Alright brethren, let's turn
to 1 Corinthians chapter 9. I've titled the message, So Run. So Run. And the reason I've titled
it that is because Paul uses that expression two times in
our text. And that will make up our divisions. He says, so run. Let's read it
together. Now I'm going to skip over some
things here. We're just going to deal tonight
with the aspect of running. Alright? 1 Corinthians 9.24 He
says, Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one
receiveth the prize? So run that ye may obtain." Now
look at verse 25 in the second part there. Now they do it to
obtain a corruptible crown. But we, believers, God's witnesses,
are running to win an incorruptible crown. I therefore so run, not
as uncertainly. I'm not running without an uncertain
goal. I'm not running without an uncertain
prize. I have a specific goal that I'm
running to obtain. Alright, now believers are said
here to be compared to runners in a race. A race. We're running this race to win. He says there, Know ye not that
they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain. So run that you may be the one
that wins the prize. Now, the believer's life is a
race. That's what our life is. Let's
go to some Scripture. Hebrews 12. Hebrews chapter 12. He says, verse 1, Wherefore,
seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of
witnesses, let us lay aside every weight and the sin which doth
so easily beset us, that sin that so easily turns us aside,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us. God determines who runs this
race. By sovereign grace, God chose
a people and put them in Christ before the foundation of the
world. And those are His elect. They shall run this race. They'll
be the only ones to run this race. But by His sovereign grace,
God has chosen who will run this race. And then the Son of God,
our Lord Jesus Christ has come and He's redeemed all His people
from our sin. He's redeemed us from the curse
of the law. He laid down His life for us and He purchased
us with His own blood. All those the Father gave Him,
now the justice that Christ satisfied and the mercy that God will show
His people together. Justice and mercy together. that
every one of those for whom Christ died be put in this race. Demands they be called and given
faith to run this race. And God the Holy Spirit will
be the one who puts us in this race. You and I who are in it
now were put in this race by the regenerating grace of the
Holy Spirit. We were running to hell. We were
running to destruction. We were running the course of
this world. We're running the broad way that
leads to destruction. And the Holy Spirit quickened
us and gave us life and gave us eyes to see and gave us ears
to hear this Gospel. And He took us out of that way
and put us in the way of this race. He put us in this way that
we're to run. Now, Christ is the way. He's the way. He's the way that
we're running. He's the way. The Scripture said,
Jesus said to a man, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man comes to
the Father but by Me. We can't run this race by our
works and expect to come to the Father. We can't run this race
by doing so many good deeds to humanity and expect to come to
this race. There's one way, or come to God,
there's one way in this race to come to the Father and that's
Christ. Through faith in Him, faith in Christ. The course of
our life that we're running in this race is set. Everything you're going to face
is set. Everything I'm going to face in this life of faith
is set. It's set. Just like God set the
time when He would arrest you and teach you this gospel and
give you life and righteousness and holiness and all things in
Christ, so God has set the course that you're going to run. And
He set the course that I'm going to run. You notice there, He
says in that text, He says, let us run with patience the race
that is set before us. It's set before every trial,
And every cross and every dark valley, just like every sunny
hill and every seascape and every pleasant step we take in this
race, it's set before us. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit, our sovereign God set this course that we must
run. And we're running this race one
way, by faith. We are running it by faith. Faith
looks one place. Faith looks to Christ. So we
are running this race looking to Christ. He says there, the
sin that so easily besets us, lay that aside, that sin that
so easily besets us is unbelief. Unbelief is not faith. Unbelief
is not looking to Christ. Unbelief is doubting. And therefore
unbelief besets us. It takes us off the way. So He says, set that aside, lay
aside that sin that besets us, unbelief, and run this race,
verse 2 says, looking, looking, always looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of our faith. Do as He did. Run looking to
Him for all things, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
Everything we need to come into God's presence is Christ. Everything. Run looking to Him. Because that's
how He ran this race. When He came and represented
His people, He ran a race that God set for Him. And it included
all the persecution He endured. It included all the rejection
He endured. It included all the path that
took Him by God's people where He called them out. And it included
going to the cross and bearing the cross. And it says here,
"...who for the joy that was set before Him." He's the joy
set before us. We're to run this phrase looking
to Him. He had a joy set before Him. He had a joy of declaring
God just and justifier, of bringing all honor and all glory to His
Father. And He had the joy of seeing
all His people saved. That was the joy set before Him.
