We Win Series

1 Corinthians 9:24 reminds us, “Do 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.” In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul once uses sporting imagery. He says, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” First is a wrestling analogy, We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed -- a wrestler may be on the mat, being pressed hard, but if he hasn’t been pinned, the contest isn’t over. Then he says, perplexed, but not in despair - think of football, a running back may not be able to see a hole, but he finds a hole and goes through anyways. persecuted, but not abandoned - In a footrace, a runner may have fallen behind, but he hasn’t been left behind. struck down, but not destroyed. - a boxing image - you may get knocked down, but you’re not knocked out - the fight is still on.

In each case mentioned here, the idea expressed is of not giving up. The battle may get hard, but we don’t give up. We are in a struggle, a battle, a race, a fight, a conflict. And God’s desire is that we win! Not to win in the eyes of the world. As we look at the witnesses in Hebrews 11, many of the spiritual champions looked like failures in the eyes of the world. But we want God to see us as a winner. We persevere. We endure. We patiently continue. So, how do we do that?

Set a Goal! If you never set a goal, you can be sure you will never achieve the goal. A runner who never has an end in sight never pushes himself to win. Those who run intently keep their eyes focused on the goal. Any farmer knows if you want to plow a straight row, you don’t look at the rows beside you, rather you pick a spot in the distance and keep your eyes focused on that point as you get closer. Yet far too often, we have no goals spiritually. We go from day to day aimlessly. Ask yourself “What one or two things do you think that God wants you to do in the next few weeks? We do need to consider future goals of what we want to do with our life, but those long-term goals are reached by setting short, accomplishable immediate goals.

From now to Thanksgiving, and it’s only 3.5 weeks away, can you believe it! - from now to Thanksgiving, what is one goal you would like to set for yourself? Maybe it’s to read your bible daily, or start a bible study with a small group, or to say yes to a ministry opportunity, or to get rid of some baggage, or to get victory over a certain temptation -

Whatever it is, I would encourage you this morning to set for yourself a goal to focus on it for the next three weeks. The person who thinks he can’t accomplish anything in three weeks and the person who thinks he can accomplish something great in three weeks are both right! Your success will largely be affected by your commitment to set and achieve a spiritual goal. And once you set a goal,