ermon Brief
Date Written: July 25, 2014
Date Preached: July 27, 2014
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: A Series in 1 Corinthians
Sermon Title: Paul’s FOCUS – Active Works not Empty Behavior
Sermon Text: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 [NLT]
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. 26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Essence of the Text: Paul used these verses as an illustration for his attitude toward his service to God!
Essence of the Sermon: These verses are also an illustration of what our attitude must be toward serving God!
Main Question(s) of the Sermon: What is your attitude toward serving God today?
Applicable Objective of the Sermon: You will hear the:
WORD PROCLAIMED: Paul’s claimed he was willing to do ANYTHING and EVERYTHING to see people come to Christ. Paul’s focus on doing anything to see people won to Christ drove him to discipline himself to achieve that goal.
WORD EXPLAINED: Our service to Christ must be the same ‘sold out’ attitude as Paul and our service must be filled with hard work and discipline. Serving God cannot be done by just going thru the motions…
WORD MADE PERSONAL: What is your focus today? Are you willing to discipline yourself to do what it takes? Or are you going to settle for ‘good enough’?
Introduction
Have you ever done things but there was no true focus or passion behind your actions?
Have you ever used the phrase, ‘that is good enough’ in reference to your service to God?
Have you ever found yourself ‘going thru the motions’ in your Christian walk?
Sometimes as a pastor I know that I can find myself doing things for God or serving the church because I know I have to, but my passion for Christ is not there.
I know that if I am not careful & extremely focused with my attitude, I can find myself ‘going thru the motions’of serving God.
I also know I see the same thing in the church today! I see believers come to church, they come to Sunday school, they give their tithe, they may even come on Wed night –
ALL ON A REGULAR/CONSISTENT basis, BUT in reality their focus is NOT on seeing souls won to Christ… and if that is NOT our focus then we are just sleep-walking or going thru the motions of being a follower of Christ.
We all know that we are called to work hard at everything we do because we are actually working FOR Jesus, no matter if it is our office or at school or just being a neighbor…
BUT so often I believe Christians today are NOT focused like they should be… their attitude is to do what they want to do and when called by God… their heart just isn’t in it.
This message is a challenge to EVERYONE here this morning to re-evaluate your focus… to re-evaluate your attitude of service to the One YOU call Savior!
You see, Paul WAS sold out to do ANYTHING it took to see others won to Christ. This was his attitude about doing ministry…about serving God! This was his Focus!
So far in ch9 we have seen that Paul was not FOCUSED in HIS rights, but on WHAT was right…
We have also seen how Paul’s FOCUS was on Souls won and NOT how it was done…
Finally this morning we are going to take a look at Paul’s Focus on how he did things…on his attitude of service!
I believe he uses these verses to give us a great illustration about how to properly serve God. You see to Paul serving God was about Active Works and NOT Empty Behavior.
Our text this morning is 1 Cor 9:22-27… What I want to do this morning is go back to where we ended last week and pick things back up…
If you remember [and I pray you do] last week we learned that Paul was willing to do anything to see people come to know Christ [read v22-23 here] he said:
I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel,
We learned Paul’s attitude ABOUT the Gospel -- that he was willing to do ANYTHING to share the Gospel! This week we are going to look at how Paul illustrates that attitude…We will see what Paul tells us is required to have what I would call a “I will do ANYTHING attitude” to share the Gospel.
Let’s read and then explore Paul’s illustration… v24-27:
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. 25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. 27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
In these verses we find Paul revealing three areas of focus for this attitude:
1st there is what I would call the ‘event’ which represents our life in Christ.
2nd there is what I would call the ‘exercise’ which represents our effort to live out our life in Christ. Finally
3rd there is what I would call the ‘expectation’ which represents how Paul wanted God to respond to his focus, attitude and service!
First let’s look at the event…
The Event – v24
24Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.
Here in this verse we find Paul describing a sporting event… Corinth was the home of the Isthmian Games which were similar to what we know as the Olympic Games today. The belivers in the church would have been familiar with the reference Paul was using.
