Essentials of Gold Medal Living

We're going to have Philippians chapter 3, verses 10 through chapter 4, verse 1 read for us.

Philippians 3:10

I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation

in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow attaining

to the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained all this or have already arrived at my goal,

but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me,

brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.

But one thing I do, forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

All of us then who are mature should take such a view of things,

and if on some point you think differently that

too god will make clear to you only let us

live up to what we have already attained join together

in following my example brothers and sisters and just as you have a model us

as a model keep your eyes on those who live as we do for as i have often told

you before and now tell you again even with tears many live as enemies of the cross of Jesus.

Their destiny is destruction, their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.

Their mind is set on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there,

the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control,

will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for,

my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends.

I'm sure all of you or many of you at one time or another have watched the Olympics on television.

Some of you may have had the opportunity to even go attend some of those competitions,

even when they were here in the United States.

Not me, but some of you may have. But most of us watch them on television.

Those of us who like to watch the Winter and Summer Olympics watch in hopes

of the United States team taking as many gold medals or in as many medals as possible.

But sometimes it's fun to cheer on the athletes from other countries.

Some of you may know and remember who Catriona Lemay-Done is,

but for those who do not know, she is or has been an ice speed skater for the Canadian Olympic team.

At the time when she competed, she was considered the fastest female speed skater in the world.

In 1998, she won the gold medal in the 500-meter speed skating race in Nagano, Japan.

Again, in 2002, she won the gold medal in Salt Lake City, Utah.

But you also may not know that she didn't have it easy all the time.

She has had to overcome many obstacles.

In the 1994 Winter Olympics in Norway, Catriona caught the edge of her skate

in a crack on the ice and crashed, knocking her out of that race and out of the competition.

Already 24 years old, Catriona could have quit skating and competing,

thinking that her days of winning were long gone.

But putting her loss behind her and not thinking about it, she worked harder

than ever and competed in more preliminary races to get back into shape for the 1998 Olympics.

And as I told you earlier, she won the gold medal in the 1998 and the 2002 Olympics.

When she lined up at the starting line for the 500-meter race in 2002,

you could see the look of determination on her face as she bent down, now 32 years old,

as she bent down into her starting position, waiting for the signal to go.

Her eyes were focused on the track ahead of her. Her muscles were all tensed,

and she was ready to press forward.

This morning, I want to talk to you about gold medal living,

and throughout our message, we will see the essentials of gold medal living.

The first essential of gold medal in living is dissatisfaction.

I know that sounds strange, but the first essential is dissatisfaction.

So you see, we have to be dissatisfied with the status quo. We have to be dissatisfied

with where we are to push forward.

Paul said, not that I have already obtained all this or have already been made

perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.

A Christian should never be satisfied with where he or she is spiritually at the present time.

As Christians, we should always

be striving to be better, to be more like Jesus, and to win the race.

Paul talks very often about racing and competition and athletics.

He likens the Christian life to that.

Paul says that it is his goal to know Christ and to be like Jesus.

We should not let anything take our eyes off of Christ, who is our goal.

We should never be content to stay where we are in our spiritual walk.

We should always be striving to be better, to be more like Christ,

no matter how far along we are. There's always room for improvement.

Therefore, dissatisfaction is an essential for gold medal living.

Dissatisfaction in the sense of is the sense of

wanting to be all that christ wants us to be

we are dissatisfied by not accepting less

than the very best catriona la madone she was not satisfied with just being

in the race she was not satisfied to stay at the level where she was she pressed

on toward a goal she could have given up at age 24 when she dropped out of that

race and out of the competition because she crashed.

We as Christians ought to have that same type of dissatisfaction.

We should not allow ourselves to be comfortable and complacent at the point

of forgiveness, no matter how glorious we are.

It's nice to be forgiven. It's nice to have our sins forgiven and to know that

we are going to be heaven, but that's not the last of it.

We need to become Christ-like in everything that we do.

We should never be satisfied with our level of spiritual growth,

but keep pressing on to higher heights and deeper depth in our relationship

with God and with our service to others.

There's a quote that says, a ship in a harbor is safe, but that is not what ships were built for.

We can apply that to our lives as Christians. We're not redeemed just to be safe.

We're not redeemed to have fire insurance, insurance keeping us out of hell.

We are redeemed because we're meant to venture out into the deep to rescue others.

As we've been looking at Revelation in our men's group, our discipleship group,

we've been looking at that and we've been thinking, you know, why is this book here?

It's for us as followers of Jesus Christ to know that these days are coming,

and we need to help others be rescued and find a life in Christ.

The second essential of gold medal living is dedication or devotion.

Again, as we look at the life of an athlete, we can clearly see that they have

to be dedicated and devoted to their training. They must be dedicated to remain

in top condition to be able to press on toward their goal.

When I was riding cross-country.

I'm twice the man I used to be, a hundred and some pounds ago.

We continually trained even in the off season and even in the summer.

We had to run so many miles. In fact, at that time, we were running 10 to 20

miles a day in practice for a three-mile race.

We continued to press on toward that goal. We had to continue to be dedicated to be in top condition.

