Run The Race To Win

Grace Fellowship Church

Subscribe

Download

Share

00

00:00

This sermon is from Grace Fellowship Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. To access other sermons or to learn more about us, please visit our website at graceedmonton .ca.

00:15

It's good to see everyone again. It's good to see visitors. So welcome to Grace Fellowship Church. We hope that you're blessed today and that, like I said, this message finds you well.

00:24

So as we're continuing back our series in 1 Corinthians, while you guys flip to 1

00:30

Corinthians, we're looking at the tail end, on the heels of Shane's sermon last week, the end of chapter 9. So as you guys are turning there and you guys are finding our spot, we're in verses 24 to 27 this week.

00:43

I just want to give us a little bit of a flyby. I want to contextualize chapter 9, because Paul is ending on an argument and it's beneficial for us to look at chapter 9 to see what

00:55

Paul has talked about this chapter and for us to see how he connects these last four verses to everything he said before.

01:00

So I want us to remember, beginning in chapter 9, he's talked about laboring, being a laborer for the

01:07

Lord, a shepherd. And how, as a laborer, as a shepherd for the Lord, he's due his blessings.

01:15

He's to receive wages as a laborer and you find in verse 9, you shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain.

01:24

So Paul is making the case that as a laborer for the Lord, he reserves his compensation, reserves his wages. But then, following right immediately after that, he makes the claim that in his

01:35

Christian freedom, in his freedom in Christ, he has foregone that compensation. So he foregoes that compensation from the

01:42

Corinthians specifically in the effort that he would win souls for the kingdom.

01:48

So Paul sets this case about being paid as a laborer, as a shepherd, as a layman for the

01:53

Lord. And then he says, but however, I, as an example, have foregone this

01:59

Christian privilege so that I may win a few souls to the kingdom.

02:04

He was a zealous evangelist. Paul, he understood the mandate of the gospel and knew that in the freedom that Jesus Christ brings, it also means being a zealous evangelist for the kingdom.

02:16

It means to be zealous for the kingdom and to win souls to the kingdom of Christ. So having said that,

02:24

Paul concludes this chapter and he reveals an understanding about man that he wants to convey to us as well and that one that we need to understand as well.

02:33

So full disclosure, for those of you who don't really enjoy sports analogies or competition, you guys aren't really much into competition,

02:41

I have to apologize a little bit because we're going to lean heavily into that idea because it's biblical, because Paul does it.

02:47

So Paul leans really heavily on this idea of sports and competition because Paul understood something really important about the human condition, about us made in the image and likeness of God.

02:58

Men and women are competitors. We compete in some form or another.

03:05

We all compete in and amongst the world and this isn't by accident. So the question that we look to answer today, and we'll be looking at a couple of things.

03:15

Oh no, sorry, my thing is mixed up. What we're looking for, this is like that one week with Shane.

03:22

Oh no. Oh no. Of course you'd give me technical issues now. Okay, here it is. So again, the questions that we're looking to answer today is, okay, so if we are competitors, what does that mean for us to be competitors?

03:34

What do we strive for? What is the prize? And if we are racers, if we are competitors in events, and if this is the human condition, how do we run it?

03:44

Where are we running to? What is the prize and how do we get there? Again, just one quick glance at the world around us.

03:53

You look and you understand quite quickly that everybody is running. All men and women run. We compete and we chase after things that our hearts hold most dear.

04:03

Be it money, power, fame, political power, intrigue, etc. All men and women race for a prize.

04:10

But for the Christian, we need to see the race and the prize clearly for what it should be.

04:16

For us, the believers, the point of today's message is this. So this is the point. This is the message. This is what

04:21

Paul intends to correct in our thinking with today's verse or today's passages. We race and compete for the

04:29

Lord who is himself our prize. So I'll say that again. We race and we compete for the

04:36

Lord Jesus Christ who is himself our prize. So that is the question, again, that we're looking at and what

04:43

Paul intends to correct in our theology, in our view of him. And that should be our biggest takeaway. And we're going to explore that today.

04:49

But again, but before we delve into our passage proper, let us pray. Dear Father, we come before you with open hands.

04:59

As we look around the landscape, Lord, we see, we know that, Lord, the race that we run is difficult.

