HOW TO WIN THE CHRISTIAN RACE

(ECC. 9:11)
INTRODUCTION:
1. Good morningI hope that you are having a wonderful day.
My name is Keith, and I have been invited here today to talk to
you about "How to Win the Christian Race."
2. Did you knowthat when you were born, you were given life.
And this life, according to the Bible, is like a race.

"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the
faith" (2 Tim. 4:7).

3. You seeas Christians, life is like a race. How is life like a

race?
a. Life like a race has a challenging course (life has its ups and
downs).
b. Life like a race has a judge or judges. Jesus is our judge.
c. Life like a race has a finish line (In the end, we will spend
eternity either in heaven or hell).
4. Life is like a raceListenYou and I as believers in the Lord
Jesus Christ are created by God to win this raceto be
winners in the Lordto one day stand in eternity robed in
righteousness, wearing a crown of glory, and blessed with
eternal honors and rewards.

"For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory
that has overcome the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4).

5. How would you like to win the Christian race? Be victorious

in the Lord?

TODAY, I AM GOING TO SHARE WITH

YOU SOME PRINCIPLES ON HOW TO
WIN THE CHRISTIAN RACE.
BEFORE I PROVIDE THESE
PRINCIPLES, I NEED TO CLARIFY A
FEW THINGS
I.

FROM THE WORLD'S

PERSPECTIVE, WHAT DOES IT
TAKE TO BE A WINNER?

1. From the world's perspective, winning is based upon

a. Intelligence - The smarter you are, the more academic awards
you will receive.
b. Athletic ability - Only the fasteststrongestbest athletes
receive the gold medal.
c. Wealth - Success is measured upon how much money you
have or fame that you have acquired.
2. From the world's perspective, winning is based upon
intelligence, wealth, and athletic ability.

II. FROM GOD'S PERSPECTIVE,

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO BE A
WINNER?

"I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift
or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to
the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to
them all" (Ecc. 9:11).

1. From God's perspective, winning is not based upon speed

(swift), strength (strong), intelligence (wise), and wealth.
2. From God's perspective, winning is based upon our effort to
please God. We win when we do the best we can to please
God.
3. The world views a person as successful if they're the
best...number onehead of the class. But God is more
concerned with you doing your best to honor Him.

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the
Lord, not for men" (Col. 3:23).

4. If you want to win the Christian racethe Christian life and

become champions, then you must do your best for God.

ILLUSTRATION:
Britain's Derek Redmond had dreamed all his life of winning a
gold medal in the 400-meter race, and his dream was in sight as
he ran in the semifinals at Barcelona Olympics of 1992.
He was running the race of his life and was nearing the finish
line when all of a sudden he felt a sharp pain go up the back of
his leg. He fell face first onto the track with a torn right
hamstring.
As the doctors were approaching, Redmond fought to his feet
and began hopping to the finish line.
When he reached the stretch, a large man in a T-shirt came out
of the stands, brushed aside a security guard and ran to
Redmond, embracing him. It was Jim Redmond, Derek's father.
"You don't have to do this," he told his weeping son. "Yes, I do,"
said Derek. "Well, then," said Jim, "we're going to finish this
together."
And they did. Fighting off security men, the son's head
sometimes buried in his father's shoulder, they stayed in Derek's
lane all the way to the end, as the crowd rose and clapped and
wept. Derek didn't walk away with the gold medal, but he was a
winner because he did His best.
5. Young people, from God's perspective, winning is not based
upon being number oneYou win when you do your best to
please God.

III. NOW, I AM GOING TO SHARE

SOME PRINCIPLES ON HOW TO
WIN THE CHRISTIAN RACE.
A. FIRST, TO WIN THE CHRISTIAN
RACE, YOU MUST RUN WITH
CONFIDENCE (SELF-WORTH).
1. You will never become a champion until you see yourself as a
champion. As Christians, you are champions and winners in
the Lord. You are WORTH a lot to God.
2. Listenthe Bible tells you how important you are.
a. You are children of God.

(1 Jn. 3:1) "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that
we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!"

(1) You are a child of GodYou are related to the creator of the
World. Wow! If anyone ever tells you that you are not worth
much--don't believe it. Tell them that you are a child of God;
you belong to a royal family.
(2) You have a Father who loves and cherishes youeven
though at times you sin against Him.

ILLUSTRATION:
One day when I was 8 years old, I was in my living room
practicing my pitching style for the big game that night. And
while I was in one of my windups I accidentally let go of the
baseball which turned out to be a perfect Nolan Ryan fastball
that went smoking right into my father's face. After the ball hit
my father, I told my dad that I was sorry.
However, he was so angry, that he jumped out of his chair and
raced over and gave me one of the worst spankings that I ever
received.
(3) Some people think that God is like my father. They think that
God is quick to become angry with us when we make a
mistake and that He no longer loves us. However, the truth is
that when we make a mistake, God is patient with us, slow to
anger, and forgiving.

The Bible says in (Ps. 103:8-11) "The LORD is compassionate and

gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. He will not always accuse,
nor will He harbor His anger forever; He does not treat us as our sins
deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the
heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear
him."

(4) Your Heavenly Father is so wonderfulthat even when you

make a mistakeHe loves you and cherishes you. Although
my Father gave me a spanking, he still loved me.
3. What I am trying to say to you is thisTo win the Christian
race, you must run with confidence (self worth)you must
value yourselfunderstand that you are special to Godyou
are worth a lot to Himbecause you are His child.

