1 Corinthians 9:25-27
November 8, 2008
DISCIPLINE
For the past 6 Saturdays, we had a lot of fun in the NETS volleyball program. We learned what Jesus meant when He said to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind and body; and to love your neighbor as yourself.
We also played lots of volleyball, as the children learned more about serving, setting, bumping, and even spiking the ball. I could tell when the girls volleyball team was here, coach Ashley not only was helping teach, but she was looking for future volleyball stars. I heard some of the children comment that their arms hurt from the volleyballs hitting them; and some even had a volleyball bump their heads.
I had the opportunity to work out with the girls volleyball team as they were preparing for sectionals, and I have to admit, I’m getting old, not to mention being out of volleyball shape. My arms were beat red, my knees hurt from diving on the floor, my thighs were burning and I caught a couple of spikes in my belly. Otherwise, I felt pretty good.
The high school team practiced about 2 ½ hours every night. You could tell they had fun, yet, they dove for balls, and listened to their coaches words of encouragement and wisdom. At one time, our volleyball team was ranked 7th in the state, but they lost in the sectionals in a grueling 5 set match to the number 3 team in the state.
So, where am I going with all of this? In order to get where you want to be in life, it takes hard work. It takes lots and lots of practice. It means you practice when you don’t want to, it means you always give it your best, because how you practice is directly related to how you play.
And it’s true in life, isn’t it? When we work hard at something, when we try hard, we find ourselves succeeding more, we find a greater willingness to listen and learn so we can continue to get better. One of the things we realize, and the underlying factor in everything is the fact that we must work hard, and it is hard work.
If you’re in school, and you want to learn, you must study, spend time in the books, take notes, ask questions and be prepared. If you’re in sales, you learn more about your product, more about the competitors products, and you learn new sales techniques. If you’re looking for a job you keep pouring over the ads in newspapers, look at different sites on the Internet, you always have a resume’ or business card ready to hand out. You keep searching, yearning, you persevere.
We can do this in all phases of life . . . yet one of the more difficult areas to move forward in . . . is in our spiritual life. If life is moving pretty smoothly, we tend to not worry too much about anything. After all, life is smooth, let’s not ruffle anyone’s feathers, especially God’s. So, if we can lay low, maybe we can fly under God’s radar and not be noticed, or asked to do something or to make any drastic changes. Yet, change is part of who we are. We live in a world which is always changing.
In the past few years the economy has suffered, and led to a great number of job losses. We’ve all suffered in various and differing ways. But what is the end result? Is it to sit and wallow in our own self pity? Or do we make something out of the hand we’ve been dealt.
You see, how does a volleyball wanna-be become a really good volleyball player? You must practice, practice, practice, and in order to practice it takes discipline. You must make the time, you must work with others who are better than you are, you must be willing to ask questions, and listen and learn. Once we discipline ourselves, we have a much better chance to succeed, to reach the goal we want to attain.
If you enjoy watching the Colts play football, how many times do you think Peyton Manning practices his passes?
I read an article in which Manning’s former NFL coach, Jim Mora said this,
Manning and the receivers practice so much that it becomes almost automatic when he throws them a pass. All off-season he’s throwing to them in Indianapolis. During the season, he'll take them to another field and he'll throw routes to these guys. It's the repetition that takes place with Peyton and his receivers that makes him so effective on game day. It's route after route after route -- more than any quarterback-receiver combination I've ever been involved with. I'd bet you could actually blindfold Peyton and he'd be able to make those throws. That's how well he knows where those guys are going to be. Source: http://articles.latimes.com/2009/jan/02/sports/sp-nfl2
What Mora is talking about is the discipline Manning and his receivers have which leads them to practice so much. While this is just football, it reminds us if we want to excel at anything, we need to discipline ourselves to practice, practice, and practice some more. So, with that in mind, look at these words from the apostle Paul,
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 9:25-27).
Paul’s illustration is meant to teach us we must discipline ourselves if we are to fully follow Christ, and gain the benefits He has for us. Benefits which will last forever. If we’re going to grow as Christ followers and be the very people He calls us to be, then we need to be in that strict training, or in other words, we must exercise self-control. We discipline ourselves so that we can accomplish what we’ve set out to accomplish.
