RUNNING FOR THE FINISH LINE (24 OF 53)
by Mike Stone
Scripture: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
This content is part of a series.
Running for the Finish Line (24 of 53)
Series: Straight Up Truth for a Messed-Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
In the 1968 Olympics, Steven Akhwari of Tanzania fell during the marathon. Bloody and limping, he entered the stadium so far behind that the stadium was almost empty. He was asked why he continued to run. Akhwari said, ''My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me to finish.
That was Paul's perspective on life. Even though he'd been
Pressed down, crushed, and abused
Maligned, criticized, and attacked
He wanted to finish
But he didn't want to merely finish
He wanted to finish WELL and finish STRONG
Not just to LIMP but to LUNGE across the line
In the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 9 he challenges us to live in such a way so that when we breathe our last, we are not sitting on the side of the road of life...but rather we feel the tape break across our chest as we hear the Master say, ''Well done, good and faithful servant.''
The NT often uses athletic analogies to describe what it means to be a victorious Christian and a winner in life. And many of those analogies deal with running a race.
Hebrews 12:1 - ''Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.''
2 Timothy 4:7 - ''I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.''
Acts 20:24 - ''I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me; the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.''
How does a person run to win in the race of life?
The answer is found in running for the finish line.
1. The event that he described (24)
The background to this passage of Scripture is the Isthmian games. They were called the Isthmian Games because they were held on the isthmus outside the city of Corinth. This analogy would have been very familiar in Corinth. This ...
Series: Straight Up Truth for a Messed-Up Church
Mike Stone
1 Corinthians 9:24-27
In the 1968 Olympics, Steven Akhwari of Tanzania fell during the marathon. Bloody and limping, he entered the stadium so far behind that the stadium was almost empty. He was asked why he continued to run. Akhwari said, ''My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start the race. They sent me to finish.
That was Paul's perspective on life. Even though he'd been
Pressed down, crushed, and abused
Maligned, criticized, and attacked
He wanted to finish
But he didn't want to merely finish
He wanted to finish WELL and finish STRONG
Not just to LIMP but to LUNGE across the line
In the closing verses of 1 Corinthians 9 he challenges us to live in such a way so that when we breathe our last, we are not sitting on the side of the road of life...but rather we feel the tape break across our chest as we hear the Master say, ''Well done, good and faithful servant.''
The NT often uses athletic analogies to describe what it means to be a victorious Christian and a winner in life. And many of those analogies deal with running a race.
Hebrews 12:1 - ''Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily besets us and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.''
2 Timothy 4:7 - ''I have fought a good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith.''
Acts 20:24 - ''I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me; the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace.''
How does a person run to win in the race of life?
The answer is found in running for the finish line.
1. The event that he described (24)
The background to this passage of Scripture is the Isthmian games. They were called the Isthmian Games because they were held on the isthmus outside the city of Corinth. This analogy would have been very familiar in Corinth. This ...
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