Sunday’s Sermons

Text: 1 Corinthians 9:19-27                                            4/27/08 a.m.

Thesis: Our greatest work is to stay connected and connect others to the power of the cross.

 

Intro: Christianity is a powerful thing. Romans 1:16 says, “The gospel is the power of God unto salvation.”

1^st Corinthians 1:17 says that the cross of Christ has power.

1^st Corinthians 1:24 says that Christ is the power and wisdom of God. That power is real and that power is for salvation, daily living, and eternal life.

I want to experience that Christ-centered power and I want you to experience that power.

We all have muscles. The more you use those muscles the stronger they grow. As Christians we have all been given the power to live boldly for Christ.

Muscles don’t get strong over night and your faith and boldness in Christ do not get strong over night. It takes discipline.

I believe that you and I will experience the power of God poured out through Christ when we put in the hard work to stay connected to Christ.

I want you to live the truth that your greatest work is to stay connected and connect others to the power of the cross. This is the discipline of a godly man

Read 1^st Corinthians 9:24-27

 

I) We must fight to keep Jesus the main thing

a)      Godly men are not ashamed to live the truth that Jesus is the prize.

i)        Verse 24 states it as an obvious fact that when there is a race every man is competing to win the prize.

ii)      All the runners run. There is no one there just to try their best. They are all there to try their best in order to win the prize.

iii)    And there is only one prize so only one person gets that prize.

iv)    The runners’ hearts pound with the desire to be the one man holding that one prize.

v)      Now their prize was generally a crown of olive leaves. Their prize was being recognized by all the people as the greatest of athletes.

vi)    They compete, exercise self-control, live intentionally, and discipline themselves in order to win a perishable wreath.

vii)  But verse 25 says we Christians compete, exercise self-control, live intentionally, and discipline ourselves in order to obtain an imperishable wreath.

viii)            Let me show you from Scripture that Jesus is that imperishable wreath. He is our prize.

ix)    This particular word, ‘prize’ is found in only two places in the New Testament. In 1^st Corinthians 9 and in Philippians 3.

x)      Turn to Philippians 3:12-14

xi)    The athletic metaphor in Philippians and Corinthians is unmistakable but neither gives us the specific content of the prize.

xii)  The prize is an imperishable wreath in 1 Corinthians 9. The prize is an upward call in Philippians 3.

xiii)            So let me give you the explicit content of the prize: Philippians 3:7-11 (read it).

xiv)            The imperishable wreath and the upward call are both “knowing Christ Jesus my Lord”.

xv)  Our hearts cry out for something glorious and satisfying.  The Hebrew word our bibles translate as glory carries the main idea of heavy.

xvi)            We want something bigger than ourselves; something greater than us that gives hope. Hope that will not disappoint and hope that will sustain all that we do.

xvii)          Athletes do all that they do to win, shave off a few strokes, trim a few seconds off each mile, and be the best they can possibly be so that they can win the prize.

xviii)        The prize that we as Christians press on to obtain is the prize of eternal life. The prize of attaining the resurrection from the dead.

xix)            John 17:3 says, “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”

xx)  Seeing that person you love who has past away sounds so good now but eventually the excitement of that will wear away like it did when they were here.

xxi)            You’ll grow accustom to the mansion.  The streets of gold and pearly gates will one day become normal.

xxii)          If Jesus is not there to give heaven it’s fill of glory than eternal life is only the equivalent of being a healthy debt-free 20 year old.

xxiii)        Let me tell you, being a healthy debt-free 20 something is nice but I crave something deeper.

xxiv)        I feel good when I wake up, my needs are met, but I desire a prize that will not perish or grow old or lose it’s luster throughout eternity.

xxv)          Only Jesus is a sufficient prize. He is the only prize that will not lose it’s luster. Knowing Him is the only mega-prize that will keep heaven satisfying for all eternity.

b)      We must live today so that we will obtain that prize

i)        The end of 1st Corinthians 9:24, “So run that you may obtain it.”

ii)      We’ve made Christianity about walking in gardens alone while the dew is still on the roses while the bible makes Christianity about putting on body armor, strapping on a sword, and putting to death the deeds of the flesh (Romans 8:13; Eph 6; Col 3:5)

iii)    Run, in the end of verse 24, is a present active imperative. It’s a command to keep on running. And it’s not you in the singular it’s you in the plural.

