Running the race for the incorruptible crown

By a show of hands ever has been part of a sports team, like athletics, Rugby, Cricket does not matter. Who has ever competed for a team or cultural team? Good it is good to see we are all been active. So, who has ever received a medal or a physical reward for what they have achieved here? I am not talking about those participation certificates Ok good. 

I remember clearly in my high school life I was fortunate to be part of an athletic team. I was also blessed that I could run quite a bit. I remember clearly of all the running I did the 400m race, which was quite my favorite out of all of them. The thing with 400m for me was it is quite a unique race; it is the pace of a 100m but also some stamina like an 800m, so the practice and training was quite unique. 

I remember clearly that I hated to do the endurance training, as the coach tried to drill us to have stamina. It was crazy but we still did it. I had to eat also different. I still why God made food that is healthy for us taste so grose. Anyhow it came to interhigh. We competed with schools in Middelburg, Groblersdal, Secunda so it was not the normal guys. They looked fit, they had muscles, it looked like it was going a tough race. 

Long story short it came to the 400m and we were off, and 2 guys just ran past me like I was looking for parking, but I still gave it my best, so what happened is that as we hid the last corner no one else passed and I came in 3rd, of all my achievements in athletics, I loved this one the most, cause it was not easy but worth it, all the hours, the throwing up at practice, eating the food was worth because people were shouting for me and I got a bronze medal. Yes, not a gold or silver the bronze, but I worked so hard for that Bronze and I tried to do the right thing by my coach and myself as far as possible.

So, you might ask what this has to do with the crowns, well Paul spoke about us running a race, and that we will receive a crown. So, I want to look at 1 Corinthians 

So if you have a bible with you, why don’t you go to 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NIV) 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. 25 Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. 27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I want to look at first of all what the crowns are, how does that influence the way we live, because in the next few weeks you will see how it actually impacts on how conduct ourselves here on earth. Then lastly how do we need to live as Christ followers.

So, let me give you some history. Paul was relating to the people in Corinth, and he spoke about Runners who compete in games go into strict training: they exercise self-control when they train for a competition. Athletes who competed in the games in Olympia had to swear an oath confirming that they had abstained from wine, meat, and sex in the previous ten months. Runners focus on winning the prize, which in the games in Olympia and in Isthmia was a crown.

I want to point out that the crown here at quite a different meaning then we think. Let me explain I found out that the Bible contains two words for crown, and they represent different kinds of crowns: The word “diadem” (“diadema” in Greek) refers to the kind of crown a king would wear, like we see in the old testament It is one of the symbols of power (along with the scepter the king would hold). Although a king’s crown is honourable, it is not so much an honour (like a reward), as much as it is a matter of destiny. Most kings are born into their positions.

On the other hand, the victors crown, (“stephanos” in the Greek) represents something which encircles for the purpose of honouring. Most crowns of this type were given for winning an athletic event, distinguished service, military prowess, nuptial joy. The typical crown was a garland of oak, ivy, parsley, myrtle, or olive which was placed around the neck or woven into a wreath and placed on the head of the honouree. In time they substituted gold in place of the leaves.

This is how you need to think about crowns every time we speak into crowns we going to look at it as Stephanos. 

These crowns will last forever. That is even more important when you look at how earthly things tarnish and wear out. Have you ever seen a trophy case of old trophies? The older they are the less shiny and impressive they get. I’ve seen old trophies that were downright embarrassing to look at.

So what are these crowns. Well every week for 5 weeks we are going to speak into them. We are going to look at today the Incorruptible crown, The crown of life, Crown of righteous crown of rejoicing and the grown of glory. And today we going to look at the incorruptible crown as it is spoken in 1 Corinthians 9:25

So the first thing is this crown like the others; Does not fade How much better to know that the crowns of heaven do not fade, tarnish, rot, go out of style, or in any way lose their glory. They are incorruptible and everlasting.