And so He endured the cross. He despised the shame of it.
But he endured it. And now he sat down. He's finished
the race. And he's won the prize. He glorified
the Father. He saved all his people from
our sins. And so God's highly glorified
him. Now he sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Now, before we get into this
thing of what it is to run this race, the sad thing is, is there's
some here that have not even entered the race yet. You're
not even entered the race yet. Look over at Matthew 7. One year,
well a couple of years, they had this race over at Pennington
on 4th of July. And Will wanted to run that race.
It was for all the young people in the neighborhood. He wanted
to run that race. So you know what he did? He went to where
he went to where you sign up to enter the race. Took some
effort to do it. He had to go to that place. And
he had to read what they said about the race, and he had to
go to where they told him to stand, and he had to sign off
and say, I'm entering the race. It took some effort. It's going
to take some effort to enter this race. It's all of God's
grace. It's all of His choosing, all
of His redeeming, all of His quickening. God's not going to
pick the Bible up for you. You're going to have to pick
the Bible up. God's not going to read it for
you. You're going to have to read
it. You see what I'm saying? There's
going to be some effort. God's not going to put a sermon in and
turn the TV off so you can hear the gospel preached.
You're going to have to do that. You're going to have to get in
a car, get dressed, get in a car, come to this place, sit down
and hear the gospel preached. That takes some effort. And sometimes,
most times, everything in the world is striving against you
not to do that, including your flesh. Look at what Christ said,
Matthew 7, verse 13. Enter ye in at the straight gate. Enter this race. Enter in, and
He tells you where? At the straight gate. For wide
is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction,
and many there be which go in thereat." Now, till he saves
us and puts us in Christ's way, that's the way we were all in.
We were all in that broad way. That's the way of the world. That's the way of unbelief and
sin and rebellion. But he says, Verse 14, because
straight is the gate and narrow is the way, which leads unto
life, and few there be that find it. Very few. So mark that first
word there, strive. That's going to take some effort.
Strive to enter in. Strive to enter in. And then,
not only is there some here that have never entered the race,
there's some here that I'm sure have entered the race, but now
they're hindered. Some hindrance has come up in
the race. Truly a child of God saved by God's grace, but you've
got some hindrances that are hindering you. Paul said to the
Galatians, you did run well. You did run well when the gospel
came in the beginning and You had a heart to search the Scriptures,
and you had a heart to go to God and seek Him in prayer, and
you had a heart to hear His Gospel, and you were constantly feeding
upon Him and walking in His light and delighting in Him. You did
run well. Who did hinder you that you should
not obey the truth? See, running this race is running
my faith, and it's running obeying Him who is the truth, the Gospel. Now, let's get to our text now.
So in our text, the Spirit tells us through Paul, back in 1 Corinthians
9, He tells us how every believer is to run this race. This is
how we are to run this race. First thing He teaches us here
is we are to run this race to win the prize. We are to run
this race to win the race. Now look at verse 24. Know ye
not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the
prize. Now in a race there's a bunch
of runners, there's many runners in a race, and they all run. And that's the case in this race,
we all have to run. He's using words here that describe
effort, effort. Next time we're going to see
him here, he's talking about fighting, boxing, fighting. He talked, Christ said, strive
to enter in. There's some warfare involved
here. So they're running, you're running
this race. All must run. Thomas Watson said
this, all have run from God by sin. Everybody, he's going to
say, we all ran from God in our sin. And all must run to Him
by repentance. We almost run to Him. But here's
Paul's point here. All run, but only one receives
the prize. Know ye not that they which run
in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? Just one. So run that you may obtain. Run to obtain. It's not enough
to start in the race. Some people start out strong
in a race, you know. We ran that 5K over there. I
started out strong. I got up front, started out strong.
It didn't take but about a quarter mile and I was, that was the
end of my strength. It's not enough to start strong.
