Bible Talks - Sunday Night Church

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Bible Talk Text


When the Going Gets Tough
The Athens Olympics were well under way, and Australia was doing well in the only thing that seems to matter at this huge sport-fest – winning medals – when something almost unthinkable happened: An Australian athlete appeared to quit mid race.
With 400m remaining in the women's eight final, 23-year-old Sally Robbins suddenly quit, to the astonishment of everyone watching. While the team was never in medal contention, when Robbins slumped in her boat and let her oar dip into the water - Australia finished last.
Robbins blamed her collapse on exhaustion after the gruelling first 1600m of the race on the hottest day of the year in Athens, but despite this, she coped a huge amount of criticism from team mates and others after the race, with the main comments centering around the fact that in elite sport, you just don’t let your mates down, you just don’t quite, you don’t give up – no matter what.

Now in any sort of sport, there's a simple rule. If you don't finish… you don't win.
If you're not ready to do the hard yards… you might as well not start.
If you're not going to train hard, if you're not going to run to win, then you're not really in the race.

And according to the apostle Paul here in 1 Corinthians 9 and 10, that's how it is in the Christian life as well. If you're going to throw in the towel as soon as it gets tough, then you're not really in it at all.
Which is what he wants the Christians in Corinth to know, that no matter how strong the cultural headwinds, they're called to be different.
That no matter how strong the opposition, they're called to keep going.
That no matter how seductive the temptation, they’re meant to ignore it. No matter how tough the testing, they've got to see themselves like athletes in training. Running to win – no matter what.
Which is how it is for Paul himself. Take a look at 9:25-26. He says, everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training – it’s a serious business. Back then at Corinth it was the Isthmian Games every two years. You couldn't even enter unless you'd trained for 8 months. 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.
He says if an athlete is going to go through all that self discipline, all that self denial, all the hard yards just for a crown of leaves, how come we Christians are complaining as soon as the going gets tough? As soon as we're called to say no to something because we're Christian.

For the Christians in Corinth we're going to see this is all about cutting out their compromising with their old life.
For Paul, if you think back over the last few weeks in 1 Corinthians, it's about constantly putting other people first.
He says, how hard are you prepared to go at it? As for me, he says, v26, I'm running to win. As for me, I'm serious. He says, I don't run like a man running aimlessly. I'm heading somewhere. He says, I don't row like Sally Robbins; I want to make it count. I'm not fighting like a man beating the air. I'm in training. Beating my body into submission. Making it my slave. So I'm in there to the finish line, and not disqualified for the prize.

Paul's running like he's in it to win it. Which is an example the Corinthians – and ourselves - need to take to heart, because if they're not careful, they're going to join the ranks of famous non-finishers.

1. Famous Non-finishers
Do you know anyone like that? The sort of person who'll start almost anything, and finish almost nothing. Half read books. Half finished woodwork project.
Well, in the first half of chapter 10, Paul wants us to learn from the example of some of the most famous non-finishers of all: The people of Israel. Our forefathers in the faith. Who were great starters, and very poor finishers.
Who started out on a journey to the promised land; chosen by God. God leading the way in a cloud. Taking them through the Red Sea on dry land. Showering them with food. Water from a rock in the desert. And yet most of them didn't make it. Because they pulled out too soon. Because when the going got tough, they gave up on God, and looked for other options instead. When the going got tough they complained.
When it got tough being different to the people around them, they threw in the towel. And so for a whole generation of them, they didn't make it to the promised land at all. Disqualified. 10:5... They all came out of Egypt. They all came through the Red Sea. “nevertheless”, v5, “with most of them God was not pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”
These Israelites are the most famous non-finishers of all. And they're meant to serve as an example. A warning for anyone who wants to be a ‘she'll be right mate’ sort of Christian. For anyone who wants to have an each way bet. For the sort of Christian who says, well maybe I'm okay because I've been baptised and I come along to church every time I can and I make a special effort for special events.
Well, says Paul, look at Israel. They were kind of baptised too, v2, when they came through the Red Sea. They kind of had their sacraments. And look what happened. v6… “Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.”
Do you notice down in v11 and he says exactly the same thing again. A bit like bookends. “Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come.”
We Christians… we're at the end point of God's plans, and yet we need to take warning from Israel, and we need to do that in four ways.
Four ways that are especially relevant for the Corinthians, who if you remember are up against two big issues:
A church where people are playing with sexual immorality.
A church where there's this ongoing issue of what you do about the local idol temple. (Which we saw last time was kind of like the local butchers shop and the local Hogs Breath Restaurant all in one.) Where the done thing, the social thing was to go down there on a Saturday night and join in the fun. You'd have the sacrifice, you'd cook it up, and you'd party. And let me tell you, they didn't call it pagan revelry for nothing.

