May it please God to bless us
together this evening as we meditate in his word. Let us turn to the
first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, chapter 9, and we'll
read verses 24 to 27. The last four verses in the ninth
chapter of the first epistle of Paul to the Corinthians. Know ye not that they which run
in a race run all, but one receiveth a prize, so run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for
the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain
a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so
run, not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth the
air, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection,
lest that by any means, when I preach to others, I myself
should be a castaway. the Apostle brings before us
the analogy of running a natural race and compares it to running
the spiritual race. And the Corinthians would have
been familiar with the situation that he describes because the
Grecians were very keen on athletics and very keen on running and
there were a number of occasions when races were held out and
they were familiar how those were arranged and generally speaking
the race was something like about what perhaps we knew, know or
used to know as a furlong which is some 222 yards and it would
be marked out with a line so that the runners
did not mistake the way. They knew where they had to run
and they would run on that line. But of course in those days there
weren't any prizes for second place. There was only a prize
for the person that came first. So obviously it was a great challenge
and a great need to actually win the prize. And therefore,
the first verse tells us a little. It says, Know ye not that they
which run in a race run all? However, many wanted to enter
into the race, they were all eligible, but one receiveth a
prize and so run that ye may obtain. And then he goes to give
a little detail about them. And every man that striveth for
the mastery is temperate in all things. What is very similar,
of course, like athletes are today. They're very temperate,
they're very careful in the things that they do, and how they exercise
themselves, and the things that they eat, and the things that
they drink. All these things they take very
seriously and very carefully. And clearly it was the same in
these days. They had this kind of agenda
to make sure they were as fit as possible in order to run this
race and of course with the one aim to obtain the prize. But there was of course a great
difference between what they were running for and what the
Apostle was desiring to show to them. And he explains it very
simply like this. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown. That means that whatever prize
they won, whatever crown they were given, it wouldn't last
forever. And of course, they wouldn't
last forever. So that's why it was called corruptible. It would be corrupted. It would
not last forever. And he compares it. And he says,
but we, an incorruptible incorruptible crown one that didn't fade away
and one which was with the people of God always eternally an incorruptible
crown and so we have the picture here before us today and it's
really good that such an illustration should be given to us to realize
that we live today in the world and there are many things that
we run after perhaps not necessarily a race but there are many things
that we run after and desire to have and of course they can
take a lot of our time and use a lot of our energy our mental
energy as well as our natural energy. But the reality is, are
we just having our eyes upon a natural result, a natural prize,
a natural benefit, or are we concerned about obtaining the
eternal prize? Because the Apostle Paul tells
us what the eternal prize was. He tells us when he wrote to
Timothy, he says, henceforth there is laid up for me a crown
of righteousness. Well, that's what all of us need
to receive, a crown of righteousness. And it won't be because we've
excelled in our godly walk, in our race of life. It won't be because how well
we've done it. but it will be because of what
the Lord has done for us. And it will be that as we run
our spiritual race upon this earth, that we do, as it were,
are concerned to be temperate in this race. You may say, well,
what does that mean? I can understand what it means
to be temperate naturally, to make sure that we're fit for
the race and we're able to run well. What does it mean spiritually? Well, it really means that we
don't want to be cumbered with things of no profit. Again, athletes in a race They
run as lightly as possible. They don't carry a lot of baggage
with them, do they? They don't carry a lot of things
which slow them down. They run as light as possible.
