phillips says this. He says, many Christians do not seem to have this understanding. They take a casual, indifferent, lackadaisical attitude toward the Christian life. They are easily distracted. A concert,

Jimmy's ball game, the chance for a free game of golf is all it takes to divert them from the things that really count. He says, they're not in the race to win. And we have a lot of freedom in Christ and I'm not trying to bring any condemnation for, you know, missing things because of other opportunities. But at the same time, I would ask you to consider what does it take for you to be distracted from the spiritual life that the Lord has called you to? And are you in the race to

to win. I can share personally, you know, there's been many times in my life where I've been in the race, but just kind of going through the motions and not really in the race to win. You know, there's different kinds of running, right? You can kind of just be jogging, just kind of like chilling, like, woo, you know, no problem. And then you can be on a full-on sprint. And what Paul is saying is you need to be engaged to win the race, not just be in the race.

but you need to devote yourself. This is to be a lifelong pursuit that you run to win, to become the best Christian that you can be. Many years ago, when we still had the basketball courts here in the parking lot, I was a young teenager and we would play basketball here regularly on Thursday nights.

And as we played basketball, I, you know, just getting started, I had no idea what basketball was. I didn't know how to play. And so Pastor Tom got me involved and got me started by keeping score. And so I would just keep score, just watch everybody and try to keep track of all the, you know, the different scores that were going on. And I can't even think of the terminology. That's how bad my athleticism is. But

Eventually, I started to play. I started to get involved. I started to shoot. I started to dribble. I started to do all that stuff. And then occasionally, usually once or twice a year, we would put on a big tournament and have a basketball tournament out here in the parking lot. And we did that a couple times. And then one of the times, there was a team that was short one guy. And so Pastor Tom looked at me and he said, Jerry, you're in.

And I'm like, what? I just came to like do stuff and serve. I didn't, you know, I don't have any interest in the competition. I don't want to be in the tournament, but Jerry, you're in. Okay, so I get in the tournament. I'm playing and our team's not doing so good. And Pastor Tom pulls me aside and he says, Jerry, Jerry, you need to raise the level of your play. I looked at Tom, I was like, what are you talking about? It doesn't make any sense. What does that mean? And I don't think I even got it that day, but

I think it was years later that I had that resonating in my head. I began to understand. I was playing like I would like any other Thursday night. Like just, okay, shoot. If I make it, cool, you know, no problem. If I miss it, that's cool too. You know, either way, you know, I'm good either way. We win, we lose. I don't care. You know, I was just, I'm just playing. I'm not in it to win. And you can see the difference when someone's in a tournament to play and when someone's in it to win. And Paul is saying, look, when it comes to the Christian life,

You need to raise the level of your play. You need to not just be in it to play around, not just be in it to coast, but you need to have an intensity that you are in it to win, that you are seeking to achieve the best that you possibly can. That is to be our heart. That is to be the attitude, not just for the Paul, you know, Paul the Apostles or the Pastor Georges, but

But for all of us as believers, this is to be our heart. And if it's not our heart, I would suggest that we need to reevaluate that this is what God calls us to, to be or to run, to become the best Christian that we can be. Now, before we move on to the next point, I also want to just say, don't mistake this picture of running a race as activity. That's not directly what Paul is talking about. He's not saying, be the busiest Christian you can be.

And so if you're going to be, you know, running the race and it's prize worthy, that means you're going to be the busiest Christian there ever was and doing the most things that any Christian ever did. That's not actually what Paul is talking about. In fact, if you look at the context, if you can go back, chapters 8, 9, and 10 of 1 Corinthians really all are together as Paul deals with the subject of loving one another and helping each other grow and not causing each other to stumble.

At the beginning of chapter 8, he talks about how love builds up, but knowledge puffs up. And he uses that to address this issue that was happening in their culture, that there was meat that was sacrificed to idols, and there was a controversy over whether or not it was okay for Christians to eat that meat.

