We've seen some incredible feats by some great athletes because they went through a rigorous training regimen to be at peak performance.
In the ancient Greek Olympic games, an athlete would begin training at least 10 months before the race. This training involved rigorous discipline. It included the athlete’s diet, his sleep habits, his exercise routine, and his daily running. His goal was to literally punish his body until he was in the best possible shape to win the game.
Then, one month before the games, the athlete would move to Corinth, 10
miles from where the games were held. He was assigned a personal coach who put him through even more training in preparation for the race. It meant
rising early and long days spent lifting weights, exercising, pushing himself to the edge of his strength. All this was done in order to prepare him to run the race of his life.
In the Olympic locker room, the speech might sound something like this…
“You've trained hard; you prepared well. Your strength, your stamina & your endurance are incredible! You’re in the best possible shape you can be.”
In God’s locker room, God’s speech might sound something like this…
“You've sacrificed; you've prayed long hours; you've studied your Bibles intensely; you've been committed to worship; you've been godly leaders, faithful parents and devoted spouses. You've led devotionals in your homes; you've placed worship above work and sports; You've worked out spiritually
every day!
Why have I made you do this? Why have I made you go through this strenuous training?
So you’ll never give out.
Your enemies may get winded; Your opponents may run out of breath. But you won’t! You’re trained; you’re disciplined; you’re in the best spiritual shape you can be. You will never give out!
In Isaiah, I told you that you’d run and not grow weary. You’d walk and not
faint. In Hebrews, I told you that I’d run with you, walk before you and
support you all the way!”
In this passage, (1 Corinthians 9:24–27), Paul describes two types of athletes: those who trained pointlessly and those who trained productively.
Pointless Training
Why did they train? They trained for a prize that wouldn't last — a laurel
leaf — a crown made of laurel leaves that would soon dry up; become
brittle, break apart. There are people today who spend half their time
chasing prizes that will soon fade away — money, cars, houses, trophies,
fame, recognition, power, etc.
Did you notice how Paul describes them? They run aimlessly. They have no goals. No focus. No real direction. They fight the air with their fists. They’re working out. They’re building up their muscles. They look good,
they look strong, but, in reality, all it does is make them look good and
feel good. It’s pointless and there’s no eternal purpose to their actions.
Productive Training
Paul is saying, “I don’t run aimlessly. I don’t fight the air with my fists. My training has a goal. I’m ready for anything. I've got spiritual stamina. I've beaten my body so that it’s tough and when the going gets tough, the tough get going. I've trained so hard that when others fall by the wayside, I’ll keep going. When others give out, I’ll still be competing. When others are down to their last gasp, I’ll just be getting started.”
What about you? Are you spiritually well-trained? Are you doing spiritual
exercises every day to get you in great spiritual shape? Is your heart
pumping out love and mercy and grace at full capacity? Are your spiritual
lungs full of worship as you exhale praise to God?
How’s your spiritual stamina? Do you seem to tire out with every spiritual
struggle? Do you seem you have no stamina when you’re going through trials
and tribulations? Then check out your training.
There has to be Daily Training! There has to be Diligent Training!
You have to train each day. All of us know that exercising just one day a week won’t do it. Exercising just a few minutes each day won’t do it. So how can you expect to train productively if you only read the Bible once a week. How can you expect to expand your spiritual lung capacity if you only pray a few minutes each day. Spiritual training must be daily training.
Jesus said that each day you must deny yourself, take up the cross and follow him (Luke 9:23). Half-hearted commitment won’t work. Partial commitment won’t work. Part-Time commitment won’t work. Productive spiritual training requires daily, diligent commitment to that training.