It's not enough to persevere almost to the end and then stop. Not enough to do that. You have
to run this race and finish it. We're not of them that draw back
into perdition. We don't draw back. We don't
draw back to destruction. We don't draw back and perish. None of God's elect are going
to perish. Everybody He puts in this race, He's going to continue
strengthening them and make us run this race to the end, looking
to Christ. He's going to make us do that
by His grace. And if any man falls away now, if anybody falls
back into perdition, what they prove by that is they never were
put in the race by the Lord. They never were put in the race
by grace. They entered the race themselves and they never really
were in it. and they perish. We're not of
them that draw back to perdition, but of them that believe to the
saving of the soul. Believe to the end. But he says
even more here. He says, run this race to obtain
the prize. Run it to obtain the prize. In
the race of faith, there's going to be everybody that he puts
in this race is going to win. Everybody, God's chosen and Christ
is redeemed and the Spirit's quickened. We're all going to
win the race. We're all going to obtain this
prize, every one of us. He said, I give unto them eternal
life. It's all a gift of grace. I give them this prize, eternal
life. And they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. He said, Stronger
than all and no man is going to pluck them out of his hand.
We are eternally secure. Every one of God's people are
eternally secure in this race. But He is telling you here, each
of us here, He said run this to win it like that one winner
that runs in the Olympic race and wins it. Run it like He ran
it. Run it with determination to
win. Run it like you're the only one
that can possibly win it. Like there's just one that's
going to win, and you're determined, I'm going to be that one. And
we're not going to be in competition with one another. That's not
what he's teaching here. He's talking about, but that same
determination that makes you want to win, run with that kind
of determination. Run determined to obtain. And
here's a point, I think. We were watching this documentary
not long ago on this race they have down in Tennessee. You've
probably never heard of it. It's an obscure race, but it's
basically four or five marathons that you run. and you don't run
it on a regular course, you run it up over some Tennessee mountains
and around Tennessee mountains and down and you know and then
you run it again the other way and then you run it again the
other way and you keep doing it until there's usually only
one that finishes, sometimes two, but usually one. But they
have this spot in this race each year where they just take somebody
and they invite, it's invitation only, and they invite somebody
to run this race that they know has not trained for it. They
know they're not trained to do it, they know they're not capable
to do it, but they invite them anyway. And you can see the difference
between those who want to win it and this person that was invited.
He's a runner, he likes to run, but he just, he wasn't training
to win that race. You can see the difference in
them. That one that's trained to win it, I mean he runs it
determined to win it. He got blisters on his feet,
he's got sores and everything else and he's hurting and he's
got briar and thorn marks on him and but he's determined he's
going to win it and he keeps going until he just either he
wins it or his body just fails him. But that one who doesn't
really care to win it, that one who hadn't trained to win it,
he runs it and when the first time he comes into some sort
of pain he just stops. He usually don't make it through
the first leg of the race. You see, the point he's making
here, we show what we can do when we're really earnest about
getting something. And we show how little we'll
do when we don't care whether we get the prize or not. It's sad if the things that are
seen and temporal get the largest portion of our energy. To all
those things that are temporal, fading, fleeting away, if they
get the largest portion of our energy, and yet those things
that are unseen, that are eternal, just get whatever's left over.
That says something about our determination to win this race,
doesn't it? That's what he's saying. Run
this race determined. Like that winner, that racer
that's determined to win this thing. Run it like that, with
that kind of determination. So run that you may obtain. Alright, now let's secondly,
let's go to this next point. He says here, so run with certainty. So run looking to a certain goal. You know the pride. Run as certain. Look here now. He says first
of all of the Greek runners, verse 25, he says now, the second
part there, he says, now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown. Many in religion are like those in the Olympics. They run
to obtain a corruptible crown. Corinth was a place where they
first had the games that we now know as the Olympic Games. And
when they ran in those games, they were running to win a crown
made out of olive leaves. it just be withered up and dead
in just a little while. That's what they're running to
win. Well, there's a lot of people in religion that are like that.
They're running to win a corruptible crown. They're running, even
some in religion I'm talking about, they're running because
they want to win something in heaven compared to something
on earth. They want a mansion, or they
want a bigger mansion, or they want something better. They want
more than the next fellow in glory. There's no such thing
as that in the Scriptures. And that is a corruptible motive
and a corrupt crown. Everything about that is corrupt.
