Running with God (2)

Life after Pentecost (VII)

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Jeremiah 12:1-5

In the Armenian sermon, we mentioned that we are in race. But against whom are we racing?

Unfortunately, many “Christians” race against each other. That is unhealthy and not biblical. We often get tired of racing against people in the church who exhaust you for different reason, whose characters are tough, who object to everything, who only complain and watch. Instead of working together, we end up working against TOUGH people!

I chose a passage from Jeremiah where Jeremiah explains to his people how to be prepared to run against horses.

What? Horses? It is already tough to run against humans. How about horses?

The Israelites were complaining. They thought God had forgotten them. They were in captivity in Babylon. They were complaining and complaining. Jeremiah was tired of them and he wrote,

If you have raced with men on foot
       and they have worn you out,
       how can you compete with horses?

I mean running against men is tiring. Running against HORSES?

Horses are good runners. They can run for hours non-stop. An average horse can run 40 – 50 miles a day. How can we survive?

Jeremiah is very clear. He is warning his people saying, “Choose your battle. Do not waste your time on little races; they will wear you out. Horses are coming and you need to be ready for that kind of a race, battle, struggle, or trial.”

Paul wants the PEOPLE OF Corinth to understand that they are in race, and they need to win it. So he encourages his people to run in a way that the race will be “NIKE”, victory.

“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.”(24)

We run in a way that we should win. We are running against the evil. We are running against the “world”. We are running against anything that hinders our Christian growth and faith. So, stop running against “men on foot”, that will drain your energy. We have to face “horses.” No one promised that the Christian life would be easy. But be encouraged, we run with God and not alone.

Once I read about winners and losers:

Winners say: I have a plan.
Losers say: I have an excuse.

Winners say: Let me do it for you.
Losers say: It’s not my job.

Winners: See a solution for every problem.
Losers: See a problem for every solution.

Winners: See a green around every sand trap.
Losers: See 2 or 3 sand traps around every green.

Winners: See a difficult situation, but see possibility.
Losers: See a possible situation, but it’s too difficult.

Winners say: Problem, look how big my God is.
Losers say: God, look how big my problem is. ¹

The secret of being a winner is not based on you. We are winners because God is running with us. No one can run against horses. But if you allow God to work in your life, you can run against “horses”.

2. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training (25)

How do you train yourself for a race like this? What kind of discipline do you need?

A-Focused Training: “They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.”(24)

“Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.” (26)

Our race will finish in heaven. It has an everlasting reward. It is focused. This does not mean we do not care for the world we live in. We should. God created this world. We should be guardians of this wonderful world. This world is perishable. We have a heavenly home. Prepare for it.

B- Disciplined Trainin: What kind of discipline?

-We need to discipline our thinking, our minds. We read in 2 Timothy 2:15

“Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (KJV) Do your best is the NIV translation. Study, work, discipline your mind on God is one of the ways to run the race.

- We need to discipline our bodies. Do not forget our bodies are a temple of God.

-We need to discipline our character (moral issues)

- We need to discipline our speech. James writes in the first chapter

“If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless.”

- We need to discipline our priorities. What is important for you in life. How do you spend your money, your time? Check it and you can find your priorities.

Tom Landry, former coach of Dallas Cowboys said:

“The job of a football coach is to make men do what they don’t want to do, in order to achieve what they’ve always wanted to be.”

God is our coach. While we are running, it can be painful. Fine, we know that we are running against ‘horses”. The football coach knows that he needs to train them, because he sees the greater picture. Often we focus on the small events and we do not see the greater picture- that God is working on my sanctification.

Once there were men working on a construction. A reporter asked one of the workers, “What are you doing?”

“I am laying bricks,” he answered.

Then reporter asked another man the same question. His answer was, “ I am building a cathedral.”

Where are you this morning in your race?

Are you in the race?

What kind of race?

I want to encourage you to take decision in following Jesus Christ as personal savior. This decision will put you on the right kind of race.

If you know him as personal savior, then you need training. Plug in to God; you need to run the race. NIKE: Just do It!

Amen