05:06

Lord, with life's snares and toils, we press on knowing that we strive.

05:11

And what we strive for is greater than all the earthly wealth and the riches that could ever befall us.

05:20

Ecclesiastes 3 .11 says, You have put eternity on man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what

05:27

God has done from the beginning to end. Lord, let us not be blind. I pray, Father, that it would be very clear to us today, right now at Grace Fellowship Church, that we run for a greater glory and a greater prize.

05:40

We run for the imperishable Jesus Christ, who's worth nothing less than our most zealous efforts.

05:49

And it is in his name that we pray this. Amen. So hoping everything cooperates with my technology.

05:57

No more issues. Today, we're going to look at three points. So again, we're just going to look at three points as Paul has laid out in verses 24 to 27.

06:05

And we're just, we're going to work sequentially through the passage. So the first point, for those of us taking notes, is there is only one winner.

06:14

So this is verse 24. So right before we actually get into the verse, I kind of wanted to start today with a little bit of a brief history lesson, just the shortest history lesson.

06:23

So during our time looking and studying 1 Corinthians, we become really familiar with many aspects of the culture of the

06:31

Church of Corinth and kind of the historical and the cultural leanings that were taking place at the time.

06:38

So we know because of the geography and just the docks and just their geographical location, this place was a bustling place.

06:47

The Church in Corinth was a busy place. And the Corinthians knew what it looked like to be busy.

06:54

This was a mercantile town. There's a lot happening. However, it brought along a lot of problems, right, as we've come to see.

07:02

As we've learned culturally, a lot of this travel, a lot of these thoughts brought along a lot of cultural vices and temptations for the

07:11

Church in Corinth. So we've studied that quite a bit. So laying that aside for just a minute, not everything, however, did

07:19

Paul frown upon in Corinth. He didn't frown upon every single thing culturally. And we see that in today's passage.

07:26

During this time in history, there were two big sporting competitions. Well, there's a couple, but the big ones that concerned the

07:31

Church in Corinth were these two big ones. The first one that I think everyone here is familiar with, and these are the Olympiad Games.

07:37

So again, during this time, the Olympiad Games were running about every four years. And the smaller games, the more local games, were called the

07:47

Ismithian Games. A little bit of a tongue twister, but the Ismithian Games, that's what they were called. So if someone couldn't attend the

07:54

Olympiad Games, they knew of the games, of the Olympiad Games. They couldn't attend because this was held in a different city or a different area, and these were a humble people.

08:04

They definitely knew about the Ismithian Games. These were held in Corinth. They were hosted there, and they were held in higher frequency.

08:11

So culturally, this was a town that knew about sporting events and competition. So at the end of the event, so there are, sorry, let me backtrack.

08:20

So there were five events in these Ismithian Games. There were five events, two of which Paul talks about in our passage today.

08:27

After these five events were run, there was a solitary judge who would preside over the event, and at the end of the event, he would award everyone, each winner, the prize.

08:40

They were run a little bit different, and we'll understand that, actually, we understand this right now, but there was no first place, second place, or third place winner.

08:50

There was just one winner. To those of us familiar with the Olympic Games today, there's a gold, there's a silver, there's a bronze.

08:58

But this was not the case during the games back when Paul wrote to the

09:03

Corinthians. There was only one winner. He says so in verse 24. He says, do you not know that in a race all, sorry, do you know that in a race all the runners run but only one receives the prize?

09:15

So Paul sets up with a rhetorical question. This is a question that doesn't really need an answer because the answer that he's eliciting is this.

09:23

Well, obviously, one person breaks the finish line when you complete a marathon. Only one person can break that finish line.

09:31

There's only one winner. It's kind of the obvious question that Paul puts forward, and by today's standards, we also kind of understand that because even in the, for example, in the things like the

09:41

Olympic Games, there is only one gold medal winner. There's ultimately only one first place winner.

09:47

So we understand this. But Paul says this. Paul, again, he immediately follows up at the end of the verse.

09:53

He says, so run that you may obtain it. And that seems somewhat intuitive, and it should be.

10:00

If there's one winner in a race and you're faced with many competitors and there's only one winner, you ought to run.