Well, that's a natural picture. But the spiritual picture should
also be the same. We don't want to have a lot of
things that detractors from the things of God. Baggage. That's
what it really is, isn't it? And instead of concentrating
on the great things of God we can so easily find ourselves
concentrating on things which will only produce in the end
a corruptible crown. They won't in fact be of eternal
benefit. And what we really need is that
When we run our race on this earth, when we come to the end
of our natural life, there is for us this incorruptible crown,
which the Lord will give to us and we shall then be found in
glory. We won't have to cast it away. We won't have to say, well, that
was of no benefit, because it'll be a wonderful testimony of God's
goodness and mercy and love toward us. So we should all be concerned,
not about earning or receiving or winning a corruptible crown,
But we should be concerned about receiving an incorruptible crown,
and therefore we should desire that we are found striving. Like we're told here, every man
that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Well,
mastery means to win the race. And the people who desire to
strive to win the race, they are very temperate in the things
that they do. And so when we think of it in
our spiritual life, to be found striving for spiritual blessings,
striving for a greater knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus
Christ. because there are many things
to distract our attention many things to turn us away from the
important from the vital things of God you see the devil knows
what are our weaknesses and we all have I suppose we might say
different weaknesses The Bible describes it as besetting sins. That means things that individually
attract us. And perhaps we waste our time
on them. And they don't benefit our soul. They may benefit us naturally. People may think better of us
because of our ability in this and that. But it is corruptible. It won't really stand us in good
stead when we come to the end of our life. Perhaps all the
natural prizes we may have won, we may have been very pleased
to have won them, very pleased to receive them, very thankful
in one sense. There's nothing wrong in that.
But have they been such that our lives have been running around
them? They've really taken the preeminence
in our lives. And therefore we haven't been
temperate in our spiritual life. We've been intemperate. That
means we've pleased ourselves with the passing things of time. Now, this of course is the sad
state of our natural body. And of course we have a great
enemy, the devil, who would want us, if possible, to concentrate
all our strivings and all our time on things that do not profit. The apostle tells us that all
things were lawful for him, but all things were not expedient. That means that he could do many
things and say, well, I can do that. There's nothing wrong in
doing that. and I can spend my time on it. But he tells us they
weren't expedient. That means they didn't benefit
his soul. It's impossible. Paul was just as we are. He was a man of like passions,
he tells us. He understood the things which
tempt us in the same way that they tempted him. He knew the
power of the devil who knew what was the besetting sin of the
Apostle Paul. The same as the devil knows what
our besetting sins are. And it's very easy to give in. And it's very easy to say, well
of course that is my besetting sin so therefore I will allow
myself to be occupied with that. Well that's no excuse before
God. You see, God looks at the heart.
And God doesn't allow us to make excuses. We may make an excuse
to ourselves, we may make an excuse to other people. But one
thing we can't do is to make an excuse to God. God knows all
about us, and He knows perhaps what we could have done, how
we could have spent our time, But perhaps we didn't. Perhaps
we wasted our time. If we look back in our lives,
I'm sure we can realise there have been many, many hours, perhaps
days, perhaps weeks, perhaps years, that we wasted our time. And it hasn't benefited our soul. And therefore we may have strived
for the things of our life, But we haven't strived for eternal
blessings. Well, here we have the statement
by Paul again. Every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible
crown. Do we fall into that category?
Is that how we've spent a lot of our life? It may be so. It probably is so. But now the
Apostle says, but we an incorruptible. Because the Apostle now has come
to realise the importance and the relevance of spiritual things,
how they supersede natural things, and how easy it is for us then
to follow things which please our nature. There is that battle
and there is a continual battle. The Apostle Paul had a battle. We have a battle. The battle doesn't stop until
we pass out of time into eternity. and the Lord has given us many
encouraging words to help us and one of them is to resist
the devil that he may flee from us sometimes we may not want
to resist the devil we really quite enjoy being involved in
the things that he encourages us in But if we sit down and
meditate and think about it, does it really profit our souls? That's really a very good test,
isn't it? Is what we're doing profitable
for our souls? Or is it not profitable? Does
it benefit us spiritually, or does it not? That's really what
the Apostle is directing us to here to consider. He was concerned about the Corinthians. The Corinthians he had to reprimand
and correct in a number of ways as he writes this epistle to
them. But it's good when he comes down to such a position as this
and is able to tell us And this I do for the gospel's sake. Wonderful thing, isn't it? The
apostle was able to be honest and to write these things under
the influence of the Spirit of God to direct us and to be with
us. So having spoken in this way,
he then goes on to say, I therefore so run. Yet he was running the
spiritual race. You may remember when he wrote
to the Hebrews, the Jewish nations, he said, let us run the race
that is set before us. And what was he to do? What are
we to do? Run the race that is set before
us. How are we to do that? Well, in races there is a finishing
line, isn't there? Naturally there was a finishing
line for these Greeks as they raced along, a place they aimed
to get to first. There was a finishing line and
therefore they were to keep their eye upon that. They went to look
all around and you will notice today that athletes mostly When
they're running a race, they look straight ahead. They don't
look side to side, they look straight ahead in an effort to
concentrate on the finishing line. And so are the people of
God told. What we're told is this, as the
apostle tells us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher
of our faith. That's how we are to run the
race. Now you see, if we are looking unto Jesus, there won't
be much time, will there, to look all around on everything
else which would distract us. That's how we are to run the
race. Let us run the race that is set
before us. There is a race which you and
I are in. Perhaps we're dawdling. perhaps
we've stopped perhaps we're not making any progress there's just
too many things to look at there's too many things to occupy our
attention so that we're not making any progress and we're definitely
not running it but what a good thing then if the Holy Spirit
directs us to truly run the race that is set before us, and to
be found looking unto Jesus. Now what does the Apostle say?