In order to better follow Christ, Paul tells us he goes into “strict training,” he uses self-control so that he doesn’t miss the mark and hits his goal. In order to do this, he doesn’t run like a man who is running aimlessly and beating the air. And the image of beating the air is just flailing around, swinging at the air. But let me explain one thing here, Paul isn’t using his own power and self control, but he seeks to use the power which is available from Christ because Paul is attempting to follow Christ. When we use God as our power source, we will always succeed in greater ways.
Paul explains he disciplines himself by beating his body. Obviously he’s not really beating his body, but the picture Paul’s trying to paint for us is that he is figuratively beating his body black and blue. That’s the literal translation. It’s a graphic depiction which gives an image of ancient boxers delivering devastating punches as they punish one another in the Olympics. They used to box with their knuckles bound with leather thongs (Mare, 1995, 74).
Too often we also miss that mark. We find it too easy not to read the Bible, or not to pray, or not to be kind, or not to help a neighbor, or not to serve in some manner. We find it easier to be angry and bitter. In a strange sense we think we are safer when we don’t forgive others, yet, we hold ourselves hostage when we refuse to forgive.
Our lives are crowded and cluttered with so many things that we don’t know what to do first, let alone to start practicing spiritual disciplines to draw closer to God. Yet, that is the very essence of what God wants for you and I. He wants us to grow closer to Him, because He wants us to know and understand the plans He has for us.
It’s one of the great verses from the Old Testament, when Jeremiah gives us these words which God declares to us . . .
11For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you.
Think about it this way . . . God has a plan for you, in fact, He had you in mind before the world was even created. And God does not want to keep that plan hidden from you, instead, He wants you to know His plan. Because you see His plan is to prosper you, not to harm you, it’s to give you hope and a future.
But in order to know what His plans are, you need to communicate with God. You need to learn what He’s got in store for you. You need to look at how you can work and live with Him, not against Him and not on your own. So, what we need to do, and it’s really a nonnegotiable is the fact that we must . . .
You will call on God, His plan is . . .
To prosper you
Not to harm you
Give you hope and a future
as you pray to God
God will listen to you
You will seek God and find Him
as you do this with all of your heart.
. . . and the beauty comes in that last line . . . as God promises us when we seek Him with our whole heart, we will find Him.
The two major problems are the fact that it’s hard work. We don’t think the spiritual life should be hard, yet it is. And because it is hard work, and we already work hard, we don’t spend the time we should with God and we move further away from Him and attempt to live life and do life on our own, which depletes us.
Just like in volleyball or any other sport, or job or even marriage . . . we must persevere. In order to get better at anything we do, it will take hard work. Nobody said the spiritual life, or life for that matter would be easy. However, the rewards are great when we begin to experience the joy and power of a healthy relationship with God.
Secondly, when we don’t get the answers we want, we often tend to give up. When God doesn’t answer our prayers on the first go around, we tend to stop praying that prayer, assuming God doesn’t want us to receive a positive answer to our prayer. Yet again, it takes perseverance and discipline. We can’t just quit, it may be that God wants us to work hard to get something we really want. Don’t we do that with our kids, we try not to make it too easy on them. We want them to appreciate what they’re receiving.
So, what can we do to move closer to God so that we can experience the great life He wants us to experience . . . .
1. Believe who Jesus says He is, the Son of God.
2. Read the Bible daily.
3. Pray always
4. Ask God and others for forgiveness daily
5. Be quick to forgive others
6. Never let the sun go down on your anger.
7. Get caught serving.
8. Allow yourself to be loved by God and others.
This isn’t always easy, but what we receive from God surpasses what we could ever imagine. Because when we are in relationship with God we have the opportunity to experience His love and forgiveness, His power and strength.
We’re never alone, He promises us He will never fail us, never abandon us. He loves us, why would He bail out on you? He won’t, never ever. So, do you know Jesus? Are you stagnant in your relationship with Him? Are you stalled or just coasting? Maybe you know some of the answers, but you realize you’re really not that content.
Allow God to make a difference in your life, but you must discipline yourself and move towards Him, and when you do that you’ll be amazed at what God will do in your life.