10:07

There can only be one winner. Therefore, you have to run with endurance. And that's, Paul starts off this analogy quite simply.

10:15

If there's one race, one winner, we should run with endurance. And that's going to be the application, something we can apply right now.

10:22

It is this, again, run with endurance. The Greek word used at the end of verse 24 is katalambano.

10:32

I think my pronunciation is good there, but katalambano is used at the end of this verse. And it's an imperative verse.

10:38

It's a forceful verse. It's not a passive, not a passive verb of one remaining sitting there.

10:44

It's a forceful verse that says to lay hold of or to attain to the prize. It's powerful.

10:53

Paul intends for us to run with endurance. For anyone who's ever done any running before in their lives or any kind of competition, you know that it takes more than just being physically fit.

11:05

There's a mental aspect. There is an aspect that goes beyond the physical element of just running and competing a race.

11:12

When the lungs are burning and doubt begins to set in and the mind of the competitor begins to overcome him, this is when we require endurance.

11:23

Shane read it earlier, Hebrews 12, 1, and it says this. Turning to Hebrews real quickly.

11:31

Paul again used, many of the New Testament writers used these sports analogies to convey their point because they understood the importance of competition and how it is that we as image bearers of God, those made in his image and likeness ought to compete.

11:46

So it says this in Hebrews 1, verses 1 to 2, it says, Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin, which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.

12:02

Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

12:12

Run with endurance, run. Isaiah 40, 31 says something similar. It says, but they who wait for the

12:20

Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, and they shall run and not grow weary.

12:27

They shall walk and not faint. A competitor for the kingdom.

12:32

Again, we are all competitors in one sense or another, but a competitor for the kingdom sets his mind on the

12:39

Lord and he runs hard. As everyone looks around their life and takes note of where God has placed them, every single person unique in their ministry,

12:47

God has placed you there. As you lay about the landscape, take note.

12:54

Whatever it is, run with endurance. So be it in your school studies, those of you in university, in our work, in our places of work, honoring our employers, in our parenting, those of us who are parents, who will be parents.

13:11

Honor your children, honor your spouse. In your discipleship, as brothers and sisters come alongside you, run those races with endurance.

13:18

Don't be lackluster about it. Lay hold of God's glory and run. Again, this verb, katalambano, run and lay hold of the prize.

13:27

Grab it, run for it. So that's our first piece of application.

13:33

So again, run with endurance. I haven't said that enough. Run with it. But that is just the beginning.

13:40

We all know that it isn't just zeal that God demands of us. Zeal is a good place to start, and it is the starting point.

13:46

Paul does start here, but it is not the only thing that he talks about. There is more.

13:53

So while this is a good start, run with zeal, the next question we have to answer is, what is the prize?

13:59

That is the next obvious question, and I think kids get this because kids say, okay, if I'm going to go somewhere, I'm going to want to get something from my troubles, and I want to know what's in it for me.

14:09

So again, so the question realistically is, well, what is the prize? So I'm going to do something a little different today. Be it maybe my leanings towards visuals and stuff, just in terms of work.

14:21

I like to bring things. I'm going to try to demonstrate a little bit about what it looks like to compete.

14:28

So maybe for the kids, because the kids probably enjoy this more. What am I holding here? What is something?

14:33

What is this? Yes, a medal. This is a, what color would this medal be? Yeah, this isn't my medal, by the way.

14:40

I don't have any of these. I have to borrow this one. But this is a gold medal, right?

14:45

So this is a gold medal. This means what? So if I have a gold medal, that means what? Yes, but that means

14:54

I came in first. I was first place winner, right? Medals are actually pretty, they're kind of new, actually, as I was reading and studying more about medals.

15:03

They're actually kind of a new introduction within the last couple hundred years. Historically, though, they was actually different.

15:09

What the competitors of maybe the Olympian Games and the Smithian Games would compete for.

15:15

So this, I made this yesterday. So hopefully it's not too distracting, but hopefully you guys can see this.

15:22

This is a wreath, and I won't wear it for very long, but that is the wreath.

15:29

It was made out of olive shoots. And we look at that, so if we were going to compare the two, there's a difference in quality in many ways, right?

