PAYING THE PRICE TO WIN
Disciplines for Disciples
- 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
All of you except Jean Wilson, may remember this passage from last week. Last week we looked at the importance of striving to win. My friends, you and I are in a race. We are called to be winners. We are called to excellence. We are called to greatness.
The Bible also tells us that we have a bunch of folks pulling for us. There are crowds of people cheering us on. Wanting the best for us.
> Hebrews 12:1 Therefore, since we also have such a large cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, and run with endurance the race that lies before us.
There are crowds of people in heaven cheering us on. Our friends and family, who have gone to heaven before us, are cheering us on. All of the Old Testament Saints are pulling for us. Peter, Paul, James, John, Mary, Martha and all of the saints we read about in the New Testament are cheering us on. Folks are pulling for us.
In addition, God wants you to win.
> Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you”—[this is] the Lord’s declaration—“plans for [your] welfare, not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Listen, God is pulling for you. He wants you to win as a believer, as a Christ follower. He wants you to be blessed, and He wants to use you to turn this world upside down! He wants to use you to impact others, to win your friends, to impact the world, and to bring glory to Him. God is on your side!
Paul was so excited when he remembered that God was pulling for him that he wrote in Romans 8:31:
> Romans 8:31 What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?
* Tell somebody, “God is for you!” Tell somebody, “God wants you to win!”
Do you believe it? Do you believe it? God wants you to win!
I am afraid that too many churches and far too many Christians settle for getting by, for “good enough”. Oh, let’s just hang on till Jesus comes. Such an attitude makes Jesus sick.
> Revelation 3:15-16 I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am going to vomit you out of My mouth.
I remember a number of years ago, talking to some men about an election that was coming up, and mentioning who I was voting for. They said I needed to talk to another minister who was coming in the door at the time because he was voting for someone else. I asked him, “Do you really plan to vote for such and such?” He said that he was. I said, “How can you vote for such and such when he supports abortion? How can you vote for that person when he supports and endorses homosexuality?” The preacher answered, “Well, everything won’t be perfect until Jesus comes back, until then, I think this man is the best.”
If that isn’t a defeatist attitude, I don’t know what is. Things aren’t going to be perfect until Jesus comes back, so why don’t we just throw in the towel, sell all of our stuff, and sit on a hillside until Jesus returns. I’m glad the first century believers didn’t think like that or the church would never have grown or expanded. I’m glad some Christians in this century don’t feel that way, or none of these missionaries would be willing to leave the comforts of home and head to difficult places to tell others about the Savior they know. I’m glad those who’ve been working on the church building don’t feel that way, or we’d be stuck meeting in a school forever. I’m glad Billy Graham didn’t feel that way, or who knows the countless thousands, perhaps millions of people around the world who would never have had the opportunity to hear about Jesus and become Christ-followers.
Listen, the Bible says, “don’t settle for good enough. Don’t settle for getting by. Don’t settle for being an ‘OK’ parent, but strive for excellence.”
> 1 Corinthians 10:31 Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for God’s glory.
Not “good enough,” but, “Good enough to bring glory to God.” Excellence. Victory! Striving to win! God save us from ½ hearted, lukewarm, milk-toast, excuse-making, good-enough, pooch-kissing, baby-coddling Christianity, without enough vision, commitment and God power to change the channel, much less change the world.
My friend, God didn’t call you so you could sit, soak, and sour; and heaven knows there are plenty of sour Christians in the world. God called you to be a world-changer, a race-runner, and a soldier for Christ. You don’t have to settle for mediocrity. You don’t have to settle for second place. You don’t have to settle for good enough. Tell somebody, “I’m in it to win it!”
God wants you to win. He didn’t set this Christian path before you so you would quit. He didn’t call you to battle so you could roll over and play dead. He didn’t chart a course in front of you and then give you no resources to help you win. He gives you everything you need in order to win as a Christian, to make your mark on the world, to turn this place upside down.
> Matthew 28:18 Then Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth”.
> John 15:5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in Me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without Me.
> John 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit—the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
My friends, God is for you. Jesus gives you the power to produce fruit, and the Holy Spirit will teach and guide you. The Holy Trinity is pulling for you. With all of that on your side, there is no reason why you cannot live a victorious life. There is no reason why you cannot make an impact. There is no reason you cannot win the race God has set before you. No good reason, I should say.
There is a reason, but it is not a good one, you see, winning takes work. Look there again please at 1 Corinthians 9 and verse 26.