That's mercenaries running, trying to make God owe them for something. That's not a pure heart. That's
not a holy heart. And then the Greek runners that
were running in this race, the winners received applause and
recognition from men. That's what some are running
in religion for. And that speaks particularly
to somebody like me as a preacher, somebody that's doing something
needful in the church. I don't want, you know, or those
that stand up and pray. I don't want to do anything to
be seen of men. I don't want to do it to get
an applause from men. Because the Lord says, when you've
gotten that applause and you've gotten that recognition and people's
bragged on you, the Lord said, you've got your reward. That's
it. That's your prize that you're
running for. You've got it. And that's all you'll ever get.
I don't want that corrupt crown. That's not what I'm running for.
And then the Greeks ran to honor In those first Olympic races,
it was a religious thing. They were running to honor their
idol gods. They were running to honor Jupiter
and Neptune. And I'm fearful that's what the
majority in religion today are running to do. They're running
to honor their idol gods. A God that can't save unless
they do some running for Him. God could save however He wants
to save. It's not of Him that willeth
nor of Him that runneth. It's of God that shows mercy.
God just in His own good pleasure chose to use you and I to do
some running to save. But He don't need us to do the
running to save. In fact, we're not ever going
to save. We never have saved a soul. We
haven't saved our own selves and we never saved anybody else.
It's Christ that does the saving. So, we're running here because
of the true God that's put us in this race. Not for an idle
God that's helpless unless we help Him out. That's running
for a corrupt crown. But true believers, what are
we doing? Running this race with certainty. We're not running
with uncertainty, but with certainty. You know, if you want to achieve
something, you've got to have a goal. You've got to have a
target. That's what I'm going for. And that's what he's talking
about here. Paul said, I'm not running, look here, verse 25,
we're running after an incorruptible crown. Verse 26, I therefore
so run, not as uncertainly. I'm not running not knowing what
I'm running to win. I know what I'm running to win.
I know for a fact. So let's look and see what, now
what are believers running? What is our goal and our aim?
What are we running to achieve? to win. Well, in the context
here, the incorruptible crown that Paul was running for was
the salvation of those God had chose and Christ had redeemed.
That's the context. Remember, he's been talking here
about how he denies himself his liberties so that he won't be
a hindrance to the gospel, so that he can preach that gospel
and those sinners will be called out. He ran with a certain aim
to preach Christ, preach Christ only. And he ran with this aim,
to see Christ call out His people through that gospel. And he denied
his own liberty for that. Look back up at verse 22. He
said, I made all things to all men, that I might by all means
save some. And this I do for the gospel's
sake, that I might be... Verse 23, And this I do for the
gospel's sake, that I might be a partaker thereof with you.
Verse 24, Know ye not that they which run in a race run all,
but one receives the prize? I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. I have a prize set before me. I want to see Christ's people
called out by Christ and made to bow and believe on Christ.
That's my crown, Paul said. Let me show you that. Philippians
2. Philippians chapter 2. Look at verse 14. He told them, Do all things without
murmurings and disputing, that you may be blameless and harmless,
the sons of God without rebuke in the midst of a crooked and
perverse nation among whom you shine as lights in the world,
holding forth the word of life, that I may rejoice in the day
of Christ that I have not run in vain. neither labored in vain."
Now look at Philippians 4 and look at verse 1. It's what he's
teaching them all through this book. Therefore, my brethren,
dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and my crown. That's what he calls them. My
joy and my crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.
Another place in 1 Thessalonians 2, he tells the Thessalonians
the same thing. He says, What is our hope and
our joy and our crown of rejoicing? Are not even you in the presence
of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? And that shouldn't be
strange to us that Paul would call those that Christ called
out, His crown of rejoicing. That's what he ran for, that's
what he was laboring for, was to see sinners saved by Christ. And that shouldn't be a surprise
to us because that's what Christ calls his people. Listen to this
from Zechariah 9, 16. The Lord their God shall save
them in that day as the flock of his people, for they shall
be as the stones of a crown lifted up as an enzyme upon his land.