15:38

We're looking at this. There's a quality difference here. And that's not by accident. Whereas in one hand we have a solid gold medal, and in another we have a perishable wreath.

15:49

Both are physical objects, and both have their lifespan, as it were.

15:55

But this was the prize. This was the prize. So as we're looking and we're considering what it looks like to be a competitor, and we're considering what would motivate, what would compel someone to run a race, run a race with endurance, what compels someone, we have to understand the prize is something that we have to understand as well.

16:17

So if you're taking notes, again, the second point is this. The heading for the second point is the great prize.

16:27

So continuing in our passage. So again, just to bring us back to our passage, let's move some of this stuff over. Again, Paul, just to bring us back, is digging deeper into this analogy.

16:38

So he set up this idea about being a competitor. He's going to reference a couple games, but now he's going to dig even further.

16:46

Again, to be clear, these activities, sorry, these events that would take place back in the days of Corinth, they were different.

16:54

They're not like the Olympic Games that take place today, that take place over the course of weeks, and more are added, and some are removed, and you have to find slots for all these thousands of competitors who descend on whatever city they're competing in.

17:07

These were done pretty quickly. These games, by comparison, could be finished very, very quickly within a day or two, and as a result, winners were crowned quite quickly.

17:17

So winners would win their events, and by the end of it, they were crowned quite quickly, and the solitary judge would preside over the event, and he would reward each winner a wreath.

17:26

I won't pull it again, but the wreath would fall on the head of the winner. In verse 25, Paul says this,

17:34

Every athlete exercises self -control in all things, which is interesting.

17:40

Let's just, again, keep in mind who Paul is speaking to here, even in 1 Corinthians alone.

17:46

Even as we look at 1 Corinthians, and we do somewhat of a flyby over of this idea,

17:52

Paul, this isn't the first time Paul has talked about discipline. This is a reoccurring theme. This is a reoccurring idea, an imperative that Paul continues to reinforce to this church.

18:02

Again, an immature church, but he wants them to get the point to discipline themselves. Again, just looking at 1

18:08

Corinthians, if you flip through the book, many times he's done this. In 1 Corinthians chapter 6, verses 12 to 20, he talks about sexual immorality, abstaining of sexual sin.

18:19

In chapter 7, he talks about marriage. If you look at verse 9 in chapter 7, it says, note the word self -control, especially when it comes to courting, especially in being godly in your conduct towards your betrothed.

18:33

Again, abstinence, self -control, godliness. In 1 Corinthians 8, he instructs the church regarding matters of food and abstaining from that food for the sake of others.

18:45

And this is just up to chapter 9, he again brings up this idea of discipline and self -control.

18:51

And this won't even be the last time he does it. He'll do it again in chapter 10 and more thereafter. So Paul is driving this point forward.

19:00

Discipline, discipline, discipline. In other words, Paul is urging, Paul is urging the believers in Corinth, like it says in 1

19:08

Timothy 4, 7, train yourselves for godliness. Train yourselves. This is an intentional activity.

19:15

This is intentional thinking that he puts them through. However, what makes the ending of chapter 9 so different is the stark difference that he puts before the church in Corinth.

19:25

This idea, this mental image he's putting forward is different than the other times that he's referenced it. What he's doing, he's putting in stark contrast to what the world offers versus the rewards that are stored up for us in heaven.

19:41

So again, he's comparing to the earthly wreath versus the incorruptible that is to be ours in heaven.

19:50

For a competitor in early games, so the early game competitors, they would abstain and discipline their bodies. Anyone who's disciplined in their sporting activity understands this.

19:59

The physical strain of training for a competition is grueling. You gotta get up early.

20:05

You gotta discipline your diet. You gotta eat clean. You have to go to bed early. You have to rest. All these things require discipline.

20:12

And it's grueling and it's difficult. And what was the reward? What's the reward? We looked at it a second ago.

20:19

What's the reward? A wreath. This is, I intentionally didn't put much time into this because I think it probably would have wasted my time to put more effort into this.

20:29

But the illustration stands true. This is a corruptible prize. This is a decaying reward.

20:37

Paul says in 25, they do it to receive a perishable wreath. And in due time, that wreath will not exist.

