Sprint or Marathon?

The sermon I'm about to give today was requested that I go a little further on a previous sermon that I gave. So the title of today's sermon is, Spent or Marathon? Spent or Marathon? What am I talking about? I'm talking about the road to the kingdom of God. The road to the kingdom of God. Will it for you be a sprint or a marathon? I think about that as I think of splinters. Many of you will know one of the greatest sprinters, the fastest man on earth at the time is Usain Bolt. Usain Bolt is an incredible individual who seems to set record after record after record, and he usually beats all the competition.

But he's an athlete who is in incredible shape. His conditioning is something that other runners go and study so they can see what he did so that they could be as fast as he is today. Perhaps you think of a marathoner. The greatest marathoner ever is Halley Gabriel Selassie, the holder of over 25 different world records. A man that was considered unbeatable at his time, his pace, his training, and genetics were just incredible. So what about it? Are you more of a sprinter or a runner? Do we have any runners in the house?

There's one, there's two, that's three, four. I didn't know if somebody shot their hand up real fast and then took it down real fast before her husband had a chance to look at her. So long distance, how long can you run? Like if you had to run or go jog out here today, you can easily tell the runners from those who are pretend runners. Okay? I'd have to be a pretend runner because by about the third mile you would not see me as fast as you would hear me.

So, at best, maybe I could run or jog five miles probably? How about you? Neil? I know Tafari used to run some. Joshua? Yes, he can beat you now. That's just the beginning. And Joseph, he's been running. But if you had to, what's the longest the farthest you could run? If you had to. Interesting, a study was done on this and I actually said that if you were having to run the farthest you could to help someone else, you could run farther than you would for yourself.

Find it interesting. Well, I have a little interesting thing today because I want you to remember this sermon. Hopefully you will. I go back 30 years, 35 years ago. My wife bought me this 35 years ago. It was a lot baggier then. But I loved to run. I loved to play sports. And so 30 years ago this was what people wore.

I don't see many people wearing this unless you are old, as you might consider today. Or if you see an old mob movie as they were. You see that's how they lounge around. Well, have you considered that this road to the kingdom of God is a sprint or marathon? And it might be either. It's either for most. Because we do not know, do we, whether our next day is our last one or whether we have 20 more years. That's why I wanted to give this sermon today. Because Paul used the analogy for getting to the kingdom of God with running a race.

Hebrews 12 verse 1. Hebrews 12, if Paul wrote this, therefore we also, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and sin which easily ensnares and let us run with endurance. The race that is set before us. Did you realize you are in a race? The writer of Hebrews said so. Matter of fact, one translation says, let us run with perseverance.

The race marked out for us. Are you prepared? Is this something that you are looking forward to? Is this something that you want to do? I'd like you to go with me today. I'd like you to go with me now for Scripture. 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians 9. I'll be reading from the New King James Version. 1 Corinthians 9. Verse 24. Paul's writings that I want us all to consider because some of you may say, I don't like running. I don't like to sweat. I don't like paint.

I don't want to have to do it. Well, guess what? The road to the kingdom of God is a race.

A race we must all run. Let's look here. 1 Corinthians 9. Verse 24. Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives a price? Run in such a way that you may obtain it or win it. So Paul knows something about races you can see all through the Scriptures. He does mention a race. He does mention running. I finished the race. He said in one place.

Well, let's go down to verse 25. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all these things. Now, they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. So, wait a minute. What's Paul talking about?

Well, you have to know a little something about history. Paul is talking to the church of Corinth, which we looked at last time I was here. A big city with the temple on the hill.

And it had a big wall around it. It was a poor city, as we also said.

It was a moral city known for its immorality.

But there's something else it was known for at its time, and that was the Ist-Mingames.

Ist-Mingames. Yes, they existed around the same time that the Olympics existed, except they were different. They were smaller. But they were almost as popular.

At the time, and Paul would have known this, he would have probably been there at times when the Ist-Mingames were going on. And they were almost as popular as the Olympic Games because the reward was a little bit better. And it was these Ist-Mingames were actually three-fold. You had running, as they are here, and that was the big event, bigger than the other two events. And everybody was really trained for the Ist-Mingames, especially runners.

Because there was running, then there was wrestling, as they would have wrestling matches, which they said at the time they were being done, that some of those individuals would run, that would wrestle, would win year after year. They took place every two years.

