If you guys can remember what we talked about two weeks ago, we began to look at our mission statement – Living to Grow, Serve, Worship, and Share. We spent the majority of our time focusing on the importance of “living together.” For starters we talked about that this was a major component to the way we were created. “It is not good for man to be alone,” God exclaimed after he had made Adam and hadn’t made Eve yet. We were created to be in relationship with others.
We then talked about two opportunities that are very important to “living together” and that God uses to work in our lives as well though our lives. First, we talked about the importance of being in small groups that go beyond just hanging out but go deeper in an attitude of love and care for each other. These times are not about selfishly trying to get all the help and attention you can but instead about extending your heart to others in the group and loving selflessly.
The second opportunity was one that was a little challenging for some. That was the importance of being in a multigenerational worship setting. Coming to Breakaway is great but you miss out on a lot of things that God wants to do in you and through you when you neglect worshiping with people older and younger than you. I get a very different thing out of worshipping on a Sunday morning with a mix of generations that what I do on a Monday night. Both are very good…but both are also very necessary.
From there, we tied in the importance of worship and the fact that worship is not about you or me, but it is about first and foremost, bringing praise to God and secondly, about selflessly helping others to do the same.
Tonight, we are going to move on in our mission statement to the issue and importance of growing to become more like Christ. Two weeks ago, as we looked at the creation story to talk about the importance of living together, I want to again start there as we explore the importance of growth.
In Genesis 1:26-27, as the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are nearing the end of the creation process, we read the following, “Then God said, ‘Let us make people in our image, to be like ourselves’…So God created people in his own image; God patterned them after himself; male and female he created them.”
Straight from the get go we were created in the likeness, in the image, of the one and only God! Originally, we were created perfect without blemish and in perfect relationship with our Heavenly Father. For a time, man didn’t have to work to become like God, we didn’t have to worry about growing into His likeness because we already were.
But, as we all know the story, that didn’t last long. Adam and Eve exercised their free will, gave into Satan’s temptation, and disobeyed God’s one loving and protective command. When that happened, the knowledge of evil entered into the heart of humans and our perfect relationship with God was broken.
Now we are left constantly battling our sinful natures and the evil surrounding us on a daily basis as we have to work very hard just to get a glimpse of the relationship with God that we once had. But, despite the difficulty and the things that surround us, working and growing into the likeness of Christ is our responsibility and very important in our Christian lives. Let’s explore this issue deeper by opening our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
***Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27***
Here, in his letter to the Corinthian church, Paul compares the life of a Christian to an athlete running a race. There is such a stark similarity to that of an athlete preparing for and competing in any event and the life that we as Christians need to be living. To help us with this comparison, we have a short skirt for you to enjoy.
***Unprepared Runner – Scene begins as a man is stretching and preparing to start the Boston Marathon. He verbally is going over the race in his head proving his preparations. As he is doing that, a second man comes over very excited and energetic. The second man explains that he has always wanted to run the Boston Marathon and woke up this morning and felt like going for it. The two men have a brief conversation on the shock and stupidity of this event. Eventually the race starts. The two men run for a little bit together but eventually the second man, out of shape and exhausted, slows down, begins huffing and puffing, and eventually passes out.***
It is almost near impossible to run a race or compete in any other major sporting event when you have not practiced or trained. It is not only impossible but also dangerous. If you tried to go out and run the Boston Marathon without proper training, you could pull muscles and cause serious injuries to your body due to over exhaustion or overheating. On top of all that, it is just plain out stupid.
Despite the near impossibility, the danger, and the flat out stupidity, there are so many Christians who try to make it through life and their relationship with Christ without much training and work. For some reason, it makes perfect sense to most of us, that to go and run the Boston Marathon would take a lot of work and we wouldn’t try it without proper training. But when it comes to our relationship with Christ, we make the decision to follow Him and think that we can just sit back and enjoy the ride. That is very far from the truth.
As Paul starts off in this passage that we read together, he sarcastically reminds the church in Corinth of a very important thing, which really shouldn’t need reminding. “Everyone runs, but only one wins,” Paul says. Then he challenges them that they should then run to win! In other words, Paul is asking them, “What is the point of going out and planning on coming in last place! What is the point in not trying to do the best you possibly can?” That just speaks of complacency and laziness. The same goes for our relationship with Christ.
When we begin a relationship with Christ, we need to commit and run to win! It is not pleasing to God to do anything other than that. In fact, in Revelation, God speaks to this idea when he says, “I wish you were either hot or cold, but because you are lukewarm I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” In other words, either run all out and do the best you can to try and win or don’t run at all.
Paul then reminds us that running to win as a Christian is very different than running to win just some race. He reminds us that all athletes, if they are serious about running and want to win, take part in disciplined training. But, Paul says, they do it to win some trophy or medal that is going to fade away with time. We however, as Christians, who are running towards Christ and a perfect relationship with Him, will win a better prize than we could even imagine as we have a home in heaven waiting for us. In other words, the training that an athlete puts in to their sport will ultimately be meaningless in comparison with the eternal significances training and growing in Christ’s likeness will earn us.
How do you guys spend your free time? Seeing that you have a ton of it right now due to summer, it is an important question to think about. Are you constantly wasting your time doing things that are just for fun and pleasure and have no eternal significance? Or, are you investing in the only thing that you can take to heaven with you; your relationship with Christ and your relationships with others?
Because of this, the importance of commitment and running to win, and because of the amazing prize we have waiting for us at the finish line, Paul exhorts us to train hard for the race! “I run with purpose in every step,” says Paul. “I’m not just shadowboxing,” which is when a boxer throws meaningless punches that miss their target. “Instead, I have trained my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should.”
It is so important to have an attitude like Paul! Think about that comment that he said saying he runs with “purpose in every step.” That is the attitude that we should have! Our days should be filled with time reading the Word of God, time praying and having conversations with Jesus, worshipping and praising God, loving God with our actions, thoughts, and minds, and loving others around us the way we want to be loved.
That is all training that takes a lot of work and a lot of selfless living. Growth can be difficult and is often accompanied with growing pains but it will not be in vain. Everyone around you is running through life, but make sure you are running to win! Don’t waste your time and training in worthless areas but instead, invest in your eternal prize awaiting you. When we can do that, it will be a glorious run through life and God will use your training to make you more and more into the likeness of Christ and He will use you in powerful ways to help others train and to recruit new athletes to the race. Run to win, work hard as best you can, and it will all be worth it in the end!