Paul’s illustration is specific in that he uses the example of a foot-race to make his point. This is what we call a ‘metaphor’ or what I would call a word picture. Paul is saying that our Christian service to Christ is like a foot race... this word ‘race’ is the Greek word…
Race – stah’-dee-on – is tranlated as race, but really is a description of a race course, OR a set distance for the running contest. Like a set event or foot race…all believers are in a set event in living out their lives in service to God.
What Paul is doing is to compare our Christian life with a set athletic competition based on a set course… In the Isthmian Games there were some who would run the 100 yd dash, some run the 1 mile, some the marathon. Likewise, we all are here for different periods of time in our lives…but we are ALL involved in the Christian life.
Paul’s use of ‘run’ here is an action verb used to describe athletes competing OR someone trying to get somewhere very quickly. What it represents is a determination to work hard and remain focused on running the races and reaching the destination!
What Paul is inferring is that we, as believers, must strive as hard as we can… we must give our all to complete the task God places before us.
In this illustration Paul stated that the runners give everything to finish the race. Let’s remember what Paul said in v22-23… basically Paul had said: “I am willing to do EVERYTHING to see that some are won to Christ!”
The ‘prize’ Paul speaks of here for the athlete is a wreath that will wither and die, but OUR prize is NOT going to wither. But I want us to understand WHAT ‘prize’ Paul is speaking about –contrary to what many may think or what you may have heard, here Paul is NOT speaking about eternity in heaven as the prize to be obtain.
lam-bah’-no – action verb – means to take hold of, but can also mean to receive what is being offered. In Paul’s example those who run the race know that there is a prize to be taken ahold of at the end of the race, but only one can win that prize.
Now we cannot press the metaphor too far b/c we KNOW that there is NOT going to be only ONE Christian found faithful on judgment day… the point is that we are to strive toward the goal and seek to take hold of that prize.
Paul uses another term here that cements his idea… he uses the Greek word , kata-lam-bah’-no – action verb – translated as ‘obtain’… It literally means to take hold of in your mind. It refers to truly accepting (physically & spiritually) what is being offered to you.
In this case, Paul is urging believers to take ahold of what God is giving… to strive hard for Him & receive what He has to offer at the end of the race…the inference here though is that you FINISH the race and that you do NOT give up.
We all have a particular race to run while here on this earth. Like athletes on a track and field team, who all have their specific distances or specialties, we all have our own life path God has chosen for us…
The race we run in is the human race and it is longer for some of us and shorter for others… but Paul says to run this race with gusto… to give it our all. His description of our efforts in running this race reveal that it should be something we should be willing to give EVERYTHING to accomplish.
Just like the runner who lines up to race & puts everything he or she has into it – they seek to run fast and win, and to do this their focus is on the finish line! Paul is telling us that we too must line up each day to give our all for Christ focusing in on the finish line!
Now Paul is writing to believers, who already have the promise of eternal life with God in heaven. This ‘prize’ awaits all who profess Christ as Lord, so what prize is Paul speaking about…we will get to that, but Paul’s emphasis here is that God wants us to run our race with gritty discipline, striving to do our best in the race.
No athlete worth anything comes to a competition to merely go thru the motions… they seek to excel & do their best…THIS is what Paul is encouraging the believers in Corinth to do! For them to run the race with all they have because God has a prize at the end of the race for them!
In other words, Paul urges these believers to strive hard in this Christian life for God and that you strive to FINISH the race and do NOT give up.
Paul describes the ‘event’ but we can also see Paul moving forward to describe HOW we can to acomplish the life we are called to…let’s look at the ‘exercise’.
The Exercise – v25-26
25Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we [believers] an imperishable. 26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
Does anyone here personally know an athlete who has trained and competed in the Olympics? What about the NFL? Major League Baseball? The NBA?
Those athletes are highly skilled athletes but they are so because they are willing to dedicate thousands upon thousands of hours to train their bodies to do what they demand it to do…
To ‘train’ their bodies & increase or improve their skill they have applied a structure of discipline to their lives so that they can achieve the goal they are shooting for…
The term Paul uses here for athlete is the Greek word –
ah-goh-needz’-oh-my – which represents all who run in the race. What Paul is saying here in this illustration is that “every athlete” is a direct reference to every believer who has received Christ & has begun to serve Him…we are ALL ‘in the race’ and should be running with a focus on the finish line!
