Bible Study To Go

RUN TO WIN PART THREE:
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF THE RACE AND
HOW TO PREPARE TO RUN?
Foundational Verses
“You know that in a race all the runners run but only one wins the prize, don’t you? You must run in such a way that you may be victorious. Everyone who enters an athletic contest practices self-control in everything. They do it to win a wreath that withers away, but we run to win a prize that never fades. That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind. That is the way I fight, not like someone shadow boxing.”
(1 Corinthians 9:24-26 ISV)
“Therefore, having so vast a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, and throwing off everything that hinders us and especially the sin that so easily entangles us, let us keep running with endurance the race set before us, fixing our attention on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of the faith, who, in view of the joy set before him, endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Think about the one who endured such hostility from sinners, so that you may not become tired and give up.”
(Hebrews 12:1-3 ISV)
Focusing On Elements And Preparations To Run
Run To Win Part Three focuses on some of the elements that you will encounter while running the race of life and how to prepare to run the race.
Before going forward, as a brief review, we saw in parts one and two, that the race that we’re in, is both natural and spiritual. We’re born into the natural race and born again into the spiritual race. We’re in the race to love God, love ourselves and love others.
The power to run our natural race is based on natural resources - the help of other people and knowledge and wisdom that can be obtained through our senses and study of purely human material. The power to run our spiritual race is based on spiritual resources that come from the Holy Spirit.
Elements of the Race
The fact that our race is both natural and spiritual and is run on earth in a world of tribulation, means that the race will have natural and spiritual challenges. Some elements we will encounter in our race are:
Based on our foundation verse from Hebrews 12, we will encounter sin. In this context, sin is defined as, “to miss the mark, to wander from the path of righteousness and honor, an offense.” By its very nature, sin takes someone off the path. But, not only does sin take a person off the path, it also gets the person entangled in habits, emotions and thoughts that can keep them off the path.
Sin has the ability to entangle us in various things that will cause us to, not only get off target, but to also keep us off target. Sin also has the ability to put a weight on us which can make us tired, drain our endurance and temp us to give up on the race.
“12 God will bless you, if you don’t give up when your faith is being tested. He will reward you with a glorious life,[a] just as he rewards everyone who loves him. 13 Don’t blame God when you are tempted! God cannot be tempted by evil, and he doesn’t use evil to tempt others. 14 We are tempted by our own desires that drag us off and trap us. 15 Our desires make us sin, and when sin is finished with us, it leaves us dead. 16 Don’t be fooled, my dear friends.” (James 1: 12-16)
Preparing for the Race
As 1 Corinthians 9: 24 states, “You must run in such a way that you may be victorious.” Again using the foundational verses, we have to:

Practice Self-Control In Everything
Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training…
(1 Corinthians 9: 24 NIV)

Have A Clear Goal In Mind
That is the way I run, with a clear goal in mind….
(1 Corinthians 9: 26 ISV)

Throw Off Everything That Hinders Us
We should remove from our lives anything that would slow us down…
(Hebrews 12: 1 ERV)

Fix Our Attention Firmly On Jesus
We must never stop looking to Jesus
(Hebrews 12: 2 ERV)