Running to win, Persevering until the end
Notes
Transcript
Running to win, Persevering until the end - Rough Draft
Running to win, Persevering until the end - Rough Draft
I Corinthians 9:24-27
At the end of this message my hope is that you will be challenged to regularly be pressing into Jesus in such a way that you will obtain the crown of salvation.
Read Text, I Corinthians 9:24-27
Intro - Many of you know a dear friend who passed away recently Betty Smith.
-I only knew Miss Betty for 2 years and was really impacted by her life.
-For decades, Miss Betty made a big impact on our church and this community. She was a tremendous blessing.
-Although Miss Betty pushed back on any attention given to her, The personal impact she had on many sitting here today probably could not be overstated.
If you have been attending this church for any amount of time, you probably don’t know that she impacted you indirectly by her service behind the scenes.
-As I prepared to speak at Miss Betty’s funeral I asked her children if they would look in her Bible for any favorite verses. - Verses that stood out.
-What they found underlined was verse after verse about persevering in her walk with Christ.
-Running faithfully the spiritual race.
-Standing firm with Jesus through all of life - even through death.
Transition - Paul speaks to these things in verse 24 when he says...
Read verse 24
Paul said this ...
(Slide) I. Run to win the prize. vs. 24
The Corinthians would be very familiar with this concept of running for a prize.
-Every 4 years at the town of Olympia. The Olympic games were played.
-The Olympic games were played This took place for 1200 years before they stopped in 300 BC. They were in place for 12 centuries.
The Corinthians certainly were familiar with the Olympic games, but even more so with similar games called the Isthmian Games.
-Isthmian games were held one year before and one year after the Olympic games in the Corinthians back yard.
The Corinthians would regularly see or hear about runners and competitors (training in Corinth) who were readying themselves for these national competitions.
Transition - In athletics - you have 2 kinds of competitors -
The athletes and the scrubs.
Illustration-
On a high school football team how do you know the athletes? They have “it”.
They have the drive, vision of the field, football I.Q., natural ability that can’t be taught.
The same is true for an Academic versus Student.
Academics aren’t just smart, they enjoy learning, they have a drive to excel, they ask questions, they read the footnotes.
The same is to be said about an artist versus someone who is just creative.
There are differences. Pause
There are differences spiritually between those who have been changed by Jesus and those who are just religious.
-To use Paul’s illustration about spiritually running to win a prize.
-Those transformed by Jesus are running to win a race.
-Those who are religious are jogging for exercise.
Explanation - Paul’s illustration is a little quirky because the race that the Christ Follower is running is not a race against others, it is a race against self.
The prize that the Christ Follower is running for is the Crown of salvation.
(slide) II. Run to win the Crown of Salvation. vs. 25
-Read verse 25.
-We are challenged to spiritually run and press forward to receive the crown of your salvation.
Remember our illustration about the spiritual scrubs and those who have truly engaged Jesus in faith?
The really scary thing is that both religious people and truly saved people can look a lot alike.
Illustration
-They both have $200 running shoes.
-They both have specialized runners watches.
-Both have the light nylon short shorts - that even the men wear.
-Both even show up at the race.
-Both warm up and stretch the same way.
-Only one races to receive the prize.
One only participates in the race, just to do something athletic, but has no intention of winning.
The other runs to win.
What do you win? What is the prize?
In the Olympic and Isthmius Games - At the very end of the games the winners of the events would stand together on a big podium.
-they would be awarded a crown made of leaves, a small wreath for the head.
-they would be honored in front of thousands that came to watch.
-In an honor shame culture, if you were a winner, you would keep your honor until the next games came. This was a big deal.
Pause
-But that crown made of vines and leaves would eventually wilt, it would perish.
-The honor that was sought would only last a short time.
vs. 25, we are challenge to run for a Crown that will not perish. “The Prize”
-the Crown of salvation
I Peter 5:4 - unfading crown of glory
2 Tim 4:7-8 - The Lord award a crown of righteousness
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
Crowns will be laid at Jesus Feet
Rev 4:10-11, in Heaven crowns will be thrown at Jesus feet as worship of Him.
At the very end of verse 24 the Christ Follower is told, “So, run that you may obtain it [the prize]”.
“Run to win.” Pause
Paul tells you to run to win. Why does he say, “run to win’? Because it is possible to lose and miss the prize.
Read - I Cor 9:27
I have to discipline myself, like a good athlete, so I won’t be disqualified. [So I wont miss out on the prize.]
It is possible to run the spiritual race poorly and be disqualified.
The Corinthians were so busy grasping at their rights, self protecting, looking out for what was best for #1 that they were in danger of losing the prize. They were in danger of spiritual disqualification.
What does all this mean?
Here is the teaching -
Running to win only comes out of someone who has had their life completely changed by Jesus.
Only the truly saved will persevere in their faith and receive the crown of life. x2
This staying steady in your spiritual race, running through the finish line is called the doctrine of perseverance.
Transition - Lets answer this question...