Each athlete that competes, does so by the discipline & focus in their lives. They seek to be the best athlete they can be. I believe that Paul is pointing the believers in Corinth and ultimately ALL believers toward the realization that we must have discipline and focus in our lives to become the best beleiver God could desire…
The way the athlete can focus on the goal he or she is shooting for is they are able to put aside life’s distractions and any personal desires that prevents them from reaching their goal. This type of focus & attiude is called discipline or ‘self-control’
Paul uses the Greek word– eng-krat’-yoo-oh-my – it represents what the athletes do to prepare themselves to compete. It represents HOW the athlete live their lives so that they can perform at the highest level! This implies that the believer must have every bit as much of focus & discipline as the athlete.
Now the ‘training’ Paul speaks about here would have been a normal training method for any athlete who wanted to excel and compete at the highest level. This would include a very intense physical training - or what the athlete was willing to do to be a better athlete!
But as is the case, it is NOT always about what you are willing to do, but many times it’s about what you are willing to GIVE UP and NOT do! Here Paul is speaking of the ‘other side of the coin’ when it comes to discipline & training.
Recently, this yr, I have been running on my treadmill. So far this year I have ran OVER 400 miles… AND I have seen what some would consider to be decent results as I have lost some weight!
However, although I am willing to DO all that running there is another side of the coin to getting into shape… that is being willing to GIVE UP certain things so that your body will function at a higher level.
My problem is NOT what I am willing TO DO… my issue is that there are ‘certain things’ that I truly love & as of yet have NOT been able to give them up!
I fully understand that if I would just totally discipline myself to DO what I am doing and then to NOT DO what I don’t need to do… that I would be MUCH beter off and in better shape AND would have possibly already reached my weight goal. So, as it stands, I am willing to DO some things to lose weight but I have not sold out yet!
In this passage Paul is telling us that it is NOT just about what we are willing to DO for Christ but it is also about what we are willing to GIVE UP for Him, as well.
A highly trained athlete DOES what is necessary but they also know the importance of being willing to NOT DO the things that do not benefit to their body.
This is Paul making a direct correlation from the athlete’s willingness to train and prepare himself FOR the race…both in what you DO and what you DO NOT do. If you don’t train properly, you will NOT be able to compete as you should…
This is a spiritual reference to personal holiness & a willing dedication to becoming WHO God wants us to be. We must be willing to ‘train’ to become what God wants us to be…
We must be willing to DO the things that make us a more effective believer… things like reading our Bible, prayer, Christian fellowship, and worship.
However, this also means that we must also avoid & say NO to things that can make us unfit for the race… things like anger, malice, gossip, backbiting, sexual immorality, foul language, basically we should abstain from anything that distracts us from being who God wants us to be.
In the 1980s when computers were relatively new to most people. Most people believed all they had to do was turn on the computer & it would do ALL the work.
However, many discovered that was not the case. The product from the computer was only as good as the effort by the one who input the data! A saying developed, “Garbage IN, Garbage OUT” or we could say it like this, don’t expect premium results when you give sub-standard input…
This attitude resonates in Paul’s words. He is saying that to receive the high prize at the end of the race that we must put in the necessary excellent effort! We are not only to do this during the race, but also in preparation FOR the race!
In v25 Paul speaks about the physical preparation we should be doing, but in v26 he speaks to the mental preparation we should doing as well – He says:
26So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air.
Here Paul stated that he did NOT run aimlessly – the Greek word he uses is translated as aimless or without aim, but the implication would be to walk or run a race without purpose or directon, or to shoot without aim, or work without purpose…
Think about the runners in a race… lets just look at the 1500meter race. Can you imagine what it would look like if the starting gun for this race goes off & then all the runners ran off in different directions? Can you imagine an athlete who lines up to race and they don’t have a goal for the race… can you imagine a runner lining up and wondering ‘why am I doing this?’
