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Go For The Gold!
I Cor. 9:24-27
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It's that time that
rolls around every four years, when Olympians remind us all of just how out
of shape we all are!
Eight badminton players
were swatted from the Olympics this week for not trying to win.
They were trying to fix the bracket where they would not face tough
opponents until the finals. The
crowds booed at the embarrassment and finally the officials put an end to
it.
Our text says:
Know ye not that
they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that
ye may obtain. [25] And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate
in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an
incorruptible. [26] I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not
as one that beateth the air: [27] But I keep under my body, and bring it
into subjection...
If I were to ask you “what
is the mission of…
“the summer Olympians?...the Fighting Illini?...our
Cub
(Answer) To Win.
How do you know if they are
accomplishing their mission?
(Answer) Whether or not they are winning
their games.
How do you know if they are winning their games?
(Answer)
They keep the score.
I mean can you imagine what a game would be like if
the teams just lined up and played each other going up and down the field
but didn’t bother to keep the score? What would be the point? This isn’t tee
ball!
How about our Christian
life in 2012? What’s our
mission? To win!
How do we know if we’re winning?
We have to keep score!
I grew up in a church with
an old oak board that hung on the wall just to the left of the platform.
There were three ways that our church kept score and those three items were
faithfully displayed every Sunday morning on the oak board. And they were:
• Worship Attendance
• Offering
• Decisions
Many churches are still
keeping score this way. And while I don’t totally dismiss it, I am totally
convinced that there are other ways to measure the church’s effectiveness.
If anyone could ever be
considered a gold medal Christian, Paul would undoubtedly qualify. And so in
these short four verses Paul Personally Models Three Characteristics of a
Genuine Winner.
Three
Characteristics of Genuine Winners
The First Characteristic of a
Winner is…
#1. Winners Are
Contenders
[you coulda been a
contendah Rock']
Run in such a way as to
get the prize. v.24
If ever a word described the Apostle Paul, it
would be Contender. He didn’t just live life, he attacked it. In Acts 14,
Paul was preaching to a crowd in Lystra. Some of his enemies were able to
turn the crowd against him, and they stoned him, dragged him outside the
city and left him for dead. As soon as Paul came to, the Bible says "...he
got up and went back into the city." He had such a burning desire to preach
the gospel that even the threat of physical violence couldn’t keep him away.
Talk about a Contender! No wonder Paul could say at the end of his life...
I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the
faith. 2 Timothy 4:7
There is a
huge difference between contenders and pretenders.
Pretender
Contender
• Concerned about Image and Impressions.
•
Concerned about Authenticity and Integrity
• Settles for
Mediocrity
•
Strives for Excellence
• Quits in Difficulty
•
Grows Through Difficulty
What Paul was trying to say is that
if you really want to “win” in the Christian Life and in the
Two
Characteristics of Contenders
• They Are Competitive
• They Are
Goal
(1) Contenders Are
Competitive.
Contenders are competitive. And while athletes compete
against one another, as Followers of Christ, and as the
• Societal Influences
• Satanic Influences
• Selfish Influences
Spiritual Contenders are competitors.
And they have come to realize that every day of their lives is a competition
for their heart. Paul called it “The Good Fight of Faith”.
You are involved in a heated
competition for your heart. You
may feel as though you’re anything but
a contender. In fact, you may feel as though you’ve fallen completely out of
the race. I have good news for you! You can get up and get back in the race!
With God’s help you can be a contender again. With faith in Christ, you can
not only compete, but you can win this race!
Contenders are not only Competitive,
but…
(2) Contenders Are Goal
Winners are Contenders who reach for the prize.
Philip.
I press toward the
mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
If
our goal is to win the prize and if we’re to “run to get the prize”, then
wouldn’t it be nice to know what “the prize” is? What is the prize in the
Christian Life? What is the reward? I dare say that most of us would say
heaven. And we would be partially correct. Because heaven is part of the
prize, but it’s not the prize. You want to know what the prize is?
The
prize is Christ, and a Changed Life.
And there are three dynamic changes
or Transformations that God desires for each of our lives. And regardless of
who you are, or where you are in your spiritual journey, you need one of
these changes. What are they?
(1) Justification –(Salvation) – Darkness
to Light
Saved from the Penalty of Sin.
(2) Sanctification – The
Process of Becoming Like Christ.
Saved from the Power of Sin.
(3)
Glorification – Ultimately Transformed into the Likeness of Christ.
Saved
from the Presence of Sin.
That’s the first characteristic of a winner.
Someone who “runs to win”; a contender who is competitive and goal
The Second Characteristic of a Winner is found in verses 25
The Second Characteristic of a Winner
is that…
#2. Winners Are Always
In Training
It never stops. It’s a continual process
throughout everyday of our lives. I don’t know about you, but I find this to
be one of the most exhilarating aspects of the Christian life. To think that
there’s always room to grow … that no matter how much we age, we can still
be learning and growing!
Toddlers wear training pants, their first bike had training wheels, every
dad bemoans the day his female offspring has to start wearing a training
undergarment…but as Christians we need to accept the fact that we are in
training, and always will be!
Let’s look at two aspects of Spiritual
Training according to Paul in this passage.