It's when you continually train as an athlete that you have the stamina for

the race that goes on before you. Same thing with us as Christians.

When we continually train our minds and our spirits, we will have the stamina to go on in this life.

Those athletes must be very dedicated to what they have set out to accomplish,

and that is that they want to accomplish the best that they can be.

Dedication is the guarantee that we

will pay the price necessary to achieve

it was heavyweight boxing champion marky

rocky marciano who said to

win takes total commitment of mind and body when

you don't make that commitment they don't call you champ anymore total dedication

is a characteristic prevalent in all great athletes and it must also be in great

followers of christ We must be 100% sold out to the goal of being like Jesus.

With such single-mindedness of an athlete in training, we must lay aside everything

that's harmful and forsake anything that may distract us from becoming effective Christians.

Philippians 4 verse 8 says, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are

Philippians 4:8

lovely, whatsoever things are righteous, whatsoever things are noble, think on these things.

We need to dwell on these things in our minds to become effective Christians.

We need to be devoted to what we are doing.

This type of devotion and dedication demands love.

Matthew 22, verse 33 says, Love the Lord your God with all your heart,

Matthew 22:33

with all your soul, and with all your mind.

This single-mindedness also demands attention to the ways of God,

learning, studying, and training for the race.

So far, we've looked at two essentials for gold medal living.

Dissatisfaction, and dedication.

The third essential for gold medal living is direction.

To have direction, we must be focused ahead. We must keep our eyes on the prize.

We must be looking at where we are going.

And many times we look at this idea of looking at Jesus and his example and following him.

When an athlete is at a starting line, all of his or her energy is focused in

the direction that leads to the end of the race.

When a speed skater is racing around the track or when the runner is racing

the course, he or she does not look back.

If an athlete looks back, his stride is broken, his focus is distracted,

and it causes him to slow down.

It might even cause him to cross into another lane and be disqualified from the race.

More than once has an athlete looked back to see where his opponent is,

only to be overtaken by that opponent when he's lost track of where he's going.

The second part of Philippians chapter 3, verse 13 says, forgetting what is

Philippians 3:13

behind and straining toward what is ahead.

You can't score if you aren't aiming for the goal.

When we talk about forgetting what is behind and putting our focus on what lies

ahead, the story of Lot and his wife comes to mind. You know,

it's found in Genesis chapter 19.

Genesis 19 · chapter mention

God told Lot and his wife and daughters to run away from Sodom and not look back.

But what happened to Lot's wife when she did look back?

She became a very salty lady.

Lot's wife was looking back, clinging to the past. She was unwilling to turn completely away.

She wanted to look back to what she was leaving behind.

I wonder if we are sometimes like Lot's wife, looking back longingly at the

way things used to be or hanging on to those things that would keep us from serving God more.

We can't make any progress with God while still holding on to pieces of our old way of life.

In Matthew chapter 6, verse 24, Jesus said it this way, no one can serve two masters.

Matthew 6:24

When we make the decision to follow Christ, when we turn our lives around from

a life of sin to a life of dedication to Christ, we need to look in the right direction.

We need to maintain our focus set on the goal which lies ahead,

on the goal which we have set out to follow and achieve.

And that goal is to live a holy life. That goal is to live a life that would make us more like Jesus.

That goal is to receive the reward of eternal life in heaven with our Lord and Master.

The fourth essential for gold medal living is determination.

In the text this morning, we see that the first part of verse 14 says, I press on.

To press on takes determination.

There are obstacles in our way sometimes, but this verse says,

I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Determination is the absolute refusal to quit.

Catriona could have quit. after the 1994 Olympics when she crashed out.

This absolute refusal to quit leads to what distance runners experience as a second wind.

It's that point when we are nearing exhaustion, oftentimes at about the two-thirds

point in a race, when the body says, let's kick this up a notch.

Not what Emeril Lugosi says, but a runner says.

And the runner gets his second wind to keep going faster toward the finish line.

This also does not happen if the runner has not been training diligently for the long haul.

When Winston Churchill addressed the student body of his alma mater shortly

after World War II, he chose to share with his audience a philosophy that had

enabled England to endure the dark days of the war.

His entire speech consisted of just six words, and I'm sure you know those words.

Those six words have been repeated many times since his speech.

Already a very weak and frail man, Church Hill inched his way up to the podium

and said, Never, never, never, never give up.

And then he sat down to a thunderous standing ovation.

No greater advice has ever been given, regardless of how tough the road might

become, regardless of the obstacles in their way, winning athletes possess a

fierce determination that will not allow them to give up.

1 Timothy 4, verses 7 and 8 says, Train yourself to be godly,

1 Timothy 4:7

for physical training is of some value, but godliness has promise for all things,

holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.

I'm sure we can all appreciate and understand the determination that it takes

for superior athletes to train themselves to be in their best physical condition.

They train themselves to be ready for the race.

They are determined to try their very best.

They give it 100%. But what about us as Christians?

As the athlete crouches in their starting position, they know that they have

done everything necessary to be in their top form, have we?

They get coiled into their starting position.