The second thing to know about the nature of these crowns, is that they, like us, are there to glorify Christ. We will look at the kinds of crowns and to whom they are granted, and for what purpose, over the next few weeks, but right now we need to see that all crowns will be cast at the feet of Christ to honour Him. We read in Revelation 4:10-11 (NIV) the twenty-four elders fall down before him who sits on the throne and worship him who lives for ever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say:11 “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honour and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created

The same thing the 24 elders do before the throne, we will also do, as we join the heavenly choir, and cast our crowns before the feet of Christ in adoration. The crowns represent our earthly deeds which were done for Christ’s glory as His servants. It is only fitting, then, that the representation of those deeds be given to our master as gifts. We will not wear those crowns on our heads, as though we needed any glory of our own, but we will give them as loving presents to our saviour and Lord. Imagine the joy of being able to present, at the feet of Christ, a crown of glory representing your ministry on earth. Could anything be more delightful than that moment?

You see we as Christians I think we all has heard the scripture but we skimmed over it in a sense. We come and do not think about this, you see we need to look deeper into it, and if you look at this we need to understand how we live on earth is going to make a difference. You see I want to say from the onset that I have heard so many times people get saved, and baptised, and that is amazing, that is great. Jesus called us to do that, but then something peculiar happens. 

People start thinking ok that is it, we can stop now and just come on Sundays to church and read our bible once in a while, pray when food, cause hey we are saved we are going to heaven, but you see that is not the correct way of thinking because if you look at this verses there is some points we need to look at. It is like we know we going to a race, we have new shoes, we download this exercise app, we have a fitbit, we have all the tools but when we get to starting the race, we like aggh it is ok there are other people, I will be a spectator.

The first point this race is not for spectators but for those who are participating. Are you saved, well done it means you have signed up to be a participant Yayyy we are all running the race. That means that you are part of this amazing race called living for Christ. That brings certain things you need to do as a Christian as a participant. That means a couple of things if we look at this verses. So let us unpack this part of scripture.

1. We cannot run aimlessly 26 Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly It means Paul is saying we need to run with a goal and a purpose, the intent to win, the intent to not let the Devil let us run aimlessly. You see the devil goal in churches is to make us going in circles and not reaching people. We need to have a clear goal. Our goal is simple we need to grow and then give back. You need a purpose, as Christians our purpose is to reach the lost and to show them how to run the race. I want to speak to the Christians that have been here for a long time. You know I got into running, and just running every day and not sure what to do, but the thing is it only worked for a while I needed to plan because it started to become that I ran wrong. 

It was not when I met Arthur and Roger in this church and Deon one of our family friends, that they starting to show me the way of how to do it correctly so that I would complete a race and do it to win the prize.

There is a lot of new Christians in this world that needs help and our purpose is to guide them and help them run the race by sharing our faith with them, we cannot sit in a church Sunday after Sunday and not give back to God. Nowhere it says in the bible Pastors go out and go and preach the gospel, and baptize in the name of the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. It is for us all. So, we need to start to as mature Christians become coaches and help others to grow and help them to see the goal the finishing line. 

It also means that we as Christians need to spend time in the word. You want God to speak to you, spend more time in God’s word, pray more, do not make a religious act but allow the God to speak through you through the word. Join a circle group, spend time with people, share your testimony, speak to people at your work place about Jesus. Have a plan for your growth, do not read some random verses every day. Do a devotional, but when you do it go deeper into the word and ask God for revelation, the more your practice with a goal in mind and a purpose in your studies you will find God in his word. We need to be committed to grow.

 We all read Jeremiah 29:11 but do we read verse 12 Jeremiah 29:12-14 (NIV) Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. Be diligent and do not give up when it gets tough. Ask any runner, sometimes we just do not want to go run, we just want to give up because it gets too difficult. CHURCH it is when it gets tough then celebrate because it means you are growing you are pushed, the enemy does not like it, but do not give up, carry on because when you seek God in the battle, He will show up and He will fight for you. Exodus 14:14 (NIV) The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” Keep going keep running, keep fighting, keep moving towards your goal. It is when you have a goal that enemy attacks, if you just running around aimlessly, he delights when we do it.

The second part of the verse says I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. Paul is saying he is not playing around, he is not shadow punching, he is not talk and talk and no action, Cedric shared this verse James 2:18 (NIV) 18 But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. To achieve these crowns, we cannot just talk or shadow box we need to face the enemy, we need to face the devil on the ground. We cannot be experts on the stands, we need to be experts on the ground. Jesus called us to reach people on earth and even a crown for us? The world is in a place that we see more and more problems. We sit in the stands and shout how it should be done, but we never join hands in Christ and go out and be the change. 