III. I must persevere in my faith.
What does it mean to persevere?
Wayne Grudem “perseverance … means that all those who are truly born again will be kept by God’s power and will persevere as Christians until the end of their lives, and that only those who persevere until the end have been truly born again.”
What we are focusing on today is the biblical fact that -
If you are a true Christ Follower. If you have truly been saved by grace through faith in Jesus work in making a payment for your sins ...
then you will persevere in your life spiritually and regularly grow in Christ.
This persevering in your faith won’t until the end of your earthly life.
Will you have bad, days, months, even long seasons of your life that you have deep spiritual struggle? Yes - you may.
I look back at several seasons of my life (particularly when I was younger) and wonder if I was saved.
These were times that I was shamefully not walking closely with the Lord.
Some Christians will not only have struggling days and weeks, but sometimes struggling seasons.
BUT - Those who are truly saved, will come back to God and will walk with Him.
6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
***Faithful communing & obeying God is an evidence of genuine salvation.
? To continue our running and racing illustration...
-Those transformed by Jesus are running to win a race.
-Those who are religious are jogging for exercise.
Question -
Have you been saved and changed by Jesus or are you just religious?
-You say I’m definitely saved by God, no doubt. Good for you, but ...
How would you know? WHAT IS THE EVIDENCE?
-The most dangerous person is the church goer who warms a pew, but is headed straight for hell.
2 Timothy 3:5… Tells us this about the religious..
They have an appearance of godliness, but have denied His saving transformational power.
What does the Bible say about the evidence of our salvation called - perseverance? or being steadfast in our faith. Running to win.
31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples,
abiding in, living in, deeply connected, enmeshed in Jesus
16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.
Persist = continue in, persevere in watching your spiritual life
10 Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have tribulation. Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life.
be faithful...
22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
endures = NIV “Stand firm to the end”
Colossians 1:22–23 ESV22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard...
“continue” “stable - steadfast -not shifting”
14 For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
hold (firmness, conviction, steadfastness, confidence) to the end
Someone who is a Casual Christian, who calls themselves a Christian because they like morality or likes the idea of Jesus and the Cross, but who is not persevering, not pressing, not running the race … that casual Christian is a Christ follower in name only. Pause
Slow and intentional -
The casual Christian is in a dangerous spot.
Because a casual Christian is a damned Christian.
-If this is you, please right now, turn from your religiousness, & give all of yourself to Jesus. Pause
V. How to run to obtain the prize? vs. 25-26
vs. 25, Self Control
Self Control does not = Self Discipline
Self Control is a fruit of the Spirit. Self control has a spiritual end in mind. Self Control has a spiritual goal.
Isthmian Games Illustration -
Contestants, in order to get into the finals at the Isthmian Games, had to give proof of 10 months of training, and the last 30 days before the event, they all came into the community (Corinth), and they had to go to the gymnasium every single day, attending exercises, and only when all of those conditions were fulfilled were they able to run.
There was intentionality, there was a goal in their self discipline.
vs. 26 Boxing Illustration
I don’t shadow box. I spare
vs. 27, I discipline my body - literally -“I give my body a black eye”.
-I don’t let my selfishness dominate me. (fleshly desires)
-Rocky movies - during sit ups someone would punch rocky in the stomach to toughen him.
-Marshal Arts Fighters - will take a light stick and wack at their shin bones to deaden the nerves - so their lower legs can take a blow.
-Intentionality in training.
What is the spiritual goal of this Self-Control?
Spirit empowered - Self-Control depends on God’s Spirit. It is God glorifying because it is God who does the work in us.
Obedient - It seeks to follow God as King.
You can see 2 primary parts of the outward living out our walk with God.
-Empowered by God to obey Him as King.
This is totally different than being self-disciplined to be a moralistic.
A moralistic person is self empowered to follow rules.
A Christ follower is transformed by the love & forgiveness of God, empowered by the Spirit of God, and follows God as King.
This is the way God calls us to run - to live - or we are in danger of being disqualified.
(Slide) VI. Is this salvation by works? No.
Jonathan, This sounds a lot like a sermon on how to be saved by doing good deeds, by working for your salvation.
What’s the difference between this and salvation by works?
Eph 2:8-10 makes it clear
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
Those who work for their salvation use good works as an on ramp to gain God’s forgiveness.
The true Christ Follower runs for the prize as a response to the love and forgiveness of God.
It is God’s Kindness that leads us to repentance.
We love Him because He first loved us.
God acts, then we respond.
Gospel - Consider the perseverance of Jesus
Who persevered in obedience, not to become the Son of God, but because he was the Son of God.
What was Jesus final and greatest perseverance?
Dying on the Cross to make a way for salvation.
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
Jesus went to the cross, endured it, knowing that He was making a way for you to have salvation.
If you are just religious, but not a Christ Follower, Jesus is calling you to come to Him in faith right now.
He has made a way for you.
He has done the work of paying for sin.
He is calling to you right now to say “yes” to Him.
Will you place you full faith in Jesus as your Savior and your King?