Expect to Win

Michael T. Byrd, Sr.

Stand Alone • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

1 Corinthians 9:24–27

Victory

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As Believers, victory must be our goal, therefore we must expect it.

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Transcript

Topic: Expect To Win

Text: 1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Date: February 14, 2021

Waypoint Church

Introduction:

You know, Im not much of a sports fan, but Exactly one week ago today, I had the privilege of hanging out with a friend to watch the super bowl. Us and our wives hanging out just watching the game together. My friend is a die hard Chiefs fan. About talking about jerseys, hats, t-shirts, posters, coffee mugs, hoodies, you name it! He loves the Chiefs. Me not being a Sports guy, spending some much time around him, knowing that the chiefs were headed to the super bowl, I found myself along with him expecting the Chiefs to win the game. I went to a few stores looking for Kansas CIty Chiefs gear, shirt, hat, you name it. I did my best to ensure that my friend knew that I expecting his team to win as well. He had me convinced that the outcome of the game would be a win for the chiefs. As the game went on, My friends excitement turned to disappointment as he began to realize that the win that he expected wasn’t going to happen.

I remember him saying that “They should’ve won this game”. “They didn’t come to play”. While many expected them to win, even they expected to win, but because they didn’t bring their A game. They lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Many believers can relate to that. In your mind you expect to win, but because you dont bring your a game, you find yourself not playing to the best of your ability. Because your focus isn’t there, maybe those around you are suffering from injuries, or you are unsure of what plays to run, there could be about a million things going to, but you find yourself in a position that while you expect to win, victory seems so far away.

Main Point of Sermon: As Believers, victory must be our goal, therefore we must expect it.

What if I were to tell you believer that victory is as far away from you as you think? What if I were to tell you that victory was already yours and that expecting it not has to do with your mind, but also with your actions? Listen, as the church, we have victory in Jesus.

Victory in Jesus is real and attainable now because our Lord Jesus has defeated Satan and every evil power of the world. We achieve victory in Jesus by resting in Christ (Matthew 11:28) and trusting Him to triumph for us (Romans 5:17). While we remain on earth, the Lord reigns victorious through those who have been delivered from the kingdom of darkness and translated into His glorious kingdom of light (1 Peter 2:9). However, a day will come when the victories of Jesus will be fully realized and celebrated in the new heavens and earth: “He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth.

Believers, we live life in reverse, we already know that we will win because Jesus has defeated sin and death, but here’s the thing, we still must bring our a game. Believe hear this, we dont run to victory, we run from victory! Victory is already ours because of Jesus finished work on the cross.

Main Point of Sermon: As Believers, victory must be our goal, therefore we must expect it.

Here in our text we find Paul talking to the church of Corinth about obtaining victory in the context of discipline. Paul practiced the principles he described. As an apostle he had certain rights and privileges. One of these rights was to be maintained by those to whom he preached. But Paul stressed that one should subordinate one’s own interests to those of others, especially those of Christ and His gospel (9:1–23).

Talk a little bit about First Corinthians… Waypoint, Corinth, perhaps the most important city in Greece during Paul’s day, was a bustling hub of worldwide commerce, degraded culture, and idolatrous religion. First Corinthians reveals the difficulties, pressures, and struggles of a young church called out of a pagan society. Paul addressed a variety of problems in the lifestyle of the Corinthian church: factions, lawsuits, immorality, questionable practices, and abuse of the Lord’s Supper and spiritual gifts. In addition to words of discipline, Paul shared words of counsel in answer to questions raised by the Corinthian believers.

The theme of this letter is really about How God wants believers in Christ to live in the midst of a corrupt culture. Family, we live in a corrupt culture, but how are you running this race? As a follower of Jesus, are you expecting to win, or are you constantly finding yourself defeated by the world’s systems? Listen church, winning must be an expectation for us.

Not because of what we are able to do, but simply because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. If I expect to win, what must I do? I want to share 3 actions with you that you must practice if you expect to win:

1. Practice Self Control:

If you expect to win, first you must have self-control.