- 1 Corinthians 9:26-27
Did you see what Paul said in verse 26? Paul says, “I do not do this aimlessly. I have a drive. I have a purpose. I have a vision. I aim to win.”
But then in verse 27 he gives one of the primary steps we all must take in order to be victorious.
> 1 Corinthians 9:27 Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.
Now I want you to underline that word “Discipline”. The word translated as “discipline” here, or “buffet: in the KJV, is used only in one other place in the Bible. Jesus used it in Luke 18:5 in the parable about the widow and the judge. The judge said he would give the widow what she wanted because he was afraid the woman would wear him out, or exhaust him, if he didn’t. The word actually means to “hit under the eye, or to bruise.”
Why would the runner do such a thing? He answers that question further down in the verse when he says, “I bring it under strict control.” In other words, Paul says that he makes his body his slave in order to win. He disciplines himself, he makes his body his slave, in order to win.
I believe one of the primary reasons we see so many Christians defeated, and so many Churches defeated, is because we have never come to value winning enough to discipline ourselves. I believe one of the primary reasons we are so often defeated is because we can’t even discipline our bodies. We’ve never said “No” to our passions, lusts and hungers.
We have the Best Coach in the world. We have Jesus offering to empower us. We have the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us. We have everything in the world we need to win, except, discipline.
We are not alone. The Devil has used hunger, gluttony, food, and comfort against God’s people throughout history.
- Genesis 3:6 Then the woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, … she took some of its fruit and ate [it]; she also gave [some] to her husband.
“So it was, among other things, a temptation to eat that helped drown the voice of God in the garden of Eden.” (God’s Chosen Fast, Arthur Wallis)
In his old age, Isaac, despite what God had revealed to him, favored his son Esau over Jacob, for no other reason than that the older boy provided the kind of food that he liked.
Hebrews 12, verses 16-17 tell us that Esau sold his birthright for a single meal.
In Exodus and Numbers, we read that the Israelites complained about the manna God was giving them, because they wanted the fish, melons, leeks, and onions they had enjoyed back in Egypt.
In 1 Samuel 2:29 God complains that Eli’s sons were stealing the best part of the food that was supposed to be sacrificed to Him.
Laziness, sloth, food, gluttony, and our bellies are often used by the Devil to try and defeat us. Shoot, he even tried to tempt Jesus with food when He was in the wilderness.
- 1 Corinthians 6:12-13
To help us prevent letting our bellies and our bodies becoming our boss, God instituted the fast.
You don’t hear much about fasting anymore. You certainly don’t hear about it on TV where they promote food with many of our commercials. You don’t hear about it in churches very much either. We are better known for our covered-dish meals. But, God intends us to fast, to go without, to bring our bodies, and our appetites under control.
- Matthew 6:2, 5, 16
Evidently Jesus understood that we would fast. That we would set aside times when we went without.
I. WE FAST TO:
1. Worship –
> Acts 13:2 They ministered to the Lord and fasted …
First off, I want you to remember that God is sovereign. It is first of all about Him. It is for His glory. “Whatsoever you do, whether you eat or drink, do so as unto the Lord”.
2. Grow –
> Psalm 69:10 I humbled my soul with fasting …
3. To seek God –
> Ezra 8:23 So we fasted and pleaded with our God about this, and He granted our request.
“Heaven is ready to bend its ear to listen when someone prays with fasting.” (Ibid)
> Jeremiah 29:13 You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart.
> Joel 2:12 Even now— [this is] the Lord’s declaration— turn to Me with all your heart, with fasting, …
Fasting brings a note of sincerity to our seeking.
4. To find guidance
> Daniel 9:2,3,21,22 Daniel … turned my face to the Lord God, seeking Him by prayer and supplications with fasting …Gabriel … said to me, O Daniel, I have now come out to give you wisdom and understanding.
5. To Find freedom
- 1 Corinthians 6:12-13
> 2 Peter 2:19 For whatever overcomes a man, to that he is enslaved.
II. TYPES OF FASTS
1. Normal
> Matthew 4:2 He fasted forty days and forty nights and afterward was hungry.
Food.
2. Complete
> Acts 9:9 For three days he … neither ate nor drank.
3. Partial or Specific
> Daniel 10:3 I didn’t eat any rich food, no meat or wine entered my mouth, and I didn’t put any oil [on my body] until the three weeks were over.
TV, sweets, coffee, video games, newspaper, internet.
* WHAT HAS GOD CALLED YOU TO DO? ________________
_______________________________________________________
Conclusion
Don’t overlook this important tool God can use in your life to help give strength, to help give victory, to help you win.
