What we can learn from the London Olympics
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
2 Timothy 4:7
Introduction-
We have been in the series “Nuts and Bolts of life.”
We have been here 5 weeks and maybe there will be one more week.
This week I have been entrenched with the Olympics.
I must admit that I am addicted and my sleep has suffered for it the last two weeks.
I watch extremely talented athletes from all over the world compete at a level that I think is amazing.
I am a preacher of application and I am a visual kind of person.
I like to apply what I know and seeing it makes it easier for me to apply.
I think what is equally inspiring to these athletes abilities is when they tell their story about how they got to the Olympics and what they had to endure.
Young boy losing his parents to internal war in Africa. Literally running for his life to get out of the country, only to come back 8 years later to represent his country as a long distance runner.
(image of girls gym team)The Fav 5 , the USA women’s gymnastics team. Their fight to win a gold medal . It is first for them since 1996.
Men’s gymnastics team member John Orozco , who knew if he could just win big at the Olympics, he could provide for his family.
(image of runner)-My favorite, Oscar Pistorius, the South African runner who is a double amputee. Born with leg problems and had his legs removed at the knees at 11 months old. His parents raising him without babying his handicap and worked hard to get on the team. He finished last in the individual all around, but got a standing ovation from the crowd. The winner of the last race exchanged his name sign with him and acknowledged his spirit of determination.
Let’s face it, we all love to be around winners.
We love to hear success stories because it encourages us when we are down and need to be picked up.
We do not always realize that even in the winners, they have moments of trial and set backs.(image of Gabby Douglas falling and hanging unto balance beam)
Competition and the Olympic games is not new.
Apostle Paul in our text in 1 Corinthians 9 talks about running and competing in the Ancient Olympic games. The Ancient games date back over 700 years before Jesus and went over 300 years after Jesus. After that there was a period of 1500 years the games were silent. The Olympic games as we know them came back to Greece in 1896.
There was a reward for winning in the Olympics back then.
Your name was shouted out as a wreath was placed on your head.
Parade in your honor.
• 500 drachmas of money
Place of honor at all future Olympics for the rest of your life.
Children get a free education for life.
Exempt from military duty
No taxes for life.
Let’s see what Paul writes to the church about running the race.
1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (image of text)
Paul uses the Olympics as an illustration for life.
Things you must do to win! Anybody interested in what he’s got to say.
The first thing he says is:
I. You must have desire- (you must want to win)!
That sounds silly, but if you are in a race and you have no desire to win, it will affect how you run the race.
The Chinese team for badminton this year was willing to throw the game to gain a better standing in the finals. They had no desire to win and made it obvious. They had no drive until the Olympic committee disqualified them for their actions. They said people paid high dollars to see them compete and that it was a disgrace to the game and the Olympics.
I did not know that badminton was an Olympic sport until this year.
You must want to win! You must be willing to do it by the rules set.
There has to be passion.
It has to be in your bones.
It has to be what drives you.
It must be what gets you up every morning.
“Run in such a way as to get the prize.”
Eat it, live it, sleep it, dream it……make it happen.
What are you passion about? What sparks you!
What motivates you?
If you say nothing, or you are caught up in just surviving, you will never live life where God wants you to live.
Passionless life is a waisted life- you are just existing! That is not living!
Rick Warren says people who make an impact are people with passion.
Go for gold! Run to win!
Why would you not want to win?
To sabotage your own race.
Maybe guilt because inside of you, you feel you don’t deserve it.
Maybe someone beat you down and said that you would never amount to anything.
Maybe it is your attitude- stinking thinking!
Whatever happens……
Whatever happens?
You determine what happens
You determine if you are going to finish the race.
You determine if you and the Lord are running in the same race.
You determine if you are running with the Lord or running away from Him.
Truth is, God wants you to succeed!
Psalm 35 tells us that God “delights in the well being of his servants.”
Delights when we are in the game of life and we have a desire to win and serve him.
“ He delights in us.”
Sometimes we settle for less
Ephesians 3:20
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.”
Why would you settle for less than that!
Number one- it takes desire- you must want to win!
Number two- it takes direction-
We must be focused
“I don’t run aimlessly” “I do not fight like a man beating the air.”
It takes direction, and it takes you running in the right direction.
We have a reason for existence- run the race God intended for us.
Go in the right direction and finish the race you have started. That is for everyone of us.
God may add to it, that is the same for all of us.
We spend so much time thinking about retirement.
Nothing wrong with that. I am trying to put some money away too.
Don’t focus so much on retirement that you don’t live your life.
Worrying about being comfortable on the couch.
We all have a race. Some are just starting out and should be running hard.
Some near the end and not running so fast, but we are in the race and we should be going in the right direction and determined to finish strong.
Stop shadow boxing and playing around.
Run the race with purpose and direction.
Have a target
Have a goal.
Sign said- “if people drove their cars the way they plan their lives, they’d never get out of the driveway.”
Forget the past-run the race today.
You cannot live today if you are always looking in the rear view mirror. You will crash!
Let the past go and center in on what is ahead of you.
“Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race.”
Are you straining?
Mark 6- “straining at the oars”
Text- Straining to reach the end of the race.”
Giving it everything that you got!
You don’t have to settle for second best- God is a God of second chances, but you are not a second class citizen in the kingdom of God.
Number one- you have to have desire
Number two- you have to have direction
Number three- Last one-you have to have discipline
III. You have to have discipline
(25) “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training.”
Discipline is a whole sermon by itself.
This is where we lose most people. We know what we want, but we are not willing to pay the cost of getting there.
Beautiful bodies- without working for it
Wealth- not working for it, and believe it will drop in our laps.
Success- without sacrifice.
Spiritual growth with no discipline and no service to God
No pain and no gain!
No sacrifice- no success.
No work- no wealth
It is a simple biblical principal
Discipline is self-denial for the common cause. It is not popular and most give up in the process.
No one accomplishes this goal by doing what they want.
No athlete gets gold by doing what they want.
Closing
So what do we learn from God’s word, illustrated by the Olympics
All of us are in a race. We have to have a desire to win.
We need to be going in the right direction and be willing to change if God tells us we are heading in the wrong direction.
Everyone that has gold will tell you it cost them something . it takes discipline.
It took strict training. You will not get there by doing your own thing and you will not cross the finish line if you quit every time there is an obstacle in your way.
There are obstacles in everyone of our lives. What are you going to do about it? Let it defeat you or defeat it!
We have all seen the sign- doorbell broken, knock hard! People today it should read- doorbell broken, yell ding dong really loud! We are ding dongs that need to get back in the race where God is in control.
Your choice this morning!
Desire to finish
Head in the right direction
Determine to finish- no matter what!
Amen.
Resources:
Rick Warren- Running the race of life- Olympics 2008
Rev. Tony Zibolski- Sleepless hours of watching the 2012 Olympics
