Prayer for Illumination

As your Word is read and proclaimed, we ask You, O God, to open wide the window of our spirits, and fill us full of light. Open wide the door of our hearts, that we may receive You with all our powers of love and adoration. Come now, Lord and awaken us! Be our Teacher and speak to each one of us, that we may hear just what we need, and just what will help us. Protect us from error, distraction, and boredom, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

1 Corinthians 9: 19-27.

The Summer Olympics Games begin Aug. 8 in Beijing,China. Athletes have trained diligently for years just for the opportunity to compete in the games. I imagine that if we were privy to some of their training sessions, we would hear the coaches urging their athletes to keep their eyes on the goal…and to train in such a way as to get the prize…an Olympic medal. The purpose of the training is nothing short of transformation…it is a process of becoming the best athlete. The stakes are high and you can be sure that the process is not left to chance; it requires not only extraordinary desire, but also extraordinary self-discipline. Now, I am not a big TV watcher. In fact, if it were up to me, the TV might never be turned on in our house. Yet, one program I do enjoy watching is Dancing with the Stars. I think the appeal for me is watching this transformation take place. The season always begins with a lot of “wanna be” dancers. Week after week they train diligently with professionals, who are not only their partners, but also their coaches. Week after week, you can see the change in the contenders as they live into the life of a dancer. Gradually, they become dancers. By the end of the season, one wins the prize, and takes home a trophy.

As an apostle and the founder of the church at Corinth, Paul considered himself a spiritual coach. Like an athletic coach, or dance coach, his message to the church could be summed up in the words: KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE GOAL – ETERNAL LIFE IN JESUS CHRIST. TRAIN DILIGENTLY TO WIN THE PRIZE – AN ETERNAL REWARD! These were not shallow, empty words for Paul…rather, they were the lyrics of his life-song. Paul lived in single-minded devotion to the Lord’s call on his life to preach the gospel. He knew his hearers would face opposition, distractions, and false teaching as they attempted to live out their calls in an evil culture. Paul’s passionate instruction in our text today not only defended his own ministry and motives, but also warned and encouraged his hearers to live into God’s purpose for their lives. God’s purpose then, as now, is for each of us is to love Him with all our hearts, minds, souls, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Paul pointed to his own life as an example of this type of lifestyle. He willingly sacrificed and laid aside worldly pleasures so he might lead others into a God-saved life. His focus was always on his reward in Christ. In Phil 3:14, Paul states: “I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”PRESS ON. He challenged his hearers to take one step and then another toward a lifestyle of purpose and discipline.

We’ve talked before about the many similarities between first century culture and twenty-first century culture. Both cultures place a premium on physical beauty, athletics, recreation, knowledge, and self-fulfillment. The pursuit of any of these worldly goals has the potential to sidetrack one from the things of God. So Paul preaches a life of strict discipline. He was skilled in sharing his message in a context his hearers could easily understand. The Isthmian games were held a few miles outside of Corinth, on the Isthmus of Corinth, so it is likely that many of his hearers would have attended the games. Therefore, Paul used the metaphor of a race to describe the Christian life. He urged the Corinthians to think of themselves as athletes and to train diligently so as to win the prize. His readers would have been familiar with the rigor with which athletes trained for the exercises of running, wrestling, boxing, and throwing the discus. Contenders went through a long series of preparations and hardships even though they were uncertain of victory. Epictetus (Epic tee tus), the Greek Stoic philosopher, would question potential contenders to determine if they understood the commitment required to successfully compete in the races. He laid out the requirements for them, and told them to carefully consider the requisite preparations: you must observe a strict regimen; must live on foods you dislike; you must abstain from all delicacies; must exercise yourself at the necessary and prescribed times both in heat and in cold; you must drink nothing cooling; take no wine as formerly; in a word, you must put yourself under the directions of a pugilist (a professional boxer), as you would put yourself under the directions of a physician, and afterward you enter the lists. Here you get your arm broken, your foot put out of joint, you will be obliged to swallow mouthfuls of dust and to receive many stripes and after all be conquered.” Once he explained the requirements, he would ask them, “Do you wish to win the prize at the games?” Wow!Reading that made me wonder what prize would be worth answering ‘yes’ to that question! The victor received a crown. Not a crown made of gold, but a wreath made of laurel, wild olive, pine, celery, or parsley. A crown that began to wither as soon as it was taken from the earth or tree. A crown that was fleeting and would not last. Contenders knew the requirements, calculated the odds, and decided that crown was worth the cost.

The finest athletes today compete in the Olympic games with one goal in mind: to take home a coveted Olympic medal. They also go through long, grueling preparation. I witnessed a little of it when my youngest daughter’s best childhood friend, Briana, set her sights on the Olympic games. She was an ice-skater. In elementary school, she would be on the ice at 5:00 am. She would then change and go to school. After school she would be back on the ice. After practice she would come home, do all her homework, and go to bed, so she would be able to get up early the next morning and do it all again. Many weekends involved traveling to different competitions. The older she got, the more intensely she trained. Now she had to fit in dance instruction and strength and endurance training. Daily, she had to make choices between practice or normal teen activities. She often had to sacrifice time with friends. She followed a strict diet regimen and willingly passed up the unhealthy foods that are so often a part of the typical teen’s diet. At age 14, she went to her parents with a proposal – she wanted to go to New Jersey to train with a famous coach. It took a lot of persuading, but they finally agreed. She left Greenville…and her family, friends, and school. You see, sometimes you even have to sacrifice something good in order to get the prize. Her parents found her a family to live with and tutors to help her with her school work so she could spend most of each day skating. It was a hard and often lonely time for her, but she persevered. She trained hard and always kept her goal before her. She was injured several times and endured surgery and intense physical therapy. She was winning competitions and her future was promising. Then in her senior year of high school, she was injured after a fall when practicing a lift, and the doctors told she could no longer skate competitively. All of us who loved her were devastated. She had sacrificed so much. She came home. Naturally, she was disappointed. It has been four years. Yet, even today, Briana will tell you that her dream of the medal was worth the cost.