And some of the Christians in Corinth are saying, "What's the big deal?" I mean, we go along to church on a Sunday. What's the big deal if we party at the Temple on Saturday night? Eat the Idol Feast. Have some fun.
We've seen the issue before. Back in chapter 8. Though in this case it's slightly more pointed. Not just eating meat from the temple butcher shop. But actually joining in.
Well, follow it point by point. Four warnings from history:

1. V7. Do not be idolaters as some of them were. Back in Exodus 32, the Israelites As it is written. It's. Moses has been up the hill for a while, and the people say, let's make some gods. They knock up a golden calf. And they throw a party. Paul quotes from Exodus 32:6. The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.
Well, you know. One thing leads to another.

2. V8. Warning number 2. Christians don't do that stuff. He says we shouldn't commit sexual immorality as some of them did. And in one day 23,000 of them died because of it. Under God's judgement in the wilderness.

3. We shouldn't test the lord.. as some of them did. V9 They're impatient. They say, we preferred it in Egypt. What's God think he's doing? And were killed by snakes.

4. And v10. Don't grumble as some of them did. Referring to Numbers 16. They grumble against Moses. Just like the Corinthians are grumbling against Paul. And hundreds die in a plague. Killed, Paul says, by the destroying angel.

So there's the warnings:
Idolatry, sexual immorality, and grumbling against God and their leader leads Israel into disaster after disaster.
They don't finish the race. And in Corinth, they're making exactly the same mistakes. And they're saying "no worries."

To which Paul says, two things, anticipating two possible responses.

2. Overconfidence… or Underconfidence?
He says, be careful. But don't be a defeatist.
Don't say you've got it licked easily. But equally, don't say it's too hard.
He says this, bome of them are smug. “No worries Paul. I mean, we're not as stupid as the Israelites.” They say pride comes before a fall. I'll always remember a particularly embarrassing moment when I used to ride motorbikes. It was at a church camp, and I had just got myself a second-hand Honda 750cc K1 – a very desirable bike in those days. I was done up in my leathers, the sun was rising over the hills behind me, and shining on the crowd who were admiring the ease and grace and style of the perfect TV commercial moment. And as I turned on the grass to head out the gate, the front wheel slid out from under me. And everything came crashing down. Nothing hurt but my pride. And a $200 dent in the tank of the Honda. But a classic case of v12.
So if you think you are standing firm, if you're riding tall in the saddle… be careful you don't fall - there's no room for complacent Christianity.
But at the same time, don't say it's just too hard.
Talking to a guy one day when I was at another church. He used to be a Christian; but now he's got a job. And the guys he was working with were tough, knockabout blokes. So when he’s asked the question "Are you still hanging in as a Christian?" he was quite direct. "Nah. Too hard." He said, "The sort of blokes I'm working with, it's just not on. No way I can keep living like a Christian… in the job I've got."
Which is nonsense! I mean, if you're a Christian in Corinth and all your mates are heading off for some food and fun at the idol temple, sure it's hard. But that's why you're meant to be in training. Don't whinge about it! That's what we're here for. V13, you're not somehow special just because things are a bit tough. No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. It's tough for all of us.

