Message Notes:

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 (NLT) Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize. So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing. I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

Playing to Win

1. Be Determined

1 Cor 9:24 (NLT) Don’t you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win!

 A determined Christian wants to be more and more like Christ.

James 1:2-8 (NLT) Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

2. Be Dedicated

1 Cor 9:25 (NLT) All athletes are disciplined in their training. They do it to win a prize that will fade away, but we do it for an eternal prize.

3. Be Deliberate

1 Cor 9:26-27 “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.”

Response:

1. Am I determined, dedicated, and deliberately living my life so that I can be more like Jesus?

2. Am I trusting and depending upon His power to get me there, or am I doing it by myself?

3. Am I keeping my eyes on Jesus?