20:46

It will be decaying and it will be worm food. But what he says, right after he says, but we, the

20:52

Christian, the believer, we strive for the imperishable. The imperishable.

21:00

If competitors were to discipline themselves, were to agonize their bodies and discipline their bodies for the sake of their competition, how much greater should the zeal of the

21:11

Christian be in light of the incorruptible, the prize that lays ahead of us at the end of this race that we run?

21:18

How much greater should our zeal be, especially comparing this, this corruptible wreath, versus the incorruptible?

21:28

Competitors, again, just to put it in context. So the competitors would yearn, right? These competitors, these people would run.

21:35

They would run through hard races and they would yearn for the chance to receive a floral wreath from human hands who truly don't give human, who can truly bestow no true honor.

21:48

And then Paul says, how much greater is the crown bestowed to us from the hands of Jesus Christ himself? If we understand the prize, we stand, we stand again by running a faithful race, that in itself makes discipline more fulfilling.

22:03

What is difficult and what is grueling about discipline becomes a blessing because we know that we labor for something greater than a wreath or even the world's most wealthiest of gifts.

22:17

Matthew 8 and 36, Jesus Christ says, What profits a man if he gains the world but forfeits his soul?

22:23

People are running for prizes and gifts that ultimately will forfeit their soul, but they run hard.

22:31

Therefore, how hard should we be running as Christians? Looking back at Hebrews, I'm going to spend some time in Hebrews again.

22:38

Hebrews 11, chapter 11, verse 24 to 26, it says this of Moses. By faith,

22:45

Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin.

22:55

Note this, verse 26. He considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.

23:07

Moses was looking to the reward. He forsook his earthly inheritance, earthly heritage, for the incorruptible wealth in our

23:17

Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He looked to him. Instead of a life of opulence, living a life of the fleeting pleasures of sin, he chose

23:25

Christ versus the temporary corruptible. So like Moses, Moses understood this,

23:33

Paul understood this, and we should understand this. This is how we can apply this right now. It says this.

23:39

Know the prize we are to receive. So again, if you're taking notes, know the prize.

23:45

Be familiar with the prize that you're going to receive. To learn more of Jesus is also to understand that he desires to bless us.

23:56

So if we call Jesus our own and we learn more of him, we also understand that Jesus Christ is a very wealthy and loving master.

24:05

He gives, and he bestows in abundance. So we should start by learning those blessings.

24:12

We can learn about the one and others of Scripture. Those are blessings that immediately serve, provide fruit in our lives.

24:20

The peace of salvation beyond all understanding, even in the midst of suffering. We can know this.

24:26

We can know that Jesus Christ is there, and that is one of the prizes, amazingly, that we have peace, even in the midst of toiling times.

24:35

The love and wonders of his Scriptures, again, the miracle that the Bible is, is all for us. One might say the vast size alone of all the blessings and knowing your

24:45

Bible, just knowing it, you might come away saying, this is an impossible task.

24:52

He is too big to know. He is too grand to understand. And in one sense, yes, he is.

25:00

I'll say that again. In one sense, he is as big as he looks. He is impossibly big.

25:06

And that is comfort to us. If Jesus Christ is our prize, as we draw near to the throne of grace, as we learn more of him, we learn of his blessings, we learn of his character, this, in and of itself, as we understand the holiest of holies, this becomes spiritual food for the race.

25:25

As we learn more of the grandeur of Jesus Christ, and we esteem him as we should, and we know the prize, how much greater does that prize look as we run?

25:35

In moments where we stumble and fall, when competition becomes heavy or we face adversity, how much greater is that when the prize is so grand, is so wonderful?

25:47

It says in Ephesians 1, chapter, sorry, chapter 1, verse 11 to 14, it talks about this inheritance that we are blessed with.

25:57

We are blessed with an inheritance, brothers and sisters, an amazing inheritance sealed to us by the promised

26:02

Holy Spirit. And this is an inheritance that has been with us from the beginning, that God has planned for us and intends to give us.

26:11

It says this, again, Ephesians 1, verse 11 to 14, it says, In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ may be to the praise of his glory.

26:28

In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised

26:34

Holy Spirit, verse 14, it says this, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory.