But so many of those would win. Then they had one other event, boxing. Not like we would understand boxing today. There were no gloves. There was no moving around like Muhammad Ali.

Move like a butterfly, sting like a bee.

But basically, they would stand there and just punch each other in the face and in the body.

A lot of times, they just, you hit me one time, I'll hit you one time, and then we keep doing it until one of us gets knocked down.

Didn't sound like too much fun. But people would do this because the games were open to everyone. You didn't have to be from Corinth. You didn't have to be from Greece. You didn't have to be from anywhere to come and compete in the Isthmusian games. You can read about it if you'd like.

There's a lot of history there. But why would you do that?

Because the reward was great. The award was something important.

Somebody wanting to listen? We can let them.

Let me tell you what you won if you were running the race.

Because many people trained and they came from all over to run that race. They run that marathon. They run that marathon. They run that marathon.

That 25 to 26 miles.

The first thing you'd win is a woven pine crown.

A woven pine crown. Sit. Okay. That's okay, but I'm not going to get too excited over that. I'll go back to the first one. I'm going to go back to the second one. I'm going to go back to the second one. I'm going to get too excited over that. I'll go ride a pine and pine fronds and build my own myself. Not after one. But that was just the beginning if you won this race. Because the second was the victor was treated like royalty. So much so, they would go to that wall that was built around the city. And they would knock out a hole in that wall and bring blondes over there. And put it into the wall and write your name in that wall. Pretty impressive. Be there for decades.

Thirdly, all your financial debts were canceled. Now it's beginning to look interesting. All your debts were canceled and you lived the rest of your life tax-free. Boy, that was pretty good. Ready to get back in shape if I had that here. 62 years old, can you imagine?

But then, the last thing you won was a lifetime supply of food.

If you won the Bithman Games, you were set for life. No taxes, all your debts paid, food for a lifetime, your name up in lights as much as they had lights. Brethren, but if we win our race to the kingdom of God, you're set for eternal life. Not just set for this physical life. So can you see why Paul attached this to that? Because he realized he was in a race too. We're in a race to follow and that everybody talk about the Bithman Games because you're set for life. And he said, I want you to be set for eternal life, for eternity. For he said, what? An imperishable crown is what he told them. That little crown, that pine crown, we'd after a while, we'd fall apart, deteriorate, or get old.

Where God is offering us a crown that never gets old. And you will hob for eternity as a son, as a member of the God family. Let's go back and look in verse 26. As he's talked about this imperishable crown right up above. Verse 26, he says, Therefore I run. You see? Paul's laying it out for it. Therefore I run, not with uncertainty. Thus I fight, not as one who beats the air. What's he talking about? Beating the air. He said, I'm not one that just goes out and beats the air.

Well, if anybody's ever boxed, you realize there's this thing called shadow boxing. When your shadow is there and you're able to see. They had video cameras back then who watch you. But as a boxer, you will sit there and you'll punch, punch, punch. Making sure that your shoulder's up so that you get a glancing blow. You make sure your jab goes straight. Remember your fist turns. Shadow boxing. But all you're doing, you're not fighting anybody. Oh! And he said, this is what we're not doing. Because I'm sure he saw training boxers, you know, looking at themselves and seeing, seeing how their form and shape was.

Not as one who beats the air. But then he says in 27, but I discipline. I discipline my body and bring it into subjection. Last, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified. He said, I can't just talk the talk.

I have to walk the walk. Which is telling us, we can't just talk it. We gotta walk it. We gotta be like that. This is what God has called us to do. Are you training, brethren, for a spiritual fight? Are you? Are you training for a spiritual fight? Are you just gonna say, no need? That's alright. I heard preacher say, once saved, always saved. We didn't hear that from Paul. You never hear it from me. But it's not in scripture. I discipline my body and bring it into subjection. Do we?

Do we? Interesting. The Greek word for discipline is the Greek word, hupopiezo. Hupopiezo. Sounds like a strange word. But you'll find in the Greek, corne Greek at the time, hupo they use quite often. But, hupopiezo, it really means to hit under the eye. To hit under the eye. Because, hupo, word, as she means under, hupo tasso means submit.

Or submit is where we get the word, hupo tasso, gives us the word submit. So, hupopiezo means to get hit under the eye. So, what is he talking about? He's talking about getting punched in the face. Now, I'm sure some of these ladies here, you've never been punched in the face. Hopefully, you never have. That's something that's usually relegated to us Neanderthal men. Right? Most of the guys in here grew up in school or college or running around, has got punched in the face before. I certainly did.

