Last week we talked about how the Greater Reward in life is found when we choose what we want most over what we want now. We become more of who God created us to be, and who we want to be, when we make that choice, but making that choice is not easy. Even if we can make it for a while, what often happens is that our discipline and willpower fade and we fall back into old habits and give in to selfish and unhealthy desires. I can only walk by that Halloween candy dish so many times before I start to dig in.
Change is not easy. Whether we want to change and improve our spending habits, our diet, our relationships, or our faith, change and growth is not easy, but changing our identity can be a good first step. If I can see myself as a child of God, someone who has been forgiven by Jesus and filled with the power of God’s Holy Spirit, then I can begin to step out of a cycle of failure and into a cycle of freedom and faith. Seeing myself as a child of God can help me choose the right thing and grow in my faith. Identity is a good place to start, but a new identity alone will only take us so far. Something more is needed and it is the Apostle Paul who shows us what we need. Writing to the people of Corinth, Paul says,
Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. 1 Corinthians 9:24-25.
Run to win. In every area of life we need to run to win. I remember the very first 5K race I entered. I had been running for about 4 months and I told my friends that I had two goals. I wanted to finish, and I wanted to run the whole thing and not have to stop to walk. I got a few friends to run with me since I told them I wasn’t going to be competing, but something happened when the gun went off to start the race. I ran to win. Now let me be clear, I wasn’t running to win the race - that was never going to happen. I was running to beat my friends.
When I met them at the finish line - yes I beat them - all I could say was that when the gun went off I felt this burst of competition rise up in me. I wanted to win. Since I had never competed in any kind of sport, this was new to me, and while I felt bad that I left them behind, I wasn’t that sorry. It felt good to run to win.
Some people think that being a Christian and being competitive don’t go hand in hand, but never forget that our Savior is the One who emerged victorious over sin and death. On the cross He utterly defeated Satan, opened the gates of hell, and then told us that in Him we are more than conquerors. Whether it is in life or faith, there is nothing wrong with running to win, and those who first heard these words understood exactly what Paul was talking about.
Paul was writing to the people of Corinth, which sat just to the south of the Isthmus of Corinth. The Isthmus of Corinth is the narrow strip of land that connects the Peloponnese Peninsula to the mainland of Greece, and what is important about this area is that in Paul’s day it was known for the Isthmus Games. The Isthmus games were held the year before and after the Olympic games and they included sporting events like boxing and running but also equestrian events, chariot racing, and even poetry. Some historical records place Paul in Corinth while the games were being held, so when Paul talks about running to win, everyone would have known what he was talking about.
We can also understand what Paul is talking about. We live in a competitive society. We start a business to be successful. We invest in the stock market to make money. And yes, we have a pretty competitive nature when it comes to sports and our favorite teams. So there is nothing wrong with looking at our lives and our faith as if we are an athlete setting out to win the race.
So let me ask you, are you winning? Are you running to win? Are you making progress, feeling a sense of purpose in all you do, and experiencing the greater reward of a life being lived to the fullest?
If we are not feeling this way, why aren’t we winning? Why aren’t we running to win? While there might be many reasons for this, the author and pastor Craig Groeschel provides this interesting insight.
“We aren’t winning because we have been trying for too long.”
We try to be more faithful. We try to be more loving. We try to be more patient. We try to spend less and save more. We try to be better parents, better students, better employees. We try to be more balanced with our time, more intentional in our serving, and more kind in our conversations. We try to eat the right things and get in shape. If we are trying over and over again and not seeing anything change, maybe it’s time to stop trying and start training. Paul not only tells us to run to win but to be disciplined in our training, not our trying.
There really is a difference between trying and training. When we try something we give it a shot and invest minimal commitment. We often try something with the assumption that we will fail or not like it. As kids, how often were we told to try something at dinner. It was always something we knew we wouldn’t like so we would put the spinach or brussel sprouts into our mouths convinced that we would gag. People still ask me to try brussel sprouts, or try them with bacon, and while I might try them, my heart isn’t in it. There just isn’t enough bacon to cover up the taste of the brussel sprout. Trying something doesn’t lead to consistency because we just go by our feelings. I didn’t enjoy it, I didn’t like it, and I’m not going to try it again.
Training, however, is very different. When we train for something we go all in. We have made a commitment to a clear set of goals and so we plan strategically and work for results. Training calls for courage and commitment because we are going to keep going even when it gets hard. We don’t follow our feelings but act according to our commitments.
The word that Paul uses for someone who goes into training is the word: agonizomai which is where we get the word agony. Training is going to be difficult. It’s hard work, but it is the hard work that brings big results. Trying takes minimal effort, but training calls us to be committed and all in and it is training that is effective and leads to the outcome and life we want.