And the controversy, Paul says, look, really the controversy is, it doesn't really mean anything. But you know, for some Christians, it's a big deal. It's causing people to stumble and to violate their conscience and to go against what God has put upon their heart. And so he makes the point to say, we need to love just because you know that that doesn't mean anything. Doesn't mean you can just do whatever you want because if it's hurting other people,

Well, then out of love, you need to refrain. You need to correct or adjust your behavior so as to not stumble others. He goes on into chapter 9 to talk about his own life, an example as an apostle. He says, look, I as an apostle, I have refrained from receiving income from the churches that I'm ministering to. Now he says it's totally appropriate for that to take place. It's

Paul says, for me, what God has told me is to not do that. And so Paul is running his race. It's okay. Peter and these other guys, they do that. And that's fine. There's nothing wrong with that. It's biblical, Paul says. But for me, for my race, I refrain from that right so that I might have more opportunity to preach the gospel.

He goes on to say, I become all things to all men. And to those who are under the law, I become as under the law. To those who are without law, I become as without law. I'm trying to do my best to build bridges, to bring the gospel to as many people as possible. So Paul is not talking about, you know, you have to do more stuff. He's talking about our heart. He's talking about our character. He's talking about being the best Christian we can be. Not doing the most we can possibly do.

And don't confuse that because we can get too busy as far as, you know, doing things that God has not called us to do. But no, instead we need to become the Christian that God has called us to be. And we need to run to that. And I think that's an important picture, to run to that. How hard are you running towards this goal of being Christ-like? What kind of effort are you putting in?

Is it kind of a light jog? You know, you're just kind of casually, one day I'm going to be like Christ. And I have the promise, God will continue the work that he began in me. He's faithful to do that. Great. So one day, way down the road, I'm going to be better in my Christian walk. One day, I'm going to have an awesome prayer life. One day, I'm going to really know the Lord. One day, I'm going to be serious about serving him. And it's always, you know, down the line, in the distance. That's not running to become the best Christian you can be. That's just

to become the best Christian you can be. What kind of effort are you putting in? That's what Paul is saying here. We need to put in the effort like a runner wins the race, how he puts in the effort, the dedication, the devotion in the same way we need to apply ourselves to become the best Christian that we can be. Well, moving on to the second point, it's found in verse 25. Point number two is run to receive an eternal crown.

Verse 25 says, 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. Paul says, think about the contrast. Again, looking at this race, looking at this competition and all the effort that these athletes put in, and then think about the prize that they receive.

Now today in our Olympics, you know, they receive medals, gold, silver, bronze, that they receive. And they're nice and they're a little bit valuable, but they're still perishable. In those days, it was even more perishable because, well, the Corinthians, they would give out pine leaf wreaths. And you, you know, you've had Christmas wreaths, right? So you know how long those last. They don't last very long. That this wreath that they were given was their prize for

their devotion for their, you know, exhorting all that energy and working so hard to win the race. And Paul says, think about how much they put into that. Again, in verse 25, everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. In those days, to participate in the Corinthian games, each athlete had to commit to 10 months of training immediately prior to the event. And

And at the beginning of the event, they all would have to take an oath promising that they had fulfilled all of the training and kept the things that were set upon them. It was pretty strict in regards to what they required.

It wasn't that each athlete had the freedom to decide, well, you know, I'm going to eat this diet and have this thing. And, you know, we have regulations about what athletes cannot do, but there's not a mandate. Every athlete can only eat salad. That, you know, that's not required. But in their day, that was required. And so they decided,

gave strict regulations about what the athletes could eat during that 10 months of training. And they couldn't have any wine or alcohol during that 10 months of training. They couldn't have any pleasant foods, it says. And so, you know, no cake, no ice cream, nothing fun, nothing enjoyable. They had to train, whether it was hot or cold, no matter what, even with injuries, that they required a great deal of these athletes so that when it came time for the event, they would know that this truly is the best of the best. Right?

These really are the best athletes available, and they're going to compete, and we're going to see the best of the best compete against each other in these games. And so they had these strict requirements. And Paul says everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. They submit to this 10 months of training and strict diet and regulation, and they do all of this, Paul says, to get a wreath, to get something that doesn't last, to get

This pine wreath, or sometimes it would be parsley or wild celery. It was a simple prize that didn't last long. But Paul says, now consider the contrast. He says, they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. So we're called to compete like they're called to compete. We're called to give ourselves and to put so much effort into this walk with God and this life with Christ that

But the reward that we have is infinitely more valuable than the reward that they're working for. It's an eternal reward. It's an imperishable crown. It's something that will benefit you for all of eternity, God says. And throughout the scriptures, again, that's what H.I.R. inside was saying, that there is this kind of reward that God has in store for his people.