iv)    Ya’ll get off your spiritual duffs and run. When the Spirit stirs us and we discipline ourselves to focus on Jesus the Christian response is to run after Christ.

v)      Here’s a no-brainer: run can be defined as the “rapid forward movement of the feet” (TDNT, Vol8.226)

vi)    The every day forward moving of our feet must be for the purpose of taking hold of or seizing Christ.

vii)  Notice that the runner receives the prize but the Christian obtains the prize.

viii)            Receive is the word “lambano” while obtain is the word “katalambano.”

ix)    When you add the prefix kata onto a word it intensifies the meaning.

x)      The Christian should be more intense when it comes to knowing Christ than Dick Butkus and Bill Romanowski  when it comes to making a tackle.

xi)    To cross that finish line to the words, “well done my good and faithful servant” there must be intensity and purpose.

xii)  Intensity and purpose come from intensity and purpose. Discipline builds with compounding interest.

xiii)            Let’s look at what discipline for the cause of Christ looks like.

II) Gaining Christ involves exercising self control, being intentional, and disciplining yourself.

a)      Verse 25 makes it a matter of fact that Christians exercise self-control (read 25)

i)        Self-control is the idea of having power over yourself. Apart from the work of Christ applied to us by the power of the Spirit we are ruled by ourselves.

ii)      Apart from being born again we are slaves to sin. For the non-Christian it’s not a matter of choosing to sin or not to sin it’s a matter of choosing which sin.

iii)    For the Christian who has been set free from the power of sin and death it is a matter of choosing to sin or not to sin.

iv)    Now because of Christ in us and the Spirit-filled Scriptures we are equipped to put our sinful desires in their place.

v)      It has now become a matter of wanting to control our sinful desires and seeking God’s grace to control our sinful desires.

vi)    If athletes make great sacrifices in order to be in the best physical condition possible does it not hold true that Christians should make great sacrifices in order to be in the best spiritual condition possible?

vii)  Galatians 5:23 tells us that self-control is a fruit of the Spirit. Self-control is a gift given to every believer who must put that gift into action.

viii)            The key to success is to exercise self-control in all things. Success in the Christian life is found as the mega-gospel of Jesus Christ redeems and reshapes every aspect of our lives.

ix)    A defeated athlete is the athlete who has self-control in every area of exercise, diet, equipment choices, and strategy but lacks self-control in the area of getting enough sleep.

x)      This is why the Spirit ensured that Paul was writing about the athlete in the singular but the Christian in the plural.

xi)    One dude is easily whipped but a chord of three strands is not easily broken.

xii)  If soldiers are going to battle and one brother notices a weakness in his other brother it is necessary for survival that the weakness be pointed out.

xiii)            Self-control is never attained with just you and Jesus. Self-control is attained, exercised, and restored as a body.

xiv)            If you lack self-control repent to God, put your faith in Christ, and find a believer here to help.

b)      Verse 26 makes it clear that Christians must be intentional

i)        Read verse 26

ii)      I do not run without clarity. If you are living a Forest Gump Christianity one day you’ll be out in the middle of no where and realize you are just running without a purpose.

iii)    Running for the sake of running is foolishness. Run so that you can obtain Christ.

iv)    Many of us live frustrated Christian lives because we’re like a ship without a port. We’ve got a rudder. We’ve been given the Spirit and Scripture but we’re not going anywhere. We’re content to float in the ocean of life.

v)      Set your compass on Christ and no matter the terrain do not get off course. Be purposeful as you run.

vi)    Do you know who the shadow boxing champion of the world is? There is no such thing.

vii)  The skill of a boxer is proven when he enters the ring against a real opponent who bobs, weaves, and hits back.

viii)            Christians don’t run around fighting imaginary battles. To obtain Christ we must step into the ring against a real opponent.

ix)    So, we must be clear about our destination and we must be ready to fight a real enemy to get there.

x)      Now who is our real enemy? Is it Satan? No. Is it the world? No.  Is it our spouse or kids or boss? No.

xi)    Our real enemy is ourselves.