I got in way too many fights when I was in high school. Junior and I, way too many. Because I didn't mind getting punched in the face. Maybe that's what's wrong with me. But I grew up with my father being a boxer. Six years old, he had boxing gloves on me. I got my own pair when I was six. Later on, I would box with him or box with other people. So, you kind of get, it's not so bad. Or you get used to it. Not that it's something you look forward to, but when you're training that way, or when you're kind of used to it, it's no big deal.

Like Neil, going out running. So you go run a mile, that's not much for him. Because he's used to running. But the other is just like, a what? So Paul is saying, we better get used to taking some abuse. Because the road, the race, is not going to be that easy to get to the kingdom of God. It wasn't for those training for the listening games. They had to put a lot of hours, a lot of pain. In today's language, it's beating your face black and blue. He is comparing this. Because some people think, oh, well, once I give my life to God and I accept Jesus Christ as my Savior, it's just like, whoo, smooth sailing into the kingdom of God.

How many of us can say, uh-uh, uh-uh, it ain't that easy? Because the prize is large. It's the greatest prize, the greatest reward that could be offered in the entire universe. Eternal life in the kingdom of God with God. The road to eternal life can be brutal at times. But the great thing is, you're not running the race. You're not in the fight alone. You're not in it alone. Parents want their children to grow up, but they also have to let off the leash, don't you?

For them to grow up, because you don't want them so sheltered, but you also don't want them hurting themselves. Well, God's the same way. There's some tests. He lets us go through. Some trials. But as James said, He never tempts us.

If you're tempted, guess who's tempting you? Is this guy allowed? Yes. Why? Because we learned to cover up. We learned to cover up when we didn't beat up. We may need some help. Hopefully we've learned that. Many of us have learned that lesson. And we're not going to get by. Whether we are going to have to take some knocks on the road to the kingdom of God, whether they sprint or marathon, doesn't matter. You're going to take some knocks. And we need to be conditioned to take a hit.

I had someone ask me one time, because she had these problems. Did I bring all these on myself? You know, was I such a bad person that I had these? I said, no, it's just preparing you. You're better prepared for what's up ahead, and you're better prepared to help other people who are about to go through what you've gone through.

So my God likes us to do it. But how do we know we are spiritually conditioned? Anybody here feel like you're spiritually conditioned? I do. I've had enough stuff come through our life, Mary does too, that would anything surprise us now? No, probably not. What about you? Well, you want to turn to God and go, why did you allow me to have to go through this?

Well, why? Why? Remember a man did that one time? His name was Job. And God had to turn around and ask him a whole lot of questions. Well, Job, where are you when I laid the foundations of the work? Did I need to ask you before I did this? And it took him to the last chapter in 42, before he finally turned and said, now, now my eye sees you. God wants us to see him clearly, more clearly, every day, every week.

It's his desire for us to see and know him and trust him, having a series of sermons coming up about that in the coming weeks. But how do we know we are spiritually conditioned? James 1, verse 12, I like James. Blessed is a man who endures temptation. That's not always easy, is it? Well, so, for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love him. Do you? Do you? The NIV actually says, this is the man who perseveres, because it's just not one trial.

And for many of us, guess what? The road to the kingdom of God feels like a marathon. And it may be one. It may be one. Mary's father, who died this past year, 97 years old. It was a marathon. It was a marathon. What about us? I'd like to give you two facts of conditioning. The two facts of conditioning, whether it is spiritual or physical, you can still use these two.

So, if you write nothing else down today, if you grasp nothing else, I'd like you to grasp these facts, because they are real facts. First one, number one. No one, get this? No one can condition someone else. I can't condition you, you can't condition me. You can't go out here and say, you know I really need to work on my cardio. I'm going to rent a runner. And I'm going to go now, run, and then I'll feel better.

Why? That's ridiculous, isn't it? Rent a runner. Boy, if that would work, you'd have a whole bunch of people renting runners, wouldn't you? In this physical life. What about the spiritual? What about the spiritual? You want to start a business that says, release a fasterer. William, I need to fast this week. Why don't you do it for me? Why don't you do it for me, and it will draw me close to God.

