Running Our Race Well - Audio
Running our Race Well
(2nd Service Launch)
1 Corinthians 9:19-27
3/04/2011
Introduction
How are you going?
Usually that’s a prompt for you to ask me the same question, and I have a story prepared in answer – usually something to do with my basketball game the previous day!
But not today. Today I really just want to emphasise the question: “How are you going?”
It’s a question we tend to answer without a lot of thought.
“Good”, we say, or “Fine thanks, how are you?” - even if we are going terribly. Who’s done that?
We struggle to give an honest, accurate answer to the simple question “How are you?”
Do people really want to know the answer? Can the person asking the question handle an honest answer, or are they just waiting for a positive response so they can move on to the next point of conversation or the next person in the line?
You know what? If a person in this church asks you how you are, they really want to know. If you are going well, tell them why so they can enjoy the blessing with you. If you are having a hard time, share it with them so they can encourage you by listening, caring, praying with you, praying for you during the week and even sharing some appropriate spiritual wisdom with you. It’s what a church family does.
So please, don’t rob yourself of being ministered to. When someone asks you how you are going, consider your answer because it has the power to draw us closer together and make us the family God has designed us to be. And of course, don’t ask someone how they are unless you are really interested and ready to respond!
But it’s not just when somebody asks us the question that we should think about how we are going.
One of the key things that we should be doing every time we get together to worship God is expecting God through His Spirit to speak to us on that very subject.
Listen to the words of Hebrews 4:12-13
12 For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.[1]
In our services we read from this powerful written Word. We sing and pray of it’s themes, often using phrases from it. We teach it. We reflect upon it.
And of course, we fix our attention on the Living Word, Jesus Christ who is described within it.
As we do these things God speaks to us about how we are going, and how He desires us to grow. He identifies hidden sins that must be confessed and left behind. He identifies needs that only He can meet. He identifies immaturity of thought and action.
Here’s the thing, though: He usually speaks to us very gently in a voice that can be ignored if we wish to.
One day that will change. One day He will stand before us as verse 13 describes, and we will be forced to account for our response to Him.
That is the choice that we all face today.
We know that God wants to speak to us.
We know that if we listen He will speak to the very core of our being, and show us what we must do in order to glorify Him in the thoughts and attitudes of our hearts and the lifestyles they produce. What we must do in order to be the witnesses and the blessing to others that He desires us to be. What we must do to experience the abundant life He desires for us to enjoy.
Or we could ignore Him, then explain to Him when we stand before Him why we made that choice.
Opening Prayer
So…. How are you going?
I actually shouldn’t ask you that question yet, because I need to provide you with some more of the powerful words of Scripture that will help you to answer the question.
Let’s flick forward in the book of Hebrews, on past chapter 11 which describes some of how a bunch of people in Bible times did in their walk with God. On to chapter 12, which begins:
Hebrews 12:1-3
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. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Who has heard at least one sermon from this passage before?
How many of would say that you have heard 3 or more?
It’s a well known passage and it’s a favourite for many people.
I want you to keep it in mind as you listen to the Apostle Paul describe his own attitude as he writes to the church in Corinth in
1 Corinthians 9:19-27
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.
Paul is pointing out that he is free – he belongs to no man. He doesn’t have to worry about what other people say or do. He doesn’t need to obey anyone else’s rules. He doesn’t need to do what other people do. He has been forgiven of his sins, he’s been given new life, he’s been given eternal life and he’s been given a job to do with the rest of his earthly life. And that’s what he’s concerned about. Jesus called Paul to be His messenger. Paul’s life is now completely caught up with bringing the message of Jesus to everyone he possibly can, particularly to the Gentile people – non-Jews. He’ll adopt peoples’ customs, he’ll adapt to their ways, he’ll do everything he can to get close enough to share the message of Jesus so that some may trust in Jesus for their salvation.
Some of the people Paul tried to reach reacted with apathy, others with anger. He was ridiculed, beaten, imprisoned and stoned among many other things.
But Paul did not belong to any man – he belonged to Christ, and his greatest desire was to follow Jesus obediently. He knew that if he did this other people would be blessed, and that he would share those blessings also (v.23).
Is this crazy sort of obedience just for Paul or for people called into full time service? Uh-uh – just listen to how the passage continues…
24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27 No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
These Corinthians knew all about athletic events – their city hosted the Isthmian Games every two years – similar to the Olympic Games. Winners of each event got a crown (wreath) made of pine leaves.
Athletes who were successful in these games were a source of great pride to their cities of origin, and were greatly admired by the crowds watching on.
I think if Paul were to be writing by the power of the Holy Spirit to a bunch of Christians in Perth
That’s what Paul did. Why?
He didn’t want to be disqualified for the prize (v.27).
What prize? Was he worried that he might miss out on getting into heaven? No. That’s a gift that Paul has already received.
Hebrews 4:13 told us that we will all give an account to God.
At the end of his life the Apostle Paul wanted to hear from God the words “Well done, good and faithful servant.”
