1 Jn. 5:4 the word for victory here comes from the Greek word Nike – victory or success. 1 Cor. 9:24-27 Written against the backdrop of the Isthmian games. Every 2 years, 10 miles outside of Corinth. Foot racing, jumping, discus, wrestling, boxing, poetry, music, etc. Lifetime tax and military exemption. Free tuiton at a university. All of this, but the main prize was the honor of being crowned as a champion with a wreath of wild celery. There are 7 keys to running the race well, which we find in 1 Cor. 9:24-27. 1. Proceed – Get Going 1 Cor 9:24 “All the runners run” In order to run the race we must first begin. 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 to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward 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. 3. 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 1:5-7). 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 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. How do we run? Do we run to win? To get through? Without a goal? Phil 3:13 “Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,” Heb 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,” Rev 3:11 “I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown.” 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, so that each of us may receive what is due us for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. 1 Cor 3:13-15 13 their work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each person’s work. 14 If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. 15 If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. 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. 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. Our Mission: To help people develop a thriving relationship with Jesus Christ by serving God and serving others. Our Vision: To see our community and the world transformed by the love and saving grace of God. 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. Encore part of your life illustration. 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 one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him. 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. 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. “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. 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 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.”