Here Paul is emphasizing focus! Focus for serving God. We must HAVE focus and it must be directed in the RIGHT direction. But Paul returns to our actions again as he states that our actions must have a purpose as well… he says:
I do not box as one beating the air. Paul is saying, “What I do for the Lord has meaning, it is not empty action or hollow effort.”
Paul wants these believers to understand that he was not just going thru the motions, but what he did and how he lived had meaning… it had meaning for his walk and for the kingdom!
This is Paul’s way of saying that when you give effort and strive for the Lord to run the race in such a way as to win the prize… THAT is not without meaning…
YOUR life and walk - Your willingness to strive for the kingdom has great meaning… it HAS purpose… because you are taking ‘aim’ at the target God has placed before you! You are focusing on what He desires…
So Paul wants us to know that our efforts for Christ in the kingdom should NOT be empty or hollow, that we HAVE purpose, and direction in Christ Jesus!
The ‘exercise’ of running the race begins with a focus and discipline of preparing FOR the race! Paul shares here how our focus and attitude MUST be one of discipline and self-control.
Now we must understand that the characteristics of focus and discipline are not naturally human strengths. Most of us easily give up when things get tough or difficult. Most of us are more than willing to give a sub par effort on days where we don’t feel like it…
But the athlete who seeks to be at the top of his or her game is the athlete who is willing to put in the preparation to run the race… to do what they need to do to be ready to serve where God wants them to serve.
Paul speaks of the event and the exercise leading up to the event, but now I want us to look at what he has already alluded to in the previous verses… I want us to look toward the ‘prize’ Paul has been speaking about. I want us to look at the ‘expectation’: Let’s look at v27
The Expectation – v27
27But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Paul’s actions have purpose because he is willing to put in the effort and demand the focus required of himself.
His illustration here is about an athlete willing to enter into self discipline to take command of his own body! We must be willing to submit ourselves to God’s leading and allow the Holy Spirit to discipline our hearts and actions so that our efforts will be meaningful.
An athlete must make the choice to discipline himself or herself to a strict diet, to a exercise regiment, to a plan of training and to a mind-set that focuses on ultimate victory.
When Drew Brees showed up to Saints camp in West Virginia this week to begin his 8th season with the Saints, I can guarantee you that he showed up with a focus! He showed up already having placed himself under the discipline that it will lead him to be his best!
This not only means he will put in the time to get his body right for playing the season, but he is also focused on getting his mind and heart ready for the long season as well.
My brothers and sisters in Christ: the spiritual battle we are in is NOT a sprint, but a marathon and our spirit & heart must be focused and headed in the right direction for us to prosper as a believer.
If our spirit is off… our actions will be off. This is what Paul is speaking about when he uses the illustratin of an athlete training his body thru discipline…
What it says for us is if our heart is not in it… our actions will be empty and hollow…we cannot simply go thru the motions!
Paul is relating here that FOR our actions to have purpose and be aimed where God desires them to be aimed … then we must be willing to put in the time to prepare ourselves for this journey… for the task at hand!
Are you disciplining yourself for the work of the kingdom today? Are you willing to put in the hard work that is required by God’s plan?
Paul stressed here through his illustration that seving God was hard and difficult and requires us to be willing to put in the hard work… and if we are willing God has promised that we will gain a prize!
What is that prize? Well in the context of what Paul is speaking about here… I want to say again that the prize is NOT eternal life in heaven b/c he is speaking to believers who already have that promise… so what ‘prize’ could he mean?
I believe the prize Paul speaks of here is the ‘prize’ of our Savior’s approval when we reach heaven. When we stand before Him and hear Him say, “Well done, good and faithful servant…”
Do you remember when you were a child and you wanted your parent’s approval? You were willing to go to almost ANY length to get your mom or dad to say, “Good job!”
I believe this is the ‘prize’ Paul speaks about b/c it is an eternal prize in that we will be with Jesus in heaven for eternity and knowing that He was pleased with our efforts for Him will be a great prize to gain…
This is why Paul was so adamant about his service and the attiude and effort behind his service. In v27 Paul reveals that he is afraid that he may disappoint his Savior…
Paul says, “…lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified…”
But again, I want us to notice first here what Paul did NOT say… Paul did NOT say, “…hey, if I quit, I myself should be disqualified…” He says, “…that after I preach to others I myself should be disqualified…”
We can understand why Paul could worry about being disqualified if he quit, but why does he have a fear of being disqualified after he had done what God had called him to do?
