<\/p>\n
(This sermon on 2 Timothy 2:3 was preached 8\/3\/2008. For a version that is easier to print, click here<\/a>. The audio is available here<\/a>.)<\/small><\/p>\n <\/small>Have you ever stepped out in faith? Have you ever made a hard decision, decided, \u201cYes I will follow God!\u201d? What happened next?<\/p>\n We love stories like that which continue: \u201cAnd it didn\u2019t seem possible, but by God\u2019s grace I was able to do it!\u201d<\/p>\n Praise God for such stories. Praise God for that way of displaying His faithfulness.<\/p>\n But do you also love stories that proceed differently? What if the rest of the story is: \u201cI fell flat on my face.\u201d Or \u201cthere was a great deal of pain and suffering, and no success that I could discern.\u201d<\/p>\n Think of the Apostle Paul in that regard.<\/p>\n Paul wrote his 2nd<\/sup> letter to Timothy from prison. He was cold. Several former co-laborers were now ashamed of him; they did not want to have their names associated with him. So they deserted him. At his preliminary trial, no one came to his defense. He knew his legal case was hopeless; his execution would come soon.<\/p>\n His is not a story that, on the face of it, inspires confidence. Indeed, Paul even reminds Timothy of his persecutions and sufferings.<\/p>\n But he doesn\u2019t say, \u201cI\u2019ve made mistakes in being too public, in irritating religious and government officials, in inviting persecution. Be careful to avoid persecution so you can have a fruitful ministry.\u201d<\/p>\n Quite the contrary. He says, \u201call who want to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted\u201d (2 Timothy 3:12). And he tells him:<\/p>\n Do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God (1:8).<\/span><\/p>\n Furthermore, <\/span>he tells him, \u201cShare in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus\u201d (2 Timothy 2:3).<\/span><\/p>\n Paul tells Timothy to expect pain and, in a sense, to embrace suffering.<\/p>\n What should we expect in our own lives?<\/p>\n Surely we should expect that pain and suffering are a normal part of some Christians\u2019 lives. That much is clear. But Christians over the years have made at least two big mistakes when thinking about pain.<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Some have said: \u201cPain is a necessary step to becoming like Christ. <\/span>So I should pursue pain! I should seek pain.\u201d With this in mind, over the centuries, some have whipped themselves, or sat on poles, or gone to other extremes. That is NOT the biblical message.<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Much more prominent in our country today is the second mistake: That is, saying, \u201cOf course, Paul suffered, Jesus suffered, and Timothy was going to have to suffer. The political powers of their day opposed them. But today, we don\u2019t face such persecution by our government, and God wants us to be free from pain. He wants us to prosper. Just believe! Have faith! And He will give you good success.\u201d<\/p>\n This morning, I want to approach this subject of pain via the analogy between running and living the Christian life. For pain plays an important role in running. Someone who says, \u201cMy life should be free from pain; I should avoid anything that will cause me pain,\u201d will never succeed as a runner. However, that\u2019s also true of the one who seeks pain. He, too, will fail as a runner.<\/p>\n This is our second sermon in a brief series on \u201cRunning the Race of Faith.\u201d Last week, I asked: Are you a runner? We highlighted the importance of knowing your identity, who are you at the core. This is a necessary step to knowing your GOAL, what you aim at. Then we looked at three aspects of discipline to achieve the goal, to become what you are:<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Discipline in the type of training<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Discipline in your consistency of training<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Discipline in all areas of life<\/p>\n Today we continue these thoughts about discipline in training before looking at racing over the following three weeks. We\u2019ll consider this topic under three headings:<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Maintain discipline in training despite the pain<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Discipline yourself NOT to run<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>Rejoice while you train<\/p>\n As we noted, Paul tells Timothy: \u201cShare in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.\u201d<\/p>\n All of you who have run regularly know there is some degree of pain involved. Certainly all of you who have run on a track or cross country team know a great deal of pain is involved.<\/p>\n Interval training is one important part of preparation for distance runners. <\/span>When running intervals, athletes run for a particular distance — say one lap, 1\/4 of a mile <\/span>then rest for about 90 seconds, then run again. This allows the body to run a cumulative distance of, say, two miles much faster than would be possible by running with no rest. But about halfway through a workout like this, if you are running hard, lactic acid begins to build up in your muscles, legs begin to get stiff, and maintaining pace becomes difficult \u2013 and, at times, painful. This is the whole point of the workout \u2013teaching your body to run well in race conditions, when your muscles begin to get stiff and tired. Completing the workout is key to reaping its benefits.