Run to Win
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Next week is the big game and all the competitive talk about teams and who will win- who will compete hard, who will play fair - its kind of nice to have the Pats it be in the Super bowl this year so I don’t have to hear how they cheated or disqualified themselves in the past .
Be sure - only one team will win next Sunday - they won’t all get trophies - there is only one title for the year
Athletic competition was something the Greeks in Corinth understood! And Paul used the illustration of the race, to bring home some key thoughts to our Christian walk and life.
Some thoughts we often overlook in the nuances or smaller points, that I would like us to exam this morning.
24 Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!
25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
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.
1 cor 9.
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
As if you ran alone - the goal is not to just finish, but to finish first! Being the best you. Can be for Christ! So many Christians have fire insurance but are not pursuing Christ with excellence.
Are we running to win the prize or just cross the line?
Being the best possible first Christ - I know many will cross the finish line - but will you take home the Crown?
V25 - purpose in every step - choices for a reason
Make your decisions count for eternity
Store up treasures
Gain eternal crowns of life
1. Run to Finish
1. Run to Finish
In verse 24. Paul says to run for the prize, run to win ---
Nobody wins unless they FINISH!!!!
14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.
and in
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, and I have remained faithful.
Be intentional about completion! Let nothing deter you from reaching the goal.
Be intentional about completion! Let nothing deter you from reaching the goal.
It is easy to say Jesus, come into my heart and forgive me, and another thing to run the race of life with the intention of completing it for the glory of Christ!
Even Jesus understood that many would receive the Gospel of Christ into their hearts, they would enter the race, but never complete it!
14 The farmer plants seed by taking God’s word to others.
15 The seed that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message, only to have Satan come at once and take it away.
16 The seed on the rocky soil represents those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy.
17 But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word.
18 The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word,
19 but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.
20 And the seed that fell on good soil represents those who hear and accept God’s word and produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been planted!”
It concerns me how many people these days raise their hands for salvation, but do not follow through in following Christ.
They begin the journey, they start the race, but they are quickly distracted from the road and detour to a road that if they don’t get things turned around they will not finish the race to eternity!
worries of life
desire for money an wealth
desire to do things that are just plain worldly or sinful
distractions from stuff - sports, entertainment, travel, etc
pressure from life’s trouble
being made fun of or persecuted for being a Christian
All of these things detour us from path of the race and get us off the track to finish!
We can be so bad at not finishing what we start.
People -
- Jump around job
- jump around families and marriages
- jump around lives
Will we complete our faith?
6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.
Jesus wants to complete the work in our lives, but we don’t always let him! Let God complete a work in your life!
Let God complete a work in your life
Can I tell you that if you get saved and never grow then things are not getting completed.
We need to keep your eyes fixed on the goal - on Christ
Don’t get distracted by this world
Point your feet in the right direction and stay in the road!
Don’t let the road signs call you to the wayside
Don’t lose focus!
God’s Word calls us to be people who are Keeping our eyes on Christ:
2 We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now he is seated in the place of honor beside God’s throne.
How do we do this...
Stay in the Word
Spend time with God in prayer
To be active witnessing
To be edifying to other Christians
To work at being in unity with the brothers - (if your vision is different than the whole maybe it is time to adjust your sights)
To be diligent in giving of ourselves and our resources
When we lose these focuses or refuse to allow these principles to be a focus in our lives, we put up obstacles to completing this spiritual race we are called to finish!
Let the One who started the work in you complete it!!!
2 If they could have provided perfect cleansing, the sacrifices would have stopped, for the worshipers would have been purified once for all time, and their feelings of guilt would have disappeared.
Heb
2. Run to Win
2. Run to Win
Here is a point that I feel we often overlook when we read this passage.
Many run but only ONE receives the prize.
Ok, I know that more than one person is going to make heaven, but the idea here is to run the race to be the WINNER.
That means to gain the GRAND PRIZE, not a participation ribbon.
Anyone who jumps up in for a mile or two may get a participation ribbon these days, but Paul is calling us to be the best at running the race!!!! TO WIN!!!!
The goal is not to just finish, but to finish first!
Being the best you that you can become in Christ!
So many Christians have fire insurance but are not pursuing Christ with excellence.