Why would he FEAR disqualification after he has been obedient to God’s calling on his life? What is Paul speaking about when he uses the word “disqualified”?
Paul’s fear of disqualification was based on his fear of his actions not measuring up… He was afraid that he may give an ‘empty effort’ or have some sort of ‘hollow obedience’ on his part!
Preaching was what Paul was called to do. Paul knew that his role in the church was to ‘preach the word’… he mentored and discipled other pastors, and he told the to ‘preach the word’.
Paul understood his role… but if preaching was his role in the church & God’s plan, why did he in fear disqualification after he was obedient to preach!?
I believe that before we can answer that we need to look at what look at what Paul meant by using the word ‘disqualified’
Disqualified – ah-dok’-ee-mos – This is a word that comes from the root word dok-ee-mos which was a term given to honest, trustworthy money handlers.
It was in reference to how they managed the coinage and the worthiness of those coins. These men would ensure the worthiness of the coins by ensuring they were not counterfiet. These men were looked upon as being trustworthy and that you could rely upon their judgment.
In the Greek when the prefix “ah” is added it makes the word refer to the mirror opposite. So in this case the word Paul use could mean ‘not trustworthy’ OR ‘not honest’ to his calling in Christ! In other words, Paul did NOT want to be found being NOT TRUSTWORTHY of the calling God has put before him.
Paul used this term as a standard of measurement for his service to God. The focus of this entire chapter has been about Paul’s active and dynamic service for God… and in these last few verses he was stressing the importance of believers NOT merely going thru the motions of serving God!
Much like the men who were trusted to verify the authenticity of coins… AND being men that could be trusted! Paul was actively sharing the Gospel, sharing it faithfully and truthfully and people knew that Paul’s focus was on God’s plan/desire!
Paul knew and understood that if he did not strive and give his ALL in his service to God that it would NOT be favorable for him!
What Paul is striving to say in these verse is saying that whatever God has called you to do… you must strive and work hard in doing it! You cannot serve God and be found worthy of your service if you just go thru the motions!
Ministry and sharing the Good News cannot be approached or put in practice with a lackidasical heart or attitude! God wants you to ATTACK what He has laid on your heart… attack it with a desire to strive & work hard for whatever it is God has placed before you!
Paul is saying ‘don’t just go thru the motions’ but then he says something that bothers a lot of people… he says, ‘…lest I be disqualified…”
What Paul is impling here is that God does NOT want us to serve half-heartedly! If we do, God may just change the playing field!
The word Paul used here implies that his fear was that he would preach as he was called but still be found UNWORTHY because his heart was not in it! The implication is that God will remove the unworthy servant from serving… they would be disqualified…
This is ALL about what God has called you to do and your attitude in doing it! I want you to understand that it is NOT about your performance results! It IS about your effort and attiude but not results!
It is all about your heart and willingness to submit to giving it your all when in service to Him! If you are not willing, God may just remove that opportunity from your life…
I truly believe that as we stand before Christ on that great judgment day and our lives flash before us and we have to answer to God… that it is NOT going to be sin in our lives that brings shame as much as it will be the “empty” or “hollow” efforts we put forth in doing what God had called us to do…
The question raised by what Paul says in this verse is this: Is your attitude for service what it needs to be?
We have an obligation to God because it is HIS mercy and grace through the shed blood of Jesus Christ that we can know redemption.
We are obliged to give Him worship… but God does not want worship from those who feel obliged to Him but God desires worship from a willing and repentant heart!
If we are just going thru the motions… our heart is NOT in it… then our actions are meaningless and we are doing things just to be doing them… If this is our attitude then we are doing these things to convince the world of who we are…
Our actions and our striving can never seek to please our hearts or the expectations of others. Our actions must be specifically FOR the One we profess as Savior. We cannot just ‘get by’ as a Christian, this life requires that we be willing to give our all…EVERYDAY!
Invitation…