But training is also something that takes place one small step at a time. You don’t train to run a marathon by going out and running 26 miles the first day. Once you decide to run a marathon you might go out and run a mile. You might only be able to run a quarter of a mile and then walk the rest, but your training has started. Here is a good definition for training: doing what we can do today so that we can do more tomorrow.
This is how athletes train. They do what they can today which allows for them to do a little bit more tomorrow. There are times they might have to push themselves and test the limits of what they think they can do, but training is done one step at a time.
If you want to get out of debt, you do it one purchase at a time. You pay off one credit card at a time. You make one choice and take your coffee to work instead of stopping at Starbucks or Dunkin and spending 2 or 3 dollars a day. We dig out of debt one purchase, one choice, one step at a time. Training in relationships takes time. You spend a little bit more time listening than talking. You forgo what you want for what someone else wants. You create the time and space you need for conversations and activities today that will bring health for your family tomorrow.
Spiritual growth and training also takes place one step at a time. If we want to be more like Jesus, we start by simply spending more time with Jesus. We read one chapter of a gospel every day to see who Jesus is and what He does. We give God 5 minutes of silence so He can talk to us and then, as we learn to hear His voice, we can easily give Him 10 or 15 minutes. If we want to grow in our prayer life, we might start with a prayer at the dinner table, or in our small group, and it grows from there.
If we want to live more sacrificially then we find one simple way to serve or give and then we let that single act grow. Like anything else, there will be times when this kind of training will push us and make us uncomfortable, but step by step we grow and change and find the strength to be the people God created us to be.
When we try, we are just hoping that we might become something more, but when we train, we are working to become who we already are. Let me say that again, when we train, we are working to become who we already are. This is why identity is so important and has to come first. If we see ourselves as God sees us, then we are training to become who we already are, not who we hope to be. So who are you?
Last week we heard that all of us are children of God. We are called, and chosen, and more than conquerors. We are loved and forgiven and filled with the power of God’s Holy Spirit. But beyond all of that, who are you? Are you a Godly parent? Are you a financially responsible person? Are you a servant in the community? A spiritual leader at home? Are you a warrior? A peacemaker? Who are you? Claim that identity and then train for it. No one goes to the Olympic Games without seeing themselves as an athlete, and then as an athlete, they train and compete to win.
When we think about training, it’s important to understand that no one trains alone. All athletes have coaches and trainers and teammates. They all have someone who will pick them up when they fall and encourage them when they are ready to quit. The book of Ecclesiastes, which is a book of wisdom, talks about how important it is to not train alone. Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: if either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.
While we love to read this verse at weddings, what this is talking about is having a trainer, coach, or teammates supporting us in life. It’s telling us that if we are going to run to win, if we are going to experience the greater reward of a life of faith and power, we need someone to walk with us. Who is your coach? Who’s on your team?
Earlier this year we started training a group of spiritual coaches who can walk with others in life and faith. I’ve asked Pastor David to share with us what these coaches and this ministry has to offer.
Pastor David sharing about Spiritual Coaching.
If you are ready to stop trying and start training in your faith, reach out to David and see how a coach can help you.
There is one final thought that is important to remember when we talk about the hard work of training. We don’t train to earn God’s favor. Salvation is a free gift from God given to us through Jesus Christ. We are forgiven and redeemed by the grace of God alone. We don’t train in life or faith so that God will love us more - God already loves us unconditionally.
We train because we want more of the life God has given us in Jesus. We train because we want to experience the fullness of God’s love and grace that comes when we walk with Jesus. We train because we are told that walking by the spirit and trusting in Christ alone will bring us all the fullness of life. It’s important for us to understand that we don’t train to earn God’s love, we train because we are loved by God and we want to experience the fullness of that love.
If you have found yourself always trying and never changing, never growing stronger, never experiencing what you want in life, maybe it’s time to stop trying and start training. Go all in on loving God and loving others, and do what you can today so that with God’s help you can do even more tomorrow.
Next Steps
A Greater Reward - Run to Win!
Do you see yourself as a naturally competitive person?
In what areas are you competitive? Games, sports, school, hobbies?
In what areas of your life would you like to experience growth and change? Finances? Relationships? Faith? Health? Career? How have you tried in the past and failed?
List three ways that training is different than trying:
1.
2.
3.
Read 1 Corinthians 9:24-27.
Paul was writing to people who understood the power of competition.
● What does this teach us about training?
● How can training in sports help us learn how to train in our faith?
Everyone needs support. Read Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
● How have coaches, friends, and teammates helped you in the past?
● Could you benefit from a spiritual coach today?
● How can you help coach and train others?
If you are interested in getting a spiritual coach to help you train, contact David Carter: david.carter@bellefontefaith.com
And Remember: We don’t train to earn God’s love - we are loved by God unconditionally. We train to live into who we already are in Jesus. We train to experience the Greater Reward.
