The Second Mile

I Cor. 9:22-27

 

A while ago, I closed the Armenian sermon with this thought:

Meet the people where they are not where you are.

 

Let me illustrate with this story.

A sales trainer asked his audience whether they liked strawberries. “Yes,” they all said, “delicious.” Then he suggested that they go fishing and use strawberries as bait.
"But fish don't like strawberries," said one of the trainees.
"But you do," replied the trainer.
"But I want to catch fish," said the trainee.
"What do fish like, then?" asked the trainer.
"Worms," the trainer replied.
"Do you like worms?" asked the trainer.
"No," replied the trainee.
"Then," said the trainer, "don't sell what you like, SELL WHAT THEY LIKE." 1

 

Now this illustration is from a book called “THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BUSINESS PERSUASION.” Well it is an art to persuade someone with a new thing.

Jesus was the master of this. Study his life and you see his approach to people.

Paul, did learn. Paul the proud, “ego” man, learned to be like others without losing his identity.

If we are going to reach unchurched people, we cannot use our “church” vocabulary, or ideas to reach them. We need to understand their vocabulary.

 

Let me give you an example from Ainjar. I was an urban man. Although I have spent times in Kessab, but I was little boy then, and agriculture was not my thing. When I served in Ainjar, I learned to love fields of apple trees, tractors, or going to the field with my congregation. I hated to see my shoes getting dusty. Oh no, if you are going to walk with them, your shoes will be muddy. Never mind. Walk with them.

The day I visited some farmers in their fields, next Sunday you see them coming to church. At first, I did not know what to discuss with them. But I learned. Once they saw me in their field, they did discuss their issues. I found a way to communicate with them.

 

Paul is urging the church to be like him in this matter. Why?

In order to win one more soul for Christ.

 

Paul moves to another important issue for the church who is ready to go the second mile.

Everyone needs motivation to do something.

Last Sunday was Super Bowl. Many athletes were involved in this game.

Many were motivated to be there. The coach of Seahawks was motivated to be in the game but his wife and daughter were motivated to be in Africa to help the weak and sick people.

These days the Winter Olympic Games started in Turin (Torino), Italy. What a wonderful thing to see athletes coming from all over the world for sport. Something motivates these young people to do all this effort to reach there: competition, fame, medals, fortune, sport, health.. ?? I don’t know, but something motivates them.

 

Some are motivated by earning more and more and more money.

Someone once found a $10 bill on the street. He was very happy. And rest of his life he walked all the streets head down hoping to find more. He collected a lot of buttons, empty cans, few pennies, and bent back and a sore neck. He missed it. He missed life. 2

 

Today’s passage starting from verse 24 speaks about runners and getting in the race. It is not only about the race, but also about winning it and getting the first prize. Paul knew that his audience would relate to Olympics. He often gave examples from the sport arena.

 

We need to be in the race and be motivated to be in the race and win the race. What motivates the Christian to be in the race?

 

What motivates you to be in the race, and to win the race?

What motivates us to walk the first mile and to walk the second mile?

 

Let me remind you that the Christian life is not Super Bowl. Let me remind you that the Christian life is not the Olympic Games. In Christian life all who run with an aim, all who beat their body and make it their slave (vs. 27), all who practice disciplined spiritual exercise will be given the prize of the glory of God. Every believer who is committed to Jesus Christ and is ready to be his disciple will be given the “crown of the righteousness” (2 Timothy 4:8). Paul continues saying he will receive this crown, or any other Christian will receive it, because there is a fight to be fought, and it is a good fight; and there is race to be run, and it is a good race (2 Timothy 4:7).

Just being a member of the “First Pauline Corinthian Church” is not enough. Just saying I am longing to Jesus’ appearance is not enough. There is a serious training in order to win the race. The Olympic skating team of the USA went through a lot of screening until two- three best female skaters were selected.

 

On the one hand, by the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we are in the race. Thank God. On the other hand, what are we doing in the race? Are we moving to the second mile? Are we disciplining our spiritual life?

 

Paul gives some suggestions about the race.

a-     Strict training (9:25) is another way of saying “SELF CONTROL”.

In 2004, I studied Galatians 5 with the youth of Emmanuel church: the fruits of the spirit. And do you know that one of the fruits of the spirit is self control?

It is self-control when you see something in the church and you do not like it. You stay, you control yourself, and you face the issue with love.

It is self-control when you feel you need to gossip. You feel you will explode if you do not talk. Then the Spirit of God controls your tongue.

It is self-control when you feel like not attending the church services, because you are tired or some other reason. Then the Spirit of God controls you. You do attend.

We read in 2 Peter 1:5 “… make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance….”

 

b- Aim, Purpose, Target, (Neshan). Paul says: “I do not run like a man running aimlessly” (vs. 26). So many live without an aim, without a plan.

I enjoyed buying my first running shoes in the USA when I was student in 1984 in Kansas Wesleyan. I had to take a course in physical Education. I could not have my BA without that course. And the coach trained me to run 4 miles. Unfortunately after graduation I did not run, although I had one of the best, expensive running shoes.

Once I read that 87% of Americans own running shoes but they do not run.3

This indicates that we do not have discipline, motivation, or aim to do something.

Paul does not want to beat the air while he is fighting. In Armenian, we have a saying: “Do not beat the water.”

What a foolish thing to beat the water or the air. Sometimes we do this in our meetings. We spend hours of arguing about secondary things forgetting the main aim. The reason we get stuck with the secondary issues is that maybe we have lost our aim, our main vision. Why do I fight the “good fight”? What is the “good fight”? Often as a church we need to remind ourselves of these issues.

As a pastor, I can fall in this trap too, so when I was preparing these words I started to ask myself. How can I decide my battle, my GOOD battle?

Today’s passage is very clear. Paul is very clear. I will go back to the beginning of the Armenian message where Paul mentions his purpose for doing all these: TO WIN ONE MORE PERSON TO CHRIST.

 

Examine yourself today. In the next hour when we have our congregational meeting examine yourself when you are going to say something: Will my remark help to win more people to Christ?

 

To the weak, I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. (vs.22)

Amen

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Geoff Burch, THE ART AND SCIENCE OF BUSINESS PERSUASION (New York: Carol Publishing Group), 1994.
2. Dunken, King. Sermon: “A Labor of Love” Page 2.

3. Gold Glut. Homiletics online