He said in Isaiah 62, 3, Thou shalt also be a crown of glory
in the hand of the Lord, and a royal diadem in the hand of
thy God. You see, that's what Christ says
of His people. So Paul first of all said, here's my prize
that I'm running for in the context I'm running to see all these
lost sheep called out. That's my crown. But then there's
other things that we're running for. Let's look now at 2 Timothy
4. We are not running uncertainly.
We have a certain aim that we are running for. Look here in
2 Timothy 4, look at verse 7. We are running because one day
we are going to receive the prize of righteousness. Look here,
verse 7. I fought a good fight, Paul speaking. I finished my course. I finished
my race. I've kept the faith. Henceforth
there's laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, and not to me
only, but unto all them also that love is appearing." Paul
said, that's what I'm running for. I'm looking to be given,
not an actual crown, I'm not wanting an actual gold crown. I'm not running for an incorruptible
crown. That would be an incorruptible
crown. I'm not looking for that. The crown that God's people are
running for is one day we're going to be totally, thoroughly
created anew in righteousness. in the righteousness of Christ.
That's that righteousness he worked out for his people. That's
the righteousness the new man's created in now. In holiness and
righteousness. But that day we're going to be
perfectly conformed to his image. And the Lord, our righteousness,
who is the righteous judge, will say this is their righteous just
due. They ran this race looking to
me and me alone. I'm giving them perfect righteousness. Now that's something to run for,
isn't it? That's something to stay in this race for, to look
to Christ for and to continue in Christ for. Perfect righteousness. And then we're looking for eternal
life. Turn over to James 1. Look at
James 1 verse 12. Blessed is the man. James 1 verse
12. Blessed is the man that endureth
temptation. We're going to deal more with
that next time, but there's lots of temptation in this race. Lots
of temptation in this race. But blessed is the man that endures
the temptation, isn't turned aside by it. For when he's tried,
when it's all over and it's finished, he shall receive the crown of
life. which the Lord hath promised
to them that love Him." Listen to the Lord, He'll give us the
interpretation on this. He says over in Revelation 2.10,
Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. He didn't
say you're not going to suffer, but He said, Fear none of those
things that you shall suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast
some of you into prison, that you may be tried. And you
shall have tribulation ten days. That means you're going to have
tribulation for the set period of time that God has determined.
And He says, Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee
a crown of life. Life is the crown. Life is the
crown. Who is that crown? It's Christ
our life. Christ in you and you in Christ
to be eternally alive with Him forever and in union with Him
forever is eternal life. That's life. Christ our life. That's certain for us. We're
not running this race uncertainly. That's the goal. Don't you see
that goal? I want life in Christ my life. I have it now. I have eternal
life now. But I'm going to come into that
eternal life with Him, and it's going to be better than I could
ever imagine. That's what we're running for.
We're running, not with uncertainty, but with certainty. Alright,
look at the next thing. 1 Peter, to your right, 1 Peter
5. And again, I want you to notice
how this goes with the context of our passage. He'd been talking
about preaching, and here he's talking about preaching. He's
talking about all of us together, all of us as a church, but let's
look at this, 1 Peter 5, verse 1. The elders which are among
you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings
of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.
Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight
thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre,
but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage,
but being examples to the flock. And when the chief shepherd shall
appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away."
To be eternally in glory with Christ, in that place called
glory, that's the brightness of His presence, to be in glory
with Christ, to share in Christ's glory. He said we're going to
be glorified together. When Christ is glorified as having
been the full Savior of His people, all His people are going to be
glorified with Him as trophies of His grace. We're going to
be glorified with Him. And then we're going to be eternally
praising His glory forever. That's the crown of glory we're
talking about here. You see, none of this is a literal
crown. I've said this to you before,
it talks about the streets being gold. That's just common stuff
where we're going. That's not even something that's
to be valued at all. You just walk on that mess like
asphalt. We're talking about real, real
riches here. We're talking about righteousness
that Christ is, eternal life that Christ is, glory that Christ
is. That's our crown. That's what
we're looking for. Now look, all this is summed up back in
Philippians 3. Go back there with me. Philippians chapter
3. Look at verse 8. Now here's Paul
talking about running this race. And I think he sums this race
up right here. Philippians 3. The prize of winning
Christ and the high calling of God in Christ. This is what we're
looking for. The prize of winning Christ Himself
and that high calling to be with Christ, that resurrection to
be with Christ. Now watch verse 8. Yea, doubtless,
and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ. You talk about these folks that
are running and they want a mansion, or they want this or that, or
they want to be elevated above somebody. That's running with
uncertainty. They don't even know what they want. We know
what we want. We know what we're running for.