26:44

There are treasures waiting for us in heaven, brothers and sisters. The more we familiarize ourselves and the more we know the prize, that in and of itself is fuel for the race, that as we draw nearer and nearer to this prize, we should run harder, as we esteem it and we can see it in the horizon, we should pursue this, so know it, so know the prize.

27:08

So again, that was the second point, and before I get into the third point that Paul, we're gonna linger here a little bit longer, but once again,

27:17

I'm gonna withdraw on the kids here because we all understand competition, and I like competition as a, and I kind of have a mental picture and kind of an analogy

27:25

I want to paint. So I want, I'll speak to the kids, but I want us all to kind of imagine what's going on here.

27:31

Imagine that I were to take all the kids that were present here, and we are lining them up for an event, for it's the school, the big school track day.

27:39

I think, I remember that being the case when I was a kid, I loved it, and likely most of you have done this as well, but there's a big school track day, and the last big event,

27:49

I line up all the children. Everyone is lined up for the big race. So everyone, again, at the starting line.

27:56

As we're waiting to start, I go to rile up the crowd, I go to jazz them up, and I, you know, I tell them, you know, run the race with endurance.

28:03

There's a prize at the end of this, and everyone cheers, and everyone says, great, there's a prize here. Everyone's excited.

28:09

I describe the prize a little bit, you know, as I begin to describe it, and you can make, and you can see it, and the kids start to understand, you know, the grandeur and the glory of this prize.

28:19

They become more zealous and more excited, and they're ready to begin the race. As everything quiets down, as they're waiting, they're asking questions, thinking, okay, where am

28:29

I running? What does this race look like? How am I going to win it? I have to run hard, and I know what

28:34

I'm getting, but I don't know where I'm going, and I don't know how to get there. And as everyone waits, it becomes, it grows with anticipation.

28:45

In that moment, I grab my starting pistol, and bang, the race starts. At that moment, to the horror of the witnesses around, pandemonium would begin.

28:56

It would be chaos. It would be absolutely chaos It would turn as chaotic as you can imagine it would be.

29:02

You would see children running. You would see chaos. Some people are running backwards. You wouldn't know where you're going, and for good reason.

29:10

There's good reason why this is the case. Actually, some of you may be familiar with this, but in Shane and I's old employment, we actually were tasked with organizing a fun run at one point for children, the children that we served at the time, and it functioned.

29:29

I mean, it went through. It wasn't a huge casualty, but it ran about as well as you'd expect it to, especially considering the clientele and the kids that we worked with in particular.

29:38

It was kind of a sight. It was a sight to behold, and it was kind of like this. Even though this is a theoretical situation, it ran kind of like this, as clear as we might have wanted it to be, as clear and as...

29:55

With everything that we tried, with all our efforts, it still kind of ran kind of like this. But actually, it draws back to the passage.

30:05

It draws back to the last two verses, verses 26 and 27. This is actually a perfect analogy and perfect illustration for what it looks like not to heed the warning because Paul ends our third point, which is this.

30:20

Stick to the rules. You got to stick to the rules. Those last two verses, verses 26 and 27, are actually warning passages, and when we look at these, we have to understand that they're meant for a particular reason.

30:35

Spiritually, we would be no different than any of the kids that Shane and I might have worked with in the past or any of the kids in a chaotic run that is unsupervised or unwarned, and it is spiritually damaging, and we need to heed this warning.

30:51

In verse 26, Paul says, so I do not run aimlessly. He does not run aimlessly.

30:59

Races have starting and finish lines. There's a beginning and an end. There are also boundaries, and if you hope to win the race, if you hope to attain to the prize, then you need to stick within, you need to adhere to the boundaries.

31:15

Runners in the Olympic Games and competitors don't run across the field in a sprint. They run within their constrictions and they run hard.

31:26

Paul digs in further and he says to anyone who's familiar with boxing, he says, and I do not box as one beating the air.

31:34

Paul, understanding pugilism, understanding boxing, those who study it and know it and appreciate it know that boxing isn't just about throwing punches.

31:43

Boxers are very disciplined. It's one of the hardest sports, and in the moment, unbeknownst to maybe what you might not understand watching, it's a very disciplined sport.