I respect the focus and determination of many athletes. I think Briana’a level of discipline and commitment was extraordinary. I have a difficult time maintaining any type of consistent exercise and eating regimen, even when I know the health benefits!! If I am honest, I have to admit it is because I do not singlemindedly focus on the reward, the prize of better health.Oh, I believe the benefits intellectually, and I have good intentions, but I am guilty of what Paul calls “beating the air.” I use up my strength and energy on “air”…things that have nothing to do with my goal of healthy living. The result? I miss the mark! Regardless of my claims, my actions demonstrate that I am not willing to pay the cost. If I did, I would make the time, I would expend the energy, I would eliminate the sweets. I would single-mindedly pursue a healthy lifestyle. My lack of focus and self-discipline has potentially harmful consequences for my physical well-being.

Paul reminded the Corinthian church that the Christian life is also a race. Just like in an athletic race, the Christian race requires focus… keeping one’s eyes on the goal so as not to run aimlessly and end up disqualified from the race. It requires self-discipline… the willingness to sacrifice to achieve the desired result of living for Christ. As a spiritual coach, Paul knew a lack of focus and discipline had potentially harmful consequences for his readers’ SPIRITUAL well-being. So he urged them to train hard…to give the race everything they’ve got. Mere intellectual assent and good intentions are not enough. He urged them to run in such a way as to get the prize. But unlike the athletic race, in the Christian race, there is not just one victor. In this race, ALL believers can be victors. The prize in this race? A crown that will not fade, a crown that will last forever. The crown is the reward which is given as a prize to the genuine servants of God. The prize is both a present and future reward. It is the present enjoyment of the blessings that come from intimate fellowship with Christ. It is also includes a future recognition of service that will take place at the final judgment.

Success depends on the ability to focus on the goal. Success also depends on the single-minded pursuit of the prize. You and I live in a success-oriented society. We are bombarded with the secular world’s definition of success, which usually involves amassing perishable rewards…riches, degrees, awards, power, and prestige. There is nothing wrong with any of these things in and of themselves. In the next chapter of 1 Corinthians, Paul tells the church that while all things are permissible, not all things are beneficial and constructive.Accumulating perishable rewards is permissible, but it may not be beneficial for Christians. It is not beneficial if you spend all your strength and energy on attaining perishable rewards, and end up fatigued, with little strength left for pursuing the eternal prize of knowing God in Jesus Christ and making Him known. You are just “beating the air.” You find yourself sidetracked and disqualified from the race. You never receive the prize…the joy of sweet fellowship with Jesus, the joy of sharing the gospel, and the future joy of being recognized for faithful service.

Knowing Jesus and making him known was the driving force of Paul’s life. In Chapter 2 of this same letter, Paul told the church that he resolved to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Paul got it. Paul got Jesus. Once the scales were removed from his eyes, and he saw Jesus, he never took his eyes off Him. Pleasing Christ became the all-encompassing goal of Paul’s life. Jesus was his joy and his strength. There was no “beating the air” or “running aimlessly” for Paul. We sense his urgency. Did he endure hardships? Make sacrifices? Hear for yourselves what he tells the Corinthians in his second letter to them: “I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own countrymen, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea, and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” Yes! Paul sacrificed. Did the sacrifices hinder or sidetrack him? No way! His life was a heavenly pursuit. The hardships were his “training” and made him stronger. He stayed in the race and ran straight into the open arms of His Lord.

Praise God that the eternal crown is not just for spiritual giants like Paul! There is a crown for ME. There is also a crown for each of YOU. Each of us has to answer the question Epictetus asked: “Do I wishto gain the prize?”Just like the contender in the games, you will have requirements to meet to enter into and stay in this race. A relationship with Jesus WILL cost you something…anything of value does. A relationship with Jesus requires a change in attitudes and behaviors. Look at the dramatic change in Paul after his Damascus Road encounter with Jesus. You will be asked to cast off and PUT TO DEATH your earthly nature and put on Christ. The desire to please God must replace the desire to please self. Christ will give you the power to live for Him when you follow His training regimen. Hear the regimen as recorded in Colossians 3. You must:

and patience

The purpose of this spiritual training regimen, just like an athletic regimen, is nothing short of transformation. It is a process of becoming just like Christ. The stakes are high – eternal life – and should not be left to chance. Each of you must decide if life in Christ is worth the cost. The cost is your all. God wants all of you. No one else can make this decision for you. Coaches, like Paul, like Michael, can tell you what will help you run successfully. But, it is the Holy Spirit’s activity in your life that works this transformation as you yield yourself the Spirit’s promptings, and take advantage of the means of grace. If the Holy Spirit asks you today if you want to run this race, let nothing hinder or sidetrack you. Fix your eyes on Jesus. Set your hearts on Him. Delight yourselves in Him…spend time with Him in His word, talk to Him in prayer, think on Him throughout day, share your dreams and struggles with Him. Thank Him. Serve Him. Praise Him. Worship Him. Love Him.

Run into Jesus’ open and waiting arms.

Receive your crown!