There's a sign on the wall at the gym I used to attend. It says ‘go hard or go home’. And that's what Paul says here. It's tough saying no. But that's what you're here for.
Besides which, he says, there's always a way to say no if you want to. Guaranteed. God is faithful. He won't let you be tested beyond what you can bear. The end of v13 - When you're under test, when you're tempted, he'll also provide a way out so you can stand up under it. Unless of course, you're still really looking for a way in.
So, what's it going to be?
Paul says, as for me, I'm running to win. What's it going to be for you? Whatever your temptation? Overconfident? Or too hard - thinking your temptation is way worse than anyone else’s?

3. Run Away…
You know, sometimes the best way to run hard when it comes to temptation is to run away. Which is actually Paul's advice as he closes the section.
The trouble with the Corinthians is they want to keep flirting with trouble. They want to have an each way bet. They want to be Sunday Christians and Monday Aphrodite worshippers. Which just isn't on.
They want to argue away the problem. ‘Idols are just blocks of wood; they're not real, so it doesn't matter if we join in with the crowd.’
And so they want to join in the Lord's Supper and count themselves united with Christ; and then join in the idol feasts as well.
Which Paul says is the dumbest sounding excuse for unfaithfulness and compromise he's ever heard!
They're just making excuses. Instead of running away. V14; therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry.
He says, I'm talking to sensible people; you're not idiots. Judge for yourselves what I say. I mean, it's just not on. You drink the cup and break the bread on a Sunday; you're participating in the body of Christ, in his sacrifice together with his people.
He says, look back at Israel. You join in the meal at the temple after the sacrifice, you're participating in the altar. So don't say it's any different at the idol temple. Not that the idols are gods. They're the opposite. They're demons. They're decoys of the devil.
It’s very easy to swallow the line that all religions lead to God. That all religions are equally true, just worshipping the same God in different ways. Which is the sort of excuse they're probably using.... But, each way bets are not on.
V20, he says, No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And you can't have it both ways.
You can't have a part in both the Lord's table and the table of demons. So make up your minds, and flee, before it's too late.
Flee from idolatry. Flee from sexual immorality. And stop trying to arouse the Lord's jealousy. Like parading your new girlfriend past your old one. If they're doing that, they're underestimating the fact that God is calling for exclusive allegiance.
Now for you and me today, being double minded, having it a bit each way… we're probably not facing issues like eating at the local idol temple. And yet there's a lot that's the same.
The need to just say no to some things, instead of making excuses. To flee sexual immorality, for example. Back then it was easy to make pious sounding excuses. And it is now as well. It's socially acceptable. Paul says, don't make excuses about that sort of thing. I mean, it might be tempting. It might be available. Everyone else might be doing it. But you're an athlete in training. Running to win.
Or are you?
Maybe there are some parties you just shouldn't go to. Maybe there are some movies you just shouldn't even think about seeing. Maybe there are some sorts of friends you just shouldn't mix with. If you're serious.
Maybe there are some places Christians just shouldn't go. Maybe there are some web sites Christians just shouldn't click on. Because we're running to win.

You might not remember the name of Eric Moussambani. He's the guy from Equatorial Guinea who was granted a place in the Sydney Olympics. Eric The Eel. Eric became an overnight celebrity – but probably for the wrong reasons. He was held up by the media here as a kind of hero, a bloke who battled on against great odds.
But his mum wasn't impressed (nor were many in his homeland). She said, I'm surprised. She said, I didn't know Eric cared a hoot for swimming. He quit soccer. He quit basketball. Then he started to run and he quit that too. She said, I think the reason he went in the swimming race is that he mostly wanted to see Sydney, and this way it was a free trip.
And so there he was. All dressed up in his Speedo’s, but struggling to make the finish line in the 100 metres. Dead last. More than a minute behind the winning time.

The Corinthians are being ‘Eric Moussambani’ Christians. Taking it easy. Just in it for the sightseeing along the way. And forgetting that training and discipline is involved.
And maybe you are as well.
In which case, Paul says time to stop making excuses about being half-a-Christian, and make up your mind.
Don't run like you're just running aimlessly.
Don't fight like a man beating the air.
Run like you're running for the prize.