4. Too many young people walk around looking and acting like
failures. They live defeated lives because they do not value
themselves (like or think positively about themselves).
5. If you want to win the Christian race, you must every day
remind yourself of who you are. You are a child of God. You
are not a loseryou are a winner.
6. When you start valuing yourself the way God values you
then you will be on fire for the Lord. You will live passionate
spiritual lives and will be on your way to winning the Christian
race.

B. SECOND, TO WIN THE CHRISTIAN

RACE, YOU MUST RUN WITH THE
RIGHT MOTIVATION.
1. Why do you want to be a Christian? Why should you live
your life for God and follow His will?

Heaven.
The Christian life is the best life.

2. Those are all excellent reasons to want to live your life for
God.
3. One of the greatest motivating factors for living your life for
the Lord is the GRACE OF GOD.

"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not
without effect. No, I worked harder than all of themyet not I, but the
grace of God that was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10).

4. The apostle Paul was motivated to live his life for God and
work hard in serving Jesus Christ because of the GRACE OF
GOD. To Paul, the greatest thing in all the world was the
grace of God, the fact that God loved him so muchthat God
forgave his terrible sinsthat God allowed him to follow and
serve His sonthat God allowed him to proclaim the death
and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ.
5. All that Paul was and all that Paul did was by the grace, the
undeserved favor of God. As he himself declared: "by the
grace of God I am what I am."

6. A big motivating factor that should inspire you to live good

Christian livesto run the Christian race is the grace of
God.
7. What is the grace of God?
a. Simplythe Bible says that "the wages of sin is death" (Rom.
3:23). When you sin, you deserve death (because sin is an
offense against God and must be punished). However, God
had a plan to help you be forgiven of your sins. God,
mercifully sent His Son, Jesus, to die on the cross to take
away your sins. Paul says, "God demonstrates His own love
for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us"
(Rom. 5:8).
b. Because of your sins, you deserve to die. However, Jesus
died in your place so that you may live forever. Jesus gave
His life to give you life.

ILLUSTRATION:
There is a true story about a little boy (named Johnny) whose
sister (Mary) needed a blood transfusion.
The doctor asked Johnny if he would give his blood to his sister.
The little boy hesitated. His lower lip started to tremble. Then
he smiled, Sure, for my sister.
Soon the two children were wheeled into the hospital room-Mary, pale and thin; Johnny, robust and healthy. Neither spoke,
but when their eyes met, Johnny grinned.
As the nurse inserted the needle into his arm, Johnnys smile
faded. He watched the blood flow through the tube. With the
ordeal almost over, his voice, slightly shaky, broke the silence.
Doctor, when do I die?
Only then did the doctor realize why Johnny had hesitated, why
his lip had trembled when hed agreed to donate his blood. Hed
thought giving his blood to his sister meant giving up his life.
Fortunately, Johnny didnt have to die to save his sister.
However, Jesus diedgave up His lifegave up His blood to
save you from your sins.
8. Why should you live your life for God and follow His will?
You should live your life for God because He loved you so
much that He sent His Son to die on the cross to save you
from your sins! The grace that He shows you should
motivate you to run the Christian race with all of your heart!

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C. THIRD, TO WIN THE CHRISTIAN

RACE, YOU MUST TURN
SETBACKS INTO COMEBACKS.
ILLUSTRATION:
In 1996, Lance Armstrong was diagnosed with cancer. Doctors
gave him only a 50% chance of survival since the cancer had
spread to his brain and lungs.
But after four rounds of chemotherapy and two operations,
Armstrong turned his setback into a comeback.
Only three years after being diagnosed with life-threatening
cancer, Lance Armstrong won one of sports' most grueling
cycling events--the Tour de France.
1. In your life, you will experience setbackssome setbacks
may be emotional and some may be physical and some may
be spiritual. When they come, don't get angry and bitter,
instead, turn your setbacks into comebacks.
2. The Christian life is by far the best life to live, however, it is
not a problem-free life. When difficult times arise, God gives
you the ability to overcome your problems. You can triumph
over your problemsjust like Lance Armstrong did.
3. Do you know why you experience trials and tribulations?
God's purpose in trials is maturity.

"Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:4).

4. As you suffer, you will develop perseverance; and

perseverance will build maturity and maturity will produce

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character. So suffering is designed to make you a better

person not a bitter person.
5. How do you rebound from setbacks?
a. Trust in God.

According to (Proverbs 3:5-6) and other passages, you

should put your trust in God and depend on Him when you
experience a setback. You can choose to rely on yourself, but
doesn't it make more sense to place your faith in the one who
created you? Just as a head coach is the best person to
direct his team, so is God able to guide you through your
trials.

b. Pray and believe that God can help you.

In the words of the Apostle Paul in (Philippians 4:6-7), we are

to pray about all of our circumstances, "Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with
thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Give your
problems to God in prayer and trust that in His own time and
way, He will help you.

c. Choose to be joyful.

Happiness depends on circumstances, but joy can happen in

spite of a difficult situation. Happiness is a feeling, but joy is
an attitude. The pain you encounter in life is unavoidable, but
misery is optional. You can choose to be joyful.
A joyful attitude is essential when rebounding from setbacks.
James says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you
face trials of many kinds" (James 1:2).
When setbacks come, give thanks to the Lord and adopt a
joyful attitude.

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CONCLUSION:
1. My young friends, your future looks bright.
2. To win the Christian race,

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