31:54

Every shot, every slip, everything is calculated. There is no wasted energy in boxing.

32:02

Boxers who sit down and load up on a big shot, there's an understanding in boxing that anyone who would do this, anyone who really lays into one shot at a big haymaker and misses, it would be better for that guy never to have thrown that punch because all the energy and all the wasted effort that has gone into wasting that punch will have consequences later on as he runs out of energy because he's not beating the air.

32:29

He's facing an opponent. Paul knew this. Paul knew this.

32:34

Paul was a pugilist himself, I believe, and by all intents and purposes, this is a perfect analogy.

32:40

We ought not waste that energy. It's a calculated run. We need to stick to the rules. Stick to the rules of running.

32:46

Stick to the rules of boxing. Spiritually, it is foolishness for us to see the world, its wisdom, and to pursue its methods.

33:00

Looking at Romans chapter 2 verses 10 to 18, it says this.

33:07

As it is written, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands.

33:13

No one seeks for God. All have turned aside. Together they have become worthless. No one does good.

33:19

Not even one. Their throat is an open grave. They use their tongues to deceive.

33:25

The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.

33:31

Their feet are swift to shed blood. In their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.

33:38

There is no fear of God before their eyes. There is no fear. Brothers and sisters, the world is lost.

33:46

The world is truly lost. The world and its wisdom is utter folly.

33:52

It's foolishness. Without the saving grace of God in our lives, we are no different.

33:58

We run aimlessly. We flail about like children. We don't understand. Paul, knowing this, he says in verse 27,

34:08

He, I discipline my body and keep it under control. I actually like the annotation at the bottom.

34:15

I don't know if you guys have it as well. I find it to be more forceful, actually. And the annotation in mine says this,

34:22

I pummel my body and make it a slave. I pummel my body and make it a slave.

34:30

That is a lot more forceful. And probably more in line with what it takes to be a competitor for the

34:36

Lord. Paul lived this example up. Paul lived it out to the ends.

34:42

In his last epistle, in 2 Timothy chapter 4, verses 6 to 8, he says this.

34:48

Again, this is Paul's last epistle. He says, For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

34:57

Paul knows his execution isn't coming. He says, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race.

35:04

I have kept the faith. Henceforth, there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the

35:10

Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have loved

35:18

His appearing. Brothers and sisters, our last point here.

35:27

So again, our application. How we apply this to our lives. How this washes our lives. How this paints the rest of our spiritual walk is this.

35:35

Stick to the rules. Stick to the rules. Lord, help me as I try to convey this.

35:44

I'm going to try to convey a really tragic situation that Paul's laying out here. And Lord willing, like I said, you'll understand this because this is tragic.

35:52

Imagine this. A life having preached the gospel. A life that has led so many to the narrow gate.

36:01

Imagine this. Imagine you lead a life where others are blessed by it. Led to the narrow gate. But at the end of life's journey, having run a difficult race, you reach death's horizon.

36:14

You're on the precipice of death. And it says in verse 27, after preaching to others,

36:20

I myself should be disqualified. Imagine that. Living a life of preaching the gospel.

36:28

Living a life leading others to the narrow gate, loving people, seeing them come to the saving faith of Jesus Christ, only so that you can be disqualified right at the end.

36:40

When we come to passages like this one as believers, these are like litmus tests.

36:47

In other words, these tests, these verses that come up, should already confirm what we believe to be there.

36:56

To those who profess Jesus Christ as Savior and desire to win Him the glory, a passage like verse 27 should strike our hearts in fear.

37:05

It should be like plunging in icy cold water when you read something like this. The very idea, again,

37:14

Lord help me here. Imagine this idea of you standing before the great white throne, before the judge of judge himself, the

37:22

King of glory. You stand before him and he says these words, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.

37:29

That should fill our hearts with fear and trembling. If you would claim

37:34

Christ as your own, heed these passages, brothers and sisters. Heed them and let them steer you straight. Stick to the rules of the race lest you be disqualified.

37:45

It should convict you. These should be like a dagger in your soul. To hear the great judge of judge say this to you should rend your heart in two.