Then the 3rdly we need to discipline our bodies. I want to read what the CSB version says here (HCSB Free) Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, It takes discipline, controlling and mastering what the bible calls our flesh. We need to discipline our bodies to give over our will, emotions, lust, desires to Jesus so that his will be assets in our lives as we live victoriously. 

Hebrews 12:1-3 (NIV) Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

We are surrounded by people looking at us, we need to strip away anything that slows us down, especially sin that is holding us back, we need to run with endurance. How to we run with that endurance. It means that we need to look at Jesus and what He has done for us. That we stand in the truth, that we would repent from our sins and we run away from that sin. It means that you need to take the load of the world off you. The world is selling you lies, that you not good enough, that you not supposed to reach people, that you not a good Christian. A Christian will not walk out like you did. The more you train the more you spend time in the word, the more you study it, the more weight you will lose. The more you practice your faith the more you will lose weight, the more you proclaim Jesus to people, the more you will lose weight, the more you pray for people, the more weight you will lose, and when you lose that weight, you run faster, you run better and the obstacles that is on your path is easier to cross because all that unesscary weight of worry, stress, rejection is out and you have healthy ways to overcome that hurdles with prayer and testimony and God/s word. 

So, in closing how do we do it how do we run this race what can I start to do today.

I. Faith Is Essential. V.1

Notice Paul says that we that are in this race are "compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses". Who are these witnesses ? These witnesses are those who have come before us, have run the race, and have completed it ! They are examples to us as to how to successfully, and victoriously run this race ! We find many of them listed in chapter 11 which is often referred to as "The Hall of Faith".

Have you ever seen a relay race ? The relay team is composed of four runners. Each one of them has a section of track that they must run, and when they finish their portion, they pass the baton to the next runner. Those who have run this race before us have now passed on the baton to us. How will we run our portion of this race ? Will we be victorious ? Will we be successful ? Or will we drop the baton ? Will we become weary and not finish ?

The race that the Christian is in is not a 100 yard dash. It is a marathon. There are some folks that could blow away the field in the 100 yard dash, but would not be able to finish a marathon. Many Christians are good at a 100 yard dash. They run well for a short distance, but then drop out when they realize that the finish line is further away than they thought or that the race is more difficult than imagined. The first essential element to running this race is Faith.

a. We must have faith to enter the race. The Christian life begins by placing faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and what he did on the cross. It is through faith in his shed blood, and his resurrection that we enter the race. We must have faith to endure in the race.1. There will be hurdles. 2. There will be hindrances. 3. There will be hurt.

Faith is essential to those participating in a race, and endurance is key to Christian living. There will always be hurdles or obstacles to overcome. We will always run into things or people or circumstances that will seek to hinder us in our Christian living. To endure faith is essential. Faith is not only essential to enter the race, but it is essential to be able to endure while in this race as a believer !

c. We must have faith to be effective in the race. Whether or not we run well our race will be dependent upon our faith in God. Faith in God will keep us going when we feel like quitting ! To be victorious, to be effective as a believer in this world that we now live in....faith is essential 

Let me use this analogy. Imagine Church is a buffet, imagine reading your bible is food, imagine prayer is food. What happens when you eat food constantly and never exercise? Well it is not good for your body in the long run. You see it is vital that we also exercise. But what happens when you exercise your faith. Be in a circle group, serving, praying for people, sharing your faith, reaching the lost what you doing, you are excercing and when you eat right food and you exercise you are getting fit and you are running toward the prize. 

I want to say the only way we will be able to run the race, the only way we would be able to receive these crowns in heaven is to have 1 thing and live out one thing Faith

Newlife I want you to imagine, running the race, doing it for Jesus, that you practice and put the hours in and then at the end Jesus comes to you and say, here climb onto the podium here is a crown that lasts forever. For me there is no greater victory than this.

But we need to understand it is going to take work, we need to be disciplined, we need to be serious in our faith, we need to be strategic in our lives, we need to spend some serious time in the word. Stop believing someone else is going to do it, and get off the pavilion and join the athletes that are on the track training.

Lastly have faith, nothing is achieved without faith. Faith is the essential part of us finisihing the race to win the prize.