Except, William, I want you to do three days a week. You see, it's ridiculous. So, no one can condition someone else, physically or spiritually. We must do that. How about even? Time out. I need a substitute prayer. Or is it prayer? Right? Well, my prayer is not going well. Time out. Let's get somebody else in here and pray for me. It doesn't work. No one can condition someone else. We have to do it. And the reward is the kingdom of God. The reward is eternal life. And they say, well, I thought it was a gift of God.

Yeah? It is a gift. Who really gives it? Well, guess what? If I got a gift, I can give it to whoever I want. So can God. And I'm sure He's seen many people go, you end great. I have to make sure He doesn't say that about me. Give you a gift of eternal life, and you don't even talk to me! You don't want to spend time with me! Don't do what I ask! Yes, I want to give you a gift. I still remember the story of a man who's a young child, like these up here.

He came to their dad and said, I want a bike. Can you buy me a bike? I want a bicycle! Buy me a bicycle. She's learned. And he said, well, okay, but you don't even clean your room.

You don't even help your mother do anything. You don't help me do anything. You really don't do anything. And yet, if that child had come to his father and said, could I have a bike? And the dad said, well, wait a minute. You clean up your room. You take out the trash. You don't offer to wash the car. You go and take care of your little brother or sister. You do that with... Yes! How could he not? And how much greater, the Scripture says, is our God, our Father, than a physical Father?

What does he ask? Let's go to the second fact. Second fact of conditioning. Conditioning involves what? Repetitive training. It's why people get tired of training and doing this. Because it's repetitive. It gets old, getting up. As I talked to a boxer, used to box. He's retired now. He gets up at 4.30 every morning and goes for a run. And then by 6 o'clock, he's back, ready to eat breakfast, and then go to the gym and go box. And hit on a heavy bag. Hit on a speed bag. This and this and this. Twelve hours. He's still at it in some type of training. That gets old.

And that usually tells you the difference between the great ones and the one who fade away. What about us? Our repetitive training exercises. When's the last time you got tired of Bible study? It's repetitive, isn't it? It's a daily thing. Pick up your Bible every day. And not only are we asked to read it, we're asked to study it and to incorporate it in our lives. And live it! Now, what prayer? It felt like sometimes yours just hits the ceiling.

I mean, I've said that time and time again. Does God want you to quit and say, okay, you prayed once? Good enough. No. So, the Bible said you have prayer. What about meditation? Meditate either on His Word or just meditate on where you are. What you're doing. Stop! Encount your blessings sometimes. Stop! And think about your goals in life.

Stop! And think about other people. Do we set time aside? Yes, most of us do set time aside for Bible study and prayer, but what about meditation? Guilty of not doing enough. It's a repetitive exercise I need to work on. Fasting. All is no. I see no one going, ha ha! I get to fast Monday. What am I doing the next Monday, too? I'm so excited to go without food water.

It's sometimes not convenient. It doesn't make us get up with joy. What about others? Do you have other? Other spiritual, repetitive training exercises? Can you think of any? We always do Bible study, prayer, meditation, and fasting. That's a big four. There's not more than that. Think for a minute. Is there?

Yes. How about agape? Agape. Godly love. We weren't born with it. We're not born with agape. Do we develop it? Do we exercise it? Because guess what? When you read the book and it says, you shall love your enemies, that ain't going to happen without agape. Because that doesn't come natural. That's something you ought to practice on. Maybe you don't. I sure do. Some guy just swerves in my lane. And I don't always say, Thank you, brother.

Glad you could use my rope. Glad you could. I always make me swerve into this other car. I'm so thankful for that. It's a repetitive exercise. We need to exercise it, don't we? How about serving others? Serving others. It doesn't always come natural either. Brother, you see where Paul is trying to take us? You see where he's trying to get us to focus on what's the most important thing in this life? Brother, conditioning is between you and God.

The road to the kingdom of God. A Spinar Marathon. Brother, we must be prepared for both. Where to prepare for both? Right? Are we a good runner? Are we a good runner? Are we on the path to the kingdom of God? We all want to be. A lot of people want to be a lot of things. But most things require discipline. You want a beautiful woman in life? You can't be a bum. There's not a woman out there, a beautiful woman, looking to go, Well, I wonder if I can find a bum. Right? If you want a good job and you want a house and you want a house, guess what?

