VICTORY IN MINISTRY

Stephen Olford reminds us in his book authored with his son, David, of the discipline required to finish our service for the Lord victoriously: 

“If anyone competes in athletics, he is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules” (2:5). The key word in this example is nominos, which must be interpreted in light of the Olympic games. These rules extended not only to the race itself but also to the prescribed training. Indeed, one authority cites the fact that athletes had to state, on oath, that they had fulfilled ten months of training before they were eligible to enter the contests. The three objectives of an athlete were energy, honesty, and victory. First, there was energy. The whole point of disciplined training was to develop stamina, speed, and style. Even more important was the matter of honesty. Severe penalties were imposed on anyone who infringed the rules. Such honesty is also demanded in our day when it comes to competing in sporting events. The delightful and brilliant professional golfer Paul Azinger tells in his autobiography of an occasion when he was well on the way to winning a tournament when he inadvertently infringed a rule. The penalty for this was not one stroke or two strokes, but the entire tournament!1 What would happen to men in the ministry if the same standard of honesty were strictly applied. The apostle Paul took the athlete's type of discipline so seriously that he wrote, “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified” (1 Cor. 9:27). He carried this holy fear right through to his final days on earth: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Tim. 4:7). A preacher needs both physical and spiritual energy; and for this, he has to work out on his feet and on his knees!”  (Anointed Expository Preaching, p.51).