1 Corinthians 9:24-25

Church, we can’t win without discipline. Paul his speaks of His own discipline. Speaking in the context of spiritual freedoms, Paul here is focusing our attention on winning even if it means giving up our own desires. (ad lib)

For his own sake, Paul rejected an earthly reward because his aim was a heavenly reward. It took (better yet) it takes discipline. It takes self-control. We must knock out our bodily impulses to keep them preventing us from our mission of winning souls to Christ.

What good are daily privileges if we lose our eternal reward? Every Christian needs to govern his or her life “with eternity’s values in view.” For Paul to set aside his personal privileges meant discipline and hard work, and he describes this discipline in the passage.

An athlete must be disciplined if he is to win the prize. We aren’t talking here about some trophy to put on your shelf. No! That’s not the prize. We are talking about the eternal reward of spending eternity with Jesus. What are you willing to give up for that? Would you still want to be with Jesus if it cost you your life? Well, it does.

Matthew 16:24-26

Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life because of me will find it. For what will it benefit someone if he gains the whole world yet loses his life? Or what will anyone give in exchange for his life?

An athlete must be disciplined if he is to win the prize.

Discipline means giving up the good and the better for the best. Keep you eyes fixed on the main thing and allowing nothing to deter you from it. Listen, an athlete must watch his diet as well as his hours. He must smile and say “No, thank you” when people offer him fattening desserts or invite him to late-night parties. There is nothing wrong with food or fun, but if they interfere with your highest goals, then they are hindrances and not helps.

It is important to understand that self-control is a work of the Holy Spirit, not a work of the individual. After all, Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit, not the fruit of the Christian. As we are merely the branches upon which the Vine (Christ) hangs the fruit He produces (John 15:1-8), it is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit that gives Christians the power and ability to exercise self-control so that we will not be mastered by the “cravings of sinful man.” As Paul said, “God did not give us a Spirit of timidity, but a Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7). Indeed, Christians are controlled not by the sinful nature, but by the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9), who helps us in our weakness (v.26), which makes us able to say “no” to sin.

We will be more victorious in our Christian walk when we exercise our Spirit-given self-control, that which helps us respond in obedience to the commands of Scripture and allows us to grow in our spiritual life.

Paul had one great goal in life: to glorify the Lord by winning the lost and building up the saints. To reach this goal, he was willing to pay any price. He was willing even to give up his personal rights! He sacrificed immediate gains for eternal rewards, immediate pleasures for eternal joys.

Paul’s fear of becoming a castaway had nothing to do with his salvation. He is not talking about salvation but Christian service. We are not saved by running the race and winning; we run the race because we are saved (Phil. 3:12–16 and Heb. 12:1–3).

The Christian does not run the race in order to get to heaven. He is in the race because he has been saved through faith in Jesus Christ.

Main Point of Sermon: As Believers, victory must be our goal, therefore we must expect it. We must practice self-control.

2. Practice Steadfastness

Second, if we expect to win, we must practice steadfastness:

1 Corinthians 9:26

So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air.

What Paul is getting at here is that I know what my goal is and Im not going to stop until I get there. Believer as we run this race, we must know our goal. We must know what we are doing what we are doing.

If we expect to win, we must be steadfast. This is crucial. We we run the race, see many of us want to quit. We want to give up We want to through in the towel. This race that we are running isn’t a sprint. Its a marathon.

Scripture drives home the importance of being steadfast:

Ecclesiastes 9:11 ESV / 393 helpful votes Helpful Not Helpful

Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all.

Matthew 24:13 ESV / 238 helpful votes

But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

James 1:12 ESV / 212 helpful votes

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

Mark 13:13 ESV / 152 helpful votes

And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

Hebrews 10:36 ESV / 125 helpful votes

For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised.

To be steadfast and unmovable is to be spiritually grounded. Christians can be steadfast and immovable, because they know that if their worst enemy (death) has been overcome, they need fear no other enemy. They can abound in Christian service, for that work will count for eternity. Their labor is not in vain. A steadfast person knows what he believes and cannot be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching” (Ephesians 4:14).

An unmovable person can hear false teaching, engage doubters, and defend truth without it shaking his own faith. In his other epistle to Corinth, Paul expresses his concern for this church: “I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). Even believers who had been personally taught by the apostle Paul were victims of deception. How much more vulnerable are we?