c)      The Christian must discipline himself for godliness

i)        Paul told young Timothy to get in the spiritual gymnasium and make progress.

ii)      1 Corinthians 9:27 says…

iii)    Paul wrote in Romans 7:18-19

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. ¹⁹ For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

iv)    What has been called indwelling sin distracts us from Christ. Indwelling sin messes up the compass.

v)      Indwelling sin is the desire of the flesh to find worth, satisfaction, and pleasure in any place other than in Christ and in any way other than God’s way.

vi)    This leads to being disqualified.

vii)  If an athlete competes against the rules he is disqualified.

viii)            I guarantee I can beat any Olympic athlete in the 100 yard dash if I get a 30 second head start.

ix)    But that is called a false start. You get disqualified for that. Your race doesn’t count when you compete in violation of the rules.

x)      Don’t be surprised when you have desires that are against the gracious commands of Christ.

xi)    “I can’t believe I did that.” I can’t believe I said that. These are phrases that need to be dropped from the Christian’s vocabulary.

xii)  “I’m sorry, forgive me because of Christ” needs to be added to our vocabularies both with God and with others.

xiii)            The Christian’s response to temptation and failure is not to give in or give up.

xiv)            The Christian’s response is not to bind demons or find someone including God to blame.

xv)  Our response to temptation and failure is discipline.

xvi)            Everyone of us is like Cain. God said to Cain in Genesis 4:7

If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.”

xvii)           If you run hard to obtain Christ you will do well but your pride is crouching at the door. Your pride wants to master you. You must master it.

xviii)        You must pummel your body. Beat your body, your sinful desires into submission. How do you do that?

xix)            How does an athlete do it? Is success found by simply avoiding what is wrong? Never.

xx)  Success is found by avoiding what is wrong and pursuing what is right.

xxi)            If Christianity in your mind is just a list of things to avoid then you’ve totally missed Christianity.

xxii)          Christianity is intentionally avoiding what is cheap to gain what is valuable and Christianity is training your mind to know the difference.

xxiii)        Christianity is about training your appetite to desire something different.

xxiv)        That’s one of the main reasons Christians fast. When we fast it shows us just how much our flesh rules us.

xxv)          Fasting shows us where we have gotten a few clicks off of the target. And pursing Christ gets us back on target.

xxvi)        So go to town on wrong desires by going to town on right desires. I must decrease Christ must increase.

xxvii)      You and I will never get rid of sin by trying to get rid of sin. The way to get rid of sin is by running hard to gain Christ. This must be done in all humility.

xxviii)    As we close I want to be very clear concerning what can be a confusing idea.

d)     There is a right way and a wrong way to live

i)        Read verse 27

ii)      Disqualified means that the circumstances of life prove your profession of faith in Christ to not be true.

iii)    It’s a word used to refer to the process of testing metals. Fools gold and real gold look the same until they are tested by the metal smith.

iv)    When tested fools gold is disqualified.

v)      2 Corinthians 13:5 says

Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

vi)    I’m about to ask you a question that is at the same time very simple and quite profound.

vii)  Is Jesus Christ in you?

viii)            Jesus said in John 3:36, “he who believes in the Son has life but he who rejects the Son will not see life for God’s wrath remains on him.”

ix)     Your life is a race. Every one of us is running after something. To receive the Son is to run after the Son. He is the goal of your life.

x)      To receive the Son is to start with the Son. He cleanses us by the power of the cross removing the guilty stain of every sin. He is the starting line.

xi)    To receive the Son is to rely on the Son. Because he was made like us and tempted in every way he can sympathize with our weaknesses. He knows your weakness and sent the Spirit to give you strength. Christ is our energy.

xii)  The great news of the gospel is that even though there is only one prize everyone who runs receives the prize.

xiii)            The fastest runner and the runner who twisted his ankle coming out of the blocks receive the same glorious prize.

xiv)            My prayer for you and I hope your prayer for me is that you would see the infinite value of Christ and run the race of this life so that you will obtain Christ.

xv)  Let’s pray for eyes that see His glory and want to pursue him. Let’s pray for faith that sees his powerful sacrifice for sins. Let’s pray for consciences that are cleansed. Let’s pray for love that endures. Let’s pray for each other.