If you serve God faithfully and you walk with God in the way that he's called you to, God has some incredible prizes in store for you. Paul talks about this a little bit earlier in Corinthians as well. In 1 Corinthians 3, he talks about all of our works, everything that we do for the Lord being tested by fire as we enter into eternity. He says in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 14, he says, "'If anyone's work which he has built on it endures, "'he will receive a reward.'"

If anyone's work is burned, he will suffer loss, but he himself will be saved, yet so is through fire. Your life is going to be tested by fire to determine what kind of prize do you get? What type of eternal rewards are in store for you?

It's going to be eternal reward or it's going to be loss of reward for eternity. Now, it's not loss of salvation. Again, Paul says he himself will be saved. Salvation is a free gift of God. It's by grace. And we are saved by faith in Jesus Christ. And we praise God for that. And that's good. But don't settle.

for just barely making it by the skin of your teeth with smoke coming off your head. Paul says, run in such a way to obtain the prize. Fill your life with things that will endure for all of eternity and receive all the reward that God has in store for you. You may not think it's that important right now, but in eternity, you'll understand the real value and importance of those prizes that God's been talking to us about. There's great value in them. And you may not understand it yet,

But trust God at his word. You want these prizes. This is for your good. This is for your benefit. If you want the best eternity that you can have, you need to run in a way that you obtain the prize.

At the end of 2 Timothy, it's the end of Paul's life, his last letter. And he's writing to Timothy and he says, I fought the good fight. I finished the race. And he was able to say at the end of his life, I did that. I completed the course. What I encouraged the Corinthians to do, I did it. I finished the race that God has set before me. And as Paul was reflecting on this, he goes on in 2 Timothy 4, verse 8 to say, finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness and

which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day, and not me only, but also to all who have loved his appearing. At the end of his life, Paul says, I finished the race, and man, I'm looking forward to that crown of righteousness. But he points out, that's not just for me. This is a crown that's available for anyone who loves his appearing. For anyone who runs in such a way as to obtain the prize, you get to participate in the prize, that you have the opportunity to have the

This crown of righteousness. But notice that Paul says, the righteous judge. The Lord, the righteous judge, is the one who gives out these crowns. Again, it's not awards that are given from other Christians or even ourselves. And, you know, we sign up ourselves and, yes, I'm worthy of an award. And you might think you're worthy of an award. But what does the Lord think?

And see, the Lord is a righteous judge. That means it's right, it's perfect, it's holy. He knows exactly what you're capable of, and he's able to compare that to what you did. He knows exactly what he's called you to, and he compares that to what you did. We compare ourselves with one another, right? And so we're like, well, I read my Bible better than Jonathan does, or I read my Bible better than this person, I pray better than that person, I do this, you know. And we're comparing with each other.

But God looks at you. He sees your life. He knows exactly what he's equipped you to do, what he's called you to do. And he says, how did you do with all that I gave you and all that I called you to? He's a righteous judge. Have you ever watched perhaps an event in the Olympics or some other competition and you're impressed by the performance, but then they get bad scores from the judges? And you're like, well,

Why do they get such bad scores? Why are they so hard on them? You know, maybe there's some partiality there or something, but usually it's just that we don't understand a lot of the technical details. You may not know all the nuances of figure skating, but the judges do. In the same way, the Lord, he's the righteous judge and

He knows all of the details. He knows what that performance is supposed to be like. He knows what you are capable of in this life. And let me just say to you, you are capable of living the life of any godly person who has ever lived. You can have the faith of Abraham, and you can live a life pursuing the heart of God like David. You can live a life like one of the apostles. You

We all have different callings, and I'm not saying, you know, we all have to copy that or be exactly like that, but the heart and the character and the nature of these great men and women of God that we've seen throughout history and throughout the scriptures, there's nothing stopping any of us from becoming just like them. They weren't super special people that, you know, they have extra advantages, spiritually speaking. We have everything that we need in Christ, and it comes back to what kind of effort are you putting in?

You can be a great man or woman of God, worthy of being in the hall of faith in Hebrews chapter 11. You can. That's capable. That's for any one of us. That's within reach because of the grace of God and the mercy of God. But will you respond to God's grace and mercy and run to receive that eternal crown? The author Thomas Constable says...