Having said this, now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown,
but we an incorruptible, he says, I therefore, so run, not as uncertainly. Yes, he didn't think, well, am
I doing the right thing? No, he was convinced that he
was doing the right thing. You know, and it's good also
for us today, if by the grace of God we examine our lives,
examine our hearts, to see whether we are running the race rightly. And if we are running it at all.
And if we are running it with that good hope, with that certainty,
that would be a good result because we are found looking unto Jesus,
not uncertainly. He wasn't doubtful about the
race he was running because he knew that his great and glorious
Saviour had already run the race on his behalf, not as uncertainly. It's a great favour when we are
blessed with certainty in the things of God. It's a great blessing
when the view we have of looking unto Jesus is indeed with a humble
confidence. that we are in the right way,
we are running the right race, and that we pray that we may
get safely to the end of the race and to be received by our
great and glorious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, the
apostle tells us in this respect when he wrote to the Romans,
he said, he said, so then it is not of him that willeth, nor
of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. It doesn't
rest in our own ability in this race. But we should be thankful
that we have a forerunner the Lord Jesus Christ, who has indeed
run this race. And as we look at the life that
he ran on our behalf, to think how hard it was. It wasn't just
a clear run, was it? It wasn't as though there was
no obstacles. There were many obstacles, many
hardships, which the Lord Jesus faced on our behalf. And of course, there was that
tremendous obstacle right at the end of the race, which had
to be overcome. And my friends, the Lord Jesus
did not fail. It was a great obstacle. He knew what was before him.
And you may remember, a short time before he was crucified,
he was in the Garden of Gethsemane. And he was praying to his father. And he was in an agony. And he
dropped, as it were, great drops of blood. He prayed to his father
saying, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, but thine be done. How gracious, how merciful, how
wonderful to think that we have such a saviour who did not stop
in that race, did not give up, did not say it's impossible,
did not say I cannot go on. He said, if it be possible, let this cut pass from me. Nevertheless,
not my will, but thine, be done. Well, as we find ourselves then
in this race, and as we look to see what the Saviour did,
may it truly humble us May it truly have a really good effect
upon us that we are concerned to understand the example that
the Apostle sets before us in this letter to the Corinthians
so that we might be striving. A spiritual life has never been
and never will be an easy life. As I've said, it is a battle.