He wanted to be rewarded with the joy of pleasing His master and being well received into heaven.
He didn’t want to hear words like:
- “Why didn’t you use any of those gifts I gave you for the building up of my church?”
- “Why didn’t you share the message I entrusted to you with those who needed to hear it?”
- “Why did you hold on to those sins in your life even when I disciplined you to get your attention?”
- “Why did you live as though you were more concerned with that short life than this eternal one?”
Paul didn’t want that sort of welcome at the finish of his earthly race. He wanted to be welcomed by God as one who had raced well.
As I said earlier, we know from God’s word that by diligently obeying God’s word we and those around us are blessed. It’s the best thing that we can do for ourselves.
But that’s not Paul’s main motivation, and it shouldn’t be ours either. Paul’s focus was on the one who sits enthroned in Heaven. He wanted to please Jesus. His focus was on introducing people to Jesus and helping them grow in Jesus so they were ready to meet Him in glory. His focus was on being ready himself.
Paul, along with many of the people He wrote this letter to, are now part of the great cloud of witnesses that Hebrews 12 refers to. Let’s go back to that passage:
Hebrews 12:1-3
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,
What are some things that God is identifying in your life right now that you need to throw off? Things that get in the way – they hinder you – from living the life that God has called you to live. They hinder you from doing the things God wants you to do.
Is it a way of thinking that doesn’t fit with God’s word? Is it things you are chasing that are not in His will for you? Are they fears that you have that hold you back from obedience?
Are there some sins that have entangled you? Things that you are ashamed to admit? Things that you have kept hidden that give you a guilty kind of pleasure, but leave you feeling dirty, hopeless and helpless?
Throw these things off.
You might say “I’m trying!” I know what that feels like.
Let me give you some advice. You’re not supposed to throw these things off by yourself. God’s given you His written word to instruct you, His Spirit to empower you and His Church to support you. Don’t leave any part out. You need all three of those things. Talk to someone with spiritual maturity and good bible knowledge and get serious about throwing off the things that hinder.
No AFL footballer is in charge of their own training and development. They have a bunch of people around them analyzing their physical condition and their on-field performance. It’s pretty humbling but it’s necessary for improvement.
Don’t let pride hand sin the victory in your life. Throw that stuff off.
and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Sometimes it seems that people have worked really hard in their service for the Lord and just gotten tired. They’ve taken some time out and then life’s just gotten busier or their expectations of themselves have gotten lower, and they seem to think that someone else should be doing all the work now.
Let me be clear – there are seasons in life. Sometimes we need a rest from busy activity. Sometimes we need to make space in our lives to serve in ways that most people won’t see. Sometimes we need to focus on preparing ourselves for service.
Don’t think I’m getting all judgmental on people who don’t do 20 different things on the weekly roster.
But I’m also not prepared to water down what the Bible teaches. The Christian life requires perseverance. You heard the way Paul talked about his own attitude.
The writer to the Hebrews is about to point to Jesus and what He persevered through, telling us to fix our eyes on Him so we won’t give up too early. Since Jesus endured the cross for us, how could we say that it’s too hard for us to do what He’s told us to?
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Yesterday we visited with one of our families who is in the middle of a challenging time. Our own family has just come through another round of sicknesses, as has several other church families and there’s been a number of other things going on. I’d also been sharing with Carolyn about how this week I’d found it very hard to focus on preparing this message. In fact, this message didn’t even begin to emerge until late last night.
Carolyn said to me in the car: “Do you think we’re under spiritual attack at the moment? We’re about to launch the second service and we’ve seen God moving. Do you think Satan’s trying to get in the way of what God is doing?”
I thought about some of the specific things that had been going on and yes, I would not be at all surprised if they were caused by spiritual forces of darkness. It’s good to be reminded of the nature of the opposition we face.
But we fix our eyes on Jesus. Jesus was the victim of a satanic attack that saw him betrayed to corrupt authorities and nailed to a cross. Yet in the sovereign plan of God this opposition was just part of God’s overwhelming victory as Jesus earned our salvation through His suffering.
God provides the power to persevere to those who choose to depend on Him for it. God achieves His victory through those who submit to His will.
The cross – “the emblem of suffering and shame” as the old hymn [2] describes it – has become for us a symbol of life and victory because of Jesus. When you are going through a hard time consider Jesus and the cross He hung from, and remember that He persevered for you and I. Remember that God turned mourning into dancing, death into resurrection. Don’t give up.
Conclusion
How are you going in the race God has marked out for you to run?
How can you throw off some hindrances this week?
How will you fix your eyes on Jesus a little more this week?
This week we start a new chapter in the life of Kingsley Church of Christ. We’ve increased our overall workload by running two Sunday services instead of just one. Why would we do that to ourselves?
Because like the Apostle Paul, we want to please Jesus. We want to introduce more people to Him. We want to help more people grow in Him. We want others to be ready to meet Him in person and we want to receive a welcome ourselves of “Well done, good and faithful servants. Come and share your Master’s happiness”.
That’s what we’re about.
