Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - How to Start and Finish Well | New Testament | 1 Corinthians 9

Episode Date: June 19, 2023

"It's not how you start but how you finish." God calls you to start AND finish well. What does that look like? Keith looks at Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 9 to discover hw to build strength, power and self-control. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Join the TMBT community in reading the entire New Testament in one year. Get your FREE reading plan here. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it with others, so others can find it too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter@TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Corinthians 9

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Keith Simon. It's not how you start, it's how you finish. Bill Cosby was known as America's dad when he played Cliff Huxable on The Cosby Show. But after several credible allegations of sexual assault emerged, his public image changed. When his obituary is written, he won't be known only as the much-loved comedian and actor, but also a predator who is convicted of sexual assault.

It's not how you start, but how you finish. Here's a more inspiring example. By 7 o'clock p.m. on October 20th, 1968, at the Mexico City Olympic Stadium, it was beginning to darken. The last of the Olympic marathon runners were being assisted away to first aid stations. Over an hour earlier, Mama Waldi of Ethiopia had charged across the finish line, winning the 26-mile race looking at strong and strong. as vigorous as when he'd started.

As the last few thousand spectators began preparing to leave, they heard police sirens and whistles through the gate entering the stadium. The attention turned to that gate. A sole figure wearing the colors of Tanzania came limping into the stadium. His name was John Stephen Aquari. He was the last man to finish the marathon in 1968. His leg was bandaged and bloodied. He had taken a bad fall early in the race.

Now, it was all he could do to limp his way around the track. the crowd stood and applauded as he completed that last lap. When he finally crossed the finish line, one reporter dared ask the question, all were wondering, You were badly injured. Why didn't you quit? Why didn't you give up? A quarry, with quiet dignity, said, My country did not send me 5,000 miles to start this race.

My country sent me 5,000 miles to finish this race. So it is with God. God didn't just send you to start this race. God sent you both to start and finish the race of the Christian life. Corinth hosted the Ithmian Games, which took place every other year and were second in prominence only to the Olympics. So it's no surprise that in his first letter to the Corinthians, he uses a sports analogy to communicate spiritual truth. Here's what he says in 1st Corinthians 9, verse 24, run in such a way as to get the prize. Now, notice this isn't a competition against

other people, other Christians. Every Christian can get the prize. Well, how do I run in order to get that prize? Well, he keeps explaining in verse 25 and 26. 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 will last forever. Therefore, I do not run like someone running aimlessly. I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. So how do you run in a way that gets the prize? It's not by running aimlessly or beating the air. In other words, it's not living the Christian life haphazardly. No, it requires going into strict training, just like an athlete puts him or herself through. An athlete subjects all other interests to the greater interest of winning the prize. They trained their mind and body toward that

end. There was an SI article on Tom Brady a few years ago, and it talked about his workout schedule, his food schedule, how he ate red meat in the winter and raw food in the summer, how he measured his alkaline and acidic content. I'm not even sure exactly what that means, but he did it. He drank very little alcohol, he was on a strict sleep schedule, he did cognitive exercises before bed and was asleep by 9 o'clock on most nights. That's strict training. And in order to train our spiritual life that way, we have to develop self-control.

If you're going to run the race to win the prize, you must learn. self-control in the Christian life. Self-control is something we all wish we had more of, whether it's in the first century or the 21st century, the common way to think about self-control is that our mind should clamp down on our emotions or our desires. Our mind should tell our desires no. But that doesn't work. It's not biblical. You're never going to gain self-control. You're never going to finish the race. You're never going to win the prize. If you're depend on your discipline or your dedication or your determination. And the reason that self-discipline doesn't result in self-control is that it bypasses the heart. There was a Scottish Presbyterian

minister who lived in the late 1700s all the way to the mid-1800s, whose name is Thomas Chalmers. And he wrote a little book that is really insightful. It's called the expulsive power of a new affection. And he said, the only way to dispossess the heart of an old affection, is by the explosive power of a new one. What Thomas Chalmers was saying is that the only way to drive out a lesser love is to have a greater love. In other words, you can't always just be saying no to yourself. You have to have something better that you're saying yes to. You have to want something more than ice cream.

Self-control Thomas Chalmers was saying is a matter of our heart, not our willpower. Remember the story of Joseph back in Genesis chapter 39? He was a well-built and the handsome guy and his master's wife took notice of him and tried to seduce him and get him to go to bed with her. But he refused to do so. And here's what empowered his self-control so that he could say no to this woman. Here it is. Here's how he puts it. How then could I do such a wicked thing and sin against God?

See, Joseph had something better than going to bed with this woman, and that was to live a life that honored God. In the beatitudes, Jesus says, blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. He doesn't say to follow the rules and say no to all your sinful desires. Instead, he says, here's something better than your sinful desires, and that better thing is to see God, to be with God, to know God, to have a deep relationship with God. Paul picks back up in verse 25. And he said, 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 will last forever.

So do you hear what he's doing is he's comparing crowns. And he's saying, look, in the Ismian games, the victor's crown was withered celery. I mean, it was something that they all coveted. It was all something they all wanted. But the crown was actually made of a vegetable. So he says, Christians, we have any. reward from God. If these athletes push themselves and deny themselves to win a pathetic crown of wilted vegetables, how much more should we maintain self-discipline for the sake of an imperishable

crown? How do you compare a wreath of vegetables to a crown of glory? One doesn't last and one lasts forever. So Paul says, look, don't deny your wants. Don't deny your desires. Instead, find better desires because self-control in the Christian life comes down to heart power, not willpower. Verse 27. Paul writes, no, I strike a blow to my body and I make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. Paul wants the prize of being with Jesus. He wants to run and finish the race that God has called him to. So he says no to all kinds of temptations because he wants Jesus more than anything else. Jesus is his treasure. Jesus is his prize. Jesus is the one he has set his heart on.

How will you finish your race? Do you want Jesus more than anything else this world has to offer? At the very end of his life when he was in prison, right before he was beheaded by the Roman Empire, Paul wrote this in the book of 2 Timothy. He said, I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award me on that day. And not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. Amen. Hey, thanks for listening.

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