There is always opposition. But the great favour is to know
that we are not alone, because the Lord is with us to help us
and to strengthen us. That's why the apostle said when
he wrote to the Philippians, I can do all things through Christ
that strengtheneth me. He no doubt, the apostle no doubt,
felt very weak at times, but yet you see he was relying upon
his Saviour. And the blessed Saviour indeed
was in weakness, so weak that he could not carry his cross. Yes, so weak. And he was brought
to that place because of the immense burden that he was called
to carry. And that burden, of course, was
the sins of his whole church. It's impossible for us to understand
the weight of those sins, especially when the Holy Spirit may show
to us something of our own sins. Yes, to think of all the sins
that we've committed in our life and continue to commit We might
have good motives and good desires and believe that we will not
sin anymore. We will find we fail and we fail
and we fail. The weakness of our flesh. What a great glory it is to know
that we have a wonderful conqueror. a glorious conqueror, the Lord
Jesus Christ, who's run the race on our behalf. He undertook all
the difficulties that were placed in the way. He did not fail. He pressed on. And my friends,
what a blessed and glorious victory it was that he gained. It's wonderful, isn't it, to
think of the end of that race. There was a Saviour on the cross
at Calvary. And even in that state of immense
agony, again, impossible for us to comprehend, And yet, you
see, he had love to that dying thief. Yes, he heard what the
dying thief said. He heard the dying thief's confession. He heard his request. Oh, his request was that he might
be in glory with the Saviour. Lord, remember me when thou comest
into thy kingdom. What does the Lord say? This
day shalt thou be with me in paradise. It's good for us to
realise that even in that state of agony, his great love for
sinners, his great love for the dying thief, enabled him to do
that and to speak those words. And we know then that he still
had to endure the hidings of his father's face. Yes, on that
time of the cross when he cried out, my God, my God, his father,
my God, my God, why has thou forsaken me? Those three hours
of darkness, the savior was forsaken of his father. He endured all
the agony, all the burden. on our behalf, without the support
of His Father. Oh, do we not say? Can we not
say? Should we not say? What a Saviour! And then to utter those glorious,
conquering words, it is finished. Yes, the great work The great
race that his father had set before him, he had completed. He'd gained the victory. He was
a conqueror over sin, death, hell and the grave. And my friends,
he took the crown. And there he is today, crowned
in glory. as the King of Kings and Lord
of Lords, a victor over sin, death, hell and the grave. Well, it's a wonderful picture,
is it not? And to think now that you and
I are on this earth and the apostle here is encouraging us to run
this race in the right way. to not be sidetracked by the
many poor attractions of time, but to realise the blessing that
is to be found in walking with our beloved, our friend, the
glorious Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so the Apostle tells
us, I therefore so run, not as uncertainly. You see, the Lord,
thankfully and gloriously, has no failures in his church. He supports them. He strengthens
them. He encourages them. He's with
them. And so may we have, as the Apostle
had, this humble but true evidence of God's grace toward him. I
therefore so run, not as uncertainly. And then he goes on to tell us,
so fight I, not as one that beateth the air. there were no doubt
those who perhaps were practicing for this race you may have seen
boxers, what we might term shadow boxing they don't actually have
somebody physical there but they pretend there's someone there
and therefore they do this shadow boxing just beating the air there's
no one there in actual fact But he says, so fight I, not as one
that beateth the air. He realised he had a battle,
a great battle. And he was only a conqueror through
the Lord Jesus Christ. What a mercy then that he was
able to fight the good fight of faith. He tells Timothy when
he wrote to him, He wrote many gracious words to his son in
the faith, Timothy, to instruct him and to encourage him. And
he tells us in the first epistle of Timothy and the sixth chapter,
right near the end, fight the good fight of faith. Lay hold
on eternal life, whereunto thou also called and has professed
a good profession before many witnesses." That was a good testimony,
wasn't it? And it was a good word of encouragement
to his son in the faith, Timothy. And may it be a good word of
encouragement to us as we fight the good fight of faith. with
much opposition from the great enemy of our souls. And then
to, given that grace to lay hold on eternal life, like the Apostle
says here, not uncertainly. No, he had a humble, but true
and solid faith in what the Lord Jesus had done. And my friends,
there's our certainty. It's not what you and I have
done, It's what the Saviour's done. And thereby faithfully
hold of Him, believing that He has gone to prepare a place for
us. And if He's gone to prepare a
place for us, He will come again and receive us unto Himself. But where He is there, we shall
be also. Well, the apostle was able to
speak to Timothy and say, wherewith thou art also called. Called of God. Again, it's a
good evidence. If we have that evidence in our
lives of God's calling to us. He's called us from where? He's called us out of the The
darkness of nature in which we were born. He's called us so
that whereas we were spiritually deaf, we've heard His voice. Well, this evening, ponder such
words. Don't turn away from them. Don't
say, well, of course, I've never heard God's call. It may be true.
