strange phenomena for somebody from a young age to always say like hey I want to be that one day and then the cost comes in front of you and you go like man that was a great idea I have all the open doors but I don't think I wanted that much you with me first Corinthians 9 do you not know verse 24 and I'm reading from the NIV since do you not know that in a race I'm gonna read it all in the gonna unpack it do you not know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the prize run in such a way as to get the prize everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training they do it to get a crown that will not last but we do it to get a crown that would last forever therefore say therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly I do not fight like a man beating the air no I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified from the price wow wow who here is in some kind of ministry can you just raise your hand even if you're a ministry school anything like that volunteer full arms no half elbows let me see okay most of you in the room so this is your message tonight here's what I want you to see Paul starts off this thing and he makes a statement that sounds totally foolish he says do you know that in a race all the runners run what

it's

a race Paul in a

race you run then he goes on he says

but only one receives the prize and Paul does this interesting this piece of Scripture in the second one we're gonna work with he pushes you into this word picture and then he whips lashes to you and so he says do you know that in a race all the runners run but only one gets the price and then it whips lashes and he goes so so you run as to get the price and his as if Paul is speaking to the church and he says participation is not enough well done that you are saved now what everybody gets the privilege of the blood what are you gonna do with that privilege

he's

saying here's a thing an athlete doesn't flex that he's running why do you flex that you're Christian run as if you want to win something live as if you want to do something just the fact that you have the name athlete does not mean it's something to be happy about everybody can do it and he makes this distinction between being in a race and what happens by the way say way that you run there is a distinction between participating and the way that you run he goes on and he says everyone who competes in the game goes into strict training now the ESV says everyone competes in the games have self has self-discipline all things say self-discipline from the age of 16 to the age of 25 when I got married hallelujah I didn't eat sugar once like unless I didn't know but I never went like hey get me a chocolate do you know why because age 16 I said I will be a pro athlete and I will be the best now if you would know some of the extremes that the Olympic athletes go for the level of self-discipline he says they have self-discipline in all things and then it goes on and says because they are reaching for a crown that will perish right he's making sucking you into the story and then whiplashing it back and he says what we are working for something that will never perish do you know what he's asking if they have that much self-discipline and it will burn at the end of the age what about you if you want to know how much of yourself you can give Paul is saying look at the Olympic athlete look at their desire what is their desire it is a crown but that crown will not last forever and he saying take inventory of your heart take inventory of how you lay hold of the discipline given by the spirit and then ask yourself this question do I take God seriously

do I take

eternity seriously it's a simple question and Paul doesn't even ask it that way he just ignores it because like they do this we do that he makes a third argument therefore I do not run like one aimlessly say aimless so it seems that he is aiming at something say something it's pretty important we get what he's aiming at would you agree with me right so is is he aiming at not going to hell no because he's speaking to Christians these are people already under the blood he's not speaking to people here that's questioning if they're gonna be with Jesus one day he's saying I already know I'm with him forever yet still I have an aim what is that aim if you don't know what that aim is it produces in you fear of disappointment but when you know what the aim is it produces in you eternal steadfastness some of the OG missionaries used to pray this prayer God stamp stamp eternity on my eyeballs stamp eternity on my eyeballs let me see it every time I was open let me see eternity I do not fight like a man beating there no I beat my body and make it my slave say slave so that after I have preached to others I myself will not be disqualified from the price say price so what's the price that's the question what's the aim and what's the price go to 1 Corinthians 3 now

Paul just painted

this beautiful picture of the zeal and the self-discipline that it requires for an Olympic athlete to not just participate but to win and then he said hey I want you to take your life and put it right next to it and I want you to know what do you see it's kind of what he says but then he kind of skips you he doesn't give you anything else and he says but here's the thing guys let me tell you what I see in my life I exceed the Olympic athletes zeal because my life is aiming at a price now we already said it's not salvation so what's the price first Corinthians 3 the second one verse from verse 10 by the grace God has given me who did God give grace to Paul say Paul so there's a portion of grace that God gave to Paul so he's saying according to what God gave me I laid the foundation like a wise boulder ESV says a skilled master builder so he says God gave a portion of his life to me and I worked out that portion and I didn't just build I was a skilled master builder just building wasn't enough there was not just quantity there was quality to Paul's life and we are all sitting here because of that quality come on and he

says I had

laid