These athletes would limit themselves to follow the rules, to follow the regulations that were given to them. It wasn't that eating good food was bad or sinful, but they would limit themselves in order to compete better, in order to participate better.

And he says, for us as believers, that's something for us to consider. And that's right in line with what Paul's talking about here. Because again, in chapter 8, he's talking about refraining from things that we know. Hey, there's no problem eating this meat. It's not really an issue. There's no spiritual issue here. But because it's somebody else, because it's an issue for somebody else, and me participating in this is going to mess up somebody else's life,

Well, I'm going to refrain. Even though I have the right, even though I know it doesn't mean anything, I'm going to limit myself. It's lawful. But Paul will make the point in the next chapter, in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 23, he says, all things are lawful, but not all things are helpful. And so to run to receive the eternal crown is going to require that we set aside things that are not necessarily bad and are not necessarily sinful, but that we willingly, willingly,

restrict and restrain ourselves from certain things so that we can pursue and engage the things that God has called us to. And as Richard was sharing earlier, that's why the author of Hebrews says, lay aside every weight as well as the sin that so easily ensnares us. That there needs to be a laying aside so that we have this attention and this focus on the eternal crown, the eternal prize that God has in store for us. Run to receive an eternal crown.

Moving on to verse 26, we have point number three, and that is run with strategic purpose. Paul says, therefore, I run thus, not with uncertainty, and thus I fight not as one who beats the air. Paul says, I'm in this race, and I'm running, but I'm not running with uncertainty. I know where I'm going. I know what God has called me to. And that's very clear as you read through these chapters.

His goal is to further the gospel, to reach more with the gospel. And so whatever he needs to do to do that, he's doing that. He is certain about his destination. Now, I'm the kind of athlete, if we're playing football together and I catch the ball, I'm just as likely to run the opposite direction than I am to run the right direction. I'm just as likely to score points for the other team because I run with uncertainty. But in our spiritual lives, Paul says, don't be that way.

Don't run with uncertainty. Get a fix on where God has called you and what God wants for you. And you run with certainty. You run. You give every effort to arrive at that destination, to reach that finish line, to accomplish that goal. William Barclay says it this way. We need to know our goal. A distressing thing is the obvious aimlessness of the lives of so many people. They're drifting anywhere instead of going somewhere.

And you know, I think I could say that this is something that happens for us as believers. Sometimes we're just kind of drifting aimlessly. We're just kind of getting by, going through the motions. We're not focused and reaching for and arriving at a destination that God has set before us. We're running with uncertainty. You need to know what is it that God has set before you.

What is it that God has called you to? What is the life? How much time has he called you to invest in this or in that? And how does he want you to portion up and balance out and have priorities? And you need to know so that you can run with certainty and accomplish what God has called you to do and not just do a bunch of random stuff that God hasn't called you to. He goes on to say, thus I fight, not as one who beats the air.

He moves now into an illustration of boxing along with the picture of running. Now, boxing was an event in their games. It was a little bit different, much more brutal. They didn't have padded gloves. Their leather gloves also had metal embedded in them. So when you punched, you know, it did some damage. It was a serious sport. They knew it. Paul says, look, when I'm involved in boxing, I'm not just beating the air.

Now that could mean shadow boxing, you know, an imaginary opponent, and that was a training technique. But it also could be picturing in the ring where you're just swinging and just you're not landing any punches. Now again, I'm not an athlete. If you want a full course on boxing or MMA, you can talk to Richard after the service and he'll be glad to fill you in. He gets all excited and passionate about that stuff. But there's a way to be in the ring and be throwing punches, but

You're not really serious. You're not really focused. You're not, you're not intending to land those punches. You're not putting in the effort and the attention and the focus and the training in order to be able to land those punches. You're just kind of, you feel good because you're throwing punches, but you're not, you're not doing anything. It's wandering aimlessly, running with uncertainty. Listen, there's too much at stake for us to wander aimlessly.

These are things that involve your life and your eternal rewards. And all of your eternity is going to be impacted by whether or not you run with strategic purpose, whether or not you run with certainty towards the things that God has set before you. But it's not just your life. The people around you are going to be affected as well by how certainly you run. Again, that's what Paul's been talking about. 1 Corinthians 8 on into 1 Corinthians 10.