But I hope it's not. I hope as the Apostle was able
to testify of Timothy and to say to him, whereunto thou also
called and has professed a good profession before many witnesses. We in our life today, if we've
been called by Almighty God, We are to profess a good profession
before many witnesses. You may say, why is that? It's
for the honour and glory of God. All our little lives are for
this purpose, to this end, to show forth His praise, to bring
honour and glory to our great and blessed God, and to be able
to testify of what he's done for our souls. And as we therefore
recognise the importance of such words to be found then, even
tonight, truly desire us to be found running in this race, to recognise that it is the glorious
Saviour who's run the race on our behalf to win the prize and
we follow. We follow the footsteps of our
blessed Saviour. We don't think, we should not
think, well, we just settle down now because the Lord has done
everything and I can just sit down in my armchair and just
idle my time away. No, we are his witnesses. Isaiah tells us, ye are my witnesses. with a witness of Almighty God
to show forth his praise and his glory. And if the Holy Spirit enlightens our spiritual eyes
to have a little understanding of the glory and greatness of
our salvation, We will desire to truly acknowledge what he's
done on our behalf and to indeed make a good profession, and that
before many witnesses, to show forth his praise. Well, what
a wonderful blessing and what a wonderful favour it is. The
apostle speaks here, doesn't he, of this incorruptible crown. We mentioned this morning about
Peter and what he said. Well, in the earlier verses of
the first chapter of Peter, the Apostle says, and he had good
cause to speak in this way, Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. Well, I hope tonight we can fall
in line with such an expression and humbly and honestly say,
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which
according to His abundant mercy, and it is for every true believer,
abundant mercy, tremendous mercy to look upon us and to save our
souls, abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope,
to good hope, a living hope, by the resurrection of Jesus
Christ from the dead. The Lord Jesus Christ died upon
Calvary's cross, but he rose again, a conqueror, didn't he? He didn't remain there. Why? Death could not hold him. Death
could not hold him. He rose again, a conqueror, a
lively hope by the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ what
a blessing that is from the dead and he goes on to say it didn't
end there to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fate is
not a way reserved in heaven for you, but kept by the power
of God, through grace, under salvation, ready to be revealed
in the last times. It is surely a very humbling
consideration that there is a place reserved in heaven for all those
who are blessed with this incorruptible prize. the great and glorious
crown of glory, the wonderful gift of eternal life. Well, my friends, tonight, can
we truly bless God for this? You see, there is no time really
for stopping. No, we press toward the mark. That's what the Apostle said,
didn't he? When he wrote to the Philippians, I press toward the
mark. Similar here, striving for the
mastery. The apostle knew what it was
to press. He knew it wasn't easy. And as
I refer sometimes to the 2nd Corinthians in the 12th chapter,
where he gives that long list of all the difficulties he had
to endure. It's right at the 11th chapter. Wonderful, isn't it? That God
gave him grace to endure. and he was blessed with a glorious
victory through Christ. I can do all things through Christ
that strengthens me. Well may such a word, such a
promise be an encouragement to us tonight. As we find ourselves
living in this world with many things that turn us away from
the things of God, let us be encouraged by this example of
the race. Let us be found running it. Let us be found looking unto
Jesus. Let us be found, by God's grace
at last, receiving the prize the great and glorious crown
of glory. And so the Apostle says, Know
ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth
a prize? So run that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for
the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain
a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so
run, not as uncertainly, so fight I, not as one that beateth the
air, but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection,
lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I
myself should be a castaway. The Apostle was concerned, wasn't
he, that he would not depart from the faith, he would not
turn away from the things of God, but that he might by any
means keep to this narrow way which came at last to glory,
the end of the race. Amen.