There are many forms of racing in our world today.
Right now the Winter Olympics are happening and there are many different racing venues there.
You have races for people who walk, run, swim, bike skate, snow board, snow ski, water ski. There are races for people who like snowmobiles, water craft, cars and trucks.
They had races in the Bible days. The two common forms would have been the chariot races and the foot race.
In 1 Corinthians the Apostle Paul uses race language as he writes to the Corinthian people.
These people were very familiar with racing because they held the Isthmian games just outside their city. These games were similar to our modern day summer Olympics.
They had events like the discus throw, wrestling, gymnastics, and of course the foot race.
All of these athletes would come from every part of the Mediterranean to compete for the prize and the fame of winning at these games.
They had some good prizes too. The winner was crowned with a wreath, they would receive free tuition at a place of higher education, they would be exempt from paying taxes and they would be exempt from serving in the military. Then to top it off, a statue in their likeness would be erected and placed along the road.
Those are some pretty cool prizes.
Paul says something in the Scripture that we are going to ready in a few moments that brings up an interesting question. He says that they all compete to get the prize but only one gets the prize.
The question that it brings up is; If only one person gets the prize then why compete?
Why does anyone compete in anything? So they can try to win.
People compete for one or two reasons; they like the sport and they want the victory!
And here is the thing about winning, if you are going to win the prize you are going to have to work hard, practice, and train so that when it come time to compete you can compete at the highest level you can.
The Greek word for victory is nike. No wonder Phil Knight choose this word as the name of his shoe company.
No matter what form of racing you enjoy, the final objective for everyone who is in the competition is to gain the victory, to win the prize.
As you all know, I am a big NASCAR fan. I love going to stock car races, I love watching them all make those left hand turns at 190 mph.
There are some people who protest that stock car drivers are not athletes. I happen to disagree with them. I liken them to the chariot racers in the movie, Ben Hur.
Whatever kind of racing you like, we all share this one thing in common; we like to see our favorite racer win the race.
We all like to see our team or our driver, or our athlete standing in the winners circle or on the winner’s podium, but do we really understand the price that these athletes paid to win?
Most athletes go through years of training and discipline so they can learn their sport and be the best they can be at it.
The same is true for us as children of God.
As Christians we need to have the right training and we need to discipline ourselves so that we can win the final prize because without proper training and without discipline the prize will always be out of reach.
PRAYER
Father, open my eyes to see Your Word.
Open my ears to hear.
Open my mind to understand.
And open my heart so I may receive Your Word today.
AMEN
24Do 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.
25Everyone 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. 26Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. 27No, 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. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV
I am going to share with you five brief points today so that you can run the most important race you will ever run in your life and come out a victor.
The race that we are running is the race of life and the prize is eternal life with God in heaven. Paul explained this race in Philippians 3:14, “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
In any stock car race there can only be one car and driver that can be declared the winner, which is the car that crosses the finish line on the last lap before any others do.
In the race of the child of God we can all be winners.
Here are 5 keys that will help you win the race.
Key 1. Prepare. V 25a Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.
In racing, they take time to build these awesome machines of speed; you have mechanics and guys that fabricate the body of the car. You have the pit crew that trains to be fast. And there is the driver who prepares himself by working out and getting physically and emotionally strong for 500 grueling miles of bumper to bumper racing.
To win they have to be prepared. You can’t roll up to a track and not be prepared; you are not going to finish well.
As Christians we need to prepare. We need spiritual workouts which include prayer and reading the Word of God and getting together with others like us.
Without these things we will be unprepared with the unexpected events of life happen to come our way.
Key 2. Focus. V 25b & 26a They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly;
Why are we going to prepare?
Why are we going to practice, train, and get ready?
Why would a race team spend all winter building their car getting ready and why would the driver prepare himself and the crew prepare themselves if they were not going to race?
What if they got the car ready and got themselves ready and then took the car to the race track, unloaded it from the trailer and then just sat their looking at each other? They would never win the prize.
They go to the track and they are focused on the prize.