Not stumbling others and refraining from our rights so that we can benefit others and we can further others and help them to progress and experience all that God has for them. I heard Pastor John Corson share recently, at any given moment, you are either a stepping stone or a stumbling block.

At any given moment throughout the day, we are either helping people move forward in their walk with God, or we are a stumbling block hindering people in their walk with God. That's exactly what Paul's been talking about. It's why it's so important. We need to run with strategic purpose. Listen, if you are waiting for an awesome devotional life to just kind of happen, like you just wake up one day, it's like, boom,

Oh my goodness, I just love the word and I just have to read it all day and I just, oh, it makes so much sense and I understand it. I just want to share it with everybody. And if you're just waiting for that to just happen, listen, you're going to be waiting for a long time while you wander aimlessly. That's not how it happens. It's kind of like, and this is a true story, for 39 years, I have been waiting for my body to suddenly become a marathon runner. I can't figure out why it hasn't happened yet.

Do you run? No. Do you train? No. Do you practice? No. Do you try? No. No wonder. It doesn't just happen automatically. It's something that requires intention and deliberate effort in the same way our spiritual disciplines, they don't just happen. They don't just, well, I feel like reading the Bible, so I'm going to read the Bible.

That, that's not running with strategic purpose. That's running aimlessly, but we need to deliberately. I know this is what God requires. I know this is what I need. I know this is good for me. And so I do it even though, well, if you're training for a marathon, listen, that means that you're going to have to run. Even though you work all day, you come home and then you go for a run.

But what if I'm tired? I worked all day. Well, if you're really training for a marathon, if you're running with certainty, then it doesn't matter if you're tired. What if it's raining? It doesn't matter if it's raining. That you are disciplined in engaging in that activity so that you can be prepared for

for the event. And in the same way, spiritually, that is how we need to approach our spiritual disciplines, that we run with strategic purpose. I don't feel like praying. I don't feel like reading. I don't feel like doing this. I don't feel like sharing the gospel. I don't feel like it. I'm tired. It's raining, whatever. But I'm not in it because, well, it just feels like it. I'm in it because I know there's eternal value. There's eternal reward. And I need to run with strategic purpose. I overheard Kim sharing recently about early in her walk,

And she was really stressed out about praying out loud. I didn't tell her I was going to share this, but sorry, babe. On Wednesday nights for the past like 20 years, we have a time of prayer where we gather together in groups and we pray for our missionaries. And I know that freaks a lot of people out. And I know there's people who don't come to Wednesday night service specifically because they don't want to have to pray with other people because it's hard. And I understand that it's uncomfortable.

But she was sharing about how that was for her. And then as she shared it with a friend, the friend said, you know, let's meet before service and practice. We'll pray out loud together just to get ourselves comfortable with praying out loud so that then we can engage in the service afterwards. And I thought, you know, that's really amazing. That's running with strategic purpose.

I'm not necessarily comfortable with this. I'm not necessarily excited about this, but I know it's something that God has called me to. And so let me work out a way to train, to prepare, to get ready, and to be engaged in what God has called me to. Let me ask you this. What's stopping you from becoming an expert in your spiritual gifts? What's stopping you from being the best children's ministry teacher that this world has ever seen? What's stopping you from being excellent in what God has gifted you in? What's stopping you?

It's something that we need to engage in purposefully and giving our effort to run with strategic purpose. And that strategy involves, well, being selective. I don't do everything because God hasn't called me to do everything, but I do the things that God has called me to do. And those things I do with the best that I have to offer.

Not, well, if it happens to fit my schedule, I have nothing more important to do, then I'll engage in that devotional life and I'll have that awesome prayer life and I'll exercise those spiritual gifts and I'll share the gospel. If it's convenient, if it just works out, you know, if it just happens, that's cool, it'll happen, you know? That's not running the race. That's wandering aimlessly. And we need to be involved in the race constantly.

Well, that brings us to point number four, to finish well. Run to finish well. Verse 27, but I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. Paul says, I discipline my body. I bring it into subjection. This now pictures a wrestling match, pinning the opponent to the ground. I pin my body to the ground. I tell my body, you're gonna obey me. Body, you're gonna help me achieve my goals, not the other way around.

