Courageously Going For The Gold 2

Hello Everyone,

One Characteristic of a Winner that we discover in 1 Corinthians 9 is…

Winners Are Contenders

Run in such a way as to get the prize. V 24

If ever a word described the Apostle Paul, it would be Contender. He didn’t just live life, he attacked it.

In Acts 14, Paul was preaching to a crowd in Lystra. Some of his enemies were able to turn the crowd against him, and they stoned him, dragged him outside the city and left him for dead. As soon as Paul came to, the Bible says "...he got up and went back into the city."

He had such a burning desire to preach the gospel that even being stoned couldn’t keep him away. Talk about a Contender! No wonder Paul could say at the end of his life...

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.  2 Timothy 4:7

There is a huge difference between contenders and pretenders.

Pretender

                Contender

• Concerned about Image and Impressions.

•               Concerned about Authenticity and Integrity

• Settles for Mediocrity

•               Strives for Excellence

• Quits in Difficulty

•               Grows Through Difficulty

What Paul was trying to say is that if you really want to “win” as a believer, then you must be a contender!

There are a couple of things you need to know about Contenders:

(1) Contenders Are Competitive.

And while athletes compete against one another, as Followers of Christ, and as the Church, our competition is different. We compete with three influences:

• Worldly Influences

• Satanic Influences

• Selfish Influences

Spiritual Contenders are competitors. And they have come to realize that every day of their lives is a competition for their heart. Paul called it “The Good Fight of Faith”.  

You are involved in a heated competition for your HEART.  You may feel as though you’re anything but a contender. In fact, you may feel as though you’ve fallen completely out of the race. I have good news for you! You can get up and get back in the race!

With God’s help you can be a contender again. With faith in Christ, you can not only compete, but you can WIN this race!

Contenders are not only Competitive, but…

        (2) Contenders Are Goal-Oriented.

Winners are Contenders who REACH for the prize.

Philip. 3:14

    I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.

If our goal is to win the prize and if we’re to “run to get the prize”, then wouldn’t it be nice to know what “the prize” is? What is the prize in the Christian Life? What is the reward? Most of us would say Heaven. And we would be partially correct.

The prize is Christ, and a Changed Life.

And there are three dynamic changes or Transformations that God desires for each of our lives.

        Justification –(Salvation) – Darkness to Light.

Saved from the Penalty of Sin

        Sanctification – The Process of Becoming Like Christ.

 Saved from the Power of Sin

     3. Glorification – Ultimately Transformed into the Likeness of Christ.

Saved from the Presence of Sin

Greater Things Are Still To Come!

Pastor Phil