Winners have determination written all over their faces.

There's a chorus that we sometimes sing, and it fits right in with what we're

talking about this morning.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

I have decided to follow Jesus.

No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow. Though.

No turning back, no turning back.

As Christians, we need to keep our eyes on the prize, and the prize is the heavenward

calling of Jesus Christ. We need to keep our eyes on Jesus.

You know, most of us have done things in our past for which we're ashamed,

and we live in between what we have been and what we want to be.

However, because our hope is in Jesus, we can let go of past guilt and move

on with determination to what God will help us become.

We can look forward to a fuller and more meaningful life because of our hope in Christ.

Oftentimes, we go up and down in our relationship with Christ.

Yes, there's going to be those lows in our relationship with Christ.

There's going to be lows in disobedience.

But our eventual path should be constantly upward, moving in likeness of Christ.

In the Olympics, only one person can be called the winner of a race.

But as Christians, there can be many winners.

And all Christians may receive a reward. In the Olympics, only one person receives the gold medal.

But as Christians, we all receive a crown.

Furthermore, the rewards of an Olympian will eventually fade away,

but the crown Christ gives will never fade.

The important thing is that we reach the goal that Christ has set for us.

No matter how successful we may be in the eyes of man, we cannot be rewarded

unless we take hold of that for which Christ has taken hold of us.

So far, we've seen four essentials for gold medal living, dissatisfaction,

dedication, direction, and

determination. The fifth essential for gold medal living is discipline.

Discipline is that inner working to do things right and well.

In our text this morning, it says that let us live up to what we have already attained.

Let's live up to being like Christ. Let's live up to the life of Christ.

Remember, I remember watching a race one time, and one of the runners was disqualified

for breaking the rules. You've probably seen this many times.

This runner false started twice by beginning to run before the gun went off.

He was not disciplined enough to play by the rules.

He was wanting to get an edge on everybody else, and therefore he was disqualified

from the competition. 2 Corinthians 2, verse 5 tells us that if any time.

2 Corinthians 2:5

If anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless

he competes according to the rules.

The issue is not what the athlete thinks or what the spectators think.

It's what the judges say. The Bible tells us, Romans 14, verses 10 through 12,

Romans 14:10–12

we will all stand before God's judgment seat.

It is written, as surely as I live, says the Lord, every knee will bow before

me, every tongue will confess to God.

The Greek word used in that text for judgment or judgment seat is the very same

Greek word used to describe the place where the Olympic judges give out their

rewards. It is a judgment seat.

If we have disciplined ourselves to obey the rules, to remain a Christian,

we will receive a reward.

Wonder how many Christians will be disqualified from the race for not being

disciplined enough to follow the rules and become like Christ.

Hebrews chapter 12 verses 1 and 2 tells us to throw off everything that hinders

Hebrews 12:1

and the sin that so easily entangles and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith,

who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame,

and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Apostle Paul followed up on this thinking by telling us about those who

were not winners in the race for eternity.

In our passage this morning, he said, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their destiny is destruction, Their God is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame.

Their mind is on earthly things.

When our eyes are not on the prize of being like Christ, then self begins to take hold.

We begin to look at ourself, and as we all know, the root of all sin is self.

And then the final, but really the most important essential for gold medal living is desire.

You see, without desire, none of the other five essentials will happen.

Desire is the magic power that makes an athlete and a Christian strive for more.

It is desire that causes a person to be dissatisfied with the way things are,

with the status quo. It is desire that causes one to be dedicated to a purpose

or goal. It is desire that gives us direction.

It is desire that leads a person to become determined.

It is desire that drives one on to be disciplined.

No one else can have desire for us. It is something that is in us.

It is that personal motivation that grows into an intense fire that fuels us

to go on to become who we can be.

It is that intense burning desire.

Desire determines the quality of our action.

Desire begins with a wish to accomplish something or to become something.

It grows to a will to accomplish and flourishes into a desire to achieve that

drives us toward our goals.

It kind of sounds like thoughts produce feelings, feelings produce actions,

actions have consequences, right?

When your heart and your soul are wrapped up in something, you are consumed by it.

On the wall in our cross-country locker room in our high school was this poster.

Oops, I don't have it on there, do I?

The most important qualification to be a champion in any sport is an intense, burning desire.

What do you desire to do?

This stands true as well for those who would be champion followers of Jesus.

Paul shared this desire with us earlier in the third chapter of Philippians

when he wrote, Whatever was to my profit, I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.

What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness

of knowing Christ, Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things.

I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of

sharing in his suffering, becoming like him in his death, and so somehow to

attain to the resurrection from the dead.

So what is your desire this morning? How strong is that desire in your faith?

And what will it lead you to do and become?

And everything you say and do is Christ first and foremost.

Is he your goal?

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, as we think of this, we need to be like Paul,

constantly striving forward, not resting in the successes or the achievements

that we've had, but pressing on toward that which has called us heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Father, we thank you that we can be your kids and that you love your kids,

but you don't want to leave your kids where you found us.

You want us to grow and become like you in Jesus' name. Amen.