Our body, our physical body, is still a sinful body. And if we allow it to, it will master us, it will rule our lives, and it will keep us from the things of the Spirit of God. That's the natural way of things. The flesh wrestles against the Spirit, the Spirit wrestles against the flesh. And Paul says, and so I work hard, I discipline my body. He's not talking about physically beating yourself. He's saying about you deliberately putting the body to death.

You deliberately making choices that you know don't feel good at the moment, but you know they're what's best for you. You deliberately making choices that you know are the spirit's leading and not just when the body allows or when the body wants it, but that you, regardless of what your body says, you do what God has called you to. And Paul says, I do this.

I subject my body. I don't let my body be my master. I don't let how I feel be my master, but instead I make my body serve me and help me achieve my goals to receive the prize, to accomplish what God has set before me. And he says, so that I don't end up in the position where I've preached to others and myself become disqualified. Now, again, being disqualified is not a picture of salvation, but he's talking about the loss of rewards. You don't get the rewards if you're disqualified in a race, right?

And you can be disqualified for several reasons. You can be disqualified for them not having the right diet that they prescribed, not engaging in the practices that they were required to practice. You can be disqualified from interfering with somebody else's race, that if you trip somebody else, whether it's intentional or not, you're disqualified. In a similar way, Paul has been saying, I'll stop eating meat if it causes my brother to stumble because I don't want to be disqualified.

I don't want to mess up somebody else's life. And so I work hard. I put my body under subjection. I make my body serve me, not the other way around, so that I can finish well. And as I've preached to others, I'm not missing out on the prize because I've been careless and I've allowed my body to become my master. I've allowed my flesh to lord over me and to dictate what I do and when I do it. No, I make my body my servant so that I don't just obey whatever I crave.

but that I submit myself to God to run the race that he has set before me. And so this morning, again, it's something the Lord has brought together through the things that Richard was sharing as well as the things that he has for us here in 1 Corinthians 9. You need to run a race that is prizeworthy. You need to live the Christian life in a way that deserves a trophy, that deserves an award, but not from somebody else, from God. That when you stand before God, God says, well done, good and faithful servant.

You did exactly what I set before you. Is that what you're going to hear? Perhaps this morning you need to raise the level of your game that you would now begin to run to become the best Christian you can be. Not just kind of casually get there one day, but really give yourself to know the Lord, to walk with the Lord, to love the Lord, to worship the Lord, to know his word, to serve him diligently. It's not just going to happen. You've got to run to it and you've got to be persistent and diligent.

but it's worth it because you're running to receive an eternal crown. This has eternal value, and there's things that you're not understanding right now, but in eternity, you're going to be so thankful that you listened to what God said, and you applied, and you went forward in trusting God and being obedient to God, whether or not you felt like it. That's what's required to run with strategic purpose. You make decisions about what's the priority and what God wants for you. Don't just

Run here, run there, but hear from the Lord and pursue what he sets before you with all your heart. Being careful to be faithful to that so that you finish well. There's a lot of people who start well and then they fall out of the race. Don't do that. There's a lot of people who start well and then get tingled up with some other runner. They get disqualified. Don't do that. Be faithful to finish well. Do your best. Give every effort to run a prizeworthy Christian race. Let's pray.

Lord, I pray for each of our hearts. And Lord, you know exactly where we are at. You are the righteous judge. You see, Lord, where we are and in comparison to what you've called us to. And I pray, God, that you would find us in a place where we are running and striving and working hard and giving a great effort to walk with you and live the life that you've called us to live. But Lord, if we are out of line and lagging behind, if we're running aimlessly, Lord, if there's any of those issues,

I pray that you would help us to identify them. Lord, that like a coach, Lord, you'd be able to point out and say, hey, you need to shape up this area here and adjust your form here. You need to change your attitude here and allow me to work in your heart in this place. Lord, I pray that you would help us to allow you to do the work that you want to do. Lord, help us to not just be those who would be like sitting in an inner tube on the lazy river, just kind of like wandering and rolling, just letting the tide take us wherever.

Help us to put our shoes on spiritually, to look to you, to look to your calling in our lives, and to run to it, that we would make every effort to be like you, to love you, and to live the life that you've called us to live. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of his word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.