We're running that we might win Christ. Now look, and be found
in Him. That's all I want. I just want
to be found in Him. not having mine own righteousness
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, that I might
know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship
of His sufferings." Do you want to suffer? I know by nature none
of us wants to suffer. But I know this, if we're made
to suffer for Christ, He's going to give us the grace to run that
course. If that course has been set in
our race to suffer for Him, He's going to give us grace to suffer.
And Paul said, I want to. I want to know it. I want to
know the fellowship of His suffering. You know, when you really suffer,
that's when you have real fellowship with Christ, when you suffer.
He said, I want to know the fellowship of His suffering. Look at this,
being made conformable unto His death. You know what He's saying?
Christ was obedient even unto the death of the cross. He said,
I want to be made so conformed to Christ that I'm obedient even
unto death. That I'll run this race to death
looking to Christ, obedient to Christ. if by any means I might
attain unto the resurrection of the dead." There's the prize. Now watch. Not as though I had
already attained it. Neither were already perfect.
Remember he had to tell the Christians about that. You haven't attained
this thing yet. You're acting like you're already rich and
crowned and kicked back and you've attained. He said, I haven't
attained. I haven't come to the end of this race yet. But I follow
after, I'm running, if that I may apprehend that for which also
I'm apprehended of Christ Jesus." What did He apprehend you for?
To make you apprehend. That's what He just said. I'm
apprehended because Christ is going to make me apprehend. Brethren,
I count not myself to have apprehended yet. I haven't obtained that
which I'm running for, but this one thing I do. forgetting those
things which are behind. All my former vain works, everything
I've counted confidence in, all my sin, everything, I forget
it and leave it behind me. Lay aside the sins that are weights
to you and that great besetting sin of unbelief. Lay that aside,
leave that behind and reach forth unto those things which are before.
I press, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus. That's the resurrection, to be
raised, to be called upon high by God. I press toward that mark. You picture that runner running
that race and he gets towards the end. Usain Bolt don't let
up. He runs that race and I mean
that dude's still running 50 yards when he passes the finish
line. When he gets to that finish line sometimes, you can't even
figure out how he's leaned out that far. But he's stretched
out so far to cross that finish line before they do, that's pressing
towards the mark. To just be stretched out running
with everything you've got. to be the winner. Look at this
now. I want you to go home with this.
That's the pride, to win Christ, to have that high calling of
God. Now, we know this as for certain. Christ shall not fail. He's justified
His people. He's obtained a righteousness
for His people. He's risen right now. He's sending
this gospel forth. He is going to seek to it. Every
one of His people are put in this race, robed in His righteousness,
and we are going to finish the race. He is going to seek to
that. Now what He has done for you and me that He has already
called and put in this race, He has given you and me a certain
aim to aim for. And He is telling us here now,
you so run to obtain this. And you run knowing, not uncertainly,
but certainly what it is you are running for. And it's this,
it's twofold. All this can be summed up in
two things. Number one, we're running to preach this gospel,
laboring to preach this gospel to see Christ win. His people. To see Christ win
His people to faith in Him by His grace. That's what we're
running for. I wasn't going to say we're running to win sinners
to Christ. You and I will never win a sinner
to Christ. We're running to preach this gospel that Christ will
win them to Him. And now that's our crown of rejoicing
to see sinners saved by God's grace. That's our number one.
Now you run to obtain that and you run with certainty knowing
that's my goal. That's what I'm here for. And number two, it's
this. Above all, we're running to win Christ and that high calling
of God in Christ. To be made perfect righteousness,
to have that perfect eternal life in that perfect glory with
Him. That's our aim. So whatever you
do, running takes effort. Running takes effort. You know,
those fellows that run, you just don't get out there and run.
unless you've worked to run and been prepared to run. And once
you're in that race, then, you know, Usain Bolt don't get halfway
through a race and stops and beset over here and say, well,
let me sign an autograph, and then get back in it and run.
He could probably still win it if he did that. But he's not
beset. He doesn't turn aside. He runs
till he wins it. And that's what he's saying.
Don't be beset by things. Run it and win it. All right.