RUNNING THE RIGHT RACE (1)
Ps. 19:4-17; Eccl. 9:11; Matt. 7:18-27; 11:12; 1 Cor. 9:24-27; Heb. 12:1-3
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Hebrews 12:1
I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 1 Corinthians 9:26

INTRODUCTION TO DIFFERENT RACES. ~ Eccl. 9:10-12

¹⁰ Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

¹¹ I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all.

¹² For man also knoweth not his time: as the fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare; so are the sons of men snared in an evil time, when it falleth suddenly upon them.

THE SPIRITUAL GROWTH OF MEMBERS AND THE CHURCH (30)
DIMENSIONS OF GROWTH (22), GROWING IN CHRISTIAN SERVICE (7).

PAUL THE APOSTLE: A CLASSICAL EXAMPLE OF GROWTH IN SERVICE.
For I am the LEAST of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I

LABOURED MORE ABUNDANTLY than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. 1 Corinthians 15:9-10 .
Paul the apostle was indeed an INSTITUTION, A VANGUARD AND VETERAN Christian whose entire life after his conversion was an embodiment of all we need to know about growth in Christian service. A single teaching on him will be a disfavour to the grace bestowed on this luminary spiritual icon. However, we shall attempt to summarize the study as follows:

1. He was captured as an evil genius, a blood thirsty persecutor and an injurious fellow before his encounter with Christ on his destructive mission Acts 7:54, 57-58; 1 Tim 1:13
2. He had the striking salvation experience like we all had no matter our backgrounds. Every sinner is a sinner and salvation to everyone is a striking turnaround. Acts 9:3-9; 22:6-11; 26:12-18
3. Paul spent over ten years in personal retreats, prayers, study of the word and fasting to train and prepare himself for the ministry. Acts 6:4; Gal 1:15-24
4. He graduated from (3) above to outrun his contemporaries who were privileged to study UNDER THE FEET OF JESUS and experienced the Holy Ghost Baptism before him BUT, GRACE, REPOSITIONED HIM above ALL. Even Peter the foremost Apostle had this to say of Paul that some of his writings are hard to be understood. 1Cor 15:9-10; 2 Pet 3:15-16
5. Few of his heart burning sermons are preserved as models for preachers of all times in Acts 13:16-41 where he ministered to the Jews in Antioch, Acts 17:22-31 Gentiles at Athens.
6. His growth was phenomenal such that he could correct Peter, Barnabas his partner in Ministry and other Jews on a behavioural issue that was not in consonant with the truth of the gospel. Gal 2:11-16.

7. God saw in him the MIND TO MEND lives for Him not minding what will become of him in the process of trying to achieve it and WILL TO WORK hence of the 27 books of the New Testament, Paul wrote 14. Phil. 1:21,

8. Despite his not being part of those whose names were mentioned before, at and after Pentecost where the New Testament Church was ignited and empowered for exploits, he depended on the same Holy Ghost at his late hour of repentance to outrun the first beneficiaries. You too can grow beyond this stagnated level.