It takes discipline to get up and do. The nine to five, the eight to six, the six to six. Anything worth having is worth working for. And God is the same way. You may say, oh, there he goes, or that works and faith thing.

We'll cover that in a few weeks. You know who is considered the greatest athlete in the world? In the Olympics, it's the athletes who compete in the decathlon. It's multiple events. I think it's nine, seven or nine, ten. Oh, well, decathlon. Duh! Decathlon. Ten events. It's interesting because two running events, one is the 100 meter, which is a sprint, and the other is just a little 1500 meter, which is a little less than a mile.

But the world's greatest, if they want to be considered, have to train for both. Brethren, isn't that us? If God requires my life next week, it's a sprint. It's a sprint. But if He requires it 20 years from now, guess what? I better be prepared for a marathon. We must train for both. We must have a passion that's required for a sprint like Usain Bolt. But we must have the endurance and training and the perseverance of a Haile Gebre Selassie.

Let's look at our last scripture. First Timothy 4. First Timothy 4, 7 and 8. Here, Paul is telling his assistant, his trainee, you might say, the young man he's picked to carry on the work after he's done. And it says, exercise yourself toward godliness. Exercise yourself toward godliness. Not always easy. Exercise yourself toward godliness. And go there in verse 8. Verse 8, for bodily exercise does what? Prophets a little. But godliness is profitable in a couple of things. All things. All things. Having promise of the life that now is and that which is to come.

So he's telling Timothy the most important things. Exercise yourself to godliness. May that be NIV puts it, train yourself to be godly. Are we? Train yourself to be godly. That means we just doesn't naturally happen. I think we guys know, and women probably certainly know, that a guy doesn't have a six-pack. Not in the refrigerator, but on your stomach. Without training. Without working at it. Right? So there we train yourself to be godly. The New Living Translation says, spend your time and energy in training yourself for spiritual fitness. Matter of fact, the Good News Translation says, keep yourself in training for a godly life. That means we can't stop once we have achieved spiritual fitness.

Many of us have actually gone and exercised, and we've done it for a period of time, and we're no longer hurt, we're no longer sore, and then you feel kind of good, and then you don't go do it for a week or two, and then you go back and it's like, ow! It's so much easier than we all know if we'll just continue just working a little bit each day. But what Paul is telling in the New King James, it says, exercise yourself for godliness. The Greek word for exercise, the Greek word there for exercise is gum-nasal.

Gum-nasal. It's where we get the word gymnasium. So Paul is understanding and trying to tell us, you're going to have to work at this. It's what we need to work at. Gum-nasal. You know, we are a family of spiritual athletes. Do you realize that? We are to be a family of spiritual athletes. It's my honor to be your coach. But I also have to work on myself.

So do we want to be a great team? And here, the great thing about team members, if you've ever worked out, it's so much easier training and exercising when somebody's there with you. Somebody's there to say, oh no, let's go. That's where I'm going to be. Somebody's there to say, oh no, let's go. Let's run, let's go do this. Oh man, I'm just tired. Ah, come on. And once you get out there, you're like, ah.

How many of you have walked into this room on a Sabbath day and say, I'm just beat up? And then you start talking to the other family members, other athletes, spiritual athletes in this room, and they say things and pick you up, encourage you, empower you to where you're going, yes! Because sometimes you can go through things week after week after week where you're going, I don't know if I need to go to church anymore.

You know what that tells you? You need to go to church. You need to be there for yourself and for other team members because we're in this together, brother. So as I close, I want to bring up a couple of things. If you're going to be a great athlete, I was just listening to some on the radio this week, and they were football players.

And they said, boy, was there ever a difference when they became a professional athlete? Because they were in college, and in college, you ate whatever you want to eat. You get up, have a burger, you're here, I'll have a burger and I'll have this, and you didn't worry about sweets, you know, you're just like this. But all of a sudden, they came to the pros, they were drafted, and all of a sudden, they have a food advisor.

That way, to tell them what they could and couldn't eat. Because you're at the top of your field, and if you don't do it, somebody else will, and you will not stay in this league. And they said, that's what the NFL means, not for long. But you are required. Eat right. Put down the junk food. Well, guess what, brother? Put down the spiritual junk food in your life. Put down the spiritual junk food. What is it? You'll have to answer that.

What is that food taking you away from God? So, brother and I have one encouraging word for you. Run! Run to the kingdom of God. Because it is a sprint and a marathon.