To remain steadfast we have to know the Word of God. Second Timothy 2:15 says, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (NASB). To accurately handle the word of truth, we must not only read the Bible, but we must allow it to become part of us. Its truth should so penetrate our minds and hearts that it shapes our thinking and our actions.

Main Point of Sermon: As Believers, victory must be our goal, therefore we must expect it. We must be steadfast. Believer, we must expect to win. For the believer victory must be an expectation, not an after thought. Why, because of Jesus’ finished work on the cross. We have victory. If you expect to win, you must:

Practice Self-Control

Practice Steadfastness and (finally)

Practice Spirit Dependance

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

Don’t you know that the runners in a stadium all race, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way to win the prize. Now everyone who competes exercises self-control in everything. They do it to receive a perishable crown, but we an imperishable crown. So I do not run like one who runs aimlessly or box like one beating the air. Instead, I discipline my body and bring it under strict control, so that after preaching to others, I myself will not be disqualified.

If it were left up to our own strength, we would’ve been out of the race a long time ago, but that God for being so rich in mercy that he has given us his spirit whereby even when we are weak and don't even expect to win He reminds us of that victory that we have through Christ.

Family, there’s no way that we can depend on the spirit of God when we are too stuck on ourselves. Understand that no one who is unwilling deny himself can legitimately receive a heavenly reward. which is spending eternity with the father. Yes, we do have rights, but we shouldn't allow those things to disqualify us. Paul didn't want to be disqualified. “disapproved, disqualified.”

At the Greek games, there was a herald who announced the rules of the contest, the names of the contestants, and the names and cities of the winners. He would also announce the names of any contestants who were disqualified.

Paul saw himself as both a “herald” and a “runner.” He was concerned lest he get so busy trying to help others in the race that he ignore himself and find himself disqualified. Again, it was not a matter of losing personal salvation. (The disqualified Greek athlete did not lose his citizenship, only his opportunity to win a prize.) The whole emphasis is on rewards, and Paul did not want to lose his reward.

When I’m depending on the Spirit of God to work in my life, when im depending on the Spirit of God to lead me, then i dont have to work about disqualification because I’m in his hands. Dont disqualify yourself from the prize by quitting the race, running the wrong direction, or breaking the rules. Run to win! Expect to win! Practice self control! Be steadfast! Depend on the Spirit of God!

People, without the Holy Spirit, judge things by outward appearance and they try to control behavior without requiring a heart change. That’s like trying to take a pill to squash a symptom without curing the disease. The disease is still there and it will manifest itself again. There must be a heart change and only God can change your heart.

Therefore, we must depend on the spirit of God as we run this race!

Romans chapter 8 tell us that all who are led by the Holy Spirit are children of God

Romans 8:12-16

So then, brothers and sisters, we are not obligated to the flesh to live according to the flesh, because if you live according to the flesh, you are going to die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all those led by God’s Spirit are God’s sons. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear. Instead, you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father!” The Spirit himself testifies together with our spirit that we are God’s children, and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Strength and power can come only from God; they are produced by the Holy Spirit. These believers are to be strengthened with all might “unto all patience and longsuffering.” And this patience and longsuffering is to be “with joyfulness.”

It pleases God when we depend upon His Spirit to do “good works.” It also pleases Him when we spend time in His Word, learning more about Him. This is what it means to “walk worthy” of Jesus. (As I close today)

Conclusion:

The key to achieve victory in Jesus is faith in Christ: “For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God” (1 John 5:4–5; see also Romans 8:37). The first step to victory in Jesus is accepting Christ as Savior. We receive the Lord by grace through faith, and we live in His victory by grace through faith as well. Our salvation is a gift of God’s grace, and our victory in Jesus is a gift of God’s grace (Ephesians 2:4–8; Galatians 3:3).

What is the extent of Jesus Christ’s victory that He imparts to us? The victory that Jesus shares with us includes victory over the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:16). Our Lord’s triumph over temptation and sin (Hebrews 4:15; see also Matthew 4:1–11) has become our victory as well: “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:24; see also Romans 5:20–21). The apostle John elaborates: “But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 John 3:5–8).

Practice Self-Control

Practice Steadfastness and (finally)

Practice Spirit Dependance

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