We are called to diligently pursue the VICTORY in this SPIRITUAL RACE OF OUR LIVES!
Ask yourself - “AM I running to win the prize or just cross the line?”
V25 - purpose in every step - choices for a reason
26 So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.
25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
V25 - purpose in every step - choices for a reason
There is a purpose in running the race - our purpose is to WIN A PRIZE! EVERY STEP WE MAKE HAS PURPOSE and MOVES US TOWARD OUR PURPOSE IN CHRIST.
If we only give God an hour or two on Sunday morning a few weeks of the month - are we living our lives with the PURPOSE OF WINNING ETERNITY and the PRIZES that await us in eternity?
3 “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
4 God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
5 God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.
6 God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.
7 God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
8 God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.
9 God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.
10 God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
11 “God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers.
12 Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.
Matt 5.
PROMISES OF HEAVENLY AND ETERNAL REWARD — the PRIZES
Kingdom of Heaven, comfort, inherit the earth, satisfaction, mercy, SEEING GOD, being called CHILDREN of GOD!
20 Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal.
Store up treasures
Our actions in this race of life are storing up treasures in heaven! We don’t even fully know what they are, but they exist.
8 And now the prize awaits me—the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give me on the day of his return. And the prize is not just for me but for all who eagerly look forward to his appearing.
4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.
12 God blesses those who patiently endure testing and temptation. Afterward they will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.
11 I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take away your crown.
CROWN of RIGHTEOUSNESS, GLORY AND HONOR THAT DOES NOT END, CROWN OF LIFE
These are all REWARDS, PRIZES for enduring in our faith and winning the race!
It is not just about finishing, but finishing STRONG!
Our we hobbling along the back of the crowd or are we RUNNING TO WIN?????
God is calling us to PURSUE THE WIN, PURSUE THE VICTORY!
3. Run Well
3. Run Well
In running this race we are called to run it well! With excellence! According to the rules!
5 And athletes cannot win the prize unless they follow the rules.
Don’t cheat - do it right
25 All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.
Disciplined and trained according to a righteous standard!
So many want to finish and make it to heaven, but are trying to see how out of bounds they can they go and still make it
How can I sneak by, or take a short cut, but God has called us to live a life honoring HIM!
In order to run to win the prize you have to qualify by running by the guidebook - the Word!
23 Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.
24 Avoid all perverse talk; stay away from corrupt speech.
25 Look straight ahead, and fix your eyes on what lies before you.
26 Mark out a straight path for your feet; stay on the safe path.
27 Don’t get sidetracked; keep your feet from following evil.
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
We were not intended to run the race with the weight of sin wrapped around our ankles --- GET RID OF THE SIN PEOPLE!!!!
GET RID OF THE STUFF THAT WEIGHS US DOWN ---
Not everything that trips us up is a sin, but if it is weighing us down from soaring with Christ, if it is a distraction, if it is tiring us out - get rid of it!
So we can RUN WELL!!!! SWIFTLY, with EASE!
God has called us to discipline, to be trained in what we do in following Him. That responsibility falls on us to pursue so we can RUN WITH EXCELLENCE to obtain the PRIZE!
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
Let me share with you a memory I have from my High School graduation.
I remember in a class of hundreds of students sitting in the second from last row on graduation day. Disappointing as we were out in the sun instead of under the shades of the massive oak and maple trees on the front lawns of the school.
I remember them calling out awards, scholarships, and honors for much of the ceremony. I had none. It was not because I was not smart, nor because I wasn’t capable, but because I did not care or try!
I took opportunity to cut class, avoid homework, slip on through to graduation, and I had put my attention on other things. (In all honesty those things were church, involvement in ministry activities and a part time job - but in the race of High School - I eeked by.
I remember saying when I got to college it would be different, and it was! I pursued my education with excellence and effort, and involvement.
Better yet, ONE DAY WE WILL GRADUATE FROM THIS EARTH ---
I don’t just want my cap and gown --- I want to be on the HONOR ROLL!
I want to receive the SCHOLARSHIPS!
I want the PRIZES and AWARDS!!!! for EXCELLENCE.
12 Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw.
13 But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value.
14 If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward.
15 But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames.
7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.
I want to challenge you this morning --
I want to challenge you this morning --
Run to Finish
Run to WIN
RUN WELL!!!