37:57

And to those who read verse 27, to those who hear it, to those who hear these words and feel nothing, no fear, no concern, nor dread, they feel nothing.

38:08

They are dead. And I urge you to reevaluate your heart. As I stand here before the pulpit and I stand here in the midst of all these staring eyes, my heart breaks.

38:21

I've been agonizing over this verse because the very notion that this might apply to some of you within this crowd breaks my heart.

38:30

There are some of you to which this verse may apply and that is heartbreaking. If you truly don't feel any fear, any dread, any reverence for verse 27, for the understanding of how in peril your soul is,

38:44

I would like to speak to you after if you are open to it because you need to understand that your very soul is at stake here.

38:52

To those of us who profess Christ, this is like a dagger to your soul. And to those who don't feel that dagger, I would urge you to reevaluate your soul.

39:06

So as we conclude, as we kind of, as we draw, our time today is in a close.

39:14

Again, as we leave, consider that we've been talking about some pretty tremendous stuff.

39:20

We've been talking about a heavenly reward. We are encouraged. This should be a really, actually this should be an invigorating passage.

39:26

We should be encouraged by this. We've talked about heavenly rewards. We've talked about, you know, running this race with endurance.

39:33

We should take joy in that, you know, running with endurance because we know that there's a great and mighty prize that waits for us.

39:39

And if we stick to these rules, we won't disqualify ourselves. And that should be invigorating. That should be highly encouraging, brothers and sisters.

39:47

But, but remember, while we leave here encouraged for all the blessings that, you know,

39:54

Paul has conveyed here and that lie and wait for us, we do so only because we receive a crown not earned by our own merits.

40:02

The same word used for wreath in verse 25, it's the same word that is found earlier in the

40:10

Gospels, except it isn't a crown of glory. It isn't a prize of a race well run.

40:21

It's not that at all. Actually, it is a bitter crown of shame, of thorns.

40:27

That same word that Paul uses here describes the bitter crown of thorns that crowned our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

40:36

And not a crown that any man should envy. Nobody wanted this. Nobody, nobody would ever jump into that situation.

40:42

Not a crown of glory, there's no wealth, nothing but shame and derision.

40:50

And yet, Jesus Christ bearing that crown for such lowly sinners such as us, so that in return we would be so privileged to enter into His glory that He would be the one to bestow us our prize.

41:06

I want us to take encouragement in that. I really do. And as for fuel for some worship as we conclude today,

41:11

I want to just read the last verse of And Can It Be. I just want to read this last verse. And let this be our hearts, brothers and sisters.

41:20

No condemnation, now I dread. Jesus, and all in Him is mine. Alive in Him, my living head, and clothed in righteousness divine.

41:32

Bold, I approach the eternal throne. And brothers and sisters, claim this, and claim the crown through Christ, my own.

41:41

Claim the crown through Jesus. Run to Him. Repent. Be washed of sin. And run this race, brothers and sisters.

41:49

Let's pray. Father, how great are You. How great

41:55

You are, Lord, Your Son not sparing. Stood condemned in our place.

42:03

Condemned He stood. Bearing a crown of thorns, He was despised. And He was pierced that in return,

42:10

He would bestow upon us a rich inheritance. And a crown of glory. Let this be our hearts, cry and plea.

42:20

Until we run to our final breath, praise the Lord Jesus. Praise Him. We ask,

42:27

Lord, give us the hearts to praise Him. To bestow upon Him the honor and glory that is due.

42:34

Father, as He bore that wretched crown of thorns, that we in return would receive a crown of glory.

42:41

Placed on our heads so lovingly by such gentle hands. I pray,

42:48

Father, that we would have the strength to heed Your warnings. That we would not, that we would not turn away from the warnings, from a life lived in disobedience, to disqualify ourselves from this prize.

42:59

Father, to look and live a life of disobedience. But rather, Father, that we would step in strive with one another.

43:07

That we would strive for the holiest of holies, Father, knowing that it is for His glory that we labor.

43:14

That as we approach the royal throne, that we approach the white throne boldly, we can do so confidently,

43:20

Lord, knowing that we live the life of obedience. We thank

43:25

You, Lord, from the very depths of our souls, to the praise and to the awesome