Be a Champion for Christ I Cor. 9: 24 – 27

Be a Champion for Christ I Cor. 9: 24 – 27

Anyone involved in sports know that there is a price to be paid to be a champion. Being a champion in any sport is very grueling. It starts with practices, they say that you practice just like a real game. Weather it is a football season 16 grueling games then a serious of playoffs. Baseball is 170 games then a mini season to make it to the World Series. Hockey there is a 80 games season then another mini season to make it to the Stanley Cup. The hole purpose in getting involved in sports is not just to have fun but to win, amen. Weather I’m in a racquetball court, in a karate tournament, I want to win. If I am playing a board game at home with the family “I want to win”. In this Pauline epistle Paul issues us the same challenge. He tells us the attitudes, attributes and actions we must take in order to be a champion. Someone may say “I do not feel like a champion”. But all children of God are champions….

I. The Race

Paul understands that in every generation they enjoyed competition. You can find the Olympic games as far back at before Christ. Athletes have been running, throwing, shooting, boxing, wrestling for centuries. Spectators have enjoyed watching these competitions for centuries. Paul comments in Heb. 12: 1 read.

The Christian life is a race that must be run. God has a purpose in this race and that is to win. Running implies moving forward, running implies being in shape, running implies a course. It is my opinion that to may are apathetic and last towards this race today.

II. Rigors of training

The phrase “striving together for the mastery”, means to agony’s. the word means to contend, to struggle with danger and difficulties. This tells me that the Christian life is not a playground, it is a battleground. We are to struggle to be over of vices. Plenty of people are falling to their vices today. pastors are resigning because they are undisciplined. They cannot keep their body under, they let themselves do what they want to do… We must triumphant over or tribulations, we must conquer or cowardliness.

The word “temperate” means to be self-controlled. An athlete must abstain from that which is bad, but he must receive into himself that which is good. Unwholesome foods we are to limit them. Sexual indulgences are to be forbidden. He must build muscle, increase his lung capacity build endurance. Paul describes this in verse 27 read. When Paul says that he “keeps under his body”, he is saying that I discipline myself. I beat back my flesh… we have to may flesh pleasers today. Child of God learn to overcome your flesh or your flesh will overcome you. I Cor. 11: 28 II Cor. 13:5

As Paul continues, he says “bring it into subjection”, the word for subjection has the idea of dolous which means to lead away into slavery. In modern words he lead a stern life so that he could be used for Christ. Our flesh rejects all forms of discipline. We want what we want when we want it.

Exodus 33: 5 – 6 read. Mark 10: 21 read.

Not long ago at a high school, three military recruiters showed up to address some high school seniors. Graduation was only a few months away, and the military men were there for the obvious—to articulate to these graduating young men and women some of the options that military service would provide them. The meeting was to last forty-five minutes. Each recruiter-representing Army, Navy, and Marine Corps, was to have fifteen minutes. Well, the Army and Navy recruiters got carried away.

When it came time for the Marine to speak, he had two minutes. So he walked up with two minutes to make his pitch. He stood utterly silent for a full sixty seconds—half of his time. Then he said this: “I doubt whether there are two or three of you in this room who could even cut it in the Marine Corps. I want to see those two or three immediately in the dining hall when we are dismissed.” He turned smartly and sat down.

When he arrived in the dining hall, those students interested in the Marines were a mob. They acted without delay. He appealed to the heroic dimension in every heart and challenged them with difficulty, sacrifice, and a difficult standard. Jesus made the same challenge when He said, “Take up your cross and follow me.”

A great hindrance to 100% total commitment to the Lord are the treasures of the believer. I am talking about those things or those people that are so important, that they keep us from being or doing what God wants us to do. These things may be money, a material possession, a position, even a person such as a boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife. There is nothing wrong in treasuring things as long as they are the right treasures and they don’t have a prominent position above our relationship with Christ. God’s challenge to us is to replace our earthly treasures with eternal ones that will never be destroyed.

Matthew 6: 20