First of all there is…
(1) The Motivation for
Training
First of all, there’s a
great crowd cheering you on!
Hebrews 12:1
1
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a
cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so
easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set
before us...
Back to our text...
v. 25 . . .
“They do it to get a crown that will not last;
but
we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”
• Internal
Motives – Pride
• External Motives – Monetary Rewards, Popularity,
Prestige
• Eternal Motives – Life is a test and there will be a
final exam
1 Tim. 4:7
…exercise thyself
rather unto godliness. [8] For bodily exercise profiteth little: but
godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now
is, and of that which is to come.
(2) The Method of Training
v. 26
So far Paul’s model of a winning Christian is that they are
• A
Contender – they run to win
• Always in Training – they never stop
growing.
But there’s one more
characteristic…
#3. Winners Are Self
v. 27
Some may say “Bro.
Jerry, no offense, but, win? I’m just
trying to survive. I haven’t won in so long that I ashamed to admit it.
Winning for me has become impossible.”
Believe me when I say, I know.
I’ve been there. But I’ve also been to Matthew’s Gospel which tells me,
Matthew 19:26
With men this is
impossible; but with God all things are possible.
Vince Lombardi once said,
“Winning is a habit and so is losing.”
Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the
thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not
of evil, to give you an expected end.
[win]
Proverbs 22:29
Seest thou a man
diligent in his business? he shall stand
[on the gold medal platform!]
before kings...
Winners say: I have a plan.
Losers say: I have an excuse.
Winners say: Let me do it for you.
Losers say: It’s not my job.
Winners: See a solution for every
problem.
Losers: See a problem for every solution.
Winners: See a
green close to every sand trap.
Losers: See 2 or 3 sand traps around
every green.
Winners: See a difficult situation, but the possibility.
Losers: See a possible situation, but the difficulty.
Losers say: Oh
God, look how big my problem is.
Winners say: Hey Problem,
look how big my God is.
Winning does not make the attitude
Winners have a positive attitude.
Winners
learn from their mistakes:
Set goals in your
personal life, your business, your marriage, your ministry. Better yourself.
If someone looks at you today, they should be able to see improvement over
last year / month
Winners will always
pay the price:
The value of your dream is determined by
how much you are willing to pay for it. Michelangelo was not the best
painter of his time. He had a bad back and a sinus condition. No one else
was willing to do whatever it took to succeed. He laid on his back painting
a ceiling for nearly 2 years and completed the Sistine Chapel. All the other
“great” painters of his day are forgotten in obscurity.
In 1949,
Jonas Salk wanted a cure for polio. He worked 16 hours a day, six days a
week for five years and gave us the now
Lou Gehrig played
2,130 consecutive games. Every finger in both hands was broken as well as
him having 17 additional fractures in his body. But he played nonetheless.
Of all the players in baseball history, none possessed as much talent and
humility as Lou Gehrig. His accomplishments on the field made him an
authentic American hero. He played to win.
Michael Jordan, one of the
greatest basketball players in history, played the 1997 Championship Game
against the Utah Jazz with the flu even when he could have stayed at home.
40 million dollars is not what kept him on the floor. Michael played to win.
The principle: Pay now or pay later. If you pay now, you can play later.
Losers play now and end up paying later. Winners pay now, so they can play
later. You must determine what you
value and the price you are willing to pay. To get something you want you
must give up something else. You
can’t sacrifice unless you have a choice.
Everyone wants authority
without responsibility. The church is filled with people who want the
benefits, the titles, the perks, but who don’t want responsibility. In God’s
economy, there is no authority without responsibility. If you don’t take
responsibility for your family, you don’t have authority over your family.
In fact, the first mark of sin was failure to take responsibility. Adam
said, “It’s not my fault ... you gave me the woman” (Gen. 3:12).
Our sin nature always wants to blame
others. TAKE RESPONSIBILITY! If your marriage is failing, take
responsibility and get help. If your business is failing, take
responsibility and get help. If your ministry is failing, take
responsibility and get help. You have a choice. You’re not a victim.
Winners make hard
decisions no one wants to make:
Most people don’t want to make
tough decisions because they are afraid other people won’t like them
anymore. So what? What made Esther great was her ability to make tough
decisions. A whole nation survived because of her decisions. She risked it
all and she did not have to.
If you’re waiting for the
perfect church, the perfect marriage, the perfect business, you’ll be
waiting a long, long time. Work with what’s in your hand today.
Be
faithful in the little. Some of God’s
greatest gifts came in small packages and changed the world forever.
Evaluate your life in terms of giving. Don’t ever base your life on what you
accumulate. Leave behind a legacy of principles and character not just money
and resource. What you give is what
you really keep. Be a winner by
giving God your best in all! We
run this race for the true prize, the gold, which we lay at Jesus' feet in
heaven, for He is worthy!
This is a timely message shared for your benefit. Please take 10 seconds and help it to go much further by recommending it now. [A new window will open. Rate this sermon from 1 to 5 'stars' with just a click, then close.] Thank you!
Some material courtesy Harley Nickless Jr.,
and Doug Morrell, contributors to SermonCentral.com.
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