<\/p>\n Interval work at sea level is tough, but it is even tougher at altitude, where each gasp of air provides less oxygen. When I was teaching high school in Kenya in 1977, I coached track and cross country. Our school was at an elevation of 5000′. I well remember a workout one hot afternoon, when I had scheduled seven intervals of 330 yards for my athletes. After they finished the sixth, I could tell they were tiring, so I encouraged them: “Good job! You’re doing great! Just one more, and we’ll be done for the day!” My best runner Joseph replied, addressing me by the Swahili word for teacher: “No, Mwalimu, we are too tired, we can run no more.” I responded, “Yes, Joseph, you are tired — it’s almost the end of the workout, you’re supposed to be tired. Running when you’re tired makes you stronger!” “No, no, Mwalimu,” Joseph replied, “running when we’re tired doesn’t make us stronger. Running when we’re tired only makes us more tired.”<\/p>\n We often feel that way in the Christian life. \u201cI\u2019m tired, Lord. How can I keep going? There\u2019s no benefit to my continuing. There\u2019s no point in going on.\u201d It doesn\u2019t seem like this pain can produce anything worthwhile.<\/p>\n But Paul tells Timothy in his first letter:<\/p>\n Train yourself for godliness; <\/span>8 for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come. <\/span>9 The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance. <\/span>10 For to this end we toil and strive, because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the Savior of all people, especially of those who believe. (1 Timothy 4:7-10) <\/span><\/p>\n Becoming godly, becoming a person whose focus is on Christ, requires training. It does not happen automatically when we place our faith in Jesus. It requires TOIL. It requires striving (another athletic word for competing in event).<\/p>\n But Paul does not only emphasize the pain. He also says, It\u2019s worth it! Unlike athletic training, which is valuable in this life but not in the new heavens and the new earth, training in godliness is of value FOR ETERNITY. So it\u2019s worth a lot of temporal pain, because Jesus is our hope, both now and for all eternity.<\/p>\n The pain of interval training is worth it \u2013 in part because it is a necessary step towards achieving our goal of winning the race.<\/p>\n The pain of growing in godliness is worth it \u2013 in part because that pain is a necessary step towards achieving our goal of glorifying Him for all eternity.<\/p>\n Let me note two other New Testament passages that make similar points:<\/p>\n Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, <\/span>3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. <\/span>4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4) <\/span><\/p>\n Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. <\/span>3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, <\/span>4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, <\/span>5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:2-5) <\/span><\/p>\n Do you see the same general idea in these passages? When we go through the pain of trials, of suffering, we can rejoice \u2013 Why? The reason given in both passages is that the pain, the suffering produces results. Such trials produce steadfastness and endurance. This proves our character \u2013 this shows that we really belong to Jesus, that we really value Him above all temporal pleasures. This, in turn, solidifies our hope in God \u2013 and this hope is indeed certain.<\/p>\n So in pain, in suffering, we can have confidence that God is at work \u2013<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>That we will grow in grace, as we lean on Him and cry out to Him<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>That He will make us more like Him through this suffering<\/p>\n \u00b7 <\/span><\/span>That He, indeed, will glorify Himself through our suffering.<\/p>\n The runner\u2019s pain in interval training enables him to become a faster runner. Our pain in the Christian life leads to our spiritual growth<\/p>\n So maintain discipline in training despite the pain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A good coach knows that sometimes he has to stop his athletes from running. He has to make them slow down, or take some time off.<\/p>\n Some athletes discipline themselves to run through pain so often that they quit listening to their bodies. In a strange parallel with those who try to become Christlike by inflicting pain on themselves, these runners train too hard, putting themselves through pain foolishly \u2013 and they end up getting slower, not faster.<\/p>\n A good runner MUST distinguish between different types of pain:<\/p>\n 1) <\/span>The normal pain of sore muscles, of tiredness. Every runner must discipline himself to work through such pain.<\/p>\n 2) <\/span>The pain of a muscle about to tear, of a tendon that\u2019s inflamed, or of a knee that\u2019s injured. That sort of pain needs attention \u2013 and that attention includes rest.