As Christians we need to be focused on our purpose and on our prize.
What is our purpose as Christians? How could we best sum it up?
To glorify the Father and the build His kingdom.
The purpose of the Christian life is not to solve the world’s problems it is to exalt the name above all names and tell people about God so they can make a decision to follow Him.
What is our prize? Eternal life with Him in heaven.
We run the race for these two reasons and we need to be focused on them.
Have you ever looked into the eyes of any person who is competing in any event? If they are serious, they are focused. You know that they are thinking about their purpose for being their and they are thinking about how they can reach the prize.
Why should we as Christians be any different? We shouldn’t.
Focus on God, who He is and what He does. Focus on making Him the top priority in your life. Focus on telling others about Him. And focus on the benefits of following Him.
When we focus it will help us with the third key.
Key 3. Get going. V 24 in a race all the runners run
The race has to start and we have to get going.
In a NASCAR race, all of the stock cars line up before the race begins. The command is given, “Driver’s start your engines.” And the cars pull onto the track waiting for the green flag to fly.
And when that green flag in the hand of the starter begins to wave, the drivers smash their foot onto the accelerator pedal and the race.
What happens if they don’t start their engine?
What happens if they don’t step on the gas?
They don’t race and if they don’t race they can’t win.
As Christians, our race begins when we make a decision to follow God and accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior. That is like starting our engine. But we can’t just sit there with our engine running. We need to get out on the track.
Getting on the track and taking the green flag and racing happens when we as Christians become active in our world and serve God.
You cannot serve God while you are sitting there doing nothing, it is like sitting there while you engine is going and nothing else is happening. You are not going any where and you are not going to win the race.
Here is how James, the brother of Jesus put it, “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” James 2:17 KJV
Without works there is no possible way to prove faith exists or in racing terms, if we don’t get going we are not going to win the prize.
But getting going is just part of it.
Key 4. Pursue. V 24b Run in such a way as to get the prize.
The race is not over until you cross the finish line and the checkered flag waves.
When we are focused on the prize then we are going to pursue.
We are going to race until the race is over. We are going to keep after it.
Even if they fall behind or get in an accident on the track, racecar drivers and their crews will do what ever it takes to get back on the track and reach their goal of finishing the race.
They may be 20 laps down, but they are out there pursuing the goal.
As Christians we need to be keeping after it, using our energies and our talents and our gifts so that we can bring glory to God and so that we can bring others into His kingdom.
This is how Paul puts it in Philippians, 12Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead…Philippians 3:11-13
We cannot settle for sitting back and watching the race from the infield, we need to get involved and run as hard as we can until the race is over.
But in order to do this we are going to need key number 5.
Key 5. Be persistent. V 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.
There are going to be some caution laps. Times when we spin out or crash or there is some debris on the track.
Paul is showing us that we need to make sure that we never come to a time in our lives when we would be disqualified from the race.
Paul is talking about persistence and that means discipline.
There are times that it might be easier to give up then it would be to keep racing. But if we give up we will never get the prize.
People give up because they are not disciplined to continue because without discipline we are sure to fail.
Not very many people like discipline but it is so necessary for our well being.
If we were never disciplined we would never know right from wrong.
If we had no discipline in our lives we could not grow.
If we had no discipline we would never learn the value of not giving up.
We need discipline in our minds, our bodies, and in our character. We need to disciple our wants and our desires. We need to discipline our speech and our actions. We need to disciple our priorities and our purpose.
Without discipline we can not get back up and try again.
This is persistence, when we make a mistake, when we stumble or fall, when we crash or spin out, or when something tragic happens in our life, or we have a set back in our finances or in our health or something similar, when those things happen and we are able to learn from our mistake or to deal with the problem with God’s help and then get back in the race, that is persistence and we need it.
If we can take these five keys and apply them to our lives then we are going to be able to stay on course and finish the race and claim our prize.
Then we can say what Paul said to Timothy, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7
When we can say that, it is then we can hear the trophy presenter say, “’Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master's happiness!’”
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