<\/p>\n At this year\u2019s Olympic Trials, Tyson Gay, the winner of the 100m and a gold medal favorite in the Beijing 200m, experienced a hamstring cramp halfway into the 200m quarterfinal. He stopped. He had to stop. He actually fell. He got ice on it immediately, had it massaged, and did some mild stretching. <\/span>He then eased back into running over the course of a few days. Apparently, he is fine now. Of course, he did not qualify in his best event, but he will still run the 100m and the sprint relay.<\/p>\n Imagine what would have happened if the day after his injury, Tyson Gay had said, \u201cI\u2019ve got to discipline myself to run through pain! I\u2019ve got to go down to the track and run some hard 200\u2019s, to get myself ready!\u201d<\/p>\n What would have happened? He probably would have torn his hamstring. He would not have been able to compete in any event at the Games.<\/p>\n The day after his injury, the best way to train his body to achieve his goal was to rest.<\/p>\n Do you see the distinction? An athlete does not SEEK PAIN for the sake of pain. The pain he experiences serves a purpose. If continuing to run will decrease the likelihood of his achieving his goal, he stops running. He stops the pain.<\/p>\n The point in training is not: \u201cMake yourself hurt!\u201d The point is: \u201cRun smart. Train smart. Hurt when necessary. But focus on preparing yourself for the race.\u201d<\/p>\n In the Christian life: This is the error of those who seek pain, who think there is something spiritual in suffering. But Paul did not tell Timothy, \u201cGo suffer! Any way you can think of, suffer!\u201d He told him, \u201cshare in suffering for the gospel!\u201d <\/strong>That is: \u201cIf faithfully living out and proclaiming the Gospel leads to suffering, accept it joyfully! Know that God will use that, in your life and in the lives of others.\u201d<\/p>\n But your lying on a bed of nails is not necessary to proclaim the gospel. Instead, it\u2019s foolishness. It\u2019s ultimately self-exalting and pride-increasing through a false humility, as Paul says in Colossians 2:23:<\/p>\n These [rules] have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh.<\/p>\n So discipline involves enduring pain. Discipline also involves avoiding some pain. The key distinction is: Does the pain advance my goal? Once again, this highlights the importance of knowing who you are, and thereby knowing your goal. (We\u2019ll discuss this topic in more detail in the sermon two weeks from today.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n We\u2019ve already highlighted the biblical commands from James 1 and Romans 5 to rejoice in suffering. Those passages emphasize that we are to rejoice because of the way we will grow through suffering. Pain and suffering lead to endurance, to steadfastness, to proven character, to hope. Pain thus helps us achieve our goal. The same is true in running: The pain of interval training is a means to getting faster.<\/p>\n Interval training was my least favorite type of workout in high school and college. Actually, that\u2019s not a strong enough statement. I hated interval training. I knew it was necessary. I would work hard at it. But I saw it as a necessary evil. So for first twelve or thirteen years after college, when I was coaching myself, I ran many hard workouts, but very few intervals. I tried to convince myself that focusing on races from 10 miles to the marathon, I didn\u2019t need to do intervals on the track.<\/p>\n When I was about 35, however, I started training with the Williams College track team, coached by Pete Farwell. Pete is an excellent coach, and I learned a tremendous amount from him. By this point, I was competing rarely, and only in low key meets. I knew I would never again run as fast as I had in the past. But I started running intervals quite a bit \u2013 without any race in mind. Just running.<\/p>\n And my whole attitude towards interval training changed. I wrote the following at age 37:<\/p>\n I run intervals now because I love it. I love to feel my body grow tired, I love to focus on maintaining speed and effort despite tightness and pain, I love to work through all that, to be mentally tough, to complete a hard workout. There’s no real goal now — just enjoyment of the work. The process has become the goal.<\/span><\/p>\n If that had been true for me at age 20, I would have been a faster runner. More than that: I would have lived out much more fully what it means to be a runner. Only someone who knows he is a runner can make that statement.<\/p>\n Do you see the difference in the two ways of thinking about interval training? The first considers it a necessary evil, a means to achieving the goal. In the second, you enjoy the interval training itself; you take joy in the process, knowing that this is part of the fulfillment of who you are.<\/p>\n There\u2019s a scene In the best running movie ever made, Chariots of Fire, that brings out this truth. The time is 1923 or 1924. The Scottish sprinter Eric Liddell grew up in China in a missionary family, and plans to return to China to devote himself to missions. While he is back home studying, he has become one of Scotland\u2019s best runners. His sister Jenny fears he that all this running success is causing him to lose his focus, to forget about China. She reminds him that God made him for the purpose of missions. Eric replies:<\/p>\n Jenny, Jenny: I believe God made me for [that] purpose, but He also made me fast. And when I run I feel His pleasure.<\/p>\nMaintain Discipline in Training Despite the Pain<\/h1>\n
Discipline Yourself NOT to Run<\/h1>\n
Rejoice While You Train<\/h1>\n